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Chapter Text

When I was little, I decided I wanted to be a Pokemon trainer. When I was a bit more grown up, and when I had started Pokemon school, I decided that I didn't want to be just any old trainer. I wanted to be special.

But… Since I really wasn't special, this meant that my Pokemon team had to be. That initially got the ball rolling. I could go out and hunt down the rarest, most valuable Pokemon I could think of—but I knew that it would be a poor thing to waste my time on. So I was smart, for once in my life, and opted for a saner choice: I would pick a regular Pokemon to be my starter, and just train like heck until it became special and strong and amazing.

Most of my thoughts, in my youth, were centered on that imaginary starter Pokemon. I built it up in my mind until the pedestal was so high I could only tilt my head back and stare. I didn't know what species it would be, but it would be godly, to say the least. I didn't want any old starter Pokemon, to be sure, but I needed something that would be easy to train. (I had no illusions about my skill; I would not be a good trainer immediately.) Eventually, as I aged, I stopped building up my Pokemon and instead concentrated on deciding which species it ought to be.

I absorbed every species I learned about like a sponge, and then proceeded to research those I deemed 'interesting' on my own. Occasionally I would ask either of my parents about them, too, of course. For research purposes.

"Mom, I want a Rhyhorn." She nearly choked on the coffee she'd been drinking as she spat it out in the most perfect spit-take I had ever seen.

I gave up wanting a Rhyhorn after that.

I made a list, so to speak, and whittled it down as I approached my tenth birthday. After several questions, such as the one above, my parents helped with this. They occasionally suggested (usually after shooting down one of mine) a Pokemon. "How about a nice Cleffa? They're cute, and safe." I generally wasn't pleased with their selection.

"Can I have a Gyarados?"

"That would be a Magikarp first. Why don't you want something like a Wooper?"

I didn't want a Wooper because they were bland, slimy little things, and they reminded me too much of my crazy teacher. She had a Wooper named Woop that spent most of class staring at the students with a wide, creepy smile on its face.

"I want an Onix."

"Those are too dangerous for trainers to start with. It could hurt you."

"Kids at Rock Tunnel start out with them."

"Not often."

My list was slowly growing smaller as the day of my birthday grew nearer. In a way, I was able to appreciate this fortune, since it meant I had less to choose from. But it also meant just that—I had less to choose from!

"How about an Electabuzz? Those are pretty cool."

"Why not a nice Mareep?"

My parents (mom especially) seemed bent on giving me a very lame Pokemon as my starter.

"A Ditto? This way, it can turn into any safe Pokemon you want."

"Yeah, and you wouldn't choose any of those."

My dad was equally discouraging, but at least he didn't try to push Mareep and Wooper on me.

Then, all at once, it was my tenth birthday. Unlike many of my friends, I didn't get a starter as a gift—mostly because I hadn't decided on one. I was fine with this. If anything, it made me more excited. I announced my desire to start on my journey, and my parents gently rebuffed me. They said I needed more preparation—and, of course, to pick out a starter. I could see the logic in this at first, so I was content to wait and think.

"A dragon Pokemon—that would be awesome!"

"They're expensive, honey. Why not something that's less exotic?"

"An Ekans?"

"It could bite you!"

As the months slowly passed, I was beginning to sense that my parents weren't exactly keen on letting me go.

"Can you two just draw up a list of the Pokemon I can have? I'll pick from that!"

"That would be very difficult to do. Can't you decide on your own?"

Every time I suggested a Pokemon, however, either my mom or my dad would have some reason I couldn't have it. By then, I was more than frustrated. Especially because I was now over ten and a half; soon I would be eleven when I started training! Almost all of my friends were already off training, even a couple of the younger ones, and my parents were bent on keeping me at home for the rest of my life.

Then, it was two days before my eleventh birthday. I was packing my things to run away—at least my parents had been helpful in preparing material things for my journey. I was fully intent on it, too. I wasn't sure how I would get my Pokemon, but I would, and we would make an amazing team.

That was part of my plan, in fact. I would have one Pokemon, and one Pokemon only. That's how high that pedestal in my mind was. I would be the best trainer ever with only one Pokemon. In theory, it sounded fine. If I only had one, I could spend all of my time training with that one, right? I could concentrate solely on it, and build up its strength until it could overpower any weaknesses it might have had.

…First I just had to get that Pokemon, of course.

…Once I decided what it was.

Chapter Text

The door behind me opened. I was mid-water-bottle-packing. Slowly, I turned around, trying very hard to seem innocent. "What are you doing?" My innocent face must not have looked very… innocent. What to tell your mother when she just walked in on you packing to run away?

"…I don't know." I was not very creative, especially under pressure.

"Looks to me like you're packing for some sort of trip," she said critically.

I winced. "…Well, I am almost eleven, you know. I should be gone, anyway."

"You don't have a Pokemon." Curse you, logic!

"I'll go get one."

"Where?"

"I'll buy one at the market."

There was a long-suffering sigh. I could only scowl and return to packing; there was no successful verbal response to the mom sigh. After not winning with that, she walked over and sat on my bed, halting the packing process. "…With what money?" she asked quietly.

"Birthday money. Allowance." I did have a little money saved up… "…Can I have my birthday money early?" It would only be two days.

"How about your gift instead?" With that, my mother set a pokeball on the covers and made it all the way to the door before I pounced on it. She probably meant to get a clean getaway, but I wouldn't let her. Not only was I thankful—boy, was I thankful, because it meant I didn't have to spend my last dribbles of cash on a Pokemon!—but I was also suspicious. I knew what kind of Pokemon my mother had wanted for me. If she was so eager to get away, it only made me suspect her more.

Not wanting to get saddled with a Skitty or Igglybuff, and holding her still at the door in a one-armed hug, I tossed the pokeball to the floor.

The pedestal in my mind came crashing to the ground as I recognized the creature. Dull yellow, with a few curls of fur on the top of its head, nestled between round, twitching ears… A bland, disinterested gaze, black-rimmed. Four blunt, stubby legs, holding up a dense mass of yellow and faded green. The Pokemon turned its head to one side and regarded me with a lidded expression.

"…Really?"

"Yes, really. Your father and I think a Numel would be a wonderful starter Pokemon. It's fire-type, so you get your element of danger—which you seem to need—but you won't get burnt to a crisp by it."

"…But… really?" I repeated, with more than a bit of desperation.

"Yes, really," she replied firmly.

And that was how I got Pedestal, my Numel.

-.-.-

I set out soon after that. I was not exactly enthused with a Numel of all Pokemon, but I continually cheered myself up. After all, that had been my grand master plan, right? I was going to take an ordinary Pokemon and make it extraordinary! I could still do this! I would still do this!

Every time I got enthusiastic or excited, however, Des (for it was much easier to encourage in battle by the name of 'Des', than 'Pedestal'; plus I could avoid many more weird looks this way) would once again remind me that I had been foolish to place it in the spotlight. It never was excited, and usually gave me a few bruises as it would knock my feet out from under me with its head. It took a few weeks for me to figure out that this was virtually the blank Pokemon's only sign of affection. Otherwise, the Numel was a blank slate. It would eat, sleep, breathe, and poop, but aside from that, and occasionally setting things on fire and maybe the rare happy little "Nu!", Pedestal didn't do much of anything.

I had been expecting an awesome Pokemon that obeyed me perfectly, rejoiced at every battle won, resolved to get stronger with every one lost (there wouldn't be many of those, though), and was my best friend. I couldn't see myself becoming best friends with Pedestal, simply put. Numel were pretty boring Pokemon to begin with, and mine seemed doubly so.

In that first month, I learned a lot.

The first thing I learned was which foods spoiled quickly and which would keep for awhile. (I found myself eating a lot of ramen.) Pedestal picked out its favorite foods as well, usually by snatching bites of mine. One good thing about having my Numel: I never had to waste any matches or my time rubbing sticks together. Instant cooking fires!

Another very important thing I learned was that shoes were not there to look good or to match with anything. They were there to keep your feet from murdering you in your sleep. A week in, Pedestal accidentally burned my tennis shoes to nothing more than charred rubber, which gave me the excuse to go buy some proper hiking boots. With arch support. I think it was the nicest thing it had ever done for me, even if it was an accident. Even after a short week, I'm pretty sure I would have had to cut off my feet if I had to walk any further in those things.

It was the same with clothes. They didn't have to look good. I was more intent on keeping warm and dry after just a few days than impressing anyone.

The third thing I learned was that my Pokemon, especially as I had only one, didn't spend much time in its pokeball. Pedestal liked to walk beside me as we traveled—even if it was slower than a sleeping Snorlax. Pedestal also made for a very warm pillow, or a convenient heater in the few times we'd gotten rained into a cave.

That brings me to my next point—and possibly the most important. Pedestal did not like water. It wouldn't swim, it wouldn't bathe past licking itself and rolling in mud (which seemed to defeat the purpose, I know, but it kept my Pokemon happy), and whenever it rained, we would have to seek refuge under trees or in a cave. Actually, okay, this happened only twice, the fact that we found a handy cave. Most times, I just had to return Des into its pokeball.

This, more than anything else, made me realize for the first time that my Numel was a fire Pokemon. Fire Pokemon didn't like water, or water Pokemon. Also, according to my PokeDex, Numel were also part ground type. That meant that it was doubly weak against water Pokemon.

I kept this in a far-off place in my mind, since, while it rained often (or maybe the weather was spiting me), there weren't a lot of water Pokemon in the area. The nearest river was miles away, and I never had to get any water from it or any ponds, thanks to the rain. We were set, it seemed. Pedestal would contentedly train while burning grass Pokemon and small rodents and birds, and I would rejoice over each and every victory. Especially the trainer ones. We got lucky with those, too, since the trainers in the area seemed to be mostly grass- and bug-trainers.

Then, I made a mistake.

The mistake cost me half of my money, a large chunk of my pride, and Pedestal's trust for a few days. But more importantly, it cost me my peace of mind.

What was this mistake, you might ask?

I found a trainer with a water Pokemon.

Chapter Text

"Umm, hello."

I hadn't been expecting a voice. Pedestal and I had been eating our lunch, munching on whatever we found that day. (It wasn't exactly appetizing, but at least it was cooked properly. I was getting the hang of using Des' back for such things.) I dropped my sandwich, whereas my Numel just looked up with its same lidded expression.

There was a trainer standing behind me. At first, I honestly thought he was a girl, because of the blush and shy expression. Plus, his outfit did little to change that; he wore an oversized purple sweater and just-as-baggy jeans.

"Do you know where we are?" the trainer asked, rubbing his arm awkwardly.

"Why are you wearing that hat?" I asked instead. The grey didn't match with anything, really, unless his whole theme was grey. Come to think of it, he wasn't exactly wearing any bright colors. The brightest he got was a green stripe on the sweater. "You're very dull looking."

The trainer was no longer shy and blushing at that point. "What?!"

"Your clothes. They're so… dreary. Where are you from, anyway? Some ghost town?" I was actually curious; I hadn't met any foreign trainers yet.

"I'm from Kanto, if you must know. Lavender Town. I don't see how you're in a position to point out my fashion errors, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean…?"

"You look like you just rolled out of bed." Actually, I pretty much had. "You're a new trainer, aren't you?" he asked suddenly.

I couldn't help but narrow my eyes. Was it that obvious?" "…A little. I wouldn't say new, really, but—"

"I knew it." He tilted his head back and laughed, placing his hands on his hips. "You must be a newbie. That Numel is probably your only Pokemon, isn't it?"

"So what? Des can whip any of your Pokemon!"

Pedestal looked up at the sound of its name, chewing slowly on another berry. "…Nu?"

"Is that a fact?" Now, the other trainer seemed smug. That only ticked me off more. "I have a team of six Pokemon. You only have one."

"One on one, then!" Looking back, okay, maybe I was feeling a little cocky. Or maybe I just wanted to beat something. Pedestal was already level 12, or so said the PokeDex, and we could easily beat most of the wild Pokemon in the area with one blow at that point. (Yes, we needed to move on. We were going to. Eventually.)

"Fine then! Go, Ra!" Quicker than I could react to, the other trainer had reached down to his belt and pulled one off.

"Ra—?"

Ra turned out to be a Ponyta. I had seen them before, but usually they were happy, skittish, and loved to race things. This one… seemed to be a match for Pedestal when it came to interest given to the situation. The pony Pokemon surveyed the scene regally, deeming it all below it, apparently. It was spoiled, too, I could tell, because of the gold rings around its neck. (It only occurred to me later that the rings might've been why it had been named Ra.)

"I won't use my strongest on you. Since I'm such an awesome, gracious trainer and all," the boy said airily, waving his hand dismissively.

"Oh yeah?! Go, Des!"

Des did no such thing. It continued to finish up its meal instead. I heard a howl of laughter and turned to see that the other trainer was literally rolling on the ground, laughing. "Your N-Numel doesn't even listen to you! How long have you been training, kid? A week?"

By that time, Pedestal had finished eating, and lumbered over to the impromptu playing field. It twitched its round ears, staring at the Ponyta. Ra stared back, albeit with much more dignity.

"Yeah, well—Des, use Magnitude!" I shouted. The Numel did something that might have been a nod, and brought its forelegs down into the ground. It started shaking, and with a vindictive grin I saw the other trainer get tossed into the air like a rag doll. The Ponyta fared even worse. By the time I got back up—I had been knocked down as well, because, come on, it was the ground shaking—the fiery pony was lying on the ground, barely conscious.

"Ra!" The other trainer gave a very feminine squeal, rushing over to his fallen Pokemon. The Ponyta gave a weak whinny just before it was returned in a beam of red light.

"Ha! Who's the newbie now, hmm? You can use another Pokemon in the battle, if you'd like, Mr. Hotshot. Me 'n Des won't mind. Maybe you'll be able to get in a move this time—"

Much like how I had taken advantage of his laughing to launch my first move, the other trainer tossed another pokeball and shouted, "Go, Kyu! Water Pulse!"

My head snapped around, ego gone. I knew what water would do to my Numel. "Dodge, Des!" I yelled, in a much higher voice than I would've liked. It was too late, however. Numel were not fast Pokemon, after all.

The little Psyduck on the opposite side of the arena let out a fierce blast of water from its mouth. Des went over like a sack of potatoes. It then mumbled something and held its head, sighing. "…Psy?" it asked its trainer.

"Good job, Kyu. You can return now." He called back his second Pokemon as well, and then walked over while I was trying to find Des' pokeball. It was in my backpack somewhere, I knew, but just where… I wasn't aware of his presence until he spoke again. "You know, you would have won that battle if you hadn't let your ego get in the way."

"Yeah, so?" I knew that.

"Hand over half your money."

"Here," I grunted, handing him a fistful of bills.

"Thanks." He didn't bother counting it, and just pocketed it instead. I finally found Pedestal's pokeball, and returned the unconscious Numel. This was the first battle we'd ever lost. Mostly because we had gotten lucky, with a lot of weak wild Pokemon and few other trainers. "Vahe."

"Huh?"

"Don't you want to know the name of the trainer who beat you?" he asked with an evil smile. "And you know what? I hadn't even wanted to battle you in the first place. I was only wanting directions."

That was really a kick when I was down. Literally, too, since I was still kneeling by where Des had fallen, and Vahe was standing over me. He probably wasn't that much taller than me—if at all—but he sure seemed to enjoy the height difference now. I pointed over to where the path continued behind me. "…That way is to Veilstone City."

"Thanks," he said, still with that evil smile.

And just like that, he left, and I had lost my first battle.

Sure, there had been a type advantage, and probably a level advantage, but Des had gone down in one move. It was a bit of a downer. Okay, more than a downer—I was absolutely heartbroken. My plan was falling to pieces around me. How could I become the best trainer ever if my one and only Pokemon had such a weakness? It's not like water types were uncommon, after all; there was even a Gym that specialized in them!

As I carried Des' pokeball back to the nearest Center, I resolutely, and a bit hesitantly, came up with a solution. I would simply have to get another Pokemon. One that was excellent against water Pokemon. In fact, it would be so good, that it wouldn't have any weaknesses! I would train it up to be a great Pokemon, and together, with Pedestal, we would win the championship effortlessly!

Now I just had to figure out what Pokemon to add to my team. This cheered me up a little, even as I waited for Pedestal to return from the Nurse Joy.

What really cheered me up, though, was that Vahe would sure be surprised when he found out that he was headed to Floaroma Town instead of Veilstone City. So what if I was a little spiteful? It only served him right for beating Pedestal in one move like that.

Chapter Text

What should my second Pokemon be? I wasn't sure. I knew it had to be something that could easily take out a water Pokemon, but aside from that, I was in the dark. There were two types that came to mind when I wanted an advantage over water: grass and electricity. There might've been others, but I wasn't an expert. Both grass and electricity had their advantages and weaknesses, of course, and I had to try to figure out something that wouldn't have any weaknesses that Pedestal couldn't take care of.

The immediate solution was simple, or so I thought: a grass Pokemon. They were weak primarily against fire types, and Des had proved that it could take out most of them with a good ground attack.

The more I thought about it, too, the more I liked the idea. A grass Pokemon would be good. Between the two of them, I could cover almost all types easily. It also meant I could participate (fairly) in double battles, too! It was that thought, more than anything else, that made up my mind for me.

"The trainer with the Numel—he's done!" the Nurse Joy called. At first, I completely ignored her. I was not only lost in my plans for the future, but I had associated Des with 'it' for far too long, over a month already. "…Whose Numel was this?" she tried again, this time succeeding in catching my attention.

"Oh! My Numel!" I stood up, earning a few snickers. No doubt they were thinking I was some dumb kid. Well, I would show everyone—not just those snotty elitists who I shared the Center with at that time—that I wasn't! I was going to be the next big thing, after all.

"Here he is," Nurse Joy said with a smile, rolling the pokeball across her desk. I caught it, eyes drawn towards it.

"…He."

"Yes, he. Oh, did you not know your Numel's gender?"

No, I hadn't. But I already had the attention of more than one eavesdropper, so I wasn't going to admit that out loud. In past Centers, I hadn't had to deal with this sort of thing; I would usually eagerly wait at the counter for Pedestal to finish being healed, and Nurse Joy usually handed it—him—back over with a "here you go" and a smile.

Good thing I hadn't picked a feminine name.

"Oh, of course I did. I just didn't hear you," I lied, rolling his pokeball back and forth between my hands on the counter. "Thank you, Nurse Joy. But—I have a question before I leave."

"Oh? I'd be happy to help!" she chirped, the Chansey at her elbow nodding vigorously as well.

"What kind of grass Pokemon live in these parts?"

"Hmm…" She tapped her chin, thinking for a moment. "Well… There's almost always Budew about. They're probably going to be your best bet, since they're so common. Also… Sometimes, trainers come in with a Sunkern or a Seedot. But I'm afraid those three are the only ones that come to mind."

"Thank you."

None of those three sounded particularly attractive. They all evolved into something else—didn't they?—but I didn't fancy having to play with baby Pokemon until that happened. I wanted something that was strong right away. After all, if Des couldn't fight against water Pokemon, we would be handicapped against fishermen or other water-type specialists. I wanted a quick fix to that problem.

As I left the Pokemon Center, I figured I had just two choices. Well, three, really, but I already dismissed training up either a Budew, Sunkern or Seedot. My remaining two: buy one from a breeder or travel onward and hope for the best.

I did have a fair amount of money, even after that trainer beat me. I wasn't sure it would be enough for a good grass Pokemon, though, and I did have to save some for food and medical supplies. Although, on the other hand, traveling and hoping not to run into any water Pokemon was equally unappealing.

Come to think of it, I didn't even know that a good grass Pokemon would be. It probably would be a good idea to get a list of prospective additions to my team…

"Hey, Des? Here's the problem we have." We were back near where the other trainer had battled us; it was where we were comfortable, even with the loss. Plus, most of the wild Pokemon left us alone there. I guess it was our 'territory'. "We need another Pokemon. A grass one. But… The ones around here suck, and they're weak, and they're not terribly cute, either. We want something that looks good next to you, right?"

"…Nu," Des replied blankly.

I was used to his dull replies, so I just continued talking. "Right. So we either have to blow our money buying one, or we travel somewhere else to try catching one. Or I suppose we could always turn into thieves and steal someone else's—"

Just then, the most bizarre thing happened. Pedestal let out a snort of ash and stomped on the ground with one foreleg. This alone caught my attention, but then as I turned to him, he spat out a small Ember. At me.

By the time I had realized what just happened, my jacket was burning nicely. With a yelp and nearly tripping over my feet, I managed to fling it off before I got burned as well. Pedestal sauntered—or as much as a slow Numel as he could—over to where I was on my hands and knees, feeling betrayed. "Numel."

I turned to him. He stared back, eyes lidded.

Not only had I just been attacked by my own Pokemon, it had been the first display of serious emotion from the usually listless Numel. He had been angry. Angry. At me—presumably because I'd jokingly (well, only kind of jokingly) suggested stealing someone else's Pokemon…

"…You have your own code of honor, huh?" I asked, offering a shaky smile. Des bobbed his head, round ears twitching.

"Nu!" Now that I was open to the fact that he did, indeed, have emotions, I could see a bit of smugness in his eyes. Though he still looked rather dull. Okay, really dull, but I would just have to get used to that. After all, we were a team. Pedestal was my first Pokemon, and nothing would ever change that, another Pokemon or not.

But that 'another Pokemon' was still definitely needed if we wanted to survive in the real world.

Chapter Text

The next day, I dug out my list. It was the list, really. The one I had used to (or tried to) pick my starter Pokemon. I read the whole thing out loud to Des, watching carefully for any sign of a reaction. There weren't any. It didn't occur to me that he might not know what any of those species were; if I, an eleven-year-old kid, knew them, I thought that he ought to know them, too. Professional courtesy, you know?

Of course, the grass Pokemon on the list were few and far between. I hadn't realized how much I had leaned towards the 'better' types (or more offensive, anyway) until then.

"…Tangela…"

That was it. Tangela was the only grass Pokemon (that I knew of) that I liked, barring evolutions. That gave me an entire new array of problems. I did have a soft spot for Victreebell, but that meant I would have to train a Bellsprout up two evolutions. I didn't have that kind of time. There was also the grass evolution of Eevee, but again, it was an evolution, and Eevee were rare and expensive, anyway.

Come to think of it, Tangela weren't exactly running around everywhere, either.

I hung my head in defeat. If it weren't for Pedestal, I actually might have seriously entertained stealing a Pokemon. (In addition to not being an expert, I'm also not a saint.) I didn't have the time or patience to deal with some lame baby grass Pokemon, especially if it was one I was unfamiliar with. I didn't want to get saddled with something that didn't evolve into sheer awesome.

"A Treecko might be kind of cool," I mumbled to myself, trying to yank the elusive second Pokemon down from its mental pedestal. No such luck; I wanted a cool Pokemon, and I would get one. A Treecko would not do. None of the grass starters were really that strong, either, until their second or third evolution. "Argh! I don't have time for this!"

Growling and huffing, I jumped to my feet, grabbed my stuff, and turned to Pedestal. He merely tilted his head to one side, offering nothing.

"Come on, Des! We're going on a grass hunt. I don't care if it takes us years or spans continents, I am getting that grass Pokemon!"

Maybe my words were a little rash and untrue. I didn't intend on spending years hunting for a specific Pokemon. Nor did I want to go on a world travel trip. I just really wanted this search to be over so the good training could begin.

Des and I first headed back to Jubilife City. It was a fairly large city, after all, and was the television capital of the country. There could be advertisements for breeders selling grass Pokemon; I could get lucky.

There certainly was some sort of luck with us that day. We weren't in the city for ten minutes before a battle successfully halted us. No, we weren't challenged, and we didn't challenge anyone—if anything, we were simple, innocent bystanders, caught in the crossfire.

A pair of trainers were battling just outside the Pokemon Center. One was a girl, probably just a few years older than me, and the other was a boy, probably about the same age. It looked as if the battle had just started.

The girl, black hair pinned to the back of her head and auburn eyes flashing, shouted, "Dew Drop! Ice Fang!" The Croconaw in front of her jumped forward and sunk its teeth into its opponent, some sort of green, four-legged Pokemon with a large flower on its back. The other Pokemon gave a yelp of distress, trying to shake it off, but to no avail.

"Chill, Holly. Use a Razor Leaf," the male trainer said. He seemed utterly relaxed, whereas the other trainer was stomping her foot in frustration. The green Pokemon—a grass Pokemon, I realized with some glee—let out a barrage of sharp leaves, right into the Croconaw's mouth and face. It let go immediately, clawed paws flying to its face.

"Water Gun!" The grass Pokemon jumped out of the way, but the irate Croconaw doggedly followed it. By now, more than just Des and I were watching, so we continually had to push and shove to get back to the front. I didn't want to miss this battle. Not only was it pretty cool to watch, but it had a grass Pokemon! It seemed strong, and it looked really cool, too. I needed to find out what it was.

The grass Pokemon still dodged, further annoying the water one—and its trainer. "Ugh—Dew Drop, use Water Pulse!"

The Croconaw nodded and jumped in the air, landing with a splash, though there was no water—just then. It created its own puddle, which grew until it was a small wave, heading out in a perfect circle from it. The grass Pokemon looked right and left, worried, and was finally hit. It tumbled over, trying to get back up, but its flat feet prevented it from getting much traction on the slick concrete.

Most of the crowd was backing up, too; the water attack didn't end with it finding its target. It was only knee-high, though, so there wasn't much panic.

Except for Pedestal and I.

With an undignified squeak, I hastily bent down to pick him up, only to find that he weighed much, much more than he looked. My jeans and shoes were soaked by the attack. It hurt more when I fell over with Des landing on top of me than from the actual Water Pulse. Still, my Numel was still conscious, which was good. Even if we were next to a Center, I didn't want either of us to miss the potential partner.

"Des—get off—" He immediately waddled off of me, and much-needed oxygen flowed back into my body. I sat up, groaning, not only because of the bruise that probably left, but because the wet ground did a pretty good job of making it look like I had just got pushed into a pool.

"Mel," Des said happily, head-butting me. He was either laughing at me or thanking me. I wasn't sure which.

"…Say, Des, what do you think of that grass Pokemon there? It's pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Nu."

"I'm serious. We need to get one."

"Nu-mel." He was eyeing the grass Pokemon—who had retaliated against the Croconaw by putting it to sleep and was still sliding around awkwardly on the wet ground—with what appeared to be disdain. Of course, with a lidded expression like he usually wore, it could have been love at first sight. I might've been open to the fact that he had emotions, but it didn't mean I knew what they were.

The battle ended when the Croconaw woke up and planted an Ice Fang on the grass Pokemon's flower, just as it released another barrage of razor-sharp leaves. It was a double knockout. The crowd slowly dispersed, but only the non-trainers left right away. The veterans stayed behind to congratulate the two on a good battle, whereas the younger, newer trainers stood by awkwardly to ogle the trainers with open awe and admiration.

"So, you done being angry now?" the boy trainer asked of his female opponent. She crossed her arms and looked away from him with a huff. "C'mon, Brenna, lighten up…"

Only a few trainers were left once the crowd figured out that the battle had started over a personal dispute. Those were usually best left alone. I was not deterred, however, and marched straight up to the blond boy. Pedestal stayed a safe distance behind me, still wary of the Croconaw, even if it was unconscious. He only ventured closer when the girl returned it. "Excuse me—"

Both of them turned to be expectantly. I hesitated, but then steeled myself. If I didn't find out the identity of that grass Pokemon, I might be stuck as a skittish, wary-of-water trainer for the rest of my life.

"What was that grass Pokemon you used?"

"…Another greenhorn, huh," the boy remarked, grinning lazily.

"I thought that was Cora's nickname," the girl said scathingly before I could reply.

"Well, it's more of a title, really, and she's been training long enough not to—"

"Excuse me, the Pokemon?" Personal disputes were not one to get mixed up in in the Pokemon world, even if it was accidentally. I already felt uncomfortable being called a 'greenhorn'—whatever that was—and listening to the girl's snappish comments. "That's all I want to know…"

"Is that your Numel?" the boy asked, once again not answering my question. He nodded down to Pedestal, who was pressed up against my wet jeans, watching them all guardedly. "No wonder you want a grass Pokemon. Sorry, kid, but Holly's not up for sale or trade."

"I didn't want to offer!" I said hotly, madder at not thinking of trading before, rather than his assumption. "I just wanted to know the species of, uh, Holly."

"Oh. Is that all?" Yet again, he had not answered me. He rubbed the back of his head. "Ivysaur. Second evolution of Bulbasaur, greenhorn. Good luck finding one in Sinnoh, though; they're pretty rare in these parts. You'd be better off catching a native grass Pokemon."

The problem was I didn't want a native grass Pokemon; they all sucked. Still, I had a name to work with now, and knew that they were from Kanto. Almost as importantly, I had now been reminded of the prospect of a trade. Maybe I could catch a Pokemon from around here and trade for a Bulbasaur—or an Ivysaur!—with the GTS or something. An Ivysaur did need to be evolved, though, which was a bit off-putting. Still, it seemed worth it. (And it wasn't as if I had many other choices to choose from.)

"Uh, thanks, but I think I'll try tracking down an Ivysaur…" I started to back away, mostly because of the evil glare the girl had turned on the boy. Their argument was far from over with, and the battle didn't appear to have done much to help. Pedestal had stuck himself so firmly to my leg, though, that I managed to trip, falling down for the second time because of him.

The older trainers both laughed, offering to help me up. I had my pride, though, and slunk off with Des in his pokeball before more misfortune could befall me.

An Ivysaur, huh? I could do that. I either needed to buy one from someone—if they were the evolution of a Kanto starter, it couldn't be that expensive, right?—or catch something to use as trade fodder. I felt a bit better about the first choice, though, since it didn't entail a third wheel, so to speak.

"Nu," Des said blandly, twitching his round ears.

"Yeah, let's go. We need to find an Ivysaur." The Ivysaur was then placed precariously on its lofty pedestal as we merrily went into the Center.

Chapter Text

"Hi, I'm looking for an Ivysaur."

"Beat it, kid. I'm only trading for a Tropius." I didn't even know what a Tropius was.

"Um, hello, I saw your ad on the television for your Ivysaur—?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. But I already sold him…" It had been out of my price range, anyway.

"So, you're a breeder? Have any Bulbasaur or Ivysaur?"

"I don't deal wi' evos, but I don't got a Bulba, either. Sorry." I didn't want one from you, anyway; I was worried it would have caught your accent.

"What do you want for your Ivysaur? I can trade."

"I doubt you'd have what I'm looking for. Sorry, newbie." I didn't want to deal with elitists, either.

Still, as the week wore on, I was coming nearer and nearer to an irrevocable truth. I would not be getting an Ivysaur so easily. Even after I had lowered my standards to accept Bulbasaur, every offer I made was flatly refused. Since I was in the city, too, it meant that I wasn't battling; my money was dwindling with every meal ingested. I doubted I could even get a Budew egg for what change was left in my pockets.

Spirits trailing in the dirt behind me, I made my way slowly back to the Pokemon Center. If I hadn't gotten a free room there, I probably would have been broke long ago. There was that small thing to be thankful for.

I didn't have it in me to go out, battle more, and come back with money, just to be denied again. I knew I didn't have the courage for that, and I only had enough money for another day or so of food. Plus, the Pokemon Center's free room deal only lasted a week. I would be booted out tomorrow night, regardless of how much money I had.

I hadn't even let Des out at all that day. I was too down in the dumps, and I didn't need to be trying to figure out his dull expressions and moods. Plus, I doubted he would have helped much. I might have been able to get a trade offer with him, but regardless of how bland and emotionless he was, I would never, ever trade him away. Without Pedestal, needing a grass Pokemon was a moot point, anyway.

"Hey, you look pretty sad, there." I looked up at the voice. It was a man sitting cross-legged in front of a cardboard box, dressed in the most bizarre getup I had ever seen. It was all bright colors and patches, it seemed. Underneath an old lab coat. He grinned at me. I tried to grin back, but I must have failed pretty badly, because his own smile faltered and finally fell. "Ouch. Have a bad day?"

"To say the least."

"I know what would make you feel better."

"Oh really." To say I didn't believe him would be an understatement. A big understatement. I might be one to get my hopes up about Pokemon, but I had no illusions about humans, and I was not naïve. "Unless you have an Ivysaur under that cape of yours—"

"Nope, nope. I don't deal with Kanto Pokemon; they're too nasty and high-strung. How about a Sinnoh Pokemon? I can guarantee you it was caught here."

"No thanks. I'm broke, anyway."

"C'mon, kid. Turn that frown upside-down!"

I set my backpack down and then stood on my hands for him. "Happy now?" I asked, just before I wobbled and fell.

"I'm not the one who needs to get happy," he replied, though I could hear the smile in his voice. "You are. You said something about an Ivysaur? Why d'you want one of those? They're not a dime a dozen in these parts."

"I need an awesome grass Pokemon for my team. I have a Numel, so he's really, really weak to water attacks, and a grass Pokemon would not be weak against them." I got up again, dusting myself off, trying hard not to wince. There, I had just earned another bruise or two. Pretty soon, I would be one giant bruise.

"If you want a grass Pokemon—I have just the thing!"

"No thanks."

"But look! It's amazing!" Before I could stop him or protest, he had tossed a pokeball out in front of him. A small, squat, ugly green thing with the nastiest scowl I had ever seen appeared. I backed up a couple of steps; it looked that ferocious. "See? Fresh-caught, and on Sinnoh land, too. Not some elitist Kanto starter."

"It's…" What would be a good word to describe the nasty little thing sitting on the box? Ugly? No—if given a bath and if it smiled, maybe it would have been another cute, useless little grass Pokemon. Mean? To say the least. "It looks a little… scary."

"Aw. Haven't you ever seen a Shroomish before? They all look like this."

There was a whole species of Pokemon that looked that malicious? I backed up another few steps, in case it had some sort of disease with its 'I'm going to bite you soon' look. "N-No, I haven't…" If it came down to it, I could always release Des and have him roast it, in case it tried to attack…

"Well, I can guarantee you that my Carlita is the nicest, cutest, most well-behaved Shroomish in all of Sinnoh. She's even talented! Watch. Carlita, dance, sweetie!"

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or run screaming at that point.

Suddenly, the Shroomish turned back to me and did something that could have been a bow. As it raised its—well, her—face back up, the scowl had transformed into the brightest, most cheery smile I had ever seen on a Pokemon. (I was approaching terrified at that point.) She then hopped on one stubby little paw three jumps to the left, and then another three back right. She twirled—at least the little leaves on her seemed like a skirt—and then did a flip to complete the dance number.

"Well? How d'you like Carlita?"

Carlita now had the silent snarl back on her face, glowering at me, daring me to reply. I instinctively grabbed Pedestal's pokeball, holding it in front of me like a shield.

Then, the most horrible thing yet happened. This was more horrible than getting a Numel as a starter a year late, or losing so horribly to that Psyduck, or even wasting a week trying to find an Ivysaur.

The man returned Carlita with one hand, back into her pokeball, and then reached forward to pluck Des's pokeball from my hands. "A trade? I'm down with that. A Numel, huh? Good trade. Thanks, kid."

Chapter Text

I stared down at the pokeball in my hands. It was cool to the touch, unlike Des', which was almost always hot (though from being in my pocket, rather than by his heat). Though it was exactly the same size and probably the same weight, it felt blasphemous to be holding that pokeball instead of my Numel's.

"H-Hey!" I said, but it came out as hardly more than a squeak. I didn't want this angry little Shroomish who could dance. I wanted Pedestal. My head snapped up, glare at the ready—but the man was no longer behind his cardboard box. "Hey!" This time, it was definitely louder, but came out much more shrill than my usual voice. A few passerby turned and stared.

I looked around, and spotted a tattered lab coat disappearing through the crowd. I leapt to my feet and ran blindly in that direction, heart pounding in my ears. Pedestal—my very own Pokemon—had just been taken from me. Stolen. Well, traded, but it was not a trade I had agreed to. That made it illegal in my eyes, as illegal as murder or treason. (Never mind the fact that I had contemplated theft before; that had been jokingly.)

"Stop!" I shouted desperately, trying to push my way past pedestrians while keeping his fleeing back in my line of sight. He wasn't a track star if an eleven-year-old kid was keeping (somewhat) up with him, but I wasn't going to look the gift Ponyta in the mouth. "Stop! Thief!"

That, more than my feeble attempts with "stop!", got people's attention. Several heads turned in time to see a man and kid run by, but they were too late to do anything, really. Unless one of them called the police or something. The sidewalks got more crowded the further downtown we got, until finally, it was all but impassable. It was the rush hour, after all, so it was packed everywhere. This was when my smaller size lent me the advantage; I could slip past people more easily than he could.

"Thief! Stop him!" I kept yelling, if only to attract attention; maybe some curious bystander would get in his way in order to see what I was yelling about. It was worth a try.

Eventually, he gave up on the sidewalks and ran into the road. The cars were moving pretty slowly, since it was nearly packed, but the man nearly got run over all the same. I followed him without a second thought, though I entered the street in front of a stopped car at least. He ducked behind a taxi and made it to the other side; I had to jump onto a hood in order to keep him in sight. The man ran into a department store. This was both good and bad; it meant that I could raise a ruckus inside, where there was a greater chance of someone stopping both of us, but it also meant that there were more places to hide.

I darted into the store just as I saw his white lab coat disappearing up the escalator. "Someone stop him!" I yelped, not pausing to point him out to anyone. At this point, I was doing little more than screaming and running. Even if someone else stopped him, I wasn't going to give up; I wanted at least one kick at his face for taking Des in the first place.

By the time I reached the next floor, a scuffle had broken out. Panting, I reached the top of the escalator. The man in the patchwork clothes was pinned to the ground, though still struggling, by another man. One knee dug into the thief's back, and one hand was working furiously to free the pokeball—Des' pokeball—from his grip. Both of them were yelling, and already other shoppers were gathering, whispering among themselves.

"Get off of me! This is assault, assault!"

"Let go of the pokeball and maybe I won't break your fingers!"

"You all heard that—assault! Threatening me! He's—ow!"

"Let go of the pokeball."

I kept a cautious distance, half-hiding behind a pair of shopping women. Now, though the man who'd stolen Pedestal was successfully halted, I was even more afraid. The man who'd caught him seemed scarier. Who cared if he seemed to be helping me? He looked ready to kill—and I didn't know him. He seemed the epitome of the deranged, murderous strangers that my parents always warned me about.

"Has someone called the police yet?" one of the shopping women asked in a low voice, nervously glancing at the scrap.

The other nodded. "Oh, yes, I saw a couple of girls do it when he first tackled him."

Then, the man pinned to the ground, the thief, finally let go of the pokeball. It rolled away from his fingers, just a few inches, but so that he had no chance of grabbing it again unless he threw his assailant off. By a happy coincidence, it had actually rolled a bit closer to me.

By another slightly happy coincidence, the two women in front of me—who I couldn't get past without alerting them—decided to leave. They shuffled away apprehensively, muttering among themselves something about getting caught in the scene. I didn't bother caring. Pedestal's pokeball was just a yard or so in front of me, a quick leap in and a dash out. No one would be able to catch me, certainly not the two men on the ground.

I crouched down, and sprung forward. My Numel was back in my hands before anyone noticed I had left the crowd. Then, just as I was turning to run for it, however, I felt something like iron clamp down on the back of my shirt.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Heart pounding, I turned to look over my shoulder. It was the man who had been attacking the other for Des' pokeball. A thought occurred to me, then—what if he had only been stopping him so he could steal it?

"Is that your Pokemon in there?"

"Y-Yes sir." I doubted my voice could sound any more like a frightened Mareep.

"Can you prove that?"

"Y-Yes. It's my Numel."

"What about that other pokeball you're holding?" he asked, icy eyes boring into mine. I hastily turned away from him again, aware once more that I was holding the Shroomish's pokeball. Carlita's.

"A-A Shroomish."

"What is going on here?!" Like the clouds parting to let the sun through, bystanders scattered as a harried Officer Jenny marched through. Her Growlithe was growling, sticking abnormally close to her legs. She tilted her head back and glared down at the three of us, planting her gloved hands on her hips. She didn't wait for us to reply. "It seems as if this is a fight. Not only in a public place, but also between trainers, is it? A kid, too. Let the kid go, sir. Now."

I probably would have run for it, then and there, if the Growlithe hadn't been blocking my way.

That was how I found myself in the Jubilife police station, wondering about my phone call. Should I call my parents, or skip the middle man and call the undertaker? I was surely dead either way.

…At least I got Pedestal back, right?

Chapter Text

"Alright, you three. Tell me the story."

Officer Jenny seated us all down in a concrete room without any windows. Actually, only the thief and I were sitting; the other man was leaning against the wall behind us sullenly, and Officer Jenny was pacing on the other side of the table. All three of us convicts were handcuffed.

One good thing, however, was that I had been allowed to keep my Pokemon—both Des and Carlita. I didn't know which of them was actually mine, but I'm sure that the nice officer would help us with that. …If her glare didn't kill us first.

"…No one's talking?"

"I don't see why we were all three arrested," the man behind me muttered. I squirmed in my chair, silently agreeing. "I was doing a public service. That man is a wanted thief, and he has a reward, right? I just wanted to turn him in to the long arm of the law—and get that money."

"It wasn't a 'Dead or Alive' warrant," Jenny snapped. "You tackled him, broke one of his fingers, sprained a wrist, and caused a scene. Who knows what else happened."

"He wouldn't let go of the pokeball."

"What pokeball?"

"It was a Numel's. I think it belongs to the newbie." It took a few moments for it to register that he was referring to me. When it did, I shrunk down in my chair more.

"Why did he have it, then?" she asked, nodding at the thief.

"I assumed he stole it. He is a thief."

"I traded for it, fair and square," he said, speaking up for the first time in his own defense.

"No you didn't!" I muttered darkly, glaring at him sideways. "You stole Pedestal—"

"Pedestal?" Officer Jenny repeated, blinking. I shut my mouth immediately, flushing. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "…Here, we're all civilized people here, aren't we? Why don't we take turns telling the story, and then we'll see if there's an ounce of truth in any of it."

I was chosen to go first, probably because of my age, and my apparent 'victim' label. Not that I was complaining. This was a bad enough experience; I didn't need blame, either. But I sucked it up, and told the truth, and was an honest trainer. More than either of the other two.

By the time we were all done talking—and arguing, since we naturally had conflicting reports—my stomach was growling and my throat was sore. It had to have been late, though there wasn't a clock, and my cell phone had already been confiscated.

It seemed as if the thief really was a well-known petty thief, and that the other man was out for his reward. Apparently, that was the thief's style; trade illegally until he got a rare Pokemon, and then sell it on the black market. I considered myself lucky that he was caught, even if it wound up with all of us in jail.

"Why did you three have to cause such a scene, then?" I could tell that the officer was getting tired of us. I thought (rather naively) that that was a good sign, that maybe she would let us go then. Oh, to be young and innocent.

"It wasn't intentional."

"He started it, anyway."

All three of us spent the night behind bars. My two Pokemon—or one, whichever—were confiscated at last, and I didn't get a last meal, either. I didn't bother wasting my phone call. I curled up under the thin blanket on the hard cot, vowing to never, ever again get in trouble with the law. Even if it really wasn't my fault.

That thief would be better off hoping that he never met me in a dark alley, either.

-.-.-

The next morning, the bounty hunter and I were released. The thief wasn't. I seemed to be the only one happy with this, since the bounty hunter never got his reward, and the thief, of course, ended up in jail. It served him right, though, trying to steal my Des.

Then, just as I was exiting the station, a thought hit me.

I looked down at the two pokeballs in my hands.

"Officer Jenny!" I hollered, heading right back inside.

"What is it—oh, it's you. You're free to go, you know." She looked up at first, but her expression dulled again once she saw that it was only the kid she'd mistakenly arrested.

"This one… The Shroomish isn't… It kind of isn't mine." Now that I'd been stolen from, I didn't want to steal from others, even if it was only karmic retribution. I would be sure to stay on the light side of the law for the rest of my life—or until I needed another Pokemon, maybe.

"Who does it belong to, then?"

"I… don't know?" The thief said he'd traded for Carlita, so does that mean he scammed someone else?

"Here, give me the pokeball." She set it on the machine and tapped a few keys on the computer. I fidgeted nervously, rolling Des' ball back and forth in my hands. It seemed to take forever, and I didn't even know what kind of response I was expecting. I really didn't want the Shroomish—even if she did look like an evil little gremlin—to go back into someone's hands that weren't her rightful owner's. Plus, if the thief got her back, he'd just steal someone else's Pokemon with her. "Well, it seems as if any records of the pokeball or the Pokemon inside have been wiped. It'd be impossible to trace its original owner now."

"So… Then what?"

Officer Jenny looked at her computer screen, frowning faintly. She tapped her chin with one hand, the other hitting a few more keys. "This… It rarely happens, actually, so we don't have an official protocol. We could keep it here, and hope the owner comes back to claim it, but I doubt that would actually happen. The conman has been all over Sinnoh, so the original owner probably isn't anywhere near Jubilife. Plus, it looks as if it was a fairly newly captured Shroomish, so unless it was meant as a pet, the owner probably hadn't gotten too attached to it."

I didn't process what she was saying, not on any deeper level. I just stared, rolling Des' pokeball between my hands, trying to figure out what would happen to Carlita. "You could give her to the television company. She can dance," I said, a bit stupidly. Jenny looked at me for a few, long moments.

"Very rarely are Pokemon happy with a career on television, unless their trainer or owner is with them. It—She—wouldn't be very happy, I'd think," she replied quietly, finally taking the pokeball off of the machine. Then, immediately, she brightened. "Let's ask."

"Huh?"

Before I could protest, the mean little Pokemon was released again, right in front of me. I edged away as Carlita turned to eye me with evident disdain. Yet again, I held Des' pokeball out in front of me—until recent happenings kicked me mentally, and then I hid him behind my back. "See? She likes you."

"That is like?"

"Growlithe, ask her what she wants to happen," Jenny commanded, and the canine jumped down from the stool beside her. It sat down beside the grass Pokemon, bushy tail wagging, and barked a few times. The Shroomish replied in a high, somewhat squeaky voice, looking back and forth between Officer Jenny and I. At one point, she even repeated her dance, much to the Growlithe and officer's delight.

When Carlita was done, the Growlithe said a few things more to its owner, and then happily jumped back up in its spot. I had no idea what had just happened, aside from the dance. Apparently, Carlita liked to dance. She was a mystery, except for that simple fact. It made me laugh, so I had to bite the inside of my cheek; I doubted the officer would appreciate it if I cracked up in the middle of the station.

"The Shroomish says she doesn't want to go to the television station—she would like to travel, with you. You are the closest thing she has to a trainer right now." The statement was punctuated by a backwards look from Carlita. She didn't look very happy about this, but maybe her emotions were… like Des'. Hard to read. I sure hoped so.

"…Really?" I asked, quite aware of the fact that I had vowed to find a grass Pokemon. I just hadn't meant for it to be a Shroomish. But, like Des, Carlita might turn out to be a gift, right? A good Pokemon…

"Yes, really."

So now I had Pedestal, the Numel whose name reminded me of my habit of hoping. In addition to him, now I had Carlita, also, the dancing Shroomish. She twirled on over and knocked over the mental pedestal the Ivysaur had been placed on. She and Des were… a surprise for me. I had never expected either of them to be on my team, just a sparse two months ago.

I would never, ever make the mistake of hoping for a super awesome Pokemon right off the bat, not ever again.

Chapter Text

"OH MY GOSH WE'VE BEEN TRAINING FOR TWO MONTHS."

Pedestal and Carlita watched as I ran around the campsite, shouting and frothing at the mouth. Okay, not really frothing, but I was still panicking.

I had been gone two months already. I should have been at least in the League by now! Not wandering around, lost, in Eterna Forest. All of the wild Pokemon—save the occasional ditzy Buneary or Budew—were actively avoiding us at this point, since we had figured out that Des had an advantage against both grass and bug types early on. We won against all of the wild Pokemon we came up against now.

Which was good, considering Pedestal was level 16 and Carlita was level 20. We were over leveled for the area, I knew that, and I would gladly move on, except for that problem. The problem of us being lost.

In the past week, however, I was quite proud of the progress we'd made. Pedestal had been distrustful of Carlita at first, but that passed when she saved him when we'd gone through Route 205; there seemed to be Buizel everywhere. I was glad we hadn't tackled it before getting a grass teammate. Now, the two were civil and tolerant of each other, though they still slept on opposite sides of me when not in their pokeballs.

In addition to the betterment (I hoped) of our team, we made it as far as Eterna Forest—until we got lost, that is. True, it was great training for Des, since he had stayed in his pokeball for nearly all of the last Route, but he was already several levels above any of the wild Pokemon and had the advantage. It was hardly fair to stay there when we were strong enough to move on.

"We're moving. Come on, guys." Carlita huffed and delicately twirled on one foot to face away from me, scowl firmly in place. "Okay, guy and girl."

Carlita was a lot easier to read than Pedestal was. She was almost always scowling, though, which made her expressions difficult. She did, however, smile when she danced—which was often, thank the stars. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty (figure of speech, of course, considering she didn't have hands), and while she didn't necessarily act girly, she was quick to remind me that she was, in fact, female.

We started marching in a random direction. Or rather, I marched, while Carlita hopped all around, and Pedestal plodded along slowly behind us. This scene was a far cry from what I had imagined when I first became a trainer.

Several hours later, I managed to figure out that we had made no progress at all, except getting hungry and tired and dirty. Which I was used to, being a trainer and all, but I was also used to going places. All of the Routes so far had been pretty cut-and-dried: you left at point A, traveled a bit, and arrived at point B. This forest had a point A and no point B. Then, it promptly ate the point A, so there was absolutely nowhere to go.

"Can't you two… I don't know, find the way using your innate Pokemon senses?"

The Numel and Shroomish looked at me, then at each other, and then back at me. Carlita cracked up and Des snorted out a small plume of smoke. I was experienced enough to tell that even he was laughing at me.

I sighed and sat down on the nearest rock, not wanting to add more grass stains than I had to to my outfit. "You guys are terrible, I hope you both realize that. I'm your poor, defenseless, lost trainer, and you laugh at me. Maybe I should trade you both away. I'm sure I could get a decent bargain, since you're both so strong from beating up baby Pokemon."

"Nu—"

"Shroo!" Carlita squealed, shaking her head—body, whichever—vehemently. Des paused, then decided he was content with letting her do the protesting, and merely nodded his agreement.

"Then don't be so cruel to your trainer. I thought Pokemon were supposed to be loving and loyal?" I asked archly. Both came over and started the process of forgiveness. This involved Pedestal rubbing his head against my leg and making smoke rings, and Carlita usually had to hop on my head and dance there. "Fine, fine, you two. Let's just get out of here, okay? Maybe we can catch a flying Pokemon and they can find out where we are…"

"You there!" Surprised, I sat up, only to trip over Des and land in the grass below. I heard Carlita screaming at whoever it was, and looked up to find another human being. A trainer, probably, but the most important part was that she could help me find my way out of here! "Oh, good, you got off of the rock." The female trainer placed a hand to her forehead, sighing in relief.

"Rock? I was just sitting on it…" I looked over at it, to make sure it wasn't some sort of rock Pokemon. It wasn't; it was just a regular rock, covered in a bit of moss, surrounded by grass.

"That's the Moss Rock!" she cried shrilly.

"…Okay." It was mossy. I hadn't ever heard of it, however, so if it was a shrine or something, I was probably toast. Maybe the Pokemon gods would take pity on me and only smite me a little bit.

"…You have no idea what the Moss Rock is, do you?" the female trainer asked flatly. I could only shake my head. "Well, call off your Shroomish, and I'll show you."

I realized that Carlita was chewing on the pant leg of the girl, and hastily shouted, "Carlita! Get off of her! That's not how you treat other people." Carlita reluctantly let go, hopping back over to sit protectively in front of me.

"How long have you been a trainer?" the girl asked, giving Carlita space as she circled around us.

"Two months," I replied miserably.

"Did you start from around here?"

"Not really."

"Then I suppose I could forgive you for not knowing about the Moss Rock," she replied, kneeling down beside it as she reached it. The strange girl wrapped her arms around it, setting her cheek on the rock, closing her eyes.

"…Okay, thanks?" I started to gather up my things, picking up Carlita to prevent her from chewing on the other trainer again. I didn't know if crazy was contagious, but I didn't want to risk it.

"Battle me."

"Excuse me?"

"Battle me," she repeated, opening her eyes. There was an icy glint in them and a mischievous smile on her face. "I need to level up my Eevee here, so he can evolve."

"Evolve? Why here? Why me?"

"That's the power of the Moss Rock! If an Eevee levels up in its area, it will evolve into a Leafeon. There's also another rock up north that changes one into a Glaceon." The girl jumped to her feet, reaching down to her belt for a pokeball.

"I'm not going to lose to let you evolve!"

"Fine." Just like that, the other trainer gave up, and instead looked around. "Where are all of the wild Pokemon? Anything will do at this point. Alexander is really close to going up a level, and I'm pretty sure even with wild Pokemon will give him the experience needed…"

"Alexander?"

"My Eevee. Sure you don't want to battle him?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm sure." If she was that confident, I didn't want to try. She had probably been training for ages longer than I had. I started to skitter away, uncomfortable until she got distracted by a wild Budew. She released her Eevee, and instantly I was interested again. The furry little Pokemon was white. I had never seen a white one before, since usually Eevee were brown. And brown Eevee were rare enough! "Hey! Your Eevee—he's not brown!"

"Of course not. Alexander is shiny. So is his sister. Cost daddy a bundle to get them, but they were worth it," the girl replied with a proud smile, as Alexander looked over his shoulder at me. Then, he bounded forward and bit at the Budew fiercely and repeatedly until it fainted. He blinked his large eyes, and sat down.

Nothing else happened.

"…Huh? But—we're close to the rock, and—Alexander!" the girl squealed in delight as the Eevee started to glow a brighter white than he already was. It grew just a few inches, but otherwise slimmed down. When the glowing stopped, instead of a furry, tiny, white Eevee, there was a tan Pokemon with brilliant green accents on its ears and tail. It also seemed to have leaves growing out of it, much to Carlita's amazement.

The girl happily skipped off with her new Leafeon, Carlita drooling as they left. She seemed to have quite the thing for Alexander, especially after he evolved. I ignored this for the most part, since I was too busy wondering if it was too late to trade her in for a Leafeon.

Chapter Text

Eventually, we made it out of Eterna Forest. It took two more days and the help of another trainer, though. We were all exhausted by the end of it. Pedestal was officially level 17, though, so he was close to closing the gap between he and Carlita. That was the only silver lining I came up with, at any rate.

As we cleared the trees, all three of us saw real, un-tree-filtered sunlight for the first time in days. Carlita happily started photosynthesizing right away. Blinking, Des and I staggered into the bright light, until finally collapsing and soaking up the warm sun.

"It's good to be free," I remarked.

"Numel," Des agreed.

After we were all full of the sun, we continued along the Route again. There was almost always a path for us to follow, though sometimes it meant we had to jump off of small ledges, and eventually, we reached a bridge over the river. We had crossed the river going into Eterna Forest, so I counted this as a good sign.

Then, we found a fork in the path.

I looked left, and then forward. I could continue where I was going, or I could go left. There was a building, partially hidden behind some trees to the left. Forward, there was just more path. "…Which way, guys?"

Carlita bounded up ahead, whereas Pedestal waddled over to the left. This put me in a bind, since not only I was the tiebreaker, it meant I was literally having to choose between my Pokemon. "…Shroo," Carlita squeaked, noticing this.

"Nu," Des replied dully, twitching his ears.

"Shroomish!" Carlita insisted, stomping her foot in frustration.

"Nu…!" Pedestal said, a bit more firmly.

Soon enough, they were squabbling in earnest, and I had to pull them apart. "Stop it, you two! Fighting will get us nowhere. …Carlita, why don't we go to the left? There's a building there, so there will be people. Maybe it means we can get some food." In addition to missing real sunlight, we were all sorely missing real food. Berries and grasses were all well and good, but only once in a long while. This did the trick, and she reluctantly nodded.

Off to the left we went.

Two hours later, I was stomping angrily out of the building. It was the Valley Windworks building; it was on the side of Eterna Forest that we had went in. So we had basically come back out the way we went in; we went in a giant circle. We were no closer to Eterna than we were before.

"Des, set the building on fire."

"Mel!" he replied, eyes as wide as I'd ever seen them. He looked shocked. It was a pretty obvious 'no'.

"Fine, you noble little thing." I rolled my eyes, and then turned to Carlita. This was actually pretty hard to do, considering she was riding on my shoulder. Eventually, I settled with looking at her out of the corner of my eye, neck uncomfortably pushed to the side. "Carlita, do you know any attacks that could damage this place?"

"Shroo!" she replied happily, jumping down to the ground. Pedestal jumped in between her and the building, shaking his head fervently. Carlita huffed and tried to get past him, but he blocked her at every turn.

"Des, get out of the way! We're trying to—ack!" He shot a mouthful of fire at me, and then at Carlita, sending us both running in circles as we screamed. The flames took an annoyingly long time to put out, and by then, we were both exhausted. Not only from the near-death experience from our own teammate, but running around and screaming at the same time took its toll.

That night, we staggered back to the Floaroma Pokemon Center, only to be turned away; the rooms were already all taken. We then staggered back to Eterna Forest.

"Mish," Carlita warned wearily, dragging her stubby little paws as she waddled behind us.

"I know," I lied. I had no idea what she was talking about. Probably something about the dangers of entering the forest at night. Whatever. The problem we had the first time was that we had gotten sidetracked, looking for places to camp, or chasing wild Pokemon. This time, that wouldn't happen. It would be a straight shot through.

After all, if I was awake and conscious, I would undoubtedly remember if I had passed by that tree before or not.

…Looking back, yes, I know, it was a rather bad plan. But one cannot comprehend the forest unless one has been lost there and spat back out on the wrong side. I wanted revenge. I wanted to beat the forest. My Pokemon, however, were another story.

"You two… Return, both of you."

"Nu—"

"Shroo—"

They didn't have a say in the matter. Carlita could hardly walk—though that was more because she was still slightly charred than from actual fatigue—and Pedestal was always slow. It would be faster to press on by myself. Plus, all of the wild Pokemon would be asleep, right?

Yeah… Wrong.

I was only a few minutes by myself when a black bird flapped out of the nearest trees, squawking and pecking at my head. I tried to run from it, but ended up tripping over a sleepy Budew and making them both mad at me. I kept Des out with my from then on.

It was probably about midnight when we both collapsed from sleep deprivation. Probably, maybe. I wasn't sure, since I was asleep before I hit the ground. When I awoke, however, it was fairly bright out and there was a curious Buneary sitting on my back. Pedestal was snoring beside me, perfectly asleep. He even had a snot bubble.

"Bun?" the little bunny asked, peering over upside-down to look at me. I shook my head. Or rather, attempted to, since I had a rabbit Pokemon sitting on my head. That made it pretty hard.

"Get off."

The Buneary jumped off, beaming at me. "Bun!"

"G'night." I rolled over and tried to fall back asleep.

"Excuse me… You're lying in a patch of poison ivy… I just thought… I mean, it looks like you've been there all night, but I thought… Aren't you going to move?" The next time I opened my eyes, there was a person standing above me. "Your Buneary has been trying to wake you for quite awhile now…"

"I don't have a Buneary," I muttered sleepily.

"…Oh." The other person blinked a few times, and then leaned back out of my range of sight. "Well… If it's not yours… Oh, nevermind."

"You can have it if you want."

"I already have a Pokemon."

"You can have more than one. I have two."

"I have more than one."

"Six?"

"No, but… I have a good team."

Well, she was doing better than I was, then. I sat up, scratching my arm. It itched for some reason. The other trainer skittered back, clutching the bottom hem of her skirt like a lifeline. She eyed me warily with tired, indigo eyes. Then she had probably been here all night, too, lost in this maze of a forest. "Do you know the way out?" I asked her.

"There are lots of ways out. It's a forest, not a labyrinth."

"The way out closest to Eterna City?"

"It's down the path. Do you know the way out to Floaroma Town?"

"It's down the path," I replied with a shrug. If she was going to be vague, then fine, I was, too. The girl looked crestfallen.

"Oh."

"It's… It's not too far from here, actually…" I added awkwardly. I turned away then, partially to hide from her sad look, and partially to wake Pedestal up. He seemed oblivious to all attempts, however.

"It's about a day's walk… To Eterna, I mean. Or the exit out of the forest to Eterna…" She sighed, and then tilted her hair back. "…You can't see the clouds in the forest. That's sad, isn't it?" she mumbled dreamily, smiling.

"Uh, yeah, sad." She didn't look sad anymore. "I'm… I'm just gonna go, then."

Sticking to the path this time, it was much easier to get out of the forest. I kept itching, though, for some reason. The Buneary who had woken me up followed me—I returned Des, still asleep, since it was easier than trying to wake him—for quite awhile, before giving up and hopping away with a furious huff. I just huffed back at it. I didn't want a Buneary; they were cute and girly and generally useless.

By the time the sun was setting, I had figured out two things. The first was that I was pretty much covered in some sort of itchy rash that I had been unknowingly scratching all day, until I had several open wounds and was bleeding down my arms. The second was that Eterna City was the best sight I had ever seen. True, I was biased with gratefulness, tiredness, hungriness and the-want-to-sleep-in-a-real-bed-ness, but it was still pretty. Kind of.

Or had I gotten so bad that I was placing a city on a pedestal up along with my two Pokemon? That would sure suck. I shrugged and continued walking.

Chapter Text

Eterna City was a nice little town that was surprisingly and somewhat disturbingly grassless. There were a few trees around, particularly by the Gym, and tiny clumps of grass by assorted buildings, but otherwise, it seemed to be all pavement, rock and dirt. Wasn't Eterna supposed to be the one with the grass Gym?

I decided to check out the Pokemon Center first, though. Not only for Des and Carlita, though; my arms still itched like crazy and now they were crusted over with scabs and dried blood from my incessant scratching. I was convinced I had contracted some rare, probably fatal jungle disease from Eterna Forest. Maybe Nurse Joy would help me, though. She seemed to work miracles often enough.

"Oh my goodness! Your arms!" I had hardly gotten through the door before getting swept up in alarm, curiosity, and concern. It probably didn't help that I just picked off another scab and was plaintively dripping blood onto the carpet, looking lost, beat-up, hungry, tired, confused—and just overall abused.

A couple of the trainers stood up as Nurse Joy and her Chansey rushed me back towards the menacing healing machine. I wondered if it would be prudent to release my Pokemon and try to fight my way out of her iron grasp. Probably not; her Chansey looked ready to rip my throat out if I bled any more.

"Can I just—"

"How did this happen? Did you do this to yourself?!" Nurse Joy asked worriedly, pulling me through some swishing doors into a clean, stark white operating room. I blanched; I didn't want to get operated on! I figured a few bandages and I'd be good—this was going too far!

"Wait! What're you doing?!" I yelped, getting pushed down onto the metal table.

"How did this happen?!" Nurse Joy insisted, her Chansey tugging at my shirt. It was short-sleeved, which was how this had happened in the first place. From then on, I resolved to wear a long-sleeved shirt always.

"I-I don't know! I just came from the forest—what's wrong with me?!" I cried, panicking. "I thought it was some sort of disease—am I going to die?—what are you doing?!" My shirt was tugged off over my head with no ceremony whatsoever. Nurse Joy leaned in to examine my shoulders and chest, and, after satisfying herself that my condition was confined to my arms, started studying them.

"Chan, sey!" Chansey exclaimed. The pink Pokemon waddled over to my other side, peering at my other arm, poking it occasionally with soft, rubbery arms. It only made the itching worse, and I tugged one arm away from the human nurse to scratch at it. The Chansey and Nurse Joy were both appalled by this behavior, particularly because it only peeled another scab away.

"What are you doing?! Don't scratch! It's healing—or trying to!" She reached out to pull my arm away from the other, and she and the Chansey held them apart as they continued diagnosing me. For my part, I was reliving my life, seeing it flash before my eyes; how could I become the world's greatest trainer if I was going to die at the age of eleven?! I only had two Pokemon! There were so many things I hadn't done yet in life.

Twenty minutes later, a very relieved Nurse Joy dropped my arm and announced the verdict, "You're fine. It was just poison ivy, and you scratched at it too much…"

"Really?" I asked tearfully, rejoicing at getting my life back.

"Yes. You're completely fine, otherwise, though a little worn from travel." She smiled brightly, adjusting her nurse's cap and dress. "And maybe a bit traumatized from the frisking we just gave you," she added with a wink.

I gulped and nodded.

-.-.-

After securing a room at the Pokemon Center—which was actually aided by my bandages arms and kicked Growlithe appearance; Nurse Joy and her aides took pity on me—I judged that there was enough sunlight out to try to track down the Gym.

Actually, it was only a little after noon, but after the Eterna Forest escapade, I wasn't going to take any chances. I was going to make sure I had plenty of time to get where I wanted.

My mood plummeted when I found out that the Gym was a short walk from the Center, not even five minutes away. I didn't have an appointment, but I didn't care, since walk-ins were usually welcome, too (as long as no one else was battling). Even that, though, couldn't completely destroy my mood. Because I had the advantage! Pedestal was a fire type, and I knew first-hand that his Ember was pretty strong. More than that—he was significantly over leveled because of our time in the forest. And while Carlita was grass type like the Gym, she was of an even higher level than Des so I could always fall back on her.

Standing in front of the Gym, there was a young girl. I shuffled up behind her carefully, eyeing her. Was she the leader? No, probably not, because of her age and rather ragged appearance. She looked very much like a relatively new trainer, not the cocky, experienced leaders or elitists. She was looking rather hard at a pokeball in her hand, as if it would give her some clue as to a great mystery of the universe. Hey, maybe it would. Sometimes, I swear I could see some pretty weird things in Des' ball…

"Is there a line?" I called out, standing a good ten feet away. I couldn't help being wary of other trainers. So far, I had lost to one snotty kid, almost got caught up in a lover's spat between a couple more, was very nearly stolen from by another, and I'm pretty sure that last girl had given me my jungle disease. My track record with others wasn't faring too well.

"Huh? Oh—no—there isn't," the girl replied, after a jump. "Not really."

"Okay…" What did 'not really' mean? There either was or there wasn't… "Have you battled Gardenia yet?" I asked. I knew I had the advantage, but I knew better than to get too overconfident. That was what had led to me getting Carlita, after all—and who knew what Gardenia would throw at me? She was a Gym leader, and she couldn't have earned that title if she was a total pushover.

She had grass types, yes, but she could also have mixtures. What if she had something I wasn't expecting, like a grass and flying type? Or a grass and ground? Or—what if she had a grass and water type?! That would completely nullify whatever type advantage Des had. In fact, it would work against him if she had even one Pokemon with even one water move.

As I broke out into a cold sweat, the girl trainer answered, "I haven't. Not yet, anyway. I was about to…"

My worrying and angst-filled inner thoughts suddenly doubled. Now I had no chance of getting some insider's information. I was going in blind, with nothing but the feeble hope that Gardenia wouldn't pull out anything nastier than a Budew or two.

"W-Well, you… go in and… good luck with that!" I turned and marched off stiffly. She could go in and battle Gardenia. Maybe I'd run into her later and she could tell me about it. At the very least, maybe she'd wear Gardenia down.

I waited outside of the Gym, half-hidden by a bush. My knees were drawn up to my chest and I was shaking, thinking of the horror- and glee-filled grins of Gardenia's water and grass typed Pokemon.

Chapter Text

After about ten minutes of waiting, I gave up and left. I went instead to the Pokemon Mart to stock up on everything imaginable, though mostly healing items and food. I was still sick of berries and grasses. Des and Carlita both came out of their pokeballs to help me pick out which kind of Pokemon food they liked, since this was the first time I had to buy any for Carlita and the first time I actually had enough foresight to ask Pedestal.

We wandered around the store for a little bit, my two Pokemon excitedly chewing on things, knocking things over, and generally behaving very badly. Carlita seemed to be a bad influence on Des; he was slowly brightening up when they got into trouble, and grinned and twitched his ears more often. Or maybe I was just noticing it more. I wasn't sure.

For my part, I was still busy mentally working myself into a panic over Gardenia. By then, I was absolute convinced (yes, in the same way that I was convinced my team was awesome) she had a water Pokemon somehow. I wasn't sure Carlita could help, since I was still a little unsure about her, and she preferred to dodge and dance instead of use actual grass moves.

There was a shady-looking man in green standing next to the counter, but I skirted around him and didn't make eye contact. I also picked Carlita up and kept myself between him and Des as I passed him. I wasn't taking any chances.

It finally came home when I was exiting the Mart. Des was carrying a bag pack-mule style, and Carlita was pretending to help by hopping around him energetically, twirling and pirouetting. They both seemed happy enough, oblivious to my inner turmoil.

I'll just have to try my best with Carlita if she has a water Pokemon. Switch out fast with Des so he doesn't go down, hopefully, I thought, planning my strategy. Then, it was like I ran into a brick wall. It suddenly hit me, rather violently, how paranoid I had become.

In addition to idolizing the unknown, I was second-guessing any givens handed to me.

My two Pokemon turned and stared at me curiously as I promptly OTL'd.

-.-.-

That afternoon, as the shadows were stretching and the light was turning golden, I marched back to the Gym.

I marched back to the Gym only to find that it closed at five, so I marched right back to the Pokemon Center, trying not to cry for all of my wasted steeling-of-nerves and other preparations. I was in the right mindset (finally) to fight Gardenia, and then the Gym had to go and close. I skipped dinner and stalked right up to my room on the second floor and laid in bed and sulked. For the rest of the night.

Actually, it was probably only for a half hour or so. Then I decided to watch Carlita try to teach Des to dance.

I fell asleep sometime after that. I wasn't sure exactly when. I woke up around five, though, and was unable to get back to bed, much to my annoyance. I vaguely remembered some dream—about eating cereal?—and decided to blame my sudden insomnia on that. I rolled out of bed and immediately tripped over Des.

He sluggishly rose his head, yawning once he saw it was just his trainer. "Nuu…" he mumbled.

"Go back to sleep, Des," I whispered, rubbing my elbow where I hit it. I needed to keep a better eye on him. Mostly to prevent me tripping over him almost constantly. Though how I neglected to see a yellow, knee-high camel, I don't know.

After using the bathroom, trying to at least look like I had combed my hair, and rubbing more of the sleep out of my eyes, I decided to go downstairs and see if I could find some breakfast. I could eat ahead of the rush, and then bring up some food for my Pokemon; wouldn't they like breakfast in bed? Nevermind the fact that they were both sleeping on the floor.

"Oh! Awake already?" Nurse Joy seemed to have taken a special liking to me, possibly because of my arms, or possibly in some sort of apology for scarring me for life. She always seemed to greet me with a smile, though more than once I caught her inspecting the bandages from afar to make sure I hadn't been scratching them. (I had.)

"Couldn't sleep… Is breakfast ready yet?"

"Not quite yet. We're just mixing up the batter now. It's pancakes," she chirped with a beam.

"Need any help?" It would be better than waiting awkwardly out in the silent, lonely lobby. Plus, the pre-dawn light that was trying to trickle in through the windows and glass doors gave me the creeps. It was way too grey. It was like the light in a zombie movie I had once seen.

"Oh… Well, we can always use help around the Center, especially the kitchens…" Nurse Joy seemed a little embarrassed, which made me get the feeling that she didn't get offers for help that often. The pink-haired woman led me into the kitchen. It was already pretty busy, with two Chansey and three of her aides bustling around, trying to get breakfast ready for a Center full of trainers and their Pokemon. The Chansey looked to be in charge of the Pokemon food, which I decided they could handle; I was more comfortable cooking pancakes. "Go wash your hands thoroughly and then you can help Nick cook."

Spending the next two hours flipping (and burning some) pancakes wasn't as boring or stressful as I would've thought. It was actually pretty fun. Nick turned out to be another trainer like me, who woke up early and decided to help. He had been training for several years, and had a full team of six. He told me that they got along well, at least when battling, though his Gabite and Mothim bickered often. I had no idea what either of those two were, but they sounded cool enough.

"So, what Pokemon do you have?" he asked between mouthfuls of pancakes.

"'oomuff mnrd 'oomirsh," I replied, not quite as tactful as he. I paused to swallow, and repeated, "Numel and Shroomish."

"Really… Just those two? Gardenia's going to be your first badge, right?"

"Uh-huh." I felt nervous again just thinking about her. I fidgeted, covering the movement with another bite of pancake. Nick didn't seem to notice.

"You'll do fine. With your Numel, she should be a pushover. You might have a bit of trouble with her third Pokemon, though, but just a bit I'm sure." He grinned, meaning to be reassuring. I suddenly felt cold, however.

"Sh-She has three Pokemon…?" I probably knew that already, somewhere deep in my mind, but now I was forced to confront the fact that we were outnumbered for the first time. I had never been outnumbered before, not really. Wild Pokemon only came singularly, and in the few double battles I'd been in, I could rely on both Des and Carlita. But both of them-against three Pokemon? Three Gym Pokemon?

"Of course. I don't think any of the Gym leaders have less than that…" He paused to think, chewing thoughtfully. "…Nope, don't think so. A couple have four, and a couple have five, but none have just two. Oh—but you'll be fine! You have the advantage, after all! And even if your Numel goes down, it'll be hard for her to take down your Shroomish, because of the grass type. Just keep hammering away at her Pokemon with physical attacks if it comes down to that, okay?"

I could only nod, suddenly having lost my appetite. I bade Nick farewell and grabbed a couple of plates of Pokemon food to take up to my room. When I got there, both Pedestal and Carlita were awake, and squabbling, of course. He was holding her down with both stubby little front paws, licking the top of her head. Carlita, for her part, was screaming and wiggling, her frown as pronounced as ever.

"…Yeah, we aren't ready to take on Gardenia."

Chapter Text

"Where are you three going?"

We really weren't going anywhere. Not for lack of trying, of course, but more because Des was heavy and stubborn. I was trying to pick him up, while Carlita was pushing from behind. I didn't even know what was up with him. He just didn't feel like going out, or something, and he bit me the last time I tried to put him in his pokeball.

The person who asked, I was embarrassed to find, was Nick. He was standing at the base of the stairs, looking up at us with a dubious glare.

"We were just trying to go out… But Des doesn't want to go," I said helplessly, taking one hand out from under Des. Bad move. He chose that exact moment to squirm and kick me, and in hindsight, maybe having a fight with your very dense Pokemon at the top of a flight of stairs wasn't the brightest of ideas.

Carlita screamed shrilly, and the ground suddenly was over me, and then all of a sudden, I was looking at Nick's feet. I also hurt. In addition to these facts, there was also a fat Numel on my back.

"Are you okay?!" Nick worriedly knelt down, helping to pull Des off of me. "Is anything broken? Are you okay?"

"I think I'm fine." Though maybe, if I came in with my arm in a sling, Gardenia would have pity on me and wouldn't use her water Pokemon… Nah. It wouldn't be worth it. Nurse Joy would probably have a heart attack, anyway.

"You are one of the clumsiest people I know," Nick remarked, trying to pass off his concern with a shaky laugh. "Or maybe you just have the oddest team dynamic." Carlita hopped down the stairs behind us, head butting me in the foot to make sure I was okay.

"I think it might be the second one…" I mumbled, bending down to stop her from attacking Des in revenge.

"At least you know how to take a beating, right?" Nick laughed, slapping me on the back. It hurt more than it probably was meant to, but I just grit my teeth and grinned back at him. Nurse Joy would probably kill me if I came in with another injury, anyway, and I was used to bruises. "So then, come on."

"Huh? Come on where?"

"Well, where were you going?" he asked, narrowing his eyes threateningly. He probably knew where I was headed off to: Eterna Forest to train some more.

"…Out."

"You're going to the Gym."

"But—we're not ready!"

"Yes you are. If your own Numel can take down its trainer, it can take down a couple of grass Pokemon. Come on." With a grunt, Nick managed to pick Des up and started carrying him off, much to my dismay. Pedestal, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content to let himself be carried—and he was probably happy it was to the Gym, too.

"No! Give me back my Pokemon!" Carlita and I ran to catch up with him, tugging futilely at Des' hind legs.

We only succeeded in making Nick stop and turn around. Second bad move of the day. "Do I need to carry you, too?" he asked. For a brief moment, I could only wonder if he was really that strong. He was a teenager, I knew, but he didn't exactly look built. Maybe it would be entertaining to try—no. I shook my head. I would only get into more trouble if Nurse Joy saw him carrying Des and I out of the Center.

"Uhh, no. Just… Give me back Des?" I asked pathetically. He sighed and set the fire Pokemon down. I took the opportunity to return Des and then turn, running in the opposite direction. "Carlita, come on!" I called over my shoulder. I knew I wasn't ready to take on Gardenia, and I wasn't going to suffer another humiliating defeat because of water Pokemon. Who cared if Nick looked a little betrayed at being duped like that? Des was the noble one, not me.

Twenty minutes later, I was being carried to Gardenia's Gym.

I found out what a Gabite was in that way; Nick decided to save himself a bit of trouble and just sent the dragon Pokemon after me. It nearly scared the wits out of Carlita and I both when we first saw it, and truth be told, I was still a little leery of it. I wasn't about to kick it, though, so I could do nothing more than limply let myself be carried.

"You're a bit of a brat, aren't you?" Nick asked, walking behind us, calmly carried Carlita and Des' pokeball (which I had already tried to throw at him). "I don't see why you don't want to challenge Gardenia… Both of your Pokemon are pretty strong for the area, and you have a type advantage."

"She'll take me out with the water Pokemon," I muttered mutinously.

"Gardenia is a grass trainer."

"She could have mixes! I could be a fire trainer, but I would still have Des, and he's half ground, right?"

"That's true… But, you know, there aren't that many grass and water mixes in the world. I can only think of three off the top of my head, and they're not from around here." Nick's logic seemed to be infallible.

"She would have moves designed to take out her weaknesses…" It didn't mean I was going down without a fight, however.

"So why don't you get some of those?"

"That's what Carlita is for."

"Shroo!" she said happily at her name.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I…" I shifted uncomfortably. Being carried by a Gabite was not something I wanted to do again. Its scales were rough and hard, and it wasn't being too kind with its claws, either. "I feel Des is at a disadvantage."

"Even though you clearly have the advantage," Nick reminded me. I stayed silent, mimicking Carlita's scowl. "Well, we're here. And you're going to march in there and challenge her. She doesn't have any water Pokemon; it's all grass, trust me. Wake is the water Gym leader."

"Still…" I still felt uneasy, and no amount of logic or reality would fix that. If I wanted to be a coward and flee from the closest thing to a guaranteed Gym win in the circuit, then that was my problem. I was set down by the Gabite, and Nick offered me back my Pokemon.

"Still what? Go on in there and get a confidence boost. I bet you five grand that you can take down her first Pokemon with just an Ember." Nick's suddenly cheery smile and wager caught me off guard.

After the surprise, however, the shock and despair set in. I didn't have five grand. I had half of one grand, and that was before lunch today. I could buy very little, so I considered myself all but broke. How was I supposed to come up with that much just randomly?! I doubted I'd even get that much if I did somehow beat Gardenia…

"U-Um, I don't have five thousand—"

"Then you'll just have to win the bet, won't you?" I saw that he was trying to give me some encouragement, but it was a lousy way of doing so. Nick, oblivious, turned me around and pushed me into the glass doors. If they hadn't opened at the last moment, I probably could have added more bruises to my ever-growing collection.

"Hm? Oh—a challenger." The woman that had to be Gardenia the Gym leader looked up, surrounded by knee-high grasses and Budew. I gulped and pressed myself against the nearest wall, scanning the battle arena for ponds. None—just grass and trees. At least there was that to be thankful for. "Hi there, come on in. I'm Gardenia, the leader here."

She paused, and it didn't occur to me until later that she had been waiting for my name as well.

After letting out a little put-off sigh, Gardenia continued, "Right then. Well, if you're here to challenge me, I suppose we'll just get started then. I have an appointment in about a half hour, but it shouldn't take that long… Do you know the rules?"

"Huh? N-No." Rules? Some vague memory of school teaching us Gym rules hovered tauntingly near my thought process, but keeping well away from it all the same; they had rules?

"…Okay…" Gardenia obviously hadn't expected that answer. "Um, well, I'll use only three Pokemon. You can use up to three as well. As the challenger, you may also substitute Pokemon during your turn, but I cannot. First one who loses all three Pokemon loses the match. Is that simple enough?" Now she was talking down to me. She probably thought I was some sort of imbecile. Great.

"Okay, yeah." She walked over towards a clearer part of the Gym, one with significantly less Budew running around. I skittered after her, keeping to the wall as much as possible, still looking around for any sources of water. None that I could see… But then again, I was the one who couldn't see a knee-high yellow camel.

"Go, Turtwig." I recognized it as the grass starter for the region. I couldn't help but grin; my starter could beat her starter. I might just win that bet, after all. Though it'd have to be a strong Ember…

"Go, Des!" Notably cheered, I called out my Numel, not missing Gardenia's surprised expression. It quickly turned into a resigned expression, however. "Ember attack!"

Des, after looking around the Gym for long enough that it seemed he was ignoring me, finally noticed the Turtwig for the first time. He seemed a little surprised, perhaps because they looked somewhat similar. It took a full three minutes for him to stop staring at the grass Pokemon then, and another thirty seconds for him to waddle over and get into a suitable range for his Ember to work. Gardenia and her Turtwig weren't sure how to take any of that. I considered myself lucky.

Pedestal finally released a jet of fire in the direction of the Turtwig.

The Turtwig ran out of the way in a panic. "Turt! Turt!"

"Use Curse!" Gardenia called over her Pokemon's shouting.

The Turtwig glowed briefly, astonishing Des further, and then looked back towards its trainer for further instruction. Technically, though, it was my turn—my second turn. I had just lost five grand because of that Turtwig. I just lost five grand, that I couldn't even pay back even if I did win this battle.

Gardenia was going down.

"Des, Focus Energy!" He nodded and closed his eyes, reopening them after a brief, sharp glow. The Turtwig started backing up; it clearly knew what was coming next.

"Tackle!"

"Ember!"

Des took it down in one hit before it got to him. I didn't even knew if the Focus Energy had anything to do with it. Gardenia nodded to herself as she recalled the small turtle, as if she saw it coming. Retaliation with her water Pokemon never even crossed my mind. "Cherrim! Your turn now! Start out with a Growth!"

"Ember!"

Once again, the opponent was taken down in one move. This time, Gardenia was outright shocked. She must have thought that her Cherrim was stronger, and maybe it was, but Des still took it down easily. It was just the confidence boost I needed. "…Well, aren't you a lucky one… My last Pokemon won't be so easy to take down." She forced a grin and pulled out her last pokeball.

I paled; I remembered all the advice I had been given about her last Pokemon. What was it? No one had told me. It was probably stronger than the other two, and a mix of types, too, to offset her weaknesses— "Des, return!" I called, whipping out his pokeball so fast that I nearly dropped it.

"Go, Roserade!" Next thing I knew, a fairly large, regal-looking green thing was staring me down. It wasn't actually tall enough to stare down at me, but it sure looked like it was. I recognized the roses on its hands, though; it must have evolved from a Roselia.

Des was already back in his pokeball, which meant I had to send out Carlita, at least for one turn. I hesitantly did so; I barely knew how she'd behave. She'd probably dodge really well, because of her dancing, but I could only really work with her physical attacks against another grass foe. "Go… Carlita…"

"Shroo!" She appeared with a twirl, smiling at everyone. Her scowl reappeared, however, once she caught sight of the Roserade. Carlita turned towards me with a look of disdain, as if asking, really? This is my opponent? I didn't know whether she was glad or afraid.

"Poison Sting!"

"Dodge and use a Headbutt!"

Carlita managed to the initial attack, but once she got close enough to attack, she got a face full of Poison Sting as the Roserade angrily turned its roses on her. She squealed and staggered back, tottering to one side. At first, I was worried she was poisoned, but then I realized that there was something worse going on—Carlita's grass type made her weak to poison types.

I was so worried about Des' weaknesses that I had overlooked my other Pokemon's. I felt not only like a jerk, but like a bad trainer as well. "Carlita, return!"

"Swapping out?" Gardenia asked, interested. She must have thought I had three Pokemon with me, and was curious about my third, so I must have disappointed her. Out came Des once more. "Oh. Your Numel." She didn't seem thrilled.

"Des, keep away from its Poison Sting, and keep using Ember!" Too bad his Focus Energy hadn't carried over… I didn't want to waste a turn on that, though, just in case the Roserade did manage to poison him.

"Magical Leaf!"

Des somehow managed to waddle out of the way, but the leaves just arced around behind him and smacked him in the back of the head. Bewildered, he turned to me for an explanation. I didn't have one, so I could only shrug. The Roserade laughed at us, waving its roses at him. Des managed to hit it with an Ember then, but it wasn't as weak as its two predecessors, so it stayed in the battle. One more hit would probably do it, however… Or so I hoped.

"Mega Drain!" The Roserade skipped gracefully over until it was a sparse few feet from Des, and then seemed to inhale. Des shuddered, and I could see some sort of green stuff leaving him and going into the grass Pokemon.

"Ember!"

The Roserade, because of its proximity, couldn't get away in time. Much like Carlita before, it looked up in surprise just in time to get a face full of a move it was weak against. It shrieked and covered its face with its roses, stumbling back, until finally it tripped and laid there. Gardenia frowned and peered forward, before proclaiming, "Looks like he's fainted. …I guess you won, kid. Congrats." She offered me another rather forced smile, which softened when she saw my shocked expression. "Really, you won. You get a badge and a TM and everything."

Nick was standing outside, waiting for me. He was reading a newspaper, tsk-ing at some event. He looked up when he saw me come out, and immediately trotted over. "You look pale. But, as you're grasping that badge hard enough to probably make your hand bleed, I think you're fine." He clapped me on the back and steered me back in the direction of the Center. He kept talking, but I was beyond the point where I could hear and understand him.

I had won a badge.

I had won my first badge.

I was now officially in the Gym circuit, and already better than all of those hobbyists or collectors or young kids who happen to have a pet or two. I was a real trainer.

I was awesome again.

Chapter Text

Even Nurse Joy seemed happy about my first badge. I was caught off guard at first by this, but Nick explained that it was pretty much obvious to everyone that I had been afraid of the Gym, and not only the nurses, but a lot of the trainers who knew of the situation had been rooting for me. It was embarrassing to find something like that out, but the embarrassment soon vanished when it meant I got free food.

Nick treated my team and I to lunch. It wasn't anything extravagant, but it was all-you-can-eat. Des and I really packed it away, but I noticed that Carlita only seemed to pick at her food, and didn't seem very happy at all. "C'mon, Carlita, eat! You're not sad about the battle, are you?" I coaxed, trying to get her to open her mouth.

"Mmph," she squeaked in reply, turning away from me.

"What happened with her?" Nick asked curiously.

"I only used her for a couple of turns, and she nearly got poisoned…" Now I felt guilty just thinking about it again. Trying to ignore that, I took another bite. They had really good garlic bread here. I offered some to Carlita, trying to placate her. "Come on, Carlita… I said I was sorry…"

"What if she's not angry?"

"Huh?" Des and I looked up with matching clueless expressions.

"Well, look at it this way. You said so yourself, that she's the strongest of your team, if we're going by levels. You call her out for a Gym battle, and she nearly faints. What if she's the one feeling guilty?" Nick suggested, also trying to get my Shroomish to eat. She glared at him and bit his finger. He just laughed and gently pried her off. "See? She is."

"Ohh." That made sense now that I thought about it. I reached over the table and picked her up, hugging her. "It's okay, Carlita. We won. You did great."

"Mish," she mumbled rebelliously, rubbing her forehead against my arm. I took it as a sign of her being okay now. At least, she was okay, until Des leaned over and licked the top of her head. "Shroo! Shroomish!" she shrieked, trying to hit him. Des just turned contentedly back to his meal.

"Just like a family, aren't you?" Nick asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it," I replied, setting Carlita on my other side, so that I was separating them. "They certainly act like kids…"

"I think all teams do, to some degree."

"You're really smart, you know that?" I said shrewdly, eyeing him over my glass. "…You're also really nice. Why're you helping me so much?"

"Well aren't you the trusting one," he said with some amusement. When I didn't reply, he continued, a bit more seriously. "…If you must know, you remind me a lot of my little brother. Only he's not a trainer yet; he's only nine."

"I remind you of a nine-year-old?" I asked flatly. I was eleven, darn it!

"It's only one year difference. Don't get your feathers ruffled."

"I'm eleven!"

"Whoa, really?" His eyes widened in surprise, until he laughed again. "What can I say? I must be going senile in my old age."

"Yeah…" I suppressed a smile and turned to try to get Carlita to eat again. She was still picking at her food, though this time, mostly it was because she was picky. She finally accepted a small piece of the garlic bread, before deciding it was delicious and stealing the rest of mine for herself. And, when I turned back to my plate, I found that Des was also adjusting to human food; he was contentedly munching on my spaghetti and meatballs. "Guys! Eat your own food!"

"Definitely like a family," Nick decided, trying hard not to laugh. "Oh, hey—question. Did you win our little wager?"

"Eh?" I squeaked, voice raising an octave or two. I had heard him perfectly, and I knew I had not won our little wager. "W-Wager?" I repeated, feigning ignorance.

"Don't worry about it. It was just a little incentive," he dismissed. He obviously knew I had lost it, though why he'd give up the chance to potentially gain that much money was beyond my comprehension. Or maybe he had so much money, he didn't need another five thousand? He was an older trainer, and if you got money by battling, then you must have a ton once you got good…

I would have a ton soon enough then, I told myself.

"He sure likes spaghetti," Nick said suddenly. I stared at him, confused. What was he talking about? Then I felt a nudge on my elbow, and looked down to find Des eating off of my plate again.

-.-.-

It was late in the afternoon before we got back to the Center. I was still miffed at both of my Pokemon, especially Des, since he not only started the habit of eating off of my plate, but got Carlita into it as well. They were in high spirits, like me, but it seemed to mean that they misbehaved more when they were happy. I would have to look out for that in the future.

"So, where are you heading after this?" Nick asked conversationally as we walked to our rooms.

"I… don't know." I hadn't given much thought to my second one. What other Gyms did I have advantages against? Definitely not the water one…

"Oreburgh."

"Huh?"

"Go to Oreburgh. On the conventional circuit, Roark is the first leader, so he's not terribly strong, and Carlita would have an advantage against his rock type," he said, nodding wisely.

Totally starry-eyed, I nodded as well. "That does make sense." I was absolutely infatuated with his experience; he seemed like such a wealth of information! He not only helped me with Gardenia, but he had been so nice, and he was even giving me advice for my future of training. A thought struck me then. Trainers traveled together all the time, right…?

It would be perfect. We were already friends, and he could help me until I got surer footing in the training world, and then we could go take on the Elite Four together! The perfect tag team! But I just had to subtly find out if he thought it a good idea. What if he didn't like hanging around with a kid all the time?

"Hey, uh, Nick—"

"What's this?"

We had gotten to my room's door, only to find something hanging on the doorknob. I snatched it up, holding it out from me curiously. It was a pretty bright red, and appeared to be a jacket of some sort. I wondered why it was hanging on my doorknob; it certainly wasn't mine. (Though I had been looking for a jacket. My arms itched just thinking about that.)

"…This isn't mine…"

"Maybe someone left it here?"

"Then how did it end up on my door?"

"Maybe it was left in the hall, and someone just left it on the nearest door, hoping it was the owner. See if it has any contact information on it anywhere."

I was already rummaging through the pockets, but found nothing but lint and a few candy wrappers. Nick sighed and took the jacket from me, flipping it over expertly and looking at the inside tag. There, in neat, cursive handwriting, was a name and a phone number. "Oh. Pri-sci-lla. Priscilla. A girl." There were a lot of girls in the center, but this jacket would've had to belong to one of the younger trainers. It looked a little familiar, now that I really looked at it, though…

"Do you know her?"

"No… Well, I think I probably saw her before. I wonder if she's still in the Center." I turned and marched back downstairs, looking for Nurse Joy.

She found me before I found her, and asked immediately, "Oh, is that not your jacket? I thought not…"

"Is there a girl named Priscilla still here?"

"Priscilla?" The pink-haired woman tilted her head to one side, thinking for a few moments. "…Oh! No, she's not, I'm afraid. She just left this morning. Do you know where she went?"

"Uh, no." The girl was still a stranger to me; how was I supposed to know where she went? Then again, there weren't a lot of places one could go from Eterna. And if she was taking on Gardenia, it meant she would still be a newbie, so she probably went to Oreburgh, too… "I'll take it with me, though. She might've gone to Oreburgh." That was where the next nearest Gym was, at least the nearest that wasn't hopelessly difficult. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I must be right. Plus, there was a phone number, so I could track her down eventually.

I left the next morning for Oreburgh. To my dismay, sadness, concern and nervousness, Nick wouldn't be traveling with me; he would be off to tackle Victory Road and the Elite Four. Of course, this only made me idolize him more. He seemed to be the only one deserving of the pedestal I placed him upon, at least so far.

"You'll do fine, kid," he said with a smile, ruffling my hair. "Oreburgh will be a pushover. You'll probably beat me to the Elite Four!"

"You're going to Victory Road…"

"Yeah, but I've tried to get through it before. This'll be my… fourth time, I think? I get lost really easily," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "So don't give up hope."

"Okay then."

With that, I hopped on my borrowed bike at the northern gate of Cycling Road, and Nick shouldered his backpack, heading out the door. I craned my head, looking for one last glimpse of my idol, and accidentally pushed my bike's kickstand up. Unaccustomed to the rather steep path, I shot forward about twenty feet, and promptly fell off, dropping pokeballs, potions, backpack, a red jacket, and scrambling to pick them all up before my bike skidding any further down the path.

The temporary embarrassment was soon forgotten, however, because I got used to the Road, though I was still going way too fast for me to be comfortable. I crashed at the bottom as well, but at least I was closer to Oreburgh by the end of it. I also now had skid marks on my hands and knees, but that was beside the point. I was completely used to such injuries in the name of training by then. After all, I was going to be the best trainer in the world, so a couple of scrapes were nothing, right?

Even if they hurt like heck and I was picking bits of gravel out of my knees for the rest of the night.

Chapter Text

One week later, my life took a turn. I'm still trying to figure out if it was for the best or worst. I had just beaten Roark that day—okay, so what if I took my time? I didn't have Nick around to make bets or carry me to the Gym—and finally got around to calling that Priscilla girl who'd left her jacket behind. It was a cell phone that was written on the tag, but it must've been off, because the phone rang and rang and finally just went to her messages.

"Yeah, Pri-sci-lla," I started, annoyed at getting her answering machine and thus investing as much of that into her name as I could, "I have your jacket. Idiot, leaving it behind in Eterna. I'm in Oreburgh right now, so if you're in the area, you should come by and pick it up. Oh—my cell is 555-327-1994. Call me, I guess."

I sounded like a creep, calling this unknown girl, and I noticed a few strange looks in the Center. I ducked my head down, sorely wishing for a hat. Even Carlita would do.

But, there was no line for the phones (for the first time I'd seen ever), so I decided to call home. I hadn't yet on my journey, I realized. That only made me feel happy, instead of guilty; it must have meant that I was too busy becoming a top-class trainer to phone home. I did have two badges, too, so I must be getting there. …It had only taken two and a half months.

I released Des and Carlita, wondering if he'd gained weight. He was heavy, and he was sitting on my lap, since he couldn't see over the counter otherwise. Carlita sat delicately on my head, giggling when I asked, "Des, you're fat. Have you been getting fatter?"

He snorted out a plume of fire, and I decided to drop the subject. He even looked annoyed.

"O-Okay, let's just call my parents. I—"

That's when my life took the turn I mentioned earlier.

Someone grabbed my ears and tugged backwards, tilting my head back until I was staring up into my assailant's face. Only she must not have taken into account all of the extra weight on my chair, because Des slid into my chest, and Carlita toppled over onto him, and next thing I knew, we were all on the ground.

"I knew it was you!"

"Ow… Huh?" I rolled my Numel off of me as Carlita had the courtesy to hop off herself. It was a good thing I was in a Center; that must have broken something. Sure, I could go through numerous other injuries without much harm, but my body had to have a breaking point. I was getting paranoid that sooner or later, I'd find it, and end up dying or something.

A hand was extended downward to help me up. I took it, not because I wanted to, but because I was seriously wondering if a rib had just punctured my lung. Or heart. I was still deciding.

"I knew it was you," the girl repeated happily. I stared at her. She didn't look familiar. In fact, she looked pretty plain and un-unique. It was possible I had seen her, but didn't remember her. She had light brown hair, long, hanging straight down from her head and falling a little into her matching brown eyes.

"Ah… Um, who?" She must have been mistaken. If I didn't remember her, no matter how ordinary she looked, then she didn't have just cause to remember me.

"…Shroo!" Carlita squealed suddenly, hopping over to try climbing the girl's leg.

"Ack, Carlita, don't—"

"See, your Shroomish remembers me. That may be because it's a grass type, though." The girl leaned down and pat Carlita on the head, but my Shroomish only took that as an invitation to leap onto her hand and work her way up until she was nestled comfortably in her hair.

"I don't know you," I said flatly, reaching up to pluck Carlita from her hair. She shrieked and wriggled, but I held her firm in my hands.

Then, suddenly, it was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my head.

Carlita knew this girl—and Carlita had had another trainer before. Was this girl Carlita's original trainer…?

I hugged my grass Pokemon a bit tighter to my chest. No, it couldn't be that. I mentally shook my head to convince myself of it. I had never met Carlita's original trainer, so she wouldn't recognize me. The girl laughed, and then reached back and held her hair up in messy pigtails. "Does this help?"

"No."

"Hmm. Well, this should jog your memory." She let go of her hair and reached down onto her belt, and then released a Pokemon I recognized immediately. The Leafeon sat down by its trainers feet, Carlita wiggling harder than ever in an effort to get down to meet it again.

"You're that crazy Moss Rock girl!" I exclaimed, finally letting go of my Shroomish when she bit me. Carlita sidled up to the Leafeon, astonished at the leaves it had growing out of its body.

"Crazy…?"

"I mean—"

"Whatever. My name is Hanna. That is Alexander, since you seem to remember him so well, and then I also have a lot of other cute Pokemon—"

"Guys, stop it!" I cut her off as Des waddled over to inspect the Leafeon as well. I returned both of my Pokemon immediately; I knew how they acted around others. The girl, Hanna, stooped down to pick up Alexander, and stroked his long ears. He replied with a contented, purr-like sound.

"That Shroomish might be a problem… But the Numel is good…" she murmured to herself, looking down at her Leafeon.

"What are you talking about?" I pocketed the two pokeballs, just in case she turned out to be a thief or something. She was taller than me, and probably a year or two older, so I wasn't sure if I could take her in a fight.

"You're coming with me," she said with a glittering smile.

-.-.-

I was 'recruited' into becoming Hanna's bodyguard. She was traveling to Snowpoint City, or an area close to it—the Ice Rock—to level up and evolve her other shiny Eevee, Isabella. And, since I had a fire Pokemon, evidently I was her best choice for getting through all of the ice Pokemon.

"I told you—I only have two badges!"

"Two more than me!"

Hanna also seemed to think that fire Pokemon would win out, no matter what, against ice Pokemon.

So now I was being drug out shopping for cold weather gear. At least she had enough sense to see that we'd both need it. I didn't appreciate being forced into the more expensive stores, however; I might've had two badges, and battled my fair share of newbies for their cash (again, Des was the noble one, not I), but I wasn't made of money!

"Ooh, this is cute. Should I get this one, or that one?" Hanna held up a pink coat, and then pointed over to a white one.

"White. Camouflage." I shrugged, and continued looking for the cheapest of the cheap. She huffed and set the pink one down.

"Idiot. You don't want to get lost in the snow. You need to pick a color that'll show up."

"Then why did you bother picking out that white one?" I asked angrily, squinting at her. I was the idiot? Hanna puffed out her cheeks, turning from me—clearly ignoring me. "…Stupid…" I muttered, continuing through the bargain bin.

We continued on in an angry, uncomfortable silence for a bit, until Hanna finally gave in. "What're you shopping over there for?" she asked with disdain, sniffing at the cheaper clothes.

"I don't have rich parents like you. I'm not rich at all," I replied scathingly, shoving a discounted coat back into the bin rather savagely.

"I told you—this is my expedition, so I'm covering the costs. Get over here and get a good coat." She marched over and grabbed my arm, dragging me back towards the expensive side of the store. I wasn't going to complain about getting new—free!—clothes, but I still felt a little skittish around price tags with that many digits. "You. You will wear blue, and I'll—"

"Why do I have to wear blue? I don't want to."

"It matches your eyes," she replied easily, pulling out a dark, almost black coat. "Hmm, wrong shade…"

"I'm not wearing something that matches my eyes. That's just stupid. I'm not a fashion plate like you."

"What did you just call me?"

"N-Nothing." After that, I timidly accepted a black coat and silently followed in her wake. She was scary when she felt like it. Hanna paid for the gear as if she was giving out pocket change, and then, sensing my sudden docility, proceeded to drag me off to another store for Pokemon gear.

Overall, it was a long, pricey day.

The next morning it didn't get any better. Hanna barged into my room at the Center, dropped an armful of supplies on my bed, and announced cheerily, "To the North we go!"

Chapter Text

Route 217 was my absolute least favorite place in the world. I was sure of it.

The wild Pokemon, while I did have the advantage with Des, were insanely strong, and Sneasel were annoyingly fast, too. Snover were learning to avoid us, however, since an Ember could usually take them down in only one move. Hanna managed to talk our way out of any trainer battles we got into, luckily. It was cold, windy, and I kept getting stuck in ever-growing snow drifts. More than once we had to dig out way out with mitten-covered hands and boots, after finding out the hard way that Des would melt the snow, which would then re-freeze into ice, and would be twice as hard to get through-and twice as hard to get air into.

In addition to all of that, we were currently lost.

"This wouldn't have happened if you brought a map," sniffed Hanna, pulling her scarf up higher around her face.

I looked up from where I was packing snow into the cave entrance to keep the snow and wind out (I was getting good at stuff like that; I knew how to beat the elements). "You should have brought the map, since this is your expedition," I replied flatly, too tired to argue with her. Some people just needed others to blame, and as long as she didn't get too annoying, I would sacrifice myself to let her do just that.

Des made a small sound and rubbed against my leg, eyelids drooping. I felt sorry for him; I had been using him constantly after finding out via Hanna that grass Pokemon were weak against snow, cold, and ice-type Pokemon. I rubbed his head and scratched his ears. "Nuu," he said, temporarily pleased by this.

"What day is it?" Hanna asked quietly as I finished sealing us in. It was quite dark, with only a faint glow from the snow until Des waddled over and lit a fire.

"Day three, I think." I examined the cave, making sure there weren't any Pokemon already in it. The blizzard had picked up outside rather suddenly, and we didn't get the opportunity to check it out beforehand like we usually did. Thankfully, there were no Ursaring or Sneasel lurking in the flickering shadows. I sat down by Des, and as he twitched his round ears and made contented sounds, released Carlita.

After getting snowed in a cave once before, Hanna and I knew it was better to let our Pokemon out, even the grass ones. More bodies meant more body heat, and anything with 'heat' in the phrase was great when on Route 217. Plus, Des' fire was getting weaker and weaker, and I was worried that soon he'd freeze, too. You could only wrap a Numel in so many articles of clothing (a small hat, a scarf, and socks currently) before it would only slow it down in battle.

"Come on out, guys," Hanna murmured, and Alexander and Isabella appeared as well. Carlita immediately hopped over to the shiny Leafeon and proceeded to coo at him, while he tried hard to ignore her. The little white Eevee beside him made a discontented sound and edged away from her, scooting over to Des in the process. Isabella then began to delicately lick her paw and run it over her fur, something Des seemed intrigued by.

All of us fell asleep in a huddled mass, using coats and backpacks as blankets and Pokemon as pillows.

-.-.-

On day five of our expedition, we came upon a house. Teeth chattering, bodies shaking, and blinking snow out of our eyes, we knocked on the door. A woman opened it, and without anything more than a surprised "oh!", she ushered us inside.

"Th-Th-Thank y-you ma'am," Hanna said timidly, closing the door against the wind and snow.

"You poor things! How long have you been out there in the blizzard? You look like a couple of Snover!" the woman exclaimed, tugging us inside. There was a fireplace, cheerfully ablaze, and without any more encouragement, Hanna and I both shuffled over and stood in front of it. In no time flat, there was a small pond from all of the melted snow and ice. I immediately felt drowsy, and swayed on my feet, until I fell over completely—onto Hanna.

I woke up cocooned in blankets. There were voices, slightly muffled, and I immediately recognized the fire's crackling as well. For the first time in nearly a week, I was warm.

"Oh, are you awake?" The woman from the night before leaned over into my vision, smiling grandly. She had a kind face, almost like Nurse Joy's, though she was much older and didn't have the signature pink hair. "Hanna's told me about your expedition already. You poor things. You're both lucky you didn't die out there in that snow!"

"Apparently it's happened before," Hanna's voice chimed in. I sat up, still pretty warm even when the blankets fell off. Hanna was sitting by the fire, sipping what appeared to be hot chocolate. On cue, my stomach rumbled. "Yeah, I guess a lot of trainers come up here to train, or for the Ice Rock, or to try to get through to Snowpoint itself. And then they get lost, or they get stuck in the snow, and then…" she left off rather ominously.

"So like how we came up here for that rock?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Hanna blushed and looked away.

"Really? You two came up here for the Ice Rock?" the woman asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah. For her Eevee."

"Naturally; what else would it be used for?" She laughed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I sighed. I didn't have an Eevee, and after all of this trouble to get Isabella to evolve, I doubted I ever would get one. So why would I have a need of two rocks? "My, my. I must say, you two are very lucky to have found my house. There aren't a lot of people living out here, for obvious reasons, so there aren't a lot of reprieves in the area."

"Yeah," I grunted, feeling a shiver go down my spine. It had nothing to do with the weather outside, either. "So… You would say it's inadvisable for a trainer with only two Pokemon and two badges to venture up here?"

"Of course it would be! Frankly, I doubt they could even make it through Mount Coronet. Young kids like that just don't come up here, really. On the traditional circuit, Candice's is the seventh Gym, so usually trainers like you two have five or six badges and a full team." My remark went clear over her head.

Hanna, however, grimaced and hid behind the mug of hot chocolate. She didn't have any badges, and I only had two—and we had four Pokemon between us, two of those with a severe weakness to ice types. We had only got through Mount Coronet and most of Route 216 because she had a family friend fly us there. (When asked about that, she waspishly replied that no flying Pokemon could fly to Snowpoint because of the weather; you could only get through to there via the skies from the Battle Frontier, and that was on a good day.)

"Yeah, it would be pretty stupid for some kids to come up here," I muttered, looking around. "Say, ma'am? Where are—"

"Your Pokemon are still in their balls. I didn't know if it would be proper to release them during the night, so I didn't. Now, who wants breakfast?" She certainly was motherly, and seemed bent on keeping us pampered. "You're both welcome to let them out for breakfast as well. There's enough food for all."

The woman had a Kadabra, a Sneasel and a Swinub, so I was thankful that Hanna and I only had four Pokemon between us. It got a little crowded in the dining room, what with three humans and seven Pokemon. A comfortable ten squeezing around a table meant for four. Des was sitting on my lap and Carlita was sitting on his back, so I had to eat around them; they usually helped themselves to a bite or two off my spoon before it ever got to my mouth.

"You lot had better stay here until the snow calms down a little. It should only be another day or so. It's no trouble, and you'll be keeping us company, so don't bother protesting," she said when Hanna and I opened our mouths to do just that.

So, in a stroke of superb luck, Hanna and I found ourselves snuggled under the same massive blanket with all of our Pokemon, watching television with the nice lady.

We were watching the news, waiting for the weather to say when the blizzard would stop, when I suddenly gagged on my cocoa. Hanna looked at me in alarm and thumped me on the back, and I hastily set down my mug.

On the television, a reporter was giving the commentary, "…And here we have an interview with one of the latest to come out of Victory Road. He looks quite tired! Excuse me, sir! May we have a moment?"

"Oh, sure."

"Your name and age, first."

"Nicholas Sayre, and I'm seventeen." His full name was Nicholas, but I knew him as Nick. Nick, the one that I admired so, was on the TV, and was giving an interview. He had made it out of Victory Road to boot! He looked tired, with dark rings around his eyes, and obviously wanted to go to sleep right then. His dark hair hung limply around his face, he was missing a sleeve of his hoodie, and had tear tracks cutting down through the dirt and sweat on his face. I had never seen him happier.

"You just came out of Victory Road, didn't you? Was this your first time through?"

"Well, I have tried to get through before, and made it pretty far… But yes, this is my first time making it through all the way." He beamed, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"And at such a young age! You ought to be proud of yourself. Are you planning on taking on the Elite Four and the Champion?"

"You bet I am. Hey, Champ, if you're watching this, keep an eye out for me. I'll be coming around sooner or later."

"Ooh, he's cute when he smiles like that," Hanna remarked, eyes glued to the screen. I gave her a disdainful look (which she didn't even notice) and then eagerly returned back to Nick's interview.

"Do you have any advice for aspiring trainers, whether they're taking on just the Road or the entire Four?" the reporter asked.

Nick thought for a moment, biting his lip. Then, with a grin, he replied, "Trust in your team, and you'll do fine. Also, don't fret over weaknesses. You're a lot stronger than you seem if you just work with your Pokemon as they are."

I knew that last part was to me, and I blushed as I ducked my head. So, Nick was out of Victory Road, and was going to take on the Elite Four… Wouldn't that be cool if I knew the new Champion?! "Hey, you're drooling. Do you like that Nicholas, too?" Hanna interrupted, peering shrewdly at me.

"I do not! I just know him."

"What?" Even our hostess joined in on that one.

"Yeah. He helped me a lot in Eterna." I beamed, proud of this. That pride kept me happy for a lot of the rest of the day, especially when Hanna quizzed me on Nick. She apparently developed quite a crush on him, or maybe she was just the type to like those on TV. I wasn't sure, and either seemed probable.

My happiness evaporated like snow in Des' Ember attack that night, however. Why? Because I was woken up by a ghost staring at me.

Chapter Text

I stared at the ghost. The ghost stared back. I continued staring at the ghost, and it continued staring back. I had no idea how long that lasted, but it felt like an eternity. The creature at my feet didn't blink, or move, or breathe. The only light came from the embers of the fire; it bathed the ghost and I in a warm glow. But even that did nothing to soften it. It stayed a ghastly white, devoid of life, with its yellow and ice eyes staring at me intently.

"Lass," it said finally, and the spell was broken. I gave a violent start and yelled, and instantly Des was awake, growling at the ghost. It screeched and hastily floated away from him, only to get cornered by Alexander and Carlita. It must have given up then on whatever sinister act it had planned, because it fled out of the room via the wall.

"What's goin' on?" Hanna asked sleepily, woken by the cacophony of growls and squeaks from the Pokemon.

"Th-There was a ghost," I said, wrapping my arms around myself. I felt cold, and I couldn't stop shivering. Des shuffled over to me, laying sympathetically by my side.

"A ghost?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. A white one."

"…That's descriptive."

"What's going on out here? Are you two alright?" Our hostess came out into the living room, where we were camped out, hair in curlers and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. After seeing no damage or blood, she relaxed.

"There was a ghost," Hanna said matter-of-factly, though she hadn't believed me when I first told her. I shivered and nodded.

"What did it look like?" the woman asked worriedly.

"It was white, or mostly white, and it had these blue horns sticking out of its head… It had a red stripe on its stomach, too, and light blue eyes…"

"That's what I thought." We stared at her until she reluctantly continued, "It was a Froslass. They're ice Pokemon, so they come here when they're created. See, they only evolve from Snorunt if a Dawn Stone is used, so very rarely are they wild. When their trainers release them, or die, they migrate here…"

"They're ice Pokemon? It disappeared through the wall!" I exclaimed, a bit angrily.

"Ghost and ice," she amended placidly. The woman sighed and placed her chin in her hand, looking at the darkened window. "…I haven't seen one for quite some time. You probably don't want to see one again. They're considered bad luck, and if they breathe on you, you could get frostbite-or worse."

I nodded, taking the advice to heart. I never wanted to see a Froslass again.

The next morning, the blizzard stopped. The sun was actually out, too, glittering prettily on the snow outside. Hanna and I re-bundled up ourselves and our Pokemon, thanked the woman profusely for allowing us to stay, and then trudged back out into the snow.

Route 217 was much more harmless in daylight when there wasn't so much snow blowing into our faces, to my delight. In fact, it wasn't long before my Pokemon and I were frolicking in the snow (after making sure that no ice Pokemon were around, to make sure Carlita was safe). Hanna called us all children and would not, no matter how many snowballs I threw at her, join in the fun.

"She's just being stuffy. She wants to act like an adult, because Nick is older than her," I told my Pokemon loudly, just to get a rise out of her. It worked. Hanna gave an indignant shout and soon a snowball fight had started.

It stopped soon after, however, after Carlita started complaining of the cold in her high, squeaky voice. In addition to that, clouds were moving in overhead rather threateningly, and we hadn't gotten much ground covered.

"…Come on. The Ice Rock should be just a bit farther north," Hanna said uneasily, glaring at the dark clouds. The wind had started to pick up, blowing her hair around her face. I pulled my hat down tighter.

We were forced to camp in a small group of trees, in a cave we made out of snow. It was a bit cramped, but we had enough room for a night thanks to Des' fire. We couldn't light a fire in there, however, so we just ate a bit of our dwindling supply of trail mix and Pokemon food and then made a giant nest.

I couldn't sleep, however. All of the white-blue ice in our cave reminded me too much of that Froslass. Plus, if they were part ghost, not even the snow and ice would stop it from coming in here. "…Hanna?"

"Mm?"

"What's a Snorunt?"

"An ice Pokemon," she said sleepily.

"What does it look like?" The name sounded familiar, and not just because of my lesson in Froslass that morning.

"…Like a triangle. Kinda orange-ish in color. Black face, usually shivering. Why?" Hanna propped herself up on her elbows, glaring at me through her sleep-mussed hair.

"I remember now. Nick had one," I said, mostly to myself, as I closed my eyes. That made me feel a little bit better, though I didn't know exactly why. Nick, who was probably taking on the Elite Four by now, would eventually have a Froslass. Probably.

"Mm," she mumbled, giving up on conversation. I kept my eyes closed, but stayed awake, listening to the Pokemon and Hanna sleeping. I was convinced that if I opened my eyes, that Froslass would be staring at me again. I was safer with my eyes closed. And, like that, I eventually fell asleep.

-.-.-

"Finally! The Ice Rock!" Hanna was practically weeping with joy. On day nine of our expedition, we came upon a rock. It was exactly like the nondescript rock in Eterna Forest, minus the moss and plus some ice. Hanna sobbed happily and fell upon it, hugging it.

I laughed when she got her cheek stuck to it.

After freeing herself and losing most of her dignity, the female trainer delicately straightened her coat and called out Isabella. Des, who was staying out to keep any unwanted wild Pokemon away, and I watched. "You're going to have to battle me, you know! The wild Pokemon here are much too strong for my little Isabella," Hanna told me.

"Des has been having to take on dozens. Your little Isabella can take on one," I told her in response. Pedestal gave a snort of fire in agreement.

"But—she's still a baby!" she cried, much to her Eevee's embarrassment. "Plus you have the advantage."

"So? Just go find a Swinub. They're small, and pretty weak, I guess."

"You wouldn't be so brave about this if you didn't have your Numel."

"Carlita is weak against ice types. Your Eevee is a normal type. It doesn't have the disadvantage."

"Fine," she conceded with a pout. She spotted a Swinub—luckily for her and Isabella, because I had a feeling that the local Sneasel would've ripped the tiny Eevee apart—and Isabella proceeded to Bite, Tackle and Quick Attack it into unconsciousness. She crooned happily upon winning, and then, like her brother before her, started glowing with the glow of evolution.

I couldn't help but frown a tiny bit. I had two Pokemon, too, but neither of them had evolved yet…

The Eevee grew and slimmed down, loosing her bushy fur in favor of sleek, thick, weatherproof fur. When she was done, she was roughly the same color as the snow around her, except for blue accents, including a blue-tipped tail and paws. Isabella squealed in glee, dancing around on her new paws, waving her new tail and moving her new ears.

I happened to glance down at Des at that point, though in hindsight, I'm not sure what compelled me to do that. I just know that I finally recognized one of his expressions without having to think about it; he was love struck. His eyes were wide, his mouth was open, and he was staring quite openly at the recently evolved Isabella.

"I'm so proud of you, baby!" Hanna yelped, leaning down to hug her. "You're a Glaceon! Now I have you and Alexander! You're so pretty!"

I snickered as Des tried to recover, closing his mouth and making a huge effort to look away.

-.-.-

We didn't make it to Snowpoint City that night, but Hanna reassured me that we would get there tomorrow, and then she would pay for my ride back to sane country. I was okay with this. Des had gotten a lot stronger during this trip, and now I could tease him about liking Isabella. I did find it a bit odd that a fire Pokemon would like an ice Pokemon, though.

The wind was really beginning to pick up as we settled down in part of a forest. There was still enough snow on the ground to make another cave, so we started digging right away. Des helped by melting the snow, obviously showing off for Isabella, who was circling around us, keeping watch.

"This is the last night we'll sleep out here!" Hanna exclaimed happily, tossing an armful of snow off to the side.

"Yeah, and tomorrow—"

"Glaaaaaaa!" A high wail cut me off. Hanna's head snapped up immediately; I didn't get the chance to look up, as Isabella suddenly leapt over the snow wall and landed on my head. I went down into the snow, and, unbalanced because of my movement, the Glaceon went tumbling into the other side of our cave. I couldn't hear or see because of the snow, but I felt something hit my back. Soon after I managed to pull myself out of the snow, and turned to find Hanna screaming, while Des and Isabella were bravely attacking what appeared to be the largest, meanest snow monster I had ever seen.

The thing—Pokemon? I didn't know—swiped at our Pokemon, snarling at us. Isabella bit down on its green paw, which only enraged it more. It tried to pull her off with its other hand, but Des managed to stop it with a well-timed Ember. It roared and shot an Icy Wind at Des, which only made him wince, thankfully.

"What is that?!" I shouted, unfortunately drawing attention to myself. The Pokemon turned towards me, eyes narrowing, and batted away Des as if he were nothing more than a snowflake. Isabella climbed up onto its shoulder and bit down on its eyebrow. She also got thrown off as it roared again and shook her off.

It then lumbered over to where Hanna and I were scrabbling to get out of the literal hole we dug ourselves into. It decimated one side of it, throwing snow into the air. "Holy—"

Isabella once again jumped over the side of the cave, this time landing squarely in front of her trainer. Hackles rising and teeth bared, she loyally stood between Hanna and the monster. I saw Des finally melt his way out of the snow, running rather awkwardly over to where we were. The monster didn't notice him, and raised its paw again to probably squish Isabella.

Pedestal ran into her, however, and sent both of them sprawling, just as the giant paw came down and cracked the frozen ground below it. Hanna screamed again and skittered backward as far as she could.

With its paw coated in ice this time, the monster smashed into both Des and Isabella, quickly putting them out of commission. That left two young trainers with under leveled grass Pokemon as our only defense alone with this yeti of a Pokemon.

Chapter Text

"Carlita! Stun Spore!" I called out my last Pokemon, hoping against hope that paralysis would stop the creature in its tracks. I couldn't help but remember the lady who'd helped us, how she told us that worse things than getting lost could happen on this Route…

Carlita loyally sent out a cloud of golden dust, which only served to irritate the Pokemon before us. I snatched back my Shroomish before she could get stepped on, trying to get out of the way as it crashed around the hole we were all stuck in. I saw Hanna going over to get Isabella and Des, and tossed her his pokeball. She nodded, and returned the two wounded Pokemon before worse things befell them.

Inside, I wasn't panicking anymore. I was beyond panicking. I was completely sure we were going to die because of this thing. In fact, I felt pretty calm. I knew where I was, I knew where Hanna was, and I knew where the monster was; there were no more surprises for me. Des and Isabella might've been hurt, but they were safe inside their pokeballs now.

"Carlita, try another Stun Spore!" It was our only hope. If we could slow it down or immobilize it completely, it would give us enough time to climb out of here… Carlita, still stuck tightly in my arms, aimed another jet of dust at the opposing Pokemon. This time, it wasn't just swatted away.

Unfortunately, while it looked a little slower (maybe), it looked a ton more aggravated.

"Shroo!" Carlita shrieked, trying to get out of my arms.

"No! You'll just be hurt, too!" I said savagely, keeping her still as I tried to find an easy way out of here. The easiest would be where the creature broke in, but it was still standing in front of it, and we would have to get around it.

"Go! Alexander, use Sand Attack!" Hanna shouted. So now we had two grass Pokemon out against this behemoth. Yeah, we were going to die.

"Shroo!" Seeing the Leafeon only encourage Carlita more, but I put my chin on top of her head to keep her from squirming too badly.

"Stop it, Carlita! You're not strong enough." If I could have let go of her, I would have, to return her. She couldn't do much to damage the creature, since I was fairly certain that it couldn't be poisoned and paralyzed at the same time. Come to think of it, maybe I should've tried having her use a Poison Powder instead… The top of her skull hit the bottom of my jaw, jarring my teeth and bringing me back to the present. "Stop it!"

"Shroo!" she snarled venomously in reply.

Alexander, meanwhile, was kicking snow into the Pokemon's face, so that it was blinded, slowed, and even angrier (if such a thing was possible). We weren't doing too good. "Leeeaaaaf!" he squealed, barely ducking under what appeared to be another Ice Punch.

"What is that thing?!"

"I don't know! Get rid of it!"

"How?! I don't even—Carlita, stop it!"

"Shroomish!"

"Alexander, try using Razor Leaf!" Hanna guessed, obviously deciding that something was better than nothing. Carlita squeaked and struggled harder, taking that as a sign that she ought to be battling, too.

"Stop it, stop it Carlita! Alexander can dodge better than you can! You'll only get squished!" I shouted, skirting Alexander and his Razor Leaves to get over to Hanna. "Do you have any Revives left?"

"Only one, and we'd have to release Des in order to give it to him."

"We don't have time for that!"

"Here, give me Carlita's pokeball and I'll return her. Then we can try to climb out of here." It was a good idea in theory, until you tried to get a pokeball out of a pocket with not only mittens but a squirming Shroomish in your arms. Just as I managed to get it, Carlita made her bid for freedom, and finally skipped happily out of my arms over to Alexander.

The snow monster took a swipe at the two valiant grass Pokemon. The good news was that it missed entirely. The bad news was that it decided to come after us instead. We weren't nearly as fast as our Pokemon, either, and it sent us down into the snow easily. I landed on my arm, pain shooting up to my shoulder. I heard Hanna cry out as well. I rolled over onto my back, wiping snow out of my eyes, to see the Pokemon towering over us.

I was going to die. I knew it, then and there, and could only mentally pout at how lame it would be, getting killed by some ice Pokemon on Route 217 instead of going out with a bang somehow.

"Loom!" And, just like that, I wasn't going to die anymore. I managed to raise my head a few inches off of the ground, to see a new Pokemon just coming out of its evolutionary glow. Much taller than Alexander (though barely coming up to the snow monster's waist), she stood on two legs now, with a long neck and even longer tail. In just those few seconds, Carlita grew up from being a squat, scowling little dancer into a tall, grinning one. "Breloom!" she crowed triumphantly, and then darted forward. I nearly missed the movement, it was so fast. The ice Pokemon didn't see it, either, and was slammed into with all the force of her new attack.

The ice Pokemon didn't like it very much, and it obviously took some damage from it as well. With one last growl and groan, it lumbered away, shooting dirty glances over its shoulder. Carlita hopped excitedly, waving her new tail. "Loom! Loom!"

"Leaf," Alexander commented warily, sniffing at her ankles curiously.

"Wow," Hanna deadpanned.

"Yeah. Wow," I repeated, sighing. My arm hurt—I was tired, cold, and in pain. Knowing it was a stupid idea, I felt my eyelids drooping, thinking only of how this might seem cool or funny tomorrow morning.

"Loom!" Carlita exclaimed in alarm. I was too exhausted to check to see what it was now. I could only hope that when it killed me, it didn't wake me up first.

"Lass," was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.

-.-.-

My mother patted me on the back, a little awkwardly, and kept saying, "My, look at how much you've grown. You're so big now. You're a trainer. Look at how much you've grown." My father was no where to be seen.

"Mom, where are we?"

"Look at how much you've grown, dear. I'm so proud of my trainer."

I didn't know where we were. Everything had a fuzzy, indistinct grey tinge. I couldn't even tell the horizon from the ground a sparse few feet from me. There was some far-off sound, a distant roar, like some monster or a waterfall. I wasn't sure. The more I listened to it, the fainter it seemed to get, until it was like mere TV snow.

"Snow," I said dumbly, looking around me. "Snow. Why…?"

"You're so big now, and you're a trainer."

Just then, my mother's hand turned icy, and seemed much too light for any human hand. I turned and found myself staring at ice blue eyes with yellow around them, half lidded. The ghost leaned in and exhaled on me, and I felt more than shivers go down my spine. The world became even more blurred, the roaring louder, and suddenly a wall of ice separated me from the Froslass.

"Lass," it said with a twisted smile. "Lass."

"Let me out of here!" I shouted, banging against the ice.

"Lass," it repeated.

A silhouette, a human's silhouette, appeared behind the Froslass. It turned and was swept away into dust by a dismissive hand. The figure leaned in, becoming more distinct, and with a skipped heartbeat of joy, I recognized Nick. "Nick! Let me out of here! That Froslass, it sealed me away—!"

"Are you sure you want out of there?" he asked, voice crystal clear despite the barrier. The roaring of the beast-waterfall got louder in my ears as I nodded. "It's safe in there. You won't find water in there."

"I want out of here," I cried desperately, banging against the ice once more. Nick smiled—it wasn't a kind smile, or an evil smile, but a smile that held many secrets—and waved his hand, dismissing the ice like the Froslass before it.

He continued smiling and placed a hand on my head, ruffling my hair. "You've gotten so big since I saw you last. You're turning into quite the trainer."

"Don't say that." It sounded wrong when he said it, and I didn't know why.

"But it's true. Look at how much you've grown—"

"Hey! Hey! Wake up!" I woke up to find an angry blonde girl in my face.

"Rena, stop it, you're waking everyone else up," came a second voice, from somewhere behind her.

"Both of you, leave us alone! We've been traumatized, and we need our sleep. Who cares if we're having nightmares?" Hanna was suddenly there as well, leaning over me to push the blonde girl back.

"You're going to traumatize the rest of us if you keep up your screaming and thrashing!"

"Where… Where am I?" I asked dully. I still felt groggy, and my arm felt heavy.

"You're at the Snowpoint Pokemon Center." Yet another person leaned into my limited view of the ceiling, smiling brightly. "I'm glad you're awake, though. You and your friend scared us half to death when they brought you in."

"Huh?"

I sat up, holding my head for a moment when the room spun. Looking down, I soon found out why my arm felt heavy, too; my arm was in a cast. I blinked. When had that happened? How long had I been asleep…?!

"Hey, don't start freaking out like she did," the blonde girl commanded, pointing at Hanna, who looked outraged.

"I did not freak out! I was merely surprised, waking up here to find myself in the company of ruffians like you." She then turned to me, ignoring the other girl. "Apparently, someone found us out in the snow last night, and sent some people from Snowpoint to retrieve us. We're now in the Pokemon Center. Oh, and you broke your arm."

"Thanks," I said dryly, "I hadn't noticed."

"It was your Froslass. She was the one who brought someone to get you two," the boy, currently restraining the blonde girl, said helpfully. I froze, ignoring the shivers. I didn't have a Froslass, but evidently I had a ghostly stalker. "You're lucky to have such a loyal Pokemon."

"Uh, yeah."

When morning finally came, several hours later, I found out more details about what had happened to us. The Pokemon that attacked us was an Abomasnow, rare around those parts normally. But just a few weeks ago, an unusually aggressive (and large) one appeared in the forests just south of Snowpoint. We weren't the first casualties of it.

"Actually, you two are very lucky that Froslass came to get someone. Even if it hadn't come back, you might've died of hypothermia out there," Nurse Joy told us severely, shaking her finger at us. Hanna and I took the well-meaning abuse, contemplating how close we really had been to dying. We were safe now, though, safe and warm and fed in the Pokemon Center.

We were also snowed in.

The blizzard that started yesterday completely shut down Snowpoint, cutting off power in almost half of the city, and keeping an uncomfortable number of people stuck in the Center. The rooms upstairs were already all completely full, and that left about half a dozen out to sleep in the lobby. Hanna and I became a sort of celebrity pair in those cramped confines, telling of our Pokemon's heroic battle against the Abomasnow, culminating in how Carlita evolved and managed to beat it back.

"Yeah, she was pretty awesome," I boasted, wrapping my arms as best I could around my Breloom. Carlita grinned happily—something I was still getting used to was her new non-scowling expressions—and waved her tail.

"You were lucky with her. Did you know that Shroomish evolved into fighting-type Pokemon?" Devon, the boy from our wake-up call, asked curiously.

"Nope."

"So now you have a fighter. Well, that's nothing special. Lots of people have fighting Pokemon," Rena scoffed, crossing her arms, practically begging me to ask what kind of fighting Pokemon she had. I smirked and ignored the obvious question, much to her annoyance.

"I'm just glad that Carlita managed to chase it away," Hanna sighed. "It was really scary. Why did that Aboma-whatever appear, anyway?"

"No one knows. It's been having a pretty heated battle with the more territorial Ursaring around there, though." Devon sighed, too, hanging his head. "They're talking about restricting travel in Route 217 because of it… Which means we'd be stuck here for quite some time."

"Ehh?! No way! They can't do that!" Hanna exclaimed. "I want to get out of this snowy hole of a town!" I grimaced, turning away from my spat with Rena. I already knew Hanna's moods, and now it seemed as if she'd lapse into her spoiled rotten mode.

With Hanna throwing her tantrum, she commanded most of the attention in the lobby. I, however, caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. No one else saw it. I turned, gaping openly at the Froslass in the corner of the Pokemon Center. It stared at me with big, sad eyes, the ice horns on its head glittering in the light from the window.

Carlita turned, wondering what had captured my attention so fully, and tensed up as she spotted it, too. "Looooo," she growled, slowly crouching down to spring. I could feel her new muscles moving just beneath her skin, getting ready for a pounce. I wrapped my good arm around her, holding her back.

"Don't."

The Froslass looked down at one of its tiny paws, and then back up at me. I felt that it wasn't just another random Pokemon encounter; that ghost wanted something from me, specifically. But then, as Devon noticed something was off, it turned and vanished through the wall, leaving behind a slight shimmer of frost.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, adjusting his glasses. "…There's nothing there."

"Just… looking off into space."

Chapter Text

There was a ghost. It wasn't the Froslass, or any other ghost I had ever seen. It was taller than me, and vaguely humanoid in shape—almost like a blurry silhouette. A very blurry silhouette. We stood across from each other in an equally dark world. I felt like I was standing on the side of a hill; I felt dizzy and off balance. The sky seemed like the snow on TV, except it was purple and black and blood red. The ground seemed like dead, charred grass.

The ghost came towards me. It didn't stagger, or lurch, or hover, or do anything a scary ghost ought to; it simply walked forward.

I felt pulled by some invisible string. I walked forward as well—though I fought against it as hard as I could. It was as if some invisible hand was pulling me by the front of my shirt. The closer we got, the more I felt like panicking and screaming and running away. Something was wrong about that ghost, though it didn't look scary, it didn't act malicious, and it didn't walk like a zombie.

We were twenty feet apart, and I dug my heels into the scorched ground.

Then we were fifteen feet apart, and I started tearing at my shirt, hoping to cut myself loose. My shirt wasn't the problem, though. It just felt like it.

Ten feet apart, and I was on my knees, getting dragged forward by that same invisible force. Finally, it gave one last yank and sent me tumbling forward. I looked up into the face of the ghost. It loomed over me crookedly, dark and expressionless.

Then, as if a zipper were pulled across its face, it broke into a wide, jagged grin. Its mouth was bright red, dripping blood and fire down onto my forehead. I knew it should hurt, but it didn't. I opened my mouth and tried to scream. Nothing came out. Nothing except a hoarse little croak that only encouraged the ghost more. Eagerly, grinning, dripping, it leaned down towards me, mouth opening wider and wider.

I felt something cold hit my back and finally I could scream.

I opened my eyes. I did nothing else. Heart thundering in my ears, I looked up and was not surprised to find the Froslass' eyes staring down at me. Its tiny little hands ghosted over my face, smoothing back my hair, freezing the sweat. "Lass," it sighed, breath visible in the warmth of the Pokemon Center.

"Why are you here again?" I whispered, eyelids drooping. To say I felt cold was an understatement. Hypothermia was probably setting in at that point. "Do you have something to say to me?"

The Froslass, bizarrely, looked like it was about to cry. "Lass…!"

I hastily backpedaled. "Wh-What's wrong? Is this something important?" Okay, so I wasn't good with consoling sad ghost Pokemon. So sue me.

"Lass, lass." The Froslass sighed again. I could feel the frost forming on my face. It started to melt away into the air, rubbing its eyes to stop its tears from freezing right away. "Lass!" it said fiercely, and then vanished completely.

I placed my hands over my face to start the melting process, sighing against my palms. "…This sucks," I muttered.

The next morning, a man in an expensive suit appeared in the Pokemon Center. All of those snowed in with us were excited by this; it meant we could get out of the Center, at last, finally! He shot us down with a glare and a, "Don't even try it. The Route is closed."

Rena and I found solace in each other's sudden hatred for the man. We spent the better part of the first hour after the man's arrival in the corner, glaring at him, plotting his demise. "Carlita can kick him."

"Kick him between the legs," she advised. "Amber can roast him." Yet again, I could see she wanted me to ask about her Pokemon, so yet again, I ignored the not-so-subtle hint and kept the topic firmly on the suited man.

"Who is he to tell us that the Route is closed? He doesn't even look like a trainer. I bet he doesn't even have any Pokemon."

"If he did, I bet he'd have a Magikarp."

"Or an Igglybuff."

"Or a—"

"Ahem." As we started the list of his Pokemon, we turned conspiratorially to the corner, forgoing glaring in favor of glaring over our shoulders. Only as she was figuring out another worthless Pokemon for him to hypothetically own, he came up behind us.

Rena and I turned slowly and guilty up into his dark eyes. My mouth went dry; I didn't reply, half-hoping she would take the blame for me. She didn't.

"For your information, I own several Pokemon. They are all purebred, loyal, strong, and rare. I wouldn't expect such lowbrow children such as you to recognize the value of Pokemon like that, especially exceptional species like Absol and Dragoniar—"

"Dragonair aren't special in the least. Daddy has two of them, and one of them is shiny," Hanna called loudly. "They're just symbols of who you know. If you were really such a good trainer with such good Pokemon, you'd have ones that are functional and pretty."

This was possibly the first time I loved Hanna's bratty, spoiled side. Or maybe it was just the first time it paid off for me. Even Rena snickered. The suited man, on the other hand, paled and stalked off. Obviously he wasn't used to being out-snobbed by a young girl. Hanna stuck her tongue out at his back, and soon the rest of the lobby was mimicking her. Even one of Nurse Joy's Chansey joined in.

"…Did anyone bother figuring out why the Route is closed and who he was to declare it?" Devon asked, playing the voice of reason. The mood fell appropriately. He rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses before coming to our collective rescue. "Luckily, I overheard him talking to Nurse Joy about it."

"…Well!?" Rena demanded impatiently. I edged away from her; she was definitely the violent type, and I already had a broken arm. I didn't need another.

"Evidently, the Route is closed until that Abomasnow is taken care of."

"That's it?" I asked dubiously. It seemed like a pretty lame answer.

That was, it seemed like a lame answer until Devon fixed us all with a cool glare and said, "It killed a person."

No one quite knew what to say after that. Hanna and I looked at each other and then looked away uncomfortably. That could have been us. It very nearly was. No wonder that man was so stuck-up. I'd be uptight, too, if all I had to do all day was deliver bad news about other people dying and shutting off a bunch of trainers' only way back to proper civilization.

The afternoon passed quietly. I noticed that people avoided Devon, as if he was the one who'd killed the unknown person. Talk about shooting the messenger (and it was even a second-hand messenger!). Hanna and I gravitated toward him, possibly just to spite all of those nervous kids, or maybe because we felt a connection because of that. He was blamed for something he didn't do; we were nearly killed for that thing he didn't do. Sounded good. Rena stuck close to us, though more out of habit than any actual selflessness.

The evening was spent with chess. Nurse Joy dug out a few checkerboards, chess sets and archaic board games to entertain the snowed-in victims. Luckily, it worked. Almost everyone had something to do with that stroke of genius, and Devon acquired one of the chess sets early on and challenged everyone to a game. And by 'everyone', I mean Hanna and I. Rena apparently didn't know how to play it, and instead hovered over his shoulder, absorbing it. Occasionally she'd ask why the "horses moved so stupidly" or "the king is retarded and the queen is the only strong one".

Devon was easily wiping the floor with both Hanna and I. I had barely ever played chess and barely knew the rules—I, too, was surprised when I learned the knights moved in L shapes—and Hanna was… well, Hanna. She wasn't the chess type. Soon, Devon had to beg us to keep playing. We kept saying no. You could only lose so many friendly games before your pride started smarting.

"I'll play you." To everyone's surprise—mostly Devon's—one of the other lobby-dwellers decided to break through the barricade of blame and sat down opposite of the blonde boy. She was much older than any of us, probably eighteen or nineteen. She looked like she was even older, though; her gaze was lidded and tired and she had dark lines under her eyes. I edged away from her, graciously giving her the space near the board.

Maybe it was her all-black attire, or maybe it was the way I think I could have killed a Growlithe puppy in front of her and she wouldn't have batted an eye, but something about her sent shivers down my spine.

"I'm Devon," he chirped, ever-friendly.

"Lola," she replied in a monotone. Curiously, she took the white side; I had thought she'd switch with him on principle. Even her nails were painted black, I noticed. I also noticed that Hanna was looking at her monochromatic clothes with nothing short of horror. I had to stifle a laugh, lest Lola curse us both or something.

The game began, and I found myself rooting for Devon. I didn't care if he had won four straight matches against me (one of them in only seventeen moves). I didn't like the goth aura of his challenger. And even if she was older than him, I knew he was good, and not just for his age.

Imagine our surprise when she beat him in six moves.

"If that was a battle, you would have lost half your money," she said as a farewell.

Devon, while initially as shocked as we were, recovered quickly enough. He sighed, pouted, and turned to Rena. "You know, I'm in some serious despair right now. I think I need a hug."

"Not a chance," she growled in reply.

"That Lola chick was just… Creepy. She must be one of those dark genius kids. I bet her IQ is like, a million."

"Alakazam only have an IQ of five thousand. A human genius is usually about two hundred," Devon responded, grinning helplessly. "I highly doubt she was as smart as that. In fact, I would be terrified if she was."

"You're being stereotypical. Just because she was wearing all black doesn't mean she'd rule the world," Rena snorted, giving him a push.

"Says the one who beats people for owning ghost Pokemon."

"I don't do that!"

The two continued their bickering, and made me rather thankful that I didn't, in fact, own that Froslass.

Chapter Text

This time, the dream wasn't much of a nightmare. I was almost getting used to it, anyway. I stood in a vast, white world, with no light source and no shadows. It was a little blinding. I tried using an arm—curiously missing a cast and feeling fine—to shield my eyes, but it didn't do anything. So instead I squinted, looking around for the source of yet another odd dream.

I spotted it off to my right, tiny paws folded in front of the red stripe across its middle.

"Froslass," I called to it. The ghost bobbed its head in response. "Are you the one making all of these weird dreams?"

Yes, it replied in a high, feminine voice. It—she—hovered a bit closer, still keeping a safe distance. I wasn't complaining.

"Are you intentionally giving me nightmares?" I asked critically, raising an eyebrow. I was not happy having ghosts drip flames onto me and being encased in ice. The Froslass shook her head, shaking frost off into the air.

That was an accidental side-effect. I'm not used to prying into others' dreams, she admitted.

"Why are you trying to get into my dreams in the first place? What do you want with me?"

The Froslass looked up at me with icy eyes, shimmering with tears. You must help my trainer, she said softly.

"Why me?"

You're the only one who can.

"But why me? Why not invade Hanna's dreams and get her to beg her rich dad to help your trainer?" I may have seemed heartless, but I was also scared of the Froslass. She was not only a ghost, but a ghost that repeatedly nearly gave me hypothermia just by being near me. Not to mention the nightmares. Plus, she was not my Pokemon. I didn't have to help her.

The female human isn't kind enough to help. She is… not very altruistic, she said delicately, fiddling her fingers.

I frowned, but accepted the point. Hanna really wasn't the type to go out and help others all willy-nilly. "You know… Even if I wanted to help—don't get your hopes up, because I'm not saying I do—I couldn't. I'm stuck in Snowpoint. You have to have realized that by now."

Snowpoint is not that bad of a town. It's nice and cold.

"Yeah, I know it's cold." I crossed my arms, relishing the gesture while I could. It wasn't easy to do with a cast. "I can't help anyone where I am now."

The Abomasnow will be taken care of eventually. I will take care of a route out of the city, the Froslass said sharply, narrowing her eyes. I flinched and took a step back. She sighed a cloud of crystals and ducked her head with a, I'm sorry for frightening you.

"It-It's fine," I lied. "How will you get us out of Snowpoint?"

The female human may not be able to help me in my quest, but she may be able to help you in yours, she replied indifferently.

I decided not to pursue the matter. "…How are you able to get into my dreams, anyway?"

I am a ghost.

"That's not very specific."

I know Dream Eater. It's why you had nightmares at first; your mind was trying to reject me. By the way, I did not appreciate getting brushed aside two nights ago.

"I didn't appreciate having monsters attack me!" I retorted hotly, bristling. We glared at each other, neither of us willing to concede.

I woke up after a blast of cold air hit me. I shivered and found myself coated in ice. Instead of looking for the Froslass, I just burrowed deeper into my sleeping bag and tried to get back to sleep. Normal sleep.

-.-.-

The next morning, Hanna was excitedly telling anyone who would listen about her idea. "Once the weather clears up a bit, I know how we can get out of Snowpoint! There's a ferryman, right? Just south of the city. He normally takes trainers to like, Battle Frontier. But I'm sure for the right price, he'd drop us off at Sunyshore instead! Aren't you guys lucky I came up with this?! Now we can all get out of here!"

I didn't bother correcting her.

I still felt moody after hearing the Froslass' plea, and was still pretty unsure about helping her at all. I didn't know who her trainer was or what kind of trouble he or she may be in. I didn't want to get tangled up into something worse than what I could handle. It was hard enough being a trainer. I didn't need to be a hero, too.

About noon on our third day there, the electricity came back on. The tired electric Pokemon who had been powering the emergency generators happily collapsed while the fire Pokemon took over melting our way out. If the power came back on, it stood to reason that the weather was okay now, right?

"Come on, Des!" Only somehow, my Numel missed out on the excitement of freedom. He yawned and twitched an ear before going back to sleep. "Come on! We should help the others get out. Don't you want fresh air? And sunshine?"

"Nu," he mumbled through his paws.

"Some Pokemon. Doesn't even listen to you," Rena said in passing, marching out proudly with what looked like a red, humanoid chicken. "Let's go, Amber. We can dig ourselves and the lazy ones out."

I glared at them as they left. Then, turning back to my Numel, I resumed my begging. "Pedestal, come on! You're not going to let her get away with that, are you? She called us lazy!"

"Nu." It sounded as if he was agreeing with her.

"You're horrible to me. I bet Carlita would help us out."

At this, he raised his head and set my cast on fire with an Ember.

-.-.-

By evening, Hanna had escaped out into the world, headed to the harbor, and secured a deal with one of the ferrymen. It would cost an untold amount of money, but she managed to secure passage for all those in the Center who wanted to leave. Surprisingly, not everyone jumped up at once. Some of the trainers were actually there and wanted to be; they had stuff to do, like challenge Candice. Still, over supper, about half of the Center agreed on leaving on the boat.

"It's spaghetti. Your favorite. I know it is." I held the fork tauntingly in front of Des, but he just turned his head from it. I scowled at him and ate it instead. "What's up with you? Why're you so moody?"

"Numel," he grumbled.

"Just eat some spaghetti and be happy. We can resume our journey for the third badge once we're back in sane country. Don't you want to beat more Gym leaders?" I asked, trying to bait him at the same time with a meatball. It was even my last one. Des shuffled around so his back was to me.

"What's up with Des?" Hanna asked curiously.

"Glaaa?" Isabella added worriedly, looking up with sauce all over her mouth. I turned to see that Des was even ignoring her. Something was definitely up.

"Hey, can you watch Carlita for a moment? Just keep her next to Alexander and she won't even notice we're gone." Hanna nodded and watched us intently as I forcibly pushed Des out of the lobby. He resisted for all his worth, and while he was fat, I was the stronger one. (Barely.) Now in the corridor leading up to the rooms, I turned on him. "What's up with you, Des?"

"Nu," he replied nonchalantly, turning his head away.

"Don't you 'nu' me. Tell me what's wrong." I squatted down so I was eye-level with him and reached out a hand to keep his head from moving. Now he had to face me. Des narrowed his lidded eyes and butted his head against my cast, effectively moving it.

"Mel," he said in the closest thing to an actual growl I'd ever heard from him.

"Are you angry?"

After a bit of thinking, he bobbed his head.

"At me?" A shake. "At Hanna?" Another shake. "Carlita?" Yet another shake. I couldn't very well ask who he was angry at, but I was running out of suspects. "Um… Are you angry at someone in this Center?"

Pedestal nodded, ears drooping slightly. I tilted my head, puzzled by his behavior.

"Is it a human?"

He shook his head.

"So it's a Pokemon." Nod. "One of Hanna's?" The thought of him being angry at Isabella was laughable, but he was ignoring her… Des just shook his head sharply, glaring at me. I smiled apologetically. He definitely wasn't mad at Isabella. "One of Devon's?"

"Nu," he grumbled with another shake of his yellow head.

"Rena's?"

Another no. I was beginning to get frustrated, seriously running out of Pokemon he knew. Maybe he and another trainer's Pokemon had a scuffle of some sort and I hadn't noticed? It was possible, but not likely. Maybe he was feeling angry with the other fire Pokemon? But no—he had been angry even before the melting process began and the fire Pokemon came out. That's just when I noticed he was.

I stood up and sighed, using my cast-less hand to brush back my hair. "You're impossible, Des. Who are you angry with? Wait-the Froslass?"

"Nu," he sighed, shaking his head yet again. I snorted and frowned. I thought I had hit upon the answer with the ghost.

"Do I know the Pokemon?"

"Numel," he replied evenly. I may not have spoken his language, but I think 'duh' is universal.

"Des! I have listed off every single Pokemon I know that you have met! Unless you're holding a grudge against a Pokemon we battled ages ago, it's not in this Center!" I burst out, gesturing wildly. I nearly lost my balance, however, when my cast arm decided that since it was heavier than my other arm, it ought to team up with gravity and momentum to try to take me out.

"Numel," Des said in a tiny voice, butting his head against my leg. "…Nu." He looked up at me with his usual blank expression, but now I knew him well enough to read the answer.

"…Oh. Oh." I knelt down beside him, unsure of how to take this answer. He was angry at himself? Why? (I couldn't ask that, though, unless I wanted another hour of guessing.) I reached out and brushed back his bangs, scratching him behind the ears. He made a discontented sound but didn't pull away. "Des… Why are you angry at yourself? You haven't done anything wrong."

"Numel, nu-nuu!" he retorted sullenly, glaring at the floor.

I didn't know what that meant, but if my starter was this upset about something, I felt it was my duty to try to find out. I continued scratching his ears to try to placate him as I thought back over the past few days. What had happened that might've distressed him?

We started on Route 217, but he was the one battling the most, and he seemed proud of his type advantage. It wasn't that. He seemed to like the lady that let us stay with her, and he wasn't angry at the Froslass. The only other big events centered themselves around that Abomasnow.

And then it hit me.

It hit me like so many things before had: like the Abomasnow had hit me, how the floor regularly hit me, how trees and bushes and doors and walls and people regularly hit me. It was sudden and it hurt.

Des felt angry at himself because it was he who'd had the advantage over the ice types. He was the one who fainted. He was the one who left it up to Isabella and two grass types to protect the trainers. He was the one who hadn't chased off the Abomasnow.

He wasn't the one who'd evolved.

"Oh, Des. You'll evolve eventually. It's okay. It's not your fault. We're all fine, and you'll evolve and become even more awesome soon enough. We'll get out of Snowpoint and then go to Sunyshore and I don't know, but we'll get the rest of the badges, and we'll be an awesome team. So what if Carlita evolved first? We're a team. It's okay to rely on her sometimes, okay?"

I hugged him, perhaps for the first time. At least, I knew it was the first time I hugged him and meant it.

Chapter Text

Des cheered up significantly after our hug. I was surprised that such a simple gesture had such power, and vowed to use it only for good from then on. Not that you could use hugs for evil… Though that Lola girl might've been able.

Thankfully, she wasn't in the group that was leaving Snowpoint. I wasn't sure I could handle another couple of days with her on a small, crowded ship. When asked about it by Devon, she just replied with a flat, "I'm challenging Candice."

"Do you have a dark team?" Rena asked, trying not to laugh.

"No." There was no scorn or malice in it, and that was probably what caught us off guard the most. We were expecting at least annoyance at us bratty kids. But Lola just walked off with a swish of her black skirt, black boot heels clicking on the floor and black hair swaying behind her.

"Thank everything that goth isn't coming with us," Hanna exclaimed, putting a hand dramatically to her forehead. "I think I lost part of my tan just looking at her."

"You lost the rest of it during this entire expedition," I muttered.

"I know! Once we hit Sunyshore, I'm nonstop tanning. I'm so white. I practically match the snow outside! Hmm, maybe I can tan on the boat…"

"You've created a monster," Devon remarked. Hanna remained oblivious to it. Rena and I rolled our eyes in unison.

Just then, all of our problems and plans were swept out the door as it opened.

In walked an anchorwoman and a cameraman, evidently filming. Live. And, as the good children we were, we were instantly enthralled. "And here, just a day after Snowpoint's latest big blizzard, we see the poor souls who were snowed in the Pokemon Center. As you can see, it was quite crowded. Even without the weather, however, most of these trainers could not leave without expensive, alternate routes home, due to the closure of Route 217. It is now officially closed, due to the tragic death of a young trainer by a feral Abomasnow—"

I suddenly felt a yank on my cast and was suddenly pulled ahead by an excited Hanna. "Ooh! Miss, we know all about that Abomasnow!" she called, dragging me over to the woman and camera. Rena and Devon followed, though out of loyalty or the lure of the limelight, I wasn't sure.

"Hm? Oh, young trainers." She turned to the cameraman and whispered something unintelligible, and then said with a serious face, "More on this story after the weather." After her partner gave her the signal, she relaxed and turned to us. "Okay, kids. I know you just want to get on TV and do the whole 'hi mom' thing, but do any of you really know anything about Snowpoint's situation? You're all old enough to understand that it's always good to get a trainer's view on anything, but if you're just going to be feeding us crap—"

Hanna held up my cast arm, beaming. "Lady, you won't believe how lucky you just got."

"Why?" the woman asked shrewdly, inspecting me with what felt like x-ray vision.

"You know the kid who died?"

"Of course. It's all over the news. It's going to be part of this segment."

"We were almost that kid."

"Elaborate."

"A couple of days before the, ah, tragedy, these two were hauled in from the edge of the city. The Abomasnow attacked them, and if it wasn't for their Shroomish evolving to beat it back, they would have died as well," Devon explained, adjusting his glasses. The woman's mouth dropped into a perfect little O.

"As it is, look! Broken arm. Tragedy, right?" Hanna asked, waving my arm around.

"Hold still, you two." The woman immediately descended upon us with a pocket makeup kit, fixing our hair and patting down our faces with some sort of powder that nearly made me sneeze. As she did so, she regarded Devon and Rena out of the corner of her eye. "What connection do you two have?"

"Friends?" the blonde girl guessed. "On the first night after they came in, they woke us up screaming. Nightmares. Does that count for any screen time?"

"No, but it makes them look better," the anchorwoman said with a bright smile.

Hanna, matching her smile watt for watt, added cheerfully, "I'm the one who organized the boat out of Snowpoint for the trainers, too."

"You two are going to make this story. Ah, wait—you're not uncomfortable telling this, right?" she asked sharply. Hanna and I looked at each other, then turned back to her and shook our heads. "You're both official trainers, right? Nothing illegal or immoral that'll mess this up later?"

Again, we shook our heads, but this time, I could tell that even the happy Hanna was a bit unnerved by the question. I knew I was. What trouble did she expect a couple of kids to get into? Join a crime organization? True, I was arrested once, but I wasn't about to mention that and spoil my chances of getting on television.

"You two, shoo. Maybe you'll get an interview later. Depends on how this airs. Here, you stand here—no, like this—make sure the cast is visible." I was moved around like a mannequin until she chose the most uncomfortable, awkward position in the world. "Good. Now hold it. Oh, wait—where's that Breloom of yours? The one that evolved?"

After Des' moodiness over Carlita's evolution, I knew better. "If Carlita's coming out, Des is, too. My only other Pokemon."

"Oh yeah! Des was the one who initially kept the Abomasnow at bay. My Pokemon helped, too!" Hanna chimed in eagerly.

Obviously thinking Hanna had a full team, the woman shook her head. "We can't fit too many into this shot. Already it's going to be a bit crowded."

"But—they're so pretty!"

"Maybe we can fit them in later, if we have time to do an actual interview rather than a quick one for this story," she fielded. The cameraman then leaned over and mumbled something to her, and she quickly straightened, fixing her hair and clothes. "Alright, you two. Just answer the questions and try to keep it good."

-.-.-

Hanna and I ended up giving a good story, evidently, because just an hour later, the anchorwoman was excitedly receiving a phone call from her bosses asking her for full interviews from us and our Pokemon. That in turn had Hanna nearly bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm, but I was a bit more reserved. Snagging her sleeve as she rushed past me, I hissed, "What if they ask why a couple of kids with only two Pokemon each, half of those weak to ice types, came up Route 217?"

"They don't know our Pokemon's levels. Just play it off all cool-like. Come on, they won't ask that! Just look cute and injured and we're good!" she chattered and flounced off again.

Her interview was up first. I sat in the background with my Pokemon, fiddling with my phone. Half of me wanted to make funny faces at the camera, but I knew I'd pay for it in the long run when Hanna found out I stole the attention from her. "You guys ready?" I asked quietly, scratching Des behind the ears.

"Mel."

"Bre!"

"It's not going to be live, so there's less pressure. That's good, right?" I added with a fake cheer, moving to scratch Carlita under the chin. I was actually pretty nervous, but I knew if I made them nervous because of it, that would only make me more nervous, which would make them more nervous—it would be a very nervous circle.

Just then, my phone rang. All three of us jumped and I scrambled to find it, trying to shush it before it took Hanna's spotlight. "Hello?" I asked as I shuffled away from the camera, hoping to get out of the shot.

"Guess who I saw on TV earlier today." It was Nick, sounding as amused as ever with my antics. I couldn't help but grin just hearing his voice. It had been ages since we talked—in fact, not since Eterna. This was the first actual conversation we'd have, aside from a message on my voicemail once. "Nice cast, by the way."

"Most people would be worried that I got mauled by a rogue Abomasnow," I retorted as delicately as I could. But contrary to my words, I was glad he wasn't concerned. I was already dreading the call my parents would inevitably make. I shivered at the very thought.

"Yeah. Sorry about that," he said absentmindedly. "At least you're okay now, right? You sure seemed perky when you got on TV, anyway. Are you traveling with that girl now?"

"Kind of…" I trailed off, pursing my lips. Once this was over, Hanna and I were over.

There was some loud noise in the background on his side, and I frowned as I tried to place it. A voice? Was someone else there, talking to him? "Yeah, I will—" he said, presumably to the voice. Then, back to me. "Hey-so-I-think-you-should-turn-on-the-TV-right-now," he said quickly, all in one breath.

"Why?"

"I gotta go! Watch! Bye!" Nick said loudly, and then the phone clicked off. I pulled it away from my ear and stared at it, before looking around for the TV in the lobby. A couple trainers were already sitting in front of it, casually watching the news. It was already on; he hadn't told me what channel. I scowled and stomped over (careful to stay out of Hanna's shot), and had to stand on my tiptoes to reach the channel button on the television. The other trainers made no move to stop me, probably because I was the kid with the cast.

I flipped through several channels before freezing on the channel that was dedicated to the Elite Four and its challengers (nicknamed the Champ-Channel, though the Champion rarely appeared on it). There was a blue-haired man with glasses on the screen, smiling coolly at his opponent. He sent out a lavender feline that was announced as an Espeon, and the screen flickered over to the challenger.

None other than Nick grinned and sent out his Mothim. I had never seen it before, but I dimly remembered him mentioning it before. I didn't know what other Pokemon he had, aside from his Gabite, of course, and a couple other random species names that I could probably remember if he sent them out.

I felt giddy. Nick, the one who had helped me so much in my journey, my friend, the one trainer who I admired most—he was challenging the Elite Four. And he was challenging the fourth Elite Four member. (I only knew that because it was announced about a dozen times; apparently, not many made it that far.)

I sat and watched, enraptured, as the Mothim and Espeon battled. It was a fairly short battle, however, as the bug-type moth had the obvious advantage and took care of the Espeon with ease. Lucian, the Elite Four member, sent out a Mr. Mime, which was likewise defeated by the Mothim. But halfway through his third Pokemon, an Alakazam (that one I knew without any help, since I had wanted one as a starter) sent out a Thunderbolt, and that was the end of Mothim's rampage against the psychics.

Nick sent out what I assumed had once been his Gabite, but what was announced on the TV as a Garchomp, and made quick work of the Alakazam with a vicious Crunch attack. That made three pokemon of Lucian's down, and only two to go. Nick was winning against the Elite Four. I knew he was a strong trainer, yes, but I had never thought I'd get to watch someone I knew winning against the Elite Four. The last of them, even! After that, it was just the Champion, and then…

I frowned, suddenly realizing something. If Nick won—which I was definitely hoping for—and then won against the Champion… he would become the new Champion.

That meant that I would have to battle him, and defeat him, if I ever wanted to take that title.

I watched Lucian's Gallade fight valiantly against Nick's Garchomp, now more serious. I'd have to take on what was mopping the floor with Lucian. And I would have to win if I ever wanted to reach my dream of being the Champion.

"Hey, kid, it's your turn!"

I didn't register the fact that the reporter lady was talking to me, though I'd been addressed so many times as 'kid' in the past three months it was a wonder I even remembered my own name. I was still engrossed with Nick's fight. Gallade went down, but not after taking out Garchomp. Nick sent out a pink and tan thing that balanced precariously on one leg, the other and its arms shifting immediately into a fighting stance. Lucian sent out his last Pokemon, a hulking mass with red eyes that floated over the ground.

I was yanked backward suddenly by the shirt collar, and Hanna was glaring down at me. "It's your turn."

"Right."

All throughout the interview, however, I couldn't think of anything but Nick and his fight against the Elite Four. He'd probably be done with Lucian soon. Then it'd be on to the Champion, and if he won, then I would have to face him one day. I'd have to beat him one day. Why did that feel too much like a betrayal?

Chapter Text

"Oh my gosh you broke your arm! You were attacked! You nearly died!" Predictably, my parents were quick to call once the interviews aired (evidently, they missed the live segment). I was holding the phone a good foot away from my ear, listening to my mother's wailing impassively. True, the Abomasnow attack was a rather rude wake-up call, but if she had known half of the abuse I'd received on this trip…

"I'm fine, really. I have a cast, don't I? That means they're fixing my arm," I told her in the first lull.

"But… oh gosh, I just had never thought this would happen! We've been such a peaceful place, ever since that Galactic incident, and now there's wild Pokemon attacking young trainers!"

"I'm fine. They're taking care of the Pokemon soon, and I'm leaving Snowpoint anyway. Today, in fact. I'm heading to Sunyshore with my—friends." I examined my nails, frowning at how uneven they were. I had been trying to stop biting them—the awkward positioning required to do so with the cast on helped—and now that they were growing out, they were hideous. I swapped my cell phone to my other shoulder and bit the nails on my free hand.

The video phones were all full up with trainers excitedly calling home, telling their parents that they would be home soon. Or something. I don't know; I wasn't going to eavesdrop. I could barely hear anything else as it was, what with my mother shouting in my ear and all. It was better that she couldn't see me and I couldn't see her, I decided. That would only make things worse, and I had the sudden, unexplained paranoia that she'd start telling me how much I'd grown.

"You ought to come home, you know! Most kids would be scarred for life after such an ordeal, and now I'm just going to worry about you!"

I was pretty sure I was scarred for life, but I wasn't about to tell her that. "Goodbye, mom," I said forcefully.

"You better come home soon to visit—"

"I love you, bye." I shut the phone with a heavy sigh. There was no way I'd be going back home. They'd have to cart me back in a coffin after all I'd been through. And, as the saying goes, no pain, no gain, right?

I looked over to where Hanna was giving one last interview with the reporter lady. She wasn't letting go of her fifteen minutes of fame that easily, it seemed. We would be leaving in just an hour, and she wanted to make sure to leave a departing mark.

I got to my feet, pocketed Des and Carlita's pokeballs, and pulled on my jacket. It was my last hour in Snowpoint, and as much as I hated the town for what it and Route 217 did to me, I wasn't going to leave without seeing more than the inside of the Center. Candice's Gym was the seventh, traditionally, so I should be back here relatively soon, but then again, it had taken me this long just to get two badges.

Rena and Devon only spared me a glance as I wrapped my scarf around my neck and pulled my hood over my hair. I marched out into the snow, blinking Noctowl-ishly in the bright sunlight. The reflective snow didn't help much, either. My boots crunched as I made my way through it all, even the parts that were knee- and waist-deep, until I reached the center of town: the Gym. It stood grandly in the middle of all of the snow, icicles hanging from the eaves, its sign proudly declaring Candice as the "Diamond Dust Girl!".

As I was reading the sign, the door slid open, releasing a trainer I recognized immediately. As if all of the black didn't give it away. Lola didn't even spare me a passing glance as she wandered off in the direction of the Center. I watched her leave; had she just beaten Candice? If so, then she probably had seven badges. I might have to battle her, too, on my route to becoming the Champion.

The rest of the tiny town wasn't very exciting. True, there was one old man who shouted random, smart-sounding phrases at me out of his window, but that was about it. I wandered down to the dock at the southern tip of Snowpoint, hands in my pockets for warmth. It was chilly out, even if it was still early afternoon. I couldn't help but glance nervously over to the forest, however. The Abomasnow was still there, somewhere, perhaps waiting for its newest victim…

I shivered.

And then, I shivered again, because I felt a very familiar pair of cold eyes on the back of my neck. I fumbled around in my pocket for Des' pokeball. I whirled around, tossing it as I did so, but the Froslass just caught the ball. It was encased in several inches of ice in a heartbeat and dropped to the ground harmlessly, my Numel trapped inside. "Lass," she said reproachfully.

"Don't give me that. I never agreed to help you," I fielded, wondering if Carlita could kick ghosts. I had hoped to leave the Froslass behind in Snowpoint, regardless of her plea for help.

"Lass…" Eyes hardening, she held both arms out from her sides, and I felt the temperature around us drop. Even more threateningly, the sky overhead darkened.

"D-Don't," I warned, teeth chattering. I had to do something about this before the Froslass attacked, and Carlita was the only Pokemon I had left… Using my cast-arm as a shield, of sorts, I pulled her pokeball out of my pocket. The Froslass screeched in anger as my Breloom appeared and I called out, "Carlita! Mach Punch!"

While she definitely had the advantage of speed, she didn't have the advantage of intangibility. Her clawed paw went right through the ghost and was coated in ice before she could do much else. "Lass!" With that, the Froslass sent what was obviously an Ice Beam at her, and Carlita went down. I made a move to go to her, but the ghost growled and sent another Ice Beam at my feet. Unfortunately, it was just as I had stepped down, so I ended up slipping and landing—hard—on my back.

Winded and dazed, it took me a few moments to realize that I was now being dragged back towards the forest by the Froslass. I blinked blearily at the dark sky, moving my head in an effort to clear it. Bizarrely, the only thought I had was if mom could see me now…

It took a few more minutes for me to figure out what was going on. I was getting kidnapped by an angry Froslass, Des was frozen in his pokeball, and Carlita was unconscious in the snow. None of that was good. "H-Hey! Wait! What are you doing?!"

"Lass," she replied indifferently. I craned my head back, but I still couldn't see her.

"Let me go!" Froslass was a ghost, and a fairly small one at that. Surely, if I struggled, she couldn't carry my weight anymore, right? I started thrashing, but she solved that by numbing my limbs with another ice move.

The Abomasnow might not have gotten the job done, but this Froslass sure would.

-.-.-

I can communicate more easily with you like this, she said. We were once again in that stark white place, with the Froslass floating just a few feet in front of me. I looked around my dream, realizing that I wasn't aware when I had fallen asleep. Great.

"We can't talk like this. If I'm asleep out in the snow, I'm going to die. Then I can't help your trainer, can I?" I countered nervously.

You already stated you would not help him, she replied coldly, eyes glinting.

"I-I'll change my mind. Just let me go, and let me get back to my Pokemon," I pleaded. Carlita was in the same predicament I was, and she was already weak to the cold…

I do not trust you.

"How can I prove to you that I'll help?" I burst out desperately. Carlita and I would both get hypothermia, and then frostbite, and then—death…

…You cannot, necessarily, prove it, the Froslass admitted, looking down at her tiny paws. Then, returning her icy gaze to me, she stated, But I will exact a promise from you.

"Fine! I promise I will help your trainer. Please, please let me go and wake me up!"

You have no idea what you're getting into. My trainer is—

"I'll find out later!"

Impatient little human, she spat, ice crystals forming around her. I gulped and backed down.

"Tell me what I need to know, then," I said humbly.

My human is older than you, and already a strong trainer. He will not listen unless you are strong, like he is. You will need to become stronger, and collect those badges that humans are so infatuated with, she explained calmly, relaxing.

I nodded, not bothering to tell her that that had been my plan all along.

But you need to find him, and help him, before something terrible happens. I do not know what that might be, but I know it will happen if he continues on the path he's chosen, the Froslass said, shifting uncomfortably. Continuing, she said, Last time I saw him, he was in a cave, far from here.

"That's not very specific. What's 'far' from here? Is he still in Sinnoh?"

I believe so.

"What does he look like? What's his name?"

The Froslass tilted her head to one side, and said, I do not know what you humans call him. I, and the others on his team, always just called him 'Master' or 'Trainer'.

I squinted at her. Really? "…What does he look like, then?"

I cannot tell you humans apart, really, she admitted sheepishly.

"What?! Come on, we all look different!" I exclaimed.

Can you tell apart two Froslass?

"…Probably not."

Then do not patronize me.

This was getting to be frustrating. To make matters worse, I was probably dying at that very moment. "Does he have short hair?"

I suppose, she said. It gave me the very distinct impression that she had no idea what different hair lengths on humans were.

"Does he have hair the color of mine?" I pushed off my hood and pulled a brown lock away from my head, pointing to it with my other hand. "Is it this color, or lighter, or darker?"

It is not that color, she said as she floated closer. She inspected my hair closely, and finally said, I think it's darker.

Okay, male trainer, strong (so probably older), and in a cave (which he would probably be out of by the time I ever found him). Oh, and also in trouble, with (maybe) short hair and (maybe) darker hair. I didn't even bother asking for an eye color. "Anything else I should know?" I asked impatiently.

Just… Help him. He's lost, and confused. I fear he will make a grave mistake soon, she said, tears freezing as they fell on her cheeks. I looked away in embarrassment.

"I'll try. Now let me out of here!" I got a blast of cold air in the face, and next thing I knew, it was hailing on me. "Ow!" I growled as one hit my forehead. I sat up and pulled my hood back over my head, brushing my hair out of my eyes as I did so. The good thing was that I wasn't dead. The bad thing was that I had no idea where I was.

I flipped open my cell phone, and predictably, it told me that it didn't have any service.

I got to my feet, swinging my arms to get circulation again, and then spotted what appeared to be a trail. A trail that I must have made, getting dragged. Gleefully, I started running in that direction, nearly losing my boots in some of the deeper drifts, but happily all the same. Soon, the hail started to lessen and the sun started to shine weakly through the treetops.

Soon enough, I ran out of the forest, and back out to the dock. Immediately, I was sent into the snow as Hanna tackled me. "Oh my gosh you were missing and we thought you had died and where have you been?!"

"Get off of me," I wheezed in reply. She got off of me and offered a hand to help me up, which, at first I refused, but then decided I needed. Between the Froslass and her, I didn't need any enemies. Those two were doing a fine job beating me up.

"Where have you been?! We've all been worried sick, especially after we found Des and Carlita."

I winced, and asked, "Where are they? Are they alright?"

"Yes, they're both fine. But where have you been?"

"Just… out for a walk." No one would believe me about the Froslass, anyway, and her quest for me. "Has the ferry left yet?"

"It's about to, which was why we were searching for you, idiot! Now come on. I've already packed your things, and your Pokemon are already on there, so we just need to join them!" I was dragged off by a crazy female for the second time that day.

Chapter Text

We reached Sunyshore early the next morning. Hanna and I said goodbye to Rena and Devon. Then, Hanna and I awkwardly said goodbye to each other. "Well… goodbye. Thank you for coming with me. Sorry you got mauled and all," she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I'm used to it." I shrugged with one shoulder, and then looked down at our Pokemon. Carlita had picked up Alexander and was swinging him around in one of her dances, and Des was steadily staring at Isabella, who was watching them. "…Say goodbye, Des," I told him, since Carlita seemed to be doing a good job on her own.

"Nu," he pouted, looking up at me instead of at the Glaceon. I smiled helplessly in return. I refused to step in for him to say goodbye to his crush. Finally, he shuffled over to where Isabella was still watching the two dancing grass Pokemon, scooted up next to her, and licked her on the cheek. She squeaked in surprise, and I gave him the dignity of a quick retreat into his pokeball.

"Well isn't he a shy little fellow," Hanna remarked warmly. "…I'll miss him. I'm sure these two will miss yours, too." We both looked pointedly over to where Carlita was still spinning Alexander around. "…Eventually, they will. Well… Bye then." A quick hug later, and Hanna and her two, returned, were on their way. I returned Carlita as well and wandered off in a westerly direction.

-.-.-

Route 222 was much sunnier and warmer than Route 217. Most of the trainers consisted of fishermen, content to let me pass as long as I didn't scare the fish. I still felt much too exposed, however, especially since they were obviously water trainers. I kept to the edges of some of the ledges and hid whenever someone turned my way.

Thankfully, there weren't many wild Pokemon around. They would probably be too strong for us, anyway. I did spot an Electabuzz and nearly went after it, but then I realized that it would probably electrocute us all. I resolutely walked on.

An Electabuzz… That's awesome. I'll have to come back here some day, I thought, mourning the loss of my potential newest Pokemon. It had been on the list of my wanted starter Pokemon. I still liked them. I'll come back when I have a few more badges and catch one—

I stopped dead in my tracks, eyes wide.

The first thing I realized was that I was contemplating getting another Pokemon. What had happened to my dream of training up just one—well, now two—Pokemon? Evidently, it had been thrown out the window. After watching other trainers with their teams, I had come to appreciate what a larger team could do. I didn't necessarily want six, since I had my hands full dealing with just Des and Carlita, but maybe three, or four…

That revelation was hastily swept aside by a larger, more ominous one.

I had never caught a Pokemon.

Des had been my starter, and Carlita I had gotten rather unorthodoxly. I had never caught a single Pokemon. I only had a sparse few pokeballs, never having even thrown one at another Pokemon. "Argh! What kind of trainer am I?!" I shouted furiously, kicking the ledge.

"Hey! Kid! You scared the fish!"

I hastily ran away from all of the angry fishermen. I circled around to the top of the ledge, once again dodging trainers with my apparently awesome stealth skills, and found a patch of grass. There were Electabuzz about… Electabuzz that would sooner zap me than look at me. Maybe it'd be better to try for a different Pokemon. True, Des had leveled up a ton on that expedition, but I wasn't sure how strong the wild Pokemon around this part were. Better safe than sorry.

I went off of the path and into the trees, in case someone else was in the vicinity, and released my two Pokemon. "Listen up, troops!" I marched back and forth between them. I had sold most of my cold weather gear in Sunyshore for some quick cash, but kept my hat, and was now wearing it like a helmet. This was war, after all.

Carlita smartly saluted and clicked her heels together. Des looked up at me cluelessly.

Picking a small branch off of the ground nearby, I waved it like one of those things I had seen generals carry around in old war movies. "We are going to catch a new teammate. But this won't be easy, oh no it won't. This will be hard. We will have to earn this new addition through hard work and perseverance! And, we are going to have to go about this in a bit of a roundabout way…"

-.-.-

All three of us were lying on our stomachs in the tall grass, peering through the blades at our target: an unsuspecting Electabuzz. After much internal debate I decided to just go for it. I did like them, and they were here, relatively common. Plus, we had the element of surprise.

"Carlita, Stun Spore," I whispered, hopefully quiet enough that our quarry hadn't heard. She nodded and puffed out a cloud of golden dust from the hat-like thing on her head, and then blew it towards the Electabuzz. It hit it and it immediately stiffened. Growling, it slowly turned around, looking for us. All three of us ducked out heads down into the grass. Phase one: complete.

I had figured that as long as both of them didn't attack it at once, it was completely legal for both Des and Carlita to help with this battle. "Des, Focus Energy and then Ember!" That time, unfortunately, the Electabuzz heard me.

It lumbered, rather sluggishly, over, swinging its arms. "Buzzzzz!" There was a rather ominous crackle of electricity in its cry.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, ready to bolt. Carlita was already on her feet, hopping excitedly. Des, finished with his Focus Energy, spat a mouthful of flames at the electric Pokemon. It hit it square in the face, and it stumbled back, roaring in pain. Without me telling him to, my Numel followed it with another Ember, and the Electabuzz stumbled back again. Something must've caught its foot, for it tripped and landed on its back.

I took the opportunity to jump to my feet, empty pokeball at the ready. "Carlita! Jump on it or something! Knock the wind out of it!" I knew from experience that you couldn't struggle very well if you were winded. She happily pranced over and bounced on its stomach a few time. The Electabuzz, clearly not expecting that, wheezed and went limp.

I tossed the pokeball, and it went in with a flash of red light. The ball disappeared into the grass, and I waded through it to make it to the wiggling thing. I was just about to reach down and pick it up when it snapped back open, revealing a very angry Electabuzz not a foot in front of my face. My nose tingled, probably from the electricity suddenly back in the air.

I looked up at it, smiling sheepishly.

"Buzzzzzz," it growled, leaning down and showing its teeth.

"Mach Punch!" I screamed and dropped to the ground, crawling away. I heard Carlita eagerly start trading punches with the Electabuzz, though with her speed, I knew it was mostly going to be one-sided. After getting what I deemed to be a safe distance away—and within arm's length of Des—I turned to see the wild Pokemon go down for the second time. This time, Carlita obediently sat on it, and I tossed a second pokeball from afar. She plopped to the ground with the absence of her chair, and this time, I waited cautiously by my Numel.

Nothing happened. I peeked up out of the grass, Des mirroring the movement. Carlita was tossing the pokeball between her clawed paws, tail waving behind her happily, and then she turned to us. "Bre!" she called and threw it at us. I shouted and ducked, and it landed behind me, opening up to reveal the Electabuzz in a flash of white.

"Ack! Des, Ember—" Then, I promptly realized that it had only come out after it had been tossed. I reached over wordlessly and clamped my hand over Des's mouth to stop him from following that order. I stared up at the Electabuzz—my Electabuzz. It stared mutinously back, yellow fur crackling with static. "…Yay!" There was no other word for it. I jumped to my feet and threw myself at it, wrapping my arms around it, burying my face in its fur. I could feel my hair frizz out, but I didn't care. "Electabuzz, Electabuzz! Electa—ah, aahhh—" I sneezed.

Then, I sneezed again. I removed my face from its fur and was alarmed to find my eyes were watering. I stepped back from the Electabuzz after another sneeze, sniffling miserably as I rubbed at my itchy, watery eyes.

"…Buzz?" my new Pokemon questioned cautiously, taken aback by this change in behavior. Des head butted my leg nervously and Carlita came up beside us, bouncing on her feet.

"I-I—ahh-choo!"

I was allergic to Electabuzz.

-.-.-

Des, Carlita and I watched the sun set over route 222. Sunyshore City was still visible in the distance, glowing palely. I rolled the Electabuzz's pokeball back and forth between my hands, thinking. Des was leaning his head on my lap and Carlita was curled up behind me, letting me lean against her stomach, tail curled around us. This was what it was like to be a team. Just being together, momentarily getting along, enjoying the silence and the view. I could never do that with my Electabuzz. I was terribly allergic to it; I couldn't go any nearer than about ten feet, hard as I tried.

Was it fair to keep it, then? True, I probably wouldn't get that close to it in battles, so it could still fight on our team. But I could never sit around a table and have it steal bites off of my plate, could never sleep with it, could never hug it, could never be near it at all. Still, it was my Pokemon. I had caught it, and it didn't seem to hate me. I certainly didn't hate it.

"Guys… What should we do?" I asked quietly, sniffling. I was still getting rid of the aftereffects. I was allergic to my own Pokemon. How unfair. It made me wonder what other species I might be allergic to… None of them I had come in contact with so far, thankfully.

"Loo," Carlita mumbled.

"Nu," Des agreed. I scratched him behind his round ears absently.

"Should I release him?" For lack of a better way of referring to it, I had started calling the Electabuzz 'him', though I was still unsure of its gender. "Or should I trade him? Sell him? Give him away? …Should we keep him?"

Neither of them answered me that time. I sighed heavily. What did other trainers do when this happened? Did it happen to others, or was I just that unlucky?

Without wanting to, I felt my eyes water up again. I couldn't say it was my newfound allergies, either. I didn't want to get rid of this Electabuzz. I liked Electabuzz, I was proud of myself for catching one, and I was now entirely attached to it and the thought of having a three-Pokemon team. I wished I could work around it, but when I couldn't even get near it… Was it fair to a Pokemon to have a trainer that couldn't go near it? I didn't know. I didn't know what to do, either.

Des moved his head as I drew my knees up to my chest, setting my forehead on them. In front of us, the sun finally set. I sniffed and bit my lip, but the tears came anyway. Losing this single, new Pokemon. It hurt. I didn't know its name, its gender, or anything about it. Did it like to dance like Carlita? Did it get type-impractical crushes like Pedestal? Did it like pasta, or sweet foods, or sour foods? What attacks did it know? What was its fighting style? Did it like to battle, or not? I knew nothing about this stranger, but I wanted to know about it so badly it hurt.

Would it get jealous if it saw me scratching Des behind the ears? Would it be bitter that I couldn't go near it? Would it resent me for it? Would it look upon all trainers with that same resentment, then?

I stood up, wiping the tears away with my wrist. I walked away from Des and Carlita, away to where I would be relatively alone. I released my Electabuzz and took a few cautious steps backward after I sneezed. "Electabuzz, would you like to be a trained Pokemon? Or would you rather go back to being a wild Pokemon?"

Tilting its head to one side, it asked, "Ele?"

I realized that I'd have to ask simple yes-or-no questions. "…Would you like to go back to being a wild Pokemon?"

A shake of the head and tail. I shuddered and covered my mouth and nose with my sleeve. The Electabuzz watched me cautiously, looking almost concerned. Probably more worried about what it had just gotten into, if its very first trainer was acting like this…

"S-So you still want to be a t-trained Pokemon?" I asked, struggling not to sneeze. The Electabuzz nodded vigorously, flexing the muscles on its arms. So it wanted to become stronger—or at least, that's what I took away from that show of strength. I finally sneezed and my eyes started watering. My cast arm felt very heavy as I said, "Well… I-I can't be your trainer. So I'm going to give you away t-to someone else."

"…Ele? Buzz?"

"It's not that I don't want you! I want you to be on th-this team very, very much. But I can't g-go near you, so it would be unfair to keep you." With that and one last, mighty sniffle, I walked forward and wrapped my arms around it, pressing my face into its fur for the last time. I immediately paid the price, however, as my allergy decided to take revenge for the sentimental move. My Electabuzz watched as I spent the next several minutes ten feet away from it, coughing, sneezing, dripping snot and tears, and generally having a bad time of it. I didn't get any relief until I returned it to its pokeball.

I walked back to Sunyshore to spend the night. I gave the Electabuzz to Nurse Joy and instructed her to "give it to a good trainer who knows how to treat electric types right". That wouldn't be that hard, right? After all, the Gym leader here was apparently the electric-type one, so there should be a fair share of enthusiasts wandering around.

I slept curled into a ball, snuggled in tightly between Carlita and Des, that night. What if I lost either of these two? What if I developed allergies towards them, or we got separated from each other—or what if one of us died? I hugged them closer to my body and fell asleep that way.

The next morning, I helped out in the kitchens for breakfast. It brought back memories of how I met Nick. I hadn't gotten to see the end of his fight with Lucian… What if he's the Champion?! I suddenly felt cold and halted in my muffin-making. No… No. He would have called, right? To tell me…? I didn't feel too sure of that as an answer, however. Surely he made new friends and wouldn't waste his time on an eleven-year-old kid. And even if he didn't… I hadn't told him about my Electabuzz, and that was about a big deal as it got in my life. What if he didn't tell me about his big deal?

"Hey, you okay?" One of the other workers elbowed me in the arm, temporarily unbalancing me. It was hard enough working with a cast; I didn't need to be abused any further! I sent him the best glare that I could manage, considering I wasn't the cleanest of muffin-makers. I had flour on my cheeks from where I'd rubbed my arms—and only found this out later—and blueberries made my mouth blue. It was obvious I'd been sneaking a few from the bowl. (I also didn't find that out until later and figured I had gotten away with my crime.)

"What do you want?" I asked the other worker.

"You just seem really distracted. You a tourist, too?" he asked with a disarming smile. I squinted at him. He didn't look like a tourist, but then again, he was also covered in flour and muffin batter. He didn't look like too much of anything but a mess. He rubbed his cheek, smearing said flour. "Fine, just don't look at me that way. You look like you're going to murder my girlfriend or something. I won't question your godly Pokemon trainer-ness anymore, I promise." He rolled his eyes and went back to pouring batter into the paper cups.

I glared at his back for a moment longer. What did he know? He had a girlfriend, probably some Pokemon—pets, not my awesome team—and didn't know what it was like to have to give up an awesome Electabuzz because of a stupid allergy. I turned back to my cooking—and immediately back to him. I stared up at his hair, studying it. It was darker than mine.

Finally, I had to ask. "Hey. Do you have a Froslass?"

Chapter Text

"Lass?"

The brown-haired boy gave a start when the Froslass suddenly appeared beside me. I did one better: I shrieked and made a bolt for the door. My shirt collar froze stiff as the Froslass grabbed it and began to drag me back. For an intangible mass of frost and cold, she was pretty strong.

"Wh-What is that thing?!" the other boy said in a loud voice, pressing himself up against the counter to try to get farther away from us. By now, the others in the kitchen had noticed and were also in varying degrees of panic. The lucky ones escaped. The not-so-lucky ones were stuck in here as the Froslass waved her free hand and the door was locked in ice.

"Lass? Lass?!" The ghost pulled me back away from the door and up onto the nearest counter. She narrowed her eyes and glared down at me, then pointed accusingly at the brown-haired boy. "Lass!"

"I-I don't know what you're sa-saying!" I shook my head and tried to stop my teeth from chattering. She paused, studying me. Then, she let me go and floated over to the brown-haired boy. She pulled out a bit of his hair, pointed to it, and glared at me.

"What's g-going on?" he asked, clearly scared.

"I get it! It's n-not him, okay? Now let us out of here—!" She let go of him and instead came towards me. I ducked under her first lunge and hid under the nearest cart, shouting, "Don't freeze me again!"

Her arm reached through the fabric and one of her little fingers touched my forehead. I felt cold for a brief moment, and then slumped against the side of the cart.

I reopened my eyes in the white world of the Froslass. She floated unapologetically next to me. I lashed out at her with my cast arm, but it just went right through her neck. Don't do that, she commanded sternly.

"Stop bringing me here! I am going to die if you keep freezing me, okay? Then I can't do anything about your stupid trainer!" I shouted, wishing I had a way to hit a ghost. I didn't even care if I got arrested again for it.

Don't call him stupid!

"Well, he is pretty stupid, isn't he?! Getting lost in that cave of yours, getting in trouble, getting some stranger to try to help him with his stupid Froslass!" I crouched down on the white ground, trying not to pull my hair out. I could feel her glare on the top of my head. "…Why aren't you still in Snowpoint? I thought I left you behind…" I couldn't keep the defeated hope out of my voice.

I am not tethered to Snowpoint or the snowy Route, she said simply. Continuing, she said conversationally, Though I like cold areas, I am not unable to go to warmer climates or cities.

"Why don't you ever go back to him and try to help him yourself?" I snarled.

I cannot, she said in a very tiny voice.

I raised my head a bit, looking at her. "Why not?" I demanded flatly.

He released me. It is not… proper for released Pokemon to return to their trainers.

That struck a chord with me, and I lowered my head again. Electabuzz, I thought morosely. Had I technically released it? The Froslass floated lower until she was sitting beside me, arms folded across the red stripe on her stomach. "…If he released you, why're you so desperate to try to help him?"

He is my trainer. He raised me from a young Snorunt. He cared for me, fed me, trained me, spent time with me. I still care for him.

"You two parted on some weird terms, huh?"

It's… complicated.

With that, she reached over and touched my forehead again, and suddenly I was looking up into several pairs of very worried eyes. "Oh—Are you okay?!" The brown-haired boy I had mistaken for Froslass' trainer was there, with what looked to be a Ninetales sitting beside him. Nurse Joy was also there, and a few people I dimly recognized as others who had been helping out in the kitchen.

I sat up and immediately regretted it. Head pounding, I flopped back down, only somewhat surprised to see that I had been moved to one of the hospital beds. Nurse Joy felt my forehead, and told me in a clipped tone, "Your fever has gone down a bit, but you're still sick and recovering from the chill that Froslass gave you. You should stay overnight and rest." Then, turning to the rest of the crowd, she said, "Alright! No more excuses! Off to bed with all of you!"

-.-.-

In the following weeks, I got my cast removed, left Sunyshore, and earned my third badge from Fantina. It was kind of tough, since I didn't have any advantages, but Des managed to burn his way through all of the ghosts. I managed to avoid another semi-fight with Carlita, since she hadn't gotten to battle with the Gym leader, by letting her participate in a Cool Contest, which she barely won (and that was because she was so good at dancing and showing off in the first two rounds). Des, thankfully, didn't seem enthused with the idea of Contests and didn't want his own turn.

During those few weeks, the Froslass was still following us. She didn't appear again, but I occasionally saw a flash of white, or felt a chill on a warm, sunny day. I knew she was still following us. I couldn't do anything about it, unfortunately, aside from try to placate her by asking all of the dark-haired male trainers if they had ever owned a Froslass. None of them did.

I called my parents a couple of times, only to assure them that I hadn't been mauled again, and Hanna once. She was apparently on vacation on some tropical island with her Pokemon and family. I couldn't help but feel jealous.

"Hey, guys, want to go to Pastoria?" I asked one cool evening. "I don't want to battle the Gym, but there's the Great Marsh, and some Pokemon and trainers we could battle…"

Carlita's eyes immediately lit up and she bounced on her toes, squealing, "Bre! Bre! Breloom!"

"I'll take that as a yes." I had nearly forgotten that she must have been from there originally. I studied my map, trying to forget that, and frowned at the fact that we'd either have to take the long way around through Solaceon and Veilstone—the way we came from Sunyshore—or go through uncharted territories straight to Pastoria. Long, familiar way, or shorter, unfamiliar way. I grimaced. I wasn't sure which I preferred.

Eventually, I flipped a coin.

All three of us peered at the Magikarp on the up side, then looked at each other. "Looks like we're going south," I said simply.

South turned out to be a very, very bad idea. With that coin toss, I had found the one Route I hated more than 217. I wasn't even sure of its exact number, but I was sure of the fact that it was wet, disgusting, horrible, difficult, and made the Abomasnow look like a walk in Amity Square.

I was unaware of the bogs and marshes that covered much of the Route. I had thought that it was just a bit of mud and water. Oh, how naïve I was. To make matters worse, I had come across the first bog and had decided that straight across was the fastest way.

Predictably, halfway through I got stuck. Just as predictably, I soon came up with a brilliant plan to get myself out. "Des! Come on out! Use an Ember to harden the mud around me!" Harder mud meant I could stand on it, right?

Wrong. As it turned out, Des sunk into the mud faster than I was and was soon struggling to keep his head up.

And what do I do? Panic. "C-Carlita! Help!"

So that's how all three of us ended up stuck in the mud.

We were stuck there for several hours, trying to keep somewhat afloat, until a Ranger came over and rescued us. He was also nice enough to lead us the rest of the way to Pastoria, though it was the middle of the night, raining, and we were all crying from frustration. (I think that was why he was that nice, though.)

We took one step into the Pokemon Center, however, and were turned away because we were more mud than human or Pokemon. The three of us sat outside in the rain and dark, willing ourselves to get cleaner (but not really accomplishing that as we were sitting in even more mud). Nurse Joy eventually came out and hosed us down—Des didn't approve of that—and let us inside. We sat miserably in front of the fire for the rest of the night, sniffling.

How was I supposed to help Froslass' mystery trainer if I couldn't even handle myself and my own team? If it hadn't been for the Ranger, we'd still be in the mud. Probably dead from cold or suffocation by now. I reached over and pulled Des into my lap, petting his back. That made Carlita decide she wanted to sit on my lap, too, and I was soon sprawled on the ground with my two Pokemon on top of me.

"How am I supposed to angst with you two suddenly so cuddly?" I wheezed. Des craned his neck over and licked my face while Carlita giggled and waved her tail. Eventually, they figured out that I really was in danger of suffocation, so they released me. I sat back up, pressing a hand to my chest. That had to have broken a rib or two. Still, I grinned at the pair of them. "You know, we just wasted the entire night. That means we have to stay up all day today in order to not mess up our sleep schedule. You two brought that on yourselves."

Predictably, we all fell asleep just a half hour after that, just as the morning sun was starting to peek through the windows of the Center.

-.-.-

I jolted awake what felt like minutes later. I blearily looked around, feeling chilled, looking for the Froslass. She was nowhere to be found. I blinked and found the source of my sudden wake-up call: my phone. Its ringing also woke up Carlita, who had rolled away from me and taken Des with her, apparently. I flailed randomly until I managed to grab it, flip it open, and press it crookedly to where I hoped my ear was. "Nngh…?" It was as good a reply as I could muster.

"…Well don't you sound bright-eyed a bushy-tailed," came Nick's voice. I closed my eyes. Not even his call could sufficiently wake me up.

"What…?"

"It's ten. Do you really sleep in this late?"

"We just got to sleep… a little while ago." I paused to yawn, rolling over onto my stomach. I pressed the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I pushed myself up, trying valiantly to get up. The attempt failed and I flopped back down. "…What did you want?"

"Where are you now?" Nick asked, sounding amused. He was probably laughing at me.

"Um… Pastoria," I replied after a few moments of thought. It's hard to remember exact locations when running on a sparse few hours of sleep and the inside of every Center looks pretty much the same. "Why?"

"I'm coming down for a visit." With that, he hung up. I exhaled, willing myself back to sleep—until his words actually registered.

I remained face-down on the floor for a little while longer. "…That means I have to get up," I growled into the carpet. Carlita, Des in her arms, rolled back over and deposited him on my back. "No, up. Not stay down."

"Bre!"

"Nu."

"Thanks, guys."

Chapter Text

I hadn't properly seen Nick since Eterna. That seemed like so long ago, even if it was just a sparse couple of months. I was slightly cranky from lack of sleep, but I figured I had enough energy to greet my friend.

My Pokemon, however, were way past the 'cranky' stage. After actually getting punched by Carlita, I decided to let them sleep in their pokeballs. They could be social later. Preferably when they would behave themselves.

I was waiting outside the Pokemon Center when the shadow passed by overhead. I instinctively looked up, only to see one of the largest, fiercest birds ever dropping out of the sky towards me. I skittered back inside the building to watch from the safety of glass in between us. The bird halted its dive with an expert's precision just above the ground, flapping its overly large, grey wings a few moments to regain its balance. It was then that I noticed the semi-terrified trainer gripping the feathers around its neck with rather white knuckles.

I ran back outside as Nick slid off of the bird, laughing weakly. "G-Good job, Ser…" he muttered, patting its shoulder as it finally settled delicately on the ground. It shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Ser?" I asked curiously. Nick looked up, jumping slightly. He immediately relaxed into a wide smile.

"Short for Serling, actually. You aren't the only one who shortens nicknames, you know," he replied. He looked back at the bird with a touch of fondness. "She's my Staraptor. Well, kind of mine…" The bird, Serling, apparently, shifted again and clicked her beak. "You can go now. Bye, Ser." With that, he hugged her, and the bird flapped its wings once to get airborne again. She spared me a glare before soaring off.

I stared at him, slightly unnerved. "You… just released her?" I didn't know why that scared me as much as it did. I suddenly wanted to get back inside. Instead, I forcibly calmed my nerves and looked around for the Froslass—after all, she would usually appear at a time like now.

"No, no! Serling is… Well, kind of wild. She comes when I call, but otherwise, doesn't travel with me very often anymore. She just gives me rides these days. It's… kind of complicated." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. I grinned uncertainly at him. I still felt uneasy. Nick walked over and clapped a hand on my shoulder, steering me away from the Center. "We're going for a walk. You look pale. You need some sunlight!"

"Yeah…" I needed sleep, and I needed my Electabuzz back and my allergies to it gone. Still, I walked beside him. He was still my friend, after all.

Nick looked down at me, frowning lightly. "Hey, you okay?" I looked back up at him, blinking innocently. He brushed back my bangs, leaning down a bit to look at my eyes. "…Your eyes are darker. Which of the three did you suffer?"

"What?" I asked blankly, completely caught off guard and clueless.

"The three greater tragedies." He smiled again, but this time, it was strained. "Which of the three happened to you?"

"…I don't know what you're talking about." I wanted to back away from him, but the warmth of his hand on my forehead was too good to pass up. I was too used to Froslass' cold little hand there. "What are the three greater tragedies?"

Nick sighed, straightened, and removed his hand, much to my dismay. "The three greater tragedies of Pokemon training. There are a few minor ones, too… But they're three things that inevitably happen to every trainer, as much as everyone would wish they didn't." He held up three fingers, taking one down for each he named. "The first is that you lose so many battles that you just give up. It's the hardest one to fix, precisely because it can be fixed. It breaks your spirit; you have to rebuild it. The other two are a bit more… permanent.

"The second is when you have to release a Pokemon. You have to. Whatever the reasons, it'll happen." He paused too long before taking down the second finger. "…Finally, the third greater tragedy is a Pokemon's death. It can happen in battle, or from old age, or from anything… really…"

I didn't like the far-off look he suddenly got. Each of them inevitably happened to a trainer, right? It looked as if he had recently suffered one of those. I reached over and tugged on his sleeve, a little desperately, because that look really scared me. Pokemon training was supposed to be happy, albeit tough, and no one should have to look like that while thinking about their own team. "I-I caught an Electabuzz, Nick."

"Oh?" Just like that, he was instantly smiling and bright again. I relaxed and let go of the fabric. "Wait—"

"—I had to release it."

"…Oh."

"I was, um, really allergic to it. Really allergic…" Why did it sound like such an excuse now? I had desperately wanted to keep that Electabuzz. It was my first captured Pokemon, it was awesome, and it was probably the strongest on my team. "I didn't want to get rid of it, but I couldn't go near it, so I just gave it away…"

"I'm sorry, but it's alright." Nick gave me a hug, and that seemed to be all I needed. All was well once more.

-.-.-

"So, how many badges you have?" Nick asked around a mouthful of sandwich. I, as opposed to his actual meal, was currently picking through a salad; as much as my Pokemon ate my food, I figured that they'd eat this, too. I had noticed that Des was getting bigger, and not height-wise, either. Pokemon had to eat healthy, too, right?

"Three, now."

"Congrats. Which three?"

"Well, Gardenia's, Roark's, and Fantina's."

Nick choked on his bite. After recovering, though admittedly losing a fair portion of his dignity, he asked, "Haven't you battled Maylene or—oh, come on, you could totally take Crasher Wake…" I tried not to flinch at the thought of taking on the water Gym leader. "Isn't that why you got Carlita? To battle against water types?"

"Yeah, but… She's only one Pokemon…" I muttered, sighing as Des stole my last tomato. Carlita growled at him for it, and tried to whack him with her tail. The only problem was that I was sitting between them; she inadvertently got my back as well. Watery-eyed, I glared at her. "And she doesn't behave very well, either."

My Breloom at least had the grace to look apologetic. She pushed one of the carrots she had stolen earlier back onto my plate, trying to make amends.

"If you're that paranoid about it, then go challenge Maylene first for training. She's a fighting type, so you don't have any weaknesses. Oh—! I know!" Nick brightened, making me wary. The last time he was so cheerful, he made a bet with me which I subsequently lost. I still hadn't paid him back, either, even though he said I didn't have to… "Take on Byron! He's the steel type. Both your Pokemon have advantages against that!"

"Huh?"

"Des is fire, and Carlita is now fighting. Both are good against steel types. You could take him on, and I bet it'd be a pretty easy match."

I took a sip of my drink, thinking it over and trying to ignore Carlita as she stole back the carrot from my plate. "…Isn't he the sixth Gym, though…?"

"Fantina was the fifth," he retorted. I ducked my head. I hadn't realized that when I'd challenged her; I had thought she was the third. "If you want, you can battle Maylene first, and then Byron. Then you have to take on Crasher Wake, though."

"Why?" I asked feebly.

"Don't you want to be the Champion? Last time I checked, you need eight badges to get to the Elite Four." I squinted and looked away. Why did he have to make sense?

Fielding, I asked, "What ever happened to your Elite Four campaign? I didn't get to watch the rest of Lucian's fight…"

"I beat him that first time. Cynthia completely wiped me out, though." He looked down, poking his sandwich. "I've battled her twice more since then, but I just can't get past her team… I need my Garchomp to take down her Garchomp, but he can never last longer than her Spiritomb, and I always waste so much time trying to take down her Milotic…"

"You—haven't beaten her? But you were so good against Lucian!" I spluttered, taken aback by his confession. I had figured he'd at least… I don't know. Maybe not become the Champion, but not have trouble!

Nick smiled wryly at my exclamation. "I had a few type advantages and knew how to use them, that's all. Since then, I've swapped out my team a few times, and I've never beaten him as easily as that first time."

"Wait-what?" I gave him a blank stare. My Pokemon took the opportunity to scarf down the rest of my salad.

"…I do have more than six Pokemon, you know," the older trainer said simply. "I actually have enough to make about two and a half teams that are strong enough to battle on fairly even ground with the Elite Four. The rest of them, I'm still training. Buuuuuut I got sick of that. So I'm visiting you and saner country. Do you want dessert?"

"Huh?"

"Your meal has been finished for you. Want anything else? My treat."

I looked down at my plate, somehow unsurprised to find it empty and licked clean. Carlita burped, covering her mouth with a clawed paw. Nick couldn't help but laugh. "…Yeah, a chocolate shake would be nice." If there was only one straw to guard, I might actually get to eat most of it.

"Nu!" Des head butted my elbow. "Numel!"

"Bre! Bre!" Carlita added, tugging on my other arm with a big grin.

"Three chocolate shakes, then."

"Wait—You can't just buy them—" I tried to get away from them to stop Nick from spoiling my team and I further, but my Pokemon were rather hard to get around. So several minutes later, all four of us were sipping chocolate shakes. "…Isn't chocolate bad for Pokemon?" I asked sourly, glaring at my two. We had to sit outside, since Des couldn't walk and drink like we could.

"Only for some. Most can have it in small doses," Nick replied easily.

"I could've paid for it…"

"But you don't make the money I do."

"Don't you lose half of it each time you lose against Cynthia?" I asked flatly.

"Ah, yes, normally that is true. But like most challengers, I figured out a way to cheat the system." I gaped at him, and he must've realized that I genuinely had no idea you could do that, for he elaborated. "Look, the official rules of battling say you have to hand over half of your money, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, technically, you only have to hand over half of what's with you at the time. So you can simply buy a lot of items before battling, or you could deposit your money in a bank. I've heard some people even hand it over to a friend for the duration of their battling spree."

I practically drooled at his wisdom. No longer would I have to worry about money now! I just had to win a few more battles and then stash it away somewhere… "Is that really legal?"

"Pretty much."

"…Wow."

"So, now that you're unafraid to lose money, let's go battle Wake."

"Okay, sure—wait no." Paranoia back in full throttle, I crouched down and hid behind Des, setting my drink on his back. He had managed to get me to battle Gardenia, but I'd had an advantage with her. Des was especially weak against water. I wasn't setting foot near that evil Gym because of it. "You're not getting me to go there."

"Why? I think Carlita could handle it."

"What if she can't, though?" I heard her snort of disbelief, but I wasn't going to be dragged, blackmailed, bribed, or otherwise coerced into going to that Gym.

Nick stared down at me, trying to get an edge. No longer was I the weak, scared trainer in Eterna. I had survived three badges, a rogue Abomasnow, the Froslass and her psychotic tendencies, and my own team's craziness. I could survive my idol as well.

I was tied up, blindfolded, gagged, and deposited in front of Crasher Wake twenty minutes later.

Chapter Text

The second I could speak again, I started yelling. "Nick! I am going to get you! You can't pick on younger trainers like this! I should call the cops! Abuse! Kidnapping! Amber alert!"

The second I could see again, however, I stopped yelling. Nick was trying to contain laughter. Crasher Wake—or the man I assumed was Crasher Wake, for there was no one else he could possibly be—was staring down at me with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. "This would be hardly more than a bite for my Gyarados!" he exclaimed with a grin and laugh.

I squeaked and wished the blindfold was back on. Or that I was untied so I could run for it. But, looking around the Gym, I realized that I'd have a better chance if I swam for it. I couldn't even use the terrain to my advantage…

"Hey, the kid's already terrified. Lay off a bit?" Nick asked quietly, though I heard him all the same. Wake nodded seriously, though it didn't look like he was the type to 'lay off a bit'. Looking down at me, Nick asked, "Want the rest of your shake?"

"I will throw that at your head once I get out of here," I snarled, trying to wiggle out from my makeshift bonds (which was really just Nick's hoodie tied around me).

"Is it legal for a trainer to battle like that?" Wake whispered loudly.

"…Well, as long as speech isn't impaired for commands…" Nick replied dubiously, scratching his chin.

"But what about calling out the Pokemon and substitutes?"

"Oh, this'll be a one-Pokemon crusade."

"I am not battling!" I spat, still wiggling vainly on the ground at their feet. It gave me a bit of hope that the Gym leader wasn't all for the idea, however. Maybe I could still get out of this…

"This is a rather unorthodox way to battle… But Crasher Wake likes challenges! I won't use my arms, either, then!" There went that bit of hope.

What further sapped my hope is that Carlita wasn't in the least worried that her trainer was bound on the floor behind her. She was completely gung-ho. I blamed the chocolate shake; if she hadn't had all that sugar, maybe she would see the sense of taking on a Gym leader by herself…

Crasher Wake managed to balance a pokeball on his head long enough to call out, "Go, Gyarados!" Then, he proceeded to let it fall, and kick it into the water. (Kind of like what he did with my hopes to get out of this intact.)

The Gyarados burst out of the water, showering us all, and gave a mighty roar. Carlita flinched back, but resumed bouncing on her feet, tail waving, all the same. I tried to inch back to give them more room—because honestly, who would want to get closer to a Gyarados?—and shouted, "Carlita! Use a Mega Drain!"

"Uh-oh." Nick walked over to sit beside me, watching the battle with interest.

"Uh-oh? What do you mean, 'uh-oh'?!"

Carlita pulled off the move easily, but it didn't do nearly as much damage as I'd been hoping for. (Though truthfully, I had been hoping for a one-hit KO.) The Gyarados reared back and tried to Bite her, but she danced out of the way with a shriek. Nick smiled helplessly and said, "Gyarados is part flying type. This means whatever advantage she had with her grass moves is gone; they will do normal damage. Also, her fighting moves' damage is halved…"

"You let me fight him knowing that?!" I snarled, trying to get into a position where I could either kick or bite him.

"Thrash, Gyarados!" Crasher Wake called from across the arena.

"I had forgotten about his Gyarados… His other Pokemon definitely still have a weakness to grass moves, though! I swear."

I didn't hear him, since I was busy screaming at Carlita to dodge the thrashing Gyarados. That was easier said than done, even for my dancing Breloom. Eventually, she got hit by its tail and was thrown across the arena into the far wall of the building. It was an instant knock-out.

-.-.-

Even after Nick graciously carried me back out, untied me, and walked me back to the Center, I was still not speaking to him. There was a reason I had been avoiding the water Gym. Me being cranky from lack of sleep probably didn't help matters.

"It was a good try. And you learned that you'll have to go up against a Gyarados at some point, right? At least it didn't know any flying moves, so there's that to be thankful for, too…"

"Why do I care if it knew flipping flying moves?" I rubbed furiously at my eyes, tired, angry, and trying to pretend I wasn't about to cry. It had been a long time since I'd lost a battle, and an even longer time since I had been trounced so easily.

Delighted that I was seemingly talking to him once more, Nick explained, "Well, Carlita is a dual grass and fighting Pokemon, right? Both of those are weak against flying types, kind of like how Des is doubly weak to water—oh, hold on, don't start—"

"Carlita is—she has the same sort of weakness?!" I screeched, wide awake once more.

He shrunk back sheepishly. "I thought you knew…"

"…What else might you think I already know?" I asked suspiciously. My night was already ruined from the battle, so I might as well get all of the bad news now and get it over with. Hopefully tomorrow would be better…

"If you really want to start hating flying types, Des' ground attacks won't hit them, either, so if you ever came across a bird, your only shot at beating it would be his fire attacks." Incidentally, that's what had happened against every bird we'd fought so far, though more on coincidence than strategy. Nick snapped his fingers, trying to catch my attention again before I fell back into my dark daze. "I'd suggest investing in another Pokemon."

"I already tried that," I retorted morosely. So Carlita was weak against birds, and Des could only hit them with half of his attacks… If I ever came across a water and flying type, I was toast.

"It doesn't have to be an electric type, though it'd go well with your team in progress… Ice Pokemon are also good against flying Pokemon."

I felt a shiver go down my spine and instinctively looked around for the Froslass. "No. No ice types." As if the Abomasnow trauma wasn't enough… I wasn't sure I could trust myself around anything that reminded me of both of those nasty Pokemon.

"Then electric it is. You know, it would also help with your hydrophobia. Gyarados is part flying and part water, so it is doubly weak to electricity. If you trained this third Pokemon up to where Des and Carlita currently are, I'd bet you money that it could take down the Gyarados in one Thunderbolt."

That definitely sounded tempting. It would also take care of Carlita's problem… "But… What if I come across another Pokemon that's doubly weak to something?"

"Go for something that specifically isn't. A pure electric type, or another dual type that doesn't share weaknesses… It's just bad luck that you ended up with two on your team, but chances are that you won't catch a third with that problem," Nick reassured me.

"Knowing my luck…"

"True, but I'll come along and make sure that doesn't happen. We'll also train up your team and take on Maylene and Byron. Then you'll come back to beat Crasher Wake no problem."

"I don't like your plan."

"You'll have to fight him eventually. Don't you want to get to the Elite Four?"

After much thought and debating over the pros and cons of having my long-in-coming mental breakdown now, I sighed and mumbled, "…Yes."

"Then Maylene, Byron, and then Crasher Wake. That'll give you six badges. You shouldn't have too many problems with the last two, right?" I frowned, knowing that I'd have to return to Snowpoint for one of those. I'd also have to go back to Sunyshore… As long as the leader didn't have an Electabuzz, I should be able to battle him, though. I eventually nodded, earning another smile from Nick. "Now, for a third Pokemon…"

-.-.-

"Why are we back here again?" I whispered. Nick and I were both laying on our stomachs in the tall grass on Route 222, Des out beside me and his Marowak (which I decided I wanted one of), Dusty, sitting completely motionless beside us, his bone raised in his paw.

"There are Magnemite on this Route," he whispered in reply. "I think Magneton, too. Maybe we'll get lucky. They're steel and electric, so they don't share any weaknesses, and steel type have good defense, too, so it might be handy to have something that can take a hit…"

"My Pokemon can take a hit," I said pathetically, hugging Des. Nick rolled his eyes at me.

"It doesn't hurt to have a tank, that's all I'm saying…"

"…What's with your Marowak, anyway? Dusty?"

"What about him?"

"…Dusty?" It sounded like something a little kid would come up with.

"You know, like 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust'…?"

"That's a horrible name!" I hissed, though it was fitting for the creature with the bone mask and bone weapon.

"Says the one who named a Pokemon Pedestal."

"…Touché. Anyway—what is he doing? Won't he be seen?" I nodded over to where the Marowak sat, arm still raised, perfectly still.

"He's our lightning rod. Any electric attacks will immediately go to him, and electricity doesn't affect ground Pokemon." Nick grinned proudly. I could see the sense in that, and decided that if Dusty wanted to play guard Pokemon, be it far from me to complain.

"Wait… Numel are part ground, aren't they? Does that mean that electric attacks won't work?"

"Yup. Any electric Pokemon can zap away to their heart's content, and Des won't feel it in the least."

Sweet. I found out an advantage instead of a disadvantage. That usually didn't happen. "That's awe-awe—ah-choo!" I found out immediately that an Electabuzz was near. And, thanks to my unfortunately timed sneeze, it found out that we were near, too. It was upwind from us and a little behind, which was why we hadn't spotted it earlier.

"Buzzzzz!" With a menacing crackle of electricity, it swung its arms and loped over toward us.

"Run!" We both scrambled to our feet, half jumping, half wading through the tall grass. Behind us, Des and Dusty stood loyally between the Electabuzz and our retreat.

Either Dusty's lightning-rod-ness attracted electric Pokemon, or we just had really bad luck, because the moment I turned around to see how far away we were, I managed to literally run into a Pokemon. With a metallic clang, my head collided with something cold and hard. I immediately went down, dazed, and vaguely aware of the sensation of something warm on my lips.

There was a loud roar right overhead, and right as I was regaining my orientation, I saw what I dimly recognized as Nick's Garchomp tackling a silver, round thing out of the air. Just as suddenly as that happened, Nick was leaning over me, looking worried and yelling over the battles, "Hold on! Sit up, you have to stop that bleeding—!"

"Bl-Bleeding?" I immediately sat up, spitting out what I found to be blood from my mouth.

"It's just a bloody nose. Tilt your head back and pinch your nose, like this." He demonstrated and I soon followed.

"Does this really work?"

"I don't know, but it gives you something to do. Dusty, Bonemerang! Chase, Dragonbreath! Now come on, we better get out of here. Go, recall Des." Nick ducked as his Garchomp and its victim somersaulted through the air just over our heads. Still holding my nose, I scrambled over to where Des was spitting fire at the Electabuzz, which was angrily attempting to electrocute both he and Dusty, but to no avail.

"Des, come on back! Uh, Dusty, you better retreat, too!" Des turned and looked at me, twitching his ears. The Marowak beside him snorted and ignored me. I fished through my pockets until I found Des' pokeball, but with a sneeze, I dropped it and had to fish through the grass for it. What I grabbed squawked—it was not a pokeball.

A small, white, angry bird flapped its wings a few times, trying to get me to let go of its tail. I hastily let go, but it just turned on me and soaked me with a Water Gun. I sneezed again as I wiped wet hair out of my eyes and ignored the bloody water running down my chin. I ducked under another Water Gun, looking for Des' ball, trying to stop sneezing while keeping out of the way.

Finally, something else must have crashed onto the scene (or maybe Nick got tired of waiting), because he shouted, "Grab Des!" I knew better than to question that tone of voice, so I just jumped forward and latched on to my Numel's neck. Not a moment later, something grabbed the back of my shirt, there was the call of "Teleport!" and I was suddenly kneeling on carpet, safe inside the relative quiet of a Pokemon Center. Des and I looked around curiously.

Nick collapsed beside us, laughing weakly, one arm around a Magmar. Dusty let go of its tail as it burned (though he probably was). "Okay, I think your bad luck is starting to rub off on me. That's never happened before."

"What, that every wild Pokemon on the Route was out for our blood, or that we were ambushed and nearly beaten to death?" I replied wryly, tilting back my head and pinching my nose once more. Nurse Joy and her Chansey just seemed to notice our arrival and was already fussing over the blood.

"Well, both. Mostly, I was surprised that everything seemed so aggressive there. Do you have to get attacked by every wild Pokemon you meet? Is it some sort of quota you're filling, or a rule I'm unaware of…?"

"You two! What are you doing? What happened to you both?!" The pink-haired nurse bustled over, bandages at the ready. I just let go of Des and flopped onto my back, ignoring the sensation of blood running down the back of my throat.

"Sorry, ma'am. Just had a bit of an… accident."

"To say the least. Just look at you two," she scolded, leaning over us with her hands planted on her hips. "You're not that trainer I've been hearing so much about… are you…?"

"Huh?" I blinked up at her.

"You are." She sighed, trying to smile and failing at it. I blinked again; I had a reputation? "Well, come on, both of you. Looks like you have a bloody nose, and you—! What happened to your hands?!" I raised my head to look at Nick, who was looking down at his hands with a guilty expression. They were scraped pretty badly, and I gave him a sympathy wince.

"I had to grab my Garchomp, and—"

"Both of you, on your feet. Into the examination room. You're getting blood and dirt all over the lobby." We were force-marched into one of the rooms of the Center I was more familiar with, having been injured enough to recognize its white walls immediately. I stood, head still tilted back, and Nick sat down on the table. Des, Dusty and the Magmar awkwardly followed us, until we were ordered to return our Pokemon.

Then I realized that Des' pokeball was still on Route 222.

Chapter Text

I spent the rest of the night in fear that someone would find Des' pokeball and he would belong to them, then. Everyone in the Center told me that that was complete nonsense, but it made sense to me. Or maybe it was leftover trauma I had been unaware of earlier from when Des had been stolen from me.

I 'awoke' to find myself in the white world. "What do you want now?!"

There was no reply. I whirled around in a circle, looking for the Froslass, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"You're not even going to come out?! …Well, good! I don't want to have to deal with you right now, Froslass," I called, half-hoping to bait her enough for her to appear. If it was possible, it was even creepier in there alone. "I have my own problems, you know. I don't have to always look for your idiot trainer!"

"Froslass? Is that who usually appears here?"

I jumped and turned to look at who had spoken. Suddenly, I wasn't alone anymore; there was a girl standing right beside me. She was tall, with tan skin and pink hair. That was all I could see, for she was wearing a cloak that matched her hair, and it covered her body from shoulders to toes.

"Who are you?" I asked cautiously. I had never seen this girl before in my life, so who was she to butt into my dreams?!

"I'm the goddess of love," she replied with a giggle.

"…What." I squinted at her, trying to see if she was being serious or not.

"You're not supposed to know who I am. That's why I don't look like myself, see?" She twirled on the spot. She then returned her stare to me. I couldn't help but notice that she did have a rather unnatural stare… "Froslass. Is she coming to you in dreams?"

"More or less."

"What has she been saying?"

"She wants me to save her trainer… I just don't know who he is. Do you know what her problem is? Or who her trainer is?" The girl seemed to know Froslass, at least. Maybe that meant she could help me in this quest I'd been blackmailed into.

"…Save… him?" Her already large eyes got impossibly larger. I took a step back, just as she burst out laughing and rocked back, thankfully closing her eyes in the process. "Save him? That's what she's trying to do after all of this?"

"So you know her—him? You know them both?" I asked eagerly.

"I…" she paused, wiping a tear from her eye, "…am sympathetic to her cause, even if I don't fully believe in it myself. Tell me, has she told you the circumstances behind her release?" There was a certain emphasis she placed on the last word that made me uneasy.

I tilted my head, wondering just how loaded the question was. "…No. Just that she was released." In the end, I decided honesty was the best policy. I was more or less safe in the white world, but who knew if this girl could do anything to my physically. I wanted to wake up again, preferably. "Wait—how come you can get into my dream?! Froslass could only get in because she knew some move, and even then, her talking was… weird. Like I was hearing it in my mind or something."

"She was using Dream Eater. I'm not," the girl replied, scuffling her bare feet on the white floor. She turned back to me, staring at me with her large eyes. "She was released because she was weak. She wouldn't follow orders. Ask her about it if you ever see her again."

"I will," I lied. There was no way I was asking a Pokemon who could freeze me with a breath anything that would obviously set her off.

"Are you going to help her trainer?" she asked, obviously trying to stop from laughing.

"Why is that such a funny topic to you?" I demanded.

Finally, she burst out laughing once more, holding her sides. I tapped my foot as I waited for her to stop. When she did, she looked up at me with a watery smile, and replied, "Because it's too late for you to help him."

Before I could do anything else, she reached out and placed a finger against my forehead. My eyelids drooped, and I fell into a dreamless sleep.

I jerked awake what felt like moments later. Something had just hit my chest, and that something rather hurt. "Ehh—" I sat up and hit my head on the bottom bunk of the bed and consequently went back down.

"I'm sorry for yesterday, but there's Des' pokeball back," Nick said from above me.

"R-Right…" I gingerly sat back up, rubbing my head, looking down at the pokeball on my stomach. "…Thank you! How did you find it?" Des looked up, woken up by the talking. I showed him his ball with a grin. He halfheartedly licked it and fell back asleep.

"I was out all night with Vasudeva and Chase. Eventually, we found it. You know, wild Pokemon don't come near me when I'm on my own. Do you attract them somehow?"

"Probably." I returned Des, setting the pokeball on my pillow, next to Carlita's.

"I'd invest in some Repels if I were you," Nick replied airily. He seemed oddly distant. Was it because he'd felt obligated to find Des' pokeball? Or was he mad at me for it?

"Sorry…" I mumbled, though unsure of what it should be for.

He either didn't hear me or decided to bypass an awkward apology session by ignoring it, because he finally smiled and said, "Ready to find an electric Pokemon?"

Just like that, things went back to normal. I bristled, glaring at him. "I'm not going out into the wild just to get mauled again!"

"You'll never make it past Crasher Wake's Gyarados without an electric Pokemon." He laced his hands behind his head, playing nonchalant. "And then you'll never make it to the Elite Four or the Champion…"

"…I'll buy another Pokemon, then. I don't trust Route 222 and I'm not going back there again."

"You don't have that much money."

"I wonder whose fault that is."

"Point taken. But it's so much easier to just go out and catch a Pokemon, isn't it?"

"For normal trainers." I didn't seem to fall into that category, especially lately.

"Once again, point taken." Nick sat down beside me as I sat up, grinning at my bed head. "I'll tell you what. I'll get you an electric Pokemon—"

"No thanks. I'd like to at least acquire my team on my own, thanks. And what am I, anyway? Some sort of pet project of yours?" I tried to glare at him, but I really wasn't all that angry anymore, so the attempt fell rather flat. Why was he trying so hard to help me? People just didn't go out of their way to help others, especially when there was nothing in it for them. Not that I doubted Nick, personally, but I learned enough already on my journey that it wasn't wise to trust too much.

"Kind of. I'll admit I'm using you to pass the time while I try to get over my frustration with the Elite Four."

At least he was honest. I sighed happily, relieved that he wasn't along for the ride on this. "I can respect that," I replied cheerfully. It also meant that I didn't have to feel so bad for accepting his help, even if it got me injured, lost me money and dignity, and further advanced my many complexes about training.

"Well aren't you a cynical little kid." He ruffled my hair, only worsening the bed head. "Also, I was hoping to drop you off at Veilstone while I take care of some business."

"Wait—what?" I removed his hand, staring at him from beneath it. Hadn't we basically just agreed to travel together? Why was he leaving again?

"In Veilstone, that's where Maylene is. You can battle her and collect your fourth badge," Nick said simply.

"No, not that. Why am I being ditched?" I couldn't help the accusation.

"You're not! I just have to go to Route 212, and as I recall, you swore never to return to that place as long as you lived." He put his hands up defensively in front of him, speaking quickly to try to justify himself.

"I did…? When?" I didn't remember that Route.

"It's the one with the bogs."

"Oh." He was right in the fact that I swore never to return, and I was fully intent on doing so. Still, I didn't want to separate again so soon; we had just gotten to see each other again! And we hadn't shared nearly so many traumatic experiences as Hanna and I had on our expedition, so obviously that quota needed to be filled as well.

But Nick had a life. He was already a strong contender to become the next Champion, he was a fully-fledged trainer, and he obviously had something else he needed to do.

So, hanging my head, I mumbled, "…Can you drop me off at Jubilife instead?"

-.-.-

We walked from Jubilife, because it was easier to get dropped off there than to shout directions from the back of a Staraptor traveling faster than I'd cared for. I found out that I wasn't fond of the move Fly, too.

Curiously, Des seemed to brighten. Maybe he recognized it as a place we'd been to before, or maybe he just liked the fact that he was stronger than the wild Pokemon again. Carlita bounced around as happily as ever, but aside from some screeching in Jubilife, it looked as if she didn't remember any of this portion of the world. Maybe evolving had given her a memory block, or maybe she really was that ditzy…

Hopefully it wasn't the former.

I looked sideways at Pedestal. He hadn't evolved yet. Would he forget some of the things he learned as a Numel when he became a… whatever he'd become? Would his personality change at all? Carlita became more agile with her evolution, but I think that was because she got some real legs. She also seemed to smile more, but then again, she had been stuck with a perpetual scowl as a Shroomish… I decided I couldn't base a lot of things on her. She was a bad example.

"So… Des…" I said awkwardly. I cast about for a topic in the ensuing silence. I had just wanted some noise, but as for an actual conversation, I had no clue what to say. Actually, since I couldn't understand him, it wouldn't be much of a conversation to begin with.

It was then that I decided I failed as a trainer. I didn't know what my starter evolved into, I was allergic to the only Pokemon I'd ever caught, I had problems with favoring the two I was left with, and to top it all off, I couldn't even understand my Pokemon.

"Uh… Wait up, guys." Carlita had skipped ahead of us, and even Des was plodding along ahead of me. Both turned to look at me questioningly. "Let's go back to Jubilife. I want to see if they have something in stock…" I had seen several ads for different Pokemon translators, and maybe it was about time I invested in one.

It was late afternoon when we arrived back in Jubilife. It was even more crowded than it had been earlier in the day, which made moving around difficult, even after I returned my two Pokemon. I was also wary of everyone I passed. I had not forgotten the thief from the last time I'd been in town. By sticking to the less-crowded back streets and using my small stature (which I was suddenly thankful for) to avoid the masses, I managed to cross town to one of the larger electronic stores.

There was a man at the counter with the store clerk, so I wandered the store, searching the shelves for a Pokemon translator. There were a lot of things, new Poketches, watches, radios, even small, what I assumed was supposed to be 'portable' televisions. (I knew I didn't want to lug one of those around all day.) I couldn't find any sort of translator, however.

I peeked up over a shelf of cell phones. The man was still talking to the clerk—I did an immediate double-take. That wasn't a man; that was a Pokemon!

It stood on two legs and was even wearing what appeared to be some sort of fancy jacket, which was how I had mistaken it for human to begin with. I leaned over the shelf, listening for the first time. The store clerk was talking to it, and must have been getting answers somehow, for it seemed to be half of a conversation. "—yeah, we just got some of those in, actually! …Oh, really? That's interesting. Well, wish her a happy birthday from me too! …Hope you all enjoy Jubilife and Sinnoh then, sir!"

The Pokemon took a small box from the man and turned to leave. It stopped just as it passed me, however, and looked down at me with a flat expression, half hidden by a fringe of green. I shrunk back, holding a phone in front of me protectively. It tilted its head to one side, as if puzzled by my behavior. "…Adieu, mesdemoiseaux," I heard in my mind.

It's a psychic Pokemon! I realized immediately, staring at the Pokemon as it departed with a new eye. It looked pretty awesome, and was a psychic… Maybe I should just get one of those to sweep aside any watery opposition.

"A French Gallade. You don't see many of them around," the store clerk commented absently. I skittered over to the counter, having ditched the phone. If I had a psychic Pokemon, I wouldn't need a translator; I had heard of psychics translating their teammates for their trainers before, after all. Apparently it was a fairly common occurrence. "People these days are so curious about Pokemon and their language, but they just don't realize that we still have other languages in our own species. I wonder if it'd help at all if we stopped to understand each other first," he said, leaning on the counter. "So! What can I get for you today?"

"…A Pokemon translator," I said miserably, fully aware that I knew no other languages.

Chapter Text

The sun had already disappeared when I finally got out of the store with my translator. It had cost all of my money—actually, it had cost more than what I had, but the store clerk was kind and let me have it for a few thousand cheaper. I vowed to take all of my electronics-related business to him from then on. So I was broke now, but at least I could speak to my Pokemon.

I was actually kind of scared of that, actually. I kept putting it off—wait until I get out of Jubilife, wait until I get to the forest, wait five more minutes… Pokemon were creepy, scary things. Froslass I could communicate with, and look how she treated me. Plus, what if Des and Carlita had been insulting me during the entire journey? I didn't know what they were saying.

Eventually, I had to stop, take a deep breath, and tell myself that I was just being stupid. I dropped the two pokeballs in my hands, blinking as my night vision was lost in the resulting flashes of light.

"Hey!" Carlita called at once. I could only blink in astonishment as she pointed past me and bounded over to whatever she had decided to pay attention to. The first word of Pokemon speech I ever heard—at least translated—and it's my Breloom's OCD setting in.

"What's that?" Des asked blankly, looking past me to where she was fawning and prancing around something on the ground. I couldn't help but laugh at their synthesized voices. The translator came with something like twenty different voices they would play for different Pokemon, so it actually sounded somewhat like they were talking, not the headphones on my ears.

"Look! It's a pokeball! I want this one. It's mine now." She tried to pick it up in her claws, but fumbled it.

"You already have one, Carlita," I told her, walking over. Des waddled on behind me.

Carlita turned and stared at me. "…Trainer understands me," she whispered to Des, keeping her eyes on me.

I cringed. Trainer? Is that what they called me, really? "Carlita, I—" I was cut off as my Numel came up behind me and knocked my legs out from under me, just as Carlita jumped forward and hugged me around the waist.

"Trainer knows what we're talking about now! Trainer, we can talk!"

"I think it's this thi—" Des reached up and pulled the headset off, and his human voice was abruptly cut off. "…Nu? Numel, mel?"

"Bre-Breloom!" Carlita wailed.

"Hey, give that back—I don't know what you two are saying—" I made a grab for it, but just as I hooked my fingers under it (it was pretty hard to grab anything while having to try to keep upright with a Numel under you and a Breloom on top), there was a scream. It wasn't one of Carlita's shouts or screeches, either. It was one of those screams you hear in horror movies, the high-pitched, long, drawn-out ones.

All three of us froze, suddenly aware that we were alone in a dark forest at night.

I slowly took the headset back from Des, putting it over my ears again. It had been a human scream, of that I was… fairly sure. I put a finger over my mouth, telling them to be quiet, and wiggled out from between them. Carlita was instantly on her feet again, tail waving, and Des eventually rolled over onto his stubby little legs.

I crept over towards the side of the path, just in case I needed to make a dash for cover. My Pokemon stuck close by, glancing fearfully around. Des was pressed up against my leg, making it rather hard to walk without stepping on him, and Carlita wouldn't let go of my arm. If we were suddenly attacked, my best chance was that we all decided to run in the same direction. Otherwise, we would be horror film fodder.

I took a step forward. The ground under my foot rolled away from me and I fell backwards onto Des with a shout. Carlita screamed, clinging to us both. Just after that, there was an answering scream, somewhere just down the path. I clamped a hand over Carlita's mouth, looked down to make sure Des wasn't following suit, and then slowly sat up. Nothing jumped out at us, at least.

"What was that?" Des asked in a low voice. His quietness made the headphones crackle, and I winced.

"I don't know…" I peered into the darkness. No figures. So instead, I looked around for the thing that made me trip. It was just a few feet in front of us: the pokeball that Carlita had found earlier. I reached over and picked it up. This was a well-traveled path; why had no one picked up the item before?

I carefully stood up, or as carefully as I could, considering I still had two Pokemon clinging rather forcefully to me. I took another step, this time glancing down to make sure I would land on the ground. Yep. Then another step, and then another. It wasn't until the fourth step that I finally managed to trip over my Pokemon. I had been expecting it, at least, since they were pressed so close, and managed not to make any noises.

The pokeball fell out of my hands, however, hit the ground, and then opened with a flash of white light.

All three of us screamed when a veritable monster popped out. I hardly got a good look at it before Carlita hopped over me, stepping on my back on the process, and probably tried punching it. All I know was that it was bigger than I was, and was roaring. That alone brought back too many memories of the Abomasnow.

I was suddenly on my hands and knees, searching frantically for its pokeball. It came from it, so it could go back in, and that would save us. "Pokeball! The—The pokeball!" I shouted, trying to find it while the roaring and screeching in front of us continued on.

"I'll find it!" The deeper male voice told me that it was Des who spoke, and suddenly, the forest path was illuminated by a bright, warm glow. I turned around and found a spout of what appeared to be lava erupting from my Numel's back, all while he was turning his head right and left, looking for the pokeball.

Some of the lava landed on the monster, I saw as I turned back to my search. Since the scene was illuminated, I also saw it, and identified it at once (after all, it had been on my list of starters way back when)—Kangaskhan. Why a trainer's Kangaskhan was out in the middle of nowhere, I had no idea, but at least I knew what we were up against.

I also now knew that Carlita's Mach Punch would be super effective.

"Carlita! Keep punching it while we try to find the pokeball!"

"Gotcha!" The synthetic voice sounded all too eager to comply.

Then, the Kangaskhan's roar dropped into something more intelligible. Actually, it was still gibberish to me, but the translator picked it up nonetheless. "Oooh ate el? Oooh 'ey cossee?!"

The fact that it was speaking in tongues only frightened us all more. Behind me, Des' attack was finally dying off, leaving a reddish glow while we all tried to recover our night vision. Just before I went temporarily blind again, I caught a glint of reflected light. I dove for it, gratefully closing my hands over the cool metal of the pokeball.

"Return!" I called, nearly sobbing with relief. The monster vanished with a beam of red life and one final roar. I sat back and leaned against Des' warm back, hoping nothing caught on fire. Carlita, panting, plopped down beside us.

"Trainer, what was that?" she asked.

"A Kangaskhan. Someone else's. I don't know whose, but… What was it saying? Do either of you know?" Both of them shook their heads. I sighed; of course it couldn't be that easy. "…Well, someone obviously lost their Pokemon. And if I had a Kangaskhan, I'd definitely want it back."

"Trainer, what about that scream from earlier?" Des asked, twitching his ears as he craned his neck around to see me.

"…You too?" I asked dully. Why did they both feel the need to call me trainer? Had they always done that? "I have a name…—"

Just then, the bushes immediately to our right rustled. Something was coming through. Before any of us could even get to our feet, however, out came our would-be attacker: a little girl. She tumbled to the ground, looking up at us with tears and mess and a sobbed jumble of words my translator refused to hear. I gave up on it and took it off, hanging it around my neck while I tried to simultaneously get to my feet and help her up.

"Um, what's wrong?" I asked lightly. Instead of answering, she spotted Carlita for the first time, and let out a high-pitched scream that perfectly matched the one we heard before. Ears ringing, I bent down and tried to block my Breloom from her view. She immediately calmed down again and clung to my shirtfront.

After several moments of sobbed talking, I realized that she was speaking in another language. And, from the slurred sound of it plus the Gallade earlier today, I was guessing French. Putting another two and two together, I figured she must have gotten lost from her French parents on their French vacation and was now screaming French at me.

Too bad I didn't understand French.

-.-.-

It took quite awhile, but eventually I calmed the little girl down, convinced her that Carlita wasn't a monster, and started a fire with some help from Des and his new Lava Plume move. I had planned on getting to my destination that night, but plans changed. This little girl needed some help, was obviously lost (I could sympathize with that), and maybe I could get her rich French parents to give me a reward if I returned her.

"You were screaming earlier. Are you afraid of the dark?" I asked conversationally. Mostly, I was trying to get her to keep talking while I fiddled with the translator. If it could handle Pokemon to English, maybe it could be changed to French to English.

"Je ne parle pas Anglais!" she exclaimed. Either I was getting good at understanding her, or the whole 'I don't speak English' thing was too obvious. She stared moodily at me from a few feet away, not wanting to get any closer, but clearly not wanting to stray too far, either. I judged her to be around three or four, and was definitely one of the pampered little princess types.

"Was there a monster or something?" I asked, mostly to myself.

I was not expecting her serious, enthusiastic reply of "Oui! Un monstre!" The accent was thick and childish, but I could recognize the word 'monster' easily.

I looked up at her, still messing with the translator. "Huh? Really?" Somehow, I doubted she'd come across a lost Kangaskhan as well. So what had scared her so bad? "Was it a Pokemon? Um… Le Pokemon?" That was about the extent of my French.

"Je ne sais pas!" she whimpered, edging closer. She looked down at Des, who sat between us with his feet tucked under his stomach. "…Je l'aime," she added, turning towards me again.

"Uh, okay…" Boy, this was awkward. I was never more grateful for the fact that Pokemon could understand humans before—"Des, can you understand her?"

"I don't speak that language," he replied simply.

"…How does that work? You can understand me, and… Why can't you understand her?"

"The humans speak English here. So I learned that." He snorted out a plume of smoke, then turned to me with one lidded eye. "Trainer, just because I can understand you doesn't mean I can understand all human languages."

"No need to get so snippy…" I muttered, drawing my knees up to his chest while staring at him reproachfully. Was he always like that? "Hey, girl, what did the monster look like?"

She tilted her head to the side and stared at me in confusion.

I sighed. I then reached over and pulled on Des' ears. "Yellow? This color?"

Color seemed to be the understandable word, because she brightened and shook her head. "Non, non! Noir! Acéré!"

Yet again, the language barrier kept us separated. I set my chin on my knees and stared at the fire, trying to ignore the now-awkward silence. Instead, I tried to figure out what might be out there in the forest. Sure, wild Pokemon, but there was nothing too frightening in this area… right? It was also true that she was a little girl and those tended to scare easily, but again… what could be scary enough to produce that much screaming?

I found out when the monster crashed into our campsite, snarling and hissing. Its dark fur stood out on end and its tail lashed out violently behind it.

What was the worst part, though, was not the surprise of its arrival, or the shriek that the little girl released that made my ears ring even through the translator's headset, or the fact that I honestly thought it was frothing at the mouth. What was the worst part was that I could understand it. "There you are, you filthy, vulgar, horrendous humans! I've finally caught up with you! I'll rip your flesh from your bones and drink your blood, I'll spit on your ashes and I'll dance on your graves! I'll pluck your eyes out from your skull and rip open your throats myself, and I've finally caught up with you! Now you shall see what it means to trespass in my territory!"

Chapter Text

The little girl started screaming. Carlita followed suit immediately. I also started—that was, until I realized something.

For all of the words and snarls that the monster was spitting at us— "You worthless humans, I will rip open your pelts and drain your blood from them!" —which still sent shivers down my spine, and for all of the screaming going on, and for the fact that it was nearing midnight in a dark forest, and for all of the stress of the night thus far, I suddenly wasn't afraid anymore.

I wasn't afraid because the monster was knee-high to me.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see if this was a trick of the flickering firelight or not. It was still speaking ("I shall drag your carcasses out of this forest and hang them from trees!"), and the translator was giving it a voice deeper and much more ominous than Des', but it didn't change the fact that it was tiny.

"Will the two of you stop screaming?!" I finally snapped. The minute monster's threats, mixed with two sets of screams, was starting to give me a headache, not to mention make me a little ill. It didn't help that its words were getting more colorful and descriptive.

"I'll have your bones for my breakfast and I will pull your heart from your chest and wrap its arteries around your necks to suffocate you!"

Now I was getting seriously creeped out again, and not even its small stature could make up for the raw venom in its voice. Finally, it shouted something, and it, combined with the two screams, overloaded the headset. I promptly got an earful of feedback until I managed to wrench it off my head. My ears rang, though, which cut out all other sounds.

Des suddenly looked up, and the little girl froze, stopping her scream (though I couldn't hear it anyway, of course). I looked around wildly for what else was probably about to kill us, and instead, I turned and saw white with a red stripe across the middle.

That, of course, scared me more than the little monster across from the fire.

"No—!" The cold got to me before anything else, cutting me off and sending me instantly into the white world. I turned immediately on the Froslass, really wishing I could hit her. "What do you think you're doing?! That monster-thing could attack us at any minute, and if you hadn't noticed, I have to protect that little girl!"

What do you think you're doing? You're not helping my trainer, she replied coldly, narrowing her ice blue eyes.

"I. Have. A. Life! I have a life outside of helping your stupid trainer, you know!"

Do you not care for him, even though you're of the same species? Do you want him to fall, or die, or—Why don't you care more about this? She grabbed the front of my shirt, freezing it, and lifted me off of the ground. I could feel my sweat freezing from where her forehead touched mine. Froslass exhaled lightly, and I felt the temperature around us drop several degrees.

"You're going to kill me," I deadpanned. "Then what will you do?"

I won't kill you. But if you don't start trying to help, you'll wish I had, she hissed, blowing frost at me. I blinked, eyes watery, and tried my best to glare back.

"If you touching me won't do it, that monster will get me. Your trainer will be doomed to whatever fate he has in store for him. Which, I think, he deserves at this point for raising such a lousy Pokemon. Or rather—for releasing such a lousy Pokemon into the unsuspecting world. Tell me, what did you do to tick him off so bad? He must hate you enough to release you, and—" The Froslass slapped me, and immediately I was awake again in reality, though admittedly with a numb cheek. She was still hovering over me, looking ready to attack again, so I did the only thing natural. "Des! Lava Plume!"

I scrambled out of the way just in time as his back erupted with magma. The Froslass shrieked and tried to run away, but he added to it with an Ember, running after her on his short little legs. I looked around for Carlita and the little girl—and the monster—but they were lost with my night vision.

"Hey! Girl! Carlita! Over here!" I shouted desperately, trying to keep an eye on Des and the Froslass as I stumbled out into the dark forest. Almost immediately I heard a wail and the little girl ran out of the darkness, latching onto my waist, gibbering away in rapid, panicked French. I figured my Pokemon could hopefully handle themselves for a few moments, and led her away from the scene, hoping to hide her somewhere out of sight and safely.

Out of nowhere, however, the small monster jumped and fastened onto my arm. It chomped straight through the sleeve and into my wrist, growling fiercely as it did so. I hoped it didn't have rabies and swung my arm around, trying to dislodge it. The little girl started screaming again, trying to hide behind me. Eventually, I managed to trip over her. The good news was that the impact made the monster let go as it tumbled off into the darkness. The bad news was that the Kangaskhan's pokeball fell out of my pocket and hit the ground hard enough to release it.

"Oh, come on!" I screamed as it roared. What else could go wrong?! "Does anything else in this stupid forest want to kill me?! Any takers?!" I shouted, flailing angrily on the ground. I half expected the Abomasnow to appear on principle at that point.

"Ma-ma!" the little girl cried, leaping at the Kangaskhan with open arms.

As much as I would have loved to sit there and be dumbfounded (Why did a little girl have a Kangaskhan? Why was she calling it mama? These were the two most prominent thoughts.), the monster had other ideas for me. I felt something chomp down on my neck, and I bolted upright, hands clamping down on fur as I tugged on it. It snarled and bit down harder, starting to cut off my air. I dug my nails into it, unable to do much else.

Then, all of a sudden, it let go—though not without dragging its teeth out of me. I stumbled back, clutching my neck, and backed into the Kangaskhan. It was glaring down in front of us, where the small monster was viciously chewing on a smaller, stuffed version of the Kangaskhan. "Bon!" the little girl chirped, holding onto its paw. She then turned to me and exclaimed, "Allons-y!"

"Does that mean heal or something? 'Cause I could use that!" I gasped, ignoring the stinging of my hands against my neck.

The Kangaskhan growled something, then picked up both the little girl and I with one paw, swinging me over its shoulder while gently depositing her in its pouch beside its baby, who looked delighted to be sharing. It turned, allowing me one last look at the monster gnawing on the doll, and then lumbered back towards the campsite.

I heard the chaos before I saw it. When I was put back down, though, I saw that it was worse than it sounded. Carlita was out cold, coated in ice. Des was approaching unconscious as well, while the Froslass hovered over him, screaming and throwing shards of ice. "Stop it! Froslass, stop!"

"Ultimapoing!" the little girl shouted behind me. The Kangaskhan ran past, paw glowing white.

"Punches won't work! It won't hit—" The Kangaskhan's fist collided with the Froslass, sending it straight down into the ground. I made a note to stop correcting others and try to stop being surprised by the Kangaskhan.

"Lassssss!" the Froslass hissed. She dodged the Kangaskhan's attacks from then on, and I noticed that she was trying to circle around it to get back towards me. I snorted and ran over to Carlita, fumbling the Revive as I woke her up with it. I also used my last Super Potion on Des, but at least he was a little healed, right? Plus, his Lava Plume and Ember were the only things that seemed to really deter the Froslass.

The little girl, carrying the baby Kangaskhan in her arms while its parent fought, ran over. She dug around in the pocket of her skirt, fishing out a pokeball. "Ici!" she said, holding it out to me.

"You have another Pokemon?" I asked warily. I took it from her and dropped it between us, expecting something equally vicious as the Kangaskhan. Instead, it was small, pink, and grinning.

"Haaa!" the Pokemon squealed, hopping over to its trainer.

"C'est Rose!" the little girl told me, pointing at it.

"Uh, fine, but I don't think that'll help much. Return it!" It would be hard enough keeping a small child away from the danger. I didn't need to watch her baby Pokemon as well. She pouted; I cringed and looked away.

"Donnes-le-lui," she said to the pink Pokemon. I raised an eyebrow when it fished around in the small pouch on its stomach and eventually withdrew a Berry. It proffered it to me, and I reluctantly took it with my free hand. They obviously expected me to eat it, and I took a bite of it, surprised at how hard it actually was. Was it rotten?

Almost immediately, however, my neck stopped hurting. Well, not completely, and I could still feel the blood uncomfortably there, but it felt loads better. I ate the rest almost eagerly. "What was that?" Who knew that Berries meant for Pokemon could help humans?

I didn't get to try to break the language barrier and figure it out, however, for I felt a sudden blast of cold air at my back. I slowly turned around, unsurprised to find the Kangaskhan unconscious, the furious Froslass hovering over it. She turned to me and pointed. She immediately snatched her hand back, however, as Des hit it with an Ember. He stood loyally between us. I had never felt more attached to him, though as mad as the ghost was, it probably wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done.

"Look, Froslass, I'll help your trainer. I already said I would, wouldn't I? I just have to have a bit of time."

"Lass, lass-lass!" she snarled, throwing an icicle at me. I flinched back, but it missed anyway; it had been the warning shot.

"I don't know what you're saying—don't freeze me!—just let me go get my translator…" I slowly looked down, making sure she wasn't about to tear my throat out. Actually, that was a bad way to think about her attack, since that had nearly happened with the monster… Wait, Kangaskhan fainted, so its attack would be—

On cue, I felt the nasty little monster bite down on my ankle. I kicked my leg out and it flew off, taking part of my socks with it, but thankfully not that much skin.

Seriously. All I had ever wanted out of life was to be amazing and awesome and maybe the Champion. I did not want a psychotic stalker Froslass, I did not want to be repeatedly attacked and injured by Pokemon, I did not want to be stuck battling a tiny monster bent on the death of all humans to be gnawing on my ankles, and I definitely did not want to be stuck with all of those at once. I didn't want to be bleeding, alone with half a dozen Pokemon—only two of which belonged to me—and a foreign little girl in the middle of the night in some dark woods.

That, however, gave me an idea.

I made a dash for my backpack, which was still lying by my translator by the fire, both of them looking unharmed by the fighting. I dove for it just as I felt a rush of cold overhead. Brandishing my backpack like a shield while trying to fit the headset onto my head with one hand, I shouted, "Alright, stop it." I tried to be sneaky about my movements, but I had to hurry nonetheless before something really nasty happened. "You, Froslass, and you, the… little monster thing."

"You don't command me, you vulgar excuse for a species—"

"Yeah, and you'll flay me or something. I get it." Its speech was starting to grate on me, not to mention really disturb me. Weren't small Pokemon supposed to be cute and friendly? Finally, I managed to pull out what I needed from my backpack's side pocket: an ultra ball Nick had given me to catch a Pokemon with. "You both hate me, right? That's good if you do. Because if either of you do anything further to me, my Pokemon, that little girl or her Pokemon, I will catch you."

Neither the mini monster nor the Froslass made any more moves. Both were watching me warily. I circled around the fire, holding out the ultra ball and keeping the backpack between my body and them, just in case. I already knew I couldn't trust either of them as far as I could throw them.

"Both of you, leave. Froslass, I'm still angry with you, and you'll be lucky if I give your trainer a second thought after this. Monster, I don't even know what your problem is, but it's not my problem. Now, we'll—" I saw the movement coming towards me, and reacted on impulse, chucking the ultra ball forward while bringing my backpack up to stop whatever attack had just been launched. There was a screech, a flash of white light, and then a furiously shaking ball.

Then, nothing. I stared down over the edge of my backpack at the Pokemon I had inadvertently just caught.

Chapter Text

"You have no moves left," Froslass said triumphantly, icicles glittering on her head in the firelight. I technically had more pokeballs, but none of them were of the ultra persuasion, nor could I fish another out without her turning me into an ice sculpture.

"Um, let's not be hasty now…" I backed up, trying to find out where the others were. Would I have any backup, or was I really on my own against the ghost this time?

"You were just threatening me. Earlier, you insulted myself and my trainer. You have refused to help him time and time again, though you had opportunities to redeem yourself, and you've always been nothing but another selfish human." She floated closer to me, raising her small hands over my head. I took another few steps backward, trying to stop from panicking now.

"I've never meant to ignore his troubles, it's just that, uh, you've been a tad bit—I'm sorry!" She was finally overtop of me, and I dropped my backpack in favor of hiding my head underneath my arms.

I felt her cold little hands on my wrist, and I flinched back, though she kept her hold on me. "All I had wanted from you was some simple help. I had just wanted to help my trainer. Why is that such a problem?"

I didn't know why it was such a problem, at least at face value. If she hadn't been constantly bullying and threatening me, though, maybe things would have turned out differently. I wanted to tell her this, but I was honestly too scared to; she already had a hold on me, and I could feel the cold seeping into my sleeve and arm.

"Please… Please… I just want to help him. I can't do it alone. I just want to help my trainer…" I opened my eyes, shocked to see her a sparse few inches from my face. I was even more surprised, however, to see the frozen tears on her white cheeks.

I had no idea what to do. Did I comfort her? Did I blindly agree (again) to help her? Or did I spurn her (again)? I stood there awkwardly instead, arms raised, shivering, still trying to catch my breath. I had honestly thought she'd carry me off and freeze me somewhere. I had thought I'd die, yet again. It was becoming too common on this journey for me to be entirely comfortable with the thought of death ever again.

"If… If you back off a bit, and if you, um, help me help him… I'll help your trainer. For real this time."

I wasn't even aware I'd spoken.

I just watched, still somewhat shaken, as the Froslass brightened and released me. "Good… Great! I can do that. I can help. What can I do to help?" she asked, almost eagerly.

"St-Stop coming near me, for s-starters," I replied through chattering teeth. She immediately swung away from me, hanging uncertainly in the air in front of me. I rubbed my arms, feeling numb and tired. At least the latter wasn't just from her; I was injured (I was used to that, though the neck wound was a new one), it was the middle of the night, I still had a ways to walk tomorrow (or today, depending on how late it really was), and I also still had a small girl and her Pokemon to take care of.

My own Pokemon, too, needed tending. Des and Carlita were still conscious, thankfully, albeit hurt and as tired as I was. And then there was the matter of the… new one.

I was suddenly very, very tired. Froslass may be temporarily on my side, but that little monster certainly wasn't any friend of humans. It probably wouldn't like being a trainer Pokemon, either. It probably actually hated the entire situation right now. I decided I wouldn't let it out of its ball for quite awhile.

"Froslass, you go pick up that ultra ball and encase it in ice, like what you did with Des' that one time. I don't want that thing accidentally escaping…" I felt a little awkward, giving her orders, but she floated over to it obediently regardless. That, however, gave me an idea. "Actually, Froslass, don't do that. Release it—not yet! When I say so, release it." She hastily caught the ball she'd just tossed. I sighed shakily. "…I want you to convey to the little thing that I can release it, but only on the condition that it stays away from me, my Pokemon, the little girl, and her Pokemon. Actually, all humans. No more attacking humans. Convey it in very clear means, understand?"

"Understood," she replied, dropping the ultra ball. I took off the translating headset just in time to hear a screech as she picked it up by the scruff of the neck. What followed I could only assume was nothing short of horrifying, judging on Des and Carlita's expressions. I winced; maybe I should have returned them first…

I looked around for the little girl. She was over by her unconscious Kangaskhan, peeking over its belly with her pink Pokemon and the Kangaskhan's baby. If she told her rich French parents what happened, there went my reward. I beckoned her over, but she shook her head and ducked down lower behind her Pokemon. I was glad it was out cold, no matter how mean that made me. At least then it couldn't attack. I was definitely tired of the whole attack thing for the night.

I also tried to keep an eye on the Froslass, just because I still didn't trust her. Not that I'd tell her that, oh no. "Des, Carlita, return. At least you two can sleep," I mumbled, digging their pokeballs out of my pocket. I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep, at any rate. I was not sleeping in this forest after tonight.

I turned back to the little girl. I had to get her to trust me again, somehow, because I really didn't think she'd fare very well on her own in this dodgy forest, either. I crouched down, ignoring the Froslass' abuse of my new Pokemon in the background, and held out my hand for her. She hunkered down behind her Kangaskhan. Her pink Pokemon, however, ran out to me enthusiastically, hopping by my hand and wondering what it was supposed to be symbolizing. I patted it on its pigtail, and then looked back at its trainer. "See? Your Pokemon trusts me… It's fine. I won't hurt you, really. We're just going to go somewhere safe, and then I'll find your parents, okay?"

"…Je veux Jacques," she whimpered, skittering over after her Pokemon. "Je veux dormir…" she added sleepily, rubbing at her eyes. I could sympathize. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand. I took her hand, led her over to where the Kangaskhan's pokeball was, and returned it. I then gave her back the ball, since it was hers. She also returned her pink thing. With all distractions out of the way, then, I had to address the issue of Froslass and the monster I had created in my team.

By the time I turned around, Froslass had dropped the shivering creature, looking pleased with herself. I hesitantly put the headphones back on my ears, just in time to hear, "La—derstood?"

"Understood," the monster replied in a small voice. It then turned to me with large eyes and ears laid back, but told me, "I am sorry for the trouble I caused Master Trainer. I hope to be forgiven one day for my rash actions."

"Um—"

"The fool doesn't want to be released," Froslass sniffed, folding her hands over the red stripe on her stomach. "He wishes to become stronger, and he's figured out that a trainer can do that for him."

"Wait, I—"

"I humbly request that you train me, Master Trainer. Like the Froslass said, I'd like to become stronger, and perhaps, one day evolve. I cannot stay here, having failed to protect my territory, and I—"

"Wait, wait!" I interrupted, holding my hands up to silence both of them. They both stared at me, mouths shut. "You," I pointed down to the monster, "just threatened to kill me and mutilate my corpse. I'm also guessing you're a human-hater. So why do you want to join the team?!"

"To become stronger," it—he, Froslass had clarified—replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Doesn't it, I don't know, go against your code of honor or something to do that?"

"Just personal convictions, and we all know those can change." It smiled for the first time, showing its teeth. I looked away, hoping I just imagined the blood I saw on them. "Plus, the Froslass has said that it's against the rules for a Pokemon to attack its trainer, even after it's been released."

"Oh really." I glanced over at the ghost, surprised that she'd thought it out that far. Surprised and extremely thankful. If I ended up keeping the beast (I had a sneaking suspicion I'd end up having to, for some reason, because that's just how my luck worked), I'd like to be able to sleep with both eyes closed.

"Yes, and since I cannot attack you, I might as well use you." He sat down on his hind paws, swishing his tail behind him.

"I don't think I've agreed to this."

"If you release me, I will not attack you, but I will continue to attack what other filthy humans step foot here." He lowered his head so his golden eyes caught the firelight. The effect was more than enough.

"Fine." I had never done a Pokemon trade (or at least not a legal one) before, so I figured I could at least trade him away and maybe get that electric Pokemon the ultra ball was supposed to be for. I didn't feel guilty about dumping him on someone else, either, though that might change with the morning light. I figured the sooner I got rid of him, the better. "Return, then." I zapped him back into the ultra ball, then turned on the Froslass.

"He will not harm you. Apparently, he abides by very strict rules, and I've convinced him that it's a rule that forbids him from hurting you," she explained dryly.

"That's good, but we're going to need to have a serious talk about that trainer of yours later. Right now, I have to get home and get this little girl back to her parents." I looked down at her, and she looked back up at me in return.

"Home?"

"Yeah. I was actually headed home for a visit before all of this craziness. That reminds me—don't follow me there. I don't need my parents to see you. We'll talk after I sort some of this out."

-.-.-

I ended up having to carry the little girl about half of the way, but I got to my house nonetheless. I had to kick the door to knock, but I had to do it. I could only hope that mom didn't notice.

She ended up noticing.

Of course, my injuries ended up saving me, since they pretty much overshadowed a mark on the door. For once, being injured rocked.

It stopped rocking when I had to be taken to the emergency room at three in the morning. True, it was the emergency room because that was the only section open, but still. It was the emergency room. Even I hadn't gotten hurt enough to warrant that… I think.

It rocked significantly less when I started freaking out in the car. I didn't know why—maybe it was the blood loss (hopefully not; I didn't think I'd lost that much blood, but then again, I was bleeding from my wrist, my neck, and maybe my ankle…), or maybe it was the fact that I had been traveling for the last few months by foot and was unused to small, confined spaces.

I made the connection of what reputation I had earned with the Nurse Joys when I was carried into the emergency room, bleeding, hyperventilating, and who knew what else.

Of course, my somewhat minor panic attack had set off the little French girl, too, so she was hysterical by that time as well.

I only had a few moments to feel sorry for the poor doctors and nurses suddenly stuck with us before my pity evaporated with the first needle they stabbed me with. I was close to loathing them entirely when they announced that I had to get rabies shots as well after hearing that I'd been bitten by a feral Pokemon.

"It's not feralllll," I slurred angrily, taking a swing at the nearest nurse. I didn't know what they'd put in me, but it was making the world swim and I was none too happy for that. "It's mah Pokemonnnnn, yeeeeaaaah?"

"Hold still, kid. We're moving you." I was hardly aware that I was shifted to another bed. It could have been a bed of spikes, actually, and I was pretty sure they could have gotten away with it.

I flailed randomly, trying to locate my pokeballs so I could release my Pokemon so I could prove it wasn't feral so I wouldn't have to get another shot. "I-I have 'im here, ummmm, somewhere…"

"Wait—you still have Pokemon on you?" I was frisked faster than I could blink.

Instead of fighting them for the balls, I just pointed towards the black and yellow one. "That one's mine. They're all minnnnnne. Lessee, Dessy, Carlita, and…" Why didn't the third name come? Why couldn't I think of the name of my third Pokemon? "And…"

The constant screaming of the little girl was starting to give me a headache. I groaned. It quickly turned into a snarl, however, when one of the nurses jabbed me in the arm with another needle. "We'll have to anesthetize both of them…!"

The screaming abruptly stopped on a high note. My eyelids fluttered, and I tried to lift my head to look at my Pokemon again. Why couldn't I remember my third Pokemon's name? "And…" I tried again, but the name just wasn't coming to me. The sudden tiredness that overtook me wasn't helping things. "And Ike…" I mumbled as I finally fell asleep.

Chapter Text

"The last time I came here, it wasn't you."

Who was it, then?

"Some girl. I've never seen her before in my life, and I haven't seen her again since."

Who did she say she was?

"Ah… She didn't really have a name. She called herself something, but I can't remember what…"

Froslass and I sat together, perhaps for the first time, quite amicably. We were sitting back-to-back (she helpfully made herself tangible for that), just talking. No threats, at least not yet. I was strangely content to just sit there and do nothing.

If you remember, you ought to tell me. I'm not sure it's good to have others interfering with your dreams.

"You're one to talk…" I mumbled into my knees. "…Say, Froslass?"

Yes?

"Do you have a name?"

…Yes. At least… I had one from my trainer. I'm not sure if it's still technically my name, though.

I got the sense that she wasn't going to tell me what that name would've been. I let the matter drop, not wanting to start a fight, and instead moved on to different subjects. "Tell me about your trainer."

He's very kind, and has plans for the future. Ambitious. He's a very strong trainer by human standards as well.

"If he's so kind, then why did he…"

Release me…? She asked. I didn't fail to notice the drop in temperature.

"I'd find out eventually…" I mumbled defensively.

The Froslass was silent. I started to doubt she'd reply to me at all, when she spoke up. It… was an accident.

"He released you accidentally?" I asked rather tactlessly.

No! He was very intentional about that part, she admitted, shifting slightly. We were in that cave, though I do not know why we were. He had caught a Rhyhorn earlier on, and I think he wanted to train it up until it evolved.

"It? Didn't it have a gender?"

I never personally met it.

"…What happened to the Rhyhorn?" I asked in a tiny voice, feeling rather cold.

It died, she stated emotionlessly. A wild Rhydon killed it with an Earthquake that not only knocked it unconscious, but caused several rocks to fall on it. I assume it was crushed. My trainer was furious and devastated; it was the first Pokemon to die on our team.

Nick's recital of the three greater tragedies came back to me, unbidden and unwanted. I shook my head to try to get rid of that and pulled my knees up tighter against my chest. "…A-And how did that get you released?" I couldn't stop my voice from shaking.

I was ordered to avenge the Rhyhorn. I had just recently evolved, and this would have been one of my first battles after that, so I was still trying out my ice-type moves.

I felt sick. "You—You killed it, right? You couldn't control yourself and you—"

No!

I was so glad that there was such force invested in the word, otherwise, I wasn't sure how I could handle myself around her any longer. Having a Pokemon die from an accident was one thing, but going out and killing one was quite another. All the same, I really didn't want to hear this story anymore. I wanted to get out of the white world and go back to wherever I was supposed to be. I wanted to be hugged by my parents and hug my Pokemon and enjoy all of them, alive and well and near me.

I was ordered to kill it, she continued on ruthlessly.

"I need to get out of here. Please, let me out. I don't want to know anymore." I stood up shakily, trying to forget what she'd just told me. A trainer ordering his Pokemon to kill another? They could do that? Would Pokemon obey a command like that?

What really scared me, though, was that a tiny part of me could understand where her trainer had been coming from. If I saw any of my Pokemon killed, right before my eyes, I would want revenge in the worst way.

Ignoring that too, I repeated, "I need to get out of here."

I didn't kill it, Froslass finished, floating up to look me in the eye. I was released because I didn't follow that order. He was angry and wasn't thinking straight, so he shouted at me to leave and broke my pokeball. That's why you have to help my trainer. I've seen what he could do, and I want to stop him from becoming that. I don't want him to fall.

"I-I'm not sure I can." I backed away from her, still feeling sick and desperately trying to ignore how similar I'd act if I were placed in such a situation. "I'm not a therapist. I can't help people like that."

There's nothing wrong with him! He just needs help, to stop him from becoming a monster.

"I think he's already—monster!" I shouted, suddenly remembering the Pokemon I'd caught earlier. Unfortunately, that only solidified the whole I'm-like-this-trainer thing. I had just caught the monster Pokemon, and even if I didn't know it, even if I rather disliked it, I would still be mad if it died. I had only caught it, and I was already attached. I sunk down to my knees, trying to stop the homicidal thoughts and the visions of ordering Des to kill something from entering my conscious mind. "Please, please, let me out of here. I want to be with my Pokemon. I want to get away from here."

You have to help my trainer.

"I'm not sure I can. Let me out of here. I can't help him, not if he's capable of killing Pokemon."

You have to. You've promised.

"What if—What if he kills my Pokemon for interfering? How am I supposed to stop him? How can I stop someone that horrible?"

Froslass slapped me, jerking my head to the side. I could only stare at the white world, cheek stinging but rapidly losing feeling.

This will be your last warning. If you insult my trainer once more, I will freeze you where you stand and will carry your corpse off to Route 217, she hissed, the temperature around us dropping at an alarming rate.

"I'm not that strong. I can't help you," I replied as evenly as I could.

He is strong, but he's still weak enough to fall. You think you're weak, but you will still be strong enough to help. You're the only one who can.

"Why me?" It had been the question I'd wanted to ask her since we met. Why had it been me? There were billions of people in the world. Even her rotten trainer had to have had friends, and wouldn't they be more capable than I was? What about his parents, his family? What about the other Pokemon in his own team? Why did this have to be my problem?!

Instead of an answer to my question, I was jolted awake. Everything was too bright, and there was too much movement. My neck itched uncomfortably. Sound assaulted me. Then, something physical assaulted me, sending me back into the pillow I'd just risen from. "Are you okay?!" It was just my mother for once; no more wild Pokemon beating up on this poor little trainer.

"Um, yeah," I lied. I peeked over her shoulder, unsurprised to find my dad there was well. My eyes then found what I had been looking for: two pokeballs and an ultra ball, nestled into the covers near my pillow. Had I slept with them, or were they just put there? "Where's the little girl?" I croaked, flailing a bit from when my mom's hug tightened.

"The little French girl? Two rooms down. She's completely fine, though a little distressed and prone to panic attacks," my father replied, staring hard at me. I looked away.

"Sweetie, what happened to you two?" my mother asked, finally letting go of me enough so she could look at me. It was harder to avoid her gaze. She brushed back my hair from my forehead, holding her hand there. It was so warm compared to the Froslass'.

"I… Um…" Where to begin, where to begin… "…I got a third Pokemon."

"We realized that from the three balls. What happened?"

"Um… It… He… wasn't keen on letting me catch him?" I guessed. How much had I told them last night? I couldn't remember. How much could they handle knowing? Not much, not if I wanted to continue training. Which, I was surprised to find, I actually wanted, even with all of the trauma and blood and sweat and tears. (Mostly blood.)

Though it would probably be more accurate to say that since I had gone through so much, there was no way I was giving up now. I expected to be pretty dang famous and awesome for all of this pain.

"It was dark, mom, and there was a lot of chaos. He just bit me a couple of times…" Remembering that they had thought he was rabid, I hastily added, "He's, uh, teething. He's very small, you see, and isn't at all used to humans yet." There. That ought to cover most of the little monster's behavior if need be.

"Oh really." Neither of my parents sounded particularly impressed with my answer. My mother continued soothingly, "We're just worried, that's all. The doctors have been asking questions, and we can't answer, and the little girl is incoherent… First the Abomasnow incident, and now this… We're worried about you."

"I'm going to be fine, aren't I?" I asked pathetically.

"Yes! You're all patched up now, and you just need to make sure that you let your injuries heal."

"You're lucky you didn't need stitches," my father added gruffly.

That was a lucky break. "…Am I still allowed to train?" I figured I might as well ask now and get whatever ensuing drama out of the way early. I could run away later. Plus, at least this way, I could cause a scene if need be and that might get my parents to make hasty promises.

My parents shared a glance. I gulped; that wasn't a good sign. My mom returned her gaze to me, smiling faintly. She brushed back my hair from my forehead again and said, "It's… Well, we are against the decision, but it's ultimately up to you. Do you really want to go back out there and get hurt again?"

Oh. They were expecting me to back out from fright so they wouldn't have to be the bad guys in the situation. I almost smiled at the thought. "I'll be fine!" I chirped, grinning. "I can handle a few scratches and bruises. Trainers are used to it, right? Plus, I still have to get back to actually training that new Pokemon of mine—"

"Ike."

"What?"

"Ike. The doctor said that that's what you called your third Pokemon last night," my dad clarified.

I squinted at him. Really? What sort of drugs had they put me on if I came up with a stupid name like that? "…Okay then." Cursed name; I was already attached to it. Though since I didn't like the name, and I didn't particularly like the little monster, it kind of fit… "Ike."

"He was quite the unfriendly little Shinx when they released him. He had to get vaccinated, make sure he really didn't have rabies, of course. Luckily he didn't, otherwise, well…" He left off rather ominously. I got the message.

I also got a species name. "Shinx?" I had seen Shinx before, of course. But what I dimly recalled from the firelit fight with the monster hadn't looked like a Shinx. Shinx were small (okay, so they had that in common) and cute and friendly. "Wait—Shinx?!"

My parents were evidently beyond caring that I didn't know my own Pokemon's species. "Yes, Shinx."

I broke into a grin, and then into laughter. Of course, of course it was a Shinx! It couldn't have been anything else. A bloodthirsty monster attacks me in the middle of the night, and I accidentally catch it—it had to have turned out to be an electric Pokemon. Of course. Finally, irony paid off.

-.-.-

The little girl and I were released together, mostly because she insisted on it. My parents puzzled over this, but I calmed them with some story about how we'd shared a trauma and they readily accepted that as an explanation. It didn't solve the problem of the small child attached to my waist at all times, however.

A small child who knew nothing of the English language—who, in fact, spoke very rarely lately—and had a Kangaskhan she called her mother and a pink thing that was identified as a Happiny for me.

I knew vaguely who her parents must be, but they were back in Jubilife. True, they had to have realized she was missing and must be frantically searching, but they were still a couple hours away. Even if we got back there, I still didn't have a concrete way of finding them, either. I could stand on a random street corner and shout at random passerby about the girl I'd picked up, but that would probably end up in getting her carted off like Des had been. Not the brightest of ideas.

"I'll take her back to Jubilife," I volunteered during the first proper dinner since I'd gone to visit my parents. "Her parents are probably still there. It'll be a place to start."

"Are you up for traveling so soon?" my mom asked worriedly.

"Of course I am. Plus, we'll go tomorrow, during the day, so we'll both be safe. We also have several very strong, capable Pokemon between us to protect us if things get rough—don't look at me that way they can totally protect us," I hissed, catching the glance that my parents shared. I angrily stabbed at the corn (five minutes of being back in the house, and they ordered me to eat vegetables; figures) on my plate. They hadn't even met my Pokemon, so how could they judge? Des had learned Lava Plume, Carlita had the fastest punches ever, and I could personally attest to how vicious Ike's bites were. They were an awesome, strong team, right?

"C'est mal," the little girl said randomly, holding up a piece of chicken.

"Thank you, dear," my mother replied absently, still trying to stare me down. "I'm just not so sure you two should be traveling alone…"

"We aren't alone. She has two Pokemon and I have three."

"And look how you ended up the other night."

"Come on, I've been training for like, five months now! That's almost half a year! I have three badges! I'm a completely capable Pokemon trainer." Well, mostly capable, at any rate.

"Just… be careful."

And so we set off back towards Jubilife and the little girl's French parents.

Chapter Text

Jubilife City was as crowded as ever. I held on tightly to the little girl's hand with one hand, my other one even more tightly on my backpack's strap. Her two pokeballs were in there, at my insistence, as well as my three. My backpack was our only defense, be it against wild Pokemon, thieves, or the occasional mercenary out for the latter.

We were waiting for the light to change at one of the busier intersections when I saw the little girl's face across the street. I did a double-take. Her picture was on a poster, hanging on a shop's window. I nearly started walking then and there out into the traffic, but thankfully, her grip on my hand kept me safely on the sidewalk.

I was surprised at how easy it was to find something about her, however, by the time we got over there. It had her picture, name, age, a description of the dress I'd found her in (she was now wearing an old outfit of mine, her dress, having been washed by my mother, folded in my backpack), contact information if she was found, and a list of her Pokemon.

A list of her three Pokemon.

"Wait, what?" I peered in closer, pressing my nose against the glass. Rose the Happiny, Manon (the whole 'mama' thing was suddenly explained as a simple nickname) the Kangaskhan, and Jacques the Gallade.

I hadn't found Jacques the Gallade with her. I had only seen him at the electronics store before I found her. So where was he?

"Ah! Moi!" she exclaimed excitedly, seeing the poster for the first time.

"Yeah," I replied without hearing her, still thinking about the missing Gallade. Still, I could think about that later. First I better get hold of her parents and figure out the situation at hand.

Unfortunately, all that the contact information consisted of was a phone number.

My cell phone had been one of the casualties of the Pokemon battle royale, frozen and shattered by the Froslass. I was also still broke from buying the translator, so I had no change for a payphone.

"…This kinda sucks," I remarked to no one in particular. I herded the little girl against the wall and crouched down beside her, digging around in my backpack. I wrote down the phone number, Jacques, and her name—Cossette Beaumanoir. "Okay, Cossette, we're going to have to find your parents the old-fashioned way. Either that or somehow get enough money for a payphone."

She was positively delighted with the sound of her name and just nodded happily, repeating, "Oui, oui!"

"Let's go then."

-.-.-

After trying various methods of raising enough money to use the payphone, none of them working but getting increasingly elaborate (and kind of fun) nonetheless, we had to give up on the generosity of strangers. I began to roam the streets looking for a hapless trainer to challenge, but that, too, seemed to be much easier said than done.

"Hmm… We could try having Carlita dance on this street corner…" I mumbled to myself. It wouldn't work, though, and I knew that. Carlita had been dancing on every street corner and had yet to get any money at all. I tilted my head to the side, chin in hand, thinking. I could always threaten people for money. Des could set them on fire… No, he wouldn't agree to that. Well, Ike would be more than willing to help attack humans, even if he couldn't set them on fire.

"Je veux Jacques," the little girl said by my waist. I looked down at her. She probably wouldn't like it very much if she had to watch as I roughed up some locals for pocket change.

"Uh, yeah." We still had to find Jacques the Gallade, too, and that search was going just about as well as our quest for money for the payphone.

I pulled her out of the sidewalk traffic to sit against the nearest building. It was getting on towards evening. We had wasted the entire day. Luckily Jubilife had a Center, otherwise we probably would've had to camp outside.

"Pokemon Centers have phones!" I realized aloud, jumping to my feet. Cossette stared at me flatly. I sniffed at the look, wondering just how much she actually understood, and how much she assumed. I helped her up, and thus we started marching across town to the Pokemon Center, where we could not only get a room, but where I would hopefully contact her parents.

Then she would be on her merry way (trauma aside), and I would hopefully get some sort of reward for my protection of her. Then I would be on my merry way, though where exactly that would be, I didn't know. Nick had said that his errand wouldn't take too long, and already a couple of days had passed, so did that mean he would be back sometime soon? Or did it—

I felt a sudden spike of anger, an anger strong enough that I really could feel it. I hadn't even turned around before I felt a blast of freezing air and frost. A chunk of ice hit me in the back of the head, and I wasn't too intent on turning around anymore. I just reached over and grabbed Cossette's hand, dragging her down to be a smaller target.

How could I have trusted that Froslass?! She had hurt me, threatened me, threatened my Pokemon, and I knew that she had almost killed in the past, too. I shouldn't have trusted that traitorous ghost, I should have—

I then looked up to find said ghost floating in front of us, a wall of ice separating us three and a blurry, green and white form that was madly hacking away at the shield.

"Lass!" she shouted at me, glancing down at us.

I didn't know what she said, but I did know enough to see that she had saved us. From what, I didn't know, but as I wasn't too keen on getting attacked by yet another Pokemon out for my head, I wasn't going to stick around to find out.

Unfortunately, several things happened then. The first was that the attacking Pokemon vanished and suddenly reappeared, stepping out of a shadow that was suddenly on the wall beside us. Froslass snarled and tried to stab it with an icicle, but it just grabbed Cossette (who was still attached to me) and Teleported away.

We had barely reappeared in some other place before I was wrenched away from her. I had a green blade at my neck before I could do so much as blink. "Pourquoi?! Pourquoi avez-vous Mademoiselle Cossette emmener?!"

"Wh-What? I don't know what you're talking about—!" I squeaked, looking down at the blade and back up at the fringe of green. It was the Gallade—it was Jacques. He was speaking in my mind again, but unfortunately it was still in French. So how did I explain to him that I wasn't the bad guy here?

"Ne parlez pas Français?" There was something like overly loud, obnoxious static in my mind. I winced as I tried to get it out, but it ended soon enough. "English? Do you speak English?"

"Ye-Yes!" I gasped out.

"Why did you take Lady Cossette?!" Jacques demanded angrily, pressing his blade of an arm harder against my neck. It wasn't sharp enough to cut (at least not yet), but it still hurt. Especially since it was uncomfortably pressing against Ike's bite.

"I didn't take her! I-I just found her!"

The Gallade studied me, and I could feel him poking around in my mind. I tried not to scowl and let him figure out on his own that I was telling the truth. I couldn't have done much against him anyway, at least not how we were currently. "…" I could tell he had been about to say something, but as to what, I had no idea; maybe he had no idea how to react to our night?

"Jacques! Non!" Cossette piped up behind him. His red eyes looked toward her for a brief moment, then locked onto mine again. Reluctantly, he let me go, and I slid back down to the ground, hands flying up to my neck.

"In that case, I deeply apologize for my rashness and seek the forgiveness of this kind stranger," Jacques said, sinking to one knee, crossing his arm over his chest. I twitched, aware of how similar his formal speech was to that of Ike's. "Thank you for rescuing Lady Cossette and bringing her back to this town."

"Yeah, uh, no problem," I lied, and I could see that he knew I was lying, too. Maybe having a psychic Pokemon wasn't all it's cracked up to be… The Gallade stood bad up with a flourish and turned to pick up Cossette. She was grinning ear to ear by that point and threw her arms around his neck. Jacques turned to spare me an unreadable look.

"Lady Cossette's parents would be glad to meet their daughter's savior, I'm sure," he said at last. I blushed a little. Savior? Hardly. Still, it was nice to be valued. He held out his free arm, the other holding Cossette, and it took me a few moments to realize that I was supposed to take it. The second my hand landed on his arm, we Teleported again. I stumbled away from him once we arrived, dizzy from yet another jump to… wherever we went to Teleport and wherever we landed this time.

Oh wait. Froslass had been left behind from two places now. I immediately felt guilty and wanted to go back—then reason took back over. Why would I have to go back to get her, after all? She wasn't my Pokemon. We hardly even liked each other. I simply had my hands tied when it came to her. She could find me again on her own. …Even if she had risked her life to defend Cossette and I from Jacques… No time to feel guilty now, though! I took a deep breath, clenched my fists a few times, and then turned to look at the grand lobby we were in.

Beside me, Jacques gently let Cossette down onto the plush carpet while I was busy gaping. Everything was gold and rich and shiny and expensive. Even if I hadn't been broke, I would've felt pathetically poor and peasant-ish. I'm pretty sure a square foot (any square foot) of this place would have been worth more than what I made in a month.

I wondered if I should take one of the flower vases and run for it.

"This way," Jacques said, probably reading my mind. I looked away sheepishly and followed him, Cossette gibbering away in fast French once more. Her Gallade answered with nods or the occasional soft reply, so I was left in silence to trail behind them, wowed by the luxury of the place. The inside of the elevator, even, was all shiny and rich and probably solid gold. We went up to the top floor (don't the richest stay there?) and he marched down the hallway while I was left to wade through the opulence and thick carpeting.

By the time I made it up to them, Jacques had opened one of the doors and Cossette had already been grabbed up by a stylish, middle-aged woman who was obviously her mother. "Ma cherie! Ma bébé! Ah, Jacques, merci, merci beaucoup! Cossette, ma bébé!" she gushed, picking the little girl up and twirling her around.

I hid behind one of the doorways, feeling awkward and culturally ignorant.

Jacques stepped forward and must have said something with telepathy, because I didn't hear anything, but the next moment, the woman had spotted me and was beckoning me over. I shuffled a few feet closer, but still she beckoned, so I took a few more steps. Jacques sighed, walked over, picked me up with one arm like he did Cossette, carried me over, and deposited me in front of her and Cossette.

"You are the one who saved my dear Cossette?" the woman asked in English, nothing but a pleasantly slight accent to give away her French-ness. Without waiting for a reply, she bent down and kissed me on both cheeks before enveloping me in a surprisingly strong hug. "Thank you, thank you! Robert and I have been worried sick over our missing daughter! These past few days have been a nightmare to go through. Thank you so much, merci beaucoup!"

"Um—you're welcome—" I wheezed; she was doing a pretty good job of forcing all of the air out of my lungs.

"Papa!" Cossette cheered suddenly, and then there was a man towering over us all as well. I was moved bodily into the hotel room, turned around so that I faced him, and introduced with more French that I didn't understand. If I had thought Cossette's French was hard to hear, I wasn't prepared at all for her parents. It sounded like nothing more than lots of slurring and soft consonants.

"You saved Cossette then? Merci. We must repay you for this. It is already late out; we shall immediately arrange for a room for the night. Tomorrow we will discuss more, oui?" Cossette's father said with a thicker accent than his wife. He looked up at the Gallade still standing politely behind us. "Jacques, go arrange for the room next to ours."

Jacques nodded and vanished with another Teleport.

"Um—" True, I had been hoping for a reward, and this sounded like I was definitely getting something like that. But a hotel room for the night at this place? That had to cost a fortune, and they were still going to give me more? Now I was going to feel guilty for it. It's not like I had saved Cossette from a wild Pokemon or anything—oh yeah. "I'm not sure if all of this is really necessary—"

"Nonsense!" her mother said cheerfully, finally releasing the hold she had on my shoulders. "You simply must let us repay you. It is the least we could do."

So that was how I found myself in the largest, grandest, most expensive hotel room in the world.

Chapter Text

I had never really spent a night in a hotel alone by myself, since I could never afford it in my journey (and hey—Centers have free rooms!), and I had never gone on vacation without either of my parents before. So before I could start feeling lonely or small in the large room, I let out my Pokemon.

Actually, I let Des and Carlita out without a second thought. I naturally had some reservations about Ike. I actually hadn't (knowingly) released him since that night in the forest, and without the Froslass breathing frost down his neck, he might not be too keen on listening to me.

Then again, he was an itty bitty Shinx and Des had a type advantage on him, so I figured I could swing it. Who knew? Maybe he'd turn out to be an alright Pokemon.

It turned out that Des and Carlita were also not terribly fond of Ike. He looked in confusion at the two of them as they sniffed and turned their backs on him. Though I felt like doing the same, I was also the trainer, and I had to promote unity in the team, right? "Come on, you two. Ike's not all that bad. See?" I reached over to pat him on the head. The Shinx didn't exactly nuzzle up to my hand and start purring, but he didn't look angry, either.

"Loom," Carlita replied offhandedly. I rolled my eyes and went to fish around for my translator. After finding it and asking her to repeat herself, she said, "I don't trust him."

"He hurt Trainer," Des added.

"I apologized…" Ike mumbled, laying his ears back while looking down at his tiny paws.

"Yeah, he did apologize." How was I supposed to keep the peace? I wasn't overly enthused with Ike and his appearance, but he was a) an electric Pokemon we desperately needed, b) my Pokemon and part of this team, and c) outnumbered. I don't know why I felt so attached or defensive, but I did. I felt just as attached to him as I was to Des or Carlita. I just happened to know them better (and they'd never attacked me). "He's part of the team now. Make nice."

"The Electabuzz was part of our team," Carlita replied.

I opened my mouth to reply, but I found I couldn't. I hadn't known that she (was Des, too?) was that… I didn't even know. That she was that snarky? Or was it an innocent remark that happened to rub me the wrong way? What had my other two thought about me releasing the Electabuzz?

"Master Trainer decides what the team is and who belongs on it," Ike said after it was clear that I was not capable of replying to that. It probably wasn't the best thing to say, since I really wasn't 'master trainer' who ruled with an iron fist, but it wasn't the worst thing to say, either. And the fact that my newest Pokemon was coming to my rescue wasn't lost on me.

I ran a hand through my hair, wondering what else I had accidentally done to alienate my Pokemon from me. "Look, guys… The Electabuzz had to leave. We have Ike now. That's life, and that's how it's probably going to stay for awhile. He has apologized, and we need him to take on Crasher Wake. We just all… got off on the wrong foot, right? He's not that bad of a Shinx." I reached over Des and Carlita to pick Ike up, setting him down in between the two. He obviously didn't approve of that placement but didn't dare move.

Des moved, edging away from Ike, and set his front paws on my knee. He butted his head against my neck, the fringe of fur on his forehead rubbing against the bandages there. "Until this heals, I'm not going to approve of the Shinx on this team."

I didn't know whether to be touched that he was so loyal or aggravated that it would take that long before I could make this team a team again. "Will you afterward?" I asked instead.

"If he proves himself."

"Is there an aptitude test for a position on Master Trainer's team?" Ike asked, ears perking up.

"No, no there's not," I said firmly as Carlita opened her mouth to speak. "We all just need to get along. Des, you've set me on fire. Several times. Carlita, you've hit me and paralyzed me that one time. Ike bit me a couple of times. You're all even, you're all on this team. Now be nice and accept each other." I couldn't wait for my neck to heal if my Numel and Breloom were going to continue acting as they were.

"Do we have to?" Carlita asked plaintively.

"Yes."

"…Fine." She stuck out her clawed paw for a hand—er, paw—shake. Ike eyed the sharp claws before carefully shaking it with his own tiny paw. He then turned expectantly to Des. The fire Pokemon looked down at him for a brief time, before leaning down and licking him on the head, mussing the fur there even worse than it already was. Ike growled but didn't attack him, which I took as a good sign.

"Okay, now that we're all friends, here's the real reason I released you. Cossette's finally back with her parents, and now I'm in this giant hotel room with only you three for company. What do we do now?"

Soon, we were all jumping on the bed, laughing, pushing, ducking, and trying to touch the high ceiling while simultaneously trying not to make too much noise and/or break the bed.

-.-.-

A couple hours later, we had jumped ourselves to exhaustion. As fun as it was, you could only jump for so long before your legs wanted to murder you for it. We halfheartedly tried a wrestling match, but as Carlita was a fighting-type and Ike was tiny to begin with, it wouldn't have been very fair. So instead we laid in a heap on the king size bed, just talking.

Or rather, I was talking, and I had a sneaking suspicion my Pokemon were either asleep or falling asleep.

"Pokeballs are like heartstrings," I proclaimed philosophically. It had been something I'd been thinking about for awhile. "The second you catch something, you're attached. As a trainer, you care about the Pokemon. And as a Pokemon… uh, I don't know, but I suppose there's some caring there," I expanded delicately, aware that Ike may still be listening. I wasn't sure his position yet, aside from his careful and forced loyalty.

"Nu," Des mumbled in his sleep. I had long since lost my translator, since it was quite hard to bounce while keeping it in place.

"Truthfully, I wasn't too enthused with any of you to begin with. But because you're my Pokemon, because you're mine, well… I don't know. You guys are just awesome." How many other Pokemon would jump on a bed with you? "I'm glad I got you all," I murmured, finally drifting off to sleep.

I awoke sometime later by a rather rough tongue on my face. "Go 'way, Des…" I flailed randomly.

"Shinx, shii!" The rather high-pitched, insistent mewing grated on my ears until I finally sat up. Ike, who had been sitting on my chest, leapt off and landed on the floor below. Athletic little monster, I noted sleepily. He reached the door just as it knocked. "Shinx!" Ike called, and, rather than opening the door, Jacques Teleported in.

"You are requested at breakfast," he told me telepathically with a small bow. Ike was busy watching him with nothing short of awe, tail lashing back and forth behind him excitedly. "…I suggest you change out of your bedclothes and brush your hair before, however." Jacques eyed my rumpled outfit with obvious disapproval, probably because I hadn't bothered changing into my pajamas and just slept in shorts and my shirt.

"Right." I made sure he'd vanished again before jumping out of bed and rummaging around for a clean outfit in my backpack. (Thankfully I'd left home just yesterday, otherwise, such a thing would've been rarer than a legendary Pokemon.)

"Shinx, shi-shinx?" Ike asked curiously, jumping up onto the bed to wake up Des and Carlita as well.

"You know that headset I wear? I can't understand you without it," I replied without looking at him, trying to pull off my socks while still standing. It was harder than it sounded, really. I fell over before I finally pulled one off, and decided that I could take care of the other while sitting.

Ike came over, the translator held delicately in his mouth. He sat down and stuck it out for me. To say I was surprised by his gesture—let alone the helpfulness of it and the wake-up call—would be an understatement.

"Um, since I'm kind of busy, how about you ask me that question later? I have to go meet Cossette's parents…" I said awkwardly, pulling off my other sock. Ike bobbed his head, set the translator down, and grabbed both socks in his teeth before running off with them. "Hey, wait—!"

I was even more surprised when he deposited them in my backpack and came back with the clean pair I'd pulled out earlier.

"…Thank you?" I replied cautiously, wary of his friendliness. It was obvious he was trying to get on the team's collective good side, but I still didn't know to what length he'd go, or what he'd do when he got there. Des and Carlita were just waking up when I returned all three of them to head down to breakfast. Didn't the fact that he and I were practically alone mean he didn't mean any harm? Maybe the Froslass had actually done a good job of convincing him not to hurt anyone.

I was met in the lobby (and as I passed the flower vases, again I wondered how much they'd be worth on the black market) by Cossette and her parents. I glanced around before asking, "Where's Jacques?" The Gallade had been eerily ever-present, so it was a bit odd not to have him around, potentially reading my mind.

"In his pokeball. He's Cossette's bodyguard and butler, and since she is safe with us now, there is no need for him to be out," her mother replied kindly.

"Her… butler?" I asked, looking down at the little girl.

"As you have seen, Cossette has a tendency of wandering off sometimes. That's why she has Jacques and Manon, to protect her and bring her home when that happens. Only… Something must have separated them the last time this happened…"

"And you're hoping I can answer that," I finished. It made sense. If something was up with their daughter, they'd want to know, right?

"Come, let us to go breakfast first. We may talk after our meal," Robert said firmly, gesturing towards the hotel's restaurant. I nodded nervously. A room and a meal and then more? Now I was definitely getting too much out of this. Hanna hadn't been that free with her money, so why couldn't they…?

I then realized that this would be the second meal in three days that I hadn't shared with my Pokemon. Before that, we had been together nearly all the time, even sharing food. (Quite often sharing food, in fact.) That, together with the almost-fight last night, made me wonder if I was drifting away from my Pokemon.

I halfheartedly ate my omelet. It was delicious, to be sure, but I was aware of the fact that Des and Carlita would've very much liked it. What were Ike's tastes in food? Cossette and her parents chatted happily in both French and English, trying to draw me into the conversation. I didn't want to be rude, but I already felt uncomfortable with the richness of them and the hotel, and that was without my present Pokemon problems. I kind of wanted to just leave and go back to adventuring for awhile by myself.

"So. Where did you find our Cossette?" I blinked, realizing that her father was talking to me.

"It was in the forest, an hour or two of walking out of Jubilife. I found her Kangaskhan's pokeball just before her, and she had the pink thing—Rose—with her." Beside me, Cossette nodded eagerly, though she couldn't have a clue as to what I was saying. "I wasn't sure how they got separated, especially from Jacques, since we didn't find him until we got back to Jubilife."

"That's troubling," Robert said quietly, scratching his beard. His wife nodded solemnly in agreement. "We 'ave asked Cossette about this, but she does not have much more information than you. Jacques, of course, was not there, so we cannot find out anything more than him, either."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled awkwardly, "But I only heard her screaming at first. I then found her Kangaskhan and accidentally let it out, and it scared us, so we started screaming—and then she found us with that. It was later on that the Shinx that had been—Ike!"

"Excusez-moi?" her father asked flatly, raising an eyebrow.

"That night, I caught a Shinx, the Pokemon that had been scaring her. He might know something more."

"Then let's hear what this Shinx has to say," her mother said with a smile.

Chapter Text

"I'm afraid I don't have much information to offer," Ike said coolly, at least having the sense to look apologetic. "I found the little girl when I was in an already rotten mood, so I may have scared her and caused her to scream."

It was an understatement, but it was probably a good idea that her parents didn't know how vicious the little monster had been that night. He was being unhelpful, though, so I nudged him with my toe. "He says he doesn't know anything we don't already know. He just scared her because he was in a bad mood that night," I translated for her parents.

"Not every human who comes across me has been frightened in the past, so I suppose it was a bit gratifying that she was terrified of me. I pursued her—until I caught sight of the Kangaskhan. I hid myself in the undergrowth until I was sure she had been recalled into her pokeball and would not come back out. Then I came out into the open, and the rest you already know," Ike elaborated. I had a feeling he was trying to apologize this time, so I decided he wasn't just being spiteful.

"He was just wanting to scare her, since not everyone is scared of a Shinx. That was his only intention in pursuing Cossette," I told them, glancing down at Ike to make sure he didn't try to contradict me.

"Don't forget the fact that I was frustrated," he added with a smile.

I rolled my eyes. "He also says he was frustrated. Why were you frustrated?"

"The man I had come across earlier wasn't afraid at all of me and only tried to step on me."

"What man?!"

"There was a man?!" Cossette's parents echoed with equal parts nervousness and anger.

"Oh yes," Ike said with what I swore was a purr. "I had met a man a little while prior to the young girl. Roughly a half hour, I would guess?"

"What did he look like?"

"Tall, for humans. He had dark hair that was long, held back in one of those tail-like things you humans are fond of, and light eyes. He wore a light shirt and dark pants."

"Colors, colors!" I snapped, mostly because I was much too tired of Froslass' dark-haired trainer. I wanted specifics before going on another chase.

"I cannot see colors like you humans can." There was a measured amount of annoyance in his tone. I felt a little sheepish, though, because he really appeared to be doing the best he could. And some description was better than nothing. (He was already light years ahead of the Froslass in descriptive skills, too.)

"Thanks," I told him, genuinely thankful. I then recounted to the others the vague description, but as none of them really lit up with immediate recognition, I was guessing we weren't dealing with some old rival who had a habit of kidnapping Cossette. So then who were we dealing with? …Or was it a coincidence? "Um, do you think this man is related?" I asked her parents.

"We cannot overlook the possibility at this time. Ask your Shinx if he noticed anything else about the man," her mother responded, looking down at Ike while keeping Cossette close to her.

"Ike, was the man looking for anything? Or anyone? Did he have Pokemon with him? Anything else you noticed about him, anything at all?"

"Hmm. I believe he had Pokemon, because he smelled like canine, but no one else was with him when I ran into him. That's all I know of him. I only growled a few warnings to him before he kicked me and I decided to leave."

"He says he smelled like canine, so he might have some sort of canine Pokemon? But it wasn't out with him at the time. That's it, sorry."

"No need to apologize. You're already helping us very much," her mother said gently, smiling. "We'll look into this mysterious man and see if it was related to Cossette's disappearance and separation from her Pokemon."

"Wasn't Jacques out and about? Could he have seen anything?" I asked, earning confused looks. Backpedaling, I hastily explained, "I saw him in a store I went to that evening, before I found Cossette."

"It could be worth looking into," her father admitted. The Gallade subsequently came out, and after hearing the description of the man, could offer no further insight.

I was very surprised when it turned out to be Ike who suggested, "You can read minds, can't you? See if you can recognize the man from my memories." For Jacques to be digging around in his memories, that sounded a little… dangerous, as well as sacrificial. There was a slight chance that the psychic Pokemon hadn't figured out that Ike was a human-hater from what he'd gleaned from me alone, but he'd really be putting himself out there if he surrendered himself like that. As if sensing this, Ike fixed me with one golden eye and said quietly, "Anything for Master Trainer," complete with a small, sharp-toothed smile.

I was a little unnerved by that and looked away while Jacques turned to Ike and presumably read his mind. If Ike wanted to get into trouble, that was his own call, wasn't it? I could only be held accountable for what happened after I caught him, after all. …Right?

"…This man. I recognize him," Jacques announced, releasing his hold on my Shinx.

"So it sounds like we have our suspect. How will we find him in Jubilife City, though?" Cossette's mother asked worriedly, maintaining a protective hold on her daughter.

"You stay here with Cossette and her Pokemon, save Jacques. He will come with us to search for the man. We will split into two groups: I will go with Jacques and you will go with your Shinx, oui?" I nodded my affirmative. "I will go to the police station first and see if they can be of any help. Are you up to helping us search?"

"Of course!" I had to do some work for all of the money they spent on me, after all.

-.-.-

After borrowing a new cell phone from them and getting the numbers of both Robert and the hotel, I was out and about in Jubilife City with Ike at my side. We were looking for a tall man with long, dark hair and light eyes. That couldn't be that difficult, right? Plus, Ike would undoubtedly recognize him if he saw him again, and Jacques was out searching, too…

And who knew? Maybe the police would get involved after hearing Robert's story, too. That would sure be helpful. (As long as Officer Jenny didn't recognize me.)

"Can you sniff him out or something?" I asked my Shinx as we stood on a street corner, scanning the crowd.

"If we get close, I may be able to track him. But I would not be able to rely on that." Of course it wouldn't be that easy. I stooped to pick up Ike, since I was totally against the idea of my tiny monster alone in a sea of feet that could step on him. I then realized that it was the first time I'd really held him.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I stood on my tiptoes to try to see more people. "Well, uh, tell me if you spot him."

An hour of awkward small talk with Ike and a couple false alarms later, I felt we were getting nowhere fast. We had switched street corners a couple times, too, but that hadn't gotten us much progress. Neither had climbing a street sign to see better. In fact, I was just about to give up and try to find some way out of helping when I saw another man that matched the description.

Funny thing was, he walked right by us. Ike perked up, sniffing the air; that's how I knew it had to be him. He passed a couple of teenage girls, momentarily obscuring himself from our sight, and then vanished. It was as if he'd Teleported. He simply wasn't there anymore, although it was the middle of the sidewalk in a crowd. He couldn't have gotten out of our sight that easily.

"Ike, was that—?"

"Yes! He smelled like canine!"

For the second time in my life, I was chasing after a stranger through Jubilife. It was weird how things worked that way sometimes. I made it to the spot where he'd disappeared, and caught a glimpse of the man's light blue shirt just down the street. So he hadn't disappeared, he'd just managed to duck out of sight. I darted after him, Ike held tight in my arms, weaving through the crowd with a practiced precision.

We continually caught only hints of his back through several streets. Just when I'd thought we'd lost him, we would see him again, just a little ways away. Thankfully, we were getting out of the busier districts and into less crowded ones, so it was getting progressively easier to keep track of him. Plus, with less people in the way, I was rapidly closing the gap between us.

He was practically within arm's reach when he rounded a corner and vanished again. This time, he didn't reappear. I stood on the corner, chest heaving, looking around for him. Ike sniffed the air, trying to locate the target.

"Where did he go?" I asked the empty air.

I heard a giggle and two white arms reached over my shoulders and picked Ike up. I barely had time to process this before the arms and my Shinx blinked out of existence.

"I-Ike—"

I was pushed roughly against the building in front of me, scraping against the rough concrete. I heard a growl and an answering grunt. Then, "Who are you and why are you following me?!"

-.-.-

I was taken—Teleported, I had a sneaking suspicion—somewhere. I was tied to a chair and blindfolded. Clearly, this man wasn't playing games. I swallowed nervously, trying to keep calm. I had been in tougher situations than this, right?

I heard the giggle that had taken Ike from me, and then I was suddenly blinded as the blindfold was taken off. I blinked, trying to adjust to the light, and noted that I was in a rather spacious room with concrete walls and one, solitary window which was boarded over. We weren't any place I could identify. Great. In addition to being arrested, being attacked, and generally being a target for bad luck and physical abuse, now I'd been kidnapped.

"Hey!" Suddenly, my captor was leaning over me upside-down, his black hair falling away from his face. "You're that punk with the Numel!"

It took a few moments for me to recognize him. "…Oh my—You're the mercenary who took down that thief!" It was the very same man who'd stopped Des' taker. The man who'd stopped said taker by tackling him and breaking a wrist and a few fingers, if I remembered correctly.

"He was a conman, and had quite the bounty on his head. If it weren't for you, I would have gotten that money, too." He leaned back out of my view. I pursed my lips, wondering if he'd kill me for that. Or maim me. Or break my fingers, more specifically. "So why are you butting into my work again, huh? Who sent you?"

"No one did. I-I was just…" Oh jeez. Now it sounded stupid and overly complicated. Why, why couldn't I have just been on my merry way? Why had I felt the need to help? I took a breath to try to calm myself down. I'd have to get out of this situation somehow, probably on my own, too. "What do you have to do with Cossette Beaumanoir?" I asked quietly, voice at odds with my racing heart.

"…Ah. So it's that." He left it at that. I could hear him pacing behind me. I blinked nervously, trying to wiggle my arms, but to no avail. What was that?

"What did you do with my Shinx?" I asked anxiously. Then I remembered the two pokeballs hopefully still in my pocket. I furtively patted my shorts, hopes crashing and burning when I realized that they weren't there. "What did you do with my Pokemon?!"

"They're unharmed and in the next room with my Pokemon," he replied shortly.

I ground my teeth in frustration. So I really was on my own then. I couldn't even use my Pokemon, or my arms, for that matter. "Why are you doing this?"

"Excuse me, but you were the one tailing me. I think I'll be asking the questions."

"I was tailing you because you're a suspect in the kidnapping of Cossette Beaumanoir." Honesty usually wasn't the best policy when dealing with these types of people, but it was the only thing I had at the moment. "My Shinx saw you."

"I thought it was the same little mongrel." With an obnoxiously loud scraping sound, the man dragged a chair out from behind me, placed it a few feet in front of me, and sat down. He rolled his shoulders and relaxed, draping an arm over the back of it. "So what if I kidnapped her? She's fine, isn't she?"

"So you admit it?" I hadn't thought it'd be that easy to get a confession. Of course, said confession was totally useless unless I could somehow get out of here and tell the police or something.

"I don't see how it matters to you. Why are you sticking their nose into this business?" He fixed me with a level glare. I looked away; I wasn't going to get intimidated and do something stupid.

"I sort of got roped in. Against my will! So I would totally not snitch or anything if you let me go right now—"

"You could at least make an effort," he interrupted. I bowed my head sheepishly. "If you're worried I'm going to kill you or something, relax. You're worthless and it'd be too much of a mess to clean up. I'm just interested in what you think you're doing."

"I'm helping Cossette's parents. They were worried about their little girl. Is that so wrong?"

"Is it so wrong to try to make some money?"

"So you admit that you were going to ransom her?"

"Perhaps. You've met Robert Beaumanoir; he dotes on his daughter and he's ridiculously wealthy. Would it be a bad way to make money?"

"Yeah, it would be! You kidnapped a little girl."

"I wouldn't have hurt her. I thought we established that." He sighed and leaned back in the chair, running a hand through his black hair. Looking at the wall behind me, he continued, "I'm just looking for a bit of security before things go south."

"…What do you mean by that?"

He then glanced at me and broke out into a sharp grin. "If you had yourself a psychic Pokemon you'd know." I shivered from the ominous, if vague, remark. What did that mean?

I never got to find out, because at that precise moment, I felt the ropes binding me to the chair freeze and shatter. Froslass floated through me and faced the man stoically. "Lass, lass lass, lass," she told him venomously. He just laughed.

"We'll see, ghost."

Chapter Text

"I wouldn't suggest letting her attack me," the man told me, looking completely at ease despite the fact that the Froslass was working at freezing him to the chair. "You might want to stop her."

"Why? It seems like I'm the one holding the cards now," I replied with a bravado I really didn't feel. Why was he so calm? Even I was nervous with the Froslass in the room, and she was kind of on my side.

"I still have a few of those cards of yours." He tilted his head, staring at me through his bangs. When I didn't reply, he elaborated, "Where are your Pokemon?"

"Wha—give them back! Where are they?!" I jumped to my feet and crossed the distance with too few steps, grabbing him by the collar of the shirt. The intimidation angle I'd been going for was lost, however, primarily because he was still as tall as I was, even sitting.

"I told you. They're in the next room with my Pokemon, who are incidentally under orders to attack if I tell them to."

"Tell them to? You can't talk to them," I growled, letting go of his shirt to stalk back over to my chair.

"I have a psychic Pokemon. Who happens to be listening in on this telepathically. The only reason nothing's happened yet is because I told her not to do anything."

I swallowed thickly. Froslass halted in making him an ice sculpture, looking at me. What did I do now? I thought I'd had the upper hand—but I really didn't. I couldn't take the chance that he was bluffing, because even if he was, my Pokemon had to be somewhere and that was still some place I didn't know. "…Froslass, don't freeze him to the chair. Come back over here."

"Good job. You're not a dumb kid, after all—"

"Shut up. Even if your Pokemon have mine cornered, I still have you cornered, remember?" I snapped with a glare. The Froslass sniffed and floated over to me, hovering between me and the door. I looked at her, suddenly realizing that she was a ghost. A ghost that could fly through walls, right? "Froslass! Go see if my Pokemon are somewhere nearby, and if they're with any other Pokemon."

She reluctantly left, floating through the nearest wall.

"Stupid move, kid." With that, the man had me pinned against the wall, holding me several inches off the ground by my throat. I scrabbled at his arm, but he didn't seem to mind. "Skittle, come in here with everyone."

I had no idea who he was talking to, at least not until several Pokemon Teleported into the room. My first reaction was that it was Jacques—but no, that Pokemon was not a Gallade, though it looked alarmingly like one. (Well, minus the whole fighting angle and plus a dress.) The white-dressed Pokemon giggled, holding Ike in its arms and keeping Carlita floating, immobilized, in the air with a Psychic. Des was busy growling with a black canine with horns. I noticed that the Froslass was not with them.

"This kid has ceased to amuse me, and furthermore, Beaumanoir might be aware of our movements. We're finishing this tonight and going back for the girl," he told his Pokemon, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. "Skittle, keep the brat's Pokemon immobile. We're going to give them all a proper sendoff before going after the Beaumanoir girl again."

"Hey! Wait—let me go!" I started kicking, as well I could, at least until I noticed the background had changed. We were outside now. Where, I had no idea, but outside. We had to have been pretty high up, because I could see a forest spread out below us. I was set back down, and for a moment, I was too astonished to try to run for it.

"Good, that Froslass didn't come with us," the man muttered, looking around. "Okay, here's the deal, kid. If you survive, you'll be too far away to do anything, especially without a bird or psychic. If you don't, it'll be months before anyone will find your body, and by then, it'll be too late, anyway."

I was forcefully turned around. Grass and flowers surrounded us, except for where the ground abruptly dropped off in front of us. The man pushed me forward, and I suddenly had an idea of what was going on now. I just hoped I was wrong.

"Wa—Wait, wait. What about my Pokemon?"

"Hey, I'm not a bad guy. Return them if you'd like." He spread his arms wide. "I'd suggest you do."

"But—"

"Here are their pokeballs." He dug in his pocket and withdrew the three minimized balls. This was accompanied by another shove forward. I noticed that there was a wooden dock leading off into space in front of us. That's where he was herding us. His psychic Pokemon moved Carlita and Ike towards the dock, while the black canine, still trading growls with Des and both of them dripping flames from their mouths, snapped at my Numel until he backed onto the wood, too.

"You're going to kill us?" I asked shakily, digging my heels in even as I was pushed onto the dock as well.

"You could survive," the man replied offhandedly. I reached towards the pokeballs (and one ultra ball), but he held them up out of reach. "I just want you out of the way while I take care of my business with Beaumanoir."

"I-I'd stay out of your way," I pleaded. I was forced back another few steps. My Pokemon and I were now halfway down the dock, cut off by the man and his two Pokemon. Where was Froslass when I actually really needed her?! Below us, far below us, there was water, barely visible through all of the fog. Even if we survived the fall, the water would surely drown us—especially Des…

"Let's see how loyal of a trainer you are. You will be pushed off of this dock. Or you can jump."

"Why would I jump?"

"Let's see how loyal you are to your Pokemon," the man repeated, and threw the pokeballs over our heads and off the dock. Horrified, I turned and followed their arc with my eyes, even as I was running forward, jumping over Des and Ike, trying to catch them.

I rapidly ran out of dock, however.

Behind me, I heard the man laughing—not cruelly, but genuinely laughing—as Carlita and Ike screeched. I was falling, though, too intent on catching up to the pokeballs to save Des with. My fingertips brushed one, and I managed to take it into my hand. Half-turning, I screamed, "Return!" Carlita disappeared in a beam of red light. I growled in frustration and tried to catch the other pokeball.

"Shii!" Ike yowled above me. I didn't know what he was saying, since my translator had long since been confiscated. Frankly, Des was my priority, anyway.

I managed to latch onto the other pokeball and nearly sobbed in relief as I could finally return Des over my shoulder. I didn't miss his look of worry as he vanished, however. Ike's ultra ball was much easier to catch, since it wasn't perfectly round and I could grab it more easily. I turned around back upward, holding out the ultra ball.

Then I hit the water.

-.-.-

I awoke to darkness, cold, and a shivering, wet, furry thing pressing against my face, repeating, "Shii! Shii!"

"Ugh… Ike?" I lifted my head, wincing as pain shot up through my arm. It hadn't felt that bad since I had broken it… Now worried, I carefully sat up, breath catching as I realized how much I hurt. Ike crawled into my lap, soaked and walking with a severe limp. He mewled pathetically, looking nothing like the monster I had met just a sparse few days ago.

"Shii shinx shinx!" he cried, trying to burrow his way into my shirt. I picked him up as best I could with one hand, alarmed at how cold he was.

"Don't worry, Ike," I told him, putting him in my shirt even though I was probably as cold and wet as he was. I didn't know why I told him not to worry, though. I didn't know where we were, how much time had elapsed since we fell, or how we were supposed to get back to civilization. "Wh-Where's…?" Of course I didn't see Des or Carlita; I had managed to return them in time. I had almost saved Ike, too, but I just wasn't fast enough. I looked around me for the two pokeballs. At least Des could start a fire to dry us off…

They were no where in sight. Not even Ike's ultra ball. I cringed as I clambered to my feet, still looking around for my other two Pokemon. Of course they were lost; it couldn't be easy for me to do anything, not with my luck.

Thunder rumbled overhead, the only warning before the downpour started.

"Of course," I snarled, holding my good arm over my head.

"Shinx shii," Ike muttered angrily.

"Yeah, but let's try to get out of the rain first," I replied without having a clue as to what he'd just said. Okay, plan of action. First: find a shelter of some sort. Second: find Des and Carlita. Third: get out of there. I had no hope of catching back up with Cossette or her parents before that mercenary did. They would have to deal on their own while I did the same.

I squinted through the rain. There wasn't much shore, and what there was, was rocky and flat. A sheer wall rose up in front of us, back up to where I assumed we had been before our little swim. Where was I? Still, there had to be an outcropping or a cave or something somewhere… What would happen if we didn't find one didn't even cross my mind. We simply had to find one, and that was it.

"Shii!" Ike piped up, wiggling in my shirt, pointing out into the rain. I could only make out a hazy dark patch on the rock wall that could have been a cave. Better than nothing. I picked my way carefully through the rocks and half-dead patches of grass, losing a soggy shoe in the process. I ignored the loss and stumbled the rest of the way to the could-be cave, which, miraculously, turned out to be just that: a cave.

At least, I thought it was, until we ran in and came across smooth, cut stones for a floor, a dim pillar in the middle of the room, and thick fog blurring everything else.

"This… This isn't a cave, Ike," I whispered, backing up towards the outside world again. The air felt stale and heavy and humid. The last could be blamed on the mist, but there was something else that made everything seem… off. Very off.

Outside, thunder rumbled, its lightning briefly illuminating a bit of the temple-like inside. Ike's tail frizzed up and I could feel him wiggling in my shirt. I felt like doing the same. There were figures, shadows, in the fog, towards the other side of the room, moving slowly and silently.

As the lightning's glare faded, one of the figures turned towards me with a single, bright red dot of light.

"Come here, child. Come over here." Contrary to its dark appearance—that is, before it vanished with the darkness and fog in the room—its voice was soothing and airy. It was also completely persuasive and possessive. "Come here, child," the voice repeated softly, and I could practically see the hand attached to it beckoning.

I was halfway to the pillar in the middle of the room before I noticed I had moved.

I was dimly aware that Ike was saying something, but the more he spoke, the fainter his voice got. I could hardly hear him as I walked blindly through the fog towards the kind voice. "We're lost," I called out, just so I could hear a voice. "We're lost, and hurt, and I can't find anyone to help us…"

"You poor thing. Come here, and I'll help you," the voice said sympathetically, directly ahead of me. I could vaguely make out a figure in the fog, and I broke into a stumbling run. Help! Finally! We could get out of this crazy place, get somewhere safe again, find Des and Carlita…

Ike was screeching and yowling in my shirt, but I didn't hear him. I was concentrated solely on the voice and the help it offered.

Finally, I could see a solid shape with soft, large, oh so helpful hands reaching out towards me. I broke into a run, arms outstretched as best as I could. The voice's owner offered safety and comfort and something that reminded me irresistibly of my mom. I was cold, wet, lost, hurt, and wanted nothing more than the voice and the sanctuary in its words.

"You poor thing, I'll help you," the voice murmured, wrapping its arms around me as I jumped into its waiting embrace.

Ike chomped down on the space between my neck and shoulder. The pain was as if a light had been turned on; I could see everything in annoyingly clear clarity. And it just so happened that I was currently in the grey arms of something whose fingers were slowly wrapping around my upper arms to keep me still. I tried to jump back, and instead ended up merely staring up into a single red eye.

Chapter Text

"Le-Let me go!"

"Shinx! Shinx!"

"Dusk?"

Ike and I both froze when another Pokemon suddenly appeared right next to my head. All I could see is a similar-looking red eye, shifting lazily between two otherwise empty eye sockets in a skull. I wheezed mutely, too scared to even scream properly.

"Clops!" rumbled the thing holding me.

"Duskull, skull," the thing beside me—it was floating, and the name Duskull rang a bell as well—said in a high, amused voice. My captor growled and set the top of its mouth (or what I assume was its mouth, though it looked kind of more like a mustache) on the top of my head. I wheezed again, and this time, Ike joined in with a screech. The Duskull beside me screeched in response, floating back away, glaring suspiciously at Ike, apparently just noticing him.

"Dussss…"

"Duskull!"

"Dussss…!" It tightened its hold on me to the point of pain. I grit my teeth and tried not to cry out as to try to avoid their attention for just a little bit longer.

"Duskull dusk!"

"Clops!" It tightened its fingers again and this time, I couldn't help but bite back a scream. It hurt. My shoulder was already messed up, and I didn't need this creature crushing me to remind me of that. Unfortunately, the noise drew both Pokemon's attentions back towards me. Ike ducked down in my shirt, growling threateningly as he peeked out.

"Dusk," the Duskull said softly, hovering over my uninjured shoulder, glaring at the thing holding me. What was going on between these two?! And why couldn't they do it without squishing me?

"…Fine, you win," the Pokemon(? Pokemon don't talk in English though!) holding me said, sighing in defeat. I wheezed some more in fright. The maybe-Pokemon took its mouth off of me and set me gently back down on the stone, where I promptly sunk to my knees and continued wheezing weakly.

"Are you okay?" the thing above me asked. The Duskull floated down towards me worriedly, shaking. From what, I didn't know, nor did I care to find out.

"NoI'mnot," I snapped. "Wh-Why are you speaking?!"

"Hau hau hau! Haunter, haaaauuuuun?" All coherencies once again went out the window as another ghost sidled up to our little group. I highly doubted Ike could get any more fluffed up, but he was trying, apparently. I simply bent over, covering the back of my head with my good hand, and hoped dearly that they all left.

"Dusclops!"

"Duskull, skull-duss!"

"Haunter, haun?"

"Duskull!"

"Hau hau hau!"

It was becoming rapidly obvious that they weren't going to leave. So instead I shifted until I could move better, and began crawling out while they argued above me.

That only lasted about two steps before I was hauled into the air by a purple hand and was held in front of the Haunter's jagged grin. "Haunter!"

Ike couldn't run on his hurt paw, otherwise I would've tossed him and told him to head for the hills (and hopefully help).

"Dusclops!" I was pulled in another direction by the largest of the three ghosts and set gently back down on the ground, where I collapsed and wheezed again. "Stay behind me. We'll take care of the Haunter."

"Wh-Why are you t-talking to me." Still, I followed the orders and skittered around to the other side of the Dusclops. "Ike, do you know anything about this?" I whispered, hoping they wouldn't hear as they continued arguing. Ike shook his head, ears still pinned to the back of his skull.

Things just got better when a pair of Gastly floated on over and decided to pick on us as well. Ike finally managed to wiggle out of my shirt and stood valiantly on my knee, snarling at them both. They laughed and stuck out their tongues at him. He took a swipe at them, but predictably, his paw went right through them and they laughed even harder.

One of them floated closer, glaring down at Ike with wide eyes and an even wider smile. It did something with its eyes, and suddenly, my Shinx fell onto my lap, asleep. "I-Ike!" I shouted in a voice much higher than I would have otherwise liked.

"Dusclops!" Above me, the Dusclops turned around and swung at the two Gastly. It missed, but the pair fled, giggling nervously. I was picked up again. The Duskull hastily flew over. "Dussss!"

"Duskull!"

"What's going on?!" I demanded shrilly. Wild Pokemon often attacked me without warning or provocation, I got that. But this was the first time they'd argued about doing so.

"You smell like cold ghost. It's very rude to steal someone else's target."

"…What." The Froslass wasn't even here and she was spiting me?!

The Dusclops' lone eye flicked down towards me. "…That, and the fact that Katerina wants to speak to you."

"Who is that? And why are you talking to me?!"

"How else am I supposed to get children's attention?" the Dusclops asked dryly, smacking the Haunter that had floated back over out of the air like one would a fly. It then turned and lumbered deeper into the fog, the Duskull following us mutely.

"Um."

"I am Ivan and this is Konstantin. I am the chief of the Duskull and Dusclops in this area."

"I am just a trainer, and I was looking for a place out of the rain—"

"Obviously."

"We're injured, and I can't find my other two Pokemon—"

"Again, I can see as much."

"…You're a very snippy ghost," I told him shrewdly.

"I can give you back to the Haunter, if you'd like."

I crossed my arms beneath my sleeping Shinx and let myself be carried as far as he wanted. I couldn't do anything, anyway. It was obviously just my time to go. I had dodged death from the Froslass several times, the Abomasnow, Ike, and most recently, my first would-be human murderer. Now I was simply to die, probably eaten by these ghosts in this forsaken place, lost, cold, injured, and I'd never find Des or Carlita…

I was dropped in front of another room's middle pillar. I didn't bother getting back up. "So are you all going to eat me?" I asked sullenly.

Ivan laughed, but it was not a pleasant or happy laugh. "That had been the plan, until Kostya pointed out that Katerina has been looking for trainers."

I gulped. So I was going to be fed to this Katerina? Was that another ghost, or something even worse? If I had Ike's ultra ball, I could at least return him, or if he was awake, he could do something… But it seemed as if we were both toast in this situation. Ghost food. (It wouldn't be for the ghost I would have guessed, though. Irony.)

"Here is Katerina. You may ask her any more questions if you feel them necessary," the Dusclops beside me rumbled, bowing to the whiteness. I turned and saw the smallest, weakest, greyest Duskull ever float through the fog, followed by another Dusclops, one that seemed to be even larger than Ivan. What really struck me as odd, however, was that the Duskull's red eye wasn't red; it was grey, switching sightlessly between eye sockets.

So an old, blind Duskull was going to eat me. At least outside I could have died of pneumonia or something, and that would look so much better on an autopsy report. …If they ever found the body.

"Dussssssssskull?" Katerina rasped, her voice low and even older than how old she looked.

"Yes, this is the trainer. Trainer, this is Katerina and her aide, Vladimir. He will translate her words for you."

"Why not you?"

"I am not her aide."

I squinted at Ivan, trying to figure out if he was really going to ditch me after trying to eat me. Apparently so. He lumbered off and sat down when he was just a hazy silhouette, red eye fixed on Katerina.

"Dusssssssss?" My face was yanked rudely to the side as the ancient Duskull grabbed me. Her sightless eye continued roaming, but I still felt unnervingly like she was staring at me.

"Katerina asks if you came here for Giratina, like the others," Vladimir dutifully translated, hands clasped behind his back.

The name rang a bell, but I couldn't quite place it. Even if I had, I wasn't here for anything. "No… I was dumped here."

"Skull?"

"Clarify."

"A man wanted to kill me, and he threw me off of the dock to try that. I… survived," I replied, unable to help the bitterness that seeped into my words.

"Dusssssssskull, dussssssssss!" Katerina breathed, leaning forward until her skull touched mine. I flinched back instinctively from it. She giggled softly. "Skull?"

"First, Katerina proclaims that he was unable to kill you because you were meant to be here. Secondly, Katerina asks if you are afraid of ghosts," Vladimir deadpanned, red eye swerving down to stare at me.

"Of course I'm scared! I'm scared out of my mind!" I snarled, trying to jerk free from the Duskull's grasp, but to no avail. Her grip was like iron. So instead, I defended myself with my anger and words. "I'm lost, I'm injured, I'm cold, I'm surrounded by ghosts who have admitted that they want to eat me! Not to mention the fact that I've already been strung along and threatened by a Froslass for several months now!"

Katerina and the other Pokemon all stayed silent.

So I continued fuming and ranting. Maybe they'd actually feel sorry for me and snap my neck quickly. "Then there was that man, that stupid, awful man who tried to kill me! He's probably carted Cossette off again by now, too! I can't find Des or Carlita because of him, and Ike is hurt because of him! Plus, I just can't seem to get a break, can I?! I've been attacked by Pokemon, lost more times than I can count, and beaten throughout this entire journey!"

I was glaring daggers at Vladimir the Dusclops, mostly because he seemed to be slightly amused by my continued outburst. What I did not see what Katerina's sightless grey eye stop moving and fix itself on me.

"I could stand the rest, usually, because there are other people around to help, you know? But the second I get on my own, this happens! And it's all that man's fault! I hate him! He's dumped me here to be devoured by ghosts and so no one will ever find the body! An-And it's Froslass' fault, because she couldn't stop him, because he was too calm and just kept going on and on about that psychic of his, who could see the future and he probably used that to win! That stupid, stupid psychic Pokemon!" I realized that I really did hate him and that psychic Pokemon of his, the one that looked like a female Jacques.

The second thing I realized was that I suddenly understood the Froslass. She wanted to save her trainer before he became something like that man. I felt sympathetic and worried at the same time; how could I stop something like that?

The third thing I realized was that Katerina was laughing at me.

Chapter Text

"What are you laughing at?!"

"Skull!"

"Katerina says that she is laughing at you."

It wasn't just Katerina, however. I could hear dozens of other Duskull cackling in the fog all around me.

For once, Vladimir spoke without Katerina speaking first. "You must excuse the Duskull, especially Katerina, comrade. They do not mean to be rude. It's just that they delight in the misery of small children."

"I am not a comrade of yours, and I'm not a small child! I'm already eleven!" I snarled. Since Katerina was laughing so hard, I managed to get out of her grip. I marched over to Vladimir and glowered up at him.

"Eleven is very young, even for humans."

"No it's not!"

"Dussssssskull?"

"Katerina asks you to return to her."

"No! I'm leaving this place and all of you ghosts!" The Dusclops picked me up by the back of the shirt, and I fumbled to keep hold of Ike. Vladimir deposited me back in front of Katerina and she quickly put her paws back on either side of my face. I growled at her. I was in no mood to get eaten anymore. I wanted out of here, so I could track down that man and his stupid psychic and—I don't know, report them to the police or something.

I tried to ignore the little voice in my head telling me that it wanted to do much, much more.

"Dusssssssss," Katerina snickered, touching our foreheads together once more.

"Katerina says that you have much anger in your heart. You are naïve. You are just realizing the injustices of the world."

"I'll say," I muttered darkly. Injustices was putting it lightly. Injustices was traveling through an entire Route just to have the next Center closed. Injustices was waiting in line for four hours for the newest Pokemon figurine just to have them sell the last one to the person in front of you. What had happened to me was not an injustice. It was a healthy dose of bad luck mixed in with some higher powers who must hate me, along with a dash of cruelty on the world's part.

"Dussssssss, skull-dussssss."

"Katerina says that you will have to endure much more, if you are the trainer she has foreseen."

It took a few moments to snap myself out of my dark thoughts. "…What? Foreseen? Wait—like Future Sight?" What had that black-haired man said? He wanted security before things went south, and then said something about if I had had a psychic, I'd know…

"Dusssssskull."

"Katerina says 'naturally'."

I was torn between exclaiming "you're all ghosts!" and "what's so bad that psychics are freaking out?". I was a little peeved that ghost Pokemon could apparently now see the future—and who knew what they did with that information—but I was more worried about things heading south. "…What has she foreseen?"

"Dusssssss, dussssssss dussssss-skull?" Katerina asked with a small, hoarse chuckle.

"Katerina asks if you actually want to know or are asking on impulse."

"…O-Of course I want to know." Did I really, though? Even if I didn't, I wasn't going to back down. The ghosts all already thought I was just a weak little human, so maybe I could show them that I wasn't if I showed a bit of courage.

"Dusssssssss…"

"Katerina says 'excellent'."

"Skull! Dusssssssssskull, skull-skull, dusssssss."

"Katerina says 'But you shall have to wait until a later time, after we have discussed it among ourselves'. It is against the law for any psychic to reveal information like this to humans, trainer or not."

"…You're not psychics," I pointed out flatly.

"And that is why we might disclose the future to you," Vladimir replied impassively. "You are welcome to spend the night with us. Other wild Pokemon will not bother you if you choose to."

"Hold on. Let me just spare you the trouble. If it's going to take this much effort, I'll just leave." I wasn't fond of the idea of spending the night with a bunch of Duskull and Dusclops for company in a sea of fog.

"Where will you go?"

"I need to find my other Pokemon, and then I'm leaving."

"You are injured."

"I've been injured before."

"Dussssss," Katerina interjected with a high-pitched cackle.

"Katerina says that Haunter will get you. They are very curious about why we did not eat you and want to find out."

"I can take care of a couple of ghosts."

"With only an injured Shinx to protect you?"

"Shut up, okay?! I can handle this on my own!" I snarled, stepping backwards until my back was pressed against the stone pillar, Ike clutched tightly in my arms. "I am a trainer, and I can deal with my own problems. I will find my Pokemon, and then I will leave, and I don't care what you ghosts have to say about the future!"

Then I turned and ran. I managed to make it to a wall before I looked back. There were a few pinpricks of red, and I could have sworn I saw a grey one, but none of them seemed to be following me. Just to be sure, I followed the wall until I reached a door and went through. There were no red eyes (at least none that I saw) in this room, so I deemed it safe enough. I followed the wall again until I reached a corner and sat down, leaning against it, knees drawn to my chest. Ike moved uncomfortably in my lap, growling in his sleep.

At least one of us would be getting some sleep tonight.

-.-.-

I awoke sometime later from a vicious pull on my injured arm. I snarled and lashed out at whoever it was, nearly dropping Ike in the process. My hand passed harmlessly through the purple body of a grinning Haunter. "Hau hau hau," it laughed, tugging on my arm again.

"Let go," I said through grit teeth. Not only did its pulling hurt, but I really didn't want to deal with any more ghosts right then.

"Haun!" it sang, yanking again.

"Let go!" My shout woke up Ike (finally), and he blearily looked around until finally spotting the Haunter. With a yowl, he climbed up onto my knee and took a swipe at it, but like my attack before it, his paw just went through it. "Ike—attack! Don't you know any electric moves yet?"

"Shinx shii…" he muttered sheepishly, laying his ears back. I took that as a no. If only I had Des, or even Carlita…

"Just—let—go—" I tried pulling my arm back, but the Haunter took this as a game of tug-of-war and just pulled back even harder, laughing again. Ike hopped up onto my arm and used it as a bridge to get closer to the Haunter. He fluffed up and growled, but intimidation didn't work. It just earned me another yank, and they were getting progressively more painful. I was beginning to worry for the safety of my arm. "Help! Ivan! Katerina!" I shouted helplessly, still trying to pull my arm out of the Haunter's grasp.

Suddenly, the Haunter was flung to the side. The good news was that it let go of my arm and seemed to take some serious damage. The bad news was that it didn't let go of my arm until I felt something snap or crack or something that caused a lot more pain. My arm dropped limply to the side and I found myself unable to move it any more.

"Oh. That wasn't supposed to happen." I turned and glared, watery-eyed, at a large blue Pokemon with red eyes. It looked vaguely distressed.

"Get away from me."

"I meant to get rid of the Haunter, not to hurt you further," the Pokemon said sympathetically, coming a bit closer. I recognized its speech as the telepathic kind, so it had to be a psychic. Which was totally not what I needed right then.

"I said get away!" Ike stood protectively in front of me, tail lashing behind him angrily. Haunter were ghosts, so he couldn't do much to them, but this Pokemon seemed very solid. And large, but at least solid.

"I can help you," the Pokemon persisted, coming a bit closer. I noticed that it was levitating, which meant that it definitely was a psychic. Though couldn't anything walk in this place?!

"Come any closer and my Shinx will attack," I warned, backing up until I could feel the stone behind me once more.

The blue Pokemon responded by picking up Ike with some sort of psychic attack. Ike flailed and tried attacking, but couldn't move.

"The Duskull and Dusclops have already seen to you, I see. Well, I am no ghost and I can help you. I can help your shoulder." While that sounded very tempting, I was not about to trust any more wild Pokemon.

"I can help myself, thank you. Now drop my Shinx and leave me alone!" I didn't even have anything to throw, not even a stick to try stabbing it with.

The Pokemon paused, thinking. Finally, it floated on over until it was practically above me. "I'm afraid that I can't allow you to stay in here without supervision." With that, it picked me up with that same psychic move, which my shoulder definitely didn't like. I blinked back tears and tried to think of a way out of this that didn't involve even more injury. Such a feat seemed like a far-off dream.

"Dusssssss!"

"Let the human go!"

Oh great. The cavalry arrived.

"Can't all of you let me go?"

"I am helping the human-trainer. You ghosts are the ones responsible for this, anyway." The blue psychic holding us turned, and I at once recognized Katerina and Vladimir at the edge of visibility in the fog.

"We are not the ones responsible. The Haunter is!"

"You ghosts are all the same."

"You Pokemon are all the same!" I exclaimed, but was ignored. Maybe I should invest in a psychic, just so I could Teleport out of situations like this.

"I cannot allow you to hurt the human-trainer any more. It needs to be taken care of and then set free." I didn't know what bothered me more. The fact that it was apparently referring to me as an 'it', or the fact that it was treating me like a Starly with a broken wing. "Humans, especially human-trainers, have no place here. Even you ghosts should know that."

"Dusssssskull," Katerina replied challengingly, her blind eye wandering from empty socket to empty socket.

"We will take care of the trainer. Ivan started this, so we will finish it."

"You want to tell the human-trainer about the future. Don't think we psychics haven't realized that."

Katerina flew in a great circle, cackling madly. Vladimir watched her for a moment before returning his stare to us. "We are not psychic Pokemon, so we don't have to follow your rules. We just want to warn—"

"No one should be warned of the future! Now leave!"

"You all seem so worried about me, but might I remind you that I'm kind of hurting a lot right now?! If this blue thing wants to help, then let it! You two can bicker about it later!" I interrupted. All three turned to me, surprised that I would speak up in my own defense.

"We will accompany you. Do you intend to go to Furat for this?" Vladimir asked stiffly. He must have gotten some sort of nonverbal response, because he continued. "We will accompany you and then deal with the trainer once you are done helping."

I was entirely unimpressed with the lot of them as they marched out, carrying Ike and I with that psychic move, back out of the cave-temple-thing. It was still raining and storming, unfortunately—at least it was until the psychic Pokemon did something that immediately made the dark clouds disappear and sunshine rain down instead. We went to the water's edge, where the Dusclops stepped forward and shouted, "Furat!"

Immediately, the water splashed in front of us, and another blue Pokemon I recognized as another psychic climbed up onto the rocky shore. The Golduck shook off its hands and tail, smoothing out the feathers on its head, before turning to us with a hint of irritation. The water Pokemon's gaze dropped to me before returning to the other Pokemon.

"I see you have brought me another pet to heal, Bronzong. Or is this Dusclops'?" the duck said in a feminine voice, smoothing out her feathers flirtatiously as she eyed the ghost.

"The trainer needs a shoulder fixed."

"We also need to consult you because the ghosts want to inform it of the future," the Bronzong holding me insisted, setting Ike and I down gently on the ground. I instantly was back on my feet, but only managed the first two steps on my escape attempt before I was arrested again with telekinesis.

"Hmm, hmm. What's in it for me if I help the little human?"

"This human is an important one. We need this healing, Furat."

"Fine, Dusclops. But I will not be the one to hold it still. The shoulder is dislocated, and I will need to put it back into place. Bronzong, you will hold it still. And if the Duskull starts laughing, I will leave."

"Uh, what—?!" I was picked up again after the Golduck's rather alarming words. I knew what a dislocated shoulder was, and I knew how it was fixed—the shoulder was rammed back into the socket. "I'll take the injury, I'll be fine—"

"This will hurt, little human," Furat said as she sauntered over and grabbed hold of my arm.

Chapter Text

Katerina started laughing hysterically after I started shouting (and, I'll admit, maybe crying), and true to her word, Furat disappeared back into the water. The Bronzong and Vladimir both stood on the shore, begging her to come back, even as Katerina continued cackling in the background.

After the pain started to fade and the sunny skies overhead started to fade into a sunset, the two at the shore gave up on the Golduck. I had tried getting away from them three more times during that period, only to be stopped by either a psychic move or Katerina.

"…She was not even a real psychic type," Vladimir muttered.

"It still knows Future Sight and Psychic, so we value its opinion."

"The Dusclops and Duskull do not."

"You will still follow the psychic's rules, and we believe Furat is part of our group."

"Even if we do not tell the trainer, we still need to do something."

"Like what? Take care of it?"

"What else can we do?"

"I can hear you two!" I shouted fiercely, glaring at them over my attempted fire. Katerina was hovering close by, curious and fascinated by the process. It was a lot harder to do without Des' help. The Duskull set the small pile of grasses and sticks on fire, laughing at my astonished face. Unfortunately, due to the lack of fuel, it died out just moments later.

"We are discussing your future," Vladimir called back. Katerina snickered at the unintended joke.

"Dussssss!"

"Katerina says we must tell you to stop the tyrant trainer."

"Don't say anything about the future!" Bronzong said harshly.

"Are you going to stop us?"

I rolled my eyes and ignored the battle as the two started grappling with each other. Katerina lost interest in me and went to cheer on her Dusclops translator, which was fine with me. "Ike, what should we do?" I asked quietly.

"Shinx-shii-shinx, shii."

"I don't know why I bothered asking." I stood up, gingerly moving my shoulder to see how much it still hurt, and walked over to the water's edge. I was thirsty and hungry, and while I was content to drink the lake water, it didn't solve my hunger issue. It had been over a day since I'd last eaten—Ike, too, must be hungry. I had several times debated over the possibility of asking either the ghosts or the Bronzong for help with the food issue, but I was frightened by what they might bring me. I figured that Dusclops ate children, and who knew what the bell-like Pokemon ate…

"Do you eat fish?" I looked around in surprise for Furat's voice. She was nowhere to be seen, however, and judging on the fact that the two brawling hadn't stopped, I gathered that she was only speaking to me.

"Yeah—" I flopped back as a Magikarp was thrown out of the water into my face. Furat came out of the water, resting her forearms on the shore, smiling cheekily. I glared at her as I dropped the flailing Magikarp.

Then I realized the problem I had just been presented with. Magikarp were fish, yes, but they were also Pokemon. Moreover, this was a live one. I gently picked up the Magikarp again and placed it back in the water. The Golduck flung it back onto the shore with her tail. "You are already thin, little human. You should eat."

"But… it's alive," I replied weakly.

"How is this a problem?"

"I can't kill a Pokemon—"

"Not even for food? Not even if it saves your own life?" Furat challenged, the red jewel on her forehead glinting in the twilight. There was a gasp behind me, and we both turned to see Ike biting down on the Magikarp's throat (as best he could, considering the size different). "Your Shinx is not so reserved when it comes to survival."

I had eaten Magikarp before, of course, but that was before I had become a trainer, and they had always been dead and cooked. Before I became a trainer, I had eaten a lot of Pokemon, I supposed. But they had always been dead and cooked. After I started, I had mostly eaten Berries and vegetables with my team. Occasionally we'd bought easily preserved meats and things when we passed through a city, or just buy meals at restaurants, but I never had to see anything get killed in front of me. I didn't even have to think about what I was eating.

Now I did.

The Magikarp finally died in Ike's teeth. My Shinx then carried it over to the remains of our fire, turning to me expectantly.

I didn't notice him, since I was busy throwing up in the water.

Furat made a very disgusted sound and hastily got out of the water, running her webbed hands all along the spikes on the top of her head. "I have always believed that humans are a singularly weak species, but I never knew to this extent. Also, now you will have to eat, as there's absolutely nothing else in your stomach."

"I-I'd rather starve," I shot back feebly, leaning against the rock wall beside me for support.

"Then you shall," she replied simply. "That will solve all of our problems, won't it?"

-.-.-

Eventually, Ike's insistent (and constant) yowling, mixed in with the smell of cooked Magikarp (after Katerina started another fire for us), got the better of me. Furat had captured another Magikarp, killing it herself this time, and was sharing it amicably with Ike and I. I had demanded a blindfold before eating any of it, and once Vladimir and the Bronzong realized what was going on, they readily complied. I wasn't too sure about tying a bandage from the Dusclops around my head, though.

"What are your other two Pokemon?" Furat asked. She seemed very curious about the life of a trainer and asked Ike and I endless questions about it.

"A Numel and a Breloom."

"And you name them? What if they already have names?"

I never really thought about that before. "I… don't know. They answer to the names I call them…"

"Of course they would," the Golduck replied with a smirk in her voice. "What do you eat out in the wilderness if you're so afraid to kill Pokemon?"

"Plants and stuff."

"There are plant Pokemon."

"Other plants and stuff. And human food."

"What are your personal feelings about knowing the future? Since Bronzong and Dusclops are so interested in you… I wonder what they're so worked up about. I know Future Sight too, and I've seen the future. As long as we all stay wild, we'll be fine."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, echoed by an annoyed growl from Ike. I wordlessly handed him another part of my Magikarp, which he devoured at once, nearly taking my finger with it. I wouldn't have thought that such a little Pokemon could have eaten so much, but as far as I could tell, he had eaten as much as I had so far.

"The Pokemon world is in an uproar because of an upcoming disaster. That's all." Her smile was too loud to ignore, however.

"Why does being wild have anything to do with it?" I hesitantly lifted the bandage from my eyes, blinking as I adjusted to the firelight.

"Dusssss-skull!" Katerina intoned gravely.

"Katerina says that we cannot say anything more until we come to a conclusion about the trainer," Vladimir translated warningly. "I would thank you to stay quiet now, Furat."

"Of course I will," she replied, spitting a bone in his direction.

"Um… So why did you guys have to take me to her?" I asked quietly. I still wasn't sure how to treat the others. I wasn't so angry anymore, but I still didn't trust any of them as far as I could throw them, and I was very wary of why they were doing what they were doing.

"Ghosts do not know how to treat physical injuries. Neither do bells, apparently," the Dusclops replied, glancing at the Bronzong. "Moreover, Furat is another psychic, and we would have to consult her eventually."

"Oh, no, don't forget, Dusclops. I'm not a psychic. I'm merely a water being that's been gifted with an extraordinary mind," Furat said, batting her eyes at him.

"We still must consult all of the psychics in the area, and you are still one," the Bronzong replied evenly.

"Are you going to ask the Haunter?"

"No, we are not. They only know a few psychic moves, and none of them are Future Sight, so they don't need to know!" Vladimir exclaimed.

"What's so bad about this future that you need to freak out this much?" I couldn't help but ask. This entire unintentional trip had been nothing but torture so far, but it didn't mean I couldn't get something out of it. And hey, knowing the future could be handy, right? Especially if it was as bad as they were making it out to be…

"Many will die."

"It's a problem for the trainers."

"It won't affect us wild Pokemon."

"Dusssssssss skull-dussss!"

They all talked at once, giving me the distinct impression that they hadn't planned on that. So I got four (okay, three, as Vladimir wasn't translating Katerina's after his slip) tidbits of information. "Why will it only affect humans?"

This time, all three of them stayed silent, annoyed that they had talked at all in the first place.

I huffed and crossed my arms. I was done eating, though Ike was still gnawing on a few of the larger bones rather lazily. So they probably wouldn't tell me much else without deciding it in their little psychic meeting. I did get a little information. It would only affect humans… That ruled out most natural disasters, like earthquakes or floods or forest fires, since those would also affect any wild Pokemon in the area. What was it, then? A disease? A mass murderer? Unsurprisingly, that brought to mind the man who'd put me in this situation to start with…

"…I'm going to sleep. If any of you feel the need to kill me and put me out of my misery, don't wake me up before you do so," I informed them, scooping up Ike and marching off into the darkness. I heard Furat snicker and mutter something to Katerina, who likewise giggled. Probably plotting my demise, which really didn't bother me at all anymore. The Pokemon world and one murderous mercenary were out to get me, and eventually, they would.

I drifted off to sleep, using my good arm as a pillow, Ike nestled up against my chest.

And, what felt like seconds later, I was being shaken awake. I blinked blearily and tried not to feel sick as whoever it was kept shaking me. "Wh-What is it…?"

"You are missing two other Pokemon, little human? Are they in those little balls you carry around?" Furat asked excitedly, voice much too loud in my head, especially as I noticed that the sun hadn't even made it over the edge of the cliffs around us yet.

"Y-Yeah… Stop shaking me!"

"This! This is one?" She stopped, though more so she could show me the item she found and less because I told her to. I blinked a few more times, then gasped as I realized she was proudly holding up Ike's ultra ball.

"Where did you find it?!"

"In the water, down at the bottom. You have one more to find, right?"

"No, that one's Ike's, it's just empty. The other two have my Pokemon in them." I made a grab for it but she held it out of range. "Give it to me!"

"I will not hand over such things without payment, little human," she said, forehead jewel sparkling.

"I really don't have anything. Not money or items or food or anything. That water of yours is holding everything I own."

"I do not require material items!" the Golduck scoffed, turning her bill up at the very thought. "I want you… to do me a favor."

"…What kind of favor?" I asked suspiciously.

"I want to speak to Dusclops, only without Duskull and Bronzong around. I want you to distract them somewhere else. Like in the cave. Can you do that for me?"

"…Yeah, I guess. How long do I need to keep them occupied?"

"Oh, not long. Let's say… ten minutes?"

I grimaced. "O-Okay…" How was I supposed to keep a Bronzong and blind Duskull busy for ten minutes? I'd have to figure it out if Ike ever wanted a proper rest, and the fact that she found the ultra ball in the water made me wonder if two pokeballs were down there, too, somewhere…

I turned and marched over to where the two ghosts and psychic were discussing things in low tones. They immediately stopped once I got within earshot and looked up at me expectantly. How was I supposed to separate them without getting myself attacked? I glanced back over my shoulder at Furat. She was just watching in amusement. That figured.

"…You're it," I told the Bronzong and I tapped it lightly on the arm. It stared at me with wide, red eyes.

"…Excuse me?" it asked uncomfortably, shying away from me.

"Tag. Don't Pokemon play it?"

"Of course we do."

"Well, you're it. You're the chaser. You have to catch us," I explained impatiently, tapping my foot. I had gestured vaguely to Ike when I said 'us', but I was hoping that Katerina would join in, too. Vladimir… I had no idea what to do about him. Hopefully he'd be too much of a stick in the mud to play.

"I don't have time for this…"

"Oh, okay then. Well to entertain myself, I'll just have to go over and talk to Furat some more. I'm sure she'll tell me all about this apocalyptic future of ours. That'll be good entertainment—"

"Has she been telling you about the future?" Vladimir asked.

"…Yes." This was working out better than I would have hoped. The Dusclops got up and trudged over to Furat, leaving me alone with the Bronzong and Katerina, who I had to get out of here. For ten minutes. Could I handle a ten-minute game of tag with a psychic and ghost? "Well? You're it, Bronzong."

With that, Ike and I ran off to the cave's opening, hoping that the other two would follow.

Chapter Text

Thankfully, the Bronzong decided that it had better entertain me, lest I find out more about that disastrous future of theirs. Katerina joined in without much asking, cackling with glee every time she found me and made me shriek. Of course, with all of the noise, it was only a matter of time before the other Pokemon of the cave came to investigate.

So the next half hour basically turned into a giant, cave-wide game of tag. This was completely unintentional, and actually more than a little annoying, because I'd have random ghosts or psychics or I didn't even know what appearing to tag me when I didn't even know they were playing, let alone it.

To make matters worse, Ike and I got separated after a flock of Haunter came to tag/carry me off. I had to spend much of the game trying to track him back down. I occasionally caught glimpses of him, usually chasing or being chased some wild Pokemon, but could never catch up to him, what with the fog and dozens of other Pokemon running about.

Eventually, I managed to not be it long enough to get myself lost and separated from the group. One thing I learned quickly in the cave was that I couldn't just go back the way I came, either. So instead, I wandered, trying not to trip over rocks in the fog, calling, "Ike! Ike?!"

I found another doorway and decided that the steps leading up to it would be high ground, which might give me some sort of advantage. As if I hadn't tried that a million times already. Surprisingly, this door was blocked. Blocked by a very angry Dusclops.

"You said you weren't here for Giratina!" the ghost barked, and I recognized him at once as Ivan. (How could I forget the mouth that nearly ate me?)

"I-I'm not." I still didn't know what a Giratina was, and I definitely wasn't here for anything! "We're playing tag, and I got lost—"

"Then why did you wind up here?"

"I told you, I'm lost."

His red eye scrutinized me for a few moments. I could only stand there, shaking and sweating, worried he'd try to eat me again. "…Fine then. Konstantin will guide you back to the first room. Kostya!" Ivan called, and almost immediately, the Duskull burst out of the fog. "Guide the trainer back to the first room. Make sure there is no dawdling."

"Duskull!" He bobbed in agreement and floated back a bit into the fog, turning around to make sure I was following. I did, albeit grumpily, because no one around there was telling me anything. They dropped all of these hints and told me rules I had to follow, but I wasn't getting any reward (aside from staying alive) for it. "…Skull?" Konstantin asked, breaking me out of my angry thoughts.

"I can't understand you." I crossed my arms, wondering why I had been so angry lately. Yeah, I had been almost killed again and there was the matter of all of the crazy Pokemon, but still… I normally wasn't this mad, was I? Had recent events changed me?

"Duskull," he sighed, drooping in the air.

I ignored him. I hadn't really been mad after the Abomasnow thing, nor had I been when I had to release my Electabuzz. That had been more sad. I hadn't been angry after the second luckless trip to Route 222. True, I had been a bit peeved when I had been chewed up and spit out by Crasher Wake thanks to Nick, but that hadn't lasted long. I had also been a little bitter and angry when I was attacked by Ike and subsequently caught him, but that hadn't lasted because my parents and the ensuing drama dismissed most of it. Was I only angry because this time, the annoyances and misfortunes only built up? Or because I had time to reflect upon them?

"Dus, skull…" my Duskull guide mumbled, and I found myself back in the first room.

"Thanks," I told him absently, standing on my tiptoes in the doorway to see if I could spot Ike. My Shinx was being tossed between a couple of Haunter. Without another word to Konstantin, I ran down the steps and began my verbal assault. "Hey! Ghosts! Stop throwing Ike, or—Hey!"

Instead of stopping, one of them picked me up and tried to fling me over to the other as well. It didn't work out so well, as I was much heavier and fell flat on my face halfway there.

"I hope you're both happy," I growled, holding my nose and hoping it wasn't bleeding or broken. For once, it seemed like neither. The Haunter laughed at me regardless, and laughed even more after they threw Ike at my head and he attached himself to my face with rather sharp claws. "…I hate ghosts."

"Shii-shinx," Ike shakily agreed as I tugged him away from me. I kept him protectively in my arms, making sure neither Haunter made another grab at him. Safe, he growled at them both, "Shiiiiiiinx…!"

"Hau hau hau!" they laughed, floating off.

Ike and I snorted at them in unison. I then turned and tried to find the cave entrance through the fog. It was actually easy for once, since the daylight was showing through even the dense haze, guiding us through it all until we were outside again. I shifted Ike so I could shield my eyes with my arm. Furat had gotten much more than her ten minutes, so I had better get something extra for it. I spotted the Golduck sitting near the water's edge, kicking at it with her webbed feet. She beamed at me in the way that only she, with her bill, could.

"Here's the ball," she spoke before I did, tossing me the ultra ball. I sighed in relief, glad to have at least one, and pressed it against Ike's fur. He looked surprised as he disappeared, weirdly enough.

"I stalled for longer than your ten minutes. I want something extra," I told her, trying to ignore my Shinx's look.

"Normally, I would do nothing of the sort, giving you anything extra. But… I suppose I could give you a bit of information… A or B?"

"What?"

"Pick A or B. Different rewards, but you only get one," she replied cheerfully, kicking at the water to try to splash me. Luckily it didn't work, otherwise I would be even more irritated.

"Fine. A." I pocketed Ike's ultra ball and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm fairly certain that the other two balls you're looking for are at the bottom of the lake, little human. Along with your bag, which has been bothering the Pokemon because it's inedible."

I wasn't about to correct her about the inedible, for I had some nonperishable (unfortunately, not waterproof) food in it… "Thanks." It was a lucky break, and the first major step to getting out of here. I didn't even care what the future might be, so long as I didn't die down in the cave or the sunken lake.

"I can get them for you, if you do me another favor—what are you doing?" Furat asked curiously, leaning forward as I kicked off my shoe and pulled off my socks.

"I'm going in to get them, of course. I'm a pretty good swimmer and it can't be that deep, right?"

"The depth isn't what you should be worried about. There are wild Pokemon in this lake!" she warned with narrowed eyes. "You can't go in here safely."

"I can't do anything safely, so that's a moot point," I replied as I pulled my shirt over my head. "Plus, what's a few Magikarp?" I added, trying not to think of what I'd been eating lately. I tugged off my shorts as well, leaving on my underwear, and hopped into the water. It was cold, but hopefully I wouldn't be in it too long.

"It's not—" I didn't hear the rest of her warning since I had dunked my head to get all of my body used to the temperature. While under the water, I tried to spot any of my things, but no luck. I resurfaced to find the Golduck in the water next to me. "It's unsafe you stupid human!" she screeched, trying to herd me back onto the land.

"I can swim fine and I need those things," I replied shortly.

"There are more than Magikarp in these waters! There are Goldeen and Seaking and—"

"More small fry. I don't care. I need my Pokemon and I guess my backpack too, considering all it's been through… I'm going for it. You can either help or watch." I swam out towards the middle of the lake, ducking underwater a few more times to see if I could find anything. A couple of the mentioned Pokemon, who usually swam away in fright, but nothing else. The bottom was barely visible; I was starting to doubt I could hold my breath that long.

"I can get them for you safely, if you just do me a couple more favors in return," Furat said hurriedly, swimming circles around me, trying to force me back.

"I don't have time for that and I don't think I have the sanity, either. Everyone here is crazy and I'm afraid it's contagious."

"I will ignore the implied insult and will again warn you: it's dangerous this far out!"

"I'll be fine. I always am."

"Get back onto the land!"

"No! I need my stuff!" I snapped, diving down again. There—finally! I saw something red lying on the bottom, which had to be a pokeball. I didn't care whose it was, because either Des or Carlita would be a welcome reprieve from all of the Pokemon here. I took a deep breath of air, then went back down for it.

My lungs started to hurt when I guessed I was halfway down. It was a lot deeper than I'd originally thought. I tried going down a bit further, but I was really worried I'd drown, so I decided to head back up and try thinking up a new plan.

Furat met me up above with a flat, but smug, glare. "…You can't make it."

"I'll manage. I'll just take a deeper breath this time," I shot back.

"You won't make it!" she sang. I just splashed her and went down for another try. I got a little bit farther this time, but still not nearly close enough. Furat was flat-out laughing when I came back up for air. "You can't make it, you can't make it!"

"I'll make it!" I decided. Even if I drowned this time, I would get that pokeball and I would not let her laugh any more at me. I took the deepest breath possible and went down once more. Halfway down, again, my lungs started hurting, but I ignored their plea for oxygen. Three quarters of the way down and I had to blow out some bubbles, otherwise I felt I'd explode.

When I touched the pokeball, I finally couldn't take it anymore and had to exhale. Of course, my body immediately demanded a subsequent inhale, which really didn't work well, considering the situation. I kept my hands clamped on the pokeball as I kicked off of the bottom, trying to head back up while ignoring the rather painful underwater coughing.

I clawed at the water in vain, trying to go upward, but it was too hard. I wasn't moving anywhere, and I could feel my lungs full of water. Just as the water was starting to fade to black, two surprisingly strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me upward. I resurfaced in surprisingly little time, which was thankfully before I passed out completely, and immediately began the painful process of literally coughing my lungs up.

"I told you it was too dangerous!" Furat scolded, watching impassively.

I mutely held up the pokeball. It was a win for me, regardless of whether or not she'd admit it.

"There is still the other and your bag, if you've forgotten!"

"Y-You didn't have to sa-save me. Let me drown if you w-want me to fail that badly," I responded between coughs and water.

"It ruins the water, having a body in it," she grumbled, looking away. I laughed. Definitely my win. "Get out of the water now. You have proven your point, human, and I'll fetch the other two items for you."

"For a pr-price, right?"

"Of course. You'll die on your next dive, because I won't rescue you. It's in your best interest to get out of the water now."

"I've proven that I can handle it. Plus this water doesn't seem all that dangerous. All of the fish swam away when they saw me."

"It's not the fish I'm worried about," she confessed.

Behind her, the water erupted and rained down as a Gyarados reared up out of it, letting out a fearsome roar.

"It's the Gyarados."

Chapter Text

"I'll go back to the shore now."

"Oh, really?" Furat snapped sarcastically. The Gyarados towering above us roared again and I had to cover my ears, otherwise I'd go deaf.

"Yeah! Let's go!" I latched onto her arm, trying to stay behind her. "Can't you Teleport or something?"

"No, I can't."

"What?! You're a psychic! I thought that was required!"

"I am not a psychic! I'm just a water Pokemon!"

"Some help you are!"

Apparently, listening to us argue wasn't very entertaining for the Gyarados. It had sunk back down in the water until only its head was visible, and was watching us with a very bored expression. It growled, and Furat snorted in reply. "No, the human isn't mine. Dusclops and Bronzong are still fighting over custody."

"You're talking to it?" I whispered in amazement.

"Of course I am," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Gyaaaaaa…?" the Gyarados asked, rising up out of the water a little more.

"We weren't hunting in your half of the lake, are you kidding me? Human, tell the nice Gyarados you weren't hunting here."

"We weren't! Really, of course we weren't!" I hastily agreed. Maybe we could still get out of this without getting mauled or eaten. That would be a lucky break. Furat had a way with words, so hopefully she could get us both out of this.

Though, if that were to happen, we would just have to go back to the shore and I had only gotten back one pokeball. I didn't even know whose it was, but I was still missing one regardless. I could live without my backpack, sure, but I'd rather have it back if given the opportunity…

"Dossssss!" it hissed, splashing us both with water with its tail. "Gyaaaaaa!"

"We're not lying! Does this little human look capable of killing any of your food?" Furat asked, holding up one of my arms. "You know as well as I do that humans aren't made for power like that."

I decided not to be annoyed at the not-so-implied insult since she was probably saving my life.

"When I tell you to go, start swimming back to shore. Do not reply to me in any way; I am using my psychic powers to communicate with only you right now." If I wasn't supposed to reply, how did she know I got the message? Oh well. I figured I'd just follow the half-baked plan and hope for the best, since there was nothing else to do except get eaten. (That seemed to be happening a lot lately.)

"Gyaaaaaraaaaa!" the Gyarados roared, gnashing its teeth together angrily. It curled its lip as it eyed me, then turned back to the Golduck beside me. "Gyaaa!"

"Once the psychics reach an agreement—you know how they are—the human will leave, I promise, Gyarados. It's just—" Furat shrieked as the massive water Pokemon lunged at her, jaws open wide. She scrambled out of the way, pulling me along with her. "Go! Go!" she shouted, kicking me in the direction of land while she turned back to the Gyarados. I nearly lost my grip on the pokeball as I started swimming away from the fight. I only looked back once, to see Furat lifting the Gyarados clean out of the water with some sort of psychic move.

Vladimir and Katerina were both waiting anxiously on the shore, having seen the commotion from across the lake. "What happened?!" the Dusclops demanded. I ignored him and tried to shake myself dry. The cold water had taken its toll. I was shivering and felt very waterlogged, if it was possible to feel such a thing.

"Dussssss?" the blind Duskull asked curiously.

"Katerina asks why you were out in the water."

"This," I replied, showing them the pokeball. Both ghosts stared at it in confusion. I sighed. "I told you I have other Pokemon, right? This is one of them. The other one and the rest of my stuff is still at the bottom of the lake; I was out looking for it all."

Katerina and Vladimir looked at each other, then back at me. "Dus… Duskull…?"

"Katerina asks if that was your idea or Furat's."

"It was mine… mostly."

"Meaning?"

"It was my idea…" I mumbled thoughtfully. It had been my idea, but I never would have come up with it if it hadn't been for the information Furat gave me. Why were they being so suspicious? It was making me wary of the Golduck, too, and I shouldn't be, especially when I was going to have to do whatever she wanted in order to get my last Pokemon and backpack. That reminded me. I still had to see who I'd rescued and if they were hurt. I tossed the pokeball, and out came Pedestal.

I immediately fell down on my knees and wrapped my arms around him. I'll admit that I did so not only because I was happy to see him and glad he was seemingly unharmed; I was also grateful that I now had a Pokemon that could combat ghosts and was hopefully in their level range as well. "Nu?" Des asked, surprised by the hug.

"Oh, Des…" I breathed into his short fur, unable to say much else. I no longer disliked Ike, not after he tried (and failed, admittedly) to protect me several times from the ghosts, but the Shinx still couldn't compare to my starter. Des was still up on a mental pedestal. It was just a little shorter than it had been originally.

"Nu?" he repeated cluelessly.

-.-.-

When Furat made it back to land, she was immediately verbally assaulted by Katerina (translated by Vladimir) and the Bronzong both. They had heard what little of the story I told them and made assumptions past that, assumptions that seemed to make the Golduck very nervous. I hardly understood any of it, except that the Bronzong floated out and psychically retrieved Carlita's pokeball and the remnants of my backpack from the water. Carlita was unharmed, if frantic about what was happening and the surplus of ghosts around, but my backpack really couldn't be salvaged. None of the items could be.

Which meant that I really had lost everything I owned, saved the rather tattered outfit I was wearing. No translator, no PokeDex, no pokeballs, no map, no Poketch, no phone, no food or clothes or anything.

Somehow, I doubted my trainer's insurance would cover everything. (It was designed with the occasional mishap in mind. Not me.)

At any rate, I had my team again. Ike may have been tired and injured, but Des and Carlita were still very capable of fighting, and demonstrated a couple of times when a Gastly or Duskull got too close. Konstantin was the single Duskull allowed near me, in fact, and that was only after a very long and seemingly in-depth conversation with both my Numel and Breloom. Katerina tried to get close several times, but each time was chased off with a growl or two, making her rather grumpy.

After the Gyarados incident, things seemed unusually calm. Furat wasn't allowed near me without supervision, which I didn't quite understand the purpose of, and for that reason, it made me nervous around her. The fact that I had my Pokemon back, too, set me off kilter; wasn't my next step getting out of the sunken lake-cave-temple place? I had tried climbing out, but could never get far, even with assistance from my team. The others weren't too keen on helping me out, either; they were all still arguing over their psychic-ness, which I had had enough of and was completely tired of. I didn't even want to know the future anymore. They were dragging their feet about it, no one wanted to give any ground, and they couldn't decide on anything past the fact that they should be deciding on something.

"Carlita, can you get up there?" I asked, leaning back and shading my eyes against the sunlight. We were standing in front of the rock face, in front of the spot I had deemed as 'easiest to climb', though I still couldn't manage to get more than ten feet or so off the ground.

"Loo," she replied with a shake of her head. I hadn't really thought she could, having only given her the vague hope that fighters were good climbers. Ike couldn't climb either, and I hadn't even thought Des could manage it. Nor could he melt the rock, since that barely worked and smoothed it, anyway. I wanted it to be craggy so there were more hand- and footholds.

"Skull?" Konstantin floated over curiously.

"We're trying to get up," I said, guessing at his question.

"Dus," he replied with a bob. I raised an eyebrow and watched as he effortlessly floated all the way to the top.

"Yeah, that doesn't work for still-alive things." Were ghosts actually dead? I didn't know, but I did know that I couldn't fly like he could. Konstantin came back down, red eye shifting thoughtfully between his otherwise empty eye sockets. I looked away. I still couldn't get used to that.

"Kostya was saying that you could float up if you had some help, comrade," Ivan called helpfully. I turned and saw that my wild Pokemon entourage were all watching me, seemingly enthralled with my escape attempts.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be arguing?" I snapped, turning irritably back to the rocks. Curiosity soon got the better of me, however, and I peeked back over my shoulder. "…How can I float up there?"

"We are psychics, aren't we? Well, I am a psychic, but Furat has some psychic powers. It could aid me in floating you up to the top," Bronzong intoned, red eyes fixed on me.

"I have enough power to help with that," Furat added, her eyes fixed on the other blue psychic.

"…And why haven't you guys told me about that sooner?! What are you waiting for?! Help me out of here!" I burst out angrily.

Ivan and Vladimir shared a perplexed look. The former then turned back to me, asking, "We are not yet done with our discussions of the use of our Future Sight. We—"

"I don't care about the stupid future! I'll die eventually, and I'd rather it be out of this hole in the ground."

"But it greatly—"

"No, I really don't care. Do you guys understand that? You were probably right that humans shouldn't know the future. Heck, Pokemon probably shouldn't have access to that either. But the fact is—I don't want to know. I get into enough trouble as it is, and I don't want to live with paranoia the rest of my life." Never mind the fact that I was still paranoid about the Froslass, Crasher Wake, the other Gym leaders, that Abomasnow, what would happen if I didn't find Froslass' trainer in time, what would happen if I met that man who put me here in a dark alley, what would happen if Ike ever figured out that he can hurt me…

The Pokemon all glanced uneasily at one another. I stared them down, as well as I could, and they all stayed silent. It was a long, awkward silence before Ivan spoke up. "…We will respect your wishes."

"Dusssssssssss!" Katerina interjected quickly.

"Katerina says 'however, we will leave you with a warning'."

The Bronzong shifted in the air uncomfortably, and a few of the Duskull also giggled nervously. Ivan and Vladimir looked at each other again. I crossed my arms, tapping my foot (the one that hadn't lost a shoe) on the ground. Ivan was the one to finally break the silence. "…You must not die."

I narrowed my eyes, ignoring how chilly I suddenly felt. What kind of a warning was that? Of course, the question that immediately sprang to mind after hearing the rather morbid warning was am I going to die soon?

I couldn't bring myself to ask that, though.

"You will face many trials. Do not let yourself become dark. Do not get sidetracked with the injustices of the world; do not become angry and bitter. And, when the time comes, let go of h—"

"That is enough!" Bronzong interrupted furiously, smacking Ivan in the head. I pressed a hand to my chest, making sure my heart was still beating while I tried to figure out how I could possibly be happy constantly or die. (At least, that's what I got out of the ominous piece of future news.) "We will let it go now. Furat will help me. Even so, I doubt we could get you all the way to the top…"

"Probably a little over halfway," Furat agreed, eyeing the cliff calculatingly. "You will have to climb the rest, little human. Can you do that?"

"O-Of course I can," I lied. So what if I hadn't been able to get that far in my climbing? I'd get a boost, and I would just have to go the rest of the way to the top, and then I would be out of here. Hopefully. Unfortunately, my luck was generally bad luck, and slipping and falling seemed all too likely. And if it were from that far up… I looked apprehensively up at the rock face. I wouldn't have to worry about their future predictions if I fell, at least.

Chapter Text

It wasn't like I had much (or anything) to pack, so I simply returned my Pokemon, put the pokeballs and ultra ball in my pocket, and faced the rocks in front of me. I tried to ignore my racing heart and what would happen if this didn't work. It wasn't like I had any other way out of here, anyway.

A couple smaller, rounder versions of Bronzong came out of the cave to watch and hopefully help. They chimed excitedly to one another, probably wondering if the human was going to fall and go splat.

To try to ignore the impending doom, I ran over the 'warning' Ivan had given me. Face many trials—check. Don't die—check so far. Don't let self become dark—check, I think. Not getting sidetracked with injustices—check, I guess, even though I was still angry about the whole leaving me down here to rot thing. Do not become angry and bitter—well, four out of five wasn't too bad.

There had been something else. I took a deep breath, trying to concentrate on that instead of listening to Bronzong and Furat discuss ways to get me up the cliff. What had it been? It had been what Bronzong had interrupted—what had it been? Do not… let go of something. Or wait—no— "Let go of something," I murmured. Hopefully not the rocks I was about to climb. What was I supposed to let go of? Something told me I wasn't supposed to physically let go of something… which made me nervous.

What made me even more nervous is when I felt myself lifted into the air. I looked down frantically at where Furat and Bronzong were both raising their arms, the Golduck's eyes closed in concentration. Katerina floated circles around them, grey eye fixed solely on me, probably hoping I'd fall and die so she could laugh about it.

Konstantin flew up to me, hovering over my shoulder, accompanying me up. I felt a little relieved and even more grateful. And, if all else failed, I could grab onto him if I fell and hope he stayed tangible.

It was a relatively quick way up, which was good, considering I really did not like the sensation of being suspended in midair that high up. I was surprised to find that they passed the halfway mark, though; maybe some of the little blue things I suspected of being Bronzong's pre-evolution were helping, or maybe Furat and Bronzong just really worked well together, but I was exceeding their prediction. I was far from complaining. It meant I had less to climb.

Around the three-quarter mark, I slipped.

I have no idea how I slipped, since I wasn't even holding on to anything, but it suddenly felt like something supporting me had given way. I dropped a couple feet before being righted again. I was fairly certain I had had a heart attack during that time. "Dus?!" Konstantin asked worriedly, zooming back down again to pat my shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I heard Furat's voice telepathically tell me, "But that's as far as I can help. Bronzong says it might be able to lift you up a little bit farther, but if you want to be put stably on the rocks, you might want to try that now."

"Uh, thanks?" I called back down, unsure if they could hear me from that height. I reached out vainly for the nearest rocks, but they were just out of my range. I growled in frustration and flailed. "I need to move closer!" I shouted downward.

Naturally, I was pushed rather roughly into the rocks. I scrabbled for purchase before the psychic powers shut off while trying very hard to ignore the bruises and scrapes I'd just collected. I felt the psychic wear off—too soon. I slid down a little bit before managing to cling securely to the cliff face.

"You did that on purpose!" I snarled at the specks below, not caring if they heard or not.

"Duskull," Konstantin said sympathetically beside me.

"Human, can you still hear me?" Furat's voice sounded faint, even in my mind. I tried to think back 'yes' as loudly as I could. "Good. You don't have that far to climb now. Leader-Dusclops says that the Duskull with you will help you." Well that was reassuring. "…Don't forget the warning. Don't die, don't get distracted by wrongs, don't let them warp you. And also, when the time comes, let go."

"Let go of what?" I asked angrily.

Furat continued like she hadn't heard me, which she probably hadn't. "You may have to come back here one day, and if you do, the ghosts and I have agreed to aid you. Bronzong would rather prefer it if you didn't come back, of course. You will have to climb back down on the other side on your own, but going down is always the easy part, isn't it?"

I resisted the urge to bang my head against the rocks and instead reached for a new handhold. Furat didn't say anything else, so I supposed that was supposed to be goodbye. It wasn't like I had much attachment to any of them, not after the way I was treated, but they had, more or less, helped me… Even so, I wasn't about to burst out crying. I was definitely glad to get out of the sunken lake with its crazy Pokemon.

The climbing turned out to be difficult, but still easier than I would have imagined. All I had to do was concentrate on the next step up. I definitely didn't dare look down, which probably helped, too. Konstantin floated slowly around me, silently encouraging me, occasionally adding a random "Dus".

Don't die. One step up.

Face many trials. Grab the next handhold.

Don't become dark. Another step up.

Don't get distracted by injustices and wrongs in the world. Another reach for a handhold.

Don't become angry and bitter. Yet another step upwards towards freedom.

When the time comes, let go. Another handhold.

Don't die, step.

Face many trials, grab.

Don't become dark, step.

Don't get distracted, grab.

Don't become bitter, step.

Let go—air. I looked up in surprise. Just above my head, there was nothing but open air. The ground leveled off. I shuffled upward, peeking over the edge. Grass, flowers even, and no wild Pokemon waiting to ambush me. More than I could have hoped for. I scrambled up, Konstantin occasionally helping by pulling on my arm (or hair, annoyingly). I shakily stood at the edge of the cliff I'd just climbed, looking down at the specks below. "Hey! I made it!" I hollered, waving. There were a couple waves back, but no responses that I could hear.

"Duskull!" Konstantin said happily, wiggling in the air.

"Thanks, Konstantin," I told him with a grin. I was finally free again.

-.-.-

I had to walk around the entire lake before I could find a place that led down fairly easily. Konstantin continued following me. He scared away any wild Pokemon before I even had the chance to release any of my own Pokemon, which made me wonder just how strong he really was.

The climb down was pretty easy, all things considered. It was true that I fell and skidded quite a ways, but I managed not to break any bones and I wasn't bleeding too badly by the time I reached the bottom, so I considered it a job well done. I just wiped my scraped hands on my shorts, ignoring the red smears. The trees were now towering above us, instead of greenish-black specks seen from above, and there was a pleasant little field at the bottom of the cliff-mountain-thing, and I could see an equally pleasant, wide path leading off from it. As any good trainer knew, a path would lead somewhere, and usually that was to a city.

The only thing was, I still had a ghost following me. "Um… Konstantin? You can go back now," I said, a little unnerved by the fact that he hadn't left yet.

"Dus?" he asked, clearly taken aback.

"You did your job. I'm safe on the ground, see?" I hopped a few times in the short grass to demonstrate.

"Duskull, dus-dus, skull."

After having my translator (for an admittedly brief time) and having psychics and Dusclops abound back on the other side of the mountain, I was unused to having no way of communicating with a Pokemon. I took a few steps out into the grass, and Konstantin followed along behind me. "You can go home now," I told him forcefully, walking backwards so I could keep an eye on him.

"Dus?" he asked, a hint of a challenge in his tone.

"…You do what you want, then," I backed down, both verbally and physically, shrinking away from him. It wasn't as if he was that threatening; I just knew what it was like to fight with ghosts. It was mostly reflex by now.

I scampered across the field, wary of wild Pokemon, even if Konstantin repelled them pretty effectively. Though there were no outright attacks, I did see silhouettes and movement, so I knew they were there. Just, for once, they didn't feel to announce their presence with a more often than not literal slap to the face.

The path was more clear of grass (and Pokemon, as far as I could tell), though it still had the odd patch or two. What I immediately spotted, though, with no small amount of joy, were trainers. There were people here, real, live human beings!

Unfortunately, no one seemed keen on letting me get close to them with Konstantin lazily circling around me. "Wait! He's not my Pokemon—!"

"You got a wild Pokemon followin' you? An' a ghost! Get outta here!" the man called back, ducking down behind a fence.

"Superstitious jerk…" I muttered, trudging along and trying to ignore it as he fished what I assumed was holy water out of his backpack and flung it at us. Konstantin and I watched mutely as it splashed to the ground several feet short. "…Why do you even have that?"

"In case some o' them ghosts come out from the path! That's why! Ghosts don't bring nothin' but trouble!" he exclaimed, pointing in a very exaggerated fashion at Konstantin. I looked casually at the Duskull, then back at the man.

"You're telling me," I deadpanned and continued walking.

It was like that all the way to the post which signified the southern border of a city. I had never been so glad to see one before. Konstantin could hardly keep up (I wasn't complaining) as I managed to sprint the last little bit to the building, throw open the door, and collapse onto the carpet. It was soft and wonderful after sleeping so long on rocks. Moreover, the building was air-conditioned, and that was worth whatever weird looks the guard was giving me.

"What city is this?" I asked dreamily, rolling around on the carpet. Konstantin floated in through the wall behind me, watching my odd behavior as intently as the guard.

"Veilstone City. Are you alright…?" he asked, partly suspicious, partly worried.

"I'm fine, now." I could only grin.

-.-.-

Much to my annoyance, Konstantin followed me all the way to the Pokemon Center, watched as I handed over my Pokemon to get healed (with an explanation to the Nurse Joy about Ike's leg and general condition), waited with me while I ordered a room, and shadowed me even as I headed to the video phones.

I decided to check my voicemail before calling anyone. I could only stare at the screen when I saw that I had ninety-three messages—all in roughly a week's time. "What."

"Dus?" Konstantin asked curiously.

I scrolled through the numbers before listening to any of them. Most of them—in fact, about eighty of them—seemed to be from the same number. I didn't actually recognize the number, since I'm generally bad with memorizing numbers (parents' aside), but I had a hunch who they were all from.

Just as I was about to click on one of them, a new one popped up from the same number and started playing. "Fine, you idiot! I won't bring you along! Just ignore me for how long now, you're off on your big trainer adventure, aren't you?! Well, I couldn't care less! Y-You could be dead for all I know! I'll just go to Johto on my own and hog all of the rare Pokemon! You can't have any! And for the record, I'm never speaking to you again!" Hanna exclaimed furiously, sounding close to tears.

Even as she was continuing on with her rant, ignoring her vow, I was dialing her number. The message cut off with an "—oh?" as she hung up on that line and picked up on her new incoming call. She probably only picked up because she didn't recognize the number, too.

"Hanna! I really really didn't mean to ignore your calls or messages or anything! I lost my phone!"

When she realized it was me, she made a couple angry sounds and sniffed once or twice but otherwise stayed silent. Since she didn't hang up, however, I took it as a good sign.

"My phone is actually at the bottom of a lake right now," I continued breathlessly, hoping she forgave me. "It's a long story, and I promise I'll tell you later. I'm sorry that I didn't answer you, but look, you're the first person I called since I got back to civilization, okay?"

"…" Her silence still sounded rather angry.

"Do you have video phone?" I asked in exasperation.

"…Yeah," she replied, and with a click, her face appeared on the monitor. All at once, she recoiled, staring in horror at me. "Ew! You look horrible! Are you okay?"

"Eh, kind of…"

"Okay, I believe you now," Hanna mumbled, looking away from the camera.

"That's a relief."

"Sarcasm?"

"A little."

"Anyway, all my messages to your KIA phone were kind of important, you know." She kept up her irritated tone, but I could see her softening. I tried not to outright grin, lest I incur her wrath once more and never find out what she meant by her eighty-some messages.

"Well?"

"Well, how fast can you get packed? Where are you, anyway?" Hanna was trying and failing to stay serious, and, in trying to stop from smiling or giggling or both, kept playing with her hair.

"I am packed; I don't have anything. I'm at Veilstone."

"I'll be there in an hour." With that and a click, she hung up.

Chapter Text

"You have an hour before she comes?" Nick had thankfully left a couple messages, so I was able to steal his number as well and give him a call. I wasn't procrastinating calling my parents. It was just that the last time I saw them, I had been in the hospital… So yeah. I wasn't procrastinating; I was coming up with an excuse as to why I was missing in action for a week.

"Yeah. That's all she said. In one of her messages, she mentioned Johto…" Was it another expedition of hers? At first, I had been excited, but that had soon melted into apprehension. I still clearly remembered the last expedition.

"That sounds really cool. I took a trip to Hoenn a few years ago, and it was really fun. You should go if you get the chance," Nick replied, voice crackly. He didn't have the luxury of an amazing cell phone like Hanna, nor did he have the luxury of an area where reception was good, apparently.

"Yeah, but… I'm kind of reluctant now. I mean, she's not one to really think things through, and this is another region… Plus, I just got to Veilstone. I just got back to civilization."

"Dus," Konstantin, who was still with me, added casually.

"What—was that?" Nick asked, temporarily broken up by a fierce bout of static.

"It's a long story." I had been saying that a lot today, and I had only talked to three people, including Nurse Joy.

"Did you—another Pokemon?" he asked, this time barely audible.

"Yeah, I caught another. But Nick, where are you? I can barely hear you."

"I just—one of those—city posts."

"What?"

"I'm in—building by—" There was a click and a couple beeps, the screen in front of me unhelpfully telling me that the signal was lost. I dialed the number again, but either he didn't pick up or it just plain didn't get through. I sighed. Who knew if he could accept overseas calls…

It was about time to call my parents, then. I sighed again, then looked over my shoulder at Konstantin. "Can you go see if Nurse Joy is done with the others yet?"

"Skull!" he said cheerily and floated back over to the counter. I returned to the video phone and went through a couple messages, trying to figure out if my parents had heard anything from Cossette's parents about the fact that I'd been kidnapped, or if they just assumed something vague and terrible happened. If it were the latter, I could tell them I got lost and dropped my phone… Which technically wasn't a lie, anyway.

Two pokeballs clattered onto the desk in front of me, unfortunately opening and spilling a Numel and Breloom onto my lap. The chair tipped over, both of them on top of me. Konstantin hovered over us, worryingly wringing his paws. "Dus…?" he mumbled apologetically.

I could only flail in response, since having both Des and Carlita on my chest were rapidly cutting off my oxygen supply.

After they got off and everything was sorted out, I realized that Ike wasn't among them, and we all traipsed back over to the main counter. "Excuse me…?" I asked, ringing the bell with relish—after all, it wasn't often that someone wasn't there to guard it. "Is my Shinx done?"

"Oh! Your Pokemon—there they are!" Nurse Joy popped her head out from the swinging doors behind the counter, looking tremendously relieved. I looked down at Carlita, who could barely peek over the counter, and Des, who seemed grumpy because he couldn't. "They had been missing…"

I glared at Konstantin, who looked between the pink-haired woman and I in alarm. "Dus! Duskull-skull!"

"I'm sorry… I think this Duskull took them without notifying you…" I mumbled, still glaring at the ghost. "Are they both healed, though?"

"Oh yes; they weren't very hurt to begin with, anyway! They were just a bit thin, so we gave them some snacks. Hope you don't mind!" Nurse Joy said with a bright smile and chuckle. "Your Shinx, I'm afraid, is in a bit worse condition… He has a broken leg, a bit of a cold, and is also pretty undernourished. Did you have a rough time on the Route from the last city?"

"To say the least… Is Ike going to be okay?"

"Of course! We've given him some medicine and antibiotics, so his cold should go away in a matter of days, but make sure he keeps getting fluids. We also put a cast on the broken leg, so in a week or so he should be fine! It's designed so you can take it off yourself…" She continued to ramble on about how I should make sure he exercises but doesn't overexert himself, how I should be more careful out in the wilderness, always pack lots of food, and all the while, I could only wonder why Ike got two weeks in a cast while I got six. Carlita giggled every time the cast was mentioned, and it took me a couple times before I realized that she was laughing at the fact that he had a cast. I gave her a rather rough pat on the head, pushing her down onto the floor beside Des.

"Bre," she mumbled mutinously, crossing her arms.

"Shush."

Suddenly, I was picked up. I flailed wildly and rather gracelessly, reaching out for something to hold on to. The last few times I had been picked up, it had been by a mercenary who tried to kill me and ghosts who'd wanted to kill me; my would-be kidnapper was lucky not to get an elbow to the face. I was carried over and dropped on the couch. I tried to kick, but my foot was grabbed and set back down. Nick jumped over the back of the couch and landed beside me, grinning.

"Are you a stalker?" I asked, though I was glad it was him and not a certain black-haired man.

"Nope, this was entirely a coincidence. Which kind of makes it awesome. And it means that I can be your moral support, which you seem to need for reasons I cannot comprehend," he replied easily, picking at my socks. "You look horrible, by the way."

"Thanks. Why are you so cheerful?" I asked suspiciously. Normally he wasn't this happy or talkative.

"I haven't seen my little buddy in how long now? A couple weeks? Plus, knowing you, you got into a huge amount of trouble, so I want to know about that."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Nick chattered on, reminding me a bit of Hanna. Apparently he really was glad to see me. "I see you got a Duskull, nice. No double weaknesses, either, so you should be happy about that. What'd you name it? Did you ever catch that electric Pokemon you needed? Where did you even find a Duskull? Didn't I drop you off in Jubilife, anyway? How'd you get all the way over here in that time?"

During the barrage of questions, Des, Carlita and Konstantin wandered over, watching our slightly one-sided conversation from the back of the couch. I tried to reach Des so I could scratch him behind the ears, but since Nick still had my feet pinned, I couldn't get into a position where I could get hold of him. My Numel snorted, which might have been a laugh, and managed to crawl over the back of the couch and land on me. I wheezed, Konstantin bit back a chuckle, and I wiggled over so Des was wedged in between the cushion and my body, since he was getting fatter and it hurt more and more every time he did that.

"Hi, Des. Say, you're looking bigger. Ready to evolve yet?" Nick asked, scratching Des since I couldn't, not even in our new position.

"Wh-What? Evolve?"

"Nu?"

"You can tell when a Pokemon is about to evolve," the older trainer said casually, though it was obvious he hadn't meant to clue me in on a possible evolution. "Most Pokemon get bigger, put on some weight. Some reptilian Pokemon start shedding their skin, and birds start loosing feathers. You just need to learn to look for the signs. Going to answer any of my questions now?" he asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Uh, yeah," I said absently, staring at Pedestal. He was going to evolve? And soon? How soon was soon? A week? A month? …Today? "Um… What were the questions again?"

"Your Shinx is ready!" Nurse Joy called, interrupting what would no doubt be a long and drawn out explanation of the latest string of unfortunate events in my life.

"Konstantin?" I asked, and the Duskull floated off helpfully to retrieve Ike.

"Shinx? Konstantin?" Nick asked dubiously.

I took a deep breath and wondered where to start. "…First off, Konstantin—I guess you could call him Kostya?—isn't mine. He's following me, and I'm a little scared to try to chase him away. I did catch another Pokemon, though! An electric!"

"Your Shinx. Did you catch it near Jubilife…?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You know they're kind of really weak in that area, right?"

"…" I had not known that. But Ike didn't seem terribly weak… Although he didn't know any electric attacks and hadn't done much more than a couple attempted tackles and biting… I sighed as Konstantin dropped the ultra ball (thankfully, I caught it this time). "…Right. I knew that." All it would take was a bit of extra training then, right?

"Well, it's a good thing we still have about forty-five minutes. Gym leaders are really good for raising Pokemon, and—"

"What?!" I interrupted, blinking.

"Maylene, the Gym leader here. Oh, no, don't start that again. You are definitely strong enough to challenge her. She's supposed to be the third leader, remember?" Nick pointed out in a low voice. He sat up and leaned forward, eyes narrowed, looking rather intimidating. Then again, he couldn't stand up to Dusclops and the mercenary. I glared right back at him. "You are fighting Maylene. If you don't beat her by the time your friend gets here, then…"

"Then what?" I challenged.

"Then you'll have to pay me back the five grand you owe me."

"That wasn't an official bet. I don't have to pay you back a cent."

"Okay, fine, if you want to play by official rules—" I suddenly didn't like where this was going, "—you have to battle me."

"No thanks."

"Your Pokemon are all in great health, our eyes met, and I challenged you. You can't back down without paying me half your money," Nick said, happily evil.

"I don't have any money. I don't have to pay you." I was getting nervous about this, though. I still legally had to battle him if he pressed the issue, and I would get thrashed. Not good for my self-esteem.

"Then I'll challenge you when you're rich. I can challenge you any time I want," he taunted triumphantly. "Your choice: battle Maylene, the third Gym leader, or battle me, who's challenged the Elite Four several times now and has a variety of teams to play on your weaknesses and—"

"Okay, okay! Fine! I'll challenge her!" I snarled. Nick looked taken aback at my sudden display of anger. I didn't notice. I just jerked my feet out of his grasp, got up, and marched out towards the door. Who cared if I hadn't eaten in about a day now, who cared if I was still dirty and hurt and missing a shoe, who cared if I was supposed to level up a Shinx with a broken leg.

Konstantin raced over to the door and floated between it and me. It looked as if he were glaring at me, his red eye fixed in one socket. "Duskull!" he said warningly, holding out his paws, as if to stop me.

"Konstantin, get out of the way."

"Duskull!"

"You're not even supposed to be here! Go back to the other ghosts."

"Duskull!" he insisted, shaking his head.

"Move—"

"Well aren't you an angry little trainer!" a high voice with an eerily familiar chuckle declared telepathically. Two thin arms wrapped themselves around me from behind and a pink hat-looking thing was suddenly leaning on my shoulder. "The poor little Duskull is just trying to tell you that you're messing up the warning. He's only trying to help."

"Wh-What—Who—"

"Calm down, my trainer is starting to worry about you," the telepathic, female voice said with what sounded disturbingly like a purr.

I looked over my other shoulder at Nick. He shrugged. "Calm down."

"I'll be calm once I can beat Maylene and get out of here," I growled, lip curling.

"Duskull!" Konstantin cried frantically.

"Ooh, he's really starting to worry about you and that warning!" I ignored them all and tried to walk forward, but the arms held me still. "You're not battling in this mood, oh no you're not. I've seen what trainers who battle angry do. You're going to calm down." Along with her voice, which was high enough to grate on my nerves, she sent a rather soothing telepathic image of a snowy little cottage with a fireplace and hot chocolate.

"What are you doing?" I asked dully.

"Humans associate warmth with happiness and cold with bitter feelings. By showing you both, I'm trying to calm you down to a happy medium."

"Okay, Kamala, that's enough. Good job." Nick had walked up behind us at some point. Kamala, if that was who was invading my mind, let go of me. "You okay?"

"I guess."

"What's with that? You're still tense, and you've been tense this entire time." I let myself be turned around like a rag doll, flopping limply in his grasp. He leaned down so that he was eye level. "Your eyes are darker again. What happened?"

Beside him, his Pokemon watched us with a smile, her unnaturally large and round eyes fixated on mine. I found it easier to stare back at her instead of looking at Nick. "Just… a lot of stuff. Let's go face Maylene now."

I got another mental picture of the snowy little cottage for trying to pull away from him. "You're not battling in this shape. You really scared me back there. Something's wrong, and I'm not allowing you to battle until it's resolved."

I don't really know what happened next. Nick was reaching down to take Ike's ultra ball from my hand, I think, and maybe it was the fact that I could only see his black hair, or maybe it was the fact that my Pokemon were being taken away again. All I know was that I reacted on reflex. The hand that was holding the ball went behind my back to keep it from him, while my other reached out to shove him. He was on the floor, surprised, and Kamala was holding me a foot off the ground by the front of the shirt, next thing I knew.

"Don't you ever touch my trainer again," she hissed. I was too shocked to reply. I looked away from her, and instead found Des and Carlita, staring at me. They looked afraid.

Chapter Text

"What's wrong with me?"

Konstantin led me out of the center, one paw on each of my shoulders. He had done something to Kamala to make her let go, which obviously hadn't pleased her, since she had been lunging at him next thing I knew. Nick had returned her just before she caught the Duskull. Konstantin hadn't appeared to notice, since he was busy whispering nonsense to me and trying to get me to look at him.

"Dus, dus, skull," he murmured sympathetically.

"I-I just… I attacked him. I really attacked Nick," I said blankly. Sure, I hadn't hurt him, at least not physically. But what was wrong with me? I knew he was just looking out for me, he always was, but why had I overreacted like that? Why had I gotten angry at all? Was it because he wanted me to fight a battle I didn't want—but no, I did want to challenge Maylene, just on my own terms. It was true that his pressure in the past had gotten me through Gardenia, but it had backfired with Crasher Wake. Was I acting on that?

"Duskull, dus," Konstantin soothed, patting my shoulders.

I had really overdone it when he went to take Ike's ultra ball from me, though. I'd had no problem handing him and my other two over to Nurse Joy, so why did I do that when Nick had tried it? Was it because of the momentary recognition with the black hair, or was it because he was trying to take him whereas I handed him over willingly to Nurse Joy, or was it simply because I didn't trust anyone save pink-haired women anymore?

"Duskull, dus-skull."

What had Des and Carlita thought of that? They were at the very least alarmed by my behavior, which they ought to be—but then again, they hadn't been through any of the trials Ike and I had faced in that cave with those ghosts and other crazy wild Pokemon.

"I'm not supposed to be angry or bitter. So why am I…?" I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

I knew why, though. I had been attacked by Pokemon—so I learned that I couldn't trust any Pokemon but my own team. I had been attacked by a man—so I learned that I couldn't trust humans, either. I had lost my blind, complete faith in trainers and humanity in general.

"I-I need to go apologize. I need to say sorry to Nick," I told Konstantin, looking around for the first time. He had been leading me since the Pokemon Center. I was equal parts surprised and unsurprised to find that he had led me to the Gym. "Konstantin, I can't. I really can't, not right now."

"Dus, dus skull." He pointed down to the ultra ball in my hands.

"Ike is hurt and still young. He can't fight against a Gym leader…"

"Skull!" Konstantin proclaimed, throwing out his arms. I could only stare at him.

"…I'm crazy already, so whatever."

-.-.-

Ike hobbled across the arena, looking mighty pathetic with the cast on his back leg. Maylene looked torn about fighting something already injured like that, but eventually got past that, since she called out her Meditite (which I only knew the name of because she introduced it as such).

"Return, Ike." My Shinx looked at me in confusion, but limped back towards me regardless. I sighed. "Go… Konstantin."

Maylene looked appropriately chagrined as the ghost floated out onto the arena. Ike stayed out beside me, watching the fight with evident interest, golden eyes gleaming. The Meditite went down rather quickly, since it couldn't touch Konstantin, giving the ghost free reign of the battle. "Return, Meditite," she mumbled, and then called, "Go, Machoke!" A much larger and more muscular Pokemon appeared, flexing.

"Return, Kostya. Go back out, Ike."

Ike looked at me curiously, but decided to trust my judgment, because he hobbled right back out to the middle. The Machoke looked down at him, then back at its trainer. Maylene, again, looked a little disturbed by the move. "Um, are you sure you want to do that…?" she asked uncertainly.

"Leer, Ike." Because of her indecision, Ike got to glare at the Machoke, who actually flinched back and looked rather frightened. Ike tended to have that effect when he wanted to. Before Maylene could offer a counterattack, which was rather cheap but I didn't want Ike fainting, I added, "Return. Konstantin, you're back out."

Machoke had similar problems with the ghost, not being able to touch him. Maylene was fuming with frustration by the time she called out her third Pokemon, a Lucario (which I actually knew without the introduction, since I had wanted one once upon a time).

Ike went back out at the beginning. I could see his fur crackling with electricity, for the first time, and decided to take advantage of that. "Ike, use your electricity." I didn't know which attack he actually knew, but hopefully it would work and do some damage.

"Lucario, use Detect!" Maylene exclaimed, a little worried about my sudden change in strategy.

We both waited with bated breath, but nothing happened. Ike just continued to crackle and spark, but it didn't seem to be doing anything. He sat down and yawned, which convinced me that he wasn't going to do anything more. Maylene and Lucario had matching expressions of incredibility. "Ike, come on back. Kostya, you're up again."

Lucario growled as it was robbed of an easy, if static-y, target and instead had to fight the intangible opponent. Maylene, however, was smiling. "Lucario, Dark Pulse."

A shadow burst forth from the fighting Pokemon's paws, aimed right at Konstantin. He didn't try to dodge, apparently thinking that it would go right through him, but instead, it sent him flying back into a wall. When he reappeared, he looked a little dazed and was holding his head. "…Dus," he spat, glowering at the Lucario.

"Dark Pulse again, before it can get near you!"

"Konstantin, dodge—" The Duskull instead sunk into the ground and reappeared immediately behind the Lucario, floating up out of its shadow. I decided to let him do his own thing, then, since he was doing a good job at it. The Lucario snarled after the attack and lashed out, but its paw went right through Konstantin, who giggled and had free reign once more, since he was keeping the Lucario too busy for it to fire off another Dark Pulse.

By the end of five minutes, the Lucario had fainted and I was receiving a badge from Maylene. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "That thing with your Shinx really threw me off, I guess…" she admitted.

"I only wanted him to get some experience," I replied dully, examining the shiny new badge.

"I guess I can understand that. Your Duskull is really strong. You know how to come prepared for a Gym match, don't you?" She chuckled awkwardly, apparently unused to having to deal with trainers like me.

"Oh, he's not mine," I replied as I left.

Ike in the crook of my arm, I held up the badge against the sunlight. It was my fourth badge. Thankfully, one of the few salvageable things from my backpack had been my badge case, so I didn't have to start the circuit all over again. I fished it out of my pocket and managed to fit it into the next empty slot. Four badges. I was half way done with gathering badges, and next, it was the Elite Four. (Actually, next was Victory Road, and after having heard numerous horror stories about it from Nick, I wasn't too keen on remembering that fact.) After the Elite Four, then… the Champion herself.

"Shii?" Ike asked curiously, looking up at me.

"What was that electric attack, huh?" I asked in response.

Ike just grinned up at me, displaying his sharp little teeth. I looked away, which he probably intended, and instead said, "Thanks, Kostya."

"Dus," he replied with a bob that might've been a nod.

It was then that I realized I had just won a Gym match with a weak and injured Shinx and a Duskull that wasn't mine. What really worried me, though, was the fact that I wasn't worried about the potentially illegal part. I was more worried about how the rest of my team would react—how Nick would react. I had gone off on my own with a Shinx that neither Des nor Carlita particularly liked or trusted, and that was after pushing Nick on a reflex I really wish I didn't have. Who had I betrayed there? Who hadn't I betrayed there?

"There you are!"

"Kamala, don't—!"

I nearly dropped Ike as I was pushed into the nearest brick wall by telekinesis while Nick's psychic Pokemon was viciously trying to sink her fingers into the Duskull's eye sockets. Ike and I were pressed against the wall, completely immobile.

"Kamala, stop it! Return!" Nick shouted, running onto the scene. His Pokemon danced away from the pokeball's red beam of light, even using Konstantin as a shield once. "Return! Return, Kamala!"

"Dus-dus!" Konstantin exclaimed, sounding panicked.

"I'll teach you to—"

"Stop it!"

Everyone on the scene froze when a jet of fire effectively separated Nick from Kamala and Konstantin. Nick took a couple steps back, the first one to move, and raised his arm to shield his eyes from the brightness. He raised the pokeball once more, pointed at his still-shocked psychic, and repeated the return command once more. She vanished, and Ike and I were suddenly released. This time I accidentally did drop him as I fell forward onto my hands and knees, gasping for breath.

Des waddled calmly through the flames until he was standing beside me. I didn't see Carlita anywhere. "Numel," he said simply, sounding as if he'd passed judgment on something. I could only hope it wasn't me.

"…Des, I'm—"

"I really hope you didn't do what I thought you did," Nick interrupted coldly, sidestepping the dying flames as he strode over. As we were all still in front of the Gym, I had a feeling he knew exactly what I'd just done. "I told you not to battle."

"I'm sorry." I wasn't sorry for battling, though. I needed the badge and I needed to do something on my own that meant I could still do something right.

Nick squatted down beside me, glaring. Des watched him warily, shuffling closer to me protectively. "You might think I'm just a bully and maybe even a know-it-all, but believe it or not, I do know what I'm doing when it comes to training. I've been training for years now, and you're still a newbie with a couple of badges—half of them I forced you into."

"I don't think you're a know-it-all, or-or a bully," I said softly, hanging my head in shame. What was wrong with me…?

"That's nice to know," Nick replied sarcastically. I could hear Ike growl beside me in warning. "Well, let's see what you've done wrong so far today. First off, you didn't battle with your team."

"I battled with Ike—"

"Des is your starter and you know Carlita would have enjoyed a fighting match. Ike is still too young and small to battle a Gym leader, and he's injured, my god. Did you really battle with a Shinx with a broken leg?!"

Ike's growl turned into a full snarl, his blue fur crackling with static again. Des leaned down and snorted a plume of smoke at him, quieting him.

Nick ran a hand through his dark hair. "You did. I can't believe you." He sighed and sat down, resting an elbow on his knee.

"Are you telling me you've never made mistakes?!" I asked without thinking. I immediately wished I could take it back, especially when I saw the look on his face. I couldn't help but remember his interview after coming out of Victory Road, with the tear tracks on his dirty cheeks and the grin that looked like it could break at any moment. Three greater tragedies of training, huh. "Nick, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that—"

"No, you did. And I have made mistakes. Lots. That's why I don't want you to make them."

"I didn't mean to push you. I-I just reacted, and I didn't think at all about what I was doing."

"Don't sweat it. I shouldn't have tried to take your Pokemon from you, anyway. Sorry about Kamala—she's had some issues lately, especially when it comes to protecting me. She's very proud, too." I knew he was trying to pass it all of nonchalantly, now that he was sure I'd learned my lesson, but I still felt horrible. Moreover, I was still angry, and I felt even more horrible for that. "Just… don't mess up like that again. Don't battle in that mindset. It's not healthy."

"I won't, I promise."

"What have you done?" All of us looked up, Des and I recognizing Hanna immediately. Ike and Nick, however, just stared cluelessly at the girl who was standing over us with her fists on her hips. I noticed Carlita was peeking around her legs, watching me cautiously. I knew I'd have to apologize to my Pokemon as well later if I wanted to try to make things some semblance of right.

Hanna pulled me to my feet and into a hug before any of us could reply. I was uncomfortably aware of the fact that she was glaring at Nick over my shoulder. "Hanna—?"

"What have you done?! Huh, Mr. Bigshot? I don't care if you're next in line for the Championship or whatever, but you have no right to be admonishing this trainer about anything right now!" she snapped at Nick, hugging me tighter. I felt cold and tried to push her away, but she kept me firmly in her grasp.

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked.

"Kidnapped! Left for dead! Probably starved and abused, too!" I definitely felt cold after that; how did she know? Hanna held me out at arm's length and looked up and down appraisingly. "You do look horrible, but nothing much is broken this time. Come on, we're leaving."

"What?!" Nick and I asked in unison.

Hanna turned and glared at Nick again. "Do you know nothing? Obviously you're not very well-connected, not if you haven't heard about that terrible man and what he's done—"

"What do you know about that man?!" I asked sharply, anger returning in full throttle. Hanna turned to me and blinked.

"He's been arrested now. Mr. Beaumanoir realized you were missing after that, so they threw the man in jail for attempted kidnapping, for-real kidnapping, and after you didn't turn up for awhile, attempted murder. Actually, murder, since you hadn't turned up, but—oh gosh—did he try to kill you?" Through her explanation, she got more and more frantic, until, at the end, her voice broke and she was clearly struggling not to cry.

Nick was staring at me so hard I was surprised there weren't holes in my skull. I looked down at my feet, still missing a shoe, and didn't reply. They could surmise what they wanted from that, but I wasn't going to discuss this with them. Especially since Hanna seemed to be so well-informed already.

With a tremendous sniff, she calmed herself, and declared, "That's it. I'm getting you out of this country. Grab Des and Carlita and let's go."

Chapter Text

After some intense debate that I apparently wasn't allowed to hear, it was agreed that Nick was coming along with us on this 'vacation'. I was really starting to doubt that that's what it was. Hanna kept fretting over me, picking at my hair and clothes, occasionally giving Nick the evil eye as well. He stayed quiet, probably mulling over what Hanna had explained.

I was entirely unsurprised to find that Hanna's father owned a private jet. "Yeah, Daddy has some business in Goldenrod, so we're going along. I think we'll stop in Olivine, though—the beaches there are so much better than Sunyshore's, and I have an acquaintance there who I need to get something from…"

"Why are we being dragged along?" I asked dully. I regretted it at once as both Hanna and Nick turned on me. I shrank back in alarm.

"You need a vacation. Some place where you won't get into trouble and you can have fun." It was funny, because I used to consider training fun. When had that changed?

"…I'm only agreeing to this if I get some explanations," I muttered as we were herded along the tarmac to the plane's stairs. Hanna was apparently already packed, and Nick had his backpack full of stuff, but I was still pretty much possession-less and missing a shoe, no less. I was kind of selfishly hoping for another Hanna-sponsored clothes shopping trip.

"What do you want to know?" Hanna asked casually, feigning innocence, as we walked down the aisle. She pointed out our seats, checked on her baggage overhead, and then sat down beside me.

"How do you know what happened in Jubilife?" I was aware that Nick was listening intently, but I could hardly tell him to go away.

"Daddy has been doing business with Mr. Beaumanoir for years now. We visit them sometimes, too, so I guess they're family friends. He told us what had happened and told us a trainer had gone missing after they captured the man, and I knew it had to be you from the description."

"How did they catch him?"

"The Gallade spotted him going into the hotel lobby and acted accordingly."

"So Cossette is okay?"

"Worried about you, but otherwise, she and her family are fine—do they know you're alive?!" Hanna exclaimed suddenly.

"Between you two, I haven't had any free time—" I was cut off as Hanna screamed. Nick and I both clapped our hands over our ears, wincing. She cowered down behind me, pointing frantically. I turned and saw that Konstantin had floated through the wall of the plane and was watching her with evident amusement. "Hanna, calm down. It's just Kostya."

"I-Is it yours?" she asked shakily, still hiding behind me.

"…Not really."

"Legally speaking, any Pokemon is yours if it willingly works with you," Nick remarked. "Pokeballs are just for convenience and record keeping."

"He's not mine," I insisted, slightly annoyed and with ears still ringing. He seemed to sense that and backed off. I moodily shifted so that my back was more to Hanna and crossed my arms. "How long is this flight going to take?"

"About eight hours to Goldenrod, and then another hour and a half to Olivine. We'll have a layover in Goldenrod, though." Hanna sounded a little put-off by my behavior. I couldn't blame her, but I couldn't help but wish to be alone, too.

"I'm going to sleep, then." I shut my eyes tight and tried to ignore it, when just a few minutes later, they began talking about me in low tones.

For the first time in a long time, I dreamed. There were no white worlds, no ghosts of any sort, no 'look at how much you've grown', no monsters or anything unpleasant. I laid in a field of flowers and simply sunbathed and watched clouds lazily float by. It was complete contentment. I was aware of something watching me, however, but it didn't bother me as much as it should have; it was not a malevolent force, but more of a protective one. I couldn't help but smile in my dream when I realized that someone must finally be looking out for me.

-.-.-

I awoke as I was jostled. I blinked blearily, trying to orient myself. I was moving? Why? How? Then I realized I was being carried. I nearly snapped and started kicking and screaming, but then logic took over.

Okay, logic didn't kick in until later; instead of kicking and screaming, I tried not to throw up. My stomach was fighting against me, though, and I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. "Ugh—um—let me down."

It was then that logic kicked in, actually. It was Nick who had been carrying me, and he carefully set me down on rather soft carpet. I looked up at him to solidify the fact that it was a friend helping me, not an enemy kidnapping me.

Then I had to rush to the nearest door. It thankfully turned out to be a bathroom. Unfortunately, while my stomach wanted dearly to rebel and come up my esophagus, there wasn't much in there, so I only ended up dry heaving. I had heard the term before, sometimes associated with various illnesses or even training in general, but what I hadn't known was that it hurt.

"Are you sick?" Nick asked meekly from the doorway, hand on the knob. He seemed ready to bolt if needed. I didn't blame him.

"Yeah," I mumbled, silently telling my stomach to shove off and leave me alone. I rested my head on my arm, still leaning over the toilet, closing my eyes. I didn't realize Nick had left until he reappeared with Hanna, who was immediately kneeling down beside me, feeling my forehead.

"You have a bit of a fever," she remarked, hauling me up to my feet again. "You're going back to bed. Now."

"I just woke up. Where are we?" I asked blearily, trying to dig my feet in as she tried just as hard to get me out of the bathroom. Nick watched us, not too keen on getting near me again now that I was conscious.

"Goldenrod. You slept the entire flight, and Nick had to carry you to your room," Hanna replied, pulling on my arm. I let go of the counter, worried for my shoulder when I felt a twinge of pain.

"My room—?"

"Hotel room."

"I'm tired of hotel rooms. Give me a sleeping bag," I ordered. She sniffed in response and pushed me over to the bed. "I'll sleep somewhere else."

"Are you saying you want to sleep outside after your little ordeal?"

I didn't mention the fact that I hadn't slept outside for most of it. "I just don't want to sleep in a hotel." I also didn't mention how my last stay in a hotel room was the last time I'd been happy with my team. Or rather, the last time we were all happy together. What was wrong with me? I allowed her to push me onto the bed and halfheartedly pull some covers over me.

"I'll have someone send up some soup and medicine later on. If you're up for it, a hot bath, too. Until then, sleep," Hanna commanded while Nick went and wordlessly retrieved a glass of water and set it on the bedside table.

"Why're you so motherly all of a sudden?" I asked, half grumpy, half sleepy. I did want to sleep, but I didn't want it to be here, and I didn't want it to be anywhere where Nick and Hanna were undoubtedly fussing over me. "You're both very…" I didn't know the word for it. Suddenly protective? Acting like my parents? Not acting like they were trainers? Not acting like I was a trainer? Why did I want so dearly to be left alone so suddenly? …Why was I asking myself all of these questions when I obviously had no idea what the answer would be?

Both of them left without answering me. I hardly noticed. I closed my eyes tight and tried to fall asleep, but no matter how tired I was, I couldn't. I was too hot, so I kicked off the covers, but then I was too cold. I tried to pull them back up over me but it ended up just turning into more or less a pile of blankets that I was partially under. I rolled over, trying to wiggle under them a bit more, and came face-to-face with a skull mask and a single red eye.

"…Kostya, find me my Pokemon," I mumbled, unsurprised that he was still with me. All in all, I actually preferred him to the Froslass, since he didn't regularly freeze me or try to kill me. He was also pretty helpful.

The ghost nodded and floated down through the bed. He reappeared at the foot of the bed, cradling my two pokeballs and one ultra ball in his arms. He carefully deposited them beside me, and I fumbled to try to release them. Konstantin helped with that, too, tapping each of the buttons while I tried not to yawn.

Ike immediately set about to inspecting the room, sniffing things and occasionally growling when he tripped over his cast. Des and Carlita, however, were more concerned with their trainer. Des licked my forehead—his tongue was rather hot and dry—and said something to Carlita, who likewise licked me. "Guys—"

"Nu," Des interrupted, butting my cheek gently with the top of his head. He then curled up beside me, tucked his paws under his body, and leaned his head against my chest. Carlita made a fussy noise and looked around for a place she could lay down on. She was about to snuggle up on my other side, but Ike returned from his examination of the room and claimed the spot. He curled up into a tight little ball and settled in in the space between my neck and shoulder, purring faintly.

I didn't miss the glare Carlita sent him for it, either.

Eventually, she stretched herself out along my legs and used my thigh as a pillow. Since I was pretty much locked into my position, I could only watch as Konstantin floated around overhead. I didn't know if he was going to try napping with me, too, or just circle. I hoped it was the former, because watching him was making me dizzy.

Unfortunately, he didn't. I continued to watch him, stomach churning, until I fell asleep. It was an uncomfortable sleep—I was still too hot and Ike was starting to give me a crick in the neck—but it was sleep all the same.

-.-.-

"I am glad to finally get the chance to speak with you, comrade," the Duskull said. I looked around curiously. It appeared as if I was back in the stone temple, only minus the fog and ghost population.

"Kostya?" I asked, still looking around. I didn't know if it was supposed to be him or not. All Duskull looked the same to me (Katerina exempt) and it was only the Dusclops that could talk. "Wait—"

"This is a dream I've created for you. It's why I can communicate with you in this form," he replied.

Suddenly, how the Froslass communicated with me made more sense. Though apparently she didn't have very much creativity if all she could come up with was a white world… "Why?" If I was suspicious, I had a right to be. I had no idea what his motives might be, or if he might have a trainer that was stuck in a cave that needed saving.

"Because I cannot communicate with you when you are awake?" he replied in confusion. "I don't understand the question."

"Why do I need to communicate with you? Why are you even still with me? I mean—thanks for the gym battle, but… You're not mine. You're just a Pokemon I met under some weird circumstances. Aren't you not allowed to be with me? Don't I smell like the Froslass?" I knew I was rambling, but I hadn't expected to get to talk to him or get a chance to get some answers.

He didn't seem to mind. If anything, he seemed amused. "I would personally like to have a way to communicate with you on a somewhat regular basis, comrade, or in case of an emergency." I didn't dare ask what an emergency might mean to him. "Plus, this will be the only way we can ever communicate—"

"Liar. Dusclops can talk with humans," I deadpanned. Why did he think I didn't know that?

Konstantin shifted, wringing his paws. "Well, you see, about that… Dusclops can't just speak to humans… They can't talk to whoever they want… There are certain, um, regulations…" I stared at him until he felt uncomfortable enough to give me a clear answer. (I also made a mental note to try that with a certain other ghost—if I ever saw her again.) It seemed to work, because he continued in a fast voice, "Dusclops can only communicate with beings they wish to eat."

It took a couple moments for what he said to sink in. Ivan and Vladimir had both spoken to me. "Wait, what?!" I burst, hoping to everything dear I had misheard him or something.

Konstantin's eye shifted away from me nervously. "…Well, they didn't eat you, did they? I only said they must wish to eat you—it's part of our hunting strategy, you see—"

I knew Ivan had chewed on me a bit when we first met, but I hadn't thought he was that serious. And what about Vladimir?! "D-Do Dusclops regularly eat trainers?"

"Humans are considered a delicacy, but we will eat other—"

"You eat them too?!"

The Duskull finally looked at me again, only this time he seemed annoyed. "I'm not judging humans, comrade, but may I point out that you eat many more species than what we eat?"

I swallowed thickly, feeling sick again. Great, I was sick even in my dreams. "Point taken…" Of course, there was then the obvious question hanging in the air between us. I didn't want to ask it, however, especially in case I didn't like the answer. "Um, wh-what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked instead, looking away.

"I am not returning to the colony," Konstantin informed me curtly.

I had gathered as much, though I was hoping that it wasn't so. "…Why?"

"I have become fond of you, comrade, and I do not want you to have to suffer unduly because of what the psychics said. Moreover, I am going to break our law." The fact that he was going to commit a crime didn't seem to bother him much. Konstantin floated closer, holding up one hand. "I was Ivan's right-hand ghost. I am fairly strong for my rung in the evolutionary chain. In fact, lately, I have been restraining myself from evolving."

"Why?" I didn't know Pokemon could even do that. I had heard of them not evolving, but usually, it was partly due to their trainer's interference.

"Only one Duskull is allowed to do this at a time, and Katerina, while old, is still with us." I noticed that he didn't say 'alive', which really made me wonder about how far down ghost Pokemon were on the mortal coil. "I am much younger than her, anyway, and I would not be allowed to learn the skill if I had stayed."

"So you ran away."

"No!" Konstantin floated closer. I could hear the smile in his words. "Don't you see, comrade? I didn't do anything of the sort. Ivan told me to help you, and that is what I am doing!"

"You're using me as an excuse!" I accused, leaning back to try to gain back a bit of personal space. A ghost in the face tended to have that effect. "What's so important that you want to run away with me?"

"I am going to help you," he reiterated, wringing his hands together excitedly. "I am going to stay a Duskull and learn Future Sight."

Chapter Text

"No," I replied flatly. Konstantin reeled back, surprised.

"No?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm already not impressed with that warning from the future or whatever. What was up with that, anyway?! 'Don't die'?"

"I can't tell you anything more until I see it for myself," he whimpered, sounding downright pathetic. I rolled my eyes and sighed in exasperation. "I am just trying to help you, comrade."

"I don't want to know, though. I just wanted—want—to be a trainer, that's all. I have enough on my hands right now, what with Des still a Numel, Carlita and Ike not getting along, having to train Ike up… Plus, I'm kind of dealing with those other two humans. They seem to think something's wrong with me."

"Is there?" Konstantin asked mildly. I glared at him. He backed down, poking his fingers together.

"…Maybe. I don't know," I admitted, sitting down on the stone below. "I'm just very angry lately, and I can't help but want to be alone."

"You should go see Cresselia," he said as he floated down to sit beside me. "She heals us when we are angry or confused. She is very kind."

"I don't want to see a ghost shrink," I sighed again. "Or any sort of shrink. I'm kind of hoping I'll just get better with time."

"These things don't go away like that. And, comrade, don't forget the warning."

"How could I forget," I muttered darkly. "Don't die, face many trials, don't become dark, don't get distracted by the injustices in the world, don't become angry because of them, and let go," I recited sarcastically. "Some help that is."

"…You're already heading down the wrong road. Even I can see that much."

"I want to wake up now," I complained.

"Not yet!" Konstantin exclaimed, flying up into the air. "We have much to discuss, comrade!"

"Like what?"

"You cannot become bitter! Aren't you on a vacation? You are supposed to relax and be happy." I stared at him until he realized how foolish it was to wish such a thing for me. "You should see Cresselia," he mumbled demurely, floating back down towards the ground.

"I don't want to." I didn't even know who she was supposed to be. But the last two creatures I was told to see rather hurt and/or scared me, so no thanks to whoever this one was.

"…What do you plan on doing, then?"

"Keep training. I'd still like to become the Champion." I shrugged, trying not to think of how the prospect didn't excite me so much lately. After all, if I, a regular trainer, got into this sort of trouble, what did the Champion get herself into? I didn't really want to know, even if it was still a fond dream. "I know I want to keep training, though," I added, mostly to myself.

"Your Shinx, he is still rather small. Are you going to concentrate on him?"

"Not too much, not until his leg heals."

"But evolution heals the body. You could train him until he evolves."

"I don't know how long that'll take. Plus…" Plus, I hadn't even gotten my starter to evolve yet. It would seem sort of cheap to have two evolved Pokemon before Des. And I didn't know how long it would take Ike to do anything; it would be a safer bet to let it heal on its own.

"I could help, comrade," Konstantin piped up. As if I could forget.

"I'm the trainer. I'll be fine."

-.-.-

I woke up sweaty. This was made even more unpleasant by the fact that Carlita was now covering my legs, Des had wiggled over to take over my arm, and Ike was pretending to be a necklace. Konstantin floated over me, watching. I couldn't read the expression in his eye, but it was no doubt smug.

I flailed with my free arm for the glass of water, since my throat was dry. I had no idea whatsoever how I was going to drink it, but I wanted it nonetheless. After knocking over the glass and probably getting water everywhere, I decided to be still again and wait for either my team to wake up or for Nick or Hanna to barge in.

I must have dozed off again, because it seemed like no time at all until I was opening my eyes again. Not much had changed in my position, aside from the fact that Carlita had moved up so that her chin was resting on my stomach. This time, I was even thirstier, so I figured that they would have to take one for their trainer. "Hey, guys, wake up…" I croaked, unaware of how dry my throat actually was.

Ike got up first, arching his back with a mighty yawn. He flexed his paws and claws; I was uncomfortably aware of the little pinpricks in the skin of my neck. I had to practically kick Carlita off of me. As for Des, I had to scoot out from under him, flexing my arm as I did so. It had fallen asleep in a pretty awkward position and was now suitably sore, of course. Konstantin watched the entire procedure with curiosity, holding a glass full of water he had gotten at some point.

I wordlessly held out my hand and he relinquished it. I nearly missed the glare Ike sent him—nearly. I sipped the water, trying to ignore it and what it might mean. So… Des was apathetic, it seemed, though he got along the best with Carlita, as far as I could tell. Carlita didn't like Ike but she seemed fond of Des. I wasn't sure of her feelings towards Konstantin. Ike didn't seem to like all of them very much, but was at least keeping politely to himself. Konstantin seemed perfectly fine detached from the team and treated them courteously enough, but still seemed rather reserved. I think he liked Ike the best, though.

…Some team I ended up with.

By the time we were all up and more or less conscious, there was a knock on the door. I was expecting Hanna or Nick as I opened it, not a maid bearing gifts of food. My first instinct was to turn it down, but then my immediate, much more demanding instinct was food, yay. I hadn't eaten in… Actually, come to think of it, I hadn't eaten since that last Magikarp in the temple. No wonder I had been so sick. Well, was sick.

"I have brought a noodle broth that should sooth your stomach. Also, I brought food for your Pokemon: spicy fire flakes and dried grasses for your Numel, a high protein Oddish-based shake for your Breloom, and a positively-charged stew with roasted Mareep for your Shinx. And—oh." I had only been half listening to the maid's monologue, much too intent on trying to take the soup from her. Her soft 'oh' and the fact that she stopped before setting the food down made me, in turn, pause. I looked up and saw that she was staring at Konstantin with a rather blank expression.

"Um, I'll take care of him—"

When I had spoken, it seemed to snap her out of her trance. She whirled around to face me, braided black hair nearly hitting me. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed breathlessly, in a hurry to set the food down now. I wasn't complaining. "I will bring you some food for your Duskull right away! Is-Is there anything else you will be needing?"

"No, but you don't have to…" I trailed off as she flounced out of the room. Konstantin tilted his head, so I turned to him and said, "Looks like you're getting a meal out of this."

I tried not to look too closely at my team's meals, though I had to admit I was impressed that they would make specific meals for what type of Pokemon they were. Usually, when I fed them, it was standard Pokemon food or whatever we'd managed to scrounge up. (Or, actually, it was mostly my meal they ended up eating.) Carlita was absolutely enthralled by the fact that she had a shake for a meal, which I was a little unsure about, but she slurped it down with gusto, so I figured it'd be alright.

Des, on the other hand, seemed only mildly interested in his food. He set fire to the grass and licked at the charred remains, but other than that, I didn't see him eat much. I did, however, see him watching me.

I couldn't get into a staring contest with my Numel, though, since my Shinx was trying to claw his way up my leg in an effort to get to his meal. "Ow! Stop it, Ike—I'll set it down!" I hissed, nearly upsetting the bowl. He tore into it, alternating between fishing out chunks of meat and lapping at the broth.

"Dus?" Konstantin asked, hovering in the air above the table.

"I guess she'll be back with your food soon," I answered, guessing at the question. He rolled his eye, showing me that I'd guessed incorrectly, but as I wasn't going to play twenty questions with him and I was very hungry, I decided to ignore him by eating. It was delicious and my stomach was very happy for it—that was, at least until I swallowed something that wasn't noodle or broth. Some sort of meat, tasting vaguely bird-ish.

Memories of the Magikarp of course chose that time to resurface, and I barely made it to the bathroom in time.

Four Pokemon peeked uncertainly into the bathroom, wearing varying expressions of concern and alarm. "…Nu?" Des was the one who eventually decided to speak up.

"…Ugh. I'm becoming a vegetarian," I groaned. I didn't throw up, but I just about did. I guessed my stomach wanted the food more than it wanted to get rid of it. I wasn't about to upset it more, though, so I turned and asked, "Can one of you fish—okay, bad choice of words there—one of you eat the meat in my soup? I don't care how you get it out. Just don't backwash too badly…"

All but Des disappeared, and I heard the vague sounds of bickering soon after. My Numel waddled up behind me, twitching his ears. "Nu?"

"I'm fine."

"Numel."

"I'm just a little sick, that's all." I reached over and scratched him behind the ears to try to get his mind off of me. "I'll feel better after some more food, I promise." I was forced to follow him back out into the room. I was touched, however, when he carried over his bowl of food in his mouth and set it down beside me. "Des, that's yours. And it's Pokemon food, anyway. I'm not sure I could eat it…"

Ears drooping, he carried off the bowl again as I sat down. Ike was contentedly fishing—there was no better word for it—bits of non-noodle material out of the soup, either with his paw or mouth. Those he picked up with his paw, he handed over to Konstantin, who slipped it under his skull mask and apparently devoured it. Carlita watched them while sipping on her shake, eyes hooded.

"Are you all sharing—?" I could hardly begin to berate any of them when there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" It was the maid again, this time bearing a platter of half-cooked, half-bloody meat, which Konstantin immediately headed for. She let him carry off the plate without much fuss, but seemed a little taken aback by Ike eating out of my bowl.

"I-If there was a problem, I could fix it?" she asked uncertainly.

"It's fine. He's just, uh, hungry." I looked away, pretending to watch Des munch on his flakes.

"Is there anything else then?" She seemed a little relieved that Ike's eating out of my bowl was easily explained. "I could draw water for a bath, if you'd like?"

My face heated up at the thought of someone else doing anything of the sort for me. Plus, wasn't I a trainer? An eleven-year-old trainer? I could certainly handle bathing on my own, at least! "No thanks," I mumbled. "I can do that later."

"Alright then. If there's anything you need, anything at all, call room service and ask for Zoe. I'll be pleased to help you."

A sudden thought struck me. "Actually—could you tell me where Hanna and Nick are staying? They should have come up with me… We're staying with Hanna's dad, if that helps?" I had no idea how much information I would have to provide.

Thankfully, it seemed like very little. "Oh, of course. Master Nicholas' room is right next to yours, number 309. Miss Hanna and her father are situated across the hall from you. Her room is number 308." She smiled warmly at me, and when I didn't speak up again, she bowed (literally) out of the room.

Chapter Text

It wasn't until the next day that either Hanna or Nick came to see me. I think it was because they were scared to, since neither of them really knew how to treat me. That made me feel awkward and uncomfortable, of course, which did nothing to help the situation.

Zoe, the maid, came to see me several times, however. Not only when she brought meals (or when she insisted on drawing me a bath, much to my embarrassment but later relief), but whenever she had free time or a break. I was happy for the company, since my own team and I were somewhat distant with each other for some reason I couldn't fathom.

So my second morning I awoke to Zoe pulling the covers off of my bed and announcing, "Wake up! I've drawn you a bath and I will get breakfast once you start on that. Would you like your Pokemon to bathe with you?"

I looked blearily at my Pokemon, who were in various states of consciousness. "…They're not that dirty." I would've asked why she didn't knock, but I thankfully remembered my request that she didn't knock anymore before I spoke; the day before, due to her nearly constant visits, running errands, and other various comings-and-goings, I eventually had gotten fed up and told her not to knock anymore. Apparently she took that to heart.

"Shall I bring them breakfast then? Or would you like to eat with them?" she asked cheerfully, waiting until I got out of bed so she could make it again. I made sure to grumble my protest as I rolled out of bed.

"I'm supposed to be sick, remember? That means I get to sleep in."

"Yes, and I made sure that you got nine full hours of undisturbed sleep. But your presence has been requested by your friends. The water's cooling. Go, hurry, while it's still hot!" She somehow managed to fluff the pillows while herding me towards the bathroom door at the same time. She also gave me the very distinct impression that she was either a mother or very used to dealing with kids.

Then again, I realized as I sunk into the water, I was acting more and more like a parent towards my team. Maybe not a conventional parent, but I still fed them and let them sleep with me when they wanted (or when I wanted) and generally made sure they kept out of trouble. Maybe that's what trainers eventually became: parents. Or a family.

I actually rather liked that idea, too.

-.-.-

After a thankfully meat-free breakfast, a bit of medicine Zoe forced down my throat, and breaking up a fight between Carlita and Ike over who got to sit next to me for the previously mentioned events, I met up with Hanna and Nick. They were waiting for me down in the lobby. Hanna looked pretty with her hair held back and wearing her city clothes, whereas Nick looked downright distressed in clothes I guessed she had made him wear.

"C'mon, we're going shopping. The both of you need more clothes, particularly you," she pointed at me with one manicured nail, "And Goldenrod is the perfect place to do it. Plus, our plane leaves tomorrow, so today's the only shopping day we get."

Once Hanna had marched off, purse swinging from her elbow, Nick fell into step beside me. "She's been hovering over me since you've been resting. She's the one who made me dress up. Why?" he whispered, glancing nervously at the back of her head.

"She likes you. She is probably trying to apologize for getting mad at you when you first met."

"What?!" he asked, loud enough to be heard. Hanna turned around with a raised eyebrow. Nick hastily averted his eyes while I turned a laugh into a cough. Once her attention had been diverted again in hailing a taxi, he bent down and whispered in my ear, "What makes you say that?! We've never met."

"She's seen you on TV, and she thinks you're cute. I think she's buying you stuff today to try to make you pay attention to her and maybe like her back. Please don't pick a fight? I kind of need her to buy me some things," I whispered back, a little pleading. Zoe had washed my clothes and gotten me a different shirt, but I still would have preferred to have more clothes than the ones on my back. And a cell phone. That would be nice.

Nick didn't reply and he looked pretty uncomfortable, but at least he didn't say anything more to Hanna. Needless to say, however, I had to sit between them in the cab ride to the shopping district. Hanna absently fussed over me, picking at the shirt Zoe had gotten, which was actually part of a uniform for the hotel, and then spent the rest of the ride examining various scrapes and bruises. "Your knees are horrible. How are you still walking?" she finally asked as she watched me get out of the car.

"They're only scrapes," I muttered, wishing my shorts came down farther. Or that I had pants.

"Didn't you ever get scraped knees as a kid?" Nick asked. He obviously didn't think about the question or who he was asking. Next thing I knew, Hanna was scowling at the sidewalk and Nick was rubbing the back of his head, trying to figure out how to apologize properly. "Look—I—Obviously you haven't—"

"If you became a real trainer, Hanna, you'd learn to deal with such injuries," I interrupted primly, probably saving the day in the process. Who knew how much more awkward it would have become if I'd just let them have their way.

"I am a real trainer!" she said automatically, turning to me with a shocked expression. "You saw me battle! My Pokemon are strong! I even got new ones—!"

"Have you ever caught one?" I asked.

"Have you?" Nick muttered behind me, under his breath. I tried to ignore him and focus on placating Hanna.

"You just buy them and you only leveled up Isabella and Alexander so they'd evolve. You've never actually done much else with them, have you?"

"That's not true!" she said, emphasized with a stomp on the ground. I immediately regretted getting into this; she was slipping into her bratty side. "I play with them and care for them and we even stage battles!"

I didn't dare reply because I knew how she'd get if I did. Nick, unfortunately, didn't have such knowledge. "Mock battles, right?" he asked, completely oblivious to what he just did.

"What?!" she screeched. Really, it was just that: a screech. I doubted a Zubat could have outdone her.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, Konstantin arrived at that point. Hanna's voice got impossibly shriller as she screamed and dove behind Nick (who she had, just a moment before, looked ready to murder). The Duskull hid a giggle behind one arm, avoiding looking at her. "Sk-Skull…" he gasped out, sounding like he'd very much love to continue laughing.

"What's with you…" I muttered as I raised an eyebrow. Raising my voice, I told him, "I wanted you to stay in the hotel room, remember? Or go back to the lake."

"Duskull…!" he whined.

I really didn't feel like arguing with him—especially when I couldn't understand what he was arguing back—but neither did I want to be haunted today. I kind of just wanted to chill with human companions if at all possible, and preferably, calm ones. That I was starting to doubt would happen, however; in fact, at this point I was probably betting on starting a world war with Hanna and Nick.

Why did I suddenly feel a headache coming on?

And since when did I act so old?!

"…Let's just go shopping, guys. Konstantin, behave. Hanna, Nick didn't mean it. Nick, don't… Just don't." I didn't know what he shouldn't do. Well, okay, I did, but I wasn't about to say that in front of our ticket home.

It seemed shopping was the magic word. Or maybe it was because I said it that Hanna agreed so placidly, took my hand, and marched down the sidewalk. She pulled me into a store she deemed acceptable (though really, all of the mannequins in the windows seemed the same to me at this point), Nick and Konstantin trailing along behind us.

"Start grabbing," Hanna ordered, yanking me over towards the first rack of clothes. "And no more of your bargain bin outfits. You are getting real clothes, nice clothes, and I will pay for them so don't worry." She looked down at my outfit with obvious disdain. I really couldn't blame her, as much as I'd loved this outfit; it had blood, mud, grass stains, who knew what on it…

I think I might have to give up my favorite pair of shorts.

"These would look good on you…" Hanna mumbled, pulling a pair of jeans off of the rack. "What size are you? Oh, these will be much too big. You need to eat more, by the way. You're so tiny." I didn't want to mention the fact that I had been living off of Magikarp for the last week. "Do you have to have shorts again?"

"Yes." It was a knee-jerk response. I wouldn't exactly complain if I got shorts again, but it was getting colder out… "Well…"

"Right then. Pants."

I rolled my eyes and turned to look back, rather pleadingly, at Nick. Or Konstantin. Whichever one decided to save me.

To my surprise, neither one was paying attention to me. The Duskull was staring intently at Nick, even going so far as to lean in and tilt his head as to focus his eye better. Nick was trying to ignore him, but he had already shied away to the point where he was up against the wall, and it looked as it he could only stare at the purple sweater in front of him for so long.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see what was going on. Nick looked up and gave me the most pleading look I have ever seen (and hope to never again see on a guy his age). "What the heck… Kon—"

"Try these on!" Hanna accidentally cut me off as she dropped a very heavy armful of clothes on top of me. I nearly lost my balance, stumbled, and after banging my shin against a table, managed to stand stably. "Go on! The dressing rooms are over there. I'll be picking out more clothes for you."

"Wait, but—"

"But what?"

I immediately closed my mouth. It had been so long that I had nearly forgotten what a shopping Hanna was like. Nick would have to deal with Konstantin on his own, at least for a little while, as I turned on my heel and marched towards the dressing rooms. Sorry Nick, but Hanna's scarier than Kostya.

Forty-five minutes elapsed before I was done dressing, mostly because Hanna kept feeding me new clothes over the top of the door or whenever I came out to show her. She seemed to have a fixation on making me wear dark blue sweaters, too, though of the six different kinds the store offered, it seemed as if she couldn't make up her mind. So, twenty-two pairs of pants, three pairs of shorts, six blue sweaters, nine t-shirts (four of them blue), and two hoodies later, I was finally allowed out of the dressing room.

"Now, let's see." Somehow, Hanna had kept hold of all of them, even with three sales people circling her like Staravia. The brunette turned to me brightly. "What did you like?"

"Um…" I could hardly remember most of them. I shuffled over to the neat piles of clothes, deciding I'd better make an effort if I wanted to escape out of here unscathed. "…This one." I picked up the top hoodie off of the pile and held it out to her. One cold look from her was all I needed however, and I hastily continued, "A-And the first pair of shorts I tried on. And the blue sweater. And—"

"Which one?"

"…Any of them?" I honestly didn't see the difference between them, though one of them had an itchy tag and another had cuffs that bothered me. "The… The last one I tried on." I hadn't minded that one. It was warm and had long sleeves to cover the assorted scars I'd picked up with my journeys.

Much to my surprise, Hanna didn't argue with me. Instead, she grinned and turned back to the pile. She handed me the sweater and a pair of cargo pants. "These would go with it best. Go try them on!"

"But I already—"

"I want to see them together!" she insisted with a cheery smile that was actually pretty disturbing. I meekly headed back into the dressing room. When I came back out, Hanna squealed and told one of the hovering sales people that she was buying my outfit. One flash of a credit card was all of the reason they needed. "Now you don't have to wear that ratty old outfit anymore."

I watched somewhat tearfully as my shorts and shirt, which had served me so well, were gathered up and thrown away.

Then I remembered that my pokeballs and ultra ball were still in the pocket and rather speedily rescued them.

I looked up to find Nick while a saleswoman cut the tags off of my clothes for me. He had been herded into a corner of the store and was trying very hard to ignore Konstantin. As I watched, the ghost leaned forward and bit him on the shoulder. Nick jumped violently and gave a stifled yelp. Konstantin immediately let go and started cackling. "Konstantin! Get over here now!"

I couldn't believe he'd just bitten Nick. Not only was it rude and probably slightly painful—

"Oh my gosh." Did that mean he wanted to eat Nick? The older trainer stumbled over to us and sat down beside me, pale and shaking slightly. He glanced at me and we locked gazes for a moment. I knew that he was just as aware as I was as to what just happened.

"Please get your ghost away from me," Hanna hissed, drawing my attention.

"Konstantin, stop it!" I snapped, beckoning him over. He didn't seem like he wanted to eat me, so I figured I'd be more or less safe. I grabbed him when he was close enough and held him tightly in my arms, much to his surprise. "What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Duskull," he replied quietly, phasing out of my grasp. He floated out until he was far enough away I couldn't immediately get him again, and looked at Nick again. He giggled.

"If that's all, miss, I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you and your… companions to leave." Hanna sighed as the sales people looked pointedly at Konstantin.

"Get me the black hoodie, another pair of those cargo pants, and these two t-shirts, and then we'll leave," she replied flatly, waving them off. "…Why do you even have this thing following you, anyway?" she asked once they'd left with the requested clothes.

"I don't know. He just followed me back from the lake."

"We can't exactly make him go back now," Nick muttered, eyes on his hands in his lap.

"It was his own fault for coming on the plane," Hanna sniffed. She crossed her arms and added, "I wouldn't feel much sympathy if we just turned him loose somewhere over here."

"Duskull aren't native to Johto. He'd disrupt the local environment. We can't legally release him here—and even so, none of us are his trainer. We couldn't legally release him anywhere," Nick replied. Konstantin made a contented sound and floated closer to him. He edged away, scooting down in the seat until he was practically pressing against me. "If someone were to catch him, though, then we could at least keep him out of the way until we get back," he said under his breath, cupping his hand around his mouth so that Konstantin hopefully didn't hear him.

"I don't like that idea," I hissed back.

"He doesn't seem to mind you. He won't fight you, at least not as much, not like if Hanna or I—"

"Ahem." The saleswoman had returned with the clothes and Hanna's credit card, which meant we were now being kicked out. I ended up having to carry the bags, since, as Hanna said, they were mine.

"See if they ever get any of my business again…" That was the tamest thing out of her mouth as we exited the store. Nick smiled and held out his hand, taking one of the bags from me. "Seriously! Even if your Duskull is creeping everyone out, I just made their Christmas bonuses."

"Was it really that expensive?" I asked, feeling a little bit sick.

"Not that expensive, but more the fact that I was the one buying it," she replied dismissively. I had to remind myself that this shopping trip would be nothing but pocket change for her, but that really didn't make me feel better.

Plus… The last time I had nice things, I also nearly got killed.

As I watched Konstantin floating along in my peripheral vision, I couldn't help the shiver that went down my spine.

Chapter Text

"You really didn't think this one out."

"I agree. Not very practical."

"Whatever." Her pitch betrayed her. Hanna crossed her arms defensively over her stomach, looking away. Nick and I exchanged a glance.

"So… What are we going to do with it now?" I asked. Nick nodded beside me. Konstantin, on my other side, bobbed in the air. Then, in unison, all three of us turned back to the offending object. It was a closet. A full closet, already filled with clothes. Hanna, after having bought too many clothes (thankfully not all of them mine, though most of them were), decided that buying a closet would be a good idea.

Not so much.

Now we had a lot of clothes and no where save a closet to put them.

"…Why didn't you just buy some suitcases?"

"Shut up!" Hanna exclaimed and shooed us out of the room.

That was how I ended up on a plane to Olivine City, staring at a closet full of clothes that was propped up across from us. This time, I was sitting next to Nick and across from Hanna, since we were still a little unconvinced when it came to the closet. Plus, I had to keep Konstantin away from him somehow.

"Kostya, stay."

Hanna, however, was not thrilled with sitting next to a ghost.

"Why can't you just catch the thing?" she hissed, cupping her hand around her mouth. I had a feeling Konstantin heard her anyway, since his red eye decided to take an interest in her as soon as she spoke. It was better than staring at Nick, which he had been doing, but it was still painfully obvious that neither of them liked the Duskull very much. I couldn't blame them, but neither could I do much about it.

"I don't want to. I don't like ghosts." Funny enough, I dimly remembered a time when I had wanted one as a starter. That was, thankfully, a long time ago. Froslass, Duskull, Dusclops and whatever else was stealthily haunting me—they kind of ruined it for me.

I didn't miss Konstantin's gaze returning to me or the little off-put sound he made.

I looked away, out the window, trying to ignore what that meant. I didn't want to be his trainer. I didn't care how strong he was, if he wanted to learn Future Sight, or whatever else. He bothered Nick, scared Hanna, laughed at pain and misfortune, and was generally not a good idea to add to the team. I already had enough problems keeping Carlita and Ike from beating each other… Well, actually, that would be pretty one-sided; Carlita was a fighter and much stronger (and bigger) than him. I knew, though, that Ike was leveling up fast, and a couple electrical moves or an evolution would probably level the playing field.

I sighed.

And I had only wanted one Pokemon when this had all started…

-.-.-

I came off of the plane feeling sick and tired again. I wasn't sure if it was because of the ride itself, or if I still wasn't up to par, or if Hanna, Nick and Konstantin were starting to wear me out.

When we walked down the stairs onto the tarmac, I almost tripped and an ultra ball fell out of my pocket. I jumped down the rest of the way and scooped Ike and his ball up, much to Nick's bewilderment. I didn't look at him as I quietly returned my Shinx. I also tried to ignore the way my heart was pounding.

Why won't I let Nick near my Pokemon? I asked myself, only daring a glance back when we got to the airport itself.

"Kostya," I whispered, and immediately the ghost was hovering beside me as we walked through the terminal. Was it because of how Konstantin was acting that was making me act weird? Or was it because I still mentally saw the black-haired man throwing the pokeballs over the end of the dock? If it was the former, at least I could blame Konstantin, no matter how unfair that was. "What do you have against Nick?"

The Duskull laughed nervously, wringing his paws. I raised an eyebrow; that couldn't be a good sign. "…D-Duskull, skull-dus-skull."

Definitely not a good sign.

We all piled into a taxi, Hanna giving directions while I tried not to think of the Duskull sitting politely on my lap (because of space issues, and the fact that Nick and Hanna wanted nothing to do with him). Too much was going on in too little time; traveling, getting back, Konstantin, Nick, Hanna, my team, this 'vacation'… I was still adjusting to what the black-haired man had done to us, I know, and none of this was really helping that. Or maybe it was; maybe I had to go out and get my mind off of it.

As if I were capable of such a thing.

The ride wasn't too long, thankfully, and when we got out by our hotel, the sea air assaulted us in an almost physical manner. It was refreshing, though. I inhaled and released it in a cough when Konstantin decided to float through my chest. I glared at him, slightly watery-eyed, and crossed my arms protectively to try to stop him from doing it again. At least he didn't laugh.

"Is your dad going to be joining us?" Nick asked, sitting on Hanna's bed as she directed where the closet should go. I was sitting beside him, with Konstantin on my other side.

"No. It's just us here. He's staying in Goldenrod to finish up his business, so we'll have to fly back there before we leave Johto," she replied absently. "A bit more to the left—ah, perfect!" The two men set the closet down with a loud thump. Hanna marched over, flung open the doors, and began tidying it. "You two had better go get your swimsuits on. I want to go to the beach now."

I knew not to argue with her bratty side. I got up, grabbing Konstantin's arm and tugging him along behind me, and got the suit Hanna had bought for me in the face. "You could have warned me," I muttered.

"You could have caught it," she replied easily. "Should I wear my purple one or my tan and blue one?"

"Yes." She huffed and turned around just as I walked out the door. Konstantin was carrying my swimsuit for me as we walked down the hall towards my room—I was two down, with Nick in between us. At least, it had been that way until Nick caught up with me, took my key, gave me his, and turned me back around. "Why?"

"You're the median between us, so you get the room between us," he said with a matter-of-fact tone. "She decided on the purple one, in case you were curious. Now chop-chop, before—get it away!" It was right about then that Konstantin decided biting Nick would be a good idea.

I grabbed one of the teeth on his skull mask and yanked him away from Nick, who was halfway down the hall by that point. I rolled my eyes, unlocked my door, and went inside. "You need to stop doing that," I told him wearily, pulling my shirt over my head and tossing it on the bed. "Can you get me a towel out of the bathroom?"

"Dus!" He excitedly flew off. I followed him and shut the door as soon as he was in the bathroom. "Du—"

"Don't come out until I'm done changing. You're enough of a creeper as it is," I replied through the wood. I had dealt with my team and the same problem before, but it was different if it was my team, as opposed to a semi-wild Duskull that just happened to be following me.

Ten minutes later, the four of us—myself, Nick, Hanna and Konstantin—were on our way to the beach.

-.-.-

"Oh, wow."

"Haven't you ever been to a beach before?" Hanna asked, putting her sunglasses on top of her head as she gave me a look.

"Just the Sunyshore ones."

"Olivine has much better beaches," she replied simply, taking her towel off of her waist and throwing it down underneath a free umbrella. I had to agree with her. Sunyshore had nothing like this. It seemed like an infinite expanse of white sand, with sparkling waters on the horizon. The lighthouse was visible across the bay, cheerful and protective, standing over a couple of buildings barely visible. Kids ran about excitedly and their parents sunbathed or read underneath umbrellas, along with their Pokemon who were just as excited as the children were.

"Pokemon-friendly, huh?" Nick asked, sounding impressed. I saw Hanna sneak a look at him and blush, then turn back to her sunscreen.

"Of course. You think I wouldn't want to let my Pokemon out?" I ignored her; of course she'd want to show off her Pokemon, and as far as I knew, Nick hadn't seen them. But I was used to Isabella and Alexander. Instead, I released my three.

Des was immediately pressed up against my leg, staring out at the water with something like shock. I knelt down beside him, scratching his ears. "C'mon guys, it's finally vacation time. You don't have to go in the water if you don't want to. Play on the beach instead, or sunbathe, or do whatever."

"Don't get stung by the Tentacool, though," Nick commented dryly, gesturing to a sign that advised just that.

"That too." I nodded. "Also, Ike, don't get your cast wet if you can help it." He looked disappointed, ears drooping. If a sad kitten didn't give me a guilt trip, I didn't know what would, so I hastily added, "You can still play on the beach, and we'll come back later when it's all healed up if you want to swim, okay?" He looked up at me, not completely happy again, but at least not looking so tragic anymore.

I stood back up and turned around to see that Hanna had more to boast about than just Isabella and Alexander. I blinked, and her newest Pokemon blinked back. It looked kind of like a snake, only with hair and a fish-like tail. "…What is that."

"This is Millie, my Milotic. Isn't she beautiful?" Hanna sighed dreamily, throwing her arms around the Milotic. I nodded. It was a pretty Pokemon, even if it was large and scaly. I couldn't help but stare, though. Millie just seemed so… calming. She turned her head and seemed to smile, skin sparkling in the sunlight.

"Don't stare too long. They're known for calming people, but they can hypnotize you, too," Nick whispered, putting his hand on my shoulder, effectively snapping me out of the trance. "Come on, let's go swimming."

"Actually, I want to play with my…" I turned back around and found that my team had all but abandoned me already. Even Konstantin had vanished. Figured. "…Fine."

"Going to take off your shirt?" Hanna asked idly, stretching out beside Millie. I noticed that Isabella and Alexander were also gone, though I was guessing they had run off to have fun. Des would like that.

"No, probably not." I'd had bad experiences with sunburns in the past, regardless of how much sunscreen I slathered on myself. I'd rather spare my back and shoulders the pain and deal with a wet shirt.

"Come on, then. Swimming! Race you!"

I responded to Nick by kicking off my shoes and sprinting down the sand towards the water. I tripped over a napping Arbok that I tried to vault over, unfortunately. Nick, laughing, ended up barely sidestepping a Mareep and smacked into its trainer.

At the end of the trainer and Pokemon obstacle course, Nick won. Kind of. I tackled him and we fell into the shallows at the same time, so it was probably a tie. He picked me up and threw me out into deeper water, and I responded by splashing him. So what if it wasn't the most mature of responses. It was fun.

Chapter Text

Isabella was released, and that was the end of Des' presence there. Ears perking up when she first noticed him, she slunk over with a grin. "Come here often?"

"I'd never come to a place with so much water."

"I'm in agreement. It's much too hot here." She sat down beside him, tail waving behind her. Des tried not to stare at it and instead concentrated on the fringe of fur on her forehead. "Want to go some place cooler?"

"Where would that be?" He didn't mind the heat at all—in fact, he actually enjoyed it—but if she wanted to leave, he'd be more than willing to. Plus it'd hopefully get him farther away from the water.

"There's a forest that way. It'd at least be shady and there would be less salt in the air. It would be quieter, too," Isabella replied simply, nodding to her left.

"Let's go."

After the Glaceon told her brother where they were going, the pair traipsed off northward. A couple other Pokemon were in that general direction, playing with what appeared to be a beach ball. As they got closer, however, it turned out to be a Jigglypuff. Isabella snorted in disdain, laying her ears back. Des glanced at her, and then back at the scene. It didn't look like the Jigglypuff was in trouble; she was screaming with delight and rolling about in the air with much glee.

"Immature. Childish."

"What's wrong with having fun?" Des asked curiously, looking back and forth between the ice and normal Pokemon.

"There's nothing wrong with it, of course. It's just that it should be done… appropriately." Isabella, tail held high, sidestepped the group and continued on northward. Des followed her, though he really still didn't understand why she didn't approve of tossing around a living ball. He waddled a bit faster to catch back up with Isabella, but only after he looked back one last time.

He wasn't very surprised as he saw Carlita run up to the group and request a spot in the circle.

"Then… What do you want to do?" he asked.

"…I'm not sure. This heat is getting to me, though. Let's go walk in the shade for awhile." She yawned.

The two curled up underneath a tree. Isabella soon fell asleep. Des, on the other hand, stayed awake and glared at any passing Pokemon or people who cooed at them.

-.-.-

"But—wait—why not?!" Carlita wailed, dancing from foot to foot. Alexander turned up his nose.

"I am going to go sunbathe. Over there. You can go somewhere else."

"But—I don't want to!"

"You couldn't stay still to save your life."

The Breloom watched as he walked off, leafy tail waving irritably behind him. She had wanted to spend time with him—after all, he had such nice leaves—but, as usual, he wasn't too keen on letting her come close. With the implied instruction that they could go where they wanted, it seemed as if she'd have to find something else to do that didn't involve him.

Carlita sighed and looked around for Pedestal. He was already wandering off with Isabella. "Hmph," she scoffed, crossing her arms. It figured. He was off having his fun day, and she was left in the dust. Or sand. Whichever. Just for good measure, she stuck her tongue out at them.

"Feeling left out?"

A shiver went up her spine as the Duskull made his presence known. She scowled at him and looked the other way. "No, of course not. In fact, I'm going to go play. With others. Not you." She leapt away from him, bouncing on her toes, practically daring him to chase her. When he didn't, she nodded to herself, and continued on at a more sedate pace.

A Nidorino and Nidorina ran past her, laughing, followed closely by a Cacturne. Carlita watched curiously until they met up with a couple others, formed a circle, and started passing a Jigglypuff around like a ball. Next thing she knew, she was standing in between the Cacturne and a Hitmonlee, tossing the Jigglypuff around.

It was fun, at least until more Pokemon started being thrown. Well, no, that was fun too—it started being not-so-fun when the Magnemite was thrown. The Cacturne caught it without much problem, but the Raichu following wasn't so lucky. Maybe it was just the two electricities mixing, or maybe it was plain rotten luck, or maybe it was the fact that the Magnemite was getting dizzy, but the electrical discharge following the catch took out half the group. The only two left standing were a Sandslash and a Golem.

"Let's not play that game anymore…" Carlita groaned. The couple Pokemon nearest her nodded weakly in agreement.

-.-.-

"Can't go swimming… What am I supposed to do then, Master Trainer?" Ike spat over his shoulder, limping towards… Well, he wasn't sure. He'd never been to a beach before, let alone another region, and he had no idea what the layout of the area was like. It put him on edge.

What also put him on edge was the ghost following him.

"Do you not have someone else to haunt? Why don't you go help Master Trainer? You seemed so keen on that earlier, you bloodless specter!"

"That's one I haven't heard before," Konstantin replied evenly. "How do you know we don't have blood?"

"Get away from me before I find out!" Ike snarled, bristling.

"Testy," the ghost murmured, shying away from him. Not far enough away to make the Shinx comfortable, but it was a start. More importantly, it showed him that Konstantin could be intimidated. "Pedestal went off with the cold one and Carlita left as well. Who else am I supposed to haunt?"

"Why do you feel the need to haunt anyone?"

"I'm letting the humans have a break today. If they can't appreciate my company, then I'll spare them of it. Why are you wandering off on your own? You're injured and weak as it is, so—" When Ike started sparking, Konstantin wisely backed off of his passive aggressive assault. Instead, looking innocently away, he remarked, "Why aren't you liked by the other Pokemon?"

"…What do you mean?" he asked in a growl, laying his ears back.

"Pedestal seems to tolerate you at best, but Carlita is openly hostile. What did you do? Why are you not as… skilled as they are?"

Ike laughed bitterly, hopping rather awkwardly over a small branch laying in the path. He kicked it back at Konstantin, but of course the ghost just flew out of the way. "I was recently captured. Just before our arrival at your lake, in fact. The circumstances of my capture, too, were… not ideal."

"How so?"

"I did not want to be caught, to begin with." Ike sighed. He glanced backward, not at Konstantin, but at the beach he'd left behind. It would be so easy to just keep walking, but it was true that he was injured, didn't know the terrain, and he still had to stay with that trainer… "I don't particularly want to stay with Master Trainer, either. I am only… Well, I know I can benefit, so I won't complain outright."

"But…?" the Duskull prompted.

"But I don't like humans. I never have, never will, and never hope to. I probably would have killed that human of mine the night we met if that Kangaskhan or Froslass had not interceded. And now that I am captured, I have to follow the rules…" He sighed again, tail swishing.

Konstantin stared thoughtfully at him, then very suddenly burst out laughing. Ike gave him a warning growl and the ghost put his paws up in front of him. "Please, forgive me, comrade. My kind has a problem with laughter."

"You would not be laughing if you knew how frustrating this is for me."

"I think you would be laughing if you knew how you have been conned." Konstantin chuckled again, covering the teeth of his mask with his paws.

Ike stopped and turned back to him, eyes narrowed. As an afterthought, he sat down. "…Elaborate."

"Pokemon aren't bound to their humans so… thoroughly. Look at me. I'm helping your trainer but I'm technically not on your team, am I? Moreover… Pokemon hurt their trainers all of the time. They run away. They can leave. Do you really think that our race in general is so oppressed that we have to follow all of the orders of humans?" Interestingly enough, it looked as though it physically hurt Konstantin to say that. Ike grinned with his sharp teeth.

"I had guessed as much…" he muttered under his breath. That worked out then, didn't it? At least, it would in the long run. Not for his trainer, but then again, he suddenly didn't care as much about his trainer.

-.-.-

"You took my spot."

Des blearily raised his head, blinking at the shape that blotted out the sun above them. The shape moved, lowering itself down. The Numel then recognized it as an Scizor, a pretty angry one at that. Not good.

"What?" he asked with a yawn. When had he fallen asleep? Beside him, Isabella was also waking up, though she was stretching actively whereas he was still sitting more or less in the same position.

"That had been my spot this morning. I scratched the tree, see? Mine." The Scizor pointed with one of his red claws at the tree they were napping by. It had a deep gouge in the bark about halfway up the trunk.

"…Huh. Why didn't I see that before, I wonder?" Des asked wonderingly.

"Now you know. Get out of my spot!"

"What's going on…?" Isabella asked, looking up at the Scizor with part amazement, part skepticism. "You weren't here, you know, so this really isn't your spot anymore."

"I had left to go see my trainer. I hadn't even been gone an hour!" He narrowed his eyes warningly, clicking his pincers together. Des swallowed and got to his feet, shuffling in front of Isabella protectively.

"Find another spot. You left it, it was open, we took it," she replied. Des felt the temperature behind him start to drop. That was never a good sign with ice Pokemon, he'd come to learn. This was rapidly getting out of hand.

The Scizor raised both of his claws to head-height, waving them slightly and clicking them together. Behind him, his wings buzzed angrily. "Move," he commanded shortly.

"Isabella, I think we might want to—"

"You left, so we took this spot! Get a new one!" Isabella snarled, her fur standing on end. The frost in the air around her was melting next to Des, which was starting to irritate his skin. He exhaled a plume of smoke, trying to heat his fur back up to combat the moisture in the air.

Unfortunately, it seemed that, combined with Isabella's outright anger, the Scizor was taking it all as signs of a challenge. Still buzzing and clicking, he growled, "Leave now and I won't have to beat you."

Isabella replied by shooting an Ice Beam over Des' head at the insect. He batted it away with one claw and shook off the ice crystals like it was nothing. He then dashed forward, swinging back both claws back to smash at them. Isabella snarled and ducked under it, whereas Des rolled over and skittered nervously backwards, breathing fire while he tried to figure out what to do. The tree splintered from where the Scizor hit it; that could have been them.

That could have been Isabella.

Des growled, back igniting. "Get away from her!"

The Scizor turned to him slowly, but then lunged with a surprising speed. Des noticed too late the poison dripping from his claws. The Toxic hit him as the bug clamped down on his back with his pincers. Without anything else to do, Des reached over and bit one of his arms. "Let go!" the Scizor shouted, pushing him away with his free claw.

The Numel growled in response, ignoring the poison in his system.

"Fine then! Don't say I didn't warn you—!" The Scizor opened up his free claw and shot a Hyper Beam at point blank range into Des' face.

-.-.-

"I'm Carlita," she said with a smile.

"I'm Arrojadoa. You can call me Arro, though, if you'd like," the Cacturne replied with a slightly more disturbing version of her smile.

"Want to dance?"

"Excuse me?" He blinked in surprise, obviously taken aback by her question.

Carlita beamed at him. "We have nothing else to do. Why not?"

"There is no music," he replied, still a little hesitant about the idea.

She had an answer for that, too, however. She bounded over to a couple of the other Pokemon from the circle, chatted excitedly with them for a few moments, and then beckoned Arrojadoa over. The Jigglypuff from before, two Swablu, a Kricketune and a Clefable stood together with broad smiles on their faces. "A band! We can make our own music, see?"

"That's taking the initiative! Good job, old girl!" a Croconaw called with a grin. There were a couple echoes of support from others in the area.

The haphazard band started off on a tune, which started out slow, then sped up as the Kricketune took over, and slowed down again when the Jigglypuff started arguing with him. The music had to be put on pause until it was resolved—it would be an upbeat tune that they could dance to, not one that put others to sleep. (The Jigglypuff wasn't happy with this, but since they gave her the lead singing part, she let it slide.)

"Let's dance now," Carlita said excitedly, grabbing Arrojadoa's paw and pulling him out onto a clear patch of sand.

As the Pokemon broke off into pairs or groups to dance with, their party seemed to attract more and more attention. Other Pokemon on the beach heard the music and decided to investigate, and most of them stayed to dance. A Delcatty joined in with the band loudly, a pair of Mankey started break dancing (that turned rapidly into a tussle), a Furret chased an Espeon throughout the dancing pairs, and Hypno and his Toxicroak partner stole most of the attention with an improvised dance clearly borrowed from human dancing.

Carlita, who had been literally twirling circles around Arrojadoa, stopped and did a double-take when she caught sight of a familiar pink hat. Without a word of explanation, she darted over and was surprised to find Kamala and a Magmar dancing. The Medicham looked over at her calmly, wide eyes staring at her. "Yes?"

The last time she had seen Kamala, she had been threatening her trainer (who she liked) and teammate (who she didn't like), outright attacking her faux-teammate (who she also didn't like), and ignoring her own trainer. The Magmar she was with stopped, looking between the two curiously. Carlita stepped forward, rising to her toes to try to seem taller. "Why are you so mean?"

"Excuse me?!" That certainly got Kamala's attention. She narrowed her eyes and fisted her hands, leaning back into a fighting stance.

"Why do you have to go to such lengths to protect your trainer? You're not helping him—"

"Watch out!" Arrojadoa pushed her to the ground just as Kamala kicked the space where Carlita's head had just been. "What are you two doing?!"

"I would like to know as well, Kamala," the Magmar said in a low voice. "What is she talking about?"

"Nothing."

"What have you done this time?"

"I said nothing, Vasudeva!" the Medicham burst out, turning down to glare daggers at Carlita. "Let's go somewhere else."

"…As you wish." Kamala stomped off, followed closely by Vasudeva. He glanced back a couple times, however, staring hard at Carlita.

"What was that about?" Arrojadoa helped Carlita back to her feet, glaring after the departing Pokemon. The music had stopped during their almost-fight, and picked reluctantly back up as other Pokemon went back to their own business.

"I could have taken her," she replied instead, bouncing on her feet. "I'm a fighter, too. I could have taken her."

"She's also a psychic. She would have finished you easily," he scoffed.

"Not-uh! I'm strong. The strongest on my team. …Besides, I don't trust her. She attacked my trainer last time I saw her, and she doesn't seem to be very nice."

"I don't know why she's like that, but I don't recommend saying she wasn't helping anymore." The Cacturne whistled and placed his paws on his hips. "She really went crazy after you said that. May we dance again now?"

"Sure!"

And just like that, normalcy returned. For the moment.

-.-.-

"It's starting to get late."

"It is still light out," Ike replied. "It's only late afternoon. I will not be missed until dusk, at least."

"What are you going to do until then?" Konstantin asked, tilting his head to one side. "You've done nothing but walk since you left the beach."

"I am hungry and I am hunting."

"You're not doing a very good job of it."

"That's because I have you following me. You're unbearably loud and any good wild Pokemon could smell the death on you a mile away."

"Because you don't smell like blood at all," the ghost muttered darkly.

"Be silent now." Ike put a paw to his mouth, sniffing the air. There, a scent. He wasn't sure what species it was supposed to be, but he smelled the electricity of it, and the scent of thick fur. Not too many predatory Pokemon had that thick of fur—in fact, his evolutionary chain was one of the few he knew of—so he decided he might as well track it down and investigate.

One upside to being a Shinx was the fact that he was small and quick. Not so quick anymore, not with the cast, but he was still small and could hide easily. And, if the smell of his potential prey was unknown to him, it was likely that his scent was unknown to his prey; even if it detected him, it might not run immediately.

Ike glanced back once to make sure Konstantin wasn't going to scare away his meal, but thankfully, the Duskull wasn't in sight. Hopefully it would stay that way, at least until he caught whatever he was stalking.

He moved carefully through the underbrush, taking great care not to step on any twigs or brush against any leaves. He had always been good at hunting, even at catching quick Pokemon like Starly. Surely the Pokemon in Johto wouldn't be that difficult to catch.

Eventually, after a few painstaking minutes of silent moving, he came upon a fluffy, yellow creature. It had a long tail tipped with a ball and four little legs, so he assumed it was a prey Pokemon and that it couldn't run very fast. Ike smiled to himself, trying not to growl in pleasure. Finally, some real food.

With a snarl, he jumped out at the Pokemon—only to be batted aside by a large, yellow, clawed paw and sent into the ground.

He was immediately on his feet again, bristling and growling at whoever had just attacked him. The prey bleated in alarm and ran into the bushes. The Pokemon who'd attacked him was much larger than he was, mostly yellow in color though with black stripes, and had large fangs coming out from under a mask-like face. Definitely a predator. Worse, it was holding Konstantin in its jaws; the ghost looked to be unconscious.

Spitting him out, the larger Pokemon demanded, "Who are you to attack one of my Mareep?"

Ike narrowed his eyes. How to get out of this easily… "Who are you to say I do not have the right to feed myself?"

"Is this ghost your friend?" the Pokemon asked instead of answering his question.

Ike had to pause and think about that one. If he replied no, it was likely that Konstantin would be eaten or killed. If he replied yes, it was likely that they would both be eaten and killed, but it also meant that if the Duskull woke up, he'd be an ally in the fight.

Plus, as much as he hated to admit it, he had a feeling that his trainer wouldn't like it very much if he came back sans ghost.

"…You could say that," the Shinx said carefully.

The large Pokemon sat down and batted Konstantin towards Ike. He made no move to bring him any closer and instead sat down as well, albeit more nervously. The prey Pokemon came back, shaking slightly, and peeked out of the bushes across the clearing from Ike. "…What is it?" it asked softly, eyes on the Shinx.

Ike grit his teeth and tried not to let his frustration show. So the big Pokemon had adopted the little Pokemon. Great. He had thought that the fluffy creature had been the large one's meal at first; the more territorial Pokemon were known to defend their kills from others, simply in order to be the one to actually kill their food.

"You're an electric Pokemon, aren't you?" the large Pokemon growled, the purple fur bristling along his back.

"Yes."

"Then I suppose I can't kill you." Surprisingly, he laughed and fully relaxed. Ike watched suspiciously.

"…Why not?"

"Sinnoh, right? You are from Sinnoh?"

"Yes."

"You wouldn't have heard of me, then."

"Why did you try to attack me?" the prey Pokemon bleated, still quivering. "Why would you attack another electric Pokemon?"

"I do not see how types matter—"

"Of course they matter! An electric does not kill another electric!" the large Pokemon thundered, crackling with static. Ike hissed on reflex, his own fur standing on end with electricity as well.

"I don't see how that matters!"

"It matters in Johto."

"What Raikou says goes," the prey added. "He is in charge of the electrics here. He protects us."

Ike tried not to curl his lip. Johto was certainly confusing, and all backwards, what with hunters protecting the quarry and all of the rules that he had never heard of before. Unfortunately, however, he had heard of Raikou. One of the legendary Pokemon, and an electric one at that. Almost all elemental Pokemon had at least passing knowledge of any legendaries in their shared type. And here he was, accidentally making one angry.

"I am… sorry, then. I did not know," Ike muttered, staring down at his paws. He didn't feel very apologetic, but he would rather stay alive, so he figured it best to eat Murkrow and try to get out of the situation as best possible.

"Forgivable, since you were ignorant of the situation." Raikou nodded to himself. That was easy enough. "Now explain the ghost's presence." Not so easy anymore.

"He is… following my trainer."

"Why?"

"I'm not completely sure of that myself."

"Your trainer doesn't explain these things to you?"

"…No."

"That doesn't sound very conducive to a good team."

Ike couldn't help but smile bitterly. "It's not, I agree."

"Why are you still on such a team, then?"

"Because. That trainer captured me, so it's my job to be the best possible Pokemon, isn't it?" Ike's smile grew into a grin, teeth glittering in the late afternoon light.

"…I sense that your meaning and your words don't match up exactly." Raikou tilted his head, purple fur falling over one shoulder as he did so.

"That's because I am only using the spineless, filthy human to get stronger and evolve. The second I am strong enough, I will kill them all like I'd originally intended and return to my home. I will hang their corpses from my trees and use their blood to—"

"You would do that to your own trainer?"

Ike smiled broadly and sharply. "Yes. I would."

-.-.-

Des faded in and out of consciousness after failing to duck under the Hyper Beam. He heard the Scizor shouting, metal grating, buzzing, Isabella screaming… It was the last thing that made him clamber back onto his feet. He shook his head a couple times to try to clear it. His vision was still dim and slightly fuzzy, however, and he didn't feel too steady. He inhaled and exhaled a couple times, trying to get a fire going.

The flames woke him up a bit more and the heat was a comfort thing. Des saw Isabella duck under the Scizor and run towards him. The Scizor, for his part, wheeled around in the air and pursued her. "Duck!" Des barked as he sucked in a breath. The Glaceon hit the ground with her paws covering her head just as he spat out a jet of fire that hit the Scizor square in the face.

The smell of burnt metal was suddenly there and pretty overpowering. Des stopped the fire on that principle—not on the fact that the Scizor was howling with pain and on the ground. He felt slightly sick and his vision was still swimming, not to mention the fact that his head hurt very badly. Isabella sat up and looked behind her, dark eyes large.

"You… took him down in one attack," she remarked tactlessly.

The Scizor groaned and rolled over onto his back, glaring weakly at them. The metal on his face was red hot and slightly charred. He said something, but it was too quiet to hear, and promptly fainted.

Des wanted to fall back over he was so tired. Strangely enough, however, the adrenaline wasn't fading; he felt rather energized by the fact that he'd just taken down an opponent in one move. And there was the fact that he'd rescued his damsel in distress. The Numel took a few more breaths, surprised that the fire still came fairly easily.

He was even more surprised when it felt like a jolt go through him. He was suddenly very awake and in practically no pain. And he was… growing.

"Oh."

Isabella watched him with impossibly wide eyes and she seemed to shrink in front of him. The Scizor shrunk, too, and so did the trees and grasses and the path. Des knew the truth, though; the world wasn't shrinking; he was growing. He was evolving.

The adrenaline finally subsided and he felt very, very different. Stronger, bigger, hotter… but not too much different, actually. Flames now came out of every breath, he could hear things more acutely, his vision had sharpened considerably, and he now had a tail. Des tried to turn around to look at it, but all he saw were blue rings on his side and darker fur. "I can't see my tail." That was a pity. And he had been excited there for a moment, too.

"Des, you're… You evolved," Isabella said blankly.

"Yes? You've evolved, too," he pointed out, turning back to her. She looked so tiny now. Still pretty, but tiny.

"I… Well, yes, but… You look so different."

"I feel a little different. I have a tail now." He turned a bit and swished it, so she could see it even if he can't. Isabella stared hard at him—and then started laughing.

"Yes, yes you do. I can't believe that's the only thing you're stuck on. You evolved! And you are excited over a tail…!" She collapsed into giggles.

"You've had a tail all your life. This is a new experience for me," he retorted with a smoky snort. His throat felt hot, like he was using an Ember, only he wasn't. He tried to clear it, but it stayed the same, so he tilted back his head and actually used one to try to get rid of the feeling. On the bright side, his Ember was a lot bigger now. On the down side, it didn't get rid of it. He coughed up ash a couple of times, but that didn't help either. "…If this stays, I think I'll be annoyed."

"If what stays?"

"There's fire in my throat but it won't come out." Des coughed again, proving his point by charring the grass below him. "I think I'm learning a new fire move—or I have to—or something. I want to get rid of this feeling, though."

"Please don't do to me what you did to him," Isabella requested, nodding over towards the Scizor.

"I won't, I promise."

"…And to think, all I wanted was a nap." She yawned and flicked her ears at him. Des smiled and coughed again. "—Oh! Your trainer still doesn't know about this!"

"Oh yeah," Des agreed thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, 'oh yeah'?! Come on, we have to go show our trainers! They will be so excited, Des! Can you imagine the looks on their faces? Your trainer will be so happy! My trainer will be happy, too, I'm sure! Come on, let's go show them!" She danced around him eagerly. Des nodded and followed her. Walking was a bit harder, he noticed. But that was because he was bigger, right? Or maybe his trainer had been right; maybe he had gained a bit of weight…

Just down the path, it was obvious there was an argument going on. Isabella quieted up and lifted her ears, listening. Des found himself doing the same. He recognized the voices as a couple of the older trainer's Pokemon, the Magmar and the Medicham who was too angry.

"You heard her, Vasudeva! She said—She said I wasn't helping him—!"

"Shh, Kamala. I know you're trying to help him. But you can't do it this way. You'll only make things worse."

Isabella stopped in front of him, making him stop as well. She made him lay down and then climbed on top of his head, whispering, "They're arguing. I wonder who about?"

"I don't know."

"…I knew it had been a bad idea. All of it had been. We shouldn't have done it."

"It's too late now."

"I know that! …I just wish… Why couldn't this have gone better?"

"We can only support him. That's all we can do, Kamala. Don't make this any tougher than it has to be."

"…She's helping him, you know. She's trying to, anyway."

"…You're helping him, too. Try not to dwell on it."

"This sounds serious," Isabella whispered in his ear. Des nodded, nearly knocking her off. She accidentally growled as she tried to stay on top of his head, which unfortunately announced their presence.

"Who's there?!" the Medicham demanded harshly.

"It's just us…" Isabella directed him to stand up and walk over so that they could see each other. Smoothly, she jumped off of his head and walked in front of him, explaining, "We're on our way back to our trainers. You're the older one's Pokemon, aren't you? We've never met—I'm Isabella, and this is—"

"We've met Pedestal," the Magmar interrupted simply. He nodded towards them both in greeting. "It's a pleasure, Isabella. I'm Vasudeva and this is Kamala. You'll have to excuse her rudeness." Kamala looked down at her feet. Vasudeva stared intently at them, however, probably trying to gauge how much they'd eavesdropped.

"Well… Des evolved, so we're going to go show the humans now. Are you two coming back any time soon?" the ice Pokemon asked brightly.

"We'll come with you now," Vasudeva replied with a calm smile. "Won't we, Kamala?"

"…Yeah."

-.-.-

"Ready, set, go!"

Carlita, though she had strong legs and was perfectly physically fit, found out she wasn't very fast. At least not in regular races. Most of the other Pokemon easily passed her. She was faster than Arrojadoa, at least, which made her happy.

Chase the Garchomp outstripped all of them except for a Jolteon, even having the gall to circle back and beat a lot of them a second time. He landed in the water and splashed all of the latecomers with his tail, laughing.

"Hey, no fair!" a couple Pokemon called, splashing back. They could hardly compete with a fully grown dragon, however. That was until the Croconaw and a Buizel decided to even the odds with a couple of Water Guns aimed at his face.

The Pokemon all splashed in the shallows (though a large portion of the fire and rock types sat moodily on the beach away from all of the water), laughing and trying to see who could get the biggest splash. An Azumarill ended up winning with a Surf that sent nearly all of them toppling over and ending up face-first on the sand. Clapping and cackling, she was soon barraged with various playful attacks.

Carlita shrieked as she was picked up by Arrojadoa and set on his shoulders. It soon turned into a game of Torchic when the Hitmonlee picked up the Nidorina and she and Carlita had to battle it out. The Breloom, of course, won (she honestly didn't think it was very fair since she was a fighter and all, but she wasn't going to complain about a win), and was soon challenged by nearly every Pokemon available. She only lost out when Chase picked up the Hitmonlee and he managed to kick Arrojadoa in the side so that they both fell over.

Spluttering and splashing and laughing, Carlita tripped Chase so that they both went into the water, too. Chase responded by pulling on her tail, so she pulled on his, and soon enough, no one's tail was safe.

"I'm very glad I don't have a tail," Arrojadoa remarked with a wry grin, watching as she backed into him to protect her own.

"They're fun, though. Good for balance, too," she replied, watching warily for any would-be attackers. The Croconaw tried to get her from under water and managed to hook her ankle, but she kicked him in the snout and he swam away to torment other Pokemon. Feeling proud, she half-turned and grinned at the Cacturne. "Plus, this is a fun game!"

It ceased to be fun when someone pulled a little too hard on the Raichu's tail and most of the Pokemon and people in the water got a jolt. It wasn't painful, really, but it certainly got attention. Most of the Pokemon ducked into the water to avoid reprimanding by their trainers, especially the Raichu, who tried to hide sheepishly behind a Clefable.

"Why is it that we always manage to mess up whatever we're playing…?" Carlita asked wearily as they were forced out of the water. She then caught sight of her trainer, however, squeaked, and hid behind Arrojadoa. "Don't let Trainer see me!"

"Why not?"

"I… don't know. But still! I might get in trouble."

"What for?" he persisted.

"Well, they were in the water when everyone got zapped…" She shut up and ducked down farther when her trainer's friend caught sight of Chase and beckoned him over. "See? Come on, let's go somewhere else before they see us."

"Fine, fine." Arrojadoa threw up his arms in exasperation and followed her father away from the water. They didn't hear any yells following them, so they figured they were safe at the edge of the sand on the other end of the beach.

The pair of grass Pokemon sat down and idly watched the sunset. Actually, it wasn't quite sunset, but the sky was beginning to get orange, so close enough. Carlita kicked the sand. "…So, tell me about your trainer. I haven't seen yours."

"I don't know what to say about him. He's very competitive with his sister. I was his third Pokemon caught, and he caught me as a Cacnea. We're from Hoenn, in Johto visiting relatives. What else do you want to know?" He leaned back and closed his eyes. Carlita reached over and tugged on his hat-thing. "Hey! What was that for?"

"We both have one of those," she replied with a grin.

He stared at her for a moment, then laughed, falling back in the sand. "You're strange."

"You're from Hoenn. That's strange."

"You're not?" he asked, looking at her. "Breloom come from there."

"Nope. Actually, I was caught and raised in Sinnoh, in the Great Marsh." She laid down beside him, folding her claws over her stomach. "I like Sinnoh. Not the muddy parts, or some of the humans, but for the most part, I like it."

"I'll have to visit there some time. You'll have to visit Hoenn some time, too. I'll give you the grand tour."

"That sounds fun. We should go dancing again, too! That'd be even more fun."

He chuckled. "Sure. It's a date then?"

Carlita sat up, confused. "But we haven't set a date yet."

Arrojadoa sat up, too, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "It's a human phrase. My trainer uses it a lot."

"Oh. Cool! My human just scowls a lot and gets hurt and has been reciting these things about being unhappy and stuff lately."

"Is that healthy?"

"Probably not, but I think it's alright. Our team has always kind of been like that. Weird."

"Okay then…" Arrojadoa seemed like he wanted to say something more, but instead flopped back down onto the sand with a sigh. "When will you come to Hoenn?"

"I don't know. When will you come visit me in Sinnoh?"

"I don't know, either. I'd have to ask my trainer."

"Yeah, I'd have to ask mine, too…" Carlita frowned, thinking. Her trainer already didn't seem to like traveling very much. "…What if I can't come to Hoenn? Will you still come see me in Sinnoh?" she asked worriedly.

"I'll still try to, of course. I'm not sure how it'll work out. You know how humans and different regions are. They don't seem to want to travel all that often."

"A lot of Pokemon don't, either."

"Birds do. So do swimming Pokemon."

"Because they can," she retorted flatly. "Normal Pokemon don't."

"Birds and water Pokemon aren't normal?"

"I don't think so. Not really." Carlita tilted her head back, trying to remember all of the flying and water Pokemon she'd ever met. Her trainer definitely didn't like water Pokemon, so there was probably something wrong with them. As for birds… Well, she didn't know too many of them, but she didn't really like them, either. "Nope, they're not normal."

"I'll be sure to tell the Swellow on my team that," he replied with a snort of laughter.

"Okay."

"…You are definitely strange."

-.-.-

"Why are you so happy, comrade?" Konstantin asked curiously. "You didn't get to eat."

"I will eat with my team," Ike replied with a small smile. "It promotes unity, does it not?"

"Well, yes… But…" The ghost wavered for a moment before his red eye went back down to the Shinx. "You are not normally this happy. What happened after I was attacked?"

"I had an enchanting conversation with Raikou. He is the guardian of electric Pokemon. Did you know that?" he asked conversationally. He was much too happy to be put off by Konstantin's questions or suspicion. Having a plan was wonderful like that. Especially a plan that allowed him to get so much out of so little effort on his part.

"I don't know of many legendary Pokemon aside from the ones who visit the colony," he admitted, wringing his paws together.

"I probably do not know of them, so I consider that a fair tradeoff."

"…What are you planning?"

"Why would I tell you that? You are not a part of this team," Ike said coolly, pausing in mid-step to face him. He narrowed his eyes challengingly. Konstantin averted his single eye, but obviously was not happy with doing so.

"I am not stupid, comrade. I can guess at your plans. You had better hope I am incorrect in these assumptions," he murmured.

"Or you'll what? Is that a threat, comrade?" Ike realized his mistake a moment too late. Finding out what he did about his trainer and having that discussion with Raikou had clouded his judgment. Messing with a ghost that was easily stronger than either Des or Carlita wasn't the smartest move of the day. Ike was lifted into the air by his neck, Konstantin's skull mask too close to his face.

"You have no idea what I am capable of, little Shinx. Keep in mind that I am farther up on the food chain than you are and I will not hesitate to exercise that if need be." His voice came out as a rasp, sounding as dry as the bone mask it was coming out of.

"Why would you have to?" Ike ground out, kicking vainly at the air.

"I am trying to help that trainer. It may not seem like it, and I may say things I'll regret later because it is how I am," oddly enough, he sounded regretful right then, "But I will still try to protect your trainer. Even if it means from you."

"I would never dream of—"

"Don't lie to me!" Konstantin shouted savagely. "I can see it in your eyes. You have dark intentions and you plan on equally dark things. I don't need Future Sight to see that."

Ike stayed silent, unsure of what to say. What could he say at that point? He knew he was still a Shinx, still injured, still weak. But he wouldn't stay that way forever. One day, he would become a Luxio, and then, after that… a Luxray. Strong. Fast. Powerful. Able to do what he wanted to that trainer of his and his supposed teammates, to whatever human he chose.

That day was not here yet, though, so he kept his mouth closed.

Konstantin slowly floated back down towards the ground and dropped him a couple feet above it. Ike landed easily on his paws. "You may change your mind in the future, but until you prove that, I will be keeping an eye on you. I will not allow you to make things any harder for that human. Things will be hard enough."

"How so?" He had heard bits and pieces of the whole future problem from his time in the sunken lake, but he also knew that his trainer had gotten some sort of warning. One that neither he, nor Des or Carlita, had heard. Apparently Konstantin had, however.

"…Things will be hard for trainers and trained Pokemon. There will be one who does not support teams, not like they are now. Trainers will have to face this one or die trying. …Many will die trying."

"A killer? I don't see how hard—"

"You do not understand. You are still young and haven't seen very much of the world. There are things worse than mere killing," Konstantin snapped, red eye shifting swiftly between eye sockets. "If you decide to become a problem during that time, I will not hesitate to correct the problem. Understand?"

"…Yes." Ike bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying what he was really thinking: if things were going to happen to trained Pokemon, he'd have to hurry and get done with that phase of his life quick. Very quick.

Chapter Text

I was surprised to find that the beach time was actually relaxing. Aside from a few problems involving some of the Pokemon—getting zapped by someone's Raichu topped that list—it was pretty fun. Nick and I eventually conned Hanna into getting into the water, so we had races and played Marco Polo and, later on in the afternoon, a game of beach volleyball with a couple of the other trainers there.

I also caught Nick staring several times at some of the older female trainers in bikinis. Unfortunately, so did Hanna, so that made things awkward for awhile. (As if they weren't awkward enough.) That thankfully ended when he apologized and called her pretty.

"Does that girl ever stop being critical?" Nick asked as he collapsed into the sand beside me.

"Sometimes." I shrugged.

"Oh yeah? When?"

"…I'm sure she'll stop at some point. Maybe when you two get married or something."

"Hey, not funny. She's about four years younger than me, you realize that?" He leaned over into my sunlight to get my attention.

"Really? I thought you were older than that."

"…Calling me old?"

"You are old." Nick stood up and pulled my towel out from under me. "Hey! I was kidding—kind of—Hey!" He then pulled my shirt over my head, pulling me to my feet in the process. I ended up tripping over Hanna while trying to fix my shirt, but she just smacked my leg and returned to sunbathing. I was a little surprised by her passivity, but I wasn't about to complain. Maybe she just hadn't heard us.

The day passed pretty quickly. Nick and I messed around some more, almost got into a fight with a trainer from Hoenn and his sister who called us dorky for making faces at each other, and Hanna brought out a camera to take pictures of us in the late afternoon. I think my personal favorite of the pictures was right after we ate snow cones, so we all had different-colored tongues we were sticking out. My mouth had been a bright red, Hanna's bright green, and Nick's dark purple.

"It looks like you're wearing some sort of goth lipstick," Hanna joked with a snicker at Nick's expense.

"Hey, it's not a problem if I like grape flavored snow cones," he replied primly. "Besides, your mouth is green. There's not even a subculture to excuse you."

"I'm glad I picked the normal color," I remarked innocently before an argument could start.

"It looks like you have blood all over your mouth," Nick replied flatly.

"Or really bright red lipstick. I think my mom wears that shade," Hanna added.

"Thanks, guys."

So the day progressed. Once Hanna brought out the camera, we decided to spend an hour or so taking silly pictures. At different points, we tried tracking down our Pokemon to take pictures of them, but we never could seem to get more than random, far-off glimpses of a couple of them. So mostly, the pictures were of us trainers acting goofy and silly.

Nick tried on my shirt at one point, which was impossibly small for him, and I noticed Hanna taking pictures like mad (especially when he flexed to see if he could rip the shirt. I bet him that he couldn't, and he couldn't, so I ended up with a free snow cone). I was surprised she wasn't drooling. Hanna acted like a model, too, of course—there was no way she wouldn't get her picture taken a million times. She did a lot of the traditional, overused poses, at least until I decided to tickle her and we got pictures of her laughing. After that, it was easy. Pictures of her cross-eyed, tongue out, even overdramatic scenes that we acted out.

These included reenacting the scene of that one guy's death where he saw his close friend among his assassins and said "et tu, brute?" or something like that. It was fun wearing towels like togas, even if we got really weird looks for it. We also reenacted the Abomasnow attack, with Nick wrapped up in a bunch of white towels to be the Abomasnow. Unfortunately, as these got more elaborate, we ended up pulling more and more people into it. First to take our pictures, then to help act with us and dress us in our costumes, and finally to play actual parts.

"…Okay, now you'll be standing here—hold the towel here, like the curtain—where's my knife?" Nick whirled around looking for the bottle of sunscreen we were using as most of our props. One of our onlookers handed it to him. This time, I got to be behind the camera, and while I was sorely tempted to film this one, I knew it would take up too much memory. (We had tried filming things before with the same problem.)

I suddenly felt something hot and furry press into the small of my back. I squeaked and dropped the camera, skittering over to hide behind Hanna and her shower curtain before seeing what had just attacked me.

I could only stare at what it was. An absolutely massive Pokemon, much taller than I was, red in color with two humps on its back and three blue rings on its side. His lidded, bored-looking eyes were a dead giveaway, however, no matter how much he'd changed. "D-Des?"

"Cam," he replied simply.

-.-.-

"Wow," I breathed, sitting across from my new and improved Pedestal. He coughed and continued eating his supper. The sun had already set and we were eating on the roof of our hotel, enjoying the pleasant evening.

"'Bout time 'e evolved," Nick remarked around a bite of spaghetti, which we were having since it was Des' favorite food. Swallowing, he added, "I've been wondering about him for awhile now. Don't you ever let him battle?"

I looked down mutely at my plate. Hanna elbowed Nick in the side, then rather loudly changed the subject. "So. Why does Des keep coughing?"

"All, or at least nearly all, fire Pokemon go through this process when they evolve. They have fire sacs in them to, well, use their fire, right?" Nick eagerly pounced upon the new subject and tried to indirectly apologize with his knowledge of the training world. "When they evolve, that changes too, so they have to adjust to having more fire and a different temperature. It can be cured with learning a new fire move to let them blow off some of the excess steam. It's why most trainers only let their fire Pokemon learn Flamethrower after they evolve, because it's much easier to teach them that and it—"

"Okay, enough. We get it," Hanna interrupted. "Thank you, Mr. Scientist."

He slid down into his chair, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like "just because you aren't a real trainer…".

"Anyway," she continued after sparing him a cold look, "That just means that Des needs to learn Flamethrower. That shouldn't be that hard, right?"

"You'll need a technical machine for it," Nick muttered.

I blinked as Kostya reached up from under the table, took one of my meatballs, and disappeared again. It was true that I wasn't eating them, especially because I didn't want to have to think about what kind of Pokemon it had been, but it was still a little rude.

"Cam," Des said, nosing me in the shoulder. I nearly fell over because of it. "Cam, rupt, camerupt."

I had no idea what he'd just said, so I wordlessly passed my plate over to him. He eagerly ate most of the spaghetti in a single bite. "You're sure eating a lot…"

"He got bigger, so he'll need to eat more." Nick shrugged, passing over his plate as well. I gave him a look, but the food was gone before I could stop him. "He shouldn't always eat this much—he just used up a lot of energy today evolving—but you'll still want to start thinking up ways to feed him. Especially when you're out traveling."

"…What do you feed Chase and the rest of your team? You have some big Pokemon."

"I usually let them forage for themselves. Chase has brought back some pretty big prey before, though, so sometimes he just hunts for all of us." That didn't sound very appealing. In fact, it made me a little ill to think of it. Nick, sensing this, quickly added, "Well, you don't have to do that. You could just buy a lot of Pokemon food and carry it in item capsules. That could get really expensive really fast, but I guess that means you'll just have to keep winning, huh?"

That didn't sound too fun, either. "So what happens when I lose and lose half my money? He starves?" I challenged.

"Daddy co-owns a Pokemon food company," Hanna piped up, beaming.

"I can't visit the company if I'm in the middle of some Route starving," I deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes. "No, I'll make sure you get enough food. The company has outlets in all of the major cities, so it shouldn't be that hard to pick some up."

"What company?" Nick asked curiously.

"The Berry Berry Delicious company."

"They actually have some pretty good food," he admitted, much to her delight.

Hanna seemed to take it as a personal victory, because she turned back to me with the brightest grin I'd seen yet on her. "There you have it! Free food for life."

"Okay—what?!"

"You don't have to pay. Just stock up when you leave cities, put all your food in those little capsules, and—"

"No, I mean, what? Free?" I repeated, trying to make sure I'd heard her correctly (though I know I had). It was an amazing offer, but one I couldn't take without a pretty heavy conscience. It was one thing to get a wardrobe replacement, but quite another to feed the behemoth that was now Des. And that wasn't taking into account the rest of my growing team. Carlita was done evolving and was as large as she'd ever get, but Ike was still going to grow—a bunch—and Des was absolutely massive. There was also Konstantin, who may or may not follow me until I gave up or died. I still wasn't sure about that one.

"Of course free. It's, like, a present for Des. Not you. So don't sweat it." And just like that, with her usual dismissal of others' opinions, Hanna subdued my conscience.

"If we're giving presents—"

"No!"

"—here." Ignoring my conscience and its apparent ten minute retirement and end of said retirement, Nick dug around in his backpack. I glared at him. Des soon caught my attention, however, as he snuffled my hair and licked the back of my head. I was used to him licking me, but not with a tongue that was roughly the size of my face. I huffed and tried to smooth down my hair again.

"Des, really?" We'd have to do something about that. It'd take a lot of getting used to, him not being a little Numel anymore.

"Catch." Of course, I turned around just to get whatever Nick threw at me thrown at my head. I barely managed to catch it before it hit me. Barely. I frowned in confusion when it turned out to be a light red disk, shiny and… Well, I had no idea what it actually was. Nick cut me off before I could ask, probably based on my expression, and said, "It's a TM. Flamethrower for Des. It'll help with his coughing and it's generally considered to be the best fire move available."

Now it was shiny and useful. But it was still a gift that I really didn't deserve—

"Don't give me that kicked Growlithe look. Think of it as a gift for Des, not you." I couldn't argue with that logic, though I wanted to. Plus, I'll admit, I couldn't very well argue when Des took the disk from me and was gnawing on it between coughs. "Well, that's not how you use it, but whatever works," Nick commented dryly, grinning as I played tug-of-war with my Camerupt.

-.-.-

I couldn't remember whose idea it was, but somehow, we decided to take part in a thing down at the beach that evening. There really wasn't any word that could describe it was well as thing could. It was a contest, sort of, it was a talent show, sort of, it was a… thing.

We had all entered, and while I was scrambling to figure out something to do for it, Nick stole the show. I suppose I should have expected it, since he was Champion-bound and had more Pokemon than either Hanna or I could keep up with, but still. It was a little unfair when he had a Garchomp to impress everyone with (not to mention all the rest of his team). Hanna, too, at least had pretty Pokemon to show off (and she did).

I just had a new Camerupt who kept spitting and coughing fire, a dancing Breloom, a Shinx with a broken leg, and a stalker Duskull.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though they had come up with an idea on their own. I could hardly keep up with all of the jabbering away they did, after some consultation with each other, as they tried to convey their idea to me. Eventually, just as I fell over from Carlita and Konstantin competing for who got to be in my face more, Des had the good sense to borrow Kamala.

"What is it they are going on about?" she asked, trading glares with Carlita. I shrugged. I had no idea, and not to mention the fact at how bewildered I was at the sudden attention.

"Duskull dus-skull-skull!" Konstantin crowed, clasping his paws together. Ike yowled something completely incomprehensible as well.

"…It seems as if they want to put on a magic show. They want you to be the Buneary." The psychic Pokemon rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, showing just how much she disliked having to translate. Of course, with Des literally breathing down her neck, she wasn't going to say no.

That was how I ended up on stage, following Nick's grand fire breathing (yes, he knew how to do it too; I was just as surprised as anyone else with that), wearing a Buneary costume for the crowd to enjoy. Needless to say, I wasn't happy with the public humiliation. I didn't even know what we were supposed to be doing, since Kamala had run off with Nick's Magmar after his show.

Konstantin, wearing a top hat and bowtie, waved at the crowd. Carlita stood happily beside him, wearing a sparkly red skirt and what appeared to be lipstick. She twirled and pulled a flower out of thin air, presenting it with a flourish to the ghost. He made it disappear with a bright flash of flame, then clapped when it was gone in a matter of a moment.

I was actually sort of enjoying it, even though I was on stage with them. I had no idea Konstantin knew any magic tricks. It was also a little creepy to see how easily he interacted with the crowd, making them laugh and gasp in awe with rather simple, if impressive, moves.

I tugged on my hat's ears, looking around for either Des or Ike. It was only fair that they be roped into this as well, after all. Much to my surprise, Ike passed by my feet just as I started looking, wearing a bow tie like Konstantin. He trotted with difficulty due to the cast over to where Carlita was waiting with a blanket. Ike sat down and grinned at the audience before she draped it over him. Konstantin floated over him, made a big show of counting down from three, and then promptly disappeared. Carlita picked the sheet back up, revealing nothing but empty stage underneath.

The crowd waited for them to reappear, but they didn't. I frowned—that is, until I spotted Konstantin holding Ike behind the crowd, cackling. People turned towards them, but before they could get more than a glimpse, they vanished once more. They appeared on the stage with giggles, the Duskull waving and bowing, while Ike just grinned with his sharp little teeth. I squinted at Konstantin. How had he done that? Could he Teleport?

Carlita pranced over to me, pirouetting and presenting me with the blanket. With no small amount of reluctance, I put it over my head.

Then, the most curious thing happened. I felt Konstantin's cold paws on my shoulders, and a push downward, and a tug on my Buneary ears, and suddenly, I was blinking at the crowd on the other side of the stage. Carlita picked up the blanket from where I had just been.

Okay, now I knew that he wasn't Teleporting, since Jacques had not been shy about doing that to me; that hadn't felt anything like it. It felt more like… Well, getting pulled out of the metaphorical hat. Konstantin, in front of me, bowed to the applause and gestured to me again. "Dus?" he asked. A couple Pokemon whistled in reply, their trainers clapping uncertainly.

Next thing I knew, he was pushing me down again and I was being pulled up—and this time, I reappeared perched on Des' back. "What the—?!" I hadn't even been aware of his arrival onto the magic scene, unless Konstantin had just conjured him up out of thin air as well. I shakily slid off his back, patting his side as I stared hard at the ghost on the other side of the stage.

"Duskull? Duskull?!" Konstantin shouted with a laugh, gesturing to Des and I. I pressed up against my starter's side, a little scared as to what would happen now. I knew I was supposed to be the Buneary being pulled around all over, but it didn't mean I was particularly fond of the sensation. The crowd's Pokemon chanted enthusiastically. Konstantin bowed towards them and then looked towards us with his bright, red eye. I didn't like where this was going.

Chapter Text

"…And then he made a tower out of us. It wasn't so bad since I was near the top, but I was still a little scared being that close to Kamala," I explained.

"Who was Kamala again?" Zoe asked, taking a delicate sip of her tea. We were back in Goldenrod, waiting for our flight back home. The vacation hadn't lasted all that long, but in a way, it felt like forever.

"My friend Nick's Medi-thingy. She sort of has issues, most of them with me."

"…Medi-thingy? Meditite?"

"No."

"Medicham?"

"That one." I nodded, mostly to myself. Nick had told me Kamala's species several times before, but for some reason, it never stuck with me for very long. "Anyway! So I was near the top, and Kamala was stuck beside me—it didn't seem like she realized what was going on, or maybe Konstantin just hadn't asked her for permission to do that. It was sort of funny to see her expression, though. And then Ike was on top of my head, and Kamala had been put under Carlita, so she had to hold her, and neither of them were very happy with that. I still haven't figured out how he did it, either."

"Sounds like some sort of move." Zoe seemed completely fine with letting me talk and continued sipping at her tea. She agreed to wait with me in my room while Hanna was off with her dad for the day, and Nick was off… doing something. I wasn't sure. "Maybe Teleport or Shadow Sneak…"

"It didn't feel like a Teleport. What's Shadow Sneak?"

"A ghost move. It's probably what your Duskull used. Did you feel like you were being tugged into your shadow?"

"It was at night. We didn't have shadows."

"We always have shadows; it's just whether or not you can see them," she replied philosophically.

"…Well, maybe," I conceded, sighing. "Do Duskull learn Shadow Sneak?"

"I think so. I've never owned one, so I can't be sure…"

"Do you have Pokemon then?" I asked curiously. She knew all about myself and my team, but it seemed as though I hardly knew anything about her. Just that she worked as a maid in her free time, and was apparently from Johto.

"Oh yes. I have quite a few," she replied with a bright smile. "I'm a dark type trainer."

I had never met any specialized trainers, aside from Gym leaders. I leaned forward excitedly. "Really? What Pokemon do you have? What was your starter? Why do you like dark types?"

"Slow down there." She set down her cup and turned to me, looking rather serious. I frowned and leaned back again, wondering why. "First off, I only became a dark type trainer accidentally; I didn't plan on becoming one. I just sort of gathered Pokemon of that type."

I opened my mouth to speak again, but she silenced me with a raised hand.

"Don't get excited about dark Pokemon. They are dark for a reason and aren't easily trained. I wouldn't suggest you getting one for another year or two."

"But—"

"But nothing. I started training late in the game, and I had help with my team. Don't go looking for a Pokemon you can't control. It seems as if you've got your hands full with that Duskull alone," she said, still serious. I looked down at my lap. I had my hands full with my entire team, not just Konstantin. Maybe taking on a Pokemon renown for a temperamental and difficult nature wouldn't be the best of ideas. (Actually, then I started wondering if Ike was somehow part dark. He sure acted like it.)

"…Okay."

Zoe was all cheeriness once more. "Okay! Well then. I have a Murkrow, an Umbreon, and a Sneasel. Those are actually my only dark ones right now, but sometimes I watch my boyfriend's Houndoom, and he's a handful at times."

I knew vaguely of all of them, which worked for me. At least I was getting better at recognizing species names (except for that Medi-thingy that was Kamala). "Is that all you have?"

"I also have a Skarmory. This basically means that my entire team can pretty much stop any psychic in its tracks," she proclaimed proudly.

"Why?" It seemed like an odd thing, wanting to stop only psychics. Unless she had something against them. Or was paranoid. She didn't seem too paranoid, though…

"One of my best friends had a couple psychics as we were growing up, so I constantly had to deal with that. Eventually I just started hanging out with my team more and more. It doesn't hurt that I can stomp any psychic into the ground without using dark moves, too." I couldn't help but grin; her enthusiasm for the subject was contagious. Definitely not paranoid, too. Zoe wiped some of her black hair out of her eyes, curling it on her finger thoughtfully. "But in all seriousness, she used to tease me pretty bad with them. Watch out for any of your friends with psychics. Sometimes, the temptation is just too great. And don't you dare—if you ever get one—use it on others!" she preemptively scolded.

"I definitely wouldn't," I promised.

"And if anyone tries to use one on you, you just call me, okay? I get more of a thrill than I probably should stopping psychics, but that's what you get when you specialize your team. You get to be proud of their strengths." She laughed lightly, then took my hand. She pulled the pen out from behind her ear and wrote out a number on it. "You can call me for other reasons, too, of course. Especially if you come back to Johto sometime."

I was a little amazed by the sudden display of outward friendship. Zoe had always seemed a little shy. Then again, I wasn't complaining. Plus if Kamala kept on my case, I might just want her help. "Wow… Thanks." I didn't have a cell phone yet, since Hanna insisted on getting one for me back in Sinnoh, but at least I'd have one number to put into it.

Later that day, Hanna managed to drag us out on one last expedition before we left completely. Though it was more of a spy mission than anything else. We all donned hats, sunglasses, and even trench coats and literally tiptoed past her father's room's door. She wouldn't let either Nick or I talk until we got down to the lobby. Even then, she stayed serious and silent, tipping her hat down over her eyes and putting her collar up around her face until we were well away from the hotel.

"…I feel like we're doing something illegal," Nick said cautiously. I bobbed my head in total agreement.

"We're not. It's just—Daddy doesn't want me seeing him."

"Who?" Nick and I chorused. Hanna didn't reply and continued leading us through Goldenrod. The buildings eventually started getting sparser and sparser, until it was nothing but grasses and a path. We were in trainer territory, and Nick and I instinctively realized that. Hanna just barreled on ahead cluelessly. We took over trainer watch then, since we were obviously on a mission and couldn't be held up with battles. It helped that Nick let Chase out, who glared most of the young trainers down and kept them at bay.

Eventually, we reached a forest. We were well out of Goldenrod now, and I felt uneasy being that far out of civilization in an unknown country. I could tell Chase was just as nervous as I was, because of the way he kept circling around us. Nick and Hanna seemed perfectly fine, though.

"Like, you guys lost or something?" Hanna jumped—suddenly nervous—and turned to face an older trainer who was leaning nonchalantly against a tree, arms crossed. He pushed off of the trunk and sauntered over.

"Where did Jude go? He was supposed to—"

"He's, like, a bit busy now, you know? I'll take you, like, to him, though, if you, like, want…"

"Yes, yes," Hanna replied impatiently. The man shrugged lazily and gestured us over. Nick and I glanced at each other; really? Were we really sneaking out, meeting some unknown guy in the woods who was leading us to another mysterious guy? It made me feel all too much like one of those spies in the old movies. Only usually about this time some guy in a sports car pulled up and started shooting…

We followed Hanna, though, since she at least knew what she was doing. (And, if all else failed, we could always hold her ransom for the money or something. Or fight our way out.)

We went through the forest and out onto a trainer path again, though with a suspicious lack of people. Our guide chatted airily. "…Like, are those two your, like, bodyguards? Because they're not… real threatening, you know?"

"Hey!" Nick squawked. Chase growled behind him, lip curling.

"Chill, man. It was just an observation," he drawled. I could easily imagine him with a cigarette right then; he seemed like the type to take a drag and then breathe it out and likewise take a long time to answer anything properly. Or maybe it was just his way of speaking.

"They are my escorts," Hanna interjected primly, turning to give us both a look over her shoulder. I put my hands up defensively. I knew I wasn't threatening and I wasn't going to pick a fight with either the mysterious forest guy or Nick or anyone. Least of all Hanna right then. She had that sort of effect sometimes. Returning her attention to the man in front of us, she asked again, "Where's Jude?"

"He's, like, busy, I told you," the older trainer replied, with something vaguely resembling irritation.

"With what? We're not from Johto, so it's not like I come here all the time to meet with him—"

"Circumstances were, like, extenuating, okay? So chill, miss prissy chick."

I had a feeling that the guy was about to regret saying that, but fortunately for him, we came upon one of those buildings guarding the entrance to a city. We all quieted again and pulled our hats down over our sunglasses as we walked through the building—all except for our guide, who smiled lazily and waved at the guard.

Much to my surprise, on the other side of the second door wasn't a city. Instead, it looked to be ruins of some sort. I hardly had any time to marvel, however, since we were soon assaulted. Something feathery, purple, and with a very sharp beak swooped down at us, taking a swipe at Hanna and then pecking me on the head. Nick, who had hit the ground in time to avoid that, pulled me to the ground beside him.

"What the—What is this?!" he shouted. Chase jumped into the air, trying to catch up to the purple bird that was giving us a very distinctive caw-like laugh. His Garchomp was soon shot out of the sky, however, by what I immediately recognized as an Ice Beam. I reflexively followed the icy trail down to its source and went cold.

A Froslass turned and looked at us with a very dark glare, air shimmering around her with ice crystals.

"Chase!" Nick scrambled to his feet, covered his head with his arms as the purple bird crowed again and dive-bombed him.

I was dimly aware of Hanna screaming something and someone else yelling before a blue thing rammed into my stomach and knocked me to the ground. I blinked blearily up at wide bug eyes and a grinning mouth belonging to a Heracross. "Hera!" it barked, pinning me to the ground with relative ease.

I heard Chase roar and the very familiar screech of the Froslass, and then Nick and Hanna shouting something, too. I was too numbed by the Froslass—was it my Froslass? No, that couldn't be. She was still in Sinnoh. And she would never follow me all the way here—would she?

"Get off, dude!" The older trainer with the lazy drawl was suddenly pulling the Heracross off of me. He extended a hand down to help me up, but I ignored him and got up on my own.

"You led us into a trap!" I accused immediately. The Heracross snorted and hit me on the shoulder with its horn.

"No way. This is all, like, a huge misunderstanding. Totally a misunderstanding," he shook his head while I rubbed my shoulder. "See?" He motioned over to the other three, who had more or less calmed down.

It turned out that we really hadn't been attacked. The Jude guy that Hanna was supposed to meet was a Pokemon breeder, and like our guide had stated, was busy with some rather rowdy Pokemon. More specifically, he had been trying to train a shiny Murkrow, the purple bird that had attacked us. The Froslass and Heracross had just been trying to catch it again, and had perceived us as threats when we barged onto the scene with Chase. I still felt sore from where the Heracross and Murkrow both hit me, though, and both of Nick's arms were bloody from the Murkrow's claws.

So we really weren't pleased at all when Hanna announced that the Murkrow was hers.

"Well, this here is Tenny. I was going to name her Murder, but miss Hanna here would have none of that," the boy that was introduced as Jude explained, gesturing to the purple bird perched on the Heracross' head. Tenny laughed and pecked at the bug's horn. "She has a bit of a behavior problem… Not to worry, though! She's just a bit rambunctious and mischievous."

"She's gorgeous," Hanna sighed dreamily.

"A dark Pokemon? Really, Hanna?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow. He held out his bloody arms to her. "They're not known for being nice. Even real trainers have problems with them." I nodded, since this was not news to me as of a couple hours ago. Plus, Tenny only seemed to reinforce that lesson.

"She just wants a little attention. Don't you, girl?" Hanna cooed. The Murkrow turned her head away, swishing her tail feathers at her. "Here, I know what you want." She took off her necklace and held it out. The silver glinted in the sunlight, which immediately caught Tenny's eye. She took it greedily in her beak and allowed Hanna to pet her after that. "See, I know how to handle Pokemon. Unlike some people apparently."

Nick snorted and gingerly crossed his arms.

Jude beamed at them both. "Right-o! Perfect. Either of you want a Pokemon now, or is miss Hanna the only one going to get one?"

"I can catch my own."

"…I'm broke."

"Aw, such a pity. Well, if you ever need anything, anything at all, make sure you give me a call, eh? If it's out there, I can get it. And that's a guarantee," Jude chirped, puffing out his chest. Nick looked at him with an unreadable expression, and for a brief moment, I thought he was going to change his mind and buy a Pokemon. It turned out that he didn't, though, and instead just turned to face Chase and set his head on the dragon's shoulder.

"Can we just go back now?" he asked tiredly.

"Of course," Hanna replied happily, still stroking Tenny's feathers. I rolled my eyes. So that was how Hanna got all of her rare Pokemon. Figured.

"Come back soon! Or give me a call, love! I have all the time in the world for any of your orders!" Jude called after us, waving enthusiastically goodbye. The man who had been our guide was sitting next to the Froslass and only watched us leave mutely.

When we got back to the hotel, Zoe fretted and dressed our wounds, while my Pokemon (who had been left there, since Hanna insisted on no ghostly stalkers and the only way to get rid of Konstantin was to let him stay with the other three) excitedly chatted with Tenny. I couldn't help but notice the way Zoe sniffed in disdain at the Murkrow's presence, though.

-.-.-

Zoe and I hugged goodbye in the lobby. She really was a good friend, not just a maid who happened to feed me and thus earn my admiration and love. Plus she was really interesting once you got under her reservations.

On the flight back, however, I realized that I wasn't necessarily sick when we first came over; I got airsickness. It sort of ruined my triumphant return to Sinnoh, especially when I nearly fell down the stairs and tripped on my first step into the terminal. Konstantin laughed at me. Nick rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm to steady me.

"We're back in Sinnoh. You can officially lose the stalker," he muttered under his breath, nodding towards the Duskull.

"How?"

"…I'm not sure."

Hanna had to leave us at the Veilstone airport, somewhat tearfully. She gave me enough money for what she called a 'good cell phone', which meant that it was way too much and I would probably have a lot left over for some time to come, and apologized for not being able to pick one out with me. I told her it was okay, and instead we just hugged goodbye.

"Thank you so much for that vacation," I said quietly, meaning it. In spite of everything, it had turned out to be wonderful. Just what I'd needed.

"No problem. Anytime. Come with me next time on my next expedition, okay?" she said with a watery smile. "…But don't go and get kidnapped and almost killed to do that, okay?"

"Okay," I replied with a grimace. And here I had almost pushed that to the back of my mind.

Much to my surprise—and amusement—Hanna kissed Nick goodbye. It was just a quick peck on the cheek, which she had to stand on her tiptoes for, but it made him act embarrassed nonetheless. It was too funny to resist teasing him for.

Nick and I went out, bought a new phone, and then went to the Center to crash for the night and sleep off the jetlag. I did, however, enter in the numbers I'd received in Johto and the few I remembered in the phone before I fell asleep. My parents, Nick, Hanna, Zoe, and Jude the rare Pokemon breeder. It was the start of metaphorically rebuilding my life.

I slept on the floor with Des, who couldn't fit in the bed anymore. He was warmer than he'd been pre-evolution, but it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, I sort of liked his longer fur and higher body temperature. It made for a very cozy sleep.

Chapter Text

"Des, Flamethrower!" I couldn't remember being this proud of any of my team for quite some time. Nick hadn't been lying in the fact that Flamethrower was insanely powerful. So far Des had nearly set several things on fire: me, the bed, Nick, Chase, Ike, me, a poor Chatot, one of the Chansey, the TV, me, Konstantin, Chase, and… Well, he seemed to go for me a lot, and more recently, Chase since the Garchomp also knew it.

Des and Chase battled it out with flames. Des obviously could use the fire with a lot more ease and could keep it up longer, but Chase had him beat out in raw power thanks to his years of training. We had only been together a little over half a year now.

"Most awesome move ever," I sighed happily, perfectly content to watch my Camerupt breathe fire that would incinerate anything save himself in a heartbeat. And I had thought Lava Plume was awesome. It couldn't even compare—and he could aim the Flamethrower. The Lava Plume was a little harder, and he had nearly hit me or other members of the team often enough that I had turned him back to Embers when we needed fire.

"Told you," Nick replied.

The awesomeness didn't last long, unfortunately, but then again I wasn't holding out too much hope for it to. It never did, after all. I wasn't that lucky. Once Carlita noticed Des' new move, she immediately wanted one as well. Before I could do much more than argue vainly with her, Nick handed over another TM and took the liberty of teaching her SolarBeam. And, after seeing it precisely once in action, I vetoed it and told him to give her a different, much less destructive, move.

"I'm not made of TMs," Nick said sarcastically, opening up a case full of them.

"You should have asked me. What possessed you to teach her that move?!" I snapped, gesturing to the unfortunate tree she had vaporized. I glanced over, only to see that she was gathering sunlight again. "Teach her something else!"

"Fine! Carlita, come here!" We had to chase her down and hold her on the ground in order to get her to forget SolarBeam and learn Iron Tail instead, but at least she wasn't shooting sparkle death rays anymore. I could sleep that much easier.

Unfortunately, that soon made Ike figure he wanted a move. "Not-uh, Ike. Des and Carlita got one for evolving. You haven't yet." I had to admit that I also didn't want to give the little monster anything stronger to attack me with, too. The Shinx mewled pathetically and tried the sad kitten angle. I looked away, feeling guilty, but still not giving in.

"Shiiiiiii," he whined, deciding to claw his way up my leg instead. Nick clamped a hand over his mouth to try to stop himself from laughing.

"Look, Ike's still pretty young but you said he's been starting to use electric moves, right? That means he should evolve soon. Can you wait, little guy?" He plucked Ike from my pants and held him like you would a Skitty. Ike was not amused and sunk his claws into Nick's hand when he tried scratching his belly. I snickered at Nick's expense.

Eventually, we managed to convince Ike—with some rather surprisingly helpful support from Konstantin—that he would be able to learn a new move once he evolved. He grudgingly accepted this. Carlita and Des gleefully used their new moves for the rest of the day on everything available. Several times Chase or Ser had to rescue either Nick or I from certain doom, and after a couple burned shoes and what could have easily been a broken leg, we decided enough was enough.

"Okay, you two. Enough of the annihilation routine," I called, safe atop Chase in the sky. Des stopped at once, though Carlita had to topple one more tree before she obeyed.

"Hey, you know what this means?" Nick asked when we'd landed again. I didn't have time to ask before he said, "Gym leader!"

"Wh-What—"

"Look, you have a Camerupt that can burn down anything that opposes him, and Carlita's got some new moves, too. You could totally take on Crasher Wake now."

"No way," I replied flatly. Nick pouted, but I added, "Remember last time? That wasn't pleasant."

"The kidnapping part or the total crushing defeat part?"

"Neither of them was fun!"

"That can be avoided with more careful planning. If we train up Ike a little and he learns a good electric move, then he could help. And of course—! Your little stalker ghost can help!" Nick snapped his fingers and beckoned Konstantin over. "It will be too easy for you this time around."

"Kostya isn't mine."

"He's battled for you before."

"That's—beside the point."

"No, it really isn't. Come on. It's Gardenia all over again. You're strong enough to take him on, easy. If you win—"

"No bets." I didn't have any money this time, and I didn't want to have to lose any more dignity than I could help. "No Gym battles. I'm just going to train with my team for awhile. Des needs to get used to being big, and Carlita has that tail thing of hers now, and we still have to figure out how to get along properly with Ike, and Kostya is… there…" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. It seemed like too much to handle to begin with. But then again—I had the perfect resource right in front of me. "Nick!"

"…Uh?"

"You've dealt with lots of Pokemon, right? How do you get your team to behave?"

"I ask them to."

"What if they don't—"

"Pokemon respect trainers with a lot of badges," he told me curtly.

It was a combination of that, the fact that my Pokemon in no uncertain terms agreed, and a pretty healthy bribe that made me concede—to fighting a different Gym leader. I wasn't about to take on Crasher Wake. But I would try my hand at someone else. "…There's a steel type leader, isn't there?" Fire and fighting were both good against steel. I would take those odds. Especially with Des' new 'kill it with fire' move.

I didn't really want to Fly anywhere, and since we didn't have much of a time limit, we decided to make a proper training journey out of it. Nick traded out a good deal of his team for ones he wanted to level up, save Chase, and my team and I had to spend the first week or so of it getting used to a host of new Pokemon and personalities.

On the night after the first week, we had just passed Pastoria and were camping in the mud and rain. I was not happy about this, either; I had vowed never to return to this place. Now, too, I couldn't even let Des out. If it wasn't the rain, it was the mud. He'd sink like a stone. So most of the time, my team had to be kept in their balls and Konstantin and Nick were my only company.

Well, that was until I fell asleep and found myself in the white world.

"Oh my god—"

There you are!

I tensed and froze when white little hands connected to white little arms with blue-tipped sleeves wrapped themselves around my stomach. The Froslass set her head on my shoulder blade, sighing and freezing my shirt to my back. Oh boy. I had somewhat been expecting to see her again, but not so soon. And I couldn't help but remember the last time we'd seen each other; I had been nearly killed by that black-haired man…

I was so worried, she murmured into my back, continuing to breath frost on me.

"I'm sorry?" I guessed, wishing she'd let go. Dream or not, it was uncomfortable to feel my shirt slowly freeze to my skin. "C-Can you let go now?"

Oh. Yes. Of course. She swung away from me and circled around until she was facing me once more. She studied me up and down, appraising the damage. Finally, she spoke again, What happened to you?

"…It's a really long story." And one I didn't feel like recalling. "But I'm fine, see? I'm still alive and I still have my team and it's all good." Well, aside from the fact that I had some form of what Nick called PTSD and another stalker ghost—

On cue, Konstantin, with a snarl, barged in on my dream and tackled the Froslass. She shrieked and pressed her hands to his face, freezing him to the spot in a giant ice cube. His red eye was the only thing left moving, looking between us both frantically.

I wished there were walls in the white world I could bang my head against. "Froslass, this is Kostya. Unfreeze him."

What?

"Unfreeze him, please."

She reluctantly did as I said, staying on guard. Konstantin growled at her and raised his paws, probably for some sort of attack, and asked, "Comrade, what is going on here?"

"How come you don't talk like that?" I asked the icy ghost pointedly. She looked away, folding her hands over the red stripe on her stomach.

"Because she's not as skilled as I am. Who is she?!" Konstantin demanded angrily.

"This is a Froslass who is… helping me about as much as you are." The Duskull lowered his arms and floated closer. I sighed in relief. "And in exchange, I have to help her find her trainer and stop him from being a monster or something like that."

Which you have not been doing, she replied with a huff.

"I've been kind of busy. What with nearly being killed and all," I snapped.

Konstantin made a disappointed sound. "Don't become bitter and angry, comrade," he said quietly, all but ignoring the Froslass now. He cautiously floated over until he was close enough to touch me, and then he set his skull mask on my forehead. He closed his eye and exhaled. I wrinkled my nose; his breath smelled, frankly, like something had just died. "You have forgotten the warning in all that has been going on lately, haven't you?"

"No…" I lied. I couldn't become dark, and I couldn't die… And that was about all I remembered. But at least I remembered that much! And that vacation had definitely helped on the happy front.

"Don't die, though you will face many trials. Don't become dark. Do not become distracted by all of the wrongs in the world, and do not become angry and bitter. And when the time comes, please let go, comrade," Konstantin recited dutifully, almost sympathetically. The Froslass watched and listened curiously.

What are you two talking about? There was a certain note in her voice that made me cringe, though I wasn't sure what it was or why.

"The black-haired man had dropped me off at this lake, and there were a whole bunch of ghosts there, including Kostya here. They gave me a warning about the future, and—"

DO NOT MEDDLE WITH THE FUTURE.

The screech was so loud that it made my dream ears ring. Konstantin had let go of me and was protectively in front of me, though it was clear he was as shocked as I was. The Froslass hovered in front of us, fists covered in ice, the air around her shimmering with ice. I immediately started shivering and could see my breath.

Then, I said probably the stupidest thing ever in my life.

"But, isn't that what you're trying to do by making me save your trainer?"

I really, really had no idea what prompted me to say such a suicidal thing. Maybe Konstantin's warning about not dying had produced a sort of reverse psychological reaction in me. Or maybe, deep down, I really wanted to know what was with ghosts and the future.

Konstantin grabbed me and shoved me downward into my own shadow. We reappeared on the far side of the white world, if there were sides; the Froslass was only an off-white speck on the horizon, though, which I considered good. I could feel the cold all the way from over here, though, and could see the ice appearing on the floor below us.

"That was not a smart move," Konstantin deadpanned, pushing me into my shadow again. This time, we reappeared on the opposite side of the white world, but the ice was already here. I slipped and fell on my butt, wincing at the blow to my tail bone. That had hurt. The Duskull above me pulled me to my feet, just as the Froslass aimed an Ice Beam from across the world at him. The attack froze him solid and he smashed into the ground right beside me, red eye frantically switching from socket to socket.

I am not meddling. I am trying to save my trainer. The Duskull is trying to confuse the future, not save anyone.

Before I knew it, the Froslass was above me, dripping snowflakes onto my head and shoulders. My fingers and feet were already numb.

"I'm sorry."

You do not understand what I am trying to do, do you? I am trying to save my trainer. I am trying to prevent him from becoming a monster. The Duskull is merely trying to lead you astray. They delight in the misery and pain of humans. They do not help them, she stated dispassionately.

I couldn't help but glance over to Konstantin. It was true that he laughed at pain and seemed to like to torture Nick. But it was also true that he was unusually helpful and seemed genuinely to want to make my life—and future—easier.

"Froslass, I am sorry for what I said and I will help your trainer if I ever find him. But Kostya isn't a bad guy. And it wasn't just him who gave me that warning—there was a whole group of ghosts and psychics. Not all of them would lie like that."

How do you know?

"I just… Why would they?"

Ghosts are cruel, she said, placing her hands on the top of my head. It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on me, which probably wasn't too far from the truth. I bolted upright in my sleeping bag, shivering and sweating. Konstantin, who had been nestled by my head, looked up as well, seeming distressed. The Froslass was nowhere to be seen.

I didn't get any more sleep that night. Konstantin wouldn't leave me alone, never venturing farther than arm's length from me. He didn't bother Nick anymore and instead circled around my head, red eye straining to find the Froslass.

I made up my mind to start to really find Froslass' trainer. If I found him and helped him be a good guy, then it meant she would leave me alone again and I could move on with my life. It was a good thing that I was on a training journey, then, since it meant we met dozens of trainers every day. I scouted out dark-haired ones and asked them if they'd ever owned a Froslass, but almost all of them said no. (The two that had still had them and they certainly weren't the one who was haunting me.)

We were in Oreburgh before I knew it. Nick was happily oblivious to my problem and instead gleefully trained up his new team. In any other circumstance, I would have been overjoyed to watch a real veteran train a new team and see what sort of moves he taught them, how he handled them, how he got them to work together. But not when I had so much on my mind.

I started asking trainers if they'd owned a Rhyhorn at any point, since Konstantin had pointed out to me that most humans didn't count released Pokemon as theirs anymore. Of course, Rhyhorn was also a more common Pokemon, so I got a lot more affirmatives. But I was looking for a dead one; everyone who had one still had it. I was looking for a dark-haired, male trainer who had a Rhyhorn but couldn't show it to me.

"Why are you so chatty with other trainers all of a sudden?" Nick asked one night, when we were packing up to leave Oreburgh. "I keep meaning to ask, but I never get to hear what you're talking about. Are you looking for something?"

I looked over at him. He tilted his head to one side, black hair falling into his eyes. I had to immediately turn away again and mentally berate myself for even thinking that he would be Froslass' trainer. Sure, he matched with the vague description I had, but… Well, wouldn't Froslass had said something if Nick was her trainer? After all, he'd been with me for the past two months traveling. She had plenty of opportunities to just show herself (if Konstantin didn't chase her off) and point to him.

Still… There was a chance he could help me with my search. Yes, that was it. I'd ask him but only because he could help. I would not suspect him.

"Nick, do you have a Rhyhorn?"

"…Yeah, why? Looking for one?" he asked, though there was a suspicious pause at first. I closed my eyes and took a breath.

"Can I look at it?"

"…No, actually. You can't." I thought I might faint.

Chapter Text

"Wh-Why not?" My voice was much shakier than I would have liked otherwise. Why couldn't he show me the Rhyhorn?

"I don't have it anymore."

"Why not?! What happened to the Rhyhorn?" I was too aware that I had asked Froslass that very question before.

Nick looked taken aback by the force. "Because he evolved. He's a Rhydon now. Um, is something wrong?" he asked cautiously, looking a little scared to approach me right then.

I blinked at him. The Rhyhorn had evolved. Into a Rhydon. Which meant it wasn't dead and was still alive. Slowly, I exhaled, then chuckled. The chuckled turned into a full laugh when I realized what a heart attack I'd nearly had there. I had thought Nick had been the dark-haired trainer of all people. Seriously. I should have known better; I knew Nick too well. Plus, I knew most of his Pokemon now, and he had a live Rhyhorn that had evolved and didn't have a Froslass at any point that I knew of. My paranoia seemed so silly now.

Though I still hadn't found Froslass' trainer.

My laughter abruptly stopped when I realized that. I wasn't any further to finding him. "Hey, Nick… Do you know anyone with a Froslass?"

"Yeah, a couple. Why, you want one? Make up your mind—a Rhyhorn or a Froslass?" he said, clearly relieved by my calming down. He grinned and resumed packing his things. "Maybe I'll get you one for your training day."

"Huh?"

"Training day. It's like a birthday, but only the day you started training. It's coming up, isn't it?"

"…Oh. Oh yeah, I guess it is—I have been training for a year?!" Cue freak out.

-.-.-

Byron was exceedingly easy to take down. I only had to call out Carlita because she'd wanted to fight, not because Des had tired out. I had let Ike out at the beginning of the match with the Steelix, and he looked like he'd gotten a bit stronger while dodging the steely tail when it tried to squish him. Or at least I'd hoped so. He looked a little shaken when I finally recalled him and let Des at it.

What wasn't easy about that Gym, though, was getting to Byron. If Nick hadn't coached me through it—though several of the Gym trainers gave him dirty looks for it—I probably would have never gotten to him. Or I would have fallen off the platforms. Several times. (In fact, I nearly did a couple times. Nick had to pull me back up each time. I was almost used to dangling by the time we got to the leader.)

I ended up winning astonishingly easily. It was true that I had a type advantage and Des had just evolved, but I hadn't had such an easy win since Konstantin completely blocked all those fighting types. And that wasn't even me. At least in Byron's defeat I had a hand in.

Nick whistled while the steel leader handed over the badge. "Flawless victory," he commented.

"You don't have to rub it in," Byron snapped, leaning on his shovel. "And I wouldn't be talking if I were you. I remember your battle, kid."

Nick looked away with a, "Do you actually…?"

"You were twice as cocky as this one here. And it took you twice as many tries, too, ain't that right?" Byron grinned, especially when Nick flushed and scowled. I ignored them both, focusing instead on my shiny new badge. That made five. I was over half done, and just under a year into my journey. Was that good? Was it bad? Only three left… Crasher Wake, Candice, and Volkner.

None of them seemed like a very promising prospect for the next one. I'd already gone out of order, sure, but I didn't want to take on the last Gym leader as the sixth. It seemed like I was asking for it. But I didn't want to take on Candice, either, even if I had the type advantage (again) with my fire and fighting types. I wasn't terribly keen on returning to Snowpoint, especially since the Abomasnow was still roaming the area, last I'd heard.

And, of course, Crasher Wake was out of the question. Completely. I had no problem with either waiting for Ike to become an electric monster or until I got something insanely powerful and good against water types on my team.

I was snapped out of my deciding the lesser of the evils when a cell phone went off loudly. I checked my pocket, but since it wasn't buzzing, it wasn't mine. Nick flipped his open, held up a finger to Byron and I, and answered, "Hi mom."

"…Does he always do this at Gyms?" Byron asked, gesturing with his shovel at Nick. I shook my head. "I think he's doing it on purpose. He did this the last two times he came here, too. He even interrupted his second battle with me to take a call," he grumbled.

"Really?" I didn't know that was allowed. Or, if it was, it sounded pretty rude.

"Eh, it happens from time to time. He's the only guy to have done it multiple times, though."

"Do you really have something against Nick?"

"Nah. It's just amusing how far he kid has come." It was sort of funny to hear Nick, several years my elder, referred to as 'kid'. Usually that term applied to me. Byron hefted his shovel and set it on his shoulder, placing his free hand on his hip. "You too."

"Huh?"

"Roark told me about you. And I saw that news thing about you and that Abomasnow. All the leaders saw it; that son of mine and Gardenia wouldn't stop fawning over the little trainer who'd gotten beat up. But you're doing alright, aren't ya kid?" Byron laughed and clapped me on the shoulder, nearly sending me to the ground. "Character building, right? Trainers these days could use a bit of toughening up."

I could sense there was something else to his words, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. And before I could ask—Byron seemed a little gruff, but at least he was approachable, unlike other Gym leaders—Nick hung up his phone and said, "Okay, time to leave the fossil behind!"

"If I were anyone else, I'd take offense to that. No, wait—I still do." Byron slung his shovel off of his shoulder and hit Nick in the back of the head with the flat side. Eyes watery, the black-haired trainer rubbed the back of his head and glared at the leader. "Go on, you two. Get out of here. Get your last two badges and give that one a run for his money!"

"Three more, actually," I corrected primly, as Nick said, "What do you mean by that?"

"…Staying away from one of the Gyms, eh?" Byron deadpanned. He sounded used to it. "I know every trainer's got that one Gym, but still. Honestly. I'm guessing yours is Wake? Well that one's was Candice. Ask him about it some time."

"Shut up old man!" Nick shouted, hastily pushing me onto the platform heading back to the ground level. I looked back at Byron, who was laughing heartily and leaning on his shovel casually. I finally realized what that tone of his was: it was fatherly. I didn't know why, but it made me feel a little better, and it made me wonder just how the Gym leaders viewed all of the trainers who beat them and moved on with their lives.

Outside, Nick relaxed and rubbed the back of his head again. He glanced down at me surreptitiously, but I noticed the look. "What was that about?"

"The higher-up Gym leaders sort of… They sort of have a complex about trainers, especially younger ones like you."

"I'm almost twelve, you know," I sulked. My training day was close to my birthday, after all, and both of them were coming up rapidly.

Nick smiled in apology and ruffled my hair. "Well, when I was challenging Byron, I was fifteen. That's a difference of three years, and even back then, he was calling me young. Anyway! As I was saying, higher-ups have a thing for younger trainers. They know they're passing knowledge onto the younger generation or something along those lines, and they're proud of that, too. They act a lot like the parents of the training world. They look out for us, you know?"

"…Is that why you two acted like that?"

"Yeah. Well, that and I had to show up to his place twice. He sort of stomped me into the ground the first time I tried going up against him with Vasudeva…" Nick admitted sheepishly. I couldn't help but laugh at the mental image.

"Were you really afraid of going up against Candice? If you had Vasudeva—"

"Don't even go there. You're afraid of the fourth Gym. I was just a bit nervous about the seventh. Which is completely understandable—"

"You were scared of her!" I crowed, triumphant at last. Nick could never say anything about Crasher Wake ever again now. Not when he had had his own complex about a Gym leader.

"I was not!"

"Yeah, you were! Admit it!"

"If you're so not-scared of her, then you challenge her!"

"I will! And—" Too late, I realized what I'd done. I shut my mouth and ducked my head down. Mumbling, I backtracked, "I mean—no, I want to train more—"

"Are you scared of her?" Nick challenged with an evil grin.

"No, I'm not!"

"Then challenge her. She's technically next in the circuit, and you have advantages—unlike Chase—and—"

"Fine, I will! But you are coming with!" He reeled back, paling. It was my turn to grin evilly. "Gym leaders are like parents, right? So let's reunite you with Candice." If Nick had been anything like I was, then I definitely wanted to see his reaction to having to go back to Snowpoint. Even better if Candice remembered him.

Nick swapped out his team in Canalave before we left. He still kept Chase with him, but now he grabbed a stronger team, conspicuously including Vasudeva. I think Des was relieved he wasn't the only fire Pokemon going, even if he'd evolved and gotten a lot stronger since last time. We were all a little nervous going back there. Nick reassured us, though, and even stopped in Floaroma to get a second fire Pokemon, an Arcanine named Fargo. It did make me feel better.

Since Ser wouldn't Fly us any father than Eterna, we were stuck getting through Mount Coronet on our own. It was fairly easy since Chase kept most wild Pokemon at bay, but the climbing itself was hard. It was also a little jarring to see wild Bronzong floating around at random. Gyarados traded roars with Chase, and while I would have loved to catch one of the Dratini or Dragonair who watched these exchanges with avid interest, Nick wouldn't let me get close. Fighting dragons weren't fun to get in the middle of.

It took us nearly a full week to get through Mount Coronet. By then, I was so excited to see the sun again that I didn't mind the cold. Ike seemed fascinated by the snow, at least until he realized that it made his paws cold. He'd gotten his cast off just before we left on this trip, so he obviously didn't like getting all four cold and wet instead of just three.

Heading north again was nostalgic and slightly terrifying. Almost all wild Pokemon were dispatched in one or two moves by both Des and Carlita, or even Konstantin once when an Ursaring had snuck up on us at night. The Froslass was still following us, too, which unnerved the Duskull and I both. Especially more so because she was literally hiding in plain sight while she tailed us, blending in effortlessly with the snow.

Des, Carlita, and I were all jumpy, though. The three of us knew why, too. We were waiting for the Abomasnow. We knew it was still out there, and, according to us (or at least me), it knew we were here. It had to know we were back. It had to know the one that got away was back in its territory. And even a Camerupt, a Garchomp, a Magmar, and an Arcanine wouldn't make me feel safe from that.

Chapter Text

"Can't we make the rest of the way tonight?" I asked nervously. We had reached the forest around Snowpoint. I didn't want to spend the night in it, since last time that happened… Well, bad things happened.

"Look. The Abomasnow, even if it's here, will not attack us. Fargo and Des will both be sleeping out, won't they? And we have Konstantin the watch-ghost. We have a bigger chance of killing ourselves getting lost on this Route at night than with a rogue Abomasnow." Nick could not console me, however. We dug ourselves into the snow below us to get out of the wind, and it was so much like last time that I couldn't help but start to hyperventilate.

Des licked the top of my head and I instinctively turned to him, breathing in the warm scent of his thick fur. I buried my fingers in the fur around his neck and tried to stop shaking. I knew it was not from the cold. We were literally digging ourselves into a hole again, and any moment, the Abomasnow would come roaring through the wall Nick was standing by and go on a rampage and probably kill us all.

"Dus," Konstantin soothed, floating through the wall nearest us.

"Cam," Des added.

I didn't get any sleep that night. Literally. I don't think you know the meaning of the word 'cranky' until you met me the morning after that. I usually didn't do well without sleep as it was, and that was without the cold weather and stress of Route 217 added in.

Fargo ended up carrying me, and at some point, I dozed off with my face in his mane. Just barely, but I still closed my eyes, and when I reopened them, we were walking into Snowpoint. We hadn't been attacked by the Abomasnow. We hadn't even seen it. I breathed a sigh of immense relief and slid off of Fargo, thanking him for the ride with a hug and scratch behind the ears. Arcanine were nice Pokemon, and he seemed pretty energetic and playful. He still acted like a puppy, though he was as tall as I was.

"Was that so bad?" Nick asked lightly. I didn't reply.

-.-.-

"I remember you," Candice said immediately, pointing at Nick. He looked away and tried to shield his face from her view, but it had been too late. She'd noticed, and she'd pounced. Literally. I hadn't known Candice was so young, honestly, especially as I watched her flounce over and throw her arms around Nick. "Look at how much you've grown! And you're not crying this time!"

I snorted into my hand. "He was crying?"

"You did not have to bring that up," Nick groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Now I'm never going to be a good role model ever again. Why did you have to bring that up?"

Candice just grinned, and with her arm still around his shoulders, turned to me. "Aw, is Nicky being a good older trainer to all of the itty bitty trainers? That's so cute."

"Cut it out, Candice," he muttered, trying to get out from her grasp.

Grin sharpening slightly, she kept hold and turned her attention back to him. "Hey, you're not allowed to talk to me that way until you're either a Gym leader yourself or have beaten the Champion. And you've done neither, so it's leader Candice to you."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Sure, fine. Listen, we just need a quick battle for this one, not me."

"You're not here for a rematch? Aw, and I was kind of excited, too." I was unused to a Gym leader acting so familiar, so young, so… normal. True, the leaders were getting more and more casual with me, but I think a large part of that was the fact that I had Nick with me. And he was pretty famous, having challenged the Elite Four a couple times now. Candice seemed a bit like Hanna, though. She was friendly, pretty, and not afraid to speak her mind. "Are you at least going to watch?"

"I don't know, I still don't like it in here—"

"Perfect! In that case, see you two on the other side of the Gym!" she chirped, letting go of him while simultaneously sliding backwards. I noticed then that most of floor of the Gym was ice, save small patches of rough snow and large snowballs.

"Waaaaaiiiiit, you're really going to make us get all the way over there? I already did that once—!" Nick exclaimed as she skated away from us. She laughed and ignored him.

I looked around the Gym curiously. This didn't seem too bad. And Des had gotten a real workout on Route 217, so maybe this wouldn't be too hard of a battle after all. Not to mention the fact that Carlita had an advantage, too, and I could always technically ask Konstantin for help.

First, of course, I had to get to the other side of the Gym.

It took about an hour of skating, slipping, sliding, falling, cursing, pain, and battling Gym trainers before we made it up to Candice. She was laughing at us when we did. "You left a smear! A smear! That's a new one!" On one of the slopes, we had tried to push a snowball down. Instead, I went down, hit my nose, and left a bloody trail down two flights of ice.

"I could sue you."

"Gym leaders are not responsible for any injuries sustained in their Gym," she recited immediately, calming down to a wide smile. "Do you want to battle now, or wait until we clean that up a bit?"

"Now," I spat, fed up with waiting for another badge. I was on a roll—no pun intended—and wanted to get out of this Gym. It was worse than the moving platforms. In fact, it was possible it was my least favorite Gym ever.

"Testy," she giggled.

The Gym battle with Candice was much like the one with Byron. Des and Carlita were an unstoppable force and decimated her ice Pokemon. The one who really stole the show, though, was Ike. I had allowed him out for a bit of the battle with her Snover, since he was faster than it and had learned an electric move after Byron's fight. He often zapped me, Nick, Carlita, Konstantin, or even Fargo on occasion (Des and Chase were both immune, and Vasudeva Teleported away). I figured he'd enjoy zapping an opponent for once.

Well, he hadn't taken down the Snover, but he had managed to tick it off. Des took it out with an Ember (Flamethrower would've been overkill). And, immediately after, Ike had evolved.

I hadn't been expecting it. I really should have, since he was due one at any time. Then again, I hadn't seen any of my team's evolutions coming (even with Nick not-so-subtly hinting at Des'). Maybe I was a bad trainer… But I was also excited. Ike was finally catching up, and now he was bigger to boot! He had an electric attack, he had some weight to throw around, he had bigger teeth and claws, and he was just overall stronger. Only one evolution left, and while that one would still be far away, at least he could hold his own in a fight now.

It didn't even occur to me that I now had a bigger monster to deal with.

"Good job!" Candice had cheered, breaking me out of my joy. She was honestly cheering, though, pumping her fists in the air and jumping around excitedly. "Oh, it's been so long since I've seen an evolution in a battle! Good job, little Shinx-Luxio!"

I really, truly understood what Nick had said then. Gym leaders really did take it as a personal victory to see new, younger trainers succeed. She really was proud of both me and Ike.

I knew I shouldn't have, but at that moment, I wondered what she had thought of the Abomasnow attack.

Candice handed over her badge and TM with a hug. I was a bit surprised by this. Parental figure to trainers or not, it wasn't like I'd ever been hugged by a Gym leader before. I only had two left. Crasher Wake was technically in the lower Gyms, so maybe he wouldn't act so… weird. Volkner, though… Well, we'd have to cross that bridge when we came to it.

"Victory dinner now!" Candice exclaimed, grabbing Nick and sliding down to the bottom of the Gym, taking us with her. We ended up more or less in a heap at the bottom, but she was still as cheery as ever. I found it slightly ironic that the ice Gym leader was so warm, but more weird that she was apparently going to dinner with us.

"Um…"

"Candice…"

"Come on, I know a great little place!"

Okay, getting hugged was not nearly as weird as getting food from a Gym leader. It was a little less weird, however, when it turned out that she wasn't focusing her attention solely on me. She mostly chatted with Nick. "So, how have you been doing? I heard you challenged the Champion awhile ago… But then you dropped off of the radar. What happened?"

"I got fed up. Higher-ups are so… I don't know. I don't know how you do it, though," he replied casually, gesturing with his fork.

"You're already doing it. We do it for the newbies." She chuckled and nodded towards me. I averted my eyes and continued eating, perfectly content to let them talk and not drag me into the conversation. My face was still sore from the ice slip and slide, and I was still trying to digest the fact that I had six badges. Six. Seventy-five percent of badges. Only two more to go. Two. Crasher Wake and Volkner… I wasn't sure which was a scarier prospect, though.

"I guess I can see that—oh! My brother started training a couple of months ago, so if he ever comes up here, don't you dare go easy on him, okay?" Nick brightened and leaned forward. Candice and I noticed the change immediately.

"You have a brother?" we chorused.

"Yeah, a little brother. He turned ten, and I sent my parents a male Nidoran to give him as a starter. I'm trying to sneak him a Spearow, too, but my parents aren't too keen on that idea. I hope he catches a second Pokemon early on…" He sighed, setting his chin in his hand and looking out the frost-covered window.

I was unused to seeing Nick so… brotherly. Or even protective, in a half-joking sort of way. Hadn't he once said I remind him of his brother? Maybe that's why he decided to put up with me for so long…

"Anyway, he'll be an awesome trainer here in a year or two. Watch out for him. I can't wait until he gets that thing to a Nidoking and starts stomping opponents right and left!" Okay, now he was just gushing.

"What about you and that Garchomp of yours? The only thing that can stand up properly to that anymore is Cynthia's," Candice pointed out wryly.

"I've also been at this for a couple more years than most," he replied in an even tone. He seemed to regain his composure, at any rate. "Anyway, until my brother catches up, I'm training this one up. A pet project of mine until I either run into my brother or finally beat Cynthia."

Candice paid for our meal and hugged us both again goodbye. She wanted us to stay longer, but as a pretty nasty-looking snowstorm was moving in in a couple days, we wanted to get out. I didn't want to get snowed in again. She gave Nick her number and got his in exchange, which amazed me a bit (he was cool enough to get a Gym leader's number, seriously) and told him she'd keep an eye out for his brother, though she doubted that he'd be up in Snowpoint anytime soon.

Much to my dismay, we had to walk back to civilization. I wasn't looking forward to the trip, but at least, if we avoided the Abomasnow this time, I would never ever have to come back and potentially face it. Due to a lack of sleep, I did manage to fall asleep when we were far enough from the forest to camp.

I wound up in the white world. The Froslass hovered in front of me, looking serious and as cold as ever. I grimaced. "…What did I do now?"

You're not helping, she replied in a monotone.

Since I was just stalling, waiting for Konstantin to check in and find us here, I sat down in front of her and crossed my legs in front of me. "How am I supposed to? I've asked everyone I come across if they're your trainer. Well, not directly, but still. I'm getting answers and those answers are no. …You're going to have to give me something more to go on if you want to speed up the process of finding him."

Froslass sighed and sat down gingerly. She didn't say anything, though.

I waited for her to speak, but after a very long, very awkward silence, it was obvious that she wasn't going to.

Humans are stupid, she said just as I opened my mouth to break the silence.

I exhaled the breath. "Only sometimes."

Most of the time you are.

"What do you propose I do, then? I don't see you doing much," I muttered.

I—

Cue Konstantin and his watchdog intrusion into my dream. This had happened every single time the Froslass had tried to get to me, and I was starting to get used to it. They usually would argue now for awhile, and then one of them would do something to jolt me out of my dream—and sleep. I leaned back and waited for the inevitable.

Instead, Konstantin asked in a very calm voice, "Where are you?"

I don't see why I have to tell you.

"Comrade, tell me where you are. I saw something outside and I am wondering if it's you or not," he repeated firmly.

I felt cold, and for once, it wasn't the Froslass' doing. I sat bolt upright and looked at the Duskull.

The Froslass cut me off. I'm not close enough for you to have noticed me. If it's the Abomasnow, I will take care of it.

She vanished. Konstantin turned back to me, placed a hand on either of my shoulders, and said, "…Remember the warning, comrade."

Then I woke up.

Chapter Text

We made it back to the southern half of the continent in one piece. I didn't see the Abomasnow ever again. The Froslass didn't speak of it again, either. Things calmed down between her and Konstantin, though, mostly because they realized that they could get more things done when working together.

Ike had been rewarded for his evolution with the TM for Shock Wave, which Nick explained would never, ever miss. Ike could literally have his eyes closed and it would still hit its target—which he demonstrated at once with Konstantin. The ghost hadn't taken kindly to that, of course. But I was sort of excited to have a full-fledged electric Pokemon on the team that I took Ike's side and broke up the fight before it could start.

And, for awhile there, I was happy.

Since I had gotten two badges in such a short time, Nick let me go on a training spree without having to worry about either Crasher Wake or Volkner. I still didn't know which I wanted to challenge, but with Ike's boost in strength and training regimen, I was feeling a little more confident on the water Pokemon front. Not enough to challenge Wake, oh no, but enough to make me feel like I wouldn't die if I challenged him at some point in the far future. Far future.

I got to see another training team of Nick's, and a couple Pokemon in particular he was thinking about challenging the Elite Four with. One of them was a skittish Smeargle named Harlan, and another was an Aerodactyl, Patru. Kamala also returned to the team, which didn't make me or my team very happy. We did our best to be nice to her, though—or at least, we all did save Carlita and Konstantin. They remained openly defiant or even hostile towards her. It made for some awkward meal times.

Nick apologized for Kamala several times, but it didn't make things any better. If anything, they made them worse. Kamala seemed to resent his apologies in her stead, and even I had to admit that after awhile, it started to get annoying. "She's one of the strongest ones I have. I have to get her stronger to take on Cynthia." That seemed to be the staple of his rationale.

Even with that slight problem, things progressed. My team all learned new moves. Des learned Rock Slide and Earth Power, which were both really awesome and devastating moves. I now considered him the tank of my team. Very rarely could a wild Pokemon last more than a move against him anymore. I was insanely proud of him.

Carlita had learned more new fighting moves than I could keep up with. I seriously tried to count them, but it seemed like she got a new one every time I thought I had caught up. I did know that she learned Mind Reader—which, in her claws, was terrifying—and Seed Bomb, though, which was happily another grass move. I'd been almost worried that she had run out of those. Still, she was shaping up to be quite the fighter, and was now could even hold her own against Kamala when they were having a strictly fighting spar.

Ike, too, had made leaps and bounds of progress. He learned Bite and Roar, which he was all too keen on showing off to any wild Pokemon we came across. He still only had two electric moves, Spark and Shock Wave, but he also had Charge, which seemed to power them up, so I wasn't complaining. He could handle himself in a fair amount of the country, too, without needing Des or Carlita to back him up. He was proud of himself, I could tell, but I was also proud of him for the fact that he was fighting with the team less. And he didn't attack any of us all that much anymore.

As for Konstantin—well, he wasn't technically mine. I knew he and the Froslass had taken to talking to each other and sharing ghost-y secrets with each other, so I assumed he was making progress, too. I occasionally saw him cart off a smaller wild Pokemon to eat (and caught Ike staring wistfully after him) and wondered vaguely if he was getting any experience from that.

Our team was evolving as a whole. Des as a Camerupt and Ike as a Luxio were some pretty big changes, especially in Des' case, but we got used to it. Carlita didn't pick on Ike so much anymore now that he was shoulder-height to her. Des seemed to fully accept him and even licked him on top of the head occasionally. Carlita had taken to riding on Des' back, squealing with joy as he sort of sauntered awkwardly down the path. Once, even, Ike had joined her and it had been the first real team thing they'd ever done together without me making them.

I was still light years from catching up with Nick and his team, however. We all knew that, too. We watched him practice with his team every day, after all, and saw what they were capable of. Chase was an absolute fiend in battle and had an array of moves that I actually had a nightmare about once. Kamala was just as bad, with both hard-hitting fighting moves and powerful psychic moves to draw from. Patru, while not as strong or fast as Chase, mastered the skies like no one's business and often smacked birds out of the air with his tail in mid-flight. For a living fossil, he was fast. I very rarely got to see Harlan do much, but she had a sort of quiet, scary air to her, so I wasn't sure I wanted to. She seemed shifty, or like she was hiding something—or like she had seen something that had terrified her and kept her terrified to that day.

"Hey, my brother got his second badge! He's making much better time than you did," Nick said cheerfully.

"Don't rub it in."

"If he beats Crasher Wake before you do…"

"So what if he does?" I asked evasively. "I don't care." Actually, I sort of did that a ten-year-old was already a third to where I was.

"If he passes you, I'm disowning you."

"You don't own me."

"Considering how much force I had to invest to get those badges for you? I think I do."

"…Not-uh."

"Yeah-huh. Or do you think you could get one on your own—?"

"Don't start that." He'd roped me into too many challenges with that approach and I would not fall for it any longer. I turned back to where I was trying to learn how to kick from Carlita. She thought it absolutely hilarious to try to teach her trainer how to fight, and for some reason I had just gone along with her.

And aside from random comments like that and updates on his brother's status, Nick and I lived companionably on our training journey. Like I said—for awhile, I was happy.

-.-.-

We had circled back around to Pastoria because Nick claimed he wanted to catch something from the Great Marsh. I knew why we were there, though, and I stubbornly refused to leave the Pokemon Center. That night, however, changed my mind about it.

I blinked blearily as I awoke to an empty Center. I looked around for Nick, but the lobby was empty. Wait—hadn't I fallen asleep in my room? Where was Nick? Where were my Pokemon? Now considerably more awake, I stood up and looked around frantically for anyone. "Hello? Anyone here?"

"I'm here." I whirled around and saw a girl with tan skin and pink hair reclining languidly on the couch. She had her bare feet propped up on the table and her hair fell low over her eyes.

"Who are you?"

"You don't remember me?" she asked, tilting her head back and staring at me with unnaturally wide eyes. "That's sad. I'm hurt. I'm the goddess of love, remember?"

Dim pictures of the girl laughing hysterically, saying something about Froslass, saying something about Froslass' trainer… They came back, barely. I squinted at her. "But who are you?"

"Maybe one day you'll really find out." She stood up lightly on her toes in one, fluid motion. The pink cloak around her shoulders rustled slightly as she pulled her arms free of the fabric. She clapped her hands together and chuckled, looking me up and down. "So then. Have you seen that Froslass lately?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. It does. Very much." She smiled, forced and sharp. I backed up reflexively. "Have you?"

"No."

"You're lying."

"If you already knew the answer, why did you bother asking me?" I snapped, backing up another step.

The girl with the big eyes took a step towards me, still smiling. I was beginning to think this would turn into a nightmare—when it got worse.

A boy in a dark grey version of the girl's cloak suddenly appeared from nowhere, literally tumbling onto the scene. He got back to his feet unsteadily, unsure of how to keep his balance. The girl screeched and before I could get a good look at his face, or listen to what he was muttering about, I woke up. I was back in my room, safe on my top bunk, though a little shaken.

Then I realized that I really didn't want to know what the dream had meant. I wish all of the intruders in my dreamscape would go away and let me have normal dreams again. I gave up trying to get any more sleep that night and carefully slid down from the top bunk, hoping I didn't wake Nick. He snored loudly and rolled over, so I figured I was safe. I took my phone and scribbled out a note by its light for him if he woke up before I got back.

I didn't take my team with me and let them sleep in their balls instead.

Just as I was closing the door, I heard a, "Dus?" I nearly jumped out of my skin, though I managed not to make a sound. Taking a deep breath to try to regulate my heartbeat again, I turned around to face him.

"What, Kostya?"

"Dus?" he repeated. I rolled my eyes and walked around him. The lobby was eerily empty, just like my dream. I ignored that, though, and instead went outside. It was cool, and I almost wished I'd brought a jacket with me. The eastern sky was just barely starting to get light. I checked my phone. Four thirty-nine in the morning.

Konstantin appeared once more by my side, holding up the jacket I'd neglected to take with me. I nodded in thanks and put it on, immediately grateful. "…It's quiet out here," I said softly, relishing the silence of the pre-dawn.

"COME ON! You call that a run! I can run twice as fast as that blindfolded with my arms tied behind my back and hopping on one leg!"

Konstantin and I both winced from the loud shout and the yelling. We peeked out from the doorway at who was yelling. We barely reeled back in time as Crasher Wake and a large, orange weasel sprinted past. I paled at the sight of the Gym leader. I had never expected to see him outside of the Gym…

Unfortunately, it seemed as if they had noticed us, for they doubled back. I shrunk back and tried to hide behind Konstantin. Crasher Wake ran up to us, and, still jogging in place with his orange Pokemon behind him, exclaimed, "Hey! Are you another early riser out here for a workout?"

"Um—no—"

"WAIT A SECOND—I know you!" The man stopped his jog and, panting slightly, leaned in with his hands on his hips. His Pokemon mimicked him. "You challenged me before, didn't you?" He sounded a bit more normal when he wasn't raising his voice so much.

"Uh, yeah, I did…" I admitted, still trying to hide behind Konstantin. It didn't work very well, though, especially after he disappeared and reappeared beside me. I glared at him for the betrayal. "A-Awhile ago…"

"Ahaha, I knew it! I never forget a challenger, especially not one as fun as yours! You were tied up last time, weren't you? Are you here to challenge me again? Are we going to battle without arms again? That sounds like a real challenge!"

"Actually, I'm not—"

"Why not? Given up on training, have you?!" He leaned in again suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at me. I shook my head fervently.

"No! I have—I mean, I'm still training!" After managing to get six, I was proud of them. And I totally meant to get all eight. I had not given up on training, and found it a little insulting to be asked that. As a team, we had been making so much progress, too! "I have six badges!"

Crasher Wake leaned back. He looked completely, utterly nonplussed. The orange Pokemon behind him once again mirrored his expression. "…Six? But… I'm the fourth Gym leader."

"…Yeah…" I suddenly wanted dearly to go back inside.

"Why have you skipped my Gym?! Are you that intimidated by my fearsome team?!" Just like that, abrasive Wake was back. He laughed and placed his fists on his hips. He didn't bother waiting for an answer. "I will not allow this to go on! It has been such a long time—No! This must be the first time ever that I, Crasher Wake, will have challenged a trainer with six badges! This will be an epic challenge! You, be at my Gym at noon today! I will accept nothing less!"

With that, I was left cowering in the doorway of the Center with an appointment to challenge Crasher Wake at noon. Yeah, the happy time didn't last very long.

Chapter Text

"Niiiiiiiiiiiick you have to help me!" I didn't care if it was five in the morning. I ran into the Center and jumped on his bed and tried not to continue screaming. Crasher Wake had just challenged me. Crasher Wake had just challenged me. Was that even allowed?! I had thought that only trainers could challenge Gym leaders, not vice versa. Could I say no? What if I just didn't show up?

"Nngh, wha…?" Nick groaned and sat up, hitting his head on the top bunk (which is why I didn't sleep on the bottom anymore). He swore and laid back down, flailing randomly until he managed to grab onto my shoulder. He pulled me down onto the bed beside him, as opposed to where I was sitting on top of him. "What's going on…?"

"You have to help me!" I wailed. It was a nightmare come true. I had to battle Crasher Wake. Sure, we had made progress, but not enough! Carlita still only had two real grass moves she could use reliably, and Ike was still weaker than her and only had two electric moves, and there was no way I could ever use Des, and I wasn't even sure Konstantin could help me this time. I was toast. I needed help, bad.

"What's going on?" he repeated, sounding vaguely annoyed.

"Crasher Wake ch-challenged me." It came out as not much more than a whimper. The next part came out even more pathetically. "I don't want to battle him."

"…Okay, what? What are you talking about?" Nick propped himself up on his elbow, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand. He fixed me with a sleepy glare, though I could tell he was still trying to figure out whether or not this was a real emergency. Which it was. At least the Center wasn't on fire (again).

"I just went outside for—for some fresh air—" Suddenly, that nightmare didn't seem so bad. After all, at least I had been asleep for it and could wake up from it. "—and Crasher Wake—the Gym leader—the water Gym Leader—challenged me!"

"…I'm going back to sleep now."

With a sleepy sigh, he flopped back down and turned his back to me. Since he had pulled me down between him and the wall, it meant that I couldn't really get out of bed without literally crawling over him. And since he growled angrily whenever I moved or made a sound after that, I just decided to wait until a slightly saner time to pelt him with my worries.

At some point, I fell asleep. After all, I could only stare at a blank wall and angst for so long. I had been tired, too, since my sleep had been so rudely interrupted before.

-.-.-

"Okay, your best bet is to use Ike against his Gyarados. He doesn't even have to do much—just have him dodge attacks and use Shock Wave, since it doesn't miss. If he can stay away from the Gyarados' attacks long enough, he'll win. Probably in three or four moves, since he's an electric…"

"Right."

"He has a Pokemon that is part ground type, too, so you'll want to use Carlita on that one. A couple grass moves will put that one out of business."

"Right."

"As for his third Pokemon, well… Use Carlita, probably, just because she's stronger and can take a hit better. Use Ike though, if she's tired out for whatever reason. If that's the case, have him try his hardest to keep zapping away."

"Right."

And that was the end of Nick's advice for me. He told me he felt guilty for giving me that much, and that it felt sort of like cheating, since he knew what I would be going up against and was helping me past it. So, instead of pestering him about it, I went outside to try to create some sort of solid strategy for us (following that advice, of course).

"Des, you'll be sitting this one out." He had no problem with that and obediently sat down, munching on the grass in front of him as he watched us. "Ike, you'll be running around like crazy. Seriously. Don't let that Gyarados catch up to you. Just keep zapping it with Shock Wave and running circles around it. Carlita, you'll go out against a different opponent and probably the third one, too. Just… Well, dance circles around them and use that Seed Bomb attack."

"Bre!" she cried excitedly, twirling on the spot. Ike edged away from her, looking embarrassed at her dancing.

"D-Did you say Carlita?"

We had been outside, and it was the middle of the day, so I wasn't surprised when a couple people stopped to watch the dancing Breloom or marvel at the Camerupt stretched out beside me. When one of them shyly approached us, however, I was a bit surprised. Maybe I was just used to my team, but they didn't astound me anymore; apparently it wasn't that way for everyone.

"Yeah." If I had noticed the way Carlita stopped dancing and stared at the stranger with something akin to astonishment, I might have handled the situation differently. As it was, however, I only had the upcoming battle with Crasher Wake on my mind.

The girl in front of me craned her neck to look over my shoulder at Carlita. I mimicked the move and looked back at the Breloom as well. I only then noticed her expression. The girl whimpered, "Ca-Carlita?"

"…Bre!" I ducked just in time as Carlita launched herself at the girl. They both went down into the grass.

It hit me like a slap to the face. I hadn't thought about it in so long, and we'd been together for so long, I had forgotten all about where and how I had received Carlita. I had never caught her. I had gotten her from a thief who had stolen her from another trainer.

And that trainer was rolling around on the ground with her right then, laughing.

"Wha-What…" Shell-shocked, I could only stare down at them both. I couldn't comprehend what was going on. This girl, out of nowhere, appeared and now was playing with Carlita. Carlita had recognized her. Carlita had had another trainer before me.

"I-I'm so sorry!" the girl clambered to her feet and straightened her shirt, still smiling as Carlita head butted her hand. "Let me introduce myself. I-I'm Celia. And… About a-a year and a half ago, I had a Shroomish named Carlita who loved to dance stolen from me."

I grinned, unable to do anything else. "I… I'm Carlita's trainer. I've had her for most of that time. I—I rescued her from that thief." Oh no. I blinked suddenly, trying to keep away the tears that had come from nowhere. Carlita was going to be taken away from me. And, just because karma loathed me, she was being taken from me right before my battle with Crasher Wake. I was losing a third of my team, my second Pokemon, my little dancer, the one who had saved me from the Abomasnow, the one I'd trained and learned kicks from, the one who had nearly killed us all with SolarBeam, the one who always had a smile and a twirl for anyone who was feeling down.

Celia looked as though she might cry, too. Carlita looked back and forth between us in alarm. "I… I mean, I understand, b-but-I caught her when she was a little Sh-Shroomish… I didn't mean to l-lose her. It just happened. I-I hadn't wanted to give her up…"

"I don't want to give her up, either," I said pathetically, still blinking. I kept grinning, not knowing what else to do. Now Celia started blinking as well, and Carlita was getting more and more distressed because of it. Carlita was part of my team. She had been for so long. I wasn't going to give up another Pokemon. Not my Carlita.

Celia gave a great sniffle and wiped her wrist across her eyes. "I… I understand b-but… Carlita had been m-my only Pokemon when she was t-taken from me."

Carlita made a sad sound and wrapped her arms around Celia's waist, nuzzling into her leg. I looked down at the hug. My grin finally broke.

Nick found me too late. I had stopped crying, at least—I hadn't wanted to cry in front of anyone, especially not him. I think Konstantin might have fetched him, but I wasn't sure. I just knew that soon enough, I was being lifted from where I was curled into Des and I latched onto Nick instead. "Carlita's gone," I told him.

"…It's okay. Come on. Let's get back inside," he murmured, smoothing back my hair.

"I-I have to fight Crasher Wake in ten minutes. I have to battle him. With only Ike." My Luxio didn't seem too put off by this, however. In fact, he seemed excited that he didn't have to share. "I have to battle him."

"No, you don't, not in this state."

"I have to. I have to battle without Carlita now."

I couldn't believe that I was arguing about battling Crasher Wake, and wanting to, but I was. I had to try it without Carlita. It would only get tougher from here on out, when I really started to miss her and notice her absence, and I knew I would never be able to face Crasher Wake without her. I had to do it now while I could still function somewhat properly and didn't talk myself into what an impossible task it would be without her. I had to prove to myself that life went on while missing a piece of my team. Pokeballs are like heartstrings, huh; I had to prove that I could function without a piece of my heart.

That may sound melodramatic, but it was really how I felt. I wish I could have turned back time and not given her back to Celia, or battled Celia for ownership, or flat-out fought Celia herself for her. I would've. I would've in a heartbeat. Less than a heartbeat. I would have even now, if she would have appeared in front of me.

"Let me battle him. I have to try. Nick let me try."

I don't know why he did. Maybe he had hoped to teach me some sort of lesson, or maybe he just thought he really couldn't stop me. (After all, I fought Maylene last time we argued about this subject.) Or maybe he just realized this was something I needed to do. For all I knew, he'd gone through this same exact thing before. What were those three greater tragedies again?

Crasher Wake gave us both a curious look when we first came into the Gym. I managed to get through the puzzles on my own, though for some reason, about halfway through, the trainers stopped challenging me. That was good, since Ike was starting to get a little tired and sick of the constant water attacks. In other circumstances, I probably would have had more fun—or a harder time—trying to cross from floor to floor on the rafts, but as it was, I was hardly more than a zombie.

Nick left me after I made it to Crasher Wake. He murmured something to the Gym leader before his departure, but I didn't bother trying to eavesdrop. Probably something about going easy on me, or an explanation of why I'd only use one Pokemon since Konstantin had vanished as well. It was really just Ike and me. I had a couple of Revives, but that would entail that I call Des out for a turn while I used it, and that would turn him into little more than a sacrifice. I wouldn't do that to my starter, to anyone on my dwindling team. So it was just Ike and me.

"Aha…" Crasher Wake laughed uncertainly. No doubt he was unused to seeing such a listless challenger. Especially when I had given him such a reaction just that morning. It seemed like so long ago… "…Well then! Let's get this show on the road!" I could only nod.

Chapter Text

The last time I had been staring down Crasher Wake's Gyarados, it had been with Carlita. I had also been tied up, but that seemed very much beside the point. Now I had a static-y Luxio next to me, trading growls and hisses with the massive water Pokemon.

The Gyarados went down with three Shock Waves. Ike hadn't taken a single hit, though he'd nearly fallen into the water. Crasher Wake nodded in appreciation, and took a moment before he called out his second Pokemon. He ended up calling out the orange Pokemon he'd been jogging with that morning, a Floatzel. It flexed and grinned at us both. Ike grinned back at it. His teeth were considerably sharper.

I had a strange feeling in my heart right about then. Carlita hadn't lasted this far. Ike had. Did that mean something?

"Ike… Shock Wave."

"Aqua Jet!" Wake called. His Floatzel barked an affirmative and dove into the water. It splashed into Ike's side before he could even begin to dodge. The tradeoff was that the Floatzel couldn't get away from the Shock Wave, especially not at that range, and having contact with a soaked Luxio only increased the power.

"Shock Wave!"

"Aqua Jet again!"

It continued like that. Both Pokemon took damage with each move and showed signs of wear. Ike was panting now, and had to keep up a constant electric charge in his fur because the Floatzel attacked so frequently and quickly.

The match ended when the Floatzel went in for one last Aqua Jet and Ike decided to take some initiative. He released a Shock Wave just as the orange weasel hit him, and while it was stunned and trying to get away from him again, he pursued it and used a Bite on the back of its neck. The Floatzel finally fainted. Ike was declared the winner again, though he was barely standing and was clearly very tired.

"Good show! But now it's up to you, Quagsire!"

My heart sank. I knew Quagsire had to be the part ground type that Nick had mentioned. Ike couldn't use his advantage then. And even if he could Bite and Tackle it into submission, he was barely conscious as it was. He wouldn't last more than a move or two, especially if the Quagsire decided to use a ground move. Ike glanced back at me once, eyes narrowed.

I sighed. I would not sacrifice Ike in the name of putting a dent in the last Gym Pokemon. I wouldn't do it to Des, I wouldn't do it to Ike. I'd have to give up. "Ike—"

"Bre!"

My heart must have stopped. I slowly turned to look, but instead, the Breloom hopped onto the scene, tail waving behind her as she tried to keep her balance on the inflatable raft. She trotted nonchalantly into the center of the stage and dismissed Ike with a wave of her clawed paw.

I whirled around to see Nick helping Celia across the rafts. They were being escorted by Konstantin.

"Well, well, what's this?" Crasher Wake asked in evident amusement. "Are you going to substitute your Luxio for your Breloom?"

My Breloom. Carlita, my Breloom. "Yes." My voice shook, but I wasn't about to cry. Really. I was just happy, that was all. I had no idea what was going on, but as long as I could have Carlita again and we could make an awesome comeback and finally beat Crasher Wake and have a happily ever after, I'd be fine.

"Mud Shot!"

"Seed Bomb!"

The Quagsire went down.

I gaped at the fallen blue lump. Was it really not moving? It hadn't even gotten the chance to fire off its own attack before Carlita had lobbed the Seed Bomb at its face. Carlita stood on the tips of her toes to look down at the Quagsire. Nick, Celia and Konstantin arrived on Wake's platform about then, a little surprised to see that the final battle was already over.

"…Well aren't you a talented young trainer! Ahaha! It's been awhile since I've seen that sort of talent! And here you were holding out on me, kid!" Crasher Wake exclaimed at last, laughing heartily as he recalled the Quagsire. Carlita turned and grinned at me, clapping.

"Now that was a flawless victory," Nick remarked.

"Carlita… Wow," Celia breathed.

"Loom!" she exclaimed, leaping over. She danced from foot to foot excitedly, all smiles for her amazing, if unexpected, win. I knelt down beside her and threw my arms around her neck, holding her still enough to get in a hug. She whined and wiggled, but eventually gave up and wrapped her arms around me back. I definitely wasn't crying; I was just happy.

-.-.-

Nick steepled his fingers. He closed his eyes and exhaled out his nose. "…What are we going to do with you?"

I smiled sheepishly, arms still around Carlita. I had hardly let her go since her triumphant return to me. It seemed as if she was really back, too. Celia had been tracked down by either Konstantin or Nick (or both), and was somehow convinced that Carlita should come back to me.

I don't know how they did it. All I got was the abbreviated explanation: Celia had a change of heart. She just smiled and hugged both Carlita and I, and then left after a murmured "I'm sorry". I saw that she had rather red eyes, but didn't say anything about it. Just moments before I got the okay, yeah, Carlita's mine again, I was about ready to fight for her. I knew what it was like to lose the Breloom, which was why I wasn't going to go through it again. I had only lost her for a brief period of time, but I knew that I wasn't going to forget it easily.

Nick and Konstantin didn't answer me when I asked about what they said or did. I wasn't completely sure I wanted to know, either. It seemed like something I was better off not knowing for some reason; I got the impression that it wasn't completely innocent. That was strange, too. Konstantin might've resorted to such things, but Nick never would, and he never would have condoned any action like that, either.

I just had that feeling.

"I… I got my seventh badge?" I tried hopefully. Crasher Wake hadn't been able to detach me from my Breloom long enough to hand over the Fen badge and accompanying TM, so Nick still had them.

He held it up against the light of the Center. "No, I have your seventh badge. Which means I have nine."

"No—you have two of the same."

"You were going to completely break down, weren't you?" he asked shrewdly, palming the badge once more. I looked away and instead studied Carlita's hat-like protuberance. "What would you have done if Carlita hadn't come back to you at that point?"

"I had been planning on giving up the battle. I… I wouldn't have let Ike faint, if that's what you're—"

"No, it's not." He was angry now. He was trying not to be, but he still was. I knew him too well. I just couldn't figure out why he was mad, though, and that sort of scared me. I had just won against Crasher Wake, my nemesis and nightmare. I had seven badges. I had my Carlita back. So what was wrong?

"Nick…" I mumbled uncertainly.

"Do you remember when I told you about those three greater tragedies of training?" He looked away, expression darkening. I still didn't understand where this was coming from. I could only nod. "You remember that first one?"

"I don't remember what order they were in."

"It is when a trainer… breaks."

Carlita and I stayed silent, still in each other's arms.

Nick kept his gaze fixed on the far wall. "It can be fixed. But only sometimes. Sometimes, something happens that just makes a trainer shut down. They stop training. Forever. The rest of their team is released or kept around as pets or given away to friends or family or even strangers. And it's such a sad thing. It always is. The causes vary, but… Oh damn it, you were so close to that. You were the most pitiful, sad thing I have ever seen. You would have lost Carlita, and then you would have lost against Crasher Wake, and you probably would have given up after that, wouldn't you have?" He turned back to me, eyes unreadable.

I swallowed. "I don't know." It was a lie as soon as the words left my mouth. As soon as he had spoken it, I knew that was what would have happened. The Electabuzz was the prepping move; Carlita would have been the coup de grâce.

"Oh jeez…" Nick tilted his head back and ran a hand through his black hair. He seemed so old. Not white hair, crotchety old man old, but more like he had been through too much. Like he had seen something he shouldn't have until he was older. "You're impossible."

"Why?"

"What are you going to do when one of them dies?" he asked without sugarcoating it. I flinched and tightened my hold on Carlita. "It will happen. Hopefully not soon, hopefully many, many years from now. But not many Pokemon have a human's lifespan. Eventually… You'll lose one for good."

"Don't remind me of that."

"Will you quit after that?"

"…No."

"Really?"

"I don't know. Don't make me think about this yet."

"…Fine." Nick relented, pushed back his chair, and got to his feet. He extended a hand downward to Carlita and me. "Let's talk about better things, then. Since I am not spoiling you with another dinner. You're winning too much lately and I'm running out of money."

"You don't have to buy—!"

"I know, I was kidding." He tried smiling, trying to erase the seriousness of minutes before. I gratefully latched onto the faux happiness. I didn't want to think about losing any of my team, especially not to death.

We ended up camping out in the Center lobby, since we let out our teams and they were getting rather large. Chase and Des alone took up a corner. Nurse Joy let us have popcorn, and we spent the evening throwing it at each other, trying to eat it, watching Carlita make it into necklaces with Kamala, and promising we'd clean up after ourselves. There was some movie on the TV, but we ignored it in favor of talking. Nice talking, too. Talking that I missed.

"So, seven badges now. Only one left, you realize that?"

"Oh yeah. You kidding me? I'm awesome and I'm catching up to you. What if I become the Champion before you do?"

"Oh no, not happening. Not even in your dreams." Nick threw a handful of popcorn at me. I responded in kind. "Did you ever imagine yourself getting this far? Not many trainers make it, you know. Especially not your age."

"Well, I am pretty much pro at speed training. It also helps that all of the wild Pokemon in the area swarm to attack me, too. Lots of training." I tossed pieces of popcorn to Carlita, who caught them in her mouth. She was pretty good at it, too. I couldn't imagine having this without her.

"Did you ever want to be anything but a trainer?" he asked curiously, trying the same trick with Chase. The dragon snorted at the move and ignored him, causing several of the Pokemon to laugh.

"I wanted to be a doctor once. But that was when I was, like, five or something. I've wanted to be a trainer for a long time now," I told him, craning my head back to try to catch the popcorn Carlita was throwing at me. I wasn't nearly as good at it as she was. I was further upstaged when Ike sat up and caught two pieces effortlessly.

"Oh, cool. I love that song." I rolled my eyes; I had heard the line before in school. "…Going to ask me?"

"Huh? Uh—what about you, Nick?" I asked with an exaggerated air of casualness.

"I wanted to work in a circus," he announced with a roguish grin. I blinked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm serious! My uncle and his Pokemon were performers, and I always wanted to be like him. When I was ten and got Chase the Gible, we just followed him around the circus instead of training."

"Really? Learn anything cool?"

"Oh yeah. You've seen the fire trick, right? My parents were furious when they found out he taught an eleven-year-old that one. And, let's see… I can juggle, and do gymnastic things, and walk a tightrope pretty well, and he tried to teach me how to throw knives once. Chase can still walk a tightrope and balance on a ball, too." To demonstrate, Nick had us clear a path of Pokemon and popcorn. He bent forward and stood on his hands, walking easily across the space. We clapped in appreciation. I had actually never seen a circus or a circus performer, so it was sort of cool to see it firsthand now. Even if it was just Nick showing off. "It's pretty handy to know some of that stuff, too, let me tell you. When you don't have a bike and want to get across one of those little bike paths to the item on the other side, it's a lot easier to walk than try and take a half hour crawling. Or if you're low on money, you can always perform."

"Can you teach me something?" I asked eagerly. He looked at me, snapping back to reality. He seemed a little unsure about it. "Please? Anything?"

"…Well. Maybe sometime when Nurse Joy won't kill me for it, okay?" I couldn't hide my disappointment, even if I got a vague promise for a later date. Nick sat down beside me and clapped me on the back. "Cheer up. I'll teach you how to breathe fire to match Des."

I couldn't fight a grin. Des made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, though. "Okay, deal!"

And so the night wore on.

Soon, the popcorn was gone and the Pokemon started dropping off to sleep. Ike was the first one out, having been exhausted after the battle. Harlan the Smeargle had drifted off pretty early on, too, and Kamala was sprawled out on one of the couches, apparently dozing. I felt pretty tired, too. Nick was perfectly awake and was trying to coerce Chase into juggling three of the empty pokeballs to prove he could do it, however.

As my eyelids were finally drooping, I heard Nick say, "I'm proud of you."

He probably hadn't meant for me to hear it. I did, though. I smiled against Carlita's hat and nestled into Des' side. I had my team back. I had my best friend and his team. In my mind, we would never be broken up again.

It was my last happy sleep for a long, long time.

Chapter Text

"You're still trying, huh?" The pink-haired girl relaxed on the lobby couch again, feet propped up on the table. Unlike how it was in real life, the room was immaculate. She stared at me intently, as if trying to read my mind.

"Trying what?" I asked. I felt content, even in her presence. I wasn't sure why.

"…Nevermind. Humans are so stupid. Impossible."

I looked around the lobby, hardly hearing her. "Why do you keep appearing in my dreams? You never say anything worthwhile anymore. Will you ever make sense or answer any of my questions?"

"What questions do you want answered?" she asked simply.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the goddess of—"

"No, who are you?" I interrupted, looking down at her. She struck a chord with me. Not to mention that she still seemed vaguely familiar. Like I had met her long ago, in a dream… Oh wait. Scratch that.

"…You know me," she said instead, looking down at her feet on the table. She wiggled her toes. "We've met several times when you're conscious. I actually really don't like you."

"Wait, why?" I asked in confusion. The pink-haired girl had never really been that mean to me, or even mentioned not liking me. And while I had suspected that I knew her, I still couldn't place her or recall where I had ever seen her before. Pink wasn't a common hair color, so surely I would have remembered her.

"You're too selfish. You're not thinking of anyone but yourself. Yourself and that team of yours. You don't stop to think how you're hurting others!" Her voice and body rose until she was standing, hands fisted at her sides. Then, she seemed to realize the movement. She reluctantly relaxed and sighed. "You're not helping."

"…Who am I supposed to be helping?"

"It's irrelevant at this point," she murmured, eyes downcast.

At that point, I got a dose of déjà vu when the grey-cloaked boy tumbled onto the dream once more. The tan girl was immediately tense again and went for me, but the boy tackled her with a snarl. My breath caught when I saw his face—or rather, when I didn't see his face. His hood was up and over his face, and he was wearing a skull mask.

"K-K-Kostya—?!"

"What are you doing?!" he roared, hands scrabbling at the pink-haired girl's throat. She kicked him off and jumped onto the back of the couch, sinking into a fighting stance. It was definitely the Duskull, though—at least, the Duskull in human form.

Which meant— "You're a Pokemon?!" I exclaimed in a voice much higher than what I would have liked in conscious circumstances.

I wasn't answered. At least, I wasn't until another Pokemon-human arrived on the scene. This one was wearing a white kimono with a red sash. I dove behind one of the couches and peeked over the edge as the Froslass screeched when she caught sight of herself. "What have you done?!"

"What is going on here?!" I shouted, trying to make myself heard over the brawl and Froslass. That must have done it, though, because all three of them turned and stared at me. I stood up behind the couch, biting my lip. Okay, so they were all Pokemon. I recognized two of them. The third one I didn't, though she claimed to know me. And they were all in my dream for some reason I could not begin to fathom.

"I don't know about those two, but I was merely keeping you company," the pink-haired girl replied snobbishly, gesturing to the two ghosts.

"You were trying to warp—"

"You were only instigating—"

"I was doing no such thing!"

"Yes you were!"

"You lying, terrible excuse for a Pokemon!" Konstantin and I both looked in surprise at the Froslass. Tears were running down her cheeks. She shook her head, white hair flying, and shrieked, "You have done nothing for him! You aren't doing anything to help!"

"Don't try to tell me what I have or have not done—!" the other girl screamed, lunging at her. The Froslass met her with a solid punch to the jaw. She stumbled back, astonished at the blow, holding her cheek. The Froslass, panting slightly, raised her fists again in a rudimentary fighting stance. The pink-haired girl snarled at her, "You are a failure, Lassie! You've only made it worse! You're the one who started it!"

"Don't say that! You know as well as I do that this was—we couldn't—you are at fault here, too!"

"Liar! You've only stalked him from afar all this time and you've made things worse! If you would have just followed orders to begin with—"

"That would have only sped up the process and made things worse and we were trying to stop it from happening, remember?! When did you stop trying to help?! Tell me that, Kamala!"

I didn't hear the rest of the argument. I didn't hear anything after 'Kamala'. I knew I had heard it correctly, though I wish I hadn't. Suddenly, the pink hair and tan skin fit. And the worst part was that I remembered the name Lassie. Nick had had a Snorunt named Lassie. It was the only reason I had recognized what a Froslass was when the whole thing started. I didn't know why I didn't make the connection sooner.

Which meant that Nick was Froslass' trainer.

Nick was the one who was turning into a monster.

"Comrade, don't! Don't become dark, don't think about this, don't think about it!" Konstantin was suddenly in my face, shaking me by the shoulders. I could dimly make out one red eye behind the mask. I didn't register what he said, though, only that he was speaking. Nick was Froslass' trainer. I had been trying to save him all this time. Did that mean that I… failed? How had that happened? Nick wasn't a monster, not any more than I was. He wouldn't have ordered a Froslass to kill another Pokemon.

He had said he had a Rhyhorn evolve into a Rhydon, though. Was he lying? Did he catch another? Why wouldn't he have told me?! He had to have connected the dots when I asked about a Rhyhorn and a Froslass, so why didn't he speak up? Didn't he trust me?

"Don't become dark, don't think about it! This is not a problem!"

"You lying, filthy ghost! You've never helped anyone, you never followed orders, you caused all of this!"

"You were the one who wanted to see the Future Sight! You would have done the exact same thing in my place!"

I stumbled away from Konstantin, staring at horror at them. This was all too surreal. It had to be a nightmare, a real nightmare. They were all just my imagination this time. It couldn't be real. Nick wasn't the dark-haired trainer. The pink-haired girl wasn't Kamala. Froslass wasn't Nick's. This was just a regular nightmare.

"Please, comrade, don't think about it! I can help you through it! Don't—Don't think about this!" Konstantin pleaded desperately, taking a step towards me. The Froslass and Kamala continued screaming and tearing at each other. I wasn't sure who was nearer tears. I pulled at my hair, trying to wake myself up from the nightmare. It couldn't be real.

"You have never tried to help him! You were close to him, and you did nothing about it! You could have at least tried to—" The Froslass was cut off as Kamala slapped her and shoved her to the ground. She grabbed hold of the temporary human's hair and started smashing her head against the floor. I took a step back, unable to tear my gaze away from them. The Froslass shrieked and thrashed, clawing at Kamala's shoulders and neck, unable to reach her face.

"Don't look at them, don't pay attention!" Konstantin begged, seizing me by the shoulders once more. "Please, please don't let this affect you!" He was practically sobbing.

I woke up. I looked around blearily, heart thundering in my ears. The lights were on, and I heard screaming. The Froslass was inside the Pokemon Center, apparently having found Kamala in the real world. They began fighting, albeit with more screaming and less hair-pulling. Nick, on the floor beside me, sat up and rubbed at his eyes. "What the heck…?"

"Nick—did you—did you have a Rhyhorn?" I asked frantically, nearly rolling off the couch in order to turn to him. He turned to me, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, voice barely heard over the screaming, fighting Pokemon.

"Did you ever have a Rhyhorn in some cave—in Victory Road—did it die?"

He looked very much awake at that. He could only stare at me. "…I'm sorry you had to find out about that. I really am," he said softly. I suddenly couldn't breathe. "He didn't die, but he nearly did, and—and I did something rash. Is that—Did Lassie tell you that? Is that what this is all about?"

"Oh no…" I moaned, clutching my head in my hands. I suddenly felt Konstantin's paws wrap around my head as well, gently covering my eyes. He murmured soothing nonsense into my ear. I heard Ike yowl and Chase finally get involved with a roar. Much of the screeching stopped, though I could still hear the Froslass crying and feel the cold from her. "Oh no, oh no, why did this have to happen…"

Suddenly, Nick's phone rang. I jerked my head out of Konstantin's grasp. Scowling, the older trainer flipped it open. "Yeah mom? I'm kind of busy right now—" He immediately and alarmingly stopped talking. I could dimly hear his mother talking on the other end, rather loudly.

The Froslass let out a keening wail and launched herself at Kamala again. The Medicham snarled and kicked and punched at her, but to no avail. She started freezing her to the floor of the center. Chase tried to intervene, but the Froslass shot an Ice Beam at him, and he had to back off after that. Carlita hopped up onto the couch, but I threw myself forward and wrapped my arms around her ankles, preventing her from getting involved. Ike growled to himself and grabbed her by the tail with his teeth, pulling her back down. Des only watched us, not the fight. Probably the smartest move of the night.

"…What." Nick's voice cut through the fighting as if it were silence. We all heard him clearly. There was something about his voice—it was hollow, empty—and yet, it was so much like the calm before the storm. It was one syllable, rather flat, rather innocuous by itself. But I knew it had to mean something bad. Something really bad.

The Froslass wailed again, sobbing as she wrestled with Kamala. I had no idea what was even going on anymore, but I couldn't shake the terrible, terrible feeling of loss. It was as if I had just lost Carlita—no, everyone. I had just lost everyone though they were within arm's reach.

"See?! This is why we didn't try to stop it, Lassie! It was going to happen anyway!" Kamala shouted suddenly, her mental voice filling the lobby.

"Mom—calm down, t-tell me what happened," Nick said, voice trembling. "What happened to him…?"

Konstantin tried to cover my eyes again, but I shook him off. He continued the low monotone of what he probably figured was calming things, though at this point, it only made things worse. It sounded more ominous.

"You—can't—stop—the—future—!" Each word was punctuated by a blow to the Froslass, who had somehow wound up in the same situation that had occurred in my dream. She was below the Medicham, though this time she was being attacked with what appeared to be a Fire Punch. The bursts of flames lit the lobby brightly. No one even tried to stop them anymore. Kamala now had tears, too, though, I couldn't fail to notice.

Nick hung up the phone with an overly loud click. Several of us turned to look at him. He was staring down at his lap with a completely blank expression. He didn't look angry, or sad, or even distressed. That was probably what scared me the most. I reached out and touched him lightly on the shoulder, and he jumped as if electrocuted. He suddenly took a deep breath and buried his face in his hands.

"Nick?! What happened?!" I asked in alarm, sliding off of the couch to kneel beside him.

He was already getting to his feet, completely ignoring me, and cast about for a pokeball. He was swearing all the time, most of it incomprehensible or merely cursing. What I did make out, though, was a single word: "Abomasnow".

"Lass, lass!" the Froslass sobbed, giving up on defending herself from Kamala, reaching out instead to Nick. He stormed past them both, not batting an eye. Chase followed him, growling a warning at any of us. The Froslass turned to me then, pointing at Nick, still crying. "Lass, lass, lass!"

I jumped to my feet and vaulted over the couch. Nick was already outside, though. Kamala continued beating on the Froslass. "Nick—wait, Nick—!" I pushed open the doors just as the whistle was dying off and Serling appeared in flurry of feathers. Chase snarled at me, but I ignored him. It was probably because I didn't register him as a threat, or not as a threat to me. Oh how wrong I was. The dragon picked me up and threw me back against the Center wall. I remember hitting my head, and barely seeing Nick and Ser and Chase leaving. Then it all went black.

When I woke up again, Konstantin was sitting over me, smoothing back my hair. I was back in the Center. Nurse Joy was awake and hovering over both of us. Her eyes were puffy and red and her hair was a mess. She didn't look like she had gotten much sleep. "O-Oh thank god, you're awake," she breathed in relief, voice somewhat teary.

"What happened?" I sat up, immediately regretting it when my vision swam.

"I was going to ask you the s-same!" she replied with a great sniff.

"Dus," Konstantin said wearily. He didn't seem to want to let go of me, even if it was just patting my shoulder or hair.

"Where's Nick?"

-.-.-

I watched the news the next day and I found Nick. I found Nick and Chase and his brother and the Abomasnow and a tragedy.

Nick's younger brother had been attacked and killed by the Abomasnow earlier yesterday. Once they found the body and informed his parents, they called him. It was just after that that Nick left with Ser and Chase.

The news camera kept panning over the Abomasnow's body. It was unbelievably charred and mangled. The reporter kept saying how they didn't know who or what had done it. Which, somehow, made it worse. If they had just named Nick as the culprit, then I could have denied it.

The Froslass, Lassie, had died, too. That wasn't as publicized. Kamala had killed her, and at some point during the early hours of the morning, Vasudeva had taken the rest of Nick's team he left behind and Teleported away. I didn't know if they were reunited or not. I just know that they didn't kill me or my team, so we were left with a Froslass' body and a whole lot of regret.

Konstantin stuck by me the closest. Not to say that the other three didn't, because they wouldn't leave me alone, either, but Konstantin rarely let go of me. Literally. He was always wrapped around my neck, or patting my shoulder, or smoothing back my hair, or tugging at my shirt, or curled up on my chest when I slept. It was unnerving. I didn't know what to do about him, though, so I let him be and tried to continue on with my life.

I managed to get out of Pastoria and as far as Route 222 before it really got bad.

It was hard enough thinking of my best friend as a Pokemon killer, and that was when he had taken completely understandable revenge on a rogue, already proven violent Pokemon that had killed before and attacked before as well. I had nearly been a victim, after all. Even if I couldn't fathom what it took to make the order to kill a Pokemon, a small, dark, unfortunately loud part of me really understood.

But when I got a phone call from Hanna telling me to turn on the TV… Well, things got worse. A lot worse. Or, as a certain black-haired mercenary once said, "Things went south".

I'd had to get out of Pastoria, if only to leave the place. I couldn't stand it. Crasher Wake had tried to be sympathetic when Nurse Joy told him about it and what she had guessed, and even Celia reappeared to offer her condolences. I really couldn't stand it, so I left. I packed up what little I had, what Nick had left behind, and then headed out with my team and Konstantin attached to the back of my head. I was about a day away from Sunyshore when Hanna called.

"Turn on the TV! Now!" she yelled into the phone. I held it a foot away from my ear and explained that I was on a Route and didn't have a TV. "Then video-phone—now—put me on!" I only then heard the raw feeling in her voice.

I clicked the video conference button, and got a brief glimpse of her face before she aimed the camera towards the television. She looked positively stricken. The TV was on the news, and my heart sank when I saw Nick. Nick and Cynthia.

"…And this boy just arrived ten minutes ago. He has now been identified as Nicholas Sayre, one of the most promising candidates for the Championship. He Teleported in, and doesn't appear to be looking for a battle, though he has his team out with him. He's been yelling at the Champion for the better part of the time he's been here. As a recap, he stormed in and started ranting—"

"—and what have you done, Champion? What have you done?! This is not the first killing that monster has made, and it wouldn't have been the last! Two people! Two human lives and we have no idea how many Pokemon lives! What were you going to do, Cynthia?! Tell me!" Nick shouted hoarsely, voice raw with pain. The camera switched to a closer view of his face. He wasn't in tears, far from it. There was an anger in his eyes that I was not used to seeing.

And, frankly, it terrified me.

I could hear Hanna sniff and the phone moved. Nick, on television, resumed his yelling. "You've done nothing, that's what! You're not fit to be the Champion if you can't even protect your trainers! You have done nothing for these trainers—for this country—even for the Pokemon you raise! When was the last time you had to fight with them against an enemy? When was the last time you fought for anything except that damned title of yours?!

"I'll tell you—never! You haven't done anything but sit here in your cushy little palace and battled the rare challenger who thinks they can usurp you from your throne! You haven't done anything and you never have! You haven't had to fight tooth and nail and fail—oh, no, you always win, don't you, Cynthia?! You don't have to lose anything! Because you don't risk anything! You're not even a real trainer! You don't deserve the Pokemon that serve you! You don't deserve anything since that's all you've ever given us trainers!"

Nick's voice suddenly got impossibly quiet. The microphones barely picked it up. He regained his composure in an instant, squared his shoulders, and said calmly, "That's why I'm going to take them away from you."

Almost immediately, Vasudeva turned around and breathed a jet of fire down the room, dividing it in half. There were shouts and cursing and the cameraman hastily backed away from the flames. The Magmar stalked up and down the line of fire, attacking anyone who came close.

On the other side of the flames, Chase dove at Cynthia. She released her team, and her Garchomp grappled with his. Kamala lifted up her Milotic with a Psychic and threw it against the far wall, bashing it against it repeatedly while it wailed in pain and shot water attacks at random in a vain attempt to get her to stop.

Hanna dropped the phone, and for a heart stopping moment, all I saw was carpet. She fumbled as she picked it back up and placed it in front of the television again. Her hands were shaking. Mine were, too.

The cameraman, reporter, and the boy who had just challenged Cynthia and lost, the only other three in the room, immediately let out their Pokemon to try to help. Vasudeva kept them at bay, at least until an Empoleon came out. It was looking rather tired, but it managed to douse a good portion of the flames in one water attack. Vasudeva called over Patru, and the Aerodactyl pushed the Empoleon back with a Hyper Beam. The two of them guarded the line of flames, attacking anyone who dared come close, effortlessly keeping all of the people trying to help Cynthia away.

"I-I cannot believe this! Sayre is fighting with the Champion's team—and somehow, he is winning against her team of six with only four of his own! Someone, get Bertha in here! We need to get these flames out!" The reporter ran out of the room, leaving the challenger and cameraman alone as he tried to get help.

The cameraman took over narrating. "Oh my god. This is absolute carnage. Champion Cynthia's Garchomp just managed to throw off Sayre's—" The camera shook violently and was nearly dropped when the dragon landed on Kamala. She shrieked and tried to fight back, but it tore into her with a Crunch that she couldn't stand up against. "Oh my god. Th-The Medicham just went down, and I'm not sure if it will ever get back up. B-But—Champion Cynthia's Milotic just was killed! Oh my god, oh my god, Cynthia's Milotic was just murdered—!"

Hanna dropped the phone again. I didn't even notice, since I had done the same thing. I fell onto my hands and knees, trying not to throw up. I had just seen Kamala rip apart a Milotic and a Garchomp rip her apart. Though I couldn't see it, I could still hear the cameraman's panicked commentary.

"A-And now we see the Champion herself has just been—her Spiritomb has just—! My god, th-that's two of Cynthia's Pokemon down, and one of Sayre's. And—oh thank god, E-Elite Four member Bertha has just arrived with her team! Her Golem is now extinguishing the flames—oh god no, the Aerodactyl is attacking it now—"

There was a click and a long, drawn-out beep. I reached over and flipped over the phone. Hanna was still on the line, but the screen had gone to a test signal. I heard Hanna sob.

Chapter Text

Nicholas Sayre was declared a terrorist, a murderer, a monster. He and his team killed three of Cynthia's Champion team—her Milotic, her Spiritomb, and her Garchomp. Kamala and Patru of his team both died as well.

Later on, it was discovered that he was behind the Abomasnow killing, and that he murdered Candice as well for not taking care of the problem before it had claimed his brother's life.

The world was in an uproar. There had never been a killer before of this strength or power. He had managed to get in and out of the Champion's room, after all, without getting caught. Not to mention the fact that he overpowered the Champion herself. Even though he had lost two Pokemon, he still had many more. His trainer accounts were all frozen, but not before most of his Pokemon and money had been withdrawn. Nick vanished from society after that.

I tried calling his phone every single day.

"Hey, this is Nick Sayre. I'm not at my phone right now, so it'd be awesome if you left a message. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"…Nick. Please, please pick up. Please answer me. Please call back."

I was beginning to hate his answering machine. I sat there on Route 222 for a full month, not moving an inch toward any city, and just called him. My team were left to their own devices. I called and called and hated that answering message more and more each time I heard it.

And then, one day, I didn't get that.

The phone rang and rang, and that was it. No more answering machine. I immediately missed it. At least I got to hear his voice that way, and at least I could pretend he listened to my messages. Now I didn't even get that satisfaction.

It was on the day that he took off his answering machine that I went to Sunyshore. I started ignoring calls, though Hanna and my parents called me almost every day. I even got a call from Robert Beaumanoir once, and Jude the breeder twice. I just walked into Sunyshore and ignored the paranoia that I thought everyone knew I had known Nick Sayre, knew that I was with him on that night.

I beat Volkner.

Or, to be more precise, Des did. Being part ground and ridiculously over leveled, he completely blocked all of Volkner's electric Pokemon. I hadn't gotten out the first command before I broke down. Nick had forced me into almost every Gym battle, and now he wasn't here, because he had left me, because he had had to go off and become the monster that the Froslass had warned me about from the beginning. I was barely aware of Des stomping Volkner's team into the ground until the blond man was standing over me, hauling me to my feet by the upper arm.

"Don't lose that battling spirit. Things may look grim, but don't lose yourself to them. You are not him," Volkner said harshly, pressing the badge and TM into my hand. I could only blink Noctowlishly at him, hardly comprehending his words. The last Gym leader looked chagrined and let go of my arm. "…You won the match. Don't you have all eight badges now?"

"…Yeah, yeah I do," I replied dumbly, looking down at the one in my hand.

"Your Camerupt did all the work. You should thank it. And value it. Isn't that what your friend said?" I made the connection then that he was talking about Nick. I didn't know how he knew, unless one of the other Gym leaders told him. Which they probably did. Acting parental, yeah right.

"Don't act like you know," I snapped. I turned on my heel and left. I didn't see the sad look Volkner had as I did so.

I had eight badges, and I didn't even feel happy about it. Instead, I just fit it into the case, took one long moment to admire all eight of them together, and snapped it close. I tossed it in my backpack, probably never to be opened again.

Well, I had done it. I had completed the Gym circuit and had gotten eight badges. I had defeated everyone from Gardenia to Crasher Wake to Volkner. I had my awesome team. I had wanted to become the Champion, hadn't I? Suddenly, that seemed like such a hollow dream.

I did, however, want to get through Victory Road. Nick had made it that far, so I could, too.

-.-.-

Victory Road was nothing like I had ever experienced before. I had gotten a ferry up to the mouth of it, and then was on my own from then on out. Well, no, not on my own—I had my team, plus Konstantin.

It was quiet. Not many people went in it anymore after the Champion's tragedy, or so it was called, because of how close it was to the Elite Four. It only meant that it was nearly empty when I explored it. I got lost frequently, and had to swim across some parts of it (or, in one case, bribe a Lapras with a handful of food to give me a ride), and flinched repeatedly when I came across a wild Medicham or Gabite or Rhyhorn.

It was hard, too. More often than not, I was bleeding, tired, and hungry. I had brought along enough food for my team, but I had forgotten about the lack of wild plants and things to eat in caves. I ended up eating more than one Magikarp (and one Zubat). I ruthlessly killed my conscience in those instances.

Ike evolved again. I had Thunderbolt on hand for that evolution. Nick had given it to me earlier, before his defection from society. I painstakingly figured out how to teach my new Luxray the move. Almost immediately afterward, Konstantin and Ike got into a very loud argument. Ike solved it when he used his new move on the Duskull, which quieted him, though I caught him glaring at Ike afterward. It didn't seem to concern me, so I left them alone.

It took me three months to get through Victory Road. I didn't catch any Pokemon, precisely because I was terrified that what happened to Nick would happen to me. So I made sure to never use Earthquake or Rock Slide in the cave, and always returned my Pokemon after their battles just in case.

When I stumbled into the Pokemon Center on the other side of Victory Road, a camera crew immediately assaulted me. "And look here! One of the first trainers to make it through Victory Road in recent months!"

I ignored them and requested my Pokemon healed. The reporter only jumped upon that, though.

"Oh my—you only have three Pokemon?! You got through Victory Road with half of a team?"

"That's not half of a team. That's my full team," I mumbled in reply, not wanting to point out that I technically had four with Konstantin.

"But wasn't that hard? And you're so young! What sort of a team might you have?"

"An awesome one," I replied, though my heart wasn't in it. It wasn't as if I didn't believe that, because after what we'd all been through, I knew for a fact that we were still team awesome. But I couldn't exclaim it to the heavens or TV camera.

"…Well, here you have it, folks. This brave, young boy, probably no older than twelve or thirteen, managed to get through Victory Road with a team of only three Pokemon! Now that's a trainer! Could we be seeing the next contender for the Elite Four?"

As it turned out, all contenders for the Elite Four had to get checked out by a psychologist. I never even got to see my news report because my team and I were whisked away to be examined and questioned individually. I answered the questions as politely as I could, but it still grated on me. It was such an obvious change to the old system. And it was only made because of Nick.

Eventually, I got fed up. "Will you be challenging the Elite Four soon?"

"No, I won't," I snapped and stormed out of the room. I'd had it. I could see how Nick was so disillusioned with the higher-ups. They didn't care about Pokemon, not like real trainers did. They just used them as nurses, or to help with news reports, or for security, or to examine your mind to make sure you weren't lying to the shrink.

Still, if I had known then what happened in the future, maybe I wouldn't have been so quick to judge.

Chapter Text

One Year Later…

-.-.-

I had gotten pretty good at living off of the land. I very rarely ventured back into civilization, save when I wanted to see my family or had to get food after a rough Route. I also had invested in a translator again during that time, though a different style; these were collars for my Pokemon, since every headset I ever got broke within a week.

I wasn't lonely with only my team as company. Far from it. They were as much of a handful as ever, and while we weren't magically a big happy family, we came pretty close. Sometimes, I wasn't sure who was taking care of who, but it worked, what we were doing. Ike and Konstantin took care of the hunting, now that I wasn't picky what I ate anymore. Des started fires and kept us warm. Carlita was, well, Carlita. She kept us happy, semi-sane, and on our toes with her hijinks.

I didn't accept phone calls anymore, nor did I call Nick's phone. Hanna and I texted every day, though, keeping in touch with mundane updates on our lives. Once in awhile, she asked if I would come back and visit her, but I always had to decline. Most of the time I actually couldn't, not having the time or the funds to go see her. Sometimes, though, I just wanted to be alone.

I only saw my parents twice. Once at Christmas, and one random visit when I had decided to trek halfway across the continent to get a hug from my mother.

During that time, trainers started getting attacked. A lot of trained Pokemon began to disappear. Thousands quit training, and not as many ten-year-olds started. Trainers were becoming rarer, and the country only started to notice when it happened to the stronger trainers. The Gym leaders made sure to keep an eye on their regions and the trainers from their area. It was not unusual anymore to get phone numbers from leaders you defeated. In Centers, trainers didn't casually talk to each other anymore. There were also always rooms available now, when before you were lucky to get one. A lot of trainers passed by you in Routes instead of stopping to battle.

Since I hardly ever stopped in cities, and got most of my updates on the country's trainers from Hanna's texts, it took Konstantin a little while before he caught on.

I had realized what was happening and what would undoubtedly happen from the first report of a trainer and team gone missing, only to turn up, dead, a week later. I kept it to myself, though. I didn't want to acknowledge it.

I don't know how Konstantin finally realized what was going on, but when he did, he flipped out. Like, really. Des had to use a Flamethrower on him before he'd even stop shouting. And then, he got really, really quiet. He didn't speak to me for a long time, either. When he did, all he said was, "You know what this means, comrade."

I did. It meant I had failed both the psychic's warning and the Froslass' plea to help her trainer. They had been the same all along, and I'd managed to mess up both of them. Now I couldn't stop thinking of the injustices of the world, and if withdrawing from the world wasn't being dark, then I didn't know what was. The only thing I'd listened to of that warning was not to die.

"Is it already that time…" Ike murmured thoughtfully, tail lashing behind him. Konstantin snarled at him. The Luxray smirked to himself and merely crossed his paws in front of him.

"…What's going on?" Carlita asked worriedly. I shook my head. She persisted, though. "Trainer, tell me what's wrong. Please?"

"Bad things are happening," Des replied for me. I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… Real bad things. Guys, I think we should head back south for awhile. I don't want to go to Veilstone anymore."

The next day, however, my phone rang. Considering I could count the number of people on one hand who had that number, and that I didn't recognize the number calling, I was understandably worried. I briefly considered not answering. Eventually, I did. "Who is this? How did you get this number?!" I figured if I sounded tough and intimidating, maybe I would get the answers I needed. And, if need be, get another new phone.

"It's Jude. We, uh, met once in Johto, I don't know if you'd remember me." I did remember him. He had given Hanna Tenny the shiny Murkrow, after all. "You need to come to Hearthome. It's Hanna."

-.-.-

It took me three days, but I made it to Hearthome. It seemed like forever before I was standing in the hospital room's doorway, looking at Hanna. She was propped up with pillows in the bed, bandages around her head and an arm in a cast. Jude, who was sitting in the chair next to her, stood up when he noticed my arrival. Hanna turned towards me.

I found myself alone in Hanna's room when Jude left us. I found myself listening to her cry. I found myself listening to her blame Nick.

I found myself in the horrible, unique position of listening to one of my best friends describe how my other best friend killed her Pokemon in front of her.

I had to get out of that hospital and away from her tears. Jude called after me to try to stop me, but I ignored him. I didn't stop running until I got out of the hospital. Until I was on the outskirts of the city. So Nick was going after people he knew, then. Hanna wasn't safe because of our past connection with him. Neither was I. I didn't know why, but for some reason, I figured that he wouldn't come after us. It was disgustingly selfish of me to think that, but it kept me sane. I couldn't handle worrying about Nick coming to murder me or my team. I simply couldn't.

But if Nick was coming after me next… I didn't know what I could do. It wasn't as if I could battle him. He had leagues on me. Hanna told me that a Hypno had been with him. He was tracking trainers down with psychic Pokemon; you could hide from people, but not from a probing mind.

That was, unless you were a dark Pokemon.

I leaned against the nearest tree, trying to catch my breath while I scrolled down the short contact list on my phone. The last name, Zoe. I hit send and waited until she picked up. "Zoe—it's me. I need help avoiding a psychic."

"…Is this about Nick?" she asked after a long pause.

I grit my teeth. "Yes, it is. I just need a bit of help—I won't get you in trouble, I promise." I took a deep, calming breath and ran my wrist across my eyes.

"It's fine. I can't get out of Johto, though. You're going to have to meet me here."

"…Alright. I'll call you when I get there." I didn't know how I would do it, but I would get there. I had to. There was a sense of urgency I couldn't explain, but it felt like a great shadow was looming over me even then. Nick was probably thousands of miles away. But Hanna said he was coming to find me. He was coming back to see me.

Which, thinking about it logically, I should not have been happy about.

But there was something about seeing him for the first time in over a year, hearing his side of it, just making sure that he wasn't some black-cloaked villain, something about that made me happier than I should have been. Even if it meant certain death, I wanted to see him one last time.

It was at that precise moment that I realized what the psychic's prophecy really meant.

"How are you going to get all the way to Johto, comrade?" Konstantin murmured, draping himself over my shoulder. I glared at him. "Excuse me for listening. I couldn't help it. …I will help you, you know this?"

"I know."

"Future Sight seems to be irrelevant at this point, but I will still assist you however I can."

"…Thanks, Kostya. Can you go ask Hanna if I could have a favor?"

I managed to get across the border unexpectedly easy. This was due in part to a disguise, fake ID, and paying with cash, but still. With Nick running rampant among the trainers, security should have been upped. And it was—but just among the trainers.

I threw on a wig, big sunglasses, and borrowed one of Hanna's outfits. (Yes, I had to shave my legs for it. I was not impressed, but apparently I made a nice girl.) I wasn't a trainer now, though I had minimized pokeballs (and one ultra ball) tucked away in my purse. Konstantin I had follow me at a distance, since he insisted on coming along. I didn't know where he was hiding, but at least he was, and he didn't set off any alarms in the airport. I smiled brightly and tried not to talk that much, and it seemed like the world bought my disguise.

Zoe almost did, too, until I took off the sunglasses. She ushered me hastily into her apartment, then, and shut and locked the door behind her. I took off the wig and wished I could change out of the skirt. "What's going on?" she asked seriously, ignoring my disguise. I was glad she didn't bring it up.

"Nick—He's gone…" I couldn't finish it with 'crazy', because he wasn't. "He's started killing trainers and Pokemon. He killed Candice, the ice Gym leader of Sinnoh, and he tried Cynthia, too."

"What happened to him?" she breathed. It occurred to me that she had known Nick, too. Not as well as Hanna or I, but she had met him and seen how we interacted with each other.

"His little brother was killed by a rogue Pokemon that none of the higher-ups took care of. He's taking it out on all of the training world now," I explained numbly. I told her the facts, the abbreviated version. I didn't tell her what that last night had been like, what his expression had been like when he got that phone call, or how Kamala and the Froslass had fought over trying to protect him from the future they couldn't stop. "…He got Hanna."

"Oh no…"

"She's still alive, but… her Pokemon aren't." I swallowed thickly, very much aware that I'd never see Isabella, or Alexander, or Millie, or Tenny, or any of her team ever again. Des would never see Isabella again, and Carlita would never chase after Alexander's leaves again… "It got bad."

"Sounds like it. And now he is going after you?"

"Yeah. He's trying to get a psychic lock on me."

"Ah." Zoe made a discontented sound and sat down, gesturing for me to sit down as well. She set her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands. "I know what a psychic lock is, and they can be fairly nasty things. It happens when a psychic Pokemon meets another Pokemon, or person, and they can get a lock on their mind. It's like a fingerprint, so once they have it, they can find that person again at any time, pick them out of a crowd, find them even if they are miles away or dyed their hair or are wearing a disguise."

I bit the inside of my cheek. That didn't sound good. It also explained how he hadn't found me yet. Kamala had been the only psychic of his that I'd met, and she was… gone now. So many Pokemon were gone. Kamala, Froslass, Patru, Isabella, Alexander, Millie, Tenny, the Abomasnow… The countless others that had already been killed or separated or lost loved ones. There were really too many to count at that point.

And I was next on the list.

I instinctively tightened my grip on the borrowed purse. In it was my team. Konstantin was still around somewhere, too. I would not lose any of them. I couldn't. I would not.

"…So you want to find a way to block that, right?"

"Yeah. And I just thought that… Well, you're a dark trainer…"

"I'm sorry, but there's no foolproof way to avoid psychics, not unless you're a dark Pokemon yourself," she sighed. "And there is no way to get rid of a psychic lock once they have one on you."

"I-I don't have one yet," I said frantically, knuckles white on the purse. "There has to be some way to avoid—"

"Don't get caught by him. I can help you avoid it, and maybe even make it difficult for a psychic Pokemon, but I couldn't help much more than that."

"Could you please help with that, then?"

Zoe smiled warmly, though there was something in her eyes that was not that smile. "Of course."

She took me into her bedroom and began rummaging around in drawers. I noticed that she had several bags out on the bed, in varying stages of packing. I frowned. She was moving? Or escaping? Before I could ask about that, however, she turned around to me and held a necklace out at arm's length. I stared at it in confusion. How was a necklace supposed to help?

"Don't give me that look. It doesn't completely work, but it works as a deterrent to most psychic Pokemon." She sat down on the bed beside me, holding out the necklace and pointing to each part in turn. "These two feathers are Honchkrow feathers. The fang here is one from a Mightyena, and the beads are all bone or horn from other dark Pokemon like Houndoom or Sneasel. The shiny beads are gems from Sableye. And the string is actually woven from Shiftry leaves. You really can't get darker than that, can you?"

I shook my head mutely, a little in awe of the necklace. That was a lot of different dark Pokemon. "But—why do you have this?" She already had a team of dark Pokemon, so why did she have the necklace as well?

"My boyfriend is… paranoid sometimes. He had me make this for him years ago. He's outgrown it, but I always kept it around because it's pretty." She chuckled, putting it over my head for me. "It's not scientifically proven, but it won't hurt, will it? That much dark material near your head should deter most psychics. Will that do?"

"O-Of course." While it made me feel better, I had sort of been hoping for a foolproof method. Something more reassuring than a pretty necklace. At least it was something, though, and Zoe had also given me information. I didn't have to worry about it unless Nick's psychic found me, but at that point, it would be too late, anyway. "…Zoe, where are you going?"

She jumped and looked guiltily at the half-packed bags. "Nowhere!"

"Then why are you packing your things?"

"N-No reason, really. I'm just… going on a trip for awhile."

"Why?"

"…My boyfriend wants us to leave the country. He's, ah, a little worried that the trainer genocide will start to overlap into other regions. There are already followers springing up in Johto and Kanto."

"Followers?" I hadn't heard of any followers. People were sympathizing with Nick? Were they killing, too? Would this turn into a new Team, like Team Galactic? Zoe nodded wearily. I gulped. This was only getting worse and worse. What was Nick getting himself into? What was I?

My trip to Johto took all of one day. I couldn't bear to be there any longer, since it was one of the last places Hanna, Nick and I had been together and happy. Before things had gone south. Konstantin had risked coming out once before the plane took out, grasped my hand for the briefest moment, and then vanished again. It came to mind that he was actually trying to console me.

So I had a magical necklace that would hopefully ward off evil psychic Pokemon. I sure hoped so, at any rate. I checked in one last time with Hanna, thanked her for the disguise and funds, and then vanished once more into the raw world of training. I wouldn't endanger her with my presence, and there wasn't anything I could do, anyway.

I did see Jude kiss her, though. I hoped that he could do something where I could not.

I figured I was ditching my last real human friend, but it was for the best. I also stopped answering my parents' texts after a goodbye one. I explained through no less than four texts where I was headed, why I was doing it, and what was hopefully going to go down. I didn't open their reply; it would have been too hard.

"So much has been done to you, comrade. I am so sorry," Konstantin, who had been reading over my shoulder as I typed the message, said. I grunted in response and flipped my phone shut. I would keep it with me, but I doubted I'd do much with it anymore.

Chapter Text

"Des' turn to pick supper tonight," I announced, poking the fire with a stick. My Camerupt look up with a bland smile. He snorted a plume of smoke out at Ike, who growled and turned away with a cough.

"It was his turn two nights ago," the Luxray complained.

"Yes. Because we're going in shifts. That's how it works, Ike." For some reason I couldn't begin to comprehend, Pokemon didn't seem to grasp the concept of rotation. Des, then Carlita, then Ike. It was easier to just let them pick out the meal when it was possible than spend half the night arguing about it. But they still didn't understand it.

"Why do I not get a shift?" Konstantin asked pitifully, floating in the corner of our campsite.

"You're not a part of this team," Ike replied. He smiled wickedly at the Duskull, probably enjoying the ghost's exclusion. Carlita nodded in firm agreement. Konstantin was probably one of the sole subjects they agreed on.

I rolled my eyes at them. Konstantin whined and floated closer, cautiously. "I could become your comrade. I could join your team."

"Not likely," Des said simply, and that was the end of that. Des, since his evolution, was usually in charge. Even with Ike's last evolution, the Camerupt was easily the largest of my team. He didn't abuse his power, thankfully, otherwise things might've been even harder. Ike, while he was larger than Carlita, usually still was left to third place, due to her experience and physical power on him. It didn't mean they didn't jostle for that second position, though.

And, as usual, Konstantin was left in the metaphorical (and sometimes literal) dust.

He had been the strongest at one time, and had kept that lead for quite awhile, but eventually, the trained Pokemon won out. He couldn't keep up on his own without a trainer. He had learned Future Sight, which had been his goal, so I supposed his end of the stick wasn't too short.

He kept pestering me about that, too, which is probably why I didn't feel too bad for him when my team passively picked on him.

That night, as we sat around the campfire munching on Des' pick of spaghetti (which I had managed to acquire at our last town visit; I learned to store several item capsules full of pasta precisely for him), Konstantin sidled over to me again. I wordlessly passed him my plate. He took a pawful and fed it under his mask almost greedily. "…Comrade, thank you. But may I at least repay you with this knowledge—"

"Kostya, I don't want to know." This was becoming a staple of our nightly meals. I had had my fill of warnings from the future.

"This is important! I know of your friend's plans—"

While that one was new, and even a little tempting, I still said, "No."

"But—"

"Konstantin, aren't you supposed to be helping me? You're not helping with this."

He bowed his head and backed off. He only backed off until I fell asleep, though, much to my ire. The Duskull floated unapologetically next to me when I appeared in the temple in the sunken lake. Like the white world had been the Froslass', that stone cavern was Konstantin's.

"Kostya—"

"You need to know this," he cut me off harshly. I glowered at him. I couldn't do much else, though. In a dream, the rest of my team couldn't come to the rescue. "There are two things, comrade, that you must know."

"I'm listening," I snapped, angry at him for it.

"First, your friend is returning to Sendoff Spring."

It took a couple moments to me to register what he'd just said. "…What? Returning? Nick hasn't been there—"

"Yes he has. Right before you arrived, in fact. He had been trying to find Giratina, but we blocked his access to the temple and prevented him from entering. It is why he was so upset when he found out that I was with you." That made sense in a retrospective sort of way. And it did explain why Konstantin wouldn't leave him alone.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner, then?" I asked darkly, tugging at the necklace. This wasn't sounding good.

"It was irrelevant at the time. We figured he had given up on seeing Giratina."

"Who is Giratina?"

"The legendary Pokemon that lives at Sendoff Spring."

That definitely wasn't good. I clenched my hands at my sides, trying to figure out why Nick was going after a legendary Pokemon. Especially trying to get through an army of ghosts to one. It didn't sound like the sort of thing one did without planning and a purpose. "…So why is he trying to find Giratina? What power does Giratina have?" Most legendaries had powers, right? I didn't know about a lot of them, but I did know that much.

"Giratina protects your world from his world. He has control over the dimensions and has fought for control over time and space in the past." Time, space, and other dimensions. It sounded like a Pokemon I didn't want to meet in a dark alley—and definitely not one Nick should ever get. Konstantin looked away from me. "Exactly, comrade. There is a reason Giratina is not known by humans, and it is because he does not want them to seek him out. All it takes is one foolish human to upset him."

"The world doesn't need an upset legendary right now," I agreed flatly. "What is he going to do with Giratina? Take over the world? Or—both worlds?"

"No. Your friend is going to only see Giratina. He will not mean to make him angry, but he will nonetheless, and make Giratina attack him. That is precisely why it must not happen."

"Because I have had so much success in stopping the future before." Just like that, I was done being thoughtful and agreeable. "Konstantin, let me out of here. I am done listening to you. I can't do anything to stop anyone and I am going to wake up now and pretend that I never heard any of this." I turned away from him and stormed off, towards the opening of the temple.

"Wait—comrade—he is going to get worse."

I froze. Konstantin floated over to catch up to me, circling around until I was looking at him again.

The Duskull's red eye shifted back and forth between his eye sockets. He reached out toward me, but halted halfway there and retracted his paw. "…He is trying to get away. He wants to go to Giratina's world, so he will take his copy Pokemon and get Shadow Force."

"What is he trying to get away from?"

"This world. He does not wish to be here anymore."

"Does he feel guilty for what happened?"

"I cannot read minds, comrade."

"Is… Is he going to succeed?"

"I cannot see that."

"Why do I have to know this, Kostya? I can't do anything. I really, really can't. This isn't doing anything for me and it won't do anything for him. Nothing you've told me has ever done anything for him." I pushed past him and kept walking towards the white light of the entrance. Konstantin whined and followed.

"I'm trying. That's all I can do. Why can't you try?"

I walked out the entrance and woke up. I only opened my eyes briefly before closing them again and feigning sleep. Still, in that moment, I saw Kostya staring intently at me.

I fell back asleep and dreamt of normal things this time, like Froslass alive again, like my mother telling me how much I'd grown, like wandering around, alone, in another world.

-.-.-

"Where are we going?" Ike asked with a yawn. I was up before my team, which was rare. They took notice.

"To Sendoff Spring." That certainly woke them up. Ike growled softly, fur bristling. I felt the same way. "Don't give me that," I told him, ignoring the feeling. "I have to."

"Why?" Carlita whimpered, rubbing her eyes with her claws. "Why do we have to go back?"

"I have to check something is all," I said, shoving my sleeping bag roughly into my backpack. Ike growled again, but Konstantin shushed him with a glare. That reminded me. "Uh… Kostya, what was that second thing you wanted to tell me?"

The Duskull looked at me in surprise. I know I had been angry at him—I still was—but I was thinking more clearly now. Information was good, even if it was bad news at the time. He glanced over at Ike again, who narrowed his eyes at the ghost. "Nothing, comrade. It can wait until after we visit the Spring."

It took a couple days before we reached Veilstone. I skirted around the city, and only ventured into it to restock some food items and get another battery for my phone. I didn't look at the televisions playing the news in the electronics store. I did hear the terms 'Sayre', 'followers', and 'body count rising', though. It made me sick.

We had just exited the southern guard building of Veilstone when we were assaulted, however. I was lifted into the air and slammed against the building with telekinesis. I looked around frantically for whoever was attacking me. My Pokemon were all returned and in my pocket, and Konstantin had all but vanished.

I finally found the assailant. A blue duck, forehead jewel glinting in the sunlight, was standing just down the path with its arms raised in concentration. Just as soon as I noticed the Golduck, however, it released me; Konstantin had appeared behind it from its shadow and attacked.

"Wait—Furat?" I gasped, dropping to my hands and knees. I immediately got back up, however, running over to the fighting Pokemon. The Golduck paused, stepping on Konstantin to keep him pinned to the ground.

"…Little human, you have failed." I stopped several feet short, unaccustomed to her cold mental voice.

"What?"

"You have failed. We warned you about the future, and we get this!" She ground Konstantin's skull into the dirt. "You haven't heeded any of our words, have you?!"

"I'm still alive, aren't I?! Besides, if I recall, you hardly told me anything!" Okay, maybe in hindsight it wasn't the brightest idea to argue with a psychic duck. Especially an angry one. But really, she was trying to blame me for all of this? They were the ones who had insisted on not telling me anything!

"And what we did tell you, you completely ignored!" she snapped, bill clicking to emphasize her words. "And now—" Furat let go of Konstantin and raised her arms again, picking me up with a Psychic. She flung me down the path in front of her, carrying me down the oh so familiar path leading to Sendoff Spring. She practically threw me up the side of the mountain and scrabbled up behind me. I lay, panting, on top of the mountain, wishing I hadn't tried to come back here. I hadn't been expecting anyone to be angry with me, but I had expected to get treated with some respect.

Konstantin caught up to us just as Furat marched me down towards the wooden dock leading to nowhere.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw what she was going to do. I twisted and fought the air, trying to stop it. The Duskull behind us screeched and attacked the Golduck, but she waved him off and threw him over the edge. Furat tossed me down the planks, releasing her hold on me. I rolled around and managed to grab the last board before I skidded right off the tip of it. "Furat—you are crazy! I've done nothing wrong!"

"Nothing wrong?" her mental voice roared. She advanced on me, eyes narrowed to slits. "You led that human straight to us!"

"He's been here before! That was not my fault!" I shouted desperately, legs dangling over the lake so far below. This was worse than before. At least last time I hadn't known what was coming, hadn't had time to concentrate on the lake. I had been too busy concentrating on saving Des.

"Then why is he suddenly back here, and you arrive not an hour later?!" she screeched, pointing down at the lake below.

"…Nick is here?" I asked in a tiny voice.

The Golduck was cut off as a roar and a massive jet of water erupted below us. I turned and looked over my shoulder, seeing the largest Pokemon I'd ever seen come out of the water, all wings and legs and bellowing and angry. I knew without a doubt that that had to be Giratina. It roared again and breathed a jet of blue fire down at the shore.

A blue shape flew up away from the flames, circling around the giant Pokemon, until it came close enough to identify it as Chase. I was fairly certain my heart stopped. By the looks of it, so did the Garchomp's. He faltered in his flight when he caught sight of us, long enough for Giratina's tail to come down and smash him into the water.

Nick was here. He was here, he was looking for me, he was looking for Giratina, he was here and he was battling Giratina and he was going to find me.

My grip slackened on wood planks just as Giratina shot another attack into the cliffside near where Chase had fallen. It was a bad combination, and I was shaken loose of the dock. I reached for it as I was already falling.

I hit the ground way too early. Upon realizing what had happened, however, I wish I had hit the ground. I had landed on Giratina's wing as it turned around to follow Chase, who had apparently gotten back up. The legendary thankfully hadn't noticed my arrival on the scene. My fingers tried to gain purchase on the leathery wing as I slid down it.

Then, suddenly, the wing below me vanished.

It felt like I hung for a moment in the air, suspended by nothing but the wing that wasn't there anymore. Then, I started to fall again.

Chapter Text

I was plucked out of the sky by Chase before I had to go through the process of hitting the water and trying to swim to shore before I drowned (again). He dropped me pitilessly on the rocky shore before flying up to the sky over the lake again, just as Giratina appeared and slammed him into the rock face with its head.

I watched the battle in awe and fright before I noticed the figure standing not five feet from me. Nick, for becoming a monstrous villain and possible criminal mastermind, hadn't really changed much. He stood in baggy jeans and an overly large hoodie, hood pulled up over his head and low over his eyes. I actually couldn't see his eyes; black hair, longer than I remembered, covered what the hood didn't. He frowned thoughtfully and continued watching the aerial battle going on above us.

Finally, he knelt down beside me and turned to me. I could barely see his eyes through his bangs. "Hey," he said softly, offering me a shy, if warm, smile.

It took all I had not to throw myself at him. "…Hey," I responded instead, hating the way my voice shook. I couldn't believe after a year, we would just be sitting here, watching a battle together and making small talk. Finally, after too long of a silence, the words came up like vomit. "Nick, why—"

"Don't ask me anything you don't want to know," he replied curtly. He shifted position and supported himself with his hands behind him, one knee drawn up, his other leg thrown out haphazardly in front of him.

"…I do want to know why you killed Hanna's Pokemon," I choked out.

"Do you really? Or do you want to continue believing what you want?" he asked in response.

"Just answer my question."

"Most people don't deserve Pokemon."

"And she didn't?"

"Are you saying she did?"

"Of course she did! Hanna didn't deserve having her team murdered in front of her! No one deserves that!"

"Did either of you deserve getting attacked by that Abomasnow? Did battling Pokemon deserve to be raised as pets? Did my brother deserve to die? There are a lot of injustices in the world. You have to pick your battles."

I twitched and tried to remember that he didn't know anything about the warning (that was rapidly becoming a moot point since I had managed to fail epically at it). "I'm picking this battle, Nick."

"Do you really want to bark up that tree?" he asked. He sounded tired, but disturbingly unalarmed at my questioning. Or the content of the questions. Which really was, well, disturbing. Here he was, an infamous, wanted, hunted, teenage killer, calmly trying to tell me that I didn't want to know what he was doing or why he was doing it. He was still protecting me.

"Yes, I do!" I replied, probably a bit more emphatically then I should have. I could see his shoulders tense underneath his hoodie, and slowly, very slowly, he turned towards me.

And, in that one moment, I thought he was going to punch me.

He didn't, instead saying, "…You're gonna go far, kid. Is there anything rational you're afraid of?"

"What?"

"Your fear of Crasher Wake was irrational—or, your fear of water Pokemon is irrational. But look at this now. Look at how trusting you are. Naïve. You saw the news that day, didn't you?" I didn't need to ask what he was referring to, and he didn't need my confirmation. "You've seen what I can do. And yet here you sit, naively thinking that you can get away from this situation unharmed."

I stared at him, scarcely daring to breathe. Had he just said what I thought he said? Was he threatening me—no, worse. He was telling me that I was stupid for trusting him. I probably was, too. I was trying to have a civil conversation with him about his motives and crimes, and I really wasn't expecting much save words to come from it. Never mind the dragons battling it out overhead. Never mind the whole reason I came here, or the whole reason he was there. "Nick… Do you really mean that?"

"Maybe I do." He said it too quickly, too forcefully, for me to fully believe him. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than me. Nick got to his feet with a frustrated sigh and dug around in his pocket. "I'm wrapping this up now," he said to no one, tossing a pokeball out onto the shore. Harlan the Smeargle appeared, wringing her tail nervously.

Above us, Giratina and Chase traded roars. Giratina vanished again, leaving the Garchomp to circle the skies warily.

"There we go. Harlan, Sketch." The Smeargle stopped twitching and begun furiously drawing symbols in the air with her tail. She concentrated solely on the spot where Giratina disappeared, staring at it unblinkingly until it reappeared behind Chase and rammed him into the rocks again. She finished her drawing with a flourish and flick of paint. Nick grinned underneath his hood. Harlan and I shivered at the sight. "That's all I needed. Chase, return!"

"Wh-What did you just do?" I asked.

Nick didn't spare me another glance. "It's what I came here for. I needed Giratina's Shadow Force." He returned Harlan and Chase, too, once the Garchomp got within range. Giratina roared in annoyance at his vanishing act.

I was hardly prepared for what came next. The legendary wheeled around in the sky and focused on us. I stumbled back as I got to my feet, digging around in my pocket for any of my Pokemon. Protection—I needed protection. Again, it didn't even cross my mind that it had to be from Nick, only from Giratina.

Nick calmly called out one of his Pokemon and murmured something to it. I looked at them both. A Hypno stared back at me.

Everything I'd heard about the psychic lock, about tracking people through psychic Pokemon, about the Hypno from Hanna came rushing back to me. Just as that happened, and before even a real moment had passed, Konstantin found me again. I was shoved into my shadow. I was pulled back out deep in the temple, in a corner of one of the many rooms. All I saw was fog around me, not even the ghost Pokemon this time. Konstantin and I seemed to be utterly alone in the sea of fog.

It was then, when the Duskull collapsed in my arms, that I realized what sort of state he was in. His mask was chipped and cracked in several places, and his red eye wasn't as bright as it normally was. One arm hung limply at his side, the paw jutting out at a wrong angle from it. Something that looked too much like blood dripped down from behind his mask, staining my hands from where I was holding him.

"Comrade, you're safe," he said softly, closing his eye. "That's… good."

"Kostya? What happened?" I asked wildly. My heart was still thundering from meeting Nick and his Hypno—Had it had enough time to get a lock on me? Had the necklace worked at all? Was I safe or not from it?—and seeing the Duskull in this state wasn't helping things. I gingerly set him down on my knees, since I had sunk down to them at some point after getting rushed to safety.

"Furat will not bother you again," he replied instead, voice growing ever quieter.

I didn't bother trying to figure out what that might have meant. "Kostya! Are you okay?!"

"Just… I am glad you are safe, comrade…"

With that, he exhaled slowly and didn't move. And I was left alone.

-.-.-

I wandered for a long time in the temple, Kostya in my arms, still bleeding silently on me. I figured out that he was still breathing, at least faintly. So he was still alive. That was good. However, I was in my own predicament now. He was the only reliable guide I would have had to the temple, and the only one who could potentially talk other ghosts out of eating me. Oh, sure, I hadn't met any Pokemon yet, but I knew it was inevitable. After all, my luck sucked.

In that time, I reflected on what had just happened with Nick.

We had seen each other, and I was still alive. That was something, right? But he had also pretty much threatened me, and for all I knew, his Hypno now had a psychic lock on me. Why he didn't just Teleport over and kidnap me or something, I didn't know, unless there was the small chance that the necklace had worked, or there wasn't enough time, or Konstantin had done something to make it so that I was safe. I wouldn't put it past the Duskull, but it was also Nick and his team we were talking about. I wouldn't underestimate either of those powers.

So I was half terrified out of my wits, half giddy with the fact that I was somehow still alive. It was an interesting combination, to say the least.

I didn't know how much time passed in that temple. I fell asleep at one point, and woke up what felt like a long time later with stiff muscles and a sore neck. Konstantin was still out cold. I didn't want to endanger my other Pokemon, too, and since there were still no enemies appearing to eat me, I drifted from foggy room to foggy room looking for the way out. It was dead silent, though. No ghosts, no psychics, no Giratina.

At least, there wasn't any Giratina until I accidentally stumbled in on its room.

The room was by far the largest in the stone temple, but also more free of fog. The pillar in the center was several times thicker than any other rooms', and the front of it, from what I could see, was covered completely in what appeared to be a mirror.

"Calm down, Giratina. The human is gone now."

There was also another Pokemon in the center of the room, standing in front of the pillar. Giratina was reflected in the mirror, pacing back and forth and missing its legs. The other was calmly staring at it, eyes hard but still somehow seeming benevolent.

I stared in astonishment at the large Pokemon. Giratina I recognized, but not this second one. I knew it to be a legendary, though, precisely because there was no other possible thing it could be. It didn't seem dangerous either, for some reason I couldn't quite put my finger on. It just seemed to reassure me.

Giratina grumbled something I couldn't understand, and both of them turned in unison to face me. I clutched Konstantin tightly to me, taking a step back into the room I'd just come from. Oops. So I'd just managed to intrude on a legendary conversation. That probably wasn't good.

"…This is not the human who attacked you, Giratina. Please calm down," the white Pokemon said evenly, turning back to face the reflection. It didn't seem at all bothered by my presence. Giratina grumbled something else, voice slipping steadily into a growl. The white Pokemon did something that might have been a sigh, and then turned towards me. "My child, come here and assure Giratina of your innocence."

The last time I had felt so comfortable and protected around a Pokemon, it had turned out to be a Dusclops that wanted to eat me. It even happened in this very place. I was understandably cautious, but I wasn't going to argue with the giant legendary Pokemon, so I edged reluctantly over. The white Pokemon's expression didn't change, but I got the feeling that it was smiling at me. I took another few steps forward, mumbling, "I-I'm sorry to interrupt…" It wouldn't hurt to apologize, after all.

"Do not worry. Just come here." I skittered over, holding onto Konstantin's unconscious body for dear life. Giratina snorted and I could have sworn it rolled its eyes when I stood in front of the two of them. The white Pokemon gave it a stern look. "Giratina is understandably concerned over what happened earlier. Do you know anything about it?"

I didn't dare lie, but I didn't want to turn Nick in to angry legendaries. "Um… A bit…"

"Speak up, child. Do not be afraid." While I wasn't magically comfortable in the situation, its words stopped me from shivering so much. "Just tell us what happened."

"Nothing! It was just a misunderstanding." Hadn't Konstantin told me that Nick hadn't meant to upset Giratina? "H-He just wanted to, um, borrow a move from Giratina—" I was cut off as said legendary roared loudly. I was surprised the mirror didn't crack from the sheer volume of it. I winced, though the white Pokemon beside me didn't.

"Giratina! Calm down!" it roared in reply, and while it wasn't nearly as loud as Giratina, it had a much more commanding tone. Giratina quieted, though it was obvious it was still angry. It swished its tail behind it, making sure we both knew it was. "What do you know of this situation?" More than what I would have liked in normal situations, that was for sure.

"It's… It's sort of a long story." I didn't dare lie, but I didn't exactly want to tell the truth, either. Stuck between a rock and a very hard place.

"We have all the time in the world, my child. Please tell me."

I shakily sighed and sat down, cross-legged, in front of the white Pokemon. It mimicked me and sat down as well, crossing its front paws. Giratina continued floating in the mirror. I started talking, telling them a very abbreviated version of my training story and how I came to meet Nick. I tried to fit in every good thing ever about him, from buying me food, making me fight Gym leaders, cheering me up, just… everything. Because he wasn't a bad person.

I had no idea how much time had passed by the time I was reliving the events of the Champion's tragedy. Neither Giratina nor the white Pokemon ever interrupted me, so I was left to talk and talk and try not to get caught up in what had happened to me.

"…And now I don't even know what he's up to, if he's good or bad, or what is going on. I have no clue what will happen to any of us. I don't know why this had to happen, or why it's still happening, or why someone just doesn't stop it…" I fretted with Konstantin's skull mask.

"You have been through so much. I'm sorry that you feel so responsible for this," the white Pokemon said sadly, bowing its head. It made me feel better, though I wasn't quite sure why. "I would have had no idea that humans can go through this much turmoil."

"It's not just humans. Pokemon are involved now—they always have been," I mumbled.

"This makes it an even sadder situation. Are your Pokemon as current on this as I?" I paused, thinking. No, they weren't; I hadn't let any of them out since we left for the Spring. So none of them, except Konstantin (who was still unconscious), knew what was going on. "I see. Do you plan on protecting them like that until this ends?"

It hadn't been conscious protection on my part. Or, at least, I didn't think it was. "Um…" I hadn't thought about that, either. Could I protect them? I already sort of was, by not letting them meet Nick again, by keeping them inside their balls all the time, by making sure we camped for the night so far away from the normal trainer path.

"You are a good trainer," the white Pokemon remarked fondly, leaning down with its head. It touched what I assumed was its mouth to my forehead. "Please, continue what you are doing. For better or for worse, though I sincerely hope it's all for the better, it sounds as if you are meant to stop your friend. You must persevere and continue on this journey of yours. Don't lose heart." That last part sounded eerily reminiscent of the ghost's warning, albeit phrased more happily.

I tried to tilt my head back, but the Pokemon's jaw kept it bowed.

"I will do all that I can, but I can only do so much for you. I wish you luck, my child."

-.-.-

I awoke to Konstantin floating over me, tugging at my hair. "Ow, Kostya…" I sat up and batted him away, rubbing my scalp. We were outside. When had that happened? Last thing I knew, I had been snuck inside the temple with Konstantin fainting… How had I gotten out? I stood up, examining myself. I was fine. Konstantin was awake, too, and looked to be in pretty good shape considering his earlier condition.

"Comrade! Are you okay?!" he asked worriedly, circling my head.

I wasn't hurt anywhere, and, in fact, I felt better than I had in ages. I made sure I still had my pokeballs (and ultra ball) with me. It looked as if I hadn't lost anything, I was unhurt, and I was feeling happy. That was new. "…Yeah, I think I am, Kostya. I'm finally feeling okay."

Chapter Text

"Why is Trainer so happy?" Carlita asked, standing on the tips of her toes.

"Is it a problem that I am?" I asked in reply.

"Well, no. But… Normally Trainer is so sad!" I frowned; is that what she thought of me? I suppose I had been a little moody lately, but with all of the drama, it wasn't like I didn't have an excuse for it. I didn't respond this time and instead just hugged her. Carlita hummed in approval, appeased.

"Bah. Sappiness," Ike growled, chewing on a bone Konstantin had given him earlier to stop him from chewing on him.

"You usually don't complain about it when it suits you," Des said casually. He snorted out a plume of smoke at the Luxray, who growled in irritation and laid his ears back.

"Guys, knock it off. No fighting today." I finished packing up my sleeping bag and threw on my necklace. Packed for the day. "Let's go. Today's a training day." There were three cries of joy from my team. If there was one thing they all had in common, it was that they enjoyed training. Even if they were all much too powerful for the local wild Pokemon, it didn't mean that they didn't like showing off their moves.

Training days were routine now, if fun. We would wander along a path and I'd let them all be out. They would battle any wild Pokemon—or, occasionally, each other—while I watched or talked with one of the ones who weren't battling, or did something like that. Very rarely did we come across trainers anymore. Normally, Routes used to have enough trainers for us to have an easy four or five battles a day, and that wasn't counting the ones who passed us without a battle.

Now, however, we hardly ever battled. We might pass a single trainer a day. The last time we'd battled another trained team was eight days ago, and Ike had taken care of most of them easily. I sighed, thinking of that battle. Ike was getting vicious again, but more than that, he couldn't work that out on other Pokemon as often anymore.

I was jarred out of my thoughts as Des licked the top of my head. Or, since his tongue was roughly the size of my head, it sort of started at my shoulders and worked its way up my head, even overlapping a bit onto my forehead. "…Yes, Des?" I asked flatly, not bothering to try to fix my hair.

"I'm worried about you," he said simply. I looked at him in confusion. The Camerupt snorted and flicked his ears. "What are you going to do about the other trainer?"

"I don't know. Am I supposed to have some grand plan for him?"

"Well, no. But we haven't done anything constructive with our time since he left. Why don't we challenge the Champion?"

"No." I didn't mean for it to come out so forcefully. Backpedaling, I added, "I mean—no, Des. We only have three or four, depending on Kostya's mood. Even if you guys are strong, you're too outnumbered."

"Then let's get another teammate."

I didn't like that idea. I could barely handle the team I had, let alone adding another to it. Plus, I had no idea what I should even get. We worked well enough together now, and had most types beaten with an advantage. I didn't have a hole to fill like when I got Carlita or Ike.

"See? We haven't done anything since he left," Des remarked as he waddled off. I stared after him. He, unfortunately, had a point. I think he was only bringing up all those things to make that point, too. Sometimes, I missed him when he was a slow little Numel.

-.-.-

Time passed very slowly with nothing really to do. I didn't want to challenge the Elite Four, I had no more Gyms to face, I didn't have a rival, and I couldn't find any places where the wild Pokemon were stronger than my team anymore.

Training days kept Carlita and Ike busy, at least. Des and Konstantin weren't so easy to distract. I usually kept them pacified with vague promises of things to do in the future, but even that wasn't working as often anymore. Des and I didn't fight, but Konstantin and I did. He didn't even have the kindness to do it in my dreams, either, instead forcing me to have shouting matches with him in front of the rest of the team.

It didn't do much for morale. The sense of stagnation slowly closing in on us made it worse.

The worst of all, though, was coincidentally my last fight with the Duskull.

I think what started the fight was Ike. Well, not really, not in any normal sense; he had just been himself, after all. Even if 'himself' was reverting back to a bloodthirsty monster.

There had been some sort of large bird—I never did get a good look at it—and it had attacked Carlita. She'd fainted, and Ike had ended up killing the bird. Whether he was using her as an excuse or he was honestly trying to protect her, I wasn't sure, but the fact of the matter was that I didn't get wind of the event until I caught the stench of blood and found my Luxray crouching over the charred, broken remains of the bird.

"—Ike?!" I only got a growl in response. Konstantin arrived at that time.

I can't remember what exactly he said, but it was something to the effect of, "Better it than you."

What happened next was a lot of shouting, a bit of grappling, and, I can't help but remember, Ike grinning sharply over his kill, golden eyes gleaming. Maybe Nick's killing of Pokemon had made my feelings about death a bit too raw, and maybe I had overreacted. But Konstantin was the one who had had to point out the practicality of death. I didn't care that Ike was the one to kill the bird. It was Konstantin who was condoning the action.

Eventually, the fight culminated in the Duskull pinning me against a tree, yelling at me. "Why are you defending him?! He's a monster who is only waiting for your back to turn before he pounces and sinks his claws into your flesh!"

"I'm defending him because he is a part of this team! More than you ever were!" I snarled, clawing at his empty eye sockets.

"And what team have you created for yourself?!"

"What is that supposed to—"

"The Camerupt is the only sane one, the only strong one, and you protect him the most! You wouldn't even have the fighter if it weren't for me! You would be broken without her and we both know it!" I froze, halting in my assault. I went cold.

"…Don't you mention that." I knew very well that Carlita's disappearance would have meant the end of me as a trainer. But for Konstantin to throw that in my face was, well, a little aggravating.

"Oh, but it is true, comrade!" Konstantin cackled, his paws digging into my shoulders. "Your team is more twisted than you realize! You rely too much on Pedestal and take him for granted, while you still hold the fighter as a crutch! You've never let go of the fact that she was the Celia human's, have you? You are holding them all too close and they are blinding you to that fact—"

"Stop it!"

"—No, comrade, I will not stop! You are blind and twisted and need to hear this! You won't see the fact that the Camerupt is strong, the fighter is yours again, and that the Luxray is a monster! A black-hearted, bloodthirsty, backstabbing monster who is only waiting for the proper moment to strike! You have never listened to me about him, you've never listened to me about anything, but you will listen to me now!" To further make his point, Konstantin shook me, banging the back of my head against the tree. I snarled at him and resumed scratching at his mask, trying to gouge out his nonexistent eye.

"Shut up, Konstantin! You know nothing of this team and you never have! You've always been an outsider, trying to fit in, but you're only now realizing how much of an outcast you are because you've fallen behind!" If we were fighting with the truth, then so be it. It wasn't as if he was entirely blameless, after all.

"I've only been looking out for you, you sightless, luckless, faithless, senseless human! If it weren't for me, you'd—"

"I'd what," I dared. Konstantin studied me for a long moment. I narrowed my eyes at him, slowly breaking out into a grin when I realized he wasn't going to continue on with that subject.

Instead, he said, "Ike has been meaning to betray you the entire time. You coddle Des too much for him to trust you as a trainer. You would not even have Carlita if I hadn't threatened the Celia human for her. Your team is a lie." Then, he said the worst thing of all. "I am not surprised your dark-haired friend is out to destroy it. He is right. You do not deserve them."

I ended up punching him. I punched him right on the cheekbone, where Furat had cracked the mask so long ago. I ended up chipping it. My knuckle was bloody from the punch, but I didn't regret it. The Duskull swung away from me, holding his cheek, hissing at me. Konstantin narrowed his eyes. I glared right back at him. "Get out of here."

The Duskull didn't say anything else and instead floated off. He didn't look back, but I watched him go. I made sure he left. There was no way he was staying after saying that.

That night, I had nightmares again. There was no ghost to haunt me, no goddess of love, no mom smoothing back my hair and telling me how much I'd grown, no TV static and no white world or temple or Pokemon Center lobby. There was only me. And that was the scary part. I'd lost my team, their blood soaking my hands and shirtfront. I knelt down in a puddle of blood, and looked up at a silhouette with dark hair and a hood pulled low over his eyes. He held up a Hypno's charm, swinging it back and forth. I stared in horror down at my hands, then back up at him, looking to him for hope, guidance, a way out of the darkness. The charm swung back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. "Don't come near me," he said. "It will only hurt if you do."

I woke up after that, hastily wiping the tears away from my eyes. I almost missed the normal ghost-induced nightmares. At least they had a train of thought I could usually follow.

I pressed my palms to my eyes and made myself stop crying. I would not lose my team. Not to Nick, not to Konstantin, not to anyone.

I got up after that, knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. I packed up my things, returned my Pokemon without waking them, and shouldered my backpack. If Konstantin was going to come back, he'd return to an empty camp. I was leaving. I took a breath, shook my head to clear my mind of the remnants of the dream, and took off.

Chapter Text

Trainers were vanishing more and more often. I deleted frantic phone messages from my mother. I hated to make her worry, but I knew I'd only make her worry more by replying. I did, however, steal back to Jubilife. No, I didn't mean to visit my parents… Or maybe I did. I wasn't completely sure. I just knew that I was wandering back to Jubilife City with no real goal in mind.

Boy, did I ever find a goal, though.

"Hey, kid, you a trainer?" I was trying to get through an alley to get to the street out of town. I was stopped, however, by two thuggish looking men. One of them had a Mankey hanging off his neck. The other was tossing a pokeball in the air, chewing on the end of his cigarette with a grin. "We got a tax for trainers in Jubilife."

"That's nice. I'm not from Jubilife." It wasn't technically a lie; I was from outside of Jubilife. I tried to push past them, but they grabbed onto my backpack and hauled me back.

"You look like a trainer, and you're in Jubilife. That sounds like you qualify. Or do we need to have ourselves an accident for you an' your team? It's not safe for trainers, kid, 'specially not for a kid like you. We're just tryin' to protect you from all the bad things in the world."

I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing. This took the two by surprise. "Ha—haha, that's a good one! Bad things in the world!"

"Uh, yeah."

"Let me tell you—do you even know what those bad things are?" I stood on my tiptoes and leaned forward, grinning evilly up into one of their faces. He reeled back.

Needless to say, I didn't pay their tax. They let me go when I released Ike to share the joke with him. He thought it was just as funny as I did. I returned him again once I got to the street I wanted to get to.

I passed a wall of televisions with the local news playing on them all.

And, it just so happened, that at that very moment, the news was being hijacked.

Like many of the passerby, I stopped and stared at the anchorman, who was being forced down into his chair. A girl with short hair and a sharp smirk smashed his head onto his desk. While he was dazed, another girl ran up and pushed his chair away, sitting on the desk he'd just vacated. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, adjusted her glasses, and turned to the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen, trainers of all ages. This news broadcast has just been commandeered!"

"Thaaaaat's right!" the other girl added. She winked and laughed at the camera. Neither was a kind gesture. "Don't bother changing the channel, either—seeing as we just took over Sinnoh's television network. All the channels are now ours, and they're all playing this! Why, you may ask?"

"That's a very good question!" the blonde one chirped. "And it can be answered quite simply!"

"It's because we're hosting a little tournament, and we want to make sure everyone knows about it, don't we?"

"Oh yes. It would be very bad if someone didn't find out about this tournament. Very bad indeed."

-.-.-

The two girls introduced themselves with the codenames of Houndoom and Stantler. They were the spokespeople for The Tournament. They, along with an unnumbered amount of people, took over Jubilife's television center, hijacked the airwaves, and started broadcasting. The building was now guarded at all times by at least one person and two Pokemon—and no pushovers, either. When I checked it out (since I was in town), it had a Charizard circling the second story and a Victreebel and a rather muscular, intimidating man guarding the front doors.

The pair of girls took the training world by storm. They declared themselves loyal followers of Sayre's teachings and frequently condemned the lightweight trainers of the world. Neither of them could be identified, though they were on television for several hours and had their picture available to anyone. They were known only as Houndoom and Stantler.

Houndoom was the shorter of the two, with the shorter black hair, tips dyed ice blue. One would think that such a girl would be easily identified, but no such luck. Though it was highly possible that she only cut and dyed her hair prior to this. She had an obvious sadistic streak and casually mentioned killing trainers who weren't up to par.

Stantler was the blonde girl with glasses. She seemed to be a little quieter, usually letting Houndoom do most of the talking and raving, but that wasn't to say she was any better. She backed the other girl up frequently, exchanging grins and jokes about dark, bloody things that made me cringe. I would say she was the saner one, but something told me that she really was just as bad as Houndoom.

The two girls talked for several hours on live television, then launched into what appeared to be a pre-recorded infomercial about what they called The Tournament.

On paper, it was simple in premise. It would be a battling tournament for all of the trainers in the region. All of them. For those who didn't participate, it was stated that they would be hunted down and killed with their teams.

For those who entered, well, they had to participate then. It would be a simple sort of tournament, with the winner proceeding to the next round to fight in that one. The one who won all of the rounds would be the winner. What they won, no one knew, and it wasn't even mentioned in the pre-recorded message.

"And, for every round that you win, you get to keep one more Pokemon alive!" Stantler said with a cheery smile, beaming at the camera. "So, if you win in round one, then you may have one Pokemon. Sorry, but the rest will have to die."

"You should have tried harder!" Houndoom added in, faking a serious, stern expression.

"If you win two rounds, you may keep two Pokemon, three will get you three, and so on and so forth. Everyone understand?"

"Don't worry if you don't, because this message will be played again. And eventually, we'll get off our lazy tails and draw a diagram for you all!"

"Um, yes. Anyway, this means that you only have to survive six rounds in order to keep your team. And don't worry, trainers, we aren't counting the Pokemon you have in your PC. These rules only apply to your teams," Stantler continued smiling.

Houndoom elbowed her in the side, grinning. "Even with all of the trainers stopping their training in the region, we'll have plenty for six rounds, right?"

"Of course!"

"See? So there is absolutely nothing to worry about."

They both made me sick.

I stayed in the Center for the first time since Nick left, mostly so I could keep an eye on the television. There were rules to The Tournament in the infomercial—which was played several times throughout the night, presumably while they slept—and it was stated that this was all for the greater good. It was to separate the real trainers from the fake ones, the ones who really cared about their Pokemon from the ones who didn't.

There were a couple other trainers in the Center, all staying there only for the TV like me. One of the smarter ones figured something out that had the rest of us in silence. "If you are allowed to keep one Pokemon per round you survive, what of the ones who don't win the first round? They aren't allowed to keep any? Because if that's the case—that's half of the training world they just eliminated. And it's another half of that half—one fourth of the training world—that will be left with only one Pokemon after the first round."

That was staggering. Seventy-five percent of the training world would have one or none Pokemon. The training world was already shrinking, too, so it wasn't as if there were that many of us left. And most of us would be left with one or none? Half of us none, a fourth of us one single Pokemon… I drew my knees up to my chest, suppressing a shiver.

"If my calculations are correct… The percentage of trainers who will be allowed to keep a full team of six is only… One point six percent."

If The Tournament was allowed to happen, and went according to their plan, that meant that less than two percent of the training population would be allowed to have a full team. That didn't apply to me, since I only had three, but I knew it applied to most trainers. Imagine someone with a full team, losing in the first round…

It was absolutely horrifying. What made it a million times worse, however, was that they honestly thought they were following Nick's orders to find trainers worthy of their teams. I finally figured out what the followers were, and I was rapidly figuring out that they had a bit of a hold in the population, too. It seemed like a lot of the stronger trainers agreed with him.

Still, strong or not, it sounded like everyone was roped into this. The prospect of being hunted down and killed wasn't appealing to anyone. As the days of the broadcast wore on, more trainers flocked to Jubilife. I wasn't sure why I didn't leave, but I didn't. I had to stick around and find out what was really going on, and if someone would put a stop to it.

Four days into the commandeered broadcast, Byron appeared. He was as angry as I'd ever seen him. He stomped into the Pokemon center, panting and swinging his shovel, and demanded to speak with the Nurse Joy. They talked quietly for awhile, making some sort of plans. I kept peeking over the edge of the couch at them, wondering if he'd recognize me if I tried to greet him somehow. Were they planning on getting the station back? Storming the building?

If so, I wanted in.

Houndoom and Stantler made me sick. Sick and mad for what they were trying to do. Sure, The Tournament hadn't started yet—they were still trying to pick a date and location (on air), while encouraging trainers to head to the nearest city until it was sorted out—but it was obvious that that was already happening. They were causing terror and anxiety in the masses. I caught more than one hapless, newbie trainer crying and hugging some weak little starter in the Center.

"Alright, listen up!" Byron banged his shovel against the floor, earning a nasty look from the Nurse but successfully capturing our attention. "Most of you should know me, but for those who don't, I'm Byron. I'm the Gym leader of Canalave, the next town over. Jubilife doesn't have its own Gym, so there's no one really in charge of trying to spearhead this operation. I'm taking that role for now, but other Gym leaders are coming here soon enough to help with the situation.

"Of course, we're going to beat them to that! I am planning on breaking into that building and shutting down that little operation of theirs and whoever else is in on it. We don't need this sort of thing in times like this, so we're shutting it down. What I want to know is if any of you will volunteer to help with this." He leaned on his shovel, pausing for the first time. A couple of us looked at each other. Byron rolled his eyes and continued.

"This isn't going to be particularly hard, especially if I get a good bunch of you to help me. But first—tell me. Has anyone tried to break into the station yet?"

"Yeah, one kid. He got sent to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder and broken arm. His Lopunny is still here being treated," the smart one of our group piped up. Nurse Joy nodded with a frown.

Byron growled to himself, grinding his teeth. "…Well, I'd like to see them try something like that with my team. Any of you up for helping? It sounds like it'll be a little dangerous, but just think of the alternative. Are any of you interested in going through with that tournament idea of theirs?"

"I'll help," the smart kid said, raising his hand. Immediately, I raised my hand too. So did two others.

But that was all.

Byron nodded appraisingly. "…I recognize three of you from your Gym challenges. None of you are pushovers. I'll be glad to have your help."

Chapter Text

It felt a little weird, being suited up for war. Oh, sure, it was just a seizure of a single building… But we weren't taking any chances. Times were desperate, after all. Pokemon and trainer killing was running rampant, and Byron and Nurse Joy both agreed that we should take all of the precautions possible. It wasn't confirmed that they had any firepower aside from Pokemon, but that seemed to be all that they needed.

Still, it was definitely disturbing to have to wear a bullet-proof vest and a helmet. I really felt like I was going to war.

"Each of you, no more than two Pokemon out. This isn't going to be a battle royale. I want you to know where your team is at all times, got it?" Byron said gruffly, hefting his shovel. It looked like a weapon in his hands.

I chose to use Carlita and Ike. Not only were they faster than Des, but they were also somewhat more… I didn't know how to put it. But they could take care of themselves. Carlita was a fighter, and Ike was, well, a monster. I was worried, but at the same time, I could trust them to be smart about this and stay out of harm's way. At least, I really hoped so.

Carlita was given a helmet, too, but since we didn't have one to fit Ike, he just got a vest. He didn't seem to like it very much, though, and kept scratching at it. I told him to stop it, since it might very well save his life, but he just gave me a look in response. I wasn't sure what the look was supposed to mean, but it unnerved me nonetheless.

The four of us who had volunteered left our extra Pokemon with Nurse Joy. Just in case. "Now, listen up. We're going to march in there, cut the power, and then take back the building with force if necessary. Don't fight with someone unless it's necessary. And even then, pick your battles. If you come across a Pokemon with an advantage to yours—don't battle it! We don't know the levels of those Pokemon, but we can assume that they're not pushovers. Now, how many of you have all eight badges?"

I was the only one who raised my hand. Byron nodded at me, mouth set in a firm line.

"Alright, kid, then it's you and me. If you come across an enemy that's too strong for you, leave it to one of us. We'll take on the stronger ones. Try not to leave your buddy, but definitely don't leave your team. Got that? We know how these people think, and let's not give them any openings to demonstrate their beliefs."

We left at dawn, because we knew for a fact that Houndoom and Stantler both slept in. We didn't know about the rest of the building, but at least we were guaranteed that two of them would be asleep. Then again, we didn't even know how many were in the building at all, so… Well, going in blind would be putting it lightly.

The muscular man, the Victreebel, and a Toxicroak guarded the entrance. We had an Alakazam with us who quickly dispatched all of them, knocking them out without a sound or movement. The Alakazam and its trainer were also who we were supposed to go to in order to get Teleported out if things went badly. I only hoped that I wouldn't have to leave that way.

Byron gestured us in silently. We followed as quietly as we could, but since we were little more than a bunch of kids, we probably weren't nearly as silent as he was. I stayed close to my Pokemon, biting the inside of my cheek as we tiptoed into the lobby. I was nervous—no, I was more than nervous. I was panicked. This was the stuff movies and video games were made out of, not real life. Not to a fourteen-year-old.

Suddenly, the alarms went off. Byron swore pretty colorfully, pressing himself against the nearest wall. We mimicked him. Beside me, Ike crouched down in preparation of an attack, ears swiveling forward to hear better.

Before anyone else could react, he pounced. It turned out that he timed it just right; a teenage boy and a Machoke had just come down the stairs. Ike landed squarely on the Machoke's chest, pinning in with the force of his jump. The trainer gave a startled yell. Byron swung his shovel out and hit the boy with the flat side. He went down with a grunt and wasn't quick to rise again.

I pulled Ike off of the Machoke, since it was clearly unconscious. I had been worried that this would happen. Ike was enjoying this far too much. I kept my hand firmly clamped on the back of his vest, making sure he wouldn't misbehave further. I mean, it was good that he took down the Machoke, but he didn't need to get so carried away…

Carlita and one of the other volunteer trainers dragged the Machoke out of the way of the stairs. Byron knelt down and searched the unconscious boy, looking for its pokeball. No luck. "Well… We'll just have to hope they don't wake up before we're done. Let's carry them over there to the corner." None of us had thought to bring any rope along for binding captives. We hadn't thought we'd be taking any.

"Ike, settle down," I mumbled, tightening my grip on his vest. He didn't respond, instead looking up the stairway. I dimly heard footsteps coming down. "Uh, guys—?"

I was promptly shocked when Ike let loose a Thunderbolt up the stairs. I fell over, hissing at the burn on my hand, looking up the stairway to where another trainer fell down. There was a Vibrava crawling on the wall, unharmed by the electricity, wings buzzing loudly and angrily. It opened its mouth and shot a jet of blue flames down the stairs at us. Ike and I dove out of the way.

"What's up there?" one of the others shouted, surprised by the attack.

"A Vibrava! We couldn't zap it!" I yelled back. I ripped a piece of my shirt off to bandage my burned hand, giving Ike a dirty look in the process. "Ike, calm down. You don't have to be in such a rush to—Carlita!" She rushed past me up the stairs and out of my sight. I scrambled after her, leaving my Luxray for the moment. I got to the stairway just as she ducked under another attack and grabbed the Vibrava by the wings. She swung it around twice, building momentum, and flung it down the stairs. I barely got out of the way in time to avoid getting it thrown in my face.

Byron looked at the dazed Vibrava, surprised. Then he looked up at us. Carlita grinned and bounced back down the stairs to where we were standing. "Bre!"

"…Good job," the Gym leader said gruffly, brushing past us up the stairs. I had the feeling he wanted to say something else. But that was just a feeling.

I gestured Ike over, and after making sure I wasn't touching him, we followed Byron and the other trainers up the stairs. The ground floor wasn't that hard. But we also lost the element of surprise now, thanks to the alarms going off and the rather loud fighting. I grit my teeth, grabbed Carlita's claws in my hand, and entered the second floor.

The Charizard I had spotted days ago was found, breathing fire. Byron, the smart trainer, and one of the other trainers were crouched down behind his Bastiodon, trying to avoid the flames. He spotted me and shouted, "Some help would be nice! He can't keep this up all day!"

"Ike—" Ike, naturally, had already taken matters into his own paws. He used another Thunderbolt on the Charizard, successfully cutting off its attack and drawing its attention to us. He snarled a warning to the dragon, who roared right back. "Ike, be careful!" I ducked out of the stairway, dragging Carlita over to where the other two trainers and their Pokemon, the Alakazam, a Pelipper, and a Staravia, were fighting off two other trainers and their four Pokemon. Carlita jumped into the fray gleefully, kicking a Gastrodon in the side.

Behind me, the Charizard finally went down. Unfortunately, I was too far away this time to immediately stop Ike. I had to run across the battlefield, narrowly avoiding a Nidoqueen's Ice Beam, and physically wrench him away from the Charizard. The Luxray growled at me, dark fur crackling with static as a warning. I ignored him and hauled him back by the vest. The Charizard was already bloody and burned in several places, not to mention unconscious. We were not here to slaughter the enemy. Just to recapture the TV station.

"Ike, stop it! These aren't wild Pokemon!" It was the only thing that came to mind that he might understand. "Ike, let go!"

He finally dropped the Charizard's wing, and with a snarl, turned on me.

I was so surprised I couldn't even bring up my arms to defend myself. Sure, Ike had always been a little monster, sure, he had attacked me and my team before, sure, he had never quite adjusted to being a trained Pokemon, and sure, Konstantin had warned me about this. But I had never really expected my own Pokemon to attack me. Not viciously, not with teeth and fangs and static.

I fell over, my Luxray on top of me, teeth buried in my shoulder. I felt more numb than anything else.

Someone was suddenly pulling Ike off, shouting and swinging a shovel. Next thing I knew, Carlita was screaming and standing over me, jumping from foot to foot fearfully. The Alakazam was called over, and all three of us were Teleported back to the Center.

Or, at least I thought it had been three. Byron was still here, though, holding Ike by the vest as if he was a kitten. "What do you think you were doing, letting this feral beast out?!"

"Ike isn't—"

"I thought the Machoke was a fluke, but it was going to kill that Charizard if you hadn't intervened! And then it turned on its trainer?!"

Ike yowled something incomprehensibly. He kicked at the air, sparking. Byron completely ignored him. I sat up and placed my arm over my bleeding shoulder. I wasn't hurt that badly, all things considered. Carlita fretted over me, craning her neck to try to see the wound, all the while making whimpering sounds. "Trainer's hurt, Trainer's hurt…"

"Carlita, I'm fine. Byron, put Ike down. I'm fine. He just… He's just a little overexcited sometimes," I lied, getting to my feet. I wasn't even bleeding that badly. I'd been hurt way worse before. Ike's attacked had surprised me more than anything else. "Let's get back to—"

"No. You remember the deal, right? The second someone gets hurt, they're back at the Center. We all agreed on that," he interrupted harshly, dropping Ike on the carpet. At least he had the sense to look sorry, ears laid back and tail tucked between his legs.

"I'm fine."

"You're bleeding."

"I've bled before."

"You're staying here."

"Byron, you and I both know that I'm the strongest out of them. Without Ike and Carlita, they're at a disadvantage. Not to mention the fact that you're just standing here, lecturing me, instead of helping!" The Gym leader looked down at that, studying his boots. I snorted and looked down at my two Pokemon. "I'm going back there. I don't care if you don't want me there. I've beaten you once and I'll beat you again if need be."

Byron scowled and turned back to the Alakazam. "…Bah! Fine. And here I thought you'd have a bit of sense. But you're getting patched up at the very least."

"…Okay."

It was a tense delay, waiting for the Nurse Joy to wrap up my shoulder (and scold Ike as well). I was starting to think that it really had been some sort of accident, judging on the way he was acting. He really, honestly, acted sorry. It was surprising, but also a good thing. It meant that I could take him back to the station with me without having to worry too much.

Oh, I'd still worry, but reclaiming the station was at the top of my mind. We had to stop the broadcast and those crazy girls and their tournament at all costs.

So with my shoulder wrapped up, Ike apologetic, Carlita calmed down, and what just happened pushed to the very back of my mind, Byron and I Teleported back to the second floor of the TV station. We were horrified at what we found.

Chapter Text

"How nice of you to join us, Byron," Houndoom said sweetly, leaning on one of the tied up trainer's shoulders. All three of them were tied up and placed against the far wall, well away from where we reappeared. Only two of them were conscious. Their Pokemon were in varying states of consciousness as well, though most of them were out cold or, by the look of the Staravia, worse.

I could hardly believe it. We were gone for all of a couple minutes, if that, and the station recapture plan was completely blocked. Not to mention the fact that we were now surrounded and, barring Teleporting out, captured as well.

"We were starting to think you two had run off for good," Houndoom added with a laugh. "But then again, I don't see why we'd doubted you. It wouldn't be very good for a Gym leader to abandon his trainers, would it?"

"Are you two really going to sit there and try to lecture me on morals?" Byron deadpanned.

"Perhaps," Stantler said as she raised a hand to cut off Houndoom's reply. "Then again, I think you're right, Byron. Gym leaders don't need any lecturing on morals. Sayre already did that for you, didn't he?"

I bristled and started to take a step forward, but Byron halted me with his shovel. "Quiet, kid. I'll take care of this," he hissed under his breath, eyes still locked on the two teenage girls. Raising his voice, he addressed them. "So then, you have hostages. Now what?"

"Actually, we don't have any hostages. We plan on releasing these trainers. We don't want hostages, and we didn't plan for them, anyway." Stantler adjusted her glasses and shared a grin with Houndoom. "We only tied them up so they'd stop attacking us. So feisty."

"Then release them," Byron commanded, expression darkening. Houndoom and Stantler both laughed.

Then, much to Byron's obvious surprise, they said in unison, "Okay." Before he could form a proper response, both of them leaned down and started untying two of the trainers. The Alakazam between us glanced up at Byron curiously. "See," Stantler said simply, "We don't want hostages. We don't want to be the bad guys here. We're only doing the world a favor with The Tournament. Like Sayre said, not everyone deserves Pokemon. We're just going to figure out who does and who doesn't."

"Why don't people have the right to become trainers if they'd like?" Byron challenged, apparently having recovered.

"Oh, they can. We just have to make sure they're good, capable people. Otherwise… Well, Byron, you're a Gym leader. One of the higher-ups. You should know why." I frowned as Houndoom continued talking as she untied the third trainer. "Every word Sayre said was true. You and I both know it. You've seen some things, gone through some things, that you wish hadn't happened, right? You've seen what Pokemon in the wrong hands can do."

She finished untying the third trainer, laying the unconscious boy down on the ground almost gently. Immediately, Byron was standing above her, shovel raised for a strike. The Alakazam was beside him, holding its spoon against Stantler's chest, right above her heart. I wasn't even aware they'd moved. "Flygon!" Houndoom shouted, right before Byron brought the shovel down on her head with a clang.

Byron was thrown across the room with a Psychic. One of the humans guarding the stairwell stepped forward, an Espeon on his shoulder. Byron groaned and tried to get back up, but the Espeon growled, forehead jewel glinting, and he stayed down.

The Alakazam holding Stantler against the wall with its spoon glared at the Espeon. Stantler grinned down at it, though, looking positively demonic. "Your move, psychic. Do you want to fight, or do you want to save the trainers? It's up to you at this point."

Slowly, the Alakazam lowered its spoon. Stantler's grin faded into something vaguely triumphant, and she turned to me for the first time. I took a step back. "You're all monsters for what you're trying to do," I told her flatly.

"Mild-mannered trainers don't make history," she replied with a wave of her hand. She then knelt by Houndoom, checking the short-haired girl's pulse. She nodded to herself, stood up, and turned to the boy they called Flygon. Which was just great, since it meant that they were more of their codenames and more trainers we couldn't identify. Looking around the room, I saw that there were maybe a dozen trainers, with about three times that many Pokemon. Enough to hold down the TV station comfortably.

In fact, I wouldn't doubt it if they'd been expecting some sort of attack.

"So then. Are you going to help the unconscious one out, or are you going to stand there like an idiot?" Stantler asked, gesturing to him. I scowled at her.

"You're… still letting us go?" I half-expected them to execute us on national television to make a statement.

"Of course. You four still have to compete in The Tournament, after all," she scoffed. She adjusted her glasses, crossed her arms, and swung her weight to her other leg. "Get over here and help. You, Alakazam, Teleport them out. And if you try to come in here again… Well, it won't be as pretty as this time."

I made a move towards Byron, only to get my foot encased in ice by an Ice Beam. Stantler narrowed her eyes at me.

"No. I told you to get this trainer, not the Gym leader. Leave him be."

"But you said—!"

"I said the trainers would be let go. Byron doesn't have to compete in The Tournament. So he's going to stay and keep us company. …And, okay, maybe we want a bit of leverage. After all, we were hardly expecting five people to get this far. So, here's the ultimatum: if you attack us again, we will kill Byron. If you stay nice and quiet and participate in The Tournament, we'll let him go when it's all over."

I swallowed, throat dry. I nodded. There wasn't anything else I could do. All four of us were escorted out of the building, after being told to return our Pokemon. One of the other's Pokemon, the Staravia, died. The rest of them were injured, but alive. Thankfully alive. The four of us were given scraps of paper. Stantler explained that they were good for one round, since we had done "such a good job of trying to conquer the enemy, showing your bravery, blah blah blah."

The TV broadcast had caught most of that, too. Our defeat, their win, and Byron tied up and held as a hostage for all the world to see.

Grinning at the camera and now awake, Houndoom exclaimed, "Well folks, we've decided on a time and place for The Tournament! Doesn't that just excite you to bits and pieces?"

"Yes it does!" Stantler agreed.

"The Tournament will be held here, in Jubilife City, in one week's time!" Houndoom spread her arms wide, nearly hitting Stantler in the head. "I think that's plenty of time for trainers from all over the region to appear, don't you think? I certainly do! The opening ceremony will start at noon, so don't be late! For the rest of the week, we will be updating our website—or, actually, the television station's website, haha—with the details. This includes who will be participating at what time, against who, and so on.

"Now, as a reminder, if you don't participate, you will be exterminated. After all, if you can't handle a measly little tournament, you aren't fit to be a trainer, are you? So you have a week to get your tail end to Jubilife—or find one hell of a hidey hole."

-.-.-

True to their word, the girls had hijacked the station's website as well. The trainers in the Center reluctantly checked. "How did they get all of our names?! Even with people quitting… There's way too many trainers in Sinnoh to just gather this information on their own!" That was the common consensus.

Unfortunately, that smart trainer was still, well, smart. "They hacked into the training database. It's not that hard to do with the right equipment—I did it once on a dare. It has all of our information on it, from blood type to age to current team to PokeDex location."

Well, since my PokeDex was still sitting in the bottom of Sendoff Spring, I had a feeling that they didn't have all of the information. Still, it was pretty scary to think that they had all of this information on all of the trainers in Sinnoh.

The website was updated hourly, listing the trainers in alphabetical order, according to their last name. They were told the exact time of their first round, where it would be located, and the name of their opponent.

I had thought long and hard about participating. On one hand, it seemed like they couldn't track me without my PokeDex's GPS. On the other, did I really want to risk that? I didn't fancy being hunted down and murdered in my sleep. Then again, I didn't fancy any of this. I didn't want to battle to keep my team, I didn't want to have to make other people lose their Pokemon if I won, and I didn't want to have to listen to anything those twisted girls said.

Chin in hand, I thought about what had happened and what would happen. Konstantin left, so I was down to a three-Pokemon team. I knew we were strong, though, and the girls hadn't said how many Pokemon would be allowed in a round in The Tournament. I was more worried about Ike.

I wasn't certain where my worries with Ike started. He had attacked me. He could attack others. He could kill others. He could kill me. Would he listen to me anymore? Was Konstantin right all along? Was it some sort of accident or fluke? What if he killed other Pokemon? Was that allowed in The Tournament?

What happened if we lost?

That night, I found out that I was to battle at one forty-five against a June Velarde.

I also checked on other names. Hanna wasn't registered as a trainer, or else she had been taken off the list. Jude was not Sinnohan, so he also wasn't on the list. Zoe, too, wasn't from here. My parents weren't trainers anymore, so neither of them were on the list.

Nick's name wasn't on the list.

I couldn't understand that. He was still definitely a trainer, no matter how you looked at it. Especially taking into consideration the followers he'd garnered. Maybe they had left him off the list as a professional courtesy?

But no—I scrolled down the page a little, and I found Stantler. Even they were competing in The Tournament. She hadn't put her real name and instead put in her codename; I checked and found a couple names like that. Stantler, Houndoom, Flygon, Metagross, Fearow, Monferno, and more. So they weren't exempt, but Nick was.

Eventually, I just decided it was because no one had the guts to track him down and tell him he didn't deserve his team. I didn't blame them.

The Center became more and more crowded as the days wore on. I was informed I'd have to share a room—the first time I had done so since the Champion tragedy. It had been an even longer time since I'd shared it with a stranger instead of Nick. I mumbled out a greeting and suffered through introductions, then promptly didn't speak to my roommate for the rest of the week. He didn't seem to mind, at least.

The night before The Tournament was to start, I got a text from Hanna. It simply read, "Are you competing?"

I didn't know how to respond, so I didn't.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"I can't believe I ever listened to you for anything! You abhorrent human, I should have killed you long ago and used your blood as an appetizer as I slew the rest of this asinine, filthy team!"

"You stupid Luxray! You stupid, stupid, terrible, horrible, stupid Luxray! I don't see why Trainer ever wanted you! You've been nothing but trouble and weak and we've done nothing but try to help you! I wish Trainer had never caught you! I liked the Electabuzz better!"

"You reap what you sow, Trainer. You wanted Ike, and now you have to deal with this."

People and Pokemon started screaming. I wasn't sure if it was because of us or if they had already started the executions. It was just what I needed right then; a time limit in which to calm down my team, make them make nice (at least temporarily), and get out of here. I couldn't even worry about other people now. They had to be on their own. I was much more worried about my team right then.

"You disgusting plant, if you touch me again I'll rip out your claws and strangle you with your own tail! I will rip that thing off of your head and stuff it down your throat and watch you writhe in agony before you die! Then I'll do the same to that human of yours and I will laugh over your corpses!"

"Shut up shut up shut up! Once I get my claws on you again, you'll wish you would have run away or—or killed me! I'll make you shut up, stupid Luxray, and you will never hurt Trainer or Des or me ever again!"

I was starting to lose my hold on Carlita. Ike was backed against the wall, hackles raised, tail lashing, eyes narrowed. Carlita was straining against my arms to get at him, waving her paws wildly, scratching at the air in between them. Des stood impassively by, watching us with hooded eyes. Carlita finally pushed me away with her tail and sprang at Ike. He used a Thunderbolt on her in midair, but that barely deterred her. She screamed and latched onto him with her claws, not even bothering with punching anymore.

It was then that I took matters into my own hands.

I jumped right into that fray, literally prying them apart. I pulled Carlita away from him, detaching her claws roughly from his hide and putting my body in between them to stop her from doing anything else. Immediately afterward, I turned on Ike, grabbed his ears, and slammed his head against the wall. There was hardly enough force to make him do more than wince, but at least I had his attention. Ike snarled and tried to push me away with his paws, but I ignored the claws and growls and the electricity and instead focused on pinning him.

Carlita threw herself against my back, reaching around me to get to the semi-stationary Luxray. Her claws nicked my neck; I didn't feel too bad about elbowing her in the chin to get her to back off again. I kept my attention on Ike.

"Ike, by everything that is holy in this world anymore, listen to me. You listen good. You are going to stay my Pokemon until we are safely out of here, you are going to follow orders, and you are going to loyally cooperate, or I—I'll turn you over to those sadists running this thing! I can guarantee you that they will love a human-hater just as much as I do right now!" I shouted at him. Ike stopped struggling so much, though I hardly noticed. "If you ever try to turn on me again, I will not let it end this happily! You and I have been through too much, and you've seen just what I can do, haven't you, Ike?! There is a reason I've kept you around this long, and it's about time you freaking realized that, you spoiled, overgrown kitten! Life isn't fair, and you're not going to get away from humans! You've been a trained Pokemon for years now, and you and I both know that you aren't going to stop getting the perks of that training anytime soon! You're still benefiting from being a part of this team, so stop your whining, your yowling, and listen to me!"

Carlita opened her mouth to speak, I saw out of the corner of my eye. I let go of Ike, who seemed to be momentarily dazed, and whirled around to face her. The Breloom blanched, probably because I was still angry. And I was. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been this angry, and it had never been at my own team. Then again, I had never been in this sort of situation before.

"Carlita, you do not attack your teammates! Unless he's going for my throat—no, unless you see blood, and copious amounts of it, not my usual bleeding—no, unless I specifically ask for you to help, you do not attack teammates! I don't care if you don't like him! You two have been on this team together for years now! It's about time you got used to each other! You didn't like Ike from the start, you never liked Konstantin, you only seem to like Des and me and that is only half of the team! You need to learn to cooperate—well, you all do!"

Carlita now had tears welling up in her eyes, and behind me, Ike was deathly silent. They seemed to be dealt with, however temporarily (and horribly), so I turned on Des. The Camerupt stared levelly back at me, seeming to expect this. He wasn't daring me to start; he was resigned to listening me out. And it was a good idea that he did that, too. I wasn't sure I could handle any backtalk at this point.

"Des, you are the oldest and I think you're the most mature. You're supposed to be helping me a bit with this, aren't you? Isn't that what starters are for?! But half the time, you sit back and do nothing, and I'm getting tired of your passive aggressiveness! You need to—"

"Trainer needs to be aware of what a hypocrite he's being," Des interrupted calmly. So much for no backtalk. I cast about for some sort of retort, trying to get my train of thought back for my rant, but it was rapidly fading as he spoke more. "You are the trainer. You shouldn't have to rely on me to keep the peace in this team. Or, if you had to, you should actually let me. Trainer, I'm strong now. I'm not afraid of water Pokemon. I can fight. I can keep Carlita and Ike in line. You never trust me enough to do that, though. Instead, Konstantin was right. You're too busy concentrating on ignoring Ike's impending betrayal, never getting past Carlita's previous trainer, and the black-haired human's defection has only made these matters worse. If you want to fix any of these problems, you're going to have to face them first."

I flinched at the truth in his words (and the fact that it was the most he'd ever spoken at one time). It was like Konstantin all over again, only this time, I could hardly turn away my starter. Des stared me down, making sure I didn't look away. I wouldn't have, anyway.

Instead, I argued. "Pedestal, for being a starter, you—you've—I don't even know! I am not being a hypocrite, I am trying to keep this team together! Do you just want me to just sit by and not shout some sense into you—?"

"Get some sense yourself to start with. You have so many problems with training, but you're usually not this blind to what is staring you in the face. I'm your starter. Shouldn't you be able to trust me by now?" Des asked, something like venom lacing his words.

"I-I do trust you! Of course I trust you!"

"Then why didn't you just ask me for help? Why didn't you ever ask me to help you with Nick, or with Ike, or with Konstantin, or during any of your trials? You wouldn't have let Carlita and me in on half of your problems had Konstantin not let it slip."

"I was trying—"

"You were trying to protect me," Des finished for me, translated voice oddly triumphant. He snorted out smoke and took a step towards me, his back volcanoes rumbling dangerously as he did so. Carlita and I both stepped back. "You, the weaker human, were trying to protect me, the stronger, evolved Pokemon. Why is this?"

"You were—You are—the water weakness—"

"Look at yourself! Look at this team!" the Camerupt bellowed. Suddenly, our corner of the room felt very, very hot. "Have we ever come across something that has successfully stopped us?! No! We may have difficulties, but we overcome it as a team! Is that not why you got Carlita, to combat water Pokemon? And then you got Ike as extra insurance, and yet you still worry! Why can't you see how strong we have become? We don't need protecting! If anything, you do—and from yourself half the time!"

I couldn't say anything to that. I really couldn't. I was left speechless. All of the anger I'd felt earlier evaporated away like my sweat in the face of his own fiery rage. All of the pent-up frustration and annoyance must've finally burst, and not just with me or Des. Ike had finally snapped and tried his rebellion. It just so happened to fail, so he was still a part of this team, at least for the moment. Carlita had finally decided to take out her anger on the Luxray, showing just how loyal she was to this team—and how attached she was to the one trainer she had left. Des was drawing the line, setting me firmly back into the trainer's position whether I liked it or not. He was the one fixing this team. My temper tantrum hadn't done the job, unless it was a catalyst for all the rest of this.

Maybe, somehow, this really would work out for the best. Maybe there was a catharsis in this mess for each of us. Maybe we could still be a team together, even after this.

I looked over my shoulder. Ike, blood staining his teeth and muzzle, looked back at me with an expression I'd never seen before in his eyes. I wasn't exactly sure, but maybe, maybe it was something like respect. I then turned to Carlita, who was shaking violently. She wasn't about to cry anymore, though. I avoided Des' gaze. "…Alright guys, I get it. I've been a sucky trainer. But, you know what, you've all had your sucky moments, too, so I say we're even so long as we all start with a clean slate now. I'll be better, I promise. Okay?"

Carlita gave me an immensely relieved, "Okay!"

"Okay, Trainer." I could hear the smile in Des' voice, though I still wasn't looking at him.

"…Alright. For the moment," Ike grudgingly agreed.

I let out the breath I hadn't known I was holding. It only occurred to me then how badly that situation could have gone. Not only would Ike have left permanently—no, that might've been one of the better results. Ike and Carlita might've fought to the death. I didn't want to think about that, though, and shook my head to try to get rid of the mental image. "O-Okay. Okay, guys. …Thanks. But!" I continued hastily, "We still have the major problem of a death sentence hanging over our heads."

"…Oh yeah," my Breloom said, looking guilty. She wrung her claws. "Sorry."

"Oh—uh—it's fine," I lied, reaching over and hugging her. She stiffened under my grasp, I couldn't help but notice, but at least she eventually relaxed into it. "We just need to get out of here soon. Real soon. Like, before the rest of the first round is over—"

I was interrupted by what sounded like a large bell and the sound of massive doors slamming shut. Houndoom's voice, amplified by a megaphone, resonated in the building packed full of panicky trainers and Pokemon. "Listen up, you lousy losers! The first round is over, so, well, you know what that means! None of you have been declared fit to be trainers. You don't deserve your Pokemon. Now we get to start the process of taking them away from you."

Being told I didn't deserve them, especially after what we'd just been through, rubbed me the wrong way. I even heard Ike growl. Then again, that was just our luck. We'd just have to be especially awesome now to make up for the time lost with our argument. There still had to be a way to save everyone in this building, including ourselves, before they started executing.

I glanced up at the sole television in the building, which had been broadcasting the end of the first round. It showed Houndoom, Stantler, and a couple other people and Pokemon standing outside of the building. Houndoom did indeed have a megaphone and was shouting at the building. "If anyone tries to escape from this, keep in mind that you will be hunted down! Of course—if you can get away, then props for you."

"What?!" That was it?! They were hoping—no, planning—on people trying to escape. They wanted them to. After all, escaping would be much more entertaining for the hijacked broadcast.

But not only that, I realized. They knew as well as I did that trainers who did deserve their teams (well, all of us did!) were in this building as well, and were giving them a semi-honest chance to escape. They were daring us to try to get out of here alive, probably operating under the principle that if someone could get away, then they were a real trainer. This was another test of theirs—and also a way for them to show mercy.

And that really pissed me off.

I hardly got a chance to renew my anger before the television showed Houndoom and Stantler barricading the main door to the building. A quick montage showed that the other escape routes were also blocked and guarded, as well as most of the windows. (A couple of the higher ones were left unboarded and somewhat unguarded, though, I didn't fail to notice. An open invitation for whoever had the courage to try for it.)

Then the TV showed Houndoom ordering a team of fire Pokemon to set fire to the building. The building I and numerous others were currently located (and locked) in.

Chapter Text

"Oh, perfect. I've managed to lower myself to reconciling with a human just in time to taste the fires of hell."

"Shut up Ike," I responded absently, looking around me wildly. Already, people were starting to panic. Hundreds of Pokemon were returned, their trainers probably thinking it was an act of mercy to take them out of the burning building. The television above us still broadcast what was going on outside. Fire Pokemon were steadily feeding and spreading the flames, while flying Pokemon hovered over them, fanning it. With such great help, the fire was spreading at an alarming pace. Already an entire side of the building had flames creeping at the highest windows.

Think, think. There had to be a way out of this. The windows, obviously—but there was all of four or five unblocked, and I wasn't the only one who had noticed that. People and Pokemon were trampling each other to try to reach the high windows. Bird Pokemon rammed themselves against the glass. Eventually, one of the windows broke. They were all abysmally small, though. I had to watch as a Fearow, screeching in fear and pain, tried to fit through the broken glass and tiny opening. It didn't make it and instead fell into the crowd below, shedding feathers and blood.

These were the first round losers, so it probably was too hopeful of me to think that there were many stronger trainers among the panicking masses. Even if there were, I couldn't pick them out. There was too much going on. Hundreds of Pidgey, Starly, Spearow, and other unevolved bird Pokemon flocked around the ceiling, squawking and making things worse. Fear and panic were spreading just as fast as the fire. That meant that I didn't only have to deal with the fire and imminent death. If I wanted to somehow be the hero, well, I couldn't get caught up in the mass hysteria and try to keep a level head.

It was sort of hard to do when Carlita was running circles around me screaming, however.

"Carlita, really?" I finally grabbed her by the tail and kept her still. Her screaming fell into a faint whimper. "Okay, I know the fire is freaking you out, but I need your help right now. Can you still lift me? Des, you're going to have to stand right there—no, up against the wall—now get on top of him, Carlita—" After my Breloom had calmed down enough (though she was still shaking) to pick me up, she clambered on top of Des and tried to push me up as high as possible. There was a window above us, and it appeared to be missing boards over it. It was too far out of my reach, though. We couldn't get out by window, then.

I hadn't really been expecting to, anyway. Carlita and I got back down and surveyed the situation again. So there was, what, a thousand or so in here? Maybe more? I wasn't a good judge of a crowd, but there was a lot of people, and a lot of Pokemon. A couple water Pokemon were spraying water at the front wall and at the flames that were creeping up under the door. That would buy us time, right? Another window overhead was broken, and this time, a trainer managed to get out. I didn't know how he got up there, but he did, and he dropped to the ground outside.

The television cameras followed him, which meant that the depraved girls in charge of it knew about the first escapee. Sure enough, Stantler appeared to challenge him, and ordered a Nidoqueen to attack him.

Still, it was hope. Someone had gotten out. It meant other trainers could, too, right?

At least, it was hope until we saw the Nidoqueen rip apart his Chimchar on live television.

The screaming and panic redoubled. The fire was starting to eat away at the front doors and had broken two of the boarded-up, ground-level windows, too.

Okay, so we had a pretty bad situation on hand. There was a fire, a locked warehouse, panicking masses, broken glass, and homicidal crazies waiting outside for us if we managed to get that far. But I had just managed to avert a personal crisis, so a real-world crisis would be nothing now. That was the (flawed) logic I was operating on, at any rate, and I clung to it stubbornly. I'd been in worse situations. I could handle a burning building and complete chaos.

"Des, can you knock down part of a wall?" I asked, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice.

The Camerupt shook his head. "We tried that when we first came in, remember?" We had tried a number of things when we first were shoved into the building, but I had been sort of hoping for some sort of comeback win from my starter. "The wall is just too strong. Even if we tried to break through the fire-weakened wall, well, it's concrete. I can't."

"I guess—wait. …You can't break down fire-weakened concrete, right? What about fire-weakened door that I'm pretty sure was made of wood?" Whatever it had been made of, it seemed to be highly flammable and was so much charred, flaming material at this point. It certainly looked weakened. The question was if a several hundred pound fiery camel could break it down…

It was the best shot we had.

"Ike, go find me a water Pokemon! Carlita, you come with me and Des. We're going to get out of here."

By the time I managed to fight my way through the hysterical crowd to the front door, Ike had rounded up a Pelipper. It seemed panicked, but I hardly blamed it; Ike had that effect on others. We'd have to fix that—but later. Everything later, once we were sure we'd survive the next ten minutes.

I craned my head around to try to find who owned the Pelipper, but no one came forward. I didn't know what to make of that. On one hand, this was a literal madhouse we were in, and it was hard to fight through the masses. On the other, I didn't know what to think of a trainer who lost track of their Pokemon at now of all the times in the world. It only seemed like it was driving the point home.

But nevermind that. "Ike, get the Pelipper to soak me. Carlita, return. Des, here—" I handed him Carlita's pokeball, making him hold it in his mouth, "—hold her and spit out her pokeball and let her go on the other side. They probably won't be expecting anyone to come out this way, but it seems like there are guards outside."

On the television looming above us, another trainer got out. This time, the girl managed to release her Pokemon and started putting up a fight. She had a team of three, and while they weren't newbies, they weren't exactly veterans either. They were fighting a losing battle. The trainer was screaming at the cameras and building behind her, pleading for someone else to come outside and help her.

"Okay, thanks," I said to the Pelipper, trying to smile as it dumped a mouthful of water on me. The water was lukewarm and felt too much like it had really just spit up on me. Still, with my hair dripping into my eyes and my clothes clinging to me, I figured I'd stand more of a chance of getting through that door now. I didn't know how much Des could knock down, but at any rate, I wasn't letting him and Carlita go out there alone. I returned Ike, tried to shake off the Pelipper, and turned towards the door. The heat emanating from it was already starting to dry me, so I figured we'd better hurry.

Of course, rushing through a burning door was easier said than done. I hadn't exactly done it before, and I wasn't looking forward to it, either. I shoved my hands into my pockets, tightly holding onto Ike's ultra ball, and took a calming breath.

"Des, you run out in front of me. It won't hurt you, right? You and Carlita get out there and start beating some sense into those sadists, and I'm going to be right behind you."

"This is dangerous," he said quietly, shuffling towards me.

My water cover was still evaporating, and the hot air and smoke were starting to give me a sore throat. "We're getting out of here. You said to take charge, so I am. Go through that door. I'll be right out." I didn't need anyone second-guessing my plan right now. It was the only one we had. On the television, the girl and her three Pokemon fell. More people were guarding the windows now. The door was our best bet.

Aside from, you know, the flaming part.

"Okay." I took one last breath. "Let's go."

Des surprised me with the smart idea to use a Flamethrower on the door. While more flames were hardly doing anything productive (and were actually counterproductive, since now quite a space of the inside was burning merrily), the force of the attack made the doors crack loudly. Still breathing fire at them, my Camerupt charged at the doors. At the last instant, he lowered his head like a battering ram.

I didn't see what exactly he did to the doors, since I ran after him. I ducked my head down, pulled my hood up, and held my breath. The wall of hot air before it was nothing compared to the fire itself. Whatever water I'd had on my body was immediately gone, and I could feel my skin heating up and burning.

But then, just like that, I tumbled out into open, albeit hot, air again. It was only a door, after all. I sucked in several lungfuls of smokeless air, clambering shakily to my feet. It felt like I had a bad sunburn on my face and neck, but other than that, I was still alive and more or less okay.

I turned back to look at the doors. There was a Des-sized hole broken into them, but there were still flames. I could see the panicked Pelipper on the other side, squawking and trying to douse the flames. The water attacks didn't seem to be doing much, though. Eventually, the bird gave up and flapped off, and the fire roared up once more, blocking the entrance to anyone save those who were stupid enough to try to get through them (like me).

"Hey! You got out, after all!" My head snapped around to find Stantler staring at me, a grin slowly spreading across her face. She jerked her thumb over towards the edge of the building. "Houndoom just left—you just missed her. She was waiting for you to come out. She wanted to be the one to fight you out here." Before I could stop her, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Houndoom!"

As most of the front wall was already in flames, there weren't many Pokemon on this side of the building anymore. It made things easier. Then again, we still had to face down Stantler and the Nidoqueen standing behind her, and there was no telling what other Pokemon she had with her or had access to. If I thought I could have outran her, I would have just returned my Pokemon and did just that. But she was tall and lanky, so I wasn't too confident on that.

But what I was confident in was my Pokemon. "Des, Flamethrower! Get a wall of flames up to separate us!" It was absolutely terrible of me, but I was thinking that if Nick could use that tactic, so could I. It worked for him, too, and he kept a great deal of people and Pokemon away from him. I needed to do just that.

The Nidoqueen just charged right through the flames, however, before they could even get that strong. Stantler ran down the line of fire, but Des circled around and kept making the line longer, until eventually, we had a half-circle around us and the opening.

Carlita leapt at the Nidoqueen, grabbing her tail and pulling. It was enough to stop her and make her roar. Carlita screeched at her in reply and used an Iron Tail on the Nidoqueen's leg. She roared again, but this time in pain, and limped hastily away from my Breloom.

While the two circled around each other, trading growls and insults, I released Ike. The Luxray looked annoyed at all of the fire, but as there was really nothing I could do about that and it was currently saving us, I ordered him, "Make sure none of the birds fly over the fire. You and Des make sure no one gets inside this circle, got it?"

"Fine," he grunted.

"Watch his back, okay? That's an order, too!"

"Fine, Master Trainer," he replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

I ran back towards the entrance. It was still on fire, but more people had taken notice of it now. I could see a couple of Buizel and a Wooper using Water Guns on it, and it seemed to be starting to take effect. I gestured encouragingly to them and their trainers, since we couldn't hear each other over the fire. I wiped my brow; okay, it was seriously getting hot.

So Carlita was taking care of the Nidoqueen, Des and Ike were making sure the entrance was safe for the moment, and some of the trainers still inside seemed to be cool-headed enough to try to extinguish their so-far only safe route out. Things were actually going well for once.

Just as I thought that, however, I spotted Houndoom and a couple of Pokemon that were presumably hers run out to meet up with Stantler. There was a Floatzel with them, which was my initial worry, since it was probably strong enough to deal a whole lot of damage to Des. Plus, it could easily get through the line of fire.

Ike made it think twice about attacking with a Thunderbolt.

I turned in surprise to him, but he paid me no heed and grinned triumphantly at the wounded Floatzel. Houndoom screeched in anger and made a rude gesture at us all. Stantler laid a hand on her head (since she was the taller one) and pointed towards the flames separating us. A Rapidash jumped forward and over the flames effortlessly, landing beside Des with a delicate snort.

Des snorted at it and tried a Flamethrower, but the Rapidash countered with its own fire attack. Ike snarled at it, too, but the Floatzel soon took his attention again as it tried to get through the ring of fire once more. Carlita managed to finally bring the Nidoqueen down and stood triumphantly on her unconscious body, but that unfortunately made her a target. The Rapidash tore itself away from Des long enough to fire an Ember at her. It went over her head, but she shrieked and covered her head with her claws nonetheless, hastily jumping down.

She ran over to me, hiding behind me worriedly. She couldn't do anything against a Rapidash, so I patted her head and kept myself between them. If only I had another Pokemon. Another would even this out. Ike had his paws full trying to keep birds and the Floatzel away. Des was still trying to feed the protective circle around us, trading fiery attacks with the horse. A ground move would take care of it pretty quickly, but we were all too close to him for him to risk it.

For the first time, I wish Konstantin hadn't left.

I saw a shadow pass overhead, and Ike looked up with his lips curled. I mimicked the action, wondering why he didn't take care of it. I soon saw why as Chase the Garchomp landed outside of the circle. Nick jumped off of him, holding something that looked to be a shovel. My breath caught, and by the look of it, so did everyone else in the area. Stantler and Houndoom looked as if they just met their hero—well, that wasn't too far from the truth.

I watched in horror as Nick raised the shovel over his head. He had a look in his eyes, visible even from this distance—I had never seen that look before, but I recognized it for what it was: he had murder in his eyes. With the fire roaring all around us, his black hair already stuck to his forehead from sweat, Nick swung his shovel at the two girls and screamed, "What are you doing?!"

Chapter Text

I only watched as Stantler went down, something like blood suddenly staining her blonde hair red. Houndoom, shocked into silence for once, turned and watched her friend fall. Nick raised the bloody shovel again for another strike.

"Ike, jump! Des, Magnitude!" I yelled suddenly, only half aware of the fact that I was speaking at all. The Luxray leapt into the air as the Camerupt brought both of his front paws down onto the ground, cracking it. The Rapidash's legs buckled and it fell with a whinny. Carlita and I were both knocked off our feet, but not too much worse for wear. The fire around us suffered a bit, completely going out in some places, but that wasn't even on my mind.

Most importantly, Nick lost his balance and dropped the shovel. Houndoom fell, as did the Floatzel. Ike landed lightly on the ground, looking almost smug that he didn't get any of that attack.

Nick looked around for the source, and his eyes finally found mine.

Almost immediately, he looked away, something unreadable as his expression. He cast about him for something and knelt down. When he stood back up, the shovel was once again in his hands. Houndoom was getting up in front of him, not even looking at him and the shovel about to come down on her head.

"Someone—Stop him!" I shouted to no one in particular, wishing now more than ever that Konstantin was still with us. Then he could have just floated over and spooked Nick, or attacked him, or brought me over to him with a Shadow Sneak. I only now realized that the circle of fire that was once protecting us was now keeping us in.

Ike sent a Thunderbolt at him, but Chase intercepted it in the air easily. He did it again when Ike tried again. Des shot a Flamethrower at the Garchomp too, but once again, Chase effortlessly combated it with one of his own.

Carlita shot past me, and with a running jump, made it over one of the smaller patches of flames. She ran right into Nick, sending them both flying and skidding to a stop well away from the rest of them. He tore her off of him and sat up, trying to get to his feet. She tackled him from behind, digging her sharp claws into his shoulders. She hung on, even as he struggled to his feet and tried to force her off of him. Finally, he managed to get her off. It ripped a good portion of his hoodie and smeared blood over his exposed shoulders, but he got Carlita off all the same.

He ran over to where he'd dropped the shovel while she was getting back to her feet. For one heart stopping moment, I thought he was going to attack my Pokemon with it. I was almost relieved when he swung it at Houndoom instead. She went down to the ground, obscured from my sight by the fire between us. Carlita screamed at him, but Nick ignored her and continued beating Houndoom with the flat side of the shovel.

Over the shouting, flames, and Carlita's screaming, I couldn't hear what he was saying. But he was speaking the entire time; I could see his mouth moving. With each swing, I noticed something splatter up onto his clothes. The shovel was dripping with the stuff. Stuff that looked red, that looked alarmingly like blood. Carlita, even as I shouted to stop her, lunged at him again—only to get halted by Chase. The Garchomp picked her up and, with a growl, tossed her back into the ring of fire. When I turned back from her, making sure she was okay, Chase was pulling Nick away from the fallen girls, snapping the shovel casually with one of his claws. He growled something softly and picked his trainer up, glaring at me over the fire. I backed up a step. Instead of attacking, however, he leapt into the sky.

Chase circled around us once, and then breathed down a jet of fire towards where the girls had fallen.

Behind me, trainers finally poured out of the burning building, screaming and gasping and sobbing as they did so. From around the corner, more of the supporters ran out, only to be confronted by the ever-growing flames. I only watched Chase and Nick fly off into the blood red sunset.

-.-.-

I hung my head in my hands. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried not to… Cry? Throw up? Scream? I didn't know. I didn't know so many things, but these unknowns were piling up on me, suffocating me, crushing me.

Video cameras, at least until they were burned up in the inferno, had taped the entire thing and played it live on the air. No one stopped it. So all of Sinnoh got to see two teenage girls lock thousands of lives in a building and set it on fire. All of Sinnoh had seen the early escapees murdered. All of Sinnoh got to see my daring breakout and subsequent attack.

All of Sinnoh, once again, saw Nicholas Sayre murder.

The police, no longer blocked and beaten by the rebellious group, were still digging bodies out of the wreckage. Either all of that group were dead or had long since fled Jubilife. Not everyone had made it out of that burning building, either.

Not even half had.

There was so much confusion and pain in the leftover of The Tournament. People weren't even sure where to begin. The death toll kept getting higher and higher. Investigators weren't sure who died of what—was it smoke inhalation? Trampled to death? Burned alive? The fire made everything ridiculously chaotic and blurry, since it destroyed so much. So much evidence, so many rationales, so many lives.

The media and public couldn't even begin to figure out who to blame. Nick's last-minute role in everything seemed to shock everyone. He had, after all, publicly, loudly, and violently renounced what they were doing. He beat that much into them. But hadn't Houndoom and Stantler been following his philosophies on training to begin with? The television station, now under its own control again, had a heyday trying to figure it all out.

Byron was dead, too. No one could figure out how he fit into it all. Did Nick kill him, too? He had appeared with his shovel. But then again, it was the other group that had been holding him hostage and freely declaring they'd kill him if need be. Most people seemed to agree that it was Nick who did it, if only for the fact that they had a Gym leader serial killer on their hands to gossip about.

The Gym leaders hadn't known what to do. Roark and Gardenia were in Jubilife now, but what they had been doing, no one knew. The Elite Four and Champion were silent on the matter. The training government hadn't seem to do much—or, if they had, it simply hadn't worked. The trainers had been left on their own. It made for hushed, angry conversations and rebellious glares. Gym leaders and the Elite Four hadn't done anything. It was the trainers who had fixed it, however badly. Another Gym leader was now dead, which left their number at six, and the training population had been decimated far beyond that percentage.

I clenched my fists and rubbed my eyes, pressing my palms against them. I wasn't crying. Far from it. I took another deep breath. I had survived, my team and I had survived. We had minimal injuries. My shoulder was burned. Des had nearly exhausted his fire sac, and had taken a nasty hit on his leg from the Rapidash. Ike was worn out, too, sulky and rebellious still. Most of his injures came from Carlita. Carlita, however, was the most injured of us. She had minor burns and scrapes all along her body, the Nidoqueen had fractured her tail, and she was still shaken from the entire ordeal.

I still had to figure out what to do with them all, too. I wasn't looking forward to that part. Des and I seemed cool enough with each other now, but Ike was openly angry with me, and Carlita wouldn't stop shivering or whimpering. Not for the first time, I found myself missing Konstantin.

The day after the catastrophe, television crews found me. Someone had managed to put two and two together and identify me from the Abomasnow attack. More than that, though, they wanted to interview the hero who saved so many from the burning building.

Too bad I had aimed to save all of them.

I continually brushed off reporters and cameramen, dearly thankful that they didn't figure out I had been friends with Nick, once upon a time. They pestered me, though, so I routinely had to retreat to my room in the Center for any semblance of privacy. I was putting off talking to my team, and I knew it. But I wasn't going to hold that conversation in Jubilife, and I couldn't easily get out of Jubilife without a squad of cameras following me.

Oh, if only I had known then what fate had in store for me. I probably would have rather dealt with them.

My phone had been ringing off the hook all throughout The Tournament. Most of it was calls from my parents or Hanna. Eventually, though, it stopped ringing. I didn't bother with feeling grateful for the small miracle. I found out soon enough, though, why the calls had stopped.

I peeked out into the Center lobby. There was a reporter and cameraman in the corner interviewing one of the trainers who had won the first round (and thus got out of the death fire that followed). As long as I could sneak by them, it looked like I would be home free.

Oh how wrong I was.

I took three steps out into the lobby, completely passing by the couple talking urgently to the Nurse Joy. I halted, however, when one of them turned around and demanded, "Where do you think you're going, young man?!"

"…Dad?!" I hadn't been expecting my parents. The thought that they'd come to find me hadn't even crossed my mind. Sure, they were only a couple hours from Jubilife by car, but they weren't trainers. They didn't have to participate in The Tournament or worry about some of its ramifications. Nevermind the fact that their only son had been forced into it and lost in the first round, only to break out of the burning building in time to stop nothing from happening—

My train of thought was cut off as my mother threw her arms around me and managed to lift me. I felt wetness on my forehead. I craned my neck back to see that she was crying. Not even little tears, either; she was fully crying, sobbing even, and by the looks of it, had been for the last couple days. "Y-You almost died!"

I didn't mention that that was not a new occurrence. Instead, I flailed a bit until she set me back on the ground and let go of me. I tried not to notice that we'd caught the attention of the camera. "Mom… I'm fine." It was all I could say, really. And even that was a partial lie. What did one say to one's mother after that?

"You almost died!" she repeated firmly, voice shaking. "Those horrid, vicious people, trying to put on that—that barbaric fight! And making you fight!"

"Mom, I'm fine. Really. See?" I waved my arms to demonstrate this fact. "Nothing's broken this time. I-I got out." My voice caught on that last part. Not for the first time, I realized how lucky I was to have survived that. The death count had already broken a thousand, and it was hardly starting to let up. In between the tear jerking recounts of what had happened, another story going on was how many more trainers were dropping out of training. So far, from what I could tell, about three-fourths of those who lost the first round (and survived) stopped training. About a third of those who won also quit. I wasn't very good with math, but I knew trainer numbers were dwindling.

"Y-You are coming home right this instant. You a-are stopping this dangerous training of yours—oh, I knew we shouldn't have let you start in the first place—an-and you are going to stop this! You will b-be safe at home with your family again!"

I pushed my mother away. My father, standing over us, narrowed his eyes warningly at me. I squeezed my eyes shut and balled my hands into fists. "No."

"Are you talking back to us? Are you serious about trying to continue training after all of this?!" he said, voice dangerously quiet. He only got that tone when I was really in trouble, but somehow, it didn't scare me as much as it did when I was younger.

"M-Mom… Dad… I am serious about this. I have my team. We're all still alive. I'm sticking with them. They're my family, too—"

"We are your family as well! We're not saying you have to get rid of your Pokemon! Of course they can come live with us—!" my mother cried desperately, trying to capture me in a hug again. I ducked out of her arms.

"These are battling Pokemon, mom, not pets!" I didn't even want to think what Ike would try to do if I announced he'd have to become a house pet. "I'm staying a trainer."

"We'll pull your trainer's license," my dad growled.

I narrowed my eyes up at him. "You legally can't after a trainer earns four badges. I have eight. …Don't you see? I have a good team, I'm actually good at this! This—Training makes me happy, and even if I have to—to try not to get distracted by all of these injustices in the world and try not to get angry, or bitter, or turn dark, or any of that, I'm still good at this and I'm a good trainer and I have a good team and this makes me happy!"

"It's still too dangerous for you," my mother said with a note of finality.

I really didn't want to get into this argument. Then again, I was already neck-deep in this argument, so I couldn't help it at this point. I reined in my runaway emotions and tried logic. "…I have three Pokemon. They're pretty aggressive, too. You remember Ike, my Shinx? Well, he evolved and he's a Luxray now. He will not be a good pet. An-And I have a fighter, too! A very energetic fighter who couldn't stand to live in one place all the time. She would get into so much trouble. And mom, I have Des. That Numel you gave me evolved into a Camerupt and he got big. We can't support a giant, fiery camel. But I can. I'm a trainer, and I can keep all of them as my team. Not pets."

"You are not returning on this journey of yours! The training world right now is too dangerous. Even Gym leaders are dying left and right! That Sayre kid is on the loose, and look at what he did just yesterday! Do you know how close that came to being you?!" my mother said with a half-suppressed sob.

My father took over from there. "You've gotten your eight badges. You became a good trainer. You can retire now. We have plenty of room for your Pokemon, and I think they will behave better than you'd think. You are retiring now."

"You can't do that." Something in me just snapped. I took a step away from them. The pokeballs and ultra ball in my pocket felt much too heavy. "You have no right! I am the trainer here! I have my badges—you can't stop me from being a trainer—I am not going to stop being a trainer! Not after all this! I-I have to finish this."

"What do you have to finish?" my father asked icily.

"Nick." It was the first time I'd ever said it aloud, the first time I admitted it. "I have to stop him. I have to get to the bottom of this. If I don't stop him, who will, dad?! The police are scared of him, the Gym leaders can't stand up to him, and he's crippled the Champion!" I shouted, throwing my arms out wide.

"Why do you have to?!" my mother demanded, crying again. She stepped closer, but I just backed away again. "You're just a child! You can't fight him—"

"I'm the only one who can, didn't you hear me?!"

"He has a full team! If there's one thing about trainers I know, they're supposed to have six Pokemon, and that Sayre does. You don't."

"My Pokemon are strong enough! I-I can catch more if I need to—but it has to be me to stop Nick from becoming the monster!" I howled, unable to stop myself any longer. I had to stop Nick. I had to ask him what the heck he thought he was doing, abandoning me and becoming evil. He wasn't allowed to. He never had been. I had to stop him, beat some sense into him, and drag the answers out of him if need be. I had to.

"You have three! Even if I was going along with this, I would not put my son up against that terrorist with those odds!" Even my father's voice was rising now.

I was about to continue my raving, but then cool, soft paws wrapped themselves around my eyes and head from behind. My head was pulled gently back, resting against teeth. "My comrade has four Pokemon. And he will stop the monster, given time."

Chapter Text

"K-Konstantin?" I asked, anger evaporating instantly.

"Yes?"

"…" What did I say? That I was sorry—I was. That I missed him—I had. That I didn't want him to leave again—I didn't. That I was still angry with him for saying such a thing—I was that, too.

"And who is this?" my father inquired in a carefully restrained tone. My mother had recoiled from the ghost fearfully and he put his arm around her, almost protectively.

"This is Konstantin. Kostya. He's… my Duskull," I guessed. He sort of was, and sort of wasn't, in equal measures. We'd been together for quite some time now, but he'd never had a pokeball. I only put a translator on him because I was tired of his dream visits (though it didn't exactly deter him from those). I fed him occasionally, but he also got his own food. He slept with me when it was cold or I had nightmares or after Nick left. Did that really make him mine?

"Since when?"

"Does this matter?" Konstantin asked with a smile in his voice. He seemed to enjoy trying to intimidate my dad.

"…Even if you suddenly have four Pokemon, that is not a full team!"

"I'll catch more, then! It's not that hard to fix…!"

"You'd still have to train them, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, but that's what I am! A trainer! Get it now?"

"Stop fighting, both of you," my mother interrupted, firmly. Properly chastised, my father and I glared in opposite directions. I certainly wasn't going to give in. My mother sighed. "…Sweetie, I'm proud that you have a team. A team of four, apparently. But it's still much too dangerous out there."

I glanced back at Konstantin. "…Can you prove that it's dangerous out there?"

"Wh-What? Of course it—"

"It's only dangerous if that danger can catch me, right?"

"You don't have a bird to Fly away from danger with," my father pointed out.

"I have Kostya. Dad, if you can lay a hand on me, I'll stop training. But if you can't, then I will continue being a trainer. It's not dangerous if the danger can't catch up with me, right?"

"That's a stupid and rash idea—"

"That's just because you know you can't catch me," I shot back, perhaps a little masochistically. I didn't like cornering my own parents like this (or even fighting them in the first place), but I wasn't going to stop being a trainer. And it was true that I could dodge danger with the best of them. Konstantin's Shadow Sneak helped with that. Moreover, they just couldn't grasp that I had a pretty good team and could handle myself against other trainers.

My father reached out for me, and reflexively, Konstantin shoved me down into my shadow. We reappeared behind my parents by a good few feet, leaning on the front desk. My parents turned to me in flat-out shock.

"See?" I deadpanned, gesturing to the Duskull.

"That will not work against someone else with Pokemon. You're coming home. This argument is over." My father put his foot down, crossing his arms over his chest.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "…I was going to run away when you gave me Des. What makes you think I wouldn't think twice about running away now when I already have him and practically have a head start to boot?"

"We raised you better than that!"

"No, apparently you didn't! I'm not going to stop training, no matter what you say. You can try and call the cops on me, but just watch the news. They're not going to arrest the hero, are they?!" Calling myself a hero left a bad taste in my mouth. I wasn't a hero. I hadn't stopped any of this from happening. But that's why I had to continue with this journey, to be out in the world to stop future things from happening.

To stop Nick.

"You are out there all alone, with only those beasts to protect you…! Why can't you understand our worry?" my mother cried desperately, trying to guilt trip me into going back with them.

I cringed, but I would not be swayed. At least not enough to change my mind. "I have four Pokemon. That's a small army, isn't it? I told you—I'll catch a full team. Will that be enough protection for you?"

"Find a traveling partner." My dad spoke up again, cutting across my mother's guilt-inducing verbal attack. He gave me a level stare. "Get a full team and travel with someone else. Otherwise, we'll disown you."

"Dear!"

If we were playing low, then so be it. I stuck my tongue out at both of them, ignoring the unsettling feeling I got in my stomach for doing so. "I haven't even seen you guys for months! I've been living on my own anyway! What would it matter if you disowned your only child!"

"It would matter and we're not doing that!" my mother insisted, glaring at my father momentarily. "Can't you just see that we're worried about you? We don't want you to get hurt or—or worse. Training lately has been so dangerous, especially for young trainers—"

"Mom, I'm fourteen! I've been training for years now! It's only dangerous for the little kids with the one or two Pokemon who think they can conquer the world! I know that training is hazardous to your health lately, but I'm fine. I will be fine. I will come out of this fine."

"When will you come out of this, then? You already have eight badges. What else do you have to do?!" my father demanded.

"I told you—I have to defeat Nick—"

"Sayre is just another trainer! What will that accomplish?"

"I don't know, maybe rid the world of—or it'll—" What would that accomplish? I didn't necessarily want to call him a serial killer like the rest of the masses. He was a killer, but he was also my best friend. Had been. Was. Is. I wasn't quite sure on that one. "…It'll be a good thing for me to take him down."

"I still don't understand why this has to be you—"

"Because I have to! Because he was my best friend and he helped me and trained me and got me through most of the badges I have now! Because I had to watch as he turned into this monster that I couldn't stop, that I could've stopped, and it's always been my responsibility to try to keep him from doing this, but I failed, and I sort of feel a little guilty about that, okay?!"

Konstantin used a Shadow Sneak to get me out of the Center. I was done with my parents. They wouldn't stop me from continuing this. We walked away from the Center rather quickly, since it'd be better to avoid a scene with my parents bursting out and yelling at me some more. Konstantin floated around to my other shoulder, glancing back at the building with a nervous chuckle. "…I've almost missed that nerve of yours, comrade."

"We still need to talk, too, you know," I muttered with a sigh. This whole ordeal had been too much stress in too little time. My parents were probably going to worry themselves into heart attacks now. I probably should go on to catch a bird, if it would put them at ease (for whatever reason).

Oddly enough, I was already attached to that idea, too. It wasn't even the pokeballs that were like heartstrings anymore; my imagination was plenty.

"…Kostya, do you think that was the right thing to do?" I asked, tilting my head back to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Just… all of that. How much of that did you hear, anyway?"

"Comrade, if I may, once again, be the one to knock some sense into you…" He floated closer and leaned his arms on the top of my head. "I would be much less worried about what I, an ally, heard, and more worried about what that human with the camera heard. It probably was not the smartest idea to say you were once best friends with the Nick human. Especially that it was all your fault."

I halted in mid-step. I'd been so wrapped up with my parents that I had forgotten about the cameraman and reporter right there in the Center with us. That… really hadn't been one of my smarter moves. "Kostya, you're not above scaring humans, right?"

"What would prompt you to ask that?"

"Go steal that camera from them and destroy the tape inside it. I don't think that conversation needs to work its way onto television just yet. Make sure it doesn't."

Konstantin chuckled darkly, saluted, and floated off. I continued putting distance between me and the Center. My phone was already buzzing in my pocket, but I ignored it. So what if I'd been rash. They also were. I was going to keep training and that was the end of it.

To make matters worse, I'd admitted aloud a lot of things in that conversation. That I was definitely going after Nick. No more stalling. No more paranoia, right? Just… necessary precautions. I tugged at the necklace around my neck. I was still safe, so it must've worked. I'd have to train harder, too, and work out a whole bunch of problems with my team. I sighed, realizing I still had to deal with that problem.

Plus, apparently I needed a full team. I had toyed with the idea for awhile now. The Tournament also helped to reinforce that idea; if I had a larger team, I could take down more. But getting two more Pokemon—or was it three? Should I officially catch Konstantin?—required time, and effort, and training them up to par. I hadn't had much fun doing that with Ike, so I wasn't looking forward to that.

I also had to make sure another pair of personalities meshed with my already haphazard team. Des and Carlita were still good with each other. No doubt they weren't fond of Ike right then, and Konstantin wouldn't be welcomed with open arms, either. I had better smooth all of the ruffled feathers and figure out what to do with the Pokemon I had before going off and trying to catch more.

The phone continued buzzing in my pocket. My parents just would not give up, would they? I eventually had to finish that argument, too (wow, my track record with the world at large wasn't very good), but it didn't meant I was happy about it. Irritated, I finally whipped it out and glared at the number.

It wasn't my parents calling.

It was Hanna.

I hesitantly opened the phone and squeaked out, "Hello…?"

"Finally! Now stop your stomping off and let us catch up! We've been yelling at you and trying to call for the past ten minutes!" she shouted into the phone, then hung up with a click. I halted and stared at the phone with a blank expression. Not a minute later, a teenage girl tackled me from behind. The running start she'd had meant we both went face-down into the sidewalk below.

"H-Hanna?" I ground out, trying to push myself off the ground with her still on top of me.

"Okay, get up now." She got off of me, dusted off her skirt, and extended a hand down to help me up. As soon as I was on my feet again, she wrapped her arms tightly around me. The hug lasted for a beat longer than what was strictly necessary. "…I've missed you, idiot."

"I've missed you too. But why are you here in Jubilife?" I asked softly, hesitantly putting my arms around her as well.

Just as soon as I did that, however, she jerked away and held me at arm's length. She glared fiercely at me. "Are you kidding me?! First there was those crazies with the TV and their tournament, then there's you, and then there's Nick, and now there's the TV again broadcasting it all!" That hardly made sense, and I was there for most of it.

"What miss Hanna here is trying to say is that we saw you on the telly and had to come investigate. It's not often you see an acquaintance or two making the news, right?" I jumped as Jude spoke. I hadn't noticed him come up, not with Hanna suddenly in my face. He waved and offered a smile. "And since you were obviously in town, we decided to drop in for a visit."

"Right. But you two didn't need to…"

"We came anyway," Hanna said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "…Are you okay?"

I cringed and tried to maintain my smile. I couldn't help but think that I should be the one asking her that. If Jude wasn't there, I probably would have. I scrutinized her, still smiling blankly, and found the same girl I'd known for so long. She didn't have any casts or bandages on this time, but her brown hair was the same, her fashion-conscious outfit was the same, her grin was the same. What wasn't the same was the black bracelet tied around her wrist, or the fact that her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm fine," I replied.

Chapter Text

"…And so I basically just ran away after that. At least they stopped calling. Kostya should be returning sometime soon, too," I explained, gesturing vaguely to the empty air, as if expecting the ghost to randomly appear. I told them the entire story. I was a little nervous telling it to Jude, too, but Hanna seemed fine with the idea. So no matter how reluctant I was, he also got to hear all about The Tournament from firsthand experience (and its aftermath, including my fight with my parents).

"Do you actually think you ran away? I mean, are you going to, like, reconcile with your parents anytime soon?" Hanna asked, leaning in. I shrugged.

"I'm going to go catch a bird Pokemon and see if that helps the situation…"

"Didn't they say they want you to have a full team?" she asked flatly. "One bird does not a full team make."

"I can just sell you a couple Pokemon real quick, if you'd like. I even have a Pidgeotto on hand," Jude offered with a bright smile. I shook my head.

"No, I'll go catch one myself. They'll get suspicious if I show up with two more Pokemon suddenly. I have a feeling they already don't like Kostya for that." I set my chin in my hand with a sigh. Why were they so intent on the parental part of that? Weren't they worried about the training world?

"They also want you to get a traveling partner," Hanna pointed out. She leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes to think.

"I'll just ignore that part. I'm practically running away as it is, so I technically don't have to listen to them anymore, do I? Isn't that part of the whole 'running away' thing?"

"Yes, but—"

"You two, go together." Hanna interrupted without opening her eyes. Jude and I stared at her. "It'd solve both your problems, wouldn't it?"

"What problems does he have?" I asked curiously. Jude was a breeder, not a trainer. And while he did seem to train Pokemon a bit, he didn't keep them long and he sort of trained them like a pastime.

"He's been looking for someone to help train his Pokemon," Hanna replied airily.

"Hanna! That's none of—"

"So you two go together. You can help train his Pokemon, you know, give them practice battles and stuff, and he can be the person you travel with. You can keep each other company. Your dad never exactly said that you had to travel with another trainer, right?" She opened her eyes to smirk at us both, knowing full well she had a strong point. Jude and I looked at each other appraisingly.

"…Hanna, I think you misunderstood me when I said I wanted a surrogate trainer. I want someone who knows how to handle Pokemon—"

"And I don't?" I deadpanned, a little miffed.

"That's not what I meant!" he said hastily. "I meant that I wanted a trainer who is used to taking on a breeder's Pokemon to train temporarily. I already know a couple trainers who do that for me, so I really don't need him. No offense!"

"You don't have any Sinnoh trainers to help you, and guess where you are," Hanna said with a dismissive hand. "I think this would be good for the both of you. Mister trainer hasn't been doing much socializing, and mister breeder hasn't been doing much of that, either. And you both need to train your Pokemon. The only difference is that you're eventually going to sell yours, and he isn't."

"But—" we both started in unison.

"Nope, not going to hear it. You two are going to travel and see the world and all that nonsense with each other. And you will have fun, okay? And catch and train lots of Pokemon," Hanna decreed. I almost missed how her voice hitched on the last word.

Because of that, neither of us could object. Jude and I glanced at each other. We hadn't ever really interacted, not without the buffer that was Hanna. Oh well. This wouldn't last that long, right?

"Do you…" Jude started. He took a short breath, and started again. "Do you want me to get you any Pokemon, Hanna?"

I felt bad. I wasn't sure if it was because I hadn't offered, or if it was just because he was trying to fix what had been done, or if it was just for the situation in general. I immediately felt worse when I saw Hanna's expression—before she hastily covered it up with a snort and the movement of running her hand through her hair. I saw her heart break all over again.

"Of course not. I-I don't want anything. Not yet," she said, too quickly. "N-Now go! The day is still young! You could be out of Jubilife before the masses start really evacuating!"

Jude and I were literally pushed and shoved and elbowed to the city limits of Jubilife. I couldn't say anything else to Hanna, not after that. Not after The Tournament and coming that close to losing my team as well. I really, just then, realized what she had gone through. The physical injuries might've been gone, but the emotional ones were still there, still all too visible.

Hanna crossed her arms and glared at us until we shuffled off onto the trainer path. She watched us until we were out of sight. And then she called us to make sure we were still walking away from her.

Jude didn't complain when I turned around and ran back towards Jubilife. In fact, he raced me.

He reached Hanna first and threw his arms around her. She staggered back, catching her balance again just as I reached her and likewise tackled her in a hug. It was only fair, after all. She had done the same thing to me. "Hanna, Hanna love, please come with us!" Jude pleaded, laughing weakly as we picked ourselves apart off the ground.

"Seriously! We—We can get you new Pokemon, more Pokemon, it'll be just like old times! Come travel with us!" I added.

"Don't shoo us off! Come with us! You don't have to be alone!"

"Guys, get off of me! I-I'm not going with you, okay? I can't! I can't…" Hanna shoved us both away, trying her best to muster up a glare. "And shouldn't you two be riding off into the sunset about now?"

"Not without you, love," Jude said, trying to keep his arms around her, much to her embarrassment. I was unused to seeing flirting, especially used as a weapon, and it was a little weird to see it done with Hanna of all people. Okay, more than a little weird. A lot weird. Hanna finally stopped fighting him with a giggle and let him hug her. "Why are you so keen on getting rid of us?"

"You've been clingy lately, so I'm trying to pawn you off on someone else," Hanna replied primly, not even bothering to pull her punch. I winced, feeling sorry for Jude.

"Aw, come on, you don't mean that… Just come with us. With another fellow around, I promise I'll be a perfect gentleman. Plus… I can go get Elizabeth and Octavian, you know you still like them…"

I was starting to feel awkward, and while I didn't want to intrude on their moment, I didn't feel like getting ignored, either. "Come on, Hanna. It'll be more fun with you along. It can be another expedition."

"Guys, I can't. That's it. I can't be around Pokemon again. You two go now. I'm going to go shopping." And that was the end of our argument. Hanna practically ran away from us, and while there was no dramatic sobbing or angry outbursts, it still hurt.

Jude sighed. "She's been doing that lately. Whenever I mention Pokemon in any serious context, she says she can't and goes shopping."

"I think it's how she copes," I remarked. Or maybe she just really liked shopping.

"Should we, uh, actually go then? I mean, she'll eventually find out if we're not together and we really shouldn't upset her any more than she already is… Let's get this over with, eh? It shouldn't be too painful."

"…That's a comforting thought." I had never traveled with someone I hadn't gotten along with before. What if Jude and I clashed? What if our teams clashed? This seemed like a bad idea, especially considering I still had to have a serious talk with my team. I still had to get that bird, and possibly even a sixth Pokemon as well. It didn't seem fair of me to subject someone else to my team's version of 'teamwork' while I smoothed all of that out.

"Oh, it won't be that bad." Jude smiled uncertainly at me, rubbing the back of his head. "What harm could this do?"

"Comrade, there you are!" I jumped slightly as Konstantin appeared beside me, panting. He held out the mangled remains of a videotape. "That story will not be known to anyone else anytime soon."

"Thanks, Kostya." I had almost forgotten about him. Heck, I had almost left him behind. Oh yeah, this would go over real well.

I looked over at Jude, who had taken several steps away and looked to be very pale. "Y-You still have that Duskull, I see. Hanna's told me, ah, a lot about him."

It would go over spectacularly.

-.-.-

Jude and I agreed to travel together and called Hanna to let her know of the official decision. She hadn't seemed to think that we really had any say in the matter, so she just asked us why we weren't halfway to Floaroma by then.

The first night together, things were already awkward. I was used to sleeping in a pile with my team. Sure, it varied a bit night-to-night, but we more or less woke up in a heap together. Jude was used to sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent with his pokeballs under his pillow.

We sat on opposite sides of the fire, trying to think of something to say to each other. What could we say? Not much. We hardly knew each other, after all.

"So… Why don't you return your Duskull? Konstantin, was it?" Jude asked, a little nervously. Konstantin circled around my head to hover over my other shoulder, putting a paw up to his mouth to stifle a chuckle.

"You can call him Kostya if you'd like. And… He… Um." How to explain the situation to someone who knew little to nothing of it, save what Hanna told him.

"Is he still stalking you?" Jude asked cautiously.

"…A bit?" I guessed, glancing at the ghost. He looked at me in response, saying nothing. "Kostya, your input?" I prodded, annoyed.

"I have no comment," he said simply.

I resisted the urge to growl at him. Yes, I still needed to have a talk with him too. There would just have to be a whole lot of talking going on. I turned to Jude, pointedly ignoring Konstantin, and asked, "Are you afraid of ghosts?" I clearly remembered him with a Froslass in Johto, though…

"Maybe a mite bit."

"…You had a Froslass, though."

"It was a personal favor to a friend. She was a fine Pokemon, but I still couldn't quite warm up to her. No pun intended. I usually make it a point not to train ghosts," he admitted. I could understand that.

"I don't think I could ever train a water Pokemon. I would just be so scared of what would happen to it." Even if it had an advantage over Des, Carlita and Ike had an advantage over it, and I could only imagine how they would flaunt that advantage. Ike was already at a disadvantage and he was aggressive enough. I didn't need to try to train up a water Pokemon while he hung over it.

"Because of your Camerupt?" Jude asked curiously.

"…Just how much did Hanna tell you about me?"

He laughed. "Enough, apparently."

Chapter Text

Much to our relief and glee, Jude and I got along. Oh, sure, that first week was awkward, but that soon passed. As long as we avoided the subject of Hanna and stuck to Pokemon-related topics, we were fine with each other.

Hanna was a very sticky subject. Several times I almost asked him if they were going out or something, but every time, I backed down at the last second and chatted about the weather instead. The few times we actually did talk about her, it was in low tones and late at night, as if we were superstitious. And even then, we just talked about how she was coping.

It seemed as if she was getting along, albeit with more retail therapy than what was probably healthy. She didn't want any more Pokemon, and she didn't particularly like it when Jude let his out around her, but she wasn't sobbing every chance she got, either. It sounded like she was slowly getting past the loss of her team.

During that week, I hadn't had the time to have my talk with my team. We still all got along with each other, though, so I figured that was a plus. Even Ike behaved (more or less). I wasn't going to ignore the talking to, though, even if we were making progress as a team. And I definitely needed to get that out of the way before I caught any more teammates.

In Eterna, a week and a half after we started traveling together, I finally got the chance to have my talk. Jude had to meet with a couple of people who wanted to buy his Pokemon, and left me alone for most of the day.

I headed to the outskirts and the edge of the forest and out came Des.

"Okay, Des. We need to talk."

"About what?" he asked curiously, as if he had no idea. He even had his head tilted in slight confusion.

"About us. Me. Me as your trainer. Am I a bad one?"

"…No. Why do we have to talk about that?" he persisted.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Des, you remember the burning building right? Actually—you remember The Tournament, right? Where you chewed me out for being such a bad trainer?"

"I never said that. I was just correcting a couple of your misguided beliefs."

"No, you pretty much chewed me out," I deadpanned. Des stared at me with his flat gaze. I looked away from him with another sigh. "Is there anything else you'd like to correct?"

"Why?"

"You seemed keen on it at the time."

"You needed it at the time."

"Is this funny to you?"

"…Perhaps," he admitted with a tiny smile. He shuffled over and pressed his snout to my shoulder, nuzzling. "Trainer is such a worrier. It's a little amusing at times."

I huffed. "I give you that one, but we still have to talk about this."

"You haven't given me a specific answer. Talk about what?"

"…Everything."

"That may take awhile. Is there anything more definite on your mind?"

"It's just… You basically told me I had to be the trainer again and stop my worrying. But that only made me worry more. I made you angry and yeah, I know you're strong now, but I still see my little Numel whining in the rain."

"I never whined," he replied indignantly.

"Yeah, you did." I grinned at him and scratched him behind the ears. "You had this weird little sound you'd always make when it rained. It was what led me to the conclusion that you're at a disadvantage against water. But I still see that. You understand why I'm still worried about you and water Pokemon now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm stronger than you and you survive water. You even bathe in it."

"…Do you have some sort of alpha male complex now?" I asked shrewdly, squinting at him. "You've mentioned that 'I'm stronger than you' bit a couple times now."

"Aren't I supposed to have one?"

"You do," I groaned.

"It works for the best because I'm the strongest on the team," he replied in the most dignified voice a Camerupt can create.

"What if I get a water Pokemon? Even if I have to train it up, after awhile, it'll flounce you."

"We just went through this, Trainer. Water doesn't bother me that much anymore."

"Fine, if you say so." I probably wouldn't dismiss water as no threat, but maybe I was on the way to recovery. Maybe. "…Say, Des. What do you say to another teammate?"

"I'd say it had better not be another Shinx or ghost. They're too much trouble."

"So you're cool with it?"

"…I'm a fire Pokemon," he said, puzzled. I laughed and shook my head.

-.-.-

Out next came Carlita. I decided that chronological order was the best, because I could get my two well-behaved Pokemon out of the way first and then deal with the two biggest problems on the team. She came out with an uncertain grin upon finding herself alone; it wasn't often anymore that the team was released one at a time, as opposed to all at once. "…Are we battling?" she asked in confusion, looking around for her would-be opponent.

"No. We just need to talk is all."

"T-Talk?" she asked nervously. She backed away from me and wrung her claws, suddenly looking nervous. I frowned. What was that about?

"…Guilty conscience?" I asked, trying my best to seem like I knew what I was talking about. Had she done something wrong or gotten into some sort of trouble I'd been unaware of?

"No. It's just that Trainer said that before she left…" she said quietly, lowering her head so her hat-thing obscured her eyes.

"Trainer?"

"…The girl one. Celia."

"I knew you could use names," I remarked dryly—before what she'd said registered. "Celia? Your… previous trainer? When did she say that?"

"We were in that one city, and I went to play with her for the afternoon. Then she said that to me and I came back to you and beat the Quagsire you were worried about." Did I really worry that much about water Pokemon? Even she was insinuating it now… "And I haven't seen her since. Are you going to leave now?"

She said it with such heartbreaking, sincere fear that I had to hug her. "I'm not going to leave, Carlita. I promise." I would've fought Celia for her, and I would fight anyone else who tried to take Carlita—or any of my Pokemon!—away from me. "But we do have to talk."

"About what?" she whined, wiggling in my arms.

"You attacked Ike."

"He started it. He attacked you first."

"Carlita, you can't attack him. That'll only make him angry and rebellious. If we're going to fix Ike, then we have to treat him nicely." It'd take more than that, surely, but that would be a start. Jude had suggested that part of Ike's behavioral problem was the fact that he was constantly at odds with and competing with the other members of the team. We weren't really a team. "You and he are going to have to get along. And with Kostya. We're going to become a team, and then maybe we'll get some more Pokemon."

"…Really?" she asked in astonishment.

"Um, yeah. Don't you want more teammates?"

"Of course I want them! Can we please get more? Please? I want more to fight with!"

"No! No fighting—we just went through this!" I cried, exasperated.

She whined again. "No… Play-fighting. Sparring. I want someone who will do that with me." I knew she was a fighter, and that she liked fighting for fun, but I realized then that she really didn't have anyone to do it with. If things were different (oh, how I hoped they soon would be), maybe she could tussle with Ike occasionally… She couldn't really fight with a bird, so maybe the sixth teammate would have to be someone she could spar with.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks!" With that, she hugged me, and all was well again.

-.-.-

Then came the problem two. In a last-minute fit of apprehension, I ignored the ultra ball in front of me and called, "Kostya, stop slinking around the shadows now! We have to talk."

He peeked up out of my shadow beside me, red eye glowing with curiosity. "…Yes, comrade?"

"You know what I'm going to say."

"Yes, I do," he admitted easily. "It's why I'm staying in the shadow."

I glared at him, a little annoyed. "Get out of there. I'm serious—we need to talk."

"I'm sorry for saying such a thing," Konstantin apologized, quickly and shamelessly. He really did seem afraid of me (for some reason I couldn't begin to guess) and didn't want to come out of my shadow. "It was rude and rash of me to say. I did not mean it."

"…Things can't be fixed that simply." The apology did make me feel better, though. It meant that it wasn't all my fault. I closed my eyes, half-turning away from him, and tried to think of everything he'd said and what I would potentially still be angry about. I really only remembered him telling me I didn't deserve my team, and then anger. Not a whole lot before.

"I was angry at the time. You didn't seem to want to listen to me. But… But it seems as if you've grown, comrade. I've noticed that you get along better with your team now." He said it was my team, not our team. I looked at him shrewdly. He sunk down lower into my shadow, only the top half of his skull visible now. "I'll still help you in any way that I can. I promise I won't leave again."

"…It's not just that, Kostya. I-I'm sorry for hitting you, and for fighting at all. It's just been stressful lately." He made a little noise of agreement. "I know you were right about a lot of that stuff—but not that last part. Not that I don't deserve them."

"I know—I'm sorry—I didn't mean it!"

"Stop cowering and get out here." I'd had enough of his kicked Growlithe routine. This was supposed to be a discussion, not a smack down. The Duskull sheepishly rose up out of my shadow, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't think I'm angry at you anymore. And… Can't we just drop it? I don't want to remember it anymore. Let's just forget it ever happened." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. This was more aggravating than I'd though it would be.

"Agreed. And I will not leave again. I'll help you." He saluted, though I also noticed he was keeping a safe distance from me.

"Do you really want to go back to how things were?"

"I thought we just—"

"You introduced yourself to my dad as one of my Pokemon. Are you or are you not?"

He stared at me. I had a feeling that if he'd had a bottom jaw, it would have dropped. Red eye shining with something that looked alarmingly like tears, he dove at me and wrapped his arms around my head in a hug. "Oh yes! I would love to become your comrade—I mean you are already—we will be true comrades now!"

"Mmph!" Roughly translated, this meant 'Kostya get off my head I can't breathe'. Evidently, he didn't speak that language, because he didn't let go. I flailed and fell over, trying to pry him off my face. It wasn't until we hit the ground that he released me. I gasped for air, glaring at him. "No more of that. Ever."

"Sorry," he said, obviously not meaning it. "Do I get a pokeball now?"

I rolled my eyes and pulled out the pokeball I'd had in my pocket. I had sort of been meaning to catch him for awhile, but never got the opportunity. Konstantin looked delighted as I maximized it and showed it to him. "If you struggle and break it, I'm not wasting another on you and you can just follow along like you used to."

"It's really mine?"

"What is with you—mmph!" He tackled me again, and I hastily pressed the pokeball to the back of his head before he could suffocate me. I wheezed, glaring daggers at the shaking ball in my hand. Eventually, with a little 'ding', it stopped moving. I hesitantly let him out again—just to get the Duskull in my face once more. I returned him again.

This went on for a couple more times before he finally got the message that I wouldn't let him out unless I had a guarantee of being able to breathe. On the sixth or seventh attempt of letting him out, he stayed away, emanating contrition.

"What the heck is with you?! You've never been that clingy before!" I exclaimed, holding the pokeball in front of me like a shield. It was only after I'd said it that I realized it was a lie, though; he had always been that clingy. Just never at once. It had taken over a week for him to even let go of me for more than five minutes after Nick left.

"I am happy that I finally have a trainer. I'm helping to the best of my ability now."

"It'd help a lot more if you didn't tackle me every time I let you out."

"I'll try to stop that."

"Please do."

"…Why does Ike get the special ball?" Konstantin demanded, noticing the difference between his pokeball and Ike's ultra ball for the first time. I groaned and buried my head in my hands.

"Return, Kostya."

-.-.-

"You look harried," Ike said immediately, giving me a cool once-over when I let him out. I glared at him, not replying. He huffed and turned away from me. "I suppose you are going to try to punish me now, correct?"

"Not really punish. Just lay down some ground rules."

"What if I choose not to follow them?"

"I'll enforce them. With, uh, force."

"…I am fairly certain I could take you in a battle," he sneered, obviously trying not to laugh.

I shrugged. "Possibly. Then again, I'm fairly certain that you'd lose in no time flat against Des."

"That's not fair!"

"I'm a trainer. I fight with my team." I beamed at him. I had worked out this much beforehand. Ike followed strength, and if I could show him that I was the alpha male here, I stood a chance of keeping him and keeping the team in once piece.

He growled at me, but made no move to attack. I considered that progress. "…What if you couldn't release him? I could rip out your throat right now—" I held up Des' pokeball in my hand. I also held up Carlita's and Konstantin's, minimized, in my other hand. Ike snorted. "Even if you released them, I'd still be on top of you at that point. Even if I would lose in the long run, you'd be dead before they could stop me. What makes you think I wouldn't want revenge like that?"

"If you wanted that, you would've already done it, Ike." I called his bluff—and knew I won by the way he laid his ears back and hissed. I smiled triumphantly at him. "You're on this team, whether you like it or not. You've gained your strength and evolved, like you wanted, so I'm not seeing why you're complaining this much."

"I am complaining because you are a human and I am subjected to being your Pokemon!"

"Is it really that bad? You don't look starved to me, you're a healthy Luxray, and you know more electric moves than you could ever learn in the wild. I don't abuse you, I haven't turned you over to the police for turning on me, and I haven't—yet—let any of the others have their way with you yet. Why is this such a bad thing?"

"It is a great indignity."

"A great indignity would be by releasing you back into the wild now." Ike sat back on his haunches, ears rotating forward in blatant curiosity. "Think about it. You can't get any stronger in the wild because you're already stronger than the wild Pokemon. Sure, you could have fun killing innocents and smearing blood around the place or whatever you like doing in your spare time, but you'd soon lose the thrill of the hunt. And you'd be bored. You could never have a challenge ever again. You'd stagnate. Does this sound like a good idea to you?"

"…No," he admitted after a great deal of thought. He narrowed his eyes at me. "But it does not mean I like being a trained Pokemon."

"Then kill me right now and go free. At least you'll get your revenge, right? …I wonder if you'd feel guilty about that," I said suddenly, tilting my head back to think. "You've gotten strong, and while you will never admit it, I think you've had fun with all of the battles. You also have that whole code of honor thing. I dove off a cliff to save you, remember that, Ike?"

"You missed my ball. I fell right along side you," he replied bitterly, anger back again.

"Oh yeah." That part sort of backfired. "I meant to, anyway, and I returned you as soon as I got your ultra ball back. I saved you from all of the ghosts. I got beat up by a couple of Haunter to get you away from them, remember that? And then—when we got out of there, I got you medical attention and your leg has healed. You wouldn't be able to use your leg nearly as well if that had happened in the wild."

"I've come to realize there are perks to being a pet, but it does not mean I enjoy it in the least," he said with the most dignity he could muster. He realized, though, that he was fighting a losing battle against me at this point. I felt an odd surge of pride at that.

"I'll let you moan and groan about being a trained Pokemon all you want, Ike. But you are going to behave from here on out. You remember how Carlita was acting in that warehouse?"

"Yes."

"If you attack me or any of your teammates again—including future teammates!—I will not restrain her this time. See this?" I pointed to my neck. The spot where Carlita had scratched me was scabbed over, still all too visible. "I defended you against a potentially lethal attack. I think you owe it to me to stay my Pokemon after that."

"Doesn't that mean that you can't control your own Pokemon?"

"It means that I managed to subdue you both when you were fighting. It means I'm stronger than both of you."

"That is not quite how it went—"

"I'm being metaphorical. Ike, you're going to stay my Pokemon. I know you, and I know you'd only be bored to death if you went back into the wild. You don't mind being a trained Pokemon as much as you say you do. You get to battle other strong Pokemon now. You're staying with me." I had to be forceful, and I think I managed to get that across.

Ike surveyed me for a long moment. Just when I thought he'd start arguing with me again, he bowed and said, "As you wish, Master Trainer." I breathed a sigh of relief. He sat back up, and with narrowed eyes and a cold smile, he added, "When you die, however, I am going to fight the ghost for your corpse. You are my first trainer, and you will be my last trainer. I do not care how bored I will be at that point; when you are gone, I'm leaving, too."

I supposed I could live with that. Or, rather, not. If I was dead, he wasn't my problem anymore. "You're not allowed to kill me, then. When I die of natural causes you can go on your merry, bloodthirsty way."

"Deal."

Chapter Text

"I actually don't think I've been here before."

"Really? It may not have a Gym, but it's still a pretty nice town. It's quaint in the best sense of the word. Plus, it has quite a lot of history. Down there, in the center of town, there is actually a cavern with cave paintings. I haven't had the chance to investigate it, but I've heard it's interesting."

"And what's the name of this town again?"

"Celestic."

Celestic Town was nice. Like Jude said, it was quaint, but in a very nice way. Most of its population was old people, usually retired trainers or breeders or even a retired Gym leader, but it was nice. It had a very relaxing, calm air to it.

At least, it did until I made the mistake of letting out my new and improved team.

Konstantin, as per usual, immediately attached himself to my face. I flailed about and managed to trip over Ike, who let lose a jolt of electricity as a warning. This made Carlita scream and Des snort in annoyance. He stomped the ground, shaking it, and throwing Konstantin, Ike, and I off balance. This would have been all fine and good had we been on solid ground. Instead, we had been too close to the edge of the depression that was the middle of the town, and as a result, all three of us fell down several yards onto the grass below.

Des and Carlita peeked over the edge. "Sorry…" he said weakly.

I finally managed to pry Konstantin off of my head. "And to think, this is after we had our talk."

And, of course, Jude managed to miss all of it. He seemed to miss a lot of the drama of my team, but I think part of that was subconsciously my fault. I tried not to let out my entire team around him, precisely because this sort of thing tended to happen all too often.

So he came back half an hour later with a fistful of cash and asked, "Why do you have a bloody nose?"

I tilted my head back and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Because my team loves me too much."

"Are you still looking for a bird?" He didn't seem at all bothered by my injury—even if it was a minor one. I tilted my head curiously at him. "I talked to the couple who bought my Pidgeotto. They said that there's a whole flock of Noctowl, not far from here. They're pretty fierce, which is why they didn't catch one. You could handle one. Or, to be more precise, it would probably make things infinitely worse but you could handle it anyway because you're sort of used to that sort of treatment by now, right?"

I glared at him. He smiled brightly at me, unperturbed. "…Fine."

Noctowl. Those were already evolved, so at least I wouldn't wind up with another metaphorical baby Shinx again. And it could hold its own against my team—which was my primary worry. Although we were now more of a team than we had ever been before, it didn't mean that any of us were entirely safe. Konstantin, when not stuck to my face, had taken to haunting Ike, who responded, more often than not, with some sort of electrical attack. Carlita would usually get mad at that point and lash out. Des would then end it with one of his strong moves and, by the end of the day, I would end up hurting.

But a Noctowl could handle itself. It could fly well (or so I assumed), it could use wings and claws and a beak, and it could use a Hypnosis. I learned that last part from personal experience when we battled one on our way to Celestic.

Though knowing my luck, I'd be the only one it'd ever attack.

"Are we ready to go now?" Jude asked, adjusting his backpack. I double checked. Stocked up on food, great balls and the one ultra ball I could afford, and some more bandages. Somehow I figured I'd need more.

"I guess. You sure there are Noctowl around there?" More than once, he had told me that someone had told him that someone had told his informant that there were Pokemon somewhere—and when we got there, there were no Pokemon there.

"I'm positive. And even so, it's only an hour or so out, so it won't be a long way out of our way. Promise." He chuckled awkwardly and looked away. It wasn't reassuring. "I don't see why you don't just buy a bird, anyway. Wouldn't it be easier? I would give you a discount, too—"

"I'm starting to think about that option. I'll think about it more seriously if there aren't any Noctowl."

"I could get you one if you wanted one."

"Maybe. I just know that I want a bird."

"I have another Pidgeotto. It wouldn't take but a mite bit of effort to train it into a Pidgeot." He swung around so that he was walking backwards in front of me. Jude was a pretty charismatic guy and was not opposed to using charm in order to sell a Pokemon, but I was getting used to it. I silently hoped he'd trip; I had heard several spiels on various Pokemon of his more than once and was getting tired of them. "I could get you any variety of birds."

"I only need one, and you know I'm next to broke, anyway." If it wasn't for Hanna's free Pokemon food deal, I probably wouldn't even have enough to afford supporting another Pokemon, anyway. I didn't actually know what Jude's prices were, but since he seemed to be a bit of a celebrity, I could only surmise that they were expensive.

"What about your sixth Pokemon? Depending on what it is, I could give you a really good deal. Buy one, get one free type deal? Or—I know! Eggs are cheap! You could raise it all yourself then, catch it in your very own pokeball, but you'd be guaranteed a Pokemon either way."

"Still seems sort of cheap. I'll just catch one. I'll catch my bird, anyway. I'll get back to you on the other one." I wanted to make sure that the mythical fifth Pokemon of my team (stupid mental pedestal) would get along fine first. I didn't want to chuck two hapless newbies into that nightmare. One at a time would suffice.

The area outside of Celestic was rocky and foggy. It got foggier and rockier as we progressed, so since we couldn't see the nose in front of our faces, we tried to stick as close to the town as possible. At least then we could see—to some degree.

Jude was right about the Noctowl, too. We saw one almost immediately, though I didn't have any time to do anything. It just hooted at us and flew off. A couple of Meditite chattered at us, too, so it was obvious that there were wild Pokemon in the area. That was good.

My traveling companion sat down by a rocky wall and I stashed my stuff with him. I decided to take Des and Konstantin with me and leave the other two with him. "Don't stray off too far. I want to be able to watch how such a great trainer catches Pokemon." In other words, he wanted to see me bleed. We both knew this would be a painful experience, looking at my past track record, but I needed a bird and a fifth Pokemon.

"Whatever. I'll come crawling back eventually."

"Looking forward to it then."

I crept into the fog, grass rustling nearly silently around my pant legs. It was creepy. It was too quiet out, especially for an area with Pokemon (and supposedly other trainers). I heard another Noctowl hoot out in the silence, far off.

I stepped right off a ledge.

I landed painfully on one knee and swore loudly. Jude shouted, "Language!" but I ignored him. Several Pokemon scrambled away from me, crying out in panic at the human who suddenly and literally dropped in on them. I scrambled to my knees and tossed out a pokeball—at that point, I didn't care which—anything to try and get a Pokemon before they all fled.

Des appeared and looked around him curiously. "Wild Pokemon—get one!" I gasped out, still trying to stand properly. I hoped my leg wasn't broken. It didn't feel broken, but it also hurt more than my usual scrapes and bruises.

My Camerupt waddled off, and a moment later, I heard a screech and saw a burst of fire. Next thing I knew, a slightly burnt and a very frightened Noctowl flew at me. It saw me, stopped just a yard short of me, and paused a moment in confusion. It didn't appear to have expected to see a human. The Noctowl circled around in midair, looking at Des and back at me.

I took my chance and threw my only ultra ball. I didn't know how badly it was hurt, since it was still flying with relative ease, but it would probably be my only chance before all of the ruckus scared the Pokemon out of the area. And really, we didn't want to venture out any further into the fog. Knowing my luck, I would step off something worse than a ledge next.

The Noctowl bounced the ultra ball back at me with its wing. It smacked me in the face and fell onto the ground, breaking cleanly open. I growled and whipped out a great ball. I had four of them, and then a sparse handful of pokeballs. I would be mad if I didn't get another Pokemon after all this was said and done.

Des shuffled up and used an Ember. It was an obviously weak attack by his standards, but I was glad he recognized that a Flamethrower would easily incinerate any of the wild Pokemon around here. The Noctowl flapped out of the way, shedding feathers in its panic. As a result, I had to dive out of the way to avoid the sudden fire.

Des followed its movements with fire, and eventually, he got it again. Now, the Noctowl couldn't fly, but was flapping desperately regardless. I tossed a great ball at it, and it went in. It came back out but a moment later, though. Des hit it with another Ember, and I used another great ball. In, and back out. I only had two left.

The Noctowl limped away from us into the fog, shedding charred feathers as it went. Des shot another Ember into the mist after it, and was rewarded with a loud squawk. I ran after it, but it was already losing me.

"Des, help me find it!" I called, eyes searching the white all around me. It reminded me too much of the stone temple.

"Here it is," he said simply, voice floating eerily from beside me. He was holding the Noctowl down by one wing, breathing soot at it. It was staring at him with something akin to horror. I crouched down carefully beside them, knee giving me a painful twinge, and held out the great ball.

It pecked my hand, causing me to drop the ball. It sprang open and sucked the Noctowl in as I drew my hand back with a hiss. Okay, so a hurt knee and a pecked hand. It wasn't that bad, all things considered. The great ball shook once, twice, and finally, three times.

And then broke open.

"Really?!" I shouted in frustration as the Noctowl, once again, hobbled off. It tripped, and since I could see its form clearly through the fog, I chucked my last great ball at it. I figured that the extra force would help seal the deal.

A flash of light, silence, and then—ding.

"Finally!" I crowed, stomping over. So I finally had a fifth Pokemon, and it was the bird my parents thought I needed. Five Pokemon. I just need to make my team work with five, and then six, and then thankfully, that was the cap. I could barely handle what I had.

I stood over the great ball, sitting innocently in a patch of grass. Beside it, looking shocked, was the Noctowl.

"…Wait, what?" What had I just captured?! I picked up the ball, shot the Noctowl a very dirty look, and released my fifth Pokemon.

Chapter Text

"Get a bird for yourself?" Jude asked curiously. He surveyed me up and down as I came back, Des following me rather complacently. He didn't seem too worked up over this.

"Yes. Barely," I spat.

"I heard quite a lot of squawking." He stood up and dusted off his pants. "How injured are you?"

"Just my knee and my hand. You owe me five hundred."

"Fine, fine. But I'm going to want to see this new Pokemon of yours."

"…You sure?" I had barely managed to get it back into the ball the first time after I released it. Apparently it was flighty (no pun intended) and panicky. The capture had come as a surprise to all of us, then.

"What harm could it do?" Jude questioned. Before he could properly prepare himself, though, I held out the great ball and released my fifth Pokemon.

With a high-pitched screech, the blue and white bird dove at his head, clipping him with its small claws. He yelped and covered his head with his hands, ducking down. My bird circled around, but before it could get far, I returned it again.

"Yeah. I didn't catch a Noctowl."

"Lucky it wasn't. That could've taken my head off!"

I rolled my eyes. Sure, I was used to taking a beating, but he could at least try to grow a spine. "It's a small bird. It wouldn't have hurt you."

"It was a Swablu, wasn't it?" he asked, eyeing the great ball with obvious distrust. I nodded. "At least you got the bird you wanted…"

"I lost all of my great balls on a Noctowl, and then I tossed the last one, and caught this by chance."

"The universe does like to poke fun at you."

"Yeah, yeah it does."

Des kindly gave me a ride back to the Celestic Center. I think he was trying to be a nice Pokemon, since the Swablu wasn't doing a good job of that, or maybe he honestly felt bad for me. I didn't ask him.

I had to wear a brace for my knee, but otherwise, I had escaped pretty much unharmed. Nurse Joy informed me that my Swablu was female, and healed Des' minor injuries from the Noctowl, and then we were on our happy little way. Well, we were going to stay in Celestic for a little while, just until I got a better hold on my new Pokemon, but that was it.

"What are you going to name her? She's a beauty, though…" Somewhat predictably, Jude knew how to handle her fairly well. I chalked it up to the fact that he had a conglomerate of birds lately, and the fact that I'd never owned a bird before in my life.

"I don't know." I held out my hand. The Swablu cautiously hopped onto it. I marveled at her; she was so light, and her wings looked just like clouds. "You're a tiny little thing, aren't you?" The Swablu puffed up her chest and whistled shrilly at me. I winced. "Okay, sorry. I think I'm going to name her something… I don't know. Girly. Because you're a pretty little girl, aren't you?" I cooed. She settled down and beamed at me.

"When are you going to put the translator on her?"

"When she won't scream at me for it. I'll wait on it for a couple days. But you're behaving now, aren't you, girl?" Somehow, it was easier to talk to her in a baby voice than in anything else. She didn't seem to mind.

"Bluuuu," she chirped, now all too happy to nuzzle into my hand. Maybe she wasn't so flighty (again, no pun intended) as I'd originally thought. She was probably just scared, suddenly being caught and carted off like that. But she was fine now. This could work out, after all.

"We need a pretty name for a pretty little birdie, don't we?"

"How long are you going to continue to talk to her in that tone?" Jude deadpanned, interjecting. I snorted at him.

"She likes it. And since she's my Pokemon, I think that that's what matters."

"Bluuuu!" she sang, fluttering her cloudy wings. She hopped off my wrist and landed lightly on my head, nestling into my hair.

"You've calmed down, haven't you, girl? You're a good girl now, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are." Maybe it was just my habit of acting like a mother to my team, or maybe it was just because she was just so tiny and light and delicate that I was talking to her in that sort of tone. I wasn't quite sure, but I couldn't seem to stop. "We'll have to get a name for you and introduce you to your teammates, won't we? Uh, let's get that name for you first, though…"

"Tweet," Jude suggested. He crossed his arms with a grin. "Birdie, since you like calling her that. Misty, Blue, Sweetie…"

"I want an actual name, not some sort of baby name."

"That's how you're treating her, though."

"Is it wrong to baby my newest Pokemon?"

"No, but as long as you don't keep it excessive…"

"I'm not being excessive. I'm just calming her down. Smoothing all of the ruffled feathers." Bird puns were a little funnier than they'd been hours earlier. The bird atop my head tweeted in response, snuggling into my hair. "I think she's making a nest out of my head…"

"I'd have to agree with that theory." Jude, being taller than me, looked at the Swablu on my head. He reached over, but she pecked at his hand and he hastily drew back. He constantly wore thick, leather gloves because of just such things happening, but it was obvious he wasn't going to try again. "Name her Missy. She looks like a Missy to me."

"I'll name her something I come up with. Something girly like… I don't know."

"Like what? You have to have some sort of idea."

"The second I suggest something, I'll become attached to it. I'm not saying anything until I come up with something good." I knew it would be true. The second I said something aloud to myself, it usually stuck, which is why Ike was still Ike, I had decided on a bird almost immediately, and why I generally didn't change my mind about such things.

"…Oh really." I didn't like the look in Jude's eye about them. I stepped away from him, mindful of the Swablu perched on my head, and made sure I was out of arm's reach. "Say, have you heard that new song? What was it called… Misery Loves Company or something? It's by a new artist… Something Autumn."

"Emi—no. Stop it. I didn't mean that if I said something I would literally use it—I'm not going to name my Swablu after some name you trick me into saying," I snarled, one hand reaching up to steady her while I tried to smack him with my other.

"What's your mother's name?"

"—I'm not saying."

"What about Hanna?"

"What about her?"

"You could name your Swablu after her."

"Stop mentioning it. I'll get attached. I don't think she'd want a Pokemon named after her right now."

"True… You could name her Joy."

"I'll come up with my own name."

"I'm not going to leave you alone until you do. It's healthier for Pokemon to learn of their names as soon as possible, especially wild Pokemon. It'll help you get along better in the long run if you name her now," he said diplomatically, waving his hand vaguely at her. She made a disgruntled sound and shifted in my hair.

"I'll name her soon! Just—when I think of a good name."

"There's this other song by—"

"No more bands or artists or anything! I'm not guessing."

Jude responded by humming. I narrowed my eyes at him. The tune sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it—and I sure as heck wasn't going to start guessing.

He continued humming, and I could feel the Swablu shift again so that she was looking at him again. I gave up, rolled my eyes, and asked, "What song is that? I'm not guessing what it is."

"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," he responded cheerfully. "I think she could be a Lucy. And she would be in the sky, and stars or clouds or raindrops could be the diamonds—"

"Stop it! I'll come up with my own name for her!"

He started humming again. I glared at him while trying to place it. "Für Elise," he supplied helpfully. "Elise is a good name. Sophisticated, but pretty."

"No."

Hum. Sly grin. "Habanera from the opera Carmen—"

"No."

More humming. "…Roxanne. I'm not sure if she could be a Roxanne, but she could be a Roxy—"

"No. Stop it."

Even more humming. I was about to plug my ears. I concentrated on not listening to any of the names he was suggesting, because healthy or not, I had the right to name my own Pokemon and in my own good time. "Tuesday's Gone."

"That's a day of the week."

"It could be a name," he replied with a frown. "Just like Monday or Wednesday. I once knew a girl named Tuesday. I wonder what ever happened to her…" I took the opportunity, while he was distracted, to shuffle away. My hand was still on the Swablu's wing to prevent her from falling off. Or pulling on my hair in an effort to stay upright. "Hey!"

"I'm leaving."

"…Not at that pace." With two steps, he was already caught up to me. The bird atop my head tweeted angrily at him. Worse—he was humming again. "Your relationship with your new Pokemon is a very fragile thing. It's best to solidify it while it's still early in the development of said relationship."

"I'll come up with a name!" I insisted, still trying to shuffle away from him.

"When?"

"Later. Sometime." Sometime when I didn't have half a dozen songs stuck in my head. "I'll name her, okay? It's not like I don't name my Pokemon."

"There's Desert Rose and Lola and Rosemary's Baby—actually, no, don't name her Rosemary." Since he mentioned it twice, though, it was the only name of his list to penetrate my mind. "But there really is quite a variety of songs out there with female names in them. That's not even counting the artists themselves, eh?"

"Why do I want to name her after a song?"

"She sings, doesn't she?" Jude looked up at her and whistled a quick scale. She happily repeated it back to him. "See? Music for a musical Pokemon. Plus, all trainers have their quirks with naming."

"Oh really." I didn't think I had any quirks. Then again, so far, I had only consciously named Des. Carlita and Konstantin came with their names, and I had been very drugged when I'd named Ike (I still wondered where that name came from, too). A name was not something to be taken lightly. It's not like it could be changed later.

"Sure. I've named almost all of miss Hanna's Pokemon for her, and I've had my trends. One whole Eevee litter I named in four-syllable names." I mentally counted out Isabella and Alexander. Four each. "I went French there for a little while, too, and she ended up with Tenny that way. She named Millie on her own…"

"So why music?"

"Musical Pokemon. Swablu and their evolution both sing. Quite well, from what I've heard."

"Stop being knowledgeable."

He started humming again. I groaned and looked around for the nearest available hard surface to bang my head against. Wait, no—the Swablu was still on top of it. "…Little Angel, Barbara Ann, there's more. You can either fight this or let me help. Because I'm set on helping you either way."

"I will pick the song—I mean the name!" Great, now I was attached to the song idea. I quickly ran through all of the girl name songs in my head. There weren't a lot, at least not many that he hadn't already mentioned.

"Alice! There are two songs—no, probably more—named Alice, so chances are you'll like one of them! I can think of two…" Jude exclaimed, suddenly and excitedly.

"Alice?" I repeated cluelessly.

"Yeah! It's sweet and cute like she is, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess… I want to listen to these Alice songs first—" It was then that I realized my mistake. I'd already managed to say it twice, and I was already thinking of the Swablu on my head as Alice. Now that it'd been suggested and said aloud and I was thinking about it, I couldn't think of her as anything but Alice. "…Aw crap."

So that was how I managed to not-quite-name my fifth Pokemon, Alice the Swablu.

Chapter Text

So now that Alice had been (reluctantly and semi-accidentally) named, it was time to introduce her to the rest of the team. This was much, much easier said than done. I figured out why she was so calm now; she took one look at Des, shrieked, and flapped off in the opposite direction.

It was a good thing I'd had the forethought to introduce her to the others one at a time, otherwise I might not have ever caught back up to her. I finally did, however, though I was sweating and panting by the time I rescued her from a roof. She calmed down again once she was in my arms.

But one look at Des caused her to panic and squawk. He stared at us both in bewilderment, obviously not having a clue as to why she was behaving like that. I returned him, and almost instantly, she was perched on my shoulder again, preening her wings.

"…Why are you so scared of Des?" I asked worriedly. Would she react that badly to the other three? If so, that would be a big problem.

"Did he attack her?" Jude asked.

"No—I told you. I caught her by accident. We never even saw her."

"Here, you hold her tightly this time. You can borrow my glove if she scratches you." He took one off and tossed it to me, and I gingerly moved her to that hand. He had showed me before how to hold a bird's claws to prevent it from flying away, and I was thankful for it now. Alice eyed me with obvious suspicion. "Try releasing one of your other Pokemon. I'd suggest Carlita. They're both female and Alice should know instinctively that she had a type advantage, so that may work to calm her down."

Holding my arm and Alice out away from me, I tossed the pokeball down on the ground. Alice surveyed Carlita with remote interest, nothing more. Carlita, on the other hand, was immediately in front of us, standing on her tiptoes to inspect the new teammate. "Hey! Carlita—back off!" I held Alice away from her, scared of a catfight breaking out. Alice tweeted in annoyance at the sudden move, but otherwise, she really didn't seem to mind Carlita's close presence at all. "…Huh. Good call, Jude."

"I have those sometimes," he replied with as much dignity as he could muster.

I instructed Carlita to sit down in front of us, and reluctantly released my grip on Alice's feet. She hopped over onto my elbow, stared at Carlita for a long moment, and then looked back at me with a glance that very clearly said, "Well, what do you want me to do now?"

"What's her name?" Carlita asked, practically vibrating in her effort to stay still.

"Alice," I said. Alice twittered and bobbed her head in agreement. At least she seemed to like the name, too. Or maybe she was just easily attached to things like I was. "Alice, this is Carlita. She's the other girl on the team."

The Swablu hopped over and landed neatly on Carlita's hat-like thing. She said something quietly and fluttered down to the ground, regarding Carlita with something like a grin. Carlita snorted at her. "Yeah right."

I opened my mouth to ask, but Jude gestured frantically at me. I shrugged in confusion at him. When he didn't respond, I returned my two girls (two! That was something I'd have to get used to) and asked, "What?"

"If they're having a conversation, don't ask them about it! They could be bonding, and if you need to be privy to what they're talking about, Carlita would have translated for you," he said impatiently. I somehow doubted my Breloom would translate for me. Not for a lack of caring, but for a lack of thinking about it. "They seem to get along, so don't question it. Just be grateful."

"Yeah, but that's one for two right now. Kostya creeps the other three out as it is, and Ike… I don't know, he could be pretty vicious to her." I hadn't expected her to dislike Des of all of the team members. But at least she and Carlita were fine…

"I'd suggest your gh-ghost next. He'll at least behave, won't he? And we can see if she's just scared of Des, or male Pokemon." Oh boy. If Alice didn't like guys, that'd be a major problem.

"But—wait. She likes me."

"You're human."

"But—still."

"Fine, maybe she only dislikes Des because he's bigger than her. I don't know."

"Carlita's bigger than she is, too…" I mumbled defensively, glancing down at the great ball in my hand. Alice came back out with a flurry of cloudy wings. A beat later, Konstantin came out, too—and predictably, went for my face. I managed to duck in time, and as a result, he latched onto Jude instead. The breeder screamed very shrilly, which thankfully caused the Duskull to let go of him in confusion.

"Comrade! I—"

"Kostya, no tackling! Meet Alice!" I held up the Swablu almost like a shield. Alice looked back and forth between us, alarmed, but didn't start panicking. I slowly lowered her, surprised—and thankful.

"This is Alice? A new comrade already?" Konstantin now lost interest in me and studied her intently, one paw covering the teeth of his skull mask. Alice tweeted at him and fluffed up. He giggled guiltily. "You did get a bird. She can fly, correct? She's so small…" In response to the jibe, Alice flew out of my hands and pecked at his face. "I'm sorry! I-I apologize!" he shouted, covering his face with his hands as he tried to get away from her. She followed him, however, still chirping and squawking loudly.

"Is this considered progress?" Jude, having recovered from his fright, stood behind me now. He peered over my shoulder, squinting at the two.

"She's not afraid of him… And I think I like this turn of events. I'm not the one getting my face attacked for once." I shrugged, feeling a little guilty for it.

"Call her off! I am sorry, I did not mean to call you small!" Konstantin shouted, vanishing into the shadow below him. He reappeared behind Jude—I had never seen another human being go so pale so fast—and hid behind my head, panting. Alice swung around in the air, looking around for just moments before spotting him again. "I'm sorry!"

"Promise to not attack me every time you come out and I'll stop her," I told him.

"I'm not attacking you, comrade, I just—Yes, okay!" He ducked back into the shadow as Alice pelted at him again. I threw out my hands and caught her in midair, very grateful for the glove Jude loaned me. Konstantin reappeared in the shadow of a nearby building, looking frightened. I looked down in amazement at the Swablu in my arms. She wasn't struggling or fighting me, though she was glaring at me reproachfully. Maybe this team would survive her addition after all.

"Alice, don't attack Kostya anymore. He's your teammate." She looked down at her wing and murmured something I assumed was an agreement. "Kostya, you don't attack my face anymore."

"I'm not attacking you! It's just—I am not used to not being near you at all times. I worry about you. I'm glad you're still safe whenever I see you."

"Still safe? I can take care of myself—a bit—!" I said crossly. His excuse didn't hold much water. Then again, with his personality and sense of duty, not to mention the look on his face right then, I wouldn't doubt it if he really did feel like hugging me every time he came out.

"A bit," he replied, sounding much too smug.

"Return," I deadpanned. Alice made a sound that might've been a giggle. So she had issues with Des, bickered with Konstantin, and got along more or less with Carlita. That left only Ike, and I had to work out her and Des' problems.

Ike, much to my (and Jude's) surprise, didn't do a single thing to Alice. He barely even spoke to her, instead mumbling out some greeting and then requesting to go back into his ball. Alice looked vaguely miffed at being mostly ignored like that, but I figured it was one of the better results of their first encounter with each other.

"Okay… So what's with you and Des, huh?" I asked peevishly, plucking her off of the top of my head. She had settled there earlier and seemed to like the spot; I didn't want it to become a habit of hers. Alice looked away from me, clicking her beak. "Alice, why don't you like Des?"

"Swablu," she replied shortly.

Right. I still had to buy a translator for her. I sighed and released her. She fluttered over to land, light as a feather, on the ground. She practically floated. She hopped about, tweeted a bit, and pretended to otherwise ignore me. Curious, I decided to experiment.

I released Des. She didn't start to panic until she saw him; it wasn't any Pokemon being let out that bothered her, just Des. That was worth knowing, right? He flicked his ears back in annoyance at her shrill cry. I returned him again. It took a couple moments, but she calmed down again, glaring at me with watery eyes.

"Alice, I'm going to release Des," I told her slowly. She nodded.

And this time, she didn't freak out.

"So she doesn't like surprises?" Jude remarked, chin in hand. I shrugged. It made sense, I guess. "But then why did she freak out the second time you released him…?"

"I guess we didn't announce it with trumpets or something. But—I didn't really say it for any of the others, and Kostya came out without a warning, too."

"…Maybe she just doesn't like him. I don't know. Maybe she was just doing it for the attention."

"I don't think she'd do that. She seems too sweet to me." To prove my point, Alice hopped over and batted her eyes at us. Des snickered. "I think it's something else."

"Then what?"

"I don't know! Isn't that what we're trying to figure out?" I said in exasperation, throwing up my hands.

"Maybe she doesn't like fire Pokemon?" Des suggested, leaning against me. I nearly fell over because of it.

"Maybe she just doesn't like Camerupt. The Pokemon in this area are a little used to seeing strong trainers, so she could've come across one before and had something happen," Jude suggested.

Alice tweeted angrily at our feet, drawing our collective attention. Jude and I just stared at her, however. Des sighed and translated, "She, uh, demands to know why we're not just asking her."

"…Alice, why don't you like Des?" I asked, a little nonplussed by her attitude.

She chirped something rapidly, hopping once. Des translated once again. "She says that she doesn't dislike me. That's good."

"Then why were you carrying on earlier?"

More chirping and tweeting. Jude was right; she did have a pretty musical voice. "She says that she thought it was appropriate."

"Appropriate for what?" Jude and I said in unison. We looked at each other, and then back at the Swablu on the ground in front of us.

This time, she talked for the longest period of time yet. She even gestured to us with her cottony wings. Des nodded in approval by the time she was done; that only made us more curious. I'd have to get that translator soon. "She says she was frightened and alarmed at being captured like that. She also asked if you'd like it if you were suddenly sucked into a pokeball and whisked away without forewarning."

"Um… No?"

"She says she's fine with it now, though. She just wanted to panic a little to see if you'd let her go or not. …Trainer, I like her. She's funny," Des remarked simply. Alice beamed at him. She said something else, and he added, "She does say that she doesn't like surprises. She asks you not to surprise her anymore, especially like that."

"But then—why was it only you—ah, nevermind." I gave up at that point. Alice twittered, which I assumed was her version of a giggle. Unfortunately, that set the tone for more of our relationship after that.

Even more unfortunately, I couldn't keep my word that I wouldn't surprise her anymore. For at that moment, a Gallade Teleported onto the scene. Alice shrieked and immediately took to the air. I dove after her and grabbed her by one foot, but my forward momentum meant that I didn't stop her. I was just dragged along behind her.

The Gallade grabbed me by the back of the shirt, reached over and grabbed Jude by the upper arm, and said, "I believe the English term for this is 'yoink'." Then we all Teleported away.

Chapter Text

Alice immediately calmed after Teleporting. Although it'd probably be more accurate to say that she'd been scared stiff. The Gallade dropped us off in some sort of large room. One whole wall was windows, overlooking the sea, and the rest of the room was richly decorated.

"Jacques, you could have warned us!" Jude scolded, rubbing his arm.

"I do apologize. I was just told to bring you with all haste."

"Jacques?!" I stared in surprise at the Gallade. He stared evenly back at me.

"Yes?" he asked politely.

"…I left Des back there! Ack—all of my stuff is back there! Take me back now!" It was rude of me, but I had just left Des, the rest of my team, and all of my worldly possessions behind. I was understandably upset.

-.-.-

Twenty minutes later, everything was sorted out for the best. Jacques took me back to Celestic and I picked up our stuff and a very distraught Des. He nuzzled me when I returned to him, and I scratched him behind the ears, and it all seemed to be good again. I did catch him growling at Jacques, though.

The place we'd been kidnapped to was a secluded beach house that was owned, predictably, by Robert Beaumanoir. "Why'd you call us here?" Jude asked conversationally, reclining on the couch. He seemed at ease, but yet again, I was at odds with the richness.

"Rather suddenly, I might add," I put in.

"My apologies. It seems as if Lady Cossette wishes to have another Pokemon, and since we have done business with you in the past, we thought it appropriate to turn to you once more," Jacques told us, arms folded behind him. His red gaze flicked towards me. "I was not aware you two were acquainted…"

"We met through a mutual friend," Jude replied. It might've just been me, but I thought he said it rather stiffly. "Since this was a rather sudden visit, though, I'm afraid to say that I don't have many Pokemon with me. We'd have to go back—"

"That is not necessary. We have a PC available here. Lady Cossette has been rather inconsolable as of late, so time is of the—" Jacques was cut off by his surprise as a blonde girl threw open the doors at the far end of the room. She sprinted across the space and threw herself—not at Jacques, not at Jude, but at me.

I hardly recognized Cossette. She was much bigger now, for starters. Her hair was actually shorter, cut just below her shoulders and tied back with a ribbon, but her face had lost a bit of its roundness and she seemed to have a bit more awareness in her eyes this time around.

That, and she was speaking English.

"Hello, hello! Bonjour! Ben… How are you doing?" She had an accent and stumbled a bit over her words, but she was perfectly understandable. I could only gape at her. Cossette frowned and drew back from me, tears suddenly filling her eyes. She turned to Jacques. "Il ne se souvient pas—?!"

He must've talked to her telepathically, because he didn't say anything more to us. Jude was looking at me with an expression of trying very hard not to laugh. I glared at him for it. "Um—"

"I apologize for Lady Cossette. She thinks you do not remember her. Please inform her that you do." There was something faintly threatening in his tone. I hastily turned back to the little girl who still had her arms around my neck.

"Um, hi, Cossette. I see you remember me—I remember you, too." Oh, how could I forget that little adventure. "Um… Why am I here with Jude if she only wants a new Pokemon?"

"Je veux… Non! I want a new Pokemon."

"You learned English," I couldn't help but say. She blushed and grinned at me.

"Oui! Yes! I speak English now!" She had an awkward way of speaking that told me she was still learning, and she was obviously having trouble keeping herself from speaking her native tongue. "I am learning still. Mais, I speak it now!"

"Good for you." Even that tiny bit of praise made her glow with pride and she threw herself at me again. I started to get an inkling of what was happening then, but it wasn't until Jude accidentally laughed (and immediately clapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing further) that I knew what had happened. I stared hard at Jacques, thinking at him as loudly as I could. He smoothly ignored my plight, however.

"I want a new Pokemon. Papa will get me one, he said so. Qu'est-ce… What do I pick?" She looked up at me, eyes shining with admiration. I looked away, feeling very uncomfortable right then. So it wasn't just a feeling. There was some sort of hero worship or, dare I say it, a crush on me. How she even remembered me, though, was beyond me. It had been years. Several years. And she had been so young at the time…

"Lady Cossette has not forgotten you. She has watched your Gym battles and journey as avidly as any other. She saw you in Jubilife, too, and she believes you to be a hero." Oh, now Jacques decided to invade my mind. Of course. I thought at him again, but he ignored me. Again.

"Cossette, I don't even get a hug?" Jude asked. Cossette finally let go of me and flounced over to him, curtsied, and then hugged him as well. I breathed a sigh of relief. Just as soon as it was over, though, she was back to sitting beside me. Jude gave me a 'oh well I tried' look. "…Well now I feel snubbed. What sort of Pokemon are you looking for, miss Cossette?"

"Non! No! I want to…" She looked up to Jacques for help. He must've replied to her telepathically again, because she continued, "I want to catch a Pokemon. My Pokemon."

"Then why am I here?" Jude asked Jacques, narrowing his eyes.

"Monsieur Robert requests that—"

"I can speak for myself, Jacques." All of us turned as Robert Beaumanoir, accompanied by his wife, strode into the room. He still carried himself purposefully, though I noticed that the past couple years had changed him, too. He had the beginnings of grey at his temples, and his wife's smile was a couple watts dimmer than I remembered. He nodded to us both in greeting, and got straight down to business. "My daughter wishes to catch a Pokemon, but in today's training climate, you can understand why I am worried. So I wish for her to be won over with one of yours instead, Monsieur Jude."

Cossette frowned as she visibly puzzled out what he'd said. I hoped she wasn't sharp enough to catch onto everything, especially if the conversation centered around her. Jude leaned forward on the couch, pulling at the cuff of one of his gloves. "That's perfectly acceptable, of course. But the question is whether or not miss Cossette will want a Pokemon just given to her."

"You know how young girls are. The moment she sees one, she will fall in love with it. This will not be a problem."

As it turned out, it was a problem. Jude let her play with a Meowth while he accessed the PC they had and talked over possible choices with Cossette's father. Cossette was perfectly delighted to play with the feline while they spoke. I sat on the ground beside them, wiggling my toes and trying not to wince when the Meowth pounced on them.

"Ma cherie, do you want that?" her mother asked.

"Non," she replied easily, though she was still smiling brightly at it. She glanced shyly at me. "I want to catch a Pokemon."

Even when Jude came back with three new Pokemon for her inspection, a Butterfree, a very young Growlithe, and a Pachirisu, she wasn't swayed. She played eagerly with all of them, but she kept repeating that she wanted to catch a Pokemon. Jude and I shared a grimace.

"…What about an egg?" he asked, looking up at Robert hopefully. "She could hatch it herself. That'd give her a sense of properly owning it."

"But what would it hatch into?"

"Oh, I have a variety of eggs. I know what hatches into what, so don't worry about surprises."

Cossette wasn't pleased with this idea, either. She seemed to catch on that we were all trying to pass off a Pokemon on her, too, which made things infinitely more difficult. "Non! No! Je veux—I want to catch a Pokemon! My Pokemon! Not a gift! Je ne veux pas un cadeau!"

Her mother took her aside and tried to explain that it was too dangerous (or something to that effect, since she was wearing the same expression my mother wore when telling me that), but the little French girl shook her head and ran back to me. She tugged at my sleeve insistently.

"Do I have to get in the middle of this?" I whispered, not having the heart to shake her off.

"She wants to be a trainer like you." Her father sounded as if he blamed me for that. "Cossette—"

"Non! I want to be—become trainer." What she said next was completely lost on me, since she reverted back to French to deal with her father. I could see him crumbling with every word. He still doted on his daughter too much. I hardly caught it when Cossette switched back to English. "I have Jacques, and Manon, and Rose. I have three already. Only one more, please?"

Yes, Robert Beaumanoir doted on his daughter far too much. Jude returned all of his Pokemon and withdrew his offers to appease Cossette. She settled down after that, and was back to her cheery self when her father gave her permission to be a trainer long enough to get one Pokemon.

Of course, Jude and I were instantaneously enlisted. We were to be her bodyguards and watch over her while she went on her little journey. Cossette was possibly even more delighted by that part. All three of her Pokemon would accompany her, which meant that Jacques could take her back once she got her new Pokemon. It also meant that we'd have a quick getaway if we ever needed one.

I couldn't help but remember the last time that I helped them. I felt guilty for thinking that, but still. I had almost died. A couple different times.

"How did you find us, anyway?" Jude asked casually, watching with evident amusement as Cossette reached up to hold my hand. I started wracking my brain for ways to get her to let go—both of my hand and of whatever outrageous admiration she had for me. Really; I wasn't fit to be anyone's hero, let alone a young child's.

"I believe the term is a 'psychic lock'?" Jacques replied, tilting his head back in thought. I stopped short, feeling a chill go up my spine.

"D-Did you just say a psychic lock?"

"Yes. When a psychic Pokemon meets a human or another Pokemon, they can easily put what is commonly called a psychic lock on their mind. It will not affect them in the least, but it allows the Pokemon to find the person or Pokemon again with minimal effort. It took me just moments to locate you from across the region," he explained unnecessarily. I already knew what a psychic lock was. I'd been trying to avoid one for the past couple months, after all.

The problem was that the necklace around my neck was supposed to stop them.

I took a couple deep breaths to try to calm my racing heart. Jacques had met me before I got the necklace, so maybe that's why he could just Teleport in and spirit me away. Nick and his Hypno still hadn't shown up, so it was entirely possible that it didn't have a lock on me. It had to be. Jacques had known me before, so that was why he found me. I couldn't read too much into this.

"Your necklace?" Oh yeah, and psychics had that annoying problem of reading your mind. Jacques looked down at me with a completely unreadable expression. I broke out into a cold sweat, sidling away from him. "…It's not much more than the remains of dark Pokemon. You yourself are not dark, though it is obvious that you are trying very hard to become so."

"Wait—what—?!"

"Are you trying to become dark?" Jacques repeated, now sounding worried.

Not only had I just lost the peace of mind that the necklace gave me, but I had just learned something much, much worse. I had messed up another part of the ghosts' warning. They had warned me not to become dark, and I had foolishly believed it to be evil or gloomy. All the while, I'd been desperately trying to figure out a way to become as dark as possible in an apparently vain attempt to keep psychics away.

I messed up again. I failed again. I let go of Cossette's hand, not noticing the dismayed look, and tore the necklace away from me. I had messed up every single part of the warning, hadn't I?! I could hardly remember most of it. I was angry and bitter, I was distracted by injustices left and right, I hadn't stopped Nick, and to top it all, I had been consciously trying to become dark.

"I-I have to go. I have to be alone for awhile." With that, I turned and ran.

Chapter Text

"I'm so stupid so stupid so stupid!"

Four Pokemon watched me silently. The fifth had his skull mask buried in his paws and hadn't moved since hearing of my latest mistake.

I needed them right then. I needed my team, if only for the support, but also for the fact that they were my team and I wouldn't keep secrets from them any longer. Even if it was the news that their trainer had potentially ruined the future again that they were receiving now.

"So stupid, so stupid, so stupid!" I howled. I had kicked trees, I had kicked rocks, I had kicked grass. I had punched all those things. I had tried beating my head against the nearest tree, but it was then that Des interceded. So I was left on all fours, beating the ground until my knuckles were bloody and bruised. I had messed up again.

So what if I had eight badges? So what if half the world still thought I was a hero for breaking out of a burning building? So what if I had Cossette's admiration and a new Pokemon and had worked out most of the problems with my team? I had still failed when it came to everything else.

"Kostya—what was the full warning?" Voice raspy from shouting and screaming and generally throwing a tantrum, I looked over at the Duskull. He jumped and floated away from me.

"…You must not die, comrade," he said hollowly, avoiding looking at me. At least I'd accomplished one thing. "You will face many trials, do not get sidetracked with the injustices of the world, do not become dark, do not become angry and bitter, and let go."

I was still alive and I had faced many trials—though I had fought those trials kicking and screaming, so I wasn't sure if that wasn't a win or a loss. Otherwise, I had failed in everything. I was still pretty angry and bitter, especially as of late (this didn't help), I was so sidetracked about the injustices of the world that I couldn't think of anything else, I had tried my hardest to become dark, and I wasn't letting go, either. I took that part to mean that I was supposed to let go of Nick.

But did that mean they had known I'd fail all along? It was true that it had only been the Froslass, Lassie, who had wanted me to help her trainer. The other ghosts hadn't even mentioned stopping him. So they had given up on him, marked him as a lost cause and sacrificed him to the future.

"…I've failed. Guys, I've failed. I've failed in everything about that—"

"You haven't failed as a trainer," Des interrupted firmly.

"Trainer has eight badges, so he hasn't failed with that."

"You've managed to tame me, however temporarily, so you can't have failed that much."

Even Alice spoke up too with an emphatic, "Bluuu!"

Konstantin stayed silent, covering his mask with his paws again.

I was touched, though. "Guys…"

"So what if you ignored a bunch of ghosts? They're the stupid ones, not you," Carlita told me matter-of-factly with a nod.

"Well, I agree with that statement," Ike added wryly.

"So y-you don't care that I'm a failure?"

"You've only failed in unimportant matters. When it's counted, you've always come through," Des pointed out. He stepped forward and nosed my back. "It's okay to not be perfect. It's overcoming these challenges that makes you a great trainer."

"Comrade, the future is not always something you can stop or even change. For all I know, this could have been the path you were meant to take all along. You mustn't let this dishearten you. You can still turn things around." Konstantin dejectedly floated over, half-hiding his face with his paws.

"That's right! You can still stop the Nick human!" Carlita bounced on her toes, grinning at me. Alice fluttered over and perched on her head, whistling something. Carlita nodded, nearly knocking her off, and continued smiling. "We still have time to win!"

"We had better win. I won't tolerate anything less from you after all this," Ike said with a slight growl.

"But—"

"No buts. We will still win. You will win against your Nick. Nothing bad has come from ignoring the warning yet, and nothing will. Do you think anything has the power to stop us at this point?" Des asked softly, still nuzzling me. I moved so that I could hug him. Carlita immediately tackled us both in a lopsided hug, Alice falling off her head with a squawk. The Swablu fluttered over and took her spot on my head, settling her wings over my head in what I hoped was another hug. Konstantin wiggled up under Des' chin and wrapped his arms around my stomach and rested his skull mask against my chest.

Ike stayed off to the side, ears laid back, and deadpanned, "I'm not joining that."

"Get over here before I make you," Des replied, just as flatly. Grumbling, Ike slunk over and curled around my back, setting his chin on my shoulder. My Camerupt snorted in triumph.

"…Thanks guys." I still felt bad, I still felt guilty, I still felt so incredibly stupid, but at least I felt better about all of those things. I wasn't going through this alone. I still had my team.

-.-.-

With a dose of self-confidence and an even bigger dose of lingering guilt, I trudged my way back to camp. Much to my surprise, Jacques cut me off before I could find them; he swooped in out of nowhere, picked me up, and carried me off before I could do so much as yelp.

"Wha—?"

"We need to speak privately. Forgive me for the rudeness, but I feel this is necessary," he said smoothly, setting me down once we were well away from Jude and Cossette and anyone else who might've overheard us. Though with him speaking to me telepathically, someone could really only eavesdrop on half of the conversation…

"Wh-What is it?" I asked nervously, rubbing my arm. I avoided eye contact and instead studied a flower near my feet.

"This was yours?" I peeked upward only enough to find him holding the necklace I had thrown away. I nodded and looked back down at the flower. "You obtained it to ward off psychic Pokemon." It wasn't a question, which made me a little irritated, knowing he'd been rooting around in my mind without my permission. "You want to ward off psychics to prevent yourself from meeting your… friend again."

"Use that term very loosely," I warned him, not wanting to get into this at all. It looked like it would be impossible to get out of it, however. I still didn't know what Nick was to me anymore, but I didn't want to encourage his suspicion. …Though it was a moot point, since he could easily read my mind and sift through my memories at his leisure. Yeah, I definitely wasn't getting a psychic anytime soon.

"If such a thing were to occur when Lady Cossette is around—"

"Take her and Jude and Teleport away." I raised my eyes to lock gazes with him. He tried to stare me down, but I wouldn't look away. "…Jacques, you owe me this much. I returned Cossette to you, though I risked my life to do so. Twice. So protect your little girl again and Teleport her away if you ever see Nick or his Hypno."

"What of you?" he inquired dispassionately. I couldn't hear any sort of emotional reaction in his voice. I half-wished I could read his mind, if only to figure out what he thought of me right then.

"I'm going to have to face him, aren't I? And, I guess you guys will need some sort of distraction so he doesn't chase after you." If he was hunting non-trainers like the media proclaimed, Jude and Cossette would be ideal targets. Not that I believed the media. I just wanted to be prepared, of course. I would never believe that Nick was anything but a victim of a tragedy and misunderstood and angry and we just needed to meet up again and talk it all out—

"Your nobility is refreshing." Jacques set his paw on top of my head. "I am afraid I will have to continue to entrust Lady Cossette to you. …Do not hurt her." There was more to his words than he let on. As such, it went clear over my head.

"I'll make sure the big bad real world doesn't touch her. She'll be fine. She'll catch her Pokemon in a day or so and you two can go back to your little beach house." I shrugged.

Jacques shifted and pressed his arm against his eye. "…This is going to be a difficult endeavor."

"It always is, isn't it?"

-.-.-

"You are back!" Cossette cried cheerfully, rushing to meet both of us as we returned to the camp. She ran up to us and captured each of us in a one-armed hug. Jacques delicately detached her arm from me in order to pick her up, but she whined and instead let go of him in order to throw both arms around my neck and hang there like a very heavy necklace. "You are back," she repeated.

"Y-Yeah." It took all of my strength just to stay upright. She wasn't heavy—okay, actually she was, but that was just because all of her weight was currently on the top of my spinal cord. I hastily bent over to set her down on the ground, worried for my neck, but she didn't let go. I tried to stand up, but it was easier holding her when she was already up as opposed to lifting her. As a result, I remained awkwardly bent over.

"Come, Lady Cossette. It is time to go. Don't you wish to capture a Pokemon?" Jacques asked, prying her away gently, but firmly. She nodded emphatically, giving her Gallade a serious look. "What sort of Pokemon are you aiming to catch?"

"Ben… I do not know yet." This hardly seemed to bother her and she gave me a radiant smile. "I will be a trainer like you!"

"You don't have to catch your Pokemon to be a trainer." I was proof of that little fact. "You already have three…"

"I want to catch my Pokemon. I want to. I want to be…" She turned to Jacques, and he must've answered her privately, because she continued a moment later, "I want to be like you." It occurred to me then that he must be like some sort of translator for her. No wonder she picked up English so quickly.

"I didn't exactly catch all of my Pokemon. My first two were… gifts." There. Who said I couldn't be tactful when I wanted? "And—" Oh yeah, I had caught Ike when I was with her. It would be better not to mention that fact, since she hadn't recognized him yet. "It doesn't matter where they come from. Pokemon are Pokemon, and humans can be their trainers if they want to. It's all up to the team."

"Well put," Jude chimed in, watching the scene unfold with a smile. "Miss Cossette, you could be given a Pokemon, or hatch a Pokemon, and it would be exactly the same either way. Or—you know, when you hatch a Pokemon from an egg, you still have to catch it when it hatches. You'd have to catch the baby Pokemon that came out of it."

The little blonde girl looked at him suspiciously, and then whispered something to Jacques, her hands cupped around her mouth. He nodded thoughtfully, and replied to her telepathically; Jude and I didn't get to hear what he'd said. "…Maybe," she said at last, still giving him a very cautious look. "I will think about it. Maybe."

"Until then, why don't you two show Lady Cossette what it is like to be a trainer?" Jacques suggested mildly. He set her down on the ground and she dusted imaginary dirt off of her dress. Jude and I exchanged a look. "Have a battle with her team. Or with each other first, so she may grasp the proper process better."

"Battle… each other? But he's a breeder—"

"I can still battle, you know. I seem to recall my Pokemon stomping you into the ground when we first met."

"I didn't even have any of my Pokemon out!"

"Then let's give the lady a proper show, shall we?"

"…Fine." I glanced sideways at Cossette and her Gallade. Jude mock-bowed to me, and I awkwardly returned the gesture. He then called out a Lapras. A water Pokemon. I stared at him, mouth agape; he beamed at me. "You did that on purpose!"

"Can't lie and say I didn't."

I curled my lip and let out Konstantin. Jude took a step backward, paling. "I did that on purpose, too."

"Maybe a battle wouldn't be the best of ideas," Jacques said, realizing his mistake a moment too late. He didn't realize that two teenage boys would become so competitive so quickly. But really, what else had he expected?

Chapter Text

The gap between Konstantin and the rest of the team became apparent when he battled against the Lapras. He won—but it would've taken less time and effort if he was, say, as strong as Des. So when Jude let out a Sneasel afterward to try to beat my Duskull, I simply let out my starter.

From there on out, it was insanely easy.

Des beat the rest of his team. Sure, Jude was a breeder, not a trainer, and I knew his team was made up of primarily weak, pretty little things, but I had to be amazed at Des' ability. He even took down a Poliwhirl (though admittedly, only because he wouldn't let me return him; he tried to roast me with a Flamethrower whenever I tried to).

"…Well, I have to say, I wasn't expecting to win," Jude sighed, running his hand through his hair and messing up his ponytail. He strode over and patted Des' side. "I don't think Des appreciated your paranoia about the water Pokemon."

"I know."

"But you did good. Even considering Kostya…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shook his hand when he offered it, but regarded him suspiciously.

"He's still a Duskull. Not that I want the little monster to evolve and get any bigger, but shouldn't he have by now?"

"He's waiting until he…" Oh. I blinked in confusion upon this sudden revelation. Konstantin had said that he was not going to evolve until he learned Future Sight—but he had. He might've mentioned something else about not evolving before, but if he had, it had completely slipped my mind. "I don't think he wants to evolve."

"That's odd. Is he—" Jude was cut off when Cossette pranced over and threw her arms around my waist. I was getting used to her hugs, but I was also a little curious as to what he was going to say.

"You won!" she cried happily, turning to look over her should at Jacques. "Jacques, he won! He is a good trainer! I want to become a trainer like him!" She said this as a fact, not as a desire. Then again, an imaginative little girl who pretty much got anything she wanted (as evidenced by this trip) and now wanted to become a trainer? I didn't see why she couldn't believe she could do it. She probably could, too, if only for her Gallade and Kangaskhan. "May we battle now?"

"Wait, what?"

"You two battled, and now it is my turn to battle with you." She gave me such a charming little smile that I could hardly say no. Jude shook his head behind her back, which I took to mean 'don't thrash the little girl into the ground like you did me'.

"Um, okay."

I was a little leery of battling Jacques, but I was confident in my team's ability to defeat a Happiny and Kangaskhan. Cossette skipped over to her side of the makeshift battlefield, and called, "Rose!" What came out wasn't the tiny little Happiny I remembered, though; what came out was a Chansey.

I decided to call out Alice. She needed leveling up, but she was still the weakest member of the team. It should be fairly even if it was her against Rose, right? "Alice, use Peck! A-A little one, though!" So what if I pulled the punch at the last moment. I felt bad for beating a little girl.

My Swablu gave me a look that clearly asked what I was thinking, but she swooped over and pecked Rose on the head nonetheless. The Chansey squealed and skittered away, looking a little watery-eyed. Cossette, a very serious expression on her face, glanced at Jacques. Probably for an attack name. I gave her props for the English, though. "Ice Beam!"

I suddenly didn't feel so bad battling her.

Alice shrieked and dove out of the way, just barely managing to miss it. Without waiting for another order, she Pecked Rose again and again, until the Chansey managed to hit her with another Ice Beam. Alice went down. She wasn't unconscious, but I decided to return her before she did faint.

Jude suppressed a snicker. I scowled at him. So what if that hadn't gone as planned? It wasn't like I was going to lose. I called out Des and instructed him to use an Ember. (A little one.) It hit Rose, and while she looked hurt, she was still very conscious. Des kept breathing fire until she fainted, at which point Cossette ran onto the field to check on her.

I jogged over to them, now feeling bad again. "M-Maybe we should call this match a draw?" I suggested. Cossette suddenly looked far too much like June Velarde, my opponent from The Tournament, for me to feel comfortable. "It's a draw, okay, Cossette? We each won one."

She said something in rapid French and then returned Rose. Jacques knelt down beside her. She turned to face me, looking a little morose. "…A draw, yes. It was a draw."

I sighed in relief. When did battling become so stressful? I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but watching out for Alice was hard, too. I had better work on getting her stronger, too. And wouldn't she evolve at some point? I couldn't remember what Swablu evolved into (A-something, right?) but I knew she would evolve at least once. I wonder if I could train her and Konstantin at the same time.

"Chouette! You are the best trainer in all the world, and we had a draw!" Perky Cossette was back again. I fidgeted at the attention. Was I ever this bad? "I want a Des."

"Huh?"

She pointed at Des. "I want one."

Even Des seemed surprised by that move. He scuffled his toe in the dirt, looking bashfully away. I rolled my eyes. "Des has already evolved, so you'll probably get a Numel first."

"A Numel. I want one." She scratched the ruff of fur on top of his head, much to his delight. He licked her face, severely messing up her hair, but she didn't seem to mind and only giggled. "I will name my Numel Des, too!"

I didn't bother telling her that Des was short for Pedestal. In fact, I was flattered. Apparently I was an awesome enough trainer for a young girl to not only want to idolize me, but she also wanted a Numel as well. And name it Des.

I caught Jude's eye, though, and he wasn't wearing a pleased expression. I left Cossette scratching Des and snuck over to him. "You just got her heart set on a Numel. Do you really think that was wise?" he whispered.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Do you know where Numel are located in the wild?"

"Um… no." I had never come across a wild one, and they were fairly rare in Sinnoh.

"Up north, and in Hoenn. Not Sinnoh. How are we going to find a wild Numel for her to battle and capture?" I saw why he didn't sound happy now. That was an unforeseen problem.

"…Where up north?" I doubted they'd be in the vicinity around Snowpoint, and that was the only north-ish area I knew of.

Jude gave me a secretive glance and leaned in even further. "It's for Champion-bound trainers. It's really top-class, and I've heard its selection process is fierce. I've had to pay a pretty penny just to get up there—and that was once. It'd be very expensive for me to get up there again, and I'm fairly certain you wouldn't be allowed up there at all since you're a trainer. I have no idea if Cossette will be allowed or not, since she falls into the grey area between trainers and pet owners…"

"You could just take Cossette up there and—"

"I'm not a trainer," Jude interrupted, almost irritably. "The Pokemon up there are powerful beasties. I had Molly with me last time I went up there, and it still nearly kicked our butts. And—"

"Molly?" I couldn't help but ask.

"A Tyranitar I've been training up for a couple years. A pet project of mine. She's ridiculous, not unlike your Des, but that's beside the point!" he said hastily. "I was able to get by last time because it was pre-Nick Sayre. Security has been tripled since then, and I highly doubt I would be able to get up there just to get a Numel, of all things."

"Hoenn then?"

Jude groaned and hit his forehead with his palm. "You don't grasp the concept of upped security and a lack of funds, do you?" I shook my head, if only to further frustrate him. "Listen, I'm all for getting her a Pokemon, any Pokemon her little heart desires. But the world doesn't turn on wishes and hopes."

"I could ask my parents where they got Des…"

"Probably from another breeder. Which would, yet again, take money. She wants to catch one."

A sudden idea struck me. I glanced over at Cossette, who was still happily distracted by Des. Jacques stood over her, staring at us levelly. "…Why do we need funds? Ask Jacques if he's been to Hoenn before."

Jude looked over at the Gallade, hurriedly ducking his head back down a moment later. "I don't think he'd approve of that plan. It would involve either taking her into an unknown area, or him leaving her. What are you doing?!" I gestured Jacques over. Jude made a sound that could only be described as a hiss before straightening and giving him a charming smile. I smirked.

"Jacques, Cossette is set on a Numel and—" I started, but he held up a paw and sighed.

"I can read your minds."

Jude and I exchanged a guilty look. "Eh… Then you should know that she really wants a Numel, and that they're only found in certain places. And as I doubt you've been up north, Hoenn is the only viable option at this point—"

"I do not approve of leaving Lady Cossette."

"We could make a trip out of it. We'll both come along." I didn't like that idea, but Jude seemed to have control of the situation again. "Of course, it would be unfamiliar territory, and it could be a bit dangerous. It would be much easier to simply go to Hoenn, leave her here with a guard, catch a Numel, and release it in a safe, general vicinity of Cossette… Wouldn't it be? She would get to catch her very own Pokemon, the one that she wants, and she would never have to be any wiser for the fact that her Numel has been imported. Wouldn't it be easier in the long run to take that quick jaunt over to Hoenn now without her, so that you and she may get back to the safety of her own home—?"

"Fine. You have made your point." Jacques didn't sound happy about it, though. Jude grinned at him, and I couldn't help sharing in it. That had gone over unexpectedly easy. Maybe if he'd use his charm for good, we'd get more accomplished. "Do you know where they are found?"

"Vaguely. If all else, we could get directions once we're over there… I have a couple contacts, and they may be able to help us. It should only take a few hours, a day at most. How about we leave tomorrow morning?"

"And we would leave them here alone?" Jacques gave me a look that demonstrated his enthusiasm about the idea. I glared up at him, feeling miffed.

"Might I remind you who the strong trainer is here? She'll be fine with me. I wouldn't let anyone or anything touch a hair on her head. I promise." I would come to regret making that promise in the next couple of days, especially since it would almost get me killed on several separate occasions by several separate individuals.

Still, none of us knew it at the time. Instead, we went to sleep. I tried my best to fall asleep and ignore the niggling seeds of doubt concerning the ghosts' warning and the horrible, horrible feeling that I had somehow messed it up again (or further?). Eventually, though, I fell asleep and dreamed of a dark-haired silhouette that was laughing at me.

Chapter Text

"Okay, I'm leaving most of my stuff here with you two. Be good, don't get into trouble, and don't die." The parallel to the prophecy made my smile become strained, but I kept up appearances and waved goodbye to Jude and Jacques. Cossette didn't ask where they were going, taking the explanation of 'business' at face value. Plus, she seemed happy at spending some alone time with me.

I hadn't exactly thought that part out ahead. I grimaced as Cossette latched onto my waist. "What… What are we going to do today?" she asked. Her speech was more faltering and awkward without Jacques around to correct her, but at least it was in a language I understood.

"Um… I don't know."

"Je ne sais pas," she repeated cheerily. That was one of the phrases I had picked up rather quickly, since it meant 'I don't know'.

"Uh… Want to watch me train up Alice? She's my Swablu—the bird." Alice needed more training than Kostya, and I trusted her more around the girl, too.

"Ah, yes! That would be very amusing. Fun! I can release my Pokemon, too?" It was in that way that it somehow ended up releasing seven Pokemon to play together. I fretted from Pokemon to Pokemon to make sure they were all behaving, but apparently, with Alice, Manon, and Rose there, it seemed to offset my team just enough that they didn't cause a catastrophe. Alice kept Konstantin busy, which meant that he wasn't bothering Ike, which meant that he was off on his own and wasn't bothering anyone else. Carlita's boundless energy was immediately taken by Manon the Kangaskhan as they tussled and wrestled. Des sat down beside me and Rose chatted idly with him, watching the others.

This might've gone well if it had only been that.

"Want to listen to the radio?" Jude had brought along with him from Johto a rather ratty old radio, but one that picked up Sinnoh broadcasts just fine. Music would help lift the mood, and if all else failed, the music would be a guarantee to keep Carlita and Alice out of trouble. The two girls like to dance and sing, respectively, I had figured out early.

"Yes!" Cossette chirped, trying to beckon Alice over. The Swablu smoothly ignored her and continued trying to avoid Konstantin.

Since we were now just south of Eterna, I figured that it would be the best bet to point the antenna in that direction. After several moments of adjusting, smacking, and static, I finally got a tune. I sat down beside Des, relishing the small break from chasing down my team, and Cossette came and joined me. She curled up in the space between his front paw and his head, leaning against his neck and scratching his ears. At least she knew how to treat Camerupt. Hopefully a Numel wouldn't be too bad of a Pokemon for her. Good thing she didn't have any water Pokemon…

"Des," she said suddenly. I opened an eye to glance sideways at her. She pointed to Des, and then to Carlita. "Carlita. And Alice. And…"

"Ike," I supplied. She nodded solemnly. "Kostya." It made sense that she wasn't very familiar with either of them, though she'd technically met Ike before. She remembered Des and Carlita, and she rather liked Alice right off the bat. The other two were more background characters for her.

"Des, Carlita, Alice, Ike, Kostya."

"Good job." Of course, complimenting her, no matter how offhandedly, only encouraged her. She climbed over Des' leg and snuggled up against my side with a contented sigh. I tensed and tried to scoot away, but she whimpered and followed. Eventually, I found myself leaning against Des' hind leg, one arm around her shoulders, Cossette laying against my chest. I had a sneaking suspicion that the sound my Camerupt was making was laughter, too. "Um, Cossette…?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you… um… like me so much?" I still wasn't completely positive if it was a crush or admiration she had for me, but with the way Jude carried on, I had a feeling it was more than hero worship.

"You are a very good trainer. Very good. Very strong!" she said simply, hardly hiding the grin in her voice. That made me feel a little better. So what if I had messed up and was a failure and hadn't managed to do anything with my life since my eighth badge? Someone still thought I was an awesome trainer. And really, that was good enough for me.

Alice, perched on one of Des' back-volcanoes, started whistling along with the music on the radio. Cossette started humming along, too, which made me start as well. Carlita dislodged herself from Manon and started dancing; Manon was visibly disappointed, but Rose was ecstatic and joined in.

"You are my favorite trainer!" Cossette exclaimed suddenly. It caught me off guard, but made me smile.

And for one brief, fleeting moment, I tried to remember if Nick and I had ever been like this.

The song ended and Alice stopped singing. Carlita and Rose stopped dancing as well. They did it every time between songs, which was weird, but faintly funny at the same time. They were like windup toys. The music made them move. "…And we interrupt the music broadcast with an important news bulletin!" the radio declared. I snorted in annoyance and tried to nudge it with my foot. "Earlier today, two unknown trainers took two hostages, armed with Pokemon and a single pistol, according to the police."

Sadly, such stories were not all that uncommon anymore. The training climate had indeed changed. The trainers were figuring out that they had the power. Not the police, not the government, but the kids who went out into the wilderness and trained up their teams for years on end. Once in awhile, someone else would figure that out and take advantage of it. So far, no one had been killed in these sort of situations—The Tournament had seemed to make killing taboo again—but two had been arrested and another was supposedly in a mental hospital.

I crawled forward and changed the radio station. We didn't have to listen to this. I didn't want Cossette to learn about such things, either.

The next two stations had the same news story, apparently. I really should've figured it out then, but I had thought at the time that it was just the next big scandal because firearms were involved. I gave up on the third station where it was still playing. I leaned back against Des again with a huff, and told Cossette, "We'll just have to wait for it to end. They'll start playing music a—"

"—and they have just now started making demands again! Predictably—oh, shoot—" there was a burst of noise and static, "—a warning shot! The man has just fired a warning shot into the air! He is telling the police at the scene that he will kill his mother if Sayre himself does not appear within the next twenty minutes!"

I stared at the radio. I knew instinctively that I had heard it correctly.

"The wanted criminal Nicholas Sayre's parents have both been taken hostage, and the man holding them captive has only one demand: Sayre comes to him! It seems that the man and his accomplice, what looks to be his son or nephew, had a family member that was killed in The Tournament, and they are hoping for revenge, though it is not known at this time whether or not it was actually organized by Sayre or merely his followers—"

"Trainer?" I jumped when Des nudged me with his leg. He had craned his head around to look at me worriedly. Cossette was also staring at me, eyes wide and frightened. "You look… angry."

"I-It's nothing. Let's turn the radio off now, 'kay?" I shakily crawled over and shut it off, perhaps a little more forcefully than what was needed. So what if Nick's parents were being targeted by a couple crazies? The world was crazy, and while it was so incredibly stupid and mean of them to target someone's family, it was bound to happen. The world was too angry with Nick. The trainers were too angry with him. And it was the trainers who had the power now.

"What was that?" Cossette asked with a tug on my sleeve.

I tried my best to smile at her, but it came out as more of a grimace. She let go. I was thankful that it had been spoken too quickly for her to catch most of it. "Just a news report. Some trainers are… stupid."

"Mais, pas toi! Not you." That seemed to be enough of a reason for her, because all of her concern was gone and was replaced by the prettiest little smile possible. I chuckled nervously and looked away from her. Me, stupid? Of course not. Not me, like she said.

At least, never that stupid.

I didn't dare turn the radio back on, even an hour later. Instead, I had Carlita try to teach us both how to dance, which distracted her and Cossette well enough. I caught Des and Konstantin both giving me looks occasionally, so I pretended to be absorbed in the dance lesson. On the inside, I was still stuck on the report, but I couldn't show it on the outside. Besides, we were in the wilderness south of Eterna. I had no idea where his parents' house was, but it had to be far away and I couldn't get involved even if I wanted to.

Nick didn't have a radio, though. Nick didn't have contact with the outside world. How would he know about his parents? What if he didn't find out? What if they were killed? His little brother's death nearly caused a bloody coup. What would happen if he found out his parents had been killed, and not of neglect, but of sheer cruelty and a need for (misguided) revenge?

…And people thought the world was messed up now.

I could only imagine what would happen if Nick decided to go on an actual rampage. Anyone who was actually smart knew that if he had wanted to, he could've done a lot worse than attacking the Champion and killing half her team. While the media was fond of pinning most trainer killings and The Tournament itself on him as well, I knew it wasn't true. There was no way he'd had a hand in such things. Still, if he had lost his family and had nothing left to lose…

An image of Chase ripping into human bodies with a bloody snout flashed into my mind. My stomach churned and I immediately halted in my dancing lesson, hand clamped firmly over my mouth. The feeling passed, but slowly. I smiled weakly at the dancing girls and waved them off. I shuffled over and sat beside Des again, content to watch them. I tried my hardest not to let my mind wander, but it was hard. Nick was once again making headlines.

My phone went off, making me jump. I pressed a hand to my chest and checked it. At least it was my text ring tone and not someone calling. It was from Hanna. So she had probably heard the news and was going to pass it along, lovely. It would be like the Champion's tragedy on Route 222 all over again, which was something I couldn't handle right then.

I debated over opening it or not, and in the end, I decided to at least tell her that I had already heard so she wouldn't call me or call Jude who was still currently MIA in Hoenn and didn't need to hear of this. (Besides, Nick was sort of our thing. Just me and Hanna. Jude only came in later.)

The text merely said, "he was just arrested".

I dropped the phone. Before it could hit the ground, however, Konstantin caught it. He looked it over curiously. I had no idea if he could read or not. Des snorted at him and the Duskull fled, though. Des then turned to me. "Are you okay?"

"Nick… He was just arrested."

Somehow, the thought of him being arrested never really crossed my mind. He was just too untouchable. He had gotten away from half of the Elite Four almost easily! He had evaded capture for what, a year and a half now? He had appeared in Jubilife during that tragic tournament and got away. He always got away. He never had to face judgment, because really, he wasn't a bad guy, he was just angry and wanted to save his little brother. His only problem was that he cared too much. And he'd just been arrested for trying to save his own parents which only furthered the fact that he had to get away for his own good and leave us all behind—

Alice interrupted my crumbling state of mind with a shriek. Everyone winced; I think she hit notes that only canines could hear. Next thing I knew, I had a Swablu buried in my shirt and Carlita and Cossette were screaming as well. I jumped to my feet, Alice pinned against me, and turned to where Manon and Ike were roaring and snarling; a dark speck had appeared in the sky. A dark blue speck with a red underbelly and a wounded wing that splattered us all with blood as he landed.

Chase the Garchomp.

He staggered over to me, favoring one leg, but paused halfway there when Des got up and started bellowing at him. Chase roared back, eyes narrowed, but Des used a Flamethrower—which was countered with another one.

"Carlita, Kostya, protect Cossette! Alice—let go—go stay near Cossette and her Pokemon, okay?" I forcibly tore Alice away from my shirt, and set her flapping over to the panicked blonde girl. I ran over to Des and stood beside him, Ike joining me on my other side. Chase continued growling at them all.

It was then that I noticed the sort of state the dragon was in. I doubted I had ever seen him so beat up. In addition to a hurt wing and leg, he had blood dripping out of his mouth (though whether or not it was his was still up in the air) and two of his teeth were chipped. He was also breathing laboriously, chest heaving. He growled something to Des, who simply responded with a "No".

Chase darted forward, once again making me his target. I backed up and Des tried to block it, but it was Ike who jumped in and tackled Chase. They went tumbling into the dirt in front of Des, growling and snapping at each other. Chase immediately took the upper hand and kicked Ike off of him. My Luxray hit the ground several yards away with a high, short yelp. He didn't get up again.

I ran towards my fallen Pokemon, which I admit probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. Des tried to waddle after me, but Chase pushed him back with a Dragonbreath and then went after me. Before I reached Ike, I was picked up under the arms and pressed against the scales of his stomach. "Let go! Chase—Let me go!"

Suddenly, the ground was a long ways beneath my feet. Alice was already flying up, but Chase aimed another jet of blue fire at her. I elbowed him as hard as I could which made him nearly drop me. Now hanging awkwardly by my waist, I tried to shoo Alice back down, away from the dragon that was trying to roast her.

"Des, protect Cossette and the others! Kostya—stop Alice from—" Chase shifted me rather roughly and we were too far away from my team for me to say anything else.

Chapter Text

I wasn't sure how long the flight took, but it took long enough for me to yell myself hoarse and get tired of struggling. It also took just enough time for me to be unbearably sore when we finally landed in a dense patch of forest that looked remarkably like every other patch of forest in the area.

Still, Chase descended with purpose. He dropped me unceremoniously in the grass and I immediately fell to my hands and knees, joints yelling at me for hanging like a rag doll in his grasp for the past however long.

"What the heck is this about, Chase?!" I demanded, straining to get on my feet and remain that way. It was harder than I remembered. He growled something at me and licked at his wing wound. I rolled my eyes and decided sitting was good, too. "I can't understand you. I have no idea what you just said, or why you just kidnapped me from my Pokemon—"

The growl this time was more pronounced and was accompanied by a glare.

I backed down. "…I still can't understand you."

Chase snorted and limped over to a tree, withdrawing a shredded backpack from it. I belatedly recognized it as Nick's.

"He-He got arrested, Chase. How… Why are you separated? Why is his stuff here with you?"

Chase shook his head and tossed the bag at me, scattering items everywhere. Two of them happened to be pokeballs and burst open with a flash of light, revealing an irate Magmar and a nervous-looking Smeargle. Vasudeva and Harlan. I backed up against the nearest tree. Chase was hard enough, but now I had to contest with three of them? Why weren't they with Nick?!

Vasudeva took one look at me and then snapped at Chase. He waved his claws at me and exclaimed, "Maaaar!"

Harlan squeaked something and hastily got away from them, wringing her tail.

Chase, lip curled, lowered his head so that he was eye-level with Vasudeva. The challenge was unmistakable. Vasudeva backed down and spat a mouthful of flames at the grass by his feet. "Mar," he added, almost as an afterthought. Harlan nodded and bounded over to me, much to my shock and alarm. I tried to circle around the tree, but Chase and Vasudeva's combined glares were enough to pin me to the spot.

"S-Smee," Harlan said, sounding suspiciously like she was apologizing. I was liking this less and less.

"I have no idea what's going on, but whatever it is, I'm not helping." Actually, I had a sneaking suspicion I did know what was going on, but that only made me less keen to participate. "Chase, take me back right now. Or I—I'll…" Without my Pokemon, I couldn't do anything. Well, I could try running for it, but with a Garchomp and a Teleporting Magmar on my tail I wouldn't last very long. Shouting wouldn't get me very far, either.

Harlan tugged on my hand. The movement was gentle, but it gave me a start and I pulled my hand away from her reflexively. She looked a little crestfallen, but pointed down at the ground. There, written sloppily in paint, was 'NICK'.

"…Nick was arrested. I can't do anything about that. He—He did a bad thing. You guys were all there, you know that—" Vasudeva smacked me in the shoulder with his tail. I winced and shied away from him.

Harlan was writing again. I didn't know when or where she had picked up the alphabet, unless it came with her abilities. That made sense. I swallowed, glanced at Chase and Vasudeva, and read over her shoulder.

'WE WERE LEFT BEHIND HE TOLD CHASE TO RUN THE BAG TORE THEY GOT TRAINER AND OUR FRIENDS'. Grammar, punctuation, and lowercase letters might've escaped her, but the message was perfectly understandable. I had been afraid of that. If I had used the language barrier as a shield, I could've repeated that I didn't understand them until they gave up and left me alone. (Or they might've killed me, come to think of it…)

"He was arrested," I repeated once more. Harlan nodded sadly. "So Chase left him…?" I hadn't meant for it to be an accusation—had I?—but it came out like one nonetheless. Chase didn't bother concealing his anger; he snarled, tail lashing behind him, and crouched down. Ike more or less did the same thing when angry, so I knew to back off. I looked away and shrunk into myself, trying to make myself a smaller target. Just in case.

'WHO CAN NOT HELP US VASUDEVA CAN NOT TELEPORT IN PLACES HE HAS NOT BEEN TO BEFORE CHASE IS HURT WE CAN NOT RESCUE HIM WE NEED YOUR HELP.'

"I can't Teleport, or fly, or attack. And you left my Pokemon behind." I raised my hands uselessly. "I can't do anything to help you. Sorry, but—" Once again, I was cowering beneath the combined glares of the Garchomp and Magmar.

Harlan was already scribbling in the dirt again. 'WE CAN PROVIDE A DISTRACTION YOU HAVE TO RESCUE HIM AND WHO AND JULES AND MARCO AND SERLING THEY ALL FELL OUT OF THE BAG WHEN CHASE FLEW AWAY'. She glanced up at Vasudeva and asked him something in a quiet voice. He responded with a nod. She added, 'WHO WILL TELEPORT YOU OUT WHEN YOU FIND HIM'.

"…But not…" I didn't finish it aloud. Who, whoever that was, would Teleport me—and Nick and his other Pokemon, I presumed—out when I found him. But not before. Not if I didn't reach him. Not if I didn't go through with it. I sighed and knelt down beside the painted grass, burying my face in my hands. "…Why did you have to come and find me?"

'YOU ARE HIS FRIEND'.

Couldn't argue with that logic, I supposed. Even if I wasn't sure if he even was my friend anymore. He helped me through pretty much all of my badges and saved my hide more than once, so I could save him just this once, right?

Never mind the fact that I was saving him from prison and, more likely than not, execution.

-.-.-

When it was left to a bunch of Pokemon (those three were not the only ones he had; I had heard he'd been traveling illegally with more, but for some reason, I had always thought it was a lie; it was not), the plan turned out to be little more than 'make a bunch of noise, and send the kid in to spring Trainer'.

"What if you guys get caught? I'm not going back in there again to save any of you, and if Nick did, it'd be little more than a suicide run."

Vasudeva snorted and raised his hand. Oh right, he could Teleport. I guess it was a smart move, but still… The entire thing made me way too nervous. Then again, I was getting shanghaied by a criminal's (and supposed mass murderer's) Pokemon into performing an illegal act, so I supposed I had a right to be apprehensive.

I didn't even have my team to back me up. Instead, I had Nick's. The irony was far from lost on me.

"Will you return me to my Pokemon unharmed and not attack us?" I asked suspiciously, though it was nothing more than stalling at that point. Nick was being held in Oreburgh's prison, which wasn't necessarily large, but it was still a prison. Which would be guarded. With Pokemon. And humans. With guns.

There was mostly nods amongst the group. It was the best I could hope for.

I was dropped off in Oreburgh by Vasudeva. I was to walk to the prison and get in as far as I could before they started doing—whatever it was they'd be doing. All I got was a vague explanation of a 'distraction'. I hoped it was a good one. I already figured I'd end up thrown behind bars, though, considering my luck.

Surprisingly, though, it was easy. You could go far in a prison while just saying you were trying to find the restroom, apparently. I was still wandering the hallways, trying my best to look like a small, lost child, when the building shook and alarms started going off. A couple uniformed men ran past me, a Growlithe following them, so I figured I'd head in that direction.

It all felt like a dream. I practically floated down the hallway, trying the occasional door. This was easy. I wasn't in my own cell yet, I wasn't in pain, I wasn't getting attacked, and no one was acting all that suspicious of me.

Of course, it helped when your distraction was the most feared trained Pokemon in recent history and he was currently chewing on two guards. Chase had knocked down two double doors behind me and gave me a look that told me very clearly to hurry up. I hurried. Nick's Linoone (whose name escaped me at the moment) wiggled through the opening that was not occupied by Chase or screaming guards and ran down the hallway towards me. He barked and nudged me in the direction of a certain door.

Opening it, however, I just got another hallway. The Linoone sniffed the air for a moment, and then nudged me forward again.

It still felt too much like a dream. When would I wake up? When would Konstantin intrude and say something creepy? At this point, I was half-expecting the Froslass.

"Hey!" A guard barreled out of the nearest doorway, gun trained on me, Luxio at his heels. "Who are you?! What do you think you're doing down here?!"

I held up my hands innocently as the Linoone darted past me and sunk its tiny teeth into the guard's leg. Vasudeva appeared in the doorway behind us and pushed me to get me going again as he ran over to assist the Linoone. I awkwardly got past them, ignored the guard's frantic shouts and the fact that they were viciously attacking him and his Luxio, and threw open the nearest door.

Cells. Bingo.

"Eh? Who are you?" The man in the first cell was not Nick. I couldn't help but feel relieved. I was not looking forward to this reunion. He leaned against the bars and squinted at me.

"I'm looking for Nicholas Sayre. Is he—"

The man swore and made a grab at me. I narrowly avoided his fingers, which were hooked like claws. "That monster!" I flinched at his word choice. "He killed my son, he did! That damned tournament slaughtered him and his Pokemon!"

So this was the man who'd attacked Nick's parents, who was responsible for this mess. I stomped over him and grabbed his shirt, pulling him roughly against the metal bars. He didn't expect that and only stared at me, mouth agape. "Do you have any idea what you just did?! You threatened his parents, and what did they ever do to you?! Nick didn't start that tournament! It was crazy people who are stupid and cruel and wanted nothing more than an excuse to kill! This is not Nick's fault, but you—you—Revenge doesn't solve anything, okay?! If you would've killed his parents, then Nick would have only killed more, and it would've been your fault, not his!"

"You—"

"He only attacked Cynthia because his brother was killed! Can you imagine what he would've done if you had—"

"Don't you talk like that to me, boy!" Now the tables were turned, and I was lifted off my feet by my collar. "You have no idea what it's like to lose a family member, especially because of something like this!"

"Let go of me, you crazy old man! I think I've had enough crap happen to me without you trying to give me a guilt trip about it! If you want to blame someone for your son's death, don't blame Nick! He didn't do anything wrong! It's this world that's wrong!" I snarled, trying to grab him again. He dropped me and I stumbled back. After catching my balance, I spitefully added, "His brother was killed and he took it out on the Champion. Your son was killed and you're trying to take it out on his parents. You're just a hypocrite."

I marched off, fuming. The man yelled something after me, but I ignored him and concentrated on finding either Nick or where confiscated Pokemon were kept. Either would've been nice.

I hit gold when I found a conspicuously locked cabinet. Unfortunately, it was when I was banging on it, trying to open it, that an Officer Jenny found me. Her Growlithe was attached to my calf before I noticed her arrival. "Stay where you are and put your hands up! I don't know who you are, but—ahh!" She was suddenly knocked off balance. She probably would've been fine, had she not fallen over and banged her head against one of the metal bars of the nearest cell.

Harlan the Smeargle stared at her, paw held to her mouth. The Growlithe let go of me and lunged at her, but she just disappeared again. The Growlithe looked around in confusion. She reappeared behind it, smashing into it and throwing it against the metal bars as well. I recognized the move, with no small amount of distress, as Giratina's Shadow Force.

"C-Can you open up this cabinet? I think the pokeballs are in here." She nodded and broke it open with a kick. Sure enough, no less than a dozen pokeballs, great balls, and ultra balls tumbled out, most of them releasing their contents. I recognized Serling the Staraptor among them, so his other Pokemon had to be among them as well.

The problem was that Harlan had only listed off four as his. I had nine or ten here. A Bibarel and a Purugly ran down the hall to the man in the cell; they were his, then. Harlan was rapidly explaining something to Ser and a Mothim, so they must've been Nick's. The rest of the Pokemon were looking around in alarm at me or her. I figured I'd leave them there to sort it out on their own. If Who was among them, then surely I'd get my way out soon enough.

Once I found Nick.

Chapter Text

I found Nick in another room, in another cell. He might've been asleep by how quiet and still he was. He was sitting in the corner of his cell, knees drawn up, forehead leaning on them. He didn't notice me when I approached.

He was talking to himself.

"…I want to be alone, I want to be alone…" he moaned, sounding absolutely awful.

I could only listen to him. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, not just yet. So Nick had finally been arrested… It took seeing him there in the cell to bring that fact home. I still didn't see him as a villain. He was just a trainer who had had bad things happen to him, and in turn, did bad things. Was that so wrong?

So what if attacking and killing others was a little rash? Nick Sayre's only crime was caring too much.

I knelt down on my side of the cell. He still didn't notice me and repeated, "I want to be alone…"

He sounded wracked with guilt. He hadn't been able to protect his brother, he had killed in his rage, he had accidentally started collecting twisted followers, he accidentally and indirectly started The Tournament, and most recently, he had indirectly and nearly caused his parents' deaths. He only reacted to the situations presented to him. Could I say I did any differently? Would I have done any differently in his shoes?

"Nick." I meant for it to be clear and loud enough to jar him from his thoughts, but it came out as a strangled croak instead.

"I want to be alone…" He hadn't heard me.

"Nick," I repeated more loudly.

He jumped and immediately shouted, "It wasn't my fault! He—He was the one who attacked my parents! I was defending them! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but it wasn't my fault! I-I just wanted to be alone…" He didn't even look up at me.

"Nick, it's me," I said past the slight lump in my throat. "What has the world done to you…" He had been a hero once. He had been next in line for the Championship. He had pushed and prodded me through most of my badges. He had kept me from quitting through his own determination.

He looked up at me for the first time, eyes growing comically wide. His hair was tousled and hung into his eyes, he needed to shave, and he had what appeared to be a black eye. He silently gaped at me for the longest time.

"I'm here to break you out."

-.-.-

It went against everything I'd been believing until that point. I had told my parents, my team, Hanna, everyone that I would stop him. Instead, I was breaking him out of prison. It was the opposite of stopping him, really. I didn't know why I was doing it, but I was, and I didn't feel as guilty as I probably should have about it.

He was still my best friend.

He was also babbling as I led him back through the rooms, still looking for Who, who was apparently his Hypno. "I-I didn't mean to do any of that stuff. I was just angry. You must think I'm crazy. I think I'm crazy. I just want to be alone. I need to stop killing, so I'm trying to get away, be alone, but they're only keeping me here and they're not listening to a word I say."

"…stop killing?" It took a couple moments for those words to penetrate my thoughts. I stopped dead and turned to stare at him. Had I just made a huge mistake?

All this time, I had thought he was a hero. He had only done a couple of terrible things, and that was so long ago. He had stopped The Tournament, after all—though he had done it by killing the two girls in charge of it.

Nick looked down at me with a wide-eyed hazel stare that told me too much. He had seen too much. He had done too much. He wasn't all there. I looked away, feeling sick. I had created a monster. Literally.

"Not everyone deserves Pokemon. A lot of people don't. They try to take away others'. It's not like I'm killing the good trainers—oh god, listen to me. Have I really fallen this far?" He laughed harshly. It was reassuring; as long as he realized how bad he was, it meant he wasn't all a lost cause. I chuckled, weakly, and still fought the urge to throw up. Maybe I had just made another mistake. Wasn't I supposed to let go of him? That thought was killed as quickly as it came because he reached down and wrapped his arms around me in a crushing bear hug.

He was still my best friend.

Besides, wasn't this my fault? I had managed to mess up every warning from the future I had received. I had fought the Froslass and ignored her cry for help for most of the time I knew her. I could've done so much more to prevent this. I was a victim of that same Abomasnow! I could've started some campaign to get it captured and off the Route and out of the wild. I knew it could've worked. I had enough sympathy at the time, and it had killed before, even. With a bit of public support, that could've been averted. Then Nick's brother would still be alive, and then he would still be fine and happy and not a killer.

"…I'm so sorry," I breathed, blinking back sudden tears. I had messed everything up. This had been my failure, my mistake, not his. He was a victim of circumstances and a caring disposition. Cynthia was his greatest crime; he was mine.

Chase roared, all too close, and there was a gunshot right after it. Nick jumped as if it'd went off next to his head. Before he could do anything more than let go of me, Who appeared and practically tackled us. We were Teleported out of the prison and back to the forest, where several Pokemon were already waiting. "Who! Go back and get Chase! Let me go get Chase!" Nick seized his Hypno's arm imploringly, just about begging. He sounded like he was nearing panic.

Who vanished—without Nick. He stared blankly at the spot where Who had just stood.

A minute later, he reappeared, Chase on one hand, Serling on the other. Both of them were injured, but joyously threw themselves at Nick regardless. From then on, Vasudeva and Who took turns Teleporting the rest of the Pokemon out of the prison. It took perhaps five minutes in all, but it seemed like they got everyone out.

So that meant we had successfully managed to break out the most wanted criminal in Sinnoh.

Seeing the Pokemon pile that Nick had suddenly turned into, I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't made a mistake. There's no way that reuniting a trainer and a team could ever be a mistake. And he looked so happy. I hadn't seen that sort of smile on his face for years.

He was the one who killed Hanna's Pokemon.

The sudden, stray thought completely ruined whatever slight happiness I'd been sharing with the scene. Isabella, Alexander, Millie, Tenny… They would never get to do this with Hanna. She would never get to see them again. She was still hurting. Des would never get to see Isabella again. Carlita would never be able to fawn over Alexander again. Alice would've liked Tenny, since they were both birds, too…

How many others had he killed?

The doubt was back again in full force. Had I really just done the right thing? Definitely not the legal one, but the right one? Nick had been defending his parents. His only family he had left, the family he'd left behind in order to protect them. Was that wrong? At least the man who'd done it was in jail… Still, was I in the moral green to rescue him?

"Having doubts?" a voice in my head inquired politely. I looked up to find Who the Hypno staring at me from the pile, absently twirling his charm around a finger. I grimaced and nodded at him. "…No matter what you think, I know we all believe you have done the right thing today."

Even if Chase and Vasudeva had to bully me into it. That only made me feel worse; I hadn't even gone along with rescuing him willingly.

"Does this look wrong to you? Rest assured, our trainer feels remorse for what he's done and is trying to rectify it as best he can."

"…" It didn't reassure me. Was I going to stop Nick or wasn't I?

"It's time to return you to your own Pokemon. It's better if you don't have a long goodbye." There was something faintly threatening in his telepathic tone. It made a shiver go up my spine.

"Nick… I'm going now." Nick looked up, stopping his wrestling match with Chase. He had that look in his eyes again. I took an involuntary step backward, still battling with myself on the inside. Had I just let a deranged serial killer back out into the world? The look passed and he gave me a watery, feeble smile.

"…You should come with me."

"Huh? Wh-Where?"

"Away. I'm going to be leaving. You should come with me."

"Why?"

"You're my friend. You're better than all of the stupid masses. You are the best trainer I know," he said softly, looking down at Chase's injured wing.

"That's not true, you're—"

"I'm not a good trainer. I try, I really, really do, but maybe I need someone who has such a positive influence there with me. Are you really happy right now?" He looked up at me, expression hard. I swallowed thickly. No, I really wasn't. I was in limbo, traveling around because I didn't have much else to do. Training up Alice, training up Konstantin, getting a sixth Pokemon… Those would only waste time, I knew. I had all eight badges. I was scared to challenge the Elite Four. I wasn't happy. I hadn't been happy since the Center in Pastoria, before that fated phone call. "…Exactly. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life like that?"

"No, but I'm busy right now. I'll think about your offer," I lied, eyes downcast. I wouldn't leave Cossette, and at least I had Alice to keep me busy for now. I still had my team to deal with. Maybe, some time in the future, we would work together perfectly and I wouldn't have that anymore, but until then, I was busy and I was going to stay away from Nick. "Who, take me back now."

The Hypno detached himself from the pile and sauntered over, swinging his charm. I tore my eyes away from its mesmerizing movement. Who took my hand, and next thing I knew, I was standing next to Des again.

He let go of me and had to have the last say. "Trainer is only killing those who are killing others, his 'followers'. He is killing them in order to try to protect you. He is sacrificing his sanity in order to do so. It was… unwise and callous of you to leave him."

I stood there, stunned, before I was engulfed in my own Pokemon pile.

"What happened?!"

"Are you okay?"

"Where is that dragon?!"

"Ike—you're awake! You're okay!" He probably hadn't intended for his question to be answered with a hug. I was just happy he was alright. I looked over to see that the rest of them were fine, even Alice. I smiled into Ike's dark fur. Every trainer deserved to be reunited their team.

I was less enthused with Cossette's reunion with Jacques, since it involved me pinned to a tree with the blade on his arm pressed up against my throat.

Chapter Text

"Jacques, no! Non!" Cossette shouted, stomping her foot. Her Gallade ignored her.

"You not only left her alone, but with Sayre's Garchomp? You left with him?!"

"Jacques, stop it! This is a misunderstanding, I'm sure!" Jude tried to pull him off of me, but Jacques brushed him aside. "Cossette, return him!"

"Ah, oui!" She fumbled through her dress' pockets until she managed to withdraw a pokeball. Jacques hissed but made no move to stop her. Loyal to a fault. He was returned and I was freed. I fell down then sat bolt upright, gasping for air and massaging my throat. Cossette rushed over to me, making sympathetic sounds and apologizing, "Désolée, je suis désolée! I am sorry!"

I grabbed her in a hug. "Cossette I'm sorry I left you I didn't mean to it just happened please don't be angry with me and please don't send Jacques after me again!" She obviously hadn't caught a word of that, but she hugged me back gleefully. It was painfully obvious she didn't hold any ill will towards me. Jacques not so much. Even Jude not so much.

They had reappeared early the next morning. Jacques had probably only meant to mentally check in on what had happened, but instead, in reading my mind, he found what I'd done. He was not pleased. Jude had got the gist of it; I had left, and that meant Cossette had been alone. Bad move.

"Cossette, I'm so sorry. You know I didn't mean to leave you, right?" I held her out at arm's length (much to her distress) and looked her in the eye.

She frowned, but nodded. "Of course not. You are a good trainer, a good friend. You did not mean to do it."

Jude extended a hand down to help me up. When I was back on my feet, before letting me go, he hissed in my ear, "We'll have to discuss this later."

I avoided his gaze after that. Okay, maybe it had been a mistake. It hadn't really felt like one—so that was a lie. I still wasn't sure. I had been coerced into it, but I could've put up more of a fight if I had wanted to, right?

Delayed guilty feelings didn't stop me from becoming shunned, however.

I was ordered by Jacques, no matter how much Cossette yelled at him, to stay behind while Jude released the Numel for Cossette to 'find' and capture. She came back happier with a female Numel she called Véronique (Véro for short, apparently). I wasn't sure what happened to naming her Des, but it wasn't like I was about to ask. Cossette and her new Numel were the only ones on my side, but that was only because they were in the dark about what was going on.

Jacques wanted to leave after that. Cossette would have none of it. It could've been easily solved if he had just grabbed her and Teleported her back to her home, but he didn't, because she forbade him from doing such a thing. I wasn't complaining. I didn't want either of them to leave thinking I was some sort of bad guy—okay, so what if I was?

"I kept my promise, didn't I?! She wasn't hurt!"

"It was your presence that drew the Garchomp here! He could have hurt her if you had—"

"I didn't let him hurt her! Cossette wasn't hurt!"

"You two, break it up!" Jude broke in, trotting over to stand in between us so we wouldn't go at each other's throats again. Then again, I was hardly a match for a Gallade; it would be a very one-sided battle. "You're both stupid and overreacting. You're also upsetting Cossette." That, more than anything else, calmed us both down.

Jacques and I never got along quite right after that. Cossette wasn't overly worried about the Nick situation and only scolded us both for arguing. Then she promptly moved on and had only cheery smiles for everyone (but especially Véronique). The mood whiplash grated on Jacques and I visibly, but Jude looked like he wanted to move on as much as she had.

I wasn't sure how my team took it. They were still behaving for the company, doting on the new Numel, and none of them approached me over it. I hoped they were waiting until a more private time; there was no way it wasn't an issue. Véronique turned out to be shy and a little slow, but I figured it was a Numel thing. Des had acted the same way about a lot of things.

Cossette wouldn't be persuaded to go back home until she had trained Véronique more. She wouldn't specify when that would be or approximately how long it would take, and I had a feeling it was more than just training, but no one put up that much of a fight with her. It seemed as if she had perfected her pout and we were more or less powerless.

She was figuring that out, too.

"Alice can battle Véro for practice, please?" she asked, batting her eyes at me.

I cringed. "…Alice, want a practice battle?" Practice battles were good, but Alice was still stronger than Véronique and it usually ended up in tears. I wasn't going to make my newest Pokemon throw a battle, though (especially since Cossette hadn't thought of it yet). I could've asked Des or maybe even Carlita to do such a thing, but not the baby of the team.

Alice, however, didn't want to battle.

She was perched on the ground in front of Jude, who was teaching her various songs with his Chatot, Volin. I had heard a fair amount of Ode To Joy from their general direction, so I figured it was going well. "Swa," she said airily, gesturing with her wing to Jude.

He shrugged. "What can I say? She's a musical little girl."

"Can you at least teach her something different then? It's starting to get repetitive and she sounds like she's gotten the hang of it."

"If you would've named her Elise, I'd teach her Für Elise…" he muttered, humming the first few notes of it. Alice and Volin repeated them gleefully in unison.

"Elise, Alice, they're sort of the same…"

"Véro can learn music aussi? Too?" Cossette had lost interest in the training and instead was sitting next to her Numel, watching Jude and the birds avidly. Jacques gave her a look at getting her dress dirty, but she ignored him.

Jude looked the Numel over, obviously thinking not. I wondered, not without a fair dose of amusement, how he was going to teach a Numel to sing. Could Numel sing? Des certainly wasn't very musical. He never had been. "Er… I'm not sure if she can sing." Cossette didn't bother wasting time and instead moved right in to pouting. Jude hastily looked away; I wasn't sure if it had time to have that much of an impact on him. "Fire Pokemon's throats are designed to be rougher to accommodate the fire they breathe, so wouldn't you like it better if she learned a new fire move instead?"

The distraction and the shiny TM he offered were too good to resist. Much to my relief, he only gave her the move Will-o-Wisp, which inflicted a burn. Nothing like Flamethrower. Véronique had already gotten into enough trouble with a mere Ember. Cossette and Véronique gleefully began burning things—Jude and I soon saw his mistake. It was almost better to get toasted by an attack. At least those burns didn't last as long as a Will-o-Wisp's.

Alice and Volin squawked when one of the ghostly little fires got a bit too close and they both flew off. I chased after them, though mostly as an excuse to get away from the attack myself. Jude could deal with them on his own; it was his fault, after all.

"Alice, Alice get back here! She'll stop attacking, I promise!" I called, cupping my hands around my mouth. Her flighty tendencies and dislike of surprises (especially surprise burns) hadn't changed in the short time we knew each other, but unfortunately, what had changed was that she knew she could outrun me if I didn't grab her immediately. The last couple times, too, she had taken to hiding. "Alice, do you want me to ask Ike to sniff you out?"

The two birds appeared soon after that. I crossed my arms smugly as each one settled on one of my shoulders. Ike had been more or less fine with both of them, but I figured that they instinctively didn't like him because of his feline-ness. "Swa," Alice said, digging her claws a bit into my shoulder.

"Swa," Volin mimicked with a laugh.

"Blu!" she exclaimed.

"Blu!" the Chatot echoed.

"Swablu, swaaa!" she twittered in my ear, pressing up with her cloud wings against the side of my head. I guessed that she was asking me to break it up, or stop him, or something. I didn't feel comfortable rebuking someone else's Pokemon, so I just brushed him off my shoulder. He made a disappointed sound and flapped off in the direction of camp. Hopefully he was returning to Jude.

"Happy now?" I asked. She whistled part of Ode To Joy in reply and hopped up onto my head. "Yeah, you definitely have to learn some new songs…"

She lightly pecked the top of my head. It didn't hurt, so I figured it was some sort of sign of affection. Maybe her version of a kiss? I patted her wing absently, wondering if there were any songs I knew well enough to teach her. I did feel a little miffed that I wasn't the one teaching her things, after all. Then again, I was the trainer…

"Alice, let's get you trained up, okay?" I'd feel more confident about our team once she was on even footing with the rest of the team. Then again, Konstantin wasn't quite up to par, either… Training my team wasn't my only problem. Nick was still at the forefront of my mind. I had let him out of prison—and Jacques was still breathing down my neck about that, too. As if I needed him; my own guilt was plenty, thank you very much. I had flipped from one side to the other, and I was currently under the impression that it was a bad thing again. (I gave it a day or so, then I'd be convinced it was not a mistake, that Nick wasn't a bad guy, and then in another couple days, I'd try not to die from a guilt overdose again. It was a vicious cycle.) Alice shifted on top of my head, breaking me out of my angst. "…Yeah, let's get you and Kostya trained up. You two need it. We'll get stronger together, as a team, and then we'll find him and beat him and get some answers once and for all…"

Answers for what? I still wasn't sure. I only halfheartedly believed that he had to be stopped. Was he doing anything bad? He hadn't—at least not directly—since the Champion's tragedy. Or had he? He did have a rather lot of random trainer murders pinned on him, and some people still believe he started The Tournament as well… I nearly shook my head until I remembered Alice. I reached up and patted her wing absentmindedly.

"We're just going to have to track him down and… talk. Talk, yeah." Talking was safe. Give it a couple hours, and I'd be back to wanting to avoid him for the rest of my life. I really needed to sort out my priorities. This time, I actually did shake my head to clear it, nearly dislodging my Swablu. She tweeted angrily at me and dug her claws into my scalp. "Sorry," I sighed, hoping I wasn't bleeding. If there was one thing I had learned about Alice in our time together, it was that she had very sharp little claws.

"Blu," she said airily.

"You'll meet him soon enough. In person this time, not just Chase. Oh, I hope that talk goes well." I hung my head—only to get claws in my head again. Having a bird perched on your head certainly made you conscious of actions. I cringed and made an effort to keep my head level, though she was so light, I wouldn't doubt it if I forgot about her up there again… "He said he wouldn't kill anymore. That means he's going to be good from now on, right?"

"Swa?"

"He won't kill anymore. He's not crazy. He's not a mass murderer. He's my friend, I think. I only want to talk to him."

That evening, after Cossette had fallen asleep to a lullaby played on the radio and Jacques was mercifully in his pokeball, Jude and I listened to the news announce, "A new string of murders have police on edge and scrambling. They are believed to be the work of Nicholas Sayre, well-known killer and terrorist. Trainers are advised to travel in groups and keep Pokemon out for safety reasons. Be cautious at all times. If you come across Sayre, you are advised not to attack him and flee if at all possible, with a psychic Pokemon or a bird. Call the police immediately. Get to safety. I repeat: do not confront him. He is a murderer and has an illegally large team of very powerful Pokemon with him."

"…Lovely," Jude remarked, shutting off the radio. The guilt came crashing back down.

Chapter Text

"What exactly did you do that got Jacques all mad at you?" It was two nights later that Jude finally asked me the question I'd been dreading.

I drew my knees up to my chest. It was an obvious defensive gesture, but I didn't care. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"I rather would talk about it. You left Cossette, I know that much. She was defenseless and alone—"

"Actually, she had my team with her. She was hardly defenseless." My last words to Des had been to protect her. I liked to think that he and the rest of the team would've been loyal enough to at least do that when they were in such a panic at their kidnapped trainer.

"Tell me what happened," Jude demanded, green eyes hard across the firelight. I looked away. "Now, or I'll pull rank on you."

"What?"

"I'm older than you. This means that you have to listen to your elders. And I say talk."

"…You're not allowed to use that. You're not that much older than me, are you?"

"Two years, isn't it? Maybe three? But—no!" He growled and held up his hands. "We're not getting distracted with this. You are going to tell me what's going on with you and Sayre and what happened that has Jacques so irate."

"…Well, you know that we were friends."

"Yeah. I distinctly remember that." I continued avoiding his eyes. "Hanna was your friend, too."

"Yeah, she was. Is. But I was the connection between them. I introduced them. If I hadn't, Nick wouldn't have known her and she wouldn't have…" I had never thought about that before. But now that I had—oh god. If it wasn't for me, Nick wouldn't have known Hanna, and she would still have her Pokemon. I had caused it. Not only had I caused Nick's descent into darkness, but I was also responsible for Hanna losing her Pokemon? I should just die before things got worse—

Jude snapped his fingers in front of my face. His gloves made a raspy sound that made me wince a bit. "You're looking rather dark about that. Don't think about it. It's not your fault. Sayre did that, not you. It wasn't as if you made him murder them."

I halfheartedly wondered if it would've been better for the world—and my friends—if I had never been born. Maybe that's why it took me over a year to get my first Pokemon. The world didn't want to unleash me upon the training population.

"…Seriously, stop it. You're scaring me." He was leaning over, ponytail falling over his shoulder, in order to stare up at me. I scowled at him. He smiled weakly and pushed my head back so I was staring at the starry sky above us. "Be happy. You're not allowed to be bitter and angry at the world. Miss Hanna has enough of that covered, don't you think?" It was a pitiful attempt at a joke and the inadvertent reference to the ghosts' warning only made me a little ill, but at least he was trying. At least someone was; it was more than I'd done in a long time.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Sorry," I lied dryly. "It's just… We were all friends. I introduced them to each other. Hanna even had a crush on him. I knew them both for so long before this all happened. I can't stop thinking of him as my friend instead of the bad guy."

"I can vaguely understand that, or at least understand the idea behind it. But let me tell you this right now." Jude's tone made me look at him. He was deathly serious, mouth set in a firm line. "I hate Sayre for what he did to Hanna. I can respect your history with him, but it had better be just that. A history."

I knew that, deep down. I looked down at the fire. "…Yeah, I know. It's just hard." Hard didn't even begin to describe it. Hard didn't describe watching Nick give me that broken smile from behind prison bars, didn't describe hearing the way he asked me to run away with him, didn't describe the fact that I had let a killer out of prison who had promised he wouldn't kill again but was.

"What did you do?"

I had to be delicate here. I didn't like lying to him, but neither did I like the prospect of having a very loud argument at him late at night while Cossette and our Pokemon were sleeping. Or having him mad at me. "Chase came. Nick had been arrested—some idiot with a death wish had the bright idea to hold his parents hostage to get him to come out." I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice. Because of that man, this had happened. But who was I to blame? "He had managed to get his Pokemon away somehow, or some of them, I don't know. Chase came and got me and demanded that I help break him out. I was forced to do it."

"You… broke Sayre out of prison?" He didn't sound angry, at least. Maybe a little dumbfounded though. Jude blinked Noctowlishly at me, mouth open but saying nothing more.

"I was forced to. I really didn't have that much choice in the matter." That sounded way too much like an excuse. Ignoring that and the perpetual guilt, I continued, "Chase and some of his other Pokemon provided a distraction, and sent me in to spring him and the other Pokemon."

"Why didn't they just do it on their own? Surely that Garchomp of his could've handled any number of guards…" I peeked up at him. He still didn't look all that angry. Maybe I had underestimated his maturity, maybe he could take this better than Jacques. I wasn't going to test him, though.

"I don't know. Maybe they needed someone with thumbs to open doors." I had wondered that before several times, but I hadn't come to any sort of conclusion that satisfied me. "Maybe they just wanted someone who could blend in with humans…"

"Maybe they wanted something else. Maybe they wanted someone they thought would be sympathetic to Nick's plight. Coercion can only go so far. They needed someone who they thought they could depend on to get him out, didn't they?" I didn't like the look Jude had in his eye.

I frowned and mumbled, "They would've left me in there if I hadn't gone along with their plan…"

"In which case you would need to explain what happened, maybe get a stern talking to, and you would otherwise escape unharmed."

"Assuming that Chase and the others would've been stopped."

"…I'll give you that one," he conceded and put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Sinnoh's police force is too lax, too… I don't want to use the word weak, but it fits here. They're not equipped to handle a single enemy, as opposed to a team. That Garchomp would've decimated any number of them, and that's not counting what other Pokemon he had with him. Hopefully the government will figure that out soon."

"Figure what out?"

Jude glanced away and gave me a very mysterious, very dark smile. There was no happiness or humor in it. "Two Gym leaders down, a Champion in ruins, and a trainer that's up to her par on the loose… I really wonder how Sinnoh will handle this. Eventually, they'll have to do something more concrete than react defensively and give in to terrorist demands."

"He's not a terrorist—!"

"I was talking about the psychotic trainers behind The Tournament. The police force in Jubilife was scared stiff of them and no one would step in once Byron was taken hostage," he said mildly. I backed off, wishing I hadn't jumped in to defend Nick like that. Digging myself deeper and deeper into that grave of mine. "Still… Two Gym leaders dead. No one can ignore that."

-.-.-

The next day's news station corrected Jude; Roark, following Nick's escape and the rise of murders again, resigned.

He claimed that it wasn't completely because of Nick's escape (since he had been in the Oreburgh prison, after all), but also because he lost his father and he thought it was time to step down and let someone else take up the position. I felt sorry for him. Distantly I had been aware of the fact that Byron was his dad, but I had never really realized that he had just lost family. Trainers were scrambling to get their badges before any other leaders died or resigned, and the few newbies starting out were temporarily shunted to Gardenia for their first badges. New leaders were needed, and desperately.

The only problem was that Sinnoh officials couldn't even find a new leader for two Gyms, let alone three.

"This is getting bad," Jude commented, though he didn't seem too worked up over it. Probably because he didn't live here, he hadn't known these people. I rolled my eyes but otherwise ignored him. "Sinnoh's going to do something draaaaastiiiiic," he sang. Alice and Volin, taking lessons once again, repeated the notes back to him with a titter.

"Drastic?" Cossette repeated cluelessly, looking to Jacques for a translation. She must've gotten a telepathic one, because she dropped it after that. "Sinnoh is in trouble?" Now she addressed me.

I shrugged. "A bit. We're fine out here, though, so don't worry." I didn't miss the snort Jacques gave me. I glared at him over Cossette's head. "Right now it's only a governmental problem. Trainers like us don't have to worry about it, right?"

"Right!" she cried with a grin, though there was no way she could fully comprehend what was going on. I gave her points for her attitude, though.

Des had taken Véronique under his wing, so to speak, so watching her Numel practice fire attacks usually took up most of her time. I wasn't sure how much training it actually was, but if it got her to control her fire better, I was for it. It took a couple days, however, to see what was really going on.

Manon was the one to first figure it out. Apparently she hadn't thought it was a secret or anything, either, because she offhandedly told Alice and Carlita about it. This set them both off in roaring, shrieking laughter. I must've jumped a foot in the air at the sudden sound.

Ike started laughing, too, and tearfully explained to me, "The small Numel believes Des is her mother!" Des' jaw dropped at this revelation, but he soon recovered his dignity and, ignoring the little Numel waddling after him, tried to set Ike's tail on fire. That set Konstantin to laughing, vainly covering the teeth of his mask with his paws.

"I am not a mother! I am not female, I'm a male!" Des called in annoyance, spitting flames at my Luxray. Ike managed to get out of the way in time and hid behind Manon.

"Des mommy, Des mommy!" Carlita sang. She and Alice collapsed into giggles again.

Des whirled around on the Numel, butting her with his head away from him. "I am not your mother."

"Mel?" she asked in confusion.

"No I'm not!"

"Mel."

Cossette by that time had figured out what was going on as well, and ignoring Jude's and my laughter (really, it was too funny not to laugh, and with that many Pokemon laughing around you, it was hard not to break into hysterics anyway), marched over to her Numel and pulled her away. She sat down in front of Véronique and likewise ignored the look Jacques gave her for getting another dress dirty. "Véro, non. Il n'est pas ta mère!" She said more in French, but I hardly understood her. Same with Véronique I was guessing, but then again, I recalled that Numel almost always had that oblivious expression.

I literally fell over laughing when Jude suddenly shouted, "Shiny!" and bolted. Volin squawked and flapped after him.

When he came back twenty minutes later, burned and panting, but with a blue-flamed Ponyta, I was still laughing. "Y-You realize that you literally got distracted by something sh-shiny?" I gasped out. I'd be amazed at the shiny Pokemon when I wasn't fighting to get enough oxygen to my brain.

"Do you know how much shiny Rapidash will sell for? Plus I haven't come across a wild shiny for almost a year now."

"H-How did you even see it?"

"She has blue flames. Sort of hard to miss." Jude was trying his hardest to maintain his cool and not start laughing like me, but judging from the smile on his face, he was fighting a losing battle.

That was how I passed the time in the wilderness. The worries of Sinnoh and its Gym leaders seemed so far away when we were laughing over Des' motherhood and Jude's penchant for wild shinies and the shiny Ponyta Cossette and I decided to name Giggle whether he liked it or not. Alice slowly got stronger bickering with the team and battling Véronique and Rose and learned more music from Jude and Volin. Konstantin was nearly up to par with the rest of the team, too, though he still didn't want to evolve. Des never did convince Véronique that he wasn't her mother, and Cossette decided she liked training too much to ever quit. Jude tried to give her an egg to placate her and Jacques tried to dissuade her, but she insisted on staying at least a little while longer with us.

It was nothing like traveling with Hanna or Nick or by myself. This was something entirely different. It was fun, though. And fun was something I sorely needed during that time.

Five days after Roark's resignation (which took up most of the time on the air) and after a total of six human murders and twenty-three Pokemon ones since Nick escaped, Cynthia resigned.

Chapter Text

My phone rang. I was so unused to it that I jumped and dropped my bowl. Konstantin managed to catch it by appearing just in time from my shadow, which saved my meal and my shoes, probably. I patted him on the head as thanks and glared at my phone. An unknown number, and I didn't recognize the area code, either.

I hesitantly flipped it open and said, "Hello?" I couldn't help but remember the last time I had gotten a surprise phone call.

"This is Volkner."

That I had not been expecting. I reminded myself to keep breathing and repeated, "H-Hello. Um, why are you calling me and how did you get this number and why are you calling me?"

"You asked that twice," he replied smoothly, apparently unfazed by my questions.

He also didn't answer them. "I want to know that part more."

Jude and Cossette were staring at me in confusion from around the fire. I put my hand over the phone and mouthed "Volkner" to them. Cossette understandably didn't recognize the name, but Jude fumbled his bowl like I had moments before. While he didn't have a Duskull to catch it for him, he managed it himself, though not without sharing a fair amount of soup with his gloves.

"What is he calling you for?!" he hissed. I shrugged and shook my head. Like I had any idea.

"I'm sorry to be calling so late." It was only early evening, and if he was in Sunyshore, then we were a time zone behind him, anyway. "But this is important."

"Um, yeah?"

"I'm sure you've heard about Roark's resignation by now?"

"Yes. I have. S-Sir."

"…Don't call me that." The annoyance and slight surprise at the title was audible even through the phone. I swallowed and nodded, though realized a moment later that he couldn't have seen me. "And I'm sure you've likewise heard about the Champion's resignation as well."

"Yeah…" Lucien was temporarily standing in as Champion, though Sinnoh as a whole was pretty much begging Cynthia to keep her job. We were down three Gym leaders and an Elite Four member.

"Due to the shortage of Elite Four members and the need for governmental trainers in those high positions, I will be moving to the Elite Four and will be giving up my post at the Sunyshore Gym." Okay, strike that. We were down half of the Gym leaders (though apparently the Elite Four was whole again).

I really, really wanted to ask him why he was calling me to tell me this when I was sure it'd be on the news tonight or tomorrow, but it seemed rude. "Um… Congratulations?" What did one say to an ex-Gym leader, anyway?

"Due to the training climate—" I hated that phrase and the way it was the catch-all of the media these days, "—the Gym leaders will be going through a slight… overhaul."

"How can there be a slight overhaul?" I asked before I could stop myself. Jude snorted in an effort to try to stop himself from laughing.

Volkner sighed, breath coming across as static on the phone. "Okay, a major overhaul, you win. You'll find out more when you get here."

"What—?"

"You are to report to Sunyshore as soon as possible. Do you have a bird or a psychic yet?" I had to remind myself that he knew my team, as of a year and a half ago.

"I have a bird, but—"

"Good. Come to Sunyshore soon. There will be others there, but long story short, four trainers will become the new Gym leaders. No specialization needed. It's part of the overhaul. You've been selected from the Sinnoh trainers because of your track record, the fact that you have all eight badges, and because you have the capacity to challenge the Elite Four."

"I technically haven't, though," I pointed out, a little guiltily.

"But you registered with them and you could at any time," he replied simply. "If you don't show up, fine. I'd advise against it, but this is not mandatory. You are free to turn down the offer. But again—I suggest you don't." It didn't sound quite like a threat, but pretty close. "This will coincide with a meeting between the regions, so expect to meet dignitaries and other Gym leaders. Dress nicely." I guessed that he was all too used to seeing trainers look like they had rolled out of bed—no, rolled out of a variety of things, the least dirty of which was bed. I tried to remember what I had looked like when I'd challenged him. I could only remember breaking down. "Be on your best behavior. If you don't act like a good trainer, you won't get the job."

"You don't have to lecture me. I'm fourteen," I couldn't resist telling him, a little annoyed.

"That's what we're worried about." He sighed again and added something that sounded suspiciously like, "Teenagers…"

"Excuse me?"

"Just be there. Behave. Be mature. Bring your strongest team with you. I'll see you then," Volkner said, then hung up.

I stared at the phone in my hand, a little dumbfounded. Not only did I just find out that Sinnoh was finally doing that "something drastic" Jude had predicted, but I had gotten an offer to be a Gym leader (unless I was interpreting that completely wrong). Sinnoh must be in more trouble than I had originally thought if they were calling in trainers to be Gym leaders.

-.-.-

"Non, no, no, no, I do not want you to leave me!" Cossette wailed, hanging off of my shoulders.

"Cossette, I have to. I'm sorry, but I have to. I have to be there by the end of the week, and it's going to be fast traveling as it is."

"I can loan you a bird if you want to Fly…" Jude suggested awkwardly. Cossette nodded frantically. "I wouldn't trust Alice with that long of a journey, but she could definitely Fly you part of the way. You don't have to leave right now."

"Alice is still a tiny Swablu. I'm not going to make her Fly me anywhere." I wasn't even sure if she knew the move. Wasn't it illegal to fly trainers anywhere without it? "Cossette, please let go. I have to get going."

"Are you going to go through with it?" he asked.

"I-I don't know. I'm at least going to go check it out, though. I want to know what's up."

It was the next morning when the story hit the media. It was vague, but instantly big news. The only things released to the press were that foreign dignitaries, including other Gym leaders, would be arriving at Sunyshore within the week, and that the government would start filling in the missing Gym leader spots. Later in the day, when I was still fighting with Cossette to let her let me go, it was revealed that Volkner was moving to the Elite Four and that four positions were open.

"You do not have a full team! You cannot protect you—yourself! Do not leave, please, please!" There were many fake tears, but as I had yet to see any real ones, I was still trying all means possible to detach her from my shoulders. Jacques even tried to pull her off once, but it only resulted in all three of us falling over.

"I have a team of five," I replied, a little bit miffed.

"She has a point. Everyone else there is going to have a full team. You'll be at a disadvantage," Jude said unhelpfully. I glared at him. He shrugged and folded his hands behind his head. "It's true. I could sell you a Pokemon… I should sell you Giggle, if only because you made that name stick."

"You named Alice that way, so we're even." I stuck out my tongue at him and he responded in kind. "I'm next to broke. I don't even have a translator for Alice yet. I can't buy another Pokemon."

"Me!" Cossette broke in, halting in her attempt to climb up onto my back long enough to grin. "I will buy you one! I will buy you one if you stay with me!"

"Isn't that a bit… at odds with the plans here?" Jude asked. "Cossette, he's trying to leave—and he needs a full team if he leaves, not if he stays."

"I'm not buying a Pokemon, anyway!" It was a little petty of me, but Jude's Pokemon came with names. I wanted to name at least one member of my team (Des and drugged Ike aside).

"Pourquoi pas? Why not?" Now she was resorting to pouting. I grimaced and tried to look away, but it was too late. If she was a Pokemon, she would have the best defense ever because no one would dare attack her. "You do not want a gift from me?"

"Uh—I didn't say that. I would love a gift from you, Cossette. But not a Pokemon!"

She let go of me, sliding to the ground. I nearly toppled over from the lack of weight on my back. She walked over to Jacques and whispered something in his ear. He glanced at me, and reluctantly nodded. He then looked over to Jude. There must've been some telepathic communication, because a moment later, he said, "You know… That might not be a bad idea. In fact, I sort of like that idea. I'll even give you a discount, since it's miss Cossette's brilliant idea."

She beamed at him and flounced back over to me, tackling me once more. Once again, I nearly fell over. "Yes, it is decided!"

"What is?"

"Jacques, if you would be so kind as to Teleport me to the nearest Center… Hey, wait, why didn't I think of—you don't have to leave yet! You don't have to Fly anywhere, either! Just get Jacques to Teleport you to Sunyshore in a day or two! Then you'll have time to spend with Cossette and get a bit of last-minute training in, eh?"

Cossette was immediately all over that idea and convinced Jacques to go along with it before I could point out how much the Gallade disliked me. I still didn't trust the idea, however; knowing my luck and what he thought of me for leaving her (even if it wasn't my fault), I'd probably end up Teleporting to Sendoff Spring and get dumped over the edge of the dock again.

Jacques took Jude and left for the Center, presumably so the breeder could restock on whatever Cossette's brilliant idea entailed. That left me alone with her, which was totally fine with her. She wrapped her arms tighter around my neck and I hastily sat down to avoid getting strangled. She sat haphazardly across my lap, arms still around my neck. "I will buy you a translator too. This is a good idea, yes? You will stay with me now?"

"Cossette, I appreciate this—" even if it was awkward, "—but I can't stay. I can stay another day or two, but that's it. Then I have to go."

"You will return to me?" she asked. She looked up at me, eyes brimming with real tears. Trying to prevent myself from giving into her every demand, I wrapped my arms around her and set my chin on top of her head.

"Maybe one day." It didn't sound like this would be over with quickly, so I didn't want to make any promises. "I'll come back and see you again one day. After awhile."

"How long?"

"I don't know."

She made a whimpering sound. I hugged her tighter, if only to preemptively stop her from really pouting. "When you come back to see me again, you will not remember me."

"Of course I'll remember you. I remembered you this time, didn't I? I'll never forget you, okay? Promise." At least I could promise her something. She shifted and stopped whining.

"I will never forget you too. Je t'aime. I like you, very much. You're my hero."

"Why am I a hero?" I asked, half amused, half confused.

"You saved me from the monster. You saved many people. You will save many more, non? You are a great trainer, you are my favorite, and you are a good person." She leaned her head against my shoulder and sighed in contentment. It felt good to hear those things, even if they were a little girl's biased nonsense; I wasn't a hero, the monster was on my team, and I had meant to save many more. It was an ego boost though.

"…Thanks, Cossette."

"You are very welcome," she replied with a bashful giggle. She nuzzled into my neck. The move made me feel a little uncomfortable (and her breath tickled), but since I had tried to move her several times already, I figured I might as well just let her be. For such a tiny little thing, she definitely had an iron grip. "Will you miss me when you leave?"

"Yes." I wasn't sure if I actually was, but it wasn't as if I was going to tell her no.

"I will miss you too. This means you will come back to me more soon, yes?"

"Probably," I replied, still feeling slightly skittish about making promises. Jacques would probably hunt me down if I broke them.

Jude and Jacques reappeared at that point and the ensuing events happened so quickly that I'm not sure what order exactly they happened in. Cossette hopped off of me and ran over to them, jabbering away in French. Jude held an egg in one gloved hand and handed it to her.

Next thing I knew, I had an egg dumped on my lap. Cossette beamed at me.

Chapter Text

"What—?"

"Her idea, not mine," Jude interrupted, pointing at her. She nodded in total agreement. "Miss Cossette thinks that since you refuse to get a Pokemon, you should get an egg instead."

"An egg turns into a Pokemon," I snapped, looking at the egg leaning innocently against my leg. I picked it up gingerly, afraid it'd crack. The shell appeared to be hard, though, and was cool to the touch. Weren't eggs supposed to be warm?

"But it's not one yet. I've had that one for a couple months now, so it should hatch relatively soon. Even if it'll be a young Pokemon, it's a Pokemon, and the other trainers at your little meet don't have to know it's an infant."

"I already have to train up Alice and Kostya! I don't have time for a baby! Cossette, this is yours, not mine." I held the egg out to her, but she refused to take it.

"Kostya isn't that weak in comparison to the rest of your team. I bet you could have him up to par before you leave. Alice might take a bit more doing, but she's not that bad off, is she? It's not like you'll have to battle with a full team—it's not even a given that you'll be battling." I sighed and got up, carefully cradling the egg. Knowing my luck, I would drop it and it'd break.

"If I'm not battling, I don't need a full team. Please, I only want to have to deal with one or two problems at a time."

"…I'm not taking it back. For all intents and purposes, it's already paid for. You could try to convince Cossette to take it, but I doubt she would. It's yours now," Jude said with a grin.

"What kind of Pokemon will it hatch into, anyway?" I asked, eyeing it. It was a soft cream color almost all over, except for the bottom, which was a ruddy reddish color. Almost like Des' fur. A fire Pokemon egg? Or just something that was whitish and reddish? A Voltorb? Just what I needed—something that exploded at random.

"It's a secret, but rest assured I picked something that will work very nicely with your team—"

"Jude, I will throw this egg at your head if you got me a water Pokemon."

"It was miss Cossette's idea, wasn't it?"

"Did she pick the species?"

"…No, but—"

"This egg. At your head."

He wouldn't tell me what sort of egg it was, however, no matter how much I threatened him. Cossette didn't know either, and if Jacques knew (he probably did), he wasn't telling. I tried to give the egg to Cossette, but she absolutely refused to take it from me. She wouldn't even hold it.

Alice, however, took to it immediately.

With a high-pitched squeal that I was fairly certain made my ears bleed, she attacked me. I hastily set down the egg so I could defend myself, but instead, she left me alone and settled down on the top of it. It was almost as large as she was, so it looked completely absurd, but she looked perfectly happy. I reached down, but she jabbed her beak fiercely into my hand. I hissed and drew it back, noting that it was already bleeding. She had a drop of blood on her white beak, too.

"Okay, it's yours," I told her, rummaging around with my uninjured hand in my bag for a bandage. I knew those extras would come in handy.

The rest of the team, on the other hand, took the egg as a minor development and was much more keen on the extra days they had for last minute training. Ike decided to take charge. "We will be leaving in two days, correct?"

"Um, yeah."

"Then we have two days to train. We," he nodded to Des and Carlita, "Are currently the strongest on the team. The ghost and the bird both have to train."

"Good luck getting Alice off of the egg." I half-meant it, too.

Ike smiled, taking it as a challenge. He slunk over to Alice and grinned at her, showing off his impressive canines. She stared up at him. She clearly wasn't very impressed. He narrowed his eyes, dropped he smile, and lowered himself so that he was eye-level with her. "Listen, you prissy, weak excuse for a bird, if you are going to be on this team, you will earn your place. That involves getting your fat tail feathers off of the egg and doing some training before I eat you."

Alice didn't take very kindly to that. Regardless of the size difference, type disadvantage, lower level, and lower rank on the food chain, she turned and gave him a glare that would stop a charging Tauros in its tracks. Ike didn't exactly squeal and run in the opposite direction, but he did lay his ears back and rose to his full height again. "Swablu," she chirped, snuggling down on the egg again.

"That went well," Des remarked. He didn't bother to keep the laughter out of his voice.

"Shut up," Ike growled, stalking off and leaving her with the egg. I rolled my eyes and sighed. If Ike couldn't get her away from it, then nothing short of the apocalypse would. "We will concentrate on training you instead, ghost. You will have to compensate for her weakness."

"Why me?" Konstantin asked reproachfully, shying away from him.

"You are the weakest on the team right now."

"I would think the weakest would be the egg." The Luxray snarled at him and he backed off with a nervous chuckle.

"They are going to battle? To become strong?" Cossette asked curiously. She sat down beside me (Jacques, once again, gave her a look for getting her dress dirty) and smiled brightly up at me. I nodded and sat beside her, crossing my legs. Jude also came over and sat on my other side, finishing up the audience.

Ike acted like a drill instructor. He had Carlita try to catch Konstantin while he peppered them both with Thunderbolts. He claimed it was training, but it was also sort of obvious that he wasn't holding back. On the upside, Carlita was getting a good workout and between her fighter's speed, her grass resistance to electricity, and the dance moves she was using to dodge the electricity with, she made out pretty good.

Konstantin really wasn't, though.

More than once he had to rush into the nearest shadow to escape a lunge from the Breloom or a Thunderbolt. He only got zapped twice, though, and Carlita kicked him face-first into the ground once. After awhile, he got better at dodging, and I thought maybe there was some method to Ike's madness.

"This is training?" Jude asked.

"For my team, I suppose it is." I tore my gaze away from watching Konstantin flail around and looked over at Alice. She was still perched on the egg, cloudy wings wrapped around both of them. She appeared to be dozing, though how she could with all of the crackling and screaming and shouting, I didn't know. So she was my fifth Pokemon, and that egg could feasibly be my sixth. The fact that she wasn't freaking out over the battle royale in front of us already told volumes; she was used to us. We could integrate her into the team with a bit more training and preferably, a translator.

As for the egg, however… I still didn't want it. But since Jacques would be Teleporting me, I had a couple days to pawn it off onto Cossette, right?

Wrong.

Two days later, I hadn't even managed to get Alice off of the egg, much less give it back to Cossette. On the upside, Alice was a stationary target and she knew it, so she got in some training regardless just defending herself and her adopted offspring. Konstantin, in his crash course of training, was more or less on equal footing with the rest of the team (Alice and the egg aside) and was even lashing out in retaliation at Ike occasionally. He seemed to figure out how to use Future Sight in battle, because he often started laughing minutes before something would happen to one of the others.

I was starting to sweat the time limit, though. Three days had passed since Volkner's phone call. He surely didn't expect me to be able to Fly to Sunyshore in that amount of time (did he?), but still. He said as soon as possible. I had been lax on that since I had Teleportation and it was starting to make me a little apprehensive.

"Shouldn't it be a smarter idea to get there and then cram? There will be more Pokemon around, more trainers, stronger Pokemon… Faster training, right?" I was nervous about that egg, too. Cossette had started referring to it exclusively as 'the egg of Alice', and Alice was more than content with that title. I didn't want to have to carry around an egg, since it couldn't go in a pokeball, and I likewise didn't want to advertise the fact that I only had five working Pokemon.

"It depends on how you look at it," Jude said with a yawn and a stretch. "It's too early for the philosophy of it, but basically, it boils down to whether or not you want your team known to the other trainers."

"Eh, I guess… Still, I wish there was a faster way to level them. I'm getting antsy. I want to leave, but I don't at the same time. I sort of like it out here, just training—"

"Too early for philosophy," Jude repeated.

"I'm leaving today," I told him irritably. That snapped him into proper consciousness. He glanced over at Cossette, who was just waking up, and then back at me. I nodded. "I don't want to wait any longer. If I get there early, then I'll train more there and just risk it. Maybe there will be someone I know who'll make it a moot point, anyway. And I'd rather be early than late…"

"Have you figured out how you're going to say goodbye to her?" Every time we had seriously mentioned the topic, Cossette either started pouting, latched onto me, or started her routine of threatening to cry. She only started that last one recently, so it must've been obvious that I was going to leave soon.

"Not yet." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. This whole thing made me nervous. Four Gym leader positions needed to be filled, and who knew how many trainers were going to be in Sunyshore. Plus all of the higher-ups… and foreign higher-ups to boot. That many strong trainers in one area was going to draw attention.

What if it drew Nick's attention.

He had admitted himself that he was still killing—trying to stop, but still killing nonetheless. I could see even from my short time with him that he wasn't completely stable anymore as well. I was in the stage of the cycle where I thought it was a bad idea again, and sure, he said he had wanted to be alone, go off somewhere and never bother humanity again. But what if he changed his mind? What if by turning down his invitation, I had only managed to make him angry? What if he decided to kill more? And what better place than Sunyshore with all of those important trainers…

"Hey." Jude broke me out of my thoughts by snapping his fingers in front of my face. I gave him a flat glare. "What are you going to do about Alice and your egg?"

"My egg—?"

"Don't even bother denying it anymore. Alice won't give up that egg for her life at this point. If you want to keep your bird, you're going to have to keep it," he replied triumphantly. I realized belated that that had been his plan all along. Not to get me attached to the egg, or even to keep Cossette from letting me return it, but to get Alice attached to the egg. Which had worked.

"Fine," I replied scathingly with eyes narrowed. "I'll keep the egg. It's a full team, happy now?"

"Oui!" Cossette chirped. She was now fully awake and apparently had been listening to the last few parts of the conversation. Thankfully, it seemed as if she hadn't heard the first part. She skipped over and took my arm in hers, beaming up at me. "You are welcome for the egg. It will be a good teammate, yes?"

"Uh, yeah. Thank you." I still had no idea what it would hatch into or when it would hatch. I would either have an egg or a baby Pokemon for this Sunyshore thing. Neither of which appealed to me, but at least it was a full team… Until then, I had to worry about Alice. Four strong Pokemon were all well and good, but I'd rather have five. Especially when most of the others would have six. I'd just have to see if I could pick out someone I knew from whoever ended up there (if all else failed, beg battles off of Gym leaders) and train Alice like crazy. And if that idea failed, well, I did have a couple of TMs saved up, so maybe one of those she could learn and offset her disadvantage.

First, though, I had to get to Sunyshore. That involved getting the little girl on my arm detached.

"Listen, Cossette… You know I have to leave. Today. I have to leave today."

"But—" Oh boy. The tears were already welling up in her eyes, and she pushed out her bottom lip in her signature pout. I grit my teeth and endured.

"I have to. There's no way around this one."

"You—You will come back to me one day?"

"Yeah, one day. Sometime. I pro—" I almost promised, too. But since Jacques was giving me the evil eye from across camp, I bit my tongue and held out on that one. I didn't want to have to break my word. "Some day, I'll come back and see you. Because I'll miss you. And then you can see my team again, after the egg hatches, and I can introduce the Pokemon inside to the kind little girl who gave it to me."

She blushed happily, blinking away most of her tears. "…Good. You will come back to me then. Soon?"

"Maybe not soon."

"Why not?"

"Cossette," Jude broke in gently, "He has to go become a Gym leader. Don't you want him to?"

Her eyes got impossibly large. I resisted the urge to groan; because that wasn't getting her hopes up. Even if it afforded me a good excuse for time, it also more or less meant I had to visit her after I became a Gym leader. Which was far from a surefire thing.

"Yes, then you will come back and see me once you become a Gym leader! And I will watch all of your battles! I will be your fan! I will be your favorite fan, yes?"

"Yeah, of course, Cossette." How could I respond with anything else?

"Bon! Good! Then you are still my favorite trainer." She hugged me warmly.

The goodbye was easy after that. I had a strange little lump in my throat, but aside from that, I just packed up my things and asked Jacques to take me to Sunyshore. Cossette hugged me again goodbye and tugged me down to her level and kissed me on the cheek. I admit I may have blushed a bit; it wasn't often I got kissed, and even if she was what, nine? Ten? She was still a cute girl. I grinned at her and kissed the top of her head in reply, which I swear almost made her swoon. Jude had both gloved hands clamped firmly over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud.

When Jacques dropped me off in Sunyshore City, the last thing he said to me was, "If you break Lady Cossette's heart, I'll break you." I didn't doubt it.

Ignoring that bad feeling and the sudden sadness at leaving my traveling companions, I walked into the Sunyshore Center, egg in my arms. And I was amazed at what I saw.

Chapter Text

There was no way this many trainers were invited. The Center was one of the larger ones in Sinnoh, and even so, it was packed full. Packed, really; I could only take a few steps into the Center before I was jostled and pushed and squished. I squawked in panic and tried my best to shelter the egg, elbowing people aside with my free arm, until I popped out on the other side of the room.

I fumbled the egg, and just as I caught it, someone across the room let out a shriek. The sound startled me so much I dropped it again.

One of the nearer trainers, sitting on the couch, reached forward and caught it before it hit the floor. He held it back up for me with a winning smile. "You almost dropped this, brother," he said. I took it from him, a little confused.

"Uh, I'm an only child—"

"You can't make me, you sexist, chauvinistic pig!" a woman screeched from across the room. I glanced nervously over my shoulder at the scene.

"That is just Sela Schaffer. Do not be alarmed; she is mostly harmless. She is just… loud," the helpful but odd trainer in front of me said. I turned back to him, clutching the egg tighter against me when I received another push. He scooted over and I gratefully sat beside him, hunched over the egg protectively. He chuckled at my behavior. "You are a very good mother. Is it one of yours?"

"Um, yeah. This is mine," I replied. I still wasn't sure what to make of it, but at least he wasn't the screaming woman on the other side of the room. Sela, was it?

"Will it hatch soon?"

"I… hope so." Jude had said it would only take a couple days, but it had been a couple days and the egg still wasn't doing much. Weren't eggs supposed to give off hints when they were close to hatching?

"What will it be?" He was perfectly polite, but I was still a little unnerved by his sociability. Trainers didn't talk that way with each other, not anymore. Maybe a couple years ago they did… I suddenly liked his friendliness a lot more. He was acting like a trainer pre-Nick Sayre.

"I'm not sure, actually. It was a gift."

"Oh?" He blinked, dropping his smile momentarily in favor of a slightly confused frown. "You said it was yours…? One of your Pokemon?"

"Oh! No, no it's not. Sorry. It's just on my team and one of my Pokemon sort of adopted it, but I don't know what it will actually be."

Across the room, Sela Schaffer started shouting again. More people pressed up against our side, undoubtedly making room for her. She sounded like a woman who deserved her room. "Volkner, I will sue the pants off you if you try to make me—"

"Calm down! This isn't sexism—"

"What else would it be?!"

"Uh, what are they arguing about?" I asked my newfound companion. I wish I wasn't sitting, but then again, I was sort of short for my age, so I doubted I would've been able to see anything, anyway. Still, the argument was loud enough to hear even over the din, and apparently involved Volkner.

"…I am not actually sure. Sela has been arguing with many different people for many different reasons already today," he replied thoughtfully. "You will get used to it, though. Are you here as a tourist, or are you for the Gym race?"

"Gym race?" I repeated, blinking at the term. Was that what it was called?

He grinned and leaned forward in delight, exclaiming, "Me too! Not all of the trainers in the Pokemon Center are here for that, and it is difficult to tell who is who anymore. More people keep arriving all the time. There is talk that soon they will move the trainers who have been invited here to a hotel."

A hotel would be nice. "When do you think that will be? It's sort of—crowded in here." Another person took a step too close and half-fell on me. I sheltered the egg as best I could and aimed a vicious kick at the assailant.

"Soon. Once Gym leader Volkner is less—"

"Attention! Attention, everyone!" We turned to Nurse Joy. She had a megaphone and was standing on the counter, waving her free arm in the air. The Center mostly quieted. "Will the trainers who have been invited here by the Gym leaders please come to the desk? Only the ones who haven't already checked in! If you have already checked in, would you please wait outside? We will be moving the group to a hotel shortly."

"Good call," I remarked. Too bad I had to make it to the front of the room. The crowd was still as thick as ever. I struggled to my feet, elbowing people out of the way, egg hugged against my chest. It would almost be easier to let Alice out and have her defend the egg. Next thing I knew, the helpful friend I had evidently made was beside me, flowing through the crowd like water. I eyed him enviously (especially after someone's arm made contact with the back of my head).

"I have already registered, but I will accompany you, brother. You look as if you are lost," he said before I could ask. He gave me that winning but humble smile of his again. Really, he had the weirdest smile. It was possibly the happiest one I'd ever seen, but it was in no way smug or sharp or anything but happy and, well, a smile. A completely innocent smile. It was maybe the way an angel would smile.

Someone accidentally hit me (again) and I stumbled forward, once again struggling to keep the egg in my grasp. I managed to grab it again before it hit the floor, but it caused me to run headfirst into someone's leg. The someone let out a high squeak and backed away from me. I looked guiltily up into their—no, her face.

My first impression was that she was cute. Not cute like Alice, or Carlita, or Cossette, or Hanna, or anything I'd ever called cute before. She had her own brand of cute. She had blonde hair so pale it was almost white with bangs that cut straight across big, dark, doe eyes. She also had a very red face.

"Oh, uh—I-I'm sorry!" I hastily straightened and put the egg between us like a shield. "I-I-I almost dropped my egg. I'm sorry!"

The girl recovered, though she was still blushing. "Just… Don't give me a scare like that again, okay? Man, am I ever glad I chose today to not wear a skirt… Well, uh, bye." She chuckled nervously and smiled at me for the first time.

"Y-Yeah," I replied lamely. I watched as she turned and disappeared into the crowd again. I lied. He didn't have an angel smile. She had an angel smile. I hardly noticed when the boy from before set a hand on my shoulder and started steering me through the mass of people to the desk again. "Hey—who was that?"

"I actually do not know. What I do know, however, is that she is like us. She is here for the Gym race as well. I saw her up at the desk earlier today."

So I didn't get her name. It occurred to me then that I didn't know anyone's name except Sela Schaffer's. I craned my head back to look at my helper. "What's your name then?"

"My name is Vaikuntha. You can call me Vai for short if you would prefer—most of the people here I have met so far prefer it." We reached the front desk at that point. He beamed at me and pointed back towards the door. "I should be going now. I should get out of the way. We will see each other again, yes?"

I nodded dumbly and Vaikuntha vanished into the crowd like the girl had. I noticed, a bit late, that he had the same sort of speech pattern as Cossette. Perhaps a little smoother and more natural, but the way he worded things was a little formal and, no, not awkward, but close to it. Stiff, maybe. But no, that didn't describe him properly, either. He probably spoke another language, I decided, and left it at that.