《Distant Dreamer (Pokemon Fanfiction)》


 The Fool 0

    Dull. That''s the best way to describe spending two hours at a coffee shop, watching the endless stream of nothing broadcast on the television. Wasting the minutes away before being pulled into the monotonous task of work.


    8:47


    It''s a wonder how I spend most of my free time doing the same ritual over and over.


    Walk in, order a cup of coffee, occasionally sipping the caffeine filled substance before eventually leaving it half untouched and spending the rest of the time watching TV while subconsciously stacking dominos.


    8:48


    Currently there''s a match going on between Flint and some other guy. It¡¯s Flint¡¯s Steelix against this poor schmucks Piplup. I don''t know why they bother to broadcast these fights, most of them end with some rando getting wiped across the floor. ¡°People¡± these days will watch anything, as long as it is bright and flashing.


    I barely take in half of the noise coming from the small speakers, not even bothering to read the captions. Most of my attention is on the small numbers plastered on the corner of the screen.


    8:49


    While dull, this place is quiet. The noise from the TV and the occasional customer are quiet enough to become white noise. I like it when it''s quiet, it allows me to get lost in my thoughts and reflect on what''s happening in life, which isn''t much, but it''s better than going through pointless cases or pitting on a show for some self righteous suits.


    8:50


    I turn my attention to my stack of dominos. It seems that I made a mini replica of Mt. Pyre. I take a second to admire my unconscious work before scraping the set of dominos into my bag and standing to leave. Trudging toward the entrance I took in the near silence of the shop one last time, wishing I could spend at least five more minutes sitting down, staring at television lost in thoughts that at the end of the day mean nothing. I make a mental note to try to come here earlier tomorrow before opening the door.


    As soon as I step out there''s an explosion of noise. A combination of voices drowning out every other audible noise, all while fighting each other to be heard. My thoughts are taken over by the multitude of conversations that surround me.


    While I make my way toward the Hearthome police station I hear conversations about the recent Aether Foundation Incident from two shopkeepers, a story about the Old Chateau from a group of kids, and a constant back and forth between two Murkrow.


    ¡°When boss gets here you¡¯re dead!¡±


    ¡°No, our boss is way stronger than yours, this place is ours!¡±


    Ah, another fight over territory. I guess it¡¯s in their nature. It doesn¡¯t make their pointless argument any less annoying. I hear a nearby kid tell one of their friends that the two Murkrow were friends talking about their day. I had to stop myself from telling them the reality of the situation and ruining their world views. It would be funny as shit to tell them that the Murkrow would probably rather kill themselves than be ¡°friends¡±, but I don¡¯t need a deduction in my pay at the moment because some angry mom told the chief I scarred her kids for life.


    I get to the station doors, but I''m stopped by a flyer for the Hearthome pokemart, stapled on the nearby board. According to the advertisement there''s a 50% off sale on medicine items today until 3. I stand idly by for a few seconds debating if grabbing some stuff is really worth being late by a few minutes. The dumbass part of me takes over as I turn to make a quick detour to the market.


    ¡­


    The conglomerate of noise stops as soon as I enter the station. It''s not as quiet as the coffee shop, but it''s bearable enough to get me through the day. I head towards the offices, prepared to start my shift. As I pass the rows of my coworkers. I once again pick up on their and their pokemon¡¯s conversations.


    If all I was going to do today was sit at a desk and work, then I''d prefer it to be an unremarkable day, a day I could cruise through without needing to put much thought into what I was doing. Sadly, that hope didn¡¯t last very long. As I make it to my desk, I¡¯m greeted by a man whose presence I wouldn¡¯t  wish upon anyone. Ben stands next to my desk taking a sip from a tacky Valentine''s Day coffee mug. ¡°So, what took you so long to clock in today?¡±


    Ben was a tall guy in his early thirties. He has been on the force for about eight years in which he managed to get transferred to the boonies for two of them due to an ¡°incident¡±. His overall performance on the job could only be described as sloppy. He barely passed the written exam which explains why he¡¯s violated procedure on multiple occasions. Just by looking at him, someone who didn¡¯t know him could tell that Ben was indeed an asshole.


    ¡°You know, this can¡¯t keep on happening. I¡¯m sorry but I gotta report this.¡± He says with the biggest shit-eating grin ¡°You need to learn to take some responsibility, I¡¯m just trying to teach you these lessons early so you don''t fall into bad habits, okay.¡±


    I doubt that the higher ups will do anything since I''m three minutes late, but that doesn¡¯t stop me from getting pissed off. I¡¯ve been this guy''s target for a good amount of time now, mainly since I''m the youngest person on the force to be a detective and actually accomplish stuff, at the very least more than he has. That has actually put me at a bit of a celebrity status, if only briefly. ¡°Young Prodigy Alvis Volpe Becomes a Detective at Age 17¡± It was all over the newspapers back when I was first appointed a detective, but the popularity was more of a fad since it didn¡¯t take long for the news to be drowned out by the next big thing, in this case the Team Flare Incident.


    That left my accomplishments as just some fun facts to bring up and my experience and age as leverage Ben could use. Just because he¡¯s a talentless, brain dead Komala doesn¡¯t mean he needs to take out his anger on me. Although he''s been here longer, by no means does he outrank me so it¡¯s hilarious that he thinks that reporting me will do anything.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Thank you, I will keep that in mind going forth.¡± I say while giving my most convincing smile.


    He gives a satisfied look like he just saved a bunch of orphans by reporting my ass and walks away. As I watch the ungifted and moronic failure leave, I sit down to review the information of the latest case. This one was about an incident that happened three weeks ago. According to the document an someone''s Lucario, Toxicroak, Infernape, Sableye and Rotom, went on a rampage and destroyed some stuff over at the Veilstone mall. Dumbass kids can''t keep their own shit together.


    This is a waste of my time. I don¡¯t know why Looker wants me to go through these cases when I¡¯ve worked on more pressing things before.


    While reading the information, I lose track of time, but after a while the chief of police walks into the room.


    ¡°Volpe! In my office now!¡±


    Everything goes completely silent.


    There¡¯s no fucking way.


    I get up, walking toward the chief''s office. On my I sneak a passing glance at Ben. The guy is grinning like a mad man. If this is what I think it is, I¡¯m going to break that coffee mug over the empty skull and force him to swallow the shards.


    You know what? It''s probably not that. I¡¯m sure the chief has better things to do than split hairs over one guy being a few minutes late.


    I enter his office and take a seat. I spot the chief Arcanine at the side of his desk, staring me down. Arcanine are known to be on the more intimidating and powerful side when it comes to the pokemon commonly used by police. Usually they¡¯re used to keep people in line as they can be pretty vicious. But we are currently in a police owned building which pretty much reduces all the risk of it doing anything to zero. So I wave to it as I lounge in the chair, taking a coin out of my pocket and flipping it, occasionally switching from hand to hand.


    I hear the door close and watch as the chief makes his way to the back of his desk. The chief¡¯s a bit on the heavier side. He himself doesn''t see too much action nowadays, but apparently the guy has seen his share of events. Hell even now he could probably kill someone with a single punch to the head.


    As he sits down the Arcanine adjusts position, sitting at attention. There''s a long silence as the chief adjusts the nameplate on his desk.


    Ripley Aaron


    ¡°Well sir, you called?¡±


    He takes a second before answering.


    ¡°Volpe, I have an assignment for you.¡±


    Thank Arceus almighty this isn¡¯t about something as retarted as being late for three minutes.


    ¡°Yea, sure lemme hear it.¡±


    ¡°I want you to investigate the old Team Galactic warehouse.¡±


    The Team Galactic case was taken on by Looker just a year before I joined. Not a lot about them has come up since their leader threw himself into a portal to who knows where. We managed to arrest a few before they completely jumped ship. One of the cases that put me in the spotlight was the arrest of the admin Jupiter.


    ¡°So did you find one of the other two in the area? I¡¯ll be happy to-¡±


    ¡°No, that''s not it¡±


    I pause scanning his face, it looks a bit more grim compared to when he first sat down.


    ¡°There have been reports of figures spotted inside the building. From the surveillance footage, it seems that no one has entered or exited the building.¡±


    ¡°So I''m hunting ghosts?¡±


    The chief is starting to look agitated, so I shut up in hopes of not getting punched through a wall.


    ¡°The silhouettes of the figures resemble those of Giovanni¡¯s group.¡±


    I miss the coin on its current flip. I watch it fall to the floor and roll away.


    Team Rocket. That piqued my interest. Just mentioning them brings back some pretty bad memories I¡¯d rather forget, but a part of me is curious about the current status of the organization. As much as I would rather dissociate from them as much as possible, a few questions have been eating at me. Maybe this is a chance for me to look into things privately.


    ¡°Rocket? Like the guys that used to be somewhat capable of things, but went to shit after their Giovanni left?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The chief answers in a dry tone.


    ¡°With all due respect sir, the only thing these ¡­ ¡°people¡± accomplished after Giovanni left was an attack on a radio station in order to beg for him to come back, and he didn¡¯t. They haven''t been seen ever since,  if they were doing something in there, I doubt it would hurt anyone¡±


    The chief gives me a stern look.


    ¡°Our job is to protect the people, it does not matter if you view them as competent or not, if these criminals have even the slightest chance to become dangerous or a threat to the public, we need to make sure they don¡¯t.¡±


    Protecting people, it¡¯s definitely a part of the job.  It may sound completely terrible to say, but whenever I do work like this, the amount of people I could save or help is never at the forefront of my mind. It¡¯s almost always just an afterthought. What comes to mind first is usually the accomplishment of solving the odd case that no one else could or wants to do. It probably makes me selfish, but if the general public benefits from it then I don¡¯t see the moral issue of the motivation not being noble.


    ¡°Well if you say so. I¡¯ll do it, but I doubt I¡¯ll need anyone other than myself to do the initial investigation.I think it would be more productive to send in the rest of the force once we have enough information. Plus if there are people inside the building that can be a threat, a smaller group is less likely to turn them hostile, wouldn''t you say?¡±


    The chief scoffs and looks away for a few seconds, pondering his decision.


    ¡°You will investigate the building two days from now. On that day you''ll be given a search warrant. You will report back in 24 hours, if not I will immediately send people in. Do you understand?¡±


    Sounds fair.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    ¡°Dismissed¡±


    As I exit the office and walk back to my desk I see Ben giving me the same shit-eating grin as before. This time I smile back at him and his expression changes immediately.


    Once I''m back at my desk I look at the clock. 3:36pm. About two and a half hours before I can go home. I turn back to the stack of files cluttered around my desk.


    Team Rocket


    White rooms, blinding lights, painted clouds, children''s toys, numbers, crying, lab coats, metal tables.


    This is definitely going to be an interesting encounter.


    ¡­


    It''s 7:48pm when I finally make it back to my apartment. It''s not much, just one main room, a bedroom and a washroom, but rent isn¡¯t bad. As I enter I¡¯m hit with the familiar fleeting scent of last week''s air freshener. Trying to permanently get rid of the smell of wet clothing is an ill-fated task so buying cheap air freshening products is the only way to get by.


    After I lock the door, I slump down on the floor trying to figure out how I''m going to deal with what''s about to happen. After a few minutes of shooting down my own ideas, I decide to just leave myself to my own fate.


    I take out the six poke balls from my bag and release all of them. Before me appear an Infernape, a Sableye, an Inteleon, a Levanny, an Umbreon, and a Galvantula. Then like the passengers of the Titanic, I''m drowned in a sea, a sea of endless complaints. Some are about how I should have let them out, some about how I can¡¯t do anything without them, and a few about how they would rather be with Ben. That last one seems a bit extreme even if it wasn¡¯t serious.


    Their tones quickly change once I tell them they have free rein over the fridge. I''m nearly trampled to death in a race between five blood thirsty contestants. The only one that doesn''t use me as a carpet is Juno. The Levanny drags me to the couch, placing a blanket over my now barely functioning body, and calmly walks toward the war happening in front of the fridge.


    That''s gonna leave a mess I''m gonna have to clean in the morning.


    Before I pass out from a combination of exhaustion and pain I fish around my bag. It takes a bit, but I find the protein capsule I bought from the market earlier. I scan the battleground formally known as my apartment and see Ashley my Infernape, wielding a leftover fried Combusken leg from a few days ago while fending off Nubbins the Sableye.


    It¡¯s a tough shot but¡­ THWACK. The capsule hits her on the side of the head, she instinctively grabs it before it falls checking the thrown object. As soon as she realizes what it is she drops the piece of meat which Nubbins grabs out of the air with his mouth and scampers away.


    Ashley¡¯s eyes begin to dilate, she holds the protein like she finally achieved her life''s biggest goal.


    Fuckin addict, are my last thoughts before drifting into sleep.

 The Magician 1

    I was eight again, in a room with multiple other children ages ranging from six to fifteen. We were all dressed in completely white identical looking long sleeve shirts and baggy pajama pants. The room itself was a light blue colour with painted clouds on the ceiling.


    All of us were sat down in a row, attention on the man with glasses in front of us. Contrary to us, the man was in an all black suit and dress pants. His name tag, which hung around his neck read ¡°Rudolph Ludwig¡±. We were told to only address him as Dr. Ludwig, Mr. Ludwig or teacher.


    Today Dr. Ludwig was once again teaching us the importance of our gift. How it was a miracle that we were born and we should be using our gift for a greater cause.


    We were able to not only understand people but also any species of pokemon. This was the fundamental truth that separated us from normal people. We were better, better than the rest of the stuff that walked the earth. We were superior beings.


    It was Dr. Ludwig¡¯s job to extract any flaws or misled ways of thinking, and teach us how to be leaders of humanity.


    In order to become better we would constantly be competing against each other in ¡°games¡±. Today''s game was pretty simple, chess. Some days we would be playing a mock quiz show, in which they would list multiple scenarios and we had to say the best way of handling the situation. While the game was different every day, there was one constant. The losers were given half of what they normally eat while the winners got the other half.


    There wasn¡¯t a lot of comradery between us since, for one, every game played was specifically chosen to pit us against each other, and two, we were told that you should never do anything unless you can see a benefit to it.


    There was one time where one of the other older guys made a friend with one of the younger kids. Turned out he was taking advantage of their ¡°friendship" to get the kid to throw every match against him.


    While a pretty scummy thing to do, it¡¯s hard to hate the guy since before this he was usually on the losing end of games for months. He barely looked like he was getting by on the food given to him.


    Dr. Ludwig was actually surprised with this development and rewarded the older kid with a guaranteed share of the winning food, regardless if he won or lost that day. From that moment onwards the only time anyone talked to one another was when it was necessary for the games.


    After the day''s games the next section was spent running drill battles. Everyone was to bring their assigned pokemon.


    After the fights it was only the winner that was healed, which usually led to a snowball effect of the loser going into fights already injured making the battle a one sided slaughter. The only time we were able to switch pokemon was when our current one permanently couldn''t fight and ¡°was no longer useful¡±, evidently this only happened to the constant losers.


    As people who can understand both humans and pokemon, it was only logical that their purpose along with the rest of the world was to elevate us. That at least was the reasoning Dr.Ludwig had given.


    Dinner today was a mixture of potatoes and some kind of meat. I was one of the winners, like always. I look up to see a group of the losing kids whose expressions ranged from rage to complicit.


    At the end of the day we were all sent to assigned rooms. Every door was white with a black name tag in the middle. Every room was sorted alphabetically. I walked down the long hallway of doors passing multiple names and cameras that hung on the ceiling, until I stopped at the K section. I turned to face my assigned room.


    Kenny


    ¡ª


    It was about 4:30 am when I woke up. I spent some time staring at the ceiling, contemplating my dream. That specific dream wasn''t a first, but it''s been a while since the last time I had it. About Three years give or take.


    Then I remembered the coffee shop. Now''s not a bad time to get going. As I get up a sour stench assaults my nose. Well so much for the air freshener I scan the area. The place is a mess. There''s a bunch of half eaten food in random places, the garbage was knocked over, and worse, the idiots responsible litter my floor. I carefully maneuver around, recalling each one. Then I spend the next 45 minutes cleaning the apartment.


    After the place looks as good as before and doesn''t smell like a zoo, I prepare myself for today and what comes tomorrow.


    I should probably bring in Blitz, and Tora. If Tora could get the old teleporters in the building working it would make traversing the place a lot easier. Blitz on the other hand is basically a portable tank. If things get unfortunate I can probably just send him out to deal with it.


    After doing a bit of thinking I finally decide on the other four I''ll bring tomorrow. I write down a list of the things I''ll probably need to restock on. Just some potions and elixirs if things get drawn out.


    On my way to the coffee shop I stop by the market again. Reaching into my bag, I pull out Ashley¡¯s pokeball and toss it in front of me.


    As soon as it opens a wave of heat hits me as Ashley springs out of the ball.


    ¡°Hell yea! Who are we fighting today!¡±


    I hand the excited primate the list I made along with some cash.


    ¡°We''re doing something tomorrow. You¡¯re on shopping duty. If there is a single cent spent on something that isn''t on the list, you can forget about getting that protein stuff for a while. You can find me at the  coffee shop down the road when you¡¯re done.¡±


    She takes a look at the list, then to me.


    ¡°You''re not actually serious are you? First time I''m able to do something this week and it''s just this?¡±


    ¡°Look, we are doing something important tomorrow. I don''t care if you haven''t got to fight in a while, or if you think that you can be doing something better right now, just do it.¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    She groans and turns to enter the building, but not before tripping me with her tail as I turn to leave.


    ¡°Whoops¡±


    I get up and dust myself off.


    Really. It''s just one thing, does she have to be petty over it.


    In the meantime I take a trip to the pokecenter, switching a few of my pokemon for others who would be a bit more beneficial for the current task. Other than Ashley, I now have Blitz, Tora, Taion, Juno, and Lucas.


    During my little excursion it had started raining. Not too much of a problem for me since I''d be waiting inside the shop next door, but Ashley''s still out getting stuff.


    Maybe I should have checked the weather.


    Eh, who cares. It''s on her if she can''t handle a little water.


    After getting the preparations sorted out I sit at my usual spot at the shop and take out my dominos. After spreading out the white rectangular pieces I turn my attention to the TV.


    Today they¡¯re broadcasting the aftermath of the Aether Foundation incident, one of the cases I actually asked to be a part of, but they refused. Said that I ¡°didn¡¯t have enough experience¡± so they chose Looker instead. I would be more mad, but this is one of the rare moments where they picked the objectively better person, so I can¡¯t really complain.


    The report goes into detail about how the head of the company used a portal to go into another dimension. Where have I heard that one before?


    After that broadcast the news switches to some incident in Unova where two people went missing near Seaside Cave. An investigation was conducted, but there wasn¡¯t a single trace left of them.


    A flash comes from the window next to me. I turn my head to see that in the few minutes I''ve spent here, it went from a light drizzle to a thunderstorm and completely pouring.


    I feel like I''m forgetting something. Must not be important so I turn my head back to the TV.


    A few minutes go by. While they are conducting interviews with some of the foundation staff members, I hear the door open and the store''s temperature jumps up way more than it naturally should. Oh yea that''s what it was.


    Knowing who it is I decide to take the mick and act like I don¡¯t notice. If she wanted to be petty then two could play that game.


    As she walks closer I am able to get a good visual without needing to turn my head. She''s soaked and fucking livid.


    The longer I ignore her the more pissed off she gets.


    By the time she''s right beside me she looks like she''s about to explode. Even so I''m not too worried.


    I take a look at her, giving my best poker face.


    ¡°Whoops.¡±


    Due to her little display of a tantrum all eyes are on her, and I know the she wouldn''t-


    Then it happens in slow motion. Out of the corner of my eye I see a white bag. It gets closer and closer until, *THUNK*. The bag full of supplies makes contact with my face. The force at which it was swung and weight of its contents are enough to knock me off my chair.


    As I fall my arms hit the domino stack next to me knocking half of the set and my now cold coffee off the table, which all happens to land on me.


    After the initial shock wears off I stare up at Ashley. She raises the hand with the bag, ready to do it again.


    I quickly grab her pokeball out of my bag and recall her.


    The bag falls to the floor. No sounds signaling that anything broke so that''s at least a positive.


    As I get up I take a second to assess the situation. I''ve been hit in the face by my own Infernape, which led to coffee being spilt all over my work clothes, and creating a mess of coffee and dominoes all over the floor, in front of a good handful of people.


    Fucking hell this sucks.


    I throw my dominos into my bag, grab the supplies and tip a few more dollars than I usually do.


    Once I''m outside I notice it has stopped raining, one of the only fortunate things that happened recently.


    On my way back to my apartment I avoid looking at anyone.


    As my pants cling to my leg due to the moisture forcing me into an awkward waddle, I hear the laughter of one of the Murkrow from yesterday. I have half a mind to fire off a blank near it, but I refrain from doing so, don''t need to get into any more trouble right now.


    Once I reach my apartment I change out of the coffee stained attire, ditching white dress shirt for an azure blue one and the red tie for a yellow one.


    I roll the discarded clothes into a ball and send out Taion to take them to the laundromat.


    Reviewing the bag of supplies, there are a few Full Restores, 5 revives, some Antidotes, bottles of Paralysis Heal, bottles of Burn Heal, and elixirs. Exactly what was on the list.


    I stare at the different shaped bottles for what feels like a century.


    I should probably apologize, what I did was pretty shitty. I reach for Ashley¡¯s ball, but decide against it last second.


    I check the time. It''s only 8:00 am. The chief¡¯s not really expecting me to come in today since this is supposed to be my day to prepare, so now I gotta figure out how to spend the rest of the day.


    I check my fridge. Everything that has been cooked is gone, barely anything that wasn''t is left.


    Porkchop, let''s go with that.


    The oil sizzling is the only sound that can be heard while I cook the slab of meat. That''s when I realized for the first time in a while that it¡¯s quiet. I didn''t actually let anyone else out except for Taion.


    Sitting down to eat, I take in the silence and the fact that I''ve been in my apartment for a few minutes and it hasn''t been trashed. The gift of being alone.


    Looking at the meat in front of me, I get thoughts of what kind of pokemon it was when it was alive. I mean it was labeled as Grumpig meat, but what kind of stuff did it do when it was alive, was it considered good by whatever lived with it or was it an asshole.


    I had to quickly dismiss these thoughts from my head, else I wouldn''t be able to eat the thing.


    Half way through my meal I see something to the right of me move. When I turned to look I saw a Zorua. It was sitting on the floor staring at me. My mood immediately dropped.


    ¡°Zeke?¡±


    The Zorua didn''t react. It just sat there unmoving. I got up and started to approach it.


    Suddenly there was a knock on the door. I instinctively turned my head to the sound, then looked back.


    The Zorua was gone.


    A bit worried for my mental state, I trudged over and open the door. Taions back with my clothes. Thankfully nothing stained so as thanks I let him eat the rest of my breakfast, I completely lost my appetite.


    I walk over to my room, taking out the evidence given to me for the case.


    Before leaving work yesterday, the chief gave me a few copies of the surveillance tapes. While I have the basic information, it wouldn¡¯t be a waste to review them. Sure enough from every so often there are silhouettes of people moving in the building. It happens so few times that I have to fast-forward through most of the recording. For the most part, the camera¡¯s too far away to make out anything about the people in particular, but on the third tape there are a few noticeable features on one of them.


    One silhouette that gets close enough to the camera seems to have a practically bald head with a wisp of hair stemming from around his forehead. I recognise him as Petrel, one of the Executives of team rocket who assisted in the Goldenrod radio raid.


    So I guess that confirms that the organization is still being run by half-wits.


    I keep on scrubbing through the footage, not finding anything too interesting, until I see a different silhouette.


    This one is outside of the building. The actual person is standing outside of the camera''s view. I watch for a few seconds, but the person doesn''t move. They just stand there in front of the building. I skip a few minutes ahead, The person still hasn''t moved. I skip an hour then two, still no movement. Then out of nowhere the silhouette disappears. I rewatch the clip over and over, it¡¯s there one second, but is gone the next.


    I try to look for any signs of the footage being cut or modified, but from what I can gather it¡¯s completely untouched.


    Well now I not only have to deal with a bunch of morons, but also a teleporting weirdo. Fun.


    I wonder why this wasn¡¯t brought up when discussing tomorrow''s mission. It¡¯s definitely possible that this was missed. If it was, maybe I should investigate it before reporting it to the brass.


    Deciding to keep the information to myself, I start taking notes on what has been found on the tapes.


    By the time I''m done it''s about 6pm.


    Leaving my room I spot Taion sleeping on the couch. I walk over to the fridge and take out a box of frozen pizza, one of the only things that wasn¡¯t gone.


    I throw it in the oven that has been beaten up a few times, but is still going strong and set it to heat up for 20 minutes.


    I sent out Juno and Lucas. I usually don''t let Tora out in spaces with technology that they shouldn''t be in and Blitz is a definite no in an apartment.


    I hesitate on Ashley. Don''t really know if I want to deal with something that is probably deserved right now.


    I give her ball to Juno telling her to let her out once the pizza¡¯s done.


    I mope back to my room, closing the door behind me and collapsing on my bed.


    The gift of being alone¡­


    Tomorrow will be a better day.

 The High Priestess 2

    5/10/2017


    Veilstone City


    8:00am


    I¡¯ve only been to Veilstone a few times before. Most of them were to help with the aftermath of the Team Galactic case.


    Now standing in front of their old warehouse fills me with some type of nostalgia. I didn¡¯t get to do too much before I arrested one of the Admins, but it was still a bit interesting to see the place that changed Sinnoh for better or for worse.


    Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic. According to the reports he wanted to recreate the world to get rid of strife and hostility. Apparently he got close to it too. It got to a point where even the champion of the region Cynthia, had to step in. During their confrontation Cyrus was successful in capturing both Dialga and Palkia, an unbelievable feat for just a man. He was only stopped by the interference of Giratina who dragged him into its world. If there weren''t eye witnesses and some recorded footage, the incident would seem completely fabricated.


    I wonder, what would it have been like if I was taught by you?


    I¡¯m pulled out of my thoughts by a tap on my shoulder. It¡¯s Taion. To the left of him is a knocked out Rocket member. He''s back from scouting out the entrance and connecting rooms that were displayed on archived blueprints of the building.


    ¡°Other than him they didn''t have anyone patrolling the main entrance. The floor is practically empty.¡±


    Taion is a bit of an interesting character. He was given to me by the chief since Inteleons are practically made for information gathering and taking out targets from a distance. He hasn¡¯t been a part of my team for very long, even still he seems completely loyal to me, which kind of freaks me out.


    I give him a thumbs up and inspect the incapacitated guard. I don''t think I''ve ever seen him before. His ID doesn¡¯t have too much on it and judging by his uniform alone I can tell he¡¯s a low ranking member. I guess it will do. I pocket his ID and take parts of his uniform that are easy to throw on.


    Doing a run down of the stuff I currently have on me, a key stone for Blitz if things get that bad, three radio¡¯s just in case, an empty usb my six shooter, currently loaded with 5 live rounds and one blank, 18 live reserve shots and three blanks, a small camera, and finally the supplies Ashley got yesterday.


    Speaking of, I look up to find Ashley talking to Taion. She usually stretches before these types of jobs so I released her from her pokeball while Taion was scouting. She¡¯s still pretty pissed off at me from yesterday. On the bright side she doesn¡¯t seem like she wants to actively harm me anymore, but she doesn''t seem like wants to be near me right now either. Feeling guilty sucks, and it¡¯s not like I made an effort to talk to her after that. She doesn''t usually stay mad for too long. I could just buy her another can of protein after this mission, maybe then she¡¯ll let bygones be bygones¡­ probably.


    While milling over what the best course of action is to remedy yesterday''s incident, I hear footsteps approaching from the left.


    I turn to see a young man standing just a few steps away from me. His appearance takes me off guard due to how unusual it looked. He had completely white hair and shining sky blue eyes. He wore a white dress shirt with contrasting black overalls. Wrapped around his neck hung a red scarf that went down to the cut off between his shirt and pants. He looks younger than me, but only slightly.


    ¡°Hi mister. What are you doing?¡±


    As I collect myself I notice that both Ashley and Taion have now shifted their focus to the newcomer.


    This guy doesn''t look like he¡¯s a part of Rocket, so it should be fine to go with the protocol response. I take out my ID and show it to him.


    ¡°Alvis Volpe, current lead detective, I¡¯m with the Sinnoh police department. I''m sorry, I don¡¯t think I can really tell you what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    I barely hear Ashely mumbling.


    ¡°More like lead defective.¡±


    I chose to ignore that and focus back on the person in front of me.


    ¡°I could ask you the same thing. This is private property, you shouldn''t be here.¡±


    The boy smiles.


    ¡°Well sir, someone in there has something that was mine-¡± As he explains he points to the Galactic warehouse. ¡°If you find it, can you give it back to me?¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­  Sure. What did they take?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see it.¡±


    I reach in my pocket for a notebook and flip to a blank page.


    ¡°Okay then¡­ Can I get your name?¡±


    But when I look up he¡¯s gone. There was no sound of him leaving or trace that he was there. He just disappeared. Creepy.


    I look over to Taion and Ashley who were once again having their own conversation, already have lost all interest in the kid. Well I guess I possibly found the other person in the recordings. He doesn''t seem to be associated with Rocket other than whatever they took from him.


    I''ll deal with him later, right now getting as much information in my 24 hours is the top priority. I recall Ashley much to her disappointment and order Taion to follow me while camouflaged. I put on the Rocket uniform which feels like a size too big and enter the building.


    Tiaon was right when he said that it was empty here. Not only was there a lack of people, but also the furniture that was placed all over the first few rooms the last time I was here. Really, the only thing of note was the hum of the fluorescent lights that were scattered throughout the building. I check my phone and realize that there is no signal inside the building. Figures, probably have something stopping any type of communication to the outside somewhere here. Both using the radios and calling into the station are off the table until that gets taken care of.


    I make my way to the second floor and as soon as I finish climbing the stairs I see a few Team Rocket grunts chatting. Like with the last guy, I don¡¯t recognize these two, in fact they look pretty young. For an organization whose leader abandoned them years ago, it''s surprising how they are getting new recruits.


    The two spot me, stopping me before I can pass.


    ¡°Hey, it''s not time to rotate yet. Get back down there.¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    I can hear the uneasiness in his voice. Since he¡¯s new it probably won''t take too much to convince him to drop it.


    ¡°Nothing is going to happen, no one ever goes near the building much less in it. If you''re so worried, go and watch the entrance yourself, I''m getting something to eat.¡±


    The grunt shrugged and went back to his conversation. I guess with enough confidence you can seem like you belong anywhere.


    The first thing I should do is get a few pictures of the people here, next is to find any source of information whether it be a computer they have here or just by word of mouth, finally I should probably shut down whatevers interrupting the signal here. Since I don¡¯t really have an idea of what it looks like at the moment the easiest way to go about this seems to be shutting down all the technology in here, so definitely save that for last.


    I spent a couple of minutes walking up and down the halls, both listening to conversations going on between grunts and pokemon, and trying to find something that looked like it was the cause of the lack of signal.


    After searching a few of the rooms I found a green glowing platform surrounded by wires. One of the 18 teleporters in the building. The blueprints I have describe them as a two way linked transportation system. Apparently if I were to take this one now it would send me to a hallway on the third floor. Now even though each teleporter can only be linked to one other one at a time, they are all connected by the same system.


    I take a few steps away from the teleporter and send out Tora. As soon as the Porygon-Z is released it starts to look around the room while buzzing violently.


    From what I heard, Porygon-Z were created by an experiment to use Porygon 2 to enter other dimensions through the use of computers. It backfired and started to corrupt the Porygon 2 making them stronger, but deforming them. After that further experiments were banned. Some rogue scientists were pretty persistent, and were able to capture one of the Porygon-Z without the government noticing.


    They once again tried to make this one cable of universal travel, repeatedly failing, but giving the Porygon-Z more capabilities and deformities. It was only after a particularly explosive attempt that alerted the Sinnoh government to what they were doing, sending me and a few others in to deal with it. On the official statement, the Porygon-Z was lost in the explosion, but you know what they say, finders keepers.


    ¡°Hey buddy¡± I wave to Tora to get their attention. ¡°Can you do something for me?¡±


    Although I''m able to understand when pokemon speak, Tora has been through so many deformities and corruptions that nothing they say is legible. It''s kinda sad, but they don''t seem to mind it too much. Communicating with them is a bit of a struggle since I mostly have to go off of the noises they make mixed in with the spasms.


    ¡°I need you to connect this,-¡± I point at the teleporter, ¡°to this one.¡± I point to one of the teleporters on the fourth floor. ¡°Got it?¡±


    Tora takes a few seconds to look at the picture then at the teleporter. There are a few seconds where they rapidly turn to look back and forth. Then they make a beeping noise and their arm? Leg? Appendage things start spinning around their body. I guess that''s a yes then.


    Tora makes their way to the teleporter and their form dissolves into it. The device stalls and stops glowing, but then immediately turns back on, now glowing a light blue. I step onto the teleporter as it begins to light up. There''s a flash of light and I find myself in a different room. I check the hallway and sure enough I''m on the fourth floor. A few seconds later Taion also comes through. The teleporter shuts off and Tora reforms beside the current entrance. While not too great of a conversation buddy, Tora makes a pretty good sentient virus.


    I recall Tora and continue my exploration.


    The hallway only had one other door and once through it, I realized that I found myself in this mess hall. To my surprise there aren''t too many people here. Just a few grunts. Specific rankings seem to range, but the majority seem to be low.


    I walk up to a group and sit down. None of them seem to take any particular interest in the rando who just sat down beside them. Most of them seem occupied by their current meal.


    ¡°Hey. Sorry, I''ve been watching the first floor for a while, why are there so few people here?¡±


    One grunt responds without looking up.


    ¡°Everyone''s in the auditorium, execs are explaining the plan for our next mission.¡±


    ¡°That bad, ay?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Rockets losing the support of their basic grunts now, that''s great.


    I get up to leave before one of them stops me. Putting his hand on my arm.


    ¡°Hay, why haven''t I seen you here before.¡±


    There is a shift in the air and I can tell that Taion is ready to shoot the guy.


    Before he can do anything I clear my throat and begin talking to the grunts.


    ¡° Well I think I''ve seen you around in passing, and you''ve probably seen me too. I don¡¯t talk a lot so I tend to forget most faces in the sea of people here so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was the same for you. ¡±


    They just roll their eyes and let me go, continuing to eat whatever this place serves.


    I use the map to make my way to the auditorium room, which is back on the second floor.


    The hallways are completely empty and there don''t seem to be any cameras around.


    ¡°Why are you like this?¡± I ask the air beside me.


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°You act like I''m Arceus or something, cut it out, it''s weird.¡±


    ¡°Well master, I-¡±


    ¡°Please don''t call me that.¡±


    ¡°Sir-¡±


    ¡°It''s just Alvis¡±


    ¡°Alvis sir, believe it or not, you are not actually my original trainer.¡±


    ¡°Yea I could have guest that from the fact that you were given to me by someone else.¡±


    ¡°My original trainer was a very elegant man, we were partners in the Galar Police Department. He raised me ever since I was a Sobble who couldn''t defend itself.¡±


    ¡°So what made you come here? Did you get sick of the bad weather there or something?¡±


    ¡°He died.¡±


    This makes me pause for a second. Fuck, that was sudden. I have no idea why he''s bringing this up now.


    ¡°Oh, sorry for you-¡±


    ¡°It was during a robbery. We were the first ones on to reach the scene of the crime and come in contact with the suspects. There were hostages and my partner-¡±


    Taion pauses for a second.


    My partner was a really kind man who wanted to help others and for that he got a bullet to the heart for it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t really ask for his life story, but it would be pretty rude to interrupt, so I don¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°I hated myself ever since, I wished I could have done something, anything to prevent that from happening, but I had to just accept that there wasn''t and he was gone. It pains to think about how protecting him was my one job and I failed him. Then watching as his death was just treated as a statistic on a report. ¡±


    Ah, that¡¯s all too true. I¡¯ve known a few officers who have died during a few missions. Although everyone mourns at first and they do get some special funeral service, nothing really happens after that. Someone takes their place and life goes on. It doesn¡¯t really feel like they left any mark on the world like many hope.


    ¡°I was really about to give up, but then I was transferred over here and was given to you. While you''re not my old partner by any stretch of the imagination and you can be a bit unsavory at times, you''re still my trainer. Everyone has their own struggles and I can see that you''re trying.¡±


    I look down at the floor.


    ¡°So I''ll stick with you until the day I die¡±


    ¡®You''re still my trainer. Everyone has their own struggles and I can see that you''re trying.¡¯ Those words stick in my head.


    There''s a moment of silence between us.


    ¡°Thanks Taion.¡±


    We eventually make it to the auditorium and before entering I hold out the small camera I have. The Inteleon takes it and I watch as he turns invisible, the camera being blocked by his back, cape thing.


    The auditorium is almost completely dark as there are some admins going over some type of plan. I order Taion to stand out of the way while I take an empty seat next to another grunt. I recognize the executives running the show as Proton, Petrel, Ariana, and Archer, although there was another one off to the side who I once again couldn¡¯t recognise. They were wearing a similar uniform to most of the grunts, expert they wore a white mask around their face. They should be at least higher ranking than most of the grunts here since she was standing alongside the executives, albeit not doing anything for their presentation.


    The executives rambled on for minutes, each talking about some really dumb plans that they came up with. All of them don¡¯t have the slimmest chance of actually working. There was one to have the grunts distract the elite four while the executives took out Cynthia. Fat chance, last time all four of them got taken out by one of Lance''s pokemon alone. Another one involved the recapture of their one Mew science experiment that killed the scientist working on it. Finally another attempt to recall Giovanni using a different radio tower.


    It honestly pisses me off how these people are considered leaders of something. I had to work my ass off in order to get where I am and these clowns are just standing here spouting garbage. I can''t fathom how this organization still functions.


    Although this cemented that Team Rocket right now was nowhere near more dangerous than the shit on my shoe and this was a big waste of time, something kept bothering me. Throughout the entirety of the event, the white masked person didn''t say anything, they didn¡¯t even move, but I had the slightest feeling they knew I was looking at them, and they were looking at me.


    As soon as their shit show ends, I get up to leave making my way to the door.


    THUMP


    Something impaled the door I was a few inches from. I turn to look back at the stage to see a Decidueye next to the masked person.


    All eyes start to rapidly switch from the masked person to me.


    This new exec may be a big problem.


    Knowing how fast Decidueye can fire off arrows, I draw my revolver on the masked person before they can order it to attack again.


    This isn''t really an ideal situation for me, although I have Taion still cloaked in the corner and a gun pointed to their most competent member, I am still severely outnumbered and the first shot in my gun is a blank.


    The stand still lasts a few seconds, which feels like an eternity. Then Petrel tries to fumble for a pokeball. I turn my gun to him and fire off the blank, making him flinch and he drops the ball. As soon as the shot goes off the Decidueye moves to knock another arrow. At that moment the pokeball hits the floor and out comes a Macargo. The immediate and drastic change in temperature caused by the lava slug catches the archer by surprise which leads to him misfiring. And once again hitting the door next to me.


    While the members on stage are dealing with the lava slug and the grunts in the audience are panicking to figure out what to do, I pull out my key stone and toss out one pokeball.


    There was a huge flash of light as a Metagross in mega form charged forward.

 Empress 3

    Celebrate life''s grandeur¡­ Its brilliance¡­ Its Magnificence¡­


    Light filled the room as multiple grunts sent out their pokemon to take down the Metagross.


    Blitz in his mega form was more than capable of wiping out everyone in this room. At top speed he could probably turn anyone he ran into a red mist, but it''s really hard to justify mass murder as a member of the police, so knocking the grunts and their pokemon around the room non-lethally was the best option. It''s definitely a longer process, but it doesn''t look like they have any way of stopping the metallic pokemon.


    I look back to the stage. The execs have finally dealt with the Magcargo by knocking it out with a graveler. All of them are still up there except for the masked one.


    A door adjacent to the stage swings open and I see the Decidueye soar through it. That makes life a lot harder.


    I reach into my bag and bring out another pokeball. This time I send out Lucas and order him to deal with the people on the stage. The Mimikyu gives a salute with one of his claws and waddles off. While small, Mimikyus are known to be pretty merciless when it comes to attacking things. They also have a pretty unique trait, which causes death upon looking at its actual body, or so I''ve heard. I was never keen on testing the validity of that statement. If for some reason one of the execs just didn¡¯t happen to know this then I guess I could consider it a happy accident.


    I take a look back at Blitz, watching them barrel through the gathered crowd of rocket members. Since most of their pokemon consist of Raticates and Golbats, they¡¯re only able to get a few meaningless hits off before getting thrown into the walls of the auditorium.


    As confident as I am that both Blitz and Lucas can do their job without me here, I would be fighting an enemy, completely blind to what they can do and down two pokemon.


    I make the decision to follow the masked figure anyway since waiting for Blitz would take too much time.


    Running down the hallway the Decidueye flew down, I ran into both it and its masked trainer.


    The executive was tapping a bunch of different codes into a panel next to the door with seemingly no avail. Perhaps closed by some other Rocket member trying to get away from the auditorium or maybe this building¡¯s technology has just become that faulty due to the lack of care.


    Regardless, both were caught off guard by the fact that I¡¯ve seemingly followed them alone. This gave me enough time to take aim at the trainer. ¡°Don¡¯t move, put your hands up!¡±


    Unfortunately this doesn¡¯t deter them as they immediately try reaching into their pockets while ordering the Decidueye to do something. Since we were now in much closer proximity I am able to hear what they¡¯re saying. The mask must not be for presentation only since the voice that comes out of it is annoyingly high pitched and robotic.


    ¡°Arthur ki-¡±


    I shoot two live rounds at the trainer. One finds its mark on the trainer''s leg while the other hits the trainer''s hand, taking a finger off.


    They fall to the floor grabbing at their hand. The Decidueye shrieks and shoots an arrow at me. It gets pretty close to hitting me in-between the eyes before it''s shot out of the air by a bolt of water.


    Taion materializes right next to me and uses Ice Beam. The attack hits the Decidueye''s left arm, freezing it and making it unable to use its drawstring.


    In desperation the Decidueye starts swinging its right arm sending razor-like feathers everywhere. Taion blocks them from hitting me, taking quite a lot of damage in the process. Each feather that hits him cuts into his skin like butter, causing multiple deep cuts. He retaliates by shooting off a non-lethal Snipe-shot, hitting the Decidueye in the head knocking it out.


    For a few seconds none of us move. The only noise that could be heard coming from the scuffle in the auditorium behind us and the heavy breathing of the masked figure. Finally Taion tries to walk forward, but falls down. Too injured to move and blood rapidly leaking from the cuts.


    ¡°Hey! You can stop moving.¡± I demand as I walk over to him.


    I drag him to the wall and use one of the full restores I have. His cuts stop bleeding, but he''s in no condition to keep fighting. Even so he still tries to get up, falling again in the process.


    ¡°Look, just rest for now, there''s no point in continuing to fight like this.¡±


    I return him to his ball. As it opens and the energy from the return surrounds him, I can see a bit of disappointment on his face. Whether it was because of his pride or something else entirely, he should know he would be useless if he kept on going. I can¡¯t have a half dead pokemon following me into potential danger.


    After I make sure Taion no longer has the chance of running in and dying I turn to the masked assailant who is still on the floor. I walk over to them reloading the bullets shot off. I take in new details as I get closer. For the most part they are wearing a standard Rocket uniform.


    From their shoes to their torso it¡¯s almost identical to what you would see on one of the grunts. This executive however is wearing some type of hood that''s fitted underneath the mask, covering any part of their head the mask doesn¡¯t. Speaking of, the mask itself looks to have some metal straps with some type of locking system. Guess I¡¯ll continue to leave who they are up to my imagination.


    Once I¡¯m within about a meter I notice something in their undamaged hand. It looks like a small box with a button on it.


    I point the six-shooter at them as I walk closer ¡° You have one chance, what is that, and what did you do?¡±


    The person looks up. I can almost see their smug expression behind the mask.


    ¡°You wouldn-¡±


    *THWACK*


    They go silent and fall over unconscious as the butt of my gun meets the side of their head.


    They didn''t seem like the type to say anything, but it was worth a shot.


    Knocking out suspects isn''t really a part of what I should be doing, but this person looks to have a few more tricks they could pull and I don¡¯t have the time to properly restrain them.


    I look at the device in their hand. It''s not beeping or showing any other signs of having an immediate effect.


    I send out Tora and point to the device.


    ¡°Can you find out what this does?¡±


    Tora looks at it for a moment and makes a low humming noise while rotating their head.


    While Tora can get into and infect most digital systems, some signals don''t really count. If Tora was near a TV, they could access a bunch of things in there, but wouldn''t be able to do anything if they just had the remote with infrared signals, same goes with some radio signals. Meaning that this button probably controlled something in here, but it will be a while before I find out what. I take the device with me. It''s a bit risky to do so since there may still be a signal on it, but there is a chance I might need it for something in here. As for what the first button press did, I''ll cross that road when I get to it.


    I wrap the masked person''s hand and leg, while not willing to talk now, they still seem to be the most competent one here, they probably have the most information. Leaving them to die would be a waste.


    In terms of restraining, don''t really carry cuffs on me so zip ties will have to do.


    I drag the unconscious body to my final destination, the laboratory. Usually the only way to get to it is through a teleporter in Cyrus'' old office, but like with the rest of the teleporters it still connects to the same system.


    Tora is able to convert the teleporter from the fourth floor to the lab. As soon as I enter the abandoned room I take a look at my surroundings. The place is still filled with machinery even after most of the stuff here was cleared out, probably because a lot of it is built into the room. I see the tanks that once held the lake spirits Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie.


    Once again, I find myself impressed with Cyrus¡¯ accomplishments. I leave the masked person by one and make my way to the main computer.


    Although this was used by Team Galactic and I doubt that any Team Rocket member besides possibly the masked one would ever think to use it, if they used any type of computer here with information and connected it to the internet then Tora should be able to access it.


    First things first, I ask Tora if they can shut down whatever is blocking signals in here. Tora once again starts beeping and dissolves into the computer. I take out my phone and look at it waiting for any changes. After a few minutes the signal is back up. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I guess I should probably call the Chief. This was supposed to be just a scouting mission, but things happen.


    I dial his number and wait for him to pick up. The time between each ring feels like an eternity. Wasted time in between each one. After the third ring he finally picks up.


    ¡°What is it Volpe?¡±


    ¡°Some things happened, there was this huge issue, but I''ve taken care of it for the most part. Even so I have enough evidence here for criminal activity so sending people wouldn''t hurt.¡±


    I hear a sigh come from the speaker. It¡¯s not my fault there was one possibly intelligent person here.


    ¡°They''ll be there in about ten minutes.¡±


    Well that settles that. By now Blitz and Lucas should be done dealing with people downstairs, even so there are a few things I still need to do here.


    ¡°Tora, can you download information about what they were doing here, even the useless stuff?.¡±


    I plug in the usb and instantly a bunch of files start popping up on the monitor.


    While multiple file names start to flood the screen, there is one that grabs my attention.


    Youth program profiles


    ¡°Tora, can you actually leave that youth file alone and open it?¡±


    The file on screen opens. It contains a list of multiple names, all listed in alphabetical order. I recognise some of them as other kids I used to know, back when I was still being taught by Dr.Ludwig for ¡°a better purpose¡±. I opened the first file.


    Name: Alex


    Sex: Male


    Age: 9


    Pokemon: Abra, Rattata (Deceased), Shellder Deceased)


    Status: Deceased


    Deceased. Last time I was there, Alex seemed to be doing fine, there seemed to be no signs of any type of sickness. The staff would never let any of their prized possessions die. Then another possibility formed in my head. Was it possible that he was killed there? Even if some of the kids stepped out of line no one was ever executed for it.


    I moved to the next file.


    Name: Cindy


    Sex: Female


    Age: 12


    Pokemon: Mankey, Tumburr(Deceased), Trubbish (Deceased) Weedle (Deceased)


    Status: Deceased


    I scrolled through and picked a few more files at random, all listed as deceased. I scrolled down to the K section and found my file.


    Name: Kenny


    Sex: Male


    Age: 14


    Pokemon: Zorua (Deceased)


    Status: Unknown


    A take a few minutes to look at the information documented, remembering everything that had happened before I left.


    Zeke, a bolt pistol on top of a desk, and Dr.Ludwig on the ground unmoving.


    I shake those thoughts from my head.


    ¡°Tora, other than this one can you bring up any files that aren¡¯t of someone who''s dead.¡±


    Almost instantly a file pops up. One singular file


    Name: Leano


    Sex: Female


    Age 13


    Pokemon: Rowlet, Magnemite(Deceased)


    Status: Alive


    I pause on the file. Leano, Rowlet, Neutral. This is the only other person who wasn¡¯t deceased. My memory of her is a bit foggy, only really making out a timid girl with short brown hair. From what I can recall after losing her first pokemon, she never lost with her second one, putting her on about the same level as me. I never watched other people''s fights so I had no Idea that her second pokemon was a Rowlet.


    I turn back to the masked Rocket member on the floor. Is it possible that they could be Leano? It would be a pretty big coincidence if they weren''t. I guess I can find out later when we¡¯re able to get the mask off.


    Now looking at the unconscious exec, something feels weird. If this is Leano that would make them the only other person I know who has the same gift as me, the same experiences I¡¯ve had. Now I¡¯m about to turn them in. The only other person like m-


    *BANG*


    I¡¯m unable to finish my thoughts as a loud crash comes from the wall on the farther side of the room. My vision goes blurry and I¡¯m knocked off my feet by a piece of wall that hits my side. I feel a sharp pain explode where I got hit. When I recover from my temporary daze I look at the cause of the noise to see a giant hole in the wall and standing in the middle is a Garchomp.


    There was something off about this one though. This Garchomp was bigger than any I''ve seen before and its eyes were completely black. Even though it was not being commanded by anyone, it automatically turned its attention to me.


    I turned my head to the computer and realize how lucky I got. The entire system was destroyed by a huge chunk of the wall. While it was really great that It wasnt me that got hit by that, Tora was in there.


    A computer is mostly just an entrance for Tora. Once inside the computer Tora exists inside the systems network, and anything that connects to it. So while destroying the computer wouldn¡¯t hurt Tora at all, it means that they can no longer appear from the now destroyed machine. Which is bad now that I''m down to three pokemon with only two that can actually fight.


    Scratch that it¡¯s mostly one. Juno is a kind soul and would do anything she could to help me, but she''s not much of a fighter. Even if she was, I doubt that she could do anything to the behemoth of a Garchomp in front of me. So backed in the corner without too many options I sent out Ashley.


    As soon as the ball opened a mini sun formed in front of me and flew toward the Garchomp and the two collided there was an explosion of fire.


    When the flames setted, Ashley stood in front of the Garchomp, ready to fight, and the Garchomp¡­ It looked almost unscathed. I wasn¡¯t expecting too much, but for it to look completely unbothered shocked me.


    The behemoth charged forward and Ashley was able to barely dodge out of the way.


    After missing its initial target, garchomp runs into one of the old holding chambers destroying it immediately. Some metal chunks get impaled into the Garchomp, but it doesn¡¯t seem phased in the slightest. Before it could recover Ashley lands a mach punch to the side of the Garchomp head. The hit made it rear its head back a bit. Using the opening, I used all six shots in my revolver, each shot hitting the Garchomp.


    I expected it to fall over or at least stagger a bit, but instead the Garchomp simply shrugged off the shots. When it moved each bullet fell to the floor, none of them pierced its skin. I looked to Ashley, she still looked ready to fight but her hand was bleeding pretty badly.


    What the fuck is this?


    The Garchomp opens its mouth and a stone appears in front of it.


    Stone Edge.


    Ashley braces for the hit, but it never comes. Instead it directs its head to me and fires the shot off.


    There''s a quick thunk as the rock pierces both the uniform and my work clothes. I look down to see the stone the size of my hand sticking out of my stomach. I feel a warm and wet substance surround the area I was hit. I start to see my white dress shirt underneath the Rocket uniform turning red.


    Then there''s a shock of pain and the intense sensation makes me drop to the floor.


    My vision starts to blur in and out. For the few moments I can focus, I see a look of shock and horror on Ashley, then I see the Garchomp getting ready to shoot another Stone Edge. Before it can, Ashley uses Blaze Kick to hit its mouth which momentarily stops it, but in turn its rough skin rips through some of the skin on her leg. Then my vision blurs again.


    I start to crawl away while blood leaks onto the floor, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth.


    This isn¡¯t happening. This isn¡¯t happening. I''m not going to die here. I can still get out of this.


    I look around the room frantically. The spot the masked exec was at is now empty, and behind that¡­ Is the teleporter I used to get into this room.


    I start to crawl towards the teleporter, empty gun still in hand. Looking back a few times at the fight between the two pokemon. The Garchomp was swinging wildly, hitting everything around it. Ashley on the other hand was using Acrobatics to avoid getting hit, while desperately throwing out attacks. Each hit barely does anything to the Garchomp while more and more cuts start to appear on Ashley, her white fur now stained red.


    I¡¯m almost to the teleporter when I hear the sound of a thud and snap which makes me look back at the battle. It looks like the Garchomp was able to land a hit on Ashley. The dent in the wall makes it obvious what happened. She''s now laying on the floor, clawing around, trying to pull herself up.


    Fear and pain were painted on her face as her attempts to get back up fail. In her current state, she has no way of defending its next attack.


    Flames start to engulf one of her legs, but sputters out within seconds. Then she stops moving, and lies down, giving up on trying to fight, waiting for the inevitable. Looking at the broken and bloody Infernape on the floor, I can''t help but think about a similar scene.


    ¡ª


    It was a silent winter night in Eterna forest. For the most part, it was a really beautiful scene. Snow covered the forest floor as far as the eye can see, the whistle of the wind passing through the trees was low but soothing, the night sky was almost pitch black with distant stars sprinkled throughout the black abyss. It was almost perfect. The only fault in the otherwise impeccable view was a boy, stumbling through the snow.


    My clothes were soaked from the snow and my hands were covered in now dried blood. I was barely making my way through the snow, tripping and falling every few steps. I had no idea where I was going. This place was alien to me so the only thing I could do was continue to walk in a straight line. At first the touch of the cold snow stung, but now the feeling is getting more and more numb by the second. Although dying here was not ideal, I was content with this rather than whatever would have happened had they found out I killed him. In the distance I spotted a faint light.


    Looking back, approaching a single light in the middle of a forest at night was not a good idea, but with the new possibility of survival, I threw away any thoughts of caution. Reaching it, I found a pokemon laying in the snow, it was a Monferno. She had multiple wounds over her body and looked as close to death as I did. Not willing to lose the slight chance of surviving, I ripped parts of my sleeves off to cover the cuts and prevent her from bleeding out. In turn she stuck with me to prevent me from freezing to death. It was probably the first selfless act I¡¯ve experienced in a while. Being stuck with someone who couldn¡¯t move in a forest at night was an easy way to be ripped to shreds by the next biggest thing to come, nevertheless she took a spot by the roots of a nearby tree and started sleeping.


    When morning came we were able to navigate our way out of the forest towards Eterna City.


    On our way, I heard the Monferno start muttering to themself, something about being too weak.


    Being a bit curious I asked what she meant by it.


    While shocked I could understand her at first she told me that being gifted at fighting was all she currently had. Losing to a bunch of Ghastly made her feel worthless in a way.


    In a move I¡¯m not entirely proud of, I leveraged the moment to get her to stick with me, Promising that if she stayed I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to make whatever dream she had about being the strongest come true. In turn she had to help me with my ¡°dream¡±.


    It was surprising how fast she jumped on the idea. Having someone want to be with you of their own volition was¡­ nice.


    Once the deal was struck, that''s when I came up with a name, Ashley.


    ¡ª


    I¡¯m sorry.


    The Garchomp moves closer to the Infernape on the floor. It knows its target can no longer fight back so it''s in no rush to finish the job.


    There is nothing I¡¯m able to do. This thing is a monster. If I send out Juno or Taion they''ll die and if I do something I¡¯ll die. At least this way I can guarantee there isn''t any needless death.


    I can¡¯t. I''m sorry.


    The Garchomp opens its mouth to use Stone Edge again.


    I move closer to the teleporter, forcing myself to look away from what I know is about to happen.


    Memories start to flash in my head, begging me to reconsider my decision. Us working on the Team Galactic arrests, training against tough pokemon until we came across a silver Metang, celebrating a birthday I made up, Ashley forming an addiction to protein. The final one is about the day I forgot about her while it was raining, about how I sat there thinking letting her get mad would be a laugh, about how I never actually owned up to it becauseI didn¡¯t know how to and never tried.


    Goodbye


    I found myself standing, my legs barely propping me up, gun pointed at the Garchomp. I can¡¯t recall when I took the time to reload it, but when I pulled the trigger a bullet fired out of it, and another and another. They all hit the Garchomp. Almost all of them bounced off of the Garchomp like before, but by some miracle, one hit a small piece of metal shrapnel stuck on the Garchomp from his first charge. The impact caused the metal to dig into the Garchomp¡¯s skin and blood started to flow from the new opening.


    The Garchomp immediately turns its attention to me. It still doesn¡¯t seem too bothered by the blood now leaking out of it, but it loses all interest in Ashley. I am able to place a few more rounds in the revolver before it fires a Stone Edge off, impaling my left arm.


    I could have done so much more with my life. So much more.


    My left arm now uselessly dangling at my side, I flick my wrist, moving the barrel back into the gun''s frame and fire two shots, one hits its skin while the other hits another smaller shard of metal, not causing as much damage, but still creating a small cut. The Garchomp shoots another Stone Edge, this one hitting my shin, forcing me to stand on my knees.


    When we made that promise back then, you already wanted to become stronger. It¡¯s a really dumb dream that I can¡¯t understand, but it¡¯s something. Something you wanted. I never had a dream. I thought I would have come up with something by now, but back then just having an excuse to not be alone was enough. Now I wish I actually wanted something.


    I shoot the last loaded bullet which once again finds its mark in the bigger piece of metal, shifting it and making the cut deeper.


    Before the Garchomp fires another Stone Edge I see Ashley, she''s slowly getting up and moving towards the Garchomp now facing the opposite direction, tears streaming down her face. For a second we''re in the snow covered woods again and I see a Monferno. The one who saved my life years ago and kept me alive until now. She was alone once again, but still able to stand.


    Ashley, I might get to see you again before lo-


    My thoughts are cut off as the stone hits me in the head, I fall over and everything goes dark.

 Emperor 4

    Only courage in the face of doubt can lead one to the answer¡­


    5/10/2017


    Veilstone City


    8:00am


    I¡¯ve only been to Veilstone a few times before. Most of them were just for sightseeing, and figuring out what the latest tech craze was from the Galactic corporation.


    Now standing in front of their main building fills me with a bit of curiosity. I never got to enter the building before, most of the technology developed here that I''ve seen are from the demonstrations by the main doors.


    It''s understandable. Their CEO Cyrus is a decent guy, but is stated to be pretty paranoid when it comes to people stealing his ideas. They do give tours sometimes but they usually cost an arm and a leg, which is way out of the budget of a little league coach.


    The job doesn''t pay too well, but seeing how much fun the ankle biters have, makes the hours not too much of a slog. I wish I could bring half their enthusiasm when it comes to just about everything in life.


    I''m pulled out of my thoughts by a tap on my shoulder. I look to see a lean Zorark holding a hotdog in one hand and a cup in the other. He extends the drink to me while taking a bite out of the hotdog.


    I give him an unimpressed look.


    ¡°Zeke, where did you get this?¡±


    Zeke shrugs. ¡°Not my fault the vendors can''t remember their own employees.¡±


    ¡°Can you stop doing this, you''re going to get us in trouble someday.¡± I say while taking the drink.


    Instead of  responding, he continues to eat the hotdog while changing his form into a fat cop.


    ¡°Hey you, you''re going in for 10 years for assisted theft.¡± He says, pausing every other word two continue eating.


    I roll my eyes and hit him in the shoulder, breaking his illusion.


    I take a sip of the mystery drink. Root beer¡­ not the worst choice.


    I take a look at my watch. 8:10, he should be here in a few minutes. It''s been a while since Abel and I hung out. Or even seen him at all. What he''s up too now completely eludes me. From what I remember, which isn¡¯t much, he''s got a job in the Hearthome market as the Teddiursa mascot. I can¡¯t imagine the pain that being in one of those suits all day causes. Long hours on a burning summer day sounds like hell in one of those.


    I hear footsteps approaching from my left.


    Speak of the devil. I look over to see Abel walking towards us, waving.


    He looks like a complete mess. His white hair looks unkempt. His button up shirt is wrinkled to the point where if I had to guess, I would say he crumples it into a ball whenever he takes the thing off. His pants¡­ well his pants are fine for the most part, save for the fact that he is wearing suspenders but leaving the straps to dangle at his sides. Finally there''s his red scarf which I''m not sure if he''s ever washed since I¡¯ve never seen him take it off. All in all, it''s exactly how I remembered him.


    ¡°Hey Kenny, long time no see.¡±


    He''s absolutely beaming, meeting back up with me can''t be that interesting can it?


    Once we are in speaking distance, he starts to barrage me with a bunch of questions. Some about my job, Zeke, and the type of stuff I¡¯ve been watching and reading. I struggle to form an answer for any of them as he spouts questions out faster than I can think.


    ¡°So like when your team wins now, does that also mean yo-¡±


    ¡°Hey, dude.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest, I couldn''t understand half of what you said.¡±


    He pauses for a second.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well I can ask you again once we get going.¡±


    Knowing Abel there''s no way of getting out of this so I resign myself to my fate of answering 1000 questions. We begin the trek to our destination with Zeke trailing behind us, sometimes commenting on my answers.


    During our walk I take in the atmosphere. The sun is shining brightly without a cloud in the sky. The temperature hits that middle ground of being warm, but not to the point where you feel like you''re dying from the heat. People and their pokemon are running up and down the street, greeting and catching up on eachothers day.


    While answering Abel¡¯s questions, I stop occasionally to listen to some passing by conversations. Conversations about family, the latest sports news, and plans for the future.


    It was nice, hearing people living their lives around me.


    Although I enjoy teaching the kids how to play baseball, I wish it could be like this everyday.


    After about fifteen minutes we finally reach our destination. The Veilstone festival. A celebration that is held annually to commemorate the scientific breakthroughs made with the three lake guardians.


    As we enter the festival grounds I hand the tickets to one of the workers who gives me three orange wristbands. I keep one and give the others to Zeke and Abel, the former deciding to put it on his hair bead.


    The festival itself consisted of a lot of food booths, some carnival games scattered throughout the area, the occasional ride, and a theater that had shows playing every other hour.


    I¡¯ve gone to the festival before, but it¡¯s kind of boring without friends, so this time around I invited Abel.


    I look over to gauge his reaction, it only takes a few seconds to determine that he was the right pick. Abel looked like he was a kid again. Taking in each sight asif it were the first time he''s seen any of this stuff.


    I turn back to Zeke who is eyeing the food stands.


    ¡°Steal anything and you can forget being outside of your ball for the rest of the day.¡±


    He thinks about it for a second.


    ¡°Fine. Can you atleast give me the money then?¡±


    I roll my eyes, reach into my wallet and present enough cash to buy some food and play a few games. He happily accepts my offering and prances away.


    I turn back to Abel.


    ¡°So what do you wan-¡±


    ¡°That one!¡± He says pointing at a tea cups ride.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? That''s usually for little kids.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± He yells, sounding so sure of himself.


    I follow him to one of the cups and we both sit down. It¡¯s only a few seconds after the ride starts do I realize that following him was a bad idea. Once things get going, Abel takes the metal plate in the middle and twists it at full force.  For a second my life flashes before my eyes, then everything in my vision except Abel becomes a blur.


    Well at least he is having fun.


    When the ride ends I have to run over to a nearby garbage bin. I then proceed to fill it with everything I ate for breakfast. Note to self, never get on a ride that Abel can control again.


    After I''m done spitting my stomach out through my mouth I fall on my ass and take a second to breathe. In the distance I can hear a few people and probably pokemon laughing. At least it was entertaining.


    After that we head to get some food. I decipher that there isn''t a lack of options as everywhere you look there is at least one vendor. There''s hot dogs, churros, candy apples, burgers, the list goes on. I decide to just get some fries with a drink, but Abel on the other hand looks like he''s having a stroke trying to figure out what to get.


    I convince him to settle on a candy apple and we find a place to sit.


    During our snack break, my mind starts to wander to the last times I talked to Abel.


    ¡°Hey I have a question?¡±


    ¡°Yea?¡±


    ¡°Remember last time we met up, you were at one of the games for my team.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°We lost that game and one kid, Kyle, got really upset. He was usually one of the best, but this game he did pretty poorly. He came to me crying, saying that his parents would hate him because he failed the one sport he was good at. I tried reassuring him, but that didn¡¯t work. You though, you said something and although he didn¡¯t look too happy after he¡¯s done nothing, but look to get better since. We lost another game later, but this time he didn¡¯t seem bothered. What did you say to him back then?¡±


    Abel stares at the sky for a second.


    ¡°I said that life sucks.¡± He says before taking a bite out of his apple.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Sorry I wasn''t finished. I said that life sucks, and this stuff happens, but at the end of the day, no matter how hard you try, you can¡¯t expect yourself to always come out on top just because you¡¯re talented. Being born with talent or gifts is nice, but it shouldn¡¯t be a representation of your worth. No matter how talented you are there''s always going to be someone who is better. So the best thing you can do is take what you have and get better. You may never be the best, but you will be happy.¡±


    I stayed silent for a while.


    ¡°Did you actually say that to a kid?¡±


    ¡°Yea, why?¡±


    ¡°That seems a lot for a twelve year old to take in, but it worked so who am I to say anything.¡±


    I stopped to think for a second.


    ¡°How are you so good at stuff like this?¡±


    Abel thought about it for a second. Then gave an award winning smile as he disclosed his methods.


    ¡°Well one thing I have in mind is that, you''re not the only person in the world, everyone has their own stuff going on whether you are aware of it or not, so never assume that you understand or know how the other person is feeling.¡±


    I give him a nod and return to my fries, reflecting on those words.


    ¡°It also helps to be more curious instead of judgmental.¡±


    That felt like it came out of nowhere.


    ¡°What? I don''t act that judgmental, do I?¡±


    His eyes darted up to the sky.


    ¡°I guess not. Just a general thing to keep in mind.¡±


    After I threw out the empty fry package, Abel came up to me with a brochure.


    ¡°There¡¯s a play starting in fifteen minutes.¡±


    He points to a picture on the brochure. It seems to depict a kid in front of a school like in Anne of Green Gables.


    ¡°Moon Child. What kind of name is that?¡±


    ¡°I''ve seen this one before. It¡¯s about this kid who goes to thi-, look, just watch it, I know you¡¯ll love it.¡±


    ¡°Alright if you say so.¡±


    When we reach the theater there are barely any seats left. Luckily we find two near the top few rows.


    After a few minutes the room¡¯s main lights turn off and the curtain opens.


    The play begins by showing the life of a boy in a school for gifted kids. The first few minutes depict him and his class at recess wandering the school¡¯s yard. I was bracing for one of them to randomly burst into song or do something to get the show rolling, but instead the kids just kept on milling about occasionally talking.


    On top of that, when the kids did get into groups and talk, most of the kids would just spout factual statements, not really showing any interest in the subjects they were actually talking about like it was their job to do so.


    A sound effect of a bell played and the kids lined up, waiting to enter the school, completely silent. The play lingers on this scene for a few seconds which feels like an eternity, until the curtain closes as they change the scene.


    I turn over to Abel.


    ¡°Are you sure this was good, it''s kind of boring. How did you of all people find this entertaining?¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Just wait, I think you should see this.¡±


    I decide to trust his judgment and sit through the next scene.


    It begins in class and it introduces the teacher. The guy¡¯s a middle aged man who seems too enthusiastic about teaching basic geometry to kids who would probably like to be anywhere else. The guy can¡¯t go five minutes without saying how honored he is to teach the class and how he wishes all the best in their learning.


    If the point of this play was to immerse the audience in the tedious and dull life of school, it sure is working.


    Much of the second act was devoted to hammering in that this kid was for the most part, ahead of almost everyone else.


    By the time act three rolled around, I''d almost fallen asleep about six times. The first half of the act was more of the same stuff the other two had, but in the middle they introduced something new.


    During a recess, the boy found a Litten in the field. The rest of act three was devoted to showing a bond being formed between the two.


    I''m still not seeing why Abel wanted me to watch this, it''s mostly just that feel good schmuck you usually get from those early 200X movies.


    From that point on the boy would look much livelier, now having something to look forward to in everyday life. While he was happy at the moment, act 4 made a point to show that his performance in class was slipping and the teacher was slowly getting more and more frustrated with him. The act ends with him confronting the boy about it.


    I guess it''s cool that they added some stakes, but it took till act 4. It kind of sucks knowing it''s going to be quickly resolved in the next one to wrap up the story.


    I look over to Abel. He has his eyes glued to the stage now, watching more intently than he had before this point. Maybe this act will turn the pretty boring story into the masterpiece he made it out to be. Maybe it would be one of those stories where there is a hidden meaning to all the stuff that happened before, so when you rewatch it it resonates with you more.


    The act opens with the boy and the teacher arguing and the Litten gets brought up. The teacher then goes to get the Litten and bring it to the boy.


    Guessing that this is the part where it wins the teacher over or they both find a compromise.


    But that didn''t happen.


    Instead the teacher pulls a bolt pistol from behind the desk and uses it on the Litten.


    ¡°WHOAH, WHAT THE FUCK!¡± I yell, without thinking.


    It''s obviously fake, but just the scene itself was so out of pocket for an otherwise family friendly play.


    The boy in the play starts to cry as the teacher lectures him about the importance of staying focused and how that ¡°thing¡± doesn''t matter in the grand scheme of things.


    Then everything goes off the rails as the boy takes the used bolt pistol and busts the teacher''s shin with it. He then proceeds to slam it into the teacher''s head over and over again.


    The curtains came to a close after that and the lights turned on.


    I just sat there staring at the red fabric covering the scene I just witnessed. I didn''t know what to think. For some reason that one scene in particular felt so real. It didn''t seem like it was from the same script the rest of the play was from.


    It takes me a few moments to find my voice.


    ¡°That was, uh¡­ really disturbing. Hey, Abel, why did you want to watch this again?¡±


    I turn my head to look at him. As I do I notice that all the other seats are empty.


    ¡°Well, I thought that it would be something you were interested in. Sorry if it was a bit much¡±


    It definitely was more than a bit much.Thinking about it almost makes me as nauseous as after the teacups ride, but for some reason something about the play felt familiar.


    We sat in silence for a few more minutes until Abel turned and started speaking.


    ¡°You know I haven¡¯t thanked you yet.¡±


    ¡°For, what?¡±


    ¡°For finding this.¡±


    Abel reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small yellow marble.¡±


    ¡°When did I ever find that for you?¡±


    He looks back to the stage with a blank expression.


    ¡°It''s been a while now. Two months? Yea I think that long.¡±


    ¡°Two months? It''s been much longer since I last saw you, how did I give that to you two months ago.¡±


    He takes a bit longer to respond.


    ¡°Maybe I''m getting the days wrong. I tend to lose track of time. It feels like eternity here, ya know?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Like at your job?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    He doesn''t seem to elaborate on it and I don''t know what to do so we continue to sit at the back of the theater in silence.


    I''ve heard people say ¡°the silence is deafening¡± before but I don''t think I''ve ever really understood it until now.


    Then Abel sits up again.


    ¡°Hey, you don''t have to, but I''m still missing five more. If you ever find them, can you give them back to me? It''s really important.¡±


    I don''t know how to respond to that. I can''t even remember ever finding or giving that first one to him. How does he expect me to just stumble across the other ones?


    ¡°Uh, sure. Do you know where you lost them?¡± I say humoring him. He is my friend and if it¡¯s important then it couldn¡¯t hurt to at least help if I saw them.


    He begins to smile. It looks different from his usual one. I don''t really know how to describe it other than he just looked creepier.


    ¡°Don''t worry you''ll come across them. You''ll know it when you see them.¡±


    Just then a pair of lights near the front of the stage turn off.


    Abel seems disappointed.


    ¡°Already? That sucks.¡±


    The next pair shut off.


    ¡°Well I guess you''ll be going now. I still had so much more to say¡±


    The lights ahead of us turn off.


    Abel looks at me with a reassuring grin.


    ¡°Don''t worry, we''ll be able to talk again soon.¡±


    The last thing I see is him waving. Then the final lights above us turn off, shrouding the theater in darkness. Then I begin to fall.


    ¡ª


    I was jolted awake, vision blurry but slowly getting clearer. I feel lightheaded and struggle to find balance, while sitting up.


    While waiting for my eyes to adjust I try recalling the dream I just had.


    Surprisingly I can¡¯t remember too much from it. Usually I¡¯m able to recall a good majority, but the only thing I can remember is the sight of a festival and even then I¡¯m losing details by the second.


    Once I was able to properly see my surroundings I realized that I¡¯m currently in a hospital room.


    My rational thought kicks in and I realize there were bandages over the left side of my face blocking part of my view.


    The next thing that pops into my mind is the Team Galactic building.


    The grunts


    The executives


    The masked person


    The Garchomp


    Ashley


    Me getting shot.


    I got shot.


    First in the stomach, then in the arm, the leg, finally¡­


    I trace my hand over the bandaged part of my face. Everything seems fine, until I get to my left eye. Instead of feeling a bump, my finger presses parts of the bandage into my eye socket.


    I got shot directly in the eye.


    My eye is completely gone.


    I''m never going to be able to see normally again.


    I lost depth perception for the rest of my life.


    Shit


    I take a look around the room. Aside from basic medical equipment, there isn''t much, except for a single card and flowers on a nightstand next to me.


    The card has a cartoonishly large bandage with a Chansey next to it. At the top in bold letters reads ¡°GET WELL SOON!¡± The contents of the card are everyone''s signatures. I never understood the relevance of these things. While in theory they are meant to cheer someone up; make them feel like they are being thought about, it falls apart when most of the time, people just feel obligated to do it, and treat it more as a chore. That¡¯s what I got from this, especially since Ben put his name on it.


    I hear a door opening to my right. I quickly toss the card back on the nightstand.


    A nurse walks into the room and notices I¡¯m awake. He¡¯s wearing the usually blue hospital garb with a surgeon mask on. The guy looks no older than late thirties.


    He gives an uninterested look as he takes out a phone and dials a number into it.


    There''s an awkward silence as I stare at the nurse while the phone rings.


    Eventually someone picks up.


    ¡°Hello¡­ Yea¡­ Room 505, he¡¯s awake¡­ okay¡­ sure¡­¡±


    He hangs up.


    ¡°Im sorry, who wa-¡±


    ¡°Doctors coming up in a bit, be patient¡± The nurse snaps


    That''s rude.


    ¡°Hey, so do you mind if I can see a report of what happened?¡±


    The nurse chuckles a bit, then walks over to the foot of the bed I''m at and takes a clipboard that was attached to it.


    ¡°Lets see here. It says that you-¡±


    ¡°Uh, I can read that than-¡±


    ¡°Sure you can.¡±


    The snark in his voice makes me want to break the closest thing to me over his head.


    The nurse begins to read the documents out loud.


    ¡°Says here that you fudged up a mission and almost died for it. Other officers had to save you from bleeding to death.¡±


    He then mutters something about who they allow on the force these days. I try to push down all the thoughts of strangling him and try to focus on the important pieces of the information.


    ¡°What about the Garchomp?¡±


    He gives an exasperated sigh and looks back at the paper.


    ¡°It was found dead when they got there.¡±


    That thing was found dead? The fuck, how? Guess it''s just a question I have to save for when I get back to the station.


    ¡°An infernape?¡±


    ¡°Unconscious.¡±


    Unconscious.


    Not dead, or KIA.


    Unconscious.


    It felt like a heavy weight being lifted off my shoulders. Ashley¡¯s not dead.


    My mini celebration was cut short by the nurse continuing to read.


    ¡°Most of the wounds on your body were covered in bug silk from a Levanny.¡±


    Juno was let out? It¡¯s not like her to act on her own, but there I guess I¡¯ve never been in a life or death situation this dire before. There is always the chance that Ashley let her out before falling unconscious. Either way, I''m gonna have to thank her when I get out of here. If all of them are alive then according to protocol they should have put everyone in the pc once the scene of the incident was cleared. Although this is all good news to me, the nurse seems annoyed after reading it.


    ¡°While it did stop some of the bleeding, it was an unsanitary practice that could have caused an infection. On top of that it made it more difficult to operate on you. It was a waste of hospital money if you ask me. I would press charges on whoever owns that thing if I were you.¡±


    He said ¡°thing¡± with so much disdain.


    And now my mind¡¯s back to wanting to gut this guy.


    I spot the vase on the nightstand next to my bed.


    As the nurse continues reading, now in silence. I start to reach over to the decoration. A war between the urge to brain this guy and rational thought is going on in my head, but due to my light headedness rational thought is losing.


    My hand almost reaches the vase as the door opens again. In walked an old man in a doctor''s coat, holding a newspaper, and supporting himself up with a cane. His face was covered in wrinkles and had really glassy eyes. His name tag reads Akefu.  If I had to guess, he was no younger than 89.


    ¡°Ah, so he is awake.¡± The old man said as he shuffled towards me.


    ¡°You are Mister Volpe, yes.¡±


    The nurse moves backwards, making room for the old man. He looks annoyed that he might actually have to act professionally.


    ¡°Yes, that''s me.¡±


    The old man nodded and shuffled closer.


    ¡°How are you feeling?Your condition after your injury must have come as quite a shock as I can imagine.¡±


    Losing an eye is definitely something I''m gonna have to get used to, but it shouldn''t be too much of a setback.


    ¡°Nah, I''m feeling¡­ okay. Uh, do you mind if I take a look at that paper?¡±


    Dr. Akefu looks down at his paper, it takes him a little bit to put together what i''m saying, but he eventually gets it.


    ¡°Oh of course, you must be dying to know what¡¯s happening now.¡±


    He hands me the rolled up newspaper.


    I start to quickly scan through each page until I reach the back of the paper. There''s some stories of new construction, an ex- Johto champion recovering from an accident, and a few updates from the Aether Foundation. There is absolutely no news on the Team Galactic building. It seems almost impossible for what happened to not make the headlines, so why couldn¡¯t I find anything on it. I glance over the pages a few more times. Still nothing.


    ¡°You think with what happened those journo leeches would write something about it, yeah.¡± I try to say it in a joking manner.


    The doctor takes a moment to think about what I said. How is this guy still responsible for patients?


    ¡°Well, they did.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean they did?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been all over the papers until last week.¡±


    Until last week. Have I really been out for a week?¡±


    A look of sympathy flashed on the doctor''s face. He then turned to look at the nurse.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t explained it to him yet?¡±


    The nurse rolls his eyes, but doesn¡¯t respond.


    The doctor turns to look back at me.


    ¡°I¡¯am sorry you had to learn this way, but you have been in a coma for almost three months now.¡±


    Three months? I check the newspaper date which I passed over the many times I read through the paper. The date reads August 3rd. That is almost three months. I¡¯ve been out for almost three months.


    Three months. Holy shit.


    My pokemon have been boxed for three months, three months of rent is due, all the shit in my fridge is probably bad now. A bunch of the consequences of being unconscious for 3 months start to flood my mind.


    ¡°We''ve alerted your boss of your current condition, he said he will be here soon¡±


    The myriad of situations running through my head instantly stop.


    ¡°He¡¯s coming here? Now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, listen the first time.¡± The nurse snaps.


    The doctor gives him an ugly look before turning back to me.


    ¡°Just rest before he gets here. In your current condition you may be able to be released tomorrow.¡±


    With that they both leave the room and me to think about my current predicament.


    Now that my thoughts are becoming a bit more coherent, I''m starting to realize just how much my field of view lacks by losing my left eye. Now I need to fully turn my head in order to see something next to me.


    If everyone has been stored in my pc for three months, and assuming that it was right after backup arrived, would they know that I was in a coma? Do they even know if I''m alive? Ashley might since they couldn¡¯t just throw her into the pc automatically due to the injuries.


    This time I heard the footsteps outside the door, giving me time to mentally prepare before facing my next visitor.


    The door opened as Chief Aaron walked into the room. He didn¡¯t look too different from the last time we met, save for the somber look in his eyes.


    ¡°How are you doing kid?:


    Hate the fact that he called me that, even if he was trying to be more reassuring, but whatever.


    ¡°I''m fine. It sucks that I lost an eye, but we have two for a reason.¡±


    I try to put on a convincing smile, but it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s working.


    Well no point in wasting time.


    ¡°Anyway so now that I¡¯m up, why don¡¯t you tell me how the rest of the mission went.¡±


    He¡¯s taken aback at first by how fast I got to the point, but then scoffs.


    ¡°Really. Is this the first thing you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°Well I assume that it must have gone well since I cleared out most of the organization before you guys even got there.¡±


    He gives an exhausted sigh before disclosing the details.


    From his and the rest of the forces point of view, they entered the building and made their way to the second floor, arresting a few stray Rocket members along the way. They found Blitz and Lucas in the auditorium with the unconscious grunts and executives. They cleared through the rest of the floors and finally made it to the lab. Once they got there they found me unconscious with Juno next to me. Ashley lying on the floor in the middle of the room, and the Garchomp dead near the wall on the opposite side. According to what they could find when examining the body, the chunk of metal that I was shooting at was pushed deeper into the Garchomp piercing its heart.


    While the bullets did knock the metal into the Garchomp¡¯s skin, there''s no way it was deep enough to reach its heart. I can only assume that Ashley punched it in or something after I got shot in the face. But would a single hit or even a few be able to push it straight through its heart? I decided to worry about the details later.


    From there they were able to retrieve all six of my pokemon and get me to a hospital.


    I asked if they happened to find a member with a mask. The chief looked confused so I took that as a no. I told him that there was one and gave a description of what they looked like with the uniform, but left out the fact that I possibly knew who the person could have been.


    There goes my potential lead for learning what happened after I left.


    As the chief is wrapping up his side and all the press he had to deal with for two months, I interject with a question.


    ¡°So are we still looking for the stragglers? The doctor said, I¡¯ll be out of here by tomorrow, so you can just assign me to-¡±


    While I¡¯m talking I notice a pained look on his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    He takes a moment to carefully pick out his next few words


    ¡°While you did get us the information we needed, due to your injuries and the effect on your performance on your job that they may bring, the higher ups want to move you elsewhere.¡±


    I took a second to make sure I heard him correctly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, what?¡±


    ¡°You will be stationed at Solaceon Town from next week to the foreseeable future.¡±


    There¡¯s no way.


    ¡°You''re kidding right? You didn¡¯t actually agree to that, did you?¡±


    Theres no fucking way I¡¯m being sent off to the boonies, the place where police careers go to die. It¡¯s usually meant as some sort of punishment to be stationed there. So why am I being shipped off to bum fuck nowhere.


    ¡°Sir I can assure you that losing one eye is no reason to send me-¡±


    As I try to plead my case, I push off the blanket and get out of the hospital bed. As soon as I take a step I feel something restricting my leg and I collapse to the floor.


    Looking at my leg I see a leg brace around my shin, where the Garchomp shot it.


    The chief helps me up to my feet and gives me a sympathetic look. For some reason that makes me mad. He means the best, but to me it feels like he''s rubbing salt in the wound.


    ¡°Look, I did all I could, but they were really pushing this decision. So I was able to pull some strings and on top of getting you the most compensation possible, found a place you can live for cheaper than what you''re paying here. Trust me it¡¯s much better than your current apartment.¡±


    I barely take in what he says as I¡¯m trying to stop myself from getting a panic attack over my career basically being finished. I''m being sent off and stationed in the sticks.


    ¡°There is an old ranch in the woods of Solaceon Town that hasn¡¯t been occupied for some time.  You will be able to live there rent free. All you have to do is clean the place up.¡±


    The chief goes on about the benefits of the place, but nothing registers to me.


    I worked my ass off to get where I am, but now there''s a good chance that for the rest of my life I¡¯ll be stuck rescuing Skittys from trees and helping old ladies with their groceries.


    The chief eventually finishes, but ends it with something I really didn¡¯t want to hear.


    ¡°You are still young. Everyone at the station agrees that you shouldn¡¯t throw your life away.¡±


    Yes because the person who single handedly caught a wanted criminal the police were struggling to catch is too young to be doing his job.


    After that he bids me farewell, once again leaving me alone in the hospital bed.


    Maybe dying back in that lab wasn''t such a bad way to go. It¡¯s probably better than now being known as the police cripple. ¡°Poor you, it must be super hard to wobble around the city like that. How about you go somewhere where the old people will help you cross the road.¡±


    I look to the left of my bed. The windows unlocked. My mind automatically wanders to one possibility, which I instantly cross off.


    Dying because of what''s basically a demotion would be pretty stupid. Even if it means the end of everything I worked for so far. I guess it also wouldn''t be fair to my pokemon to learn that I lived but then killed myself right after.


    I try to clear my head and force the idea out.


    Speaking of my pokemon, if I were to die then they would probably go to Aaron since I haven''t written my will yet. If that happened he would most likely distribute them to officers who need them. Officers like Ben. Wouldn¡¯t want to force anyone to be partnered with him. Even if I did write one, I can¡¯t really think of anyone specifically I¡¯d want them to go to.


    I wonder if they miss me. If I died, there is probably no doubt that they would initially feel sad. I mean Taion did give a whole speech about it before things went to shit. He''s probably not taking this too well at the moment.


    But that being said, how long would that last? A few weeks, one or two months? How long would it take for them to move on?


    If they did forget about me and move on pretty fast I can''t really blame them. When life is happening you just need to take your losses and move on. There¡¯s no point in crying over spilled milk. But for some reason thinking that¡¯s a possibility makes me feel like shit. Normally that idea shouldn''t phase me, but now I just feel sad.


    Then I start to think about a situation where I didn¡¯t do anything in the lab. One where I took the teleport and left. If that were the case then my one injury would not have been enough to move me and I probably would have continued to work in the city, maybe even making headlines again. But then Ashley would definitely have died.


    ¡°If that were the case then I would move on from it pretty fast. She willingly chose to continue attacking the Garchomp to save me so not doing what she wanted would be a waste¡± At least that''s what I thought when I was crawling towards the teleporter.


    Thinking about that makes me disgusted. Now I felt horrible knowing that there was a part of me that was ready to throw her under the bus. Losing one of the only people I could call an actual friend would feel way worse than the loss of some attention.


    The image of a Zorua flashes in my mind.


    I don¡¯t really know how long it would take me. Maybe I just wouldn¡¯t be able to move on.


    Even now, when I know she''s alive and is just in the PC, there is an empty feeling in my stomach. It''s been the longest amount of  time we¡¯ve been separated, three months.


    The room is almost silent with the only noise being the low hum of the AC. This would usually be the ideal situation, just being able to think and relax in peace, but I can¡¯t really enjoy it right now.


    I miss her.

 The Hierophant 5

    Two days. Two days is all it took to clean up this house. When I got here the place was somehow both empty and a mess at the same time. There were some broken floor tiles, cobwebs and other eyesores that you would expect to find at an abandoned house.


    I sigh and slump into the worn down couch that was left in the house. It''s been a week since I left the hospital and I haven''t been given anything important to do. This town doesn''t even have an actual station here so they gave me a phone for emergency calls.


    I have the phone in addition to my own on me at all times, but I don''t know what I''m expecting. Waiting for a crime to happen here is like waiting for a solar eclipse.


    The most I get are people complaining about weird noises around Route 210, but I''ve checked it multiple times and have found nothing.


    In all honesty I¡¯m basically a glorified park ranger.


    With the free time I had, I was able to have a look around the town.


    There isn''t too much notable here. Just a few houses, a pokecenter and shop, a nice breakfast place, and a daycare. There are some interesting ruins east of the town, but other than a few rundown wall pictures it''s practically empty.


    The people I met here are fine, although they can get a bit annoying. I guess being the new face in town would warrant some attention since almost nothing happens here, but I could go without someone knocking on my door to welcome me every thirty minutes.


    As I sit down I debate whether or not to go outside. It''s a nice day outside and getting some fresh air would be great after spending the majority of my time here breathing in dust, but that would mean I''d have to deal with ¡°them¡±.


    Most of my pokemon were quick to accept living here since the larger space of land means that I can have more than six of them out at a time here. A majority of them have taken to exploring the forest here or just walking around the field around the house which is clear of trees.


    When I first left the hospital I retrieved everyone who was in the Team Galaxy warehouse minus Blitz. Once I got home I sent them out to explain the recent news and our soon to change living space.


    My question of how they would feel if I died was sort of answered. First off, Tora didn''t seem to understand the situation, which I mean I don''t know what I was expecting there.


    When I sent out Juno, she seemed pretty excited that I was still alive. She jumped up and hugged me, way tighter than I thought was possible for a bug type, which made the area around my stomach where I was shot explode in pain.


    Lucas was relieved, but with no further comment.


    Taion looked really depressed and ashamed. The cuts on him have healed to the point where even the bigger ones were barely visible. I had to tell him multiple times that what happened was out of his control, and the result of it all  didn''t really matter. We both knew the ladder part was a lie, but he didn''t really push it.


    Then there was Ashley. She came out of the fight with some pretty nasty scars, but other than that she seemed fine. Although when I was explaining everything to her, she wouldn''t look at me and acted distant throughout the entire conversation.


    I didn''t even try to reason with her as I did Taion since the situation was completely different, so I just thanked her for saving me and left it at that for the time being. Now I regret doing that since any future encounter with her can now open that can of worms. I currently have no idea how to even begin to deal with that so to the back of my brain it goes.


    It¡¯s currently 9:00 am so that breakfast place in town should still be open. The stuff they serve there is far from healthy, but if I''m being honest, it''s the biggest highlight this town has.


    I leave a note of my whereabouts on the door, and an old flip phone just in case I¡¯m not back by the time before something inevitably happens.


    Walking from my ¡°new¡± house to the center part of the town takes about 15 minutes. It¡¯s practically just a straight line west of the town¡¯s forest. The path itself is a gravel and dirt filled line through the sea of trees.


    Even though it''s usually advised to have at least one pokemon on you at all times when walking through an area such as this, there aren¡¯t that many things in this forest that would prove to be any type of danger.


    It¡¯s mostly just some Chansey, Starley and Roselias. Even after the run in with that one Garchomp I still feel fairly confident that I would be able to defend myself with my six shooter come a time that a two foot flower attacks me.


    The metal clanking of my leg brace also helps with deterring threats as it echoes with every step I take. At first it bothered me a lot, but after a few days I learned to tune it out.


    Walking into town, it¡¯s actually pretty quiet. There are a few people out, but most of them only speak to greet each other, or make an occasional comment about the day. It¡¯s definitely a change of pace from the city where you couldn''t escape the multitude of voices even if you tried.


    Once at the breakfast restaurant I take a spot by the windows, a place I¡¯ve become accustomed to the last two times I''ve been here. It''s not the most flashy restaurant I¡¯ve been in, but it''s fine as a place to relax for a few minutes.


    Someone came to take my order and after that, It was basically the same routine as the old coffee place at Hearthome. I took out my dominos and stared at the tv for a while. This one was definitely on the older side, but it was at least capable of broadcasting news.


    Nothing interesting today. Just some stuff about some Johto celebrity coming to Sinnoh, some garbage that is selling for way more than it should and a story on some Sudowoodo blocking a road.


    After maybe the fourth story that was definitely not newsworthy, a waiter comes by and places a plate of egg and sausages with potatoes next to my domino tower.


    I look at the mess of food and take a bite out of it.


    I guess it''s true that when it comes to breakfast restaurants, the more the food looks like garbage, the better it tastes.


    While working on the full plate in front of me, I try to plan out my actions for the next few days.


    The cleaning is basically done, so all that''s left is to make the place not look abandoned. Then I also have to check Route 210 again, there''s always the chance that I find something.


    *TINK*


    I accidentally hit the small tower next to my plate and the whole thing collapses beside me.


    Shame.


    I start to pack my things, ready to move on to the next part of the day. Before I leave one of the staff comes to give me the bill.


    Just like with the last two times the bill is way less than it should be.


    I can only speculate why, but if I had to guess it''s due to my leg. I would probably be charged the normal amount but since I''m a crippled officer, I guess that''s enough for people''s pity.


    It''s a well meant gesture, but everytime I look at the reduction I can''t help, but get angry. The pity I get is now just the status quo. Ever since I left the hospital it''s been non stop about ¡°how terrible it must be¡± and everyone asking if I need their help.


    I can¡¯t even imagine what would happen if they found out I was missing an eye. It''s a miracle and a half that I had enough muscle left in the socket to move around a glass one.


    I leave the restaurant, leaving enough money to pay the unchanged price. I refuse to be treated like someone incapable of doing anything.


    I¡¯m still the person who caught the Galaxy Admins as the youngest detective on the force. I am not useless.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    I turn around to see an old woman carrying three bags of groceries. She looks to be in her late 80¡¯s, similar to the doctor at the hospital. She wore a flower print dress and had a sun hat on.


    I can already tell what she''s going to ask, seeing as a gust of wind looks like enough to knock her down.


    Well I pretty much have to do it, since this is gonna become 90% of my job now, so I take the three bags from the woman.


    ¡°Thank you so much. You are such a kind young man.¡± She says as she begins to walk home.


    Kind. I guess that''s how some people could see me doing my job.


    ¡°Are you new around here sonny. I don¡¯t remember seeing you before.¡±


    Well I wouldn''t  be surprised if she had seen me before and still didn¡¯t remember.


    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m new. Came here a couple of days ago. It¡¯s Alvis, ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Alvis? That¡¯s a wonderful name dear. Your parents must have put a lot of thought into it¡±


    I don¡¯t even know them, but I doubt they put any thought into Kenny.


    ¡°I¡¯m Olivia.¡±


    The walk was only about five minutes, during which Olivia went on about her week and what pokemon she found hiding in her attic. While she was talking I didn¡¯t really have a choice, but to listen due to the lack of any other processable information outside of how I''m going to deal with my pokemon later.


    When we finally reached her home she said she would be fine with bringing in the bags.


    ¡°Thank you again, dear. I don¡¯t know how I would have done it without you.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, it''s just my job. If you need anything else just call the emergency number¡±


    I didn¡¯t have anything more to say, so I began to walk back.


    So how am I going to-


    ¡°Oh, wait. Alvin.¡±


    My name¡¯s Alvis.


    ¡°I''m baking some desserts today. Would you like some of them tomorrow?¡±


    The question barely registers in my head, but I respond anyway.


    ¡°Uh yea sure.¡±


    ¡°You look tired, do you want to-¡±


    ¡°No thank you, gotta go.¡±


    Then I began to speed up before she could continue to offer me things I clearly don¡¯t need or want.


    On the way back home I pick up something at the nearby mart. Hopefully this peace offering will suffice. Hopes are not too high though.


    It¡¯s about noon now, so the sun''s beaming down on me. It''s about now when I start to regret not asking the old woman for a drink or something. To prevent a heat stroke I take a detour, now walking underneath the trees. The shade makes the temperature go from unbearable, to just mildly annoying.


    Walking the trees became a huge pain due to one oversight, my leg brace. Due to some of its parts being pretty bulky, it sometimes snagged on some roots, causing me to almost trip.


    After seven minutes of what you could call barely walking beside the trail, I see something in the distance out of the corner of my eye. I spot a pair of two floating orbs, moving adjacent to me. I stop moving and the second I do, they do as well.


    There is a moment of silence as I stare at the two objects, my right hand inching closer to the gun in my jacket. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Then a smile appears below the two orbs and a shape starts to form around them. It¡¯s only then when I realize what or more accurately who it is.


    ¡°Kane, what the hell are you doing out here? You¡¯re not supposed to be this far from the house.¡±


    The Gengar continued to smile as he started to drum his fingers together.


    ¡°I have been wandering this place, exploring the new location, since it¡¯s rare that you let me out. All the inhabitants of this place are rather fun. Alas, none of them seem too welcoming to me.¡±


    That¡¯s when I realize that I haven''t seen that many pokemon wandering about on my way back. There were some, but they were mostly on trees, refusing to move. If Kane has been moving around here I can''t blame them. Whether it¡¯s due to his constant wide and unblinking eyes or the unwavering smile, Kane creeps me out.


    ¡°Okay, but you could have done that closer to the house, so again, why are you here?¡±


    I didn''t think it was possible for his smile to get wider, but it did.


    ¡°Well back there-¡±


    He pointed in the direction of the house


    ¡°It¡¯s too loud.¡± He starts to stare off into the distance.  ¡°Yes, far too loud for me I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    Then he returns his eyes to me.


    ¡°The fire type, the loud and annoying one, yes. She¡¯s fighting with the others in their own mock combat. You know I would always love to bottle even though I am rarely allowed to, but the lesser fire type, she¡¯s too-¡±


    Kane waves his hand.


    ¡°Irritating to be around, it really brings down the atmosphere you know. Especially after that last escapade you went on.¡±


    Ashley and Kane have never gotten along. I don¡¯t entirely know why, but I have my ideas.


    Kane does a quick scan of my face before talking to try to gauge how I will respond to his next statement.


    ¡°So I was thinking, the lesser one, she¡¯s shown her hand, revealed that she is limited in capabilities, and because of that you''re here now.¡±


    He floats around me, arm pointing at the surrounding trees. Before stopping in front of me again.


    ¡°On top of all that, now is taking that out on all of us physically and emotionally. Don¡¯t you think we should-¡±


    ¡°No Kane. I am not getting rid of her.¡±


    Kane put an arm in front of his mouth and did his best to make a shocked expression with his smile still intact.


    ¡°Why, I would never suggest such a thing. She may be unbearable, empty headed, and defective, but she¡¯s still family.¡±


    Kane lowered his arm and looked directly into my eye.


    ¡°But you know, she seems miserable here too. So if that¡¯s what you''re thinking, then maybe it¡¯s for the best.¡±


    He then floats out of the shade and fades into the daylight. The last thing I see is his smile, then it¡¯s gone.


    Arceus help me, what am I supposed to do with these things?


    The closer I get to the house the more I understand what Kane was talking about. If I didn''t know any better I would say that some psychopath was setting explosives off. At least that''s what it sounded like at first. Once I was close enough to see what was actually happening, I would describe it as less of a fight and more of a game of keepaway.


    Jack was buzzing around in the air, doing his best to not get hit, not throwing a single attack, while Ashley was repeatedly launching herself at him.


    ¡°Hey chica, you know I¡¯m always down to have an intense match, but why don¡¯t we calm down for a-¡±


    Jack barely avoids being grabbed out of the air and finally retaliates with an Air Slash. He''s able to nail a direct hit, throwing the Infernape off balance for a moment. With it being a flying type move, it definitely hit her pretty hard, but to my surprise, she immediately goes back to relentlessly charging at the Scyther.


    ¡°HEY HEY HEY! IT¡¯S NOT THAT SERIOUS! WE¡¯RE JUST PRACTICING! IT¡¯S JUST PRACTI-¡±


    This time Jack wasn''t so lucky. Ashley was finally able to grab him out of the sky and both started to fall to the earth, Ashley restraining his wings.


    There was a burst of flames as soon as they collided with the ground. When the fire died down, Ashley was standing over Jack who was surprisingly still conscious.


    ¡° You *cough* you win. Shit. Was that really necessary¡±


    She didn''t respond, instead deciding to walk off without saying anything.


    When she was out of ear shot I walked up to Jack. Although hit with a direct Flare Blitz, he didn''t look half bad. Eviolites are really something I guess.


    ¡°Hey, you okay?¡±


    It took him a while to give an answer, taking a few seconds to catch his breath.


    ¡°Don''t worry, feel like a million bucks.¡±


    He sure didn''t look like it.


    ¡°It may have looked pretty bad, but she''s just frustrated, you know. Just needed to blow off some steam.¡±


    He tried getting up but immediately gave up after finding it too painful.


    ¡°But it can''t hurt to talk to her about it right?¡±


    Yup, definitely something I have to do. I guess it''s unavoidable at this point.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll get to it. By the way, who else was uh.. fighting?¡±


    ¡°Mio and Nubbins.¡±


    ¡°What about Blitz and Kane?¡±


    ¡°Blitz went to bodyguard Lucas so he could look around the place. Kane declined the offer. Said it would be a waste of time for him.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see. Do you want me to put you back in the ball or-¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. I''m fine like this, just give me a few minutes.¡±


    After making sure there were no serious injuries, I left to at least make an attempt on the one thing I¡¯ve been dreading.


    I found Ashley leaning on the side of the house, idly drumming her fingers against the wall while staring off into the forest. She seems to be contemplating something, Arceus knows what, but it seems to really be troubling her. The fire that burns on top of her head isn¡¯t too bright and she doesn''t look as pissed as she did before, so maybe now''s a good time.


    ¡°Hey. Are you okay?¡±


    The second I speak, her head darts towards me. First there is a flash of surprise, then shame, then irritation.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I just came to see how you were doing, i''m guessing not to great¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what gave it away, dumbass.¡±


    Rude


    Okay not the greatest start, but the situation is still salvageable. It was definitely a good idea to run over to the mart before coming back here.


    I took the recently purchased bottle of protein out of my bag and offered it to her.


    ¡°I was passing through town and saw this on sale, thought that I might as well get it, opportunities like this rarely come you know.¡±


    I paid full price for it. All 10,000P.


    She takes it without saying anything. But there is a small hint of a smile on her face as she does. Well there''s some progress. Now that she might be in a better mood I see no better time to try, so I go for it.


    ¡°So¡­ about what happened a few months ago.¡±


    I immediately feel the atmosphere shift, but there probably won''t be another opportunity like this so I keep going. It¡¯s a pretty tough subject to touch on, but we both came out of it pretty bad so I get where she''s coming from.


    ¡°Look I understand how you feel, but you have to just let it go. You tried your best, but it just wasn''t a situation where that was enough, but that¡¯s fine. I doubt that anyone else could have done a better job, so in the end it doesn¡¯t really matter, right? So how about we just forget about it and put this whole thing behind us, whaddaya say?


    I extend my hand out, waiting to shake on forgetting the whole ordeal, but that never comes. Instead I hear her mutter a few things.


    ¡°Of course that''s it.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    If she looked irritated before, she looks pretty livid now. The fire starts to glow brighter and get bigger.


    ¡°OF COURSE IT DOESN¡¯T MATTER! HEY CAN YOU ANSWER SOMETHING FOR ME?! WHAT DOES MATTER TO YOU!? DOES TAION GETTING HURT MATTER?! DOES ME ALMOST DYING MATTER! OR DOES YOUR STUPID FUCKING JOB MATTER!? JUST FUCK OFF!¡±


    With that she left, leaving burn spots in the grass with each step.


    Fuck. Why does this have to be so difficult? Every step forward feels like ten back. What the fuck is her problem? I clearly do care since I almost lost everything bailing her out of getting a rock through the skull.


    You know what? If she wants to continue being a bitch about the situation then fine. Continuing on with this is more trouble than it¡¯s worth. I was right in wanting to avoid this. I should have just followed my gut.


    As I make my way into the house I start to feel tired. I check the time, currently it¡¯s 2:37pm. A bit strange since I haven''t done much today, but I guess resting for a bit wouldn¡¯t hurt anyone, as


    long as I¡¯m able to wake up in time to check Route 210.  After that the cycle of doing nothing


    No one else is in the house right now so it¡¯s dead quiet. Other than me there''s absolutely no movement. Nevermind, on closer inspection there¡¯s dust everywhere. That''s one more thing to tack on the to-do list


    I move to one of the bedrooms upstairs, my eyes getting heavier with each step.


    I start to hear Kane¡¯s words echo in my head. His borderline suggestion to just get rid of her. Like that will ever happen.


    I collapsed on one of the beds that were still intact enough to be comfortable and began to drift into unconsciousness.


    ¡ª


    It¡¯s really nice out today. It¡¯s really hitting that in between point where it''s warm enough to go outside without needing to stack multiple layers of clothing, but also cool enough so you don''t need to worry about getting a heat stroke. As I lounge on the park bench, Abel sits beside me, constantly scrubbing through lottery tickets.


    ¡°Hey dude, that''s like your sixth one. How many of those things did you buy?¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about it. One of these will be a winner.¡± He says as he waves me off.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, so far you haven''t won anything.¡±


    A smile creeps on his face.


    ¡°Haven''t won anything yet you''ll see. It¡¯s all about persistence.¡±


    He pauses, then looks at me.


    ¡°Speaking of, I guess you probably do need a bit of help finding those things I asked for huh.¡±


    It took me a while to understand what he was talking about.


    ¡°Oh, you mean that marble thing you showed me back at the theater.¡±


    Abel nods. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Like I said, you will know when you find it I¡¯ll help you, just like last time.¡±


    I start to nod my head in agreement, but then stop.


    ¡°Wait, did you help me last time?¡±


    He gives a complex look.


    ¡°Sort of, It was mostly you, but you were having some trouble so I needed to help just a bit.¡±


    I can¡¯t remember that ever happening, but I guess it makes sense.


    ¡°This one should be a bit easier for you to find than the last, but you know, it never hurts to ask someone else for help.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said you would help?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, but you know how it is being the mascot for a store.¡±


    ¡°No, I really don¡¯t¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s busy work, can¡¯t be there to help all the time.¡±


    I mean I guess, but who would I even ask to help me with this stuff.


    ¡°Anyway I see that you still also need help when it comes to, uh¡­ asking people. Just remember what I¡¯ve said before and you¡¯ll be fine. Don''t worry, I can help you with this too¡­ maybe.¡±


    Talking? Is he talking about the soft ball team? I thought things were going smoothly with them. I don¡¯t remember-


    ¡°Hey, would you look at that.¡± Abel holds up his current lottery ticket. ¡°I won.¡±


    ¡ª


    I wake up facing the window. When my eyes adjust I attempt to gauge the time via the sun. It looks to be right before sun down, so maybe around five. I don¡¯t know how accurate that assumption is, but it¡¯s definitely not too late for me to do a sweep of route 210. As I get up an image flashes through my head. A park bench, similar to the image of a festival when I first woke up at the hospital.


    That¡¯s definitely strange. Another dream I can¡¯t remember.


    Preparing everything for my journey down Route 210 was quick. Just needed to grab a few potions and a flashlight in case it got darker earlier than expected. I could always just use my phone for light, but my current one was new since the last one got obliterated when the Garchomp ran through the wall, so I¡¯m not too excited about accidentally dropping this one and cracking it.


    Now it was down to who I was going to bring  along with me. There''s no need for Blitz to come along, and his size might be a bit of a hindrance when traversing the more linear parts of Route 210 so they''re automatically out. Mio might be pretty good for this since Umbreon¡¯s really thrive at hunting things down at night, which would really help cause so far I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯am looking for. I guess by that logic it couldn''t hurt to bring both Nubbins and Kane aside from the headache that they bring. Lucas would probably go if Kane wasn¡¯t around. I don¡¯t think Jack is willing to do anything at the moment. Both Taion and Juno would probably insist on coming with me after last time. While I am able to have more than six pokemon  out here I didn¡¯t bring everyone from my PC out since that would be a clusterfuck, so that leaves Ashley as the last one available to come. Although she hates Kane way more than Lucas seems to, she¡¯s usually able to tolerate him when work needs to be done. Not sure if that still holds at the moment, but I guess I¡¯ll find out.


    ***


    Rounding up everyone wasn¡¯t too difficult, though I asked Juno to get Ashley since maybe  it wasn¡¯t a good idea to talk to her again so soon. Surprisingly the most difficult one to convince was Taion. He insisted that the only way I would be going at all was if he walked alongside me the entire time. It feels really unnecessary, but a bit nice that he actually seems to care that I also almost died unlike someone.


    Like the last few times I¡¯ve been down this route, it¡¯s completely void of anything interesting. It¡¯s just the occasional pokemon wandering through the grass. Absolutely no sounds made from anything in the area could be thought of as out of the ordinary. Still I made a few rounds and even went all the way up to route 215, but I never saw nor heard anything weird. I decided to turn back right before reaching route 216 as by that point it was already getting pretty late.


    Half way through route 210 I heard something to my left. Heard probably isn''t even the right word. It was more so my mind was telling me there was something there. Without thinking I started moving towards it.Taion gave me a worried look at first, but followed. Whatever it was, it was far off the trail and deep into the forest.


    The lighting in the area got darker as we went further and further into the depths of the sea of trees. Although I couldn¡¯t necessarily see the pokemon along the trail I could at least hear them, the same could not be said now.  It was almost completely silent, save from Taion¡¯s footsteps and my braces clanking.


    I was aware of a lot of things while walking. I was aware that I passed the temple that sits to the east of Solaceon town. I was aware that the sun was already long gone and it¡¯s the perfect time to get attacked. I was aware that Taion was talking, voice frantic. I knew all of these things happened, but my mind never fully registered them. I was just focused on getting closer to whatever I was walking to.


    Eventually we came across a cave opening. Going through it, I could feel that wherever it was was close, really close.


    The cave was much larger than I expected. From the entrance it seemed like a very small tunnel, but it got wider the further in I went. There were some crystals that littered the wall, moonlight reflecting off each one illuminating the cave a light blue colour. It was a picture perfect view, but my mind was too focused on this thing to really appreciate any of it. The cave eventually split into three different paths. Without even knowing the layout of the cave I started moving towards the left most tunnel, sure in my mind that it was where I needed to go. Before I could take another step, Taion grabbed my arm.


    ¡°I said that''s enough!¡± He yelled. This time I was able to fully hear him. I turned to him. He looked both frustrated and terrified.


    ¡°We¡¯ve gone far enough for the day. Way too far. We should head back now.¡±


    My head feels a bit hazy but I manage to respond.


    ¡°But it¡¯s right there, so let''s just get it and go.¡±


    ¡°What is!? What¡¯s right there, all you¡¯ve been doing is walking in a straight line for who knows how long and not saying anything!?¡± He actually looks kind of scared. I¡¯m not sure why since we¡¯ve done way more dangerous things than just walking down a cave.


    I open my mouth to answer, but I realize that I don¡¯t really have one. I don¡¯t actually know what I¡¯m going towards. I look at the tunnel behind him and realize that I no longer feel compelled to walk towards that direction anymore. The feeling of something being there, something I needed, was gone.


    ¡°Uh, yeah. You¡¯re right, let''s just go home.¡±


    Taion sighs in relief and we begin walking towards the entrance.


    *BAM*


    We are stopped by the sound of a large crash followed by heavy footsteps. We both turn to see the source of the noise. Whatever it was,  coming from the tunnel to the right. I brought up my revolver while Taion readied an attack. From darkness, a garchomp emerged, bearing its teeth.


    Memories the last encounter  immediately flood my mind and my flight or fight instincts automatically kick in. Although I had my gun ready my mind chose flight first, which immediately failed as my first attempt to run made me trip over my bad leg.


    Taion tried to use Ice Beam on it, but it blocked the attack with Protect. I aimed my gun at the Garchomp, but hesitated on pulling the trigger. Now that I was no longer moving and was able to get a good look at the Garchomp. It looked nothing like the one back at the lab. It was practically identical to any common variety Garchomp. Then it appeared to me that it had no intention of fighting. Currently it was in a defensive position and had not moved forward since my initial reaction. If anything it started to move backwards.


    Taion got ready to fire off another shot. Before I could tell him to stop, the Garchomp let out a screech, throwing Taion off and making me cover my ears.


    The Garchomp started to back up further as Taion was trying to recover from the tinnitus inducing scream.


    Then things went from recoverable to really bad as there was a flash of light. Ashley immediately took form beside me and charged the Garchomp.


    Taken off guard by the entrance of a new threat, it wasn''t able to protect itself before Ashley collided with it, knocking it to the ground.


    ¡°Ashley, what the H-¡±


    Before I could finish she immediately got on top of the Garchomp and started throwing punch after punch at its head. Even after the Garchomp gave up on defending itself she just kept going.


    I was completely stunned. I''ve never seen her be this violent in any fight before nor have any of my pokemon been able to release themselves when not called upon. I guess Taion was too as he just stood there, eyes wide, watching the absolute beatdown happening before us.


    After a couple of seconds I finally regain my composure and take out Ashley''s ball, recalling her before she could kill the thing.


    There was a moment of silence as I walked towards the Garchomp, face bloody on the ground.


    Before I reach it I hear smaller steps coming from the tunnel. Three Gible waddled towards the Garchomp on the ground.


    ¡°Ma? Ma?¡± I heard each of them say.


    Holy shit. This was fucked beyond all belief.


    When they got close enough they noticed me and Taion and started growling. You know it might be a good time to leave. I recall Taion and start to leave but stop.


    Fuck


    I take a full restore out of my bag and slowly walk toward the Garchomp. Both hands raised. The Gibble start to snarl and chomp the air, doing their best to look intimidating, but back up when I get too close. In a few minutes able to give the beaten Garchomp enough treatment in order to stabilize it. The Gible continued with their less than effective defense mechanism the whole way through which got annoying, but they never tried attacking.


    After everything was said and done. I exited the cave, not daring to turn my back to the group of land sharks until I was out.


    The walk back to the house was pretty quiet, but suspenseful. It was pitch black outside and my hands were once again covered in blood. I must have looked like a mad man, stumbling through the woods, gun in hand.


    Once I got to the house I placed five pokeballs on the kitchen counter, only keeping one. I take a moment to breathe and think about my next course of action. Outside, Lucas and Blitz are sleeping on the field so they won''t be a problem. I exit the house and as quietly as possible, I make my way past them into the woods.


    It takes a while, trying to avoid waking them with the clanking of my brace is a difficult feat, but I pull it off.


    Finally I walked far enough into the woods so no one at the old ranch could hear us.Hopefully even if she starts yelling at me again.


    I take out Ashley''s pokeball, debating if it was in my safeties best interest to attempt this again.


    After a few seconds of mentally going back and forth, I made up my mind. I really hope the second time¡¯s the charm.

 Tragic Decision 5. 1

    Description: A side story that takes place during Alvis¡¯ nap in chapter 6


    *CRACK*


    Another small tree falls to the floor. The stump remaining on the ground burns with a few embers. As I pull my hand back, any splinters and loose pieces of bark burn to a crisp.


    This is the third tree down in two hours and I''m still feeling irritated. The conversation from earlier still reverberates in my brain.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter, right?  How about we just forget about it and put this whole thing behind us?¡±


    It definitely does matter. He hates it here, he hates the pity, and now he hates me. Nah he probably doesn''t, but I wouldn''t be surprised if he views me as a ticking time bomb now. Even during that last conversation, he looked really uncomfortable.


    After taking a minute to just breathe and admire how the colours of the leaves look in the evening glow, I start walking to find a new tree to use as a punching bag.


    Things used to be so much simpler, what happened to those days. Walking eastward I find a tree that''s pretty small and had no signs of any other pokemon using it as a home. Hopefully no one will miss this one.


    It''s not like I don''t want to move on, but after what happened, how am I supposed to do so this fast?


    As I try to sort out my thoughts, I strike the tree. The impact leaves a sizable crater on its side leaving the area sizzling and embers flying around the tree¡¯s bark.


    I start punching the tree over and over again. Each punch brings back memories of that day.


    Fighting the behemoth of a Garchomp, having bits of skin ripped away with each hit.


    The wounds from that fight have healed, leaving scars. Unlike Alvis¡¯ injuries earning him a pity party wherever he goes, these were seen as some type of trophy by everyone else, even though you could barely call that a victory.


    I remember how I felt in the moment, desperately trying to find a way to do anything to it, but no matter what I tried it would shrug it off and keep attacking.


    The memory of getting hit and slammed into the laboratory wall, my desperate attempt at a Blaze Kick and that thing looming over me, getting ready to kill me, frustrates me to no end.


    I don''t know what my face looked like at that moment, but in my mind I was content with what was to come next. It would suck that life ended this early but it was just how life would have played out. I didn''t have any regrets, only the hope that although I was pissed about being left in the rain and ignored, Alvis wouldn''t think I''d hold that grudge in my final moments.


    What I expected to hear was the whistle of its claw swinging down followed by either the squishy ripping of organs or crunching of bones, but instead I heard the sound of six consecutive gunshots and the clicking of an empty cylinder.


    The Garchomp let out a screech and turned around.


    Alvis stood in front of the exit, gun in hand, still bleeding from his previous wound.


    The scene that played out while I struggled to get back up, currently powerless to do anything, but watch, is still clear in my mind as if it happened only minutes ago.


    I saw him fiddle with the gun before the Garchomp shot him again, the rock embedding itself into his left arm.


    This didn¡¯t seem to deter him much as three more gunshots went off. Now traces of blood started to drip from the Garchomp.


    It took me a day or two to fully register the thoughts I had in the moment, each seeming more impossible than the last. Alvis is actually staying to fight this thing, he somehow made it bleed where I couldn¡¯t, he¡¯s dying.


    I regained enough control of my body to crawl towards the thing as it shot again, this time hitting him in the leg. There was a sickening crunch as it stuck into his right leg and he was knocked off balance, falling to the floor.


    Out of ammo and options, Alvis dropped his gun. First looking at the Garchomp, then at me. His face looked so hollow and void of life. It was the same face he had when I met him six years ago.


    His mouth moved as if he was talking. I still don''t know what he said or if he finished what he was going to say because at that moment the Garchomp fired one last Stone Edge. This one hit him in the head. I remember every single moment of the rock drilling into his eye, crushing half  of it while pushing out the other. I saw his head reel back from the initial impact and his body sway back before falling forward, blood splashing as he hit the ground.


    I wanted to scream, to run over and cradle his lifeless body, but I couldn''t. I wanted to escape this sick joke of a situation, to just wake up from this horrendous nightmare, this couldn''t be real, but it was real and I didn¡¯t do anything but watch.


    At that moment I felt a boost of adrenaline, a lot stronger than anything I''ve experienced in previous fights, and used the rest of my energy and consciousness to attack the thing in front of me one last time. I passed out right after, hoping that the blood loss was enough to kill me.


    The next time I woke up, I was in neither heaven nor hell. It was the pc system. I haven''t been in here too many times since Alvis almost always brought me along to wherever he needed to go, but I recognized the artificial setting from the very few times he needed to go to more aquatic settings.


    The first person to come up to me was Taion.


    He had a few cuts on him, but shrugged them off in order to find me. Seeing that I''m rarely sent in here, he knew something was wrong.


    ¡°What happened out there? Did something happen to Alvis?¡±


    I didn''t want to answer. I couldn''t answer. The image of Alvis¡¯ body is still fresh in my mind. So I just stayed silent and he eventually got the idea. It was heartbreaking seeing his realization as he went through this exact thing before. Distraught was an understatement, he looked completely done with everything. He left in silence, leaving me to think about what happened, and I did for three months. That was all I could think about. It got to the point where I would sometimes see him standing in the distance, still pierced with multiple rocks, just looking forward with the empty expression he had before he died. That image haunted me both while I was awake and in my dreams. Juno still held hope that he was alive. She said she stopped most of the bleeding, but most of us weren''t too convinced, especially me, not after seeing what happened first hand.


    One day I was pulled out of the pc. At this point in time I was mentally prepared to face the police chief or possibly a different trainer we would be assigned to stay with. Taion had talked me through the possibilities, so I had an idea of what to expect. I actually found out that if the pokemon so choses, they could just be released if they really wanted to. Of course that was a bit of a difficult process since very few people could understand pokemon and just as many pokemon could write, but that¡¯s what I was going to go with. I was going to refuse the offer to join someone else''s team and just live out the rest of my life fighting the strongest thing I could find. It kind of felt disrespectful for Alvis¡¯ last moments to be saving me only so I could get paired up with someone who I can¡¯t talk to and will probably just keep me in a ball 24/7. Especially if it¡¯s Ben.


    A few years ago I told Alvis that my dream was to be the strongest. Not even on his team, just in general. I could tell that he found it stupid at the time and I resented him a bit for that. Then I realized that that kind of is a dumb goal; fighting that Garchomp was just a reminder of that. But since it¡¯s what he died for I guess I¡¯ll just live life to the fullest, delusions and all.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Then the very first face I see after being brought out is his.


    At first I thought I was just seeing things again and my mind was really that far gone, but no, it was really him. His left eye was covered with an eye patch and his right leg covered in a brace with metallic lining.


    He immediately started talking and I- I didn''t know what to say. What could I say?


    Just like what ive been doing for the past few months, I continued to keep to myself for an entire week.


    Then, earlier today he tried reaching out again, and then I completely blew up at him.


    I did it because I still can''t move past it, because I still can''t help but see him with multiple stones piercing his limbs, because I''m too scared that once I move on he''ll be gone again.


    But this doesn''t justify what I did to him or Jack.


    I was given another chance to attempt to fix this¡­


    and I


    FUCKED


    IT UP


    AGAIN


    *CRACK*


    Tree number four hits the ground.


    ¡°To seem is to dream a dream I love, cause one is one is one.¡±


    I hear a voice singing from my right. I instantly recognize the high-pitched, nails on chalkboard voice combined with the dragging of each final word as the purple translucent bastard.


    I turn to face the Gengar. As usual he presents a wide toothy smile.


    ¡°What the hell do you want?¡±


    He brings both hands to his mouth in mock surprise. ¡°Well that¡¯s no way to talk to a dear old friend such as me now is it?¡± Kane tucks his arms behind his back.


    ¡°I just came to check on dearest Alvis¡¯ precious little attack dog. Or I guess in your case, psychotic monkey.¡±


    Stay calm, this guy lives- or well exists to piss you off.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m doing fine, thank you very much. Now can you fuck off please?¡±


    ¡°Ah, ah ,ah. I wasn¡¯t finished,¡± he says, wagging a finger.


    ¡°What else were you gonna say? Do you wanna actually have a match or do we still need to go to the chateau to feel confident?¡±


    Kane floats up to me and stops right in front of my face. I know that poking at his ego pisses him off, even if his expression doesn¡¯t change.


    ¡°I also wanted to talk about your behavior.¡±


    Great, now I¡¯am going to get a lecture from this asshole.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid your attitude from the past few days has been rather poor.¡± He shifts his body forward in a way that seems like he''s trying to portray disappointment, but his shit eating smile remains the same as always.


    ¡°Uh, okay. Our trainer jus-¡±


    ¡°Your trainer.¡± Kane interrupts.


    He''s yours too dumbass. ¡°Anyway he just popped up three months after we thought he was dead, and you told us as much. In the PC, you said his soul definitely passed on. Now he¡¯s trudging around like a walking corpse. How am I not justified in feeling the way I do?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because it¡¯s your fault?¡±


    I stare at him. How I wish I could rip his arms off and shove them up his ass. ¡°How is this my fault? If you are talking about the fight then that was completely out of my hands. You weren''t there so i don¡¯t want to hear ¡®oh, but if it was someone else they would have done better.¡±


    Kane started to float in a circle around me.


    ¡°Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps none of us would fare better against it.¡±


    ¡°So what''s your point?¡±


    Kane¡¯s smile got wider and his eyes dilated.


    ¡°Maybe he wouldn¡¯t be in this state if you didn¡¯t play hero.¡±


    ¡°What? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Well from what you said you repeatedly tried attacking the thing and every time you got injured. So~ why even try?¡±


    ¡°Why did I try!? Cause Alvis¡¯ life was on the line! That¡¯s why I tried!¡±


    Kane put a finger up and shook it in front of my face.


    ¡°Tsk, tsk. From what you said, you weren¡¯t doing anything to it, so it seems like attacking it to cause a distraction was completely unnecessary. You fought because you wanted to show off. Just surviving wasn¡¯t enough for you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true! If I didn¡¯t do anything That thing would still be alive!¡±


    ¡°But would it not be handled by the police later? Would Alvis need to come in to save you? Would he be here? Would we be here?¡±


    ¡°I- I don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°He''s planning on releasing you. I hope you know that?¡±


    That stops me.


    ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡±


    He wouldn''t.


    ¡°Oh, I was talking to him earlier. Like I said, you really need to watch your behavior. It''s really wearing down on him.¡±


    This mother fucker.


    ¡°What the fuck did you same to him!?¡±


    The purple piece of shit hovers above me.


    ¡°Only the truth. I just pointed out that you were really bringing everyone down including him with your current attitude. Let''s not forget your performance with that grocery bag three months ago and well~ while he didn''t want to say it, releasing you is what came to mind¡±


    I could feel my head warmer. There''s no way he would actually think that. Would he?


    ¡°Like he would ever actually go through with that. I''ve been with him since the beginning. You on the other hand were only caught a year-¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you''re mistaken.¡± Kane interrupts again.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I was never caught by him. I am simply-¡±


    ¡°Yes you were. When I came back to the Chateau with him I beat your ass again and he only caught you because you were the only haunter there.¡±


    Although he still jumped his creepy ass smile up I could tell I''m getting to him.


    ¡°I wouldn''t say that''s entirely acc-¡±


    ¡°What''s wrong? Too much of a bitch to admit that you lost and were caught.¡±


    For the first time since I knew the bastard, the smile on his face was dying down.


    ¡°Hold on now let''s-¡±


    ¡°Is that why you never address him as your trainer? Is that why you''re always calling him dearest or some other bullshit. You want to delude yourself into thinking that you''re still in charge?¡±


    His smile was completely gone. For a moment he doesn''t do anything, he just looks at me. Then he gives an annoyed look and begins to speak again.


    ¡°You really are just an irritating parasite, aren''t you?¡±


    His voice sounds different. It was no longer high pitched and aloof. Now it was a lot deeper and more grainy, as if it was coming through a phonograph.


    ¡°Unlike you and the rest of you, tools, I am not some kind of pet or slave.¡±


    Although his voice was calm his eyes were seething with rage.


    ¡°Oh wow, did I strike a nerve?¡±


    ¡°Well of course you did. I will not  stand such slander. Comparing me to a simple minded failure like you. I agree to help him, when it benefits me. You sycophants always bend over backwards and do whatever he wants! It¡¯s always Alvis says to do this and Alvis says to do that with you guys, don¡¯t any of you want things for yourselves?¡± The elegance of his speech is gone, replaced with something more sharp and vitriolic.


    ¡°You know, you probably wouldn¡¯t be where you are now if he wasn¡¯t  your trainer. You would still be wasting away at the old chateau as a haunter. You¡¯d be nothing. The only reason he keeps you around is cause you can perform a cool little magic trick on closed pokeballs, big whoop¡±


    I fully expected this to put fuel on the fire and piss him off even more, but instead he stops for a second.


    ¡°What does it even matter, you''ll be gone soon anyway. I''ll be blunt with you, everyone fights to leave the past and bad experiences behind them. You may be right, I may only have one use, but at least it is something original to me. Even if he finds a shred of usefulness in you that only you can provide, everytime he sees you he will remember that day. The memories of being shot and bleeding out because he didn¡¯t want to let his favorite pet at the time die. That is what you bring back to him. That is all you are. Unlike me, the only reason he''s still keeping you around is due to some foolish sentimentality. But sooner or later he will come to his senses and figure out what the true problem is.¡±


    Out of the corner of my eye I could see a dried leaf catch fire and quickly burn to ash. Kane must have also noticed it because his smile returned, but his voice stays the same.


    ¡°All of you are just cogs or some other common instrument, pushing and struggling to play a part in a machine. At least the rest know their place and don''t think they are anything special, but you, you think that just because you can win some pointless fights it makes you something special, something worth keeping around. You''re already being replaced by Blitz in that aspect so why even try.¡±


    I could feel my nails digging into my palms as my hand tightened into fists. Once again Kane takes notice of it.


    ¡°Oh what''s this? Are you going to hit me?¡± He looks almost excited. Sociopathic freak.


    ¡°I will if you don''t shut the fuck up and get out of my face in five seconds¡±


    ¡°Come on then why don''t you? Attack me, let¡¯s see what happens. Hitting things is all you¡¯re good for anyway? Come on, do it.¡±


    Fire engulfs my right hand.


    ¡°Do it! Let''s see you hit something other than a tree! Come on, let''s go! Maybe he''ll change his mind if you do it! Prove that you''re still worth more than just a hammer to throw at problems. That you bring more value as a fighter than mating fodder for ditto! Maybe you can get rid of me for good! Maybe you won¡¯t! So many possibilities! Come on, right here!¡±


    As I bring my arm up, he starts to yell even louder.


    ¡°ATTACK ME! HIT ME! CUT ME! PUNCH ME! SLICE ME! KILL ME! CRUSH ME! SPEAR ME! BURN ME! DROWN ME! DISASSEMBLE ME!  BREAK ME! ELECTROCUTE ME! STAB ME! DISINTEGRATE ME! MELT ME! CRUCIFY ME!¡±


    I¡¯m going to kill him. Even if he''s a ghost, I''l lmake sure there''s nothing left of him to find.


    ¡°DO IT!¡±


    ¡°Umm excuse me.¡±


    I stop and turn my head.


    It''s Juno, she stands behind me holding two pokeballs.


    ¡°Were going out to route 210 and Alvis wants both of you with him.-¡±


    She extends the small spheres outwards.


    ¡°-so if you would¡±


    I look back at Kane who glances at me one more time before floating over to Juno.


    ¡°Gladly¡± he says in his usual high pitched voice.


    As he passes me he whispers something


    ¡°Remember, you will die alone.¡±


    With that he touched the center of his pokeball and disappeared in a beam of light.


    Juno then turns to me.


    ¡°Don''t listen to em. You know he would never get rid of you. You know that more than any of us.¡±


    I look at the floor, the grass beneath my feet is burnt and decayed.


    ¡°Do I really¡± I think to myself before light overtakes my vision.


    ¡­


    The next thing I hear is the familiar sound of a Garchomp screeching.