The Unofficial Pokémon Rejuvenation novelization

[Masterdude21]

 

Hello everyone! Long-time fan of Rejuvenation here. I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, but someone advised me to head to the Rejuvenation fanworks page and I think I found it.

Anyway, I'm a decent-ish writer who's committed to a novelization of Pokémon Rejuvenation. I've posted my current work (About to wrap up Chapter 2: Redemption) on the various fanfiction and story sites already, and someone recommended me to post it here as well :)

 

English is not my first language. If I make any mistakes when it comes to spelling, grammar or sentence structuring, do not hesitate to let me know and I will fix it.

That being said, let's get into the story! 

 

 

Prologue

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

"Can you tell me the story about the Zorua and the Pangoro again, Mommy?"

 

A smile. "Haha. All right. I will. There once was a lonely Zorua living deep in the darkest of forests. He was a mischievous one. Transforming into other Pokémon and beings that lived around. He would often use this ability to trick others into handing over their food, or to use their homes as his own. Because of this, he didn't have many friends. I'm sure you can piece together why?"

 

Even the first time she heard the story, she was shocked at how mean Zorua seemed to be.

 

"One day," Mom continued, "this changed when Zorua met a powerful Pokémon called "Pangoro". They were fighting over a rare and coveted golden apple. Even after many hours, when their fight came to an end, no victor was revealed. They knew they were evenly matched. One could not take out the other. With both staring at the other intensely, they knew that they were destined for friendship. So, the two became quick companions. They were two peas in a pod, if you will. They travelled the world together. Overcame hardships. Went on thrilling adventures…life was good for the two of them. Until, one day, Zorua went too far."

 

She hated this part.

 

"Zorua planned a devious prank on Pangoro. 'I shall transform into Pangoro's fallen mother. That would surely give him a spook!' Zorua said. 'It'll be my best prank yet!' Zorua said. So while Pangoro left to find food, Zorua put his malicious plan into action. When Pangoro returned home, he was greeted with the sight of his dead mother. Paralyzed with a mixture of extreme emotions, Pangoro dropped his collection of food onto the ground. In that collection of food was…"

 

"A golden apple!"

 

Mom laughed. "Yes, that's right. A golden apple. When Zorua saw this, he transformed back into his normal state, looked down food and said…'Hey! Where did you find this golden apple? It looks fresh and incredibly delicious!' Zorua raised his head again to see a face filled with fury and sadness, but most importantly, disappointment. He realized quickly that he hurt Pangoro very deeply and tried to apologize. But Pangoro wouldn't hear any of it and immediately ran away, back into the forest."

 

Quietly, she pulled her blanket up higher. Hearing this part always hurt the most.

 

"Shaken and worried, Zorua ran after him, but Pangoro was nowhere to be found. Zorua realized that he repelled his only friend with his own selfishness. And Zorua became lonely once more." With that, her mother bowed towards her and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep tight," she whispered. "Maria."

 

Though it did not take long for sleep to claim her after that, her mother's story lingered in the back of her mind. Loneliness such as Zorua's…she could not imagine that. She did not want to imagine that. Somehow, it seemed unfair to her. As she drifted off, she wondered, not for the first time, if someone would not write a second part to that story…

 

When Maria woke up the next forming, she saw that the sun was already rising. Light flooded her room through a gap in the curtains. She struggled against the urge to pull her pillow over her head, slowly blinking the bleary sleep from her eyes.

 

She swung her legs from her bed, knowing that she had things to do that day. She got dressed, passed by mom's copy of the Tale of the Lonely Zorua on the table, and made her way downstairs.

"Mommy!" She called as she rounded the corner into the living room. "I'm up, I'm up!"

 

Her mother's warm voice came from the kitchen down to the left. "Ah, good morning Maria! Did you sleep well? I'm preparing breakfast right now. Do you mind fetching your father? He's working in his study. But don't take too long! I don't want his food to get cold."

 

Maria straightened her shoulders. That sounded like a task for her! "You can count on my mommy!" She called out.

 

The rest of the living room was to the right, overlooked by a huuuge picture of her, mommy and daddy. She liked to stare at it for a moment every time she passed by. She might have been much younger when it was taken, but she still remembered when they did it. If only daddy had remembered how to smile that day…

 

As Maria ran down the room towards daddy's study, she spared a glance at the other door at the far end of the living room. According to her parents, it led to the basement, but…daddy didn't want her down there. They said it was dangerous for her, or something like that.

 

The door had "Adventure!" written all over its surface, but that would have to wait until later. For now, daddy needed his breakfast.

 

Maria gently opened the door to the study and approached her father. He…seemed startled when she entered, even though she had been so calm about it.

 

"Ah, Marian - …Maria. How are you doing?"

 

"Mom said breakfast is ready so get your but out of this room and have good food!" Maria exclaimed with a big smile.

 

Her father's stern expression cracked a little bit. "I do love your mother's cooking. All right, I'll be out in a few moments. Go tell your mother that, y'hear?"

 

Maria pouted, but knew better than to argue. "Okay."

 

So…daddy would probably have to eat cold breakfast then.

 

But mommy didn't seem bothered when Maria reported back. "Did he say that now? Well, there's no use in rushing him, I guess," she said. "You should go upstairs and freshen up some more. I'll have your breakfast ready by then."

 

Maria nodded, then glanced at the door to the garden. "Okay, and then afterwards, we get to play outside, right?"

 

"Of course!" Her mother said with a reassuring smile. "Now go on Maria. I'll be waiting for you down here."

 

Oh, Maria didn't need to be told twice! She turned around and ran back all the way upstairs to her room, where -

 

The room shifted and changed. A dark, blue fog seemed to swallow up her stuff, making everything look that much darker and distant. The hairs in the back of her neck rose, and she suddenly felt very, very cold.

"…What was that?" Maria murmured.

 

A second later, the sound of dishes breaking broke her from her stupor, and she whirled around. "Mom?!"

 

Silence.

 

"Mommy?"

 

Still no response. Growing nervous now, Maria rushed downstairs again, calling her mother's name again and again. But when she reached the living room again, mommy was nowhere to be seen.

 

A strange person stood in her home instead. Her clothes were all weird; she wore a helmet that completely hid her face and her hair, and her suit looked like that of a movie character. All grey and black. Maybe she was one of those biker people? But then, why the red cape that billowed behind her? Bikers didn't wear capes on the road, did they?

 

"How many times?" The woman demanded, her voice somewhat muffled by the helmet.

 

"Wh-what?" Maria stammered.

 

"How many times are you going to make this little girl suffer?" The woman said, almost growled. As she spoke, her voice steadily rose in volume, until she was almost shouting. "How many times are you willing to put

her through this chaos?!"

 

Trembling, Maria took a step back. "I…I'm…I don't know what you're talking about," she admitted,.

 

The woman glanced down at her, as if spotting her for the first time. "I'm not talking to you."

 

"O-Oh…well, do…you know where my parents are?" Maria replied, silently willing her body to move. Fear raced down her spine in waves, rooting her legs to the spot. Where were her mommy and daddy? What was going on?

 

The woman seemed to hesitate. " …downstairs."

 

Maria felt her heart skip a beat. "Oh…! Okay…well, I'm going to go to them now."

 

She tore her gaze from the weird person and started racing towards the basement, but she barely got to the family picture before a sharp voice rang out, stopping her in her tracks again.

 

"Maria."

 

That puzzled her even more than the cape. This woman knew her? "Y-Yes?"

 

The woman stared at her from behind that reflective visor. "No matter what happens," she said slowly, almost reassuringly. "Don't lose hope. Don't you dare lose hope. Don't lose who you are and don't you dare forget

what's about to happen. You understand?"

 

No, she didn't. She didn't understand at all. But when she replied, it was almost instinctual, and she said, "Yes. I do understand."

 

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, the stranger nodded. "Good. Go to them now. They're waiting."

 

"O-Okay!" Maria stammered again. More confused than scared now, she ran downstairs, where her father had always forbidden her to go. Her mind spun, anxiety bore down on her like a smothering carpet. The sound of her shoes hitting the polished stone echoed in her ears as she ran down the hallway. Her fingers brushed against the door – it wasn't locked – and she flung it open, desperate to see her parents and tell them what was going on –

 

Her mother lay on the ground, unmoving. Still. Bleeding.

 

Bleeding…!

 

"Mommy!" Maria yelled. She ran towards her mother's side, pausing only to find her father standing opposite of her, with his back to them both.

 

With his back to mommy.

 

"What are you doing to mommy?! Mommy, wake up!" Maria cried. "Mommy wake up! Wake up!"

 

But her mother didn't wake up. The blood came from her mouth, rolling down the corners of her mouth like raindrops. It took Maria a moment that mommy wasn't lying on the floor. It was a pedestal, raised about a foot from the ground. Why? What was happening

 

"Daddy, daddy move!" Maria yelled in desperation. Fear pulsated through her entire body now. They had to find help, they had to get mommy to a doctor! "Why won't you say anything? Why!"

 

"Marianette…your father wishes to see you now," a voice whispered in her ear.

 

Alarmed, Maria spun around, but there was nobody there.

 

"What…are you talking about?" She whispered.

 

"Marianette. Your father wishes to see you now," This time, the voice seemed to come from her father, who still hadn't turned around-!

 

"What are you doing!" Maria demanded.

 

"Marianette."

 

"Marianette."

 

"Marianette!"

 

A flash of light engulfed the basement. For several long moments, Maria couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't think.

 

Then as sudden as that happened, the light faded away, and Maria found herself standing in front of a giant mirror. It was even larger than an adult person, and its frame was a solid black. The bricks behind it weren't those of her basement anymore.

 

"What?!"

 

"Now, for the fifth time Marianette…" the voice from behind again, but this time really was someone there. It was a woman clad in an old-fashioned outfit Maria had only ever seen in picture books about kings and queens. The woman was a maid? What was she doing here? "Your father is waiting for you in the East Wing. You're making him wait longer than he has time for. So get to it."

 

"I…" something tugged at her mind, but she couldn't remember. It was important, she knew it was, but she couldn't…it wasn't…

 

The feeling faded away, and Marianette felt like she had lost something important to her. "Wh-what am I doing here again?" She asked the maid.

 

The maid's expression did not change one bit. "Marianette. I won't say it again. Just hurry along then."

 

"My…my name isn't Marianette…" Marianette protested. "It's Maria…"

 

The maid did not grace her with an answer. Instead, she turned on her heels and walked away with a brisk pace, leaving Maria all alone. Alone with a stuffed Zorua doll, a stuffed Pangoro doll and the giant mirror.

 

And more than forty burning candles arrayed along the corners of the hallway.

 

It was too much. Maria ran after the maid, afraid of what would happen if she were to stay there alone.

 

But the basement wasn't her basement. It was bigger, darker and lined with strange pillars adorned with weird scribbles. Chandeliers hung from the walls, burning eerily in the dark.

 

The maid…she was there too. And…and over there? And also down the hall, in front of another door.

 

Marianette counted three maids, all clad exactly the same, all looking exactly alike, and none of them paid her any heed.

 

"What are you going to do about…you know…that problem Indriad told us about," one of the maids whispered to another in hushed tones.

 

"We'll deal with it when the time comes," the other maid replied as Marianette wandered past them. "For now, someone should stop being an eavesdropper and get to their father."

 

A fourth maid stood at the end of the hallway, staring at Marianette with large, empty eyes.

 

"Can you feel it, Marianette?" She said, the corners of her mouth pulled upwards in a wide grin. "The end is near. All it takes is one more person. Just one more…"

 

Horror and despair mingled in her head, and she staggered back from the maid.

 

One more.

 

One more what for?

 

With the maids surrounding her, there really was one way to go.

 

The East Wing.

 

Your father is waiting for you.

 

Marianette pushed onwards, opening the last door that separated her from whatever was going on. When she did, she realized instantly that she was somewhere she really, really shouldn't be.

 

The room was large, far too large to be in her basement. It consisted of an elevated platform surrounded by water, dark and blue and cold.

 

Surrounding her from all directions were the maids. The maids, with identical faces. The maids, all lined up to surround her, and one of their own, standing atop a pedestal that seemed strangely familiar.

 

The door behind her opened again, and Marianette felt the harrowing presence of another one of those maids standing directly behind her. Slowly, the realization dawned on her.

 

She had nowhere else to go.

 

She was trapped.

 

"Where's my mom?" She demanded of them.

 

"Mommy is sleeping with our lord now, Marianette," someone whose voice she didn't know answered her. Maria stepped a couple of feet to her left, and saw that a man stood behind the pedestal. He…he looked wrong.

 

She couldn't tell why or how, but he looked wrong.

 

Her emotions tumbled in her head, over and over.

 

Everything was wrong.

 

Mixed and melded with the horror came a sense of anger so fierce that it startled her. "Stop calling me Marianette!" She yelled, tears prickling in her eyes. "It's Maria!"

 

The man scoffed. His dark eyes smoldered with disdain as he glared at her from under his hood. "What is with this disrespect?" He spat. "Your name is no longer Maria. Now, as I was initially planning to do – "

 

"No need for the explanation sir," the maid on the pedestal spoke. "Demonstration may be the key to this girl's mind."

 

"Hmph. Very well."

 

With that, the man spread his arms and cast his head to the sky. He shouted, but the words that came from his mouth were completely foreign. It…didn't sound like gibberish. It sounded like it should have made sense, but that Maria's mind simply lacked the ability to make sense of it. Power crept into those words, a power that made the ground vibrate and Maria's teeth hum.

 

The maid gasped, her body went rigid –

 

And then her body crumbled apart and disappeared. Gone. Like snow in the sun.

 

Marianette gasped.

 

"She's gone now, Marianette. She is with the lord now. She won't need to suffer the calamity that soon befalls this earth." The man inhaled sharply. "Marianette. It's your turn now."

 

Marianette felt her eyes widen, and she took a trembling step back. "No, you can't make me do it…"

 

"Maids!" the man shouted. "Bring Marianette to the altar!"

 

They came for her, all of them at once. Pale hands clasped her arms and shoulders. Cold fabric rubbed against her skin as they pinned her between them.

 

"No!" Marianette screamed. "Let go of me! Let go of me!"

 

Her words came out desperate and pleading and fell on deaf ears.

 

"You said the same to my mommy!" Maria cried at the man, tears rolling down her cheeks as she fought against the vicelike grip of the monsters surrounding her. "She's gone because of you!"

 

"Enough, Marianette," the man spoke with an annoyed tone even as the maids shoved her to the pedestal. "Go with dignity."

 

"I don't want this! Just let me go!"

 

The man's cruel eyes closed as he spread his arms once more. Again he spoke in that strange language and again, the air crackled with power.

 

"I hate this! I hate you!" Maria cried, struggling with all her might. "Someone please! Don't let him do this to me!" The tears flowed freely now as fear and panic took over every fiber of her being. She didn't want to die.

 

She didn't want to die! "Someone please help me! Anyone! Mommy! MOMMY!"

 

Her vision blurred, the room grew dark.

 

"Please…"

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

 

Edited July 26 by Masterdude21
Title change

[Masterdude21]

I haven't been dragged out yet so I'm going to make my nest here.

 

Because this is a novelization, it won't be a hundred percent identical to the game. I'm planning on adding the sections and interactions that people didn't get to see, getting some insight in what other characters were doing during critical plot moments.

 

Anyway, please let me know how I can improve this story in the comments below! Ideas, suggestions, feedback, anything is welcome!

 

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

Date: 01 July, 20XX

Location: S.S. Oceana

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of static, the static-filled screen resolved itself, and the face of an enthusiastic young woman appeared. She blinked a couple of times as her own connection seemed to stabilize, then turned her brown eyes to her own camera. "Ah, there you are! Finally got a face to go with the name. It's nice to meet you. My name is Amanda. I'm what you could call a scout."

 

"A scout? What for?"

 

"What for? The Aevium League of course! It's my job to guide newcomers like you through all of our procedures. There are eighteen Gym Leaders for you to defeat – alongside the Elite Eight. I'll be meeting up with you at East Gearen City!" A few strands of black and red hair fell from underneath her cap and in front of her eyes. She paused to brush them out of her face, then continued. " For now, let's walk you though the basic registration process…"

 

Basic registration truly lived up to its name. Amanda the League Scout only needed a copy of his ID to set up a new trainer ID. The only fields he had to fill in himself were his name and his gender. Perhaps with the large quantity of people wanting to sign up, any method to smoothen the process was welcome.

 

"Aaaaalright, finished. Now William, we – "

 

"Ah, just Will, please," he interrupted her.

 

Amanda blinked. "Really? It's a nice name, you know?"

 

"But Will is so much nicer."

 

She shrugged. "Sure, no problem. Now Will, when you make it to East Gearen, look for the central lab. It's a straight shot from the dockyard, through the terminal, along the main street. Don't follow the signs, and you should be able to find it. Its smackdab in the middle of some skyscrapers." She jabbed a finger at the screen and sternly added, "Don't wander off before you've met up with us at the lab! That's very important. The city is…not particularly welcoming to newcomers without a Pokémon. We'll hit you up with a starter."

 

"Right. When you say not particularly welcome, you mean…?"

 

If Amanda heard the concern in his voice, she ignored it. "Afterwards we can look for a place to spend the night until you can orient yourself on the journey. Do you have any questions?"

 

"Uhm – "

 

"Very good! That was the registration process. I'll leave the paperwork to my colleague onboard. It was a pleasure meeting you Willia – ah, Will – and I hope to be able to meet you in person soon. Enjoy your journey!"

 

Will presumed that Amanda terminated the link from her end, as the screen went back to its static-filled self again. "Okay, see you soon, I guess."

 

"I see you're all done with the registration?" The lady at the counter to his left said. "In that case, let me print out your Trainer Card for you ."

 

She tapped in a series of commands on her computer, then fumbled with something underneath her desk. "There!" She said a second later, brandishing a shiny plastic card. "All done and ready for you. Please, take this."

 

"Thank you," Will said, gratefully taking his new Trainer Card. "I – "

 

His name read William.

 

Sadness.

 

"- have opinions about this…" he started, but the lady probably didn't notice."

 

"With this, you are officially registered. Good luck to you, William!"

 

Stepping out into the hallway again, the first thing Will heard were the gentle strings of a piano. Not his favorite instrument, but…this one wasn't bad. It was kind of soothing, even. Whoever was playing that piano knew what they were doing.

 

He glanced down at his new trainer ID. That made it official. When his mother and him finally moved into their new house, he'd be taking on the…the Aevium League, he supposed. He wasn't entirely sure why she thought that was so important. Maybe things would make more sense once they actually reached their new region.

 

"Oh, Will! I was just on my way to see how things were going."

 

"Hey mom," he replied.

 

His mother stopped a couple of feet in front of him, her pink eyes large and curious. "Ah, is that your Trainer Card? How lovely. That means you're officially ready to go! Aevium is a beautiful region with lots to do and see. Once we disembark at Oceana Pier, we're off to Akuwa Town! It's a colder, but cozy place to spend our days, you'll see!"

 

Will nodded along. The idea of exploring Aevium should have excited him more –the region was, after all, big enough to its own dessert and its own subarctic region – but he wasn't entirely sure how he would combine that with the League challenge. Was that even something he'd like? Battling Gyms, training and fighting?

 

Mom suddenly paused, her brows furrowing. "Dear, are you doing okay? You've been so quiet since last night…"

 

Will fidgeted for a moment. In truth, he hadn't exactly slept well since he came across the Oceana. He could scrape together a few hours of sleep every night, but he had the weirdest dreams. He'd been told that the constant rocking of the ship in the waves could do strange things to a person's state of mind, but actually experiencing that for himself was still different. Combined with the suddenness of the League challenge application…

 

But he'd be turning nineteen this year and he would rather eat his scarf than admit to his mother that he had bad dreams. "I'm fine," he said. "Just not used to the sea, I guess."

That seemed to soothe his mother's concerns. She smiled, and she wrapped her arm around his shoulders in a little half-hug. "I'm glad to hear it! I know moving is hard, but this is for the best, I promise! Anyway, we should be docking at Oceana Pier later tonight. In the meantime, why don't you go visit the Captain?"

 

Right. Captain Augustus was a long time friend of his mother's. If he recalled correctly, they went to the same school or course together way back?

 

"Sure," Will nodded.

 

"Thank you. As for me, I…" His mother's smile faltered, just a bit. "I have to be somewhere right now. Please take care, Will. I love you."

 

"Love you too," he replied, watching as his mother hurried down the stairs behind him.

 

Time for some sightseeing.

 

A couple of meters down the hall rested a large set of stairs leading down to a community room of sorts. It was buzzing with activity when Will wandered in, with a variety of people going about their day. One of them was a lady playing the piano, accompanied by a little fluffy ball of pink happily vibing along. The woman wasn't dressed like a sailor. One of the guests playing music for the others, then.

 

Nice.

 

The woman looked up from her work for a moment upon Will's entry, and locked eyes with him. He gave her a little smile and a polite nod, and she smiled back at him.

 

"I never get tired of playing the piano," she told Will when he approached. "It's my life passion."

 

"It sounds lovely," he replied.

 

"I never get tired of my audience either! Please enjoy what I have to offer you~!"

 

Not everybody was as serene as the pianolady was. On his way up to the Captain, Will came across a woman sitting on a bench looked like she was about two seconds away from beheading someone with a spoon. He glanced at her in passing and when she looked up, her eyes were like glaring daggers.

 

Not wanting anything to do with those sharp eyeballs, Will quickened his step.

 

If he remembered correctly, large ships usually had their Captains commanding from a command room called the bridge. He didn't find the bridge at the aft of the ship, so he wandered back the direction he came and found himself at the front of the ship instead.

 

The smell of salty ocean water was much stronger there, and Will felt tempted to just…linger there for a moment. The sun beamed down on him from above, warming the wooden frame below. Some people were already taking advantage of the sun to get some tanning done.

 

Knowing his mother, she'd be spending the coming hours out here as well. Not only for the sun, but simply to stand all the way at the far edge – the bow he believed it was called – and enjoy the wind in her hair.

 

That thought made him smile, and he glanced aver at the end of the bow where he could already picture his mother basking in the wind –

 

Only to see someone else standing there already.

 

Which was…well, it wasn't strange, but it was. It took him a moment to figure out what it was; the bow was rather crowded, and the edge of the bow was one of those touristy spots for people to tourist around. In contrast the spot at the back of the ship had a dozen people crowding around, yet this girl stood there all alone, almost as if everyone gave her a wide berth.

 

It made her stand out, and that made him pay more attention.

 

Before he realized what he was doing, his feet started moving, until he was standing a couple of feet behind the girl. Her wavy black hair reached just above her shoulders. A rosy flower rested in her hair on the right side of her head. Contrary to the people around her, most of them clad in either beach clothes or simple white shirts and shorts, she was dressed in a white uniform blouse and a frilled, black skirt held up by black suspenders. Simple yet elegant.

 

Nevertheless, something about her was…off. Will wasn't sure what it was, but it reminded him a bit of the angry woman downstairs. Maybe she was seasick, and came upstairs for some fresh air or something. In that case, he really shouldn't be bothering –

 

The girl turned around, almost casually so, and cast him a stony, unamused look. For a single heartbeat, it was as if she were silently trying to kill him with her mind, but then a hint of recognition flickered across her features, and her expression morphed from stony disinterest to stony…annoyance? Frustration? Something he couldn't quite place. He rarely could.

 

"…Do you know who I am?" She asked.

 

Will frowned. Her voice didn't match her expression. Frustrated, yes, but also sincere. Did she expect him to know her? If so, why didn't he?

 

He racked his memory for this girl, but...there was nothing there. He had idea who she was.

 

So he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't."

 

Whoever she was, her expression could have been hewn from stone for all the emotional response she showed. Upon hearing his response, she merely turned her back to him again, and continued watching the sky.

 

Pointedly ignoring him in the process.

 

Not sure what that was about, and confident that he hadn't yet found the ship's bridge, Will headed back inside. /

 

One final set of stairs finally led him to the Oceana's bridge, where the ship's Captain sat behind his desk, readying a book. Upon Will's entry, the man looked up. He had to be somewhere in his sixties, with greying hair and a thick, well-combed moustache.

 

"Oh-ho, you must be the wonderful Will, aren't you?" He said, shoving his chair backwards to get up. "Please, please, come in young man! I've been expecting you!"

 

Wonderful?

 

Reassured by the warm welcome, Will walked over to his desk and took the chair opposite of the Captain. "Good afternoon Captain."

 

"Please, call me Augustus. Augustus Briney, at your service," the Captain said, beaming with pride. "I come from a long family of sailors. I happen to be the Captain of the S.S. Oceana. So tell me, how is your voyage so far? Surely it must be enjoyable?"

 

"It's been great," Will said.

 

"Good, good, that's what I like to hear," Augustus said. "I've done my very best to keep things nice and orderly on this ship. Anyway, your mother asked me to go through a few things with you before we disembark in Aevium. You see…"

 

The Captain took a couple of minutes to explain the finer details of the Avium league and the region itself, expanding on the information Amanda had given him already. It was interesting to hear that Aevium was, technically, one giant archipelago consisting of four main islands.

 

"It used to be one huge land mass," Augustus explained, "But a mysterious calamity caused the land to split apart."

 

"It just split the land apart?" Will asked, somewhat skeptical. "How?"

 

"I can't say. Stories differ wildly, yet documentation is sparse. Nobody can agree on just what it was. A comet? An earthquake? Who knows? The suffering it caused is real enough, and the ramifications…well, they are spread far and wide across the region." For a moment, it seemed like Augustus zoned out, his eyes glazing over. He snapped out of it after couple of seconds. "But enough of that…that dreary subject. Will! We will be docking on Floria Island very soon. Before we get to that, we've still got the banquet to get through!"

 

Right, the Farewell Banquet. The part where the entire ship got together for one big feast to celebrate the successful voyage. "I think mom's supposed to meet us there," Will said.

 

"Then let's not keep her waiting, hmm?" Augustus said.

 

Together, the two of them made their way to the banquet hall. Easily the largest area in the ship, the hall was a repurposed ballroom filled with well-crafted tables, exotic plants, and even several fountains. The majority of the passengers had already gathered there, though some tables looked like they were missing people.

 

Pianolady sat all the way in the back, ready to do her part. Mom was seated at a table about half a dozen meters to pianolady's left. Sitting opposite of her was the mystery girl from the bow!

 

That set off all kinds of alarm bells in Will's head. His mother was a social butterfly who loved meeting new people, but that girl…she didn't exactly seem eager to socialize. The way she sat with her back to his mom all but confirmed that. And that Pokemon sitting next to the girl…it looked humanoid, somewhat feminine, but he wasn't sure what species. Was it just him, or was it glaring at him, from all the way across the hall?

 

Maybe that was why she asked if he knew her? Because she knew his mother?

 

"There you are!" Mom said when he sat down next to her. "We're just about to get started!"

 

Will glanced over at the mystery girl, trying to catch her eyes, but she and her Pokémon still seemed fully dedicated to ignoring him.

 

When the last passengers found their way to their seats, Captain Augustus took the stage and cleared his throat. Slowly, the chatter and buzzing of the hall died down, allowing the Captain to say his part.

 

As was tradition, Augustus spoke of their voyage, the time the crew spent with the passengers and their imminent arrival at the pear. He talked about the importance of hospitality and, not insignificant, the important of good food.

 

It was a pretty decent speech. People clapped and whistled, mom beamed and the pianolady started playing a calm, serene song that perfectly fit in with the happy, content mood.

 

"But don't let me keep you from a good feast!" The Captain then laughed. "Please, let us all – "

 

"Sorry, but I think there's something that needs taking care of first," someone called out, interrupting Augustus' words. Three late passengers burst into the hall and strode across

the center aisle, straight towards the Captain.

 

Will recognized one of them as the angry-looking woman he passed by earlier. The other two were a sailor and what looked like another passenger he'd seen in the lounge earlier. What were they doing?.

 

"Hrm? What is the issue here?" Augustus demanded. "Please return to your seats."

 

"I don't think so," the sailor rumbled. "In fact, this ship is under our control now!"

 

One by one, the three intruders took off their outer layer of clothes, which came off with practiced ease.

 

All three of them were clad in black and grey outfits, sporting belts with what looked like tactical pouches and sturdy boots. They looked geared up for trouble, but that part didn't scare Will. What really scared him was the fact that none of them had bothered to conceal their faces, their identities.

 

That…sort of suggested they weren't about to leave any witnesses, didn't it?

 

"I think – "

 

His mother leapt from her seat with surprising determination. She strode straight towards the trio, not a hint of fear in her stride. "What is the meaning of this?" She demanded. Demanded.

 

"I-Is this a hijacking?" The pianolady asked with a trembling voice.

 

Will tensed up.

 

"You must be insane to run out in front of people like us," one of the intruders sneered. "I'll give you the benefit of doubt. Sit the fuck down."

 

"I don't think so," Mom calmly replied.

 

The intruder's face contorted in rage. "You'll regret that!"

 

Shit.

 

Without thinking, Will leapt from his seat and ran to his mother. This was going to turn ugly and she was just standing there, defenseless - !"

 

"Crescent!" Mom snapped.

 

A haze of pinkish black light erupted around the length of his body. He felt light-headed, then an explosion of black light consumed his vision.

 

One fleeting moment stretched out into eternity. He wasn't here. He wasn't there. He wasn't anywhere insofar as he could tell. He couldn't see or hear, only feel an ominous sense of dread pressing against him.

 

An instant later the world snapped back together around him, and he barely had time to shield his face with his arms before he planted face-first against the ground. His body rolled along with the momentum and he came to a painful stop against something very solid.

 

An incredible sickness spread out from his stomach, and he clutched his chest in pain. Nausea and dizziness washed over him. Will shoved himself to his knees, then retched and puked.

 

That did the trick…sort of. The sickness faded away somewhat, leaving him feeling disorientated, scared and alone.

 

That was when he noticed the acrid stench of smoke and burning plastic. Alarmed, he looked up, realizing that he'd somehow been teleported into a burning room.

 

Get up! He yelled at himself. Get up!

 

"Mom…" he muttered, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He recognized his surroundings, but only barely. It was Augustus' office and it was on fire. The solid mass he'd slammed into was the man's desk, and the flames were already licking at the chair. The air was arid and thick with smoke – if he stayed there any longer, he'd choke to death before he could even be of use.

 

Will shoved himself back to his feet, wobbled unsteadily, then started making his way down the stairs.

 

The ship was a mess. Something had put her through the wringer; entire sections of the hallways had collapsed, holes had been busted through walls, doors and even the ceiling, and the flames were starting to spread there as well.

 

When he came stumbling down the stairs, Will spotted one of the passengers lying against the wall. The man didn't look to be a in rough shape, thankfully. Where were the others?

 

"You there! Thank goodness you're alright!" The man cried. "I was just hanging out there and then there was a huge explosion! It knocked me off my feet and flat on my face, but I

think I'm alright. Unfortunately, we're trapped here because the floor has – "

 

A flash of movement unfolded behind and a couple of feet above the man. A disc-like distortion in the air warped into a roughly humanoid shape. A tattered mass of orange and green limbs and a head that tapered off somewhat in both sides.

 

"Watch out!" Will yelled, but it was too late. With alarming speed, the creature slammed into the man and carried him across the gaping hole in the floor and out of sight. The passenger didn't even have time to scream.

 

Will gritted his teeth. There was nothing he could do. He had to find his mother before one of these things got to her!

 

His legs finally started to feel steady again as he ran back into the banquet hall. He nearly slammed into another passenger, who cried out in alarm.

 

"You!" Pianolady said. "Oh kid, I'm so glad to see you! I dunno how you were able to weasel your way out of that explosion, but kudos to you!"

 

"Are you okay?" Will asked, giving running his eyes across the woman's body for any obvious injuries. "Did you see my mother?"

 

"I'm fine, don't worry," the woman replied. "We can't stay here for long, the smoke – the Captain saw everything happen. Maybe he knows where your mother is."

 

The banquet hall was a complete mess. Tables were completely overturned, chairs had been knocked to the ground and the only reason the floor hadn't been consumed by the flames yet, was because the fountains had burst. Hundreds upon hundreds of liters of water spewed in the air.

 

"Augustus!" The pianolady yelled. "You're too close to the fire! Please, step back!"

 

"My ship…" the Captain muttered. "My beautiful possession…she won't make it to her destination after all."

 

"The ship can be replaced! What can't be replaced are the lives of the people still scattered across her hull! Look, Will survived, the others might still be out there!"

 

Looking dazed, Augustus turned around. His eyes were red from the smoke and his face looked a bit singed, but he otherwise appeared unhurt.

 

"You were conscious the entire time!" Pianolady continued. "Do you know where Will's mother is?"

 

The Captain blinked a couple of times. "I…yes, after the explosion, she…Nancy jumped down below in pursuit of the assailant."

 

That took Will aback. His mother jumped after the assailant? By herself?

 

"She's down there?" Pianolady said. "Alone? That's not good!"

 

Will glanced down at the gaping hole in the floor. Smoke rose from the floor below. It couldn't be more than a few meters.

 

"C'mon Augustus, we need to get off this thing!"

 

He could handle a couple of meters.

 

"If we work together – "

 

No time to waste. He took a step back, then jumped. He barely registered pianolady's voice as he tumbled through the smoke and the flames. The floor seemed to materialize right in front of him, but this time he was prepared. Somewhat. The second his feet made contact with the floor, he sank through his knees and rolled with the momentum.

 

Not much better down here, he thought as he surveyed the damage. He had a sinking feeling that the ship wasn't going to stay afloat much longer.

 

Sirens, flames and smoke. The acrid stench of the flames assaulted his senses. He could barely see more than a few meters in front of him, and breathing was starting to get difficult. He had to hurry-!

 

Will ran through the smoke, faintly recognizing the room where'd registered himself for the League. Beyond that…

 

He made it through the opening at the far side of the hallway. Right as he was about to cross over into the next area, an explosion tore through the floor, sending burning fragments and pieces of metal everywhere. Will flinched, instinctively covering his face.

 

Moments later, a grey-haired man leapt up from the new hole in the floor. He rolled a few times then leapt back to his feet just in time to evade a Pokemon floating up after him. It was that same Pokemon he'd seen before, sitting opposite of his mother at the table. It had a primarily black body, with a teardrop-shaped head that supported four flat, equally black disks at its sides.

 

The Pokemon hummed eagerly as it rose from the opening and the man, likely knowing that he was completely outmatched, simply turned and ran.

 

That would be one of the terrorists, then?

 

Not to be outran by a normal human, the Pokemon proceeded to lob an enormous energy-ball-thingy at the man, who narrowly managed to round the corridor before the attack could obliterate him.

 

The Pokemon giggled to itself in bemusement, then floated after the man in pursuit.

 

At least its on our side.

 

With only one way left to go, Will continued making his way further towards the ship's rear. One door used to be blocked by a big, burly sailor there, but he was no longer there. He could only hope the man was still okay.

 

The smoke was getting worse. His eyes were already tearing up, and every breath as interrupted by a shaky cough.

 

Not much farther now!

 

Either this part of the ship was supposed to have a swimming pool, or this ship was starting to sink already.

 

Finally, after far too long, Will managed to reach the lowermost point of the ship. It used to be a cargo bay, but most of that cargo had been thrown free during the attack.

 

And there, amidst the rubble and burning cargo, his mother was wrapped up in a fight against another black-clad goon. Her hair was a dark shade of purple, and her eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. Probably helped against the smoke or something.

 

"Just in time," Will muttered.

 

"I've had about enough of this," his mother called out to her foe. Her Sylveon stood in-between the two, steadfast as ever. "No more running around. What are you doing? And why?"

 

The woman seemed to consider that for a moment. "Perhaps you should be less concerned about me, and more concerned about our guest that just joined us."

 

"What?" Mom said, before turning around. Her eyes widened and her lips parted in shock. "Will! But…how…what are you doing here! I thought Crescent…?" She shook her head, clearly in distress. "She was supposed to send you somewhere safe!"

 

"I'm not leaving without you," Will said, leveling a glare at the other woman. A reddish and tear-filled glare, but the intent was there.

 

"Sorry. Safety is long gone for both of you," someone called out. Alarmed, Will double-checked his surroundings. He'd been sure he hadn't seen anyone else!

 

"For now, we're going to take out our target."

 

"Me?" Mom said.

 

The voice chuckled. "That's right. Did you think our target was your kid or something? Hah. I was only going after you, but since the both of you just decided to deliver yourselves to me…"

 

Another two of those strange Pokémon appeared out of thin air. Slender and alien-looking, one of them bore down on mom, while the other was going straight for Will.

 

"Mom!"

 

"I'll be taking both of you to HQ!"

 

Mom audibly sighed. "There's no future for this ship, or for anyone else you've put through this…"

 

That voice laughed again, and Will felt a hint of annoyance flicker through his thoughts. "Glad you see things my way!"

 

"But," Mom continued. "I will create hope for at least someone!" Unbothered by the threat at her back, she turned to face Will. She smiled again, but her eyes…they were filled with sorrow and regret. "Will…I know that we've been distant, but know that I only want your happiness. While it hasn't been long, was glad to be able to share my time with you."

 

"Mom, no!" Will shouted, but caught an immediate lungful of smoke. Heaving, and through hazy eyes, He saw his mother place her hand on her chest, before making a fist. "I'll hold them off for as long as necessary. Even on a place as confined as this vessel, you must run away."

 

"N-No!" Will coughed. There had to be a way – there had to be a way out of this!

 

"Wherever you end up, keep up hope. Through new friends, new opportunities, new love."

 

Mom!

 

"Enough!" The purple-haired woman declared. She made a beeline towards mom, but Sylveon put an aggressive stop to that by unleashing a savage Moonblast. The woman was only narrowly able to evade it and the attack blew a hole straight through the ceiling.

 

"Wherever you are, know that I'm looking down upon you. Smiling. Protecting. That's my love for you, Will! A mother's love."

 

No, no no no!

 

Will clenched his fists. He couldn't – there was no way he could do this. Without her? On his own?

 

"Go sweetie!" Mom yelled, returning her focus to the enemy.

 

"…can't," Will coughed. "Ngh…with you!"

 

Goddamnit!

 

There was a hint of finality on her eyes when she turned back to look at him. "You have to go! Now!"

 

He cursed himself for his weakness, despised himself for grasping that, deep down, mom was right. For knowing that he would only squander the choice she made by staying and getting captured with her, he would never forgive himself.

 

Will turned and ran. The instant he did, he knew someone was on his tail, right behind him. They weren't going to let him escape. He'd seen their faces, heard their intentions. They would never let him go.

 

He forced himself to run harder than ever before, through aching limbs and burning lungs. Formless shapes darted around him, backlit by fire and heat.

 

One of the creatures materialized in front of him, barring the way. It spread its multiple arms –

 

- something enormous plummeted down from above and smashed into the Pokemon. Mysterious powers or not, an impact like that would hurt.

 

"Keep going kid!" He heard pianolady yelling from above. Somehow, she'd shoved the piano down the hole just in time to safe him. "Get out of here! Get out…for the rest of us – "

Her voice suddenly cut off.

 

Will kept running. Frantic, panicked, he made his way back to the rear section of the upper deck. The fresh air was a godsend, and he took a quick moment to take a breather and look for a way out. All he needed was a boat, or a raft or…or even a big piece of wood would do!

 

But he was too slow. That same purple-haired woman leapt up from a hole in the deck, barring his way.

 

Will skidded to a halt. He might have able to take her under normal circumstances, but he had no clue what her capabilities were. She had to have a full team of Pokemon with her, and all he had was a pair of lungs half filled with smoke and a heart that was running on the dredges of adrenaline. Not exactly ideal, but he only had to break through –

 

He heard boots stepping on the floor right behind him. That same dark-skinned man he saw being chased before now stood right behind him. Tall and muscled, the man oozed confidence and control. He had his hands in his pockets, seemingly ready to pull either a Pokeball, or a gun.

 

Shit shit shit –

 

"It's over," the woman laughed. "You have nowhere else to go. Unless you prefer swimming?"

 

Will slowly turned his shoulder to her, trying to keep the both of them in his eyes. Swimming…his mother had told him to escape, and live. If it came down to it…!

 

"That was a heartfelt speech kid, but this is the real world," the other man spoke with a deep, gravelly voice. Then, together with the woman, the two of them lunged for Will –

 

A boat raced by the deck, only meters away from the sinking Oceana. The two thugs stopped in their tracks and turned to look.

 

Above them, something gave an ear-piercing shriek. Will barely had the time to register what was going on before a pair of large, sharp talons clutched his shoulders. Something pulled him up into the sky with incredible velocity. Below him, the S.S. Oceana rapidly disappeared from view…and his mother with it.

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

 

[Masterdude21]

Day 3: they still haven't smoked my nest out. 

 

In this next update, our hapless Interceptor makes it to East Gearen City, picks his starter and almost instantly gets himself into trouble.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1: Crossroads of Destiny

Arrival at Gearen City

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

When the flying Pokémon finally dropped him, Will's knees nearly gave out underneath him. For the longest moment he just struggled, struggled to breathe, struggled to stay calm, struggled to stay rational and even think. So much had happened, so fast, his mind had yet to keep pace with his body. As he coughed and wheezed, fighting to get the clean air through his parched throat, the Pokémon flapped its wings again, and hopped in front of him. Its body radiated a heat not unlike that of the flames he'd just escaped, and its feathers glistered faintly in the falling rain.

 

Rain?

 

Will looked up at the sky. The air was calm. Nobody had come after him.

 

He'd escaped. Or rather, someone had saved him.

 

The distinct humming of an engine drew closer, and Will glanced over his shoulder. A jet streaked across the water towards the pier at breakneck speed. At the last moment, it banked and cut the throttle, coming to an unsteady halt right next to a nearby hangar. A woman hopped out, her long red hair trailing after her as she strode towards him.

Rain was pouring down and she wore nothing but a red dress and what looked to be heels, but none of that seemed to bother her. She hurried towards him, worry clouding her

\face, and the Pokémon hopped aside to let her pass.

 

"Oh dear…oh thank goodness…I was able to save at least one person. Are you hurt?" She brushed past her Pokemon and checked him over, her expression laced with a motherly concern. She was tall, easily several inches taller than him. Her hair smelled like crushed pine needles and shampoo.

 

"Mom," Will croaked. He cleared his throat, then tried again. "They took my mom, and the rest."

 

"Your mother…what happened there?" She asked.

 

"There was an attack. They'd infiltrated the ship, and wanted to take it over," Will replied, trying to be as concise as he could. "They had these strange Pokémon that abducted the passengers and I…my mother tried to fight their leaders. I…" he tried to get the words out, but they wouldn't come. He couldn't admit it. Wouldn't admit it. She had to be out there, somewhere. "She told me…"

 

Keep up hope. Through new friends, new opportunities, new love.

 

The woman didn't press him. She waited patiently as he wrestled with himself.

 

"She told me to escape," Will eventually settled for. His eyes burned, and this time it wasn't because of the smoke. "To live."

 

"Which is where my Talonflame found you, I imagine," the woman said, her brow furrowing. She reached for his face and wiped the ash from his cheek with a slender finger. "That sounds harrowing. I'm so sorry you went through that. I was on my way to East Gearen from Terajuma when I picked up a distress call."

 

Talonflame pecked at his wing, then craned his head around. He made a faint cawing sound, then turned his attention back to the woman,

 

"We made our way to that location as fast as possible," she continued. "And…well…"

 

"They're still out there," Will blurted out. "The other people. Their leaders…they were talking about taking us back to their HQ."

 

"It could be," she replied, her expression pensive as she peered at the sea. "That sounds very plausible, actually…Oh! Where are my manners, I didn't even properly introduce myself!" She flashed him a warm, genuine smile. "My name is Tesla. Tesla Von Brandt. I'm from the tropical island of Aevium, that being Terajuma island. It's my pleasure to meet you! What's your name?"

 

"I… Will. Thank you for saving me."

 

"No need to thank me, Will. Now, about your mother…I think you're very right that she's still alive. It looks like the group that attacked you was the Xen Organization. We call them Team Xen – "

 

Will exhaled a sigh of relief. Hearing someone else confirm it for him was infinitely more reassuring.

 

" – a criminal organization that seemed to have just popped up in Aevium out of nowhere. They're usually known to be somewhat incompetent, or at least, rarely active," Tesla continued. "That's what makes this so confusing. I believe this is their first actual attack?"

 

Will didn't know about any of that. But now that he knew his mother still had a chance, the weight that had been pressing down on his mind faded somewhat, and he was starting to put things together. Crescent…his mother's familiarity with the enemy…Xen's claim that they were after mom in particular – they had a history together, that much was certain.

 

"This…means that you're all alone now, aren't you?" Tesla suddenly said. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you plan to do now?"

 

What wasn't important. He knew what he had to do. The real question was, how was he ever going to achieve that? "Gearen Lab," he replied. "I'm…supposed to meet up with Amanda there."

 

His answer seemed to come as a relief to Tesla as well. "That's a wonderful idea," she said, nodding. "You may be able to get your own Pokémon from there. You'll need one if you're going to be traveling around Aevium."

 

I'm going to need one alright, Will thought. That had to be the how. He had to become a Pokemon trainer strong enough to find and save his mother and the rest. Team Xen would be looking for him in the meantime. He had to be able to defend himself, if only for his mother's sake.

 

"I think I'm going to the wreck site, to see if I can find more survivors," Tesla declared. As she climbed back on her Talonflame, she met Will's eyes again. "I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Things will work out eventually, if you're patient. We'll see each other again soon, Will. Clear the way, pretty please?"

 

Quickly, Will stepped aside to give the pair some room.

 

"Full speed ahead Talonflame! Tailwind!"

 

Talonflame screeched, and flapped his wings with enough force that Will nearly tumbled backwards into the sea. The fiery Pokémon went from zero to extremely-freaking-quick in seconds, and soon the pair had disappeared again.

 

"Good luck, miss Tesla," Will muttered.

 

That was it then. Stuck on his own in an unfamiliar land with a trainer ID in his left pocket, a ragged hole in place of a right pocket and what felt like an inch of ashes plastered across his face.

 

When it rained, it poured.

 

"Nowhere left to go but up," Will said to nobody in particular. He turned his back to the stormy seas and started hiking towards the city.

 

Oceana Pier seemed sparsely populated for its size. Row after row of dockyards dotted its outer layer, many of them with their own warehouse containing who-knew-what, but only a handful were in use. Will spotted the occasional person hanging out, focused on doing their own thing without paying much attention to their surroundings. A girl feeding a small flock of Pokemon in a small, decrepit park, a shady-looking guy impatiently eyeing his watch, a pair of hooded men, quietly hissing at each other in a heated discussion…

 

Will tried his best not to attract any attention. Team Xen…they'd stowed away on the ship before it ever set off for Aevium. Why had they been after his mother? Why did they feel the need to abduct every single passenger on the ship as well? And that girl – Crescent, he presumed. How was she connected to this?

 

His thoughts felt loose and scattered; he felt like he'd been thrown into a puzzle with less than half of the pieces he needed to complete it.

 

He took a deep breath and tried to force those questions out of his mind. First things first. Find Gearen city. Find Amanda. Get his first Pokémon.

 

Finally, after more than fifteen minutes of walking, the dockyards seemed to come to an end. All the different roads tapered off and finally came together in one, single walkway, which led to a terminal of sorts nestled between several apartment buildings.

 

A large sign had been bolted to the floor a couple of meters in front

 

Gearen City.

 

Amanda had told him to ignore the signs, but this seemed pretty straightforward.

 

With nowhere else to go, Will decided to risk it and entered the terminal. Anything was better than standing around getting soaked by the rain.

 

Right away he knew he'd made a good call. Whereas the dockyards had been dark and dreary, the interior of the terminal was anything but. Large tables covered with an array of bright flowers decorated the corners and the two workers sitting at the counters actually seemed friendly.

 

"Welcome," the woman on the left when she saw him enter.

 

"Uh, hi," Will awkwardly replied. "Do you need my ID?"

 

She shook her head. "Not needed! Your trainer ID was scanned the moment you entered this terminal. The wonders of modern technology!"

 

Yeah, sure. That wasn't disconcerting at all. "Gearen Lab?"

 

"Right, so you want to start off heading that way…"

 

Unfortunately, the terminal was like an oasis in the desert. The moment Will made it out the other side, he was flung in the depressing, cold arms of Gearen City.

 

The architecture was much the same as the pier, but with dark, aging apartment buildings instead of warehouses. Grafiti clung to the walls, total gibberish. Garbage piles all over. If he had to describe this place in one word, it would be decay. The hustle and bustle of the city…

 

Will struggled to recall the directions to the lab. Amanda said something about not following the signs and a pair of skyscrapers…he didn't see a lot of skyscrapers, but the heavy rain made it difficult to see much of the city's skyline at all. Thankfully the lady in the terminal had been a bit more clear. The lab was actually supposed to be a straight shot from the terminal, a fifteen-minute walk to a large intersection.

 

He kept his gaze low as he crossed through the city. His thoughts kept going back to the Oceana, and his mother's last words. Had she known this might have happened? If so, why didn't she take more Pokemon with her?

 

And Crescent…who was she, really? What was her role in all this?

 

Do you know who I am?

 

He really wished he did.

 

Considering her Pokemon had sent that big guy running scared, she might have made it out. It had teleported him away, it could have done the same with her.

 

Why him though? If Xen wanted his mother, why had the two been so adamant on getting him out?

 

His feet carried him through the streets. Before he knew it, he stood in front of a large building at a dead end of sorts. It was larger than most apartment complexes. Wider too. Large, neon letters adorned the top of the door.

 

GEAREN LABORATORY

 

Eager to get out of the rain, Will stepped inside.

 

A familiar-looking woman stood not three meters away from him, impatiently staring at her watch. She looked up at his entry.

 

Amanda the League Scout.

 

"You must be Will!" Amanda said. She crossed her arms across her chest, clearly not amused. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for…" Her voice trailed off as she took a closer look at him. Her stern expression slowly morphed into surprise. "Wait, you look like shi—err, terrible, what happened to you?"

 

"The uh, the ship was attacked. By Team Xen," Will replied, not at all eager to have to explain all over again. "They brought explosives onboard, and set them off. I…I think they took the others."

 

"Well damn," she exclaimed, wincing. "Jan? Jan! Get your ass out here now! Will, how did you even escape?"

 

He pulled his shoulder up in a half-shrug. "Miss von Brandt saved me. She's looking for survivors."

 

"You're coming with me right now," Amanda said. "JAN!"

 

"I'm coming, I'm coming." a man all the way back in the lab shouted back. He looked a lot like Amanda; same clothes, same skin tone, same expression of shock and disbelief when he saw what the storm had dragged in. "What's going on? What happened?"

 

Amanda quickly brought him up to speed regarding the attack. When he heard that Team Xen was involved, his expression darkened, and he cursed under his breath.

 

"We do NOT need this right now. Alright, Amanda, I…wait, what's with the hat? I thought that wasn't for you?"

 

"Oh, uh, yeah," Amanda awkwardly replied. "Yeah it's new. I'm…trying something new. Decided to change my looks is all. Got you pretty stunned, eh?"

 

"Right," Jan replied, "Okay. Will, was it? I'm Amanda's brother. Listen, we're going to take you to a doctor immediately, just to be safe. You might have gotten hurt back there, even if you didn't notice it at the time."

 

"Wait, I – "

 

"And you Amanda! You should have done that the second you heard what happened instead of calling me." Jan shook his head. "You've been slacking off a lot lately."

 

Amanda raised her palms in defense. "Come on, you know I'm not good at paperwork! Besides, Will isn't exactly bleeding to death over here, and you needed to hear what happened as soon as possible."

 

"Yeah, I guess," Jan conceded. "I've got a lot to take care of. Amanda will find someone to check you out, make sure you're alright. In the meantime – "

 

"Actually, is it possible to meet my starter Pokémon first?" Will chimed in. "It's…it's important that I can start training as soon as possible."

 

Jan looked a bit puzzled at that. He looked over at Amanda, who shrugged. "Yeah, that should be possible. I'm not gonna pry, but East Gearen can be a rough place. You really don't want to get caught in a bad spot out here."

 

"I understand," Will replied.

 

"Settled then!" Amanda piped up. "Alright Will, this way!"

 

"It was nice meeting you, good luck," Jan said as he departed. "And Amanda! Pick up your phone when I call! I've been trying to reach you for four weeks now!"

 

Amanda simply ignored her brother as she strolled right past the counter and through the door in the back. Will watched the man leave, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair. The rain should have washed off the worst of the grime and the ash. He hoped he didn't smell too bad; most Pokémon had pretty sharp senses, after all.

 

He walked towards the door Amanda just vanished through. It slid open without a sound as he approached -

 

- only for someone else to come running through and slam headfirst into him. The impact knocked the wind out of him, but the other person was smaller and lighter than him, so she nearly bounced back against the doorframe in turn.

 

"Owie…sorry, sorry!" The girl cried out, nearly dropping her book in the process. "I'm in a rush, please excuse me!"

 

"Sorry, wasn't paying attention," Will mumbled back. He caught a glimpse of light blonde hair and a white shirt before the girl hightailed it out of there, her ponytail dancing back and forth as she ran past the front desk and towards the exit.

 

Well. At least he wasn't the only one in a hurry.

 

He successfully passed through the door this time and followed Amanda. It led him into a large office of sorts, with black tiles lining the floor, the walls and the ceiling. The room opened up to the left and the right, with a reception-like area nestled in-between the two walls there. A blond-haired man sat with his back to the door, too deep in his conversation with someone on a huge television screen to notice that he had visitors.

 

Will glanced at the redhead on the screen, who too seemed too preoccupied to notice their conversation was no longer private. "And above all else, make sure she's there for the pickup," she sternly said.

 

"I assure you that things have already been set in motion," the blond man replied.

 

Amanda looked back and forth between the two, then cleared her throat. "Professor Jenner? I've brought the new trainer, as requested."

 

The professor gasped and nearly fell over his chair. His hands fumbled with a remote, and the redheaded woman suddenly disappeared from the screen, replaced by some math stuff and a large, digital butterfly amidst said math stuff.

 

"O-Oh, Amanda, I…I didn't think you'd get here so soon," Jenner stammered.

 

Professor Jenner didn't seem like a social butterfly to Will. He was sure they'd get along.

 

"So soon? We're technically late, Professor," Amanda said, bemused.

 

"Right, in any case, welcome to my laboratory, Will!" Professor Jenner said. "I…young man, are you alright? You look like you've taken a nasty tumble."

 

"Yeah," Will replied. "I did…among other things."

 

"The S.S. Oceana was attacked, Professor," Amanda explained, quickly bringing Jenner up to speed about recent events, for which Will was very grateful. He didn't have it in him to keep explaining something he hadn't even processed himself yet.

 

Frowning, Jenner sat back down in his chair. "You smell like smoke, if you don't mind me saying. Were you in a fire? I might not be that kind of doctor, but it looks like you need to get yourself checked at, if anything."

 

"Later professor. First, we're going to get Will his starter Pokémon," Amanda said. "Will, Professor Jenner is the lead scientist here at Gearen Lab. Come on – "

 

"Yes, I was hired by Jan and Zumi. We – "

 

"Professor, starter first, lengthy introduction after medical checkup," Amanda reaffirmed.

 

"Ah, of course. I will not keep you. I hope you are ready, Will. This is not a choice to be taken lightly."

 

He…made it sound so ominous.

 

Amanda turned to Will with a grin. "Oh man, this is the best part! Let's go!"

 

She practically bounded up the escalator to the left, and Will hurried to keep pace. When he followed her up to the next floor, however, it began to dawn on him what the professor meant.

 

The entire first floor was like a dedicated playground for tiny Pokémon. Almost two dozen of the little critters ran, swam, crept or rolled across an area of about twenty by thirty meters. It was roughly divided into three artificial sections; a forested area with bushes and little trees, a swimming area with rocks and plenty of shelter, and even an area simulating a volcanic crater, complete with an artificial heating system and lights.

 

There were so many of them. Will counted eight different Pokémon per area, each corresponding with the three basic elements of grass, water and fire. How was he supposed to pick one? He barely even knew them!

 

"Come on, don't be intimidated! Take a walk, join these little fellows!" Amanda said.

 

"I don't know a lot about Pokémon," he admitted as he climbed over the barrier.

 

"Don't need to. There's plenty of people who can help you, but learning for yourself is the most fun."

 

Right off the bet, Will felt drawn to the craggy area of the Fire starters. If he wanted to take the fight to Team Xen and save his mother, he'd need a lot of…well, firepower.

 

He wasn't going to hurt anyone, but he guessed that the threat of being burned to a crisp was much more intimidating than the threat of being watered to a wet. It sure worked on him.

 

"Interested in a fire starter then?" Amanda said. "Nice choice! They can be hard to raise, though. Let's see what we have…"

 

As Amanda called out the names of the Pokémon Will wandered by, he noticed that he was being stalked. A small, chick Pokémon with stubby yellow wings was trailing behind him, its body covered with fluffy, orange feathers.

 

When he turned towards the little thing to take a closer look, the starter realized the gig was up. Apparently, the end of its sneaking mission signified the start of its frontal assault. It chirped with malicious intent and bounded towards him.

 

"Yep, that's our Torchic," Amanda said. "She's a feisty one. Watch out for her – "

 

Will knelt down to let the Torchic sniff at his hand, and the little thing took that personally. She snapped at his fingers, her sharp beak easily slicing through the skin on his palm.

 

"- beak. Ouch, yeah, she does that," Amanda said, wincing. "She's a fighter. Makes sense, considering what she evolves into. Been picked twice and brought back both times. A shame, really."

 

A fighter?

 

Carefully, Will reached out for the Torchic again. She lifted a threatening little claw, and he froze in mid-air.

 

She lowered it again.

 

He inched a bit closer.

 

She raised it again.

 

A fighter…

 

"Amanda, can I take this Torchic?"

 

"Of course you can, it's your choice. You sure you don't want to take a look at the others? She might be very difficult to work with."

 

And stay crippled by indecision for the next decade? "Choice made."

 

"Hell yeah, and a nice one at that," Amanda laughed. "Here, you're gonna need a couple of these. You know how to use them?"

 

She rolled a couple of Poke balls across the floor.

 

Not at all. Will scooped one of the capture devices off the ground. But when has that ever stopped me? He pressed the button and the tiny device grew back to its original size.

 

The Torchic stared at him with dark, large eyes, as if daring him to pick her up. Had he not valued his fingers so much, he would have.

 

"Capturing a Pokémon is usually a matter of proving your worth to them. If they don't want to be captured, they won't, unless you've severely weakened them. In that case, actually working with them is going to be a pain," Amanda explained. "Try it."

 

"How about it?" Will said, lowering the ball to Torchic's level.

 

Little Torchic glared at the ball, then back at him. She lunged for his fingers again, but Will was faster on the draw this time. He quickly maneuvered the ball in front of the Pokémon

and bopped her on the head with it.

 

A flash of crimson light enveloped the Torchic. In the span of perhaps half a second, her form disappeared inside of the ball, which began shaking rapidly. After a short moment, the shaking ceased.

 

"Nice job!" Amanda said.

 

It was, wasn't it? Will was certain this was just the easy part, but that didn't change the fact that he now had a partner to work with. He'd seen mom and Sylveon together, he knew how dependable and loyal Pokémon could be if you treated them right.

 

At the very least, he wasn't defenseless anymore in case Team Xen had somehow tracked him down to Gearen.

 

"So what now?" He asked the league scout, before releasing Torchic from her Poke ball again. In another flash of bright light, his new starter Pokémon reappeared on the ground again, seemingly unfazed by what just happened to her.

 

"Now? We're gonna ask a doctor to give you a clean bill of health just in case. You did just narrowly escape what I can only call a major terror attack," Amanda explained. "After that,

it's really up to you. This city does have its own gym. If you want to get stronger, that's a good milestone to train for."

 

That didn't actually sound half bad. Getting to know the city sounded like a good idea. Plenty of opportunities to train and get stronger. In the meantime, he might be able to find out more about Team Xen.

 

"What do you think?" He asked the Torchic, kneeling down in front of her again. "Do you want to start training soon?"

 

She snapped at his fingers again.

 

The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur. After the adrenaline-fueled escape from the S.S. Oceana, the exhaustion was finally starting to catch up with him. He met up with Professor Jenner and one of his colleagues from the front desk for a quick medical checkup in one of the side rooms. Along the way, Professor Jenner talked to him about…well, a lot of things. Strange color patterns in Pokémon being more occurring in Aevium, the important locations around Gearen to visit, important locations around Gearen to stay far away from…

 

The nurse shone a bright light in Will's eyes, then asked him to follow her finger.

 

"Smoke inhalation is a silent killer," she said, then out of nowhere she jammed a needle into one of his fingers. "From what I can tell, you were very lucky. I haven't detected any damage to your lungs…any longer though and you might have had serious health complications."

 

Will, already not a big fan of needles, wrestled down the urge to leap away from the chair.

 

After getting his "meh, good enough" bill of health, Jenner showed him a place where he could wash his clothes and grab a quick shower.

 

"Once you're ready, please find me in my office again," Jenner told him. "I…might need your assistance with something. I promise I'll make it worth your while."

 

In all honesty, Will didn't need much incentive to help the man; the people here had been hospitable enough already. But, he was tired and didn't feel like saying more than he absolutely needed to. He merely nodded, thanked Jenner for his help, then wandered into the little guest room they'd offered him for the day and plonked down on the bed.

 

Torchic, who hadn't done much beyond hungering for human flesh, didn't feel like resting yet. She skulked around the room, searching every nook and cranny for…whatever it was that she wanted.

 

"I'll think of a good name for you later," Will mumbled. He eyed the washing machine in the corner. The damage on his green jacket and brown jeans was superficial, but it was there. It wouldn't hinder him on his travels, but he didn't look forward to having to explain why his clothes were filled with burn marks a million times. Better just to get them repaired somewhere. Less of a hassle.

 

Still, when he finally pulled his clothes out of the washing machine, they were dry, soft and, most importantly, smoke-free.

 

"Time to visit Jenner again," he informed Torchic. "You ready?"

 

The fire starter bounded towards the door, then started hopping up and down.

 

Will took that as a yes.

 

The two of them made their way back to Jenner's lab. The man was engrossed in his work, muttering to himself as he flickered through page after page on his desk.

 

"Professor," Will politely greeted him.

 

"Ah, there you are," Jenner replied, sparing him a quick glance. "Good. Now that you're all set, you can – "

 

Someone else came walking around the corner, his gaze focused on the datapad he held in his hands. He looked to be about Will's age, albeit much better dressed. His gray coat looked immaculately ironed, and he even wore black gloves that matched with his clothes. A red scarf was wrapped around his neck.

 

"Oh, Professor, I've finally analyzed all the data collected from Amethyst Cave. So with that, I'm going to clock out for the day." The boy glanced aside, noticing that he wasn't alone. "Oh…who is this?"

 

"A new trainer, Will," Jenner explained. "Will, this is my assistant, Ren."

 

"A new trainer eh?" Ren said, offering a hand. "You look kinda tough…how about we do a quick battle? I promise I'll go a little easy on ya."

 

"Torchic? You up for a fight?" Will asked as he shook Ren's hand, though he was certain he already knew the answer.

 

Torchic raked the ground with her claws, her coal-black eyes burning focused at Ren's legs.

 

"Great!" Ren said, sending out his own Pokémon. "Let's go!"

 

He had one of those starter-Pokemon too. A Water-type, if Will wasn't mistaken. A quadrupedal creature with light-blue skin, white hands and large, yellow eyes.

 

"Froakie, let's start with a Bubble attack!" Ren ordered.

 

His starter backflipped into the air, and a mane of white bubbles rose up around its neck. Lightning-quick, it plucked a handful of those bubbles with its hands and lobbed them at Torchic with alarming speed.

 

Torchic was no slouch either. It knew that the incoming projectiles were bad news and leapt out of the way just in time. The bubbles smashed into the ground and detonated like fireworks. Droplets of water scattered in all directions, mixed in with shards of rock.

 

"Please, you two, watch the damage," Jenner urged them.

 

A bad matchup already. Torchic couldn't afford to get hit by a Water-type attack.

 

Visibly agitated by the near miss, Torchic retaliated with an elemental attack of its own. She blasted her foe with a pair of spherical flames, but it rolled out of her line of fire and leapt at the wall. Much to Will's surprise, the Froakie was able to cling to the wall by the tips of its limbs.

 

Not good. It could take the high ground whenever it pleased?

 

"Good Froakie! Keep your distance!" Ren called.

 

His starter, Froakie, leapt from the wall and fired off another barrage of bubbles.

 

Torchic was able to dodge them again, but when they popped they did so with greater force than before, and Torchic stumbled and nearly lost her footing.

 

"Stay focused, don't pursue him!" Will ordered.

 

That Froakie was fast and nimble. It would wear Torchic down with attacks from range. He couldn't allow that to happen, he had to change the flow of the battle.

 

Ren wanted to keep his Pokemon at a distance. They had the advantage there. Logically, that had to mean it had the disadvantage at close range. That was the key. If he could force

Froakie into close combat, Torchic could take it out.

 

Froakie climbed higher, moving closer towards the ceiling, even further out of Torchic's range. She fired off another bolt of fire, but the Froakie simply climbed higher and avoided the worst of it.

 

"Good! Keep at it!" Ren said.

 

The ceiling…

 

"Shoot those bubbles out of the air," Will said, slowly working out a plan. The ceiling was made of the same material as the floor. Stones that cracked and crumbled when damaged.

 

Froakie had fully taken to the ceiling now. It clung there with its hind legs, preparing another bubble attack with his hands.

 

"Torchic, you have to get closer," Will ordered. "Get underneath him."

 

She shot him a look that he could inly interpret as annoyance, but she did obey him. She moved deceptively fast on her little feet, propelling her forwards just fast enough to escape the worst of Froakie's next attack. Shards of stone buffeted her feather coat and she nearly stumbled again, but she kept at it.

 

"Fire in a circle around him! Don't hold back!" Will shouted.

 

Torchic didn't hesitate. She inhaled sharply, then spat a barrage of six searing bolts straight up. Froakie tried to move out of the way, but the expanding flames impacted around it, sending fragments of stone in every direction. Froakie lost its grip and plummeted to the ground. It was sharp, and spun in midair to control its descent, but it was still a little guy and gravity was a harsh mistress.

 

"Nail him before he lands!" Will ordered.

 

Torchic didn't need to be told twice. She bounded towards the plummeting Froakie and, an instant before it could hit the ground and get away, it came within reach of Torchic's waiting claws.

 

One good swipe with her knife-like feet was all it took. Her kick sent Froakie skidding across the ground, where it wasn't able to get up on its own again.

 

"Tch, damnit," Ren muttered. "You did well Froakie, that's enough." He recalled his fallen starter, sighed, then nodded. Wow, you are very strong for a beginner. I'm not actually that experienced myself either. I mainly borrow the Professor's Pokémon when an assignment becomes risky. Guess I need to start training."

 

"It was close," Will said.

 

"Well, it was nice meeting you Will. I'll see you around!"

 

With that, Ren took off. It took a special kind of persona to lose graciously, casually wander off and still look like the coolest dude.

 

Will poked his thumb through one of the holes in his jacket. "Professor?"

 

"Yes, right, I actually have a favor to ask of you. I have a daughter, her name is Melia. She's off doing research at Route 1. Now, I'm confident in her ability to defend herself from wild Pokemon and the average trainer but…I'd still feel more confident if she had someone by her side. Could you pay her a visit?"

 

A daughter?

 

"I think I might have bumped into her before," Will said, but Jenner didn't seem to hear him. The Professor fished for something in his bag, before pulling out some sort of electronic device. "As part of our agreement. This is a Pokedex; it automatically synchronizes with your Poke Balls and stores relevant data. Take this Cybernav as well; it should come in handy for navigating."

 

Melia, Route 1, protection. "Understood," Will replied, gratefully taking the two devices the Professor offered.

 

"Don't forget to get your Pokemon checked up before you go, just in case. Good luck on your way." Jenner shifted his attention back to his papers and Will took his leave.

 

With how welcoming and hospitable Gearen lab had been, Will didn't expect much trouble in the rest of the city, bleary as it looked. He quickly found out however that things couldn't be much farther from the truth.

 

Gearen City was a mess. The apartment blocks and houses of the city looked dark and depressing, made worse by the constant downpour of rain. Their windows were stained with a perpetual grime and dust couldn't be washed away and dark alleys stretched out forever. Some people lounged in the thrash. Others sat behind shady shacks, selling whatever kind of crap.

 

Will made it back to the major intersection before the lab and headed left, towards the East. He kept his head on a swivel, constantly looking over his shoulder to see if someone were following him, never letting his guard down.

"

Hey!" A man with black hair and a gray suit called out to him, before quickly closing the distance. "What's someone pretty like you doing in somewhere pretty like here/"

Wordlessly, Will reached for Torchic's ball.

 

The guy mimicked his movement, reaching for his own Pokemon with a creepy grin.

 

Will didn't want to do this, but the bastard wasn't backing down. He pulled the Poke Ball forth and called Torchic out, seconds before the other guy unleashed his own Pokemon.

 

His was a long-bodied creature covered in brown and yellow fur, sporting a short snout with a nasty set of teeth. "Yungoos, go!"

 

The rain would be a disadvantage, but Torchic wouldn't have to rely on her fire to win this one. As the Yungoos darted towards her, teeth bared. It was fast and slippery, but that didn't automatically translate to flexibility

 

"Keep your distance, don't let it bite you," Will instructed, eying his Pokedex for a quick second. It told him that the Yungoos was a Normal-type. Its skin wouldn't hold up to sharp claws and teeth, nor did it have any protection or insulation from heat other than the rain.

 

They could do this.

 

Torchic hopped backwards as the Yungoos lunged for her, barely moving out of range. As the critter gnashed its teeth and moved in for a third strike, Torchic raised a claw and lashed out at her foe, raking the side of its face as it narrowly missed again.

 

Will glanced up at the other trainer, watching to see if he wasn't getting any funny ideas in the meantime. But he seemed to be fully focused on the fight, yelling his own instructions.

 

Torchic was fast. And as the fight went on, it seemed as if she was only getting faster. She hopped and jumped in circles around her foe, who constantly had to spin on its feet to keep her in its eyes.

 

"Mix in an Ember, don't let up," Will called.

 

Torchic leapt backwards just as the Yungoos tried to slam its tail against her head. She opened her mouth and two spherical blasts of fire arced through the air. The Yungoos rolled to its side, dodging the first blast, but the second slammed into one of its legs. It cried out in pain, spasming on the wet concrete as smoke rose from its paw.

 

"Now, get him while he's down," Will ordered.

T

orchic didn't hesitate. She closed the distance in a heartbeat and raked her claws across the Yungoos' face again. Droplets of blood mixed with the rain.

 

The other guy swore as he recalled his Pokémon and stood down.

 

Will hadn't realized that he'd been holding his breath, and he exhaled. He leveled a glare at the trainer and held out his hand expectedly.

 

The prize money wasn't much, but it should be enough to buy a good quality backpack to carry his equipment. If he was going to travel Aevium, he wasn't going to do that with just one functioning pocket.

 

Further east in Gearen, the city seemed to liven up somewhat. An actual shopping district – though a lot of the shops had been foreclosed, with boarded up windows – and a collection of signs that said Gearen's park was to the north, the west and also the east. A massive hotel towered over all the buildings, much nicer and better maintained than the other buildings, which meant that Gearen did have a population of rich or influential people living there.

 

According to his map, Gearen had a small shopping district and a Gym in the same direction. The Gym happened to be just a few hundred meters away from his current position, too.

 

Deciding that it might be a good idea to scout out the gym, see what type it specialized in, Will settled for a bit of a detour. The Gym turned out to be hard to miss; it was one of the few buildings with a distinct style and identity to it. Its entrance was somewhat like the entrance to a concert hall. Since it was bolted onto a house and didn't visibly lead anywhere, Will assumed that the gym had to be underground. Then the leader lived in the house next to it?

 

The closer he got to the Gym entrance, the clearer it became that something was going on. His comparison to a concert seemed right on the money; it sounded like someone was playing a rock song on industrial speakers, and people weren't happy about it.

 

"Wait, WAIT! THE BEST PART OF THE SONG IS ABOUT TO COME ON!" A female voice yelled at the top of her lungs.

 

"Veronica?! How many times do I have to tell you to not blast music like this?!" Another woman shouted back.

 

"Ugh…Mom?! Can't you wait three seconds? The beat is about to drop!"

 

"NO!" The second voice retorted sharply. "I've had it. Your incessant annoyance is too much for me! The neighbors are complaining, the police have come and warned us!"

 

"WHO CARES! EAT THE POLICE!"

 

The music suddenly cut off.

 

"I SAID ENOUGH!"

 

"No, stop! H-Hey, why are you looking at me like th-that? Cool it!"

 

"Veronica, I said I've had ENOUGH!"

 

"Noooo!"

 

And then someone's body burst from the building's ceiling, sailed through the rain-filled sky and smacked onto the pavement below.

 

Alarmed, Will sped to her side, expecting screams, broken bones, internal bleeding –

 

The girl had landed face down on the ground. Her long, purple hair reached all the way down to the bottom of her black tank top. She didn't scream or wail in pain. She simply lay there, as if she had already accepted her fate.

 

"Hey, are you alright?" Will called out, kneeling next to the girl.

 

"Ouchie…Ouch…it looks like that wretched wench has defiled things once again…" The girl, Veronica he presumed, spoke through gritted teeth. "She's gone too far this time…I've been fatally wounded…"

 

Torchic approached the girl's outspread hand. Will quickly recalled her back to her Poke Ball before she could start scavenging.

 

"This is…" Veronica coughed. "The end for me….I need you…to do me a favor..."

 

Will placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

 

She got the message. "There's this store in the shopping district called "The Berry Emporium". Totally kickass place, by the way…their Pecha berries are so sweet…so nice…if only I could have one last bite…"

 

Will cocked an eyebrow. Her last dying wish was for a Pecha berry?

 

"I need to taste a Pecha Berry one last time before I go…please…"

 

Well…he still had to buy himself a solid backpack, so…why not?

 

Will left the dying Veronica lying in the rain and headed towards the Berry Emporium. Gearen City had a couple of signs with directions glued to walls and poles scattered around, but half of those signs were vandalized and the other half weren't exactly trustworthy. But with the map application in his Cybernav, he was able to navigate his way to the Emporium without too much trouble. He ran across a woman leaning against another shop on his way there however, and she was glaring at him like he owed her money.

 

The last time he wandered past someone giving him the stink-eye, things didn't go too well. Will felt his body tense up as he met her eyes, searching for any signs that she might be another undercover Xen member.

 

"Where did you get those clothes?" She demanded as she pushed herself off the wall and skulked towards him. "You look like you crawled out of a dumpster."

 

Memories of searing heat and choking ashes dragged themselves to the front of Will's mind. His temper flared. Seeing how the woman already snatched her Poke Ball from within her dress, he didn't bother replying to her insult, wordlessly sending Torchic out.

 

The woman's Woobat wasn't much of a threat; it obviously wasn't very suited to the rain, and any methods of attacking meant getting close and personal with Torchic, which was a bad idea even at the best of times.

 

Torchic, ready to maul at close range and from a distance, didn't have that problem. She shot the Woobat out of the sky with several well-placed Ember blasts, ready for another round.

 

Said other round consisted of a bout with an Azurill – a water type. With the constant downpour, it was the worst matchup possible, and Torchic barely managed to evade a rain-boosted Water Gun. The orb of water sailed past the Fire-type with nary an inch to spare, kept going and impacted on a wall a few meters behind her. Several of the bricks cracked under the impact.

 

Will told Torchic to get close and personal, making it harder for the Azurill to line up another shot. Just like with Ren's Froakie, the Water-type wasn't able to fend off its foe at close range, and a quick one-two combination of Torchic's razor-sharp claws and its hardy beak did the job.

 

"Damnit, Azurill, come back!" The woman called, opting to withdraw her Pokémon before it could get seriously hurt. She ran her eyes across Will's body, as if reevaluating him. She nodded. "Alright, alright, not bad. You cool. Me and you should hang out sometime, ye?"

 

Will blinked in surprise. She was pretty, and she probably knew more about Gearen than him. She did seem a bit…intimidating perhaps. Maybe one day?

 

He nodded at her, before deciding that he'd better get a move on. He had a dying wish to fulfill by buying a berry known for curing poisons, after all.

 

The Berry Emporium was like a candy shop, but with berries. Its aisles displayed every color of the spectrum, as well as drinks and salads. Its air was much more welcoming than that of the rest of the city.

 

"Welcome! How may we help you?" One of the clerks asked.

 

"I need a Pecha Berry to fulfill someone's dying wish," Will told her.

 

The clerk's expression darkened. "Excuse me…did you just say you needed it for someone who is dying?"

 

Will nodded.

 

"A girl?"

 

Another nod.

 

Her expression turned mighty suspicious. "And who is this girl? Do you have a name?"

 

"Veronica, I believe. Why?"

 

"Veronica," the clerk hissed. "Oh that tears it! I refuse to deal with this any longer. Wait. Right. Here."

 

With those words, she spun around and marched into the back of the shop. Not even a minute later she came with a small package, which she placed on the counter. "Here. Give this to Veronica. It's what she asked for."

 

Will obtained the…Pecha Berry? "Is this…?"

 

"It's a special berry I've prepared for our dear, dying friend," the clerk said. "When you give this to her, tell her that I'm sick and tired of her persuading gullible tourists into doing these ridiculous favors! Especially since I have to deal with them!"

 

…gullible?

 

…so Veronica wasn't dying?

 

…he needed time to reflect on that. Fortunately, it was another mile back to the house where he found Veronica, so he'd have enough time to think.

 

On his way back, he paid a visit to a general clothing shop to buy a sturdy-looking backpack. He went for a dark green version, to better blend in with his surroundings in case he had to camp out in the wild. It came with a solid hip belt, so he could carry quite a bit of crap if it came down to it.

 

Heck, it was big enough that he could carry Torchic if he ever needed to.

 

With the last of his money, he bought a couple of potions, some Poke food and four new Poke balls.

 

There, all set, he thought.

 

Once back at the strange household where he found Veronica's strangely-unbroken body, he shot a glance at the mailbox standing outside.

 

Veronica and Chasity's house.

 

Judging by that discussion earlier, Veronica and her mother might have a bit of a strained relationship.

 

"Heya," Will said.

 

"You…got me a Pecha Berry?" Veronica weakly asked.

 

"Yep."

 

"That…that's a Pecha Berry from the Emporium! So delectable, so tasty, so exquisite. The taste is unimaginable." Veronica was on her feet in a literal second, her eyes focused and hungry. "Hand it over. Now."

 

Will recognized that look. Torchic had looked the exact same when she first laid eyes on him. Since he was attached to his fingers and wanted to stay attached to his fingers, he did as she asked.

 

Veronica gratefully took the Berry and chomped down without a moment's hesitation.

 

"Cronch, monch...so tasty…thank yo – "

 

Her eyes widened, and her face slowly turned red. "H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-HOOOOTT!" She cried out, visibly dying on the inside as she waved her hands in a desperate bid to cool off. Had it not been raining, Will might have seen flames bursting from her mouth. She hopped around, groaning and spitting, before finally and dramatically slumping down against her front door.

 

She uttered an explosive sigh, then coughed a couple of times.

 

Will could relate.

 

"That berry you gave me…it was filled with…wasa…wasaha…" Veronica broke down laughing, unable to finish her sentence. She clutched her stomach as she laughed and kicked with her boots. It was such a silly sight that Will couldn't help but grin as well. That was one way to teach someone a lesson.

 

"I can't believe I fell for that!" Veronica said, still giggling. "Were you the one who put that wasabi in that berry?"

 

"All me," Will said, offering the girl a hand. She took it, and he hauled her back to her feet.

 

"Hahahaha, man, you got me good dude! Putting wasabi in that berry was priceless. There was honestly no way I'd turn down free food! I'm such a fuckin idiot. Hahaha! Ah…

anyway, you probably heard my mom call me Veronica back there, but I would politely ask you to call me Venam, or I will have to murder you. Veronica is such a prissy name. I hate it. I don't wanna be called that. Venam is tough and scary."

 

Will stared at her with wide eyes. "I think you and I are going to be great friends, Venam," he told her. "I'm Will."

 

She grinned. "Right, introductions. I'm Venam! Gym Leader of East Gearen City. You should come meet my friends, they're cool people. In fact, I'm meeting them right now, at the abandoned sewers. It's just south of my house. You better show up or I'll have you buy me more food and I assure you that your wallet won't be happy with that!"

 

"Actually," Will said before Venam could split, "I'm looking for Route 1? I'm supposed to find someone there."

 

Venam scoffed at that. "Route 1? That's only accessible by train, my dude. And the train's been dead for half a week now."

 

That was odd. Melia left just a couple of hours ago; he'd seen her leave. Wouldn't someone like Jenner know that? "Other routes?"

 

Venam shook her head wildly and the pink flowers clasps in her hair trembled dangerously. "Nope. Tell ya what, the power generator for the station's down there too. Come hang out with me, and we'll have a look, see if we can't get that shit operating again.".

 

Will supposed that made sense. "Sure, why not. I'll grab a few things in preparation."

 

"Cool, I'll see you there!"

 

Venam took off again.

 

Wondering just what he'd be getting himself involved in, Will sent Torchic out again and inspected her for injuries. He didn't spot any obvious injuries and she seemed chipper enough.

 

"Here, a quick bite," he told her, giving her a handful of kibble to wolf down. He still had to settle for a good nickname, but he just couldn't think of one. "Sorry girl, I know you want to walk, but the rain…"

 

He reached down to pet her again. She opened her beak, as if ready to pounce, and he froze.

 

She closed her beak.

 

He moved a bit closer.

 

She opened her beak again.

 

Slowly, ever so slowly, he reached out for the top of her head.

 

Lightning-fast, she jabbed at his hand, and he pulled back on reflex.

 

"Alright, your boundaries," he said, before recalling her again.

 

With Torchic as strong and fit as ever, Will began navigating his way towards the sewers. Being the daughter of a scientist, it was reasonable to assume that Melia wasn't stupid. If the trains were out, she wouldn't try to head to Route 1 on foot. With some luck, Venam wasn't mistaken about the generator. They might even be able to do something about the situation if the problem really was on that end.

 

It took him a minute or twenty to reach the sewer entrance. Once there he saw that…

 

…Venam had died again. This time, it seemed like it was Ren who had found her dying body.

 

"Please, Ren," Venam choked out her last words. "That poor old, wretched, disgusting woman has done it again…"

 

Will felt a stab of discomfort, hearing her talk about her mother like that.

 

I'll hold them off as long as necessary.

 

He pushed the memory away from him. He didn't know Venam, didn't know her circumstances. He didn't want to judge her.

 

"I've been fatally wounded," Venam continued. "This time for real…I cannot continue. All I ever – " She coughed violently. It sounded convincing, too. "- wanted was a berry from the Emporium…Ren…please, this is my last request. I need the succulent, beautiful, EMPOWERING taste of an Oran Berry. Please…just do it for me?"

 

Will could practically hear Ren rolling his eyes. "Nice try, Venam. It's not working. Cut it out."

 

"PLEASE."

 

"Honestly, just get up, Venam. Or should I say, Veronica…"

 

Will blinked once and Venam stood four millimeters away from Ren's face, her expression thunderous. "DON'T CALL ME VERONICA!" She snarled.

 

"Yeah, yeah. Just open the door," a very nonplussed Ren replied.

 

Venam pouted at that. "Ren, you're horrible. You wouldn't grant a dying girl's wish?"

 

"You're a girl? You had me fooled," Ren scoffed. "I thought you were just a feral Primeape with no direction."

 

Damn. Ren just went and straight up murdered Venam. Maybe someone ought to get her that Oran Berry after all…

 

Venam worked her jaw. Her eyes darted aside and lingered on Will. "Oh nice going Ren. You're embarrassing me in front of my new friend! Will, can you believe this guy?"

Ren turned around at that. "Oh! Will's the one you were speaking about?"

 

"Uh, yeah. They blasted me away with a Pecha Berry filled with wasabi. So of course we're friends now! Anyway, it sounds like you two already met so I'm just going to do my thing."

 

Venam kicked against the door, fumbled with a little keycard and then kicked the door again. It slid upwards with a loud, mechanical whirring, creating an opening large enough for four people to pass through side by side.

 

"Presto!" Venam declared. "Let'sa go go go!"

 

Without a second thought, Venam darted inside of the sewers, leaving the two guys on their own.

 

"You know what, this works out for everybody," Ren said. "I beg your pardon, but I overheard you and the Professor talking. You're supposed to look for Melia on Route 1, towards the Goldenwood forest? Don't waste your time, she's not there right now."

 

Well, at least he'd been right about that.

 

"There's an old power grid that the city still uses despite the actual sewer system being abandoned," Ren continued. "Recently it was shut down by an unknown source. Melia decided she wanted to see if she could fix it herself. Professor Jenner is good with machines, so I bet he's taught her a good few things. Anyway, we shouldn't keep the ladies waitin'. Let's go."

 

Together with Ren, he entered the sewers.

 

"Welcome to the abandoned sewers," Ren said as they walked into an entry room with a large staircase leading down. "You'll find out pretty quickly that the name is misleading. This is a place where a ton of trainers come to train their Pokémon. Heh, believe it or not, I may need some help getting through this place myself. Don't worry though, I'll carry us through. They'll be quivering in fear in no time!"

 

Will stared at the guy, not sure if he might have misjudged Ren when they first met.

 

Ren saw him staring. "Th-That was a joke by the way. I'm not actually that conceited."

 

That made a lot more sense.

 

Ren awkwardly scratched his neck. "Uh yeah, c'mon. Let's go."

 

And damnit if Ren wasn't right about the name being misleading. The literal second they descended the stairs, they came across their first person standing around there. She was a brown-haired girl with an enthusiastic expression who waved them over the moment she saw them.

 

"New friends of Venam? Exciting!" She exclaimed, but Ren cut her off.

 

"Luca, we're just trying to get to the grid. Could ya quiet it down a bit?"

 

"Nope!" Enthusiastic Luca retorted. "Time to battle!"

 

It was good to see that everybody had their priorities straight there…

 

As it turned out, Luca wasn't actually that good of a battler, and Ren had added another Pokemon to his team. Together, Torchic and his Growlithe made short work of Luca's two Pokemon.

 

"Darn, I lost," Luca said, completely unbothered by her defeat. "Oh well! Say hi to Venam for me!

 

The two guys exchanged a quick look, then set about for their search.

 

It didn't come as a surprise to Will that the sewers stank. A combination of urine, feces, vomit and other, even worse things all pooled together into one killer combo that was difficult to ignore. Under normal circumstances, people could get used to bad smells through simple acclimatization. Here however, Will didn't bother. He simply breathed through

his mouth and hoped that the remaining soot in his lungs would filter out the stench.

 

"So, where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?" Ren said as they navigated the dark, dripping tunnels.

 

"The S.S. Oceana," Will replied.

 

"The S.S….oh, oh. I'm, uh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Ren stammered.

 

But Will shook his head. "That's ok. I'm still trying to process it all. I'd rather not go into detail."

 

"No, that's completely understandable," Ren said. "Didn't mean to push, I just – whoah, look out!"

 

Out of the darkness, a pair of dark, slender forms sprinted towards them. Before Will knew it, a canine Pokémon had latched onto his leg and started ripping into his calf.

Alarmed, Will stumbled backwards, trying to kick the Pokémon off before it could slice through the fabric and start doing damage. "Torchic!" He cried out, finding and seizing his Poke ball with his right hand. "Go!"

 

Once released, Torchic wasted no time in identifying the biggest threat – the Pokémon barking and growling at Ren – and went after it.

 

Luckily, Ren came in clutch. His Growlithe tackled the Pokémon off and forced it to let go before things could get bloody. Will shot a grateful nod at Ren, then the two quickly switched positions to get behind their individual Pokémon.

 

"You and I are going to talk about target priorities," he told his little starter. "Keep your distance, hit him with an Ember"

 

As Torchic kept the Pokémon – his Dex identified it as a Poochyena, a Dark-type – he grabbed one of the Poke Balls Amanda had given him. He had to build up his team eventually, and this seemed like the ideal place to do so.

 

The Poochyena started to feel the heat. It barked a couple of times more, then spun around and tried to make a run for it.

 

Will gripped the ball and flung it after the fleeing Pokémon – and missed. The ball bounced off the far wall and rolled across the floor.

 

"Damnit," he muttered, then turned to the Poochyena Ren was battling. It was still in the middle of a standoff with his Growlithe – and thus, it wasn't moving.

 

Will pocketed another ball, took a moment to aim properly, then flung. His ball sailed straight and true and hit the Poochyena in its flank. Before it could even react to the impact, the ball caught it and dropped to the ground.

 

"Wow," Rem said, visibly holding back a grin. "Problems with aiming?"

 

"I, uh, don't wanna talk about that either," Will said sheepishly.

 

Ren chuckled, but the Poke Ball remained intact. One more Pokémon, caught!

 

"I only recently became a trainer. Guess I still need a lot of practice," Will explained as he picked up the newest addition to his team.

 

"Hey, don't worry about it. We've all been there."

 

Over the walkway, across the bridge, facing off against random bikers and technicians, Ren and him inadvertently got a lot of battling done. They stopped every now and then to inspect their Pokémon, making sure that they hadn't been poisoned by the occasional Poison-type Pokémon in the area, but other than that they made solid progress. Ren quickly treated their two starters with a healing spray, and they were good to go.

 

"What's this?" Ren said as they passed by an open door. "Do you think this is the place?"

 

"Dunno," Will replied. "Check it out?"

 

"Sure."

 

As it turned out, it was a generator room, but not the generator room they were looking for. Three massive machines had been stashed away there in a sharp triangular configuration. They reached all the way to the ceiling, which put them at twice the size of Will and Ren.

 

Those machines looked heavy and expensive. They also looked like they might explode if looked at the wrong way.

 

"So…I'm not good with machines," Will said. "Wanna press some buttons?"

 

"No…" Ren said as he scrutinized the generators in front of them. "Don't see Melia or Venam here. Let's make a mental note of this place and keep going."

 

"GOD, you guys took your sweet ass time getting here!" Venam yelled at them. "Tch. Whatever. This is where we're supposed to be. Come on!"

 

Without even bothering to wait for the rest, Venam darted inside of what looked like the generator room.

 

Ren sighed. "We didn't take long at all! Don't be so impatient!"

 

Will shrugged, then made his way towards the door…

 

…which promptly fell shut and locked itself behind Venam.

 

That's entirely fitting with the day I'm having…Will thought. Exhaustion started to weigh down on his mind again, but he brushed that aside. He still hadn't found Melia.

 

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Ren exclaimed. "The power just flickered again, and at such a convenient time!" He placed his hand against the door, searching for any mechanism to get it open again. "Looks like they're locked in…and we're locked out. The generator should be somewhere around here. Lets…just reset it ourselves."

 

Back into the sewers they went. Luckily, it wasn't that far to the backup power room. They literally passed it by as they made their way inside, so it was just a matter of backtracking a hundred meters or so to find the generator room again.

 

"What do we have to do to reset the generator again…" Ren muttered to himself. "I think Melia told me once. It went something like…three plus one plus two is the solution to our generator resetting problems. That's…well, that's six together, but I only see three generators here…"

 

"Three plus one plus two…" Will repeated. Melia sounded like a real sharp girl. There was no way it was something as simple as the order of activation, was it?

 

The two of them searched the room up and down, left to right, for any loose pieces of instructions or clues as to how to operate the devices. They found an angry Ekans nestled between a bundle of cables, but nothing useful.

 

"Three plus one plus two…" Will said again. He frowned, then looked at Ren. "Wait a minute."

 

Ren looked like he was about one second removed from slamming his head against the wall. "It's the activation order, isn't it?"

 

Will wandered over to the rightmost machine, saw more buttons than a simple on-off switch and realized that it wasn't meant for him. "Let's try it. Right. Left. Middle."

 

Ren, being infinitely more versed in the art of computers, activated the three machines in the right order.

 

"GENERATOR RESET." A machinelike voice droned through the nearest intercom.

 

"It really was that simple…" Ren sighed. "Let's…let's just find Melia and Venam, shall we?"

 

They made their way back to the room where the door had literally closed in their faces to find that the door had opened again.

 

"If that hadn't worked, I don't know what I would have done," Ren said as they filed inside. "Venam are you – "

 

The two guys stopped in their tracks when they saw that Venam had, unfortunately, perished. Again.

 

"Please…" Venam weakly said, "That wretched old hag that lives deep within the concrete forest…she has fatally struck me once again…"

 

Another girl stood at the far end of the room, standing with her back to Venam. Will recognized her immediately; it was the same girl he'd briefly…ah, met back in the lab. She seemed too engrossed in her work to realize that Venam was dying right behind her.

 

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you seriously trying to swindle Melia right now? You know she won't fall for that!"

 

"A girl's gotta make her way through life somehow!" Venam shot back, getting back to her feet. "It's nothin' personal!"

 

"Venam," Melia said in a gentle, yet firm tone. "I'm trying to concentrate. Please keep it quiet on set!"

 

"Alright, alright, I guess I'm done with that bit…for now," Venam sighed. "I'm just soooo bored! You said you'd be done with this hours ago!"

 

Will frowned. Hours? Had it been that long?

 

"I know, I'm sorry. I just can't find the issue with this thing!" Melia replied, still struggling with the machine. "I'm trying my best to get things done, I promise!" She spared a glance over her shoulder at the pouting Venam and realized that she had an audience. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know you guys got here already!"

 

Melia seemed like a nice enough girl, with large, friendly eyes that glistered with curiosity. Her blond hair fell in curls at the left side of her face, which seemed a bit pale. Will thought she looked cute, if a bit plain. More importantly, she looked safe.

 

"I was so engrossed in my work that I guess I zoned out my surroundings," she explained. Her gray eyes lingered on Will, then widened. "Hey…haven't we met before? You seem really familiar."

 

"Did everyone meet Will before me?" Venam demanded before Will could do more than smile back.

 

"Ah, I remember now!" Melia then exclaimed. "I bumped into you back at the lab, Sorry, again."

 

"No, that might have been on me," Will replied. "I wasn't paying attention back then."

 

"So back on the generator issue?" Ren said. "What exactly is the problem?"

 

"Ah, that's what I'm confused about," Melia replied. "As of now, there seems to be nothing wrong. But as you can see, this thing is still going haywire. It's quite old, though." She turned back to the central console. "Maybe this ol' guy is just falling over, finally."

 

"Oh well, let's forget about it," Venam declared. "We should check on the results of our experiment!"

 

Melia looked at Venam again. "Uh, about that…When I got here, the bags of garbage we left here weren't here anymore. Looks like our experiment to see if garbage bags can actually turn into Garbodor in certain conditions is a failure."

 

Movement atop the main generator caught Will's eye. It appeared as if something was poking out of the top? "Guys?"

 

Ren saw it too. "Wait, Melia, look! Something's coming out of the generator!"

 

Melia gasped, then took a step back. "Wh-What is that?"

 

A freaking Pokémon popped out of the generator, screeching in surprise as it did. It was large and amorphous, with two large, unblinking eyes resting atop its strange body.

 

"Wait…" Melia said. "That's a Garbodor, and it's…its colors are different!"

 

"It happened again!" Ren exclaimed. "Melia, your – "

 

Before he could finish his sentence, two more Pokémon popped out of the sewage pipes that were lined around the room. They looked like smaller versions of the Garbodor, and they weren't friendly.

 

"W-Wahh! Two more?" Venam yelled. "Wait a minute…there are three of them! I think…I think our experiment worked!"

 

"No way…"

 

The Garbodor squeezed itself out of the generator and landed in-between Melia and the console with a heavy, meaty THUMP.

 

"Whoa!" Melia yelped, quickly backpedaling. "This thing doesn't look friendly!"

 

Will didn't hesitate. He positioned himself in front of Melia and pulled his two occupied Poke Balls from his pocket. Ren did the same, and a second later they had four Pokémon standing between them and the new threat.

 

"Don't worry Melia!" Ren said. "Will and I got this!"

 

"Th-thank you!" Melia said, her face laced with concern. "Be careful!"

 

The Garbodor snarled and stomped closer, its large, beady eyes locking on Melia.

 

Adrenaline pumping through his body, Will's mind raced to process the situation. The garbage menace was large and bulky and would hit hard. Its smaller brethren could run interference, making them smaller threats, but dangerous nonetheless.

 

Still, one of those smaller guys couldn't do much damage in a short while. This Garbodor looked like it could shatter bones like they were matchsticks, and that was without taking its Poison attacks in account. Clearly, it was the bigger threat.

 

"Poochyena, Torchic, focus on the big guy!" Will called. Quick on your feet. Torchic, use Ember from a range. Don't get close!"

 

The Garbodor opened its gaping maw and spewed a filthy-looking substance across the floor, forcing the four smaller Pokemon to scatter.

 

"Growlithe, keep those Trubbish at a distance!" Ren ordered. "Froakie, you stay at range too."

 

Torchic and Froakie pelted the Garbodor with fire and fire respectively, and it raised a thick arm to protect its face.

 

"Poochyena, get him from behind!" Will called.

 

As the Garbodor shielded itself from the ranged attacks, Poochyena sprang at it from behind, sinking its teeth into its left leg.

 

The Garbodor rumbled and whirled around, lashing out at Poochyena, but the Dark-type Pokemon bounded away before it could hit, slinking back with practiced ease. Clearly, this wasn't its first tag-team battle.

 

"Torchic, hit him again with an Ember!"

 

"Growlithe, your turn, use Bite!" Ren ordered, catching on to Will's tactics.

 

Growlithe bounded forwards without hesitation. It leapt over the acidic goo the Pokémon had spewed before and ripped at the Garbodor's right leg, then quickly leapt away before the larger Pokemon could retaliate.

 

But the Trubbish his Growlithe had been holding back was now free to move, and it waddled right in the middle of the ongoing fight, swinging its arms wildly at Torchic.

 

"Torchic, watch out!" Will called.

 

The Fire-starter broke off her attack a heartbeat too late. The Trubbish clobbered her over her head with one of its limbs, the blow sending her rolling over the ground.

 

Will gritted his teeth and struggled to stay calm. Panic wouldn't help anyone. "Poochyena – "

 

A barrage of exploding bubbles pelted the Trubbish and it staggered backwards, crying out as it tried to shield its face from the attack.

 

Ren's Froakie clung to the ceiling. It scampered a few meters to the right and opened up on the Trubbish again, keeping it back.

 

"You're mine! Hah!" Venam shouted, before throwing a Poke Ball at the weakened Pokémon. Unlike a certain someone, she didn't miss.

 

"My bad," Ren said.

 

"It's okay. Torchic, you good?"

 

His Torchic rolled herself back to her feet, shook her head and then chirped in affirmation.

 

Relief washed over him. "Great, keep up the pressure!"

 

Tag-teamed by three different attackers, two of which kept biting it where it couldn't defend, the Garbodor's movements began to slow down. It grew more sluggish, each attack

seeming to cost it more effort.

 

With Growlithe and Poochyena keeping it effectively pinned, it was unable to react fast enough when Torchic and Froakie combined their attack. Froakie's Bubbles exploded right in its face and the concussive force knocked its arm out of the way, leaving its face exposed.

 

Torchic, never one to ignore a weak spot, struck a critical blow with Ember. The bolts of searing fire slammed into Garbodor's head and it screamed, rolling back across the floor.

 

Will watched it intently, expecting it to leap right back to its feet, but it stayed on the ground, panting in exertion.

 

"I think we got it," Ren said, visibly relaxing. "Please don't attack people like that! If you want people's attention, you should be a little nicer!"

 

The Garbodor uttered a weak, almost melancholic little sound.

 

Will watched in amazement as the large, powerful Garbodor seemed to shrink in on itself under Ren's words. It actually looked like it was ashamed of itself. It casually climbed over the railing and cast itself into the sewer water below, followed by its unevolved companion.

 

Within seconds, the threat was gone,

 

Will looked at Ren in surprise. How had he known?

 

Melia sighed in relief. "Thank you two for helping me out there. That Garbodor totally took me by surprise."

 

"You two were awesome!" Venam yelled, her voice reverberating off the walls. "That powerful combination was just so…SO…AMAZING!"

 

"Yeah, and if you guys hadn't been strong enough, we always had this to fall back on!" Melia said, padding the top of a large, dark suitcase.

 

"Wow!" Venam said. "…what is it?"

 

A suitcase! Will thought, but he kept that to himself. He was sure the others could figure that out too.

 

"It's a briefcase, Venam," Melia said with the tone of a mother let down by the intelligence of her child.

 

Oh.

 

But then she smiled. "My dad gave it to me right before he left. I opened it earlier and it contains stuff like potions and things. But my dad also told me to enter a secret code if things got really bad. So if things got too dangerous, I would just enter that code. We'd be safe from harm!" Her smile faltered somewhat. "At least, I think so."

 

"Uh…okay?" Ren said, glancing at Will, who shrugged.

 

"Anyway, the generator seems to be working perfectly now!" Melia continued. "I can get onto my trip to Goldenwood Forest tomorrow. But first…I think I'll head back to Gearen Park and take more pictures for my album in the morning. Gotta go, see you guys later!"

 

Will watched her leave with the briefcase. What kind of stuff could Jenner have packed in there that could keep Melia safe? It had to be a very strong Pokémon or something, just in case.

 

"So what are you going to do now, Will?" Ren asked, his voice careful. "If you…want to get stronger, I hear Goldenwood – "

 

Venam, being Venam, didn't let him finish. "Wait just a moment! You COULD go to Goldenwood Forest…or you could go visit me at my Gym! I challenge you, Will!"

 

For a moment, Will didn't know what to say. A Gym Leader wanted to fight him? Him? "You…you'd want that?"

 

"Duh!"

 

"I don't even have experience."

 

"No shit? And your shoes are dirty from all the asses you've kicked!" Venam told him.

 

"Hah, look at the opportunities you've got, Will!" Ren said.

 

"Hell yeah! It's been too long since an actual good trainer showed up at my door. So don't make this boring for me. Kay? I'll be waiting for you tomorrow, first thing in the morning!"

 

She didn't bother waiting for his response. Instead, Venam stormed off on her own.

 

"Well, no use standing around," Ren said, He clasped Will's shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, I won't push. And if you want to talk about things, well, now you've got a couple of friends to do that with. See you upstairs!"

 

And with that, Ren headed towards the exit as well, leaving Will alone with his thoughts.

 

Keep up hope…through new friends, new opportunities, new love.

 

"Friends…" Will quietly said. "…I'd like that."

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

 

Since Rejuvenation is heavily story-focused, I will not be describing every trainer battle in extreme detail. There are hundreds of those throughout the game and I do not feel it is possible to make every single one of them unique/interesting or compelling. I plan on devoting the time and attention the important battles deserve, both to ease the writing process and to keep the fights in general from becoming stale.

 

Quality over quantity, so to speak.

 

Anyway, we've met part of the gang! I had a ton of fun writing Venam's interactions. Rejuvenation's development team did something unique by creating an extensive cast of actual characters that are each really likable (or amazingly hateable) in their own way. I cannot stress enough how genuine these characters act and feel, and I cannot wait to expand on their interactions and give them all their individual moments.

 

Anyway, please let me know what you think of my work so far. I'll be updating what I've got roughly every 24 hours until I've got the entire thing posted her. From there, i'll be updating every next part once it's read. You can also find my work on FF.net and AO3

 

[Masterdude21]

Chapter 1: Crossroads of Destiny

PoisonHeart Badge

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

That evening, Will returned to Professor Jenner to give him a quick situation update. Melia was safe, she'd be heading for Goldenwood Forest the next morning, and he would check up on her once more before she departed.

 

One relieved professor later, Will retreated back to his room, let Torchic and Poochyena out of their balls and then sat on the bed, letting his exhaustion wash over him.

 

The last twelve hours had gone by so fast, that he still hadn't processed everything that had happened. Maybe it was better if he just focused on the future for now and hope that his brain could handle putting all the pieces in the right place on its own.

 

A sharp yelp shook him from his thoughts and he looked over to see Poochyena quickly retreating from Torchic.

 

It wasn't hard to guess what happened.

 

"Torchic, listen," he said, rolling off the bed and kneeling next to his little firecracker. "You and I are going to have a little talk."

 

She raised one of her claws.

 

"Don't give me that," he sternly said. "You're good, but not on your own. We've got a lot of fights ahead of us. Someone will kick your ass if you keep up the attitude."

 

She responded with a sharp chirping sound that he couldn't place. It probably wasn't acceptance.

 

"I'm not going to tolerate you picking on your own team," Will continued.

 

She fluttered with her stubby wings and hopped a few inches towards him.

 

"Don't push me on that, I will bathe you before it's your time."

 

Poochyena stuck his head from underneath the bed and looked up at him with large, curious eyes.

 

Will reached down and held out his hand for the little thing to smell. He hoped it was an upgrade from the sewers. "We're fighting Venam tomorrow. We're going to win. That means we'll be very busy tomorrow."

 

Torchic didn't give him attitude on that, so he hoped the message was clear. He fed both of his Pokémon, got undressed, grabbed a quick shower and then went to sleep.

 

His thoughts drifted all over the place during the night. The dreams plagued him with disquieting vividness, but their specifics faded from his memory the second he started to wake up. He only remembered the faintest of outlines and the amount of mental energy they sucked away from him.

 

It was around 07:00 in the morning when he put on his clothes, recalled his Pokémon and headed downstairs.

 

Surprisingly, the lab wasn't as empty as he had expected. Some people were already crowding around the little shop, eager to get their battling supplies in order before they started their day.

 

A little girl stood in front of the main desk, tears silently running down her face as she stared at the ground.

 

Will frowned. He didn't see that often. A child crying without a sound was a child that knew it wouldn't get any sympathy or help. That didn't seem right in his world.

 

Time to investigate.

 

"Hey," he said, casually approaching the girl so he wouldn't frighten her. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

 

Quietly, through anguished hiccups and pained breaths, the girl told him that some guys had stolen her Starly.

 

Stolen. Her. Starly.

 

Anger formed a painful knot in his stomach.

 

"And…nobody…wants to…help…" the girl sobbed.

Will scowled, then looked up at the woman behind the desk. She was already hard at work answering phone calls and writing down details in her notebook, but apparently she'd also heard every word of their conversation, as she flashed him an apologetic look and shook her head.

 

Ah.

 

Will knelt down in front of the girl. "I'm going to get your Starly back," he told her.

 

She stared at him in disbelief. "H-How?"

 

"Violence," Will replied, his mouth moving just a bit faster than his brain. "Where are they?"

 

"They…they talked about taking her to the pier and s-s-selling her," she said, unable to keep from breaking down again. "I love her so much…I…I…"

 

The rest came out somewhat unintelligible, but Will got the gist.

 

It looked like some hooligans had taken the poor girl's Starly and were planning on selling her off. Time to rough 'em up, make sure they wouldn't be stealing anything ever again.

 

Will spent exactly one minute getting some preparations done, then spun on his heels and marched out of the lab, heading straight back towards the pier. A cautious little voice in the back of his mind told him

that taking on several Pokémon thieves on his own wasn't exactly the best plan.

 

Counterpoint: if a bunch of lowlives had stooped so low as to steal a little Pokémon from a child, they probably couldn't hack it with any other victim.

 

Besides; someone had to interrupt them, if only to disturb their meeting and stall for time.

 

By now the rain had stopped, and visibility was better. Will actually recognized a few of the buildings he walked past from before. He only had a few square kilometers to check out, but he wouldn't have to do that alone.

 

According to the Pokedex, Poochyena had a very keen sense of smell. Before leaving, he'd asked the little Pooch to get some serious sniffing done. Now that it wasn't interested in chewing on his legs like he'd been planning on in the sewers, Poochyena was a lot calmer. With a full belly and a prey to chase after, he seemed all too happy to do as he was asked.

 

Poochyena spent a few seconds sniffing around, then uttered a rumbling growl and took off. He had quite a steady pace for such a little guy and Will broke into a jog to keep up.

 

Through an alleyway, around the corner, past a warehouse, over some poor schmuck's shoes and straight towards an unused pier without a ship in sight. There, a trio of guys on motorcycles were loudly debating amongst themselves what their next move was.

 

"Poochyena, come back," Will ordered in a low hiss, and the little Dark-type came bounding back for him. "Is that them?"

 

A little bark.

 

"That's a good boy," he said, making sure to give him a good scratch behind his ears. "Come on. Let's get them."

 

The three bikers were all gazing at the horizon, as if they were expecting pickup any moment. They had a little cage at their feet, containing a miserable-looking Pokémon.

 

The missing Starly, Will presumed.

 

"Alright, enough," one of the assholes shouted. "We're heading to the Badlands and that's that. They'll pay big bucks for this dumb overused bird."

 

Will's approach didn't go unnoticed. One of them turned around as Will came within battling range and nudged his buddies to alert them. "Hold on boys, looks like we have a little bit of trouble."

 

"Hmph. This punk? Easy," the third guy growled, stomping towards Will with malice in his eyes.

 

"Sic' em," Will said.

 

Poochyena bounded forwards, barking something fierce. The biker cursed and scrambled to send his own Pokémonout. His combatant of choice was a Bug-type Pokémon Will hadn't seen before.

 

He wasn't sure where the bikers had learned how to fight with their Pokemo, but they weren't particularly good at it.

 

Poochyena came in fast and low, nearly flying across the dock as he lunged for his foe. The Pokemon opened its toothed little mouth and sprayed a sticky bundle of ropes through the air, but Poochyena banked sharply and it missed him.

 

A second later, he fell upon the Bug-type and caught its neck in a vice grip. The Bug-type struggled against Poochyena's grip, but Poochyena merely solidified his grip with every twitch and every spasm his foe performed. Had the size difference not been so negligible, it would have broken free. As it was, no chance.

 

"Crap!" The guy snarled, recalling his Pokémon. "Yo, this is bad!"

 

But it was too late. Even as the trio backed up, some sort of personal yacht had arrived, and a pair of guys leapt from the boat to quickly tie her down.

 

Will cursed under his breath and sent out Torchic, too. He had to be fast - !

 

"The boat is here, let's get this over with!" One of them yelled. He bent down to snatch up Starly's cage, but a single bolt of Ember put a stop to that idea. As he screamed, clutching his burned hand, the other two turned to run.

 

"Nu-uh-uh. Don't fly away, little dove," someone giggled. What happened next, wasn't pleasant for Will's mind. Someone yelled in a foreign language, one that he'd never heard before, and it was as if the air around him stiffened. The air grew hot and uncomfortable and for a few, painful seconds, the ground grew increasingly unstable, to the point that Will neatly lost his balance completely.

 

A series of jagged rocks erupted from the water and impaled the yacht from below, half raising it out of the water as they did.

 

Will looked up to see a woman standing atop one of the warehouses. The air directly around her warped and crackled, not unlike the aura of a Pokémon. Her figure exuded power and force, and every fiber of

Will's being screamed at him she was dangerous.

 

"Little dove, little dove, little dove," she said in an unsteady sing-song voice. "Pity dove. A bird can no longer fly with clipped wings. We can't have peasants like you running around. Do you think you'll just be able to do as you please? That's too bad. For you, at least."

 

As she stepped off the rooftop, she spoke again in that strange, dizzying language, and instead of plummeting to the ground like Venam had, her descent was calm and controlled, as if she were merely walking down a flight of stairs.

 

"Look at what we have here!" She said, addressing the trio of bikers with a smile that went from ear to ear. "A couple of no-good thugs trying to steal a poor pigeon. As punishment, you three shall be my faithful servants."

 

The guys exchanged looks among themselves, visibly frozen in fear.

 

"You shall stay with me at the Alvavors Ruins where you will learn to be proper men and servants!" The woman continued with manic glee. "Any objections?"

 

"Yeah, just one – " One of the thugs dared to speak up.

 

The woman pouted with exaggerated disappointment. A third time she spoke in that mysterious language, and the man started floating in the air as if lifted by a Psychic-type, bike and all.

 

As he sputtered in protest, the woman happily stepped towards the pier. "Great! I'll meet you back at the ruins, Charles."

 

"My name ain't Charles!" the man squeaked. "It's Rick1"

 

With a flicker of her wrist, the woman sent him flying away. "Goodbye Charles!"

 

One by one, she caught the other thugs in her invisible strings, lifting them up and across the rough waves of the sea.

 

"You too, Daniel. And how could I forget poor ol' Peter! I'll see you all at the ruins."

 

Will stayed very, very still, half-expecting the woman to turn on him too. The Starly, now freed from its cage, hopped away from the pier and towards the mainland, looking a bit ruffled, but otherwise unhurt.

 

"It seems Starly is doing fine," the woman said, still smiling. She turned towards Will, who noticed that she had yet to blink. "Hello there. My name is Karen! I'm…actually, let's keep that a little secret for now. Just giving out all the info in the beginning is boring and deprives mystery. Do you like my little stone creation?"

 

Will glanced over at the impaled yacht. He wasn't sure if there were still people onboard, but if there were…

 

"Magic is a beautiful thing," Karen continued, staring at the sight of destruction with naked adoration. "A beautiful thing humans tend to push away because they fear it. Have you ever heard of the Garufa?"

 

Will swallowed a lump in his throat, then shook his head. She acted nice and civilized, but…his gut told him that he really didn't want that to change.

 

"The Garufa were an ancient tribe that roamed the world centuries ago," she patiently explained. "They harvested Pokémon's power and sealed their soul along with their Pokémon's soul into a book. That allowed them to enhance their power and cast magic parallel to Pokémon's type. Oh, look at me ramble. Don't worry, it's funny!"

 

Will looked at the yacht again. He thought he could see someone's limb pressed up against the glass in the cockpit, unmoving.

 

Karen followed his gaze. "You don't suppose the driver of this ship survived this little…uproot. Hmph. They probably had family, but who cares about family anyway? I find stone much more lovely."

She laughed, and it was the most unhinged laughter Will had ever heard. A cold chill ran down his spine.

 

She's insane. She knows magic and she is completely insane.

 

"Starly, you are free now. Return to your trainer."

 

The Starly chirped happily, oblivious to what was going on. It spread its wings, hopped awkwardly a few times, then took off to the sky.

 

"I'll clean up the mess I created here," Karen continued. "You go and…finalize the request you started. I'm sure that girl will be thrilled to see that her beloved pigeon is safe from harm's way. Or, you know, lose that pigeon again because they're irresponsible. Whichever they see fit, I suppose."

 

"She's a child," he quietly protested.

 

Her eyes flashed back to him, dark and dangerous.

 

Will nodded and then slowly, taking great care not to move too suddenly, turned away from the insane woman with people-impaling magic.

 

By some cosmic fluke, he made it out alive.

 

"At least we know your nose works just fine," Will told Poochyena a few minutes later, making his way back to the terminal. "Great job by the way."

 

Poochyena barked happily in return. If he understood what just happened, it clearly didn't bother him.

 

They kept walking for another few minutes when suddenly, Poochyena halted, his ears twitching.

 

Will glanced down at him, curious. His mother had told him that she trusted her Sylveon's judgment more than her own. A Pokémon's senses were hard to fool, and the vast majority of them were sharper than those of human.

 

"What is it?" Will asked.

 

Poochyena uttered a low growl, then banked to the left, diving into an alleyway. With no other choice, Will went after him, hoping that he wasn't about to run headfirst into more trouble.

 

Poochyena trotted around a rusted fire exit and came at a stop in front of a pair of old dumpsters. At first Will didn't see what the issue was, When a faint growl began bubbling from Poochyena's throat however, Will circled around to the side.

 

A tiny, four-legged Pokémon sat rummaging through the garbage. Its purple was a sharp contrast to the dreary gray cityscape around it, although the spikes on its back suggested it wasn't completely defenseless.

 

Its large ears rotated around and it tilted its head. A sharp-looking spine poked out from between his ears.

 

"Ease up, Poochyena," Will ordered. Moving slowly, he undid his backpack and reached inside for the bag of food. "You hungry?"

 

It was nothing fancy, but he was sure that store-bought kibble would taste better than literal garbage. "Not judging. Just offering an alternative."

 

The little guy lunged for his hand and practically tore into the food, hungrily scarfing it down in seconds.

 

Poochyena fidgeted, his body stiff and alert. His dark eyes followed the purple critter's every move.

 

With his free hand, Will produced one of his Poke Balls and held it out for the Pokémon to smell. "What do you think? Come with us?"

 

Poochyena produced a sound somewhere between a growl and a whine.

 

"Don't be jealous, the more buddies you get, the less of Venam's Pokémon you have to solo."

 

Another whiny growl.

 

"Yeah, yeah…"

 

The wild Pokémon didn't run away or, more importantly, jab his pointy horn between Will's ribs. Bolstered by that moderate success, Will lightly tapped the Pokémon's head and watched as its body disappeared inside of the ball without a fuss.

 

And then there were three.

 

He returned to Gearen Lab, where the Starly had luckily managed to find its way back. The little girl, at least, was ecstatic to be reunited with her friend. She told Will to seek out the Help Center and then turned her full focus back to her little Pokémon, fuzzing over how dirty those thugs had let him become.

 

Will…decided against telling her what really happened.

 

The Garufa…perhaps he'd pay a visit to the library before he challenged Venam. He couldn't wait to tell Ren about what just happened. He was willing to bet that Ren would never believe him.

 

Using some of the prize money he ah…liberated from the Bikers, he bought himself a quick breakfast at the lab's general store and started planning his day.

 

From what he had gathered, Venam was a Poison-type trainer, meaning he was on a clock the second their fight started if he didn't diversify. Having a Pokémon with a resistance to Poison would even the odds and alleviate the pressure on the rest of his team.

 

His newest addition to his team was a Nidoran, a Poison-type as well. A solid candidate for a defensive battle, as any physical attacks had his poisonous spikes to contend with.

 

Nobody won any battles by defending though. He needed to think about offense as well. That part about physical attacks was a problem for him, too. Best to focus on ranged attacks. If he recalled correctly,

 

Psychic-types were strong against Poison as well.

 

His brow furrowed. Come to think of it, Crescent's Pokémon had been a Psychic-type as well. It had levitated and teleported him, after all.

 

She was supposed to send you somewhere safe.

 

Will shoved himself back to his feet. Stop lingering, he berated himself. Focus.

 

He needed a breath of fresh air. He wasn't going to get that in the lab…or anywhere in Gearen City, for that matter. Time to hit the road and find that park.

 

If all the different directions were anything to go by, the south would be the way to go. He had seen a couple of trees on the other side of a bridge when he first passed by that area. Maybe that was a good

place to start.

 

With Torchic on his heels, Will headed out. He almost managed to walk two kilometers before he looked over at the wrong person and got himself into another conflict.

 

"Time is money, and your money is mine!" The young lady exclaimed, before moving to rob him.

 

Will almost resisted the urge to smile when she saw that he wasn't planning to hand over his money and sent out her Pokémon to rough him up. It gave him another opportunity to test things with his Pokedex.

 

Her Wurmple, as a bug-type, didn't like it when Torchic decided that it looked tasty instead of threatening. After her initial horror, the woman managed to recall Wurmple just in time, and she tried some psychic tricks with her…her Mine Jr. next.

 

Poochyena, as a Dark-type, was much better suited to handle its beams of confusion than Torchic was. At that point, Poochyena was free to come at her as viciously as possible, straight-up ramming into the

 

Mime Jr and seizing its neck in his jaws. The muscles around his neck were like little bands of iron, and before soon he was shaking the Mime around like a ragdoll.

 

"I thought the trainers in Gearen were supposed to be weak…" she said, deflated.

 

Will believed everybody learned a valuable lesson that day.

 

The park wasn't far away from that point. Before long, he passed through a small entryway flanked by what seemed to be the only trees in all of Gearen City. When he emerged on the other end of the entryway, he instantly felt a change in atmosphere.

 

The air was clean, for one, and the nonstop noise of the big city sounded distant and muffled. Gearen Park was a large semi-circle clearing in the middle of what was otherwise a dark forest. A large fountain dominated its central area. In any other city, it might have been ground zero for children playing with their Pokémon. Not in Gearen. Here, silence reigned.

 

Considering what had happened to the last child who'd been out with her Pokémon, perhaps the silence was a better alternative.

 

A flock of Spearrow flew overhead as Will made his way deeper into the clearing. Two yellow Psyducks waggled around the fountain, apparently following each other. Up ahead, in-between a field of tall grass and a rock outcropping, he saw a plantlike Pokémon with a large, yellow flower on its head float around.

 

He thought about catching it, but ultimately decided not to. This cove felt too peaceful to disturb. Besides; it looked like a Grass-type, and they wouldn't fare too well against Venam.

 

Will tugged at the shoulder straps of his backpack and headed towards the fountain. There, just as he was about to figure out if the water was drinkable or not, he spotted someone familiar.

 

"Melia!" He said, waving at the familiar figure kneeling in the grass.

 

She perked up when she heard her name and looked around for a moment. "Heyy, Will! Funny running into you here! Hold on jussst a sec!"

 

She brought her camera to her face. "Say cheese, Gossifleur!"

 

Gossifleur, in possession of an understanding of modern photography equal to Will's own, stared at Melia with a blank expression.

 

Melia giggled and took the photo nonetheless.

 

It probably didn't know what was happening, but it obviously liked Melia's presence, as it continued to peacefully drift around in her presence.

 

Melia glanced at her camera for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Oh, nice! These pictures turned out so well! This one is going right into my album~!" She happily put her camera down again. A little Pokémon that looked like it had only partially hatched from its egg waggled over towards it and put its stumpy little arms around the camera in a protective manner.

 

"I always feel revitalized when I get some quality snaps!" Melia explained.

 

"You like photography?" Will asked. He felt Torchic's warm little body brush its way past his right leg and towards Melia's Pokémon. Without thinking, he bent down and scooped her in his arms before she could do something decidedly unfriendly. "We're at peace today Torchic."

 

He sat it in her eyes. No peace. War, always.

 

"Oh, yes, it's my favorite hobby!" Melia replied. "Photography has always made me so happy. My dad bought me this awesome camera for my birthday last year! I've been using it ever since~!"

 

"That's so nice of him," Will replied, mustering a half-smile.

 

"What about you, do you like photography?" Melia asked.

 

"I…appreciate the art," Will replied. It wasn't technically a lie; he really did admire people who make a snapshot and encapsulate the pure essence of something they thought important. He simply wasn't one of

those people himself. "I wish I were any good at it."

 

"Aww, that's so cool of you. Yeah, even if you don't partake in picture taking, you can still appreciate it," Melia said.

 

Will nodded, glad that she understood what he meant.

 

"I should show you my collection sometime! Actually, I do have something to show you." Melia rummaged around in her bag for a moment. "Here, take a look!"

 

She held out a picture of her Pokémon and it was just the most adorable thing Will had ever seen. It looked like Melia had visited a photobooth with her little guy and dressed him up. He wore a fancy bow tie, a crown that was larger than his actual body and even held a scepter – though it looked more like a microphone.

 

It was legitimately the cutest thing he'd seen in a looong while.

 

"Last year, my dad took me with him for a work trip to Sinnoh. After he was done, he took me to this place where you could dress up your Pokémon and take pictures. Look at my precious little boy, Hapi. Isn't he just so cute?"

 

"Look at that," he told Torchic. "Is that something you'd like?"

 

She started wriggling like mad in his hands, so he put her down on the ground again.

 

"Well, I think it's adorable," Will said.

 

"Aaahh…it was because of this picture that I realized my love for photography," Melia said, lovingly staring at the picture. She carefully stashed it away again. "Anyway, I have to finish up here soon, so I'll talk to you later."

 

"That's alright, I was glad to run into you here," Will said, and he meant it. Keeping himself busy and distracted was the best way to keep focused on the now – and Melia had a positive energy about her that was just really soothing to be near.

 

"Thanks for chatting, it was a lot of fun!" She said. "I hope we can catch up a little bit later before I..." her voice trailed off. "Nevermind. See ya later, Will."

 

"Later, Melia," he said, offering her a little wave. "Take care."

 

After that, Will went back on the hunt. He dropped by the Help Center as that little girl had suggested. It turned out to be a community building where people could submit their troubles and ask someone to help solve them. The Center, in turn, would use its network to find the most qualified person for the job and pay them to solve it.

 

Most of the jobs asked for were rather mundane. Extra help doing chores, a few clean-up projects nobody seemed interested in, stuff like that. Other requests seemed more catered to trainers, and offered substantial monetary rewards. Definitely something to keep in mind for the future.

 

From there, Will began making his way towards Venam's Gym along the northern edge of the city. The pristine face of the Chrisola Hotel kept towering over him no matter where he went. Though painfully expensive, the people there had their own problems that they deemed important enough to reach out to the Help Center. One of those problems even demanded the attention of a trainer.

 

Sensing a future opportunity to learn a bit more about the way Gearen worked, Will decided to at least figure out the best way to get to the hotel, just in case.

 

However, when he finally found himself standing in front of the hotel, something occurred to him. If this was the place where the rich or famous tended to hang out, they might know where Tesla was! Maybe she'd found someone at the Oceana's last location, or…or maybe she just had an update regarding the situation.

 

Will needed to know. He stepped forwards and the two large, glass doors slowly hissed open, revealing a massive atrium with an immaculate, white floor, two blue fountains and a series of well-decorated elevators in the back.

 

Behind the desk stood a man with a suit that looked like it cost more than the average trainer earned in an entire month. His moustache was perfectly groomed, with not a hair out of place, and his eyes were sharp and filled with suspicion.

 

"You! Can…I help you?" The man called out.

 

"Yes, I'm – "

 

"If you're looking for a reservation – "

 

"What, no I – "

 

"Let me make this simple for you. There's no way a punk like you would be able to afford our extremely opulent services."

 

"Wait, I just – "

 

The man got up from his chair, spread his palms on the desk and leered at Will across his moustache. "So please do me a favor and – "

 

"WEEEEEEEH!"

 

Will barely had the time to register that a trolley was racing towards him at breakneck speeds before it smashed into him with the velocity and mass of a bullet train.

 

Pain. Confusion. Stars swimming before his eyes.

 

He blinked slowly. He was on the floor. Why was he on the floor? How long had he been on the floor?

 

A girl's voice rang out from above him. "Owie powie kazowie, lowie! That hurt! Hey my guy, you alive?"

 

Will pulled himself together and slowly rolled himself on his stomach. That was the first time in his life he'd been hit by a runaway trolley. Neat, he could scratch that off his bucket list…

 

"M-Miss Blakeory! What on earth are you doing!" The moustached manager exclaimed. "How many times do I have to tell you not to use the trolleys in such a barbaric manner! And now you've gone and hit this hooligan with it! I pray to Arceus that they don't file a lawsuit!"

 

I am going to file my law straight up your suit so hard –

 

"Aw, quit worrying so much! Those scratches were already there! Besides, they got in the way of my trolley first! I should sue for the damage myself, hehe!"

 

His attempted-murderer seemed to be a girl in her late teens. Her shoulder length hair covered the right side of her face, but the parts Will could see seemed completely relaxed…and possibly amused.

 

She approached him and offered him a hand. "But for real, sorry for slamming my trolley into you like that! It was an accident…really!"

 

Will took her hand. She pulled him up with surprising strength,

 

"S'okay…" Will mumbled, taking a deep breath to test his ribs for any damage. So far so good.

 

"Heh, my name's – "

 

"Miss Blakeory, stop wasting your time with this street rat!" The moustached psycho exclaimed. "The helicopter you requested is waiting for you on the roof as we speak!"

 

Call me street rat again and I'll hang your moustache above my bed, Will thought. Of course, since the man would probably have him arrested the second he opened his mouth, he simply kept that to himself.

 

"Oh CRUD! I forgot I requested that," the girl sheepishly said. "I haven't even packed yet, hah. Val will kill me if I'm late again! Oh darn, what a bother. Eh, but who needs to pack when the world's your oyster! Because…well, you know what they say?"

 

Will stared at the girl, as did the moustache.

 

"…Miss Blakeory, what do they say?" The moustache carefully asked.

 

Miss Blakeory was pleasantly staring ahead of herself, her eyes unfocused. "Huh? I dunno what they say. I was asking you that?"

 

The man inhaled sharply and did not exhale again.

 

"Anyway, gotta go! But it was nice crashing into you!" The girl bumped her fist against Will's chest and then broke into a dead sprint towards one of the elevators.

 

The man watched her leave with a dead expression in his eyes, before turning his moustache on Will. "I need you to leave."

 

"I just wanted - "

 

The moustache lifted his finger. "If you do not leave I will have you escorted out by the police."

 

"On what grounds?" Will demanded, anger coming quick and hot.

 

"Jaywalking, trespassing, probably possession as well," the man exclaimed. "The longer you continue polluting our hotel, the more charges we'll be able to level at you."

The unreasonableness of it all built up inside of his chest, mixing with anger and rotting with the desperation at needing to hear from Tesla again.

 

He clenched his fists -

 

Keep up hope.

 

- and relaxed them again. He'd be shaming his mother and Tesla if he got himself stupidly arrested on bogus charges.

 

Without another word, Will turned around and left that miserable place.

 

It was time to go see Venam.

 

Thankfully, he'd about memorized the route he needed to take to her house. After a quick walk, he'd made it right back to the spot where she'd first crashed into his life.

 

Will walked into Venam's yard, then paused to read the large sign bolted into the ground in front of the Gym entrance.

 

"Official residence of an Aevium Gym Leader"

 

Will had to give it to her, Venam seemed like a tough girl. He wasn't sure if he'd want the entire city to know where he lived if he held such a high rank there.

 

He passed through the large, opulent door and the atmosphere did a complete one-eighty. It felt like he just wandered into a high-profile nightclub; rock music played blared through the speakers all around him and the hallway was decorated with albums, musical instruments and neon lights.

 

Will looked around in wonder. Was this what he could expect from the gym challenges? This could be fun!

 

With nobody around, he released all three members of his team from their balls. "Alright guys, huddle around. Time for a plan. I'm here, Nidoran. Pay attention. Listen up."

 

The facts: Venam had more Pokémon than him. She had more experience and she had the field advantage. She was headstrong, merciless and brutal. Simply playing defensively would get them nowhere.

 

Pokémon were smart creatures. They didn't understand his words, but they did grasp his meaning. He couldn't convey multiple sentences of tactics to them, but he could give them roles to play, things they could reconcile with their instincts when things got dire and they needed to react before he could make a decision.

 

They knew their weaknesses, so they had to play to their strengths. Will had a plan for that.

 

When they were all ready, Will made his way down a flight of stairs with brightly glowing steps, past an unoccupied desk and through what felt like a door that should have been guarded by a large, angry bouncer. He emerged at the top of a podium of sorts, overlooking an actual nightclub, complete with real people actually hanging out, dancing, singing and drinking.

 

This place wasn't like a nightclub, it actually was one.

 

Will rested his elbows on the guardrail and just…took in the sights. It was hard to believe that all of this was part of a gym. Was he supposed to battle Venam here? Amidst all these people?

 

"No pressure," he said to himself.

 

Wait a minute…he recognized that blonde ponytail. Was that Melia? Then, the guy standing next to her had to be Ren!

 

Will grinned, knowing that he wouldn't be making a fool out of himself in front of a bunch of strangers after all. He vaulted the guardrail and walked up to the pair. "Hey guys!"

 

Melia squeaked in surprise and spun around. "Oh, Will! You startled me."

 

Ren nodded at him.

 

Will nodded back.

 

"Ren dragged me here so that we could see the match!" Melia explained. "Exploring Goldenwood is cool and all, but this is where the real content is! Good luck, Will!"

 

"Yeah man, good luck with the battle against Venam!" Ren chimed in/ "She's a tough first battle. Most of the time, Venam wins, actually."

 

No pressure.

 

"Except against me, hehe," Mela said, folding her wrists behind her back and smiling innocently.

 

Ren snorted. "Yeah, but you've fought her so many times that you know how she fights. And Venam is too stubborn to do anything other than brute force things, so."

 

"Hehe, yeaaah," Melia conceded.

 

Brute force…that might actually be good to know "And the dance floor over there…"

 

"That's the puzzle you have to solve!" Melia said.

 

Ren jabbed a pointy finger at Will. "You have to dance, baby,"

 

He actually managed to make it sound cool too, which made it doubly sad when Melia started laughing.

 

Ren turned to her. "What? It's true. Find the right order, show you can dance, and you'll be accepted. Simple."

 

"I am ready to boogie," Will said, pouring as much determination into that sentence as he could. He thought it sounded pretty believable, too. It almost made him forget that he couldn't dance if his life depended on it.

 

He just had to ignore Melia's snickering.

 

Which he could.

 

Definitely.

 

Because he. Was going. To boogie.

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

---

Nim walked into the gym, and went unseen by all. Nim was a master of stealth.

 

She had arrived just in time, too. The newcomer – her amazing spy abilities had taught her his name was Will – had only just arrived as well and was struggling his way through Venam's usual puzzle.

 

Will struggled to boogie. It was sad, really. Painful even. It looked like he had cracked the code, but his attempts to dance his way through the pressure-sensitive tiles below was pitiful. Pitiful!

 

But that was okay. Nim was a good dancer. Everybody had room for improvement.

 

One of Venam's friends controlled the mechanism. Until he thought Will's boogie was boogie enough, the puzzle would not solve itself.

 

Nim plonked down on one of the stools at the bar, pulled a bottle of soda out of the fridge when the bartender wasn't looking, then began observing.

 

She knew things other people didn't. Part of that was because she was very smart. A bigger part was because other people were just human.

 

Nim knew things. Will stood out to her. She wasn't completely sure why. Probably because he was an outsider too.

 

Nim did not know why Will was an outsider. She did not yet know where he came from. So, with her soda in her hand, she started observing.

 

People laughed at Will. Some of them did so meanly. Others – like Venam's friends, Melia and Ren, did so in encouragement.

 

Will maintained his focus and tried again.

 

And again.

 

And again.

 

Nim finished her soda.

 

Will tried again.

 

It did not bode well; most of the people whom Venam wiped the floor with usually managed to get past her puzzle relatively easily. It was simple; step on six different tiles in the right order, but do so with style.

 

Style was easy. It was shallow. It could be bought, faked, stolen, cheated on and with.

 

Nim looked at Will and saw…not style. His clothes had holes in them. Small, but Nim could see them. When Nim looked at those holes, she thought of fire and brimstone.

 

Whoops…cheated again.

 

Nim sat up straighter. She made the empty bottle disappear and looked. Really looked.

 

Ren cheered harder than he usually did. Melia was being her normal self. Venam paid attention.

 

Aha! Venam rarely bothered to pay attention these days. Why would she, if the outcome was already determined?

 

But now Venam paid attention. She had expectations. Nim hoped those expectations weren't superior boogie skills.

 

Will tried again and did not show his frustration.

 

"Come on Will!" Melia yelled mirthfully. "I thought you could boogie?"

 

Nim saw the calculations in Will's eyes. Nim knew then and there that Will was about to make a giant fool out of himself.

 

He landed on tile 4. Left hand on hip, right pointing diagonally up. Hips shifted left. He jumped, landed on tipe 2. Right hand on hip, left pointing diagonally up. Hips shifted right, two times. He nearly tripped over his feet, but landed on the 3. There, right hand boogied up, then down, then up. He forgot the hip shakes. Finally, he leapt back at the 4. Right hand on hip, left diagonally up, but he switched it up, back to the left. Eyes filled with steely concentration.

 

It was almost too bad for Nim to bear. And yet…that steely determination was special. Something Nim found hard to describe.

 

But he did it! He barely maintained his balance, then leapt at the central pad again. The lights flashed several times in quick succession, then settled on him.

 

"Looks like the show's on!" Venam's voice came through the speakers. Then, the Poison-type leader herself entered the stage, complete with guitar and everything. "Let's get this started! Take the stage Will and we'll rock on!"

 

Now, Nim had never figured out why people had come to associate rocks with this type of music, but the sounds were pleasant enough to her ears, and this place felt alive to her. So many unbridled and naked emotions and sensations…how could anyone not enjoy that?

 

Will took the opposite side of Venam, where everybody could see his face. He smiled at Venam, but something was off. He smiled and yet, he didn't smile. He smiled but didn't. The emotion never reached his eyes.

 

Nim stared at him, puzzled. What she saw behind his eyes, made her feel upset.

 

"See, I'm usually the Gym Leader new trainers like you face," Venam said. "But newer trainers just never know how to deal with my Poison-type Pokémon. So when you were able to fight off those Trubbish and Garbodor like that, I was very impressed."

 

"Good luck Will!" The blond girl, Melia, shouted.

 

"Knock her DEAD!" The guy, Ren, joined in.

 

His comment shocked Nim! Did they expect Will to execute Venam? Surely that was not necessary?

 

Venam did not seem intimidated by the threat to her life. She casually lobbed a Poke Ball in the air and caught it again.

 

Nim wasn't impressed; she could do that with six Balls and no hands!

 

"Ah, whatever," Venam replied. "Looks like we got an audience. Hope you don't get performance anxiety! I won't be kind, so you better not be either! I, Venam, Gym Leader of East Gearen City will end your

career before it even starts!"

 

And with that, the fight was on!

 

Immediately, Venam started the fight with a Pokemon Nim hadn't seen her use before, while Will sent out a Poochyena.

 

Venam's new Trubbish faced off against the lil' pooch. Both trainers immediately went all in with quick aggressive attacks.

 

Poochyena lunged towards his foe, baring a maw filled with fearsome teeth. Trubbish thrust its arms forwards and opened its maw, spraying a foul, purple gas across the area.

 

The poisonous gas was potent, but lower than air, and Poochyena leapt over the cloud of gas to escape the worst of it. It came down on the Trubbish and bit down on its arm, hard. It held on tight even as the

 

Trubbish began to flail around, struggling to get it off.

 

Poochyena glared at its foe, its eyes glowing an intimidating shade of red, and Trubbish froze, if only for a moment. In that moment, Poochyena released its arm, darted to its rear and leapt atop its back.

 

"Shake him off Trubbish!" Venam yelled.

 

Her Poison-type hunched up its little shoulders and began shaking wildly.

 

"Release," Will ordered. "And again!"

 

Nim watched eagerly as Will took full advantage of Poochyena's smaller stature and greater flexibility. It ran circles around the Trubbish, slowly wearing it down with hit-and-run attacks.

 

"This again?" Venam demanded. "Fine, this is just the opening act. Trubbish, keep using Poison Gas!"

 

Nim had seen that before. Venam would flood the field with clouds of poison during the initial bout to give herself a crucial advantage later on. It was crude, but it tended to work, unless Will had a Steel-type with him.

 

As it was, Poochyena was a perfect counter to the slower Trubbish, and wore it down with several Bite attacks. Venam was forced to recall it before it could seriously hurt, and sent out her next Pokemon, the hardy Mareanie.

 

By that point, the Poison Gas had covered much of the podium, and the onlookers were forced to back away.

 

Poochyena was unsteady on its feet, interrupting his howls with sharp coughing sounds.

 

"That's good enough Poochyena," well done, Will said, recalling his Pokemon before it could take too much damage. He was forced to send out his next Pokemon amidst the noxious fumes.

 

It wasn't a Steel-type, but it was arguably a better choice. He sent out a male Nidoran next, packing a high resistance to the Poison-type and good deterrent to Mareanie's sharp spikes.

 

Under Will's orders, Nidoran lowered his head and charged straight at the Mareanie, ignoring the poison cloud and lining up his powerful horn for a solid blow.

 

The Mareanie hunched, wrapping its barbed limbs around its head to protect itself. Nidoran slammed into its fleshy cloak, but it was still a little thing and didn't pack the momentum to break through. They went

back and forth like that, jabbing, poking, stabbing at each other relentlessly, each resistant to the other's poisons.

 

Something had to give.

 

"Break through Nidoran! Keep pushing!"

 

Slowly, the momentum shifted. Mareanie was forced on the defense. Problem was, it wasn't heavy enough to do the defending its evolved form could do. The relentless charges of its foe sent it reeling. It turned from a jousting match into a matter of who could outmuscle the other the longest.

 

Both were Poison-types, but Nidoran had force and momentum on its side. Panting, but determined, it finally delivered a blow savage enough to force Mareanie's spiked folds out of the way, exposing a tired, ragged face.

 

That was the weak spot, and Nidoran seized it. He slammed into the Mareanie with enough force to knock it backwards. It rolled across the floor and came to a sad halt at the edge of the podium. It struggled to rise again, but it could not, and Venam was forced to withdraw it.

 

Next, Venam sent out her Grimer. Grimer, the sludge Pokemon, was made out of sludge. Nidoran was a physical attacker with poisonous spikes. She didn't see this matchup going well.

 

The battles became faster and fiercer, but also a bit sloppier. Venam's tactic was attack, attack again and if enemy not defeated, attack all over again.

 

Against the tired Nidoran, it worked, but it took more damage than it should have. Will ended up having to recall Nidoran - he really should have caught more Pokemon - then sent out his last remaining

 

Pokemon – a Fire-starter in the form of a Torchic. He wasted no time in having Torchic blast the weakened Grimer with a steady flow of Ember shards, forcing Venam to recall it as well.

 

One versus two. It had been three months since someone pressed Venam this much! Will might even be able to pull this off!

 

Venam's expression was one of complete focus as she sent out her Whirlipede.

 

A hard shell protected Whirlipede's body, but only on the outside. Because of that, it could roll itself into a ball and move around like that with deceptive speed, using its two barbed spikes as offensive weapons.

 

Torchic had a tough aura, but it was no Poison-type. If it got even nicked, it would be on a clock.

 

Venam knew that, too, and she enjoyed the heck out of it. Under her orders, the Whirlipede began moving furiously around the podium, attempting to run Torchic down.

 

It was a solid tactic, one Nim couldn't see Will countering easily. It kept aggressively trying to smash against the smaller, if more nimble Fire-type, throwing off its aim whenever it tried to counterattack. It couldn't peck or scratch for fear of hitting its spikes.

 

Nasty stuff.

 

And it happened as Nim had foreseen. Torchic was faster, until it wasn't fast enough. The Whirlipede landed a good hit on its head, stunning the Torchic long enough for Whirlipede to fully coil around it. Then, the Bug-type put on the squeeze.

 

Nim felt her pulse quicken. Torchic was strong and could dish out solid hits, but it was still a little starter and couldn't take hits in return. This was a new tactic, she was certain of that! Venam must not have liked her odds of getting hit by a stray Ember blast, and decided to take care of that threat in a different way.

 

"Watch your head, keep it out of cooking range," Venam warned her Pokémon.

 

It had to get out, or it wouldn't last. But it couldn't get out, because it didn't have a method of attacking. It needed air to make use of its internal fire and even if it could get an Ember off, Venam had already

thought ahead.

 

Was this it?

 

Nim looked at Will's face. He was tense, and she could see his mind racing. He saw Torchic choking and gasping in pain, and Nim saw his thoughts fall apart again. She wouldn't pry further, wouldn't delve into his thoughts, but she knew nonetheless.

 

"Come on Torchic," Will called out. "They won't get the better of you!"

 

Torchic squirmed and kicked with its claws. Torchic opened its beak and spat a defiant, but weak Ember.

 

But Torchic didn't get free.

 

Then, Nim felt the air change, a certain tension that crept and crackled into the atmosphere. She, of course, knew what was about to happen, which made the reactions of the people around her all the more enjoyable.

 

White light erupted from Torchic and completely enveloped it. An enormous burst of energy went unnoticed by all the people in the crowd as Torchic's form shifted to become larger, stronger and more powerful. Its soul, always the last part to change, was confused at first, but quickly accepted the wealth of new information and possibilities its new form could attain. Now in possession of two large, powerful arms, the Combusken effortlessly pried apart the crushing coils of the Whirlipede and violently slammed its foe against the ground.

 

Will did not verbally react to his starter's evolution, but the big, goofy grin on his face told Nim all she needed to know. "Go for its head, before it can recover!" He ordered.

 

"Crap," Nim had heard Venam mutter. She raised her ball to recall her Pokémon, but hesitated to do so. "Quick, use Twineedle before – "

 

Too late. Combusken was faster and had a gnarly kick. Literally, it hopped in the air and brought the heel of tis clawed foot down atop Whirlipede's head.

 

The Bug-Pokémon stiffened, its several crawly leggies twitching a couple of times, before it went limp.

 

"Damnit," Venam hissed. She clenched her teeth, but the emotion emanating from her soul felt nothing like anger. "Seviper, it's all up to you!"

Venam's ace, her Sepiver, took the battlefield to face down Will's ace.

 

Nim shifted her weight from her left leg to her right, then back again. The serpentine Pokémonstared down its final foe for the fight, its vertical eyes calmly assessing the situation.

 

Will and Venam issued their orders, and the two Pokémon clashed together. Combusken took two large leaps backwards and unleashed a raging barrage of Ember flames from its beak. Seviper was agile though, and handily twisted and slid around the majority of the bolts. If it could get close enough to deliver a venamous (hihi) bite, it would be all over.

 

Atop the podium, encouraged by a dozen different people and driven by the pounding beat of the music, the gym's interior felt like an emotional blender. Excitement slammed into concern, trepidation battled apprehension and the all-consuming desire to win pressed down on all the others.

 

Seviper surged forwards, coiled sharply to the left in a feint and banked to the right to deliver a crushing bite. Faster than even Nim's mighty mind could register, Combusken delivered a rapid series of kicks straight at Seviper's face.

 

That did not stun it for long though. While it did create distance between the two, it was more of a stall tactic than anything else, and if Combusken couldn't damage Seviper enough to knock it out, Will would lose that fight.

 

Come on! Nim thought, but not too hard or the others would hear her. Stop defending! Start attacking!

 

There, just as she suspected. Another feint, this time to the right, and Seviper came in suddenly from the left. It attempted a venomous bite and Combusken was just barely able to deflect it…

 

…and in doing so, Seviper's fang graced its forearm, leaving a nasty cut.

 

Venom delivered.

 

Nim wrestled down the urge to start hopping up and down in frustration. Come on Will! See that? See that? You! Are! On! A! Clock!

 

Will's face was a mask of concentration, while Venam's expression betrayed that she knew what just happened. That toothy grin of hers wasn't very subtle.

 

As the two Pokémon battled, Combusken gradually grew slower, and less fierce. It started panting, and struggled to fend off the probing attacks Venam ordered.

 

Nim felt her stomach plummet. They'd fought so hard!

 

"That's it Seviper! Finish it off with our special! Use Venam's Kiss!"

 

The Seviper hissed, then struck – "

 

"Now!" Will shouted.

 

Combusken brought its arms together and grabbed a hold of Seviper's head, stopping her needlelike fangs mere inches from its face.

 

A burning aura welled up from Combusken's body, and Nim felt the room grow heater in seconds. That fiery aura! Could it be?"

 

Combusken roared, and the aura exploded outwards. Keeping Seviper's mouth forced open, it spat one final, Blaze-powered Ember barrage straight into its face and vulnerable gullet.

 

Venam's ace went mad, throwing itself to the floor and thrashing around. Smoke poured from its body as its life force and energy had depleted to such a level that it couldn't ward off the elemental damage anymore.

 

"Seviper, come back!" Venam snapped, before wisely recalling her Pokémon.

 

Her last Pokémon.

 

And that…was that! That! Was! That!

 

Nim nearly fainted from excitement.

 

"DANG!" Venam spanned, swinging her fist in anger. "But…that was so fun! You're a great trainer!"

 

The crowd went wild. People yelled and cheered. A dozen people threw their fists in the air. Melia and Ren were among the loudest.

 

"Woohoo!" Melia cried, her face red from excitement and effort as she gave it her all. "Go Will! You were amazing!"

 

"I can't believe I lost," Venam spat. "Damnit I had such a good record this block too! But man, FINALLY someone knows how to do shit around here! I'm so TIRED of all the Jessicas and the Timmys that show up with their prized Skwovet or Patrat. Only for me to obliterate them without even thinking."

 

Obliterate…

 

"Psh. Anyway, you deserve these!"

 

Venam trudged over and handed Will his very first badge! Hurray!

 

"The PoisonHeart Badge!" Venam said, taking Will's hand and pressing it into his palm. She grabbed his shoulder and gave him a good shake. "I'm tired, man. I'm heading back home. There was something I was supposed to give you for winning, but…sorry, I forgot. Oops."

 

"I got what I needed," Will replied. His voice was barely audible over the music, but he sounded sincere, which was the most important.

 

Will was sincere.

 

"Hah. I'll see you later, Will," Venam replied.

 

Yes, Nim thought. I am going to see you later.

 

Both of them went their separate ways. Neither of them noticed Nim standing near the front, precisely as Nim had hoped.

 

But she knew enough. It was time to leave.

 

Nim turned around. Nobody ever saw her melt away in the shadows.

~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~~

---

---

Melia and Ren were waiting for him outside.

 

"Yay, congratulations on your win, Will! You were absolutely fantastic~!" Melia beamed at him.

 

"No one's beaten Venam in quite some time, so it was refreshing to see her lose," Ren chimed in. "What a time for Torchic to evolve. Hey, if you're strong enough to beat Venam, then you might want to consider challenging the league. Next gym is…" he looked around for a moment, orientating himself in the right direction. "Thataway, I think it's Sheridan Village."

 

Melia's brow knitted in concern. "Um, Ren…I think we're jumping the gun a little bit."

 

"Hmm?"

 

"Beating Venam is one thing, but fighting the leader of Sheridan Village is another."

 

It didn't take Ren long to consider that. "Yeah, you're right. I hear the leader there is a real pleb stomper."

 

"That's why Will needs to do a little more training before considering challenging him!" Melia continued. "Hey, Will, I have a small task to complete at Goldenwood Forest in a couple of hours. Why not join me?

 

It's a great way to become a better trainer, and I hear there's a lot of cool Pokémon there for you to befriend."

 

She turned to leave, then paused. "If you do come with me, I'll let you in on a little secret too."

 

Well, he'd done what he came to achieve, and Melia was fun to be around. He didn't see why not. "Sounds fun. Let's do it."

 

"I'll be waiting for you on Route 1," Melia smiled. "See ya, Ren!"

 

The two watched her leave.

 

"Well, I should get back to the Magnolia Library," Ren eventually said. "I had research to do, after all."

 

"Hey, before you go, do you know something about the Garufa?" Will asked.

 

"The Garufa?" Ren thought about that. "Weren't they an ancient civilization who lived before us? I came across that name a couple of times. Why?"

 

"I met someone with an…interest in their culture," Will replied. "I hadn't heard of them before."

 

"Huh. Well, if I find something about them in a book, I'll let you know. Later!"

 

Will looked down at the little piece of metal Venam had handed him. The PoisonHeart badge, huh? It was a nice gesture, and having it in his possession would surely come in handy later, but it was just a means to an end.

 

The battle had been close. Much too close. If he was going to find and rescue his mother, he needed to be stronger. He needed to be better.

 

Still…his preparations had paid off, and Torchic had even evolved! All things considered, it was an outcome he could be satisfied with.

 

And…he'd had a lot of fun doing so. Maybe Melia and Ren were on to something after all.

~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~

 

---

---

Author's Notes: It is HARD to try and describe even a tiny part of The Travolta in a world where there never was a Travolta.

 

About sidequests: they're a ton of fun, and when they're too funny to leave out I'll do my best to incorporate them into the story. If not, I'll only take the story-relevant side quests, or the side quests with potential to enrich the story's lore or develop the characters. Meeting Karen = very important. Fighting random Pokemon = not very important.

 

Anyway, since Rejuvenation's story chapters tend to be big, I think the format of 4 written parts per chapter, each around 10,000 words, is going to work out fine for now. That means the next update is going to wrap things up for Chapter 1.

 

And oh boy. I can't wait to write THAT one :)

 

As always, please let me know your thoughts, and I'll see you all with the next update!

[Masterdude21]

Chapter 1: Crossroads of Destiny

The Siege of Goldenwood Forest

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

The battle with Venam had been the hardest one yet. All three of his Pokémon were in need of some serious healing, which meant Will had to settle down and wait while the nurses of Gearen Laboratory performed their magic. Considering how traveling around the city without a Pokémon to protect you wasn't very good for one's health, Will decided to stay put and get some reading done in the meantime.

 

The lab had an abundance of ways to get important information. Apart from the various books and magazines scattered around, the lab offered several computers and organized bundles of old newspapers, sorted by date.

Sparing the occasional glance at the healing unit in the corner, Will started reading up Aevium's history and its topography. With the exception of Gearen City, the region's second capital, the majority of the Floria island was small and rural, with many waterways crisscrossing the island. If his mother and him had successfully made it to Gearen together, they would have had to travel to the center of the island, to Goldenleaf Town. From there they'd then make their way through or around a massive mountain smackdab in the middle of the island, before finally getting to Akuwa Town in the north.

 

Will clicked through the page. Something the calamity that befell the region forty years ago, a Calamity so severe that they gave it its own name.

 

Storm-9.

 

Storm-9…the name fit. People assumed Storm-9 had been a natural disaster. Information on the calamity was…scarce, to put it lightly. Even on the internet, nobody could give a clear answer to what actually happened. It was likely that the calamity happened so quickly, so suddenly, that Aevium had been torn asunder before people even realized it.

 

Perhaps a Pokémon had been involved? Who knew.

 

Will studied the map in depth, trying to find any place where Team Xen could have their headquarters. If they could somehow transfer prisoners from a sinking ocean liner to their HQ fast enough to not have to worry about anyone drowning, it had to be somewhere within Aevium.

 

Floria island, the largest…

 

Terrajuma, the smallest….

 

Terrial…huh. Terrial was actually two islands, and could not be more different from each other. One of them was the nation's capital, sporting its largest major settlements and trade hubs, while the other one was called "The Badlands".

 

And then there was Neverwinter island, but Will wasn't really interested in that one.

 

If he wanted to build a secret base to store dozens upon dozens of kidnapped civilians, he'd definitely not do that anywhere near the capital. Too many prying eyes, too many chances for leaks.

 

Unless…unless Xen was hiding in plain sight, counting on their victims to disregard the capital as a likely spot outright.

 

What if, what if what if…

 

He had to face it. He simply didn't know enough about Team Xen to even make a dumb guess, let alone an educated guess.

 

Back to the drawing board.

 

"Can William retrieve his Pokémon?" An electronic voice echoed through the lab.

 

"It's just Will," he angrily muttered.

 

The computer didn't respond. Perhaps that was for the better.

 

"There you go, all healed up," the overworked nurse told him upon placing his Poke Balls on the counter. "Safe travels. NEXT!"

 

With just another hour to go before he was set to meet up with Melia, Will bought a few healing items at the store and started making his way to the northwest, where he'd find the local train station.

 

Along the way, he let Nidoran walk with him. This newest member of the team had only been with him for literal hours before being forced to fight grueling matches in a thunderous environment. The little guy deserved some time to wind down.

 

…that was only half the truth. Knowing that Team Xen was out there, Will didn't feel comfortable just walking around on his own. Nidoran would hear any danger approaching him from far away, and his ever-rotating ears were a good

indicator of where that danger would come from.

 

Unless Xen takes you out from long range. Then you're just as dead.

 

Shut up.

 

Nidoran happily pitter-pattered in front of him, keeping up a steady pace for such a small Pokémon. His ears moved slowly, only really making any sudden moves whenever he heard a loud noise or when someone came too close. The cityscape seemed to suit him just fine.

 

The train station was farther away from the lab than Venam's gym had been. Luckily, it was far easier to find. Will quickly found out that all he had to do was follow the shoreline to the west and ignore all the bridges, walkways and

crossings he came…across.

 

Finally, after almost an hour's walk, Will made his way across a pair of train tracks, and knew he'd made it.

 

East Gearen Station was a large, two-story box of a building with plenty of trees and shrubbery planted in the vicinity. A small crowd of people was passing through now that the trains were operable again.

 

"Important place," Will told Nidoran, who looked up with curious eyes. "Let's hope nobody smuggled explosives inside."

 

Nidoran made a barking sound.

 

"Exactly."

 

Nidoran hot on his heels, Will stepped inside of the station.

 

Almost instantly, someone in the crowd singled him out and rapidly approached him. The stab of tension and surge of adrenaline following in its wake lasted only a second before Will realized who it was. "Tesla!"

 

"Oh, Will, there you are!" Tesla said. "We meet again! How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

 

"I'm…" Will hesitated. He didn't actually know how he was feeling. How he should be feeling. Yesterday's victory still happily drifted around in his mind, but so did everything else that happened since Team Xen attacked. "Not really

 

sure."

 

Her face was as warm and reassuring as it was the night she plucked him from the fire and the smoke. "Hey, it's okay to be unsure. You're in a troubling situation."

 

"The others…" Will whispered. "Did you…?"

 

Her expression fell, and his heart sank. "I'm sorry. By the time I got there, the ship was sinking rapidly. "On the upside, we didn't find anybody. No fatalities, either. Everything points to a mass abduction, not…the other thing."

 

Will nodded at that. It wasn't a confirmation – not really – but it gave him something to hold on to. A little piece of flotsam for the mind. "Thank you for looking."

 

She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Just know that you're not alone. I'm here for you, Will."

 

Will averted his gaze, his eyes prickling with moisture.

 

"But please, do not give up hope," Tesla continued. "Even in the most powerful pit of despair, we must press on."

 

It wouldn't be easy.

 

It would be far from easy, and Tesla had to know that as well. But this was too important to give into despair over.

 

I'm going to find her, Tesla. I'm going to find her and free her.

 

It wasn't an idea as much as it was a spark, a tiny spark that had yet to survive the transition to a full flame. He didn't admit it. Couldn't vocalize it yet. Instead, he said, "I will," he said. "I promise."

 

His response came as a relief to her. He saw it in her eyes. "I believe you. Well, anyway, if you're here, that must mean you're going to Goldenwood Forest? In that case, just wait here one moment."

 

Nidoran stared at Tesla as she suddenly turned and walked towards the nearest counter, easily striking up a conversation with the attendee. Whatever she was doing didn't take her longer than a minute, and she happily walked back over to Will when she wrapped things up.

 

"Teehee, everything's taken care of Will," she said with a smirk. "I'm quite a regular customer here, so I told them you're my friend and now, they've given you a lifetime pass!"

 

"…thank you," Will said, at a loss for words. Tesla had shown him such kindness, continued to give him such kindness, and he had nothing in return for her, nothing to show his gratitude with.

 

"Don't worry about it," Tesla said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's the least I could do to help you get your feet off the ground. Do you have enough Potions?"

 

Will took off his backpack and showed the quartet of Potions he'd bought at the store. "I think so?"

 

"Here, take these as well," Tesla said, digging up a pair of expensive-looking healing items. "Goldenwood Forest is a good place to train for beginner trainers. Your Pokémon may become wounded during their training, but these will patch them up in no time."

 

Nidoran wandered over to Tesla's feet and carefully circled around her, his ears constantly rotating.

 

She smiled down at the little Pokémon. "I'm going back to my room at the Chrisola Hotel. If you need a place to stay, I'd be more than glad to help you out again."

 

Chrisola Hotel…he had a score to settle with the moustache who worked there. As a matter of fact, he'd seen a request come through at the Help Center involving the hotel. Maybe he'd pay her a visit. "Thank you," he replied again, and he hated how he had nothing else to say to her. "I don't think that's necessary, but…maybe I can pay you a visit one day?"

 

"I'd like that," she replied. "Good luck in the forest, Will!"

 

With that, Tesla took her leave, and Will and Nidoran hopped on the train to Goldenwood Forest.

 

"One day," Will said, carefully scooping his Poison-type up by his flanks and putting him on the seat next to him. "I will repay her. In full."

 

Nidoran looked up at him, looking puzzled.

 

"I don't know how," Wil admitted. The couple sitting opposite of him looked at him weirdly, before relocating to another seat.

 

Nidoran spared them no attention.

 

It took the train about fifteen minutes to make it to Goldenwood Forest. Will disembarked together with Nidoran, and stepped into a completely different world.

 

Goldenwood Forest was…beautiful. It was as if the entire forest had transitioned into autumn without shedding the majority of its leaves. The trees were bright and healthy, their foliage truly living up to their namesake.

 

The air smelled crisp and healthy and the ocean was mere meters removed from the train stop. The ocean water was as clear as crystal and the most beautiful color of blue.

 

Leaves crunched underneath Will's feet as he stepped off the platform. Melia spotted him before he spotted her, and she leapt up from the seat she'd been waiting in. Nidoran shifted into a defensive position almost immediately, his poisonous spikes jutting up from his back.

 

"Easy boy," Will said as Melia waved him over. "She's good people."

 

"There you are Will! I was beginning to think you actually weren't going to show up…what took ya so long?"

 

Will held out his hands in supplication. "The healing took longer than expected. We were pretty banged up."

 

"Oh, I see," Melia said. "Guess Venam really gave it her all. Heh, whatever! Her loss is not our loss. Come on then! We have a lot of work and ground to cover if we want this field research to go well!"

 

"What are we going to be researching?" Will asked.

 

Melia laughed. "I'll show you along the way. Come!"

 

She led him towards a wide open path underneath the trees, offering them just the right amount of shade. The path was wide enough to ride a car through, but judging by all the small Pokémon, young children and elderly people he saw around, this place didn't get much traffic.

 

"Okay, so here is what's going on," Melia started. "My dad sent me here so that I could finish investigating the ruins back in Goldenwood Cave. But what I'm really interested in doing is investigating the Butterflies of Fate!"

 

Will blinked, unsure if he'd heard her correctly. "Butterflies of Fate?"

 

"Yeah, so there are rumors of Vivillon with translucent crystal blue wings. They're extremely rare and people seldom see them…well, anywhere?"

 

"But you're expecting them here?"

 

"Yeah! There have been reports of sightings in this area!" Melia excitedly said. "I just have to get a picture of them for my scrapbook!"

 

Nodding, Will replied, "Gotcha."

 

"Alright, so we can explore the forest first, or we can head directly into the cave. I've been here numerous times before so I'll leave that up to you, kay?"

 

"Right, no stone unturned!" Will declared. He picked the direction that seemed most promising – that roughly translated to following the road, since the forest seemed to wrap around a lake – and promptly tripped over Nidoran and nearly planted on his face.

 

"Oop, watch your step, Will!" Melia said.

 

"I…am going to pretend that never happened," Will murmured, feeling his face grow red with shame.

 

"Hihihi, I didn't see a thing then."

 

Together, the pair set about exploring the forest. It was a sunny day with little wind, which meant a lot of fishermen had decided to cast their lot at the lake.

 

Most of them were pretty chill, but one of them in particular got so angry when Melia and Will passed by that he leapt up from his seat and challenged them to a double battle on the spot. Still, he was an angry fisherman and Melia and Will were dedicated trainers. His Nidoran and her Bunneary together made short work of the angry fisherman's three recently caught fish.

 

The man took a deep breath through his nose, then promptly sat back down. "Maybe it's time to stop fishing anyway…"

 

"Uhm…maybe?" Melia said.

 

The man turned his gaze to the creek he'd been fishing in, and just…sat there, staring and unmoving.

 

"Right…Will, let's go," Melia quietly said, and the two left.

 

Not every fisherman was so cranky. One of them eagerly waved the pair over and explained that he'd been having some trouble lately.

 

Shane the Friendly Fisherman had been having some trouble catching a certain fish in the lake. He reasoned, perhaps if someone were to offer him three apricorns from around the area, he might be able to turn them into a lure powerful enough to finally hook his prey.

 

Will, guessing that the man was a loon, decided he wanted no part in that. Just as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned around, he heard Melia excitedly yell, "Have no fear mister fisherman! We'll get you those apricorns on the double!"

 

"Melia…" Will said. "Really?"

 

She vigorously nodded. "I'm curious to see what he's going to fish up. Come on, there should be some apricorns along the shore to the left."

 

"I…ehm…sure?"

 

If Shane the Friendly Fisherman turned out to be Not-So-Friendly like his brethren, Will reasoned that they could handle him pretty easily, so perhaps it wasn't the biggest deal.

 

"So Will, how did you end up in Gearen City?" Melia asked after a minute of silence. "Did you come here with friends? Family?"

 

Will stopped in his tracks and his thoughts grinded to a halt. Indecision washed over him. He didn't want to talk about it –he'd grown to hate talking about it – but he'd told Tesla he would keep up hope, he'd promised her and Melia seemed so nice, so sincere and –

 

"Will?" She asked again.

 

"I…came here on the S.S. Oceana," he slowly replied, searching for the right words. They'd been having a good day, he didn't want to ruin that, didn't want to stain that. "And I am alone. Now."

 

"The Oceana, wait, didn't that…" The realization seemed to hit Melia like a brick wall. She gasped, her hands clasping across her mouth. "Oh no, Will, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize – "

 

"No, that's okay, I – "

 

"And we've been dragging you across the city all this time," Melia continued, looking shaken. "To the sewers, to Venam – I'm so sorry!"

 

"Please don't," he urged her, chest aching, thoughts jumbling. "Please, keep distracting – look, I'm coping, somewhat, and it's complicated, but so long as I'm busy, I think I can manage, but I don't like talking about it – " he was rambling. He was rambling and didn't know where he was going, where he wanted to go –

 

"Then…did you enjoy yourself, at Venam's gym?" Melia then asked.

 

His thoughts grinded to a halt again, before switching gears. "I did," Will said, and he meant it.

 

She offered him a small smile. "I'm glad to hear that. She can be a handful, but her heart's in the right place. You wanna go find those apricorns?"

 

Will nodded silently, and they went to gather the stuff the fisherman needed. He didn't have a lot of things to talk to Melia about yet, so he mostly just listened to her talk.

 

Melia was a couple of years younger than him; she would turn sixteen this year. She'd moved to Gearen together with her father and she'd been assisting him with his research for as long as she could remember.

 

"Which is when my father suddenly pulled me away from Route 2 and asked me to come here instead," Melia wrapped things up while they made their way back to the other side of the lake, back to the fisherman. "It was a bit weird.

Usually he sends me to more local areas to complete my research."

 

"Maybe the local areas ran out," Will offered.

 

"Yeah, maybe…"

 

The fisherman watched them return with eagerness. "Do you have the stuff I asked for?"

 

"Yep," Melia said, rummaging around in her back for the apricorns. "We have all three of them right here…"

 

He eyed the items for a moment, stroking his chin as he appraised them. "Yep, yep…this seems like the right amount. Gimme a moment…"

 

Will and Melia sat back, watching the fisherman tinker around with some equipment, the apricorns and his rod. Then, the man cast his line and started fishing.

 

Fishing, Will quickly learned, was an art that peak concentration, focus and determination. It was also an art that took looooooong to perform.

 

But suddenly, after more than thirty minutes of sitting around watching some dude fish, his line went taut, and nearly pulled him off his feet into the lake.

 

"WHOA! I GOT A BITE!" The fisherman yelled. His struggle began as whatever he caught attempted to reverse the situation to pull him in instead.

 

"Oh, oh! You got this!" Melia excitedly yelped. "C'mon mister fisherman, put your back in it!"

 

The fisherman groaned, the muscles in his arms bulging as he fished for his life.

 

"I think you go it! That lure really is putting in the work!"

 

"I think…I think I've…GOT IT!"

 

With a roar and a mighty heave, the fisherman pulled his line in completely –

 

- and something massive and solid landed with a heavy THUMP in the grass below them. It looked like some sort of quadrupedal Pokémon with a segmented, barbed body and thick, stocky limbs. Six dull, round eyes covered its facial plate, and the entire thing looked completely rusted through.

 

"That's the weirdest fish I've ever seen…" Melia said, sounding somewhat disappointed.

 

It looked more like a Pokémon statue than a fish to Will, but he wasn't a fisherman, so…

 

 

"I don't think that's a fish," the fisherman grimly said, slowly stepping back.

 

Just as Wil decided that perhaps he was a fisherman after all, sparks erupted from the inert statue's form, and it got to its feet.

 

"Uh, it's getting up," the fisherman said. "Is this some kind of undiscovered Pokémon or something?"

 

Will frowned, reaching for Combusken's Poke Ball.

 

"No…that's a machine," Melia then said.

 

The machine turned towards the three of them. Its eyes lit up, flickered, then began glowing a deep shade of crimson.

 

"A-Ar…" A distorted, mechanical voice emanated from its skull.

 

"It doesn't look very friendly!"

 

"Kids, let's get out of here!" The fisherman yelled.

 

Too late, Will thought. He took two quick steps to the right, putting himself in-between the thing and Melia. "Combusken, take it out!"

 

Combusken darted forwards the thing, her beak opening wide as she spat a storm of Embers at the thing.

 

Bolts of fire slammed into its frame, scorching its hide and blasting tiny gouges wherever its armor was thinner. The machine, unfeeling and unbothered by the heat, continued forwards. It picked up an impressive speed for its bulk and began storming through Combusen's attack.

 

"Rghh…what is this thing's deal?!" Melia exclaimed. "This isn't a Pokémon!"

 

"Arr…" the thing grunted again. Its eyes flashed, and before even Combusken could react, it sprang at Melia and Will with sudden ferocity –

 

Out of nowhere, a bolt of blue energy smashed into its body. It came apart in a flash, metal tearing and crumpling, wires melting and popping. Its bifurcated remains fell to the ground, smoking and faintly glowing.

 

"There, on the bridge," Will called out, and Combusken braced herself for another attack.

 

But it never came. A woman with a purple dress stood on the bridge a rough twenty meters ahead, with a Dusclops standing by her side.

 

"Be wary of your surroundings." She called to them. "Secrets lie in the place where the eye cannot reach."

 

Her message delivered, she calmly turned away and headed in the direction of the cave, never once sparing the three of them another look.

 

"U-um, thank you very much!" Melia weakly said.

 

"You okay?" Will asked. He hadn't seen her get hit with anything, but a piece of shrapnel or something could still have hit her body when that machine burst.

 

"Y-Yeah," Melia said, quickly looking herself over for any sign of an injury. "I'm okay. That was really scary though…I've never seen anything like that. "

 

"In all my years of fishing, I have never, ever seen such a thing," the fisherman said, pale and shaken. "I have to apologize for not being able to protect you guys. I don't even have a Pokémon of my own…"

 

"N-No, it's cool!" Melia quickly said. "It all worked out anyway thanks to that woman. I've seen her in the forest a couple of times before, but I don't know her name."

 

Will stared at the robotic remains, which continued smoldering on the grass. It…looked faintly familiar to him. Had someone modeled it after a Pokémon?

 

And that woman…she must have been watching them the entire time, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Had she worked for Team Xen, those smoldering ruins might have been him, or Melia.

 

It was a sobering reality. He had to do better.

 

"Well, that's enough excitement for today," Melia sighed. "Let's go to the caves next!"

 

Will saw no reason to disagree.

 

The road split into multiple parts up ahead. A turn to the right would eventually take them all the way to Goldenleaf Town, while the turn to the left would lead them to…the wilderness, Will guessed. They'd found a couple of black apricorns there and then they'd turned back.

 

But if they followed the road all the way to the hills up North, they'd end up at Goldenwood Caves, Melia's next research target.

 

"What do you plan on doing after this, if you don't mind me asking?" Melia said as they headed towards the hills. "Are you going to take the League Challenge eventually?"

 

Good question. "Maybe. I have…someone to look for. To find her, I need to become stronger. Gym challenges seem like a good start."

 

"Someone to look for…hey, do you think maybe I could help you out, when we're done here?"

 

Will shot her a look of surprise. "You'd do that?"

 

She shrugged. "Don't see why not? I've been around Aevium. So has dad. We know some people who know other people. We can help you build a bit of a network, if that's what you need? Help you contact the right people."

 

"I would like that," Will replied. First Tesla, now Melia…

 

"Oh, there we are," Melia suddenly said, pointing upwards. "IF we follow the route up there, past those rocks, we'll find the entrance."

 

"I don't see it," Will admitted.

 

"Here, let me show you…"

 

After a few minutes of hiking, the two of them made it to official entrance to the caves. What was once a natural formation had been reinforced and upgraded by people. Wooden bridges connected loose stone platforms, makeshift lanterns illuminated the way forward and improvised signs warned visitors which ways were safe to explore, and which routes were best left alone.

 

"You know, there's something I gotta say," Melia spoke up a few minutes into their spelunking adventure. "It is in your best interest to know that once we get to the ruins…well, we may be there for a little bit."

 

"Okay?"

 

Melia fidgeted a bit. "So…if you have somewhere more important to be today…?"

 

Ah. "I said I'd spent the day with you," Will reassured her.

 

She tried to hide it, but he saw that his response came as a relief to her. "Oh, that's – that's good! I mean, well…"

 

"Is that the mural, down there?" Will asked, helping her along a bit

 

Her brow furrowed in momentary confusion, then she followed his gaze to the far end of the cave, opposite of a wooden walkway that seemed a bit ramshackle.

 

"It is," Melia confirmed. You should be careful though!"

 

"Of what?" Will asked, making his way towards the bridge.

 

"That the bridge is old, and fragile, and…oh, you're just crossing it, huh?"

 

"Shouldn't I?"

 

"It took me minutes to cross it the first time. Everything kept creaking and groaning, wood would start to crack under my feet…I kept thinking I would fall into the water."

 

Will took the last step to the other side, taking a moment to inspect the wooden bridge he'd just casually strolled across. "Sounds like you were overthinking it."

 

"Maybe," Melia replied. "I guess…"

 

She crossed the bridge after him – slowly, stopping occasionally whenever one of the plates creaked a bit too hard. "Do you see that wall, behind the two pillars?"

 

It was hard to miss. The mural was meticulously crafted, all straight lines and neat circles. To Will's inexperienced eye, it looked like an artist's rendition of a big star, or the sun perhaps, with an upside-down triangle in the middle. Every point of the triangle ended in a little circle.

 

"These are the ruins I've been investigating for a few weeks now. It's hard to decipher what it looks like, but currently it has a few interpretations. The blocky bits on the sides resemble buildings, and the circle in the center looks like the

sun." Melia walked past Will and approached the mural, placing her hand to emphasize the parts she described. "It has ancient letters from the Garufa civilization scattered across." She glanced at him over her shoulder. "Do you know about the Garufa?"

 

Not taking his eyes off the symbols Melia had described, Will quietly nodded. Karen's disjointed laughter was still fresh in his mind.

 

"The Garufans have long since died out, but they've left their mark on this world. But isn't that what's strange, though? If this mural was made by the Garufans, then these blocky parts can't be buildings…their technology had not given them the opportunity to build such structures."

 

"How certain are we about that?"

 

"I…" Melia frowned. "Reasonably sure. I believe the answer lies in the symbols scattered around the mural though. The text itself is an ancient language and is completely unreadable. Until today, that is!"

 

Will raised an eyebrow at her. "You're kidding."

 

"Nope! My dad took all the pictures I've taken of this place and wrote an algorithm to decode the message. All I need to do is take three new snapshots and upload them to the database."

 

Was it really that simple? Scientists had achieved miraculous things, but deciphering an ancient language using math? A dead language?

 

"Let's get started!" Melia said. She hopped to the left, took a quick picture, then scooted over to the right. As she worked, Will looked at the mural again.

 

Magic is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

 

Even if the language was old and dead, was deciphering it really a good idea?

 

"Say cheese, Will!" Melia suddenly told him, before snapping a picture of him, too.

 

Will was a hundred percent certain he'd blinked when she took that picture. "Did you get my good side?"

 

"Oh yeah, I got your good side. Don't worry about that!" She happily replied. "Well, anyway, I have to upload the pictures to the database and have the algorithm do its thing. So uhm…let's wait for that, then?"

 

As the algorithm did its thing, Melia leant down against one of the pillars and started playing with Hapi, her little Togepi. Will, meanwhile, sent his Pokémon out and took his time exploring the cave. With Poochyena chasing down the

Woobats that hung around the area and Nidoran carefully scouting out the edge, Will was free to watch Combusken roam around as well, eyeing her to see how much she had really changed.

 

Being part Fighting-type now, she could augment her flames with powerful kicks and swipes. He still wasn't sure what made her tick, considering how two previous trainers had failed to build up a good friendship with her. She'd made her displeasure for his commands known plenty of times, but if she hadn't obeyed him at a critical moment against Venam, they would have lost. Perhaps that had changed things for her?

 

Combusken stared out across the cave, taking in her new surroundings. Then, she kicked off and leapt across one of the bridges, easily covering half a dozen meters in a single bound. Upon landing, she took a moment to reorient herself, then bounded off again.

 

Will started to see new possibilities for future fights. He took his Cybernav and began taking notes.

 

Meanwhile, the algorithm kept chugging along. After a small half hour, Melia perked up. "It's done decoding the message!"

 

"Break's over guys." Will called out, his voice echoing through the cave. Echo…echo…echo…

 

"I got it," Melia gripped her tablet with both hands, staring at its screen with focused eyes. "Here's what the message says…the light within the belly of Ouroboros shall never cease, lest the flames be doused by the will of the suffering."

 

The two exchanged an uneasy look.

 

"Uhm…I think the ancients need a day off, and maybe some therapy," she said uncomfortably.

 

Behind them, the mural started shaking. Bits of rocks and shards of stone crumbled and fell, before an entire section of the wall collapsed.

 

Revealing a passageway in the process.

 

"A part of the mural collapsed! But why? We didn't even touch it…"

 

"You spoke the magic words," Will said, only half joking.

 

Melia shot him a look of unease. "There's ah, a whole other part of the cave back here. Do you think we just made a huge discovery?"

 

"Combusken, got a light?" Will said.

 

His starter hopped landed next to him, peeked inside of the entry, then happily bounded through. She found something flammable, and a faint light emanated from within the tunnel a couple of moments later.

 

"Oooh, this is so exciting!" Melia said. "Let's investigate right away!"

 

Before Will could warn her, she followed after Combusken and darted inside.

 

"Poochyeana, you're up front. Nidoran, in the rear," Will quietly said. "Let's go."

 

The cave behind the mural felt different. The air was damper and smelled like dirty water. The fire Combusken had lit was nestled atop two makeshift torchlights flanking another mural. It depicted a large Pokémon with a star-shaped crest on its back, but Will couldn't make out its identity.

 

Poochyena led them across another wooden bridge, this one crafted as carefully and meticulously as the mural had been. It sure didn't creak like the others when Will crossed it

 

Melia was a few meters ahead of him, studying one of the murals. "There are even more back here…" she muttered, barely noticing Will's team catch up to her. "But unlike the first one, these are purely visual." She spared him a glance, and her expression was one of concern. "Will, this place keeps me the creeps."

 

Poochyena bounded ahead. He halted past another bridge, looked to the right and remained locked in place.

 

Will squinted his eyes. He thought he saw sunlight creeping through the rocks there. "Looks like an exit."

 

"Let's hurry, then."

 

Poochyena was right on the money. He hadn't just found them a way out of the cave, he'd found them a way into a beautiful little grove nestled between the hills and the forest. Will saw another wooden bridge covering a small pond up ahead, but the path disappeared behind a row of trees.

 

The air felt quiet and calm. Nidoran calmly peeked his head out from between his legs and trotted into the cove, his ears nestled on his neck.

 

"Looks like we're clear," Will said.

 

"Oh…who would have thought a place like this existed all the way back here?" Melia asked. Will wasn't sure if she was being rhetorical, but he answered her nonetheless.

 

"Is this place on any of your maps?"

 

"Not currently, no," Melia said, slowly taking in her surroundings. "If it's true that no one's found this place before, then we just made an amazing discovery!"

 

"Not sure about that," Will said, jabbing his thumb at the bridge below.

 

"Oh! There's a bridge? That means someone's definitely been back here before." Her expression fell. "Aw man, what a bummer. Still, it's not on the map, and as such this place lacks a name. Hm…let's see…what about "The Silent Grove? It's a cute little grove located in secrecy. The person who's been here before has been silent about its existence. Therefore it's a silent grove! Get it?"

 

The Silent Grove…"I think that fits," Will said.

 

That seemed to please her. "Let's take a look around and see what we can find~."

 

Will expected to find maybe another cave, or a herd of sleeping Pokémon or something. What he didn't expect was for Melia and him to turn the literal corner and stumble across what looked like a whole castle.

 

"Whoa," Melia exclaimed. "What did we just stumble onto?" She tried the gate at the main entrance, but it was locked shut. "Could…could this place be an undiscovered castle of some sort?"

 

"A castle for whom?" Will asked.

 

"There were many kingdoms in the past…but all of them eventually fell. I…"

 

A Pokémon emerged from the sky and fluttered down towards them. It was roughly Melia's size, and shaped like a giant, blue butterfly with large, gentle eyes. It curiously flapped around them, but it kept its distance.

 

"Oh? Look, it's a Vivillon – Oh my gosh! Th-The wings on that Vivillon! Translucent crystal blue wings!"

 

Will saw it too. The Butterfly of Fate. "Take a picture, before it leaves," he urged Melia.

 

Too late. The Vivillon fluttered upwards, towards the upper layer of the castle.

 

"No! I have to take a picture before it leaves for good!" She cried. Without hesitation, she ran after it, running up the crumbling and decrepit set of stone stairs to the right.

 

"Melia, careful," he shouted after. "It's not safe! It could collapse!"

 

Will sprinted up the stairs after her. He was taller and fitter than her, and quickly managed to catch up with her at the roof. "Melia, you – "

 

His voice trailed off as she saw what she was looking at. There, amidst four giant pillars of stone and crystal, stood a statue the size of a small house. It rested atop a crest of sorts, divided by four sword-like protrusions in diagonal directions.

 

Two of the translucent Vivillon gently floated in circles around the statue, seemingly oblivious to the human intruders.

 

"This statue…" Melia said, staring up at the massive statue with large eyes. "It's of the Pokémon Arceus. Or, Almighty Sinnoh, as some call it"

 

Arceus, the great creator of the world and all its inhabitants. A literal god – the literal God.

 

"What's a statue of Arceus doing back here?" Melia asked, staring up at the portrayal of Arceus as if hypnotized. "And why is this place crawling with Vivillon that were said to be extremely rare?"

 

"Picture," Will whispered at her, not daring to move another inch for fear of disturbing the Pokémon. "Picture."

 

"I'm going to get a rockin' picture," Melia replied.

 

SNAP.

 

SNAP.

 

Melia double-checked to see if the pictures were any good, then gave him a thumbs-up. "And that's that! We got everything we needed! I guess we can go back home now." She took a few steps towards the stairs, then halted. "Hm…it'd be a waste to not spend some time here, though…" She shot him a curious glance. "Hey Will, are ya hungry?"

 

A couple of minutes later, the two of them had carefully emptied the contents of Melia's bag and built a nice little picnic together. Melia put down a pair of pillows and plopped down in one of them. "Tada!" She said, throwing her hands in the air in victory. "I fixed us up a full dinner! There's no way I can finish all of this so don't hesitate to munch on up!"

 

"Don't mind if I do," Will said, smiling at how extraverted Melia got. "You've been hauling this with you the entire time?"

 

"It's real lightweight," Melia said, grabbing a slice of bread and some jam. "Doesn't weigh more than a few kilos. Its the briefcase that's the heaviest. So uhm…you said you were looking for someone. Can I ask who?"

 

Will took a breath. Melia had been so nice and welcoming to him, not to mention patient. He had no reason not to reciprocate that. "My mother. Team Xen took her. I'm going to find her, and get her back."

 

He brought Melia up to speed about what had happened. He struggled. He tried to be concise and keep the emotions out of his sentences, but even that he found difficult to do. By keeping it simple and objective though, he was able to explain the most important details.

 

"Wow…I can't believe you've been through all that…" Melia said, thoughtfully chewing on a sandwich. She quickly swallowed, then said, "Team Xen is known to cause minor issues, but never anything on that scale. I'm really sorry you've been through that. If there's any silver lining to all of this, it's that you got to meet and hang out with Ren, Venam and I! We're not, like, the most exciting crew ever, but we're to welcome a new friend. Especially one that's in need of some people looking out for them."

 

"I…really appreciate it," Will said. "You three have been so nice to me. I hope I can build up something good here, along the way. Having you three as friends…I'd like that."

 

Melia's smile slowly faded when he said that, a pained look playing across her features.

 

"Well…that offer is only on the table for Venam and Ren," she quietly said. "Today was my last day in East Gearen City."

 

"Your last?" Will asked, concerned. "Why?"

 

"Because tomorrow I'm headed over to Grand Dream City to become the Normal-Type Gym Leader," Melia explained, her expression a mixture of emotions.

 

"All the way to the capital?"

 

"It's true. If I'm honest, I'm not really sure how to feel about this…" She confessed. "It wasn't really my decision to become a Gym Leader. It was my dad's. He's the one who pushed me to get this far." She worked her jaw, frustration

becoming evident in her eyes. "I'm about to be thrown into a huge city I know nothing about. Alone."

 

Well, shit. Will couldn't think of anyone who would like something like that, especially not a teenage girl who only had her father to fall back on. Melia would be in for some rough, lonely times.

 

"I'm…I'm scared," Melia admitted. Her voice quivered. She cast a fearful look his way. "Will…if…if you don't know what to do next, would you come with me?" She blurted out.

 

Will thought about that for a moment. "If I had a place to sleep there, I would. If I can search Aevium from Grand Dream City, then…yeah."

 

Melia sprang to her feet. "What am I saying? It's selfish for me to ask you something like that." Frustrated, she added, "Forget I even asked, okay?"

 

Perhaps. Perhaps not. He wasn't sure if it was fair for professor Jenner to take his daughter all the way to a new city, alone, without knowing anyone there.

 

Then again, that's what mom and him were doing too, wasn't it? Except…it wasn't. Not really. Melia had friends she would leave behind. He hadn't had that, had he? Not like her. Melia would be leaving the entirely of her life behind.

 

"Will," Melia then said, facing him again. "Let's fight."

 

He cocked an eyebrow at that.

 

"Uh, not hand-to-hand, of course," she quickly amended. "I don't think I could win a fight like that, but…if I'm going to be gym leader, I'm going to need some practice! Let's fight on top of this castle-structure-thing! A suitable battlefield for us, no?"

 

"Of course," Will quietly replied.

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

"Squad Four-Four has arrived, ETA four minutes to location.

 

"Squad Three-Eight is in position at the south, ready for your call."

 

The man nodded to himself, waiting for the confirmation of the final squad before he'd move onto his objective. The target was there, alone. This operation would be quick and easy. Nevertheless…

 

He glanced at the serene lake in the midst of the forest. Just in case something went wrong. Just in case someone interfered.

 

He set about preparing CODE:EVO.

~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~~

---

Professor Jenner eased himself back into his chair. The morning had flown by. He completed what little work he had left despite the constant anxiety eating away at his stomach. He spent an hour in the starter room, staring at the myriad little Pokémon that the lab had bought, rescued or otherwise acquired in its partnership with the League.

 

The League…bah.

 

Jenner continued his work, trying anything and everything to keep himself distracted from what was about to come.

 

The afternoon crept along.

 

The pain in his stomach grew.

 

Jenner stared at the clock. Four in the afternoon. A cold pit settled in his stomach. He felt like he was about to throw up.

 

Sixteen thirty in the afternoon. Set. It was about to happen.

 

Jenner buried his face in his hands, tears burning behind his eyes.

~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~

---

"I see," Melia softly said as she recalled Togepi. "So that's how it goes. Looks like I've still got a long way to go. That's okay, isn't it? You can't be the best all the time. I'll take this battle as a lesson."

 

Will hadn't held back. He couldn't have. Holding back against Melia when she was so earnest, so eager to improve, would have hurt her dignity. Had it been the other way around, he would have preferred it that way, too. "I think practice like this is best. To learn to cover your weaknesses, to play to your strengths…" He idly brushed Combusken's fuzzy head. "That's important."

 

"I see…thanks for the battle, and…well, thank you for spending my last day with me!" Melia said. "That really means a lot to me. Should…no, let's go down first, clean up after ourselves."

 

Thankfully their battle hadn't damaged the castle one bit. The Garufan had built their stuff to last. The stairs didn't collapse as they made their way down again, and together, they began cleaning up.

 

"Let's fold the cloth together," Melia said. "You take those corners; hold them out…the other way. Your left…the other hand, yes! Now – "

 

Will's vision swam. A thick, smothering carpet of bluish light descended upon mind, his senses, his being. For a second, the world looked off, wrong, skewed, and his heart slowed to a crawl. His eyes darted to Melia and he knew she experienced the same thing. Frozen in place, eyes wide in fear.

 

The ground trembled, like the aftershock of an earthquake suddenly struck the land in reverse order–

 

KA-BOOM!

 

A tremendous explosion in the distance rattled the ground, and Melia and Will stumbled as the shockwaves buffeted the forest. In the distance, Will could hear what sounded like screams. Adrenaline flooded his system and he spun around.

 

"What was that?" Melia breathed.

 

"Goldenwood Forest," Will replied. "Trouble."

 

"Let's forget the blanket, we have to go back to the forest immediately!"

 

Melia made to sprint past him, but Will held out his hand, stopping her in her tracks. "Let's…be careful," he said, his voice sounding much calmer than he felt."

 

She stared at him in surprise? "Will?"

 

"Just a hunch," he muttered. "Let's not run straight in."

 

It didn't look like she understood, not completely, but she didn't ignore him either. "There could be people hurt. Let's be quick about it, at least!"

 

They hurried back towards the cave entrance. Melia rushed through and Will lingered for a quick moment, before sending Poochyena out. "Stick with her, keep her safe," he ordered.

 

Poochyena uttered a sharp "urf!" and sprinted after Melia. Will performed one more quick scan of his surroundings, then turned to enter the cave as well –

 

- only to come face to face with an Absol perched atop the entrance, mere feet away. It stared at Will with dark, emotionless eyes.

 

An Absol…the herald of disaster, Will thought, his heartbeat quickening. Why - ?

 

"Melia…" Will whispered.

 

The Absol looked in the direction of the explosion, then back at Will. It shrieked, causing Will to flinch and tense up, but then it just turned and bounded up the hills, quickly disappearing from sight.

 

"Melia!"

 

 

Will broke into a sprint. The damp air of the cave batted at his face as he hurried across the wooden bridges and back towards the broken mural. He heard Poochyena yipping further ahead, not too far away.

 

It can't be. Not here. Not already.

 

He barely registered that some of the wooden planks shattered underneath his feet. He bolted across the bridge, hurrying after Melia towards the entrance.

 

It took him a couple of minutes to make it back to the entrance. He saw Melia's silhouette outlined by the rays of the sun and uttered a sigh of relief. She'd waited for him.

 

"There's people outside," she whispered at him.

 

"Stay close," and be careful, he whispered back. He walked past her and exited the cave, back into Goldenwood Forest.

 

Goons with black uniforms and matching caps. A black truck blocking the route to the west, another one parked across the road to Goldenleaf Village.

 

Will felt sick .

 

"So it's them…" Melia said. "Team Xen is here!"

 

One of the goons crossed her arms over her chest. A large, batlike Pokémon with a large, gaping mouth hovered over her. "Glad you've heard of us. But enough talk. We're here for the girl. Any resistance will result in a firm display of

our wrath."

 

The girl.. They're after Melia!

 

Melia gasped. "Me? Why me? What did I do!"

 

Poochyena stood in front of her, his hackles raised. His lips were pulled back, baring his large, sharp canines.

 

"You don't need to know all that," another grunt chimed in, slowly walking up the stone stairs to close the distance.

 

Slowly, Xen was surrounding them.

 

A third of the goons, standing just a dozen meters away from the entrance, sent out his Pokémon. It was a small feline, just a bit larger than Poochyena, its hide a deep, purple hue.

 

"Back away punk," the goon snapped at Will. "This doesn't concern you."

 

"That Meowth…there's something different about it," Melia said.

 

The Xen goon scoffed. "Yeah, Madelis wasn't able to hide its appearance, but you're right. This is what's called a Shadow Pokémon. A Pokémon that has its heart and mind completely close and all its unnecessary emotions stripped. A ruthless fighting machine. It's gonna claw your guts out if you don't back away now."

 

Images of his mother amidst a smoke-filled wreck flooded his mind.

 

Will clenched his fists, then took two steps to the left, stepping in front of Melia. Wordlessly, he retrieved Nidoran's ball and sent him out.

 

Come and get us, he thought, anger pulsing through his body, swiftly washing away the fear and trepidation he felt.

 

No way. There was no way he would let them take Melia after they'd taken his mom, too.

 

For a moment, nobody moved. Melias stared at him. The Xen grunts stared at him, the Meowth and Nidoran glared at each other. For several long seconds, the steady growl emanating from Poochyena's throat and the faint humming of Xen's trucks were the only sources of noise.

 

Then, everything exploded into motion.

 

The Meowth leapt towards Will, hissing, but Nidoran body-checked him off course. The thug on the stairs sprinted towards Melia, ready to tackle her to the ground, and Poochyena flew towards him, sinking his teeth deep into the

man's calves. The man stumbled and cursed, then began kicking with his leg to get Poochyena off. "Hey! Someone get this mutt off of me!"

 

 

The Meowth screeched – an unearthly, feral noise filled with hatred – and Nidoran yelped his own challenge, lowering his head and charging.

 

"Will! Enter the code 6489 into the briefcase!" Melia shouted. "Maybe…maybe something in there will give us a chance! Hurry!"

 

Will spun towards the briefcase and dove for it. Poochyena's snarling and brief whines of pain filled his ears, even as the other grunts began yelling orders at each other. With trembling fingers, he put the code into the little lock.

 

The briefcase snapped open.

 

A prosthesis of sorts lay inside. A heavy glove connected by a thin cable to an oval shoulder-pad. Its metal frame shone faintly in the sunlight, freshly polished. Fifteen Poke Balls surrounded the arm's frame, as if they were made to be used together.

 

"A glove?" Melia said. "Wait a minute…no way…Will, you have to trust me and listen! Put that glove on!"

 

Nidoran and Poochyena were buying what little time they had for them. He hoped Melia knew what she was doing!

 

Will slid his hand into the glove and strapped the device across his arm. The machine pulsated, then somehow, it seemed to fit itself around his arm. Its inner surface felt smooth and cool.

 

"Will, this is going to sound awful, but I need you to catch that Meowth," Melia said.

 

"Impossible," Will replied.

 

"I know!" Melia impatiently said. "Normally! But that device is called a Snag Machine! It gives you the ability to override the command of a trainer's Poke Ball and snag away their Shadow Pokémon. I'll fill you in on the details later, just

snag that Meowth from them!"

 

Will didn't hesitate any longer. As Nidoran kept the Meowth back, making good use of its poisonous spikes, Will snatched a Poke Ball from the briefcase and readied it.

 

It felt like the Snag Machine read his intentions. It seamlessly moved along with him, its metallic fingers actually making the movement easier instead of hindering him. When he threw the ball, he felt the machine's circuits and motors

interfere with his fingers. It tugged at his ring finger, pushed down on his thumb right as he threw. The ball, which would have otherwise been a miss, hit the Meowth in the middle of an attack.

 

"What!" The thug yelled.

 

The Shadow Pokémon disappeared inside of the ball, which fell to the ground and began shaking. Behind him, he heard Poochyena utter a cry of pain as one of the other Xen grunts finally kicked him off his initial target. Poochyena

sailed through the air and landed in a heap on the rocks, blood dripping from its nose and mouth.

 

"Damnit," he thug groaned, holding his mangled leg with trembling hands. Blood seeped from between his fingers. "That fucking mutt, I'l – "

 

Slowly, with pained movements, Poochyena pulled himself back to his feet. He limped towards Melia, nearly collapsed, then bared his bloodied teeth at the grunts again.

 

A burst of white light erupted from Poochyena's chest, before completely overtaking his body and enveloping him in a corona of white energy. His limbs grew longer and stockier, his maw more elongated and pronounced. His short fur became longer and shaggy.

 

The light dissipated, revealing Poochyena's evolved form. The fur running across his spine and paws was as black as the night and his eyes, a deep red with yellow sclera, were set in a wild glare that radiated malice. He was easily three times as large now, his spine coming up to Will's hips.

 

One look at the newly-evolved Dark-type told Will that round two was half a second away.

 

"My Meowth!" The other grunt sputtered. "How – how did you - /"

 

"It worked!" Melia exclaimed. "But why would a Snag Machine be in the briefcase…unless - !"

 

"Nidoran, stick close. Mightyena, break through!" Will ordered. He grabbed Melia's wrist and pulled her along. "We gotta move, let's go!"

 

~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~

 

Within the bombed-out, ruined remains of Goldenwood's lake, the man stared at his handiwork. He paid the dozens of flopping, choking Magikarp no mind. His focus was on the swirling mass of energy in front of him, sustaining it, keeping it in shape.

 

It would not be long now.

 

"Z-Zetta, sir?" A scared voice said behind him.

 

Zetta sighed. He'd given specific orders not to be disturbed unless absolutely necessary. "Lemme guess. You're here to tell me you screwed up?"

 

He could practically hear the man behind him swallow nervously. "We failed, sir, yes."

 

Zetta rolled his eyes and turned to confront his grunt. "But of course you did. I didn't expect you to win. This is fine; a good fight is what I need anyway. Go on and get out of here then."

 

But his grunt lingered. "T-There's something else, sir."

 

Seeing his subordinate's hesitation, Zetta wondered if he'd overlooked something. "Out with it."

 

"Melia came here with another trainer."

 

"So?" Zetta replied, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.

 

"This friend of hers is incredibly tough, and they have a…a Snag Machine. They were able to successfully snag away my Meowth…"

 

The urge to punch something nearly overcame Zetta, but he reined in his frustration. "That damn Professor…" He hissed. "Tch. Well, it's not like they can escape. They'll make their way down here eventually. Kill the other one if you can. If not, well, they won't be able to handle me."

 

"Yes sir!" His subordinate called, then turned and ran from there.

 

Zetta sighed again, then turned to his pair of executives. "You two best get ready. I doubt this will go as planned."

 

His personal guard headed towards the crater's entrance, ready to intercept the pair when they inevitably realized that they could not escape.

 

~~~~~~~(V)~~~~~~~

 

"Shadow Pokémon," Melia gasped as Will and Mightyena ran ahead of her through the dense forest. "I can't believe they're actually back!"

 

"Don't think about that," Will shot back, his eyes darting from tree to tree to try and spot any other surprises. Two times they'd been jumped by Team Xen members and two times, he'd fought them off. Melia had plenty of healing items that could keep his team going in the short run, but time wasn't on their side.

 

He saw Pokémon moving around them in his periphery. They were going in the opposite direction. Were they fleeing the forest because of that explosion from earlier? Was Team Xen trying to capture them?

 

"This is crazy! The day was going so well, and now this!"

 

"I know," Will replied. He couldn't for the life of him guess what Xen wanted with Melia, but that wasn't important right now. He wasn't going to let them take her. "Come on, I think I see a clearing over there."

 

Mightyena gave a short, warning bark, then melted into the shadow of a tree and froze. Will signaled for Melia to stop, then saw what Mightyena was warning them about.

 

A pair of Xen grunts swept through the forest, coordinating with each other as they searched for their target.

 

"More of them!" Melia said. "Do we hide?"

 

"No time," Will said, wincing as he made up his mind. If they hid, Team Xen would consolidate on top of their location and beat them with overwhelming numbers. "We get through now or we'll be staying in this forest."

 

"That's Melia!" One of the grunts shouted. "Over there, in the treeline!"

 

"Stay put," Will ordered Mightyena. "You flank them."

 

"Don't bother running!" The other goon yelled as they sprinted towards the pair. "It's funny, but meaningless!"

 

Will sent Combusken out, but kept her close, baiting the two closer.

 

They sent out their own Pokémon too. Like the other Grunts, they were outfitted with smaller, inexperienced Pokémon, using them as extra muscle instead of making them their core tactic. Had his own Pokemon been smaller, less trained, that idea would have worked handily. As it was…

 

Will wasn't about to complain. "Mightyena, now!"

 

As the foe Sinistea flowed past the tree to charge up an attack, Mightyena emerged from the shadows, clamping his jaws shut around the floating Ghost-type like a vice. He plucked the Pokemon out of the air and began shaking it wildly.

 

"What!" The closest grunt yelled, jumping back in shock. "Taillow, take him out!"

 

His Taillow came in fast and low, deftly navigating the branches and trees and swooping down with sudden ferocity.

 

Not at Combusken, but at him!

 

Will threw his arms up just in time to catch something hard and sharp impact his face. A searing pain shot through the left part of his face as he felt skin part and blood drip down his neck. That wasn't a miss, but a deliberate attack!

 

This was insane, they were actively targeting him with their Pokémon!

 

Melia cried out his name, and Will threw himself to the ground just in time to avoid another attack. Combusken was on top of him in an instant, spewing bolts of Ember to drive off the attacking Taillow.

 

Just one more Pokémon, he thought in a daze. Gotta keep moving!

 

He pushed himself back to his feet. He caught a glimpse of Mightyena slamming its body against the legs of the Taillow's trainer – the sounds of his leg snapping was audible from meters away – before sprinting away at full speed,

darting past Will and Melia like a phantom.

 

"Will, are you alright? Your face!" Melia said, her voice tight with concern.

 

Will brought his hand to his head. It came away sticky with blood. It hurt, but he could still see and his depth perception hadn't changed. A few centimeters higher though and the Taillow would have gouged out his eye. The realization

shook him to his core; Team Xen wasn't playing around.

 

"Fine," he mumbled, still shocked by the simplicity of his enemy's tactics. "I'm fine, it's just a cut."

 

It couldn't be much farther now .Will saw light ahead. The shade thinned and vanished because the part of the forest there was gone. The trees had been leveled, blasted to splinters. The lake had been destroyed. At its center floated a whirling mass of black stuff, a ball of coalesced energy or…something. Will didn't know and he wasn't going to stick around to find out.

 

"The lake…they've completely destroyed it!" Melia gasped. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the disturbance floating in the air. "That dark ball of energy…I don't like the look of that at all. Can we…can we really do this?"

 

Will wasn't sure if Melia would like his answer. He wasn't sure if he even could answer that. "Doesn't matter, we have to!" He said.

 

She nodded, her expression grim. "You're right Will. We have to win! We can't lose here! Our lives…our lives depend on it! We can do this!"

 

Team Xen had come out in force. They had their vans and cars everywhere, blocking every road, every avenue of approach. This wasn't some ragtag bunch of terrorists, this was like an invasion army!

 

Will felt his head spin. This was what he was up against? This was the group he planned on taking on by himself? It was crazy. Suicidal.

 

Where was the police? Any form of guard units? Surely someone would have called for help?

 

The closer they got to the crater of the lake, the more bodies Will saw. Pokémon, the majority of them Water-types. Magikarp lay everywhere, some of them weakly flapping around, others not even moving.

 

Where were the people? The fishermen, the children, the elderly? What had Xen done to them?

 

Panting and struggling to keep up the rapid pace, Will and Melia made their way to the park's exit, only to see that Xen had blocked it off with their vans. No way out, unless they blasted their way through or scaled the sheer rock walls flanking the exit.

 

They were trapped.

 

"Oh god," Melia muttered, panic creeping into her voice. "Oh no, oh no!"

 

Driven by stubborn adrenaline, Will simply turned around and gazed out across the crater. They were being herded to the center. Blasting their way through would take too much time and – more importantly – firepower and energy.

 

They needed to spare as much as they could.

 

New plan. Find whoever was in charge, knock them on their can and break the attack at its source. At the very least he needed to know who was responsible for this. Maybe then, Team Xen would be disorganized long enough for the police to catch up. "That way," Will said, gesturing to the lake.

 

"That's going back into their arms," Melia protested.

 

"No choice. We stop them here, on our terms, or they hunt us down."

 

Melia visibly hesitated, but she went with him nonetheless. Together, they ran towards the crater's entrance.

 

There, another pair of Xen members came into view. These didn't look like the usual bunch though; they wore no headgear, and they didn't have their Pokémon out yet. The guy on the left had short, black hair that swept down to the left of his face, framing an expression that suggested his mind was miles and miles away.

 

The woman on the right had long, orange hair that reached past her shoulders, and her bored, annoyed expression was a stark contrast to her partner.

 

"Uh-uh…that's as far as you go, you two," she said, rising up from her haunches to face Melia and Will.

 

"Sharly, is this the people we are out for?" Her partner asked.

 

The woman opened her mouth to reply, then scowled and faced him. "Eli, its…Sharon. Not Sharly."

 

"Ah, yes, Sharol!" Eli replied. "Of course!"

 

Looking unsure, Melia cast a puzzled look at Will, who merely shrugged. "Are you two…alright?" She hesitantly asked.

 

The orange-haired woman sighed. "Never better. I just got pulled into a mission I had no desire to commit to. And even worse, I was paired up with a partner that can't even speak my language." She shook her head as if she still couldn't believe her situation. "But considering your position, I'm assuming your afternoon is worse?"

 

Hot anger rose up in Will's throat like bile, but Melia beat him to the punch. "It's your fault it's like this…"

 

Sharon gave her a little half-shrug, acknowledging her point. "Well, I can't beat that logic, but…unfortunately, this is how life is. Isn't it a drag? Let's just get this over with, yeah?"

 

"Can you fight?" Will quietly asked.

 

Melia nodded. "It's been long enough, I think my team is ready."

 

"Then let's take these clowns and get out of here."

 

'Hey!" Eli shouted. "That's not nice."

 

Will didn't bother replying. Melia and him sent out their Pokémon, and the battle was joined. Strangely enough, the pair only had two Pokémon; a Murkrow and a Misdreavus.

 

Fighting against Melia's Togepi before it could use its Metronome to wreak havoc had been an effort of overwhelming force right out of the gate. To keep the enemy from doing the same, Will ordered his Nidoran to stick close to

Togepi and protect it while it set up a solid Metronome.

 

Will knew that he and Melia were fighting for their lives. They gave this fight their everything. But Eli and Sharon, they fought like it didn't matter to them. Especially Sharon; her movements were sluggish, her orders lacked conviction.

 

Nidoran took hit after hit from her Murkrow, which kept hurting itself on his barbs. Misdreavus floated around, firing the occasional blast of dark energy, but Togepi didn't need more than three attempts before his Metronome turned into a sudden burst of water moving at a velocity the Ghost-type simply couldn't dodge.

 

All in all, the battle didn't take much out of Melia and Will. But why? Why would anyone fight like that?

 

"This went exactly as I expected," Sharon sighed, recalling her Murkrow again while Eli stared in confusion at a blank spot on the ground. "No surprises here. Eh, whatever, we're still going to try and capture you."

 

"Yes!" Eli added. "We won't give up!"

 

"Yeah, whatever he said…"

 

They advanced. Without Pokémon, without a reason to fight, they still came after Melia.

 

"D-Don't take another step!" Melia yelled at them. She tried to sound intimidating, but she came across as more scared than anything. "W-We won't hesitate to hurt you!"

 

"I wonder…" Sharon said. "Would you actually do that? You?"

 

"I…"

 

"Our boss is right behind us," Sharon continued. "So what's it gonna be?"

 

Will released Combusken in-between them and the odd pair. A tiny Nidoran and Togepi was one thing, but the meter-tall heavily armed Combusken was a completely different matter. Sharon and Eli hesitated.

 

"Combusken, if they touch Melia, burn them," Will said, forcing the words out. It was intended as a bluff; he would never ask his Pokémon to end the life of another being unless absolutely necessary. But while he might be able to physically overpower Sharon himself, he wasn't sure if he could handle Eli. He definitely couldn't handle both of them at once.

 

Such a fight would be a loss for him either way; the rest of Team Xen would gather at their position and tear them apart anyway.

 

"Oh…that sounds bad," Eli said.

 

"It does, doesn't it?" Sharon sighed. "That's gonna be you, then? You're going to burn people alive right in front of her eyes? Scarring Melia for the rest of her life?"

 

Melia grew paler. She glanced at Will, seeing what his response would be. Gauging what kind person he truly was.

 

Will grit his teeth. Combusken would do it. He knew she would. She would sleep like a baby the very next night. Would he? Would he ever sleep soundly again, knowing he'd brutally murdered someone in the worst way possible?

 

God, what would Tesla say if she found out?

 

What would his mother say?

 

Whatever else she was, Sharon was shrewd. She saw the impact her words had on him. The corners of her mouth rose in a little smile. She stepped closer. Eli looked at her, smiled as well, then followed in her steps.

 

"Combusken…" Will said.

 

Sharon took another step. Melia braced herself for what was about to come…whatever that was.

 

He wouldn't let them take her. He'd been forced to abandon his mother already. He wouldn't let them take her!

 

Something else – he could do something else to break them, to stop them. Their legs, or their arms. If he hurt them badly enough, they wouldn't be able to get Melia. If –

 

Sudden movement drew his eyes to the left, where a large Pokémon rose from the rocks. It uttered a garbling, menacing howl, waving its thick arms around to draw Team Xen's attention.

 

Melia recognized him too. "That's the Garbodor from the sewers!"

 

Sharon's eyes gleamed with an emotion Will couldn't place, and she wasted no time backpedaling away from Melia. "Oh, look, an excus - I mean, Eli, this thing is a threat to our mission. Let's abandon our post and chase it."

 

"D-Do we?" Eli stammered.

 

"Absolutely! Sharon said, her voice dripping with fake resolution. "I mean, it's our JOB to take care of threats. C'mon, let's go."

 

The Gabodor flung a piece of rock at the pair, then slithered off again with the Xen thugs hot in pursuit.

 

Will watched them leave, feeling conflicted and confused.

 

"I'm gonna be honest, I'm not really sure what just happened there," Melia said. "Garbodor helped us out there…I'll repay it for this one day. But first, we gotta get out of here, and there's someone standing in the way of that. Let's give

it our best and save this forest!"

 

Together, they made their way deeper into the crater, where a single man stood waiting for them. He wore the same Xen uniform as the others, but he wore an additional gray coat above it. His spiky blonde hair was still wet from the

lake he'd demolished. He stared at Will with a contemptuous look, then turned his attention to Melia.

 

"Huh…so you're her," he said. "That's what you look like…yep, things are starting to make sense now. And as for your friend…"

 

Those contemptuous eyes darted back to Will, then suddenly widened with recognition. "Hold up, you're William!"

 

He knew who he was?

 

"Well, isn't this my lucky day," the man laughed. "I'll hit two little birds with one large rock."

 

"Enough nonsense!" Melia shouted. "Why are you attacking this forest just to get to me?"

 

The man scoffed at that. "See, we had no intention of destroying such a beautiful forest. But the people here resisted, so we did what we had to do."

 

"Blowing up a lake is "what we had to do"?" Melia repeated incredulously. "What does that possibly accomplish?!"

 

Will honestly felt like arguing with a psychopath was a waste of time, but any information he could glean from this asshole was a win in his book.

 

"Surely you've noticed the huge ball of energy behind me?" The Xen thug continued. "That's what's called a Dimensional Rift. A collection of dark energy that houses the potential of many things. Right now, they're formless balls of

dark energy, but when fused together with something…it can be used to squish idiots who dare stand in their way."

 

"So even if we defeat you, we'll get attacked by that rift?" Melia asked.

 

'That's just about right," the man replied. "You'll lose either way. And with that, I think I'll just get things started, right? The name's Zetta, and today, none of you will be escaping me!"

 

Zetta and Will moved at the same time. He sent out a Snorunt, but it was all wrong. Its colors were dark and twisted and its eyes an angry mockery of what a normal Pokémon would look like.

 

A Shadow Pokémon, then.

 

Will sent out Nidoran, who he deemed a good counter to a Pokémon who only had hatred left inside of its heart. It would be throwing himself against Nidoran's poisonous spikes.

 

Amidst the crater of dead and dying Magikarp, the two clashed. Snorunt attacked with relentless force and no regard for its own safety. It came at Nidoran again and again, foregoing its elemental attacks in favor of sheer, mindless aggression.

 

Will saw the point of a Shadow Pokemon as a terror weapon. However, he'd had enough of Team Xen's terror tactics, and he wouldn't be scared anymore. He could shut this entire mess down right now if he could take down Zetta here!

 

"You can't win!" Zetta yelled, suddenly sending out a second Pokemon. His Quilava hit the ground running and wasted no time joining the fray.

 

So it's going to be like that, Will thought. But two could play that game! "Combusken! Take out that Quilava!"

 

The battle between two Pokemon became a slugfest between four as the two Fire-types clashed. Amidst the chaos, Will saw a chance, and with his Snag Machine he readied an empty ball. Zetta saw what he was doing, his eyes filled with rage.

 

An impotent rage, as he could do nothing to stop Will from doing what had to be done. With the Snag Machine assisting his aim, he flung the empty ball at the tiring Snorunt, who was unable to break out again.

 

Zetta wasted no time and sent out his remaining two Pokemon, a floating Rock-type that looked somewhat like a meteor and a quadrupedal, chimeric Pokemon that looked like had been bolted together from four different kinds of creatures. Its head was enclosed in a brown helmet with green markings, with a massive jaw-piece that ended in jagged pints curving backwards. A mane of gray fur hung from its neck and covered its chest and its tail, fishlike and blue, seemed even more out place than its cumbersome helmet.

 

"What…" Will breathed, even as he moved to sent Mightyena out. What was that thing?

 

Zetta grinned. "Behold, Type:Null. Zepto, break that annoying little trainer!"

 

The creature made no sound, did nothing to indicate that it heard the command. It simply…obeyed, and with jerky, forced motions, it broke into a light run that quickly turned into a headlong sprint towards Will.

 

"Will, watch out!" Melia yelled.

 

Will's mind raced. Nidoran was too far away. Mighteyna didn't have the momentum or weight to force that thing to a stop. In turn, if he took a direct hit, it would probably blow the shattered remains out ribs out through his back.

 

"Combusken!" He yelled. Panic bubbled at the edge of his thoughts, threatening to overtake his rational mind. Would she disengage for him? Would she know what to do? Would she even be on time? He didn't know – he didn't know what - !

 

Combusken came out of nowhere, far faster than Will had anticipated. She dug her heel into the ground and spun, driving her other heel into the creature's face with enough force to crack its helmet. Fragments of metal flaked away and crumbled to the ground, revealing a singular eye, wild and unblinking.

 

Her kick gave Will's sluggish body the precious seconds he needed to react. Null's angle slipped several degrees to the left and he leapt, throwing himself at the ground just in time to avoid getting run over.

 

Just in time. Combusken, you're the best! He thought. He looked up, wiping the sand and dust from his face. "Can you handle him?" He asked.

 

Combusken shot him a look. She blinked, then simply turned to face the rampaging Pokemon on her own.

 

Don't know. Don't care.

 

Hah. He could relate.

 

"Zetta, you cheating…jerk!" Melia spat. "Will could have gotten hurt!"

 

She didn't know. Melia hadn't realized yet that Team Xen was actively trying to hurt him.

 

It didn't matter, he had to focus. Retake the initiative.

 

Mightyena growled, flattening his body to the ground to avoid a shard of rock flung at its head by its foe, then charged at the Quilava.

 

"Mightyena, break off and Snarl instead!" Will ordered.

 

The Dark-Type changed his tactic on the dime. He dug his heels into the ground and opened its maw, blasting the Quilava point-blank with a ring of purple energy that collided with the Quilava's own fire attack. The two blasts collided and the resulting explosion kicked up so much dust and sand that Will wasn't able to see what happened next.

 

He shifted his focus to Nidoran. The little guy had no way of getting to his airborne and needed a better matchup. "Mightyena, Nidoran, swatch targets."

 

The chaotic nature of the three-on-three fight made it extremely difficult to keep track of everything that went on. Combusken and Null went back and forth in a fierce close-quarters battle, kicking and slashing and hacking away at each other. Combusken was faster and more agile, but she had only recently evolved and her body didn't have the same raw power as her foe did.

 

Nidoran was slower than Quilava, and didn't have a means of closing the distance between the two. He was no match, and Will realized he'd made a mistake switching them up.

 

"Mightyena, finish up then help Nidoran!"

 

Still, Will felt like he was slowly getting the battle back under control. Mightyena swiftly finished off his opponent and then moved to help Nidoran take care of the Quivala. Together, they were more than a match for the intrepid Fire-

type.

 

Combusken, by sheer virtue of being too difficult to pin down or hit, slowly gained the advantage against that chimeric Pokemon. Soon, Zetta found his team overwhelmed. One by one, he was forced to recall them, until at last the

Type:Null was too tired to fight.

 

"Stand down, Zepto. Save your strength." And Zetta smiled. They all knew what was about to come. "Well, well. Bravo! I can see how you were able to hold our own thus far. And you even managed to snag away my Snorunt I've been

training."

 

Melia knelt down next to Nidoran, spraying his wounds with one of the potions she carried with her. The all-purpose medicinal spray, combining an anesthetic and clotting agent, sealed his bleeding wounds against infection. Soon, his wounds would heal on their own.

 

Will took the moment to quickly spray Mightyena's wounds as well.

 

"So now that we beat you…" Melia said.

 

"Yep," Zetta smirked. "I think it's time we test out the new weapon I got. Look closely, idiots."

 

For a split-second, Will thought about telling Combusken to take Zetta out of the picture, but he decided against it. It wouldn't help them against what was to come.

 

A pulse of energy burst from the Rift. Its colors shifted and changed, and an incredible force began pulling the Magikarp around them in. It happened so fast, neither of them were able to do anything. Within seconds, the Rift had sucked in dozens upon dozens of the fallen Pokemon, and its churning movements stopped.

 

"Now, Dimensional Rift!" Zetta yelled. "Devour William!"

 

"Melia, run!" Will managed to say before something absolutely enormous burst from the Rift. He caught a glimpse of blood-red eyes and a gaping mouth before everything went dark.

 

His body tumbled through a void of blackness and flashing images. He spun, felt his stomach lurch, then slammed to a sudden halt. For a second, Will lay there, stunned. His vision slowly cleared, and he saw that he was no longer in Goldenwood Forest.

 

Slowly, he rolled himself back to his hands and knees and climbed back to his feet. His clothes were ditty and torn - again - but he appeared to still be in one piece.

 

Either the thing that just ate him had one hell of a stomach, or he was somehow inside of the Rift now. Either possibility terrified him.

 

The trees around him were black. The dirt below his feet was red and dusty, and he appeared to have landed at the edge of a lake. Everything out stretched into an infinite void. Maybe this was where Goldenwood's lake had gone? Devoured by the Rift?

 

Screw you, Zetta, he angrily thought. He refused to let that bastard take Melia. He wouldn't allow that.

 

Since his body was still in one piece, he could still move. He began making his way across the lake's shore, where he soon passed underneath an elaborate red gate. And another. And another.

 

His path led him to another grove, though this one was smaller than the Silent one. Inside, he found a little pond and a single Magikarp flopping around.

 

Upon his approach, the Magikarp's dead, glazy eyes shifted towards him. It flopped again, throwing its body into the pond.

 

The water started bubbling.

 

An immense pressure filled the air. A cold, sickening chill crept into his bones as he stared at the little spot where the Magikarp had fallen in, which rapidly grew larger and larger.

 

"Guys," Will stammered, reaching for his Poke Balls. "W-We're not done!"

 

The water exploded outwards as something emerged from its depths. Its body rose and rose and rose, until a beast the size of a small skyscraper had emerged, its hide a blackish shade of blue and its eyes and crest the exact color of blood.

 

"Are you kidding me?" Will yelled as scrambled away. That was a Gyarados! The biggest Gyarados he had ever seen! Shit, that thing couldn't devour him so much as stuff his body somewhere in one of its teeth! It was big enough

to inhale him by accident!"

 

There was no way. There was simply no way!

 

Fear rooted Will to the spot, a cold wave of terror tingling through his limbs. The fear was primal, crippling in intensity.

 

And …he heard Melia's voice.

 

"Will, wait! I don't know where you are, or if you can even hear this…But I won't let you face this alone!"

 

Melia? How?

 

The Gyarados roared and everything fell apart, literally. As the massive serpent lowered its head towards him, the pond, the forest and even the ground melted away like acid, swallowed up by a darkness so intense, so oppressing, that it almost felt physical.

 

The darkness is here…

 

Will stood at the edge of the dimension of darkness, facing down the largest abomination he had ever laid eyes on. Melia's voice had lifted the paralyzing terror to some extent, and he was able to move his limbs again.

 

His team spread out, instinctively knowing that they'd move or die against a foe this big.

 

The Gyarados roared and Will felt his bones shake. It swept its blank, crimson gaze across the mottled team assembled before it, then drew its head back.

 

An instant later a torrent of water erupted from its gaping jaws, an onrushing stream thicker than Will's torso.

 

They all scattered as the massive serpent tore its beam of water through the darkness, slicing through the oily ground life a knife through butter. The violence and noise of it all was tremendous. Even covered by the oily darkness, the

dimension couldn't hold itself together against an attack of that magnitude.

 

Will ran for it, picking a random direction to put as much distance between himself and the Gyarados. Even as he started sprinting, he knew that there was no chance he could outrun an attack of that scale. He had to interrupt, or distract the thing to get it to stop.

 

The Gyarados suddenly broke off its attack, whipping its head around as if trying to swat at something flying around its head. Will didn't see what it was, but he did see flashes of light erupting all around the Pokemon's head.

 

Melia, he realized. Somehow, Melia was managing an attack through the Rift.

 

Driven mad by its anger, the Gyarados roared again. It gathered a sphere of energy in its mouth and blasted the air around it, but without a clear target to hit, it just seemed like a waste of energy to Will.

 

Nidoran skidded to a halt, pivoted to face the Gyarados and opened its mouth to launch a stream of glowing purple darts. The Poison Sting harmlessly shattered against the Rift being's thick scales. Combusken joined in with a quick burst of Ember flames, but they too did not seem to do any damage to their foe.

 

Pinpricks of light splashed across its face, catching it in its eyes. Enraged, the Gyarados snapped its jaws at some invisible target, then suddenly whipped around to slam its massive head towards the ground in a bid to crush Will.

 

Will barely had the time to react, but something was off about the Gyarados' aim. Its massive head slammed against the ground like a meteor and the sheer force of it all nearly sent Will sprawling to the ground. Whatever surface the darkness had covered simply shattered as the Gyarados impacted. Debris and sand and warped shadows erupted in every direction. A piece of stone bounced up and caught Will in the side of his chest. White-hot pain arced across his ribs as the blow knocked the air out of his lungs. His muscles seized up and he doubled over involuntarily

 

A scream of pain tore itself from his lips. His lungs cramped up - he couldn't breathe - and the Gyarados started pulling its head back up, no doubt to try that again.

 

Mightyena's sleek form materialized from the darkness, He bounded across the oily shadows and lunged for the Gyarados' throat. Darkness wreathed his form as he clamped down on his foe's ghostly neck. His teeth sank deep into the Rift Pokenon's flesh and he clamped down, hard.

 

Will struggled to pull enough air into his lungs to string his words together. He put a trembling hand against his side. It came away slick with blood.

 

That's not good. That's not good.

 

"Not much more now!" Melia's voice echoed again. It sounded distant, like it came from underwater.

 

"Combusken," Will wheezed. "Fire, again! Everything we've got!"

 

Gyarados whipped its head around in a frenzy, but it's thick, segmented scales worked against it. Mightyena didn't let go. His rear paws found a grip against Gyarados' neck and he continued biting down, hard.

 

Pieces of flesh sloughed off Gyarados' form and slumped to the ground.

 

Dead Magikarp.

 

More bursts of energy erupted around Gyarados' head. Melia put in more attacks through her side of the Rift.

 

Will didn't see what did it. It could have been Mighteyna finally digging deep enough with his jaws. It could have been Melia, getting a lucky hit in a critical location. It might have been the Rift running out of gas, or energy or whatever.

 

Whatever it was, the Gyarados drew its head back as its body began to stiffen. Its mouth frozen in a silent roar, its eyes blind and unseeing. Slowly, its gargantuan body began to crumble. Pieces of its hide flaked away and disintegrated in the darkness, as if something invisible slowly began picking it apart.

 

Will sank through his knees and sat down, overcome by exhaustion and relief. Mightyena limped to his side and nudged his arm with his head, before promptly shoving below his arm and against his chest. His head felt warm and fuzzy.

 

"Heh…you did, Will!" He heard Melia's voice echo through the dark space. "You did well!"

 

As Gyarados's body continued to crumble away into nothingness, Will noticed that the darkness around him slowly grew…weaker. The pressure slowly grew less and less severe, and the all-consuming blackness grew paler and blanker.

 

His hands were trembling. The entire left side of his torso burned and throbbed. But they were all alive.

 

"You were amazing," Will muttered to Mightyena. "Couldn't…couldn't have done it without you."

 

The Rift fell apart around him. White light burst through from every direction, before the familiar sensation of being taken away coursed through his body, but then in reverse.

 

The Rift spat him back out again. This time, the landing wasn't as bad; a single moment of sickening freefall before his feet hit solid ground. He collapsed to the ground, Mightyena landing right beside him.

 

"Will!" Melia said. "Are you alright? Can you stand?"

 

"I see. My rift was interrupted, but it wasn't slain," Zetta mused, which sent off all kinds of alarm bells inside Will's head. What did it take to crack one of these things?!

 

"In that case, I still have the advantage here," Zetta continued.

 

"We should run while we still have the chance," Melia whispered. "Please tell me you can move."

 

Will took a deep breath. His body ached and his limbs wouldn't stop trembling. But…he could still stand. He could still think.

 

So he could still fight.

 

"My Pokemon have regained enough strength for round two," Zetta said, his smirk widening to a cruel grin. "Can you say the same?"

 

"Mightyena?" Will hoarsely muttered.

 

His loyal Dark-type gave a reassuring bark. He was still in this.

 

A shrill cry emanated from above. Suddenly, the Garbodor from before dropped down into the crafter and Zetta was forced to leap aside before it could flatten him.

 

"You!" He yelled. "What are those two idiots doing? They were supposed to - '

 

Garbodor swung at him with one of its arms, before casting Melia a look that almost seemed pleading.

 

:"You want us to run?" Melia exclaimed. "But what about you? I can't just - "

 

The Garbodor stomped on the ground with its trunk-like feet and roared at Melia.

 

"We should go," Will muttered. "Melia…"

 

"I know…I know…Will, let's go!"

 

Pain shot through his chest as he broke into another run and he bit back a cry of pain. "The…the exit…"

 

"The police came right after that Rift swallowed you!" Melia explained. "They…they broke the blockade. There, up ahead, they've set up a checkpoint!"

 

Will kept up a steady pace, but he could feel his lungs starting to burn. A small red blotch slowly spread across his shirt. He hoped it was just a superficial wound; he'd be dead weight if that continued bleeding.

 

"Halt!" One of the officers yelled, and his Growlithe sprang into action. They were so focused on the approaching Mightyena that they didn't even realize that Will and Melia were refugees until they were well within visual sight.

 

"Wait, they're civilians!"

 

"Check for pursuers, give them some cover!"

 

The officers waved them through. A group of Growlithe stood at the ready, while other, larger Pokemon moved towards the front of the checkpoint, ready to counter any Xen aggression. They were so focused on the possible threat that they didn't bother to question or even search them. WIthin minutes, Will and Melia had made it back to the train station all the way in the south.

 

Only a few other people had made it there.

 

"I…can't…believe it…" Melia gasped. She bent over, taking deep breaths. "We…made it…but…whoah…but Garbodor…will he be okay?"

 

"Don't know," Will replied. His mouth tasted coppery, and he realized the wound on his face had started bleeding again.

 

"He risked his life to save us. And you!" Melia suddenly exclaimed, rounding on Will with renewed vigor. "Why did you do that? Why would you put your life at risk for me like that, not once, but several times? You could have gotten

killed!"

 

Why? He hadn't bothered to ask himself that question. He felt like the answer was too complicated to summarize. "I couldn't let them take you," Will softly answered. "After they took mom…if I walked away from you as well…" He shook his head; the thought was simply too ridiculous, too impossible. "I couldn't let them take you."

 

Melia looked weary and shaken. it made her look so small, so vulnerable. "You don't even know me," she whispered, a hint of bitterness seeping into her voice.

 

Will averted his eyes. "No. But from what I've seen, I'd like to."

 

"...what about your mother?" Melia urged. "If you…if you had died, then - "

 

"Melia," Will interrupted her, not willing to overthink this too much. "You…and Ren…and even Venam…you guys were good to me. You didn't have to, but you did. And that means something to me."

It meant more than just something. It meant the world. But he didn't think he could put that into words. His mind didn't cooperate. He couldn't get the words out.

 

Melia just stared at him. "I don't think I understand."

 

"That's okay. I won't let Team Xen win. And I won't let them take you." it wasn't so much a promise as a declaration. It was a fact. In part, to deny Team Xen whatever it was they wanted. For a larger part, because Melia was his friend. "I promise."

 

The journey back to Gearen Lab was frantic and chaotic. Melia and Will took a spot all the way back in the train and took the opportunity to treat their Pokemon to the best of their ability. Nidoran had taken a serious beating, and even Combusken looked pretty exhausted. Healing items were potent stuff, but they did have limits.

 

"That cut keeps bleeding," Melia said. She retrieved a handkerchief from her bag" C'mere for a sec…"

 

She tenderly placed the piece of clothing against his face, running the worst of the blood and the grime off.

 

"It's going to get ruined," Will muttered.

 

"You really have an odd sense of prioritization…"

 

Despite how delicate she treated him, the side of his face still hurt quite badly. Knowing his luck, he'd have a black eye that stretched out from his jaw to his scalp.

 

Which…would look ridiculous, but it was ten times better than a missing eye.

 

When they'd patched their teammembers up as best they could, the two of them recalled all their Pokemon again and continued riding back to Gearen in silence.

 

It gave Will time to think. Something nagged at him, but he wasn't sure what. He had the sneaking suspicion he'd missed something, something important…

 

Grah, he couldn't recall! It had to have been that Rift, that place hadn't been right for his mind

 

When the train finally got back at Gearen, Will and Melia wasted no time. They hurried back towards Gearen Lab as fast as they could. Melia because she had a ton of vital information to share with her father, Will because he knew that Team Xen wouldn't stop chasing them down because the police were now involved. The ease with which they had besieged the forest told him everything he needed to know. They were way, way over their heads.

 

"Over here," Melia said, waving him over towards the door. "I don't want to imagine how concerned dad must have been…"

 

She stepped through the door -

 

- And immediately darted aside, out of Jenner's view as he conversed with a familiar-looking woman with fiery red hair.

 

"Psst, over here," Melia whispered. "Let's hide for a bit."

 

Will frowned, but did as Melia told him. He slid behind one of the bookcases and slowly reached for Mightyena's Poke Ball, just in case. He'd had enough surprises today.

 

"You know, I don't appreciate being hung up on like that," the woman sternly told Jenner. "It was very rude and I should report you for misconduct."

 

Jenner looked ragged and tired. "People walked into the room, Madelis. What did you want me to do?"

 

"Lock the door?" Madelis replied sharply. "That would have prevented all of this from happening. Not that it matters. Zetta should be picking Melia up really soon."

 

"Yes," Jenner replied.

 

"Why so glum? You knew this would be happening. From the moment we gave you the job of looking after Melia as she grew up, we made it very clear. Melia was only going to be with you temporarily."

Fear and pain and a deep sting of betrayal blended together inside of Will's mind. The sensation…it was raw. Painful. It screamed. It was dizzying.

 

Oh god. He's with them.

 

Melia…

 

Will glanced aside. Melia had gone very still. Her lips were parted in a silent O, and her eyes…they were wide and vacant.

 

They were wet with tears.

 

"Once she grew up, you'd have to return her to us," Madelis continued with the air of someone speaking to a particularly naughty child.

 

"I haven't forgotten," Jenner meekly replied. "I've never forgotten."

 

Will couldn't imagine the pain. The horror. The thought that your beloved parent had been grooming you to be abducted by criminals since the day they took you in…

 

He thought about his mother. How she had potentially sacrificed her life for him. Just for his happiness. Just for a chance.

 

An anger he hadn't felt in…ever took a hold of him, knotting within his stomach with such intensity that it made him ill.

 

"Hmm…well, for your sake, I hope that is the case," the woman calmly continued, as if she were talking about the weather instead of someone's life. "I told you that getting attached would ruin you, and it looks like it has."

 

Melia's expression changed. Wil saw something ugly in her eyes, and his heart skipped a beat.

 

Don't do it, he silently pleaded at her. Don't do anything stupid.

 

"Just look at it as a sacrifice," Madelis continued. "We'll have our lives back after this. It'll all be over…in due time."

 

Will could see the exact moment where something within Melia snapped. He saw the emotions play across her face, saw her body tense up. He saw her jolt to her feet.

 

And there was nothing he could do to stop her.

 

"I knew it," Melia hissed through gritted teeth, and she whirled from her cover, striding towards the center of the lab with quick, angry steps. "I knew it!"

 

"M-Melia!" Jenner stammered. "You made it! Thank goodness!"

 

Will stepped out of his cover as well. Even with everything that was at stake, he wouldn't let Melia do this alone.

 

"And William too! I knew it was wise to - "

 

"Jenner, what the hell are you playing at?" Madelis demanded. "Melia is supposed to be at Goldenwood Forest! What is she doing here?"

 

"She - "

 

"Be quiet!" Melia shouted. "Just be quiet! I knew from the moment I found the Snag Machine in the briefcase. You gave it to me today of all days…to punch in a code when things got sour ... .you gave it to me because you knew!

You knew this would happen!"

 

Will kept a close eye on this Madelis person. She was one of their head honchos, he was certain of that. She'd have a full team of Pokemon in her possession and unlike him, her Pokemon were fresh and ready for action. If this escalated

- oh, who was he kidding, when this escalated - it would turn messy.

 

They never should have returned here.

 

"And yet…you sent me on my way anyway…And you got Will involved too?" Melia shook her head in disbelief. "After all these years…you weren't my real father? You never told me the truth!"

 

"Melia," Jenner pleaded. "Please, list - "

 

"I'm done listening to you!" Melia screamed. "Everything you've done was to set me up!"

 

"Enough of this!" Madelis interrupted. "I don't understand what's going on, but I'm ending it!"

 

"No you're not," Will growled, pulling Mighteya's Poke Ball forth at the same time as Madelis retrieved her own ball.

 

Then he felt Melia's hand on his shoulder. "Will, you can barely stand. Don't think I missed that other wound. I'll take care of this."

 

"Houndoom, come to me!"

 

Madelis sent forth a quadrupedal, canine Pokemon that was even bigger than Mighteyna. It had dark fur, an orange snout and two wicked horns that curved backwards. Its tail, thin and long, ended in a little fork.

It looked every bit as menacing as powerful. Clearly, Madelis had come even better prepared than the others.

 

"I'm not afraid of you!" Melia shouted. " Hapi, let's go!"

 

The two did battle in the middle of the lab, just like Ren and Will had before. But unlike that fight, Will could see that this one was, essentially, pointless. It took the strength of all four of Melia's Pokemon to drive off Madelis' Houndoom and even then, it took all their strength to do so,

 

"I must say, Melia, I'm impressed," Madelis said as she recalled her Houndoom. "Whoever taught you how to battle, taught you well. But it wasn't enough. Sometimes, you can't battle your way out of things."

 

"Don't talk down on me!" Melia snapped.

 

"Your Pokemon are all weakened, and I only used one of mine," Madelis continued smugly. "You think you can take the rest of my onslaught? Or, for that matter, when my subordinates join me?"

 

"...Hapi, one last attack!" Melia snapped. "Use Metronome!"

 

Hapi began wagging its fingers in rhythm again, power and potential building up in the air..

 

"I don't think so," Madelis snapped, but she was just a fraction of a second too late. As she lunged for Melia, her Togepi finished the Metronome and the energy in the air solidified into something only Melia, Togepi's owner, recognized. In a flash, Melia's eyes widened and she threw her arms at Will -

 

- only to disappear as Togepi finished its move - Teleport.

 

They were gone.

 

"You have got to be kidding me…" Madelis groaned. "Oh, fantastic! Fine, it will be like that. If we have to tear this city apart to find her Jenner, we will. You shouldn't have gotten attached, but you did, and now we're all in this mess. It's just business." Madelis ran a hand through her hair, flicking it back across her shoulders. "I'm going to have to report you to her."

 

Jenner's eyes widened in fear and he sagged back in his chair. Next, Madelis turned to Will. She ran her eyes across his body, lingering on the bloody spot on his abdomen. "William, wasn't it? Stay out of this, or the next one will blow your head off. I for one don't like killing my opposition. Too dirty. But…I also don't like second chances." She jabbed a pointy finger at him. "Next time I see you, I'll make you regret it. Understood?"

 

Will remained silent. A dozen thoughts bounced around his head, all of them aimed at Madelis and none of them friendly. What he wanted to say to her, would surely prompt a fight.

 

A fight he'd handily lose.

 

Madelis smirked. "I'll be off then. Ta-ta!"

 

"...it's Will."

 

Madelis stopped. "What?"

 

He didn't bother looking at her. "Not William. Will."

 

"I don't care!" She snapped, before leaving.

 

He guessed as much. That was fine. This thing, this…this mess. It wasn't right.

 

It. Wasn't. Right.

 

When the door closed behind Madelis, Will remained. He leveled a glare at Jenner. The professor must have seen something in Will's gaze that he really, really didn't like. He started talking almost instantly.

 

"Everything that's happened…it wasn't supposed to go this way…If Madelis hadn't come now of all times…Will, I - "

 

"Professor!" Ren burst into the room. "Professor, this is bad! There are Team Xen thugs all over the city! Venam is fighting them off as best she can, but - Will, holy - what happened to your face? What…hey!" Ren put his hands on Will's shoulders, looking him over with great concern in his eyes. "You're bleeding man!"

 

"You two, listen to me very carefully," Jenner urged them. "Team Xen is after Melia. If they find her, it'll be over for all of us! I need you to leave and find her immediately! West Gearen and the forest are off limits, she would have only gone in the direction of Route 2! The railnet east of here will be able to take you to Route 2 without any problem - "

 

"That's enough," a woman's voice cut through Jenner's explanation like a knife, and everybody froze.

 

A Pokemon teleported in-between them and Jenner, and it was hers.

 

Crescent.

 

"Do not be alarmed by the Gothitelle. They're just…a companion."

 

"Who's there?" Ren demanded. "Show yourself."

 

Will put a hand on Ren's shoulder and gave him a tiny shove, urging him to be quiet. Pain twinged through his chest when he moved, but it was far more important that Ren did not antagonize this girl.

 

"Quiet," Crescent's voice lashed out like the crack of a whip. "I have no business with you. Professor Jenner…how irresponsible and horrible to try and send a bunch of teens to clean up a mess you made. It enrages me to even think about what Will went through. How much worse he could've gotten mutilated if I hadn't intervened. In fact, I'm not so sure you understand the severity of this."

 

"No, wait - " Jenner stammered.

 

"So I'm going to place you in time out for a bit. It'll give you a chance to think about what you've done."

 

With that, a swirling portal appeared right behind Jenner. Just like the Rift, it immediately and mercilessly started sucking Jenner inside. Jenner managed to grab a hold of his desk just in time to keep himself from getting sucked into the Rift, but it looked like he could barely hold on.

 

"Professor!" Ren shouted, darting towards Jenner's desk to help him. "Hold on!"

 

But the Gothitelle stepped in his way, physically preventing him from coming to Jenner's aid.

 

"Will!" Ren yelled. "You have to help him!"

 

But Will didn't move. He stared at Jenner, and the man met his eyes.

 

"No. Ren, Will, I know it's selfish of me…b-but please…you have to…" one of his hands came loose off the table, and he very nearly fell into the portal. "You have to save Melia! If not…if not - !"

 

With one last cry of desperation, his other hand slipped loose, and the man plummeted into the depths of Crescent's portal…Rift…thing.

 

"No!" Ren yelled.

 

"As for the rest of you, I implore you not to interfere. If you wish to go after Melia, the only path before you is despair. I won't stop you if you wish to do so, but don't come to me when things don't go your way. You've been warned. Gothitelle! Come to me!'

 

With that, the Gothitelle performed a mocking little curtsy. The next instant, she was gone, and it was as if nothing had ever happened in the lab.

 

"Professor…Will, what the hell is going on!" Ren exclaimed. "What happened?"

 

The only path before you is despair…

 

Will decided that despair was overrated, as far as threats went. Screw Jenner. Screw Madelis. Screw Crescent. He was going to get Melia.

 

"Got some duct tape?" He asked Ren. His throat was hoarse and dry.

 

"Tape? I, yeah, sure, what for?" Ren asked.

 

Will pulled his jacket up, revealing the jagged wound left by Gyarados's shrapnel. "Can you patch me up? I'll fill you in on the way to Route 2."

~~~~~~~(V)~~~~~~~

---

Author's Note; And that's the entirely of Chapter 1, officially done!

 

A stark turn of events and a foray into Rejuvenation's main conflict. Now, as you might have noticed, I made both characters one year older than in canon. The reason for this is twofold; one, it puts an end to the in-story talk of "children" and "kids" doing these things. These characters are teenagers, or young adults, and only a few characters would call look at them and call them children instead.

 

Second, it gives them a slight physical edge in the challenges and trials to come, adding to the realism of the sheer amount of crap these characters go through without their bodies just giving up on them. Simply put, making some characters just a year older doesn't impact anything negatively, while making things a lot easier - not to mention realistic - for me to work with.

 

Anyway, that was all for this update. Please leave a comment if you like the story, and I'll see you all next time!

[Masterdude21]

Time for Chapter 2!

 

 

Chapter 2: Redemption

 

A loss at Amethyst Cave

 

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

 

---

Ren plucked at his wound with a pair of tweezers and it was all Wil could do not to cry out in pain.

 

"And these guys, this Team Xen, they were the same ones who attacked the Oceana?"

 

Will kept his jaws sealed shut as Ren poked the shard of stone and sent lances of pain shooting through his ribs.

 

"And now they're after Melia…why?" Ren found a grip and started pulling the shrapnel out.

 

"Don't know," Will said through gritted teeth.

 

"And Jenner…I never would have thought he'd be capable of something like this. I've worked with him for years…and all this time…"

 

"I-aagh! C-Careful!"

 

"Sorry," Ren muttered.

 

"No, s'okay, you're….ah, aah, doing great…"

 

Ren plucked the bloodied shard of stone out between Will's ribs and discarded it. "Got it."

 

"Thanks…"

 

Next, Ren quickly stuffed some bandages into the wound to stem the bleeding. Wound packing, he called it. Having entire strips of cloth stuffed into a bleeding wound by someone's thumbs was every bit as comfortable as it sounded,

and Will was pretty sure that by the end of it, he'd pass out from the pain.

 

"And that thing, that Snag Machine, Jenner clearly intended for Melia to use it if she got in trouble. That doesn't make sense to me though; by the time she got in trouble, the ability to steal someone's Pokemon wouldn't change that.

Melia is smart, but she's not some hardened rainer."

 

"Maybe he was coping," Will softly remarked. "Trying to deal with the guilt in some way. If he convince himself he'd tried to help her, no matter how small and useless his aid was…"

 

"He'd be able to live with himself more easily? Yeah. maybe…"

 

Ren's Frogadier – Froakie had evolved too – kept a solemn watch together with Nidoran, making sure that team Xen wouldn't try to barge into the lab while they were vulnerable. Nidoran kept flicking his ears back to Will every time he cried out.

 

"And now they're attacking the city by themselves. Don't we have a police department for that? A National Ranger Department?" Ren continued. "How is Team Xen capable of doing this?"

 

"Dunno. Doesn't matter for now. You said Venam was fighting them off?"

 

"As much as she could. The city's got a lot of trainers, and some of them are pretty good at fighting. You got a plan?"

 

Will sucked in a breath through his teeth. Calling it a plan was being too generous. He had an idea on how to start a plan. "Yeah. We link up with Venam, go to Route 2 and get Melia."

 

"Good plan…'

 

Ren finished up by wrapping more bandages around his chest and neatly tying the ends off, before working them away underneath the other bandages. All in all, it had taken Ren maybe fifteen minutes to clean, disinfect and completely cover the wound. "Sounds simple."

 

Will rolled his shoulders and moved his arms around to test his range of motion. "Huh."

 

"Better?"

 

"Much," Will said with relief. "You're a pro."

 

"I've had a lot of practice," Ren said, his expression darkening.

 

There's a story there, Will thought. "Thanks man. You're the best."

 

"I care about Melia a lot. You kept her safe through…all of that," Ren said, gesturing at Will's injuries and bloodied clothes. "You could have run. Instead you bled for her. For us. I'd say we're about even."

 

Will carefully rose to his feet and took a deep breath. "What is Route 2 like? What's out there?"

 

Ren thought about that for a moment. "I think Melia's going to go through Amethyst Cave to head to Sheridan Village. There's a Gym Leader there, as well as several strong trainers that would be able to protect her. She'd be safe. But we shouldn't leave it up to fate. We should also act."

 

"So get Venam, grab Melia, make a break for Sheridan?"

 

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan." Ren's eyes flashed back to Will's chest, and he worked his jaw for a moment. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

 

"Have to," Will replied. His face was starting to hurt when he spoke. Best to keep the words to a minimum. "She's out there. Alone. We have to help."

 

Ren grimaced, but he didn't protest, for which Will was thankful. "Alright. Let's head out, then."

 

They packed up their Pokemon and headed out together. Will had expected sirens, or some sort of alarm to indicate that the city was under attack, but Gearen City just had…nothing. Just the regular sounds of the decrepit city.

 

As they made their way towards the eastern part, Ren explained the situation as he had seen it. "Venam went back to her house last night, after you beat her. She should still be around there, but we've got to be careful. There are Xen thugs all around us."

 

Nidoran gave a sharp cry and skidded to a halt, his nails scraping across the asphalt as he whirled to face their rear. Another sharp back, and Will understood.

 

"Behind us," he hissed.

 

Ren acted immediately. "Frogadier!"

 

"Wait," a female vice cried out. "I'm not with them, don't attack!"

 

The two guys exchanged a skeptical look. "How about to come out with your arms where I can see 'em," Ren called out.

 

"What are you, a cop?" The girl snapped. Will guessed she was hiding around the corner of one of the skyscrapers they'd passed. Which one, he wasn't sure.

 

"No, but I can do this the hard way," Ren retorted.

 

"Fine, I'm coming out."

 

A young woman stepped around the corner Nidoran had been glaring at, awkwardly keeping her hands in front of her. She was dressed in a brown formal dress with a fluffy, beige collar on top. Her orange hair was tied in a smooth, short ponytail. All in all she didn't look dangerous, but Will was starting to learn that looks could be deceiving.

 

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you guys, but I heard you mention Venam's name?"

 

Ren's eyes narrowed. "Wait, aren't you Karrina? The girl who hangs out by the docks often?" He crossed his arms and shot her a stern look. "You're a gang leader."

 

Well crap. That was just what they needed; another gang to face down.

 

"Look, I may be a gang leader, but that doesn't mean we do bad things," Karrina shot back. "Quite the opposite actually. We work to make sure the streets of Gearen are as clean as possible. Anyway, Venam. Are you two looking for her?"

 

"...that's right," Ren replied, apparently choosing to believe her. Time wasn't on their side anyway. "Have you run into her?"

 

"When I saw that the city was being overrun with Team Xen, I contacted her immediately," Karrina said. "I got word that one of their admins was holding themselves off in the Abandoned Factory on Junction Bridge."

 

Junction Bridge, the blockaded crossing that connected East Gearen with West Gearen. In hindsight, that made it an obvious place to hunker down. It was on the other side of the city though, the opposite direction of where they needed to go.

 

"Before I could even explain the situation, Venam dashed on over there," Karrina finished, crossing her arms across her chest.

 

Sounds like Venam, Will thought, and he relaxed somewhat. It sounded like Karrina actually knew Venam.

 

"Of course she would jump in head-first without thinking," Will grumbled. "But if a Xen Admi is in there, maybe we can stop all of this before it gets too bad. Alright, let's head for Junction Bridge and help Venam."

 

"Great, I'm going that way myself," Karrina said. "Let's go together then. I'll lead the way."

 

Following a self-proclaimed gang leader through Gearen City's streets wasn't on Will's bucket list, but damned if it wasn't interesting. She took Ren and him through alleyways and shortcuts that neither of them even knew existed.

Where Will would have walked around an entire city block, Karrina simply removed a pane of glass, fumbled with a door and allowed them to cross through a building in a fifth of the time.

 

"I've seen Ren plenty of times, but you are new here," Karrina stated as they crossed a street that took them to the bridge.

 

"Yeah."

 

"How'd you get roped in on this? What's your role?"

 

"I don't think that's any of your business," Ren said.

 

"I don't think I asked your opinion," Karrina fired back, keeping her eyes solidly on Will.

 

"I don't think it matters anyway," Will said. "I'm here to fight Team Xen."

 

Karrina conceded with a shrug. "Eh. Good enough for me."

 

The abandoned factory on the bridge looked more like a water purification plant than an actual factory. It was a large complex of steel plating with rusted blue paint here and there. Electrical turbines had been installed at the front, which proved to be somewhat difficult to find due to the large amount of shipping crates and drums scattered around that part of the bridge. It was more like a floating pier than an actual section of infrastructure.

 

"I haven't ever seen the inside of this place," Ren quietly said as Karrina took them to the main entrance. "Best keep our guard up."

 

"Okay you two, this is it," Karrina said, fumbling with the lock. "If the reports are true, then there should be a Xen Admin cooped up in here. If we can get rid of them, it may be enough to drive out all the Team Xen grunts from East

Gearen. "

 

"Huehuehuehuehuehuehue."

 

A sinister laughing sounded from somewhere deep inside the facility, alarming all three of them. "The reports must be true…that laughter can't be from a sane individual!" Karrina exclaimed.

 

But…wouldn't leadership require sanity? It seemed like an advantage to Will.

 

Ren didn't see it that way though. "Y-Yeah, let's get this over with!"

 

As one, the three of them barged inside of the factory. It turned out to have the interior of a water purification plant as well; small catwalks crossing over foul-smelling water, surrounded on both sides by more metal drums.

 

Unlike a normal water purification plant however, this one had Venam standing smackdab in the center.

 

"Venam!" Ren exclaimed, and the purple-haired Gym Leader whirled around, a Poke Ball in her hand.

 

"Huh?! What are you guys doing here?"

 

"It wasn't smart to run off like that before I could even finish explaining!" Karrina hotly said.

 

"Listen, - "

 

A shrill alarm began whining through the building, cutting Venam off.

 

"Jenkel, who are these three!?" A pissed-off voice came from the same speakers as the alarm. "You absolute idiot! You left the door open even after I told you to shut it!"

 

"Oh yeah. I was facing down that creep over there," Venam said, pointing at the far end of the catwalk.

 

"You were supposed to be more competent than this! Whatever, hold them off, I'm getting out!"

 

With Venam reinforcing their group, they pushed towards the rear of the factory, where the diabolical Xen Admin appeared to have taken a Pokemon hostage inside some sort of machine. The poor victim was a rounded bipedal

creature with a light-purple body and a pink head. According to the Pokedex, it was a Musharna, a Pokemon deeply connected to dreams and nightmares.

 

You there, Xen scum!" Karrina shouted. "What are you doing to that Musharna?"

 

The Xen Admin…didn't look like a Xen Admin to Will. He wore an actual lab coat for one, not that gray uniform. His disheveled hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in several lifetimes, sticking out in every direction. The other Admins had looked…well, intimidating and well-groomed on a personal level, people who knew the importance of presentation and outward appearance.

 

"Huheuheuh," the man laughed. "Xen Admin? Welp, doesn't matter. You've all seen too much! But that's okay…huheuheuh…YES! It's QUITE. All. Right." He suddenly yelled. "I guess I just have to test my experiment out on you two. 0 – 0."

 

This man…he had to be some sort of genius!

 

"This guy's a dumbass," Venam said a second later.

 

"Let's take him down," Ren chimed in.

 

Karrina turned towards Will. "I still don't know who you really are, but if you can pull this off I'll let you into my gang. This is a good deal!"

 

"Yeah yeah," Will quickly said, only half-listening. There was no saying what this genius scientist had cooked up for them. They had to be ready for anything! "Come on Ren, let's go."

 

"Yeah, we got this!" Ren replied.

 

This man Jenkel came armed with a group of Munna, the unevolved versions of Musharna. He didn't bother preparing himself for a battle, instead sending out his little swarm in one go. Four Munna came floating down from around

him and began firing multicolored beams of energy at everything in sight.

 

"Whoah!" Venam yelped, diving for cover. Karrina too ducked out of their line of fire and hurired towards one of the fallen drums for protection.

 

"I'll take the left!" WIll called.

 

"Right! Uh, I mean, I'll take the right!" Ren shot back.

 

Together, Frogadier and Combusken moved out. Frogadier slid out of the Munna's line of fire, throwing exploding water bubbles without even bothering to look where he aimed. Somehow, he still struck one of the Munna the face and the Psychic-type lost its bearings, nearly crashing to the ground.

 

Combusken leapt high to avoid getting blasted by another beam of energy, kicked off the wall and slashed at the closest target. She struck one of the Munna across its body with her sharp talons.

 

"We've got to get that machine offline!" Karrina said.

 

"How?" Ren replied.

 

"I don't know, break it or something!"

 

Break it or something sounded right up Will's alley. "Ren, give us some cover!"

 

"Frogadier, suppress them with bubblebeam! Keep them clustered together!"

 

The Frogadier leapt towards the ceiling, hopped to the side to avoid an incoming attack, then opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of highly-condensed water bubbles moving at high speed. The remaining munna flinched when the bubbles detonated all around them and began firing off Pysbeams with reckless abandon.

 

Frogadier easily relocated to a different spot and continued its assault. Combusken, meanwhile, managed to leap past their blind assault and reached the machine that kept Musharna trapped.

 

"Ruh oh, she's gonna be real mad with me!" Jenkel muttered.

 

"Combusken, wreck that machine!" Will ordered.

 

As Ren's Frogadier blasted the last Munna away, Combusken landed atop of the machinery that kept Musharan imprisoned and wrenched its outer layers apart, exposing wires and a sensitive core. A quick burst of Ember later and the entire apparatus fell apart.

 

Musharna opened its eyes, looked around –

 

- and then got really pissed.

 

"That Musharna…is angry with us?" Karrina exclaimed.

 

"Why?" Ren asked. "I thought we saved it from being in pain?"

 

Jenkerl laughed again. "Well of course not! My modifications to the machine caused the two to sort of have a symbiotic relationship! This Musharna was never in any harm. It was enjoying a nice massage, probably."

 

"…what?" Venam snapped.

 

"Oh, so you're actually helping Pokemon out? Not harming them?" Karrina said, trying to clear the air.

 

What?

 

"Well of course not," Jenkel shot back, spreading his hands of he were explaining how one plus one equaled two to a particularly slow child. "All of us mad scientists get profiled together and it's not cool, man! But I needed someone to test out my glorious machine, so it's not all bad." He jabbed a pointy finger at the group. "You guys are cool, though. Should come back sometime! I have chips and drinks!"

 

"Later," Will said, trying to wrap his head around this whole thing. Who had Jenkel been talking to? Obviously he wasn't in this for himself, right? Where had Karrina gotten this information anyway?

 

"Um, no, we're good, " Karrina hesitantly said. "We're just going to leave, now. Let's go guys."

 

Once outside, Karrina swore and slammed her fist against one of the empty drums. "What a damn waste of our time."

 

"A false lead," Ren said, shaking his head. "We could have been on our way to Sheridan to save Melia already!"

 

"Wait, what's going on?" Venam said, alarmed. "Melia? Also Will, I don't mean to be rude, but you look like shit! What happened to your face?"

 

"Ergh," Ren yelled in frustration, and Will couldn't agree more. "I'll explain it on our way to the train station in the east. Let's go!"

 

Will lingered for a moment, looking at Karrina. Something about this whole thing felt off to him. His mind was too amped up on stress and adrenaline to make sense of it, but somewhere, the details didn't match up. Why did she look so calm? Why had she accepted Jenkel's explanation so easily?

 

"Come on Will!" Ren said, pulling at Will's good shoulder. "This way!"

 

As they hurried across the streets, taking care to avoid roving pairs of patrolling Xen grunts who were busy interrogating the locals, Ren began explaining things to Venam

 

"Team Xen'x been eyeing Melia since her birth! Jenner only took her in to keep her in one place long enough and mature healthily. He was supposed to send her to Goldenwood Forest so that Xen could abduct her today."

 

"Those motherfuckers!" Venam spat. "Bunch of evil assholes!

 

"Yeah, that. But it didn't work, because Melia had invited Will along for the ride."

 

"No shit! So that was the mess in Goldenwood I heard from. Will, did you seriously fight off Team Xen's entire forest invasion by yourself!?"

 

Venam made it sound like he was some sort of action hero facing down an army, when in reality, he'd been running almost the entire time, panicked and stressed and scared to death that something would happen to Melia. "I just helped her escape."

 

"After which this Zetta guy created an evil Rift that contained an enormous artificial Gyarados that swallowed Will into another dimension, where they did battle and - "

 

"You freaking what? Fuck that sounds wicked!"

 

Ren left out the part where an aggressive Taillow almost cut off half his face, or the part where Zetta's Pokemon had nearly trampled him to death, or the past where a random piece of shrapnel had nearly taken him out of commission entirely. It wasn't cool, it wasn't wicked, it had been a harrowing mess that still might cost them Melia.

 

"It wasn't like that," Will protested, frustration welling up in his chest. "We we got out by the skin of our teeth. That Admin in Xen's lab…she would've wiped the floor with us if Hapi hadn't teleported them out."

 

"We'll find her, and get her to Sheridan Village," Ren said with a hint of finality in his voice. "Station's that way, let's pick up the pace."

 

Since Team Xen were all looking for a blond girl, none of them seemed even remotely interested in the trio of teenagers that hurried across the streets towards the station. The three of them made it there without a single incident, and just in time too.

 

"The next train to Route 2 just got here," Ren said after a quick glance at one of the electronic schedules hanging around. "Melia might've gotten off on Route 2 some time ago now...will we be able to make it?"

 

"We'll make it," Will growled. "Come on."

 

They boarded the train not a moment too soon. A literal minute later, they were on their way to Route 2.

 

Ren and Venam sat down in a coupe somewhere in the back. Will was about to sit down opposite of Venam when he spotted a couple of passengers standing in the line for a coffee machine.

 

Coffee…

 

His mouth started watering. He'd been running himself ragged since escaping the Oceana and he hadn't even thought that coffee was available in this city. He needed to get his nerves under control, calm his mind and give himself a dose of alertness - if there was a better alternative than coffee, it had to be drug-related.

 

"Berightback,": he muttered.

 

He waited impatiently until it was finally his turn, then grabbed a paper cup and got himself a good serving of hot, black, rejuvenating coffee. It wouldn't change the day he'd been having, but it would definitely take the edge off.

 

He glanced back over his shoulder. Ren and Venam still sat there, unmoving and silently.

 

He'd been so busy focusing on saving Melia that he hadn't stopped to consider his two other friends were having a tough time as well. Ren and Venam had known Melia far longer than he had. He felt like crap. Those two must have been about to collapse on the inside.

 

Back then, Venam had been giving him a compliment and he shot her down. What if that had been her way to mitigate her stress?

 

God I'm an idiot..

 

Silently, Will poured two other cups of coffee and took them with him to their seats. "Here guys. To take the edge off. Look…this thing blows. But we've got to stay strong."

 

Ren bit his lip, then slowly reached for the coffee. "Yeah…yeah, there's no reason we should sit here all depressed. This is an ordeal we've gotta get through, but we can get through this"

 

"Easier said than done," Venam glowered. "I'm literally going to scream if this train doesn't go faster."

 

A moment of silence passed by as they all sipped their coffee. Ren nodded in appreciation, while Venam pulled a face and then shoved the cup away from her. "Gah, black coffee. Gross."

 

"Can I…?" Will asked, poking her cup.

 

"Go for it dude. You look like you need it."

 

"The healing properties of a good Cup of Joe," Ren muttered.

 

"Acid for the battery," Will agreed.

 

"Juice for the brain."

 

"Fuel for the jet."

 

"You two are freaks," Venam muttered.

 

Will handed the remaining half of Venam's cup to Ren, who gratefully took it. "So what's the plan?" he asked.

 

Venam scoffed. "What plan do you need? Find Melia, go home."

 

Will stared at the girl with disbelief. Lack of planning was half the reason they were in this mess to begin with.

 

"Yeah, but…" Ren started, but Venam reconsidered her stance halfway through his protest.

 

"No, you're right," Venam said with a shake of her head. "We should hunt down the people responsible for this and take them out."

 

That still didn't sound like a plan to Will. The end goal, sure, but…this was the "what" versus "how" all over again.

 

"That's not what I meant," Ren insisted. "Are we even capable of such a thing?

 

"I don't care," Venam snapped. "I don't care! Look – "

 

Will leant back in his seat. "If we rush in and get killed, who's gonna save Melia?"

 

Venam looked like he'd just slapped her in the face. She stared at him blankly, her expression inscrutable. "That's not how this will go," she then bit at him. "We have our Pokemon, don't we? You've pulled through once already, didn't you?"

 

A part of Will recoiled in anger, and wanted to tell Venam exactly how Team Xen would make this go. Another part just felt tired and scared. He didn't have it in him to tell Venam off, not when she was so motivated, so eager to get this done.

 

"Now arriving at Route 2," the conductor's voice drifted through the train. "Dear passengers, do not forget to take your luggage. Have a nice day!"

 

Venam shoved herself to her feet. She didn't meet Will's gaze. "Train's stopped. That's enough talk." Without another word, she turned and headed towards the exit.

 

Will uttered a sigh. The pain he felt in his chest had nothing to do with the hole Ren had just patched up. Looking at Venam, he saw himself. Or rather, the version of him that had ran across a burning, sinking ship to find his mother, only to stumble in and ruin everything because he was the most vulnerable one, because he wasn't strong enough, because he hadn't realize how far the enemy would go to get what they wanted –

 

"Will," Ren said. "I was talking to you. You ah…you were zoning out."

 

She didn't know. She didn't understand the reality – the consequences perhaps – of failing.

 

"She won't have to," Will quietly said.

 

"I'm sorry?"

 

Will shook his head. "Venam's not going to lose anyone today. I promised Melia that I'd protect her, Ren. So let's get going."

 

"That's the spirit," Ren said. "Come on, we can't let Venam get too far ahead."

 

Route 2 resembled Goldenwood forest in that it could have been an entirely different reality from Gearen City altogether. Whereas the forest had been all gold and autumn, Route 2 looked like every single piece of vegetation was blooming and blossoming. All pink and blue and lush green, with sparkling streams and creeks crisscrossing the area.

 

Despite the urgency of the situation Will couldn't help but stop and admire the beauty.

 

"Pretty, isn't it?" Ren said, seeing him look around open wonder.

 

Will nodded.

 

"And best of all, I don't see Team Xen anywhere."

 

"Yet," Will corrected him. He spotted two different angles of approach, one snaking around the upper part of the route, closer to the water, and one passing by the lower section of the route, across the meadows and through a little

forest. "Let's split up. Cover more ground."

 

Renn nodded. "That makes sense. I'll take that path over there, to the right. You go left. We'll meet up at the entrance to Amethyst Cave, all the way at the end of Route 2. You can't miss it."

 

"Okay. Stay safe, man."

 

Ren held his fist, and Will bumped it. "You too. Don't be late!"

 

With that, the two went their separate ways.

 

Route 2 presented not only a challenge, but also an opportunity. His fight with Zetta had shown him that taking on opponents with more Pokemon was a bad idea, and he needed to fix that situation as soon as he could. He'd stored the Shadow Snorunt he caught at the PC back in the Lab. He wasn't going to torment that poor Pokemon by keeping it conscious and having it constantly hurting itself and others. Which meant he was still stuck with using three Pokemon, and that limited his options severely.

 

So, he began looking.

 

The meadows and forests of Route 2 teemed with wild Pokemon. Most of them Grass- and Bug-types, but Will spotted several flying types as well. A flock of Spearrow flew overhead and the wound on his face began itching the moment he watched them pass by.

 

A cut and a shiner were about the best kind of injury he could have walked away with. It could have gone a lot worse, but it also could have gone a lot better if he'd had his own Flying-type Pokemon to defend himself with. Even better, a flying Pokemon of his own could have scouted the entire park from above, letting Melia and him know that the exit was blocked.

 

Things could have gone so much better that way. Things still could go so much better if he thought ahead right then and there.

 

That settled it for him, and he began searching for a Flying-type to add to his team.

 

The first problem was the most obvious. Will couldn't fly. A shame, really. Neither could the other members of his team. They didn't have much ranged attacks, either.

 

Proving his worth to an opponent he couldn't properly fight was going to be difficult, but Will had a plan.

 

Well, the meager beginnings of a pan, that was.

 

He trekked around the trail until he reached a quieter part of the forest. A flock of Pidgey had nestled there in the trees, chirping and yelping up a storm. They occasionally descended towards the ground to forage or otherwise hop around under the watchful eye of their larger, evolved versions.

 

One such Pidgeotto sat perched atop the tallest tree. It had probably been glaring down at him the entire time while he stumbled around their grotto. That it hadn't attacked him yet was a miracle.

 

Will looked up at the majestic Pokemon, keeping his expression calm and collected. Amanda had said that a Pokemon needed to accept someone as strong, or at least stronger than they were, before they'd follow them. Even if a trainer managed to capture a Pokemon that hadn't acknowledged them, they simply wouldn't obey.

 

Strength as the initial test, trust, friendship and care for the long haul. If a trainer failed in any of those, the partnership would fail.

 

"Pidgeotto," Will called out. "I need your strength. Will you fight with me?"

 

The flock of tiny Pidgey dispersed, fleeing the grotto in every direction. Several of the Pidgeotto went with them to escort them to a safer place.

 

The Pidgeotto Will had challenged, however, did not leave. It spread its brown wings and uttered a piercing shriek, before hopping down to a lower branch, where he could take a closer look at this uppity human that dared to challenge it.

 

So far, so good.

 

Will sent out Combusken "This is a fight for a new ally, Combusken. Let's give them a first impression."

 

Combusken shrieked at the Pidgeotto in return, spreading out its claws in an intimidating fashion.

 

The Pidgeotto huffed. It too spread its wings, then leapt from the branches and immediately tucked its wings against its body, going in for the attack.

 

Combusken dropped low and rolled aside just in time to dodge the Pidgeotto's attack. She immediately shot a barrage of Ember bolts after it, but the Pidgeotto banked sharply to the right and avoided her fire. It soared around the sky, circled around and came down for another attack.

 

It didn't take Will long to realize that he was going about this the wrong way. "Don't bother shooting it down Combusken. Let it get close, wait for the right moment."

 

Pidgeotto crashed down on Combusken with incredible force, and she wasn't able to defend herself in time. The blow sent her tumbling across the meadow, while the Pidgeotto took to the air for another attempt.

 

"Damnit," Will muttered, grabbing a healing potion from his bag and rushing towards her. The Pidgeotto had left a nasty gash across Combusken's arm, but he was sure the blow to her pride was worse. "Stay sharp. It's coming around for another go."

 

Combusken chirped sharply, but she waited for Will to spray her wound before springing back to her feet. She eyed the circling Pidgeotto, waiting for it to come back around.

 

Seconds later, the Pidgeotto had reached the optimal angle and it flattened its wings to its body again, pulling itself into another divebomb.

 

But this time, Will knew how it would strike. He counted the beats of his heart, saw Pidgeotto's blurry form sped through the treeline and yelled, 'Now!"

 

Combusken moved with insane speed. She pivoted and brought her left arm up in a sweeping arc. The clawed limb smacked Pidgeotto across its face right as it dove past her. The impact sent both Pokemon tumbling across the grass,.

 

Will tracked the Pidgeotto's little spiral, pulled out a Poke Ball and let it fly. The Snag Machine amplified his motor function and the ball clipped Pidgeotto's wing.

 

The ball shook once, twice…three times…and then it stopped.

 

Will smiled, but he got the message. The Pidgeotto had acknowledged his strength, but only barely. If this partnership was to work out, he'd need to fight to earn this Pokemon's loyalty.

 

It seemed fair enough to him. Once they'd pulled Melia from the fire and got her somewhere safe, he had a lot of work to do.

 

His fourth member secured, it was time to meet Ren at the cave.

 

The further into the Route he came, the more Will began to notice the remains of old mineshafts scattered around the areas. Their tracks led all across the hills and spread out across the forest. Rusted cars lay scattered around the insides of the smaller caves, long abandoned by their previous owners.

 

Wil made his way through the cave systems and across a large, stone bridge. Ren was right; apart from the occasional hikers and trainers, he saw no sign of Team Xen. Maybe the three of them had been fast enough. Maybe they'd beat Xen to this location.

 

Slowly, his surroundings started to change from meadows and fields to rockier hills and steep walls of rock. One of the hikers told him that he'd nearly reached Amethyst Cave, but that he needed to be mindful of the wild Pokemon there.

 

Finally, after a couple more minutes, Will found the entrance. It wasn't exactly hidden or anything; large protrusions of crystal stuck out around the entrance, glistening in the sunlight. A large, wooden sign had been slapped against a smooth-faced rock nearby.

 

"AMETHYST CAVE"

 

Will was about to enter when movement caught his attention. He looked up.

 

There, ten or so meters in the sky, a trio of crystal-winged Vivillon fluttered around, moving with eerie slowness, deliberately circling around the exact angle of the entrance.

 

So much for the rare Butterflies of Fate. What were they doing all the way over here?

 

His gut told him it meant something. His brain told him to get a move on, so Will headed inside the cave. It, again, was much different from Goldenwood Cave. The area was much wider and more open. Large, sturdy-looking bridges covered deep chasms, leading loose sections of unconnected rail in every direction. The occasional abandoned wagon had been left in the open, most of them filled with large, jagged crystals.

 

There, Venam and Ren had finally reunited. They…weren't exactly arguing, but it didn't sound very pleasant either.

 

"Ren, you said that Melia would go to Sheridan Village to seek safety, right? Which way to Sheridan then?"

 

"North," Ren replied. "We just have to keep heading this direction. Hey Will. Just in time to join us."

 

"What took you so long!" Venam snapped. "I've bene waiting here for you guys."

 

"Caught another Pokemon, just in case," Will replied. "We might need the firepower."

 

That seemed to be Venam's language. "Okay, fine. Firepower is always handy. Enough waiting around ,let's go – "

 

Her voice trailed off when she saw someone standing in the middle of the path Ren had just pointed out – a man who hadn't been there just seconds before. He was clad in all-black clothes, with a hood and shawl hiding his face completely.

 

"I wouldn't go there. Your friend never headed to Sheridan," he spoke, his voice somewhat muffled by his clothes.

 

Whoever this guy was, his presence couldn't be good, and Will readied himself for an imminent conflict.

 

"Who is this now?" Venam said. "He with you?"

 

"No," Ren said, stepping towards the man with clear intent. "I bet he's some Team Xen goon lurking around!"

 

The man didn't rise to the bait. "Your friend. Melia, was it? She hasn't gone down this path."

 

Venam and Will turned to look at the only remaining route…which led deeper down into the cave. "Why in the world would she go down to the mines below?" Venam demanded.

 

…oh no. Oh, no no no no…

 

The realization came with sudden clarity and sent a wave of cold fear running down Will's spine. They'd caught up to her. They'd caught up to Melia and forced her to abandon her plan, seeking refuge below. Below the ground, in suffocating darkness and an alien landscape…alone.

 

"You've never experienced true fear, have you?" The man calmly asked Venam, and Will knew that he was right on the mark. "If you had, you'd understand just why she took the turn she did. Fear blinds the mind. Cripples your intellect.'

 

As does desperation.

 

"When you succumb to the grasp of fear, you make choices you wouldn't normally make. She took the wrong turn."

 

Icy fingers plucked at Will's stomach. When Venam staggered back and rushed down the stairs into the depths below, Will nearly sprinted after her.

 

But something kept him from blindly following her.

 

That was the exact mistake Melia made, wasn't it? She'd headed blindly into the unknown. In turn, Venam was now blindly running into hostile territory. Territory she would know was now teeming with Xen thugs.

 

She would never make it on her own.

 

"Venam, no!" Ren shouted.

 

"It doesn't matter anyway," the man said, his voice detached and emotionless. "It's hopeless."

 

"It's not hopeless! We can still make a difference!" Ren snapped back, distressed.

 

"So young," the man sighed. "So naïve. The truth is the harshest teacher known to man "

 

Perhaps it was. Will had certainly had his worldview broadened the past few days. But…

 

Wherever you end up, keep up hope.

 

He saw no reason to change his course.

 

Ren gritted his teeth. He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. The man was, of course, right. Venam had yet to experience true fear. Melia had made a mistake. The truth was the harshest way to learn the truth. But giving up hope because of that? Give up on Melia, tarnish his mother's last wish? He would no longer be him if he did that.

 

Besides…"Giving up is the easy way out," Will said, reminding Ren why they came here.

 

"You're right…you're right!" Ren said. "We still have our Pokemon, we can still find Melia! Come on!"

 

Before he followed Ren down the stairs, Will shot the masked man a glare. For a man who saw tragedy unfold and did nothing to stop it, he had only the utmost contempt.

 

The stairs led them deeper into the cave, where the air grew staler, carrying a faint smell of moisture and dirt. Several Joltik scampered out of the way as Will's shoes finally hit solid rock again. Without natural sunlight, the only way for people to navigate underground was by the light of their fires. Several such lanterns hung around strategic points, illuminating more chasms, more railcars, more broken and rusted rails.

 

"Did you notice the Joltik?" Ren said when Will caught up to him at an intersection with a bridge.

 

"Yeah? What about them?"

 

"They're…not native to this cave," Ren explained. "I was just here recently. These Joltik must have moved in very recently. Hmm…let's not worry about that for now. Let's split up again; I'll take this bridge, you head down that corridor."

 

"Be careful," Will urged him. "Team Xen will have laid traps."

 

"Got it. You too."

 

Will broke into a run, hurrying down the dark pathway. He heard the noises of a Pokemon battle up ahead and he felt his heartrate spike.

 

Melia. Be safe!

 

As he rounded the corner, he saw that Venam had indeed sprang one of Xen's traps. She and Seviper were facing off against a grunt and three Zubat.

 

Will sent Combusken out. "Combusken! Use Ember!"

 

The Zubat, too occupied with staying out of Seviper's reach, didn't notice that they'd been flanked until it was too late. By then, they had no space to evade, and the bolts of fire hit them dead on.

 

"Will!" Venam exclaimed. "Just in time!"

 

"No!" The Xen grunt snarled. He took a ep towards Venam, but her Seviper snapped at him, its fangs stopping just short of his face. The message delivered, the grunt slumped back against the wall.

 

"Will, Melia did come across here. This asshole just spilled the details…a Xen Admin is chasing her down! She's down here…somewhere."

 

"Then we better move," Will said. "Ren, you found something?"

 

Venam whirled around to see Ren was running to catch up to them. Panting, his chest heaving, Ren stopped to explain that he'd quickly stumbled across a dead end. "Nothing," he gasped. "This is the only way left."

 

"Melia is one floor below us!" Venam said, her voice unsteady. "She's being chased by a Xen Admin, we have to hurry!"

 

They hurried along, deeper and deeper into the cave. Strange, distant sounds echoed across the cave. The darkness and the weight of the earth around felt heavy and oppressive. Will felt like an intruder, an unwelcome element about

to stumble into a hole he would never escape from. The floor was paved with rocks and crystals. Their steps echoed off the walls, giving off the constant impression that they were being stalked.

 

They ran across a bridge that was far longer than the others. Every few meters, a lantern illuminated the area, casting warping shadows across the cave.

 

And in the distance…in the distance, Will saw a lone figure. They were almost there. They had to hurry, they had to be faster!

 

Will skidded to a halt the second he left the perilous quarters of the tight bridge and instantly sent Combusken out. The man standing in the large, open area before him was an enemy, one in the middle of preparing a deadly attack.

 

"Zetta!" Will yelled. "Where is she?"

 

Zetta didn't respond, kept staring at the Rift he was preparing, and the temptation to attack was so strong, so overwhelming, that Will already had the words on his tongue when he recognized that this whole thing could be a trap as well. Zetta had to have kidnapped Melia, but he hadn't escaped yet. He'd hidden her somewhere, and attacking him now would endanger her.

 

"Who are you!" Ren demanded when he made it across the bridge. "You're an Admin, aren't you?"

 

"What…what's with that blob of energy?" Venam hesitantly asked.

 

Zetta remained silent, didn't even bother to turn around.

 

Slowly, a horrible feeling began spreading through Will's stomach. "Zetta!"

 

"You…" Zetta spat, his voice dripping with contempt. "If only you had not interfered at Goldenwood…this would have been avoided. All of this would have been avoided."

 

"Avoided?" Ren said. "What are you on about?"

 

"We were all too late…" Zetta said, his expression bitter and disappointed. "Melia…Melia is dead."

 

His words hit Will like an anvil.

 

Melia is dead.

 

The world sharpened at that word. His stomach swept dangerously.

 

It couldn't be. It couldn't be! Zetta was lying, they all lied! This was a trick, an attempt to destabilize them-!

 

It worked. God, it worked. Desperation clawed at his thoughts, pressed deep into his mind. A lie, a lie- !

 

You promised her.

 

"What?" Venam snapped. "That's impossible. You're lying."

 

You promised you'd protect her.

 

"This is a trick to get us to give up and leave."

 

A trick. A trick a trick -

 

His expression one of barely-controlled rage, Zetta thrust a bloodied handbag towards them. "While I was on my way down, I heard a massive crash," he snarled. "When I got to the scene, all I saw was a broken bridge and a Galvantula gnawing on this!"

 

Melia's bag.

 

He wasn't lying. Comprehension dawned. Zetta's rage. Melia's absence. The blood on the bag.

 

You promised you'd protect her!

 

Ren's voice came from somewhere far away. "Do you really think we're going to believe that? I'm not going to ask again. Where is our friend?"

 

This is your fault.

 

"Ren…stop." Will barely heard Venam's voice. The noise of his heart pounding his head was deafening. "That is Melia's bag. Professor Jenner gave it to her on her birthday last year. It was custom made, with Hapi embroidered on the side of it…there's no mistaking it."

 

"No…"

 

You failed her.

 

"It's over…" Zetta muttered, and Will's vision focused on him, and him alone. Never before had he hated like he hated that man, at that moment. "She was our main target. This is a massive failure on my part.

 

She's dead because of you.

 

Anger and hate and loathing and sorrow coalesced inside of Will's head, forming something ugly and vicious. He heard Zetta talking about the base and reporting and things being the end, but he didn't care, he didn't care.

 

"Combusken," Will said. His voice came out hoarse. The thoughts and orders fluttered around his head, his emotions gripping a hold of his rational side. "He's not walking."

 

Combusken uttered a shrill cry and bounded towards Zetta, but Zetta roared something and the Rift behind him, the Rift he'd been working at, it expanded outwards with mindless aggression. In a single heartbeat, it enveloped Zetta, then Ren and Venam, and finally Will.

 

It was so fast, so fierce, there was no time to think, no time to evade.

 

Once again, reality and darkness whirled around his vision in rapid succession. Once again Will felt the real world slither away, to be replaced by the warped, non-reality of the Dimensional Rift.

 

But this time he was ready. This time he knew what to expect. The moment a sick, dying forest materialized around him, Ren and Venam, he shoved himself back to his feet. He confirmed that Combusken was still with him, still ready and eager for battle, then turned towards the direction where Zetta had been taken.

 

Will had failed Melia. He'd failed to protect her, just like he'd failed to protect his mother. But that man…Zetta was the one who'd taken her.

 

Zetta wasn't walking away from there.

 

"So this is a Rift…" Ren said, carefully scanning his surroundings. "This place feels all kinds of wrong. We shouldn't stay here. Venam…Venam?"

 

Venam had sunk through her knees at the edge of a pond of purple water, staring blankly ahead.

 

"Venam, what's wrong" Ren exclaimed. "Come on, we need to go."

 

"That guy in the cloak…he was right," Venam muttered. "This is all so fucking hopeless…Melia was dead before we stepped in that cave. What's the point?"

 

"The point?" Ren repeated incredulously. "What about us? Will, you, me? We're still alive. We need to escape this place!"

 

Venam remained there, giving no indication that she planned to get out. "I don't care anymore," she whispered, and Will felt the grief in her voice. It was palpable and vivid and he felt the rage that had clouded his thoughts lift somewhat.

 

"So what then?" Ren yelled. "You're going to die here" And let Melia's killer get away."

 

That seemed to get through to her. She shot Ren an alarmed look. "What?"

 

Will wanted to give his thoughts, explain how he wasn't going to let Zetta walk away from this, but he felt how his arms trembled, noted how out of control his emotions felt. What he felt – what he truly had to say – would not help anyone.

 

"While we sit here, Zetta is walking out of Amethyst Cave with no regrets on his shoulders," Ren fiercely said.

 

"I…" Venam started. "…no. No, you're right. I was being such an idiot. I can't give up here. I want my revenge. I want Zetta to pay for what he did to Melia. He may not have been the one who pulled the trigger, but he was the one who

put her in the crossfire."

 

"Right," Ren said, nodding in approval. "Now I don't want to die here. Not yet. What about you, Will?"

 

Will looked at Ren. He wasn't sure what he needed to say, but he was certain about what to do. "Let's get him."

 

Ren's expression fell when he met Will's eyes. "I…yeah, yeah, we will. This Rift…you've been in one before, right? That's where you fought that Gyarados. You did it once. Can you do it again?"

 

"Then you know how to get out, don't you?" Venam asked.

 

"We…" Will stopped to swallow a lump in his throat. It didn't change how rough his voice sounded. "We destroy what's keeping it alive."

 

"Zetta said that he turned that Galvantula into this Rift…so we'd have to kill it?" Ren asked. He grimaced when Will nodded. "That's so cruel. He had nothing to do with this."

 

"It's just as guilty for Melia's death," Venam said, her voice hollow and brittle.

 

Will found himself agreeing with her. He recognized that wasn't rational. He didn't care.

 

"It's just a wild Pokemon," Ren urged her. "It probably thought Melia was trying to harm it."

 

"Doesn't matter," Will quietly said. "We have to kill it to escape."

 

Ren sighed explosively. "I guess we have no choice then. Let's look for it."

 

With that agreed upon, Will began making his way forward, like he had with the Magikarp. This place, too, had a grove of sorts, but it was different. Webs hung from the dead trees. Tiny, gray Voltik skittered across the ground, moving without direction, without a goal. An enormous purple egg dominated the open space.

 

"This road ends with this huge egg?" Venam said. "I don't wanna know what could be inside it."

 

"It…probably has the Rift Pokemon inside it," Ren said. "Galvantula. Galvantula is in this egg. We have to get it out. I wonder if a single knock will do the trick?"

 

After a moment's hesitation, Ren walked towards the massive egg. An instant reverberation rocked the egg, and a tear appeared at its top.

 

"Whoah, it really did work," Venam said.

 

"Ehm, that wasn't me," Ren protested ,quickly backpedaling as the egg burst open. A purple tail the size of a car burst from the shell, wildly swinging in every direction. A barbed stinger swept at empty air.

 

"Do Galvantulas grow stingers?" Venam said, fear evident in her voice.

 

"No…" Ren grimly replied. "They don't."

 

The shell collapsed further, revealing a pair of lifeless, red eyes.

 

"Will…you've dealt with these things before," Ren, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself.

 

Will nodded, then stepped out in front of the two. Irregardless of everything that had happened, no matter if Zetta would get away or not, these two were his friends.

 

The Rift Galvantula emerged from the shattered husk that had once contained it and Will recoiled, primal instincts prickling underneath his skin as he looked at the monstrosity.

 

This thing, this…fuck, this abomination Zetta had made looked like a chimeric nightmare come to life. Purple heads of three different Galvantula had been fused into one torso, their snouts elongated like that of a reptile. Its torso was barely large enough to fit three, claw-tipped legs, with one head at each spot where other limbs would normally sprout. The back section of its torso sported a massive, segmented tail that ended in a bulbous spine. It looked too large,

too heavy for the creature to lift.

 

Whatever pain, rage and blame Will held for the Pokemon vanished in that instant. This thing, whatever was left of it, wasn't Galvantula. What it was, didn't matter. It looked like it was in pain.

 

Will sent Nidoran out at the same time Ren sent forth his Frogadier. Together, they faced down the monstrous Rift creature that slowly came stalking towards them, its tail trembling as it hovered back and forth between the two targets.

 

"Nidoran, watch out!" Will yelled.

 

Nidoran stared down his opponent, faint pinpricks of light dancing about his body. His gaze was transfixed on the foe before him - and who could blame him? But if he didn't get out of the way fast, he'd get hurt.

 

"Nidoran!"

 

As the Rift Pokemon crept closer, a white light enveloped Nidoran's body. and he began evolving. Frogadier blasted the Galvantula with pulses of energy-packed water, keeping it distracted long enough for Nidoran to finish his evolution.

 

The light faded as sudden as it had come. Little Nidoran had grown twice as large, easily. His ears had turned spiky and callous, his horn longer and more pronounced. His limbs appeared stockier and heavier, his main body much more muscular.

 

Will didn't question why Nidoran had waited so long to evolve. He was just glad to have him by his side right now.

 

The newly-evolved Nidorino roared, and the barbed spikes on his back jutted up at once. The Rift Galvantula jabbed at him with its stinger and Nidorino did not bother evading it. The venom-laced barb slammed against Nidorin's body with such force that Nidorino's legs gave out underneath him. His stomach slammed against the ground, but he didn't even flinch in discomfort.

 

And the barb had failed to penetrate his hide.

 

Nidorino's dark, furious eyes flashed towards his foe. He looked unimpressed.

 

Jubilation mixed with terror made Will's head spin. They could do this. They could do this!

 

As the other Joltik began scurrying towards them, spitting electrified webbing everywhere, Will sent out Combusken as well. "Keep the little ones off us," he ordered her.

 

She leapt across the battlefield at once, deftly evading a globule of webbing and landing amidst a pair of Joltik. They didn't react fast enough to her sudden appearance and for that, they paid the price. Combusken lashed out with one leg, the scaly limb impacting several times in one second. Before the one Joltik even registered its blow, Combusken blasted the other one with searing bolts of Ember.

 

The Rift Galvantula was faster than its massive size suggested. It darted from the left to the right on its three unsightly limbs, alternating between spewing clouds of venom and electrified webs of its own. Nidorino did not care for anything poison related, but the electricity would wear him down.

 

Ren ordered Frogadier to keep a distance. It zipped behind Nidorino, easily dodging the projectile attacks and blasting the Rift creature with exploding pulses of water.

 

"Its eyes," Will called. "Target its eyes."

 

Ren shot him a mortified look. "What?"

 

Will couldn't bring himself to meet Ren's shocked gaze. "We have to kill it, Ren. That's why we're here."

 

Ren spat a curse. "Frogadier, target their eyes with Water Pulse! Don't let up!"

 

Combusken kicked the last flaming Joltik out of her way, then turned her attention to the Galvantula. It rampaged around the rift, alternating between jabbing furiously at Nidorino and spewing attack after attack at Frogadier from its three mouths. A pulse of water detonated near its face and it shrieked, black ichor dripping to the ground.

 

Time for a new trick, Will thought. "Combusken, use Flame Charge and get in close!"

 

Combusken shrieked a challenge at her foe. Fire and flames erupted around her body, fully enveloping her form in a searing corona of heat. She dashed forwards, moving even faster than before. Galvantula saw her coming and tried to shoot her down, but Frogadier struck a critical blow at one of its eyes. The resulting detonation blinded its central head and it went wild.

 

Combusken landed atop the thrashing Rift Pokemon and her flames spread to its battered body. She held on to to its tail, preventing it from simply sweeping her off, and Nidorino saw an opening. As the Galvantula skittered forwards,

Nidorino met it with a charge of its own. His razor-sharp horn slammed into one of the Rift Pokemon's legs, shattered its chitinous armor and sank deep into the soft tissue below. He wrenched his head sideways and nearly tore the limb in half.

 

"Nidorino, back away before it retaliates!" Will ordered when he saw that Nidorino didn't seem to plan on evading.

 

With a huff of protest, Nidorino began waggling backwards, keeping his armored head in the direction of the Galvantula.

 

Together, Combusken and Frogadier continued pummeling the Galvantula with water and fire alike. It was a slow, painful process, tactically maiming it until it could no longer hurt them.

 

Crippled, bleeding and blind, the Rift Pokemon lashed out in every direction, but it had nothing to strike. Combusken looked at Will across her shoulder. Her eyes, dark and resolute, bled with a pity he had never seen in her before.

 

Nidorino too did not move. He waited for instructions.

 

As it should be. This would be his call. His responsibility.

 

He felt Ren and Venam's eyes burn a hole in his back. "…finish it off. Don't make it suffer more."

 

His Pokemon turned back to the crippled creature and dashed towards it. In a blind rage, the monstrosity lashed out with its tail, but it didn't see where Combusken came from and its stinger missed by a mile. Combusken leapt atop one of its heads, leapt in the air as the Rift Pokemon swept at its back with its spine, then seized the creature's head and pulled it in the air, exposing its sensitive throat.

 

Nidorino charged forwards. He too dodged one final, desperate attack, and then buried his horn deep within the Pokemon's throat. Black ichorous blood poured from its gaping wound and the Galvantula screeched, its three limbs spasming and twitching.

 

Combusken released its head, then dug her claws into its spine, right behind its neck. A savage swipe severed whatever connected its brain with the rest of its body. It went limp in an instant.

 

Behind him, Venam clasped her hands in front of her mouth. Ren averted his eyes.

 

"I'm sorry," Will whispered. What remained of the gray, little Joltik fled. There was nowhere to go. The Rift began disintegrating and falling apart. Unlike before, Will could actually see reality as he knew rushing back inside, expanding within the rift, burning it away from within.

 

Or maybe his brain was making that up. He felt tired, angry and disgusted with himself. He felt like his heart leaked blood into his chest with every beat. This entire endeavor had ended in death, pain and misery, all because he hadn't been strong enough. Because he hadn't been fast enough.

 

He hadn't been good enough.

 

Tears burned behind his eyes as the familiar cave rushed back into position around them.

 

"We did it," Ren said. "Will, it had to be done. You know that."

 

Will did know that. It didn't make the disgust he felt any less severe. Didn't make his shame any less crippling.

 

"Zetta!" Venam yelled. "Where…ah…we're too late. He escaped."

 

Will didn't respond. He stared at the ground, realizing that this was the place where Melia…where Melia had died.

 

He had failed her, but the least he could do…the least he could do was find her. Find her remains. Get them back to Gearen. She deserved a proper burial.

 

"He got away!" Venam snarled and kicked at the ground, hard. "Fuck!"

 

Will half expected it to be Ren who replied to that. It wasn't. Her voice filled the room of the cave.

 

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions so suddenly. Will, please step aside."

 

Will pulled himself from his thoughts and side-stepped just in time for Zetta's limp body to come flying across the bridge. He landed in a painful heap on the floor in front of them.

 

Ren took a hold of Will's arm. "Look, we shouldn't - "

 

Before he could finish his sentence, before Will or Venam could do anything, Crescent appeared. She stood next to Zetta with all the air of a hunter that had just bagged their prey. Gothitelle stood on the other side of Zetta.

 

The same skirt, the same hair ornament and those same, ruthless red eyes. It was her alright.

 

"Crescent," Will said.

 

"You three made it out of the Rift…far faster than I anticipated," Crescent said.

 

"Great…" Venam grumbled. "Who is this now?"

 

"I hide in the shadows, and strike when need be," Crescent answered, her gaze cold and sharp. "Those who are unfortunate enough to make contact with me know me as "Crescent"."

 

At that moment, Will wanted nothing more than to demand. Demand who she was, demand why she had appeared now. Demand why she hadn't helped Melia. But…all of that could be thrown right back at his feet. His promise. His failure.

 

"That voice…" Ren gasped. "That Gothitelle…you're the voice Will and I heard back at the lab!"

 

"That was me, yes," Crescent replied dryly. "Seeing you three here is very disappointing. It's irritating when ignorant people refuse to follow advice. Especially when that advice was said to protect a certain individual."

 

Zetta reared his head. "Argh…Today just isn't my day. I have to deal with idiots from all corners…"

 

Fury ripped at Will's heart. He jerked himself free of Ren and stepped forwards to kick Zetta's teeth in, but Crescent was faster on the draw. A look of revulsion crossed her features and she brought her foot down on Zetta's head, hard.

 

"Zetta, you repulsive animal. Don't you ever have something of value to say?"

 

Zetta spat out a mouthful of sand and glared at Will with something akin to what Will himself felt, but he was smarter about it. He kept his mouth shut.

 

"Good," Crescent said, suddenly the picture of serenity again. "Stay quiet. Animals that cannot behave cannot be allowed to stay out in public. I'm going to put you in a nice place where you can cause no more harm. Gothitelle, if you would?"

 

Gothitelle giggled and spread her arms.

 

"W-Wait!" Zetta cried out, his eyes widening in alarm. "Stop! What are you – "

 

Power emanated from the Gothitelle. Without a Pokemon to dispel her energy or protect him, Zetta was caught like a Deerling in the headlights of a car. His body vanished.

 

"What?" Venam exclaimed. "What did you do to him?"

 

"That's inconsequential," Crescent said. "He'll be dealt with later." Her eyes flickered to Will's midsection, then narrowed. She walked towards him, her shoes sounding oddly muffled as they came down on the rocky floor.

 

Those cold, crimson eyes of hers flicked down to the bloody stain on Will's shirt and she stopped only two feet away from him. "What is that?"

 

"Just a scratch," Will murmured.

 

A hint of annoyance flickered in her gaze. "I told you two that this path would lead to nothing but despair. Yet, you ignored these claims and continued on this pointless endeavor. Was this worth it, Will?"

 

"We didn't ignore them!" Ren snapped. "We knew very well what you said back then! But we chose to do something about it!"

 

"And what exactly did that bring?" Crescent asked. "What is the end result of your choice here? Was it worth it, Ren?"

 

Ren…looked away.

 

"Exactly," Crescent mercilessly continued. "You've endangered yourself for a girl that was killed far before you even had a chance."

 

At that, Will finally found his voice again. "Wouldn't you?"

 

Crescent's crimson eyes settled on him again. Will felt a shiver run down his spine at the force of her gaze. "I beg your pardon?"

 

"For your friends…wouldn't you have gone in, even though the chances were low?" Will asked. "If there was just a chance…"

 

"What do you want to hear? That I would have heroically thrown everything to the winds to chase down a bad lead, is that what you want to hear Will? Do you want me to validate your monumental screw-up, or should I continue pointing out the reality? You three were in way over your heads. You've set yourselves up for failure."

 

She turned her back towards them. "Will…no, all three of you. Go back to East Gearen City and stay there. Involving yourselves in the affairs of things that do not pertain to you will result in nothing less than tragedy. These past few events have been proof of that. This is the price of being weak."

 

Her words cut Will like a blade. The shrapnel he'd caught before had hurt him less than hearing someone like Crescent point it out to him. Because…she was right.

 

He couldn't fight back the tears any longer. Even as he bit back a sob, he felt them burning a trail across his cheeks.

 

Melia…I'm so sorry.

 

"Let's…let's go back home," Ren said, somehow managing the colossal feat of keeping his voice calm and steady.

 

Venam didn't respond.

 

Will didn't respond. He didn't answer because he couldn't. It was too much for him. Crescent's words had jabbed a hole in him. He felt like everything that had driven him after his escape from the Oceana had just leaked out through that hole, leaving behind…nothing.

 

A rack sobbed his body. Nobody noticed.

 

Ren, Venam and him took that nothing back home. Her home. Ren didn't want to go to his home. Will didn't have a home. That left Venam's home.

 

There, they spent the rest of the day going to pieces. In Venam's bedroom, they just…stayed. They didn't know what to do. Will certainly didn't know if there was anything to do. Had Venam kept any alcohol in her room. Will was certain their apathy would have led them to make more mistakes.

 

But she didn't. So they subsided.

 

Venam on her bed. Ren on the couch. Will on the carpet, not sure what would make him get up again. He'd thrown advice to the wind to pursue Melia and save her, and now she was dead.

 

If he went after his mother…if he ignored what Crescent said and pursued her to save her…who was to say that the same wouldn't happen again? If he screwed that up, what was the point? If he never dared to venture out again for fear or repeating his mistake, then what was the point?

 

He didn't know. He wasn't sure if he would ever know.

 

So he lay there.

 

With Venam and Ren.

 

Evening morphed into night. He dreamt about horrible things. Night morphed into morning. Will got up, pulled the Snag Machine from his arm and planted it on the table, He sat back down again.

 

Morning morphed into afternoon. Hunger began gnawing at his stomach.

 

"Heading out," he announced.

 

They didn't respond.

 

He went to the market. Bought some bread and a few bottles of juice. Went back to Venam's house. He shared the bread and juice.

 

Nobody spoke.

 

Time went by. It became dark again. Venam put something on the television. They watched, but Will didn't really get it. Maybe Ren did.

 

Venam's mother may have had an inkling of what had happened. She kept popping by every now and then. She didn't push too hard. Didn't prod for information. She mainly just…kept them fed and hydrated.

 

Through the hours, Will just fought. Fought so hard not to think about it. The second his mind lingered, it would come rushing back to him. If that happened, he wasn't sure he could come back from that.

 

Sometimes, the indecision and stillness of it all became too much, and he headed out once more. Mostly in the evening, when Ren and Venam drifted off to sleep. He'd roam the city. He stayed away from people. He avoided the park.

 

Too painful. He avoided the lab, too. Nothing much there for him.

 

He took the train back to Route 2 and just…sat down on the first piece of wood he saw. After half an hour of sitting there, trying so very hard not to think, one of his Poke Balls burst open on its own. Combusken just left her ball and appeared in front of him. She stared at him with those orange eyes of hers.

 

"Yeah?" He asked her.

 

She uttered a sharp, short cry, voicing her frustrations in a rather succinct way.

 

"I get that."

 

Annoyed, she cast her gaze in the direction of Amethyst Cave.

 

"And then what?"

 

She scraped her foot across the floor, then uttered another shriek.

 

"And what do you want me to do about that?"

 

She walked up the trunk he'd sat down on and roughly shoved him off with her clawed foot. He lost his balance and fell backwards onto the grass, where he just…lay for a moment.

 

He wasn't sure if he understood Combusken correctly. It probably didn't matter. "You heard Crescent. We fucked up."

 

She stepped within his view and stared down at him, her eyes piercing into his.

 

"I fucked up," he amended.

 

Combusken shook her head at that.

 

"Yeah I did, yeah I did," he shouted back, pain and grief breaking the weak attempts to keep himself as distant from this whole mess as possible. Tears welled up in his eyes as his chest heaved. He fought against the urge to break down crying again. "I promised her! I promised I'd keep her safe! And I screwed that up! I should have been there with her, I should have…I should have stopped this from happening!"

 

Combusken sat down next to him. Her body radiated heat, even in the cold night.

 

"I couldn't save her because I was too weak. And I can't save mom because the same will just happen again!"

 

Combusken looked away for a moment, looking around her environment. Then, she turned her gaze back to him.

 

"I'm scared," he whispered. "Scared of going. Scared of staying."

 

The calmness in Combusken's eyes was a message on its own. This happened, they seemed to tell him. Pick something to do and do it.

 

What if, what if, what if…

 

God, he didn't know.

 

They stayed there together for another hour while Will fought to get his emotions back under control. Only when the last train for the night was about to leave did he pull himself back to the station.

 

He returned to Venam's house and snuck back in. Her mother didn't notice. Neither Venam nor Ren noticed.

 

He slept and dreamt again. What he dreamt about, he couldn't remember exactly. He remembered the gaping, dead expression of Gyarados. He remembered a jagged slab of rock slamming into his side, splitting him in half. He

remembered falling to the ground and crawling, leaving behind trails of blackness and nothingness that bled into the Rift reality.

 

The crawling. It stuck with him, even in the morning. Why did he bother crawling in his dreams?

 

It was the morning of the third day after Melia's death and Will's mind was filled with the memory of crawling across the floor, dragging his bifurcated body across the ground by his hands, clawing for every inch he could get.

 

It was gruesome and silly and ridiculous, but it was the thing that stuck with him, Crawling and not knowing why.

 

Late in the morning, Venam's mother came upstairs for her daily checkup. "Are you guys alright? You haven't come down in days..."

 

They didn't respond.

 

"Well, alright then," Venam's mom said, clearly not agreeing with the situation. "I'll be downstairs if you guys need anything." She turned to walk back, then paused. "I know things are rough right now," she added. "But you guys can get through this. I know you guys can."

 

She left again.

 

Soon after, Ren as well. Where he went, Will didn't know. He couldn't stay alone with Venam. Every time he looked at her, he imagined her glaring at him, hating him for failing her friend, for failing to keep his promise.

 

It was stupid, he knew it wasn't rational, but his mind had conjured up that image and he couldn't get it out of his mind. Venam hated him and she ought to. That was what his mind told him.

 

He couldn't bear it.

 

So he left too.

 

East Gearen City had nothing left for him, so he returned to the spot where it all started. That pier at the dockyards. The place where Tesla had come for him when he'd been at his lowest, his most vulnerable. There, she had given him hope and a reason to fight.

 

No. That wasn't right.

 

Tesla had given him hope and warmth, but the reason to fight…he'd found that himself, hadn't he?

 

Yes…he had. Back then, before he even had friends or a Pokemon, he'd vowed to rescue his mother from Team Xen's clutches, no matter the cost.

 

Crawling.

 

How, when he'd had nothing at all, had he been stronger than now, when he still had friends and Pokemon? Why couldn't he muster the same strength now?

 

Because…he was afraid. Afraid of failing again. Afraid of losing his mother.

 

Crescent had said that he was weak. She had been there on the Oceana. She knew Team Xen, so she knew best.

 

"There you are," Ren's voice came from behind him. "I've been looking for you all across the city." Ren joined him at the pier. "This is where you first ended up, right? After the Oceana"

 

Will silently nodded.

 

"Venam's decided to leave her house. But I don't think that's a good thing," Ren said. "She's sorta acting like this never happened. Which isn't healthy, but…"

 

When Will didn't respond, Ren seemed at a loss.

 

"I know you haven't known Melia for too long, but…she seemed to really like you. Clicked with you almost instantly. Almost as if you guys had known each other for years. You went far, far above what anyone could have done to keep her safe in Goldenwood Forest."

 

"It wasn't enough," Will muttered.

 

"Don't say that. You dragged the two of you back to Gearen in one piece! Well…Melia at least. Look...what I'm trying to say is, we're only human too. You can't expect the impossible of yourself. It's okay to have limits. It's okay to be sad, and its okay not to be. People handle grief differently. That's what my dad told me when I was young."

 

"Ren…" Will said. "You're my friend…so tell me. What if I try and fail again? What if the same happens when I try to save mom and fail again?"

 

Ren didn't answer immediately. He gazed out over the sea, his expression thoughtful. "I think you're going about this the wrong way. If I understand you correctly, your question is "what if I'm not strong enough?" In that case, rather than focus on the loss, I think you should focus on how to win."

 

"…don't fear being weak, but fight to get stronger?" Will said.

 

"Exactly. It's been several days. I'm over crying. But I won't forget. I want to fight for her. Team Xen did this to Melia, and they did this to you and your mother. If we stay in Gearen City, we won't get stronger. If I can't get strong, I can't avenge Melia. If you can't get strong, you can't save your mother."

 

Will nodded, seeing what Ren meant.

 

"What I'm trying to say is…I'm leaving Gearen City," Ren then said. "I'm going to return home and finish something I started. And once I'm strong enough, I'm going to go after Team Xen and destroy them." He paused. "Despite what Crescent told us, I don't think you should stay here, either. I think you should continue on the path you decided back here, a week ago, and continue the Gym Challenge."

 

Fight to get stronger…

 

Something clicked together in his head.

 

When he escaped the Oceana, he'd been hurt. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically. Tesla had set him up, right here at this pier, and he'd crawled. Back then, he couldn't have walked on his own, but he still wanted to go forwards.

So he'd crawled.

 

This time, Ren was offering him a crutch.

 

Will took it. "Where do I go next?"

 

Ren, pale and haggard, smiled at him. "Heh. Eager to get out there, eh? I'm not surprised. The next Gym I think you should visit is in Sheridan Village. That's the place you can go to by going through Amethyst Cave again. I've passed through there a few times. It's a nice and peaceful place. Honestly? It'll be a great place to clear your head. Not only that, but I bet you can find a way to purify the Shadow Pokemon you caught there. That place…it's all about purification, or tranquility or whatever."

 

Sheridan Village…Melia's one shot at freedom. They needed to know what had happened. They had a right to know about Team Xen.

 

"Anyway, I guess I'll be heading out on my own, then," Ren finished up. "Good luck out there Will. We're rooting for you. Even Melia."

 

"Ren…" Will called out.

 

Ren turned back. "Yeah?"

 

"…thank you," he quietly said, holding out his fist.

 

Ren gave him a tired grin, then bumped his fist.

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~