Tommy awoke to a rustling outside the front of his tent; something was moving around right outside and was brushing up against the canvas. His heart was instantly in his throat and his mouth went dry; his mind kicked into overdrive as it filled itself with all manner of horrific thoughts, mainly thoughts of those whispers he had heard earlier. He forced himself to take deep breaths and remain calm, Zach was around and would have been keeping an eye out for any potential danger. But what if he was asleep right now? Tommy’s PokéNav said it was 3 in the morning and Zach must need to get some sleep too. Plus Tommy’s tent was on the opposite side of the cavern from his chaperone’s.

The zipper of his tent started to slowly unzip and Tommy desperately looked around for something that he could defend himself with. Ashley stuck her head in through the small opening of Tommy’s tent flap. He let out an extremely audible exhale.

“Hey, it’s me,” Ashley whispered as softly as she could. “Sorry, did I scare you?”

“A little bit,” Tommy whispered back, laughing nervously since she actually scared him a lot more than just a little bit. “Is everything alright out there? Did something happen to you?”

“No, everything is fine. I’m fine,” she assured him as she crawled inside his tent and started to do the zipper up from the inside.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he hissed through gritted teeth. “Why are you getting into my tent? You heard what Zach said this morning didn’t you?”

“It’s 3 am, Tommy,” Ashley grinned and Tommy could see her straight white teeth floating in the air. He found it oddly creepy, probably due to the mini heart attack he just had. “Zach is asleep right now, I’m sure. He can’t stand watch all night.”

“Why does that even matter? Any number of people could be awake right now and could have seen you,” Tommy’s mind was racing - how could he get this girl out of his tent. What would happen if someone came over and checked on him? Zach? Nessa? What if someone else was awake and had seen Ashley crawling into his tent?

“It matters because I’m cold and alone in my tent,” she told him. He could feel her hands groping absently around in the dark trying to find him so he curled his feet closer to himself, trying in vain to make it harder for her. “Relax, will you? No one saw me, everyone is asleep right now.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” he said desperately. “Ashley, go back to your tent, please. I don’t want to be expelled. Hell, you’re the second rank in the class, you shouldn’t want to be expelled either.”

“No one will expel us, Tommy. I won’t allow them to,” She assured him with the utmost confidence. She found his foot at last and started to work her way towards him, “I just want to talk to you for a little bit.”

“What do you mean you won’t allow them to?” He asked her, as if that decision was up to her. She didn’t bother replying, scooting her way slowly closer to him.

“I sleep only wearing my briefs,” Tommy blurted abruptly. He could scare her away, make her chicken out and go back to her tent. She stopped crawling forward for a second, weighing her options. He held his breath, hoping, beseeching, that she would turn around and leave.

“I don’t believe you,” Ashley giggled and resumed her slow crawl forward. Fumbling around, she found the entrance to his sleeping bag. “Let me in for a little bit, I’m cold.”

Tommy fought valiantly but he couldn’t make too much noise lest he wake someone else in the cavern. She was able to find the zipper and pull open his sleeping bag. She quickly got inside, backing herself up against his front side and did the zipper up again.

“Huh, I guess you weren’t lying,” Ashley said, silently shaking with laughter. “You really do sleep in your briefs.”

“Ashley what the hell are you thinking?” Tommy groaned. “Come on, you have to know I’m a 15, almost 16 year old boy. What are you thinking of, sneaking into my tent and laying up against me in the middle of the night while everyone else is asleep.”

“You won’t do anything, you’re too kind. Besides you didn’t seem to mind me pressing up against you this morning when I was in my swimsuit,” She breathed. Tommy could hear the smile on her face, even if he couldn’t see it. “And judging from what I’m feeling that’s currently pressed up against my butt, you don’t seem to mind me here and now, up against you either.”

Tommy had really hoped she hadn’t noticed, but how could she not with the way she was positioned. The sleeping bag was tight, not meant to be occupied by two people, and her backside was forced into him as a result. She began moving around, slowly and quietly, trying to get comfortable. Every second she spent moving was pure agony for Tommy, he wondered if she was taking her time on purpose.

She finally got comfortable and stopped moving after what surely must have been an hour. His mind was blank and unfocused; he could smell the minty aloe that soaked into her skin, devoured greedily by her sunburn. Her blonde hair smelled of salt and the ocean, but underneath he could still faintly smell her shampoo; strawberries. His heart began hammering in his chest, just as hard as it had been five minutes ago when he had woken up thinking he was about to be attacked.

“Thank you,” She spoke softly to the wall of the tent. “I didn’t have many friends growing up, none actually. I just came here to apologize to you one more time. I treated you poorly this past week, especially when we first met, but you returned my hostility with kindness. It meant a lot to me, all of the things you did for me today, just out of the goodness of your heart. I can’t even begin to count all of the different things you did for me. You’re a very kind man.”

“I’m happy to be your friend,” He told her, hoping that his voice sounded normal to her, because it definitely didn’t sound normal to him. “We'll have plenty of opportunities to spend time together this year. Maybe we can even go on an adventure together when we graduate. Scratch that, if you don’t get us expelled tonight and we’re actually able to graduate.”

“That sounds wonderful. I would love to travel the country with you, hell even Nessa could come with us; she’s kind of growing on me. Having her rub me up and down twice today did wonders for our friendship. I bet you wished it could have been you, huh?” Tommy couldn’t believe Ashley had just made another joke, who was this person?

“But I wouldn’t bet on it happening,” She told him before he could quip back. He heard the sadness in her voice and was about to ask her to elaborate when his voice died in his throat. He heard footsteps echoing quietly across the cavern that were getting louder as they approached his tent.

“Get all the way inside, and don’t you dare move,” he hissed at her. She quickly twisted around to face him and he pressed her head down into his sleeping bag. He made sure all of her hair was inside and then grabbed his blanket and threw it over himself. He hoped that if someone poked their head into his tent he would look normal.

“Tommy?” He heard Zach mutter softly from outside his tent. “Are you okay in there, Tommy?”

“Yurghh…” Tommy started to reply. His answer came out garbled and nonsensical because he had relaxed his hands inside his sleeping bag right before he answered Zach.

He was laying on his right side so his right hand cradled Ashley’s neck and hair into his chest; his left hand came to rest on Ashley’s thigh, her bare thigh.

She started shaking violently as she tried again to contain another small fit of silent giggling. The shaking fits caused Tommy’s hand to slide up and come to rest on her butt. Her laughter immediately stopped as her breath caught, but Tommy didn’t dare move his hand away because Zach was undoing the zipper of his tent at that very moment.

“Tommy,” Zach poked his head inside Tommy’s tent. Tommy clenched his hands hard and a soft moan escaped from Ashley’s lips; she started to breathe heavily into his bare chest.

“Is everything okay in here?” Zach whispered, “There was a lot of shaking coming from your tent, what’s going on?”

“Sorry,” Tommy whispered back, “Just a bad dream. I had a rough day, you know?”

“I thought I heard voices,” Zach said, frowning. “There’s no one in here with you is there? You remember what I told you this morning, right?”

Tommy clenched his hands harder still and Ashley began to pant. Her breath was hot on his chest and he was having a hard time focusing on what Zach was saying to him.

“Tommy?” Zach whispered again. “Did you hear me?”

“What? Yeah, sorry. Still half asleep you know?” He mumbled back, trying his best to sound sleepy. “Voices? I must have been muttering and moaning in my sleep. Like I said, bad dream.”

“Hmm,” Zach grunted noncommittally. “Well, can I get you anything?”

“No, thanks though,” Tommy pretended a yawn. “I’ll just try to go back to sleep.”

“Alright then,” Zach replied. “I’ve been awake all day so I’m going to try to sleep for a few hours before our activity this morning. Come over to my tent if you need me for anything.”

“Thank you, sir,” Tommy whispered to Zach. “I hope you sleep well.”

Zach withdrew his head from the tent and zipped it back up. Tommy listened to Zach’s retreating footsteps but didn’t dare move; he waited five full minutes before he loosened his grip on Ashley.

Her body was slick with sweat as her head broke out from under the covers and when Tommy next inhaled, the scent of aloe was overpowering. She had her hands pinned against his stomach so he used his hand that was placed on her head to brush the blonde curls from her face which was now mere centimeters away from his. She was still breathing heavily, trying to fill her oxygen deprived lungs as much as she could.

As she was looking up into his face with her brilliant green eyes, he became fully aware of the placement of his hands. He hadn’t moved his left hand away from her butt and she hadn’t asked him to. He was lying in a sleeping bag with a girl who had her leg straddling his waist and who was only wearing a baggy shirt and underwear. No bra either he realized as her chest expanded into his with every breath she took. Every inch of her body that he was in contact with was soft, and with every passing second rational thought was getting further from his brain. He knew she could still feel him pressing into her as they continued to look into each other’s eyes deeply; Tommy swallowed hard.

“I should go back to my tent. That was a close call and we wouldn’t want anyone to misunderstand what’s happened here,” she slowly whispered to him. She glanced down at his lips the entire time that she spoke.

He nodded his head up and down in agreement as he continued to watch her, “But not yet. Zach could still be waiting out there. He might have said all of that so that you would leave the tent.”

Tommy privately wondered if that was the real reason he told her to stay as his hand began to slide along her slick leg. She closed her eyes and shuddered as he held her in his arms.

“Tommy,” she whispered. She licked her lips and pulled still closer to him. “I’m sorry, I-I don’t think I can control myself.”

For a single moment Tommy regained his senses. He quickly pulled his left hand out from the sleeping bag, against the vehement protesting of his mind, and then softly stroked her hair.

“Sleep for a bit,” he whispered to her. “I’ll wake you up when the coast is clear. There’s no way I can fall asleep right now so don’t worry, I’ll watch over you.”

She looked like she wanted to retort but closed her eyes and swallowed whatever her response was going to be, resting her head against his chest. She was out within a minute, her chest rising and falling and her breathing steadying. Tommy just laid there, cradling this beautiful girl, who was occupying every thought in his now racing mind. Every minute felt like an hour, but a small, greedy part of him was grateful for that. When was the next time something like this would ever happen again?

Questions popped in and out of his mind, one after the next. Did she like him? Had she really only come into his tent to thank him? Did he like her? Did he like Nessa? What would Nessa think if she unzipped his tent right now? He pondered every question that came into his head but couldn’t answer even one of them.

As the minutes ticked by he strained his ears for the slightest sounds, wondering if anyone was awake, hoping that she would be able to sneak from his tent back over to hers. He finally decided to rouse her, praying with all of his might that it was the right time to do so.

“Ashley, wake up.” He whispered into her ear. She opened her eyes sleepily at first, but they quickly widened in surprise. Tommy felt her heartbeat quicken as her mind tried to register where she was. He covered her mouth so she didn’t scream. “It’s okay, you snuck into my tent, don’t yell or you’ll wake someone up.”

Her eyes relaxed as she regained her senses and she nodded her head up and down, so he let go of his hand from her mouth.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered to him. “What the hell was I thinking sneaking into your tent?”

Tommy chuckled under his breath and replied, “I would like to know that too. It’s 4:15 so this is going to be your best chance to get back to your tent.”

Tommy unzipped his sleeping bag and she climbed out, shivering as the cave air began to cool the sweat on her skin. She started to crawl over to the entrance to his tent and paused to speak with him one more time.

“Thank you for listening to me. See you in the morning, good night.” she whispered. She quickly unzipped the tent, stuck her head out, and then the rest of her body followed when she determined the coast was clear. She didn’t zip Tommy’s tent back up in her haste to return to her own and he heard the unzipping of her tent as she crawled back inside to sleep.

He laid his head back on his pillow. This was all a dream, he was certain. Tomorrow morning he would awaken to realize nothing had happened. He pinched his arm as hard as he possibly could, but nothing; he didn’t jolt awake in his bed at the ranch.

He sighed and got up, it was 4:30 which was close enough to 5:00. He silently cursed his body for being unable to sleep late, there was no way he was going to sleep anymore tonight. As quietly as possible he got up and made his way out through the mouth of the cave. He was making his way to sit on the beach, the tide had started to recede revealing it once more, but decided instead that some light exercise would help clear his mind. He spent the next fifteen minutes fumbling and stumbling in the dark, climbing the island to reach the summit so he could watch the sunrise. Even though he was always up before the sun back home, he rarely got to watch it rise since he was usually doing chores.

When he made it to the top he sat down facing east on a big rock and leaned backwards on his hands, gulping down big lungfuls of air. He could feel the blood pulsing around his bruised eye as he stretched and rested after the exertion of climbing up the island. The smallest colorings of light could be seen breaking the horizon and the sun would be following soon. He wished he had someone to share the moment with when he remembered Solosis. He grinned broadly and called Solosis from his Pokéball, the little green ball warbling happily as always when he saw Tommy. Tommy held Solosis in his hands, the Pokémon trilling softly as his head was softly stroked by Tommy’s fingers.

”I’m glad to that you’re here with me bud,” Tommy whispered, his words barely audible so as to not disturb the moment. He felt Solosis tremble in response.

As the sun crested the horizon the world became awash in color. The sand on the beach sparkled like diamonds, the ocean and her waves reflected the colors of the sun, and even the dull brown rocks Tommy was sitting on seemed to shine with renewed luster. Tommy closed his eyes as he felt the faintest traces of warmth begin to seep into his skin; he had broken into a light sweat while climbing the island and the night had begun to chill him before the sunrise. He felt that little pinprick in the back of his mind like he did that day back in the locker room; Solosis cooed happily in his lap.

“It’s truly beautiful, isn’t it? When was I able to come here last?” a deep baritone voice sounded from the rock adjacent to him. Tommy had to give himself credit for not screaming at the top of his lungs. He did jump in the air however, flinging Solosis out of his lap. The man seated on the rock beside him caught the flying Pokémon easily in his giant hands and beamed down at the little green Pokémon with a gentle smile. Solosis squeaked happily as the man scratched him on the head.

The light of the rising sun bathed the man in gold and Tommy fought against the sudden compulsion that he had to kneel down before this man. Even seated, the man was imposing. His long wavy blonde hair fell well past his shoulders and his golden beard was trimmed to perfection upon his chiseled face. His green eyes were kind and looked fondly down at Solosis, but when the man turned his gaze to Tommy, it was all he could do to remain upright. In an instant Tommy knew that this man was the strongest person that he had ever met. The man stood and extended the arm that was holding Solosis back towards Tommy, the little Pokémon leaping at Tommy who barely had the mental faculties or reaction time to catch him.

“U-Uh, thank you, sir?” Tommy managed to barely force the words from his throat. The man’s green eyes locked Tommy’s in place as he tried unsuccessfully to tear his eyes away. There was an itch in the back of his throat and he found that he was having trouble swallowing.

“How dare you remain standing!” A second voice snapped Tommy back to reality. “Do you not know in whose presence you currently stand? Kneel, and show respect!”

Tommy tore his eyes away at the second voice, one that he recognized. He hadn’t noticed Zach was standing behind the man, his right fist clasped over his heart and his customary grin nowhere on his face. His eyes were narrowed furiously in Tommy’s direction.

“That is not necessary, Zach,” the golden man rumbled, hand held up in the air. “In fact, your presence here is not necessary. Return to your previous post at once.”

“But sir!” Zach stammered. “How can I leave you in the presence of another without a guard? You ask me to shame myself sir!”

“Do you find me incapable of defending myself from a 15 year old child?” The man laughed a pleasant rumbling sound as he turned to face Zach. “I have received the reports, all three of them, why do you think I rushed here so fast?”

“Three reports, sir?” Zach started to ask. “I only sent you two.”

“Enough. This no longer concerns you,” the man spoke with tremendous authority. “Return to your post, do not make me repeat myself a third time.”

Zach pursed his lips and tarried for a moment longer, but ultimately he bowed his head deeply and began to pick his way down from the top of the island back to the waiting sands below.

“Please, return to your seat,” the man gestured to the rock that Tommy had leapt up from. His gaze softened again as he cast it back out over the ocean towards the rising sun. “My intention was not to rob you of this beautiful moment. Sit, and enjoy it with me.”

Tommy found his breath returning and his mind calming now that he was no longer being pierced by the man’s unfathomable gaze. He took a deep breath and sat back down on the rock next to this man, whoever he was. He looked back out over the ocean and closed his eyes, feeling at peace for a brief moment.

“You may call me Art,” the man spoke after a few moments of silence. “I am happy to meet you on this day, after hearing so many different things spoken about you.”

“Someone spoke to you… about me, sir?” Tommy stammered. He found the man sitting next to him to be utterly intimidating and under no circumstance did Tommy want to be his enemy. “Have I done something to offend you, sir?”

“That remains to be seen. The final report I received from Zach just hours ago was filled with things I found most concerning, so I have not yet decided,” Art said sternly as he focused the weight of his gaze on Tommy again. His eyes softened slightly though and he smiled. “But please, I have insisted you call me Art and I always get what I want.”

“I couldn't, sir,” Tommy said, gaze dropping to the floor, “Please, my parents raised me to never speak to an elder improperly.”

“Well, they sound like fine parents indeed,” Art chuckled. He clutched his chest as if wounded, “This is the first time in a while I haven’t gotten what I wanted. I had forgotten this pain.”

“Forgive me for causing you pain sir,” Tommy smiled sheepishly. “Forgive me again because I don’t know who you are or what you want with me? Why have people told you about someone like me? I’m just a rancher from Goldenrod.”

“You know who I am Tommy, I am Art,” He said while smiling. “As for you being ‘just a rancher’, I wonder if that is really true? You see Zach has told me some things about you that I find most interesting. Some people might call these things fantastic while others might call them dangerous; either way they sound extraordinary to my ears. Can you truly think of nothing outlandish and fantastic that has happened to you recently?”

Tommy swallowed, immediately thinking back to yesterday morning when he met Pidgeot. He thought of the time in the park with Nessa and Ashley and his interaction with their Pokémon, and he looked down at Solosis now sitting in his lap who Tommy still thought might be trying to communicate with him. Art watched as the wheels in Tommy’s mind continued to spin.

“Maybe some things sir,” Tommy spoke softly, refusing to tear his eyes away from the sunrise. “But why would these things concern you?”

“Because it is my duty to know,” Art said simply, not elaborating any further.

Silence passed between them for another few moments as the two men gazed upon the brilliant waters below.

“Why does sitting here on this rock with you relax me so? My heart and my mind feel unburdened as they have not felt once in these last 10 years,” Art’s eyes searched Tommy’s and then widened in sudden realization. He barked his loudest laugh yet, shaking the island and no doubt waking everyone who was still asleep in the cave below. Before Tommy could react, Art threw his arm over Tommy’s shoulder, dragging him into his side while he produced a little flask from the inside pocket of the vest he was wearing with his other hand. He took a long pull from the flask and his eyes glassed over as he stared into the sun.

“It tastes just as it did 20 years ago, my friend,” a tear escaped Art’s eye and Tommy had no clue what this man was talking about, certain that he was now being embraced by a man who was becoming unhinged.

“Have a pull,” Art said, extending the flask in Tommy’s direction.

“I’m underage sir, I’m not 16 yet,” Tommy said while trying and failing to wrestle away the man’s one massive arm with both of his.

“Of course. Forgive me Thomas, for I forgot myself for a moment,” the man said, releasing Tommy from his crushing vice. “You are not Sebastian after all.”

Tommy felt his heart jolt as all of the blood in his veins momentarily froze; Sebastian was his father’s name. Art stood and stretched and beamed a massive grin at Tommy. Tommy stood and was about to open his mouth to ask Art if the Sebastian he was talking about was his father when the man unexpectedly clapped him on the back, knocking him back down into a seated position.

“Yes, today is surely going to be an amazing day!” Art yelled at the top of his lungs towards the sun. He turned to look down at Tommy, his green eyes twinkling as they reflected the sunrise. “A rancher from Goldenrod City you say?”

He unclipped a Pokéball from his belt.

“Thank you for the best morning I’ve had in a long time, Tommy. I will not soon forget the gift you have given me today, this I swear to you now,” Art said as he fingered the button on the Pokéball, expanding it as he prepared to toss it. He shook his head and chuckled softly. “And to think I was going to kill you immediately when I first landed; Sebastian would have killed me himself. Most prudent of me not to, I’ve grown wiser as I’ve aged if you’ll allow me to brag on myself for a moment.”

Tommy’s stomach lurched as the golden man’s words registered in his brain and his eyes widened as he looked up at the him. Art laughed again and then grabbed Tommy’s shoulders with his hands, squeezing them tightly.

“You have already given me a gift of immeasurable worth this day, but I am afraid I must ask a favor of you still. Watch over her please, in all the times that I cannot,” Art said while holding Tommy’s gaze firm with his own. He then embraced Tommy in a hug that was not returned, his eyes red as he pulled away from the embrace after an uncomfortable amount of time. “I can rest assured knowing that she is safe with Sebastian’s son. I know that you will be kind to her and that you will treat her well.”

Art threw his Pokéball into the sky and it produced a Dragonite that was easily over three meters tall. He hopped on and called back to Tommy as he was flying away, “Goodbye Mr. Hartford, I am sure I will see you again soon!”

Tommy collapsed onto the summit of the mountain, more exhausted than he felt at any point in time yesterday. He didn’t move again for a long time.