Chapter 9:

Exoneration

…

The waters were disturbed as the hulk of a ship capsized, giving a final wail of its twisting and burning steel before the ocean swallowed it whole…and Grey was nowhere to be seen.

Neva gazed at the knocked-out combusken on the rescue boat floor. If it wasn't for the machop hitting her on the neck, Ginger would have died in the attempt at rescuing their trainer. Her plumage would weigh her down and the movement of the water would just…It was just plain suicide.

She could understand the pain of loss Ginger was experiencing, the fire-fowl knew him more than anyone else in their group…Well, it was too early to tell if it was a loss; he could still be alive on floating wreckage.

But that didn't make things any easier for herself. The man may have been gloomy and callous at times, but he was also kind and understanding, as well as a smart and a good…trainer…He made her feel competent for once in her life.

She watched in anxiety as the bubbling from the aeration of the water caused by the ship slowed down, overhearing Sawyer speak to the sailor on the boat. "But surely there's something you can do!?"

The burly man dressed in his marine uniform shook his head. "Not much more we can do than the search boats, son. And if ya' ask me, I don't like the odds of survival fer' any of the missin' people on these waters."

"Huh!? Why not!?"

He scratched his stubble before leering at him. "Do ya' know the real reason overboard sailors and marines, who are trained swimmers and divers, are still likely to perish under such conditions?"

Sawyer shivered in anticipation.

"Aerated waters temporarily change the density of the water round' a large sinkin' vessel. It'd be impossible to swim away from such. Ya' can't float in the air, so all ya' do is sink. The other reason? If there's a breach in the hull and someone's near it within the water as the ship sinks? They'll get sucked right back in by the suction from the water rushin' into the area, anythin' could happen to soft flesh while it's gettin' battered against everythin' in its way. Unfortunately, your friend just happened to fall right next to it. If they're unconscious, as you mentioned, then the life rings would be useless. If they're bleedin', predators would be likely attracted to them, especially from all the commotion caused in these waters. Finally—"

Thunder reverberated within the clouds as though to illustrate his point. "If they're not found before the storm sets in? They'll die of hypothermia, conscious or not…"

Sawyer paled at the man's discouraging words. "Is...is there nothing we can do?"

The sailor let out a raspy sigh. "I'm sorry. I truly hope I'm wrong, and that your friend's hangin' in there somewhere…But you can see why years of participatin' in and seein' similar wrecks, and losin' mates of mine to the ocean has me in doubt,"—the man gazed at Neva, Ginger, and a brooding Joanna—"and the ones that suffer the most are their pokémon…"

Sawyer gazed at her as well, with his eyes drooping in melancholy despite attempting a fake smile. "Hey, Neva, was it? Don't worry, I'm sure he's alright, he's a super tough guy."

She could only nod, as he wouldn't understand her.

She held onto Grey's backpack tightly, keeping it ready with his belongings for when he returned...but really, it was just reassuring herself about a slim chance…

Neva hoped that they wouldn't just end up being objects of nostalgia…

Dewford harbor was in sight, with teams of paramedics waiting with their vehicles opened and their gurneys ready to receive.

It was a well-organized rescue at the harbor...until Ginger woke up.

A tower of fire exploded into existence, causing panic.

Oh boy—

"Where the hell is he!?" she screeched out, more frustrated and manic at the fact that the people didn't understand her.

Neva and Joanna had to calm her down and assure her that the rest of the rescue boats would come back with him. Thankfully, they acted quickly and were successful before she could cause even more of a scene. Sawyer begged the marine police to excuse her behavior after explaining the situation, to which they showed sympathy.

Apparently, out of the 7100 people that were on board, 6745 had made it out, half with mild injuries, and some with critical. Both human and pokémon.

The rest were still missing, with a sea search party being sent out to find them.

It was to be recorded as one of the worst cruise ship accidents of the decade so far, worse than the ship's sister, the 'SS. Anne' in Kanto waters just two years prior. Strangely, that ship also suffered an attack from a criminal organization, however, what sunk that one, in the end, was a freak storm.

It was decided that they would no longer name any ships containing the name 'Anne' within it or anything that sounded remotely similar. The sailors now deemed it bad luck. Stupid.

Initially, Neva believed the worst part was the agonizing wait for the boats…But one look at the same boats returning from the horizon, and she was proven wrong.

They arrived with only a handful of the missing hundreds, and half of them were...In body sacks.

Grey wasn't among either the living or dead…

The thunderstorm roiled in the distance, and the skies clouded.

"Where is he!?" yelled a woman nearby as she clawed at the vest of a lifeguard, bawling her eyes out.

"Ma'am, the storm is only minutes away, we can't risk the coast guard squad in such conditions, we can only send out the trained ocean pokémon to search for the rest...underwater…" he said with grim finality.

The woman's face contorted into that of horror.

"I'm sorry."

She reached for the body bags but the coast guards pulled her back. "Let me see his face! Let me see!" Her scream pierced the air.

"We have to leave it to the medical team to identify the individuals first, please, madam, we'll contact you," urged the lifeguard. He instructed his colleagues to take her to the pokémon center, the administration of which kindly volunteered to take on the rescued passengers and their pokémon despite their enormous numbers.

Oh, Arceus…

Neva wasn't liking the odds, and the memories hit her like a ton of rocks…

I barely opened my eyes, body aching and stinging like crazy, wondering how on Earth was I going to get out of the sandstorm, since Grey chose not to use those pokéball things. I thought there was no way he'd risk himself, right?

But to my utter surprise…

He came for me.

A human, barely knowing me for less than a week, walked through the battering sandstorm, for me...

With desperation in his eyes, he picked me up so gently through the sand, as though he believed that I'd fall apart with the slightest rough movement.

He held me tight to himself, covered me with the nook of his neck, and marched through the grazing sands. His scent was surreal…Otherworldly.

His hands were warm, and so was his frantically beating chest.

But I lost…and I was undeserving.

'G-Grey...I-I'm sorry. I-I couldn't use Night slash.'

He looked at me as though I just said something stupid.

'Neva. You did it.'

Huh?

'You became one with the darkness and dealt a heavy blow on Probopass. You were amazing.'

'I-is that what I did?'

He smiled. 'Yes. Great work. You have amazing potential, you just need a little more confidence.'

That was the first time he gave a genuine smile, and it was accompanied with a caressing hand…For me.

To think he showed that much concern for her despite knowing each other for barely a week at the time. She had finally found someone that cared enough…So how would Ginger, who knew him longer, feel?

She dared venture a look to her side.

There on the port ground near the edge was Ginger on her knees, with her pupils dilated and staring out to sea; an expression filled with fear and longing.

No one was going to budge her from that spot. It was obvious, and Neva didn't blame her.

To her other side was Joanna, holding her arm with pure guilt and self-doubt written on her face.

Sawyer came up to them, looking like he was struggling to keep the grimness off his face and forcing a smile. "Uh, Guys—I-I mean, Girls, they've sent a team of expert pokémon swimmers out before the storm settles in, I-I'm sure they'll find him."

She and Joanna barely gave him their attention, and Ginger didn't even seem to register his voice.

"If you like, you can stay in my room at the pokémon center…You need some rest, come and wait for the good news warm and dry, w-what do you say?"

He held an outstretched hand, and again the rumbling thunder echoed even closer.

For a moment, Neva considered his words, but another look at his face told her he didn't believe a single thing he said, that there was going to be 'good news' to wait for. That was another good thing about Grey, he never once treated pokémon like stupid animals, while Sawyer, despite seeming to have good intent, was attempting to lure them away from the port dishonestly, not only insulting their intelligence but also lying to them by lying to himself.

Neva growled and was about to slap his hand away in defiance—

"He's right, it's too dangerous here, the storm will hit the port in less than half an hour," said one of the lifeguard squad members trotting toward them with understanding in his eyes. "I suggest waiting inside, we've sent out our top swimmers, they comprise of dewgong, wailmer, blastoise, and such. If anyone's going to find your loved ones in that weather, it's them."

Ginger for the first time turned her gaze to the lifeguard and registered her surroundings, before gazing out to sea again. At least she wasn't catatonic.

At the man's words, Neva reconsidered…Waiting in the storm for him wasn't something Grey would want for them if his concern for them was anything to go by. Joanna was by far more reasonable than even her, so she'd comply…The problem was Ginger.

Neva gulped and walked over to her, gently placing a claw on her feathery shoulder, to which she didn't react much, "Oi…Thunder thighs, I wanna' wait for him too, but I don't think he'd want us to do so in the middle of shit weather, and you're a fire type with feathers and all, so…I don't think—"

"Do you think I give a fuck about any of that right now? You think he'd believe that a little rain and wind will keep me away?"

Oh boy.

"I don't doubt your strength, but think about how upset he'd be if you were—"

"Good! Let him be upset! At least he'll be here to be so! That's all I want damn it!"

"You're not being reasonable, you think I like the idea of moving away from here? I don't, but…He's always been concerned with our safety, whether in or out of battles."

For a moment Ginger seemed pensive, then she turned and gave her a vicious glare. "Of course, you'd say that being a sneasel, you're a fucking 'darken' after all, for you, it's very easy to favor self-preserving logic over emotions."

That stung. Hard.

Neva's grip on Ginger's shoulder tightened with the point of her claw only millimeters away from puncturing the skin under her feathers. "So…that's what you think of me, is it? You' think you're the only one who feels guilty for not being there to protect him!? Well, you're wrong!" She growled.

Ginger returned the growl. "Let go, and don't even think about trying to force me away from this wharf."

"Ironic, you call 'me' a darken, but with the way you're acting now I'm beginning to see why you're so proficient at 'Night Slash' despite being a fighting-type…deep down,"—Neva closed in to whisper into Ginger's hidden ear—"You're a darken too." She finished with a sadic grin.

Ginger whirled around scything the air with her claw andNeva barely dodged despite expecting such a reaction. Good.

"Don't ever call me that! Bitch!" hollered out Ginger.

Sawyer, Joanna, and the lifeguard stood back surprised at the sudden movements.

Neva egged her on. "I wonder what that makes you? A triple-type? My my, someone's mother must've been busy."

Fire burst forth and Neva dodged, Ginger was on her but she opened her maw and let out a frosty gale, shoving the enraged combusken back though not by much.

The fire-type stomped through the icy wind but Neva had already backed away from the wharf, "Look at you, if only Grey could see you now, riled up over something insignificant!"

Ginger swiped at her again with her claw whooshing past, "Don't assume such shit!"

Neva kept at it. They were getting away from the wharf and she was glad Joanna gave a nod in understanding her intent, "I reckon you can't even hit me the way you are. You're so self-important that you don't understand what Grey expects of you as a pokémon!"

An arc of fire slashed and superheated the air right where her head was after ducking and close enough to singe her cheek-fur. Shit that was hot, was it the friction, the fire, or the heated air?

"Shut your fucking mouth you ignorant bitch! You came later and joined thanks to me! Me! So you know nothing!"

Neva shook her head still backing away and dodging on her heels, but she slipped on some gravel and fell on her behind.

Ginger was upon her like lightning, pinning her clawed foot over one of hers as she loomed over with a raised burning claw that cast her guise in shadow, out of which only her blood-crazed eyes glowed in contrast. "No one understands him better than I do! So shut up!" she shrieked out in her delirium.

But Neva grinned albeit nervously staring up at her. "Really? You consider losing your cool so much as to strike against an ally who reflects her trainer's worry for you, 'understanding him'?"

Ginger stopped and let out a short gasp, looking around herself.

Sailors and their fighting-type pokémon, water-types, Sawyer's treecko, and Joanna, had encircled her. They were all ready to jump in and stop her should she continue her rampage. They were several yards away from the wharf now.

The crimson-eyed combusken looked back at Neva in disbelief. "You fucking played me."

Neva got up, her grin now wider in confidence. "Like an instrument. As you said, I'm a 'darken', and I just 'Taunted' you. But despite that, my words ring true. Do you think Grey would approve of this?"

Ginger, much to Neva's relief, stood down and lowered her claws along with her temperature.

'Crackoom!'

The storm brewed above and began showering them.

Ginger held a contemptuous glare, but her shuddering shoulders and her wavering voice weren't fooling Neva.

The combusken's tears fused with the rainwater. "I...I just...I just want him back! I can't lose another because of my incompetence! I-I just can't!" she cried, hicking and sobbing under the rain in surrender.

Neva found herself losing her composure too. She remembered how Grey held her. So she too held Ginger. It was extremely awkward considering her personality and typing, but she couldn't hold it in either. Joanna joined in too.

Ginger cried into her shoulder. "I just want him back…"

Neva held her comrade's head, caressing her feathery crest-like Grey did once for hers as the tears fell in silence. "So do I…"

...Days passed in idle silence at Sawyer's allocated room in the pokécenter since they waited for any news. Blanche had apparently instructed him to wait there for any news on Grey, though Ginger had a feeling that he would have waited anyway until further notice. Every day during that week, search parties were sent across the same ship route to confirm the missing. Rarely did they find someone, and with every day passing, there were more dead found than live…And that meant more heart-rending wails and cries of anguish echoing in the pokécenter halls, which did nothing to calm Ginger's nerves.

During the second day, Ginger, out of curiosity and to calm her anxiety, looked into Grey's starting travel backpack that Neva had salvaged before their escape on the lifeboats. Beyond the obvious camping gear within the large space, it contained the pokédex, three super potions; some rope; two combat knives, the same sort that he had used in the warehouse raid; flashlight; a thick book of which its contents she had no clue of, as she couldn't read the human language. Perhaps she'd get Grey to teach—…Right…If…Or when he came back…

She kept looking through the bag, finding common things, except for a shiny object right at the bottom…She pinched it in her claws and pulled it out.

It was a necklace of sorts, made with tiny metal balls linked together. Out of all the items, it held Grey's scent the most. The chain, which was a bit grungy through use, was threaded through its pendant, which was a flat rectangular, scratched up and stained steel plate with its shorter sides rounded. There was some sort of text engraved onto it horizontally, in an orderly and listed fashion.

Behind the pendant, however, was a single larger word of sorts scratched onto it. None of it made sense to her even in the slightest, yet the object held the same alien scent to it…and it held the same coppery rust-like aroma she sensed when they had embraced on the ship…The item was by far the most peculiar out of all his belongings.

Did it have something to do with his 'big secret' that Birch's chimecho now shared?

She was tempted to show it to Sawyer and have him read it to her, but Grey wouldn't have appreciated her digging through his things in the first place, and the greenette having knowledge of it could compromise Grey in some way, so that was a no-no. But she would ask Grey personally about it, one day, when they had more trust for each other…Arceus, she missed him already.

During the third day, the lifeguards reported floating corpses in repeated search areas, none of which were confirmed to be Grey.

Slowly, the number of passengers in the pokécenter lessened after being reunited with their loved ones, whether they came back dead or alive…

During the fifth, they stopped the searching, having found every one of the previously missing passenger's corpses...Except for nine that were unaccounted for, to be officially declared lost after one final sweep if not found.

Grey was one of the nine.

Ginger had enough, she was not going to wait for the results of the final search.

She snuck out of the back entrance of the pokécenter and ran back to the port, hoping there was an empty boat or something. The weather had cleared up somewhat, which would make the search a bit less impossible.

To her half-hearted relief, she found a small boat with an outboard motor tied to a pole on the wharf. It would do, considering the absence of the storm.

After making sure the coast was clear, she cut the rope and hopped on, yanking on the motor string like she saw the coast guards do, and with a sputter, the motor started and she held the handle to drive it out to sea.

She was just about to clear the wharf when two figures landed in front of her, causing the entire thing to buck a few times and her head to whiplash before she readjusted herself.

It was Neva and Joanna, both in a ready stance, though the latter seemed unsure and had the same glum look for the past couple of days.

Neva closed in. "Ginger, what are you doing?"

"What do you think?"

"Turn this thing around now, you're going to get us in serious trouble," she said as she raised a steeled claw. "Or else."

"At this stage, you'll just have to kill me to stop this boat. Now you're on it with Joanna, and I'm not turning around. So what'll you do now? Huh?"

"This is stupid, Ginger! You're going to get yourself killed!"

The combusken turned to check the distance from the wharf, then focused on Neva once more, "There's still time before we make any more distance, jump out now and swim back if you want, but I'm not going to wait for those results. I'm not going to accept him as 'lost'. So you're either with me, or you're not."

Neva stood there defiantly, with her raised claw jittering in her anger, it seemed she was about to strike…But she exhaled and stood down. Joanna seemed glad.

"Tch. You're a crazy bitch, you know that?"

"Yeah, maybe. What about you, Joanna? You haven't exactly spoken much since the whole thing started."

The poisonous fire-type lizard jerked her head up, snapping out of her trance, though gazing out to sea. "I…I just…I doubted him…I doubted him and I took a chance to choose him over Aqua…I doubted him even after his kindness…And I think fate castigated me for my spitting on its fortune. Had I not hesitated so much, perhaps we could've saved time before that chopper came...I don't deserve him."

"Then why are you on this boat?" insisted Ginger. "You think I don't have doubts about him? Fuck he's hidden so much from me and evaded most of my attempts at getting to know him. I've had a shit ex-trainer, and you'd think I wouldn't trust another soul after that…But here I am."

Joanna didn't comment further. And it was obvious to her that Joanna held Grey in high esteem, perhaps she too was a victim of her insecurity.

Neva interjected. "Yeah. Here you are. It seems you've had it worse than either of us, if all those scars under your plumage are anything to go by."

Ginger flinched at the comment. "W-what?"

Neva smirked. "I have really good eyes, I can see the inconsistent growth patterns in your feathering. My having fur may not be the same, but it's close enough for me to know all about how it grows back over scars, plumage should work much the same. I've got a few marks of my own, though nowhere near as much or badly as you do."

Ginger wrapped her free arm around her front, uncomfortable under the sneasel's scrutinous and accurate eyes.

The sneasel chuffed. "So…As you said, here you are, despite such shit treatment from another past. But if you're gonna' potentially take us to our watery graves, I think at least a simple answer is due…I'm curious…"

Ginger breathed in, "About what, exactly?" Though she knew.

"Why so insistent about 'Grey' in particular? Why not try to find another and move on? You've only known him for a little more than we have…Why risk your life?"

Ginger gazed out to the ocean as well, with only the motor and its parting of the splashing waters filling the pause.

"...We met over some strange circumstances, and there was a misunderstanding, of which I was the aggressor and accuser. I almost killed him over it."

Neva's eyes narrowed and Joanna covered her snout, "Oh my."

Ginger chortled at the thought. "And here I am trying to save his life now…Neither attempt has been successful so far…Anyway, long story short, I was so close to ending him, I had him trapped at the tree I left burning…He was going to die by my claws with no one to question it…But…" She trailed off in thought, remembering what Grey did.

"But what?"

"It's hard to explain, but…He broke my pokéball, freeing me from my previous captor who was the professor at the time…and he suddenly changed. He gave me this defiant glare…It was a certain look he gave me. Despite his situation, he laughed in the face of death…It was like…like I was suddenly the prey and he the predator, like he turned the tables and caught me instead of the opposite, despite the circumstances…He did something with his eyes or mind or…I-I don't know…But since then, I just can't help but feel this connection with him…"

Joanna was engrossed in her tale.

Neva only stared at her, at first in wonder…Then after blinking, she gazed at her with smug amusement in her red eyes.

"Bitch, you've got the hots for him."

Ginger sputtered and choked on air with her driving arm moving, causing the boat to zigzag and the girls to stumble sideward before she straightened the boat again, aghast and flustered at Neva's statement."W-what!? The' fuck does that mean!?"

Neva guffawed at the reaction, with Joanna seeming even more interested but remaining silent with curiosity.

"Haha! Exactly what I just said."

"H-he's human!" She blurted out.

"So? There are plenty of pokémon who don't end up with the same species, hence why you know 'Night Slash', me having white lashes, and Joanna having a partial flaming body, though most can't see it as she isn't exactly burning anything with it right now."

"B-but that's with other 'pokémon'."

"Maybe humans are pokémon, just much more numerous and weaker, also with single forms and never evolving, like some pokémon are too. Not all mons' have evolutions, you know."

Ginger blinked. "The' hell…Clearly, you've put a lot of observation into that."

"It's what I do. Remember, I was part of Aqua once, I've seen many kinds of pokémon and heard a lot of talk about em'. And you're evading the subject. Like Joanna, you're always taking peeks at him, though at least you do it more discreetly."

"I-I do not!" defended both Joanna and Ginger simultaneously.

Neva first deadpanned at the dark lizard. "You literally take every chance to look through the curtain every time he's changing or trying clothes on…"

Joanna fidgeted by pressing her fingertips together and looking away. "Ok, maybe sometimes, but I-I'm only just curious as to why humans wear clothing when it does nothing to protect them…?" She placated, and due to her dark complexion, it was difficult to discern any blushing, though her wagging tail betrayed her nervousness.

"Riiight…Anyway," Neva turned back to Ginger. "Despite your lying and her shitty excuse, it does raise a point…Joanna's not the one driving a stolen boat into the open ocean for his sake…So, still gonna' deny it?"

"Deny what?"

"That you've got it hard for him."

"W-wha—you're wrong! It's not 'that'!" She denied, though flustered at the thought.

Ridiculous. It couldn't be that…Right?

But if that were the case, then…without a pokéball, of which its technology Grey was apparently suspicious of, how could she explain such a feeling otherwise?

Neva snapped her out of her thoughts. "Well, it's gotta' be something other than just a simple 'connection' thing. But maybe that's just it. Not many people would do what you're doing for someone they've only just begun knowing."

"...Exactly."

Neva still had the same amused stare on, giving her a grin and pouting her lips. "But I still think you're totally in l—"

"No, I'm not! Drop it, Neva, and start looking around, he could be floating somewhere on some deadwood."

Neva laughed, and Ginger thanked Arceus she had feathers or the heat that stung her face right now would be like a damned beacon to the other two.

They looked around the open waters, with Dewford slowly shrinking behind them. There were some floating pieces and parts of the ship drifting in their direction, having been brought over by the ocean tides over the last few days.

They kept an eye out for a good while...Before a sputtering noise broke their concentration, and the boat slowed down.

"Shit…"

"What is it? Why's the boat stopping?" Asked Neva.

Ginger slapped the motor a few times in case it was just a minor issue, to no avail. "I dunno', I think it ran out of juice. Fuck. Don't people refuel these damned things!?"

"To be fair, it'd make more sense to refuel it before going out to sea, not after. You know, in case someone 'steals it'? Meaning less money lost?"

Ginger glared at the sneasel. "Don't you dare be 'that girl' right now."

Boom.

The girls immediately shot their gaze at the sky, which was entirely shrouded in thunder clouds. They had been searching and looking at the water so intently that they hadn't noticed the accumulating clouds and failed to realize the shift in winds.

The storm was coming back, and Dewford was a small shape in the distance.

"Oh fuck." Ginger furiously tugged at the motor string which only stuttered and nothing more.

"'Oh fuck' is right, lose the motor and start paddling back!" Ordered Neva.

"What are you crazy!? The motor is the only thing we have!"

"It's useless without juice and by the time you get it to work miraculously, the storm will be on top of us! It'll just weigh us down! We've done things your way, so chuck it out and paddle back to shore! Now!"

Ginger cursed her luck. The sneasel was right. She picked the motor up, unhooked it, and let it sink into the ocean while placing herself at the bow. Neva was at the starboard and Joanna paddled from the port side.

The thunder roared behind them as they futilely paddled, with the waters getting rough enough to jerk the small boat around.

They panted audibly and grunted as they paddled as fast as they could, not daring to look back at the encroaching storm.

Now the waves were practically causing the bow to dig into the water, along with Ginger's face getting dunked in it, before then almost getting tossed backward as she hung onto the bow, with Neva and Joanna hanging onto her legs. The boat settled back on the water, but the huge waves were becoming more and more frequent and the process repeated itself constantly while the rain pelted them.

Ginger gasped as water splashed into her face; the salt of it stinging her eyes and nostrils.

"Hang in there! We're getting closer, the waves are carrying us over!"

"They'll carry us over dead the way we're going!" Yelled Neva.

The water pulled the boat back in and angled it downward, "Here comes another!" Ginger dared a look back and her breath shuddered at the sight. "Shit! She's a big one, hang on!"

Once more, she found herself staring down as the boat climbed the crest of the wave, but her heart and guts dropped as this time she was weightless and the sea suddenly became the sky…Oh fuck.

"Hang onto me! Don't let go!"

The girls screamed as they plummeted down to the waters, with the giant wave closing over them.

They crashed into the water, and just as they resurfaced the curl of the wave closed and shoved them back under with impunity. All she could hear was the water rushing past her ears as she rolled and rolled endlessly from the power of the wave.

Dazed and with water invading her mouth, she broke out onto the surface, flapping in the water as best she could. Thankfully, the girls were still next to her. Neva tried to make an ice sheet to grab onto. It briefly worked, but it was too small and she was too exhausted to make a proper one. The next wave smashed it to pieces and it was gone.

Through the darkness of the weather, Ginger could barely make out the beach two miles away or so, but her arm muscles were burning in exhaustion, her breaths were getting shallow, and she just couldn't take anymore. The other two probably weren't fairing much better.

Shit, am I really going to die here? Arceus damn it…

Please…Please Arceus, let me live and let me find him...

I know in your moment of greatest need I wasn't there for you…Which is why this is selfish of me…But…

I need you, Grey…I really need you—

An impact jolted her awake, with ice cracking around her. She gasped some air, and her head bumped into wet fur and smooth skin.

"Ugh, finally, y-your awake, push with your legs Ginger." Breathed out Neva.

"Wha? Where—"

"N-Neva made an air chamber with an ice dome, trapping some air before we submerged, and we're close to the coast. Keep walking—hah—please." Joanna exhaled hard, with her hot breath tickling her face.

"O-ok."

They continued their march underwater for a few more minutes. As soon as the torrents became less erratic, the water warmer and they bumped into more rocks, Neva left the chamber to check the situation, before swimming back inside.

"Time to go—hah—Breathe the rest of it and come up to the surface."

Ginger and Joanna complied. The three gulped as much air as they could and abandoned the dome, rushing upward with all their might.

They broke the surface with a long gasp, and Ginger tasted the sweet, sweet air finally.

They made it to the shores of a beach and allowed the water to assist in their arrival.

Ginger, along with her allies, finally stood taller than the sea, before buckling in tiresomeness and collapsing on the sands of the beach, dragging herself further up with every fiber in her body aching.

The sand met her face and the world went sideways as she passed out…

The warm sun rays and the swishing of the water awoke her, along with some incessant nudging from something.

She groaned as she pushed herself to her knees, with a pinching sensation coming from her leg. It was a little krabby, bubbling in curiosity. One angry grunt was enough to scare the little bastard away. The weather had completely cleared, with the sun reflecting off the white sands and the palms green as can be. She watched as the annoying crustacean scuttled away into the tropical jungle, with her eyes falling on the sneasel and salandit laying on the sand near her, draped in seaweed.

She shot up from her spot and trotted over, knelt beside them and nudged them, hoping they were okay. Thankfully, they stirred awake.

"Nnn…Wha…Did we make it?" Asked Neva as she yawned as though she'd only been in bed and not close to dying recently.

"Yeah, we're okay."

Joanna was already up and pointed further along the small beach. "Hey, what's that over there?"

Ginger followed her line of sight, at first struggling to see the figure due to how irritated her eyes were and the sand on her lashes. She rubbed them, and attempted another gaze at the object…Slowly it registered.

A few yards away, there was a figure, half-obscured under the shadow of a palm with their legs coated by ripped indigo pants, exposed to the sun; bare feet and all. She could just make out a tattered cloak of the same color as the pants beneath…the figure…

Her fatigue forgotten and heart-pounding, Ginger launched herself into a sprint across the sand ignoring the questioning of her allies.

She bounded along the beach.

Please-let-it-be—Please-let-it-be—Please-let-it-be—

The closer she came, the more she couldn't believe her eyes.

Oh My Arceus!

She came to a grinding stop, tripping on the sand. She crawled over to him with the intense sun blinding her from above as the shade of the short palm tree leaves hid his top half, but she'd recognize his form anywhere.

"Grey!?"

No answer. Perhaps he was asleep. Her thoughts were running a hundred miles a second in her excitement and gladness, still in disbelief of her luck.

Calming herself, she gently pulled him by the legs into the sun, hoping he'd stir awake and be surprised himself to see her again; she couldn't wait to see him.

As the rest of his body was slowly revealed, a thought occurred to her…If he was alive all this time, and assuming this was another small beach at Dewford, then why didn't he come to town earli—

Her excitement vanished with sheer horror taking its place.

She gasped as she let go of his legs and stumbled back in shock.

In that instance, she had no idea how to interpret the situation…Until the bloodstains made it clear.

Ginger scanned his body from his feet upward.

His skin was paler than usual, with his clothing in bloody tatters.

Apart from that, his feet and legs were fine…Until she got to his exposed torso, which was curiously covered in numerous past scars.

Starting from under his right pectoral and all the way down to his right hip, something resembling a huge bite mark claimed almost a fourth of his torso.

She wasn't versed in advanced anatomy, but the blood of his wound gleamed in the sunlight. She could see parts of his bloody ribs, a few organs of sorts, flesh, and the tip of his hip bone—

Ginger whirled around and vomited on the sand, the sight was so gruesome and cruel to her that she couldn't hold it in.

The girls arrived to her side, questioning her reaction until they too saw him, gasping at the sight.

"Oh fuck…This…It can't be."

Their words were muffled in her shock, and she dared turn back to look again.

Trying her best to ignore his torso…He had both his arms splayed out, complete with no signs of damage.

Her eyes beheld his face…

Thank Arceus it was wholesome.

She wiped her mouth and carefully shifted over next to his head.

His eyes were closed, and his expression oddly calm, like he were only asleep and trapped in his lucid dreams. It was almost as though there was no stress on his expression, as though he…No, she couldn't say it even within her mind.

Ginger leaned over and gently clasped his face in her hands…Her vision of him blurred with her tears. Her breaths quivered and she clenched her jaws with her heart slowly being torn apart as reality settled in. She held his face into her chest as she cried.

"G-Grey…No…Please..."

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair at all.

Was he really…

Neva settled down opposite her, and extended a claw to his neck…Her pupils dilated in shock. "Ginger."

"What is it…?"

"I felt a pulse."

…"Don't be stupid, Neva, now's not the fucking time for—"

"I fuckin' felt it!"

"...Huh?" It couldn't be. Ginger let him go gently, leaned over and listened closely to his mouth, and received a surprise of her own.

It was so subtle and easily overtaken by the swashing of tides, but the air whispered as his slightly parted lips sucked it in…

"G-Girls? Y-You should see this," suggested Joanna with a shaky breath of her own, pointing at his supposed fatal wound.

Though Ginger refused to look at that again, Neva got up and followed the salandit's vision, her expression became that of someone who just witnessed the truly bizarre. "What the…What the fuck is this?"

"Care to tell me what it is? We're not all used to looking at someone else's guts here, you know," demanded Ginger annoyed at being left out.

Neva gazed back at her, still holding a marveled gaze. "I can't explain it, but…Now that I look closer and more carefully, his blood is still…somehow…flowing through his flesh and organs."

It took a moment to register the sneasel's absurd recount.

"What!?"

"Haven't you noticed how moist and red his flesh wound is? It's been almost a week, yet the coloration would suggest he just received the wound, yet the sand around him isn't stained in blood. Where are the flies? Why doesn't he smell? That's why I checked for a pulse. We're only focusing on the visual first impact here, but not on everything else. And if it's a fresh wound, why the fuck isn't he bleeding out? Why is his face so calm like he's sleeping with no discomfort? I've seen many gaping wounds in different circumstances, which is why none of it makes any sense!" Neva exclaimed as she held her head, scratching it furiously in confusion and wonder like she was looking at the impossible.

Of course, it'd be easier for them to gaze at such wounds. The sneasel and salandit were natural hunters, despite their previous lifestyle with their trainers. According to what they were describing and their logic, it would certainly be bizarre to them if they were told that Grey was missing for almost a week, yet only just received the wound now without even bleeding out.

She looked back at his serene face.

Was she dreaming?

What the hell was going on here—

"Please do not move him anymore, you might cause more physical trauma and he's already hard enough to maintain as it is."

The trio snapped their gazes up at each other.

"Oi, did either of you just say somethin'?" Asked Neva.

"I thought it was you talking."

"Nu-uh."

…They frantically looked about, in search of the source of the voice.

"Your confusion is understandable…Perhaps 'I' can explain."

A change in the air alerted them all and they looked up, but the sun blinded them momentarily as it was eclipsed by the silhouette of a pointy figure slowly descending, like a black sun replacing the original.

Floating downward and covered in a mysterious iridescent aura that pulsated with power, was a star-like object with many points, ten to be exact. Five points to the front, which were static, and five to the back, which rotated constantly at a slow pace.

Its descent slowed to a perfect stop, with its two bottom points just millimeters from touching the sand.

"W-what the hell are you?" ventured Ginger. She had never seen this pokémon before, if that's what it was. It seemed almost as alien as Grey's distinct aroma.

"I've only seen it once before, ages ago…A rare specimen in this region and only found in deep ocean waters last I can remember. Aqua physically tried to control one of these, but it resisted and escaped. Since then, no attempts were made to catch another. Joanna can back me up on this, she was there."

The lizard nodded and gulped in nervousness faced with its ominous power, "Yes…This pokémon is rarely sighted as they are cautious due to how often they were hunted illegally by humans for their gems, which are said to be worth a fortune apiece…This is a water/psychic type…"

Its limbs and most of its body texture were composed of thousands of tessellated tiny ossicle plates that formed a violet-blue hue.

A brilliant sunny gleam reflected off its gold trimmed, coral-red core that was a beautiful and large octagonal gem with an eerie pulsating glow within, seemingly to observing them.

"A Starmie…" finished Neva.

"Right you are." Came the ominous and ethereal voice from within their minds. The voice sounded male, but it was distorted, like a perfectly synchronous choir echoing his every word and fading with a whisper.

Ginger raised her claws and took a stance. "Who are you!? What do you mean 'maintain' him? Did you do this to Grey!?" Demanded Ginger, though fear coursed through her body.

She knew that if this 'starmie' was a threat, she didn't have an iota of a chance against it. If Joanna was right about its typing, then it was practically the living antithesis of her own typing.

Fire was useless against a decent Water-type, and Fighting energy was laughably insignificant in the face of Psychic energy, Joanna was in the same situation with poison also being weak to it.

"Right again, milady, under normal circumstances, you're but a kindling ember in the face of a tidal wave when it comes to fighting me. The same can be said for your salandit friend, though not as much for the sneasel, the result will be the same. I don't recommend engaging me in battle. But worry not...At least for yourself, that is. My concern is your trainer."

Neva stepped forth with her guard up. "Why?"

The starmie floated closer. "First, to answer your friend's question, mine name is Kassadar."

"That's a mouthful." Muttered Neva.

"It is enough that you know it, you may call me whatever seems easiest. As for her second question, which is related to yours…By 'maintain', I mean, I've been keeping him 'alive' for the last 122 hours and 3 minutes, counting. Or little over five days. That answer alone should nullify the third question. As to why…I'll keep that to myself until he awakes…Correction…'If' he awakes."

"'If'? What do you mean 'if'?" asked Ginger, her hope draining once again right after it had risen, wondering if she was going to have a heart attack with the information she was about to receive.

With a strange hum, the starmie floated over to Grey's side and gazed at him with its crystal. "An extension to the nullified third question and an indirect answer to your sneasel friend's question…The truth is, I followed your group soon after 'hearing' of Grey's exploits and the events that occurred with the Goldeen."

What did that goldeen have to do with this? And what was Kassadar's reason for following? But she listened further if it could be called listening, as the voice was in her head.

"It turns out, I was right to follow. I felt the explosion's shockwaves through the water in my pursuit of the ship. My task was to ensure that Grey Wilson survived. I was closing in on the ship when I sensed he fell into the water. Unfortunately, my task was made rather...difficult, due to the interference of a 'Sharpedo'."

Oh shit…A sharpedo…

Terror gripped Ginger's heart at imagining what Grey went through.

"Indeed. A fearsome creature even to me, in large part thanks to its Dark-typing. Getting Grey back was no easy task, let me assure you, considering my psychic-attacks were nigh-useless."

The girls looked at their trainer, shivering just from imagining what he must've felt.

"Worry not. He was already unconscious from the earlier impact to his head and his underwater asphyxia…However, the wound the sharpedo caused is far less worrying than the 'real' problem. Which brings me to the 'if'..."

"What could possibly be worse than 'that'!?" let out Ginger, pointing at the horrific wound her trainer sported.

"...Brain damage."

The ocean's tides, the wind's brustling of palm leaves, and the wingull cries echoed throughout the beach as the girls were rendered speechless from dread.

"Specifically, hypoxic brain injury. He was underwater for well over five minutes 'after' he had already lost unconsciousness, meaning airflow was cut to his brain for the whole time. This leads to the damage, which can have long-lasting effects if he does awaken…which he may not. As it is, he's lucky I was able to delve into his mind and receive a plethora of primary and secondary information about the human body, as well as scanning his for myself. Ever since I brought him above the surface, using hydro-kinesis, or my water abilities along with my psychokinesis, I've been meticulously managing his blood flow and keeping his organs functioning, like his lungs inhaling and exhaling for his heart to keep beating…However, there is only so much I can do for the damage done to his central nervous system…"

"So what the fuck are you saying!? Are you telling me he's not gonna' recover!?"

"Hence the 'if'. I'm not sure. However…It's been five days. He should have woken up by now, considering he's perfectly safe with my monitoring and regulation."

"That's because the whole lot of you are incompetent," Came a new voice ringing in their minds, alerting all of them. This one was clearly feminine, lined with a snide spitefulness and lacked the ethereal echo Kassadar had.

The group scanned the area, but they couldn't see anyone else besides the minor fauna of the sands and skies.

"Oi, starprick, you' playing tricks on us?" Asked Neva.

"No. That was definitely not me, and I'm picking up the presence of another telepath…Female…The fact that we can't see her and yet she was able to catch me by surprise and bypass my range of detection, speaks volumes of her skill."

"Correct, starfish, it's pointless to resist. I've already invaded your minds and I won't allow you to see me, so stop gawking around and listen up, maggots."

As the voice made its demand, their point of view became twisted and wavy, with the hue of their surroundings turning into a mixed palette of colors, as though they were within an aurora of sorts.

"I'm only gonna' say this 'once'. Stand still, and don't even think about moving. Starfish, do not stop your hydrokinesis, no matter what you feel or see."

"Your request is rather inane, he'll likely die if I cease my assistance. I can't exactly stop, now can I?"

"Shut up, I had to make sure."

After a few moments of silence and no movement. "As he is, he's much too brain-damaged to wake up at all, he might as well be brain dead. How cruel of you, starfish, to give them false hope."

Ginger gasped. "What!? Brain dead!?" She turned and thrust a claw at the starmie, "I thought you just said he was brain damaged! Not dead!"

"You're taking her words for fact, technically he isn't, however that doesn't mean he isn't far from it either."

"Yeah, because you're incompetent for a psychic, no wonder people have forgotten about your kind…'I', however, can help. But don't expect miracles."

"What is your motive? What do you want in exchange?"

"If I'm blocking your constant mental probing, which is getting irritating by the way, then obviously I'm not about to tell you, fool. Now stop your pointless psionic attacks, shut up, and let me work."

Several moments passed before the sea star relented. "Very well, it seems we have no choice but to trust your words."

Ginger was so confused about their exchange. Blocking? Mental probing? Psionic attacks? Were these two having some kind of unseeable bout? Psychics were weird.

"Heard that, bitch."

Ginger's powerlessness in this scenario had her extremely frustrated, not only was there one psychic entity in their midst but two! And the fact that they both had already invaded her mind without her realizing it disturbed her profoundly. It was only by some stroke of luck that the second psychic entity was also willing to help…

Grey's body gleamed in a strange glittery light; dulled by a pinkish haze that swirled about. It was mostly focused on his head, then the light and haze gradually left its spot, and instead spilled over in veiny tendrils throughout the rest of his body, like a steamy glowing river diverting into many directions. Fiber by fiber, the huge gaping flesh wound closed, a process worth months reduced to just seconds. The sight was certainly something to behold, though Ginger had no idea how it was happening.

The mysterious energy dissipated slowly, before vanishing altogether.

"There—hah—I did what I could, the rest is up to you, starfish," said the newcomer, with her projected voice lined with more lethargy than her previous haughty demeanor.

The starmie observed Grey's body, before a strange and powerful combined sense of disbelief, shock, and disgust bled over to everyone's mind.

Kassadar bellowed out in a psychic rage. "What sorcery is this!? You deem 'this' to be a remedy!?"

"You wouldn't understand, especially your kind. I did what your typing could 'never' do."

Ginger's worry deepened now. "What!? What happened!? What's going on!?"

"Tch…It is hard to explain without using direct terminology. I'm not quite sure of the results either," responded Kassadar.

"Of course, you wouldn't know…So to answer your question, bird brain, what I did was simple, yet elaborate…Apart from closing his flesh wound with 'healing pulses', I quantified the amount of damage to his brain cells and central nervous system, and then 'swapped' the physical status from those structures with that of his peripheral nervous system instead, which includes his somatic and autonomic nerves, without compromising his life…In other words, using my abilities, I 'tricked' his body."

"Could you not have swapped and spread the damage to his muscular system?"

"An interesting point, but no. The quantified nerve damage to his brain cannot be converted to muscular damage within equal or safe parameters. Muscle fibers are very different to the intricate and high complexities of neuron dendritic branches. Even if it could be converted to scale, the results could possibly leave him paraplegic, maybe worse."

Ginger wracked her mind to understand what was being said. Now it wasn't only her powerlessness, but also the spewing of all this vocabulary and her ignorance that maddened her. None of this made any sense!

"If the starmie can't understand it, obviously you wouldn't understand the complex harnessing of extra-dimensional energies either. To either of you, it may as well be 'magic'."

"So...So what does it all mean then?" Ginger asked.

Apprehension emanated from the sea star.

"...It means, instead of brain dead…he's now...Nerve dead."

All was silent as Neva, Joanna and Ginger attempted to comprehend the connection between Kassadar's ire and this mysterious entity's action.

"I...Don't understand," said Neva, attempting to search for the source of the voice and directing her query at it. "I don't get the difference, shouldn't that practically mean the same thing? I thought you healed him."

A foreign sense of annoyance reverberated in the air. "Fool. If it meant the same thing, I wouldn't have invested a tremendous amount of energy on the procedure. 'Starfish', despite his ungrateful attitude, will fill you in. He seems to realize what I did, speaking of which, I'll now answer his question on 'one' of the things I want in exchange…"

"I knew it, charity is obviously not your strong suit."

"You'll soon eat those words, because by now you realize that without an operating peripheral nervous system, he 'will' die, especially considering the gradual neuropathy if left unattended..."

"...You wench."

"Your mental defenses are slipping, 'Kassadar'. I suggest you start training them, because what I want is for 'you' to keep him alive with your hydro-psychokinesis. You've been doing well so far, but let's see if you can at least handle 'that' much. Water is part of your typing along with your own psychic prowess, after all, and humans are composed of between 60% and 70% water…"

"Surely, there's something else behind your motive…"

"Indeed, there's something else you must do for him for this to work out, and I think one day the lot of you will thank me for it.

"Which is…?"

"You must…"

There was silence in between the two voices. It seemed they withdrew any psychic broadcasting, and Ginger hadn't a clue what the other being wanted. But it was honestly second fiddle to her immense concern right now for her trainer.

There were several more moments of pause before the wispy and surreal landscape returned to normal. "...I'll be watching." Echoed the voice, before its presence also seemingly vanished.

The ocean tides resounded over their thoughts for a few moments.

"So what does she mean by 'nerve dead', she said you knew what it meant," asked Ginger, reeling in confusion and angst.

Kassadar turned to Grey with the light of his gem analyzing him.

"It means without an operating peripheral nervous system, his central nervous system and in turn, his brain, won't have any sensory information coming from outside. It is like being locked in a chamber filled with water but without a sense of direction, smell, touch, taste, sound, or visual input. Not only that, but the PNS consists partly of the autonomic nervous system, which naturally regulates some of his most vital organs and functions…Like the heart and his digestion to name two, amongst others…"

"It can't be…So either way he's…"

"Your worry is understandable, however, at least right now…I'm the only thing keeping him alive by acting as his mobile PNS, thanks to my hydro and psycho-kinesis stimulating his nerves and controlling the flow of his fluids through their networks…Whether you like it or not…It seems you have a new team member in me."

Despite the minor reassurance from the starfish pokémon, Ginger couldn't help but self-loathe herself…Just one mistake ended with this.

She knelt beside Grey, thinking of his embrace of her at the now sunken café all those days ago…She lifted a lock of hair off his face, gazing into his closed eyes, and observed that Grey's breathing was certainly more pronounced since the unknown entity's intervention.

"His brain activity has increased, it's the highest it has been since I brought him here. I believe he is about to awaken."

That was the best piece of news she had received since getting here.

The group gathered around him, waiting anxiously.

His eyes flickered for a few moments and his breath became erratic.

Ginger leaned forward. "Grey?"

His movement stopped, and all was quiet.

"Grey?" she attempted again. No response.

Joanna offered, "Perhaps he is too exhausted—"

His eyes opened and briefly flashed a magenta light as his arm shot up and a crackling fist filled Ginger's vision with a whack. Pain coursed through her face then body as she flipped and rolled on the sand coming to a quick stop. She cupped her throbbing face, wincing from the pain and dazed in wonder of what just happened.

The entire group looked shocked, though not Kassadar, and that wasn't because of his lack of a discernible facial expression.

It seemed the water-psychic type knew something they didn't.

"You stupid combusken." Were Grey's first words.

He grunted in pain as he forced himself up, with blood spurting from his nose in the effort.

"Grey, wait, please don't exert your—"

"Stay out of this, Kassadar. I heard everything, you just keep doing what you're supposed to."

Ginger shakily got to her feet. Arceus that was a strong punch, were humans always this strong? Something was off. And 'heard everything'?

"I only ask that you ease into things and allow your body to adjust without straining it."

Neva stepped forth. "Hey Grey! Why'd you do that!? What's up with you—"

His gaze snapped to her, "You too, shut your mouth. You seem to have forgotten about what I said to you during one of our training sessions. I specifically told you, Neva, to stop her from doing anything rash. Did I not?"

Neva was dumbfounded. "Wha…—H-how do even know what we did!?"

Grey jerked a thumb to the shallow waters, and there were shattered parts of the boat they had lost in the storm, beached on the sand. "Kassadar doesn't need a boat to swim long distances, and the three of you are drenched, not to mention there are signs of a recent storm...And then there are your memories, specifically from Joanna and Ginger...Speaking of who…"

He turned an angry gaze at her with a tiny arc of magenta energy crackling out of his eye.

At this point, Ginger was lost and had no clue what was going on, but from the glare he bestowed on her, she was about to get the rebuttal of her life.

Grey stalked toward her, his nose bleeding and his eyes blood-shot.

"G-Grey, I'm so glad that—"

"What was the first thing I taught you, Ginger?"

She gazed down in thought…

'The concept of unfairness is irrational...If one needs to survive, they need to use anything at their disposal. There's no fairness in a dog-eat-dog world…'

"Exactly."

She flinched at the sudden voice in her head that sounded like…No…

Ginger gawked at him in question.

He frowned. "Oh you didn't imagine it, I just did that."

"Astonishing...His learning rate is far above what I expected," mused Kassadar.

The combusken found herself getting more and more confused. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

Grey closed in. "Didn't you say to yourself that it was 'unfair', just minutes ago?"

So he did hear everything.

"But…But that's…" She didn't know what to say, other than how she felt. She raised her gaze to meet his daunted eyes. "I came for you! Through the storm, because I believed that's what you'd do for us! You did the same for Neva during her battle at Rustboro, didn't you!?"

"That was situational, and 'you' had me become responsible for taking in Neva and Joanna, considering I spared them from their lack-luster trainers. What I did for Neva was me taking responsibility for my decisions, and about 'pokéballs'."

"Then why were you so panicked and worried about the two during that match? I saw the look on your face, don't try to hide it!"

"Obviously, I was worried. I don't want them to get hurt because of some fucking human's intervention!" he yelled before settling down. "And the same goes for you. What you did, not only risking yourself, but the other two was stupid. I thought you had dreams of your own to follow, didn't you? How are you going to fulfill them if you go about dying for other humans? Huh?"

She couldn't answer that.

Grey crouched slightly with a pained grunt, intensifying his scrutiny. "Why did you specifically risk yourself for me?"

She was put on the spot, and Neva and Joanna closed in, curious about her answer too.

Ginger thought furiously for an answer that even she didn't quite understand until she settled on the most logical. "I…don't want my dream if it means…If it means going with someone else incompetent…You've raised my standards, and I don't think I'm going to find anyone else that even comes close."

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "And that's the kind of thinking that gets you killed. Do you think I would've passed on in peace knowing you died because of me? Or worse," he inched closer, glaring at her though not with intense ire, but something else that his current lethargic guise and bloodshot eyes made difficult to interpret. "What if I actually woke up, only to return to Dewford and hear of your pointless deaths at sea, for my sake? For a person that doesn't have clear goals? How do you think that would have made me feel?"

She couldn't answer that either…Because the truth was, she had no idea of his circumstances…For several moments during her venture at sea, she was convinced that she was trying to save a dead man…It was all out of her inability to accept that maybe Grey truly had died…

"So you knew that it was possibly futile, then."

She gasped, forgetting that somehow he could gleam her thoughts now. She glanced at the starmie hovering at a distance…Might he know something about this?

Ginger became flustered, unable to comprehend her own actions entirely either, and unable to look in his eyes anymore. She scratched her elbow and gazed away.

He moved and raised an arm. For a moment she thought he was going to hit her or choke her again in admonishment, hell she was used to her ex-trainer doing it to her constantly throughout their journey, sometimes for no apparent reason…

She shut her eyes and winced…

But a hand lay on her shoulder gently, and once again his eyes held that melancholic, empty, and lethargic gaze. "Ginger. It's because of such carelessness on your part, that I can't teach you what you want,"—he shook his head—"It's too dangerous."

The disappointment almost floored her and suddenly she preferred it if he had choked or hit her rather than 'that'…But to a degree she understood. But it didn't mean she had to like it.

He got up with another grunt and some cracking bones, before walking off to the jungle.

"Where are you going—"

"Don't follow. I need to be alone for an hour or two. Go back to Dewford pokécenter and wait for me there, if you want to, that is. The island is apparently small enough for you to find your way back, just follow the road when you find it. Also, don't tell anyone about me, not just yet. Except for Sawyer, though I'm not sure how you're gonna' manage to actually 'tell' him without psychic aid. But just make sure he doesn't squeal."

"How did you know we were staying with…Never mind. I understand."

At that, Grey walked off, with the starmie floating after him but, "That means you too, Kassadar."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot stay more than 'twenty meters' away from you before the influence of my hydro and psychokinesis on your body wanes from distance. It's complicated enough to sustain as it is, but as long as I am within distance, I'll manage."

"So basically, you're my mobile life support and dialysis machine…Great."

"Worry not. In time, as the procedure becomes second nature, my efficiency and maximum range will improve, and perhaps you will heal with the psychic energies at your disposal. But for now, all I can offer is to temporarily cut our telepathic connection to give you privacy and remain within minimum distance."

"Fine," he grunted, as he gave the girls a final look before entering the jungle, with his steps and the rustling of the bushes fading.

Ginger deflated from his attitude, disappointed in the entire chain of events…But she was forevermore glad that at least Grey was, for the most part, well and alive. Thank Arceus…Still, despite her efforts and her will to show loyalty and her devotion, he was still upset with her…

"Do not be too disheartened, you must be grateful that he yet lives," came Kassadar's voice, causing her to snap her gaze up at the star-like being who floated in place for a moment near an arc of verdant palms.

"Of course I am…It's just…"

"If it's any consolation…When someone is heavily affected by the decisions and words of another, it is often a telltale sign of their commitment and attachment to them."

Huh? What did that mean?

"It means he cares for you more than you may realize…"

She did a double-take at the revelation.

R-Really…?

But Kassadar already disappeared, leaving Ginger with the tingles of surprise coursing through her; heated and abashed at the enigmatic words, making her self-conscious and awkward.

Was Grey trying to…protect her? Then?

As deeply flattering as it was, it was simultaneously insulting, which caused her even more emotional turmoil and confusion.

She was a pokémon, not a fragile human being…But perhaps…That was where the problem lay. Grey kept treating her equally, as though she were human, despite being clearly aware that she was anything but fragile…

…They returned to the pokémon center, and Sawyer happened to be at the entry with a pair of police officers before he almost flipped at the sight of the pokégirls and dismissed the uniformed officers. He had been looking for them.

True enough, back at his allocated room, it was rather difficult to explain to the greenette about Grey being fine and that he'd come back later, though she wasn't sure when; all explained through broken sign language which got the message across.

Moments like those caused Ginger to further count her blessings in the form of Grey, who could understand every word of hers…Every expression…And now possibly thoughts and emotions too, the latter of which made her nervous to her befuddlement.

They waited for several hours, and it was only a few more before nightfall.

Ginger was worried sick.

What if something happened? What if he wasn't ok? She meditated on past events and her powerlessness at all the events since the crisis at the cruise up until now…She was tired of being useless and unable to defend Grey…She wouldn't take no for an answer. Enough was enough.

"I'm going to find him," she declared as she stepped toward the door.

Neva and Joanna snapped up from their bunker beds. "We're coming with—"

"No. I need you two to stay and cover for me, lest Sawyer will follow us."

Neva narrowed her gaze. "Don't give me orders, bitch. I said I'm com—"

"Grey said he wanted to be alone, do we really need Sawyer to start a search for us again and cause unnecessary attention to ourselves? I just need to check and see if he's alright, that's all, and I'll be right back."

For a moment it seemed Neva was going to argue, but Joanna put a black claw on the sneasel's shoulder. "She's right, Neva, if only one of us stay, it would still arouse suspicion, but if two of us are here, they'll only assume she took a walk." The salandit gave her a nod in confirmation while passing her Grey's bag which was the only thing that Neva had salvaged from their cruise escape. "Take this, it has an extra pair of his outfit, I don't want my trainer to come back looking like a homeless human. We'll wait here," affirmed Joanna with a smile curling her black snout, making it clear it was a two-to-one vote.

Neva stepped down from the argument, and it was settled. "Bring him back to us."

Ginger nodded.

After sneaking through the halls and past the nurses and the attendants, Ginger once more left the pokécenter with the backpack slung over her shoulder, and headed straight back in the direction they took. As a precaution, earlier when they had left Grey to his devices, she had marked several areas with her claws. Trees, rocks; anything she could cut and mark that could lead straight back in the direction of the beach.

She pushed past the bushes and palm leaves in her path, attentive to any signs of Grey. After a dozen minutes of bushwalking, she spotted a clearing ahead, and some solid muted thunks of falling objects on the sand-patched ground reverberated from it.

Curious, she slowed her pace, stalked to the edge, and took a peek.

Kassadar floated above, most likely having detected her presence already, and a few meters away was Grey with his back to her and shirtless, which was a first for Ginger's eyes, if his previous position at the beach didn't count.

He was somewhat toned and lean, yet thin, at least for human standards, according to her limited knowledge anyway. His musky sweat gleamed beneath the evening light, lining the muscles of his back. But what was surprising to her were the sheer amounts of small to mid-sized scars crisscrossing about his entire torso, not including the huge one from the healed wound the Sharpedo had left him. Some were long gashes, others were small and rounded, dotting some areas as though they were punctured by multiple objects of roughly the same size.

The amount, placement, and size of the old lesions suggested that he cheated death on many occasions. And considering the one he had shown to the cashier back at that store in Rustboro…

'I'm no stranger to the streets of a fucked up neighborhood...Or a fucked up household at that…'

Were those scars really the result of just simply living in a dangerous neighborhood? Or was there something else to his words? Or were they simply lies? Surely there was more to his past.

Grey stood in an open stance, arms raised and palms pointing at a group of small rocks half the size of soccer balls. He let out exacerbated breaths, before once again becoming silent.

To Ginger's astonishment, one of the rocks began emitting a faint glow and wobbled about, before it made a slow ascent into the air, like a balloon. Grey grunted, with his arms shaking and his breath quivering, before the rock fell again to the ground with a thump; motionless again.

"Damn it." He let out in a single breath, huffing in exhaustion.

Was he training? Did he somehow acquire psychic abilities from perhaps…the unknown telepath that aided in his recovery? As well as Kassadar?

"Yes…And no," answered the starmie. "If you don't wish to be caught, speak with your mind."

Like this?

"Yes. As for your query, in truth, Grey already had psionic potential, hence why he is able to comprehend you verbally, unlike most other human beings. Also, it seems he already has strong mental defenses, having already psionically 'blocked' two other Psychic types. However, our esteemed mysterious 'helper', if you will, aided me in further bringing out his potential and instructed me to teach him."

Why?

"Our 'supervisor' for a lack of a name, broke into our minds far too easily for my liking. Grey may have to defend himself against much stronger and more serious psychic attacks, on top of maintaining his broken PNS. It will also aid him in many other tasks. He has potential, and is a very fast learner."

But doesn't he have 'you' now to help with that? Also that presence earlier, though her attitude could use work, seems to be interested in his recovery, though I don't know why. She said she'd be watching.

"The truth is…I may not be around indefinitely, and I am not sure of the intentions of the other telepath, and there's no guarantee he'll heal completely. Psychic healing pulses can only do so much on the surface, but the rest is up to the body, with my hydrokinetic assistance, of course. But if something happens to me, or should I be separated from him past my maximum distance…He will lose functionality of his autonomic organs, like his heart, as well as every one of his five physical senses…and die."

Shit…

"Quite. So it would be wise for him to learn to self-regulate himself at least partially, and fast—"

"Who are you talking to, Kassadar?" Came Grey's voice flooding into the telepathic connection.

Surprise emanated from the starmie, and Ginger dreaded what came next.

"Oh dear, it seems he truly is a fast learner. We've been caught."

"I see…Stop hiding Ginger, and come out. Now." It was so odd having his voice echoing in her head, but the drill was up and she'd have to present herself.

She walked out of the bushes, and he was facing her now; his healed torso a new sight to her eyes which lingered there for a few moments—

"Eyes up here, honey."

She shook her head and switched her gaze to his. "Y-you've been missing for hours now, I was concerned, and also I thought you might need this," she said, handing him the large backpack.

"I see…Thanks. Sorry, I guess I got caught up in training with Kassadar…Was there another reason you came?" he asked, seemingly testing her with a raised brow in expectation.

Oh for fuck's sake, sometimes he could be a real pain in the arse. But now that he could potentially read into her even more with psionic precision? That was going to get annoying real quick, she hoped he could 'turn it off'.

You know what? Screw it.

She glared at him, thinking of his callousness and insufferable demeanor. "Yeah. There is something else…"

"Then out with it."

She raised a gleaming claw. "I'm sick of being useless, Grey. You ended up falling off the ship because of my mistake. I never should have left your side. I over-extended and you paid the price for it."

"I'll remind you, that was an order I gave you, it was a tactical oversight on my part as the trainer, not yours—"

"Oh, shut up!" She screamed, causing him to flinch.

She continued with her frustration building up. "Just shut up and tell me that I failed and that I need to improve! Why are 'you' the one training out here when you've just practically risen from the dead like a fucking zombie, meanwhile I'm the one that's at the hotel sitting on my arse!? This time, Grey, I won't take 'no' for an answer!"

She brandished her bladed claws with a steely shing, "Either you teach me, Grey Wilson, if that's who you really are, or I'll make you, damn it!"

"Will you kill me if I won't?"

"I won't have you die because of a mistake I made…So in that case, if someone's going to decide when you die, it'll be me! Me! Just like the first time we met! And don't even think about flinging dirt in my eyes this time because I'm not falling for it again!"

"Milady, he just revived, and might not be physically—"

"Don't worry, Kassadar. The jigs' up. She's shown me that she's willing…It would be cruel to deny her what she wants at this stage…"

"...Very well, but I will intervene if I foresee a mortal blow."

"There won't be one. Didn't the 'Vision' say so?"

"Grey…she's still listening, you must keep control of the telepathic conduits and be sure to retract them before relaying information to others."

Ginger narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Vision? What vision?

"Right. Sorry, loudspeaker it is."

Grey breathed in heavily, expanding his sweat-gleamed chest, before letting it all out…

His ambers settled on her crimsons, with a twinge of his lips. "You're right, Ginger."

She blinked. Did he just agree with her?

"My situation has gotten worse…So much so, that even the simple fucking act of breathing is impossible for me without a pokémon's aid…"

'Talk about ironic,' she heard him say internally. Was that intentional, or did his thought bleed out telepathically?

Why was it ironic?

He continued out loud, clenching his fist for a moment before letting go with a sigh. "Despite it going against my pride as a self-reliant person…It's only logical that I have top level pokémon to rely on for defense and...survival…I'm already depending on Kass' over here…So I'll have to depend on you and the others as well, which means you must become stronger. But I won't settle for anything less than top tier partners, so you lot have your work cut out for you. This also conveniently ties with your dream of reaching the level of competition that is the 'Ever Grande'. So I'll teach you everything I know, Ginger."

"Really!?" She cried in excitement.

His lips curled a touch. "Yeah…But it won't be easy. I expect nothing less than absolute perfection with every technique, and that takes consistent practice and time…But by the end of it? I'm convinced that you'll be one of the scariest fighting-types around, no joke…So are you ready for the first lesson?"

"Yeah!"

"Good." He became serious and settled into a stance with fists raised. "Now come at me like the first time you met me, with real intent to kill. Strike me down and give it your best shot."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Try to kill me. You said only you'd decide when I die." He frowned. "so act like it, and back up your words with dignity. I don't need a pokémon partner who won't walk the talk."

"But…But I just got you—"

"Where did your resolve go? What, you think I'm so weak that I'd lose to you? Please…If you have any respect for me, then you will do as I say, raise those motherfucking butter-knives you so proudly call 'claws', and come strike me! My lesson would be worthless if you were able to kill me so easily, so what's the difference? I'm a dead man standing anyway, on life support…Or maybe you're too scared?"

"I…I'm not scared."

I'm scared of losing you…

"Really? I don't believe it. I don't believe you were willing to cross an ocean for me. It all must be lies, and those images in your mind are faked out to get what you want. Liar and fraud!…Ah, I see…Maybe it was your ex-trainer that left you like that. You're no good to me if you're gonna' wimp out. A real fighter isn't afraid of anything! A real fighter won't let someone else talk them down like they're nothing but a shit-stain on the wall! Where's that fire in your eyes? Huh!?"

"I…"

"Perhaps I can assist…" Came Kassadar's voice.

And before she even realized it, with a slight numbness in her mind and pressure in her head, Ginger was faced with her worst nightmare…

The air was filled with floating ashes, and a thick smoky fog rolled around them…and it wasn't Grey standing there anymore…

Grey's warmer ambers were now familiar cruel black voids for eyes, and his smile a twisted malignant curl in derision, his skin tone and hair all changed…

…It was him.

What the fuck was this?

"Scared? Little bitch? Of course, you are…You were never good enough. Always moaning and crying like a baby duckling shitting itself in fright. Hehe…"

He stalked toward her, with his grin twisting even more, and his eyes further deforming in their derangement.

"Pathetic. You won't even strike me down. Boy, I must've messed you up real good, huh, little chickity-chick."

"Don't call me that! That nickname was never clever! And I'm a combusken now!" She fucking hated that nickname.

"Oh? Strike a nerve? No matter how many times you evolve, or how much you think you've grown, you're still my little shitty chickity-chick."

It couldn't be him. Obviously, he didn't understand her whenever she spoke, except with the aid of the psychic that was on his team…But there was no one else. Only her and him…No one to see.

"Yeah, that's right, just you and me. No one to interfere. You can do what you like, chickity-chick."

She growled as her claw ignited in flame. "Call me that again, fucker. I dare you."

"Aww, what's the matter? Can't take a little joke? You need to 'toughen up', or was the 'beating' my team gave you not enough? Eh? My little whittle' chikity-chi—"

Snap.

Fire jetted from her claw in hatred of her ex-trainer and with a spring of her powerful legs, she zoomed toward the son of a bitch who was the source of months of abuse and the very reason for her obsession with the Ever Grande.

She was inches away from tearing the asshole in two as she leaped and raised her right claw, before his face melted into Grey's and they were back in 'reality'.

She gasped but it was too late.

Her arm came down as he leaned in and raised his left arm. Somehow, and to her shock, instead of striking him, her right arm was casually moved to the side and she completely missed, leaving her suspended in that moment. But Grey's right arm moved in a blur and her throat sunk from a powerful strike, cutting her airway off for a moment with a thunk.

The darkening sky folded over her before she lost even more air from her landing on her chest.

"Hu…Ouagh…"

She gasped and tried her best to breathe, but somehow she was left suffocating worse than she had been in the ocean storm.

She was blacking out, tired at all the events of today.

"Lesson 2: Never hesitate, or die. We'll practice that one tomorrow, amongst others…For now, rest…"

Ginger tried to remember what happened, it was so fast, but she was sure it had something to do with some kind of flawless parry and a quick strike to her throat…She wouldn't have expected such quick and precise movement at that range and under pressure, especially for a human…How did Grey stay so collected in the face of imminent death? There were so many questions…

But whatever the technique was…It was awesome, and she'd learn it to perfection…

…Ginger groggily awoke to another morning at the bunker bed of the pokécenter room. The bed next to her was empty with its covers messed up. She blinked away the sleep before her thought immediately went to Grey. She checked the top bunk beds that were in a similar state.

No one was in the room. Panic coursed through her body.

Ginger burst out into the hallway, scaring some nurses and guests, and ran toward the cafeteria.

To her absolute gladness, the four were at a large lounge table, having breakfast along with Sawyer and his treecko. Grey, dressed in his usual attire, was sitting at the edge of the leathered seat, tearing into his meal with three plates stacked next to him like he had never seen food before. It was to be expected, he hadn't been properly nourished for almost a week.

She closed in, and Grey turned to her. "Oh, Ginger, morning," he said as he swallowed. "Guess I must've got you a bit too hard ay—Huh?"

Ginger found herself unable to resist and embraced him with all her strength, taking in his aroma and reassuring herself he was here and he was fine, and that it wasn't a dream. She buried her beak into the nook of his neck, "I'm so glad you're okay…"

"Eh. Uhh."

Two women walked by and giggled at the sight. "Aww! So cute!"

"Oh my gosh, that is sooo adorable!" They whispered as they passed, cooing at the sight.

Ginger could sense the embarrassment irradiating out of Grey's mind.

"Alright, alright I'm here and I'm fine, would you let go now? You're crushing me."

She realized she held on for too long and too tightly, her cheeks burned and flushed at the gawking of Neva and Joanna who stopped midway their chewing, with Kassadar observing from above. Though treecko and Sawyer seemed warmed at the sight, as they didn't know their usual dynamic and relation.

"Have a seat, here's an extra plate, you can have it," offered Grey as he pushed a plate to her side.

She sat down next to him and gazed at the meal of hashbrowns, as they were called, with the asparagus and eggs to the side, the latter of which she didn't like very much for some reason.

It wasn't the first time she had human food, and it was surprisingly tasty, though another aspect of Grey she discovered over time was the fact that he never had any actual meat on his plate. Curious…

After the meal, Sawyer bid his farewell as he was scheduled to have a match with Brawly at Dewford Gym. Grey wished him luck, as apparently, Brawly was one of the only gym leader's who wasn't big on public audiences, nor for television or anything of the sort with regards to his matches.

Ginger didn't understand such a mentality. But Grey, to her surprise, had justified the odd attitude of the gym leader by stating that, since Brawly was a 'fighting-type' specialist, it would only be natural to treat the gym more like a dojo that appreciated focus for intense training and battling, rather than be an area filled with distractions that would only detract from the learning experience.

But then Grey expressed his doubts as soon as he found out that Brawly was more of a dedicated surfer rather than a raw martial artist, because Brawly only attended challenges on certain days and limited amounts at that.

There had to be something that qualified Brawly for being a gym leader, right?

But in the meantime, Grey, looking wholesome again thank Arceus, took the group back to their area in the jungle, which was now more sunlit yet still covered in areas of palm shades.

For a few moments, Grey observed her closely; his amber eyes scanned her from head to toe repeatedly.

Ginger flushed in discomfort under his scrutiny, though the attention she was getting wasn't necessarily unwelcome—wait what? No, it was definitely awkward and not normal, "W-what is it? Why're you lookin' at me like that?" She blurted out.

"You've grown."

"...Huh?"

"I'm not an expert in pokémon biology or anything, but, since we've began traveling together, and the five days or so I hadn't seen you, I'm pretty confident you've had quite a growth spurt. As much as around eight inches, in fact. Goddamn that's fast…Then again, in a harsh environment filled with predators, it makes sense…"

Really? I've grown taller? I hadn't realized.

She waited for him to continue but he seemed lost in thought. "Uh, Grey?"

He jolted out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, right. I was concerned about our height difference with regards to teaching you through sparring, though your growth spurt is rather convenient and should do fine for now. You'll have to get used to fighting against all sorts of disadvantages that aren't just limited to antagonist pokémon 'types'."

"Right."

"Today, you'll learn what I did to you yesterday. It's a quick and efficient maneuver that can bring a fight to an abrupt end. Either that, or disorient an opponent enough to finish them with a follow-up attack."

The other girls stood at the side with starmie and watched.

"But first, I need to see for myself the flaws behind your own defense. So this time, I'm going to come at you with some generic attacks, and you're going to defend."

"But what if I cut you with my claw?"

"I can assist here," said Kassadar as an eerie bluish gleam of psychic energy covered Grey's forearms.

He looked at the starfish. "And 'you' need to teach 'me' that."

"Worry not, 'Reflect' is part of the curriculum indeed. Most simple physical attacks will not pierce it."

Grey smiled at Ginger. "Better?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Good, then here I come."

With that, he dashed forth with explosive speed that shouldn't have been possible, unless Kassadar was behind that as well.

Ginger brought her guard up and Grey struck downward with his right, hitting the ulna of her forearm with a whack, sending the force down the entire length of her arm and rattling her. He went for another strike with his other arm and she responded with the same guard, but at the last second he aborted and his movement shifted.

Oh shit!

She winced from the sensation of his right fist under her chin, but there was no impact. He stopped. "Tag. Gotcha'."

"R-right."

What the hell was that?

"It's called a 'feigned uppercut', a simple yet often overlooked close combat technique. Note, you should only feign an attack under two conditions. One, if you have your opponent on the defense, and two, if they repeat the same predictable line of defense. But a fair warning, when you abort an attack to attempt a feint, you leave yourself entirely open in that moment as you're no longer committed to the first attack in favor of switching into a different one, which means you lose precious milliseconds of time not attacking, nor defending. Sometimes a skilled opponent will bait you into feigning an attack by intentionally allowing you to see the pattern in their defense, for the sole purpose of striking you midway through your own shift in pattern and catching you off-guard. This is most effective with punches and elbows, along with the head, but can be used for kicking as well, but beware of that last one, for not only do you re-dedicate time in switching, but also sacrifice your center of weight distribution. If a skilled opponent takes advantage of that moment of vulnerability, the fight is as good as over."

"So…You switched into an uppercut with the limb I blocked, midway your second strike with the other, because I used the same defense with my free arm."

"Exactly. Good, you get it. Also, you left your guard open from under. Beware of that gap as anything small can slip through and clip you on the jaw, also not good. So I'll teach you the most efficient way to actually defend and block, like I did yesterday. Relax your arms."

She did so and he took her right arm, guiding and extending it forward and above at a forty-ish degree angle. "Keep that arm there, and watch my movement, let's see if you figure it out." He then extended his arm into an intentional slow punch aimed at her face, but his arm slid across her raised one from the exterior with his aim veering off completely to the side as a demonstration.

She remembered his fight with the machoke back at the warehouse…

It came to her in a flash.

"Ah, so you understand what happened last night," he said with a grin.

The way her arm was so casually pushed aside yesterday without any apparent effort despite the velocity and force behind it…

Of course! That's why it felt like there was barely any impact. It was like I completely missed! But all he did was push against my arm on the inside just as my limb began descending! Leaving me completely open!

"That's how you guard against a heavy punch or strike. The only thing your opponent's limb can do is veer off to the side, meanwhile simultaneously,"—he took her left unoccupied arm and pulled it up to his throat, barely tapping it with her claws—"you have ample time to counter-attack, using your opponent's momentum against them, effectively doubling the force of your impact…This is where it gets dangerous, and where you need absolute control of your own force applied on top, otherwise, if you're not careful…you could effectively crush their throat and kill them," he said with a stern gaze before he gave a casual shrug. "Unless that's your intention and you had no choice, of course."

"Amazing…Such deliberate and simple movements," she mused.

"However, again, if it's a very skilled opponent who happens to fall into this, then they'll quickly anticipate your counter-attack and do this—"

He shifted his neck to the side and moved into her space. Her blocking arm was suddenly arrested by his previously striking one, with his free arm snaking around and under her offensive arm, and pushing her face with his hand. She lost balance and landed on her back with all his weight on top of her.

He shifted quickly, letting go of her left and grabbing her right arm, clamping it between his legs as he hooked them over her torso and neck, and suddenly she found herself locked in some kind of constriction maneuver, unable to get up or push him off.

Grey leaned backward, pulling her arm with him and against himself. Her forearm bones groaned as though ready to snap against her elbow in the wrong way along with her shoulder ready to pop out. Her instincts blared in precognitive alarm of the potential incoming danger.

"What the—Agh! Aagh! Stop, stop! I Give! I Give!" She yelled in pain, with the pressure disappearing as Grey let go, rolled backward, and stood up, while she stayed planted on the ground, dazed and unable to process what just happened. Yet another formidable technique.

She got up rubbing her right elbow, "Shit…What in the blazing fuck was that!?"

Grey gave an evil grin…

…For the next few days until his turn in the god-awful slow queue to challenge Brawly would come about, Grey and his pokémon partners trained their respective styles and techniques according to their typing. The difference, however, between now and before, was that he taught them basic and intermediate fighting techniques on the side to further complement their unique skill sets. The techniques would certainly come in handy one day. Of course, unlike the rest, for Ginger it represented half her Fighting-type training; no one benefited more from the techniques than she. Kassadar, meanwhile, trained and honed his psychic prowess and hydrokinesis, in full understanding that he'd be reserved second-last, considering his typing advantage against fighting vs his need to stay functional for Grey's sake.

Apparently, the starfish entity had no need to sleep, and if he needed to rest, he could put himself on standby and automate his mental actions with a clocked self-hypnosis. How that worked? Grey had no clue, but he couldn't get over the irony behind the sea-pokémon's name, voice, and his overall physiology as well as his abilities.

It had 'Starcraft' painted all over it and he was now genuinely convinced the universe was fucking with him at this point.

Today, their turn arrived, and they felt more than ready to face the Dewford gym. Hell, if it wasn't for the queue time and the Gym leader's low attendance rate, they would have been on their way to Mauville by now, if victorious here...not that he was eager to get on another boat too soon.

They walked to the highest peak of the island, toward a building situated near the cliff. It had a golden dome as a roof, with three disc-like protrusions extending and spreading outward. It eerily represented the crests that the 'machop family' of pokémon possessed. And if that wasn't convincing enough, the archway before the entry held a golden plate at the top center, with the embossing of a machamp running alongside its pre-evolved starting form, machop, and under them the following stated:

'Fight the big wave'

"Tch. Clearly a surf junkie."

"Grey, I sense turbulent emotions directed at you. It comes from the approaching human."

What?

"Grey Wilson…So you finally decide to appear on the radar."

Oh no…Why the fuck is 'she' here?

With an internal groan, he turned around and was himself irritated to lay eyes on the person.

"Evelyn Maison, I'm surprised to see you here. I'd have thought you'd be long done with 'this' gym."

His so-called Mystic guild 'ally', dressed in a summery and less 'dress-like' version of her previous attire that included sandals instead of her usual high heels but retaining her rose-top hat, took a few more steps toward him, analyzing him with a critical dark-blue eye.

She placed her hands on her hips with a 'hmph'. "How presumptuous of you, we're not all in a rush to finish the gyms, some of us have honest lives aside from pokémon training, you know."

Her little quip about 'honesty' did not go unnoticed…Speaking of which, perhaps he should try it on her…

He focused his mind and leered directly into her eyes, blotting everything in his peripheral vision.

Let's see what you 'really' think of me, Maison…

'...Where has he been…' Came a subconscious wave of thought in whispers of her own internal voice.

So she was suspicious of his absence.

He gave her a smug grin. "Oh I see, since you're so versed in 'honesty', I take it you've self-reflected during the last week and a half about your failures? Hmm?"

Her brow furrowed at his comment and he could literally sense the animosity flaring upon his statement—

'Jerk', came a resounding thought of hers.

However, the intense emotion died down just as quickly. So psionics weren't just limited to thoughts, but also emotions…Perhaps it had something to do with the vibrational makeup of all matter, which made both concepts mutually inclusive. Interesting. Also, just 'jerk'? Not 'asshole' or 'prick' or anything else a little more substantial? Was that because she was most likely raised with a silver spoon in her mouth? Odd.

She breathed in, folding her arms. "Perhaps…" she admitted. She took a closer look at him. "Say, you look a little…Eh, how should I put this…Zombish. You're not sick, are you? I heard about the cruise incident. Did you come out of that…Safely?" She asked with apparent genuine concern.

Did he really look that bad since the cruise and his 'health-related' predicament?

"Well if I didn't, I wouldn't be standing here right now, would I?"

Was he wrong? Did Evelyn not know about Grey's previous MIA? He did ask Sawyer to not mention it to anyone under any circumstances aside from Blanche, and he was aware that the mystic guild leader had instructed the greenette to stay at the pokécenter to confirm said missing status. But didn't the news of his near-week-long disappearance spread within the guild?

Strange. It seemed Blanche put a lid on that for his well-being.

"You know what I meant by that."

"Sure, just a bit queasy from near-drowning, I suppose. But no real biggie. 'My' starmie was quite helpful in that. Concerned for me?" He tested.

Her eyes shot open in surprise.

So she 'didn't know'...

"I see…Well, we may be rivals, but we're also allies, and I'm a lieutenant. Naturally, I would be concerned. But if you say you're fine, then I'll take it."

He rolled his eyes. "Right."

"So, I'm assuming you're scouting out the gym leader?"

"'Scouting out'? I'm here to challenge him, aren't 'you'?"

She inclined her head in confusion like a befuddled puppy. "Huh? How can that be? I've been reserved to take him on around this time, I'm last on the list, and I got a message from the receptionist stating his second last match of the day has recently concluded. Be honest, Wilson, did you lose and now you're just moping at the entry? Or—"

He flipped out his pokédex with the appointment details displayed on the page and showed it to her.

Surprise filled her face as she pulled out her own device, a little different from his own, and showed her own appointment ticket.

They had the same date and time.

What was going on here?

"Looks like I was right about the lack of discipline of this gym, it seems even the secretary's a surf-head."

"I'm not sure, Wilson, the League wouldn't have allowed Brawly's administration to last if they were this incompetent. Something isn't right."

He narrowed his gaze.

"Or maybe the League doesn't quite measure up to all the reverence it gets."

"What? That's impossible, the PA wouldn't stand for that either, they represent the sporting and the trade commission, any failure in the system would mean sullying their own reputation."

"You're naive if you think multi trillionaire industries who have a solid grasp over the grand majority of the population give a damn about their own reputation. Try not to base your assumptions on secondary sources of information."

She grunted at that, but before she could argue, a distant buzzing stopped her into curiosity. Its loudness made a gradual increase until a yellow drone of sorts hovered over them. It had four propellers in a square formation and a bulbous head with two lifeless blue eyes and a small speaker mouth, with a camera attached to its tiny torso.

The' fuck is 'that'?

"What's a Rotom drone doing here?"

—"Greetings on behalf of Dewford Gym administration, I am an automated assistant rotom drone and official PA and league-sponsored mobile battle judge. We have detected a close proximity between identically scheduled devices. We realize that you may be confused about your matching schedules with the Dewford Gym leader. Rest assured, this is completely intentional." It said with an artificial voice.

"Intentional? Why?" Asked Evelyn.

The rotom drone spun on its axis and gave her an empty gaze.

—"Yes. Intentional. Please refrain from speaking until the end so I may resolve all confusion. Thank you."

The drone twisted back into a neutral direction. —"The Dewford gym administration, like some others, has many challengers, and in order to filter the trainers, some administrations hand out a 'test' which must be successfully completed to an acceptable degree in accordance to said administration's criterion. Dewford Gym's, in this case, has decided to pair two challengers randomly with matching schedule times. Once the challengers meet at the gym entry, they are required to engage in a single, 1-on-1 pokémon battle before challenging the gym leader, who will only accept the challenge of the trainer who completes the battle successfully. The trainer who loses will have to reschedule for the next available slot on a different day. Note: Since this is Pokémon League and Association-related protocol, this match will count as an 'Official League' battle, the results of which will ultimately affect your trainer profile. Are there any questions?"

Evelyn was about to ask but—

"None, let's get this over and done with."

—"Very well."

Ping!

The pokédex vibrated, and a pending challenge was issued on the screen. Grey accepted.

Evelyn pouted at him. "That was rude, Wilson, I wanted to ask it something."

"You can make your studies and queries later at your own leisure with the wealth of information you have at your disposal, the time to act is now."

"Tch. Talk about impatience," she grumbled, tapping her own screen.

He grinned at the expense of her annoyance. It was exactly what Grey wanted.

A battle starts with the mind, not with the first strike. Putting pressure on the opponent from the start and causing them to stutter in their process was a good start.

—"A match has been confirmed. Without revealing its name to their opponent, each trainer will select a single pokémon for a best of one match. You have three minutes to input a registered pokémon species from your party into the following prompt window on your device."

Grey typed the name into the prompt window without hesitation.

—"Trainer, Grey Wilson, has selected his pokémon."

"Wh—already? You're not going to even think it over?" asked Evelyn in apparent disbelief at his speedy choice.

He smiled. "If you're as smart as you like to believe, then you basically have an advantage over me. My choice in pokémon out of my party of four should be obvious."

"I see…" she mused, though suddenly looking unsure as she observed all four of his pokémon partners.

Once more, he psyched her out. He knew from the start that she had confidence issues. How she was given her title of lieutenant, he had no clue. Perhaps they valued organizational skills, which he did admit she had.

Either way, she was about to receive what she wanted well over a week ago, and Grey would gladly deliver…

Let's see what the so-called 'lieutenant' has to offer…And the legitimacy behind Mystic's decision-making…

…