Tree branches sliced at my face as I ran, my arms rising up for protection. My breath was gone, energy depleted, yet my legs continued to lift my feet and they charged on, forcing through the snow, grass, and sticks below.

The Big P Pokemon Ranch was far behind me.

The tight, forested area I was now in barely had much of a path, bushes and vines complicating the trail that was a blur to my eyes. Running through here was dangerous with the trees so close together, their branches poking and cutting at my body and clothes. Snow would fall from where it had landed above me in the trees when I would hit a tree trunk or branches and splash into my face or fall around me.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!

The explosion from far behind me encouraged me to keep on running.

Pokemon were staring at me as I ran past. Or maybe they were running away, too.

I couldn’t make out what was going on around me. There were Pokemon, I think. Everything was unclear. With a gasp, my legs gave out underneath me and I crashed. My body was screaming out to stop and take a rest, forcing me to gasp for air repeatedly. But I couldn’t rest. I had to keep going. I had to get help for Will and the Pokemon back at the ranch. I had to find somebody. My body refused to move despite my desperation to get up. My face hit the ground in exhaustion. I had no energy to fight against myself. My eyelids were heavy. It was a struggle to open them. My hands in the dirt, I clenched them into tight fists before relaxing them against my will. With a final groan, sucking up all the energy I could muster into my body, inhaling some dirt along the way, I struggled to force myself up. I managed to my knees, swallowing the dirt in my mouth and coughing hard before collapsing once more, my breath leaving me before everything went black.

*

I was in a pool. No. An ocean. I was sinking fast under the water. In a panic, I swallowed the strangely fresh tasting water and flailed desperately, inhaling water into my nose, causing me to panic even worse. With a loud gasp, I sat up.

A cry was let out by someone near me as they fell back away from me with a shocked look.

I too cried out at the stranger, surprised anyone was there. My eyes soon recognized the woman! “Officer Jenny?”

Officer Jenny, in all her undeniable beauty, sat on the ground, her miniskirt lifted just teasingly as she stared at me, a water bottle in her left hand. “Gary,” she responded.

I squinted at her. Did I know this Officer Jenny? My tongue ran along my lips and I swallowed something wet in my mouth. Saliva? No. This was water. Clean water. Not salt water from the ocean, but the same, clean tasting water I had felt myself drowning in. But I was still in the same place I had fallen before blacking out. I hadn’t been drowning at all. My clothes were only slightly wet and muddied from the snow on the ground. I was still on land. Staring at the open water bottle in her hand, I figured maybe she had poured water into my mouth while I was unconscious.

“Gary, are you okay?” Officer Jenny asked.

I nodded quickly, not sure if I truly felt okay or not.

“That’s good. I just found you laying here, passed out. I tried to give you some water. You seemed exhausted.”

I didn’t say anything.

Officer Jenny looked down at the bottle of water in her hand, and then looked back to me. “Are you thirsty?” she asked, holding the bottle out to me.

I nodded.

She smiled and leaned in closer.

I slowly reached a shaky hand out and gently took the bottle from her. The cool water sliding down my throat felt absolutely refreshing to me as I drank urgently. The bottle was empty in seconds and I breathed a sigh of relief and gratefulness.

Officer Jenny kept solemn eyes on me. “Gary, we need to find a way out of here,” she spoke seriously. “We’re going to need to continue going straight ahead.”

My breathing was feeling normal again. I wasn’t out of breath, but I did feel wiped out and sore from all the running. I was also still pretty thirsty. “How do you know my name?”

“I saw your Pokedex,” Officer Jenny explained. “I checked it and it gave me your information.”

I nodded and kept quiet. Seconds later, my brain finally woke up. “Officer Jenny, I need help!” I shouted. “The Big P Pokemon Ranch is under attack! Someone is –!”

“I know this, Gary,” Officer Jenny cut me off. “I can’t get to the ranch.”

“How come?”

Officer Jenny looked me dead in the eyes before looking down at the ground, staring at the water bottle that had fallen from my hands during my outburst. She was quiet for such a long time.

“Officer Jenny?”

She kept her eyes down, refusing to look up. “I don’t know…” She shook her head slowly.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I asked frantically. “Just go there! What’s going on?”

Officer Jenny looked up at me, a bit of anger in her eyes. “The area is blocked off!” she snapped.

“I don’t understand,” I said in a calmer voice.

“Well, I don’t either, Gary.” Officer Jenny got to her feet and adjusted her skirt. “I was heading over to the ranch after I got an alert that a serious situation was happening over there, so I got on my motorcycle to go check it out. I didn’t clip my walkie-talkie on properly in my rush and lost it, so I wasn’t able to alert anyone at the ranch that I was coming. I also didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation so I didn’t get to call any other officers to the scene when I could have. Pokemon were running around in a panic everywhere, and were slowing me down as I tried not to run into any of them. As I neared the ranch, a Pidgey flew ahead of me.” She paused sharply there and her lips pressed against each other as she inhaled hard, looking away to the snowy ground. The officer shook her head hard, sniffling.

I pushed myself up, groaning as I got to my own feet, keeping my eyes on Officer Jenny. “Officer Jenny? What’s wrong?” I stretched my body, cracking my back and arms, groaning loudly.

Officer Jenny brushed aside her bluish colored hair as she turned to me. “The Pidgey collided with some kind of previously invisible field...”

“A what??” I didn’t understand what she meant by that.

Tears filled her eyes and she closed them, lowering her head as tears slid from behind her eyelids. “There was nothing there. Nothing at all. But... The Pidgey... It flew ahead and suddenly, some kind of electric blockade appeared and zapped the poor Pokemon! All it could do was scream out before finally dropping to the ground. It was completely blackened…! The wall of electricity then disappeared, as if it weren’t even there. I was still nearing the spot Pidgey had landed and leaped off of my motorcycle at the last second. My motorcycle crashed into the same area Pidgey had and the electric wall appeared again. The wall vanished again when my motorcycle was no longer touching it, just laying in the snow. Laying next to the-” Officer Jenny found herself unable to continue, covering her mouth with her hands. Her hands then slid up to her eyes as she began to sob. “Working as a cop, you’re expected to get used to gruesome sights.” She shook her head, still covering her eyes, her words hard to hear clearly through her crying. “But... The bodies, Gary... The Pokemon bodies littered around the area where that barrier thing was at. I couldn’t! It was too much! I was in complete shock, just staring in horror at the electrified bodies!”

I swallowed, disgusted by what the policewoman was telling me, feeling sorry for what she had to endure seeing.

“I had to get away from it all. I ran as fast as I could. I’m not sure how long it was until I found you here unconscious. So, as far as I’m aware, there’s no way to get into the Pokemon ranch,” Officer Jenny finished.

“But… I just came from there!” I cried out. “I was there when the attack occurred, Officer Jenny! I just got here right now!”

Officer Jenny stared at me in disbelief, lowering her hands. “No way! Impossible!”

“I’m telling you the truth! I was just in the Pokemon ranch with Will. A helicopter flew overhead and started dropping Pokemon that explode! There were Electrode and Graveler! And all the Pokemon at the ranch were going berserk, attacking each other and everything! Will yelled at me to go get help. He made me leave him…”

“I know William. Him and his wife, Megan. They’re a nice couple. Oh, no. I hope they’re okay!”

“Megan is his wife?” I remembered the name that Will kept calling out during the explosions.

“Yes.” She put her hands on my shoulders and squeezed strongly. “Is she okay? Gary! Is she alright?” She gave me a hard shake.

“I don’t know,” I answered. “Will was looking for her. I don’t know if he found her.”

“Oh, no,” Officer Jenny whispered, loosening her grip. “Dear me, please no.”

The occasional Pokemon would run, fly, or swing by in every direction every so often, startled and confused by the chaos that was going on close by, loud cries and other noises being heard clearly from everywhere.

“Officer Jenny, please, we have to get help,” I pleaded. “Is there anything we can do?”

Officer Jenny’s eyes filled with tears as she stared at me. She took several deep breaths, her hands sliding off of me, and then looked up into the sky. When she decided to look down at me again, she had a more courageous, determined look on her face. “Gary, we’re getting you out of here,” she said sharply. “If we can’t get out to the Pokemon ranch, we’ll have to proceed to the Safari Zone, which isn’t too far from here.”

“The Safari Zone?”

“That’s right,” Officer Jenny nodded. “The Safari Zone is a place where rare Pokemon not often found elsewhere, live. It’s like this area you’re in now, the Pokemon Preservation Area, except you’re allowed to capture the Pokemon found there.”

“The Safari Zone…” I repeated, deep in thought. “Officer Jenny! The Safari Zone!”

Officer Jenny looked at me in confusion. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she let out a gasp. “The Safari Zone!” she realized.

“They’re in danger, too!”

“Oh, dear me, no,” Officer Jenny murmured. “The Safari Zone in Hoenn was attacked recently, too! This must be linked, Gary!”

I placed my hand to my chest, trying to calm my frantically beating heart.

“Why?” Officer Jenny asked, her eyes glimmering with tears again.

“We need to get out of here. We need to warn the Safari Zone, if they’re not already under attack. This area may be next to be under attack, too! Officer Jenny, we might be locked in here! What if the entrance to the Safari Zone is blocked as well?”

Officer Jenny’s light features went even paler and her wide mouth seemed to be moving as if she were talking, but nothing was heard.

“Officer Jenny!” I shouted. “Don’t just stand there! We have to do something! We have to move or try to figure something out!”

Officer Jenny started to shake. She was trying hard to be strong, but she was absolutely terrified right now.

I grabbed Officer Jenny by her shoulders and shook her roughly. “Come on, focus! Snap out of it!” I yelled, my voice rising shrilly out of my own fear. My hands released her and one grabbed her own hand and pulled her forward, causing her to cry out in shock.

Any other day, this would’ve been a dream come true, holding Officer Jenny’s hand, running with her. But not today. Not now. This was the worst nightmare I’d ever been in.

“Gary, please!” Officer Jenny pulled back.

“There’s no time, Jenny!” I yanked her, urging her forward. “Don’t stop running! We have to keep moving!”

Officer Jenny was gasping behind me, struggling to keep up.

The propellers of a helicopter sounded above.

I didn’t stop running as I looked up, spotting the aircraft overhead.

The upper half of it was a bright silver, the bottom half completely black.

Is that the same helicopter I saw in the Pokemon ranch? I wondered. The one dropping the exploding Pokemon?

A loud engine roared nearby. The helicopter hovered above me and Officer Jenny, but the engine roaring was from something else. The sound got even more intense as the helicopter started to fly away from me and Officer Jenny. The noise shook the ground and I looked up to see an airplane approaching us. Even from below it, I could see it had the same color scheme as the helicopter.

“What is that?” Officer Jenny shouted over the engine.

BBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

That wasn’t an ordinary airplane! It was an attack aircraft!

Officer Jenny shrieked for her life.

My shoulders were grabbed and I was thrown down.

The officer laid on top of me, protecting me as the plane fired at us, soaring past us, the bullets hitting the ground near us, making the ground pop loudly upon contact, the snow, grass and dirt underneath flying into the air.

Officer Jenny got up and grabbed my arm, yanking me hard as she led the way, running as fast as her high heels would take her.

“Jenny! Thank you!” I was in awe at her incredible bravery.

Officer Jenny didn’t say anything. She ran incredibly fast. It made me wonder for just a quick moment how any of the Officer Jennys could run in high heels all day long.

Various Pokemon were running and flying, swinging from vines and crawling on the ground, leaving footprints and tracks in the snow. Some were going towards the Safari Zone while others were headed towards the Pokemon ranch.

The aircraft soared into the air, disappearing out of sight.

Officer Jenny and I continued running, panting, but not daring to stop.

I heard the returning sounds from the helicopter and looked up to see it, its side door open, and something large dropped out. “Jenny, move!” I grabbed her arm with my other hand and yanked her in the opposite direction we were running in, back towards where we had just run from!

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Officer Jenny and I screamed as the explosion took us off our feet.

I rolled in the dirt and stayed down, stunned. My body was throbbing painfully. I could only let out a mournful groan.

“GET UP!” I heard Officer Jenny yell. She got me up, causing me to whine out in more pain.

I just couldn’t move anymore, and my body dropped down again, landing on my back.

“Gary, we can’t give up yet! We can’t!” Officer Jenny reached underneath me and lifted me up into her arms and ran!

Officer Jenny had nothing but seriousness written all over her face as she seemed to effortlessly carry my body in her arms, forcing herself through the struggle this had to be for her to accomplish.

My breath was snatched from me by Officer Jenny’s unbelievable determination.

The helicopter was hovering in midair behind us, not moving.

I had the urge to throw up suddenly, but I didn’t dare. Especially not with Officer Jenny carrying me like this. I swallowed away the sick feeling in my stomach. The aircraft engine noise was returning, but I couldn’t see it. The sound alone made my stomach churn some more.

Pokemon maneuvered past me and Officer Jenny, getting dangerously close to crashing into us.

Officer Jenny ducked and ran around several Pokemon as she carried me.

Loud whistles followed by earth shattering explosions were coming from all directions.

The utter chaos seemed so unreal.

I wished so badly to just wake up.

As Pokemon fled, some turned around to fight back.

A Vulpix turned around in anger and used Flamethrower into the skies before it turned around and proceeded running.

“Officer Jenny, let me down! I can run, okay? Let me down!”

“Not now!” Officer Jenny protested. “Just hang on! We’re almost there! We can’t afford to slow down now!” She kept on running through the war around us, the sounds of bullets firing from the plane, the screams of Pokemon in the distance.

I wanted Officer Jenny to let me go, now. I wanted all of this madness to end! I even dared to think I wanted to fight back against these people! They couldn’t just get away with this! We couldn’t just run and let them destroy these beautiful, natural areas used to raise Pokemon in peace!

But what could we really do to stop this?

Officer Jenny was breathing harder than ever, but refused to stop running.

I’d had enough. I grabbed Officer Jenny by the shoulders and leaped out of her arms, landing and then rolling in the snow and dirt before jumping up to my feet.

“Gary! What are-?”

I immediately grabbed her hand, looking into her face sternly. “Let’s get out of here.”

She nodded silently with wide eyes.

We both took off fast, a mad commotion all around us.

“Jenny, how much further?”

“We can’t be too far now, Gary! But what if the Safari Zone is blocked off?”

I ignored her and kept running.

It couldn’t be blocked off. We had to escape. There wasn’t another option. We just had to get away from all of this.

A thought suddenly came to me. A thought that caused worry to beat against my head. A thought that caused the nauseous feeling to throw up to reappear.

“Gary! What are we going to do once we get to the Safari Zone?” Panic was creeping into her voice again. “I don’t have any idea what good going there is going to do! Even if we do get there, then what? Are we just going to keep running? This is terrible!”

It was as if she had read my mind. “Well, do you have a freaking plan then, Jenny?” I snapped out of fear rather than true anger, though mad that this situation was getting more and more hopeless by the second.

“NO!” Officer Jenny responded back sharply. “I just think we need to think of one though, don’t you?”

“We’ll deal with that when we get there! Right now, let’s just try to survive!”

A sudden explosion threw me off of my feet, sending me flying through the air like a doll as I screamed before landing on my back. The throw wasn’t too bad. I wasn’t hurt much more than I’d already been.

Officer Jenny cried as she was thrown down as well.

I scrambled over to her. “Jenny!” A large bird flew from the trees, grabbing my attention and causing me to freeze.

“FEEEEROOOOOOOW!” The large Pokemon’s huge beak knocked me across my skull.

My head exploded in pain. “GAAAAAHHHHH!” I grabbed my head and curled up. My eyes squinted to spot Officer Jenny as they teared up from the pain of the attack.

A stampede of Pokemon were running between me and the cop now.

“JENNYYYYY!” I called to her.

“Gary! Get out of here! Save yourself! I’ll be just fine!”

“NOOOOO!!” I wasn’t leaving somebody else. I left Will. I wasn’t leaving Jenny, too. I was leaving this place with Jenny, or I’d die trying.

The panicked Pokemon stormed past us, rocking the ground beneath them.

“Gary, please!” Officer Jenny begged. “It’s too dangerous! Get help! Escape! Get out while you still can, if you still even can!”

“I’m not going anywhere, Jenny!” My temper and emotion were rising the more she told me to actually leave her here and save myself. I tried to see her through the stampede of Pokemon, but there were just too many. “Just hang on until this passes! We’ll get out together!”

“Gary, for crying out loud, what is wrong with you??” Officer Jenny screeched.

My mouth opened to reply, but nothing came out. I hated to admit it, but maybe I was being stupid... Maybe Officer Jenny was right. Maybe I should go ahead and not risk my life so meaninglessly. Was I being of any help just standing here while a group of terrified Pokemon ran past us from every direction? Was I helping Officer Jenny, myself, the Pokemon, this area, Will, anyone, by just sitting here? I might still have time to get to the Safari Zone and maybe save some lives. I might end up stuck here in the Pokemon Preservation Area and die when I could’ve escaped and saved people and Pokemon. “Jenny…” I muttered. My eyes filled up with the thought of just leaving Officer Jenny here alone, but if it meant I could possibly save her life, and the life of others, did I really have a choice?

The propellers from the helicopter were heard clearly overheard and I looked up to see a ball dropping from it.

Sucking in my breath, I moved with all the energy my body had left, which was just enough to scramble on my hands and legs, similar to a dog, to get away from the recognizable object.

The ball hit the ground hard and I looked back to see the creature staring back at me. “Goleeeem!” the Pokemon said loudly before its arms, legs, and head were pulled inside of its round, rock body. It glowed white and I stared helplessly as it exploded.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was whipped through the air for a moment before my back slammed into something that my body slid down. My head fell into my lap as my back hunched over, my legs outstretched. The sound of the deafening explosion rang in my ears as I sat there. A dead man. I just want to go home, I found myself thinking my last thoughts. I wish I were with my mommy. The pain radiating through my body was nothing compared to the desperation I felt to just see my mom one last time.

I wanted nothing more than to be in bed right now.

Waking up early on Saturday mornings was a must in order to watch my favorite cartoons. Without even eating breakfast I’d get dressed and run over to Robin’s house to watch those shows, Kiwi and Aly sometimes there already. I’d happily greet Robin’s mom and dad as I walked into their house.

Robin’s mom had a bizarre taste for food that me, Aly and Kiwi would have to force ourselves to endure. It tasted so strange, with its weird assortment of flavors and spices.

Only Robin eagerly ate his mother’s food.

Even Mr. Butters seemed to take forever to finish his plate when he was around.

Kiwi, Aly, and I would force it down, trying not to offend Robin or his mom. The three of us had a secret joke where we would urge Mrs. Butters not to cook for us, insisting we were full from our houses or that we didn’t want her to go through the trouble.

Mrs. Butters would always say we were too skinny and cook for us anyway.

In secret, we’d laugh amongst ourselves, unbeknownst to Robin or his family, but once the plates were handed out, the joke was over.

I missed hanging out with my friends while we complained about our parents, taking for granted the love they gave us and underappreciating how good we had it.

My mom and her insistent arguments drove me up the wall, but that was far better than the life I was leading now.

I’d run away from home for a few hours when it got to be too much so I could be alone, waiting outside of Route 1, hoping to befriend a Pokemon that would make me feel better, but never meeting one that would stay. They always ran away from me, but I was always happy to have seen one, no matter how many times I saw it before. No matter what Pokemon it was.

Sometimes, the Seafoam Islands was my refuge. I couldn’t stand swimming, but viewing the water and watching the waves from the sand was like escaping to my own private vacation spot.

It was rarely ever empty there, but I still felt at peace with the random strangers who ignored me and were enjoying themselves there. I somehow felt like I was completely alone, even with the sounds of swimmers and screams of children playing.

I often would end up there at night. It was sometimes empty around that time. Or at least a lot less crowded. And the sea was beautiful then, especially if the moon was out...

My eyes opened slowly to the loud roar of an engine. I blinked several times through my weary eyes as the darkness and blurriness faded around me.

Pokemon were laying everywhere. Some were just feet away from me. Others were right next to Officer Jenny, who was facedown on the ground, not moving. Other Pokemon were sprawled out everywhere else, some on the ground, while some others were even in the treetops.

My neck was aching me, but I still automatically raised my head as the engine from the attack aircraft roared at me overhead.

The craft dove down lower.

Not again, I thought wearily. Please. Not again… I breathed in a deep breath and forced myself onto my feet. My legs were barely able to hold me. I took a desperate step forward, my legs caving in, nearly causing me to drop. I just managed to keep my balance, but I couldn’t take another step.

BBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!

The plane fired rapid bullets towards the ground.

The ground erupted in tiny explosions everywhere.

Pokemon were tossed into the air as the bullets hit them. Blood splashed everywhere, out of control. Some Pokemon screamed, while some seemed to not react at all, merely being tossed about, perhaps already dead.

I fell to my knees watching this and forced my eyes closed. My breath was gone.

The bullets continued, the voices competing in volume.

I raised my hands to my ears and screamed, trying to block out the pain and anguish, but it was useless. Nothing was going to block out that noise, just like nothing was going to make me forget this moment. Nothing was going to make me forget what I’ve seen. Nothing was going to make me forget the pain I’ve heard in the air. Nothing. Ever. My eyes opened when I heard a different scream.

Officer Jenny’s.

My hands lowered a little bit and I tried to see through the dust. “JENNYYYYYY!!”

BBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!

The bullets never did end.

“JENNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”

BBLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I watched as the bullets hit, or seemed to be trying to hit, a Pokemon that stood right in front of Officer Jenny.

The Pokemon looked furious as it roared at the plane which shot at it.

Officer Jenny was sitting up in shock, staring at the enormous bear, her outfit splashed with blood.

The bear Pokemon seemed to be protected by some kind of barrier. The bullets weren’t hitting it and it roared in fury at the plane until it finally soared past it and into the skies.

An immediate silence fell over the area as the plane flew higher, disappearing.

The bear turned to Officer Jenny and stared at her, an exhausted and slightly angry look on its face.

“Ursaring…” I heard Officer Jenny say, her voice shaking.

The large bear let out a low growl and turned to face me, still glaring.

I stared back at it, my eyes wide in fear, silent.

Ursaring turned and lurched away from the officer.

I watched as it disappeared into the woods. “Jenny!”

Officer Jenny turned to me and stood up, wobbling, but managed to hobble over to me.

I managed to my own feet and stumbled over to her.

As we reached each other, my emotions took over completely and I wrapped my arms around her.

To my surprise, she hugged me back just as tightly. And at the same time!

I was certain we had ended up in each other’s arms the instant we had reached one another. Was that possible? Or was I just imagining that? Had she hugged me out of reaction to me instigating it?

Either was, here we were in the middle of the woods, holding on to each other.

“Gary! I’m so glad you’re safe!” she wept.

“Jenny, I’m just happy you’re okay!” I said, tears dripping from my eyes.

“It’s because of that Ursaring and its Protect attack,” Officer Jenny informed me. “Otherwise, this blood on me may have been my own. Without Ursaring… I may have been...”

I squeezed her tighter, hoping she wouldn’t finish that sentence, and deeply inhaled as my nose came into contact with a wonderfully tangy fragrance coming from her. I was surprised I even noticed it considering everything happening.

“Gary!” Officer Jenny exclaimed, holding me away from her.

“I’m sorry!” I said in shock, regretting having noticed her scent. Did I inhale too loudly? Did she take offense somehow?

“You have to get out of here!” Officer Jenny said urgently. “They might return! Please, Gary!”

Oh, she didn’t even notice. “Not without you,” I insisted, narrowing my eyes. “Let’s go!” I took her hand gently.

Her hand closed in mine as she smiled.

I nodded solemnly.

We hurriedly walked through the grass, hand in hand.

I could’ve sworn I heard a distant explosion.

The two of us exchanged worried stares.

She looked ahead, away from me. “Gary, we’re here.”

I looked to see that the path was clearing ahead of us. It was much less crowded with trees. The snow covered grass blew in the wind, looking a lot calmer than what was going on where Officer Jenny and I stood, breathing heavily together, looking like we’d escaped the latest World War.

I tried to walk ahead eagerly, but Officer Jenny held me back. “Huh?”

“There might be a blockage...” The look in her eyes compelled me to do whatever she would’ve asked.

I let out my breath and turned from her. “Then what do we do now?”

Officer Jenny pulled out a pen from her left breast pocket and threw it with a loud grunt.

The pen flew forward several feet before landing in the snow on the more peaceful looking side of things.

I turned to Officer Jenny.

She kept her eyes on the pen silently.

“Is it safe?” I asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Officer Jenny answered in a low voice. “That’s the Safari Zone, where the pen is at now. If there is a barrier, who knows where it ends, or begins. But if we just stay here and wait, who knows if we’ll miss our opportunity to escape.”

I stared ahead at the pen.

Officer Jenny gripped my hand tighter, and then released it. “As an officer of the law, it’s my job to put my life on the line to protect the people!” she spoke strongly, and ran forward.

I gritted my teeth as my face held rage, and I charged at her. I slammed my shoulder, which was already in enough pain, into Officer Jenny, taking her by surprise, knocking her onto the ground as she cried out.

I ran forward.

I ran several feet ahead.

I reached the pen.

I ran past the pen.

“GARYYYY!!”

When I was possibly around thirty feet away from the pen, I stopped and turned.

Officer Jenny was looking at me in horror, her mouth hanging open.

I stared back at her and laughed lightly. “We’re okay, Jenny!” I said happily. “There’s no barrier! Come on! It’s safe!”

“Gary! You shouldn’t have done that!” She looked at me cautiously, uncertain of whether to join me or not.

“Come on, Jenny! Do it now! Come on!” I urged.

She shook her head. “I’m scared, Gary! I don’t trust it.”

“Jenny, you might be missing your only chance!” I said desperately now, fear creeping into my own voice. “I’m getting scared now by you wasting time!”

“Gary, I’m scaring myself by wasting time, too!” She hugged herself, rubbing her arms with her hands.

We stood silent for a moment.

“I should just stay here,” Officer Jenny said finally. “This is where I work. I need to look after this area. I can’t just leave these Pokemon defenseless!”

I stared at her. Her words did make sense. But… “Jenny, please. Jenny, please just come with me!” I begged.

Officer Jenny’s eyes were filled with sorrow as she stared at me. “Gary, come back, okay?” she instructed me. “Get help back here. Please! Okay? Save us all!”

I wiped my eyes, struggling to see Officer Jenny clearly through my tears, and stormed forward, towards her.

“Gary! What are you doing?”

I kept walking, ignoring her.

“Gary, please stop!” Officer Jenny screamed shrilly.

I continued on, finally stopping when I reached the pen. I bent over and picked it up. “Catch!” I tossed it to her.

The pen flipped through the air a couple of feet before the BBBZZZZZTTTT sound was heard.

I saw something I hadn’t seen before. Some kind of wall appeared where the pen was frozen in midair, sparking like electricity, reaching high into the sky.

Officer Jenny shrieked and stumbled backwards, falling. She had been standing only a couple of feet away from the strange object between us.

The pen dropped to the ground, and the electric wall disappeared immediately.

My mouth hung open in disbelief. I had just barely escaped. Another minute and I would’ve been stuck too… Or even...

“Gary!” Officer Jenny pleaded with emotion. “GOOO!”

I stared at her, and then nodded. “Goodbye, Jenny.” A warm tear slide down each side of my cheeks. I stared at her a moment longer as she stared back at me, then I turned and ran as fast as I could.

“I’ll radio for help, Gary!!” I heard Officer Jenny shout. “I’ll try and get back to base here and radio for help!!”

I didn’t turn back. I kept running. I ran towards the help I had to retrieve.

For Will.

For Officer Jenny.

For the Pokemon.

For myself.

I ran as fast as I possibly could, through the Safari Zone.