“We hope that you enjoyed your stay,” Mr. Rui told me from behind the counter in the lobby, standing up in his red suit and taking a short bow. “Vancteck City enjoyed your stay, and again, we congratulate you on your victory.”

“Thank you very much,” I managed to smile even though I felt like crap today and wasn’t in the best mood.

June and I had stayed a few more days at Vancteck Mansion at the insistence of Mr. Rui. I didn’t think June was too eager to be traveling with me at the moment, so a few days for us to try to calm down sounded like a fine idea.

She stayed in the bedroom, coming out rarely, sometimes leaving the room altogether, but she didn’t speak a word to me at first.

I had been sleeping on the sofa outside of the bedroom and didn’t attempt speaking to June, either. I felt bad and didn’t feel that I deserved to say a word. I even feared June may be the next to leave.

It took a while, but finally, she began to speak a little. It started with a simple, “Good morning.” It grew into, “I’m heading out for a bit.” Eventually, we were eating together in the bedroom, and even laughed together while watching some cartoon I’d never heard of called Venture Hour.

“Where might you two be heading off to for your next Badge, if you don’t mind me asking?” Mr. Rui asked.

“Well, I thought that maybe we could head off to Castelia City,” I said hesitantly. Based on how much of the map Castelia City took up, it seemed to be a huge place, but it wasn’t the ideal place I wanted to go to next. The map informed me that it was the Bug Gym ran by someone named Burgh. Realizing that made me shudder, but it also was the closest Gym.

“Ah, very well, then,” Mr. Rui nodded slowly. “There’s a train that you can catch that will take you directly there. It’s just outside of this building, to the right. You go straight down and you’ll see a sign directing you to the right and you’ll see the subway.”

“Oh, wow! That sounds great!” I exclaimed. I hadn’t taken a train in years.

“We’ll get to Castelia in no time,” June noted.

“Thanks a lot.”

“It is my pleasure,” Mr. Rui bowed deeper. “Good luck on your journey.”

“Bye!” June and I called to him as we walked to the door, held open by a beautiful woman in a blue top and skirt.

“Come back anytime!” she said cheerfully.

“Thank you,” I smiled, my eyes stuck on her beauty momentarily before I looked away, and June and I made a right, heading down the path directed to us by Mr. Rui.

“Good thing I wore my jacket,” I said as I dug my hands into my pockets, a harsh wind blowing against us. I rubbed my arm, which was no longer wrapped up, against my side. It didn’t really hurt anymore and was just itching a bit and was scarring over.

“I think that’s a little light,” June commented. “You need a real coat.” She adjusted her thicker, baby blue coat.

“I have one, June,” I said impatiently. “I’m fine for now. It’s only gonna get worse.”

“Yeah, winter is coming quick. But that also means that New Year’s is also coming up!” June looked up into the late afternoon sky. “I remember our last New Year’s together, Gary.”

“Great,” I mumbled. That wasn’t something I cared to remember, and I kept it out of my mind with great failure.

A man and woman held hands together as they walked past June and I, giving us a kind smile.

I smiled back and looked away, a shy feeling spreading throughout me.

“Mommy! Mommy!” a little girl cried out from the other side of the moving path between us.

A small group of men and women were carried along by the conveyor belt ground to some unknown location.

The little girl wore pink stretch pants and a white t-shirt that ruffled hard in the wind, her hair in her face as she pulled her mom’s hand and pointed at the window of a store.

The woman looked up at the store with an exasperated sigh.

“I wonder where we’ll be this New Year’s,” June continued. “You know, it’s been about three years since we met in Gringey City, and we’re still friends to this day.”

“Yeah,” was all I said as I looked down. Three years, I thought.

Aly.

Robin.

Catherine.

June.

Kiwi.

Team Solace.

Isaac.

Charizard.

Beedrill.

Primeape.

Saffron City.

The Pokemon League.

I shook my head hard as visions of my last journey flashed through my mind.

I felt a little angry that June had so carelessly mentioned the last three years like that. Did she only remember that we met three years ago? Did she not recall the hell we had gone through as well?

June’s head lowered and she didn’t speak any further.

I wondered if maybe she realized how stupid of a thing it was for her to have brought it up, and then I glanced ahead of us. “Vancteck Station,” I read a yellow sign that seemed to be made of chrome material in the shape of an arrow, pointing down a path to our right. “Guess this is it.”

The arrow directed us down another street resembling the one June and I were still on, each side of the street holding one large chrome building, stretching as far as my eyes could see, numerous windows dotting them, a door along the bottom of the buildings every several feet. Both long structures gleamed under the grey light of the sky above. A conveyor belt also moved down the street, meshing together with the belt on the street we were on.

Within a few seconds of walking down this new street, I saw a large opening in the long building that led to an escalator leading down.

The roar of trains below brought back memories of taking the train with my parents such a long time ago.

June and I stood still on the escalator and looked at the surroundings as we were taken down.

The walls of the opening we had gone through were square blocks of ceramic material, the color in a pattern of gray and white, following us all the way down to where we stepped off of the escalator. Three metal turnstiles stood before us, the subway platform on the other side of it, two stores selling magazines, candy, drinks, and Pokemon items on either side of us. A lady in a yellow and red jacket sat behind a wall of glass in a booth, smiling at us.

“I’ll buy the tickets.” June walked to the booth.

“I can buy my own!” I tried.

We stopped at the booth.

“Two tickets, please,” June smiled, holding up two fingers.

A loud rumble roared through the station, but when I turned to look, I couldn’t see a train.

The floor of the platform past the turnstile was black, a red line painted at the edge.

Another identical platform was on the other side of the station, a large, black, concrete wall separating both platforms, long horizontal rectangles cut out of it every few inches.

“You’re June and Gary, aren’t you?” the lady asked, her red hair in her eyes.

June and I stared at the lady in silence, our eyes wide.

“You beat Prof. Russell, Gary! You two don’t need to pay. Go right on ahead!”

“Really?” June beamed.

“Wow! Vancteck really knows how to care for people!” I laughed.

The rumble of the train got closer.

The lady pressed a button, and a light buzz rang out.

A black, steel door next to the turnstile with a red label that read Emergency, opened.

“And you’re both headed to Castelia City, right?” the woman asked.

“Yeah!” I said, somehow surprised she seemed to know everything about us.

“Well, your train is right here!” she pointed.

The train finally showed up, practically glimmering in its chrome silver color, and it came to a stop with a low grunt.

“I love your hair!” June gushed.

“Really? Thank you!” the woman said excitedly, fanning her face, looking up at the ceiling. “I just got it done and I love what they did to it!”

“Where did you go to get it done?” June asked.

“I went to this spot over in-”

“We’ve gotta catch the train! I’m sorry!” I interrupted, and yanked June by the wrist as she screamed out in surprise.

We ran through the open door and towards the train.

The doors of the train opened, noticeably different amounts of people exiting.

A couple of young guys laughed as they hurriedly stepped into the train, and June and I followed.

The inside of the train was clean as a whistle, the floor a light blue, matching June’s jacket, the walls practically glowing in their white color, advertisements all over them. On one side of the train, an electronic sign hung high up near the ceiling between the walls. In yellow digital words, it read: Vancteck Station. The words soon were replaced with: Castelia Station. Afterwards, it showed the date and time before showing: Vancteck Station. The same kind of sign was on the opposite side of the train. Metal bars were positioned high over the seats to grab onto.

The train wasn’t that full, a couple of people talking to one another, a couple others sleeping, while most everyone else just stared blandly ahead or at the ads. One man opened his left eye and glanced at me, and then at June. He gave her a onceover and then closed his eye again.

“Stand away from the closing doors,” a voice came out through the speakers of the car we were in, and the doors slid closed with a gentle chime.

June and I took a seat next to each other as the train began to move.

“This is a pretty cool way to travel, huh?” June asked, looking out a long window behind us.

“It’s definitely different, and way faster.”

“And looky here!” June ran over to a map on the wall across from us. “Trains run all throughout Unova! We could travel through the entire region by train and not have to worry about walking all the time.”

“Are you serious?” I asked, and walked over to her to check out the map.

“Yeah, you see? This is Nuvema Town, and over here is Accumula Town. And this whole thing is all of Unova!”

I pulled out my Town Map and put it up against the window near the map where flashes of electricity from the underground tunnel we were now traveling through made their presence known.

June was right. The Town Map and the Subway Map were identical. We could travel throughout Unova in no time at all, collecting Badges.

“Wait, we can’t do that,” I said as I folded up the Town Map and slipped it back into my pocket.

“Why not?” June asked as she followed me back to our seats.

“How am I supposed to train? Or capture wild Pokemon? We’ll miss out on what it really means to be a Pokemon Trainer. We can’t skip the most important parts.”

“Hmmm.” June brushed her hair aside. “I suppose you’re right. But, hey, at least we got to ride a train!” She smiled brightly.

“Yeah, this was a nice experience, but now I can’t help but wonder what kind of Pokemon we missed out on.”

“There’s plenty of Pokemon out there, Gary,” June said, placing her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll meet tons!”

I gently shrugged my shoulder and looked away from her, making her hand drop. “Yeah, yeah.”

The train suddenly came out of the dark tunnel and we were now having a ride outside, the sea far beneath the train tracks, the cloudy, darkening sky stretched out above us.

“Look at that!” June and I exclaimed at the same time.

I was pointing out the window by us at what had to be Castelia City, a collection of skyscrapers on a large island up ahead.

June was pointing out the window on the opposite side, and we switched views.

The window opposite us showed an enormous bridge that was leading directly to Castelia City!

“Whoa!” we both yelled.

I pulled out my Town Map and scanned it for a few seconds. “That bridge is Skyarrow Bridge! It leads right to Castelia!”

“Castelia City is so beautiful! And so is that bridge!” June said, mesmerized.

As we got closer to Castelia City, the train was heading back down underground, and before long, our view outside was over as we surrounded by darkness.

“That was incredible,” June said, wrapping her arms around herself with delight.

“Coming up next is Castelia Station,” the voice called out through the speakers of the car again. “Next stop is Nimbasa Station.”

“Nimbasa City! Oh, my goodness! Wonderful!” June said eagerly, and stood up. “This is the best way to travel!”

The two young guys who stepped into the train before June and I snickered at her excitement.

The train came out of the dark tunnel and slowed down at Castelia Station.

As June and I walked to the door, I glanced back to see the two guys checking out June from behind. They looked up at me and snickered.

I glared at them but turned away. I don’t care, I told myself. They can look at her all they want. She isn’t my girlfriend. Stupid guys. I’d beat them up anyway, if I even cared. They don’t want it with me. Jerks. I began to wonder where all of this sudden anger came from as the doors opened.

June and I stepped out of the train and onto a platform with a black floor and a yellow line at the edge where the train arrived, the walls all brown and shiny. We walked up a flight of stairs and gazed around in confusion.

The floor was a shiny purple color, there were at least four exits surrounding us, and at least six escalators and stairs leading downstairs. Stores littered this fancy area, selling clothes, food, and many other things.

“What do we do from here?” I asked.

“Well, it seems the exits must all lead out to Castelia,” June assumed. “Let’s just choose one and find our way.”

“Fine.”

We walked through one of the turnstiles near us and up the longest flight of stairs I’d climbed in recent memory. We reached the top, exhausted and out of breath.

“At least Vancteck had a freaking escalator,” June gasped with a smile.

I let out a little laugh, but my smile faded soon. “This can’t be Castelia City.”

The sea stretched out before us, splashing lightly far below against a very high concrete structure June and I were standing on. The floor of where we stood was lined by a steel railing. The sky was a deep purple, nearly black, the clouds wispy, gray slivers in the sky, a dark look on the waters before us.

“Well, there’s a set of stairs right over here, silly,” June giggled.

I turned to see her standing by a set of stairs that curved around a huge, gray, concrete beam that stretched up to a higher landing. “Oh.”

June laughed loudly and led the way around the curving set of stairs.

It wasn’t too much longer before we were at the top, breathing heavily.

“Is that it?” I asked, pointing ahead of us at the huge city only a couple of minutes away.

“You’d think they’d put the station a bit closer to the city,” June complained, hands on her knees.

“Let’s just go.”

We walked along the street together, slowly, taking our time as we regained our energy.

“This should be interesting, fighting Bug types again,” June stated.

I sighed, and didn’t reply. Tera, I remembered. Thanks for bringing up more crap I don’t really care to remember, June. Butterfree. Ninjask. Shedinja. Venomoth. I shuddered and tried to stop thinking about the Bug types the Viridian Gym Leader owned as I rubbed my arms, goose bumps running along them.

“Hey, someone’s coming!” June pointed ahead.

I saw the person, too.

She got closer and turned to us, giving us a smile. “Hey!” she called out to us. She stopped and stepped over to June, her eyes wide. “Whoa! That hair! That is awesome! Is it naturally that color?”

June blushed and stared at this girl in surprise. “It is,” she answered.

“It’s so bright! That’s so beautiful!”

“Thank you!”

“Sorry, you must think I’m crazy, just running up to you like this,” this new girl smiled, brushing her dark hair aside. “I was on my way to catch the train! Are you two Pokemon Trainers?”

June and I nodded.

“My name is June.” She extended her hand.

“And I’m Gary.” I shook the girl’s hand next.

“A great pleasure you to meet you both! My name is Ruko!”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ruko!” June nodded.

“Yeah,” I said, giving a short nod.

“Hey, how many Badges do you guys have?” Ruko asked.

“I have two so far,” I replied, holding up two fingers.

“I’m not traveling for Badges,” June shook her head. “I’m traveling with Gary to learn a lot about Pokemon. I used to be a Gym Leader, though.”

“WOW! That’s so sweet! A real life Gym Leader? For what type?” Ruko shouted urgently.

“I raised Electric types in Gringey City,” June said, blushing again.

“Electric types RUUUULE!!!” Ruko yelled. “WOW!!! Wait, where’s Gringey City?”

“It’s in the Kanto region,” June told her.

“Oh, I see. I’ve never been out of Unova before. This is my first Pokemon journey. So far, I’ve earned five Badges!”

“Five?” My eyes bulged.

“That’s right!”

She must be pretty good, I thought to myself.

“Why’d you stop being a Gym Leader?” Ruko asked June curiously.

June giggled a little. “I had a lot to learn about being a Gym Leader, and about how to work with my Pokemon in general. Gary kind of taught me that, so I decided to quit before I got fired from my position from all of my losses and focus on what matters most to me; my relationship with my friends. My Pokemon!”

“Awww,” Ruko said admiringly. “That’s good of you, June! I agree that the relationship between a Trainer and their Pokemon matters more than anything else. Friendship is the best!”

There was a moment of silence as we all stared at each other.

“So, either of you want to battle?” Ruko’s eyes were bright with anticipation.

June and I turned to each other.

“June would make more sense to battle right now, I guess,” I said, looking away.

“Ah. Okay, then!” Ruko grabbed something from her waist. An Ultra Ball! “What kind of battle would you like? I’m kind of in a rush, but I can’t resist a quick battle.”

“I don’t mind,” June replied. “If you’re in a rush, we could do a one-on-one battle.”

“How about a two-on-two instead?” Ruko offered. “If you’re a Gym Leader, you’ve gotta be good! I want to make this one worth it!”

“Well, I’m a previous Gym Leader who wasn’t very good at her job, but, sure, a two-on-two sounds fine to me,” June nodded.

“Nonsense! I know you’re tough and were fine at your job! If they were going to fire you, it was because they couldn’t handle your awesome talent!”

“Uh… It really was quite the opposite of that,” June laughed uncomfortably.

“We’ll see.” Ruko backed up several feet. “You ready to battle?”

“Alright.” June set her bag on the ground.

“Give it your all. A losing attitude will only result in a loss,” Ruko encouraged June.

June smiled and nodded. “Okay! Let’s begin!”

“Bouffalant, I choose you!” Ruko threw her Ultra Ball.

Bouffalant. The Bash Buffalo Pokemon. Its afro-like fur repels physical attacks. They live in herds and will charge at anything in their territory, violently.

“Okay.” June dug through her bag and pulled out a Poke Ball. “Then, I’m going with Magneton! GO!”

“Magnetooooon!” Magneton cried.

“Whoa! Never saw one of those before!” Ruko pulled out a pink Pokedex that looked slightly different from Ella’s and Trixa’s.

Magneton. The Magnet Pokemon and the evolved form of Magnemite. It floats based off of the heavy gravitational energy within its body. The power of this Pokemon’s electromagnetic waves can dry out surrounding moisture.

“That Pokemon sounds so cool!” Ruko complimented as she put her Pokedex away.

“Thank you! I’ve never seen a Bouffalant before,” June told Ruko. “She looks so tough!”

“Thank you, it… Wait. Did you just say ‘she?’” Ruko asked, giving June a confused look.

“That’s right. Your Bouffalant is a female!”

“It is?” Ruko looked at Bouffalant in shock.

Bouffalant turned to her and grunted.

“But, how can you tell?”

“It’s a little gift of mine,” June said as her hands shyly went to her back, her eyes lowering. A smile came over her face as her face flushed slightly darker. “I can communicate with Pokemon. They can understand me, and I can hear them, too. I can also see their gender differences clear as day.”

“You. Are. SO COOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!” Ruko bellowed at the top of her lungs to the sky, raising a pair of fists. “WOW!!! I’m definitely going to lose. BAD!” Ruko laughed.

“Well, let’s find out. You go first!” June seemed a little more confident now.

“Really? Wow! I even get to attack first! Awesome!” Ruko cheered. “Hmm. Alright, then, use Leer!”

Bouffalant’s eyes glowed red, causing Magneton to utter a sudden, mechanical noise as it backed up.

“Magneton, stand your ground and use Zap Cannon!” June pointed at Bouffalant.

Magneton’s body sparked with yellow electricity and a ball that sparked yellow, black, and purple electricity fired out at Bouffalant.

Bouffalant lowered her head and took the attack, roaring as she stumbled back. She dropped to her knees and her body sparked.

“She’s now Paralyzed,” June informed Ruko.

“Right,” Ruko said, a determined look on her face.

“Now, use Gyro Ball!”

“Revenge!” Ruko called out.

Magneton spun in place quickly and flew out to Bouffalant, slamming into her head, knocking her down.

“Yes! You’re doing great, Magneton!” June leaped for joy.

Bouffalant got up as Magneton stopped spinning and her body glowed with a golden color. “BOOUUUUUUUUUUFFALAAAAAANNTTT!” she roared as an orange aura erupted from her body and slammed into Magneton.

“TOOOOOOOONNNN!!!!” Magneton was dropped from the attack.

“Magneton!” June gasped. “What?? NO!” June ran to her Pokemon and rested her hands on the combined three magnets. “What happened out there?”

Magneton let out a weak moan.

“It’s alright.” June rubbed her Pokemon. “Relax. You did well.” June returned her Magneton.

“It’s done?!” I called out in shock.

June turned to me with a sad look on her face and nodded.

“What kind of move…?” I pulled out my Pokedex.

Revenge. If the user takes damage before attacking with this move, the damage for this Fighting type move is doubled.

“Wow,” I murmured. “A Steel type like Magneton is weak to Fighting moves. That was rough.”

June walked back to her bag and dug through it before her hands pulled out one Poke Ball each. She stared at them both momentarily, a serious look on her face, and then put one of them back and stood up. “Eevee, you’re up next!” She three Eevee’s Poke Ball.

“Eevee?” I asked, staring at her.

“Oh, my goodness, that thing is so freaking cuuuuuuute!!!” Ruko squealed as she pulled out her Pokedex.

Eevee. The Evolution Pokemon. Known to evolve into a multitude of different types of Pokemon depending on its environment, this Pokemon is still studied to this day to learn more about it.

“Oh, man! I think I’d do just about anything to own a Pokemon that cool!” Ruko gushed.

“Thank you, Ruko! You’re really kind!” June said warmly. “Well, you’re up first, again!”

“Right! Bouffalant, another Revenge attack!” Ruko ordered.

“Eevee, use your Tail Whip!”

“Tail Whip?” I asked, frowning and crossing my arms in disapproval.

Eevee ran up to Bouffalant and whipped her face with her tail.

Bouffalant shook her face and her body glowed orange again. The aura exploded from her body and tossed the little Eevee through the air.

She bounced on the ground.

“Eevee, get up!” June begged.

Why choose an Eevee? I wondered. Why not Electivire? Or at least, like, anything else but a little Eevee!

Eevee shook her head and got back to her feet.

“Ah, good one, June!” Ruko acknowledged. “You used a move that didn’t hurt Bouffalant to cut down the damage Revenge would do!”

June smiled. “Eevee, just a bit more! Use your Double-Edge attack this time!” June ordered.

“Revenge again!”

Eevee ran as her body was covered in a gold aura. She slammed into Bouffalant, toppling the large buffalo Pokemon over and onto her side. Eevee landed and twitched from the recoil damage.

Bouffalant groaned in pain, managing back to her feet, and dropped again, her body twitching in pain, sparking from Paralysis.

“Another Double-Edge!”

Eevee slammed into Bouffalant again, right in the face. She landed and gave a cheerful cry out to Bouffalant.

Bouffalant roared out wearily from the ground and remained still.

“Bouffalant!” Ruko’s mouth dropped.

Eevee whined out and stumbled backwards as the recoil damage set in, and then she collapsed.

“My Eevee!” June ran to her Pokemon and picked her up, cradling her carefully. She kissed Eevee’s forehead with a smile.

Eevee looked up at June and reached her little paws up onto her right shoulder and licked June’s face before curling up in her arms, shivering.

Bouffalant groaned weakly as she grunted and strained back to her feet, her eyes narrowed onto June and Eevee.

June looked back at Bouffalant solemnly before looking back at her Pokemon. “You did great, honey. Just wonderful. I knew you’d do well.” June returned Eevee to her Poke Ball and then turned back to Bouffalant. She now wore a weakened, possibly even forced, smile.

“That was great, Bouffalant! Come on back!” Ruko returned her Bouffalant and approached June with her hand out. “Hey, that’s a tough little pair of Pokemon you have!”

“You’re kind, but we didn’t do so well,” June said with a disappointed sigh, her attempted smile swept away.

“Are you kidding me?? That Eevee thing was amazing! And the Magneton was just too cool for words! You’re such a great Trainer! Why you left the position of a Gym Leader, I’ll never know! You’re so good! You wanna make a trade for the Eevee?”

“What?” June jumped, startled by Ruko’s words.

“Yeah! I’d love to raise that thing! I always make trades with other Trainers,” Ruko told June. “I traded for Bouffalant, and all of my other Pokemon, too!”

“Wait, what do you mean?” I asked, stepping up to her. “All of your Pokemon?”

“Yeah! I started out with a Snivy on my journey,” Ruko told June and I eagerly. “Then, a Trainer I battled beat me, but he really wanted my Snivy and I traded it for his Zorua. Then, I caught a Braviary by total luck! We battled for a while together, but lost to a Trainer who had a Druddigon, but he wanted to trade for my Braviary, and of course I said yes! Then, after that, I just kept making trades with people for Pokemon I caught, and after a while, I didn’t even need to catch Pokemon anymore! I just made trades, trades, trades! Sometimes, I even got two Pokemon for one if I play my cards right!” She smiled at us widely.

“Wai-w-w…” I stuttered, unsure of what to say. I took a deep breath. “Do you mean to say that you don’t own a single Pokemon right now that you caught on your own?”

“That’s right,” Ruko nodded. “I’ve traded so much, I don’t own anything I caught myself!” She laughed.

“But, why? Y-you traded away your own Snivy? Your Starter?” I asked frantically.

“It was weak,” Ruko said, keeping her smile. “I traded it away for a stronger Pokemon. I trade for Pokemon who have better moves, or Abilities, or have stronger Stats! I wanna win battles!”

“You can win with your Pokemon you catch on your own!” I argued, getting upset. “Just because you lose doesn’t mean you can’t improve your battling skills and win the next time! You can’t just give away your Pokemon like that!”

Ruko’s smile remained plastered on her face. “I’m not giving them away. I’m trading them, and getting the best Pokemon I possibly can! And I’m winning with them, too! I’m winning much easier and faster. These Pokemon are really tough!”

“That doesn’t matter! You can win if you work hard with your own Pokemon!” My heart was beating in shock, my body starting to tremble in disbelief. “It isn’t about winning battles, Ruko! It’s about… It’s about winning battles, but with your own Pokemon! I mean, trading is okay, but you can’t just give away everything you own to win! It isn’t a win for you; it’s a win for the Original Trainer of that Pokemon! What’s the point if you’re not going to put in the effort yourself?”

“I’m still the one using the Pokemon. If you don’t know how to use the Pokemon, you can still lose!” Ruko remained bright. “The Trainers told me all about the moves their Pokemon know, and they usually tell me how to use them to ensure a victory, too!”

This is madness, I thought to myself. Why would anyone do that? This is not right!

“Ruko,” June started, a worried look showing in her eyes.

Ruko lifted her wrist and stared at a fancy, large watch. “Whoa! Look at the time! I’ve really gotta go! My girlfriend is waiting for me! See you guys later!” Ruko bolted away from us, running to where June and I had come from.

June and I looked after her until she vanished from view. We remained looking after her, silently. Slowly, we turned to face each other.

“Did she just say, girlfriend?” I asked June slowly.

“She did just say, girlfriend,” June replied.

“Like, as a friend-friend, or…?”

June slowly shrugged.

“Huh,” I nodded slowly.

We both turned back to where Ruko had disappeared, and then looked ahead to the city not far away from us.

“I’m worried about her,” June said in a low voice. “Her motivation of raising Pokemon. It worries me...”

“I know...” I said thoughtfully. “But she’s gone now. Let’s just get on.”

It wasn’t long before the skyscrapers were surrounding us, the tops of them reaching into the night sky. There were large supermarkets and stores for other purposes everywhere I looked. A tree was planted in front of every few buildings.

“This must be the Pokemon Center!” I said, pointing ahead at a tall, yellow building with a robust, matching awning and a red and white P on the front of it.

“Good! My Eevee can rest up and my other Pokemon can get a little something to eat!” June clasped her hands together.

“Yeah, and while our Pokemon are getting their food, we’ll grab a little lunch, and then we can all head out to find the Gym! Let’s go!” I ran to the doors of the building, and they opened. “Whoa!” I cried out as I slammed into someone and was forced back, hitting the ground. I looked up and apologized as I stood up.

The person, presumably a man, was wearing sunglasses and a large, black leather coat that reached down to his black shoes. His face was as pale as white paint. He was hunched over badly, but he didn’t have a cane, the large lump that was his back reaching higher than his head was! His head was leaned forward forcibly.

“I’m really sorry,” I apologized again. “Are you okay?”

The man didn’t say a single word. He turned away from me and slowly walked away, his feet shuffling quickly along the ground, but not carrying him very quickly.

“Weird,” June muttered.

“Yeah. It’s not even sunny outside,” I noted. “And it’s practically winter. Why’s he wearing sunglasses?”

“Some people wear them at all hours.”

“I know, but how silly is that? Why would you wear sunglasses at night?” I laughed a little.

“So he can watch you weave then breathe your story lines?” June suggested with a smile.

“Huh?” I looked at her in confusion.

“It was a bad joke. Never mind,” June said flatly, looking away from me.

I led the way into the Pokemon Center and looked around as we approached the counter.

The inside of the building was packed with people. Most of them seemed to be young adults, with a few young kids around as well.

One girl had long, red hair, and she looked up at me with her dark, green eyes. She smiled slightly, her face visibly full of kindness, her eyes sparkling at me in some sense.

I stumbled over my feet at her breathtaking beauty before looking away from her, embarrassed, and regained my balance as I cleared my throat. Adjusting my jacket, my pace quickened as I made my way over to the counter where Nurse Joy stood with her Audino, smiling.

“Welcome to the Castelia City Pokemon Center,” Nurse Joy greeted me and June.

“Hi, Nurse Joy,” I greeted her back. “Mind taking care of these guys for me?” I placed my three Poke Balls on the counter. I really need to start catching some more Pokemon, I thought to myself.

“And mine as well, please,” June added, lifting her bag and placing it on the counter with a grunt. She pulled out her five Poke Balls.

“Of course! Right away.” Nurse Joy scooped up June’s Poke Balls, and Audino took mine.

“Well, how about we go to the cafeteria downstairs and-?” I began as I turned around. I let out a loud gasp of fright and backed up into the counter behind me.

A young woman was staring at me, her face mere inches from my own face, squinting. “Hey, I think I know you, but maybe I don’t.” Her eyes squinted harder. “Do you like Bugs? Or Ghosts? The answer better be yes, or I’m totally judging you.”

It can’t be, I thought to myself, my heart beating painfully in my chest. No way can it be.

This woman spoke very quickly. She stood several inches taller than me, her dark blonde hair sitting underneath a brown ranger hat with a black ribbon wrapped around the middle of it. She was wearing tight, black short shorts and a matching, tight, black shirt tucked into her shorts underneath her short brown vest that ended just below her chest. A Sewaddle sat on top of her hat. She sported brown gloves and a rope was wrapped at her waist, slung around a brown belt. A brown bag hung around her shoulder, her feet resting inside long black boots rising just past her ankles. “You’re running out of time to answer my question, Mister PersonIDon’tThinkIKnowButIMightKnowButProbablyDon’tButIfIDidn’tKnowYouWhyWouldIApproachYouThinkingIKnowYouInTheFirstPlace.”

Please, no, no, no, I thought in a panic.

“Time’s up, sir,” the woman said. “We can no longer be friends. ‘Kay bye.” She turned around and walked away from me.

People in the Pokemon Center were staring at me.

The woman turned around and walked back over to me.

I tried to back away from her again, but I was already pressed up against the counter.

“I’ll give you one more chance to answer me correctly, or else I am definitely judging you,” she warned me. “I’m only giving you a second chance because I feel like I remember you. Do you like Bugs and Ghosts?”

“I like… Ghosts…” I answered feebly, weakly. “I’m afraid of Bugs…”

“I am totally judging you,” she said with an attitude, crossing her arms. “That is just upsetting. Up. Se. Tting. Upsetting.”

NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I roared in my head. It’s really her. It’s her! WHY?!?!?

“Gary? Do you know her?” June asked me quietly.

The woman gasped and smiled. “GARY! That’s the name!”

Damn you, June, I thought bitterly. DAMN YOU!!!

“Gary, do you remember me? It’s me, Kai!” Kai smiled.

I sighed and nodded. “Yes. I most certainly remember you.”

“What are you doing here in Unova? This is where I’m from! It’s so great to see you!”

“Yeah, the feeling’s totally mutual,” I lied glumly, staring at the floor.

“You came here to see Emmet’s butt, didn’t you? You couldn’t resist!” Kai accused.

“I did not come here to see any butts!” I snapped.

“Butts?” June asked quietly.

I turned to her with a scowl. “June, this is my… Um… This is Kai. Kai, this is my friend, June.”

“Oh, hi,” Kai replied, turning to June, and then she turned back to me. “Well, Emmet is in Nimbasa City. I was sent to work in Unova for a little while, so I came here to meet Burgh, first. Isn’t he totally super kawaii?”

“Super what now?” I asked.

“Kawaii,” she repeated.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” I muttered. “I came here to battle his Bug Gym, actually.”

“Oh, well, you’re silly,” Kai responded. “You’re totally gonna lose.”

“Oh, really?” I said impatiently, frowning. “We’ll see about that. I’m going there right after my Pokemon are better.”

“Pok. E. Mon. Pokemon,” Kai mumbled, staring beyond me.

“Huh?” June said.

“Don’t,” I whispered to her, gently elbowing her side.

“Huh?” June asked me.

“What?” Kai asked, looking at me.

“Nothing, we’re just waiting for our Pokemon to get better,” I told Kai.

“Do you have any other Bug type Pokemon with you?” Kai asked me seriously, crossing her arms.

“No, I don’t.”

“You have been judged,” Kai narrowed her eyes harder.

“Judged?” June asked.

“Shh,” I shushed June.

“Yes, judged,” Kai turned to June, and then she immediately turned back to me. “You released Butterfree, didn’t you? I knew it! I knew you two weren’t meant to be together. I told you to just give her to me! You and I cannot be friends, ever!” She quickly turned and walked away from me.

“But, he didn’t release her! Butterfree is at Prof. Oak’s Lab with Gary’s other Pokemon, other than the ones he’s caught in Unova!” June called out to her.

My eyes popped open. “June!” I barked. We had almost gotten rid of her! June and her big mouth!

“What did I do?” June asked me innocently.

Kai stopped and turned around, walking back to us. “Well, I’m still judging you for not keeping your Butterfree with you. I knew you didn’t have her with you, so I was still right. It’s clear as day that your relationship with her hasn’t improved since we last met. You are judged!!”

“But-” I tried.

She turned to June. “And what about you? Do you like Bugs and Ghost type Pokemon?”

“Um, well, I own a Ghost and a Bug type Pokemon, but my favorites are Electric types!” June smiled.

“Electric, eh? Hmph! Not good enough! You are judged!” She turned her back on us, and then immediately turned back around. “But, you own a Ghost and a Bug, so I give you two points for that. What are they?”

“Um, a Rotom and a Galvantula,” June answered, scratching her head, staring at Kai cautiously.

“I have a Galvantula, too! He’s so cool! And Rotom is a great Pokemon, too! All Bugs and Ghosts are!”

“Thanks!” June smiled again, but that instantly gave way to innocent curiosity. “Um, what does it mean that I’m judged?”

“June,” I growled at her. Why won’t she just shut up so we can lose this crazy woman?

“It means I’ve judged you,” Kai told June.

“What does that mean? Like, you have a bad opinion of me?” June asked.

“Yes. And you’ve been judged.”

“I…” June started.

“Okay, so, anyway, it was nice meeting you, Kai, but don’t let us keep you,” I interrupted. “You go on and meet Burgh, and then Emmet, and whoever the hell else is out there, and we’ll meet you some other time since we’ll be here for a while.”

“Oh, I don’t mind waiting at all,” Kai waved at me. “I wanna meet this Galvantula she has. And her Rotom. And then, we can all go see Burgh together and bask in his kawaiiness.”

I couldn’t believe it. June was crazy enough for me to handle. We had just managed to shake loose one crazy person when Trixa left.

Now, it seemed we were fated to not only meet one of the craziest people I’d ever known in my entire life, but she would also be accompanying us to my Gym battle against Burgh.

I’d find out tomorrow that, comparatively, Kai was among the sane inside of Castelia City.

The three of us would learn that the hard way.