June and Ella, each girl on either side of me, looked around our new surroundings as we stepped out of the darkness.

I looked up into the pitch black sky briefly, noting the couple of stars twinkling high up.

We had just walked out of a large, concrete tunnel, cars and trucks driving out of it, only mere feet away from us, an enormous mountain on the other end of the road we were all following.

“Look!” Ella pointed, stopping and leaning over a metal barricade.

“Oh, how beautiful!” June cried out in awe as she joined Ella, looking out at a wide stretch of water below, extending beyond our vision, waves crashing amongst the water.

“That had better be Driftveil City,” I said lightly, not moving any closer to them, gazing at the amazing sight before us.

A city on the other side of the sea sat with flashing, glimmering, and blinking lights, floodlights in the sky, waving from side to side. Almost every building I could see reached into the sky, every light on in every window, the light pollution heavy. It was like a celebration!

“There’s no mistaking it, Gary,” Ella smiled to me. “There’s no place in Unova like Driftveil City. Clay put his heart, body, mind, and soul into making this city what it is today. You’d be hard pressed to find anything this flashy in the Unova Region. I bet there aren’t even too many places like this in the world!”

Celadon City, Vancteck City, Goldenrod City. Nope, I thought to myself. Not even close. As fancy as those places were, Driftveil City clearly takes the cake!

“Well, let’s take a closer look and see just what that city has to offer,” I told the girls. “Let’s go.”

They turned to me eagerly and Ella nodded.

“You know…” Ella smoothly got closer to me. “It is pretty late and Clay is probably getting some sleep right now. No way he’s up at this hour. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to maybe explore the city together, and have a little time to relax.” Her face leaned in closer to me. “What do you think?” she whispered.

“Uh-uh-uh,” I stammered. “Yes. The three of us checking out Driftveil sounds alright for tonight.”

“Oh, don’t think I’d interrupt on such a romantic evening between you two,” June smiled broadly. “I’ll be well on my way exploring by myself, or, better yet, just getting some sleep.”

“That is, unless you just want to be with June, or just don’t want to venture around with me,” Ella pouted, staring at the ground, her shoulders slumped.

I hesitated. She’s waiting, you idiot!! I screamed in my head. Say yes, for crying out loud!!! Where is your backbone??!!

She isn’t waiting, I argued with myself. She’s just joking. I’m not gonna make myself look stupid by misreading her.

I will kill you in your sleep if you don’t start manning up, Gary!! I argued back.

With a sigh, Ella turned around and walked down the road.

“Gary!” June whispered loudly, glaring at me. She pointed at Ella.

I blinked at June in shock, and then turned to Ella. “Wait! Ella!”

Ella stopped walking, but she didn’t turn around, her head still drooping low.

“Ella, I wouldn’t mind exploring Driftveil with you at all,” I said, and my heart practically had a seizure in my chest.

Ella’s head lifted and she smiled brightly at me. “Really?” Her hands clasped together in front of her face. “This will be fun!’ She turned to June. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

June shook her head gently and then rubbed it. “I has a headache,” she said like a little baby, pouting out her lip.

Keep it up, June, I thought in my head. I’ll shove you right over that bridge without batting an eye. We’ll see how bad that headache of yours is, then.

“Well, in that case, I’m really dying for our date to start.” Ella’s eyes were fluttering at me.

People use the word “date” all the time, I told myself quickly, trying to calm down my frantic heart. Friends go out on dates. There are business dates. Nothing strange about what she said. Just the word “date.”

But what’s with her fluttering her eyes at me?

Jokes, Gary, jokes. She’s just very playful.

“Right,” I laughed nervously, and walked over to her.

We stared at each other, Ella smiling joyfully, me trying to smile calmly, though I felt terrified on the inside.

June kept behind us as we turned and walked together down the road, approaching Driftveil City.

My head was spinning with a mix of delight and terror at what was going on as I tried to calm my heart down, which was impossible with Ella walking so close to me.

“Hey, what’s that?” Ella pointed.

“Looks like a tollbooth.” I squinted ahead.

A horizontal, glimmering golden pole attached to a concrete booth stretched in front of a large truck that had driven past us moments ago, lifted until it was vertical, and the truck drove through, the pole returning down again.

As the three of us reached the booth, a voice called out to us, “Hey, kids!”

We looked through the window of the booth to see a man in a blue and yellow uniform and a matching hat, smiling at us. “Do you have an ST-Pass, or will you be paying now?”

“Paying?” the three of us gasped.

“For what?” June asked.

“What’s an ST-Pass?” Ella asked.

“Well, you can’t just get into Driftveil City for free, kids,” the man laughed. “You have to pay to get through. An ST-Pass is a card you get that you can pay for. Depending on how much money you put on the card, you can not only get into Driftveil City, but you can also use a lot of the attractions offered here.”

“We have to pay to get into the city?” Ella gasped in disbelief. “Why would we have to do that? That’s not right!”

“I’m sorry, lady,” the guy replied, smiling uncomfortably. “I just work here.”

“But, we’re Pokemon Trainers!” I informed him. “We want to challenge Clay, the Gym Leader!”

“Well, I hate to be a halter on your little quest, there, but I can’t let you through unless you pay,” the man said, looking at us wearily.

I sighed and dug into my pockets. “I guess I have some money to get in if I have to pay…”

“Ridiculous,” Ella muttered, pulling out a wallet from her back pocket.

June sighed angrily as she dropped her bag to the ground and dug through it, standing up a moment later with her credit card in hand.

“So, are you just paying to enter? Are you exiting as well?” the man asked after he collected me and Ella’s money and June’s credit card.

I was embarrassed that I had to give the man a mix of dollar bills and change, while Ella’s wallet was stuffed with paper money.

He faced a small computer in the booth, typing quickly. “Oh, that’s right. You’re Pokemon Trainers, so you won’t be staying. An exit fee will be applied. You’ll need a hotel to stay in, too.”

“We have to pay to leave, too?” My voice was rising with anger.

“A hotel? We can’t just sleep at the Pokemon Center?” June screamed at the man.

“Please, don’t get so angry at me,” the man said, backing deeper into his booth. “Again, I only work here. I don’t make the rules.”

“Well, who the hell does?” June demanded. “This is crazy! Next, you’re gonna tell us we have to pay to challenge Clay!”

“Well, no, battling Clay is free, but anyone who wants to view the match has to pay,” the man told us. “And, Clay himself runs this town, and makes all the rules. He’s practically, and literally, built this city. He improved on its development from its early days of being a lot smaller and more humble, and made it into what it is today. He found ways to put more money into the city, creating the Pokemon World Tournament, which is held at various locations around the world at certain times, funded the building of hotels and other attractions for the city, and it beat out even Nimbasa City in both expenses, population, and visitors.”

The three of us were speechless, gaping at the man in shock.

“So, a lot of prices increased for purchasing things within the city, and now, Clay’s Pokemon battles are televised events you have to pay to view,” the man continued. “The paths in and out of Driftveil City actually used to be free.”

“This stinks,” I muttered.

“Well, we’re not made of money,” June said, disgruntled.

Ella let out a sad cry. “So much for that date.”

I turned to Ella. Great, I thought sadly, watching at her stare glumly at the ground. Now everything is ruined. I sighed, my eyes tearing up slightly at the sight of Ella’s sadness.

“Well, we just want to enter and leave,” June explained to the man impatiently. “We don’t care about staying. We want to just go right after we beat Clay.”

“Okay. And how long do you think you’ll be staying at the hotel?” the man asked.

“A day? Two if he won’t battle these two on the same day,” June answered.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’m not battling. I’m with them.”

“Ah, so you’ll be staying in the hotel during the battle?”

“No, I’m going with them to watch!”

“So you’re paying the ticket fee.”

“What ticket fee?!”

“Well, as I said before, if you want to view the battle, you have to pay,” the man explained. “You can either pay to watch the fight on TV, or pay to have a seat to watch the battle.”

“Are you MAD?!?!” June screamed furiously. “I’m with these two! Why do I need to pay for tickets when I’m with them?! I’ve never had to deal with such foolishness at the other gyms!! Why is this being televised?! How money hungry can you people get?? I demand to speak to this ass. Immediately!!”

“Clay doesn’t really speak to people for any reasons other than business.”

“Oh, I have some ‘business’ to work out with him, alright!”

“Listen!” I said loudly, tired of all the yelling. “The three of us want to enter. Ella and I want to battle Clay, and then the three of us want to get the hell out of here. We’ll be staying here for two days. If we don’t beat him in that time, we’re just going to leave. The end.”

The man nodded and turned to his computer, asking Ella and I for our names and where we were from as he typed.

June grumbled angrily, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, Gary, but you don’t have enough money to-”

“Charge my damn card for whatever he can’t cover!!!” June screeched.

The three of us stared at June in fright.

The man quickly turned to his computer and his fingers flew over the keyboard. “Enjoy your stay at Driftveil City,” he said in a shaky voice, his eyes wide as he handed June her credit card. He then quickly passed out three plastic, money green cards to us.

The front of the card was blank, but the back contained the words: Straight Through, in thick, red letters.

The golden pole rose into the air, and after a growling June snatched her ST-Pass from the man, the man cowering further into his booth until he bumped into the other side, the three of us walked past it.

What seemed to be about ten minutes later, we stepped into Driftveil City, gasping at once, gazing at the stunning sights.

The buildings were even taller than they had appeared from outside of the city. The lights were blinding, and even though a cold breeze blew around us, I could feel the heat of the lights and I considered taking off my coat. People smiled and laughed as they walked or ran by us, entering and exiting buildings, stumbling around in a drunken state, men carrying large bags while they struggled to keep up with women wearing far too much makeup. Trash littered the streets, paper, plastic bottles, broken glass, clothes, and other things I couldn’t make out, scattered about.

“This place looks like what I’d imagine Vegas to look like,” June squinted against the lights.

“Or New York,” I muttered.

“It’s… pretty bad,” Ella muttered. “I’ve been here maybe twice, and my parents used to tell me that it was much nicer back in the day. It’s so mainstream, now. There’s just too much!”

“No wonder this city is so expensive,” I said, unzipping my coat in the warmth that was becoming overwhelming. “It must cost a fortune to keep this town running. Let’s find that Pokemon Center and get our Pokemon healed for the fight tomorrow. We only have two days, so let’s make sure we wipe this guy out. We can find the hotel after we locate the Pokemon Center.”

After walking through the city for a while, trying to find the Pokemon Center, I was actually sweating, and the three of us removed our coats, putting them in our bags.

“Ella, doesn’t that thing tell us where the Pokemon Center is?” I asked her, my throat dry and sore.

“It does, actually,” she said, her eyes already on it.

I hadn’t even noticed that she had pulled it out in my exhaustion.

“It’s a little bit further down. I’ve been keeping my eyes on the map. Don’t worry.” Not much longer after her words were spoken, she crossed in front of June and I and walked down a street that was loaded with more lights and advertisements, brighter than the block we had been on.

A group of several young teenagers walked by us, one of them with his eyes closed, walking about lazily. His shoulder slammed into my right shoulder, which was still in its sling.

“Hey! What’s your damn problem?!” I screamed at him angrily, grabbing my arm as it stung harshly.

The group of kids froze before turning around to me.

The guy walking with his eyes closed now had them open, squinting angrily at me. “What?” he demanded angrily. “What up, huh?” He reached up to adjust his backwards cap a little bit.

“You act like he did it on purpose?” one of the girls yelled at us.

A couple of guys in the group, along with a girl, pulled the angry teenager with his backwards cap away from my much smaller group, while the three of us glared at them, shaking our heads.

“We need to get this Gym match over with already, before we get into trouble here,” Ella said nervously.

“Let’s find that Pokemon Center and then the hotel and not leave until the morning,” I suggested.

Ella looked down at her Town Map, and then looked up. “There we go!” she pointed.

We all turned to where she was pointing at and spotted the glowing, red ‘P’ atop the building several feet away.

“Yes!” I cheered, and we all ran towards the Pokemon Center.

I entered the building first and skid to a stop. “What?”

June and Ella gasped in surprise after they ran into the building after me.

It looked more like we had entered a fancy, high society party than a Pokemon Center! The walls were gold and were literally sparkling! The golden carpeted floor had a red carpet leading deeper inside. People were holding glasses of drinks and chatting amongst each other, laughing. Soft music played at a low volume through the building.

“Ella, are you sure we’re in the right building?” I asked, looking up at the chandeliers and people holding small plates of food.

“The Town Map says this is it,” Ella checked.

“But, where’s Nurse Joy and Audino?” June questioned.

I stared at the red carpet and followed it with my eyes, seeing it end at a large counter far away, a lady behind it, standing next to a pink creature. “I think I just found them.” I walked down the carpet, towards the counter, as Ella and June carefully walked beside me.

“Hello, and welcome to the Driftveil City Pokemon Center,” Nurse Joy greeted us with a loving smile as we reached her. “Do you need any Pokemon care?” She stood behind a very shiny, brown, wooden counter that reached up to her chest. A tall, gold chair, the seat and back of it holding a comfortable red cushion, stood behind her.

An Audino stood by her side, smiling.

“As long as we’re not being charged for that, too,” June cracked.

Oh, wow, I realized. That’s a good point. Are we being charged for that?

Nurse Joy laughed. “Oh, that was a good one. I don’t get to meet too many witty people here. At least, not with the kind of comedy I prefer.”

“I’m serious,” June said flatly.

Nurse Joy laughed again, her Audino smiling widely at June. “I know. That’s what’s so funny about it, to me. We don’t charge for Pokemon care services, although Clay did try to implement that a while ago.” She sighed, her smile fading slightly.

“What is wrong with that man??” June asked angrily, her voice loud.

Nurse Joy shook her head, lowering her gaze to the counter in front of her, her smile further fading. “Well, it was highly frowned upon by the citizens, but Clay didn’t care. The only reason the charge wasn’t implemented was because it was illegal. He couldn’t do it by law. But, everything else around here rose in prices when that didn’t go through. In fact, at one point, this Pokemon Center was more of a club than anything else! The music was loud and vulgar, and the Pokemon resting here couldn’t... well, rest! We even had a DJ, believe it or not! Clay just wanted to attract the youth, and their parents money... But, anyway, please, I’ll happily take your Pokemon now.” Her cheery smile returned to her youthful face as her eyes rose to our faces.

I just couldn’t get over how young the Nurse Joys in the Unova region looked compared to the ones in Kanto, Sinnoh, Johto, and Hoenn. The Nurse Joys I was used to looked very young and beautiful, too, but the Nurse Joys in Unova looked like they were still Juniors in High School!

Before either of us could move, a loud shriek from behind us made us all turn around with a jump.

Something leaped from in front of us before I could see what it was and tackled June.

June screamed as she stared at her attacker in horror.

“It’s Juniiiiiii!!!” the person screeched with excitement. “Super mega glomps!!”

“Hey, you! Easy, will ya?” June snapped, glaring at her attacker, stumbling back into the counter behind her. “I’m not in the best shape right now, if you couldn’t tell from the cane and my obviously busted foot?! And who the hell are you, anyway?”

Looking up, smiling, the girl exclaimed, “I’m me, Ruko! Remember? We met at the train station in Castelia City!”

“Ruko!” I remembered, and my smile faded slightly when I remembered a little bit more about her. Particularly how she obtains and uses Pokemon.

“And Gary!” Ruko released June and stepped up to me. “You alright?” She squinted at me. “You look in a bit of rough shape, too! Scratches and dried blood and things on your face. What have you and Juni been up to?”

“It’s a long story, Ruko,” I sighed, shaking my head. “What are you doing here?”

“I was getting my Pokemon back from the Pokemon Center here. I won my seventh badge against Clay!”

“Wow! Seven badges?” My mouth dropped open.

“Ruko, congratulations!” June congratulated her. “That’s amazing! You’re almost there already!”

“Thanks so much, guys,” Ruko beamed. “Hey, who’s your new friend?” She looked eagerly at Ella.

“Hi, my name is Ella,” Ella introduced herself, extending her hand.

They both shook hands.

“My name is Ruko. It’s so great to meet you! This little group is slowly building, huh? It was just June and Gary before. Now, it’s Ella! Friends!!! WOOO!”

“Um, right,” I muttered, embarrassed now. “So, you’ve beaten Clay?”

“That’s right, and it was no sweat at all. My Pokemon are tough!” She laughed.

“Still using Pokemon traded from others?” I asked, trying hard to hide my anger.

“Yeah!” Ruko exclaimed, oblivious to how bothered I was by it. “I just recently got a bunch of boss Pokemon, too! Hey, do you guys want to battle? I only have time for one quick round, though.”

“Wait, what do you mean, Gary?” Ella asked me quietly.

I turned to her, my eyebrows furrowed. “She’s given away every Pokemon she has ever owned in exchange for better, more powerful ones. She then uses them to win her battles.”

“Ha! You almost sound bothered by that, Gary. I’ll bet you have some cool Pokemon I wouldn’t mind trading for! I’ll teach you their moves and how you should use them, too!”

I turned to Ruko, rage on my face at her words, and watched her smile fade. “Ruko, that’s not how you use Pokemon! You’re supposed to catch Pokemon and raise them on your own! You can’t just go around trading for stronger Pokemon like that! It isn’t right!”

“I don’t understand…” Ruko’s voice got low, a confused look on her face.

I wanted to explain my point to her, but I wasn’t sure what else I could say. What didn’t she understand?

“Hey, are you trying to say you want to see how strong my Pokemon are? I’ll battle you, Gary,” Ruko challenged with a grin.

“Hey, hold on! I want to see just how tough you are,” Ella stepped up. “You intrigue me, Ruko. Could we have a quick match instead?” She turned to me pleadingly. “If you don’t mind.”

My eyes widened. “Um, of course you can, Ella. But, why do you want to?”

“I don’t know,” Ella smiled, turning to Ruko. “Ruko seems so innocent and yet strategic. I’m not sure exactly how to put it. I’ve never met a Trainer like this before. And, Ruko only has time for one of us. I’m really curious about what kind of Pokemon I might face.”

“I’m with whatever!” Ruko glanced at her large watch. “But it has to be really quick.”

“One-on-one?” Ella suggested.

“Great!”

Ella nodded and pulled out her Pokedex.

“I’ll leave my Pokemon with Nurse Joy, then,” I said, turning to her and placing my six Poke Balls on the counter.

“Mine as well.” June placed her large bag on the counter and pulled out her five Poke Balls.

Nurse Joy and Audino smiled as they scooped them up.

“And these five, too, please!” Ella added, placing her five Poke Balls on the table and scooping up one.

“Let’s take it to the streets!” Ruko ran alongside the red carpet, towards the front door.

“What Pokemon did you choose?” I asked Ella.

She winked at me and then ran after Ruko.

June and I walked after them, leaving the Pokemon Center moments after they had run through the doors.

Ella and Ruko were already facing each other, a large space in between them, holding their individual Poke Ball in their respective hand.

I turned amongst the bright lights and electronic advertisements lining the city to see a trailer playing on a screen on the front of a building.

A couple was running down a hallway towards a set of stairs leading down. Suddenly, their movements seemed to be slowed down drastically, and something flew past them in a blur, blocking the stairway. In slow motion, the couple’s mouths dropped open, their mouths widening in horror.

The creature in front of them was shown to be a Porygon2, and it let out a shrill screech.

The couple shook their heads, still moving strangely slow.

A multicolored beam fired from Porygon2’s eyes at the couple as a scream from them was heard, and the screen went black.

Pory Normal Activity 8.

Coming soon.

“Again with these movies?” I heard someone mutter, and I looked down to see a man with a disappointed look on his face, his arms crossed, shaking his head. “How many more can they possibly make? It’s getting ridiculous. Who’s still seeing these things?”

I’d never seen any of the movies in the series after the first Pory Normal Activity. I didn’t like horror movies and seeing the original one was scary enough for me. But I was intrigued to know what it was about.

Porygon-Z… I suddenly found myself thinking. Charizard. I really need to call Prof. Oak, badly. This is driving me mad. I need to know my Pokemon, and him, as well, and my mom, too, are all okay after what June and I put them through. A sharp pain was drilling through my chest, regret hurting me. Maybe I was stuck at home with my mom, and maybe she had lost it a bit, trapping me at home, losing it on me when I tried to get away, but she only did that out of love, and I knew it. She didn’t want to lose her hard headed son. Her only child that she still had contact with. My mom had lost contact with her only two kids due to Pokemon. And her husband, as well.

“Are you two battling or what?” a voice yelled, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I looked up.

The sidewalk on both sides of the street contained a large group of people, most of them looking at the trailer that was now playing on the screen showing a man and a Pokemon, Jynx, holding hands, walking down a snow covered plain together, smiling at each other. The crowd started losing interest in the video and turned back to Ella and Ruko, who didn’t seem to have moved from their spots, gripping their Poke Balls tightly.

“I guess I’ll judge this match fairly.” June walked over to the side, away from the girls.

“Yeah! You’d be best to judge, being a previous Gym Leader,” Ruko nodded at her before turning back to Ella.

“This is a one-on-one Pokemon battle without any time limit!” June informed us all. “The first person whose Pokemon is beaten is out! Begin!”

“Jellicent, to the front!” Ruko shouted, throwing her Poke Ball.

“Shiftry, it’s time!” Ella tossed a Great Ball.

“Jellicent!” A pink, floating Pokemon appeared, resembling an octopus.

“Shiftryyy!!” Shiftry made its debut with Ella.

“Shiftry?” I gasped, June looking at her in shock.

Ella nodded and pulled out her Pokedex, not taking her eyes off of the two Pokemon in front of her. “I made a little switch before giving my Pokemon to Nurse Joy. I want Shiftry with me for a while.”

Jellicent. The Floating Pokemon and Frillish’s evolved stage. It can absorb seawater and then spray it from the top of its head. It moves forward by spraying seawater stored in its body.

Ella hit buttons on her Pokedex as she stared down at it.

I shivered, staring at Jellicent. Come on, Ella. Beat that thing, I thought, remembering my encounter with a Frillish on Captain Billy’s boat.

“Now, Shiftry, use-!” Ella started to call.

“SHIIIIIIFTRYYYY!!” Shiftry attacked with Leaf Storm, her body glowing turquoise as she raised her arms, a swirl of glowing leaves appearing from the ground and rising to her arms. The glow from her body faded as she pointed at Jellicent, the leaves colliding with Jellicent’s body.

Jellicent cried out, floating backwards, but shook off the hit and glared determinedly at Shiftry.

“Shiftry, I didn’t say to use that,” Ella said, brushing her hair back with one hand. “Now, I want you to use your Feint Attack.”

“Jellicent, attack with Wring Out, now!” Ruko commanded.

Shiftry stood still as she was wrapped up by Jellicent’s outstretched tentacles, and she struggled hard, groaning.

“Shiftry, why didn’t you attack?” Ella complained desperately.

“Shhiiiiiiiiift!!” Shiftry called out to the skies, and her body was outlined in black.

“Nasty Plot!” June shook her head, staring at Shiftry, and she took a step back.

“June?” I stared at her, confused. Something’s wrong, I knew, and I looked back at the battle.

Jellicent released Shiftry, and Shiftry crouched down on one knee, groaning.

Shiftry raised the leaves of her hands to the sky and they glowed brightly, two yellow balls of energy, one from each hand, rising into the sky, combining into one ball, and they exploded with a bright flash.

Everyone screamed as the bright light, combined with the lights of the city, burned strong, blinding everyone.

“AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!” I screamed, the light burning so strong, my body felt as if it were on fire! I fell to the ground and covered my burning face feebly with one hand.

“Shiftry, what is this?!” Ella shrieked.

“She’s doing Sunny Day! Call her back! She isn’t listening to you, Ella!!” June begged.

I gasped and tried to turn to June, but by lifting my head up, even with my eyes closed, they felt as if they were gazing directly into the sun, only much, much worse.

Everyone around us was wailing, begging for the lights to go off, and I could hear panicked footsteps running.

“I can’t see anything!!” Ella’s voice sounded terrified.

Shiftry was screaming out angrily, and I could hear a loud set of explosions, Jellicent also yelling out.

“Rain Dance, now!” Ruko burst out.

Jellicent’s cry rang out, and moments later, the intense heat around my body began to fade, a chill falling down upon me.

The screams slowly began to die down, the running coming to a stop.

I tried opening my eyes, but they still hurt and I couldn’t see anything but bright flashes, so I kept them closed as the rain poured down on me, soothing my skin.

“SHIFTRRRRYYYYY!!!!” I heard Shiftry scream in a rage.

I gasped and squinted through my eyelids.

The city was as bright as it had been before Shiftry had used Sunny Day, the sky dark again, the intense heat gone.

Shiftry was in the air, above Jellicent, her foot outstretched, poised to send a kick at Jellicent’s body.

“It’s Beat Up!” June squinted up at Shiftry through the pouring rain.

“SHIFT!” Shiftry neared Jellicent.

“Blizzard!” Ruko countered.

“Jeeeeelliceeeent!!” Jellicent blew out a barrage of hail, snow, and cold wind from its mouth at Shiftry.

“SHIFT! SHIFTRY!!” In seconds, her body, coated in a thick block of ice, landed on the ground, motionless.

“Will-O-Wisp!” Ruko continued.

Jellicent spun around rapidly in circles, its body surrounded by pink, light blue, and dark blue balls of fire, and they flew out at Shiftry, hitting the ice block surrounding her, and the ice exploded.

Shiftry rolled out of the white smoke that appeared around her once the ice had been destroyed, and she shakily got to her feet.

“Sludge Wave!” Ruko said quickly.

A purple wave of gunk surrounded Jellicent’s body. “Jeeeellicent!” The wave that flew from its body splashed onto Shiftry.

“Shiiiiiiift…” Shiftry dropped to her back.

“Shiftry is unable to battle! Jellicent is the winner!” June declared happily.

Excited murmurs rose from the crowd, which had shrunk drastically in size, now containing only a small handful of people, a couple of which were clapping, eventually encouraging the remaining few to join in.

“Oh…” Ella said with disappointment as the rain slowed down to a drizzle and finally ended. “That was really strange.” She approached her Shiftry and shook her head. “What was with the disobedience?”

Shiftry groaned as she turned her head to her Trainer and growled. “Try...” Shiftry’s eyes closed and she remained motionless.

“She needs some help right now at the Pokemon Center,” June informed Ella as the small crowd of bystanders starting to disperse. “We can sort out what the issue is after she’s all better.”

“Fine,” Ella said grumpily, returning Shiftry to her Great Ball. She looked up at Ruko and wiped her wet hair from her face. “Hey, good fight. I’m sorry about that stupid Sunny Day and the fact that it wasn’t really a good match.”

“What? You’re crazy, Ella! That Shiftry is totally badass! What a tough Pokemon you have! Thanks for that battle. It was amazing!”

Both Trainers approached each other and shook hands.

“Your Jellicent is a good battler,” Ella smiled weakly. “That Blizzard let me know this match was over.”

“You’ll never win with that attitude!” Ruko’s smile vanished as she stared seriously at Ella. “You have to hang in there, and battle with all you’ve got until it’s over! Never give up on your Pokemon, Ella. Always keep the faith.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve saying that, since you give away your ‘weak’ Pokemon for stronger ones.” I was unable to keep my mouth shut, though I tried to.

Ruko laughed as she turned to me. “I suppose you have a point, there, Gary!” She turned back to Ella. “But, anyway, until you get even stronger Pokemon, stick with what you have and battle through to the end!”

“Until I get even stronger Pokemon…?” Ella repeated, tilting her head in confusion.

“Oh, no! I’ve really gotta get out of here! My girlfriend’s gonna kill me!” Ruko wailed, staring at her enormous watch with wide eyes. “Jellicent, return!” She returned her Pokemon and waved at June, Ella, and I. “Great seeing you guys again! Take care! Good luck against Clay! BYE!” She took off down the direction the three of us had arrived here from.

We turned to each other and sighed.

I glanced up at another trailer for a movie now ending, a woman, breathing hard, her face smudged with dirt, her clothes looking tarnished, staring down desperately, tearfully, at a shivering, scared Pokemon I recognized as Vanillite. The screen went black and displayed the title of the movie in blue letters and icy font: The Hungry Games: Soft Served

The song “Just Give Me A Seasoned Pokemon,” sung by Pop music artist, Mag3nta, played as the credits were shown.

I looked back down at Ella and June.

Ella had her sad eyes on her Shiftry’s Great Ball.

June watched Ella with matching sadness.

“Well, let’s heal this girl up and figure out what’s wrong.” Ella was now glaring at the Poke Ball. She looked up at me. “We paid for an expensive, two-day trip to this city, and I’m sure not leaving without that Badge.”

June and I solemnly nodded in agreement.

“I’m right with you, Ella,” I told her.

Ella, June, and I had a two day stay in Driftveil City.

More than enough time for Ella and I to defeat Clay and earn our next Badge.

Little did we know, time wouldn’t be what we needed with us the next afternoon.

On our way to battle Clay.