“That was the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever had to experience from a Gym Leader in my entire life!” Ella barked. “The utter nerve of that old fart! I’m not profitable? I’ll show him profitable! How about if I give him a swift kick to his chin? Will that be profitable? Will that be made for TV?”

“Money hungry old bag of… Of… I don’t even know what to call that guy!” June fumed. “Charging me to see a Gym battle! Never in my days have I been so disrespected!”

“So, after my Darmanitan knocked out his Excadrill with Flare Blitz, his Seismitoad used Hydro Pump on my Darmanitan and knocked him out, too,” I said, my eyes on the path ahead of us as we walked through the woods together.

We had exited Driftveil City a while ago and the topic of discussion between us was our time there, though June and Ella didn’t seem to be hearing a word I was saying as they yelled about the disrespect they had received.

June kept talking about how enraged she was while waiting at the hotel.

Ella went on about how embarrassed she was that Clay didn’t even consider her worthy for a battle.

I described how my battle went and what occurred in it. I hadn’t gotten one “congratulations” from Ella or June.

The chirping of crickets surrounded us under the night stars and a gentle, cool breeze blew around us. We came to a stop in front of the wide mouth of a cave.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Chargestone Cave,” Ella grumbled, glaring into the entrance.

“Chargestone Cave? What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s basically a cave loaded with stones that have, like, electric currents flowing through them,” Ella explained. “There are a lot of floating stones that hover from the electric currents in them and all this other scientific jargon. There’s also some cool Pokemon inside. It leads out to Mistralton City.”

“That’s where you’re from.” I turned to her.

Ella kept her eyes on the cave, still frowning. “Yeah. I haven’t seen my dad in a bit. The last time I called him, I’d obtained my fourth Badge. I usually call my family up after I’ve earned a Badge, or sometimes just throughout my journey. And Prof. Juniper, too.”

My heart hurt at the mention of Prof. Juniper’s name. “How is she…?” I asked hesitantly, and June and I exchanged worried glances.

“She’s good. Proud of my accomplishments and all that stuff. She really likes all the Pokemon I’ve caught so far. She told me that I’m doing really well.”

A long moment of silence passed after Ella stopped speaking, and June and I shot each other another quick look of concern before I lowered my eyes. Is that it? No mention of me or June? I remembered when June had repeatedly grabbed on Prof. Juniper, and how the professor had said she’d call Prof. Oak to let him know she had spoken to me. No way she forgot about us, I thought to myself. Has she really not asked about June and I since we ran away from her lab?

“There should be a lot of cool things to see,” Ella spoke up. “Those rocks I told you about are really cool. Coming through here with my dad used to be pretty fun.”

“Well, let’s go on, then,” I said.

We walked through the gaping mouth of the cave.

The crackle of electricity could be heard from nearby, the walls of the cave giving off a dark blue hue.

“It’s so pretty in here!” June commented. “Look at this place!”

“Practically the whole cave is charged up on electricity,” Ella told us. “It’s beautiful.”

“Wow, look!” I pointed ahead at a pair of rocks with the same color as the cave walls, floating in the air over our heads, and one of them crackled as a spark of electricity traveled around it and continued to bounce on the second rock with a crackle before disappearing. “Whoa!” I stared at the rocks in shock.

“Yeah, this place is so amazing.” Ella was finally smiling, forgetting her anger at Clay.

We walked past the pair of rocks, my head turning as my eyes remained locked on them in amazement. My eyes squinted as I noticed something tiny moving on one of the rocks, and I stopped with a gasp.

“Huh? Oh, cool! It’s a Joltik!” Ella exclaimed.

“Spider,” I said in a low voice, shivering in place as my eyes remained on the yellow insect clinging to the side of one of the rocks in the air.

Joltik. The Attaching Pokemon. Joltik cling to larger species of Pokemon or sources of electricity, sapping them until the Pokemon or electric source is completely drained.

“That is so disgusting,” I said out loud after Ella’s Pokedex finished giving its information on the Bug Pokemon. My eyes stayed on the Joltik, nausea swimming inside of me.

“Pfft,” June muttered.

I shot her an angry look.

“I’m gonna catch me one!” Ella said eagerly, taking a step forward.

“Please, be my guest and get rid of that thing,” I said, stepping back.

Ella grabbed a Poke Ball from her belt before turning to me. “What’s wrong?”

“I-” I started.

“Gary has a phobia of Bugs,” June interrupted. “Simple as that.” My glare at June caused her to look back at me and shrug. “Well, it’s true.”

“That’s so adorable!” Ella gushed out, smiling at me.

My face flushed with heat as I looked down at the ground.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, this baby is going to Prof. Juniper,” Ella told me kindly. “But, maybe we could work together on that fear of yours sometime.”

Sweetie? My eyes were glued to the ground, far too embarrassed to look up at Ella. Relax. Terms of endearment are a pain, but they are real. Don’t take it the wrong way. And what does she mean by working together on my fear? Something about what Ella said, and how she said it, made me swoon on the inside and my legs suddenly felt weak.

“Boldore, here we go!” Ella threw her Poke Ball.

“Boldore!” Boldore shouted as it was released.

“Boldore, hit that Joltik with Rock Blast attack!”

The red gems sticking out of Boldore’s body glowed bright orange and the front of its head glowed silver. Several silver blasts fired from its head, knocking Joltik off of the boulder as it cried out in shock.

Joltik shook its head and leaped up, crying out in confusion.

“Awww! She’s just too doggone cuuuute!” June screeched excitedly, a huge smile on her face.

Boldore continued firing its Rock Blast attack at Joltik.

Joltik was helplessly smacked around before it tumbled along the ground and finally came to a stop, moaning in pain.

“Alright! Nothing to it!” Ella threw a Poke Ball at Joltik.

The Poke Ball smacked Joltik, and then bounced right back towards Ella!

Ella gasped as she caught her Poke Ball, and she stared at it in shock before gaping at Joltik.

“What happened?” June asked.

“The Poke Ball didn’t work?” I stared at Joltik in confusion.

“Well, that’s a relief!” a voice said from out of nowhere.

The three of us looked around, surprised to hear another voice.

“I’d have been quite upset if you had caught my Joltik, yano.”

“Whoa!” I stumbled backwards in a panic and fell, my entire body radiating from the landing, and my right shoulder throbbed in pain.

“Oh, my goodness gracious!” June gasped happily.

“Trixa!!!” Ella screamed with joy and ran away from the fainted Joltik and her Boldore and towards a girl wearing a purple dress, black shoes, and a red scarf wrapped around her neck, a matching red beanie on her head.

“ELLA!!” Trixa smiled with excitement as she hopped like a rabbit with her arms outstretched towards Ella, and they both embraced in a tight hug, screaming in excitement, jumping in place.

“Trixa, I haven’t seen you even once since Nuvema Town! I’ve missed you so much!” Ella kissed Trixa on both cheeks.

Trixa pulled Ella in for an even tighter hug and closed her eyes. “Ella!”

Ella’s arms tightened around Trixa.

“Tepig!” A Tepig appeared and walked over to Trixa and Ella, looking up at them with a smile.

“Hey, it’s Trixa’s Tepig!” June pointed out. “Hey, honey!” She waved at him.

“Oh, snap!” I smiled at him.

“Tepig! Tepig!” Tepig greeted us happily.

Ella and Trixa continued hugging, not moving or making a sound.

Tepig, June, me, Boldore, and even Joltik who managed to get back up, turned to the two girls and watched them silently.

I groaned impatiently as I twisted my back, cracking it, confusion sweeping over me.

“Trixa?” Ella looked around as she let go of Trixa, who continued clinging to her. “Trixa…?”

Trixa didn’t respond, holding on tight to Ella.

“Um…” June’s voice gently called out.

Trixa’s eyes opened and she turned to June. She released Ella and gasped loudly, raising her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide. “Juni! Juni!!” She ran over to June, her arms wide.

“Wait! Wait!” June stumbled back. “I’m a bit hurt, here. I’m still recovering from an accident… Be gentle, hon.”

Trixa stopped and looked June up and down several times before gasping in horror and pointing at her. “June, you have a stick! And you look like a partly finished mummy!” A smile crept over her face. “Is this the latest fashion? You look sooooo good in it! I want a stick and some toilet paper around my body, too! And look at that boot! It’s bigger than the other one!” Trixa dropped to her knees and stared at June’s footwear, one foot in its oversized, black medical boot, the other foot in a normal sized black boot. “This style is so random! You should be a model, June!”

“She’s not dressing up!” I said angrily. “This isn’t Halloween! She was in an accident and is injured!”

Trixa continued smiling, looking at June’s boots.

“Trixa?” I said, my anger fading as I stared at her in confusion.

Trixa slowly raised her head and stared up at me, and a crazed, excited look came over her face. “GARAAAAAAAYYYY!!! HEY!!! You have a cool bit of gear on, too!” She stood up and reached out to poke my sling.

“HEY!” I screamed at her, backing up and slapping away her hand with a surprisingly loud SMACK!!

The six of us gasped as the sound echoed throughout the cave.

Trixa held her hand I smacked and her face showed that she was on the verge of tears. She inhaled loudly, repeatedly, and her eyes shimmered with water. “Oh, I remember you for sure, now. You jerk!” Her lips trembled in fright and a pair of tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’re still a meanie! Why do you hate me so much?”

“Trixa, I don’t hate you! You were about to touch my sling!” I reasoned with her. “I have a busted shoulder in here! You can’t just go around touching it! June and I were in a big accident and are recovering at the moment. You have to understand that!”

“I understand it just fine, Gary!” Trixa cried. “But all you had to do was tell me. You didn’t have to hit me like that!”

“Trixa, it was more of a reflex,” I replied. “Did it really hurt that bad? I didn’t mean to harm you at all.”

“You know, when I saw you, I thought that maybe I might get an apology for how you treated me in Vancteck City,” Trixa said, shaking her head and frowning. “I thought maybe you might actually be sorry for what you did to me there. During the time after I left you, I thought, maybe he was just having a bad day. Maybe it’s me. Maybe he doesn’t really hate me at all. But, no. You’re still the same old Gary. You really do hate me, don’t you?”

“Trixa, I do not hate you at all!” I shouted angrily, taking a step towards her. “I-!”

“Oh! Okay, then, great!” Trixa smiled, clapping her hands.

I stood frozen with my mouth open as I stared at her.

Even Tepig looked up at her with a look of exhaustion at his Trainer’s quirky behavior.

Quirky being a nice word for Trixa.

“Is this little Tepig?” Ella cooed, kneeling down and reaching out for him.

Tepig grunted and walked over to Ella, allowing her to pet his head.

“Awww! Little baby, how have you been?” Ella giggled.

Everyone turned to watch Ella interact with Tepig.

Tepig happily squealed out to Ella.

“Hey, wanna see your friend?” Ella grabbed a Poke Ball and held it out, and the Poke Ball sent out a Pokemon in a white beam.

“Servine!” Servine said, and she looked down at Tepig.

“Tepig!” Tepig happily called out to her.

“Servine!” Servine replied warmly.

“Whoa! What is that?” Trixa pulled out her Pokedex in shock.

Servine. The Grass Snake Pokemon and Snivy’s evolved stage. This Pokemon is so quick, it can easily avoid opponent’s attacks and strikes with its vines. It keeps its leaves clean to ensure a perfect photosynthesis.

“Whoa! The next stage for Snivy?” Disappointment was clear in Trixa’s voice. “But, what about my Tepig? Why hasn’t my Tepig evolved? In fact, none of my Pokemon have evolved! Not my Tepig, or my Pansear, or my Panpour, or my Swoobat, or my Tynamo, or my Druddigon, or my Victini, or my Maractus, or my Alomomola, or-”

“Wait a freaking minute!!!!” Ella’s shriek ricocheted off of the walls of the cave, tearing into my eardrums.

I cried out and covered my ears. “Hey!!”

We all looked at Ella in shock.

“What was that about?” I asked her.

Ella had her eyes glued to Trixa, scowling. “Did you just say you have a Victini?”

“Yeah, and it won’t evolve. Look!” Trixa held out a Poke Ball, and a Pokemon was sent out from it.

The Pokemon’s appearance became clear and it let out a determined cry.

I dropped painfully to my knees, but I didn’t even notice the pain at first. Even after I felt it, I didn’t react.

June mouth hung open and she let out a sigh of exasperation as she stared at the Pokemon on the ground.

“I have no idea what that is, but that isn’t Victini…” Ella remarked.

“No, no, it is!” Trixa nodded confidently. “Victini is the Victory Star Pokemon, and this Pokemon is clearly a star-shaped Pokemon. The guy I traded my Reuniclus for, told me so.”

Staryu. The Star Shape Pokemon. The core glows at its brightest when the sun goes down. When the stars begin to show, Staryu float to the surface of the water to align with the stars as their core flickers.

“What?” Trixa gasped at Ella’s Pokedex.

Victini. The Victory Pokemon. Success is said to be guaranteed to anyone who has this Legendary Pokemon on their side.

“Babe, this is a Victini.” Ella held up her Pokedex to Trixa, which displayed Victini’s image. “The Victory Pokemon. You have a Staryu.”

“But, that can’t be!” Trixa wore panic on her face as she pulled out her Pokedex.

Staryu. The Star Shape Pokemon. The core of a Staryu glimmers beautifully and can shine brightly at night, but when this Pokemon is weak, the core shines weakly and blinks repeatedly.

“This can’t be!” Trixa shook her head violently, tears flying from her eyes.

Victini. The Victory Pokemon. An infinite amount of energy is said to lie within this Legendary Pokemon from the Unova region, and can be shared with others it likes. Some state that this Pokemon can become invisible at will.

I slowly climbed to my feet and watched as tears ran down Trixa’s face as her eyes went back and forth from the picture of Victini on her Pokedex, to the Staryu on the ground, repeatedly.

Trixa swallowed hard. “My Reuniclus…” she whimpered.

“Oh, Trixa,” Ella said, stepping up to her and wrapping her in a hug. “It’s alright, my love.”

Trixa shook her head and struggled out of Ella’s hug. “It’s fine,” she whispered as she wiped at her eyes. “I was just stupid.” She looked up at me painfully. “I’m so stupid, right, Gary?”

“Trixa, don’t say that,” I told her. “Whoever tricked you like that was stupid. A stupid, horrible person. Not you. You just didn’t know.”

Trixa sighed as she returned her Staryu.

“Trixa, what happened between us the last time we were together was regrettable and I am sorry for it,” I told her. “I never got to apologize to you. I’m sorry I can be so short tempered.”

Trixa grabbed my right hand in both of hers as she gazed up at me happily, a twinkle in her eyes that a voice somewhere deep inside of me was telling me that I missed, but I ignored it. “Does that mean you miss me? Oh, you’re so kind to me, Gary!” She wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug.

“OOOWWWW!!!!” My right shoulder tightened up painfully in its cast as Trixa’s body pressed against it. “Get off of meeee!!!!” I angrily shoved her away.

She glared at me with a mix of anger and surprise. “You know, I just can’t deal with your crap, Gary! You are just so two faced!”

“Two faced?!” I screamed at her. “How in the hell am I two faced?!”

“Please, let’s not fight, you guys,” Ella suggested with a smile.

“Yeah, this isn’t that serious,” June added.

“This is serious enough for me!” Trixa fumed. “My Pokemon won’t evolve, I was swindled by someone into thinking I got a Victini, and all Gary can do is yell at me and call me stupid!”

“I never called you stupid!” I was mortified at her accusation. “Trixa, Pokemon don’t all evolve at the same time! They have levels by which they evolve, and even when they reach those levels, they don’t always want to evolve! Some Pokemon prefer to remain unevolved, and they can still be powerful battlers, even against evolved forms. Other Pokemon, like your Pansear and Panpour, evolve by Evolution Stones! Pansear needs a Fire Stone, whereas Panpour needs a Water Stone! Others don’t evolve at all! Druddigon doesn’t evolve! If you use your Pokedex, you can find out all kinds of information like this about your individual Pokemon, along with what your Staryu really was.”

“Yeah, and Swoobat is an evolved Pokemon already,” Ella told Trixa gently. “It evolves from Woobat. It can’t evolve again.”

“Oh!” Trixa stared at her Pokedex in her hand and then she looked down at Tepig. “Cool!” She held out a Poke Ball at Joltik and returned the nasty spider Pokemon.

“Say, how many Badges do you have right now, Trixa?” Ella asked.

“Yeah, good question,” I nodded.

“Uuuummm…” Trixa looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “TWO!”

I stared at Trixa silently, along with Ella and June.

Inhaling deeply, trying hard to calm myself down, I closed my eyes. Easy, Gary. Easy. Easy. My eyes opened and I looked at Trixa’s gleeful smile as she looked at the three of us.

“How many do you guys have?” she questioned.

“Trixa, I have four,” Ella said slowly.

“I have five,” I said through gritted teeth, my brain trying to comprehend the number Trixa had told us.

Trixa turned to June expectantly. “What about you, June?”

“I’m… not competing in the Unova League,” June said hesitantly.

Shock came over Trixa’s face. “But, why, Juni?”

“Forget about that!!” My anger exploded from my throat. There was nothing I could do to hold it back. “Why the hell do you only have two badges?! You had two badges when we were last traveling together, Trixa! What have you been doing all this time??”

“Enjoying the sights.” Trixa’s eyes weren’t quite looking into mine, as if she were staring at something right in front of my face that I couldn’t see myself.

My mouth was agape as I stared back at Trixa through squinted eyes.

“Trixa, what about the Unova League?” Ella asked, a hint of despair in her voice. “We were supposed to compete together, remember? We’re running out of time, fast! Even I’m falling behind! You need to collect your Badges.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I will,” Trixa nodded quickly. “I’ll get my eight Badges.”

“I’m sure you will, but you need them before time is up,” Ella told her. “The Unova League takes place at the end of the summer, remember?”

“I’ll be there to compete, no doubt,” Trixa replied calmly, maintaining her smile. “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

This isn’t “small stuff,” I grumbled in my head, closing my eyes tightly, my lips pursed together, struggling not to explode on Trixa.

“Hey, June! I almost forgot that you own like, a ton of Electric Pokemon! You should totally send out your Electric types in this cave,” Trixa suggested. “Electric Pokemon just love it here!”

“Oh? Hmm, that makes sense,” June replied thoughtfully.

“Well, I’m gonna go around trying to find more Pokemon and stuff. And don’t you guys worry about me and my Badges, okay? I’ll get them in time. I’ll catch you all later! Ella, it was so great seeing you again. June, you, too!” Her smile faded to a slant of uncertainty as she looked to me. “Gary, I just really don’t know about you.” She instantly was beaming again. “See you, guys! Let’s go, Tepig!” Trixa skipped by us, disappearing down a separate path in the cave.

Tepig turned to us. “Tepig! Tepig!” He nodded quickly at Servine with a smile before running after his Trainer.

“Servine! Servine!” Servine called after Tepig, waving to him.

“Servine, Boldore, come on back!” Ella returned her Pokemon and turned to June and I. “Well, it was nice seeing her again.” Her eyes locked on mine, making me swallow nervously, and a smile crossed her face. “Gary, I know she’s a bit lightheaded, but you have to try to be a bit more patient with her, okay?”

I nodded. “Sorry,” I muttered.

Ella nodded, her smile fading. “I’m not so confident I’ll be seeing her in the Pokemon League, after all, which is really too bad. She had kind of convinced me to become a Pokemon Trainer to begin with. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be one at first.”

“I’m glad you decided to do it,” I told Ella.

She clasped her hands together and looked at me adoringly.

I smiled back uncomfortably, too nervous to continue looking in her eyes, but unwilling to look away.

“Magnetoooon!!”

Ella and I turned to stare at a Magneton floating in front of a smiling June.

“Sorry to break that little moment up, but either you two are gonna kiss, or we’re gonna keep moving,” June winked. “Trixa said my Electric Pokemon should like it here, so I’ll send out a few of them and-”

“Tooooooooooonnn!!!!” Magneton flew quickly through the air, away from us.

“Magneton!” June cried out.

“Where is it going?” I asked June.

“It’s crying out for help! Magneton, what’s wrong?” June ran after her Pokemon, Ella and I immediately following after her.

Magneton let out a long, frantic cry as it soared through the air.

“Magneton, what’s wrong? Tell me, please!” June begged.

“Toooooooooooooonn!!” A second later, Magneton slammed into a large, floating rock.

The Pokemon and the rock both sparked with electricity as they hovered in the air, connected to each other.

“Magneton!” June stopped before her Pokemon, looking up at it.

“June, there’s too much electrical energy flowing through this cave! Magneton’s steel body is attracted to it like, well, a magnet! Call it back!” Ella instructed June.

June nodded at Ella. “That makes a great deal of sense.” She faced Magneton and held up her Poke Ball.

“Ferroseed!” A Ferroseed appeared from behind the rock, sticking to it as it rolled into view on its spiky body. Unlike the steel gray colored Ferroseed with the green spikes jutting from their bodies that I had seen before, this one’s body gave of a light blue glow, its spikes a darker shade of blue, and it was sparking with electricity, just like the rock it was clinging to.

The floating rock’s side was lightly layered in what looked like some sort of plant life resembling blue moss that sparked as well.

The Ferroseed’s eyes closed tightly.

“Hey, look! A Ferroseed!” Ella reached for her Pokedex.

“Ferroseed!” The spikes on Ferroseed’s body glowed white and they flew out from it, hitting Magneton.

“Magnetoooon!!” Magneton screamed as it was hit. The impact tossed Magneton off of the rock and towards the ground.

“Magneton, return!” June reached the Poke Ball towards Magneton, and a red beam fired out for it.

“Tooooooooonn!” Magneton was suddenly pulled forward, deeper into the cave!

“Nooooooooo!!” June screamed shrilly. “Magneton!”

The red beam from Magneton’s Poke Ball missed the Magnet Pokemon, failing to return it.

June took off after her Pokemon, and Ella ran after her.

I turned to Ferroseed as it stared down angrily at me, clinging to the rock Magneton had just been attached to, and it closed it eyes, firing more white spikes from its body.

“Crap!” I ran after Ella, June, and Magneton, Ferroseed’s attacking just barely missing me, colliding powerfully into the ground with a loud explosion.

Magneton was crying out desperately as it was pulled through the air, and it slammed into another enormous boulder that was hovering feet above the ground, both the rock and the Pokemon sparking on contact. Magneton struggled to free itself.

“Alright, Magneton, return!” June shouted as she pointed the Poke Ball at Magneton determinedly.

“Ferro…”

“June, get out of the way!” Ella ran towards June and pulled her backwards, and just as June was taken off of her feet, pulled by her waist by Ella, the ground where June had just been standing exploded upon contact with several white sparks from the ceiling.

My eyes widened in surprise as Ella stumbled onto her back, wailing in pain as June landed on top of her, June moaning loudly, her body twitching from its own pain. Her cane dropped to ground beside them.

“Ella! June!” I ran to them and picked up June’s cane before assisting June to her feet, handing her cane to her.

“Thank you, Gary,” June groaned weakly, leaning heavily on her cane.

“Ella, are you alright?” I asked her as I helped her up.

“Yeah, I am, but we’re in danger from that Ferrothorn,” Ella said as she shook her head and pointed up at the ceiling.

The three of us looked up and screamed.

On the ceiling, looking back at us, sat a large creature that resembled a mix of Ferroseed with a steel spider. Its three long, green, vine-like appendages ended in spiky metal disks that clung to the ceiling, holding it up there, the rest of its body covered in spikes. Its steel body wasn’t glowing blue or sparking with electricity like the Ferroseed we had just seen.

“What does it want with us, June?” I asked her.

“I don’t know,” June answered me, and then she called up to Ferrothorn. “Listen, I just want my Magneton! We’ll get out of your way right after that!”

“Ferrothoooorn!” Ferrothorn yelled, and it released one of its vines from the ceiling and pointed it at us. All of its vines glowed white and the one pointed at us fired multiple bright, white, pointed streams at us.

My group ran away as we avoided the spikes that exploded on the ground.

“TOOOOOON!”

“My Magneton!” I heard June yell.

I stopped running and turned back around to see June had also stopped running, staring at Magneton.

Ella stopped near me and turned to June.

“Magnet… TOOOOOOOON!!!” Magneton’s body sparked with a startlingly bright flash of electricity that hurt my eyes, forcing me to squint as I cried out in shock.

“Ferrothorn!” Ferrothorn let go of the ceiling and dropped towards the ground as Magneton unleashed a huge, blinding bolt of electricity at it.

“What was that move??” I was in awe at the stunning move Magneton had pulled off, blinking my sore eyes repeatedly against the intense flash. It was brighter than any Electric attack I’d ever seen, and its impact on the ceiling caused smoke to flow out. The smell almost instantly reached my nose, causing me to cough.

“That was a Thunderbolt!” June gasped, staring at Magneton in disbelief.

Ferrothorn spun in midair, its body surrounded by a circle of light blue energy, and it flew into Magneton.

Magneton was unhinged from the electric rock it was stuck on. With a loud cry, Magneton flew even further down the cave.

Ferrothorn closed its eyes tightly.

“Gary, he’s gonna blow!!” June grabbed my left hand, and I gasped as Ferrothorn’s body glowed white.

June and I ran as quickly as we possibly could, Ella by my side, away from Ferrothorn. We all shrieked at the loud BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!! followed by the strong force of air that shoved us forward, picking up our running pace as we chased after Magneton.

“My Magneton!” June was stumbling, out of breath, only able to travel but so far with a cane and a busted foot. She released my hand and extended her arm into the air, her Poke Ball in her hand, trying once again to return her Magneton.

It slammed into a boulder that was floating just inches from the ceiling, both the Pokemon and the rock immediately surrounded by charges of electricity.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” June shrieked as her body was lit up like a firework, and she dropped in a heap. She wept from the ground painfully. “That wasn’t… From an… Electric type… Pokemon…” her voice quaked.

“June!” Ella and I quickly walked towards her, but were almost immediately stopped by a loud shout that echoed throughout the cavern.

“It’s a Klang!” I pointed at the Pokemon that stared back at me from a distance.

“Is that what just shocked June?” Ella demanded. “Hey, what is wrong with you guys? Why are you all attacking us like this?”

Groaning loudly in great pain, June pushed herself up.

I ignored the Klang and knelt down next to June, placing her arm around my neck and helping her to her feet.

Ella ran over and grabbed June’s cane, handing it to her.

“They’re mad at my Magneton,” June said weakly as she took her cane from Ella. “Magneton is being dragged through this cave against its will. The electricity in this cave is pulling it into all of these rocks, slamming into them and causing it to absorb a lot of energy. It’s becoming a huge distraction in an environment like this, and it’s upsetting the other Pokemon.”

“Then, just let her return her Magneton!” Ella called out to Klang.

“They won’t listen,” June told Ella, shaking her head. “They think we’re just intruders. We just have to get out of here.”

“June, get Magneton and let’s run!” I insisted.

Before she could move a muscle, Klang’s body glowed light blue. The color removed itself from Klang’s body and formed a ball, and Klang tossed the Mirror Shot at us.

Ella screamed.

June gripped my arm tightly and pressed her face helplessly against my shoulder.

I stepped in front of June and turned my back to the oncoming attack.

“Magnetoooooooonnn!” Magneton’s voice bounced along the walls of the cave, causing June, Ella, and me to turn to it.

My eyes shut as soon as they landed on Magneton, blinded by a bright light that filled the entire cave.

Ella shrieked, her voice ringing everywhere at once.

June cried out her Pokemon’s name.

A loud explosion, followed shortly by another loud blast, and then another, less loud eruption of noise, made me wrap my arm around Ella and stay positioned in front of June, unsure of what was going on.

Ella continued to scream in fear, cowering close to me.

June gripped me tightly, her head against my chest.

The echo from the explosions faded away after a couple of minutes, and the three of us opened our eyes and gazed at each other silently, fear on June and Ella’s faces, and certainly on mine, as well. We all turned slowly to Klang.

Klang was against the wall, shivering on the ground.

Magneton was…

“What is that?” I gasped at a white ball that floated in the air near where Magneton had been stuck to the floating rock, but the rock was now gone, and Magneton was nowhere in sight.

“What happened to Magneton?” Ella questioned.

June stepped around me slowly, staring at the silent, white ball, her eyes squinting in disbelief. “Magneton?”

The shape spoke out loudly and began to shift in the air, stretching, shimmering in place. With a loud, mechanical sound, the white light exploded, sprinkling on the ground, and something that resembled some sort of alien spacecraft hovered in the white ball’s place.

June let out a strange, repetitive noise from her throat. She mumbled something unintelligible as she stared at the creature in front of us.

“Is that… Magneton?” Ella whispered.

June continued to make the strange noise, only it sounded as if she were crying now.

“I think it’s…” I pulled out my Pokedex.

Magnezone. The Magnet Area Pokemon. The final evolution for Magnemite. The center Magnemite of the Magneton has grown more circular than the other two during evolution. While more powerful, extra weight has been added on, making this final stage slower than its previous one.

June was now whimpering as she took a step closer to her new Pokemon. “Magnezone?”

“Magnezone!” Magnezone faced June.

“My baby!” June ran towards her Pokemon. Magnezone lowered itself closer to June and she wrapped her arms around it. “Magnezone! I can’t believe you’ve evolved! You look so beautiful! This is wonderful!” June was wiping her face against the steel body of Magnezone, her tears flowing as she rubbed her Pokemon with her hands. “Magnezone, you’re amazing!”

Magnezone reacted happily, bobbing in the air.

Ella and I turned to each other, smiling, and she winked at me.

My smile widened and I nodded, turning back to June. A Magnezone, I thought to myself. Congratulations, you two. A weak cry made me turn around, and my smile faded in the next instant.

“June, watch out!” Ella ran past me and towards June.

June turned around in surprise at Ella.

Magnezone turned towards what I was already staring at.

Ella stood in front of June and Magnezone, her arms wide, grimacing at Klang.

Klang was in the air, shaking weakly, its body spinning eagerly, and loud klink! Klink! Klink! Klink! noises were heard as it attacked with Gear Grind, tiny sparks bouncing along the ground.

“Ella, don’t!” I ran towards her.

“MAGNEZOOOOONE!!!” Magnezone flew around June and Ella, June gasping as she stumbled to the ground. Its body sparked with light blue electricity.

Ella suddenly bent over and grabbed her right knee as she fell to the ground, letting out a pained wail.

Magnezone’s magnets glowed light blue and multiple light blue orbs of energy flew out from them. One of the orbs exploded in midair as it collided with the gear that was bouncing around that Klang had fired, and the other orbs exploded as they slammed into Klang.

Klang screamed strongly as it was thrown back into the cave wall, causing dust to cover it in a cloud, and then it went silent.

Ella continued whining loudly, crying.

“Ella, hang on!” I ran towards June and knelt down next to her. “June, are you okay?”

“Gary, what’s going on?” June was on her right side, her face squinting in pain as she took heavy breaths, gazing up at me.

“Your Magnezone is battling Klang,” I informed her.

“Gary! Please, help! My leg!” Ella begged loudly.

“Ella! I’m coming!” I crawled over to her.

Ella was on her back, grabbing her knee, her eyes squeezed tightly, her teeth gritted.

“Ella, what’s wrong with your knee?” I asked her fearfully.

“Magnezone…” Magnezone said in a low voice.

I turned around with a start.

Magnezone hovered above us, looking down at us as it bobbed in place.

“Magnezone, you did great!” I told it. “Congratulations on evolving!”

“Magnezone!” it said happily, nodding its head.

I turned to Klang.

It was on the ground, silent, its body not moving.

“Magnezone, I’m so lucky a girl to have a friend like you! Please, come back, now!” June sniffled, and she finally returned Magnezone to its Poke Ball.

Ella moaned and struggled to her feet, but her right leg was still in pain, and she couldn’t get up. The right jean leg had a cut in it by the knee, and I could see a dark red color soaked into the two flaps where the tear was, blocking the wound from view.

“Ella! What happened to you? Let me help you.” I wrapped her arm around my neck and helped her to her feet.

Ella hopped on one leg, June hobbling by her other side. “I need to get to Mistralton City,” she moaned sorely. “I need a hospital. It hurts so bad.”

“What happened to you? Is it broken?” June stared at Ella’s bleeding knee.

“I don’t think it’s broken, it just hurts so much! I don’t know how this happened. One minute, Klang was going to attack you and Magnezone, so I ran to protect you two, and the next thing I know, my knee is like this. Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks. Maybe I can just walk it off.” She managed a little laugh before scrunching up her face. “Or not.”

“Ella, you’re such a sweetheart,” June told her. “Magnezone and I were meant to take that hit. We owe you big. Thank you.”

Ella smiled and turned to June. “Just keep being the kind of person that makes taking hits like these worth it.”

June blushed, smiling shyly at Ella.

“I think that has to be the exit!” I said, pointing ahead at an opening not far ahead.

“Finally,” Ella sighed.

I smiled and my eyes glanced down, doing a double take as I noticed something on the ground of the cave.

Some kind of metal object resembling a nut.

Some kind of gear? I thought to myself. To what? I ignored it and continued walking with June and Ella.

We kept our eyes on the eerily silent Klang.

I wonder if it’s gonna be alright, I thought to myself as we walked past it.

Within minutes, we stepped out into the cool night air, surrounded by trees, a dirt path in front of us. We all stopped at once and inhaled the fresh air at the same time.

“Ha, maybe I should have caught that Klang,” Ella laughed. “Guess it slipped my mind.”

“Did you get hit in the knee, or the head, Ella?” June joked.

“Hey, you could have taken it in the head!” Ella shot back with a smile.

“You gonna make me remember that daily?” June smiled back.

“Only when it benefits me,” Ella winked.

June and Ella laughed playfully and I smiled as I watched them, grateful that, despite all that we had been through, we were all together.

Grateful for the little trio that was comprised of us.

Grateful that, for all June and I had been through since meeting around three years ago, this was where we had made it to so far.

It’s funny how quickly everything you once had can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye.