Melissa’s face had looked up into mine, her light blue eyes filled with tears and terror, her hands up by her face that held the look of cornered prey for a ferocious beast.

“You’re hurting me! Gary, let go of me! Why are you hurting me?” Melissa had screamed as she struggled to break free from my hold.

I hadn’t even been holding her that tightly, and yet she was screaming as if I were beating her. Was it all an act to break free from me and run away? Why?

“How surprised are you to see her, Gary? How excited do you feel? Are you even aware enough to answer accurately? Are you able to tell how that is transcending in how you are grabbing and shaking and throwing people around right now? Huh?? Well, Gary?! Answer me!!”

June’s words had reminded me that I may have been gripping my sister tighter than I had been aware at the time. Maybe I was hurting her.

That still didn’t explain why she had run away from me in the first place.

And, what made Melissa freak out and run away from us the last time before she escaped from me?

“When we found you, you were surrounded by a few people,” June had said. “I was kind of wondering if you knew who they were. Why were they with you? What were they doing to you?”

June’s questions had resulted in Melissa, who had been calmed and was willingly walking with us towards Mistralton City for medical attention, to start screaming and run away from us.

But, why?

What happened to Melissa in the past three years? What happened to all of her Pokemon? Why was she in Unova? Who were those people who had Melissa on the ground? What were they doing to her? Why did she run away from me? Why?

I’d freaking found her!!

June hadn’t spoken a word since yesterday, and we were now walking through the wide path of one of the landings on a mountain.

I was furious at June, and if she had dared to open her mouth to talk to me, I felt like I might have exploded, so I was glad she hadn’t spoken in a while. I kind of blamed her for Melissa’s disappearance, since it was her words that had seemed to scare off my sister.

But what was it about her words that made Melissa react like that?

I let out my breath silently through my nostrils and closed my eyes, confusion filling my head, depression gripping my body, the desire to give up on everything I had going for me, increasing. What did I really have to live for, anyway? My own sister wasn’t even happy to see me. The memories of her running away from me cut deep, but I didn’t stop dwelling on them. The pain that was slicing at my heart felt good in a sort of masochistic way, and I reveled in the pain I was giving myself. It was a mental pain that transcended beyond that, into the physical, my heart throbbing badly, and I could feel my body twitch roughly against the emotions that thrived within me. Melissa… I thought mournfully, hot tears burning into my eyelids. I found you, and yet, I’ve learned absolutely nothing. Was it worth it? I wondered. Yes, I found her, but was this what I wanted? Was it not better to have not found her at all than to have found her in this state, looking so unwell, confused as to her own whereabouts and past? What were those red spots on her face? Why was she bleeding all of a sudden? Was this what I’ve been seeking all this time? Maybe this wasn’t what I wanted, but is it not what I wished for?

Large boulders ahead of June and I sat around on the ground, some taller than us even if we were standing on each other’s shoulders, while other boulders only reached up to my knees, the rest of the sizes differing.

We silently neared them, my eyes on the ground, Melissa being the only thing on my mind. I’ll never find her again, I told myself. This opportunity will never arrive a second time. This was a once in a lifetime chance. How did she get away from me? Is she okay? No, she isn’t. She’s hungry and alone and terrified. I swallowed hard. My mommy. How will I ever be able to tell her that I found her only daughter and then lost her before the day was over? How can I ever face my mom again? Light mumbles reached my ears, but I didn’t pay any attention to them, acknowledging them in my head for only a second before my thoughts returned back to Melissa and my mom. I found her daughter, I thought. I found her, and then I lost her. I didn’t even chase after her until it was too late. I’m an idiot. What is wrong with me? Why didn’t I run after her? She was bleeding! All the more reason to make sure I remained by her side and got her some medical attention! Damn it! Murmurs and low cries from around me reached my ears again.

June lifted her head and looked around, sadness on her face, her eyes revealing that she had just been removed from deep thoughts.

I looked around briefly before lowering my head. Whatever the noises were, I wasn’t concerned with them. At least I know what region she’s in, I thought. At least the police now know that she’s in the Unova region and are pursuing her.

“Gary, wait a second,” June whispered, her first words to me in about a day, stopping as she looked around.

A growl was accompanied by a leg as something stepped out from behind one of the huge boulders before June and I.

I stopped walking and looked up, my heart picking up its pace as I stared at an unfamiliar creature.

Another creature that looked exactly like the first one, stepped out from behind the same boulder and stood beside the first being.

Suddenly, a few more mutters and cries were heard as even more of these mysterious things stepped out from the boulders littered about. I turned around at the sound of more grumbles and saw more of the creatures step from behind the boulders surrounding June and I. We were surrounded by the glaring creatures, some of them hunched over, a few of them standing up straight.

My hand dug into my pocket and I pulled out my Pokedex and pointed it at the things before me.

Scrafty. The Hoodlum Pokemon. Scraggy’s evolved stage. This Pokemon can destroy boulders with swift, powerful kicks and can be found hanging in groups, sometimes causing trouble for little reason.

“Scrafty…” I whispered as I put my Pokedex away.

June and I looked around at the surrounding Pokemon, turning around continuously.

“This isn’t good,” June warned against their murmurs.

“What are they saying?” I asked her, my first words to her in a while.

“They’re speaking kind of low, but it seems like they’re really curious about us,” June responded.

“Curious? This is gonna turn out a lot worse than just curiosity, isn’t it, June?”

“Yeah. I’m betting it will,” June nodded quickly, fear in her voice.

“Scrafty…” A Scrafty stepped away from the group, the red crest on the top of its head noticeably larger than the ones on the Scrafty nearby it. “Scrafty! Scraft! Scrafty!” it growled at us.

“What’d it say?” I asked June.

“He said we’re both about to pay!” June cried.

“For what?” I gasped.

Scrafty ran forward, his eyes on me. As he ran past June, his arm extended and he backhanded her in the face.

June cried out painfully from the SMACK and dropped to the ground.

“June!” I screamed, and before I knew it, Scrafty pulled back a fist as he continued towards me and swung at my stomach. I bent over as my breath left me, grabbing my stomach, groaning, and I felt as if I could throw up at that very moment.

“Scrafty!” Scrafty grabbed the back of my head and forced it to the rocky ground.

“Aaahhhhh!” My cap fell from my head as Scrafty smudged my face down. My face stung painfully as the rest of my body dropped. A blow came to my stomach and I curled up on the ground, Scrafty releasing my head. My eyes teared up in pain as I slowly turned my head towards my attacker, wheezing for the air.

“What are you doing?!” I heard June scream shrilly.

Scrafty sneered down at me and then looked up at June. He nudged his head in her direction.

“Hey! Let go of me! Get off of me!! Let go!!”

June’s calls made me roll over onto my side so I could see her. I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t get any words out from my throat, my stomach lurching instead as it ached, and I held back the feeling to throw up, swallowing the stinging, burning, horrible taste of puke sitting in the back of my throat. I hated the feeling and taste of throwing up so badly. I refused to let it out. June! I groaned in my head.

June’s arms were held behind her back by two Scrafty as she stomped on the ground, struggling hard to break free from them.

A pair of Scrafty walked over to her bag on the ground and fumbled around with it for a moment, finally getting the zipper to open, and they each grabbed one end of the bag and dumped the contents onto the ground.

All of the Scrafty eagerly looked at what fell out, including Poke Balls, clothing, healing items for Pokemon, bottles of water, bags and boxes of both Pokemon food and food for June, and other things amongst the mess.

Three Scrafty walked over to the pile and dug through it, tossing aside things that didn’t interest them until one grabbed a box of Pokemon food. The other two each grabbed a bag, one containing cookies, and the other containing cereal.

A few other Scrafty strolled over casually and dug through the items.

“Scraft,” the Scrafty behind me said in a low voice, and I felt my backpack being tugged while still on my shoulders.

“Hey! Get off of me!” I shouted, trying to struggle against the Scrafty. It hurt to move, my stomach sore as I struggled to keep my bag. Something heavy landed on my back and I screamed out as my stomach was pushed to the ground and my arms were forced behind me as my bag was tugged hard and finally removed. Moaning, my arms weakly fell. I didn’t move, my breaths coming out quickly and pained.

“Scrafty,” Scrafty said as he walked over to his friends with my bag in his hands.

The three Scrafty that were holding June’s food were fumbling with the tops of the bags, the few other Scrafty now scratching at bags of Pokemon and human food they held in their hands.

The Scrafty with my bag managed to unzip it and dumped my items out of it before flinging my bag to the side.

The group of Scrafty with food had finally torn the bags open, one of the bags spilling its contents all over the ground.

The Scrafty who had spilled its food looked down in confusion.

The other Scrafty who had managed to open their bags without spilling their food, pointed at their confused friend and laughed before tilting their heads back and messily pouring the food into their mouths, loads of food dropping all around them, missing their opens mouths.

June grunted angrily. “That’s our food! Stop that! What is wrong with you guys? Please, don’t do this!”

The Scrafty were laughing as they filled their mouths while other Scrafty walked over and scooped up the food from the ground, hungrily packing their faces.

I groaned but crawled onto my knees, my head still to the ground, spinning from dizziness as I watched the Scrafty.

June struggled in the arms of her captors, the two Scrafty glaring down at her as she tried to free herself. “You freaking crooks! Unhand me, right now! Who do you think you are? You can’t just do this to us! That’s our food!”

“Scrrrrafty!!” one of the Scrafty barked at June, getting its face close to hers.

June turned to her left and glared back at the Scrafty who had just spoken to her. She spit in its face and swung her left foot back at the Scrafty’s stomach!

The Scrafty held on to June, but its eyes had bulged out in shock at her hit and it bent over.

The Scrafty on June’s right moved swiftly and grabbed June’s face with its entire hand and squeezed.

She let out a muffled scream of pain.

Scrafty growled at June as it tightened its grip on her face and slowly forced her down to her knees.

June could only whimper through the abusive Pokemon’s large hand.

Scrafty finally released her face, and the Scrafty on the left of her straightened up and caught June by surprise with a sharp slap to her face with a wide palm.

June’s head dropped instantly, and I could just barely see tears falling from her face as she silently wept.

At once, I stumbled forward, leaping to my feet, and ran towards the two Scrafty holding June. I just barely got four feet before I was yanked by the back of my jacket and slammed onto my back. My eyes tightened in pain, but I opened them at the sound of Scrafty laughing and spotted two of them behind me, gleefully pointing at me.

One of the Scrafty stopped laughing and raised a leg, his foot dropping onto my forehead.

I screamed as my head practically exploded and I grabbed it, curling up in a ball as the two Scrafty began to kick at my body.

“Garyyyy!!!” I could hear June shriek.

I tried to crawl away from the two Pokemon, but before I knew it, I was pulled up to my feet and my neck was gripped tightly.

“Scrafty!” a Scrafty shouted in my ear, and I realized I was in its headlock.

I choked painfully, trying to free my head and get some air into my lungs. It was a struggle to even swallow.

“Scraft,” the Scrafty said to me, and its grip around my neck tightened, blocking my air completely.

I grabbed at its arm and tried to lower it, but its thin arm wouldn’t budge. Can’t breathe, I thought frantically. I reached behind me to try and grab Scrafty’s face, determined to get this thing off of me.

Two other Scrafty ran past the group of Scrafty who were devouring me and June’s bags of food greedily, excitedly, emptying them of what was inside and tossing the bags behind them before grabbing even more food to eat from. The two Scrafty stopped near me and began to take turns swinging blows at my stomach.

My legs gave way on the first hit, my breath forced from my throat in a way that made my throat sore, but I wasn’t able to just fall to the ground because the Scrafty behind me was still holding me in a headlock. The continuous punches forced my breath out in wheezes through the tight lock Scrafty had my head in. Damn it, was my first thought before the Scrafty behind me finally released my neck and I fell down. My entire body was shivering and throbbing, my eyes closed, awaiting more hits from the Scrafty.

The Scrafty chattered eagerly, their feet shuffling around my head, but none of them were attacking.

Mistralton, I thought to myself weakly, my body groaning. Should’ve gone to Mistralton. What are we even doing here? What did we do to deserve this? I desired to get back to my feet, but I was too afraid to move. Maybe if I play dead, they’ll go away, I considered. A weak cough came from my throat. I stayed as still as I possibly could.

“Scrafty!” a Scrafty yelled.

My body was pulled up as a tight grip surrounded my neck, and my eyes shot open. I was viciously shaken around and I tightened my neck to prevent it from snapping as I was carelessly swung around in the air by it, choking.

Most of the Scrafty in the area were all watching, some cheering with their hands in the air, others nodding repeatedly with their arms crossed, while others chattered and pointed at me.

A small group of Scrafty were still digging through me and June’s things, tossing aside clothes and items including Super Potions, Full Heals, and extra Poke Balls that we had bought. Some of the items landed far away from the Pokemon, while others bounced along the ground, eventually tumbling off the side of the cliff.

I kept my eyes on the Poke Balls that had a sticker with a letter on them. Those Poke Balls were the ones containing one of June’s Pokemon. So far, those five Poke Balls remained on the ground, untouched by the Scrafty.

June was breathing heavily on her knees, her arms being held behind her back in the air by the two Scrafty, her face covered in dirt, black smudges, and markings. She stared up at me as tears caused her eyes to sparkle.

What do they want? I wondered as I stared at them all, my neck in pain from the tight fingers digging into it, feeling as if it might snap at any second as Scrafty continued shaking me roughly. My body was slammed down and I twitched as I laid on my back and was helplessly dragged along the ground by my neck, tears clouding my vision. My breath came out in short gasps as I struggled to inhale through the hand that was tightening against my neck and pushing up underneath my chin. I could see my cap on the ground, the Poke Ball on the back facing me. Our Pokemon, I thought. We need our Pokemon. June wasn’t able to get her Poke Balls, but mine were still on my belt. I looked down at them and tried to grab any one of them, but my hand merely twitched as it dragged along on the rocky ground. Come on, I urged myself. Grab just one! You have to save yourself and June! Come on, man! I struggled hard, but my breath came out painfully and I gave up. I had no energy left inside of me at all. The grip on my throat was too much. The beating I had taken had overwhelmed me. There was nothing I could do to save June and I. My eyes looked over and I saw that the Scrafty that was dragging my body was nearing the edge of the cliff, now only a few feet away.

“Please!” June pleaded. “Just wait a minute! We can work this out!”

The Scrafty ignored June and dragged me to the edge of the cliff. It lifted its surprisingly strong arm and held me over the edge.

I looked down at the endless drop beneath me. This is what I wanted, I thought. This is exactly it. I lost Melissa… My eyes filled with tears that weren’t in connection with the tears already in my eyes previously. I lost my sister. I thought of my mommy. I’m sorry to you both. I’m sorry for the failure I am, in more ways than one. I love you both. I can only hope that you both know that. Tears rolled down my cheeks and fell into the deep hole beneath me. If only I had it in me to grab one of my Poke Balls. But… Is it that I can’t? Or that I won’t? How deep have I already fallen down the hole in my life? Do I care about anything anymore? Do I even care about my own Pokemon? My friends? Anything at all?

Scrafty cried out loudly and shook my body once more, and I felt his grip loosen around my neck.

This is it, I thought, my eyes widening as air began to flow more easily into my lungs.

Scrafty’s hand opened to the cheers of the other Scrafty and the horrified scream of June as I dropped like a weight.

My mouth opened in a scream. I was falling! I saw the entire group of Scrafty, every one of them standing and watching now, June’s mouth and eyes matching in wide, open size. I saw the gray mountain wall as I dropped next to it. And then, some kind of darker object before my left wrist was grabbed and I screamed as my left arm extended and was stretched to its limit, my shoulder cracking as I was suspended in midair, staring down at the blackness far beneath me. I looked up at what was grabbing my wrist.

A stern faced, very muscular man with no shirt on, wearing black sweatpants and black boots, glared down at me from the side of the mountain wall, holding my wrist in his meaty hand!

My breath escaped from my throat loudly as I stared up at the man.

He looked away from me, looking up at the landing above us. With a loud, angry roar, the man swung his arm that was gripping my wrist, upward, and I was easily FLUNG INTO THE AIR!!!

I screamed as I landed on the top of the cliff and wailed out as I dropped to my knees, my left shoulder also hurting, throbbing. I looked up and saw an unfamiliar blue creature in a karate gi, posing in a fighting stance, facing three Scrafty who were laying helplessly on their backs, staring up at their opponent in fear.

I was too weak to even get to my feet, so I just stared at the blue creature who was intimidating its opponents.

The other Scrafty behind the blue Pokemon let out an angry cry and ran towards the new foe.

“HIIIIIIYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” a voice raged, and something flew forward, knocking two of the Scrafty down with an outstretched leg. It was the man from the side of the cliff! He took a martial arts stance and leaped into air, spinning, and delivered a powerful blow with his foot to a Scrafty’s face!

A few of the Scrafty started to back up, others even running away in fear!

Five Scrafty surrounded the man and the blue creature and leaped at them with one bent knee glowing red-orange as they all soared at them at the same time.

The man and the blue creature exchanged quick glances and nodded with a grunt before facing the oncoming Scrafty.

The man bent his knees deeply and closed his eyes.

The Scrafty got closer.

The blue creature kept its eyes on the Scrafty as they soared at it and the man.

The man’s eyes opened and both him and the blue creature jumped high, the man’s knee in the air, the other leg extended at the ground. His leg that was pointed at the ground, rose into the air.

The blue creature flew towards a couple of the Scrafty and sent out a flurry of punches at them.

The man did a fantastic spin in the air, his extended leg’s foot connecting with the face of the remaining Scrafty that soared at him as he spun around in a circle.

The five Scrafty collapsed to the ground and remained motionless.

The two Scrafty holding onto June released her and she fell to her face, the Scrafty running away.

The five Scrafty that the man and the blue creature had defeated weakly climbed to their feet and took off, the remaining Scrafty running after them in a panic.

The man and the blue creature bowed in the direction the Scrafty had all run off in, and then, swiftly, the man threw a red and white object at the blue creature!

The object I soon recognized as a Poke Ball hit the blue creature and opened, sucking it in with a red beam, and the Poke Ball hit the ground and instantly began shaking hard.

The Poke Ball shook severely, nonstop on the ground.

The Poke Ball continued to tremble on the ground, shaking vigorously.

PING!

The red glow faded from the Poke Ball and turned white, remaining still.

The man quickly walked over to the Poke Ball and picked it up, and then he turned to me with a serious face.

I swallowed hard, my dry throat stinging in pain, causing me to choke and cough as I kept my eyes on him.

The man walked forward, keeping his eyes on me until he walked past me and he stared at June, stopping in front of her and kneeling to one knee.

June looked up at the man and her eyes widened, a smile slowing creeping across her face.

“Are you alright, young lady?” the man asked June in a deep, strong, smooth voice.

June’s face went beet red and she didn’t move as she smiled at the man.

“My name is Row. What is your name? Can you speak? Shall I escort you to Spart Town?” he asked her.

June’s smile widened, and her eyes closed as she dropped against the man’s bare, sweaty, dark brown chest. Her smile never left her face.

Row picked up June in his arms and stood up tall.

June’s hands suddenly swept along Row’s wet chest and dropped around his shoulders, and a sigh escaped her throat.

Row glanced at her curiously before looking at me. “Young man, how about yourself? Need I carry you as well to Spart Town?”

I shakily forced myself to my feet, a feeling within me warning me that I was on the verge of puking. No, I told myself as I closed my eyes and shook my head. I’m fine. I won’t throw up. Honestly speaking, I had a bit of a fear of throwing up. I hated the feeling more than the horrid taste it produced, and I didn’t care to experience either for as long as I lived. My eyes opened and I weakly walked over to a Super Potion on the ground. Groaning, I bent over and picked it up, and then walked over to a Poke Ball with a sticker containing the letter ‘R’ on it. Slowly, I went down to pick it up, but my stomach ached at the effort, causing me to cry out.

The man, still carrying June, swiftly moved forward and began scooping up the items the Scrafty had dumped, picking up the items in one hand while holding June in the other arm.

June seemed to moan in pain, and her hand kept sweeping across this man’s broad chest for some reason, her eyes closed tight, her smile remaining.

I moved a lot slower than Row, and he had picked up a majority of the things before approaching me. I stopped in front of June’s bag and uttered out loudly in pain as I bent and dropped what I was holding inside of it. My legs quivered as I lifted the bag up and they nearly gave way underneath me, but I managed to shakily stand up, my stomach absolutely killing me, and I held open June’s bag, Row filling it with what he had picked up.

“How do you feel?” he asked, towering over me.

My stomach was feeling queasy, and it took a lot just to stand up straight, but I mentally kept the pain at bay, trying my best to remain strong. I couldn’t manage any words.

“I’m sorry about the Scrafty,” Row told me firmly. “They do nothing but cause trouble in this area. Had I not been out mountain climbing, things would have turned deadly. You two are in need of some medical help. If you can walk, I insist you follow me to Spart Town to the Pokemon Center. I’m sure they will be able to tend to your needs.”

I could only nod.

“Hm,” Row said, staring down at me. He knelt down suddenly and swooped his other arm around my waist, hoisting me onto his shoulder.

My eyes widened as my breath came out harshly, challenging me to puke.

“Let’s go!” In the next instant, he ran, the wind whipping around my body.

June’s eyes shot open and she cried out as she looked up at Row.

“This will be much faster!” Row said loudly as he ran like the wind, everything around me a complete blur of gray. “We’ll be in Spart Town in a matter of minutes!” Row’s face furrowed with determination as he seemed to pick up speed.

I gripped Row’s sweaty, bulging arm, my eyes wide in a mix of fear and surprise. “Whoa!”

“We’re almost there, kids!” Row shouted.

June wrapped her arms around Row’s neck and gazed ahead, her eyes wide, displaying shock.

The blur of gray around us turned into a blur of brown and black.

Row suddenly stopped in front of a wooden building, the abruptness nearly tossing me off of his arm.

A wooden ‘P’ was near the top of it.

Row opened the door and stepped inside.

Several black, wooden benches and chairs surrounding matching tables filled the room, a short row of white, wooden phone booths against the wall, a brown, wooden counter sitting at the back with a smiling Nurse Joy and Audino behind it.

“Nurse Joy, it seems the Scrafty have been at it again,” Row said as he stopped in front of Nurse Joy, smiling broadly. “Please, assist these two to any medical needs they may have.”

“Not a problem, Row,” Nurse Joy said, her and her Audino bowing. “A challenger was just here, looking for you. You may want to catch up to her as soon as you can. She left for your Gym a couple of minutes ago.”

Row set June and I down on the ground gently and stood up tall, bowing at Nurse Joy. “Thank you for the info. I’ll be sure to try and find her right away.”

I turned weakly to him, my legs quaking.

June groaned and leaned weakly against the counter, turning to Row.

Row was staring down at us solemnly. “You two take it easy. Be sure to stay away from Scrafty Walk. Good luck!” He turned and swiftly walked away from us, leaving the Pokemon Center.

“Wow…” June sighed, a weary smile on her face as she gazed after Row.

I stared at her with a raised eyebrow and then turned to Nurse Joy in exhaustion. “Miss, please. I really just need a bed.”

Nurse Joy nodded. “Right after I give you two a checkup and everything is shown to be fine with you two, you can have all the rest you want. Row sure was kind to bring you both here. Despite being one of the most brutal Gym Leaders I know, he’s a deep, caring, intelligent, gentle man.”

“Gym Leader?” I moaned, my knees slamming to the floor, and my entire body collapsed.

“Oh, no! Audino, this is an emergency!” Nurse Joy ordered.

My only vision was of the floor of the Pokemon Center, and that was fading, darkening fast.

Before my vision completely blacked out, I could hear the back doors to the Pokemon Center open.

I could hear the stretchers being wheeled out.

I could feel Nurse Joy and Audino lifting me onto a stretcher.

I saw June, staring back into my eyes, an exhausted look on her filthy, worn out, abused face, being lifted onto a separate stretcher by two other Audino.

A feeling of relief filled my body as I closed my eyes.

And passed out.