The inside of the Pokemon Center was comfortably warm.

Nurse Joy sat behind her wooden counter, flipping eagerly through a small book with a smile on her face, turning a page every minute.

Audino smiled as she looked around the room repeatedly, standing patiently on her feet.

June sat in a phone booth at the end of the row of booths, in a corner.

I sat in a phone booth at the other end, staring at the blank, black screen.

The lobby of the Pokemon Center didn’t have any other souls inside of it, eerily quiet aside from the pages turned in the book Nurse Joy had in front of her.

I turned my head at the low murmurs of June and witnessed her glance my way briefly before disappearing deeper inside of her booth, her words inaudible.

She must be calling to check on her Pokemon in Gringey City, I told myself.

June never spoke about her Pokemon, but she’s called back home just about every chance she’s gotten.

I never asked her about them, but that was just out of respect, trying to mind my own business about a sensitive subject. She never seemed down about it, and she never was one who was able to hide her true emotions, so I had always just assumed that her Pokemon were still recovering, but were doing okay, and that she’d tell me about them when she felt ready.

With a low sigh, I turned back to phone in front of me and stared at the blank screen again. A small glob of saliva was forced down my tight throat, my body shaking with fright, my heart being gripped by a fist made of ice and shaken about violently inside of my chest. My hand rested over my heart and I felt it beating at the pace of a rapidly dripping ceiling in the middle of a storm.

My body felt as if I had just been through an intense workout, throbbing, sore, and exhausted after the attack June and I had escaped from against the gang of Scrafty a couple of days ago. Row had disappeared after saving us, and June was just fine a little less than a day before I felt back to normal for the most part. She stayed with me in my room until I felt able to walk around again.

My Pokemon had also been with us in my room during my weakened state. Cottonee sat right next to my head on the left side, Elgyem sitting on the opposite side, while Tranquill rested at the foot on my bed. The other three stood close by on the floor.

June was on the opposite side of my bed, standing away from the other three Pokemon, and I knew it was because Palpitoad was out.

Palpitoad looked up at June every few minutes and gurgled sadly before returning his attention to me.

What is June’s problem? I thought angrily at one point as my toad Pokemon croaked lowly. We have to sort this out, once and for all. But not now. I’m just too tired…

“Good luck, Gary,” were the words June had whispered to me about half an hour ago, her hand giving my shoulder a tight squeeze before she walked away to her phone booth.

Now, I was still staring at the telephone screen, waiting for nothing. I didn’t want to make this phone call. How can I not? I thought to myself. I have no choice in the matter. I have to call her. I reached out with a shaky hand and my fingers slowly closed around the phone receiver, a light gasp coming from my mouth at the shockingly cold plastic in my hand. My hand lifted the receiver up, and it slipped into my lap, making me gasp again. My eyes closed tight and I inhaled several times, trying to get my throat to open and allow for more air to get in, hoping that my heart would beat at a slightly calmer pace than the one it was beating at now. I snorted lightly, snot building into the back of my throat, and I swallowed it before clearing my throat and then lifting the receiver again.

The receiver was light, and it was freezing cold against my ear and cheek, a low tone coming from it.

I pressed my face against it harder, trying to get the cold plastic to warm up. My other hand reached towards the keyboard in front of me and I pressed several numbers, holding my breath as I heard a shrill ringing through the receiver, the screen now glowing a very weak shade of blue.

After a couple of minutes, the blue vanished, and my mother stood squinting at me from the screen. “Hello?” she said, her eyes squinting even harder, seeming to not recognize me.

“Mom!” I gasped at her, my eyes wide, fear and regret filling me up.

“Gary??” My mom rubbed at her eyes and they opened wide as she looked at me, her mouth wide open, dressed in a beige bathrobe, her thin hair looking moist. Her face looked worn out, stressed, tired, and perhaps even a little bit older than it had looked the last time I had seen her. “Gary, is that really you?”

“Mommy!” My eyes instantly filled with tears. “Mommy!” The tears in my eyes began to stream quickly.

“Gary! Oh, my goodness! Gary!” My mom wiped at her eyes that twinkled behind pained tears. “What’s going on? Where are you? Where have you been? Are you okay?? You look terrible!”

“Mommy, I’m just fine. Are you alright?” I cried. “I’ve been so scared! I’ve been worried about you!”

My mom sniffled and wiped at her face with both hands. “Gary, I’m fine. I’ve been worried sick about you! I was so upset and angry. I didn’t understand what had happened! I still don’t understand what happened! My main concern was that you were okay, and Prof. Oak told me a few days ago that you were fine and in the Unova region?!”

“I am, mommy,” I told her. “Mommy, please, I didn’t know that was going to happen with the refrigerator. That wasn’t my idea at all! I’m so sorry, mom! I honestly didn’t plan on that, or any of this! I wasn’t planning on coming out to Unova!”

“Gary, what happened?” my mom insisted, still wiping at the tears flowing on her now more serious, yet still emotional, face. “I don’t understand any of this. Prof. Oak said he was attacked by a Pokemon of yours, and that you were running away with some redhead girl. Is that the girl I met when you came by that one time before that big Pokemon competition thing you competed in a couple of years ago?”

“Yes. It was June,” I nodded.

“Right! June. I remember now,” my mom nodded back quickly.

“Yes. June’s Rotom took over the fridge and it attacked you, and I…” I stopped, lowering my eyes in shame. “…I ran out of the house and left you there…”

“June’s what?” she squinted her face at me.

“Her Pokemon,” I replied.

My mom’s face got even more solemn as she looked at me. “Oh.” Her face filled with attitude as her lips slide to the side of her face and her eyes hardened. “So, you really did run out of the house on purpose. I had thought maybe you were kidnapped or something. I’m glad you weren’t and that you’re safe, but to now know that you actually ran out of the house like that! And you didn’t plan any of this?”

I shook my head hard, tears dropping from my eyes, a disgraced pain in my chest.

“So, it could have been anything!” my mom screamed. “It could have been a robbery, or something worse! You didn’t know what was going on, but you ran away? I don’t understand. Were you scared? Were you trying to get help?”

“No,” I muttered, struggling to keep my eyes on her angry face. It hurt so badly to see and hear her fury and pain, but I had to take it. I deserved this. “June had delivered a note to me and told me that she was planning something, and when I heard you screaming for help, I thought that maybe that was what the note was talking about, and I-”

“A note?” my mom shouted angrily. “So it was planned! How did you get a note from her? You were locked in your room!”

I started to feel angry at her last sentence. Yeah, mom, I thought quickly. Locked in my room! Do you even hear yourself right now? “I didn’t plan it, mom. June did, and she sent one of her Pokemon to deliver the note, and then another one to possess the fridge.”

“So, do I have to throw out the fridge?” my mom gasped dramatically, and she turned her head around to look behind her.

“No, mom. The fridge is fine,” I sighed.

“Just great! Now I need a new damn fridge!!” my mom shouted, overreacting, shaking her head as she turned back to me. “All of the food is ruined!”

“Mom, I just said you don’t need another fridge!” I said impatiently.

“I’m getting a new fridge! I don’t trust those damn nasty Pokemon things! Do you know how expensive a refrigerator is? All the food is ruined! I have to go to a doctor now! I’ve eaten food from there! Damn it!” She scowled furiously at me.

“Fi-!” I closed my mouth tight and closed my eyes, my eyebrows narrowed angrily, lowering my head. Inhaling through my nose a few times, I struggled to calm down, easing up my eyebrows. Gary, relax, I told myself. She’s all alone. You, her last child she still has contact with, was nearly killed from a huge explosion, and then left her to travel to a faraway region while she was being attacked in her own house by a Pokemon. She doesn’t exactly have a list of reasons to trust or like Pokemon. She loves you and is hurt by your actions. All things considered, you haven’t been the best son in the world. Just try to relax. We have something much more important to discuss, anyway. “Fine,” I said in a calmer tone. My eyes opened and I stared into my mom’s angry face. “Your fridge is just fine, but if you wish to get a new one, I understand, and I’m sorry about the fridge.”

“Oh, he’s sorry,” my mom said sarcastically with a little laugh, tossing her hands up into the air as she looked up at the ceiling. “An eight hundred dollar refrigerator, ruined, and he’s sorry!” She laughed again.

I sighed and lowered my head. “Mommy, please, will you listen to me for a moment?”

“And did you really attack Prof. Oak with one of your Pokemon? Why would you do something like that?” my mom scolded me. “Why in the world would you attack him?”

“I didn’t, mom,” I explained. “My Pokemon got out of his lab, I guess, and when Prof. Oak caught June and I running away, he stopped us, and Poryg- Um… my Pokemon attacked him.”

She snickered. “You’d think a man who spends all of his time working with Pokemon and supporting them would have a better relationship with them,” she said with a smirk.

“I guess,” I muttered.

“So, this all started with June, huh?” my mom said, shaking her head, looking at me with disappointment.

I nodded. “Yeah, and I went along with it. Things got way out of control. I mean, they started out of control, but it was never meant to start off like that. June didn’t mean for her Pokemon to do that to you.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” My mom’s arms crossed in front of her and she looked off to the side.

“Mom, there’s something much more important that I need to tell you, though.” I stared into her eyes firmly. “Please, sit down.”

The anger in my mother’s face lessened, and her shoulders lowered as she stared at me, concerned. “What about? Are you coming back home? Why do you look so beat up?”

“Mom, please,” I insisted.

She turned and walked away from the screen. A loud scraping noise was heard for a moment before it stopped, my mom returning with a large, wooden chair from the kitchen, placing it on the floor in front of the screen before sitting in it. She took a deep breath and released it. “What is it, Gary?”

I hesitated, knowing it needed to be said, knowing I wanted to say it, knowing my mom had to know. My throat closed around the words in my throat, and I tried to force up the words, desperate for them to break free.

“Well? Are you gonna say something?” my mom asked me, staring at me impatiently.

I tried to swallow, but even that was impossible. Clearing my throat wasn’t any easier. Easy, Gary, I said to myself as I closed my eyes. Take it easy. Slowly. Relax. This has to be done. This absolutely must be said.

My mom sighed on the video. “Helloooo? I don’t wanna be here all day saying nothing. What’s going on?”

My body was shaking, my breathing heavy, not a word coming from my mouth. Easy, easy, I thought, opening my eyes, seeing my mother’s impatient scowl. Just say it. You have to just say it!

“What’s going on there? Can you hear me?” She leaned closer to the screen.

“Melissa!” I blurted out.

My mom’s eyes widened and she leaned back.

“I found Melissa!” I covered my face with my hands and cried into them.

“What?!!”

“I found my sister! I found her, mommy! I found Melissa, but she got away from me! She ran away from me as if I wasn’t her little brother! She ran! She escaped from me! She ran away from me, mommy! I don’t know why! I don’t understand what happened, but I found her!” I sobbed heavily into my hands, unable to bear to look into her eyes. I felt like a failure. A disappointment. I had lost someone that could have helped fixed this crazy family I had. I had lost someone who could have made things a hell of a lot easier for my overstressed mom. I continued crying, refusing to look up, refusing to show my shame.

“Gary,” a gentle voice said to me.

Sniffling, I kept my head down, keeping the receiver at my face.

I heard my mom sniffle on the other end of the phone. “Gary, I need you,” she said weakly. “I need you to look at me. Please.”

I tried to lift my head, but it suddenly weighed a ton, and I continued to cry.

“Gary, please!” my mom begged, and the sound of her tear-filled voice cut deeply into my heart.

I sniffled hard, noisily, and slowly looked up at my mom.

She was wiping at her face with her hands, lines of tears all over her cheeks. She swallowed and looked at me with her pleading eyes. “What do you mean? You found her? In Unova? Where you are?”

I nodded. “June and I found her on the ground, and she looked in terrible shape. She was starving, and dehydrated, and so we fed her and gave her water. She needs help. She doesn’t remember how she got here, and she’s just delirious! She kept running away from me and trying to escape. It hurt me to see her constantly trying to get away from me as if I wasn’t her little brother! As if I were some stranger! She finally lost me in the woods and I haven’t seen her since. I found the police nearby and asked them for help, but they couldn’t locate her, either. They said they’d call if they found her, and I left them your number.”

“So, you found her,” my mom said shakily. “You actually saw your sister?”

I nodded weakly.

“You… saw her…” she said, her voice dropping.

“I held her! Touched her! Fed her! Gave her water!” My voice was desperate and pained as I spoke. “I talked to her, mommy! Hearing her voice, so weak, so confused, so unaware. She was terrified of me, mommy!”

“She must be so scared.” My mom wiped frantically at her eyes. “Did she say anything? Did she ask about me?”

“She said a few things, but, like I said, she’s delirious. She doesn’t really know how long she’s been gone. She thinks she’s spoken with us just the other day, and yet says she feels it’s been ages since we’ve spoken! She asked how you were, but that was about it. She hasn’t even made an effort to keep in contact with us. She’s not well. She’s not right in the head. I can’t believe I lost her! I’m so sorry, mommy!” I covered my face again and wept, sniffling.

“How did she get away? I don’t understand how she got away if she’s so sick!” my mom cried desperately.

“I don’t know, mommy! I had her right by my side and we were going to a nearby city, and then…” I froze on my words.

“Well, it’s just, when we found you, you were surrounded by a few people,” June’s words replayed in my mind. “I was kind of wondering if you knew who they were. Why were they with you? What were they doing to you?”

It was then that Melissa freaked out for some reason, shrieking at the top of her lungs before running away from us, disappearing into the forest.

I had grabbed her hand, but she had pulled free from my grasp, and that was when I froze, noticing that my palm was coated in blood.

That was when Melissa got away.

“And then what?” my mom demanded, startling me as I looked up at her.

I swallowed and stared at her silently, several seconds passing before I could speak again. “Sh-she freaked out and ran away. She just took off. I thought we had gotten her to relax, but then she screamed and took me by surprise. I tried so hard to catch her, mommy. I honestly did. The woods were so dense.” My chest was now hurting from the abuse my heart was delivering to it.

We both stared at each other in silence.

My mom’s face was filled with anger and surprise, disbelief on her face at the words I had told her.

I wiped at my eyes, breathing heavily, feeling completely tired out.

“So, she’s gone again,” my mom spoke after a long while, her voice shaky from clearly trying to keep calm.

“I lost her, yes,” I nodded, lowering my eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Great, so we’re right back where we started!” she said, anger coming out.

I nodded again. “I’m sorry. I screwed up.”

She didn’t say anything.

You really did screw up, you idiot, I downed myself. You found your sister, sick and weak, and the one thing you had to do was get her to Mistralton City. And what happens? She got away while you were sleeping? No. She got away while your back was turned? No. She got away while you stood there, looking at your hand like a dumbass? That’s right! My eyes teared up as I teared myself down.

“So, what about you?”

My mom’s question made me look up. “Huh?” I managed to whisper.

Tears were streaming down her face that held a solemn, determined look. “What about you, Gary? Are you coming back home?”

“No. Not right now,” I answered weakly, blinking out tears that landed in my lap.

“What are you doing out there?” she asked me.

My eyes continued to leak. “I’ve decided to compete in the Unova League. I’m catching Pokemon, battling for Badges, and, well, maybe, I’ll even find Melissa again.” And lose her again, right? I trounced myself again, lowering my gaze. So many questions that needed to be answered, and you finally had them all in your hands. You let it all go over a layer of blood on your hand. As if you haven’t seen blood before in your entire life! Something is wrong with your sister, and you just let her run away from all the help that she needed. What kind of worthless little brother are you? What kind of human being are you? Useless. Pathetic. Coward!

It was my mom’s sniffling that made my eyes lift up and look at her, and I realized that it had been a little time since either of us had spoken.

“So, you’re doing it all over again,” my mom said finally. “Everything you’ve already gone through and were very lucky to have survived, you’re just going to do it all again and maybe get killed this time?”

“Mom, it’s not the same thing,” I insisted. “This time is different. I have a team of new, great Pokemon, and things haven’t been too dangerous.” I remembered my encounter with Burgh at Castelia City, being chased by a Ninetales that filled me, June, and Damian’s path will several curses, the Purrloin and Liepard I had run into, being attacked by a Sigilyph and chased off a desert mountain by a Cacturne, getting beat up on top of a mountain by a gang of Scrafty, the Exeggutor that had been burning on the island near Nimbasa City, and surviving the explosion from the Aggron attack in the Nimbasa subway. “It hasn’t been all that bad.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” my mom said angrily. “I still remember you were nearly killed by that one Pokemon you got when you first left to travel. You kept on traveling with it, saying everything was going just fine. And then those terrorists that nearly killed you! They blew up the area you were in with a bomb! You’re still going to travel with these monsters after all of that?”

“Don’t mention those guys! They’re done with!” I said angrily, loudly. “I don’t have to worry about them anymore, okay? Things are different this time! You don’t need to worry about me, mom!” As I spoke, I knew that my words weren’t the best ones. She had plenty of reasons to worry about me. My journey in Unova wasn’t that much different at all from what I had experienced in Kanto.

“Don’t worry? Really?!” my mom screamed. “Don’t worry! Ha! This kid is nearly killed hanging around with deadly monsters and he wants me to not worry!” She let out a laugh as she turned her head to the side, talking to herself.

“Mom, I’m sorry, okay? I know you have plenty to worry about, but I’m fine!” I lifted my arms and smiled. “I’m okay! Everything is okay!” Idiot! I screamed at myself.

“Oh, everything’s okay, huh?” she said, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Wait-”

“You get me attacked by some damn Pokemon, attack Prof. Oak, get into an entirely different region somehow, travel on another one of these stupid journeys of yours where you’ve been through things I’ll never know because I know you won’t tell me the truth about it, find your sister, who you say is weak and delusional, and lose her! But, not to worry; everything’s okay!! Everything’s just fine!! Well, it ain’t okay with me!!!”

I was shivering in place, unable to find any words to calm down the situation. I had ruined everything. Perhaps this was unavoidable.

“And, by the way, how did you get into the Unova region, Gary?” she asked me suspiciously.

I swallowed hard. “Well, June and I had a little help from one of my Pokemon.”

“What kind of help?” she snapped at me.

I paused, thinking about how to answer her.

“Well?” she demanded.

“It just helped us get on the plane,” I muttered.

“How?” she shouted.

“Come on, mom!” I screamed back at her. “I’m not saying, okay? It helped us get on, and that’s that! Now, just drop it already!” My mom had every right to know the truth, and I knew it, but I wasn’t going to say it in a Pokemon Center, or anywhere public. Even though the lobby had been empty aside from Nurse Joy, June, and Audino, I didn’t know if anybody else had come in during the time I had been on the phone, and I didn’t know if Nurse Joy might overhear me. I might wind up in trouble. I still shouldn’t have yelled at my mom, and I knew it. There was no way this was going to end well.

“Okay, fine,” my mom said, glaring at me. “Don’t tell me anything. Do whatever you want. I’m fed up. I’ve had enough of all of this. Goodbye.” Her angry face vanished from the screen as it went black.

I slammed the receiver down and closed my eyes, frowning. I was shaking uncontrollably, breathing quickly, my heart pounding painfully. Just great, I thought. I really screwed that one up. Even if it would have ended with her mad at me or whatever, I still could have done better on my part. Why does she have to be so damn difficult sometimes, though? I sighed. Why can’t this crap just come to an end? Do I really have to choose between her and my Pokemon in order for things to be resolved between us? Is that really the only way?

“Hey,” a voice whispered by my side. I turned quickly to see June looking over at me with a caring smile. “You okay?”

I shook my head, lowering it. “Not really. That was my mom.”

“I know,” she nodded, still smiling.

I looked over to Nurse Joy and Audino, who both quickly looked away from me, Nurse Joy pretending to read her book, Audino looking around frantically, finally wiping at the top of the counter Nurse Joy was sitting behind with her bare hand.

“You can always try again another day,” June said optimistically. “You know she’ll always pick up the phone for you. She loves you. She’s a mom, and a good mom. You know that.”

“I do,” I agreed, nodding. “I can always try again another day.”

“Well, that’s one person down.”

“Yeah. I took care of the most important thing. Now, I need to find out what Prof. Oak was trying to tell me last time. And hopefully, we won’t have any freak accidents.” I picked up the receiver and dialed the number quickly.

The faded blue color of the screen remained as a shrill ringing came through the receiver.

“June, this is a serious moment, okay?” I warned her. “You damn well better behave.”

“Don’t worry, Gary,” June smiled nervously. “He won’t even know I’m here.”

The screen changed and I turned to see the stern, cold face of Prof. Oak. My breath was cut short as I leaned back a little.

“Gary, good to see you,” Prof. Oak greeted me firmly.

“Sir,” I nodded. “I’m sorry about last time. The connection got cut. There was an attack in the town I was in.”

“Yes. I heard about it in the news. A Golurk attack?” Prof. Oak asked me.

“That’s right!” I exclaimed. “I was there!”

Prof. Oak nodded and lifted a cup to his lips, sipping from it before lowering it again. “Well, you look to be in a bit of rough shape. Are you alright?”

“I’m just fine. But I just got off the phone with my mom,” I informed him.

His eyes widened. “How was that?”

“Not too good, honestly. It ended like it pretty much always does.” I sighed.

“I expected as much,” Prof. Oak replied. He lifted his cup to sip from it again.

“I told her I had found my sister, Melissa.”

Prof. Oak’s drink was spewed from his mouth, running down the screen in several long drips. “WHAAAT?!?!” Prof. Oak’s cup fell from his hand. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT!! HOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!” Prof. Oak leaped to his feet and his cup smashed on the ground. He ran around frantically, patting down his pants, and disappeared out of view of the screen.

“Prof. Oak!” I waited for him to return back to the screen.

After a short minute, he reappeared, a big wet stain down the crotch of his pants, and he landed quickly in his seat, staring at me urgently. “Gary, did you just say you found your sister?!”

“Yes, I did, but are you okay? Do you need to change your pants or clean up that-?”

“Who cares about that right now, boy?” Prof. Oak interrupted me. “You found Melissa?! Is she okay? Is she with you? She’s in Unova?!”

“Yes, she is, sir, but she’s malnourished and a little out of her head right now.”

“How did you find her? Where?” Prof. Oak asked impatiently.

“In some wooded area on the way to this town I’m in right now called Spart Town,” I answered. “Not far from the town where the Golurk attack occurred.”

“Where is she? How did she get into Unova? May I see her? Has she been to a hospital? Is she with the police?” Prof. Oak bombarded me with questions.

“Sir! Please!” I begged. “Let me finish!”

Prof. Oak froze, finally inhaling and then letting out his breath, and he nodded. “I apologize, son. Do go on.”

“June and I found Melissa, but she was malnourished,” I spoke. “She was also going crazy and tried to run away from us a few times before we got her to calm down and eat and drink water. She had no memory of how she got into Unova, and seemed surprised to know how long she’s been missing. She has none of her Pokemon anymore, either. We were about to take her to Mistralton City, but she… kind of freaked out for some reason and ran away from us. I tried to stop her, but she got away from me.”

“You mean, she’s missing again?” Prof. Oak gasped in shock.

My eyes lowered as I nodded. “I tried so hard to find her. I even had the police sweep the area, but she was just gone.” My heart picked up its pace as I thought of the deep hole in the mountain area just outside of those trees Melissa had escaped from me through. No, I thought to myself, closing my eyes. There’s no way. Damian said no one had been there. But what if he just didn’t see her? What if he was too busy trying to get away from his Ninetales? What if…?

“I’m sorry to hear this news, Gary,” Prof. Oak told me, pulling me from the terrifying thoughts that were filling my heart, threatening to make it burst at any given second.

My eyes slowly opened and I looked up at him. “Yeah. I feel so stupid. I really had her, Professor.”

“I can only imagine your pain, Gary,” Prof. Oak said, sadness on his face. “Your mother must be in quite a lot of pain right now, herself.”

“Yeah. She was really upset. I think she got even more upset when I told her I’d be competing in the Unova League.”

A slight smile crept over the professor’s aging face. “I’m not at all surprised to hear that! How many Badges do you have so far?”

“Five right now.”

“Any of them from any Ghost Gym Leaders?” Prof. Oak winked, chuckling lightly.

I laughed weakly, but cut it short. “Funny… No. I haven’t faced any Ghost Gyms.”

“How about Psy-?” he started.

“Don’t go there,” I warned him seriously.

Prof. Oak laughed nervously. “Right. So, anyway, it’s good to hear that you’ve been collecting your Badges, but seeing as I have no new Pokemon from you, I can see that capturing Pokemon hasn’t been one of your priorities. I’m going to assume that you didn’t want any of them sent to me out of fear that I might then figure out what region you were in.”

I nodded slowly. “Exactly.”

“Well, with five Badges, I assume you must have a few Pokemon, nonetheless.”

“I do! I caught a Tranquill, Darmanitan, Elgyem, Palpitoad, Cottonee, and an Excadrill.”

“That’s quite the lineup, Gary. It’s still a minimal number of Pokemon, but it would be fair for me to assume that you would have much, much more if you had been out actively catching Pokemon instead of hiding from me, riiiiight…?”

“Of course, sir,” I mumbled, lowering my eyes.

“Well, since we’re talking with each other again, you can feel free to exchange between your Pokemon and capture some more as well, now,” Prof. Oak said happily.

“Sounds good! I can finally see my old Pokemon again after all this time! I want my Charizard, first and foremost!”

Prof. Oak’s smile was immediately removed.

My own eagerness was shot down by the look on his face.

“Well, I guess now is a good time for us to pick up where we left off when we last spoke,” Prof. Oak said grimly.

“You never did tell me what was wrong…” I remembered. “You said you had bad news.”

“That’s right. Unfortunately, there’s twice as much bad news, now, than I had for you the last time.”

“Twice as much?” I asked him, stunned.

His eyes were stone cold as he looked me in my eyes, making my heart jump as if it had been hit with an electric jolt. “That’s right.”

We both stared at each other silently, neither of us speaking a word to each other.

“First of all, when I had reached you the last time, I was about to inform you of this bit of news,” Prof. Oak began.

“What?” I insisted loudly.

“Well, my boy, it would appear that your Charizard has run away from the lab.”

My eyes were wider than a cartoon’s eyes would be in shock. “What did you say, sir?”

“I understand that this is hard for you,” Prof. Oak told me calmly. “One night, after dinner time for the Pokemon, Tracey and I had begun retrieving the Pokemon. Charizard was the only one who wasn’t found. The cameras revealed that, all day long since being let out, Charizard was looking off into the skies. It didn’t interact with the other Pokemon or play or sleep. It just kept its gaze on the sky above. Tracey had told me that Charizard seemed a little more off than usual that day, but I didn’t think it would do this! Charizard had been down since recovering after surviving its attack at the Pokemon League. Even after recovering, it was depressed and missing you, understandably. When you had managed to obtain it from my lab and escaped into Unova, it returned in a slightly happier state, but was still very down. Thirty minutes after eating dinner that night, it looked around and then flew away. I have no idea why it flew off, or where to, but I suspect that it is off looking for you.”

“But, why?” I cried. “I told him I was coming back for him!”

“That was quite some time ago, Gary,” Prof. Oak said seriously.

“You’re right.” Charizard, why? I thought sadly. Why did you fly away like that? Why now? I was coming for you! Why didn’t you just wait for me?

“It flew off about a week before we last spoke,” Prof. Oak added. “We tried to find it, but to no avail. I assume it knows you are in Unova?”

“Yeah,” I said sadly.

“Then it may very well be out trying to find you, although I have no idea how it expects to find you in a region it’s never been to before, let alone ever traveled to, and by itself,” Prof. Oak told me discomfortingly. “Unova is quite far from Kanto. It was clearly following its heart, but this was not a wise decision. There’s also the chance that Charizard isn’t looking for you at all.”

“Really? Then why else would he fly away?” I inquired.

“I don’t know at the moment,” Prof. Oak admitted. “It looking for you is the only answer I came up with so far, but it’s very possible that other reasons exist, too. It has a Poke Ball, so no Trainer can just catch it. I’ve reported it as missing, so, if anything comes up, you’ll be the first person I contact.”

“Thanks, Professor,” I nodded solemnly. Where did you go, Charizard? Why? We were so damn close!

“And now, the other news, Gary.”

“Is it about my other Pokemon, sir?” I asked him fearfully, my heart thumping hard.

He shook his head. “No, son. It’s about…” Prof. Oak paused and swallowed hard. “Kiwi.”

“Kiwi?” I exclaimed loudly. “What happened to her? Is she okay?”

“I have terrible news involving her.”

The sadness in his face brought a cold chill of fear into my body.

“Only about a week ago, just a couple of days after we last spoke, Kiwi was kidnapped.”

My mouth opened, but no words came to mind that I could use, and my heart became frozen.

“A few people broke into her house in the middle of the night and kidnapped her from her bed,” Prof. Oak spoke strongly. “Her father heard her screams and tried to stop them, but he was shot in the chest. Kiwi’s mother was just outside Kiwi’s bedroom door and screamed when she heard the gunshot, but when she ran in, they had leaped out the window with Kiwi in their arms and ran off into the night. Mrs. Tot tried to chase after the individuals, but they were gone by the time she had even gotten downstairs.”

“Kiwi was kidnapped?? WHY?!”

“Huh?” June gasped in a low voice.

“We don’t really know,” Prof. Oak replied. He went silent as he stared back at me solemnly, his lips pursed tightly together, seeming to have more to say to me, but refusing to speak.

“Sir?” I asked after a while of looking into his coal-black eyes that seemed to burn and tear at my own face.

“Gary.” The Kanto region’s Professor of Pokemon research went silent again.

I kept silent, a heavy feeling in my chest telling me that something was seriously wrong.

He swallowed again before opening his mouth. “Mr. Tot didn’t survive,” he whispered to me weakly, swallowing again.

My teeth clenched together tightly at his words as I squinted at him, shocked at what he had just told me. Breathing was now taking a lot more effort than normal.

Mr. Tot was a face that wasn’t seen very much around Pallet Town. He worked as a truck driver, delivering Pokemon medicine to various Pokemon Centers all over the Kanto region and sometimes to the neighboring Johto region. He wasn’t home often, but he did his best to be around his daughter as much as he possibly could.

I had only met him maybe ten times in my entire life. I couldn’t believe what Prof. Oak had just told me.

“Mrs. Tot needs all the help she can get right now, from all of us, Gary. The only thing I can ask of you right now is to keep your eyes peeled for Kiwi. The odds of her appearing in Unova are near impossible, but her mother is so desperate to find her. You can only imagine the pain that she’s going through right now. The police are of course looking into this as well, but right now, there aren’t any suspects or anything. The pain Mrs. Tot is in right now; the pain she was in already…”

Mr. Tot is dead…? I thought, horrified. What? How? This… No! Kiwi… Kidnapped? This news was unbelievable! “I can’t believe this… Sir, please, what else is there to tell me?”

“Hmm?” He looked up thoughtfully. “There isn’t anything else that I can recall.”

“But, you said you had twice as much bad news to tell me today!”

Prof. Oak nodded. “Yes, well, I only had the one bit of news about your Charizard the last time. Today, I have the addition of what’s occurred in the Tot household. So, yes, twice as much news. There’s not much else to report on. Everything is at it was before you left. Ms. Say is outdoors a little bit more and visits me a couple of times every couple of weeks or so. Robin and his parents are all doing well.”

“Robin!” I shouted, squeezing the receiver so tight, it hurt my hand. “How has he been?”

“As I said, he’s just fine,” Prof. Oak smiled at me caringly. “He’s recovered just fine, and he only really uses his cane for balance as he works on regular use of his legs again. His parents are quite grateful.”

“I should call him up! I haven’t spoken to Robin in way too long!”

“Well, he’s still weary,” Prof. Oak spoke quickly, his eyes widening slightly. “He’s recovered quite well, but he’s completely exhausted almost all the time and sleeps quite a lot. I believe he slept for twenty-eight straight hours at one time!”

“Man! Is he alright? That doesn’t sound good at all!”

“He’ll be just fine,” Prof. Oak nodded. “He just needs to take it easy for a while.”

“I understand,” I nodded back. “I’ll call his parents, then. Just to say hi and to tell them to say hi to Robin for me, too.”

“Right, well…” Prof. Oak looked down briefly before looking back at me. “It’d be best if I carried that message over to them. I’m sure Mr. and Mrs. Butters would love to hear from you, but they’ve been getting very little sleep and are quite wiped out from all that’s occurred, so a phone call might not be something they’re up for at the moment. They may be unintentionally cranky from stress and lack of sleep. You understand.”

“Oh, I see. Yes, of course!” I nodded my head quickly. “Please, just give them all my best wishes. Let them know that I miss them all. Ms. Say, too! Everybody!”

“Of course, son,” Prof. Oak smiled warmly.

I let out my breath with exasperation and lowered my head. Charizard has gone missing, possibly to look for me. We were so close, Charizard! Why didn’t you just listen to me, damn it? My heart stung painfully with concern. Kiwi’s life is in danger right now. Who would kidnap Kiwi? Why? My poor Kiwi. She’s suffered so much since becoming a Pokemon Trainer. Losing her very first Pokemon, being attacked by a Raikou, resulting in her paralysis, and now she’s been kidnapped! And to top it all off, she’s now lost her father?!

“I do have a bit of good news,” Prof. Oak said.

“Anything, professor,” I sighed wearily.

“All of your Pokemon that were suffering during the Pokemon League have regained their strength back. Although I would wait a little bit longer before using them in battle, I’m sure they’d love to see you right about now.” Prof. Oak managed to smile at me, though his lips quivered painfully, clearly distraught by all that has been going on. “Perhaps you would like to say hello.”

Although Charizard and Kiwi were both on my mind, I couldn’t hold back smiling and I nodded. Right now, I was in desperate need of a little happiness in my life.

“I thought so. Well, Gary, how about we exchange Pokemon through the trading functions of this machine, and you can meet with your old friends while I spend a little time with your new Unova Pokemon?”

“Deal, professor,” I agreed.

“Excellent! I’ll be right back.” Prof. Oak got to his feet with a groan and walked away from the screen.

I lowered the receiver from my face and turned to June. “You’ve done well so far, June.”

She smiled weakly. “Gary, what’s going on? Did you say Kiwi was kidnapped?”

I nodded. “Yeah. About a week ago. And Charizard ran away from Prof. Oak’s Lab.”

“What? Why?” June said, stunned.

“We don’t really know, but Prof. Oak thinks he most likely is trying to locate me.”

“That’s crazy! He can’t just expect to find you here! A trip like that, from Kanto to Unova, is dangerous! And he has no clue as to where you are!”

“Well, it’s just a guess, but the fact that it’s only a guess is also scary. I mean, if he isn’t out looking for me, where did he go?”

“This is insane! And, who would kidnap Kiwi? Are there any witnesses or video or suspects?”

“No. The police were called, but they don’t know anything, yet. Mrs. Tot ran after the kidnappers, but they got away. Kiwi’s dad was shot during the kidnapping, as well.”

“Oh, my gosh!” June screamed in horror. “Is he okay?”

I refused to look at June at that moment and looked down to my knees. “He died, June…” I spoke in a low voice.

“No! No, Gary. Please, don’t say that… No. No!” She covered her face and backed away from the screen, shaking her head frantically. Her hands slid together and lowered to her lips as she turned to me, tears coating her eyes. “What about Robin? Please, tell me he’s okay.”

“Robin’s just fine,” I told June, my eyes starting to water at June’s reaction to what happened to Kiwi. “Him and his parents, and Ms. Say, are all good.”

June nodded and her hands fell to her sides with a sigh. As her head lowered, a pair of tears fell from her eyes and hit the floor.

I held back my own tears and straightened up as a movement on the screen grabbed my attention and I saw Prof. Sketchit wearing a white lab coat, thin framed glasses, and an orange headband.

“Gary! Wow! I can’t believe this! Good to see ya!” he said excitedly. “How’ve ya been?”

“Tracey, it’s been so long!” I smiled, hoping he couldn’t see the tears in my eyes that I was holding back. “Nice glasses!”

Tracey laughed. “Yeah, thanks! I don’t actually need them to see, but I like how they look!” He adjusted his glasses and straightened his coat proudly.

I groaned on the inside, but smiled, forcing out short, light laughter. I loved glasses. They looked really cool on people, and especially attractive on girls, but I couldn’t stand when people wore them as a fashion statement and didn’t actually need them for vision.

“Man, I can’t believe all that’s happened! I haven’t seen you since… I can’t even remember! I heard you’re going to meet your Pokemon for the first time in quite a while!”

“Over two years!”

“Wow! You must be excited!”

“I can’t wait another minute!”

“Well, I have your Porygon-Z right here,” Prof. Oak said as he appeared onscreen, holding up a Poke Ball as he took his seat.

“Figures that you’d have that one first, sir,” I laughed.

He laughed heartily.

“Has it still been a nuisance?” I asked as I grabbed Tranquill’s Poke Ball and placed it in a small hole on the counter space next to the screen.

“Gary…?” June whispered nervously, sniffling as she wiped at her tear filled eyes and stared at Tranquill’s Poke Ball. “What’s going on? Has what been a nuisance?”

Prof. Oak continued to laugh, but it ended abruptly and his face turned serious. “Yes.” He pressed a button, and the trade began.