“How’s everything?” I asked.

June smiled and nodded, sniffling a little bit as she wiped at her left eye. “Good. They said Lanturn, Blitzle, Pikachu, Ampharos, and Manectric are all out of the hospital, but they’re still exhausted and haven’t done much else but sleep. My mom said she and dad have Pikachu, and the others are with the other people in town.”

“I’m so happy your Pokemon are doing well,” I smiled back. “When will they be sent to you?”

“Mom said that they still need to have their visits to the Pokemon Center, but once they pass all their tests and are ready to be transferred, as well as ready for use in battle, she’ll send them all to me immediately.”

“It’ll be great to have all of your Pokemon back with you again.”

“I can’t wait. I’m just happy they’re all okay.” June’s smile faded as she looked down to the floor of the Pokemon Center.

“Well, I can’t seem to reach Prof. Oak over the phone, so we’ll just try again when we get to the next city,” I told her, looking towards the front door. “Where are we headed again?” I pulled out my Town Map from my pocket and opened it in front of my face.

“Icirrus City,” June said, her voice further away from me than it had just been.

I lowered my Town Map and turned to see June staring at a Town Map plastered on the wall, her finger on a spot on it.

“It’s a bit of a distance from here, and we have to go through some mountain; Twist Mountain. This symbol says that the Gym Leader is an Ice type Trainer.”

“Yes! Movie star Brycen is the Icirrus City Gym Leader!” Nurse Joy called out to us from behind the counter.

“Brycen?” I gasped, turning to her as June gasped in surprise, also turning to Nurse Joy. “No way! The Brycen?”

“The star of blockbuster movies such as Breaking Bad Weather, The Wizard of Ice, It’s Always Chilly In Antarctica, Dragon Ball Freeze, Frozen Ground, and the family movie, Cloudy With A Chance Of Snowballs 4?” June exclaimed in shock.

“And don’t forget the movies Game Of Cones, The Excadrill Files: I Want To Unfreeze, Cold Men, Sons Of Antifreeze, and he even starred in the hit television shows Frost, The Big Cold Theory, and costarred with comedian Steve Chappeell in the hit comedy series, Chappeell’s Cold!” I continued.

“And he is always using his celebrity status to promote his anti-hunting and anti-poaching regimen,” June nodded eagerly.

“Not just him, but also his equally famous Pokemon, Beartic, who appears alongside him in every film, TV show, and interview he involves himself in!” I added.

Nurse Joy’s face was stunned, an awkward smile stuck on her face as she stared at us. “Uh… Yes. That’s Brycen, alright.”

“Man, I haven’t seen a movie in years! I wonder if he has anything new coming out soon, or even out right now!” I said excitedly.

“We should totally find out, and if he does, we absolutely have to see it!” June said quickly.

“Yeah! Brycen’s one of the best actors of all time!”

“He’s getting older, but not only is he still a total hunk and opposed to plastic surgery, but he still can act his ass off better than any actor or actress in this day and age!”

“I’ve seen almost all of his movies!” I shouted.

“Have you seen Enter The Beartic?”

“How could I not? It practically pioneered the genre of Martial Arts Mania; a real martial arts movie with physical fights, and it was a worldwide success!”

”It was Brycen’s movie debut, too!”

“I know!”

“What are we doing talking about him, here?”

“We should get to Icirrus City right away and meet him!”

“Let’s go!”

“Okay, let’s go!”

“Okay, let’s go!”

June and I turned to the front door and bolted towards it.

“Also in the news today, a large number of Grimer and their evolved form, Muk, were found maneuvering throughout the Hoenn region’s Fortree City,” a lady spoke out seriously from the TV screen against the wall.

June and I reached the front door at the same time, but instead of opening it, we both stopped and turned back to the television.

“Instantly, trees and all kinds of plant life were immediately destroyed due to the toxins that comprise this very Pokemon’s existence,” the newswoman spoke as a video appeared in the upper left hand corner of the screen, the camera maneuvering slowly through a town filled with a lot of dead and dying trees, dead, brown grass covering the entirety of the ground.

Tree houses sat near the top of the weak trees, looking smashed through and beaten.

People in bulky, white outfits covering their entire bodies, white helmets on their heads with a clear, plastic cover on the front, looking like astronauts, were pushing stretchers with a human or a Pokemon on it. The faces of those on the stretchers were a nearly black shade of purple, and they looked like they were in horrifying pain, some twitching and shaking hard, while others were motionless.

“The Muk and Grimer began breaking into homes and coming into contact with the residents of Fortree City, poisoning them immediately, leaving virtually every citizen in the city, including the Gym Leader of the city, Flow, deathly ill, as well as an unclear percentage of the Pokemon owned by the people who live there. Many wild Pokemon in nearby areas have also been found in serious, critical condition.”

“Oh, my goodness,” June whispered with a gasp.

“It’s unclear how the Grimer and Muk reached the city, since they normally are not found anywhere near the area, nor is it understood why they invaded, but Fortree City is currently on lockdown until the situation is resolved,” the newswoman ended as the video of the city disappeared, her piercing blue eyes staring out from the screen, wearing a matching blue suit.

I swallowed uncomfortably and looked away from the screen, shaking my head.

“In other-”

The TV went silent, cutting off the woman’s words, and I looked up at the now black screen.

“Sometimes it’s just too much to even turn on the TV these days,” Nurse Joy spoke nervously, the remote in her hand, her eyes to the counter in front of her. “Sorry about that, kids.”

“No, not at all,” I smiled slightly. “We were just on our way out, anyway. Take care, Nurse Joy.”

“Bye, Nurse Joy,” June said in a sad, low tone, forcing a weak smile.

Nurse Joy smiled and nodded at us, but lowered her head again sadly, her smile leaving her young face.

June and I exited the building in far downer spirits than we had been in just a moment ago.

*

“I’m really curious as to what Pokemon Row gave me,” I said to June, my eyes focused ahead of the grassy path we were traveling on, staring at the opening to a humongous mountain just several feet away from us.

“Row sure is something, huh?” June said in a dreamy voice. “I haven’t seen such chiseled abs, a firm, warm, sweaty chest, powerful, bulky arms-”

“June!” I snapped, glaring at her.

She looked back at me, her eyes wide with surprise. “What’d I say?”

I shook my head and looked away from her. Working out is so overrated, I thought to myself grudgingly, glaring ahead. Girls are so simple. Why’s it always gotta be about stupid muscles with them? What’s so attractive about muscles, anyway? They’re just gross bulges on the human body. Blech.

“Twist Mountain sure is huge,” June commented as we came to a stop in front of the towering natural structure, tilting our heads back as we scaled it with our eyes.

“This place seems pretty big inside, too,” I deduced. “We could get lost. Let’s stick close together for now.”

“Alright,” June agreed.

Together, we entered Twist Mountain. The rocky ceiling, walls, and floor looked old yet healthy. Every few feet there was a thick wooden beam that went from the floor on one side of the wall, up to the ceiling, reached across and then down the wall on the other side of us. Our path was dark and just barely visible.

June got closer to me, our shoulders against each other as we walked. We stopped as the path in front of us continued forward, and also split to our left and right. June and I looked down all three paths before facing each other.

“Looks like this is the twist of the mountain,” I said. “I’ll bet that Town Map Prof. Juniper gave me would have been really useful right about now.” June didn’t reply, and I began to regret mentioning that Town Map. It was the start of a lot of memories for us. “Well, let’s just keep going straight. I have a feeling it’s going to come to a dead end, but at least we’ll know it is for sure. We should just keep going forward.”

June didn’t speak as we silently walked.

“I can’t believe we’re about to meet Brycen, the movie star,” June said in a low voice, a smile creeping across her face. “I want his autograph, and a picture! Oh, no! I need to buy a camera! I hope they have one in Icirrus City.”

We came to a stop again.

This time, the path ended in front of us, but split down to our left and right.

“So, now what?” June asked, looking to her left.

“Hmm,” I said thoughtfully, looking down my right. “Let’s go right. If it’s a dead end, all we have to do is go in the exact opposite direction. And if that’s a dud, we head back and go down the path behind us right now and just take the right path. It’s all just a memory game, June.”

“Sure,” June responded uncertainly.

I cleared my throat and we walked down the path to our right. My eyes squinted as I struggled to see ahead of us, the cave getting even darker.

“I wonder why this mountain is like this,” June wondered nervously.

“What do you mean? Like, the wooden arches?” I asked.

“Well, this mountain could have been explored by archaeologists who dig up rare finds on occasion,” June replied. “That could explain where the arches came from. What I was wondering is why this cave is such a twist and turn, but I guess that can be answered in the exact same way. Archaeological excavations must have made this cave as confusing as it is. It’s weird they didn’t make, like, signs or something pointing the way out for people like us who just wanna get through.”

“Hm,” I muttered absentmindedly, my interest in her concerns vanishing. My own inquiry took place and revealed itself. “What do you think Row gave me for a Pokemon? I really wish Prof. Oak had been able to answer the phone when I had called.”

“Why didn’t you just use your Pokedex to send it to you?” June questioned. “It has a function for that, you know.”

“Oh!” I slapped my forehead. “Duh! I knew that.”

“Of course,” June said kindly, smiling slyly.

We stopped again, the path going straight forward, and another path leading us to the left.

“Either we’re going in the right direction, or we’re seriously getting lost right now,” I said uncomfortably.

June was silent as she moved closer to me, nearly pushing me over.

A loud roar from the cave made June and I both gasp.

I jumped from the noise and looked down the path to my left.

“What was that?” June cried.

The roar rang out again, louder, and echoed throughout the cave as if there were hundreds of voices yelling.

I had to squint, but I could just make out June’s face holding a look of horror.

The loud shout bounced along the walls again.

“Something’s wrong!” June ran down the path to our left.

“June, hold on!” I called as I chased after her. “June!”

June shot through the cave, the cries ahead of us getting louder, closer.

I couldn’t tell if it was only one voice yelling or if it was more, and I couldn’t tell what the being was, but something about June’s reaction told me that it was a Pokemon.

What sounded like an electric spark crackled through the air, and the yells continued again, louder than before.

“June, what do you hear?” I shouted to her as I ran by her side, staring at her determined face. “Is it a Pokemon? What's happening?”

June didn't respond, her breathing quick and loud as she ran further ahead, ignoring a turn in the tunnel to the right of her. She reached a split in the path again that broke to our right, left, and ahead of us. She stopped running and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and holding her breath, and her head turned as she listened for more noises.

I held my own breath, but my body was tired and my lungs needed air, and I involuntarily choked and coughed as air struggled out of me.

“Sshh!” she shushed me angrily.

I went silent as I swallowed and tried to calm down my breathing.

Another loud roar made me cry out loud, the scary bellow sounding so close to us now, and June ran down the path to our right.

I followed her as fast as I could.

June made a right turn, and then a left, as the roars called out to us, sounding nearer every time they started up again. A strange crackling noise preceded the cries as June led us deeper into this maze of a cave. She ran down another path that was ahead of us without glancing at the path leading to our right, and then the path made a left turn, which June took, and she rebounded off of something with a loud scream and fell to the ground.

The person screamed out and stumbled back several feet, looking down at June, and then up at me. “Who are you?”

I didn't answer her, my eyes squinting hard through the darkness, trying to clearly see the person June had run right into.

She kind of looked like somebody I knew…

As a few more seconds passed, and I started to see her features more clearly, I began wishing that it wasn't who I thought it looked like. I immediately began hoping that the darkness was playing tricks on my eyes. I knew that it couldn't possibly be her.

June groaned from the ground. “Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even see you,” June told the girl as she climbed to her feet. “Are-?” June froze on her sentence and stared in shock at the girl in front of us. “You!”

The girl squinted at us and then rubbed her eyes with her hands as she pushed her glasses up on her face and then blinked several times, adjusting her glasses back on her nose before staring at us with wide eyes. “Who are you two? I can't see clearly. I can't possibly be seeing right!”

“Courtney!” June screamed out.

“No!” Courtney shouted back. “No! No! NO! Not again! You two? Are you freaking kidding me right now?”

The roar in the cave made us all look behind Courtney and we went silent.

“What the hell is that noise?” Courtney asked, her eyes staring down the dark tunnel.

Without a word, June ran past Courtney.

“Whoa!” Courtney moved over after June had already got by her, looking after her in shock.

I ran past Courtney, too, making her cry out again.

June turned down a tunnel to our right.

The roars sounded as if they were mere inches away from us, and my ears began to ring painfully as I struggled to keep up with her.

A dim light shined from the end of this tunnel from an upcoming opening to the left.

I could hear footsteps behind me, but I didn't look back. I had a feeling I knew whose footsteps those belonged to, and I didn't want to find out I was correct.

June's feet carried her to the left, and as I turned the corner after her, I nearly ran into her, reaching out as I stumbled to a stop and grabbed onto her shoulders, closing my eyes against a bright light shining in my face.

“Hey!” Courtney slammed into me, forcing me into June, who was forced to the ground.

June grunted as she shoved me and Courtney off of her, and I squinted up at a horrifying sight.

The sound of electricity sounded from a large, transparent blue box that held a large creature inside of it. The box was outlined in white and dark blue sparks, lighting up this section of the cave as the creature inside of it wailed in pain, its voice echoing, its head facing the ceiling, its eyes closed tight.

“Oh!” Courtney uttered at the sight before us.

June got to her feet quickly and her hands tightened and shook at her sides.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, trembling too hard to even want to stand up!

It was then that I saw the three people standing a few feet away from the box.

Two of the three individuals were young women, the much older male wearing brown sweatpants and black boots, his red coat zipped up, his head holding a black beanie. The women wore white skirts and shoes, both of them wearing a zipped up, thin, white jacket. One of the girls wore a backwards, white baseball cap, her black hair reaching down to her neck underneath it, the other girl’s black hair reaching past her shoulders. The three of them resembled one another in a way, as if they were related. They all were glaring at the creature in the transparent box as the box stopped sparking and literally disappeared right before my eyes.

I blinked in surprise, squinting into the now slightly darker cave, actually questioning if I had even seen the box in the first place for a second.

The only light now shone from something behind the living being before us.

The creature collapsed, grunting painfully as it landed, its eyes closed. The thing was blue, with hard formations around its face and chest in a much darker blue color.

My eyes moved away from the creature and were stuck on the only source of light now, which was emitting from a bizarre phenomenon occurring from the wall of the cave near this blue, turtle looking thing.

Against the cave wall was a large hole that led out to a widespread plain with fresh, stunningly beautiful green grass, a dense collection of tall, healthy trees, and a large, clear pond. But the opening... Something was absurdly strange about it. The lining of the opening was glowing white and wavering as if made of jelly, giving off a surreal appearance to the world outside of it. It seemed to contrast with the setting of the cave we were in in a manner that felt unnatural and disturbing. There was more to this outside world than what I could understand.

“Who are you three?” June yelled angrily. “What are you doing to that poor Pokemon? What's going on here?”

The three adults turned to us, but then looked away, staring at the opening in the cave revealing what was outside.

“We have company,” the only male in the group stated.

A loud screech came from the outside of the cave, through the creepy opening, and in the next instant, something flew by the trees outside, disappearing in an instant.

My eyes widened in disbelief and then squinted. I was sure I hadn’t just seen what I thought I had. There’s no way, I thought, swallowing fearfully.

“So we have an audience,” the woman wearing the baseball cap spoke calmly.

Several more cries were heard from the land outside of the cave, and a distant rumble arrived to my ears.

“A prescreening,” the final lady added.

I inhaled my breath in a gasp until I couldn't breathe any further at the sight of a familiar Pokemon that ran across the field and stopped, turning to us.

“KABUTOPS!” the Pokemon yelled, and it charged towards the cave, slicing its sharp scythes at us as it got closer.

June, me, and Courtney shrieked.

I crawled backwards but only got a couple of feet before I had grabbed onto someone behind me and I heard Courtney react at my grasp. I immediately let go of her but remained on the ground, keeping my eyes on the deadly Pokemon.

Kabutops leaped through the entrance to the cave and raised its scythes, flying past the other three strangers who didn’t seem surprised to be seeing this attacking Pokemon, watching it quietly.

June leaped out of the way with an even louder shriek.

Kabutops screamed out furiously as it neared me.

Courtney shrieked from behind me, even louder than June.

I screamed as well and rolled to the side, away from Kabutops’ attack.

Kabutops swiped for my head, its scythe slamming powerfully into the cave wall.

The wall exploded loudly into dust.

Once the cloud of dust faded, I spotted Kabutops running down a tunnel rapidly.

The wall it had slashed into was damaged, but remained intact. Rocks laid in a heap against the wall, a fresh layer of wall behind them, a large gash in the middle of it.

An ear piercing sound made me turn and the creature I had spotted flying by earlier, reappeared, confirming I had actually seen it the first time, only now, it was flying towards us, entering the cave!

“An Aerodactyl!!” I gaped in horror at the oncoming Pokemon.

Aerodactyl let out an angry screech as it flew through the hole, not seeming to see the other three people standing just a foot away from the opening, flying by June as well, its jaws open wide, ready to swallow my head.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An explosion went off that was so loud, it was impossible to trace where it had come from.

I was nearly deafened and I screamed as I closed my eyes and covered my ears with my hands as they throbbed painfully, my head thumping as well.

June and Courtney were also screaming from close by me.

The cry of Aerodactyl was added to my pounding eardrums and I flattened myself to the ground, a sharp white light flashing in front of my closed eyes, my head feeling as if it was splitting apart, and I waited to feel Aerodactyl’s sharp fangs to sink into my body and end my life.

A loud racket rang out in a rapid, repeated succession, combined with the undeniable sound of a stampede and the loud roars of monsters as the entire ground suddenly began to quake underneath me.

What's going on here? I panicked.

I could hear June and Courtney screaming, but their fearful voices were miniscule compared to the sound of the oncoming danger.

Aerodactyl still hadn't started to chomp down on my body, so I lifted my head quickly, expecting the enormous predator to be right in front of my face. To my surprise, Aerodactyl was nowhere in sight.

But something even worse was.

Something in a tremendous number.

A stampede of Pokemon.

I didn't recognize all of them, nor was I able to see them all clearly, but I definitely spotted a few Omanyte, a pair of Aerodactyl, a few Omastar, a large group of Kabuto, a handful of Kabutops, a large amount of Shieldon, and several other Pokemon, some very small, others ridiculously larger. One particular group of creatures I didn’t recognize towered over the rest with ease, looking the most vicious of them all. I was petrified as I watch them all run or fly into the cave, splitting up and running down separate paths. My head whipped back and forth rapidly as I tried to keep my eyes on all of the stampeding, threatening, dangerous Pokemon. In less than a minute's time, roaring, charging, and rocking the ground beneath their tremendous power, they had all vanished from sight, their roars fading but echoing strongly all around us.

I looked down both ends of the tunnel I was sitting in, only June, Courtney, the three adults, and the blue turtle Pokemon remaining amongst me.

The group of three were looking down the tunnels where the Pokemon had disappeared through, turning their heads down each path repeatedly, solemn glares on their faces.

I turned to the hole the Pokemon had entered from, and my eyes widened in amazement as the shimmering hole in the cave actually started to slowly shrink in size!

June was glaring at the three strangers with fury, but she hadn't spoken a word.

Courtney was looking down the two paths the groups of Pokemon had disappeared from, to the three people before us, to me, to June, continuously.

“The time gate is closing,” the lady without the baseball cap spoke simply, staring at the shrinking hole.

“We got what we needed,” the other lady spoke solemnly, staring at the closing opening. “But what about the volunteers who assisted us in flushing out the Pokemon? They're still inside.”

“We'll be sure to record their names in history for their usefulness,” the woman with the baseball cap responded. “They'll be fine. At least, for a while.”

The two girls nodded.

My heart stopped as the trio in front of my trio, turned to us at once.

Our separate groups stared at each other silently.

The group before me had empty looks on their faces, showing no emotion as they watched us.

The hole behind them continued to shrink silently.

Who are these guys? I wondered, wishing I had the courage to climb to my feet. I breathed in short, quick breaths, staring fearfully at these strangers, confused. What's going on here? What was with those ancient Pokemon? Were they all ancient Pokemon species? No. Impossible. Right?

The hole behind them continued to shrink, and with a swirl of white light and a gentle flash that sprinkled onto the ground, disappearing, the hole was completely gone. The wall of the cave was completely intact as if there had never been a huge, gaping hole there!

I squinted hard through the darkness at the cave wall, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. What just happened? Was that opening not even real? What about all of those Pokemon? What is going on here??

June's head turned in the dark cavern to the Pokemon on the ground. She glared at it silently for a while.

We all looked over at it.

The Pokemon remained silent and didn’t move.

June's eyes stayed on the Pokemon as she slowly climbed to her feet, nobody so much as twitching or making the slightest sound. June's head finally turned to the group of three and she stepped forward, rage on her face. “You killed her...” June whispered shakily.

The three people stared back at June, but they didn't move or say anything.

“What did you do to her?” June's voice was rising with anger, continuing to shake noticeably.

The three spooky individuals continued to stare at June. There was no anger on their faces. No sadness. No happiness. No feeling whatsoever. Their faces were more expressionless than mannequins, staring at June without the slightest flinch to their bodies, not blinking even once.

I shivered on the ground as I continued to stare at the three, scared at what was going on, and confused by it just as well.

“Who are you??” June’s voice now revealed both fear and fury.

I pushed my hands against the ground and finally managed to get to my feet. I couldn't leave June alone like this. As I cleared my throat, I walked to June's side and glared at the people, my heart beating hard enough to quake my body with each beat. My brain tried to come up with something to say to them, but nothing useful came to mind. Or, I was just too afraid to speak up.

Loud, threatening cries were heard from further ahead down both paths of the tunnel, making us all look around.

June, Courtney, and I were the only ones to gasp, the other three silently turning at the noises.

Loud commotions were taking place from far away where the groups of Pokemon had escaped.

“Mission complete,” the man spoke.

His two companions nodded.

The man turned to the cave wall where the strange opening had been before disappearing, and he dug through his pocket, taking a few steps closer to the wall.

“There's some kind of trouble!” June pointed down one end of the tunnel.

A distant explosion of noise made me jump.

“We have to help them!” June turned to me, tears in her eyes. “The Pokemon are in trouble!”

Before I could respond, I heard the footsteps running.

Before I could turn my head, I heard the explosion from right in front of me.

BOOOOOOMMM!!

I screamed with June and Courtney as my eyes squeezed shut tightly and I was lifted off of my feet by a powerful force that slammed into me. My back slammed into the wall behind me and I dropped to the ground, groaning weakly.

Courtney and June both moaned weakly from close by me.

The sound of footsteps made my eyes shoot open. I had to squint through the dirt and debris clouding my view, but I could just make out the three people running towards a new opening that had been made in the cave wall.

There was no shimmering light outlining this opening. It looked like the wall had just been blown apart.

I opened my mouth and choked on the filth in the air. “Wait!” I swallowed dirt that flew into my mouth and I choked again. “Wait!” I got to my feet shakily, stumbling backwards into the wall.

The three stopped running at the exit they had created and turned back to me with serious faces.

June got to her feet as she coughed several times.

Courtney remained on the ground, hacking loudly.

I opened my mouth to try to shout, but I couldn't get a word out with all the crap in the air and I continued choking.

“The day of destruction is nigh,” the girl with the baseball cap said calmly, seeming unfazed by the choking air. She turned and ran through the hole in the cave and into grassy plains, the world outside looking nothing like what had been revealed when the rampaging Pokemon had appeared.

The world beyond the hole now looked normal, for lack of a better word, and was definitely not what had been there before. There was grass and trees everywhere. The grass wasn’t as fresh and green as the grass that had been there when the Pokemon had made their way through, and there weren’t as many trees now, either. The trees also didn’t look as strong and healthy as the ones I had seen before. The setting now was similar, and yet very, very different.

My mind struggled to even explain what I had seen when the group of ancient Pokemon broke into the cave, but I was too confused. My brain was spinning, and I felt ready to pass out.

“A new world of peace and resolution for all,” the other woman spoke before leaping after her partner.

The man stood still, staring directly at me.

I stared back at him, not moving, hardly even breathing, trying to make sense of the words his two companions had spoken.

His eyes seemed to grow colder. “You have witnessed a monumental event in this planet's history. This day, an amazing portal to the past opened for us, and by using the life force of this Fossil Pokemon, Carracosta, which we resurrected from the Cover Fossil, we kept open the portal as it entered its Enlargement Phase, and entered a world to creatures that couldn't possibly coexist with the civilization of today, opening the door to a realm of complete madness! These Pokemon contain amazing, destructive powers, using them recklessly and without hesitation, which is quite useful for our needs. With Carracosta now depleted of its life energy, the portal has closed, but we have accomplished precisely what was needed: the release of the vicious ancients into the present! Now, bask in the glory of the day of the official resurgence of the almighty Team Solace!!!” The man turned away and jumped through the hole, disappearing from view within seconds.

I wasn't entirely sure where the pain that radiated throughout my body came from, nor when it had begun. I only realized an obscure amount of time later that I was on my knees, looking through the hole to the outside where the three people had run through, my body throbbing painfully all over.

“I don't understand anything of what just happened here,” a voice said from behind me.

It was almost as if I didn't hear her. I just remained on the ground, not moving a muscle.

“What were they talking about?” the voice spoke up again after a while. “Did they say something about Team Solace? What's going on here?”

Silence returned the girl's questions.

I couldn't quite remember her name, and I didn't care enough to try to remember.

“Will either of you two answer me?” she yelled frantically.

I swallowed, but I didn't say a word.

“Hey! Are you okay? Answer me!”

Something grabbed my shoulders and turned me around quickly. I found myself looking into the frightened face of Courtney.

“Gary, what is wrong with you? Can't you speak?” she cried.

“Bask in the glory of the day of the official resurgence of the almighty Team Solace!!!” the declaration from that man repeated in my mind.

“Gary!” Courtney shook me hard.

“Bask in the glory of the day of the official resurgence of the almighty Team Solace!!!” the man's voice shouted again.

“Gary!” Courtney shook me harder.

“The official resurgence of the almighty Team Solace!!!” the man's voice yelled threateningly.

“Please! Gary, talk, damn it!” Courtney kept on shaking me roughly.

“NO!!” I screamed, shoving her off of me. I crawled backwards in terror away from Courtney as she squinted at me angrily, and I backed into something with a gasp.

A gasp from behind me made me turn around.

June was looking back at me, her face pale with fright, her chest heaving.

I felt so weak, but staring at June, I felt completely defenseless.

A small squeak escaped from her throat as she tried to speak.

I was desperate to say something to her, but it was impossible to talk. What could possibly be said? I wasn't even sure what had just happened. My mind was racing with replays of everything that had occurred recently, but nothing added up.

June and I ran into Courtney.

The three of us found a Carracosta in a strange box being zapped by electricity.

An army of extinct Pokemon had run through a large, mysterious hole in the cave before it closed up entirely.

A group of three mysterious figures had left us alone, making an alarming statement regarding Team Solace returning.

Was that what I had been through today? Was that what I had heard from those three? None of it made any sense.

June turned away from me and her eyes fell upon the Carracosta. She slowly crawled on her hands and knees over to the Pokemon and stopped next to her. She reached out a shaky hand towards the Pokemon and rested it on her shell. A low, distant squeak met my ears, followed by another one, June's shoulders jumping with each cry. Her head lowered and her body began to shake as she started to lightly cry.

Courtney was watching June, but then turned to me with a look of sadness mixed with confusion, so close to pity.

My eyes reverted back to June, who was still crying next to the deceased Pokemon. What does this mean? I wondered. Deadly Pokemon that are meant to be extinct have been set free into the modern world? What's going to happen now?

“Bask in the glory of the day of the official resurgence of the almighty Team Solace!!!”

I shivered uncontrollably, thinking on the last words spoken by that man. Impossible, I thought as my eyes teared up, still staring at June. I swallowed and shook my head. It can't be. Isaac is dead. It's all over.

“Team Solace has finally come to an end,” Prof. Oak's comforting words had told me years ago.

They were words that had given me comfort for the past couple of years. Even whilst traveling through Unova, I sometimes found myself thinking on his words, and they brought me peace. There were plenty of times when strange occurrences in the Unova region made me reflect back to the actions of Team Solace, but it was always the Professor's words that had made me breathe easier. Now, I was shaking nonstop, unable to breathe straight, reflecting on my entire adventure so far.

Meeting Prof. Juniper, Ella, and Trixa.

Capturing my forgetful Pidove.

Running into the injured Purrloin and Leipard on my way to Striaton City.

Earning my first badge in Striaton City.

Trixa leaving our group in tears after our argument.

Burgh attacking Castelia City with his swarm of bugs and mutant human-insect hybrid.

June, her Eevee, and I being chased off a cliff by a Cacturne.

The Exeggutor left burning on the island close to Nimbasa City.

The attack on the Nimbasa City subway by an Aggron.

My date with Ella.

The Golurk attack on the town outside of Chargestone Cave.

Finding my sister, Melissa.

Losing my sister, Melissa.

Getting beaten up by a gang of Scrafty.

I had convinced myself that the many attacks that had been occurring throughout my journey were horrific, unfortunate accidents caused by Pokemon that had gotten mixed in with human civilization, and nothing more. But I had always feared, in the back of my mind, that it may have been something more. That fearful thinking returned to me as I continued to tremble in place.

My eyes closed tightly as the worst thought I had ever imagined forced its way into the front of my mind.

Breathing was now so hard that I had to open my mouth and breathe through both that and my nose noisily with every inhale and exhale.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I thought repeatedly, forcing the thought in my head away as I closed my eyes tightly, furrowing my eyebrows, pursing my lips together tightly.

My determined chant was easily swatted away as the thought speaking my worst nightmare came back.

Team Solace has returned.