I stood up tall, puffing out my frail chest and staring down seriously at my six Pokemon I’d just sent out.

Dugtrio, Elgyem, Drifloon, Excadrill, Unfezant, and Weepinbell were all looking up at me.

“Guys, I think that right now, we have some-” I began.

A sudden chattering noise reached my ears and stopped my sentence, and before I knew it, something flew by me, stopping near my Drifloon.

“Rotom!” I said in surprise.

Rotom floated in front of Drifloon, making an eager noise at her with a big smile on its face.

“Rotom, this isn’t the time!” June insisted.

“Floooon…” Drifloon lowered her head sadly.

Rotom’s smile faded as it stared at her, and its body moved around as it said something to her.

Drifloon kept her head down and didn’t say a word to Rotom.

“Rotom, I said to stop!” June stomped over.

Rotom always had a crush on my Drifloon, ever since it first laid eyes on her, and it always made an effort to do something kind to her.

Drifloon always seemed to be both flattered and embarrassed by Rotom’s chivalrous behavior and would blush, but today, she didn’t seem to be in the best mood for some reason.

“Rotom, I just said to cut it out!” June stood between the two Pokemon, glaring at Rotom. “Now get back over there!” June pointed.

Rotom flew away quickly.

June’s face softened as she looked up at me. “Sorry about that.” She quickly scurried away.

I turned to my Pokemon, took a deep breath, and cleared my throat. “Right. Anyway, today, I think we need to have us all a very serious talk.”

Most of my Pokemon stared back at me with wide-eyed innocence and interest.

Drifloon was the only one staring at me sadly, floating close to the ground.

“Excadrill, Dugtrio, Elgyem, Drifloon, Weepinbell.” I stopped at Unfezant and hardened my stare. “Unfezant.”

“Fez?” Unfezant said in confusion, his eyes widening even further. The gauze that had previously been wrapped around his once injured tail was now gone.

“Unfezant, this is regarding you,” I continued. “But this includes every single one of you guys, too.” I turned to my other five Pokemon.

The clearing was silent, not the slightest breeze blowing through the grass and trees, the sun shining brightly above us in a clear, blue sky.

June was leaning against a tree, her arms crossed as she watched the seven of us intently.

Her Vaporeon sat on the ground by her legs.

Her Galvantula was in an electrical web she had made right above June’s head, the web sparking every minute.

Magnezone and Rotom were quietly listening to the serious discussion I was having with my Pokemon as they floated on either side of June’s head.

June’s Electivire was sitting on the ground by a tree several feet away from June, his large fists on the ground, the Electric powerhouse breathing deeply as he snoozed.

Courtney was standing at the opposite end of the clearing from June, watching my talk with my Pokemon with concern on her face, her Sceptile, Stoutland, Woobat, Maractus, Scraggy, and Crustle close by her.

My eyes locked coldly onto Unfezant.

“Unfezant…” Unfezant said softly, staring back at me.

“Unfezant, you battled against a Krookadile sometime last week. Do you remember that?”

“Unfezant. Unfezant,” Unfezant nodded hesitantly.

“Yeah, and I remember it, too. The way you battled against it was unacceptable!” I scolded him.

“Un…” Unfezant’s face fell into sadness and his head lowered.

“Hey!” I said loudly, making all of my Pokemon jump in surprise, Unfezant lifting his head. “Are you aware of why I’m upset at you right now? Do you understand that I don’t care that you lost?”

“Fezant… Unfezant?” Unfezant cried out to me.

“You took things way too far in that battle, Unfezant! You were beaten in that battle, weren’t you?” I was practically screaming at him now. “You were taken down, Unfezant! You lost! You lost, but you continued putting yourself into a situation that could have gotten you severely injured! And then you did it again a couple of days ago against that Leavanny! What is wrong with you?”

“Unfez… Un!” Unfezant’s face was full of emotional pain and confusion, my words clearly shocking my Flying type Pokemon. “Unfezant.”

I swallowed, glaring at Unfezant as everyone else gazed at me silently.

Even Electivire was no longer breathing heavily in his sleep.

I couldn’t see Electivire from where I was facing, but I assumed he was probably paying attention now. “Unfezant, listen to me.” I took a step towards him.

“Un!” Unfezant’s wings fluttered with fright and his feathers puffed out as he leaped back.

“Unfezant, don’t do that,” I ordered him, and I bent down on one knee. I took a deep breath, keeping my eyes trained on him.

Unfezant was shivering in place, staring at me warily.

I took another deep breath and didn’t move.

Unfezant continued shaking hard as he stood in place.

Inhaling slowly, I looked into his yellow eyes. I held my breath and carefully lifted my right arm.

“Fez!” Unfezant jumped a little bit at my movement and stumbled back a few feet, staring at my hand as it extended slowly towards him.

I held my hand in the air towards Unfezant’s face, keeping my eyes on his. My face softened as a small smile crossed my face and I nodded at him. “There’s no need to be afraid of me, Unfezant.”

“Unfezant…” Unfezant took another nervous step back, looking from my hand to my face repeatedly. His eyes then stopped on mine and they suddenly began to water. Tears rolled down his cheeks, immediately disappearing into his feathers. “Unfeezaaaaant!” Unfezant closed his eyes and even more tears began to run down his face, dripping onto the ground and streaming into his feathers, his body shaking with emotion.

“Unfezant says that he’s-”

I waved my hand silently at June, silencing her immediately. I didn’t need her help for this. I could handle this one all on my own.

There was a snicker I ignored that almost certainly came from Courtney.

My hand returned back towards Unfezant and I licked my lips, keeping my hand in the air patiently. “It’s okay, Unfezant. You think I’m mad at you for those battles, but I’m not, at all. I don’t care about you losing.”

“Unfez?” Unfezant looked at me, tears running from his eyes nonstop. “Fezant! Unfezant!”

“Unfezant, I care about how you lost,” I explained to him. “You seem to believe that I want you to win battles, which is true, but not like how you have been battling lately. There’s no shame in losing to an opponent, but there is plenty of shame in how reckless you’ve been fighting just to defeat other Pokemon in battle. It’s not the way to battle. It’s not how I’ve raised you.”

Unfezant’s eyes shimmered behind his tears as he stared at me silently, his beak open a little. His puffed out feathers relaxed and rested against his body again.

“I blame myself for not realizing what was wrong, sooner,” I told him. “I blame myself for not knowing when and how to handle the situation at an earlier time. The way you’ve been battling reflects my poor training and lack of experience.” I smiled wider and then chuckled a little bit. “Remember when you were just a little Pidove, and your memory was driving me insane?”

Unfezant sniffled, his eyes closing tightly, and he nodded. “Unfezant!” he cawed loudly. His eyes opened.

“And as a Tranquill, you battled really hard and weren’t struggling with any memory issues,” I told him. “But, now, you’re an Unfezant; and a mighty powerful one. But I can’t allow you to battle if you’re gonna push yourself this far. A loss is a loss. I raised you, and all of our friends, to be strong in battle, and to push yourselves to win, but going as far as you’ve been doing is unreasonable of any Pokemon Trainer to ask of their Pokemon.”

Unfezant looked behind him at the rest of my Pokemon.

“Trio,” Dugtrio smiled at my Unfezant.

“Excadrill. Drill,” Excadrill nodded at Unfezant.

“Bell! Bell!” Weepinbell bounced in place.

Elgyem didn’t say anything and just kept his eyes on Unfezant in a creepy manner.

Drifloon had her sad eyes on me, not even acknowledging Unfezant.

“Unfezant,” Unfezant nodded at the Pokemon behind him and then turned back to me. “Unfezant!”

I smiled at my Unfezant. “If you want to make me so happy, then I only ask that you do what I ask of all of my Pokemon.”

“Unfezant! Unfezant!” Unfezant flapped his wings eagerly.

“Battle hard, do your best, follow my instructions, and when it’s enough, it’s enough.” My arm was starting to hurt and began to shake, but I kept it in the air towards Unfezant’s face.

Unfezant looked at my shaky hand and then returned his gaze to my face. He cried out gently and walked forward, placing his head against my hand.

I smiled and relaxed my hand against his head, relieving my arm, and I rubbed his cheek. “And most importantly, let’s all grow together. As friends. As a family.” I looked towards my other Pokemon behind Unfezant, a buildup of tears starting in my eyes. “You guys are all family to me. I love you all. Forever. Your happiness is everything to me. Let’s have fun and be happy. To me, that’s what this whole journey is all about, in the end.”

“Unfezant! Fezant! Fezant!” Unfezant flapped his wings and ascended a few inches from the ground, flying directly into my chest.

“Whoa!” I laughed as my Pokemon knocked me over. “Hey!”

Before I knew it, my other Pokemon had surrounded me and Unfezant, shouting out happily in the joyous moment.

I heard a sigh and I looked over to see Courtney smiling down at us.

“Well, if this isn’t the most heartwarming thing I’ve seen all day.” Courtney wiped at her eyes and sniffled.

“Thank goodness,” June sighed with a smile, placing her hand over her chest. “Those battles Unfezant was having were really getting out of hand. I really hope that it’s all over now.”

“And Gary did it all without your help, June,” Courtney said, keeping her eyes on me.

Seriously, Courtney? I stared back at her in dismay.

“What exactly does that-?” June turned angrily to Courtney.

“Stout! Stout! Stout! Stout!” Stoutland barked loudly and leaped at Courtney.

“Stoutland, no! Please! Don’t!” Courtney laughed as she was taken down by her huge dog.

Stoutland licked her face aggressively.

I turned to my own Pokemon and then noticed that only Excadrill, Dugtrio, and Weepinbell were around me, my Unfezant standing on top of me, and Elgyem floating to the right of my head, his red eyes on Unfezant. “Drifloon?” I looked around and saw her in the same spot she had been in when I had sent her out of her Dusk Ball, now sitting on the ground, her back to all of us.

Rotom glided over to her slowly, looking down at her sadly. It spoke to her and smiled, and the tips of its arms sparked lightly with electricity.

Drifloon didn’t move. “Flooooon…”

Rotom’s smile turned to sadness and the sparks vanished from its arms.

“So, what’s the map say?” Courtney asked as her Pokemon continued to slobber all over her face. “Where’s the closest place from here?”

“Hello, sweetie!” June was bent over, her hands on her knees, smiling at Courtney’s Scraggy who apparently had walked over to her.

Scraggy looked up at June’s face. “Scraggy?” It cocked its head at her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet-yaah!” June screamed out as Scraggy leaped into the air and slammed its head into hers. She held her forehead as she fell to the ground, groaning in pain. “Hey! My head! Oooowwwwwww!!” June curled up on the ground, whimpering in pain.

“I’m gonna assume you did that on purpose,” Courtney snickered, looking over at June, her Stoutland still on top of her, also gazing at June, panting with its tongue hanging out. “I mean, when I used my Pokedex to trade my Alomomola for Scraggy from Prof. Birch’s lab, Gary’s Pokedex data warned that Scraggy have a habit of Headbutting those who get too close to them, and not only that, but, you, of course, can read Pokemon. So, you knew that was gonna happen, right?” Courtney tried to restrain a giggle that quickly slipped out.

June could only moan painfully in response.

“June, are you alright?” I asked her, sitting up, Unfezant flapping his wings to fly off of me and land on the ground. I climbed to my feet and dusted off my clothes as I approached her.

“I’ll be fine,” June moaned. “Just give me a minute.”

As I got closer to June, Electivire turned to me, causing me to freeze, my eyes widening.

“Vire…” Electivire turned to Scraggy, next.

“Scragg?” Scraggy turned to Electivire.

“Electivire?” Electivire sat still, staring at Scraggy.

“Scraggyyyy…” Scraggy glared at Electivire, standing still.

Electivire grunted as he got to his feet.

Scraggy took a brave step towards Electivire. “Scraggy! Scraggy!”

“Electiviiiirrre!” Electivire flexed his arms.

June groaned as she lifted her head from the ground and sat up, turning to the two angry Pokemon. Her forehead was a deep red and looked like it hurt. “Huh? Hey! What’s going on?”

“SCRAAAAAAAAG!!!” Scraggy ran towards Electivire and leaped into the air.

“ElectiVIIIIIIRRRRE!!!” Electivire’s body sparked as he charged up an Electric attack to hit Scraggy with.

“Electivire, don’t!” June pleaded.

Scraggy’s body glowed red before he vanished in thin air.

“You know, June, you really need to keep your Pokemon in check,” Courtney said angrily, now standing up next to her Stoutland, holding a Poke Ball in her hand. “I mean, it’s not fair that when we want our Pokemon to get a little fresh air for a change, we all have to worry about your crazy Electivire zapping everyone! Control that thing, will you?”

“Your Scraggy is the danger!” June shouted. “Headbutt-”

“Electivire!” Electivire growled.

Courtney screamed as Electivire zapped her and she dropped to the ground.

Stoutland growled as it glared at Electivire.

“Electivire, that’s enough! Return, now!” June tried returning Electivire.

Electivire leaped out of the way of the red beam from his Poke Ball and glared back at Stoutland. “Tivire!” Electivire ran towards Stoutland, one sparking fist pulled back as he prepared to use his Thunder Punch.

Stoutland ran rapidly towards Electivire, its fangs glowing white as they spread apart.

“VIRE!” Electivire swung his fist.

“STOUT!” Stoutland’s jaws closed around Electivire’s fist.

Electivire growled threateningly at Stoutland.

Stoutland closed its eyes as it was shocked, but it sunk its teeth even further into Electivire’s fist.

Electivire winced, trying to show no pain.

“RETURN! NOW!” June and Courtney both shouted in unison.

Both Pokemon glowed red and were returned back to their Poke Balls.

June stared at Electivire’s Poke Ball sadly, rubbing it. She looked up at Courtney. “Courtney, I’m really sorry ab-”

“Save it! I am so not in the mood right now, June!” Courtney shouted, flattening her blonde hair that was now sticking up in the air. Though she tried hard to flatten it back down, it continued to stick up. “Do you have any idea how much time I take to make my hair just right, just for one of your Pokemon to screw it all up?” She set her bag on the ground and dug through it, finally appearing with a pink brush and a pink mirror. She stood up and held the mirror in front of her, brushing down her hair, puckering out her open lips.

Our Pokemon were looking back and forth between June and Courtney, shock on their faces.

Dugtrio was nowhere in sight.

I spotted a large hole in the ground and walked over to it, stopping when I saw Drifloon from out the corner of my eye.

She was still on the ground, her back to all of the commotion behind her.

June’s Rotom was now floating in front of her, its arms sparking as it fired designs in front of her quickly.

One of the yellow, sparking designs resembled a heart before being replaced with another spark that took the shape of Drifloon! This spark was replaced with an image of Rotom and Drifloon with their appendages wrapped around each other as if they were holding hands. Rotom then formed an image of a Rotom, a Drifloon, and what looked like a much smaller Drifloon and Rotom between the larger Drifloon and Rotom.

“Awwwwwww! Would you look at that?” June gushed with her hands clasped together at her heart.

“How romantic!” Courtney squealed, still holding her mirror and brush as she bounced on her feet.

“I don’t get it.” I crossed my arms and cocked my head in confusion.

“Boys…” Courtney sighed, drooping her head as her arms fell to her sides.

June just stared at me with disappointment, her arms crossed.

Rotom’s sparks now formed a boy and a girl holding hands, the girl’s hair designed in blue electricity. The name Gary hovered above the boy, a blue arrow pointing down, and the name June was above the girl, a blue arrow also pointing down. A new shape then formed. The names and arrows remained in place, but the boy and girl now had their lips together, kissing!

“HEY!!” I barked angrily, embarrassed as I felt my face grow hot. “What’s the deal?!”

“ROTOOOOOM!!” June’s face was so red, it was as if she had dunked her face in a bucket of blood. Her eyes were wide and she raised her hands to her cheeks.

Courtney was dying laughing, and she fell to her knees, her hands on the ground.

Rotom was also laughing, and the designs went away, the electricity stopping altogether as it continued to stare at Drifloon.

Drifloon’s head lowered further and she let out a low, mournful moan. “Floooooon…”

“Drifloon?” I said, my anger going away as concern took over.

Drifloon didn’t move or respond to me.

“Hey! Drifloon, are you feeling okay? Drifloon!” I tried again.

Drifloon didn’t make a sound. She just remained on the ground.

“What’s going on with Drifloon?” June asked.

I walked over to her. “Excuse me, Rotom.” I stepped in between the two Pokemon and faced Drifloon so I could see her face. “What’s wrong, Drifloon? You seem down today.”

Drifloon floated away from me and towards one of the many trees in the woods around us. She ascended high in the air and drooped down on a tree branch.

“Huh?” I gasped, feeling hurt, my heart beating at this rejection I was receiving from my own Pokemon. “Drifloon!” I called up to her. “Are you upset at me? Did I do something wrong? What happened?”

“She’s depressed about something, it seems,” June commented, squinting at her.

“Is it me?” I asked June.

“I’m not really sure,” June admitted.

“Drifloon, look here!” I reached in my jacket and unclipped the Flower Badge from within it. “We won this, thanks in part to you, Drifloon! Everybody, we won our seventh Badge! The Flower Badge!” I held the Badge high in the air.

All of my Pokemon cheered in reaction, but Drifloon silenced us all as she let out a mournful wail, and then fell from the branch she was laying on.

“Drifloon!” I ran towards her, reaching out to catch her.

“Floooooooon!” Drifloon drifted away from me, deeper into the woods.

“Hey! Where are you going?” I called after her.

Rotom also called out to Drifloon and it flew after her.

“I think it might be upset that it lost that Gym battle,” Courtney stated, still trying to keep her hair down as she brushed it, looking at Drifloon through her mirror.

“Courtney might be right,” June nodded, her eyes on her Rotom as it floated past her. “Rotom, as sweet as it is that you’re concerned about your friend, I want you to come back, for now.” June held out her hand that contained Rotom’s Poke Ball and retrieved her Pokemon.

“Oh? Reeeeeeally? I am? Golly! Maybe I possess powers to speak to Pokemon, too!” Courtney beamed, her eyes rolled up to the sky as she continued brushing her hair. She turned to her Woobat that was fluttering around in the air. “Woobat! Woooooooobat! Woobat!” she mimicked the Pokemon’s cry. She burst out laughing. “Did you understand that, Woobat? I said, I love you! Haaaaaaaaa ha ha ha!”

June was shivering in fury, her face getting a deeper shade of red with every passing couple of seconds, her arms shaking as her fists tightened at her sides.

“Drifloon, wait for me! Pleeeeease!” I shoved the Flower Badge in my pocket and ran through the woods after her, leaving Courtney and June to continue fighting if they so wished. I really didn’t care about their dumbness right now. Drifloon was my main concern. I skid to a stop as I remembered my other five Pokemon and turned back to see them all running after me.

They all collided into me, knocking me over.

I smiled at my group of Pokemon. “Come on, everyone! Return for now!” My Pokemon were all returned to their Poke Balls and I got to my feet, continuing my chase after Drifloon. I couldn’t see or hear her, and I started to become scared that, being that she was a Ghost type, she could just go through solid objects and escape from me easily, and being a Flying type, she could probably get away twice as fast. The trees in this area were really thin and spaced apart from one another, and I was grateful for at least that. “Drifloon! Get back here! Please!” I could hear hurried footsteps behind me.

“Gary! Have you found her?” June called.

“No!” I shouted back, running even faster as I tried to spot my Pokemon.

“That poor Drifloon!” Courtney breathed tiredly. “We’ll find it, Gary!”

“Drifloon is a she, Courtney,” June said, breathing hard.

“June, I think the most important thing right now is to find Gary’s Pokemon, not start arguments, okay?” Courtney replied.

June let out a growl. “Hey, wait. What’s that noise?”

I could suddenly hear the sound of loud chattering. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it sounded like there were a lot of voices.

“It’s a bunch of Pokemon!” June gasped. “They’re in trouble!”

“My Drifloon?” I yelled with worry, looking back at her.

“No! These are something else!” June shook her head.

Courtney lowered her head and shook it, clearly not believing anything June was saying. Some of her hair had managed to stay down, but most of it was still sticking up in the air, making her look ridiculous.

I looked ahead and suddenly spotted my floating Pokemon. “Drifloon!” I smiled with relief. Behind her, I could spot a small town several feet away. “What’s that?” I slowed down as I spotted the source of the noises June and I had heard.

“It’s a bunch of Golbat!” Courtney exclaimed in horror.

“What are they doing in that cage?” I demanded angrily, stopping near my Drifloon as I glared at the huge metal cage in the clearing that contained several Golbat.

The Golbat were all crying out and flittering about in the cage, bumping against the bars and each other.

“And who are you two?” June stared off to the side of the cage.

I gasped as I suddenly noticed two individuals dressed in black.

The two young men stepped forward, stopping in front of the cage. They wore black sneakers, black jeans, and thick, oversized black hoodies that came down past their knees. One guy was wearing a black beanie on his head while the other guy had his hood on.

“What’s up?” the guy with the hood said seriously.

The other man didn’t say a word and just stared coldly at us.

The three of us remained silent.

Who are these guys? I wondered, my heart beating fearfully.

“What are you doing to those Golbat?” June asked strongly, angrily, stepping towards them bravely.

“We just found these Golbat ourselves,” the hooded man insisted. “We were just about to set these guys free. We even found a key in the woods.” He held up a golden key and waved it in front of his face.

The other guy remained still, not speaking at all, giving us a very unfriendly, threatening look.

The hooded man walked towards one end of the cage, and the Golbat started chattering and flapping their wings even more frantically.

“Stop it!” June shouted, and she ran towards the man.

“June, what are you doing?” My eyes widened, unsure of what was going on.

The man with the beanie suddenly moved forward, his face grimacing furiously, and he gripped June’s shoulders.

June cried out as the man’s fingers dug into her.

“Hey! Get off of her! What do you think you’re doing?!” I charged hard at the man.

The man swiftly shoved June in my direction.

June screamed as she stumbled backwards into me, the both of us falling.

“Floooon!” I heard my Drifloon cry out.

“Gary! June!” Courtney’s voice rang out.

“Why so hostile, kids?” the man with the key smiled as he turned to face us. “Golbat don’t do so well in sunshine. They’re nocturnal, you know. There’s a nice town right up ahead. Hopefully they’ll find a nice place to stay safe and… heh heh… Eat.”

The cage door swung open and the Golbat flew free in a loud chatter, flying away from us and shooting directly for the town. It wasn’t long before one of the Golbat crashed through the window of a one-story house, screeching as it went through and vanished inside.

A few more Golbat were flying into the sides of houses and buildings, while the rest were soaring into the air or crashing into the ground, all of them flying blindly against the sunlight with their eyes closed tight, screaming out in anguish.

“Why did you do that?” I screamed at the two men. “Huh? They’re gone!”

The two men were nowhere in sight, and even the huge cage was gone!

June gasped as she got off of me and turned to look where the cage had been.

“Where did they go? How did they get away?” Courtney cried.

“Who were they?” June questioned.

“We have to help those Golbat!” I turned back towards the town.

“Floooon!”

I turned to the sound of my Drifloon to see her floating a few feet away from me, staring at me with sadness in her eyes. “Drifloon! Are you alright?”

“Flooooon,” Drifloon nodded, gliding over to me slowly.

The screams of an adult male made me jump and turn towards the madness going on in the town in front of us.

What looked like four Golbat were in the air above tons of screaming people, attacking each other with a variety of moves including Swift and Poison Fang.

A very fat man was trying to run, moving far too slow to get anywhere at the speed he was desperately wishing he was able to achieve, and another Golbat swooped at him and smacked him down from behind with one of its wings.

“What are they doing? We have to do something!” I turned to Drifloon. “Drifloon, come back!” I returned her to her Dusk Ball and then ran towards the little town as screams from the people started to erupt and mix in with the shrieks from the Golbat.

Groups of people were running from their houses and stores, screaming at the sight of the Golbat that were all causing chaos.

Several Golbat started using Screech and Supersonic, the combination of which deafened me as I fell to my knees instantly, screaming and covering my ears, closing my eyes tightly as pained tears burned within them. I gasped as something shook my shoulder, and I looked up to see Courtney grabbing my shoulder and pulling on my arm, getting me to my feet. She pointed ahead and said something, terror on her face, but I couldn’t hear anything at all.

She turned away quickly, closing her eyes at something she was unable to continue watching.

I looked at what she had pointed at and my mouth fell open. My feet carried me backwards as I stumbled in fright and disgust. I had to swallow to keep from throwing up and I kept my mouth shut tight.

June was by my other side, her mouth open in a silent scream.

A group of Golbat had each grabbed an individual person, their mouths closed on the victim’s shoulder, or neck, or abdomen, or whatever else each one had latched on to. The people all had their mouths open in painful screams, but I was unable to hear anything that was going on, as if I was watching a horror movie on mute, the entire planet silenced. The victims beat strongly against the Golbat that were attacking them, but it wasn’t long before their punches, kicks, and slaps were becoming visibly weaker, their expressions less pained, and they were barely able to fight back against the Pokemon that seemed to be draining them of their life, blood running down the bodies of the victims and the killer Golbat.

June screamed something at the Golbat, but I was completely deaf, clueless as to what she had yelled, my head throbbing painfully.

A frantic motion to my left made me look over and see Courtney swatting at a Golbat that was trying to attack her!

“HEY!” I screamed angrily, but I heard nothing from my own mouth. “GET AWAY FROM HER!!!” Someone ran past me, grabbing my attention, and I did a double take as I realized that it was June, also being chased by a Golbat! Her bag! I realized. She doesn’t have it with her! I looked at the ground where she had been standing and spotted it on the ground, wide open. We need our Pokemon now! I quickly grabbed a pair of Poke Balls from my waist. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I whipped my head around. “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!” I silently shrieked as a Golbat’s wide, gaping mouth flew at me. I ducked to the ground and crawled away, turning around as I leaped to my feet, but the Golbat turned around quickly and flew at me again, smacking my head with its wing, and I fell for a second time, dropping my Poke Balls. My already throbbing head was now beating as if a hammer were knocking against it, but despite the pain that was causing my eyes to water, I kept my eyes on the Golbat above me as I blinked out tears.

Golbat screeched loudly, and this time, I heard it!

I gasped. “I can hear!” I exclaimed as I looked up at the Golbat in fear.

Golbat screeched at me again and then flew towards me.

I screamed and grabbed a Poke Ball in my hand, shaking too hard to throw it. A shrill shriek from close by me took me by surprise and I nearly threw up from all that was happening. I swallowed hard as I felt my breakfast rise in my throat and I turned behind me to see a little girl with an even smaller little boy, both of them petrified, huddling in each other’s arms, shaking. I realized that it was the girl who had screamed when she closed her eyes and shrieked once again. “Get out of here!!” I screamed at them frantically.

The Golbat flew past me and towards the children.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” I pulled back my arm to throw the Poke Ball to stop the Golbat from attacking the kids. My breath was knocked out of me as another Golbat appeared and kicked me in the stomach, and my third Poke Ball flew out of my hand. I reached out for the Poke Ball, but the Golbat was now standing on my chest, crying out eagerly, and its fangs closed around my shoulder.

I heard the children’s shrill, young screams.

“VIRE!!”

“AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” I bellowed as loudly as I possibly could as I was overtaken by an enormous pain throughout my entire body. Something’s… Shocking me… I thought painfully, my eyes closed tight.

“VIRE!!”

More electric noises were heard, along with the cries of the Golbat.

“VIRE!!”

More electricity sounded along with screams from the Golbat, this time accompanied by the screams of a few people.

“VIRE!”

Continuous electrical sparking sounds and screams from people as well as the Golbat.

The pain going throughout my body finally started to fade and I was breathing hard on my back, trying to breathe a little easier. My eyes were opening and closing repeatedly before I finally got them to stay open, my body twitching painfully. It hurt to move, but I managed to turn my head towards the cry of the familiar sounding Pokemon. “AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” I screamed in surprise and terror as I saw a Golbat lying right next to my head, sprawled out on its back, its body blackened in several areas.

I heard several more screams from people, the Golbat, and Electivire.

Gasping harshly and repeatedly, my body twitching, sparks flying from my body, I sat up on the ground, hunched over, keeping my eyes on the Golbat that lay motionless right next to me.

Its eyes were closed, and it didn’t even seem to be breathing.

I looked away from it and saw Electivire breathing hard, smiling, looking around.

June’s hair was standing on end as she laid on her back with her eyes closed, her body sparking electricity.

Courtney looked pretty much exactly like June, her eyes closed and her hair standing straight up in the air while she remained on her back, shooting off electricity from her body every few seconds.

I gasped as I continued looking around and saw the bodies of the Golbat on the ground, none of them moving, human bodies also littered about, motionless.

Most of the people on the ground looked severely dehydrated, their wrinkly skin looking like crumbled pieces of paper, their mouths open in silent screams of pain and fear.

“Oh!” I said loudly as I looked to my right and spotted the two children whose screams had saved me from being attacked by the Golbat.

The younger boy was now holding the slightly older girl in his arms.

The girl’s neck was running fast with blood, staining her white dress almost entirely.

I weakly crawled over to them, but then froze, unable to get any closer as my stomach began to churn and nausea made me back away a little bit.

Neither child looked as if they were breathing.

I swallowed the hot, sour taste of vomit back down my throat.

A zapped Golbat was on the ground just a few inches away from the kids, not moving.

Strong footsteps made me look up and I gasped, my eyes tearing up gratefully at what I saw.

Three humans! And a healthy three, at that! An adult male dressed in all white, a small, white square with a pink cross on the right side of his shirt, ran into the area. Running on either side of him were a pair of Officer Jennys. Each officer was holding a gun in their hands, which they slowly lowered as they looked around them, their eyes widening. The three came to a stop and looked around in disbelief at the sight before them.

“My goodness, is anyone still alive here? Can anyone hear me?” The man ran to a woman curled up on the ground, not moving an inch as the man bent over and gently turned her onto her back. He cried out and covered his mouth as he looked down at what was presumably a horrifying sight that I couldn’t see.

The pair of Officer Jennys had put away their guns and split up, kneeling down to check on a body.

“Please!” I called out weakly, and I painfully managed to wave my arm at them. “Help us!”

The three looked up with surprise and gasped.

“Over here!” the man shouted.

The trio got to their feet and ran past the people and Pokemon laying still around them.

*

“Are you sure, Gary?” Courtney asked me fearfully.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” I snapped at her. “There’s no doubt about it. This was the work of Team Solace. It’s time to just accept this. It’s undeniable.”

“I’m sorry,” Courtney whispered shakily. She swallowed nervously, her eyes on the ground. “I’m just so shaken up by all of this. I think I could really use a hug.” She walked over to me.

I opened my mouth to snap at her and tell her that now was not the time for a hug! That I had had enough of her always asking for them every single day!

The pleading look in her eyes.

The fearful expression on her face.

I couldn’t be a jerk to her right now. Considering what had happened today, I closed my mouth.

Courtney’s arms opened, but she froze, staring at me.

I nodded slowly.

Her arms slowly wrapped around me, and I hesitantly pulled her into a hug, inhaling her scent deeply and holding my breath.

The three of us, June standing off to the side, staring at the ground and holding her second ice pack to her forehead, were silent for a long while.

At this silence, I was unfortunately given the opportunity to dwell on what had occurred back in the town we had left.

“The Golbat killed several people here, but luckily, not too many, if ‘luckily’ can be used for a situation like this,” the man dressed in white, one of the town’s EMTs, told me as the other EMTs arrived to check out the people and Golbat.

The girls and I had already been checked on and were waiting with the EMT for the police to question us.

June was holding an ice pack to her forehead.

“I hate to say this, Miss, but your Electivire seems to have possibly caused a lot of problems here, as well. The Golbat seem to have been all malnourished. They hadn’t eaten in so long, combined with the fact that they were in the sunlight, which caused for their erratic behavior and attack on the town. They were starving. Once Golbat find a victim, they don’t stop draining their blood until the victim is sapped dry, and unfortunately, the people in this town became their food. Your Electivire’s shock was too powerful for their weak bodies and actually killed the Golbat. It is unfortunate that any of this occurred in the first place, but things may have gotten a lot worse had they not been stopped. However, stopping them didn’t exactly do much more good. Electivire’s shock not only hit the Golbat, but many people who had been drained of their energy by the Golbat. In a way, while the Golbat were stopped, we can be sure that a few people here who otherwise may have survived, were also killed by your Pokemon, and yet if not for your Pokemon, the Golbat would have likely killed them anyway. If we’d only arrived sooner, we may have been able to...” He stopped talking and stared down, shaking his head and sighing with uncertainty on what to say. “I don’t know... This was just all bad.”

It was when another EMT worker had removed the body of a dead woman, that June had finally lost it and ran back into the woods, crying hysterically, and a moment later, I could clearly hear her throwing up.

The woman was holding a dead, blackened baby in her arms.

“You don’t need to tell your friend this, and, actually, perhaps you don’t want to hear this yourselves…” the EMT worker had hesitated. “This is only a guess, after all, but, it looks as if that woman, whether the actual mother of that baby or not, had been protecting the child from the Golbat. Electivire, trying to stop the Golbat, seems to have accidentally killed the baby in the process, and possibly even the woman trying to protect it. The woman did have a bite wound on her back and chest, but the baby hadn’t been attacked by the Golbat at all…”

I released my breath from my lungs and looked up into the dark sky above, Courtney and I holding tightly onto each other as we stood on the wide, dirt road.

There were no trees around us, and no grass beneath us. Just a huge, wide plain that we’d been traveling on for a bit.

I had wanted to thank June for her help in saving our lives, but she had been completely silent since we left that town. I could only imagine what could be running through her head.

There were countless things running through mine.

The little boy and the little girl whose screams had saved my life from the Golbat were both carried away by EMTs.

The boy was unconscious, but alive.

The girl had actually flinched and moaned briefly when she had been lifted up before going silent as she was carried away. It was hard to know if she would survive or not.

Team Solace.

There was no doubt in my mind that the two guys who had set free the Golbat on that town were a part of Team Solace.

Courtney, June, and I had informed the police of the suspicious individuals, but nothing could be found of the men or the cage they had mysteriously vanished with, which brought so much anger out of me, I was brought to tears.

Team Solace had gotten away.

There was no doubt in my mind that Team Solace was back to their old ways of trying to prove to the world that Pokemon were evil and should be destroyed.

But when exactly did they return?

Who is running Team Solace, now?

It can’t be Isaac, I told myself. He’s dead. Could it be one of the remaining members that were still out there? Did they not completely disband? Could it be someone entirely new, with a new group of cohorts, using the same name as Team Solace? After all, Team Solace is nothing but a name for a mind state that anyone could have. It’s not limited to Isaac or the original crew from Team Solace.

“The mindset of a group like that didn't solely belong to the leader.” Prof. Oak’s words from his interview after his lab had been attacked, spoke from my memory.

The person who had interrupted the news to announce Team Solace’s return said that the promise Team Solace made years ago would be completed this time around.

But, what promise?

The promise to wipe the planet of all Pokemon?

The promised judgment that Isaac had intended to deliver through the bomb he planned to use to blow up the Kanto region?

I had not one answer to any of the questions I had in my head, nor the new ones that continued to pour into my mind.

I was only sure of one thing.

There was no doubt in my mind.

That Team Solace and I would run into each other again.

And it would happen.

Really.

Really.

Soon.