“All of the Badges you two have are one hundred percent legit…” Nurse Joy told Courtney and I as she stood behind the counter in the Pokemon Center. She slid her hands across the counter top and lifted them up as she pulled her hands back to her.

Me and Courtney’s Flower Badges were in front of us.

“…except for these two,” Nurse Joy finished. “The Flower Badge.”

“No!” Courtney gasped.

“But, how?” I cried weakly, looking into Nurse Joy’s eyes.

“Oh, my gosh! YES!” June screamed with delight.

I turned around and saw June sitting in a phone booth, bouncing in her seat as she spoke with somebody. I then turned back to Nurse Joy.

“The Flower Badge was legit at one point…” Nurse Joy said slowly, staring back at me.

“What do you mean?” I insisted.

“Yes! Please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeeease!!” June squealed over the phone.

Nurse Joy, Courtney, and I looked over at June before returning our gazes to each other.

“Well, the Flower Badge was once obtained from a woman commonly referred to as Gramma,” Nurse Joy started.

“Yeah! That’s who Gary and I battled in Verdew Town! Gramma!” Courtney exclaimed. “We defeated her and won our Badges!”

Nurse Joy raised her hands as she gazed at Courtney sadly. “Please, allow me to explain.”

Courtney’s breath came out in a sigh and she stayed quiet as Nurse Joy spoke.

“Gramma, as I’m sure you are aware, if you really did battle her, is quite forgetful,” Nurse Joy continued. “She forgets the Pokemon she owns, forgets their moves, and even forgets how many Pokemon she’s allowed to send out in battle. As you can imagine, this can create quite the… unique atmosphere for her challengers.”

I remembered when Gramma had battled me and ended up switching out her Leavanny for her Whimsicott, forgetting that Leavanny was her final Pokemon, and that cost her the match.

June squealed with pleasure over the phone about something I wasn’t made aware of yet, and at the moment, I really didn’t care. I couldn’t believe the news I was receiving from Nurse Joy right now.

“A lot of mistakes on Gramma’s part were occurring, such as her sending out too many Pokemon, or forgetting that she still had Pokemon left to use, or even accusing the challengers of using more Pokemon than was agreed upon,” Nurse Joy told us. “Eventually, the Pokemon Inspection Agency looked into all the reports about her Gym and shut it down.”

Rain pounded heavily against the windows.

“Nooooooo!” Courtney wailed. “This can’t be! There must be a mistake! Why would she lie to us like that?”

“Courtney.” I turned to her, and she looked to me, her eyes filled with sadness. “I don’t think Gramma lied…”

“What? But, Nurse Joy said…” She turned to Nurse Joy desperately.

“I have a feeling that what Gary is trying to say is that, Gramma may have…” Nurse Joy hesitated.

“I can’t believe this! Thank you so much, mommy! Daddy! I love you both so so much! Yaaaaaaayyyy!! Muah!!” June was ecstatic on the phone, the receiver at her ear. “I’ll speak to you real soon, okay? Tell everyone I said hi! Bye!” She hung up the phone, slamming it loudly, and wrapped her arms around her bag, squeezing it and giggling wildly. She got to her feet and smiled at Courtney, Nurse Joy, and I. “Hey, you guys! You won’t believe the good news!” She ran up to us, overjoyed by whatever she had to say. “My Pokemon are all doing better! Manectric, Pikachu, Lanturn, Blitzle, and Ampharos are all okay!” She shoved me and Courtney out of her way and dropped her bag on the counter. Giggling nonstop, she pulled out five of her Poke Balls from the bag and tossed them to the floor, causing them all to send out the Pokemon inside.

“Galvantulaaaaa!” Galvantula hissed.

Rotom spun around in circles in the air, smiling wide.

“Magnezoooooooone!” Magnezone said strongly.

“Vaporeon!” Vaporeon cried.

“Vire…” Electivire growled.

June grabbed five more Poke Balls from her bag and tossed them quickly. “Come on out!”

“Manec?” Manectric was sent out, and she looked at the five Pokemon before her in shock before she turned to June. “Manectric!” she shouted happily.

A Lanturn appeared from another Poke Ball, and she cried out softly at the other Pokemon around her before looking over at June in surprise.

Ampharos let out gurgle as she spotted the Pokemon around her, and let out a louder cry as she spotted June.

“Pi? Pikachu?” Pikachu turned around at the sight of his companions. “Pika!” he exclaimed happily. “Chu?” His eyes widened as he spotted June. “Chuuuuuu!”

“Blllllllliiitz!” Blitzle looked at the Pokemon surrounding him. “Bllllitzle! Blitzle!” He started jumping for joy as he saw June, his hooves clacking against the floor.

Pikachu, Ampharos, Blitzle, Manectric, and Lanturn all charged at their Trainer.

“Wait wait wait wait wait!” June pleaded with a smile, holding out her hands and waving them at her stampeding Pokemon as she was taken down by them. She burst out laughing as the Pokemon licked her face continuously. “Oh, who am I kidding? Get over here my little sweeties! I missed you guys so much!”

June’s other Pokemon are back, I smiled. Finally. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them. Since they’ve seen June. Since they’ve all been together… My eyes started to tear up at the sight. Charizard’s roar rang clear as water in my head. I sighed as I watched June laugh, gasping to catch her breath and breathe, and I wiped at my eyes with my hand. Everyone’s okay. Everyone’s back where they belong. Except for my Charizard… My eyes were leaking, and I held back any more tears from falling as my smile broadened.

Galvantula, Rotom, Magnezone, and Vaporeon were all smiling as they watched June and the other five Pokemon enjoy their reunion.

Electivire stood tall, squinting at the scene.

“These are June’s Pokemon?” Courtney asked in a low voice. “I don’t have a Blitzle…” Courtney held out her Pokedex.

Blitzle. The Electrified Pokemon. This Pokemon is known to appear when thunderclouds form, running around to catch lightning and store it in its mane.

“Hmmm…” Courtney frowned at June as she put away her Pokedex.

“Come here, you guys! It’s been too long since we’ve all been together like this to be shy, now!” June urged her other Pokemon.

Magnezone, Vaporeon, Galvantula, and Rotom moved towards the Pokemon on top of June with excited cheers.

The Pokemon on June turned around and hurried towards their old friends.

Vaporeon and Magnezone got loads of attention from Pikachu and the other four Pokemon that had been unable to travel with June for so long, no longer the Eevee and Magneton they had been previously known as.

Before long, Pikachu, Vaporeon, Ampharos, Manectric, Lanturn, and Galvantula were rolling around on the floor, wrestling and trading licks.

Blitzle, Magnezone, and Rotom shared electrical charges between each other as they chased one another around the lobby, Blitzle’s Speed increasing with each jolt due to his Motor Drive Ability.

June got to her feet and her smile faded with a sigh. “Electivire…”

Electivire was the only one uninterested in the celebration. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the side of the counter with his eyes closed, breathing softly.

“Electivire, honey.” June slowly walked past her other Pokemon and they all stopped playing and looked at June, the smiles on their faces fading quickly.

Electivire opened one eye and turned to June, his face a scowl.

“All of our friends are back with us,” June said softly as she came to a stop next to Electivire. “It’s been years since we’ve all been together like this. Don’t you want to say hi? To your friends? The members of our family?” She smiled at Electivire and waved her hand behind her, at the remaining nine Pokemon who were all looking at them with worry.

“Pi? Pi Pi Ka!” Pikachu ran on all fours towards Electivire and looked up at the muscular Pokemon. “Chu Pikachu! Pi! Pi! Pika!” Pikachu smiled and stood up on his back legs. “Pikachu! Pika! Kachu! Pika Pi!”

“Vire…” Electivire glared at Pikachu with both eyes and then turned to June.

June’s eyes widened and her eyebrows rose hopefully as her smile vanished from her face. “Electivire?”

Electivire slowly climbed to his feet and faced June.

“Pi!” Pikachu backed away from Electivire and watched him expectantly.

“Electivire, are you okay?” June asked her Pokemon. Her eyes were now watering and she started to smile. “Are… we okay, now? Please?” She extended her hand to her Pokemon and sniffled as a pair of tears fell from her eyes. “Can we try one more time? Can we be the friends we once were so long ago?”

Electivire didn’t say a word, but his fists did tighten at his sides, and his scowl never faded.

“Pika?” Pikachu looked at the intimidating Pokemon’s fists before looking up at Electivire’s face. One of his ears was down, the other one pointed straight up into the air.

“Can we at least start with a handshake?” June pleaded, maintaining her smile. “One step at a time. Please, Electivire. I’ll never be able to apologize enough for what happened, or take it back, but if I could, I hope you know that I would without hesitation. It kills me inside everyday having to live with what I did to you. But I do love you, Electivire. I always have. I should have spent more time showing it.” Her eyes lowered to the floor. “Instead, my mind was in the wrong place.” She looked up at Electivire, and more tears fell. “But my heart was always with you, Electivire! I ignored your feelings, neglected my own true feelings, and pushed away who I truly was, and that was wrong, but I was always there for you!” She paused, her shoulders slumping, and she sighed. “But what does that really mean? I knew I should have been better to you, but I had convinced myself that others’ had expectations of me, and I allowed that belief to turn me into something I wasn’t. In the end, the expectations I had thought others wanted from me, weren’t even real. All my family and friends ever wanted was for me to be happy. All I ended up doing was hurt the ones I loved the most.” June looked over to her other Pokemon.

The rest of June’s Pokemon looked on the verge of tears as they listened to their Trainer open up.

Even my own eyes were stinging behind tears I was holding back.

Courtney brushed aside her blonde hair and crossed her arms, staring at June with a tilted head.

Nurse Joy was dabbing at her eyes with a napkin, sniffling with a smile on her face while listening to June.

June looked back to Electivire, her hand still in the air, waiting for Electivire to accept it. “Electivire, I love you. And I believe that, when you’re ready, we can put all of this behind us, once and for all. Do you believe that? Can you feel my sincerity? You don’t have to take my hand, but, I have to know if you know I’m sorry. I can’t take knowing you hate me and don’t feel I’m truly hurting for what I did to you. Please, just tell me that you know I’m sorry, even if you still can’t stand me for what I did to you.”

Courtney sighed loudly and rolled her eyes.

In that moment, rage flew throughout my body, and I easily could have shoved Courtney to the floor.

Whether she wanted to believe that June could communicate with Pokemon or not, what was happening before her was undeniable. There was some kind of connection happening right before her eyes. She couldn’t possibly disregard this. And to be so rude as to sigh so noticeably was just out of line.

I balled my fists and crossed my arms, my face now glaring as I stared at June and Electivire, though my thoughts were now on Courtney, who I refused to look at.

June and Electivire kept their eyes on each other.

Electivire lifted his arms and held his fists close to his body.

“Electivire?” June gasped.

Electivire’s antennae sparked with electricity.

“Electivire!” June cried out as she took a step back.

“VIRE!!” Electivire’s body was coated with electricity and a beam flew from him and zapped June.

June’s Pokemon shouted out and backed up a couple of feet, except for her Blitzle.

June was screaming in pain as her Pokemon zapped her.

“Bliiiiitzle!” The zebra-like Pokemon stomped on the ground furiously, repeatedly. His body was coated in flames and he charged at Electivire before leaping into the air.

Electivire stopped his Thunder attack and turned to Blitzle. “Vire…” His large hands extended out and he caught Blitzle with his bare hands! “Vire, Vire, Vire,” Electivire chuckled as the flames around Blitzle died out instantly.

“Bliiiitzle! Bliiiiiiiiitzle!” Blitzle struggled to get out of Electivire’s hold.

“No! Stop! Leave him alone!” June pleaded from the floor, her body sparking off electricity. Her hair was reaching for the ceiling.

“Galvantulaaaa!” Galvantula shot out string from her mouth and it wrapped around Blitzle’s body. “Gal!” Galvantula pulled against the grip Electivire had on Blitzle, but Electivire was hardly struggling as he maintained his grasp on the scared Blitzle.

“Let go of my baby!” June screamed angrily as she got to her feet.

Ampharos let out an angry yell and released a yellow beam of lightning from her body, shocking Electivire and Blitzle.

Electivire turned eagerly to Ampharos.

Blitzle struggled even harder and faster in Electivire’s grip, but he still couldn’t free himself.

“No, Ampharos! Stop!” June begged. “Don’t attack him! Please! This isn’t what I wanted!” June was openly crying at this point, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Besides, he has Motor Drive! Electric moves will only boost his Speed!”

Rotom flew forward with a smile on its face and its eyes glowed light green.

Blitzle was outlined in the same color as Rotom’s Telekinesis grabbed a hold of him.

Both Galvantula and Rotom struggled to free Blitzle from Electivire’s hands, but Electivire hung on tight, pulling back against them.

“Blitzle, return!” June demanded.

Blitzle’s body glowed red before vanishing from in between the three Pokemon and he was returned to his Poke Ball.

“And that goes for you, too!” June said determinedly.

Electivire was returned to his Poke Ball.

June sighed and looked down at Electivire’s Poke Ball. “What am I going to do with you?”

A white beam fired out from Electivire’s Poke Ball, making June gasp in surprise, and the angry Electric type freed himself from his Poke Ball. “ELECTIVIIIIIIIIIIRE!!!!” Electivire roared.

“Oh, gosh!” Courtney cried out in fright, stumbling backwards. “June, what the hell?”

“Electivire, stay in your Poke Ball!” June held out his Poke Ball.

Electivire leaped on top of the counter, dodging the red beam from his Poke Ball, and terrifying Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy shrieked and backed away.

Courtney screamed and ran for the front door.

June tried again to recall her Pokemon, but Electivire leaped off of the counter and right into me, knocking me to the floor.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed as I fell. “Hey!” I said angrily, looking up at Electivire.

He turned to me with a grimace.

My eyes widened.

The horns on Electivire’s head sparked.

I grit my teeth and tensed up my body in anticipation for the shock that was sure to come.

A loud voice rang out and I turned my head as I saw a figure leap at Electivire from the corner of my eye.

Lanturn appeared in front of the Thunderbolt and her body was outlined by the attack for a moment. She landed on the ground between us and cried out happily.

Electivire growled down at Lanturn and punched his fists together. “Electivire!!” he snarled at Lanturn, and advanced upon her.

“Vaporeooooooooonn!!”

“Vire? Viiiiire…!” Electivire was hit by a beam of ice. His arm was frozen inside of a block of ice that spread quickly around his body. He struggled to move his arm, but in seconds, most of his body was covered in ice.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Electivire’s arm that was still not frozen, flexed, and the fist burst into flames. The fist slammed into the ice around him and the ice exploded. “Electiviirrre!!”

“Vaporeon!” Vaporeon gasped.

“Oh, no!” June moaned. “Electivire, just stop!” she screamed desperately. “Why do you have to be this way? I’m trying so hard!”

“VIRE!!!” Electivire shocked Vaporeon with Thunder, and then he turned to Lanturn.

Vaporeon collapsed on the floor.

Lanturn squealed out in fright.

Electivire’s body was surrounded by a red aura. He flexed his arms and reached out for Lanturn.

“Chaaaaaa!” Pikachu flew at Electivire with Quick Attack, tackling his stomach.

Electivire didn’t even flinch. He swung his arm out and smacked Pikachu to the side.

“Pikaaaaaaaa!” Pikachu flew over the counter and into the wall, sliding to the floor.

“Oh, no!” Nurse Joy ducked behind the counter to get Pikachu.

Electivire pulled back a fist and swung at Lanturn.

“Magnezooone!!” Magnezone flew in front of Electivire’s Strength attack and took the blow easily.

“Lecti?” Electivire glared at Magnezone. He inhaled deeply, puffing out his chest broadly. “VIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRE!!” Electivire opened his mouth wide and released a Flamethrower!

Lanturn hopped away and I rolled to the side as the flame overtook Magnezone and forced it to the floor.

I could feel the heat from the burning flames as I gaped at the user of the move, the fire just a few feet away from me. “You taught that thing Flamethrower?!” I shouted at June.

June didn’t respond, her terrified eyes glued to her Electivire.

“Manectric!” Manectric leaped at Electivire with her jaws wide open, fire coating her fangs.

Electivire raised a fist in the air and pointed it at Manectric.

Manectric sunk her fangs into Electivire’s fist and growled.

Electivire smiled devilishly at Manectric, unfazed by the Fire Fang around his fist.

Manectric kept growling and sunk her teeth even deeper into Electivire’s fist, but he didn’t seem bothered.

Electivire raised his fist that Manectic was biting, high into the air, and then brought it down on the counter top, slamming Manectric onto it strongly.

Manectric whined in pain as the fire in her mouth went out, and she released Electivire’s fist from her jaws. She rolled off of the counter and hit the floor.

Electivire lifted his head to the ceiling, flexing his arms. “Vire!” He looked around, daring anyone to come and challenge him next.

Not a single body in the building moved.

“Elec…” Electivire turned around and pointed. “Vire! Electivire!”

Courtney gasped. “Huh? Me? What did I do?”

“He wants to battle you!” June said shakily.

“I don’t wanna battle!” Courtney shook her head wildly.

“VIRE!” Electivire sent a blast of Thunder at Courtney.

Courtney shrieked and hit the floor, her hair now standing up straight. “Help…” she whimpered weakly, her body sparking and flinching.

“Electivire!” June screamed, raising his Poke Ball.

Electivire turned his head around and his eyes glowed blue.

June was frozen in place, outlined in blue, and she was lifted into the air by Electivire’s Psychic. “Electivire! NO! Put me down! Put me doooown!”

Poor choice of words.

June’s body was turned around so that she was now facing the wall behind her, and she screamed in terror as she flew towards it, the blue around her body now gone. Just as she was about to hit the wall, her body was outlined in green and she froze in mid-air. A gasp of shock escaped her throat as she hovered in the air, her face less than an inch away from the wall. “Oh! What?”

Rotom let out an excited chatter, his eyes glowing green.

“Rotom!” June said gratefully.

Electivire growled and then shocked Rotom with Thunder.

Rotom screamed and released June.

June was dropped to the ground and she moaned. “Oooowwww…”

Electivire turned away from Rotom and started walking towards Courtney.

“Hey, come on! What did I ever do to you?” Courtney pleaded from the floor as she scrambled backwards. “Leave me alone! I don’t even know you that well! Please, go away! June, stop this crazy thiiiiing!”

“Vire?” Electivire’s eyes widened, and he fell forward and dropped onto his face!

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

All of us stared at the fallen Pokemon.

He pressed his hands against the floor to push himself up, but froze as his body became outlined in green.

Rotom flew closer to Electivire, holding him down with Telekinesis, no longer smiling as it gazed down at the Pokemon sternly.

Galvantula crawled closer to Electivire, and I could see the thin string in her mouth that extended out. I followed the line of string and suddenly realized that the other end of the string was stuck to the counter, directly in front of Electivire’s path.

Electivire had tripped over Galvantula’s String Shot!

“Oh, thank you, guys!” June said happily as she climbed to her feet. “Thank you so much!” She walked over to her Electivire.

Electivire grunted as he struggled against the Telekinesis.

“Electivire…” June said sadly, stopping a few feet away from him.

“Tiv… Tiv… TiiiiivvvvvIRE!!!!” Electivire’s horns sparked, and then the rest of his body followed, and he shocked Rotom with Thunder!

Rotom fell to the ground and groaned wearily.

Electivire, no longer held down by Rotom, got to his feet and roared like mad at the ceiling as his body sparked. Several beams of electricity flew out from his body continuously and hit the floor of the Pokemon Center, threatening all of us.

We all shouted out and backed away from the bolts, trying to avoid getting hit.

A determined cry was heard and several golden orbs appeared, flying for Electivire.

“Vire?” Electivire stopped attacking and looked around as the balls surrounded him.

The orbs latched onto his body and grew larger, forming one ball, and then it exploded.

Electivire groaned and stumbled backwards into the counter. His eyes were now red.

“Confuse Ray?” I looked around in my own perplexed state and saw Ampharos with a satisfied smile on her face.

“Vire… Vire…” Electivire stumbled about for a moment before stopping. His eyes furrowed at Ampharos.

Ampharos let out a surprised cry and took a step back.

Electivire screamed out in rage and charged at Ampharos.

Ampharos screamed, waving her hands in front of her, shaking her head desperately, begging for Electivire to stop.

Electivire pulled back his right arm and his body became outlined in a red aura. With an enraged shout, he forced his fist forward for his Strength attack.

A united yell came out of the throats of all of us in the building as Electivire attacked.

Electivire stumbled over absolutely nothing in his Confusion and his fist missed Ampharos, but it came back around. He slugged himself in the stomach with his own powerful attack and his breath came out loudly with pain. Electivire dropped to his knees, a pained expression frozen on his face. “Vire…” he groaned as he fell to his face. His body glowed red and then he vanished.

“Good work, Ampharos!” June sighed happily, holding Electivire’s Poke Ball out. She turned to her Pokemon. “Thank you, everyone. Is everyone okay?”

June’s Pokemon all called out, some sounding weaker than others.

Pikachu struggled out of Nurse Joy’s arms and leaped onto the counter, and then into June’s arms. “Chuuu!”

“Pikachu!” June laughed.

Pikachu licked June’s face eagerly.

Soon after, all of June’s Pokemon tackled her to the ground and showed their affection to her.

“MagneZOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!” Magnezone hit the group with an Electric zap.

Courtney, June, and Nurse Joy gasped.

I simply smiled as I watched.

June laughed excitedly as she and her Pokemon were shocked. “I love you, too! I love all of you!” She continued to laugh as the rest of her Pokemon joined in and electrocuted her, all of them caught up in one big bright flash of lightning.

*

“Hi, Mrs. Butters!” I greeted Robin’s mother.

“Gary, goodness gracious, I can’t believe it!” Mrs. Butters stared at me in disbelief. “It’s been…”

“Years, really,” I answered. “Going on two years, I think.”

“Gary, what happened to you? Is it true that you’re in the Unova region now??” Mrs. Butters eyes were mournful.

I nodded. “Yeah. A lot has happened, but I’m sure you know the story.”

“Prof. Oak told me that you ran away from your mother’s house!” Mrs. Butters’ eyes lowered momentarily before she lifted them back to me. “I love your mother. She’s a very dear friend and everything, but…” Mrs. Butters lowered her voice to a whisper. “Just between you and I, me and my husband don’t exactly blame you for escaping how you did.”

I laughed lightly. “Yeah… Ha ha. Um, I actually called because I-”

“Well, well! If it isn’t the little prison escapee! HA HA HA HA!” I heard a familiar voice laugh, and Mr. Butters appeared onscreen next to his wife, beaming widely.

“Heh, hey, Mr. Butters.” I managed a smile back.

“You know, when Robin told me about how he came over to visit you a while back, and your mother slammed the door in his face…” Mr. Butters shook his head, frowning now. “I mean, I always knew your mom was a little…” He tilted his head and nodded it as he swirled one finger in circles by the side of his head.

Mrs. Butters gasped and she pushed her husband.

“What?” he shrugged at his wife.

She just glared at him and shook her head.

Mr. Butters turned back to me. “But, anyway, to think she would slam the door in the face of a crippled child like that! I had quite the mind to go over there and have quite a few words with her, myself. He also told me that he heard screams and shouts from inside of the house, afterwards. I’ll tell you now, Gary, I was considering finding out exactly why nobody was allowed to see you and getting you out of there on my own!”

“Honey…” Mrs. Butters whispered, keeping her glare on Mr. Butters.

Mr. Butters ignored his wife. “I’m just glad you got out of there, kid. I heard you not only handled your mom, but you had your Pokemon attack Prof. Oak, as well! Kicking ass and taking names, eh? That’s my boy!”

Mrs. Butters angrily shoved Mr. Butters offscreen with an angry grunt.

Mr. Butters cried out and something smashed loudly in the background.

Mrs. Butters smiled as she turned back to me. “We’re both just happy you’re safe, honey.”

“Thanks,” I smiled nervously. “Um, but as I said, I did call for a reason.”

“Oh, right, of course! What is it?” Her smile faded.

“Well, I wanted to speak to Robin, too, if you don’t mind!” I told them. “The last I heard, he’s been doing well and recovering! Is it alright if I speak to him?”

Mr. Butters appeared onscreen, his eyes wide, and both he and his wife exchanged quick glances before turning back to me sadly.

“That would be really nice, except, right now, he isn’t living with us,” Mr. Butters spoke in a low voice.

“What? Why? What happened?!” I shouted.

Mrs. Butters shot Mr. Butters an angry look. “Can’t you just say our son is away visiting his uncle for a couple of weeks? You know, like a normal person would? This poor child hasn’t seen his friend in how long, and what do you do? Scare him even worse with a stupid choice of words. I mean, think, honey. Think before you speak!”

Mr. Butters smiled, his eyes to the floor, and he rubbed the back of his head, an uncomfortable look on his face. “Marriage has its ups, too, Gary,” he joked.

The look that came over Mrs. Butters face nearly made me wanna run away, but Mr. Butters had to face it head-on, and he vanished like a magic act.

Mrs. Butters took a deep breath before turning back to me and smiling warmly. “We’ll be sure to tell Robin that you asked about him. He really is doing quite well. I’m sure you’ll speak to him soon enough.”

“I hope so. Thanks, Mrs. Butters. And tell Robin that June says hello, too.”

“June?” Mrs. Butters questioned. “Oh! The red haired young lady I met during…” She pursed her lips together tightly and pressed one finger against them, her eyes widening.

“Yes,” I nodded quickly, knowing she was talking about the time she met June at the Kanto League.

The Kanto League was obviously still a sensitive subject.

“No problem, then,” Mrs. Butters smiled, lowering her finger. “June. I’ve got it.”

I smiled as I remembered how much Robin liked June, and how goofy he got around her. Although his weird behavior around her really only started after the day he saw June in a two piece bikini.

My mind suddenly dwelled on Robin’s Pokemon, Catherine.

Robin’s Blastoise, nicknamed Catherine, had given him a lot of frustration back when she was just the little Squirtle Robin had chosen at Prof. Oak’s lab. When I had chosen Charmander instead of Squirtle, she was emotionally crushed, and refused to fight against me whenever me and Robin would battle. She preferred to just run up to me for hugs. It took a lot of time and a lot of matches that Robin had to forfeit against me, but eventually, she evolved into a Blastoise and beat my Charizard at the Pokemon League, although that loss was partly due to Charizard’s pride getting in the way during the fight, which resulted in him completely disobeying me.

“Thanks a lot, Mrs. Butters. I’ll call you again, okay?” I told her.

Mrs. Butters nodded. “Keep in touch, love.”

“Tell Mr. Butters I said bye.”

“Oh, I’ll definitely have plenty of words for him tonight,” Mrs. Butters said, her smile remaining, but I knew it was nothing more than a mask.

Mr. Butters was definitely about to get it tonight.

I hung up the phone and the screen went black.

“Everything alright?” June called out to me from the other side of the Pokemon Center.

Courtney had her mirror in front of her, brushing her hair.

“Yeah. Everybody’s okay, I guess.” I walked past a man and woman sitting at a table, talking.

The man looked up at me before looking back to the blonde in front of him.

Two young boys sat by another table, talking excitedly.

A girl with long, red hair sat in a corner near the back of the Pokemon Center, opposite of June and Courtney, talking loudly on her cell phone.

“Robin’s doing okay, but I didn’t get to speak to him. He’s visiting family.” I stopped in front of the girls.

“Oh, that’s good,” June smiled, but it faded in the next second. “How about your mom?”

“I’ll call her up later,” I said shortly. “After our last conversation, I don’t think I have anything to say to her that she’d want to hear.”

“She’d be happy to know you’re alive,” June smiled at me.

“I’ll call her,” I told June, staring her in the eyes.

She nodded, but her smile faded as concern took over. “You probably didn’t catch the news,” June said, brushing aside her hair from her face.

My heart’s beat started to pick up its pace. “What happened? Is it…?”

June nodded. “It’s the ancient Pokemon again. This time, it’s three Omastar. Apparently, they were in Undella Bay, attacking Shellder and Cloyster and devouring their insides. Nobody knew about them until a swimmer went missing and his body was found the next day. They said it looked slaughtered; stabbed at, with the insides eaten away. Before the bay could be closed down, more swimmers started getting dragged underwater by the Omastar. Even the police couldn’t stop them with their guns because the Omaster kept on using Protect. They did manage to stop them once Protect stopped working, but Undella Bay is closed down for now. They said that by the time they stopped the Omastar, the ocean was a bloodbath, and it was drawing in sharks and carnivorous Water Pokemon.”

I looked up at the TV and saw a commercial for some action movie. My eyes reverted back to June.

She stared back at me with a scared look.

“Took me, like, five hours, but I finally got my hair perfect.” Courtney stopped brushing her hair and smiled at herself in the mirror before she blew herself a kiss. She placed her mirror and brush into her backpack and then turned to June and I with a smile. “How do I look?”

Neither June nor I responded.

Courtney frowned at June. “The least you could do is answer me. This is your Pokemon’s fault, after all. What the hell did you do to that thing to make it so mad at you, anyway?”

“Mind your business,” June snapped.

“Oh, come on! You got your own Pokemon beaten up, Gary nearly got attacked, and I was zapped!” Courtney crossed her arms. “You owe us an explanation!”

“Gary has the explanation. You are getting absolutely nothing!”

“Oh, why do you have to be so difficult, June!” Courtney whined.

“Excuse me, but I do not have to tell you anything about my life that I do not feel comfortable talking about!” June crossed her arms.

“No! It’s me!” Courtney insisted. “You just don’t want to tell me!”

“Even if that is true, I’m entitled to it! Back off!”

“We’re supposed to be friends! We’re supposed to be getting along!”

“We’ll get along just fine once you learn your place and stop prying into my personal life!”

“Courtney, please, just drop it!” I said loudly.

“But, that’s not fair!” Courtney cried to me, grabbing my arm with both hands.

I shook her off of me and backed up a step. “Listen, it took June forever to tell me what the issue with Electivire was, too. Now that I know it, I can definitely understand why she isn’t comfortable telling just anyone about what happened between them. Leave her alone! She’ll tell you if and when she feels ready. Until then, just let her work on this on her own.”

“Well, maybe if she spoke about the problem, I could help! I mean, it looks like she thinks she knows what the problem with her Electivire is, but clearly, she doesn’t have a clue. She’s convinced she can read Pokemon so well, and yet, obviously, she cannot. This is causing a rift between her and her Electivire! I think she needs to-”

June got to her feet quickly, glaring at Courtney.

Courtney was silenced and she looked up at June as if June had a gun pointed at her face.

June turned away and stormed out of the Pokemon Center.

I had a feeling that June had wanted to yell at Courtney, or maybe was even considering hitting her, but she instead opted to go outside and blow off some steam.

A loud, high-pitched, raging shriek from outside confirmed my suspicion, making the people in the building with me and Courtney turn towards the front door.

Even the girl on the phone had stopped talking, staring after June. She then looked over at Courtney and I before smirking and whispering excitedly into her phone, covering her mouth and lowering her head, but keeping her eyes on us.

“Man, what a mental case,” Courtney muttered, shaking her head. She turned back to me. “Okay, she’s gone,” she whispered, and she stood up and grabbed my arm, pulling me close to her. She was smirking now, her eyes lit up. “Come on. Tell me what’s the story on Electivire. And why does June think she can read Pokemon? You don’t really believe in that junk, do you?”

The scent of her perfume this close created a pleasing feeling throughout my body. I looked into her pleading eyes. It’s not even a big deal… I considered. She just evolved her Electabuzz before he was ready because she wanted a stronger Pokemon.

Courtney got even closer to me and rested her cheek against my shoulder, staring deeply into my eyes with her wide, pleading eyes. “Pleeeeeease?”

I could feel myself giving in to her pleas.

Her wide eyes… Her sweet scent…

June…

I remembered the times back in Kanto when June would disappear and leave me and my Pokemon alone together while we were eating so she could feed her Pokemon and work on their problems privately, leaving me and my Pokemon confused.

I remembered the moment when June had finally told me what was going on with her and her Electivire, and the shock I had felt that she had decided to let me into her past life.

“I… No!” I pulled away from Courtney and backed up. “I’m not telling you a thing if June isn’t ready!”

“Gary,” Courtney whispered, motioning with her hands to lower my voice and calm down. “Easy, Sugar. It’s just you and me. I just wanna know what the big deal is. It’ll be our little secret.”

“I said no!” I shouted at her even louder, and I knew everyone was staring at us now. “Drop it, Courtney! That’s it!”

Courtney stared at me solemnly, but then her face broke into a smile. “Okay. That’s very commendable, Gary. I’m sorry. It’s great that you’re so loyal to your friend. I honestly was just worried about June and her Pokemon.” She spread open her arms. “Can you forgive me for being so nosy? Hug?”

I squinted at her for a moment, but with a sigh, I walked closer to her and accepted her hug, hugging her back.

Her cheek pressed against mine, and before I knew it, my cheek pressed back against hers.

The doors to the back of the Pokemon Center opened, and Courtney and I turned to see Nurse Joy and her Audino exit from the back with a cart containing three trays.

One tray had ten Poke Balls in it, with grooves for even more balls, while the other two trays on either side of it had only six.

“Gary, June, and Courtney, your Pokemon are all perfectly fine!” Nurse Joy smiled.

“Audino,” Audino nodded.

Courtney and I broke our hug and ran to a tray, retrieving our Poke Balls.

“June will be back in a bit to get hers,” I told Nurse Joy.

“Okay. I’ll just keep them in the back until she’s ready to get them,” Nurse Joy replied.

“Thanks, Nurse Joy,” I told her.

“Yes. Thank you,” Courtney added.

“Not a problem.” Nurse Joy and Audino walked back through the back doors with the cart holding June’s Poke Balls.

Courtney and I faced each other. Neither of us spoke a word.

“So, now what?” Courtney asked.

“There’s only one thing left to do,” I answered her.

Courtney just stared at me.

I looked around the building until I spotted what I was looking for. “Hm.” I nodded and walked away from Courtney.

Courtney followed after me.

Together, we approached the Town Map plastered on the wall.