“Ghyst Town is the closest location with a Gym from here, without a doubt,” June said from behind Courtney and I.

I scanned the Town Map plastered to the wall, trying to find another Gym that was closer as I swallowed nervously.

“We should be there in a few days or less,” June added.

“Sounds fine by me,” Courtney stated. “Alright, let’s get your eighth Badge for real this time, Gary! And I can get my ninth!”

Courtney and June turned away from the Town Map and started to walk away.

“Wait!” I said loudly, stopping the girls. “Are you sure that’s the closest Gym?” I could easily see for myself that Ghyst Town was indeed the closest Gym from Virbank City. “I mean, what about Opelucid City? It’s not even far from Ghyst Town at all! I don’t mind the extra day’s walk.”

“Gary, why would you waste another day to earn your last Badge?” Courtney questioned.

“There’s no rush to get this final Badge,” I answered quickly. “Let’s explore Unova a little bit. Let’s take one more little day to see what else is out there! And, look! Opelucid has a Dragon type Gym Leader! That sounds a lot better than a boring old Ghost type Gym, if you ask me. Let’s go to Opelucid City.” I turned to Courtney and June with a big smile.

June had a concerned look on her face.

Courtney was staring at me in confusion. “Ghosts are cool…” she said. “They’re full of surprises and fun and certainly are not boring.”

“But Dragon types are better!” I insisted. “I wanna test my strength against one of the toughest types out there! Dragon types are built from the stuff of legend! When it comes to Dragon types, they have amazing variety, power, and are just so cool! It’s settled. We’ll head to Opelucid City and earn our next Badges there. Let’s go, girls!” I walked past them cheerfully and headed to the front door.

“Gary, that doesn’t make any sense!” Courtney called after me. “The Unova League Conference is going to take place before you know it! Depending on where it’s going to be held this year, we might not have a day to waste finding another Gym! Is something wrong?”

I heard footsteps move quickly towards me and a hand gripped my shoulder and stopped me. I turned around with a grimace and stared into June’s eyes.

“Gary,” she said in a low voice, staring back at me sadly.

My face softened and I lowered my eyes to the floor. I immediately knew that June knew exactly what I was thinking and feeling. She knew about my past with a Ghost type Gym, and our history with a certain Ghost type Pokemon.

I remembered when I had battled for a Badge in Obsidian City back in Kanto. I had thought I had defeated the Gym Leader, Shane, and won my first Badge, the Dimensia Badge. Several months later, after winning seven more Badges and thinking I had all eight Badges, it turned out that my first Badge was a Gastly in disguise the whole time, and I had to run back to Viridian City to battle for my eighth Badge with only a week left before the Pokemon League began.

I sighed and reflected on my horrific time in Saffron City when a Haunter had taken over the entire city and left many people dead or under his hypnotic spell. He also used his powers to create illusions that made the buildings appear to be in perfect condition, even though they were completely destroyed, including the Silph Co. company that manufactured Poke Balls and other Pokemon products. Haunter had even gone so far as to make the city’s Gym Leader, Sabrina, who he had possessed and ended up killing after befriending her years ago, appear alive and well. Haunter was eventually stopped and his illusions were removed, revealing the city and the citizens for what they really were. This became worldwide news, of course, the revelation of Silph Co.’s destruction causing panic throughout parts of the world as supplies for Pokemon became low. Over time, the company rebuilt itself and everything returned back to normal for the most part.

Long story short, my history with Ghost type Pokemon had left me with a slightly bitter taste towards the type of Pokemon. I still loved my Drifblim, of course, and I had no real issues with Ghost type Pokemon, but to this day, I remain shaken over my bad experiences with them.

“What’s going on here?” Courtney asked from close behind me.

I turned to her and stared into her worried eyes.

“Gary, won’t you tell me what’s wrong? Why don’t you want to go to Ghyst Town?”

I grit my teeth tightly, and before I knew it, my eyebrows furrowed. “Why the hell didn’t you know Gramma’s Gym was a load of crap, Courtney?” I yelled.

“Huh?” Courtney gasped, her eyes wide with surprise.

“You were so damn excited to see Gramma and battle against your beloved Grass types!” I shouted at her. “What the hell, huh? You love this Gramma lady so much, but you didn’t even know her Gym was shut down? Damn it, Courtney! I don’t wanna battle against a freaking Ghost Gym!!”

Courtney’s lips quivered and she looked like she was ready to cry.

“Okay, okay,” June spoke softly. “Let’s all just calm d-”

“Hell out of here, June!” I barked at her. “You know why I don’t want to go to this Gym, or any Ghost gym!”

June kept her fearful eyes on me and nodded quickly.

I turned my flaming eyes back to Courtney, but I didn’t have any more words for her.

Courtney sniffled and a pair of tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Gary,” she whispered. She sniffled harder. “I really didn’t know. I’m so sorry about that.”

My expression gave way to her tears and I sighed, letting my anger out of my body through my mouth. “I guess you’re right. We don’t have time to waste. Let’s just go to this damn Ghost Gym.”

“Gary, I’m really sorry about this,” Courtney sniffled again as she wiped at her eyes. “This was all just an accident. Can you forgive me? Please?” She extended her arms nervously, lowering her head but keeping her eyes on me. “Hug?”

I grit my teeth in annoyance at Courtney’s question, and I didn’t move nor answer.

“Hmmm,” June said lowly.

Courtney lowered her arms and we both turned away from each other and looked at June, who had her arms crossed in front of her.

She eyed Courtney suspiciously. “It’s mighty interesting that you knew of Verdew Town, and Gramma…”

“What?” Courtney squinted tearfully at June.

“You knew about this Verdew Town, and about the Gym there, but you didn’t know that the Gym was no longer active,” June continued.

“Well, how was I supposed to know? I didn’t follow up on Gramma. Gyms change all the time. A mistake like this could have happened to anyone.”

June nodded. “Absolutely. But, it didn’t. It happened to you. Courtney.”

“What are you saying…?” Courtney’s eyebrows started to furrow.

“New City? Cloud City? Any of these places sound familiar?”

Courtney sighed. “June, just stop right there. Are you trying to say what I think you’re trying to say?” Courtney’s voice was getting angry.

“Depends on what you think I’m trying to say.” June placed her hands on her hips.

“How dare you!” Courtney exclaimed. “You think I would lead Gary to a shut down Gym on purpose like that? Are you serious?”

“I didn’t say that, but it’s interesting that you thought that up all on your own,” June said nonchalantly, looking up at the ceiling.

“How… dare you!” Courtney repeated.

“Well, you have your eight Badges, right?” June shrugged. “You don’t need any more Badges. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“You are just despicable! You just won’t ever let things go, will you?” Courtney screamed with a hurt voice, her eyes watering. “I am at a loss for words right now! I…” Courtney inhaled deeply, shakily. “I…” She covered her face and burst into tears. Turning away from us, Courtney ran out of the Pokemon Center.

I glared at June.

“What? I didn’t say it! She did!” June shrugged again. June had a point. Not only with the fact that Courtney had assumed what June was accusing her of on her own, but also that what June had clearly implied about Courtney sounded logical, though I didn’t admit that out loud.

It was that acknowledgement that kept me from blowing up at June, and with a sigh, I grudgingly said, “Come on,” and ran after Courtney, exiting the Pokemon Center.

The pavement was wet from rain that had recently stopped falling, the moist smell thick in the air. The sun was beaming overhead through gray clouds that covered the sky on this very warm day that was bordering on hot.

My feet came to a stop a few feet from the front door of the Pokemon Center and I looked around, spotting Courtney several feet away, running down the block. With an exasperated growl, I took off after her, hearing footsteps that belonged to June chasing after me.

Courtney was no longer covering her face as she ran past people who looked after her with concern before they turned to me and June who were catching up to her quickly. She turned a corner, but I was only a few feet behind her and I made the turn right after her.

“Courtney, stop it!” I shouted.

A woman pulled a small child by his shoulders to move him out of Courtney’s path as Courtney moved to the other side to avoid them.

With a cry, Courtney stumbled and tripped to the ground, falling on her knees. “Ooowwwwww,” she whined, placing her hands on her knees and rubbing them.

“Courtney, are you okay?” I stopped next to her and knelt down.

“No!” Courtney whimpered, keeping her eyes down on her hands that held her knees. “You guys still don’t trust me, do you? I don’t deserve your trust as it is. I’ve earned your suspicions of me. I’ve brought all of this on myself.”

“Courtney, please. We aren’t suspicious of you, okay? June just feels like being a pain.” I avoided June’s face as I said those words. “Don’t take her serious. She’s just playing. Come on. Don’t take what she said to heart. You two are always going at each other’s throats, but it’s not serious, right? I mean, isn’t it great that, after all we’ve been through, we can just joke around with each other like this?” I forced out loud laughter, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah…?” Courtney looked up at June. “Just jokes?”

I looked up at June.

June stared at Courtney. She looked to me for an instant before looking back at Courtney. “Of course… Jokes, Courtney. Just jokes…”

“Oh! Aha ha ha ha ha ha!” Courtney laughed loudly. “Awww, Juni!” She climbed to her feet and dusted off her jeans. Her arms spread wide. “No hard feelings, then? Hug?”

For crying out loud! I thought, staring at Courtney as if there was something severely wrong with her. Was she not hugged as a child? Ever?

June dragged her feet over to Courtney and accepted her hug, returning the favor.

“Come here, Sugar Lumps. Hugs for you, too!” Courtney squealed, not letting go of June as she turned to me delightfully.

“Goodie…” I muttered, and I walked up to the two girls.

Courtney released one arm from June and pulled me into the group.

I wrapped my arms around both girls and sighed, June hugging me lightly with one arm, Courtney squeezing me with her arm. Quite a few sweet aromas wafted over to me from both girls, and I could feel a smile creeping over my face as my eyes closed. “Um, so!” I shook my head hard and freed myself from the trance I was falling into as I backed out of the hug. “Ghyst Town, then?”

“Oh, yeah! You never did explain what the big deal is, Gary,” Courtney remembered. “Tell us!”

“It’s nothing, Courtney. Please,” I told her seriously, and I looked past her and walked away. “Let’s just find this Gym so I can compete in the Unova League.” I pulled my Town Map from my pocket and opened it in front of me.

“Oh, don’t pull a June on me by not telling me what’s going on with you, too!” Courtney complained, following me.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” June snapped.

“Jokes, Juni. Jokes!” Courtney laughed.

June laughed weakly, and if my eyes weren’t glued to my Town Map, I knew I would have caught a rather aggravated look on her face.

“You know, now that I think about it, I’m not the only one who didn’t seem to know that Gramma was no longer operating as a Gym Leader! Nurse Joy didn’t mention it to you, either!” Courtney pointed out as the three of us turned another corner.

I saw the opening to a huge park across the street in the middle of the sidewalk. “Huh?” I stopped and turned to Courtney.

“Remember when you brought in Unfezant to Nurse Joy?” Courtney reminded me. “You told her about your battle with Gramma. She didn’t say a single word about that Gym being out of service. She must have forgotten, too.”

My eyes widened as I remembered when Nurse Joy and her Audino had slapped me repeatedly before I had been able to explain to them what had happened to my Unfezant in my battle against Gramma. I had clearly told them that I had battled Gramma, the Gym Leader, and they both exchanged glances.

And… smirked?

I remembered that I had thought I’d seen them both crack a tiny smile for just a second in time, but I dismissed it as me seeing things. My breathing picked up. “Wait… Forgot?” I shook my head at Courtney. “Or…?”

“Or?” Courtney repeated.

June gasped. “No way! Do you think so?”

“Think what?” Courtney cried, turning to June. When June didn’t answer her, Courtney looked back to me. “Will somebody answer me about something?” She looked back and forth between me and June.

“Nurse Joy… knew that her Gym was shut down?” I asked June slowly.

June didn’t answer me, looking at me with a face of disbelief.

“Wwwhhaaaaaat?!” Courtney gasped loudly. “No way! She’s a Nurse Joy! She wouldn’t do that to a Pokemon Trainer!”

I turned to Courtney, but I didn’t say anything.

June kept her eyes on me.

Courtney shook her head in confusion.

“Your Unfezant…” June murmured.

I turned to June and nodded. “She must have… like…” I paused. I kind of knew what I wanted to say, but I didn’t know how to phrase it. I gave up trying and my shoulders slumped. “I don’t get it,” I shrugged.

June’s face fell. “She probably didn’t want you battling like that again. She must have blamed you for Unfezant’s condition. In fact, she probably wanted you to get a Badge from Gramma, and then, when you’d arrive at the Pokemon League, you’d be unable to participate because one of your Badges would have been a fake!”

Courtney gasped and covered her mouth. “No! No! No!” She shook her head hard. “That doesn’t make any sense!”

June continued to stare at me. “Maybe she didn’t want you to compete in the Unova League with the way she thought you were raising your Pokemon.” June lowered her eyes to the ground. “If that’s true, then, for however nonchalant she was about her job, at least she truly does care about Pokemon.” She looked up and away from me.

“I can’t believe it,” I said, shaking my head with a little laugh. “That crazy-”

“Is that Trixa?” June interrupted me, her eyes off to the side.

My heart stopped. “What?!” I looked around frantically.

“And Ella…?”

“WHAAAAT?!?!” I screamed, my heart kicking like a madman.

“Who are they?” Courtney asked.

I followed June’s gaze and spotted the group of people inside of the park.

There was a wide circle of people surrounding some sort of scene in the middle.

A Pokemon battle! I realized as I took a step forward, spotting a familiar Pokemon that was battling an unfamiliar Pokemon. Oh, no.

It was undeniable who the two Trainers were that were giving orders to their Pokemon.

The familiar, pig-like Pokemon standing on its hind legs repeatedly forced its open palms into the face of a dark Pokemon that stood on all four legs.

The dark Pokemon was knocked to the ground, but its Trainer encouraged it to get back to its feet.

I ran past June and Courtney and across the street, not bothering to look both ways before I crossed, and flew through the black gate that reached several feet above me, into the park.

The walkway was cement, surrounded by grass that seemed to cover most of the ground of the entire park, and several trees decorated the area as well. Not far away was a giant concrete structure that stood several feet taller that I was, and was almost as tall as the gate to the park. The circular, dome-shaped bottom filled with water that continuously flowed from the top of a high reaching beam, but it never seemed to overflow. A concrete Pikachu and Teddiursa were smiling near the water while a concrete Magnemite was attached to the beam, looking outward. A concrete Mawile peeked out from behind the beam, watching Pikachu and Teddiursa with a smile.

“Excuse me! Excuse me!” I made my way through the crowd, scooting around some people, nudging others aside as they cried out at me. I ignored them and kept my eyes on her determined, almond-shaped eyes as I got closer.

She ordered, “Crunch Attack!” in that sweet voice of hers, and I nearly hit the ground as my legs turned to Jell-O.

The little black and blue Pokemon opened its mouth and charged forward, sinking its glowing teeth into its opponent.

The Trainer of the dark Pokemon smiled as the opposing Pokemon cried out in pain, and I came to a stop as I appeared in front of the crowd, my eyes glued to her lips.

One kiss was all I wanted at that moment. Nothing else on Earth mattered at all. I’d have stopped my Pokemon journey right that second if me puckering my lips would have meant meeting hers with my own, for just one second. I would have even settled for kissing that adorable nose that sat between her cheeks that glowed from the excitement on her face.

Her teeth gleamed wonderfully and, strangely, very attractively. “Looks like I win, Trixa!”

“That’s impossible! Fighting type Pokemon are supposed to resist Dark types moves!” Trixa complained, holding an ice cream cone topped with two scoops of white ice cream in her left hand.

Ella looked at Trixa with disappointment. “Fighting types do resist Dark type moves, Trixa.”

“But, you just beat my Pignite with a Dark type move!” Trixa scowled. “It did damage!”

Ella raised a hand to her forehead and shook her head. Her hand slid down her face and pulled down her bottom lip for a second.

It was the single sexiest moment in the entire history of sexiest moments. Ever.

“Trixa, there’s a difference between resisting moves, and being immune to them,” Ella smiled sympathetically. “Pokemon who resist move types receive less damage from them. Pokemon who are immune to move types do not receive any damage from them at all.”

“Ooooooooh,” Trixa smiled, and her eyes twinkled as she smiled. “Cool!” She licked her ice cream a couple of times before holding out a Poke Ball. “Come on back, Pignite!”

“Heeeey! I remember you two!” Courtney called out, pointing her Pokedex at Ella’s Pokemon.

Deino. The Irate Pokemon. They are found in caves with plenty of access to water. This blind Pokemon bites everything to discover what it is, and is commonly found covered in bruises from constantly ramming into things.

Ella turned at the sound of Courtney’s voice. Her eyes turned to me before going back to Courtney. Those eyes that could hold the Universe in place widened wider than I’d ever seen another human’s eyes widen as they looked back at me, and her mouth dropped open.

My own mouth dropped open as I looked back at her.

“Oh, golly, geeeeeeeeee!!” Trixa screamed happily. She ran towards me but then came to a stop. “Are you gonna yell at me and hit me again like the last time we met?”

I didn’t answer her stupid question. I didn’t even turn to her. I could only stare silently at Ella.

Ella didn’t even blink.

“Hellooooo.” Trixa waved her hands in front of my face.

I blinked a couple of times and looked down at her, but my eyes immediately returned back to Ella.

“Oh, so now he’s just gonna ignore me!” Trixa fumed. “You are just so, ruuuuuuude! JUNE!!”

“Trixa! Hey, girlfriend!” June cried happily.

They both embraced in a hug, but Trixa took June by surprise by jumping up and down repeatedly.

“Hi, again,” Courtney said to Trixa.

“Heeeeeeeeey…who are you?” Trixa released June and squinted at Courtney.

“Ha, we did only meet once,” Courtney stated. “My name is Courtney. We met at Vancteck Mansion.”

“What’s that?” Trixa asked.

“Um, it’s the mansion located in Vancteck City?” Courtney said.

“Where’s-OH! Oh, oh, oh.” Trixa’s face got serious. “Oh. Oh ho ho. Ho ho ho. Oh. Oh, I remember that, now.” She turned to me, pouting with anger. “The place with that cheating Gym Leader and his stupid battling rules.”

“Cheating Gym Leader?” Courtney questioned. “He cheats?”

“Trixa’s rather upset that she lost to him,” June explained.

“He timed the battle and had a stupid field that rotated!” Trixa shouted. “What a loser! He should be fired! I’m gonna file a complaint!”

“I beat him…” Courtney muttered, lowering her head.

“Gary did, too. And, speaking of which, Fancy Tech Mansion is also where Gary made me cry.” Trixa continued to glare at me.

My eyes were still stuck on Ella, but they widened at Trixa’s words. The first time I had reacted to anything she had said today.

“He did what?” Courtney asked in shock.

“Ella!” I said loudly, trying to shut up Trixa. “What are you doing here?” A smile crossed her face, and the beauty from it made me smile and my eyes watered. Don’t you dare cry, I demanded of myself, pulling the tears back.

Ella returned her Deino to its Poke Ball and walked over to me slowly. “Gary! I can’t believe you’re here! This is such a surprise!”

I walked over to her, and before I knew it, we had both come to a stop just a few inches away from each other.

Ella wore a flowing blue dress with yellow lines throughout it. It ended right above her ankles, her feet sitting in matching, all blue shoes. Her black bow was now gone from her hair.

You look incredible, is what I wanted to say, but my mouth refused to allow those words to come out.

“I’m here to battle Roxie and earn my final Badge,” Ella told me. “On my way to the Gym, I saw Trixa trying to climb a tree…” She turned to Trixa.

“I never learned how to climb a tree,” Trixa smiled at me. “My mommy and dad said it was too dangerous for me.”

I’m sure they thought getting out of bed was too dangerous for you, as well, I thought.

“But, I used to see my brother doing it all the time, but mommy and daddy would always yell at me when I tried it!” Trixa told us. “They even told me that girls don’t climb trees. It’s supposed to be a boy thing. But, it looked so fun!”

“Well, I saw her land on her back twice before I reached her, and then a third time after that,” Ella sighed, keeping her eyes on Trixa.

Her back, or her head? I wondered.

“She was so worried and tried to stop me from climbing again,” Trixa giggled at Ella. “She thought I’d get hurt really bad. Silly Ella. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I’m fiiiiiine!” She twirled in place.

Yeah, for a total loon, I commented.

“Yeah… So then, we decided to have us a Pokemon battle, and you guys showed up,” Ella smiled at me and then turned to June. “My Juni! Aaahhhhh!!”

“My Ella! Come here, girl!” June responded.

They both embraced in a hug and rocked each other back and forth before exchanging a kiss on each cheek.

“Hey!” Ella let go of June and pointed at Courtney. “Didn’t we meet a few months ago or something?”

“In Nimbasa, yes,” Courtney smiled. “Courtney. It’s a genuine pleasure.” She held out her hand.

“Ella. It’s nice to meet you again.” Ella shook Courtney’s hand.

“Gary! June! I just remembered! You two changed out of your super cool mummy gear!” Trixa burst out. “What happened to it? You two were totally stylin’.” She bounced on her toes, staring at us with admiration.

Courtney turned to June and I, confused.

Ella stared at Trixa with pity, awkwardness and embarrassment.

I covered my face with my hands and growled. Easy, Gary, I told myself, thinking of Ella. Easy… I inhaled deeply and then exhaled, lowering my hands. “That wasn’t a fashion statement.” You idiot! is how I had wanted to finish the sentence. “June and I were in-”

“Hey, did you know I have all eight Badges?” Trixa interrupted.

I cleared my throat. “No you don’t,” I responded calmly.

“Yes I do,” Trixa said gleefully.

“No, you don’t,” I said simply.

“Yes, I do,” Trixa said happily.

“You don’t.”

“I do.”

“Nope.”

“Yup.”

“There’s no way in the world you have eight Badges, Trixa.” I knew for a fact that she didn’t have eight Badges.

Not this bonehead. She only had two Badges just a few months ago and didn’t seem to give a damn. There was no way this little crybaby who thinks that timed Rotation Battles are cheating, obtained all eight of her Badges, let alone before me.

“She does, Gary…” Ella lowered her head. “Trixa got ‘em all.”

My eyes nearly shot out of my head like bullets at Ella. I shook my head. “Wha-ho-wh-nooo?” I stammered.

“See for yourself!” Trixa removed her red backpack, opened it, and pulled out her white, glittery Badge case.

I gasped at the contents of her case.

Inside sat eight sparkling Badges.

I didn’t recognize any of the Badges other the Toxin Badge and the Trio Badge, which she had obtained when traveling with me and June. I looked up at Trixa as I tried to find the words to express my feelings.

“Pretty sweet, huh?” Trixa said. “I told you.”

“But-” I started.

A loud noise behind me rang out and I heard a loud explosion.

The five of us gasped and turned around.

Trixa’s ice cream cone fell from her hand and hit the ground.

BOOM!!!!BOOM!!!!BOOM!!!!BOOM!!!!BOOM!!!!BOOM!!!!BOOM!!!!BOOOOOOOOM!!!!

From outside of the park, building after building exploded as several familiar, multicolored beams from out of nowhere collided with them.

People were screaming and running throughout the park and the city, trying to get to safety.

“What is that?” Ella cried out.

“Let’s run!” Courtney screamed.

“My Bearticone!” Trixa whined.

Something floated through the cloud of smoke and destruction.

“Is that a Pokemon?” I pointed.

Claydol. The Clay Doll Pokemon and Baltoy’s evolved form.

I couldn’t understand what else was said about this Pokemon since Courtney, Ella, and Trixa all had a Pokedex in their hands and were using them at the same time.

The Claydol fired more Psybeams from its two arms that were floating right next to its body, completely unattached to it.

“So it’s a Claydol,” Ella said as she put her Pokedex away. “What is its problem? Why is it destroying everything?”

Claydol let out a strong noise and its body was outlined in gold.

The ground suddenly began to quake.

“Whoa! What’s going on, now?” Ella spoke.

The pavement outside of the park displayed cracks that became drawn out further along the ground, glowing a golden color. The grassy ground of the park started to crack apart as well, also glowing gold, and the cracks stretched out as the park emptied, people running in all directions.

“It’s using Earth Power! Get out of the way!!” June screamed frantically. She turned and ran.

The cracks in the ground tore past the group I was a part of and traveled through the park, the ground rocking hard, making it difficult to remain on our feet as we stumbled about, trying not to land on the cracks.

June kept running and reached the front gate. She stopped and stared at glowing cracks that were a few feet in front of her.

The golden glow in the cracks faded away after a moment and the ground stopped shaking.

My legs were still trembling as if the ground was still moving, my heart throbbing in fear.

Ella had her arms stretched out at her sides, trying to keep her balance.

Courtney stared at the ground, unsure of what to do.

Trixa stumbled and landed on her rear, holding her Badge case close to her.

June ran across the cracks and after the Claydol.

“June! Wait, what do you think you’re doing?” I called after her.

“Is she freaking mad??” Courtney screamed. “What is she doing?”

“June!! Don’t do it!!” Ella called after June.

“Say! June can talk to Pokemon!” Trixa said suddenly. She sat her Badge case in her lap, cupped her hands around her mouth, and bellowed, “JUNE!! YELL AT THAT THING FOR SCARING ME AND MAKING ME DROP MY BEARTICONE!!” She crossed her arms angrily. “I was really enjoying that, too.”

Ella, Courtney, and I turned to Trixa.

I turned angrily.

Ella turned impatiently.

Courtney turned in confusion.

Still the same idiot she always was, I thought, and I ran after June.

“Gary! Where are you going?!” Ella’s voice called.

“Gary! Stop! Don’t!” Courtney pleaded.

I ignored both voices for only one reason.

June.

I knew that if she was chasing after Claydol, she must have a good reason.

June was definitely trying to find out why Claydol was on a rampage, or she already understood what was going on and was trying to help it.

I wanted to know the answer to this, too.

Crowds were coming at June and I as we ran down the sidewalk, clouds of debris filling the air quickly. Everyone was in terror, screaming and shoving those who were moving too slow out of the way. Many people who either tripped or were tossed to the ground were getting trampled on in the rush.

June ran off of the sidewalk and into the street, out of the way of the crowd of people on the sidewalk, but into the more dangerous crowd of people and vehicles on the street.

Cars were honking, drivers angrily screaming out their windows as they tried not to run over anybody, coming to a complete stop or simply not moving to begin with. Some drivers were even abandoning their cars and just taking off on foot.

I started to choke on the debris in the air and I raised my shirt up to cover my face.

June was a good distance ahead of me, covering her mouth and nose with her hands as she ran into the blackening air, chasing after Claydol.

Claydol floated straight ahead, firing Psybeams from its arms, the street blowing up as the attack landed.

The last thing I saw was June dropping to her knees, coughing hard, before the smoke from the explosions blinded me. I covered my entire head with my shirt and I went down to my knees, screams surrounding me from everywhere. The air around me was tainted, but my body forced me to inhale and seek fresh air, causing me to keep choking on the contaminated air. At this point, I was hacking my lungs, saliva flowing from my mouth as my lungs begged for oxygen. My hands and knees moved forward, trying to find a place for me to be able to breath, but it was pointless. There was no escape. No way out. This is how I die, I knew, hacking constantly. This is it. From some damn Claydol that decided to blow up Virbank City for no reason. It was at that thought that I inhaled strongly and held my breath. My lungs tried to force the toxic air out of my lungs, but I fought against the feeling and held it in. No, I told myself. This isn’t right. This doesn’t even make sense. I can’t give in like this. I have to know what’s happening here. The air I was holding burst free from my mouth and I choked hard, coughing up spit against my will.

People ran around me, and somebody kicked my right shoulder and I collapsed.

“Claydol!” I heard June choke out.

June! I thought as I coughed hoarsely.

“Why are you doing this, Claydol?” June’s voice asked pleadingly as she coughed badly.

I heard Claydol shout and more explosions rang out as more people ran past me.

June gasped.

“June!” I choked out, and I yanked my shirt from my face. I couldn’t see anything. There was just a thick, black cloud wherever I looked. I got on my hands and knees and crawled forward, coughing endlessly, not sure where I was going, but confident that it was in the direction of June’s voice. Groaning and grunting as the occasional person either tripped over me or ran on top of me, I pushed myself forth.

Claydol cried out again, and I heard a loud BANG!!!!!

June, was all I could think. She’s with Claydol. She’s trying to help it, or stop it, or something! I need to reach her.

“GARYYYYY!!” I heard a voice shriek. “JUUUUUNE!!”

Ella? I stopped for a moment. I can’t stop, I knew. I have to get out of this smoke. I need to get to June. She needs my help. I blindly struggled forward, grateful that nobody else was running on top of me as I heard more pounding footsteps, but I was feeling ready to collapse now. My body was getting weaker with each suffocating cough I breathed out.

“Claydol, just listen to me! I can help you!” I could hear June beg of the Pokemon. “Please, calm down! You don’t have to do this!!”

BOOOOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

More explosions informed me that June’s words weren’t getting through to the violent Pokemon.

Where are they? I wondered. I have to reach them. I need to use my Pokemon. What type of Pokemon is Claydol? We may just have to battle against it to get it to listen to us.

BANG!! BANG!! BANGBANGBANGBANG!! These noises were further away than the last explosions had been.

I had to squint hard, but I could just barely make out the end of the street I was on. I gagged in disgust from the taste of dirt and dust on my tongue, inside my mouth, and down my throat as I moved forward. There was more chaos that I had yet to see ahead of me, but I could hear the damage clearly. Almost there, I urged myself on. My body suddenly stopped and I coughed again, stronger than before, and my throat started to burn. Groaning, my body gave up and I fell, my face on the pavement. I remained silent on the ground and closed my eyes, waiting for the end to come. All energy inside of me had faded away, and I could do no more.

“GAAAAARYYYYYYY!!!!”

“Ella,” I choked out, my eyes shooting open. Was that her? I was sure it was her, from somewhere behind me. She’s in trouble, I told myself. I have to help her. I looked ahead of me and noticed that the air was clearing up a little more, and I could now see several people on the ground around me, moaning and struggling to move. I have to move, I thought determinedly. This isn’t over. I have to find June. It’s the only way to save Ella. I need June! Gritting my teeth, my eyes narrowed, I clenched my teeth together and pressed my palms against the sharp ground. My legs bent and pushed me up to my feet, and I stumbled towards the danger I could hear. Ella needs me! I shouted in my head. Every breath I took was sand against my lungs. These people around me need me, I pushed on. I need me! I’m coming, Ella. I have to save you! No matter what! I looked ahead and coughed a few times before I took off, reaching the end of the street in seconds.

Ahead of me were screaming people running towards me and away from me in a panic. Down the street to my left was further destruction. Buildings were burning, collapsed, or severely damaged, the air clouded with the debris from the wreckage. Many people on this block were running around, terrified, while some were just on their knees, crying. Other people were on their knees, praying helplessly. Further down the block, I could spot Claydol flying into something, but backing up after colliding into an object I couldn’t see.

With an angry cry, I pulled my shirt over my mouth and nose, inhaled as deeply as I could, and held my breath as I ran down the street, past crying children and adults, past the havoc and motionless bodies littering the street. Running down the first block would have normally forced me to slow down to a walk, at least, if not made me make a complete stop to catch my breath, but two more blocks down was Claydol. I had to keep going. I could hear familiar screams from behind me that sounded like they may have been from Ella, or even Courtney, if not both girls, but it was hard to tell over the noises of the flames and terror around me. I squinted as I tried to avoid running into anyone running by or laying on the ground, and that was when I spotted the figure near Claydol, looking up at it.

June!

Seeing her standing there inspired me to keep running, despite the fact that I was still choking on the air, and I crossed another block of people running past me, away from what I was crazily running towards. As I crossed the street, a car honked at me, but I didn’t stop, my only concern being June and that Claydol.

Claydol was ramming into something, but I couldn’t see what it was. It looked as if the Pokemon was flying forward and being forced backwards by something, and I could swear there was something in front of it; yet, when I thought I saw what was holding Claydol back, it was suddenly gone!

I squinted as I got closer to Claydol and June, just seconds away from the two. “June!” I gasped as I reached her and pulled my shirt from over my face. I bent over, gripping my knees and inhaling desperately for air, my throat killing me as I choked out the poison I had been inhaling, but still inhaling more foul air. I hawked loudly and spit out phlegm from my throat. Swallowing hurt me much more than I thought it would have, but I did it three times before I could no longer take it anymore, and I stood up straight, still gasping for air in a toxic location. “June,” I croaked painfully.

June kept her eyes on the ferocious Pokemon a distance away from us.

Only a few feet away from the Claydol, on the opposite side of the Pokemon from where June and I were standing, stood a large group of people, looking up at the Pokemon in confusion and horror.

Claydol was screaming with rage. Its forehead glowed blue, and it used Zen Headbutt to ram forward.

In front of Claydol was nothing. Only invisible air.

Claydol flew forward with Zen Headbutt, and a wall suddenly appeared between it and the crowd of people!

I gasped and backed up a few feet, not believing what I was seeing.

The wall was transparent, but it was coated in electricity.

Claydol backed away, and the wall vanished right before my eyes.

“What is that?” I asked in confusion.

The people on the other side of the now invisible wall were speaking in excited, frightened tones, the looks on their faces showing curiosity, but at the same time, caution.

Two light blue orbs appeared at the ends of Claydol’s arms. It then spun in place and slammed into the invisible, sparking wall repeatedly.

The people cried out and backed away, watching Claydol try and force itself through the blockade.

Claydol backed away from it and the wall disappeared again.

My eyes widened with realization as a memory surfaced in my head.

Claydol’s body was outlined in white light as it let out a low growl. It spun in place, and the white light removed itself from Claydol and took the shape of pointed orbs, forming two spinning rings around its body before the white glow faded away and revealed themselves to be sharp, gray stones. Claydol’s voice rose to a roar and it fired the Stone Edge attack at the currently invisible wall.

The wall appeared and sparked, the rocks colliding into the wall and exploding on contact, but the wall quickly went invisible again.

Claydol’s body was outlined in white again, and the Pokemon spun in place. The white outline came off of its body and formed a shiny, silver orb in front of it which fired out and slammed into the wall, with no results aside from the wall appearing again and sparking sharply before vanishing shortly after.

That wall… My eyes narrowed and my eyes started to water. Slowly, I shook my head, squinting at the wall.

“Oh, my gosh! Gary! June!” I heard the unmistakably soothing voice of Ella from behind me. She ran up to us, coughing loudly, trying to catch her breath.

“Ella!” Though I wanted to keep my eyes on Claydol, my body turned quickly and I saw Ella bent over, coughing strongly. It looked like she was in a lot of pain.

Trixa and Courtney were behind her, looking up at Claydol in fear.

I ran to Ella and wrapped my arm around her back, holding her close to me, and I lifted my eyes back to Claydol.

Claydol raised its arms and its body was outlined in a different kind of light this time. This light shined brighter than lightning and sparkled like glitter. With a loud shout, Claydol’s body was blinded by a flash that forced my eyes closed.

I pulled Ella closer to me as she let out a gasp, blinded by the dazzling sight.

June cried out, startled.

Courtney and Trixa also let out cries.

Even with my eyes closed, it was as if I was looking directly into the sun with my eyes wide open, only less intense, and with less of a sting to my eyes, and it was far more beautiful. What move was that? I wondered with amazement as I slowly opened my eyes and squinted at the beautiful sight.

The wall was there, sparking, but there were also large pieces of sparkles, falling all around June, me, Ella, Trixa, Courtney, and Claydol, vanishing as they hit the ground.

“What is that?” Courtney asked, gazing at the electric barrier before it disappeared again.

“It’s snowiiiiiing!” Trixa sang out, and she ran forward, stretching her arms out as she spun around in circles.

“Trixa, get back here!” Ella begged, still choking.

I patted her back gently, watching the remaining sparkles hit the ground and disappear. What kind of attack was that? I pondered again.

Claydol shouted as it raised its arms again and pointed them at the wall. An orange ball of energy charged in front of its arms, and in the next couple of seconds, a huge orange beam fired from the orange ball and slammed with great power into the wall.

The wall sparked from the powerful beam, showing itself once more. When Claydol’s attack ended, the wall sparked for a few seconds, and then disappeared.

I grit my teeth. No, I thought with fury. Not this crap again.

Ella had finally stopped choking, but she was still breathing hard as she stood up, and I quickly removed my hand from her.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT!!!

The wall that separated my group from the other group, sparked out of nowhere, making those on the other side gasp and scream and stumble backwards.

Claydol even floated backwards a couple of feet, staring at the wall.

Courtney, June, Ella, Trixa, and I also looked at the wall in surprise.

The wall continued to let off electricity into the air, lighting up brightly, and then, it vanished.

Silence filled the area, other than the sounds of screams from far away and the raging fires.

Everyone was staring at the spot where the wall was. Waiting.

I heard sirens in the distance from that of fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars.

A man on the other side of the wall took a couple of cautious steps forward, squinting in front of him.

What is he doing? I wondered, my eyes widening.

Voices on the man’s side of wall called out to him, urging him to stay away, while others whispered amongst themselves, watching him warily.

The man ignored those behind him and he took a few more steps forward.

He wouldn’t, I thought. My eyes widened further as the man took another step and lifted his hand towards the wall. “NOOOOOOO!!”

Claydol let out a low noise, grabbing my attention. It raised its arms and an orange ball of energy appeared again, charging up for another attack.

Everyone was now staring at Claydol.

It let out another, much louder noise, and the ball fired an orange beam.

This time, the beam didn’t collide with an invisible wall.

This time, the beam continued forward, past the point where the wall would have stopped it.

And it collided with the crowd in front of Claydol.

The screams were terrifying.

I couldn’t even hear my own scream as I was tossed back by the explosion.

*

“The rogue Claydol later left after all of the massive destructive it caused and is believed to have gone into Burrow Cave, located not far from Virbank City. Police, ambulances, and firefighters arrived shortly after the Pokemon’s escape,” Helga Thane said from the TV screen, a microphone in front of her mouth. She was standing outside in Virbank City, police, EMTs, and firefighters running around in a panic against the background of destruction.

Next to her stood an arguably young woman who looked terribly shaken up, her clothes completely filthy as she shivered in place, looking into the camera.

“It’s unclear exactly what triggered this Pokemon to launch such a violent assault against the city of Virbank, nor how it even got there in the first place,” Helga proceeded to speak. “We have one of the survivors of this attack with us right now. Can you tell us exactly what happened here, ma’am?” Helga held out the microphone towards the woman beside her.

The shaky woman leaned towards the microphone held by the newscaster, her long black hair in her face. “It just… just came out of nowhere!” she exclaimed in an unstable, shaky voice. She breathed in and out rapidly, loudly. “I didn’t even see it coming! There was just all of this noise, and then I saw blackness and I was inhaling in all this smoke! It was… it was… I just can’t even think! I don’t understand why this happened!”

“I can only imagine what you’ve witnessed,” Helga said into the microphone before returning it back to the other woman.

“Death. Blood, everywhere!” The woman gripped her hair and tugged it, her face seeming to say that she was ready to yank her hair out without any hesitation. “They were torn apart! Right in front of my eyes!” Tears ran down her cheeks as she shut her eyes tight and shook her head.

Helga nodded as she stared at the woman nervously. She looked so uncomfortable being so close to somebody who was losing their mind right in front of her. “Ma’am, do you remember what exactly stopped this thing? Did you see what put an end to the attacks?”

The woman released her hair, to my relief, because I honestly believed she was about to rip it out if she hung on to it for another second. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and looked at Helga with a maniacal look. Slowly, the woman shook her head. “It just… kept on attacking the buildings. I swear it was chasing me! It kept using all of these scary attacks! And then, out of nowhere, it just drifted away and left the city…”

“Just like that? One minute it was attacking, and then it suddenly flew off?” Helga asked curiously.

The lady nodded and closed her eyes, trembling hard.

“And there you have it,” Helga nodded as she looked at the camera. “An eyewitness describing exactly what occurred during this attack on Virbank City. We’ll report back to you as we learn more. Back to you, Lionel.”

Behind Helga and the woman, a young girl was wheeled by in a wheelchair by a very tall man, half of the girl’s face soaked in blood, before the screen that Helga was in shrunk until it vanished, and the newsroom with a seemingly young man with a bald head was shown on-screen.

“Thank you very much, Helga,” the man in his dark brown suit said. “In related news, Prof. Oak is under fire for his comments made a few weeks back regarding fighting against Team Solace. Many people are taking his words differently than others, and are demanding that the world famous professor retire, while others are going as far as demanding he be arrested for the words he spoke.”

A picture of a stern-faced Prof. Oak appeared in a small square in the upper left hand corner of the screen. In oozing black letters, right underneath the picture, were the words: Prof. Foe-k.

“The beloved professor has become an opponent to parents recently who have taken his words to be inspiration for young Pokemon Trainers to fight against the terrorist organization known as Team Solace. Other reports are finding that more and more people are finding it an offense to refer to Team Solace as a terrorist organization what with the statistically rising attacks on places and people that have been directly related to Pokemon.”

The TV went black.

I turned around quickly, surprised that the TV was now off.

“Hey!”

“What’s up?”

“Who cut off the damn TV?”

Angry cries erupted from inside of the Pokemon Center.

“This is a bunch of junk!” June screamed as she slammed the remote onto the counter in front of Nurse Joy, making the young nurse jump. “I can’t believe what they’re saying! I was there! I saw exactly what happened when that Claydol attacked! It was scared! It was trying to escape! There was a wall blocking it from getting out and it was just trying to get out of the city!”

“You cut off the TV?” a very muscular man raged, and he stomped towards June.

“You’re damn right!” June shouted back, and she approached the man bravely, holding onto the remote.

“June!” Ella gasped, grabbing her shoulders. “Please!”

“NO!” June screamed at Ella, and she shook her off of her. “I can’t just allow that crap on the news to be said and let it go! We were there! You, me, Gary, Trixa, and Courtney! We saw that wall that stopped that Claydol from getting out! That woman couldn’t possibly have seen the whole thing! Her story is crap! Or maybe she’s just traumatized and-”

“Give me that damn remote!” The man swiped at June’s hand.

June lifted it high, keeping the remote in her grasp.

“June!” I moved quickly to her side, glaring at the man, ready to protect her.

“Gary!” Courtney joined my side.

“Please! Can we not fight?” Trixa ran to June’s other side.

“You guys don’t understand what happened there!” June shouted to everyone. “Claydol attacked the city, yes, but it was just trying to find a way out! It’s innocent! I know it’s hard to understand, but I promise you, it’s not a bad Pokemon! Please, just hear me out!”

“GIVE ME THE DAMN REMOTE CONTROL!!!” the man bellowed, and he reached out and grabbed June’s arm.

June gasped and tried to free her arm.

“GET OFF OF HER!” I gripped the man’s thick arm.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Ella shrieked at the man, and she gripped the same arm and tried to pull him off of June.

“June!” Courtney jumped at the man and tried to shove him back, pushing against his shoulders, but she actually ended up tossing herself back in the attempt and she dropped to the floor.

Trixa fell to her knees and covered her face as she started to cry.

The man used his other hand to rip the remote from June’s hand and he let go of her, shaking off me and Ella easily.

We both hit the floor.

The man turned to the TV and raised the remote.

“After Prof. Oak’s words, I gave up on being a Pokemon Trainer,” a young kid on TV spoke into a microphone held by another man in a suit, both of them standing outside in an unfamiliar location. “I looked up to him for years. After he told me to fight against Team Solace like that, I was let down by my hero. All of my friends hate him, now.”

June’s shriek tore my eyes away from the screen.

She leaped at the man with the remote, wrapping her arms around his throat.

The man let out an angry growl and turned his head to her. “GET OFF OF ME!!” he barked at her.

Ella and I both got to our feet immediately and we ran to June.

I wrapped my arms around her waist while Ella pulled back on her shoulders.

The man shook himself hard.

It took about a minute, and I could tell that the man was restraining himself from simply smacking June off of him, but Ella and I managed to pull her off.

The man glared furiously at the three of us before turning back to the TV.

June was screaming and cursing up a storm as she struggled to get to the remote, shrieking out her pleas for people to listen to her side of Claydol’s story.

Trixa lifted her tear-soaked face and saw Ella and I carrying away June.

Courtney was standing up, staring down at Trixa. She walked over to her and knelt down in front of her.

Trixa turned to Courtney, but she covered her face again and continued to cry.

Courtney wrapped her arms around Trixa and pulled her in close.

Ella and I dragged June through the front door.

“I’m grateful for people like Team Solace in this world, who were right all along about Pokemon,” the child spoke on the news.

The nods and loud talks of agreement with the kid from the crowd watching the TV were the last things I heard and saw from inside of the building before I felt as if ice water was flowing throughout my body.

The door to the Pokemon Center closed shut in front of me.