Trixa’s Pignite, Pansear, Panpour, Axew, Leavanny, and Ducklett all ate from their individual bowls of food.

Ella’s Serperior, Pachirisu, Braviary, Cofagrigus, Shiftry, and Deino ate near Trixa’s Pokemon from their own bowls of food.

Shiftry was watching June’s Electivire while she ate.

June’s Manectric, Vaporeon, Ampharos, Blitzle, Pikachu, Lanturn, and Galvantula ate from their bowls near Ella’s Pokemon, Magnezone watching Rotom silently.

June’s Rotom was too busy paying attention to my Drifblim, who was red-faced as she hid behind a tree trunk, her back pressed against it, staring at the ground. Rotom was on the other side of the tree, smiling and chattering to Drifblim.

June’s Electivire sat far away from the rest of the Pokemon, eating from his own bowl. His eyes were glued to Courtney’s Scraggy.

Courtney’s Scraggy, Sceptile, Amoonguss, Swoobat, Stoutland, and Maractus were eating as well, near their Trainer.

Scraggy had its eyes stuck on Electivire while it ate.

June, Ella, and Courtney were watching their specific Pokemon cautiously in case something happened.

My Unfezant, Excadrill, Dugtrio, Elgyem, and Weepinbell were eating away from the other Pokemon, sitting close to me.

Dugtrio appeared a little nervous as he looked away from his food to glance at the other Pokemon on occasion.

Elgyem’s eyes were on Unfezant one minute, and then turned to me, eating without once looking down at his bowl.

He was creeping me out just a bit, and even though I kept this thought to myself, I wondered if, as a Psychic type, he already knew how I was feeling.

Unfezant paid Elgyem no mind, enjoying his food.

Cars drove by us as we all sat on the dirt road. The trees behind us were far too dense to travel through to try and locate space for us to eat privately, so we made a big show by sitting all of our Pokemon out along the edge of the road to eat while the five of us ate our own food.

“So you and I are the only ones ready for the Pokemon League, huh?” Trixa asked Courtney. “We’re so ready!”

“Isn’t it amazing?” Courtney squealed.

I rolled my eyes and grit my teeth jealously. We’re not far from Ghyst Town, I thought. I’ll get my eighth Badge soon, and so will Ella.

“Can I see what Badges you have?” Trixa asked Courtney excitedly.

Courtney licked her lips and her smiled faded slightly. “Well, of course you can! Can I see yours, too?”

“Yes!” Trixa dug through her red backpack for her Badge case.

Courtney opened her bag as well and looked through it, holding half a sandwich in one hand.

“Here ya go!” Trixa held out her open Badge case to Courtney.

“Wow! I have some of those Badges! And your Badge case is so pretty and glittery!” Courtney gushed.

“Thank you! I love this thing! It was a present from my daddy,” Trixa said happily. “He always gets me the nicest things. I love him so much. It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It has the perfect white color with the sparkling glitter on it! Wow! How adorable!”

“Let me see your Badge case!” Trixa urged. “Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on-”

“Okay!” Courtney’s eyes widened at Trixa. “I’ll show you!” She looked into her bag, and then her eyes lifted towards everyone’s Pokemon. “Hey! That’s about enough! I’m returning Scraggy if Electivire is going to keep on bothering my Scraggy.” She held out a Poke Ball. “Scraggy, return!”

“Scragg?” Scraggy looked up from its nearly empty bowl of food as it was returned.

“Excuse me?” June got to her feet, holding a bite’s worth of a sandwich in her hand. “My Electivire wasn’t doing anything to your Scraggy!”

“It was looking at my Scraggy and trying to intimidate it,” Courtney responded angrily. “I do not appreciate that one bit. I will not tolerate bullying. I think you need to do something about that Electivire of yours. I’ve had about enough of-Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!” Courtney’s body lit up like a lightbulb as Electivire shocked her with Thunderbolt.

“Electivire!” June gasped.

Courtney hit the ground, shivering in pain as her body sparked. Her blonde hair stood up on end.

All of the Pokemon had now stopped eating and were looking at Electivire.

“Vire!” Electivire said as he looked around at all the Pokemon. His head nodded. “Vire… Vire!” He flexed his arms.

The Pokemon backed away.

Shiftry was the only one who stood her ground, facing Electivire.

“Elect?” Electivire looked directly at Shiftry.

“Shift…” Shiftry said in a low voice.

“Electivire!!” Electivire shocked Shiftry using Thunder.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing to my Pokemon?” Ella ran to her Shiftry’s side as the Wicked Pokemon collapsed to her knees from the attack. “Shiftry, don’t get engaged in this! That Pokemon is nothing but a big bully.”

A low, pained cry came out from June as she turned to Ella.

Ella returned her stare with an angry one. “June, just call that thing back, will you? What are you waiting for?”

“Ella, I’m sorry! I didn’t think he would attack your Pokemon,” June said sadly as she reached into her bag.

“Yeah. She just didn’t care if it attacked me or my Pokemon,” Courtney moaned, sitting up now, her body still sparking.

“I didn’t say that,” June snapped as she got to her feet with a Poke Ball in her hand.

Courtney mumbled something.

“What was that?” June snapped.

“Shiiift!” Shiftry smacked Ella in the face and she ran towards Electivire to attack.

Ella screamed as she was hit and she dropped hard. “Oowwww!!” Ella moaned.

Electivire kept his eyes on Shiftry.

Shiftry suddenly vanished and then reappeared behind Electivire, and she pulled back a fist and hit Electivire in the back with Feint Attack.

Electivire didn’t move an inch. “Vire!” His fist burst into flames and he swiftly whipped around and socked Shiftry in the face with Fire Punch.

“Shiiiiiiiiiiiiftryyyy!” Shiftry was thrown backwards by the powerful blow.

“Electivire! Get back, now!” June returned her Pokemon.

“My Pokemon!” Ella screamed as she ran towards Shiftry. “Shiftry.” She placed one hand on her Pokemon.

Shiftry groaned, but that was all.

“Shiftry, it’ll be okay.” Ella returned her Shiftry and stood up, turning to June. She took a deep breath, her eyes squinting angrily.

“Ella, I’m so sorry!” June clasped her hands in front of her. “I didn’t mean for that to happen!”

“June, don’t you think that maybe you should consider feeding that thing at a separate time,” Ella said, forcing her voice to come out calm despite the obvious anger in her eyes.

June swallowed and looked at Electivire’s Poke Ball. Her eyes looked back to Ella and she nodded. “I just… I just wanted him to feel like he was a part of the family. My family. And could eat along with everyone else. I’m just trying to make him feel loved… I’m sorry.”

Ella’s anger was traded for pity as she gazed at June sadly. “June, I don’t understand what happened between you and your Electivire, but that thing is really scary. I don’t think he should be around the other Pokemon if he’s going to be attacking them. Maybe if you took some time to talk to him, you could sort things out.”

June shook her head sadly, lowering her head. She opened her mouth to speak.

“June’s tried that,” Courtney spoke up. “That violent thing she’s raised is a terror.” Courtney got to her feet and held out a few Poke Balls, returning her Pokemon, and she held out the final pair of Poke Balls to retrieve her last two Pokemon. “My Pokemon have finished eating, and I’ve had about enough of sitting around her getting shocked by this girl’s Pokemon. Let’s keep moving.”

June sighed and got back to her knees. She moodily shoved the last piece of her sandwich in her bag, along with Electivire’s Poke Ball.

I turned to my Pokemon and saw that they too sat behind empty bowls, so I grabbed some Poke Balls from my belt.

Trixa gazed at her Pokemon before grabbing some Poke Balls from her waist, as well.

In the next couple of moments, all of the Pokemon were in their Poke Balls, and the bowls were put away in our bags.

The five of us traveled close to the trees, staying out of the way of the cars as we continued along to Ghyst Town.

*

“Ella?” Trixa broke the silence of our group that had been going on for a couple of hours.

A lot of thoughts had been going through my mind. More than what should have been going through any thirteen year old’s head. One moment, I was thinking about what Team Solace could possibly be up to. The next second, I pondered where my Charizard could be. Soon after, I was wondering about where Kiwi was, who kidnapped her, and why. That was followed by questions of where my sister was right now and hopes that she was okay. Not long after that, I wondered how my mom was doing. Moments later, I was looking at the large group I was now a part of. It was almost a relief to have Trixa speak up and interrupt my thoughts.

“Yes, Trixa?” Ella asked tiredly, her eyes on her Town Map.

The sun above us was beginning to set, scary shadows slowly starting to coat the land. The air was still thick and muggy with high humidity and heat.

Even in my lightweight jacket, unzipped, I felt pretty hot, but I ignored the discomfort.

We were still on the same dirt path, which curved into multiple paths various times, but my paper Town Map insisted on us continuing straight, and this was confirmed by Ella and Trixa’s advanced, electronic Town Maps as well, so we pushed on.

Courtney was brushing her hair, gazing into her mirror. Her hair looked completely fine, but she continued using her brush on it.

“That Pachirisu you own is really cute,” Trixa said with a small smile.

Ella’s eyes widened and she turned to Trixa. “Oh! Well, thanks, hon!” She smiled.

“You’re welcome,” Trixa nodded. “Would you like to trade for it?”

Ella came to a stop, and the rest of us looked at her and stopped as well, Courtney looking at Ella through her mirror.

“Trade?” Ella asked Trixa, her smile now gone.

“Yes! I want to trade for your Pachirisu. What that means is, I’ll tell you what Pokemon I own, and if you like anything that I have to offer-” Trixa began to explain.

“I understand what trading is, Trixa!” Ella spoke in a surprisingly harsh tone. “I’m not trading him!”

An awkward silence fell upon us, the sound of rustling grass, scampering animals, and insects taking over.

“I have a Vanillite, and a Trubbish, and Scolipede, and a Pe-” Trixa told Ella.

“I just said I’m not trading my Pachirisu, okay?!” Ella shouted.

Trixa wasn’t the only one looking at Ella in surprise.

All of us were.

Trixa whimpered and lowered her head. “Why are you yelling at me?”

Even I had to agree with Trixa on this one.

Ella’s sudden attitude was a real shocker. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling before opening her eyes again. “I’m sorry, Trixa,” Ella smiled. “I just get kind of touchy around my little Pachirisu. He’s very special to me, and he isn’t up to trade for any Pokemon in the world.” Ella took a quick breath and exhaled shortly, her smile fading. “So drop it.”

“Drop what?” Trixa asked, looking up.

“The topic,” Ella said louder.

“Oh…” Trixa looked down again.

Ella was the first to keep walking, looking down at her Town Map.

I was next to move after her, though, to be honest, Ella was officially starting to scare me. She acted weird when June asked about her Pachirisu in Nimbasa, I remembered. I wonder why.

The others walked after me, the sound of Courtney’s brush moving through her hair being the only sound other than our footsteps through the dirt ground.

A pair of footsteps moved quickly, and Trixa walked past me, trying to reach Ella. She kept her head down and didn’t say a word.

As I looked ahead of the two girls, I could spot what vaguely looked like buildings in the distance. “You think that’s Ghyst Town up ahead?” I asked.

“Nope,” Ella muttered quickly. “That’s Remainder Village. We’re still a day or so away from Ghyst Town.”

“Oh,” I muttered, disappointed as well as glad that we hadn’t reached Ghyst Town.

“Ella?” Trixa said softly, keeping her head down.

“Yes…?” Ella said in a clearly agitated tone of voice.

“I really like your Pachirisu…” Trixa said in a very low, sad voice.

“Trixa, I am not trading it! Please, will you stop?” Ella begged, looking at her.

Trixa didn’t look up at Ella. “I don’t want yours if you won’t trade it, Ella. I wanted to know where you got yours from so maybe I could just catch one myself.”

Everyone’s attention was on Ella again.

Ella didn’t say anything to Trixa. She just continued to walk, leading our group.

“Ella, you won’t even tell me where you got one from? That’s so selfish!” Trixa whined.

“I got it from my mother, okay?” Ella stopped walking and tossed her hands into the air. “I don’t want to talk about this any further! This isn’t something I feel comfortable discussing, so just let it go!” Ella stomped off, moving quickly to get away from us all.

“What’d I say…?” Trixa sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

“Trixa, it’s okay,” June said in a low voice as she walked up to Trixa and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “I don’t know what the story behind Ella and her Pachirisu is, but it’s best we just leave it alone. This must be something very personal for her. Let’s just not bring it up again, alright?”

“Oh… I didn’t mean to upset her,” Trixa said in a shaky, low voice.

“I know, and she knows it, too,” June smiled kindly. “Let’s just catch up with her, but not mention it again. She isn’t mad at you, Trixa.”

“She’s not?” Trixa looked up at June with watery eyes.

June shook her head. “Whatever is going on with her and Pachirisu is what’s upsetting her. Let’s let her deal with it on her own, and if she needs to tell us what’s going on, she’ll tell us on her own time, when she’s ready.”

“Alright. I understand,” Trixa smiled.

The four of us turned to each other and nodded in agreement, and a small smile even broke across my face as I looked down at Trixa.

She was the shortest of us all, and very adorable in a little sister kind of way. Maybe she was a bit of a blockhead, but she wasn’t a bad person. She was just a little curious. Or something.

I guess.

Trixa looked up at me and smiled even brighter, her eyes twinkling, and my heart melted, my smile broadening. Huh?! I shook my head hard and frowned as I walked past her quickly, breaking into a jog as I chased after Ella.

“Wait a minute! Where ya going, Gary?” Trixa called after me.

I ignored her and continued running.

Ella was moving fast, nearing Remainder Village.

“Ella!” I slowed down and matched her pace. “It’s a little hot to be jogging in jeans, don’t you think?” I joked.

Ella sighed and turned to me with a smile. She started to walk at a less furious speed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ditch you guys. I just…”

“I know.”

“She’s a good friend of mine, though!” Ella told me, her smile fading.

“I know that, too. And so does she. Let’s just focus on getting our last Badges.”

“Wow! Look at this cute little place!” Trixa and the others had caught up to us, Trixa pointing ahead of us at the village just several feet away. “Are the houses made of dirt?”

The road came to an abrupt end where we stood. People in the little village walked by us in comfortable looking clothing that seemed to be made of plants! A woman walked by in a long skirt that looked like it was a collection of very long, green leaves glued together. Her short sleeved shirt resembled a grouping of beautiful blue flowers with yellow centers. Her shoes seemed to be made of short green leaves. A man in white pants walked by, but as I watched him, it started to look like the material of his pants were poorly sewn together, but that might have been the fashion of it. His shirt was made of the same mysterious material, but yellow. His sandals were made of twigs! Another guy walked by in pants that looked like sewn together black flowers, the petals on top of one another in a rather ugly design, in my opinion. His red shirt jutted out, made up of what seemed to be roses, and on his head was a collection of sunflowers made into a hat. On his feet were shoes that looked like they were formed out of clay.

The houses did appear to be as Trixa had stated. They were brown and didn’t look like they were made of bricks or wood, but did resemble clay or dirt!

“Seriously? Am I really seeing this right now?” Courtney spoke with amusement. Her brush and mirror were no longer in her hands. She let out a laugh. “What is this? Africa or something?”

We all turned to Courtney.

Ella held a shocked look, while Trixa looked confused.

June shook her head as she squinted at Courtney.

I stared at Courtney seriously, but I had to struggle to hold back a snicker. What she had said was admittedly kind of funny.

Courtney looked at us all, her eyes stopping on me. “I didn’t mean anything by that.” She looked to the ground. “Sorry.”

I looked away from Courtney and at the village. “Well, enough gawking. Let’s hurry up and keep moving.” I walked ahead and through the village.

The people who lived here were really friendly. Complete strangers smiled, waved, and greeted us as we walked through their environment.

We all greeted them back happily.

Wow. There aren’t a lot of places like this out there, I acknowledged as I waved at a very beautiful woman who waved at me, smiling as she lowered her head shyly.

She was tanned and had shorter hair than I typically preferred, but she wore it like a model and made it look damn good.

She’s really beautiful, I thought to myself as I looked over her very fit body with slender arms, a tight, revealed stomach, and unbelievably curvy assets, and my heart started to beat really fast. I looked away from her, fearing I’d only embarrass myself if I kept looking at her, let alone said anything.

“Man, I must say, this place has a really, like, natural vibe to it, huh?” Courtney said, smiling as she looked around.

“It definitely does,” June agreed. “I wouldn’t mind sticking around here for a little while. This place is really pretty and just… I guess Courtney said it best; Natural! Like, I can’t really explain it. It’s just really nice here.”

“I’d say we should spend the day here, especially with night falling upon us, but, we should really focus on that eighth Badge Gary and I need,” Ella said. “If the Unova League Conference is too far away from Ghyst Town, we’ll need all the time we can get to get there in time. I wish they would hurry up and release the info already. It’s so annoying. We can’t all afford a freaking Holo Caster Series Z3!”

“A what?” I asked Ella, turning to her.

Ella opened her mouth to answer me.

A loud cry made me whip my head to the side.

A woman shrieked as a gigantic snake flew towards her.

The black snake with yellow patterns accompanying its body hissed at her dangerously and wrapped its body around her.

The woman’s eyes bulged as she was taken down, her arms bound at her sides by the snake.

“A Seviper!” Courtney gasped.

Seviper. The Fang Snake Pokemon. Its tail is poisonous and used to strike foes and prey. This Pokemon has always been a lifelong rival of Zangoose, attacking them on sight.

“It’s killing that lady!” Trixa screamed, holding her Pokedex in her hand.

Before I could move, a loud CRAAAAAASSSHHHH!!! made me jump and turn to a house where something flew through the window and hit the ground.

“That’s a Zangoose!” I pointed.

Screams filled the air as people started to run.

A Zangoose and Seviper were entangled in a deadly brawl, Seviper wrapped around the Zangoose while Zangoose had its claws inside of Seviper’s eyes, trying to gouge them out.

Zangoose. The Cat Ferret Pokemon. This Pokemon is a very bitter enemy of Seviper and will attack them on sight using their deadly claws. Well trained Zangoose and Seviper can be seen alongside one another, in theory.

Trixa put away her Pokedex and shut her eyes tight, looking away from the fighting Zangoose and Seviper.

Everyone in Remainder Village was screaming in horror as Seviper and Zangoose started to appear out of nowhere, attacking the civilians as well as each other.

A Zangoose slashed at a man’s face, dropping him to his knees as he screamed in anguish, blocking his face with his arms helplessly before the Zangoose spotted a Seviper close by who was leaping towards a young woman. Zangoose reached out and grabbed Seviper’s pointed tail and yanked it back.

Seviper cried out in shock as it was pulled back.

Zangoose released Seviper and its claws glowed white. It mercilessly slashed as Seviper’s head.

Seviper hit the ground, screaming in pain as Zangoose took advantage of the Pokemon and ripped at its head, digging its claws into its body, spilling the snake’s blood.

The smash of a window made me jump and look to see a Seviper facing a Zangoose.

Seviper’s tail whipped back and forth near a broken window.

Zangoose raised it claws and they glowed blue-white, white sparks flashing around them.

Seviper raised its tail and it glowed purple. It lunged at Zangoose.

Zangoose jumped at Seviper.

Seviper slashed at Zangoose’s face with Poison Tail as Zangoose collided its claws into Seviper’s body with Crush Claw. They both dropped to the ground, but leaped up immediately.

Zangoose suddenly fell weakly to its knees.

Seviper leaped at Zangoose. “Sevipeeeerrrrrrr!!” Seviper hissed.

“ZANGOOOOOOOSE!” Another Zangoose appeared and gripped Seviper by its throat. It took the snake to the ground and opened its jaws wide, its fangs glowing white. It sunk into Seviper’s body with Crunch attack.

“SEVIPEEERRRRRR!!” Seviper responded.

“Where did all these Seviper and Zangoose come from?” Courtney cried out shakily. “What’s happening here?”

“I don’t know!” I grabbed Excadrill’s Poke Ball. “We have to stop these things! Grab your best Pokemon, everybody, and let’s go!” I threw Excadrill’s Poke Ball.

“Excadriiiiiillll!!” Excadrill shouted, slashing into the air.

“Gary! There’s too many Pokemon to battle with just us five!” Courtney said frantically.

“Shiftry, let’s go!” Ella sent out her Pokemon.

“Axew, I choose you!” Trixa sent out Axew.

“Magnezone, I’m counting on you! Help us out!” June threw her Poke Ball.

“Oh, fine,” Courtney grumbled in dismay. “I guess I should use Amoonguss with all of these poisonous Seviper around. Go on!” Courtney tossed her Poke Ball.

“Shift…” Shiftry grunted, breathing strongly.

“Axew,” Axew said, looking around calmly.

“Magnezoooone!” Magnezone said.

“Amoooonguss!” Amoonguss bounced on the ground.

“Just pick a target and attack!” I instructed the girls. “Straight ahead, Excadrill!” I pointed.

“Cadriiiiill!” Excadrill leaped at a Zangoose that was facing a house.

Zangoose used Crush Claw at the side of the house, and the house burst into a cloud of dust, the glass windows shattering.

The inside of the house was now revealed, showing a pair of chairs and a large thing that looked like a couch. They both seemed to be made of the same substance as the house itself.

“Excadrill, use Dig, now!” I ordered.

Excadrill dug through the ground, vanishing from sight.

“Magnezone, use Zap Cannon!” June ordered behind me.

I heard Magnezone yell out as it used its attack.

Zangoose leaped towards the “furniture,” its claws glowing white as it prepared to use Slash attack. One of its claws tore through a chair, and the other claw ripped through the last chair, turning them into dust.

“EXCADRIIIIIILLLL!!” Excadrill burst from the ground and slugged Zangoose with an uppercut.

“Zangooooose!” Zangoose fell backwards and fell.

“Shiftry, I want you to use Extrasensory on Seviper, now!” Ella ordered.

“Um, let’s try and do Outrage, Axew!” Trixa said.

“Axew,” Axew said calmly, but it didn’t attack.

“Now end this with Horn-!” I commanded.

“Zangoose!” A Zangoose burst from the ground and punched my Excadrill right under the chin.

Excadrill was thrown back by the blow and slid along the ground.

“Zangoooose!” Another Zangoose seemed to jump from the sky. It landed next to Excadrill as he got back up. “Zangoose! Zangoose! Zan! Zangoose!” Zangoose punched and kicked at my Excadrill repeatedly, overtaking him with Close Combat.

“Magnezone!” June screamed.

I looked away to see Magnezone take a swift kick from another Zangoose, throwing Magnezone through the air before it bounced on the ground.

A Zangoose was on its knees next to the Zangoose that had kicked Magnezone, sparking from what appeared to be Paralysis. Its eyes were closed tight in pain. Zangoose’s body was suddenly surrounded by an orange aura, and with a loud cry, an orange burst of energy flew out from it and slammed into Magnezone.

Magnezone shouted out desperately as it rolled along the ground from the Super Effective Revenge attack. “Magne…” Magnezone shivered but started hovering above the ground, still ready to fight.

The ground underneath Magnezone exploded.

“SEVIPEEERRRRRR!!!” A Seviper burst from the ground and slammed into Magnezone with Dig attack.

“Maaaaaagnezone!” Magnezone tumbled through the air.

“Shiftry, these Pokemon need to be stopped! Attack with Extrasensory! Your Psychic powers would be a great help right now!” Ella pleaded with her Pokemon.

Shiftry was looking around at the feuding Zangoose and Seviper, but she wasn’t listening to Ella.

“Shiftryyyyy!” Ella screeched angrily.

“Amoonguss, let’s help out with Spore attack!” Courtney ordered.

“Axew, you have to attack! We need help!” Trixa begged.

“Ax, Ax,” Axew scratched at the side of its head, looking up at Trixa. It shrugged. “Axew Axew.”

“Amooooooonguss!” Amoonguss sprayed a sparkling yellow powder from its mouth at a group of fighting Zangoose and Seviper.

There were three Seviper overpowering one Zangoose while it struggled to fight off its attackers. The Seviper had their teeth deep into Zangoose’s body, Zangoose swiping at one of their faces, sprinkling plenty of its blood around, but the Pokemon just closed its eyes and held on tight, injecting more poison into its victim, though Zangoose didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

As Spore attack sprinkled over the four Pokemon, the Seviper and Zangoose began to calm down. Their eyes started to close, and soon, they were snoring on top of each other, fast asleep.

“That was great, Courtney!” I turned to her and her Amoonguss.

“We just need to do that to all of these other Zangoose and Seviper…” Courtney turned to me uncertainly.

I looked around at the brutal fighting taking place between the Zangoose and Seviper that seemed to be continually flooding the area.

Whether it was one Zangoose against one Seviper, a group of Seviper outnumbering a Zangoose, or a group of Zangoose beating on a Seviper, the only Pokemon in the area were definitely the two foes.

Seviper were whipping people trying to get out of the way with their tails, slashing their victims’ faces or bodies.

A Zangoose leaped at a Seviper that hissed at it, and the ferret slashed at it repeatedly. A man screamed as he ran past the two combatants, and Zangoose got spooked. The Zangoose turned to the man and slashed at his back, dropping the man.

He remained still, a large streak of blood across the back of his brown shirt that now looked, not ripped, but broken, due to whatever the material was.

Zangoose turned away immediately to continue attacking Seviper, but Seviper took advantage of the moment it was given and used Poison Tail to smack Zangoose back.

Seviper wrapped its body around Zangoose, choking it.

“We should just spray that Spore wherever we can, Courtney!” I started turning to her, but stopped when I saw Trixa and Ella, both girls struggling with their Pokemon.

Trixa’s Axew was scratching the side of its head, a confused look on its face, nervously gazing at the fighting Pokemon.

Ella’s Shiftry was just watching everything as if it were a movie, a sneaky smile on her face.

A loud, pained scream from a woman made me turn behind me, and I saw the source of the voice.

It sounded as if the scream had come from a woman, but in fact, it was the high-pitched shriek of a man! A Seviper was wrapped around his middle while another Seviper had its purple fangs sunk deep into the man’s bloodsoaked chest, blood running continuously down the front of his body. The man collapsed to his knees, his head tilted back, wailing in agony.

“Amoonguss, use Spore on them!” Courtney begged her Pokemon.

“Amoooooooonguss!” Amoonguss sprayed its Spore attack at the man and the Seviper around him.

The Seviper wrapped around the man’s waist looked at Amoonguss and opened its jaws. “Seviperrrrr!” Flames flew from out of Seviper’s mouth, burning through the Spore attack, and Amoonguss was set on fire.

“Amoooooooooooong!!” Amoonguss bounced about in circles, a flaming fireball.

“Amoonguss! Oh, my goodness! Come back!” Courtney returned her Pokemon. She looked down at the Poke Ball sadly before turning to Seviper. “A Flamethrower. I didn’t see tha-aaaAAAAHHH!!!” She dropped her Poke Ball, which was now glowing red. She blew into her hand and backed away from the Poke Ball. “Ow! What??”

“It’s still burning from the flames Amoonguss had to take,” June said, glaring at Amoonguss’ Poke Ball. “It’ll be fine. But I’m not sure what we’re gonna do to take out all of these Pokemon. We’re outnumbered! We’ll have to send out all of our Pokemon to even hope to put up a decent fight! There’s tons of these things here!”

“But, why?” I asked her.

“I don’t know. They’re just warring, Gary!”

“Then we don’t have a choice. Everyone, we have to send out all of our Pokemon and battle!” I grabbed two Poke Balls on my waist, but froze from the roar that tore through the area.

“Tyranitar, use that Earthquake right now!” a voice shouted.

The roar alone seemed to rock the ground underneath my feet, and I turned and saw the monster.

It raised its foot high and slammed it into the ground.

Everybody screamed as the earth shook harder than I’d ever felt it move.

This was undoubtedly the most powerful Earthquake I’d ever felt. I was soaring through air for several seconds, screaming, before slamming down onto my back. Groaning in pain, unable to even get up, I bounced on my back like a basketball, hitting my back, face, head, stomach, legs, arms, and all other parts off my body in turn against my will. I could have thrown up very easily at any moment.

The CRAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!!!! of the ground splitting apart was almost as deafening as the quake of the ground, or the roar from Tyranitar.

Loud noises of destruction were mixed in with screams from both Pokemon and people alike as everyone appeared to suddenly be made of rubber, bouncing and flying through the air continuously, houses crashing down.

The ground finally rumbled less but I remained still, trembling from the remaining tremors. Has it stopped? I wondered fearfully. I was shaking hard, but that now may have just been my body quaking in fear. Is the Earthquake still going on?

“Is everybody okay, here?” I heard someone call out. “Damn, Tyranitar! Wicked Earthquake!”

The voice sounded familiar to me. I pushed myself up and turned to look at who that voice belonged to. I tried to lean forward onto one arm, expecting to press my hand into the ground beneath me. “Whoa!” My arm fell through a hole!

No, not a hole. A large fissure!

I pulled my arm out and gaped into it, but I could only see darkness. “Freaking hell!” I said in shock. I looked up and gasped.

Remainder Village no longer looked anything like it had when June, Courtney, Trixa, Ella, and I had entered here. People were sprawled out everywhere, some people bound to the ground, moaning, while others struggled to get to their feet, groaning. The Seviper and Zangoose were also in heaps, bleeding and badly wounded from their fighting. The houses were all completely destroyed. Not a single one stood up, mounds of dirt in their places. The entire village was nothing but widespread land. Fissures were all over.

My eyes stopped on Tyranitar, who stood next to somebody I recognized. “Ruko!” I got to my feet and stepped over the fissure in front of me. I looked up at the Pokemon that towered over Ruko. “Is that your Pokemon?”

“Gar-bear! Get out of town! I can’t believe it’s you! Oh, man! Ha ha ha ha! Looks like Tyranitar went a little OD. Good work stopping those crazy Zangoose and Seviper, though. Return, alright?” Ruko returned the Pokemon back to its Poke Ball.

I looked down at the people around us as a movement caught my eye. “June! And Excadrill!” I leaped over a gaping fissure and knelt down next to June, who was lying on top of Excadrill.

Excadrill wasn’t moving, completely wiped out from the Earthquake attack.

“Return, Excadrill! Rest up in here.”

June hit the ground after Excadrill was removed from under her, and she groaned as she sat up, looking around in a daze. “I thought I… heard a Pokemon…” she said weakly.

“Tyranitar. Ruko’s Tyranitar,” I nodded at her.

“Tyrani…? Ruko?” Her eyes widened.

“JUNIIII!!” Ruko leaped over a fissure to get to us, and she wrapped June in a tight hug. “Super mega master bear glomps!! Gosh, it’s so good to see you!”

June choked as her eyes bulged. “Ruko,” she choked out, struggling to push her off of her by her shoulders.

“And don’t think I’d forget about you, Gar-bear! Super bear glomps for you, too!” Ruko released June and she dropped onto her back, crying out. Ruko widened her arms and lunged at me.

“Hey! Come on, Ruko!” I tried to back away.

Ruko tackled me to the ground and squeezed me like she was hoping I’d secrete juice into a tall glass for her to drink.

“Gary…” Ella’s voice reached me.

“Huh? Ella!” I turned to see her standing next to Courtney and Trixa, several feet away.

Ella had a worried look on her face. “I think we have a problem…”

Courtney and Trixa were both looking behind Ella, their backs facing me.

“No way!” Ruko released me and got to her feet.

I shivered, finally freed from that crazy girl’s grasp, and I stood up.

“It’s this girl, again! No way! What was your name again? I’m so sorry. I’m really bad with names,” Ruko laughed.

Courtney turned around and stared at Ruko.

“I’m Ella…” Ella’s eyes widened and she gasped, pointing at Ruko. “Oh, snap! You! You had the Jellicent!”

“Yeah! In Driftveil City! And you had the Shiftry!” Ruko nodded excitedly. “Bear glomps!” She spread open her arms and squeezed Ella tightly, lifting Ella off her feet!

Ella’s eyes bulged in surprise and she squirmed in Ruko’s arms, trying to break free. When Ruko let go of Ella, she stumbled backwards, taking in a huge breath of air.

“And it’s this girl, too!” Ruko walked over to Courtney. “Everybody’s back, again, together! Bear glomps for you!” She wrapped her arms around Courtney.

Courtney started to hug her back, but ended up gasping in shock at Ruko’s strong hug. Her eyes nearly popped and she started choking. When she was finally let go, she backed away and placed her hands on her knees and breathed deeply.

“Do you think those guys could use a Bearticone? They seem a little hungry,” Trixa said, her back still to us. “I think I look that way when I get hungry, too. Especially when it’s hot out.”

“Huh?” That was when I looked at what Trixa was staring at.

We all turned to see what was happening.

“Yeah, that was what I was originally trying to bring up…” Ella said.

A large gathering of people, men and women alike, were glaring at us, looking ready to rip us to pieces.

“Virbank City isn’t far from here!” Trixa called to them. “We were all on our way back there for a Bearticone if you want to come with us!”

“Trixa!” me, June, Ella, and Courtney shouted at her.

“Hmmm?” She turned back to us, smiling, her eyes sparkling at us.

Some of the people in the village were still on the ground and hadn’t moved.

I wondered if they were okay as my eyes went from the destruction of homes and the bodies of the people and Pokemon on the ground throughout the village, to the angry people facing us.

“The Pokemon have attacked our village!” A man stepped forward in a shirt made of a variety of different colored flowers, grass, and other things, a red skirt made of leaves wrapped around his black pants, the material of which I couldn’t make out. His voice was deep and frightening, making my heart skip a beat as he spoke so strongly and loudly. “These people have entered our peace and destroyed our village with their Pokemon!!”

My mouth fell open. Okay, I guess that’s a fair statement, I admitted, closing my mouth. But, we stopped the Seviper and Zangoose and saved a lot of lives, right? That must count for something. Right?

“I hereby decree that the punishment fit the crime! DESTROY THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM!!!!” the man roared.

The crowd screamed ferociously and charged at us.

Me and my group screamed and ran away as fast as we could.

“Magnezone!!” June screamed, and I hear the familiar sound of a Pokemon being returned back to its Poke Ball.

“I don’t think Virbank City is in this direction, you guys!” Trixa insisted.

If Trixa wants to go back to Virbank and get killed by that crowd, I hope she knows I have absolutely NO intentions on saving her dumb ass, I thought as I pushed forward, hoping we were all creating distance from the crowd, but too terrified to look behind me.

There were no hiding places. No thick forests. No city to get lost in. Just continuous open space with the dirt road beneath us, the screams from the mob behind us.

The only thought in my head was to just keep running. Running for my life.

All of us, running for our lives.

The unruly village people behind us, ironically, running for our lives.

Our path curved slightly and we kept running, exhausted and breathing hard, but not daring to stop.

Trees atop a stretch of grass lined a cement path on both sides up ahead, but there weren’t enough trees to hide amongst. The group of trees to the right gave way to a cement wall after several feet. The trees and grass on the other side looked beautiful against a huge lake that sparkled under the sun. A steel barricade stood between the grass and the cement road there.

“Wait!” June screamed from behind me.

Wait?! I thought in my head. Is she nuts?! I kept running.

“They’re gone! We’re safe, now!” June yelled.

At those words, I slowed down and looked back.

June had her hands on her knees, breathing deeply.

Courtney came to a stop and looked back. She placed her hand over her heart as she tried to catch her breath and then fell to her knees.

Trixa looked back as she kept running and tripped, slamming into me and knocking me to the ground.

“HEY!” I barked at her.

“Hee hee, sorry,” Trixa breathed heavily in my face. Her breath smelled stale.

Ella slowed down and jogged past me as she gazed behind her, coming to a stop.

Ruko stopped next to me and crossed her arms, breathing hard. “Where did those guys go?”

Nobody else spoke.

The only noise was our separate breathing as we regained our energy.

I laid on my back. “Damn…” I breathed.

“That was a hoot!” Trixa exclaimed, looking down at me.

I squinted at her, still trying to slow down my breathing.

“Man, that was crazy!” Courtney said. “I wonder where they are, though.”

“Not chasing us is as good as an answer as I’ll need, any day,” Ella said, running a hand through her hair.

I wanted Ella in every humanly possible way in that moment when her hand went through her hair, this natural seductress being the embodiment of beauty, innocence, passion, and sensuality, driving me to the brink of intense desire, explosive love, and complete and utter insanity.

Ella kneeled down, placed her hands on the cement beneath us, and sat. Her shirt lifted up at this action, revealing her back a bit.

“I feel so bad for them,” June said. “Their entire village is destroyed. I wonder how they’re going to handle the Seviper and Zangoose that are still there. They were knocked out for the time being, but they’re gonna wake up eventually…”

“Nothing we can do to help them,” I said. “They’ll try to kill us if they ever see us again. We can tell the police in the next town or something. I sure as Hell am not going back there.”

“Maybe they turned around and went back to Virbank for a Bearticone,” Trixa said. “I think that’s a good idea. Let’s all head back and get one, too!”

I didn’t really want to punch Trixa in the face. I did yearn to force a nail through my own eyes, though. Just to see if it was that much worse than having to tolerate Trixa for another second.

Everyone gazed at Trixa tiredly, except Ruko, who looked at her in confusion. “Huh?” Ruko spoke.

Trixa turned to Ruko and opened her mouth to explain.

“Um, this is Trixa, Ruko!” I jumped to my feet. “She’s a f… f… fr… friend… of ours.” My voice quivered as I spoke that last sentence.

“Aw, man! That’s great! It’s great to meet you, Trixa! That name is da bomb! Ha ha ha!” Ruko walked over to Trixa and held out her hand.

Trixa grabbed it and cried out in surprise as she was pulled to her feet. “Really? You like my name? Thanks so much! Ruko is cool, too! It sounds, like, Japanese or something! It’s nice to meet you!”

“Thanks! I think my name is Japanese, actually, ha ha ha ha!” Ruko laughed. “I’m a mutt, and I have a little Japanese in me, as well, so I’m sure my name is.”

“You’re a mutt?? You mean, you’re part dog?” Trixa looked at Ruko in disbelief. “Get out!! So you’re the result of a dog and human having a baby?? WOW!!! I’m dumbfounded!”

Lose the “founded,” I thought mercilessly.

Ruko burst out laughing, leaning backwards, her hands on her stomach. “NO! I’m not a dog!! I just meant I’m mixed in ethnicity! I’m Italian, Japanese, and French! But, I think a few other things, too. I don’t think my parents are even fully sure of exactly all the mixes in me.”

“Wow! So you know, like, a billion languages, are a part of a mob, eat snails, and can do karate?” Trixa asked brightly.

Ruko burst out laughing, bending over this time, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

The rest of us stared at Ruko indescribably, not believing what she had just said.

“UM!” I stood in front of Trixa and stretched out my arms. “Please, ignore that! She has no idea what she just said!”

“Yes, I do!” Trixa said loudly.

“Ruko, it’s been a while! Where are you headed?” I asked her quickly.

“Well, I’m not sure now that we’ve been chased out of that Remainder Village,” Ruko smiled at me. “Where are you guys going?”

“We’re headed to Ghyst Town so I can get my last Badge,” I answered. “And Ella’s also competing there for her eighth Badge, and Courtney is going for her ninth!”

“Whoa! Nine badges? Cool, Courtney!” Ruko bounced on her feet. “We’ll be in the same boat! I have my ninth Badge, too! I actually beat the Ghyst Town Gym Leader, no problem! You three will definitely win, too! No doubt!”

“You have nine Badges?” I wasn’t really surprised. Ruko had seven Badges back in Driftveil City. I was more surprised that she didn’t have more than nine Badges, if anything.

“Yup! After I beat Row, the Fighting Gym Leader in Spart Town, and won my eighth Badge, I went for another Badge while waiting to find out where the Unova Conference would be taking place!”

My eyes widened at the mention of Row. She beat Row? I thought to myself.

“Right after winning against Spector and Cory, the brothers who run the Gym in Ghyst Town, I was healing my Pokemon at the Pokemon Center, and I heard that the League is happening at Interough City! So, I decided to do a bit of training before heading over there.” She bobbed in place happily, smiling at us all.

“Inter-what City?” I asked, taking a step towards Ruko.

“The location has been announced?” Courtney gasped, and she pulled off her backpack and dug through it, soon pulling out her paper Town Map.

“Interough City,” Ruko repeated.

Ella whipped out her electronic Town Map and touched the screen rapidly.

“It’s actually a little distance away from Ghyst Town, but not too far,” Ruko told us. “There’s still another month or so to go before it begins.”

“I found it!!” Ella burst out.

“Here it is!” Courtney shouted right after her, pointing at her Town Map.

I took a few steps towards Ella and gazed at the blinking dot on her Town Map that showed where Interough City was.

“The Interough Conference…” Ella murmured. “We’re so close to entering!” She looked at me. “Gary, we have to make it in time!”

“Ella, we will,” I smiled at her.

“Marc is gonna be watching.” Ella lowered her head and stared at the ground, smiling. “Gosh, I hope I don’t get too nervous.”

My heart sunk as she mentioned her boyfriend, and I lowered my head and closed my eyes.

“I’m sure Marc will be the last thing on your mind when you’re battling Gary,” Courtney spoke up.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Courtney.

“Huh? What do you mean…?” Ella asked her with a light, hesistant chuckle.

“Oh. I just mean, Gary is a really good Trainer,” Courtney explained. “He’ll definitely make it as far as you’re gonna make it, and probably even further, if you don’t battle your best. Plus, he’s a total sweetheart, and cutie, wouldn’t you say?” She winked at Ella.

The sound of glass broke somewhere in my head. I mean, I definitely heard the sound, and it made me jump. What?! I stared at Courtney like she was crazy for saying that.

“Um, I mean, well… Yes, but… Aha…” Ella responded nervously.

I walked away from the girls, heading down the darkening path lined by shadows.

“Gary?” Courtney called out to me.

I ignored her and kept walking, my hands in the sleeves of my jacket, my head down, highly embarrassed. She has a boyfriend, I told myself. Relax. I inhaled deeply before exhaling.

“Gar-bear?” I heard Ruko call.

I ignored her, as well. Courtney has a boyfriend, I told myself. No matter the things she says. My eyes started to water as another thought rose into my mind. Courtney has a boyfriend, I thought calmly.

Just like Ella does, I thought mournfully, and I closed my eyes as stinging tears burned them, my heart starting to hurt as it beat quicker.

“Gary!” Trixa called out to me.

It might hurt, I told myself. It might annoy. It might feel awkward. It might feel uncomfortable.

But, Trixa.

Courtney.

Ruko.

June.

And Ella.

Are with you on this journey.

“Gary…?” June called to me softly.

Flashbacks of my date with Ella swam throughout my mind.

She has a boyfriend, now, Gary, I thought as hot tears slid through my closed eyelids.

“No, it’s not that, Ella,” I said firmly. “I can’t leave June with that guy.”

Ella squinted up at me with what could have passed for a pained look. “June…?”

You ruined everything in that moment, Gary, I scolded myself, reflecting on that haunting, hurt look Ella gave me when I deserted her in the middle of our date for another girl. Now, she has a boyfriend. And, now, you’re stuck traveling with her, and the pain you hold in your heart over her. This is entirely your own fault.

You.

Ruined.

Everything.

“Gary?” Ella called out to me.