“So, this is Ghyst Town?” Courtney asked.

“Yeah…” June answered.

I looked at the dreary looking town we were in.

It was a gloomy evening with a consistently darkening, gray sky, giving a depressing feel to the already mopey environment. All the buildings were made of wood, giving the town a very old-fashioned feeling. A black lamp hung from in front of every building I could see, a bluish purple flame burning inside of the glass containers, two small, yellow lights glowing on either side of the fire. A black lampshade covered the flames, sitting on top of the glass containers, and they had a pointed spike on top. From the sides of the lamp were two long, black beams that curved. Sitting in the windows of a few buildings were one white candle with a purple flame lit on top.

Despite the gentle, warm breeze blowing through the town, I felt a strange, unwelcome chill.

“This is where you’ll be getting your final Badge, and I’ll be getting my ninth,” Courtney told me.

“You… you… you… asshole! Stay away from her! And me, as well!” Ella had shouted at me just earlier today.

“And there’s the Pokemon Center,” June said. “Let’s get a bit of rest here and, I guess, develop a plan to beat the Gym Leaders here.”

“I can’t believe I used to like somebody as pathetic as you,” Ella had snickered at me with a disgusted smile on her face, shaking her head.

It was the way she looked at me that hurt the most. It gave emphasis, and sincerity, to the words she spoke.

A young guy walked by, but he was hunched over and moving very slowly. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in weeks, dark bags under his eyes, his feet scraping the ground in his filthy and worn white sneakers. In his hand was a candle in a golden holder, a purple flame flickering on top. I turned to him as he moaned lightly.

“Gary?” June said. “Where are you going?”

I looked behind me and stopped walking when I saw June, Courtney, and my Charizard standing in front of a short building with a brown, wooden ‘P’ near the top of it, a lamp hooked above the front door. “Oh,” I mumbled. The fact that there were so many lamps in this town gave me the creeps, for some reason. It just felt so out of place to me. Doesn’t this town have electricity? I wondered. I walked over to the two girls and my Pokemon. Sleep would be nice, I thought to myself. Sleep. Maybe a couple of days off to just relax and do absolutely nothing… I just feel so tired. Stressed out. I don’t even wanna really go for this Badge. The sudden feeling of laziness and tiredness seemed to increase slightly as I walked through the door of the Pokemon Center.

The inside of the building was typical, containing chairs and tables and benches, all made of wood. I also received the answer to my question I had earlier as I noticed that this building was lit up with light bulbs from above. Not only that, but there was a line of four phone booths against the wall to our right. For some reason, a pair of candles still sat in the window inside.

A wooden counter contained a Nurse Joy whose elbows were on it, her head in her hands. The cross on her hat was a very dark gray; nearly black. Her eyes were closed, as if she were asleep.

“Hey, there’s a Gardevoir!” Courtney pointed.

Indeed, accompanying Nurse Joy was not an Audino, but a Gardevoir! Its eyes were wide open, watching us sternly.

“She works here?” June questioned.

Nurse Joy snorted and stood up quickly, her eyes flying open in surprise. “Hello! I’m Nurse Joy! Welcome to the Pokemon Center!” she cried out rapidly in shock.

We all froze about halfway to the desk, staring at Nurse Joy in surprise.

Nurse Joy laughed lightly. “Ha ha. Sorry. I guess I fell asleep, there. Welcome! Do your Pokemon require some attention?” she spoke more slowly and calmly.

“Yes. Would you mind giving our Pokemon a little checkup?” June asked, and we all approached the counter.

“Please, allow me to see your Pokemon and I’ll gladly heal them back to perfection!” Nurse Joy encouraged us.

We nodded and placed all of our Poke Balls on the counter.

“And my Charizard doesn’t have a Poke Ball, yet, so, can you just take him with you, too?” I asked Nurse Joy.

“Oh, but of course!” Nurse Joy smiled wearily at us, and from this close up, I could see how tired she looked. She actually was the oldest looking Nurse Joy I had ever seen in my life! The skin on her face had wrinkles, and her eyes struggled to stay open, black bags hanging strong underneath them.

I suddenly felt uneasy about leaving my Pokemon with her for some reason.

Nurse Joy scooped up four Poke Balls before turning to Gardevoir. “Gardevoir, will you help me with the rest of the Poke Balls, please?” she asked her wearily.

“Gard,” Gardevoir nodded, and her eyes glowed light blue.

The Poke Balls on the counter were outlined in light blue and they floated into the air.

Gardevoir followed Nurse Joy, the floating Poke Balls following behind the Pokemon.

Nurse Joy opened a door at the back of the building and stopped. “Charizard, please come with me.” She then walked through the door.

The door was about to close, but it was suddenly outlined in light blue and opened again.

Charizard turned to me and whined sadly.

“Charizard, I’ll be right here, waiting for you to come back,” I told him, rubbing his back. I gave him a gentle push towards the door. “The sooner you go in there, the sooner you’ll get out. Now, go!”

Charizard grunted and walked towards the door, Gardevoir holding it open with her Psychic power as she stared solemnly at Charizard. He walked through, turning back to me mournfully and whining again.

I nodded firmly.

Charizard let out his breath through his nostrils and turned away, lowering his head as he walked down the hallway.

The door closed after Gardevoir and the Poke Balls went past it, the blue outline vanishing.

I leaned against the counter with a sigh. “I need to sit or something. I feel dead.”

“I know what you mean. I guess all of the craziness that happened with that tank has finally caught up with me,” Courtney agreed. “I could use a really nice sleep.”

“I’m just so glad Charizard is back, safe and sound,” June sighed, and then yawned.

“So, he’s been tracking me down? Is that what he had told you earlier?” I asked June, a small amount of energy returning to me.

June nodded and smiled, though it seemed like she was struggling just to do that. “Since he left Prof. Oak’s Lab, he’s been seeking you, Gary. Luckily, he located your scent at some point, and it became a lot easier from there. It was still a lot of trouble, though. He’s gone through quite a lot to find you, and it’s nothing but a miracle that he actually got to you. He could have easily gotten lost traveling through Unova, or have been following a similar scent that wasn’t yours at all. The odds of him finding you are not high at all. I mean, with weather conditions such as rain and wind and other things that could have easily thrown Charizard off, him finding you is rather insane, ha… Gosh, this is inspiring, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is, to be honest,” I nodded. “Hey, I should call Professor Juniper and let her know that Charizard is okay so she can contact Prof. Oak.”

June’s eyes lit up and she gave me an open mouthed smile. “That’s a great idea!”

“Just cool it, okay, June?” I told her seriously, and I walked over to one of the phone booths. “There’s so much going on right now, and honestly, I don’t need your nonsense making things more stupid than they need to be. Just let me contact Juniper, and then you can have her all to yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know the drill,” June rolled her eyes with a smile.

I took a seat in one of the phone booths and dialed Prof. Juniper’s number. The screen glowed blue as I waited.

Finally, Prof. Juniper’s face appeared.

“Profess-aaaahh!! Juniper?!” I stared at the disheveled professor with a stunned face.

“Oh, my gosh!” June cried.

“Whoa! Bad hair day?” Courtney added.

Prof. Juniper looked a wreck! Her hair was pointing up into the air, and her face and clothes were smudged with black marks. She looked rather beautiful for a woman who seemed to have just gotten into a fight with… well… perhaps June’s Electivire! She was breathing hard, glaring through the screen. “Listen, I don’t have-!” Her eyes widened. “Gary! It’s Gary! I can’t believe it!”

“Prof. Juniper, what happened to you? Are you alright?” I asked her.

Something spun in the air behind Prof. Juniper before it flew out of view of the screen, crying out lightly.

“Gary, I am demanding you take back that Porygon-Z of yours RIGHT THIS SECOND!!” Prof. Juniper barked.

My eyes were wide, not believing what the professor was saying to me. “You want me to take it back? I mean, I have no problem with that, but-”

“That thing is a menace!!” Prof. Juniper screamed.

Suddenly, Porygon-Z appeared next to the professor and let out a thrilled screech as it saw me.

“DAAAAAAHHH!!” I shouted out as its yell tore through my eardrums, startling me, and I dropped out of my chair, my hands over my ears.

Courtney and June also screamed and backed away, Prof. Juniper crying out in pain and covering her ears as she dropped to the floor.

Porygon-Z then let out a lighter, electronic cry.

I looked up to see Prof. Juniper stand up and return Porygon-Z back to its Poke Ball. She then turned to me furiously. Her voice deepened as it transformed to that of raw evil as a growl came out from her throat. “Take it back! NOOOOOOWWW!!”

I swallowed hard, petrified at the way she sounded. I honestly believed she now had the power to reach through the screen and slash my throat if she wanted to. And I had a feeling she wanted to. I managed to choke out a little laugh, and I opened my mouth to say something as I got up from the floor and took my seat.

“THIS ISN’T FUNNY!!!” Prof. Juniper roared at me in an inhuman voice.

“Okay,” I nodded fearfully. “I’ll take it back, Professor. And, actually, I think we need to do a couple of other trades, if you don’t mind.”

“As long as this psychotic thing is going away, I don’t care!!” Prof. Juniper shouted in her normal voice.

“Absolu-waaaahh!!” I was suddenly shoved out of my chair.

“Prof. Juniper, I’m telling you, I have always hated that Porygon-Z!!” June said eagerly to Prof. Juniper, sitting in my seat, her face just a couple of inches from the screen. “That thing is insane!! It’s always acted like that, shocking people and just being weeeeeeeird!”

Prof. Juniper leaned away from the screen, her eyes wide.

“Did I ever tell you that I can’t read Porygon-Z?” June spoke nonstop. “That thing creeps me out because of that! I can read pretty much every Pokemon out there, but that Porygon-Z gives me the shivers and I can’t understand what it’s saying! I just freeze up and get totally bad vibes from it! I do not like that thing and never have! In my opinion, you’re a saint for having put-whoa!”

I shoved June out of the chair and took a seat, staring down at her firmly.

“Hey!” she shouted at me angrily from the floor.

I turned to Prof. Juniper and cleared my throat. “Anyway, like I was saying, I think that now would be a good time for us to exchange a few Pokemon. And, I also have some great news that I’d like you to inform Prof. Oak of when you get the chance, please.”

*

“So, you never did explain why you didn’t want to come here in the first place, Gary,” Courtney said.

“I’m well aware of that,” I responded coldly.

“Will you tell me?”

“Geez, give it a rest, will ya?” June said impatiently. “You have, like, no respect for people’s privacy at all!” She kept her stern eyes ahead of us.

“I’m sorry,” Courtney muttered, lowering her head sadly.

A welcome silence met our group for a couple of minutes as we traveled through the oddly empty town.

There were a lot of houses everywhere, and I even spotted a small store, but I didn’t see anyone outside. Nearly every building held a lamp hooked onto the door. This town was really scary at night, the only light coming from the lamps and the occasional candle inside of a very select number of houses.

“Will you at least tell me why your Noctowl is here?” Courtney asked me.

Noctowl hooted gently, flying above us.

“I’m just making sure everything’s… safe,” I grumbled.

“Safe? From what?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said quickly as we turned a corner.

“Oh, my goodness!!” June cried out loudly as I gasped in awe.

“Oooooh! Look at that mansion!!” Courtney exclaimed.

“This has to be it!” I yawned and twisted my body to each side. After shaking my head, I scrunched up my face and stretched out my arms, cracking my elbows. I suddenly felt a lot more energetic and ready to battle. “This is where my final Badge lies.”

“Let’s go get our Badges, Gary!” Courtney said excitedly, and she walked ahead of us, leading the way closer to the mansion.

The building was purple and stood high above us at five stories. But it was a startlingly tall five stories. Every story had six windows, except for the top story that only held two. Two black turrets stood at either end of the top of the mansion. The mansion’s exterior had designs and shapes on the front and sides, including claws reaching from the walls, spooky smiles without faces, and bricks that jutted from the building and circled around it like a strange set of stairs. At night, this building highly resembled a haunted mansion, and perhaps that was on purpose.

“This is it, guys,” I said as we stopped in front of the mansion, my eyes on the black door with a gold door knob on it. “The last Badge. I hope…”

“I still can’t believe Gramma’s Gym really isn’t operating anymore…” Courtney said sadly. “I feel so stupid!” She sighed and crossed her arms, frowning at the door.

June squinted at Courtney suspiciously.

I approached the door and noticed, in a shade so dark, it almost matched the color of the door, the words: Ghyst Town Pokemon Gym Leaders: Cory and Spector. Weird, I thought to myself. Why would they make the words so dark? Who could read that?

Noctowl hooted calmly, and he used his Foresight against the door, the red beams from his eyes glowing.

“All good?” I asked him.

Noctowl nodded.

I smiled and nodded back.

“Huh?” Courtney asked. “Gary, what are you doing?”

I ignored Courtney and grabbed the doorknob. The knob twisted in my grip and I gently shoved the door open.

The door creaked very loudly, almost resembling a man’s scream, making me jump in surprise.

Noctowl flapped his wings, startled by the noise, and Courtney and June gasped.

“Hello?” I called into the pitch-black building, my voice echoing as I cautiously walked inside. At once, I was blinded by bright lights, and I cried out and closed my eyes.

Noctowl, Courtney, and June let out shouts from close by me.

I blinked against the lights, squinting as I tried to make out what was going on. “Whoa!”

The room was now lit up as if someone had been holding the sun hostage! The walls were golden and very bright, and three chandeliers hung from the ceiling, glittering beautifully against the fire red floor. In the middle of the floor was the black outline of a battlefield, and at the far end of the field stood two young men.

“Where did the brightness come from?” Courtney complained.

“What was that?” June asked.

Noctowl cried out as he stared into the room, his wings flapping close to my ear.

“Welcome,” one of the two young men stated clearly, smiling softly. “I would like to introduce myself as Cory.” He bowed before us, dressed in a very clean black suit that somehow made him look like he was worth about a billion bucks.

Based on the looks of the room we were standing in, in this huge mansion, I was certain that this place belonged to a billionaire.

“And I’m Spector,” the other guy waved at us casually with a slight smile. He was wearing light blue jeans ripped at the knees, dirty, worn-out white sneakers, and a gray sweater. “You guys are here for a Gym battle, right?”

“That’s right,” I nodded, still blinking from the sudden brightness. “I mean, me and her are.” I pointed at Courtney.

“I’m just here to watch and learn, so to speak,” June smiled and waved, her face turning slightly red.

Cory’s smile faded as he turned to June, and concern filled his wide, brown eyes. “Might I ask why you will not be accompanying your friends in a Pokemon battle?”

June smiled wider and lowered her eyes to the ground, her face darkening into an even deeper red. “I’m not competing in the Unova League. I’m just traveling through Unova with Gary, my friend. And… Courtney.” Her smile faded, but her face got even redder.

What’s up with her? I wondered, staring at her red face.

“I understand,” Cory smiled, nodding his head that held his very low cut hair, once at her.

“So, it’s just you two battling?” Spector asked, running one hand through his messy, long black hair that ended right above his shoulders.

Courtney and I faced each other and then turned back to him. We both nodded quickly.

Cory and Spector turned to each other with a smile and nodded before turning back to us.

“Then, would you both be so good as to battle both me and my brother at the same time in a Tag Battle?” Cory, the brother whose skin was a little darker than my brown complexion, asked us.

“Huh? What do you mean?” I felt like I understood what he asked, but it was such an odd request, I had to make sure.

“Me and Cory against you two,” Spector, the pale skinned brother, explained shortly. “Is that alright with you two?”

I turned to Courtney and realized that she was already looking back at me with wide eyes. Me and her, teaming up for our final Badge? I thought. That would save us a lot of time if we could just win this Badge together…

Courtney’s eyes fluttered at me as a smile crossed her pink lips, and my eyes widened at her action.

“So? What do you say, Sugar Lumps?” she asked, looking me over once. “Wanna team up for your last Badge?”

Wow, I thought. This could be interesting.

“Excuse me,” Cory suddenly spoke up. “Is it accurate to assume that this Noctowl that has been with you three is one of yours?”

“Huh?” I turned away from Cory to see my Noctowl flying around the Gym, using Foresight on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling.

Each side of this large room held a set of dark, purple stairs with a wooden, black handrail, leading up, and Noctowl flew to one of them and stared at it for a moment before gliding over to the two brothers.

Cory stared in surprise as Noctowl stared him down, and then Spector was next to be glared at before Noctowl returned to my side, looking around suspiciously.

“How’s everything look?” I asked him.

The red beams from Noctowl’s Foresight went away, and he happily nodded, crying out to me.

“I have a hunch that you were using your Noctowl’s Foresight to make sure that everything was as it appears,” Cory smiled warmly. “Is this true?”

“I kind of had a bad experience with Ghost types,” I admitted to the brothers. “I just needed to be sure that everything was…”

“Real?” Spector finished.

“Yeah…” I lowered my head.

Cory and Spector laughed.

“Do not be embarrassed, Gary,” Cory told me. “That is very wise of you to be so cautious. Ghost type Pokemon can be very mischievous, after all. Rest assured that this Gym is most certainly not some kind of illusion or trap.”

He speaks… weird… I thought, staring at Cory. Why does he talk so… Like… Straight? This isn’t a job interview or something.

“Why couldn’t you just explain that to me when I asked?” Courtney crossed her arms, scowling at me.

I turned to her angrily. “I don’t want to talk about it any further.”

“I wanna know what happened to you!”

“Courtney, I said to drop it!”

“Cory, Spector, ask Gary what happened to him, since he doesn’t want to tell me anything!” Courtney said grouchily to the Gym Leaders.

Both brothers turned to each other uncomfortably.

“Please, let’s all keep it cool,” Spector smiled at us nervously. “No need for fighting. You can’t win a Tag Battle if you’re fighting against each either. It’s about peace, teamwork, and all that, you know?”

“Yes,” Cory added. “Or, we could certainly oblige to battling you each individually, instead. By that, I mean, me and my brother, Spector, versus one of you two, today. After that match concludes, my brother and I would then battle against the other person in another match, tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow… I think I’d prefer to just wrap this up today,” I told the brothers. “We’ve still got a decent amount of time before the Interough Conference starts, but I’m raring to get this battle on. And teaming with Courtney might be kinda fun. I’ve never had a battle like that before…” It only took me a few seconds after I finished speaking to remember a specific day of my trip through Kanto.

Once, I had met the Pokemon Champion of Kanto, A.J. Him and one of the members of the Kanto Elite Four, the Ghost type Master, Kaybee, engaged me and Robin in a Tag Battle, which we both lost horribly.

“Well, I guess I have battled like that once before…” I spoke hesitantly.

“Then, you’re both game?” Spector asked.

“Hmph,” Courtney grunted and looked away from me as I turned to her.

“I am not one hundred percent certain that Courtney is open to this suggestion,” Cory laughed lightly.

“I’m fine with it,” Courtney grumbled. She turned to me, and her anger faded away as sadness designed her face. “I just wish you’d be more open with me. That’s all.”

“Courtney…” I felt kind of bad, now. I just didn’t want to talk about what had occurred so long ago. They were memories I knew I’d never forget, and honestly, it was probably best that I didn’t forget them, for my own good. But, was it so bad that I didn’t tell Courtney about them? Was it worth fighting over?

“Who’s judging this battle, anyway?” June asked.

Spector and Cory exchanged quick glances before turning to us with smiles.

“Our butler, George, would normally judge our matches, but he’s been very ill lately, so-” Spector was saying.

Something appeared in a multicolored flash outside of the battlefield.

“Oh, my!” Nurse Joy exclaimed in shock, covering her eyes with her hands.

“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir spoke gently, appearing next to Nurse Joy, looking first at the Gym Leaders and then over at June, Courtney, Noctowl and I.

“Oh, I guess I’m judging a Gym match?” Nurse Joy yawned, rubbing her eyes.

“If it is of no trouble to you, Nurse Joy,” Cory bowed.

“No, no,” Nurse Joy groaned, stretching her back. “No trouble.”

“Thanks,” Spector told the nurse, and then he turned to me and Courtney. “Are you two ready?”

Courtney and I turned to each other and stared solemnly.

“I am,” I nodded at her.

She nodded silently and walked over to the battlefield.

I turned to June and shrugged before turning away and joining Courtney.

Noctowl hooted loudly and flapped his wings around Gardevoir and Nurse Joy, using Foresight on them both.

Nurse Joy uttered out a startled sound, taking a couple of steps back as she stared at Noctowl.

Gardevoir didn’t budge, glaring at my Pokemon.

“Noctowl, that’s about enough, bud! I think we get the picture, here. Return!” I called, and I retreated my Pokemon.

“Ha. A wonderfully dedicated Pokemon you have, Gary,” Cory said. “Please, if you both will be so kind, state your names, followed by the places you are from, for the record.”

“My name is Gary, from Pallet Town in Kanto!” I said loudly.

“I’m Courtney, from LaRousse City in the Hoenn region!” Courtney called.

“We have quite the foreigners in our presence this evening,” Cory smiled politely. “Is the beautiful young lady behind you also from afar? And, might I request her name?”

“Ha.” June covered her cheeks with her hands and trained her eyes on the ground as she went red again. “My name is June. I’m from Kanto, too. From Gringey City.”

“Such a pleasure to have been able to lay my eyes upon such distant beauty, from both Courtney, and you, as well, June,” Cory bowed deeply.

“Oh, my! I-ha! Thank you,” June giggled.

“Oh, I’m nothing compared to June,” Courtney smiled, lowering her head shyly. She brushed aside one side of her hair and giggled as her hand slid down against her face.

I grabbed a Poke Ball in my hand and squeezed it, glaring impatiently at Cory. “Are we battling or what?” I snapped.

Cory’s smile faded as he turned to me, but it returned quickly. “Most certainly, Gary. Ha, ha.” He turned to Nurse Joy. “If you would be so kind, please? A Tag Battle against our opponents this evening.”

Nurse Joy smiled back and nodded. “Of course!” she said with noticeably more energy than she seemed to have before. “This match will be a Tag Battle between Ghyst Town’s Gym Leaders, Cory and Spector, against Gary from Pallet Town and Courtney from LaRousse City, for the Shadow Badge. This match will feature only one Pokemon from each Trainer, and the match will end when both Pokemon from one side are unable to continue. There will be no time limit for this battle.” Nurse Joy raised one hand into the air, Gardevoir glaring straight ahead at the battlefield. “Trainers may now begin!” Nurse Joy shouted.

“Chandelure, goooo!” Spector tossed his Poke Ball.

“Chandelure!” a ghostly creature resembling a chandelier said strongly.

“Jellicent, please, let us have a memorable battle!” Cory sent out his Pokemon.

“Jellicent!” the familiar Pokemon said.

I’d seen a Jellicent before from Ruko, but the one that he had was pink. The one I was now staring at was blue! “A Shiny Pokemon?” I stared at the Pokemon with a smile.

I knew of Shiny Pokemon. They were Pokemon that were in a different color than they normally were found, and are extremely rare finds.

“This one is colored differently from the one I’ve seen before,” I noted.

“Ha, ha, ha. This is not the case, Gary,” Cory explained to me. “You see, male Jellicent are blue, whereas female Jellicent are pink. The same rules apply for their pre-evolved stage, Frillish.”

“Oh,” I said, a little embarrassed.

Courtney snickered as she pulled out her Pokedex.

Jellicent. The Floating Pokemon. This is Frillish’s evolved stage. It is believed that somewhere in the seas where Jellicent live, numerous ships lie deep at the bottom of the ocean, sunk by the Jellicent. Searches to find these said ships have all ended in failure, as no one has ever returned.

I pointed my Pokedex at Spector’s Pokemon.

Chandelure. The Luring Pokemon and Lampent’s final form. This Pokemon hypnotizes its victims by waving the flames on its body before draining their spirit.

Just great, I thought, lowering my Pokedex. Just the kind of thing I wanted to hear. What is it with Ghost type Pokemon, anyway?

“Sceptile, let’s go!” Courtney threw Sceptile’s Poke Ball to the field.

“Sceptiiiiile!” Sceptile yelled in its raspy voice.

“And I’m going with you, buddy!” I threw the Poke Ball.

Porygon-Z appeared and spun in place.

A loud shriek filled the Gym, and everyone inside let out startled cries as well and turned around. Me, Courtney, Spector, Cory, Sceptile, Porygon-Z, Jellicent, Chandelure, Nurse Joy, and Gardevoir all had our eyes on the same person.

June had her back pressed against the closed front door, her terrified eyes on Porygon-Z.

“June, what is wrong with-?” I began. A familiar, electronic-like whirr from behind me made me turn around, and before I knew it, I was tackled by something, knocking me to the ground. I groaned in pain and wrapped my arms around my attacker. “Porygon-Z, please… This isn’t the time… I just want to battle already…”

Porygon-Z let out a sharp, blaring screech that caused screams from everyone in the building, myself included.

I let go of Porygon-Z and covered my ears, my eyes closed tight. Maybe this was a mistake, I thought wearily, my ears throbbing.

Another scream from June caused me to look up and see Porygon-Z chasing her, its body sparking with electricity as it waved its appendages through the air in a swimming motion.

“GARY, STOP IT!!!” June shrieked. “CALL IT BACK!! CALL IT BACK!!”

“I already sent it out! I can’t retreat, now!” I reasoned.

“I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE STUPID BATTLE!!!!”

“Well, I do!” I replied angrily, getting to my feet. “Porygon-Z, get back to the field!! Stop acting up! We can play later! Come on!!”

“Why does June seem so terrified of it?” Courtney asked in a low voice as Porygon-Z ignored me and continued chasing June. She pulled out her Pokedex again.

Porygon-Z. The Virtual Pokemon. This is Porygon2’s last stage. The original plan was to improve upon Porygon2’s programming and allow for new dimensions to be accessed, but this Pokemon was instead found to be out of control and unstable.

“Wow…” Courtney whispered. She turned to me. “I can’t believe you have one of those! Where did you find one?”

“Well, i-OH!” I was knocked back down by a screaming June as she ran onto the battlefield, trying to get away from my Pokemon.

Porygon-Z flew right over me in the following second.

“Ha, I’ve got an idea,” Spector smiled at Cory. “Now that Porygon-Z’s on the battlefield, let’s get June off of it and begin the match, guys!”

“I quite agree,” Cory said, smiling back at Spector. He then turned to his Jellicent. “Jellicent, I request you use Psychic to gently hold Porygon-Z still, please.”

“Jellicent!” Jellicent’s eyes glowed light blue, and Porygon-Z suddenly froze in place, its body outlined in light blue.

Porygon-Z looked around in confusion and then closed its eyes, struggling to move and crying out desperately.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!!” June bowed and then took off, running out of the field for the battle.

A painful screech from Porygon-Z burned into my eardrums and I screamed, covering my ears as my eyes teared up. “I CAN’T TAKE THIS THING ANYMOOOOORRRRRE!!!” I bellowed. When Porygon-Z was done trying to make my ears bleed, I looked up and noticed that everybody but Porygon-Z was on the ground, breathing hard from the pain they had just been subjected to.

Porygon-Z let out a happy cry.

“That is… a really unique Pokemon you have, Gary,” Cory breathed tiredly.

“Is it gonna be doing that throughout this battle?” Spector sighed.

“No! Porygon-Z just gets a little crazy sometimes… I’m really sorry!” I got to my feet and balled my fists. “Everything’s gonna be alright, now! Porygon-Z, can we pleeeease start this battle, now?”

Porygon-Z turned to me and nodded happily, letting out a light chime noise.

Chandelure and Jellicent got up from the floor, shaking their heads and glaring at Porygon-Z.

Sceptile also got up, shooting Porygon-Z a dirty look.

“It’s gonna be you and Sceptile against those two in front of you,” I told Porygon-Z. “Chandelure’s in front of you, and Jellicent is the other Pokemon. This is gonna be for our last-”

Porygon-Z flew out of the battlefield and stopped in front of Nurse Joy, turning its body sideways, and it let out a light, pleasant, funny little noise.

Nurse Joy stared back, and a smile spread across her face.

Porygon-Z slowly floated over to Gardevoir and its body shook like a rattle.

Gardevoir stared back coldly, not moving.

Porygon-Z whirred before it floated back to the battlefield, towards its opponents.

Cory and Spector got to their feet, watching my Porygon-Z.

It hung upside down as it looked at Chandelure, and then it slid over to Jellicent. It then floated away silently over to their Trainers. Porygon-Z’s body sparked.

“Huh?” Cory and his brother both uttered as they stared at my Pokemon.

“Porygon-Z! What are you doing?!” I screamed fearfully.

Porygon-Z shocked both Gym Leaders with Thunder.

They both screamed and collapsed to the floor.

Courtney, Sceptile, June, and Nurse Joy gasped along with me.

“Chandelure!” Chandelure shouted angrily, and it fired a stream of flames in Porgyon-Z’s direction.

“Jeeeeeeell!” Jellicent used Bubble Beam to attack my Pokemon.

Porygon-Z turned around and ducked underneath both attacks. It let out an angry cry, flapping its appendages, and then flew into the battlefield. It faced the two opposing Pokemon, floating next to Sceptile, and let out a serious call.

Courtney finally managed to stand up. “Gary, that thing nuts! This is a Tag Battle! You couldn’t have chosen something a little more obedient? How are we supposed to sync?”

“I…” …guess I didn’t think of that, I finished in my head.

Cory and Spector got to their feet.

Spector looked understandably angry.

Cory looked exhausted from what he just withstood. “It would appear that this battle has begun.”

“Deal,” Courtney said determinedly, turning to the battlefield. “Sceptile, use your Leaf Blade on Jellicent!”

“Porygon-Z, Psybeam Chandelure!” I commanded.

“Chandelure, Fire Blast Sceptile!” Spector ordered.

“Jellicent, I insist on you using Ice Beam on Porygon-Z,” Cory told him.

Sceptile moved first, leaping at Jellicent and slashing him with the leaves on its arms that were glowing light green.

“Jeeeeeellicent!” Jellicent slid backwards on the floor of the Gym.

Porygon-Z’s head spun in circles for a second before it stopped and fired a multicolored beam from its eyes, slamming into Chandelure as it was about to attack Sceptile.

Jellicent’s body suddenly began to shiver on the ground. His face darkened, and a blue aura surrounded his body.

Sceptile suddenly shivered for some reason, its eyes wide as if being possessed, and its body was surrounded by a blue aura.

Both Pokemon finally stopped shaking and the blue around them faded, their faces returning back to normal.

“What was that?” Courtney questioned.

“Yeah, that was weird,” I said. “Was that an attack?”

“The Ability that we have all witnessed just now is known as Cursed Body,” Cory informed us. “What this Ability does is disable the move that was used against it.”

“You mean, I can’t use Leaf Blade anymore?” Courtney said in disbelief.

“Yes, but for only a short while,” Cory said calmly. “Jellicent, once again, try your Ice Beam, please.”

“Jelll!” Jellicent recovered from the hit he took and immediately used Ice Beam, hitting Porygon-Z with the attack.

Porygon-Z cried out as ice formed around its body, and it then dropped to the ground, Frozen.

“Chandeluuuure!” Chandelure breathed out fire and hit Sceptile, dropping it as well.

“Sceptile! Hang in there!” Courtney encouraged her Pokemon.

“Scept! Sceptile!” Sceptile shook its head and stood up. “Scept! Tiiiiile!” Sceptile was dropped to its knees as its body was suddenly covered in flames. It screamed and then collapsed further down as the Burn went away.

“Noooooo!” Courtney wailed. “Gary!” She shoved me angrily.

“Hey! What are you mad at me for?” I leered at her.

“Why didn’t you attack Jellicent with me?” she said furiously. “We need to attack the same Pokemon! We can knock one out quicker that way! Duuh!”

“You didn’t say you wanted to do things that way!”

“I gave Sceptile the first order! You should have followed my lead!”

“Since when are you the leader?”

“Chandelure, Confuse Ray!” Spector said.

“Huh?” Courtney and I both turned to the battle.

Chandelure fired several golden orbs at Sceptile, who was struggling to its feet.

The orbs latched onto Sceptile’s body and grew bigger until they combined into one. The ball popped loudly and Sceptile’s eyes glowed red.

It stumbled around, now Confused.

“Jellicent, might I ask of you to use Scald on Porygon-Z?” Cory asked of his Pokemon.

“Jellicent! Jeeeeeell!” Jellicent sprayed my Frozen Pokemon with steaming hot water.

Porygon-Z was out of sight inside of the white steam that surrounded it. With a loud scream, Porygon-Z floated up out of the steam, into the air, its head spinning in circles.

“Get that one, too!” Spector spoke out.

Chandelure moved instantly, attacking Porygon-Z with Confuse Ray, as well.

Now, both Pokemon were Confused.

“Sceptile, fight through it and use Night Slash on Jellicent!” Courtney instructed her Pokemon. She turned to me. “And this time, how about you stick to the damn plan?”

“Don’t talk to me like that!” I told her, feeling my temper flaring. “Pay attention to the battle and maybe you wouldn’t have gotten Burned! We stopped the first Fire Blast!”

“And maybe you could have stopped the second one if you weren’t so busy being Frozen!” Courtney yelled.

“Don’t you-!” I raised a finger and pointed at her.

A familiar pair of cries made me stop and Courtney and I looked at our Pokemon. “Oh, no!” we both exclaimed.

“Porygon-Z!”

“Sceptile!”

Both of our Pokemon were fighting with each other!

Sceptile was swinging furiously at Porygon-Z with Night Slash while Porygon-Z would back up and hit Sceptile with Psybeam!

“Would you look at that, my dear brother,” Cory chuckled lightly. “Art is imitating life. The Pokemon cannot get along with each other any better than their Trainers.”

“Ha! Good one, bro,” Spector smiled.

My heart sunk.

Sceptile dropped to its knees as another Burn kicked in, and Porygon-Z used Tackle once the flames around Sceptile died out, slamming into its chest and knocking it onto its back.

“Our Pokemon won’t survive this Gym battle if they’re beating the crap out of each other!” Courtney bemoaned. “Gary, we have to get through to them!”

I turned to her and saw the scared look on her face. “You’re right! We can’t expect our Pokemon to listen to us if we’re not gonna be any better of an example,” I said firmly. “We need to snap them out of that Confusion.”

Porygon-Z let out a mechanical whiiiirrrr, and its eyes turned an even darker red. Two red circles flew from its eyes and landed on Sceptile’s chest, combining into one and turning into a red target.

“Gary, make it stop!” Courtney pleaded.

“It’s using Lock-On! The next move is gonna hit no matter what!”

“Lock-On?” Courtney squeaked.

“Your Pokemon are in a prime position to get blasted, right there, if you ask me,” Spector said suddenly. “Chandelure, finish them both off with Fire Blast!”

“Sceptiiiiile!!” Courtney’s hands slapped against her cheeks.

Sceptile groaned as it struggled just to climb back to its knees. Its hands rested on top of the floor as it breathed heavily.

Porygon-Z started to charge a white orb in front of its beak. The orb glowed with flashes of multiple colors.

“Tri Attack!” I gasped. “Porygon-Z, you can’t! Listen to me!” My eyes widened. “Wait a minute…” I whispered. “Courtney, Sceptile needs to stay in the middle of those two attacks, and then use Detect!”

“What?!” Courtney looked at me as if I had mutated into a goblin.

“TRUST ME!” I shouted desperately.

Chandelure attacked with Fire Blast.

“Sceptile, stay still and use Detect!” Courtney covered her face with her hands, but spread the fingers to peek through. “What have I done…?” she whined.

Sceptile grunted as it stood up tall, Porygon-Z’s Tri Attack and Chandelure’s Fire Blast soaring towards it.

The target on its chest remained.

Sceptile’s eyes then glowed light blue. “Sceptile!” Sceptile leaped out of the way of Porygon-Z’s Tri Attack and Chandelure’s Fire Blast, the target on its chest disappearing!

The two moves exploded on contact and I stumbled back a few feet as smoke blocked the Pokemon on the field from view.

Courtney ducked her head, still hiding behind her hands, closing her eyes tight as wind whipped throughout the building.

When the smoke cleared, Chandelure and Jellicent stood on their end of the field.

Sceptile was on one knee, and its eyes were no longer red.

Porygon-Z was in the air, staring at its opponents silently. It was also freed from its Confusion.

“It worked? The attack missed?” Courtney cried out in amazement.

“I wasn’t sure if Detect would work or not, to be honest,” I admitted. “I took a chance.”

“You?? You took a chance?” Courtney raged at me. “You used my Pokemon! Risked my Pokemon’s health, not yours! What chance did you take?”

“I kept both of our Pokemon safe, didn’t I?” I yelled at her. “I knew how powerful Fire Blast was, but Porygon-Z has Adaptability Ability. That makes moves that are the same type as it, extra powerful. I knew that if we could make Tri Attack, a Normal move, which is the same type as Porygon-Z, hit Fire Blast, it could be enough to counter it and keep us in this battle!” I relaxed and smiled at Courtney. “Now, let’s get this Badge. Together, Courtney.”

Her expression softened as her eyes widened.

I turned to our Pokemon. “You ready?”

“Yes!” Courtney said happily. “I am! Let’s do this!”

Sceptile cried out as Burn inflicted its damage.

“Sceptile can’t have much energy left in it! Just look at it!” I pointed.

Sceptile’s body was now glowing green.

“That’s Overgrow! Its Grass moves are really gonna be powerful now, but this also means it’s down to the last bit of health it has!” I told Courtney.

“I’m aware of my own Pokemon’s Ability, Sugar,” Courtney said kindly.

“Porygon-Z, let’s do this! Zap Cannon Jellicent!”

Porygon-Z shivered in the air as its body sparked. A yellow and black ball sparked in front of it, and with an excited yell, it fired the attack across the field.

“JEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLL!!!” Jellicent shouted and he collapsed. “Jell! Jeeeell!” His body sparked as Paralysis kicked in.

“I can’t believe it! He’s still fighting!” I gasped.

Jellicent floated from the floor and his face darkened again. He began to shiver as his body was outlined in blue.

The Cursed Body Ability hit Porygon-Z, making it look forward with a shocked look on its face and shake hard, its body outlined in blue. When it was over, Porygon-Z looked around, hovering shakily.

“Zap Cannon’s gone,” I growled.

“Jellicent, now would be a most excellent time to use Recover, methinks,” Cory told his Pokemon.

Methinks? What century does he think this is? I thought, glaring at him.

Multiple colors flashed on Jellicent’s body before fading away, and Jellicent now looked a lot healthier.

“That thing knows Recover, too. We don’t have any other choice, then!” Courtney said seriously. “Gary, you’re on your own for a little bit after this. I’m sorry.”

“On my own? What do you mean?” I turned to her in surprise.

“Sceptile, let’s show ‘em what you’ve got! Frenzy Plant, now!” Courtney insisted.

“Frenzy Plant??” I couldn’t believe my ears.

“Scept!” Sceptile stood up tall. “Sceeept! Sceptile Sceeeeeeptiiiiiiiiiilllle!!” Sceptile raised its hands to the ceiling and then stomped one foot hard to the ground.

The floor under me rocked slightly, and then, BAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!

Several roots burst from the bottom of the Gym, covered in thorns, and headed for Jellicent.

“Oh, no!” Cory exclaimed.

“JEEEEEELLL!!” Jellicent was smacked by the most powerful Grass type move. He dropped to the ground easily and didn’t move.

“Jellicent is unable to battle!” Nurse Joy waved at Jellicent.

Gardevoir kept her eyes on Jellicent.

“It would appear that my time here is done,” Cory smiled at me and Courtney. “You both have done well, so far.” He looked down to his Jellicent, still smiling. “Thank you for your valiant effort, my friend. I could not have asked for more.” He returned his Pokemon and looked back to the battlefield pleasantly.

“One down, but now, Sceptile is unable to fight for a bit,” I acknowledge, knowing the cost of using such a powerful move like Frenzy Plant.

“I’ll be back in this as soon as I can, alright?” Courtney assured me.

“We’ve got this! Porygon-Z, Thunder!”

“Dodge it, Chandelure!” Spector said.

Porygon-Z’s body sparked, and it hung upside down at an angle. A bright blast of electricity aimed for Chandelure, but Chandelure dodged it.

“Now, attack Sceptile with Fire Blast!”

“Porygon-Z, jump in front of it and use Protect!”

Porygon-Z tumbled in the way of the oncoming wave of fire and surrounded itself with a turquoise ball of energy, holding off the Fire Blast attack.

“Gary!” Courtney said gratefully. “Thank you so much!”

“Sceeept!” Sceptile fell as its Burn kicked in again.

“Sceptile!” Courtney called to her Pokemon.

Sceptile struggled to move, but it didn’t have the strength to hold itself up.

“Porygon-Z, use your Recover!” I told it.

Porygon-Z’s body glowed with multiple colors as it recovered its energy.

“I didn’t know it knew Recover, too,” Courtney said softly.

“If Sceptile can’t stick it out, I’m gonna need all the health I can gather up.”

“Then use your Confuse Ray! We’ll stop them that way!” Spector was starting to sound agitated and impatient.

“Gary, take aim! Sceptile and I can hold off Chandelure! Night Slash, now!” Courtney said quickly.

“Take aim?” I didn’t understand what she meant by that.

Sceptile got to its feet and the leaves on its wrists glowed a very light purple. It leaped into the air.

“OH, SHOOT!” I suddenly understood what Courtney meant. “Lock-On, now!”

Sceptile descended upon Chandelure.

Porygon-Z’s eyes glowed red and sent out the red circles. They landed on Chandelure’s face and combined into one target.

Sceptile let out a threatening cry and slashed Chandelure to the ground, stopping its Confuse Ray attack.

“Sceeeept!” Sceptile groaned in pain as the Burn set in again. It fell to its face.

“Sceptile is also out! The remaining Pokemon are Chandelure and Porygon-Z!” Nurse Joy announced.

“Sceptile, you battled perfectly! Come back!” Courtney returned Sceptile to its Poke Ball.

“Thunder, now!” I demanded loudly.

Porygon-Z’s body sparked brightly, and I shielded my eyes against the blindingly bright, white lighting that flew from its body.

“Chandelure, get out of the way!” Spector urged his Pokemon.

“Chandelure!” Chandelure ascended into the air, but the target on its body stayed with it. “CHANDELUUUUUUUUUUUURRRE!!!” Chandelure’s voice roared throughout the Gym as the Thunder attack hit it right on target.

Porygon-Z’s attack finished, and all eyes were on the shivering, sparking Chandelure hovering above the Gym floor.

“Chandelure…” Chandelure dropped.

“Chandelure has been defeated!” Nurse Joy said, clasping her hands together with a smile. “The winners of this battle are Gary and Courtney!”

“YEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!!” I cheered. “We won all eight Badges!! We really did it! We-GAH!!” I was choked by arms as Courtney wrapped me up in a tight hug.

“Gary, we did it! We won!!” She planted her lips against my cheek and gave me a big, wet kiss.

“HEY!” I squirmed angrily in her arms.

Courtney laughed and let me go. “Guess I let my enthusiasm get the best of me, there, ha ha ha ha!”

I wiped at my cheek and then wiped my hand against my jeans, scowling. “Control yourself, woman! Hey!” I was suddenly being squeezed around my chest by another pair of arms!

“Gary, you won! You can finally compete in the Interough Conference!” June gushed. “You did so well!”

“Thanks, just don’t kiss me!” I smiled, looking at the ground.

“Very well done, you two,” I heard the voice of Spector, and as June let go of me, I turned to see the two Gym Leaders standing close by us.

Cory held an open, purple case in his hands, a white cloth in the middle of it that hung out both ends holding two small objects. They were both purple and in the shape of a ghostly, sharp claw.

“You two have undoubtedly earned the Shadow Badge,” Cory said. “It was an honor.”

The brothers both bowed before us.

“Wow! YAY!! The Shadow Badge!” Courtney reached into the case, but I grabbed her hand and pulled it back.

“Not so fast,” I said to her.

“Huh?” She looked at me.

I let go of her and grabbed a Poke Ball from my belt and tossed it into the air.

Noctowl hooted from above and I caught his Poke Ball as it fell down towards my hands.

“Noctowl, one more scan, please,” I smiled at him.

Noctowl happily flew down and used Foresight on the two Badges.

Nothing happened.

“Ha ha! It’s real! Everything’s real!” I scooped up one of the Badges and held it high. “Porygon-Z! We did it! We really did it! We won all eight Badges this time!”

Porygon-Z was shivering in the air, hanging at a tilted angle, gliding slowly back and forth within the space of the battlefield.

“Porygon-Z!” I called out to it, and I ran towards it.

Porygon-Z straightened up and turned to me.

“We won, man!” I laughed and leaped at the crazy Pokemon, wrapping my arms around its body.

Porygon-Z shivered hard with excitement in my arms.

“W-w-w-we c-c-c-c-can c-c-c-compete in th-th-the Int-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-terough C-C-C-C-Conference, now! Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-YES!” I stammered as I held on to my continuously shaking Porygon-Z. I released it and threw my other Poke Balls to the ground.

Charizard stretched his wings broadly and roared powerfully, blasting at the ceiling with fire.

“DOOOOO! DOOOOOOOO!!” Kingdra bounced over to me immediately, overjoyed to see me.

“Unfezant!” Unfezant stood on the floor of the Gym, looking up at me expectantly.

“Sawk!” Sawk bowed before all of us.

I held out the Shadow Badge. “You guys, we just got our final Badge! The Shadow Badge! We’re on our way to the Interough Conference!” I shouted happily.

All of my Pokemon seemed delighted with the news, except for Sawk, who merely nodded slowly and then kept his serious eyes on me.

With a sigh of relief, I fell wearily to the floor with a smile. We did it, I thought as I looked down at the Badge in my hand.

*

I sighed as I laid in the lobby of the Pokemon Center, sprawled out on the floor.

June was sitting in a chair, her head on a wooden table, her eyes closed.

Courtney was stretched out on the bench against the wall, breathing heavily in her sleep.

They sure were tired, I thought to myself. Even I’m wiped out for some reason. I guess I drained myself from that battle I had, and all the excitement of having my eighth Badge and being able to compete in the Interough Conference has finally worn me out. I yawned as my eyes started to close. I didn’t want them to close. I didn’t want to go to sleep. I wasn’t even fully certain how I got on the floor, or why I hadn’t gotten up from it. Too tired, I told myself. Besides, there ain’t nothing wrong with sleeping on the floor. It’s comforting in its own way.

Nurse Joy was in the back with Gardevoir, taking care of our Pokemon.

I had told her to take her time caring for them.

We were in no rush. The girls were sleeping like babies right now, and soon enough, so would I.

Up next is Interough City, I thought sleepily. The Interough Conference.

Ella flashed into my mind.

Trixa followed shortly after her.

I wonder how they’re doing. I wonder where Ella’s going for her final Badge… She hates me… My eyes opened slowly as a heavy feeling filled my chest and my heart began to beat faster. Ella can’t stand me. She’s going to get her final Badge, and I might have to face her at the Interough Conference. It’s only… I rolled over onto my side and closed my eyes. I dunno. A few weeks away? A couple of weeks? I don’t care… Whatever.

I don’t even care about Ella.

I don’t even really care about the Interough Conference right now.

I don’t even have to worry about my Pokemon right now, either.

I’m just too tired to be concerned with all this stress. I can worry about this other stuff when we leave here tomorrow.

Or maybe… we’ll stay here tomorrow and just sleep…

We can always leave the next day…

I yawned and curled up in a ball, smiling comfortably.

Or… maybe we’ll just leave the day after that…

Or… maybe we could spend the week here… Like a vacation…

And just sleep…

We all deserve a little vacation…

And the Interough Conference is months away…

Or something…

Sleep…

I just need to sleep…

All I care about…

Sleep…