Gary was sitting in the phone booth by himself in the Pokemon Center.

The building was empty aside from Nurse Joy.

Even June had opted to step outside for a while.

Gary stared at the blank screen of the computer. Better sooner than later, I guess, Gary told himself. Were you really gonna leave this town without addressing this?

Maybe, he admitted. But it wouldn’t last forever. This has to be done. But, geez. Grandma, Auntie and her? This is ripping a bandage, here! Or perhaps it’s a slow pull. Gary grabbed the cool phone receiver and tightened his grip until it warmed up some.

“HEEEEEEEEEELP!!! WHAT IS THIS THING???” Melissa bellowed for her life.

Gary found himself unable to move. I don’t know, Melissa! I don’t know! But... I know it’s not human!!

The thing’s hair on its head sparked, like with electricity, before, all by itself, the hair reached outward as if it had come alive, seperated into numerous, grouped, skinny bundles! The hair reached out and connected with Melissa’s face.

She screamed at the top of her lungs as her body was lit by the blue lightning, and her body jumped.

The being looked off to the side, revealing a neck that was exceptionally long and curvy, like a serpent. The skin area surrounding the eyes were spaced apart from them. Only the top and bottom of the eyeballs met with the skin on the face. The sides of the eyes did not. There was dark space between the skin and eyes in that area. Specifically, dark, rectangular space. The black pupils of the being were mostly all that could be seen in the eyes, a purple iris barely visible around it at the very tips.

This what you’re gonna tell her? Or him? Gary pushed in the phone number he knew by heart. The ringing made him pull the receiver away from his ear. It was an effort to breathe.

The empty, blue screen finally gave way to the face of Gary’s mom. The woman looked a wreck. Her eyes were red and tearfilled, her face covered in dried tear lines. She was shaking just holding the phone in her hand. “GARY!”

There was whispering and shushing in the background.

“Mom? Mom!!” It was all Gary could come out with as his heart thudded against his insides. “Mom!”

“Gary! Where have you been?! You’re okay!” She wiped at her face as tears flowed down her eyes.

“Yes, mommy, I’m okay! I’m alive! I’m here!”

“Where is here?! Where are you right now, Gary?!” she screamed.

“Mommy, wait! I’m in Dark City, but-”

“You need to get your ass home right now!” she demanded. “I need to know what happened to your sister! Why didn’t you call me?!! How could you wait so long??!”

It hurt Gary’s soul to see his mother openly just crying in front of him. He swallowed and squinted hard, struggling not to break down and cry with her.

There was a commotion from outside of the Pokemon Center that Gary could hear, but he ignored it.

Suddenly, his aunt and grandmother appeared from opposite sides of the camera.

“Hello, Gary,” his grandmother spoke gently, smiling.

“Gary, hi! My gosh are you okay??” His aunt wore such a sympathetic smile. “Are you hurt?? What happened to your face?!”

“Just the life of a Trainer...” Gary lowered his head, embarrassed by his appearance. “Anyway, I’m just fine.” He inhaled and faced the screen determinedly. “You all know, don’t you?”

“OF COURSE WE KNOW!!” his mother screeched.

“Yes,” his aunt responded at the same time.

“Yes, Gary.” His grandmother lowered her eyes.

“How could we not know?! The police called us immediately! What I don’t understand is why didn’t you??”

“Denise,” Gary’s grandmother said softly.

“NO!” Gary’s mother shook her head wildly, glaring at Gary. “Where the hell have you been?? How could you go so long without calling us?? Without telling anyone? Without telling me?? Why wouldn’t you tell me I’ve lost my only daughter?? SHIT I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE DEAD, TOO!!!” She didn’t cover her face as she cried, her pain open for everyone to witness.

Gary sniffled, his eyes now filled with tears. “Mommy, I lost my sister right in front of my eyes... I watched her die! How was anything on my mind after that?! I wanted to die after that! I FUCKING SAW IT!!” Gary was crying now, unable to hide it. Not having the energy to do so. There was a voice far behind him, but he didn’t turn to see who was in the building. “I saw this thing that killed my sister. I saw the entire thing. The whole thing! I’m sorry, I should have called, but seeing my sister die like that...” Gary couldn’t find the words to finish off that sentence, and he just shook his head, tears meeting under his chin to continue falling.

“That’s one thing I didn’t get a clear answer on, Gary,” his mom sobbed. “What killed her?! They said you said you didn’t know what it was. That it wasn’t human? Was it a Pokemon??”

The thing’s long hair began to billow behind her, like a balloon! It expanded, growing bigger, tiny holes appearing all throughout it.

Gary closed his eyes, trying to stop the multiple visions occurring from his dizziness. When he opened his eyes, the creature was in the air!

High in the sky and still rising, ascending over the clouds, the being was cleary flying off into the distance, away from the earth and all else! Its arms seemed to be curled up, rolled like a burrito! This impossibly flexible setup came to an end at its underarms. The legs were bent backwards, its feet reaching behind to touch the butt area as it soared.

There were shouts from both Pokemon and humans alike outside, but Gary put the noise to the side, focusing on far more important matters. “It... I...” Gary hesitated, staring at his mother’s desperate eyes. “I... I didn’t see it clearly.”

“They said you described something inhuman!”

“It wasn’t a Pokemon... It was... Some kind of... m-monster...” Gary spoke cautiously.

“The pocket kind?? Don’t make excuses, Gary! It was a Pokemon, wasn’t it??”

Gary shook his head, but he also lowered his face, tears running down his cheeks and falling directly from his eyes.

“This is what that group is out there trying to get rid of! That Team Solace? You were in the Radio Tower with them, right? You and Aly. And you didn’t call back about that, either! Team Solace is trying to stop these Pokemon! They’ve taken my daughter! I’m not trying to lose my last child! You’re all I have left!!”

“MOM!!!” Gary belted out. “STOP THAT!! Team Solace is not the good guys, here!! Team Solace is the enemy!”

“Denise, please, stop this!” Gary’s grandmother insisted, grabbing her shoulder. “I told you before, don’t say such things like that. That group is a bunch of cowards!”

“If they had been there, they would have killed the Pokemon that killed Melissa!!” Gary’s mom screamed at her own mother.

Gary’s eyes widened, a memory surfacing.

“We were just trying to save the poor girl.” The blonde, blue eyed woman from Team Solace nodded her head at the body by Gary.

The body of Melissa.

“Now, the entire world is in grave danger...” Her eyes hardened on Gary’s. As she sneered at him, her eyes suddenly began to shimmer.

Gary’s eyes widened. Tears?

“No one is ready for this!”

Team Solace was there... Gary thought. They claimed to be trying to save Melissa. From the monster? Was it a Pokemon after all?? If it was Team Solace after it, then...

“What Team Solace is doing is nothing but evil!” Gary’s grandmother insisted. “I wish she wasn’t gone. I never would have wished for this for anyone, Denise. But what that group of terrorists is doing is disgusting! And they need to be stopped. I’ll be damned if any of those bastards came and tried to harm my Arcanine. Excuse your grandma’s language, Gary.”

“That’s enough! I’m not having this discussion any further!” Gary’s mom held out her hands at her sides. “I’ve lost enough in my life. My husband to suicide, my daughter to a Pokemon. I near-”

“Huuuuuhh??” Gary’s grip on the receiver tightened as hard as he could as his eyes narrowed on his mom. “What...? What did you just say about my dad??”

His mother pursed her lips tight, showing regret, but she swallowed and her eyebrows narrowed. “Gary, you’re father committed suicide.”

Gary’s mouth dropped open.

The sounds of a Raichu yelling from outside reached into Gary’s ears, but Gary didn’t react, his attention on the phone call.

“He killed himself. That’s how he died.”

The Pokemon Center could have been completely empty. In fact, the entire planet could have been devoid of all life in that instant. Gary wouldn’t have known the difference. There was nothing to hear, and only his family’s faces to see. There was nothing to know. Nothing to care about. “He killed himself,” was the only thing Gary could hear, or even think about.

His mother sat in a white T-shirt, not saying a word.

“How?” Gary was able to let out.

“How?” she asked, unsure what he meant.

“How-how do you know?”

There was no answer given.

“When? How long?”

“I was told by the police how they found him.” She took a deep breath. “Why did he do it?” She looked up to the ceiling and managed a laugh, smirking and shaking her head. She eventually shrugged and stared down at Gary, still smirking. “I don’t know that much, kid. But, he did it! And now, I’ve lost Melissa.” She sighed and then shook her head.

“He just... He killed himself...?” Gary’s eyes were running worse than ever. He swallowed hard. “But... My dad. He...”

His mom wiped at her cheeks and blinked out further tears. “Gary, I’m sorry. But, please. Will you come back home, now? Knowing this, do you not see my pain? Do you not understand?”

Gary’s lips quivered, hearing his mother. Maybe she’s right... he considered. I think, maybe, it’s time to head back home. For, if nothing else, the sake of my mother, and all she’s been through with her family because of Pokemon.

The shouts from several Pikachu rang through the air from far away.

“This Pokemon is dangerous! Pokemon are dangerous! Come back, and just let Team Solace handle the rest. We can-!”

“NO!” Gary raged. “I will not return home for that reason! If that’s your reasoning to convince me to come back, because my dad committed suicide, and my sister was killed by something I never said was a Pokemon, I refuse! You will not use them as an excuse to support Team Solace! I can’t believe you! These guys are insane! They’re evil! Team Solace has to be stopped!! I’ll die by their hands before I support them! They’ll likely end up killing me in one of their sick, murderous plots framing Pokemon before any actual Pokemon will!” Gary considered bringing up the fact Team Solace was there when Melissa was killed, but he didn’t see how it would help his argument, so he remained silent.

“So you’re going to remain on this journey of yours?” his mother asked with blatant anger.

“That’s right! I’m going to continue earning my eight Badges, and compete in the Pokemon League on my journey to become the world’s greatest Pokemon Master!” Gary held his stance solid. “And on the way, I’ll likely run into that animal. That monster! And I’ll kill that bitch one way or another the next time I see her, that’s for sure! And I’ll prove-!” Gary stopped himself. -that it’s not a Pokemon, Gary finished in his head. But he wasn’t even sure what it was he had run into. Plenty of Pokemon have human looks to them, he knew. Machoke. Even Jynx is the “Human Shape” Pokemon in the Pokedex. This thing actually could have been a Pokemon.

“You’ll prove what?” Gary’s mom waited.

“I’ll prove, that Pokemon aren’t evil,” Gary finished. “I’ll show you. And Team Solace. I’ll shut down Team Solace!”

Gary’s mother released the phone receiver as she stood up, letting it fall to the floor, and she walked away.

Gary’s grandmother was next to get the receiver and hold it to her ear. “Gary, while I think that could have, possibly, been handled a little better, believe it or not, I am on your side in this fight. Team Solace cannot be sided with at all,” she whispered.

Gary’s aunt got closer to the screen and nodded, speaking in low tones. “Yes, Gary. We both agree with you here. Don’t worry.”

“Just between you and me, your mother is a little...” Gary’s grandmother twirled a finger by the side of her head. “I’ve known this, but supporting Team Solace?” She shook her head. “I’ll bet it was them who attacked the Native Village with that poor Charizard, too.”

Gary sniffled as his eyes widened and he nodded as he remembered the Charizard that had a black box attached to its back that suffered it with electricity, enraging it and causing it to run rampant and nearly destroy his grandma and aunt’s village.

This resulted in a mysterious group just so happening to appear to shoot the Charizard’s head off, and then wanting to confiscate the rest of Gary’s Pokemon, as well as his grandmother’s Arcanine. They ended up being stopped by the village’s Pokemon and then arrested without resistance, pleased by what they had accomplished.

“You… You’re one of them,” Gary had managed while in custody, talking with another man in the same cell. “You and your group. The Graveler in the Pokemon Center in Pewter City. The Charizard in Native Village. Those are your associates!”

The man, Ray, smiled a smile of excitement. “Is that all that you’ve heard of our work? Trust me, Gary. We are operating at a much larger scale than that. We’ve only just begun. Our name shall reign throughout the world in due time.”

A man was yelling outside, returning Gary to the Pokemon Center. He carefully wiped at his eyes. “Yeah...” It was all he could muster up.

His grandmother looked back where her daughter had left and then turned back, leaning closer. “Gary, if you truly are trying to continue your journey, you need to be very careful,” she spoke urgently. “Have you heard about the Pokemon Gyms?”

“What do you mean?”

“Team Solace announced not long after the Radio Tower attack, that they were planning on setting off bombs they have already planted by Gyms in various regions, Gary. Gyms all over the world are being investigated and cleared as safe, and even bombs being disarmed. Luckily, nothing has gone off, yet. Just... be careful dealing with these individuals.”

“Whoa. Thanks, Grandma.”

“I’d side with your mother on coming home during all this mayhem, but with her siding with those... criminals! I can’t. Just don’t get caught up in their shit. Either way, you get home!”

Gary’s aunt stared uncertainly at her mother, but didn’t say a word against her.

“Grandma, Auntie, I’m coming home once I get these Badges. And I am getting them all! Just wait on me. I’m on my way.”

Gary’s grandmother smiled along with his aunt.

“We love you, Gary,” his aunt said tearfully.

“And I love you all,” Gary told them.

“We all do love you, Gary,” his grandmother stated. “Including your mother.”

“I know,” Gary nodded sternly.

“Good. Please keep in contact with us, Gary.”

“Okay, Grandma.”

“Take care. I love you.”

“I love you, Gramma.”

“I love you, my darling nephew!”

“I love you, too, Auntie!”

The screen went black.

Gary pressed two fingers to his eyes, trying to force out any leftover tears. I can’t believe my mom said that, Gary thought. Why, mom? How could you side with such people? How could anyone...? It was at the same time thinking this that Gary thought of Ish. And he doesn’t even have children, Gary added. He’s just a teenager. I could create a reason for my mother, but Ish? What could his reasoning possibly be? How can anyone conclude Team Solace is anything but pure evil, and a bunch of liars? Lunatics at best. Gary sighed and then sniffled. Suicide? Dad...? So it was suicide... He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath and held it. How could you...? he asked, releasing his breath. What was going on that you would leave us like that? Nothing could be worth killing yourself, Dad... Gary made two fists and held his breath again, his eyes still closed, his eyebrows furrowing as he struggled not to explode and punch his surroundings, but he so desperately wanted to put his foot right through the computer screen. Why even bother calling Prof. Oak, now? Gary pondered. My mom will tell him and the whole town she spoke to me. Everyone will know I’m alright. He leaned forward until his forehead hit the computer screen and remained there, letting out his breath. “Mom,” he whispered. “What is my life at this point? What am I doing anymore?” Maybe this is why my dad killed himself? Gary shook his head. No. He had two kids and a wife. Mom might be nuts, but she wasn’t as nuts then as she is now. And besides, he still had two kids! His closed eyes tightened. Why, Dad? What the fuck?! Gary sat up and opened his eyes to take a look around him.

There were two adults, one man and one woman, sitting together on a bench in the middle of the building. The man was deliberately staring at Gary, but the woman looked away. When she saw the guy was still eyeing the kid, she returned her eyes to Gary and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Gary stared back for a few seconds longer before rolling his eyes and shaking his head, turning back to the computer. Bunch of freaking weirdos, Gary thought. He stared at the black screen, listening to the commotion outside between the Pikachu, Raichu, and the citizens of Dark City. I don’t even remember the last time I spoke to him. I guess I need someone who understands right now. Gary lifted the receiver and held it to his ear. He then dialed the phone number of Prof. Oak and waited. This should go over a lot better than calling my mom. The Professor won’t be a Team Solace supporter, ha, Gary assured himself, listening to the ringing. Ha... Gary thought more sadly. Mom...

The blue screen vanished, revealing the face of none other than Prof. Oak! Something Gary barely got the chance to look at dropped from Prof. Oak’s hand and a SMAAASSHH!! was heard.

Gary jumped a bit in his seat and looked down the computer screen as if he could see what Prof. Oak had dropped, which he of course couldn’t.

Prof. Oak didn’t even look down. “GARY!”

A voice shouted out from far away on the professor’s end of the call.

Gary smiled weakly. “Hey...”

“GARY, goodness! I can’t believe it’s really you!” Prof. Oak was beaming with joy seeing Gary.

“Professor, did you drop something?” a familiar voice, out of breath, asked. Prof. Sketchit appeared in front of the screen and his eyes bulged at the sight of Gary. “Whoa! No way! Gary, is it really you?” He smiled wide. “Man, it’s been a while!” His smile faded. “Were you in an accident or something? You look a little rough.”

Gary laughed weakly. “Been training, I guess.”

“Yes, we did get Hoothoot back in exchange for that Tyrogue,” Prof. Oak frowned. “I must say, I was surprised you did that and didn’t even bother calling anyone at home.”

“Sir, I’m so sorry. It’s-”

Prof. Oak held up a hand. “Please, no need to explain yourself. As I said, I was surprised. Not angry. Not confused. I understood. I was just surprised you even bothered doing an exchange. If anything, it gave me hope that maybe you were doing okay.”

Gary smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m... Well, that’s why I called. There’s so much going on right now. I just called my mom and that only added to the stress. I just needed to speak to someone... sensible.”

“Now, now, be easy with your mother, Gary,” Prof. Oak urged. “I know things can be difficult, but she is still your mother and is owed your respect.”

Prof. Sketchit had ducked down below the view of the screen.

“Allow me to help you, Tracey.” Groaning, Prof. Oak slowly, carefully, got down to help the fellow professor clean up the mess.

“No! I’ve got it just fine, sir! Please!” Prof. Sketchit insisted. “Don’t!”

“Now, now, I may be old but I can surely wipe up some tea or pick up some glass!” Prof. Oak argued back.

“Professor, no! You mustn't! This is what you hired me for!”

Gary scratched his head, confused about what was going on down there as the back and forth continued.

The screen suddenly cut off and went black.

“Whoa! Oh, damnit! What happened?” Gary sighed and hung up the phone. “Hopefully they pick up,” Gary muttered as he lifted the receiver and put in the number again. He stared at the blue screen and listened to the ringing. “Hmmm,” Gary muttered after a few rings.

The screen then flickered and Prof. Oak appeared.

“Prof. Oak! Hey!”

The professor clasped his hands together and held them at his face, taking in a loud breath with a gaping, smiling mouth. He fluttered his eyes. “Gaaaaaaaaaaaaary!”

Gary’s eyebrows narrowed in sharp confusion. “Uuuhh, huh?”

“Oh, Gaaaaary, it’s been aaaages since you’ve called!” Prof. Oak twirled around and stopped, extending his arms out at his sides. “I do declare, you do not look well lately, daaaaahlin’! What is yo cute self doin’ out there with those wascally little Pokemans?” The professor was now speaking in some kind of southern accent for some reason!

Gary blinked repeatedly, his mouth open to speak but unable to say a word!

Prof. Oak suddenly stood up straight at attention. His face hardened and he gave Gary cold eyes. “Where, are, the Pokemon?!” he demanded without an accent, but in a hardened tone and commanding voice that wasn’t his normal one, either. “You do not match up when compared with your fellow Pokemon Trainer! You have not captured a Bulbasaur, or an Ivysaur, or a Venusaur, or a Cyndaquil, or a Quilava, or a Typhlosion, or a Yanma, or a Yanmega, or an Aerodactyl, or a Darumaka, or a Darmanitan, or a Meloetta, or a Mareep, or a Flaffy, or an Ampharos, or a Starly, or a Staravia, or a Staraptor, or a Girafarig, or a Klink, or a Klang, or-”

“Prof. Oak! Wait!” Gary couldn’t understand why the professor was acting like this all of a sudden, but he didn’t like it. “Sir, I know I-”

“INTERRUPTIOOOOOOOON!!!” Prof. Oak raised one hand in the air, pointing one finger to the ceiling. He wasn’t even staring at Gary now, looking off into the distance. He stood still like this.

Gary’s mouth quivered as he pondered saying anything.

The two were in the midst of pure silence, neither moving a muscle.

Prof. Oak then lowered his hand and swiftly looked back to Gary coldly. “- a Klinklang, or a Rhyhorn, or a Rhydon, or a Rhyperior, or a Ledyba, or a Ledian, or a-”

What is going on here?? Gary wondered, panic filling his chest. This can’t be Prof. Oak! Did I dial the wrong number and get a doppelganger?? Where’s Prof. Sketchit?

“POKEMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!! ARE YOU LISTENING, BOY???” he snarled furiously, shoving his face into the screen. He pulled his head back and then slammed it into the screen! “I HATE CEREAL!!!” With wide, shimmering eyes, he asked, “How do you feel about Duke on As The World Twirls?”

“Sir... I-I-I don’t watch those kinds of shows...” Gary stammered. “Are you feeling-?”

“Gary, I think you’ve been a virgin long enough,” Prof. Oak grinned sinisterly.

“WWHHAAAAAAAT??!!” Gary roared.

“How’s about that Aly girl? Ain’t she somethin’? I always felt like you two had a little chemistry-”

A loud shout from an enraged man interrupted Gary from doing the same thing. The voice sounded very familiar to Gary.

Prof. Oak’s eyes widened. “Uh oh.”

The screen went gray and blurry with a pssssshhhhhhh!

Gary stared at the screen with his own eyes wide. “Professor...?” he spoke hesitantly.

The view returned a moment later, Prof. Oak frowning as the view shook from his messing around with the computer. He looked to Gary and smiled. “Ah, there we are! Welcome back!”

“Sir, are you alright? Is everything okay?”

Prof. Oak sighed, closing his eyes, his head lowering. “Let’s start with the fact that you captured a Porygon-Z. Congratulations, I must say. Quite the rare capture. You’re the first Trainer in my roster to have captured a Pokemon in the Porygon family. However, Gary, that thing you sent me is a nuisance!”

Gary gasped. “Really??”

Prof. Oak glared sharply at him. “Son, that thing has been deleting very important documents of mine. It’s been locking away documents under cryptic coding. Engaging in conversations with others in online chats while posing as me and behaving very inappropriately, might I say! Traveling over the internet, deleting other professors’ very important research data. Spilling secrets of mine and others to people who do not need to know them, and quite frankly making life quite difficult!!”

“Professor, I had nooooo idea!”

“Yeah, well, when you don’t keep in contact with people, you miss out on information!” Prof. Oak was more furious than Gary had ever seen him before.

Gary struggled to hold back tears, holding them in his eyes and swallowing. “Prof. Oak, I’m so sorry,” Gary’s voice quivered some.

Prof. Oak closed his eyes, his face still stern. He let out his breath before speaking. “Gary, I apologize for my tone.” His eyes opened, not as cold as they were before. “It’s just been quite stressful for Pallet Town the past few weeks. Aly has called back. Rob has, too. It’s only you and Kiwi who’ve remained silent.”

“Kiwi’s still missing??” Gary couldn’t believe it!

Prof. Oak nodded. “No one’s heard a word from her. Not even her mother. It’s been quite tense around here. Your mother is understandably distraught. She’s even gone as far as supporting Team Solace.”

“I know!” Gary burst out. “It’s crazy! How could she??”

Prof. Oak lowered his eyes. “It’s crazy, perhaps, but it’s exactly what Team Solace is targeting. Parents, or siblings, just as they mentioned in their broadcast in Radio Tower. Anyone with friends or family who are Pokemon Trainers who have been killed or are missing. Their influence on victims is frightening. They hold a point only those suffering can relate to. And yet, they hold a point those not suffering might also be able to acknowledge.” The eyes of Gary and Prof. Oak met silently. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Gary closed his eyes, hot tears running through easily. He shook his head and sniffled. “Professor.” His eyes opened. “I don’t know what it was. But it wasn’t human.”

Prof. Oak didn’t respond.

“It couldn’t have been a Pokemon, either. As far as I’m concerned, this thing was just a monster... An actual monster.”

Prof. Oak nodded slowly. “I wish I had been there, Gary. I’m truly sorry. I’m sure it will be tracked down.”

Gary sniffled and closed his eyes, his head falling, and he silently wept.

Gary could only see his sister.

Something shot out of the trees! Colliding with Gary, they both dropped. Groaning, this person shook their head, a black hood covering it. Their hand was in their face, rubbing their eyes. The hand lowered, revealing the face. Her light blue eyes met with Gary’s dark brown ones. Her thin little lips hung open as she stared. The girl squinted at Gary, and then her eyebrows narrowed sharply, as if angry, and she seemed to sneer. She shook her head, and then her eyes widened as her mouth dropped. “My... brother?” she croaked out. She let out a laugh. “Gary!” She smiled for only a second, finally seeming to notice the commotion going on as she looked behind her and back to Gary. “Gary, they’re here!” Terror was now on her face.

Something burst from the bushes, causing both Gary and Melissa to shriek out. Its two arms shot out, grabbing Melissa by the throat, and the thing screeched like nothing Gary was familiar with.

“HEEEEEEEEEELP!!! WHAT IS THIS THING???” Melissa bellowed for her life.

The hair atop the creature reached out and connected with Melissa’s face.

She screamed at the top of her lungs as her body was lit by the blue lightning, and her body jumped.

“Did you kill her?” one of the group of people of Team Solace asked Gary. “Did you kill the species?”

The blonde kept her blue eyes on Gary and shook her head. “Kid, you’ve no idea what Hell you’ve let go loose on this planet... Unless we kill off that bitch, this is the end for us all. We were just trying to save the poor girl.” Her eyes hardened on Gary’s. As she sneered at him, her eyes suddenly began to shimmer. “No one is ready for this!”

Gary grabbed his sister’s shoulder. “Melissa.” His hand fell from her quickly, discomforted by the feeling of touching her body. Something felt bad. Something was missing... “Melissa!”

“Gary, with all that you must be going through, I do have a question to ask of you about your sister.”

Still crying, Gary waited, deciding to focus on the sounds of the voices outside while he waited for the professor to speak again.

There were no further words.

Gary opened his eyes and stared at the floor, more tears dripping down. He didn’t have the courage, or the strength, to look up, so he simply nodded and then waited again.

The wait between them was long. Or so it seemed to Gary.

“Gary, your sister accomplished earning three Badges. And in that time, she captured fifteen Pokemon. The last one arrived months ago.”

Gary didn’t know where this was going, and he didn’t care. He now wished he’d never called Prof. Oak to begin with.

“The Pokemon with her were retrieved and are with me. At this point, those Pokemon are all free to go, or may choose to stay in my lab.”

Gary was tempted by the new silence to look up at Prof. Oak and urge him to get to the point. Was that it? he wondered. You just wanted to tell me you have my sister’s Pokemon with you? What good does that do for me??

“Gary, the choice is yours, but I’m offering you the chance to attempt to take on raising your sister’s Pokemon.”

Those words jolted Gary like lightning. He finally looked up at the old man.

“I can set it so that the Poke Balls and the Pokemon belong to you. This is entirely optional. There’s no consequence to saying no. I just thought you would like to know this.”

“Prof. Oak!” Gary couldn’t believe his ears.

Prof. Oak maintained a stern look.

Me? Take over ownership of my deceased sister’s Pokemon? Gary questioned. But... Is that right? I can say yes or no to this... There’s no forcing an answer.

The two stared silently at each other.

The only sound was the voices from outside, orders and responses being given.

“Prof. Oak.” Gary paused on his choice. “Sir.”

Prof. Oak waited patiently.

“Yes. I’ll take care of those Pokemon. I’ll do my best, sir.”

Prof. Oak nodded, keeping his seriousness. “You’ve done well, Gary. As a Pokemon Trainer, you’ve accomplished a lot. Your work with Charmeleon speaks volumes. You’ll do just fine taking on this task. She didn’t own too many... But certainly more than you have captured. This should aid you.”

Harsh, Professor... Gary thought bitterly.

“Just give me about twenty minutes, and it all should be completed. You can use your Pokedex to make transfers as needed, whenever needed,” Prof. Oak actually smiled.

Gary nodded, not returning the smile. “Got it.”

Prof. Oak’s face went solemn. “Gary, this means you are continuing your journey and collecting Badges, then.”

Gary nodded.

“Be careful. Team Solace had an announcement a few days ago about bombs being planted in Pokemon Gyms. As of now, no bombs have been detonated, but some have been found and safely destroyed. And many Gyms haven’t been found to have any at all.”

“My gramma told me,” Gary nodded. “I’ll be wary, for sure.”

“Good. Please, do.”

The two had no more words to say to each other, so silence spoke for them.

Gary’s eyes tightened on Prof. Oak. So, I’ll be adding some Pokemon to my roster, then, eh? So be it, sir.

Prof. Oak didn’t change his expression, as if a finished sculpture.

More commotion outside challenged Gary’s attention. Although Prof. Oak noticed the noise and turned a little to see around Gary, Gary remained focused on the man in front of him.

“Well, Gary. I’ll go work on those Pokemon for you. And remember, if you choose to cancel on this, you can at any time. I know how hard this must be and could end up being. Just please, keep in contact!”

Gary nodded. “Absolutely, sir. I’m sorry.”

Prof. Oak nodded. “Goodbye, then, Gary.”

“I’ll speak to you soon, Professor.”

The two eyed each other silently before the screen went black.