Lilith watched with nervous trepidation. Her plan proceeded smoothly despite minor kinks. The final fight was happening just as planned. She watched as Croagunk gained the upper foot. Pansage was supposed to hold back. His secret weapon was for the final attack, but it would be all over if he was defeated before its use.

A jab connected just as Lilith knew it was time.

“Tail!” She called out.

Pansage got serious. Nothing touched him as Vines covered the ground. His tail proved the ultimate mobility as Pansage dodged and weaved. They both watched Croagunk grow desperate.

Pansage needed to finish it fast before he ran away. Lilith watched as he grabbed the opportunity to finish his opponent. She watched Pansage launch forward along with Croagunk falling backwards, unmoving.

“Yes!” She called out.

Their plan had worked. They had gotten revenge, they had beaten Croagunk. She rushed out from the trees to congratulate Pansage. Despite the giddy feeling, a knot began to form in her stomach.

Instead of running up to Pansage, she moved towards Croagunk. She observed the injuries to his body. Blood covered the ground. It seeped out from the large holes in his head.

Her mouth grew slack as the situation set in. Croagunk was dead. And she had helped kill him.

Vomit threatened to expel from her mouth as she fell to her knees. The many Pokemon flying overhead escaped her notice.

“Pan?”

Pansage walked up to her. He gave her a questioning look. Before anything else could be said, an interruption sounded through the forest.

“Imp! Imp!” Impidimp called out from the trees.

Lilith, lost in thought, did not notice. Instead, their spectator pointed towards the sky. Pansage followed his movements and looked as well.

A flock of Braviary started their descent into the clearing. Pansage and Impidimp could feel the strength of the intruders. Impidimp bolted from the scene as Pansage grabbed Lilith’s hand. He tried tugging her arm, indicating they needed to leave.

Lilith didn’t respond.

Pansage glanced upward toward the birds, not meters away now, and back to Lilith. He had a hard decision to make. Pansage made one more look at the oncoming Pokemon. He then noticed something strange. Each wore leather straps across their bodies. He looked to their backs and then dashed into the forest. People were on the incoming Pokemon.

Lilith stood unmoving as 5 Braviary and a Male Unfezant landed in the clearing. His pink plumage and green belly indicated his gender. The bird lowered himself as Skyla unstrapped her harness and jumped off. The 5 Ace Trainers along with their Braviary spread out to secure the area.

Skyla walked towards Lilith.

“Hiya there!” She called out.

Lilith didn’t respond to her call. She had lost track of the last time she had interacted with another human being. Voices in a time of moral crisis didn’t strike her as odd. Besides, she was in the middle of nowhere. People didn’t frequent the middle of nowhere.

“Umm, Hellooooo!” Skyla tried again, inching closer

Lilith’s head snapped towards the sound. Her surroundings became apparent as she regained her senses. Pansage and Impidimp were gone. In their place were people. Lilith’s brain threw her crisis to the back. Her full faculties would be needed to interpret the situation before her.

People could be a boon or a bane. Survival came first. Lilith was ready to run if they intended to harm her.

Lilith looked at the speaker. She instantly recognized Skyla as a Gym Leader from the games. That meant whatever world she was in was based on the geography from the games, along with important figures. If anything was to be believed from the game, Sklya didn’t go around committing atrocities.

‘Real life people.’ She thought. A tingle of hope nestled in.

Lilith wasn’t dreaming. She stood up and stared. This could be her ticket to civilization if she played her cards right. Skyla moved closer towards her.

“My name’s Skyla, What’s yours?” she asked.

Skyla used her pointer and middle finger to make a peace sign next to her face.

Lilith stared back at her, unmoving. Skyla finally took in her surroundings and saw the deceased Croagunk to her side.

“Oh my gosh are you alright? Was he your friend?” Skyla grew distressed.

Lilith continued to stare at her. She didn’t utter a word. Instead she shook her head.

“Oh…” She paused. “That’s good, are you alright? Do you want to be my friend? I’m a great friend!” She got closer to Lilith.

Skyla was easily distracted if no one else was there to reign her in.

“Boss, scoop up the girl, we have to go!” One of the Ace Trainers shouted.

“This place is crawling with strong Pokemon!” Another shouted.

Lilith turned to the last voice with a questioning look. In all her time, she had seen some really strong Pokemon, but crawling with them? That didn’t seem right.

“Come with us, alright? We have lots of good snacks to eat if you do!” Sklya tried to bribe her.

Lilith pondered the thought. Sklya seemed like a nice person, if not overly eager.

‘I think I would be safe going with them…but…’ She thought

Lilith shook her head

“Huhh? You don’t want to leave?” Skyla tilted her head.

Before she could continue, one of the Ace Trainers approached them.

“Boss what's the problem? We gotta go.” he spoke.

“Aww come on! I told you to call me Skyla!” She made another peace sign.

“Skyla… What is taking so long?” he grew more annoyed.

“Well, she doesn’t want to come with us. Forcing her would be like kidnapping or something! Only bad guys do that, and I’m no bad guy.” Skyla pouted.

The Ace Trainer had learned to ignore his bosses antics a long time ago. He turned to Lilith instead.

“Do you need help?”

*Shake*

“Is someone waiting for you?”

*Shake*

“Do you just not want to come with us?”

*Shake*

The Ace Trainer paused. Lilith had acted weird in not speaking to them. Skyla pushed past her subordinate and made one final question.

“Do you still need to do something? ” she questioned.

Lilith turned towards her and nodded. She then pointed north towards her camp. Before either could ask her further, Lilith walked toward the end of the clearing. Once there she turned back and motioned for the others to follow.

“You want us to follow?” a creepy grin spread over Skyla’s face.

She then turned towards the others.

“You come with me, the rest of you secure the area and wait for that weirdo Ranger.” She called out and then ran after Lilith.

“Boss this forest feels real weird…” The Ace Trainer followed behind her.

The remaining Ace Trainers looked at one another. The reason that ‘weirdo’ Ranger wasn’t with them was because she ditched him the moment she asked him for directions back at Bouy Town.

***

The walk back to camp was the fastest Lilith ever took. In fact, it proved to be pleasant. No Pokemon blocked their path, and no detours had to be made to avoid wild Pokemon. Only Skyla and the other Ace Trainer followed behind her.

Lilith would glance back at them occasionally, just to prove that her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. Lilith would be going back to civilization.

Lilith was tired of the constant survival. She wanted to live. Revenge and training with Pansage had been a way to distract her, but recent events sealed the deal. She was done for the time being.

Skyla would gawk at things in the forest like a chicken. The randomest things drew her attention. Moss on the side of a tree, or a fallen branch.

Even Lilith started to give her weird looks.

Before the three could find the camp, Skyla pointed toward something above. Lilith squinted to see what she was pointing at

Lilith watched as Pansage swung down from above. His Vine Whip had come a long way in the short time they spent practicing. A warm feeling covered her body. Pansage had been watching from afar.

Lilith got down on her knees. Pansage had figured out what was happening. Lilith was leaving, with a reunion unknown. Pansage knew not the future, so he took his last chance to say goodbye.

“Pan!”

Pansage walked up to Lilith with his arms wide. He leaned in and gave her a hug. Pansage’s small body met with hers. Without thinking, Lilith returned his embrace. Tears threatened to leave as she squeezed his tiny body.

Lilith didn’t ask. She knew his answer. Pansage would stay in the forest.

The tiny monkey disappeared into the underbrush. She wouldn’t be seeing him for a long time.

Lilith trudged on with puffy red eyes. She didn’t care about the spectators.

‘I’ll miss him.’ Lilith thought as she finally spotted their destination.

Lilith pulled back the tarp comprising her tent. It would not be needed any longer. She rifled through her stuff and put anything valuable in her bag. Plates and gems were stuffed at the bottom to hide. She was still unaware if Skyla was a good person despite game knowledge. It was always better to be safe than sorry. She couldn’t risk other people seeing her stash and taking it from her.

The last thing to grab was her Egg. Unfortunately it stuck out like a sore thumb. There would be no hiding it. Lilith could feel the Egg. She could still not describe the phenomenon. It calmed her, knowing the two would be together as she held it in her arms.

Skyla gasped once she saw it. The Egg covered most of Lilith's body. Her head only stuck out above the very top. Even the Ace Trainer’s jaw dropped.

Lilith was all packed. She walked up to the duo and stared at them. Lilith was ready to leave this place. She was ready for anywhere but here. She stared right at Skyla

Skyla quickly composed herself. A big grin spread out over her face. She knelt down in front of Lilith and reached out to her with an open palm.

“Let's go home.”

One question still stuck in Lilith’s mind.

‘What even is home?’