“Give me back my Partner, or I’ll rip out your intestines and strangle you with them.” Lilith screamed at the Nurse, dead serious.

What was supposed to be a joyous event, slowly morphed into a dreadful one. It had all started when Lilith had declared that she was a new Trainer and had just received her first Pokemon. Everything had been going well until she stated that her Partner was an Absol. Heads turned at the name, and some minor hostility was shown. Most people around her seemed curious though.

The receptionist became visibly nervous as she turned around to open up her computer to run the PokeReader program. That's when the Nurse operating the PokeHealer came over.

“What’s wrong Janice?” He asked, nicking up on her strange behavior.

“Well it's this new Pokemon registration. The girl said her new Pokemon is an Absol.” she said.

Bill frowned as he heard the name. The Pokemon of Disaster needed no introduction. Most believed that laying eyes on it triggered floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters. It was always seen before the events, as if a herald of bad times.

“Have you scanned the Ball yet?” he asked.

“No, I was just about to.” Janice replied.

“Let me do it then.” he pushed her aside.

The Nurse tapped on the computer as the PokeReader started to hum. Bianca shifted her weight as the machine loaded. She reached down and opened Samurott’s Pokeball. Something was wrong with the situation.

The display screen spit out ‘Pokemon unknown’ as it tried finding a solution. Bill frowned once more before he hit the National Pokedex button.

‘Searching other Regions' databases.’ replaced the heading as more loading commenced.

“Ding!”

The pokereader found a match. A 2D picture of Absol opened up on screen.

Bill watched the display intently. When the results showed themselves, he reached under the desk and pressed the small red panic button underneath. Its main use was to signal distress to the defenders of the Center that a Pokemon or Trainer was being unruly and needed force to be stopped.

Bill turned back to Lilith. The conditions for which the button was to be used had not yet been achieved. That did not stop Bill from pressing it, however.

“Thank you for your assistance, we have confiscated the dangerous Pokemon and it will be dealt with immediately.” Despite his tone, Bill wasn’t smiling.

“What?!” Lilith practically screamed.

“You heard me, so move aside for the next person in line.” Bill's tone grew more harsh.

“Give Me Back My Pokemon!” Lilith shouted at the top of her lungs. She decided to go nuclear.

Fury threatened to overwhelm her as the Pokemon Center grew quiet. Humans and Pokemon alike all turned towards the noise. The bond between a human and Pokemon was something sacred. Pulling the two apart brought the fury of Pokemon and Trainer alike. It was the ultimate taboo. The words that projected throughout the room were a serious offense.

“Samurott.” Bianca harshly.

Her partner stepped forward as the Center’s security descended upon the chaos. Lilith was right behind Bianca’s Partner as she attempted to climb over the counter and take Absol back by force.

Hatches in the ceiling opened up as Eelektross descended from the ceiling. The Pokemon had been specially bred to both power the Pokemon Center as well as defend it in case of emergency. The trio sent bolts of lightning down onto the counter. They would not allow intruders into staff-only areas. Samurott stopped his advance as he pulled Lilith back to safety. The bolts just barely missed the duo.

“Give me back my Partner, or I’ll rip out your intestines and strangle you with them.” Lilith screamed at the Nurse.

She flailed in Samurott’s grip, trying to break free. Every ounce of her being struggled to separate herself as she cursed the Nurse and his ancestors.

“I’ll rip out your eyeballs and shove them down your throat!”

The Pokemon in the area became increasingly agitated at the display. Trainers started having trouble calming them down as others moved in to intervene on her behalf. She acted too much like a victim to be the perpetrator.

“I’ll shove sticks under your fingernails and then hammer them flat!” her entire body spasmed.

“What don’t you understand?! You can't register dangerous Pokemon?! They destroy everything! Do you really want to put the entire city in danger for your own selfishness?!” Bill’s voice grew more heated.

“Samurott, protect her, I’ll handle this.” Bianca spoke, disregarding his ramblings.

Bianca took out the 5 other Pokeballs around her waist.

Stoutland, Musharna, Simisear, Chandelur and Meinshao flashed into existence before her. Bianca’s team appeared in full force.

“I’ll say this, and I’ll only say this once.” Bianca growled at the man. “You hand her back to her Partner or else.”

***

Ranger H.Q.

Melinda was having a much better day. Ever since the incident, she hadn’t slept well. The previous night was the first real sleep she had gotten in ages. She was feeling good.

“Things must be looking up.” She hummed.

She sat in her office looking over documents. Melinda held the tedious bureaucracy together. Alder would rather wander around and do nothing while Aurea had occasionally locked herself into her lab for weeks before coming out. Anything relevant to the Region of Unova crossed her desk.

She read over the latest report until someone came bursting into her office.

“What are you doing?!” Melinda shouted at the intruder.

It was forbidden to barge into her office.

“We have a code Red!” the intruder shouted.

“Ahh where?” Melinda sighed. There went her relaxation.

“Aspertia Town’s Pokemon Center! I’m pulling up the feed now.” The

Ranger said.

‘Aspertia…’ Melinda thought. ‘ It couldn’t be…’

The screen across from her desk lit up. The live feed from the cameras at Aspertia played out before them. Melinda narrowed her eyes when she identified the people making the commotion.

“They don’t pay me enough for this…” She sighed.

***

Bianca sending out the other 5 members of her team might have been overkill. They all worked together and handily beat back their opponents. The other Trainers looked on as she did it. No one was powerful enough to stand in her way. Some Trainers cheered while others looked on in caution. They questioned if it was really alright beating up the Center’s security.

The incident ended with Bill and the three Eelektross unconscious on the ground, while Absol made her way out of the PokeReader and back into Lilith’s hands.

Bianca then received a call from Professor Juniper. She called with Melinda who wanted to know what the heck was going on. Bianca described the incident from top to bottom as everyone listened. The Trainers in the Center all nodded and applauded her bravery while Melinda pulled up Bill’s information.

It turned out that both his parents had died in a Sandstorm just outside of Lentimas City. Later, it was revealed that an Absol had foretold of the coming Disaster, but the right warnings weren’t issued in time and many people were caught out in the dunes unaware. It left him feeling angry with no outlet to vent. He later moved away, unable to stay in the place that took his parent’s life.

Bianca, Melinda, and Aurea all discussed the matter. Even Cheren had been called and made aware of the situation. Gym Leaders were the protectors of the City in which they resided; any large incidents as such were under their purview.

Melinda grumbled something about understanding the situation and would deal with it herself. She complained it was just another thing she had to take care of.

Lilith was later informed that they would be placing a gag order for all the witnesses and Bill would be demoted and put on unpaid leave until she left the City. Messing with a Trainer’s Pokemon was a serious offense, but no one was harmed so the League was lenient in their punishment.

Despite the sob story, Lilith couldn’t bring herself to forgive him. Her body still felt too raw, unhealthy emotions still swirling up inside her. It felt as if part of herself had been torn from her body. Nothing was able to calm her when her Partner had been taken.

Once Absol was back in her hands, a soothing sensation washed over her. It wasn’t like her to become so wild. Lilith’s discipline and control were what kept her alive for so long. It was shocking to be reminded of the cruelties of the real world.

‘I still can’t trust anyone.’ She admonished herself.

Almost a week had gone by and she was already dropping her guard. If it were her first day of arrival, Lilith would have never handed Absol’s Pokeball to a strange machine, let alone a stranger. She would not make the same mistake twice.

When everything had been dealt with, Bianca escorted her home.

‘I owe another deep debt…’ Lilith thought.

It had helped reassure her that someone else had gotten mad on her behalf and fought where she could not. Lilith wouldn’t forget her actions. Their walk home was long and she had much to think about.

Lilith called her partner out of her Pokeball once they were in her room together. Absol snuggled with her, feeling the distress. They kept each other company until morning. Sunday rolled around and she couldn’t even leave her room. With her trust broken, Lilith had trouble going anywhere.

Instead, Lilith helped Absol begin strengthening her Dark Type energy. She would expel everything in her body and let the Dread Plate help to gather the energy back into her body. Little success was made in one day, so Lilith stayed home with Absol. She skipped class Monday and decided to help encourage her to increase her type-energy.

***

Tuesday - Class

“Are you ok sweetie?” Shirley asked.

Lilith had been pulled aside before class was able to start. Madam Shirley inspected Lilith from head to toe. The large bags underneath her eyes weren’t a good sign. Shirley had been made aware of her plight and was asked to watch for any emotional triggers. Skipping class didn’t help invoke confidence, so Shirley had scheduled to stop by and console Lilith if she had not shown up to class that day.

Serious psychological harm was not uncommon when Partners were ripped from each other, be that death or just separation. The connection was much closer than any other Pokemon on their team.

The scarf she always wore around her neck hid her scowl. Lilith nodded and took her seat. Her gruff, prickly exterior continued to show. Madam Shirley would have to pay extra attention to her in the future.

To her credit, the day’s lecture started promptly.

“Pokemon use Moves! Everyone knows this. A certain way to manipulate their Type energy into a corresponding path through their body. Each path variation and change in fuel leads to a different phenomenon. Moves are strange, one second a Pokemon doesn't know the move, the next something clicks into place. That does NOT mean Pokemon don’t have to practice and get better at using them. The more familiar a Pokemon is with said path and energy, the stronger it becomes.” Shirley said.

“Like usual, there are many nuances when it comes to the different Moves. This class however is a crash course on all broad topics to make you all the best Trainers you can be.”

“Physical, Special, and Status moves. Attacking moves are either Physical or Special. One manipulates the energy into themselves while the other sends the energy outward. Status moves are a bit more unique however. They are quite literally every other Move that a Pokemon doesn’t use to directly damage their opponent.”

“Some inflict Status conditions like Toxic, while others disrupt their opponent's membrane, one even stops the use of all other Status moves! Toxic creates Poison energy that slowly erodes the opponent's shields, while moves like Leer disrupts the Pokemon’s membrane leading to easier damage dealt. Taunt blocks the pathways that almost all status moves use to travel, killing them off before activation.”

“Each move has a short time to activate, along with varying cooldowns afterward. Unfortunately cooldowns can’t be trained, but don’t worry, most are seconds long. We train the activation time along with the transitions from one move to another while keeping our cooldowns in mind. That’s what it means to battle!”

“Now let's explore some of the most basic Status moves.”