Well, well, well. I guess I'm getting into the dangerous stuff. I didn't really know how to introduce the bad guys, and I don't really think it was the best, but I liked that comedy bit. My friends helped me come up with the name.

After this, I think I'll be skipping some of the traveling more and more, because you've already seen the gist of it. I'll try to make it as interesting as possible, so not entirely poofed. But it'll make room for more interesting things, like violence, danger, and other things.

Be sure to tell me stuff in the reviews!

The lack of other people was both a blessing and a curse. There was no one complaining, but there was no new conversations. Sarah and Miles were fine, but we didn't have much to talk about anymore. Any stories, we'd already heard. Any rumors, we already knew. And none of us were in the mood for jokes.

Still, the silence wasn't all bad. Akuma seemed to enjoy the sounds of the wild. Of course, she still couldn't enter towns with me.

Thorn was still fairly down about his loss two weeks prior, but he began participating in training with us, after watching for so long. Felix was also making progress to understand me, and it seemed Akuma was helping him learn. At the same time, it looked like Felix was trying to teach Akuma Dark Pulse, but she was still struggling to do so. Her Thunder Wave technique was something she knew, and was similar, but she still couldn't produce the same results with Dark Pulse.

Felix couldn't understand Thunder Wave, and even though Akuma could potentially use Dark Pulse, he showed no ability to use the technique. Similar to how only Felix could create an illusion, the two each could only learn their own unique moves. With Thorn, it was a bit different.

The TM I got from Leader Harron, which was labeled as Grass Knot, I found out could be taught to all, Zorua, Roselia, and Deino, so I taught it to Thorn. He was my only grass type, after all. Once the TM was stripped of it's data, I tossed the useless disc over my shoulder and the only thing I could hope for was that Thorn would be willing to teach it as well as learn it. It could be useful for move diversity.

Miles and Sarah also taught the TMs from Chelsea, but neither Ignis or Pidgeot could learn Grass Knot, so he just gave the disc to Sarah. She taught the move to both Perry and Sammy, making it easier to teach to my own Pokemon. And after seeing the move in action, it was a great move to have.

The user is either able to manipulate the nature around them, or grow vines to slice the opponent's feet out from underneath it. While I wasn't exactly sure how Felix and Akuma would learn it, Perry knew how to manipulate the surrounding nature to trip up his enemies, as seen in demonstration a few days after learning the move.

The path to the next town was not the most pleasant, often times being overcast or drizzling. The valley that designated the borders of Route 211. Mist often drifted down off the mountains and covered the trees with water, often making it similar to rain.

"Couldn't we have bought an umbrella," Sarah complained as we trudged through the mud while rain continued to pour down. Thorn and Sammy were content with the rain, and Akuma didn't really mind, but Ignis and Silverwings were the most annoyed by the poor weather. Miles shared his discomfort, though he had no Pokeball to hide in.

"It's just a little rain. You can stand letting your makeup run, since we've both seen you without." I didn't like the rain any more than she did, but I couldn't let it show. Sarah huffed angrily at me, but kept silent.

"Still, this is miserable. We've barely had any battles since we left Celestic, and the only thing we've really eaten is berries and a few Zigzagoon or Sentret. It's just not the time to be out in the wild."

"Miles, we've been through this. It's not any better flying back to Celestic. I doubt your Pidgeotto would enjoy it any more than you would." Advancing through the weathering, we were making out way towards Solaceon town. It was strange to think there wasn't any gym battle in Solaceon, but Hearthome did. Which was why we took it slower, taking two breaks during the day to train and spar.

"I've been holding off asking you this, but I need to know something. You said you began Pokemon training about half a year ago, right? So I have to ask; Where are you going, Kael?"

"Well, to Hearthome, to challenge the-"

"No, that's not what I mean! I mean, what are you heading towards? What are you going to become?"

"The champion, of course. Just like everyone else. Why do you think I've been trying to beat the gyms?" Miles scoffed at my declaration.

"Too many have made that stupid mistake. You hear about it every year, during the Champion's Trials, the young trainer's Pokemon and sometimes even the trainers themselves die. Do you honestly think everyone just charges in blindly like that, with death right over the horizon? Sure, people do pass the gyms within a year. But no one just simply challenges the champion. Not unless they have a death wish. Many people see the champion's power and give up after that. Then, they become breeders, Rangers, and other things. You should know, you've already seen them yourself. So, where are you going?" Sarah nodded in agreement.

"I've never thought of really becoming the champion myself," Sarah admitted, while I was stunned by Miles' speech. "Even if I did think it would be cool, and I do want to be a trainer for as long as I can, but becoming something as big as champion... I don't really want to have that title."

"I still stand by my choice," I blurted out. Miles looked at me with a curious eye, listening for my reason. Honestly, I didn't have one. But that didn't mean I couldn't make one. "I don't care if it's hard. Everyone else had a heads start on me. That's why I need to work hard to become champion, to show them I'm the best."

"You're hopeless. Still, I did agree to travel with you because I wanted to see that Deino of yours closer. You both seemed nice, and I knew it might even be beneficial. But if you are only going to be chasing after hopeless dreams, count me out."

"Who said it was hopeless? Just because we aren't close to the level of the champion, that doesn't mean I can't catch up." Akuma roared, as if to punctuate my statement. That is, until a Quagsire attacked us.

"Ignis won't be of any use... Go, Silverwings!"

"And Perry can't hurt it, so it's all up to you, Sammy and Yami!"

"Thorn, let's go! You got this, it'll be easy." While Thorn was more interested in training, I was afraid he'd be hesitant to fight again. Luckily, it seemed Thorn was about ready to get back into the fray, using Absorb on the Quagsire.

The Quagsire must have thought it could get the drop on us while we were distracted, but with even with the disadvantaged odds we had didn't mean much when we outnumbered the opposite party.

"This is why I hate this place," Sarah complained, mud covering her clothes.

.

We fought several more Pokemon along the way. The Route might have held some of the weaker Pokemon, but there were a few that were pretty strong. They were easy to take down in a team, but if it was solo, it would probably be as strong as another trainer's Pokemon.

We were making steady progress through the valley, but training really slowed us down. Training was important, if course, but I was getting impatient with our pace. For two days, I decided to walk faster.

"Is it just me, or is it getting a bit chilly." Sarah seemed to be shivering, and her chattering teeth were getting annoying, but I felt fine in the sunlight. It was getting right into the middle of April, making it strange that Sarah, out of the three of us she was the most cold-resistant, would be cold.

"Are you getting sick," Miles asked, carefully measuring the temperature of her forehead and checking her pulse. "Hm. You don't feel very warm. You pulse seems a little weak, too and your skins a bit pale."

"So, is she sick, Doc?"

"I'm not a doctor, but it cold just be the flu. Still, I think it would be best to hurry to Solaceon. I don't want to take any risks. Besides, she probably needs her rest." Miles tried to pick her up, but Sarah rejected the offer.

"I'll be fine. Like you said, it's probably just a flu or a cold. Let's just keep going." Sarah attempted to hide her condition, but once I saw what Miles meant, I noticed her paler skin. Was it always that white?

"Well, if you can keep going, we should hurry quickly to Solaceon," I decided, setting a slower pace, just for Sarah. We knew we were several kilometers out from Solaceon, probably two or three days of travel, or a week with training. We would be there soon.

"Sarah!" Turning around, I saw Sarah had fallen and she was clutching her chest. Running over, I heard she was groaning and breathing shallowly.

"What's wrong with her!?" I tried to look at her, but Sarah curled into the fetal position and seemed to be in pain. What was going on?

"Do you have any medicine for her? Anything for pain or something? Alcohol?" Miles began looking through his bag, even though he'd asked me for the medicine.

"I-I'll be f-fine!" Looking at Sarah, she'd sat up, but she still gripped her shirt and was sweating profusely.

"No, you need rest and a doctor. This is something serious." Miles shushed her, before picking her up on his arms. "C'mon, Kael. Let's get going. And call the Rangers." Following his orders, I pulled out my Dex and dialed the number.

"Hello," a man answered. "This is the Rangers. What do you need to report?"

"We've got a sick girl with us, and she needs treatment."

"Hey," Sarah managed to say from Miles' arms. "I t-told you, urgh! I'll b-be f-fine."

"Please send us your Trainer ID so that we can track your location. The Rangers medical staff should be preparing for your coordinates."

"My trainer ID is SI863FL239, name is Kael Lorano."

"Thank you. Rangers should arrive within twenty five minutes, so please holdhold out until then. I'm sorry it can't be sooner." Dropping the call, I checked on Sarah. Her temperature had flipped to burning hot and she was almost paper white. Something wasn't right.

"Wh-ere a-are we?"

"We're getting close to Solaceon. Rangers have been dispatched to make sure you're taken care of, so don't worry," Miles reassured her. We were almost running by this point, trying to get closer to the Rangers who were coming to our location.

"C-can Dragon Boy c-arry m-me," she asked. Her voice was quieter, and she still clutched at her chest. Miles looked at me, then down at her, before nodding. Stepping closer, I tried to hold her as Miles had, but he was much stronger than I was.

"Sarah, I'm going to need you to hold on to me," I asked her. She nodded, shaking. After Miles agreed to take my pack, he set her down, though she was having a hard time standing on her shaking legs. Breathing, I was ready.

A heavy blush covered my face when she jumped onto my back. Her chest was pressing hard against my back, but I kept my calm. Grabbing her legs while she wrapped her arms around my neck, I carried her piggyback towards Solaceon.

"You k-know, it's st-range. I d-didn't know you w-were this s-strong."

"Please, save your strength," I told her, looking back.

"It's f-fine. T-turn your head a l-little more." rotating to my necks maximum, I saw Sarah's blue eyes right in front of mine, her lips against mine. Like I'd short circuited, I just blinked at her until she fell against my back. She was still breathing, but I was just shocked.

"S-Sarah?"

"She's just sleeping. We should hurry." Miles didn't look directly at me, but I knew he was right. Soon enough, a large Staraptor and an Altaria touched down on the Route and two Rangers hopped off. "Recall your Pokemon! All of them!" I oblidged and returned Akuma, and Miles recalled Ignis from his shoulder.

"Are you Kael Lorano," one asked me. I nodded. "Let us see the girl. We'll do what we can." The two Rangers took Sarah off my back and took her over to the Altaria and Staraptor to inspect her. They seemed to be talking to each other, but Miles and I couldn't hear them. Sarah was lying between them while they tried to figure out what was wrong with her.

"Okay," one of the Ranger confirmed as he walked closer. "We've decided what is making your friend sick. It seems like she's cursed. Did she have any contact with any ghost or dark Pokemon in the past 24 hours?" Thinking back, I couldn't think of any times we'd fought against a ghost Pokemon, but we had three dark Pokemon between us. Could one of them being cursing us?

"Sir, I myself am carrying two dark Pokemon. A Zorua and a Deino. Sarah has a Sneasel. Could they have been the ones cursing her?"

"If it's under your control, I don't believe it would curse one of your teammates. Still, a Deino? You should still be cautious with those things. We've got enough trouble with an enraged Haxorus. We don't need an enraged Hydreigon up there either, though I guess we already do. Anyways, you did well to call us, because your friend requires immediate attention. Something the two of us can't administer here."

"Wait, what does that mean," Miles questioned, speaking up. "Are you going to take her away? Is she really in that bad of a condition?"

"I'm sorry, kids. I understand you and your friend have been traveling together for a while, but we're going to take her to Solaceon's Rangers headquarters. There, we can meet up with the professionals to help deal with it." The Ranger turned back to mount his Altaria.

"So, none of us can come with you?"

"I can only take two of you, and one of them is already your friend. I doubt you'd want to leave the other behind, so I'd suggest you both stay put." The Ranger strapped Sarah into the saddle behind him before doing the same to himself.

"Wait, you have a Pidgeotto, Miles? Couldn't you fly with that?"

"Kid, don't try it! Pidgeotto are too weak to fly very far, much less with a passenger. It'd be pointless!" Both the Staraptor and Altaria ascended with Sarah on the bird. Groaning, I grabbed my bag from Miles and pulled it onto my back. The feeling of Sarah against my back, and when she'd kissed me with those fevered lips. Missing her was half of it, and I wanted to know the other half. My head was swimming, and I didn't know how to deal with the emotions in there.

Miles kept to himself for most of the time, so it was pretty quiet for the rest of the day. Once night fell, we pitched the camp and ate a simple meal hunted by our Pokemon. Being without Yami and Perry, hunting and foraging became more difficult. Still, we managed to find enough food for the both of us. Afterwards, we nodded before heading to our respected bed area, me to my tent, him to his blankets.

I still felt bad about not giving Miles a shelter, but since he hadn't said a thing yet so I didn't say anything either. As such, I was able to get to sleep fairly well each night.

The same cycle of training and traveling passed four days by pretty quickly, though training time was fairly cut down due to our rush to see Sarah again. It was our main focus anyways, and with the risk of curses around, it was another reason to hurry towards Solaceon.

We didn't get any calls or messages from the Rangers or Sarah about the whole thing our entire way, so Miles and I were fairly concerned. Pokemon came out in the sunlight and attacked us, and even more so in the rain. At night, it was mostly calm, though the occasional Pokemon would wander too close. All in all, I was worried.

.

Solaceon was different than I'd heard from my parents. They'd said the place was full of wackos and inbred degenerates, who had happened to pick up a plow. But now that I entered the gates, those warnings were only half true. Several street hawkers were standing on the sides of the streets, calling out to anyone who passed and urged them to purchase charms and salts.

"Solaceon? More like 'Sell-all-ceon". Look at this place, it's filthy." Miles punctuated that by kicking an empty beer can into the gutter. A few people glared at him, but we just walked along the road. "Where is that stupid headquarters of theirs? Why can't the Rangers just put it in somewhere everyone can find it?"

"Just use your map," I breathed, following the route from my Dex. We rounded corners and crossed several streets to wind up in front of a concrete building. The emblem of Sinnoh and the Rangers hung above the door, indicating it was the property of the League. This was where we'd see Sarah again after four days, so of course I was nervous.

"What is your business here," one of the Rangers questioned, serious and formal. Miles and I stepped into the compound, only to be questioned by the Rangers. "Please, if you have an appointment, submit it here."

"Uh, a friend of ours was brought here a few days ago, and we wanted to see her. Is she alright?"

"One moment," the young Ranger saluted us before stepping into another room. Before the door snapped shut, I heard a woman address the Ranger as Private Daniels. Then it was silent, not a Ranger to be heard. Looking around, the walls only held news articles of famous events and deeds done by this outpost.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. Might I see your PokeDexes for proof of your identities?" The Private, as well as a woman, exited the office. The woman was much older than I'd expected, by my estimate around forty. Miles and I extracted our Dexes as instructed and handed them over.

"Thank you, Private Daniels. You may step aside. I believe this matter falls under my jurisdiction now. Lorano and Samson, huh? Those sound like good soldier names... Anyways, you inquired about a friend. Would this one happen to have been the cursed girl?" I nodded enthusiastically. "My apologies, but she isn't here. You'll most likely have to find her at either the hospital or one of those laboratories."

"So... She isn't here? Is she alright?"

"While I do not know her current condition myself, I can assure you she is alive. Otherwise, I'd have been given a full report and be forced to attend a funeral, as the blood would be on the Ranger's hands." So, she was measuring her condition based on the amount of paperwork she's done?!

"Thank you," Miles quickly stated. Bowing quickly, he rushed out the door, back onto the streets. Following suit, I bowed and thanked the Ranger woman before running to catch up with Miles.

"Hey, wait up. You don't know where you're going, and we still don't know where Sarah is. Just wait up and let's think this through!" My hand wrapped around Miles' arm and stopped him. "Why are you in a rush?"

"You wouldn't understand. I just... I guess I feel responsible for this, the curse and everything? I want to meet up with Sarah as soon as possible, so I can apologize to her. We could have stopped this if we'd have been more aware. Don't you see where I'm coming from?"

"I'm sure Sarah would say the same, but it wasn't your fault. The best we can do is help her now, rather than worrying about the past. Four days or four minutes, there's no need to try and change what's already happened."

"You know, you sound like my dad. And I hate that. But I get it. I know what you're saying." Miles took a deep breath and brushed some of his messy hair out of his face. "How are you so calm about this? Sarah is in danger, and yet you haven't really shown any anger or sadness."

"You're wrong," I spat out, having heard the same thing in movies and books. "Of course I feel. I just don't think it's worth it to do anything else. She makes me worry, of course, but she'll also probably be fine. If she's still alive and cursed, that means the Pokemon isn't planning to kill her yet, milking her for life. But if she's not, she'll be alright. No rushing will change that any time soon." Sighing, I wandered over to a restaurant. The western-style place looked good enough, and I was hungry.

The food was different than the usual Sinnoan food I was used to. It was pretty tasty and I enjoyed it, though Miles wasn't in the mood for eating. I didn't press him to eat, but he was the one to order it. He simply poked at his plate and stared at the steak.

"Why are we just eating? We could be helping Sarah or something, yet you're doing nothing!"

"I'm hungry, and how are we going to help anyways? I have no idea how a curse works, and even if I do want a ghost type, that means nothing. I don't know how they work. I don't know what good seeing her will do. And I'm also a little scared to see her anyways." Dropping my utensils, I finished my meal and stood up. I'd already paid, so I had no reason to stay. With Miles and his attitude, I definitely didn't want to stay.

Alone, I wandered around Solaceon and explored the town. Nothing was very interesting, other than the more rural lifestyle the place had. Surprisingly, there weren't as many religious or monumental sites as I expected, seeing as almost every city had them. It was a strange town, to say the least.

I was no stranger to being alone, but after having spent so much time with Sarah and Miles, it seemed different. It was more of a fight between whether or not I wanted to talk to somebody. With Miles and his criticism, I didn't want to talk to him, and Sarah wasn't here anyways. I could go to the Hospital and check on her there, but I didn't want to talk to her yet. Not after what had happened before she was taken.

No one really wanted to talk to a stranger like me, someone who was fresh out of the wild. I didn't really present the opportunity either, since I simply walked down the street, my teeth biting into my knuckle. All I could do is replay the scene I'd last seen Sarah, right before the Altaria and Staraptor had taken off.

It wasn't until I felt something dripping off my fingertip that I actually realized where I was. Looking up from my bleeding hand, I saw a white Hospital in front of me. Had I come here subconsciously? No, I'd never come to the hospital before. Why was I here? Shaking my head, I refused to enter and started wandering off to the right.

A few minutes later, I glanced to the side and found myself pacing in front of the hospital, blood still dripping off my finger from my gnawing. Giving up was the best I could do, so I stepped through the doors and evaluated the place. Clean, white, and crowded.

"Uh, we have a situation! We've got someone here who's bleeding. Please get a nurse to the lobby." A girl in a white nurse uniform grabbed my arm and dragged me to a back room. "Please wait here, we'll patch up your hand in a moment." Suddenly, I was alone in a hospital room with a bleeding hand. What happened? After a few minutes, a new nurse walked in.

"Hello, sir. Oh, let me see your hand now." The lady took off my bag and sat me down onto the examination table. She looked over my hand and began wiping it down with an antiseptic wipe. "Were you the one to cause this cut?" Looking down at my hand, I saw teeth marks on the knuckle.

"That was me," I admitted, wincing at the sting.

"Self cannibalism is not healthy. It can also lead to infections and scarring. If you need to see a councilor or something, or do I need to put a cone on your head?"

"I'm fine. I was just nervous and bit myself. I'm sorry for the trouble, though." I wanted to pull my hand back, but the nurse had it held pretty tightly. She quickly sprayed it and bandaged it before allowing me to stand up. Looking at my finger, I saw a metal band was keeping me from biting it. Sighing, I thanked her and left the room, before heading to the front counter.

"Hello, how may I help you," asked the nurse from before, the one who'd asked for my injuries to be healed. "Oh, how's your finger now?"

"It's fine," I answered, holding up my bound digit. "But that's not why I came here in the first place. I came for a girl, who was brought here for a curse?"

"A curse, you say? All you kids are so dangerous." The nurse began typing stuff into her computer. "What would this girl's name be?"

"Sarah O'Perr," I stated. The nurse rapidly typed in the name, before looking intently at whatever was on her screen.

"Okay, she should be on the third floor, but why would you want to see her? Is there something you need from her? If so, I'm sorry to say she's been resting for the past day or so. That's what her record says."

"She's my friend. I just wanted to talk to her, about what happened and all. What room on the third floor?"

"Well, I first need to see your PokeDex, and I also need your payment for your treatment. Which comes to a total of 950 Poke dollars." Almost choking, I was hesitant to fork over that amount of cash for a simple bandaging I didn't even need. After she checked my Dex, she nodded but didn't hand it back.

"You can visit your friend for five minutes. I'll escort you to her room." She stood up from behind the counter and placed a sign that read 'Please be patient'. Walking behind her, we climbed the stairs until the third floor. She walked down a hall and stopped in front of a room labeled as the 41 on the floor. "Now, please keep your voice down, as there are other patients and Sarah needs her rest if she's sleeping. Curses are serious."

I agreed to her terms and conditions with a nod and the nurse opened the door. There, on the bed, was Sarah with her eyes suddenly locking onto mine, looking much better than the last time I'd seen her. Her skin wasn't as colorful as usual, but it wasn't paper white. Cautious, I stepped into the room and walked over to the bedside. Sarah's eyes continued to follow me, and I also watched her. She didn't say anything, and I didn't know where to start. But I had to say something.

"So... Been a while, huh? I was worr-"

"You're late," Sarah cut me off. "I thought we agreed it would only take two days to get here. It's been more than that, so you're late."

"Well, sorry. I didn't know it would take a bit longer to get here."

"You're the one who's supposed to be good at maps and stuff, and that sounds like a you problem anyways."

"You're lucky I'm even here," Sighing, I dropped down into one of the chairs near the bed. This was not the reunion I'd been planning for. But maybe there was a chance to bring up what happened before she passed out? After all, it was her that kissed me. "So, how's it been in this dreary hospital room? Looks pretty boring."

"Doctors will be happy to hear I've been sleeping for the most part. Of it all, the only part I really remember was waking up in this room. Before that, I was apparently in some sort of coma from the curse draining me of energy." Sarah broke eye contact and looked out the window. "You probably don't want to hear about that, do you?"

"No, it's fine. I was actually going to ask you what's the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing I remember?" Sarah fell silent, her face deep in thought. "The last thing I remember is you carrying me, and then I blacked out. After that, the labs, and then this hospital." I expected her to remember at least kissing me, or flying, but from the lack of embarrassment in her cheeks, she didn't remember it.

"That's about right," I assured her. "You passed out right before the Rangers arrived." I hid my red ears by fluffing my hair over them. Sarah leaned back in her bed. Awkwardly, just sitting there, we didn't say much.

"Did I miss much," she asked, after those few moments of silence. I looked back, considering what she might've missed. I put on the look that I was thinking, but there wasn't anything of importance.

"No, I don't think we really did much, other than walking."

"Walking? You should have been running." I saw a small smile on her face and couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, you've visited enough. You need to leave ms. O'perr to rest and recover. We'll call you if anything major happens." The nurse grabbed my arm and pulled me back out the door. But...

"Wait, I still have questions!"

"Save your questions and inquiries for another time. Visiting is closed now, thank you." Serious as a hospital should be, my five minutes were up. I would just have to wait, and patience is not one of my virtues. Groaning, I followed the nurse to the lobby. My finger was a bit stiff and stung, but it wasn't as bad as the antiseptic. Rubbing it, I thanked the nurse before walking outside.

For the rest of the day, the weather turned to a more overcast sky. Bored, I was back to wandering. But I'd seen Sarah and I didn't need to stay in town. Miles wasn't my favorite person, and I didn't feel like talking to him anyways. If I even mentioned Sarah, he'd know I'd visited her. Of course, it's not like I had to stick around in town. Taking out my Pokeballs, I ran towards the gate of town.

.

Akuma roared after being released, and Felix and Thorn were ready for some action. When they found there wasn't an enemy, but instead simple training, they relaxed a bit. Then I ordered them to exercise their abilities, and most important was Akuma's and Felix's Grass Knot ability. Thorn was still trying to teach the other two how to properly use the ability, though Felix was making the most progress of the two.

I tried doing some exercises as well, doing some pushups and running. While I wanted to practice my Judo, I'd forgotten most of it except the most basic moves. My Dex could show some other workout methods could be better, I just went with running and pushups.

We practiced all day together, even until past sundown, which was getting later and later. A few people saw me in the field, as well as a single challenge. While it was close, I won without many injuries to my Pokemon. There wasn't much of a reward, since it wasn't my wager, but it did take a bit of a chunk off of the hospital cost.

By the time it was past eleven, Akuma, Thorn, Felix were exhausted and I was damn near my own limit. We'd taken a few breaks to be ready for round two, even though this was something like our eighth round. I could hardly lift my legs or arms much, and my gut hurt from holding myself horizontally. There wasn't much difference between me and my Pokemon, based on our breathing.

Dragging myself near a tree, I laid out my tent and expanded it before recalling Thorn and Felix. It wasn't the easiest thing, since I could hardly aim the ball, but I managed it after a few tries. And after rolling myself up in my blanket and simply sleeping on top of my sleeping bag and jacket, I was fast asleep.

The next three days were almost exactly the same as the first. I met with Miles every morning for breakfast, then to the hospital to visit the recovering Sarah. After some time in town, I would head out and mess around outside of town or train. Solaceon was not somewhere I really wanted to be, and I knew my Pokemon would need to be ever stronger, even as powerful as they were. Even if they were strong enough for now, it couldn't hurt to be stronger.

I sold my sellables and extras I had and bought some more supplies for the road the next day. It was enough to repay some of my lost money, but I was still feeling a bit thin for money. Akuma enjoyed the opportunities to run around outside her Pokeball in the fields around Solaceon more than when we usually went into towns. I wish I could bring her into town too, but that would have to wait until Hearthome and the third badge.

It wasn't until the fourth day that Sarah was discharged, though she'd probably been eligible for more than a few days. As soon as I received the text that she'd been released, I wolfed down breakfast and ran to the hospital. At the entrance was Sarah in her normal not-hospital clothes, impatiently glaring at me.

"About time you got here. And where is Miles? He's late!" Sarah puffed her cheeks in anger. Thinking about it, I hadn't seen Miles earlier either, since we usually met up at either the Pokemon Center for breakfast. If he wasn't coming to meet Sarah, where was he?

"I'll message him, then we can go beat him up. He should already know you've been discharged from the hospital." I typed out a short text to Miles, before turning back to Sarah. "C'mon then. Let's go look around. Then we can leave Solaceon for Hearthome."

"Hey, wait! What about me? I've been stuck in a hospital bed for almost week! I deserve some time to go sightseeing." I groaned audibly.

"Fine," I answered, feigning reluctance. "But let's do that now then. Miles is late, so he doesn't get to. How's that?"

"Great! Then let's go! To the shopping mall!"

"They don't have a mall here. Or a shopping center."

"Whaaat!?" Sarah was put out there wasn't a mall, but she still ended up buying a keychain and a new Net ball. I was surprised she could afford to buy it, but since I could buy it myself, it wasn't much of a surprise. She always had her money burning a hole in her pocket. I didn't do much other than simply walking with her. It was during lunch that Sarah started to switch off of history and what she was looking at to Pokemon.

"It sucks to be stuck in a boring room and told to sleep. I couldn't train with my Pokemon, but they did feed them for me. I guess that helped. Seriously, Yami and Sammy were soo bored in there." We were sitting in a small fast food restaurant, eating Miltank burgers and fries with shakes. Quick the western meal by my standards.

"I've wondered why you had to spend so long in the hospital though. You probably could have gotten out the first day I visited you."

"I could show you, but I think it might take a bit more time before I'm ready to." I was suspicious about the way she said it, my mind turning to surgery scars, but that couldn't be. She never had surgery, so I was dumbfound at her reason. She'd been fine every day I'd gone to visit her, so it couldn't have been surgery.

"Well, I won't ask you to show me all your secrets, but can't you at least tell me why?"

"No, I don't want to spoil it. I'll show you later. But for now, eat up! Then we can go out and fight! I want a real rematch." Sarah picked up her burger and began eating again. I almost dropped my shake.

"Wait, what?"

.

"Who are you gonna start out with? I've already got it figured out. 'Bout time you figured it out quickly." I was still trying to decide which Pokemon would be best to start off with. I wanted to start out with Akuma, since her flame breath would beat Sammy and Yami, though she was weak to Perry and Yami. I could use Thorn, but Yami would wipe him out quite quickly. Felix would be all around alright, but I wanted to beat her quickly. Which to choose?

Groaning, I pulled out one of my Pokeballs and decided. Sarah smirked and I nodded to her.

"Felix, let's go!" The black Zorua appeared as he faced Yami. His fur bunched up as he yipped at the icy hunter, who brandished it's menacingly sharp claws. Frost began forming on the edge of the claws, and I gritted my teeth before slightly smirking. Sarah had followed my intuition and used Yami, and Felix wasn't weak to ice or dark. I quickly called for a Dark Pulse, while Sarah ordered her Sneasel into action.

Dark Pulse had a widespread area of effect, on top of being ranged, so Yami had no way of dodging. He was met with a wall of darkness, but he didn't stop. Felix was hit by a duo of frosty claws, which drew blood and made him scream in pain. I was surprised by the human-like scream, but it helped since the Sneasel hesitated from the sound.

"Grass Knot, Felix!" I knew the ability wasn't entirely battle ready, but he had some control over it. Using a strange noise and beginning to emit a dark aura as grassy vines wrapped around Yami's feet as it charged. The Sneasel was easily able to break from the first snare, but the second one caught it still. Slamming against the ground, Felix took the opportunity to bite into his enemy's back.

While Yami had been taken down, he wasn't helpless. Even face-down in the grass, he managed to knock Felix away and quickly regained his footing. In a flash, Yami swept Felix off all four feet and dug two icy claws straight into his side, almost forcing me to return him to his Pokeball. I was getting worried about the draining health gauge. Suddenly, a Dark Pulse pushed Yami back and onto the ground again while Felix dove behind a rock, out of my sight.

As Yami got closer, the illusion of the rock faded and a Dark Pulse knocked Yami back. I saw the blood dripping off Felix's side, but his health wasn't low enough for me to call him back, though I was concerned. He was eager to pounce on the icy hunter and use his dark fangs to bite into Yami, which I'd never seen before. It looked suspiciously similar to Akuma's.

Yami was quickly returned, and I returned Felix. We'd agreed to a full battle, rather than a duel, so I pulled out Akuma's Pokeball in preparation for the next Pokemon. I hoped for Sammy, since he was weak to fire and dragons, but I wouldn't doubt it if Sarah used Perry to counter Akuma.

As expected, Perry was the one facing Akuma. Breathing calmly, I focused to formulate a strategy. Something I usually didn't have to do. "Akuma, hit it with a Dragon Rage!" I knew the move hadn't been used in over a month, but I theorized that if Perry was resistant to Draconic abilities, would it resist an explosive blast?

Simple answer? No. The blast was almost killed the small Dedenne, being a small rodent of a Pokemon. Sarah gasped in surprise when Perry was launched across the field. It was good to guess it couldn't take another hit like that because Sarah immediately recalled Perry, which was quite anticlimactic. Still, it was better than I guessed would happen.

"Alright, Dragon Boy! Last Pokemon, so I guess we should finish this up, huh?" Sarah released Sammy against Akuma, but I knew this would go by quickly. And Sarah knew too, since this would be over quickly, as she said.

One Dragon Breath later, the fight was over with me as the victor. Felix and Yami was a tough match up, and I did feel bad for not giving Thorn a chance, but Akuma had done the job so well. I patted her head as I walked to Sarah, who was healing Perry with a potion.

"Good battle. The battle was close with Yami and Felix." I shook her hand and complimented her.

"You're just saying that," she groaned as she sat down in the grass. "I know that I've been falling behind in training. It sucks! I should have been training more and battling like you!" Sarah started crying, which confused me.

"Sarah, you're not a bad trainer! Look how far you've gotten without my help, so why are you saying you're weak? Just because you lost doesn't mean you should give up." Akuma made a noise before walking off towards a small tree. "Are you alright?"

"I'm... I think I'm good." Sarah took a deep breath and wiped her tears away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Let's just forget about it, huh?" Picking herself up and brushing off her pants, she hid her face from me. Her breath was shaky, but she also seemed more collected now. Which was a relief for me, but I hoped it wasn't just a front.

"You ready to head back into town? We should probably check our Pokemon in to the Pokemon Center."

"You're right. Let's go. Don't worry about me." Grabbing our bags, we made our way back into Solaceon. Once we made it through the outskirts of town, we stopped at the Pokemon Center for half an hour for our teams to heal and recover. It was awkward since Sarah didn't want to talk the entire time and I didn't know what else to do. We ate a small snack from the desk, which mainly consisted of nuts and chocolate bits, but it wasn't enough to last the entire half hour. We ended up sprawling over the almost-empty seats in the lobby, with me upside-down while reading.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here," a voice from above me asked. Surprised, I dropped my Dex before falling off of my chair and landed on the ground. Looking up, Miles was standing there holding back a laugh.

"What are you doing here!? Where were you when I was discharged? We were waiting for you, messaged you, and you didn't respond." Sarah pushed Miles down into a chair while shouting at him, cutting off his escape. I picked myself off the floor and adjusted my shirt.

"Woah, I was just in the ruins outside of town. I didn't have any reception down there. I didn't get the message until I got out a little while ago!" Sarah was threatening Miles with her shoe while he tried to explain his situation. It didn't help that Miles was already struggling to relay his story. A hit from a boot wouldn't help, especially with those thick soles. Still, it made me grin from the whole scene, Miles trying to defend against a girl hitting him with her shoe.

"Fine, but you still should have invited us," Sarah settled, putting back on her boot. Miles already had a bruise forming on his cheek, but other than that he was fine. Once we got our Pokemon back, he had his cocky, yet charismatic smirk back. Even if it was slightly marred by the bruise, he seemed back to normal. The same could be said about Sarah, though she wasn't as eager to talk as before.

It was still a bit awkward while we wandered through town. I wanted to leave immediately, but Miles claimed he wasn't ready. Sarah was indifferent, having done what she'd planned on doing, but still agreed to tag along. It was better than waiting in the Pokemon Center lobby. We didn't talk much, since most of us were of contrasting opinions.

Miles seemed to be going through the same sightseeing mood that Sarah had this morning, though what I didn't understand was why he was doing this now? We'd been here for four days, and he'd been able to explore then, but now he chose to explore? No, something was fishy. Whatever he was planning, I didn't trust him still.

"Alright! We've seen it, so let's just go!" I was already impatient, and with the sunlight fading as the sun began to set, I wasn't waiting to leave.

"I'm bored too. I'm with Dragon Boy on this one."

"C'mon! This is Solaceon Town! It's not like we're in a rush to go anywhere. Just calm down and let's look around a little longer. We can leave in the morning and sleep in some comfortable beds and-" Sarah took off her boot to threaten Miles, which apparently worked. He stopped talking the second she held it up. "Alright, I get it. Let's just go back to the Pokemon Center so I can get my bag."

.

The road was much more open than the city, which was amazing. My longing for the travel life had been sated with Akuma and Felix walking beside me. Perry rode on Sarah's head and Silverwings flew above us. No one was around to bother us, and we were on our way to Hearthome. With two badges attached to my bag, I was confident enough the third badge wouldn't be too hard.

Sarah and I didn't talk much outside of town, around our small fire, but Miles was openly trying to talk to us. I was still a bit angry with Miles, but I couldn't help but answer. Akuma enjoyed her dinner of Sentret, ripping shreds off of it and generally making background noise. It was a strange sound to listen to - the sound of slurping and crunching of blood and bones.

The three of us had already had our dinner and were simply looking past the fir needles to the stars above. It was nice to see the moon, though it was already waning and getting darker. Soon enough it would be gone for a while. Sighing, I laid down on the needles and grass.

"Well, I'm going to go to my tent. See you two in the morning." Sarah tossed a branch onto the fire before walking to a small clearing to set up her shelter. She'd done it several times before, and constructing it was quick, but slightly noisier than usual as she rustled around in the grass before heading inside. Then it was quiet. Pulling out my Dex, I noticed the time.

"Sarah's right," I agreed. "It's almost midnight, so I'm going to head off to bed as well." It was my fault it was my fault anyways, having forced us to walk this far into the night. We'd lost enough time in the cities, I'd reasoned. Sarah followed without much complaint, but not much compliance either. Miles had muttered his reluctance to agree, but still followed anyways.

"... Hey, wait up," Miles called after me. "I think I've learned enough from you. It was fun, traveling with you and Sarah, but now it's time to go traveling on my own. You should be the one to tell Sarah, but I won't be here in the morning. I hope to face you again in the future. Good night." Miles nodded to me and I was left dumbfound. My bag was hanging from my hand, about to pull the tent off the back of it.

"So you're just going to leave? I don't understand. We've been traveling together for a month, and now you've had enough? Just because I don't want to waste time? We're friends, so tell me why!"

"Calm down. We're still friends, but I just want to go solo. I'll probably head back to Solaceon for a while and train for a while. I know how tough Hearthome's gym is, and I'll leave you to fight her. Still, your Deino Akuma will be a fair challenge for her." At the mention of her name, Akuma lifted her head from the Sentret's tail she was using as a pillow. "But you can go to bed. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I have your PokeDex number, so I'll message you sometime later. Besides, I feel bad for moving in on your girl. I should give you a chance first."

"But-"

"I'll see you later. Just go to bed." I couldn't respond to Miles' goodbye, even if it wasn't much of a goodbye. Sobering up, I nodded and opened my tent. Akuma wandered over and nudged her way inside. I crawled in as well, before using the Sentret's tail and wiping the blood off her face before laying down onto my sleeping bag. While I was thinking, I closed my eyes. Quickly after, I fell asleep and passed into my dreams.

.

Sleep wasn't the easiest for me, since my dreams weren't the nicest ones I'd had in a while. Even with Akuma sleeping next to me, I kept tossing and turning. Every time I woke up, I couldn't remember what was in my dreams, but it was enough to shake me out of sleep. Akuma didn't do much, but sniffed around before going back to sleep. Following her example, I laid back down and tried to sleep until sunrise.

The final time I woke up was some time around five, when the sun rose from the opposite side of the mountains than I was used to. Light lit up my tent through the trees and I stepped out into the sunlight, leaving Akuma to continue sleeping. Yellow and bright, I watched the sun rise above the treetops. I couldn't tell what I'd been dreaming about, but it helped me forget about it all. Relaxing was easier than mulling over it.

Looking around, I couldn't find a trace of Miles. He really was gone. He'd gone back to Solaceon, just as he'd said. Sighing, I closed my eyes and laid back. So this is how it's gonna be, huh? I passed from sleep to awake and back a few times in the grass, until I felt someone prodding my cheek.

Groaning as I opened my eye. Sarah was sitting next to me with her foot pressing into my face. As soon as I realized her nail was against me, I backed away in disgust. "Morning, sleeping beauty. Get enough rest there?" Sitting up, I groggily greeted Sarah while rubbing my cheek.

"I bet you slept better than I did. What time is it anyways?" The sun had risen considerably since I'd come out here, but not as high as I expected.

"It's almost nine. Better get up soon, or we'll never make it to Hearthome. And where did Miles go? I can't find him around the camp, and his Pokemon aren't around. Do you know?" I turned to the grass and started pulling up a few blades. "You do know, don't you."

"He said he's gone back to Solaceon. That we'd know why once we got to Hearthome, whatever that means. I don't know why he left though. He didn't tell me exactly." Yawning, I stood up and stretched. I turned to my tent and peeked inside, Akuma still snoozing away.

"Well, that explains it." Sarah mumbled while picking at the grass. She sounded disappointed, but she was also too quiet to tell. Waking up Akuma, I pulled her out of the tent before collapsing it. Packing it into my bag while Akuma went back to sleep, I noticed Sarah still sitting there. I got the clue, and it stung a little. So she liked him a bit and he was gone now.

Sighing, I knew this would be difficult. Ever since the first moment Miles met Sarah, when he kissed her, I knew he would leave a mark on her. The moment when Sarah kissed me was replaying, but she didn't remember that. She'd passed out and lost the memory of that, making Miles the only one to have made a move on her. Sitting down next to Akuma and Sarah, I laid a hand on the Dragon's fur and leaned against Sarah's shoulder.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Sarah moved back out of surprise, making me nearly fall into her lap. I caught myself and looked up at the blue sky.

"You seemed like you were thinking, so I wanted to know what it was. And I was a bit tired. You about ready to go?" A rough rub to Akuma's back woke her up and she let out a loud yawn, before standing and stretching. Sarah followed suit and nodded, with me last to stand.

We had to spend a few more minutes to pack up, but soon we were back on the route with Sammy and Akuma walking with us. My PokeDex buzzed along the way, but I knew what it meant. I ignored Miles' messages and set my Dex to silent. It was strangely quiet without Miles, as if something was missing from our group. I didn't know what to say, and Sarah wasn't talking much either, but it was also peaceful. The sounds of nature filled our travels, much like before, and the trees were also much prettier as lighter green needles grew from the tips.

I stopped us past two for a short training session, which mainly consisted in our Pokemon honed their attacks against the trees and dirt. While Sarah didn't join in, I also did exercises beside Akuma. It was kept to just over an hour, but I felt progress was made. My skin had a slightly sweat to it and I was forced to take off my coat for once, due to the warm April sun.

"Woah, I don't remember you with this much muscle," Sarah commented, poking my chest. Embarrassed about her noticing, I tried to hide it. "C'mon, it's cool! There's no need to hide it. You're not a girl."

"Sorry, but I didn't really want you to notice. I've just been training with my Pokemon a lot, especially during your hospital time. It's not something I'm proud of, though."

"Why not," Sarah questioned while pulling my hands away. "This much muscle in only four days? What'd you do, take steroids?" My arms were a bit thicker and my chest showed progress as well, though I'd much rather not show. I grabbed my coat after training and laid it over my shoulders. It wasn't the best cover, but it worked for now.

"I've been this muscular before, and I just had to work a little to bring myself back. Farming isn't light work, so I've had to be strong enough to help." I stopped the story short of entertaining or depth, but I got the point it wasn't important. Returning Thorn and calling to Felix and Akuma, we started off on the road again.

Sarah tried to bring up my body again, trying to figure out why I'd exercised like that. What I told her was the bare minimum I could think up, not wanting to tell it was for her. We continued like this for several more hours, until dinner. Akuma, Yami, and Felix quickly procured their meals, bringing enough scraps for the two humans to enjoy a nicely cooked soup. I also managed to find a Pecha berry bush, with Perry's help, of course. With that, I tried to make a drink with a few, but mostly made a mess of myself. Tasted the same, just with stickier hands.

"Here you go, some stew and Pecha juice... In a totally-not-makeshift cup. Mahlzeit!" It was a good meal, though the soup was a little bland without flour and special spices. The salt mostly compensated, with a sharper taste. After the meal, and a few minutes of rest, we decided on training. It lasted longer than earlier and I got Sarah to join in with pushups, even if she wasn't as strong. I passed her score of 22 in a minute with a highscore of 59. She didn't like the defeat, but didn't do much else than make a few remarks, like me being a simple muscle head.

Nearly two weeks past the same, with the same regiment of Breakfast, Walk, Training, Walk, Dinner, Training, and Sleep, without any challenges, though there were a few who presented "challenges". It was a pair of girls who gave us the most trouble. And they both were very pretty, making it a difficult encounter.

"Watch out!" A voice from above called. I felt something collide with me and another something wrapped around my neck and I almost lost balance. "Oh, thank you for saving us. Here, sir, as thanks." Just as I was looking down, two girl pecked my cheeks before hopping off me. Akuma was not in the least bit pleased about their attack on me and bared her teeth at the new strangers and growled deeply.

"What's going on-" Sarah was cut off by the two girls, both fluffing their hair in unison. They seemed to have rehearsed their act pretty well, because they went through a whole choreographed dance.

"We! Challenge! You!" Each word was emphasized by a dance step, ending with two fingers pointed at me. They ignored Sarah, who was standing next to me. Akuma didn't take the shouting well, and roared at the girls, making them shrink away slightly.

"You could have said that from the beginning. You're wasting my time." Brushing against Akuma's faux horn, she followed me while I moved to walk past the girls.

"Don't you know, like, who we are!? We're the dancing twins, Marla and Kate! We challenged you, so let's fight!" Looking back at them, I saw they were twins, but their outfits were more flashy than useful.

"You seem weak, if all you've been doing it practicing dance moves. No thanks." Walking again, Sarah ran to catch up, glaring at the girls for not saying a thing to her. I don't what she thought about the kisses, but she didn't say anything. She didn't get a chance to.

Two Pokemon appeared behind us and announced their presence before charging us. Looking back, I was just in time to see Akuma meeting with a Luxray and a Kirlia. Seeing the Luxray, I froze in place, the memories of Stein in my head. It wasn't fear. It was rage.

"Akuma! Dragon's Breath! Attack the Luxray!" While she probably didn't recognize what luxray was, it was the closest target and she opened her maw to breath on the large feline. My anger was probably noticed by Sarah, who released Sammy to help, but I held out my hand to stop her. "This is my fight."

Akuma was outnumbered, even if the Kirlia couldn't do much to her. The Luxray alone didn't anger me much. It was the way it attacked, a sneak attack from behind. It's presence made my neck tingle, like a needle was hovering right over it. As I watched, Akuma was being quickly overpowered by the electric cat.

"It's a double battle, you know? You can, like, use two Pokemon at a time, dummy!" Two, huh? Grabbing Thorn's pokeball, I released him against the Kirlia. In the back of my mind, I knew it was a bad idea, but I was angry. I didn't care. It was an almost immediate loss. Akuma was left as a close victor, but the Luxray was still standing with burns while she was unable to rise. Thorn was left with half his purple blood taken straight from his body and pooled around him.

"Good battle, but you definitely, like, uh, need some more skill. Get good or something." Scowling at them both, I threw them a chunk of my fresh cash before returning Akuma and Thorn. The latter's health was much worse than the former's, but they both needed rest. I didn't say a thing more to the girls as I marched ths other way.

"Hey, wait up! We, like, didn't get your number!" The twins ran after us, but I didn't do a thing. I continued on my way. "Fine, we'll give our numbers! Here, take our card." A sharp card pressed to my back and I grabbed the arm. I nearly threw the girl over my shoulder, but I resisted the urge.

"Ow, that hurts," Marla said, trying to pull her arm back. Letting go, she stumbled back and her sister Kate caught her. With them quickly walking away from me, I smirked at my success. Still, I'd lost, which bit into me hard. I didn't like it, so during the next training session that evening, I worked myself hard with Felix, while Thorn rested and Akuma took it easy.

When I fell asleep that night, the encounted drew up old memories I'd thought I'd buried. The dreams of my old Geodude had stopped, but now they seemed to be making a vengeance rerun. In the middle of the night, I woke up in a sweat, only to fall back to sleep again. By morning, I was still tired, but Sarah took over the job of waking me up. At least it wasn't a foot to the face.

The state of the route was clear enough to tell us it wasn't far until Hearthome. What that meanr was more frequent challenges, this time earning me more losses than wins. It was depressing, as most leaving were third badge or higher, as well as a drain on my wallet. Still, Akuma worked hard against the Pokemon.

"You need to calm down," Sarah commented after one of my battles, hers having gone much smoother. "You could have won that if you'd remembered to use Thunder Wave to paralyze it and finished up with few Dark Pulses. Now that Akuma can use Dark Pulse and Grass Knot, it should be much easier. Just calm down and use your head." Thinking about it, I tried to think about the match, what could have happened, and had to admit she was correct. But I'd always been calm, so why were these strategies so easy to forget?

"I'll remember that, so thanks Sarah." Getting up, I tried to work with the strategy she'd suggested in my head against other types of Pokemon, but what about other factors? Akuma was mainly a brute force type of Pokemon, not ranged or sneaky as Felix. It limited any sort of flanking and distance fighting, as Akuma couldn't see. The only problem was putting it into use.

Training was harder than it had been, as I was both tryong to gear up for the third gym battle, as well as develop strategies to counter ghost types while Sarah trained on her own in the trees. I didn't know what she was doing, but she said it was something she wanted to practice in private. I could respect that, since I was also trying to develop my own move sets.

Akuma was ordered to practice her Grass Know ability, as she was still the worst at using the move. She also practiced her Thunder Wave and Dark Pulse, which she finally learned, though Felix was still the master of the move. He could use it with much more skill and precision than Akuma, but it was an addition for Akuma to be able to use another Dark type move. Thorn was ordered to practice using Razor Leaf and ranged attack, while Felix showed me his best illusions, minus the nausea.

The ability of the small Zorua's ability to fool the eyes was incredible. He was able to create a realistic army of Deinos, as well as mimic parts of the forest, creating a trio of trees, though they were all mirror images. He was also able to disguise himself fairly well, blending into his illusion to become almost invisible, though there are times when either his tail or ears would be forgotten and show through the illusion.

By the time the sun set, I believed I'd made progress in my strategy against the third gym, which was bound to have ghost types aplenty. My Deino and Zorua would have no trouble defeating them, but I didn't want to take any chances. It was a gym, after all.

Four days were spent training up for the gym before we made it to Hearthome. Even before we made it into town, the lights showed the size of the city from miles away. The bright glow of the lights made it look like the city never slept, even in the middle of the night. Akuma seemed to know what was going on, with the training and traveling, as she was hyped up for every battle every time I let out our battle cry.

Encounters with trainers became more frequent, and while I still made some money from my battles, they were difficult. None were as dramatic as Marla and Kate, but they were very skilled, with three or more badges on their collars or belts. There was one who had nine badges, two from the Kanto region, though he didn't want to fight seriously and let me keep my money when I lost. Our journey became slower as we were stopped for more battles, sometimes getting more than two dozen a day and even passing some up, but we still progressed with breaks for short training sessions.

As soon as we entered into Hearthome, Sarah and I were left speechless. The capital of Sinnoh was huge, sprawling to be much larger than either Jubilife or Celesitic City had been. Cafes, bars, and stores galore, the streets packed with crowds and cars the closer we got to the center of the city. Several people were yelling, though it was mostly just a cacophony of voices.

Due to the strict policies, there were less Pokemon with people to attempt to minimize the overcrowding, but there were still several Pokemon on shoulders, on street lamps, beside people, and in the sky. The city not only attracted humans, but Pokemon weak enough to escape danger. It was a struggle to get around people, but soon we were part of the crowd, walking along towards the Pokemon Center.

"Why is it so busy here," Sarah almost yelled over the din. We pushed past other people, who were also pushing, to get closer to the Pokemon Center. With Sarah leading the way with her Dex, we were heading in a fairly straight line as Sarah aggressively created her path. I followed closely, though I was elbowed several times by strangers and annoyed trainers trying to go... somewhere.

Pushing past a bunch of people, I caught an arm to the face. Stumbling, I angrily looked up to see a ranger, along with three other incapacitated people. My fury faded to a smolder while I respected the League authority they held. Backing away and standing down was the most I could do to protect my own self and Pokemon. The threat of the League symbol was enough to make my breath catch in my throat.

When the Ranger passed, I had to run through the crowds to catch up with Sarah, who hadn't waited up for me. The ones I pushed around usually yelled at me, but no one punched me like the Ranger had. She barely noticed me as we entered into the crowded Pokemon Center, with so many others around. I was beginning to feel almost claustrophobic from the large crowds, which rarely thinned.

"Sarah, wait up!" I caught her sleeve to stop her from getting closer to the counter. "I don't think we're going to have much luck here. There are too many people here for anything. I doubt we'd get a room, much less a meal or healing." Since our Pokemon weren't badly injured, even if wounded, I wanted to opt for going without. "Let's register for our fights first, then we can worry about the healing and rooms."

"...Yeah, you're probably right. Still, right now would be a great time for a Psychic Pokemon to just teleport us around, rather than these other people." The thought of teleporting sent shivers down my spine. The memory of the feeling of being compressed didn't make the idea much better. As convenient as it was, I would rather take the crowds than that feeling.

"A flying Pokemon works too, though I would like to take something larger to scare people out of the way, rather than push them. Maybe when Akuma has grown into a Hydreigon or something?"

"I like that idea. You're a smart guy after all, then? C'mon and let's go already, Genius Dragon Boy." Pushing again, we moved aside people as we exited the Pokemon Center. As we moved towards the Gym, I noticed more Rangers and less people. Walking became faster when we didn't have to create a path, and we made it to our destination pretty quickly, quicker than we had the Pokemon Center.

The Hearthome Gym was a just as open about it's style as Oreburgh and Eterna, modeled after a Gothic cathedral, complete with spires and bells. The doors weren't as large as Oreburgh's, but were still quite impressive. I'd seen several battles take place in this stadium, being in the capital, the largest city in all of Sinnoh. As the fanboy I was, it was the most logical thing to do.

"Hey! Stop gawking at it and let's go. It's just a building, remember?" Grabbing my arm, Sarah forcefully dragged me with her. I was surprised there weren't more trainers, like there were in the Pokemon Center. It was a long like, sure, but it was nothing like I'd expected. Why was everyone at the Poke Center in the first place, like the crowds in the Oreburgh's Center?

"Now this is more like it," Sarah taunted the air. Waiting in line was fine enough, but it was the fact that there wasn't a battle going on that made everything seem strange. Was the gym leader missing? Ever since Vortex announced themselves, everything had been getting progressively worse. Just what was their goal, and how were they so dangerous? I just couldn't make any sense of it.

"Hey, hey! Pay attention, I'm trying to talk to you, you know?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just trying to think."

"Well no duh. I could see that. But still, I was trying to talk to you. What do you think we should do after we register? And don't you think it's just a tad too quiet for gym? Where's all the crowds and stuff?"

"Exactly what I was thinking about. Do you think something is going on or do you think it's Vortex again? Stuff like that."

"I really hate you now. Why are you asking the same question as me!?" Moving up the line, Sarah didn't talk to me any more than she had to. I wasn't very interested in my thoughts to really answer anyways, trying to figure out what would require a gym leader to come to the scene.

As I stepped up to the counter, a loud alarm came from my pocket, as well as from almost every trainer in the Gym. Groaning, I took my Dex out and read the message on the screen. Text reading Alert flashed with the message in red text. Tapping it, I dismissed the message telling us to report immediately.

While I knew the penalties of refusing a summons, but who could blame me if I was going by foot? No one would know if I wasted 5 more minutes. I walked up to the counter and asked for a match for my badge. The process was quick, me talking fast as trainers moved to get out of the Gym. With the lady confirming my PokeDex, I was promptly passed the touch pad to select my chosen registered Pokemon of Deino, Zorua, Roselia, and Pachirisu. I was surprised to see Pachirisu on the list, but I remembered that I actually had one.

"Hey, what was that about, the noise?" Sarah tapped my shoulder quickly to get my attention.

"What, you didn't get the message?" I looked around her, but she didn't have her PokeDex out or ringing. Why were they calling me and not Sarah? This didn't make sense. "It was orders, a Trainer's duty, to report to the Ranger station on Route 212, but I don't know for what. Maybe it's about the Vortex guys?" Turning back to my team, I selected Akuma, Felix, and Thorn. I would have to deal with my Pachirisu later, but after my duty was fulfilled.

"Well, why are you still registering?" I paid the 2000Pb and nodded to Sarah.

"What are you talking about? Anyways, I'll see you later. Register and... I don't know. I'll message you after it!" Breaking out into a run, I bolted out of the Gym and out onto the street. It was easy enough to find my way down towards the southern Route, especially with an unexpected lack of people like in the eastern side. Off of the main streets, the city was more barren than Floaroma's streets. Running in the road was nothing without cars.

"Trainer, are you on your way to the station for the alert?!" Stopping, I turned to see another Ranger on a huge Charizard, his accent thick and almost foreign, but still Sinnoan. "Well, are you?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Get on. I'll take you to the operation. And quickly now, or we'll both be reported for abandoning our posts." Nodding, I climbed into the saddle behind the Ranger and secured my legs to the strange metallic bindings. "Better hold onto your lunch, kid," the Ranger warned before we rocketed into the sky. The wind raced past my ears like a roar and my neck strained to hold my head steady.

As sudden as the drake took off, the Charizard leveled out and we shot south. The wind was still making my eyes tear, but since gravity wasn't trying to tear my head off, I felt better about it, though my neck stung.

"Kid, you alright? You can let go of me." My ears were still adjusting to the higher altitude, but I noticed my hands gripping the Ranger's shoulders. I quickly let go and held onto the saddle instead. "First time, huh?"

"Yeah. Never even been in an airplane." I felt my legs shaking in their bindings, and probably against the Charizard. My nerves probably showed, because the Ranger simply laughed.

"Don't worry, kid. The airport is nothing compared to flying. Real flying is much better. And, when you get a flying Pokemon, get a good saddle as well, kid." The Charizard hummed with agreement. "Alright." The red-scaled dragon suddenly shot towards the ground suddenly and nearly gave me even worse whiplash. Like an earthquake, we landed and I almost bit my tongue. The shock wave was enough to make my vision go dark for a second.

"Sergeant Williams, reporting for duty, sir." Regaining my vision, I released my legs and slid to the ground before stumbling. "I'm sorry I'm late. I stopped to give this trainer a lift to the outpost. Please excuse my actions, but he seemed in need." The sergeant saluted the other officer, who looked to be a higher rank. Looking at his insignia, I noted he was a Major.

"Don't worry about it, Sergeant. Now, young man. Go join the other trainers. Your orders will be given shortly. The rest of the trainers... Those that don't make it will be left out of the orientation." I nodded to the Ranger and looked around the clearing, near the small Ranger outpost. About two dozen other trainers were milling around with their Pokemon. Some looked fairly tough, as well as older, but also had larger Pokemon than mine.

Following their example, I wandered towards them and released Felix to walk with me. He was only slightly scraped up after his battle early this morning, but the worst was only a bruise or a minor cut. No one really approached me, so I mainly kept to myself. I searched up news on Team Vortex. Not much else was mentioned, other than what I already knew. Whatever they were doing, no one was reporting it as of yet.

"Alright, everyone," the Major called out to us. "Everyone here is to split up into five groups, A through E. I don't care who's on which team, just make sure all of you can fight. And make sure all of you have your Pokemon prepared. Let's move out, and figure out your teams on the way!" Running at a fair pace, the team of five Rangers following. All of us fell into a run into a march behind them.

"Hey, you with the Zorua. Wanna team up with us?" Glancing over, I noticed two boys and a girl in a group. They seemed to have a fair team, with a Quilava, a floating Metang, and two Buizel. Nodding, I followed with them towards our goal. Along the way, they invited four more team members before the rest were already grouped up.

"Everyone, stop!" The Rangers grouped up with us, with the Sergeant Williams releasing his Charizard and a Krookodile. Both lizards roared before Williams mounted up and rushed off into the woods. Each group collected and we stood with our Pokemon. "Now, we don't have long before battle! Group A, group B, group C, group D, group E!" The Major pointed at each of us, my group labeled as B. "We're tasked with stopping the criminals of Vortex and arresting them before they can make it to Hearthome! Form in a Wall formation to stop them, and use all of your Pokemon to stop them! Move out, A to the east, E to the west, and the rest of you fill in the gaps! Grant and I will take center with Kanna and Armin taking the flanks! Williams has already gone ahead, so follow his example!"

Pulling out Akuma and Thorn's pokeballs and released both, Akuma roaring at the sound of so many other Pokemon around. Several other Pokemon appeared from out group, as well as the others, even with our group having the least amount of trainers. The diversity seemed to have great coverage, by my count with our group having 27 Pokemon in our group.

"Yo, is that a Deino? Oh my Arceus, that's an actual Deino! By Dialga that's crazy, man." One of the guys from another group came over and started freaking out over Akuma.

"That puny dragon?" A man from my own group swaggered up with his Pokemon. "Ha! My Sceptile, Cleopatra, is much better than a young dragon like this. Show 'em, Cleo." The large leafy lizard let out a large jet of blue flames, exactly like Akuma's Dragon Breath. What surprised me was the fact that a grass Pokemon was breathing fire, but from the fact it was also a lizard, it almost made sense that it shared some of their abilities.

"Oh, c'mon! That Deino is at least a whole meter tall! And it's a real dragon! What can beat that?"

"Hey! All groups, move out! Stop chatting and start fighting!" The Major charged out into the trees with his Pokemon. Spreading out, our group took a more eastern station, with C in the center with the Major and the Ranger named Grant. Akuma and Felix ran with me, while I was careful while carrying Thorn. I didn't need to be hospitalized today, so I kept my fingers away from his namesakes.

"Better keep up, Deino Boy," the smug Sceptile man called to me as he raced past on an Arcanine. "We don't need some wimp like you to slow us down, so make sure you don't fall behind." His Sceptile and an electric hound bounded beside him as he laughed on his flaming dog before bolting forward, leaving me and another boy in the dust. Putting on some more speed, I tried to catch up.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man dropped out of the trees and landed in front of me, causing me to drop Thorn. His ashen grey suit blended in pretty well with the bland leaves, except for a white tornado in the shape of a triangle. The symbol of Vortex. A shiver ran down my spine before I realized what was going on.

From the sides, a Noctowl and Crobat swooped down from the tree tops. Shouting for my Pokemon, Akuma and Thorn countered the two flying Pokemon with leaves and a Dark Pulse while Felix rushed the Vortex grunt. At first, it looked like the match was over before it really got started, with both Pokemon distracted while Felix took on the grunt. That it, until the man delivered a hearty uppercut to my Zorua.

I was shocked to see the man move so quickly, fast enough to counter my dark fox. Felix fell to the dirt and received a boot to the side. Anger flowed through me as I ran forward to save my Zorua, not bothering to look at my other Pokemon. It wasn't until an electric arc connected with the man that I realized my ally was here with me.

"Recall your Zorua, you deal with the Noctowl and Crobat! I can handle him." The boy had a Raichu and a Lombre on his side, both teaming up on the electrified Vortex member. My ally ran up to the man and punched him in the jaw before I could do much. Doing as I was told, I recalled Felix and turned back to the Noctowl and Crobat.

"Akuma, Dragons Breath, Thunder Wave, and Dark Pulse the Noctowl! Thorn, use Absorb and Razor Leaf!" Taking out my knife, I waited for an opportunity to join into the fray. Striking first would most likely injure my own Pokemon, but late would most likely miss.

Akuma went to work with the Noctowl, using her Thunder Wave to knock it out of the sky before slamming into it to deliver a close-range Dark Pulse. Thorn was not so lucky. The Crobat was extremely adept in its element, dodging and attacking without missing a beat. Again, my Roselia was injured and torn. Until Akuma finished the Noctowl, my orders were to endure and dodge.

A few Dark Pulses and Dragons Breaths later, the Noctowl was unable to move, much less fly. I had to stop Akuma from taking a bite out of the bird, instead turning her towards the Crobat still attacking Thorn. She immediately rushed to aid Thorn, allowing me to return to the Vortex trainer.

"Sorry, didn't leave you much to do here," my ally smirked. His Lombre had formed a planty binding on the man's hands. The Raichu occasionally poked him with it's tail and probably continued to shock him.

"Less work for me, I guess. Good job."

"Not bad yourself. And you got the next one." Turning back to my own Pokemon, the Crobat was still causing trouble. "Help them out, Charlie." The Raichu instantly leaped into the air and sent an electric arc into the four-winged bat. It immediately dropped from the air and didn't move. Searching the man, the Lombre gave his trainer the two Pokeballs. The kid recalled the two flying Pokemon before Akuma could get a bite.

"I think you should stick with me. You might have some skill, but your Pokemon are not strong enough handle this. What's your name?" The other trainer typed rapidly on his PokeDex while he talked.

"My name is Kael. Yours?"

"Kaden. The Rangers will be here shortly, so sit tight, Kael." I checked Felix' pokeball, but his health had only gone down to 65%. Releasing him, I called over my other Pokemon as well. "You've got a pretty good team there, though. Have you beat the Hearthome Gym yet?"

"Huh? Oh, not yet. I just registered before they called the alert."

"I see. I was just visiting my parents before the alert. It's actually my second call, so I've done this before." Looking up, I saw a Fearow coming towards us. Landing with a thud, the Ranger hopped off and immediately detained the man with real handcuffs. He was then promptly picked up by the bird and the Ranger was gone.

"Man, I wish I could be a Ranger," I muttered. "C'mon, Kaden. Let's go catch us a bad guy."

"That sounded lame, like movies lame." Following, we rushed off to find another foe to fight.

.

As it turned out, enemies were not hard to find. With a few wild Pokemon among the enemies, it was slow to progress. In total, Kadem and I fought four Vortex trainers and two wild Pokemon. The Pachirisu and Wooper were simply in the way, and Akuma enjoyed the small snack.

Most of the trainers we faced were fairly tough, but I was able to hold my own, my knife proving its usefulness. Of all Pokemon we faced, it was the four trainer that presented a challenge. When an Aerodactyl dove down and carried Felix off, I knew there was trouble.

A pokeball will return its inhabitant with a press of the button. It also acted as a sort of gun, requiring aim. With a moving enemy and a small target, hitting Felix would have been a miracle. But even with the laser guide, I was too late. The Aerodactyl had already dropped him.

When he hit the ground, I saw Felix bounce a full thirty centimeters. He let out a loud yelp before lying still. The best I could do was return him this pokeball, now that he wasn't moving. Anger took me again and I looked up to the Aerodactyl, but another electrical arc jumped between Charlie and the source of my rage.

"Can't have you losing your head just yet," Kaden called out to me, the Vortex trainer locked into a headlock. "Focus on the mission first, emotions second! A Ranger told me that. Now, night-night for you, Mr. Vortex." The man slumped to the side, passed out from the lack of oxygen and blood. With that, the two Growlithe and the Aerodactyl disappeared into their pokeballs.

"Thanks," I said, waiting for the Ranger to arrest the man. It was a bit awkward, sitting with only Akuma, Thorn having also taken some serious damage. After the hour of fighting, Akuma was the only one still ready for another. Still, she was injured and probably getting tired. She'd never had to fight like this before.

"Hey, how's it going?" A woman from behind me poked me in the back. Almost jumping out of my skin, I drew my knife and Akuma also assumed a battle stance. "Woah, woah. I'm just here to surrender. I've followed my orders and now I surrender."

While the woman wasn't exactly attractive, she was holding up her arms in submission. Her tight grey jumpsuit betrayed her as a Vortex member, but she didn't have a weapon or Pokemon around her. I dropped my guard just a fraction.

"Hold on," Kaden spoke up, his Lombre and Raichu still prepared to attack. Akuma let out a low grumbling, making me the only one not ready to fight. "We just can't trust anyone in a Vortex uniform. What's your game?"

"What, would you prefer it if I stripped and went naked. You're a fucking pervert, kid." She shifted from foot to foot, waiting for a response. "Fine, I'll comply." Following a zipping noise, the woman began to peel the suit from her body.

"Wait! You don't need to do that." The woman smirked before pulling it back on. "We will detain you. Akuma, Grass Knot her legs and arms." Using her draconic power, Akuma was able to manipulate the trees around us and two thick roots tied themselves around her ankles and wrists. She was essentially tied to a tree with that.

"Good choice, huh? C'mon, we coulda seen a real woman! Why'd you have to be a good cop?" Kaden pushed me around, in a joking way. The familiar sound of wings became louder until a Ranger on a Pidgeot landed.

"Two of them? I'd received a report of only one criminal."

"We can wait with this one," Kaden suggested, but the Ranger ignored him.

"My Pokemon can carry both, but I have only one set of cuffs. While crude, and messy, the woman still comes with me." Using his knife, the Ranger sliced the roots before pulling out a small bottle. He opened it and held it to her face and she immediately passed out, to my surprise. He easily picked her up and carried the woman to his Pidgeot before handcuffing the man. As quickly as he arrived, the Ranger left on his bird.

A strange noise suddenly sounded. "Hey, check your Dex!" Kaden whipped out his Dex and looked at the measage on it. Doing the same, I saw it as well. "C'mon, Kael. We should get back to the outpost."

.

"They all suddenly surrendered or fled? Why would they do that? It's bad enough with Leader Eillo out on business in Mt. Coronet, but why suddenly abandon their assault?" I was close enough to hear the Rangers as they contemplated the sudden retreat from my small little bush. It was mostly the Major fuming about their loss, kicking dirt and huffing. I almost felt lonely without Kaden, but we had traded numbers and promised to meet up later for a drink. Now I was just trying to get any information I could.

"Well, they might have figured that they didn't bave enough for the assault and simply regroup. We should remain stationed her until Leader Eillo can deal with this. It's all we can do to simply arrest them and hold them in cells. Any decisions are Eillo's to make."

"No, acting now will catch them by surprise. If we send one or two scouts, we can catch them on their way to their hideout and catch them all."

"Major, I know you're the boss here, but we can't do this without Leader Eillo's permission." By this point, I moved out of my eavesdropping spot. They just went back and forth, hardly saying a thing. Maybe the Rangers weren't so cool after all, if they had to deal with all that bureaucracy. I grabbed my bag and headed back towards Hearthome to meet up with Sarah again.

.

"You forgot this," Sarah said, handing me a small paper card. Taking it, I saw it was actually a note, explaining why my battle was basically postponed for an entire week, showing the date as the second of May. I then sat down at her cafe table and picked up the menu. It wasn't very fancy, which was just my wallet's style.

"Thanks. What'd I miss?"

"You know that's what I was gonna say!" Sarah stomped and grumbled. "But not much. I've been exploring Hearthome, which is absolutely huge, for the past three hours without you, but it was pretty boring. What about you?"

"It was alright. It was mostly just battling and stuff. We were just trying to stop some Pokemon." I didn't want to worry her more than I needed to. She didn't need to know about my fights with the Vortex guys. Still, she might find out later, but for now she'd be fine without knowing. "Waitress! I'll take a cup of coffee. Extra sugar, please?"

That's a good place to end it. I do hope you all enjoyed it, especially with the curse scene and real combat against the evil Vortex members. Honestly, the name Vortex came from my friends and it sorta fits. They're the Vortexis while Kanto has to deal with the Meteors in nine years. Totally works.

I should also appologize if I was moving a bit too fast at parts, I'm still trying to find a proper speed. It's all just personal and literary experimentation.

Next chapter, we'll find out the whole truth, I promise, so stay keep a sharp eye out, huh? Anyways, I hope you'll leave a review and tell me where I messed up and what you enjoyed. It honestly helps me out, knowing you're still sticking with me.

Current Pokemon

Trainer: Kael Lorano; SI863FL239

Pokemon in Possession:

Akuma - Deino

Thorn - Roselia

Felix - Zorua

Pokemon in Preparation:

Fuzzball - Pachirisu

Trainer: Sarah O'Perr; SI772SP8HN

Pokemon in Possession:

Perry - Dedenne

Yami - Sneasel

Sammy - Shroomish