Hi, Tgonthefiery here!

There are a few things I need to establish before we get into this:

-This is an AU.

-I don't own Pokémon.

-This story features lots of OCs.

-This story will be exploring much darker themes than the games and anime (let's be real here the anime has hardly any strong and believable settings/villains).

-PP is non-existent; it is replaced with Potency, which decreases over time as the move is used over and over, except in certain, isolated cases.

-Pokémon do not forget moves, because realistically it was a stupid idea to begin with.

-Pokémon names and select game mechanics such as status conditions or moves will be capitalized.

Also, don't expect to receive rapid updates. I'm writing like 7 stories right now, including this one.

I welcome any form of constructive criticism, even the harshest. If you have any suggestions on how to improve my writing, I'll gladly read through and consider them. But if you're here to flame, just be aware, your messages will be scooped, springlocked and burnt down. In case you didn't understand: I won't give a crap.

If you spot any errors, please notify me so I can fix them!

That's basically everything. I hope you enjoy this first chapter! :)

Chapter 1

Happy Birthday

The smoke smothered Ella as she attempted to breathe, only to result in an uncontrollable coughing fit. She could barely see, but she could feel the flames. Feel the heat which they radiated, getting closer and closer by the second. She was growing more devoid of hope every passing moment, the smoke clouding both her vision and her thoughts. She needed to get out of here. She needed to escape, leave this place–

"Emboar!" A gruff voice cried out in front of her. Through the smoke she could barely make out the flickering form of blue flames surrounding a red pig's neck like a wreath. Ella scrambled backwards as she attempted to scream, but there was hardly any breath in her lungs. Her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest as she shakily got to her feet, running away from the sound of the Emboar squealing and roaring angrily.

As she fled, air returned to her lungs once she had gotten away from the smoke. She gasped for breath, looking behind her in both awe and fear. The once ornately decorated hallway was smouldering. The smoke covered almost everything, but Ella could still see the faint outlines of doorways and beams which supported the ceiling. The smoke clouds were outlined with a faint blue, likely from the Emboar's flames. Shiny Emboar, she thought to herself. A Shiny.

She turned back to the direction in which she was running, hardly caring about where she went, as long as it was away from the flames. She couldn't see the end of the long hallway, but a figure was approaching her from that end. It was a red monkey, with a large tail and hair which looked like fire. It had an innocent expression on its face, but as soon as it spotted Ella, it bounded forwards, opening its mouth to reveal several sharpened teeth.

"Simi-Simi!" The Simisear shrieked as Ella screamed, running back the other way into the smoke. But the Shiny Emboar was standing in the hallway, blocking her. It looked down at her, its face visible through the smoke thanks to the blue flames around it. With each breath it let out a puff of smoke from its nostrils, grunting loudly. Before she could react it gave her a sickening grin, raising its arms threateningly. At that moment something crashed through the ceiling; a massive fireball, aimed at her position. Ella fell onto her back, holding up her arms as she screamed–

–"No!" She shot upwards, her hands outstretched. Ella gasped as she woke up, heart pounding in her chest. She looked around, confused about where she was. The rays of light pouring through the square window, shining onto a faded blue carpet. Various toys scattered around the floor. And that damned Snivy plush, curled up in front of her on the bed…

She'd had another nightmare. It had felt more vivid, realistic than any of the others she had had before. Usually, they all ended before the Shiny Emboar had used Heat Crash, as Ella lay on the floor, arms raised in a futile attempt to defend herself–

"It was just a dream." She muttered to herself, as if it would help with the sudden feeling of pain in her stomach. "It was just a dream." But it really hadn't been, had it? She could still feel the heat, the sweat collected on her back, all of the smoke, the fire, the Shiny Emboar bearing down upon her, the Simisear smiling that sickening grin as it approached, the massive fireball about to crush her, squash her to a pulp until she was–

Ella threw her covers off, shakily getting to her feet before stumbling towards the door of her room. She raced down the short corridor, taking the door on the very left, leading towards her bathroom. She ran for the toilet, lifted up the seat, violently vomiting into it as the feeling of nausea grew tenfold. She groaned, lifting her head slightly before another cascade of last night's dinner spurted out of her mouth, landing in the water to join the rest.

She sat back against the wall, gasping and holding her hands to her head. The throbbing hadn't stopped; in fact, it had gotten worse, her temples feeling like they were about to explode.

"Fuck." she murmured, shaking her head. If her mother had heard her, she would have freaked out; Ella was only ten years old. Supposedly she shouldn't even know that kind of language. However, she had already memorised almost every common curse word, so there wasn't any going back now.

She steadily got to her feet, using the wall to support herself on her thin, stick-like legs. She looked over herself in the mirror, still breathing heavily. Two eyes stared back at her over the shadowed bags underneath; green on the left, blue on the right. Her heterochromia hadn't helped her state of mind over the last couple of years, considering the number of people who kept giving her second glances, but her left eye was usually covered by her dark brown bangs, which were currently tucked behind her right ear. Her hair reached all the way down to her waist, usually more than enough to draw peoples' attention away from her frail figure.

Speaking of which, it looked like a rat's nest this morning. As if she had been tossing and turning all night long; to be perfectly honest, the likelihood of that wasn't unquestionable. Her nightmares came almost every night, but this one had been the worst by far for the past year at least. Her hair looking terrible was the least of her worries. After all, there was still her mother, Allison. And she almost never stopped asking questions, no matter how much you asked her to stop. The fact that Ella looked as if she hadn't slept a wink would not be going unnoticed.

Hesitantly, she left the bathroom, gripping the handrail as she slowly descended down the stairs. She still felt queasy and didn't feel in the mood for throwing up on the stairs. It would probably make her descent much easier, though. She'd just have an even more upset stomach. Already she could feel herself stumbling, only inches away from tripping and tumbling the rest of the way down.

When she had finally made her way downstairs, Ella felt like she'd just stepped off a rollercoaster ride while being jammed in the car's footwell. She staggered over to the kitchen counter, muttering a string of curses before pulling open the fridge and taking out a carton of milk. She absentmindedly grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and a box of cereal from the pantry, though she didn't even bother to see what it was. After snorting at the minuscule amount of cereal still lying at the bottom of the bag (it turned out to be those little malt ball things, or whatever they were called), she emptied the box's contents into her bowl, taking the lid off of the carton and tipping it forward. She didn't realise the bowl had overflowed until the liquid had spread to where her other hand lay still on the counter.

Somehow, she found that she really didn't care. She simply screwed the cap back into the carton, but it back into the fridge, and crushed the cereal box before wedging it into the bin. At that moment Allison entered the room, although unlike Ella, she had already changed out of her pyjamas into her work clothes; Allison worked a low paying job at the Pokémon Centre, so she wore the standard nurse's uniform.

"Happy birthday!" she greeted cheerfully. Ella didn't reply, but took the effort to give her mother a curt nod. Allison's eyes were quickly drawn to the milk spilt over the counter, now dripping onto the floor. "Oh. Uh…you mind cleaning that up?" Ella grunted in annoyance, simply resting her head on the counter and staring blankly at the wall. Her mother eyed her in concern, taking a few steps towards her daughter. "Have you taken your meds?" Ella's faze instantly snapped towards Allison, her dual coloured eyes boring right into her skull. "Doctor Tyson–"

"I know what Doctor Tyson said!" Ella shot up instantly at the mention of her psychiatrist, her fist slamming against the counter. "Just because he says something, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's true!" Her fist was shaking as she breathed deeply, shooting her mother a glare. "I hate them! They fu–err, they suck! A lot!"

"You still have to take them. We can't have you being moody like that all day, can we? Especially today." Ella groaned in reply, her head falling back onto the counter. "Besides, I don't think you really hate them. Whenever I'm not around I can see the difference in volume in the jar. You do take them. Just not when I'm around." Allison tilted her head curiously, as if entranced by Ella's behaviour. "Why is that?"

She wasn't sure how to reply. She could tell her the truth; she sucked at taking her meds. Ella found the stupid gelatine coated capsules ridiculously difficult for her to swallow. It felt like she was choking. She didn't like choking. It reminded her of the smoke. Occasionally, she was able to take her meds, but the time it took to do so often amounted to several hours, resulting in a lot of wasted time. Allison had been right about the jar's volume decreasing, but that was because recently Ella had been taking two out every day, then throwing them to the local Patrat living on Route 1. She wasn't sure if it made them sick or addicted, but for some reason they almost seemed to anticipate her visits, fighting over who got to have the mysterious blue capsules. She supposed that it was just the Patrat equivalent of getting high.

Although wild Pokémon were free, they suffered even worse than those who were already under the ownership of trainers. There were plentiful amounts of food in the wild, but Ella suspected that most of it was taken by passing trainers and their Pokémon. When she headed up to Route 1 after school every day apart from the weekends, the battle scars that most of the wild Pokémon bore were shockingly abundant. From thin lines running down the sides of their faces to missing limbs and irreversible damage. It definitely made her sick, whatever anyone else in Nuvema Town thought.

"Ella?" She jolted as her mother called her name, her gaze settling back onto the spilt milk on the counter. "Are you feeling okay?" Her mother sounded worried and a little frustrated at not receiving an answer; what a joke that was. She'd only been daydreaming, was that suddenly a bad thing?

"They're hard to swallow," she replied quietly after a few seconds of deciding on her answer. "It takes a lot of time. Sometimes they hurt and get stuck in my throat. I…I don't like taking them. That's it." Allison gave her a look that told her she didn't really believe her, but it quickly vanished.

"Um, anyways," she said in a futile attempt to draw Ella's attention away from the milk slowly spreading towards her face. "Since it's your birthday and all, I was wondering if you wanted to do anything today. You know, something special." Ella could understand where the offer was coming from. For her past two birthdays, ever since her father had left, Ella and her mother hadn't celebrated her 'special day'. Allison usually spent her own birthday getting wasted at the local pub, 'The Blind Watchog' (appropriately named, in Ella's opinion), while Ella treated hers almost as nothing special, with only a few aberrations in her daily timetable. Any enjoyment she had once taken out of celebrating her birthday had vanished like the smoke through which she had blindly stumbled two years ago. Now it was just an excuse to receive presents wrapped in coloured paper. Even then, she decided to entertain her mother's idea, if only for the sake of conversation.

"What did you have in mind?" she questioned, though her voice lacked an air of any interest in the topic. "A movie? Fancy dinner? Night out with friends?" She snorted at the last of her suggestions. Ella didn't have any friends. Not anymore. Not since two years ago.

"Actually…" Allison's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I was wondering if you wanted to see that battle that's going on tonight. It's–"

"No." Ella's mother stared at her in silence, confusion evident on her face. Ella hated herself for saying it so bluntly, but she had to get it out there. "It's not that I don't appreciate the offer, it's just that I don't enjoy Pokémon battles. You work at the Pokémon Centre, Mum. You of all people should understand what I mean." Allison didn't say anything for a moment or two. Finally, she gave her daughter a curt nod, already moving to the door.

"Alright. You have a good day," she said on the way out.

"Likewise." Ella gave her mother a half-hearted wave before her arm fell back to her side. She looked back at the milk, sticking out her tongue to casually lap it up. "Mm…that's cold. Ooh." After she had cleaned up the milk and slurped down her breakfast, Ella headed back upstairs, feeling much better with food in her stomach. She made her way to her room, kicking open the still swinging door and quickly shutting it behind her.

"Morning," she muttered to her Snivy plush, knowing that it wouldn't reply. It stayed where it was curled up on the bed, staring at her with those adorable brown eyes. Ella sighed and walked across to the other side of her room, over toys and fallen books which hadn't been touched in years, just gathering dust. She opened her closet, taking out a baggy long sleeved green T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She threw off her black pyjamas, pulling on the new clothes. And just like that, she felt slightly more than half awake.

Ella grabbed her backpack in the hallway, which she had already prepared the night before; her notebook, a water bottle and a light snack. Just enough to get her through the day. Barely. She turned to head downstairs, but something stopped her. A nagging thought at the back of her mind. She felt sad. Lonely. Just like she usually did. But the conversation she'd had with her mother must have been getting to her, because she started thinking about what she'd said. She hadn't taken her meds for at least a month. She hadn't wanted too; not just because they were hard to swallow, but because although they had helped ease her mind in some ways, they had made other things worse. She didn't feel sad all the time. But that was just a momentary relief from the rest of her worries; being reminded of the fire at every little thing even resembling a moment of the night. Allison had installed electric stoves, just to make it easier for her. Yet, she still had problems. A bang, a creak, the tiniest noise was all it took for everything to come rushing back.

Still, it was her birthday. She might as well make the most of it. Or make it up to her mother; whichever one was more appealing. Before long she was walking out the front door of her house with the extra weight of her pill bottle in her bag. Although the skies had appeared cloudy from the view of her bedroom window, everything was now coated in a thin glowing veil which could only be the effects of someone using Sunny Day. Probably just a Cottonee; they were often kept as pets in Nuvema.

Ella took a wobbly step onto the path, averting her eyes from the harsh glow of the sun. She could feel her meds taking effect; already she was feeling better, yet more drowsy than usual. Her neighbour Kane waved at her from under the shade of the tree growing in his garden. She responded with a smile and wave of her own, setting off down the path.

She wondered as she headed to school, whether her meds were really designed to help her depression. Whether they just gave her a rush that made her feel happy, ignore all the negative aspects of life, but only temporarily. If she hadn't been high (she was pretty sure she was, at least), then that thought would have eaten her up in an instant.

Her assumption proved to be correct; a Cottonee was hovering over a shingled roof, happily squealing as it fired a glowing beam of light up into the sky. With every passing second, the sun's glow was growing harsher; the Cottonee wouldn't likely be able to keep it up for any longer. Even then, Sunny Day's effects wouldn't wear off for a while. And in the meantime, the townsfolk would be treated to the distinctive sound of Solar Beam.

The building which the Cottonee was hovering over happened to be Ella's destination; the local Trainers' School. It was easily the shabbiest looking building in Nuvema Town, constructed of faded brown brick which crumbled more every day. Even in the harsh glow of the Cottonee's Sunny Day, it was still easy to see the amount of cracked or missing shingles in the roof. The freshly painted green door and the recently replaced windows were the only things that suggested that the building was still occupied; that was, to anyone on the outside. Once you stepped through the door, it was a whole new story.

While the Trainers' School admittedly wasn't very big, having only a hallway, a single large classroom and a battlefield for students to use behind the building, it was considered one of the best schools in the region. While Ella disliked Pokémon battles and the usually high levels of brutality involved in them, she did enjoy learning about the creatures; after all, who could live in a world full of Pokémon and not bother to learn anything about them? Even if she hadn't wanted to go to school, it was still compulsory for her to do so.

Unova, having some of the most exotic Pokémon species out of all the regions, was a hotspot for criminal activity. Pokémon hunters and smugglers were hardly a rare sight, which had already resulted in other rates skyrocketing along with them; rates of kidnapping, murder and robbery in Unova were higher than the world average. And that had resulted in another law which most people hated but grudgingly accepted; while other regions allowed children to begin their 'journeys' as trainers at the age of ten, Unova had changed the legal age of a Pokémon trainer to thirteen and higher. While other kids groaned at this, Ella brushed it off without fuss.

Most children at her age dreamed of becoming a Pokémon trainer, conquering the Unovan League and becoming the new Champion. But Ella had different opinions on what was important. Rather than daydream about growing to be an omnipotent ruler, she fantasised about Pokémon liberation. Not in a violent, unruly way, but with a more peaceful approach. Of course, the idea of liberation itself was already absurd, the idea of peaceful surrender even more so. People loved Pokémon, and it would be futile to ask them to let go. Then again, it wasn't as if her dreams would ever happen. The same plan hadn't worked out years ago for Team–

Plasma.

Even the meds didn't stop her from shuddering at the thought of the group. If anything, the jarring thought had reminded her of where she was. Ella was still standing on the doorstep, her hand frozen on the knob.

Shit.

There was a small group of people standing next to her, glaring furiously.

"Do you mind moving?" asked a blonde girl who Ella recognised as Valerie. "We kind of need to get inside." Ella muttered in apology, turning the knob and stepping inside to allow the others entry. Valerie and her friends brushed past her as if Ella had suddenly turned invisible. She felt like it, too. Here at school, she was the person who had no friends, who no one cared about, the lonely outsider.

But considering her mental state, she shouldn't have been so surprised. Ella had watched enough TV to know that kids liked picking on other kids, especially the ones who were 'weird'. But really, what was defined as weird? Here, the meaning always seemed to expand to include more people. No friends? You were a weirdo. No Pokémon? Even more so. Both? Well, you could consider yourself an outsider for the rest of your life. And Ella fitted both categories.

She walked in after them, keeping her head held down as the quiet whispers began to sound. 'Oh, look, it's the weirdo.' 'What is she wearing?' 'Do you think she's finally decided to get a Pokémon?' The last one was the line which happened to tick her off the most. It wasn't outright stating that she was out of place, but it told her why people thought she was weird.

Because she didn't have a dammed Pokémon.

Ella made this ridiculous walk down the hallway every day she went to school. And every day there were the same whispers.

'Look.'

'See.'

'It's her.'

They came from everywhere.

And she kept walking.

But few stares accompanied the whispers. Although Valerie and her posse had their way of manipulating her to move out of the way or snap out of her dazes, everybody knew that it was a mistake to piss her off on purpose. Screwing around with Ella's head almost always resulted in either a severe concussion or several broken bones. The last guy who'd attempted it, a cocky boy just a little older than her who'd been confident that he could control her, had been sent to the Pokémon Centre only ten minutes after first talking with her, with a broken nose; meanwhile, Ella had stood silently in the entrance of Route 1, the skin on her knuckles split and bloodied, dried droplets of crimson liquid splattered on the grass around her. After that, no one had even bothered trying. After all, losing to a girl who looked significantly thinner and weaker than anyone else in her year was extremely embarrassing. Plus, everyone knew that Ella had a bizarre history. She had countless small, crisscrossed scars present on both wrists, and she had once managed to hold her own against an enraged Sawk until authorities had finally taken it down several minutes later.

At this point, being a strange individual meant nothing. Because she couldn't turn back time, manipulate multitudes of people, or at least scare them into submission. To her, she was just Ella.

By the time she'd reached the classroom, news of her arrival had spread to literally everyone except for those already in the room. As soon as the doors swung open and Ella stepped inside, the room went silent. The desks were all lined up in several long rows, all but one at the very front occupied by a student. Ella's desk. A small Pidove which had been airborne just a few moments had almost instantly fallen out of the air at the sound of Ella opening the door. It hadn't just been the people who had been anticipating her arrival.

"Oh, Ella!" a cheerful voice called from the front of the room. It was her teacher, Ishani, a dark-skinned Alolan woman who had moved to Unova only a few months ago. "You're here!" Ella's eyes darted around at the sea of faces, gulping nervously.

"Am…am I late or something?" she asked, looking down at the floor. "I…err…"

"Oh no, don't worry about that," Ishani assured her. "We were, ah, just about to start on status conditions." Ella nodded, making the long walk to her desk in relative silence. Halfway there, someone suddenly snickered. She suddenly halted, as she realised that someone had been laughing at her. Big mistake, she thought to herself. Real big mistake. She turned to her left, eyes fixing onto the boy who'd laughed, who was visibly paling further by each passing second.

"Something on your mind?" she asked, her voice completely calm. He frantically shook his head as her cold gaze stared into his own. "You sure about that? I could have sworn I heard you saying…something about me…right?"

"Um, Ella…" she heard Ishani say from the front of the room. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything offensive. Perhaps you should–"

"I know," she interrupted, striding up to her desk and plopping her backpack on the floor. "Don't let me hold you up any further."

"Right," Ishani said, apparently unfazed by the scene which had just unfolded in front of her. "Like I said, today we'll be going through status conditions. I know that some of you may already know the content–" all eyes turned to Ella as Ishani said that "–but remember that revision is important. So!" The woman clapped her hands, looking over the class eagerly. "Anyone want to name a few?" At first, Ella's hand was the only one to shoot up. A few seconds later, the boy who'd laughed at her raised his own, looking slightly nervous. "Yes?" Ishani asked. "Can you name one, Mark?"

"Err…" Mark mumbled, "Burn, I think? I'm pretty sure that's one of them."

"Yes, Burn is one of the most common of status conditions. Do you know what it does, exactly?" Ishani questioned, clearly expecting for him to answer. However, Mark just shrugged, causing Ishani to sigh in disappointment. "That's a pity. Does anyone else know?" Once again, Ella's hand was the only one in the air, the girl in question looking bored as she slumped forward in her seat, head resting sideways on her desk. "Yes, Ella?"

"It slowly deals damage to the Pokémon on which it is inflicted. Pokémon suffering from Burn also suffer from varying levels of fatigue. However, having a Fire-Typing or possessing a certain ability can prevent the Burn condition, or at least diminish its power," the girl recited inexpressively.

"Uh, correct," Ishani muttered, slightly flustered. "Did…did you get all that from the textbook?"

"No," Ella snorted. "The textbook had one line on the Burn condition, and only mentions the gradual damage, completely ignoring the weakened physical attack. I went to the library and found an entire book devoted to the Burn condition. It was pretty thick." Everyone stared, confused that she had even bothered to read up on a single status condition so much.

"Can you name any others?" Ishani asked, prompting her to chuckle.

"Oh, yeah. You've got the other basic four: Freeze, Paralysis, Poison, Sleep, then the other, more volatile ones, like Bound, Confusion–"

"Oh, we'll just be focusing on the main five today!" Ishani interrupted cheerfully. "So, anyone know what Freeze does? Oh, come on. It's common sense. Burn burns, Freeze freezes, Paralysis paralyses…no?" The entire class, spare Ella, shook their heads. Ishani face palmed. "Well, we've got a lot of work to do. Ella, do you think you could help me?"

"Meh."

Two hours later, Ella stood on the sidelines of the battlefield, the only person present whose eyes were both closed. On the field itself, a practice battle was taking place between two students, using a surprisingly fat Patrat and a Lillipup so tiny that Ella already knew who was going to win from the very beginning. The little Pokémon had almost run off the battlefield after a single Leer, before the fat Patrat had effortlessly slammed it into the air with a surprisingly fast tackle. After that, Ella hadn't bothered continuing to watch as the Lillipup was completely demolished by the other Pokémon. It had gone almost exactly as she had predicted, except for how the Lillipup hadn't even attempted to dodge.

Ishani approached her not long after the battle ended, standing next to the girl without looking at her.

"Exactly how far are you through the content?" she asked Ella, who shrugged in response.

"I'm around halfway through the Litwick Evolutionary Line Studies," she answered nonchalantly. Ishani blinked.

"That's–"

"The second last unit for next year," she interrupted. "I know. But the rest of the content for eleven and twelve year olds is either stuff about battling, or facts which I already know. So I figured I would skip ahead to the Advanced Pokémon Studies. Though I must say, the Litwick Line is a lot more interesting than I first thought. The way that the Lampent covers its flame before it emerges again as a Chandelure seemed illogical at first, but the transitionary stage of increasing protection is quite extraordinary."

"Are you alright?" Ishani asked.

"Of course," Ella relied, confused. "Why?"

"You're speaking so…formally," the woman admitted. "You're usually not like this."

"Oh, it's my birthday," Ella said, waving it off. "Just tense, you know. Just as usual." Ishani didn't try to get her to continue. Most people were aware of Ella's attitude on her birthday; it was something that she had never explained, but people never questioned. Ishani was one of the few people she'd disclosed her secret to, mostly so that she wouldn't be tempted to nose around for answers.

"Happy birthday," the woman said to her after a moment. "How's it been, so far?" Ella frowned as she opened her eyes, and looked at the state of the battlefield. The Lillipup's trainer was currently kneeling next to it, clearly worried.

"Like a cubic crap ton of Pidove droppings," she admitted, then laughed. "I took my meds. First time in a month." Ishani stared at her, surprised. "Yeah, I know. I'm meant to take them more. But they're super difficult to swallow. I didn't feel like it was worth the effort. And now, I'm not sure. The world feels like it's going to shit. Everywhere I go, I–"

–see THEM.

"You don't have to talk about it," Ishani told her as the next two trainers went to their respective sides of the battlefield, this time the matchup being a regular looking Pidove and another Lillipup. "But I want to make sure you're not going to just mentally shut off from the rest of the world."

"I won't," Ella assured her, suddenly moving to grab her hand. She squeezed it tight. "You're a good person, you know?" Ishani stared at her for a moment, then smiled.

"You are too, you know." Ella frowned, as the Pidove's trainer commanded it to use Gust. The tiny pigeon Pokémon squawked as it flapped its wings at the enemy Lillipup, though the dog held its ground. Without waiting for a command from its trainer, it ran across the field and slammed its body into the Pidove, which was unable to dodge in time.

"I like to think so," she murmured. "But after that night, after the fire, I…I'm not so sure." The two stayed silent, until a piercing screech rang through the air. The Lillipup, not listening to its trainer in the slightest, was latched onto the Pidove's now broken wing, the Pokémon's blooding dripping from the puppy's jaw. Ishani quickly hurried over to break up the fight, while both trainers yelled at their Pokémon either in anger or despair.

"Oh, Arceus," Ishani cursed loudly. "I'll have to take this little guy to the Pokémon Centre. For now class is dismissed. You guys can go home; I'll have to stay with him till he's done." She looked around, noticing that almost everyone but Ella had already begun leaving. She gave the longhaired brunette a quick nod, then motioned with her head towards the main road. "Have a good birthday, Ella." The girl's expression was frozen for a moment, before the corners of her mouth slowly moved into a small smile.

"Thanks," she said, before turning on her heel and heading back to the classroom to get her bag. Ishani watched her go, before her eyes turned back to the injured Pidove she was cradling in her arms.

"Stay alive, little guy," she whispered. "Be strong. You're gonna be fine."

"Pi…" the tiny Pokémon managed to let out before it faded into unconsciousness, Ishani sighing as she stood up. But despite the task at hand, her mind continued to wander to Ella. While she was a strange individual, the girl showed promise. But out of everyone Ishani had ever taught, Ella was the only one who had ever acted the way she did. She erected barriers around herself, so high that only those who were truly close to her could even begin to understand her unpredictable and almost illogical psyche. And you better stay alive, too the woman thought to herself. You better not go dying on me, Ella.

The girl in question was currently walking to Route 1, her head drooped down as she began to feel the effects of her meds wear off. They had always been nothing but a temporary relief, a short high which allowed her to experience the world differently for a small period of time. It probably wasn't worth taking another one. If need be, she could always–

"–have questioned your own Pokémon?" a loud voice suddenly rang out. Ella froze in her tracks, her heart pounding. There was no way it was possible. It couldn't be. There was no way that they were here–

"What do you believe they think of this bond which you share?" the voice asked, as Ella turned her head. A multitude of people, probably half of Nuvema Town's population, were standing together whispering quietly as a man in long, white and blue robes stood before them, speaking loudly. "Is this truly a great friendship?" the man questioned the crowd. "After all, we humans almost seem to overrule them. After all, should Pokémon not be–"

–free creatures too?

Ella didn't recognise the man who was speaking, but she knew the speech; every variation of it. There had been a time when she's had it spoken to her every single day, and she had said it along with them all. How naïve had she been, back then?

Sitting there in that room, she had been a prisoner, but had never felt as if she was one. Because these people were good, she told herself. Some days, they would bring her decent food. Others, there was a chance that they would consider letting her go outside, just for a moment or two. It was there she had sat on a crooked bench, her eyes shut as she listened to the sounds of peaceful nature; birds chirping, the river flowing, the wind rustling the tall blades of green grass as the bugs chirped throughout.

"What should Pokémon have the right to be, Ella?" a voice asked her. She didn't bother opening her eyes, already knowing who it was from the deep voice.

"Free creatures," she answered automatically, "just the way we all should be too." She felt the man's hand on her shoulder as she imagined him smiling, fingers digging into her back, just enough to hurt.

"Yes, they should be. And do you know why?" he questioned further. Ella frowned, eyes fluttering open.

"Because they are alive," she said, "just as we are. Because they feel, just like we do. Because they are beasts of burden for a higher power, just like us. Because if this world and its nature are never free, there will be no balance. There will be no control. And one day, that will all topple down, and all of us will fall with it." The man removed his hand from her shoulder, trailing his fingers through her hair.

"Good," he whispered quietly into her ear. "Very good, Ella. You understand."

"No." Ella whimpered to herself, clutching her head as the memory became fuzzy, the man preaching to the crowd in the background.

"Because they are alive, just as we are."

"I'm not like you."

"Because they feel, just like we do."

"I'm not one of you."

"Because they are beasts of burden for a higher power, just like us."

Ella wept, stumbling away from the crowd as she felt herself go numb.

"I will never be like you."

"Because if this world and its nature are never free–"

"Never."

"–there will be no balance."

"Ever."

"There will be no control."

"Stop it."

"And one day–"

"I said stop."

"–that will all topple down–"

"No."

"–and all of us will fall with it."

"NO!" Ella screamed, striking against the tree in front of her. "NO, NO, NO!" She punched again, tears streaming down her face like two silent rivers as she smashed her fists against the tough bark, skin splitting and crimson blood splattering as the screaming continued. "I am not you! I will never be you!" She collapsed against the tree, her palm touching the tree. "I…won't…ever become you…"

She unzipped her bag, taking out her pill bottle, taking off the lid and emptying the contents down her throat. She tried to swallow them down, each and every stupid, blue capsule as the tears fell relentlessly, never coming to an end. Seconds passed before she realised that she couldn't breathed. Ella choked, face growing paler as she began to run out of air, her panicked whimpering rapidly increasing as she fell down onto the grass, laying on her side. Her eyes darted towards the sky, the Sunny Day shining down onto her.

I can't die. Not like this. Not here. Not where they'll find me…

"Woah!" Ella felt herself being pulled up until she was sitting down with her legs sprawled out, vision quickly being overtaken by darkness. A powerful hand struck her on the back, causing her to jerk forward, three slimy blue capsules flying out of her mouth. Another blow later, all but two of the pills were laying out on the grass, covered in saliva as Ella gasped for air, vision slowly returning. "Are you…are you alright?" a female voice asked in concern. There was a girl sitting next to her, staring with piercing pink eyes as her shoulder length blonde hair flapped in the wind.

"I think so," Ella muttered, choking on her words. "Oh, Arceus."

"What…what on earth were you thinking?" the girl asked, grabbing her hand. "Swallowing all of those pills could have been fatal…oh." Realisation came over her face as her eyes went to the capsules still lying on the grass. A wild Patrat came shuffling out of the tall grass, sniffing a capsule before hungrily grabbing it in its paws and hastily running away, chattering as it speedily dove back into the green. Ella watched the Pokémon as it bolted away, then turned her eyes to the girl who'd just saved her life.

"…thanks."

"No problem...what's your name?"

"Ella."

"Alicia."

"…that's a nice name."

"So is yours."

Ella smiled momentarily, but it quickly faded as realisation hit her in the face.

"I almost died," she muttered. Alicia stared at her in confusion. "Holy crap."

"You're telling me that wasn't meant to kill you?" she asked. "You…you downed that entire bottle."

"I was just trying to forget," Ella said, as the teardrops pelted onto the ground in front of her. "I…I wasn't thinking straight, I didn't know…" she hugged herself, staring at the ground. "I didn't know…"

"Sh. Uh, it's alright. Don't worry," Alicia told her as she crossed her legs. "Life is full of crap. No one can blame you for that."

"Yeah," Ella muttered. "Believe me, I know that better than anyone else in this town." Alicia let out a low whistle, tilting her head.

"Is that why you took those…err…never mind." Ella frowned, drumming her fingers against the ground. "Can I ask what you're, uh…doing here? You know? You don't seem like a trainer." Ella froze at Alicia's question, before the stiffness faded.

"I come here to draw, sometimes," she explained. "You know, the wild Pokémon. They're…interesting. The way they behave, interact with each other, when people aren't trying to catch them…well, you know. It's pretty cool. So whenever I have free time, this is where I go."

"Right. Because peace and quiet. Yeah?"

"Spot on." Ella frowned as she realised something. "Wait a second. Why are you here?" Alicia blinked in surprise.

"Oh, yeah. Uh, I've got a Pokémon on me. A Lillipup," she explained. "Her name's Lia. I only got her last week."

"Is…" Ella began, before restarting. "Is she happy with you?"

"I…" Alicia frowned. "I dunno. I sure hope so. I don't want to raise a partner who hates me, you know?" Ella shrugged, sighing.

"Well, at least you're not being a dick about owning a Pokémon," she muttered. "Most people see them as slaves."

"Nah, Lia isn't a slave," Alicia said. "I think. I hope. Okay, I'm not really sure. Which reminds me…" She unzipped her backpack, taking a glistening, red and white ball. A small, plain circle was set in its centre, separating the two coloured halves along with a thick black line. Alicia pressed the button, and a ray of red energy shot out, until it took the shape of a Lillipup and the light faded away. The puppy Pokémon licked her owner's hand happily, then turned to Ella with adorable eyes.

"Yeah, she's a happy one." Ella grinned, patting Lia on the head, as the Lillipup stood and her hind legs and licked her hand, panting loudly. "You said that you got her last week?"

"Uh, huh." Alicia nodded, stroking the little Pokémon's back and receiving a cute yap in response. Lia curved her back, expressing her gratitude as she barked happily.

"Lilli!" she exclaimed, leaping into Alicia's lap. "Pup!" Ella snickered as she watched the Pokémon interact cheerfully with her owner, nuzzling her sweetly.

"You seemed pretty adamant about my treatment of Lia," Alicia suddenly said to her. "You're not with those weird guys protesting in town right?" Ella froze looking at her in shock.

"You're kidding me. You're associating me with Team Plasma?" she asked in horror. "Absolutely not. I'd rather die. They're hypocrites. They preach about liberating Pokémon, yet carry them around in PokéBalls anyway." Alicia looked worried upon hearing her response, her vision shying away.

"Do you think I'm a bad person because I have Lia?" she asked her. Ella snorted, shaking her head.

"Lia wants to be with you. If that's so, then there's really no reason to stop you. I care about how the Pokémon feels. As long as Lia feels like she's a free creature…I don't think you're a bad person." Alicia smiled, but Ella's expression stayed cold. "I was going to draw…but I've wasted enough time. I've got other things to do. It's my birthday, after all." Alicia leaned forward, eyes widening.

"Oh. Uh, happy birthday," she muttered quietly as she continued to stroke Lia.

"Thanks," she replied, sighing and standing up. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too." Ella halted in her tracks, turning around to ask one final question.

"Will I see you around?" she asked, causing Alicia's eyes to dart uncomfortably to the left.

"I'm leaving tonight, actually," she admitted. "We're moving to Striaton City, because my sister got a job there." Ella cast her eyes downwards, sighing.

"Oh."

"What's wrong?" Alicia asked in confusion. Ella's eyes wandered around aimlessly as she spoke.

"You…you're the only other kid around here who's ever been nice to me," she admitted. "It just…feels so unnatural, but at the same time…really good. And if you're leaving, then…" She turned back around eyes fixed on the road. "…I'll probably never see you again."

"Ella, you'll be fine," Alicia said, gripping her hand. "Trust me, you'll meet someone else."

"Yeah," Ella muttered as she started walking. "I hope so. And I hope I see you again one day."

"Me too."

She didn't turn back. It hurt too much. Even as she was turning right to avoid the Team Plasma members in town, she could hear Lia's confused barks as Alicia stroked her softly, cooing and muttering words of comfort. Even Alicia had a Pokémon who was loyal to her. A Pokémon who was her friend. But Ella had no one but her mother, herself, and maybe Ishani, if the Alolan woman even counted as a part of her inner circle.

Then again, what inner circle was she talking about? There had been one, once, but one day it had died. The night of the fire. When Fire-Types had rampaged through burning hallways, their distorted cries ringing through the night as heavy footsteps sounded along smoke-filled corridors.

Ella stopped in her place, rooted to the spot as she realised that she had arrived at her destination. A field of regularly trimmed grass and colourful flowers, almost completely empty if not for what lay in its very centre. The small mound was obscured by the seemingly infinite coloured petals, all different, vibrant shades. Yellow, red, white, pink; all of them tilted slightly in the cool breeze passing through Nuvema Town. However, Ella could still see the small, almost unnoticeable patch of brown, raised dirt in the middle of the stalked plants. She took a careful step forward, making sure to not accidentally crush any of the delicate flowers beneath her shoes. She continued forwards; look, step, and repeat. As Ella walked, she left a trail of grass flattened impressions of her shoes. She was almost there.

Come on, don't think about it, Ella.

Just get there first. Then, and only then…you can think.

Ella squatted down when she came to the mound, her breathing shakily and her limbs trembling. Even so, she tried her best to crack a feeble grin as she stared at the mound of dirt.

"…hey, Angie," she said at last. Ella sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. No tears, she told herself. Not now. Not here. And definitely not in front of her. "Happy birthday to us, huh?" she asked the dirt, but it gave no response. "But, well, it actually hasn't been too bad. I…well, Ishani was nice. And Mum wanted to take me to see a battle." She snorted, shaking her head. "I hate battles. She…she should understand that." She looked at the pile expectedly, her hands clasped together. But still the dirt remained silent. "You always understood," she muttered. "You understood everything, Ange. You always knew what to do, no matter how much I was panicking. You…please say something," she begged. But nothing happened. The flowers stayed tilted to the left as the gentle breeze continued to cause them to jitter every few seconds. "Just…can you please do something? Let me know that you're listening?" The flowers rustled. Petals brushed against her ankles. But Angie still said nothing. After that, Ella couldn't take it anymore. She cried.

She cried for Angie. She cried for how she was gone. She cried for herself because now she was alone with no one who understood her. And then she cried some more. For the shortness of Angie's life, for living in her place, for all the times she'd tried to follow but never succeeded. The crisscrossed scars on her wrists which had only caused pain, not peace. The faded but still present bruises from that time she'd recklessly jumped off the roof of the Trainers' School. The way that she had tried to swallow all of those pills at once, despite knowing what such an action could possibly result in. She had failed, too many times. And Angie was still gone.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, slumping forwards, head hanging low. "I could have – no, I should have saved you. I…I didn't. And I-I don't know why. It was too fast – I'm so sorry. Oh Arceus, I'm so sorry." She buried her face in her arms, the tears beginning their endless flow as Ella tried her best to stop herself, to think through all of this rationally. But in death, rationality became fuzzy. Sometimes, every option looked the same, and life seemed like one big guessing game; which way, right, left, forwards, backwards? There was no difference now.

You couldn't just bring people back from the dead.

No, the dead had to come back to you.

"I know I say this every damn year…" Ella began, "but, you shouldn't have been buried like this. You deserve a proper grave. You…we should have gotten you one, but we couldn't afford it and your parents moved…dammit."

And now she's here, without even a name over her body, with only the flowers for company.

Guilt washed over her as in the distance, she heard the crack of a gun. The battle to which Allison had wanted to take her had likely started.

Time to go. Gotta get home before it starts.

"I need to go now." She patted the mound lightly, before shakily coming to her feet. "Stay safe, Ange. Don't go anywhere." She paused before she left, staring at it intently and silently begging for a hand to come bursting out of the earth, charred by flames and caked with dirt, yet still Angie's nonetheless. But the earth stayed still. Ella shed her final tears, and then she turned and left. In the distance, she heard the distinct screech of a Swoobat, and the rapid chittering of a Leavanny. The piercing sound of a deadly Air Slash, and the Leavanny's Slash to counter it. The Swoobat's rapidly beating wings, the Leavanny's soft and delicate footfalls on the flattened earth of the arena. The effects hit her faster than the realisation. The memories came rushing back as the mental barricade which she had reinforced for so long succumbed to the endless flood of shrieking voices.

The Sigilyph swayed in the absence of wind, wings beating leisurely as the Scolipede collapsed on the scorching earth, exhausted. Its long antennas drooped as Ella heard a slow, rhythmic clapping. No one ever saw their leader. He was someone that they whispered about in the hallways, only known through his discreet interactions with the members, in some way or another. But everyone knew he was there, watching. This was the first time she had even heard him with her own ears.

"Well done. You've progressed tremendously over the past few weeks, Ella," she heard him say. His tone sounded genuine; she was almost certain that he was being honest. She turned her head slowly, her feet fixed in their current position on the battlefield, as she gazed at the man standing on the steps behind her. The first thing which she noticed was the mask. It was a simple design, a black oval which covered his face, with two eyehole cut into the material. Despite the plainness of the accessory, it instantly came across as intimidating to her, causing her body to tense up. His clothing consisted of a simply black shirt, jeans and jacket. His hands were deep in his jacket pockets, so that they couldn't be seen. For a moment, she was searching the bulges to figure out if he was carrying a weapon. When that came up clean, her eyes went back to his mask.

"Thank you, sir." She struggled to speak, as she was completely transfixed, unable to grasp at the reality that she was laying her eyes upon him. He began to approach her, moving slowly and calculatedly, yet still smoothly and fluid. "I…it's an honour to finally meet you face to face." Her head began to droop down, as she averted her eyes from the man, not wanting to look at the mask.

"Stop looking away from me. I want to see your face." Ella lifted her head upwards as the man neared, his head tilted slightly as he gazed at her. "Such immeasurable beauty in such a young face. And yet, I see no childish innocence." In any other situation, Ella probably would have laughed.

"My innocence left me when death came from the sky," she said bitterly, fists clenching. "The world showed me its true face, and I learned to be wary of it."

"So then you became this." The man motioned towards the Sigilyph flying over her head, and the unconscious Scolipede on the other side of the battlefield. "A ruthless trainer. Capable of defeating anything."

"The Scolipede was easy," Ella said nonchalantly. "Sigilyph already has a Type Advantage, and the Scolipede wasn't able to reach him from the ground. A single Sky Attack was all it took."

"Don't forget that you were the one who trained him," the man pointed out. "I've been watching you; you trained your team well. All powerful, at their final evolutions."

"Evolution is rarely important in a battle of wits," Ella muttered. "A Ninetales is hardly as versatile as a Vulpix; in fact, with the right training, the latter could easily overpower the other."

"That's a naïve way of thinking," the man said. "Though, I suppose after seeing that battle, I could believe you'd be able to do such a thing."

"I'm not saying that a Vulpix at its full strength would be able to defeat a Ninetales, also at its full strength," Ella said, frowning. "Even a fool knows that evolution brings power, agility and knowledge. A Ninetales will easily outrun a Vulpix in most instances. I'm simply saying that one cannot decide who will win a battle depending on evolutionary stages alone."

"Well said," the man muttered. "You're knowledgeable for your age."

"I like to think so," Ella replied, though her expression was one of anything but pride. It was a mixture of surprise and pure confusion. "Forgive me if I seem rude, but why exactly are you talking with me? Surely there are more important thing to devote your time to." The man chuckled, but for a while there was no reply.

"You've…shown great promise," he finally said. "I think your talents are being wasted, just fighting wild Pokémon we bring in. I want to see you in the field." Ella perked up, shocked at his words. He wanted her? Not someone else? But why? She couldn't possibly be the first person he would come too…but here he was, talking to her. She didn't say anything as he left, casually waving a hand at her. "I'll be expecting you here at 6am tomorrow, sharp. I hope this new change is–"

"–alright?" Ella shot upwards, her arms instantly grasping in front of her. Her left hand clenched around a grainy board of wood, her eyes snapping open as she gasped. She blinked drearily, taking a moment to realise that she was looking at a lightbulb hanging over her head. She twisted her body, groaning as she felt her muscles ache painfully.

"Uh, hello? Are you alright?" Ella frowned, turning her head towards the voice, her eyes widening. Sitting next to her on a small wooden chair was none other than her neighbour, Kane. He smiled upon seeing that she recognised him, patting her on the shoulder. "Hey, sorry if I freaked you out. I had to take you in." Suddenly, his light expression darkened. "You had another episode. A bad one." Ella stared blankly, processing the information.

"Damn." She rubbed her head, eyes still adjusting to the light. "Thanks for taking me inside. How long?"

"The battle just finished."

"Oh. That long."

"Uh huh. I didn't know you were still having seizures." Ella shrugged, massaging her left arm as she twisted her neck to the side, hearing it crack loudly.

"I guess Pokémon battles still trigger them," she muttered. "I saw Sigilyph. And your Scolipede."

"You're kidding me." Kane chuckled, shaking his head. "Richard?"

"Yeah. Although I still question why you gave such a badass a dumbass name like Richard." Kane grinned, twiddling his fingers.

"To each their own."

"Uh huh." Ella winced as she felt a bolt of pain course through her leg. She quickly bent down to grab it, straightening it out in an attempt to stop the pain. "What time is it?"

"Late," he replied. "Late enough that you should be heading back home by now."

"Bullshit. I don't have a bedtime, Kane. That was the first rule me and my mother established when I got back from…you know where." Ella shifted uncomfortably, turning to her left and noticing that earlier she had been gripping onto a window sill. "Since when did you have a fucking window?"

"I've always had windows," Kane replied, confused."

"I meant windows which weren't boarded up!" Ella exclaimed. "You and your secrets. Always hiding behind your blinds."

"You're the only person who would understand." Kane sighed, leaning back in his chair. "We look after our own, remember?"

"Yeah, we do," Ella muttered. "And we are not them. Remember that."

"They're in the past," Kane assured her. "We'll be fine if we keep watching our backs."

"Well, they're in our town."

"Then we lay low."

"For another thirty years? Fuck off, Kane." Kane opened his mouth to say something back, but both were interrupted by the sudden sound of the doorbell ringing. The two froze, both staring at the empty hallway behind him. The door was visible in the dim light, a shadow present behind the layer of wood and decorated glass.

"Stay here," he whispered, before standing up and cautiously walking to the door.

"You don't need to tell me twice." Ella gulped as she watched Kane go, closing the door behind him. She heard the sound of the door opening, and of him suddenly staggering backwards. There was an unsettling silence before a familiar voice suddenly spoke.

"Kane." Ella's eyes widened, her body completely freezing she stared at the door, limbs trembling.

Not him. Oh Arceus, please not him.

"Hart." Kane's voice was strained, his throat tightened. "This is…unexpected. It's been a very long time since we last met." Ella could feel her flesh crawl at the sound of Hart's chuckling, as she remembered the simple, yet intimidating mask which had stared at her, watched over her so many times.

"Indeed, it has," Hart said calmly. "Swain here has been relishing this reunion for quite a while now." Ella's eyes darted to the window, her heart pounding. Swain was here. She needed to escape. She needed to leave. Get out of here. In a moment of fleeting desperation, Ella pulled back her hand, tightening it into a fist, then smashed it into the window. She gasped as the glass shattered, a stray shard cutting into her skin and creating a jagged bloody line along her knuckles. The glass clinked loudly as it fell, creating a deafening sound. The conversation between Kane and Hart ceased, as both seemed to take in the noise.

"Kane," Hart began, "is she inside?"

"I'm alone," Kane told him, but the shakiness of his voice betrayed him.

"My dear Kane," Hart said, "you always were a terrible liar. Swain? Deal with him." As Ella painfully crawled out of the opening, she could hear the sound of Swain's Mega Horn impaling Kane, and the latter's deafening scream. She wept as she fell from the space, pulling herself up to her full height against the wall and stumbling towards the woods.

Don't come after me, don't come after me…

The wall which she had just stumbled away from came crashing down, Ella screaming as through the cloud of dust and falling plaster she saw the formidable outline of a Samurott staring right at her. Swain shrieked, charging towards her as she broke into a full sprint, despite the aching pain in her legs. She wouldn't let herself be killed by Swain.

There had been a time when Ella and Swain had been friends, maybe even close ones. But all that had changed in an instant, simply because she decided to rebel. And that was when she had realised that Swain was blinded. Loyal only to his trainer, the one who had raised him.

"Rott!" he screamed at her before accelerating to a speed which she had thought belonged only to Flying-Types. Ella threw herself the left as Swain stormed past, only narrowly avoiding him. The Pokémon turned quickly, the fires of hatred burning in his eyes as he charged again, the golden spear on his head beginning to glow and extend towards her. Ella quickly managed to duck behind a house before the rampaging Samurott smashed into the barrier, creating another cloud of dust. Ella stared, transfixed at the scene of destruction before her. Swain himself was barely visible through the floating veil of dust, but his powerful horn was shining through, almost blinding her. The wall of the house had been completely torn in half, the plaster hanging loosely onto the insides of the wall; Ella gulped when she realised that it was Ishani's house she had unintentionally damaged. The grass around the house was torn up, in some places the earth being completely bare. Words began to stream into her head, clouding her thoughts.

This is your fault.

All of it.

Your fault.

Your fault!

YOUR FAULT!

YOUR FAULT!

YOUR FAULT!

"Stop!" she screamed at Swain, tears streaming from her eyes. "All of it! Why can't you just stop?!" The Samurott turned, his jaw shifting into a menacing snarl. Without another word, Ella ran. Away from Swain. Away from the town. Away from everything, Angie, Kane, the flowers, the light, the noise, all the noise, constantly pouring into her ears…

She paused, blinking as her eyes began adjusting to the dark. She could still hear Swain charging after her, but her confusion thwarted her fear, even if just for a few moments. She was surrounded by trees, some ridiculously short, while others stretched up to the sky like the highest of buildings. Their branches swayed at ease in the gentle wind, the sound of leaves rustling and the ever growing thumps of Swain's impending arrival being the only noises filling the silence. Ella suddenly darted behind a tree as Swain charged towards her, his spear impaling the tree she had just been standing in front of. The Samurott screeched as he eyed her angrily, frantically trying to prise his pointed weapon from the wood, but to no avail. Ella, knowing he would not be trapped for long, quickly turned and ran, weaving between the trees as the sound of Swain's distressed cries grew fainter.

I'm okay. I can get away. He won't find me–

She staggered as she heard the sound of a tree heavily thumping to the ground, accompanied by Swain's unmistakeable growl. She didn't turn around, knowing that a single second of hesitation could mean her end, while behind her trees continued to fall to the ground, one by one, as the Samurott's aggressive growls grew ever louder. Ella yelped as a tree fell directly to her right, as Swain pounced just over her head. He landed on three of his flippers, the fourth tightly clenching his sharpened seamitar, the bladed weapon glowing a bright blue from Swain's repetitive Razor Shell. She ducked clumsily as he quickly twisted around, slashing his deadly weapon inches from her face, screeching incomprehensibly.

"Swain!" she screamed at him. "You don't have to do this! We were friends! Remember?" Ella wasn't sure why she was trying to get through to the Samurott. It wasn't as if he would listen to her, anyways. To him, she would always be a traitor. To their cause. To their family. But desperation made people act irrationally. Swain reared his head back, the sound of gushing water beginning to surface as his throat swelled, muscles tensing. Ella barely had time to react before the Hydro Pump struck her in the chest, causing her to gasp in shock as she rocketed backwards, slamming into a tree with a resounding crack. She groaned in pain, feeling her right arm go limp by her side. Swain almost seemed to glower in triumph as he watched her struggle to stand up, stalking closer as his seamitar dragged in the dirt behind him, slowly beginning to illuminate once more.

Ella pulled herself up with her already injured left hand, her face scrunching up in pain. Before she could even make an attempt to move away, Swain's seamitar was embedded deep into her left leg, her strained movement only widening the wound. She screamed, falling painfully onto her back as Swain stood over, his monstrous snarl now replaced with a triumphant grin. Ella stared at his expression, her own contorting into one of pure fear. As her eyes began to drift from his face, her attention turned to the vulnerable flesh of his neck, which was surprisingly unarmoured. Thinking quickly, she grabbed Swain's spear, pulling his head down before ramming her knee into his throat, causing the massive Pokémon to wheeze loudly and recoil in pain. Ella grunted, her hand wrapping around the lowest branch of a nearby tree and pulling herself up. Her leg felt like it was burning from the inside, but she gritted her teeth and hopped forwards, reminding herself every time she felt a bolt of pain course through her body that she'd been through worse.

Though Swain was still fixed in place after Ella's attack, she knew that before long he would be upon her once again. She made her way to the base of a large tree, this one with a trunk at least seven times thicker than the others. She knew that Swain wouldn't be able to cut it down as easily as the others; it was probably her only chance of living through this. Shakily, she pressed her body against the tree, wrapping her good arm around the trunk and hauling herself up, her bad leg trailing along while her other was wedged into the bark of the tree, supporting her as she reached a little higher, and once again pulled herself higher. Her face was pressed against the rough bark, and was now grazed and bleeding from the friction, but it was nothing compared to the horrible sensation coursing through the rest of her body, so she tried her best to ignore it while she ascended.

Suddenly the tree shuddered in its place, the branches creaking loudly and dozens of leaves falling from their positions. Ella cursed as her foot slipped out from underneath her, while Swain prised his spear out of the trunk, before ramming into it once again. The Samurott screeched, opening his mouth and letting loose another Hydro Pump, not only causing Ella to almost lose her grip, but soaking through her clothes and increasing their weight. She desperately tried to lodge her foot back into the bark, but Swain's Hydro Pump kept her from getting a proper gripping before her foot would slip. Down below, the Samurott drew both seamitars, slashing into the trunk over and over, each Razor Shell more powerful than the last as his impatience grew. Every passing moment, Ella's strength was diminishing, her hold on the trunk causing her bleeding arm to ache painfully. Swain screamed at her, his slashes becoming more and more violent, water sputtering out of his mouth whenever he opened the orifice. Each time he struck, the tree shook violently. Ella closed her eyes, waiting for the moment when she would slip and fall into Swain's waiting Mega Horn.

But all of a sudden, the sound of thunder caused her eyes to snap back open in shock. Swain recoiled as a powerful Bolt Strike struck him in the side, the Samurott keeling over as the scorched flesh sizzled. He lay there, paralysed, as a massive dark shape moved towards him. Large wings the size of Sigilyphs spanned out from either of the approaching creature's side, two long arms drooping out in front. The Pokémon's eyes were a bright red, their glow illuminating the area in front of it, acting as powerful headlights. It seemed to grin as it neared Swain, towering over him just as the Samurott had done to Ella not very long ago. It crouched down, extending its claw to the shivering Pokémon's throat, before suddenly ramming the sharpened claw into his neck. Ella choked as she watched the enormous Pokémon dig into Swain's flesh, growling deeply.

"Baz!" The dark creature began tugging at the loose flesh, Swain's eyes suddenly snapping wide open, his mouth gurgling crimson blood. "Zazza!" The Pokémon ripped out the Samurott's throat, staring at the piece of flesh with disinterest. "Zash!" It threw Swain's throat against the floor, blood splattering over the forest floor, just as the Samurott's head lolled to the side, his lifeless eyes going glassy and dull. As Ella watched the grotesque scene with a horrid fascination, she didn't notice her fingers slowly slipping away, one by one, until she was hurtling down through the air, her eyes wide and her mouth open, but no scream came out. As she saw the floor approaching, she found herself thinking of Angie, and wondered whether this would finally be the one.

Am I going to see you again?

The enormous Pokémon caught her in mid-air, though the force of the fall knocked Ella out cold. Bringing her limp body closer to its face, the Pokémon let out a soft, low growl before unfurling its wings, carrying itself and Ella out of the forest.

"BAZZAZZAZASH!"