CHAPTER 1:

a girl, found alive on the beach

AND

a boy, starting again

Snow was a dead thing, silent and stifling, lacking the vigorous timbre of rain on her cottage roof. It perched on branches, accumulated, watched from above before falling unceremoniously on, perhaps, her sleeping hydrangeas, or her (of course uncovered) hair. Out by the sea however, the snow was revived. It sang in the symphony of waves, whipped by the ocean winds from stillness into a swirling dance.

Her boots sank into the sand as she walked, leaving prints among the sparkling mix of shells and diamond laced in dark ribbons of frozen kelp. She was always searching, and this day was no exception. Wrapped in layers of rosy cashmere and white wool, she blossomed on the empty beach; her scarce neighbors, inhabiting the modern cottages that peppered the coast, would look out and see some bizarre rhododendron floating against the dark backdrop, and instantly recognize her: the woman with silver hair, the woman whose name they do not know, whose daily deliberateness went beyond the leisurely beach combing that was typical on these sands. The children believe she is a witch. She does not attempt to dissuade them.

But this day was an exceptional one. For this day, she found her, crumpled like a discarded rag doll on the shore. Primarina, aquamarine tresses matted with dark ropes of seaweed, was bent over her, attempting to wake her with gentle coos. No matter how many times she had seen it before, it would always be a shock. She stopped in her tracks, clutched her hands to her chest, let out a soft moan tinged with dread and terror. And then she ran, the snow and sand flying behind her, her breath catching from the exertion. She crouched at Primarina's side and reached down to feel the skin of the girl's neck, exposed beneath her drenched clothes. The girl was frigid, nearly blue. She lived! But it seemed she did so barely, thready pulses and soft trembling breaths.

She pursed her lips, her eyes clenching against the stinging wind as a tear escaped. She shook her head. With no word spoken, she stroked Primarina's slippery tail in approval, and withdrew her into her poke ball. She reached into her coat and flicked another pokeball open. In a flash of red light appeared the unfolding silhouette of a Gardevoir, his dress-like appendages swirling in the wind. He looked towards his partner for instructions, who gave only the slightest nod. His eyes glowed blue as he raised his arms, gently levitating the girl. And the three moved on, further down the shore.

"Are you ready, Amethyst?"

"You know I am."

Jasmine seemed to tower on her pedestal, more confident than she ever seemed at the lighthouse. She smiled. "Very well then. Steelix, come out!" Jasmine tossed a pokeball into the field. Steelix, hulking, appeared in a flash of red light, its metallic roar resounding in the dome of the gym.

Houndoom, barely scathed from the previous fight with Magnemite, stood his ground. "Come on, Houndoom," Amethyst assured him, "this'll be a breeze."

The referee waved her flag. "Round 2, begin!"

"Houndoom, use Fire Spin!" Houndoom howled, raising his snout to the sky. A continuous jet of flame shot out of his mouth, and as though it had a life of its own, it wound around Steelix's body in a spinning chain of fire. Steelix twisted and turned in pain, her squirming shaking the earth.

"Steelix, stay calm," Jasmine ordered. "Use Sandstorm."

Steelix, with great force, slammed her tail into the ground. A whirl of dust whipped up from the ground, causing Houndoom and Amethyst to avert their eyes. Then, Steelix roared again; with a sound like the propellor of an airplane, the segments of Steelix's upper body began to rotate, before long spinning wildly. Sand streamed out from her body, then flew into the air. The field was engulfed in a swirling dome of it, with Jasmine and Amethyst looking in.

Houndoom was obscured in the storm, but Amethyst hoped that he could still hear his commands. He cursed under his breath before yelling, "Houndoom, you have a huge target, and it's still lit up by your Fire Spin. Aim for it with a Flamethrower!"

A jet of flame shot out of the Sandstorm; evidently, while Houndoom could still hear him, he could not see Steelix. It was Jasmine's turn. "Steelix, use Screech." Her voice rang through the storm like a clear bell. Amethyst covered his ears in anticipation. A wave of distorted air caused the sand to ripple outward, and Amethyst knew that Houndoom would be immobilized. "Now, sweep the stage with an Iron Tail, Steelix!"

With a huge noise that evoked steel scraping against rock, there was a rumbling within the Sandstorm. Houndoom, with a yelp, flew out of it, hitting the ground hard. "Houndoom!" But Houndoom had not fainted yet. Trembling, he got back onto his feet. "Houndoom, you have this won, alright? Use the rest of your strength and heat up this Sandstorm with Flamethrower!"

Houndoom growled, and let loose a huge river of flame from his mouth directly at the swirling sand. The grains began to glow bright red, and within seconds it morphed into a firestorm. The intense heat caused both Amethyst and Jasmine to turn away as though they were shielding their faces from a miniature sun. "Keep it going, Houndoom!"

"Steelix! Steelix, are you alright?" There was one more roar. Ropes of white-hot sand, melted into glass, spun in the air, crystallized, fell to the ground and shattered. The remaining grains of sand slowed and settled to the ground ground in a gentle rain of glass and embers. Steelix, in the middle of it, slowly became visible, collapsed onto the ground.

The referee lifted the flag in her left hand up. "Winner! Visitor, trainer Amethyst!"

When the match was over, Jasmine took the time to sit down with Amethyst in the lounge. She sent her Steelix and Magnemite, as well as Amethyst's Houndoom, to be healed by the gym's nurse, and in the meantime offered him a cup of coffee. He declined.

"You did very well," Jasmine remarked, her voice slight and shaky, a sprite compared to the woman she was on the podium.

"Thanks." Amethyst's own voice contrasted with hers like jet rivulets against marble. "If I may ask a question."

"Of course."

"You weren't as hard as you could have been on me, were you?"

Jasmine cocked her head, and took a moment to fiddle with a ridiculous ribbon on her dress before responding. "No, I wasn't. But, you do understand how Gym Leaders modulate our battling style, yes?" Amethyst blinked, then shook his head. "Um… well, you see, a gym leader looks up challengers in the Pokemon League database beforehand, so we can find out how many badges they have already earned. The more badges a challenger has, then the stronger Pokemon we use, and the more complex our tactics. That way, it's fair to beginners as well as experts."

"So you consider me to be a beginner."

"Um… yes."

Amethyst's frowned. "But I defeated both of your Pokemon with only one of mine!"

"That is true. Although you did have a type advantage, and despite this your Houndoom was wounded in the end. It doesn't necessarily reflect well." She cleared her throat. "N-not on your intelligence, of course! Just on your experience in battle. Which is…"

"Lacking."

"Well. Yes. It's by no means a criticism: I simply wish to be honest with you. I do believe you will only mature into an even better trainer as time goes on." Jasmine reached into a pocket in her dress, and daintily placed two items on the table. One was a circular, shiny pin made of polished steel, and the other was a dark grey disk in a plastic case. "You've earned these, Amethyst. The Mineral Badge, and my favorite TM: Iron Tail."

Amethyst sighed, snatching both up with a single gesture. "One last thing."

"Of course."

He averted his eyes while asking her the question. "Do you think I have what it takes?"

"Um… what do you mean?"

"To be a trainer. To get eight badges and beat the Elite Four."

She fiddled with the ribbon again. "Amethyst. I've known you for quite a while now. You have always been so very intelligent. The only thing I worry about is whether you allow yourself to… err, how do I put this… open up."

"I don't know what that means."

"I suppose I don't either, actually. It does sound rather vague now that I say it out loud, doesn't it? Umm… I always say this to my students: studying Pokemon is one thing, but the next step to studying them is being with them, connecting with them, and knowing them, not just knowing about them."

They chatted about the future, about his sister and his family. He planned to travel to Ecruteak City; all that was left was for him to pack his bag. Jasmine, polite but certainly never affectionate to the younger brother of one of her research assistants, bid him good luck before preparing for another challenger. He wondered if this challenger was more skilled than he was today; the stubborn side of him wished to stay and watch, an impulse he would have given in to if Jasmine allowed spectators in her gym battles.

Instead, he went to Olivine Beach, where the sun shined and the ocean sparkled and flowed. Beach goers clad in swimsuits ran, leapt, played, slept. Amethyst was content to take a seat in an empty plot of sand, Houndoom curling up next to him.

Jasmine's advise, he began to realize, had offended him. He had felt the hot outlines of anger burn shapes into his psyche then, at the moment of stimulus. But feelings tended to kindle within him, burn slowly then grow, only for the blush and sweat to appear hours later, when he realized what had really been said, how he really had acted. It was the thinking that hurt, not the feeling.

He held the Mineral Badge up to the light. While some would call its design plain, he couldn't help but appreciate its simplicity, its clean edges. "I don't care what Jasmine says," he said to Houndoom, who only bothered to perk his ears up. "If the rest of the battles go this smoothly, then we'll be fine." Houndoom gave a soft whine, the tone of which Amethyst wasn't sure indicated agreement or disbelief. He grinned. He began to think, in the end, Jasmine did not really know him at all: did not know how open (or lack thereof) he was.

The sound of approaching footsteps in the sand made him turn his head. Lily, in a another new summer dress, stood before him. "You didn't bother calling to tell us how the battle went," she exclaimed in her soprano voice. The smile on her face, however, denoted that she had anticipated both her quiet brother's silence, and his decision to abscond to the beach.

Lily was a full head taller than Amethyst, and larger as well. She had a mastery of casual grace which showed through in both her style and mannerisms; there was no dance hall, no lecture hall, no space nor place that she could be uncomfortable in. Amethyst, in comparison, was the awkward child, whose piercing eyes betrayed him, lent him a sense of confidence when he had none. Today, her plump arms and legs evoked glimmering pearls in the sunlight, and a tropical yellow blossom perched in her curly black hair. She favored pastels and neons, boldness and play in her fashions. Amethyst, of lean body and earthy skin, favored keeping his own hair cropped, and his fashions in simple shades of black and white. No one guessed that their relation was familial, and perhaps this tempered their bond as brother and sister stronger, as if the wonder of their relatedness was both an inside joke and a tender wound they would heal together.

"May I?" Amethyst nodded, and Lily sat daintily next to Houndoom. Houndoom barked in greeting; she stroked his head. "I'll just go ahead and assume you got the Mineral Badge."

"I did." He smirked. "Wanna see it?"

"Ha! You sound like you're 12 again!" She took his offer anyway, scrutinizing the badge before handing it back to him. "I'm very proud of you."

He squinted in the sun. "Is dad still mad?"

"Dad isn't mad."

He rolled his eyes. Lily and Amethyst had both seen that face after graduation, the same subtle puckering that occurred when a student turned in a paper a week late, or when the grocery store had only frozen rawst berries, no bluk. "You know how he is. He was just anticipating something different for your future," Lily explained. "I'm sure that if he knew how well you did in your first gym battle, he'd be just as proud as I am."

"Do you think this is a bad idea?"

A pause.

"Lily."

"What?"

"You think it's a bad idea."

"It's not that! It's just not what I would have done in your situation. It would've been bad for me, but that doesn't mean it's bad for you."

"Yeah, well, you're actually good at research."

"Oh, come on." Amethyst recognized the sour notes of his sister's "get over it" voice. "You already said that you're set in doing this, and that's all that matters. I think we all just want to make sure you stay safe." She sighed. "Just, have confidence, alright? It's a given that you'll succeed!"

"Thanks."

But there was a hint of doubt in her words that neither could ignore. For some reason she remembered a time, when she was 14 and he was 8, that he had lost a silk red kite in a gust. He disappeared, making Lucinda worry so much that she called Officer Jenny; they found him 5 hours later, stuck in a tree but too scared to climb down. Somehow he had found a way to get high enough that a ladder was required to retrieve him, and he was too embarrassed to cry for help. And even after all that, they had never found the kite.

Five robed figures, their hands bound, sat together in the uppermost chamber. Moonlight streamed through the stained glass windows. The man in white, six feet tall, glowed divinely. "You," he gestured with a gloved hand. "Red robe."

"Fuck you."

"You're in no position to be arguing right now, are you? Stand in the far corner." Red robe hacked and then spit at his feet. He narrowed his eyes.

"You should do what he says," black robe said. He snickered. "Not that it would matter if you died, anyway."

"Well, then. I'll rule him out."

"Sure! It's not like I ever lie."

"You're an idiot," purple robe declared, her voice cold and sharp. "Do you really think any of us would be honest with you?"

"I never believed that. I didn't think any of you would be this tricky, though."

"We're not being tricky," green robe said, his voice wobbling. "If you let everyone else go, I can show you what you want—"

"What are you doing! Don't offer yourself to these shitstains!" Red robe yelled, cutting him off.

"He's offering a logical proposition, I say this man should take it," purple robe chimed. "It's the best he'll get out of us."

"We can't let this happen!" Red robe, obviously agitated, attempted to stand up, but was swiftly kicked to the ground. "F-fuck you!"

"Bisson!" Green robe called out. "Please, stop!"

"Everyone!" Blue robe finally spoke up, her sonorous voice smothering the din, allowed it to die and give way to a fearful silence. "Please. Be calm."

"Yes, Elojah." They said in unison.

He looked at the five of them again, one by one, with the same scrutiny he would give to an artifact trapped behind glass: a gaze that signified more than just an attempt to decipher their expressions—no, he was attempting to decipher their selves, to see who they were, not simply what they expressed. Black robe, a wicked smile. Red robe, a bloody sneer. Purple robe, an unflinching countenance. Green robe, uneasy eyes. Blue robe, a voice that shone like bronze.

"I'll be taking you for separate questioning again. We'll start with you… Elojah, is it?"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, prove it!"

"I bet he's fibbing."

"I am not! I'm serious, ok? My sister told me not to touch it!"

"Whatever, you're such a liar, if your sister said that then why did you even tell us that you had one?"

"She said I could have it after I catch another Pokemon!"

"He's so fibbing."

"Am not!"

"Jared's a liar! Jared's a liar!"

"Am not, am not, am not!"

"And I'm gonna tell everyone at school-"

"Don't!"

"What are you gonna do?"

"Pokemon battle!"

"Oh yeah? You're on!"

"Hey."

The kids stopped in their tracks. When adults stopped them on their way home, it was usually because they were being too raucous. "What do you want, mister? We won't battle in the road, I swear."

"Are you trainers?"

"Emily and I are, I don't know about him…"

"Shut up, Wade!"

"Alright. Let's battle."

They paused, exchanged glances as though it were a trick. While it was true that the man was not nearly as old as their parents, he seemed about the same age as many of their older siblings. That is, old enough for the proposition to be noticeably odd.

"If you don't want to, that's fine." He narrowed his eyes intensely. "That is, if you're fine with being a coward."

"Umm. My mom said not to talk to strangers."

"Whatever. My name's Amethyst. There, not a stranger anymore. Let's battle." They again exchanged glances, warily. Amethyst rolled his eyes. "Fine. I don't have time for this." He turned to walk away, further down the Route.

"Wait!" Jared called out, ignoring the whispered pleas of his friends. Amethyst paused. "I'll battle you!"

"Dude, are you kidding?"

"I'm gonna show you that I can battle, Wade." He called out to Amethyst, who now sported a grin. "But it's gonna have to be one on one!"

"Perfect."

They moved to a field of grass, and Amethyst went first. "Come on, Houndoom." Houndoom emerged from his pokeball, letting out a bone-chilling howl. "This'll be easy," he called out.

Jared reached into his backpack for the pokeball. "Let's go, Marril!"

The smile dropped from Amethyst's face. "Shit."

"You know, you're not that bad."

They had already split ways with Emily and Sander, who took the left fork in the road instead of the right, and Wade, who went home with his tail between his legs. It was obvious that Jared had won more than a battle with a stranger and 10 dollars.

Amethyst made a pained expression. "I don't need to hear that from you. You're like 5 years old."

"I'm 9."

"Whatever."

"But your Houndoom seems like a really cool pokemon. It was really strong."

A pause. "He's not actually used to battling or anything."

"Huh?"

"Not that it's his fault. I'm not either."

Jared scrunched his face. "You don't look like a new trainer."

"Starting late."

"Do you wanna stay at my house? My mom and sister let trainers stay over all the time."

Though the thought of a comfortable bed to sleep in was tempting, Amethyst wasn't sure that his pride could handle staying in the same house as the grade schooler who defeated him. "No thanks. You know, your mom's right. You really shouldn't be this trusting of strangers."

"It's not like you scare me. I did beat you, after all." Amethyst winced. "So why are you being a trainer, anyway? Isn't it hard to start when you're so old?"

A series of explanations flashed through his head at once, an inventory of his defenses against that very question. One way was to fire off some statistic about how the average age of new trainers is rising (although he conveniently leaves out the part that says it's risen from 10 to 14). Another was to admit that this was his plan all along, and that a diploma from Primary Pokemon Schooling would only give him a leg up amongst his significantly younger peers.

He decided, instead, to escape.

"None of your business," he muttered. They had reached yet another side road and stopped; Jared was veering towards the row of suburban houses that lined it. "This your street? I don't need to walk you to your door anything, right?"

"No. I live on the corner."

"Alright." Amethyst gave a small salute. "See ya."

"Ok. Oh, wait!" Jared reached into his backpack and retrieved a small gadget the size of a stopwatch. "Can I register your trainer ID?"

He let out a groan. "Why. You wanna rematch?"

Jared shrugged. "Maybe you will."

They exchanged IDs and parted ways; Jared gave him instructions on how to get to the nearest Pokemon Clinic. Despite being quite sure that Jared would be able to handle himself, Amethyst paused on the sidewalk and watched him go to his house, waiting until he was walking through the front door before he bothered to continue on. Jared waved goodbye; Amethyst did not respond.

Amethyst had already overextended himself. He didn't think that the first trainer he'd battle would pop up with a water/fairy type like that, and it made him disappointed in his own lack of foresight. He tried to remind himself that he had beat his first gym leader with no problem; so it wasn't a big deal that a trainer who was half his age had beat him, right? He pondered this as he walked, for hours, down the road. It was eight o'clock by the time he got to the Route 38 clinic, a small but clearly new building made of steel and glass. The lobby was similarly clean in its bright white lighting and sleek metal furniture, but for its size seemed empty—two young men sat by the bookshelves in the corner nook of the room, and a family of four examined a road map by the window. Though there was small movement in the scene, a hush seemed to settle over all of them like a blanket.

The nurse at the desk took his poke ball apathetically. "Thank you. We'll heal your pokemon shortly." She turned to place it on a tray, which a Chansey rolled into a back room. "Is there anything else we can do to help you?"

"Yeah. Any rooms open?"

"We have one with two people in it already."

Amethyst contemplated this. He was hoping for a single room, but he couldn't be too picky with a clinic's hostel. "Sure."

"I'll take your Trainer ID, please." He handed it to her, pursing his lips.

"Oi." One of the young men who was sitting by bookshelves was at the counter now. "Could I get my Pokemon back now?"

"Uh huh…" The nurse handed him a tray that was below the desk, still looking over Amethyst's ID. "…You're 17 and you only have one badge?"

"Late start."

The nurse shrugged. "You know most trainers start when they're younger, right? It's gonna be a long road."

"At least he's trying." The man who was getting his pokeballs back interjected. The nurse shot him a strange look. He winked in response. "Some of us aren't in it for the gym battles."

"Uh huh." The nurse handed the ID and card key to Amethyst. "Room A2, around the corner."

"Heh. Looks like you're with us, kid." Amethyst narrowed his eyes at the man, looking him over more closely. He was well-built but not intimidatingly tall. He sported a leather jacket with a white t-shirt, and his shoulder length hair looked disheveled in some places and flattened in others. A motorcyclist, perhaps? The glint in his eye was mischievous, perhaps bordering on malevolent. The kind of person who, likely, mixed jokes with insults so regularly that they became indistinguishable. This was someone he would have trouble trusting. He put his hand out to shake. "Jay."

"…Amethyst." He shook it; a crushing handshake.

"Are you coming from Olivine?"

"Yeah. I'm from there."

"I guess you'll be heading to Ecruteak then."

"Sure. Why?"

Jay raised an eyebrow. "No reason, mate, just curious." He looked over his shoulder to the seat he was at, where the other young man was seated. "Wanna join us? We were gonna break out something to eat if you want any."

While his instincts said no his stomach said yes, so he nodded. He followed Jay to the glass table where he was introduced to his companion.

"I'm Harvey," he said, standing up to shake Amethyst's hand. Harvey was small and gentle-mannered, with light green hair that shimmered when he moved. Unlike Jay, Amethyst saw nothing but kindness in his face. "So you're a trainer?"

"I am."

"He's new though."

"How exciting! I love meeting new trainers. I feel like I could be talking to the next champion!"

"What, you don't think it'll be me?"

Harvey looked at Jay as though he knew he were joking. Amethyst wasn't sure if it were a joke at all. "I'm sure you'll do great. May I ask what you were doing before you were a trainer?"

While he felt uncomfortable discussing his past with strangers, he was relieved to not have to explain away his reasons for being a trainer. "I graduated from Primary School in Olivine."

"So you're the academic type, eh? That's like you, Harv."

Harvey shrugged. "I was at Pokemon Tech, then at Scientific Academy in Goldenrod. It's nice to meet someone else who's gone through schooling, though. I wish I had it in me to be a trainer."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a nursing fellow at the pokemon center in Violet City."

This definitely surprised Amethyst. After all, Harvey looked young enough to be his age. "What are you doing out here, then?"

"Research." He nudged Jay, who sat down next to him and proceeded to unpack his backpack: bread, peanut butter, bottles of water. "Jay is traveling with me to help."

"He needs a bodyguard, apparently…"

"What, maybe I like having you around!" Harvey said it with a luminous smile. Amethyst cocked his head slightly, realizing these two were likely more than just travel companions. "Are you traveling on your own, Amethyst?"

"I am."

"Well, I guess you're old enough. Still, most trainers travel in twos and threes these days. Never know when a motorcycle gang or, worse, Team Rocket might show up." There was levity in his voice, but all three of them knew that he was describing real danger.

"I like traveling alone. I like the quiet."

"Heh. Lone wolf. Pretty badass. I like this kid!" Jay announced it loudly, briefly catching the attention of the family across the way. Amethyst knew that if his skin were lighter his face would be completely pink.

"Jay, please. You're embarrassing him!"

"N-no, I'm not embarrassed. I keep to myself but it's not because I'm trying to be cool or anything." Amethyst averted his eyes. "I don't have anyone to travel with, anyway."

Harvey's face softened. He paused for a long moment. "Well, you could travel with us for a little while?"

"Harv! We have the bike!"

"Oh. Right. I guess that wouldn't work, sorry."

"It's fine. Like I said, I like the quiet."

Harvey took a napkin and several pieces of bread spread with peanut butter, offering them to Amethyst. He took them. "I see. Well, I don't mean to nag, but regardless, please be careful."

Amethyst didn't have the heart nor courage to say that he enjoyed a little bit nagging, that he had wished his mother or father had nagged about his safety as much. Instead he said, again, "It's fine."

They made small talk while they ate, eating the relatively simple meal with verve. They chatted about the weather; directions; where they grew up (Jay in a town outside Slateport Harbor, Harvey in Celadon City). And when they finished their bread, they retired down the hall in the clinic's hostel. Their room was cramped and windowless with a flickering fluorescent light, one night stand, and two bunk beds. While Jay left the room to take a shower, Amethyst and Harvey spent a moment alone.

Amethyst decided that he was not frightened by Jay. He found him to be brash and too jovial for his own good, but he was not scared of him. Harvey, however, he had changed his mind about. He was unfailingly tranquil and oddly caring; yet he may not have been as earnest as he initially thought. He felt that his eyes hid something in their murky hues, like gems cloaked in muddy pools. He was gentle for sure, in the manner of lingering clouds over a calm sea. Floating, soft, foreshadowing.

"You know," Harvey began as he sat on the bottom bunk of his bed, "I'm wondering if you'd be able to help us."

Amethyst furrowed his brow. He, on principle, didn't trust the very idea of favors. "What?"

"It has to do with my work. There have been some interesting reports from the Johto Epidemiological Pokemon Nursing Association of late. Have you heard of a disorder called Analia?"

"Yes. It's a virus that causes behavior and physical changes… right?"

Harvey smiled. "Well, that's the basic idea. It is a virus, though it's actually quite common; it's certain variants that are very rare, and one of them, Analia R, is what causes a constellation of symptoms that includes morphological variation, increased aggression, atypical moveset, and enhanced growth. You might know these symptoms as 'Pokerus Syndrome.'"

Amethyst wanted to say that he knew this already; he just didn't know the right words to use, and this stranger was kind but intimidating.

"For some reason, outbreaks of Analia and Pokerus Syndrome have been appearing in the Johto and neighboring Kanto regions. Have you heard about them?"

"Of course."

"Ah, good! I suppose it has been on the news quite a bit lately. Well, the research I'm conducting is related to the outbreak. My preceptor asked that I gather field data in a number of designated locations across Johto."

"What kind of field data?"

"A few things. Numbers, for one, but I'm more interested in their behavior and the quality of their movesets. It's been reported that the most recent cases of Analia have increasingly unusual movesets; for instance, about two weeks ago, an aggressive Staryu attacked sailors docked in Vermillion City. Authorities were forced to capture it, and they found that it was powerful, disobedient and capable of using both Magical Leaf and Gust."

"…That's not normal."

"Indeed, especially by the standards of previously recorded cases. Which brings me to the favor I'd ask. Amethyst, you seem like you will be a very talented trainer. While you're out there, if you ever encounter a pokemon with Analia, would you please call me? I'd like to get as big a sample size as possible for the qualitative research, and any help I could get would be appreciated."

This, it seemed, was not a difficult request. "Yes."

"Thank you!"

So, they exchanged IDs. Still, something didn't quite sit well with Amethyst. As Harvey was inputing his number into his Pokegear, he said it. "There is a minor issue though."

"Hm?"

"Well… you said I would be a talented trainer and… I appreciate that. But I don't think I will be. Really."

Harvey cocked his head. "Why do you say that?"

"I did lose to a nine year old with a Marril this afternoon."

"Oh. But, you got a badge, didn't you?"

"Sure, from Jasmine. She uses steel types, and I use a Houndoom."

"Ah! That explains it, you had a type disadvantage."

"I mean, I like to think that. But I'm pretty sure it's just because I'm bad."

Harvey blinked. "You don't know that."

"I guess."

"No, you don't. I don't either." He sighed, and for once it seemed that he was at a loss for words. He spoke again, slowly. "Since you mention it, I suppose it doesn't really matter whether you're talented or not. You could be terrible for all I know. All that matters to me is if you're willing to help." His smile remained soft and composed in spite of the blunt statement, but his eyes flickered. Yes, Amethyst thought; he did scare him. "But to be honest, I don't know much about battling. You could ask Jay."

As he was saying this, Jay walked through the door in a fresh black t-shirt and boxers, his hair and skin damp. "Someone talking about me?"

"Perfect timing! Amethyst is a little… nervous. Any tips for the aspiring trainer?"

"Ha! Like I'm a role model." Jay sat next to Harvey on his bed, his weight on the cheap mattress eliciting a metal screech from the bed frame. Still, Amethyst kept quiet. Perhaps this man, seasoned as he seemed, would have some kind of helpful advice. "Way I see it, everyone has their own style. The quicker you get comfortable with yours, the better off you'll be. It's not my place to impose anything on you."

He waited, but there were no more words. Was that it? "Oh."

"Jay, it sounds like your advice was just a refusal to give advice."

He gave a toothy smile. "Yeah! Cos any advice I'd give would be useless."

Though it seemed to amuse Jay, this did not serve to comfort Amethyst.

The next morning they ate another simple breakfast together, this time free muffins and coffee from the clinic. Standing outside while Jay retrieved his motorcycle from the garage, Harvey finally got to asking: "Do you have any food of your own?"

"Yes, of course." He did, barely. But at this point, it would have been far too embarrassing to admit that he hadn't thought of something so essential.

"Good!" Yet Harvey reached into his bag and handed him a loaf of bread and a dozen nutritional shake packets anyway. He claimed it was "going bad," but Amethyst had the sinking feeling that neither of them were good liars. "I just want to thank you again for your help. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call. With our travel schedule we might not be really helpful but… well, I think it's best to have as many friends as you can these days."

It was a rather mysterious statement, but he appreciated it nonetheless. "I'll do my best to help your research."

A loud rumbling and the crunching of gravel heralded Jay's slow approach on his motorcycle from around the back of the clinic. Jay pulled up next to them and waved, pulling the visor up on his helmet and yelling over the noise, "Oi! Ammy! Good luck to ya out there!"

"'Ammy?'"

Harvey rolled his eyes. "He makes up names." He buckled his own helmet on and, with a final goodbye, mounted the bike, putting his arms around Jay's waist. They rode off in a noisy flurry of dust. Amethyst sighed: social interaction with strangers was truly exhausting. Still, he had to admit that Harvey and Jay were helpful, even if they were a little intimidating.

Route 39 was a hilly, uncomplicated path, but it would still take days by foot to get to Ecruteak city if he couldn't find a car to hitch a ride with. But that wasn't his main concern. For today, he would try to catch his first pokemon.

"…Maa."

Amethyst had spent hours in the tall grass, and he had collected infinitely more pollen and grain than he had pokemon. But this was his chance; past a circle of trees, in a meadowy clearing, was a cloud of gold fleece and pulsing orange orbs.

He reached into his pocket and fetched his Pokedex, although he was already well aware of what these were. He flipped it open, letting the scanner do its work; a soft robotic voice chimed back. "Mareep: the wool pokemon. Mareep are gentle pokemon that like to gather in flocks. By rubbing against each other, they build up static electricity in their wool that charges the lightbulbs on their tails."

He smirked. Gentle pokemon, huh? This would be simple. Like a gladiator emerging into his arena, Amethyst strode out of the bushes, standing tall. There were about 20 Mareep grazing; none looked up. He furrowed his brow. "Houndoom!" Houndoom emerged from his pokeball in a flash of light, letting loose a cryptic howl as he materialized. This, Amethyst was sure, would terrify the creatures!

But, instead, they kept grazing. Amethyst and Houndoom exchanged a glance. "Um…" This wasn't how he had pictured catching a pokemon. The scenarios he had read about in school were simple; walk into the field, a pokemon would attack. Weaken the pokemon, inflict a status condition, and throw pokeballs until it was yours. But now that he was here, standing in front of a passive flock of Mareep, it seemed a bit cruel to unleash a Flamethrower. What else was there to do?

He spent several minutes awkwardly shifting his weight from side to side as Houndoom looked up at him curiously. He tried making little noises; clearing his throat, stepping on leaves, rustling through his pockets. None of this made any difference. Acting on a whim, he reached into his bag and procured a Rawst berry; he tossed it at one of the Mareep, and it bounced off its wool. A Mareep momentarily stopped chewing on the grass, took a look at the berry, then continued grazing again.

"What is this!" Gripped by determination, Amethyst clenched his fists and yelled at the flock with as much passion as he could summon: "Listen, animals! Which one of you wants to take me! Which one of you is tough enough to be my challenger? Try me!"

There was a rustling among the flock. Maybe his bold challenge had done it! He braced himself. The flock slowly gathered into an undulating mass that filtered away from Amethyst, into the trees again. "W-wait! Hey! Cowards!" Amethyst bent down and picked up a rock, throwing it after the flock; "Stay and fight!" He saw the rock lodge into one of the Mareep's coats of fleece, doing no harm. He frantically began to gather his bag, getting ready to chase after them. But Houndoom nudged him before he could, whining and pointing his nose towards the center of the clearing. There was one Mareep still left, curled into a ball and snoring, the orb on its tail blinking rhythmically.

Amethyst approached; Mareep made no move. Up close, he could see that this Mareep was smaller than the others. He looked at Houndoom, who simply looked expectedly back at him. Unsure of what else to do, he softly touched the Mareep with his foot. "Hey."

Mareep slowly opened its eyes, like big sapphire walnuts. First it looked at Houndoom, then at Amethyst. "Maa." It stood up on all fours and shook out the grass from its fleece, its orb now taking on a steady glow.

Amethyst crossed his arms. "You. Challenge me."

Mareep looked up at him, wagging its tail. "Maa."

"Are you challenging me?"

"Maa."

"I don't understand what you want."

"Maa."

"Do you… want grass?"

"Maa."

Amethyst sighed. He reached down and pulled out a tuft of browning grass from the ground. He held it out in front of him; he felt Mareep's pink, rough tongue as it licked his palm. This, if he remembered correctly, was exactly like the petting zoo he visited as a child back home. He looked over at Houndoom, exasperated. Houndoom whined sympathetically.

Then, suddenly, Houndoom's ears twitched, and he cocked his head. His tail arched up and he looked northward. "What is it, Houndoom?" Houndoom barked, growling menacingly.

Amethyst stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans, looking in the direction that Houndoom was pointing to. Maybe, he considered, there was another pokemon to be caught. "…Hey. Stay quiet. Lead the way, and I'll follow you. Ok?" Houndoom nodded, his belly close to the ground and creeping into the forest. Amethyst closely mimicked the motions of his pokemon, crouching down and sneaking behind him.

Houndoom led him through a winding maze of trees that seemed strangely separate from the rest of the Route. The entire journey he prowled low to the ground, as though he were a predatory stalking its prey. The air grew quiet and chilly in the stippled shade of the overhead canopy, which grew taller and thicker as they went deeper into the woods. After ten minutes of wandering, there still was no sign of a pokemon, yet Houndoom was still determined to find something. Amethyst, convinced that he would no longer be able to find his way back to the Route, nearly pulled him back in the opposite direction. But eventually, Houndoom ducked to the right, and Amethyst followed. They were wading through thickets of shrubs now, and before long they burst through a wall of greenery to find themselves in yet another clearing, this one far larger than the rest. Nestled in the woods was, shockingly, a stone tower, hidden from view by the surrounding foliage. Rustic but far from ancient, Amethyst recognized its practical, cylindrical shape as being affiliated with a religious group; which one, he couldn't remember, but it was likely a cloister.

"Houndoom, why did you lead me here?" Houndoom continued to growl, but the quality was different; Amethyst recognized aggression.

"Hey. Kid."

Amethyst and Houndoom quickly swiveled in place; two men in grey suits were before him. Their well-groomed appearance was surreal, surrounded by stone and woods. "What?" he asked with more than a hint of combativeness in his voice.

The man on the right smiled; a condescending grin that seemed like it was made of wax. "This place is off limits to trespassers. We'd like to ask you to leave."

Houndoom was still growling. Amethyst drew him closer. "Well. Where is this place anyway?"

"None of your business, is it?" The man on the left answered.

A heavy silence lingered between them. Amethyst was never a rebellious child. He never harbored distrust of authority figures. But something about these two made him wonder if this is what his friends, wary of adults and of power, must have always felt like. "Right. I'll leave." He took a quick glance of the tower. "But I wanted to speak to the… sisters of the tower first."

"It's no cloister of the Sisterhood."

"You must be mistaken. So please, leave."

"And what if I don't?"

The two men, in synch, pulled out poke balls from their belts. Amethyst stepped back, but stopped himself from running altogether. Why were they so hostile? "I don't want any trouble," Amethyst said.

But clearly, something in his voice betrayed his statement, because the two men didn't let their guard down. "Don't make us repeat ourselves."

He paused. His mouth formed around the words automatically now, as though they were memorized, as though this were something he did every day. (It, of course, wasn't. He hated conflict). "I'm not scared of you," Amethyst said, making his voice sound as rough as possible. He didn't know who these people were, but there was no way he could trust them; maybe, if he seemed strong enough, they would back down.

"Maa."

The three of them turned. It was the small Mareep who was asleep in the field. With quizzical eyes, it looked at the men and then at Amethyst; it hobbled to Amethyst's side, wagging its tail and bleating expectedly.

"What the-" Amethyst muttered under his breath. So much for being intimidating, he thought.

The men smirked, again, in synch. "Listen, kid. Take your animals with you and walk in the opposite direction."

"We're busy people, and we don't want to have to hurt you or your Pokemon. Got it?"

Amethyst turned red, his fists clenched; this, he was sure, was not helping him seem like he wasn't a child. But before he could retort, he was interrupted by a noise above him. They all looked up at the tower, only to see a flash of emerald green standing in the window.

"Hey! Get him down from there!"

"I'm the true prophet!" It was the voice of the green robed figure, soaring on the wind. "Leave them alone or I swear, I'll jump!"

"Stop him! Get him back here, now!" The other voice was of another man, his voice commanding and forceful. It rang out strong over a rabble that came from the tower room, all panicked, all screaming.

"No! Get away from me!" The green robed figure stepped back, and to Amethyst's shock, he slipped; his scream rang out like a siren in the forest, and it surged in his body like an electric shock, his heart rate accelerating, his breathing becoming shallow, everything in his body speeding up while everything in the world slowed down.

"M-mareep!"

"Maa?"

He was acting on instinct now. He had never seen someone so close to death, had never feared so deeply that he experienced someone else's danger as his own. So he said something without thinking, perhaps a reflexive recollection of something long forgotten: something he had seen once in a movie, or a children's television show, that he had once dismissed as silly, but now sprang forth as though it were the obvious and anticipated response. "Mareep, make a trampoline with Cotton Guard!"

Mareep acted quickly. With a prolonged bleat, it shook its body vigorously, and strands of golden fleece sprouted from its coat. In a split second, they wove themselves into a sparkling sheet, first one layer, then two, then four, multiplying exponentially in a matter of seconds until there appeared an entire bed of shining wool.

The green robed figure, still screaming, fell into it like a pebble in water. The wool stretched, but held; his descent slowed, then stopped, then accelerated in the other direction as the wool rebounded. Before either of them knew it, the green robed figure was flying back into the air parallel to the ground, straight into Amethyst.

The two rolled onto the ground, a tangle of limbs and bruises. Several yards later, they stopped. Amethyst groaned in pain, struggling to his feet.

"You… saved me." Amethyst paused. He looked down on the ground; bereft of the hood of his green robe was a young man. His stature was small and his hair was shoulder length, a shade of muddy blonde with black eyes to match. And on his face was a smile, comical in its largeness. "Dude! Thanks!"

"Um. What?"

"Hey!" It was the two men in suits. They were back to being on guard, their pokeballs in hand. "Kid. Hand him over."

The boy in green got to his feet, and retrieved his own pokeball from the folds of his robe. "These two are criminals," he declared. "They're holding us hostage!"

"Hostage?"

"That's…" the man paused. "…if you have to know, he's a mental patient. This place is a hospital. There's been a rebellion among the patients, and we're trying to get things under control. Just step away from him, and everything will be okay."

The boy in green looked at Amethyst, his eyes wild. "Are you really gonna believe him? We're in serious trouble!"

"You just saw him try to kill himself. He could hurt people, kid. Give him up."

"No!" The boy threw his pokeball on the ground. Emerging from the red light was the graceful, curving silhouette of a Victreebel. She appeared with a screech, a swarm of leaves emerging from her gaping mouth. "Please, help me fight them! Help me take back my home!"

"Kid, you got a Houndoom. Knock that thing out and help us get him back into restraints."

Amethyst's gaze moved between the boy and the two men. He shook his head. "I don't want to get involved in whatever's going on here." Then he swiveled, pointing at the men. "But Houndoom never trusted you from the beginning, and I don't either."

The men did not bother to respond. Out of the red light of their poke balls emerged a Seviper, coiled and poised to strike, and a Lombre, standing on its hind legs.

"Thanks, dude!" The boy in green was by his side now, smiling. "I hope you know how to double battle!"

Amethyst blinked. "Sure."

"The name's Dell."

"Uh, Amethyst."

"Amethyst? Let's do this!" Dell swished his robe dramatically. "Victreebel, Reflect!"

Victreebel's eyes glowed bright yellow, and a shimmering barrier appeared around her and Houndoom.

"Seviper, Night Slash!" With a terrible hiss, Seviper leapt forward towards Victreebel with terrifying speed, its tail emanating a pitch black haze. It swung at Victreebel like a horrid rope, and while its Reflect helped cushion the blow, Victreebel was still struck backwards.

Amethyst paused, a large part of him panicking; he knew how a double battle was supposed to work, but this was far more fast paced than he had imagined. "H-houndoom…"

"Lombre, Water Gun!" Lombre jumped into the air, a jet of high pressurized water shooting from its mouth. It hit Houndoom square in the chest. With a yelp, he leapt back, hurt but still standing.

"Shit! Houndoom!"

"Victreebel, Sludge Bomb on Lombre!" Victreebel spun rapidly, and from her mouth shot a foul-smelling, purple globe of mucous. It hit Lombre in the face, forcing it to the ground as it grabbed at its face in pain. "Dude, watch out."

"I-I know!"

"Seviper, Glare!" Seviper slithered in front of Lombre, and shot a nasty look at Victreebel. An electric-like energy shimmered through the air and Victreebel shrieked, stuck to her spot.

"Houndoom, Fire Spin! On Lombre!"

Houndoom shot a series of fiery projectiles at Lombre, who was still reeling from the Sludge Bomb. It jumped out of the way of Houndoom's first shot, but the second one engulfed it in a column of fire. With a sorry moan, Lombre fell to the ground. "Lombre, return!" The man withdrew it into its pokeball before it could be hurt any more.

"Seviper! Victreebel is immobilized, use Flamethrower!"

"What?!"

"Se-viper!" Seviper hissed and loomed menacingly, breathing in and then exhaling its own stream of fire, ready to incinerate Victreebel.

"Houndoom!" Not needing any more prompting, Houndoom jumped to Victreebel's defense. The river of flame shot at Victreebel but hit Houndoom's flank instead.

"W-whoa."

"Not a problem," Amethyst said confidently. For Seviper's fire was only making Houndoom stronger; as though it were stream of water, the fire was absorbed into Houndoom's body. His eyes glowed red, and tongues of flame began to emerge from his mouth. "You ready for a real Flamethrower? Do it, Houndoom!"

Houndoom howled, then let loose a Flamethrower twice the size of Seviper's. It hit its mark, and Seviper writhed away. "Dammit! Seviper, return!"

"Alright!" Dell exclaimed, pumping his fist eagerly. "Take that, yuppie scum!" The two men exchanged glances. Without a word they ran into the woods, as suddenly as they had appeared. "And don't come back!" Dell yelled. He took a breath in in and out, regaining his composure before turning his attention back to Amethyst. "Dude, you were awesome!"

"Uh. Thanks. You too." He paused. "'Yuppie scum?'"

"Yeah, well. You know." Dell reached into his pocket, procuring a small green berry. He tossed it into Victreebel's mouth. Almost instantaneously she became more limber, leaves and vines no longer trembling.

"…So you're being taken hostage?"

Dell's face became serious. "Yeah. By the High Order. I'm one of the Priests of the Bells, and they're trying to find out who the true Prophet is." Amethyst furrowed his brow in confusion. "Wow, that really doesn't make any sense, does it? Sorry. I'll explain more later, but you have a pokegear, right? I can't believe I'm saying this, but call the cops and tell them where we are. Then you can help me drive these guys out of my tower! We're a good team."

Amethyst had so many questions that he didn't know where to start. Besides who the High Order were, or the Priests of the Bells, or even the Prophet and whether Dell was indeed him, there were the questions of why the Prophet was important, how many people were in the tower, and whether this would be as dangerous as he was afraid it would be.

But there was something about the boy, or rather, about the situation, or maybe even winning his first double battle, that made these questions just a little less relevant. So instead of asking questions, he rode the wave."Sure," he replied, successfully hiding the note of excitement that had kindled inside of him.

Dell smiled wickedly. "Awesome." Then, he looked down. "And thanks for saving me!"

"Maa!"

Silently, Mareep had reappeared next to Amethyst, and was now happily nuzzling up against Dell's hand. "It doesn't really belong to me."

"It doesn't? I thought I heard you give her an order."

"Well, I did, but it was kind of on accident."

"Oh. Ok. Kinda sounds like she's yours now."

Was that how it worked? Amethyst looked Mareep directly in her eyes. "Hey. I don't know if you're following me or whatever. But it's gonna get a little rough in there, so wait out here for now. Alright?"

Mareep continued her quiet stare, but she did seem to stay in place patiently. Dell looked on, cocking his head. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." He patted Houndoom on his head, and he licked his hand in response. "Let's do this."

"Well, you really fucked up now, didn't you?" The man in white turned, ready to smack black robe. He didn't flinch. "Hitting me doesn't change the fact that you let my colleague escape. Or is he…" He paused for dramatic effect, "…the true prophet?"

He squinted. "If he was the true prophet, then I suppose it doesn't matter if I kill the rest of you, does it?"

"You think that would help you!" Purple robe scoffed. "Let's say he is the true one. If you killed his doubles, what makes you think the prophet would do anything for you?"

"I just have to kill one of you that I know is false."

"That accomplishes nothing."

"Shut up!"

"Give up, King of Wands." It was Elojah again. They fell silent at her voice; she had been quiet since returning from their interrogation. Though she was now bruised and shaky, her voice still resounded in the chamber. "As we speak, Wendell is fighting to release us. He is a capable trainer, and it seems that he has help."

King of Wands scowled. "How did you—"

"It's not a prophetic ability, if that's what you're wondering," black robe said. "We're right next to the window and just witnessed quite a battle. You're in for a treat. That is, if they get here before the police."

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as the door flew open. A woman in a grey suit entered hurriedly. "My lord! One of the Priests got help from a trainer with a Houndoom. They're defeating our soldiers and driving them out of the tower!"

He cursed under his breath. "Our position's been compromised. Page, we're aborting this mission. Gather our people and escape. Now."

"Escape?"

"You heard me." He turned to the four priests. "And take these four with you."

"…Yes my lord."

"Houndoom, Crunch!"

Houndoom leapt forward, jaws clenching on the arm of a Medicham, who was withdrawn immediately. Two more men in grey suits ran out the front door.

"We're almost to the posterior chamber. They're being held in the meditation chamber at the top of the central tower, so if we just get up there in time—"

A dozen people in grey suits suddenly poured out from the left and right stairwells; but instead of confronting Amethyst and Dell, they ran into the side chambers, apparently to escape. They exchanged glances. "Are they running?"

"They must have caught wind of us. If we're lucky, the cops will catch them on their way out."

Behind the rush emerged a tall woman in the same grey suit, her emerald hair flowing freely below the cap of a wide-brimmed hat. Her face contorted into a snarl. "So. You're the ones causing all this trouble."

"We're causing trouble? You're the ones who took us hostage!"

She paused. "Touche." She threw a pokeball onto the ground. "Dragonair, come out and use Haze!" The huge, serpentine form of Dragonair formed in the air, but it wouldn't be seen for long. With a melodic croon, Dragonair let loose a thick black smoke from its mouth, filling the room and obscuring Amethyst and Dell's view.

"Wha-hey!" Dell, covering his nose and mouth so as not to inhale the haze, reached into his robe and procured another pokeball. "Whimsicott, we need your help!" In a flash of golden light and an explosion of cotton, Whimsicott appeared squeaking wildly and floating in midair. "Use Fairy Wind!'

"Whiii!" Whimsicott spun in the air, strands of sparkling pink light spiraling around her. First gentle, then suddenly savage, a wind cut through the haze, clearing the air again. But, the tall woman and her Dragonair were gone.

Houndoom regrouped next to Amethyst, while Whimsicott settled on Victreebel's leaf. "What was that all about?" Dell wondered out loud. Without bothering to contemplate the answer, he and his pokemon ran towards the posterior chamber.

Amethyst and Houndoom prepared to follow; however, something made him stop in his tracks. It were as though something subtle had shifted in the air, something only his most primordial senses could register: a pheromone perhaps, or a change in magnetism. And instead of following Dell, he ran back to the entrance, Houndoom in tow.

Though he hadn't known what to anticipate, Amethyst wasn't shocked to see the tall woman and her Dragonair again. But now he knew why she had gone through the trouble of setting up a smokescreen. She and several other grey suits were busy ushering men and women in robes, hands bound and mouths gagged, onto the mounted backs of two Stantler and a Rapidash.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" Houndoom shot a jet of flame in the general direction of the mounts. While the Rapidash remained calm, the Stantler reared onto their hind hooves in panic, running into the woods as their grey suited trainers followed. The tall woman turned around to glare at him. "Pest," she hissed.

"Let them go," Amethyst yelled back. The authority in his voice surprised even himself.

"Try and stop me! Dragonair, Aqua Tail!" The orbs on Dragonair's neck and tail shone with a sapphire light. Dragonair sprang forward with a whip-like spin. Houndoom tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough; he whined in pain as he was flung backwards, sliding on the dirt.

"Houndoom!" Amethyst rushed to his side. Houndoom remained on the ground, still breathing evenly but clearly too exhausted to continue. "Sorry buddy…" He withdrew him into his pokeball.

"Here's a tip: Don't interfere with the High Order," the woman said. She grabbed the closest person next to her, a skeletal woman in a purple robe, and attempted to shove her towards the Rapidash.

Amethyst could feel the frustration building up in him, making his heart flutter and his forehead damp. He felt humiliated, beaten down. And most of all, he felt useless. Still on his knees, he dug his fingers into the ground, grabbing a handful of mud and grass.

"Maa."

The Mareep? Amethyst looked to his right, and sure enough, there was Mareep, standing face to face with him. "You're still here?"

"Maa."

He smiled. "Then… could I ask you another favor?"

Mareep blinked.

He got onto his feet again. "Mareep, use Thunder Wave on that Rapidash."

Mareep bleated. The crystal on her tail illuminated from the inside, a sapphire sun. Ribbons of electricity appeared and disappeared between the curls of its golden wool, and with a flash of light, one glowing tendril crackled into the air, making contact with the Rapidash that was meters away. Rapidash, with a pained whinny, collapsed on its knees, incapacitated.

"What the hell!" The woman moved her attention back to Amethyst. It was clear from her eyes that, if she had not genuinely felt it before, she now really did see him as a vermin to be exterminated. "You little brat! Dragonair—"

Before she could command her Dragonair to attack however, it was knocked back by a gust of wind and pink sparkling light. Amethyst looked behind him, and saw no one in the foyer. Instead, he heard Dell's voice from above; he and Whimsicott were standing in the window that he had fallen from no less than an hour ago. "Sorry, dude! I got your back!"

The tall woman looked between Amethyst and Dell. Clearly undertaking some kind of mental calculus, she withdrew Dragonair and Rapidash at once. "This isn't over," she said with a snarl. She turned on her heel and dashed into the woods.

"If my Houndoom hadn't been injured, I would have followed her. Sorry."

Dell blew a razzberry and made a dismissive motion with his hands. "Dude, whatever! You were great anyway. I just don't get how you knew to go back outside to find them."

"He heard the Call," Elojah said, as she undid the bonds on her compatriot's hands.

This made Dell furrow his brow. "How can that be? He's not an ascetic or anything." He looked at Amethyst. "Are you?"

"I don't know what that is."

"Well, you got the 'empty your mind' part of ascetic life down anyway," said Bellaphim, a portly man in a black robe. His smirk seemed permanent, as though it were tattooed in the same hand as the other intricate patterns of ink on his face.

"Anyone can hear the Call, Wendel," Elojah said with the tone of voice one might take with a child. She was a broad-shouldered, short woman, elegant and economic in her movements. Dell pouted. "They need not be connected to the spirits, nor even particularly enlightened." Amethyst wasn't sure whether to be insulted by this or not. He stayed silent.

"I hate to admit it, but I believe Elojah is correct," proclaimed Britanna. A short, bony woman with features sharp as thorns, she dressed in a purple robe that was clearly too large. Her voice was acute and decisive. "I sensed the energy as we were being taken by that woman outside."

"Energy. From what?"

The five looked between each other. Dell cleared his throat, suddenly speaking mousily. "Umm… from the Prophet. The True Prophet."

Amethyst blinked confusedly. "And who is that?"

"I mean… we might as well just tell him right? He did save my life. Or, all of our lives."

"…It's true."

"If he heard the Call, then we have an obligation to tell him."

They nodded. The man in red, a gruff man with rough features, put two fingers in the air. "Yeah, it's me. Bisson. True prophet, bitches." Dell, Elojah, Bellaphim, and Britanna rolled their eyes.

They finished removing their bonds. Rubbing their tender wrists, they invited Amethyst inside. While the entire situation was altogether mysterious and incredibly uncomfortable, he accepted. Dell, who Amethyst felt he could trust just a little bit more than the others, took Houndoom's pokeball in order to be healed with his own pokemon. In the meantime, Amethyst found himself sitting on a ratty silk cushion in the top of the central tower, a circular room with walls and floor made of cold stone. Although daylight poured in through the open window, he couldn't help but feel that shadows remained in the curving crevices of the chamber, unable to be dispelled.

Elojah, Bellaphim, Britannia and Bisson sat around him, their hands in their laps. It all felt strangely ceremonial to Amethyst. Instead of making eye contact, he kept most of his attention fixed on the cup of tea that Bellaphim had prepared for him. "You must have many questions," Elojah said.

"That would be an understatement."

"Then please, ask us. We will do our best to explain."

Amethyst sighed. "Ok. Well, first of all, who are you, and who are the High Order? Why did they take you hostage?"

"We are the Priests of the Bells. You are currently in Bell Tower, a shrine of the Order of the Celestial Stones."

The Order of the Celestial Stones was familiar to Amethyst. They were, as far as he remembered, a popular sect of Pokemon-based religious groups, though they focused more on rituals and iconography than others. There was a cloister that belonged to them in the far side of Olivine, and though he never visited he would see the occasional priest or priestess buying groceries in town, dressed in pure-white robes adorned with stones. But the robes of these priests were different. "So Priests of the Bells… is that special?"

"'Special' would be an understatement," Britanna replied, echoing Amethyst's previous sass. "We stay isolated from the public and from the rest of the Order because we have a very particular task: to protect the Prophet of the Bells."

"Which is me," Bisson picked up. "Listen, kid. We don't expect you to believe in any of this crap. I barely did when I was young. But long story short, I got some powers that are pretty important, and a lot of power-hungry assholes want in on it."

"Which brings us to the High Order. They… well, it's hard to explain to someone who isn't familiar with the politics of our Order. Do you remember the events of the Galactic Episode?" Elojah was referring to the formation of Team Galactic, a radical religious group that rallied a small guerrilla army in the Sinnoh Region. They attempted to overthrow the local government and Pokemon League, and failed. While he was too young to remember many of the details when they happened, Amethyst had enough a working knowledge, so he nodded. "Well, many of Team Galactic were radical members of the Order of Celestial Stones. Their administrators were captured and imprisoned by authorities, but many members remained hidden, ready to strike. Recent circumstances have caused them to regroup, and now they're calling themselves the High Order."

"Our location may be hidden from the rest of the world, but not so well hidden from members of our own Order. We've been betrayed. And, clearly, we pretty much failed at protecting the Prophet," Bellaphim explained. "But at least we bought enough time for you to rescue us, eh?"

"Right. So… why is the Prophet important? You can see the future?"

"It's not that simple. I'm like a nexus, or a branching point on a railroad: I can see the formation of a future that is meant to be followed, one that's based on creation, not destruction. And I can see the formation of other futures too… some scary shit. But most relevant to right now, I can see your role."

He was afraid to ask, but did anyway. "What is my role?"

Bisson smiled. "It's a secret."

Footsteps from the stairs. Amethyst turned to see Dell emerge. Houndoom, out of his pokeball and apparently recovered, sprinted in from behind him, tail wagging; he sat next to Amethyst, who happily stroked his head. "Good to see you, buddy." He barked in response.

"Did you guys explain the Call yet?"

"No. You should be here to hear this too, Dell." Dell blinked, then sat in his place, on a cushion next to the window, to the left of Bisson. Elojah continued. "Bisson sent out a Call, and you responded, Amethyst. Whether or not you believe it, this is undeniable. This means that you also have a role to play in the events that are about to unfold."

"What events?" Amethyst quickly asked.

"I am afraid that you will have to see. I will be frank with you: how important your role will be, how dangerous it will be, and whether it will be in line with creation, destruction or both: all of that is ultimately up to you. We do not know what you will choose."

"But here's something I do know," Bisson chimed in. "You saved our lives, and we're pretty fucking grateful for it. So here's what's gonna happen. Dell?" Dell stood, and his face seemed to say that he knew what his decree would be. "You're going to go with Amethyst, and make sure he stays safe."

"Uh," Amethyst interjected, also standing. "That really won't be necessary, I kind of prefer to travel alone…"

"Dude. I get that you're older than most trainers, but these days you shouldn't be traveling on your own," Dell said. "Look, you won't even know I'm around, ok?"

Amethyst opened his mouth, still trying to form objections in his mind. "But, I'm challenging gym leaders! I need to train and visit cities, and… and he's just gonna follow me around for the whole thing?"

The five of them alternated mumbling some variation of "Pretty much, yes." Dell shrugged. "I mean, I've been a trainer longer than I've been a Priest. I can help you train and catch pokemon. And it's not like I won't have things to do when we're traveling. Trust me, it'll be good for both of us."

Coming to the realization that his complaints were falling on deaf ears, Amethyst deflated, sitting back down. For the first time, he was starting to regret his actions that morning.

An hour later, the police arrived. Three squad cars parked on the road outside the woods with their sirens ablaze, while stone-faced Officer Jenny took reports from Bellaphim and Britanna. Dell and Amethyst had finished speaking to police officers themselves, and while Dell went back to the Tower to pack his things, Amethyst remained outside with Elojah and Bisson.

"We're going to go with the officers to Olivine City," Elojah told him. "Once there, we'll regroup with our Sisters and Brothers and cloister ourselves somewhere that is more secure. I'm afraid that we may not be in contact during that time."

"Yeah. Right."

Bisson scowled. "I know you think this is mumbo jumbo, but take our warnings seriously, alright, kid? Stay safe." His scowl turned into a grin, and he lightly punched him in the shoulder. "And kick some gym leader ass. If you run into Claire, tell her I said hi."

"Ready!" They turned to the tower. Although Amethyst was expecting Dell to emerge in his green robe, he was surprised to see him in an outfit that was far more practical: black leggings and undershirt, sensible boots with a forest green jacket, and his brown hair hidden beneath a cap. He carried a full backpack and sleeping bag snugly on his shoulders, and ran to Amethyst's side. "You got everything?"

"Y-yeah."

"Ha! No you don't," Dell said with a smile. He pointed behind him.

"Maa."

Yet again, Mareep had appeared at his feet without him realizing. He sighed. "Ok. So. What am I supposed to do about this, anyway? This thing won't leave me alone and it won't even fight me."

"Well… you could ask her."

Amethyst looked at Dell curiously. Elojah and Bisson just nodded. "Uh. Ask her. Ok. Here goes nothing, then?" Amethyst reached into his bag and pulled out a pokeball. He kneeled and looked into Mareep's eyes. "Hey. You've… been great. You saved my ass twice already, and without even expecting anything in return. Or… well, actually, do you want food or something?" Mareep blinked. "Never mind. I'm not sure why you want to help me, and I don't expect you to say yes to this, but, this is a pokeball. And if you press the button on it, you'll be caught by me. It sounds kinda crazy, but it means we'll be partners, pretty much for life. You interested?"

"Maa." Without hesitation, Mareep pressed the button with her nose. The pokeball opened like a clam, and Mareep was engulfed in a vortex of light. The pokeball closed around it, shook; and with a sound like a door locking, it stilled.

He picked it up, smiling, and placed it on his belt next to Houndoom's pokeball. For the first time, Dell took a glance at his belt. "Dude. Was that your first catch?"

"Y-yeah," he said, suddenly embarrassed.

"Nice! Congrats!" Amethyst had expected taunting. This, he felt, was far more pleasant. He remained silent. Dell gave a quick hug to Bisson, and then to Elojah. "Bye, guys. 'Till the Dawn and Dusk."

"Until the Dawn and Dusk, Wendel."

"Yup. Let's go, Amethyst!"

Questions? Concerns? Comments? Criticisms? Want to talk about my comparatively poor knowledge of Pokemon, both video games and anime? You can email me at .strange at gmail.

~Rosasharon