(A/N) This story was brought to me by a demonic raven called Munin who happens to personify a good portion of my brain. For the record, we both expected this to be a lot better...I just couldn't find words to run smoother together...

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The boy walked into the next city, Castelia City, where he would be earning his next gym badge.

The boy reached a hand for his belt and smirked. There, six Pokeballs hung, containing the creatures that he had captured and fought with, making them stronger. The boy planned on becoming the Champion of Unova with this team of Pokemon. Unless, of course, he could find and catch better ones.

The boy kept walking, a triumphant stride that, combined with his boastful expression, gave passersby the a good idea of his personality. Vain. Cruel. NOT a true friend for his Pokemon - nor a friend at all.

The boy looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, with spiky blond hair concealed in a baseball cap. Other trainers took one look and strayed slightly towards the Pokemon Center, just in case. The mysterious boy looked to be one that would push his Pokemon as far as he could to win, not caring about how they felt. Experienced trainers knew better than to approach one so boastful. Unfortunately, Katherine Tyler was anything but experienced.

"Hi! What's your name? You wanna battle?" She spoke quickly, a bright grin on her face. She looked to be about eleven or twelve. "I'm Katherine Tyler! I just got my Pokemon last week, and I've already caught a full six! I wanna get gym badges and maybe be the Champion one day!"

The boy sneered, disgusted by the fact that he, of all people shared a goal with this little girl. "Really? Pokemon Champion? Seems like a lot of talk for someone so small."

Apparently, Katherine did not like being addressed like this.

"Nuh-huh! I CAN be the Champion if I set my mind to it! Who are you, anyway?"

"Jonathan Minder. The future Champion. Just like you," the boy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hmph. Who says you're so good at battling, anyway, huh? Your mum?" Katherine didn't like this man - he reminded her of Steve, her brother's old friend. She swallowed painfully at the unwelcome reminder of her brother, Charlie, who had passed away the past spring in an accident with Steve's Garbodor. She shook her head, banishing the demons. Charlie was a good person, she thought. He just made some…bad decisions. She was brought back to the present by Jonathan's indignant snort, followed by a clicking sound. Katherine looked up to see that Jonathan had made room and removed a Pokeball from his belt. Katherine quickly followed suit. Though she was inexperienced, she had been watching Pokemon battles all her life, and knew just what to do.

Jonathan threw his Pokeball, revealing a Boldore. Katherine considered her choices, and sent out Vanillite, a cute Pokemon she had caught fairly recently. Jonathan glared at her one last time, and called out his attack. The battle had begun.

It was a close call, but Katherine was pulling ahead by a slight percent. Of course, it's just 'cause of the type advantage that he hasn't won everything yet. Otherwise, I'd've been totally screwed, Katherine thought to herself. She watched Jonathan carefully as he pulled out his last Pokeball. Jonathan was steaming over his Pokemon's* loss over the bratty kid's. However, he thought smugly, She won't be able to beat my last Pokemon. Then, since she's only beaten three of my five Pokemon so far, it will be a tie. I can then get Pokemon with a type advantage against hers for the rematch. With this, he threw his final Pokemon, his last resort. Yamask.

Katherine saw the Pokemon and sighed. She then called her last resort, her Oshawott. There goes my type advantage, she thought. That thing will crush Oshawott. She studied the dark Pokemon a bit closer, as she had never seen one in person before, and gasped. That mask! It looks like - No, it couldn't. Why would a Pokemon carry a mask with Charlie's face on it?

As she debated with herself internally, Jonathan attempted to explain the situation to Yamask. Rather, he would, if he could get the Pokemon's attention.

"Yamask! You stupid thing, aren't you listening? I said that I want you to crush that Oshawott. Scare the kid away. You have to - Yamask!" he shouted in anger towards the Pokemon. However, the Yamask just kept turning away, staring at the face of his master's opponent. If one were to look close enough, you would see tears forming in the corners of the enslaved creature's eyes. Sadly, Jonathan didn't look close enough.

"Well? Kid, are you ready? Get Oshawott out there!" Katherine, once again shaken from her memories, nodded to Oshawott, who made its way to the makeshift battlefield.

Jonathan then turned to the Yamask, gesturing to the Oshawott, expecting it to attack. However, the Yamask just drifted away. The enraged Jonathan tried repeatedly to force the Pokemon to fight, but failed. Katherine, who waited with a slightly confused look, glanced at Jonathan. The fifteen-year-old just glared into the distance. Katherine brightened immensely.

"I…..won? I really won? Oh, boy! I can't believe I won!" She embraced her Oshawott, smiling and laughing. Jonathan shot his Yamask a dirty look and called it back to its Pokeball. He then took off straight for the Pokemon Center to exchange his Yamask for a better, more reliable Pokemon, dooming the Yamask to an eternity inside the darkness of the PC.

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Charlie looked at his surroundings with tear-filled eyes. Darkness. Outside, he could hear the sounds of a machine storing him inside the system. Fantastic. He was suddenly enraged, kicking the walls of the circular cage. Well, kicking, as in bashing his tail against the wall. In his anger, he didn't notice that he dropped his mask until the clanging of metal filled the cell. Charlie calmed at the sound, instead looking down at the golden mask. He finally allowed salty tears to escape his eyes, now that he was alone in a Pokeball, drowning in his self-pity. The sight of his sister had just - broken him. But he couldn't let Jonathan win. He didn't think he'd be able to stand seeing his baby sister cry at losing. His baby sister. The thought that Katherine and the rest of his family lived on, without him, was unbearable. If only…If only what? I'd been a better son? I'd done my chores? What could I have done to avoid...this?

But it was too late. All he could do now was listen to his - no, this creature's - voice, echoing in the darkness. Nothing he could do would change the situation. It was too late for "what ifs". All he could do was sit here and regret his choices, living in this unlikely Hell.

(A/N)

*Yeah. You read that right. His Pokemon's loss. Not his. God, I hate this guy.