Here's to B2, the first Pokemon game I've ever played.

It happened this morning. It was something I couldn't explain and, honestly, it freaked me out pretty bad. I was talking to Professor Juniper, whom I've never met in person as of yet. She asked me if I was a boy or a girl and, for a moment, I hesitated. It wasn't the kind of hesitation where I didn't know. I mean, I know I'm a girl. It was as if I was. . .choosing. I shiver now even as I think about it. She asked me my name and, again, I hesitated.

"Muffy."

Odd. Why would I pause on something like that? Professor Juniper then asked me what my childhood friend, a prickly-haired boy named Hugh, was called. And this is where I knew something was, without a doubt, wrong with me. Me and Hugh have always had a sort of love-hate relationship going for us. It's suited us just fine. Yet there in that moment, I had the strangest urge to tell her his name was Assface. I began to panic. What's going on? Why am I thinking this? I had heard of people being possessed by spirits, being bent to the will of another. That thought crossed my mind as I stood there, wondering what the heck was going on. Whoever you are, you don't know Hugh very well. He's. . .well he is kind of an ass, yes, but he's a good guy! So won't you just-

"Hugh."

Oh, thank God.

Since then, I haven't had full control of my body. There have been small moments where I'm able to move without someone else's will being forced upon me, but for the most part, I'm at the mercy of whoever or whatever has taken me over.

It's been about ten minutes now. I met up with Bianca and chose my Pokemon—an oshawott. I had wanted to pick Tepig, but I guess I don't really have a say in the matter anymore. The force, who I'm simply going to refer to as They, decided to name my new partner Cupcake. Eh, not bad I guess, but what's going to happen when she evolves into something super-powerful and cool-looking? Guess They didn't think that one through. I wander through the fields and, suddenly, feel a small creature chewing on my clothes. I look down to see a purple cat-like creature making it its mission to destroy my new pair of leggings. My first caught Pokemon! I throw the poke ball at them and my vision focuses on my opponent, blurring the world around us. I know what I want to do. I want to utilize my little Cupcake's stat-boosting moves so that I can overwhelm the cat with a more powerful move later on.

"Cupcake, use tackle!"

Hey, that wasn't the plan, you butt! Cupcake barrels into the cat, knocking out a good portion of its HP. I, or maybe They, throw a poke ball at the creature, who immediately breaks free. That's a shame. Guess it wasn't meant to be. Oh well. Cupcake could use the extra poi—what am I doing? My arm reaches into my bag and pulls out another ball. My arm throws it at the cat and it struggles to break free. Cupcake's HP is nearly gone, thanks to the prolonged battle. I bite my lip and hope the cat doesn't get away because, as I'm quickly discovering, the being who has so kindly taken over my body is dead-set on having it their way. I let out my breath when I see the ball go still. A huge, almost-psychotic smile breaks over my face. If I were able to jump, I would. My smile soon fades when I see what They've named my newly caught purrloin.

PUSSY has been added to your party!

I've been walking through the grass for about an hour now. Me and my party, which has grown to six at this point, have been training like mad. I think we can take on Cheren now, but it's pretty obvious we aren't just here to train. What are They looking for? My feet hurt. I'm tired of seeing the same Pokemon over and over. Tired of repeatedly going back to that sweet farm couple to rest. What's so darn important about this grass? Why am I still walking through it? Oh, nope. Not walking. Now I'm running through it. Running everywhere, actually. Are you impatient as well as stubborn? I nearly crash into a small, bipedal, blue Pokemon hiding in the grass. I've never seen this one in the wild before, but I've seen one of them on TV. Riolu! Can I get your autograph? Wait, what am I thinking?

"Go, BALLS!" I throw out a psyduck that took a particularly long time to catch. I pity you, riolu. Sorry it had to be us to find you. The battle is lengthy, methodical. They are choosing Pokemon who are weak against riolu. How do They know? Its health is nearly zero. They throw out a poke ball and the riolu breaks free. I know where this is going.

All but one of my Pokemon have been fainted. I'm down to five balls. I knew They were stubborn, but this is getting out of hand. Just let it go! Let it go! I don't need it. Four balls. Three. Two. One. All that's left is my. . .no. don't you dare. Don't you dare start wasting my ultra balls on a freaking rio—you're wasting them. Great. Wonderful. I don't care. The second one does the job. Guess the little guy got tired of this as well. He took twice as long as the psyduck to catch. I fear for what he will be called from now one.

"BADASS has been added to your team!"

I'm sensing some overt favoritism here.

I hate to admit this, but all that running around really did pay off. I'm facing Cheren now, and I'm actually winning. Cupcake and Badass are really strong, as They decided I should go searching for a mareep for twenty minutes after we caught my riolu. Cheren really looks impressed, and I can't help but swell with pride. My little Cupcake looks like she's having the time of her life, and I owe it all to Them, I suppose. No. I'm not willing to go that far just yet. I could've gotten here without Their help. A trainer two years ago did it all by themselves, so why not me?

Cheren is almost done for. I want to finish him off with Pussy, as he hasn't gotten much use and I don't want him falling behind. But no, They send out Cupcake to do the job. A solid tackle later and Cheren is handing over my winnings. I've never seen so much money in my life. He gives me my first gym badge, and it's enough to make me forget I'm being controlled. At least for a little while.

They let him go. I had grown so attached to Pussy, despite his unfortunate name, and They just up and got rid of him. I feel depressed. I'll never get to see him evolve into a liepard, as I didn't get to use him much. I try to break free of Them, but it's a futile attempt. They've got full control of me, full control of my life and the Pokemon I get to get close to. I hate Them. I hate Them so very, very much. Where will you go, Pussy? Will you find another home? I hope you do. I hope someone finds you and names you something nicer. Yeah. That's what will happen. Someone will find you and give you a wonderful name. Maybe Gary. Yeah. Gary is a nice name. I need to take my mind off Them. Since They decide where I go, I don't bother looking where I'm going and just decide to let my mind wander.

When I snap back into reality, I see that I've been given a prop box. Apparently, They want Cupcake, now a dewott, to perform in some musical. I look inside the box. I think she'd look good with these little glasses and maybe—nope. They're choosing an umbrella and top hat. Wonderful. Actually, it really does look nice. Cuter than what I would've picked out. I let Cupcake go behind stage and I go into the audience section to watch. I wouldn't have even thought of coming here. It's true. I really wouldn't have. I watch as Cupcake and some other Pokemon dance on stage, doing little tricks and having a blast. I can't help but smile. She really does look happy.

We've beaten the last gym. I feel a rush of exhilaration as Marlon awards us with the last badge we need. I float back on the lily pads, soaking in as much of the gorgeous scenery as I can.

Outside, I meet up with Hugh, who is still going on about defeating Plasma and how they're pretty much Satan incarnate. Marlon doesn't look convinced.

"What do you say? Do you think they're evil?" Marlon asks me.

Duh. Kinda an obvious question. I don't hate them to the point that Hugh does, but I find their activity repulsive. It's pretty clear how I feel about them.

"No." I hear myself say. Are you serious? Stubborn, persistent, and dumb. I just lucked out, didn't I?

We're facing Team Plasma on their ship now. I'll admit, I feel afraid. There are so many of them all at once. I'm not so sure we can win against them, and I fear for my Pokemon. We've won against every gym leader so far. Don't be afraid. They know what They're doing. I swallow hard as I watch Cupcake faint a giant, hideous trash monster. I suppose if I must be possessed, at least my possessor knows how to battle. My Pokemon, the ones that haven't been released anyway, are in capable hands. How good those hands are, well, I still have mixed feelings about them. Still, they're handing Team Plasma their butts quite nicely. A few more moves, and their entire team is out of usable Pokemon. That's the last of them. The grunts look shocked and awed. I smirk at them, proud of my Pokemon and myself. Even Them. One of them mutters something as they fork over the cash.

"Pokemon are just tools. That's what they taught me. . .could that have been wrong?"

Poor, misguided fool. I blink. I look at his face, which is brimming with conflict. There's no trace of an evil mastermind's pride, merely the confused look of an indoctrinated young boy. Maybe They saw something in you after all. Maybe They aren't completely stupid after all.

Kyurem. The Kyurem. We're up against him and I'm trying to control my heart rate. Cupcake and Badass are a nice level fifty-five or so now, and that mareep They made me look for evolved into amphros some time ago. I had a vanillish with me at the start of this battle, but it was fainted pretty much on the get go. All but Cupcake, Badass, and Skelator (the amphros) have fainted. Honestly, I kind of want to give up and get out of here. It's cold and scary. That dragon could eat me, and I'm pretty sure it will if I lose. I wish I could escape, but They're refusing to let my team lose. They made me spend most of my money on revives and potions, which They're now using with an irritating frequency. As much as I dislike Them, I suppose I've grown to trust Them to a point, at least when it comes to battling. Don't let me down, whoever you are. You owe me at this point. As if able to hear my words, They order Cupcake to blast the beast with a wave of water, finally making it faint. Had we gone one more round, I think we would have lost. Either They're not just not dumb and actually pretty smart, or They're just insanely lucky.

She's not a dragon, but I'm three times as scared of the Champion I'm now facing and almost twice as sure that she will eat me. This is it. This is the final battle. As she sends out her hydregion, the nervousness I had been feeling is replaced with a feeling of calmness. They've taken me this far. Though They show no concern for the Pokemon I want to keep, They've helped me achieve what I'm sure would have been impossible otherwise. These Pokemon are like nothing we've faced thus far, yet They're refusing to give up. I would expect nothing less. I watch as Cupcake stands her ground against the far more powerful Pokemon. Even though it's not me who's giving the directions, even though I'm not really the one who got us here, I've never had so much fun in my life. It wasn't perfect, but here, watching as the samurott I've known from the start tries her best to defeat the top trainer in all of Unova, I feel like it was worth it.

The last of her Pokemon has fainted, and I once again wish I could jump. We did it! We did it! We won! The Champion takes me and my Pokemon to the Hall of Fame, forever cementing what we did here. They really pulled it off.

Thank you.

Zekrom stands before me in the ruins of N's castle, freshly defeated. It doesn't surprise me what They can do at this point, so the victory is a little meh. It then turns bittersweet when N decides that Zekrom should belong to me. Are you freaking kidding me? He's your Pokemon! He's your buddy! Don't give him to me! I'm once again furious with Them, since I would be able to say these things had They not taken over my mouth. N, however, seems content with giving him over to me. It makes me sad. N has a wistful look in his eyes, as if he's remembering something.

"You remind me so much of that trainer two years ago. They really taught me something, you know." He stands up a little straighter, looking like he's ready to take a journey. "I want to find them. To say thank you. Fare well, my friend." And with that, he walks away. I study the small orb of Zekrom in my bag. He thought I was worthy of this. He said I reminded him of that trainer two years ago. Come to think of it, lots of people have been saying that. It makes me wonder. Did They possess them as well?

Cupcake, Badass, and the legendaries are all gone now. It happened out of nowhere. They made me put them into Box 1, then I was free of their control. As it always happens when They return, I was teleported back to the place I last was when They were with me. It happened to be the pokemon center. I was near the PC where They had me store most of my team. Only now, my beloved Pokemon are gone. I want to scream. I wish I could yell at Them to bring my team mates back, but I have a feeling it would be useless. They're gone, and they're not coming back. Needless to say, I'm more than a little upset. Where have you taken them? I think as I wander freely, not under Their control at this moment. Where have they gone? I sit on a bench and cry. I miss them so much. Are they safe? Are they hurt? Why did They take them away?

"Mind if I sit here?" A voice asks me. I look up to see a boy dressed in red clothing looking down at me. He has the same fiery determination I saw in the eyes of the Elite Four and the Champion, the same fire that burns in my eyes now. I nod. "I noticed you were crying" he says, "I also notice you don't talk much."

"I'm not used to it." I croak. "It's been awhile since I was able to."

"Yeah. I remember that. It's not fun, is it?" I stare at him, bewildered. "It happened to me, too. 'Bout sixteen years ago now. Man, time flies, huh?" He shakes his head, getting his thoughts back on track. "It's not something you easily forget. Especially when They take the Pokemon you've been with since the beginning."

"They did that to you, too?" I ask, trying to keep my jaw off the ground. He nods.

"I missed them for a long time. I asked why it happened. Why to me? But no matter how much I wondered about it, I couldn't come up with an answer. I still wish I knew." He smiles. "But one thing I do know is that They, whoever They are, really like our Pokemon. Wherever They've taken them, I know they're having a good time."

"How do you know?" I sniffle, "how do you know that?"

"I just know. I have to believe that the force that beat Team Roc—Team Plasma, and the Elite Four won't just throw my Pokemon away. I have to keep believing that they're out there somewhere, happy and healthy. If I don't believe that, I might lose my mind." He lets out a sigh. "In a way, I guess they were never really my Pokemon to begin with. They raised them, They trained them, They beat all the bad guys with them. Maybe we were just along for the ride so They could have a good time."

"That's depressing."

"It is what it is, and we just have to live with that." He stands up. "Take care. Have fun freely while you can. You never know when They will return again." He walks off, leaving me feeling a little worse than before. I huff. They raised them, They trained them, They beat all the bad guys with them. His words echo in my mind. I have to keep believing that they're out there somewhere, happy and healthy. I stand. I want to go visit Hugh for awhile, then maybe I'll go train the Pokemon They left behind. I remember all the times I saw Cupcake, Badass, and the rest all looking so happy, so content. They gave them lots of good times, even if they weren't so good for me. Maybe I really was just along for the ride. Maybe it really wasn't about me. It was about them. My team. They grew and flourished and made good memories. Wherever they are, I truly believe that they are happy.

"Whoever you are, I want you to take good care of my. . .your Pokemon for me." I don't know who I'm talking to, or whether they will even hear me, but I say it anyway. "Or maybe it's our Pokemon, I honestly don't know. Well, whoever they belong to, take care of them. Love them enough for both of us. And whoever you take control of next" I wipe my tears away and set my jaw, fully aware that They probably can't see me, "make sure you show them the best dang time they've ever had."

And, somehow, I get the feeling that They will.