Chapter Seven: The Pirate Strikes Again

A/N: This is the longest chapter for any of my stories at 6,457 words.

I stared down at the badge pinned to my jacket, barely able to contain the joy welling up within me. I felt like the king of the world, ready to take on anything by myself. Yeah, that's what it's like to win a badge.

I walked back into the lobby, idoitic smile plastered to my face. The receptionist was gone, and the room was empty. Appreantly, I was the only person in here at the time.

There was an eerie calm in the room, no noise what-so-ever. The muffled sounds of the city could barely be heard through the thick glass windows. I shoved my hands into my pockets, and stared out at Rustburo City.

People were bustling about, heading to lunch or arriving late at work. Cars honked at idiotic drivers, disregarding the fact that the people behind them were honking at them.

The sun was high in the sky, assaulting Rustburo City with an intense wave of heat. Shimmers of heat were rising from the asphalt. I was a little unhappy since I had to go out into this inferno, but I simply removed my jacket and threw it on my shoulder. I still had my black tee-shirt on under it, and I sighed, know that it would trap heat in, so I would still fry.

Several seconds later, I found myself pushing through the crowds, trying to get back to the Pokemon Center. "If Rustburo is this crowded," I muttered, sidestepping a fat guy, "I'd hate to see Slateport or Lilycove."

The streets were a lot more crowded at this time since people were in a rush to get lunch. I stopped at a small appliance store, and seeing how it was almost empty, I figured that it would make a nice place to hide out until the crowds died down.

I felt a relieving rush of cool air as I opened the door and stepped inside. There were rows of computers, fridges, washers and dryers, chairs, and most importantly, TVs. "Hope there's something good on," I said to myself, and walked over.

There were rows of flat screens, each on tuned to a seperate channel. At least I had a selection. A bench was convienitly placed infront of them, so I sat down. All of the televisions were muted, and there were subtitles on the screens.

After perusing the choices, my eyes settled on the TV in the lower left corner. On it was a girl washing dishes, and she looked exhausted. Her long navy hair looked messy from inattention, her eyes were ringed with red, signaling sleep loss. She looked to be about my age.

She grunted as she bore down on a plate, using a washcloth to clean the food stuck to it. After several seconds of this, she sighed and set the plate in the sink in front of her. The more I looked at her face, the more I swore it was familiar.

The scene cut to two other girls, peering in from behind a door on the opposite side of the room.

"Why is she working herself to the bone like that?" one asked. I had to read the subtitles, which were offtimed, so the scene played ahead of the text. "She has like, three jobs."

"Her boyfriend is in a coma," the other answered. "They were going to take him off of life support since he showed no signs of recovery after nine months. She's working to pay for it all."

"She must really be dedicated."

"Yeah."

The TV then filled with static, leaving me staring at the snowstorm on the screen. The whole thing seemed...familiar, for a lack of better words. I knew for a fact that I knew the girl washing the dishes, but...I couldn't place it.

"Ah, screw it," I muttered, deciding to think about all of this later, and I glanced over at a battle channel. Someone was challenging the Kanto Leauge, and so far, Bruno was kicking his butt. The kid's Snorlax fell from a Close Combat launced from Bruno's Hitmonchan, sealing the kid's fate as another who tried and failed.

I thought about my own Leauge challenge, and how well that was going. I had four wins, three losses, and three ties. Not bad, for someone just starting out.

You're not just starting out, the voice in my head reminded me.

I groaned. "How screwed up is my life? I've had flashbacks that I don't even remember, I have these wierd visions that I have no clue as to what the mean, I have this voice in my head, and this person that I've never seen before seems familiar. What next? I wake up from a coma and find out that everything I ever knew was a dream like in that movie I saw?"

Wow, chill bro. Everything will play out in time. You'll overcome your amnesia/mental insanity. Just give it time.

"Fine," I said, completely unaware that I was talking aloud to myself. "But one question, and answer honestly. Are you Voi?"

Seconds passed by without a response. I shrugged and stood up, figuring that the voice had ditched me again. Walking to the exit of the store, I got a surprise.

To be blunt, yes and no.

"Um...what? Can you please put that in English?"

Like I said, give it time. Now, the reason I'm here. I've been with you since...a while now, and I've been studying your actions. Can you explain to me why you left Orre right in the middle of the Shadow Pokemon crisis? That's a little rude to your friends.

Pushing the door open and returning to the streets, I was glad that there were considerably less people, but irritated at Voi's question. "Well," I said, resuming my course for the Pokemon Center, "I was having a hard time dealing with reality. Zen had just been killed," I paused, remembering my fallen Darumaka, "and I was stuck with amnesia."

So, the main reason was because of Dawn, wasn't it?

I blinked. That was something I have never told anyone. How the hell did he...oh wait, he was in my mind. "Yeah," I said, find that admitting the truth was better than having to argue. "She hated me, and..."

...you couldn't deal with that, alongside the fact that David had asked her out, so you ran away. You ran away from you problems, and left you Pokemon with your friends, who now hate you for abandoning them in their time of need.

Well, when he put it that way, it made me sound like a cold-hearted bitch.

"You wouldn't know what it's like," I replied in my defense. "You've never had amnesia."

Maybe not, but you're in a rather...interesting predicament.

"What?"

Yeah, what's happening to you is the first of its kind. Never been done before. I have to admit, I admire that son of a bitch for this.

"What are you talking about? Tell me right now!" He didn't reply. I waited, hoping that he would reply out of nowhere, but it never happened. Emitting a quiet growl of rage, I kicked another lamp post, only to have the same results as last time.

I hopped on one foot, holding the other in my hands as I howled in pain. Some jerk laughed as he passed by, while no one else even seemed to notice. As soon as the throbbing pain died down, I continued my trek to the Center.

My life was messed up. There was no organization to it. Flashbacks, visions, voices, and I was pretty positive that that wasn't the end of it. There was regret that I had for leaving my cohorts in Orre. Maybe I could call them up to see how they were doing...Nah, I'll do that later.

The orange roof of the Pokémon Center was easily observable in the sky, standing out from the drab gray and tan of the buildings around it. The automatic door slid away as I approached, and I headed for my room. Room 117.

Walking down the hall of rooms, I noticed May staring oddly at the door to room 117. "Um, what's up?" I asked, studying the door, trying to find what she was staring at. "Interesting door."

She tapped the metal panel that held the door number. "Remember the room I got you back in Petalburg? The one that we never got to use? It was also room 117. Strange, huh?" She brushed a lock of her brunette hair behind her ear, still looking at the number.

"Completely," I replied, digging around in my pocket for the key. "I'm sure that it happened to someone somewhere else at some other time, though."

"Yeah," May replied, "but it's still kinda creepy. Like one of those thriller novels, where the number is really important to the main character, although he doesn't know it, so the number keeps popping up."

"...yeah," I said, completely at a loss of what she said. I slid the key into the electronic lock, only for May to grab my hand and pull it away. "What was that for?"

She smiled. "We don't have time to lollygag," May said, dragging me down that hall. "Brendan, Bella, and I have planned something for you. They're waiting for us at the police station."

I rolled my eyes. "Why? What happened? How much money do they need for bail?" I had been arrested once, back in Orre. That was really interesting.

May shook her head as we walked out into the lobby. "They didn't get arrested, we've just got a surprise for you."

"Great," I muttered. "Can I at least heal my Pokémon first?" I asked, gesturing to the counter with the really bored looking Nurse Joy behind it. "I want them to be rested in case someone challenges us."

May shot a look at her watch. "Yeah, but hurry. We need to be there in five minutes."

I handed my Pokeballs to Nurse Joy, who released a depressed sigh as she took them. "What is this all about?" I asked May, turning to her. "I need to know."

"Nope," she answered. "It's a secret. But it'll help with you amnesia." She said it right out loud, completely ignoring the fact that we were in public. I mean, I don't really care who knows about it, but I'd kinda like to keep it to myself. "Oh, sorry," she quickly added, when she realized that 98% of the lobby was looking at us. The other 2% were zonked out in the chairs.

I waved my hand to dismiss it, and took my Pokémon back from the Nurse. "Well, let's go. I don't want to be late for this 'surprise.'"

"I know you'll like it," May smirked, leading me outside. "It's just across the street."

But, as fate would have it, a man wearing a pirate suit came running down the street, knocking down several innocent bystanders in his full out charge for route 116. There was a suitcase in his hand.

"That's the same guy as last time!" I exclaimed, breaking off into a run after him, dodging people. He was far ahead of me, but I had to try anyway. After all, he was stealing the same suitcase again.

"What's going on?" May asked, as she ran along side me. "Why are you going after him?"

"He stole some dude's suitcase," I explained. "I met this dude once back in Petalburg Woods, and he snatched the case from someone, and Bella and I chased him down and got it back."

"And where was I when this happened?"

"You and Brendan had already run off on your own," I said, jumping to the left to avoid a mother pushing a stroller. "You ditched us in the woods, remember?" The pirate climbed over a chain-link fence, but I jumped up on a bench, then onto a trash can, and then over the fence, getting me closer to him.

May simply unlatched the gate and went through, lagging behind the two of us. We by passed the Gym, and the thief made it out into the grassy lands of route 116. "Can I ask one question?" May shouted as she caught up with me.

"What?"

"Why are we chasing him again? Can't we leave it to the cops?"

"Well..."

"After all, he might have a gun. Or a knife. Or some other brutal weapon to kill us with. He'll dump our bodies into a river, and no one will find us until we're nothing but a pile of bones! I'm too young to die!"

I shot her a quick look. That escalated quickly. And she obviously wasn't screwing her courage to the sticking place. "May, he doesn't have a gun. I'm pretty sure of-"

A gunshot rang out. May screamed and dove behind a tree, while I dolphin-dived to the ground, landing hard on my chest. The pirate was speed-walking backwards, pistol in his hand.

He fired three more shots, all missing me. Then he turned around and continued running. The dude in the green suit was now following us, with four police officers at his side. Each of them had their own pistols out.

I jumped up. "Come on," I said to May, who simply shook her head from behind her safety tree. "There's cops here now, it's safe." She still shook her head. "Fine."

The cops were now standing their ground, the man in green cowering behind them. The pirate was backing away slowly, holding a Wingull by the wing in one hand in front of his chest, and pointing his gun at it with the other.

"Come any closer, and this bird gets it," He told the cops. There was an old man on his knees to the side, reaching out toward the Wingull. The pirate simply kicked him in the chest, causing him to double over and fall to the ground.

"Give it up," one of the officers ordered. "You're out numbered, and you're backing yourself into a dead end. Just give it up now, before this gets anymore serious."

The pirate ignored him, and continued backing up. The old man coughed and tried to stand up, but fell back down.

"I'm going to ask one more time," the cop said, keeping the pirate in his sights. The others had their pistols leveled at him, ready to fire when needed. "Give it up, or we'll open fire."

Sputtering in protest, the old man tried to stand up again. "Please don't shoot me darlin' Peeko," he pleaded. "Please don't shoot 'er."

Smirking, the pirate continued to back away. As long as he had a hostage, then he would be able to escape with the stolen suitcase. "You're all going to stay right where you are," he said, taking another cautious step back, "or I'll blow this bird brains out."

That's when he recieved the most unexpected kick to the head.

He stumbled to the ground, dropping his gun. The Wingull managed to wrench herself from his grasp, and flew over to the old man. His wrinkled face instantly lit up when the bird wrapped her wings around him in a form of a hug.

The cops moved in, and had the pirate in handcuffs within seconds. He grumbled as they escorted him over to the police cars waiting several yards back. One officer picked up the pirate's revolver with a handkerchief covering his hand, and put it into a plastic bag.

The savior stood by, calmly watching the scene. "That went well," the Combusken commented, dropping his arms to his sides. "How did I do, Miss Ashlyn?" he asked, looking over at a teenaged girl running up to him.

"That was good, KFC," the trainer praised. She looked to be a year younger than me, with light brown hair. She was wearing a pink woolen jacket, with dark baggy jeans. Returning the Combusken to its ball, she walked by me, heading for Rustburo.

"That was awesome," I said when she passed.

She looked up. "Thanks, I'm naturally good at saving the day." She glanced down and saw the Pokeballs on my belt. "So, you're a trainer too, huh. I'm Ashlyn. Ashlyn White."

I raised my eyebrows at that last part. "White?" I asked, shaking her hand. "We have the same last name. I'm Trevor White."

Ashlyn just shrugged. "Happy coincidence. Anyway, I need to get going. I need to get my second badge!" She sprinted off, leaving me standing there.

May was still cowering behind her tree. "You can come out," I said. "It's all over. No one got shot or anything."

She peeked her head out, and looked around. Slowly May walked out, and began heading back to Rustburo. I ran over to her. "You seem a little...detached," I told her, noting how she wasn't speaking or doing anything other than walking.

"That just scared me," May said, staring off into the distance. "I mean, either one of us could've been killed, and now you're going on as if nothing had happened."

She had a point there. "Well," I started, sticking my hands into my jeans pockets, "truthfully, that wasn't the first time I've been shot at."

May looked at me with a look of surprised curiosity. "Really?"

"Yep. Back when I was in Orre, I was working as a waiter at some restaurant. My boss was Mr. Carnem, I think. Great guy. Anyway, six men walked in with guns and let loose on the people in there. I think three people were killed, and over twenty were wounded," I told her, thinking back at the memory. Dawn had been shot six times, and somehow managed to live.

Apparently, May caught my inattentive look. "Someone close to you?" she asked, mentally praying that she hadn't asked something too personal.

"Yeah, but she's fine now," I replied, still lost in my thoughts. "But for those few days, we all experienced this feeling. That we never knew what was going to happen."

"Trust me, I know that feeling. I felt it right before I went out with Brendan," May said, giving me a calm smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, but life or death hanging in the balance?"

She sighed. "Well, not really."

"So," I said, changing from the downer of a topic. "How did you date with Brendan go?"

"Isn't that a little personal?" May retorted, folding her arms. "What happens on my dates is between me and the other person."

"I thought'd I'd asked, since Brendan kept me up all night worrying that he'd done something wrong, and went on this whole long rant that ended with you killing him because he forgot to bring the bacon home."

"...what?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. I was trying to sleep." There was a short silence between the two of us. "So, about this surprise..."

"We're going now," May told me. "In fact, we're there." She pointed at the building just across the street. It was a large gray stone building, with the words "Rustburo City Police Station" emboldened on it.

The interior of the station was far different from the one I had been in back in Orre when I had been arrested. There were rows of desks, each with someone typing away at computers. In the back were the offices, and there was the door the led to the cells beyond that.

"Hey," Brendan said, standing up from the chair he was waiting in. Bella was snoozing in the seat next to him. "We've been waiting for over an hour."

"We got held up," May explained, before going into the details. "This dude stole someone's suitcase, and we went after him. So yeah, we're late."

Brendan simply nodded. "Yeah...okay then." He shook Bella on the shoulder, and she instantly jumped up, wide awake. "She's had four cups of coffee since we've been here," Brendan told us, which explained her trembling hands.

"It's this way," Brendan said, leading us to a room marked "DNA Lab" in the very back of the station.

"Ah," I said, "I know what you're up to. Doing a DNA test to see who I'm related to. Clever."

"Yeah," Brendan said. "Bella thought of it after watching an episode of Cops."

"Oh my gosh!" Bella exclaimed, still high on her sugar. "WhenIsawthatIwasalllikethat'llneverwork!AndthenIw aslikemaybeitwill! Theywerewillingtodoit!Ohmygoshthiswillbefun!"

Her words ran together, and it took a few seconds for us to put what she had said together. When entered the lab. There were machines and computer screens everywhere, and that sterile smell was in the air. A man in a lab coat was staring down into a microscope, mumbling something about damned chromosomes.

"Um...Dr. Prector?" Brendan asked, staring at the man.

"Yes?" Prector said, looking up. "Oh, you must be those kids wanting help with this amnesia problem," he said.

"Yeah," Brendan confirmed. "So, what do we need to do?"

"Well first," Prector said, "who is the one with the condition?"

Slowly, I stepped forward, avoiding eye contact. "Me," I said, quietly. I was rather...unenthusiastic about the amnesia.

"Okay then," Prector reached over with a syringe, and looked it over. "Can you hold out your arm, and roll up you sleeve. I need to take a blood sample."

I did as he instructed, and he jabbed me with the needle, and I watched as my blood was drawn up into the syringe. "This is the newest test model for blood samples," Prector explained. "While it simply looks like a syringe, it's actually specially designed for taking samples. What it does..."

I don't care, I thought as he droned on, taking the syringe from my arm and putting the sample into a vial.

"That's all," he said. "It'll take a week or two before I can get the results, so I'll need some info to contact you."

Brendan wrote his number down on a scrap piece of paper, and an email address, and handed it to Prector. "Thanks," the doctor said, "You all can go now." He went back to peering through the microscope as we left.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" May asked, as our group walked back out into the streets of Rustburo. Well, Bella was skipping and jumping around, so it was just the three of us that were walking.

"Not really," I replied. "Other than feeling lightheaded, I'm fine."

"Well then," Brendan said, "Onward to Dewford!"

"Actually, I needed to get some supplies before we leave," I told him. "I need some things to prepare for Brawley. And a backpack or something to carry all my stuff in."

"And I have to get us checked out of our rooms at the Center," May said. "And Bella needs to take a chill pill." At this point, the individual in question was running around chasing a Beautifly.

"Are you sure that was coffee?" I asked, watching the spectacle.

Brendan shrugged. "I hope so. Anyway, we'll meet at the Petalburg Woods when we're done, and we'll see if we can't get us a ride to Dewford from the beach."

We all ran off to our destinations. Soon enough, I found myself in the Pokemart.

The first thing I did was get a black backpack, much like the one that I had used Orre. Then I headed over to the training items.

"Hm." I looked between the Potions and the Super Potions. The Super Potions healed more, but I could get more Potions. So, eventually I went with five Potions and three Super Potions.

Next came the Pokeballs. I grabbed a pack of ten normal Pokeballs, and a pack of five Great Balls. Apparently, since this city got a lot of newbie trainers, they didn't carry any of the good stuff.

I grabbed a few Antidotes, since we would have to cross through that forest again, and wasn't taking a risk. If either of my Pokémon got poisoned, I would be ready. Fortunately, I had enough money to pay for all of it. Unfortunately, I used up over 90% of what money I had, so I couldn't contribute much to the charter boat.

Sitting down on a bench just outside the door, I set my bag in front of me, and began to organize my new stuff. Pokeballs went in the very front pocket, with the Potions and Antidotes going in the pocket behind them. Since I had nothing of importance yet, the largest pocket remained empty.

I put five Pokeballs and two Great Balls into my left jacket pocket, and zipped it shut. Trust me, you want to have a stash that's easy to get to in case you see a really rare Pokémon.

Standing up, I slung the backpack onto my back. I took three steps toward Petalburg Woods when I heard someone calling me.

"Hey you! Yeah you! Trainer guy!"

I looked back to see the guy in the green suit running over to me. "Um...can I help you?"

"Yeah," he said, panting. How come ever time I see this guy, he's always running and out of breath. "To thank you for helping me get the suitcase back at Petalburg Woods, my boss at Devon Corp wants to see you."

"Why?"

"Just follow me, if you please."

He led me to a tall business tower, which had to be the tallest building in the whole city. "Mr. Stone is waiting at the top floor," the man said, holding the door open. In the main room, there was a secretary sitting behind a desk, which held samples of various rocks and gems on it. "Mabel," the man said, walking over. "Tell Mr. Stone that I brought the one that he wants to see, and that we're on our way up."

"Yes, Mr. Green," the secretary happily replied, seeming without a care in the world.

"If you could please enter the elevator," Green said, and I followed him. He pushed the button for the top floor. "Mr. Stone runs the company. Here at Devon, we strive to produce the newest innovations in technology. We've made everything from Pokeballs to televisions to computers. We've even made vital parts for the space ships for Mossdeep City."

"Really?" I asked. "And how do you compare with Silph?"

Green sighed. "We don't, really. They always seem to one up us on almost everything. We make a new computer, they make a new one that has a touch screen, better graphics, bigger RAM, and even has voice controls."

"But, in spite of that, you still manage to keep yourself operable," I noted. "That has to count for something."

"Yeah," Green agreed. "We're the main company in Hoenn, but Silph's got Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and small parts of Kalos under their belt. Apparently, after upgrading Porygon to Porygon2, and then to Porygon-Z, people think they're something special."

I tugged at the straps on my bag. "Well, technologically evolving a Pokémon is a major step for technology."

"If that's the case," Green said, "then Team Rocket trumped us all when they created Mewtwo. They biologically augmented a Pokémon, and I'm sure they would do it again, if they hadn't disbanded."

"Of all the teams out there, Rocket's always the one that comes back," I commented. "How many are there? There's Plasma, Rocket..."

"Galactic," Green added. "And Cipher and Team Snagem."

"I hate Cipher," I told him. "I've ran into them a couple of times. Complete asses. Same with Plasma."

Green shrugged. "Team Galactic had the most notorious plan ever. They were literally about to destroy the known world with Dialga and Palkia, and then that girl came out of no where and stomped them down."

That's when I heard the voices in my head.

"Why are you here?"

"I was wrong, okay? It happens from time to time."

"You did say that you wanted nothing to do with me."

"That was then, and this is now. I was wrong about everything."

"Now's not really the time, Dawn."

I snapped back to reality. What had I just heard? It was far more insightful than I ever would've imagined. One of the voices had been mine. I never remembered the conversation, and Dawn didn't know me when I met her in Orre, which meant that...the conversation couldn't have happened...what?

"Are you okay?" Green asked, noticing my befuddled face. "We've reached Mr. Stone's office."

"Yeah, just thinking." I really needed to get something to write these things down in, so I could analyze them later. "Let's meet the president."

Mr. Stone's office was huge. There was a table in the middle of the room for conference meetings, several pedestals containing rare gems and stones were placed around the room, there was the largest flat screen TV I've ever seen mounted on the wall, hooked up to a computer.

Mr. Stone was sitting at his desk, apparently eating his supper of a TV dinner. He was roughly in his late fifties, with brown hair mixing with some gray strands. He was wearing a business suit with the company's label stitched on the right breast pocket. He looked up as we approached.

"Ah, Mr. Green," he greeted. "And that trainer that helped him..." He paused waiting for me to say my name.

"Trevor, Trevor White." I held my hand out, and he shook it from his desk.

"Pleasure to meet you, sonny," Stone said, standing up and wiping his mouth with a burgundy napkin, which also had the company logo on it. "It seems you've saved Devon Corp a huge amount of money."

"Really?" I asked. "All we did was rescue a suitcase."

"I know, but what was in the suitcase was priceless information, which Mr. Green failed to protect." He shot Green an accusatory glance, and the man simply looked down at his shoes in embarrassment.

"And," Stone went on, "for that, we shall reward you."

"What about Bella?" I asked. "She helped me."

"Mr. Green said that you did almost all of the work, and that she was just a bystander," Stone said, looking up at Green, who nervously shrugged.

"Bella knocked the guy out!" I exclaimed. "She did most of it. She should be the one to get rewarded."

"I see," Stone said, glaring at Green. "So you lied to me?"

Green nervously wringed his fingers. "Well, you see, I didn't actually see any of the conflict, so I assumed-"

"So you assumed that Mr. White here saved the day alone?" Stone asked. "Well," he said looking back to me. "You'll have to excuse Mr. Green for that. He's a bit of a chauvinist. Anyway, I guess we'll have to reward both you and this Bella."

He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out two objects that looked like smartphones. "These are the newest models of our Pokemon Navigators, or Pokenavs." Stone handed them to me. "They have maps, you can call friends, arrange rematches, the whole nine yards."

"Really?" I asked, slightly excited that I was getting such an expensive reward. "You're just giving us these devices?"

"What's in the briefcase is far more important," Stone replied, folding his arms. "Which brings me to the other reason that I brought you here." He gestured to the briefcase on the desk. "Can you do me a huge favor by taking this to Slateport Shipyards when you get there?"

"I guess," I said, pocketing the two Pokenavs. "But we're heading off to Dewford Town next, so it might be a while until we can deliver them."

"Yes, that's perfectly fine," Stone said, handing me the briefcase. "And, I hate to burden you with errands that I should do, but can you deliver this to Steven Stone while you're in Dewford? He should be in Granite Cave digging for gems and other stones." He held out an envelop to me.

Shrugging, I took it. "Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. Anything else?" I asked, slightly sarcastic.

Stone shook his head. "I hope I'm not burdening you with work," he said again. "Please, don't be afraid to speak up if you don't want to do it."

"Nah, it's fine," I told him. "Besides, going into Granite Cave will definitely help me train for the Gym there."

"All right then," Stone said, smiling and sitting down. "You're free to leave if you wish."

"Yeah, I need to meet up with my friends," I said, turning towards the door. "I'm probably late enough as it is."

Seven minutes later, I was back in the city, and I took off running to the woods where my friends would be waiting. My backpack bounced around as I ran, and I felt the cool breeze in my face. The sun was setting on the horizon, and the stars were beginning to twinkle in the sky.

It was a rather long run, and I was tired by the time the entrance to the forest came into view, along with the three figures waiting outside. When I got closer, I saw May leaning against a tree, while Brendan was battling against another trainer, who looked familiar. Bella had long since gotten over the sugar high, and was sitting on the ground playing with Sora.

"Sorry I'm late!" I ran up to them, drawing all their attention from whatever they were doing. "I got stopped by that little green dude and he took me to see his leader."

Blanks stares were abundant.

I reached into my pocket, and pulled out one of the fancy Pokenavs. "Here Bella," I said, handing it to her. "This is for your heroic actions in stopping that pirate guy in the woods."

"Oh really!" she squealed, taking the Pokenav. "This is awesome!" she exclaimed, testing out some of the features. "This thing's even got wifi!"

May looked somewhat jealous. Trust me, I know jealous.

Not something to be proud of, bro, Voi said.

"Do I get one?" May asked, slightly hopeful.

"Um...sorry but no," I answered curtly. "You and Brendan ran off then," I explained. "Bella and I rescued the suitcase."

"I kicked the pirate's ass the second time," the trainer facing against Brendan said. It was none other than Ashlyn. "Why didn't I get one?"

I shrugged. "I honestly wouldn't know."

Brendan shrugged. "Well, personally, smartphones can do more than those things," he said, holding up his own Iphone. "Can those Pokenavs make calls?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Can they go on the internet and get the latest news?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Do they have...Angry Birds?"

"I'm sure it can."

"...what about a flashlight?"

"Don't think so..."

"Aha!" he shouted. "I knew it. Cell phones are far superior to those Pokenavs!"

There was a rather awkward silence. "Okay then," Brendan said, returning his Treeko to his ball, and pointing to the woods. "Onward to Dewford!"

"We'd still need to rent a boat," May pointed out. "And it's late and their probably all taken by now."

"Oh, don't be that way," Bella said, jumping to her feet. "I'm sure we can get there."

Ashlyn nodded. "Mr. Briney's giving me free chartering after I saved his Wingull from that pirate. I'm sure you all can tag along."

That was helpful. "Thanks," Brendan said. "That's really helpful. Shall we continue on our way?"

"Let's shall."

And with that, we were on our way to Dewford Town.

"You know, I'm getting sick of watching him," the platinum man said, watching the group of teens through his binoculars as the entered the forest. "Why can't you take a turn?" he asked over the phone he held to his ear.

"I thought we went over this," the person replied. She herself sounded roughly in her teens. "You need to stay in there in case Darkrai makes his move. You'd be the only one that can actually take him on."

The man grumbled, and sighed. "Gee, you really got the better end of this deal. After all, I was a fucking Geodude for several weeks, forced to spy on him. That was not fun. Had to get all in character and all that. It was the worst thing in the whole world."

"I doubt that. Everyone's getting all upset at my humanity, thinking to be heresy. So, yeah, I might be burned at the stake before this is all over."

"Whatever," the man replied. "But, when this is all over, I call dibs on writing a thriller based off of this. It's going to be great."

"You don't know that. They all could die."

"Why don't we get that black Charizard that beat him to take out Darkrai? He's beaten him before," said the third party member. Mespirit floated alongside the platinum man, completely oblivious to the conversation on the phone.

"Seriously?" the man asked, staring at the Emotion Pokémon. "Did you really just ask that?"

"Uh...I think so."

"Were you not at the debriefing before we started spying on them?"

"I was, but I kinda fell asleep..."

The man sighed, and went back to talking to the girl over the phone. "I hate having to put up with this you. It's really pissing me off."

"Deal with it. I'm going to have to hang up now. Apparently, we might have the location of where Darkrai's keeping himself in hibernation out here," she said. "Wish us luck."

The man hung up on her, and peered through his binoculars to spy on the red haired teen. "Trevor, Trevor, Trevor," he muttered. "When I picked you, I never expected you to get this deep in this shit."