Dear Readers!

I hope you've all been enjoying the story so far! As always, please let me know what you think. This chapter may be a bit slower paced than the others but we always need some good character development.

Shout out to eldestOyster and their story Ghost Town. "December, 1976: psychic-in-training Jodi has come home to sleepy Mahogany for Christmas, and to come out to her family. But when she arrives, she finds her childhood best friend has been murdered - and her ghost is still trapped here on earth. Someone in town has to be responsible. And Jodi is determined to find out who. [Also available on Serebii. Updates every other Sunday." I hope you guys can check it out!

- Whispers


~ Chapter Eight ~

"When you realize you are no longer made of glass, you lose the desire to demonstrate that fragility in others."

― Chris Matakas, The Tao of Jiu Jitsu

Scatters of rain slapping against the window roused her from a hardly restful sleep.

The dawn felt bitter. It tasted like the raw end of a Brussel sprout. The old tears from the previous day left a lead, sandpaper feeling on her tongue. She reached over to the nightstand in the dark to grab a water bottle, trying to wash away the sorrow laden taste with long, anxious gulps. It didn't help. She pushed the bottle back onto the table and covered her head with the blanket.

"zzz-Charley."

How could I let him down…?

"zzz-Charley."

I promised to protect them, to shield them, to always guide them to victory…

"zzz-Charley."

They deserve a better Trainer, a better life…

"zzz-Charley, if you do not anzzzwer me, I will call the nurzzze."

Angrily, she pushed the covers off. "What do you want, Rotom?"

The Rotom-dex hummed in the air above her, his eyes heavy and laden with worry. His blue and white screen was the only light in the Trainer's room.

"zzz-Charley, it izzz juzzzt one lozzzz…"

"Just one loss? Rotom, Hermes is burned. The Nurse has to work all night to save his wing…" the words choked in the back of her throat. She gritted her teeth, her head falling into her hands. She thought she had cried all of the tears she had left.

"zzz-Charley…" Rotom sighed. "zzz-Can I zzzhow you a video?"

Frustrated, she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Rotom, I'm not…"

"zzz-Pleazzze."

She huffed, groggily sitting up to hug her knees close to her chest. Her nose felt stiff and puffy from crying and her mind felt fuzzy and muddled. The last thing she wanted to do was stay up longer and watch some dumb video. But she nodded her head anyway.

Rotom alighted onto her knee. His screen fuzzed for a moment, and she watched as a field began to take shape. It was a wide brown field etched with white lines that reminded Charley of the outline of a Pokéball. On one end of the field stood… Professor Kukui! She started when she recognized him, despite how different he looked. He wore his hair back in a high Ponyta-tail, and baggy green pants, which was held onto his waist with a bright yellow band. A ream six Pokeballs sat snuggly against his hip. And, per his usual code, he was shirtless. Before him crouched a heavily breathing Pokémon that reminded Charley of Rockruff, though it was large, very large, and covered in an assortment of spikes around its neck. The creatures tongue lolled out between long, sharp fangs as it breathed hard and heavily.

"Are you okay, Lycanroc?" Kukui called.

The Pokémon growled deep in its throat, its eyes trained across the field, locked hard onto… a Charizard.

Charley covered her mouth with two hands. She recognized him immediately. The red hat, the red cloak, that posture, that Charizard… Ash Tajiri, otherwise known as Red.

"Incredible!" an announcer's voice echoed from the video. "Kukui's Lycanroc is still going for it even after that devastating Seismic Toss from Red's Charizard. This is the farthest we've seen a competator come against the Champion in years! Red's Charizard and Pikachu are the only one's left on his team! Can Kukui's Lycanroc really pull it off? Can he stay with it long enough to take out TWO of Red's Pokémon?"

Unlikely, Charley thought. Then, she started, realizing the thought that just crossed her mind. Kukui, the Professor who had led her into town, helped her get Hermes… she was going to cheer against him? Really?

A horrible knot chocked up in her throat as she watched his Lycanroc leap forward, its tail twirling violently. A sea of sharp rocks cascaded from the ground as Kukui called for Lycanroc to use 'Stone Edge'. Red… just pointed. He didn't speak a word. His Charizard just took to the sky, evading the stones with ease. The dragon was fast, so fast all Charley could see was a reddish-orange blur. Her names bit into her knees as a glowing light surrounded the Charizard as it collided with Lycanroc.

"Oh, another devastating Wing Attack," the announcer shouted. Cheers and boos reverberated across the arena as Lycanroc fell to its knees, shivering with pain. She watched Kukui grit his teeth.

"I call!" the Professor finally shouted, holding up Lycanroc's Pokéball. The wolf whirled, staring its Trainer down. It shook its head, tried to struggled to its feet. It wanted to battle, wanted to win. But Kukui just shook his head, walking onto the field up to the Pokémon. He put a heavy hand on the wolf's back. "You did wonderful, my friend. But it's just a battle. I won't put you in harms way." He pressed the Pokéball to the creature's nose, calling the Pokémon back in a burst of red lightning. Sound fuzzed and sizzled out of Rotom's speakers as the crowd leaped up in a burst of angry cries. The announcers were going wild.

He just gave up after coming so far?

Was he paid to throw the Battle?

Why would he not push forward? He could have been the first to bring down Ash Tajiri!

Deaf to their cries, Kukui walked across the field to Red, holding out a hand.

The man lifted his head. When Charley saw his round brown eyes, tears began to stream down her face. So many years ago, he was alive and well, battling at the Indigo Plateau, taking on challengers, protecting Kanto from Team Rocket.

Now… now he was gone.

"Thank you for the great battle, Ash!" Kukui said, shaking the man's hand fervently. He laughed. "Boy, I haven't been beaten so soundly since my first Pokémon battle! Your Pokémon are amazing!"

A… a smile crept along the corners of Red's face. His Charizard finally came to rest behind him, leaning down its long neck to rest its large head on its Trainer's shoulder. Red put a gloved hand on the Charizard's snout and it puffed out a snort of smoke.

"Thank you," Red said. "As were yours. You're a good man and a good Trainer, Kukui. Thank you for the great battle."

The video stopped. Charley blinked, wiping her nose as Rotom's face rolled back onto the screen, his eyes tilted down, sad, worried.

The beginnings of a smile, not a real on, just the slightest hint, gripped at the corners of Charley's lips. She placed a hand on Rotom's head, patting him.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Rotom raised his eyes. "zzz-Even though Kukui lozzzt, he did not give up. He zzztill enjoyed Pokémon battlezzz."

"And, he knew when to call it," Charley whispered. "For his Pokémon's sake." She sighed, a new feeling blooming in her chest. The sorrow, the worry for Hermes, began to dim. A determination gripped at her chest. She dug her fingers into the sheets, listening to the rain patter against her window.

"Rotom, I think we have some Training to do."


She didn't really intend to spend the whole week in Hau'oli City, but she also wasn't going to move on without doing some serious training. Once Hermes was back to his usual self, they started the day early, before dawn even broke through the sky. The first thing they did was hit the beach. Running. Each of her partners alongside her, practicing their speed. And they needed to get fast. She ran on the shoreline with them, pumping her legs, training herself just as much as them. It was hard at first, too. She had never run in sand before and the grain continued to slip and slide beneath each hard step. Luna and Sparky struggled with it as well, the shore not being natural to either Pokémon. They pressed tentative paws into the land, struggling to find the right footing. It was good for them. If they could figure out how to perch, how to get good footing in stand, they would be able to withstand an attack on land.

So, she pushed them, eagerly cheering them on as they ran across the shore. She watched as Luna and Sparky looked at one another, challenge gleaming in their eyes. Luna threw her back, howling as she charged down the shore. Sparky cackled a "Pikachu!" and dashed after her friend, digging her tiny yellow paws hard into the sand to keep up. Hermes, in the air, flew after them, twirling and diving, trying to increase his movement. The first day, his wing was still bandaged, slowing him down a bit, but the Nurse eventually removed the bandage, giving him his full range of flight.

They did two laps on the shore the first day. With each passing day, they added an extra lap, moving harder and faster each time. Eventually, at the end of their run, they would collapse just as the edge of the surf. Charley let the ice-cold ocean water run up her running clothes, soaking her to the bone, cooling her down as the hot sweat was washed out to sea. She watched Hermes sail over the open ocean, flashing out his claws to try and catch Magikarp as they leaped into the air. If he caught them, which was rarer than Charley would have liked, he tossed him back into the surf, being a natural berry eater rather than a carnivore. Sparky and Luna would just rest beside her, panting, watching Hermes play with frustrated and confused looks.

They watched the sun rise together. It was like a strange god reaching out long fingers made of light, creeping over the edge of the horizon to eventually pull itself in to the waking sky. As the sun rose, people began to approach the beach, taking up residence on beach chairs and heading out to surf. Only then, once the beach began to attract a crowd, did she gather her friends and return to the Center for a shower and some breakfast. Hau and Lillie would usually join them, chatting with her happily, lifting her mood and her spirits with every joke, every conversation. She even noticed Lillie finally relax around Hau, no longer bothered by his overly buoyant nature.

"Are you really planning on staying here all week?" Hau asked on the third day.

Charley shrugged. "I'm not 'planning' but I don't want to leave until I feel comfortable with my team's abilities. I've…" she sighed, twiddling her thumbs together. "I've learned my lesson about taking a hard loss. I don't want to underestimate Ilima again."

Hau nodded seriously, stuffing fistfuls of Malasada into his mouth.

Lillie put an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "I've seen you watching the battle field in town in the afternoons, it looks like you're studying hard."

Charley nodded. "I need to learn."

"The wisest thing a person can do is acknowledge that there is more to know," Lillie chimed. "But don't overwork yourself, okay? We can head to the shires as your own pace, don't push yourself."

"I won't," she smiled at Lillie gratefully. "I really appreciate you both hanging around in town until I'm ready to leave."

"Well, if you don't hurry up, I'm gonna leave without you two Slowpokes," Hau leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head.

Lillie threw a wadded up napkin at him. Hau was so startled by her sudden attack that he hit the table with his foot. Charley hiccupped with laughter as the chair slid out from under him and he hit the ground. Hard. He groaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Lillie coming in with the Napkin Attack, never thought I'd see her in a real battle," Charley laughed.

Lillie blushed, though she tried to hide it behind her hand. "People Battles are much easier won than Pokémon Battles."

"Says you," Hau groaned, climbing back into his chair. "Yo, so Charley, before we leave town, I want a real Pokémon Battle, you hear? Don't let me down."

Charley laughed. "As soon as I'm done prepping."

And prep she did. Each afternoon, Charley would read herself with a series of Potions and Oran Berries and hit the battlefield at the edge of the city. A lot of the time, she and her partners would just stand on the sidelines, watching as other Trainers from across Alola and visitors to Hau'oli pitted themselves against one another. She made notes, observed techniques, absorbed herself into the work of training herself to be a Pokémon Trainer. Other times, if there was a Trainer she felt like she could learn something from, she actually battled.

One such instance occurred on the fourth day. The day before, Charley had watched a female Rowlet Trainer battle a Wingull Trainer who styled himself as Sogen Yoshitomi. Charley had wanted to learn from the Rowlet and her Trainer, but she was terribly disappointed in their performance. Her Rowlet was much different from Hermes, flying haphazardly all over the place as her opponent's Wingull charged after her with repetitive Wing Attacks. Who she learned from, truly, was the Wingull. She gestured for Hermes to watch the Pokémon's movements, how it dodged each and every one of the opponent Rowlet's Leafages, then steeled itself to let off an attack. She smiled at Hermes' intense gaze as he internalized what the Wingull had to show off.

The next day, the Wingull's Trainer was back.

"Alright, who wants to bring on a challenge?" Sogen asked, holding his arms out. He wore an old yellow and green cap with a matching sleeveless jacket and baggy jeans. A murmur passed around the gathered crowd. Apparently, in the months before Charley had arrived, he had been developing a reputation in town and, while some were eager for a challenge, many were wary.

Charley took her chance.

She strode onto the field, Hermes perched eagerly on her shoulder. He was ready too.

"I'll challenge you," she said.

"Another Rowlet Trainer, huh?" Sogen laughed, stepped back to the opposite side of the field. He twisted his hate backwards. "One-on-one?"

"Pssh, you're such a Red wanna-be," Charley laughed, rolling her eyes. "You're so on!"

She smirked as Sogen angrily narrowed his eyes, tossing a Pokéball in the air. "Wingull, go!" Red lightning burst from the ball and the blue and white seagull took form in the air, straight wings flexed as it glided on a gentle breeze.

"Let's get him, Hermes!"

A rustling like a sudden burst of wind through leaves filled Charley's ears as the Rowlet leaped off her shoulder and took to the sky.

Charley closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, feeling a stirring in her heart. Its like… she could almost imagine she was Hermes, was using his wings, the warm Alolan wind whirling around his feathers. Her keen eyes could make out every detail of the Wingull – she was a female – in front of her. The scent of warm Malasada wafted on the breeze, making a yearn for food echo deep in her belly. But there was a desire, a desire for battle, for victory, to show her Trainer she was no weak Rowlet…

Charley suddenly opened her eyes, startled at the strange feeling. She blinked, rubbing her eyes, look at Hermes. The Rowlet cooed softly, glancing over his shoulder at her, nodding.

"zzz-Be careful," Rotom was suddenly in the air beside her, buzzing. "zzz-Wingull knowzzz Wing Attackzzz."

"Yea, I remember." She had been watching Sogen battle for days now, studying his moves, learning his tactics.

This battle, she would not lose. Or, if she did, she would at least not let Hermes suffer for it.

A young Police Officer stepped onto the field. Charley recognized the man, he had been overseeing the battles in town for the past two days, making sure that no real fights broke out and that everyone followed the rules.

"Now, let's have a nice clean battle, guys," he said. "Don't push your Pokémon too hard and don't be afraid to call it."

Both Charley and Sogen gave curt, understanding nods. The office returned their confirmation.

"Begin!"

"Go, Wingull, Wing Attack!"

As expected. The Wingull screeched and streaked forward, long wings glowing bright with energy.

"Up, Hermes!" Charley called. Before the words could leave her mouth, the Pokémon was already moving, flying quick thanks to their training on the beach. He looped over and was behind the Wingull when Charley cried, "Leafage!"

His beak opened, and a burst of green light erupted, striking Wingull hard in the back. She screamed in pain and hit the dirt, flapping her wings hard and fast as she struggled to right herself. The attack had come so suddenly that Sogen just stared at his flapping Wingull, dumbfounded.

Charley pursed her lips, suddenly feeling bad. She gestured for Hermes to back off and wait until the Wingull gathered herself. Sogen blinked a few times, shaking himself of shock.

"Well, I gotta say, that's a fast Rowlet you've got there," he took of his hat, running a hand through his sandy brown hair. "But we're not done yet! Wingull, Water Gun!"

"Leafage!"

Charley was tumbling back, flying through the air. She could see, the bright green light was bursting from her beak.

What is going on… Charley blinked hard, rubbing her eyes as she watched Hermes' Leafage connect with the Wingull's Water Gun. She shook her head, steeling her feet into the ground as she watched Hermes break contact, letting the Water Gun rush past him as he soared into the air.

"Come in with a Peck!"

His beak became long and sharp. Wingull screeched, trying to move, duck out of the way, but Hermes was speedy and his beak knocked her back down into the dirt. This time, the Wingull was much slower to rise.

Charley was suddenly very conscious of the whispers echoing in the crowd around her.

He hasn't even Scratched her Rowlet.

Who is this girl?

Isn't she the girl who lost to Ilima the other day?

Yea, look at the scar on the Rowlet's wing! I bet it is!

When did she get this good?

She swallowed hard and stuffed her sweaty palms into her jeans. She and Hermes waited until the Wingull took back to the air, breathing hard.

"Are you sure you don't want to call it?" Charley asked. "Your Wingull looks tired."

"We will never give up, will we girl?" Sogen shouted. The Wingull's eyes became steely as she locked on to Hermes. "Go, use Wing Attack!"

Hermes quickly alighted, dodging as the Wingull came careening towards him. She was getting sloppy now, her flight patterns becoming awkward and irregular. The hard impacts with the ground had begun to do real damage to her wings and it was showing.

"He's not going to give up, is he?" Charley whispered, glancing over at Rotom. For once, the Rotom Dex was silent, just staring at the battle field. She watched Hermes continually dodge each of her on coming Wing Attacks, never once taking the hit. He didn't want to lose either.

But his eyes locked with hers. Worry was in those little brown eyes. He knew what it was like to fall and fall hard. He didn't want that for this Wingull and her Trainer was pushing her too hard.

They both knew what needed to be done.

Charley gritted her teeth, her nails biting into her palms as she said, "Hermes, dive and use Leafage."

He knew. She knew that he knew because his eyes lingered on her for just a passing moment, a quick one. Pure trust. He was putting his trust in her that, once he took some damage, she would call it.

And damage he did take. He was wide open, open just even for Sogen to shout, "Drop in for a Wing Attack!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Rotom cover his eyes with his mechanical hands. She wanted to do the same as Hermes flew into range. The Wingull was ready. She screamed, colliding with Hermes hard. He screeched, taking the Super Effective Hit intensely. He bounced once on the ground before coming to rest on the ground.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Hermes!" Her feet flew beneath her and she charged onto the field, scooping the tiny Rowlet up in her arms. His eyes were closed, his wings dangling by his side loosely. Hard, heavy breath ragged in his chest.

Not again, not again, I shouldn't have…

A tiny brown eye peaked open. He clicked his beak.

And winked.

Realization dawned on her. While she didn't dive into full hysteria mode, she didn't stop the flow of tears either. She gritted her teeth and raise a hand. "I call."

"The victory goes to Sogen," the police officer said, disappointment palpable in his tone. Cheers erupted around them and she could hear Sogen jumping up and down, laughing with his Wingull. Charley pulled out Hermes Pokéball and he gave her a terse, almost unnoticeable nod. She touched it to his side and he disappeared in a burst of red light.

"That was some battle," Sogen said, approaching her. He held out a strong hand. She gave him a grim smile, ignoring it as she pushed herself up.

"You should pay more attention to your Pokémon," she said. He seemed startled by her sudden hostility so she dialed it back. "I mean, yes, great match. Your Wingull is a trooper."

"Yea, she's something alright," Sogen gave a toothy grin, holding his arm out for his Wingull. She alighted wearily onto his shoulder, breathing hard.

"You should take her to the Center, she looks tired."

"Yea, I will. And take yours too, he did really good. I've never seen such a fast Rowlet."

That brought a smile to her face. She rubbed once thumb over Hermes' ball before putting it onto the clip at her side. "He's really very special to me."

"I can tell. Well, I hope I see you around to battle again," Sogen waved, jogging away to leave the field for the Pokémon Center.

Charley, however, didn't leave. She sighed wearily and took a seat beneath a tree to watch the next pair of Trainers take to the field, absently pulling out a Potion to spray Hermes' Ball while she watched. It was an Abra Trainer facing off against a Ledyba Trainer. They were actually fairly evenly matched, and it was an interesting Battle to watch. The Ledyba kept firing off a Bug Buzz attack, which the Abra had to Teleport to dodge. The Ledyba was so fast though that the Abra couldn't get in to use another attack so it just kept popping and disappearing all over the field.

Rotom floated beside her, buzzing quietly.

"zzz-I'm glad he izzz not really hurtzzz."

Charley nodded. "He is a bit dinged up, though. The Potion would help."

"zzz-Are you okayzzz?"

"Yea," Charley sighed, leaning her head back against the tree, eyes on the field. The Abra finally popped in close enough and used Confusion. The Ledyba was thrown hard into the air until it collided with the top of a palm tree. The Trainer shouted, panickily calling his Pokémon back into its Ball, automatically calling the match.

"Why'd you throw that Battle?"

Charley yelped, almost dropping Hermes' Ball at the sound of his voice. She looked up to see familiar gray eyes looming over her. Steven gave her a friendly smile and sat beside her in the grass.

"Steven, you startled me," she said, a hot blush creeping along her cheeks.

He laughed. "I can see that. Are you gonna answer my question?"

She swallowed hard, putting a hand to her temple, trying to shake the surprise of his appearance from her mind.

After leaving me in the Pokémon Center back on Route 1 without so much as a goodbye, he just strolls up as if nothing happened…

"What was that again?"

"Why did you throw the Battle?"

"Well, if you had been paying attention," Charley said, pointedly glowering at him. "You'd have noticed that he was pushing his Wingull way too hard. She was overdoing it and would have fainted or worse with another of Hermes' attacks. I wasn't going to let him push to her the point of death."

Steven nodded thoughtfully, drumming his ringed fingers on his chin. Sunlight glinted off a particularly shiny sapphire ring.

"That's very wise of you," he noted.

"Well, Hermes and I took a hard loss a few days ago."

"I did notice a strange scar on his wing."

Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes as the memory overcame her. She put a hand on his Ball, squeezing it. The memory was so fresh, so powerful. She could still see him falling out of the sky…

We've got to get past this. We're going to be great together and I can't lead him if I crumble after every loss.

"We always learn more from losing than we ever do from winning," Steven suddenly said.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, when you win, you're like, 'Okay, great! I am supremely awesome! I won!' It's a good feeling but, really, there's nothing to be gained from it. Loss, however…" Steven shrugged. "After I lost to Sapphire, my Pokémon and I Trained like we never had before. We spent days, weeks, eating and sleeping Battle tactics, studying her movement with her Pokémon, learning how she worked. And other Trainers too. It was a weird rhythm we fell into. But, damn did we learn a lot from it."

She leaned into the tree, thinking about the past few days, how she had been studying the movement of Trainers, their battle tactics, their training out on the beach. She had learned a lot watching others in town Battle, the importance of a Pokémon's inherent abilities, its strengths and weaknesses.

Would she have done all of this if she had beaten Ilima that day?

Most likely not, she realized with a start, putting the empty Potion in her backpack. I would have gone on as if everything we had done until now was the right thing to do.

"Why did you leave that day?" she asked suddenly. She hadn't been planning on it, the words just slipped out.

Steven didn't seem surprised. In fact, he blushed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I am sorry about that. I got a ca… I mean, some things came up. I really needed to move onto the city. But, I really appreciated all you did to get me to a Center and near town."

"Yea, I guess I should thank you for paying for our stay," Charley waved a hand.

Steven laughed. "Well, I'll take that as if you did. Oh! Rotom, come here a moment, I'd like to add my number of Charley's contacts."

"W-w-w-what?" Charley started, watching as the Pokémon flew over to Steven, letting him type on his screen.

"Well, I meant to give it to you at the last stop. But, you know, I'm the worst," Steven laughed and tapped a final button.

Rotom buzzed into the air. "zzz-Zzzaved!"

"Just in case you see anything weird," Steven said. "I hope you'd let me know about it."

"I thought you said you just came to Alola for a new adventure," Charley prodded, arching an eyebrow.

Steven laughed. "Well, I am! The discovery of Alola's mysteries is an adventure!"

"Uh huh. Fine, don't be honest with me," Charley shrugged, leaning back against the tree.

Steven sighed, leaning beside her. "Fine, fine, fine. There's… there's something very bad happening back in Hoenn."

Charley glanced over at him. The good nature of his features became shadowed. A darkness settled in there, an anxiety, a serious determination. She couldn't make sense of it.

Then, she remembered.

Team Skull. Marshadow.

Team.

Skull.

I am a fucking moron. Charley wanted to kick herself. How had she forgotten the night Sparky evolved, the night she saw Steven and Latios land on the beach and speak to a mysterious person on the other end of the walkie-talkie. The words Team Skull and Marshadow.

And, just a few days ago… Team Skull…

"…Sapphire and I believe that the things happening back home are tied to a forming Team in Alola," he said suddenly, breaking her out of her thoughts. "We've been wary of Teams across the Regions now, always looking out in case a new one forms. After last year's near devastation in Kalos with Team Flare, that's probably the sixth Team in the world's history to pop up in just a few years. It's insane how much activity has accrued so quickly for underground gangs. But I digress," Steven sighed heavily. "We just want to watch Alola. They are the only region who has no reported Team activity so far."

"Actually," Charley bit her lip. "A few days ago, I battled some thugs who claimed to be a part of some group called Team Skull…"

Steven shot up, whirling. His eyes were ablaze. "Tell. Me. Everything."

And so she did. As the day drew on, she tossed between observing the matches and relenting to Steven all that had passed since he left her on Route 1. It was strange, talking to him so openly. She even told him about the events at the high school, the battle with Team Skull, and her defeat against Ilima. All the while, he listened with keen interest, especially when she got to the part about Team Skull. When she told him about the Munchlax, he furrowed his brow so hard she thought he might lose the feeling in his face. He flexed his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists. Charley swallowed hard, watching him. She felt bad, bringing him so much unease, but he had asked.

The sun had begun to set by the time she finished telling him all that had happened. A strange coolness began to fill the air and she noticed that the crowd on the battlefield had thinned dramatically. Now, only a pair of Yungoos Trainers stood on the field, each pitting their own Yungoos' against one another in a test of speed. Around them, the street lights began to wink on one by one and the first stars of dusk began to glimmer in the darkening sky.

When she finished, she glanced over at Steven, who rested his head back against the tree. He puffed out a heavy sigh.

"I need to investigate this Team Skull," Steven said slowly. "Do you think there's a chance that they're still in the city?"

Charley shrugged. "Officer Jenny mentioned that they were causing a mild ruckus across the islands. Whether or not they're trying to become – or have the man power to be – a real Team she said she hasn't seen much of that yet."

"I think I'll hang around the city a bit longer, see if I can't learn any more about these guys," he grinned turning towards her. "While I hang around, can I help you train until you move onto the Verdant Cavern?"

She smiled back, a warmness blooming in her chest. "I'd like that."

For the next three days, he did. In the morning, he joined them for their run, his Pokémon Skarmory taking to the air alongside Hermes, challenging the Rowlet to move even faster than before. The Skarmory was fast, one of the fastest Pokémon Charley had ever seen. His steel wings glistened in the shine of the approaching dawn, and he was a blur above the ocean, looping back and forth to nip at Hermes' talons, urging him to fly faster and harder. While the air Pokémon Trained, Luna and Sparky were put through a series of dodge drills. Steven called out a tall, scaled and feathered Pokémon called an Armaldo. Her long talons looked menacing and Charley could just imagine trying to out maneuver those claws in a real battle. However, the Armaldo used a Ancient Power to throw large, levitating boulders at Sparky and Luna, forcing them to dodge and leap around the rocks.

"If you can, try to encourage them to leap on the boulders, using them as leverage," Steven said, watching as Luna just barely rolled out of the way of a particularly large rock. "Try and get them to come at Armaldo with a physical attack."

Charley nodded thoughtfully, watching her friends as they leapt and rolled out of the way. "Might as well give it a go. Okay, Luna, Sparky, try to leap on the rocks, don't just dodge them. Make a path to Armaldo. Luna, go for a Thunder Fang. Sparky, make for a Quick Attack!"

The two Pokémon pushed off. Sparky's Quick Attack gave her the extra boost of speed she needed to land atop the first rock but Luna was a hair too slow and took the boulder on full force. She yelped loudly, rolling in the sand.

"Shit," Charley gasped, tightness welling in her chest as she ran to her Pokémon's side. Luna struggled to her feet, then shook herself, shaking her fur out. She growled deep in her throat. "Are you okay?"

The Rockruff fluffed out her tail and, without any prodding, charged at Armaldo. The feathered Pokémon just raised a claw and a new barrage of Ancient Power came barreling towards Luna. She gathered her feet up and leaped…

And was thrown back into the sand.

Luna yelped again, taking a hard tumble. But she scrambled to her feet faster this time, coming back at Armaldo.

"Luna," Charley cried, raising a hand out to her partner. "Don't push yourself."

The Rockruff just charged forward, taking another dark boulder in the shoulder before skidding around in the sand. She barked hard, shaking sand loose from her fur.

"She's getting angry, it's making it hard for her to concentrate," Steven noted, drawing his lips into a thin line. "You have to get control of her."

"Luna, stop!" Charley shouted. The Rockruff completely ignored her, charging back onto the field at Armaldo. Horror split through her as she watched Luna take another hard boulder to the face. The puppy tumbled in the sand, her back feet dipping in the edge of the surf. She yelped in horrible pain, scrambling away from the water in a flash. Her chest was moving fast, her breaths coming ragged and hard with every step she took.

She's taking way too much damage from this, Charley realized, gritting her teeth. We're just supposed to be training.

As Luna gathered her feet beneath her to leap at Armaldo again, Charley took her chance. She leapt at the weakened Pokémon, grabbing Luna by her back legs. Luna yelped in surprise, growling and snarling as Charley yanked her, pulling the Pokémon close to her chest. Around her neck, the shell bell chimed, causing Luna's body to glow. The sudden restoration of some health did not do Charley any favors because the Rockruff continued to struggle and flail in her Trainer's grip. Her teeth and claws scraped against Charley's skin and she winced in pain as small pricks of blood began to flow freely down her arm. She heard Steven gasp behind her, but she ignored him.

"Luna, Luna, that's enough!" Charley shouted. "If you don't calm down, you're going back in your Ball. I've had enough of this from you!"

Finally, Luna stopped struggling. Charley watched as a realization seemed to come into her sky blue eyes. She remembered where she was, what she was doing. Her ears fell flat onto her head and she stared up at her Trainer apologetically. Whimpering, she tentatively licked Charley's wounds, worry blooming in the little puppy's eyes.

Charley sighed and sat on the beach with her, carefully stroking her head. Luna leaned into the scratch, letting Charley pet her into calmness. Now that she was sitting on the beach with her Pokémon, trying to calm her down, she could feel the sting of her scratches and scrapes. She squinted her eyes, focusing hard on Luna instead. The Pokémon had tucked her tail between her legs as Charley held her, trying to show some form of submission and apology for hurting her.

"Listen, Luna, I'm not mad," she whispered as she set her on the beach. Luna, ears still folded back, rested her head on Charley's knee. She smiled at the Pokémon sadly. "I was just worried about you. We're supposed to be training and working together to get better. Getting hurt from that doesn't benefit either of us, right?"

Charley suddenly noticed Rotom floating beside her at the ready. She flashed the Pokémon a grateful smile, knowing he would translate if Luna had anything to say to her.

But Luna just harrumphed, carefully reaching out her tongue to lick Charley's fingertips. Charley patted her head.

"We have to think about this calmly, okay? You're a fighting spirit, I know you are, just as you were the day we found you," Charley said, stroking the Pokémon's head. "I need you to be able to listen to me, trust me. I know it's hard, after surviving on your own for so long…" Charley sighed. She didn't know what to say, how to make Luna put her faith in her. After what they had already gone through together, what else could she do.

Suddenly, Luna gave a small yip.

"zzz-I will try," Rotom buzzed in translation. "zzz-But, I do not want to lozzze. After lozzzing to that zzztupid Zzzmeargle…" Luna suddenly growled deep in her throat.

Charley patted her head, soothing the Pokémon. The shell bell around her neck chimed again, restoring some of Luna's health. She began to wag her trail.

"I know you don't want to lose," Charley said. "I don't want us to lose either. But we need to learn to… to learn from it, right?" She glanced over at Steven, who was grinning like a fool. A sudden warmness burst through her and she tore her eyes away from him, focusing on Luna instead. Why did he always make her feel like that? It wasn't fair… "We need to work as a team. We trust one another, okay? I want us to become stronger but I don't want you being reckless or putting yourself in harm's way, okay?"

Luna nodded, huffing out a sigh. Finally, she rose to her feet, shaking out her fur. She yipped.

"zzz-Luna wantzzz to know if zzzhe can try againzzz," Rotom said.

Charley laughed and patted the puppy's head. "You are incorrigible. Alright, let's try again."

Luna barked excitedly, leaping into the air before whirling to face Armaldo. The feather Pokémon's eyes glowed blue and boulders began to rise into the air.

"Go, leap onto the boulder Luna!" Charley cried.

She watched as Luna ran, quickly approaching the boulder that Armaldo had thrown. But even as she moved, Charley could see that she was still too slow. She wasn't going to make it.

An idea coursed through her veins like hot fire. She shouted as loud and as quickly as she could. "Luna, use a Rock Throw to give yourself a boost!"

Luna's eyes light up and she howled, kicking out her back leg as she moved. A rock shot up from the ground and, just before Armaldo's Ancient Power could strike her, Luna leaped onto her own Rock Throw and into the air…

Landing on Armaldo's boulder.

"You did it!" Charley cheered excitedly.

"zzz-Amazing!" Rotom twirled in the air. Beneath him, Sparky jumped up and down, sending excited electric shocks around them.

Caught up in her own accomplishment, however, Luna wasn't paying attention and took another boulder to the face. Charley winced as she crashed to the ground, rolling around in the sand. The puppy shook herself out as she scrambled to her feet.

She turned her light blue eyes onto Charley, waiting for a command.

Charley smiled. "How are you feeling? Wanna try that one again?"

Luna yipped in confirmation, digging her paws into the ground. Charley laughed and pointed at Armaldo. "Alright, go get him girl! You, too, Sparky! Quick Attack and Rock Throw to give yourselves a boost!"

Elation burst through her as watched her Pokémon. They moved, almost in sync, bursting into the air as Armaldo's Ancient Power swung at them. Now concentrating her energy, Luna was able to leap onto the first boulder and each consecutive one. Sparky, more agile than her puppy partner, moved like the wind, using her Quick Attack to leap from boulder to boulder. As they came close, Armaldo tried to sweep them away with a quicker barrage of stones but to not avail. Luna tossed up a Rock throw and both she and Sparky leapt onto the tiny stone, ducking beneath Armaldo's onslaught to strike her hard in the chest, Luna using Bite and Sparky using Quick Attack. Though neither attack was super effective, the combined hit was enough to make the strong Pokémon stumble back. Luna and Sparky whirled away from Armaldo, running back to Charley, beaming with joy and excitement.

"I am so proud of you both!" Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. Damn those tear ducts, but she was so proud of them! They were working so hard, and becoming so great. She gathered them into her arms, squishing them tight against her cheeks in a hug. Sparky squirmed but Luna just yipped and licked her cheek. Laughing, she let them both go. "Now, let's keep that up, okay? Just a few more times and we'll go get breakfast."

She put her hands on her hips, feeling strangely like a proud mother as she watched her Pokémon charge back after Steven's Armaldo.

Suddenly, she noticed that he was much closer to her, holding out a bandage. The sight of it reminded her of the cuts on her arm and she winced, accepting the wrap from him.

"I gotta say, you have a… very special way with Pokemon," he said as she wrapped her arm up in the white bandage. "I've only seen very few people work with them on such a compassionate level."

Heat spread across her cheeks. She cleared her throat, rubbing her arm absently as she watched her friends.

"I'm just lucky to have such great companions," she said softly. "They mean the world to me."

"And I'm sure you do to them as well. I thought Luna was gonna hide in her Pokéball forever after she realized she Scratched you up," Steven noted. "We should get them checked out."

"Yea, once…"

A clang, like metal against stone, like the reverberating gong of the start of a Gym battle… like the end of the world… the sound cascaded around them, shaking the waves of the ocean, bring any and all training on the shore to a halt. A burst of light behind them made Charley whirl and she watched the light streaked through the air, tearing through the sky as if to open up a black hole, the edge of the universe. Stars and light sparkled within the chasm that ripped through the sky and she covered her mouth as she saw an outline, one so faint and shimmering, with long, dangling tentacles like a Tentacruel. But this… this creature was unlike any she had ever seen, its faceless blue form empty yet somehow still menacing.

The mirage faded just as quickly as it had arrived. Before she could even breath, the gaping hole in the sky and the creature were gone. A warm wind stirred up the cold sweat that had begun to run down her back. She swallowed away the tightness in her throat. What was that cold, clammy feeling, like she had just been hit with an Ice Beam?

Fear. Fear. It permeated every inch of her senses and she didn't know why.

Eventually, she managed to turn a glance over to Steven. His cold, gray eyes held the air, calculating.

"Something is very wrong here," he whispered. "Very, very wrong."