Zoya sighed as we walked down the steps, which were a deep shade of purple. I looked at her quizzically.
"What's up?" She scrunched up her mouth and sighed again.
"I'm not sure I'm ready for this Zen." I let out a shallow laugh.
"Join the club. I have to go home and ex-"
Wait... I didn't!
"Well I have to go home and have a go at the mother." We both laughed uneasily. The morning was still in full flow, cold sunshine licked the chimney of the houses as we passed. The air was still and the grass whispered gently to us as we kicked at the path. Each step caused my stomach to twist a little harder. I bit my lip hard, probing the scab which had formed over the split in my lip.
Zoya stopped suddenly. "I don't have anyone to go home with Zen." The sentence stumbled out clumsily, thick with tears. I looked at her, and sure enough a silver strip shone on her cheek. She didn't wipe it away, instead choosing to squeeze more which rolled down her face.
"You can come back to mine Zoy," I said casually, uneasily. She allowed a small smile and nodded.
We continued the walk to mine, past Farrow's house. It stood, decrepit yet proud. Propped up with excess metal, the foundations it stood on were uneven and rough, making the house almost slant. A crooked habitat. Inside, we heard the whistle of a kettle slip out the cracks and the steady hum of his Magnemite. Ever since he caught it, his electricity bills were nothing.
A few more turns and I stood in front of my house. I breathed sharply and opened the front door.

"Mum?" I called out. I was greeted with silence. I had a quick check, but she wasn't around. It was unusual.
"Hey, look." Zoya was looking at a box on the kitchen table. It stood, wrapped in nautical wrapping paper. White birds aligned the frames.
A note was lightly attached to the parcel.

'Hi Zen. I've been called to Goldenrod City for some business with work. I know you'll have some questions for me, so I'll get in touch with you as soon as I can. Love, Mum.'

I stood, looking dumbly at the note.
"Are you kidding me?" I muttered under my breath, embarrassed. Zoya giggled.
"Well," she said smiling, "I guess that makes two of us." I smiled, ignoring my internal bruising. But she spotted it.
"Come on," she said lightly, "We might as well head off." I nodded limply. I quicky ran upstairs, grabbing a satchel and making sure my pokéball was well cushioned. I took my time, and as I walked down the stairs, I still felt miffed.
Why did she not wait and explain herself? I bit my lip hard, but the scab stood firm.
Throwing a fake smile at Zoya, I nodded. Turning towards the door, I took in one last breath of home, and shut it hard behind me.

Walking back to the gate, Zoya took out a penknife. I knew what for.
"Who knows," she stated sincerely. "We could both be champions one day." I laughed. "Yeah, maybe."
We arrived the posts and found some space to mark. Zoya wrote her name, delicate and script-like. I hardly cut my name into the wood, enjoying the destructive feel to the process. Zoya pretended not to notice as I repeatedly stabbed the post. Splinters licked at my fingertips. Some bit. It felt good somehow. Passing the knife back to her, I smiled mischievously. "Come on, let's do this!"
We walked through the posts and into the grass. A long stretch of it was flattened, ruined by footsteps and intrigue. Coughs of grass stood defiantly, dying. We followed it tentatively, both keeping quiet. Every snap caught us off guard, and when one rang out and we saw it was a twig Zoya had stepped on, we both let out a relieved laugh. This beginning stuff was stressful stuff.
The path continued endlessly, a long stretch. Zoya hummed to herself and I tried to control my breathing.
It was hard.
Every shadow, I had been told as a youngster, could hide a pokémon, just ready to jump out at you. My eyes were trapped open, seeing creatures in the silence of the shade. As the morning opened up, so did the sun. It beat relentlessly, and after only 20 minutes of walking, my head started to swim. I struggled to focus on the pink flowers which adorned our route. The trees merged into one fuzzy strip and the sky was so blue. Zoya pushed me and I stumbled, before snapping back and glaring at her. She tapped her head sternly I got the message. First thing I'd do when I got the next town was buy a hat.
The route was simple and uninspiring. The dying grass continued to stretch, the sun continued to shine, and the pokémon continued to hide. So much for the journey the Prof. has promised.
Three hours of walking later, we took a break.
"This is hard work," Zoya gasped, sweating heavily. A block of makeup was spread into her dress collar, like butter on hot toast. I screwed my nose up at it and she hit me, blushing. I didn't say anything, but she got the message. She took out a tissue from her bag and wiped most of it off.
"How do you feel?" I teased, blowing lightly on her face. She scowled, but a hint of a smile remained on her lips as she pushed herself up. "Come on Zen, let's keep going." I looked at her helplessly. "Come on!"
I groaned as I stood, and as the sun pushed, I couldn't help but feel the trek was a bad idea. I expressed this to Zoya, who agreed but pointed out that going back would be a waste of time. Three hours in the sun for a purpose is better than six for nothing. I agreed.
Ahead, a wooden sign was stuck into the ground. We staggered to it, and Zoya let out a triumphant woop.
"Yes! Cherrygrove City is only half an hour away," she shouted triumphantly. I looked at her in disbelief.
"Half an hour!?" I gasped. "In this heat?" She nodded eagerly, suddenly queen of cool.
"Well, I'll need something to protect me from the damn heat!" I yelled, suddenly losing my cool as a bead of sweat stung my eye.
"Want to borrow my hat?" A whisper creept into my ear. Jolting back, I whipped around to a girl dressed entirely in black. Black shoes, black jeans and a black pullover. The only colour was her face, a chalky white, and her eyes which blazed an emerald green. Brown hair tumbled roughly over her shoulders.
Behind me, I heard the shallow click of a pokéball and turned around to see Zoya standing in a defensive stance.
"Who are you?" she hissed, her eyes set on the stranger in a steely glare. I flicked my eyes back to the girl.
"My name is Kalina," she said softly, barely audible. Her arms stood limply down her sides, black nail varnish chipped on her fingers.
Zoya continued to hold her stance. "How long have you been following us?" Kalina shook her head slowly.
"I just arrived here," she whispered. Her eyes locked onto mine. The hairs on the back of my neck rose slightly. "Now," she said, smiling, "Do you want to borrow my hat?" She held out a black baseball cap. I took it from her, and flashed her an uneasy half smile.
"Thanks." She nodded. "I'm Zen," I said. "And she," pointing behind me, I winked at Kalina, who looked curiously behind my shoulder. "Is Zoya. She'll be the girl kicking your ass if you don't behave."
Kalina laughed softly, a copper lump of sound. It made my ears tingle.
"Where are you from," Zoya asked, obviously shaken. She flicked her eyes warily, as if sensing something. Kalina squinted slightly, and her left hand formed a ball. "That's enough," she shouted sharply, making me and Zoya both jolt. She snapped her head to the right, and out of nowhere, a purple sprite-like pokémon suddenly appeared. I jumped and stumbled back into Zoya.
It stood rigidly, every point on its body accentuated. Spikes formed it's elbows and knees and a sharp, jagged grin was torn across its face. The most noticable thing was its eyes, which were two huge jewels. They blazed in the sun, blinding us both when it turned to Kalina. "Sableye," she said softly, reachi ngout a hand. "Say hello to Zen and Zoya." The creature grabbed her finger and dragged itself to us, before extending its hand.
The grin was till fixed on its face. I gingerly reached out and grabbed its hand. My mind went blank.

My mother stood in front of me. She stood at the kitchen sink, writing.I walked lucidly up to her, and put my hand on her shoulder. But I didn't feel her.
My hand glided through her body. She carried on writing, the pen cracking ink spots on the page.
Her head lolled, and her body sagged against the kitchen side. The ink continued to spill.
I tried to talk but my tongue was thick and heavy in my mouth. My veins in my arm pushed against my skin.
My jaw locked as she stopped writing, her arm falling limp by her side.
I tried again. "Mfff, mffff!" I tried to scream but swallowed the sound. My veins were hurting now.
I clawed desperately at my mother but my hands glided through her image. A spray of blood popped from my skin, painting the ceiling.
I almost passed out, the pain tore at my every sense.
"Mffff!" I screamed against my tongue desperately, eyes trapped open as a thick strip of vein was torn from my arm by an invisible force. My head swam, the pain overcame me.
My spine unlocked, my legs twisted at impossible angles. Both of my hands locked and splintered. I broke like a toy.
Beside me, my mother fell on the floor, her strings cut. Her face wasn't there, just an empty abyss.
Dead eyes stared at nothing.
A lifeless human puppet.

"Zen, wake up!"
My eyes snapped open and I screamed. My whole body tingled.
I tried to get up but my body failed me. Sweat soaked my clothes. Zoya and Kalina stood above me, looking worried.
Well, Zoya did. Kalina just stared at me.
"What the hell happened?" I spat, my throat raw. Zoya shook her head helplessly. She looked at Kalina, who stood up and stretched casually. "What did you see?" she asked quietly.
"M-my mother," I stuttured, shaking uncontrollable. My sweat-laden clothes were drying fast under the sun and were starting to crust.
"She was writing." Kalina looked at me, awaiting my next sentence. "I was being screwed up." I stammered. "Everything in my body broke, a-and my mother, just... collapsed." I looked at Zoya, who looked shocked. Scared.
Kalina sighed. "It's probably nothing," she said quietly, simply.
I looked at her in shock. "What!?"I spat again. She squinted her eyes again.
"Rest up," she said, before turning to Zoya. "Make sure he's okay. I'll go and find some berries for tonight."
Tonight!? I looked at my watch. 6.34PM.
I looked at Zoya, speechless. "I was out for six hours!?" I screeched, my voise hoarse and rusty.
"I tried Zen," she said in a hushed whisper, looking back. But Kalina had disappeared into the foliage.
"I tried to take you back home. I was going to take you to the Prof. But she didn't let me take you." She looked set to cry. "She kept saying you'd come round."
I clenched my hands, wincing as my knuckles cracked into place.
"She knows something," I said bitterly, still shaken. I couldn't shake the image. And the pain, it had felt so real.
Zoya nodded. "I know," she said quietly. miserably.

I glared at the trees, and spat on the ground.
"We need to find out what she's not telling us."