"Péle?" Hitomi stammered, staring at the unfamiliar, solemn bird that met her gaze with bright, knowing eyes. No longer was he the diminutive, child-like creature she had come to know. The pokémon before her now looked different in virtually every way. At nearly five feet tall, he was practically the same size as she was, and he was able to stare her down, eye to eye, unlike the rather unobtrusive way he used to look up at her when he was only a natu. His voice was different too. For one thing, it was deeper, and more mature-sounding. He also no longer seemed to have the limited vocabulary he'd had as a natu. His large, bright eyes were one of the few things about him that seemed familiar to Hitomi at all, and as she stared into them, she began to realize that they were indeed the same eyes staring back at her. Although his body had changed shape, he had grown taller, and his markings had become more striking and colorful, he was undeniably still Péle. "How did this happen?" she asked him in wonder. "I had no idea you were so close to evolution."

"I have a confession to make," he replied, slightly averting his gaze in evident embarrassment. "I've actually been physically capable of evolution for the past two or three weeks. I've been repressing the urge all this time, out of fear."

"Fear?" she responded, the bewilderment clear in her face. "But why would you be afraid of evolution? Is it painful?"

"No," he laughed, his eyes squinting a bit as he chuckled with mirth. "Not at all. No, what I feared was the unknown. I knew, as all my people know, that when the time comes for evolution, anything may happen. Old friends can become enemies. Trust, friendship, and understanding take a jarring blow from the sudden change. Even love can fail. Many of my kind hold onto their natu forms for many years. But sooner or later," he added, extending his wings to show her his beautiful, emerald green plumage, complete with yellow stripes and face like eye markings, "we all succumb. Eventually, curiosity wins out over fear in the end. And in ideal circumstances, the announcement of the process is made ahead of time, so that all can become ready. In my village, we often have a ceremony under every full moon for just such occasions. I, however, hadn't the luxury. I had to choose to evolve right here and now, out of necessity. I had to take whatever risks may come, so that I could be ready for the danger that imminently threatens us all. Without this evolution, I would not be strong enough to protect everyone. I hope, Hitomi, that you aren't afraid of me in this form. If so, I will... I will keep my distance to make you less uncomfortable. Forgive me. I wish I'd told you already about all of this. I hesitated, and now things have come to this."

Hitomi was more than just a little taken aback. He had been afraid that evolving would make her afraid of him again. As she considered what this meant, she found herself asking if she'd been afraid of him at all there at the end, and she didn't have to search long for the answer. She stared at him again, and all at once she knew that, no matter what shape he changed into, or what attacks he learned, he would make good on his promise. He was there to protect her, and he wasn't going to hurt her. She wasn't afraid of him. She couldn't be afraid of him. He was Péle. He was her friend.

"Don't be an idiot," she chuckled, feeling tears of relief begin to form in her eyes. "Why should I be scared of you? Pipsqueak or not, you're still Péle. Besides, who'd be scared of a shrimpy totem pole like you?" She laughed and gave him a playful shove, and he tweeted with delight.

"This is incredible, Péle!" Grady exclaimed. Suddenly Hitomi realized that she'd forgotten all about him and Roxanne. "You look awesome! I'll bet you're way stronger too! You're definitely smarter! You speak a lot more understandably," he laughed good-naturedly.

"He shouldn't even be able to talk at all!" Roxanne spluttered, pointing at Péle, her face a white mixture of confusion and shock. "How can this be possible? No one's ever heard of a talking pokémon! At least, I haven't, anyway!"

"All will be explained in due time," Péle assured her, giving her a courteous bow. "But at the present, we don't have the time to discuss it here. Please, before they reach the door – all of you place your hands upon me. I must transport us to a safer location."

"Come on!" Grady cried, grabbing Roxanne's hand and leading her to Péle. "He's right. If he senses our enemies here, we shouldn't stay. Come on, Hitomi! Verdiana!"

Hitomi put her hand on Péle's left wing, while Grady mashed the hand of the confused, protesting Roxanne on Péle's right, as he put his other hand on the left wing next to Hitomi's. Verdiana stumbled over to them and rested her head ever so lightly on Péle's head. The moment she made contact, Péle's pupils dilated slightly, and he let out a shrill tweet. Instantaneously, they disappeared, just before the gym doors burst open, and a dozen men clad in dark green fatigues burst inside, brandishing pokéballs and rushing through the gym in search of their target. But search as they may, they found no trace of Hitomi, her friends, or the gym leader Roxanne, save the scattered bits of stone reminders of their battles.

"Boss Genji won't be pleased," their team leader said darkly. He ordered his men to round up all the gym trainers and find out whatever information they could from them. If they went back to HQ completely empty-handed, they were all in for it.

------------------------

When they all reappeared in the cave, Roxanne was still shouting protests and shrieking at them. But when she saw where she was, she stopped speaking altogether, and she backed away quickly, drawing a Pokeball from her belt and holding it up with a shaking hand. "What the hell is the meaning of all of this?" she demanded, glaring at them distrustfully. "How dare you spirit me away from my gym without my permission? This... this is kidnapping, and I'll have you all know that I'm very dangerous when threatened!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Hitomi exclaimed, holding up her hands. "We had no choice! Neo Perfection was coming! It was either leave without you and let them brainwash you, or take you with us and keep you safe!"

Understandably, Roxanne understood next to none of what she'd just been told, and she believed even less. "I think you'd better explain," she said icily, not withdrawing her pokéball. If she'd bothered to remember that both her pokémon were still fainted, she wouldn't have continued to brandish it at them like a weapon, but her instincts were overruling her reason.

Hitomi did as she asked. She told Roxanne about her parents, and how they'd gotten themselves mixed up with Neo Perfection. She told her about Péle, his village, and of their escape during the night after Fortree had been seized. She told her about Genji, and of his plans for the world, and of how she'd met Grady, who'd agreed to help her. "And we knew that we had to find powerful allies," she said breathlessly as she finished. "So we began with you. We need to track down all the gym leaders who haven't been brainwashed, and get them to help us."

"This is unbelievable," Roxanne gasped, staring first at Hitomi, then at Grady, and then at Péle, trying to see if any of them might begin laughing at the joke they'd pulled on her. "Are you honestly telling me that there are gym leaders under this guy's control already?"

"There's at least one," Hitomi replied grimly. "Winona of Fortree has been under their spell for several days already. "I don't know how many others there are."

"This is very disturbing news!" Roxanne replied, frowning and shaking her head. "I don't know if I can believe you without some kind of proof. It's just too out there."

"Proof?" Péle asked, cocking his head quizzically at her. "The proof is in your very own gym at this moment. There are currently Neo Perfectionists interrogating your trainers to find out where you and we have gone. It is mere chance and good fortune that there weren't enough men nearby with enough power amongst themselves to take the whole city. As it is, they'll most likely leave to report to their superiors what they have – and haven't – found."

"Hold the phone! Wait a minute!" Roxanne cried. "Are you saying there are dangerous people in my gym, harassing my trainers? And you expect me to stay here, with you, and just let them have their way?"

"There's nothing else we can do," Hitomi said helplessly. "There are too many of them for us to face alone. You heard Péle. I have two pokémon, and one of them's injured. Both of yours are fainted, aren't they? And that just leaves Grady. And if we show up now," she added, turning to Grady and frowning, "then we'll lose the element of surprise, and we'll ruin your plan."

"Well, I suppose we could do something," Grady replied slowly, glancing at Péle with a queer expression on his face. "Péle, do you think you could use that teleport technique of yours to jump in there and rescue Roxanne's gym trainers?"

"It depends," he replied, understanding what Grady was asking him. "It depends upon whether or not they can be removed from their contact. If one or more of the men from Neo Perfection make contact with me or them before I transport them away, then I'll be transporting not just the gym trainers, but also any Neo Perfectionists that are touching either of us."

"I've an idea," Grady replied. "How about instead of first teleporting to the cave, you teleport to just outside the gym? That way we can catch 'em off guard and disoriented, and pull the trainers out of reach long enough to teleport away."

"It sounds plausible," Péle replied, his expression brightening. "But it will likely take more than one trip. If the trainers aren't together, which I doubt they will be, we'll have to come for them one at a time, and any trips after the first will be anticipated."

"Please, let's do it," Roxanne interjected, stepping forward and balling her hands into fists. "If all this is true, then I can't bear to leave any of my trainers behind. I owe it to them as their leader to get them out of danger. Please take me with you. I'm not as strong as my pokémon, but I'll beat the tar out of anyone who dares threaten my trainers!"

It was decided that Grady and Roxanne would undertake the mission. Péle refused to involve Hitomi, as she was still injured and couldn't be counted upon to move quickly enough. She would stay in the cave with Verdiana and explain things to the trainers as they were transported there. At first Hitomi protested vehemently, but although she felt hurt and angry with the decision, she knew it was the right one. She would only get in the way, and both speed and courage would be needed – two things she seemed to have in short supply these days. So dejectedly, she agreed to do what she could for the gym trainers, and she began to rebuild the fire and make the cave more comfortable.

"Be on your toes," Grady warned Roxanne. "Don't hesitate to punch 'em where it counts. Let's go, Péle!"

In a flash they had gone. Hitomi grumbled something unintelligible about how Grady could take his plan and shove it somewhere unpleasant, but inwardly she was more worried than angry. Having to stay here and wait was worse than facing the danger herself. She glanced anxiously over at Verdiana, who had lain down to rest back inside the cave.

"How are you feeling, girl?" she asked, limping over and putting a hand on Verdiana's back. Verdiana raised her head and snorted at her. She seemed more comfortable than they had been in the gym, at least. But she was still injured. The revive hadn't really healed her wounds, and she was still in pain. Maybe Hitomi could do something for Verdiana while she waited for the others.

"Hold on a minute, okay?" she ordered, digging around inside her shopping bag, which she'd hidden behind the firewood, out of view of the cave entrance. "I still have my super potions. Let's get you fixed up."

It took two of them to cover all of Verdiana's injuries, but within minutes she was as good as new again. Verdiana stretched her mended wing and growled a happy, throaty growl. She butted Hitomi playfully with her head, and Hitomi laughed at her and shoved her away. "Knock it off," she chuckled. "You'll knock me over, and if I bump my head, who's gonna use a super potion on me, anyway?"

She put the empty potion bottles into the shopping bag, remembering that they could be recycled at the next pokémon mart she visited, and then she rested on the floor next to Verdiana, anxiously waiting for the others to return. Why was it taking so long? They should have been back already.

Hitomi was just about ready to ask Verdiana if she wanted to take off and look for them, when suddenly Péle returned. He brought Grady, Roxanne, and her three gym trainers with him. They had all made it!

"Thank goodness!" she exclaimed, leaping to her feet and coming over to meet them. "I was beginning to get worried!"

"It was actually pretty easy," Grady laughed, scratching the back of his head. "When Neo Perfection realized that none of these trainers knew what had happened to us, they left them alone and took off after us. Whether they were waiting for Roxanne to return or not, we're not sure, because as soon as we had rounded these three up, we came right back."

Hitomi glanced at the trainers they'd battled earlier, and she gasped. "Fred, what happened?" she exclaimed. "You look terrible!"

And indeed he did. His face was bruised and swollen, and he was clutching his midsection, as though he had a stomachache. Penny was helping him stay steady on his feet, and was leading him over to the cave wall so that he could sit down and lean against it. "Those awful men did this to him," she retorted, her face blotchy and red. "He tried to fight back and they beat him up."

"What did you expect me to do?" he laughed weakly. "They grabbed you and tried to take you away. D'you think I'd let 'em do that?"

"They asked each of us what happened after you battled Roxanne," Wilbur explained. "They separated us and asked each of us individually. There was this Drowzee, and it kept staring at me," he added, shuddering. "It was like, even if I had wanted to lie to them, I got the feeling that it'd attack me if I did. But I didn't know what happened, so they never found out from me. I was so busy fixing what my pokémon had done to the floor that I never had a chance to go watch you guys battle Roxanne."

"It was the same with us," Penny continued. "Roxanne asks that we keep the gym in top shape in case of busy days. We were busy picking up too. They interrogated me with a kadabra," she added, shuddering.

"I got a Kirlia," Fred groaned. "All I could get from it was a feeling of confusion. I don't think it wanted to be there any more than I did. But you could tell it was scared. There's no telling what it might have done to me, or to anyone if they scared it bad enough. Anyway, whatever you guys did to tick these people off, they sure are dead set on finding you. I'm glad we didn't know. I hate to think what they intend to do to you."

"We're not what's most important," Hitomi explained. "But in a way, we are important enough. We're the few people on the outside who are aware of who these guys are and what they're doing. Since we know, it's our job to get the word out. We're getting everyone we can to join us in putting a stop to them."

"Whatever you need, you can count on me," Penny spoke up. "They can't get away with doing this to my Freddie. I'll bury 'em in a landslide!"

"Good!" Péle exclaimed. "I had a feeling you would feel that way! What about you two?" he asked, staring first at Wilbur, and then at Fred. "Will you help us as well?"

"Did... did that pokémon just talk?" Fred gasped. "Pen, I think they hit me on the head a little too hard!"

"I think we'd better start from the beginning," Grady laughed. "Come on. I'll make us some lunch, and we'll explain everything."

A pot of stew and much explanation later, and everyone knew the situation as it stood. Unlike Roxanne, the gym trainers had no problem believing their story, since they had seen the Neo Perfectionists themselves. They all agreed that they'd do whatever it took to fight them off and keep their town and the world safe.

"The greatest weapon we have right now is information," Hitomi explained. "We need to let as many people know about this as is possible. If we can do that, then we'll be able to discourage Neo Perfection from doing anything major for a while. They're not strong enough yet to take on all of Hoenn."

"That's not necessarily true," Péle disagreed. "The part where they won't do anything, I mean," he added. "It's possible that alerting everyone might instead force them into playing their hand. I think that we do need to warn people, but we need to do it as discreetly as possible. And not just people either," he continued, flinging his wings open wide. "Don't forget that there are also pokémon in this world. They have as much a stake in this conflict as any of you do. Neo Perfection intends to use them as they would use you. I think that, in addition to warning the people of this land, we should also be warning the Pokémon."

"That's a great idea!" Penny exclaimed. "And you could do it, couldn't you? Since you're a pokémon, you could tell any pokémon we meet what to watch out for!"

"Yes, I could, but it wouldn't be enough," he replied, even though he was visibly pleased by her vote of confidence. Penny had already taken a noticeable liking to Péle. "What I'll do is alert the local pokémon of the situation, and ask them to pass it along to their neighbors, and have it passed along by word of mouth that way. The news will spread quickly that way. Once the pokémon of our land are aware of the danger, they will be better able to prepare themselves for it. But still," he continued, with a note of sadness in his voice, "we will need the help of humanity. My father knew this, and he still does. It was his idea to get the humans involved, and I intend to carry his plan out to its extent."

"Speaking of your father, Péle," Hitomi interrupted, having a sudden flash of inspiration, "I just had an idea. If we could get word to him, would he and the rest of your village be able to spread out across Hoenn and help us spread the word to the pokémon?"

Péle gave a start, and he stared at Hitomi with clear admiration. "That's an idea!" he exclaimed. "But how would we find them? I don't dare try to contact the elder over such a large distance. I don't know how to limit my telepathy to just a single person or Pokemon yet, and if I try to project my thoughts across such a large distance, anyone along the way could intercept them."

"We might try flying back to Petalburg," she offered. "Genji will have gone by now. It's possible that there are other Neo Perfectionists there by now, but we should be able to sense them before we get there. Otherwise I'd suggest you teleport me there."

"It's a good idea," Grady agreed. "We could all go. All of us couldn't fit on Verdiana, but Roxanne and the gym trainers could. Molly can fly me too, as long as we don't go too far. She's taken me the distance it'd take to get from here to Petalburg before easily. As for Hitomi," he mused, studying her and then looking at Péle, "maybe Péle could carry her."

"What?" Hitomi replied, realizing that she didn't like where this was going. "He's not even as big as me! How could he carry me?"

"Flying pokémon have very powerful wings," Grady laughed. "How else do you suppose a little bird like Molly would be able to fly with me?"

"I have little doubt that I could do it," Péle encouraged her, stretching his wings out wide for her to see. "My strength increased when I evolved. I could carry you for a great distance indeed. Don't forget that it is the duty of a xatu to help transport the natu of his village in times of crisis. I could carry many on my back at once. Although to carry you, I'd have to hold you with my feet," he laughed, raising a leg to show her his long, slender toes. Each one had a long, slightly hooked talon at its end. Hitomi imagined how it'd feel to have them digging into her shoulders, and she gulped.

"I don't know," she mumbled, noticing that they were all of the opinion that it was the right idea. "Maybe we should try a test run or something first."

"Good idea," Grady agreed, laughing despite his attempts to keep from hurting her feelings. "Anyway, before we go, we need to warn the rest of Rustboro," he continued, frowning and turning to Roxanne. "If she comes along, they'll be left to handle things without her help."

"You make a very good point," Roxanne laughed. "So good, in fact, that I'm afraid I can't agree to come along. Instead, I'm going to stay behind and help Rustboro prepare for the worst. I carry a lot of weight with the city officials. They'll believe me when I tell them what's going on. Do any of you want to stay behind too?" she asked the gym trainers, frowning at them. "Fred, I think you should for sure. We ought to get you home so your mom can tend to those cuts and bruises. I'm sure you'll be fine, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Aw, Roxanne," Fred whined. "I'm fine! Just a little banged up, is all! I want to help out! I don't wanna be stuck at home when all the action's out here!"

"I'll stay with him," Penny interrupted, smacking him soundly on the back of the head. "Since he won't listen to his gym leader, he'll listen to me. Or else," she added, glaring at him menacingly.

Fred turned bright red, but he gulped and cast his eyes downward, scowling in defeat. Hitomi caught herself just in time to keep from giggling at him. It was easy to see who wore the pants around here.

"I'll go with Grady and Hitomi," Wilbur volunteered. "If you think you guys can do without me, Roxanne, I'd like to help out as best as I can with them."

"Good," she replied with a nod of approval. "But you're not ready to set out yet. Your pokémon need healing, and you need to stop off at home and let your folks know you're going off on an errand for me. Tell them you'll be gone for a long while," she advised him, "and make sure you pack plenty of supplies. If you guys need money, I can wire him some funds through the local pokemarts," she added, smiling at Hitomi and the others. "Wilbur has my number on his cell phone. Just give us a ring. And keep us posted with the news!"

"They're likely to be watching for you to return to Rustboro," Grady warned her. "We'll need to teleport you guys out there, one at a time, and take you as discreetly as we can to your houses."

"No problem," Roxanne replied. "I know a pretty nondescript path into the city. I doubt they'll know of it, much less watch it. If I think of it Péle, can you take us there?"

Péle studied her for a few moments, and then he nodded. "Yes," he replied. "The vision is very clear to me from your thoughts. I won't have any difficulty taking as many of us there as we decide to take."

"Good," Grady replied. "This time, it might be better if I stay behind. Go in groups of two, and keep Roxanne with you until the last group has gone."

"That won't be necessary," she laughed. "We can all go at once. They won't see us. Trust me," she added, winking at him. "Oh, and Grady," she added, as she, Penny, and Fred came up to rest their hands on Péle, "thanks for everything. You too, Péle."

"And Hitomi," Péle reminded her, looking somewhat ruffled.

"And Hitomi," Roxanne laughed. "Of course."

Hitomi grinned. "You guys be careful! I'll be waiting!"

"Oh, one more thing," Grady exclaimed. "I almost forgot. When we call you and talk about Neo Perfection, we need to be careful what we say. There's no telling who might be listening. When we talk about them, we'll call them the circus people," he explained, smiling brightly at her. "It'd be wise to encode our conversations just a little."

"You're so cute," she laughed at him. Grady's eyes widened and his freckled cheeks reddened a bit. "Good luck! I'll stay with Wilbur until he's filled in his folks on the 'details,' and then I'll send him back with Péle. Good-bye you two! Stay safe!"

With that, Péle glanced back at Hitomi and winked, and without another word, they had all disappeared. Grady let out what sounded like a whole chest full of air.

"Well that's that," he sighed. "Now we wait."

"I think someone has an admirer," Hitomi said coyly, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow. "What do you think about that, Mr. Cute?"

Grady's cheeks flushed again, much more visibly than before. "Don't be stupid," he laughed in embarrassment. "She was just joking around!"

"Hm... she could easily be our age," Hitomi remarked, ignoring him and tapping her chin thoughtfully. "She could be a year younger though, but not much more than that. Just don't break her heart, Grady. Those rock pokémon of hers could break more than that in you!"

"You're not funny," he chuckled, giving her a playful shove. Hitomi laughed and shoved him back. Verdiana decided that if they were going to roughhouse, she didn't want to be left out of the fun! She came bulldozing her way in between them, tossing her head and trumpeting excitedly. She nipped at Grady's jacket sleeves, and she flapped her wings, slapping Hitomi and Grady on top of their heads with the leafy fronds.

"Verdiana!" Hitomi shrieked, laughing and covering her head with her arms. "Get Grady! Knock him over good, girl!"

Verdiana stomped excitedly, and she gave Grady a good head butt in the side. "Oof!" he grunted, laughing as he fell over on his other side. "If you want a pokémon battle Hitomi, this isn't the normal way of asking for it!"

Hitomi laughed. "You started it. If you want to admit defeat, I'll call her off!"

Verdiana had her face buried in his stomach, and she was snorting and nipping at his shirt, giving him the tickling of his life. Grady was laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. "Okay! Uncle, uncle!" he gasped. "I give up!"

"Good girl, Verdiana!" Hitomi laughed. "Come on. Let's go get some more firewood. We're gonna run out soon."

"I think I'll stay here and lick my wounds," Grady gasped, catching his breath. "Don't wander off too far!" he warned as they left the cave entrance.

"Don't worry," Hitomi called back. "I won't be long."

"Oh, take these with you!" Grady called, grabbing Hitomi's shopping bag and digging some stuff out. He ran up and handed her pokéballs and super potions to her. "It never hurts to be prepared," he explained, winking. "Give me a yell if you get into trouble."

"Verdiana, kill!" Hitomi laughed. Verdiana whirled around and lowered her head, pawing at the ground and snorting like a tauros.

"Augh!" Grady half-yelled, half-laughed. "Keep her away from me! It's the tickling tropius of terror!" He ran back into the cave, flailing his arms around like a maniac.

Hitomi giggled. "Come on, girl. It's a nice day for a walk."

She and Verdiana walked for a brief distance away from the cave, watching the forest around them. Hitomi whistled softly and soaked in the peaceful surroundings. She hadn't been able to relax in a long while. Verdiana snuck up along behind her – as quietly as a pokémon of her size could sneak – and she pressed her nose to Hitomi's neck and snorted, blowing hot breath against her sensitive skin, and eliciting a shriek out of Hitomi.

"You sure are in a good mood today, aren't you?" she laughed, stopping and turning to pat Verdiana on the head. "Seems like all you want to do is play. I'm just glad you don't play too rough."

Verdiana would have responded, but all of the sudden her head shot up and she froze, sniffing the air and peering around alertly. Hitomi realized she had either heard or smelled something. She turned around again and listened. She could hear it now – a faint snuffling and rustling in the leaves just off the path to the right.

"I wonder what it is?" she whispered to Verdiana, suddenly apprehensive. "Do you think it's a pokémon?"

Verdiana didn't answer. She was just as curious as Hitomi was, but unfortunately, she was also much bolder than Hitomi. She immediately plodded toward the noise, picking her way among the leaf litter and sticks along the edge of the path, until she came to a small lump beneath the leaves. She snorted at it, and she turned excitedly to Hitomi and let out a kind of soft growl. Something about her voice told Hitomi that there was no danger, so she crept closer to see what Verdiana had found.

Carefully, Verdiana nudged the leaves with her nose, and the pile gave a frightened squeak. A pokémon scrambled out of the leaves and dirt and skittered toward the path with all its might. It looked kind of like some kind of brown bug, but it was about a foot taller than Péle had been when he was a natu. Verdiana's leafy wings flared, and with an excited snort she bounded after it and pounced on the frightened thing. It squeaked again, and this time it was a squeak of pain. Verdiana had it somewhat squished beneath her front feet.

"Verdiana!" Hitomi cried, half wanting to laugh at her playfulness, and half pitying the hapless bug that had caught her interest. "Get off of that poor thing. It's no match for your strength!"

Verdiana seemed pleased by Hitomi's assessment of her dominance over the flighty little bug, so she did as she was told. What happened next took both of them by surprise. The bug, now more indignant and angry than frightened, shook off his injuries and leapt at Verdiana's face, scratching her smartly on the snout with one of the claws on his foreleg. Verdiana honked in angry surprise, and she bit at the bug, who had already fallen to the ground and was running around the flying pokémon's legs, scratching at them as he passed. Verdiana trumpeted in frustration, and she began stomping around after it, growling and flaring her wings out menacingly.

Although she had been surprised and somewhat alarmed when the wild pokémon had turned on them, Hitomi was now finding the whole situation very comical. "Don't let him get the better of you, girl!" she laughed. "You're a flying type, aren'tcha? I thought you ate bugs like him for breakfast!" She smiled suddenly, proud that she had remembered that bugs were weak to flying types.

"Hey Verdiana!" she called to her distressed, increasingly infuriated tropius. "Fly up in the air and get him from there!"

Verdiana didn't need to be told twice. She flapped her great wings and rose a couple yards up into the air. She flew circles around the bug, making sure to send lots of gusts of air blasting down onto it from above, and swooping down occasionally to knock it over with a well-placed kick or headbutt. Within minutes, their little assailant had lost most of his steam, and he was lying on his back, kicking sluggishly at the air whenever Verdiana came close.

"That's enough, Verdiana," Hitomi laughed. "You've shown him who's boss. Get back here and leave him alone."

Verdiana trumpeted proudly and sailed back over to Hitomi, landing noisily on the ground behind her. Hitomi grinned at her and then stared back at the bug. Now that it wasn't skittering about so quickly, she could get a better look at it. It was a kind of greyish-brown, and it had a couple of malformed, green wings sprouting out of its back. It had large, multi-faceted eyes, much like those of a fly. It was a stout-looking pokémon, and since it had taken quite a while to wear it down, it must have been pretty strong. It was at least pretty sturdy. It suddenly occurred to Hitomi that it might not be a bad idea to catch it. She could ask Grady later whether he thought it would be a good pokémon to raise. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it looked like it could hold its own.

"Let's hope this works," she said aloud, removing a pokéball from her pocket and watching as the bug got shakily to its feet. "At least it's not big and scary," she laughed. "Here goes!"

She tossed her pokéball, and it fell just short of its mark. But it rolled forward and bumped against the bug's front leg. Immediately the ball opened up and a red beam of light shot out of it and enveloped the exhausted bug. Its body transformed into more of the red light, and then it all went shooting back into the ball, which closed with a snap.

Hitomi watched the ball shake a little bit, and she couldn't help noticing that she was filled with a strange kind of excitement. Would it stay in the ball? She knew that sometimes pokémon were strong enough to burst out of the ball if they didn't want to be caught. Apparently this one was too tuckered out. After only a few weak shakes, the button on the pokéball flashed red, and they heard a musical "ding" sound.

"It worked!" Hitomi gasped. "Verdiana, I just caught a pokémon!"

Verdiana trotted forward and sniffed the pokéball, holding one paw up daintily. She snorted at the ball and turned her head. Apparently she was above acknowledging such an unimportant bug pokémon. Hitomi chuckled and went up to retrieve her pokéball. "I guess it's official now, girl. I'm a real pokémon trainer. Wouldn't my parents have been excited!"