Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon or any of its related enterprises. They are the property of their respective owners.

Chapter Twelve: Harsh Reality.

It was cold. While Amy had expected it be a bit chilly, she hadn't thought it was going to be quite this drafty in the tower. Clearly, years of wear and tear had caused the wood to splinter in places, and now the sun wasn't shining down on it she could feel the night seep through. Huddled in her sleeping-bag, she didn't much like the thought of leaving it.

The tower's rocking had become familiar to her, and as she sat there by herself, it had become rather comforting to feel its constant swaying. It was like being rocked in a cradle, which had proven to be hard to ignore. Twice now she'd almost fallen asleep, woken up by cries from outside. Hoothoot surveyed the area around the tower, having woken now night had fallen, and their predatory shrieks kept her awake. That, and the thought of doing what she'd come here for.

Amy had been quite interested in this pokémon they called 'Gastly', and Jason's urging had made her agree to spend the night in the Sprout Tower as opposed to a comfortable pokémon centre. She'd been momentarily upset when Jason had told her he'd missed her battle, but had soon forgiven him when he revealed he'd gotten permission from the elders for her to stay on the top floor. Right above her was the roof, and Amy had dared a short trip up there to gaze at the beautiful sunset that coated the blue sky in a myriad of vivid colours.

Below her, she knew, other trainers lay in wait. On her way up she'd passed two couples and a young boy, all looking to catch a pokémon. Perhaps, if she was lucky, they'd drive one or two of the creatures up there. She could vaguely hear their talking through the cracks, something Jason and Carrie had advised her not to do. She'd have to wait, they'd said, and be as quiet as she could.

Ghost pokémon, she knew, could be really fickle. Being the source of many a folklore, they had both a flighty and a teasing nature. They could be downright mean, but also in for games and joking around. Either way, their strange ways made it hard for them to be caught. As Amy sat there, she wasn't even sure she wanted to get herself a gastly.

Pulling the warm, comforting sleeping-bag up higher, she surveyed the room again. It was empty, of course, and looked cold. As opposed to the buzzing presence of dozens of people earlier in the day, it now looked abandoned. She couldn't blame them, this wasn't the best time to be stationed up here. Shivering, Amy tried to ignore the boring eyes of the bellsprout statues. It was an odd feeling, being watched by great stony pokémon. Sure, they weren't alive, but Amy couldn't push back the feeling that someone was watching her. A gastly, perhaps, hiding inside one of those magnificent bellsprout.

Next to her, Weedle slept soundly. She'd released the little bug, sure it wouldn't make too much noise, and it hadn't. Toto remained in his pokéball, too much of a troublemaker to be able to deal with something like this. Amy was sure that, if given the chance, Toto would chase away even the most mischievous of gastly they could find, simply by his loud and callous nature.

Looking over at her small pokémon, she was glad to see he had recovered from the battle without trouble. They'd immediately taken the two fainted battlers over to the PokéCentre, where Nurse Joy took care of them skilfully. It didn't take her long at all, and Amy was on her way again soon after. They'd stopped at the pokémon mart as well, having had enough of battling for the day, and Amy had wasted her remaining funds on some paralyz heal and potions. She was well out of money now, but both Jason and Carrie had assured her that she'd win some soon enough. Until then, the adults had insisted they would help her if she needed anything.

Right now, though, both were probably asleep in a comfortable bed. They'd checked into the Centre, finding themselves directed to one of the numerous barracks that had been placed behind the place. With so many trainers staying there every night, the building itself couldn't house them all, so small wooden shacks had been erected and were now used as sleeping quarters. While not quite as comfortable as the centre's lush rooms, it had certainly looked better than Amy's current arrangement did. The floorboards beneath her were hard, causing her muscle to protest violently, and the wall she'd been leaning against was cold. No, it was definitely worse than anything she might have suspected.

So far she'd been awake for several hours and though she hadn't checked her watch in a while, she guessed it had to be well past midnight. Aside from a rattata – again, they seemed to be everywhere – disappearing in a nearby hole, she had yet to see anything resembling a pokémon. Sighing, Amy grabbed the book Carrie had given her and tried immersing herself in the quaint tale of Camper Cody and his caterpie.

About halfway through the third chapter, Amy felt the air change. Unlike earlier, where it had just been cold and slightly dusty, there was a sense of foreboding vibrating through the room. She stopped reading, carefully putting the book down on the mouldy floor. Weedle stirred, opening blinking eyes and peering at the vast expanse of the tower's fifth floor. He too seemed to notice something, and Amy felt a bit worried knowing the presence of this 'something' had been strong enough to wake him.

Squinting, she tried finding what had changed. The statues still regarded her calmly, and aside from the wind hitting the tower it was indescribably quiet. The trainers she'd heard talking earlier had stopped, probably asleep, and it was so still that Amy could hear her own quickened breathing.

Weedle crawled closer to her, soft body resting against Amy's hand. She didn't dare move, rather appreciated Weedle's subconscious attempt to reassure her, as she slowly turned her head. A whooshing sound to her right and she quickly turned to where she knew the stairs to be. Nothing, just a gaping hole and dull metal hinges.

The air currents changed suddenly, to her left this time, and her head snapped to the other side. It hurt her neck, this lightning fast movement, but she paid it no heed. Again, though, there was nothing but emptiness. Starting to feel really scared, Amy blindly reached for Toto's pokéball. At least with both her pokémon near, she'd be a bit safer.

As she was about to release her totodile, a soft chuckling floated towards her. Locating where it came from, she could barely breathe, eyes wide as she finally found what she'd been looking for. There, hovering over the bellsprout statue farthest away from her, was the most curious creature Amy had ever seen. In fact, she couldn't be sure it was a creature at all.

Wisps of something – air, energy, maybe – curled and tumbled around a round ball of dark matter. Large, prominent eyes took up most of its body, peering at her with what seemed to be amusement. Fangs, glinting even in the near-darkness, protruded from its top lip, a thin mouth too small to contain them. It didn't seem to have any limbs, simply hovered in mid-air, and its probing eyes were hard to ignore. This had to be a gastly.

The pokémon giggled, diving right through the statue and coming out the other end. Seemingly encouraged by Amy's shock and awe, it gave a low chuckle and tumbled about in the air, not caring if it ended up in a wall or piece of floorboard. The young girl could only imagine what the people beneath her would see if they were still awake.

The small weedle next to her shivered, nudging at her hand. Amy felt sorry for the small critter, realising how frightening this must be for him as well. There was something about being stuck in a menacing tower at night and facing a creature many a ghost story had been written about. Discreetly dropping Toto's pokéball in her lap, she reached back – keeping her eyes on the gastly at all times – and grabbed her pokédex. Thankful she'd remembered to turn the sound down before coming here, she held up the thing with shaking hands. It took a few attempts, but she finally managed to catch the pokémon as it looped through the air.

Gastly: With its gas-like body, it can sneak into any place it desires. However, it can be blown away by wind.

I wonder where it hides during the day, Amy thought, sneaking a glance at the bellsprout statues again. Perhaps that was where they stayed, and that feeling of being watched hadn't just been her imagination? It would certainly prove enough entertainment, lingering in the tower during the day. For trickster pokémon, getting to watch endless battles between young trainers must be prime time amusement. Who knew what the ghost pokémon did to influence battles?

The pokédex entry hadn't told her much, but at least it had forced her to think like a trainer again. As she was being regarded by a chuckling clown – no other description suited the pokémon better - Amy picked up Toto's pokéball again. She'd come here for a reason, and that reason was currently attempting to scare the wits out of her poor Weedle. Making all sorts of strange faces, it seemed like this particular gastly didn't suffer being ignored too well. It had that in common with Toto, then.

Releasing her water pokémon, Amy kept an eye on the chuckling ghost levitating in the air and then turned to her appearing totodile. Toto, looking a bit sleepy as he was pulled from his pokéball, took a few seconds to take in his surroundings. Suddenly the totodile realized he was being watched. Puffing out his chest, the lizard chattered away at the gastly, not caring that the other was curiously looking down at him.

A loud giggle, appearing particularly scary in the empty room, and Toto snapped his mouth shut in anger. Being laughed at was not something he enjoyed. Appearing in front of him for just a second, the gastly giggled some more as the water pokémon attempted to hit him with his tail. In the blink of an eye, though, the gastly was behind Toto, large eyes spooking the creature as he turned around.

Laughing at the poor totodile, the ghost floated upwards again, eyes closed in merriment. Amy scowled, rummaging through her bag to find an empty pokéball. Grabbing one and stuffing another in her pocket, she got out of the sleeping-bag and raised herself up to her full height. Weedle, remaining at her feet, made faint noises, none too happy that his trainer had decided to engage this frightening opponent.

"That's it," Amy muttered, fingers tightening around the pokéball. "Toto, use scratch!"

More than happy to charge at their annoying opponent, Amy's totodile didn't take long to comply. With zealous, the frustrated water pokémon ran for the floating ball of gas, but couldn't do much as their opponent ascended. He stood there glaring, scratching at the air but too far away to get anywhere near the gastly.

"Leer, now!"

Toto's eyes glinted dangerously as he focused all his attention on the pest currently performing circles above him. It was a fascinating sight, one Amy would usually have found quite amusing, but right now it seemed like the ghost was mocking them.

Catching a glimpse of Toto's glaring eyes, though, the pokémon halted and a shudder racked the creature's gassy body. This seemed to spark something in it, for amused eyes turned angry, and the gastly floated downward a bit, ready to strike with its own attack.

"Now, Toto, scratch it!" Amy ordered, noticing how close the gas pokémon was getting to the ground. Jumping upwards, the totodile raised one sharp claw and brought it down on the gastly with a violent slash. An angry scowl was on Toto's face, right until his arm reached the gastly's face and cleaved right through. Not hitting anything, like he'd expected, the totodile lost his balance and toppled over. Hitting the ground face-first, the poor lizard whined as it smacked into the wood.

"Dangit!" Amy cursed, grabbing her pokédex and fiddling around with it. What kind of attack had that been? Eventually making it to gastly's entry, she was more than a bit annoyed to find that normal attacks – like scratch – wouldn't actually hurt the pokémon they were facing. Something she should have known. Now what did she do?

"Toto, use leer again!"

Getting up, muttering angrily, her pokémon did as asked. The gastly, though, hadn't been watching idly, instead preparing for an attack of its own. Appearing right in front of the water lizard, gastly opened its mouth wide. Faced by a gaping mouth and a large tongue, Toto found it hard to glare. Amy gave a startled cry as said tongue rolled out and licked Toto's entire face clean. The poor thing shuddered, trying to get away from such a vile attack.

The gastly giggled teasingly, following Toto as he charged around the room. A funny sight, to be sure, but right now Amy found it hard to enjoy. Balling her hands into fists, she almost crushed the pokéball she still held. Having to stand there and watch her pokémon get licked by a gastly was cruel.

Grabbing Toto's pokéball, she enlarged it. Holding it up, she scowled angrily. "Toto, return!"

Left with nothing to chase, the gastly turned towards her now. Growling in frustration, Amy looked down at her poor Weedle. It was up to him now. The tiny bug hadn't moved from his spot next to her feet, though scared eyes indicated it might have wanted to run away.

"It's up to you, Weedle."

With excruciatingly slow steps the weedle stepped forward, tiny feet making no sound on the run-down floor. It only added to the scary feel of it all, this silent warrior.

"Get him with a string shot, Weedle!"

Glad to oblige, though probably only because it wasn't a direct attack, Weedle immediately did as asked. String flew through the air, neatly evaded by the gastly's quick movements. Again Weedle gave it a go, but the gastly ducked out of the way every time. Pausing for a second and looking back at Amy, Weedle seemed unsure as to what he should do.

"Try again!" Amy encouraged, trying to look comforting and reassuring. She didn't know what she'd do if Weedle couldn't weaken this gastly enough.

This time the strings hit, mostly because the ghost pokémon had taken the time to spin around mockingly. Glaring at the filthy fibres now clinging to it, the gastly shook and shook, attempting to get it off. Amy would have none of that.

"Well done, Weedle! Now try some more!"

Again their opponent was hit with string shot, much more easily distinguishable now it was a floating ball of string. Something a meowth would play with, Amy mused. Twisting and turning in mid-air, the gastly had lowered significantly, but still not near enough to the ground to be touched by the weedle. Amy bit her lip.

Kneeling down, Amy beckoned for her weedle to come closer. She needed a plan if she wanted to catch this trickster.

"Crawl on my arm," she said softly, trying not to flinch as sticky feet left flimsy muck behind. Holding on to Weedle so he wouldn't fall, she got up again and stared down her opponent. As well as she could, anyway, with the moving around it did.

"Get ready to be thrown," she whispered, pulling back her arm. Weedle made a sound, indicating it had understood, and with a wicked throw it was launched at the unsuspecting gastly.

"Now, poison sting!" Amy yelled as Weedle was in mid-air. Aiming its stinger at the ball of white string, Weedle squinted in concentration and harshly connected with the ghost pokémon they'd been trying to catch. A thud and the bug landed on the floor, wind knocked out of its body. The gastly cried out, attempting to flee to the stairs that led to the roof. Afraid they'd lose it, Amy grabbed an empty pokéball and hurled it towards the gastly. It turned in the air, a dark red and scary grey combination here in this freaky tower, but missed the ghost by quite a bit. Bouncing on the wooden planks, Amy could hear it roll to the side. She'd missed.

"No!" Amy yelled as the gastly disappeared through the opening, and she quickly scooped up Weedle and climbed the ladder herself. It took a bit longer, humans not blessed with the power to levitate, but eventually she made it to the top of the tower again, immediately bombarded by strong winds.

Her brown hair was whipped into a frenzy, coiling around her head like snakes. It was clear the earlier breeze had picked up and now it was hard to even see properly. Pushing her hair back, she searched frantically for the escaped pokémon. Had the pokédex not said that gastly didn't much like the wind? This must not be a favoured spot, then, Amy decided. Checking all the places one might shelter from the wind, Amy finally found the white, fluffy gastly hiding under the tower's roof not far off. It looked frightened, pulling at some of the string that had gotten stuck as it was repeatedly slammed into the walls by the wind.

Putting Weedle on her arm again, Amy got ready to throw once more. Luckily the gastly wasn't anywhere near the railing, because otherwise she would never have felt safe enough to throw Weedle at anything. She didn't want her little bug tumbling to its doom.

"Poison sting, Weedle," she urged as she threw him again. Another decisive hit, and the gastly was torn free from it predicament. No longer stuck against the wall, it was viciously pulled up into the air. In danger of being carried away by the wind, it looked positively scared out of its mind.

"Weedle, string shot! And hold onto it!" Amy bellowed, running over. With the wind assaulting the sticky string, it seemed almost impossible for it to work, but they'd already seen how strong the stuff really was. Catching the gastly as it turned in mid-air, the weedle pulled back with all its might. It didn't help much, but it kept the gastly in place. For now. Amy didn't waste a second, grabbing her second pokéball and hurling it at the ghost. This time it struck, opening to suck the pokémon inside. Both the ball and the string shot floated to the ground, one flying away once Weedle let go, the other bouncing once and stopping against the railing.

It wobbled dangerously a few times, causing Amy to hurry closer in case it would be torn away by the wind, but eventually the moving ceased. Bending down, Amy picked it up with great care, not letting go. Turning back, she smiled. Grabbing Weedle – who looked about as afraid of the wind as the gastly had been – she descended the stairs in hurry. It was too dangerous to stay up there and she had no intention of staying any longer than she had to.

Dropping her weedle on the floor, she made her way over to the bag she'd left behind. Looking for her watch, it took her several minutes and three attempts at emptying the bag to remember she had tied the thing to her sleeping bag so it wouldn't get lost. Checking to see what time it was, its flashing digits told her it was nearing six o'clock. Way too late, or too early, depending, to get much by the way of sleep. Yawning a bit, she considered what she would do. Carrie and Jason had told her they were usually up at the crack of dawn, even while sleeping in a PokéCentre, and had urged Amy to come join her. Besides, soon visitors would come trickling in, and she had no intention of being caught in her pyjamas by a bunch of tourists.

Hearing shuffling behind her, Amy turned as she was contemplating what she'd do. Weedle, pushing a red-and-white pokéball with his head, had returned.

"Oh, thank you, Weedle!" Amy called out, delighted, pocketing the pokéball she'd forgotten all about. What a waste of money that would have been. She'd heard about people finding spare pokéballs all over the place and suddenly realised why. So wrapped up in catching that gastly, she hadn't even thought about the missed attempt.

"We should probably name our gastly, shouldn't we, Weedle? It'll be the first with a proper name, too!"

Beady eyes regarded her curiously, but didn't seem to really understand what she was on about. Sighing, Amy gingerly touched the weedle's head and shrugged. Pulling out her pokédex and the gastly's pokéball, she was ready to start this naming business. First order, releasing the pokémon and checking its gender. She wasn't going to make the mistake of mismatching names, like so many had undoubtedly done before her.

With a flash the gastly was released from its pokéball. Large, white eyes blinked, at first looking at their surroundings in terror. Satisfied it wasn't going to be blown away, the ghost pokémon soon relaxed a bit. Still, it regarded the girl and weedle with a bit of trepidation and anger. Being caught had probably not been part of its plan.

Not bothering to react to the suspicious glaring, Amy grabbed her remaining full pokéball from her belt, unhooking the thing and releasing Toto. The small lizard made as much ruckus as was to be expected, but quieted down when it caught sight of the gastly floating before it. Arms raised and eyes narrowed, the water pokémon advanced with a cry, slashing away at the by now familiar gassy form. He had not forgotten being recalled during a battle.

"Toto," Amy tried, sighing. She watched calmly as Toto kept scratching at the ghost, getting himself nowhere. Giggling and mocking facial expressions was all it resulted in, and Amy couldn't really blame either of them. It was a strange scene. At least Toto didn't know any water attacks yet, that would just prove a right mess if he ever got that far.

Letting the two settle their differences – or attempt to, anyway – Amy lifted her pokédex, aiming it at her gastly's see-through body.

Gastly: With its gas-like body, it can sneak into any place it desires. However, it-

"No, no," Amy interrupted the thing, pressing buttons rapidly. Finally, she'd found the function she'd been looking for.

Species, Gastly. Type, Ghost Pokémon. Gender, Female, the device croaked, its monotone voice sounding hollow in the huge structure of the tower.

"Female! So you're a girl! Imagine that." Amy grinned, looking over at the playful gastly soaring through the air. While the ghost pokémon seemed most amused, Toto still hadn't given up on trying to hit her with his claws. Problem was, even when the gastly was near enough to reach, the sharp nails phased right through. If only the lizard would realize that.

"You need a very fitting name," she muttered, considering the list of attributes and personality quirks the pokédex listed as being common for a gastly. There were plentiful, mostly concerned with scaring people, but there was also a funny side to the creatures.

"Cunning, scary, playful, a born trickster..."

Talking to herself, Amy paused at that last term. Trickster. While fighting her, the gastly had shown great love for mocking them and playing tricks on their mind. It seemed to fit her more than really scaring them, too.

"I know!" the young girl decided. "You like tricks, don't you? How about just that, Tricks!"

Repeating the name to herself a couple of times, Amy rather liked the sound. It was a good name and worked well for a trickster pokémon like gastly. The pokémon herself didn't even look her way, though, not bothered about a name. Instead she cackled loudly, the chime of mirth ringing through the tower like a gong, and Toto gave a loud squeak. Before Amy could even comment, the two had continued their hopeless game again and the water pokémon ran himself ragged.

Shrugging, Amy returned Weedle to his pokéball and started packing. If the lizard wanted to tire himself out before the day had even really begun, then he was free to. It would save a lot of trees a lot of hassle.

Down below, she could hear faint movement, indicating the tower – and with it, the city – was slowly coming to life. Smiling to herself, Amy continued stuffing everything in her bag. It was time for another day.

-

As Amy reached the PokéCentre, she felt pretty happy with herself. It was a beautiful morning, and thought she felt a little tired, she was curious to see what the day would bring her. Not to mention she'd caught herself a gastly and, though Toto had nearly fainted trying to scratch something that couldn't be scratched, Weedle had done really well. That should say something, right? Nearing the doors of the centre, Amy realised how quiet it was this early. While daytime proved to result in an onslaught of feet thumping down the path, right now it was unmistakably calm. A lazy hoothoot looked at her from a tree branch, eyes tired, but apart from that she was all alone. Amy had to admit she liked it, and as she entered the centre she saw that only a few people were already up. Among those few, though, was a frantic Jason.

"Amy, there you are! I was about to come get you," he said, carrying over the bag Amy had seen him tow around everywhere. Five pokéballs were returned to him by Nurse Joy and he quickly clipped them to his belt. He looked hassled, like something was wrong, and Amy felt worried about this sudden change in character. Had something terrible happened?

Jason brushed a hand through his long hair, stuffing a towel in the already full travel-bag. The look in his eyes – worried, fearful – spoke of trouble, causing her to shiver. Yes, Amy was sure of it, something was definitely wrong.

"I have to go to the National Park. A friend of mine is picking me up. I don't yet know what it's about, but it sounded urgent," Jason explained hurriedly. "I talked to Carrie about it and you can either stay with her and help her with her research, or join me. We won't be travelling on foot, so you won't slow me down, but I can't promise that I'll have time to take care of you once we're there."

Amy gaped at him, unsure what to make of all this. Something had happened? They'd discussed at length their plans to go to the National Park, but that hadn't included leaving before her first gym-battle. At the same time, though, she was a bit afraid of stepping into that gym without as much as winning a match. Having to crawl on all fours, looking for the deceptively plant-like oddish, didn't sound particularly inviting either. Still, at least she'd be safe with Carrie.

"It's your choice, Amy," Jason commented, noticing the look on her face. He gave her a reassuring smile, but she could see he was upset. Clearly the message he'd received – though apparently vague – had shook him to the core.

"I'll go," she answered, too curious to stay behind. Who knew when she'd finally get to the National Park if she didn't go now? Carrie had no intention of leaving any time soon, and the trek to get there would be long and perilous were she to go alone. No, she'd much rather go with Jason instead.

Suddenly the silence was shredded apart by something thundering down the path outside the Centre. Glancing out the window, Amy couldn't see what it was, mostly because a huge cloud of dust now obscured the square from view. The few people already awake focused bleary eyes on the window as well, but seemed more annoyed than curious. Jason, however, perked up and appeared quite pleased.

He turned to Amy and grinned. "Our ride is here. How about you go and leave your pokémon with Nurse Joy for a second, I'm sure they could use a quick rest, while I go greet my friend."

Nodding dumbly, Amy watched him walk off. Figuring she might as well do as told, she walked over to Nurse Joy, immediately feeling sorry for the poor woman as she saw the tired look on the nurse's face.

"Bad night?" she inquired as she handed over her pokémon.

A sigh. "You could say that. Some boy with a skarmory managed to short-circuit most of our computers. I told him to keep all that metal away from my sensitive equipment, but he wouldn't listen. Or, at least, the skarmory wouldn't. It's unfortunate when people get in over their head."

Amy had no idea what a skarmory was, but she could guess. The image of a shining bird, wings sharp and dangerous, was engraved in her mind. No, a skarmory was not a pokémon she ever wanted to own. Majestic or not, to her it was too much like a robot with artificial intelligence, and who knew when it would snap?

"Not to worry, though, we managed to fix it," the nurse mumbled. "Ah, and here are your pokémon."

Thanking the woman as she took back her team, Amy had to smile as she clipped three pokéballs on her belt instead of two. Hopefully Jason would be impressed with her capture, once she told him, and she couldn't wait to get to a phone and try calling Derek again. A weedle wasn't much, but a gastly might just be something he'd approve of. All in all, she felt a bit better about herself.

Walking outside, she noticed the dust had cleared. Finally she could see what had caused it, too, and had to admit she was rather impressed by the sight before her. Jason was standing next to a tall woman whose short blonde hair spiked upwards in an unnatural way. She wore a shimmering red tracksuit and had slung a small leather bag over her shoulder. All in all, she looked...odd.

Next to her, though, stood two rather impressive creatures Amy didn't recognize. They were birds, that much she could tell, and had long, gangly legs with big nails adorning three-toed feet. Round, fluffy bodies shook every time the birds moved, feathers rustling, and slender necks lead to three heads – each one with a snappy beak. Sharp eyes took her in, though Amy could see two of the three heads on either pokémon had been covered with a thick hood. As one of the two birds turned away from her in disinterest, she could see that not only did they have a massive black plume on their heads, but they also had a feathery tail of a reddish-pink colour.

For a second she hesitated, not liking the way that one pokémon was looking at her, but when Jason noticed her, he beckoned Amy to come forward. Gingerly she did so, but stayed as far away as she could from the glaring bird and its sharp beak. The woman smiled kindly, giving the pokémon a smack on the head. Shrieking, it eventually turned away and allowed Amy to get in closer.

"Don't mind them, sweetie, they're just annoyed they had to be up so early," the woman said, winking slyly at her as both pokémon gave a chortled reply. Amy could imagine not being amused, especially if they had to carry the woman there before the crack of dawn. Now she was closer, she could see the harness both bird pokémon wore, encircling their bodies and necks to provide something for a human to hold onto. Their feet had been the cause of the cloud of dust, and as Amy took them in she wasn't surprised in the slightest. They didn't look like something she wanted to get hit by.

"Amy, meet Angela and her dodrio," Jason said, motioning to the two pokémon and their owner. Shaking a leather-clad hand, Amy had trouble not feeling utterly dumbfounded by the woman. Sure, Carrie was inspiring in her own right, but Angela was different. She stood tall, with an easy smile, and looked fierce. Her appearance spoke of speed, the way she treated her dodrio of power, and Amy was in total awe of her.

"What do you think of my two pidgey, Amy?" Angela asked, giving a thunderous laugh as both dodrio attacked the ground with their feet. Necks twisted and turned as the they attempted to snap at their disrespectful trainer, but Angela patted them away with practised ease. They appeared angry, but Amy recognized that they had no real intention of hurting the woman.

"They're amazing," Amy murmured, her quiet admission calming the birds down. Instantly they seemed to decide that this short human wasn't so bad, for one of them crooned at her excitedly. Amy giggled softly, appreciating them more now they weren't attempting to kill her with their eyes. She had yet to hear of stares actually being able to kill, but these pokémon had sure given it a try.

"Ah, yes, flattery will get you anywhere with these two." Smiling down at her, Angela gave her another quick wink before turning back to Jason.

"Do you know what's going on?" he asked, his question turning the conversation from amusing to serious. The both of them now had grim looks on their faces, and even the dodrio seemed to notice something was up. They moved restlessly as their owner shook her head.

"No. I was training at Route 31 when Bugsy called me. He asked me to pick you up and meet him at the National Park. He said nothing else, just urged me to hurry."

"Did he sound worried to you?"

Angela sighed. "Very."

Amy didn't dare comment as she saw the look on both their faces. Jason seemed incredibly put off, none too happy with the position they were now in. For someone who always seemed to have an answer for everything, the sight of him so worried seemed like a horrible situation. At the same time he looked determined, though, which was mirrored by Angela's confident expression. Whatever it was, they could handle it.

"We better not linger, then," Jason commented, tugging at the straps on his backpack one last time. It wouldn't do for them to become undone while travelling. "Amy will be joining us. Think your dodrio can handle one extra person?"

Angela made to answer, but indignant shrieking seemed to answer the question for her. Instead, though, the blonde grabbed another pokéball from her waist.

"They would be able to, but I think I have an even better solution."

A bright flash told Amy another pokémon had been released. Blinking a bit, she was surprised to see a small dodrio-like pokémon be greeted by the two bigger ones. One of the two savage beasts even crooned softly at it, like it had done to Amy, and brushed dull brown feathers with gentle movements of its beak.

"Amy, meet Timid," Angela said, introducing the bird. Timid looked around with interest, trying to see round the big forms of its companions. It only had one head, Amy saw, but its legs were just as impressive and its beak just as sharp. It was stout and sturdy, definitely strong enough, Amy figured, to hold her weight.

"Timid was born a couple of months ago, but we've been training hard," Angela continued, pulling a leather harness from her bag. "So she should be able to keep up with us, considering Amy is much lighter and her parents have been running around all morning."

Dropping the combination of leather and metal on the young bird's back, some simple tugs put it in place. Amy watched with interest as the contraption was laced around the bird's neck, then fastened with some belt buckles and looped around each powerful leg. Timid's parents watched carefully, while Timid herself didn't seem at all worried. It looked like they had done this before.

Angela handed a pokéball to Amy, the red surface of the thing scratched and worn-out. Amy could only imagine the onslaught of beaks and falls it must have received. "If you fall behind, however, just follow Route 36 and meet us at the National Park. I'm sure Timid will listen to you, but simply return her if she gets stubborn."

Amy nodded, clipping the pokéball to her belt. It felt like cheating, somehow, to accept it from the woman, but she knew it wasn't for keeps. Hell, ordering Timid around would probably result in much embarrassment, for Derek had always warned her against attempting to boss around someone else's pokémon. Staring at the gentle eyes of the bird, she didn't feel quite as worried, though. Besides, with her recently captured gastly, she was sure to make an impression if she were to get in trouble.

"How long will it take for us to get there?" she asked, zipping up her jacket in preparation for the trip. High-speed running could get really cold, she knew, and she wasn't going to be caught off-guard. Tying her brown hair into a pony-tail as well, she was ready to go.

"Half a day, tops," Angela answered, sliding reigns over the smaller bird's head. "The National Park isn't far at all, plus these guys are incredibly fast. Only a rapidash could outrun us."

Finishing with the smooth leather she'd fastened around Timid's delicate head, Angela stepped back to survey her work. With a satisfied nod she returned to her other pokémon, untying the large knot their reigns had created through the pokémon's restless moving about. Jason attempted to help, but was pecked at by one of the creatures, leaving him to look very troubled. Amy didn't envy him the task of riding such an angry bird, especially since neither seemed too fond of anyone but their owner.

"Here, you take Curious. She's less likely to act up," Angela told Jason, not noticing the way both Amy and the man gazed at the pokémon she was holding in apprehension. It had ruffled its feathers, seemingly growing in size, and looked about ready to tear him apart. No, Amy was glad to be left with the docile Timid, who was dozing off pleasantly in the flimsy morning sunlight.

It took Jason quite a while to get on the dodrio he was supposed to ride, the female's huffing and puffing indicating how displeased she was with his fumbling. Holding onto the straps that encircled her neck, Jason didn't even bother to pick up the reigns. He was self-consciously staring at the ground, both hands trying to keep himself from falling. Scratching furiously at the road's surface, Curious really wasn't helping.

Angela, of course, was used to the constant mounting of her birds and jumped on with one fluent movement. Her feet found the loops instantly, sliding through them until they were at her thigh. She wasn't going to fall. Gently tugging the reigns, Angela directed her pokémon to where Amy was standing and the male bird – tall and imposing – listened without fault. Facing the bulky body of this angry steed, Amy quickly hopped onto hers. It was a bit easier, Timid being closer to the ground, but both their inexperience showed as they swayed from side to side. Amy flinched as she pulled out some feathers, and Timid chortled softly as she tried regaining control of her wayward legs. Finally achieving so, Amy clutched the harness with all her might. Slipping her legs through like she'd seen Angela done, she considered staying seated a mild achievement. Where travelling on the back of a pidgeot had been an amazing experience, somehow this manner of transportation seemed a little less safe. Which was questionable, Amy realised, because at least they were close to the ground.

"Ready, everyone?" Angela asked, nudging her pokémon's side. Both trainers nodded. "Okay, then! Bold and I will lead the way. The others should follow. Off we go!"

Somehow Amy doubted it was going to be that easy. With both her and Jason looking terribly uncomfortable – and Timid's hesitant steps – simply getting where they wanted to in one mad dash seemed out of the question. Tightening her grip on the cold strip of leather around her pokémon's neck, Amy awaited the lurch she knew was coming.

In front of her Timid's parents gave a shrill cry. Finally set free, they leaped into action with a giant burst of energy. Their necks shot forward, followed by a round body and two trainers, while feet thumped away on the dusty surface. Soon Timid followed, her steps becoming steadier as she gained more speed. Bent down, Amy frantically slung her arms around the bird's neck, not bothering with the harness Angela had so carefully constructed. As far as she saw it, Timid's neck wasn't going to fall off.

It was, however, almost horizontal as all three pokémon provided the city with one hellacious wake-up call. Amy swore she could see Carrie wave at her from the distance, but couldn't be sure as they sped down the path. Nothing had ever prepared her for the force they were storming down away from the city with and Amy fervently hoped no one would get in their way. Undoubtedly, it was be rather hard to brake.

Trees shot past so fast that Amy only realised they were there once they'd also left them far behind. Now and then, they'd pass a bewildered trainer – some even shouting out challenges, no one listened – but most of the time Amy had her eyes shut. Not used to the gusts of wind being flung in her face, she'd buried her face against Timid's soft neck and simply held on.

The speed was remarkable, though, and Amy was in awe of the muscles she felt moving underneath her. Clawing at the dirt with rough nails, it felt like the pokémon left nothing but destruction behind. Eventually shutting her eyes again, protecting them from harm, Amy let herself be carried.

-

The journey went far more smoothly than Amy had expected. Used to frequent breaks and much stumbling about, the sensation of moving around effortlessly was something she could only appreciate. The two dodrio, heads held high and calling proudly whenever they passed someone, didn't seem to tire, and even Timid's gait hadn't changed much. Though Amy could feel the doduo's muscles clench uncomfortably now and then, the quiet pokémon didn't let on and just continued its hasty pace.

Once or twice a pokémon would try to keep up with them, a pidgey soaring overhead or a sentret bouncing after them in curiosity, but they never managed to follow for long. Amy could swear, though, that a lone form – high in the sky – followed their every move, wings apparently big enough to keep up with their frantic run. It left her curious, but branches and billowing dust kept her from staring up for long. It was like the road itself was angry at the pokémon for destroying it and whipped up sand whenever it could. Out of spite, Amy figured.

They took a short break somewhere around noon, relaxing near a picturesque lake. All three pokémon gulped down water greedily as their riders lounged in the shadow of a tall oak tree, two of them grateful to be sitting down, the other throwing random strips of meat towards the birds. Amy hadn't even considered they would eat something other than insects, but it seemed they were as ferocious as they'd first appeared.

Allowing them some rest, the two adults discussed something in hushed tones as Amy amused herself with watching Weedle scurry around in the bushes. The three birds had eyed the critter, but with one well-aimed branch had been shooed off by Angela. Weedle was not on the menu.

At one point Amy was sure she saw a tree moving, but considered it a trick her mind was playing on her and continued watching her smallest pokémon move about.

Not soon after that, they were off again, startling trainers left and right as they dashed through the undergrowth, occasionally scaling a well-hidden ledge. Amy had gotten tired without actually doing anything, finding paying attention to the scenery flashing by to be taxing on her brain. She held on with the same vigour, though, as Timid had begun stumbling on occasion, clearly getting tired. Trying to help the poor bird, Amy stayed as central as she could, not moving at all lest she bring Timid out of balance. Her own muscles had started aching some hours into their run, but she ignored them. At least she didn't have to do all the hard work, poor Timid was left doing all of that. So she kept quiet and tried to help the creature as well as she could.

Time went flying by as fast as they did, and Amy was more than surprised to see the rugged plains make way for trimmed grass. Neat roads came together, then branched out again, and occasionally she could spy a house not far off. They were closing in on their destination, she realised, and excitement slowly grew, though she felt a bit of fright at the same time. Passing an impressive fence – surrounding a large field on which miltank roamed – Amy caught sight of the first sign that pointed towards the National Park.

The three pokémon slowed down instinctively when other trainers showed up, some heading for the Park by bike, others on foot. One, even, sped past them on the back of a fiery ponyta, causing the birds to shriek angrily. There had to be some sort of rivalry there, Amy supposed. All trainers were different, some young, some old, but all aiming for the same Johto landmark.

"We should be almost there now!" Angela called, causing Amy to sit up straighter and gaze into the distance.

Through the few trees that were still blocking their way she could see a large building rise up. By now she'd gotten used to the gate houses that were spread throughout Johto, and they'd started to become a beacon of new, interesting experiences. Amy knew that whenever she passed those heavy doors, she'd find herself stepping into a place she'd never been before. Such was the case today, as well.

The trio got off once they'd neared the building, leading their pokémon by their reigns. The momentary cool of the guard house sent a chill up Amy's spine, but nothing could prepare her for the cold dread that would attack her next.

Leaving the building, she'd expected to be greeted by vivid green trees and long, thick grass. Carrie had told her about the National Park and, aside from its bug infestation, it had sounded like a charming place. Wooden benches, beautifully crafted fences, and delicate flowers, they'd all sounded like things she'd loved to see. In reality, though, things had changed drastically.

In front of her, causing every new visitor to halt and gasp, lay the charred remains of what once had been the famous National Park. Small fires still raged, leaving blackened trails across fields of muddied green. Water pokémon darted after them, groups of wartortle leading the charge, but it was clear that the fire had already done quite a lot of damage. Nothing except tufts of grass appeared untouched, and most trees had been reduced to mere splinters lying brokenly on the ground.

It was unclear where the road led to, the colours dull and similar, but they gravely stepped onto it anyway. The look of utter shock and revulsion on Jason's face made Amy feel even worse, and Angela also looked close to tears. Eyeing the barren wasteland, Amy was glad Carrie had stayed where she was.

Trainers were being held back by policemen not far from them, entrance sealed off by flimsy ribbons. Those with water pokémon released them without question, sending them off to where they could do some good. Amy looked at her own belt, but knew Toto would be useless. She was useless. Daring to glance at the black and charred remains of what must have once been a pokémon, Amy let out a strangled cry.