It was getting dark, and rain started to fall. "Oh, hell," said Mistia. "How far are we from Vermilion?"

Bracchus checked the map. "We're not gonna make it by tomorrow. But there's a small town ahead. Looks like there's a Glademon Center too."

"Thank the gods!" said Mistia, lashing her horses to go faster. "Let's get out of this rain!"

"Charrrrrrr!"

"What was that?" asked Bracchus.

"Who cares? Civilization ahead!" said Mistia.

"Charrrrrrr!"

"That sounds like a Glademon!" said Ashus.

"Charrrrrr!"

"It sounds hurt!" said Bracchus. "Mistia, slow down!"

"But it's raining!" Mistia whined, but she slowed the horses. The chariot passed into a clearing, and an orange lizard with a flame on its tail was lying there shivering.

"Woah!" said Ashus. "Look at that Glademon!" He got out of his chariot and approached it.

"Be careful, Ashus," said Mistia.

"It looks scared," said Ashus. "Hello!" he called. "Doctore?! Lanista?! Somebody?!"

Bracchus walked around the clearing. "I don't think anyone is here. Do you think we should take it to the Glademon Center?"

"I don't think we have a choice," said Ashus. "Maybe something happened to its trainer. Maybe it got lost. Maybe it's feral."

"Feral Glademon are really not that common," said Bracchus, "but let's see if we can get this thing on the chariot. The Glademon Center should have some answers for us."

The Glademon growled, and smoke came out of its mouth. It coughed, and ashes fell to the ground.

"I don't think it's going to let us do that," said Mistia. "Tell you what. How about I go to the Glademon Center and see if I can bring a medic out here to look at it? You boys can stay here in the rain."

"Yeah, okay," said Ashus. "And get us a room while you're at it."

Mistia was able to move much faster without Ashus, Bracchus and Pikachus in the chariot. She stepped into the town's meager Glademon Center and approached the front desk. "Hello, I know it's late, and it's raining, but could someone come and look at a Glademon? We found it in the wild, and it looks badly injured," said Mistia.

"A feral Glademon?" asked the pink-haired medic who looked exactly like Cerulean's Joya.

"Well, we're not sure if it's feral, but there wasn't anyone else around. We didn't want to try to catch it if it belonged to someone. Nobody else has come in asking about it?" asked Mistia.

"Nope, why don't you catch it and bring it in?" said the medic. "I'd be more than happy to look at it."

"Sure," said Mistia.

"Excuse me," said a young man behind Mistia. "What did this Glademon look like?"

"It was an orange lizard with a flame on its tail," said Mistia.

The man rolled his eyes. "That's my Charmander."

"Oh," said Mistia. "Well, I'm glad we found you. Your Charmander looks pretty sick. You need to bring it in for medical attention right away."

"Oh no," said the man. "That would defeat the purpose of his training."

"Training?" asked Mistia.

"Yeah," said the man. "Glademon nowadays are too soft, so I release my Glademon into the wild and then go out and catch them again. The forest brings out their wild instincts, and they're much more merciless in the arena."

"You're joking!" Mistia cried. "That has got to be the most insensitive and dangerous training practice I've ever heard of. It's not even training, it's just plain laziness!"

"Excuse you? What do you know about training Glademon?"

"Everything! I'm Mistia Cerulus of Cerulean City!"

"HA! Your ludus is the easiest to beat in all of Kanto!"

Mistia saw red. She turned back to the medic. "I'll be right back with that Glademon."

"No, leave my Charmander alone! If he dies, he dies! He'll never make it in the arena if he can't make it in the forest!" the man exclaimed.

"Sir," said the medic, "as a medical professional, I feel I must intervene here. If there's a sick Glademon, I'm duty-bound to treat it."

"HA!" Mistia cried.

"Fine, do what you want with my junk Glademon," said the man. "It's a shame. You expect more from the House of Okus, you know?"

"That's an Okus Glademon?" asked Mistia. "Wow. I didn't realize you could get stupider, but you did."

"I bought two of them pretty recently. The other is still out there somewhere, a grass type. I've been looking for him for weeks. I think he's actively eluding me."

"Sounds like a smart Glademon," said Mistia.

"He'll be a champion once I catch him again," said the man.

Mistia rushed back to where Charmander lay.

"The fire on its tail is dying," said Bracchus. "This is bad."

"Catch him," ordered Mistia.

"He's feral?" asked Ashus.

"Yes and no," said Mistia. "This dumb doctore at the Glademon Center owns him, but he doesn't really seem to care about what happens to his Glademon, so we're intervening."

"What do you mean?" asked Ashus.

"Let's just say we're much better trainers than him. And human beings. So, who's going to catch this thing?"

"I want him," said Ashus, pulling a gladeball out of his bag. "He's already weak. Do I just throw it?"

"Be my guest," said Mistia.

Ashus chucked the gladeball at Charmander, and he materialized inside. They all got back into the chariot and took him to the Glademon Center. The doctore was no longer in the lobby, and the trio retired to a night's rest.

They awoke to pounding on their door. Ashus groggily slipped out of bed and into some clothes. "Coming," he mumbled.

A blue-haired woman clad in dark blue and red armor and wielding a spear greeted him. "Hello, I'm looking for Mistia Cerulus?"

"Yes," said Ashus tentatively. "She's here."

"Thank you." She pushed past him and into the room. Mistia was sitting up in the bed covering herself with the blanket. "Mistia Cerulus, you are under arrest for stealing a Glademon."

"What?!" the couple exclaimed.

"One Charmander, doctore Damius Augustus."

"Oh gods!" Mistia cursed. "Ma'am, you've got it all wrong."

The officer pointed her spear at Mistia. "I'm going to have to ask you to return the Glademon and come with me."

"I don't have him. He's with the medic getting treated. Ma'am, that Glademon wasn't stolen."

"I'm not interested in your excuses, ma'am," said the officer. "Get dressed and come with me."

"Fine," said Mistia. "But you've got this all wrong, and my parents are senators, so you'll want to watch your step around me."

"Uh-huh," said the woman.

Mistia glared at her, still clutching the blanket. "I'm naked," she said.

"Uh-huh," said the woman.

"So I'd appreciate it if you'd turn around?" Mistia fumed.

"I'm sure you'd like that, so you can pull a weapon on me or escape. No. You will get dressed, and I will watch."

Mistia groaned, and Ashus came between the officer and Mistia. Bracchus knocked on the door.

"You guys decent?" he asked.

"Pika?"

"Umm, we're having a bit of a situation here, Bracchus," said Ashus. "This woman thinks we stole Charmander."

"You said the doctore didn't care about him!" Bracchus exclaimed, walking in. "Ohhh, hello!"

"Sir, please face the wall and place your hands behind your back," said the woman.

"WHAT!" Ashus and Mistia cried.

"Yes, ma'am, anything you say. I am down for anything," Bracchus said with a wink.

"That goes for all of you," said the officer. "Up against the wall."

They complied, and the woman chained their hands together and paraded them down the stairs. Damius, the doctore from last night, was waiting for them. "Thank you so much, Officer Jenia," he said. "I can't wait to see my precious Charmander again."

"You aren't fit to see Charmander's shit," said Mistia.

The pink-haired medic came out of the physician's unit and looked at the scene with alarm. "Jenia, what's going on?" she asked.

"Just taking in some fugitives, Joya," said Jenia.

"Oh, then what should I do with their Glademon?"

"You mean my Glademon," said Damius. "I understand you have Charmander. He belongs to me, not them."

Joya raised her eyebrow. "You mean the one you abandoned in the woods and were going to let die out there?"

"He's my Glademon, purchased from Professor Okus," said Damius. "They can heal him if they want, but he's mine."

"Are you aware, sir, that releasing Glademon into the wild is a federal offense?" Jenia asked.

"Wha?" asked Damius.

"HA!" shouted Mistia, Ashus and Bracchus.

"Glademon are highly dangerous creatures! Releasing them into the wild puts innocent people at risk, not to mention the damage done to the local ecosystems," said Jenia. "Damius Augustus, I'm going to have to place you under arrest."

"No! Wait! You've got it all wrong!" Damius cried.

"Place your hands behind your back and face the wall," ordered Jenia, pointing her spear at Damius.

Damius complied, but whined, "You'll be hearing from my father, the senator!"

"Yeah, I already tried that one, Damius," said Mistia. "Doesn't work."

After placing Damius in chains, she turned to Mistia, Ashus and Bracchus and freed them. "I'm very sorry for that," she said.

"No need to apologize," said Bracchus. "You were merely doing your duty. You are very good with those chains, erm..."

Jenia ignored him. "Damius, is Charmander the only Glademon you released?"

Damius scowled. "There's one more out there. A grass type called Bulbaesar."

"I'll send my guard out to find it right away," said Jenia.

"Umm, actually," said Ashus, producing a gladeball from his bag, "that won't be necessary." He lightly tossed the gladeball on the ground, and Bulbaesar appeared.

"WHAT! YOU POACHED BOTH OF MY GLADEMON?!" Damius yelled. "Officer Jenia, you can't let them get away with this!"

"It is my understanding of the law that a released Glademon is fair game. Ashus is well within his rights to claim both Bulbaesar and Charmander," said Jenia.

"I demand compensation!" exclaimed Damius.

"We'll straighten all of that out at the courthouse," said Jenia.

"So, Jenia," said Bracchus. "Can I call you Jenia?"

"That's Officer Jenia to you, sir," said Jenia.

"I just wanted to express my gratitude again at your very professional handling of this case. As a token of my gratitude, I would be honored to treat you to a dinner later tonight," Bracchus said.

"No thank you, sir," said Jenia. "Come along, Damius."

"Wait," said Bracchus. "When I first laid eyes on you, I thought I had stumbled into the house of the gods, for you are surely descended from Heaven-"

"Dude, take a hint," said Jenia. "I'm not interested. Thank you, though. Joya, see you tonight, babe?"

"Always, honey," said Joya with a giggle.

"OH MY GODS PLEASE LET ME WA-" Bracchus started, until Bulbaesar smacked him across the face.