Chapter 21 is here!

Hilda's POV

I looked over N's shoulder at the teenager smiling at us. N's eyes seemed to widen as he lay his eyes on her wrist. Wrapped like a bracelet was an odd gadget of sorts, with multiple wires and a metal plate with an all too familiar 'P' inscribed on it.

"Lyra!" Ethan cried, pushing through us and hugging the girl, Lyra.

"Ethan! I was looking for you!" Lyra smiled.

"R-really? You were looking for….me?" Ethan's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. I smirked.

"Yeah! You, Silver, and everyone else! Do you want to play a game?"

Ethan's giddy smile dropped instantly.

"Lyra, is it? I have a request to make of you," N said, walking over.

"What?"

"Can you remove that….bracelet…..from your arm?"

"But…" Lyra looked down at her wrist. "But this was a present! I can't take it off!"

"If that's the case, Lyra, then you'll have to leave."

Lyra frowned. "But I came all the way here to meet with you guys! Do you know Colress? He asked me if we could all play a game! So he asked me to get you guys!"

"Colress?" Rosa walked over, Hugh following her. "If Colress gave you that bracelet, then I think you should get rid of it."

Ethan's POV

My heart sunk. In Lyra's eyes, I was just like the rest. Nothing special about me.

At least she didn't like Silver more than me. If she chose a bully over me…..

I walked back into the cabin, ignoring the arguments outside. I didn't assist Lyra when everyone argued with her. I sat down, looking at Nathanial, who still wore a goofy grin.

"Do you want to play best of 5? We've tied, and I wanna be the champion!"

"Not now," I said, softly. Nathanial sat besides me, leaning over his little head on my shoulder.

At least someone appreciated my company.

Hugh's POV

N grew annoyed. He grabbed Lyra's arm, tore the 'bracelet' off, and smashed it under his foot. Lyra screamed and cried, but the bracelet was no more.

"What's all the commotion?" Leaf stepped out of the cellar doors, arms carrying a basket. Red followed her up the stairs. "Everyone, calm down, and sit inside. I can't deal with this."

Like a mother ordering around her kids, we all obeyed Leaf's instruction and sat down, staring at the floor. Not a single noise was uttered, except for the whimpers from Lyra.

"Lyra, please don't cry," Rosa pleaded softly. "That bracelet was actually a tracking device. Colress was using you to destroy all of us."

"How's that supposed to make her feel better?" Hilda asked, looking at her sister strangely.

N, Ethan, and Red all sat silently, with glum expressions. I wasn't really sure why.

"Alright, guys. Here's the plan."

We all turned to look at Leaf.

"We need to train our pokemon, and we need to ready ourselves. Whether we're ready or not, we'll be found eventually if we just sit here doing nothing. So I think we should form training groups. Rosa, Hugh, and Lyra can be one team. I'll train with Hilda and N. As for Red and Ethan, you two can train together."

"What about me?" Nathanial piped. Leaf smiled.

"Nathanial, you can join Red and Ethan. Sound good?"

"Okay. I like them," Nathanial smiled, hugging Ethan, then doing the same to Red.

"Alright. Now, let's make a force the Plasmas and the Rockets don't stand a chance against!"

Blue's POV

My body began to feel a lot better, and I had Looker to thank, for donating blood to my recovery.

"How do you expect me to help you?" I looked over at the investigator.

"Well," Looker began, "I have heard of your triumphs in the past, and I think your partnership would be valuable. We'll investigate the scene, undercover, then decide how to stop the grunts and their Bosses."

"That would be awesome! What about my friends?"

Looker frowned. "From what I hear, your friends are a large group, which is one thing you should avoid when trying to go unnoticed. I think it would be best if you didn't associate with them for the time being. We'll distract them and vice versa."

"How about just Leaf?"

"Leaf seems like a good leader. I think the group needs her."

"Can I at least tell her, then? That I won't be joining the group? She'll think I'm neglecting her!"

"If she knew what you were doing, she might distract herself from training the rest of the trainers to her full potential. It's best for her to think you're safe and sound here in the hospital."

Lyra's POV

"Feraligatr, come on out!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Hugh called. "Here we witness a fine battle between Rosa from Nuvema Town, and Lyra, from….where are you from?"

I giggled. "New Bark Town," I answered.

"….and Lyra from New Bark Town! This will be a one-on-one battle, with Lyra's Feraligatr and Rosa's Serperior! Ooh, both contestants have chosen their starter. But which will win out? Let's-"

"Hugh!" Rosa laughed. "You can cut the act. We don't have an audience."

"Oh well," Hugh shrugged.

I laughed. Hugh was really funny! Why wasn't Ethan more like that?

"Well, let the battle begin!"

"I have the type-advantage, Lyra! Don't expect a win!"

"Oh yeah? Feraligatr, use Surf!" I smirked. They hadn't seen me in battle, but now they were going to see how awesome I was as a trainer, and how great of a bond Feraligatr and I shared.

"Serperior! Use Leaf Blade!"

"Dodge!" I cried. Feraligatr did just that, in the nick of time, too. "Now, use Ice Fang!"

It seemed really effective. Serperior looked really worn down.

"Give up?" I taunted. Rosa sneered.

"Not just yet! Leaf Storm!"

If Rosa had used this first, then I think she might have beaten me. But the Ice Fang had slowed Serperior down, and he wasn't half as strong. The move didn't do much against Feraligatr.

"Alright! One more Surf!"

Feraligatr issued the command, and Serperior was out.

"I win!" I danced in victory. Being a trainer was really fun!

?'s POV

Ghetsis walked into the room, where Colress stared at a projection on the wall.

"How goes your plan?" he asked, peering himself at the map. A flash of light appeared yet again, in the middle of a route.

"There's Lyra," Colress said, pointing at the flashing light. Ghetsis stared at the light.

At once, the light disappeared.

"Wha-where's the light?" Ghetsis began to panic.

"The tracker has been destroyed," Colress replied.

"But, then how will we know where they are?"

Colress laughed. "Don't you get it? If the device was destroyed, that means someone with sense must have found Lyra and broken the tracker. And who else but our meddling trainers? Ghetsis, we've found them."

Dun dun duuuuun!

Announcement to any interested! I may discontinue the chapter drawings, or, at the least, draw them on paper instead of digitally. I'm running out of time to do this, and with finals coming up, even uploading chapters is a hassle. So...