~ o ~ o ~ o

Hey, guys! Hope you all enjoyed April Fools day. :)

So my beloved editor has decided to turn the April Fools day prank into an actual website with character bios, the map of Acceber, and other fun things so you should check it out! It is:

sites(DOT)google(DOT)com/site/fieryapple/

Obviously, replace the (DOT)s with periods. I'd like to thank my editor x100000 for making that website. It's beautiful and awesome and amazing!

ChaosAngel4us- Yup, you get to see his reaction. And Anita's powers are currently a bit wacked... you'll have to read to discover more.

obsessed-beyondreason-2001- Glad you liked the prank. :) Thank my editor!

EpicKlauke5 - I think a fanfiction can be good no matter what the starters/main Pokemon/age of trainers as long as it has good character development and good (sensible) plot.

Ruth93 - Glad you like it so far? I think?

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers!

So, as I promised here is Previously in An Apple A Day:

Previously in An Apple a Day

After Anita beat Sparky, the gym leader of Cape Caution, Anita, Erin, Mel, and Liam boarded a ship to take them to Vintage Village. Both Anita and Apple are having issues using their psychic powers. Apple has recently had her powers temporarily drained by Celebi in exchange for taking Apple back in time to train. Because of her anger, Anita lost control of her psychic powers when Apple disappeared. Anita has calmed down since Apple was returned safely to her correct time period.

In the meantime, Team Glop'emm is preparing for the capture of Mew. They have a DNA tracking device that can sense where Mew is as long as Mew is not transformed. The Master (leader) of Team Glop'emm left to research how to destroy Mew. He put Rita Teal in charge of figuring out how to create a device to untransform Pokemon. She has yet to be successful. However, Rita has learned from her Ditto, Sticky, that Dittos can transform into a human the Ditto essentially made up and Dittos can learn English.

The Master left Jamie Arkle in charge of the rest of Team Glop'emm. Jamie has been planning to take over Team Glop'emm, but he needs to find the Master. To learn more about the Master and where he might be, Jamie has been retracing all the places the Master lived. He most recently stopped in Vintage Village and discovered from Lily Smith (a childhood friend of the Master's) that the Master was originally from Slateport City.

The Master's past:

The Master was born in Slateport City. He, his cousin, and their respective parents lived in Slateport City happily until Kyogre brought about a tsunami that swept over Slateport. The Master's mother and aunt drowned. His cousin went missing.

A year after the disaster, the Master and his father left Slateport and moved to Acceber to escape the horrible memories of the city and live somewhere lacking legendary Pokemon. The Master's uncle stayed in Slateport, still hopeful that he would one day find his son (the Master's cousin).

Now would be a good point to mention that every 5,000 years, Mew explodes and a new Mew is born from the former (referred to as Father) Mew's ashes.

Shortly after the Master and his father moved to Vintage Village in Acceber, Mew arrived and exploded, creating fires and killing several villagers. A new Mew (Apple) was born. The Master's father vowed to destroy Mew (and any legendary he ever came in contact with). The Master and his father chased Mew across Acceber, but never succeeded in capturing it, though there were close calls. Eventually, this traveling brought the Master and his father to Drape Town. The father became gym leader and Master of Team Glop'emm in order to gain resources to capture and destroy Mew...

Later the father's right hand man, Jamie Arkle, killed the father in an attempt to become Master of Team Glop'emm. This plan backfired- the father did not trust Jamie as much as Jamie believed and his son became Master. This is how the current Master came to. The Master has continued with his father's plans to destroy Mew. The Master suspects that his father knew how to destroy Mew, and is currently researching how this might be done; he has been especially focused on discovering something via memories of his father.

Which brings us right back to...

~ o ~ o ~ o

Chapter 33: That Ship Has Sailed

"Rita," a lab assistant said, peeking his head through the private laboratory's door. He nervously played with the pocket of his lab coat. "Alan wants to talk to you about the Forced Transformation Device and you have a meeting with the executives in twenty minutes—"

I stopped him from continuing with a wave of my hand, not bothering to stand up. "I'm busy. I'll be at the meeting in thirty."

I turned back to my subject, who was sitting across the clean lab table on a wooden swivel stool identical to the one I was currently seated on. I unrolled a blueprint, flattened it, and pushed it across the table. "Sticky, transform into this."

Sticky was currently transformed into her preferred form: a blonde girl with large olive-green eyes, an appearance Sticky had apparently created on her own. She looked at the blueprint, on which a simple cube was drawn.

Sticky nodded, and quickly her form shifted. The pink summer dress she had been wearing seemed to spread out until it engulfed her entire body, shrinking and changing until it was a cube the size of a watermelon. I took a picture of Sticky on the lab table with my Polaroid camera and then pulled another blueprint out of the lab table's drawer. Sticky transformed back into the blonde girl.

"Try this one," I said. Sticky smoothed the edges of the blueprint with her petite fingers. The drawing was a type of advanced Pokeball, with thin veins of a dark material spreading from the release button.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't imagine," Sticky said, smiling as the word rolled off of her tongue. She had only learned the word today.

"But you could imagine the box? I've provided exact dimensions for this Pokeball. You should be able to transform into it. Come on, try."

Sticky looked at the blueprint again, chewing the ends of her blonde hair. A very human gesture. "No. I don't know how this works."

"Well, can't you transform into a non-functional Pokeball?"

"Outside maybe yes. But I'm not a machine. Can't imagine this. Without imagine, I can't become."

"What if I gave you a prototype of this Pokeball?"

"Well, yes. Duh. Then I can see, touch, and imagine. May I see prontotype."

"Prototype. No, we don't have one."

My pocket buzzed. Hesitantly, I pulled out the walkie-talkie. "Give me a second, Sticky," I said, pulling the walkie to my ear. "Yes?"

"Where is the transforming device, Miss Teal?" a silky voice said through the walkie.

"We're still working out kinks—"

"You said it would be done within the week. I did not expect you Rita of all people to exhibit such incompetence."

"Master, there are other projects. We've had so many breakthroughs in Ditto transformation, Pokemon psychology—"

"May I remind you, Miss Teal, that you work for Team Glop'emm. You work for me. If you cannot focus on the task at hand, I'll find and pay someone else, and you will lose your access to our equipment for whatever bizarre experiments you like to perform on your own time."

"Yes—"

"Where is Arkle? While he may lack your intelligence, he at least is loyal and obedient."

"He called me yesterday and told me his mother died. She's to be buried in Hoenn so he'll be gone at least a few more days. While I would normally mistrust his story, I had an assistant look into it—he checked out. There's even an obituary for his mother, Adina Arkle, in the Vintage Village Times."

"Fine. Get that transformer working, Rita. Master out."

The walkie was silent. Sighing, I dropped it back into my pocket, giving Sticky a half smile. "Master Mendol doesn't quite share my appreciation for science." I rolled up the blueprints.

Sticky transformed her clothes so she was wearing a white lab coat and safety goggles. "I can help with FTD. I'll go find Alan."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Alright, here's our room," Erin said. She handed me an envelope containing two card keys, and handed an identical envelope to Liam. "It looks like your room is down the hall. According to the front desk lady your bag should already be there."

Liam nodded, and he and Mel started down the hall while I opened our room. Immediately on the right there was a small bathroom—I mean seriously small, closet size. There were twin beds on either side of the room, a closet behind the door, and a small window between the beds. Erin sat down on the bed on the left, dropping her pack on the covers. I closed the door.

"Erin, we need to talk."

Erin tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and lied back on the bed. "I knew you would do this."

"Do what?"

"Ask me why I've been acting weird, ask what's going on…"

I sat down on the bed opposite to hers, crossing my legs. "No. I know what's going on. My powers freaked everyone out. I'm sorry, Erin. I never wanted to hurt or alarm anyone."

"I know you didn't want to. But you still did."

I closed my eyes. "You don't know what it feels like… I've been attached psychically to Apple for most of my life. For her to just disappear…" Even the thought made me feel sick. "It was like losing a part of myself. I couldn't deal. I didn't deal well. I'm sorry."

Erin was quiet for a moment. "Anita, you're sweet and a good friend, but I freakin hate your powers."

"I didn't like them at first either, but they're part of who I am. Who I'm going to be."

Erin shook her head. "It's just… I'm not scared of your powers—I mean I am, but I'm more scared of what they're going to do to you—how they're going to change you."

"Liam and Mel have the gift, too."

"Anita, this isn't about them. They're not in the same situation as you. Mel's known about his powers for a while, and Liam seems very experienced using his. They're in control. You're not and your powers are more dangerous. You could seriously hurt yourself. And if anyone really knew what you were capable of… Just, be careful, okay? And I'll try to get used to them."

"I don't think you have to worry anytime soon. I can't even get into anyone's mind at the moment. Maybe they're gone for good."

Erin smiled sadly. "Unlikely."

I shrugged. Then suddenly, from down the hall, I heard, "ANITA!"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I woke up and the world was spinning so I went back to sleep.

I woke up again, this time to an extremely loud voice. "ANITA!" It was Mel's voice. "Liam's gonna kill you!" I covered my ears with my paws the best I could. "I have to pee." I realized I still felt nauseated when Mel scrambled away… so I barfed.

I clambered out of my basket away from the puke… only to realize I was actually climbing out of a suitcase? I was on a bed next to a suitcase with light from a round window beaming onto my tail. When I looked out the window I could see the ocean. I was on a boat? I looked up and found Liam glaring down at me. I smiled at him sheepishly, noticed I had barf on my paws, and wiped it on his bedding.

The door slammed open. "What's wrong?" Erin asked. Liam gestured at me.

Anita was about to enter the room when there was a toilet flush, and Mel opened the bathroom door. There was a loud thump followed by much swearing as Anita walked into the bathroom door, which inconveniently opened into the room's doorway. I couldn't help giggling.

"How'd Apple get in here?" Erin asked.

Liam looked pointedly at Anita as she closed the bathroom door, still grumbling. Then she saw me sitting on Liam's pillow. "Apple! You're awake!" Anita ran over to the bed and scooped me up, giving me that stomach-drop feeling that happens when you go down a roller coaster hill… not that I've illegally snuck into an amusement park and hid in the back cart of the biggest roller coaster or anything. Anita squinted at me and mumbled, "Darn, I still can't talk to her."

I rolled my eyes. She shouldn't be complaining; she would recover her powers within a few days—it wasn't like she'd had them sucked out of her by a psycho Celebi. It'd take me a month, maybe more, to get back to how I was before Celebi. Before Celebi. Haha. B.C.

Mel was filling Erin in on all the details. "—so then BAM. Liam opened the suitcase and his stuff wasn't there and Apple was. Pretty cool, huh?" Liam sat down on the bed everyone wasn't crowded around, massaging his temples.

Erin turned to Anita. "What'd you do with Liam's stuff?"

"Threw it off of the dock," Anita said nonchalantly.

"Anita! That's seriously not—"

"It was a joke! Geeze, I'll buy him new stuff—"

"That was so funny, ahahaha—"

"SHUT UP!" Liam stood up, pointing at Mel, then Anita, and then Erin. "You're loud. You're obnoxious. You're not helping." He looked at me in Anita's arms. "And you're evil." He crowded us toward the door. "I have a headache. This boat's just started moving and I already feel seasick. Get out." With that, he shoved us out of the room and closed the door.

Anita shrugged, scratching me between the ears. "I'm gonna go sit on the deck."

"It's weird Apple wasn't caught in security," Erin said, walking with Anita down the hall. "Don't they usually have psychic Pokemon check the bags for anything unusual?"

Anita shrugged again. "Weird. Oh, well."

"Hmm, I think I'm going to go ask about security."

"Don't tell them about Apple!"

"No, I won't. It's just… I mean, they didn't check any bags? Something just doesn't seem right."

As Anita turned a corner to climb a staircase up to the upper decks and Erin turned to descend the staircase to investigate or whatnot, Mel was left to pound on the door. "Let me in! Don't make me go untouchable!"

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / /

The sun was setting over Acceber—we were on the wrong side of the Pallet Sea to watch it set over the water. Nonetheless, the colors were spectacular. The smell of salt and Anita's hand lotion was soothing as I dozed in Anita's arms, looking through the railing at Acceber's shores. Anita had pulled a beach chair to near the bow of the boat, where very few people remained because of the wind chill. I didn't think it was so bad, but I guess I had fur and was cuddled up against Anita.

Anita stroked my head as I listened to her drabble. "—and so Liam just walked right past security while the rest of us were forced to hand over our Pokeballs. What a pooh…" Suddenly, Anita got quiet. I could only hear the waves lapping against the ship's side. "I'm going to get my powers back, right, Apple?" she asked quietly, leaning back in the beach chair.

I nodded.

Anita sighed. "It's kind of—hey, Mel."

I lifted my head. Mel approached us, his nose scrunched. "Anita, can I sleep in your room tonight? Mine smells bad. Liam keeps getting seasick."

"Sure. Did you tell Erin?"

"No. I couldn't find—"

"What the…?" Anita suddenly stood up, looking toward the bow of the ship. I peered over her shoulder. There, mopping the front of the ship, dressed in white custodian uniform, was Jake Veneer. "He was definitely on his way to Artemis Town last time I checked, which means…" Anita grinned and put a hand next to her mouth. "Hey Jake," she called, "lose a bet? Or a gym battle? Lost all your money to Artemis's gym and had to work?"

Jake looked up at Anita for a moment and then continued mopping.

"Who's that?" Mel asked.

"Hmph. Jake Veneer. He'd better not ignore me." I was jostled as Anita stalked up to Jake, Mel trailing behind. "Hey, asshole! Jake, hello! Jake!"

Jake frowned. "This girl appears to know me. Perhaps if I ignore her, she'll go away."

"Cut it out. Oh, this is so great! I can't wait to tell Erin."

"My plan of inaction is failing. How would a human react to such a situation? How would this human react? Maybe I can search through his memories… damn it, where are Giselle and Spooks and the others?" Jake looked at the sunset. "We're far enough away…"

"What the f—" Anita started. Suddenly, she shuddered and dropped me. I landed on my feed and dug my claws into the slippery wood floor to keep from sliding off the side of the boat. Anita looked at her shoes, squeaking her feet against the wet wood. She spun in a circle. "Ahh, this is amazing." She looked at Jake. "Ghouly, why didn't you tell us? I would've found a body sooner."

Okay, something weird was definitely going on here. I quickly scampered under one of the beach recliners on the deck, hoping to remain unnoticed.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough. I almost had to deal with actual humans." He gestured at his body. "They seemed to know him."

"Dude, its not that hard. Just look into the kid's memories and figure out what to do," Mel said. Suddenly, Mel slapped himself. He restrained the slapping hand with his other. "Damn it! Giselle, why can't I have the girl? I'm older!" Mel slapped himself again. "Ugh. This one already has a ghost in him or something! It's not fair. I want the girl."

Ghosts. Again. Poopsicles. Why did this always happen to us? I ducked lower to the floor.

Anita—or Giselle?—smiled sweetly at Mel and swung an arm around Jake's neck, leaning into him. "I get the girl 'cause Ghouly and I've been going steady for months now and I've heard this physical touch thing feels super amazing—better than the moment a cow farts and we can bask in the methane—"

"What does this have to do with you getting the girl?"

"Uhh, Spooks, 'cause if I took your body that'd be called 'perverted' in the human world." Anita/Giselle kissed Jake/Ghouly on the cheek and giggled. "I kinda like this assignment."

Jake dropped the mop and put his hands around Anita's waist.

Spooks seemed to have better control over Mel now, though his arm kept twitching. "I'm going to go ask the boss for a different body."

"I don't think the boss'll go for it. What'd he know about body preferences? He's had the same one his whole life," Jake/Ghouly said.

"Maybe Ghouly and I'll find a room…" Anita said, a smile on her face that made me want to barf. I could only imagine what was actually going through Anita's head right now. She was probably flipping a shit. Neither of us had our powers, her Pokemon weren't with her, and she was acting all lovey-dovey with Jake. I was suddenly extremely grateful for choosing a normal type Pokemon to transform into, one ghosts couldn't touch.

"Hey, weren't you holding an Eevee?" Jake asked, pulling away from Anita slightly.

"Was I?"

"Yeah, your body was," Jake said definitively. "And I thought it was weird when she approached because the boss said nobody would have any Pokemon and there she was, holding an Eevee. When you took over, she dropped it…" Jake looked toward the cluster of beach recliners on the deck, where I was hiding. Uh-oh. I turned around, tiptoeing away under the recliners the best I could, trying not to cause any abrupt movements that might allow them to see me.

There were still a few people lying atop the recliners. My tail accidently brushed the butt of a woman sleeping in one of the recliners, and she jumped up, squealing. I quick attacked my way out of that situation.

When I finally darted across the deck to the staircase, their voices had faded. Good. I crept down the stairs, careful to stay in the shadows. I wasn't sure how many people were being taken over by ghosts, but either way, I wasn't supposed to be wandering the ship.

At the bottom of the staircase, I ducked behind a vacuum cleaner as a group of about ten people climbed the staircase.

"—and the boss said we're to scrub the deck—"

"—not fair. We have the hard labor stuff—"

"—thought scrubbing the deck was an idiom—"

"—when I signed up, I thought Team Glop'emm was cooler—"

Team Glop'emm? That couldn't be good. I had to get those ghosts out of Anita and Mel's bodies. I wasn't sure what was going on, but Anita would be pretty unhappy if I left her to make out with Jake. I had to find Liam. He'd be able to stop this mess.

Luckily, I couldn't hear anyone else in the corridor, and it was a clear shot to Liam's room from this staircase. I sprinted across the green carpet until I reached room 325. I couldn't hear anything when I put my ear against the door, but I could definitely smell Liam's puke. It made me shudder.

I pawed at the door. No answer.

I looked left, then right. Not spotting anyone else in or around the hall, I ran at the door, causing a loud bang when my body and the door collided. No answer again. I repeated this multiple times, but Liam never answered. Maybe he was passed out.

I jumped up and snapped at the door handle. I was too short. Then I realized it was probably locked anyway. Darn it, psychic powers would be so useful just about now.

Now what? I could find Erin, but there was a chance she'd be taken over, too. I guess I could look for the so-called 'boss' I'd heard these ghosts talking about. I felt a chill as I started to walk down the hallway. The air smelled slightly strange.

I turned around. A Ghastly floated behind me, grinning. Ghost salvia dripped from its mouth. Gross.

The Ghastly's eyes glowed red so I immediately shut mine to prevent the hypnosis from having an effect. I lunged at the ghost, my teeth bared.

I must have missed because I got a mouth full of carpet when I landed. I prepared to launch another bite attack when I was forcefully hit in the side, slammed into the hall's wall. Sucker punch, I remembered. An attack that only works if you're preparing to attack.

Snarling, I opened my eye a crack. The Ghastly was hovering just above me. Sucker punch was really the only attack that it probably knew that could affect me if I kept my eyes closed. I whipped my tail back and forth, willing the Ghastly's guard to be let down. Only when I attacked would the Ghastly be able to attack.

I sprung forward and bit down as hard as I could. I felt the Ghasly struggling between my teeth, and released it from my jaws when it went limp. Not wanting to stick around in case anyone heard the battle, I ran down the stairs, leaving the Ghastly knocked out on the floor. I paused only to lick the wallpaper in order to get the nasty Ghastly aftertaste out of my mouth.

As I rounded the stairwell corner of the lowest floor, I heard Mel muttering. "Damn boss. 'No one available to take that body.' Bullshit. He totally just wanted me out of his hair. Of course, I get stuck with the faulty human…"

I peeked around the corner. Mel saw me. "Hey, it's the—hmmmph!" One of Mel's hands was covering his mouth, the other flailing wildly. Suddenly, Mel shuddered. "Apple, down this hall, left, and left, room twenty-one!"

I sprinted down the hall, which was clearly meant only for maintenance. The walls were a dull grey and the lights were dim. Somewhere, I heard water dripping.

I skidded as I turned the first corner. There were two older teenagers talking in the hall. They stopped talking when they saw me, surprised. "What the hell?" I slid through one of the teen's legs, not bothering to stop as I heard the click of a Pokeball being removed from a belt.

I took another left, and found room twenty-one immediately on my right. The room was open. I lit my tail up in preparation as I entered the room.

There were four people in the room. Two guys with rust colored hair wearing security uniforms were standing between a pile of brown cloth pouches and three large wooden crates. The man on the left was holding a pouch, emptying its contents into a crate. The wooden planks that made up the crates were spread just far enough apart that I could see the crates were filled with Pokeballs.

The third man watched the other two, leaning against the left wall nearest to the crates. He had long red-golden hair and was smoking a cigarette.

The last person was a girl messily tied to a chair. Random ends of frayed rope stuck out awkwardly from the chair's sides. The girl was wearing heels and had a cloth in her mouth. Erin.

There was a heartbeat when nobody reacted to my entrance. Erin was the first to move. She flicked her eyes to the right-hand corner of the room near the door, opposite the crates. The man with long red hair dropped his cigarette and reached for his belt. The two guys in security uniforms looked at the man with red hair, perhaps waiting for directions.

I lunged to the corner of the room Erin had looked at and saw a brown pouch. I felt something attempt to bite my tail, but I swatted it away with an iron tail attack. I ripped the brown pouch open with my teeth and pressed the release button of the four Pokeballs within.

Griffy, Wella, Tweal, and Missy popped out of their Pokeballs. I turned around. Two Golbats, a Growlithe, a Koffing, and a Nuzleaf faced us. There was also a Raticate trying to pick itself up in front of the crates—it was probably the Pokemon I'd hit with iron tail.

Griffy immediately threw the Golbats across the room with a psychic attack. I blocked the Nuzleaf from attacking Griffy, tackling it to the ground. Wella released a burst of water that knocked the Growlithe back into the man with long red hair, knocking out the Growlithe and getting the man wet. Tweal fluttered to Erin's side, pecking at the knots in the rope, only pausing to blow away poisonous smog released by Koffing.

Missy cackled in the midst of the chaos. {Get behind me, around Erin,} Griffy said suddenly, backing toward Erin. Erin stood up, finally free of the ropes, and Tweal sat proudly on her shoulder. Erin removed the cloth from her mouth, threw it on the ground, and stepped on it. I pushed Wella, who was slow to move, below Griffy, just as Griffy put up a psychic barrier around the group.

Missy didn't get behind the barrier, though she continued to laugh. She disappeared behind the Koffing. The Koffing turned around, but didn't see anything and flicked its eyes around fearfully. Missy appeared abruptly right in front of the Koffing's face.

The Koffing let out a screech, closed its eyes tightly like it was constipated—BOOM. The Koffing selfdestructed.

The man with red hair and the two 'security guards' were knocked unconscious, the crates were broken piles of splinters, Pokeballs flooded the room, and there were several burnt marks on the walls.

"Nice one, Missy," Erin said, brushing off her jeans. "Glad to see your scaring skills actually going to good use." Erin looked around the room. "Well, first things first. Griffy, locate Anita and Mel's Pokeballs. Everyone else, tie up those goons."

Wella glowered at Erin incredulously, as if saying, {I don't have arms, you moron.}

Missy created ghost arms so she and Tweal ended up doing most of the tying. While they were finishing up, I told Griffy about the ghost Pokemon taking over peoples' bodies. {We'll need ghost attacks or dark Pokemon to get them out,} I said. {Ghost attacks won't affect humans and dark will just repel the ghosts.}

{I'm sure several of these other Pokemon will kindly grant us their help.} Griffy's eyes glowed, apparently psychically sensing which Pokeballs held Pokemon that would be able to help. Suddenly, there were several flashes of red. Ghastlys, Shuppets, Duskulls, and all other types of ghost Pokemon were released from their Pokeballs. {I can't sense or release dark Pokemon from their Pokeballs.} I noticed that Sunflower was also released from her Pokeball, looking around the frenzied room in confusion.

While Griffy began describing what the ghost Pokemon were to do, I said, "Come on," to Sunflower and leapt from the room. I explained the situation to Sunflower as we ran. "You've got to use shadow ball to get the ghost out of her body."

We ran past Mel on our way to the deck. He gave us a thumbs up. "Great news, I fought that ghost 'til he was gone, out of my head! Hey, where are you going?"

By the time we reached the deck, several travelers had come up for air, scratching their heads in confusion or verifying that their experience hadn't been a dream. Griffy's ghost Pokemon must have already been getting to work on the lower levels. It wasn't hard to find Anita and Jake. I just followed the kissing noises.

Anita was lying on top of Jake on a reclining beach chair, their legs intertwined. A couple walked over to this side of the deck, pleased they had found an empty area. They took one glance at Anita and Jake, turned around, and headed back to the other side of the deck. The only people near Anita and Jake were a few kids, too enwrapped in some imaginary game of ninja sailors to notice the kissing noises.

Sunflower looked at me nervously, her nose twitching. "You sure I should do this? She looks pretty… happy." Anita rolled over so her back was facing Sunflower.

I nodded. Sunflower created a shadow ball and shot it at Anita. There were twin screeches as the ball of ghost material traveled through Anita and then Jake. Two Ghastlys hovered over the deck. One Ghastly stuck out its tongue at me and the other headed right back for Anita's body.

Sunflower fired a warning shadow ball between the Ghastly and Anita. I growled loudly, baring my teeth, my fur standing on end. The Ghastlys disappeared.

Oddly enough, Anita and Jake were still lying down. I walked around to where I could see both clearly. They were still kissing; their eyes still closed. "Eevee!" I barked.

Anita opened her eyes. She looked at Jake; then her eyes darted to me. She fell off the recliner.

Jake sat up, looking dazed, while Anita got to her feet. "Weird dream…" Jake started, only to see Anita gaping at him.

"Y-y-you…" she stuttered. Anita turned and fled to the side of the boat, where she would continue to spit into the sea for the next hour and a half.

"You're welcome," Jake called after her, grinning.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Honchrow landed on the Zahava's gym roof silently; not even the rustle of his feathers in the wind could be heard. I slipped off the bird, whispering for him to stay put until I called. My cloak hid me in the night against the dark, pointed roof.

I slid to the roof gutter, caught a branch of a nearby tree, and swung myself away from the roof, landing on the ground in a roll. The gym was dotted with onyx that glittered in the small amount of moonlight. The door was painted silver, with large disk-like doorknobs. Carved above the door were the words: "Beware the brain. Treasure the mind."

I opened the door and stepped inside.

Immediately, the door slammed shut behind me and a large desk zoomed over my head. "Don't move, Mendol."

"Hello, Tamara." Tamara stood, her eyes glowing a bright violet at the end of a white tiled hall. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Espeon heard you outside." Her Espeon trotted from around the corner, circling Tamara's feet. "What are you doing here? Where have you been the past three weeks?"

I flashed her a smile before throwing a Pokeball from belt. "Umbreon, take out Espeon. Spiritomb, go!" In a flash of red, Umbreon took off towards Espeon, her eyes red and hypnotizing. I jumped forward, dodging the desk released from Tamara's psychic grip. Tamara stood rigidly, unable to move or speak.

Espeon quickly succumbed to Umbreon's confuse ray, giving Umbreon the chance to use faint attack and knock the psychic Pokemon out. I pulled the hood of my cloak off and approached Tamara, the soft thud of my shoes echoing down the hall. "Spiritomb, allow her to speak," I told the ghost Pokemon, invisible within Tamara's body.

"You… you only released Umbreon… which means…" she said.

"Ah, yes, Spiritomb has been hovering around you for quite some time now, Tamara. It's the reason you are unable to share any memories of me with anyone else. Spiritomb has and will continue to imprison them. I thought you'd have figured that out by now."

"Now that I know… I'll find a way," Tamara croaked. A lock of grey and brown hair fell across her face.

I tilted my head slightly, examining the symmetrical doors behind Tamara. "Unlikely." Spiritomb had been specifically trained for this type of work. "Let's find somewhere to talk. Umbreon, keep an eye on Espeon. Attack any psychic Pokemon Tamara may have left on guard."

I opened a door behind Tamara, which lead to an office with large windows across the back overlooking where the Kruncked River poured into Lemon Lake. Tamara didn't have a desk—instead she had a glass table sprinkled with a few papers and a circular stand, which held a computer monitor. I took a seat in the swivel chair behind the glass table, resting my feet on a clump of the papers on the glass table. Spiritomb, still controlling Tamara's body, made her pull a plastic fold-up chair from the closet and sat her on the other side of the glass table.

"We almost caught you," Tamara said. "The other day, in Winsk City. Nai saw you."

"You're mistaken."

"There were Weavile prints. We know—"

"Enough. I'm here for information, not to listen to your inept speculations," I said. "Seven years ago, my father came to Zahavah City. I want to know what he did."

"That's why you're holding me hostage? You came to Zahavah City in the middle of the night, attacked my Pokemon, and took over my body just to hear a story?" Tamara laughed dryly.

"No. I came to Zahavah City, took out your Espeon, and took control of your body to hear a story and not be tracked when I leave and not be attacked by the other gym leaders that would surely come running after you called them telepathically."

"Well if my memory is not failing me, seven years ago when your father came to Zahavah I found myself in a situation oddly similar to this one," Tamara said. "It would be much easier to share telepathically."

I closed my eyes, mentally portioning off and concealing my most protected memories. "Fine," I said. "But the moment you even consider probing my mind, I'll push you out of my head and Spiritomb will forcibly search through your memories for the one of my father I'm looking for. It will be painful."

Tamara nodded. Carefully lowering my mental barrier, I allowed her to enter my mind.

Tamara stood in her office, her arms tied to her side with a dark, stretchy band and a piece of tape across her mouth. She looked younger—her hair had no grey strands and the corners of her eyes didn't crinkle. A large Charizard hovered over Tamara, his three-fingered claws on her shoulders, ensuring that she didn't move. The office was assembled differently than its current arrangement. There was a wooden desk where the glass table currently lay, and a bulky computer on another wooden desk in the corner of the room. The floor had been carpeted and the windows were shaded.

On the carpet in middle of the office, a Houndoom stood on top of a Xatu. The Houndoom's claws dug into the bird, spilling drops of blood across the Xatu's colorful wings, turning the carpet below from white to red.

A man in a black cloak stood between the Houndoom and the Charizard, his green eyes reflecting the dim light from Charizard's tail.

"Tamara Lilac," the man said. "You have in your possession the most powerful Xatu known in Acceber, perhaps the most powerful in the world. I have heard it can foresee the future. You will command it to tell me where and when Mew will be in the next month." The man approached Tamara, who met his gaze evenly. He ripped the tape off from her mouth. "Well?"

Charizard breathed out smoke, causing Tamara to break into a coughing fit. "You can't catch Mew… It's too powerful. Plus, Xatu's power doesn't work that way," she finally gasped. Charizard swung his tail dangerously close to Tamara's desk.

The man pivoted around to face the Xatu. "Houndoom, get off." Revealing his teeth, the Houndoom moved to sit at the man's heels. The Xatu's eyes were closed, its wings bent at awkward angles. "Xatu, I have the ability to torture and kill your trainer. Tell me where Mew will be."

"Xats, no," Tamara said. "You don't have to. As psychics we have the duty to protect—mmpf" The man retaped Tamara's mouth.

"Charizard," the man said dangerously. Charizard breathed out a small ember, catching Tamara's hair on fire. The man turned back to Xatu. "Now, let's talk."

Xatu opened an eye, making eye contact with the green-eyed man. The Xatu's iris shrunk and seemed to spin slowly. Suddenly, the Xatu's head fell back, breaking the eye contact. "Outside Melonbi tomorrow…" the man said quietly to himself. He returned his Houndoom to its Pokeball. "Charizard, let's go."

The man left with his Charizard, leaving Tamara to wriggle and roll around on the floor until the fire in her hair was put out.

"Your father was a cruel man," Tamara said. I was jolted back into reality, looking eerily around the room I had just seen filled with smoke. I took my feet off of the glass desk. Tamara closed her eyes. "I released Xats the next day and haven't talked to him since. I had my Kadabra teleport him to a Pokemon Center in Johto."

I nodded and rose, pushing the swivel chair back into the glass table.

As I walked out the office door, Tamara called, "Did you find what you needed to know?"

"No." To myself I muttered, "I found out more than I ever wanted to."