"Okay… this isn't going to be too bad, surely?" I tried to calm myself down and squash the terror that was rapidly growing as the Victreebell and Weepingbell grew ever closer to me, staring me down with their angry, narrowed eyes. "They're just Weepingbell and Victreebell… they can't do anything that bad to me…can they?"

"Weeping!"

"Victreeeee!"

All of a sudden, in scarily perfect synch, every single one of the Weepingbell and Victreebell let out screeching cries, drew back sharply and all expelled a cloud of sparkling white particles. It was like a huge ash cloud, like the dust kicked up from a massive explosion. This giant cloud of powder drifted lazily towards me and the little ant Pokemon, surrounding us in all directions. The thick white powder engulfed me and immediately my whole body was overcome with a deep sense of drowsiness.

"Sleep powder!" I thought, desperately trying to fight against the tiredness that was consuming my body.

Even through the exhaustion and the fact that I was on the brink of falling asleep where I stood, my hysterical, terrified mind still ran through a dozen bizarre scenarios. What were these Victreebell and Weepingbell going to do to me? Were they capturing me to… god forbid, eat me? Were Victreebell and Weepingbell even carnivores! Did they eat humans? I didn't know… I didn't even want to know.

"Damn Sleep Powder," I thought as my vision blurred, my body became light and I became vaguely aware of the ground suddenly getting closer and closer to me. "I don't want to die like this!"

When I came to, all I could see was darkness.

I panicked at first and sat bolt upright, desperately squinting in the inky blackness, trying to make out something, anything.

"Traaaa?"

I almost shot six feet in the air when something moved right next to me, but as I discovered it was only the little ant Pokemon that had been my (annoying) companion for the past… God knows how long.

I ignored the little orange Pokemon who began chattering away, oblivious to the strangeness of the situation and instead focused on trying to figure out where I was. I was still outside, I knew that much from the cold wind that bit on my exposed skin, and the soft fronds of grass tickling my body. Everything was bathed in deep darkness and the sky overhead was dotted with a smattering of stars, so I knew it was late at night. 12:26 to be precise, once I checked my Pokegear. Using the flashlight from the Pokegear, I attempted to; literally, shed some light on the situation.

I let out a terrified scream as the Pokegear shone light on hundreds of silhouettes encircling me. The ant Pokemon beside me also let out a shriek and dove to safety, i.e. into my arms. In my panic I dropped my Pokegear and everything was again plunged into darkness. I heard the cries of the Victreebell and Weepingbell and I was too scared to even pick up my Pokegear to figure out where they were.

"Victree!"

"Weeep! Weeep!"

"Oh God!" I shuddered, clutching onto the ant Pokemon. Instinctively, my hand went to my waist where my Pokeballs should have been, but of course they weren't there! They were sitting idly back in the foyer of the Safari Zone! "I hate the Safari Zone!" I screamed in my head, wishing more than anything I had my own Pokemon to rescue me!

But wait… a thought struck me… did I really need to be rescued? No, of course I didn't! These were just Weepingbell and Victreebell after all; I had dealt with a lot worse! Besides I hadn't spent all this time just training my Pokemon! I'd spent it training my own body and training my own mind to be stronger, faster, more self sufficient! No, forget that damsel in distress attitude! I didn't need to be rescued! I could rescue myself!

Or so I thought…

Making sure I had a firm grip on the ant Pokemon, I jumped to my feet, grabbed my Pokegear and turned and ran in the first direction I thought of. The errant screams of the Victreebell and Weepingbell echoed around me like some ghastly choir, but I ran forward, pushing my way past anything and everything that came into my path.

However, I didn't get very far.

Vines suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wound themselves around my torso and legs and suctioned me straight to the spot. I let out a panicked scream, all bravado suddenly lost alongside my mobility. I twisted and struggled uselessly against the iron grip, trying to squint in the darkness to see the faces of my captors. The little ant Pokemon was squeaking in my arms, trying to get away too but it was hopeless.

"Oh God!" I said out loud, over and over to myself. "Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God!"

"Tra! Tra! Trapinch!" The little ant Pokemon squealed.

"Victreee! Victreee!"

"Weep! Weep!"

Then I heard the unmistakable sounds of a Razor Leaf attack. But it wasn't just one Razor Leaf attack. It certainly didn't sound like one Razor Leaf attack. It sounded like They were going to attack us! I fought viciously against the tight grip of the vines, but it was useless. I could do nothing but hug that little ant Pokemon to me and try and brace the attack!

Just as I thought the impact was going to hit and I would be sliced to ribbons, a deep, sonorous voice rang out and echoed powerfully all around me. "ENOUGH!"

Before I knew fully what was happening, two dark silhouettes flashed before my eyes, one leaping to the front of me, another to the back. Suddenly the darkness was lit up with two walls of brilliant reflective blue light. I had to shield my eyes, so intolerably bright was the sudden flash of light, but I could just make out the shadow of a bipedal something in front of me. I heard a weird twang and ricocheting noise and I opened my eyes just in time to see hundreds of sharp leaves bounce off the protective barrier and fly off in all directions, slicing straight through plants and shrubs like they were nothing. Then suddenly, the silhouette behind me moved and let out a cry, and the place suddenly lit up again with light. Before my eyes the protective barriers disappeared, but the light remained and I was faced with a Pokemon…

An Alakazam.

The Alakazam drew itself up to its full height and suddenly, the same, disembodied voice boomed out all around us. "How dare you treat this girl with such hostility! I asked you to bring her here unharmed, not slice her apart with your attacks!"

Now, instead of the irate cries of "Weep!" or "Victreee!" I heard a gaggle of human voices, all speaking in English muttering and apologising profusely and humbly to this disembodied voice. I blinked in total surprise and then let out a screech as the figure from next to me nudged against my arm. I turned around and came face to face with the inquisitive face of a Girafarig. The little ant Pokemon in my arms squeaked as the Girafarig began circling me, looking me up and down inquisitively.

A second voice began to speak, this one softer, almost musical in tone and undoubtedly female. "She's still tied up. Please, release her!"

There was another soft murmur of voices and then almost immediately, the binds around me slackened and disappeared as the Victreebell and Weepingbell let me go. I stood in shock as the disembodied voice ordered the offending Pokemon to leave and they all filed away obediently, leaving just myself, the ant Pokemon, the Alakazam and the Girafarig alone. I was still terrified, wishing I knew where this voice was coming from.

The Alakazam looked at me and the voice rang out again. "Don't be afraid."

I blinked, still looking all around me for the source of the voice. Then suddenly, the Alakazam nudged me to get my attention. I looked down into its eyes. Wise, old eyes that held the shadows of hundreds of experiences…

"I'm down here, child," the voice said again.

I must have let out a scream that shook the entire forest.

"You…you talked!" I screamed at the Alakazam. "You can't talk! Pokemon can't talk!"

"Telepathy, that's all it is." The female voice spoke again.

"Who's that?" I whipped around in my panic.

"Me," the Girafarig stepped forward.

"YOU TALK TOO!" I shot backwards away from both the Alakazam and the Girafarig.

"Well, we don't literally speak." The Girafarig corrected herself and even as the voice carried on speaking, I noticed the fact that neither the Alakazam nor the Girafarig's mouths moved at all to coincide with the words. "My friend Alakazam here has the ability to create telepathic networks, allowing Pokemon and humans to speak on the same level."

"I apologise for the treatment you were given," Alakazam's voice was gruff; with an edge to it I wasn't sure I liked. It reminded me of a disgruntled old man. "When I asked for you to be brought here, I didn't imagine they would be so… rough."

"B…brought here?" I somehow managed to ask, still reeling at the fact that these Pokemon were somehow speaking to me.

"Yes," the Girafarig's voice was far sweeter and softer and I naturally trusted that much more. "We wanted to speak to you."

"Me?" I asked slowly. "What's so special about me?"

"We know of your involvement with the people that attempted to capture the Groudon," the Alakazam spoke again.

"What? No, I wasn't part of that! I didn't do anything wrong!" my automatic reaction was to deny any wrongdoing on my part, but then common sense kicked in. I looked at both Pokemon in confusion. "But…how do you know about it?"

"The attempted capture on Groudon did not go unnoticed in the Pokemon world," the Girafarig explained. "We Pokemon understand a lot more than the humans give us credit for. Even slight changes in the Earth's balance are apparent to us."

"Yes," the Alakazam said firmly.

I suddenly realised how bizarre this situation I was in actually was. I had just been captured by a bunch of Victreebell and Weepingbell and dragged along to speak with two telepathic Pokemon who seemed intent on discussing the attempts by my father and his weird group to capture the legendary Pokemon! Of all the situations I had been in so far, this one was definitely the weirdest.

"We have seen your efforts in attempting to protect the legendary Pokemon Groudon and also your endeavours to stop the group of people who desire those Pokemon," the Alakazam continued. "Your actions are commendable, especially concerning your relationship with the man in charge."

"Y… yeah…" I found myself inexplicably blushing slightly at this praise. "But how do you know all this?"

"We are psychics, Sienna. It is our job to know things others do not," the Girafarig told me with what anyone could have sworn was a wink.

"Tra!" the little ant Pokemon piped up. "Tra! Trapinch! Pinch! Pinch! Pinch!"

"Once again I praise my decision to leave him out of the psychic network…" the Alakazam muttered darkly, and then he spoke up again. "I understand you have been able to deduce from whatever investigations you have been doing that your father's organization now has their sights on Kyogre?"

"Yes…" I nodded, still barely able to get my head around this insane situation. How on earth were a bunch of Pokemon being able to speak to me across some psychic network and even more strange, how did they know all about me and what I'd been doing?

"And your mother's group are also striving to stop them?"

"I… I think so…" my head was beginning to swim. "But… but seriously, why am I here? Why did you bring me here?"

"To give you some information," the Girafarig told me. "Of course, everything we tell you has to be taken with a pinch of salt, as it were. Predicting the future is not an exact art, you understand. But this is information you need to know,"

"What is it?" I forgot my confusion for a second and asked eagerly. Was this for real? Was I just going to get information presented to me on a plate, important, priceless information?

"You probably already guessed this, but your father is planning an attack on Kyogre." Alakazam said solemnly.

"Yeah…" I said gravely. "I know that. I just wish I knew when…"

"Two weeks today."

I blinked. "What…?"

"In two weeks today, your father will arrive in Sootopolis and attempt to rouse Kyogre from its sleep. Only this time, unlike the failure of Groudon, your father will succeed."

"Succeed?" I whispered. "But how? How do you know this?"

"I saw it myself, child. In a vision," the Alakazam said.

"Alakazam has predicted many events of our lifetime," the Girafarig explained to me softly. "He has never been wrong either. He will enter long periods of mediation for the simple desire to see what the future holds."

"Normally, the details of what I see remain with me till the grave." The Alakazam said. "But this has too many consequences to be left to fate. And when I heard of you tracking down your father, I saw a great opportunity for you to help."

"But why me? Why not my mother or someone else in that group?" I asked, totally confused.

"Because, contrary to what you believe yourself, your heart really is in the right place. You don't want to do this just on some revenge against your father, you really do care about stopping innocent Pokemon getting hurt." The Girafarig chipped in. "You've seen it yourself, first hand. Look at how you protected that innocent Trapinch from the Fearows."

"Tra! Pinch! Pinch!" the Trapinch trilled its appreciation.

"You have an important part to play in this." Alakazam said. "It has been predetermined ever since you picked up your first Pokeball all those months ago."

"So why wait until now to tell me all this?" I asked, sadly reminiscing on all the hardships and all the terrible things that could have been undone if only I had known all this sooner. "Surely things could have worked out much better if you had told me this earlier?"

"if you had known about this any earlier than you did, things would have played out very differently," Alakazam said. "You were at an impressionable stage back then and would not have handled this knowledge well. If you knew then what you know now, you would be a completely different person. You would have turned out to be a bitter, cold human being with no compassion or sympathy for the human condition."

"Gee, thanks…" I muttered darkly.

"It was best for you to experience the trials of Pokemon training for yourself," the Girafarig cut in. "Learn the harshness, but also the rewards that come from such a life. Learn about friendships and… love…" she added with what I could have sworn was another wink, which I blushed fiercely at. "It was all for your own good. Now that you have seen these things and experienced life for what it is, you are a stronger person, more capable of making such consequential decisions."

"You have no idea the burden of which you bear towards deciding the fate of the world now, Sienna." The Alakazam said gravely.

"Oh please," I laughed. ""the fate of the world"? Are you being serious? Things aren't going to get that serious just because my dad gets a hold of one legendary Pokemon?"

The Alakazam glared at me. "You dare to mock me, child?"

"No!" I squeaked and the Trapinch cowered in my arms.

"You have no idea what is going on! Do you know the technology your father is creating? They are working on creating the ultimate capture device! That time they were going after Groudon…that was a test run! Yes, they failed at first, but now they have almost perfected it! With that type of technology at their fingertips they could capture any Pokemon in the world as easily as a Pokemon Master would catch a Pidgey or Rattata! Do you have any idea what kind of consequences that could foretell? The disasters that could come about because of that? Yes, things are that serious!"

"I'm sorry…" I squeaked, mortified.

"You must do all you can to stop this from happening. If your father and his team capture Kyogre, it will serve as a catalyst for all future events," the Alakazam was back to serious mode. "In two weeks today, he and his entire group will storm the cave at Sootopolis and take on Kyogre. And they will win. It is vital that you be there to stop them."

"How?" I asked.

"How you do it is up to you, but I would suggest gathering as many strong trainers as possible and attempt to head them off," Alakazam suggested. "It doesn't matter how you do it, but please, just do it."

"I'll… I'll do my best…" I said lamely, suddenly feeling very very scared at the weight of the responsibility drafted onto my shoulders.

"Tra! Tra!" the Trapinch said, reaching up to pat my face with its tiny paws. It seemed to be trying to offer some encouragement.

"The Trapinch is telling you that you can do it," the Girafarig translated.

"Oh…" I said and smiled at the little Trapinch for probably the first time since I had gotten myself caught up with him. "That's sweet."

"This is a lot to take in, I assure you, I understand." The Alakazam said.

"You're telling me," I said, exasperated. I was still struggling to take this in. Whilst traipsing innocently through the Safari Zone I had been abducted by Victreebell and Weepingbell and then found out they had been ordered to do so by an Alakazam! This Alakazam apparently could see into the future and was communicating with me through a telepathic network! Now it was telling me that it knew all about my attempts to stop my dad from succeeding in capturing Groudon and Kyogre and even worryingly, knew for a fact when my dad would attack Kyogre again. Even worse… he was going to succeed. I couldn't understand how any mere human could control such an amazing legendary Pokemon. What the Alakazam had told me about some kind of ultimate capture device that my dad and his people were developing seemed a little unbelievable to me. And the idea that I was the only one who could stop it! No, that was a mistake… surely… this Alakazam must be wrong!

"I am never wrong," the Alakazam said and my entire body jumped with the shock. I looked at him in sheer disbelief, wondering if there was any way I could have just said what I was thinking out loud.

The Girafarig looked at me apologetically. "The telepathic network accounts for what you're thinking as well, Sienna."

"So… they know what I'm thinking?"

"Yes, we know what you're thinking."

"Okay, that is just creepy!" I shouted, pointed an accusing finger at Alakazam. "Get out of my head! There's things in there that no-one is allowed to see!"

"Calm down, child." The Alakazam said wearily. "I have no interest in your day to day thinking, I assure you."

"Thank God…" I let out a sigh of relief.

"Now, it may be true that Psychic predictions are never an exact art, but I have never been wrong to this date," The Alakazam continued.

"And so modest too…"

"I heard that." Alakazam said darkly and I cursed inwardly, which I'm pretty sure he heard again.

"But Alakazam, why me?" I wanted to know. "I know you said it was predetermined or something, but really… why me? Why am I so important?"

"I cannot answer that." Alakazam said. "But just know that it is you who must bear this burden."

"But what if I screw up?" I found myself asking the inevitable.

"You can't." Alakazam said. "That's how serious this situation is."

"But I'm not that great of a trainer!"

"Then you must work hard and train hard in the two weeks you have left." Girafarig cut in. "And you forget, you won't be doing it alone. Why not try and convince some of your friends or other strong trainers to help you?"

I found myself thinking of Jasmine, Nikki and Elliot and felt a pang of sadness.

"For the sake of the world, why not set aside your pride and ask for help?" Girafarig asked me seriously. "You're still young, there's no need for you to be so independent. You don't have to do everything alone. Yes, when the time comes, you are the one who has to stand up to your father Cal, but until then, there is no shame in asking for help. I know for a fact that there are many people who would be willing to help."

I nodded and found myself clutching the Trapinch close to me. Something in Girafarig's words had struck a chord with me, and I inexplicably found myself holding back tears.

"For now, I think we shall leave it at that." Alakazam said.

"What?" I inadvertently squeezed Trapinch too hard in my shock and he let out a series of squeaks until I relaxed my grip. "You're leaving? Just like that? But…but I'm not ready for this! You need to tell me more!"

"No, that is enough." Alakazam said firmly.

"But-" I protested.

"Sienna, you will be fine." Girafarig assured me. "You know what you have to do, so all you have to do is pull it off."

"Therein lies the problem…" I let out a heavy sigh.

"You are stronger than you believe yourself to be," Alakazam told me firmly. "Just do everything we have told you to and it will work."

"So, train hard, gather some people to help and be there two weeks today when my dad attempts to attack Kyogre." I recapped.

"Exactly."

"No pressure then,"

Alakazam just glared at my sarcasm. "Enough. Now, I shall escort you to the Safari Zone entrance."

"How?" I asked in confusion.

"Like this," Alakazam reached out and took one of my hands. A moment later I felt a strange jerking sensation underneath my feet and then my vision blurred completely as I felt a strong rush of air push against my body. It felt like I was on a rollercoaster or was being dragged through the air by something.

This whole thing lasted only for a few seconds before my feet hit the ground again and my vision returned. Over the Trapinch's frightened squeaking I vaguely recognised I was at the Safari Zone exit. A moment later, another flash of light lit up the surrounding area and the Girafarig appeared next to me.

I understood. "Teleport, right?"

"Indeed," the Alakazam nodded. "Now, before you leave, I understand you have been trying to enhance your team of Pokemon?"

"Yes…" I said warily, wondering what he was getting at now. What the hell was he going to tell me now?

"Well, I have a suggestion for you."

Excitement shot through me. "You're gonna come with me! You're gonna join my team?" I asked him eagerly.

"No," he deadpanned and I deflated instantly.

"Why though…?" I whined. "You're so strong and have so many amazing powers! You'd be able to help me fight them off easily!"

"My fighting days are long since over," Alakazam said firmly.

"Oh… that's a shame…" I said sadly, visibly trying to hide my disappointment. I of course knew about the reputations Alakazam had for their amazing Psychic powers and for one mad moment, had almost hoped that Alakazam would have decided to accompany me. But of course, he didn't…

"Instead of me, I think you should take Girafarig."

I blinked. "Sorry…?"

"We already discussed it," Girafarig cut in. "We agreed that one of us should go with you to help you in your endeavours. It would be unfair to burden you with all this and then not give you some kind of help in return."

"But… are you sure?"

"Of course. My Psychic abilities will be of great use to you." Girafarig said. "And although I cannot establish a psychic connection myself, if ever there is a time when Alakazam needs to talk to you, he can do so through me."

"Wow… well… only if you're certain!"

"I am certain," Girafarig nodded. "I would rather be out there doing something to help than stuck here unable to do anything."

"Well…well that's fair enough," I said, not really sure of what else to say.

"So go ahead. Use a Pokeball on me."

Still taken aback, I set a protesting Trapinch down and produced a Safari Ball. I tapped the Girafarig lightly on the head and she disappeared into the Pokeball without a struggle at all. As the ball shook in my hand slightly, then dimmed and stilled I found myself unwilling to believe I had just caught a Girafarig.

"She will be of excellent use to you," Alakazam chipped in. "Her skills are fantastic and even though she cannot make psychic predictions or use telepathy, her attacks are second to none. She will be a valuable asset for you."

I found myself grinning happily. At my feet, the Trapinch vied for my attention, but I didn't entertain him.

"You should leave now," Alakazam said. "Get a good rest and start training early tomorrow."

"Yeah…" I said, looking at my Pokeball, still in complete shock at the strange series of events that had unfolded today.

"I shall bid you farewell, in that case." The Alakazam said and before I could say goodbye he had teleported away, quite the thing, leaving me and the little Trapinch alone.

I stood there dumbly for a few moments as I looked at the Pokeball in shock.

"Okay, so an Alakazam just predicted that my father is going to attack Kyogre two weeks today and he's going to succeed, so he ordered my capture and set up a telepathic network to speak to me to tell me I had to stop them! Now I have a Girafarig and exactly two short weeks to train up my Pokemon and create some sort of crusade against the people who want Kyogre… This is insane!"

I gave myself a severe pinch on the arm just to make one hundred percent sure I wasn't dreaming. It hurt like hell so I assumed I wasn't. I let out a tortured sigh.

"Now…where do I even start with this?"

Author's Note

Apologies for the delay with this! This has been on my laptop for ages but haven't uploaded it cos I wasn't satisfied with it yet.

I've wanted to stir things up in the fic for a while now and got the idea to integrate a psychic sense into it, and I thought there's no one better than an Alakazam to make sure the severity of the situation is explained. He is the original Psychic badass after all! :)

WildCroconaw: Hopefully this chapter cleared that up for you!

Ampharoslover666: I always wanted to torture Sienna in the Safari Zone. Hoped that pairing up the lightheartedness of the safari zone with the severity of the predictions made by the Alakazam seemed to be the best combination. Thanks for being such a dedicated reviewer!

Anonymous: Haha! It wasn't Nikki, Jasmine, Elliot or the Trapinch! :) Its good to be back :)

Summer Featherglow: Thank you very much! I try to put in as much humour as I can in the story to balance it out.

I have a dictionairy here: Don't worry... she will be keeping him :)

Zoeten: Aww, really? That is so nice of you to say that, especially when there are lots of even better fics out there! Don't worry about the misspellings, the review was a pleasure to read!