(With M successfully captured, what happened afterwards?)

What do you think? I really don't want to harp on about it any more than I have already. Bolt was found back in the detention room, knocked out, but safe in the sick bay. Shine was being treated as well, though he was being healed up in a Pokeball until they were ready to get him up to speed. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to see him, so it wasn't exactly a comfort. Pecha was there after the initial incident though, staying in that same room the whole time until she had another lesson. Basil accompanied her as well, so they both sat on the floor together. I approached them, wanting to say something to Pecha in particular.

"Hey," Basil said, eyes drooping. "I'm so sorry, Curio."

"What for?" I said. After pondering it for a while, Basil shrugged and smiled sadly.

"Don't know. Just, I'm not sure what to say about all of this."

I didn't know how to take that and just turned to Pecha. "Thanks a ton. Sorry everything kind of went so fast."

She shook her head and smiled, looking happy unlike Basil. "Glad to help. That's what our kind's for, isn't it?"

"But seriously, it's like you knew what to do just like that."

"Y-yes." She laughed nervously, tugging at her nubs again. "That was my first time. Scary, huh, Bas?"

"Yeah, Pec." Basil hugged her, and in turn, Pecha gave him a peck on his pink cheek. I guess it was reassuring to see those two like that, though that sort of connection was missing for me.

That relief didn't last long. GeL didn't have the same atmosphere as it did before, at least not for the first couple of days.

The odd thing was that the students had no reaction to it. They didn't seem to know that the M incident happened, or what happened to Shine either. So that was a little puzzling.

However, the staff was a lot more anxious, and my aura was heightened during that time. The Pokemon mediators in particular were quite shaken up. Bolt, of course, wasn't the same either. He recovered relatively quickly, but I rarely saw him. When I did though, he looked completely shattered. His aura reflected that too. Even though there was a bit of baggage between us, I didn't want to nag him at that point. Maybe at another time when the dust had settled.

This reflected in my own lessons as well. I paid much less attention to what was being said by the teachers. I didn't even have the energy to continue the assignment for the vase making lesson. There was a tense air between all of us, even my other classmates, as they all knew about M's outburst. Hans didn't feel like making jokes in class any more. That smug shithead Ab didn't even talk, which was a first. So yeah, in general, we were all a bit fed up.

That all culminated on the third day that changed everything. It was Azzy's turn to teach us that day, and we were enjoying his classes. Once we had gotten a handle on his language exams and could properly improve our conversational skills, we felt pretty confident in our abilities to speak the human tongue. Having human students to interact with this time, now we fully understood them, made it better. This one would've been a simple prep lesson, and despite everything, we were looking forward to this one.

Key word being 'were'. As soon as Azzy walked in, slamming the door behind him, the atmosphere in the room changed. He scowled at the chalkboard in front of him, then turned to a blank space where M usually would've sat. That Marowak liked the pink beanbag for whatever reason, but that was absent from the room. Finally, he crushed a chunk of chalk in his paw, letting the white dust fall to the floor. His expression softened, then he sighed.

"I quit," Azzy said. There was a long pause in the room, broken by whispers from my side and from the humans as well. "If you can get a replacement for this one lesson, then that would be much appreciated. You'll find the papers on the desk." He turned to the door, clenching his paw, then finally left.

Okay, I didn't know what the hell happened there. None of us did. We were too shocked to say anything else. The human students started discussing on their own, debating who should've been the substitute teacher for this, but that wasn't even on my mind then and there. It was still on that blue rabbit.

He was the one that sent me here, and he was quitting. Where would he go? It shouldn't have gotten to me so much since we weren't even blood related, but he was my tutor too, and my heart ached for that all the same. Again, I was losing someone that helped shape my childhood, and not only that, someone who was with my family before they moved away from the island. Right, the island. They left it behind to survive, yet before that, they were still in contact. What happened? Why didn't he do anything? Wait, he did. He wouldn't have cried if it wasn't for that.

One of the humans stood up, sifting through the notes Azzy left behind. It seemed like he was about to pick up from where the teacher left off, but that could've waited. I needed answers, and fast. I rushed out of there, not even bothering to check with the other student as I power walked through the halls. Heh. Maybe the others thought they could've given him the slip with one student already leaving. But I wouldn't have found Azzy by going in blindly. So, I stopped and tuned into my aura, expecting to see him in the office, but as it turned out, he was in the battle room. It was completely unoccupied by anyone else, so that was the perfect place to ask him. I didn't waste any time.

Droplets of water sprayed my face as I entered. Azzy yelped as he shot another water jet at a wall. He shot a few more from his mouth, then, finished with a Hydro Pump, unleashing a torrent at the edge of the arena that splashed everywhere, forming a large puddle at his feet. After that, he stopped to catch his breath, blowing out huge gasps of air. I just stood there, trying to figure out what to say to get him out of that state. The only thing his aura said was a constant string of thoughts that screamed DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT. So that made me step in for real. Screw waiting around patiently.

"Teach," I said. That didn't get much of a reaction out of him. "Hey, teach!" I raised my voice, trying to get his attention that time. He still didn't turn, but he grimaced then. That was something, at least.

"C-Curio," he said. "You should be back in class."

"What's goin' on?" I approached, stepping into the cool water. Even though I was a bit taller than him, he still had that commanding air about him. I waited that time, letting him get it out at his own pace. He didn't answer. So, I pressed again. "Why're you quitting?"

He sighed. "I-I just can't stay here. Not what after happened to Shine and M. I just wanted to teach, not get wrapped up in this. After everything that's been going on, I don't know if—" he cut himself off and cleared his throat, sloshing through the water with his paw. "GeL's heart is in the right place. I know, but they screwed up here. This wasn't ethical."

I thought it was Bolt who was mostly responsible, but with what they said about M not belonging here, I couldn't brush that aside either. If I was taken somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, then I would've been pretty confused too. But I came here of my own free will. They offered me the choice. They couldn't have been that bad. I wanted to check his aura just to make sure. Not here, not now, have to keep it inside.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to my partner Mack. Didn't mean to get you all soaked."

Azzy stepped out of the puddle, leaving wet pawprints in his tracks. Yet, I stayed. "Teach, stop. There's somethin' else, isn't there?"

He took a few deep breaths, in and out, in and out. She doesn't need to know. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me!" I stomped a paw, splashing a bit of water nearby. "She doesn't need to know, what the hell does that mean?! Tell me!"

"W-what?" He held a paw to his mouth. "Was I really—?"

"Too late." I stomped on over to him, peering above him. "Teach, I hate seeing you like this. Tell me now."

His lip quivered for a little bit, then firmed up. He sniffed once, then fell to his knees, holding back tears.

"They lied to you."

"Lie—"

"Yes!" he shouted, tugging at his long ears. "Back then, what I've been meaning to say all this time—" he shook his head— "they could've done something about your family!"

I said nothing and let him continue.

"They could've done anything! They knew winter would've struck, so they could've stepped in! Given their phone number for them to call! Your family's smart, they could've called that themselves if they moved into the city! We had the means of transport as well! We could've taken them to you, to visit or to live with you! I'm sure they would've loved that, but-but—"

He grit his teeth and punched the floor, the force of which echoed in that big hall. That made me jump. Then, after that, silence. That threw me for a loop. It was like, what? What the hell? I tried to convince myself he heard differently, that he was wrong about that. Yet my hopes were dashed with this:

"They said, 'oh, we shouldn't meddle', but look what happened to M! What in god's name was he doing here?! If they got involved there, why didn't they do the same for you? Why'd they put you through that much stress? I just, I just— I-I do understand, but—" he scratched his head. "Dammit all!"

Now would've been a good time to say what the hell. Or what the shit, even. What. The. Shit.

(Wait, so they did lie about that?)

No duh, genius. Look, I don't wanna dwell on this that much. Whatever I think of 'em for doing that now doesn't matter. Let's put that aside and just focus on how I felt back then.

This wasn't happening. Again, it was nothing to do with them dying or anything too catastrophic. That's what I tried to tell myself. Then, why the hell was my chest so tight? My throat so dry? My paws shaking so much? My heart didn't lie. So, then what? Just tell them what I found out? What would happen if I did? Would they threaten me? Was this the point where they'd drop the facade? I didn't want that. I had my safe zone, the place where I got to chat with my classmates and sculpt stuff. Right, sculpt stuff. I needed something, anything to take my mind off things. I walked on my own, almost like sleepwalking, oblivious to what Azzy said. I think he was trying to get me back, and even heard him follow after me. I didn't see anything. It was a bit of a blur, the walk from the arena to the workshop.

There were all those tools they bought. All the clay they ordered. And in the middle of it all was my attempted recreation of Ellie's vase. It was jagged, but at least it resembled something of that shape. Azzy tugged my paw.

"Curio…" He said nothing else. I didn't either. After a short moment, he bolted out of the room, leaving in a panic. I didn't care. I stared at the hardened lump of clay. Or rather, stone, since the clay was cast into a different form. I made that. GeL allowed me to make that. They valued my freedom and let me explore what I probably never would've out there. I didn't feel like it was right for me though. All the work building up to it and I didn't find it expressive at all. I couldn't communicate what I could've done on a sketchbook like before. That was what they expected of me though, to be a Pokemon with skills other than battling. Could I even live up to that if what I was making was crap I didn't care about?

Dammit, I'm rambling. Sorry, I need another swig.

(That's fine.)

Okay then, back to earlier. Why was I thinking about that? No, I was trying to distract myself from what Azzy said, anything to try and make sense of what he told me. They cut me off from my family. The staff. That meant that Gardevoir. That meant that human director. And that meant Rhode, my other tutor. I could've trusted him before, and yet, he must've known about my family. Why would they stop me from being with them? Even though it wasn't exactly happy back there, I was still with them. They took that away from me.

They took it all.

I wasn't the same Pokemon as I was when I left the island. Everything I had back there was gone, and with Azzy going as well, it was all crumbling before me. Something built up inside me, though I wasn't sure what it was, like complete darkness oozing through my veins. My paws shook violently then. I wanted to smash something.

That's when she entered: that Gardevoir Lucy. She stood by the doorframe, eyes widened. She was there. She was the cause of all of this. M snapping. Shine getting mistreated. Me getting torn apart from my family. I just stared at her, holding my spiked paws behind my back. If I didn't stop myself, I was sure I was going to snap too.

"Curio, Azzy sai—"

"Shut up." I knew I was gonna get in trouble for that, but I was so totally done at that point. "Yeah, Azzy told me. He knew my family had to move away somehow. Yet you did nothing." I took a deep breath, tightening my fists. "So, you were lyin' to me all this time?"

Lucy bit her lip, tugging at one of the seams on her dress. She kept her eyes on me, but I sensed she wanted to look away. "I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You're sorry, huh?" Then, snap. I grabbed the vase and threw it at the wall, shattering into pieces. That crashing sound filled the room. "Sorry ain't enough! I still coulda been with my family if it wasn't for you! You think I'm gonna forgive you after that?!"

"No, I-I understand, but—"

"What about my friend Shine, huh? You coulda done something about M, but you let him get away with it til the end! You think I wanna stay here after all this? No!" I rushed to the door as Lucy stood still, blocking the exit. She was calm and collected once more.

"Get out of the way," I said.

"Curio, please, listen to—"

"Get out!" I threw a punch at her, which she dodged, levitating to the side. It was unblocked now. There was nothing stopping me. I ran through the halls, ignoring everyone else. Something whooshed behind me.

"Please, hear me out, please—"

I ran faster, heading for the stairwell. One by one, I ascended each floor. Second. First. Ground floor. I stopped to catch my breath, listening out for what was below me. Footsteps echoed beneath. Crap, I had to run, not even thinking about who it was. I reached for the doorknob, pressing it down with all my force. It wouldn't budge.

Footsteps were getting louder. No, this wasn't happening, why couldn't I get out? I spotted something like a card reader on the left and recognised it from all the shows I watched. I was locked in. But I had to get out anyway. So I pounded at the door with my metal fists. It still wouldn't budge, and the door itself was pure metal.

Louder and louder still. There had to be a way to warp it, right? Find some chink in the armour that would lead to my escape, right? Wait, what about aura? Was there any way to create a blast, or anything, that could force it open? I placed my paws on the hinge and focused, channelling all of my energy into that.

"Hey, lass."

Rhode snapped me out of my deep focus, but with the aura still coursing through me, I turned to him, aiming a charged paw at his head. There was plenty I could've said then. I could've shouted at him, I could've swore at him, I could've said anything to express how bad the whole thing felt. Yet, I couldn't even bring myself to do that right away, but I still had to be on my best guard. He was the teacher, if I could've even called him that any more, who had the upper hand here. And he was in front of the stairs too, blocking my way back. Any inch I gave him would've meant the end for me.

"Stay away."

"Okay, okay." He held his paws up, relenting. That still wasn't enough to convince me. "Listen, Curio, we need to talk. Just you and me."

"Not in the mood. Get me out."

"Please…" His eyes were wide, practically begging at that point. "Look, lass, we're sorry. We really are. And I know the pain yer goin' through."

"Then why?!" That got me to shout at last as I bashed my other paw against the metal frame. "You must'a known they weren't gonna call my family anymore. B-but, you're a Lucario too! Why didn't you stop them?!"

"I—" He clenched his teeth. It didn't take someone with aura to know he was struggling too. "We—" he sighed— "it wasn't an easy choice. We tried. Anythin'. We argued about it for days on end. We know it would've been tricky for you if something had 'appened."

"B-but, you chose, didn't you? You went along with it anyway!"

"Y-yeh, but—"

"SHUT UP!" I was full-on fuming at that point. "I-I can't trust you! Can't, can't breathe... Just let me out!"

"Curio…" He stepped forward, outstretching his arms. That was it. I blasted my aura at his belly, and this time, it was a big one. All of my stored energy burst in front of us, knocking me back to the wall, and knocking him elsewhere. My head spun for a bit. Not exactly what I expected to happened, not that I cared. When I came to my senses, though, Rhode was struggling to pick himself up, having been blasted down a flight of stairs. He spat once, then stood up and ran.

Round two. I tried to charge a sphere again, but this time, he succeeded, grabbing me gently. I have to stress the gently part. But in my state, I couldn't tell the difference between that and him overpowering me, so I thrashed about, desperate for him to stop. He just held me tighter. At that point, I was just bashing my fists against him, not caring where I hit, just how I hit.

"H-hey, calm dow—"

Shk. My spike planted itself into something rough, like a pair of scissors poking through a sheet of card. He groaned. It smelled of iron. I looked down. It was in Rhode's side.

The spike was in his side. Not deep enough to create a huge hole in him, but it had pierced through the t-shirt and his skin, drawing blood as it spread across the fabric. Quite a bit of it. When I drew it back in shock, some of it spurted out.

What emotion was I going through at the time? I don't know. I was too caught up in everything else to soak it in at first. But what would Rhode, my tutor, do next? Fight back? Kill me? He could've retaliated and that would've been the end of it. I probably had it coming too. But no.

He pulled me in closer and hugged me. You know, wrapping his arms around me, softly patting my back. He whispered: "Alright, alright, lass." Several times, in fact, like a lullaby. I breathed in and out, in and out, trying to hold it together. No, I couldn't have given myself up to him. But that hug; it had been so long since I felt it from my own kind. That was what broke me in the end.

I fell to my knees, sobbing, while he joined me with tears of his own. There were lots of explanations that were long overdue. No chance of letting all of that slide by and just pretending it never happened. But then, what were GeL doing? Why would they even care about me at all if they wanted to put me through this trouble? That still went unanswered as well. It was terrifying, to be honest. There were the cause of all of it. Yet Rhode was still there for me.

"I-I'm sorry…" I cooed. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry."

"Nah, don't worry. En't a significant wound." There was no ill-will in his voice at all. It would've been a comfort if that guilt still didn't linger on.

More footsteps came. Softer, this time, with what sounded like two pairs coming up. I didn't even care if they took me away at that point; I was that mentally exhausted. I glanced away from my tutor to see Henry, Reggie and Lucy, the Machamp, Medicham and Gardevoir, in front of us. They looked just as apologetic as Rhode did.

"H-hey, listen," Rhode croaked as he turned around, "don't get her into trouble, 'ere. She's overwhelmed enough as it is."

Lucy covered her mouth, clearly surprised by the wound in his stomach. "R-Reggie? Can you take—"

"No need." Rhode waved his paw. "We can do that later. Just get some bandages for now, or anything. I'll be fine."

Reggie sighed. "Alright, mon. Don't get hurt no more, y'hear?"

While he went off on his own, Henry and Lucy lowered themselves, letting Rhode fall back in their arms. They both glanced at me, still maintaining their soft composure. Lucy started first, about to say something, but stopping herself at the last minute. She took another look at me, and I sniffled, rubbing the tears away.

"I'll be straight with you," she said, "I won't try to force you into anything, Curio. If you don't find GeL's the place for you any more and want to leave, that's fine. We'll do everything we can to try and find somewhere more fitting."

"B-but, I don't get it!" I yelled, not even out of anger any more. "I, you, you don't seem bad, but, but…"

Lucy took a deep breath, rubbing her temple. "Anyone's capable of making terrible decisions, good or bad, including us." She touched the red growth on her chest next. "Taking responsibility for that and making sure we fix it is what matters next."

I just stared at her. So she admitted it, but that didn't make it any better.

"But in any case, if you wish to leave GeL, the option is there. Isn't that right, you two?"

"Yeah," Rhode said, holding his wound, "no point in makin' you suffer 'ere."

"Mmm hmm," Henry said, "same goes for everyone else here."

I sniffled again and took a deep breath, weighing my options. Yes, I would've left if it wasn't for that door, but I had calmed down since then. What did I want? I felt betrayed and needed answers, fast, otherwise it would just be back to square one again.

"We can tell you if you wanna know," Rhode said. "I bet we owe ya a few things, 'specially what our deal is."

"Yes!" I said, ignoring the fact he just read my mind. "I wanna know everything!"

"Then," Lucy said, "we'll let you talk to Cartwright. You know, the director here?"

From what little humour I found in this situation, I couldn't help but stick my tongue out. "Duh."

"Okay," she said with a smirk, "but now you've matured a little and have improved your human speech, I feel you're ready. Again, if you want to back out, then just say the word and we'll stop it. However, we would at least like you to lend an ear and let us explain. How does that sound?"

She extended her leafy hand, which I stared at for a while. They were being civil, at least, though a pawshake still wouldn't have resolved things. I stood up, but decided not to shake it.

Before we made our way there, Reggie applied the bandages to Rhode as promised, and he seemed back to speed, even if it didn't look fully patched up. There was a slight shade of red staining the white gauze. I couldn't stop staring at the wound and my own paw, which still had blood on it.

"H-hey, teach," I said. "Still sorry about, er, about… you know what."

"Don't stress your wee head about it," he said with a chuckle. "Think of it as my own punishment. Just be more careful from now on, won't you?"

I slowly nodded in reply.

"I'll clean that up, yeah?" Reggie said, pointing to my bloodied paw with some wipes. That was taken care of, at least. The rest from there, well, I went downstairs with the rest of the group, silently taking it all in. The first floor, then the second floor, then through the door that led to the research department. At least, that's what they called it upon entering. All it really led to was another corridor with a few rooms. Unlike the downstairs parts, which had all sorts of flowery and colourful designs, this one was pretty much pure white walls, with lots of notice boards and papers pinned onto them Very riveting. But that's not what I focused on; I honed my aura in on the people inside of it. Now, I can only really guess what the other people there were doing, since I only saw their activities from the outside.

The researchers were hunched over their desks, typing away on the computers, talking to each other, and otherwise, goofing off. One threw a paper plane across the room. Another one was petting their own Pokemon: an unremarkable Eevee, because of course, they were popular. While I heard something about this upper level during my studies at some point, it was the first time seeing it in person. Though I was about to ask why they brought other Pokemon with them that weren't a part of GeL, that thought didn't linger on as Lucy pointed me to the very end of the corridor: a wooden door leading to what I detected was Cartwright's room.

I stopped walking as my heart skipped a beat. Yeah, this sounds silly. I met the guy before, right? Yet, I'd never actually talked to him before, and since I didn't know what his intentions were, that made it all the more nerve-racking when I was finally given the choice.

"Hey," Rhode said, tapping my shoulder. He looked to the side first, scratching his chin, then turned back. "Whatever choices we made, we all 'ad to run through him first. I dun't want to say anythin' against him, but if ya must… If you need to talk to 'im about your family-"

"I get it," I said. We left it at that, since we'd soon find out what to make of this all later. So, we stepped through the corridors, with my heart beating all the way through. No, I had to be real with myself. I wasn't in danger. Or at least, I thought I wasn't. Then why weren't they attacking now? Still, I had to block out those other thoughts, or else I wouldn't have found out anything. Lucy hovered in front and opened the door, letting us all in one by one. Rhode. Reggie. Henry. And finally, me.

Well, I didn't know what I expected a chairman's office, from what I saw of the wider world in those shows. Maybe something extravagant, like a study with polished wooden bookcases, lush furniture, regal colours and all that. Maybe the head honcho in the middle was petting a Persian like in that show, surrounded by all sorts of luxuries. But nope, the rest of it pretty much looked like a manager's office, though there were plaques on the walls with certain awards. One read 'Excellence in Pharmacology'. There were also pictures of a younger him with the staffed Pokemon in their previous forms, even down to a Riolu wearing a top that was clearly oversized. But anyway, that's not the point. The man himself stood out the most. His grey, balding hair. His wrinkles that made his face look like a raisin. The rest of his rather frail frame. Once we all entered the room, closing the door behind us, the director looked up from the paperwork and a smile spread across his dry lips.

"Why hello, Curio," he said, shakily raised his hand up. "It's nice to be able to chat together at last."

I said nothing, still forming my own opinions of the guy. So he was the director behind this project, along with the four main staff members, from what I gathered. Then, what was his connection with them? Well, Cartwright noticed Rhode's wound not long after and frowned.

"Reggie told me you had an accident," he said.

"Yeh." Rhode rubbed his head. "En't nothin', Wrighty."

"Well, please take care of yourself, my boy." A slight chuckle escaped his lips. "Wouldn't want you to bite the dust after coming all this way, now would we?"

"Shaddup, yeh old stinker." Rhode returned a chuckle of his own, and everyone else smiled. Something about the way they talked, well, I put two and two together and applied it to the rest. That was the first time I stepped up, standing alongside the rest as we were on the other end of his desk.

"Are you…" I struggled to find the right words for it at first, then just went with my gut. "Are you all his Pokemon?"

"Uh huh," Henry said, crossing both pairs of arms. "Not that it changes who we are that much."

"We all came from many different backgrounds throughout Wright's life," Lucy said, "but here we are together."

"Sorry, I'm not—" I didn't want to say I didn't care, but I had to get my raw thoughts out of the way now I had the power to talk about it. I stepped forward, going to Cartwright, face to face. "I feel let down, mister, er, what to call you?"

"Wright is fine; no need to be so formal." He sighed, rubbing his pruned hands. "And yes, I imagine you would have a bone to pick with me. Or a few bones."

That didn't make anything better or worse. "So, you knew? About my family? About M? About Shine?"

"Well, yes and no." He tented his fingers. "Of what we did know, we had to make extremely difficult choices. Of what we didn't, well…" He frowned. "I regret not solving the problem sooner. I have nothing but sympathy for Shine and M. But I don't want to make excuses, that wouldn't be fair to you or the rest of my team here." He straightened his back and returned to a confident gaze. "If there's anything you want to know, we'll try to answer the best we can here. I just ask that you take a seat there."

So he didn't want to fight and seemed to be open about the whole thing. Well, fight as in, you know, argue. I wouldn't have just beaten up an old geezer like that. The couch looked comfy, at least. So, I sat down, a bit further away from the director, but still in spitting distance. For lack of anything better to do, I made myself comfortable.

"Cup of tea, Curio? Wright?" Lucy asked, looking to the portable kettle. I just nodded in reply.

"Yes please," Wright said. So, the stage was set. The rest of the staff sat beside me, save for Lucy, who floated beside her master. Something about this seemed weird; a bit too relaxed, to be honest. I sipped the hot Pecha tea, which soothed my hoarse throat.

"What's on your mind first?" he asked. I took a deep breath, sifting through all the problems at the moment and breaking them down to the most pressing issues.

"Why… my family?" The words burned like hot coals on my tongue. "You… knew what they meant to me. They got me here. I was happy, calling them. You didn't let them see me. You didn't help them. Why?"

Cartwright took a sip of his own mug and sighed. "Again, that was a tough decision all of us made. None of us truly wanted to drive you away from them, but, well, let me explain. Do you recall what Azzy most likely told your family, that we can't give away their location, but can visit theirs?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Well, that was the biggest reason why we didn't chase them up." Another sigh. "Every person here, including us, is barred from revealing GeL to the public. We had to hide our tracks to get Azzy to your family in the first place. We made sure any calls coming in would be untraceable, and come from our own network, instead of an outside source. That was why we couldn't give them our phone numbers, so they wouldn't call from something that could be monitored."

"Meaning? I don't understand a few words, or network stuff."

"Alright, I apologise. To put it simply, every phone call made gets heard by Sinnoh's government, or the people that look after this region, because of a rule. We had to make our own program, so we could hide any information we talk about over the phone without being heard."

"Like the programs P.Z. talks about?"

"Yeah," Henry said with a yawn, "well, I told him, since he's dealin' with computers and such."

"W-wait—" I put the mug down on the floor— "how much does everyone else know?"

"Well, the human students and researchers all know," Lucy said, "and we told all of the domestic Pokemon about it since they would've learnt enough about the world beforehand."

"You left me and my family out then." I held my paws together, growing more on-edge by the minute.

"Not quite. We discussed this with your family over our phone network, and they knew the risks involved."

"What risks?!" I stood up, bashing my paws on Wright's table. "That doesn't make sense! This place is a school, ain't it? What's there to hide if you aren't doing something bad?"

"That's what I've been asking for many years." Cartwright wrung his hands over his face, rubbing that soft skin of his. "I tried to make a difference out there. I wanted people to realise there was more to sticking Pokemon in the wild or pairing them with trainers for the rest of their life. And they made enemies out of me." Yet another sigh. "This world is full of idiots."

I quietly sat back down, letting it digest. Now, that brought about even more questions, more than I was hoping for. My head hurt; I just hoped we'd get this over and done with soon.

"What idiots?"

Cartwright sighed, leafing through some of the documents on his desk. "I wouldn't want to bore you with too many details, but you've learnt enough in class to know why the trainer system was put into effect. To control Pokemon and stop them from going berserk with their powers. They didn't have the intelligence back then, unlike you all. They were considered little more than animals."

That, we learnt bits and pieces about too. I don't think it needs explaining.

"Then, things changed. You Pokemon changed along with the humans. The museum you visited not too long ago is proof enough of that, if you remember."

I nodded.

"Why Pokemon are adapting so fast, we don't know. It's still a known unknown. But despite this change in recent years, with evidence to prove it, it still isn't common knowledge. And one root cause of that is those idiots here."

Finally, he tossed a newspaper clipping to my side of the table, with the headline: 'Trainer Foundation, 200 Years Strong.' The picture featured a bunch of suits lined up in a meeting hall, looking very important. The director pointed to the figure in the middle: a bearded man who looked just as old as Cartwright was, except with more hair, and waved his hand at the camera, smiling.

"This is Heathcliffe Brooks, Prime Minister of Sinnoh, and one that controls all efforts towards trainer relief, facilities, gyms, and funding the current programme responsible for this generation of trainers. His family has done the same for many generations."

"Feh," Rhode said, picking his ears, "is this gonna be another one of your rants about him?"

"I will curb my tongue for now, though I do have select words for him."

"Uh..." I found this a lot to take in, though again, I had a vague idea of what those suits were supposed to be doing to run the country. "What's so bad about him? I mean, he cares about trainers… and stuff."

"Don't be mistaken; the trainer system on its own isn't bad. With the right tools, it can help certain Pokemon reach that potential as well. But there needs to be a middle ground. No matter what the man's motives are, he's one of the reasons why this region hasn't progressed." He smacked his palm on the spot where Heathcliffe's frame was. "He's run campaigns to shut down the opposition: the Pokemon Coalition. They're the ones that try to improve the welfare of Pokemon. The media's under his thumb in Sinnoh, and that extends to other regions: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, all part of the same package. Anyone that tries to prove that Pokemon are different to what his reality of the trainer system is like, he twists the narrative around and makes up his own version of the events." To make a point of this, he scrunched up the newspaper in his hands, crumpling it into a ball. "And he has the support to back it up, mostly from the old blood of the trainer system descended from generations of forefathers."

"He'd ruin us," Rhode snarled, gritting his teeth. "He'd shut us down and destroy our research."

"Yes." Wright turned his hand upside down and let the ball of paper fall onto the desk. "And that ruthlessness is why he's won every election in his reign thus far."

To be honest, a lot of this was going over my head. Some of it still does. Still, I got the gist of what he was saying, so the root of it all came back to why he opened up GeL to begin with.

"Is this all you want? To teach us?"

"Yes, that's all I wanted." Wright took another sip before continuing. "The government, not just in Sinnoh, but worldwide, forbids any unauthorized educational institute to be run. Because this is a school for you Pokemon, this doesn't fall within their ruleset. They wouldn't pay for us to run it since they consider it a waste of time and resources, so we had to finance it ourselves and keep it unregistered, which breaks the law. Therefore, we can't reveal anything that goes on here, else they'll stop us."

"Even though we're smart enough to learn stuff like that?"

"Exactly."

"Well, that sucks." I held my chin in my paws. "...and what would happen to us Pokemon if we got caught?"

"Nothing, I'd make sure of that." Wright uncrumpled the newspaper and peered at the photo with a wistfulness to his eyes. "For everything he's done, Heathcliffe is not evil. He wouldn't harm anyone, at least, not physically."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. I know… him." He took a deep breath before putting the newspaper back on his pile. "But that's for another time." A warm smile spread across his features. "No matter what, I will fight for your right to learn and your safety to the bitter end. Even if what we're doing is against the law, you Pokemon deserve a chance to thrive here."

"But Shine and M and—"

"We're still finding out about those two. But if it will put your worries to rest, we're firing Bolt, and sending him off with M, who will be put in a better place for his kind. There are wild rehabilitation centres with rangers and trainers who are more qualified for dealing with him. As for our mistake, all we wanted was to give him the same chances as everyone else." He grumbled. "We either didn't try hard enough or realised too late that this wouldn't help him. He—"

"Alright, alright, time out." I grabbed the mug and took a swig of the lukewarm tea. Bleh. I put it to the side, never to drink it again, but that calmed my nerves at least. I held my head in my paws; I needed to go through everything I found out, or else lose my mind. I wasn't even that crazy about the M stuff at this point; he just seemed to snap, and Shine was in the wrong place at the wrong time. So that, I could deal with later, but I couldn't have let the other parts slide.

So, GeL, Gestalt Learning, had to hide themselves away, and because of that, they couldn't have kept in contact with my family after they left. My own blood knew this, apparently, though that was news to me. Why didn't they say anything at the time, to me or on the tape? It all seemed to be for a good reason, but then, why was Azzy so mad? How much did everyone else know? And how did they hide themselves anyway, if it was apparently so secret?

"Don't you think we should take Curio to security, aye?" Rhode said, standing up and stretching his arms. "She can see what we're talkin' about, then."

"Absolutely." Wright reached out for his cane and slowly got to his feet. "Would you mind, Curio?"

"Again, if it's too much, just say the word," Lucy said.

"N-nah. I'm fine. J-just confused, is all. I'll go."

"Alright, thank you. Now, I'm afraid I'm a slow walker." Wright hummed to himself. "Unless, Henry…"

"Say no more, mate." Okay, so Henry picked him up, balancing him on all four arms like he had formed a seat, and headed for the door. That happened. Aside from everything else that was going on at the time, I wasn't expecting a Machamp to just pick him up like he was carrying a box or something, but there we had it. I can't say the trip to the security room was much to write home about, though seeing Henry carrying the director up the staircase was fun. It brought us to yet another corridor, but the other rooms were apparently for computer suites, offices for the maintenance staff, and such. The control room itself was also filled with computers, except it had a big wall of monitors in the middle, and two chairs where another human sat. Henry put his boss down and joined the human, who fist-bumped him.

"Found anythin' since I left?" Henry asked, while the other human scratched his head.

"Aside from a few wild Geodude, nada. Same crap, different day."

"That doesn't make your jobs any less important, you two." Wright pointed at them with his cane. "Now, do you mind pointing this young lady to the cameras so she can see what's going on?"

"Y-young lady?" I whispered, a bit confused. I don't think anyone had ever called me that before, up until that point. Not that I knew what a young lady would be in Pokemon years, but we're getting off track. I did what they said and looked at the dang monitors. Well, I didn't right away, since I peeked at Henry's desk. He had a laptop of his own, some spare computer parts scattered about the surface, as well as a stack of wrestling DVDs and a Hawlucha mask. Huh, so that must've been what Bran was talking about. But they certainly gave their staff a lot of freedom, or at least something to do.

"Take a look, then," Henry prodded. So I focused on the task at hand and looked to where he was pointing to. There seemed to be nothing but rocky terrain, at first, with a dull orange tinting the screen. Once I took a good look at it, though, I saw a small building, like a hallway, camouflaged by its surroundings. I thought the facility was supposed to be massive, but then, what was this doing here?

"That's only the entrance. The rest is underground, y'see?"

All I could say to that was 'huh'. Then he clicked a few more times, panning the camera to a few other spots of the facility. There was a stack of chimneys, which he explained was coming from the kitchen and the boiler. Then there was a set of windows, circling around something.

"And that's what leads into the arena."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." Henry swivelled around, smirking at his trainer. "What did we build this facility from again?"

"An old Pokeball factory. Everything was cleaned out by the time we found it, however. It—"

"Okay, I get it," I said. I didn't really need convincing from there. Well, I kind of did. The fact they hid that stuff from me was still a red flag. But from there, I only had one burning question, all of which pinned everything together. I looked Wright straight in his sunken eyes and took a deep breath. "What are you planning with all of this? I know you want to teach us Pokemon in the end, but why go this far? What's Lexy doing here?"

Cartwright wrung his hands around his cane, softening his gaze at me. "All I want is to show the world there's another way to training, or at least, help them see like that. Like I've said, you're getting smarter. You're gaining control of your own lives." He smiled. "And that's a wonderful thing." Then, his smile curdled into a frown. "But, the people who run this region, especially Heathcliffe, try to pretend it's not happening. I don't know whether they want to line their pockets from the training industry or are genuinely against Pokemon evolving by principle, but either way, it's much safer to train. It's much easier to raise a Pokemon and teach them nothing of the outside world, rather than give them a chance to carve out their own fates."

He then waved his cane at the whole of the room, moving it like he was tracing a wide circle in the sand. "That's something I've been trying to change. I sacrificed everything for this. I had to sell my pharmaceutical company, cut ties with all my relatives, and drag my own name through the mud, in order to start this project. Lucy, Reggie, Henry and Rhode are just a few Pokemon that've helped me make this a reality. This is a massive risk, but if it pays off, we could show the suits that Pokemon are worth educating."

Rhode nodded. "This world's a mess. En't any point in us makin' it worse by waterboarding you guys."

I would've asked him what waterboarding meant, but decided against it.

"Yeah, mon," Reggie said, "We'll always look out for you, ya dig?"

"I ain't bustin' my ass every day on security for nothing," Henry said.

"And I wouldn't help organise the lessons and direct everyone here if I didn't believe in it." Lucy said.

"Well said, everyone. And the human students here too make this a reality. Lexy's scholarship here, along with the other students, and the research the rest of my staff are doing, will all contribute to this field. They'll be shared with the social scientists that shape the region's history, making signs of progress inalienable. Better than what they try to push in mainstream academia. So everyone here, including you, contributes to make the world a better place."

Cartwright shambled towards me, doing his best to walk by himself on that cane of his. When Lucy offered to help, he held his hand out and trotted the rest of the way, eventually dropping to his knees in front of me. There, I got a good look at him for the first time. His wrinkled face was marked with age, but smooth and friendly as well. That smile radiated positive energy as well. Even his balding head had that old fart charm about him. He didn't seem like the kind to drown Riolu in sinks or something.

"Please, Curio. If you consider me a threat, then tell me. Rhode reads my aura regularly, but some auras can be biased. If you read into mine, right here and now, then you will find out for certain. If you still wish to leave after that, we will do everything in our power to ease you back into the outside world. But please, do this for me, so you and I can have some peace of mind."

I closed my eyes, honing in on his aura, which was fully transparent. He kept his secrets of GeL from the outside world kept in little boxes, sure, but his memories and his thoughts were all out in the open for me to peek into. They swirled with some of the lingering thoughts of his past, which I only got little glimpses into, but were enough to glean something from. Several names appeared of the Pokemon that left or passed away for one reason or another, and he cared for all of them, never forgetting them even in his old age.

The main big thought was his concern for me as well as all the other Pokemon in the facility. He always thought about how they were getting on and what he would do to try and meet their wishes. He was also concerned about whether or not the humans found the studies fruitful, but all around, his biggest concern was for the future, and whether or not his actions would pay off in the end. And on top of that, there was a great underpinning of longing. He missed his old university chums. He missed his siblings. He missed his coworkers at the company he used to run. He missed his wife, who had passed away a few years before he started the GeL project. As well as that, a pang of guilt stabbed at his heart from having to leave them all behind, as well as feeling responsible for my struggles as well as M's and Shine's.

While I was still reeling from the fight for Shine's life as well as Azzy's outburst, I understood he really wanted the best for all of us, really. And from a quick glimpse into everyone else's auras, they wanted the same as well. So, I nodded, and, either out of comfort or just wanting to ease him up a little, hugged him. He patted my back, which felt strangely father-like for whatever reason. I guess you could've called him the patriarch of the facility, but whatever. I could've stayed in that embrace forever, but there were certain ends I needed to tie up. I pulled away to make eye contact.

"Um, Wright?"

"Yes," he said.

"If my family knew about all of this, then why didn't they tell me?"

"Again, I apologise. Lucy?" Wright glanced to his Gardevoir, who joined his side.

"I visited them personally along with Azzy, once." Lucy frowned, wringing her leaf-green hands. "It was hard, telling them they couldn't stay with you at the facility, or even visit. And we tried to go into every reason why we couldn't, including the information leakage issue. But, well, they said they didn't mind. They said they didn't want you to feel tethered to them, and that you were smart enough to make it on your own. And after you went, they wanted to find their own way."

I took a deep breath, digesting that particular bit of info. Hearing that was a bit tough, to be honest. In a way, it was like being told that your family willingly abandoned you.

"Though, if I may be so bold, we tried to help them out in other ways. Your brother seemed to be interested in teaching, so we gave him a few guides on how to approach it. When he learns how to read, I hope that will be a massive help to him."

Despite that, in my family's way, I knew the thought of leaving me behind far from the truth. I listened back to that tape until it wore out, so I had memorised it in my head long before. Trunks was inspired by me. If it wasn't for me going, they probably never would've had the courage to leave the island or break free from Liam's influence. Just for good measure, I checked Lucy's aura, though she wasn't lying. Her heartbeat was steady and her thoughts were as clear as crystal, even with the psychic blockage.

So really, from that, I guess my family didn't want me worrying about them and just get on with what I was doing. But what was I doing, copying some human at making pottery? What good was that adding to the world?

Frankly, after all of that, my head was spinning. All the stuff about the politics of Sinnoh, as well as how GeL and us fit into the bigger picture, was an awful lot to take in. It's like all of a sudden, I had to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. And with that, I just felt so… I don't know, insignificant. The world around me spun for a moment. I was phasing out.

Thankfully, Rhode caught me just before I hit the cold floor. I wasn't out for the count, just overwhelmed with everything. What I had heard. What I sensed with my aura. That time, I didn't struggle as Rhode lifted me up, supporting my body with his arms.

"You alright, lass?"

The room went back to normal and everything was still again. So great, I had almost fainted, on top of everything else that was happening. Still, I gathered myself long enough to give him some sort of reply.

"Yeah. S-sorry." I looked to the rest of the staff that time, including Cartwright the human. "G-guys, I feel kind of crappy."

"Of course," Lucy said with a curt nod. "Do you want to go back to the base? We'll help you over there."

"N-no." I pulled away from Rhode's grasp, standing on my own two paws again. My knees felt wobbly, but I could still walk. "I dunno. I do wanna go back for now, but, y'know, all of you, I really dunno what to say. You still could've eased me into it instead of lettin' it build up."

"We understand," Lucy said.

"This is insane," I said, lowering my voice. "Not you guys. Just. I need some space for a bit. Time to think."

"Yeh, o' course." Rhode fiddled with one of his bandages. "Sorry, lass. Din't mean to drag you into all this."

"Not your fault, I don't think."

"We might need you to talk to M in your own time," Lucy said, "but just so you can recuperate from this, I will postpone your studies for the time being until you feel ready. You deserve a break after the hard work you've been doing."

I grunted. "Maybe. But has it been that hard of work to do? Just makin' stuff? I don't know what the point of it is any more."

"It might come back," Lucy said with a bow. "But again, the option to opt out is always there."

"Before you go, Curio," Cartwright said, cane in hand, "if you do decide to leave, I would like you to ask yourself this: have you enjoyed the time you spent here, and have you learnt something from it? You don't have to come up with an answer right away, just in your own time. It would be something to think about, in any case."

It went without saying that I returned to the base, though the events were still a blur. All of that time talking and pouring my heart out was exhausting. Being in that area again, even though the sunlight was the fake and the grass had that weird texture to it, it was still comforting. They really did go all out to make this area accommodating for us wild types. And better yet, that gave me the chance to sit and think.

Needless to say, talking to GeL gave me a new perspective about everything. Almost like I saw into something I shouldn't have, like peeping through a keyhole, but didn't think of it as a negative experience. My gut feeling was telling me to go some place else, still in a little state of fight or flight, but my mind was telling me to stay. Where would I go to? Would I trade in this current life for any other? It was too early to decide for sure at that point, especially when my preconceptions about GeL had been blown out of the water.

What would this mean for my future there? One with me and Shine together? One with me and the rest just enjoying those days spent in what should've been paradise?

I wasn't sure things were going to be the same after this. But I also knew for sure that without them, I wouldn't have had the tools to question them in the first place, and GeL encouraged me to use them. And that was a good thing. I hoped.