I dashed through the woods as fast as I could. I had no idea where I was going, but that didn't matter, considering I had Zoom at my disposal, and I could go back to Kogeta Town if I wanted.
Ash and my friends had seen through my facade, and now I was running away from them. I couldn't let them see me. Not after what they just saw a few moments ago. It's amazing how quickly things could happen in about half a minute.
"I... I think I should be safe..." I gasped. "Those guys must be pretty far away by now..."
I stopped and sat down on a nearby rock, and took off the sheath wrapped around my torso. This weapon... It wasn't right for me to have it. In this world, nobody fights- their Pokemon do. But me? I'm an exception. And it's wrong for me to not be like them.
"This ability isn't something good... It's a stupid curse!"
With that, I threw the sheath away as far as I could, sword included. I didn't want it anymore. Being in another world... I took it for granted. Now I know the horrors of being somewhere you don't belong. I wish I was still in my home world, even though I didn't remember what it was like. Maybe there I'd be accepted by some real friends...
Thinking of friends made me take my Hybri Balls out of my pocket.
"Liana... Wesley... I'm sorry. But I can't be your trainer anymore..."
I put them down, gently this time, close to the rock I was sitting on, then got up and left. I would've preferred to keep Liana and Wesley around, but I couldn't afford to let them see me again. I eventually reached a clearing, kind of identical to the one where I teamed up with a Machamp to stop a Pinsir from harming three innocent Pokemon.
"I need to make sure I lose this ability to fight... permanently. Hopefully this will do it."
I took the few Leppa Berries I had out of my bag, and threw them away. Afterward, I used every last ounce of magic I had to cast Frizzle, which hit the floor. It left some flames on the ground, but I quickly stamped them out before they could spread.
Now I was like everyone else in this world. I couldn't fight. It was time for me to move on. Alone.
To be honest, being alone was horrifying. It's scary to know that you've got to do everything by yourself, and with nobody to care. But I have to face reality. There's really nothing I could do about it. I turned to leave. But a voice cuts through the air:
"Gourgeist! Use Shadow Ball!"
Turning around quickly, I was able to catch a Shadow Ball darting towards me, but I didn't have time to avoid it, and was launched. When I hit the floor, I saw the other group of villains I hated: Team Rocket.
"Oh, c'mon!" I screamed. "Now that's just cowardly! Attacking me knowing I'm alone and unarmed, huh?!"
"Prepare for trouble, this will be a breeze," Jessie begins.
"And make it double, as for you, it'll be like a tease!"
"To protect the world from devastation..."
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare for one outnumbered fight!"
"Meow, that's right!" Meowth finishes.
These guys knew how to bend their motto quickly, I had to say that. But that was trivial. What mattered now was the situation at hand. I got up, knowing what I would say would surprise them.
"You don't need to mess with me anymore, got it?" I say.
"I don't think you're the one who decides that," Jessie counters.
"Right," James agrees. "You're friends with the twerp, which makes you a twerp just like him."
"Not anymore."
"Did you not hear me, twerp?!" Jessie angrily says. "I said-" But I cut her off.
"I'm not friends with Ash anymore. And that doesn't make us enemies any longer. I'm tired of being the odd one out in this world... Got it? So I don't care about you anymore. You're none of my business."
I walk off. There's no way they wouldn't mess with me anymore after I told them I wasn't Ash's friend. After all, he's the one they hold a grudge against. Or at least, that's what I took from their behavior. Right?
Well, wrong. Something hit me in the back of my head, and it deployed a forcefield, trapping me. It didn't hurt me when I touched its borders, but I couldn't get past that. Damn...! I should have known those crooks would pull something like that!
"Are you braindead?! I thought you'd ignore those who weren't friends with Ash!"
"You forget, twerp," Meowth says, "Team Rocket is a team who conducts glorious evil. And not being friends with the twerp doesn't make you safe from us. If anyone's braindead here, it's you!"
"Me?! Braindead?! Why I oughta..."
But before I could get any further, something comes out of nowhere and hits Team Rocket. A vine...? Wait, then that means... That's right! I know exactly who's coming! Chespin lands right in front of me, and its friends do as well. Scorbunny and Oshawott destroy the forcefield trapping me with a Double Kick and a Water Gun.
"Chespin! Pin-chespin?" Chespin asks.
"Sorry, Chespin," I say regrettably. "But Liana or Wesley aren't around. I can't understand you."
"Pichu! Pi-pichu!" Pichu turns to me with a fire in its eyes. I understood at once that they wanted to battle. All the more reason to blend in with the people in this world! I smirk as I get ready to call out some moves.
"Alright, Scorbunny! Use Ember!"
Scorbunny focuses, then spits a fireball out of its mouth. A super effective hit! I decide to keep it up, and command Chespin to use Rollout. Its attack connects and sends Gourgeist flying, and crashes into Jessie.
"How dare you?!" Jessie screams. "Back me up here, James!"
"Right," James replies. "Come out, Mareanie!"
James sends out Mareanie, and calls out a Sludge Bomb. Scorbunny quickly moves in and takes the attack for everyone else. But Team Rocket wasn't finished yet. Scorbunny takes a Shadow Ball to the face, courtesy of Jessie's Gourgeist, which looked like it hurt a whole lot more than Mareanie's attack!
"You alright, Scorbunny?!" I gasp. But Scorbunny turns to me with confidence. Phew. Hopefully Scorbunny would last a few more hits... Without thinking, I run in there and get ready to attack. But when I reach for my sword, all I grab is air, and I skid to a halt. Shoot! I threw my sword away! I should have known that would be really reckless! I'm so wrapped in my thoughts I don't have time to avoid a Dark Pulse from Gourgeist, and I was knocked down.
"Ch-Cheaters!" I stammer. "Attacking an unarmed opponent, huh?!"
"In our book, cheating is considered fair play," Jessie taunts me.
"Well, we'll see what real fair play is! Get 'em, guys!"
The four Pokemon I was commanding rush in and attack. In fact, they attack so hard they kick up a cloud of dust that hid them from my sight. They're using Co-op de Grâce...? How do they know that move?! I thought that was my signature attack!
When the dust settles, Gourgeist and Mareanie appear to be weakened, which I thought gave us our chance to flee.
"Now, everyone!" I yelled. "Let's get outta here!"
"Not so fast, twerp," Jessie says. "Mimikyu! Go!"
"You too, Inkay!" Jessie adds.
Both of them send out their other Pokemon, blocking our way. Shoot! This was bad! Now they've got us surrounded... What could I do? At this rate, we'd be captured... And I can't let that happen! I open my mouth to call out an attack and-
"Milcery, use Fairy Wind!"
A fairy wind blows out of nowhere and damages the enemy Pokemon. When I turned to look, I saw Ash and his Milcery, along with the rest of the gang. They followed me?! ...Well, I am thankful for the help, but-
"David, here! Use this!" Ash throws my sheath, and I catch it.
"It's my..." I begin. I was conflicted, but I quickly changed my mind. My life's on the line here! "Thanks. I need some Leppa Berries, too!"
"Then here!" Ash throws two Leppa Berries from his bag, and I catch them in my mouth. Now I was ready to fight! I open up by casting Woosh, and I damage Team Rocket's Pokemon by a good amount. Gourgeist and Mareanie look like they're about to collapse, but Mimikyu and Inkay were still raring to go.
"We'll take care of them!" Allison says. "Ponyta, use Confusion!"
The Ponyta that Allison was trying to catch earlier unleashes some telekinetic force that damages Mimikyu but does nothing to Inkay. Allison then commands Ponyta to use Fairy Wind, which deals a super-effective hit on Inkay.
"Take 'em out, David!"
"Alright, then! Begone! Bang!"
I snap my fingers to trigger an explosion, which launches Team Rocket with a synchronized "We're blasting off again!" After they vanished from my sight, I turned to everyone else.
"Thanks, guys. I would have been dead meat if you hadn't intervened."
"You're welcome, David," Ash says. "But... about earlier... Why did you say you didn't belong with us anymore?"
...I really hoped he wouldn't get to that. But I guess that's what I get for having a little slip-up back there. He hasn't figured it all out yet, though. But he knows I have something to hide. So I'll have to resort to saying...
"I can't tell you," I finally say. "I'm sure we all know that I've got something to hide, but I can't tell you."
"Why not? Aren't friends supposed to not hide anything from each other?"
"I get that. But if I told you the truth, then... Well, in short, it's best if I don't tell you. Sometimes, there are things you're better off not knowing."
"So it's like a touchy subject?" Allison says. "Then that's alright. We won't pry."
"Huh? Allison, why're you-?" Ash begins, but Allison cuts him off.
"Ash, if he doesn't want to talk about it, then let's not."
Phew. I was glad Allison was defending me. Otherwise I'd end up all alone... And I definitely didn't want that. I wanted to give Allison a thumbs-up, but I decided not to, because I figured that would attract attention. Instead, I chose to quickly end this:
"Let's just forget this ever happened, alright?"
The one in which David calms down and manages to keep his secret, despite his friends slowly catching on.
If you ask me, that last part was the toughest one to write, not only because I had writer's block, but also because I was thinking of every possible outcome it could go, and I finally chose this one.
