"Get it!"

The cries echoed around the laboratory as the scientists desperately tried to catch the escaped Pokémon . The flying ball of pink darted across the lab colliding with test tubes, monitors and microscopes before it slammed into a solitary cage containing only an Eevee. The Eevee cocked her head at this mysterious creature and the Pokémon nodded at her subtly.

"Eh-veh!" the Eevee replied, as the Pokémon scrambled out of the way of the oncoming entourage of scientists. The Eevee assessed the situation quickly and leapt onto a nearby counter, knocking over a tub of Evolutionary Stones that caught under the scientist's feet, sending them sprawling in every direction. The pink Pokémon looked at the Eevee before blasting a Psybeam at the entrance to the laboratory, creating a perfect Pokémon -sized escape hole.

"Eh-veh! Eh-veh!"

The Pokémon was just about to slip through the hole before they turned back to look at the Eevee who was surrounded by scientists desperately trying to place her back in the cage. The Pokémon looked around aimlessly, before spotting the Evolutionary Stones that were scattered across the floor. With one last blast of its strength, the Pokémon surrounded the Eevee in a beam of multicoloured light, before slipping silently though the hole as the laboratory exploded behind them.

o0o

"Pi."

"No."

"Pika-pi!"

"No."

Tim rolled over in his bed to be met with Pikachu's fiery glare. The little yellow Pokémon continued to push at his shoulder in an attempt to rise him. Tim shuffled onto his back and called out to his father.

"Dad! Come get your little coffeeholic!"

"Mmf- wha?" came the sleepy reply from across the hallway. Tim smiled. His Dad was just like him in the mornings- unwilling. Pikachu, however, not so much. The mouse-like Pokémon was still pushing against him, and after five minuets of non-stop shoving, Tim relented.

"All right, all right, I'll get you coffee."

Tim, half-awake, stumbled into the kitchen, Pikachu in tow. He called out to his father.

"Dad, you want a coffee?"

"Mmh? Oh yeah, thanks!" came the sleepy reply. Tim turned on the television for some background noise whilst he set about making the coffee, glancing at the screen between coffees. Tim finished Pikachu's (substantially smaller) coffee, and held it out to the Pokémon . When it was still in his hand after a minute, Tim looked up in confusion.

"Pikachu?"

"Pi…"

The Pokémon was staring transfixed at the news report on the television screen, which displayed what appeared to be the remains of a burned-out laboratory surrounded by a dense forest. Tim, detecting the concern in Pikachu's cry, reached for the remote to turn up the volume.

"And last night was a night for destruction it seems, as an unknown Pokémon research facility was destroyed in a mysterious explosion last night on the outskirts of Ryme City. It is unknown the research that was conducted there. Seven scientists were killed in the explosion, although no Pokémon remains have yet been found.

Meanwhile, sightings of what witnesses describe as "a flying ball of light with a tail" have been reported all over Ryme's neighbouring city, Ceehre City. It is unknown if this being is an escaped experiment, but authorities advise the public to remain calm and steer clear of the destruction site."

"Hey Dad," Tim called out, eyes still glued to the picture on the screen. "You might want to see this…"

o0o

"Well?" said Tim, as his father emerged from Detective Yoshida's office later that day. "What did he say?"

"He said there isn't much to look into," Harry said, taking a seat beside Tim, Pikachu sitting on the ground between them. "Nobody knows what they did there, or what Pokémon they had. Could have just been a malfunction. More common than you think."

"Oh." said Tim, disappointedly.

"However, he did say that the sightings in Ceehre were worth investigating. Might help us work out what went on in that lab if it is an escapee."

"Brilliant!" said Tim, bouncing up onto his feet. "When do we start?"

"No, no, Tim. Not you." Harry shook his head. Tim looked at him in bewilderment.

"Why not? I've done this kind of stuff before. You know, when you were a Pikachu, and Mewtwo was being hunted and Clifford was all shifty. This'll be nothing!"

"I don't want you to get hurt, Tim. You stay here, do the background stuff. Pikachu and I will go out on the field."

"Pika pi."

Pikachu looked up at Harry with mild annoyance. He ran over to Tim and scrambled onto his shoulders.

"Pi!"

Tim shrugged, smirking at his father. "I think the jury has made their decision."

Harry sighed. "Fine. Just stay close, you still don't have a Pokémon partner."

"Well, actually-"

"No, Mewtwo's occasional visits do not count. Come on."

o0o

"Wow," breathed Tim as he moved his flashlight around the destroyed street. "What happened here?"

"I don't know," replied Harry, inspecting the torn wire fence and broken streetlights. "But I don't think it was something friendly."

The two were in Ceehre city, exactly where the first sighting of the "light monster" had been. The street was certainly in ruins. Burn marks scorched the brick walls and electricity crackled between the smashed heads of the streetlights. Upturned trash cans and boxes were scattered everywhere, some in pools of water, others covered in vines, of all things. Pikachu was sniffing the ground, trying to catch any scent of whoever- or whatever- could have done this. Tim watched him disappear though the hole in the fence and squeezed through himself, and was amazed by what he saw.

"Hey, Dad," he said, shining his flashlight into the alleyway behind him. "I found something weird."

Indeed, he had. This secondary alley was in a complete shamble. Vines covered the walls, some with bright blooming flowers on them, whilst others were withered and burned. A part of the alley was flooded, and Tim could see electricity crackling on the surface of the water. Even stranger was the icicles that hung from the overhang above, jagged and uneven, which sent the daylight into all four corners of the alley.

"Whoa," said Harry, who had now joined his son at the hole in the fence. "What could've done all this?"

"Pika pi!"

Pikachu darted out into the mysterious cove of an alley and began to sniff some of the upturned boxes at the very end. Tim and Harry, now gazing around in complete awe, made their way over to him quickly.

"What is it, bud?" said Harry, squatting down next to the Electric-Type Pokémon. Pikachu nudged the box again and looked at Harry expectantly.

"Something in there?" asked Tim. Harry shrugged.

"Only one way to find out," he said, nodding towards the box. Pikachu scrambled back onto Harry's shoulders as Tim carefully opened the half-burned box before jumping back in shock.

"Mmf?" a scratchy, feminine voice echoed from inside the box. "Whaddya want? "

An Eevee emerged from within the battered cardboard, fur dishevelled and looking equally as surprised at the sight of Tim and Harry as they were at the sight of her.

"Oh god," she quipped, jumping out elegantly. "People."

Tim and Harry looked at each other and then back to the Eevee, who tossed her head irritably.

"Right, look, I know you can't understand me," she said, keeping her distance. "But can you please leave or I will Bite you."

And with hearing this Pokémon speak a full sentence, Tim let out a small whimper before fainting directly into the puddle of water behind him.