Barry had never been so ashamed in his life. He and Lou were seated by the campfire.
Rowan was roasting meat over the fire. Lucas was pacing nearby. Dawn was wiping her face with a wet rag.

After the fight, Lucas brought them back to the camp and promptly went to the tent. He returned a few minutes later and gave Lucas and Dawn a few potions.

Lou didn't say anything, of course. Barry couldn't stand to look at Lucas.

"I suppose we should address the Donphan in the room," Rowan said. He turned the meat.

"What's a Donphan?" Barry asked.

"It's a pokemon, of course," Rowan said.

"What were you two thinking?" Lucas demanded. He stopped pacing, fuming at the two of them.

"Well…" Barry twiddled his thumbs.

"You were just gonna run off and get yourselves killed?"

"We weren't gonna die!" Barry shot back. Heat rose in his face. Lou glanced between them. Barry noticed a crack in her glasses. She looked away.

"You were gonna get flattened when I found you!" Lucas pointed a finger at Barry.

Rowan took the meat off the fire. Barry lowered his head and put his hands on the grass.

"Just… Please don't take our pokemon."

"What?" Lucas stomped over to him.

"Lucas, it's time to eat," Rowan said.

"Quit being a baby," Dawn said. Barry looked up.

"I'm not being a baby!" Lucas snapped. "They need to be more careful!"

"You're so protective," Dawn remarked. "It's adorable." Lucas folded his arms and sat down by the fire.

Rowan looked up at Barry and Lou and waved them over. Barry shared a nervous look with Lou. She seemed calm as ever. The two of them approached the fire and sat down.

THE ASSISTANTS

"You guys should have seen Lucas when you went missing," Dawn said. "He was so worried, I thought he was gonna cry or something."

"I was not!" Lucas yelled. "I don't cry, I'm tough like that." He smacked his chest a few times.

Rowan started cutting the meat into strips.

"You cried when you thought Archie was gonna kill me," Dawn said. "You were a slobbering mess." She wrung the water out of her rag.

Lucas' face was beet red. He muttered several remarks, looking away from her.

"So, anyway," Barry spoke up. "We're really sorry."

"What were you guys doing anyway?" Dawn asked. Lucas perked up.

"Isn't it obvious?" He pointed a finger at Barry. Barry flinched. "They were going to train their pokemon! They're trying to join the pokemon league! I told you!"

"Please stop yelling," Dawn said. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Is that true?" Rowan asked. His sharp eyes landed on Barry. Barry swallowed hard. He procured a few paper plates and counted out a few strips onto each one.

"I guess I should be honest," Barry said. "Yeah. We only came with you guys because we wanted to win the league."

The camp was silent.

Lou cleared her throat. She took the glasses off and inspected them.

"Oh they're broken," Barry said, looking over her shoulder. Lou put the glasses back on, frowning.

Rowan passed out the plates. Lucas passed one to Lou. Dawn passed one to Barry.

"Please don't take our pokemon," Barry said again.

"Why would we take your pokemon?" Dawn asked. "They're yours, we don't want them."

A small weight vanished from Barry's chest. Lou was devouring her meat strips. Barry cracked a smile.

"What kind of meat is this?" He asked, suddenly curious.

"It's artificial meat," Rowan said. "We don't eat pokemon where we come from."

"We don't eat pokemon here either," Barry said.

"Not in your town probably," Lucas said. Barry ignored the comment.

"Since our initial agreement is likely void," Rowan said. "Why don't we discuss a new one."

"Like what?" Barry asked.

"Well, the two of you want to challenge the pokemon league, I want to find a good place to erect a laboratory. I think we can travel together."

"Really?"

"Why not?" Lou glanced between them, paying close attention.

"That would be amazing! We've never really been out of Sandgem town."

"We figured that," Dawn said. She finished her last meat strip.

"We still need to find our way to Oreburgh," Lucas said. "Maybe we could get somebody who knows the direction."

"How are your pokemon?" Rowan asked. "I heard from Lucas that you battled a wild Exeggutor."

"Our pokemon?" Barry perked up. "What about his pokemon? That thing was insane!"

Lucas shrugged his shoulders.

"It's just Sceptile," He said.

"You should've seen it!" Barry jumped up. "There were like a bunch of trees flying at us, then Sceptile was like bam!"

He made several dramatic cutting motions with his hands.

"Then it made it daytime, in the middle of the night! And it fired off a beam. It was so crazy!"

Rowan and Dawn shared a look.

"That's nice," Dawn said.

"We should get ready to leave in a few minutes," Rowan said. He nodded at Barry. Barry looked at Lou.

Lou had let out Chimchar. She was sharing some of her meat with it. Barry smiled at them.

Dawn and Lucas took down the two tents in minutes. They then packed up all the stuff into their large backpacks as Rowan put out the fire.

Barry watched, amazed. He found the magazine Dawn had given him and packed it in his bag.

Lou picked up Chimchar.

"They're broken?" Rowan walked over to Lou. She nodded, adjusting the glasses, and signed something at him.

"She says they still work," Barry said. Lou signed some more. "A little bit."

"I see," Rowan said. "I'll get a message to Silph Co. See if I cant get an import." He looked the group over. "Let's be off then."

"In what direction?" Lucas asked. "We have no clue where we are."

Lou patted Barry's arm and walked away. He watched her disappear into the nearby foliage.

"Maybe I could get a better view from above," Dawn suggested. She took out a Pokeball.

Lou reappeared and waved at Barry.

"Lou found something," Barry said. The group followed Lou deeper into the woods.

Barry noticed the crater Lucas' Sceptile left nearby and pointed it out to the others.

Soon, the woods opened up again. Up ahead, was a lakefront.

"I know where we are!" Barry ran ahead. "It's Lake Verity!" He ran up to the water and looked around. The group followed behind him. Barry paused, squinting his eyes.

On the other side of the lake was a figure. He couldn't quite make it out. It looked almost like a person. The figure vanished.

"Is something wrong?" Dawn asked.

"I thought I saw something," Barry said. Dawn inspected the lake and shrugged.

"So you guys know the way from here?" Lucas asked.

"Sort of," Barry said. "We can get back to Sandgem town but beyond that…" He trailed off, watching the lake.

"Right, you guys haven't been," Lucas grumbled.

"We should get moving, best not waste daylight," Rowan said.

"Hey!" Someone yelled. Three people appeared, running along the lakeside.

Lou stepped forward, furrowing her brow.

"I know that guy," Lucas said. "Hey, dawn isn't that him?"

"Great," Dawn turned away. "Just who I wanted to see today."

The three people came to a stop in front of the group, each in similar states of exhaustion.

The black-haired man in the lead was doubled over, panting. A Pikachu was sitting on his shoulder, patting his cheek sympathetically.

The orange-haired woman was trying to resist throwing up.

The dark-skinned brown-haired man seemed perfectly fine.

"Hey, if it isn't Dawn and Lucas," The brown-haired man said. "Long time no see."

"Hey, Brock," Lucas said. "What are you guys doing here?"

The black-haired man shot up. He adjusted his cap and crossed his arms.

"I'm Ash Ketchum!" He exclaimed. His eyes landed on Dawn. "Oh."

"I'm Misty," The orange-haired woman gave a halfhearted wave. "I feel sick."

"What are you guys doing here?" Dawn asked.

"Ash is challenging the Sinnoh league," Brock said. He prodded Ash in the head.

"There's no gym around here," Barry jumped in.

"We noticed!" Misty replied. "Where are we?"

"This is Lake Verity," Barry said. "The first gym is in Oreburgh City,"

"We're on our way there now," Rowan said.

"You guys know the way?" Ash asked. No one answered. He looked the group over. "Are you guys lost too?"

"No!" Dawn cut in. "We know where we're going!" Ash raised his hands.

"Well, why don't we all travel together," He suggested. "We left Jubilife yesterday and wound up here."

"Oh right," Barry tapped his chin. "I forgot about Jubilife, that's before Oreburgh, isn't it?"

"I think Oreburgh is east of Jubilife," Brock said. "Ash said it was west." He frowned at Ash. "So here we are."

Ash scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, that's on me."

"I don't see why we can't travel together," Rowan said. "Let's be off."

The group headed over to Route 201. Brock and Rowan were in the front, chatting. Lucas and Dawn walked behind them. Misty joined the two of them, talking with Lucas.

Lou and Barry hung to the back of the group. Ash joined them, yawning loudly.

"Hey, I've never seen you two with the nerds before."

"Hi," Barry said. "I'm Barry, this is Lou."

"Hi Lou," Ash said. Lou looked him over and nodded at him. Ash smiled at her before catching up with the others.

"Hey, Dawn!" Ash squeezed between Lucas and Dawn. Barry watched them chatting for a moment. Dawn stepped away, turning around. Her eyes widened.

"Barry!"

Then all of them were gone. Barry was sitting in an empty blue space. A gust of wind washed over him. He saw the trees dozens of feet below.

He was falling.

Barry spun in the air, screaming as loud as he could. The world blurred around him. The ground was approaching fast.

Barry leveled himself out, feet down. His legs were going to break. Would his spine break? Should he land on his stomach? The wind against his ears was deafening. He closed his eyes begging for water.

The wind suddenly stopped.

Barry dared to open an eye. The ground was a foot away. He was floating above it. A Kadabra was standing nearby, holding a hand out.

"You saved me?" Barry tried to move. His body was frozen in place. "You can let me do—"

Barry was flung across the air, landing hard on the ground. He groaned, rolling onto his back.

"Do you have any pokemon?" A man asked. He was a tall purple-haired kid. He seemed only a few years older than Barry.

Barry sat up, rubbing his shoulder.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I asked you a question." The kid and his Kadabra approached Barry. Barry crossed his arms.

"I'm not telling you." The man narrowed his eyes.

"We can send you up again," He said. "See how it makes you feel."

"Wait what?" Barry was in the sky again. He started to fall again.

X

"I hate psychic pokemon," Dawn said. She was sitting on the ground. All of the others were gone.

She'd seen the Kadabra when it attacked. It separated the group. Dawn was alone now. She held up a Pokeball.

"I guess we better figure this out," She said.

X

Rowan struggled to get up. He grabbed the trunk of a nearby tree, wincing. He'd gotten weaker with age.

Nearby, Misty was lying on her back.

"Is anyone there?" Misty asked. "I don't wanna get up."

Rowan managed to get up. He lingered by the tree, catching his breath.

"Hello?" Misty asked. "Fine." She sat up, looking around. "Oh, hi Rowan."

"That's Professor Rowan," Rowan remarked.

"Oh, you're a professor now?"

"That's right." He ran a hand through his hair and looked around. He didn't recognize the area.

"Woah," Misty looked up. "Isn't that the kid?"

Rowan followed her line of sight.

An orange dot slowly fell from the sky, vanishing beneath the nearby woods. A moment later, the dot fell again.

"Am I seeing things?" Misty asked.

X

Ash fell out of a tree, landing on his back. Lou was still in the tree, clinging to a branch.

Ash picked up his cap and dusted it off. A pair of glasses landed on the ground beside him. He picked them up and inspected them.

"Are you alright up there?" He asked.

Lou shifted around, moving further up the tree.

"I think we were attacked," Ash said. "It must've been a psychic pokemon." He watched her for a moment.

A few branches snapped and Lou nearly fell. She clamored around the tree, finding a relatively sturdy branch.

Ash shielded his face from falling leaves and sticks. He looked around.

"Pikachu?" He wandered around the tree, looking for Pikachu.

Lou fell from the tree, landing nearby with a shriek. She slowly got up, looking at her palms.

Ash frowned at her.

"You alright?" He asked, walking over to her. "Why were you trying to climb higher?" he asked.

Lou pushed past him and started up the tree again.

Ash watched her for a moment as she got higher and higher. A moment later she fell again, landing in a bush.

"Okay," Ash said. "Maybe she's lost it."

Lou jumped up and went for the tree again. Ash got in her way, raising his hands.

"Hold on, hold on!" He offered her the glasses. "These are yours right?"

Lou looked at the glasses, then at Ash. She pushed past him and started climbing the tree again.

Ash sighed.

"I'm gonna go," he said. "I gotta find my…" He noticed a speck of orange high up in the tree. The speck moved and he tried to focus on it. He remembered the Chimchar Lou was holding when they were at the lake.

Lou fell again. She had a fit, hitting the ground a few times. Her hands were bloody.

"Hey, let me help!" Ash called out. Lou ignored him, getting up. Ash hurried over, patting her back.

She glared daggers at him. Her face had a few scratches on it. She had a bruise on her forehead. Her hair was messed up and had a few leaves in it.

"Let me help you," He said. "I'll get Chimchar."

Lou huffed. She tapped her ear and shook her head. Ash cocked his head. Lou repeated the motion angrily.

"You can't hear?" Lou pushed past him, starting for the tree. Ash grabbed her arm. Lou swung her other arm, striking Ash on the head a few times.

Ash let go, clutching his head.

"Fine!" he called out. "Have it your way!" Lou paused at the base of the tree, panting. She raised her bloody hands to the tree, hesitating.

Ash walked over to her.

Lou paid him no mind.

He set the glasses down and started to climb the tree. It took him a few minutes to get halfway up the tree.

Ash paused, unsure how to continue. There were no strong branches he could use to get any higher. He refused to look down, feeling Lou's gaze on him.

"Alright, help me out, Chimchar." He sent out his Chimchar. Chimchar scurried happily around the tree. "Help out Lou's Chimchar," Ash said. "It's stuck."

Chimchar vanished further up the tree. Ash shifted his weight, trying to get a better look. Chimchar returned a moment later, carrying another Chimchar over its shoulder.

The other Chimchar didn't have any arms. Ash smiled at Chimchar and looked down at Lou. He gave her a thumbs up.

Lou's face lit up.

X

"You'll never get my pokemon!" Barry screamed. The world blurred by him. He paused again, floating above the ground.

"What?" The purple-haired kid asked. "I don't want your pokemon."

"You don't?" Barry asked. "Then what's going on?"

"I asked you if you have any pokemon," The man said. "You refused to answer."

"Then why are you torturing me?"

"Because you refused to answer."

"Well," Barry considered the situation for a moment. "I have a Bulbasaur." The kid nodded.

Barry fell to the ground. His body was sore. His head was swimming.

"That's cool," The man said.

"What?" Barry jumped up. "That's it?" The kid scratched his chin.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Why did you put me in the sky in the first place?" Barry demanded.

"Because I lied," The kid perked up. "I'm gonna steal your pokemon."