{This is the place?}

"Yep! It's the Pokémon Center, alright, bzzt!""

It certainly reflected its purpose. The building was red and white, just like a Poké Ball, and it even had a picture of one just above the door. I stepped closer to the entry way, and the doors opened by themselves, allowing me to enter. I was instantly greeted by a new assortment of smells and sights, like the sight of several other Trainers and their different Pokemon, a lot of which I had yet to find out the identity of, and a rather sweet scent coming from the left side of the building. As tempted as I was to finding out what was emitting that mesmerizing aroma, I knew my top priority was to get Rowlet (and Red for that matter) properly healed so that they would be ready for their next battle, whenever the opportunity struck again. I gave off a bark to alert everybody to my presence, and, as expected, every eyebrow in the room raised upon the mere sight of me.

I didn't blame them, though. Right now, I didn't care much what they thought. I puffed out my chest and strutted confidently to the front desk, where there was a female human clad in white and pink.

{Now what?} I questioned my PokéDex in a low, quiet growl.

"Now you give her your Poké Balls," he rasped. "She'll do the rest."

Seemed simple enough. I dug the occupied capsules out of my bag and placed them on the desk before the human. She barely seemed to notice; her eyes were wide and unblinking, and they seemed to be scanning over me with a sense of confusion and dread.

I cocked my head in confusion, then motioned my snout toward the Poké Balls on the counter I wanted her to handle, pushing them slightly closer to her. This time, she got the memo.

"You...want me to heal your Pokémon?"

She put heavy emphasis on the word "your," as though she didn't believe they were actually, legitimately mine. Nonetheless, I nodded.

"Um...Al-alright. Let me see them for a moment."

She took the two Poké Balls in her hands and placed them both in some sort of odd machine she had with her behind the counter. An image of each of the Pokémon I had inside of them flashed on the screen above it, then the screen flickered, and then it went blue again.

"Well, they're fully healed now," she told me, placing the Poké Balls back on the counter before me. "But may I ask-"

I was too eager to see my Pokémon again to acknowledge her question; I tossed each capsule, releasing both of my feathered companions.

"Roo!"

"Cha!"

They seemed just as excited to see me again, and any sign of them having partook in battle had vanished; the scratches on Rowlet's face were gone, and Red seemed to be in a more agreeable mood. Rowlet flitted about playfully, and Red ruffled his feathers and stood beside me, putting on a more dignified act.

"They...seem to really like you," the human commented. "They really belong to you?"

I gave another nod as my answer.

"I didn't think Pokémon could qualify as Trainers. Erm...What kind of Pokémon are you, anyway?"

{Rotom, you know what to say.}

"She's not one," he replied in my position. "The Professor did some DNA tests, and it turns out she's something different."

"Professor Kukui, you mean?"

"Exzzactly! We've been hanging out at the lab for a few days now so he can look more into things!"

"Interesting. And...You're one of those rare new PokéDexes I've been hearing about from the Sinnoh region?"

"That's right! I serve as my holder's digital Pokémon encyclopedia, map, and in this case, her translator, zzt!"

"Fascinating! Does the Professor know that she's out and about?"

I gave a nod in response.

"Well, if, in any case, you're needing to get back to him, then I won't keep you. We hope to see you again!"

I turned away and headed back outside. It was about time I made my way back to the lab. The longer, unfamiliar road to my right caught my attention; Could I get back to the lab by taking the path that ran south and lead to human civilization?

{Rotom. Is there a way back to the lab through the city?}

"There sure izzz! But it's longer than the way we came here. You sure you don't want to go back down Route 3?"

I nodded.

{I'd like to get to know the place. Besides, I don't want to be attacked by any more Rufflets.}

"Good point. Well, you're the boss!"

I turned west, then, with a kick of my legs, bolted down the dirt path. My feet kicked up dust and left it scattering in the air behind me, the air hit my face like a splash of cold, refreshing water, and my eyes were focused on nothing but what lie directly ahead; everything else was a blur.

It dawned on me that, after what had happened when me and my sisters were let out of the Paddock, I had forgotten how great it felt to run.

Finally, I slowed my gait to a halt once the gritty dirt just in front of me turned to solid pavement. As much as I knew I had reached my destination, a part of me still wanted to keep running, just for the fun of it. I felt like I was going so fast I had made it to the city within a matter of seconds.

That was when I wondered...Had I actually reached the city in no more than a matter of seconds?

"Holy zzrt! That was incredible!"

It sounded like Rotom was ninety miles behind me. I turned around; maybe he wasn't that far away, but there was still a decent stretch in between me and him, even as he came closer.

"My...My sensors indicate that..." he huffed between breaths. "They indicate that your top speed back there reached 36 milezzz per hour! It could have been even faster that that; you went out of my range halfway here!"

{Is 36 a lot?}

"The fastest recorded human speed is less than 28! 36 is pretty darn fast! Were you running at top speed?"

{I don't think so. I just ran for the sake of it.}

"Wow...I can only imagine how fast you are when you're really putting in all your effort! Bzzt! You're a speed machine!"

I showed off a smile; never had I received a compliment for my speed. I was actually said to be the slowest compared to my three siblings back when we all lived at the Paddock. And now, all of a sudden, I was a "speed machine?" My new Alpha position seemed to be getting better and better every minute.

I took a step onto the black pavement; the late morning sun was beginning to heat it. A pleasant sensation at the moment, but with it still being somewhat early in the day, I knew it would only get hotter as time progressed, and the last thing I wanted was to go back to the lab with the bottoms of my feet burned.

Better not make this take too long, I reminded myself as I restarted my trek.

I passed another Pokémon Center, then another fork in the road. I headed south; even if it looked like I would have to turn back around the way I came to get back to the lab from there, I was probably still fast enough to do so while also avoiding the eventual midday heat.

The minute I made the turn, I began to smell something; it reminded me somewhat of the scent I'd caught a whiff of inside the Pokémon Center, though it was just a tad weaker and quite a bit sweeter. I couldn't recall ever smelling anything like those two things, but for some reason, I knew for sure what I was.

It was food.

I was suddenly ravenous, having forgotten that the Professor had never given me a helping of meat before I left. I smacked my jaws, put my nose to the ground and began to follow the scent down the street. Past the fork, past a fairly large building and right into...

"Hey!"

I felt my head collide with something. The "something" turned out to be a pair of human legs. The person stumbled forward from the impact, then turned around to face me.

Immediately, the human's frustration melted into pleasant surprise.

{Hau?}

"Oh, it's you!" he exclaimed, reaching out to vigorously rub up and down my snout. "What's up, eh? You trackin' somethin' down with that sniffer of yours?"

I nodded, then sniffed again to relocate the scent. Now it was coming from almost directly to my left. I looked in that direction to see a building, and I could tell that the smell was coming from somewhere inside of it.

"Oh, ho ho ho!" Hau smirked. "You smell that, do you?"

I gave another nod coupled with a hungry craw.

"That, my friend, is the Malasada shop. Once you step foot in there, you won't ever want to come back out. These places are dotted all over the Alola region, but the malasadas made right here on Melemele taste the best out of any of them."

I felt my mouth begin to water, and I ran my deprived tongue along my chaps.

"Come on, I'll get us some. My treat."

I eagerly followed him up to the door. The moment I stepped inside, the sweet scent became sweeter and stronger than ever. Hau was right; I probably would have stayed there for a while if I hadn't have had plans to get back to the lab by the heat of the day.

"Lemme order the goods and then we can take a seat and dig in. You step back and let an old pro show you how it's done."

I nodded in agreement, and watched as my human friend stepped up to the left of the front counter, where another one was standing.

"Was'sup, padre?"

"Ah, Hau, good to see you 'round! What can I get'cha?"

"Do me a solid and whip us up a couple of Sweet Malasadas; one for me and one for my scaly friend here."

Hau motioned to me, and the clerk was quick to spot the large, brown, scaly creature standing behind him.

"Oh, wow. Never seen any Pokémon like that one before. She yours?"

"No, actually. And she's no Pokémon, according to the Professor."

"...Are you serious?"

"As a matter of fact, she's a Trainer herself. Apparently, she figured out how to work a Rowlet's Poké Ball and now it's her partner. Looks like she's even got a bag now and everything."

"That's...nuts."

"At least it's just as cool as it is that."

"If she's not a Pokémon, then what is it?"

"No idea. Not even the Professor knows yet."

The clerk tried to look me in the eye, and my own eyes began to dart all over the place just to avoid contact with the human's.

"Looks like she's got herself one of those fancy new PokéDexes, too, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. The Professor let her have it to see how well she interacted with it."

"And how's that going?"

"Ooh, fine so far! Rowlet and I are the Betas!"

"'Betas?'"

"Yeah, you know, like in a pack of Zoroark. You got the Alphas leading the pack, then the Betas rank second, then you-"

"Oh, oh, okay, I get it. Ah...Well, I won't hold up the line anymore than I have to. Two Sweet Malasadas comin' right up."

"Great. Alright, pal, let's find ourselves a seat."

He picked a table for two-one that was fairly close to the front counter-and sat himself at the far end.

"Yeah, go on and take the other one. This is the best table; since its so close to the counter, the grub gets here faster. Plus, I figured you'd probably have some trouble fitting in a booth. You're tail's kinda big, so I didn't think it'd fit."

I squeezed in between the table and the stool and sat myself down, Rotom sitting himself on the top of my head. I looked over my shoulder; Hau was right. My tail nearly reached to the edge of the small wall that separated us from another seating area. Was it wrong to feel self-conscious about something that I had always considered normal? Maybe it was because I was the only one of my kind in this place, and since most of the humans seemed so accepting, I'd sort of forgotten just how different I was from them. Hau was the best so far, though; I thought that he was the best human being I'd ever met, except for maybe Alpha. But most of my memories of Alpha were shrouded in some sort of mental fog, and it felt as though they were just out of reach, so I couldn't really compare the two.

In all honesty, however, I didn't think there would be much of a difference.

"Here comes the grub! Prepare to feast!"

The waiter placed a round, golden brown object in front of each of us.

"Alright. Come to papa!"

I sniffed mine; the white powder that was sprinkled over it made its way into through my nose and made it itch. I instinctively turned my head away from the table and sneezed, and the white powder flew out of my nostrils in the form a white cloud.

"Oh, yeah. Be careful with the powdered sugar. It tastes pretty good, but it's not cool to get it up into your sinuses."

The waiter left, and Hau took the malasada in his hands and dug into it like he hadn't eaten in days.

Must be good, I said to myself.

I didn't see the need to take the treat in my hands; my neck was already long enough for me to reach down and grab it. So I bent my head down and grabbed the edge of the malasada in my front teeth, then tilted my head back, readying to slide it down my throat.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your Horseas!"

Hau's sudden abruptness startled me so much I ended up dropping the malasada on its side, and it would have rolled off of onto the floor if Hau hadn't made a swift motion forward to grab it and place it back on the table. His surprised expression was concerning; had I done something wrong?

"Uh, heh...Sorry I scared you," he apologized, releasing the malasada from his grasp. "You don't just scoff it down if one gulp like that. If you do, ya don't taste it."

I wasn't sure I believed this. I'd always eaten this way, ripping off chunks of our kill and slipping each piece down my gullet, and I was still able to taste what I ate. Different prey had different flavors. Did the humans eat in a different manner than me and my sisters did? The malasada appeared small enough to swallow whole without having to tear pieces off. Was there something wrong about this?

"Here, lemme show you. Ya bite off small pieces and chew 'em; that's how you get the flavor out of it. Like this, watch."

And so he demonstrated; took another bite out of his and crushed it up with his teeth.

"You know, on second thought..." His voice was barely comprehendible with his mouth stuffed with malasada. "In your case two bites might do, because you got a bigger set o' chompers than I do. If you bite too small, it might not be enough-" He swallowed. "-to actually taste."

I guessed I might as well give it a shot, so I took the treat in my claws, then, with my very front teeth, tore about half of it off. Using my tongue, I moved it towards my back teeth and crushed it up.

My eyes widened.

My senses peaked.

My taste buds tingled.

I swallowed.

Once back when I lived with my sisters, an odd creature was released into the Paddock. It wasn't much smaller than us; brown and white, with four thin legs and two, branching horns on its head. We made quick work of it, and I was lucky enough to be the first one to get to its side, where all of the juicy, tender meat was. I had never tasted anything quite as good as the dark meat of that strange creature.

Until now.

I snatched up the other half of the malasada and did the same, this time with more haste, then emitted a pleased caw. It was the best thing I ever put in my mouth.

"I told you they were that good! I'd getcha another one, but after I pay for this, I'm gonna be flat broke. Good news is, you get cash from batting other Trainers, and you can use that cash to buy stuff. Healing Potions for your Pokémon, more Poké Balls from the PokéMart in the Pokémon Center, and of course fantastic food like this."

I never understood the concept of trade; to me and my siblings, we took what we wanted when we wanted it, if we could get our hands on it. I didn't know how I ended up waking up knowing the names of so many things, or understanding human language, or grasping new concepts that I had no idea existed before, but I did.

And I was glad that I figured out that you can't always get something for nothing.

Understanding this, I felt obliged to repay my human friend. But how? I had nothing to give him...did I?

"Hey, don't sweat it," Hau assured me, apparently having saw the guilt in my eyes. "I wanted to do this for ya; that's what friends are for, right?"

I nodded, though I still felt somewhat ashamed.

"Sit tight. I gotta go pay and then we can head out."

It took no more than a matter of seconds for him to finish at the front desk, and when he did, he motioned for me to follow him back outside. We left the building, and the late morning sun shone down onto us. I blinked uncomfortably as the bright light poured into my eyes; the heat wasn't unbearable yet, but it was getting close.

"Yeah guess we should be heading back down to Route 1 now; getting kinda hot out here, and I promised my grandfather I'd be back by noon. You're still hangin' at the lab, right?"

I nodded.

"Alright, then. What's say I walk you back there?"

{I'd like that,} I replied with another nod. {Your input, Rotom?}

"Zzzz...Huh? What? Oh...Sorry. I guess I must have dozed off for a second. What were you saying? He's gonna take us back to the lab?""

{That's right.}

"Well, I don't have any problem with it. Whatever floatzzz your boat."

"Well, well, well. What have we got here?"

The unfamiliar, slimy voice came from not far behind us. We turned to face whoever said it; there were two other humans, actually, both wearing black and white, and both with bandanas over their faces, as though to remain anonymous.

"Uh-oh," the PokéDex squeaked as it flitted behind me.

"Yo, why don't you throw us a bone and hand over the Poké Balls?" one of them said.

"Not you guys again," Hau grumbled. "Don't you have anything better to do than pillage people's Pokémon?"

"Oh, you think this is funny, do ya?" the other one sneered. I was beginning to get the impression that Hau knew these people-and didn't like them very much. "Well, Mr. Funny Man, believe it or not, jokin' around with us is just gonna send you cruisin' for a bruisin'."

I stepped back a ways behind Hau; I didn't want to get pulled into this unless it actually turned dangerous.

"You honestly think that's a good idea? If the Kahuna finds out you-"

"Oh, so you think you're all that just because he's your gramps, huh? You think he's gonna come runnin' over to beat us down if we don't step off?"

"Listen, kid. We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way."

The two strange humans began to close in around him, flashing a threatening gaze in their beady eyes.

"We know you got yourself one o' them fancy-shmancy partner Pokémon," the second one acknowledged. "Hand it over and you get to go home without a scratch."

"And if I don't?"

There was a pinch of nervousness in Hau's voice, but it looked like he was going to stand his ground for as long as was necessary.

"We ain't foolin'; the hard way's gonna end up with you gettin' wrecked."

"Heh heh...Come on, fellas, take it easy. You guys don't want to end up doin' something you'll regret, do you?"

"We got news for ya, kid."

The first one beat his fists together and began to close in even more.

"Team Skull don't regret nothin'. Ever."

And that was when I realized.

These people weren't like Lillie, or the Professor or Hau, or any of the others I'd seen and met so far.

These humans were bad.

Okay, this was it; it was time for me to butt in.

I swiftly pushed myself in between Hau and the offenders, letting out a threatening hiss at the latter. The two humans were taken aback, just as I expected, and just as I'd hoped.

"Yo, hey! Yo...What is that?"

"You think imma know?"

"I dunno, homie. Some freak that crawled out of the sewers?"

"Well, it's a freak, fo-shizzle."

"I'll handle this one, yo."

The first human pulled out a Poké Ball and chucked it at my chest. It hit me, then clattered to the ground. The Professor was right when he had stated that they had no effect on me.

"You kiddin' me?

"Guess it belong to Malasada Man."

"Why don't you do us a solid and hand us this one's ball, too?"

"Oh, she's not mine; she's not even a Pokémon."

"You pullin' my funny bone again!?"

"Yo, looks like we're gonna have to settle this the old-fashioned way: with a full on Pokémon Battle!"

"Sounds good to me, fellas. Have fun at the Pokémon Center. Because my bud here's gonna help me out."

Hau motioned motioned to me, and I suddenly felt like I looked a lot less intimidating.

"That scaly, scar-faced freak o' nature!? We'll see about that."

"Yeah, why don't you show off your Popplio? Then we'll know how to put the mutt to use."

"Trash-talkin' my friend AND my partner? Oh, ho, ho. Now you're in for it. Popplio! Teach these thugs a lesson!"

Hau dug out his partner's Poké Ball and released the little blue Pokémon. It growled angrily at the two opponents.

"Zubat! Let's do this!"

"Alright, Yungoos, let's check these fools!"

The masked called out their own Pokémon; one was a small, blue, flying creature with big ears, and it didn't look like it had any eyes. The second was one of those nasty brown and yellow Pokémon that I'd grown accustomed to battling.

"Chiiir!"

"HSSSSS!"

"Go on, bud! Call out your Rowlet! This'll be easy if we take 'em on together!"

I had a better idea. I pulled out one of my Poké Balls and released my fighter of choice.

"CHA!" Red squawked upon his emergence, striking a pose.

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho! When did you catch a Hawlucha!? That's awesome!"

"And it'll be even more awesome when it belongs to Team Skull," one of the enemies taunted. "Zubat, hit 'em with your Supersonic!"

"Yungoos! Tackle!"

"Alright, Popplio, use Water Gun!"

{Red. Show me what you can do.}

The Wrestling Pokémon turned back to me, nodded in understanding, then proceeded to sharpen his foreclaws. Meanwhile, the water spraying from Popplio's nose slammed into the Zubat, and the Supersonic waves emitted from the flying Pokémon just barely missed its target, and the Yungoos began to charge at Red.

One of my Hawlucha's clawed hands began to emit a scarlet glow, then just as the Yungoos was about to make impact, it was batted away with the glowing, spinning, outstretched claws. The attack nearly caused the biting Pokémon to faint.

We were off to a good start.

"He knows Karate Chop, eh? Not bad, pal."

{One more hit like that should do it!} I ordered. {Karate Chop, one more time!}

"Yungoos, mess 'em up with another Tackle!"

The enemy Pokémon bore its teeth and tried to straighten itself out, but Red had already fired up his second attack, and was quick to launch it into the Yungoos' face. It's long body rolled toward its Trainer, then halted just a foot away from his feet, completely senseless.

"Zubat! You still got some left in ya! Astonish!"

The tiny Pokémon zipped through the air right into Popplio's face, then bit it on the top of the head with its sharp, white front fangs whilst emitting a terrible, high-pitched screeching noise.

{Red! One more Karate Chop!}

"No, wait! That'll barely do anything! It's a Poison and Flying-Type! Double rezzzistant to Fighting-Type moves!"

I turned my head to look at my PokéDex.

{Well, does he know any moves besides Karate Chop?}

"I saw him use Hone Claws at the beginning of the fight! It increased both Attack and Accuracy, but even with the boost, Karate Chop won't do much! Maybe Red knows Wing Attack! Try that!"

{I'll take your word. Red! Hit the Zubat with Wing Attack!}

"Fire up another Water Gun, Popplio! We got this thing right where we want it!"

Hau's Popplio shot another blast of water from its pink nose at the Zubat, and Red flew into the air, then stooped into a dive, his wings glowing white. First the enemy Pokémon was pelted with water, and then Red's small, yet powerful wings came crashing down on top of it. The Zubat's membranous wings ceased to flap, and it fell to the ground, tongue hanging out of its mouth. The two Trainers looked stunned.

"You kiddin' me!?"

"Whadaya call this?!"

I let out a snarly laugh at their loss as Hau and I returned our fighters to their Poké Balls.

"Yo, forget the battle," the first one scoffed, beating his fists again. "Take me on, Scarface!"

"Yeah, you can't beat my homie, his fists are like fire! You just try!"

He wanted to battle against me, now? Interesting...Sometimes, I liked to pick fights with my sisters to see if I could climb the ranks; I usually ended up being defeated, but since I'd never actually fought a human in this matter before, I decided to give it a shot. I shook my head and tapped the claws on my feet.

"Wait, you're actually gonna fight that guy?" Hau questioned, and I gave him a nod in response.

"Yo, give this freak a knuckle sandwich."

My opponent began to run at me. I looked down ay my hands; the thin, black claws at the tip of each finger shone in the sunlight.

"Go for the head," a voice whispered inside of my mind. "Go for the head; it'll be quick and easy."

Just when the human was within striking distance, and about to throw his first punch, I raised my arm, then, with a high-pitched screech, swiped my claws right across the left-hand side of his hidden face.

An agonized scream followed.

The human fell to his knees, pressing his hands down on the wound I inflicted. The black and white bandana had been torn, and the black fabric around the tear was beginning to run crimson. Some of the blood ran down the side of his face and dripped onto the pavement.

{Wow,} I exclaimed aloud. {That was easier than I expected.}

"Why...you little..." he hissed in between breaths, attempting to cast me a glare.

The other one's eyes were filled with horror, and he lifted his fellow troublemaker back up onto his feet, pushed him along past us, then stared me dead in the eye as they approached the street corner.

"You ain't seen the last of Team Skull, Scarface," he threatened. "Once the boss gets word of this, he'll hunt you down like a Rockruff of a Meowth."

After saying this, he turned and fled with his defeated partner in crime.

"Dude..."

I turned to Hau, excitedly shaking my tail, expecting him to be happy I saved him, and proud that I'd finally emerged victorious in a fight after so many years of defeat prior. Instead, he just looked...

Stunned.

"You just...Attacked that guy."

Wasn't that what I was supposed to do? I looked down at the hand I'd swiped him with; his blood was running down to the tips of my claws and falling onto the ground. But in my eyes, that was normal; after a fight, at least one side always got hurt somehow, and what I'd done hadn't been enough to actually put the bad human in danger of dying. Besides, I'd done it to protect Hau, so there was nothing really bad about what I'd done...

Was there?

"Let's...go home, okay?"

He suddenly seemed in a much less jovial mood, and he walked on ahead of me. I staggered behind; I didn't want to be a bother, and at this point, the heat of the sun was starting to get more uncomfortable.

{Did I do something wrong, Rotom?}

I got no response.

{Rotom?}

I turned around; he'd pinned himself up against the wall of the Malasada Shop, his eyes wide and unblinking.

"Uh, heh..." He seemed to get more nervous as I approached. "That was...pretty brutal what'cha did to that Team Skull thug. I-I guess he dezzzerved it, though, right?"

{I did it to protect Hau. What about you? You look shaken up.}

I reached out to him with an outstretched claw, and he tried to back farther up against the wall, eyes getting wider.

Oops. Should have used the other hand.

"No, I'm fine! Just kinda shocked! Wazzn't expecting all this to go down, you know?"

{Neither was I.}

"Yeah...I...guess we should follow Hau back to the lab now? My internal thermometer is reading 97° F. and I'm pretty sure it'll get hotter before it getzzz cooler."

{I know. Let's move out.}

I didn't bother running back to the lab; I didn't want to be completely exhausted by running in the heat of the day. Besides, I didn't think I would get any enjoyment out of it anyway. I was to preoccupied thinking about what I'd done back at the Malasada Shop.

{What did you say those people were called, Rotom?}

"Thozzze guys were members of Team Skull. I don't know a whole lot about them, except that they try to steal people's Pokémon and make trouble, bzzt. I hear they're not very strong though, and, well...I guess you proved that claim back there."

{Should I not have done that?}

"I...Well, not to say you shouldn't have taught him a lesson. It could have been way worse, anyway. I mean, what if you didn't use the thinner claws on your handzzz?"

{As opposed to...}

"Well, your mouthful of sharp teeth. Or..."

Rotom motioned down to my feet.

"...Those. But you didn't. And a slash to the face isn't anything to major. He'll live, though he might have a reminder of the fight for the rest of his life."

"M-hm..." I hummed with a bit of a gurgly growl.

"What did those punks call you? 'Scarface?'"

{I think that's what it was.}

"Ooh...I can...kinda see why," he replied, almost in a whisper. It looked like he was eyeing something on the left-hand side of my face.

{Why? What is it?}

"Uh, nothing. No reason. Let'zzz...just go home."

By now, Hau was already far ahead of us. I dragged behind sluggishly; I couldn't stop thinking about what I did. Sure, those Team Skull people needed to be taught a lesson, but had I overdone it?

"He might have a reminder for the rest of his life," Rotom had said.

What did that mean?

What was it that I'd done that would remind him?

I looked back down at my bloodstained claws. One of them had something stuck on the tip of it. I sniffed it...

It was a small piece of human flesh.

{...What have I done?}