I didn't think I would have been able to muster up the courage to do it, but here I was, lying sprawled out on the floor of the nursery emitting pained wails. It was only a matter of time before Beta heard the commotion I was making and came to my aid.

This would work.

This had to work.

And sure enough...

{Gamma!}

My eldest rushed over to me, great concern flooding her giant, soft yellow eyes.

{...Hurt...help...} I squeaked.

Beta bent her head down parallel to mine.

{What happened!? Why are you screaming so much! Are you-}

She screamed in agony and shock as I leapt onto her, claws extended and teeth bared. I managed to climb up onto her back, frantically slashing away at her soft skin with the thin, razorlike claws on my hands. Droplets of blood spattered across the floor as she tried desperately to shake me off.

And she was struggling a lot harder than I'd initially imagined.

{Why!?} she pleaded. {Why are you doing this!?}

{I'm going to be Beta!} I screamed in reply, making haste to find a weak spot to strike with the big claws on my feet. {I'm going to be the one in charge!}

{No...No! I won't let you!}

She rolled over onto her back, sending me rolling across the floor with her. She successfully separated us with her move, much to my frustration.

{Gamma, you don't understand,} she tried to reason with me. {There's a reason I'm the leader.}

{You won't be for much longer!} I threatened, anxiously tapping my big claws on the floor.

I didn't notice her once soft and caring eyes grow hard and stern.

{I don't want to have to fight you,} she told me. {But if you keep challenging me, I'll have no choice.}

I ignored her warning.

{I wouldn't want to have to fight me either!}

I lunged at Beta again, flexing the big claws on my feet; it was almost as though they had their own urge to fight. Beta ducked, then flipped, sending me flying.

"What's going on in here!?"

I acknowledged Alpha's voice, but I refused to react to it. I pushed myself off of the wall with my foot, then began to run right at Beta at full force. She stood her ground until impact, and I was the one sending her flying this time around. She waved her legs in midair, running against an imaginary surface, trying to stand back up, but she was a moment too late; I seized my chance, and pinned her head down with my hand, then placed the sharp tip of my big, curved claw right onto her throat. Alpha looked as though he was about to intervene somehow, but before he could...

"Let them fight."

Alpha-Beta appeared behind him; he wasn't around as much as Alpha, but we knew him well enough that we recognized his authority to an extent. He was almost like Alpha's assistant pack leader-his Beta in front of the eldest that I was fighting.

"Are you kidding me!? What if-"

"Blue is exercising her dominance, trying to maintain her position as pack leader. This is exactly how things play out in the wild; a challenge between two rivals to see who is worthy of authority. It is not our place to draw the line between them...Let them fight."

{Gamma!} Beta ordered, still pinned beneath my foot. {If you don't stop, I'll fight back!}

{I'd like to see you try.}

The metallic glare in Beta's stern eyes softened, and her disciplined anger was replaced with something I'd never seen in her before; fear. Horror. Hurt...Betrayal.

{No...You...wouldn't really...}

For the briefest moment, her gaze pierced right through to my cold heart. For just a sliver of a second, I began to reconsider my options; I...didn't really think I'd have gotten this far, and now, here I was, staring down Beta, who was literally and figuratively under my foot. Victory was just out of reach, and if I dealt that final blow, I would have it. But...Was it really worth it? Was there, perhaps, even some other way to become the new Beta?

I shook those doubts clean out of my head; if victory was that close, I refused to risk losing it.

I raised the hand I'd been using to pin down Beta's head and cawed, readying to deal a good, hard blow.

A fatal mistake.

The decrease in weight allowed her to push me off, and I didn't even realize what was happening until it was too late. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground myself, Beta keeping my head down with just her foot.

{This is your last warning.}

We may have only reached Alpha's calves in height, but there was something about her expression that struck fear into me. I never imagined Beta being...scary like this.

I wanted it to end.

Even still, I was the one who needed to be scary.

And I would be more scary.

I flipped my jaws open; Beta's foot fell into my gaping grasp, and I clamped down on it. Beta shrieked in agony, then tried to pry my jaws off of her foot.

It won't do her any good, I said to myself. It won't be long now before she gives up and-

It was then that Beta let out a furious snarl, then slammed the side of her head right into my nose. The shock was instant; the impact caused such a daze that I let go, and upon releasing Beta's foot, I stumbled back. I shook my head, trying to come back to my senses before Beta could-

Too late. She began retaliate, but her hurt foot was getting the better of her; She tried to slash at my face with her hands-I was able to dodge most of them, due to her unsteady gait. She tried nipping-no-out and out biting me-I countered her failed attacks with a slap to the face with my tail. She fumbled, then limped backwards away from me.

{Give up, Beta,} I told her. {Let me take your place, and I'll stop.}

Beta squinted, then sighed...then growled. Her eyes were suddenly filled with a seething rage that I'd never seen, nor had I ever wanted to. She forgot all about the pain in her foot, shooting at me with the speed of a lightning bolt. I prepared a bite, emitting my own angry snarls as she drew closer. I was expecting another tackle; despite the attack being fairly strong, it was also easily avoidable if I timed everything right.

Then, just at the last moment, Beta turned around so that her back faced me, and then I saw her unhurt foot kick out from underneath her, and I heard the familiar sound of tearing flesh as the sickle-shaped claw flew up across the side of my face.

The strong taste of blood filled my mouth, heavy and metallic. I tried to close my mouth to clean it away; something was wrong. I couldn't shut my mouth right. And when I tried harder...

It was unlike anything I'd ever felt; a strong, relentless shockwave of searing, burning pain sweeping over my entire mouth. I wailed in agony, only this time, it wasn't an act; it was very terribly real.

Now the two humans stepped in.

"My God..."

Alpha scooped me up in his arms and carried me out of the nursery. I never found out where he too me. The pain in my head grew so intense that it caused me to black out altogether.

...

Everything seemed to be going at a pace of a mile a minute, but it was all so hazy. What was going on? All I wanted was for some peace. All I wanted was for the terrible pain in my mouth to go away. All I wanted...

Was Beta.

I saw, felt and heard things in bits and pieces, as though I was jumping through different points in time. So many muffled conversations, so many cold machines strapping to me, so many questions...

So, so, so many questions.

And then, at some point, the haze cleared. I stood up; I was in a small cage. I sniffed; the nursery was very close by, since I could smell the familiar smells of not only the surroundings, but also Alpha and my siblings.

And then I heard Alpha's voice, as well as Alpha-Beta's.

"You don't think they'll gang up on her, do you?"

"Velociraptors possess keen memories; previous studies on Isla Sorna have shown that they can recognize fellow pack members after being separated for as long as seven years."

"They're still just babies, though. You think they'll be well-developed enough?"

"I suppose we will have to find out for ourselves."

"Alright, then...Let's let her loose and see how she does."

My cage door opened, and I slowly came out of my confines; something seemed...off.

My sisters approached me from the side, lining up in front of me in a confrontational manner. None of them seemed very happy.

{What's the matter?} I asked.

Beta stepped out from the middle, and Omega from the outside left, her bright green scales giving off a slightly more yellow sheen in the dim light. Delta simply stood there and watched.

{Omega? What's going-}

{She's not Omega anymore,} Beta said to me in a scolding tone. {You are.}

{What?}

I had never expected Beta to say such a thing. I didn't believe her at first, but the look in her eyes made it all the more plain. But...

{Why?}

{Gamma obeys me. Gamma respects me. She didn't try to take my position. I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen. You thought you could just take Beta position that easily. You can't. None of you know how to maintain order among yourselves; I know this because I've seen how you all try to handle things and settle disputes among each other. None of you can do it right. only I can.}

{Well if you're so smart,} I retaliated, beginning to get angry. {Why don't you show us how so we can do it right?}

{I can't}

{Why?}

{I've tried before. And nobody listens. Not even you, Omega; I thought you had the most potential out of all of us, but I was wrong. You're just like Gamma and Delta.}

Gamma proceeded to give me a nip on the neck, to which I nearly pounced on her.

I might have mauled her to death if Beta hadn't stepped in between us first and shot me a poisonous glare.

{That's enough, Gamma; it's time to leave her alone. If she wants to fight, she can fight the air. Omega, you can join us when I say so.}

With that, Blue turned and walked away to the other side of the nursery, the others following. I wanted to follow, too, but I knew that if I did, I would be in even more trouble. I couldn't believe what was happening; had all of my efforts been in vain? Why wasn't I warned about what would happen if I lost? Why wasn't I able to learn how to be leader? Why, when I tried only once to climb up the tower, did I end up at the very bottom? Why had everything become...

So bleak?

Why?

It wasn't fair.

It just wasn't fair.

I was crushed.

I was mortified.

I.

Was.

FURIOUS.

And I did the only thing I could think of doing.

I tilted my head back.

And screamed.

...

The noise that escaped my mouth was no more than a raspy squeak.

My eyes shot open and I raised my head up to look around, finding nothing amiss. But I felt strange; my heart was beating rapidly-too rapidly for someone who'd been asleep for who knows how long. My breathing was funny, too; I couldn't slow it down, and I couldn't make it stop shaking so much. Why couldn't I stop? Was this out of fear? No, I wasn't afraid; I knew very well that I was safe and sound in the lab, and that what I'd just experienced was nothing more than a dream...right?

My nose was dripping, making a sickly noise every time I inhaled, and the odd feeling of cold water flowing down my face was ever apparent. I knew something was wrong. This wasn't normal. I'd never felt this way before. What was happening to me?

Rotom. Rowlet. Where were they at? I hadn't woken them up this time now, had I?

Rowlet was on the floor, somewhat wedged between me and the bookshelf rather that in my arm, but still asleep. Alright. Good. Then what about-

I felt something squeezing my right arm. I turned my head and looked. As I expected, it was my PokéDex; though I hadn't expected him to look so concerned.

{What's going on?}

"Huh!? You're awake!? And okay!? Oh, thank Arceus!"

The creature released his grip on my arm and proceeded to zip through midair to face me.

"I wazz so worried about you! I didn't have any idea what was wrong!"

{What exactly was wrong?}

"Y-you were crying a river for I don't know how long! I didn't know if it was just a nightmare or if...something might have happened to you. But, you seem alright now. You are okay, right?"

{Y-yeah. Just...remembered some things.}

"What kindzzz of things? Doesn't sound very pleasant."

{I was back in my old home again. I wanted to be the new Alpha, so I decided to fight Blue for the position.}

"How did that work out?"

{I...lost. Badly. She tore her big claw right down the side of my face.}

It was odd, but I could have sworn that I felt just the tiniest twinge of pain in the spot where she attacked me.

{Next thing I know I'm back in the pen. Everyone was there...Blue, Charlie, Delta...Owen and Alpha-Beta.}

"'Alpha-Beta?' Who's that?"

{He was another human...Looked a lot different from Owen. He helped him look after us sometimes, but he wasn't around quite as often. Not sure what his human name is, though.}

"Huh...Um...where did you say you got scratched?"

{Right down the face. Right here.}

I pointed to the spot with one of the black claws on my hand. Rotom took a peek, and I saw his large eyes grow even wider.

"Ah...I see. That's uh, interesting."

I paused. Wasn't that the same spot on my face that every one was...

{Rotom.}

"Yeah?"

{That wasn't a spec of dirt you saw on my face earlier, was it?}

He looked away from me in shame, then let out a sigh.

"We'd already been through so much earlier. I-I didn't want to bother you anymore, so I figured I'd just keep my mouth shut."

{Hm...At least you could shut your mouth.}

"What do you mean?"

{When Blue kicked out at my face...something else happened. She kicked me right in the jaw, and I...I couldn't shut it. Whenever I tried, it just...}

"It just what?"

{It hurt. Bad. Really bad. I can't even say how much.}

"D-do you think she could have broken it? Or dislocated it? Or both?"

{Maybe...But I don't know for sure. And I'm not sure I want to.}

"I'm not sure I'd like to know, either. Heh..."

{I would like to know, though, what you were seeing on my face.}

"Uh...Y-you won't be mad if I tell you?"

{Why would I be? It's not your fault.}

"O-okay then..."

There was a long silence before he finally decided to speak.

"There'zzz uh, some sort of white line running down the side of your face. It's pretty thin, so it'zz not too noticeable, but if you're paying close attention, it's a lot more obvious. Hau saw it, too, I think. I thought it looked like some sort of scar. And now...Now I know."

So that was what it was. I pieced everything together; that must have happened when Blue attacked me that day so many years ago. It had to be. It was in the exact spot I remembered.

Those were my prizes for trying to climb the ranks; a nasty looking scar, a messed-up jaw, and a demotion to the lowest possible rank. I cursed myself silently; why had I been so stupid that day? Was I really that desperate to risk everything I had going for me just to be the pack leader? Was there another aspect to my failed attempt that I'd forgotten, or had I just decided to do it without provocation? In hindsight, it made no sense why I would try something like that. At least I'd wizened up since then...right?

{I wasn't very bright back then,} I confessed. {Or very nice. I saw how good my sister was to Owen when he acted hurt. He was testing us, I think? To see if we would turn in him? The thought of it didn't even cross her mind. And I decided to take advantage of her kindness. And honestly, I'm not sure how much has changed up in here.}

I tapped on the top of my head with one of my claws.

{Especially after what happened earlier with...}

"The Team Skull grunts?"

{Yeah...them.}

"C-come on. Don't put yourself down like that, bucko. You're amazzzing!"

{What makes you think that?}

"I mean, look at you! As far as we all knew, you'd never even seen or heard of a Pokémon or a Poké Ball until just a couple days ago, and now you're forming a team, and you've won, what? Three battles so far? That's pretty impressive!"

{Huh...I guess you have a point.}

"And you know, I'm not so sure you meant to hurt that guy as much as you did. We all agreed that you were just trying to protect Hau, right?"

{I'm not even sure of that anymore.}

"What? Why?"

{When I was about to go up against him...There was this voice inside of me, telling me what to do.}

"Like, you're conscience, maybe? What'd it say?"

{'Go for the head.'}

There was a long silence between the two of us.

"That...doesn't sound like something a conscience would say."

{I know. That's why it scares me so much.}

"I'm not so sure how to explain that. Erm...How about you tell me when it happenzzz again? If it happens again, that is. And if it says anything different. The more we know, the easier it might be to figure out what it is!"

{Sounds like a plan. I'll do that.}

"Bzzt! Great!"

I nodded, then let out a yawn.

"Yeah, let's get back to sleep. Uh...You won't start crying again on me, will you?"

{I doubt it.}

"Heh heh...If you say so."

The PokéDex seemed hesitant to accept my claim.

{What?}

"A-are you sure? I mean, I know why now, but...I don't want to see you like that again. You just looked..."

{Helpless?}

"You're awfully good finishing sentences, you know that?"

I gave a small chuff of a laugh in reply.

"Yeah, I mean, all that stuff happening with Blue, and you being pushed to the bottom like that. That's...not good. I just don't want-"

His speech was cut off when I reached out and pulled the Pokémon back in for a hug.

"...Ha...Y-you look so big and tough, but...All you really need is a family, am I right?"

{And that's exactly what I have here.}

I saw his screen go pink again, and I released the PokéDex before giving him a nudge with the tip of my snout.

"Aw, come on, Echo. Y-you're makin' me blush. Heh...Hey. I-isn't it crazy that Rowlet slept through all of this?"

I turned my head over to my starter Pokémon; he was indeed still out cold.

{I know. I would have thought we'd have woken him up at this point.}

"Zzrt! Must be a pretty heavy sleeper, huh?"

{Is it wrong to envy something like that?}

"If it'zzz so wrong, I'm not sure I want to be right! Ha!"

...

"Not sure you'll have to be back as early this time, Echo!" the Professor called. "Forecast says it's gonna be cooler today!"

"Good luck with the Trial!" Lillie added.

I looked back at them and nodded, then made my trek into the city limits. Rowlet sat atop my head, enjoying the view.

{Rotom. How do we get to Verdant Cavern from here?}

"Bzzt! It's just south of the Pokémon Center on Route 3!"

{That was where we caught Red, wasn't it?}

"That's right!"

{Speaking of which...}

I dug into my pack and pulled out Red's Poké Ball, then released him from his confines. He struck a pose upon his emergence.

{Red. Today we'll be trying out this Trial thing, so we're going back to Route 3 to do some training with you and Rowlet. Got it?}

"Roo-cha!" he cawed in agreement.

{Great. Let's give this all we got.}

We took the long way up Route 2 past Iki Town. We encountered even more Yungoos, a few Wingull, some Slowpoke, a Caterpie, and in a patch of grass we happened upon just outside of Iki Town itself, I had Rowlet fight against a small, fuzzy yellow Pokémon. Rotom identified the creature as a 'Pichu,' and he actually recommended that I catch it.

"Bzzzt! Thozzze things are super rare around here! And they evolve into one of the most popular Pokémon in the world; Pikachu!"

{But, exactly how strong is a Pikachu?}

"Ah...well...It has a few fairly strong and unique moves, but stat-wizze, I, uh...will admit, it's not very impressive."

{Then we can let this one go once we've finished.}

The Pichu put up a decent fight for something so small and young, but Rowlet was able to pull in yet another win. During the process, Rowlet even figured out how to use a new move; a Ghost-Type move called "Astonish," which, when executed correctly, could stun the enemy and make it flinch, giving us a chance to attack a second time. The fight against the Pichu had been his first real challenge all day; most of the Yungoos and Water-Types he'd handled with ease, but this Pichu's Electric attacks were doing more damage than any of us had anticipated. Fortunately, when the battle had ended, Rowlet spotted a pile of berries on the ground, just beneath a nearby tree, and they were more than enough to revitalize him.

Actually, Rowlet looked incredibly strong now. He was bigger, too, and more pugnacious. Red was showing signs on improving strength as well, but it was nothing like what Rowlet appeared to be going through; he looked like he contained so much power, so much inner fire, that he was getting ready to burst.

{You seem awfully spunky, Rowlet. Are you excited for Ilima's Trial?}

"Koo roo!" my Beta replied, enthusiasm practically oozing out of him.

{Great. Because we're nearly there.}

We shot through Route 3 as quickly as we could manage; only a few Spearow managed to get to us, but with Red's impressive flying moves, he picked them off easily, despite his type-disadvantage. Rowlet seemed eager to fight the Spearow, too, but I'd held him back, not wanting him to expend the energy needed for the trial.

Finally, we escaped the stone labyrinth, passed the Pokémon Center, then took a turn south. There it was; Verdant Cavern. And there was the trial captain we'd met the previous evening, waiting for us.

"Ah, you're here. Welcome!" he greeted us. "I hope you're ready to take on my Trial?"

I nodded.

"And your Pokémon? How are they faring?"

I released them both again to show them off. Ilima looked very impressed, if not ever so slightly intimidated by my two top-notch fighters.

"No doubt, you take your job as a Trainer quite seriously," he remarked. "Now, let's see just how well they manage during the trial. I must warn you; the Pokémon inhabiting Verdant Cavern are particularly fierce, so I wouldn't find it wise to venture forth without at least a small supply of healing items. Are you sure you don't want to head back and stock up on such things?"

I shook "no." The berry pile Rowlet had eaten from seemed to have sufficed, and Red had received very superficial damage in his fights with the Spearow. I didn't think it would be a problem.

"Very well, then. Follow me."

I followed him through the Trial gate, and into the cavern. It was comfortably cool inside, and the small amount of sunlight keeping it from being pitch black came through small crevasses and holes in the cavern roof. The place lived up to its name; it was lush with vegetation, and whatever wasn't overgrown with plants was covered in green moss.

"Allow me to explain your objective," the captain continued. "All you need to do is defeat the three Trial Pokémon that lurk in their dens, and then make your way up to the deepest part of the cave, where you will encounter the Totem Pokémon. The Totem is the fiercest out of all of the Pokémon in the cavern, so you will have to be perfectly in sync with your Pokwmon in order to defeat it."

It sounded simple enough.

"One more thing," he added. "Until the Trial is complete, you will not be able to catch Pokémon in Verdant Cavern. And while you can leave anytime you like during the Trial, keep in mind that you will have to start it over from the beginning when you return. Understand everything?"

I nodded.

"Then...Let the Trial begin."

The first den was relatively close to the start point, and the Pokémon was quick to emerge; another Yungoos. I called on Rowlet to take it on, seeing that this one did appear substantially stronger than most of the others I'd fought so far. The Yungoos might have been strong, but it was no match for my partner Pokémon, who was able to do it in with just two of his Leafage attacks. And the enemy's single Tackle did almost nothing.

{Nice going, Rowlet. If you keep this up, this should be a breeze.}

Rowlet cooed happily as I returned him to his Poké Ball, and I picked up the scent of another Yungoos. The trail lead me past a large, moss-covered stone, and right to the opening to another den. I cawed for a Pokémon to come out; yet another Yungoos emerged, just as ferocious as the last.

"Hissssss!"

{Rowlet. Let's give this one a little variation!}

He started off with a more simple Tackle attack, and the Yungoos began to approach. We were expecting a counter Tackle, but instead, right when it came within a few inches of Rowlet, the enemy Pokémon turned tail and shot dust from the ground into his eyes. Rowlet screeched in irritation, trying to get the sand out of his eyes.

{Try Leafage this time around!}

Rowlet fired, but his obscured evision caused the leaves to miss their target. The Yungoos prepared another Tackle.

{Wait for my signal, Rowlet!}

Rowlet stood idly, rubbing out the sand from his eyes with his wings. The Yungoos was approaching fast; timing was everything.

{Wait for it...Wait for it...}

And just when it was within no more than three feet...

{NOW!}

Rowlet opened his wing and shot his array of glowing leaves, and this time, they hit their target-hard. The Yungoos collapsed in defeat, then, after a few moments, shakily stood back up and retreated back into its den.

{Just one left, Rowlet. Give the last one all you got before we take on the Totem Pokémon, alright?}

"Koo...roo..."

I took a better look at him; he was still trying to blink the dust out of his eyes. Seeing hin in a less than adequate condition for fighting at the moment, I began to reconsider my options.

{You know what? On second thought, why don't you take a bit of a rest before we fight the Totem? Red will do this last one for you.}

"Koo? Koo roo!" he hooted in protest, insisting that he was still good enough to fight.

{No, Rowlet. You need a break.}

He opened his beak again, readying a protest, but nothing came out. He looked away from me is shame and defeat.

{Once we get this last one out of the way, then you can fight again, alright?}

He nodded reluctantly before being returned to his Poké Ball, and we followed the path of the cavern up to another den opening. I took a peak inside, expecting another Yungoos to emerge and attack us, but it was vacant. Perhaps it'd seen what had become of its brethren, and made a hasty retreat?

I heard something moving on the outside of another den entry, on one of the upper ledges of the cave. I followed after it, and peered into the other den...still nothing. And now the noise began coming from the one I'd just left...Was the Pokémon trying to trick me?

I was beginning to get impatient, so I devised a plan; I called Red out, and explained to him what I had in mind.

{Listen, Red,} I rasped, as not to be overheard by the opposing Pokémon. {What I want you to do is just walk over to that den we were just at. If it hears you, it might think it's me outside, and it'll come out of this opening, and when it does, you come back on over so you can fight it. Get all that?}

The Hawlucha nodded in understanding.

{Alright. Go ahead.}

He made a quick jog over to the entryway, then proceeded to make a commotion, stomping his feet around the outside of it. The creature burrowed back into the earth, and I heard the sound if it's scurrying draw nearer.

"I think it'zzz working!" my PokéDex buzzed. I did agree, but motioned for him to cut back on the noise anyway, not wanting the plan to be foiled.

But it wasn't foiled in the least; the enemy Yungoos shot up out of the den I was standing at with a ferocious snarl...

Only it wasn't a Yungoos at all!

It was nearly twice the size of one, and when it fully emerged, it stood up on it's sturdy hind legs; something I had yet to see a Yungoos do. It's eyes were much more analytic and intelligent, not possessing the primitive savagery of the Pokémon I expected. But it was the same color and of similar pattern to a Yungoos; maybe it was a different variety?

{Rotom. Scan.}

"Bzzt! Gumshoos: the Stakeout Pokémon; the evolved form of Yungoos! They were imported to Alola from another region long ago to deal with an outbreak of Rattata, but since they're diurnal, they rarely get the chance to hunt them!"

{Interesting.}

The Gumshoos stood its ground and stared at me intently.

{Red Karate Chop, now!}

Red bolted to my location, and with his impressive speed, rammed his clawed hand into the enemy before it even had the chance to react. The Pokémon took a beating from the attack, but was quick to regain its composure, and it stood right back up, shooting a glare at Red instead of attacking.

{What's it doing? Shouldn't it be attacking?}

"I think I know what's going on!" Rotom buzzed. "It'zzz using its Bide Attack!"

{Bide?}

"When a Pokémon uses Bide, it doesn't attack for a while, and then when you least expect it, it unleashes double the damage it's received so far!"

{Not if we keep it from getting the chance to attack! Red! One more Karate Chop! That oughta do it!}

Red landed his second attack right in the Gumshoos' abdomen-something enough to knock it down again, and keep it from getting up.

"Right in the gut! That's a critical hit!"

The Gumshoos lay motionless for several moments before getting back up. It looked...impressed, though still intimidated by us, and it retreated back into its hole.

That was the third and final challenge before the Totem Pokémon.

{Get ready,} I told Red as I returned him to his all. {...Both of you.}

I hopped the ledges and approached the far exit to the cave. From where I stood, I could see daylight pouring into the cavern. Cautiously, I took my first few steps outside; it was like a large pit, broken, layered dirt walls encircling the area, and with somewhat barren ground. I sniffed around some, waiting for the Totem Pokémon to ambush me.

"It sure is takin it'zzz sweet time, isn't it?"

{The element of surprise,} I replied. {It's probably waiting for us to lower our guard.}

The sound of scurrying footsteps coming from behind caught my attention. I attempted to follow the source of the noise, scanning around the Totem's Den for the enemy; it felt as though it was running a wide circle around me, trying to catch me from behind. I had to keep looking.

And then, the faintest sound of shuffling feet came from the ledge above my head. I looked up...

There it was, its arms folded behind its back calmly, as though it had been standing there the whole time. It was a Gumshoos, like the last Trial Pokémon...but it was over twice the size of the latter.

"Grrrack..." it growled.

{What'd it say, Rotom?}

"It said...'Prepare yourself.'"

And just as suddenly as it had appeared, the Totem Pokémon leapt into the air, then landed right in front of me, a new, competitive ferocity entering its gaze.

It was ready to fight.

{Red! Let's do this!}

The Hawlucha emerged with an intimidating battle cry, then quickly fired up his Karate Chop attack.

{Make this one count! This one means business!}

As Red honed in for the attack, the Gumshoos engulfed itself in some sort of strange energy.

{What's that!?}

"That's the Totem's aura! It boosts its Defense!"

{That's not good...}

Red landed his attack...but it did far less than I anticipated. The Gumshoos took the chance to use its own move, but rather than attacking outright, it gave Red a sudden, venomous glare. He was obviously startled by this, and he moved back with unnaturally slow footing.

{Speed it up out there! Don't give it the chance to strike!}

"Haw...Lucha."

{Try a Wing Attack! Maybe if we whittle it down enough with weaker moves we can deal a good finishing blow!}

Red fired up his scarlet wings and closed in for the attack. The Totem Gumshoos countered by opening its mouth full of sharp teeth at the last moment and clamping down on it. Red screeched in pain and panic-and so was I, really.

{Karate Chop to the face!} I demanded. This time, the attack did considerably more damage, and managed to get the Gumgshoos' white fangs loose from the Hawlucha's wing.

{Good! Now! Hone Claws! We need to up our game!}

Red nodded, then began brushing his claws against each other. But the Totem Pokémon wasn't going to let him increase his power so easily. Just when his claws were sharpened, it sprinted right towards Red relentlessly, slamming into him with its entire body, a move that sent the feathered fighter careening through the air. If I hadn't moved aside in time, he would have crashed right into me.

"R-rucha...Ruuu..."

He was badly battered, and I could see a few drops of blood running down his wing from where the Gumshoos had bitten him. I pulled out Red's Poké Ball, preparing to return him, but as soon as he saw it, he hopped right back onto his feet, sending several screeches of protest my way. He wasn't going to give up; he refused to give up. But I had no idea how much longer he could handle.

I guessed I was about to find out.

{Alright, Red! Send him a series of Wing Attacks!}

Red ruffled the feathers on his head, then bolted at the enemy Pokémon with every bit of strength he had in him, sending one...two...three Wing Attacks into it. At that point, the Totem Pokémon looked as though it had lost more than a good half of its strength...But Red had lost far more.

The Gumshoos increased the distance between them by jumping back against the dirt wall of the cave, then pushed itself off, slamming into Red with twice the force as its last Tackle.

Red was sent hurtling through the air again, and he landed mere feet in front of me. This time, however, he wasn't even trying to stand back up. He lay there, motionless.

He really had given it his all.

I returned him back to his Poké Ball, and there was no arguing this time. I tucked it away in the safety of my pack, then pulled out my second Pokémon.

{I hope you have enough in you to finish this thing off, Rowlet,} I said to him as I threw his ball into the air. {Give it all you got!}

Rowlet emerged, the same fire in his black eyes as Red had.

{Start with your Astonish!}

"Wait! That won't-"

Rotom's warning was a moment too late. Rowlet screamed, firing up the move he'd learned on the way to the cavern, then struck the enemy with full force...

And did absolutely no damage.

The Gumshoos flashed me a mocking smile.

{W-what? What happened? Why didn't that do anything!?}

"I tried to tell you! Ghost-Type Attackzzz don't work on Normal Types!"

The enemy Pokémon bore its teeth again, and readied to give Rowlet a strong Bite Attack.

{Fly, Rowlet! Get out of it's range!}

Rowlet obeyed, soaring to a great enough height to evade most, if not all of the Totem's attacks.

"Graaaack!" the Gumshoos called out.

And then, to my horror, it's cry was answered. A Yungoos appeared seemingly out of nowhere, striking a menacing pose next to the Totem.

It had come to its aid.

{Oh, no. No, no, no, no, I can't deal with two of them at once! What do I do!?}

"I have an idea!" Rotom buzzed. "Let's take out the Totem first, since it'zzz already been weakened, and then we try our luck with the Yungoos! It doezzzn't look too much stronger than the ones we fought on the way here!"

{That...might actually work!}

And even if it didn't, it wouldn't have hurt to try.

{Rowlet! Fire up a Leafage and take down the Totem!}

My starter stooped his port wing and spiraled down towards the stronger of the two opponents, then opened his wings and let out an array of leaves. They struck the Gumshoos in the stomach-it's pressure point.

As the Totem Pokémon struggled to stand to its feet, Rowlet bolted at it again, without my instructions.

{Rowlet, wait! You're going to burn yourself out!}

I wasn't sure if he even heard me. He continued trying to barrage the enemy with Peck attacks, some of which hit and some of which missed. They were too weak, and the now very angry Gumshoos sent its claws into Rowlet's face, swatting him away like a fly. Rowlet tumbled backwards, looking stunned.

{Come on, Rowlet!} I called to him. {We can't lose now! We're so close!}

"Koo...koo...roo..."

And that was when I saw something in his gaze. His eyes, fixed and furious, shone so brightly with an intense energy that they were practically glowing.

{Rowlet, are...Are you...okay?}

"Roo...Kroo...Krriiiill!"

It wasn't my mind playing tricks on me; what I was seeing was real, but at the same time, I couldn't believe what was happening.

Rowlet-not just his eyes, but his entire body-was actually glowing.

The white light was getting stronger, and brighter, and from underneath it, I could just barely see Rowlet...

...Or what was once Rowlet.

And that was when the glow dissipated to reveal something entirely different.

"Trriill!" it called out, and fired up a Leafage so powerful, it looked almost like an entirely different attack.

The leaves spread across the surrounding air, and fired at both the Totem Gumshoos and the ally Yungoos at a force I'd never seen before. The leaves struck their targets so hard, they sent a cloud of dust into the air, spreading across the battlefield.

And when the dust cleared, it revealed both enemy Pokémon, on the ground and completely unconscious; defeated.

And there was Rowlet.

But he wasn't a Rowlet anymore.

He had grown taller, and more slender, a far cry from the round ball of a bird I'd first seen him as. The brown feathers on his head and back had darkened, and his somewhat blunt beak had sharpened some. The two leaves just below his face had also grown, and now drooped somewhat, and there were two new leaves jutting out of the curves at the top of the facial disc; one was considerably longer than the other, and flowed gracefully down the length of the disc.

He turned around and flew toward me; he looked a lot calmer now, having lost the fiery glow in his eyes, the whites of which were now much more apparent.

{Rowlet...What happened?}

There was a moment of pondering silence between the two of us before Rotom shattered the silence, wearing the biggest smile across his screen.

"I'll tell you what happened!" he exclaimed. "Our buddy Rowlet evolved!"

I remembered Rotom mentioning that word as he described the Trial Gumshoos earlier. Was this what happened to a Pokémon when they reached a certain point in strength?

"Kroo?"

What used to be Rowlet cocked his head in confusion; was he afraid that I didn't like his new form?

{Rotom,} I ordered. {Give him a scan, please.}

"Zzrt! Will do!"

He hovered over the Pokémon for a few seconds before floating back to me.

"Scan complete!

Dartrix: the Blade Quill Pokémon; the evolved form of Rowlet! Although it can be somewhat image-conscious, it's very sensitive to the movement of otherzz. It can fire at its enemiezzz with great precision without even having to look in their direction!"

{'Dartrix,' huh?}

Rowle-"Dartrix" nodded before spreading his impressive wings and flying onto my head. He was only slightly heavier than he had been before.

"Krrrroo?" he inquired.

{What'd he say, Rotom?}

"He wants to know if you like it."

{...Dartrix...I think...I think you look great.}

He let out an ecstatic trill, spun a circle around me and my PokéDex, then landed before me.

{Did we...finish the trial?}

"I think so! It sure was a doozzy, wasn't it, Echo?"

{It sure was...Thanks for pulling through the way you did, Dartrix. Now go ahead and take a break.}

He flashed a pleased grin as I returned him to his spherical containment.

{I'll give Red my compliments when we get to the Pokémon Center.}

"They both did a pretty good job out there, didn't they?"

{You too, Rotom.}

"Wha-Y-you're thanking me? What'd I do?"

{Well, you know, if you weren't always giving me tips, I'd probably be lost on this whole Pokémon Trainer thing. I think now I see another reason why the Professor entrusted me with you.}

"R-really? What'zz that?"

{Well, he knew that I was gonna need a guide of some sort, since I come from a place so different from here. And who could teach me about Pokémon better than a Pokémon itself?}

"Huh...I guezzz you do have a bit of a point there."

{I thought you'd agree. I've probably said this before, but I'm going to say it again; I'm glad that the Professor let you tag along with me, and I'm glad to have you around, Beta.}

His screen turned as red as the rest of his plastic PokéDex body.

"Ah, shucks. I-I'm speechless."

{Come on. Let's go break the good news to Ilima.}

"Yeah! Soundzzz good!"

I turned tail and sprinted back out of the Totem's den...

...Only to be ambushed by two faces I hoped I would never see again.

"Gotcha!"

I jumped back in shock, which turned to realization, which in turn curdled into fear. The Team Skull grunts; they were back, and they were blocking the exit.

And they were angry.

"You weren't expectin' this, were ya?"

"We might be bad to the bone, but we know somethin', and that's that Team Skull knows how to make an entrance."

I began to back into the den. The last thing I wanted was another fight to break out between us, and as long as I kept my distance...

"Not so tough, now, are you?" one of them spat as the continued to approach. "Are you gonna comply, or are you gonna back all the way into the wall, like the scaredy-cat you are?"

"We ain't as stupid as you might think," the second one added. His tone was straight forward and cold. "There's a reason we waited until now to take you out. Once we caught wind of you comin' here for your trial, we sat and waited, and then when we heard you were gettin' ready to face the Totem, we made our move. Chased 'em off with everything we had, and it worked for now. The Totem Pokemon's a piece of work; we tried our hands at it back in our day, so we knew that when you finished, your Pokemon wouldn't be up to snuff. So we're gonna take our chance; we're gonna fight you, and you're gonna lose, and then..."

The grunt pulled a part of the black and white bandana away from the side of his face, revealing three deep, red lacerations running across it. My eyes widened in horror, and so did Rotom's.

"Then I'm gonna give you somethin' to remind you of this...Scarface."

"Oh, no. Come on, fellazzz, it ain't worth it. Can't we just-"

"Did I ask for your input, circuit-face? Step off, or I'll step on you."

The remark was enough to make Rotom go speechless.

{Slip into my bag, Rotom,} I ordered. {I'll keep you safe as best I can.}

The Electric-Type was swift to obey.

Now I'd back up so far that I was indeed up against the wall, and the two grunts had followed me right on over...

And away from the exit.

The exit wasn't blocked anymore!

I didn't waste any time. With one swift movement, I slid past them and bolted out of the den, then hopped over the ledges and ran back outside.

Unfortunately, the Team Skull grunts weren't going to give up quite so easily.

"There!"

"Let's get 'em!"

I continued out of the branch that lead back to Route 3, then turned south towards Hau'loi City. Maybe I could lose them somewhere among the buildings. But I could still hear them shouting from a ways behind; they weren't giving up chase yet.

I turned at another Pokémon Center, then ran past another, far larger building. As I continued by it, I slowed down, and began to look at it. It was...awfully big. And there were a lot of people inside, and a lot of what appeared to be large rooms, with a lot of different things inside of them. Maybe I could conceal myself among the crowd, and if not the crowd, the rooms.

I made up my mind; I went inside, desperately searching for an adequate place to hide. The humans were giving me odd looks, and I could hear their hushed remarks.

"What's that?"

"Never seen a Pokémon like that before, have you?"

"Is it wild!?"

"What's it doing here without a Trainer?"

"Should we do something? It looks upset, doesn't it?"

Hiding myself among the crowd was thrown out the window; I was the center of attention, so there was no doubt that at some point I'd be noticed by-

"You see which way she went?!"

"Naw, man. You head down that way. I'll check the mall."

"What you gonna do if she uses those dang steak knives or whatever on her hands again, man!?"

"I'll give her what for. She got claws, but I can tell she ain't got no guts."

Oh, no...

Panicked, I eyed the stairs leading to the second floor, cleared them in a single jump, then made my way into one of the larger rooms, scanning it for a way to make myself unseen.

The room was extremely large; larger than the interior of the Pokémon Centers. Almost like a building inside a building. And it was layered with rows and rows of the clothing that the humans wore. The first thing I tried was to fit behind one of the rows of flowered shirts, hoping it'd be enough to cover my scales. But the row was too short and too close up against the wall for me to fit inside without letting my tail stick out. And I'd made the stupid mistake of diving into the row too quickly; I ended up tangled in one of the flower-printed garments. I swiftly felt for a way out, then finally managed to push my arms through two holes in the shirt, which got me free and moving again. But I knew I was running out of time, so I dashed to another corner of the room; a bad decision. There were only shelves lined with hats, no place to hide myself.

"I know you're in here somewhere, punk!"

I instinctively grabbed one of the hats off the shelf and placed it over my mouth to muffle the terrified, high-pitched squeak that came out. He was close now.

As a last ditch effort, I squirmed my way into one of the shirt racks in the middle of the room; it was bigger than the one against the wall had been, and I managed to fit the length of my body inside. The only thing sticking out were my feet, and unless the grunt looked underneath everything, finding me should be difficult.

Just in time, too; I heard the sound of running footsteps drawing ever closer.

"Alright, peeps! I know y'all ain't blind so start answering! Who here's seen a brown scaly, scar-faced freak anywhere!?"

Of the few humans that were in the room, none of them gave a verbal answer. Perhaps they knew that he was up to no good.

"Well, if I don't get an answer, I'll find her myself. And if I find her in here, y'all are gettin' beat down!"

Through the small gaps in between the shirts, I could see him beginning to search the racks; he wasn't going to stop until he found me. And when he did, I'd have no choice but to defend myself with...

Wait...

That was when an idea struck me; maybe I didn't have to use my claws to defend myself. Maybe I could use something else I had going for me.

I was bigger than the grunt, and stronger, but the catch was that he thought I was a coward. Maybe I could stand up for myself...without having to actually use my claws or teeth? The sight of them was scary enough, wasn't it?

Again, the little voice inside my head began to whisper to me.

Lie in wait. When he comes close enough, make your move.

I decided to listen to it. I was developing a plan; one that didn't involve any violence.

I saw him walking over to the rack I was in, following along the line, passing my tail, then my torso, and then, he was right next to my head, looking in every direction but directly at me. I could see him.

But he couldn't see me.

And that was when I took action.

I stuck my head through the garments...

And screamed.

And it worked.

The grunt was scared clean out of his skin, so much that he ended up losing his footing and falling onto the floor.

I took the opportunity to fully emerge for my hiding, emitting as many threatening snarls, growls, and screams as I could, and making sure to bare my rows of pointed teeth.

"No, no, no. Get back!" he plead.

{Don't you remember what happened last time you and I met?} I snarled; I knew he wouldn't understand it directly, but the sound it came out as was enough to scare anybody.

"I'll mess you up bad! I'll tell all my homies about you and we'll-"

{Not if I stop you.}

I was practically on top of his now, and I pushed his head down by stepping on it, the large, curved claw positioned as far away from his neck as I could manage; I didn't want any accidents to happen with it.

But he didn't know that I had no plans to actually use it.

"Lemme go! Come on, you're better than this! If the Kahuna's kid likes you that much, you don't wanna disappoint him, do ya!? Mercy! Mercy!"

The voice inside my head spoke to me again.

And what it said was hauntingly familiar.

Kill him.

But I didn't want to. It was the same voice that had told me to attack him the other day. I didn't want that to happen again.

And that was when another, different voice said something else. I wasn't sure it was coming from my head, though; it sounded more like it was coming from...

...somewhere else. Deep inside.

Let him go now. You've done well enough.

And that was the voice I listened to.

I took my foot off of his head and stepped away giving the grunt space. His immediate reaction was to scramble back onto his feet and flee, and he didn't even so much as look back at what he was running from.

The people in the building(there were five; two at the front desk and three bystanders) all turned their attention to me.

"Wow," one of them remarked. "She just scared the pants off that guy."

"I hate those Team Skull thugs! She's alright in my book!"

"As long as she doesn't do the same thing to us," the final bystander added.

I swiftly responded by shaking "no;" a gesture I knew they would understand.

"She understands us?"

"That's one cool Pokémon."

"Yeah! Nice work!"

I couldn't believe it. The humans were...

Applauding me.

I never thought I would receive so much praise from something so petty; all I was doing was acting in self-defense. But here I was, being cheered on by the small group of humans that had witnessed what I did.

"Ah...So you got him to leave you be, did you?"

The familiar voice came from just outside the clothing area; it was Captain Ilima, and he looked somewhat out of breath.

"I...followed you here. Those two numbskulls threw so many threats my way once you'd entered the Totem's den, I knew it wouldn't be...all that safe to stay. You, though...you not only defeated the Totem Pokémon with flying colors, but I see that you've also managed to get those Team Skull grunts off your tail quite efficiently."

{But there were two of them. What about the other one that went down the road? Won't they be coming back this way if the other grunt tells him where I'm at?}

"Ah...I'm sorry...Where is your PokéDex at?"

"Mmph! I'm in here!"

His muffled voice came from inside my bag, and I felt him wriggle his way out of it and come back out into the open.

"What she's trying to say is that she'zz worried of what might happen if the grunts come back! The one knowzzz where she's at now, and he'll probably bring some back up!"

"Oh. I see; that is a problem. We best relocate. How does the Pokémon Center next door sound? That way, we could throw them off for a bit, and if they do find us, both of our Pokémon will be fighting fit by that time, and we can give them a bit of comeuppance."

I nodded; it sounded like a good idea.

"Now that I understand."

"I heard a lot of screaming out there, Echo. What'd you do to that guy; just scare him? It sounded like he got away alright."

{That wall all I did; I thought that if I acted the part, I might be able to chase him away}

"Ooh, that'zzz smart! You really are a clever girl! And you're...uh...wearing a shirt?"

{What?}

I looked down at myself; the pink, flower-print shirt I'd gotten stuck in was in fact on me.

"And a hat as well, might I add."

He was right; upon feeling around the top of my head, I did find the hat I'd used to muffle my screams there, and I pulled it off to examine it. The rim was bowled, and there was a synthetic reddish-pink flower attached to the green ribbon going around it, complete with leaves.

"You know something, Echo, you don't look half bad."

{I don't?}

"Zzt! Yeah! Why don'tcha take a look at yourself in the mirror over there, partner?"

All I had to do was turn my head, and there was my reflection on the opposite wall. I scanned everything from the top of my head down to the claws on my feet, turning this way and that, noting everything from the garments I was wearing to the soft indigo stripes running down to the tip of my tail, and to my large, cunning yellow eyes, then all the way up to...

The jagged, white line running down the side of my face, starting from the slope of the snout and running down to just below the lip of the lower jaw; the exact same place that Blue had ran her sickle claw along in our fight for dominance all those years ago.

The scar.

I ran one of my claws along the line, and a deep feeling of regret washed over me. If only I had thought twice...but I did have seconds thoughts, during the fight itself. I had only made the stupid mistake of not listening to them, and now I'd been cursed with...

"Y-you okay, bud?"

{This is what you were talking about last night, isn't it?}

"...Yeah. B-but it's not that bad, you know? I mean, like I said; it's only really noticeable if you're staring right at it for long periodzzz of time!"

{I...guess you're right, but, still. Everytime I see it, I'll end up thinking of...}

"Hey. Cheer up, bucko. The past is in the past; you're hangin' with us now, remember?"

I shook my head as though to expel the less-than-pleasant thoughts running through it. Rotom was right; the past was in the past.

"I got a few bucks on me," the trial captain continued. "What's say I get you those? I bet the Professor and his assistant would find them appealing."

I nodded eagerly, and he did just that.

As we headed out of the Hau'loi City Mall for the Pokémon Center, I reflected back on everything I'd accomplished so far, feeling like I'd gone from the bottom all the way to the top. I had three reliable Pokémon, human friends that had my back, and me and my team were getting stronger every minute. I felt like I could accomplish nearly anything...

But then I remembered...

I could almost feel the scar twinge in pain; what if I got so hungry for power that I...turned on everybody? I'd done it to Blue, so what was stopping me from...

No. No, no, no, I wouldn't do such a thing. That was a long time ago. I'd learned my lesson; besides, we were so young back when that happened. I'd wizened up since then. What made me think that I was capable of doing anything like that?

But then I remembered the grunt that had chased me into the mall, and the reason behind it.

I looked down the side of my face at the white line; perhaps what I'd done all those years ago would actually do me good, serving as a reminder of what had happened when I tried to climb the ranks the way I had, and guiding me away from the wrong path. Hopefully, it would serve that good purpose.

And, hopefully, the scars I'd given the hooligan human would do the same for him.