I was so exhausted upon entering the Pokeball that I slipped almost immediately into the dormant state that most refer to as "sleep" for lack of a more convenient term. While in this state, dreams or dreamlike experiences are not uncommon, but my sleep was so deep that none came to me. When I regained consciousness, I was still inside my Pokeball and had no idea how much time had passed. My mental fatigue had lessened, but I didn't feel much better. At least the ball's effect mitigated the effect of my physical trauma somewhat.

I thought over the events that had led to this point. They did not make for pleasant thoughts. I would have given a great deal for any sort of distraction from those thoughts, but the bland interior of the Pokeball offered little in the way of amusements. A healthy, strong Pokemon could free itself from most balls without outside assistance, but I was anything but. Like it or not, I was trapped for an indeterminate amount of time with only my thoughts as company.

The worst part was the uncertainty. Confined as I was, I had no idea of what was going on outside my ball. Courtney had said she would try to get me to help, and I had no doubt of her dedication, but what if she had suffered some accident? The police were looking for me, she had said. What if they had found her? What if I was in custody right now?

All avenues of thought seemed equally depressing.

My mind started to wander for a moment and drifted to what had happened in the woods only a short time ago. I jerked my thoughts off that subject. If there was one thing I did not want to think of, it was that.

For a few minutes, I managed to achieve my goal of thinking of nothing at all. Then my thoughts drifted again. At first it drifted to memories of Ashley and her trainer. Those were pleasant thoughts, and I let them fill my head. I had only been with Ashley for less than a day, but I liked her more than any Pokemon I had ever met. Ashley had been different from the others. She hadn't taunted me, she and her trainer had tried to help me, and she even knew the truth about me.

Or did she? Did anybody know the truth about me?

The truth was somewhere inside me. I had only to reach out for it. I started to do so, but hesitated and drew back at the last moment. It was what I had done in the forest. My memory of that event was unclear, but what I could remember weighed heavily on my shoulders. That thing I had done--that attack--confused and frightened me. I wished I could forget about it, but I couldn't. It burned inside of me, and to make matters worse, there was some part of my mind that wanted to reach out to it, to learn more about it.

I was losing the battle with myself. My curiosity gradually overcame my revulsion. Slowly, resisting every inch of the way, I reached out to touch the dim spark that smoldered inside my mind, the attack that had not been there yesterday. I brushed against it ever so slightly--

Thundershock.

I recoiled as if burned, horror flashing through my mind. Thundershock? That was an Electric-type attack. I should not have been able to learn it. It was wrong. It was something that should not be. But it was there inside of me, and that knowledge made it worse.

I started to cry. Inside the Pokeball, I had no physical form and no cheeks for tears to roll down, but I cried all the same, in a way that is impossible to explain. I lay there and cried for a long time. Eventually, I cried myself back to sleep.

***

When I awoke once more, it was not to the nebulous interior of the Pokeball, but rather to the waiting room of a Pokemon Center. My physical injuries seemed to have been healed, and I realized my ball must have been processed while I was asleep. I felt a slight sense of regret at having missed it-- the sensation that accompanied the healing always left me feeling slightly euphoric and would have been welcome in my current state-- but I was feeling better, and I supposed I should be thankful for that, if nothing else.

"Ponyta! Are you all right?"

I looked towards the source of the voice. Courtney was sitting on one of the couches in the waiting room, holding out her arms towards me. She looked dirty and tired, and what I could see of her skin was covered with scrapes and an occasional bruise, but she was smiling as broadly as anything. I started gingerly walking over to her, still not sure of my legs, and before I was halfway there she leapt up and threw her arms around my neck. "Ponyta. Oh, Ponyta. I'm so glad to see you again. I worried so much." She pulled back a little bit, still holding my head in her hands, and looked into my eyes. "Are you okay?"

((I feel better,)) I told her. Which wasn't the entire truth, but since she had probably been referring only to my physical condition, I wasn't really lying. At least, that was what I told myself. ((How about you? You don't look so good.))

"I'm all right." She moved her mouth close to my ear and whispered. "I couldn't afford to use the road. I thought the police might be searching along it. This town is far enough away from Tentacruel that they shouldn't have expanded their search here yet, but we can't stay too long."

I nodded my head to show that I understood. I had forgotten about the police search for me, but at the moment it seemed among the least of my worries. We would have to get going again soon enough.

Courtney raised her head, looking over me to someone standing behind me. I shifted slightly and turned my head to see a nurse standing there, holding my Pokeball. "Thank you so much, Nurse. I can't find the words to express how grateful I am."

"It's nothing at all," answered the nurse with a smile. "That's what we're here for, after all."

"I was so worried for a while," Courney said, hugging me again and burying her face in my mane. "They told me that your chances weren't very good, that they would work as hard as they could but that I shouldn't expect any miracles. You beat the odds. I'm so happy."

"We were worried," the nurse admitted. "The survival rate for Fire Pokemon who've suffered full-body immersion in water for more than a few seconds is not encouraging. There are some who are more resistant than others, some even to the point where they can swim without severe injury, but those are few and far between. All I can say is that our friend here must be pretty tough."

My brain didn't register the compliment. Alone of the people in the room, I was beginning to suspect the true reason why the water had not affected me, and it was not something I wished to contemplate. My eyes flicked back to Courtney. ((How long can we stay here?)) I asked.

She looked to the nurse. "Nurse, would you mind letting me and Ponyta talk in private for a few moments? It's nothing personal, but I'd appreciate it."

"Of course. If you need anything, just call." The nurse smiled again, gave a small bow, then turned and vanished into the back hallways of the Center.

Courtney waited until the nurse was gone, then she looked at me and her face fell. "Ponyta, I'm really not sure what we're going to do now. I'm all out of food, and I don't have very much money. I only brought what I was able to scrape together in a few minutes without attracting notice, and there's no way we can go back home now. We have no choice but to keep going further away from Tentacruel Bay, but I have no idea how we're going to get food or where we're going to stay."

I thought about it. I had no idea what to do, unfortunately, but I reminded her that she didn't need to worry about my food, since I could find grass to eat just about anyplace.

She smiled. "I'll figure something out, Ponyta. Don't worry." Something occurred to her. "Oh, while I was hiking through the forest, someone called me on my cell phone. It was Ashley's trainer. He said he was sorry he hadn't called back sooner, but they had run into some trouble and hadn't made it to the hotel. I gathered they were okay, though. They wanted to know how you were doing."

((What did you tell them?))

"I didn't know how much you'd want them to know, so I just told them you were resting in your Pokeball and I didn't want to disturb you. He said that was fine, and that they were going to be out of touch for a little while but that he'd call back within the next few days."

((I see.)) I wasn't sure whether I wanted to talk to Ashley right then or not. On the one hand, talking to her would have been nice and would have made me feel better, but on the other, I wasn't sure I wanted to talk to anyone who knew me as well as she did. I didn't want to be reminded of certain things, any more than I had to. ((Thanks for telling me.))

"No problem." Courtney smiled at me and ran her fingers through my mane. We stood there like that for a few minutes, saying nothing, and then her face fell slightly. "Ponyta, if you don't mind my asking... what were you doing in the water back at the beach?"

((I don't know,)) I told her.

She studied my face. "You don't know... or you don't want to tell me?"

((I don't know,)) I told her again. I was telling the truth. My memory of those horrible few minutes was blurry at best. I honestly did not remember how I had ended up in the water. I had vague impressions of what might have happened, but I could not bring myself to think about it long enough to remember more.

She seemed to accept it, at least. "Very well. I'll see if the nurse needs to keep you here any longer, and then we'll look around the town and try to figure out where to go from here."

***

The town, which I learned was named Nolvaring, was located further inland than either Silverspring or Tentacruel Bay had been. It also seemed to be at a significantly higher altitude. A chill permeated the air as I and Courtney navigated our way though the dirt streets towards the Pokemon Mart, and I could see the tips of tall evergreen trees over the tops of buildings. The sky was dark and overcast, promising inclement weather. Courtney shivered slightly and pulled her thin jacket more tightly around her.

((How far are we from home?)) I asked. It occurred to me upon voicing the question that I had never thought of anyplace as home so strongly as the home of Courtney's parents. Josh's home was the place I had spent most of my life, but my feelings toward it were ambivalent at best.

Courtney seemed to have been thinking about something else. At my question, she jumped a little and shook her head, as if trying to clear a haze from it. "Huh? Oh. I'm not sure, exactly. It took me about five days to hike here. I was moving pretty fast."

I blinked. ((I was out... for five days?))

She nodded. "Sorry. This is the closest village in this direction, believe it or not. I would have stopped sooner if there had been a Pokemon Center closer."

((Of course. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.))

Courtney patted my neck. "Of course you didn't, Ponyta. I just wanted to make sure you didn't get the wrong impression."

The Pokemon Mart was located inside a small, short building. The few pictures I'd seen of Centers and Marts in books were always taken in major trainer areas like Johto, and always seemed to show a standardized, modular design. Out here, the buildings were generally older and usually had not originally been built for the purpose of providing Pokemon services. I couldn't tell whether I liked it or not. It was the only way of existence I had ever known.

"Hello there," said the clerk who stood behind the counter as we entered the store. She was a heavyset woman, perhaps fifty years old, with graying hair. The gaze of her blue eyes was intense and fixed on each of us in turn as we walked through the door, but there was no malice in the stare. "You and your Pokemon are looking fine today. What can I do for you?"

"I-- I was wondering what sort of items you might recommend for someone going on a long journey. I've got equipment for myself, but I'm not sure what I should take for Ponyta."

"I see." The woman looked off to one side, considering. "Well, does she need special food, or can she eat grass along the way?"

"Grass is fine."

"That's good. Tell me, are you a trainer? Or are you just traveling with your Pokemon for some other reason?"

Courtney hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I'm a trainer. We just started a few days ago. This is as far as we've gotten."

I barely managed to keep from showing outright surprise, confining my reaction to a semi-confused glance in Courtney's direction. I fervently hoped that this was just a ruse to avoid suspicion, and that she hadn't really gotten some idea into her head about taking me on the Trainer circuit. The last thing I needed to worry about right now was being asked to perform in battle. Fortunately, the shopkeeper didn't seem to notice my dismay.

"Do you have potions?"

Courtney shook her head.

"You'll want those, if nothing else. They're practically a staple, and you won't get very far without them. We're selling them at below the going rate-- 150 each."

"Well, you see... um..." Courtney's face fell. "I don't really have that much money. I wasn't able to pack very much before I left home. We sort of left in a hurry." Her cheeks burned, and I could understand the shame she must be feeling. I felt sorry for her. It wasn't her fault she was in this situation. It was mine.

The look the woman gave Courtney suggested that she felt sorry for her, but wished young people would have the sense to avoid these sorts of predicaments in the first place. "It would also be a good idea to buy some cures of various kinds. Full Heal is the best, but it's expensive, so I'd recommend sticking to poison antidote and perhaps paralyze heal. Again, I can give those to you for around 200."

"No... no thanks. I can't afford that." Courtney dug into her pockets for her meager savings and pushed them across the counter. "Just give me as many Potions as this will buy, please. That will be all."

When we left the Mart a few minutes later, Courtney seemed almost on the verge of tears. I tried to console her, but it didn't seem to work very well at first. I felt bad, because it seemed like my problems always ended up making trouble for other people. Maybe I should just go away and live by myself, I thought. The trouble was, I had tried that, and it hadn't worked out too well. On top of that, I had become used to friendship with others and was reluctant to let go of that. Perhaps it was selfish of me, but I honestly didn't know what I would do if I had only myself for company. It was probably a good thing I didn't have to find out just yet.

Eventually, she calmed down enough that I was able to ask the question that had been going through my mind. ((Why did you tell that woman you were a Pokemon Trainer?))

She sighed. "I thought it was the best thing to do under the circumstances. Eventually, word of us will reach this town-- if it hasn't already-- and I thought it would be best to avoid notice as much as possible. They must get a lot of trainers through here. Not that a girl traveling with a Ponyta won't stick out, trainer or no, but I figure we should do whatever we can."

I sensed that she wasn't telling the whole truth. I said as much, in a roundabout way.

"And... and I was also thinking that maybe I might want to become a trainer. Or at least pose as one. I understand Trainers make money just from winning duels. I've never wanted to be a trainer before, but if we need money badly enough, that would be one way to get it. What do you think?"

((I don't like that idea.))

"Why not? I'm not trying to pressure you, I'm just curious."

What was I supposed to say? I don't want you to become a Pokemon Trainer because then you'll expect me to be able to use the attacks of my type, and then you'll find out something I don't want you to know? ((I just don't like it. I'm sorry.))

"Don't be. It's perfectly all right. Like I said, I'll figure something out. Mom always said I could wrangle my way out of any situation." She smiled and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Now, we better get moving. The nurse at the Pokemon center said that it wasn't nearly as far to the next town, but we might not have too long before bad weather moves in. We could try and stay here-- the Pokemon Center has free beds-- but I honestly don't think we have that long. Do you?"

I shook my head.

"Then let's go."

With a destination and a newfound sense of urgency in mind, we made our way through the streets of the town and towards the road that led north. As we passed the last row of buildings, I felt the tingling sensation come over me again, but I suppressed it almost unconsciously, not wanting to think about what it meant. I did not want to deal with some things at all.