Osteogenesis Imperfecta

by Joshua Falken

Thanks to BenRG for beta-read and edit this chapter :-)

Author's note: Osteogenesis Imperfecta is an Alternate Universe fic, where Ash has the disease of the title. Also, this genetic disorder is real, it really exists. For more info, access http://www.oif.org

Now, the long-waited chapter 11! :-)

Chapter 11 - Advanced Trauma Life Support

Earth Gym
Viridian City
July 1, 2063

The battle had reached to its end. "Oh no!" The boy from Celadon City exclaimed. "Wartortle, return." he ordered in a resigned tone of voice, recalling his defeated friend to its' Pokéball.

"I'm sorry that your friend was hurt," Gym Leader Deputy Amanda Blackstone commented automatically and with little sincerity. She managed to offer her opponent a smile. "Well, better luck next time!" She watched the boy leave, shaking her head in disbelief. "Why do they still try to win the Earth Badge when they are barely out of diapers?" she thought arrogantly. Of all the badges of the Pokémon League, the Earth badge is the rarest, just below the Solar Eclipse Badge, exclusive for Great Masters and defended by Kimberly Steeleyon herself.

Still dressed with her black leather "armour", Amanda Blackstone walked out into the pleasant noon sun of Victory Plaza, outside the Gym. She lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall of the gym. She appreciated her status as Supreme Champion of the Global Pokémon League, just as much as she appreciated her position of Gym Leader's Deputy in the Earth Gym. And, of course, she appreciated the fear that she caused in her 'other' life as Agent Lilith of Team Rocket...

Her ice blue eyes turned in the direction of the General Hospital. She knew, just like everybody else, that the boy from Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum, was interned there. The Boss had ordered that she investigated whether someone from Team Rocket was involved in the repeated attacks on the boy, and found nothing. If anyone had dared to ask (and who would?), she would have admitted that she hadn't given as much effort to the investigation as it probably warranted. Why should she? It wasn't as if it was her problem. She would soon change her mind.

"Miss Blackstone?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned and she saw a police officer before her eyes.

"Yes?"

Without a word, Officer Jenny Sterling gave an envelope to her. "Have a good morning, Miss Blackstone." she said as a farewell and walked away.

Amanda opened the envelope and was stunned at what she saw written there. It was an invitation (actually a poorly disguised order) to the Viridian City Central Police Station. She was to offer a disposition, under oath regarding what had happened to Ash Ketchum. The few people walking about in the plaza at this early hour would have been surprised at seeing the black-haired young woman in leather clothes shouting and kicking the two stone Nidokings guarding the entrance to the Earth Gym.

Viridian City General Hospital
Nanorobotic Therapy Department, OR #02
July 2, 2063

One week after waking up from his time in the Suspended Animation Chamber, Ash began the therapy to reconstruct his broken bones. From the elevated observation room reserved for the family of the patient, Mrs. Ketchum and Misty observed while the male nurses carefully connected Ash's "exoskeleton", made of orthopaedic prostheses, to the special supports of the magnetic levitation table. Misty noticed that her friend's hypnotic eyes were looking right at her. She smiled the as best as she could in an attempt to encourage him.

Due to way as the bones of his face were being held together by external braces, Ash's answering smile was quite distorted. Misty remembered a documentary on a brilliant cosmologist of the last century - his name was Stephen Hawking if she recalled correctly – who suffered from a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. The smiles of the both the young Pokémon Trainer and of the Nobel Laureate scientist seemed surprisingly similar.

"My God, look at his scars!" they heard one of the doctors whisper to his colleague, before the other reminded him that the patient's family was there. Both shrank before Delilah's feline glare, before virtually running from the room. Delilah sighed; the reaction from the two young doctors had not surprised her. During his thirteen years of life, Ash had undergone more reparative surgery than anyone of his age ought.

At that moment, a voice sounded through the room's intercom. "Mr. Ketchum. This is Dr. Faraday. Are you ready for us to begin?"

In the silence of the room, Ash's whisper was perfectly audible. "Yes."

"Began." Dr. Rupertson ordered the nanotech therapy specialist, Dr. Thomas Faraday. In the control room, Dr. Brenda Wiggins, Dr. Ben Gough, Dr. Michael Cook, and Dr. Livia Valle, the children's physiotherapist of the hospital also watched the operation. The technology being used was so precise that no direct action from any of the doctors was required. As soon as Dr. Faraday activated the computerised auto-sequencer, the machines took over the entire operation.

There was a distinct whirr of power and a powerful electromagnetic field lifted Ash off the examination table and into the air in the center of the huge steel ring. The ring now rotated until it was standing vertically, Ash still hovering in its' middle. The field now began to modulate, pulling on the steel of Ash's prosthetics, pulling his arms out until they were held out straight to either side at shoulder level. The computers also instructed the mechanism to open his legs slightly. As she watched the scene, Delilah remembered the classic sketch by Leonardo Di Vinci about Human Proportions. There was a whirr and a two huge armatures like a huge clamp rotated into position over Ash's head, the two massive 'fingers' closing to cover Ash's face and the back of his head.

"What is that doing?" Dr. Ben Gough asked. In spite of his great experience in the psychiatric area, the still-young art of nanorobotic medicine was still a mystery for him (and probably for the great majority of the doctors, to be honest).

"It is a magnetic resonance imager." Dr. Faraday explained. "It is scanning the patient's head for any fragments of bones. It will do the same for the entire body and transmit the data to the main therapeutic computers." Faraday pointed to the ten tall towers of parallel processors behind them. "The computer will make the necessary calculations and then program the nanorobots to restore the bones in question."

"I thought that you could just inject nanorobots 'raw' and let them repair the body blind," Dr. Wiggins said thoughtfully.

Faraday managed to keep a superior smirk from appearing on his face. This was not the geneticist's field, after all. "That was the original theory, doctor. However, if you were simply to let nanorobots operate blindly, there is the risk that they would go out of control. I heard of a case where an engineering corporation tried to use nanorobots to build a road through a desert. It worked, but they wouldn't stop. When they finally eradicated the little menaces, they had built a twelve-lane superhighway straight across five countries and through the middle of several major cities. By programming limits into the nanos' molecular memory at the outset, you prevent such errors from taking place."

Wiggins swallowed, imagining what such an 'error' could do to Ash. "I understand," she said.

Ten minutes later, the Scanner retracted and another robotic arm, this time similar to a vaccination pistol, touched Ash's neck, injecting a silver fluid. The nanomachines.

Finally, the main therapeutic system asked Dr. Faraday's permission. When he keyed in the activation code, the computer modulated the frequency of the electromagnetic field holding Ash. In response to that change, tens of billions of robots, each only the size of a common bacterium, began their work. Within seconds, they were disassembling Ash's ruined skeleton (and the platinum braces that had held them together for so long) at the molecular level and then reassembling them into the form that their programming dictated.

Intrilligator Family's Home
Shamuti Island
Orange Archipelago
July 2, 2063

At the same moment that the nanorobots began their work, Carol Mizuno Intrilligator was talking to her younger sister. "So, you have decided then?"

"Yes!" Melody Regina Intrilligator, the young woman that represented the virgin in the Annual Festival of the Island, exclaimed.

"In that case, let me help you with the suitcase."

After they arranged the suitcase, Carol turned to her sister. "Why are you so resolved to see Ash Ketchum?" she asked.

"Because, liking or not, he is the Chosen One that we are always talking about in the festival. I think after he fulfilled The Prophecy and saved the world, we owe him at least the consideration of a personally visit to find how he is after those attacks." Melody answered emphatically.

Carol was silent. Of course, she agreed that Melody's argument was reasonable. The whole population of Shamuti Island was horrified at the knowledge of what happened with the young Pokémon Trainer. After all, he was the custodian of the original written copy of the Prophecy of the Chosen One. However, she didn't believe that this was Melody's only reason for a moment. The Council of the Island itself had discussed if they should send a delegation or just to transmit their well wishes to Ash. Melody had argued passionately that they should send a single ambassador to the Chosen One, so that they would not disturb his medical treatments. When they asked who she thought was the ideal person for this task, the answer was most unexpected (for the Council, but nor so much for her sister). Melody offered to go herself; after all, she had been beside Ash in the incredible events of October 21, 2061.

Carol had her own opinion about her sister's determination in that subject, but she preferred to keep that opinion to herself. Like her long-time pen friend Misty Williams, Melody had a terrible temper when it was aroused.

The two sisters had arrived at the seaport of the island. Mary McQuay, the captain of the motor boat 'Goldeen' and the other witness of the fulfilment of the Prophecy, awaited them. Mary would take Melody to Olivine City, from where the girl would go north to Goldenrod City, there to catch the Indigo-Johto Express, across the gigantic Lugia Bridge, which joined the two continents.

"Take care of my sister, Mary."

"Don't doubt it, Carol." The green-haired sailor replied with a warm smile. Melody just rolled her eyes.

After saying good-bye to her sister, Melody walked to the aft of the boat and sat on the bench seat on the aft bulkhead. Mary noticed the gentle light in the usually ironic eyes of the young woman. "Melody, are you all right?"

"Sure." If the captain distrusted her answer, she didn't bother to press any further.

What Mary could not imagine was that Melody was thinking of a pair of brown eyes, on a pale blue background.

As the 'Goldeen' left the port, no one saw the eyes watching it head out to see. On Lugia Island, Slowking watched the young ambassador depart and wished her well on her quest. Then he looked up into a pair of bright silver-grey eyes of his oldest friend. Lugia nodded once to the guardian of the island and launched himself into the air, quickly fading into a flash of white against the sky. As Slowking watched, a fiery dart shot across the sky, followed quickly by a second, an ice-blue star and an electric yellow light.

The Legendary Birds were gathering

Viridian City General Hospital
Room 745
July 2, 2063

Ash had finished his first session of nanorobotic therapy and the nurses had returned him to his room. Misty was at his side, while Delilah talked to someone on her cell-phone, just outside of the room. It was clear that the engineer didn't like what she was hearing.

"But, Cindy, I can't go there now!" They heard.

"Who is Cindy?" Misty asked.

"She is my mother's secretary at her office. It must be some problem at work." Ash murmured. One of the things that you are resigned to enduring when your mother was one of the world's best structural engineers is that she that the United Nations Governing Council will call her away without much warning.

They saw Mrs. Ketchum sigh when she turned off her 'phone. When she entered the room, they noticed immediately that she had not liked the news she had just received.

"Misty, I could speak to you for an instant?"

"Sure." The Cerulean City Gym Leader didn't hide her surprise. She and Ash exchanged glances.

When they were out of the room, Delilah sighed. "Misty, could you take care of Ash for me for two days?" she asked.

"Huh? Why?"

The engineer felt shame deeper than the ginger-haired girl could imagine. "The Ministry for Infrastructure and Transport has summoned me to a meeting in Goldenrod City tomorrow," Delilah explained. "I can't miss it."

"Sure, I understand. I will take care of Ash, don't worry." Misty knew the woman well enough to know that she would not normally leave Ash's side unless he could leave the hospital on his own two feet.

"Thank you, Misty."

Delilah told Ash about her meeting (although he had already guessed what the problem was). As she was getting ready to leave, her cell-phone rang again. "What is it Cindy?" she asked. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Why should? But A train?"

Viridian City Central Police Station
Interview Room A034
June 2, 2063

"Wigand, I hope you are right about this!" Commissioner Morrison hissed at the detective.

"Commissioner, you should understand that very important members of the Pokémon League have named Ms. Blackstone as someone with a significant motive to want Mr. Ketchum dead. We cannot simply ignore that because it is politically inconvenient."

"Very well."

Jenny Wigand sighed in relief when the man left the room. Then, the person that she had summoned entered. She had heard of the current Champion of the Global Pokémon League. She had seen the woman in battle and she knew something of her reputation, but she had never met her. In person, Amanda looked like one of the girls that worked the seedier parts of the city. She was wearing scandalously tight leather clothes that resembled body armour. The neckline of the black leather tank top, underneath her leather jacket, plunged down, giving all a generous view of her cleavage. It reminded Jenny of how her young teenage cousin, Jenny Soryu, dressed when she wanted to shock her conservative family. For all her supposed power, Amanda Blackstone was clearly emotionally only a child. "Thank you very much for coming, Miss Blackstone." The detective said quietly.

"No problem." Amanda Blackstone said neutrally. Team Rocket prepared their agents for this sort of thing. They told them to admit nothing and volunteer nothing. Make the interrogator do all the work and don't ever reveal anything, no matter how irrelevant it seemed. Knowing that the chair that she sat in included a sophisticated polygraph lie detector, she also began to use the mental disciplines that would confuse its' readings.

After asking some simple questions to confirm the woman's identity (and calibrate the polygraph), Jenny began her interrogation. "Miss Blackstone, what is your relationship with Pokémon Trainer Ash Ethan Ketchum?"

Amanda stiffened. She didn't like the sound of that oh-so-neutral-sounding word. "Excuse me. I don't understand what you mean by "relationship"."

"You do know Trainer Ash Ketchum, don't you?"

"By name and reputation only."

"I understand. And what have you heard about him?"

"I heard that he was very good. Just that."

"Just good?" Jenny asked.

Amanda smirked self-confidently. "I hear it a lot, but I've never been impressed by the person so described before."

"So you do not regard Ash Ketchum as out-of-the-ordinary?"

"He's a cripple who has got to the Champions' League," she remarked easily, looking at her fingernails and deciding to have a manicure soon. "I suppose that makes him 'special', but I don't let that affect me."

Jenny tried another tactic. "I get the impression that you are quite sure of your abilities as a trainer," she said. "Would you consider yourself good?"

Amanda smiled ironically. "You could say that."

"Could I?" Jenny replied flatly. "And tell me, young lady, how would you describe yourself?"

Amanda winced internally and answered reflexively. "I would call myself the very best Pokémon Trainer ever to walk the earth," she snapped, and then kicked herself mentally. She had allowed the detective to needle her, and she had responded defensively the way that the always had responded to her asshole father.

Jenny didn't show her pleasure at having made the insufferably self-confident Blackstone react angrily. "What do you think of the attack against Ash Ketchum?"

Amanda suddenly realised the direction that this interview was taking. She changed her body posture and tone of voice to reflect outrage. "It was a horrible thing." She said earnestly. "Only a coward would attack a Pokémon Trainer rather than face him in open battle."

Jenny didn't get to be a Top-Level Detective by not being able to see through bullshit without effort. "But there are some evils that are for the best, aren't there?"

Amanda's expression became very closed. "What do you mean?" the pale-skinned woman asked.

"Don't play the confused innocent with me, Ms. Blackstone." Amanda didn't reply. Instead of getting angry, Jenny sighed as if she were dealing with a particularly stubborn and stupid child. "Very well, I will spell it out for you. The fact that Mr. Ketchum was incapacitated made it much easier for you to claim the Supreme Championship this year. If he were able to compete, your victory would not have been easy or even certain."

Amanda hissed angrily. "I didn't win my title because Ketchum didn't participate in the finals, Detective," she hissed. "I am Supreme Champion because I defeated Lance Silver in an honest, fair battle." Amanda pulled a cigarette out of her jacket and began to play with it nervously rather than light it. Jenny seemed to be looking through her eyes into her soul and she suddenly wanted to be out of this room and away from those oh-so-knowing violet eyes. "I would have beaten the little freak without much trouble, anyway."

Jenny wasn't surprised by such a comment, but she made herself look surprised as it suited her purposes. "Really? Some Gym Leaders feel that he is capable of defeating you."

The Champion laughed. "Please, a trainer that only started four years ago? Defeat me? Give me a break!"

"So, you don't think much of their opinion?" Jenny asked neutrally.

Amanda sucked in a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "Well, the truth is that some Gym Leaders like to cheer on the trainers with little chance. You know, best of luck to the 'underdog'? There is also a certain rivalry some of them have with the Earth Gym."

Jenny hummed and made a few notes (actually completing a crossword puzzle - there was no need to take notes, as the interview was being recorded). "I imagine that the lawsuit didn't help the relationships between the gyms very much."

This was news to Amanda. "What lawsuit?" What was she talking about?

"The lawsuit from WIPTA that prevented the League from cancelling of this year's Global Games." Jenny looked at Amanda inscrutably. "Surely, you know about that?"

"Yes, I know." Why in the hell would Giovanni want a lawsuit to keep the games open?

Jenny didn't buy that for a second. She looked at Amanda for a moment, noting how amazingly young she looked. She was only 22, after all. "So, in summary, you know nothing whatsoever about the attempted assassination of Ash Ketchum." Amanda shook her head decisively. "You don't seem to know very much about anything, do you Ms. Blackstone?" Jenny asked with a smile as she packed up her things. "I wonder why Giovanni keeps you around?" The policewoman casually looked down the deep v-neck of Amanda's black tank top and smirked. "On the other hand, maybe I do know."

Amanda saw red. "Listen, you"

"That is all for now, Master Blackstone," Jenny said. "The officer outside will escort you to the main entrance." Amanda growled and strode towards the door. "Oh, and one other thing," Jenny added. Amanda sighed and turned to look at the detective again. "Don't think of leaving Viridian County any time soon," Jenny said. "I haven't eliminated you from my enquiries just yet."

Later, after leaving the police station, Amanda Blackstone jumped in her motorbike and lit a cigarette. "They think that I ordered the attack against Ketchum!" she realised, blowing out smoke. "Damn Giovanni! If that smirking, self-satisfied bastard had not filed that lawsuit, this would not be happening."

Her immediate course of action was clear. It didn't matter that she had nothing to do with the assassination attempt. It was clear that most of the Council of Gym Leaders, maybe even the Grand Master herself, suspected her involvement. If she didn't want a shadow on her character that could destroy her career, she had to find out who pulled the trigger and who paid the bills in this dark affair. She threw her cigarette away and gunned the engine of her motorcycle. "Well, Ash," she murmured. "It looks like you've got another investigator on this case" With that she swept away from the police station, heading back to the gym.

What she didn't know was that her arrival and departure had been recorded by one Todd 'Snap' Wilkes, a freelance photographer. He lowered his camera and smiled, pleased at being in the right place at the right time again. He pulled out his cell-phone to call the Features Editor on the Viridian City Chronicle.

Viridian City General Hospital
Room 745
June 2, 2063

It was nearly time for lights-out in the post-surgical recovery wing. The nurses had decided to give Ash a light sedative to help him sleep. He could feel its' effects, but he also felt fear that he would never wake up again. When Misty stood up to leave for her hotel room, he reached out for her. "Uh... Misty? Could you stay?" He smiled in embarrassment. "Until I close my eyes?"

Misty leaned forwards and gently brushed a lock of Ash's hair out of his eyes "Sure, Ash," she murmured. Misty had immediately noticed the fear in Ash's brown-on-blue eyes. She had only ever seen a similar light there once before in her whole life

Violet City Downtown
March 4, 2062

Misty Williams and Brock Harrison exchanged concerned glances. It was not because Jessie and James have stolen the mysterious GS Pokéball from under their noses. It was because Ash was clearly running after the thieves far faster and more recklessly than he should.

Meanwhile, Jessie, James and Meowth were running from The Twerps as quickly as they could. Neither of them was looking forward to a Thunderbolt attack from the Little Twerp's Pikachu. "I'm tired, Jessie!" James whined, and immediately got a paper fan whacked across his ear.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Jessie snapped. "If you hadn't parked the jeep in a tow-away zone, we would not have to run!" She still couldn't believe that James could have done something that stupid. As they ran out of the Twerps' room at the Pokémon Center, they saw their Jeep being towed away. Officer Jenny even gave them a parking fine!

"Meowth! How does he do it?" The cat-like Pokémon asked.

Jessie looked back. The twerps were in their heels. Ash's face was full of determination, even as a grimace of pain began to appear on it. "Is he using the Force, or something?" she thought.

The pursuit continued until they reached the commercial district.

"I have an idea! Follow me!" Jessie exclaimed. During their earlier 'walk-around' of the city to find if there was anything worth stealing, Jessie and her partners-in-crime had memorised the locations of the city's subterranean walkways. As the three criminals ran down the stairs, James tripped over a bucket of water. The whole upper half of the staircase was now treacherously slippery.

"Stop here!" Ash cried out. The Pokémon Trainer turned the corner... and he saw the descending stairway.

Years of instinct due his disease made him try to stop immediately. However, the slippery concrete floor betrayed him and he fell forwards, out-of-control. Instinctively he lashed out for the handrail and the bones of his fingers simply splintered rather than grip the metal rail. Ash's blood-freezing screams of pain did what his pursuit could not and Team Rocket stopped in their tracks. They turned to see the Twerp lying at the bottom of the stairs, his shattered limbs sticking out at odd angles. Jessie was so horrified that she dropped the GS Ball. She shook her head and reached for it, when a high-pitched voice cried out. "PIKAPI!" Pikachu screeched.

"ASH!" Misty screamed.

Loyal Pikachu, misinterpreting Jessie's actions as an attack on his helpless friend, blurred forwards. He couldn't use his electrical attacks with the floor so wet, so he used a Head-butt attack on Jessie instead. There was a crunch of bone on bone. The redhead's eyes rolled up into her skull and she collapsed nervelessly. James took one look at the snarling Pikachu standing in between him and the GS Ball while crackling with electrical power and came to a decision. He had Weezing blanket the area with a Smokescreen as he grabbed Jessie, slung her over his shoulders in a Fireman's Hold, and fled with Meowth following close behind.

Misty and Brock didn't care about the fleeing thieves. They crowded around Ash and began desperately to try to help their friend with the little they knew of emergency first aid. "Somebody call an ambulance!" Brock shouted to the pedestrians who were standing around and staring at the broken boy as if he were a strange new form of entertainment. Brock pulled Ash's seventh Pokéball from his belt and he released Ash's Chansey.

Misty immediately checked to see if Ash had injured his back or neck. "Is your back or neck hurting, Ash?"

"No." Ash murmured. She saw the fear shine in his eyes. She knew what he feared more than anything else in the world: a fracture of his spine.

Pikachu tried to calm his trainer and friend, as the boy groaned and wept in agony.

Brock grabbed a newspaper from a confused-looking bystander and tried to improvise a basic support collar out of it. However, they could do little else than wait for the paramedics. Chansey had already confirmed that Ash's airways were clear and was using her Restore skill to boost the boy's strength and the speed of his healing.

Misty kept holding Ash's head, looking right into his eyes. "Everything will be okay, Ash," She murmured.

In the distance, the sound of an ambulance approaching...

Viridian City General Hospital
Room 745
June 2, 2063

Misty sighed at that memory. After that day, Ash had to stay in the hospital for two months. For two months after that, he had to stay in a wheelchair. She had thought that he had lost his chance at competing in the Johto League that year... She smiled without being aware of it as she remembered. Instead of admitting defeat, Ash, with wheelchair and everything, continued his Pokémon Journey and conquered, to the surprise and admiration of the Gym Leaders Bugsy Malpighi, Whitney Miller and Morty Shyamalan, of the Hive, Plain and Fog Gyms. It had come as an immense surprise to Cyndaquil, Totodile and Noctowl that Ash could move around without a wheelchair. They had never seen him without it before...

She sighed - that demonstrated the almost-superhuman nature of the young Pokémon Trainer's determination...

The Cerulean City trainer looked around to confirm that she was alone. Then she did something that she would never do if Ash were awake. She approached his sleeping form and she kindly kissed his forehead.

Viridian City Central Station
July 2, 2063

Luana Scanlon and Lorelei Prima Taylor they got out of the taxi in front of the Central Train Station. They didn't show it, but they felt very badly due to fatigue and to the events in the Global League. Now, the only thing that they wanted was to take the Nine o'clock Express and go back to their homes in the Orange Archipelago.

"Are you going directly back to Kumquat Island?" Lorelei asked.

"Yes, Lorelei. I have to take care of some business at my hotel, I have been away too long, really."

"I understand." Lorelei replied. "And your son, Travis?"

Luana smiled. "He is going very well! I've just remembered that he is going to be home for his birthday in three weeks. Would you like to meet him?"

"Of course!" Now it was the member of the Elite Four and the Gym Leader for Mandarin Island's Boreal Aurora Gym who smiled in her tight, discreet fashion. "I knew that he is specialising in Fire Pokémon, so I suppose that I will have to prove to him that ice-types can beat anything if you know how."

Luana laughed. "Don't be too hard on him, Lorelei. He is so proud that his Charmeleon has evolved into a Charizard. He claims that with his Pikachu, his team is now unbeatable!" Then, the Kumquat Island Gym Leader fell silent. This was very rare for a well-tempered and talkative person like her.

"What is it?" Lorelei asked.

"I just remembered something: when Ash Ketchum faced me for the badge, he used a Pikachu and a Charizard."

Both were now in the line to board the train. Busy with their conversation, they did not notice that there was some kind of problem at the head of the line. "Did he win?" Lorelei asked rhetorically.

"Yes, although at first his Pokémon didn't work very well in team. In the end, he managed it."

"Hey Miss! Come on, out of the way!" The two trainers looked around and saw a red-haired woman, in an elegant black business suit, standing in front of the carriage doors, blocking the path of all the other passengers.

"I.. I'm sorry." Luana and Lorelei immediately noticed the fear in the woman's face as she walked past them with her head lowered.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lorelei asked, putting her hand on the red-haired woman's shoulder. The woman was breathing hard, trying calming down. The two trainers took the woman to a Café in the station concourse and they sat down with her at one of the tables.

"Are you okay?" Lorelei asked kindly.

"I think so, yes." The redhead smiled embarrassed. "Thank you very much, Miss...."

"Oops, excuse me! I am Luana Scanlon and this is Lorelei Taylor."

What the mystery woman said next surprised them. "It's nice to meet you. I am Delilah Ketchum."

To be Continued... Chapter 12 coming soon!

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