A series of bubbles, all that was left of Tina's air supply, escaped her throat as she sent Taja her last ordered thoughts.

{I'm… sorry… I…}

She didn't even have the energy to complete the words. Tina's vision blurred and her body went limp as she sank into the darkness of the lake. Just before she lost consciousness, something like a blur of white fur flew past her. That was the last memory she'd have of her time under the water.

With Tina's nearly lifeless form on its back, a Dewgong smashed through the thick ice. Taja ran to her best friend's side, still barking and howling to attract attention, and dragged her from the lake by the back of her hood.

As she was pulled out, a Pokeball slipped from Tina's pocket. It rolled across the surface of the ice before it came to a stop by Dewgong's flipper. For a moment it glanced back and forth, between Tina and the frigid waters it called home. Without a second thought, the sea lion tapped its nose to the ball, drawing inside with a crimson glow.

By now, the ski patrol had arrived on the scene. They promptly wrapped Tina in the blankets they'd brought and loaded her onto the sled, but they paid no mind to the Pokemon that had saved her life. Taja, not to be left behind as the sled pulled away, grabbed the stray Pokeball in her mouth and began chasing after them.

At the ski lodge, Tina, still unconscious, was placed in a bed and kept under close observation. Whenever a human nurse couldn't keep an eye on her, it became Taja's job. She stayed there by the foot of the bed for several hours, blinking as seldom as it could be helped, but improvement in Tina's condition was slow. It began to seem almost like she didn't want to wake up, but who would, with the fantastic dream she was having?

In the grassy pastures near Professor Oak's lab, a snow white Ninetales trotted about with a young girl on its back. She couldn't have been much older than 4 years old, with an ear-to-ear a grin glued to her face.

Without much warning, the Ninetales picked up speed, crossing the meadow at an out-flat run. Not to be shaken, the girl wrapped her arms around the Pokemon's neck, holding on tightly as her long, brown braid whipped around in the wind.

"Faster, Vena, faster!" she called with a giggle, getting comfortable with the speed and loosening her grip. As if Vena had already known what the child was about to say, it picked up the pace, going as swiftly as it could.

After about a mile at topspeed, the Ninetales began to slow down and dropped back to a mid-paced trot before it came to a stop altogether. The girl relaxed again as the Pokemon lowered its head and shook her from its back. She rolled across the grass, without a doubt, the happiest girl alive.

She burst out into a fit of giggles as Vena began tickling her with one of its tails, and grabbed at the feather-soft tip to stop the torture. The Ninetales' ice blue eyes took on an angry slant and a fiery color, but it just relaxed and curled up at the girl's side. Soon afterward, they'd both fallen asleep, side by side, but they wouldn't wake up that way…

The girl awoke with a start, finding her beloved Ninetales nowhere around. "Grandpa!" she wailed as she ran back towards the lab.

"Grandpa!" she yelled again as she ran into what she called the 'P. Ball Room.' "Vena's gone!"

She didn't notice it, but she'd run in just as the glow dimmed from the Pokeball transmitter.

"I know, Tina, I know." Professor Oak said as he dropped to his knees to give her a comforting hug. "I just sent her back to her trainer."

Tina couldn't believe her ears. "Vena…"

Slowly, almost painfully, Tina opened her eyes halfway. "Vena…" she repeated, this time, in the waking world.

Her eyes jerked open, a healthy spark restored to them when Taja leapt upon the bed. After licking her face for a moment, relieved that she was awake, Taja backed off a bit. {I thought I'd lost you!}

Tina wrapped her arms around the pup in a bear hug. "You'll never lose me." The smile on her face faded quicker than sunset's last light as Tyler entered the room.

"I'm sorry you fell through," he muttered, avoiding eye contact. He glared at her out of the corner of his eye as he left the room. "But you're still a FREAK!" With that, he slammed the door, and she didn't hear from him for the rest of the trip.