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Chapter XXVI - Power Gap


Vita snuck carefully through the woods, hoping to keep her head down but eyes attentive. She called out Ray's name only when she made absolutely sure the coast was clear of any potential threats.

Mew had seemed out of mind when she offered to bring Vita, Somin, and Victor to another search in the forest surrounding Opelucid. After Vita's pressure, Somin had spent much of the day reluctantly searching for Mew with the intention of having a candid conversation. However, she had only reappeared just after sunset, obviously troubled by something.

Perhaps the gravity of the situation had finally caught up with her. If anything, she seemed even more adamant about remaining secretive, driving caution into the minds of both Vita and Victor before they went their own separate ways. After some more silent pressure, Somin elected to search with Mew. If the prospect was surprising to the legendary in any way, however, any outward reaction was lost in the contemplative silence to ensue.

Vita figured personal relationships, especially those with a creature as erratic and spontaneous as Somin, were the last things on Mew's mind.

Either way, she hadn't let Mew's message of caution be lost on her. Drayden's Gym, even though it had now been a full 24 hours after the fact, was still most likely a hotspot for activity. No chances needed taking.

She paused for a moment, flitting out her tongue to taste the air. Any scent that wasn't immediately discredited as some sort of rodent was too stale to track. Vita felt a scowl cross her face. Hunger and the promise of prey nearby weren't helping her mood.

She'd been feeling her composure regarding the situation start to deteriorate. She felt obligated to set the example of civility on Ray's team, but Mew's presence, both directly and indirectly, had tugged every which way the core foundation that was the team. One obstacle after another, each seemingly only pushing Vita away from Ray.

Even though the team had been trained extensively to operate independently if need be, she felt she needed her human just as much as he needed her.

With each passing moment she was growing more desperate. Another minute passed was another moment he could've been captured, killed, or worse. She surveyed her surroundings again in the hopes of picking up something she hadn't before.

Wait… Is that…?

There seemed to be a break in the trees, too noticeable to likely be natural. She approached cautiously.

It turned out the lack of tree cover was simply a dropoff. The gradient got considerably more steep, boulders littering the landscape instead of trees or shrubbery.

Yet, something at the bottom of the hill before Vita got her attention.

It was a trainer trail, snaking out from the trees and running alongside the wall of boulders for a moment before disappearing back into the forest. The official trainer trail in the region was easily identifiable through the makers' frequent use of the league's logo, decaled here on a tree trunk in plain view.

Vita tried placing where she was based on this newfound landmark, but quickly realized it would do her better to just leave it be. The closer one got to civilization, the more congested the trail would undoubtedly be. Trainers used it as a simple means to get from city to city without having to worry much about navigation, but it often intersected with local trails. There would undoubtedly be some hiker, trainer, or otherwise passing through sometime soon.

It was a rare sight to see a fully-evolved Starter Pokémon, let alone one without an accompanying trainer. It was likely everyone in the nation knew of Ray's likeness, including his team, acquaintances, and more. Any Unovan citizen at this point would be in remiss to not report her presence if they so much as caught a glimpse of her, a Serperior suspiciously without an apparent trainer.

As she was turning to leave, however, she heard the distant sounds of something approaching. She honed her senses in on the distant snapping of twigs, a quiet voice talking to what sounded like himself. She wasn't able to pick up on any words.

Rather than leave, she pressed herself against the ground in such a way as to blend with the grass to an uncareful or distant eye.

After perhaps a half minute of waiting, a young boy stepped from the trees, continuing along the path. He was muttering to himself frustratedly, eyebrows furled.

He seemed to be alone with the exception of the Pokéballs on his belt. Vita counted three.

It was obvious the boy was a novice trainer, from his messily-made pack to the lack of wear of the Pokémon on his belt. Even then, though, Vita decided to exercise caution. Oftentimes, a parent would give their child one of their stronger Pokémon in order to defend themselves on the trail, and even to give them an edge when just starting to battle.

She was just about to turn and sneak away quietly when she froze, having heard a single word that set off alarms in her head.

"-g Axew just had to go and steal the ball, too. What if I see something good? All my balls, gone!"

Axew…

If Ray and Misa had, in fact, gotten away from the UPF, they would be near defenseless out in the wilderness. Had a trainer stumbled upon them?

Vita knew she had to follow this boy, see if she could hear more regarding his potential interaction with Ray or Misa. As he was about to pass back under the treetops, however, she was able to pick up a single word among a string of unintelligible muttering.

"Zorua."

A chill ran down Vita's spine with the boy's words. In a matter of moments, all caution she'd practiced until that moment disappeared. The possibility of Ray being in one of those Pokéballs was too strong to simply ignore the boy further.

By the time he had time to react, the trainer was already off the ground, each of his four limbs tightly bound by Vita's vines. The boy started yelling, continuing to do so as he was hoisted up. The weight of his pack was heavy, though it hardly slowed Vita. Within a matter of seconds, he was on her level, yelling 'stop', 'hey', and 'no' among pleas.

When he found and focused on who his captor was, however, he promptly shut his mouth.

Vita's eyes were practically glowing, brows narrowed and fangs bared. The trainer could feel his muscles locking into place, his blood frozen from the sheer intensity of her gaze.

Little to no thought fueled her movements as the boy began stuttering fearfully. She unwrapped the vines holding his arms one at a time in order to slide off the boy's pack. In a quick burst of movement, however, the boy reached for the Pokénav on his belt. He'd be able to call for emergency assistance if he could just repeatedly spam the power button.

Vita was faster, however, recognizing his intentions and almost instantaneously conjuring a weak Magical Leaf attack in order to hinder his movement until she could restrain him again. As extra insurance, Vita used her free vine to grab the Pokénav before slamming it against the ground as hard as she could. Afterwards, she chucked it off the cliff to disappear in the trees beyond.

The boy recoiled, the Magical Leaf having left him with multiple shallow cuts. After a few seconds of watching with horror as Vita broke his only connection with the outside world, he tried something else. Despite the pain flaring up from his forearm, he took advantage of Vita's preoccupation and grabbed a random Pokéball from his belt, pressing the button almost instantly.

Vita had to admire the boy's tenacity. For all he knew, she was a predator preying on an easy target. He only seemed deterred by her glare for only as long as she kept it on him, which would have been impressive even for a fully grown creature. She was attacking a child. Even if he'd come into contact with Ray, was it wrong to go about the situation aggressively?

She could ponder later. Finally choosing to exercise caution, she let the boy go entirely and shot back before his Pokémon could fully materialize. The odds of it being powerful were low, but she couldn't risk even the possibility of her being caught off guard. Losing a fight meant capture.

She coiled herself into a ready stance as the light of the Pokéball took shape.

Her caution was instantly ruled useless, Vita slowly let herself come off her guard as a quaking Blitzle was what was left behind. The smaller creature eyed Vita fearfully.

"W-Why would you release me?!" the Blitzle called out to her trainer, astonished. "Are you crazy?!"

The boy ignored his Pokémon's protests, breaths shaky as he slowly examined his injured arm. Swallowing whatever fear he could, he used his good arm to detach both of the other Pokéballs on his belt.

The resulting Mienfoo and Tepig were of obviously contrasting personalities. While still visibly nervous, like the Blitzle, the Mienfoo seemed to understand more regarding the situation and prepared itself to fight nonetheless. The Tepig, however, showed no fear, turning towards his Blitzle companion with wide eyes.

"Is this a fight? Are we fighting?"

"No! You think we can fight that thing?! Jake's gone mental!"

"Oh…" the Tepig responded, ears falling. They were quick to perk back up, however. "Hey, big Serperior! Are you gonna be part of our te-"

"Would you shut up?" the Mienfoo snapped, refusing to take her eyes off of Vita. "Didn't you see anything that happened? This thing's gonna eat us if we don't at least ward it off."

"Eat us?" the Tepig responded, confused.

"Mienfoo?" the Blitzle asked before the Tepig could follow up with his question. "Look, I know I said I want to try and trust Jake, I really do, but this… You know what to do, right? It's a Serperior. They don't exist in the wild, so it's trained or was trained at some point. That might mean it doesn't necessarily want to eat us, but I don't want to risk anything right now."

The human trainer was silent despite all the conversation amongst his team. He was staring at Vita with a sort of pleading glance. As much as he wanted to believe he could win, this wasn't a simple trainer battle.

"Serperior!" the Mienfoo called out, refusing to leave its battle stance. "Can you understand me?"

Vita certainly didn't feel like chatting for long. However, seeing as Somin wasn't around, the only way she could effectively learn about Ray's whereabouts were through using one of the boy's Pokémon.

"Yes, I can understand you."

A wave of relief washed over the Blitzle's face.

"You're a trained 'mon, then?"

"... No."

"Okay… What do you want? Our… person… was just minding his own business. We can work something out, can't we?"

Vita noticed the Mienfoo's lack of desire to say the human was her trainer.

"G-guys?" the human piped up after a long period of silence. He was still staring at Vita incredulously.

"I want to know about a certain pair of Pokémon you may have come into contact with recently."

The Mienfoo's eyes lit up as Vita mentioned Ray and Misa. She knew!

"Guys?"

"What about them?"

"Mienfoo!"

"What? It's obvious someone's looking for those two brats, and it's no skin off my back by giving them up if it means getting out of here."

"What if they were running away from this Serperior?"

"So? We don't even know them! What happens to them matters nothing to me!"

"Wait, are you guys talking about Nox and Misa?"

"You've seen them."

"GUYS!"

All eyes were suddenly on the human, Jake, as he fearfully raised a finger towards Vita.

"T-the alert that w-went out this morning… Th-the explosion y-yesterday. There's a S-Serperior on Ray Altston's t-team…"

"Where are they?" Vita asked, hoping to coax an answer out of the Mienfoo before the realization fully hit.

"R-Ray Alston?!" the Blitzle choked out.

"Where. Is. Nox."

Vita advanced, casting a long shadow over all four opponents. She cared little at the moment for their knowledge of her identity.

"We can't win…" Jake whispered to himself. "Arceus, please."

Even the Tepig was visually affected by the news, ears flat as he ducked in a sort of submissive pose.

"Stay back," the Mienfoo cautioned as Vita grew ever closer, her voice cracking with even the simple command. "I don't care if you're that Serperior, I'll-"

A single vine snaked along the ground towards the Mienfoo, threatening her with its mere presence. It was then she made the mistake of looking up at Vita's looming figure. Whether the Serperior even bothered using the move Glare in order to paralyze her, she was nonetheless powerless to back away.

"Y-You broke the Pokénav!" the Mienfoo exclaimed, attitude quick to change from something of bravery to a quivering mess before Vita even had the opportunity to move her face in closer. "The location, the location of the Zorua and Axew, it was on the Pokénav you broke!"

Vita's brow raised as she internally cursed her hastiness in smashing the device.

"The kid could only catch the Axew, he couldn't catch the Zorua!" she yelled pleadingly. "Even then, we took care of them! We gave both of them food, a fire, and a place to sleep, and when they… disappeared when we woke up this morning, we started following the Pokénav to track the Axew's Pokéball to see where they were going! That's it!"

Vita could feel her fangs subconsciously baring, prompting the Mienfoo's eyes to widen further. Each of the bystanders up until that point had been simply looking on the exchange with shock. However, Vita's maw widening only slightly, her tongue flitting out in annoyance, was enough to spur a random burst of action from the individual each of the Pokémon least expected.

Jake, in one swift motion, jumped into the fray, sending his Tepig and Blitzle scrambling off to the sides. While Vita had been transfixed on the Mienfoo, he been slowly fiddling with his pack. He could only hope his efforts paid off now, when the situation seemed most perilous.

The Mienfoo had no awareness of Jake's motions until a stream of concentrated, white gas shot over her head and hit the unprepared Vita straight on the nose. Instantly she knew what it was, despite having never been exposed to the substance before.

She recoiled with a hiss, writhing violently as the Pokémace forced her eyelids shut. Covering his mouth with his injured arm, Jake took his uninjured arm and swiped up his stunned Mienfoo, turning back around so violently as to completely tear her off her feet.

Vita couldn't breathe. It felt as if hot stench of chemicals was everywhere, choking her. She couldn't see, couldn't hear anything over her own involuntary hisses.

By then, Jake had scooped up all his team's Pokéballs, returning his Tepig before commanding his Blitzle to run. He kept a tight hold on Mienfoo as Blitzle took off, leading the way to escape. Leaving his pack behind, he sprinted after his much faster Pokémon, eventually losing Vita entirely.


"Are you not gonna look on your own?"

"Well…"

The truth was Somin wanted to have a conversation with Mew following his discussion with Vita multiple hours prior. He'd been dreading the thought, but it was time to act.

"Vita, Victor, and Jet went off in their own directions. It'd be stupid to double back on area we've already searched, so no harm in sticking together?"

"Whatever."

Somin sighed, posture slacking. Mew could read minds, couldn't she? She had to have seen through that pitiful attempt at trying to justify their being alone.

And yet, Mew seemed unusually distant. From his experience with the legendary, she'd be right on top of the patchwork excuse he'd thrown together in an instant, tearing it to pieces and urging him to get straight to the point. Now, however, she seemed apathetic, blue eyes glazed over as she occasionally peered from side to side, 'searching' for Ray.

Somin found it was much easier to put out feelers of energy in order to detect life rather than looking with his eyes alone. It was in much the same manner he'd become accustomed to using illusions; reaching out within a certain radius and detecting life before making connections with anything that could be tricked. He figured Mew was doing something similar, reaching out with her power to detect any anomaly.

"So… Something on your mind?"

Mew snapped out of her stupor to peer at Somin curiously.

"Maybe. I'm worried for Ray."

"Aren't we all? You're acting a lot different, though. Even more out of touch than normal."

Mew narrowed her eyes at Somin, analyzing him.

"Could say the same about you."

Somin matched her gaze without the trepidation she'd seen exhibited by so many creatures to have come before him. He said nothing, his face blank, mind empty. Mew couldn't help but let the smallest of smiles grace her face.

"It feels good not to be feared, y'know? It's useful sometimes, but not being able to associate in my own skin gets… Lonely. Even when I met Ray, I had to dull his fear just in order to talk to me. The team's been getting better as I get to know them, but Vita is the only one I've actually been able to have a real conversation with. I respect you for that, Somin. Respect you more than almost anyone else here for having the guts to try knocking some sense into me when I need it, even if I'll beat you every time. I actually kinda like having someone to tell me I'm wrong."

"Take it you read my mind, then? You know where this is going?"

"Maybe. But because of my own reasoning, not because I read your mind. I'm leaving that behind from now on when dealing with you guys."

Somin's gaze shifted to something much softer. Smiling wider, Mew turned and got back on with walking. Somin joined her.

"I'm thinking about the conversation I had with Skyla after you filled her in on all that happened. I think I made a mistake."

"Wouldn't be the first."

Mew rolled her eyes, oddly not feeling the same hostility she'd felt prior with his jabs at her expense.

"Before I go on, though, I'm going to tell you this. It's nice being part of the team, even if many of you guys don't see me as a teammate yet. I'm not going to drag you all into this if you don't want to come with, but from here on out, I'm focusing all efforts on reviving Reshiram and preparing for nothing short of war."

"What?"

The urgency in Mew's tone threw Somin off. How had she taken such a quick turn from her conversation to Skyla to the promise of war? She was entirely serious, too, having substituted her normal use of nicknames for a more mature 'Reshiram'.

"Eight Primes are missing, nine if you count Arceus. Eight of the primordial gods of this world. Including me, that means only fourteen remain. I believed most of the disappearances up until this point wouldn't have an immediate greater effect, but I was wrong. If this continues as-is, the world is going to start seeing the consequences of the UPF's actions on a scale they've never seen before. Giratina was the first step leading to complete catastrophe."

Mew stopped, turning back towards Somin with a much more saddened gaze.

"That's what I accidentally showed Skyla, and in doing that I realized how afraid I was. I don't want any of you to be part of this. I've come to care about all of you too much in order to drag you towards that kind of danger.

Somin, if you want, I can leave you alone until this is all over. We can find Ray, and right after I'll give you all a safe place to hide until it all blows over. It means there won't be an immediate fix for his Zorua problem, but at least you'll all be together while I work to fix it. As much as I've come to care for you all, my position as Prime takes precede-"

"Shut up. We're all in."

"What? Somin, think about th-"

"I said we're in, and nobody on the team is gonna think otherwise."

Mew said nothing, a shocked mouth slowly closing.

"Why?"

"Because, just because I take you for granted doesn't mean you haven't bent over backwards to help us. You've done everything to fix what you did wrong, done everything to try and keep us all together. Honestly, this is just as much my fault as it is yours, as much as I hate to admit it. Protecting Ray to me meant getting rid of you, which is just… It's wrong. What kind of teammates would we be if we just left you to whatever monster you're up against?"

"Teammates?"

"Yeah, fuck it. Ray already gave you an official welcome, but for what it's worth, I'm ready to let you on. Welcome to the team."

Mew smiled

"Somin…"

The Zoroark let the corner of his mouth rise in a smirk before he turned to begin walking again. Without another word, he continued on and reached out once more with his energy to continue the search.

Of course, the news she'd prefaced her proposal with was troubling. Worldwide catastrophe? What exactly did she mean by that? The immediate answer was obvious; the disappearance of the Primes were starting to affect the world. However, this was Mew after all. Of course she was fallible, but with a proper amount of preparation, was there really anything that could stand against her?

He wanted to trust her, but couldn't bring himself to do so entirely. His speech regarding his acceptance of her was only partly genuine, as he still held his own reservations regarding her true intentions for Ray. However, he would have much time in the future to truly observe Mew as they went about day-to-day life, hoping to revive Reshiram for the events to come.

His test began now.

Mew interrupted his internal scheming soon after it began, catching up to him and basically barreling into the back of his head. He nearly fell over, letting out a surprised yell as she latched on his mane.

"The hell are you doing?! Scared the shit out of me!"

"It's a hug. Thank you, Somin."

Somin, heart racing, got a look at Mew out of the corner of his eye as she held onto the fur of his mane as if her life depended on it. Her eyes were closed. A shiver, similar to that which Ray felt having first touched Mew and each subsequent time afterward, ran down Somin's spine. The rush of emotion seemingly emulating from Mew herself. For as long as they touched, Somin felt as she did. Vulnerable, frightened, and yet hopeful, excited, and above all, just as nervous as he himself was.

"It's… No problem. Don't mention it."

Staring at her proved pointless, considering how he felt every little thing she herself did in that moment. He turned back around, opting to give her a moment to herself.

Within a matter of seconds, however, that all changed.

The uneasy contentedness of the one-sided embrace was replaced almost instantly by anxiety as Somin and Mew both picked up the same faraway sound. The yells of a human boy.

Somin only felt Mew's grip on his mane grow tighter for half a second before the world turned around him, vision warping and distorting until he realized he'd been teleported, he blinked for a few moments, hoping to clear his vision and refocus his mind.

The first thing he noticed was his position, now suspended in the air about a dozen feet. His eyes widened in initial reaction, but he could quickly feel an unseen force clamping over his maw before he could make a sound.

"Shhhh…"

Mew was still holding firmly onto his mane, seemingly enveloping him in the same psychic energy that allowed her to levitate. She silently slid up towards the top of his head in order to catch a glance of the scene.

Vita had her vines snaked around a young boy, no older than eleven, in a hold as to restrict his movement as much as possible while suspending him in the air. Though he was now seemingly paralyzed in fear of Vita's glare, Somin could only guess the yell of alarm came from him.

"Him?" he asked Mew via Illusion.

"Guess so. Looks like she just grabbed him out of nowhere. What do you think he did?"

"Why are you asking me? Just read her min-..."

"I know it's dumb, but I don't want to do that to you guys anymore unless it's absolutely necessary, and Vita honestly looks like she has this under control. I know how much you're all uncomfortable with the idea of me seeing what you might not want to put into words. We can figure this out without intruding on Vita's thoughts."

"Fine, fine," Somin groaned. Part of him was glad she was sticking to her commitment, but another thought spawned with her explanation. Just how much of his personal thoughts had she caught in the few years since she'd started tagging along? He could feel the tips of his ears growing hot before he decided to focus once more on the situation at hand.

"Any ideas?" Mew asked, adjusting herself as to watch more intently as Vita grabbed a device out of the trainer's hand and smashed it on the ground. "The boy didn't see or hear anything before she suddenly started attacking him."

"My guess is that Vita thought something was fishy. It's like you said, she can probably handle this herself. Wouldn't hurt to help her out, though."

Directly after Somin said that, he realized the boy had gotten a hold of a Pokéball and released it. He twitched, ready to dive into the situation before realizing Mew still had a hold on him.

"Maybe, but we're already gonna have to erase the boy's memory of all this. Would be a bit easier to clean up if it was just Vita he encountered."

By then, both of them had realized a single Blitzle, followed quickly by two more under-leveled threats, were the only combatants. This was a breeze for Vita. Somin let himself sigh quietly, diffusing the energy he'd subconsciously began charging in his claws.

"Just sit here and be ready to help if need be… If you say so…"

"Either way, I think Vita should… Y'know, have this."

Multiple voices were arguing now amongst the boy's team. Somin turned back towards Mew, gazing at her curiously out of the corner of his eye.

"What do you mean?"

"You got any idea how useless she's felt since y'all got captured? I dunno, maybe she's just blowing off steam. Doesn't seem like the kind of 'mon to get off on harassing random strangers, though. But I guess we'll figure out wh-"

Mew fell silent, eyes clouded over.

"Mew?"

She blinked a few times before reaching out to Somin again, telepathic voice much more hushed.

"He saw Ray and Misa."

"He what?"

"Last night! Somin! He saw them! He saw them!"

"Slow down… Where are they now? The Pokéballs on his belt?"

"G-gimme a sec. Why aren't they here? He was… Chasing them. Vita must've overheard him talking about it! Somin! Ray's okay!"

Somin could feel as Mew tugged on his mane, positively giddy.

"Mew, I'm just as excited as you, but please just look. How was he tracking them? Does he have a Stoutland or something hidden in one of those other balls?"

Somin overheard Ray's name pop up in the conversation, realizing soon after the boy had recognized Vita. He scowled.

"He knows about Ray, too… You can erase that though, right?"

"Yeah, with a little bit more time. And no, the Pokémon we see now are all he has… The Pokénav! He was following the Pokénav! He managed to catch… The Axew, managed to catch the Axew and then… They escaped? He doesn't have memory of it."

"The Pokénav's a dead end, then."

"What? Why?! We can just steal it off the kid and use it to tra-"

Mew remembered Vita had smashed the device for reasons unknown. Repairing technology like that was far outside her skillset.

"That's fine, just figure out where he saw them last, before Vita smashed it."

"I'd have to make contact and do an in-depth probe for a detail that precise. Same rules go for erasing memories and some of the upper-level stuff like that."

"And Vita?"

"She's about to wrap up," Mew commented as she moved in closer towards a lone Mienfoo, having already paralyzed the poor creature with her gaze. "You'd be surprised how much easier fear makes sifting through and changing the mind. His thoughts are all on Vita right now as she threatens the Mienfoo, meaning I can just dive right in and-"

It happened in an instant. A sudden rush of movement, followed by a hiss of pain and the discharge of a white vapor. By the time Somin realized what had happened, the residual smell of the pungent Pokémace had already wafted his way.

Mew dove into the thick of it, dropping Somin off without a word before shooting away in the direction the boy had left. The trainer had taken off, holding his threatened Mienfoo while following his much faster Blitzle. They were quickly lost in the trees, with Mew taking pursuit.

Somin took a second or two to process the sudden change in mood before being brought back down to reality by the sound of Vita's incessant hisses. She was writhing on the ground, eyes shut tight and mouth agape, coughing between pained breaths.

In his lapse of attention, the boy had made one quick move, taking out his assailant in one swift move before fleeing. Somin knew Mew would easily catch up, leaving him alone with Vita. He barely gave another second of thought before rushing towards Vita, covering his mouth with an elbow in order to mitigate any residual mace.

"Vita! Vita, you alright?!"


Jake sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, making sure his grip didn't slip on his Mienfoo in the process.

What in the world had he just wandered into? That was Ray Alston's Serperior! That meant the most dangerous man in the world had to have been nearby. A chill ran down Jake's spine. In a way, he respected Alston for the trainer he was; the guy had even gone as far as to isolate himself in the wild in order to train!

Where, then, had he obtained the kind of power necessary to carry out the attack in Hoenn? If it hadn't been for Alder's efforts in thwarting his second attack, he would've succeeded in doing the same in Opelucid! Jake's family, his friends, and even himself may have all been killed.

What made him snap? Why was he doing all this? Most said it was a result of a mental meltdown after his Zoroark's near-fatal injury in his try for the Eighth Badge. Some even went as far as to claim Ray wasn't human, and never had been. Was he a Zoroark, then, posing as a human? Just like his Zoroark partner?

Jake looked behind him to see if Ray's Serperior was in pursuit. Just because she wasn't on his trail didn't mean he allowed himself to slow down. If Ray truly was lurking in the area, there was a great possibility of his teammates showing themselves. He thought back to the warning that'd been broadcasted early that morning, explaining the blinding light that'd manifested in the sky before fading away, as well as cautioning all trainers in the area regarding Ray's potential presence.

A special function is available for any trainers in the area to report a sighting. Simply press the power button of your Pokénav device 5 times in rapid succession if in imminent danger; otherwise, place an emergency call to Trainer Services. If at all possible, evacuate the area around the explosion site.

His Pokénav had been destroyed as he tried calling for help. Jake tried getting a bearing on his surroundings, but couldn't figure which direction was which. Trying to find the trail again was out of the question, as was stopping.

His Blitzle was completely out of sight, probably having abandoned them altogether. Breathing heavy, Jake slowed up in order to set his Mienfoo down. She looked up at him with shocked eyes, expression not having changed once since being frozen in Vita's gaze.

"You're alright," he tried comforting as he fiddled with the Pokéballs on his belt, eventually grabbing the correct one. "We'll talk later when everything's safe, okay? Leave it to me."

Where had this attitude come from? His life was in danger, and yet a sense of calm overcame him. Was this… Was this what it was like to truly lead?

He shook his head before tapping his Mienfoo on the forehead with her ball, quickly swapping it with the last remaining empty Pokéball on his belt and clicking the button. From a long distance away, he could see a red light shooting towards him, confirmation the retrieval of his Blitzle had worked at range.

He fastened her ball as well and stood back up to keep running. The first thing to do was to get some distance before finding a way out of the forest. As he took a step forward, however, a sense of foreboding washed over him completely. He was frozen in his tracks, eyes instantly drawn directly to his right.

There stood a lone Zoroark, smiling a wicked smile. His claws gleamed in the sunlight through the trees, mane waving slowly with the breeze.

"Hey bud. Sit down. Let's talk."

When had he appeared? Jake had been so sure the coast was clear before stopping to tend to his Mienfoo.

He still had his Pokémace, held fast with white knuckles in his right hand. Crying out, he whipped his body towards the Zoroark and sprayed.

As the substance would have otherwise made contact with the Zoroark's body, his form fizzled away.

An illusion?!

Jake froze once more as he felt those same claws he'd seen not moments prior, cold as ice, pressed up against the right side of his neck. He could feel the Zoroark's hot breath running down the back of his shirt.

"P-please…"

Tears welled up in Jake's eyes. This wasn't the same situation as with the Serprior; he had no opportunity to lunge for a Pokéball or try to mace him again. This was hopeless.

"Not gonna hurt you, just wanted to have a chat. Sit."

The Zoroark slowly began to descend, guiding Jake along with his claw until he, shaking, was able to fall into a sitting position.

"You know why I'm doing this right now?"

"B-b-becaus-"

"I know you know the real answer."

Jake gulped, breath hitching.

"B-because I… I maced your mate?"

The Zoroark's heart skipped a beat.

What? How would he know about Somin and Vita? Ray never made it public, did he?

Mew chose not to let her internal reasoning show in her Illusion as she responded. Gossip really existed regarding famous Pokémon? She was glad Somin himself was back treating Vita; he would've had a much more responsive reaction to the news their relationship was public knowledge.

"And how can you be sure about that?"

"L-look, Somin's your name, right? I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, so sorry. She just scared me! I didn't know what I was doing!"

Mew figured the optimal level of stress for the most effective memory manipulation was at hand. Usually, acknowledgement of her presence as a god alone would be enough to prompt a suitable reaction, but tinkering with as vivid a memory as an encounter with a god was always a pain, especially on a tight schedule.

She allowed her Zoroark claws to slide along the terrified boy's neck until she was able to calmly and slowly press her hand against his neck. With the contact, she closed her eyes and probed his thoughts.

As she thought, most of his mind was focused on the imminent danger of her claws running along his neck. Prominent as well was memory of an article written for a gossip magazine on the boy's Pokénav, detailing how seized medical records from Opelucid revealed Vita's possession of an Egg. Nothing had yet been confirmed, but the article had seemingly connected the dots between the Serperior's egg group matching Somin's, as well as multiple different public images of Ray with his team, in which Somin and Vita seemed very much attached. Mew set it aside. Perhaps she would break the news later regarding their apparent lack of privacy.

Accessing more detailed memory, she saw as he took out his Pokénav and checked the display every so often, following the trail in order to catch up with a single blip on the map.

The first thought to cross Mew's mind after ascertaining his location was one of instant panic.

Ray, you idiot! What the hell are you thinking?! A highway?!

She felt as the world inside Jake's head suddenly shift from fear to a strange sense of curiosity. She quickly pulled back, shock prompting her to recoil her hand before she even had the opportunity to start trimming around his memories of Vita's encounter.

"W-what? Was that you?"

Mew's eyes widened as the demeanor Jake had exhibited prior seemed to exist no longer. She'd done it again, hadn't she? In her moment of exasperation, she'd accidentally triggered an empathetic reaction. Jake had felt as she had due to their contact, and in doing so picked up her critical demeanor.

"Say nothing."

Jake moved suddenly, swatting Mew's claw away before turning to face her. Her eyes widened further, and for a moment she could only observe.

"That was a mental probe. I felt it. My dad has a Reuniclus that does that all the time."

Mew's eyes narrowed. She'd been sloppy.

"You're not a Zoroark, then…"

Jake quickly got up and took a few steps away. Mew made no effort to stop him.

"Are you Ray? Ray himself? The theories say that if you're not a human, you're some kind of psychic type, and a really strong one, but I haven't seen a psychic type ever be able to pull off that kind o-"

Jake swayed for a moment, eyes rolling into the back of his head, before collapsing altogether. Mew had quickly grown irked.

She stood up, brushing herself off before reverting to her true form. She silently scolded herself for her lack of care in keeping her emotions to herself.

Lack of contact with others throughout millenia meant she hadn't had a ton of practice in stopping herself from imprinting her own emotional states onto others. A reverse empath, in a sense, as were all psychics. Most, however, either didn't have the power to properly share their feelings or had the life experience to stop themselves from doing so.

Turning away from the boy's limp body, she reached out to Somin via telepathy.

"Hey, it's me. Just listen for a sec. Gonna go after Ray from where the trainer last saw him on the map. I'll keep you posted."

Mew let herself smile. Even if it had been a long time since the boy had checked the Pokénav, there was no way Ray would have gone far. He'd hit a highway, one he likely wouldn't be dumb enough to cross in broad daylight.

Jake wouldn't be waking up for a while yet, giving her more than enough time to investigate Ray's whereabouts.

Her smile widened. She was going to see her human again.


Misa and I sat in silence for about a half hour, refusing to even look at one another. There wasn't much in the way of entertainment in the confined space we now found ourselves in. I could only listen to Misa's breath as it reverberated off the dirt walls.

It hadn't taken long to find an abandoned den to take shelter in. Misa had yet to go and get any food, as if she expected me to initiate in conversation. To say I wasn't feeling talkative would be an understatement.

We were crammed, squashed into one another by the confined space. It was better than sleeping out in the cold, and it was deserted by the look, rather, smell of it.

I don't know when specifically I picked up the ability to utilize my sense of smell, but something just seemed natural about it. I could tell what scents were fresh, which were stale. I could even determine relative location of nearby beings if I was in close enough proximity.

It was small wins like that which made the situation at hand seem a little bit nicer. I didn't know if I would try sleeping; surely I couldn't on this empty of a stomach. How quickly could I recover fully from my overexertion, and now my illness on top of that? It would probably be a long time before I could actually get a long rest. We'd certainly need to find a more permanent living space.

"You just gonna sit there and be quiet the whole time, or…?"

"Sorry, I wasn't aware I was allowed to speak, ma'am."

"Oh, shut up," she scoffed, more exhausted than sarcastic. "It's about time we finally talked about… Us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, the pair of us. Us versus the world."

"Be my guest," I remarked, rolling my eyes. "There really a lot to say, Misa? If today's proven anything, it's that we've got no chance out here. Is that what you wanna hear? That we're gonna starve or freeze to death?"

"No! You think I'm gonna let a little hunger get to me? That there's your problem, shrimp. You don't trust me to take care of us. You give up too easy."

"Misa, come o-"

"Shut it and listen for once. Don't act like I don't notice you on your high horse, slamming me for the simplest of stuff like you're perfect. Stupid stuff like keeping my mouth shut. You were wrong, Ray. You were wrong back there. Admit it."

"Okay, fine. Sure. Is this point you're making going anywhere?"

"What I'm trying to say is that you think so little of me that it's insulting. Like, how you don't trust me to make any decisions on anything."

"Misa, the reason I do that is because I'm literally more than a decade and a half older than you. You know so little about the world compared to me it's impossible to describe! Of course I should be making the decisions!"

"And what about today?"

"..."

I narrowed my eyes and raised my snout.

"That was a mistake. Just because you made one right decision out of hundreds, it doesn't mean I should let you take full reign on what we do as a pair."

"Fair, but it at least showed you're not perfect, right?"

"Of course I'm not perfect! I never would have met you if I was perfect! I'd be Champion by now if I was perfect!"

"Then stop acting like you're perfect and quit using me as a brainless shield! That's all I ever do for you! Fight your fights, save your ass in battles when you need it. Fighting is great and all, but when are you gonna stop looking at me like it's all I live for?!"

Silence fell over the den for a few moments before Misa groaned.

"Vulcan told me that there's more to fighting than just overpowering an opponent. That my brute force is only half the battle. And you, Ray, you're the other half. The smart side, the strategy side. That's what I want."

"If you're asking me to teach you strategy, you're out of luck."

"What?! Why?! I'm admitting you're better at me with the planning stuff; isn't that what you wanted?"

"Strategy isn't something that's taught, it's learned through tons of experience. I could maybe teach you a few tricks, but I don't know how much I'd be able to help."

"Look, just bear with me for a sec. What if I helped you to learn how to fight as an exchange? Right now, I'd say we're even split in what we can do for the pair. You can think, I can fight. But wouldn't we be better off if we both know how to do both?"

"So you're saying that if I teach you a few tricks about strategizing, you'll teach me a few tricks about battling?"

"Why not? That's a fair trade, right? And, if we're in this for the long term like we think we are, there's no point in just sitting around like we are now. Make sense?"

I blinked for a few moments, mulling it over. Right then, however, my head panged, prompting me to grit my teeth.

"I don't know… I'll think about it. Just let me get some rest. Think I'm getting a fever and I wanna see if I can shake it."

"Whatever. I'll go in a bit and see if I can find some food… What do we do if it rains?"

"Den's built to where the entrance won't flood," I mumbled, readjusting myself and closing my eyes. "I'll wake up if there's water and just leave, you don't gotta worry about me. Disabled the distance lock on the Pokéball too, so go as far as you want."

"Fine, fine, sorry for acting like I cared."

She got up without another word and clawed into the dirt until she could hoist herself up and out of the burrow's entrance. It was a bit too tight, but if she wiggled enough she found she could squeeze out without much trouble.

From there, she tried her best to cover up the hole in the ground with some scattered twigs before wandering off in a random direction, head raised towards the sky. At the very least it didn't look like it was going to rain.

Her stomach growled, prompting her to grimace. If Ray had only listened to her, she could at the very least have an Oran to hold her over until they found something. Now, though, she was running on empty.

"Gods, I could go for some meat," she muttered to herself. "Can't hunt though, so fish maybe? Meh, don't wanna try finding a lake right now. Gotta make sure nobody tries to eat Ray."

She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes.

"Ungrateful little shit."

Even if she couldn't bring herself to admit it, she wouldn't be able to function without him. His knowledge of the foreign world she now found herself in was invaluable, even if she had the technical skill to fend for herself… To a degree.

Why, now, then, did she often let him off so easy? When they first met, they had legitimately fought until he'd been knocked out. When they'd been captured together, she hated him beyond a shadow of a doubt, even if he did provide for some entertainment with his antics while they were in Timberline.

She'd constantly berated him, at times even unnecessarily. And yet, one day she just stopped. Stopped pushing him as hard, stopped striving for dominance in their weak relationship. Why?

Vulcan, of course, often pushed towards the treatment of Ray like an equal during their 'talks'. Though, that alone wouldn't be reason enough for her to mellow out. Ray's attitude was infuriating, and it certainly hadn't changed in the slightest from the time in which she'd first met him to the present.

Perhaps she had changed? If so, how? She still felt the same. Looked the same, talked the same. If she hadn't changed, what else could it have been? Why did she find herself so… Forgiving, regarding Ray's attitude and antics? She hadn't even laid a finger on him in retribution for the stunt he'd pulled earlier that day.

Maybe she was feeling more sympathetic considering he was ill. He hadn't been performing at his best since his overexertion early the previous day, and apparently he'd started running a fever as a result of the cold he'd obtained after fleeing the novice trainer. There was no fun in beating up a brat who couldn't so much as move, let alone defend himself.

She chalked it up to that, and let the idea take root before she continued on. She felt nothing for him. It was just the sickness.

She couldn't move too far from the den in her search for food, else her ball would automatically recall her and she'd be stuck. She didn't know how far a distance she was allowed to explore, so she started by walking in a circle around their hole.

With each revolution around the den, she widened her search area, making sure to remain as uniformy distant from the den as possible while looking around for Berry bushes of any kind. Her eyes roamed to and fro across the treetops, looking for an apple, perhaps. These trees were different than the ones near the mountains and in Opelucid. Did that mean they'd really gone as far as she thought they had?

They reminded her of the trees back home, from Ray's description on the other side of the mountains from where they were staying in Opelucid. She quickly deduced they were near her cave, however, considering she hadn't seen anything more than rolling hills on their hitched ride.

A shiver ran down her spine with the mere thought of seeing her colony. What would they think of her if she abandoned her trial up on the mountain? No excuse was good enough.

In her absentmindedness, she hardly noticed as the ground under her feet transitioned from twigs and dirt to gravel. She looked, up, confused.

It looked like a path, stretching out in either direction until it turned away and out of sight. She blinked, trying to process its purpose.

At the very least, it didn't seem natural. She took a moment to look behind her. Nothing about the woods seemed unordinary.

Maybe it leads somewhere. Better this than walking around in circles forever.

She quickly quelled any doubts she had about the plan with the simple promise of following the path back as soon as she'd adventured as far as she wanted to go. To be sure, she dragged a larger stick from a few feet away and laid it to where it partially covered the trail. Now, it would be impossible to get lost.

The gravel, surprisingly, felt great under her feet as she began walking. It reminded her more of the recreational area just outside her colony's cave. Dragons would often sunbathe on rocks while the hatchlings ran around and sparred with one another. The feeling evoked an odd sense of nostalgia; Misa never had much fun trying to keep up with her siblings or other hatchlings. They overpowered her much too easily, mostly in part due to her size. And yet, the feeling of something familiar calmed her heart and put a confident smirk on her face.

Yeah, they should see me now! Sure, it's only been two months, but there's no way any of them could keep up with me after all I learned! Vulcan's a better Haxorus than any of them ever will be!

She scanned either side of the trail, both for threats and potential food. However, she quickly came to the realization that Berries would be few and far between. She'd already noticed so many geographical similarities to her home, and if the trend continued, fruit would be scarce. She remembered the occasional apple tree, but her colony had subsisted almost entirely on meat.

She herself had no way of hunting. She'd tried in the past before Ray found her, but after a few near-losses against what would've otherwise been prey, she'd frustratedly resigned herself to eating Berries and catching the occasional fish.

Even then, after that first storm she would've completely starved had it not been for Jet and his Yache Berries that helped her warm up. At first she was furious he'd even thought about helping her, but her own hunger soon overrode any emotions she may have held to the contrary.

Her stomach growled. Grimacing, she started scanning the trees, looking for something, anything. A lake, maybe? If there was water nearby, it would open up the opportunity to fish.

She walked for about a half hour before it became obvious she was going nowhere. The trail had remained level, however the forest around it had not. On her right was a steep dropoff she would have to slide down to traverse. She couldn't imagine what it would take to get back up.

On her left was a hill of similar gradient to the one on her right, but instead an upward slope. She still found herself curious as to where the path of gravel went, but it was obvious there would be no food if she continued on the way she was going.

She moved to turn around when she heard something behind her. She froze.

In the distance, three figures, distinctly human, could be seen very steadily approaching, chatting nonchalantly. She hadn't heard them before over the sound of her own footsteps, but they were coming from where she'd started on the trail.

She instinctively darted for the side of the trail, only to realize either side was inaccessible. Her only option was to retreat further down the trail until she could find a place to hide out… Further away from Nox.

"Crap, the kid's gonna get eaten at this rate," she mumbled to herself before taking a moment to think. "Screw running. I'm already captured, aren't I? You can't use a Pokéball on a 'mon if they're already caught! What can they do to me?"

She puffed out her chest and stared down the still-faraway humans. Smirking confidently, she took a step forward. And then another. And another.

Soon enough, she was walking confidently towards them. The plan was simple, ignore them if at all possible and just continue on her way. Show no weakness. No mercy.

"Mom! Mom, look!" the youngest said, pointing at Misa as she came into view. She refused to react, head held high as if they were nonexistent.

"O-oh! Tim, don't. Just let it be."

Misa glanced at the female who'd said it for a quick moment. Were they… Scared of her?

"Look at that," the final one spoke in a loud whisper, male and the largest of all of them. "Hey T, c'mere."

Misa stopped, eyeing each of them cautiously. The young boy, responding to his father, left his mother behind and joined his father further down the trail, closer to Misa.

The way they were situated blocked Misa from getting further down the trail without pushing past them. Despite her heart racing, she resolved to stand her ground.

"Okay, so think," the father spoke. "Axew live on the other side of the bay, near the mountains. What's Axew's evolution line?"

"Fraxure and Haxorus! They're so cool!"

"Right. Now, if there's no Axew, Fraxure, or Haxorus that live around here, then why do you think this one is here?"

"Um…"

"Rich, we should probably just let it pass," the woman suggested from behind her son and husband. They ignored her.

Were they really using Misa as a learning experience? She didn't have time for this, but perhaps they would just let her leave if she waited long enough. If they had any intention of catching her, they would've attempted to do so already.

"Did it swim?"

The father laughed before pointing at Misa.

"No, look. She's too small to have travelled all the way here from across the ba-"

"Hey! Who the hell you calling small, you scrawny-ass twig-lookin' piece of shi-"

"See that?! She's sentient too, understands us talking. It means she was, or is, with a trainer."

Misa took a step back, taken aback she'd been interrupted. It took her a second to remember normal humans couldn't understand her speech.

"Whoa… Lucky. I wish I had an Axew."

"Maybe you will when you're old enough! Why not go and introduce yourself!"

Alarm bells rang in Misa's head, emulated in much the same way the mother reacted, stepping forward to plead.

"Rich, let's just keep going. What if that thing bites him?"

"Here…"

The father, again ignoring his wife's protests, dug through the pack on his back. Misa was ready to take off, but relaxed as he pulled out something entirely unfamiliar. Afterwards, he gave the item to his son, ushering him forwards.

"Go on, say hi. Don't get too close, but give it this if it's feeling friendly."

Misa's desire to remain stoic was deteriorating rapidly. What was it that they were to 'give' her? Was it dangerous?

The child was excited beyond belief, practicing all sorts of self-control in forcing himself to slowly approach Misa. She instinctively growled, starting to crouch.

"It's okay!" the child said, his voice breaking out over the sounds of bickering in the background. "I'm Tim… What's your name?"

"Misa," she responded suspiciously, refusing to break from her battle-ready stance.

"Axew?"

Misa rolled her eyes.

"Here, want a cracker?"

He haphazardly reached towards Misa, prompting her to step back and charge her tusks with energy as she growled again in warning.

The boy recoiled for a moment before trying again, much more slowly. As he was close to getting in Misa's range, however, he simply set the 'cracker' on the ground in front of her before pulling back and eyeing her patiently.

Misa paused for a moment, letting the energy drain out of her tusks. She'd heard the word 'cracker' before while under Drayden's care. What was it?

She tentatively reached out and snatched up the beige-colored disk before retreating. Unsure of what to do with it, she took a quick sniff.

Food!

Her instincts overcame her and she devoured the object without second thought, forgetting to chew as she swallowed it in a single gulp. Instantly, all signs of aggression were gone.

She let her legs carry her towards the small boy, proceeding to sniff all around him for more of these 'crackers' before her target had time to react.

"U-uh… Uh… Dad?! What's it doing?"

Misa could hear as the boy's father laughed in the background.

"It wants more food."

"So what do I do?!"

The crinkle of cellophane. It was a weird noise Misa had heard before, promptly before a few meals under Drayden's care. She stopped to look at the older human.

In his hand was what seemed to be a cylindrical sleeve. From it, he procured another one of those 'crackers'. Misa was transfixed, and quickly left the boy behind to rush down the father.

"Gimme! Just gimme the food, dumbass!"

"Hungry, aren't you?"

The father gave his wife the cracker he had in his hand. She'd since backed off somewhat due to Misa's approach, but carefully took the cracker.

She let her husband take her hand and guide it towards Misa. As soon as it came into range, she jumped up as high as she could and snatched it straight from her hand, prompting the woman to recoil, letting out a frightened squeak.

"More! C'mon, more damnit!"

The man laughed again before reaching down to let Misa jump and grab the entire sleeve from him. Misa nearly tore apart the plastic wrapping and devoured the first few crackers she could find.

The taste was indescribable. Such a simple snack tasted so, unbelievably good after the long day Misa had endured. She licked her chops before downing a few more.

In her absentmindedness, she didn't notice the man's hand approaching until she felt something lightly stroking her horn. Frightened, Misa whipped her head away and chomped down her jaw in the man's general direction.

It took a few seconds for anyone to register her teeth had met their mark.

"Ow! Damn it!" the man cursed, yanking his hand back as Misa opened her jaw. As she stood there for a moment, frozen, she watched the man as he cradled his injured wrist. A quick lick of her upper teeth revealed the metallic taste of blood.

"H-holy!" the woman exclaimed, taking her husband by the shoulder and pulling him back. In the gap it provided, Misa did the only thing she could think of doing.

Run.

She ran as fast as she could while still holding the sleeve of crackers close to her chest.

Why had she done that? It wasn't as if she was entirely unfamiliar with human contact. Drayden had even scratched her horn before, admittedly much to her satisfaction. She'd just acted without thinking, when the human was being nice enough to give her enough food to feed both herself and Nox!

What the hell is wrong with me?

Before she knew it, she'd ran far out of sight of the humans, and only dared turn around when the trail reopened up on either side and she could effectively hide if need be. The humans, however, were nowhere to be found.

She didn't let that stop her. She continued jogging all the way back to where she'd left her stick marker, entered the forest, and continued on at a suitable, if less brisk of a pace.

It took a bit of aimless wandering to find the hole again, but she eventually located the correct bush and pushed inside, kicking up a bit of dirt as she clumsily fell into the den.

"Misa?"

My voice sounded hoarse at best. I'd just woken up from something I could at least try and call a nap, noticing quickly the sky outside was starting to get dark.

"Did you find anything?"

She tossed a sleeve of crackers towards me, its contents spilling out as it hit the floor. My mouth instantly began watering, but I held myself back for a moment.

"Where'd you get this? You didn't rob a place, did you?"

"No…"

Misa, obviously not in the mood to chat, laid down and turned away from me.

What got into her?

The den was still cramped and Misa couldn't help but rest her tail over my legs. I didn't question her mood further, the tight conditions not hindering my ability to tear open the remaining cellophane and pierce a cracker with a claw.

While I appreciated the food, it couldn't help but make more apparently my need for something to drink. I shoved it in the back of my head. Perhaps tomorrow I'd be feeling up to going and searching for some water.


So, I have a bit of explaining to do.

First off, I'd like to apologize to all those who were actively wondering about the next update. I figured I should explain why it came so late.

In a word: college. I started my Freshman year this semester, and with it I took a lot of time away from my laptop. While adjusting to university life, I stopped myself on focusing on this chapter for a while.

Posting this means I've effectively adjusted and have somewhat gotten back into the groove of writing. However, this does not mean I'm going to restrict myself any further with an update schedule. In the future, updates will come as they come, mostly reliant on coursework, preoccupation, and a general desire to write. I hope you all can understand,

Now, for my thoughts on this chapter… It went a lot better than I'd expected. The Misa scene came pretty naturally from its conception, even if it underwent heavy edits. I thought the conversation between her and Ray came off as a bit clunky, but what can you do?

The scene break cutting to Vita had initially been a scene with Axle as he converses with Vulcan, Drayden, and Skipp, a scene I plan to include in the next chapter. Only reason I didn't include it here was due to some timeline inconsistencies, most of which I was able to fix. It's surprisingly difficult managing two separate stories in two entirely different timezones. Remember in the future that Kanto and the Orange Islands, where the main group is housed currently, is a full twelve hours ahead of Unova.

If any of you were readers of the OG Seven and Counting (back when it was called Another Chance), you might remember Jake. Chapter 4 of the original story detailed a battle with a certain annoying, inexperienced trainer and Ray, in which Victor takes out all of the opposing Pokemon with ease.

I had added this scene with the sole purpose of reintroducing the character in Act III as a trainer that actually captures Ray and Misa, but I actually scrapped this idea about halfway through Act II. I knew the story was beginning to drag on, and the idea was for Jake to capture Ray and Misa before taking them to Striaton's First Gym in his quest to complete the Gym Challenge himself. This was initially intended as a means to stretch the time in which the plot took place, as well as give Ray and Misa the experience necessary to become competent fighters. I'm sure you all can see, however, why this would've been a bad idea.

In choosing to remove the aforementioned plot arc, I ended up deleting Jake's character entirely within the first few chapters during my extensive rewrites of the First Act. However, as the Third Act rolled around and I was really without much driving force behind the narrative, I thought of a way to reintroduce his character. Thus, here we are now.

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates over the last few weeks as I've been adjusting to college life. I hope, however, more activity will come as the narrative begins to pick up from here.

Cheers!