She feels as if she should go over there and at least try and talk to him, but she loses her chance to when Duncan walks over to her and Ash, a broad smile plastered across his face, "That was so much fun!"

Casey tears her eyes away from Paul and looks over at her friends, a smile coming to her face when she sees just how happy they are, "It sure was!"

And she's not lying there. The competition sure has been a blast, though she must admit that Paul is still an enigma to her despite the fact that she's had the opportunity to battle him. Still, she knows that she'll see him again eventually. After all, they are technically rivals after all.


"Ew! Ew! EW!"

Casey's instantly taken aback when she walks into the main lobby of the Pokemon Center and finds Ash and Pikachu rushing about frantically, yelling out in disgust for seemingly no reason. She hasn't been out for long; she decided to go for a short walk after supper to help with her digestion, but she only went out for a short time.

"Oh, hey, Casey!"

Casey looks over to the person calling her name, surprised to notice that Zoey's there. She must've just arrived. Casey walks over to her Coordinator friend and greets her politely before asking the question burning in the back of her mind.

She glances over at Brock and gestures to Ash and Pikachu, who are still frantically screaming and rushing around, "What's up with those two?"

"Let's just say that they aren't a huge fan of their medicine." Brock chuckles.

It doesn't exactly answer her question, but Casey figures that there's no point in trying to find out anything else and instead chooses to speak to Zoey instead. She turns to her red-haired friend with a warm smile, "So, Zoey, what are you doing here?"

"Excuse me." Zoey loses her chance to speak when Nurse Joy approaches the group, albeit rather timidly, and directs her attention towards Casey, "Casey, there's a video call for you."

"Really?" Casey asks, rather surprised to hear that somebody's calling her. Who would be calling her? It wouldn't be her grandfather since he's absolutely awful with technology, "Who is it?"

"Cynthia."

"Cynthia?!" Zoey gawks beside Casey, looking between the nurse and Casey with wide eyes, "As in the Champion Cynthia?"

"Yes." Nurse Joy says, "She called and specifically requested to talk to Casey. She's waiting on one of the videophones."

Casey can't help but be taken aback by Nurse Joy's explanation. Cynthia called and requested to speak to her? Why? Sure, she's met Cynthia a couple of times before, but why would somebody as important as the Champion take the time out of her evening to speak to her? When she thinks about that, Casey realises that she's probably being really rude by leaving Cynthia waiting around.

She takes a glance over at her friends, knowing that she should ask them if she can go answer the call just out of curtesy, but Brock speaks up before she gets the chance, "Don't keep her waiting too long, Casey."

Casey smiles gratefully over at Brock before saying goodbye to the others. She follows after Nurse Joy as she leads her to where the videophones are located along the back wall of the lobby. Nobody is in the area, but that doesn't really surprise Casey considering how late it is. She wouldn't have expected the area to be bustling.

"It's the videophone on the far left." Nurse Joy says, gesturing to the videophone at the end of the row. She nods her head towards her desk back at the front of the lobby, "I'll be at my desk if you need anything."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy."

The kindly nurse nods before walking over to her desk, leaving Casey stood alone at the videophone station. The young trainer, eager to hear what Cynthia has to say, rushes over to the correct videophone, still astonished when she sees that Cynthia is indeed on the screen.

"Hi, Casey."

"Hi, Cynthia." Casey smiles, though she's concerned that she may look slightly awkward, "How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you." Cynthia replies politely, "I was actually calling to see how you are."

"How I am?"

Cynthia nods, "I know that something happened back in Amity Square, and I have a feeling that you haven't talked to your friends about it. Am I right in thinking that?"

Casey sighs. Cynthia sure is perceptive, but, then again, that's the kind of quality that a Champion should possess, "It-It's ridiculous, really. It's not worth talking about."

"And why is that?"

Casey laughs dryly, "Because it makes me sound like a nut job."

"Tell me about it." Cynthia says, a steady and commanding tone present in her voice, "Keeping things to yourself can become a problem in the future. It could throw you off in an important battle."

"I was fine in the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition. My partner and I won it."

"I know. I saw it on TV."

Casey's eyes go wide in shock at that, "You did?"

The last thing she expected was for Cynthia to sit down and watch competitions on TV, let alone watch her in a competition.

"I admire your skill in battle, Casey. I don't admire your negligence to your own personal problems." Cynthia says, her tone switching to a more serious and adamant one, "You don't have to talk to me about it, but at least talk to your friends about it."

Casey sighs again. She knows that Cynthia's right. She just doesn't want to admit that. Still, she'd much rather talk to Cynthia about it than her friends. She sees her friends everyday and she knows that they have their own things to think and worry about. They don't need to hear about her personal problems.

"I...I saw something back in Amity Square." Casey gulps, "Something that I can't explain."

"Well, maybe I can explain it. If you don't mind, can you describe what you saw?"

Casey gulps again. She hasn't really given the situation much thought since the day it happened, so it feels strange to her to start now. But, at the same, it almost feels...uplifting to be able to talk about it. She can't really explain it.

"It was dark for the most part, but there was this...beacon of light in the distance. I could hear these voices too."

"What were the voices saying?"

Casey shrugs, "Something about an International Policeman and their boss' plans."

"Do you know who their boss is?"

"I don't even know who they are! I don't understand any of this, Cynthia! This is exactly why I don't want to think about it! It's all just in my head! Don't you get that?!"

Casey's eyes go wide as soon as she stops yelling. She instantly slaps her hand over her mouth, looking back at the surprisingly calm Champion in panic.

I just yelled at the Champion! The Champion! What was I thinking?!

"I don't think that it's all in your head, Casey."

Casey's instantly taken aback by Cynthia's calm and short response. She had half been expecting the Champion to shout back at her or even just hang up, but yet she still shows concern and interest for what she saw. Then again, Cynthia does have a rather calm temperament, so she shouldn't be too surprised.

"You don't?"

Cynthia shakes her head, "No. I don't know what it is just yet, but there has to be a reason why you saw what you did. Now that I know more, I'll look into it and try to find out more about it, if that's okay with you?"

It couldn't hurt, I suppose.

Casey nods and gives Cynthia a thankful smile, "Thanks, Cynthia. That'd be helpful."

"So, where are you headed next?" Cynthia asks, surprising Casey by abruptly changing the subject. It's not like Casey minds it. She loves talking about her upcoming gym battles much like how Ash does.

"We're heading for the Veilstone City Gym, actually." Casey replies, "We tried to challenge the Hearthome City Gym, but the Gym Leader wasn't there. That's why we entered the Tag Battle Competition. We needed something to do."

"Hmm, Hearthome City you say?" Cynthia murmurs, her finger pressed to the bottom of her chin as she appears to be in deep thought, "I'll have to look into that when I get a moment."

"Hey, Cynthia!"

Casey turns around when she hears Ash call out. The raven-haired trainer is approaching the videophone with a broad smile on his face, Pikachu as chirpy as ever on his shoulder. Cynthia greets them warmly when they reach the videophone, "Hi, Ash. Pikachu. How are your Gym Battles going?"

And that's how Casey spends her next twenty minutes: half listening to Ash tell Cynthia about how their journey is going. She would put all of her attention in their conversation, but her mind ends up drifting elsewhere, specifically to her own conversation with Cynthia. She has to admit that she feels slightly better having talked about the situation, but it's all still an enigma to her, and all that does is scare her. Even with the promised help from Cynthia, she can't help but feel afraid.

She just can't.


She sighs as she reclines back into the surprisingly soft leather chair in the far corner of the Pokemon Center, her eyes shut in deep thought. She knows that she could join her friends outside and join in with their training, but she hasn't been able to stop thinking about her conversation with Cynthia since last night. Sure, to an outsider looking in the conversation may not seem that important, but to Casey it's more important than anything she can understand. As much as she hates to admit it, everything that Cynthia said was right. She has been avoiding all of her personal problems in favour for other things, and like it or not she's going to have to confront those problems eventually. Her conversation with Cynthia gave her the chance to do just that, despite her admittedly still being rather reluctant to do so.

"Mon?"

She opens up her eyes and smiles over at Monferno, the Playful Pokemon looking back at her with curiosity in his eyes, "What's up, pal?"

"Mon-ferno! Mon! Monferno?"

"Okay, okay! Chill, pal! Chill!" Casey laughs at his frantic comments, giving him a reassuring smile as she makes him quieten down, "I'm all good, pal. I'm just thinking."

"Mon?"

"Just stuff. I promise that I'll tell you about it soon, okay? I just need more time to think about it." Casey says, though Monferno still doesn't seem convinced. She figures that it's best for her to change the subject, so she stands up from her chair and smiles down at Monferno, "How about we go and find the others, yeah? Sound good?"

He still doesn't look fully convinced, but he does listen to her. He jumps down from the seat that he's perched on and follows his trainer as she walks through the Pokemon Center in search of their friends, finally finding them sat at the opposite corner of the facility.

The first thing that she notices is that Nurse Joy is sat with them, which initially catches her off guard. Nurse Joy's always busy doing her job after all, so she wouldn't be sat with them unless it was for an important reason. She also notices just how glum Ash and Dawn look. They both look really down about something and so do Aipom and Buizel, both Pokemon sat beside their respective trainers.

"Hey, guys." Casey greets as she and Monferno take a seat alongside Zoey. She directs her attention towards Ash and Dawn, the two dismal trainers sat opposite her, "Why do you two look so down?"

"They're a bit stuck on something." Zoey says.

"What is it?" Casey asks, looking over at her saddened friends with a warm smile. She wants to help them out if she can, "I might be able to help you guys out, so hit me with it."

"You see, I know how much Aipom loves Pokemon Contests."

"And I know how much Buizel loves to battle." Dawn adds, her voice sounding just as glum as Ash's was before her, "But we don't know if we can go through with it."

"Go through with what?"

"A Pokemon Trade."

Casey sucks in a harsh breath at that. Pokemon Trades sure are difficult to go through with. On the one hand, it's exciting as you're getting a new Pokemon to raise and battle alongside, but at the same time you're losing a Pokemon that you've formed such a strong bond with and have so many great memories with. Casey's had her own experience when it comes to Pokemon Trades, and though it was a while ago it's something that she still thinks about even now.

Maybe I can reassure them by telling them what happened.

In that moment, Casey decides exactly what she needs to do to help out her friends. She needs to reminisce.

"Did I ever tell you guys about my Seadra?" She asks, her friends silently shaking their heads in response, "Well, back when I was travelling through Kanto, I caught a Horsea. I travelled around with Horsea for a long time, and I even raised it to the point where it evolved into a Seadra."

"Wow, Casey! That's incredible!" Brock compliments.

The others echo Brock's sentiment, to which Casey thanks them with a warm smile before continuing on with her story, "Seadra was incredible. It was super strong, and for a long time we made a great team. But, around the time that I earned by fifth badge in Kanto, I began to notice that Seadra's heart just wasn't set on battling."

"What do you mean?"

"Seadra loved to swim to its hearts content. A lot of the time when training in water, Seadra would get distracted and just swim about. It took me a while to realise, but soon I figured out that Seadra preferred to swim freely that swim around whilst battling. At first I didn't know what to do about it, but then when I was travelling back through Vermillion City I met a trainer called Lonnie." Casey explains, her friends and Nurse Joy listening eagerly as she talks, "Lonnie was actually the coach of a popular all-Pokemon swim team."

"An all-Pokemon swim team?" Ash asks, confusion settling in across his face at the introduction of such an obscure concept.

"They travel all over and compete in races against other Pokemon swim teams from across the world." Casey clarifies, some of the confusion disappearing from Ash's face at the clarification. He still looks rather confused, but that's just how Ash is so Casey keeps on talking despite it, "When I met Lonnie, I instantly thought that Seadra would find it interesting, so I asked if we could come along to one of their practice sessions. One thing led to another and Seadra ended up getting involved in the practice session and Lonnie was instantly impressed by how fast Seadra was in the water. She had asked me if I ever considered letting Seadra compete on an all-Pokemon swim team, but I told her that I hadn't. That was when she suggested that I trade her Seadra for one of her Pokemon."

"Seriously?!" Dawn asks, clearly taken aback hearing such an abrupt decision, "Just like that?"

Casey nods, "At first I was apprehensive about it all, but then she told me about one of the Pokemon on her swim team. She had a Squirtle that, to be quite frank, had no interest in being on the team. Apparently it would sneak out of practice sessions and practice battling around the back of the facility because all it wanted to do was battle."

"So what did you do next?"

"I met the Squirtle and we got along instantly. It was incredibly friendly and a skilled battler from what I saw. It was clear that what Lonnie told me was the truth." Casey says, sighing slightly as she thinks back on it, "So, I asked Seadra what it wanted to do. I asked if it wanted to go with Lonnie and her swim team or stay with me."

"What did it do?"

"Let's just say that I haven't seen Seadra since."

Both Ash and Dawn look at her pitifully, the latter of the two speaking up first in an apologetic voice, "Oh, I'm sorry, Casey."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. In fact, it was one of the greatest things I've ever done." Casey replies, both of their eyes going wide at her statement. She has to stifle a laugh at their reaction, "Yeah. I mean, Seadra got the chance to do what it wanted with its life instead of being forced into something else. Plus, I raised that Squirtle until it evolved into a Wartortle and I even competed in the Indigo Conference alongside that Wartortle. It's the reason I got to the finals, actually."

"So, in the end, it all turned out okay?"

"That's right, and not just for me." Casey smiles, "At the end of the day, it's up to the trainer to do what's best for the Pokemon. It's our job to adjust around what our Pokemon want and need to do. That's what separates the good trainers from the great ones."

"Whoa, I never thought of it that way!" Ash replies honestly, pausing briefly as he seems to go into a state of deep thought. Casey's about to ask him if he's okay when he suddenly jolts back to life again, looking over at Dawn with a wide smile on his face, "I just got a great idea!"

"What is it?"

"I'll team up with Buizel and have a battle with Casey whilst you team up with Aipom and have a contest battle against Zoey!"

"I get it!" Brock remarks, "You're testing to see whether or not you're compatible!"

"That's right!" Ash nods over at his long-time friend before glancing back to the bluenette sat beside him, "So, what do you say, Dawn?"

"Sure, let's do it!"


"Dratini, light it up!"

Casey throws Dratini's Pokeball out onto the battlefield with gusto, the small Dragon Pokemon bursting out of her capsule with a defiant battle cry. She instantly scans the battlefield for her opponent, her body becoming rigid when she notices Buizel stood on the opposite side. She glances back at Casey with a look of nothing but confusion in her eyes, her trainer holding back a laugh when she sees just how confused the Dragon Pokemon is.

"Buizel's battling with Ash today, Dratini. You've had practice battles with Buizel before. You know what to do."

The confusion fades away from Dratini's eyes and the Dragon Pokemon gives her trainer a confident nod, turning back towards her opponent with a steeled look in her eyes.

Oh, yeah! Dratini's ready for this!

"Alright, Dratini, let's start this off with-!"

"Why you poor, poor, lost young people!"

Casey pauses abruptly when she hears an oddly familiar feminine voice calls out suddenly. Even Dawn and Zoey pause their contest battle to look over at the oddly dressed woman as she approaches alongside a small...man? Casey doesn't exactly know what the other person (if they are a person) is, but she does know that they are as oddly dressed as the woman.

"Do we know you?" Dawn asks, walking over to the group along with Zoey and Brock, their Pokemon following in tow, "You look awfully familiar."

The oddly dressed woman frantically shakes her head at the accusations, which is something that Casey can't help but find suspicious, "Unless you've used our Pokemon-o-pair service, then no."

"See, we raise folks Pokemon and we'll raise yours!"

Pokemon-o-pair service? What in the world is that supposed to be?

Casey looks at them skeptically. This doesn't seem right to her. She can't explain it, but something about these people just seems off to her. She doesn't trust them, that's for sure.

"Jessie! Meowth! What are you two doing?"

It seems that Casey's suspicions were spot on, as none other than James is approaching the oddly dressed people alongside his Carnivine, a confused expression written across his face. The others all seem to be confused as the strange people rush towards James, but it doesn't take Casey long to figure it out.

"Team Rocket!" She calls out to the nefarious crooks angrily, Dratini joining her in staring defiantly at the villains, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Casey's once again caught off guard when the evil trio flat out ignore her and seemingly begin to cry, though she can't figure out why they're doing so. They were fine a few moments ago and now they're bawling their eyes out. It doesn't make any sense.

"Uh, what's going on?" Ash asks, looking at Team Rocket with a confused expression on his face.

"Believe me, Ash, that's just what I want to know."

"No matter how weak and feeble I will not let their efforts go in vain!" James yells out abruptly. The tearful bluenette of the trio turns around from the sobbing group and points towards Casey and her friends, shouting with gusto at the group of young trainers, "Let's go, Carnivine!"

The Bug Catcher Pokemon moves away from its trainer and gets into a battle stance, ready to fire off an attack at a moments notice. Jessie, who's still dressed up in her ridiculous disguise, follows his lead and sends out her own Pokemon, both Dustox and Seviper bursting out of their Pokeballs in bright flashes of light.

"Dustox use Psybeam, let's go!"

"Quick, Carnivine! Use Bullet Seed!"

Both attacks catch Casey and her friends off guard, as none of them react in time to block the attacks from landing around them, effectively distracting them completely from Team Rocket momentarily. Jessie decides to take this time to plan her next attack, "Alright, Seviper! Use Haze!"

Seviper's obeys its trainers command and fires off the Ice-Type attack, cloaking the surrounding area in a cloud of thick, black smoke. Casey quickly covers her mouth and nose to avoid inhaling any of the intoxicating smoke as Ash springs into action, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a single Pokeball.

"Staravia, use Gust, now!"

He throws the Pokeball up into the air and Staravia bursts out of it, instantly using the move that Ash has commanded it to. It manages to clear away the smoke, revealing the now non-disguised Team Rocket to the group stood in their usual flashy stances.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's coming next.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"

"It's speaking to me loud and clear."

Okay, I've had enough of this.

"Give it up, you three!" Casey yells, completely cutting off Team Rocket's attempts at reciting their motto, "Cut this out right now or I'll-!"

"Hold it, shrimpy twerpette!" Meowth says abruptly in his usual teasing voice.

Shrimpy? I'm not shrimpy! How am I shrimpy?

"If you do anything, you'll have to say goodbye to your Pokemon pals!"

At first Casey and the others are highly confused by Meowth's statement, but it all becomes clear when Seviper and Carnivine appear out of what seems like nowhere, Zoey's Glameow and her Dratini held captive in their respective grips.

Casey's glare intensifies at the sight of Dratini being restricted in Seviper's coil-like grip. She speaks to the cruel crooks before her in a low yet forceful tone, "Let Dratini and Glameow go right now!"

"Let me think about that for a second...not a chance, twerpette!" Jessie taunts, clearly enjoying the power that they have over them. Using that power to her advantage, Jessie orders her Pokemon to send out another powerful attack, "Use Psybeam, Dustox!"

Casey's surprised when Jessie's Dustox fires off its Psybeam attack directly at her, the multicolored beam striking her directly in the chest and sending her flying backwards. She feels the wind get knocked right out of her as she slams down onto the ground, a crushing pain throbbing at her chest where she was struck. She tries to push herself up off of the ground, but she doesn't get very far before the pain in her chest intensifies, forcing her to lay back down on the ground again.

"Casey!" Zoey calls out to her as she and Brock rush over to her, looking down at her with deep concern, "Are you alright?!"

Casey gives her a slight nod as she attempts to push herself up again, falling short when the pain at her chest continues to take its toll. Brock seems to notice this as he reaches out and grabs her shoulder, carefully and slowly helping her sit up.

"Hey, take it easy."

Casey shakes her head stubbornly, trying her best to stand up from the ground, "We've got to stop Team Ro-!"

"We're blasting off again!"

Casey stops instantly when she hears the panicked voices of Jessie, James and Meowth in the far distance; she looks up to the sky and sees them spiralling at breakneck speed into the horizon just before they disappear from view.

"Great job, Buizel!"

"You were awesome, Aipom!"

Casey directs her attention towards her friends and she can't help but smile when she sees just how happy they look. Buizel's stood beside Ash whilst Aipom's stood beside Dawn, and to Casey both the trainers and Pokemon look happier than they ever have before. Despite her dazed state, it doesn't take long for her to figure out what happened: Ash and Dawn must've dealt with Team Rocket whilst she was incapacitated.

Dratini and Glameow, now free from Team Rocket's grasp, run over to their trainers, both Casey and Zoey relieved to see that they're both okay. Sure, Casey wasn't exactly much help, but at the end of the day she's just glad that Dratini and Glameow are safe and that Ash and Dawn can work well with Buizel and Aipom respectively. She has no doubt that they'll go through with the Pokemon trade now.


Hi, everybody! Sorry its been a while since I last updated, I've been super busy! Despite that, I hope that ya'll enjoy this chapter and leave a review if you do! Thanks for reading!