Green waited by the Pokémon Centre's front desk, tapping a lazy rhythm on the counter. Her hiking backpack sat beside her, tall enough to reach her waist even while slumped over. The lobby was empty apart from herself, Abby and Joel. As for Jackson, he had left in the morning with three stitches in the back of the head from Joel. He had yelled something about an Esprit as he dashed out the door. Whatever that was. Regardless, he'd left before the chaos had begun outside.

Abby sat alone in one of the booths that lined the glass walls of the centre. Or at least the walls would have been glass if Joel hadn't lowered the shutters. Thick and made of steel, the shutters covered the huge panes of glass lining the walls, blocking out the prying eyes of the outside world. Green was thankful for it. What awaited them was best left outside for now. Meanwhile, Joel approached the desk with a collection of items cradled in his arms. He dumped them on the desk rather unceremoniously, winced and scrambled to make the items presentable. Green smiled and stopped her tapping.

"It's okay, I've got it," she laughed and grabbed the first item, a pokéball.

Her smile became a grin as she held it up in front of her. Joel leaned over the counter and peered at the ball.

"He didn't have much to heal so he should be ready to go whenever you like," Joel said.

"Got it!" Green released Machoke.

With a powerful flash of red light, Machoke materialised beside Green. Immediately, Machoke opened his arms and bellowed.

"Ma!"

He lifted her off her feet and hugged her so tight he threatened to crush her. Unbothered, Green returned the hug with a hysterical laugh.

"Hey, buddy! Missed you too!"

"Machoke!"

Machoke put Green down and looked around. His face hardened as he scanned the shuttered walls.

"Choke…"

"It's alright." Green patted his arm as she clipped his ball to her belt. "We're safe in here."

Machoke nodded but still watched the walls with narrowed eyes. Green turned her attention to the second item on the desk.

"How'd you go with this?" Green asked Joel as she picked up Red's old pokédex.

"It took me a while to find the right adaptor for it. I don't know where you got a 1st generation dex from. But no, the map should be updated now," Joel said.

"Thanks, appreciate it." Green opened her bag and tucked the pokédex into an interior pouch.

"No problem."

Joel glanced past Green at Abby and his brow furrowed. He slid the final item across the desk to Green, a brown paper bag.

"Take care of her, okay? I'm worried. She's…" Joel paused, and looked away as he tried to find the words before reluctantly pulling his gaze back to Green, defeated.

Green took the bag.

"Don't worry, she'll be okay. Abby's got a strong will."

"I don't know if anybody would be okay after being attacked like that," Joel said.

"Well, Abby's not just anyone!" Green snapped. She recoiled at her own tone immediately and looked away embarrassed.

Joel looked at her baffled.

"Oh, yeah I guess."

"Yeah, thanks for the help." Green darted away from the desk, cheeks burning.

Machoke followed after her, his long casual strides rumbling the ground ever so slightly. Suddenly, he stopped. Green stopped too and turned around, finding him staring at the mounted TV above the entrance. News coverage was being broadcasted. News coverage of Celadon square. The tattered cobbles. The cracked buildings. The shattered windows. The enormous pit in the centre of it all. Coverage of the devastation Green's battle with Kerr had caused had practically been playing non-stop ever since Green awoke. Probably for much longer than even that. Currently, a reporter was saying something while standing outside the Pokémon Centre. What that was, Green couldn't tell. The TV was muted. As it should be. Reliving last night was the last thing Abby needed. Or what Green needed for that matter. But then, footage of last night began to play on the TV. Footage from a phone, all shaky and low quality. It showed Machoke and Rhyperior standing off. Green was out of frame but Kerr wasn't. He looked terrified. Far more terrified than Green had remembered him being. He pointed at Machoke and shouted something. Rhyperior's legs burst into brown flames and he stomped the ground. Then, after a short pause the air suddenly became filled with dust and whoever was filming fell. The footage went black. Green looked away, feeling slightly nauseous. She looked to Machoke. His fists were clenched and he was grating his teeth, muttering to himself.

"You did well," Green said and patted his forearm.

Machoke didn't even look down at her. He just kept staring as more phone footage of different angles played. Green had seen enough.

She joined Abby in her booth, taking a seat on the red leather cushion across from her. Abby was fidgeting with a pokéball and didn't stop to acknowledge Green's arrival. Over and over, Abby held down the ball's button, shrinking it and enlarging it. None of her pokémon were out and all her other pokéballs were out of sight. Green put the paper bag on the table between them.

"Hey, I got you something," Green said.

"What?" Abby looked up at the bag.

"I had Joel look around the back." Green opened the paper bag and put her hand inside. "He found this in the lost and found." Out of the bag, Green retrieved a pokéball belt.

The belt was entirely leather. The leather was old and worn but still sturdy enough to use. Instead of the mechanised holsters that Green's belt had, this one had six leather pouches. Each was fastened by a copper button. Besides the sixth pouch was a much larger one for holding medicine.

"Thanks," Abby muttered.

Abby stood and slipped the belt through her jean's belt loops, having to fight the pouches through the loops. Eventually, she fastened the belt buckle and sat back down without a word. From her backpack, she got her three other pokéballs. One by one, she shrank them down with an extended press of their button and slipped them inside the belt's pouches. All except one. That one she continued to fiddle with. Together, Green and Abby sat in silence. Green expected Abby would say something eventually, they had a lot of work to do after all. But Abby didn't. An agonising amount of time passed before Green finally gave in. She got out Red's old pokédex and placed it on the table. After a moment of fighting with the worn, sticky buttons Green was able to bring up a hologram of Kanto. A red sphere blinked on the blue display where Celadon was marked.

"So… what's our plan?" Green asked.

Finally, Abby looked up at her. But only for a second before turning to the map. She sat forward and studied it for a moment.

"We'll head south on Gyarados. Then approach Fuchsia from the east." Abby sat back in her seat and returned to her fiddling.

Green blinked at her.

"Wha- Why?" She pushed her finger into the hologram and ran it west from Celadon. A yellow line trailed after her finger across the blue landscape. "It's quicker to go this way and take the bike path. Or uh, Fuchsia bridge as it's called now."

"It is. But it's too dangerous," Abby said.

"It's just a bridge."

"A bridge where the bike gangs hang out."

"What? The bridge bandit club? Those guys are harmless."

"The rangers have clout with them. They'll have been paid off to look out for us."

"Oh..." Green pulled back her hand and the yellow line blinked away. "But… I thought you said Gyarados isn't ready to fly us around."

"He isn't," Abby said with a twang of hostility. "But we don't have a choice." She leaned forward and redrew the line Green had made but stopped before the bridge. "We'll still head west initially. We want the rangers to think we're taking the obvious route and those reporters will help our facade. Then once night falls we'll fly south above the clouds."

"Ah, okay. That makes sense." Green nodded.

Abby didn't respond and went back to fiddling with her pokéball. Again they were plunged into awkward silence. Green couldn't bring herself to ask why Abby was acting this way. She knew why. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Joel was right. The attack had changed something in Abby. All Green could do was hope it wasn't forever. She wasn't really liking the new Abby.

"Abby…" Green paused, hoping she'd look up. She didn't. "How many more rangers will be after us?"

Abby shrugged.

"Those guys were Lieutenants. There's one Lieutenant for each Pokémon type. They're in charge of overseeing the care and well being of their types. So, depending on how badly the rangers council want to catch us there could be no more coming. Or there could be sixteen," Abby said.

"Sixteen…" Green felt her stomach drop.

"Although, seeing as one day every ranger had been mobilised and the next they weren't I don't think sixteen is likely. But still, it's definitely not none," Abby said.

Green made herself smile.

"Well, we'll just have to keep getting stronger then huh?" Green pepped up.

"Yeah," Abby said.

Just as Green thought another unbearable silence was about to return, Machoke spoke.

"Ma?" He asked, still looking at the TV.

"What's- Oh!" Green exclaimed.

On the TV the same news reporter who had been standing outside the Pokémon Centre was now running through a crowd of fellow reporters. Through the sea of jostling heads and shoulder-mounted cameras, Green could make out Erika. Tangrowth was clearing a path for her, nudging reporters to the side and swatting away microphones. No one seemed confident enough to try and resist him. Green could only imagine the kind of questions they were asking her. Well less asking and more like shouting at her. Green glanced back and saw Joel watching the TV too, eyes wide with alarm. He ducked down and began frantically fiddling with something below the counter. Then, just as Erika reached the shuttered entrance of the Pokémon Centre, Joel flicked an unseen switch. The shutters over the entrance shot up and the glass doors slid open. A barrage of noise followed. Reporters shouting, cameras clicking and the thunderous jostling of feet. Tangrowth entered the entrance first and stopped partway through. He turned around, opened his arms wide and expanded them to create a wall of blue vines over the doorway. A thin opening appeared in the wall of vines and Erika squeezed through.

"God!" She huffed and looked back with a scowl. "You'd think the world is ending."

The wall of vines snapped back and rejoined Tangrowth's arms to reveal a new wall of cameras, faces and microphones all fighting for dominance. One rather brave or perhaps stupid reporter tried to follow Erika inside. He was met with Tangrowth's hand, or the end of his thick arm of vines. The hand pressed against the reporter's chest and immediately his gung ho attitude was wiped away. A gentle push was all it took to make him stagger back into the crowd. The wall of reporters inched back. Tangrowth turned and followed Erika inside. Joel flipped a switch and the shutters slammed down behind them.

"Sorry about all this," Erika said as she approached the table.

Green was about to respond when Machoke cried out.

"Ma!" He roared with a beaming grin as he greeted Tangrowth.

"Tangrowth!" He greeted in a low, smooth voice.

Tangrowth's large round eyes arched with a smile. The two Pokémon hugged. Tangrowth hoisted Machoke into the air, making him roar with laughter.

"Don't be, it's not your fault," Abby said. She lifted her eyes from her pokéball and met Erika with a neutral gaze.

"It is in part. I'm Celadon's gym leader, protecting the city is my-" Erika stopped abruptly and lifted her hands with a shake of her head. "Look, never mind. Now isn't the time to argue about blame."

"They'd disagree." Green gestured to the door.

"Don't mind them, they're just chasing the next big story," Erika said. "But anyways. How are you two? Have you recovered?"

"We're fine," Abby answered quickly.

Green shot her a glance but nodded all the same.

"Yeah, fine."

"Good." Erika nodded. "So you're fine to travel then?"

"We plan on it," Abby said.

"Why?" Green asked cautiously.

Erika looked away for a moment and clenched her jaw.

"Celadon's council will be meeting today to discuss what happened. I'm going to do my best to advocate for you. I'll tell them what happened. How you were attacked. How the rangers initiated it all." Erika looked at Green. "And how you tried to deescalate."

"Okay… but why does that mean we should leave?" Green asked.

Erika went to answer but Abby spoke over her.

"The idea of the rangers basically committing an act of terrorism will be a hard pill to swallow for any council," Abby said without looking Green's way.

"Yeah." Erika nodded. "There's a chance you two will receive the blame for this. So it'd be best you're far away from here just in case."

"Alright, that makes sense," Green said. "We'll leave soon then. We're planning on-"

"Heading west and taking the bridge to Fuchsia." Abby interrupted.

Green went to protest but stopped herself. Lying to Erika didn't feel good but she could see Abby's reasoning. Reluctantly, Green held her tongue.

"Good, that's a smart move." Erika's hardened face dropped away into a smile. "You two did amazingly by the way. Thank you." Erika's thanks came out a little quieter. She blushed as she said it.

Green stood and gave her a hug.

"Thanks, Erika."

Erika returned the embrace with a gentle squeeze. Then they broke apart. When they did, Erika's face was an even brighter shade of red. Abby got up too, although she didn't go for a hug and when Erika tried to offer her a handshake she reared back for a moment. But only for a moment. In the next, as if suddenly becoming aware of herself Abby calmed and accepted the handshake. Although she seemed to wince as her palm touched Erika's. If Erika had been weirded out by Abby's behaviour she didn't show it.

"When all this settles we should meet up again," Erika said to Green in a small voice as she flashed a sheepish look over at Machoke.

Now Green was blushing.

"Y-Yeah. Definitely." Her stomach did a flip.

Abby slipped past Erika and waited by the entrance. She stared at the shuttered doors intently. Green gave Erika an apologetic look.

"We should get going now," Green said. She hoisted her hiking bag up onto her shoulders.

"Alright, good luck." Erika's blushing face stiffened with determination.

Green nodded and found herself with the same look.

"You too!"

With that, Green joined Abby by the door. She ignored the lack of a reaction to her presence and waved to Machoke.

"Come on buddy! Time to go!" Green called out.

Machoke grinned at her, gave Tangrowth a friendly punch to the chest and jogged over to join them by the entrance.

"I'll need you to clear a path for us when we get out there okay?" Green asked.

"Ma!" Machoke pounded his chest.

"Stay close alright?" Green said to Abby. "And don't answer any of their questions, you'll just get trapped by unending questions."

"Yeah I know," Abby said.

Abby slipped the ball in her hand into the first pouch of her belt. From behind, Joel called out to them.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready!" Green gave him a thumbs up.

"Alright, good luck guys!"

Abby shifted her eyes as if to glance back but didn't commit with a head turn. Joel flipped the switch and the shutters shot open. The roar of reporters rushed to meet them.

The pandemonium swallowed up Green, Abby and Machoke all at once. Camera shutters snapped in their faces like the gnashing of jaws. Microphones waggled around their heads, dancing and weaving frantically to dominate the others. A sea of faces shouted and bellowed all sorts of questions.

"What are your names?!"

"Where are you from?!"

"Did you intentionally destroy the square?!"

Green reached out to Abby. She needed to keep her close. To keep her safe. But Green only grabbed air. Frantically, she spun around to find Abby being swallowed up by the crowd. A wall of reporters cut her off and in an instant, she was gone.

"Abby!" Green yelled but it was no good. She could barely hear herself over the commotion let alone any response Abby might have given. "Keep to the plan! We'll meet up at the route!" Green cried anyway.

Machoke's arm suddenly wrapped around Green's waist and yanked her into his grasp. She thudded against his chest and was squeezed as he dragged her through the crowd. More questions continued to bombard her. The words were all starting to mesh together.

"Rangers-"

"Safety-"

"Injured-"

"Hero!"

Then abruptly one question cut through them all.

"Why did you attack an employ of the Indigo Plateau?!"

Green didn't get a chance to respond.

"MACHOKE!" Machoke roared and stomped the ground.

His upper body erupted into orange flames as he continued to bellow. Questions were replaced by screaming and shouting.

"No!" Green yelled and tugged on his flaming arm. "Stop! Calm down!"

Machoke yanked out of Green's grip and started beating on his chest. All around them, reporters and camera crew all stood frozen, eyes wide. Machoke took a step forward and as a collective, they winced. Machoke swung both his arms and as if clearing thick foliage, toppled over the reporters in his path. Yells and shouts roared around them as cameras shattered on the ground and microphones scattered. Machoke turned, grabbed Green by the wrist and dragged her through the opening in the crowd. Frozen by shock, all Green could do was stumble after him as if she were a little girl being dragged by her mother again. Once they cleared the huddled crowd of reporters, the world opened back up around Green. The square's devastation was far worse than her memories or the broadcasts had made it out to be. It was as if a bomb had hit. The once colourful, cobbled ground was now grey and brown. Shattered, colourless cobbles littered the ground all coated in a thick layer of dust. The colour of the surrounding buildings was gone too. Now, they were tattered with enormous cracks that rose from their foundations all the way to their roofs. Windows were now at worst empty squares and at best full of jagged pieces of glass that had managed to cling on. Inside the ruined buildings Green caught glimpses of homes and shops frozen in whatever state they'd been abandoned in. Meals on tables. Products prepped for sale. All turned grey by dust. Furniture had been shredded. Shelves had been knocked over.

"I caused this?" The thought entered Green's head for only a moment before her logic snapped it away. "No, Kerr caused this. The other one too. They attacked us. We were just defending ourselves."

Green slammed into Machoke's back and fell backwards. He caught her wrist and yanked her back to her feet. With a confused gasp, Green steadied herself on him. She looked around and found that Machoke had stopped right on the edge of the square before the beginning of a main road. Ahead of them, lining the streets and peering from windows, people stared at them. Hundreds of faces and hundreds of eyes all staring at her. Judging her. Accusing her. Again, Green's logic whipped her mind.

"You don't know that," she thought.

Green looked again. Sure enough, the accusation melted away from the faces. Looks of admiration, looks of confusion and looks of apathy made themselves clear. Although, the judgement didn't disappear completely. It still remained but did not dominate. The scowls were but a piece of a larger puzzle. Green straightened her back, pulled her hand away from Machoke's and stepped past him. She walked down the street with a steady march and kept her eye glued forward. When she passed those with accusatory stares, she did not stop. When someone yelled at her, she did not stop. When something was thrown at her, she did not stop.

"I am in the right. I am in the right." Green told herself over and over again.

That voice started as a whisper. Behind her, Machoke's footsteps rumbled the ground. With each thud, the voice grew louder until it was shouting. For a moment, Green felt as if she could break out into a sprint and run forever. Everything seemed to soar. Until she saw Abby waiting for her at the end of the street, leaning against the sign labelled, "Route 16," with a bored look.

"Abby!" She cried and sprinted up to her. "Are you okay?" Green grabbed her hand.

Abby yanked her hand away from Green with a look on her face as if Green's hands were red hot.

"I'm fine!" She spat. Immediately, Abby recoiled and her face softened. She looked away. "I'm- Let's go." Abby turned and hurried off down Route 16.

Green stared blankly at the spot where Abby had been standing.

"Okay..." She muttered.

Green grabbed Machoke's hand and followed Abby down Route 16's forest path. Machoke watched Abby with a stern look while keeping his grip on Green's hand strong.

"Choke," he grumbled.

Route 16 was entirely enveloped by forest. Tall, thin trees with low hanging branches lined the wide dirt trail. The gaps left between their trunks opened up the forest in a way Green hadn't experienced since Viridian. In either direction, she could see deep into the forest. The forest floor stretched on and on, covered in a lush moss blanket that rolled over hills and boulders, forming waves of green. Green light also filtered down onto the forest through the loose canopy of large, fanned out leaves. The usual inhabitants of the forest were out and about. Pidgey and Spearow did their battle dances through the canopies, weaving and dodging through low hanging branches as they gave chase. Caterpie and Weedle crawled about lazily on the canopy, munching away at the leaves. Their evolved forms, Metapod and Kakuna littered the underside of the branches, swaying gently in the breeze.

"Is it really cocoon season already?" Green asked herself with a whisper.

She thought back and came to the astonishing realisation that as of today, she'd been away from home for two weeks. Spring had come to an end, ushering in the beginning of summer. All the wild Butterfrees and Beedrill had finished their mating seasons and had birthed a new generation of Caterpie and Weedle. A new generation that was starting their evolution cycle. Green had never been away from Pallet for more than a day, let alone two weeks. The reality of that made Green feel utterly euphoric with independence, if not a little terrified at all that had managed to happen in two weeks. Still, she allowed herself a smile and continued on with her head held high. She continued looking around at the wondrous forest scenery.

Above, knitted between the low hanging branches of the trees was a low canopy of vines. They stitched together, forming a series of hammocks that Oddish and Bellsprout were lounging on. A Gloom waddled between the vines along the branches, drool dripping from its mouth. Green dodged out of the way, laughing as her sudden jump startled Machoke. After a moment of shock, he joined her with a chuckle. He reached out, grasped her waist, pulled her to him and planted a kiss on top of her head.

"Machoke," he murmured in a smooth, low voice.

Green kissed him back, although on the shoulder. She didn't even bother attempting to reach his lips without something to stand on.

"Love you too," she said.

Machoke beamed at her and squeezed her side. Green giggled and rested her head against him as they matched each other's pace. However, doing so put her gaze right on Abby who was walking a good distance ahead. Green allowed herself a frown, something she'd been trying to avoid while Abby was looking. Whatever Green felt about Abby's sudden shift in personality, Green knew she couldn't let her see. She just needed to act normal for Abby. To keep acting as if nothing were wrong. Whatever Abby was dealing with, feeling like their friendship was any different as a result would just make her healing harder. So, Green decided she would be something familiar for Abby. Someone for her to return to when she was ready.

Up ahead, the route took a sharp left turn. Abby turned the corner and disappeared from view. Green picked up her pace slightly and hurried to the turn, breaking away from Machoke's hold but still keeping hold of his hand. Machoke matched her pace, taking long strides. He gave her a curious look shaded with concern. Green smiled at him.

"It's okay, we're just catching up to Abby," Green said.

"Ma." Machoke nodded. His face relaxed. Then, he smirked.

Suddenly, Machoke let go of Green's hand and grasped her waist with both hands, halting their pace. Effortlessly, he hoisted her up and sat her on his shoulders.

"Machoke! What are you doing?" Green laughed, holding onto his head.

"Ma!" Machoke exclaimed.

He checked Green was secure before breaking out into a run. With long, leaping strides he barrelled down the route and reached the turn in a matter of seconds. Green held on for dear life as the air rushed to meet her, threatening to knock her off. The sway with each of Machoke's strides didn't help either. Machoke turned the corner and all at once, the breeze picked up and howled around Green's head. The forest before them had opened up and cleared, revealing the edge of the cliff. The route turned right and ran alongside the cliff's edge. Abby was at the turn, watching the approach with a baffled look. Machoke skidded to a halt beside her and lowered Green onto the ground.

"Hey, we just wanted to catch up," Green said while laughing.

"Yeah, I can see that," Abby said. She glanced up at Machoke before turning to continue down the route.

Green would have followed if the view over the cliff hadn't captured all her attention. All of southern Kanto was sprawled out before her. All of Fuchsia city sat below, far off in the distance huddled between the two southern Kanto oceans. To its north, was the southern Kanto gulf which cut into Kanto from the south, headed north and then east right below the cliffs south of the Celadon forests. It wrapped around Fuchsia, the only landmass in Kanto west of Vermilion for miles upon miles. To the east of Fuchsia, Route 15 stretched on straight towards eastern Kanto, forming a huge land bridge that kept Kanto connected in the south. Green had seen it all before, in maps and holograms but seeing it in person was something else entirely. She just couldn't pull her eyes away. Seeing it in person also made something apparent to Green she hadn't thought of while looking at maps.

"Hey, Abby?" Green called, tearing her eyes away from the view to chase after her.

"Yeah?" Abby said after a moment.

Green hurried up to her side.

"Why don't we just fly straight to Fuchsia? It's a straight shot from here, so a shorter distance for Gyarados and a quicker journey. So less chance of rangers finding us," Green asked.

"Because we'd be seen immediately if we tried to land a Gyarados in the middle of Fuchsia. Even if we arrived at night," Abby spoke with a strained voice. She pointed out at Route 16. "There's nothing on Route 16 except for a few small villages. We can land in a place where no one will see us and journey to Fuchsia undetected. Fuchsia's east doesn't have one entrance like most cities. It's all open fields, so we can slip into the city unnoticed easier."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, that makes sense," Green said, feeling a little silly for even asking.

"Just trust me on this, okay? I know what I'm doing," Abby said.

Before Green could respond, Abby marched ahead of her a few paces, ending the conversation.

The journey along the cliffside was a quiet one, void of any conversation. Green just followed Abby with Machoke by her side, watching waves break against the cliff face hundreds of feet below. The path climbed a steep hill which was only getting steeper and steeper as they went on. Even Green's strong legs were starting to feel tired. If Abby felt the same, she wasn't showing it. She just continued marching on, eyes glued to the top of the hill. Green wondered what lay beyond the hill. Maybe the forest would return and envelop them once again. Maybe the hill would head back down and they'd have to fight the rather gravelly path so as to not slip onto their backs. Maybe there would be another hill. Green's legs screamed with tender pain at the thought. Eventually, they arrived at the top and found the path flattened out again and headed towards a set of stairs embedded in a small cliff. Perhaps Green would have been relieved if it weren't for who she saw sitting on the stairs, waiting for them with a pokéball in hand. A ranger with dark hair and fearsome, speckled eyes. She rose from the steps with a grin.

"Bet you thought this was over, huh?" She asked as she made her way down the stairs.

Green and Machoke rushed to Abby's side. Machoke slammed his fists together with a thunderous boom as he stepped forward. Abby however, just sighed.

"Go home, Leah," Abby said.

"You know her?" Green asked.

"She's my sister."

"Go home?!" Leah shouted. Her grin was gone, replaced with a fury that made Green's whole body tense. Leah pointed her pokéball at them. "Fuck you! Where do you get off talking to me like that? After what you did!"

Leah pressed the button on her pokéball and a Golbat appeared. He swooped up above Leah's head and watched them with a devilish look. Abby still remained unphased. In fact, her eyes seemed to be looking past Leah. As if they had just glazed over. Green looked back and forth between the sisters, utterly confused.

"Well?! Say something!" Leah shouted, her voice strained, sounding choked. "Do you even care? Do you feel anything about what you did to my brother?"

Abby didn't answer. Her face stayed unmoved as she stared at her sister. Leah whipped up her hand and pointed at her.

"Fine! Don't speak. I'll crush you. You're pathetic little dream ends here!"

Almost instinctively, Green stepped in front of Abby. Machoke moved forward too. Together, they blocked Abby from Leah.

"No!" Green shouted.

Leah laughed.

"You're such a coward. First Pete, now your girlfriend here. Who else is gonna protect you, huh?"

"Shut up!" Abby yelled. She shoved past Green and ducked beneath Machoke's arm. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" Abby ripped the pokéball from her belt's first pocket and pointed it at Leah.

Green stepped back at once. She'd never seen Abby like angry. It was unnerving. Her face was ferocious, savagely so. Machoke stepped back too. He lowered his fists and watched Abby with a baffled look. Only for a moment though. That baffled look quickly become a respectful acknowledgement. Abby pressed her pokéball's button and released Dragonair with a bright flash of light. He was huge. Unbelievably huge. Green remembered Red's Dragonair being big but she'd always just choked it up to her being a kid when she'd seen him. But Dragonair was just as big as she remembered. He was twice her height and a good two heads taller than Machoke. And that was only half his body. The other half snaked out behind him, curving around Abby. His body was as thick as a human torso, only thinning out at the tip of his tail which was more like a water bottle. The gems on the end of his tail and the one at his throat pulsed purple.

"Dragonair!" He bellowed.

Leah's face dropped at the sight of him. She took a step back, her eyes darting around frantically. Golbat however, just grinned wider. He leered at Dragonair, his jaws drooling thick purple poison. Abby didn't wait for Leah to make a move.

"Dragon pulse!" She yelled.

Dragonair opened his mouth. A deep, dark purple glow began to grow in his mouth and a high pitched sound whined as the attack charged.

"Y-You're bluffing. He doesn't know that," Leah said.

Abby didn't respond. Dragonair continued to charge, the whining sound getting louder and louder. Leah scrambled to the side and shouted.

"Attack Golbat! Bite him!"

Golbat took off at once, jaws poised as he howled manically. As he shot forward, Dragonair whipped back his head. The whining sound stopped and when Dragonair whipped his head forward again, a loud low pulse reverberated through the air. A thick beam of dark purple energy erupted from Dragonair's mouth and in an instant burst right through Golbat. It punctured him as if he weren't even there, blowing a wide hole through his open mouth and out his back. The beam continued on, hitting the stair and exploding them into a cloud of dust and rubble. Golbat hit the ground, limp and un-moving. There was a moment of still silence. Leah and Green stared at the defeated Golbat in a moment of shared horror. There was no blood from the horrific wound, the entire hole had seemingly been cauterised. Abby looked away, a scowl on her face.

"Leah!" Green shouted. "Return him! He'll die!"

Leah's wide, horror-filled eyes blinked. She shook her head and scrambled for the first pokéball clipped to her three arm-holsters.

"I know that!" She yelled and returned Golbat.

Leah stared at Dragonair. Her hand whipped up to her next pokéball, but froze and hovered before it. Abby looked back at her, still scowling.

"Go on then, crush me!" She yelled.

Leah scowled.

"I will!" Leah ripped the next pokéball from her arm and threw it above her head.

The ball opened and released Growlithe. Leah caught it and pointed at Dragonair.

"Flame charge!"

"Growlithe!" Growlithe barked and took off.

Red sparks spat from his orange fur. His whole body burst into red flames, including his jaws. The flames from his mouth danced above his head as he opened his mouth to bite.

"Take a wide approach he's going to-"

"Thunderbolt," Abby said.

Dragonair opened his mouth and instantly a yellow bolt cracked through the air and struck Growlithe on the back. Growlithe yelped and collapsed, skidding to a halt on his side. In a large spot, all the fur on Growlithe's back had been burned away and the flesh beneath had been charred black. Weeping cracks split away from the centre of the black, charred spot in a crooked jagged pattern. Growlithe lay still, spasming occasionally. Each spasm made his body spit yellow sparks. Again, Abby looked away.

"Get up!" Leah yelled.

Growlithe spasmed again.

"Now!"

"Leah, he's paralysed," Green said somewhat cautiously.

Leah shot her a deathly glare.

"Stay out of this!" Leah returned Growlithe.

Abby looked back to Leah and when Leah reached for her last pokéball, Abby took a few steps to the side. Leah released her final Pokémon with a powerful, flash of red light. Rhyhorn appeared. As soon as he saw Dragonair, he lowered his head and began scraping the ground with his plated front paw. The two, stubby claws on the paw dug deep gashes into the ground.

"Charge him!" Leah yelled.

Rhyhorn reared up onto his hind legs.

"Horn!" He bellowed. The huge horn between his eyes glowed white.

He slammed back down onto all fours, lowered his head and began to trundle towards Dragonair. Each step of his charge thudded against the ground with a small tremble. As he rapidly closed the distance between him and Dragonair, Abby gave her command.

"Fly."

Dragonair, with a burst of light-blue energy, shot up into the air. Rhyhorn rushed beneath him and swung his horn at where Dragonair used to be. When Rhyhorn realised he had missed, he stuck his stubby front legs out in front of him and skidded to a halt with a spray of gravel. Dragonair watched him from above, his long body swirling around him lazily in the air. His body shimmered with a constant light-blue veil.

"Slam him," Abby said.

Without a word, Dragonair moved at once. He rocketed down and coiled himself around Rhyhorn's huge, bulky armoured body. He coiled two times, then three all while Rhyhorn frantically struggled to get free. His stubby, short legs flailed and kicked. He whipped his head around, striking at the air with his horn. But it was all fruitless. With his tail firmly coiled around Rhyhorn, Dragonair lifted him into the sky. Green expected him to struggle, Rhyhorn would weigh as much as a small truck after all but to her shock, Dragonair shot up into the air as if he weren't carrying anything at all. Once he was a good high distance in the air, Dragonair flipped forward, swinging Rhyhorn up and over. As he threw Rhyhorn down, Dragonair let go. Rhyhorn plummeted for just a moment before slamming into the ground with an enormous explosion of dirt and gravel. Green shielded her eyes as the gravel was sprayed at her. She heard Leah and Machoke cry out too, and felt Machoke's arms wrap around her. When she opened her eyes, Green found Machoke crouched down and shielding her with his back.

"Thanks, buddy." Green sighed with relief.

Machoke let go and rose with a stern look. He turned back towards the battle and Green peered out from behind him. Dragonair was hovering above a large, deep crater staring at Abby. He was angry, unbelievably so. Far angrier than either Leah or Abby had looked. Abby wasn't scowling anymore. She had a pained look on her face as she tried to stare Dragonair down, but she couldn't. Abby looked away from him, raised his pokéball and returned him. As the beam hit him Dragonair yelled.

"Dra-!"

Abby tucked the ball away into her belt and let out a shuddered sigh. She wiped her eye as she gazed down into the crater. Green cautiously joined her by the crater's edge. Rhyhorn lay at the bottom. His thick plated armour was cracked and splintered all over. The cracks wept blood that coated him in trickling red lines. From the other side, through the thin lingering fog of dust Leah hit him with the beam of a pokéball. Abby's face hardened and she turned, making her way around the crater. Green followed helplessly, her mind was spinning. Too much was happening at once. Machoke placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her, which made her feel a little better. Abby walked around the crater and past a devastated looking Leah. She stared at Abby with a face so full of mixed emotions Green couldn't tell if she was angry, upset or just mad with distraught. Abby passed her without a word and began to climb the ruined stairs, with Green awkwardly following her. When Leah turned and stared at them, Green averted her eyes.

"Why can't you just be normal! What's wrong with you?!" Leah shouted, screaming almost.

Abby didn't answer as she climbed the thin strip of stairs left behind by Dragonair's dragon pulse. Green stayed quiet too. In silence, they left Leah behind with her defeated pokémon and continued down Route 16. The forest was ahead, waiting for them. It welcomed them in and the world outside disappeared.