"What an unbelievable comeback!" Jason heard a voice in his dreams, which sounded like a PA announcer at a pokemon stadium. He saw a vision of a stadium full of thousands of screaming and cheering fans.

"Well, Jason," he heard his sister's voice. "This is it."

He tried to make sense of the visions and voices presented before him. But all of them were very vague.

"This has to be one of the best plays I have ever seen in any Inventum Tournament!" he heard the voice of a broadcaster.

What does all of this mean? he wondered.

"You've never let me down," he heard his own voice. "Ever!"

"You fight with nobility," said the voice of a woman.

"You fight with determination!" said the voice of a man.

"Who are you?" asked the voice of an older man. "You have not told me who you really are."

In reality, Jason remained still on the table, drifting away in vague visions induced by Kirlia, who stood before him. Kristine still rested her head beside him, while the rest of the pokemon were resting as well. Magikarp was on his side and was sound asleep next to Machop.

"Jolteon and I go way back," Jason heard his own voice again.

"We're in this together!" he heard Kristine's voice.

"Never be afraid to fail," he heard his mother's voice.

"You're scared of the unknown, are you not?" he heard a female voice. "You fear uncertainty and hold a prejudice to it. You will lose if you give in to your fears. Embrace it!"

His visions turned pitch black.

"You don't stand a chance!" he heard Alex's voice.

"I have to say, the toughest trainer I've ever faced was with me the entire time." he heard Kristine's voice one more time.

"Never give in!" he heard his own voice. "Never!"


Jason suddenly opened his eyes. As he did, Kirlia backed away. He began coughing, which woke Kristine up.

"Jason?" she lifted her head.

Jason coughed some more. Kristine grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently.

"You're going to be okay," she spoke gently.

She looked out the window nearby and noticed the snowstorm had died down. Or so, she initially thought. She peered through the window and noticed it was still raging from a distance.

Curious, she got up and approached the window. She looked up to see that they were under an 'eye'; a cloudless dusk gazed upon her, surrounded by a vortex of gray and black clouds.

"That's strange," Kristine observed. "It's not like it's a hurricane."

After spending a moment contemplating whether or not to go outside, she chose to do so. Espeon walked by her side as she headed out.

Kristine looked ahead and to her right. The weather was perfect, yet the storm raged on everywhere around her.

"What's going on?" she muttered.

"Espeon…" Espeon growled.

Kristine looked to her left. What she saw was an articuno staring down at her from a cliff roughly twelve feet high. Its presence startled her.

Articuno graced Kristine with its presence. The blue bird stood there with its long, elegant tail feathers and massive wings as if it was standing guard over Kristine and all who were inside the cabin.

"Oh my…" Kristine took three steps back. "You're so…beautiful."

"Cuno!" the legendary Pokemon greeted.

"An articuno…" Kristine was awestruck by its beauty.

Articuno titled its head to Espeon. "Ar! Articuno! Articuno!"

"Espeon!" Espeon nodded and ran back inside.

"What's going on?" Kristine seemed confused.

Machop and Riolu walked out a moment later while carrying Jason, who was still in his sleeping bag. Jolteon, Espeon, Pikachu, Snorunt, and Kirlia, who held Magikarp, all walked out.

Everyone looked at Articuno.

"We're moving out?" Kristine asked. "We should wait out the storm!"

"Cuno!" Articuno began to take off. As it flapped its wings, Kristine could really feel the wind generated by its force. Articuno then soared into the air, flying directly where Kristine came from.

Kristine noticed that the storm evaporated over Articuno. The legendary bird was directly controlling the weather, altering it for the group's protection.

"Wow…" Kristine was taken back. But she knew she had to follow Articuno.

"Okay, everyone, let's go!" she issued.

Kristine and all the pokemon proceeded to follow where Articuno was slowly flying at. The air was chilly but not freezing. Kristine quickly understood why legendary pokemon are illegal to capture from a first-hand perspective. The power Articuno possessed was beyond the level of responsibility anyone should have, she thought.

Moments later, the group came across the red flag from before.

"Articuno's leading us back on the road?" Kristine said. "I guess it's going to guide us through the entire storm."

The group passed the orange flag, followed by the yellow flag. A moment later, they were guided back onto the path.

Kristine walked over to Jason's side. "You won't believe what's going on right now."

The group proceeded down the road under Articuno's protection. Kristine was still fascinated by the 'eye' that Articuno was magically generating and how it was warding off the snowstorm entirely.

Ten minutes later, Kristine saw headlights from a distance.

"Is that…a vehicle?" she spoke. "In here? That must mean help has arrived!"

The vehicle approached and slowed down before coming to a halt. By then, Articuno flew around in a holding pattern.

A team of four rangers got out of the back of the half-track, as Ranger Diego got out of the passenger's seat, looking straight up at Articuno.

"My, what a beauty," Ranger Diego observed.

The four other rangers rushed towards Jason.

"Please help him," Kristine pleaded.

"We'll do everything we can," one of the female rangers assured her.

Two other rangers pulled out a stretcher as Riolu and Machop gently placed Jason on it.

"Recall the pokemon," a male ranger advised. "We can take it from here."

"Right," Kristine complied. "Return, everyone. Great job."

Kristine recalled all of her pokemon one by one. She then got the pokeballs from Jason's belt and did the same to his.

The two rangers with the stretcher began to carry Jason back to the half-track. Kristine followed them as the two other rangers proceeded behind her. The rangers placed Jason down inside the center while Kristine sat to Jason's left, by his side. The rangers took their seats while Diego entered the passenger's seat.

"Looks like Articuno is taking off," Diego said. "Back into the snowstorm, we go. Hold on tight!"

The half-track began rocking back and forth. Kristine held onto Jason's stretcher with both hands.

One of the Rangers began hooking Jason up with IV fluids.

"Looks like the flu to me," she observed. "And a nasty one, too."

Another Ranger looked at the potion insertions on Jason's wrist, which resembled round, red circles with four dots resembling a plus sign together in the middle.

"Two potion insertions," the male Ranger noted.

"Gotcha," the female ranger nodded. She turned to Kristine. "Dear, did you give him any medication other than the potions?"

"Yeah," Kristine replied. "Some cough medicine and sleep aid, as well as some painkillers. Along with his Kirlia's Heal Pulse."

"All of that was enough to keep him alive," the ranger acknowledged. "You saved him. We'll get him back on his two feet."

Kristine broke out into tears of relief at that moment. She grabbed Jason's hand and squeezed it gently.

"You're going to be okay," she spoke before sniffling.

"Are you his sister?" Ranger Diego turned his head back to face Kristine.

"Yeah," Kristine nodded. "I'm Kristine, and he's Jason. We're twins."

"Name's Diego," Diego introduced himself. "I'm the head of the Ranger Battalion in the Nappalchan Mountains. I make my headquarters right from the Central Pokemon Lodge."

"Thank you so much for rescuing us," Kristine wiped away her tears.

"Just doing our job, kid," Diego replied. "Just want to let you know that your swellow flew right into the pokemon lodge to alert us. Nurse Joy is treating her as we speak."

"That's good to hear," Kristine smiled. "She's my brother's Pokemon. Have you heard any word from Outpost Delta about a fletchinder flying in by chance?"

"Sure have!" Diego confirmed. "I can say that Fletchinder made it safely there, too."

"Good," Kristine acknowledged. "I think he's going to stay there until the storm passes before flying here."

"I'm sure they'll take good care of him in the meantime."

A moment passed, and Kristine turned to her brother once more.

"Hey," Diego maintained her attention.

"Yes?" Kristine turned back to him.

"I know I wasn't there, but for you to go through the effort to save your brother's life, you did a mighty brave thing."

"That was the only option," Kristine replied. "There was no way I was going to let him die like that. Our pokemon felt the same way."

"And how did you meet that articuno?"

"Articuno met us," Kristine shrugged. "It was as if it sensed us in distress. Then it offered to guide us back on the road."

"Wait," one of the female Rangers turned to Kristine. "You didn't happen to be in the abandoned ranger shack, did you?"

"I think I was."

"That shack was abandoned years ago because of an articuno nest springing up nearby," Diego explained. "You came into proximity with that nest, which got an articuno pretty curious about your entry, no doubt."

"It was amazing to see that," Kristine replied. "I just wish my brother was alert enough to see it too."


Dusk fell as the snowstorm eventually began to evaporate. The half-track raced its way down the path towards the pokemon lodge.

"Take her easy down here," Diego said to the driver. "This thing's old and doesn't have the best turn radius in the world."

"So Kristine," Diego turned to face her once more. "This old half-track here is more than seventy years old. A gift from Meeks himself over in Richland Port."

"Seventy years old?" Kristine wondered how the vehicle could still operate.

"Yep," Diego chuckled. "See, she's an old military vehicle from the War. Meeks says she rode all over Kalos, but I don't know about that. Meeks is the Gym Leader of Richland Port, an honorably member of Team Power, and a retired military officer."

"Meeks, I think I've heard of him," Kristine could recall from seeing him on TV during her childhood.

"Guy's a hero in Inventum," Diego continued. "He looks perfect for being over 90. He fought in the War, and afterward, he worked to make sure pokemon were not directly involved in combat operations since then."

"Take pokemon out of war, you take out war itself," Kristine recited one of Meeks' quotes.

Diego nodded. "Precisely. Anyways, this old clunker was just an antique ready to go to the junkyard. When we requisitioned for a disaster-ready vehicle, Meeks pulled some favors and granted us this beauty. We had to give her a makeover, of course."

"That's really cool," Kristine was intrigued by the story.

"Guy's very informal and tough, but he's a good man," Diego continued.

The half-track navigated through the passes during the evening. Kristine fell asleep, and two hours later, the half-track entered a smooth road heading straight to the Lodge.

One of the rangers nudged Kristine. "We're almost there, dear."

"Okay," Kristine slowly opened her eyes.

The driver took the half-track to the front of the lodge.

"Okay, everyone!" Diego said. "Get Jason inside, pronto!"

One of the rangers opened the rear doors. Kristine was the first one out, looking at the cloudless night sky above.

"The storm cleared," she said. There was snow all over the place, however, as she found herself ankle-deep in it.

Two rangers began carrying the stretcher holding Jason right through the sliding doors of the pokemon lodge.

"We rescued a couple of trainers!" one of them said to Nurse Joy's assistant, who took the night shift. "This one came down with the flu. He's stabilized, but he needs to stay that way."

"Yeah, sure thing!" the man with short blond hair replied. "I'll get Nurse Joy up immediately!"

Kristine walked alongside the rangers as they carried her brother to a nearby patient room.

"Hey, Kristine," Diego spoke to her.

"Yes?" Kristine turned around.

"You should get some rest," Diego suggested. "Your brother's going to be fine."

"Right," Kristine replied. She looked weary to Diego.

"Let me book you a room," Diego walked over to the counter and activated a terminal. A moment later, he confirmed the changes. "Room 207, on the second floor. Just a one-bed studio."

"Got it," Kristine nodded. "Thank you for everything, Diego."

"Sure thing," Diego nodded.

Kristine headed up the stairs and found her room a moment later. She walked inside.

"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Then came a moment of realization; she needed to call her mother.

Kristine walked over to the terminal and sat down before trying to communicate with her mother. She knew it was very late at night, and it would take some time before her mother would answer.

The call went through, and it ringed on the other end for a solid minute. Finally, Veronica answered.

"Kristine?" Veronica asked in her yellow nightgown. "Hun, it's so late at night, is everything okay?"

"It is now…." Kristine replied. "But I just had the longest day of my life. Jason came down with the flu this morning. We were caught in a snowstorm, and we sought shelter."

Kristine's eyes teared up once more.

"Honey," Veronica tried to comfort her. "Where are you calling from?"

"From the Central Pokemon Lodge," Kristine replied. "We're still in the Nappalchan Mountains."

"At least you made it to the pokemon lodge, didn't you?" Veronica continued to soothe her daughter. "And Jason? He's resting now, isn't he? He's in good hands."

"We were rescued," Kristine continued. "But Mom, I was so scared. I thought Jason was going to die. Our pokemon sensed it. I knew something was going to happen and -"

"But he's not going to die," Veronica sternly spoke. "It sounds to me you made sure he didn't, and now he's going to be okay. I knew the two of you would be safer just by traveling together."

"Right," Kristine tried to calm down. "I just…"

"What's that?"

"I just…don't think I can go through with this."

"With what?"

"Being a trainer," Kristine sighed.

"Is it because of Jason?"

"I saw him," Kristine looked at her mother in the eyes. "I saw how weak he looked. I saw him slipping away despite all that I did, all that our pokemon did. I can't go through that again. I don't think I can do this anymore, Mom."

"Hun," Veronica smiled. "What you do is entirely up to you. What happened today is an unfortunate tragedy. Not everyone comes down with a bad flu like that."

"He keeps pushing himself beyond his limits!" Kristine spoke in frustration. "He always pushes himself to that extra mile!"

"He's much like your father," Veronica said. "Hence why I called him Stubborn Jim from time to time."

Kristine sighed. "I don't know what to do, Mom."

"Be Jason's enforcer," Veronica advised. "If he needs someone to keep him in line, then keep him in line. You have a good head on your shoulders, Kristine. If his will inspires you, then use your wit to inspire him back."

"Yeah…" Kristine listened to her mother. "I just…I don't know anymore. It's not like I can leave him here, too."

"Sleep on it, Kristine," Veronica said. "Remember, this is about your pokemon as well. Have Jason call me tomorrow."

"Will do, Mom," Kristine gave an uncertain smile.

"I love you," Veronica waved goodbye.

"Love you too," Kristine did the same.

Veronica then turned off the communications.

Kristine walked over to her bed and fell on it.

"I don't know anymore…" she sighed. She fell asleep without changing or even tucking herself in.


Kristine woke up sometime later when the sun shined through her window.

"Oh wow…" she muttered, realizing that she slept with all of her gear on. "I should probably change out to a new set…."

Kristine went to the bathroom and hopped in the shower first. Afterward, she put on a fresh set of clothes before tying her hair into a ponytail. Her stance on continuing her adventure as a trainer ultimately remained unchanged.

Kristine kept going back and forth on the issue. Part of her wanted to leave because she couldn't go through the stress of even the possibility of losing Jason. But part of her knew that she couldn't leave Jason alone. She wanted to see what Jason was thinking first.

She walked downstairs to the lobby and proceeded towards Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy?" Kristine approached her.

"Oh, hey!" Nurse Joy greeted. "You're Kristine, aren't you? Diego told me about you."

"I am," Kristine nodded.

"I'm happy to say Jason is alert and doing okay right now," Nurse Joy continued. "He still requires bedrest, but he's on the road to recovery."

"That's good to hear," Kristine smiled.

"Would you like to see him?"

"Sure!"

Kristine followed Nurse Joy to one of the patient rooms, where Jason was being held.

"Here you are," Nurse Joy opened the door for her.

"Thanks so much!" Kristine acknowledged. She then walked inside to see her brother in bed, with his neck leaned upwards with the mattress.

"Hey, sis," Jason spoke, happy to see Kristine.

"Hey there!" Kristine waved. "You really scared all of us yesterday."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Jason replied. "But is it true that an articuno flew right over us?"

"It is," Kristine nodded. "It was beautiful."

"That's awesome," Jason contemplated the odds.

"Ralts evolved too," Kristine walked over to a nearby table where Jason's pokeballs were being kept.

"Ralts evolved?" Jason was intrigued.

Kristine picked up Kirlia's pokeball and released her.

"Kirlia!" Kirlia took a bow before Jason.

"That would explain the visions I was having," he said. "Hi there, Kirlia!"

"Kirlia!" Kirlia smiled.

"You were having visions?" Kristine asked.

"Well, very vague visions at best," Jason elaborated. "They didn't make much sense to me."

"Return, Kirlia," Kristine recalled her. She then approached Jason's side.

She sighed. "I really thought I would lose you, you know."

"But you didn't," Jason sternly spoke. "Kristine, you saved me. Our pokemon saved my life. I owe my life to all of you."

"You don't owe us anything," Kristine smiled and placed her hands on his left hand. "But I can't ever lose you. I don't think I can do this anymore."

"What do you mean?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think I can be a trainer," she explained.

Jason shook his head in disbelief. "You always wanted to be a trainer."

"To see you almost die in front of me changed everything!" Kristine argued.

Jason sighed. "Please don't leave me."

"I won't ever leave you," Kristine assured him.

"Then let's continue," Jason suggested.

"Just don't push yourself, okay?" Kristine pleaded. "We need to take it easy once in a while. Having fun is a part of being a trainer. If you take the fun out of it, what's the point?"

"You mean you weren't having fun?" Jason asked.

Kristine paused for a moment. She knew the truth would hurt Jason. "For the two or three days up until you came down with the flu, no."

"Then I wondered how your pokemon felt about it too, how my pokemon felt about it…." Jason turned his head away. "I'm sorry, Kristine," he held back his own tears.

"Hey," Kristine wrapped her arms around her brother, trying to comfort him. "I love you for the strong-willed, stubborn knucklehead that you are. It's okay to be vulnerable from time to time. It's okay to say, 'you know what, let's take a vacation day because I can' once in a while."

Jason smiled at the comment. "Okay, sis. And how do you feel about continuing?"

"Give me some time to think," Kristine said. "I need to clear my head and consult with my pokemon."

Jason turned his head around to face Kristine. "Okay."

Kristine squeezed tightly on Jason. "Just don't get the flu again."

"I'll try not to," Jason endured Kristine's warm embrace.

Kristine smiled and let go. "I'll talk to you in a bit," she proceeded out the door.

She walked out into the lobby with a smile. To her surprise, Alex was standing there as if he was anticipating her.

"I heard about what happened," Alex spoke. "My condolences, Kristine. Is he okay?"

Kristine was shocked to hear that Alex was actually concerned for Jason's well-being.

"Why do you care?" Kristine crossed her arms.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Because no one deserves to lose a sibling like that."

Kristine loosened her stance. "He's going to be fine."

"Good," Alex acknowledged and proceeded to walk away.

"Alex?" Kristine approached.

Alex simply turned around.

"Why did you ask?" she became curious.

Alex contemplated for a moment and approached Kristine.

"You wanna know why I don't like Jason?" Alex asked.

"It would shed some light on things, considering he did nothing to you," Kristine replied.

"I had an older brother. His name was Tyler. He was the upfront, hardworking yet blunt individual who became a trainer. He believed every challenge was his to overcome, and he was afraid of nothing. His approach to life made him a fool, and it got him killed, right here in the Nappalchan Mountains."

"I'm…I'm so sorry," Kristine wasn't sure how to respond.

"It's fine," Alex sighed. "I see Jason, and I see a lot of my brother in him. He's just another fool who will get himself killed. If this would teach him any lesson at all, please tell him to stand down from being a trainer and do something he's actually good at, for your sake."

Alex then walked away from Kristine once more.

Kristine stood there. She knew why Alex was as soulless as he was; he lost his own brother in the Nappalchan Mountains. She wondered what it was like to traverse through the very area a loved one was killed in.

Then she realized how insulting Alex was to her own brother, how he degraded him as a trainer. She knew Jason had the ability to beat this punk. He and his pokemon would cherish that day.

"Jason's an excellent trainer," she muttered to herself. "He loves his pokemon. And you know what? So do I. I'm an excellent trainer myself. What matters is we got through this, and we're able to continue forward because of that!"

No one was around to hear her triumphant speech. Kristine concluded, and she had Alex to thank for helping spark that conclusion. She wanted this adventure just as much as Jason. She wasn't going to let Jason's flu get to her. She wasn't going to quit on her dreams of becoming the best of the best because of what might happen. She knew the dangers and risks involved of being a trainer, and she knew it would all be worthwhile if they kept going forward, as opposed to heading home in fear of what just might happen.

She would do her brother a dishonor, her pokemon a dishonor, and herself a dishonor, most of all, if she backed down now.

"No," she spoke with fierce determination in her eyes. "I cannot quit. I will not quit."

She stormed back into Jason's room.

"All the way!" she declared. "All the way, Jason!"

Jason faced his sister with a huge grin on his face. "All the way!"