I consider myself to be a resilient person. Resilient in the sense that I can take a beating and still be standing on two legs.

I've worked on a farm for three years, doing work from sunrise till sunset in the summer heat and the winter snow. Yeah we've got work there in the winter. Sure it's only weekends, but if anything's toughened up my body for taking a couple dozen hits with ease, it's that.

Farmwork doesn't prepare you for being shot in the chest by a letter.

A fucking letter.

A piece of paper. With ink on it.

Words.

Just words.

And now I'm alone in my room, looking over this thing over and over for hours without end and just wondering…

Has it seriously come to this point?

Is this really my life now?

Laying in bed, tired, anxious, on the verge of tears?

Silently listening to the concerned shouting from my father as he carefully instructs my brother to not disturb me this late at night?

Waiting for the allure of sleep like never before, praying for it to consume my being so that I don't have to think about what happens next?

What happens next…

...What happened next?

––––––––––

When Luca awoke, it was with a sudden and quiet gasp. His body shot to an upright sitting position and his grasp on the blankets surrounding him tightening.

Blankets?

Ah… Blankets. Familiar blankets. Familiar scenery. A blue room with painfully cheap furnishings and decor. The plain plastic table. The old wood chair with the old man snoozing away on it. The small white carpet and windows that had a complete lack of anything to stop light. B+ for effort. Luca was at the lab. And that put him at ease.

I thought it was all a dream at first. Didn't help that when I looked out the window all I saw was the midnight sky. I was right ready to just go back to sleep and brush it all off...probably mention it to Cedric or Aurea the next morning.

That's when I realized Cedric was there in the room with me.

Luca had to double take when he saw Cedric sitting in the old wood chair that would usually serve as Ephraim's bed. The man was completely asleep, his head leaned against his arm, which in turn was supported by the table.

Where was Ephraim if Cedric was in his normal spot? On the table, also peacefully snoozing away. That briefly put Luca at ease.

Then he noticed the bandages on the Bulbasaur.

They weren't several, but they were noticeable. His forehead, his sides, his back legs…

...and that's when Luca saw the Lillipup sleeping next to Ephraim.

Luca gave another small gasp, though kept it muted.

That's when I realized I didn't dream the previous afternoon. Was it even the previous afternoon? I still dunno to this day.

Point was, that fight happened. Ephraim's bandages were proof of it. Maurice on the table was proof of it. I was still wearing all my clothes except for my shoes, which were at my bedside. Cedric was definitely in my room because he was concerned for me, though I don't think I realized that back then.

With that knowledge though, I suddenly felt wide awake and no longer wanted to go back to sleep.

Luca slowly removed the covers atop him and quietly slipped off the bed. He recoiled a bit at the cold tile floor against his bare feet, but managed to keep himself making such little noise that he didn't even hear himself.

The last thing I wanted was to wake up Cedric or the Pokemon. God, what a scene that'd cause… I didn't need a bunch of people at midnight expressing extreme concern over how I got KOed and how Ephraim got hurt and why Maurice was there. That wasn't what I wanted.

Then again...I didn't know what I wanted at that point either. Just...not to sleep. What could I do instead? There wasn't exactly anything to do in the room other than wake up all the others, and I'd already established that was a big fat nope.

So with nothing to do in that room...I left it.

And the moment I closed the door to that room and took a step into the main hallway of the lab, I immediately heard voices.

At the sound of the sudden voices, Luca jumped a bit in shock, barely remembering in time to stay quiet and muffle his noise. His first reaction after touching ground again was to see if the voices were from his room.

Putting his ear up against the door he'd just left made him hear nothing but the snoring of Cedric and the sound of the voices he was hearing grow slightly more distant.

Curious and with nothing else to do, Luca decided to find the source of the talking. He walked down the hall for a few paces, before realizing the voices were still getting further away as he did, prompting a full 180 turn as he started to walk the other direction.

This new direction proved fruitful. The voices were not only getting closer with every step, but Luca was starting to see shadows moving in a room in the distance.

I wanted to peek inside and see who was in there, but the moment I thought to do this, I saw the back of a brown trench coat getting closer. Fight or flight took over there, and I immediately decided to retreat to just leaning up against the wall next to the doorway. I didn't want to be caught. I wanted to eavesdrop. Why? I honestly couldn't say. I just...did.

One thing was for sure, though. A trench coat wasn't a lab coat. That wasn't one of the scientists from the lab. That was a stranger.

"I'm simply saying that I've been burned by terrorist groups before. Are you sure there isn't an evil psychic clone hiding in a cave somewhere?"

That was the first voice. Male. Middle aged and mid-ranged. Firm and mature, yet it failed to hide a small sense of desperation. It was a voice I'd never heard before, further cementing my thought that this was a stranger.

"Evil psychic in a—? What in the world are you talking about?"

That was the second, much more familiar voice. The mid-toned female voice with a lot of caring and a sense of sass was Aurea Juniper's. I could recognize it anywhere, even today.

"It's a long story. I may be paranoid, but it's definitely not unfounded. As I was saying, I'm going to conduct investigations in Chargestone, Twist Mountain-oh, and Relic Passage for sure. That place has plot relevance written all over it."

"Plot relevance?" Aurea groaned. "Foreigners, I swear…"

I don't really have a problem with foreigners, but apparently the rest of the world sees us as really really unorthodox.

"What do you need me for? Why are you telling me this? Do you want me to assist your investigation?" Aurea asked.

"I would, actually. Any support you could give. You and your father are experts in the field of Pokemon study, yes? As far as I'm concerned, since Plasma's goal seemed to focus on the relationship between trainers and Pokemon, you're an authority on the subject."

Aurea's response was quick and firm. "I fail to see how an investigation on a group of people that are not scientifically credible is going to benefit me in any fashion when we already have several productive research projects ongoing here right now."

I'd seen Aurea have this sort of strong, authoritative tone of voice before, but never with a visitor. It scared me a bit.

"I'm only speaking for your own region's interests, Professor. Plasma's a suspicious group. Wouldn't it be best to at least try and understand their motives? At the very least, meet with their ringleaders."

"Why does it have to be me?" Aurea asked, sounding a bit desperate. "Couldn't you just get the Champion to do it? Surely they would listen to the Champion more than they would listen to me. I'm certain the Champion would listen to a request from the International Police."

The words "International Police" gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach. I'd never even heard of the International Police before. Normal police scared me enough. International police...

"Ah, yes, well." The man cleared his throat. "I'm a bit worried that going to someone, shall we say, higher up, might expose the nastier side of my little investigation."

"Nastier side of your…" Aurea paused for a moment, then let out a long, depressed sigh. "Great… You want to involve me in something shifty…"

"I assure you, Aurea—"

"We are not on a first name basis," Aurea snapped.

The man cleared his throat after the interruption. "Professor. I assure you I have Unova's best intentions at heart. Best case scenario, there's nothing to worry about, and we can part ways without any major infractions. Worst case scenario, well...it worked out in the end for Kanto."

At the time, I only knew three things about Kanto. Where it is on a map, their starter Pokemon, and the man known as Professor Oak. Nowadays, my knowledge of the region isn't much better, but I do know a bit more.

Luca heard the sound of someone's fist hitting a table, followed by aggressive sounding footsteps. "Nothing to worry about? You don't even know for sure if this hunch of yours is right. What happens then? What happens if this happens to be a totally innocent group of people that I helped you shut down for shifty reasons? I could lose my job! Do you want to be responsible for that?"

Somehow the man managed to sound calm in spite of all that. "I promise that if Plasma is as innocent as it claims, I have no plans to interfere with it. I simply wish to be sure of that. In fact, I came to you in hopes that any potential dealings with Plasma are handled in a far more legal manner than what I might need to resort to to get the full picture."

Aurea sighed again. "Somehow I'm not surprised that the International Policeman wants to do things in a very potentially not-so-legal manner…"

I had to resist the urge to laugh at that.

"Please just consider my offer. I could be wrong and Plasma could be as innocent as you say. I just think we should be safe rather than sorry."

There was a bit of a silence between the two for a moment. Luca heard footsteps, likely Aurea, pacing around the room. Eventually, she stopped and let out a groan. "Why am I even considering this… It's late. I'll sleep on it. Okay? Is that good enough for you?"

In the brief silence that followed, Luca assumed that the man gave an affirmative nod.

"Good. You can come back to me in the morning. If you could come with me this way—"

"Actually, can I ask you one last thing?" The man seemed to be moving now, his footsteps carrying a lot more heft to them than Aurea's. "The boy I found unconscious. Is he going to be all right?"

I think my heart sank to the level of my already sinking stomach when I heard this.

I hadn't even considered how we'd all returned to the lab. I didn't even think of what had happened after I passed out. All those thoughts hit me like a truck.

"I'm just waiting for him to wake up. He didn't seem hurt, but you don't just pass out for no reason in the middle of Route 1. Plus the Bulbasaur was wounded… I know I asked already, but, you're certain you saw nothing happen?"

"Nothing at all; I just found him lying in an open field with his Pokemon. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was only sleeping…"

At that moment, I realized that I also didn't feel strained in any way. There was no pain in my chest, no aches, no cramps, no shortness of breath...all of it was gone. Like it was never there in the first place. The thought briefly terrified me, but I had no time to sit on those feelings as Aurea continued.

"Right… I'll talk to him in the morning. Whatever happened, he probably needs rest."

"This boy, er, is he prone to accidents like this a lot? Not to judge, but he dresses very unusually, and the wild Pokemon seemed very comfortable in his presence."

Of course he commented on the outfit… If I haven't changed it in over five years, you can't expect me to start now.

"In my experience he hasn't been very accident prone. But he is capable of understanding Pokemon speech. Wild Pokemon tend to take a liking to him as a result."

If my heart or stomach could have fallen further, they would have here.

When we were much younger, my brother and I never thought much about the fact that we could understand Pokemon. Discovering that people couldn't understand Pokemon came as quite a shock to us. It made us unique.

That trait single handedly determined our position in the social hierarchy of students in our grade.

But that trait didn't treat us equally.

That Aspertia school is big. It has two or three classes of students per grade level. Spectral and I were put into different classes during all but two years of our stay there.

Spectral, with his natural charisma and extroverted personality managed to get the whole class on his side. He was already destined to be one of the popular kids. That trait just cemented it for all the following years. He had something cool and unique that no one else had.

No one else but me, of course. And my story was much different. I was much more reserved and rarely ever talked to others unless talked to first. I'd stammer if called on, was a nervous wreck in group activities, and didn't get the best grades. I'd spend most of my lunch periods in the Pokemon House, sharing my food and time with the Pokemon there. It was the only place I was actually social.

But even that was used against me. Halfway through our first year of school, one kid started the rumor that the reason I never talked to other people was because I'd rather spend all my time talking to the Pokemon and making friends with them.

That cemented my status as the class freak.

In the years that Spectral and I were in the same class, I was certainly viewed much better than during our separate years. I was still in my brother's shadow, but he tried his very best to get me out of it. He'd get me involved in most things he was doing, let me be a part of his friends circle, and vouched for me with the kids who had the old perception of me. Those two years were my favorite years in school.

My niche wasn't just all bad, too. Anytime there was a group project to do with Pokemon studies, I would be fought over who got to pair with me. A few kids from the Trainer School actively sought me out to help them choose partner Pokemon from the Pokemon House, or to help figure out problems their Pokemon might be having. I was definitely seen more as the "Pokemon Guy" than Spectral was, and those moments made me feel great about myself.

But the mental damage had already been dealt.

I always tried to hide that trait of mine after that terrible rumor started. I never liked bringing it up or talking about it. I'd deny it to anyone who asked and wasn't sure. I'd play off talking to Pokemon as just guessing their words. To those who legitimately knew or needed the skill, there was no point in hiding it. To those who didn't need to know...I never told.

Nowadays, that thought hardly bothers me anymore. I'm not uncomfortable disclosing that I'm able to understand Pokemon. I've learned that it's very positively received outside of school.

But when I was in Aurea's lab, I'd only recently graduated middle school. Spectral and I didn't share our last year of school together in the same class.

Those thoughts were still extremely fresh in my mind.

And they drowned out the next few lines until the sound of my name snapped me back to the present.

"His name is Luca," Aurea said. "He's a sweet boy, but...emotional at times."

"If at all possible, I'd like to speak with him as well. Call it another hunch, but—"

"I'm not hearing another hunch," Aurea snapped. "If it doesn't involve me then leave me out of it. One is enough for me."

The man laughed a bit. "Fair enough. I'll make sure it stays between me and the kid."

I was too depressed with hearing Aurea talk about me being able to talk to Pokemon to have any strong thoughts about this man's "hunch" about me.

"Just be careful what you say to him. He's my responsibility and I don't want to hear him complaining to me about you."

Luca heard more footsteps from Aurea, seemingly headed in the direction away from him.

"If you're planning on staying the night, then come this way," she said. "I'll take you to your room."

"Thank you," the man replied.

And with the sound of the voices gone and the footsteps walking away, Luca knew there would be nothing more to listen to.

––––––––––

After that conversation, I decided my late-night escapade would come to a close as quickly as it had started. I slipped back into my room as quietly as I left and tucked myself back into bed. I realized after returning to the room that Cedric had actually left the light on, so I took the liberty of turning it off for all of us before heading back to sleep.

Even with all the negative thoughts surrounding some of Aurea's last words though, I was able to get a great night's sleep. I was out in just a few minutes and slept extremely soundly.

Waking up in the morning proper, I feared that I might have slept in a bit, so I tried to get myself up and out of bed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

But the moment I got out of bed...

"Feeling okay? You were out like a light when I found you."

I think I literally jumped in fear at that voice.

"Bah! Who are…you...found me?"

Once I touched the ground again, I backed up against the wall as much as possible and firmly stayed there.

My thoughts were all over the place. I couldn't even speak right.

I felt like I'd been snuck up on and I was about to be attacked at any moment.

But I also felt like if I was going to be attacked, it would have already happened.

Sitting in the very chair that Cedric had been sleeping in the night prior was a middle aged man in a brown trench coat; it looked identical to the one Luca caught a glimpse of last night. Though his look was stern at first, it loosened to a genuine smile as he spoke again.

"I did! My name is Looker, and I'm an officer of the International Police. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The International Police part did not help at all, but it did confirm my immediate suspicions. This was the same man that talked to Aurea last night.

As it was my first time ever meeting with any kind of law enforcement, my mind kept drifting to one spot. I had to get the question off my mind.

"International Police? Did I do something wrong?"

Looker shook his head, keeping the nice smile. "Not at all. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time when I found you. I would like to ask you a few questions, however."

Every time it felt like I might be able to calm down because of the nice man with a nice smile who wasn't making any sort of sudden movements, I got thrown right back into "extremely terrified and fearing for my life" mode by something he said.

"Questions? What...kind of questions?"

"Well, it is a bit odd that a very healthy and spry young man was found unconscious with seemingly no injuries or ailments. I'm mostly just asking out of concern and curiosity."

At this exact moment, I was so terrified of this man that I wanted to do nothing but tell him the truth and pray that his judgement on me was not harsh.

"Oh. Sorry…" Luca eased up and pulled himself off of the wall. "I ran all the way out to Route 1. Non-stop. I was exhausted… Then I got into a Pokemon battle and after a while I just passed out because I was so tired."

"And you ran all the way out to Route 1 because?"

He never asked me for a Trainer Card or license or anything. I didn't even have one back then. That alone was a burden on my shoulders, though I was still fearful that he could pull that question at any moment.

"There was a thief. Someone stole a Pokemon from the lab and...I wanted to get it back."

Luca snuck a glance at the table behind Looker, attempting to see if Ephraim and the Lillipup were ok. Much to his dismay however, neither Pokemon were there, nor were they anywhere to be seen in the rest of the room.

Probably taken by Cedric when he swapped with Looker. I bet he wanted to check up on Ephraim.

"A thief?" Looker leaned in a bit, his smile slightly fading and becoming more thoughtful. "What did he look like? Did you happen to catch his name?"

Unfortunately for me, the day before was still a bit hazy after the sudden passing out.

"Uh… His name was Black, he said, and... What did he look like… Um… Ugh. I didn't really pay attention…"

I could barely remember his name, and I could hardly remember his appearance at all. I just remembered dark clothing, but I didn't think Looker would have wanted a fact as pointless as that.

I know today that he would've wanted that.

"Black… and what exactly did he steal?"

"A Pokemon… A Tepig… Caesar."

"A thief named Black who stole a Tepig…"

Looker went silent for a moment, his expression fully shifted to the thoughtful stance, even going so far as to close his eyes for a while. After a while, a new smile formed on his lips. One of wry confidence.

"Well, if we want him behind bars, I'll need your help, Luca. Your testimony will be of prime importance."

Disbelief was so busy trying to win the massive war of emotions in my head that I didn't even get to think or ask about how he knew my name.

"You need my help for that?"

Looker leaned in a bit, his smile fading again. "Well, as far as I know, you were the only witness. Are you sure you can't remember anything distinctive about his person?"

Luca lowered his head a bit, looking a bit dispirited. "You… You want to capture him, right? Arrest him? Get Caesar back?"

I didn't even answer his question…

...but he nodded anyway.

"Exactly. I wouldn't be very good at my job if I didn't, wouldn't you agree?"

I didn't even know what his job was. But my mind wasn't preoccupied with that.

The war of emotions in my mind had concluded. One emotion reigned supreme. Something that could promise to appease every single emotion at the same time.

Every part of me screamed defiance.

For the first time since waking up, Luca's voice was firm and unshaking. "...I want to help."

Every part of me screamed revenge.

I'm not sure whether or not Looker could tell based on my tone, but whatever he gathered from my response, he liked it so much that he brought back his grin.

"Excellent! I have a feeling you're an interesting one." His thoughtful stance returned, but a hint of his former smile still remained. "I'd like to get to know you. Particularly regarding your apparent ability to understand Pokemon speech."

This did manage to catch me off guard a bit, and returned me to a slightly fearful state...but my newfound emotions were able to twist those words into something terrifying.

"Oh. Yeah, I can do that."

I was still scared into honesty. But I was also still filled with this newfound independence.

"Who told you?" Luca asked.

I knew who it was, but I needed to hear it. I needed to hear that name escape his lips.

I needed a reason to defy her.

"Dear Aurea Juniper. Though she didn't seem aware that a Tepig had been stolen."

He gave me two.

Luca's head finally rose. His glare looked firmer than Looker's. "When do we leave?"

"I can tell I'm going to like you!" Looker's grin was accompanied by a nod. "We leave as soon as you're all packed and ready. There's a lot of information I'd like to give you on the road."

"Is there a catch to all this?" Luca asked. "Am I allowed to bring Pokemon?"

"The catch is that I may be taking advantage of the crime you witnessed," Looker said bluntly. "There's some funny whispers going around in Unova about a certain organization, and going after Black gives me a solid excuse to be here."

In exchange for helping Looker with his shady investigation, I'd be granted my opportunity at revenge at Black. To me at the time, that was a deal that had no downsides.

I got to leave the lab, bring my Pokemon, and get some much needed against the man who had the audacity to not only heartlessly steal a Pokemon, but use it to harm one of my own.

And all I had to do was be a scapegoat for this guy.

God, what was I thinking...

"Not to worry though, I don't plan on involving you in anything dangerous," Looker continued. "But yes, please do bring what Pokemon you can."

That was one of two fears regarding this plan quelled. If I wasn't allowed to bring Ephraim along, I would have been likely to tap out.

"You're going to have to talk to Aurea about that," Luca responded, sounding a bit cautious. "She's not gonna let me leave like this unless you make her make me leave. If it's not official, she, my father, or both will come after us."

The other fear was Aurea herself. If she refused to let me go, yet I left anyway, then both she and my father would likely chase me down and take me away.

"I'll talk to her, see if I can't convince her. Don't worry about it," Looker said.

That was assurance enough to me.

Luca gave a grin back to Looker. "I'll go get the Pokemon. You go talk to Aurea. Then? We're gone."