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Okay, thanks to the people who sent in OCs. I won't be accepting anymore until further notice. The ones you guys sent in were great, so I may just use all three of them in different parts of the story.

So yeah, updates will be even less frequent now. School + my other stories = less writing. Recently started a My Immortal sequel for the lulz. If you like crackfics, and you read Tara's original story, I recommend it.

Thanks to my bro Magikarp Master for editing.

Cody: Bastion(Squirtle), Mars (Diglett), Colossal (Larvitar), Antonia (Skarmory), Elesa (Zebstrika)

Heather: Somnos (Poliwhirl), Feathers (Pidgeotto), Nadine (Nidoran [F]), Bella (Oddish)

Jared: Charmeleon, Servine, Croconaw, Nidorino, Bagon, Mightyena

Chapter 19: Dark Disciple

"Elesa, Spark!"

"Polly, Flame Charge!"

The large Zebstrika and the smaller Ponyta ran straight for each other, ready to collide, but seconds before the crash, Elesa used Flash and managed to dodge the blinded Ponyta and smash her in her ribs. The smaller horse faltered upon the strike, but she wasn't down yet. Still, it was pretty obvious to Cody who would be winning this match.

Ever since Elesa had evolved, she had gone from being a capable pokemon to Cody's best pokemon. Granted, this was only because she was evolved, but for the time being, this was a nice improvement. Since all of Cody's pokemon were skilled battlers, adding size, weight, and speed to one of his pokemon seemed to be a huge improvement. On top of it all, Elesa seemed to take on a new mind. She was smarter and wiser as a Zebstrika, but at the same time, her attitude seemed to take a complete 180 degree turn. Instead of being the peppy little soldier that she was as a Blitzle, she had become a ruthless, cruel competitor, showing her angry side in every fight. Though this wasn't surprising, given that Zebstrika typically were very ill-tempered pokemon, the sudden change in her personality was a little shocking. However, outside of battle, she had kept her lovable disposition. There were some other not so nice changes with the evolution, among them was the change in her diet. Elesa had to eat more everyday, and finding edible plants during the winter wasn't easy; but besides that, the changes were welcome.

"Polly, you can get back in this! Quick Attack!" the Ponyta's trainer urged, but it was the beginning of the end.

"Headbutt!" Cody shouted. The larger striped horse immediately dodged the fiery pony's attack and smacked her head into the opponent's side. Combining the smack with electricity, the attack was strong enough to K.O. the Ponyta.

"Alright, you were great Elesa!" Cody cheered. Letting out a shrill neigh, the zebra ran to his side and nuzzled him happily. As she did so, a small static shock ran through her trainer's body, causing his hair on his head stand up. But it was fine. Their connection was so close… almost electric.

"Well, good job," the defeated opponent sighed. She recalled her pokemon, handed Cody his winnings, and was off on her way.

"And another one bites the dust," he sang to himself under his breath.

"She's been on a roll. I don't think she's lost since she's evolved," Heather commented as she and Jared approached.

"She has gotten a lot better," Jared agreed, "but a strong electric type isn't going to be of much help when we get to Rorrick City. That gym specializes in ground and rock pokemon, and the leader doesn't fool around."

"Did anybody ever tell you that you're a buzz kill?" Cody chuckled.

"Yes, you do every time open your mouth," Jared groaned. "Look, let's get going. I want to cover some ground since we've been battling all day. If we keep a good pace, we can make it to Tarperville by tomorrow."

"Okay, sounds good," Cody agreed. The trio of trainers returned to the path and kept heading west while Elesa walked with them. The winter air was chilling to the bone, but Cody was used to it now after all those nights out he spent with Antonia. He shot a glance over at Heather, who was clinging to Jared for warmth as they walked. For some reason, this sight made him cringe, so he looked away. I can't keep letting this bother me.

"So Cody, when are you going start riding her?" Heather asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Huh, what?" Cody asked. "Oh, you mean Elesa? I don't know, maybe when the snow melts. I don't want her to slip under my weight when she's running on the snow. Besides, I don't know how to ride a horse, let alone riding her bareback. Maybe I should go buy a saddle or something?"

"Sure, if you want to carry it around with the rest of your stuff," Jarred answered sarcastically.

"Buzz kill… I'll worry about it later…" The group continued silently for the next few minutes, the monotonous crunches of snow under their feet continuing in a pattern… But something seemed off. It sounded as if there was an extra step in the mix. I must be crazy. I need to get some anxiety medication or something. But he was too paranoid to ignore it, so he whirled around and saw… a Venonat.

"Hey guys," Cody said, catching their attention and halting their walking, "look at this."

"What is it now?" Jared sighed, but as Heather and he turned around to see what Cody had brought their attention to, they were also filled with intrigue at the little insect pokemon that stood in the snow. It chirped innocently as it stared at them with its large red eyes.

"That's odd," Heather said, "why would a Venonat be out here in the winter? Wouldn't it be in hibernation or a cocoon or something?"

"I don't know, but I think it's been following us," Cody whispered cautiously.

"Oh come on now, really? It's a Venonat for Christ sake," Jared groaned as the gnat pokemon let out another chirp. "I bet it's never seen humans before, so it decided to follow us out of curiosity."

"Yeah… sure…" Cody responded doubtfully. His Zebstrika left his side and went over to sniff the little, purple bug. Again, it chirped in response.

"What are you so afraid of?" Heather giggled. "Not all pokemon are out to kill us, you know. Maybe it likes us. If it does, one of us ought to catch-" "Dibs," Cody rudely interrupted as he pulled out a pokeball. He wasn't too interested in catching a Venonat, but he would need a sixth team member for the future, so it was better than nothing. But at the sight of the pokeball, the gnat let out a frightened shriek and ran into the snow covered bushes. Cody blinked. "Well, so much for that."

"Well that was a waste of time," Jared muttered. "Let's go."

"Okay, okay," Cody agreed, but as they left that part of the path, Cody shot a glance back at the bushes that Venonat ran through. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was watching him with its large red eyes…

Midnight had set in. The forest was eerily quiet at this hour besides the fire that burned in the clearing where the teens had set up camp. Cody was warming himself by the fire while Bastion was sleeping inside his shell on his trainer's lap. Heather and Nadine sat across from them, sharing a candy bar. Jared was already asleep in his tent so he could take the next shift. Somewhere out in the tree tops, Antonia was training her body with the frozen breeze. Eventually, he'd check up on her to make sure she was okay, though he didn't have a plan for how he was going to climb a tree in this chilly environment.

"I just realized something," Heather suddenly piped up, "tomorrow is Christmas Eve, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Cody replied blankly. Since he wasn't religious and he wasn't home for the holidays, he didn't particularly care.

"Should we do something tomorrow in town? You know, to celebrate?" she questioned, a glint of holiday cheer in her eyes.

"Um… if you really want to," Cody began, "but truthfully, I really don't care. My parents already sent me money, so I'm golden."

"Aw, you don't want to do a gift exchange or something?" Heather chirped happily.

"I don't need a gift," Cody told her. "Considering the time we spent going to St. Anthony's to get Antonia, you and Jared can just consider that my gift. Still, if you really want to celebrate capitalism at its finest-" "Oh for the love of Arceus, get off your damn soapbox," Heather snapped in a joking voice. Suddenly, a small smile emerged on her lips. "Actually, if you want to consider pokemon trips a gift, there is something I want," she suggested.

"Oh?"

Heather leaned forward on her knees and looked him in the eyes. "I want a Trapinch."

"Oh, okay," Cody muttered, "but I don't think the Trapinch line lives in Skitrex. We going to use the GTS, or-"

"No, I'm going to catch one," she corrected. "I looked this up in Kito Grove. North of Tarperville, there is a place called Ford Cave. Apparently, they tried to introduce the Trapinch line there, but the population is causing damage to the environment, so they're asking that trainers thin out the population by catching them. It will be a ten day delay, but I really want a Trapinch." "That sounds fair," Cody agreed. "Okay. We'll get you a Trapinch. But can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why do you want one so bad?" he questioned curiously.

"Well," she breathed as she pat Nadine's ears, "I love Flygon. When I was a kid, my Grandpa always brought his with him when he visited. He wasn't a trainer, but his pet Flygon was so friendly, and it used to let me ride on its back. I really want a Trapinch because of that, and apparently, Flygon are one of the easiest dragon pokemon to care for, so… can we?"

"I already said yes," Cody chuckled, "I am the map guy. If you want a Trapinch, we'll go get you one."

"Okay, thanks," she squealed before running up to him to give him a hug. "Do you want me to take first watch?" she asked in mid-hug.

"No, you get some sleep. I have some reading to do anyway," he told her.

"Okay, goodnight," she replied cheerily before going to her tent, Nadine at her heels.

Cody looked back at his field guide at a page on Zebstrika battle strategies. He had reread the passage a million times in the last week, trying to commit it to memory, but he couldn't concentrate. It was cold and he was still feeling troubled about the Venonat from earlier. I'm definitely losing my mind. Even so, he turned the field guide to the page on Venonat. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he felt the need to search for something to ease his mind, so he kept reading.

In the wild, Venonat typically live in wooded areas or small suburban locations, so long as the flora that gives it its poison grows in said location. These plants include Timber Milk Vetch, Fiddleneck, Yew, and other poisonous varieties depending on the location (for specifics on which plants a local variety of Venonat feeds on, please refer to your local nature directory.) They tend to live in swarms of fifteen to twenty members, and typically try to avoid unfamiliar pokemon and humans alike.

During the first winter, wild Venonat tend to hibernate (except for the few that form winter cocoons.) By the time the second winter comes, all Venonat that haven't formed evolution cocoons will typically die from the lower temperatures. Typically-

Cody stopped reading there because things weren't adding up. It was the first month of the Skitrexian winter, so there was no reason that that a live wild Venonat should be out an about. Secondly, it didn't seem scared of them at all like the guidebook said it would be… that is, until it saw him pull out a pokeball. That was typically a learned reaction of pokemon who were around trainers.

"Not dead or hibernating in the winter, not afraid of us until it saw the pokeball…" Cody's eyes widened. It must have belonged to a trainer. But if it belonged to a trainer… why was it alone? Unless it was sent to follow us. But why would anybody be- "Frank!" he blurted out, but he covered his mouth immediately afterwards as if it would keep the noise from reaching his friends' ears. Fortunately, none of them woke up. But he remembered those vague threats that Frank had made before he left. What if they were being followed?

Goddamn it, I gotta wake them and- He was about to stand up, but he stopped himself. There's no way. We're completely harmless, and that organization or whatever it is should know that. There's probably some explanation Besides, even if we were being followed, there's no way Jared would leave now. He'd probably just call me insane. So either way…

Feeling slightly more relieved, he took in a deep breath and relaxed his muscles. Somewhere in a nearby tree, Antonia let put an ear piercing screech. Cody looked in the direction that the screech had come from. I should probably check up on her soon. But he felt his eyes closing. Maybe in a minute…

"Christ, not this shit again!" He was back in the darkness once more, and his heart was immersed in fear. After the last dream, the very sight of the darkness and the white mist was enough to make him shiver.

"Sleeping on your watch duty? That's not very responsible," the voice cackled. "A Beartic could be eating your friends as we speak."

"Okay, enough with this game," Cody shouted back, trying to not show any fear, though his voice was breaking. "If you're gonna stab me with metal stakes or something, just do it already and get it over with. I have to wake up an-" "Relax, we're not scheduled for tonight-"

"Scheduled?" Cody yelled angrily. "What is this, your aerobics!"

"You know… you're not as clever or as funny as you think you are…" Seconds later, a long silver nail was driven through his chest. He let out a shriek of pain as he tried to pull the nail out, but it wouldn't budge. "That's for interrupting me. I was going to spare you the pain tonight, but you still haven't learned to control your tongue. Shameful." "Fine!" Cody spat, "what do you have to tell me?"

"I am here to warn you," the voice said as the two colorless eyes blinked. "In the physical realm, someone is approaching you. His intentions are against your wishes, as well as mine, so I was coming to wake you up so you'll be prepared for his arrival."

"W-What?" Cody gasped, still clutching the nail. "You mean you were actually trying to-" "Help you?" the voice said, finishing his sentence in a sarcastic tone. "Remember Cody, you're a large investment of time and planning. If anything were to happen to you, it would be a huge waste. But I wouldn't let you die. I'm not evil… well, I guess that's sort of up for debate on a philosophical level, but when I rule over your realm, my word will be law, so it really doesn't matter, now does it?"

Cody didn't even know what to say. This all seemed so… out of the darkness's character.

"Okay, wakey wakey now. Don't make your existence a waste!"

"Wait what?" With a jolt, Cody sat up straight and opened his eyes. Nothing had changed since he had drifted off to sleep. The fire was still burning, Jared and Heather were still asleep in their tents, and Bastion was still asleep on his lap. All seemed right with the world. But what the nightmare had told him… there was somebody of ill-intent approaching? He didn't see anybody… Was the voice just trying to scare him again?

Eh, everything looks okay. I better go check on Antonia. He was about to stand up from his spot, but when he saw the Venonat staring at him from across the fire, he felt every muscle in his body go limp. The gnat was back… at least he was pretty sure it was the same one. The forest they were traveling in had very few wild pokemon, let alone bug pokemon, in the middle of the winter, so he made the safe assumption that it was the one that followed him earlier.

"Vi?" it chirped as it cocked its head. The little bug pokemon looked so innocent, but he knew that this was no coincidence. Again, he was about to stand up, but another interruption was on the way.

"Don't move," a masculine voice commanded in a blank tone. Before Cody could open his mouth to respond, a tiny figure leapt onto his knee covered his mouth with its hand… or flower. A small green pokemon with flowered hands was giving him an intense stare as it covered his mouth with the blue rose, as if it was daring him to make a move. Of course, he didn't. He remembered reading that Roselia spores could knock a human out in seconds after contact.

Frozen in place, Cody glanced around frantically to see who had ordered him to remain still. It was the motion in his right field of vision that gave him his answer. Two figures, one tall and one short, emerged from the darkness. He recognized the shorter figure as a Granbull. Despite being a dog, the purplish-pink pokemon stood up on two legs, and its hands resembled fists more than paws. It had two oversized fangs on its bottom jaw that extended above its eyes. Cody had a hard time believing that Granbull such as this one had timid natures, since this one looked particularly aggressive.

The other, taller figure took him a few seconds longer to process. It was a man (evident from the voice and body structure,) but he was dressed in what looked like black armor that flashed in the firelight. On his back, he carried a large black traveler's pack. His entire body was covered in this light armor, but his most distinctive article of clothing was his headwear. He was wearing a rounded, black helmet with a black visor, that covered up all of his face except for his mouth and chin.

Cipher. The word raced through Cody's mind as he looked at his captor with fear and he inhaled the sweet aromas of the Roselia's flower. However, the man in black had no response to this fear. His mouth betrayed no emotions. His only motion was from his left hand. He seemed to be squeezing all the force he could muster into a handheld stress ball. But after nearly a half-minute of silence, he spoke again.

"Granbull. Tents." The bipedal dog walked over to Heather's tent and stood next to it, awaiting further orders. "Roselia, knock the turtle out." The Roselia reached down to the opening of Bastion's shell with the other flower and released a puff of greenish dust into the hole. If Bastion were awake, he wouldn't be anymore.

"Don't worry. It's just a sedative," the armored man told Cody in case he didn't know already. "Don't be alarmed."

Too late for that.

"Before we continue, I need to confirm that you are the one I am searching for. If you try to scream, call for help, or reach for your pokemon, Granbull will set the tents on fire." At the word "fire," the Granbull's large jaws lit up with flames. It was waiting on orders to use Fire Fang. "It would be sad if innocent people have to be hurt by your actions. So tell me, your name?" He motioned for the Roselia to lower her flower and she did so.

My name… He's obviously associated with that organization that Frank is with. Should I try to lie? He knew he couldn't tell a lie for his life, but he'd give it a shot. "Umm… Jared Rossinger," he muttered nervously. It was the first name that came to mind, but the armored man saw through this ruse.

"Liar," he stated simply. "Try again, but if you lie, I'll set the tents on fire." He was squeezing the stress ball even harder now.

He had no choice. He wasn't going to risk Heather and Jared's lives over this. "C-Cody Storm," he muttered in fear.

"That's what I thought," the man replied. "By orders of the Superior One, I am required to bring you in alive. If you do not struggle, you shall not be harmed. But for safety reasons, I will have to sedate you. Roselia." The Roselia raised its hand to put Cody to sleep, ready to release the spores-

"SKREEEEEEE!" Speeding like a bullet from a pistol, Antonia shot from the heavens and crashed her entire frame into the man in black's side. He let out a shout of pain as the bird landed on top of him and began trying to rip the helmet off of his head so she could get to his face. But she never got the chance, because the Granbull body slamed her hard enough to give her whiplash. The Roselia also left Cody's lap so she could aid her trainer, giving Cody the chance to return Bastion to his pokeball (he wouldn't be of any use if he was asleep.)

"Wake up!" Cody shouted frantically over all the noise, hoping that his friends would hear him. He stood up and reached for a pokeball, only to topple over as his left leg gave out. Once he recovered from the shock of falling over, he realized that he couldn't move his leg at all, but it didn't take him wrong to figure out why. The Venonat was standing a few feet away from his face. It had used Disable to cripple him.

"Cody, what the hell is going on?" Jared asked in a grumpy yell.

"I don't know, this freak is attacking us! Wake up Heather and help me! I can't walk!" He reached for a pokeball again and set out Elesa, who scared the Venonat away just by looking at it. "Go help Antonia!"

By this point, Antonia had taken quite a beating. She was holding her own pretty well for a chick, but the combined efforts of the Roselia and the Granbull were way too much for her to handle. But help was on the way as Elesa ran to help the battered bird, slamming her body into the pink bulldog and delivering a back heel to the tiny flowered pokemon.

"Urgh, you'll regret this," the armored man spat as he managed to stand up, clutching his ribs, some of which were probably broken by Antonia. He pulled another pokeball out and released a small blue lion with a black mane and yellow bands around its front legs. "Luxio, tear the zebra to shreds." The small lion let out a loud roar, and pounced towards the Zebstrika. Despite being smaller than the horse, the big cat managed to knock Elesa into a tree and began to slash at her back. The horse tried to electrocute the Luxio, but this did little to stop the attacker. Antonia had since fainted, so Cody returned her to her pokeball, attracting the attention of the Granbull. The dog barked, and barreled towards the prone trainer, but was stopped in its tracks by Somnos, who delivered a solid punch to the dogs jaw.

"Cody, let me help you!" Heather shouted as she grabbed her friend and helped him to his feet. "Are you al-"

"Yes, just prop me up against a tree or something until-"

"Got you covered," Jared interrupted, his voice filled with panic. He placed Cody's hand over his shoulder and held him up. "Heather, try to take down the tents so they don't get damaged. And send out some more pokemon or something." Charmeleon was already shooting fire at the man in black's Roselia, who was leaping over the flames like a dancer. But where was the attacker himself?

For the second time, Cody was knocked over, this time, by a large black dog with fierce red eyes. The vicious hound started to bite his shoulder, but was knocked off his chest by another dog of the same breed. Jared's Mightyena was out now, and was now tussling with the attackers.

"Where is he!" Cody gasped as he clutched his bitten shoulder.

"Over OOPH!" Jared was thrown against a nearby tree by the armored man. The attacker was holding him against the bark with his left arm while his right hand was holding a large hunting knife.

"No! Stop!" Cody shouted, but the man thrust the knife at Jared. Reflex took over as Cody's eyes blinked, but when he opened them again, he saw that the attacker had only caught Jared's clothes on the knife, stapling the trainer to the tree.

"Stay out of the way," the attacker said. He turned around to face Cody again. "Next time, it will be his face." That very second, the Venonat hopped onto Cody's chest. "Supersonic." The gnat began to make a high pitched whining sound that made Cody's head spin, but this action was halted as Bella head butted him off of the fallen teen. The Oddish began to spin, spraying a yellowish powder at the bug, but the Venonat countered this tactic with a Tackle.

"This is getting out of hand," the man in black armor sighed, shaking his head. "Brawls are not my style. You're only making this worse for yourself." He reached into his pack and pulled out a plastic water bottle filled with some oddly colored fluid. "Next time they intervene, I will hurt them." He lazily tossed the plastic bottle into the campfire.

"What did you just-"

Cody was unable to finish his question as a bright explosion burst from the fire, blinding him and the others. Whatever the man in black had tossed into the fire, it was obviously flammable. When the fire died down, the man and his pokemon were gone. All that was left were the half collapsed tents, the trainers, and the pokemon that were fighting. Elesa had teeth and claw marks all over her backside, Somnos was covered in burn marks and bruises, Charmeleon was shivering, probably from some powdery side effect from one of the Roselia's attacks, Mightyena was licking its wounds, and Bella was shaking from a Supersonic that the Venonat was hit with. They all were breathing heavily from the brutality that the attacker's pokemon had exhibited.

"Okay, will somebody tell me what the hell just happened!" Jared screamed. He looked furious, and being stuck to the tree wasn't helping. It was Heather who released him. "No seriously, what the hell! That guy just attacked us! He didn't take anything or-"

"Jared, calm down so we can-"

"No, Heather, I will NOT calm down!" he screamed. It was so strange seeing him this flustered. "What just happened!"

Heather and Cody traded looks of concern. It wasn't going to be pretty trying to explain to him what had just happened, since he barely knew himself.

"You know what? Just forget this! Let's just pack up our things and get the hell out of here. After we cover some ground, then we'll try to figure out what happened." He groaned, and went over to his tent so he could pack up his things.

"Cody… can you walk now?" Heather asked as she knelt next to him, a concerned expression painted on her face.

"Yeah, yeah…" Using her body as support, he hoisted himself to his feet. "We're going to have to tell him now, aren't we?"

"I'm afraid so…" She was smiling now, but it wasn't a happy smile. She looked just as scared of Jared as he was. "Let's pack up before he explodes again."

For the next hour, the three trainers traveled through the woods in silence, the only light coming from Chameleon's tail. Along with the fear of being followed, there was also a noticeable tension between the three of them, mostly from Jared. For the past hour, he had taken over the map duties, and whenever Cody or Heather asked a question or voiced a concern, he'd snap at them. They both decided that it would be better to keep their mouths shut until the older trainer calmed down.

"Okay," Jared finally said in an exasperated voice, "do you think he's following us?" "I doubt it," Cody answered. "He said he doesn't like brawls, so I doubt he'll try to anything if we're all awake and paranoid, right?" "Yeah, I guess so," Jared replied with a grunt. The trio and the Charmeleon had stopped on the path by Jared, who now turned to face Cody. "So do you know anything about what happened?" he asked sternly.

"Wait, why are you looking at me?" "Because Cody, that guy kept talking to you specifically. We all heard it. It's as if he knew you or something!" Jared was getting mad again, and it was making Cody very uncomfortable.

"I know, but I never met the guy before-" "Well what do you know!" Jared shouted.

"Jared-" Heather began, but he held up his hand to silence her.

"Heather, he did something to piss somebody off. I know it. No more secrets! What was that all about Cody!"

Cody looked over at Heather, who looked just as nervous as he did. It was time to come clean, and it wasn't going to be pretty. Cody began to retell the entire story, dating back to when Heather and him had met Frank and everything that had happened from there up until the second meeting that he and Frank had had in Kito Grove. Jared listened patiently, but he looked like a balloon that was about to burst from over inflation.

"Okay then," Jared replied, holding back his frustration. But in a sudden rush, he slammed Cody against a tree. "YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT!" "Jared!" Heather yelled as she tried to pull Jared off of Cody, who was stunned at Jared's outburst, but Jared ignored her.

"Why didn't you file a police report before we left Kito Grove!"

"Because I didn't have anything to pin on him! He didn't attack me or-" "You have reason to believe that he's a cipher dressing stalker and you don't tell anybody!" "I-" "Now we're being followed by some weirdo, and it's because you didn't take any action because you didn't use your goddamn brain!" Jared shouted again. By now, there were a few Hoothoot sitting in the trees nearby, watching the action.

"Look, I didn't think it through, but I didn't think I'd have to. I didn't think they'd actually go this far," Cody argued. "Seriously. I'm just a two badge trainer! No organization should care about me, since I'm trying to avoid them to begin with!"

"But you should have considered them a threat to us too!" Jared yelled again. "We could have gotten hurt! And our pokemon were brutalized. That guy and his pokemon were pretty strong! I don't think we'd be able to handle him individually! Because of you, one of us could have been killed!"

"Well what do you want me to do! Go with him?" Cody shot back.

"Of course not! But still! For all we know, they could be tracking us with your cell phone, or by that blog you have, or the Pokemon Centers-" "Pokemon Centers?" Cody asked. "What do you mean?" "Yes," Jared groaned, finally letting go of Cody's shirt. "They keep track of trainers' I.D.s whenever they check in. If this organization found a way to hack the system files, they could figure out where you are at any time."

Cody stared blankly at his aggressor. "Fine… I'll get a new phone and stop updating the blog… as for the Pokemon Centers…" "There is nothing you can do about that… legally, at least. We'll just have to hope they aren't following us that way." Jared took in a deep breath, and looked back at Heather, who was looking on at him meekly. "There's another thing about this whole situation that's pissing me off. It's you two." He turned back to Cody. "You two are keeping all of these secrets from me. Is there anything else you two aren't telling me?"

"Look, we didn't want you to worry-" Heather began, but once again, Jared shut her up.

"That's an awful reason, because I'm worried as hell now! Being stalked is bad enough, but now I know you're keeping secrets from me. Am I some sort of outsider with you two?"

"No, Jared! Listen to me!" she begged as she turned him towards her. "I didn't want you-"

"To find out?" he barked back. "Well too late!" He folded up the map and threw it to Cody. "You two can go to Taperville on your own. I'm leaving!"

"Quit being a moron!" Cody shouted. "It's my fault. I made her swear not to say anything to you."

"Cody, you don't-" "Look, Jared, if you're going to be mad at anybody, be mad at me. Heather did what I told her, okay? Besides, you know another reason why we said nothing! Because you'd probably call me insane like you always do! Why the hell should I even try to explain anything to you if you think everything I say is stupid?" Jared turned back to him, fire still burning in his eyes. But at the same time, he seemed to realize that not only was Cody telling the truth about the secret, but that he also had a good reason to believe that Jared wouldn't believe him no matter what he said.

"Fine. Let's go then. We'll sleep when we get into town." He and Charmeleon walked ahead, not wanting to deal with the other two trainers.

"You didn't have to do that," Heather whispered to Cody.

"Yes I did. He wanted the truth, so I told him," he replied. "Besides, I don't want you two to start fighting because of me."

Heather didn't know what to say at first, but then she hugged him for a second as they walked. "Thanks," she whispered in his ear.

"Just consider it an early Christmas gift," he told her. Those were the last words spoken for the rest of the hike as the tension was still thick. But all three trainers were thinking the same thing: they were being watched.