If this story were divided into books, this would be the start of Book 2. Glad to see that the last chapter was relatively well-received. Somebody mentioned that Jared was coming off as being a little bit creepy in Heather's description. That was not my intention, so I'm sorry if anybody was mislead. But now...

Chapter 41: Return to the Road

It would be incorrect to suggest that the concept of the Pokémon League has spread across the world. Rather, the concept has emerged individually among all cultures and countries. The art of training pokémon itself has its roots digging back to about 30,000 years ago when prehistoric humans developed a symbiotic relationship with ancestors of the Poochyena, Lillipup, and Growlithe lines, depending on where said humans lived. As society evolved, so has the concept of the trainer and the League. In ancient communities, leagues existed to protect humans from wild pokémon in the natural environment. In later communities, leagues existed to protect humans other communities of their own or to serve as law enforcement. Sometimes, these leagues would also serve as means of diplomacy. For example, if two rivaling communities, kingdoms, or countries had a disagreement, a decision would be made through a pokémon battle between the strongest trainers of each region.

While leagues will sometimes serve these purposes, depending on the community and context, the Pokémon Leagues of today are typically figurehead organizations. With the existence of modern police forces, military, and pokémon rangers, even the highest ranking trainers are usually not called upon to fill these roles. Certainly, there are some places where being a member of a pokémon league demands additional duties. For example, a gym leader at Blackthorn City is tasked with defending the Dragon's Den, a holy land for Dragon Tamers of Johto. There have also been times in recent history in which league trainers have taken it upon themselves to act in the defense of justice, such as during the Plasma invasion in Unova. However, in most modern regions and countries, top level trainers typically devote their time to training, research, and charity work.

Some view the diminishment of the Pokémon League's utility as being tragic within trainer culture. To these individuals, becoming a top level trainer may promise money and fame, but no direct power or responsibility. However, as a league trainer myself, I disagree. As I look at the leagues across the world, I see people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds who have become great through using a variety of training and battling techniques. Though these trainers have their differences, they are similar in that each of them embodies the concepts of hard work, determination, and adaptability. Trainer culture (which includes trainers and those who follow competitive pokémon battling) has become deeply rooted within all societies. Because of these deep roots, top level trainers have been found to be incredibly influential in multiple facets, ranging from fashion to politics. So indeed, trainers do have responsibilities. One of the biggest responsibilities of a trainer is to be a model for his or her fellow man.

As the 2012 Diamond Beach Tournament begins this year, I wish the best of luck to all of the competitors. I hope that whoever wins this year can be a role model and an inspiration to all of us in one way or another, as all eyes will be upon you when you step into the sunlight as a champion.

- Martin Hornsby; The Skitrexian Trainer Weekly

"Bounce back and use Water Gun!"

"Low Sweep into a spinning kick!"

As expected, Bastion jumped backwards and launched a high-pressured water blast at the old Hitmonlee. Though he wasn't in prime condition, the limber pokémon easily sidestepped the water before running in with a low, sweeping kick. Bastion easily hopped over that move before ducking the next, higher kick. It was a good mix-up attack on Lex's part, but the Wartortle was too quick and the Hitmonlee was too clumsy.

Cody wondered why he didn't ask for this battle sooner, but he came to believe that it was because he didn't want to hurt his father's sense of pride. Though his father never collected all the badges in Skitrex, he was a competent battler. However, as training never became his fulltime profession, it became more of a hobby than anything. He still took his pokémon to some of the local community centers once a week to keep his skills sharp and his pokémon active and healthy, but Stone Rise was not known for having a high-level training community. Most of the trainers he fought were casual trainers at best (often middle-aged, retired trainers such as himself), so while it kept his monsters in shape, they were still out of their league against Cody. The Hitmonlee (his father's first and best pokémon) was in his thirties now. While not necessarily detrimental to that pokémon's species (as their lifespans were comparable to humans), this Hitmonlee was out of shape after years of loafing in retirement and drinking soda. Sure, he had years of skill and wisdom, but that was nothing that a young gun like Bastion couldn't handle.

"Keep in rhythm," his father ordered as the Hitmonlee kept spinning.

"Keep dodging! He can't keep this up!" Cody was right in the end. After several more spins, the Hitmonlee's pace began to slow. That was when Bastion stopped one of his sweeps with an Iron Tail. A younger, stronger Hitmonlee may have been able to power through a steel type attack, but not this one. Bastion then had his opening. He landed and Aqua Jetted his shell into the older pokemon's chest, knocking the wind out of him before landing a critical hit with a Bubblebeam. That did it. The Hitmonlee staggered back, supporting himself on his arms and one knee.

"Alright, alright, we fold." Cody's father stepped in before Bastion could do anything else, and instantaneously, the turtle relaxed and looked back at his trainer for approval.

"You did good, buddy." The teen knelt down next to the Wartortle, scratching him behind his large, fluffy ears. Bastion liked that, but he also began sniffing towards Cody's hands. Knowing what his pokémon wanted, he handed the turtle a piece of kibble.

"Well I'll be damned, you two have come a long way." His father was standing next to him now, looking down with pride.

"Thanks, but Lex was… eh, nevermind." He didn't feel like critiquing his father's hobby. Nobody liked a know-it-all anyway. He did decide to playfully poke fun at the Hitmonlee, who was standing by them now. "And you sir, you need to work on your cardio."

"Hmph." As always, Lex was not amused, as his serious nature kept him stiff and stern. He walked back towards the house, probably to find another carbonated drink.

"He always was a tight-ass," Cody chuckled.

His father laughed at this as well. "Well, one of us had to be back when we were on the road." He leaned in and added softly, "and watch your language. You don't your mother hearing you talk like that."

"I heard both of you," his mother called out from where she was grilling.

"Busted," his father whispered, shaking his head before calling back to her. "Hey Tiff, those burgers ready yet?"

"Just about. Come sit down and we'll eat in a moment."

"Alright, awesome." The two of them went up to the patio where the outdoor table was set up.

From where they Cody sat, he saw his mother over at the grill, flipping the last of the burgers. Accompanying her was Antonia. The Skarmory had grown even bigger and she was still as aggressive as always. However, she stood near the grill patiently, eyeing the meat. It was so incredibly strange. For the longest time, the only living thing that she liked was Cody (after months of them butting heads). She had a grudging respect for Bastion, Colossal, and Elesa, although she wasn't friendly with any of them. She absolutely despised Mars for his aggression and ego that matched hers and she disliked Cortez for his pranks and cruel behavior. She did seem to be okay with Reflet (his Eevee), but that might have been out of pity. But strangely enough, Antonia seemed to like his mother. Cody was initially worried about bringing a dangerous pokémon like her to his home, but Antonia was relatively well-behaved, especially with his mother. He figured that Antonia possibly sensed that he was trying to be nice to his mother, and while she wouldn't understand why, she realized that it was important, so she mirrored his behavior. But perhaps she was overthinking it.

"Fine, fine, you can have one too." His mother staked one of the burgers and held it out for Antonia, who quickly snatched it and gobbled it down before releasing a satisfied squawk. Tiffany Storm then patted the bird's neck, something that most people other than Cody couldn't do.

"Mom, don't give her anymore. If she gets spoiled on the stuff and refuses to eat anything else-"

"Don't worry, it was the one I saved for her," his mother interrupted.

Having scarfed down the burger, Antonia strutted off the patio before flying up to a sturdy tree branch to sleep. Below, Cody's Eevee was playing with his father's Linoone, Mars was gnawing on a tree root, Colossal was sunning himself, and Elesa was munching on some grass. Cortez was nowhere to be found. Knowing him, he was probably off scheming with his father's Hypno. Great, gonna have to be ready to deal with that later.

The meal that had been set out looked delicious, and, in Cody's opinion, it was a wonderful last dinner before returning to the road again. Burgers, french fries, corn on the cob; it was perfect. That being said, the situation at hand was incredibly awkward, since, despite being home for two months, this was probably the third time that him and his parents had dinner together since he came back. In their defense, since his father worked days and his mother worked nights, there were only so many days that a meal like this was possible, but on those other days when they could have eaten together, his parents seemed to be actively avoiding each other.

"So… weather is really nice," Cody commented in a failed attempt to break the awkwardness. God, that was terrible.

"Hmm? Oh yes, nice," his father answered while looking down at his place as he slowly ate.

"So… Cody. Where are you going exactly? Something about the Inferno Badge?" his mother questioned, making an effort to start a conversation.

"Wow, you actually remembered. I'm impressed." He was. Considering that his mother could barely remember half of his pokémons' species names, he was truly surprised that she recalled this detail. "We are heading there, but first, we're heading north up to Moss Creek after I get off the train at Fairville."

"Fairville… that's pretty far away from Ashlin," his father noted. "Why not go straight there?"

"Because we need to warm up a bit. It should be an easy gym, but I already learned not to take anybody lightly. Besides, I have something else in mind." He smiled at the surprise he had in store. Being the "map guy" of his group came with great perks, and selecting surprise destinations was one of them. He had already cleared the meet up point with Heather and Jared, and they were fine with Fairville. They just didn't know where they were detouring to.

"Well, I think it's great that you're taking your time. You can learn a lot of skills out in the wilderness. How to read a map, how to light a fire-"

"How to snare and skin a Ratatta," Cody added. He had not mentioned that before, but his father looked impressed. His mother looked surprised and slightly grossed out though. "What, when Antonia was still a chick, I had to catch most of her food. Had to eat some of it too. It's a dominance thing, you know?"

"No… I guess I don't," his mother answered, eyeing him. She didn't know the half of it when it came to raising Antonia. All his parents knew about her was the finished product. He wasn't about to tell either of his parents that one literally had to fight with a Skarmory to earn its respect. He also made sure that they never saw him shirtless. The scars on his chest and back did not fade as much as the ones on his arms. If his mother saw those scars, she would have pulled the plug on his training career in a heartbeat. He didn't tell them about the scar that that lunatic Casper had left on his chest either. Or that there was some shadow organization watching him. Or a literal shadow for that matter. He wondered if they were still watching him now. Things had been relatively quiet for the past two months, so maybe the Brotherhood had moved on. Also, he hadn't had any nightmares since returning home. Maybe Stella's prediction had been wrong and Darkrai liked his new target better. One could only hope…

"So… how's Heather doing?" his mother asked.

Heather had spent a day with him in Stone Rise two weeks before. The two of them texted and talked over the phone every day, but seeing her in person was a lot better. His friends seemed to like her well enough, as did his parents. Even his mother who had originally been concerned with him traveling with a girl warmed up to her quickly. There was something about his friend's "girl next door" appeal that even his mother liked.

"She's great, she's great," he answered. "Happy to be on the road again, or soon at least." He then remembered Jared. Oh Jared. As much as he would like to forget about him, he had no choice in the matter. "Jared is doing well too, I guess." Not that he would have known. The two of them talked over the phone once in the past few months and that was to pass on information about where the three of them were meeting.

"You guess? Do you two even talk?" his mother prodded.

"Yes, we're the best of friends. What a guy," he replied in sarcasm, rolling his eyes.

His mother's face reddened in irritation. "Did you seriously just roll your eyes at-"

"Tiff, lay off him. He's said before that he doesn't like the kid," his father cut in, annoyed.

"Randy, you're just going to let him get awa-"

"Alright, I'm sorry. It was rude of me and I'm sorry." Diffused that situation. Though he could tell that the tension just re-thickened.

"Cody," his father began, picking up where the conversation left off, "if you don't like him, why travel with him? Why not travel with Laurence or-"

"Because Laurence…" He had to think about that for a minute. The reason he didn't travel with Laurence was because his friend seemed to like his space, as he never liked to travel with the same person for too long. Usually, he seemed to leapfrog frequently between traveling companions (usually girls), and he had already moved on from that Marissa girl he was "not dating". "Look, Laurence likes to do his own thing, and honestly, Heather is cool enough that I don't mind putting up with Jared to train and hang out with her."

"And you don't think that's weird?" his father asked. "You don't feel like a third wheel or anything?"

"No." He rarely ever felt that way at all. Jared was not into PDA, so he rarely had to put up with the two of them being gross together. In all honesty, considering how close Cody was with Heather, he often saw Jared as the third wheel.

His mother decided to chime in on the subject too. "Randy, they seem like good kids. Why not-"

"Geeze, Tiff, I just thought maybe he felt a little awkward," he shot back before turning back to his son. "You know, if you ever do feel that way, I'm sure there are plenty of girls out there who you could ask ou-"

"Our son is not traveling to get dates," his mother interrupted, the anger coming back in her voice. "I told him "no girls" for a reason. I

His father raised an eyebrow. "And what reason is that, Tiff?"

"Because I already don't like that my fifteen year old son is traveling through a dangerous world of animals that can breathe fire and spit acid, that's why! The last thing he needs is to get involved in a relationship when he already has to deal with so much as a trainer. If he had to visit a psychologist for what one normally has to deal with as a trainer-"

"Can we NOT do this? Please?" Cody's words fell on deaf ears.

"Tiff, he's young. Let him live a little. These are supposed to be the best years of his life, and-"

"And what, you want to live through him or something, Randy? Is that why you're encouraging this?"

"I did not say that. You're putting words in my mouth because you know you're-"

He had enough. "Is this why we don't eat together anymore? Because of this crap?" He fully expected to get yelled at by his mother for that, but she was surprisingly silent. He looked at both of his parents and saw that they were looking down at their food, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with him and each other. He took another bite of his burger, estimating how many bites it would take him before he could leave the table. In hindsight he was glad that there weren't all that many family dinners during his stay at home. This sort of bullshit, he could do without.

After dinner, he took Reflet for a walk. Since he had spent most of his day packing and preparing for his return to the road, he took a day off from training. But he never took a day off from his Eevee's therapy. Her fur hid her scars and she was like a regular Eevee in appearance, but there were moments when she'd get anxious over the littlest things. He had to spend extra time conditioning her to be less fearful of the things that scared her (loud noises, certain gestures, etc.), but he helped her with physical therapy as well, which was usually walking, running, and on occasion, swimming.

"Birds fly, fish swim, and dogs walk," one of the doctors had told him when he first adopted her. "Walking her every day may help in the long run. Dogs need that sort of stimulus."

The other day, after getting approval from a doctor at the local pokémon center, he offered her the opportunity to battle again. He was surprised at how eager she was to battle the wild Pidgey they found. He figured that she would run and hide behind him, but out of instinct, she jumped in and started following basic commands that she had learned from her previous trainer. The next day, they battled a young trainer who had just started out. The Eevee lost, which was okay, but after the battle, he saw her cowering at his approach. Of course she would; after all, the asshole that she used to belong to would physically abuse the poor, weakened animal when she lost. Cody treated her tenderly, but he knew it would be some time before she could fully trust that he'd never want to hurt her.

When he came home, he found his mother at the sink, scrubbing the dishes by hand, much to his surprise. "Dishwasher broken?"

"Yes, it just died on me. We'll call someone about it tomorrow," she answered, her voice in monotone.

"Hmm… Here, let me help." He pet Reflet's head before he joined his mother at the sink. "Where's dad?"

"He went for a walk a little bit after you left," she answered, her voice still blank-sounding.

"Huh, okay then." The two of them just worked in silence for a half a minute before she said something else.

"Cody, about dinner-"

"Don't worry about it." With how often his parents fought as of late, he didn't want her to feel guilty, even if he had gotten pissed with them.

"No, it wasn't right. I- we- we both overreacted."

"Mom, don't worry about-"

"No, I am going to worry about it, damn it!" She suddenly jerked around to face him, having to look up into his eyes, now that he had grown taller than her. "You're our son! I don't want you to see us like this. It killed me, seeing the look in your eyes. You just can't stop thinking about going back to your journey to get away from us, I just know it. I just…" She looked like she was about to burst into tears when he just hugged her. It was all he could do. How does one counsel their own mother about her failing marriage? He knew that she didn't want him to think that about them, but it was something that he had been picking up since those early phone calls between him and them after he left.

"I just don't want you to think that something is wrong," she whispered, as her mouth was close to his ear. "To see us fighting like this and everything."

"I don't have to see it," he answered softly. "I hear you guys argue a lot after you think I've gone to bed." Usually, it was about money, which made no sense, since they were well off. Other times, it was about the pettiest things they could think of. Sometimes, it was about him. Once, it was about Derrick. There were a whole laundry list of things they argued about, but he wasn't about to list them off.

She pulled away slightly and her face paled. "You… you can hear us?"

"I kinda figured regardless…" He thought he made the moment worse, but she smiled just slightly.

"Cody, whatever you may have heard… it's not your fault. Everything has just gotten so complicated since Derr-" She immediately stopped herself, shaking her head. "It's not his fault either. But don't worry about it. Worry about yourself. You have a big day tomorrow." Her smile looked sad now.

Don't worry about it? You're both my parents. I'm going to worry about it. But he wouldn't say that and stress his mother out even further. "You still don't like me going though, don't you?"

"Well no, it still scares me," she admitted. "But you made it your first year with four badges. If the worst of you training is going to be a few visits with a psychologist, I can accept that."

That's not even a quarter of it. But if she knew the truth… No, he had no plans of telling her about his other struggles.

"Also, you are talented. You know, I've watched a few of the videos on your blog. I still wish that you had picked up a normal hobby, like sports or theater or something that doesn't involve you traveling alone with dangerous monsters, but…" She wiped a small tear from your eyes. "It's been good for you. I've noticed that you've become a lot more patient. More analytical even… You really have grown up in just one year."

He had grown up physically as well. Near the end of his first year on the road and over the summer, he shot up to 5'9", now taller than his mother and almost as tall as his father. He also had more hairs growing on his chin than he had before, though he kept them short. Other than that, he didn't feel all that different, other than being physically stronger from all the walking and carrying of his supplies. His mother looked to be a little bit older too. A few more wrinkles on her face and a few more gray hairs. He hoped he wasn't the cause of them.

"I wish you would cut your hair though. You look like a hobo."

"I thought you'd like it if I looked like a hobo. What girl would go out with me like this?" His hair had grown a bit longer, but he liked it more than his mother did. His observation made his mother giggle, which made him smile.

"Okay, don't cut your hair then," she retorted. Something outside caught her eye, and it made her frown. "Can you get Colossus out of the garden? I just planted those-"

"On it. It's Colossal by the way." He bolted out the door to tend to the problem, but he felt pretty good. Though she hadn't said it directly, it seemed that his mother was proud of him. That in itself was a victory that he was glad to have won.

Summer vacation had been anything but a vacation for Cody. Not that he was complaining, but he had expected to have more downtime.

He had run through the list of credible trainers in the area pretty quickly and most of them posed little challenge. The only trainer who posed any sort of challenge was Laurence, and over the two months, the two of them fought ten times. However, Cody was happy to finally get his first win over his friend, followed by two more within their ten battles. He could see why he lost a lot to his friend though. Laurence's team members were much more on the same page with their trainer than Cody's team was with him. Cortez was still rebellious, Mars was still headstrong, and Elesa had her moments where she would lose herself in the fight, ignoring him completely. Bastion and Colossal were both consistent and obedient, allowing him to depend on them for individual victories within the battle. However, it was Antonia who had been his trump card. While she too would sometimes have "disagreements" with him, each time he had beaten Laurence, it was Antonia who anchored his team. Even Flex the Machoke couldn't take her in a one on one battle. However, he didn't need too. Despite out speeding her, Antonia had no way to deal with Blaise the Camerupt, who was durable enough to absorb her physical attacks, and her firepower was too much for the ironclad bird. Still, it was no doubt that Antonia had definitely become his strongest pokémon, though it upset him that she would have been so much better if she listened to him more often.

When they weren't battling (which was most of the time), Cody was running his team through conditioning drills. Sprinting, long distance running, swimming and climbing (for who it was appropriate), and the general ironing out of any conceivable weaknesses was his general plan for his team members. He also tried to teach them new commands, though not all of them were good at following orders. That would need to change.

When he wasn't training, he was studying. Most of his studying was trainer related (battle theory, trainer biographies, and other useful books), though he had taken a few general summer courses. The equivalency test that he would be taking in a few years was no joke, and even though there were universities for trainers who had no formal high school education, he needed to brush up on some subjects. He was also taking a driver's ed once a week while getting his parents to take him out driving for a little bit every night. He was still too young to get his license, but he figured that getting the experience during those two months would save him loads of trouble later on. Still, there were days that he wanted to just kick back and play videogames for a little bit, but those days were far and few between.

There were times where he hung out with friends in a non-trainer context. Angie and Paul and their friends from school were fun to spend time with, and he even went on one date with one of their friends. That didn't go anywhere, but he appreciated it. Anything to take his mind off of Heather for a little bit when he kept thinking about her.

Said friends (minus Laurence, who had left a few days earlier) were there to see him off at the train station that morning, along with his father. His mother had to work slightly later than usual that morning, so she had said her goodbyes the night before. What his friends had said to him remained fresh in his mind.

"Text me. And send some darn pictures. I'm going to miss you, so at least show me where you're going," Angie had told him.

"What she said," Paul added, keeping his words to a minimum.

"Make sure you call home whenever you can. I know you'll be alright, but you know your mother," his father added.

Simple statements, but coming from people he knew, they meant a lot more than simple sentiments. But then, he was on a train that slowly carried north and the novelty of a train ride wore off quickly. Most of the passengers were adults; primarily businessmen. And even if he wanted to talk with them, they were all too engrossed in their books, papers, and blackberries to take notice. The view through the window bored him after the first hour, as it was nothing he hadn't seen in the past year. And since he was riding in coach, the seats were uncomfortable and the food was terrible, forcing him to dig into his snack supply for the road.

In short, he was bored. But at least he wasn't alone. He texted a few people to pass the time and he had his smallest pokémon on his lap. Normally, pokémon weren't allowed on trains for safety reasons, but he was allowed to brig Mars with him, since a Diglett outside of the ground was relatively harmless. The mole was curled up on his lap, uncharacteristically calm.

Cody stroked the mole's short fur and contemplated the pokémon and his role in the team. Mars was the second pokémon he had ever caught, yet he seemed to be falling behind his companions in terms of utility. While he was still tough, he had a hard time keeping up with older and evolved pokémon. That wasn't to say that unevolved pokémon were inferior, but he was far too aggressive for being so fragile. Finding two other Diglett for Mars to join with had been a failure thus far. Cody even went back to the place where he caught the mole, finding that the colony had long since moved on. To make matters worse, there would be far fewer Diglett colonies in the north, and they would be impossible to find in the winter.

What am I going to do with you? He knew that if things didn't change, he would be using Mars less and less, especially if Reflet was willing to battle again. But that was something to consider on another day. At least the next gym would be filled with pokémon that a Diglett could fight.

"Attention passengers: We are now arriving at Arkton! We are now arriving at Arkton!" the conductor alerted them over the intercom.

Great. Another wait. It would be another thirty minutes before the train resumed its course. Fuck this, why did I take a train again? Stretching back in his seat, he let out a small yawn and closed his eyes. He was having a hard time sleeping while the train was in motion, but now that it had stopped, sleep came easy.

He slept through the train's stop. He slept through the train starting its trek again. But he couldn't sleep through the piercing squeak of a certain mole on his lap.

"Weik weik! Weik weik!"

"Oh for the love of…" He slowly opened his eyes to see Mars standing up on his lap, back arched and hair standing straight, squeaking forward at something. "What could you possibly-" His eyes widened. What Mars had alerted him of was a young man with dark hair who stood before him, wearing baggy jeans and a gray hoodie that matched his empty looking eyes. Just seeing him triggered several flashbacks of being attacked, cut with a knife, and kidnapped.

"Casper!" He immediately stood up, holding Mars close to him as he backed against the wall of the train. A few passengers took notice, but they lost interest immediately. Nobody cared, so long as they weren't involved.

"Don't make a scene. Not here to fight," he answered in a chilly voice. "Sit down. We need to have a conversation."

"Fuck no, get lost before I-"

"Before you what, start a fight on a train?" He pointed to the train car in front of theirs. "There's a marshal in the next car. You start a fight and you'll be put under arrest. Even if you were to ignore any sense, all you have is that Diglett. I have Roselia with me. Such a delicate little pokémon that nobody saw a threat. But you're pokémon… out of his element."

He's right. But he remembered something important. "You're a wanted man and there's a marshal in the next car. All I have to do is talk to him and he'll-"

"He'll what?" Casper questioned. "If I get arrested, the superior one will not be pleased. You will have violated your word that you will have stayed out of our affairs, and we will consider you a bigger threat than your current status."

His eyebrow rose. "Current status?"

"Sit down," he ordered. "If you want me out of your life, you will listen."

Cody stared, trying to get a read on Casper's intention, but he was at a loss. The man had an unbelievable poker face, showing no emotion whatsoever. Should I listen? In theory, he was safe. Casper was wanted, so if there was a marshal in the next car, he wouldn't attack him, especially not in front of all the witnesses. Besides, if he wanted to harm him, he could have done it when Cody was asleep. Still, could he trust that the guy only wanted to talk?

"I'll talk, but you have to answer a question for me."

He nodded. "So long as it is information that I am allowed to give you, that is acceptable."

"Fine." Nervously, he sat down and Casper did the same in the seat in front of him, though he seemed far calmer. Even so, he seemed kind of fidgety and uncomfortable, his eyes darting left and right indiscriminately.

"What would you like to know?" he asked with a cock of his head.

"How the hell did you know I was going to be on this train?" he asked. He knew that the Brotherhood had ways of tracking him, but to find him on the exact train at the exact time?

Strangely enough, this question made Casper smile just slightly. "Accident."

"Accident?" He was confused and in slight disbelief. Out of all the places he could have been, they were on the same train by accident?

"See, I was supposed to meet up with you at Fairville, but when I got on the train at Arkton, I was surprised to see you were en route ahead of schedule. Makes things easier."

Ahead of schedule? He remembered that he switched his ticket for an earlier time. "But how did you know I was going to be in Ashton?" He should have already known the answer.

"You're easy to track, especially when you're at home. Phone records are the easiest. Text messages, voicemail, pictures-"

"I'm going off the grid." He seriously considered it as he pulled his cellphone from his pocket, looking at it in disgust. It wouldn't be easy, but it seemed pretty appealing.

"That wouldn't be enough. Debit cards, credit cards, visiting the pokémon center, digitally signing your name anywhere." The snatcher began to examine his fingernails, taking his eyes off of his former prey. "But really, if you went completely off the grid, we would find that very suspicious. Being watched, at least we know that you aren't up to anything. And when we know where you are, we'll be more likely to leave you alone."

"Leave me alone?" he snapped, keeping his voice low. "I've done nothing to you people except expose that Frank guy to a few trainers. I've tried to avoid you people, but you won't leave me alone. Isn't this a waste of manpower or something?"

He shook his head. "Not really. It only takes one person to monitor your digital communication, and that doesn't take long. The people who watch you at home are members that we have recruited in your home town, and they have lives outside of you. For all you know, it may be one of your friends."

That sent a shiver down his spine, but he tried not to let it get to him. This guy was just trying to scare him. "Still though-"

"Still, you are a threat. That time where you knocked me unconscious rather than coming with-"

"You attacked me and my friends! I have a scar from that knife! You poisoned and kidnapped me! God forbid I try to defend myself!"

"True, true," he admitted with a nod. "If I were you, I would have done the same thing. Personally, I would have killed you by now. Tie up a loose end. Makes sense. Trainers die every day out there and you would just be another statistic. Nobody cares about a number at the end of the day."

Mars started to growl. It was as if he knew what this strange man had just said about his trainer. But he softened his stance as Cody pet him reassuringly, though the trainer also felt uncomfortable with that information. The scary thing was that Casper could have easily killed him by now if he really wanted to.

"But the Father and I disagree on that. He believes that killing you is both hypocritical and unnecessary. So be it." He readjusted his legs, crossing his right over the left. "But anyway, I have work to do in Fairville, so because we have been acquainted, I've been assigned to talk with you. Primarily, I am here to discuss your status with the Brotherhood, as it now stands." He pulled a crumpled ball of paper from his pocket, unfolded it into a wrinkled sheet, and began to read aloud from it.

"Mr. Cody Storm, as you have been made aware, you have been under Brotherhood surveillance for the acts of exposing two Brotherhood members, resisting both peaceful and forceful diplomacy, and physically attacking a member of our organization. These acts date back to blah blah blah blah blah, official sounding bullshit, blah blah blah." He shook his head, his frown deepening as he skipped the nitty gritty information. "However, since you have rejected the offer to join our society, we have been observing your actions for any indication of future infractions. Because you have been behaving in a predictable and non-threatening manner, we have decided that the manpower being used to monitor your actions is poorly utilized.

"While you will still be under observation, it will be limited, so long as you continue to remain uninvolved in the Brotherhood's affairs. If your relationship with our organization continues to remain neutral, we will eventually cease observation, though any future infractions may result in additional consequences than that which have been made standard.

"Regardless of your beliefs and how they differ from our own, we wish you well in your future endeavors, so long as they are just." He handed the paper to Cody, who read the entire thing, including the boring parts that Casper had omitted. When he was done, he was about to put the paper in his pocket, but the snatcher grunted and held out his hand. He wanted the evidence back, of course. Cody reluctantly handed the paper back to him, as to avoid any trouble.

"So… you guys are cutting back?" he asked, feeling a small relief.

"Yes. While monitoring you is easy, nobody likes being watched." He looked at his watch and began to turn it over his wrist. "I don't know how much longer they will be watching you for. It could be for a month. Maybe a year. Or even more. Whatever the case, we have lost interest in you, Cody Storm. So keep your nose clean and you will never have to see me again. Understood?"

He nodded eagerly. "Hell yes, this is all I want." He felt immensely more comfortable, hearing those words come out of Casper's mouth without any trace of flowery written add-ons attached to the message. Suddenly, Casper's visit was not nearly as dreadful as he anticipated. "So… goodbye, I guess?"

"Well, not yet. We get off at the same stop." He stood up, stretching his arms over his head before relaxing his shoulder. "I figure that you will probably discuss this news with your two friends. But other than that, if we find that you are spreading information about our organization that may be seen as harmful, your threat level will increase and you will be back where you started. So do yourself and your friends a favor and keep a secret." Without any sort of "goodbye," his stalker walked to the back of the car, sitting in a seat that would allow him to watch Cody for the rest of the ride, most likely to make sure that he didn't go and talk to that marshal. But he wasn't going to do that anyway.

"Well, that went… well." He patted Mars on the head, but the mole crawled up on his shoulder in order to return Casper's stare. If the Diglett were in Cody's shoes, he wouldn't have accepted this truce.

"Well, I guess this is good news." He looked at his phone. He figured that they had been following him through it, but this was a reminder that he needed to be careful of how he used it from now on. Suddenly, he no longer wanted to text anybody. Instead, he looked out the window for the rest of the ride. It made him forget that there was a sociopath in the back of the train staring holes in the back of his skull.

He lost track of Casper once the train stopped. He seemed to have disappeared into the passengers that exited the train. Still, even with him being gone, Cody still felt as if he was being watched. If the Brotherhood of Life had agents in Stone Rise, there were probably some in Fairville as well. Every time somebody so much as glanced in his direction, he felt as though he was being watched. How many of them are there? How big have they gotten? Even a rough percentage would be comforting, but there was no way he could know that.

Fairville was a sleepy town, but it was bigger than most small towns in the region, having a train station and all. It didn't take him that long to find the Pokémon Center. He told Heather that he'd meet her there, but she wasn't in the lobby. While he waited for her to show up, he sent a request back home to have his pokémon transferred to him and he bought Mars a large carrot from the organic stand in the center's food court.

Turning around, he saw that the first rounds of the Diamond Beach tournament were playing on one of the mounted televisions. He hadn't had much time to follow the pre-tournament eliminations, so now that he had some downtime, he was happy to watch it.

Came in at the right time too. They're running the trainer bios. He sat down at a table and watched while Mars sat on his lap, gnawing on the carrot. But several nibbles in, the Diglett suddenly perked up, his small, usually tucked-back ears perking in excitement. He hopped off his trainer's lap and ran over a nearby human that he recognized, squeaking in excitement. Cody looked up and smiled.

"Hey you," Heather called out to him as she knelt down to pet the Diglett.

"Hey!" He wasn't even aware that Mars liked Heather enough to run and greet her, but it was definitely a nice side of him to see. Cody stood up and approached his friend, stopping to pat Somnos on his way. The Poliwhirl just stared at him blankly. Mmm, that's upsetting. But he got over it when he finally hugged his friend. Even though he saw her a few weeks ago, it had been too long.

"You're looking good," he noted. She was wearing new hiking clothes that he assumed she bought recently. What stuck out to him the most was her hair. While still feminine, it was much shorter. "I really like your hair." Strangely enough, the thing he liked the most about it was how much her neck stuck out. It was a strange thing to like, but like everything that he liked about her like that, he kept it to himself.

"Thanks. I figured that I'm better off cutting it before I leave so it doesn't get too long and gross between towns," she admitted. She grinned a little half-smile while looking at him though. "You though, at least get it trimmed," she said, flicking a strand of it with her finger.

"Geeze, have you and my mom been talking?" He looked around, seeing nobody else he knew. Where's the buzzkill? "Where's Jared?" he phrased more appropriately.

"He went to the farmers market about ten minutes ago. Said he wanted to stock up." She gave him a look all of a sudden. "You stopped texting me earlier. I asked you about potion brands and you just went dark. I went with the Kinnler brand, but-"

"Yeah, Kinnler is fine. Sorry about that, I just…" He remembered why he stopped texting. "Something came up. I'll tell you about it… later. When we're not in public." Mars started clawing at his leg, so he picked the Diglett up in his arms. "So, there's a first round match of Diamond Beach coming on. You want to watch?"

"Yeah, totally!" They both went back to where he was sitting. The bios were wrapping up and soon, the battle would start.

"You know, I got a good feeling about this year," Cody said, kicking his feet up on a second chair.

"Oh really, why is that?" Heather asked, her eyes focused on the TV.

Oh, I don't know. I'm out of that tension-filled house, mom isn't riding my ass, no specters have been haunting my dreams, the Brotherhood is going to leave me alone, and I'm back out here… doing what I'm awesome at.

"I don't know," he lied. "I just have that feeling." He'd talk with her about some of that stuff later, but for the time being, he was too entranced by the two trainers who were entering the arena on TV. The last time he saw these battles, he fantasized about being on that stage. In that moment though, he knew that fantasizing would not be necessary. That's gonna be us someday.