Hau tossed an orange Frisbee across the beach. "Go get it, Brute!"

"Rork!" Brutus chased the disc until it was just within his grasp. The Incineroar leaped, then snatched the round, flat toy from the air. "Grorr." He brought it back to Hau, then passed it over to him.

"Thanks, bud!"

Gladion sat from afar, watching them play. Whatever... He turned his back to them. This was none of his business.

Something hot hit Gladion's face. That boy was adorable. He had to go talk to him.

"Grar?" Brutus looked at the sand as if he had heard something. In fact, other than the ocean waves and the chattering of passersby and their Pokémon, no unusual sounds could be heard. The Incineroar sat on his knees and dug his claws into the sand, right where the water rose up and washed tiny sloughs of it away. "Cin..." Brutus stood, pulling up a giant pearl.

"What did you find, Brute?"

"Incin." Brutus showed Hau the pearl.

"Wow..." Hau's voice was almost inaudible. "That's huge!"

Gladion couldn't take his eyes off the boy. He was so cute, he just had to talk to him. Still, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Oh Arceus... Gladion realized something. I'm gay.

Brutus stuck the pearl in his belt, where it would be safe.

Should I just go say hi to him? he wondered. He stood and slowly began to advance toward where they were playing.

Brutus splashed Hau, getting his shirt wet.

"Hey!"

It was the perfect moment. Just when Hau was looking back up after being splashed, he saw the other boy standing there. "Oh, hi!" Hau waved at him.

"H-hey..."

"You wanna play with us?"

"Uh, no..." He looked away. "I just need someone to talk to."

"Oh, okay." Hau came even closer to Gladion, making it hard to not blush. "Oh, what's your name?"

"Gladion."

"That's a cool name, dude!" he cheered. "Name's Hau." Hau took Gladion's hand. "What's eatin' ya? Lost a battle?"

Gladion didn't like how Hau was being so casual. He just wanted to yell out about how depressed he was. He didn't even think about it, he just said it. "My sister was murdered!"

Hau stepped back, his eyes wider than Pinap Berries. "Holy mother of Arceus! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn't know!"

Gladion sighed. This whole thing was a train wreck. "I'm going home. I gotta feed my Pokémon."

"You have a Pokémon?" Hau chirped. "What kind?"

"It's nothing special."

"Oh, come on! Each Pokémon is special in its own way!"

"You don't need to know about it."

Hau tilted his head. "Golly, aren't you just a ray of sunshine."

"Shut up."

Hau came closer. "I understand you're going through a tough time, and I want to help you feel better."

"Then leave."

"Fine." Hau turned his back to Gladion and walked away, taking out a Poké Ball. "Brutus, return."

Sighing, Gladion parted ways with the boy and went to collect his shoes.

OH MY ARCEUS I AM SO GAY.

He was definitely going to meet this boy again soon. He had to.

"YOU'RE HOME!" Basil exploded in happiness like any canine Pokémon did at the return of its owner.

"Here." Gladion tossed the Type: Null a malasada.

"Yeah!" Basil ate it in one gulp. "Hey, Gladion? Why so quiet? Is it because of your sister?" Basil looked to the boy, who sat at the table, trembling, his hand wrapped around his wrist.

"FUCK!" Gladion yelled. "Why do I just let these things happen? First I lose my sister, then I get a chance with this boy and I totally blow it!"

"What?"

"You wouldn't understand." Gladion let his head fall onto the table. "What would Lillie have thought of this if she were still alive?"

"What?"

"I... Basil, I'm..." He could barely breathe. "I think I'm gay."

Basil sighed. "Gladion, no."

Just as the boy was about to react, he continued. "You don't have to be afraid to tell me these kinds of things."

"Wh..."

"You don't have to worry, pal. You feed me. Of course I'll stay by your side. I'm your Pokémon. And I bet you'll see that boy again sometime."

"Oh, Basil." He looked up. "I'm going to see Mom."

"What? Why?" Basil worried for his Trainer. "Didn't she beat you up when you were little?"

"Yeah, but... I'm doing it. She needs to know about this."

Gladion just barely caught his breath. He was going up to the person who'd struck him as a child, who started this whole thingl If it weren't for her, Lillie would still be alive. "Mom! Mom!"

"Hm?" She looked up from her work.

"Lillie is dead!"

"I know."

What? Gladion thought. That reaction... one, she already knew, and two, she was acting like it was no big deal?

"Mom, did you hear me?"

"Yes. I'm aware Lillie was shot."

He stared in disbelief. "Seriously? Your company is the reason my sister got shot in the fucking neck!" Gladion spat, pointing at Lusamine. "She's your daughter! You gave birth to her! How are you not as devastated as I am? Your daughter is fucking dead!" He reached into his pocket, then withdrew the plastic zip-top bag with the bloody bullet inside. "This is the bullet that killed her! Someone from your company killed her, and she's your child! How the hell are you so calm about this?!"

"Oh, Gladion." Lusamine's gaze fell to the ground. "Lillie's been dead to me a lot longer than she was to you." She looked back up at him. "And you might want to watch your tongue, hon."

"Fuck you!" Gladion stuck his middle finger up at his mother. "What kind of mom are you? You're fucking ruthless! Your child was shot in the neck, and you don't do shit! You don't even go looking for the guy who killed her! He's one of your workers, after all! Hell, you treat Pokémon like complete and utter shit! You say you're saving them, but how can you protect Pokémon when you can't even protect humans?!"

"Gladion, Gladion. Calm down. It's all part of the process."

"BULLSHIT!" Gladion erupted like a volcano. "'The process'? What kind of fuckery is that, getting your daughter killed for the sake of some shitty fairy-tale fantasy? You're not saving shit!"

"THAT'S IT!" Basil yowled. "I've had enough of being a bystander! You're about to feel the wrath of my fangs against your windpipe, you long-haired piece of SHIT!" Basil's mask shattered, revealing an elegant, Lycanroc-like face with bold green eyes ringed with blue. Out the back of the axe-like structure on his head came three feathers. Basil had evolved.

"Basil, no! Wait!"

"GYAAAAAH!" Basil roared to reveal an orange mouth with a yellow tongue and at least thirty razor-sharp teeth. He charged towards Lusamine, and in one swift leap, grabbed her neck and pinned her down.

"Ghllk..." Lusamine fought for air. She thrashed, attempting to free herself from the Silvally's grasp, but he was too strong.

"Basil! Stop!"

"Why should I stop?" he said, freeing her neck but still keeping her pinned.

"I knew it, Gladion... You do still love me..."

"No, you vile bitch! I hate you!"

"Even after that outburst, your obsession over Lillie, you still refuse to let your lousy Pokémon kill me. That means you must still care about me, right, Gladion?"

"No!"

"Then why?"

Gladion breathed heavily. "I'm not like you."

"Oh... Hahahah..." Lusamine's voice sounded so sick, so blood-curdling with every word. "Hah... Hah... My son..."

"Shut up, you demonic beast I'm somehow supposed to call Mom! You're a shitty parent. You let this company, these Pokémon, overtake your mind. You pushed your own children out of the way for-"

"I've had enough of this!" Basil shouted. "You need to remember, Gladion!"

"Remember what?"

"The future, Gladion! You have a future ahead of you! You can't let your mom ruin it like she did to your sister! You have to remember the future!" Basil once again wrapped his jaws around Lusamine's neck, then bit down, hard.

The End