{Present day}

I sat at Café Soleil, in the usual spot. However, I wasn't here the morning after my heist by the Great Marsh, like I planned. Instead, I was here in the afternoon. I still felt the hangover from yesterday, almost staring aimlessly. Fortunately, I rarely spoke to the waiter who brought me my lemon-iced tea. It took me a few seconds before I realized he was standing next to me, waiting. I turned slowly, and groggily nodded. After the waiter nodded back and left, I reached out to pick up my cup. As soon as the beverage passed my lips, I shuddered. My eyes bulged out. A tingling feeling raced up and down my body. After a good sip, I exhaled loudly. "Ah, much better now!"

I took a few minutes to just quietly enjoy my drink. Once the drink woke me up properly, my mind could think coherently. "It's been a while since I passed out like that. Good thing one of my partners left a Leppa Berry for me, or else I'd barely get through getting dressed." I decided to wear sporty beige jeans with a nice black shirt. Instead of a cap, I wore shades. My hair was tied back in a ponytail like usual.

With my drink nearly finished, I pulled out my notebook from a portal. I sifted through it, making note of everything done so far. "The Kalos Pokeball Factory is the last place left I'm responsible to hit. I expect Team Flare grunts will be assisting Team Celeste. I don't know if Team Flare ever got a foothold on the factory a few months back, but my source says a nearby facility is where most of the Team Celeste activity has been happening. I'm surprised the police haven't caught all of Team Flare after the incident with Zygarde. Then again, Team Celeste is a master of cover-up. They probably wanted to bring as much of the remains of Team Flare into the fold."

"Now, this leaves the other members of Team Smear. Besides me, we divided into three groups. They should be finishing their Dark Ball hunts in Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. That'll leave one last facility in Kanto, Unova, Kalos, and Alola each. If we time this right, we should all strike our targets simultaneously. Hopefully this will divide Team Celeste's attention."

I rubbed the side of my head. "Ug! If I have to go through two evil teams like last time, this next run is going to be a pain." I glanced at my Unbound Rings on my right hand. "Better get ready then. I'm the one responsible for the movements after all."

I took a quick look at my scrapbook before I put everything away. Once I had the picture I needed to see, I got up and left some change for the waiter. I went to a random alley off of Autumnal Avenue, looked around to see I was alone, and opened a portal to Sinnoh.

I ended up in an alleyway in Veilstone City. "Sensei is supposed to meet me somewhere around here soon. I guess I can do some chores in the meantime." Having been here a few times before, I knew a laundromat in the city I found useful. Before heading over, I opened a portal behind a dumpster and pulled out a pile a clothes I saved for cleaning. It was an assortment of clothing varying from casual attire to prestige affairs. I almost couldn't see around the pile of clothes, but I managed to make it to the laundromat without dropping anything.

First I sorted out my clothes. I left some of the clothes to the man at a counter, who proceeded to press them back to their smooth condition. Then I dropped the rest in a couple of unoccupied washing machines. As I waited for the cycle to end, I looked around the room. Only a few others were in the laundromat. I cought a girl about my age staring at me. When she noticed, she giggled a bit to herself and winked. I'd got those looks a lot over the past few years. But like most other times, I just flashed a polite smile back to her and looked away. "If only…"

Half an hour later, the wash cycle finished and I switched them to the dryer. After doing so, I decided to go for a walk around Veilstone City. The city had recovered since Team Galactic was dismantled. The Galactic HQ building was gone in the explosion that occurred, and signs of healing could be seen everywhere I went.

Suddenly, I spotted something else. I first noticed them when I went by the Game Corner. Wanted posters. I got a closer look at them on the side of the building. There were usual posters of rogue Galactic grunts the police haven't caught yet. But this time, I specifically saw one that read:

Wanted

Team SMEAR

For trespassing, theft, and assault on private property.

Please contact the International Police for any suspicious behavior.

In the middle of that poster was a shaded, robed figure with a hooded cloak covering his face. "Well, at least nobody knows what I look like yet." Then I noticed how the wall of the Game Corner was covered with wanted posters. Well over half of them were of Team Smear. "Are they getting more desperate?" I sigh. "Oh, I forgot again. I guess I'll have to trek through Sinnoh for these things now."

I pulled down the first of the wanted posters of Team Smear. Then I got a nervous tingling from behind me. I casually turned my head to look back. But nobody was nearby me. There were only a few people walking by, a couple talking in front of a flower shop, a person in a trench coat and fedora sipping his tea in front of a café, and some kids playing with a Shinx. At ease, I continued to carefully tear down the rest of the related wanted posters. Then I went throughout Veilstone City, making sure to take down all the wanted posters of Team Smear I could find, while also looking behind my back to make sure nobody watched me out of suspicion. Every now and then, I balled up the paper sheets and pitched them through a portal.

By the time I was done, my clothes were finished in the dry cycle. I borrowed a shopping cart from a Poke Mart and folded my clothes into it. As I did so, I still felt on edge, like someone was watching. There were different people in the laundromat. Not even the girl from before was there. But I saw all of them only concerned with their own clothes. "Must be my instincts finally waking up." Once I finished folding, I headed back to the counter and picked up the rest of my clothes. They were nicely pressed and treated. "Ready for the next grand party." I left real Poke Dollars to the manager behind the counter before I left.

As I stepped outside with my cart, I noticed the girl in the distance talking to some middle-aged woman in a black coat. "Good thing the Poke Mart isn't in that direction." I tapped my right pants pocket before making a sharp turn. Taking my time, I headed straight to the Poke Mart. Once inside, I went to the aisle containing Battle Items, since almost nobody picks up X Attack and the like. I strolled up and down the aisle with my cart, pretending to look for items. When I saw nobody within my line of sight, I briefly opened a portal from my rings to drop my clothes through a little at a time. After about fifteen minutes, I had a more manageable amount of clothes left that I could carry. I left the cart behind as I walked out of the Poke Mart with my clothes. I tapped my pocket again before strolling back to the alleyway I started at. I looked around to make sure nobody saw me enter the alley. "I swear I saw a shadow dart from around the corner." But I hardly flinched, patted my pocket once more, and continued on.

About the halfway point of the alleyway, I saw a space between two dumpsters. I crouched down in that space. Carefully, I opened one more portal to put my clothes through. A minute later, I was finished. "There. Now, where is he? He should have made himself known to me by now…"

"Excuse me, young man…" a male voice echoed through the alley.

"Figures." I slowly stood back up and looked back in the direction I walked from. A few meters away stood a man with a jacket and tie. I lightly tapped my pocket before I gave him eye contact.

He looked back to me with swollen eyes, like he'd been on his job a lot. "What are you doing back here?"

I half-heartedly sighed. "Oh, I dropped my Poke Ball somewhere and I think it was somewhere around here."

"Uh-huh. And did you drop it before or afteryou went around tearing down wanted posters?"

"I took down some. Possible 'bad guys' I might have seen on my travels, so I took some to keep the picture fresh in my mind in case I see them again." I glanced passed the man. I noticed two more people behind him near the entryway to the alley. One of them was a man in a black buttoned shirt and coat. The other was the woman I saw talking to the girl earlier. "Hm, this is new."I adjusted my shades. "Why? You interested in one of the perps?"

The man before me reached into his pocket and pulled out an official badge. "I'm from the International Police. And yes, we are very interested in someone. Care to answer a few questions?"

I shrugged. "Why not? I got some time."

"Those posters you pulled down. A lot of them a related to a group called Team Smear. Heard of them before?"

"Hearsay on occasion. Someone told me they might be dangerous. They that bad?"

"Their activities have far surpassed the capabilities of the local police in how unpredictable their patterns are and how multi-regional their activity is. It seems the group is very important to you, given how many copies of those particular wanted posters are missing. You took all those?"

"Pssh, no. There's bound to be a couple or so still up, right?"

"And where did you put all those copies?"

"I put them away?"

The man frowned. "And what of your clothes, for that matter? We have a witness who says she saw someone of your description with many bundles of clothes. You lose all of those, too?"

I smirked. "I never thought the International Police would be interested in the wellbeing of my wardrobe. If you came all this way for Team Smear, what does my simple clothes have to do with them?"

"We've spread available agents out to all regions with known Team Smear activity. Just like the other criminal organizations and solo crooks, we kept our eyes out for any suspicious activity. Then, in this city, we got some weary-eyed reports of someone wandering in shady places."

I grit my teeth a bit. "Yeah, because Team Celeste is interested in the former Galactic HQ site. Why haven't you guys scoped the place out, too?"

"So when one of us noticed you taking interest in Team Smear posters, he called us in. Now I see you coming into an alley like this with a stack of nice clothes, and before me is the same kid with no clothes. There are no doors or low windows here, so where did you possibly put nice clothes in a grimy alley?"

I leaned on the heels of my feet. "I put them away. Don't need to share how nice my clothes are all the time."

The man took a step forward. "Then this is troubling. Given all you've told me and what I've seen, either you are an introvert who's worried about Team Smear..." He narrowed his eyes. "…or you know something more about them."

There was a pause between us. Then I turned on my heels and ran the other way. "So they finally got to me."I heard three pairs of footsteps running after me. I could see the other end of the alley ahead of me. But a figure in a trench coat suddenly blocked that way. "Okay, new plan."Just as I looked around, a pair of handcuffs suddenly flew at me from above. I noticed it quick enough to slide to the side. Attached to a rope, the cuffs flew back to another International Police agent flying in the air. He and another agent with him landed with their Galactica Packs to each side of the trench coat man.

"Uh-oh." I skidded to a stop. Three agents now blocked my intended escape route. I looked around. The gap between the walls was fairly narrow, but not enough to wall jump. The first set of windows were too high to reach. I looked back where I ran, seeing the first three agents catching up. They stopped a few meters away from me, about the same distance as between the second set of agents and I. I noticed a manhole cover between me and the first three agents. "Good option, but not in this situation. I don't have any Pokémon with me either. I need to know if there are more of these guys."

The man with the jacket and tie spoke again. "You don't have to make this more difficult for yourself, kid. What's your name anyway?"

I thought for a second, then smiled. "My name is Plato."

"Okay, Plato, you are under arrest for suspected criminal activity and resisting arrest." An agent on each side of me fired an Adjustable Handcuff at me. I dodged and weaved, keeping my arms out of the line of fire. They retracted the handcuffs and tried two more times, with the same result.

The agents took one step closer. "You're outnumbered six to one and cornered. Why don't you just go down quietly?" said the man with the tie.

I smirked, "That's it? If I was with Team Smear, and they're as dangerous and elusive as you say they are, why only six?"

The man with the tie gritted his teeth. "Listen, grunt! It's bad enough we got our best agents chasing sages in Unova, cleaning up Hoenn, doing damage control in Kalos, and checking for wormholes in Alola. So if there are six of us coming after you, you have no idea how much serious trouble you're in!"

"So these six are the only ones here. Good. But I need to know one more thing.""Speaking of serious trouble, you guys ever even heard of Team Celeste?"

Five of the six guys flinched, slightly confused for a second. But the man in the trench coat flashed a sneer. "That old tale? That is a long-dead group that conspiracy nuts like to pin world problems on." As he said that aloud, his fellow agents glazed over for a split second before refocusing on me.

My eyes slightly widened. "Shit! There's one with them, too?!"

The man with the tie cleared his throat. "If you're done making excuses for yourself, I suggest you give up now. Or we'll have to be a little rougher."

I stuck my right hand in my pocket. "I need to get out of here. But I'd be in really deep trouble later if I use my Unbound Rings in front of them now. Crap, my options are too minimal for my comfort. I should have brought…"

[You're in trouble again, I see,] said a familiar voice. But this voice wasn't something I heard from anywhere around me. I heard the voice inside my head; a telepathic voice.

I almost jumped in place. I could barely hold my composure together so the agents didn't know I heard the voice. I used my own telepathy to reach out to him. [Sensei! You finally came. Are you in a safe place?]

His voice remained as calm as I remembered. [Yes. The rooftop above the alleyway you're standing in. None of you can see me, although I can 'see' you all just fine.]

The man with the tie and the two agents next to him began to reach into their pockets. "Well, Plato? Wrap it up now, and we can hold you up in a nicer place for further questioning."

[Can you give me a distraction?] I asked Sensei telepathically.

There was a moment's pause. [I think, I can. I'll just need a signal.]

I used two fingers to push up my shades firmly in place. "Alright." I took my right hand out of my pocket and raised it above my hand. With it, I pulled out a little spherical object. At first glance, it looked like a shrunken Poke Ball, with a red half and a white half.

As expected, the agents reacted to seeing it in my hand. The man in the tie and the man in the trench coat pulled out Poke Balls of their own. The woman in the coat and one of the Galactica Pack guys readied an Adjustable Handcuff. The other Galactica Pack guy pulled out Super Hard Tight Tape. The remaining agent readied some Protection Rock.

But what they didn't know is that I was not holding a Poke Ball. I only painted it to look that way. I faced the direction of the manhole cover between me and the first three agents. "I'll talk to you guys…" I cracked a smile. "…another day!" I swiftly threw the sphere to my feet. Just before it hit the ground, I looked away from its impact.

The six agents were about to use their own items. They kept their attention straight at me, thinking I just threw a Poke Ball. They were expecting a Pokémon to come out. Instead, a bright flash of light burst when the orb hit the ground. They all yelped as they clutched their eyes in pain.

The next few moments happened so fast. I crouched low, then booked it as fast as I could to one of the walls of the alley. A mere few seconds after I dropped the orb, I heard the agents continued to scream, like they were getting splitting headaches. "Oooh! I'd hate to be the one to hear Sensei 'scream' in my head right after being blinded by a flash bomb!" But I kept accelerating as fast as I could. With this momentum, I ran up the nearest wall. I knew I couldn't make it up to any windows, or wall jump up and out of the alley. Instead, I ran as high up as I could. As soon as I felt I couldn't make it any higher, I pushed off the wall with my feet. "With their major headaches, they should be clutching their heads and looking downward on instinct. Which leaves me able to leap just above them…"

While spinning through the air, I pointed my right hand in the direction I was heading. Then I opened a portal ahead of me and fell straight through it. "…to teleport away without them seeing how!" I ended up on the roof of a building above the alley. I rolled from my shoulder and somersaulted to a crouching position. "Ha! Did it again!" I stood back up, pleased with myself.

Then I saw a figure standing before me. He was a little shorter than me, and very broad-shouldered. He appeared even larger wearing a slightly worn trench coat that covered him from his shoulders to barely above his feet. His face was covered by his matching wide-rimmed hat. He never really spoke beyond grunts and contained screams. But, by communicating with his Telepathy ability, I could tell he was as glad to see me as I was of him.

I talked back to him with my thoughts. [Good, to see you again, Sensei! Are you alright handling such a telepathic shout to those guys?]

He nods. [You know I can handlemuch more than six at a time. Why don't you see for yourself?]

I peeked over the roof of the building to take a look into the alleyway below. About ten stories down, the six agents were still standing there. Two of them still bent over and clutched their heads, moaning in pain. Two more swayed dizzily, like they just got over a hangover. The man with the tie and the man with the trench coat seemed to be over the wave of pain.

"Where did the brat go?" yelled the man with the tie.

"Damn, he got away! He must be a member of Team Smear!" growled the man in the trench coat.

The man with the tie pulled out what I could barely see was an International Smart Satellite Phone. "This is an emergency call to allagents in Sinnoh," The acoustics of the alley allowed me to decently hear what he was saying into the phone. "There is a high-priority suspect spotted in Veilstone City. It appears to be a brown-haired teen that has possible ties to Team Smear. He has escaped arrest and must be caught at all costs! I need as many agents as possible on the scene to do a sweep of this city, and a thorough search across the region."

I scowled as it appeared the agent in the trench coat to be enjoying himself. I stood up and away from the edge of the roof. Then I turned to Sensei. "Let's get out of here."

Sensei nods. [Agreed. Lead the way.]

I made a quick look around before opening a portal for both of us to pass through. We ended up on one of the upper floors of the Burned Tower, in Johto.

Sensei bemusingly grunted. [Interesting you picked this tower.]

[Why? Nobody really comes here.]

[Nobody really goes to the Bell Tower either. And it's much nicer. Why this tower and not its twin, I wonder?]

I looked away from him. "Don't turn this into another one of your metaphors," I mutter.

Silence. Then he continued after a few seconds. [Your mind is like a simmering storm in that head of yours. What is troubling you?]

I paused for a moment. [That agent among the International Police. He is working for Team Celeste. It's bad enough that they have agents in shareholding, construction, business, law, industrial development, and battle tournaments hiding in plain sight. Now they have guys inside the biggest law enforcement agency in the world!]

Sensei stroked his chin. [Hm, which is another small issue to a larger problem.]

[We'll have to be more careful than ever now that Team Celeste has another resource at their disposal to hunt me down. So, let's go meet with your team and regroup.]

[That's a good idea. But first, I'd like to know how you've been doing.]

I raised an eyebrow.[I've been successful with my end of the missions. Now, can you give a mental image as to where they roughly are?]

[I meant, how are you feeling?]

[I'm fine!] I snapped. I raised my right hand, readying my Unbound Rings. [Can we get going?]

He stepped closer to me. His hat tipped a bit, indicating a sterner look in my direction. [Not until you feel ready.]

[I am ready! I'm feeling much better since…] My eyebrows furrowed as I grimaced a bit.

[No, you are not. You can't even say what is still troubling you.]

I began to pace in place a bit as I was consumed with frustration. [I am feeling better! You more than nearly anyone else on our team knows everything I've been through. And you know exactly what I went through less than a year ago! You let me be alone for a while because of that. We agreed it'd be good for me to go on solo missions for a while to reignite the feelings of going back to basics.]

He nodded. [And my thoughts on your actions still stand. And I can definitely see progress in yourself. However…] He walked right up to me and put a finger on my chest. […your heart is still in pain…] Then he moved his finger to my forehead. […and threatens to further cloud your mind.]

I tried to calm down, breathing heavily. [I know that it hurts. I knew full well that taking down Team Celeste would be a long road of pain. But my pain comes secondary to fulfilling my goal at taking down Team Celeste!]

Sensei shook his head. [Must I remind you, Will? Your soul is as stressed by your suffering and guilt now as it was when we first met, and likely will be for the foreseeable future. But without proper self-care, it could shatter at any moment.]

I looked down, crestfallen. "Like my friend…"

He stepped back and motioned his arm around the crumbling tower. [Think of this Brass Tower like the inside of your soul. The ravages of time and unfortunate events will wear you down. But if you look within, you can see a perseverance to endure…to move on. You can even find the hope to remake yourself into something even better.]

I began to perk up as I heard his thoughts in my head. His voice slowly soothed my thoughts as I listened to him.

[But you must not keep your mind and heart to dwell on what has been. You must strive for what you can become. On what you will do. On what you what to achieve.] He pointed outside the Burned Tower to the Bell Tower not too far off. [You must strive for a better future. You must see a better self.]

I stared at the Bell Tower. The place where Ho-oh, the legendary Pokémon of pure heart, once dwelled.

[Lugia left this tower when its soul was hurt, and moved on. Ho-oh left its tower when it was disheartened, and moved on. The legendary beasts' minds were reawakened when chance found them, and moved on. The soul, the heart, and the mind. These are the three components that make up all of us. Each one wants to go its own way, and has their own strengths and follies. But once all three are unified and clear, you will you be at peace and move on. For that, you must have thewillto endure. You must have thewillto focus. You must have thewillto move on.]

There was silence between us. Then a small smile appeared on my face. [Okay, so your saying I'm a damaged soul in need of healing?]

He chuckled a bit. [Oh, Will, I can read you like an open book. Even without my Telepathy.]

[Still, thank you. I needed that. And the Leppa Berry.]

Sensei nodded. [If you are feeling better, perhaps you will go on somegroup missions soon? It'll help avoid little accidents like that from getting worse.]

I paused. [Hm, not a bad idea. Might need to make a quick adjustment to the groups, but nothing major.]

[Speaking of groups, I believe your mind is clear enough for this…]

Suddenly, a projection of Lake Valor appeared in my mind. I almost laughed. [This is too fitting of you, Sensei!] With that in mind, I opened up a portal to Lake Valor. I stepped up to the portal.

Sensei was right behind me. [So which of our teammates will you partner with?]

I turned around and smiled. [Well, since I've been going back to basics…I think I should go with just my first partner!]

{Approx. 11 years ago}

I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. Tried as I might, I couldn't seem to fall asleep. "Tomorrow is my sixth birthday! I wonder what will be in store for me. The previous years have varied from trials to games. Maybe something like that? Or maybe nothing? My parents have been acting more distant to me than usual these past few weeks. I bet it's because of the secret project they've been working on at AGB Labs. They won't share with me what they're doing. I haven't found a secret way in, and I can't seem to convince any coworkers to tell me. In fact, they almost seem to be weary of me, and my mom and dad. They won't even really acknowledge me anymore. What is going on?"

"Well, at least I can count of Hoth for some fun. He's been there for me this past few weeks when everyone else seems to be getting busier. Did I remember…to tell him…when my…birthday…?" But my thoughts turned to mush as I finally fell asleep.

It was about early-morning when I woke up. I giddily jumped out of bed, got dressed, and scarfed down breakfast left for me. Then I rushed out of the Alchimian Airship to AGB Labs. Since we'd settled on the island for a while now, we had a ramp opened from the airship hangar room to the ground. This made my sprint more seamless. I ran up the stairs with a smile on my face. "Dad! Mom! I'm here…" But just as I reached the floor they usually worked on, I was stopped by a male worker from going down the hall.

"Please, Will. You must stay away for the time being."

I tried to budge my way forward. "But why? I want to see my mom and dad."

But the worker kept a firm grip on my arm. He almost hazily looked passed me. "I was told you were not allowed to come up here today. They are very busy."

"But…" I continued to pull away. It wasn't until someone motioned my mom to come over to me that I stopped resisting. "Mom!"

The worker let go when Kaylin came to me. She wore her official lab coat. She smiled and gave me a quick hug. "Morning, Will! Sorry about all this."

"What's happening?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. But I can say that we just had some major developments with our secret project."

Just then, I heard Hathley squeal from the lab room down the hall. "You caught it! I can't believe you caught it!"

Then I heard my father say, "Contain your excitement, please! It might wake up!"

My mother sighed, "Your father is busy running around and keeping everyone in line. And I'm heading the science side of the project, of course. So we're wrapped up in some important work today."

"I heavily sighed and looked down. "Oh…"

"But some day later, we'll tell you what we've been working on." She gave me a wink. "And I promise we have something special for you tonight as soon as we get the chance. Okay?"

"Okay…" I stood there for a while longer, expecting…longing…for another hug or something from my mom. But Kaylin turned around and walked back to the lab room. She appeared both crossed and excited at the same time.

I trudged through the lower floors, looking for anybody else to occupy my time with. Or to give me something to do. But the building was practically a ghost town. "It seems like everyone is busy with the project."

Just as I passed the bottom of the stairwell, a pair of hands suddenly reached out to me. One wrapped around my waist, while another clasped over my mouth, muffling my attempts to scream and wriggle. The person who grabbed me pulled me under the stairs. When the person let go, I whirled around. But to my pleasant shock, it was Hoth.

"Oh thank Arceus, it's you!" I exclaimed, almost hugging him.

"Heh, who else would it be?" Hoth replied, shrugging his arms. "Unless you got a sister?"

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side. "I'm an only child. Why would I have a sister?"

He smiled cheekily. "I'm only kidding around! Although if you did have a sister, it would at least be someone much different for me to tease."

"Annnyway, where is everyone else?"

"My parents told me they and everyone else on staff is pretty much hands-on deck with whatever project your parents are so secretive about. Shame though, this all happening on your birthday."

"So I did tell you about my birthday!" I beamed.

"But maybe it's for the best," he mischievously grinned. "Because with everyone busy, I can show you your birthday present from me!"

I clapped my hands together. "Oooh! What is it? What is it?"

"Not quite what exactly. More like where. Follow me; I want to show you something real special for such an occasion!" He took my arm and stood me up with him.

"Where will we go? I think we've already seen ever itch of this building."

Hoth began to lead me out of the stairwell, still holding my arm. "We're not going to be in this building. We're going to sneak outside!"

I abruptly stopped in my tracks when he said that. "But, my dad told me to only be here or on the Airship."

"Well, your dad is busy, as is everyone else. When are you ever going to get another opportunity to see some Pokémon?"

Something snapped in my mind. Like I just been released from a cage. My mind and body relaxed, which allowed Hoth to effortlessly pull me along. He took me down the hall and out of AGB Labs. He paused for a second before fast-walking to the edge of the forest. But I was hardly paying attention. I had a dopey grin on my face. All I could think and say was, "Pokémon…" over and over.

We walked for a while through the trees and bushes before we finally stopped in a small clearing. "Alright, this looks like a good spot," said Hoth.

"Pokémon…" is all I said.

Hoth let go of my arm and looked at me with a big grin. "That's right, my friend. We're going to see some Pokémon! Now, wait here while I go get some berries to bait them."

"Pokémon…" I mesmerizingly replied.

"Heh," Hoth ran off into the forest.

"Pokemon…" I still stood there in a glazed stare. For a couple of minutes, nothing happened. Suddenly, a loud screech cut across the forest.

"Pokémon…?" The sound snapped me out of my stupor. Only now did I realize where I was. There were trees and foliage in every direction I looked. It was a clear sunny day, and yet the trees over casted shadows across the clearing I stood in.

I began to hear other sounds. "…Hoth?" But there was no direct response. I suspected the sounds to come from wild Pokémon, but this was the first time I'd ever heard the cries of Pokémon.

I could hardly see through the trees. However, I could hear chirps, trills, barks, howls, and hisses all around me. My heart raced. My eyes darted in every direction. I began to breathe heavily. "I…I don't know about this! Where's Hoth?"

Suddenly, the trees rustled. A flock of bird Pokémon flew across the trees so fast above me that I barely saw them. But I could hear their panicking chirps. I looked in the direction they flew from. I heard loud screeching. If I squinted hard enough, I could barely see shadowy shapes clashing with one another.

More bushes and tree branches rustled around me, as if the wild Pokémon were fleeing from the shadowy shapes. I felt the need to run away, too. But so many thoughts raced through my mind that I was petrified. I whimpered as the noises around me compounded. "Help! Please! Someone get me out of here!"

Just then, Hoth ran out of the bushes. Without even looking at me, he grabbed my arm and pulled me with him again. I complied and ran with him. Seconds after we ran off, the sounds quickly died down.

"What…was that back there?" I finally asked, forcing words to come out of my mouth.

"Don't know. We have to go back," Hoth said in a monotonous voice without looking back.

"Where are we going now? Did you find a better spot, or something?"

Hoth just gripped my arm harder. "We have to go back," he replied again in the same manner.

I looked confused, but after such an experience, I hardly argued back. In a few minutes, we reached the edge of the forest. To my utter surprise, Raiden stood there, waiting for us. And I never had seen him so cross before.

Hoth led me right up to Raiden without any hesitation. "I brought him back," said Hoth somewhat hazily. Looking at him now, he almost seemed conflicted. His eyes seemed to dart between my father and just about anywhere else except toward me.

"Very good," Raiden said sternly. "Now stay away from my son!"

I was taken aback. "What?! Dad, why…?"

He swiftly looked to me and pointed toward the Alchimian Airship. "William, back to your room this instant! And stay there until I come for you!"

I felt hurt, but I hardly argued with my father. Hazily, I turned and walked away.

But Hoth tried to reach out to me. "Hey, what gives?" He yelled at Raiden. "This was my idea, not Will's. And my parents would never treat me like this if…"

"Quiet, you!" Raiden interrupted in a harsher tone. "Come with me!"

Hoth shut up immediately and sulkily followed my father back to AGB Labs.

I continued back into the airship using the ramp and went straight up to my room. I dropped my body onto my bed and buried my face into my Munna pillow. I just laid there motionless for the next several hours. I didn't even know what to think. I even forget it was my birthday, although that didn't really matter to me now.

Then there was a knock at my door. I picked my head up and wiped the tears that were building up in my eyes. I slowly got up and opened my bedroom door. Raiden towered over me, still with the same scowl he wore when I came out of the forest. We remained silent for what felt like an eternity. I could barely look my father in the eye, while he continued to bear down at me. I noticed my mother was behind him. She had changed into a casual blouse and skirt. She also looked stern, but worrisome. "What are they going to do to me?! Is there something my mom and dad aren't telling me?"

Finally, my father shook his head and gave a long sigh. "Will, what were you thinking?"

I hesitated. "What do I tell him?" I noticed my mother made sideways glances to my father every once in a while, as well as staring through me.

"William, please tell me what you're thinking," said Raiden in a stern voice.

I shuffled my feet and held my hands behind my back. "I…felt lonely today, on my birthday. Hoth was the only one there for me. So I thought, maybe, I could see some Pokémon for this special occasion when Hoth forwarded the idea."

My parents looked at each other for a couple of seconds. Then my father sighed again and crouched to my level. "Okay, I understand now. But we strictly told you to never go see any Pokémon until we felt it was the right time for you. I specifically told you not to go into the forest, didn't I?"

"Yes, dad…" I replied, looking down.

Raiden put a finger on my chin and raised my head so he could look at me straight. In his sternness, I could detect bits of worry on his face. "Were you alright? Nothing hurt you in the forest?"

"No, I'm fine," I replied.

"There are large Pokémon known to roam in the forest around here," Kaylin added. "You could have accidentally run into their path, or get caught in a territorial battle."

"I'm sorry," I said to both of them. "I'll listen to you from now on."

"Good," said my father. "That said, I want you to stay away from Hoth from now on."

I blinked. My eyes widened. "Why? I said I'll be more careful! What's going on?"

My mother sighed, "Maybe we should tell him, dear. I'm sure he'll understand."

I looked confused and slightly frightened. "Understand what?"

My father paused for a second, then nodded. "Alright, honey. I think you're right." Then he looked to me. "Okay, son. As you know, we've been working on a secret project. Our hope is that this, as well as other projects, will bring us closer to a peace than us and all humans and Pokémon can come to. But there are those out there who would not like to see that peace come to pass. Thus, we have been forced to be in hiding, in fear of us and our research being caught and unjustly prosecuted."

"In order to quicken the process of our projects' developments, we carefully partner with others. We chose the Advanced Genetics and Bioengineering Labs for our own Project Portal-Bound, after determining their trust and seclusion. But lately, my trust in them seems to be murky at best. Hathley and Heather have been getting more guarded with sharing information. And I suspect they told their son, Hoth, to lure you away in order to distract me. I'll have to check on them more carefully."

"I have 'overheard' enough to know something is up," said Kaylin. "They might suspect who we really are. If that is true, then the Alchimian Society is in jeopardy!"

Tears welded up in my eyes again, as I began to grasp the gravity of the situation. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know…" I leaned in to wrap my arms around my dad.

Raiden and Kaylin returned the hug likewise. "We know," my father said, "You are still young and have much to learn."

"We just don't want anything bad to happen to us, or for us to break apart," said Kaylin.

I wiped my tears streaking down my face as I calmed down. "Alright. I'll be more careful. I promise."

Both my parents smiled back at me. "Very good," said Raiden. He turned to his wife. "It's a good thing Subject Zero was brought to our custody. But I'm afraid we might have to do the same to the rest of our materials."

"It's a shame," said Kaylin, flashing a bit of anger in her facial expression. "There could be traitors among us…" Then she turned to me with a serene smile. "Don't worry, Will. We'll try to sort all this out. But try not to focus on that. Are you hungry?"

It was only when she said that that I felt extremely hungry. My stomach growled loudly in agreement. "Yes, mom."

"I thought so. It's almost dinner time now! I'll go and have the cooks make you a big plate. And an extra special something…for your birthday." She and her husband walked out of my bedroom together, still looking back to me.

"We didn't forget," my father added. "We'll scrape up something quick for you, as soon as we're ready."

I gave a small smile as they left me behind. Shortly after that, I walked out of my room to the private dining room. I felt more content after being assured by my parents. But something still felt wrong. Some gut feeling about the whole situation felt off. "I hope my parents are okay. I really hope I didn't make things so much worse! I can't shake this feeling…like something bad will happen soon. I hope Hoth will be okay. He seemed trustworthy to me. But I guess everyone has their secrets. And I have a feeling I'm going to find out soon…whether I'll like it or not…"