{Approx. 10 years ago, at night}

[…so what moves do you know?] I asked Rowlet, who stood on my bed next to me.

[Well, I know Tackle, Leafage, Peck, and…] Our telepathic link suddenly cut off from his end. After speaking with him into the night, we'd generally figured how to telepathically communicate with each other at will. Or rather, I figured out how to reach out to him, and he just decided whether to have that connection opened or closed. Right now, he suddenly severed the connection in such a manner it felt like slamming a door in my face. He turned his face behind him.

I inched a little closer. […and? You know more than three moves?]

There was a pause. [Yes.]

[So what is your forth move?]

[…I don't really what to talk about it…]

I tilted my head a little. [Does it hurt when you use it?]

[No. Not really…]

"Hm, what could this move be that he feels embarrassed sharing? Maybe I've seen it before, when he fended off the Pokémon the first time I took him in? Or the time we were on the raft? Wait, maybe it's related to how he seemed to slow down, but be more powerful…?"

Rowlet whipped his face around to me. [It's nothing!]

I was taken aback by his sudden panic. "I'll need to work on turning off my mind to others when I want to think to myself." Then I narrowed my eyes. [So that was a move. What was that?]

He scrunched his head into his body. [I…it…]

I used my finger to rub his stomach, and lowered my voice. [Hey. It's alright. If the move you don't like talking about is the same one I think I saw, what's the harm? I need to know your whole arsenal of moves to beat Oranguru. What's so bad about it?]

Another pause. [It's a curse.]

[You mean, Curse?]

[Yes…and yes. My kind don't normally know Curse. I guess I'm one of the…unlucky few to be born with it.]

[So what's it do? Does it do damage?]

[Curses can be different between inflictors. Especially between Ghost-types. But for most others, like me, it's simple status buffs and de-buffs. It lowers my Speed, but increases my Attack and Defense.]

I smiled a little. [That actually sounds pretty good!]

He shivered briefly. [It feels creepy when I think about or use it too much.]

I laid down on my bed. [So we have Tackle, Peck, Leafage, and Curse to work with.] I smiled again. [Yeah, I can work with that.]

Rowlet hopped toward my head. [You sure you don't…]

[Let's get some sleep. A good night's rest should have us fully refreshed for out battle.]

[Oh,] Rowlet hopped toward the foot of my bed. [Good night.] He fell to his side, facing away from me.

[Good night.] But it took me a while to fall asleep. I toy with the bulge in my pants pocket, where I keep the translucent crystal. Oh my gosh! Tomorrow will be my first ever Pokémon battle! I get to participate in a real battle! I've read up on a bunch of these things. Oranguru will be surprised when I show him what I know!

{Present day, at night}

I crouched within the trees. This forest sat along the side of Twist Mountain, just off of Icirrus City. Fortunately, there wasn't any snowfall forecasted tonight. For the past two hours, I just stayed perched in the trees, waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

"I hope we're not too late." [Nightraider,] I reached my mind out to him, [what's the situation with our target?]

[He's still coming,] he replied wearily, [but he's got trouble. Seems he was right; he's been watched.]

[So is he being followed?]

[Yeah. One. That's what's been taking him so long.]

"Shit." [Well, good thing we didn't come any later.]

[He'll be where you are in a couple of minutes. You still want me to shadow him after that?]

[No, Sensei and I can take it from there. You go guard his house with Zemblance.]

[Got it.]

I reached out to Sensei next. [How are you holding up?]

[I'm alright,] said Sensei. [Is it too cold out for you?]

[No…] I held my cloak tighter around me. [Just want to make sure you and our two partners are ready.]

[We are when you are. For now, we will stay in the shadows.]

[Good. Keep in touch.] My teeth began to chatter. "Hate the cold. Who the fuck likes living in the cold?"

A minute later, I spotted a man running through the forest nearby. I rubbed my frosted eyes to get a good look. He wore a thin gray jacket, a black stocking hat, black boots, and black pants. "Yeah, that's him." I took a moment to peak under my cloak. "Good, our clothes match. Now comes the tricky part…"

The man ran passed the tree. Just before he was out of sight again, another man appeared from the direction he ran from. This second person wore a familiar trench coat and combat boots. "Team Celeste. Figured they'd have one of their grunts find this guy way out here eventually." I quickly opened a portal to tuck away my cloak. Once I pocketed my rings, I shimmied down the tree. "Time for my distraction." I used my boots to scuff up the snow as loud as I could.

"There you are!" I heard the Celeste grunt shout in my direction.

I started actually running, although not so fast that the guy couldn't keep up with me. [I'm heading south,] I telepathically shouted to Sensei. [Lead our target out of my path, and keep our partners close…]

A Woobat suddenly cut in front of me. Before I could react properly, it directed a Confusion attack at me. My head throbbed like crazy. I stumbled and face-planted in the snow. "Ow. Better me than my target though." I started to get up, until something pushed my face back into the snow with a lot of force.

"You stay with your nose to the ground, you little snitch!" said a gruff voice.

The same person pulled me by the jacket collar, forcing me to my feet. The stocking hat on my head scrunched over the top-half of my face. "Good, maybe he can't see me as an imposter. Then again, I can't see him either."

"What's a guy like you messing with an organization like ours?" said the man from behind me. He shook me when I hesitated to speak. "Purrloin got your tongue?"

"What did I do?" I roughly mimicked the lower, gruffer tone of my target. I tried to channel as much of my target's personality as I could remember. "I-I just want to be left alone with my family."

"Tsk, tsk," the man shook his head. "I believe you're confused. Woobat, please give this man a little wake-up call." He looked to the Woobat.

The Bat Pokemon flapped his wings rapidly. Using an Air Cutter attack, he dealt a few hard blows of wind at me. Some of the hits scored at my chest area, ripping up my light jacket. I groaned, fighting the urge to fight back. [Are the two nearby?] I called out to Sensei.

[Almost,] he replied a few seconds later.

The man forced me to turn to face him, even with my stocking hat still over my eyes. I could feel his moist breath hazing my face. "Now, I know a man can change. This I believe and know well, as I had been watching you from a distance for a few weeks now. But I know this even better: once a Rocket grunt, always a Rocket grunt." He jabbed my chest with his finger twice, each time he said 'Rocket'.

"He must see my Rocket shirt under my shredded jacket." "I-I've retired!"

I felt a hard punch to my gut. I crumpled to the ground. "Like shit you are!" The man yelled. "We know what you've been doing."

I took a few seconds to breath normally again. I kept my head facing downward while I stayed on my hands and knees. "…w-we?" I gasped.

The man scoffed, "Maybe you've been out of the game too long. Times have changed since you left." He picked me up again, holding my wrists together against my back. He continued talking right into my ear. "Team Rocket has been at odds with Team Celeste recently, and thus we keep each other in check. I was sent here on suspicion of a retired Team Rocket member leaking information from the organization to Team Smear. Know anything about that last group?"

"Smear and Celeste sound like conspiracy team names," I grumbled.

"Well, we like to keep it that way to the public. But you're a horrible liar for a member of Team Rocket. All teams keep tabs on each other. So let me be clear…tell me if you know about Team Smear."

"I need a little more time. Let me play this out." "Yes," I answered bitterly.

The Celeste grunt gave me a haughty laugh. "See? Was that too hard? Now…tell me everything you told to Team Smear."

I bit my tongue. [Sensei, now?]

No immediate answer.

The Celeste grunt gripped me by my shirt collar and nearly lifted me off my feet. "Hey! You deaf or something? Answer me!"

"No…" "My hat's covering my eyes, but I can still hear! Why do they keep thinking I'm deaf when I'm trying to pretend I'm blind?!" "I…told them…all…the facilities with Dark Balls I knew of." I answered slowly, though I earnestly felt weak.

There was a pause. "Okay, something is 'off' with you…"

[They're in position,] said Sensei. [As close as they can get.]

"You're being pretty resistant to my 'persuasion', even though I'm a peon of the team," the Celeste grunt continued. "You've been mingling with us before, haven't you?"

I gripped his hands that held me by my collar. "You don't know the half of it," I smirked. I swung my legs up to wrap around his arms.

"What the…" He flinched long enough for me to throw him to the ground with our combined weight. We both tumbled across the snowy ground, during which I separated from him. The Celeste grunt got to his feet before me. "Hey! You can't be him! He ain't this agile!"

Just before I got up, I realized my hat fell off. So instead, I shouted, "Now! Use Smokescreen!"

Through the trees, a cloud of thick smoke approached from our left. When it enveloped us, I got to my feet. I faced where I saw the Celeste grunt last, but the smoke was so thick that I could hardly see him.

"You're not getting away that easily!" barked the Celeste grunt. "Woobat, use Air Cutter!"

I cracked a smile. "Weezing, intercept with Gyro Ball!"

Right on cue, Weezing came between me and the Air Cutter attack. While the smoke did a good job of lowering Woobat's accuracy, some of the compressed air flew our way. By spinning rapidly, Weezing reduced the damage it protected me from.

I clutched my abdomen. "Yeah, I don't think I can take another hit." I noted the smoke getting thinner from the attacks Weezing and Woobat made. [Sensei, you said our second partner is close by, right?]

[Still in position,] he replied. [Staying low for a surprise attack, as she prefers.]

[Alright then.] "Weezing, add extra smoke. I prefer we stay covered."

Weezing stopped spinning and spewed more Smokescreen. Once the smoke got thicker, I cued Weezing to follow me away from the grunt and his Woobat. We mainly kept circling the grunt as he stumbled through the smoke.

Woobat tried to get closer to where we were, but the thick smoke disrupted its echolocation. So it resorted to using Air Cutter in hopes of hitting us. I kept Weezing between me and our opponent, allowing those stray air shots to hit him.

"Where are you?" the Celeste grunt shouted. "Who are you really?"

I couldn't even see him, but could tell he wasn't a comfortable distance away. So I kept myself moving around him. "I'm a friend of his," I fibbed to him. "We've been friends since we left Team Rocket, so we keep in touch."

The Celeste grunt ran wildly through the smoke, thinking he knew where I was. But he swiped his arms at nothing. "So are you the one who tips the information to the boss of Team Rocket?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to try to catch me to find out." I gave a laugh as he pathetically swiped at nothing again.

"Augh! This is going nowhere! Woobat, use Future Sight!"

I noticed what looked like a spark of psychic energy in the smoke. This briefly created an outline around Woobat, and a vague glimpse of its trainer. I glanced at Weezing, who wobbled a bit in the air. "Well, going to have to end this quickly." I shouted as loud as I could. "Arbok, strike now with Wrap!"

Some tree branches rustled violently. I could just barely see the shadow of the Cobra Pokémon's body pounce on the unsuspecting Woobat. She hissed with glee as the Bat Pokemon screeched in shock.

I took a few steps toward the action. At the same time, I slipped my Unbound Rings onto my finger from my pocket. I used it to quickly open a portal. A Sitrus Berry fell out. "Here." I tossed the Sitrus Berry to Weezing, who gobbled it up. Most of his wounds healed, and he gave me a positive grunt.

"Woobat, use Confusion!" shouted the grunt desperately.

I stopped in a positon where I could comfortably see the action through the smoke. "Stop Woobat with Glare!"

Arbok turned Woobat with her body to force the Bat Pokemon to face her. Then her eyes glowed menacingly. Woobat shrieked, feeling unable to move.

Now I looked to Weezing. "Your turn. How about you use Belch?"

Weezing floated up to Arbok and Woobat. On cue, Arbok relinquished her grip on Woobat, letting it lie on the ground.

"Come on!" said the grunt, stamping his feet. "Do something!"

Woobat feebly tried to flap its wings. But Weezing loomed over. He took in a deep breath. His whole body-head expanded as he took in more and more air. Then he let out a thundering burp. Sludge-like saliva blasted with the bursts of wind. Almost all the smoke cleared instantly. Trees swayed away from the area of impact. In a few seconds, Weezing finished the dirty deed.

The Celeste grunt gasped. Woobat was hit so hard that some of the snow around it cleared away all the way to the dirt underneath. Clearly, Woobat fainted, so the grunt took out his PokeBall to recall it. "Why you little…" he growled as he turned to me. For a moment, it seems like he's about to get a good look at me. A young guy in a Rocket grunt outfit with a light jacket. But Arbok and Weezing get between me and the grunt.

[Watch out!] said Sensei to the three of us.

A small vortex of psychic energy shot out of nowhere. Fortunately, Arbok, Weezing, and I sidestepped out of the way in time.

[Thanks, Sensei,] I sighed.

[You know, you could try to create a better bond with them,] Sensei replied. [Why insist on using me as a middleman for most of our teammates?]

[Kind of hard to find the time, and…I don't know…I…]

"You little shit-stain!" shouted the Celeste grunt. "You're wasting my time! You and that other grunt are supposed to come with me." He started running toward me. "Now you're going to tell me where he went…"

Arbok wrapped her body around his legs, knocking him over. The grunt face-planted in the snow. Weezing grunted as he hovered over his head.

I slowly approached the Celeste grunt. "He likely thinks I'm a Rocket grunt. He most definitely lost the real ex-Rocket grunt's trail. So now I got to tip him in the wrong direction…to keep the ex-Rocket grunt safe where he lives." I used my Unbound Rings, when my enemy wasn't looking my way, to pull out a pair of shades. With one hand clutching my abdomen, I put the shades over my eyes with the other. Now, standing inches away from the Celeste grunt, he hardly felt as intimidating as when my hat was pulled over my eyes.

The grunt tilted his head to give me a chafed glance. "Tell me!"

I bent over at the hip. Then I smiled. "No," I replied arrogantly. "As you were so keen to point out, Team Rocket and Team Celeste have been at odds with each other. So we're pretty aware of what you're capable of. And the little 'persuasion' trick you are trying to pull is too weak to work on me. Now, I've got to catch a train with my ex-co-member. So…" I turned to Weezing. "Weezing, please expel any power you have left in your Belch attack."

The Poison Gas Pokémon released another disgusting belch attack at the grunt's head, blacking him out.

I sighed with relief. "Done." Then I doubled over, clutching my chest area. "Thought I could take more than that. Nothing a little rest won't hurt." I looked to Arbok and Weezing. "Good job, you two. Let's take a break over there." The three of us walked a few paces northward, just far enough to stay hidden, but still see the motionless Celeste grunt.

[You alright, Will?] Oranguru chimed in.

[I'll be alright,] I winced. [Just…gonna rest it off.]

[So be it. I'll be waiting.]

I leaned against a tree trunk, lazily keeping an eye on the Celeste grunt. Arbok coiled up in the tree. Weezing floated out of my view, presumably back to Sensei.

I frowned. "They do come in handy. But I can't keep too many too close to me…it hurts…"

{Approx. 10 years ago, next day}

I woke up mid-morning, feeling refreshed. Rowlet, on the other hand, looked kind of groggy. "Come on!" I said excitedly. "Today's the day. You ready?" [You ready?]

Rowlet shook his head wearily. [Uh…yeah. Yeah, I'm ready.]

I grinned, "Then let's get going!"

After a quick helping of bland berries, we headed off to Oragnuru's clearing. As we passed the border, it became apparent that they'd been waiting. All the Pokémon I saw the first time were here. They sat or stood by the sides of the clearing. I even spotted a Scyther among the spectators.

But all my attention focused to the opposite end of the clearing. There stood Oranguru, stiff yet calm. [So you have come. So it begins.]

Rowlet perched on my left shoulder as I pointed to Oranguru with my right hand. "I see you. So I accept your challenge now."

[Ready so soon? Are you sure you are prepared for what I have set for you?]

[Yes.] I nodded to Rowlet. [You'd be surprised how much about battling I've read.]

He nodded contently. [Studious. Very good. But can you act upon your studies?] He took a step forward. [Before we begin our battle, let me clear up some specific ground rules. Our battle, or any other until completion, will be a standard one-on-one. Both of us may have access to whatever moves and abilities we may possess. We fight until one of us is unable to continue. While it may seem unorthodox, I will be the one to determine when one of us is the victor. We don't exactly have access to a Pokémon Center, nor good healing items, so I can't afford either of us to come to too much harm. Do you still agree to my terms?]

My heart started to race. [I'm ready for my first battle!] I thrusted my left hand out, cuing Rowlet to fly in front of me. "Rowlet, I choose you!"

Rowlet flew a few paces into the open space between Oranguru and me. [Not much of a choice, but I'm ready as you are.]

I gave a hearty laugh. [Tell me, Oranguru. Does it feel strange to be both the trainer and the Pokémon?]

He scratched his cheek. [Oh? You think I will be the one battling? No. I'm going to be the trainer.] He pointed his thumb off to his side. [He will be your opponent.]

From the sidelines, Zorua bounded onto the field. He proudly stood a few paces in front of Oranguru. He turned to Oranguru and barked assuredly to him. Then he turned to Rowlet and me and barked more boastfully.

Rowlet perked up more and hooted back. [Oh yeah? At least I got a human leading me!]

Oranguru rested his hands behind his back. [So…would you like to make the first move?]

I got into a fighting stance. [Gladly.] "Rowlet, use Tackle!"

Rowlet flapped his wings and charged at Zorua head on.

[Zorua, Detect,] Oranguru said calmly.

After his eyes flashed, Zorua easily jumped out of the way. Rowlet bonked his head on the ground. Zorua snickered at his opponent.

[That wasn't skill!] Rowlet retorted.

"Okay, so how many times can he use that move?" "Rowlet, use Leafage!"

Rowlet flung a cluster of sharp leaves at Zorua.

[Zorua, dodge and use Scratch,] said Oranguru.

Zorua leapt around the battlefield. Most of the leaves he dodged successfully. The remaining ones he scratched through.

The way he moved so effortlessly baffled me. "How is he dodging so many little leaves? It's like he's done this maneuver countless times. Is he keeping track or predicting…?"

[Focus,] Oranguru disrupted my train of thought. But it turned out I was focusing too much on Zorua. The Tricky Fox Pokémon got in close to Rowlet and delivered a Scratch attack.

"Shoot." "Rowlet, counter with Peck, while he's in close!"

[Counter with Detect, again,] he sighed.

Rowlet jabbed his beak at Zorua. But Zorua dodged each and every thrust. He snickered at the Grass Quill Pokemon again.

[Screw you!] Rowlet hooted back angrily. [Just because you're using a move you inherited.]

Zorua stopped for a moment. Then he began to cry. Dark tears crawled down his face.

"Something doesn't seem right. I've seen him cry before, but he easily rebounds to a perkier demeanor."

Rowlet hopped up next to Zorua. [Sorry! I didn't mean…I can relate…]

"Wait, those are Fake Tears!" "Rowlet, get back…!"

A wicked smile flashed across Zorua's face. A dark aura surrounded his paw as he whipped it across Rowlet's face. Rowlet tumbled back, shocked. Zorua yipped condescendingly to the Grass Quill Pokémon.

Genuine tears began to weld up in Rowlet's eyes. [I…that's not why…] He got back on his feet. [That's mean!]

I could feel Rowlet's frustration in his thoughts. That was when my own flashback to when I saw Hoopa in a test tube resurfaced. How his torture and pain felt so unfair. "Mean." A tear welded up in my eye. I fidgeted with the crystal still in my pocket. "No, I can't let my emotions get the best of me. I need to focus." I reached out my right arm to Rowlet. At the same time, Rowlet pointed his wing at Zorua. Both of us grounded our stance.

[My turn!] Rowlet and I thought simultaneously. A faint green glow emanated from my pocket. "Use Leafage!" I shouted confidently, waving my arms as if I was doing the attack.

Oranguru raised an eye brow. There was a small smile off the corner of his face. [Let's use Detect, once again.]

Zorua's eyes flashed as Rowlet dished out more leaves. To my surprise, as likely as to everyone else, the leaves appeared bigger and sharper. The Tricky Fox Pokemon narrowly dodged all the leaves as they pelted the ground and surrounding trees. Once the attack finished, Zorua seemed as shocked and winded as if the attack had hit.

"Wow. That was stronger this time. Stronger, huh? That's it!" "Rowlet, use Curse!"

Rowlet leapt in place. He whirled his head around to face me, flabbergasted. [What?! Now?]

[Yes, now. The stronger we are, the more we can throw off our opponent.]

[But…but…!]

[Come on! We have the situation swinging to our control. It'll work.]

[I…] Rowlet turned back to face Zorua, who stood defensively. [I…] Now the tears fell down his cheeks.

Oranguru frowned. [Is there something wrong?]

The sternness in his telepathic voice tensed me up. [No. We're fine. We can still fight. Right, Rowlet?]

No response. He just stood there frozen as a popsicle.

[Right, Rowlet?]

No response. Though I could hear him hooting to himself.

"Rowlet?"

Still no response.

Oranguru sighed, [If Rowlet is unable to continue, then we'll have to end the battle.]

I flinched. My stomach felt like it was bunching up in knots. "My father didn't teach me to be a quitter. He taught me to think harder. To push on." "No, we can still fight," I scowled. "Rowlet, snap out of it!"

Rowlet perked up hazily.

Oranguru's face darkened. [You still insist on being so hasty?]

I clenched my fist. "Rowlet, use Leafage!"

Rowlet haphazardly threw his leaves.

[Zorua, dodge it.] As Zorua darted out of the line of fire, Oranguru stepped into the middle of the battlefield. [Will, you are losing your grip.] He said sternly.

[No, I got this!] "Rowlet, use Curse!"

A ghostly aura formed around Rowlet. But then it vanished. Rowlet shook his head.

[Will, get…] Oranguru started.

But I didn't hear his voice in my head. I heard my dad's voice. I felt the pain of how my parents looked at me when I vanished to this island. I felt overwhelmingly surrounded and near defeat, like when I was trying to protect Hoopa. All these thoughts rushed through my mind, rapidly deteriorating my focus on the Pokemon battle. [Stop! Leave me alone!] I put my hands against my head and looked down for a couple of seconds. When I looked back up, I saw Zorua on top of Rowlet. Rowlet just laid there, sniffling.

Oranguru stood between me and our two Pokémon, still walking closer to me. [The battle is over. You have lost.]

I waved my fists. "No! I…we can still…"

Oranguru gritted his teeth. [Enough! Rowlet cannot afford to take too much damage. He is unable to continue.]

I got really angry. "I will…!"

In a second, Oranguru vanished. Then he reappeared directly in front of me as fast as he disappeared.

I flinched as he jabbed the side of my waist. I spun sideways as I fell on my rear. "What?" As I got my bearings, I noticed my pants' pocket was empty.

I looked to Oranguru, who held the translucent crystal in his left hand. He glanced at me with a look of anger. [You are unable to continue.] He inspected the crystal, intrigued. Then he gave me one last look of disappointment. [The battle is lost, but the trial still continues. I will be holding onto this until you learn to maintain self-control…and learn to be one with your partner. Only then will you achieve victory.]

I watched Oranguru walk away. He said nothing more, with his back turned to me. Zorua walked away disappointed, but more out of sadness. Rowlet still tried to hold back his tears. That was when it all hit me. I quickly crawled over to the Grass Quill Pokemon. He didn't look me in the eye, even with my head looked down right over him.

I could not speak. My mind felt numb. My body was paralyzed by my pent-up guilt.

Finally, I reached out and hugged Rowlet tight against my chest. For a split second, he stopped sniffling. Then he openly cried in my worn-out shirt. And I cried, too.

[I'm sorry.] That was all that crossed our minds, over and over. The spectating Pokemon had left by this point, leaving the two of us to weep alone in the middle of the battlefield.

{Present day, at night}

"I hate the cold." Frost began to build up on my eyelids. The Celeste grunt still lay in the snow. "Just wake up already! I worked out the details with the ex-grunt. I had Zemblance fool you. I gave you the hint about trains. Now you just need to put the pieces together and go away."

After what felt like forever, the grunt finally stirred. He slowly got up, rubbing his head. Then he just stood there for a few moments, looking opposite from where I was hiding. He darted his head around, looking confused. After what looked like a eureka moment, he bolted off into the forest.

"Finally!" I stood up to stretch my legs. Arbok also stirred and slithered down the tree.

About the same time I felt ready, Sensei and Weezing approached us. [I take it things went according to plan?] said Sensei.

[Seems like it,] I replied. [You signaled the ex-Rocket grunt to come back?]

[Yes,] he nodded. [Still a bit tensed, but on his way to your usual meeting spot.]

[Excellent.] I looked to my Unbound Rings. [I think I'll send you three back home now. I'll come back with Nightraider and Zemblance after I talk things out with our 'informant'.]

Weezing and Arbok nodded, as did Sensei. [Alright.] I opened a portal for the three to go through. Just before he stepped through, Sensei raised an eyebrow to me. [And next time, bring a thicker coat.]

I rolled my eyes as the portal closed behind them. "He knows what I'm thinking too well. Even if I haven't thought of it yet."

I shivered as I walked back northward. When Icirrus City was almost in view, I felt two thought patterns in my range. [I'm good, Nightraider.]

Nightraider flew in circles just over the treetops. [He's almost here.]

I stopped walking. [I know.]

A few seconds later, another figure cautiously stepped toward me. He stepped out of the trees, just standing there, and looked me over a few times. "Well…you certainly dressed the part like you said you would."

I pulled on my Team Rocket shirt. "Ain't exactly like I want to dress like this. Only thing I could think of that we both had from our wardrobes to match."

He sighed, "Yeah, I feel you." He motioned to his own clothes, identical to mine. "Never thought I'd wear this again. What's it been…six years since I was in Team Rocket?" Now a little more at ease, he approached me sternly. "You kept them safe, as promised?"

I nodded. "We did. I'll show you."

We didn't walk far. We entered the south side of Icirrus City, then headed up a steep hill. Nightraider followed us from above. As we approached the ex-Rocket grunt's house, he began to panic. "You said they'd be here! Where are they?"

I noticed all the lights of his house were still out. "Oh, right! Sorry, one second." I telepathically felt out for my remaining companion for this mission. [It's safe now, Zemblance. You can let it be.]

A shadowy figure stepped up from the other side of the house roof. The house shimmered like ripples on a pond. Then the lights turned back on in the house. Smoke came out the chimney.

The ex-Rocket grunt ran closer to the house. At the same time, the shadowy Zoroark figure made a huge leap from the roof to directly in front of me. Our eyes met, and he gave me a huge grin. [That was a good challenge for me,] said Zemblance.

[I take it your Illusion ability has gotten better?] I smiled.

[Oh yes! Making a house seem vacant is one thing. But also simulating the residents sneaking out with their father figure…that took a bit out of me. Worth it!]

Nightraider landed next to me. [Coast is clear,] he said. [Nobody else is awake but the six of us.]

I turned my head back to my grunt informant. He stood a few paces from the house, looking through the glow of a window. He didn't pay the three of us any mind, probably not even knowing Zemblance was here.

I anxiously rubbed the rings with my thumb. "Should I have Zemblance appear like he's…no…no need." I turned back to the Illusion Fox Pokémon, who appeared a little exhausted. [You stay by my side. You did a great job.]

He gave me a happy growl. [I aim to please my teachers.]

[I'll take the rest from here.] I caught up to the man, with Nightraider and Zemblance right behind me.

I looked at what the man was seeing. Through the window, I could see a living room. Inside, a woman sat in a cushioned chair, looking worried. She had a small boy sitting on her lap. His eyes were very droopy as he rested his head on the woman's shoulders. Both of them were close to the firepalce, which explained the smoke coming from the chimney.

The man was close to tears, but he wore a large smile. When I softly cleared my throat, he gave me a huge sigh of relief. "My wife…my son…safe and sound…" He turned to me properly. "Thank you again! I worry every night that Team Celeste could take them away from me. We are lucky that you and…"

I raised my hand between us. I scrunched up my face a bit. "Yes. It's just me for tonight. But even still…" I pointed to Nightraider and Zemblance. "…just one of us and our Pokemon can handle just about anything Team Celeste might try on you."

"Yes, of course. You guys must be so busy with taking down Team Celeste. Far from an easy feat, and one many have failed to do. Again…we're lucky you got time to spare a minute…"

I glanced to his wife and son in the house, still unaware we were outside. "What you have…is something precious. Many with your…villainous ties would struggle to even think they could start a family. I…am glad to continue my services with you…for this." I gave him a faint smile, although I felt my heart sagging in my chest.

He reached his hand out to me. "Again, thank you!"

I took his hand and shook it. Then I whipped it back hastily. "Geez, your hand is cold. No gloves? In this weather?"

He shrugged. "Eh. This is nothing. Weather gets a heck of a lot worse than this. Anyone who has grown up in this part of Unova, or lives here long enough, is quite used to it. Some even train their Pokemon here."

I tucked my arms close to my chest as I rubbed my opposite arms. "Still doesn't mean it's not fucking cold. Who in their right mind trains in this setting?"

"Um, want to warm up in my home before you go, then?"

I shook my head. "No, thank you. However, I do need something from you. Besides the Dark Ball factories and warehouses Team Celeste was using. Very helpful, by the way. Who tipped you all that information?"

"I still keep in touch with some of my buddies during my Team Rocket days. No different than the last times you've asked."

"Okay, how about something new?"

He flinched. "Um, you want a RageCandyBar instead?"

"No, that wouldn't do. You know our deal: I maintain protection for you and your family, and you provide me with usable information. Unless you think you're in the clear now…"

The man sighed raggedly. "Look, just so you know, I don't feel comfortable feeding you information like this. Given how close I feel I could've lost my family today, I would like to stay as far out of Team Celeste affairs as possible. I already told my sources to stop using me as an informant. So I don't have much left to tell you."

I stepped closer to him. "How about this? I think the Dark Ball information you gave me was useful enough to cover my services up to tonight. So if you can give me some more tidbits as useful as that, I can extend my services for a few more months."

"I want a year," he said sternly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Then your information is going to have to be really good. Like, a hard punch to Team Celeste's gut."

The man gave a dark smile. "Oh, I think it is. The last bit of info my sources could gleam. What they told me…is where the Team Celeste's main Unova base is hiding!"