Chapter 13

"I see it! I see it!" Maple bounced up and down, pointing out at the ocean.

"Huh? Where?" Mark squinted into the distance, but all he saw was miles and miles of the same thing they had seen since the day before.

"You don't see it?" Maple had no idea why he didn't. After all, it was right there, getting bigger and bigger. Mark was even looking at the exact spot Maple was, or close enough for it to not make a difference, and he still didn't see it.

It was another twenty minutes before Mark could see the island, at all. By that time, Maple could make out the shape of the mountain at its western end. The tree line started appearing, showing that the island's southern half was covered in a thick forest. The skyline of the small city, at the island's eastern tip, marked the port where they would be landing.

The ship's whistle blew and the captain's booming voice announced the approach of land to the rest of the passengers. Within minutes, Mark and Maple were squashed together against the railing as the others tried to see.

Although Maple liked it when Mark was that close to her, she decided that it would be far more comfortable if they had been alone. In the meantime, she tried to focus on Mark. After a minute or so of the uncomfortable circumstances, Mark seized Maple's hand and wove through the crowd crammed together on the tiny deck. Maple smiled, realizing that she liked that much better.

"Hell of a lot of fuss over an island, isn't it?" The two stumbled out to freedom to see Tsunami standing back from the crowd. Fernelia stood next to him, calm and composed, as always. Eric stood on Tsunami's shoulders to get a better view. His adopted father held his ankles, keeping the boy steady with no strain whatsoever.

"What's everybody's problem?" Eric grumbled, disappointed by what he saw, "it's just a rock. It doesn't even look like an island, yet. Lame…" Tsunami set the boy down as if he weighed less than air.

"It's much more impressive once you hit land," an annoyed grumble alerted them to the presence of an old man standing off to the side. Mark recognized him as the same old man that had been fishing, the day before.

"Really?" Maple asked him. She didn't know why, but she liked the grumpy old man immediately.

"Sure is…feels like home," the old man said serenely.

The whistle blew again and the old man cringed at the noise. He yelled out in bitter annoyance as the captain made another announcement. He declared that the ship would be making landfall in another two hours and the other passengers began to disperse to gather up their belongings.

"Hey," Mark suddenly realized something was missing, "where's Lionel?"

"Who cares?" Maple said a little too cheerfully, "c'mon, I wanna watch the island some more." She led Mark back to their spot on the bow.

Mark stood next to Maple as she leaned against the railing, humming and bobbing her head up and down. Her tail swayed back and forth, reflecting her excitement. A smile spread across her face as she anticipated what the island would be like.

Suddenly, a faint glimmer caught her eye. Her ears perked up and she began to scan the island, looking for what had caused it. She spotted a shining spot of blue and white coming through a clearing in the forest.

"What? What is it?" Mark scanned the island, but no matter how hard he tried, Maple knew he wouldn't be able to see it.

"It's nothing," Maple reassured him. She only had a second to take in the sight of the creature before it vanished. It had been standing on a cliff, at the edge of the forest, watching the ship approach.

She smiled to herself and began waving her tail back and forth again. Now she was convinced that everything was going to be just fine. She could see a happy ending, again.

Suicune.

The docks were mostly deserted except for a small crowd eagerly awaiting the arrival of the final boat. As Mark and Maple followed the rest of the passengers off of the ship, they heard a voice that they had only heard once before.

"Hey, you made it!" Kim called out to them, waving as Volt stood next to her, slightly hunched over with his hands in his pockets.

"Kim!" Maple shouted with delight, running up to meet her.

"Good to see you," Kim grinned back, "last I saw you, you were trying to lick your hand. How do you like being human?"

"Still getting used to it," Maple responded timidly, "how long have you been here?"

"Just a few days," Kim answered, "sorry to have to ditch you like that. We needed to do some training and I didn't want to blow all of my secrets to a noob." She grinned at Mark who rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for that," he muttered.

"Hey, wait for me!" Maple's heart sank when she heard Lionel approaching.

"Friend of yours?" Kim nodded at Lionel.

"Yeah…" Maple's ears drooped. When she could hear his footsteps, she darted behind Mark for protection.

"Nice to meetcha," Lionel extended a hand, "I'm Lionel."

"Good for you," Volt smirked.

"Ignore him," Kim sighed and shook Lionel's hand, "welcome to Himitsu Island, Lionel. My name's Kim. That one's Volt."

"Awesome!" Lionel marveled at Volt, "a Raichu!"

"Yeah, so?" Volt snapped angrily.

"No need to be a jerk about it," Lionel said, his tone more than a little condescending. Mark looked at Volt realizing that the human Raichu was contemplating how to proceed. He could very easily punish Lionel. In fact, it would take almost no effort.

"Nah, forget it," Volt shook his head, "you're not worth it."

Great, we haven't been here five minutes and we're already starting to fight each other, Mark thought, this is gonna be fun.

Sensing the need for a change of scenery, Kim led the group away from the docks into the city. As they walked, Mark slipped in beside her, eager to learn more to prepare for the tournament.

"So, have you fought in this tournament, before?" he asked.

"Just once," she answered, "I didn't get very far, though. It's a shame it went on hiatus, though. I was looking forward to that year…"

"Hiatus?" Mark asked. He had never heard of a Pokémon Tournament being cancelled before. Most large tournaments were popular enough to be televised. He had even known local tournaments, in small towns, to be capable of easily generating a profit.

"Well," Kim started, "it happens when there's less than three-hundred human Pokémon in the world."

"Three hundred?" Maple's voice wasn't disappointed, but excited, "there's three-hundred! That's wonderful! Mark, three-hundred!"

"You didn't know that?" Lionel asked.

"I didn't know there were any three weeks ago," Mark shrugged.

"Yep, three-hundred," Kim ignored the boys and talked directly to Maple, "trust me. You are going to love it here." She put her arm around Maple's shoulders and drew her close. Just a few moments later, they rounded a corner and Maple realized what the old man on the boat had meant.

It was as if everyone on the streets of Ecruteak City had been replaced with a human Pokémon. A young Pachirisu-boy and an Eevee-girl dashed in front of them, chasing after each other and laughing. A young Linoone-man was chatting up a Wigglytuff-girl against one of the buildings. A Butterfree-girl flitted through the air overhead. At the far end of the street there was a small crowd of all sorts of human Pokémon around a stage at the center of what must be the town square. A beautiful human Jynx was singing for her fans

"Wow…" Maple whispered. It really did feel like home. A place where everyone was like her and would accept what she was without question. She wouldn't have to be afraid of what she was here. Himitsu Island truly was home.

Then she was gone, dashing ahead of the others. Sensing it coming, Mark raced after her.

She stopped in front of the human Linoone and Wigglytuff offering her hand and speaking much too rapidly to be even remotely comprehensible. The Linoone-man, wearing a fur-lined jacket and head-band, raised an eyebrow then began to scowl. The Wigglytuff-girl backed away, timidly clinging to the wall of the building. Her pink, rabbit-like ears, the same color as her dress, sagged downwards as her eyes widened in fear.

Just as Mark reached them, Maple dashed away oblivious to their discomfort.

"New here?" the Linoone inquired.

"Yeah," Mark nodded, stopping just briefly enough to respond.

Maple waved cheerily to the Butterfree-girl floating overhead, her antennae bobbing up and down as she flapped her wings. Her scant clothing was a silken material, giving the impression that she was an over-sized forest fairy with butterfly wings. Unsure of how to respond, the human Butterfree said nothing. But Maple was quickly out of earshot, her trainer racing after her.

Coming up the square, Maple stopped and stared at the human Jynx and Dugtrio band playing on stage. Grinning from ear to ear, Maple scanned the town square. Human Pokémon and trainers alike mingled in the area. There were over a hundred people in the area and most of them were human Pokémon. At that moment, Maple was looking at a full third of the entire human Pokémon population.

"Will you stop?" Mark appeared behind her. Maple was surprised to see him out of breath, when she wasn't tired at all.

"I'm sorry," Maple said absently, too happy to feel apologetic, "it's great isn't it?"

"What is?" Mark asked.

"Here," Maple whispered, "I love it. It feels like I'm home. It's wonderful…" When he looked at her, Mark could see Maple's eyes shining. She was so happy she was on the verge of tears.

"Home, huh?" Mark looked around. He didn't know about "feeling like home," but there was something about it that seemed very welcoming. "They have a banner," he said, pointing above the stage. For Maple, the banner made everything even more perfect.

Third Annual Human Pokémon Tournament

The Evolution Cup

brought to you by

Silph Co.

Welcome Home!

"Attention," the feminine voice of an announcer, rang throughout the square, "the final round of registration of the Evolution Cup will begin within fifteen minutes. All participating teams are asked to check in at the Registration Hall. Thank you."

"Registration Hall?" Mark thought aloud. Next to him, Maple was looking at him with those big, light-brown, hope-filled eyes of hers.

"Yes, we're competing," Mark reassured her, his voice a little agitated.

"YAY!" she cried in delight, flinging her arms around him. To Hell with human awkwardness, she was too happy to care!

Mark was stiff at first, but loosened as she held him. He could get used to it, he decided.

"Man, you're a slippery one," Lionel's voice made Maple release Mark so she could hide behind him. Lionel walked up with Kim and Volt. The humans were smiling warmly while Volt scanned the crowd, distracted.

"'Welcome Home,' huh?" Lionel said, catching sight of the banner, "…weird."

"So," Mark began, looking at Kim, "registration?"

"Not one to stop and smell the roses, huh?" Kim smirked, "alright, I'll take you there. Already registered yesterday, myself."

"Sounds good," Mark nodded, "lead the way." The group turned to leave, heading farther into the city. Lightly skipping rather than walking, Maple strategically placed herself on the far side of Mark, away from Lionel. Mark couldn't tell why, but she clearly did not like him. Maybe it was because he never told her about him.

"Hey, Kimmy," Volt called, he had hung back from the main group a few steps, "mind if I stay behind? I kinda want to see what Sprinkle's up to."

"Oh, sure," Kim waved him away, "she's probably around the beach with some hot guy, or something."

"I'll keep that in mind," Volt grumbled, turning in the opposite direction.

"Is it okay for him to be off on his own?" Mark asked, remembering how Kim and Volt had been arguing when he had first met them.

"Oh, sure," Kim nodded, "Himitsu Island's safe. It's the rest of the world that bothers me."

"Who's Sprinkle?" Maple asked, eager to meet as many new friends as possible.

"My Vaporeon," Kim smiled to herself and shook her head, "she's…a bit of a flirt." Kim started to laugh at her own private joke as they walked. After a few minutes, she was bordering on hysterics.

"What's so funny?" Maple asked.

"Nothing," Kim smirked, "nothing at all." Maple shifted her gaze to Mark, looking for an explanation, but she got none.

"So, you have two?" Mark asked, ignoring Kim's episode.

"Huh?" Kim started, coming to, "yeah. Three, actually. My Jumpluff's name is Cotton. She's a bit shy. Spends most of her time in her Pokéball. Still amazes me that she'll actually fight. She's timid, but strong."

"So, wait," Mark was suddenly aware of a very big problem, "do most people have more than one?"

"Not really," Kim admitted, "most people have only one. Those people don't usually compete, though. Most people in the tournament have at least three or four."

"Three or four?" Mark's eyes widened in shock and he turned to look at Maple, who only smiled back blissfully. If most people had three or four, then there would be almost no way they could compete. Maple was his sole human Pokémon. Taking on three or four equally powerful opponents would be incredibly difficult, even close to impossible.

"Well, yeah," Kim went on, "I mean, once a trainer has one, a lot of their other Pokémon start evolving too. Easier to believe in it, I guess. But, anyway, most have three or four, but there's also the top four trainers. Most people just call 'em The Four. Oh God, they're awesome! They each have six!"

"Six?" Mark could only see the hole he was in getting bigger, "so, wait, they group people together based on skill-level, right? They wouldn't pair somebody with six up against a one or two right away, would they?"

"No," Kim shook her head, "it's pretty much random. Whoever you get is who you get. Cool, we're here." Kim stopped in front of a large circular building that had another banner hanging over the doorway.

She led the group inside, Mark trailing behind. There were no lines yet as it was still a little early. Maple looked around the large high-ceilinged room, taking everything in like an elementary school child on a field trip. Lionel rushed past her, eager to be the first in line.

"Still got a few minutes," Kim said, glancing at a clock on the wall, "something wrong?" She looked at Mark, who had started nervously pacing back and forth.

"Huh?" Mark started and Kim could see the uncertain fear in his eyes, even as he tried to hide it in his voice, "no, nothing's wrong."

"Yeah, bullshit," Kim smirked, shaking her head at the boy, "come on, what's wrong?"

"We can't compete," Mark admitted, unable to hide it any longer, "all I have is Maple. She can't take on four others by herself! She may be a lot stronger, but that's insane!"

"One human Pokémon can surprise you," Kim shrugged, "I mean, one time, Volt and I were up against-"

"It doesn't matter!" Mark interrupted, his shout echoing through the huge room, "Four Pokémon against one? Sure, maybe she can win if every single one is rock, or ground, or water. But the instant she's up against a fire-type, or an ice-type, or whatever! It's all over then. Plain and simple.

"Pokémon is about having a team to work together. We can't take on everyone else alone. It's impossible…" Mark sighed heavily and sank down onto a bench.

"You don't have to fight to win," Kim sighed and sat down next to him.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked.

"Well, you are right," Kim admitted, "one-on-three generally is suicide. So, why should people even try if they already know that there's people out there that have six? I kinda doubt that I could beat someone that powerful."

"So, why compete at all, then?"

"For me?" Kim smiled, "because it's fun. Because they like to do it. And maybe we really can't beat them all. But that won't stop us from trying. Hell, if it takes four of them to bring three of us down, we're still better than they are, right?"

"I guess," Mark nodded reluctantly.

"Exactly," Kim continued, "sometimes it's not about whether you win or lose. I just want to show everybody how strong we are. Then, we'll be back. And we'll keep coming back and trying until we prove that we're good enough. Even if there's no chance of winning, if I can make one of the Four shake in their boots, then it's worth it to me."

Unable to think of a response, Mark sank back on the bench. He looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought. Was Kim right? Was it worth it to fight even if you weren't going to win? Her argument was pretty convincing, but still, Maple was going to get hurt if they lost. As a Leafeon, maybe throwing her into a losing battle would've been honorable, in a bizarre way. But, as a girl…no, he couldn't do it.

"All done, bitches," Lionel appeared before him, grinning that same eerie smile.

"Hey, Lionel," Mark leaned forward, "how many human Pokémon do you have?"

"Me?" Lionel pointed to himself, "I've got four. One's a-"

"MAPLE!" Mark jumped to his feet, surging past Lionel straight for Maple at the registration desk. Storming up to her, he grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. But his anger melted away when he looked at those eyes.

"What?" she said timidly, "I was just registering us…"

"Maple…" Mark closed his eyes and sighed, hanging his head, "I don't think we should. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I thought you'd say that," Maple nodded, "I heard you yelling. But, it's okay. I know what could happen and it's okay. I still want to fight."

"Maple…" Mark couldn't believe it. What kind of hold did she have over him to be able to convince him of doing this? He was about to let her get hurt in a fight she couldn't win for a feeling that wasn't even love, yet? God, if he wasn't in love with her, he would be very, very soon.

"Please," Maple pleaded, those eyes… "let me do this. Please…don't you trust me?"

"Okay," Mark took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "fine. Just remember, I'm going to be watching over you. I'm not going to let you do anything stupid."

Maple beamed and flung her arms around Mark and hugged him hard enough to knock him over.

AN: when i came up with the concept for this story i started by making a bracket and pulling numbers of 1-6 (Mark being the only 1 in the entire group) out of a hat. so, that's why everything's completely random. believe it or not, it actually worked out that Mark doesn't have to fight one of the Four until the semi-final round, which gives plenty of time for super-intense training.

guess that's it. as always, thanks for reading!