A little girl hurried through the woods, hands tightly clenched around a small jewelry box. Her burgundy hair whipped around her face as the wind howled in the creepy forest. She kept following the overgrown path though, determined. She was not gonna fail, she wouldn't, she icouldn't/i….!

~-~earlier that day…~-~

Amy wandered around the daycare, looking into all the pens. The six year old smiles a little as a Jolteon in the electric pen came up and nuzzled her cheek. She liked Eeveelutions, they were cute. She dropped a tiny kiss on the Jolteon's head before continuing on, looking in all the pens. A Riolu in the Steel pen was playing what looked like tag with a Mawile, and the goopy Grimers were just chilling in the poison pen. Everything normal today, once again. Amy sighed, climbing on the wooden fence around the pond to watch the water types splash about. She wished there was something bigger so she'd have an excuse to surf around the island and look at the other nearby island. The last time she had set foot on the other island was during the Hypno incident a while back, but she hadn't really gotten a good look around during that, and she wasn't allowed to go play there even when the sandbars were up enough for her to walk over-

A bark from the Normal pen caught Amy's attention, and she looked up just in time for a yellow furry thing to fall out of the small tree there into the fangs of one of the visiting Zigzagoons. Amy shrieked, jumping off the fence and running into the pen. The yellow thing was shrieking, and Amy was also screaming as she frantically pried the thrashing dog's jaws to free the small critter. The Zigzagoon was growling and snarling as it tried to keep its toy, and Amy screamed as it finally released the yellow bug only to clamp its death on her forearm. She was screaming hysterically, hitting the dog's head to try to get it to release her as it clamped down harder-

A beige blur rushed into the pen, and the zigzagged Pokemon yelped and released her arm as it was kicked away from her. Amy looked up, seeing her cousin's Hitmonlee get in a fighting pose between the dog and herself and the yellow Pokemon.

"Amy get to the medical shed, the Joltik's not moving!" Jun cried out, scrambling into the pen and wrapping his t-shirt that he had in his hand around Amy's bite wound. Amy carefully scooped the trembling little bug type into her hands before bolting out of the pen, the sounds of Jun battling the dog barely registering as she looked at the wounded bug in her hands. She sobbed when the small bug's eyes slipped shut, crying as she nearly broke down the door to the medical area. She scrambled up the stool to the Potion's shelf, grabbing one and holding it to the bug's mouth.

"Go on, drink this, it'll help you…" Amy whimpered, hands shaking. The bug didn't move, or even acknowledge the bottle held up to it. Amy kept quietly begging him to drink it, even trying to tip some in his mouth. Her trembling worsened when it simply spilled past and onto her hand. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized the little baby bug wasn't moving. It wasn't drinking the potion, it wasn't moving, it wasn't….it wasn't breathing…

A scream tore through the air of the daycare, the first of many that followed until her grandfather found her on the floor holding the bug's body close with a blood-soaked shirt on her arm as tears streamed down her face.

-Later...-

"Amy…?" Jun whispered, gently pushing the door to his cousin's room open. The little girl was crouched on her bed, arm bandaged and a sad, empty look on her face as she stared at the fuzzy yellow Pokemon's body she still held in her hands.

"Amy, are you alright?" Jun asked, softly closing the door before moving to sit on the bed next to her. She didn't look up, carefully petting the baby Pokemon's head with her thumb.

"Amy…it wasn't your fault. Granma and Granpa are dealing with that Zigzagoon now, they're gonna chew out its owner too. You did the right thing, cuz. He died safe in your hands instead of in that dog's mouth, that's the best you could have done…" Jun tried to comfort her, pulling her into a hug. She finally reacted, slowly looking into her cousin's face.

"Granma wants me to just put him in a bush outside the daycare…she said to stop crying, it's only a wild bug, this happens all the time, crying for his death is useless…" Amy whimpered, tears falling.

"Granma's not very good at this, huh? She's gotten so old she's forgotten how devastating this is for kids." Jun sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't wanna just leave him in a bush…wild or not, I want him to be at peace…" Amy hiccuped, more tears falling. Jun was quiet, looking at the door. Finally he leaned in and began whispering something to Amy.

"On the nearby island - you know, the one that Hypno led you to? On that island is a cathedral, with a Pokemon cemetery. The old lady that runs it, she's really nice, she might be willing to help. But if Granma catches you she'll get really mad, 'cause the Pokemon there can be dangerous." he whispered, smiling a little as Amy's eyes widened. She stared at her cousin, before slowly looking at the tiny body in her hands. Her empty look vanished, and a determined look replaced it as she clambered off her bed to her desk. She overturned her little wooden box of shiny things before carefully placing the little bug in it and closing the lid.

"Just hurry, okay?" Jun requested.

"Okay." was her response as she slipped on her little rain boots and ran out.

~~back to present…~~

Amy shivered as she ran, splashing through another mud puddle. She could actually see the top of a building over the trees and she picked up the pace. Jun was right, there were some creepy Pokemon on this island. She had dodged three Duskulls trying to lick the tears off her face, and currently she had to keep ducking as a Misdreavus kept trying to tug on her hair. Actually, so far none of the ghosts really scared her so much as creeped her out or annoyed her.

Finally she spotted a wrought-iron fence, and she needed in to see a graveyard. Just past it was the cathedral, in all its glory. Amy shivered, slowly pulling the gate open and walking in. She was scared to walk off the path, just because the ghosts weren't scary before, that didn't mean she wanted to make them mad. She trembled when one Phantump in particular glared daggers at her from behind a tombstone. Fortunately she arrived at the cathedral doors, and the Phantump floated away. Amy gulped, intimidated by the old wooden doors as she raised a small hand to knock.

"May I help you, young lady?"

Amy squeaked, hugging the jewelry box to her chest with her good arm as she whipped around. An old lady, but a little younger than Gramma was behind her, holding an old broom she must have been using for sweeping leaves off graves. Amy trembled, now nervous. Seeming to sense this, the lady carefully approached, looking at the scared girl's face.

"Do you need help? Most children run off by now, so I assume you're not here on a dare?" the old woman asked gently. Amy gulped, before remembering the wooden box she held in her hands. She slowly held it up, trying to keep the tears down as she heard the body inside shift.

"I-I wanted to g-g-give him a b-better sendoff than just l-leaving him under a bush…" she whispered, throat constricted too much for anything louder. The old woman blinked, before realization dawned on her. Nodding slowly, she carefully took the jewelry box from Amy's trembling hands.

"Wild, was he?" the old woman asked, carefully taking the little girl's hand and leading her inside. Amy blinked, but nodded, following her.

"H-he fell into one of the daycare pens and a Zigzagoon g-got him. I t-tried to save him, but…" Amy fell quiet, not wanting to say anymore for fear of crying again. The woman seemed to understand.

"I'll be sure he rests peacefully here, little one. Did you come here by yourself?" the lady asked, a frown crossing her face now as she sat Amy up on a chair in the coffin room.

"Uh-huh. I've been to this island before though, b-but this is my first time here." Amy explained, briefly looking around at all the different box sizes.

"I see….I have a granddaughter about your age, you know. She's away visiting a cousin in another region though, so I can't really introduce you two today." the caretaker woman said, carefully selecting a tiny coffin before gently lifting the Joltik from the jewelry box. Amy looked away, biting her lip.

"G-gramma never mentioned other kids here…" Amy mumbled, staring at the leaves stuck to her rain boots.

"Is your grandmother the Daycare Lady, by any chance?" the dark-haired lady asked, carefully sealing the casket.

"Yeah. I live with her and Granpa and my cousin and we all look after the Pokemon there. It's boring though, I never get to see anything but the pens, and sometimes the water around the island if we get a big water type that needs exercise…" Amy couldn't help but gripe, crossing her arms.

"Well, perhaps when you get older they'll let you go on a Pokemon journey, and you can work those jitters of yours out then. Come, let's find a nice spot for your Joltik to rest." the lady replied, gently helping Amy down and leading her back out into the graveyard. She trembled a little when some of the ghosts leered at her, but they cleared off at the sight of the casket and the old woman's stern glare. The two humans walked to a more empty corner of the graveyard, and Amy looked around, before looking back up at the lady. "Miss, is it really okay to just bury him anywhere? There's no order thingy?" Amy asked in curiosity.

"Call me Hela, dear. And don't worry, the size his grave will be is small enough that it won't interfere. You just pick a spot you think he'd like." the old woman apparently named Hela reassured. Amy slowly stepped out, looking at the grassy area. Her heterochromatic eyes wandered to the fence, and she saw an overhanging willow tree drape over a corner of the yard.

"Here." Amy decided, eyes fixed on where the shadow's edge rested, just inside the fence's corner. Hela nodded, placing a small flag in the grass.

"I'll be sure he rests here. For now, you'd better head home before it gets dark and your grandparents worry, I'll let you know when it's ready for a service." Hela replied, glancing up at the afternoon sky.

"Okay….Granma didn't know I came here, so…" Amy trailed off, fiddling with her skirt. Hela nodded.

"Don't you worry, she won't rain on his funeral." Hela promised. Amy smiled, possibly for the first time that day, and hugged the lady.

"Thank you miss Hela…" she whispered, before turning to leave, barely managing to avoid stepping on a grave. From nearby a Phantump hissed at her, and she blinked.

"Don't mind him, he won't attack unless you actually walk on the grave." Hela explained.

"O-okay…bye miss Hela!" Amy replied, hurrying out of the graveyard and heading for home.

Hela sighed, shaking her head and looking at the Joltik's coffin still in her hands.

"Poor girl…living with that crotchety old lady must suck." she sighed, heading back for the cathedral to get the grave digging tools.