Finally, the day comes when Raiden's all cleared to go. Honestly, I think he was completely healed from Day 3, but Nurse Joy apparently wanted to be sure. At least he seemed happy to get out of this confined space. It seems a nice warm place didn't exactly beat being free. He makes his way to the door, stopping to stretch a little.

"Man, I'm sure glad to get out of here! So, where to first?"

"Raiden?"

"How about Yuid City?"

"Raiden."

"What about that town with the Fighting Type Gym? I hear it's easy enou-"

"Rai!" He stops talking immediately, evidently surprised at my outburst.

"What?"

"Forgetting something?" I unzip one of my pockets and take out the X-Ball he was bound to. His expression falls in an instant.

"Oh, right." He goes silent for a few seconds. "Okay, just get it over with. But as soon as you can, you're getting me a new cloak!" Nodding, I press the button on the ball. Raiden is soon enveloped in yellow energy that resembles lightning, wayward sparks and all. The energy soon rushes into the X-Ball, sealing him inside.

I can already hear him going off on me for keeping him in there for too long.

Not that Raiden is safely inside the X-Ball, I wave Nurse Joy goodbye and walk out into the hallway of the Pokémon Center.

As I walk out into the lobby, nobody even bats an eye, even though I'm practically shaking with nervousness. For all I know, they do track used X-Balls. Any moment, some huge guy in a red outfit could jump out and grab me. Then I'd probably be thrown in jail and Raiden would go to who-knows-where. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

What am I thinking? Of course this is a good idea! I'm the one who got Raiden in this mess and I have to get him out! With new confidence, I walk out of the Pokémon Center and into the crowds of Sena City. Immediately, the flow of men, woman, and children takes me up. Even if someone in the HCP was following me, they wouldn't be able to get through this crowd. Leaving during the morning rush hour was actually a great idea.

I just hope I can get out of the city before Raiden gets too mad. Just mentioning him going into the ball made him mad. That much was obvious from the start. It was understandable really. Who would choose being cooped up in such a small space? It was too bad his cloak got really torn up in our fight, he could have used it to hide his... features. Then again, it would be a littleout-of-place to bein in a dark cloak in plain sunlight.

I pick up the pace, pushing through the large crowds. After a good 20 minutes of swimming through people, I finally reach the road that leads to the Serene Woods. The crowds had greatly thinned out by the time I even got close. No one really leaves the city since nearly everyone works here. Unless they're trainers, of course. They're practically the only ones who travel on foot. I walk into the gate and wave to the attendant working there as I pass by. Finally, I exit into a path to the forest.

Oddly enough, passing through the Southern Gate is like passing into another world. One second you're in a city, the next you're walking through the woods. It's like they just gave up developing the area once Sena City finished completion. At least that meant that there were plenty of pokémon to catch. And it was nearly impossible to see hybrids in hiding. No wonder Raiden was hiding out here. Speaking of which...

I take out the X-Ball and press the button on the front. Out comes a bolt of lightning that quickly materializes into Raiden. For a few seconds, he doesn't even notice he's outside, but once he does, a huge grin forms on his face.

"I am so glad to be out of there!" he exclaims, stretching a bit. "So, where are we going first?"

"Up north, to Gigant City." I answer.

"Great, great." He placed his hands behind his head. "But just how long is that going to take?"

"Three days, maybe five."

"Then let's get going already. I want to be free from that ball as soon as possible. Who knows how long it'll be before the HCP comes after me?" Without another word, he starts walking away, down the path. This might be a long trip.

Hours later, we're still walking down the path. The sun is just beginning to set, casting an orange glow on the forest. Oddly enough, we haven't seen anyone. Well, everyone tends to take travel by cars these days. What do you expect when everyone's afraid of Hybrids attacking them? Especially with that new group that just popped up...

All of a sudden, a loud growl shocks me out of my head. I look over to Raiden, who seems really annoyed. He's even stopped walking. "What is it this time?"

"I'm hungry! I haven't eaten in like... 4 hours!"

"We gathered plenty of berries an hour ago!"

"I already ate those!" Seriously, this guy couldn't go without food for 10 minutes! How were we going to last a week out here if he kept eating all of our food?

"Why don't you just sniff out some food?" I start walking again. I might as well just ignore him until later tonight. He's gotta shut up eventually, right? However, I soon feel something tugging on my backpack. I whip my head around, seeing that it's Raiden. He's trying to raid my bag!

"Raiden! Get off!" No matter how hard I try, I just can't shake him off. In my defense, it's a lot harder to get someone out of a bag you're wearing.

"I just want a snack! There's gotta be something in here!" Now that I think about it, his voice sounds a little different. Like when he fought Bolt a few days ago. I, in no way, want to deal with that side of him again. It's like he's a different person.

While we struggle, I vaguely note that we're moving away from the path. It's not like I can do anything, though. But before I know it, I lose my footing on the ground and fall. Raiden obviously lost his balance as well. I really should have noticed that we were on such a steep hill. I can't do anything to pick myself up before I start tumbling down. Ever fallen down a hill so steep it was more like a cliff? Not fun. I hit at least 15 rocks on the way down.

Finally, the ground levels out and Raiden and I finally stop rolling. He shoots me a glare once we're able to get the forest to stop spinning.

"What was that for?"

"You're the one who jumped on my back!" I shout back.

"You didn't give me anything to eat! What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I don't know, not attack me like a crazy person. How did you even survive when you were living out here?"

"Stealing, how els-"

The sound of a small cough interrupts our argument. Both of us turn to the source. What we failed to notice earlier was a small cave at the foot of the hill. It would be nearly impossible to see if we weren't right in front of it. But standing at the mouth is a short kid, who actually looks around Raiden's age. He's clothed in what looks like pokémon skin (no comment),and feathers. But even weirder is his pale green skin. Well, not too weird.

"Raiden? What are you doing here? And with... him?" Wait, they know each other?

Raiden seems to have cheered up immensely, like nothing had ever happened. "Oh, hey Kaveh. How have you been?"

Okay, this is weird.

Kaveh is a character created by my friend Mistborn DragonLord Rizardon. If you want a character in the story, just PM me about it. I won't take any by review though. Sheet's on my profile, if you're interested. Gym Leaders are welcome if you want to do so.