Where am I? I can't remember anything. Why does my body hurt so much? The pain… It hurts to move; it hurts to breathe. My body is in so much pain. I can barely stand it. How did this happen? Where am I..?

"Isaac?" Huh? Who's there? I hear someone… but where is it coming from? It sounds so familiar, but who is it? "Isaac, please wake up." There it is again… Who is saying my name?

"C'mon, it's late now. We'll come back tomorrow." A different voice, but still familiar. I can't react; my body is in too much pain… Who is there? "We're leaving. We'll be back again tomorrow."

"Very well. I'll contact you if anything changes with his condition." This one's an unfamiliar voice… Who is talking about me? How did I get here? What's happening?

"Poor Tyler…" The first voice… "He knows something is wrong with his brother. He hasn't smiled since Isaac has been unconscious, and he's been crying non-stop." I can even hear crying now… Tyler… My brother..? Is that you? I remember a promise to you, Tyler, that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. If how I'm feeling now is affecting you badly, then I must react, no matter how much it hurts…

"Uhhnnn…" My body… So much pain… But I must endure it… For Tyler. "T-Ty-ler… d-don't… cry." I slowly willed my eyes open, but my vision was blurred. I couldn't see anything…

"Isaac! You're awake!" The first voice again. I tried turning my head towards the voice, but the pain my body was in prevented me from doing that. "Isaac, are you ok?" Through my blurred vision, I was able to make out two orange figures in front of me.

Though they were blurred out, I was still able to recognize them both. "Mom… Dad… What happened? Where am I?"

"You're at Ms. McNeill's. She's the current doctor of our town," my mom said, "and you don't remember what happened?"

I tried to shake my head, but the pain my body was still enduring again prevented movement. "N-No, I don't."

"You took a heavy hit from a Brave Bird attack, remember?" my dad said this time, "You pushed me out of the way to prevent me from getting hit by it. I don't know whether to be thankful or angry at your decision. It was extremely foolish to throw yourself in the way of an attack like that, but you did prevent me from getting hit by it, even though I probably could've taken the hit with less damage than what you sustained."

I remember now. That Staraptor, Tyr. He was aimed at my father, but I shoved him aside and took the hit myself… A stupid decision caused my family to worry, but more importantly, it caused Tyler to cry. "I'm… sorry."

"No, don't be. You don't know how thankful I am. As your father, I'm angry at you for doing something so reckless, but as someone you were trying to protect? Thank you, Isaac."

My vision was slowly returning now. I could make out their faces and saw that my dad had a large smile on his face. I formed a bit of a half-smile before pain once again debilitated my movements, but the pain had subsided slightly. I scanned around the room before I noticed something in my mom's arms. Well, not something but someone.

"Tyler." He was just staring at me with those big, blue eyes of his. He had a questioning look on his face, probably wondering about me. "Hey there. Sorry to make you worry." I said to him. His face lit up like it did when we played together. I was so happy to see him happy…

"Aagghhhh!" I went to pet him on the head, but the second I tried to move my right arm, an indescribable pain shot from it. My lower arm felt like it had just been torn off, stitched back on, and then torn off again. I could feel that familiar wetness around my arm through the pain again, too.

This pain was just excruciating and just debilitated my body again. It caused my whole body to flare up on top of the indescribable pain in my arm. Any vision that I regained was instantly lost; any movement that I regained was lost. It hurt to breathe again. I felt exactly like I remembered before I first blacked out. I didn't black out from this pain, though. I was forced to have to feel every second of it.

"Oh dear! His arm opened up again!" I heard the unfamiliar voice say, "I need your help while I patch his arm up again. Apply pressure right here please."

"Right!" I felt something squeeze against my upper arm, away from where all the pain was focused. Seconds later, though, I felt as if something was picking at where the pain was, causing me to scream out again.

"I'm sorry, Isaac, this won't take much longer." My arm just felt like it was on fire. After a minute, I felt the wetness running down my arm stop, but the pain was still in full force. "I managed to get the bleeding to stop, but the only thing that can be done about the pain is if you're able to swallow something," The voice proclaimed.

The pain was still intense, but it wasn't as bad as it was a few seconds ago. "What do I have to swallow?" I asked through the pain.

"It's a bit of a drink, but it doesn't taste all that good."

Anything to get the pain to stop… "Give it here."

"Here." I felt something tap at my mouth. I opened it up and felt a mushy liquid flow into my mouth. The taste was horrendous, worse than how badly a Skuntank's smell smells. I coughed and sputtered from the vile liquid, but after I managed to swallow a fair amount of the concoction, my body started to go numb. The numbness overtook any pain, too. "So? How do you feel?"

"Numb…" I slurred out. The mixture I drank apparently numbs the body and every other part it comes in contact with.

"That's how you're supposed to feel. Now, try not to move your arm again. It's the worst injury your body has right now."

"What all happened to it?" I asked, my voice still slurred.

"For starters, it's broken, but how it broke is where the real damage is. It sheared from its normal position in your arm and punctured out of your skin. When you first came in, you were still unconscious, so we decided to attempt to return it to a sub-normal position and stitch up your arm where it broke through. When you tried to move your arm just now, it probably caused the bone to shift a little and break some of the stitches in your arm. That's why it's important for you to not move that arm until your external wounds heal. You'll be able to wear a sling when your skin heals in a few days, as long as you don't do anything to open it up again."

"When I first came in… How long has it been?"

"If you didn't wake up tonight, tomorrow would've been your fourth day unconscious."

"Four days…" My vision was slowly returning again, and I looked over to see Tyler with a scared expression on his face. He's been sad for that long… I'm so sorry Tyler…

"Buiii." Tyler started trying to escape from my mother's grip and get towards me. He wanted to be near me.

"Mom? Can you place Tyler on the bed?" I asked.

She looked down and saw Tyler trying to get over to me again. He's tried to escape from her grip to get to me so many times now, it still amazes me. She smiled and walked around the bed to my left side and placed him next to my head. He stumbled his way over to my face and started to lick my cheek. I smiled at him, a strange feeling of comfort washing over me. For some reason, I was so happy to have my brother next to me. I know that he feels at ease when next to me, but apparently it isn't a one-way deal. I feel at ease when he's next to me, too.

After a minute, I started nuzzling my cheek against him, to let him know just how happy I was to have him next to me. He let out a large yawn shortly after and just plopped down next to my head on my pillow and appeared to have fallen asleep. My eyes started to fill with tears soon after. I was just extremely happy to have my brother next to me.

"Ms. McNeill? If it's no trouble, we'd like to stay this night here," I heard my mom say.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I'll go get some of the spare cots for you to sleep on, plus some extra blankets," she replied. My mom then came over to where Tyler was sleeping and covered him up with his blanket. I hadn't even noticed he had that thing with him, but I probably should've known better. He'll always treasure that thing.

Just watching Tyler sleep started to make me feel a little groggy as well. It was nighttime, so everyone should be falling asleep pretty soon, but I have my brother asleep next to me.

"Here you are," Ms. McNeill announced quietly. She wheeled around two collapsible beds and set them up next to mine. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask."

"Oh, we won't need anything aside from this. We are already asking a lot by just staying here," my mom replied.

"Don't worry about it. I didn't want to break up such a heartwarming scene anyway. Well, good night to you all."

"Yes, good night, Ms. McNeill, and thank you once again."

I heard Ms. McNeill walk away shortly after. My dad had been setting up their beds as they were talking. My mom was going around blowing out all the candles around the room. She kept one lit and held it as she walked around towards her bed for the night. She stopped by the side of my bed before, though. "Good night, Isaac," she said as she stroked the side of my face.

"Good night. You too, Dad."

"Night, Isaac."

My mom blew out the candle and got into her bed. I took one last look over to my side to see a silhouette of Tyler in the dark. He was still sleeping soundly on my pillow. "Good night, Tyler," I whispered before I fell asleep myself.


The next morning eventually came around, and the first thing that I felt when I woke up was a massive headache. My whole head was just engulfed in pain, but I don't think it was caused by my arm like all my other pain fits were. No, this headache was caused by something different.

"Hello Isaac. How are you feeling this morning?" I heard someone say. I looked over to see Ms. McNeill standing next to my bed.

"Ugh… Not too well. My head really hurts…" I groaned out.

"Well…" she hesitated for a moment, "that's actually to be expected. It's a rather unfortunate side effect of that drink you took last night. It's effective at nulling pain, but it also causes this rather strong headache afterwards. Kinda ironic, don't you think? One easy way to help get rid of the headache is to eat something, though!" She was trying to make the scene a little more light with her sarcasm, but she said something that just caught my attention instantly.

Food. Since I was apparently out cold for almost four days, my body hasn't had anything to eat in that long. The mere mentioning of food drove my stomach to groan out in need. "Yea, I could go for something to eat right about now." I chuckled sheepishly afterwards, trying to ignore the massive headache as best I could.

"I thought so. Wait one moment, I've got some berries and I'll even throw in one of my eggs, just for you!" she said rather happily. I've heard that Chansey eggs were one of the most nutritious and delicious things to eat in the world, but I've never had the chance to try one. Guess I'll find out if what I've heard is true or not, if I can taste anything through this headache…

She returned with a plate of berries, and as she set them down at my side, she pulled out one of those mysterious Chansey eggs from her pouch and set it down next to me as well. "There you are, now eat up!"

"Uhh, am I able to move my left arm?" I asked before attempting to move it. I didn't want a repeat of last night with moving my right arm and just wanted to make sure that I could.

"Yes, you should be able to. That arm only sustained minor cuts and bruises. It also had a few rocks embedded in it, but we got all those out. I would only advise still not trying to move your whole body as it might upset your other arm again."

Good advice. I slowly started to lift my left arm up from beside my body. After I felt confident that I could move it without being hurt by it, I opened and closed my paw just to make sure I could still move everything attached to it.

My left arm was fully functional, and the first thing I did with it was rub my head. This was one hell of a headache, worse than being in the middle of a Golbat Supersonic barrage. I quickly grabbed at one of the berries at my side and started munching on it. I was half tempted to just cram the whole berry into my mouth, but my better judgment told me to not do that.

After a few more berries, my headache was no longer such a nuisance. It still hurt a little, but it was much more bearable. I took a short break from eating to look around the room a little, and I noticed that there were some things missing from the scene. "Hey, do you know where the rest of my family is?"

"Yes. Your father left for his job, and your mother went back to your house to get some food of their own. She took your brother with her, too."

"Ah, thanks. Do you know when they'll be back?"

"They left some time ago, so it shouldn't be too much longer."

As if right on cue, there was a knock on the door shortly after Ms. McNeill finished speaking. She went over to open the door, and it was none other than my mom and brother.

"Hello, is Isaac awake yet?" my mom asked.

"Yes, he's eating right now. Come on in."

My mom walked into the building, while Tyler was just lying in her arms. "Good morning Isaac. How are you feeling today?" my mom asked.

"Better than I have been. When I first woke up was a little rough, but it's all good now."

"What was wrong? Did your arm open up again?"

"Thankfully no. That mixture I drank last night apparently has a little bite to it, in the form of a headache the day after. Some food cleared that problem up, though."

"That's good. Now, there's someone who wants to say good morning to you." She smiled and walked over to me. I knew who wanted to see me. Tyler had his arms going towards me again. She set him down next on my left side, and with the correct arm, I petted the top of Tyler's head. He still likes this, because he still lets out those happy chirps and coos. I actually had an idea form right there. I guess you could call it a way to apologize for making him sad.

I reached over with my good arm to grab at the Chansey egg that was still next to me. I tore off a small piece from its top and broke that piece even further down. The pieces were small enough so that he couldn't choke on them if he didn't manage to chew them up.

I held the piece of egg in front of him. "C'mon, try it. It's supposed to be really good."

He sniffed at the piece of egg for a bit before he opened his mouth and bit down on it. The second that it was in his mouth, his whole entire face lit up as bright as the sun. He smiled and laughed as the mysterious powers of these eggs made itself known.

My mom had started laughing herself now, and even Ms. McNeill was laughing. Those eggs apparently do bring happiness to the entire room that someone eats one in. I fed another piece to Tyler, which he happily ate up even quicker than the last piece. Hmm, maybe I should try a bit of that egg now.

I set all the little chunks down next to me and tore off a much larger piece from the egg. I wasted no time in biting a chunk out of the piece I had in my paw. And, just like with Tyler, the second it was in my mouth, the power and taste of the egg overwhelmed me. It was just the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. I don't think I can even describe how it tastes! It's just too good! I can safely say that if what I drank last night was the worst thing I've ever tasted, this is definitely the direct opposite of that.

Along with being so incredibly delicious, the egg also helped with my recovery. The eggs are extremely nutritious, and although it wasn't going to be enough to let me use my right arm anytime soon, it would definitely help in healing the arm well enough so that I could have it in a sling. I really didn't want to be bed-ridden for much longer now.

"That was really nice of you, Isaac," my mom suddenly said.

"Oh. Well, I just wanted to give him something to sort of apologize for making him worry about me for so long," I replied.

She laughed a little. "This is definitely not you when we first brought Tyler home, is it?"

Now it was my turn to laugh a bit. "Nope. Guess I just needed to get to know Tyler a little, just like Sean and Ka-" I ceased my laughter. My smile slowly started to fade. I suddenly remembered exactly what I was doing that got me here in the first place. Katie… I laid my head deep into the pillow and closed my eyes. "Mom? Have they found Katie yet?" I asked, my tone turning from laughter and heading towards sorrow.

She sighed before speaking. "No, they haven't. I'm sorry, Isaac."

She hasn't been found… I've been out for four days, so she's been missing for about a week now. Katie… Where are you?

"But, it's not just that secret organization searching for her now," my mom added, "After news of what happened between us and that Staraptor got around, the leader of that group made a public announcement stating all the facts about Katie and about finding that Staraptor. He's been labeled a Rogue Pokemon and not to be allowed back in the village."

"So Sean does know about Katie?"

"Yes, he should. I haven't spoken with either of Sean's parents recently, but with how fast news travels, I'm sure he knows."

That's one positive thing lying in this bleak subject. At least Sean does know, but I just want to get out of here. I feel so helpless just lying in a bed while Katie is somewhere out there. I just hope she's alright… It's been so long.

"Hey, Ms. McNeill, is my arm well enough to put in a sling?" I asked.

"Oh, well, it is still open and only held together by the stitches. It might open up again if you try and move it, but…" she looked around for a little, "I suppose that if we wrap a tight bandage around it, there's a chance that we could move your arm into a sling and still keep the bone straight and out of the wound. I'm not making any promises though, is that ok?"

"It's fine. I just want to be out of this bed."

"Alright, but don't do anything rash. Your arm still needs to heal fully. If you try and exert yourself, you may end up opening your arm again." She reached around a drawer for a roll of bandages. "Here we are. I'll try my best. It may be difficult because of the fin on your arm."

She slowly moved these pieces of wood used to keep my arm straight out of the way and started wrapping my arm in the bandages. She was trying to wrap my arm up without also wrapping my arm's fin. A few wraps in, I felt my arm start to flare up, but I couldn't show that I was in any pain. Doing so might cause her to stop, so I just gritted my teeth as subtle as I could.

After my arm was fully covered, she grabbed a larger but more flimsy piece of cloth and tied around the back of my neck, underneath my floatation collar. The last thing to do was move my arm into the sling. She slowly started to bend my arm and place it in the sling. My fin once again caused a little difficulty, and pain once again released itself from my arm. I still just endured it all.

After my arm was safely rested in the sling, I was allowed to sit up for the first time in days. My whole body was stiff and sore, but I didn't focus on any of that. My mind was just encompassed around Katie.

My mom had already taken Tyler off the bed, so I just flipped the covers off me and slid to the floor. I almost lost my balance as I landed, but I managed to recover without incident.

"Are you sure you're alright, Isaac?" Ms. McNeill asked me.

"Yea, I'll be fine. Thank you," I said as I started to head for the door.

"Thank you so much for your help, Ms. McNeill," my mom said.

"I'm just doing my part. Take care now, especially you, Isaac."

"Yea…" I walked out the door, my mom with Tyler right behind me.


The day was young, and the skies were clear. That storm four days ago must've passed while I was out, but what also has happened while I was unconscious? Katie was still somewhere out there, alone… And all because of what happened between us. Well, us and Tyler… I had such high hopes for helping her once the storm cleared, but now, I might never get that chance…

"Hey, Mom? Could I go to Sean's place to talk to him?" I asked before we started heading anywhere. I hadn't talked with him since the three of us were last together, and I wanted to see if he was holding up better than I was. I doubt he was as dumb as me when his parents were told of what happened.

"Since I have an idea of what you're going to talk about, yes. Just be careful. Don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have to come meet you in a doctor's bed again," she replied.

Tyler was in my mom's arms again. When the atmosphere in there changed, even he picked up on the bad vibes. He looked so sad again… "Don't worry, Tyler. I'll be back home soon. Just wait for me." I ruffled the top of his head again.

"Buiii. Buiii." He had his arms stretched out again, but with where I was going and my current condition, this was one time where I was not able to comply with his request.

"I'm sorry, Tyler." I moved in and gave my brother a gentle hug with my good arm. He didn't seem to want to let go after he got a hold of me, but he didn't have that good a grip on me, and I slid out from his hold. "See you at home later, Mom."

"Ok, Isaac." She turned away and headed back towards our house. I could hear Tyler start to whine a little. "It's ok, Tyler. Isaac will be home soon," I faintly heard my mom say. I didn't want to see Tyler like that, but I needed to talk with Sean. I started heading towards his house, which, from where I started, unfortunately passed by Katie's…


Since everyone apparently knew about what happened, they all started crowding around me as I was trying to walk. They were all asking questions about what happened. I just ignored them all, though; random people weren't the ones I wanted to talk to. Eventually, they all just left me alone and went about their business. Good thing, too. I don't know how much more of that I could've taken before I'd have just snapped.

Surprisingly enough, I happened upon my father on my way to Sean's. He was directing all the other Pokemon to what was to go where. I half didn't want to bother him, but I thought it would be nice to let him know I'm out of bed.

I walked over towards him, and he seemed to notice me almost instantly. "Ease up, boys! Take a five-minute break!" he called out to all the other Pokemon working on the house. He then turned his attention to me. "Hey, Isaac. Feeling ok?"

"Sorta… I'm on my way to Sean's to talk about…" I couldn't fully finish what I was saying. I was back in that depressed state I had been in much earlier. I just hope my dad got what I was saying.

"Isaac, I know you're sad about Katie's disappearance, but you can't blame yourself for it. Nothing you did caused Katie's actions. And don't give up hope, either. She will be found."

Almost all that he had said was the exact opposite I was thinking. I do sorta hold myself responsible for causing her to run away. To me, it seemed the last thing she needed to do before leaving was to break our friendship… I gave up hope too early, and now she's gone. It's been a week since she first disappeared. I want to believe that she'll be found… but too much time has passed, I believe.

Why am I doing this to myself? Everything that I'm thinking about is just the worst case scenario and morbidly depressing, but I can't help it. I know that I should adopt a more positive outlook before I get to Sean's, but I just can't. He's probably not given up hope yet, but why have I? Just one more thing to talk to Sean about, I guess.

"Hey, buddy, you alright?" my dad said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, yea, I'm fine. I'm gonna go now," I said back. I desperately needed to speak to someone who had the same relation to Katie as I did.

"Ok, then. Just be careful with that arm of yours."

"Yea, I know. See ya."

"Alright." He patted me on the back a few times before walking back towards the construction area. He started to clap his hands. "Ok, boys, back to work!" and everyone there started moving around again. I started walking to Sean's house again.

As more time passed, my mind started going insane. Thoughts of every single time me and Sean have shared with Katie started flooding my head. I even remembered the first time I met Katie, almost six years ago…


"Isaac, here we are!" my mom announced. We both walked up to a much larger building than our house was. My mom told me this was Mrs. Rugara's Daycare, and the place that I would be sent to for a while.

"Mommy, I'm scared."

"It'll be ok, Isaac. You'll fit in just fine."

I hid behind my mom as we entered the large building. I could see many other Pokemon already there; a lot of them seemed to be older than me. I just hid myself further behind my mom, not wanting any of those others to start looking at me.

However, my mom walked away from me and towards a much larger Pokemon. It was a mainly brown with a cream colored belly, sorta like the cream fur on my belly, but it also had a pouch on it. Inside the pouch was smaller, purple-colored version of the big Pokemon. I ran back behind my mom again. Everything about that Pokemon scared me.

"Hello there. How can I help you this morning?" the figure asked.

"I'm here to drop off my son, Isaac," my mom replied.

"Oh! And this little Buizel behind you must be Isaac. Hello there."

My mom forced me from behind her to in front of her. The expression on the face of the large figure in front of me was very cheerful. I was still scared, though.

"Isaac, introduce yourself," my mom whispered to me. I didn't want to, though. I just wanted to go back home. "I'm sorry. He is just a little frightened at being here."

"That's alright. Almost everyone here was the same way the first time they were here, but they warm up pretty fast. Well, I'm Mrs. Rugara, but most everyone here calls me 'Auntie Kangaskhan.'"

"A-Auntie Kangaskhan?" I repeated. All that this large Pokemon was doing wasn't anything like it wanted to hurt me, but I still didn't want to be there.

"Well, I've got to get going now. Be good, Isaac." My mom knelt down and gave me a quick hug. She then started moving towards the door, leaving me by myself in this place.

"Don't worry, Isaac. You'll have fun here in no time! Why don't you go ahead and go play with all the others here. I'm sure you'll find some friends."

Worry was all that I was feeling, though. As Mrs. Rugara, or Auntie Kangaskhan, started to walk to greet others, I just found myself a little secluded area of the room and sat there. I just wanted to be back home.

Shortly after I was left here, Auntie Kangaskhan gathered everyone up in the middle of the room. I just stayed in the back of the room, though. She then went up to the front of the room. "Ok, everyone, we have someone new joining us today. Oh, where is he?" I knew she meant me, but I didn't want to have to go up in front of everyone there. Her eyes eventually caught sight of me, though. "There you are! What're you doing all the way back there? Come up here please."

I still didn't want to move from my spot, but all the eyes in the room were already on me. I just wanted to be left alone and go back home, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"It's ok to feel scared, but you should at least let everyone know your name," she called out. I could see some of the other Pokemon start whispering amongst themselves. A few were even laughing. I just stared blankly back at everyone. I didn't know what to do. I just wanted to go home.

"It's alright. We'll try again when you're more comfortable here. Alright then, everyone, you may go and play for now. I'll call you when it's lunch time."

Everyone got up and headed into the other room, but I just stayed where I was. A few Pokemon glanced over at me but none of them stopped by me. After they were all in the other room, Auntie Kangaskhan walked over to me.

"Come on, Isaac. You don't want to spend your first day here all alone in the corner, do you?" Actually, that was my plan. Just stay here until my mom came back. "Just give this place a try. You'll learn to have fun really soon if you try to, but you can't if you're in a corner!" she started laughing a little afterwards.

I didn't want to move, but Auntie Kangaskhan convinced me to at least go into the other room. After I got in there, a few of the other Pokemon looked over at me and started whispering again. I was still too scared to try anything, so I just hid in the back of this room, instead.

Eventually, it was time for everyone to get picked up and go home, the time I was waiting for since I first got here. My mom came after about half of the other Pokemon here were picked up. I instantly ran over to her and hid behind her. I always felt safe next to my mom.

She walked over to Auntie Kangaskhan first, though. "So, how was he today?"

"He's still a little scared about being here, but just give him time. He'll have fun here soon."

"Ok, come on, Isaac. Let's go home."

Best idea I've heard all day.

As my mom tucked me in for bed later that night, she said one last thing to me. "Don't worry, Isaac. You'll find some good friends there soon."


I looked ahead of me and saw Sean's house just about 20 yards ahead of me. I stood at his front door for a minute before finally knocking on it. Unsurprisingly, Sean's mom was the one who answered the door. "Hey there. Is Sean home?"

"Oh! Isaac, you're awake. When we heard what happened, Sean was even more worried than he is now. He'll be happy to see you awake." She turned around back into the house. "Sean! Isaac's here!"

"Wait, what? I'll be there in a sec!" I heard him call back, and a few seconds later, I saw my other electric friend for the first time since Katie disappeared. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"The same way I've heard you've been feeling, worried."

"Yea, when my mom told me that Katie was missing, I couldn't believe what she told me. Then the next day, she tells me that you've been seriously injured. Now I'm just wondering what'll happen to me!" He started to lightly chuckle at his last sentence.

Even worried, Sean is still able to find some way to joke around. I wish I could be as laid back as him. "Nothing will happen to you, but I'm worried about what could've happened to Katie..."

"Yea, I know. I'm worried for her, too, but there's not much we can do. Hey, you want to come in? We shouldn't have to stand out here talking."

"I actually wanted to go by the lake. I haven't been there in a while, and that place always calmed me down, and I need to calm down. Is that ok with you?"

"Yea, that's fine. I haven't been there in a while, either. Just let me tell my mom where we're going." Sean returned inside his home after saying that. My mind started to drift back to the past again…


"So, Isaac, are we feeling a little more comfortable today?" Auntie Kangaskhan asked me.

"A little…" It was true. I was feeling a little more at ease there because nothing happened yesterday, but I was still not 100% comfortable.

"You'll do fine here, Isaac. You just need to have a little confidence," my mom said to me, "Alright, I've better be going now. Be good, Isaac."

"So, I still won't have you try to announce your name, unless you feel like you'll be able to."

I viciously shook my head no. I was starting to feel a bit better there, but I was still scared.

"That's fine, Isaac, but try not to hide in a corner today." Auntie Kangaskhan smiled at me. Everything that she did had an oddly comforting feel to me, like when near my mom.

I did follow her advice to some extent. I wasn't hiding in the corner, like I did yesterday, but I was still kinda secluding myself from everyone else still. As everyone else was playing with each other, I was just on the sidelines watching them all. I still felt a little like I didn't really belong there yet.

As lunch time rolled around, everyone was given a bowl of berries that Auntie Kangaskhan prepared a little earlier. While everyone sat and ate with their friends, I was still just eating by myself. Watching everyone have fun together was kinda getting me to want to be like that, but I have no clue how to do that.

As I was just starting on my third berry, a group of three Pokemon came over next to me. I only recognized two of them, a Mankey on the left and a Machop on the right, but the one in the middle looked new to me. It looked like a purple bat with blue flaps connected from its arms down. It also seemed to stick its tongue out a lot.

"Hi," I said sorta shyly. I didn't know why these Pokemon came over to me.

"So you can speak. I thought you were the same scaredy Buizel from yesterday who just hid in the back of the room all day long," the one in the middle said. With how this Pokemon said that, I got incredibly scared. These weren't friendly Pokemon.

Before I could do anything else, the same Pokemon in the middle walked towards me. It picked up my bowl of berries and just dropped every last one into his mouth. The Mankey and Machop both started laughing as they saw their other friend eat the last of my food. Auntie Kangaskhan was dealing with another Pokemon, so she didn't know what was happening to me.

"Those were mine," I protested weakly. I was still intimidated by this group.

The Pokemon just threw the empty bowl down in front of me. "Heh, not anymore, Buizel. What're ya gonna do about it?" All three of them started moving closer to me. I just started to cry right there. Both my mom and Auntie Kangaskhan said that I would have fun here, but this isn't fun…

"Aww, the baby Buizel is starting to cry," the Mankey pointed out. This just fueled more laughter from the other two. I didn't want to be there, anymore. I just wanted to go home.

"Hey! Leave him alone, you jerks!" a different voice called out. I opened my eyes to see a fluffy sheep Pokemon, a Mareep, standing behind them. There were static sparks coursing across the Mareep's wool.

The trio of Pokemon turned around to meet the Mareep. The one who ate all my food started moving closer to the Mareep. "And why should we?"

"You'd better, or else."

"What're you gonna do about it?"

"This!" The wool of the Mareep started coursing with even more static. The Mareep then fired off a weak wave of electricity at the trio. It hit all three of them, but only brought the Mankey and Machop down to their knees. The one in the middle didn't seem affected at all, but having his buddies taken out apparently weakened his ego. "Now, beat it before I get really mad!" A few more sparks were released from the Mareep's wool.

The Pokemon picked up its two buddies and ran off. The Mareep then walked over towards me. "Hey, you alright?"

I was still crying a little. "*sniff* Yea. Thanks…"

"Don't mention it. I've seen that Gligar and his buddies picking on the new Pokemon that comes here, and I decided I'd do something about it this time. So, what's your name?"

"I'm-*sniff* I'm Isaac," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Isaac, huh? Y'know, how come you couldn't have just said that yesterday?"

"…I was scared," I reluctantly replied. I didn't want anyone to think I was weak, but this Mareep was just as comforting as either my mom or Auntie Kangaskhan.

"Scared? Why were you scared?"

"I was scared that others would pick on me."

"Do I look like I'd pick on you?"

I looked at the Mareep's face. There was a bright and happy smile across its blue face. For the first time since I was there, I actually felt completely at ease. "No." I started to smile now.

"That's better! It's always good to see a smile on another's face, and not everyone here is bad. You just gotta give others a chance to get to know you." Another bright smile emanated from the Mareep's face. "Hey, you still hungry?"

Since I didn't get much from my bowl, because that Gligar, I think it's called, helped itself to my bowl, I was still pretty hungry. "Yea… A little."

The Mareep started giggling a little. "Ok, just one sec." It walked over to another bowl sitting along the wall and picked it up the only way Mareeps can, with their mouth. It then placed the bowl down in front of me. "Here you go!"

"But aren't these yours?" I asked, looking at the bowl of berries.

"Yea, but we can share them. That's what friends do!"

"F-Friends?"

"Yea, we're friends now! Friends help each other out!"

"Wow, thanks." I grabbed one of the berries in the bowl and started eating it. The Mareep also started nibbling on a few berries. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Oh! I completely forgot to tell you mine. My name's Katherine, but you can call me Katie!"

"Katie? Wait, you're a girl?" I blurted out. I placed my paw over my mouth quickly after, though. I started to fear I said something that I shouldn't have…

But to my surprise, Katie actually started laughing. "Yea, I'm a girl. That's not a problem, is it?"

"Oh! Uh, no! No, it's fine!" I exclaimed, shaking my hands and head vigorously. I was really hoping I didn't do anything wrong, now.

"Relax; I don't really seem to act like a girl, anyways, so I've gotten that before," she said, laughing again afterwards, "So, hey, do you want to meet my other friend? He's really nice, like me!"

Another friend? And one that is nice like her, too? It finally felt like I'd found the ones who I can have fun with here, just like my mom and Auntie Kangaskhan said I would. "Yea, that'd be nice. Thanks, Katie."

"Don't mention it. Now c'mon! Let's go meet him!"

She led me to the other side of the room, where a Pichu was sitting all alone. He perked his ears up when he saw me and Katie walking towards him. "Heh, found another friend, eh Katie?"

"Yea, he was being tormented by that Gligar and his goons, but I set 'em straight!" She turned back towards me. "Well, this is my other friend. Say hello!"

"Hmm… You're that Buizel from yesterday, aren't you?" the Pichu said while eyeing me up. I was wondering why he was doing that and getting a little worried that he was doing that. "That's almost exactly how I started off my days here! Except I wasn't as extreme as you were. My name's Sean."

"Hi, I'm Isaac." I guess my first thought about him was wrong; he was nice, just like Katie is. I was so happy right then, because I had found friends who I could have fun with!

The three of us spent the rest of the day together. The day seemed to go by much faster now that I wasn't sitting in a corner all by myself. Katie and Sean were so much fun to play with. Before we knew it, it was time for our parents to pick us up.

Out of the three of us, my mom was the first to arrive. I couldn't wait to show her my new friends and wasted no time in introducing them to her.

"Isaac, it's so nice that you've found friends! I told you that you'd find some soon," my mom said.

"We both knew that he'd find friends," Auntie Kangaskhan suddenly added, "The start of his day was a bit rough, though. One of the older Pokemon and his buddies started harassing him during lunch." So she did know what happened to me, but why didn't she stop them, then? "But young Katie here came to his aid, and the two almost instantly became friends!"

"Is that so? Well, thank you, Katie, for looking out for my little Isaac," my mom said.

"Mom…" I started to turn red a little from embarrassment.

My mom, Katie, Sean, and Auntie Kangaskhan all started laughing. After a few seconds, I couldn't keep from laughing, either!

"Well, we should be getting home now. Let's go, Isaac."

"Ok, see you guys later," I called out to my new friends.

"Yea, dude, see ya soon," Sean called back.

"And remember, we're friends for life!" Katie added with a happy smile.


"Hey, dude, you there?"

I was snapped out of my thoughts and brought back to the present. Me and Sean were sitting by the lake, for how long, I can't remember.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked again.

"Yea, I'm fine. I was just thinking that's all. Do you remember the first time you met Katie?"

"Yea, back in the Daycare. Why?"

"That's what I had on my mind a minute ago. I remembered the last thing she said to me at the end of the first day we were friends, 'We're friends for life.'" I picked up a rock from the ground around me and tossed it into the lake. "I just wish we could know where she is…" I just felt so helpless.

"Yea, me too." He patted my back a couple times after he said that. I guess I am taking this a lot harder than he is, but Katie was the one who was my first friend. Katie saved me from that Gligar and his buddies. Katie is the reason me and Sean are friends. I just wish there was some way to know where she was…

I picked up another rock and tossed it into the lake, but when it hit the water, the entire area started to waver around as well. I could see some brilliant, white figure swimming underneath the water's surface. The water then started to reflect some sort of image, and I could see an area that had a pink and white figure in it. Wait… Is that?

"I know where Katie is!"