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I am a fighter, born and bred. I belonged to a trainer since my conception. I am strong. I am powerful. And I am horribly unnatural.

My parents were pokémon, but my trainer was the only caretaker I'd ever known. She hatched me, raised me. She was all I ever needed.

Back then I was a simple Ledyba, no nickname. A little red bug/flying pokémon with wings and six legs. And TAYLOR made me great. She gave me everything.

TAYLOR was no casual trainer. She trained the best, turned babies into warriors. She had an assembly of fighters—a box full, I think—all at the peak of their strength. And it was said, by her hand, the best were made.

But I was a baby then. Newly hatched. Popped out of my egg with no strength to my name. What could she possibly do with me?

TAYLOR was going to take me to the extreme. But I had to gain experience first. All I knew was TACKLE, and even that wasn't strong enough to knock out a Sentret on the skirts of New Bark Town.

So TAYLOR took me to the Elite Four.

She didn't battle me, of course. Instead she gave me this small metal bar. It was only 6 inches long, but had a sleek, computerized look to it. A small chip was in the center, and it seemed to glow with a gray light. She curled my ball hands around it. I obeyed.

The first of the elite was a man in a red mask, a mask as red as my wing coverings. He and TAYLOR exchanged bows, then he sauntered off to his side of the battlefield. TAYLOR whipped out a pokéball, and waited for him to go first.

His choice for a start was Xatu, a bird pokémon that looked like a living statue. TAYLOR wasn't impressed. She cast out her pokémon with a rehearsed wave of her hand.

The pokéball broke open with a flash and an echoing metallic snap, like computer thunder. The light stretched and wiggled, like an exploding star. Then the light folded in on itself. It formed a smooth surface, and took an animal shape.

That was when I first saw him, the pokémon that would impact my life forever.

An Espeon, called RA.

That battle was the first battle I had ever seen. It's become my standard, what I thought all pokémon battles should and would be like. There was no jumping, no clawing, no fencing of limbs or blasts of energy.

Instead they both just stood there, RA and the Xatu. No trainer called out a move. Just silence.

Finally, "Psychic," said TAYLOR.

"Confuse Ray!" said the elite.

Then more stillness. Neither pokémon moved, despite the attacks that were called out. I gripped my bar anxiously. It was too tense.

Then the Xatu fell over, eyes frozen, body as rigid as a pillar. It made a hollow clunk sound when it hit the floor, like a dropped a pipe. It rolled forward, stopping only when its stiff feathers kept it from rolling more. The elite called his pokémon back, and RA relaxed on the battlefield. His tail fell to his side, twitching.

TAYLOR had given me EXP Share before the battle. So when RA won, half of the fight pooled into me.

I've never felt such a rush. I hadn't set foot on the battlefield, but I felt as if I had flown over all of Kanto. My muscles coiled and tensed, pulsing like I'd sparred against a Scyther. But my mind was exhausted. My eyes teetered to the edge of fuzzy, and I wanted to sleep forever. It was like something had drilled through my head, or I had just solved an agonizing puzzle.

But I also felt much stronger. The infantile jelly faded from me, and I felt like I could tussle with a Gym Leader.

TAYLOR smiled at me. I was growing up. I had shot up five levels, and was on my way to the top.

After blowing through the Elite Four, TAYLOR flew to a mountain, called Mt. Silver. She camped in front of the Pokémon Center. It was on that master mountain that I was introduced to her party.

TAYLOR let out all her pokémon at night. A Raikou sparked a faggot of sticks into flame, and a Furret collected sticks for fuel. A Shuckle, only a few levels above me, approached me first.

"Hey!"

"Hello." He was strange looking to me, no more than a rock with some worms wiggling out of it. But still, if he was with TAYLOR, he couldn't be bad.

"My name's Shuckie, care for some berry juice?" he offered, withdrawing a tentacle then poking it back out with some berry juice glistening on its tip.

It didn't look very sanitary to me then. "No thanks."

He shrugged, licked off the juice, and hopped to my side. His tentacles were useless for walking, so he thrust his body upwards for a jump. I'd never, ever, see a pokémon move as strangely as Shuckie. "I heard you got your first taste of experience today, right?"

I eyed him warily, I was trying to close myself up but he kept putting himself forward. I wanted to snuggle next to TAYLOR and sleep. "Yeah?"

"Feels great, doesn't it?"

"It did," I said, looking into the fire. Gaining experience was intense. I felt like I had been shot through the sun.

Shuckie seemed to wiggle uncomfortably, but he still spoke as sincerely as before. "There's going to be another battle tomorrow. TAYLOR's going against RED."

"Is he one of the Elite?"

"No. He's better. Much better. Above the Elite. Pokémon stronger than you would believe."

Fighting stronger pokémon meant more experience for me. I'd found that out after the Elite. Tomorrow held much promise.

"And wait until you start battling, it's the best."

I'd never considered that before. I thought the bar would take up as high as TAYLOR wanted me to go. I would have to fight? Would I ever be strong enough?

"Don't seem so scared!" Shuckie had seen my freaked out face. "TAYLOR will only send you out when you're ready. But still, it'll only be a matter of time."

I didn't know if I wanted to fight. I wanted experience—it satisfied me more than any berry ever would—but the EXP Share had also sent exhaustion with those points. Would experience cost me pain?

"H-have you…" I stuttered. I hadn't talked to a pokémon before. "…ever…battled?"

Shuckie frowned, and looked away, shaking his head in disgrace. "TAYLOR has never trained me. Probably never will. See, I'm just here to make berry juice for the starting pokémon. That, and I'm not really hers. She got me in a trade. I…I'll never be a battler. I'm…I'm a stand-in."

I didn't know what a stand-in was, but it didn't hold the honor of a battler. I wanted Shuckie to be a battler. He was a bug pokémon—part bug really—and he deserved to be as strong as I was going to get.

I didn't ask anymore questions. Shuckie changed the topic and introduced me to TAYLOR's field pokémon. There was a Furret that could slash trees and swim across oceans, a Togetic that could attack with bursts of light and fly all across Johto, a Raikou, one of the pokémon of legends, that could attack with lightning.

And then, there was him. RA.

Shuckie told me he was the battler TAYLOR was currently training, that he was nearly at his top so TAYLOR started training me. Shuckie said he was a strong psychic pokémon, and that I would be seeing him often.

RA was the one who fought while I absorbed experience. He would be the one fighting RED tomorrow.

The next morning, TAYLOR took us into the cave. The Togetic sent out a burst of light that turned the cave darkness into daylight. The light seemed trapped in the cave, and brightened everything so every rock could be seen. TAYLOR donned a bicycle, and led us to the top of the cave. She rolled up a series of plateaus, past lakes and waterfalls, until she came to a final rock high-rising. She nodded to RA, then sped up to the zenith.

At the top was a single trainer. A boy with a red hat that was training in the heart of the mountain, a Pikachu at his side. TAYLOR dismounted, challenged him, then sent RA in.

RA never had to move. He stood stock still, stared at his opponent, awaited TAYLOR to chant the word 'Psychic' and the pokémon fell over as if shot. He clobbered a Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Red's whole party! I leveled up tons from that battle. My mind ached afterwards. I wondered, for the first time, if RA felt the same way.

Afterwards, TAYLOR biked along the foot of Mt. Silver. She said we were heading back to Kanto, to fight the Elite again. She said we had to cross over into Kanto via a route running along Mt. Silver, and then the Togetic could fly us to Indigo Plateau.

We camped near a house, the only house by Mt. Silver. It was owned by a lady with a Skarmory that let us use her running water.

While all the pokémon and TAYLOR slept, RA crept off. I followed him.

We were linked, RA and I, from the very beginning. I fought battle vicariously through him, no, we fought battles by each other's side. We had a bond of pokémon, trained to fight. And our minds…our minds were alike more than any other pokémon in all of Johto and Kanto.

I'm sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back then, RA was a very intimidating figure. He was sleek and strong, like a bullet. His fur was a shade of lavender that darkened with his emotions. That, and he could defeat pokémon just standing still.

He sensed me before I made my presence aware. "What are you doing here?"

It startled me. I was as quiet as could be. I was a bug pokémon, and could move silently through wood and brush. He couldn't see behind him, could he?

"I-I-I…hello." Nothing coming out was right. I wanted to say so much to him, but the words wouldn't catch long enough for me to say them.

RA swished his tail impatiently, back to me. "You should sleep. Young pokémon need their rest."

His voice was deep, and seemed to echo in my head long after he'd spoken. I fidgeted, and my wings fluttered beyond my control.

"You make much noise," said RA. Then, with a twitch of his tail, my wings stopped moving. I felt a presence snap my wings back under their casings and hold them still, but not by my will.

I fumbled for words again. "Thank you…f-f-for-r-r…"

"The experience? You're welcome, miss."

I gaped. How did he know what I came here to say? How did he know I was a girl too? All bug pokémon speak in a high pitched squeak, or buzz to communicate. Usually only a bug pokémon can tell the gender of another bug pokémon, and that is only because our antennae can sense hormones given off in the air. RA wasn't a bug type. How did he know?

"You ask many questions," he seemed to laugh.

I felt scared. What was he doing? Reading my mind? No. No! I shut my head off, slamming doors and pulling up barriers.

RA twitched, as if an apricorn had fallen on his head.

He turned to me. "Not bad for one your level."

I stared at him. I didn't hear his voice. His mouth didn't move. He was in my head, speaking to me.

"Do not be afraid, this is perfectly normal."

I shook my head, mounting more barriers. This was not normal. I had only been out of my egg for a few days but I knew this was not normal.

RA twitched again, like he was holding back a sneeze.

"Stop it, get out of my head!" I screamed. But my lips didn't move. My mind seemed to pulse out the words.

RA wiggled his ears, even though he had physically heard nothing. "Let down your walls and listen to me," he said with his mouth. I kept my hands around my head.

RA spoke again, using lip words. "The form of communication I just used is perfectly natural, for psychic pokémon and those with a certain degree of psychic powers. The minds of psychic pokémon are stronger than any other type, so talking with thoughts takes little energy. But for others, or those ill practiced, it is more exhausting than words. You are tired, yes?"

I waggled my antennae. I was a bit tuckered out, even though I hadn't moved since I'd got there.

"I don't understand," I said. "I'm not a psychic pokémon. I'm a bug type, and bug types and psychic types are as different as can be." Psychics are weak against Bugs, though it's hard to believe. It was hard to believe that a pokémon that fought standing still could faint after a few Fury Cutters.

RA turned to me, and smiled so broadly his whiskers curled up. "But you, my dear, have the mind of a psychic. You have a mind above that of any bug."

We arrived in Indigo that afternoon. RA was taking on the Elite Four again, and I was to suck up experience.

RA whispered something into my head before we passed through the battle doors. "Pay attention to what happens to me. You'll see what Psychic is really like."

TAYLOR handed me my EXP Share, and sent out RA against the Xatu again. I twitched my antennae to help me think and concentrate. RA and the Xatu held their still poses again. I picked up hormones from both pokémon—the Xatu was a male—and found out that the air tasted like snow lilies. It was cold in this room, like the air conditioning was on full blast from above.

But, as far as I could tell, nothing was happening to RA.

"Psychic."

That was RA's first lesson to me. At that command his back arched slightly, a small cat curve. His tail stopped wiggling, his ears jolted straight.

And, when I paid enough attention, I saw the Psychic attack.

It first appeared as blue waves, dancing before my eyes. The entire arena faded into darkness, now that I was using my mind's eye. TAYLOR, her pokémon, and the elite flicked like stars in the background, but RA and the Xatu burned like suns.

After that I stopped seeing things. Vision doesn't properly catch psychic action; RA would tell me that later. As I focused, I stopped seeing altogether. It was as if I had gone blind! I had lost one sense, and amplified another.

My eyes had stopped seeing things. The sensitivity and processes needed to catch psychic activity are too much for the eyes. Only the mind can go through information fast enough.

And that was what I felt…er…saw…or whatever. It was like all my senses had been stripped away, no, regressed back to their purest forms. I wasn't smelling, but I had the sensation of smell. I didn't need to waggle my antennae, I just had smell. I had taste too, but I couldn't feel my mouth sending me taste signals.

It was amazing! Incredible! My mind buzzed!

Then I felt RA's presence again. I 'saw' the Xatu too. RA was putting pressure on him, psychic pressure. The Xatu was fighting back with barriers, like the mental barriers I had jammed up last night. But RA was pushing hard against the Xatu's barriers. They weren't strong enough, I could tell. They were cracking, breaking.

Then they crumbled. RA wrapped himself all around that Xatu, then reduced it to nothing. It stopped glowing.

The Psychic activity waned. My vision went back to my eyes. The Xatu had fallen over, fainted. Experience shot into me.

I groped for my mind's eye again. I found strength in pockets of my mind. I tapped into one that seemed the most familiar, the one I had used before to talk with RA. I coiled my strength around it, easily found RA's mind, and sent a message.

"I saw." It was basic, but all I could manage. RA's battle had tuckered me out. His mental strain socked into me through the EXP Share, and because I had some psychic abilities they hurt more than they would for an ordinary Ledyba.

"Good, now keep paying attention." RA's message was effortless, a light and loud thought.

He had told me before it took little effort. But he could still broadcast after a battle! I had only taken half of his beating and I could barely manage.

I watched him zip through the Elite Four, tapping into my mind's eye whenever I could. It was like I couldn't enjoy, or see, the actual fighting without looking with my mind. RA was incredible, his mind like a Machamp's muscle.

I wanted him to teach me more. I waited until we were camping in front of Mt. Silver again to ask for a lesson.

He left the crowd of pokémon around the campfire. I followed him. "Did you like what you saw?" he spoke to me in thoughts.

"It was amazing," I said in words.

"To other pokémon, I guess it would be," spoke RA with little strain in his message. "Other pokémon are so used to force, to swinging their arms or spraying out light. They've never fought a battle unseen."

"Is it a fight of minds?" I asked. The way he spoke didn't bother me so much anymore. Now that I had had a glimpse of Psychic, telepathic communication didn't seem as bizarre.

"Not so much of minds as mental force. There is much power in thoughts. And much danger," he spoke. He voice trailed off deeply. I wanted to hear more, wanted him to just speak using words that shot deep into me.

"You have this power as well," he spoke.

"I do?" I said.

"How else would you see Psychic or speak with your head?" he spoke. It was really getting awkward that, between the two of us, only my words would be heard by a passerby.

"You said my mind was higher than a bug's. I thought that was just a gift. I thought all I could do was see and speak," I said.

RA smiled at me, that cunning smile that he did whenever he saw something that was so obvious yet hidden to me. The smile that made me act oblivious, just so he would do it. "You have a psychic gift, miss, and it's a shame you don't fully use it."

A psychic gift? Me? How?

"You were hatched from an egg, correct?" I nodded. He kept speaking, "You, miss, are a very special pokémon. You were specially bred; I was there when TAYLOR caught your parents. She bred them, specially, to get the combination that is you. For you see, your father passed down a great gift to you, his daughter, a move that little bug pokémon learn. A psychic move. That is why your mind developed differently, advanced more before you hatched."

I listened, entranced. How did RA know so much about me? About my history? Bred? I did not understand the concept, not at the time. But I knew that I was not a regular bug pokémon anymore.

"Do you know what that move is?" he said to me, lips twitching in a grin.

I shook my head numbly. This was too much for me to absorb in. My mind seemed stronger than any other sense I had right now.

"It is called Psybeam," RA said. "It's a concentration of psychic energy, focused in a beam and fired. It's a bit barbaric, and isn't a fully developed psychic move. Psychic is much more powerful, the highest psychic move. Psybeam is like…like Hyper Beam, but using your mind."

I tried to imagine it. It formed an easier picture than Psychic ever would. I guess it's because of what RA said, Psybeam is a bit cruder than Psychic.

"Would you like to use it?" he spoke to me.

My mind was exhausted from all the new information, but I wasn't going to give up the opportunity. I nodded, hoping I wouldn't knock myself out.

"As you wish. You may use me as a target."

I goggled. I was going to be firing at RA? I didn't have a chance of hurting him! I was still nursing off him!

"Do not be intimidated. Psybeam is not very effective against psychic type pokémon, we just have natural mental barriers that resist most of its force. I will not be harmed."

RA didn't add that there was so much of a level gap between us I wasn't going to hurt him anyway. He was being polite by omission. He'd always be like that.

"What do I do?" I said.

"I learned Psybeam once, allow me some time to remember." RA paused for a time, like he was locked in a Psychic. Finally he spoke, "Gather all the strength in your mind and push it until it's ready to burst. Then concentrate on me, your target. Let the energy go, but be sure to keep it in a beam, otherwise it will flay out in all directions."

I closed my eyes and searched for my mind's eye again. I found it easily, and the pocket where I kept my thought-speak. But I didn't need seeing or speaking now. I needed to attack. I needed to find the attack energy.

I stumbled onto a pocket bursting with energy. This must've been it. I curled it into a ball, compacting it together until I could push it no further. It kept wanting to uncurl, like a stubborn Ekans, but I balled it and held it. Then I had to find RA. The ball didn't want to stay together, and while I was looking for my target I had to shift back to my energy and pull it back together. I wondered how long it took me to finally find him. I lost my sense of time when all my other senses took a backseat.

Finally I 'saw' him. I instantly shot out my Psybeam at him. It rushed out, clambering out of my mind and to my opponent's. But I forgot to keep the beam together. It scattered before it even hit RA's barriers, tendrils of psychic energy slithered out to the woods.

My mind's eye faded. All my energy had gone into that Psybeam. I'd forgotten to conserve. My other senses reappeared. My vision told me it was night time, and my body was overheating from the strain. A Pidgy squawked as it raced from a tree. I guess my psychic energy had hit a chance target.

RA didn't look at me with disappointment. In fact, I think he expected me to fail my first attempt. RA probably knew, with my control, I wouldn't get it right. RA knew things like that. Maybe because he was a psychic pokémon, and I just had psychic powers.

"You did well for a first attempt," he spoke.

"I messed up," I said.

"It is not easy for those not used to the gift," he spoke.

"Are all psychic pokémon born with this gift?"

"It is more like…an ability," he spoke.

"So do they get it right on their first try?"

"Their first attacks, yes," he spoke bluntly. "But Psybeam is a slightly advanced move. Most psychic-born know only Teleport, or Hypnosis. Then they move on to Confusion. Psybeam is much later."

"It's tiring," I said, complaining.

RA smirked and spoke, "Few pokémon have a psychic's mental endurance. It will take time, practice, study."

"Then teach me," I said. "All that you know."

"Very well, but I cannot help you get to the level of Psychic. That move is impossible for you to learn. I'm sorry, but Psybeam is as high as you will get."

"I don't care, I just want to get this move!" I said.

"Then I will teach you. Prepare for a very long course."

And RA taught me everything that I could learn. My progress was agonizingly slow. Sometimes my mind would cramp, and the energy wouldn't flow. Sometimes the energy would burst before I could coil it. I could only do a few beams per night. RA pushed me, but was always patient with my formation and execution. It took weeks until I could shoot a solid beam at him.

Yes, one day I finally did hit him.

After that moment, I would never resort to physical attacks again. Tackles, Body Slams, heck even special attacks paled in comparison to psychic attacks. Psybeam was like a…how do I describe this to one who doesn't have a mind's eye? It's like a jet of water, only pulled from your head. It kinda looks like…a rainbow. Yeah, a rainbow beam. Only, when you have a mind's eye, you can see past the rainbow. I could see thoughts, and those are beyond description.

The beam smacked right into RA's mental barriers, and shattered. RA's wall stood, barely dented. I would never be able to harm him mentally. He was psychic-born, and had a higher special defense than I.

RA also educated me on the ups and downs of psychics. He told me never to meddle in the minds of others outside of a battle, not to abuse my power by attacking the minds of other pokémon unless my trainer called for me to attack. He taught me of how psychic pokémon are born, how they are raised, how their minds mature and strengthen; things I would never find out because I was not a natural psychic pokémon. If it hadn't been for RA I would never have learned to harness Psybeam. RA was older than me, and some of his advice was from experience, the rest from wisdom of a true psychic-type. Some days I would practice Psybeam, and some days we would talk, and I was always learning.

It was during those training sessions that I first noticed how sleek RA's body was. RA was made of smooth curves, and walked with a swaying grace. His eyes were the color of midnight sky over Mt. Moon. Whiskers swayed like Suicune lace when he turned his head. He wasn't just mentally strong, but physically agile. He could climb trees, and jump from branch to branch without a spray of leaves when he landed. I could do that too, but I had wings. RA could fly on his own four feet.

Soon I stopped coming to him just for the training. I wanted to be around him more, to just soak up his presence. I guess I wanted to absorb as much of his strength as I could, since I was so used to EXP Sharing off him. I wanted to talk to him so often, and yet I was terrified of bothering him. My mental communication improved greatly from our many conversations, and soon it didn't hurt to say simple sentences. We would talk the night away, without uttering a word.

One day I wished I wasn't a bug. I wished I wasn't this round, awkward looking pokémon. I wanted to be a psychic type, so then I could relate to RA more. I wanted to be as sleek as a Ninetails, to be as pretty as a Bellosom and as graceful as an Articuno. I would give up my wings for some curves. I wanted to be beautiful, and I wanted RA to look at me.

One day we were at Indigo, battling the Elite Four again. I was still EXP Sharing off of RA, and he was clobbering through Bruno's pokémon. The puny fighting pokémon didn't stand a chance. RA told me that fighting pokémon have concentrated so much energy into their physical strength that they don't have very strong mental barriers. It was child's play for RA. The fighters fell, one after the other.

The bar glowed every time one fell. I grew strong and stronger. And then I changed.

Evolution isn't painful, but it's not a pleasant experience. Theories go that pokémon DNA is never fully expressed, and that evolution is just expression of a different part of pokémon's DNA, or evolution is a kind of mutation, or evolution is something like puberty-to-adulthood in the span of a minute. One moment the bar was glowing, the next I was glowing. The battle stopped immediately. Everyone was watching me, fascinated, awed. RA was watching me too. I hoped he was impressed.

Evolution is a strange process, and because of my heightened psychic powers I was fully aware of what was happening to me. I was growing taller, getting bigger. My muscles grew bigger, developed even further. It was like growing inside my egg, only without a shell. My wings grew stronger. My body shrunk. I felt something growing under my head. It was a neck. My antennae lengthened, as did my eyes.

The glow stopped. The evolution was over. I felt smaller, but taller. I was a Ledian.

TAYLOR's pokémon congratulated me. Said they knew the time was coming, said I was now much stronger than before. I certainly felt stronger. I felt like I had just sapped the entire Elite Four of experience and leveled up immensely. I didn't know how high my stats had jumped. TAYLOR gave me a hug. Said she was proud of me. But she wasn't the only person I wanted to impress.

RA smiled at me, a bemused smile. "Well done," he spoke.

TAYLOR went berry collecting across Johto after the Elite battle. She said she had to replenish her supplies before she took on Red again. Said she was out of Mysteryberries, and needed to go buy some repel. While we were ferried across Johto searching for berry trees, I snuck away to a pond near Blackthorn City, and finally saw what I looked like after evolution.

I was a foot taller. My main body was smaller, but my wings had grown larger. My head had become thinner, and looked more like a helmet than my old dopey face. My eyes had turned blue, a cerulean shade. I liked them. My antennae were longer, thinner, like bent needles. I stood upright now, my hind legs now feet, my upper four legs hands. I looked more human. I wasn't completely round anymore. I had curves, not a lot of them, but curves. I definitely felt much prettier, less clumsier, and sleek.

"Enjoying your transformation?" a voice chimed in my head. I spun around and flared out my wings. RA was behind me. I relaxed.

"Evolution is strange, isn't it?" he spoke again to me. I sensed empathy in his voice.

"You're an evolved pokémon, aren't you?" I spoke back to him.

RA flashed me a patronizing smile. "It's not that obvious?" RA was never this sardonic before. What was with the bitter words?

"I just…I love my new body," I spoke, doing a spin for him. He didn't look amused.

"Yes, the changes are sudden and wonderful. You'll spend days just figuring out what you can now do."

"I know," my mind's voice said eagerly. "Can you imagine what I can do now? How much longer I can fly? How much faster I can fly? Maybe my mind's stronger now too!"

RA smiled sadly. "Yes, maybe it is stronger."

RA knew more about me than anyone else. But I knew nothing about him. I knew a bit about how he acted, picked up how he thought. But other than that, nothing. I didn't know what was wrong with him.

"You are concerned, I do not wish to worry you." I had been broadcasting my thoughts without knowing. I pulled up my barriers again.

"I just remembered my evolution. Wondrous times, so long ago."

RA's forked tail fell to his side limply. "We have more in common than I've told you, I am also a hatched pokémon."

RA? In an egg? RA was once a weak infant like me? No way!

"My father, was also an Espeon, though he was just a breeder. TAYLOR never trained him. She didn't want him to be a battler. She chose me to be her battling Espeon instead." There was resentment in RA's voice. Who was he mad at?

"I am an evolved form of a very sought after pokémon, Eevee. Eevee can evolve into five different forms, depending on how you raise it."

Five different forms? How could pokémon evolve that way?

"Espeons evolve from Eevees when the Eevees have a strong bond with their trainers. TAYLOR carried me in her party for a very long time. I used to get haircuts often, went to tea with TAYLOR. She pampered me. But what I didn't know was that she was timing me. One day I wanted to do something special for her. She trained me a little, and I leveled up from a battle. I wanted to impress her, do something so great that she would praise me forever."

I knew what that felt like.

"So I evolved for her. After that, she battled me constantly. I never got the same treatment after I became a battler.

"In the end I have little to criticize you. I am not a psychic-born either."

"It doesn't matter that you're not a psychic when you hatched. You have more strength than I ever will," I spoke back. RA didn't lighten.

"I have five siblings. TAYLOR plans to train all the evolutions of Eevee. I am simply the first of many…

"LEDIAN, TAYLOR will begin training you soon," RA snapped to another topic. "She's going to be taking a boat to Kanto instead of hiking along Mt. Silver. There are trainers on that ship, the S.S. Anne. You'll fight your first battles there."

Fighting? Me? After all of RA's training I didn't think I was ready for another opponent. After all, I had never used my psychic powers on anyone other than RA.

"You are…apprehensive?" he spoke. He wasn't bitter anymore, his concern for me overtook that resentment.

I was glad for that. "Scared, really."

"The trainers there are no Elites. You will triumph. TAYLOR would not send you if she did not believe you were ready."

He was right. I trusted TAYLOR. I trusted RA. But I was still scared. Most pokémon used physical attacks. I had been mind training for the longest time.

"Just remember to focus, that will be the hardest part of the battles."

RA left me with that. I hoped, that if I lost, RA wouldn't be watching.

The ship was cutting through Johto waters. TAYLOR had sent me off on battles first. My first bout was against a Persian. It pounced on me before I could ready a Psybeam. It pinned me to the ground, snarling. It pulled up one of its claws, ready to Slash.

"Psybeam," was all TAYLOR had to say. At her words the beam flew from my head, smacked right into the Persian's, and down it fell. I was rattled, but I had won my first match. Battles after that were easy.

After fighting our way through the ship, TAYLOR went to take a nap. The pokémon were free to roam the ship, as long as we went back to her room when the boat landed in Vermillion.

I caught up with RA on the main deck. "I won!" I chimed in a loud mental scream.

RA's ears twitched uncomfortably, but he invited me to sit beside him. "I am glad for you," he spoke back. Passengers walked by us, none the wiser of our conversation.

"It was amazing. At first I couldn't do anything. This Persian jumped right on me. Then TAYLOR says 'Psybeam' from behind me, and it zips off perfectly! I won with one hit!"

RA nodded. "Yes, a trainer does have that effect on their pokémon in battle."

I sighed, relaxed and free. "I earned my own experience for the first time. I've never had a battle without the EXP Share in my hands. I kept clenching my fingers, forgetting it wasn't there with me." I laughed, but all people would've seen was a smile. "This exhaustion, it's real. I'm really, actually tired after a battle. It feels more…natural though."

"Are you very fatigued?" RA asked.

"Not very. TAYLOR gave me berries between battles so I'm okay. Just kinda tuckered out, I guess."

"You must have exhausted your Psybeam. TAYLOR must've forgotten to give you a Mysteryberry before her nap. Your power points must be depleted."

"Maybe so," I yawned. My head slid across the wall, and landed on RA's shoulder.

I felt myself flying. "I will bring you to TAYLOR's room. You can find better rest there."

When I opened my eyes I really was flying, or at least floating. I tapped into my mind's eye without much thought, I'd learned that if I couldn't figure out anything with my normal senses my mind's eye held the key. A blue light was around me, like Psychic, only it wasn't pushing into my mind. I felt RA's presence all around me, holding me securely in the air.

RA was using his Psychic attack to levitate me. Only I was too tired to appreciate. It felt like I was sleeping on a cloud.

RA took me to TAYLOR's room, and we fell asleep on her bed next to her. I collapsed on the spot, curling into a ball on the blanket. RA curled his tail around me, and rolled into a cat ball in sleep.

RA and I split battles. I would fight on the S.S. Anne and RA would handle the elite. After fighting on the ship, soaking up half of RA's experience didn't satisfy me as much as it used to. My levels didn't climb as quickly anymore, and I hungered for battle to make them rise. I watched RA fight anyway, picking up his form and technique that only I could see.

One day TAYLOR said I was taking on the Elite.

I was terrified and giddy at the same time. I had awaiting this moment, the day where I could mash minds with the toughest pokémon. I'd never squared off against a fellow psychic before!

To commemorate my advance TAYLOR took me to Lavender Town, a small down at the base of the Rock Tunnel, an underground mountain path. A large building with more antennas than a Tangela has vines towered over the city, the newly built Radio Tower.

Something about the town made me uneasy. I felt other minds swimming around me, but they were faint and left before I could focus on them. Somehow, their presence made me afraid, chilled me to the core.

RA later told me those were ghost pokémon I was sensing, and that Lavender Town was an old roost for ghost pokémon. Psychics are weak against ghost-types. I don't blame them, ghost-types would scare anybody.

TAYLOR took me to a house in the middle of Lavender. There was a jolly man with a thin black hat there. He called himself the NAME RATER.

TAYLOR changed my name that day. I was no longer LEDIAN, my name was GLOW. TAYLOR got an official certificate and everything.

I had a nickname. Something personal, something truly my own. I was no longer stuck in the mediocrity of others of my species. I had a name. I was a battler now, like RA.

We flew to Indigo Plateau later, where I would face the Elite.

Over time I had learned the strengths and weaknesses of Psychic pokémon.

They were strong against Poison types. RA told me how to beat up poisons with psychic attacks. See, when a psychic pokémon invades the mind of a poison type, all they have to do it access the part of the brain that controls the body chemicals. Poisons have to keep certain chemicals separate, or else they'll poison themselves. All a psychic has to do is take over those controls, and pool the wrong chemicals together. It eats away at the poison pokémon from the inside out, making psychic attacks super effective.

I fought Fighting pokémon. They were a breeze. Their minds are so simple, so easy to manipulate and overwhelm.

Ghost pokémon are strong against Psychic types. See, a ghost pokémon doesn't really have a mind, it just has a consciousness, or so says RA. Because of that a psychic attack can't overwhelm an opponent, or mess with their mind. Ghost pokémon are…dead I guess, so psychic attacks don't work.

A Psychic's biggest threat is a Dark type. I learned that at the Elite.

I had battled my way up to KAREN with little difficulty. A party of poisons, a squad of fightings, all blown away with a couple of Psybeams. TAYLOR was curious how I would handle Dark pokémon, so she sent me into battle. Bugs are strong against Dark types, see—though I don't know why—and TAYLOR wanted to see if I would have any resistance. RA didn't know I would be fighting against that Ubreon.

He would've never let me fight if he knew.

KAREN was a dangerous looking trainer. Her battlefield was completely dark, though it didn't matter to me. I was looking through my mind's eye constantly after the previous Elite battles. KAREN seemed to blend into the background, camouflaged with her black dress. Her blue hair seemed to float around her face, making her look like a ghost. Of course, to my mind's eye, she was just a pinprick of light.

Her first pokémon was an Ubreon. That was the first time I ever saw another of Eevee's evolutions. It's looked like RA, only much, much darker. Ubreon lacked RA's grace, it's refined aura. Ubreon's aura was strength, a tank defense, and overwhelming darkness. It blended into the background like its trainer, yellow rings glowing like Charmander tails in the dark.

No matter. I had faced Crobats that looked more menacing. This would be nothing to me.

I was faster. When the battle started I attacked first. I wanted to get the jump on it, blow through it and face the Elite Champion.

I was unfamiliar with Dark types back then, so I just blasted my Psybeam at it, hoping to overwhelm it straight off.

The Psybeam bounced off the Umbreon's mind. It didn't make any sense! Even when I attacked RA my attacks left a dent in his barrier, I wasn't doing any damage to this Umbreon!

I had to do something. Something fast. I tried to tap into the Umbreon's mind. I couldn't attack it through mind infiltration—like Psychic—but maybe I could find its weaknesses.

That was the first, and only time I would ever touch the mind of a Dark pokémon.

I reached out to touch it, and it ensnared me and pulled me in. I felt…dark thoughts pushing into my head. Grief. Anger. Sorrow. Resentment. Fury. Depression. All of a sudden I couldn't control my mind anymore; negative thoughts and emotions were pressing on me.

I didn't have the strength to keep up my mental barrier anymore. I wasn't in the mood for battling. I just wanted to curl up and sleep. Just curl up. Give up. I'm weak. I could never beat this thing.

"GLOW? Are you there?"

Another voice. It sounded familiar. But I didn't care. Why should I care? Did it matter anyway if I did?

"GLOW? Put up your barriers! Now!"

It didn't matter. A few flimsy barriers weren't going to help me. Just accept defeat. I could do that.

"GLOW? I'm coming in. Do not resist me. Baton Pass!"

I felt a stronger presence in my mind, stronger than the one I felt when I came into the Umbreon. This one was warmer, more familiar too. It poked into my mind, shifting through my memories.

And I let it. I didn't care at that point.

Then I felt my hands moving all by themselves. I wasn't controlling them anymore, I knew that. It was just like when RA held my wings still the first time we met.

Wait…RA?

Before I could snap out of the Umbreon's spell, RA took control over my attacks. He made me use one move, a move I recently learned. Baton Pass.

In an instant I was off the battlefield. I was on the sidelines, dazed and disoriented.

But I recovered just in time to see RA attacked, slammed by a Faint Attack from that Umbreon. I was still reeling from that Umbreon's Confuse Ray to Baton Pass back, switch RA off the field.

TAYLOR switched RA out herself. She sent in Raikou to finish off the Elite. RA sat at the sidelines, twitching and shaking. I wanted to go near him, touch his mind to make sure he was okay. But I didn't know what the dark attack had done to him, or how fragile his mind was now that he was wounded. I kept my distance, cursing myself.

TAYLOR healed RA before my fight with the Dragon Master. She sprayed on a Hyper Potion and popped a few Mysteryberries into RA's mouth. RA seemed better afterwards, but he didn't stalk about like he always did when I battled. I bested the Dragon Master with RA nursing his mental injuries, curled up in a corner near TAYLOR.

He sent a mental message to me when we were back in New Bark Town. I was to see him that night, while TAYLOR visited Professor Elm.

I thought he would be mad at me, angry for putting him in that kind of danger. He would hate me for it, I was sure he would. I hated myself for doing it. RA took a hit so I wouldn't faint in battle.

And somehow, the thought of RA hating me, made the Umbreon's curse seem like child's play.

RA spoke to me mentally. I was glad he still had the strength. "Are you alright?"

I was stunned. I had put his life in danger, and he was asking about my well-being? RA is wonderful like that.

"Fine," I responded with thoughts, to prove that I was fine both mentally and physically. I couldn't say the same for RA.

"The battle, it disturbed you, didn't it?" RA was curled up. He hadn't been able to walk on his own since that battle with KAREN.

"I felt like…an overwhelming sadness, coming from that pokémon," I spoke. RA knew anyway. He had felt the battle through my mind when he infiltrated it.

"That is the mind of a Dark pokémon," RA spoke forebodingly. "Dark pokémon are the true enemy of Psychics, more than Bugs or Ghosts. Dark pokémon have such strong mental defenses that a Psychic cannot penetrate. More so, with such strong barriers they can tamper with the mind of a Psychic, turn their fire against them, you could say. When you let down your defenses to reach that Umbreon's mind, it stretched into yours as well."

"And it made me feel sad?"

"Yes. Dark pokémon can do that. That is one of their key attacks. And to a Psychic, who is so mentally sensitive, the effects are detrimental."

I knew then that I wasn't just close to depression, I might've almost died. That Umbreon was playing with me. It knew I wasn't a natural psychic, and toyed with my mind with ease.

"You're lucky you're a bug pokémon. Your mind, though more developed than average, is slightly simpler than the usual Psychic mind. Your Bug pokémon simplicity made the attack less effective."

As much as I like RA, and as smart as he is, I hated it when he said I had a simpler mind that him. It was true, in a basic sense, but it made me feel inferior to him. It made a barrier between our minds that seemed unsurpassable.

Still…RA was right. It was because I wasn't a Psychic type that I had weathered as long as I had.

One question bugged me. "Why did you save me RA? The dark attack would do more damage to you than to me."

RA looked away, as if embarrassed. I didn't see why. "I am stronger than you, with a higher special defense, I can live through one Faint Attack by that Umbreon. Also, I could not stand by and let you get bombarded by pain like that."

I knew then why RA was embarrassed. I felt a little embarrassed too.

"GLOW, never, ever, attack a Dark type pokémon again."

"I promise." I did it because I never wanted to experience something like that again. I also did it because I didn't want RA to worry. I didn't want RA to worry about me.

And yet, it made me feel better that he did.

TAYLOR never sent me out against KAREN again. I found out later that TAYLOR always made RA sit out through KAREN's battle. I would sit out that battle, and tackle the Champion afterwards. Soon I could beat the Elite easily, creaming through them like a Pidgiot through a flock of Hopip.

And RA was always at my side. TAYLOR trained him beside me. I would face the Elite, and RA got Red.

As time went on, I leveled to the point where I could take on a few of Red's pokémon.

RA was getting near his peak, the zenith of pokémon strength, the point of no return for battlers. The strongest they could get, the end of levels. He stopped talking to me when he got into his upper 90's.

It was Shuckie who told me what happened after that. When RA reached level 100 he would leave the party forever, and go into a box where the battlers were kept. Then another battler would take his place, me.

RA had been avoiding me all those days. I finally knew why. He didn't have the heart to tell me.

I had only a few days. I had to make them count.

I caught him on the borders of Mt. Silver, in the woods near the pokémon center we were staying for the night.

RA would not speak to me, would not look at me. I knew he could sense my presence, he knew what my mind felt like. I had to make the first move.

"RA?" I spoke.

RA's ears twitched, then abruptly lowered. "Hello, GLOW."

There was a cold formality in his voice. He would be leaving soon. He was trying to distance himself from me. I knew that. I knew RA. "I know you're leaving soon…"

RA stiffened. He spoke nothing.

"…and I just wanted to ask you something."

"Ask it," he spoke curtly, like he might be taken away any minute.

"How much do you care about me?"

RA's tail stopped swishing. I gave him time to choose his words, never prodding into his mind. I wanted to hear what RA had to say, not rip out his feelings.

"More than average, I would say."

"Is that all?" There had to be more. RA had to have more to tell me before he left forever. That couldn't just be it.

"It is the best way to describe it."

RA was building distance between him and me, to make the separation easier. I had to do something. If he wasn't going to say anything then I would!

I jumped to my feet and fired a Psybeam right at RA, too quick for him to react and pull up his mental barriers. But I wasn't shooting to attack him. As I said before, Psybeam is just a beam of thoughts. I shot my thoughts into RA. How much I adored him. How much I cared about him and didn't want him to leave. How I would mess up Psybeam on purpose just so he would talk to me longer. How I felt when that Umbreon hit him.

I loved him. And I knew he would return that love if he knew.

RA recoiled as if slapped. His eyes snapped shut, and he shut his back to me. His shoulders were heaving, as if he'd just suffered a Crunch.

He was panting, and he said with words, "Leave me, GLOW. Leave me and never think such thoughts again."

I felt a Dark pokémon sadness overwhelm me. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Abandon such a crazy idea," he snapped at me, still talking. "I will leave, and you will stay behind. There is nothing we can do to change that."

I knew he was right. I had accepted the fact I would never see him again after he battled RED and got the last bits of experience he needed to advance to level 100.

"I accept that I cannot change our fate," I spoke, "but I want to know you truly love me before you leave."

RA's eyes narrowed, decisive. He knew I knew his answer, but it was hearing him say it that counted.

"I do, more than you will ever know. But that does not change things. You will still let me go, yes?" RA wanted to make sure I wouldn't do anything crazy.

"I cannot change what TAYLOR has planned. I'll let you leave, don't worry." I meant to do it, even though I didn't want to. I nearly choked on my words.

"That is why I have an idea, an idea that will be with us forever," I spoke. I didn't send that thought to RA in my Psybeam. I wanted to tell him myself.

"What is it, GLOW?"

"Remember, how you said we were both hatched from eggs?"

"Yes."

"And remember, how you said my father passed down the psychic ability to me?" My excitement was building. My thoughts were transmitting louder.

"Yes." RA didn't know where I was going. He sounded dubious.

"I thought, that since you love me like you do, maybe…" I had to time this carefully, "…maybe we could have an egg of our own?"

RA did not speak for a time, stunned.

I pressed onwards. "Since you're a Psychic type our children will have psychic abilities, and they'll be Ledians—or should I say Ledybas—like me! TAYLOR will raise them, of course, and they'll be as strong as can be. They'll probably be strong fliers, and have Psybeams like you wouldn't believe!"

"GLOW…it is impossible. Throw away this pipe dream."

Shot. That how I felt, shot. I thought RA would adore the idea. I thought he would enjoy nothing better than mating and producing offspring in his last days. Did he hold any resentment to hatched pokémon? Did I word something wrong?

"What do you mean?" Disbelief. "It's a perfect plan, RA. Think about it, children, of our own!"

"It is impossible. Forget this plan."

"Why? Do you want to completely shut me out in your final days? Do you not want to spend your last days as happily as you can? Do you not love me enough?" I hoped the last one wasn't true. I could deal with the former two.

RA looked up at me, surprised. "You misunderstand. We cannot mate, GLOW. It is impossible. Our species were not meant to conceive together."

I felt like a Golem had rolled over me. I felt like a Snorlax had Body Slammed me from atop Goldenrod Department Store.

Impossible? But why? RA and I truly cared for each other. Why could it not be?

"Psychics do not breed with Bugs, GLOW. It would impossible for us to produce eggs together."

I was angry. Angry that nature had separated us permanently, and yet brought us so close. Angry that I wasn't a Psychic. Angry that I would never be good enough for RA.

Because I was a Bug. A puny, little, insignificant Bug.

I wanted to have children. I wanted RA to be the father. I wanted to raise my children, not like how mine and RA's parents abandoned us into TAYLOR's care. I wanted that family so badly.

I felt RA push his nose to mine. Bug pokémon kiss by interlocking antenna, I guess Psychics do it differently. He put his head atop mine, even though I was taller the shock caused me to fall to my knees. I cried. I hugged RA and cried.

And he used a gentle Psychic on me. Used it to push my fears away. He wrapped himself around my worries, and shielded me from them. He sent me thoughts on how much he cared about me.

And he created a memory, just for me. I never knew Psychics could make up memories. Apparently seasoned ones can. It was a memory of RA and I, in the backyard of the Daycare, playing with the children we would never have.

"Your type does not matter. I will love you just the same." He imprinted those last words in my head, so I would never forget. He didn't have to do that, I could not forget even them if I tried.

RA bested RED the next day. TAYLOR gave him a pat on the head, and recalled him to his pokéball.

I hated the fact that I would never see RA again. But TAYLOR's will is absolute. It was because of her that I had gotten as strong as I had. Who was I to question her judgment? RA was gone. That was the end of it. I told myself I accepted that days ago, but it took me several days until I actually did.

RA was gone, but I still dragged myself through battle after battle with the Elite and RED. I climbed into RA's levels.

And one day TAYLOR introduced me to the pokémon that would take my place when I reached level 100. A hyper little Rattata that was bred to know Bite. I'd seen TAYLOR cart its egg over the last few days.

As I was nearing my peak level, TAYLOR told me she would have to erase one of my moves. Since I was getting near my top level, she wanted me to learn Reflect, as a supportive move. She said, in exchange, I would forget Psybeam. She said I needed more support moves.

I refused. I've never rebelled against TAYLOR before—after all, it was she who brought RA and I together—but I would not submit to her on that. I needed Psybeam. It was the only thing I had left of days with RA. My family was dashed, and RA was gone. I needed something I would hold forever. If I lost Psybeam I would lose my psychic abilities, and I would forget all that I desperately held onto of RA.

I fought TAYLOR tooth-and-nail. She got mad at me, I know she did, though I did not mean for to. I hated fighting with my trainer; it left a horrible taste in my mouth and made me feel ungrateful and selfish. She pressed and pressed, but I wouldn't give up my Psybeam.

Finally she acquiesced. Said I was being too difficult and stubborn, said I wouldn't be as strong as I could be without Reflect in my arsenal.

I didn't want to disobey TAYLOR. I cherished her word above all else, and wanted to be strong for her. But I loved RA, and I would not let his memory fade.

I let TAYLOR take RA away before. That was her business, RA was her pokémon. But I owned myself as much as she owned me, and I didn't want to forget.

I did reach level 100. TAYLOR put me in the box too, following RA. And that is where I will wait forever, until TAYLOR calls on me to fight again.

Psychic thoughts cannot penetrate the metal shell of a pokéball, but I know that RA will always be beside me, and that he will always love me.

And for forever, that is all I have.

My name is GLOW, I am a born battler. I was born with a rare psychic ability, given only through special breeding. I have mastered this ability, with the help of the Espeon I came to love. I have trained against the strongest of trainers, and flown over all of Johto and Kanto. I have reached the physical point of no return, and can advance no further in my training. I have loved, built castles in the sky, and had them washed away.

And now, until forever, I will wait, and dream of memories and things never to be.

This story is based on an actual occurrence in my Gold Version. I did have an Espeon, nicknamed RA, and a Ledian that I trained when RA was getting on in levels, GLOW. GLOW was succeeded by a Raticate, affectionately named SQUEAKERS (though that never comes into play here).

Again, based on game events. None of the stories in this collection heed the anime in any way. Notice the number of game references and pokémon move references GLOW makes.

I feel like I'm rationalizing Pokémon. Again, another game concept told from a different view. Weren't expecting a romance after the Sudowoodo story, were ya?

In case no one has figured this out by the end of the story, 'spoke' indicates a pure thought-speak conversation when used in the context of GLOW and RA. 'said' indicates actual spoken words, words communicated through the mouth and involve listening. I tried to make this obvious in the story, but it was hard to do so without outright saying it. I hope readers picked up on this little thing.

I was surprised at the amount of sympathy and remorse I conjured up in Sudowoodo's story. It's nice to know my writing struck a nerve with some people.

I'm really getting to detest way of formatting stories. I had a neat way of setting up the pokemon's names, which were erased when I uploaded the document. Where's the writing freedom?

If any one wishes to see the 'pure' version, email me and I'll send it to you.

Reviews are always welcome, as I'd like to hear readers' comments on the style of these stories. Critiques, advice and 'what I didn't like + what I did like' recommended.

Ttfn everyone!