December 24th, 2025

Floor 19

We were almost two-fifths of the way through the game. With less than 300 players, the other sixty-percent would not be easy—and that's assuming we don't lose mass amounts of people. If one raid failed, if one boss killed the whole team, then we would be trapped in this game forever. We weren't suited for battle like this, not all of us. I had played Pokémon before I had even started Kindergarten, yet even I felt overwhelmed. This wasn't a game where you could turn it off in frustration. This was a game where "turning off" meant dying.

Floor nineteen was a Fire-type's dream; there were pits of lava (which were impossible to walk on since damage was impossible in the city) all over town. We were at the base of a volcano. The last floor, we were in a power plant-themed floor. That boss was Zapdos, and the one before it was Articuno. Therefore, we were pretty sure this boss would be the last of the trio: Moltres.

I was in one of the generic Kecleon shops at the time. I was looking for an Oran Berry to top off my bag at ten berries. Ten seemed like a standard number for that sort of item, anyway. The basic items needed to be in bulk. Anyway, I moved along the red-tiled floors and went to the produce section of the store. Oran berries were in large quantities in these wooden boxes. I went to click the menu button when my finger pecked the finger of another buyer. I pulled it back and quickly apologized. I looked up to see a familiar set of eyes staring back into mine.

Buizel's hand was still in the same place where we had touched. The touch felt almost like a strand of our friendship being played like a guitar. I watched him stand there, shocked, and he closed his eyes hard. I saw what looked like a tear form at the bottom of his eyelid.

"Buizel, I…" I tried to speak.

Buizel looked down at my chest, but I knew he was zoning out. I wondered what he was thinking about; was it about rekindling our friendship? Or perhaps remembering what had happened to destroy it in the first place. Or maybe he wanted to kill me. In the end, I concluded it was all those things wrapped together.

"Riolu," he said, but that was all he said.

I felt like I needed to initiate conversation first. My first question was about his level; he was three levels behind me, at thirty-seven. That was way above the requirements for him to evolve. I asked him why he'd remained a Buizel for so long. Keeping his stats down like that on purpose, and when everyone was hitting a benchmark level, level 36, so fast. Everyone was working on the last evolutionary stage in their respective lines; Monferno turned into an Infernape three days ago.

"I-I'm trying to get Aqua Tail early so I'll do well in the next few floors," he explained. "I have just one more level."

I knew what he meant. Waiting on evolution wasn't always a good idea stat-wise, but you learned moves a lot quicker when you didn't evolve. It was just too bad my learnset wasn't the same as Lucario's. I'd have to find a Move Reminder later on.

"So where's Dewott?" Buizel asked bitterly.

The remark hurt me probably as much as Dewott had hurt him; Dewott was almost like a replacement in Buizel's eyes, yet I hadn't seen the Pokémon since the last floor's boss. I gulped and readied my explanation.

"I wasn't trying to replace you like that, Buizel. You know I wouldn't do that. I saved him and his friend earlier, and then I cured his poisoning back on Laogai Lake. We're just friendly solo players. No one could replace the void you left in me," I admitted, fists balled up at my sides. Tears were forming in my eyes this time. "He's not my best friend. Youare."

Buizel gasped quietly. He wasn't ready for such a straight answer coming at him. "I know what you mean," he said, looking away. "There was something missing in me since floor nine. I wish we could go back to those days. To El…to E-Ell," he stuttered. He quit his sentence and wiped the sorrow from his gaze. "But that was the past. It's all good now."

I didn't say anything for a moment. "Buizel, I'm so sorry about your sister. I would never have let—"

Buizel threw himself on me in a hug. He cried onto my shoulder as if Whismur's (Ellie's) death had just happened a few minutes ago. His weight started to cramp my neck, so I set down on my legs and let him keep weeping. He needed to let everything out. He had all this bottled up sadness destroying his emotional sanity.

When he calmed down, I cleared my throat. "I understand if you still don't want to be friends. I wouldn't want to be, either, if that had happened to me," I said.

Buizel shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, Rio. I let my anger get the best of me. Fletchling used my tears to twist how I really felt. He tore us apart. I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at me—I was her big brother. I was with her that whole time. And I couldn't handle the pressure."

"No, Buizel," I insisted.

"But you know what?" he said, a smile surprisingly on his face. "I think Ellie's happier outside of this game. Outside of this hell. Those monsters out there? Those monsters would make her kill herself anyway. She wouldn't want to live in a world where 'cute and cuddly' meant dying. Nor would she want to be a Salamence that could just sweep through the floors. He was too ugly for her," he laughed, but he then stopped. "She couldn't handle the evil that I never saw in this game before."

I shifted uncomfortably in the floor and stood up. I looked down on the orange otter that crossed his arms around his knees. I looked deep in his eyes and sighed. I had to tell him.

"Buizel, what if I told you that Ellie's death was no accident," I whispered. "That someone…planned it?"

His eyes dilated from the fear hidden in my words. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came.

"There are people out there, Buizel, that are trying to kill us. We have to watch out for—"

"Bui, who's your friend?" a feminine voice called out from the back.

Buizel quickly stood up and smiled at her presence. When I saw her, though, I felt a strange prickling at the back of my neck. The Pokémon was jellyfish-like and pink—very pink. She had blue-centered eyes that were outlined in a darker pink than her elegant body. She floated slightly in the air. I recognized her name, but I couldn't recognize why she made me uncomfortable.

Frillish smiled at me for one second too long. She looked away at Buizel and dusted him off. "That floor made you so dirty!" she giggled.

I was confused. Your avatar couldn't get dirty unless you were battling or asked for that as some sort of decoration. The town couldn't affect you like that at all.

She pecked him on the cheek and he returned the favor. I stood there, shocked, and looked around to see if anyone else was feeling the awkward sensation I felt.

"Who's your friend?" she repeated slightly more sternly.

Buizel turned to me and held his arm out in my direction. He kept his eyes on the female Water-type. "This is Rio, my best friend."

Hearing the words "best friend" murdered the disgustingly heavy monkey on my back. I was alleviated of so much regret. I even smiled slightly at hearing those words again from my own best friend.

"Rio, this is Frillish, my girlfriend."

My smile disappeared. Something didn't seem right, and I was about to say something, but I had just gotten back into being friends with Buizel. I couldn't destroy his heart again. Not this time.

"Nice to meet you," I finally said with an extended hand.

"Pleasure's mine," she muttered as she shook it with her tentacle. She looked back to Buizel. "I'm going to step out. Don't take too long in here; you promised me we'd Moomoo Milkshakes before the boss battle."

She and Buizel cuddled in some sort of disgusting, disheartening way. I looked away at the petty, immature display of affection and quickly felt embarrassed. Some other shoppers began glancing this way. I couldn't tell if they were moved or sickened, but I knew I was the latter.

Frillish moved back toward the store's entrance. I waited until the door closed before I explained anything.

"I can't explain why," I told Buizel, "but I feel like Frillish is hiding something."

He made a weird face. "What? That's crazy. What makes you say that?"

"I," I started, but then slumped. "I forgot. I know I sound pathetic and maybe defensive, but can you check the 'guild' label in her menu if you get a chance? Check to see if it says 'BI' or 'Black Ice,' etc.," I explained.

Buizel raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean that secret guild everyone gossips about? Why would she—"

I shook my head as Frillish glanced at us through the display window. "Not here. I'll explain later. Just…trust me, okay?" I asked.

Buizel shook his head. "Riolu, I'm glad we're friends again, but I think you're obsessing over nothing. Maybe you should take a break," he suggested before telling me bye and walking out of the store to join Frillish.

He didn't even look back. He just kept walking. I scratched my head and knew I had to figure out why Frillish was giving me the creeps.

. . .

Downtown

Later that day, I strapped my new Power Band on and removed my Black Belt. The item only had two durability points left. At zero, it would break. It was still special to me; it was the first quest I had completed, and it was also the last thing Buizel and I were trying to accomplish before we split ways. It had some sentimentality to it.

Once I was back on my feet, I began running to a different section of shops—the player shops. There were small, empty buildings you could rent in the more populous area of town. These were reserved for player shops, which were scarce but rewarding. Store owners could hire item finders and properly sell rare items with more safety than regular player-on-player item purchases.

Pokémon that could find items or do quests quickly and easily were high in demand, so store owners offered a vow of secrecy to item finders. The only downside was the payoff, but even that was manageable.

The entrepreneur I was searching for was an old friend of mine. After going through ridiculous stores, such as Corsola's Twigs, I finally found one of the most popular small businesses in town—the Aroma Smell Shop. The name was sort of crappy, but the person inside? Definitely not.

I went up to the green building and rang the bell for assistance. I heard some shuffling around in the back and eventually a large box was set on the ground. A Pokémon about half my height shows up and gives me the biggest hug I've had in a way. Roselia smiles comfortably and demands to know how my adventure's been.

"It's been okay," I lied.

"Great! I'm so glad to be out of harm's way. My shop's pretty popular, too, so I'm living in a nice house on floor fifteen. Even though I'm not a nurse, I still have herbs and berries for sale!" she squealed in excitement.

I chuckled before explaining my reason being here. "I know you have some scent-based items. I was wondering if, well, this is a long shot, but I was wondering if you have something that could help out a blocked memory."

Roselia tilted her head slightly before smiling and running in the back of her store. I awkwardly looked around at the flea market around me and saw all the shoppers judging me for making conversation. I felt completely embarrassed until a door on the side of the store opened.

"In here," the rose-based Pokémon whispered.

I stepped through the dark space and found myself cramped in the tiny back room of the store.

"I know it's not comfortable back here," she acknowledged like I had just said that out loud. She then moved her gaze toward a small mattress on the ground. "Lay on that," she instructed.

I nodded and got on the small sleeping space. It was tiny, but good enough. I looked around as she brought a small pot. She lifted the lid and a weird aroma filled the room.

"Usually, the Odd Incense is meant as a Psychic-type power-up, but it also has psychic abilities of its own," she explained as she wafted the scent towards me. "You're going to feel a little dazed and go into a sort of dream. Hold onto a memory and you should be able to watch it from your own past eyes."

I closed my eyes as she continued fanning. Soon enough, the "sort of dream" came over me like a wave of warmth. I felt myself fading away from reality in a dreary mix of fear and courage.

. . .

I suddenly found myself running towards Laogai Lake from the earlier floors. I couldn't turn back or stop anything; I was stuck in my body, yet it had all the controls. I could only watch. It was terrifying to see Gothita back on that dance floor, so I chose to ignore as much of it as I could.

She looked so happy. Her happiness stung my very heart to such an extent that she couldn't be ignored. I had to look. We were diving off the boat into the dungeon for the first time. Before we dove, I ultimately chose to ignore the kiss she planted on my lips. I still felt it.

I knew this was the time Frillish did something, but what was it? I touched the green portal and was teleported down to the underwater cave dungeon. After we had explored the several floors in the dungeon, we made it to the checkpoint. Gothita and I walked forward and I suddenly felt a shiver up my spine. I focused back on what was going on. We walked once more until I heard something. I turned to my right, shrugged, and looked back to see two large, circular blue eyes outlined in a dark pink. Frillish's eyes. Her wavy arms twirled back and forth as her eyes began to glow.

"There is no evil in this reality. Here, we are safe. Here, we are free."

The phrase had haunted me after hearing that. Frillish was trying to manipulate our minds. Though forced, I obeyed and moved on in the floors. The only problem was Gothita staying back. I struggled to see the color of Frillish's cursor in the darkness. I needed to see if it was an enemy's (who wouldn't normally talk, but weirder things have happened), an NPC's, or a player's.

The confused state was essentially connected to random movement. Wherever you want to go, you might end up. However, there was a greater chance that you'd be in a random area of the room, or possibly in another room altogether. Somehow, someway, I made it out of that room. My legs began moving without my permission. I was about to exit. I needed confirmation that this Frillish was Buizel's girlfriend.

I tried to look back, but I could only go as far as my pupils let me. I was almost remote-controlled; I felt like I was trapped in a robot. Before I ended up accidentally escaping, I actually did end up turning back just a smidge. I looked in the darkness and focused on the brightness of Gothita's eyes. I stretched my vision to see Frillish, "Sableye," and Gothita together. I strained my eyes to see the faint color of a green cursor above each character—player-driven, not computer. As I turned to the escape portal, I saw Sableye morphing back into Zorua. Her shadow was changing as I was leaving. I had left my friend to get embargoed, poisoned, and murdered. My suspicion on Frillish had been validated; she was part of the Black Ice.

Once I teleported away, my eyes opened and I was back in my present body. I sat up straight in immediacy and looked around. The Odd Incense had worn off. Roselia closed up shop as the day grew late and I saw I only had a few minutes before the boss fight. I thanked Roselia, paid her generously, and went on my way to fight the nineteenth floor's dungeon boss.

. . .

This particular dungeon was known as the Magma Cavern. It was seeping the liquid solid from its own walls and floors. The Grass-, Bug-, and Steel-types on our raid team had to avoid this dungeon due to its many Fire-types that loved to splash the magma around. Stepping or touching it caused instantaneous burns. I myself got burned eight times in that dungeon. Luckily, I was always over-prepared, but we did lose several people in this dungeon. This was the first of many to introduce hazards like that.

The boss room was hidden by the infamous doors, which seemed to extend into outer space (or whatever was beyond this game's limit). Once the usual thirty-something people arrived to the raid meeting, Scyther and Skarmory stood proud in front of them all. Infernape stood behind them and waved to me.

"Hello, all," Scyther said loudly. "Glad you could make it. I wanted you to know that Skarmory and I have reached a consensus: we will not be fighting in the boss battle today. We will direct forces, but we will not partake in the dangerous match because of our type disadvantages. Thank you for your concern and we hope to win another fight for the common people!"

The crowd roared in excitement. Especially Talonflame. My mouth fell open when I realized the cowardice Scyther displayed. I looked for Buneary, however she was standing slightly behind the commander with less intimidation in her eyes. There was a ferocity missing.

Bastiodon and Lairon slammed their heads into the giant stone doors and led everyone else inside. The torches were not in place this time; instead, magma shot from the boss-room's dug-out perimeter and created columns of the hazardous material on either side of the boss. We entered the room carefully and the Water-types were already in charge of putting out the water.

Before the boss could show itself, I went over to Infernape and embraced him. That Chimchar that was too much of a coward to even attack was now one of the strongest Pokémon in the game. His guild still only housed his six guild members; he wouldn't accept anyone else. Blastoise, Meganium, Jolteon, Mawile, and Altaria were the only others in it. After I met Infernape again, Moltres revealed itself from its perch on the back of the boss room's wall. It was hidden by an open mouth of stalactites and stalagmite. They gave the room an intimidating feeling. It flew down and squawked at us like it needed an exterminator.

I ran back over to the solo player section and we were ready to attack. I looked to see Buneary taking control of the Golden Warriors. Swellow controlled the Flying Fighters. Buizel, Marowak, Samurott, and I were the main solo players. With Buizel putting out the magma, Samurott had decided to join us in the early part of the battle.

Moltres removed itself from the shadows by screeching a breath of Flamethrower. The Pokémon looked like a fiery, yellow-bellied Fearow. The feathers on its wings were replaced with flames. The crest on its head was also composed of fire. This Pokémon was an ultimate Fire-type.

"Solo players, start us off!" Scyther screamed from the safer area.

Samurott attacked first. He opened his mouth to produce an orb of water that blasted toward Moltres. It created a small wave that slammed the bird Pokémon with a powerful Water-type STAB move. I was hoping it would get the confusion secondary effect, but we weren't that lucky.

Marowak used Rock Tomb right after. Rock Tomb was a move I picked up on the seventeenth floor before my battle with Articuno. I had figured that Bulldoze would be of no use to me in an Ice-type environment. I was right then and I don't regret changing now. Marowak, though, used it just about as well. He points his Thick Club out toward Moltres and forms a giant rock at its tip. The rock was as large as a car back in the real world. I was shocked to see Marowak use his bone as a baseball bat once the rock was completely created. He hit it hard enough to slam into Moltres, cause a bit of damage, and slow it down.

In the back, Buneary got her teams of Golden Warriors guild members together and used Agility so they would have quicker movements. However, after seeing how little Moltres took from a four-times-weak move like Rock Tomb, they were all too discouraged to attack. Buneary was left alone.

Moltres swiped at the air and created a huge gust of wind known as an Air Slash. Its power was incredible. While some ducked for cover, I needed to talk to Buneary. She quickly used Protect as the white line of Flying-type energy approached. I knew that if I was hit by the attack, I would die. I dove under it and remained protected by Buneary's defensive shield. She held her blue reflective dome as strong as she could, but she lifted it up slightly to allow me to enter the small space.

As the wide attack swiped across the battlefield and clanged the armor of Lairon and Bastiodon, I took this opportunity to engage in conversation.

"How's it going?" I asked Buneary, but she shook her head in sadness.

"I'm on the chopping block, Riolu," she told me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Apparently Scyther doesn't think I'm a capable battler after having to be rescued like that. My performance has been 'lacking' or something, I don't know. I'm the second strongest battler in the Golden Warriors—second to only Scyther himself. I have the best learnset for battling and a very high IQ, yet he still has the audacity to claim I can't handle my position."

The Protect faded once the Air Slash attack ended. I told her I would help her prove her worth in this boss battle, but she claimed it was a lost cause. Scyther couldn't be satisfied. Even then, I knew there were limits to a man's terms—especially a greedy one's. Though he would probably hate to admit error, he would do whatever it took to gain more funds, more power, and more influence over everything. Scyther would admit he was wrong for the right price, but we weren't going to use Poké for that. We were going to use an LA bonus.

I quickly summoned a boulder and kicked it straight into Moltres's eyes. The Pokémon squawked and exhaled a wicked Flamethrower attack that burned up the air right above my ducked head. I fell the ground and rolled out of the range of the attack, but the Flamethrower was awfully powerful.

Despite the speed drops, Moltres had a speed advantage. No one knew what to do. Scyther and Skarmory were too scared to attack or lead. Infernape was telling his own guild what to do, but they couldn't last forever. He also had no jurisdiction—as per the guild agreements—over the other troops.

Moltres raised its feathers and summoned many small stones outlined in a blue energy. It threw them towards us and slammed the occasional running Pokémon. Bastiodon bounced most of the rocks back. This attack was called Ancient Power. Luckily, we weren't forced to have a super-powered Moltres despite the possibly stat boosts Ancient Power offered. I destroyed one of the rocks with a Brick Break and closed my eyes. My ears lifted up as I focused my energy into making another Rock Tomb. I closed my eyes and jumped, both feet out in front of me, and called for Buneary after I kicked the rock up in the air. I slammed down hard on the ground, but I knew Buneary could use the rock to her advantage.

Buneary began running and bounced right before landing on my feet, which were still in the air. I pushed back against her weight and made her bounce up into the air of the limited space in the boss room. She was thrown high enough to use Dizzy Punch and make the Rock Tomb spin as it was on its way to hit Moltres with an extra force of power. We unfortunately did not get the confusion possibility.

Buizel, now finished fixing one of the walls of its magma problem, took a sharp turn and projected himself in a comet-like jet of water. The Aqua Jet slammed into Moltres, knocking it back some, but the attack fell short of solid damage. Moltres threw a wing at the air and made an Air Slash that destroyed Buizel's water fixture. He retreated and just barely missed losing the majority of his HP.

I saw Moltres then breathe in deeply and I quickly ran to get everyone out of the way. The Flying-types began pecking and attacking the Flame Pokémon until it eventually let out a Flamethrower attack. A giant wave of fire burned through the air. Swellow guided most of the birds to safety, but Noctowl, Fearow, and Jumpluff all took damage from the fire. Jumpluff fell to the ground and suddenly burst into shards of glass, her coding becoming null after her HP fell to zero. In the back of the room, Skarmory screamed and came rushing forward.

As Swellow motioned for the other birds to follow, Moltres created more blue-outlined stones and hurled them at the Flying-types. Skarmory took the main damage from the hit, but the other birds still fell into the yellow. Bastiodon knocked back an unusually large boulder and sustained minimal damage, but suddenly a red rain-like effect overtook Moltres. All of its stats just went up by one.

Losing Jumpluff was a very distraught implication about how difficult Moltres was to defeat. Our attacks were not doing very much damage considering the Pokémon's overall bulk, but it had a very high special attack stat and a decent arsenal of moves to use. Moltres screeched and unleashed another Flamethrower that overtook Bastiodon and Lairon, which caused the latter to sustain a burn and get put in the red. I noticed that his Sturdy ability was the only reason he was alive at this point, but I was relieved to see aids coming to bring his health back up.

I grabbed Buneary's hand and rushed her along the hardened-magma wall. We fell to the ground as another slash in the air dared us to come closer. Buneary's raid team scrambled around behind us. They were useless, but she wasn't. We sprinted past the lava flowing about and I stopped her just short of being dangerously close to the boss.

"Look, we need to take this thing out now," I told her.

"No kidding," she said with haste.

"Wait for my signal. When I tell you to Jump Kick, do it," I told her. She nodded.

I left my friend and walked backwards a little bit. I looked up the cave wall, sighed, and proceeded to jump on its side and run up it like in a video game. My feet kicked off the ground and unsteadily began shifting positions on the wall. Soon enough, I found myself sprinting as if it were a regular floor anyway. I kept running until I reached the stalactite structures dangling from the ceiling like icicles. I jumped from the cold wall and threw myself into the air above Moltres. It watched as I then proceeded to summon a rock and slam it into the ceiling above—I was trying to make the stalactites puncture it like a giant Iron Thorn.

While waiting to see if anything was loose enough to fall, everything else went by in what felt like a second. I found myself falling to my death since my momentum had ended from the jump earlier. I came crashing to the ground and was saved by Skarmory in just enough time for me to kick off and land on my feet in the dirt. Small boulders on the sides, which were not the areas I was aiming for, began to fall from the ceiling. Players were impacted heavily; Scyther was especially scared of being flattened by a rock.

Moltres took a few hits from loose rocks, but I quickly noticed that Buizel, who was still recovering from the faltered Aqua Jet, was going to take the blunt of the attack. One of the stalactites that wasn't my target began to drop. Soon enough, several small ones began falling from the ceiling.

Buizel pushed himself up off the ground and rubbed the back of his head. I screamed out to him but knew my own warnings wouldn't be enough. I'd have to save him myself. My fist quickly turned white—the start of Brick Break, my new STAB move of choice. I kicked off the ground again and flew in front of him. My powerful fist punched at the sharp weapons, causing them to dismantle like Jumpluff did just minutes before. Buizel watched me from behind my shoulder. I didn't hear him say anything, but I glanced to see his surprised expression.

The largest stalactite hadn't fallen yet. It was very loose, however it was holding strong. I had failed in my attempt. Buneary looked at me for the signal, but I only shrugged. Buizel looked at me as I took damage from several loose rocks falling to the ground.

"Thanks," he said emotionlessly.

"No problem," I smiled.

"Look, Buizel," I began. "I had some help from Roselia to get my memory back from the confusion that—oh, you don't care. My point is that I know Frillish is a part of the Black Ice."

Buizel's eyes narrow. "Riolu, thank you for saving me, but I don't need this."

My stomach churned. "Look, I know I'm being a jerk in telling you this while we fight for our lives, but she helped kill that Gothita on floor fourteen. You have to believe me," I insisted. "We're best friends."

"Frillish has been there for me since the ninth floor, Riolu…she's close to me, too," he sighed.

I sighed. "Check her menu when you get a chance and then see for yourself."

I then turned away from my friend to see the giant rock from the ceiling falling down. I threw a piece of rubble in the air and kicked it as hard as I could, launching the Gravelerock into the air. The rock smacks the loose stalactite, causing it to dislodge and come falling down.

"Now!" I screamed at Buneary.

She bounced as high as she could and prepared a Jump Kick. However, her position in relation to Moltres's distance was too off—she was going to miss. I had to think fast. I went through my bag and looked at all the berries, TM discs, and other items that wouldn't help. I checked all the pockets and, luckily, I found the one item that could help in a side pocket: my barely-durable Black Belt item. I found another pebble and wound the belt around tightly. I closed one eye and looked at Buneary's movement, the distance from the rock, and the power needed to defeat Moltres. The Black Belt boost would be enough, but I needed the perfect throw.

In the background, Moltres was preparing to unleash a powerful, deadly Fire Blast attack that would surely kill several members of the raid party. It began making a five-pointed fire star and the fire began to spin around. Its attack was almost complete.

"Everyone duck for cover!" Scyther screamed with a furious swiping of his scythes.

"Watch out for that attack!" Skarmory echoed.

I stuck my tongue out slightly as I aimed the item. I flew my hand back and slung it forward in order to chuck the rock as far as I could. The rock went up to Buneary and she caught it, spun around in the air, and, belt in hand, Jump Kicked the rock with all her might. It rocketed from its position and smacked Moltres hard in the beak, destroying the Fire Blast and instantly knocking Moltres into a million shards of dissipating glass. Buneary landed hard on her feet and I sighed in relief from the adrenaline pumping so hard in my body. Not only had I succeeded in keeping everyone else alive, but Buneary also got the bonus she needed.

After everyone cheered, Buneary and I met up near the spawned spiraling staircase. I motioned for her to go first and she happily went up. She thanked me for the help and the successful boss feat. We were about to finish going up the stairs when we heard a voice call from the back.

"Very impressive, Buneary," Scyther said admittedly. "You have abilities I didn't even expect. I was wrong about you."

Scyther went past me and separated the two of us. He looked Buneary straight in the eyes and said, "Keep up the good work."

"Thank you," she said, yet she seemed to look over his shoulder and say it to me. Her eyes were sincere and appreciative.

With that said, Scyther walked off with his guild and said nothing more. I let Buneary go into the portal first and decided to go catch up with my solo player friends in the meantime. This was her time to shine. She tossed me the Black Belt with one use left and I nodded to her in satisfaction. After wishing her a merry Christmas Eve, I stepped down the marble stairs and saw Buizel walking away alone. I looked over to him with longing, but I let him go this time. He needed time to think. I just hoped he didn't think I'd make him pick between Frillish and me.

. . .

December 25th, 2025

Floor 20

Christmas day always felt something special back home. It was the only time I ever got to see family members from other parts of the country. You never know when this Christmas would be someone's last. Friends and family put aside their differences and came together. As a kid, seeing cousins your parents didn't come for was sort of a treasure. It meant more stories, more presents, and more fun.

This year, it wouldn't be like that. I could imagine my mom crying on my hospital bed as she curses the creator of this game. I could see my dad wondering where he went wrong in raising me. Worst of all, I could see my sister devastated that I missed another holiday with the family. The pain made me realize that this game could be completely pointless. What if True Reality was lying? What if the Arkaés region was made to be unbeatable?

I strolled the road of Floor 12, which housed the Golden Warriors base, and pondered the probability that we'd make it out of this game alive. Losing Jumpluff made me realize that these raid battles aren't as easy as they used to be; moves can one-shot Pokémon depending on the typing and stats. I needed to evolve soon, and while Buizel's friendship did boost it more, it was still below the requirement. If I wasn't going to become a Lucario, I wasn't going to last in this game.

But evolving would require some sort of happy event taking place. A happy event in this game prison? Many video gamers would ask to be trapped in a game like this so they could live in their own realities, but not me. How could I be happy when I'm missing Christmas with my family?

I looked at the Golden Warriors' base: it was a large building with several red and gold tents sprawled about the property. Floor 12 was a base floor; it had large plots for rent for just this kind of purpose. The G.W. building itself was made to be like a fancy castle. Stone bricks were used to set the foundation for the grand organization, and it even had a drawbridge to boot.

I went inside the building with a special present I had for Buneary and found myself at a receptionist's desk. I attempted to walk through and find her room number, but I was sadly stopped by the Pokémon sitting down.

"Can you tell me your business for being here?" Audino asked.

"I'd like to give this package to a friend," I said, holding up my gift.

"Who is your friend?"

Before I could finish the word "Buneary," she said that everyone was too busy. I glared at the Normal-type Pokémon and set the blue present down on the table.

"What's in the box?" she asked.

"Make sure you give that to Miss Buneary," I said politely.

As I walked out of the building, I saw Audino slightly open the gift. I snapped and told her to leave it shut. I knew telling her wouldn't help at all, but I nevertheless felt the need to let her know I saw her. She smiled and waved, but I knew it wasn't genuine.

So Buneary didn't have time for me on Christmas day, which sort of hurt. I entered the portal and selected Floor 20, which was a national park-based floor. Buizel had told me that he would be in the park somewhere around this time, so I went on a walk to find my friend and celebrate Christmas with him one way or another.

As I turned the corner of the green park's circular road, I found Buizel…and Frillish. They were on a date with a picnic basket. I quickly darted out of sight before they could invite me over and turn me into some sort of third wheel. I didn't want to be like that; I especially didn't want to be associated with her.

I left the park and went into the town to find Samurott and Marowak, my two solo player buddies. They told me there was a friendly tournament going on with a jackpot grand prize. I ran into the crowd upon reaching the basic city structure and squirmed my way to the sign-ups. Behind the table and the several Pokémon signing up was Marowak. He twirled his bone and looked around, presumably for me. I ran up to him and greeted him.

"Are you ready to battle?" I asked him.

"Yeah!" he cheered.

"Me too!" I mimicked.

Marowak got quiet and stopped twirling his bone. "Riolu, this tournament is only for fully-evolved Pokémon…I'm sorry, but you can't get in. Did Samurott not tell you?"

I frowned. "I guess not," I said.

I turned around and resumed running in between Pokémon to make it to my required destination.

. . .

Christmas was a disaster. Roselia closed up shop to hang out with some friends and Combusken, who hadn't evolved fully due to some sort of goal she had, wasn't answering his messages. I was alone on one of the most cherished days of the American year. I took my Power Band off and gripped it tightly in my hands. Why didn't anyone even want to talk to me? Was I that invisible?

Or perhaps I was too helpful? Being nice to all these people and making friends with everyone has one drawback—you don't stand out in anyone's life. You're just another friendly face. I sighed at the thought of me just being another friendly guy and shuddered. I couldn't last alone. I've never been a true solo player. Not like that. I've had someone near me this whole time, whether it be in a party or in a distant understanding.

I turned the corner of a street and went into a dark alley. I instantly felt someone watching me and looked to see a crescent-shaped shadow looming over my body, but I was unable to find its source. I kept walking and soon heard talking.

"Do you have the cash or not?" a hateful Pokémon asked.

"I-I'm sorry," a more panicked one said. "I'm broke!"

"Show me your menu," a third snorted.

I didn't want to help at first. I was alone on Christmas and no one had cared to help me out, so why bother? Why couldn't I live my misery in peace? I'd rather just lather myself in my own pity than focus on someone else again.

Despite these thoughts running through my mind, I knew I had to help. My head turned the corner slightly enough to see a Croagunk and a Pancham taunting a Scraggy in the middle of them.

"I-I don't think that's a good idea!" Scraggy muttered as he pulled his skin up to his chin in fright.

"Why don't we empty those pants of his? They're so baggy that they have to be filled with something!" Pancham laughed.

Scraggy shook his yellow head and backed up against a decorative dumpster. "Please leave my menu alone. I'll get you the money later!"

"'Later' isn't going to cover it," Croagunk said. "If you don't have that cash you promised the Boss, we'll have to take you to the dungeon and threaten you."

Scraggy's face went pale. "Not the dungeon! There are monsters spawned there!"

Pancham smiled at the fear in Scraggy's eyes. "Not just monsters, kid! There are worse things in this game than monsters."

That statement made me squirm uneasily. These guys were full of themselves. I revealed myself from behind the corner of one of the buildings and ran to Scraggy's side. The Pokémon looked at me in confusion, but I was ready to jump to the occasion.

"Yeah, like me," I said.

Pancham and Croagunk looked at each other for a second before laughing. They mentioned something about no-PVP and the Speeding Bullet. I looked at their narrowed eyes and grabbed Scraggy's hand. I ran with all my might and dragged the Pokémon behind me.

"Hey!" Pancham yelled as we ran.

We kept running and Scraggy's skin-pants kept slipping down. They were proving to be a huge waste of time, so once we were in a heavily-populated area, I moved him in a large crowd and started digging in my bag.

"What made them bother you?" I asked as I dug.

Scraggy gulped. His circular eyes blinked twice and he looked at the ground. "I used to work for their guild but couldn't handle the pressure of it," he sighed.

"What guild?" I asked.

"It was called 'Black Ice,' I think. I was just a supply runner, so they didn't want me to know much."

Hearing those words made this Pokémon infinitely more useful. I found my Black Belt item and tied it around Scraggy's waist, both powering his Fighting-type moves and keeping his skin in place. He thanked me and I rushed him through more traffic into one of the more popular—and cheap—restaurants in the area. We waited it out and saw Croagunk and Pancham running past the windows. They were still on Scraggy's tail.

"Thank you so much for saving me," Scraggy told me. "You're that Riolu everyone talks about, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Look, you should probably keep hiding and if I start going another way, I'll throw them off. Can you send me a friend request so we can communicate later?"

Scraggy opened his menu and quickly pressed a few keys on the digital board. I then got a message asking if I wanted to be friends with Scraggy. I accepted and wished him good luck. We would definitely be speaking again. I walked out of the restaurant and turned several different alley corners before eventually revealing myself and walking among the crowds once more. I didn't see the goons again, but I didn't want to take any chances.

. . .

That night, I sat on my hotel bed and looked at a screenshot taken and "printed" to put in fake frames. It had the six of us, the original guild, standing side by side. Budew and Shieldon were on the ends and Fletchling and Whismur were the next on the inside. In the center, Buizel and I stood side-by-side. Buizel held an arm around me and had a hand giving Whismur bunny ears. The tackiness of it all made the picture hilarious. I was just smiling regularly, but I was so happy in that instant of this game.

Everything was gone now, sort of. I had Buizel back, but to what extent? Roselia wasn't the same as she was before; she was independent. Bastiodon and Talonflame moved on, and Talonflame wouldn't even be welcomed back anyway. I had to start new on my friends. Some of them had stayed with me so far, like Buneary and the two solo players, but some didn't last. Gothita died a few floors ago.

It's not even been half a year, yet everything went in slow motion. After everything I'd done, no one even cared to wish me a Merry Christmas. I felt completely, utterly, and indestructibly unappreciated.

Little did I know, at that very moment, I was being appreciated by everyone.

Scraggy was running from the Black Ice grunts with his new Black Belt saving his life. Combusken was in the first floor's massive library researching possible significances of the thirty-eighth floor so I could rest easier at night. Roselia was turning the pages of her scrapbook of memories and had stopped on the page with the six of us in that very same picture. Samurott and Marowak were complaining about losing the tournament and reminiscing about how I would have done if I had participated.

On Buizel's date under the stars, he and Frillish were lying side-by-side on the picnic blanket. As she messed with her instant messaging, Buizel, half-asleep, couldn't help but glance over Frillish's shoulder and search for a guild name—and he found it. She was, indeed, a member of Black Ice.

Buneary was asleep in her G.W.-assigned bed. On her desk was an opened gift box with its lid slid halfway off the top. Even better, in between her hands was the very gift I had bought her—the coveted Silk Scarf. She was cradling it in her sleep, a smile imprinted heavily on her face.

However, my ignorance had gotten the best of me at that point. I hadn't the slightest clue that any of them were worrying about me. Even though we were forty-percent through the game, I felt like my impact wasn't even a dent on these people. Therefore, I turned out my lamplight and figured I didn't need them anyway. They didn't need me, I figured.

But they did. And I needed them even more.