"I'm not used to this much excercise!" Lyle complained. Andrew was also tired, but was determined not to show it. The two had been walking for a good few hours, and finally they were able to see their surroundings as the fog had eventually cleared. On either side of the path there was a lot of short grass with the occasional flower protruding from the green blades. To Lyle and Andrew this had been a welcome change from Dustwood, and had their eyes fixed on the sides of the road as they walked. Eventually they had become accustomed to this and focused on getting to Cendal, which they could see a tiny bit of in the horizon. The sun had already begun its descent, basking the surroundings in an orange glow. This was lost on Lyle as he stretched and sat down at the side of the path. Andrew stopped beside him but didn't sit down.

"Come on, Lyle. If we keep walking we can make it to Cendal before it gets too dark and find somewhere to stay." Lyle lay down on the grass and shut his eyes.

"We can still make it if I have a bit of a snooze. You need to relax." Andrew said nothing for a few moments, simply letting the gentle breeze gently brush past him. Then he grabbed one of Lyle's arms and hauled him up to his feet. "Okay, break over. Let's go." Lyle muttered darkly, but slid his feet along the path, bringing them closer to Cendal City.

-

Dark clouds loomed overhead as they entered Cendal. The industrial grey buildings were not what Lyle and Andrew had been expecting of the main city on Toro as they started looking for a place to stay.

"God, this place is ominous," Andrew noted as they walked. Lyle nodded in response at looked up at the blackened clouds.

"Is there a Pokemon Lodge here?" Andrew shook his head.

"We'll have to stay in a hotel or something." Lyle pulled a face and started looking from side to side in the hopes of finding somewhere to stay. The two had to keep moving in and out of people packed closely together, often talking in whispers.

"What's going on?" Andrew muttered as they dodged yet another group.

"You're not from around here, are you?" The two boys turned to see a man leaning against one of the buildings. He was dressed in a brown trenchcoat and wore a hat that obscured his face, which immediately put Andrew and Lyle on their guard.

"And who are you exactly?" Lyle ventured to ask. The man grunted.

"My name's not being distributed right now. So, you guys aren't from around here, are you?" Lyle bristled.

"What's this, a one sided conversation? You want answers from us, you'd better give us some yourself!" The man didn't seem bothered.

"Here's how the conversation was going to work. I ask you where you come from. You answer. Then I tell you why everyone's in a panic and moving in groups. Then maybe you ask some more about me but I don't answer and we leave it at that. I've changed my mind about that and I'm going to skip the pleasantaries." The man stood up, walked over to Lyle and punched him hard on the face. Lyle held a hand up to his left cheek where the fist had connected and readied himself to fight back. Before he could, Andrew stood between them.

"You idiots! If you want to settle something, then do it with your Pokemon!" The man's expression did not change, though Lyle's eyes lit up.

"Alright then," the man sighed. "One on one. No time limit. Go Murkrow!" The man flung out a pokeball, out of which emerged a small black bird, the feathers on its head resembling a crown.

"Go! Crescent!" Lyle brought out his Teddiursa, who blinked cutely and looked confused. "What are you doing? Fight it! Use an attack!"

"Teddi?" Crescent looked down at her honey soaked paws and stuck one in its mouth. Lyle snarled and brought out his PIA.

"C'mon...aha! Okay! Covet...scratch...fake tears...lick...alright! Crescent! Attack with scratch!" Crescent rushed up to Murkrow, still sucking on one of her paws. With her free paw she attempted to swipe at the dark bird but Murkrow simply raised itself slightly higher into the air, causing Crescent to fall to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes but no wailing emitting from her mouth as she was still sucking her paw. "Crescent! Get that paw out of your mouth!" Crescent did so and started bawling at the top of her voice. As Lyle went to comfort her, Andrew noticed that the man had gone.

-

"What d'you thinks going on?" Lyle looked over at Andrew. The two had found a dingy hotel that didn't cost too much, and after beating the cockroaches away had settled down to go to sleep.

"Absolutely no idea. Maybe we should ask the guy downstairs or something tomorrow."

"Everyone looked scared. Whatever it is they're not taking it lightly." Andrew waited for an answer but when none came he assumed Lyle had gone to sleep. Andrew attempted to do the same, but his mind was too full of thoughts to concentrate. He walked over to the window and looked down into the street, where to his shock he saw the man from before. The man didn't appear to see him; he simply leaned against a wall and watched the dwindling crowd move by. Curiousity overcame his fear, and before Andrew knew what he was doing, he had gotten dressed and walked outside. He approached the man.

"Sorry about before," Andrew muttered a little unsure of himself. The man inclined his head.

"So do you want to know?" Andrew nodded. "Where do you come from?"

"Dustwood."

"That explains it. The people here are all worked up because there have been attacks in the city. No-one knows who's causing them or why. We only know that people who are alone get attacked and don't return. Good news is there aren't any reports of it happening anywhere else on the Majra Islands, so a lot of people are moving. I'll be joining them tomorrow."

"I thought earlier you said you weren't going to tell us anything about yourself."

"I said if you asked I wouldn't tell you. Anything else?"

"I look forward to battling you in the future." The man smirked and walked off.

-

"You did WHAT??" Andrew had told Lyle what had happened that night when he woke up, and he wasn't happy.

"Hey, calm yourself. I'm still here in one piece and now we know why people are going around in groups." Lyle grumbled but didn't press the matter. The two had recently departed from Cendal and were now making their way along Route 1 which would eventually lead them to Bayen Town. The dark clouds from yesterday had followed them, and the two were running along the route as rain assaulted them from above.

"I HATE HOW LONG THESE ROUTES ARE!" Andrew yelled at Lyle to make himself heard over the sound of the rain.

"SAME HERE!" Lyle replied. "LET'S HOPE THERE'S SHELTER SOMEWHERE...AHA! A ROUTE LODGE!" People had complained about the distance between towns and cities, and in response to this Route Lodges had been set up. They only had a few beds, but they also had a canteen - with a small discount for trainers - and a large lounge. Lyle and Andrew picked up speed and breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the warm comfort of the wooden lodge. As Lyle shook himself to get rid of excess water, Andrew looked around to see who else was here. There were two hikers deep in discussion, and near the other end of the lounge was a girl about their age tossing a pokeball up into the air and catching it. She spotted the two boys and walked up to them.

"Hi!" She beamed at Lyle. "I haven't seen you before. I'm Jenna!" Lyle gawped at Jenna, clearly at a loss for words at the sight of a female.

"I'm Andrew," Andrew said, trying to break the silence. Jenna shot daggers at him.

"I didn't ask for YOUR name!" She growled. Andrew took a step back. Jenna returned her attention to Lyle. "Do you want to get something to eat?" Lyle nodded, his mouth still open. Jenna linked their arms and steered them towards the canteen. Andrew walked after them and joined them in the queue. Andrew randomly selected some food that he liked, still slightly out of it after Jenna's cold response to him. He saw them eating at a table and walked over to them.

"Listen, Jenna. About before..." Jenna gave him a cold look.

"You're interrupting a special moment. So, Albert..."

"My name's Andrew."

"I don't care. Just leave." Andrew clenched his fists.

"Now you listen here. I haven't done anything wrong and yet in the attempts I've tried to be nice you've made it seem like I have."

"That's nice. Are you done?" Andrew drew himself up to his full height.

"THAT'S IT!" He roared. "LET'S SETTLE THIS!" Jenna sighed and shook her head.

"Fine. If I win, you leave me and Lyle alone."

"What?? What kind of a..."

"It's not up for debate."

"FINE! But if I win..."

"You wont. Now, let's go outside and settle this."