Eighteen years ago

Adam was furious.

It was almost the end of this year's Rhyhorn Racing season, and all of the racing networks were no longer talking about him and how he had yet another shot at winning. No, they were all talking about that racer he met during the previous racing season. The one he tried to blind her Rhyhorn with a handful of dust.

Grace Yates.

Adam never found himself in a tighter corner than this. Last season, she usurped his rightful title as the consecutive ten-time winner of the sport, and to make matters even worse, this was her first season ever. He had been beaten, no, defeated by a complete amateur. Who was a woman, for Arceus's sake! When he watched as the officials handed her the golden, shining trophy that was supposed to be his, he felt like he was going to scream out to the heavens.

And now, he was facing off against her in the current racing season, and she had a greater chance at winning the trophy again, over him. Adam reminisced to each and every humiliating defeat he suffered at Grace's hands. How the audience cheered for her instead of him. How the horror of losing in the most unlikely of circumstances bit him in the back with the power and force of an Aggron. How he had to keep watching and clapping as she received the racing trophies...

He had lost to her more than she lost to him. It was too much for him to bear. And for some reason, she was able to overcome each and every method that he employed to incapacitate her Rhyhorn in some way. She was able to ignore the intimidation tactics he tried to use on her.

Grace was going to win this year's racing season, and Adam couldn't accept that. He needed to get the competition out of the way.

"Boss?" a voice asked, interrupting Adam's musings.

"Not now, Nick," snapped Adam in response. "I'm thinking."

The stout man warily approached Adam and said, "But boss, it's important. It's about Jake."

Adam didn't look up at his accomplice. "What about him?" he asked gruffly.

"Floyd just told us something pretty interesting about what he's been doing for the past couple of seasons."

Adam's attention was suddenly piqued. "Why? What's he been doing?"

Nick glanced towards the door of the private study the two of them were currently in. Adam could hear Jake greeting Floyd outside; the door was open.

"Can't say it out loud to you, man," Nick replied. "Jake's obviously here now."

"Just whisper it to me then, idiot," snapped Adam.

Nick quickly leaned forward and whispered something into Adam's ear. His eyes promptly widened, and his lower jaw slowly slid open. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. If what Floyd was claiming about Jake was true (which was more than likely, since he had been assigned to survey his activities for quite an amount of time), then that could actually pose as a great advantage for his chances of winning this year's racing season...

A malevolent grin slowly spread across Adam's lips, and he looked at Nick.

"What're you thinking about, boss?" the short, stout man asked.

"How we could use this to our advantage," replied Adam as he stood up. "Come, Nick. Let's give Jake a little talk, shall we?"

Though he didn't like his superior's tone, Nick merely followed Adam as the two left the private study. Adam was cracking his knuckles menacingly...

Present day

Hours passed, and Adam's Fearow still hadn't found any signs of life nearby. At this point, most of the smoke from the wildfire had cleared from the air, and the sun was already setting as darkness and cold temperatures began to set in. Bonnie had already woken up from her sleepwalking, and now, she was worriedly looking around at the forest, increasingly intimidated by the looming darkness, which seemed to amplify the creature-like aspects of the lifeless tree trunks.

"Serena, I'm scared," Bonnie moaned. "We still haven't found Ash and Clemont, or Floyd and Adam's friends, and it's already becoming nighttime..."

"It's okay, Bonnie," replied Serena, trying her best to smile confidently. "We'll find them soon."

"How soon?"

"Pretty soon." However, Serena knew that was a lie, just like all of the other lies she told Bonnie for the past couple of hours to keep the younger girl calm. She glanced ahead at Adam, who was still looking up at the sky, watching as his Fearow glided across the sky. She couldn't help but feel a little suspicious of him...

Several more minutes passed, and darkness was already beginning to have total reign of the forest, something all four began to notice.

"Boss?" called Floyd. "I think we should hold off the search. It's getting dark."

"Agreed," replied Adam. "Fearow!"

The Beak Pokémon swooped down and landed on a nearby tree branch, to which Adam promptly returned it back into its Poké Ball. Then, he looked around at his surroundings, closely and carefully scrutinizing them as Floyd, Serena, and Bonnie approached him.

"Okay, if there's one good thing the fire did for us," he said, "it's leave us a bunch of materials to use to start a little campfire. Okay, you two girls-" He pointed at Serena and Bonnie. "-you stay here and set up camp. Floyd, you come with me. We're gonna find sticks and twigs that we can use for the fire."

"You're gonna leave us here alone?" Serena asked worriedly.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "You've got your Pokémon with you, don't you?"

"Yes, but..." Serena's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How can I be sure to trust you? You two might just ditch us!"

Adam prepared to respond to Serena's accusation, but Floyd stepped between the two of them, smiling brightly as he produced a Poké Ball.

"Don't worry, Serena," he said. "I'm gonna leave one of my Pokémon here with you guys, and Adam will do the same thing. That way, we'll have to come back for them." He glanced at Adam, who appeared shocked and surprised at the idea. "What do you say, Adam? Sound like a good idea?"

"I...I...I don't know..."

"Come on, Adam. If we're gonna survive in this forest, we're probably gonna need to earn their trust, and vice-versa."

Adam looked from Floyd to Serena and Bonnie. Then, he looked back at Floyd, his eyes glinting strangely, and he put on a solid smile.

"Yeah, fine..." he replied as he reluctantly took out a Poké Ball.

Floyd threw his Poké Ball, shouting, "Come on out, Carbink!"

The Poké Ball unleashed a rock-like, limbless Pokémon with a white fluffy collar encircling its head and light-blue crystals adorning its body.

"Go, Delphox!" cried Adam as he threw his own Poké Ball, unleashing a bipedal fox-like Pokémon holding a flaming twig in its paw.

"Carbink and Delphox, huh?" Intrigued, Serena took out her Pokédex and scanned the two Pokémon.

"Carbink, the Jewel Pokémon," explained the robotic voice of the Pokédex when she aimed the device towards Carbink. "It was born due to temperatures and pressures occurring underground, and it has the ability to fire beams from the jewel on its head."

"AW, that Carbink is so CUTE!" exclaimed Bonnie, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the Jewel Pokémon, which pranced around in delight of the praise.

Serena then aimed her Pokédex at Delphox, which appeared to be very wary of Serena. "Delphox, the Fox Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Braixen, and the final evolved form of Fennekin. It is said to see into the future when it stares into the flame burning on the tip of its twig."

"Delphox, the final evolved form of Fennekin..." Serena whispered in awe as she surveyed Adam's Delphox, easily imagining her own Fennekin evolving into an astounding Pokémon such as that. Then, she decided to reach into her pocket, taking out her Fennekin's Poké Ball and throwing it into the air. "Go, Fennekin!"

The Fox Pokémon emerged from its Poké Ball, barking at its Trainer in greeting. Then, it spotted Delphox and trotted over to it, intrigued by the taller Pokémon. Looking down at Fennekin, the Delphox suddenly smirked and barked aggressively at it, forcing Fennekin to sprint away and hide behind Serena's leg in fear.

"Fennekin?" asked Serena. Then, she glanced at Delphox worriedly as it continued to smirk.

"Don't mind Adam's Delphox," Floyd piped. "It's not really fond to other people's Pokémon. Just give it its own space and it'll leave your Fennekin alone."

"Okay..." However, Serena continued to look at Delphox nervously, as did Bonnie.

Floyd nodded at the two girls, then left alongside Adam, both men wandering into the darkness of the forest. Serena and Bonnie looked at each other.

"Serena?" asked Bonnie.

"Yes, Bonnie?" Serena replied.

"Do...Do you know how to set up camp?"

"Not...not really..." Serena glanced at the direction where Floyd and Adam disappeared at.

Floyd and Adam continued to make their way past the trees, picking up any large branches and twigs that were lying on the ashy ground. Finally, once the two of them covered a considerable distance from Serena and Bonnie, Adam suddenly dropped his branches and angrily grabbed the collar of Floyd's shirt, violently slamming him against the nearest tree trunk, causing him to drop his own branches in surprise.

"WHOA, MAN!" Floyd screamed. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"What's up with you and those girls?" snarled Adam as he pointed at him accusingly. "I don't like how close you are to them..."

The tone of Floyd's voice was defensive. "Well, I gotta have their trust if they're gonna be our cooperative hostages! Isn't that what you wanted, Adam?"

"No, it's what you wanted. I just agreed to that damn stupid idea of yours because I had no other choice. But I could easily see how attached you are to those two girls, especially that older girl with the pink hat." Adam leaned in towards Floyd's face, a menacing, deathly look in his eyes that signified blood-lust. "What in Arceus's name is going on here, man? Why are you allowing those two foolish girls to come with us?"

"They...They...They, uh...They..." stuttered Floyd fearfully.

"Don't just stand there, sputtering the same word over and over again," Adam snarled. "Just. Spit. It. OUT."

"I was just thinking about Jake, that's all!"

Adam crossed his arms, a frown on his face. "Damn it, Floyd, how many times do I have to tell you this crap? It. Was. For. The best."

"It's definitely not for the best in my eyes!" exclaimed Floyd. "Jake was my friend, man! I can never get his face out of my head! Every time I close my eyes and go to sleep, I always see him! Arceus-damn it, Adam, why did we have to do that?! We could've just set him up for something, but no! We had to-"

"I couldn't take any chances," Adam interrupted nastily. "He would have sold us out, no matter what. You know how it was. We would be rotting in a jail cell for Arceus knows how long, instead of here, living free in the middle of this forest! I'd take that over prison!"

"Well, I'd take prison over having to live with what we did."

"You're pushing your luck, Floyd, and my buttons. You really think you're gonna turn yourself in for everything we've done?"

Floyd opened his mouth to retort, but then, he closed it, unsure of what to say. He looked down at the ground sheepishly as Adam smirked triumphantly.

"Yeah, I thought so." Adam then bent down to pick up his sticks and twigs. "Now, pick up your stuff. We gotta get back to our Pokémon."

As they picked up the branches, Floyd muttered, "I guess I know why you wanted Serena and Bonnie to 'set up camp'..."

A couple of hours later

Wearing her pajamas, Serena glared into the small fire that was burning before her, having been started by Adam's Delphox hours before. The flames seemed to lick at the air like the tongues of snakes. Then, she glanced at Bonnie and Dedenne, both of whom were already sleeping in the former's sleeping bag. Then, she looked at Floyd and Adam, both of whom had fallen fast asleep while warming themselves by the fire. She then sighed and looked back at the fire.

"Oh, Ash..." she whispered. "Where are you? I hope you're okay..."

Ash's imaginary voice reverberated around in her head, replying, "I'm fine, Serena. Don't worry, we'll find each other soon."

"Hopefully it's soon. I don't know if I can handle being in this forest without you, Ash..."

"Just hang in there, Serena. Remember what I told you: never give up till the end!"

"That's right. Never give up till the end." Serena's lips curved into a tiny smile. "How in the world are you so encouraging?"

"Well, you're my friend. Of course I gotta encourage you!"

Serena exhaled sadly. "Yeah. I'm your friend. And you're...my friend too..."

"Why? What's wrong, Serena? You don't sound happy to be my friend."

"It's just...I wanna be more than just a friend."

"You wanna be a best friend?"

"...Yeah. I'd like to be your best friend..." Then, Serena closed her eyes and buried her face in her palms. "This isn't working... None of this is working..."

Serena then looked up at the starry sky, the whole of its beauty unhindered due to an absence of clouds. A crescent moon shone across the night sky, its light illuminating the part of the forest that encompassed the camp. She closed her eyes again, allowing herself to soak in the moonlight. As she did, Serena began to wonder if Ash was somewhere else in the forest, doing the exact same thing she was doing, wondering if she was okay...

She suddenly felt as if she was being watched...

Serena instinctively looked into the darkness of the forest. At first, she didn't see anything in the pitch-black.

Then...she saw them. Two X-shaped markings, glowing a bright blood-red in the darkness, watching her as if they were eyes... She heard an inhuman snarl...

Serena let out a bloodcurdling scream, waking up both Bonnie, Dedenne, Floyd, and Adam.

"What, what?!" exclaimed Floyd. "What's going on, Serena?!"

"T-Th-Tho-Those th-things...o-over th-th-there..." stuttered Serena, pointing towards the direction where she saw the X-shaped markings, only to find that the strange eyes were no longer there. All she saw was the pitch-black darkness. In relief, she let out a long, heavy sigh.

"What things, Serena?" Bonnie asked worriedly.

"Nothing," Serena replied. "I guess I was just seeing stuff..."

"Arceus-damn it," grumbled Adam as he laid back down in his sleeping bag. "Damn girl, quit wasting my precious sleep-time..."

Bonnie and Dedenne also resumed their sleep, but Floyd remained awake, looking at Serena with concern as the Trainer continued to stare into the darkness.

"Are you okay, Serena?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," replied Serena.

"Did...Did you even sleep?"

"Yeah, yeah I have," Serena lied sleekly.

"If you say so, Serena."

Serena watched Floyd prepare to go back to sleep. Then, she glanced back at the darkness, staring at the direction where she saw the markings, wondering if they would reappear. However, all she saw was the gaping jaws of darkness. The Trainer sighed, concluding that she must have been seeing things.

Then, she began to wonder what would happen to her if the four of them still couldn't find Ash, Clemont, or Floyd and Adam's friends, should such a misfortune cast its shadow upon them. Would they have to find a way out of the forest by themselves? Serena could not even begin to imagine how in Arceus's name she would survive in the middle of her greatest fear, brought to even more terrifying heights thanks to the wildfire that devastated it.

Serena began to thank Arceus that she had Bonnie and Floyd with her for company...

Floyd...

She glanced at Floyd again, and saw that his eyes were still open, looking up at the nighttime sky, his pupils glittering from the reflections of the stars. At that moment, Serena remembered something that she wanted to ask him before he went to sleep, so she decided to take advantage of this moment.

"Floyd?" she asked.

Floyd sat up on his sleeping bag. "Yeah, Serena?" he replied.

"Why are you being so concerned about me and Bonnie?"

"I...I don't understand..."

"You seem more than willing to follow Adam's orders, but when Bonnie and I came across you two, you instantly pressed for us to come with you guys, despite Adam not liking us." She raised an eyebrow. "And...I notice that you're very interested in me in particular. You keep looking at me strangely. Why?"

Floyd blinked, unsure of what to say. Then, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"You...You really remind me of Jake..." he said.

Serena was taken aback by the response. "I...I do?..."

"Yeah. Not just by your behavior, but..." Floyd scrutinized Serena. "...You've got his hair. Smooth, golden, a bit curly at some edges..."

"Oh. That's great to hear, I guess..."

"I'm sorry if I spooked you by giving strange stares at you like that."

"Well, now that I know why you're always looking at me, I guess it's okay..."

However, Floyd continued to examine Serena curiously. "It's actually funny, really. I remember Jake once telling me that if he had..."

His voice suddenly trailed off, and he looked away from Serena, piquing her attention.

"Why?" she asked curiously. "What'd Jake tell you?"

"Nothing, nothing," replied Floyd quickly. "I'll just, uh, go to sleep. Night."

"G-Good night..." Serena said, confused at Floyd's current behavior. The Trainer watched as the blue-haired man laid down in his sleeping bag and fell asleep. As he did, she couldn't help but feel even more intrigued by this Jake character. Apparently, there was something about him Floyd didn't want her to know...

The following morning

Once again, Adam's Fearow was leading the way, flying high in the air while Serena, Bonnie, Floyd, and Adam continued to follow the Beak Pokémon from down below on the ground. As they continued walking up a hill, they noticed that there was now plant-life beginning to grow, adorning the lifeless, barren ground. It took the four several minutes to reach the top of the hill. Adam was the first one to reach it, and once he did, he stopped walking.

Down the steep hill was the parts of the forest that weren't damaged by the wildfire, but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was a series of gray clouds, rising from the trees in a consecutive pattern. A satisfied, triumphant smirk emerged on Adam's lips, as he knew what that strange smoke meant.

"Why is that smoke doing that?"

Adam looked down and saw that Bonnie had stopped by his side, and the little girl was now watching the column of smoke.

A smiling Floyd joined Bonnie's side, replying modestly, "It's a type of survival tactic we all taught ourselves a couple of years ago, in case we were separated. We set a fire somewhere, allow some of that smoke to rise up in the air, and then block all of that smoke with some sort of drape once enough of it is in the air. Then, after a couple of minutes, we release that drape to let more smoke rise into the air. We keep repeating the process over and over again until the others come to rescue us." He scrutinized the smoke. "It's definitely our self-taught method. Nick and Lloyd are in that part of the forest, waiting, signalling us."

"YAY!" Bonnie exclaimed, just as Serena reached the group. "We found your friends, Floyd!"

"Dede!" Dedenne added, smiling happily.

"Yeah, yeah we did..." However, despite Floyd's smile, the tone of his voice was reluctant, something that Serena noticed. "Well, let's get to them, shall we?"

The four then began to descend the hill. However, Bonnie looked visibly tired. Finally, after a couple of minutes, she let out a groan of exhaustion.

"Serena..." whined Bonnie. "I'm so tired of walking... Can we stop?"

"Dede?" Dedenne added in agreement.

"We can't stop," snapped Adam. "We need to find help. I am really surprised we haven't seen any traces of people that were fighting the fire..."

Bonnie stomped her foot rebelliously. "But I'm tired!"

"But we can't stop!" Adam whined, jeeringly mimicking Bonnie's voice.

"Come on, Adam," said Floyd defensively, "let's just stop. I'm tired as well."

Adam rolled his eyes, sighed angrily, and then shrugged. "Alright, we'll stop. But only for five minutes! Then we begin walking again."

Bonnie let out a sigh of relief as she laid herself down on the ground, while Serena and Floyd sat down. Adam began pacing around them impatiently, starting to regret allowing that little girl to rest. He needed to find Nick and Lloyd so then the four of them could overpower the two girls and use them as their captives as Floyd suggested. He did find some benefit in the idea, no matter how dim-witted Floyd was. Besides, he could just claim that the idea was his own.

As he continued to pace around, the corner of his eye suddenly caught movement. Adam looked across his right shoulder and instantly saw, at a considerable distance, two people making their way up the exact same hill that he and the others were descending; they seemed to be following a Fletchling that was flying close to the ground. At first, he thought that those two were Nick and Lloyd, but then, he noticed a Pikachu perched on the shoulder of one of the strangers.

A...Pikachu...

"One of them has spiky black hair, wears a hat, and has a Pikachu on his shoulder..."

Adam further scrutinized the person with the Pikachu on his shoulder. He was a young teenager with spiky jet-black hair, wearing a red hat with a white brim. The person walking behind that boy, apparently with some difficulty, had yellow hair that matched that of the little girl's and was wearing pale-blue clothes that made him resemble an electrician, as well as a backpack and a pair of large and circular glasses...

"And the other wears these workman clothes and glasses, and has yellow hair, like mine!"

It was the girls' friends, the ones they called Ash and Clemont.

"Aw, hell..." whispered Adam to himself. Then, he faced Serena and Bonnie, making sure that his body blocked their friends from their view. "Alright, your time of resting is up! Chop chop, girls, we gotta get going!" He quickly and impatiently clapped his hands twice to emphasize his point.

"What?!" Bonnie exclaimed. "But I'm still so tired..."

"I gave you five minutes to rest, little girl," replied Adam impatiently, "and your five minutes are up. If you're still tired, you should have spent your five minutes much more efficiently." He grabbed Bonnie's arm and forced her up on her feet, much to her displeasure. "Now, let's go."

Bonnie glared at Adam scathingly, but then, she resumed walking, while Serena and Floyd stood up and followed her toward the forest.

Once Serena and Bonnie were a few feet away from him, Adam glanced at Ash and Clemont. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw them continuing their trek up the hill, still following the Fletchling. Then, the green-haired man ran off after Floyd, who was a few feet away from Serena and Bonnie.

Upon catching up to Floyd, Adam grabbed his arm, catching his attention.

"Why, what?" asked Floyd, confused.

"I just saw those girls' friends," Adam whispered to him in response, fleetingly looking at Serena and Bonnie to see if they were listening.

"You mean Ash and Clemont?"

"Yeah, whatever. Listen..." He looked at Serena and Bonnie again. "...Once we reach the forest, and Nick and Lloyd, we carry out the plan."

Floyd suddenly looked reluctant. "Wait, carry out the plan?"

"Yes, carry out the plan, idiot. Once we reach the forest and find Nick and Lloyd, we grab 'em, we threaten their lives, and make them do everything we say."

"But-"

"But what?" interrupted Adam. "There's no buts when we're stuck in the middle of the forest with few resources and a wildfire still somewhere out there! Now, we are gonna carry out the plan, whether you like it or not! For Arceus's sake, you were even the one to suggest it, Floyd, so I don't understand why you are being so ambivalent now." Adam's eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms. "Now, are you with me in on this, Floyd, or are you not?"

Floyd glanced at Serena and Bonnie, who were still walking ahead. His eyes softened, and then, he let out a heavy sigh of sadness and guilt.

Then, he faced Adam and replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm in."

Adam nodded with approval. "Good."

A/N: Well, this was a shorter chapter than usual. But hey, it had a lot going on!

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Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!