I've been told you can't judge the quality of a Nuzlocke until the first death. Well... here you go.

Shine a Light in the Darkness

Chapter 4: Blood and Plasma

"Excuse me, are you Layla?" The woman asking me had shiny, calf-length black hair accented with a flower-like hair decoration on her forehead. She wore glasses and a lab coat, and smiled nervously. I nodded, my breathing still heavy. I hadn't been out of that Gym 30 seconds when I was accosted by this scientist. "I'm Fennel!" she cried. "Juniper's told me all about you! Oh, you have to come with me!" She reached out to take me by the hand, which I snapped away from her.

"Please don't touch me," I said. "I'll follow you." She shrugged and beckoned me toward a nearby apartment building. I followed her, trying not to get tangled in her hair. "Is this going to take long, because I really should stop back in at the Pokémon center…"

"This'll just be a minute," she said, leading me up the stairs. I shrugged and followed. Fennel was warmly greeted by whomever we passed on the way up. Finally, we were at the top floor. Fennel opened the door, and I felt like I had stepped into a bad movie. The room was poorly lit and ringed with computer banks. A large cylindrical machine loomed in one corner. A young girl with pigtails worked on a bed lined with strange implements, and a silver helmet dotted with ports and wires rested on the pillow. "What do you think?" she asked proudly.

"It's great," I deadpanned, "I've always wanted to be killed and brought back to life." There really was something scary about the equipment, but I didn't want to admit as much.

"Oh, you," she chuckled. "This device is a portal for entering the Dream World." I stared blankly at her. "The Dream World, that surreal zone that links minds from all regions of the world." She waited for recognition, but she didn't get any. "The source of that weird void above the plains at the center of Unova called the Entralink?" She shrugged. "I guess not many people know about it unless they read science journals."

"Wait, there's a weird void over Unova?" I said. "That's kind of alarming."

Fennel waved me off. "It's nothing to worry about, nothing at all. But we're studying the Dream World because… well, it's so damn cool. Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced you to my assistant!"

"I'm Amanita!" the girl offered my hand, but I didn't shake it. "Uh…" she looked to Fennel, who was rummaging around on a pile of printouts and miscellaneous junk. I wasn't about to make a policy exception for a little girl who worked in a freaky mad science lab. "You're Layla, right? I designed Unova's version of the Pokémon storage center found on PCs! Do you like it?"

"Oh, really?" I have to say, I was impressed. On closer inspection, she wasn't as young as I had thought, just small for her age, but there was no way she was older than me. "I haven't used it much, but I'm sure it's great. Was it hard to make?"

"No, I just ripped off all the best storage systems," Amanita admitted. "And I added this feature called the Battle Box that…" I stopped listening, I admit it. I never had a very good head for technology – oh, I could figure it out if even an ounce of effort had gone into making it user-friendly, but I'll be damned if I understood how any of it worked. Instead I mulled over Cilan and his brothers – that didn't figure in to what I had heard about how Gym Leaders conducted themselves at all, although Bianca's dad had mentioned that accident… were all Gym Leaders such jackasses, or were the Striaton Trio an aberration? Then I heard Fennel's voice, and snapped back to attention. I've never been caught filtering somebody out – I have my tricks – but I wasn't eager to ruin the record.

"…without the aid of a Move Deleter," she concluded, waving a disk at me. "So, do you think you could hop on down to the Dreamyard with this and find me a Munna or some Dream Smoke produced by one? I'll let you keep it, and if you find what I'm looking for, I've got another neat little toy that's really handy for trainers."

I nodded confidently. Part of my rules for never getting caught failing to pay attention – don't ask them to repeat themselves. If it was at all necessary, I could call her up and ask later, which would seem much more reasonable. "Munna, or Dream Smoke," I repeated – another easy trick, repeat the last thing they said – as I grabbed the disk. It was an HM – for Cut – and I was able to fill in some of the blanks pretty quickly. That tree that had been blocking part of the Dreamyard – beyond it lay any Munna I might find. "I'll be back before you can say 'Braviary.'"

"What's up?" Bianca asked. Night was descending on the Dreamyard. I had just taught Heather the Cut technique – she was the only member of my team whose claws were up to the task – and found the stunted tree in question.

"You're becoming a real Noctowl, Bianca," I joked. "I'm just trying to get deeper into the Dreamyard. It seems I'm on a fetch quest tonight for some scientist friend of the Professor's."

"Me-owwww. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend here, Layla?" Heather asked flirtatiously.

"Maybe later," I said with an embarrassed grin, as Bianca looked at us cluelessly. "For now, why don't you Cut that tree down?" It didn't stand a chance against my cat's sharpened claws. "Not bad… do you hear something?"

Heather mewed her assent, but Bianca just cocked her head. "I don't hear anything… wait…" the next sound she couldn't miss. It was a tormented sound, like a child's squeaky toy being violently stabbed. "What the heck is that?" Bianca asked, suddenly shuddering.

"A cry for help," I muttered. "Come on!" Heather was the first one through the now-exposed hole in the wall, followed by me, but Bianca wasn't far behind. The other side of the wall was much the same, except for the presence of taller grass (the grass is always taller on the other side, isn't it?) and a ramp leading to an elevated walkway. But what caught our attention were a man and a woman in armor (two of the goons from yesterday, I guessed) with a Munna, which looked like a wide, plush vase with limbs, a face ending in a short, pointed snout, and a blowhole. It was one of the more exotic Pokémon I had seen, but what was pressing about it was the fact that it was bleeding a little bit from its nose. "What the hell are you two doing?" I yelled.

"Who the hell are they?" The man asked, picking up the Munna.

"Who the hell are you?" the woman shouted, as her male friend shook the Munna like a rag doll.

"We're… we're a pair of concerned trainers!" Bianca managed. More or less accurate.

"They're just kids," the woman explained to her cohort. "Keep on working it, the Dream Smoke is bound to come out sooner or later."

"I'm working on it," the guy whined. "Nothing's happening."

"Help me," the Munna squeaked pathetically.

"Hey, put that thing down!" I shouted. "That's fucking cruel!"

"Fuck off, kids, we're trying to get something here!"

"Don't be so pushy," Bianca whispered to me. "They look tough."

"No," I explained, "they look like they want to look tough. Nobody needs to dress up in chain mail unless their Pokémon is inadequate for protecting them." I shouted back to them, "Hey, you guys are Team Plasma, right?"

"That's right!" The man explained proudly. "And we need Dream Smoke for the plans of our superiors, the Sages!"

"Hey, tell the whole city, why don't you," the woman grumbled. "Pearls of Palkia, you're thick."

"Don't make fun of me!" the guy exclaimed, spiking the Munna into the ground. It didn't get up.

"This bullshit's getting us nowhere… Hey! Freak shows!" I called. "Pokémon battle or GTFO! Whoever loses gets out of here without a fuss!"

"Fine," the guy said, leaving the Munna to the woman. "Patrat! Shut this hussy up!"

"Hussy?" I asked, bemused. It wasn't until the little chipmunk-like thing was almost on top of me that I realized he had basically ordered it to attack me. "Heather! Cut!"

"With pleasure!" Using only one claw, she left a gash in the side of the Patrat, distracting it. In the dusk, she had been more or less invisible to Team Plasma, and maybe to their Pokémon, too.

"Rugh!" The Patrat turned on her, growling, but I could see that it couldn't take another blow and stay on its feet.

"Damn," the Plasma grunt spat. "Patrat, Bide!" Obediently, his rodent put its arms up in a Biding stance. Just another indicator as to how much of an idiot he was; a Patrat wasn't sturdy enough to Bide against a skilled opponent unless it was fresh into the battle.

"Heather, Assist!" Heather sat back on her haunches and spat out a wave of Embers. The Patrat stumbled back out of his stance, protecting his eyes, but he soon collapsed. "Got any more Pokémon that need trouncing?" I asked conversationally.

"You didn't last thirty seconds!" the female Plasma member said incredulously. "You're pathetic!"

"You're pathetic," the guy shot back lamely. "Why don't you go do better?"

"Fine, I will." She sarcastically tagged in with him. "Let's see if you can handle a mirror match. Go, Purrloin!" The two cats circled each other.

"You've got a cute butt," Heather offered with a grin.

"Glory to Team Plasma!" the other cat mewed dogmatically.

"Not much for conversation, though."

"Purrloin, Scratch!"

"Heather, Sand-Attack!" Heather kicked sand into the approaching Pokémon's eyes, and the claw sailed right by her. "Good! Now, Fury Swipes!" Left open by its half-blindness, the Plasma Purrloin ate four quick scratches itself.

"Purrloin, Growl," the Team Plasma grunt yelled, her voice going up a pitch. And it did, but it was too late. Heather only hesitated for a second before letting loose a Cut that knocked her counterpart to the ground. Spotting blood, the woman withdrew her Pokémon with a scowl. "We're out of time. Did you get any Dream Smoke?"

"Not yet," the guy grunted. He was jumping up and down on the Munna now, stomping it into the ground. It let out a pained squeal with each impact.

"Have you flipped your lids?" Bianca cried in horror.

"I thought it might work like a Whoopee cushion," the man explained. "Hey, let's just take the thing with us!"

"That wasn't the deal!" I protested.

"A-buh-buh!" the woman said. "You're just kids anyway, you should be thankful we're even honoring the letter of our promise!"

"What're we gonna do?" Bianca wailed. "We can't let them just abuse that poor little Munna!" I gritted my teeth. Bianca was right – but I didn't want to order my Pokémon to attack a human if at all possible, and besides, after a Gym battle, I didn't think my guys had enough stamina left to take on two adult humans in armor. I didn't think anything we had but Ember or a blow to the face would even faze them, if that was real mail. Bianca hadn't offered her help in the fights, so either her Pokémon were similarly tired, or she was too emotional to be of any help.

Suddenly, the particularly freaky guy from earlier – Dennis, was it? – appeared out of nowhere right next to them. "What are you two doing? We should be striving to protect Pokémon from humans, not be the ones they need protecting from!" The two grunts were freaking out, but Bianca and I only started to panic as well when a second Dennis appeared next to the first one. "I need you two back at the base RIGHT THIS INSTANT before you embarrass us further!" Was this an illusion? I thought I'd recognize an illusion if I saw one, but this one seemed so real – I could see Dennis's individual strands of hair blowing in the warm breeze, and smell his old man stink as he briefly became upwind from us.

"Man, I've never seen the boss this angry!" the male grunt said, looking as if he was about to soil his armor.

Suddenly, the two Dennises (Dennisi?) disappeared, and a gigantic image of his head and shoulders (with that ridiculous castle-wall mantle, which managed to look imposing at this size) appeared over our heads. "I NEED SCISSORS! SIXTY-ONE!" He roared. Well, that was obviously an illusion of some sort, but at the time it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen.

The female Plasma member let out an ear-piercing scream. "I've never seen him anything like this! We'll get your scissors, Lord Ghetsis, we swear!" They sprinted off faster than anybody weighed down by armor should be able to run. To be honest, I would've run to grab him a pair of scissors myself if it would get that giant screaming head out of the sky. And then, just like that, he was gone.

"W-was that a dream?" I looked over to see Bianca fallen on her ass, staring slack-jawed up above the treeline. I could've slapped myself. A dream; of course! There was a Munna nearby. There were likely more, or even… "Look!" Bianca pointed past the Munna. A Pokémon like a larger, floating Munna with an entirely purple body was approaching the wounded Pokémon. It was a Musharna, I realized – Munna's quite-rare evolved form, and it had been sculpting images from Team Plasma's dreams, or maybe even from mine. Pink clouds of what could only be Dream Smoke leaked from its blowhole and flooded the entire area at ankle level. "It must've heard the Munna's cries and come to help…"

Bianca trailed off. She got up and started to walk toward the Munna and Musharna. "Careful," I warned. "It might still be very defensive after seeing a younger member of its species get abused."

Bianca kneeled down by the Musharna, which was eyeing her warily. She stuttered out a halting "Hi…" before gathering confidence to continue. "It was great that you drove those two terrible people away, but do you think you could let me bring this Munna to a Pokémon center? I'm worried that natural care might not be enough. Team Plasma really hurt this creature, and I want to make sure it survives above all else." To my pleased surprise, the Musharna smiled and backed off a bit. "Thank you! I won't let you down!" Bianca gently scooped up the bruised Munna, wincing herself whenever it winced. "I'm headed back to town," she said, carrying the Munna with the care often reserved for Pokémon eggs.

"I heard," I replied. "I'll be back in a couple of hours." She nodded and headed back. I looked around and noticed the Musharna was gone, but an especially dense cloud of Dream Smoke remained – more like a clod than a cloud, actually. I scooped it up in an Item Ball with a smile. "May as well keep looking around; seems like all sorts of loot'll be around."

I did find some treasure among the trash – a Pokéball, a Potion, a Paralyze Heal… Edward brought me an Antidote and a Great Ball. I had to explain the mechanics of the Paralyz Heal to him, though ("No, we can't drink it right now"). The new member of the team, though, outweighed any of that.

Not ten minutes after Bianca's departure, Tormod found a Purrloin about to disembowel a Patrat for fun. The Purrloin's claws and the Patrat's eyes glinted in the dark, and we couldn't help ourselves. The Purrloin ran off with its ass on fire, and the Patrat used Tormod's nose to help itself to its feet. "Oh, thank you," he said. "You saved my butt!"

"Aw, it was nothing," Tormod said, grinning in embarrassment.

"I…" the Patrat looked away. "I have a confession. I started that fight. I saw you guys fighting those weirdos and you just looked so cool, and it really got my blood boiling! I wanted to kick some butt, too!"

"Well, it doesn't just happen," Tormod said. "You have to train, like Layla trains us. It's a dangerous world out there, and you could get your… uh… guts ripped out."

"I've got an idea," I said, grabbing a Pokéball. "Why don't you come with us? I'm trying to get to the Pokémon League, so hanging with me is a ticket to getting stronger for sure."

The Patrat's face lit up in a grin. "You'd do that? Sounds great!"

"Awesome! Hold still, I need to make it official." He just looked perplexed before the Pokéball hit him.

Met Rolf at the Dreamyard!
Male Patrat lv. 11
Impish nature, Keen Eye.
Likes to fight.

"Score!" I let the newly-christened Rolf back out of the Pokéball. "Come on, it's late. Let's go get fixed up at the Pokémon center."

"Sure!" he chirped. "Hey, what did you do to scare those guys away?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Didn't you see the dream illusions that Musharna was casting?"

"Oh, that was what those were!" He laughed. "I see through illusions like Double Team. Those just looked like heat ripples; it gets hot around here in the summer with all this old human building material."

"You see through illusions, do you?" I said, laughing a bit awkwardly. "You'd be a great detective. It's a really cool power, though."

Fennel accosted me the next morning as I set out from the Pokémon Center. I gave her the Dream Smoke, which she got all excited and giggly over, and then she led me up to her room and desperately tried to convince me to strap into her (possibly literal) nightmare machine. Naturally, I would have fucking none of it. Shrugging, she thanked me for my time and gave me a C-Gear, which was a weird portable social networking device for Pokémon trainers – I suppose it could be useful, since I wasn't going to be settling down in any city for more than a few days in the near future. Her hack assistant gave me a notepad for keeping track of the codes that other people's C-Gears would use; again, whatever.

Bianca hadn't earned her Trio Badge yet, so she decided to stay behind for another day. She had adopted the rescued Munna; to my (exaggerated for her benefit) horror, she had also taken a monkey – a Panpour, no less. When she asked for advice about fighting Chili, I didn't have the heart to tell her what they were really like. Instead, she just learned to be prepared and respectful, and use her monkey when the time came. Then I told her to catch up to me in the next town, and left a city without her for the first time since I was a young child. Cheren still hadn't shown his face, and we could only conclude he was sleeping in other places than Pokémon centers – maybe he had money for inns (his dad was a professor of engineering), or maybe he was simply staying away from where we slept because either he was embarrassed or he thought we would be.

"Maybe he thinks I don't want to sleep in the same room as guys because of my No-Touch rule," I explained to Heather and Rolf. We had just cleaned out a kindergarten full of budding trainers; I would've felt worse about it if they didn't all have those weird monkeys (or if they had paid out more than a few coins each on defeat). Rolf was coming along nicely in terms of ability; he was developing strong jaws and his eyes gave him a great Leer. "I should straighten that out with him. I don't want him to think it's because I was sexually abused or anything."

"Why do you have the rule?" Rolf started to ask, but Heather cut him off.

"Speaking of sleeping in the same room as guys," she said, "how about you catch some more girl Pokémon? This team's getting to be a total sausage fest… I wouldn't mind a nice, strong female Herdier to keep me company…"

"Bianca!" I turned around at the strident call; Cheren was following me. The Trio Badge gleamed on his jacket. "I see you and I both have a badge. How about a Pokémon battle?"

"Are you sure?" I asked. "It's only been like twenty-four hours."

"I'm not going to take no for an answer," Cheren said, clenching his fist. He extended the fist and pointed his finger at me. "I'm going to keep challenging you until I win! Go, Megaman!"

"Leading with your starter again?" I only had to consider for a second. "Go, Heather!" With her superior speed and defense against special attacks, Heather was my best bet here. Heather prowled towards the Oshawott. "Heather, Assist!"

"Megaman, Water Sport!" Heather sat back on her haunches and Leered at the Oshawott, but at least it hadn't attacked back – instead, it had sprayed a fine mist of water high into the air. It took me a second to realize what the point was – this mist would weaken fire attacks, and Cheren knew I'd be using them if I brought out Tormod. I guess the glasses weren't just for show. "Now Focus Energy, Mega!"

"Heather, Fury Swipes!" Heather let loose the full five slashes on the otter, but he stood his ground. After she backed off the survey the damage, I saw he had placed his sharp shell (a Scalchop, I'd heard them called) on the ground point-down, and resting both paws on it, he took a deep, slow breath. Not good. A Pokémon that centered would spot all the openings in our defenses. "Heather, finish it off with Cut!"

"Don't let that happen, Megaman. Water Gun!" Heather slashed Megaman across the chest, leaving a thin, bleeding line.

"Gah… that was a nice shot," Megaman grunted, clutching his belly.

"Yeah, so why don't you just give-" Heather was still talking when her foe spat out a powerful Water Gun. I saw the tongue of water reach out and slap the Purrloin in the face hard enough to send her sprawling. She got up shakily and sneezing out water that had gotten up her nose; it looked like her eyes were squeezed shut in pain, and I noticed blood tainting the water leaking back out of your face.

"Heather, are you okay?" I asked nervously. I wasn't at all convinced anybody else on the team could take more than one hit like that. My fears worsened when I saw Megaman take the opportunity to pull a berry from behind his Scalchop and pop it into his mouth. That would restore his stamina for sure.

"I've got it," Heather answered, still unable to open one of her eyes. "I can take one more."

"Alright, but you shouldn't have to. Finish him off with another full set of Fury Swipes!" Panting but moving fast, Heather closed.

"Megaman!" Cheren commanded. "Show Layla and her Pokémon the humiliation of defeat! Another Water Gun!" Heather only got two or three scratches in before the second Water gun hit; it didn't seem quite as high-pressure, but it slammed right into Heather's open mouth and down her throat. She collapsed in a soaked heap in the middle of the road, unmoving except for a few pathetic attempts to cough up water.

"Shit, Heather!" I cried, running up to her. The small, violet Pokémon looked so fragile like this, even smaller for her wetness. "Are you alright?" She wasn't breathing – at least, not successfully – so I began pushing on her chest, hoping it would help her cough up the water, fearing whether my palms had enough force to break her little ribs. She spat up some more water and began breathing again, but it was weak, pained, and shallow. Her eyes were unfocused, and watery blood was leaking from her nose and open mouth.

"This battle's not over, Layla!" Cheren said impatiently. I glared up at him. He was beside himself with intensity. I don't think I could've convinced him my Pokémon's life was in danger even if I used those exact words.

"…Fine!" I shouted. "Edward, go!" I deployed him. "Tackle that fucking otter!" This time, Edward dispensed with his usual routine. They say that the Lillipup family has a high degree of empathy for its master, especially for a physically oriented Pokémon, and he could clearly tell that something was wrong. His ears and tail were low and stiff as he slammed into Megaman, but the technique was no less effective – the otter finally dropped to all fours, exhausted.

Making a frustrated grunt, Cheren sent out his own Purrloin, Bass. "Use the Fury Swipes, Bass!"

"Edward, Work Up and then keep tackling until it drops!" Edward could handle himself, I thought. Edward had jaws that clamped down and didn't loosen, not claws that couldn't cut more than a few millimeters deep. "Wake up, Heather, you've gotta wake up!" I shook the cat gently.

"Layla," she said hoarsely. "It really hurts, Layla." She made more noise inhaling than speaking.

"Good, you're awake," I said hopefully. I was dimly aware of Bass getting flattened to the ground, yowling about stupid dogs and stupid dog owners.

"Layla, why do you lie to your friends?" Heather suddenly asked, her words cutting deeper than her claws ever had. "You're always frowning, and I'm always smiling." She descended into a coughing fit, then gave me a pained smile. "You should be more true to yourself, like me…" Cheren was talking, but I didn't care. That idiot had really done it this time. Didn't he know that Focus Energy was a dangerous fucking technique?

"Just relax, Heather." Cheren's voice was getting louder, and now Edward was barking, and there were other sounds – footsteps – but I tuned it all out. We're gonna get you to that nice lady at the Day Care and she'll patch you up and tomorrow-"

"Look out!" Cheren dragged me to the side by my jacket despite my loud and sudden protests. I grabbed for Heather but missed. We both fell to the side in the muddy road as two more men in Team Plasma armor thundered past us, screaming bloody murder. I looked after them. One had a Munna tucked under his arm like a football. "Wow, Layla, no offense, but you need to lose a little weight," Cheren groaned, massaging his elbows. "What's in your backpack, Nuggets? And what was that all about? You were freaking out, and those guys were freaking out, and…"

"FffffffffffffHEATHER!" I screamed, crawling back over to her. If there had been any doubt, there wasn't now. A double row of large bootprints dotted the muddy road; one print passed cleanly over Heather's face and neck, which had been driven two inches further into the wet dirt by the weight of their armor and bodies. Only one paw was moving, and as I reached her, even that stilled.

"Layla… oh… oh. Crap." Cheren bit his knuckle. "Layla…"

"I don't want to hear it," I said with as much venom as I could muster, and Cheren staggered back as if struck. "Why don't you go win yourself another badge? It's not like you have to care about anything else, as long as your goal is set. Am I right? Yeah, I've got you nailed." Cheren did nothing but blink at me for several seconds, and I realized he was blinking back tears. I searched for something to say, but I was saved by Bianca's arrival, flanked by a little crying girl.

"But Cheren! But Cheren! Team Plasma stole this girl's Munna and Layla and I saw them horribly abusing another Munna last night and it's awful and…" the words died on her lips as she saw me kneeling over my Purrloin in the mud puddle and Cheren hugging his arms to himself, both our eyelids red-rimmed. "Oh, Arceus… is that Layla's…?" he nodded. "Team Plasma did this?"

Cheren bit his lip. "Yeah…" he said finally, not meeting Bianca's eyes. "They did." I had looked to my Pokéball belt for a second, preparing to withdraw Heather for the last time, so I didn't see whether Bianca believed him or not. "I'm going to go make this right," he said with sudden confidence. "I'm gonna make them give that Munna back, by any means necessary. Bianca, are you coming?"

"Bianca, you stay with the girl," I ordered, without looking up past their feet. They both stopped dead. "I'm coming, Cheren."

"Are… you sure?" he asked lamely.

"Yes, I'm sure," I said, steeling my voice. I had withdrawn Heather. "Let's go show Team Plasma the wrongness of sundering people from Pokémon. There will be reparations, or there will be consequences." Cheren caught my double meaning. "Let's go." We turned and marched off, following the clear-as-day footprints – Plasma had tracked mud even where the route had dried off. Only once did I look back. Where Heather had expired, Bianca stood, teaching the little girl to make the wheel-and-cross symbol of Arceus's blessing.

RIP Heather lv. 5 – lv. 13
Fury Swipes, Cut, Assist, Sand Attack

Cheren was edgy, and had excused himself within a minute to run ahead and scope out the area. I didn't blame him – it was about time he pulled his head out of his ass. I'd been blind to miss it – Cheren had been avoiding Bianca and I because he wanted us as yardsticks, measurements of progress only to be pulled out occasionally to compare himself to. He had only battled Bianca once, and won narrowly despite a type disadvantage, so I could only assume I was his moving target right now. Well, he had avoided a shutout this time. I hope he was happy.

"Hey, wot're ya doin'?" a voice asked from above. My chin popped up angrily. Just a Pidove – white, grey, and black-feathered, yellow-eyed, plump, with a small wattle and a derpy expression.

"None of your business," I snapped.

"Are ya after those Team Plasma blokes?" he asked innocently.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I hate 'em. My brother, they took him from a trainer who used to let 'em out to play with me each marnin'. Now he never gets to come to the trees 'nymore. I'll show ya tha way, maybe help ya fight'em," he offered.

"Thanks," I said. "One second." I had tossed a Pokéball before he could mangle one more word with his brogue. He almost dodged it in surprise, but it caught him at the talon and dragged him in. Before the ball had stopped shaking, it was in my hand. "Sorry to be rude, but I don't want to wait to calm down."

Met Janaff at Route 3!
Male Pidove lv. 9.
Gentle nature, Big Pecks.
Quick tempered.

I had barely taken another few steps before a new figure stepped in my way. It was a Pokémon, and it stood at chest height to me. He was chubby, covered in strawberries-and-cream-colored fur in the pattern of an open jacket with a hood. A white fluffy tail shook behind him, and long fiddlehead-like extensions hung from his large, scalloped ears. I recognized the species; an Audino. However, this was no ordinary Audino. A scar ran down each of its temples, and its eyes were bright red. It scowled up at me instead of wearing the sweet smile of a nurse-issue healer.

"Hello," he said, and his voice was like a velvet-covered baseball bat slamming across my ear. "My name is Audino Montoya. You killed my best friend." He bared his teeth. "Prepare to die."

What a tweest!

For serious, though, this is a fairly grim chapter. Team Plasma uses a Munna as a trampoline, which may or may not cross the line twice and be really funny to you. But then we have the fight with Cheren. Here's the story. That first Water Gun was a crit, but it left Heather with more than a third of her health left. I figured if the next shot didn't crit, she'd have two or three HP left and be golden to finish him. Well, it didn't crit, but for some reason the non-crit did more than half the damage of the crit, so I guess the Random Number God just fucked me - or Heather, depending on your point of view. My next team member death happens under the same circumstances. You'll see.

I thought Bianca might be the type to be a little quietly religious. Anything to put a third dimension to these characters, right?

Nuzlocke challenge (c) Nuzlocke
Pokemon (c) Nintendo and Game Freak
Layla (c) me