When the MC said "GO!", Kim tried to run, really tried. But unfortunately for her, the person that she was with was both about half a foot taller and about twenty pounds heavier. So all that she really did was give herself a bad case of whiplash. Her Skarmory had actually taken flight in preparation for the mad dash forward and had to make a few ungraceful adjustments to her flight patterns so that she didn't lose contact with Kim.

"Why did you stop me? Now we're in last place!"

Kim's partner gave her a disgusted look, and then decided to lower himself to the level of the rest of the world and deign to actually speak to her. "I stopped because if we got caught up in that crush, then we would also be subjected to many battles at once. Those people can't keep up at that pace soon, so they'll stop and battle, hoping to weed out competitors. Once that happens, the entire roadway will be completely blocked off, and it'll take hours to get through it."

Kim bit her lip. "But they've still got a head start on us. Won't the ones at the front…I don't know, break away? How can you be sure that's what they're going to do?"

Her partner exchanged exasperated looks with his Beheeyem. "They'll do it because they're people, and people are all at the same general rate of intelligence- and by that, I mean average."

Kim rocked back on her heels, uncertain. Was this guy serious? Was he joking? Well, she thought, he has to be. I mean, she reasoned; what kind of person would go around saying that all people were a bunch of idiots?

"Are you done trying to think yet? I want to get a move on and find the shortcut."

They got moving.

. . .

Kim had never thought the saying 'you could cut the tension in the air with a knife' was anything more than an exaggeration, but she was now experiencing it firsthand. It was more awkward than she had thought possible.

Or maybe he really was a complete jerk after all. But since she was stuck with him for a while, she thought to herself, then she might as well try to make the best of it.

"So," she forced out "So- do you have a name? Mine is Kim, by the way, Kim Burrel. And my Skarmory is named Mimi."

"…It's Douglas. And my Beheeyem doesn't have a nickname."

"Douglas? Douglas what?"

"Just Douglas. Now be quiet, we need to get going."

"I-um, OK!" Kim gave a nervous giggle, and her Skarmory flapped her wings eagerly.

. . .

Kim didn't know what to think. On the one hand, Douglas seemed to be a smart guy, and from the way his Beheeyem was able to easily take down the random Houndour and Girafarig that had accosted them in the past hour. But on the other hand, he rarely spoke, and when he did speak it was always to make some sort of condescending remark about Kim's intelligence or skills as a trainer.

Douglas was currently leading them through the woods on the west side of Route 214, following a path that to Kim and Mimi was indistinguishable from the surrounding area. The only distinguishing feature that Kim could see was that they were going gradually uphill. He also insisted on walking in front of her, which made the handcuffs chafe uncomfortably in her wrist; and refused to respond to either Mimi's or her many friendly overtures.

It was all rather discouraging, Kim thought.

Mimi gave Kim a friendly poke with her beak, in an attempt to cheer her trainer up. She, unlike her trainer, was in a very good mood, as she had been easily knocking out random Combee and Heracross with her Air Cutter when she got bored, as Douglas's Beheeyem was easily able to subdue the Pokemon of any trainers that they came across with a well-timed Psyshock. Mimi was having a perfectly lovely time on this little escapade.

Kim was beginning to hope, in the back of her mind, that Douglas would fall off of a bridge and die.

. . .

"I spy with my little eye…something green!"

"Skarm-skarm, skarma!"

"….Yes, it is a tree, Mimi."

"Just like it was the last seven times. Would the two of you cease your inane gabbing and let me concentrate on where we're going?"

Kim ground her teeth. They had been tramping through the woods for another hour, and still with nothing to show for it, other than these two facts: that Kim knew that she would never be able to find her way out of the woods without help, and that there was no way that they would possibly meet another person out here. And to make matters worse, it was starting to get very dark out.

"Heya there! Are you guys lost too?"

But, Kim reflected, fate did love to screw with people who were stupid enough to tempt her with statements like that. OF COURSE they would run into what was probably the only other duo that got stuck in the woods, and OF COURSE it would happen the very second after she said "There was no way that they would possibly meet another person out here". So of course they did.

The girl bounded over towards them, a large grin on her face, towing a taller boy with dark hair and a Teddurusa riding on his shoulders; and matched her pace to the hasty one that Douglas had pulled her into the moment that he had seen them coming. "My Skidmore's been tracking you guys for a while now! We- well, I got put on map duty, even though I told Skidmore that I'd be better off making sure that Terr and Amberly were holding up with the battles OK, but he insisted, so…."

Her Lucario slapped himself in the face with his paw. "Roxanne, you were the one that insisted on taking the map for yourself. I attempted to talking you out of it, however-"

The girl- Roxanne, apparently- hastily interrupted him. "A-anyway! So would you mind if we stuck with you guys for a while? And you've got a FLYING Pokemon! Those things are great!" Roxanne, to Kim's amazement, actually began to bounce on the balls of her feet and clap her hands. "You guys can help us get out of this godforsaken place!"

"No, we can't. And you should leave."

Roxanne stumbled, mid-bounce. "…What?"

Her partner- Terr, Kim remembered Roxanne calling him- let out a startled noise. "Now really, if this is about the contest, then you have nothing to worry about! We'll be leaving you alone the moment that we can find our way out of the forest!"

Douglas stopped abruptly, and gave him a glare that could've caused a Kangaskhan to keel over. "I don't give a damn about the contest. What I care about is the two of you leaving before-"

Kim froze at what she could see over Douglas's shoulder. "CLEARING!" She yelled, "CLEARING! Oh thank Arceus, we're finally out of these stupid woods!"

The moment that the words were out of her mouth, Kim was practically run over by Roxanne and Terr, as they bolted for the break in the wall of trees.

Douglas swore, and ran after them, forcing Kim into a sprint that she could barely keep up with. "WAIT!" He yelled, "WAIT, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND-"

Kim gave a panicked shriek when Douglas suddenly pitched forward off of a cliff face, taking her down with him. "MIMI!" She wailed, "MI-MI!"

"SKARMORY!"

Kim felt Mimi's talons grab onto her backpack a second later, but when another second passed she knew that it was no good. Mimi, as strong as she was, couldn't hold up two people at once. And neither could her backpack.

As her last hope snapped, and Kim and Douglas hit the water below, a last thought ran through her head: "When I wished for him to fall off of a bridge, I didn't mean that he should take me with him!"