I'm wrenched around, my pepper spray yanked from my hand. Suddenly I am staring into a face I've seen numerous times on my television screen, and on all the wanted posters in Unova.
"Skyla?" I shriek.
"Shut up! If you turn me into Team Plasma I will bash your brains out." She hisses into my ear.
"Well, that would be a little hard, seeing as I'd get arrested too." I say.
"Wait, you're wanted too?" Skyla asks. "Who are you?"
"Touko White, but you probably don't know me, because I don't expect you to get fabulous communication around here. I'm the newest internationally wanted criminal." I say, batting my eyes.
"What'd you do?" Skyla asks, pulling me through some trees.
"Umm, stole Pokeballs, caught a Pokemon, fought a grunt, won, and the list just goes on."
"Can I see your Pokemon?"
"Sure, but you need to tell me where we're going."
"To my place." Skyla says as, if it should have been obvious. "Welcome home."
Home is a nondescript moss green tent with several discolored yellow patches on it. The color of the tent has long since faded and the patches aren't as vibrant as they used to be. The grass here is tall and wavy and the tree foliage lush green. I hear Pidoves chirping in the trees and the air smells clean. There is a blue babbling brook that flows through the clearing, the bottom visible through its crystalline waters. I can almost forget about everything in this clearing. Almost. Skyla must be thinking the same thing as me because I see her shut her eyes and inhale deeply. I can see why the grunts haven't found her yet. She's good at hiding. I walk into her tent and am immediately appalled at the living conditions.
"How have you been surviving? You have no supplies!" I cry.
"Well, it's not like I can just go to a town and buy the things I need. I'm wanted all over the region, and can't get past borders."
"Okay, fair point," I conceed.
"Anyway, lets let bygones be bygones. Can I see your Pokemon now?" Skyla begs.
"Okay." I reply, letting Servine out of his ball.
"Oh, hi, little guy!" Skyla squeals, petting him. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing!"
Servine frowns and shakes his tail, as if he objects to being called "the cutest little thing," but it only makes him look cuter.
"Yes, we know. You're very scary," I say, and he looks mollified, straightening up taller.
"You two have such a strong bond," Skyla says, a touch of envy seeping into her voice.
"Thanks. That reminds me, we're should do some training.
"Keep watch while you're at it." She replies unhappily, nostalgic for the days she had a Pokemon to train with.
I grab another Pokeball from my satchel and think, "Skyla won't be sad anymore. Not if I can help it."
I run through the tall grass, searching for just the right Pokemon. Skyla deserves something special, and the wanted posters said that was a flying type expert, so flying type it is. I finally stumble across a Woobat and let out my newly evolved Servine. Servine wants to cuddle, but I point him to the task at hand.
"Go Servine!" I call.
Servine reduces the Woobat's HP to almost nothing. I throw my Pokeball at Woobat, who is sucked into it and caught.
"Yes!" I cry. I heal Woobat with an herbal mix I made and return to the tent. "Skyla," I call, "I'm back from training and I have something for you."
"Ooh what is it?" She calls, coming over.
"Well, I have some herbs and berries for dinner," I begin.
"Yummy, thanks!" Skyla calls, cutting me off mid-sentence.
"You didn't let me finish." I call after her, and she returns. "I also have a friend for you. Skyla, meet Woobat. You are a flying type expert, right?"
I let Woobat out and place the Pokeball into Skyla's open hand.
"You got me a Pokemon?" Skyla screeches.
"Yeah." I respond, wincing. I didn't think it was physically possible for someone to scream that high.
"Oh My Arceus! Thank you Touko! You are amazing!" Skyla calls while running out, "Gotta go train with Woobat now! See you soon. I'll keep watch. Bye!"
"Okay, I'll make dinner then." I call.
As I look at the supplies, I realize I don't know how to make anything. We don't have pots, or pans, and we don't have spoons. Not that I'd know how to cook if we did. Touya's mom took care of that stuff. I just microwaves leftovers.
I go out hunting for supplies and I spot Skyla and her Woobat training in the grass. Making sure to stay in sight of them, I kneel down by the water's edge and find some rocks. One is large, misshapen and hollow. It'll do for a pot. Then I grab two small, shallow shells that I deem spoons. Perfect. I craft several other necessary tools from rocks and shells before rinsing them off. Now to see about bowls. Looking, I see some more shells downstream and run over. I find a large oyster in the water, and try to pull it out. It doesn't budge and all that happens is that my sleeves get wet.
"Crap," I curse, and tug on it again.
It pops off the rocks, and I grab my makeshift knife, trying to cut it the way I've seen Touya's mom do. It must work, because the oyster falls open, and dies. I scoop the good sized amount of meat into my rock-pot, and grab the shell. I trudge back to the campsite, lay out my supplies, and break the oyster shell in two. Perfect. Bowls. I fill my pot with the new supplies, clean them, and then set to work cooking, making a very small fire. It is almost sundown when I've finished, and Skyla comes back with a happy Woobat.
"Phew. I'm starved. Whats for dinner? The usual roots and berries?" She asks.
"Nope, we have a treat," I tell her, laying out the bowls and spoons by the fire. "Oyster stew with energy root, powdered revival herb, and a side of leppa berry."
I take the big rock pot, and tip the stew into Skyla's bowl, and then my own. I hand her a clean spoon shell.
"Dig in." I tell her.
"This smells sooo much better than the usual roots and berries." She says, before attacking the stew ravenously.
I pour her seconds, there's still a lot left in the pot, and then finish mine. I pour myself a second helping, and I share it with Servine, who laps it up happily. I watch Skyla do the same and then feed Woobat a leppa berry. Servine nudges me, I pet him, and feed him a berry too.
"I think I saw some crayfish down by the river bed. We should have them tomorrow, if that's the case." I say.
"Really? Touko, I love you." Skyla says seriously.
We both decide to turn in for the night. We head into the faded tent, which is actually surprisingly roomy for something that seemed so small. I lay out my sleeping bag next to Skyla's. As I am lying down, a thought pops into my head.
"Skyla?" I ask timidly.
"Yeah, Touko?"
"Did we start a rebellion?"