Disclaimer: I own neither Pokémon nor its characters

Chapter 23: the power plant center

My dreams were filled with dark shapes and voices. The voices had started off as a few quiet whispers, but as what little scenery I could see changed, there would be more voices, and they would get louder. It got to the point where all I saw were silhouettes of people, and the voices were starting to overwhelm me. Suddenly, a loud screech overpowered them, and I woke up.

The screech echoed again, and I immediately went out of the tent to see what it was. I didn't see anything, but I saw a ring glinting in the morning sunlight. I was sure that hadn't been there last night.

"Good morning Alex" Aqua said, sleepily getting out of the tent.

"Morning" I replied back, putting the ring on.

I looked at the ring. The ring itself was a plain, shiny silver. The only marking was a poke ball indentation just below the gem, the rest of the ring was smooth and cool to the touch. The gem was a bright yellow, and it caught the sunlight in a mesmerizing way. I put it on

After breakfast, we looked at the entrance "you guys ready?" Leaf asked. We nodded and headed in.

It was surprisingly empty in there. "Isn't this place usually full of Pokémon?" Aqua asked

"It seems eerily quiet, even with the generator echoing from the distance" Leaf said, looking around

"It's probably nothing" Red said. I stayed silent, looking around for Pokémon.

After a while, we got to a darker, open room. Looking into the room, we saw a large yellow bird standing in the middle. Its feathers had sparks going through them, and its wings were shaped similar to lightning bolts. I knew it was Zapdos.

The Zapdos watched us intently "I can take it" Red said, stepping up and throwing a poke ball "go, Dugtrio!"

"Dugtrio!"

The Zapdos looked at Red.

"ZAPDOS!"

It attacked, but it didn't go after the Dugtrio, it went after Red. Dugtrio barely got Red out of the way, and I pulled him back "I suggest you don't try that again" I said.

The Zapdos stood in the middle of the room, watching us. It seemed more angry than curious now. I looked at my ring, noticing it was the exact color of Zapdos's feathers.

I don't know what made me think it was a good idea, but I stepped forward into the room "Alex, what are you doing?" Leaf asked

I wasn't listening, I slowly reached for a poke ball, using the hand with the ring on it. "Alex, you're going to get hurt!" Aqua called.

I heard, but didn't listen. I brought the Poke ball up slowly, making sure Zapdos saw the ring. I looked right into its eyes, and I could see the sparks in them…I also saw the urge to fight.

"Zapdos!"

The cry was more challenging than angry this time. I threw the poke ball "go Gengar!"

"Gengar!"

The Zapdos immediately attacked, barely missing Gengar

"Gengar, Shadow ball!" I called. The attack hit the bird dead center, and Zapdos was knocked back.

I threw a poke ball, trying to catch it while it was dazed, but it knocked the ball back, and I barely caught it. Ok, so he wasn't going to be caught with a poke ball…maybe the ring would do something. It sounded silly, but maybe it was worth a shot.

I clicked in a smaller poke ball I had found in my bag one day, and I looked at the two Pokémon, who had somehow ended up in a death roll. I found it kind of amusing, especially since Gengar was so much smaller than Zapdos.

"Gengar, sneak attack!" I called. They broke apart as Gengar attacked.

Zapdos retaliated with Drill peck, but Gengar disappeared before it could make contact. Before I could figure out what was going on, Gengar reappeared, knocking Zapdos back.

I decided to try another poke ball. As I picked it up, the ring seemed to sparkle even brighter. I threw it, and the Zapdos disappeared into it. It started shaking.

I could hear the others holding their breath as the ball kept shaking…and shaking…and shaking…

The ball stopped, and after a pause clicked. I picked up the ball, looking at it. I then looked at the ring, and noticed where the poke ball once was, a small etching of Zapdos was there instead. I put the poke ball in my pocket. Something really didn't feel right about how I caught Zapdos, but I couldn't place what it was. I shook my head and walked out the side, lost in thought.

"That was amazing Alex!" Aqua exclaimed, almost knocking me to the ground in excitement.

"That sure was impressive" Red said, not seeming all that enthusiastic

"You're not jealous, are you Red?" Leaf taunted

"Of course not" Red said

"I still think being able to catch a Pokémon that powerful is nearly impossible" Zain said

They all praised me in different ways, but I wasn't listening. Something didn't seem right about all this. For quite a while, the feeling had been getting stronger and stronger. The natural love Pokémon seem to have for me had a bad feeling to it. Sure, some of them loved Aqua too, but Zapdos was exceptional…

"Come on, I say we need to find the best berries possible!" Leaf said.

"Totally! I bet we'll find some great ones nearby!" Aqua said. The girls rushed off, Zain close behind them, which left me alone with Red.

Red sat by the water, seeming upset "Red, if it really means that much to you, I'll give you Zapdos" I said, trying to cheer him up.

"No, you caught it, you keep it" Red said.

"Ok, what's bugging you?" I asked

He shook his head "don't worry about it" he replied.

I shrugged, knowing he wouldn't tell me. After dinner, which consisted of the freshly picked berries the others found, I decided to get an early nights rest. I fell asleep quickly, with very little thought.

Yay! Another chapter! Again, not much to say…oh well. Remember: I love criticism, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!