Me: Well I wrote this in an ungodly amount of time!

Verto: Congrats on thirty-k words! Want me to take the reviews?

Me: Thanks for the offer, but I'll take 'em.

Anna-matronic! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter! I worked very hard on it! I hope you like this one just as much! A lot happened! And… uh…

Verto: 'sup?

Me: How do I respond to this without giving spoilers?

Verto: Easy! Like this! How2101! Thank you for the kind words. Here's your wish on the next update! Enjoy!

Me: What he said. This chapter was a ton of fun to write, so I hope you guys like it! Enjoy! Oh, and really quick, the next chapter might not be up quite as fast. My apologies. Finals are coming up; I have a ton of homework, and a few other things. But it shouldn't be too long!

Chapter 8

Rachael's POV

She was floating in darkness. Nothing but darkness surrounded her. It was quiet and calm, yet also eerie. Despite the darkness, she could see herself with perfect clarity. She looked at her arms, expecting to see the small the feathers she had had as of late.

There were no feathers. She tried her voice.

"Hello…?" she tried quietly. No chirping. What was going on? The space in front of her rippled. She saw her reflection. It was normal. She had her normal, featherless black hair, pale skin, and her glasses. She would have cheered if it had not started to ripple again.

When the ripples stopped, she saw her, but not her. Her hair had long, black feathers mixed in with it. A slight amount of red tinting was at the very top. No feathers were on her arms, however. Rachael felt her hair quickly. There were no feathers in it. Her strange reflection moved her arm too, revealing something. Rachael turned to the side. Were those…?

A wave of agony swept through Rachael, as she felt herself shift and contort. She tried to scream, instead making a loud, agonized squawking noise.

Rachael jolted awake, though she kept her eyes closed. Dear Arceus she was sore.

"Au-Audi- no" She heard, which her brain automatically translated to "I think she's waking up now."

Rachael groaned and tried to ask, "What happened…?" She heard herself say "Ly star Starly ly…" yet at the same time it sounded like what she tried to say. It was as though she was hearing what she actually said as background noise, while the meanings behind the words were what she really listened too.

She felt wool underneath her. It was actually quite comfortable, compared the sleeping bag from the last night. Despite this, she ached all over.

It didn't help how sore her wings were. What happened, anyway? The last thing she remembered was Torterra talking and-

WAIT WINGS?!

Rachael's eyes snapped open, as she stood up and looked around frantically. Or at least she tried to stand. Something was off about her legs, and she fell on her face. She felt her beak reach the wooden bed below the wool. Wait… a BEAK!

Rachael started panicking, her breathing quickening. She pulled herself into a less uncomfortable position, somehow.

"Rachael, are you okay?" She heard Hannah. Oh thank Arceus.

She turned to face the doorway. Rachael was in the corner of the building. It was simple, yet it looked nice. Pink flowers decorated the roof, while shelves upon shelves of berries covered the walls. Hanging from the ceiling were the same strange lanterns from the giant tree Torterra was in. Hannah had been sitting near the doorframe, which had an afternoon light shining through. Hannah was approaching her bed, except she was enormous. Either Hannah and the rest of the world grew massive, or Rachael… shrunk.

"No… please don't tell me…" Rachael trailed off. She took a deep breath, and looked at herself. She turned her head to the side. She saw a grey, feathered, wing. It was outstretched and limp.

Hannah solemnly nodded, "Are you feeling better though?"

"Relatively speaking," Rachael dryly answered. "How are Danny and Michael?"

"I'll take you to see the others in a moment. First, why don't you try to figure out how to move without tripping?"

Rachael tried to move one of her wings. The part of her wing attached to her side was a ball joint like a human shoulder. It was the second joint that messed with Rachael's head. It moved in the exact opposite direction of an elbow, and the natural position of the wing was propped onto her side. Rather than hanging straight down like arms, the wings natural position seemed to be propped on her side. The strangest thing was how the limb just seemed to… end, due to the lack of a hand at the end. Slowly Rachael moved both feathery wings back and forth, up and down, as much as she could do so.

While she wore a façade of calm curiosity, she was terrified. Did this mean she could be "captured" now? It probably did. She was a pokémon now! How was she supposed to go to school, much less collage as a Starly? And what about her parents? They did not exactly sign up for a bird as a child.

And yet, a small part of her was filled with joy. Wings! Maybe she could learn to fly! The idea was intriguing and exciting, yet also terrifying.

After moving her limbs around for a few minutes, the Audio brought her an oran berry. Rachael saw Hannah wrinkle her nose.

"Here, you must still be in pain. Eat this berry. It will help you heal faster."

"Thank you, for all your help." Rachael thanked.

"Oh don't worry about it sweetie! Now eat this berry!"

Rachael's stomach growled, and loud.

"I- uh… how long was I out, anyway?"

"You were out like a light for over a day. The transformation had only finished a couple hours ago, and I suspect you were too drained to wake up." Hannah supplied. The Audino gave a little laugh.

"I guess you must be hungry! Well what are your favorite berries? I'm sure we have them!"

"Well… I like cheri berries quite a bit… pecha berries taste really good too…" Her stomach growled again.

"Cheri berries? That's surprising. Usually only electric and fire pokémon like those."

"Uh…"

"Oh! Right! Sorry! We're not used to having humans around here, might I add." The Audino brought Rachael several oran, pecha, and cheri berries.

"Thank you… now… let's see…" Rachael pierced the oran berry with her beak, and used the bottom of her beak to break off a small chunk, which she ate. It was awkward, but it would do. The Audino continued to talk as Rachael ate.

"You're friends have been rotating times here these past several hours. That Michael kid stopped being able to talk a couple hours after you started to transform." Rachael felt bad for him. There were plenty of things Rachael had wanted to say while they were traveling but could not.

We were able to stop whatever was starting to transform Hannah. It's still in there, but it's halted, and should remain that way. It takes quite a few Gardevoirs and Audino to do it for one pokémon and-slash-or human, but we did!"

Hannah cut her off. "The guys and I have been doing alright, too! Ditto has been taking them and helping them… well… not suck with their abilities. They still have the skill level of small children, but that can be chalked up to them not having fully developed abilities yet." Rachael felt her head spiraling. The Audino and Hannah combined made the worlds' most talkative duo.

"Why don't you hate me? Torterra said pokémon here weren't very fond of humans." Rachael asked between bites. The Audino looked pensive.

"A lot of pokémon here view humans as 'guilty until proven innocent' when it comes to them as a person. There are a few pokémon here willing to be more open, but it's a very unpopular opinion. Even Chief Torterra is mistrusting of humans at the start, but he is a lot more levelheaded about it. That's why he gave you a chance. He allowed you to tell the full story, and he judged from there, but a lot of the pokémon, like that Lucario, will respond with more fear." The Audino supplied.

"Why are pokémon so afraid of humans?" Rachael asked.

"Several years ago, pokémon have caught wind of a surplus of killed pokémon that belonged to trainers. Pokémon have been extremely fearful of humans since then. I just find it hard to be afraid of humans who are fearfully following a pokémon carrying an unconscious human curled up in a ball." She finished with a slight smirk of humor.

"Humans aren't even allowed to train pokémon until age eighteen due to all those occurrences." Rachael responded.

"Really now? That does explain why the trainers seen in the forest are much older than they used to be. We constantly have pokémon in the forest making sure no humans near the village. I hope this means the few dozen pokémon that have been caught are alright…" The Audino trailed off worriedly.

"How do they get caught?"

"Well we have to send in more than just, say, a Pidgey or Fletchinder here or there, or it would get suspicious. "

"Oh… okay then." Rachael finished awkwardly, deciding to return to eating the berries.

Rachael finished eating her food. They were the best berries she had ever eaten. Maybe her sense of taste had increased since transforming. "How about we go see the others now?" Hannah nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! Can you walk? Probably not very well… I can carry you! Plus, that reduces the odd of pokémon trying to attack me! Let's go!"

Before Rachael had time to protest, Hannah scooped Rachael up in her arms.

Rachael let out a chorus of surprised chirps. Arceus it was embarrassing; being carried like a pet.

Rachael inwardly gasped as she noticed how well she could see. Her vision seemed so much sharper. She could see small discrepancies in color, as well as the smallest changes in shape or texture. Even when she had needed her glasses and had them on, she could never see this far or well.

"You know, Rachael, you look really cool as a Starly. I've never seen one look like you do." Hannah started as they walked through the forest.

"What do you mean?" Rachael asked in confusion.

"Well you have the grey feathers, but there are many black feathers mixed in, like the color of your hair. Your eyes even have a splash of hazel in them!"

Turning her head as much as she could, she noticed there were some black feathers mixed in with her grey ones. Rachael felt some amount of relief wash over her. Despite this change, she was still herself. Even though it was something small, the assurance was indescribably… calming.

"Isn't this place awesome?" Hannah was so excited. She must have been waiting to show Rachael the forest.

"It certainly is. The structures are unexpectedly well built, and the flowers are ingenious means of decoration. It's amazing they keep them alive, though.

Many pokémon were walking to and from houses, tending to gardens, having sparring matches, and taking part in other activities. They didn't stare nearly as much as they had when they first arrived. Some of them shot Hannah wary glances, but then continued on their way.

Rachael noticed an incredibly large amount of alternate colored pokémon, commonly referred to as shinies, in the town. About three of every ten pokémon was a shiny; those were incredible odds compared to the extreme rarity of them in the rest of the world. "How on earth are there so many shiny pokémon?" Rachael was shocked.

'So apparently, shiny pokémon are really important to the villages, because they are different than normal pokémon. A normal pokémon can perform all the things you'd expect, but shinies have some unique ability depending on their species that no normal pokémon of their species has! That's how Ditto was able to transform into pokémon that weren't nearby! He's a shiny!"

"A shiny ditto? So he can turn into any pokémon at will?"

"Yeah! That's why he is one of the main teachers to all the children pokémon! The normal dittos do too, because they can turn into each student, but the shiny ditto is the best at it, due to having full flexibility.

"Hannah, for the love of Arceus, please, slow down. I can barely understand you." Rachael's head was flying into a tailspin.

"Well we're here! This is where the guys have been the past several hours!"

They were in a large clearing. There was a sparkling blue lake next to lush green grass. It was not incredibly decorated, yet it was still gorgeous. A few of the trees nearby all worked together, their branches supporting one, large building, decorated in the same way as most of the tree houses, except five times as large. The vine bridges led straight down to the clearing.

In said clearing, were Danny, Michael, Absol, and a pokémon Rachael figured was ditto, given he had just transformed from a Zorua to a Riolu.

Danny had much more fur on his arms, his hair also having turned almost completely black, minus the odd blonde hair. It was spiked upward like a Zorua, and had the red tip at the top. His hands had some a light layer of red fur covering them.

Michael's hair was completely blue, with the exception of very little brown. He had the complete Riolu fur mash on his face. He was noticeably shorter, not that Rachael could make fun of him for that, and he was walking strictly on the ball of his foot with no difficulty.

Michael was focusing on trying his punching a tree, his hand glowing a slight blue. Danny was holding his hand out, as if expecting to palm hand something, with Ditto yelling at him. Absol sat and watched, trying to hide his amusement.

Danny noticed Hannah and Rachael, and seemed to give a gasp.

Rachael saw him gesture to Michael, whose face lit up like a Christmas tree.

Michael and Danny started running towards Rachael, Michael going considerably faster than Rachael had ever seen him move, easily passing Danny.

"Hi Michael. Hi Danny. You guys look good." Rachael tried.

Danny gave a small, ironic smirk, and Michael gestured with his arm, as if to say, "So do you."

"Heya kid. Are you sore at all? Are you in any pain?" Ditto asked, in the form of a Riolu.

"I was until I ate some oran berries a short while ago. Why?" Rachael felt a strange sense of foreboding.

"You're not? Good! I'm teaching you how to fly, then!" Rachael let out a chirp of fear.

"C-come again?"

"Fly, kiddo. F-L-Y! Fly!" Ditto was smiling in a mock evilness. There was a bright flash, a Staraptor standing there the next moment.

Dramatically, he unfurled his wings. With a powerful push downward, he lifted off, and charged towards Hannah. Hannah and Rachael both let out shouts-slash-chirps of shock. Hannah stumbled backwards, Ditto grabbing Rachael in his talons. Rachael saw the ground shrink below her, and she shrieked again.

"Oh quiet down, kid! You're a bird!" Ditto shouted over the wind.

"Well I'm new at it!" Rachael retorted. "I only woke up a bird an hour ago!"

"Excuses excuses!" he chided. Rachael would have rolled her eyes if they weren't so fixated on the ground a solid ninety feet below. Ditto landed on a branch at the top of the tallest tree by the clearing, one without a tree house on it, and threw Rachael onto a large branch. Rachael flailed, trying desperately not to fall.

"Alright, lesson one, kid. Your talons are used for gripping branches. You are not a flatfooted human anymore."

"I never really thought of it like that… not that I had a reason too!" Rachael retorted. Once she gained her balance, Rachael tried moving her… talons to grip the branch. "I'm surprised you're not laughing your tail feathers off at this…" She added dryly.

"It took me a while to figure out various forms of pokémon, and I am a pokémon. I'd been learning since I was a child. A teenager going from a human to a bird cannot be easy. Those other two kids are able to learn a lot easier, but they've had more time to transition. You were pretty much thrown into it."

"Wow… you never struck me as the…"

"Not a grumpy jerk type? I get that a lot. Don't worry about it, kid." Rachael dropped the topic. She focused on moving her talons. After about a minute, she decided it was a lot like moving a hand. It felt strange, sure, but Rachael was soon able to grip the branch with her yellow talons.

"You good? Good. Step two: I push you off the branch."

"What?! No!"

"Just start by holding them outstretched, keep your back tail-feathers straight, and don't worry. I won't let you get hurt." He suddenly seemed much more serious. "I promise."

Rachael blinked. Before she had time to respond, she was shoved off the branch. She let out a startled chirp as the ground lurched towards her. Quickly, she snapped out her wings in an attempt to break her fall. She jerked upwards, her falling changed to a diagonal decline.

Still panicking, she curved her wings upward in an attempt to slow her descent. She went from dive-bombing, to a slow, horizontal decent. She was so high! About forty feet below her, Danny, Michael, Hannah, and Absol were watching her, all of them smiling.

She felt so… free! Deciding to take a chance, she tilted her wings downwards slightly. She quickly gained speed and lost altitude. Before she got too close to the ground, she tilted her wings back. She swooped back upward in an exhilarating rush.

She let out a chorus of overjoyed chirps. Then she noticed how close she was to a tree. She started flapping her wings forward in a panic. She was forced onto her back as she plummeted to the ground. Flapping her wings only making her go faster in her panic.

She felt something grab her talon, as she slowed to a stop, about fifteen feet from the ground. Rachael was breathing heavily, hanging upside down.

"Okay, gliding: you're not half bad. Landing: could use some improvements." Ditto observed.

"You don't say." Rachael snapped back. "That was… terrifying."

"You'll do better next time. Back to the branch!" He flew back to the branch with Rachael in tow. "How did you know to tilt your wings? That took me ages to figure out." He asked once they returned to the branch.

"Well pointing them downward would make the wind force me downward because of the curve and position of the wings. Holding them back would create more resistance, slowing my fall." Rachael explained. "Flapping my wings forward, with too much force, was probably what caused me to fall."

"That's… exactly right. You're a much quicker study than most kids I teach. It's kinda refreshing. Okay! Since you seem to be okay at actually gliding, next up is turning, since it'll help you… you know, avoid trees. You need to do a couple things at once. It may be hard at first, but you'll get used to it."

"Uh… okay…"

"Okay, so, wings. We'll start there. In the direction you want to turn, you'll lower that wing, and raise the other. You also need to turn your tail feathers in said direction, and hold them there steadily. You'll need to be careful to turn them the right direction, or you'll lose control. It doesn't have to be far. In fact, it can't be far, but it makes a big difference. You know how to move them right?"

"No…"

"Oh. Right. Human. Well, you can turn them slightly… it's hard to explain. Just give it a shot."

"Um… alright… never tried before…" It took several strange minutes, but eventually Rachael was able to slightly shift her tail feathers from side to side. "Alright… I think I got it…"

"Okay! Okay! No need to push me this time!" Rachael shouted, as Ditto got closer to her. She took a deep breath, and jumped.

Snapping her wings out, Rachael began gliding. She decided to try turning left, since the right ended up near a lake. She lowered her left wing, and raised her other. She started to turn her feathers, but she lost control, as she failed through the air for a second. She was able to regain her balance, stretching her wings back out.

Taking a deep breath, she focused on turning her tail feathers with her wings at the same time. She began to gently turn left. She let out a chirp of triumph, and turned a bit sharper.

After straightening out, Rachael took a deep breath. She tilted her wings and tail feathers to turn right. Slowly, she began coasting right. Angled her wings down, making her go faster. She was getting close to the ground, so she sprawled her wings outwards, slowing her decent.

She was still going somewhat fast, however. She let out a short cry as she tripped touching down, face planting into the dirt. She heard Danny making a noise that could be a laugh meets cough.

She must be making a really stupid pose, her feathers sticking straight up as her wings were sprawled on the dirt. She quickly got back up, watching Ditto glide down to meet her.

"Up we go!" He said, grabbing Rachael as they flew back to the branch. "It astonishes me you can already glide so well, even though the landing is rocky. Let's spend some time tweaking it. That was the next couple of hours. Ditto had transformed into a Starly as to a Staraptor for some reason, only changing when he had to carry Rachael up. They spent the next couple of hours perfecting Rachael's gliding. After the work, Rachael could glide, do sharp turns, even U-turns. She could also do a roll mid-air, which Ditto was insistent on her learning despite its apparent uselessness. She had also gotten much better at landing, though she sometimes still stumbled a little.

And Rachael enjoyed every minute of it. It was unlike anything she ever experienced. She had no reason to fear heights. She was not nearly as bound by gravity. She just felt so… free.

"Alright kid! Let's take a short break, then we'll get on with the fun stuff."

"What? But I'm okay! I can do more!" Rachael insisted, on top of the branch.

"You haven't eaten since this afternoon. You must be hungry.

"You're tired, aren't you?" Ditto flinched at Rachael's accusations.

"It's the turning into Staraptor that tires me out."

"Really? Why?" Rachael asked, surprised.

"Basic and stage on pokémon I can turn into indefinitely, but stage two pokémon take a lot more energy, so I can't spend more than an hour, sometimes two if I push it, straight as a stage two pokémon. That's also why you don't see me turning into legendary pokémon. A minor legendary, like Heatran, Celebi, or Diancie would drain all my energy after five minutes. Then I'd be out like a light for a day. Id I were to turn into something like Yveltal, Dialga, or Arceus, an entire weeks worth of energy would be used in ten seconds, and I'd be unconscious until then. Since I turned into a Staraptor for short periods of time, I'll be fine in about twenty minutes."

"Oh… I'm sorry. I should not have put such strain on you. My sincere apologies."

"Kid, no need to be so formal. I'm fine."

"Very well… I'm going to go talk with my friends. They appeared to be working pretty hard, too." Ditto nodded, then transformed.

This was the first time Rachael had seen Ditto when he wasn't transformed. He was a bright, vibrant blue, though his ductile makeup looked strange compared to the Starly that was there mere seconds ago. Deciding not to stare, Rachael jumped off the branch and descended down to her friends, who were resting by the lake in the evening light.

She reveled in the feeling of the wind, blowing by her as the ground rushed past her. The howl of the wind in her ears was like a chorus of Meloettas. The force of the air underneath her just made her feel… powerful. She reached her friends, as she spread her wings out to land. Her perfect landing made her look way better than she actually was.

"Any new headaches?" Rachael asked her friends.

"By the looks of it, yeah, but it was just small things for these two." Hannah gestured to the guys, who were both smiling.

"Why do you think it went so much faster for me?" Rachael asked. It was difficult to understand. Michael looked pensive for a moment, and then he reached into the bag and pulled out his notepad. After he finished writing, he handed it to Rachael, AKA set it down in front of her, because, you know, lack of hands.

"'Perhaps it is because Starly is simpler in terms of abilities. You may have turned into a flying type, but there is no illusion or aura voodoo involved. It must have been a simpler transformation overall.' I guess that makes sense. I haven't exactly started trying to use moves like wing attack or whatever though."

"The disaster." Absol said ominously.

"What? What about it?" Hannah asked worriedly.

"The disaster… draws near… ugh." Absol began to sway, before shaking it off. "Oh. Sorry. I lost myself for an instant there."

"You got a headache, didn't you?" Rachael asked, despite knowing the answer.

"I am fine."

"No, you are not. We are taking you to Audino right now. Don't do this to yourself."

"I am perfectly fine. It has already passed. It is not something you need to concern yourself with."

"Don't be stubborn! We're taking you to Audino, and now!" Rachael insisted.

"No, Rachael. We'll take him. Ditto looks about ready to get back to flying lessons with you. Besides, its not like you can carry him."

"Oh, right. Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." Hannah insisted.

"I am perfectly fine. You do not need to-" Absol was cut off as Michael grabbed him and slug Absol over his shoulders. It was a pretty funny sight, since Michael was considerably shorter than he used to be.

"I'll walk! Just set me down!" Absol demanded as the others laughed. Michael set Absol down, and they proceeded to walk to the infirmary.

"Alright, kiddo! Ready to get back to it?" Ditto said from behind her, causing her to jump. "You won't achieve liftoff like that. We'll start by teaching you to fly after-"

"Being pushed off a branch?"

"Bingo."

Back on the tree, Ditto began his explanation. "You've picked up astonishingly fast on gliding, which really was the hard part. Now you just need to flap, but keep them steady. To turn when you're not just gliding, you need to flap one wing with more force. Easy as pie."

"That's it? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Rachael demanded.

"Because the last thing we need is you spinning out above the trees."

"Oh. Right… well, here goes nothing." Rachael dove off the tree, opening her wings into a glide. Once she gained enough speed, she began to force them downward, and then letting the wind pull her wings back up. She began to gain altitude. Joy surged through her.

Flapping her wings harder, she shot in to the sky, above the trees. The exhilaration was unlike any she had experienced before. Gliding was fun, but this was a whole new level of amazing! She flew to be about ten feet above the tallest tree, then returning to a glide. The trees blurred below her as she flapped her wings to pick up speed. After about ten minutes of just joyfully soaring, she returned to the clearing. She saw the branch Ditto was watching from.

Rachael flew inwards, but made sure it was slow. Once she got close enough, she snapped her wings in, landing perfectly.

"H-how did you learn an entire months worth of flying skills in one freaking day? You aren't even a pokémon, yet you already are almost as good as me! That's incredible!"

"I… I don't know…" Rachael was somewhat troubled by this. Perhaps it meant she was more a pokémon mentally than she had feared. She felt as though her mind was untouched, but then again, how would she notice? Maybe it was basic instincts that ingrained themselves into her mind.

"Now comes the hardest part. Then I'll let you fly on your own. I'll still be watching, but you'll have an easier time. Takeoff. Glide down to the ground."

Rachael did as she was told, Ditto following her. She stumbled a bit on the landing, but was good for the most part.

"Alright. You will have a tough time getting off the ground from a standstill as a Starly, but it should be easier come evolution." Rachael did not mention how she would, or at least hoped she would, be human by that point.

"You'll need to gain a little momentum, so flap your wings as you try and run."

Rachael opened her wings, and started a somewhat fast gait. Walking was not easy, and felt very awkward compared to the natural… perfection of flying. Nonetheless, she did what she was told. Soon she felt an upward tug on her wings. She quickly pushed downward with all her force, being levitated slightly off the ground, before promptly tipping forward and landing back on the ground.

"Oof… What did I do wrong?" Rachael asked as she got back up and tried to brush off the dirt whatever way possible. She noticed her friends returning in her peripheral vision, as they smiled at her. Danny waved.

"You forgot to start flapping right away, and once you started gaining lift, you stopped flapping, as if expecting to glide." He informed.

"Oh. Okay. I'll try again!" Rachael was determined at this point. She started gaining momentum, making sure to flap her wings. Once she felt that upward tug, she forced her wings down with all her might, but made a point to continue flapping. It was exhausting, like trying to ride a bike uphill, but she did it. Slowly, she started to gain altitude, gaining speed until she could easily soar upwards.

She let out a shriek of joy. She felt unstoppable! Gravity could not bind her to the ground anymore! She could stay like this forever! The realization hit her like a freight train. She was in fact a Starly. She had not given much real thought to it before, but she truly was a Starly.

And she liked it.

She wanted to turn back human, but at the same time, she wanted to remain unbound by gravity, to be really, and truly free. Flying was nothing like on an airplane, where you had no control. She had perfect control over everything. Deciding to push those worries to the back of her mind, she swooped down to Ditto, who's beak was open in shock.

"How did you just… perfect that on you second try? I've been teaching your friends too, and they haven't been picking up on anything near as fast!"

"Maybe because they're just transforming slower? I haven't done anything special."

"Don't be modest, Kid. That was incredible. Again. Let's absolutely perfect it, then tomorrow I'll teach you how to use pokémon moves." Rachael nodded, and took off again. After soaring for about ten blissful minutes, not letting any fatigue stop her. She looked down at her friends. Danny and Michael were practicing their abilities on some trees, Absol coaching Danny in the way of dark-type moves, by the looks of it. Hannah sat by the river, watching them contently.

She soared above for a few more minutes. Then she heard a noise that made her heart stop. A quick shriek was cut off abruptly. Everyone heard it. Rachael frantically searched the lake.

Hannah was gone, yet the water was far more disturbed, bubbles shooting up from underneath. Rachael even saw white flashes underneath.

Hannah was being drowned.