Chapter 3

"No," Andy said flatly, his eyes still dark.

It was after the battle. There weren't any serious injuries, so after Geranium managed to talk Andy down a bit, they all moved to the main lab, sat down, and tried to decide what to do.

"Do you need to see the little blinking light again?" Jack asked drily. Really, it was ridiculous; Geranium had seen the light when Jack had called for Bella's Shadowball attack and pointed it out to Andy. Apparently, that meant the Purity Gear was reacting to Jack, so it would work for him. This was backed by the undeniable evidence of Jack being unable to get the glove off for some reason. Why was he having so much of a problem believing it?

"Dark type trainers can't use the Purity Gear!"

"That's incredibly biased of you. Why can't I?"

"You train Dark types, that's why!"

"Let me explain his reasoning," Professor Geranium cut in. "Andy comes from a faraway region[1] where Pokemon are believed to have certain basic characteristics based on their types. Dark types are considered evil there, and most trainers avoid them to keep from being considered evil themselves."

"Evil?" Jack blanched. Looking at Bella, he couldn't see how she could be considered evil. Beautiful, yes. Strong, definitely. But never evil. Bella, offended by Andy's accusing glare, fluffed her fur out and flattened her ears. Jack had a similar feeling. "You're insane. And the Gear chose you?" he scoffed.

"Alright, enough," Geranium snapped. "Jack, stop baiting Andy. Andy, Jack's a Purity Trainer and that is final. Do you both understand?"

"I'm not baiting-"

"He can't be-"

"No." She glared at them. They both fell silent. "Andy, your report's given. Get going. I'll explain to Jack." Andy, still looking distinctly sullen, slouched out the door, his Shinx close behind.

Once he was gone, she visibly relaxed. "I'm sorry, Jack," she apologized softly. "He has some extreme beliefs, but he's very good at purifying corrupted Pokemon." She got something from a cabinet and sat back down. "So, first things first. Let's get you listed in the book and then I'll get you a journal..."

A WHILE LATER...

Jack stood at the edge of the town, taking one last look in the direction of his house. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, and Bella stood at his side. She cocked her head to one side and mewled at him, waiting.

"It's alright, Bella," he said softly. "Geranium will tell them I'm gone. And we'll return, with Thorn, and Cora can begin her own journey." He turned and started walking. After a moment, Bella followed.

It was a good thing the area was empty; otherwise, someone might have seen the tear that slipped down his face...

Author's Note: Whew! Now that the explanation's are mostly out of the way, I can concentrate mostly on the plot. There'll be some explanations on the fly, but other than that...and I don't have work for two more days, so I can keep writing!

[1] I won't really go into this during this story, but I plan on writing about this region. It's an original region of my own design, so I hope you'll like it!