Chapter 1

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" a male voice commanded as a yellow mouse-like creature with black-tipped ears rushed forward with sparks of electricity coming from the red pouches on its cheeks.

Standing across the ring that the yellow mouse creature and a blue mouse creature were battling in was a female with short, blonde hair. Her brow was creased as she watched her little blue mouse with a white chest jump in the air to avoid the powerful bolt of electricity. Before the female could command a counterattack, the male trainer barked out another order to his yellow Pokémon. He smirked at her and she winced while she watched helplessly as her little Pokémon was plowed into the ground by a powerful Iron Tail attack.

"Marill!" she yelped, running over to the injured blue Pokemon, whose ears drooped significantly.

"This isn't finished," the referee standing nearby ordered, yanking the female up by the arm and throwing her out of the ring roughly, "Marill can still move."

"But Marill's been battling all day!" the female protested as tears sprung to her eyes.

"You agreed to this!" the referee retorted, kicking the woman lying on the floor, "This battle is to the end."

"Y-yes sir," the female replied timidly as she slowly stood and commanded, "Marill, use Double Edge!"

The male on the other side of the ring watched as the little blue Pokémon, Marill, neared his Pikachu. He narrowed his russet eyes and ran a hand through his messy, raven hair before commanding the yellow creature poised to strike.

"Pikachu, take Marill out with Volt Tackle."

Both trainers closed their eyes. A helpeless wail of "Mari-" echoed through the arena. The female's eyes snapped open and she ran over to her defeated and injured Pokémon, cradling it in her arms. She bit her lip hard enough for it to bleed to prevent herself from crying, but despite this, tears forced themselves out of her eyes and down her cheeks. The man watching from across the ring opened his eyes in triumph, though his expression soured when the referee approached the woman threateningly. His eye twitched and he called back his Pikachu as he strode around the ring and closer to overhear the encounter between the woman and the referee that seemed to hate her.

"Stop crying," the referee barked, "You signed up for this. You should have thought about the ramifications before you-"

"You think I do this because I want to?!" the female demanded, raising her voice, "You, sir, are thoroughly mistaken if you think, for one moment, that I actually want to do this. There is no way I'm going to make two thousand in one night…"

The man witnessing the encounter frowned. What did the woman mean by "make two thousand in one night"? He pondered the thought for a moment before he heard the referee speak again.

"Well, I guess you're going to have to sleep with a lot of people to make it up," the referee snarled, kicking the woman in the stomach.

The woman's helpless, defeated squeakwas the last straw for the male watching the encounter. He walked over and pulled the referee by the collar and turned him around so they looked at each other.

"Don't you dare speak to her that way!" the observer growled, clenching his teeth, "Leave her alone and let her out of here."

"Let go of me, kid," the referee spat, "I have friends in high places…"

The male let go, giving the referee a glare. Much to the male trainer's pleasure, the referee stormed off as he was called to be a referee for another battle across the dingy arena. Once the referee was out of sight, the male looked to the female, who turned her sorrowful emerald eyes to meet his russet ones. Tears shone in her eyes as she ran her bloodied fingers through her blonde hair, causing red streaks to appear wherever she touched. The man crouched to her level and placed a soothing hand on her wrist. She yanked her hand away as if she had been burned.

"You're lucky you know…" the woman said, standing slowly with her bloodied Marill cradled in her arms like a child, "You're a young male, only responsible for yourself. You must be reliving the 'glory days' of your childhood. And don't try to convince me that you "understand", because you don't! You're not a gambling escort who's starving her infant to death because she cannot eat enough herself!"

The woman abruptly walked away after spitting her parting statement at her former opponent. In reaction, the man's face fell and his shoulders slumped. He wanted to chase after her, but what could he say? If he had to tell the truth, he was dabbling in Pokémon fighting rings to relive his glory days, though the money and fame he earned were nice prizes as well. The male shook his head, turning away from the abandoned, bloody fighting ring. He bent down to pick up Pikachu and inspected him for any wounds. Thankfully, the electric mouse only had a few bleeding marks from Marill's bite attack.

"You okay buddy?" the trainer asked, wiping the blood from Pikachu's puncture wounds.

"Pi," the Pokémon replied, slowly running its tongue over the slowly-closing wounds.

The man sighed, looking around with sad eyes. He wondered how things had gotten so bad. He remembered the "good old days", when Pokémon battles were legal and battling was always common. There had never been an air of despair around the words "Pokémon battle" until battling had become illegal. He did not remember battling being so brutal and cruel that it caused the Pokémon to bleed or be pushed beyond their limits. He turned around slowly, looking away from the ring and in the direction that his former opponent walked in. He sighed softly, placing Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Things just aren't the same as they used to be…" he observed as he stepped out into the city.

"You can say that again," a familiar female voice chimed in, making the male spin around in confusion.

"M-Misty?"