He winced when a twig jabbed him in the knee.

"God, why's it so stuffy in here? And why's it so noisy? Quill, shut up!"

"Jolt."

"Oh, right, it's just me."

He perked up suddenly, straining to hear above the birdsong. Were those footsteps? Fallen leaves stirred in the breath of the late autumn wind. There. Voices. A stick cracking beneath a boot. He waited with bated breath.

Two feet appeared. More voices. Closer...closer…

Then-

He hurtled himself out of the bush, arms outstretched.

"Aha! Gotcha, you creep!" he cried.

Then, startled, he jerked back.

Wait-

"Victreebel, vine whip!"

Before he could even blink, stinging vines shot toward him, knocking into his feet and squeezing his arms. In the next second, he was sprawled onto the ground, staring up at two figures.

He managed a nervous grin.

"Oh, hey. Lovely morning. Good weather for a stroll."

They didn't answer. Only peered down at him, studying him. He strained to get away from their roving eyes, but the vines kept him in place.

He whispered desperately, "Quill. Quill."

The Jolteon was sitting next to the bush, casually licking its paw. It didn't even glance up.

"Fat lot of good you are," he muttered.

A boot pressed down hard on his chest, enough to drive the breath out of him. He squeaked.

"And who might you be?" a voice asked coolly. The girl seemed vaguely familiar. Her skin was darker, her hair brown and curling around her ears. Red stripes adorned her shoulders.

Oh shi-

"You ain't deaf. Are you lost, boy?"

"No, u-um, I was just-"

She gave him a grin full of teeth. "You're trespassing on my land, idiot. What were you planning, hm? Think you can steal a gym right from under my nose?"

"N-no!"

A second voice spoke up. "You're screeching as loud as a Fearow, Valor. Keep low. There may be more of them lurking about." Her blue eyes glittered coldly at him, as sharp as two chips of ice. He gulped. A Mystic. The blue symbols on her clothes told him as much.

But wait. Was he seeing things? Or-?

He squeezed his eyes shut. Opened them again slowly.

No, the two of them were still there. A Mystic and a Valor. Standing side-by-side.

"Um," he said. "I don't mean to alarm you, ma'am, but there's a Mystic right behind you."

The Valor rolled her eyes. "Of course, idiot."

"But…" His eyes widened. "Hey, that's not fair! You can't just yell at me and not at her! She's as much of a trespasser as I am!" He started to squirm, thrashing at the vines. "Stupid things-"

"Shut it, Yellow!" she spat. The heel of the boot stamped down on his neck and he gasped, feeling it grind into his skin. It was hard to swallow, to speak.

Oh, man. This is bad, really bad. It reminded him of the stories passed around the HQ, as easily spoken of as a hand thumping him on the back. How the wrath of a Valor was as fiery as the sun, how they could burn straight through your heart and leave you charred black. And Mystics weren't any better. The roughness of the heel on his neck reminded him of another one. Of how, supposedly, an Instinct's Vulpix had once wandered off into Team Mystic's turf, a long time ago. And when they had finally found it, it had been-

A shudder worked its way up his spine. Don't think about that! he told himself.

"Hold on…" The Mystic had stood back and was quiet for some time. With a finger tapping her chin thoughtfully, she said, "The lightning-shaped scars. Could it be…" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

He heard the Valor give a sharp intake of breath. Felt the boot crushing his windpipe, cutting off his air. Eyes wide. Full of rage. Her fist moved back. He closed his eyes. Braced himself.

"Jolt!"

The boot lifted. He opened them again to see Jolteon standing in front of him, electricity crackling from its fur.

Hoarsely, out of breath, he rasped, "Oh, now you decide you show up?"

"We can't let him get away," the Mystic said. "He could be one of them."

Spark's blood ran cold.

"Quill!" he yelled. "Thunder wave!"

"Victreebel! Vine whip!"

Green vines lashed out. Spark flinched back before one could whip his face. Jolteon nimbly danced out of its grasp, its movements quick and light. Clenching its teeth, it reared up and let white-hot sparks fly from its fur.

The Victreebel flinched away.

"Hold up," Spark pleaded, trying and failing to wrench free from his bonds. "I'm sorry, but I had to come! I just needed-"

"Now, sludge bomb! Hit it hard!"

He gasped, "I just need to talk to your leader!"

Jolteon was struck backward by the hurtling attack. It collided into a tree with a loud thwack!

She replied, "You're looking at her right now."

He blinked a few times. Once. Twice. Huh? This was Team Valor's leader?

Jolteon bounced up, limping now, and launched itself back into battle.

"No, Quill, don't-"

"And besides," she sneered, "If it's so important, why doesn't your leader come meet me himself? Is he that much of a wimp?"

Jolteon jumped into the air. A glowing white ball formed from its jaws. Spark kicked out wildly, but the vines held firm. He had to stop this! Now!

The girl pointed. "Finish this! Leaf storm!"

Victreebel bellowed forcefully and waved its leaves. Instantly, the wind picked up. It buffeted Spark's hair, stung his cheeks, nipped his ears with invisible teeth. Jolteon's lightning ball was bigger now, crackling with energy, as white as the sun.

"Because," Spark choked out, "Because I'm the leader of Team Instinct!"

He could barely hear himself over the howling of the wind, but as soon as the words left his mouth, the gales whispered and died.

"Stop, Victreebel."

Only when its opponent back down did Jolteon pause, the electricity sputtering like a dying engine.

She was not smiling anymore. "You?" she exclaimed. "You're Spark?"

"Why are you so surprised?" He squirmed. His pulse thudded painfully in his ears. "C-Can you let me up now?"

She hesitated.

A white flash as she tossed out a Pokeball. "Charmeleon. Burn those ropes off."

The flames came uncomfortably close.

He yelped. "H-hey, buddy, careful with that." Smoke trickled out of its nostrils when it snorted disdainfully. Once Spark could sit up, it backed away to stand beside its trainer, growling.

He stretched his cramped muscles. "Phew," he breathed. "Yeah, I'm Spark. And you must be...Candela? I've heard a lot about you." None of which are good, he thought.

She crossed her arms. "What did you come here for?"

"To ask a question." He stood up and dusted himself off. "It's very important that you answer it."

They faced each other. Jolteon and Charmeleon were growling at each other, but Spark didn't break his stare away from her's. He inhaled.

"Have you...happened to see Stormageddon around here?"

Her eyebrow twitched. She smiled, but it was not a nice one. "Storma...?"

"Yeah. Stormaggedon. He's very dear to me, but he wandered off some days ago and won't come back. I've had my Team search all over. Maybe he flew into your woods?" At her questioning look, he added, "He's a Pidgey."

She arched a brow. "A Pidgey."

He nodded furiously.

"A Pidgey named Stormageddon."

He chuckled. "Of course, he's more of a pet than an actual fighter, but…"

She cocked her head to one side and he could tell she was thinking hard. "Your Pokemon's going missing too?"

"Hm? Well, kinda. Stormy and...a few others that belonged to my teammates, I think? I dunno." He shrugged.

Candela sighed and pinched her nose in exasperation. "Alright, so the problem's bigger than I thought. Charmeleon! Stop growling at them! And Blue-" She whirled around and broke off. Her eyes darted this way and that. "What the-? When did she leave?"

"The white-haired lady? I couldn't really see after you stomped on me with your shoe, but maybe she went past those trees over there."

She muttered something under her breath, then shot her arm out and latched onto his ear.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"Quiet," she hissed. "I need to keep a close eye on you, make sure you don't run off. Don't try anything funny."

Jolteon barked and raised its spikes.

"It's alright, Quill." He laughed nervously. "She won't hurt us...or maybe she will."

Candela rolled her eyes. "Just stick close to me."

He followed her as they trudged through the bushes.

Finally, though, they spotted the girl crouching down in a blank patch of ground, her face hidden behind her bangs.

Candela stomped toward her. "What's the big idea?" she yelled. "You just left me there to fend for myself! What if he'd beaten me?"

The cool voice replied, "But he didn't, did he?" She didn't even bother glancing up.

Candela fumed. "I thought we made an alliance," she said out of gritted teeth. "So you'd better do your part of it, or I'll call it off."

Spark started. An alliance? Had he heard right? He cleaned an ear with his pinkie. An alliance? Between Team Mystic and Team Valor? The thought of it yanked him from the earth and spun him around, light-headed. The two most brutal forces, teaming up together. This was...this was impossible. This was unthinkable. Never, even in his wildest dreams, had he ever even brushed the idea of it. A Mystic and a Valor together was like a Magikarp sprouting wings and flying. This couldn't be real.

Be careful out there, he suddenly heard his father, a long time ago. Those Valors would kill you as soon as they'd look at you. They want nothing but blood and power and the song of battle in their veins. Ever since their Pokemon are hatched from eggs, they mercilessly train train them for hours on end. They're born from fire and forged from steel.

The two were bickering, although Candela was doing most of the yelling. The white-haired girl-Blanche? he suddenly wondered-had finally stood up, and was glaring at her.

His father shook a finger at him. "And those Mystics are as cold as the winter night. They're heartless. They've got nothing inside them. No heart. No warmth. Just the urge to toss away anyone who disagrees with their beliefs, humans and Pokemon alike. They'd just as soon as kill you than look at you. They're brutes, every last one of them. When the north wind blows, it chills their hearts so they feel no ounce of remorse."

"Jolteon…"

He jumped out of his thoughts and glanced down. Jolteon was crouching behind his legs, quivering as it watched the argument.

He bent down to pat its head. "It's alright," he whispered. "I won't let them hurt you."

He glanced back up. They were too busy talking to notice. Slowly, he began to back away. One step at a time. A slight shuffle. Slowly, slowly, ever so slowly. His knees creaked.

"Hold on," Blanche said suddenly. He froze. She tilted her head to one side. "Do you hear that? Or rather, not hear?"

Candela snapped, "All I hear is your annoying voice!"

"No," she said firmly. "The birds have stopped singing."

Spark listened. Sure enough, the forests had fallen silent. All he could hear was his own breathing and the rustle of the breeze.

At Candela's confusion, Blanche said, "Don't you ever pay attention to nature? This means something. Look."

She nudged at the ground. Spark inched closer to see a set of paw prints pressed down into the mud. "This is what I've been studying for those past few minutes, before you came crashing up here. They're Tauros hooves."

Spark was about to pipe up, but Candela voiced his thoughts. "That's not possible. Tauros don't live in closed spaces like the forest."

"I know. But with all the strange things that have been happening, I wouldn't be surprised."

Spark turned away. Something had changed. Maybe the temperature. Maybe the wind. Either way, it made the hairs on the back of his rise, his knees weaken.

"You feel that, Quill?" he breathed. It nodded.

Then he felt it. A slight humming. Not a noise, but a feeling that traveled from the ground to his body. A small tremor.

Blanche walked and stood next to him, gazing off into the distance of the trees.

"What is it?" Candela asked.

The earth hummed louder and louder, then louder still. It was like the sound of hundreds of stones being thrown against a cliff. Hruuummm! Hrooom!

And then they saw it. All three of them at once. A herd. They were charging straight toward them.