I woke up mid-dream. In the pre-dawn darkness, my ragged breathing echoed off the bare walls. It took me a second to remember where I was: a threadbare room in a pokemon center, identical to the other six on this floor. I wasn't at home, under oppressively heavy blankets, trapped in a room without a door. Violet was here with me. Raine was here with me. I was safe; as safe as I could be while staying in this city, at least.

I wanted to leave Santalune behind me, but there was one more thing I needed to do first. I left the center early and took the bus to the outskirts of the city. After saying 'thank you' to the driver, I stepped off the bus and started walking toward the forest. I found a clearing on the outskirts of the forest, close to a large pond.

I let Raine out of her pokeball and she started waddling around. Stay close, and call us if you need to, but feel free to go have fun, I said. She found a group of Bunnelby to talk to and I left her to it.

I faced the lake and waited. The breeze was cool and the sun was mostly hidden under clouds. I wondered if it would rain. I wanted to get this over with and leave the city, but I was waiting for pokemon to appear, and I didn't want to scare them off. I had to be patient. I held my gym badge in my hands and felt the smooth metal of it while I talked to Violet.

What do you think about Raine? I asked. It was a loaded question, and I wished it weren't so.

Raine was cute, she was curious, she got excited really easily, and she made me smile. I liked her, but every once in a while, I still had to get used to the fact that she was around. She was new, and very obviously so.

She is warm to sleep with at night. With her here, you don't cling to me as desperately anymore.

Do you miss that?

No.

I nodded. I changed the topic slightly. She's new, and it hurts not to be able to spend as much time with her as with you.

It has been two weeks. Things will get better with time.

I nodded and pet Violet and waited. About twenty minutes later, Raine came over holding something in her paws. She spread out a bunch of flowers she'd picked in front of me, in all different colors, and said, Look what I found!

I smiled. Which is your favorite?

The red one. She pointed to a flower with small red petals and a black center. I looked at her, wanting to tuck it behind her ear, before realizing she didn't have an ear like I did.

I tucked it behind my ear instead. There. I'll wear a flower that you picked for me, if that's okay with you.

She nodded and tackle-hugged me, and I pet her softly on the head. Towards the other side of the pond, I spotted a large group of Azurill, Marill, and Azumarill playing in the water, and the sight set my heart started racing.

They're here! I said that with maybe more excitement than was strictly needed.

Raine poked me with her snout. Who's here?

Our new team member, I hope. Violet, how should we do this?

She got up and flicked her tail with a deliberate laziness. I'll go talk to them, I suppose. I'll be back in a bit.

I picked Raine up fully and put her in my lap so I could pet her and forget about my pounding heart. Violet and I talked for a long time before I became a trainer. She and I saw my uncle capture a Pikachu once. The Pikachu had wandered away from her family's nest when the three of us found her. Violet and I were listening to what she said as the battle dragged on and it... wasn't fun. She was really unhappy for a long time after she was caught. I shifted uncomfortably. Violet and I remember that day really clearly, and so we promised each other only to take pokemon with us that wanted to come. So she's trying to see if any Azurill want to come with us.

Why only an Azurill?

Mm. We wouldn't object to any others. It's just that Azurill are cute.

A few minutes later, Violet called me over to the pond. I wanted to keep holding Raine, but I couldn't support her weight with one arm, so I set her down to walk alongside me. I felt a multitude of eyes staring at me as I walked and I wanted to shrink away, but I couldn't. I tapped the index finger and thumb of my free hand softly in the rhythm of one of my favorite songs, hoping the rhythmic touch would keep me calm. The ground close to the pond was muddy and soft, and it made manouvering with a cane difficult.

I reached Violet and stood next to her. Violet looked at me. The elder Azumarill wants to speak with you. Are you okay with that?

I nodded. I dimly noticed an Azurill come up to Raine and start what I assumed was a conversation. I wondered if they could understand each other, or if Violet was mediating between them as well. A second later I heard a new voice in my head and I came back to the situation at hand.

We have fought valiantly the last few weeks, but we have lost a fifth of our members to trainers. I will not allow you to break apart another family.

I nodded. I was about to say 'I understand. Thank you for your time.' but then the Azumarill continued.

We have a child here whose parents and brother were taken. She has no more family, and no other family can take her in. Left alone, she will die. Her best chance at survival is to go with you.

Does she want to come?

No. She will fight, and she will scream, but she must go with you anyway.

A shiver ran down my spine. Nonono, this is not what I wanted. No, I wanted to find a partner, to find a friend, not... this. I wanted to get out of there, to run, but at some point they had surrounded us. I looked at Violet and she was tense. This isn't what we came here for, I heard her snarl.

The Azumarill turned toward Violet. I will not let her die. I will attack you, and I will attack your friend, until your human takes Rini. This is our home, and you do not have the element of surprise.

I couldn't think. I didn't know what to do. Maybe a smarter trainer could have talked her way out of this, maybe a stronger trainer could have fought her way through, maybe a less sentimental trainer could have caught a pokemon the normal way, but for me there was no way out. My legs felt weak and I thought I would fall. I put more pressure on the cane, tried to hold myself up with it, and it slipped in the mud. I fell down on my side and cried out and almost crushed a Marril under me. I was dazed for a second and felt Violet slowly lifting me back up with telekinesis.

I had everyone's attention now. I heard Raine squeak in surprise and she came over to me. I heard her speak over the telepathic link but the words meant nothing. My thoughts were racing. I didn't want to take the Azurill without her consent, I didn't want to hear her cries every night as I tried to sleep, I didn't want to see the half-hearted way she'd eat and walk and practice battling until the hurt faded. I didn't want to see Raine lying prone on the muddy ground, knocked into unconsciousness by blasts of water that just wouldn't end until they battered her down and she stopped moving. I didn't want to see Violet...

I took a pokeball from my pocket and it expanded in my grasp. Where is she?

The elder's tail thumped on the ground angrily. You are too weak. She will die with or without you! A jet of water hit me in the face. I tried to get the water out of my eyes.

I heard a bunch of sounds to my left I couldn't identify. When I could see again, I saw the entire herd of pokemon skating across the water, minus one. An Azurill stood in front of me, rocking back and forth on her tiny little feet. I wondered what she wanted, and a part of me bitterly wondered if she wanted to finish us off when her elder wouldn't.

Violet nudged me softly with her head. She wants to talk to you.

Because the last time worked so well? I scoffed. I looked at her rocking on her tiny little feet. I thought she was adorable. I wondered what she was thinking. I wondered why she wasn't gone. I sighed. Fine.

You were all talking about me, weren't you?

Is your name Rini?

Y-yes. I knew it. Everyone looks at me weirdly when they think I don't notice. Every night since my parents are gone, they make me sleep with a different family. My friends don't want anything to do with me. Why!?

I sighed. The mud was starting to dry and it felt awful on me. I wanted to leave. She'd already caused me enough trouble. I felt myself flagging and I'd run out of energy to speak soon. Her family hurt her, though, and she wanted to know why. I had a soft spot for that. They wanted you gone. They said you'd die if you stayed with them. They can't take care of you. I didn't know how old she was, or if she even really understood was 'death' was. Kids always know more than adults think they (we?) do, though, so I guessed she probably did.

But why? What did I do wrong?

Well, that was a question I knew intimately. You didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault. It's never been your fault.

She cried and I was surprised by just how much volume she could pump out. She tried to speak in between sobs. Did everyone want this? Did everyone know and that's why they acted strange around me?

The adults probably knew. I don't know if your friends knew. Sometimes kids act a certain way just because they see adults doing it. I felt like I was faking my way to sounding wise, parroting lessons I learned from reading manga.

She didn't notice, of course. She looked at me and I wondered if she could see me with her eyes so full of tears. What do I do now?

You could go back and try to convince them; you could wait for another trainer to come and try to capture you; you could try to go off on your own; or you can come with me;

I waited for a response. I didn't know how much time had passed. I didn't know how far the Azumarill were, or when they'd notice she was gone. I didn't know how much energy I had left. I didn't want to rush her, but gods, I needed to get out of there soon.

She eventually bounced closer to me. She sounded tired and defeated when she said, You. I shooed thoughts about consent under duress away, got a pokeball, and tossed it at her as gently as I could. It clicked 'success' without a fight. Raine was incredibly confused, and I promised I'd explain everything later. She replied with a short, uncertain 'okay; I returned her to her pokeball as well. I trundled back to Santalune.

I spent an hour huddled under a blanket in my room, trembling over what happened today, trying to calm down.

Later that night I let Rini out of her pokeball.

Where am I? she asked. I couldn't tell what her tone was: some mix of hesitant, confused, and slightly panicked.

I bit my lower lip. I really did not want to be having this conversation, and yet I had no choice. I couldn't not have this talk and still be able to look at myself in the morning. In the city. In my room, at the pokemon center.

Rini seemed to sink into herself and become smaller. It wasn't a dream, then?

I'm sorry, but no.

I saw her eyes tear up again. I wondered just how familiar a sight that'd become for me in the next few days, in the next few weeks; I didn't want to think past then. I miss them. I miss them so much. My mom and my dad and my brother. Stupid Elan evolved first, and I was jealous, and I wanted to be big like him. Then he was gone. It's not fair. I want him back.

I'm sorry. We can't bring him back, Violet said. We can't bring anyone back.

Why do you want me? I'm small. I couldn't help my brother. He was gone right in front of me, and then I ran. Nobody wanted me back home after he was gone.

I looked at Violet's eyes, just for a second. I couldn't stand to look at them for long, but they relaxed me. I was about to say something when Violet spoke first. We don't have a family either. None of us have anything except each other. We want to be each other's family.

You remind me of myself. I saw you and my reaction was to want to keep you safe and cared for. I can take you back in the morning, though, if you want. I don't want to pretend I know what's best for you.

Rini took a while before answering No.

It's okay not to be happy. It's okay to need time, Violet said.

I nodded. I can let you be alone in the pokeball again, if you want some time to yourself. Or we can introduce ourselves, because I don't think we have yet.

I'd like that, Rini said. The last one. My name's Rini.

I let Raine out of her pokeball. I'm Kira. This is Raine, and that's Violet. It's nice to meet you, properly.

We talked for a few hours longer. When it came time to sleep, Raine and Violet climbed into bed with me. Rini did so hesitantly. She started to cry. She cried about the loss and the missed potential of her home. I did too. Violet and Raine huddled up close to us and tried to comfort us with their presences before exhaustion overwhelmed us all.