We all started to hurry past my house and behind it into the forest dirt path that led to the alcove. As we got into the woods, I couldn't help but stop and turn around. I looked upon the house that had belonged to my family ever since I was born. Shoot… I already was homesick and I hadn't even left the backyard yet…

"Thomas, I know you're torn up about this," Principal Vicar said, placing a hand on my shoulder to snap me out of it, "but right now we can't afford time for you to recall priceless memories before you leave. We need to get you on the boat before anyone finds out."

I exhaled deeply, nodded, and followed the group. We made our way down the path, dodging limbs that could whack us in the head and uneven ground that would make us fall. Once we got about past half-way, I started to ponder something. I didn't understand, but maybe the others would…

"Excuse me, sir? There's something I don't understand…" I inquired.

"Hm? What is it?" the principal asked.

"Well… I know that the alcove isn't a secret place; tons of people that I overheard in the city before I met Buizel and Poochyena know about it… but… when I think about it, the only people who've ever been in it are me and my parents, including our Pokémon, with the exception of my friends yesterday… why is that?" I asked.

The woman, who had blue long spiky hair and red lipstick, smiled and asked, "You mean, you really don't know?"

I blinked as I asked, "Am… Am I supposed to know?"

The other man, whose distinct feature was a scarf of some type around his mouth, said, "Aw, come on, Jenny; just tell the kid already…"

My ears caught that name. Jenny!? The woman with us was Officer Jenny!? I heard so much about her and her success as a upholder of justice.

"J-Jenny…. I-I mean Officer Jenny…" I bowed and blushed, "It's an honor to meet you…"

Officer Jenny chuckled and winked, "The pleasure's all mine, Thomas. By the way, the man in the shades is Officer Pressly and the man with the scarf is Officer Uzumaki. It's a pleasure to help you."

"Thank you, ma'am," I thanked, quite touched at her statement and the two men nodded with smiling confidence.

She smiled and continued, "And now for your question… well, think about it. Your house is the only one that's the closest to the alcove and actually has the path in its backyard. Why do you suppose that is?"

I shrugged as I guessed, "Cause it's my private property?"

"Exactly," Principal Vicar told me.

I took a step back by accident in shock. M-MY PRIVATE PROPERTY!? Holy cow… this whole area belonged to me…. AND I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT!?

"W-Wait, it is?" I asked stunned.

"Haha, yup!" Officer Jenny nodded to me.

"This alcove belonged to your family, Thomas," Officer Pressly nodded and said, "This means that you and the people you allow are the only ones who can come here in the alcove."

"That means if anyone tries to come after you and prevent us from getting you on the boat," Officer Jenny noted, "They can be without a doubt charged with trespassing."

"Wait…" I asked out of a bit of nervousness, "You mean… they could come after me right now?"

"Sadly, yes," Officer Uzumaki regretfully said, "As long as you're on the island, the police can detain you at any moment. And since Mr. Pepperridge seems to be after your Pokémon, he'll want you to be still be on the island so he can get them, if not by law then other means."

"Right," Officer Pressly agreed, "So, if he's really clever, which he is, he's probably going to send some people around your place to make sure you don't go anywhere he doesn't know of, which is why we need to get you off the island."

"But what measures have you taken to make sure he doesn't follow?" I asked.

"Well, for one, we secretly took away his ability to leave the island," Officer Pressly explained.

"What? What'd he do?" I asked in shock.

"Don't you remember?" Principal Vicar said, "The school incident where his Swampert hurt you with the Hyper Beam attack? Not only did I tell the police about it, but we all agreed that his punishment would be his ability to leave the island legally would be revoked."

"The next step is that we brought our Pokémon," Officer Uzumaki stated, "If the stalkers in question come after us, we don't know if they have Pokémon themselves. If they were to send them out to retrieve you, we have ours to protect you."

"And if that fails…" Officer Jenny said sadly, "We have no choice but to use our guns and open fire…"

My eyes widened when I heard that. You mean that they were honestly telling me there was a chance were guns would be drawn and someone's blood might be shed… all over me leaving the island? My heart stopped and my face went pale. Officer Jenny saw my reaction and realized I was taking it the wrong way.

"Oh, not like that!" Officer Jenny said embarrassingly, as she brought the color and relief back to me, "We're not gonna shoot them. We'll use the guns to either scare them off or warn them that they can't come any closer."

"Oh, that's a relief," I sighed deeply, holding my chest.

With that, I realized we were on the sand of the alcove. There was a small transport boat running already and waiting for us on the shoreline. The boat was a simple white boat that looked like it was for fishing and could hold at least twenty-five people. I blinked as I saw a man with a yellow raincoat, blue jeans, black muddy boots, and a huge brown beard on the boat.

Principal Vicar smiled and walked over. The man got off the boat and both embraced in a big hug like long-lost brothers. They smiled as they patted each other on the back.

"Paul, you never cease to amaze me. Thank you so much for helping us out here," Principal Vicar said thankfully.

"Ah, no problem, mi amigo," Paul said, "I was in th' area anyways doin' some fishin'. Besides, you're my best bud. I ain't lettin' you down."

He then looked at me and asked, "This th' kid?"

"Yeah. My name is Thomas," I said with a bow and a smile.

"Well, al'right," he said with a grin, getting back onto the boat, "Pleasure's all mine, now. We better git you off th' island before anythin' bad happens. Let's get you on board. Let's go."

Just then, Officer Uzumaki jerked his head up and said, "Ma'am, I heard a twig snap coming from the forest."

"Dang it, they're right behind us. Orders, ma'am?" Officer Pressly asked.

"We pretend to be taking Thomas off the island due to medical reasons. If they back off, then continue on as usual. If they don't, do the routine we planned on," Officer Jenny said.

Both male officers nodded as Principal Vicar stepped in front of me just in case. He kept his gaze on whatever was coming. I peered around his body to see three men walk out from the woods.

The first man's distinct features was that he had brown spiky hair that stood up with a huge scar across his face. He wore brown clothes in general.

The second was a man with glasses, a long black ponytail, a white dress shirt, brown pants that had overalls on them, and black shoes.

The third… I suddenly gasped; the third one who was wearing a baseball cap was the man with the skull cap that chased me around the city yesterday and had grabbed my arm. If it weren't for the police, he would've gotten me. I backed up as I heard Principal Vicar say something to me.

"Thomas, get on the boat now," he said with authority.

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