After five months of filming, we left Castelia and headed north into the Unovan desert. Feeling reinvigorated after back to back gym battles and confrontations with Team Plasma, Servine, Lucario, Magnemite, Drilbur and I get right back into the fighting mentality.

"Drilbur!" the pokémon breeder I'm currently fighting says, "use Dig!"

I freeze up as the opposing Drilbur disappears under the ground. I scan around, trying to spot a hint of movement, something that'll give away its position. I can tell which Drilbur is mine by the bandana wrapped around the arm of the opposing Drilbur.

"Now! Strike!"

The Drilbur strikes from below my Drilbur's feet, landing a critical hit.

"Oh, no! Hit it with Metal Claw!"

"Use Mud Slap!"

Drilbur chucks earth from below into Drilbur's face. It's blinded and misses its attack.

I know I can switch to Servine or Lucario but, I want to give experience to Drilbur. Wait…"Drilbur! Rapid Spin!"

Drilbur gyrates quickly in place, clearing the mud off its face.

"Great! Now use Fury Swipes!"

"Dodge!"

"Don't let up! Keep using Fury Swipes!"

The opposing Drilbur dodges one, two, three attempts and before the fourth swipe, I say, "Metal Claw!"

Drilbur's huge claws glow and strike down the opposing Drilbur.

The pokémon breeder laughs and says, "Amazing! What a great combination of moves! I think I'm going to copy that strategy for future use."

The opposing Drilbur isn't out yet. It stands back up.

"Drilbur, use Dig!"

Not really thinking about it, I command, "You use Dig, too!"

Drilbur looks back at me, somewhat confused.

"Dodge! Hide in the sand!"

Drilbur understands and dives underground.

I look around at the empty battlefield and say out loud, "Now what? I guess you can still hear my commands but, I just can't see where it'll strike."

The pokémon breeder says, "Find where it is and hit 'em with Metal Claw."

"Dodge! Or, find it first and strike them down?"

Feeling impotent not being able to determine which Drilbur will come out on top, I stand by and wait for the result. And after another moment, a plume of sand erupts from the right side of the field. One Drilbur lays fainted and the other stands victorious over the other. Unfortunately, the one standing has a bandana wrapped around its arm.

"Yes! Victory!"

The Drilbur celebrates with her.

"Let me heal your pokémon."

She takes out some potions from her backpack and does quick work of healing Drilbur.

"There. All better."

I crouch down. "I'm sorry."

Drilbur exclaims happily.

"It looks like it isn't bothered by this loss."

It raises its claws and cries out again.

"Well, if you say so."

"There's a small town not too far from here with a supply shop for the road ahead. The desert is unforgiving 'round these parts. Best be prepared for the challenge. Anyways," she says adjusting her hat, "stay safe out here. Come on, Drilbur."

I wave goodbye and continue my path.

The desert in Unova is a vast oasis of sand, silt, rock and the occasional pit of quicksand. Seemingly empty but chock full of life. Unforgiving yet generous.

At the shop, I decided to grab a pair of goggles and a wide brimmed straw hat held by string so the wind won't blow it away. I was recommended them by the owner as he told me of occasional sandstorms.

As I make steady progress through the dirt and sand, I see many different kinds of pokémon of many different types. Rufflet and Braviary fly overhead. Sandile hide in the sand as I stroll by, their little eyes peering above the ground. Sandshrew roll on by. There is a Hippowdon surrounded by several Hippopotas, fortunately for me, quite a distance away. A Dwebble scampers away with its home. Cacnea and Maractus stand by unfazed as I walk by. A Brambleghast rolls past in front of me.

I think I'm going the right way…I look around and back at the threaded path.

After some time, I near the foothills of a mountain range. A cry breaks out from somewhere up ahead. The cry of a pokémon closely followed by two men's voices.

A Silicobra slithers away from its resting place as I approach. I take cover behind a boulder and listen in on a conversation between two people.

"The boss'll be pleased. I'm sure."

"Yeah, he's gonna like the unique coloured Flygon."

The pokémon cries out again. Flygon…

"Quiet over there!"

It cries out again. And then a hiss closely followed by a roar.

"You're gonna need a lot more heat if ya wanna melt those bars. Anyway, and these gems we found down there, the boss'll be ecstatic!"

"We're not takin' the whole stash, are we? That's a big ol' pile."

"Haha, course we are. We don't have to hand over every single one to the boss. You and I can keep a few to ourselves, hehe. Just between you and me, it'll be our little secret."

"Okay, yeah, haha! I like that idea. It took a while to get just this much."

"Yeah, and? We're not in a hurry, are we?"

"Well, I guess not. All right, lets do it then! Back to the mine! Oh, where should we put these?"

"Here, I got some hay sacks we could use. We'll just stack them in the back."

After a moment of silence, I build the courage to peak around the rock. Those guys are nowhere to be seen. The first thing I notice is a cage holding a Flygon.

He was right. You are different coloured… It's blue and orange instead of the standard green and red colours. It sees me and cries out, releasing a bright orange flame through the bars, the hiss and the roar. I quickly hide behind the boulder again.

The Flygon bites at the cage bars in desperation.

"Shh…" I say to it and then look over at the entrance of the mine. I notice a truck parked nearby as well. I go over to it and see a Sableye inside a cylindrical tube like the one that Team Plasma grunt trapped Servine in. In the truck bed with it is the hay sack they mentioned. And sure enough, after glimpsing inside, it's full of gems. The Sableye claws away at the glass in a desperate attempt to break free.

I take one last look around and make a decision. I make my way into the mine.

Deep inside the tunnel, I keep following the path straight, illuminated by the series of lights running along the walls. I fortify my mind, ready to run into the two poachers at any point further ahead. But that never happened. I kept going through for another long while until I reached an interesting spot at the end.

The tracks came to a stop in the middle of a pit. Two mine carts stand still at the end of the track. I peer in them and see gleaming gemstones. I look around and see various tunnels. Some of them at ground level, but others inaccessible to myself unless I could fly which I can't. Presumably they were made by pokémon with the exception of the ones at ground level which are large enough to let a person through. I make a quick decision to hide somewhere as any minute those two will come out from one of the many tunnels. I notice an entire building, a house made entirely out of wood, probably used as an office in the past. I open the creaking door and hide inside.

And sure of my suspicions, I hear two voices growing louder from outside thanks to the broken windows.

"Man, this little guy really hoarded all this all by his lonesome."

"We still don't have half of those carts filled yet and there's still a whole mountain in there."

"You really think the car will hold this much weight?"

"I've hauled bigger and heavier things with it so yeah. Lets haul ass ourselves and keep going until evening. We probably won't be finished today so we'll have to sleep in here tonight."

"There's nowhere to sleep here."

"There's that building over there."

"Oh yeah…"

I just now notice, as my eyes took time to adjust to the dark room, the one Ariados surrounded by a few Spinarak hoisted above me on their webbing on the ceiling. The Ariados drops down using its web and makes eye contact with me. I turn my frown upside down and do my best to smile it out. Then, the commotion outside dwindles and I make the second biggest decision of the day.

Peering through the creaking door, I ready the pokéball in one hand and swing open the door with the other. I see them going into one of the tunnels.

"Lucario."

Lucario growls.

"Lets put a stop to this. I'm confident we can take both."

Lucario acknowledges my plan and growls in agreement.

We move swiftly into the tunnel. Lucario, like a knight, in front. The tunnel went a long ways into a small chamber, small for a human but big enough to house a Sableye. And, very surely, in the middle stands a big pile of rare and precious gemstones. Sustenance for the little Sableye.

The two poachers turn around once they hear my and Lucario's footsteps approaching.

"Hold it right there, you two! Don't move a muscle or you'll get it!"

The two poachers freeze. They stop, turn around and stare with a bewildered expression. Even I'm surprised by my choice of words. That and I'm high on adrenaline right now.

Then the competent poacher says, "Little girl, you ain't supposed to be here. It's dangerous playing around in abandoned mines."

"Return the gems and free the pokémon, or else."

He wheezes first before laughing out loud. The incompetent one joins him in laughing.

"Listen, girl, this is an adult matter. Piss off(!) before I have to drag you outta here by force."

I crease my brow.

"Lucario! Force Palm!"

"You've got some nerve! Gigalith!"

The earth around quakes as the pokémon exits its pokéball, scattering dust off the ceiling and walls.

"Protect!"

The Gigalith fully protects itself from a Force Palm.

"Iron Defense!"

"Think you can take us both on, princess? Go, Salandit! Use Poison Fang!"

Salandit scampers forward and lunges at Lucario, baring its fangs down onto its arm. Lucario looks at it as it chomps down some more.

It's a poison type move…"Lucario! Counter!"

Lucario pushes away Salandit.

"Rock Slide, Gigalith!"

Stones from above rain down on Lucario.

"Go, Servine!"

"Incinerate!"

The Salandit fires a ball of flame at Servine.

"Dodge!"

Servine misses it by a hair.

"Flamethrower!"

Salandit chucks a stream of scorching hot fire in Servine's direction.

"Dodge! Run around and dodge!"

The poacher laughs. "Haha! How long can you last?"

"Rock Slide!"

"Lucario, dodge!"

It too misses the impact by a sliver.

"Power up your aura!"

"Iron Defense!"

"Hey! Over here! Salandit, Flamethrower!"

"Rock Slide!"

"Servine, dodge! Lucario, dodge!"

Succesful misses in succession.

"Servine, Wrap!"

Servine twirls its body around Salandit and squeezes.

"Salandit, Flamethrower!"

It spews out fire like a punctured soda can rolling around on the ground, struggling against Servine's hold.

"Don't let go of it! Keep squeezing and use Growth!"

Servine grows slightly larger as it keeps its grip on Salandit.

"Rock Slide!"

Lucario resists the hit.

"Now! Use Force Palm!"

Lucario moves in.

"Don't let it close the gap! Use Rock Throw!"

Gigalith takes a stance and fires a large rock from inside its body out its mouth at Lucario.

"Dodge!"

It misses.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!"

It fires off more rocks.

"Dodge them!"

They whizz past Lucario as it swerves just in time and ducks out of their trajectory.

"Hit!"

Lucario closes the gap and hits Gigalith. A plume of dust and dirt is dispersed all around. Incredibly, Gigalith stands.

The poacher laughs and says, "Now use Stone Edge."

Pillars of earth and rock shoot in from all around the confined space.

"Endure!"

Lucario braces itself. The pillars enclose and trap Lucario. They retract and the earth returns to how it was.

"Counter."

Converting the damage it received into energy, Lucario strikes Gigalith down.

"No! Argh!"

Meanwhile, Salandit is still struggling against Servine.

"Lucario, use Quick Attack!"

It helps Servine by knocking out Salandit in a fast and efficient manner.

"Now," I say, "if you'll quietly come with us to the surface. And don't even think about running away."

Lucario growls at them.

Back at the entrance, I stand watching the poachers with Magnemite between us. It's ready to electrocute them at a hairs movement. Lucario breaks the cylindrical prison keeping Sableye. It timidly retreats into the mine.

Drilbur uses Metal Claw to smash the lock of the door of the cage holding the different coloured Flygon. It exits the cage and cries out before taking flight.

A moment later, Officer Jenny arrives with backup.

"I've released the pokémon," I say approaching her.

"So it was these two, huh?" she says looking at them as her fellow policemen cuff the culprits.

"They were after the Flygon but, they found a stash of gems a Sableye was hoarding down in the mine. If it wasn't for them being greedy, they would have gotten away with the Flygon."

"Could it be this Sableye?"

The Sableye looks anxiously at the truck.

"Hey, little one," Jenny says as we approach it and the truck, "you want your gemstones back, don't you? Hey, lets get this sack unloaded, boys!"

"Would you like my help?" I ask.

"It's okay, you've done your part. It's time for us to do ours. That was very brave of you to do the right thing, but it was also very risky. It could have turned out differently."

"I know but, at the time, all I could think about was acting."

"Well, its a good thing you have some strong pokémon by your side."

"Yeah."

"Try to stay out of trouble, okay? If you find yourself in a situation like this again, give us a call first before diving straight in."

I nod.

"We'll get Sableye's gems back to its nest and bring those boys in for questioning. Thank you, Catheri."

I nod again and say, "Thank you, Officer Jenny. Come on, guys."

I leave the temporary crime scene with my pokémon by my side.