"Take me home, country rooooooaaaaaads!"

"Oh for the love of-!" Alex slapped Robert's head.

"Ow," Robert rubbed the back of his hood. "Why you gotta hate on country roads?"

I sighed, holding my raincoat's hood in place as I glanced skywards. The rain that had started yesterday hadn't shown any signs of letting up, so the three of us had decided to risk it after staying the night at Amanita's house. Thick, gray clouds blocked the sky and it looked like darker ones were on their way. Water splashed around my boots as I stepped into a puddle on the muddy road.

"We might have to stop soon if this gets any worse," I told my friends.

"Woah!" Alex shouted.

I turned to see her landing on her butt in a puddle, splashing water around herself. The Pokemon that had caused her to trip ran past. The three Bidoofs scurried off the path and into the forest to our right.

"Dang Pokemon tried to kill me," Alex muttered as I helped her to her feet.

"It's definitely getting worse," Robert said, tugging on his hood as the wind picked up speed. "Follow me. There should be an orphanage up ahead."

"An orphanage all the way out here!?" Alex exclaimed. "We've left Striaton City hours back! And Nacrene is what!? Half a day away on foot!? And it's nearly night!"

If Robert answered, his voice was carried away by the wind. So instead Alex and I held our hoods with both hands as we splashed our way after him. It almost felt like night had fallen with how obscured our vision had become. Lighting lit up the landscape, reflecting off the enormous puddles that had formed. For that brief moment I saw the outline of a huge house down a side path not far ahead.

Speeding up, I nudged Robert in that direction. With a nod he followed my lead. With Alex close behind, we turned onto the side path and hurried to the barely visible building. Light suddenly burst into view ahead of us as the two doors to the house were thrown open. A figure was outline by the yellow light, gesturing for us to hurry inside. We passed them and practically slid inside, stopping on a rough carpet. The three of us stood their, trying to get our breath back as water dripped from our soaked raincoats.

"Ah crap," Robert moaned, his boots squelching as he tested them on the ground. "They're totally filled."

"I didn't think there would actually be anyone else crazy enough to be out in that storm," the person who let us in said as she shut the doors. She looked young, maybe 12 or 13, with medium length, light orange hair and teal eyes.

"Not like we expected it to get this bad," Alex had already shed her coat, pulling back her soaked hair. "Gah, this is why I hate rain."

The girl giggled. "You're all welcome to stay here for the night. Hopefully the storm will have passed by then."

"Is this the orphanage?" I asked, putting my black coat up on a free coat peg hanging on the wall next to the doors. Around a dozen smaller and more colorful raincoats already hung there, several featuring Water types like Gyarados, Wailord, and a large snapping turtle-like Pokemon.

"Yep!" The girl had us leave our boots near the door as she led us up creaky wooden stairs. It was darker up here, but the girl whistled and a single blue flickering flame came to life on top of the banister. The Litwick cooed as the girl walked by and a black lantern unhooked itself from the wall, flames erupting within it to reveal it to be a Lampent. When we reached the second floor, which seemed to just be a curving hallway with several doors, the girl pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh. Everyone else is asleep." Light flashed in from a rain soaked window, the boom of thunder closely following it. She shrugged as she motioned for us to follow, Lampent providing light as it hovered by her side. "Hopefully."

"Why so early?" Alex asked. "It's dark out, but the evening is still young."

Robert answered. "Most Unovans go to bed early on stormy days. It's a tradition involving Thundurus and Tornadus."

"Who?" I inquired. "Are they Pokemon?"

"Legendary Pokemon," Robert said, nodding. "Thundurus is known for causing thunder and lightning while Tornadus brings about fierce winds. Instead of staying awake and fearing for one's safety, people have developed a tradition to go to sleep early, hoping that when they awake, Landorus, another Legendary, will have put a stop to the other two's rampage."

"Exactly," the girl turned the corner and we followed, passing by another couple of doors on our right. To our left, the view through the windows was practically unseeable, but another flash of lightning was. The girl stopped and pointed to some more stairs that led to a large hatch in the ceiling. "The attic is up there. Sorry, but that's the only place we can offer at the moment. There's already two others up there as well taking shelter from the storm."

"That's fine," Alex reassured her. "By the way, shouldn't there be an adult here looking after you all?"

"Maribelle went to the market down the road," the girl shook her head. She then blinked in surprise. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot to introduce myself." She placed a hand on her chest and smiled. "I'm Marilynn."

"It's nice to meet you, Marilynn," Alex smiled. "I'm Alex."

"Robert," the blonde said, already climbing the stairs and pulling on the wire hanging down from the hatch. He yelped as he nearly got clocked by it falling open.

"And I'm Zeno," I said. "Thanks again for giving us a place to stay."

"It's no problem," Marilynn beamed. "I need to finish cleaning up a spill in the kitchen, so goodnight."

She waved goodbye as we bid her goodnight, her Lampent following after her with its ghostly light. I turned to follow Alex up the stairs, only to pause. Feeling something odd, I looked at the window to my left. Stepping closer, I wiped away the moisture and peered through. I could barely see anything in the darkness outside. But when lighting flashed, I saw her. A little girl standing in the torrential downpour, staring up at me in a soaked white dress that glowed from the light. Then darkness once more. I knew if I stayed for more lightning she'd likely be gone. I knew who I had just seen. It was someone who seemed to be haunting me wherever I went.

"Zeno?" Alex looked back at me, worry etched across her face. "You coming?"

"Yeah," I said after a second, then with one last glance towards the window, I followed her up the stairs.

"Hey, I guess we get the bunk bed," Robert said as soon as we entered the attic. The room wasn't as dusty as I had been expecting. A Litwick sat nestled between two lanterns beneath a triangular window that was covered in moisture. There was a bunk bed to the left and a green moth ridden couch paired with an armchair on the right. Lounging on the couch was an blue haired woman in a green sweater and gray sweatpants with a Liepard curled at her feet. A dusky blonde man in jeans and a black shirt sat in the armchair, his Mandibuzz perched behind his head.

The guy raised an eyebrow. "Caught in the storm?"

"Indeed," Robert said. "Hold up, I didn't see a bathroom on the way here. Where can I change? Actually, if the girls could just avert their eyes..."

The orange haired woman rolled her eyes and said, "There's a foldout wall behind here. You can use that."

"Sweet." Robert was already on his way there. He pulled open the wall, stepped behind it, and began rustling through his bag.

"I call top bunk," Alex said as she plopped her wet backpack on the ground. It was a good thing the three of us had invested into waterproof bags. "Robert, hurry it up."

"I'm! trying!" Robert grunted. "These dang clothes are hard to take off when soaked.

"Here," the guy had gotten from his chair and went over to a box tucked behind the chair. He opened it and brought out some towels. "We had to use some when we got here."

"Thanks," I said, taking one.

"Here," Alex said as I went to give it to Robert. Cautiously, I handed it over. She took a step back, aimed, then threw it. It sailed over the top of the wall and by Robert's yelp, it was a direct hit.

"Why you-! Oh hey, sweet. Thanks!"

A minute later Robert came back out in gray sweats and shirt, still rubbing his hair with the towel. "Whew, much better."

"My turn," Alex said, whipping Robert with her towel before slinging it across her shoulder. I had to wait for my turn for a couple minutes before she returned wearing blue jeans and a limited edition shirt featuring Piers and Roxie in their recent collab in Virbank.

After changing into jeans and a black shirt, I glanced around the attic.

"I can sleep on the floor," Robert offered from the bottom bunk where he now sat up, hunched so his head wouldn't hit the top of the bed.

I waved him off. "I'll just go and ask Marilynn if there's a spare futon in a closet somewhere."

Pushing open the wooden hatch, I climbed back down to the dark hallway. I blinked, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness before making my way back to the stairs. Back on the ground level provided with electric light, I looked to the room on my right. It seemed to be a large common area with scattered toys and toy Pokemon complete with plush pokeballs. I heard shuffling to my left, so I went through a doorway into a large dining area. Another door on the other side of the long table seemed to lead into a kitchen where I could see Marilynn struggling to put a plate away in a top shelf. Hurrying over, I took the plate from her and placed it in the cupboard.

Marilynn sighed in relief. "Thank you, Zeno." She stepped off the step stool she was using. "Did you need something?"

"Yes, actually," I nodded. "Did you have a spare futon?"

Her hands flew to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I should have realized there wasn't enough for five people!"

"It's alright," I said quickly.

Marilynn just shook her head sadly as she led me out of the kitchen and through the dining room. She went behind the stairs and into a closet. She pulled out a rolled up futon and dragged it over to me with a sorrowful expression.

"You alright?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I made such a basic mistake."

I gathered the futon in my arms. "Maybe you did forget to properly check our accommodations, but the important thing is that you fixed it in the end, right?"

She blinked. "Really?"

I smiled kindly. "Yes. It was a great help to us that you're giving us shelter in this storm. So thank you."

Marilynn brightened. "You're very welcome-"

Bzzt!

The lights fizzled out, followed quickly by the clap of thunder. Lampent hovered over, providing us light.

"Well, that happened." I blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden change.

"Lampent, would you help Zeno back to the attic please," Marilynn asked the Ghost type and it twirled enthusiastically. Thanking Marilynn again, I followed the Ghost type up the creaky stairs and back to the attic. Once having climbed up, I found that the lights had dimmed and both the man and woman were asleep.

"They fell asleep fast," Alex whispered from her top bunk.

"So would I, if you stopped making your bed creak every time you move around up there," Robert whispered up to her.

Alex raised a fist, thought about it, then lay back down. Rolling my eyes, I laid out the futon and unslung my belt holding my pokeballs. Laying it next to my wet backpack, I lay staring at the ceiling. After a couple of seconds the lights dimmed, the only light being from the Litwick, then that too died out.

Left alone with my thoughts, I soon found myself thinking back to more unpleasant times. Yet, all the times I had been beaten, forced to kill, faced death, actually died, I couldn't get her out of my head.

Mira, I thought, thinking of the little girl dressed in white. Scared and so innocent, she had been too young to die. Her death was my fault, that I knew. I remembered having to force myself to think about other things for a time after her death. Now, it was like I was seeing her every other day. Even just a bit ago, I had saw her out in the storm.

Her death, it was a reminder of those I was unable to save back in Kalos. A reminder of all those I'd killed for the sake of Team Rocket and Giovanni. A reminder of Willow. A reminder that there might be more in the future that I'll be unable to save.

I never even got to see her smile. I felt a tear fall down my cheek as I drifted away into darkness.


"Zeno. Hey, Zeno. Wake up."

I blinked awake, seeing Alex leaning over me. No light seemed to be available, the pounding of rain still present on the roof.

"What?" I groaned, sitting up.

"We have a problem," she stated.

"Dang't, mine are gone too!" Robert yelled in outrage. He kicked something and then swore loudly.

I reached out my hand to grab my belt, only to grasp at empty air. I glanced down, then back at Alex. "Where are my pokeballs?"

Alex's face was one of composed rage. "That's what I'm wondering. And the other two who were here with us are gone."

I turned around to look at the couch and armchair. Both were indeed empty.

"Have you gone downstairs yet?" I asked, scrambling to my feet.

She shook her head as Robert hurried over to the latch. "Once I get my hands on them-!"

We hurried down the stairs, but had to halt as we encountered a roadblock. The doors that lined the hallway were open and around a dozen kids crowded the area. The youngest I guessed was 4 and the oldest being Marilynn, who was helping a young kid pull his shirt back on.

"Marilynn," I called out to her, trying to make my way toward her without tripping over a kid.

The orange haired girl looked up as she managed to fit the shirt on the little boy, who ran off towards the stairs. She smiled. "You're all awake. Breakfast is on the table if you're hungry."

"No time," I said, finally making my way in front of her, Alex and Robert close behind. "Where did the other two go? The ones in the attic with us?"

Marilynn frowned. "They left a bit ago when the rain let up a bit, but it started downpouring again minutes after they left. Hope they're okay."

"Yeah, for our Pokemons' sake," Robert growled.

"What?" Marilynn tilted her head in confusion.

"They stole our Pokemon," Alex said.

Marilynn's eyes widened. "But that's-!" She gasped. "I noticed that Lampent had gone missing when I woke up! You don't think they took him!?"

I gripped a fist. "I know they did." I hurried past her and the rest of the kids and down the stairs. Once I reached the front doors, I grabbed my raincoat from the peg and pulled it on, still damp from yesterday's storm.

"I'm coming to!" Marilynn said, following Alex and Robert as they stopped beside me to pull on their coats.

"Too dangerous," I said, holding up a hand to stop her. "These could be poachers we're dealing with."

I pulled open the front door and immediately the rain and wind hit me. Gritting my teeth, the three of us went back out into the storm.

"Not as bad as yesterday," Robert said, hanging onto his hood. "But it's pretty bad. They must have taken shelter somewhere."

I scanned the immediate area around the front porch for footprints. When I found two pairs, I began running. "C'mon!" I yelled.

While we ran, I kept my eyes on the tracks. Robert caught up to me, typing quickly into his Pokedex/Map device. "If they took shelter, then I think they took shelter in a cave that's up ahead. It's not far and it looks like the tracks are heading in that direction."

"Good, then get a move on," Alex said, pulling ahead.

Please still be there, I thought desperately. What if they decided to not take shelter and had some other means of transportation!?

Soon a rocky hill came into view and we slowed down. I doubled checked the prints and sure enough they led towards a cave entrance.

"Wellspring Cave," Robert panted, out of breath. "I don't see any tracks leading out, do you?"

"No," I said as the wind pulled my hood off. My head got a good drench before I managed to pull it back over. "We'll sneak inside and try to reach at least one of our pokeballs. If we can do that, we'll have a better chance at taking those two down."

"Agreed," Alex said. "I did not like the looks of their Liepard and Mandibuzz."

I peered into the cave before entering. I tried to make my footfalls as light as possible, but water dripping from our raincoats seemed to echo off the stone walls. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw them. Near the middle of the massive cavern and next to a spring, they slept in sleeping bags. I motioned for my friends to join me behind a rock.

I carefully looked out the side of the rock to see Mandibuzz sleeping upright on top of a rock next to her trainers, Liepard curled up at the base.

Robert leaned over on the other side to get a better look, but slipped on a rock and although Alex caught him, the pebble went tumbling away and with a splash, fell into the spring. Robert froze as we held our breath. Glancing warily out from behind the rock, it didn't seem that the pair had awoken. But beady eyes belonging to Mandibuzz glared at me from her perch. She threw back her head and gave a loud cry.

"Not good," Robert muttered.

I closed my eyes. I felt Alex shake my shoulder and hiss, "Zeno! What are you doing!?"

I lifted my hand and placed it atop hers, eyes still closed as I concentrated. I distantly heard the man and woman grumble as Mandibuzz flapped her wings to take flight. In just a few moments, we'd be at their Pokemons' mercy. Then-

Snap

The connection solidified. The sound of a pokeball opening caused both the man and woman to yelp as the sound of rushing water splashed off the rocks. Reopening my eyes, I stood and vaulted over the rock. I stopped, surprised by what I saw. Greninja, whom I had forced a connection with thanks to our bond, leaped back next to me, Alex, and Robert while Mandibuzz and Liepard had to get themselves out of the spring to join their trainers. No longer wearing the clothes we had seen them in back at the orphanage, they now donned the familiar robes.

"What the heck!?" Robert exclaimed. "Team Plasma!?"

"Why am I not surprised," Alex shook her head. "But why? Aren't you guys wanting freedom for Pokemon? Why steal them then?"

"Hah, as if you don't know," the woman cried indignantly, stomping her foot. "Trainers are slave drivers! They force Pokemon to participate in meaningless battles and make them think that they desire to stay with them! It's disgusting how no one has decided to put a stop to this before now!"

"Team Plasma will steal Pokemon from trainers in order to free them from their suffering," the guy raised a fist. "No matter how long it takes! Pokemon deserve better than this!"

"Yet it looks like you're about to use your own Pokemon to attack us," I said. "Contradictory much?"

"Not at all," the woman smirked as she stroked Liepard's head. "She was forced to battle for a selfish trainer. When I liberated her, she decided to stay with me in order to continue fighting to free other Pokemon."

"Mandibuzz was malnourished while being kept by poachers," the guy said as Mandibuzz hovered over his head. "When we freed her and others, I was the one who nursed her back to health. She stayed so we could help other Pokemon in misfortunate situations!"

"That's still no different from us caring for our own Pokemon!" Alex snapped. "We've helped rescue Pokemon too that decided to stay with us!"

The woman glared at her. "No difference!? You claim they want to be with you even now, yet you keep them confined to their pokeballs! They've grown dependent on you because they are tied to their pokeballs, unable to be themselves without it!"

"Now enough talk!" The man shouted. "We're going to ensure your Pokemon live a better life from now on! So don't get in our way!"

"Greninja," I looked at him. "What do you think?"

"Grenin," he said, nodding to me.

"Good." I turned back to the two Team Plasma members. "If you think so badly of us trainers, then let me show you what the bond between a trainer and Pokemon can accomplish! Greninja!"

He yelled and water erupted around him. He leaped out from the vortex, the water drawing around his body, forming his shurikens and cloak. He slammed into Mandibuzz and sent her flying into a wall. The guy yelled and he and the woman ran towards us, Liepard running ahead and leaping to slash. A shuriken flew into her side, carrying her back into the spring with a splash. Running forwards, I dodged the guy's fist and elbowed him in the gut before twisting around and slamming my leg into his stomach. He coughed and doubled over.

Alex had already bodied the woman into the spring and had joined Robert at our pokeballs. Hurriedly clipping on my belt, I grabbed the last pokeball I was sure contained Lampent.

"This isn't over," the guy stood, rage twisting his expression.

"You bet it isn't."

We turned around to see three more Team Plasma members enter the cave. They were followed by a Swoobat, Scrafty, and Krokorok. The middle, a woman, was holding Marilynn in place. "We ran into this girl who said her Pokemon had been stolen. I thought we said not to gather attention."

"Sorry about that," the woman who Alex had made take a swim pulled herself onto dry ground alongside her Liepard. "Didn't expect the storm to pick back up."

Greninja, I thought and in an instant he was back at my side.

"Now hand over all of your Pokemon and no one gets hurt," the lead woman said sharply to us.

"How do we find ourselves in these situations time and time again," Alex groaned.

"That's what I say," Robert complained.

"I said," the woman stepped forwards, forcing Marilynn to stumble. "Hand over your-OOF!" She gasped as Marilynn slammed her foot into the woman's foot. She freed herself and began running forwards.

"Get the back!" I yelled to Robert and Alex as Greninja and I rushed forwards.

"Dammit!" The woman cried. "Get them!"

Swoobat swooped at Greninja, but was quickly entangled by Greninja's thrown cloak as the Water type leaped over Marilynn's head to slam into Krokorok. Psychic energy tore up the ground in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. Swoobat had freed itself and now was flying straight towards me. A shuriken slammed into him, making his next shot go wild.

Time seemed to slow as the ground began tearing up. I saw Marilynn trip as rocks flew towards her and the ground tore apart. I saw Mira, standing in front of the other girl, looking right at me. She smiled warmly, tilting her head to the side.

"Mira!" I shouted and hurled myself in the attack's way, gasping in pain as rocks bounced off my back. I grabbed Marilynn and launched myself forwards, avoiding the crack that had formed in the ground.

"You okay?" I asked her. She was shaking, but she nodded. I stood, turning to face the grunts. The grunts looked astonished, almost fearful. Even Swoobat, who had been ready to attack me, was wide-eyed. For now, the battle had come to a stop.

"To achieve your idea of freeing Pokemon you'll go as far as hurting an innocent kid!?" I felt myself grow angrier than I had felt in a long time.

"No, we didn't-!" the woman in charge stammered as I glared at her.

"She was almost hurt!" I snarled, raising my hand as Greninja readied a shuriken. "Now leave, or I'll make you leave."

They couldn't run fast enough. It seems almost hurting a child had scared them half to death.

I lowered my hand, grabbed Lampent's pokeball on my belt, and held it out to Marilynn. "I believe this is yours."

Marilynn was staring at me wide-eyed. I suddenly felt a tinge of regret. For a moment, I had shown a side of me that was filled with rage and willingness to hurt others. But instead of quaking in fear, she burst into a wide smile. "Oh thank you!" She took the pokeball and then hugged me. Taken by complete surprise, I just stared at her, dumbfounded.

She stepped back, blushing red. "T-thank you for saving me and Lampent."

I blinked, then smiled warmly. "It's no problem."

"All in a days work, I'll say," Robert said as he came over. "Why'd you let them go?" He asked me. "Shouldn't we have taken them down and taken them to the authorities? People should know what Team Plasma is doing."

"Think," Alex said. "If we tried to capture them, Marilynn would've been in danger. Plus, I think they were already going to bail after what just happened."

I nodded in agreement, but I had another reason for making them leave. I had feared that if we kept fighting, I would end up resorting to more violent methods after they nearly hurt Marilynn. Seeing Mira appear had made me fear that I might fail to save Marilynn as well. The rage from what Team Plasma had nearly done had almost taken me over.

"I'm just glad you're safe," I said to Marilynn. "Though I remember telling you not to follow."

"Sorry," she looked down, still red from embarrassment.

I shook my head, still smiling. "It's alright. Now come on, let's get you home."


We waved goodbye after dropping Marilynn back off at the Orphanage and collecting the rest of our stuff. The caretaker had returned and had dearly thanked us for the trouble we went through at her orphanage, but we had denied a reward. I glanced once more back at the front porch to see Marilynn waving goodbye, smiling wide when our eyes met.

Turning back to the road, I found Alex staring at me. "Everything alright?" She asked.

I turned away. "Yeah," I lied. Even though everything had turned out alright, I could still feel the remnants of the rage that had filled me earlier. And then the words of those Team Plasma grunts had stuck with me, further increasing my doubts about Joltik being with me. Everything was certainly not alright.