Pokémon Mistery Dungeon: The Missing Proyect (Rewrite pending)

by Lupingllogi111

Jake woke up in the shore of a river, and he realized he had turned into a Pokémon! Suddenly, his normal life was replaced by a new one, where he will have to blend in, begin a new journey, and most importantly, try to unravel the misteries of his missing memories and saving the world from a criminal guild that plans to take over the world with the power of a failed abomination...

16. Chapter 13: Reconciliation

Chapter 13: Reconciliation

---

"Always"

...

Did it really have to be this way? I just...I just want to be with the old Lilith again.

Kit shed a tear. He had already arrived at Sunny Town by the time the sun was starting to appear.

It was early in the morning, so there was really almost no one outside, and Kit was thankful. If anyone saw him walking around with those reddened eyes and scratches around his body, there was no doubt someone would call the cops.

His lack of sleep had definitely taken a huge toll on him, as he was almost limping around the streets while fighting the urge to fall asleep right where he stood.

It won't matter anymore, though. No more fighting my sleepiness, no more fighting a crazy Zoroark that promised something she didn't keep, no more fighting anything. I'm sick and tired of fighting.

With no more to do, Kit found the strength to look at the buildings. There were no actually tall ones, but he knew that the ones that were already here were enough if he aimed correctly.

He set his eyes on a big inn that had access to the rooftop. The bad part was that there was a recepcionist waiting for anyone to enter, which just made it even harder.

Fuck off, dude. I swear this wasn't this hard last time.

Kit turned invisible, and sneaked past the Dewott, who was apparently also trying to keep himself awake and didn't notice anything at all.

Who leaves the door open?

Almost fainting from the effort of casting the illusion, Kit really began to wonder if he should have just rented a room for a small nap.

The Zoroark stood up, shaking his head and kept walking up, each step taking more effort than the the last one.

When Kit finally arrived at the exit, he felt the cold breeze of the morning in his face, as he sighed, tears in his eyes.

He walked to the border and leaned on the brick wall, looking at the beautiful sunrise.

Well, here I am. The second time I do this.

...

Is there really nothing left for me?

The town he had grown used to had been bombed. His friends hated him now. There was no way Lilith was going to care about him, much less his parents.

He had nowhere else to go.

Using every last bit of strength, he casted his last illusion. In no time, a small white furred Zorua stood in front of him.

"Why? Why did I have to bring you in?" The fake Lilith silently tilted her head. "W-why did you even decide to come with me?" Kit yelled, crying and sitting down on the ground.

...

"You want to know why?" The illusion suddenly said, which made Kit jump in place. "You keep saying 'she didn't keep her promise', but have you ever thought about why would I ever want to go on with something as that?"

"Because you made me promise that I'd always be by your side"

The realization hurt Kit more than any weapon in the whole world could. "And look where I am now. I left everything that was dear to me for you and now I'm the leader of a criminal organization. I'm broken beyond repair and it's all because of you"

"S-Shut up!"

"You made me join that place just because of your selfish desires, and look what you did to me"

"Please, s-shut up!"

"The innocent Lilith you liked so much that you fell in love with is dead, and buried five feet underground. SHE'S GONE! FOREVER! AND YOU KNOW WHY?!"

"S-stop, I'm begging you"

"Because that place changed me in ways that you can't even imagine! And it was all your fault! And you still have the guts to say that I broke my promise, after you betrayed me like that?! You are disgusting"

"..."

"And now you are all like 'Awww I'm so sad! I'm gonna kill myself'. Jump off and see if I care!"

Small tears then appeared in her eyes. "And you didn't even stop there! Look what you did to your other friends too! You really are the worst scum there exists in this world. You deserve everything that happened to you and more!"

Kit was speechless. He tried making that illusion so that maybe it could make him feel better, but everything had backfired horribly. He was now feeling like...like...

The worst scum on Earth. He thought, standing up. Maybe she's right. Lilith didn't do anything wrong, she was just keeping her promise. I was the one that brought her in. I was the one that betrayed her.

I was the one that broke the promise in the first place.

Kit's vision went blurry with the water droplets in his eyes. Ember tried to help me that day, and because of me, her hometown was bombed. He looked down. Jake tried being my friend, even after what he's been through, and because of me, he's going to be hunted for the rest of his life. He sat on the wall, his legs hanging over the void.

"Oh, what's the problem, big guy? Don't have the balls to jump?" The illusion asked.

"..."

Kit stood a few more seconds looking down, thinking about everything he had done until now. His life flashed in front of his eyes. Was that what a movie was? It definitely seemed like a horror one.

You know, maybe I do deserve this.

He was about to push himself off when someone decided it was the perfect time to tackle him back from the wall to the ground. The illusion dissipated instantly.

"Dude, I knew you had a rough life, but is it really that bad?" A Pidgeot asked him, landing beside him, a look of concern in his face.

Kit was barely able to stand up. "Ughhh, what the fuck do you want? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" He snarled.

"Yeah, in the middle of jumping off a building for a second time!"

"How the hell do you know that?"

"Because he was...sent here...just like me!" Another voice replied, between heavy breaths. And Kit knew that voice.

Archer walked from the door, and collapsed the moment he was outside. "Those are...so many... stairs...to get to a fucking rooftop...damn" He said, catching his breath.

Once he was done, he shook his head and looked at Kit. "I told you that you can't hide from me!"

"Kill me"

"Huh?" He said, confused.

"You did it to other 'mons thousands of times, so use that knife of yours and fucking stab me. If you aren't going to let me jump, just kill me. Please" He said, kneeling down.

"Dude..." The Pidgeot commented. "I feel bad now. I heard the conversation he had with that...well, she's gone now, but I heard that illusion. Are you sure we got the correct guy? He doesn't look at all like the Kit that the Boss described"

"Of course he's him, dumbass! I'm the one that worked with him before, so I would recognize that face anywhere!" The Sylveon then looked at Kit. "But you are right about that last thing, Akash. I've never seen him this bad..."

"Can you discuss that afterwards?" Kit pressed.

"We haven't been sent to kill you...unfortunately for you apparently" Archer told him. "We're here to capture you and your friends. Speaking of, where are they?"

"I...I left them. I don't want to cause more harm to them anymore. Can you just fucking kill me already?! Lilith's going to do it anyway, so why not save her some time? I think I already screwed up her life enough"

"What's he talking about?" Akash asked.

"No idea, to be honest" His partner answered. "It doesn't matter, though. If your friends aren't here, then we'll have to take you" He added, preparing to fight.

"Are you seriously going to fight him like this? He looks like if you use any move he'll get killed!" The Pidgeot exclaimed.

"He can always give up"

Kit stood up and tried to run back to the wall, but yelled in pain when his leg suddenly got stabbed by Archer's knife, making him trip.

"Stop with that bullshit already! We are supposed to bring you back alive, so we aren't going to kill you or let you kill yourself!" He shouted, with a tone that expressed something Kit had never heard from him.

Worry.

"Can you maybe come with us without having to fight? I think you are in a really bad state already" Akash added.

Kit tried to remove the knife from his leg, but he didn't find the strength to do so. He hadn't slept at all, and combined to the blood loss and the two illusions he had used before, he decided that it was best to give up.

"You better tie me to the ground, or I swear to Arceus I'm banging my head open the moment I wake up" He told them, before he felt everything go numb, and his vision faded away.

---

It was about seven in the morning when team Indigo arrived in Sunny Town. All of them were exhausted, but didn't stop running until they had reached the entrance to the town.

A few Pokémon were already heading to work, so they took the opportunity to ask every passerby if they had seen Kit.

"No, sorry"

"I haven't heard of any Zoroark in this town..."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't"

"I did, but it wasn't today, so I doubt it was the Zoroark you are looking for"

The three sighed in defeat. No one seemed to know anything. "That's good. At least we know he must be alive!" I told them.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Boss. He couldn't get here too long before us, but he knows how to hide himself really well. Really, everyone not knowing anything doesn't confirm that he's alive" Marshtomp sighed.

"I hate to say it, but he's right" Ember agreed.

"Hey, you three!"

The trio looked to see an old looking Octillery walking towards them. "You three seem to be in a real hurry. What's wrong?"

"We are looking for a Zoroark named Kit. It's really important we find him as soon as possible. Have you seen him?"

The Octillery thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I haven't"

"No worries" I sighed.

"But if you are looking for someone that isn't from this town, maybe you should head to the inn. Everyone usually goes there to get information about what to do around here. It's that tall building over there"

"Thank you, miss! We really appreciate that!" Ember yelled. "Come on!" She added, grabbing me and Marshtomp's paw.

"Good luck finding him!"

With no more time to waste, the trio ran to the tall building that was the inn, and immediately rushed inside, almost giving a heart attack to the poor Dewott that was just trying to sleep.

"Hey, we've got plenty of room's available! Don't need to rush like that, Arceus!" The otter sighed.

"We have no time for renting a room!" Ember yelled, banging her badge on the table, which made the Dewott jump in his chair. "We are team Indigo and we are urgently looking for a Zoroark named Kit, and we need to know if you've seen anything unusual happening around here!"

The Dewott seemed stunned for a moment before collecting himself and giving a look at the badge. "S-Sorry. You really scared me"

"No time for apologies! Just tell us!" I replied.

"Geez, alright!" He then closed his eyes and looked up, thoughtful. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there has been no Zoroark coming around here..."

"Aghh!"

"But the door was open. Don't you think he could have snook in?" Marshtomp questioned.

Ember's face started to turn red with anger as he looked back at the recepcionist. "YOU LEFT THE DOOR OPEN?!"

"I-I have to leave it open after 6:20! It's the rules!" He exclaimed, recoiling a bit.

"You must have seen something! Please, just anything that happened since you left the door open until now!" I pleaded.

"Well, now that you mention it, someone weird came around some time ago..." The Dewott mumbled.

"Spit it out already!" Ember shouted.

"A Sylveon came running from the street and went up the stairs like his life depended on it. He didn't even say hello or anything. He just ran up the stairs talking to some sort of...badge?"

"A...Sylveon? With a badge?" I thought out loud, fearing what that could imply.

"That sounds familiar..." Marshtomp added, seemingly knowing what that meant too.

"We can't make assumptions just like that!" Ember told us. "Did you hear anything he said? Whatever! Please!"

"I think he said something like...'We found him, Boss' or something like that"

All of eyes widened, and without any more words, Ember bolted up the stairs.

"Woah, is she alright?" The recepcionist asked.

"Yeah. Thank you for the info, and please, call the police" I answered, following after Ember.

There were a ton of stairs, and climbing them was no easy task when your heart beats as hard as mine was at that moment.

That was Archer, no doubt. And if that Dewott told us the truth, Kit has to be up here. Please, please let him be alive!

At the end of the last set of stairs, Ember was sticking her head out slightly, looking at something.

"Ember! What are-?"

"Shhhh! They are here!"

Doing the same as her, I looked outside with discretion, and saw what she meant.

On the rooftop, there were three Pokémon. Obviously, Archer was there. The second one was a Pidgeot, who seemed to be looking really uneasily at the third Pokémon that was lying on the ground, while using his wings to bandage his leg. The third Pokémon was unconscious, and getting handcuffed by Archer's ribbons, while he spoke through his radio.

The third Pokémon was a Zoroark.

It was Kit.

"Boss, does Akash really need to go to fetch you just to make sure we got the correct 'mon? I'm telling you I know he's him!" Archer asked the device.

"Yes he does! I don't believe what you are telling me! Kit wanting to jump off a building again? That's just unvelievable. I'm not saying you are wrong, it's just that I can't wrap my head around it. I'm gonna go disguised, so don't worry about me. Now, make sure he doesn't die! For now at least. If it turns out he isn't Kit, and he's not any important Pokémon, you can do whatever you want with him. I'll be waiting! " Lilith's voice answered from the other end.

"Got it. Akash will go there in a moment. Over" He finished, letting the device in his satchel. "You heard him, pal. You've got to bring her here to check if this is our target. I'll make sure no one comes around"

"I'm not sure about this... What if he wakes up? Won't he try to jump again?"

"That's why he's handcuffed. That way, it will be almost impossible to jump the wall. And he can't fight either, so if he tries anything, I'll stop him before it's too late. Also, you should start worrying less about him. He's your enemy, after all"

"I know but...he needs some psychologist or something"

"Ughhh, fine! If it turns out it's the actual Kit and he just happened to go crazy, you can find him a doctor for his brain! There, you happy? Now go get the Boss!"

After Akash had finished bandaging Kit's leg, he used Agility to take off and supposedly headed to bring Lilith back using the move's speed boost.

"Fully evolved, same heart as always. Why did he even sign up for this...?" Archer sighed, sitting next to Kit.

"Alright, old pal. We've got a whole wait ahead of us" He said, before looking at him. "What kind of really bad thing could have happened to you, huh? Even if you are a disgusting traitor now, you were one of my best friends back then, you know? Always cheerful, always happy, and always with your girlfriend... And I know for a fact that you haven't changed at all, so why do you want to die so badly, to the point of asking me to kill you? I'd never have the guts to kill a good friend"

He then looked up to the morning sky. "Even if she doesn't want to admit it, I know that the Boss wants you back with her. She's still your dear girl, after all!" He chuckled. "Why you decided to betray us is something I'll never understand..."

He spent some more time in silence, looking up. "I wish everything could back to the way it was before... I miss ya"

I was in complete shock. The only Pokémon that I expected to have absolutely no emotion whatsoever turned out to have a sensitive side.

It would definitely make me feel bad if I didn't know that he was a murderer.

"Alright, so leaving that cute emotional moment aside," Ember interrupted, seemingly as confused as I was. "We've gotta get Kit out of there before the Pidgeot and Lilith come back. We gotta knock that Sylveon out. Jake, do you know any steel type moves?"

"I don't. Only Force Palm and Reversal"

"That's not going to be too useful, Boss" Commented Marshtomp.

"Maybe you can learn something like Metal Claw! Like you did back at the cave! You just gotta feel like your claws are metal or something like that!" Ember suggested.

"I'll try. Now, come on"

We stepped outside and Archer immediately recoiled and stood up the moment he saw us. He was...blushing?

"H-How long have you been there?"

"Just enough to hear your little monologue" Marshtomp replied, supressing a laugh.

"Didn't expect you to be a softie on the inside~" I teased him.

"S-Shut up!" He stammered.

"That's enough. We're here for Kit, so get away before we make you" Ember warned, taking her stick.

"Oh, you wanna fight?" Archer said, taking his knife out. "I may not be able to kill you, but Lilith never said anything about serious injuries"

"Bring it on, then!"

Archer used Disarming Voice and screeched in a pitch that made even the unconscious Kit wince. Taking advantage of us covering our ears, he threw his weapon at Marshtomp, who managed to dodge it in the last second.

Apparently, the knife was intended to miss, as when Marshtomp got out of its way, Archer used Double Edge on him, throwing him against the wall. He was knocked out instantly. The Sylveon gracefully landed on front of Kit, with only a few bruises because of the recoil damage.

"And you are a rescue team?" He retorted.

"And you are a heartless murderer that has killed thousands of Pokémon, but gets emotional when he's all alone"

Archer blushed with embarassment again. "Take that back!"

"No need to be ashamed of it" Ember said, before launching a fire attack at him, which he easily dodged.

"I'm ashamed only 'cus you are the ones talking about it!" He said, before using Quick Attack to run towards Ember.

Despite the fire type's speed, she wasn't able to score any hits on the fairy type. Once he was close enough, he leapt to Ember's face and...kissed her on the cheek?

As quickly as I could, I used Force Palm to launch him away, where he landed in front of Kit once again.

"Ughhh, gross! This guy just kissed me! So gross!" Ember exclaimed, wiping the part of her face where Archer had touched her.

"Is this how you normally react?" I asked, a bit confused.

"Can we not discuss this now? That was Draining Kiss. He healed almost completely at my expense, save for the Force Palm you used"

"Then we should start pushing back, don't you think?"

"Try me!" Archer yelled.

Alright, Jake. Think about your hands. They are made of metal. Not flesh, metal. They kinda already are a bit made of metal because of the spikes, but don't think about that now. Just focus.

I charged forward, trying to think about Metal Claw, but I just managed to make a Force Palm that didn't even hit its target.

The same infernal screech almost made me fall, but I managed to shut Archer by actually hitting him with an attack. Ember followed that with a Flame Charge.

This time, Archer didn't land as gracefully as before.

"Seems like you are the tough ones, huh? You are lucky that my Disarming Voice is not super effective on you, or else you'd be kneeling on the floor, pleading me to stop"

"In your dreams!"

"We'd never plead anything to you! "

We spent some more time looking at each other, waiting for the opponent to make a move. It was like that for a long time. Perhaps, a bit too long.

Why is he not attacking us? What's he waiting for?

And then it hit me. He's waiting for reinforcements! If Lilith gets here, we're done!

"Ember! We gotta attack! He's wasting time for Lilith and the Pidgeot to arrive!"

"Shit, I forgot about that!"

I charged again at him with a Force Palm, which missed. Archer tried to use Disarming Voice again, but Ember covered me with a Light Screen, which halved the damage, allowing me to use Force Palm again.

At this point, Archer was worn out enough to pant, but not enough to consider this fight as a win. We were, however, in a pretty bad shape. The Draining Kiss on Ember had taken a toll on her, and the constant Disarming Voice attacks were beggining to hurt a lot.

But we weren't going to give up.

"You can't win against the two of us!" Ember yelled.

No response from the Sylveon. Finally, he began laughing loudly, before looking at me. "No need to"

"Huh?"

"Did you think that my intention was winning? I was only wearing you out"

The sound of something approaching was enough to make my blood freeze. I prayed that that something wasn't who I thought they were.

"YOU!"

That deafening yell was enough to tell me I was wrong.

With the same speed as when he had disappeared, Akash the Pidgeot landed in the middle of the battlefield. And on top of him, was the same ghost type Typhlosion that we met back at New Hope Town.

"So you were right after all, Archer" Lilith told Archer.

"Of course I was! See how you didn't need to come all the way here?"

"On the contrary, my friend. Now, I'll have the pleasure of beating these two by myself" She added, cracking her neck and uncasting her illusion.

"You..." I said, looking at the Zoroark.

"You! How dare you sneak into my camp and destroy it completely?!"

"How dare you show your face in front of me after all you did to us?!" I snapped, pointing at Marshtomp.

"I don't recall slamming your partner against that wall" She mocked.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!"

"Whatever you say. Now, you can do this the easy way, and come with us without any violence, or we do this the hard way, and we bring you three with us in the same way as that traitor over there"

"Hell will freeze before I surrender to you!" I snarled.

"Enough talking!" Ember interrupted. "Fight us already!"

In a flash, Lilith appeared in front of Ember and before any of us could react, she grabbed her arm and threw her against the wall.

"What the-?" Was everything I could say, before meeting a similar fate, though in my case, it was a kick to my gut that made me fly.

"You were sayin'...?" Lilih retorted again.

We somehow managed to find the strength to stand up, not without feeling like our back had shatered into pieces.

"That was a dirty trick..."

"Why does that sound familiar? What followed? Oh yeah! Then you haven't seen this one!"

In a moment, we were surrounded by a lot of clones of Lilith, all of them staring at us.

"So this is what it feels like!" Ember commented.

"Not good, may I add!" I yelled.

"Heck yeah! Beat their ass, Boss!"

The clones' claws began glowing in a purple light, which meant that we were about to be hit by Shadow Claw.

"Here they come!"

"We'll have to fight them off!"

I narrowly dodged one of the clones and kicked it on the legs, making disappear in a cloud of smoke. "Jake, behind you!" I heard Ember yell, before I got hit by an attack, leaving a small scratch mark on my back.

"Gah!" I exclaimed, before turning around and using Force Palm on her, before it became another cloud of smoke. "Impossible! Zoroark's illusions shouldn't be able to hurt!"

"Perks of being an AFP!" The rest of the clones said in unison, just moments before all of them lunged at us, preparing Bitter Malice.

The attacks weren't able to hit, as Ember grabbed me, held me close, and conjured up a Light Screen that surrounded us, blocking any attacks.

"We aren't going to make it like this!" She said.

"We've got to try! The police has to be somewhere near!"

A loud shattering noise was heard, and what appeared to be the real Lilith tackled Ember, before attacking her with Shadow Claw, sending her against the wall.

She tried to stand up again, but the fire type groaned in pain and sat down again, some blood dripping from the back of her head and staining her fur.

"Give up already! You are just wasting my time!" Lilith yelled.

Waste time! That's it! I just have to wait for the police to show up!

Using the same tactic as Archer, I raised my fists and waited. And waited. And waited. I waited for so long that I began to feel the annoyance beggining to grow on Lilith.

Wait.

I could feel where the real Lilith was, just by her feeling of annoyance, but the clones were like air, with no feelings at all.

I'm a Lucario. Lucario can feel aura. Only real things have aura.

I'm so dumb.

I looked around, trying to find the source of the emotion.

"Come on already! What are you doing?" All the clones taunted.

I kept looking around until I felt it. A stronger pulse of aura coming from where I was looking.

"You know, Lilith. I may have not completely mastered this ability,..." I said, while smirking. "And I may be really dumb for not using it earlier,..." I added, turning around to give my back to where the real Lilith was. "But I think you are even dumber. And you know why? Because you forgot one simple fact"

I once again turned around and ran through the clones, and managed to land a kick on her. All the clones disappeared.

"I can sense aura, dumbass"

"Good for you. Now let's see if you can hurt me at all" She replied, sweeping my legs and using Shadow Claw.

I believe this is the perfect moment to use Reversal.

Coughing a small amount of blood, I encased my body in the same orange aura that I had in the cave. It was pretty intense, which made me realize I was really starting to wear down in such a small amount of time. All the while Lilith just stood there and...smiled?

Not thinking too much about it, I charged at her with my fist enveloped in the same orange glow as my body and landed a clear hit on her head.

She didn't even flinch.

"Who's the one that forgets things now?" She growled, using something I never would have expected: Brick Break.

My jaw sounded like if it had been broken, and the force of the blow launched me against the same poor wall as Ember.

My body refused to move, and my face was hurting. I felt blood drip from where Lilith had punched me, and I placed one of my paws there.

It-It hurts so much...

"Your stupid fighting attacks won't do shit against me" She said, walking closer to us. "Now, do you have anything else to add, or have you ran out of ideas?"

I analyzed all of our possibilities at the moment. Kit was unconscious, handcuffed, and apparently suicidal too, so he wasn't going to be of much help, even if he woke up. Marshtomp was out cold from the last blow from Archer, and I had now noticed how he had hit his head against a pointed rock, which made my heart skip a beat, before I confirmed he was breathing.

Ember hadn't been able to handle the pain, and had fallen unconscious a few moments after she had been thrown for a second time. And me? I was just like her. My head hurt, my jaw hurt, my body hurt. My everything hurt. My cheek was dripping blood from the blow just a moment ago, and I was slowly beggining to feel drowsy.

I tried to use a last Reversal attack, but the punch was blocked by the ghost type, and she threw me back down.

"So? Am I finally going to hear those sweet words coming from your mouth?"

"You are the worst"

"That's not sweet at all, Jake! You should watch your tongue next time!" She told me with a mocking tone, before walking up to Ember and punching her in the face. "Want me to do it again?"

"Leave her alone!"

"Nope! Those aren't the words I wanna hear" Another punch. Her lip had begun to drip a bit of blood.

"STOP! Just leave her alone!" She took a few steps back and looked at me.

"So?"

"You..." I looked down. "You wo-"

I was interrupted by some spotlights illuminating the rooftop, all of them aimed at the three members of the guild. What looked like a laser was present on the neck of each one too.

"This is Sunny Town's police department! Slowly raise your claws, ribbons and wings up! You are getting aimed at, so you better not try anything now!" came the voice of an Exploud that was on the back of a Talonflame flying overhead.

Laser pointers? Aimed at? They have guns in this world?! Then why did they act so confused when they saw a revolver back then?

"Boss!" Archer yelled.

"Just do what they say. I've got a plan"

Lilith he crouched down to my level, and gave me an angry look. "You've been lucky this time, but this isn't over, mutt"

With those words, the three outlaws disappeared. "What?!" The Exploud shouted.

"That was a Zoroark! Bring the Nullify Orb, quick!" A Hawlucha replied. "And tell the medics that's safe to take care of those four! I can see that Braixen's blood from all the way up here!"

I saw how the spotlights were turned off and the flying officers broke an orb followed by them flying away.

I heard hurried footsteps coming from the stairs and a pair of Bellossom and a Blissey walked through the door. The Blissey said something about breaking Kit's handcuffs to the Bellossom, and they quickly ran towards him.

The last thing I heard that night was the Blissey asking me if I was alright, before my vision faded to black.

---

Something was calling my name. I didn't know what it was. I couldn't see anything, but I knew that voice didn't belong to Celebi.

My head hurt. Everything hurt. At first, I tried to find out what that voice was, but the moment I listened to it, my head began hurting even more.

But it didn't stop. Even if I silently pleaded for it.

It kept calling my name.

Over and over again.

It told me to stop resisting. No, it demanded I stopped resisting.

My head kept pounding as I tried my best to ignore it and wake up from this nightmare.

The last thing I managed to hear before waking up was this:

You will regret ever coming here, human.

---

"Wake up, Jake"

I opened my eyes and found myself in a hospital bed. My body hurt, and my jaw even more, but I was alive.

The same Blissey that had come to our rescue before was standing next to my bed.

"Great, your injuries are healing up properly. Good morning, by the way"

I groaned and I sat up in the bed. "What happened?"

"You guys got beaten up pretty badly. You are in the police station's infirmary"

"How are my friends?"

"Check out for yourself" She said, pointing at the other three beds. Kit, Marshtomp and Ember were all unconscious. Kit was being administered some serum via an IV, but otherwise was fine. Marshtomp had the back of his head bandaged, and was also being injected something. Ember was...

To put it lightly, she was really injured.

Her head was completely bandaged, and was being administered oxygen. One of her legs was bandaged too and her fur was completely stained in red. She was being healed by the two Bellossom assistants.

My first reaction was to immediately stand up and go towards her, but a sharp pain interrupted me. Instead, I opted to ask the nurse. "What happened to her?!"

"Your friend was in a really bad state when we arrived there. She had hit her head against the wall and her jaw was almost broken to pieces. We gave her a few Sitrus berries and we used healing moves on her, but there is a chance...she may be suffering from aftereffects"

"..."

"You shouldn't have to worry though. That chance is really small. However, she will most likely have to stay here the whole day, probably even a bit of tomorrow"

She turned to look at me. "Now, I've woken you up because your body has healed pretty quickly, since you are a fighting type, but my colleagues need information about what just happened. I need to ask you, can you walk? Or should I tell them to come here?"

I-It's my fault. If I just did what Lilith asked me she wouldn't be like that. It's my fault.

She may die because of me.

"Jake!" The sudden mention of my name snapped me out of my thoughts. "Stop worrying, please. I told you she will be fine. Now, could you please answer my question?"

I nodded and tried to stand up. Slowly but surely, I managed to get on my feet, and only with a small numb feeling on my ankle. Walking was going to be a whole different thing.

"I think I can walk. My right ankle hurts a bit, but it's something I can manage"

"Are you sure? I can just tell them to come in here"

"Don't worry. Let's go now. I think..." I gave a small glance at Ember's state. "I think I need to get out of here"

The Blissey looked at the fire type too, and seemed to understand. "Alright then, follow me. And don't hesitate to tell me if you feel anything is wrong with you"

"Will do"

The nurse led me through a long hallway and into what looked like a small interrogation room. The walk was short, and I honestly was glad that I didn't have enough time to think about everything that happened.

Please, Ember. Don't you die on me.

When we entered the room, a Mienshao was sitting with a small paper in her hands. She immediately perked up when she heard the door open.

"Hi there! You must be Jake. Don't be nervous, we just need to ask you a few questions about what happened back there, and don't worry, this won't have repercussions on your status as a team leader"

I nodded. "I'll be waiting back at the infirmary" Said the Blissey, before she walked away and closed the door behind her.

"Well, first of all, I should introduce myself! My name is Diana, and I am the officer in charge of the operation that happened a few hours ago"

"Hours?"

"Yes. You have been unconscious for a while. It's been six or seven hours at most. One PM seems like a good time to wake up to get interrogated, don't you think?" She said.

"I guess..."

"Come on, I was only joking!" She began reading the paper. "Let's begin. First of all, you are Jake, leader of team Indigo, is that right?"

"Yes"

"Now, could you tell me the names of your friends?"

"The Zoroark is Kit, the Braixen is Ember, and the Marshtomp is...well, Marshtomp. Only the first two are officially a part of the team"

"Alright" She wrote something. "Next question, do you know who attacked you? And if so, why?"

"The Rocket Guild. The Pidgeot was named Akash, I think. The Sylveon was Archer and the Zoroark was Lilith. The boss"

The Mienshao dropped the pen. "Excuse me, but did you say 'The Rocket Guild'?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. We found out after two members confessed back at New Hope Town"

"That town got bombed, didn't it?"

"Exactly. It was the Rocket Guild" The officer seemed still a bit reluctant. "Miss, a lot of peop- Pokémon died that night. Do you really think I could be making this up?"

Diana finally sighed. "You are right. Excuse me for that, but you must know that something like that is simply hard to believe. I'm only doing so because we received some word from the officers back at New Hope Town that involved that guild's name"

"Thank you"

"Then, why are they attacking you and your team out of all the Pokémon in this world?"

"They say that I am a menace to their plans, and they are trying to capture me for something"

Sorry, but I can't tell you more.

"And why exactly is that?"

"I...don't know"

Diana wrote something more on the paper. "Are you certain that the Zoroark is the boss?"

"A hundred percent"

She wrote something else and sighed. "This is bad. Very bad. If what you are telling me is true, and the Rocket Guild is back, the continent is in serious danger" She mumbled.

The Mienshao looked at me firmly. "Listen, Jake. What were you doing when you arrived here?"

"Our goal is Lively Town, and we were passing through here just to resupply"

"Lively Town? That's a long way when you are being chased by a criminal organization"

"I know, but we need to arrive there as soon as possible"

"May I ask why?"

"We were going to the small island to the southeast of the continent, and Ember had a friend that could take us there from Lively Town. We...believe someone lives there that could have some answers to...a dilema we have"

Diana nodded and once again scribbled something on the paper. "Anything else I should know?"

"A few miles away from the town, we had an argument with Kit. He ran away not too long after. He left us a note telling us that he resigned. The point is, that the way he worded it, and some past incidents led us to believe he was...going to try and kill himself. That's why he was in that rooftop in the first place"

"Jake, I'm so sorry to hear that"

"It's alright. We managed to save him"

"He tried to do something like that over an argument? And you said that he has already tried to do it?"

"Well... it's complicated. His life has been...rough to say the least"

We sat a few minutes in silence. "Alright Jake, I believe we are done here. You can go back to the infirmary and rest. I...have to give some news to all the PD's all over the region..." She sighed.

"That must be tough"

"Well, that's what it takes to be in the corps!"

"Well, good luck then"

"Same to you. And in case we don't see each other again, good luck with your trip to Lively Town!"

"Thanks, Diana! Hope to see you again!"

"Likewise!"

I stood up from my seat and turned around when something came to my mind. "Can I ask you something before I go?"

"Sure"

"What were you using back when you said you were 'aiming at them'?"

"Oh! That's a new prototype of weapon that we had the pleasure to try out. I think it's called 'tranquilizer gun' or something like that. Can't tell you more, though"

"No worries. I already have an idea of how it could work"

So those were actual guns? I get it now. They are still prototypes and unreleased to the world, so no one knows what they are.

Blissful ignorance.

I exited the room and headed back to the infirmary. My ankle still hurt a bit, but I was not going to ask an officer if they could help me walk down to the infirmary.

Inside, the nurse and her two assistants were checking up on the unconscious patients, but the Blissey turned to me when I opened the door.

"How did it go?" She asked.

"Good. Just a few questions. By the way, is there any psychiatrist in here?"

"I'm a bit of a psychiatrist myself. Why?"

"I think Kit's going to need it when he wakes up. He's probably going to be the next one"

"And why exactly?"

"The reason he was on that rooftop. He tried jumping off"

"Oh, I see...Well, I'll do what I can, if I find it necessary. For now, would you like to lay on your bed again?"

"I think it would be best if I sat next to his bed. I think he'll need it when he wakes up"

The nurse nodded. "Alright then. Grab the chair next to your bed. We'll work on healing your other friends"

I moved the seat to the bed's side and sat down. I took a look at Kit's state. He seemed untouched, at least physically, except for a rather nasty cut in his leg. His face had a sad expression, even while he was asleep, which made me frown.

Why, Kit? Why did you have to do it? We could have talked it out, you know? I thought, taking his badge out and looking at it. He was so happy when he got it... Was it because he felt like he would finally be able to help people and make up for his past mistakes?

I sat there in silence for half an hour or so, only the sounds of the nurse and her assistants could be heard.

Was it our fault for making him feel bad? I hope he doesn't try to run again...

A stirring sound made me snap back to reality. Kit shook his head and slowly opened his eyes.

"Mmrgh? I'm...alive?"

"Kit!" I exclaimed, hugging him. He obviously didn't expect this, as he jumped in place. "You are alive! I-I really thought we lost you here!"

"Woah! Jake? Why are you-?"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear anything else coming from your mouth! You are lucky my body hurts like hell, or I'd slap you right this instant!" I interrupted him, with a mixture of sadness and anger.

I spent a few more minutes like that, not caring about anything else other than seeing Kit alive and well.

"Where are we?"

"In the police station's infirmary"

Kit took a look around and his eyes landed on Ember. "Woah! What happened?"

"We followed you to the rooftop. When we found you, the Pidgeot flew away to fetch Lilith here, and left Archer guarding you. He was...having an emotional moment before we interrupted him. He managed to knock Marshtomp out with one blow. Before we could actually knock him out and escape, Lilith and Akash came back. We got...beaten up pretty badly. We would have probably been captured if the police hadn't arrived"

Kit took all that information and looked away. "So you are all like this...because of me..."

"What did I just tell you? We are not like this because of you! We are like this because we wanted to! Do you really think that if we didn't care about you, we would have taken this beatdown? Of course not! You are an asshole for running away like that! We could have talked it out!"

He scoffed. "Yeah. Talk. That's just what I've been doing this whole time and look how you are now. Fuck's sake, Jake! Ember's got an oxygen mask! You shouldn't have followed me"

"Of course we had to! You are our friend, Kit! You can't seriously be thinking that we would just abandon you!"

"Even after what I told you?"

"Well, we would had probably had an awkward time the day after, but we wouldn't just ditch you away!"

Kit was silent for a while. "I need a walk" He stated, standing up without any problems.

"No way I'm letting you go outside alone!"

"Jake, I'm a fully evolved adult. I can take care of myself. Plus, I think these two need more support than me"

"That's why we are here" The nurse interjected. "Jake is going to go with you, and I don't want to hear any complaints. You are lucky I'm not calling a psychiatrist, so don't push it!"

"Ughhh, fine!"

Saying goodbye to the nurse and eating the Oran berry she gave me so that my ankle stopped hurting, the two of us made our way outside the police station and headed to the local park in Sunny Town. There were a lot of Pokémon walking around, many more than in New Hope Town, all of them greeted us when we passed.

How many Pokémon have survived back there?

I didn't want to think about it too much.

Finally, both of us sat on one of the benches in the park. It had to be around two PM, so most of the Pokémon were still working, with a few of them already going to their lunch break. Not that it was a bother, though.

"Beautiful town, isn't it?" I broke the silence.

"Definitely bigger than NHT, that's for sure" Kit plainly replied, looking downwards.

I sighed and put a paw over his shoulders. "Kit, you can't be like this forever, you know that? We still have a place to go to, remember?"

"Jake, I can't do this anymore. Everything I've done is just bringing problems and more problems. I...can't keep going with you just as if nothing happened"

"Yes you can. You know why? Because you are our friend. Because you are strong. No matter the challenge, you've kept on going. Heck, you've taken down an entire organization in the past, even though it was the only family you had, because you thought it was the right thing to do. It doesn't matter what you did in the past, what matters is what you are going to do now to mend it"

I took out his badge and showed it to him. "Remember when you got this? You were so happy, even if you didn't show it. Now I know why. Kit, you want to help people in order to make up for your past, and that fact only already means you regret everything"

"New Hope Town got bombed, but who knows if it was really your fault? I'm sure that even if you hadn't met either of us, the incident would have still happened. It's not your fault I'm being chased by them, I was going to even if I hadn't met you!"

I got the badge closer to him. "So please, Kit. Will you go back with us? We miss you, and your bad jokes. Nothing will be the same without you. Plus, we'll do much more if we are together, right? Both of us are getting hunted, there's no way around it, so don't you think it'll be the best option?"

Kit eyed the badge with crying eyes, but shook his head. "Jake, thank you for everything you've said, but I...I can't do it. It is my fault. Lilith is with them because I made her join them. We made a promise to always be by each other's sides, and look where it got her! I...can't do it, Jake"

"Then, we'll have to change her mind"

"What?"

"If you realized that what you were doing was wrong, then we'll have to find a way to do the same with her!"

He stood a few minutes thinking about my proposition, a glint of hope appearing in his eyes. "You...really think it's possible?"

"You didn't hear it, but Archer said that even though she didn't want to admit it, Lilith still misses you a bit, so maybe we can use that to our advantage!"

"Jake..."

"But we can't do it without you, that's for sure! So please, would you do us a favor and come back?"

Kit suddenly jumped at me and hugged me. "I can't believe you are doing all of this for someone like me! You...you really are nothing like those legends say humans are"

"It's okay, big guy" I replied, patting his back.

We spent a few more minutes hugging each other, until Kit let me go. "Alright, Jake. I...I think you convinced me. I'll go back, just so we can try and convince Lilith. I'll do it, just because you all have been so patient with me. You guys are the best!"

"Speaking of which, I think you have something pending with Ember, don't you think?" I told him, giving him his badge.

"I need to apologize reallly hard"

"Do you want to go back? The doctors said that they wouldn't wake up until at least this afternoon, so maybe we can look for something to do here? Maybe eat something?"

"Sure! Food's on me, though! I doubt you have money on you" He exclaimed, jumping from the bench and grinning.

"I'm so happy I can see you like this again" I told him, doing the same.

"I'm so happy that I wasn't able to jump" He replied. "You really don't care about...you know...?"

"Well, it's not like I've been around to see the unspeakable horrors that you say you've done, so not really. Though what they told me was quite heavy"

"So you care...a bit at least" He sadly said.

"Come on!" I exclaimed, putting my arm on his shoulders again. "Don't let that get you down! Now that you are back, there's so much I wanna do with you! Because honestly, do you really think we would have a chance to be alone like this back at New Hope Town?"

He smiled. "I thought I was just a cool teacher?"

"Then why are you in my team?"

He looked at me. "You are the best pupil I ever had. And also the only one"

"Didn't you get to teach Pokémon back then?"

"Don't push it!" He snickered.

"Yup, that's the Kit I know. Welcome back! Now, when is this façade going to break?"

"Oh, come on! You can't have seriously said that!" He exclaimed, playfully pushing me.

We laughed as we walked down the wide streets of Sunny Town. The buildings were not too tall, but they were still taller than the buildings back at our old town. All the Pokémon that we passed waved, or at least greeted us if they couldn't do the former.

"So where are we going to eat? I'm honestly starving..." I sighed.

"Be glad you weren't captured then! You wouldn't have gotten a bite in at least two days!"

"Hey, that's not funny!"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry! Just trying to go back to my roots!"

"Oh, how I missed that!"

Just while we were trying to agree on a location, I bumped into someone, making me fall onto my rear.

"I'm so sorry!"

I recognized that voice. I looked up and saw the same elderly looking Octillery that we met this morning.

"Wait...you are the same Octillery that helped us this morning!" I yelled, standing up.

"I suppose you must be the Lucario that was with those other two Pokémon early today? Glad to meet you again!"

"Likewise! I just wanted to thank you, miss! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have found him in time!" I told her, bowing down.

"Oh, please! There is no need for such formalities, young 'mon!" She then looked at Kit. "I suppose this is the Zoroark you were looking for?"

"Yes. This is Kit"

"Hi" He awkwardly said.

"I heard what happened. I'm so sorry for your friends"

"It's nothing! I'm sure they would thank you if they were here!"

"No need for that! Now, if you don't mind me intruding, I saw that you two are wandering around. Need some help?"

"We were just looking for a place to eat" Kit answered.

"I see. If you keep going straight from here, you'll arrive at a crossroad. Turn right and then left on the next turn. Then walk forward until you see a place called 'Serperior's Cookhouse'. It's the most famous restaurant around here, and it has delicious food at a reasonable prize"

"Thank you again, miss!"

"Please, just call me Gladys"

"Alright. Thanks again Gladys! I'm Jake!"

"You are welcome, Jake. Now come on, it is already late for Pokémon your age to be looking for food!"

We waved goodbye to the Octillery and followed the directions she had given us.

"So you already knew her?"

"Yeah. She told us that the inn where you went is the place that most of the outsiders go to"

"Thank Arceus I decided to go to that building"

Casual chatting was all that followed for the rest of the trip there. We saw a huge amount of buildings, ranging from shops, like the 'Aromatisse Fragrance Shop' or the 'Granbull Home Depot', to travel agencies and a church with a big statue of who I pressumed was the sinnohan depiction of Arceus on a pedestal. There even was a library around.

"This place has everything! This really feels like I'm back home! Well, except for this body, but you know what I mean!"

"Yeah. The village where I lived with my parents was bigger than NHT, but it doesn't even come close to this! I can only imagine what Lively Town is going to be like!"

"I can guess that it's going to be huge!"

We entered the restaurant and gasped when we gazed at the inside. The inside was full of Pokémon eating different kinds of meals, and the walls and ceiling were decorated with plants and flowers. There was at least one flower pot in each table.

It was a place that lived up to its name.

"Hello there! How may I help you?"

We looked down to see a Snivy that couldn't be older than fifteen. She wore a small cap with a leaf shaped pin on it, so we assumed she worked here.

"Yeah. We came here to have lunch, so we were wondering if there were any tables available?" Kit replied.

"I don't actually know... Hold on a minute, let me check" She turned around, and looked through the whole building until her eyes landed on a Servine that just left a few plates on a nearby table. "Hey, Ash! Are there any free tables available? We've got two more!"

"Hold on!" The Servine searched the entire room, before walking a bit closer to the Snivy. "You got lucky, guys. We have our last table free for you. Olivia, mind taking them there? I've got a lot of orders to serve"

"Sure! Follow me!"

The Snivy took us to a small table with a pair of menus on top, where we sat. "My brother will be here soon to take your order. Enjoy!"

"Thanks!"

Once the Snivy walked away, we took a look at what the restaurant had to offer. Every dish was accompanied by a small picture, which relieved me greatly.

Kit chuckled. "You got lucky that you don't need to read, didn't you?"

"I still need to know what I'm eating, you know?"

"What, are you vegan or something?"

"No, but I don't like every single meat there exists"

"Good. Vegans don't know what they are missing"

I looked through the pages. The menu had a wide range of berries and berry cooking styles that went from boiled to roasted, and even caramelized. There also were some meat dishes, but they didn't look as good as the berries.

"Everything looks so yummy! I was going to order some meat, but those berries look delicious!" Kit commented.

"I think I'm gonna order this one" I told him, pointing at a picture of caramelized Leppa and Rawst berries drizzled with chocolate and whipped cream. "Can you tell me how's it called so I don't look like I'm dumb?"

"That looks delicious! It's called 'Leppa and Rawst spicy, bitter 'n sweet paradise'"

"That's a long and weird name"

"Yeah, but who are we to judge? I'm going to order this one!" He told me, showing me his menu, and pointing to a picture of what looked like a banana split, but with Nanab berries instead. "The Nanab Split! That's a funny name!"

Alright, yeah.

"We should really start giving you some reading classes"

"Yeah, you guys should. I feel like I always gotta go with one of you if I want to find a way around the city"

Just then, the Servine interrupted us. "Hello! I'm your waiter, Ash. What would you like to eat today?"

"Hi! I'll take a Nanab Split"

"I'll take the...ummm...Leppa and Rawst...uhh..."

"Yeah, don't worry, I gotchu. Dad really couldn't think of a longer name to name it, could he?" He said, writing our order down. "You are not the first 'mon that's had problems with it. Though, usually, they read it again on the menu"

I tensed a little when Ash commented that, but he didn't seem to inquire more. "Anyway, who am I to judge? What would you like to drink?

"Totter Seed juice, please" Kit said.

"Just water for me" I added.

"Your food will be ready in about fifteen minutes" He finished, walking away.

Once he was out of earshot, I sighed. "That was close..."

"Close? You really think that failing to say a name by memory and not looking at it again would make a waiter suspicious? He's probably dealt with every single type of customer there exists" Kit replied. "I'm honestly nervous to go back"

"Why?"

"Ember's gonna kill me when she wakes up. I've been an idiot. You are my friends. You've been with me for a long time and I can't believe I almost ditched all of that because of me not being able to move on" A small tear dropped from his eye. "I hope everything can go back to normal soon"

I smiled. "It will, don't worry. We just have to be patient. I'm just so glad that you didn't do it. And I promise that we will change Lilith's mind, even if it's the last thing I do"

"Thanks Jake. I can't thank you enough"

"And to think I was just a pupil for you when we first met..."

A small pause followed, where I looked around the room. It was crowded with different types of Pokémon, mostly grass types, but there were more types too. I even saw a Monferno that was being very careful with the fire on their tail, as to not burn the vegetation down.

"Speaking of Ember..." Kit interrupted, with a sly smirk. "What did I miss?"

I smiled. "Not much really. When she decided that she needed a moment, she headed for a small water pond near the camp. I found her there and we talked about how she felt. She said that she was too overwhelmed with information and that's the reason she acted like that. She didn't want to believe anything you said, despite obviously having to. When we woke up after you attacked us, she was the first one that wanted to go look for you. You had to see her talking with that Dewott. She was so angry..."

"The point is, she will probably slap you very hard when she wakes up and be angry with you for the rest of the day, but she won't do anything else"

"You really think it'll be just that?"

"The joy of seeing you alive will be more than enough for her"

Kit nodded, followed by a small smile. "Now, what did I miss? You two alone near that pond? Come on, something had to happen!"

I felt a blush creep to my cheeks as I looked away. "I...told her that I loved her"

"Yeah! That's the type of thing I mea-" He began, before widening his eyes when he processed what I had just said. "Wait, what?!"

That only made me blush even more. "Y-Yeah"

"That's...congrats! I can't believe I missed it!" He exclaimed, chuckling.

I only frowned, and looked down. Kit took notice and stopped laughing. "You okay?"

"No. I think I screwed up our relationship by telling her..."

"Jake... I'm so sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"When she finished talking, I said that I had something to tell her. When I confessed that I loved her, I kissed her without giving her chance to say anything. She didn't try to push me away, but her reaction afterwards told me everything I needed. I think I screwed up. She literally said she was so overwhelmed, and then I go and tell her that! I'm such an idiot... My stupid brain thought that if I didn't tell her at that moment, I'd never have another chance like that"

"Jake, don't you think that she may just have needed some time to think? You said you did it suddenly, so maybe she just didn't know what to do"

"You really think so? You are right she didn't look too distant after that..."

"See? I can't really tell you, though. Me and Lilith's relationship was kinda straightforward"

"Thanks Kit. I'm glad that we can be friends"

"Same!"

I looked upwards. "Do you think that Marshtomp and Ember will be fine?"

"I'm sure Marshtomp will. Ember looked really bad, but I'm sure she'll make it"

"I hope so" I glanced at the kitchen door. "Let's talk about something else. Why don't you tell me how you and Lilith met? We can start making a plan while we wait"

"Sure! I met her when I was fifteen. She was a new student that moved from the Mist Continent, and she was really shy. Her mother later told me that it was because she got bullied back there"

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I'm getting ahead of myself. She got assigned a seat next to me, so I began talking with her. On the break, I went with her as to not leave her be alone, and we talked some more. That's when she told me why she moved. When we got out of school, she asked me if I could go to her house and explain some math to her, to which I obviously agreed. I met her parents and they explained me that I was the first real friend she had and why"

"I really felt sorry for her. I didn't want her to ever go through something like that again. We had a small snack and we got back to doing homework. Once I had to go, we agreed that I'd stay to have dinner with them on Friday, as it was Wednesday then and I knew my parents wouldn't let me"

"Time skip until Friday afternoon, classes are done for the week, so we both head out, but our teacher asks to speak to me alone. When I'm done, I get out and see that Lilith is nowhere in sight, so I run around until I see that my "friends" were trying to take revenge on her because they were jealous I was hanging out with her instead of with them"

"Long story short, I lose really badly and fall into a two day coma after getting beaten up. I woke up in a hospital with Lilith at my side, completely unharmed, which made everything worth it. That's when we made the promise to always stay by each other's sides. Not too long after, I have a really bad argument with my parents, so I snook out to her house and told her what happened. You can probably guess what came next"

"You became a couple?"

"Yep, and it was probably the happiest moment of my life...save for the embarassment we both felt when her parents walked in and caught us mid-kiss..."

I chuckled loudly. "Hey, not funny! I'll tell you about our time in you know where once we are all together"

"Yeah, best to keep it for ourselves"

We fell in silence for a small while. "Anything else you wanna talk about or...?" He finally spoke.

Just then, the weird dream I had came to my mind, and I realized I hadn't told them about that or Celebi.

"I do, but it'd be better if I told you all at the same time"

"Fair enough, I guess"

I took notice of the kitchen door opening and Ash coming out of it with our order. "Not like we have the time, anyway" I said, pointing behind Kit.

Ash placed our food on the table and turned to look at us. "You both are explorers, aren't you?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"Words spread like wildfire around the town, specially when three outsiders enter the town asking everyone they see if they had came across someone. By the way, Gladys usually eats here and tells us about her day. Our dad also has a good relationship with the mayor of your town"

"What a coincidence" Kit commented.

"Well, I gotta go take more orders now, but dad said he wants to talk to you after you are done" The Servine told us, before turning around. "Enjoy your meal!"

I looked back at Kit. "Why do you think he'd want to talk to us?"

"I don't know, but not like I'm too worried now!" He picked the knife and a fork and took a bite of his Nanab Split. "This is delicious!"

I followed suit and picked the utensils. The berries looked so delicious with their caramel coat that I felt my mouth start to water.

I took a bite of one of the Leppa berries and my eyes widened. An amalgamation of bitter and sour flavours with a small touch of spiciness added to the sweet of the caramel coating and the chocolate.

"This is so good! Whoever cooked this deserves a gold medal!" I added, eating the rest of the berry.

"You got it! A pity that the rest of the team can't be enjoying this..."

"Well, if we survive the hunt, we could come back someday! I'm sure Marshtomp would wipe out the restaurant's food reserves with how he used to eat!"

"Speaking of Marshtomp..." Kit looked around and got closer to me. "What's so special about him? Like, I know that he's your partner from the human world and all, but what does that even mean?"

"Do you really think I should be explaining this to you right now?"

With a last look around, Kit snapped his claws, and suddenly I felt how the sounds around me seemed to muffle a bit. "When discussing top secret Rocket Guild boss stuff, it's important not to let anyone hear you. That's why, with this simple illusion, you can talk as loud as you want inside the bubble, no one will hear what you say. Pretty handy, isn't it?"

"So no one can hear anything we say, but we can hear what they say?" He nodded. "Damn, why couldn't I have been turned into a Zoroark too?" I rhetorically asked, to which Kit chuckled.

"Bad luck! It would definitely be much easier to show us what humans are like if you could turn into one of them instead of trying to explain it yourself"

"I feel like you would manage to convince me into pranking Ember all the time"

"I don't know who you take me for... Well, no point in thinking about it during our lunch time. Let's get back to the question, what does 'being your partner' mean?"

"Oh boy... I'm gonna need to explain to you everything about how my world works..."

"Well, we've got a whole dish to eat, so why don't make it short and fit it so that we don't spend the whole day here?"

"Sure" I ate a Rawst berry. "Alright, so humans that want to be trainers (that is people that want to train Pokémon) receive what is known to us as a 'starter Pokémon' usually at the age of ten from the Pokémon professor of their region. A starter Pokémon is no more than a Pokémon that is really hard to find in the wild, and is usually easier to handle for new trainers. Following me so far?"

"I think... Any example of which species is a 'starter Pokémon'?"

"It depends on the region. The region where I was born is called Unova, and the three starters are Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy"

"Three?"

"Yeah. Fire, water and grass types. The trainer chooses who they want to be their first partner"

"Alright, so I suppose Mudkip are a starter Pokémon?"

"Yes, from the Hoenn region. The three are Torchick, Mudkip and Treecko"

"Wait, but if you said you were from 'Unova', why did your parents give you a starter Pokémon from another region?"

"Well, I was born in Unova, but I was always traveling around the world because of my parents' work. They were scientists, as you already know, and we were in Hoenn when they disappeared. I could probably tell you the whole list of starters of all the regions if you want me to"

"How many regions do you have?"

"I think ten? But I don't know if Orre is actually considered as an autonomous region... I'd say nine" I mumbled, eating a few more berries.

"And does that list include Zorua anywhere?"

"Nope. In fact, you'd be lucky if you manage to see a Zorua in your lifetime. Pretty rare Pokémon with a really protective mother. Last thing anyone wants is to be trapped in an illusion forever because you accidentally got too close to a Zoroark's cub"

"Aw, that sucks. Alright then, list them up. I wanna know what Pokémon are rare in your world so that when you take us to visit I won't look dumb"

"You do know that if there is a way to go back, I probably won't be able to take you with me, right?"

"Hey, if Lilith has somehow found a way to travel there just to get to you, there has to be a way you can too! Think about all the humans from the bunker too! There's bound to be a way to go back!"

"We just need to find it, I guess"

"That's the spirit! Now tell me the list before we finish eating and have to go!" Kit yelled, taking a big bite of his food.

"Alright, Kanto is Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur, and I'm pretty sure there was also a time when Pikachu and Eevee were handed like starters, Johto is Cyndaquil, Totodile and Chikorita, I told you about Hoenn and Unova already so Sinnoh is Chimchar, Piplup and Turtwig, Kalos is Fennekin, Froakie and Chespin, Alola is Litten, Popplio and Rowlet, Galar is Scorbunny, Sobble and Grookey, and Paldea is Fuecoco, Quaxly and Sprigatito"

"Woah, that's a long list! I don't remember a single region name, but I didn't know those Pokémon were rare! You see them regularly around here..."

"Well, now I know why they are rare" I chuckled.

"Wait, so does that mean that Spark, Blaze and Ember all would count as starter Pokémon back at your world?"

"I guess so. In fact, when I went to Kalos, I met someone who chose Fennekin as her starter. I'm pretty sure she's now a Pokémon Coordinator as well"

"I have no idea what's that"

"Honestly, me neither. But if she's happy, I'm happy for her" Kit smirked and raised a brow. "Don't you dare!"

"I have absolutely zero idea of what you are talking about" He replied.

We both laughed and went back to eating our dishes. We ate in silence for a few minutes before Kit spoke again. "Marshtomp mentioned something about 'a league to win back there'. What does that mean?"

"The Pokémon League, every trainer's final stop in their careers. Every trainer's goal is to beat the Elite Four and become the champion of their region. I wanted to do it, and of course I wanted Unova's to be my challenge, but it was hard with my current situation, so I settled with training in Hoenn to be able to afford a trip there. Anyway, the Elite Four are the four of the strongest trainers in the region, and if anyone manages to beat them, they are allowed to battle the champion, which is the real strongest and toughest trainer of the region"

"And you were trying to do that? Why?"

"Well, sort of. It's a bit hard to explain, and we definitely don't have enough food for that"

"Right. Thanks for explaining, though" Kit said, before thoughtfully looking up. "Do you think that if I disguised myself as a human, I could become a champion?"

"I'm pretty sure Pokémon aren't meant to be Pokémon trainers" I replied laughing, before eating my last berry. "Though, I never read any rule against it"

"Alright, so new goal! Once we settle everything around here, we're going to your world and we are beating that league together!"

"I doubt Ember would agree with that"

"Well, she's the one that will miss out!"

We waited until Ash walked close so that we could thank him and pay for our meal. "I hope you enjoyed your food" He told us once he took our plates.

"It was delicious!" I exclaimed.

"That's an understatement!" Kit added.

"Well, now if you follow me, I'll take you to my dad. He's in the kitchen"

Both of us followed the Servine until we entered a door that took us to the backrooms of the restaurant. The kitchen was not too big, but it was enough for the cook to do his job. The large Serperior was using his small arms to cook something.

"Dad! I brought the guys you asked me!" Ash yelled.

The Serperior turned his head around and looked at us his imposing glare almost making me freeze.

"Thank you, Ash. Now, would you mind leaving us alone?"

"No problem, dad!"

Once the Servine had exited the room, the Serperior put out the fire and got closer to us. "Hi there. My name is Rowan, and I suppose you are wondering why I wanted to talk to you" The larger Pokémon said in a friendly tone.

Rowan? Why does that name sound familiar...

"Well, I suppose we are. Just before you start explaining, however, we'd like to tell you something" Kit said.

"Yeah! Your cooking is amazing! It's probably the most delicious meal we've ever eaten!" I added.

"Well, thank you! I appreciate it" He smiled, before regaining a serious face. "Now let me explain the purpose of this talk, and I ask you not to tell anyone this, got it?"

"Sure?"

"Well then, let's begin. First of all, you are Jake and Kit, from team Indigo, aren't you?"

"How do you know that?!" I exclaimed.

"Let's say I have some...contacts around the region. I knew New Hope Town got attacked, and that the attackers were going after a team composed of a Lucario, a Braixen and a Zoroark. Turns out that those same three Pokémon, plus a Marshtomp, come to this town, the dark type first and followed by the rest. You got attacked at a rooftop and got sent to the police station's infirmary"

"That's...exactly what happened! How?!" Kit yelled.

"Well, when your town gets visited by the Rocket Guild's boss herself, there's bound to be someone that catches a glimpse of her movements. Having a few friends around the town that can make themselves as invisible as possible is a big way to be up to date about what is happening"

...

What?!

"How do you know about the Rocket Guild?!" I asked, with a mix of curiosity and dread.

Was this a trap?

"The same way I know who you are, Kit. The old boss of that place, aren't you?"

Kit immediately prepared to fight. "How do you know that?! No one knows!"

"No one, except Pokémon that worked with you"

"You are one of them?" I raised my fists, also preparing to fight.

"No. I was one of them"

Both of us immediately lowered our guard. "What?"

"You see, Kit. My wife died not too long after Olivia was hatched, and I couldn't find a job that gave enough money to afford anything. Desperate for anything, I ended up accepting working for the Rocket Guild, keeping it as a secret from everyone, even my own children. I was there when you and your girl joined, and when you both got promoted, and I was there when you took down the organization"

"Most of the guild was furious about what you did, but I was one of the few that was glad it had come to an end. Unable to accept what I had had done, I sought a more honest job, and that's how this restaurant was born. Most of the earnings are being used to give Olivia an actually good education, as it's too late for Ash, unfortunately, and I don't want to see both of my children work the rest of their lives here because of my mistakes"

Kit and I were stunned. "So you are...a former member of the guild?" I stammered.

Rowan nodded. "And the contacts you have...are the guild members that don't want to kill me?" Kit added.

Rowan nodded again. "All of us are glad of what you did, Kit. Look at me; a fifty year old single father working full time to try to mend his mistakes, but still pushing forward. And you, a twenty-something young adult that made the most heroic decission of his life, on the verge of letting everything you did go to waste. I know why you went to that rooftop, Kit. You just need to know that not everyone wants you dead. In fact, you have one of them right by your side. You could also ask any of my contacts and they will most likely thank you and encourage you to try to stop the Rocket Guild again"

Kit had almost begun to cry. "As for the reason I wanted to talk to you? You four are heading to Lively Town, correct?"

"Yeah"

"I just needed to wish you good luck with your trip and with your deed, and to thank you for what you have done for this part of the world all those years ago. That is all"

The Serperior then slithered back to the cooker and went back to cooking, without adding anything else.

"I...really thought everyone thought of me as a traitor" Kit stuttered.

"Well, see how you were wrong? Maybe some people that are still in the guild are there just because they have to, just like Rowan had. You just need to keep pushing forward, no matter the challenge!"

"I am starting to believe that Blissey payed you all for an undercover therapy session!" He laughed.

"If she has, I still haven't gotten the money!" We headed for the door, but just before we exited, I turned to the grass type. "Thanks for the amazing food again, Rowan! We promise to be back someday!"

"Goodbye, team Indigo! Take care! And remember that every problem has a solution!" Rowan replied without looking at us.

Once we exited the restaurant, I could literally feel Kit's disbelief about what he just heard. "I can't believe a father had to join the Rocket Guild in order to feed his family"

"The world is fucked up. That's something that this world and mine share"

The town was now full of Pokémon that headed back to work after their lunch, so we had a difficult time making our way through the crowd. Finally, we managed to find a bench to sit down.

"Hey Kit, wanna go back? Or is there something else you wanna do?"

"I really don't want to, but is there something else to do? We already spent the morning sightseeing and we had our lunch just now"

"Maybe we could...see if there is an Arcade?"

Kit looked at me with confusion. "A what?"

"I forgot that you don't have that kind of technology around these parts... Maybe go shopping?"

"We are a bit out of cash... We have to find a way to get it, or at least find a bank"

"This town must have one, right?" I asked, standing up from the bench.

"We won't lose anything for looking"

The next hour or so was spent in walking around the city with the hope of finding a bank or any place where Kit could withdraw his money. We managed to find a big building with a big coin simbol, so we supposed it was the bank, but when we walked closer to inspect it, we found out it was closed.

"Due to unexplained money disappearance, the bank will be closed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience" Kit read out loud. "Dammit!"

"You think Lilith and company could have anything to do with this?"

"I'd be surprised if she wasn't the one behind the huge amount of crimes that have been commited"

"So you say that what was happening at New Hope Town was because of her?" He nodded. "And you didn't say anything?!"

"What was I supposed to say? Remember that no one knew who I was back then"

"Oh yeah, good point"

The dark type finally sighed and walked back where we came from. "I guess we'll have to go back to the infirmary" Turning to look at me, he mischievously smirked. "I'm sure you are yearning to see your little girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" I looked away. "Yet..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Let's just go back"

The walk back to the police station was uneventful. We passed in front of some pretty interesting shops, one of them even having glasses and scarves for explorers.

"Let's just hope Ember has some money on her until we find a bank we can actually use" Kit commented.

The infirmary was not too different from when we left, though this time, only the Blissey was present. I looked at the clock hung from the wall. The first clock I had seen in the entire time I've been here. It was around four PM.

"Oh, you are back. How did it go?" The nurse asked. "Anything I should know?" She added, eyeing Kit.

"Nope. Just a relaxing walk outside. We even had lunch together!" He replied.

"I suppose that it was at Rowan's restaurant?"

"How did you know?" I questioned.

"That's the most well-known restaurant in the town, and totally deserved, in my opinion"

"Agreed"

After a small pause that was broken only by the Blissey's healing moves, I finally mustered the strength to ask. "How are they?"

"They are fine. Marshtomp should be close to waking up, and your Braixen friend won't regain her consciousness until late in the evening, down from tomorrow"

"Thank god" I sighed.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I will go have my lunch. I'll be back in a bit, so keep an eye on your friends, please. In case someone wakes up while I'm away, their lunch is on that table over there" She told us, pointing to the table near my bed.

After we gave her our nod of confirmation, the Blissey exited the room and closed the door behind her. Silence once again filled the room, as Kit sat down in between the beds, and I took a seat near my unconscious partner. I noticed how he wasn't connected to the IV anymore.

I placed a paw on Marshtomp's forehead and I unconsciously felt all of his emotions. He felt pain, and mostly rage at Archer for throwing him against that wall, but there was something that predominated.

Disappointment.

Marshtomp was disappointed with himself for failing to do the very thing he wanted to do since we first met: protect me.

As if on que, Marshtomp's eyes fluttered open, and I immediately removed my paw. After a brief scan of the room, he turned to look at me.

"B-Boss? Is that you?"

"It's me, bud. Finally decided to wake up?"

"I-I thought you were...I thought that Zoroark...!" He tried saying, but he couldn't end the sentence.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm okay! And guess what, Kit's too!"

"Hey, I'm Kit and I'm okay" Kit jokingly said.

"Thank Arceus... But Jake, are you sure you are fine?"

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I-?"

Marshtomp almost leapt out of the bed to give me a hug, and nearly made me trip. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry that Sylveon knocked me out and I couldn't cover you! What kind of partner am I if I can't save my trainer's ass when he needs it?" He cried.

"Marshtomp, it wasn't your fault! Archer knocked you out with one blow because he threw you against a rock wall and you hit your head! Of course I don't expect you to fight after that! And to answer your question, you are the best partner anyone could want. I don't need you to cover me everytime anymore, I can fight on my own now!"

"But you almost died!"

"I wasn't the one that almost died. Have you checked out Ember?"

"What's wrong with-?" He began, before pulling me away and looking at the bed un front of his. "Holy shit. I see what you mean"

"I almost got her killed, but the nurse said she'll be alright, so I trust her. Now, enough about self-pity, how are you feeling?"

"Well, the back of my head hurts a lot, but I think I'm fine otherwise"

"That's great! Nothing else? You sure?"

"Yeah Boss, don't worry about it. I'm fine"

"I suppose you must be hungry, bud. Let me get you your lunch"

I walked to the table where the two trays with food laid and picked the one that had a small Marshtomp drawing on it. Kinda cute drawing.

"Here you go. It's a berry salad that will make you healthy and strong again!" I told him with a mocking tone once I carefully sat the tray on him.

"You are lucky that you are my friend, or I'd spray you down until you were nothing more than a wet furball!" He laughed, eating a berry. "Did everything go alright with you two?"

"Yep! I think Kit is back with us for real this time!" I exclaimed.

"Not until I talk with Ember"

"Yeah...you really gave her a bad time back there" Marshtomp commented.

"I'm such an asshole..."

"Anyway! We have the whole afternoon ahead of us! What would you like to do? I don't know about you, but I can't just sit down for hours! According to the nurse, we still have at least about three hours until she wakes up, so what would you like to do?"

"I don't think there's much else to do other than waiting around, Boss. I really can't move out of the bed without my head aching like if I had just gotten pierced by an arrow, and you two have already gone out and seen the city for a bit"

"Yeah, but are you sure you don't want us to...I don't know, talk with you, or something?"

"Honestly, after having lunch I'm feeling a bit drowsy... I think I'm just gonna go to sleep again"

Kit yawned from behind me. "I'm feeling really tired today, and I've been unconscious for a few hours. Probably because I haven't slept at all since we exited that MD before the camp. The only reason I fainted was probably pure exhaustion"

"You all really like sleeping, don't you?" I chuckled.

Kit got up from his seat and headed for his bed, where he laid down. "Wake me up whenever Ember does, alright?" He said, falling asleep almost immediately after he spoke.

"He really must be tired!" Marshtomp laughed. He too laid down on his back and closed his eyes. "Thanks for being by my side when I woke up, Boss. I really appreciate it"

"I never had the chance to do it in a Pokémon Center, so it's natural I would do it now. Anything for my bestest amphibian friend!"

"Don't call me that, Pokémon-turned trainer!"

"Go to sleep before I actually get offended!" I replied, grinning, to which he chuckled. Not too long after, I felt how his breathing slowed down and he too fell asleep.

I sighed and stood up, looking at my bed. Should I take a nap too? I'm not really feeling too tired at the moment... My eyes slowly drifted to Ember's unconscious body, and to the chair that sat next to her bed. Maybe I should wait for her sitting on that chair. Marshtomp seemed really happy when he saw me next to him...

Reluctantly, I sat on the chair and looked at Ember. Her bed was the last one just before the wall, and the chair was between her bed and Kit's, and the IV was in the small space between her bed and the wall, being administered to her left arm. The oxygen mask still covered her face, but she at least was already free of any blood stains.

The regret crawled back to my mind again.

"I'm so sorry Ember... I didn't want you to get beaten up like that because of me... I really am sorry about everything you had to go through in these few days..."

I paused. "But I'm also grateful for everything you did for me. I wouldn't even be here if you hadn't saved me back at that river, so thank you" I was about to finish, but a few last words came to my mind, which made my cheeks a bit red. "I love you. A whole lot. Thanks for everything"

I stood a few more minutes looking at her slow breathing, and some dread filled my heart. What if the nurse is wrong and she doesn't wake up at all? No! Don't think about that, Jake! She already told you that there is no need to worry!

Drowsiness started making its way to me, and I felt my eyelids grow heavier by second. Should I go to my bed? I don't think I'll get there before I get knocked out... Whatever, I'll just sleep on this chair.

I closed my eyes and yawned. I felt every pain and fear fade away as I made another trip to dreamland.

---

"Nothing! We lost track of them!"

"Didn't you get the Nullify Orb?"

"Yeah, but that Zoroark apparently knows how to hide her and her group even without illusions! Not even Odor Sleuth seems to be able to track them down!"

"How long have we been at this? It must have been at least three hours"

"It's been...six, in fact. We are so far from HQ and we haven't found anything yet"

"Should we fall back?"

"There's nothing else we can do. I'll tell the chief our status and hopefully they'll send backup before it's too late"

"Such a shame that we don't have more Pokémon that can track other Pokémon in the corps..."

"Most of the Riolu line prefer to be explorers, for some reason"

"Yeah, but we aren't going to mess with what the majority of Pokémon want. Let's just go back"

"Yayyy! I gotta carry you all the way back! How cool!"

"Hey, you knew what was coming when you joined the corps! Not everyone can fly, you know?"

Laughter echoed as the Talonflame and Exploud flew away from the area, much to the relief of a certain trio of Pokémon. Once they were certain that no one could hear them, they exited the bushes where they were hiding in.

"That was close..." Akash sighed.

"Too close for my liking" Archer added. "How did you manage to make Odor Sleuth useless, Boss?"

"It's as easy as leaving your scent in a lot of places as you run. I'm not your boss for just my pretty face, you know?"

"What do we do now? The police are after us and those four are for sure going to snitch about us! It'll be no time before everyone knows that the Rocket Guild is back!" The Pidgeot squealed, worringly.

"Well, that has an easy fix, my dear flying type"

"And that is...?" Archer began, a grin crossing his face.

Lilith took her badge out and pressed a button. "Hey, Mismagious?"

"Whatchu need, L? Did you capture team Indigo? "

"No, and that's exactly why I'm calling. We suspect that those four are going to tell the police about the guild, so I think it's time to stop being in the shadows, don't you think?"

"Does that mean what I think it means? "

"Affirmative. Prepare your best plans for tomorrow, Mismagious. The Rocket Guild is officially back. Everyone thinks we were bad before? Wait until they see us now. Rob a bank, steal possessions, anything you can think of. Tell everyone about this, and assign missions to everyone you see so they complete them tomorrow. I'll be back soon to help you. Good luck"

"Ohhh, I thought this day would never come! Got it, I'll start telling everyone about it now. Good luck with the trip back here! "

Mismagious hung the call and Lilith left the badge back in her bag. "Let's see if those rescue teams and the cops can stop us now" She mumbled. "Akash, do you think you can carry us both at the same time?"

"I sure can!"

"Good. Archer, get on. We are going back to HQ"

"Copy that!"

"The Nullify Orb has lost its effects, so nobody will see us leave"

Once both of the Pokémon were set up, Akash took off and Lilith hid all three of them.

Prepare for our unstoppable wrath, world. We aren't going to stop in this continent this time.

This time, no one will stop us.

---

"Jake. Wake up, please"

"Mmmrrgh?!"

"I know you must be feeling tired, but sleeping on top of your injured friend for four hours straight may not be the best idea"

"I'm...what?"

I slowly opened my eyes and was met by a wall of yellow fur. That's when I realized I wasn't sitting on my chair and was instead laying perpendicularly on top of Ember. I immediately recoiled back up with a huge blush on my face.

The Blissey stood in front of me with her assistants behind her. One of them was trying to hold their laughter, while the other one gave them a small punch on the shoulder to make them stop.

"I'm...sorry. I didn't know I was sleeping on top of her! Please, tell me I didn't cause her anymore injuries!"

The Blissey softly chuckled before shaking her head. "Don't worry. Her body was almost completely healed after we gave her the Sitrus berries. It's mostly her face that needs not to be touched in order to heal properly, and luckily, you didn't touch that, so no need to worry"

I visibly sighed. "Lucky me..." I then looked at the nurse and asked her. "What happened when I was asleep?"

"Well, when I entered the room after my break, I found you all sleeping on your beds except you who was sleeping on top of your friend as you were just a second ago. No one was awake, so we opted to leave you alone for a bit. You've been sleeping for at least four hours now, and I woke you up precisely because your friend should be about to wake up"

"Really?!" I yelled, jumping from the chair.

"Yes. Would you do us a favour and and wake up your friends while we make sure everything is okay?"

"Absolutely!"

"Thank you"

I quickly ran towards Marshtomp's bed and grabbed his shoulders. "Come on bud, wake up! Ember's going to wake up soon!" I said, shaking him slightly.

"W-what?! What's happening? Where did that Metagross go? I was about to win!" He groggily said before shaking his head. "Jake, stop that please. My head still hurts"

"Oops, sorry!" I sheepishly replied, letting him go. "Were you dreaming about us winning the Pokémon league?"

His cheeks reddened with embarassment as he looked away. "No..."

"Oh, come on! Don't be like that! I know you would have won!"

"Of course! But why did you wake me up? Is it dinner time already?"

"Well, it should be, but that's not the reason! Ember's about to wake up!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! They are just giving her the finishing touches, like taking off her bandages and she should be ready to go!"

"That's great!"

"I'll just wake up Kit. You wait up there until they tell us that we can go!"

After a nod, I approached Kit's bed and found him asleep on his side, with a bit of saliva even falling from his open mouth. I was about to shake him too, but something better came to my mind.

I walked to the side of the bed and grabbed the end of Kit's long ponytail, proceeded by tickling his nose a few times with it. The only response I got was him twitching his face slightly, until he finally mumbled something.

"Lilith stop! You are tickling me!" He said, smiling. He still didn't seem to come back to his senses, so I tried tickling him again. "Babe, stop that!" The Zoroark laughed. Seeing that this wasn't going to work, I decided to slap him with the ponytail in the face. This time, he actually woke up, rubbing his face. "Ow! What happened?"

"Good morning, sleepyhead! Ember's gonna wake up soon, so get your butt off the bed!" I replied, letting go of Kit's mane, to which he sheepishly looked at me.

"Did you just wake up by slapping me with my own fur?"

"Well, I tried to tickle you first, but you just mumbled something about asking Lilith to stop tickling you and then go back to sleep!"

He widened his eyes and looked away, blushing, much like Marshtomp. "I did what?"

"You said, and I quote, 'Lilith, stop. You are tickling me' and 'Babe, stop that'"

His face grew even redder and he covered it with his claws. "Arceus, please, shut it"

"You miss her, don't you?"

"A lot"

"Don't worry" I told him, putting a paw on his shoulders. "We'll get her back"

"I just hope so" He jumped from the bed. "But enough about that! Did you say that Ember was about to wake up?"

"Yeah!"

"Can't wait for the lecture of the year..."

"Oh, don't be like that, Kit! I'm sure you'll be fine" Marshtomp told him, patting his back.

"Everything's ready around here! Now we just have to wait" The nurse interrupted us, as she and the Bellossom walked away from her bed. "She should be awake in ten minutes maximum"

The three of us nodded. Now, all we had to do was wait. And we waited. And waited. And waited. Oh, and did I mention that we waited?

Those ten minutes felt like hours, and I wasn't the only one that felt like that. Kit was sweating, and despite having a emotionless face, I could feel that Marshtomp was worried too. The ten minute wait turned into a fifteen minute wait.

And then to a twenty minute one.

"That's strange" The nurse suddenly said. "It shouldn't be taking this long"

"Are you being serious right now?! What do you mean by 'that's strange'?!" I yelled.

"Well, it's been twenty minutes, ten more than what it should have been" Seeing our dreadful expressions, the Blissey quickly spoke again. "Not to worry, this is still normal, though very rare. Your friend must be simply exhausted and that's why she's taking this long to wake up"

"Exhausted?" The dark type asked.

"Has she gone through something that could have caused her to be increasingly tired, may it be physically or emotionally?"

We shared a few awkward glances. "She...may have, yeah" Kit replied.

"Then we'll have to give her, a little more time. Exhaustion normally causes the affected Pokémon to take longer to recov-"

A loud gasp muffled by the oxygen mask interrupted the nurse's explanation, followed by lough coughs, all of that coming from Ember. She had already opened her eyes, and was looking frantically all around the room, all the while hyperventilating. The nurse wasted no time in telling her assistants what to do.

"Fiona! Use Stun Spore to mitigate future spasms! Oliver! Sweet Scent to difficult her moving her head and dodging my paws! I'll take the mask out!"

"Got it!" The two shouted in unison, preparing to do what they were commanded. The nurse then turned to look at us.

"You three, stand back! We need space to stabilize your friend! And please, don't panic. This is normal"

"How's this normal?!" Marshtomp shouted, but got no response, as the Blissey was too busy removing the oxygen mask from Ember.

We watched in awe as the three medic Pokémon worked in perfect harmony. The Bellossom used their respective attacks on Ember almost at the same time, and we saw how she slowly stopped looking around and her breathing slowed down, followed by the normal type carefully removing the mask from Ember's face. She didn't stop hyperventilating, though.

"Hey, calm down, Ember. Everything is alright! Calm down, alright? You are safe here" The nurse told her.

Ember looked at the Blissey, then to the two Bellossom beside her and finally, to the three of us. I could feel how her emotions seemed to be a mixture of fear, pain, and...confusion? Her breathing slowly steadied, and everyone in the room sighed with relief.

"Ember, can you hear me? Say something to us, please!" I yelled.

"Ow...my jaw hurts..."

"That's normal after what you've been through, but you seem to be alright at least. I'm Katy, your nurse"

"Hello, I guess..."

"Well, now that you are all alright, I assume you will want to resume your trip to Lively Town as soon as possible"

"Yeah, we really need to get out of here before those three come back" Kit commented making Ember look at us and raised a brow.

What's going on with her?

"Ummm, Katy?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course!"

"Alright, so the Bellossom are your assistants, I assume, but uhh..." She began, before looking back at us.

What she said next almost made my heart stop. I finally understood what that last phrase in the dream meant. "...who are those three?"

---

END OF CHAPTER 13

Hello everyone. This chapter has been a bit of a long one, but also full of things. I honestly thought that a boring therapy session was not fit for this chapter, so instead I made Kit feel better by both Jake's words and the fact that Rowan told him that not everyone is after him.

And at first, this chapter was going to have Kit apologizing to Ember and all that corny stuff where Jake tries to tell her that he loves her again, but in the middle of that I thought of a better idea: A dramatic event turn that will cause them to deviate from the objective for a while, probably just one chapter more.

Now, before I go back to my dark writer dungeon, there's a thing I wanna adress, so let's get to it.

Taking a look at the last chapters and comparing them to the first ones, you can see that there is a huge improvement over time, so I'm gonna make my life harder and try to rewrite the whole story again! This time, making sure that every detail checks out with the rest of the story and adding some more things to make them longer (starting with the last Special Chapter!)

So I'll let you choose! If you have any ideas or suggestions as to what should have happened at the start of the story, now it's the time to tell me! Leave a review and maybe your idea will be included! (Woah!)

Which leads to this: No AHA updates for a while!

Have a great day/night and remember to leave your suggestion!