"Ralts! Let's go!"

Benedict hollered as he threw one of his Poke Balls.

Ralts popped out and floated to the ground, then bowed like a prince. His red eyes glowed underneath his helmet.

Tank tossed his Poke Ball in the air

"Treecko, I choose you!"

Treecko chirped as he landed on the base of his tail, bouncing in his spot and ready for battle.

Kidd gulped and held his Poke Ball out, releasing Mudkip without a word.

Sweat trickled down his forehead as he he looked away from everyone else. Battling, great. This was so what he wanted to do.

"Kidd? What's the matter? Never battled before, huh~?"

Benedict winked as he nudged his friend's arm.

"What?!"

Kidd scoffed. He looked away, angrily blushing the whole time.

"It's not that...okay, fine, I might need a little help!"

"Trust me, it's easy! Y'all just tell ya Pokemon to use a move. Just watch me"

Benedict reassured him with a pat to the shoulder. He faced the Pastel grunt and shouted

"Ralts! Magical Leaf on Azumarill!"

Ralts flipped his helmet up as he blasted a tornado of leaves from his horns. The tornado swallowed Azumarill whole, lifting it off its feet. Azumarill yelped as it flailed in its spot, trying to punch and kick away the leaves.

Samuel facepalmed. Was all this trouble worth it for just a Wingull?!

"Azumarill" he yelled. "Use Slam!"

"Azu!"

Azumarill jumped in the air, freeing itself from the tornado. It whipped its tail around like a lasso, then threw its body at its opponent.

Ralts leaped into the air, barely avoiding the rabbit Pokemon. If he had fingers, Ralts would be flipping off the other Pokemon.

Kidd felt a sense of determination just from watching the battle play out. The way trainer and Pokemon synched; it looked as natural as breathing in and out…. perhaps he and Mudkip have this synchronization? Let's try it out!

"Mudkip!"

Kidd commanded. "Use Tackle!"

"Mud-KIP!"

Mudkip cried out. She sprinted across the tunnel ground, then jumped up to tackle Goldeen. The fish Pokemon cried out as it flung backwards and landed onto the ground. Dust and pebbles flew up in the air.

Samuel gritted his teeth in frustration. He barked at his Pokemon

"Goldeen, retaliate with Horn Attack! Azumarill, Slam again! Luvdisc, use Sweet Kiss!"

Goldeen slithered through the air, its horn glowing white as it swam closer to its opponents. It pulled its head back, ready to attack.

Mudkip hopped up. She clamped her mouth down on Goldeen's horn, holding on tight as Goldeen tried to shake the other Pokemon away.

Luvdisc puckered its odd-looking lips, then blew a flurry of pink hearts at Treecko.

Tank hollered

"Treecko, use Quick Attack!"

Treecko's body glowed light blue as he sprinted close to the ground, carefully avoiding the hearts. He jumped up behind Luvdisc and slapped it with his tail.

Luvdisc spun around in its spot, then was ambushed by its own Sweet Kiss attack. The blinding pink hearts exploded in front of its eyes, spinning it around even more. Treecko darted underneath his opponent and ran back to his side of the battlefield.

Mudkip jumped away from Goldeen. She landed onto the ground, then used her head fin to fling Ralts into the air. The psychic type floated back down, balancing himself on the top of Mudkip's crest.

"Ugh, Mudkip, no!" Kidd shook his head in disapproval. He tried to run over to her

"What do you think you're doing!"

Benedict blocked Kidd with his arm.

"Hold up!" he explained. "I think Mudkip's got an idea"

Mudkip trilled as she flicked her head up, making sure to keep Ralts well balanced.

Benedict punched the air

"Ralts, Magical Leaf again!"

Mudkip stood on her back paws and headbutted Ralts into the air.

Ralts' antennae glowed pink as he hovered high above the other Pokemon. He held his hands out and formed two more leaf tornadoes in each hand. He screamed as he blasted the tornadoes with no mercy. Technicolor leaves picked up speed as they swallowed the other three Pokemon, relentlessly attacking from each angle.

White and grey filled the air, forcing the boys to guard their faces from the dirt.

The dust faded away. While the boys' faces lit up in excitement, Samuel had a horrified look.

Luvdisc and Goldeen fell to the ground like anvils, unable to get up from the attack. Azumarill was barely standing, several scratches trailing his body. The rabbit Pokemon panted in exhaustion, but wasn't ready to give up. Samuel sneered, biting his lip as he returned both Pokemon to their Poke Balls. A heavy feeling sunk into his heart; was he letting all of Pastel down? No. He wasn't!

"I'm not done yet!"

the cat growled, baring his pearly white fangs. "Azumarill, Aqua Jet!"

"Marill..."

Azumarill held its paws out and took a deep breath in, forming a wave of water around its body. The rabbit Pokemon torpedoed through the air, the stream of water blasting behind it.

While Ralts and Treecko jumped out of the way, Mudkip jumped up in the air and climbed on top of Azumarill's body. Mudkip crawled across its back, then bit down on Azumarill's right ear.

Azumarill yelped from the bite. It jumped down and tried to shake Mudkip away, but she clamped down harder.

Kidd tried to resist laughing; who knew his Mudkip was so ruthless for a tiny Pokemon.

Benedict and Tank looked at each other and smiled.

Their Pokemon could pull this off!

"Treecko, Absorb!"

Treecko tackled Azumarill on its left side. He dug his fingers into its side, his hands glowing green as he absorbed energy from Azumarill's body. The rabbit Pokemon grew woozy, swaying in its spot as it tried to shake the other two Pokemon off.

"Ralts, use Confusion!"

Ralts hopped onto a nearby stalagmite. His hands glowed pink as he blasted a purple ball of energy at Azumarill's feet. Treecko and Mudkip jumped off the other Pokemon, watching as the psychic attack knocked Azumarill down like a bowling pin.

The rabbit Pokemon groaned as it fell onto its face, its ears falling limp and tail drooping down.

Samuel gasped in shock. For crying out loud, one of his Pokemon was fully evolved, but he lost to a couple of schoolboys! He rolled his eyes as he returned Azumarill to its ball.

The boys looked to each other as they returned their Pokemon to safety. They were surprised at what a good battling team they made.

"I can't believe I lost to a bunch of schoolboys..." he thought to himself. He yelled

"Look, did you really want the stuff back or what?!"

"Well, yeah, we came through the tunnel for a reason!" Tank pointed out. "What do you Pastel guys even want a Wingull for?"

Samuel crossed his arms and huffed. He walked behind a rock and grabbed the dark brown bag. Without hesitation, he handed it over to Tank.

"It's a Pastel thing" he shrugged. Next, he handed a package to Kidd.

"Look, that battle was something else" Samuel looked away. "But I can't be letting myself get beat by you guys"

He ran through the tunnel and to another crevice, leaving the boys in the dust.

The boys looked at each other in silence from what had just happened. They were still riding the high of pulling off that triple battle.

Benedict grabbed the bag from Tank. He gently opened it up, watching as Peeko-chan flew out of the bag. She flew onto his shoulder, chirping as she made herself comfortable.

Tank grabbed Kidd from behind and lifted him up in his arms

"We were AMAZING out there!" he cheered.

Kidd's face turned pink.

"Aww come on, I wasn't that good"

"Dude, don't put yourself down like that"

Tank laughed as he set Kidd back down. "Seriously! Mudkip knew what she was doing"

"Hey, we were all awesome out there!" Benedict nodded. He looked over at Peeko-chan.

"An' I think we should get goin' soon"

"Wing, wing!" Peeko-chan saluted him.

"Good idea" Kidd looked down at the package. It felt light in his hands. But what could be inside?

His train of thought was interrupted with a loud ding.

"Whismur has been added to your Pokedex"

Benedict and Kidd looked at their friend, completely unimpressed. The pile of Whismur was now four instead of five.

Tank awkwardly chuckled as he put the Poke Ball anyways.

"What? You guys thought I wasn't gonna catch one? Professor Nook needs one for research!"

Samuel panted once he finally left the tunnel. He looked around at the unfamiliar town— lots of buildings, but only three of them were lit up. His heart still pounded against his chest, but he felt calmed by the town's environment. He wished he could stay here forever; quit Pastel, take the Pokemon for himself. Samuel sat down at a park bench. A fantasy played out in his head; telling the admins to screw off, flipping them off, then running off and getting a job at a small coffee shop.

The cat saw only one Pokemon outside at the park— a small Shroomish playing near a white gazebo. Best to leave it be, Samuel thought. It could be someone else's, and he was already in a lot of trouble for trying to take that Wingull.

His purple Rotom Phone buzzed in his pocket. He swiped right and answered the call, dread pooling in his stomach.

A pink and blue bear cub frowned from the other side of the screen. She wore a teal and purple wetsuit, and her long purple hair draped down to her stomach. Her sparkly purple eyes glared furiously as she crossed her arms

"Grunt One Hundred Eighty-Four. You are fully aware about why I am calling you, correct?"

"N-no. No, ma'am."

The feline stammered.

Play dumb, Samuel. She won't be too mad about the battle if you play dumb. Right?

"My oh my, you just know the perfect thing to say"

the bear relaxed her face into a gentle smile. She uncrossed her arms and folded her paws together

"Anyways. I'm calling you to let you know that you've been relocated to Mt. Chimney for Project Spy-On-Cottage! Isn't that exciting? Admin Filbert will send you the coordinates there so you don't get lost like Grunts Fifty Five and Eighty did."

"I'll be there by morning, ma'am!"

Samuel saluted his boss through the video call.

"Excellent to hear! Well, Grunt One Hundred Eighty-Four, we'll see you there"

The bear cub hung up, leaving the phone on a plain black screen except for the date and time.

Samuel looked at his map- Mt. Chimney didn't look too far away from his current location, so maybe he could just sleep on one of the routes. That is, if any wild Pokemon didn't attack him while he slept. He wished the boss had assigned him some Pokemon that could fly. But those damn kids got in his way...maybe this is the sign to quit Team Pastel, he pondered.

With what little energy they had left, the boys stormed out of the tunnel. They panted from all the running and dodging falling stones.

Peeko-chan flew off of Benedict's shoulder and chirped loudly

"Wing, wing!"

Cousteau wandered around the route, whistling one of Peeko-chan's favorite songs. He stopped when he heard a Pokemon whistle back.

"Peeko-chan!"

he gasped.

The frog held his arms out to his beloved Pokemon. Peeko-chan trilled as she flew into his arms. Her beak pressed against his uniform collar. The frog nuzzled his Pokemon, small tears forming on the corners of his eyes.

"You boys got her back! Oh, thank you so much!"

"Win-gull!"

Peeko-chan cooed and waved one of her wings.

"I feel like I owe you lads for this...Well, if you ever need anything" Cousteau let his Pokemon perch on his head. "I'll be at my cabin, so feel free to visit me anytime you want and I'll do it"

"Yeah…. of course...we will…"

Tank yawned as he leaned against a tree. His eyelids were heavy and he was about to collapse in his spot.

Cousteau waved goodbye and headed home without a problem.

The trio looked at each other with dreary eyes.

"Can we call it a night already?" Kidd asked his friends.

"No way…" Benedict pointed out. "Did y'all forget I got that package?"

Everyone else groaned in exhaustion. Right. The package. The whole reason they ran through that freaking tunnel. Nobody even had a clue on what time it was. The skies were too dark yet the stars didn't shine bright enough to be around sunset.

The boys dragged themselves from Route 116 to Rustboro City, on the edge of collapsing onto the streets. Their heart rates slowed down as they came to a stop. Heavy stomping echoed through the path, but nobody had the energy to turn around.

Tank blinked for a few moments, falling asleep on the spot before being woken up by the sound of snapping fingers.

"Hey"

a deep voice grunted.

"HEY!"

The boys snapped awake, like they were electrocuted by an overly powerful Pikachu.

They looked at the mysterious stranger in front of them.

A muscular white eagle towered over the trio, his golden beak curled into a frown. His eyes were dark and unnerving. His feathers were white on his head but grey on the rest of his body. His tail stood straight, unmoving like the rest of him.

But his outfit- his outfit was very bizarre; a long black trench coat with a purple stripe on the hem, a tight olive green crop top, white suspenders that framed his abs, tight leather pants, and mauve thigh high boots with thick square heels. Two stones glowed from the collar of his jacket; one in multiple colors and the other in grey.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" the eagle asked them.

His arms were crossed in disapproval, and his voice stayed deep and flat.

"It's- it's nothing"

Benedict coughed out as his face went red. He was too exhausted to ask who the stranger was.

"Well, actually—"

He handed him a small beige package.

"Oh, was that it?"

The eagle looked at the packaging— yep, that's the Hawkian logo printed in bright red ink.

"Hm. Thanks a bunch"

He stashed the package away in his trench coat.

The eagle headed inside the Hawkian building.

His footsteps echoed through the floor as he stomped his way to the second floor. Don was still inside, sitting at his table with a book in hand. He placed the novel down.

"Apollo! Just where the hell have you been?"

Don hollered at the intruder.

"I've been calling you for a week straight!"

"I wasn't anywhere important, dad, just Ever Grande City for champion duties."

Apollo's stoic demeanor didn't change.

"Also I got this from some kid outside"

He placed the package down on the table.

"Huh."

Don gently opened up the package, not wanting to tear up the sticker or paper. Inside were several silver wrenches, a pile of gears in different sizes, and a yellow wreath made of hibiscus flowers. He rewrapped the package and neatly taped it back up

"I was wondering where this went."

"What was it?"

Apollo sat down on the couch and crossed his legs.

"Just goods for the kapp'n in Slateport City" the older eagle explained to him.

"Hey, you wouldn't mind sending these over to him, would you?"

"..."

Apollo got up and picked up the package.

He carried it under his left elbow as he walked towards the stairs.

"And would it kill you to put on a normal shirt for once?!"

Don hollered as his son left the floor.

Apollo rolled his eyes as he headed down the stairs.

I'm the champion here, not him! I can dress how I want!

He stormed out of the first floor and paused in his tracks. He grabbed an Ultra Ball from his belt and tossed it into the air. An angular grey bird Pokemon screeched as it landed onto the ground.

"Skarmoryyyy!"

"Crow. Let's fly"

the eagle commanded his Pokemon.

"Skar, skar!"

Crow happily cried out as he spread his long metallic wings. Apollo climbed onto his back and tightly gripped his shoulders. The eagle closed his eyes as he felt both himself and Crow ascend into the dark skies. Strong winds brushed against his face as the air grew colder with the rising elevation. He finally opened his eyes- everything below him looked like it was built for a colony of Durants.

Apollo stayed silent as he soared through the skies on his Skarmory's back. He saw very few Pokemon out in the air tonight— just a few bird Pokemon flying to themselves in flocks. The Pokemon had black feathers shaped like pointy hats atop their heads.

Now what was that Pokemon's name...Murkrow, was it? Yeah, that seems about right. Apollo remembered one of his first encounters with that Pokemon— the same month as that fateful trip to Pastoria City, but now a visit to Eterna City turned into a disaster. He shuddered just thinking about those Pokemon.

The forest was dark and endless. Only two rays of light shone through the thick canopies of the trees. Frank and Apollo found themselves surrounded by an endless horde of furious Murkrow. The two young men looked at each other in worry

"Apollo! Aren't you gonna use your Beldum?!"

the younger eagle panicked. He hid behind his cousin as two Murkrow flew closer to the duo, their red eyes glaring at potential prey.

"No way!" Apollo yelled at him. "Beldum's weak against Dark-types! You gotta use your Croagunk!"

"Ugh, if I have to"

Frank groaned. His right hand trembled as he tightly held the ball.

"Belladonna, now"

He released a blue and purple frog Pokemon. She stood on her tiptoes and cried out happily.

"Croa, croa!"

"You can do it, Frank!" Apollo egged him on. "Just tell her to use a move!"

"Okay"

Frank gulped. He pointed at two of the bird Pokemon.

"Use Venoshock!"

"CroaGUUUUUUUUNK!"

Belladonna screamed. She held her hands out, blasting thick purple sludge at both Murkrow.

"Great job, you two!" Apollo cheered.

Apollo shook his head. He had a feeling in his gut that he should try to talk to Frank soon, but he felt it was too soon after the tragedy to try to reach out. Or was it?

The eagle pulled out his blue Rotom Phone. He scrolled through countless numbers; mayors of multiple Hoenn cities, friends, former battle partners, Wolfgang... Hey there's Frank's number!

He pressed down, waiting on that call. The phone rang for a few minutes, but faded into silence. No voicemail box? Or maybe Frank's Rotom Phone was off for the night…..Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Apollo quickly texted his cousin in one hand.

"Hey Frank.

Just went to Rustboro for the day, no problems there.

Can we meet up soon?

I miss you"

The text took minutes to send, but finally went through after Apollo and Crow soared past a cell tower in the middle of the ocean.

Crow chirped out slowly.

"Skar..."

"Huh? You think we should stop here for the night?"

the trainer asked his Pokemon.

"Skar, skar!" Crow hollered.

"Since you insist"

Apollo shoved his phone in his coat pocket. He held on tightly as Crow nosedived through the sky and towards the southwest half of Hoenn. Apollo closed his eyes as the strong winds blasted his face, ruffling his feathers with ease.

The armor bird Pokemon screeched and slowed his flight once it saw a vast and empty sandlot. The Skarmory hovered over the beach and gracefully landed on his feet.

Apollo hopped off of his Pokemon, kicked some sand off his boots and observed the scenery— unmoving waters, fine beige sand, the skies still filled with twinkling stars. He saw a shooting star fly past the sky, the first star he saw all year. Apollo closed his eyes and thought to himself

"I wish Frank could go back to his old self..."

"Skarr?"

the bird Pokemon whistled, snapping his trainer out of his mind.

"Well, Crow, you picked this place out, so"

Apollo snarked. He took an olive green duffel bag off his shoulders and set it down on the sand. He zipped it open and grabbed several necessities— a black and purple sleeping bag, a Slakoth themed sleep mask and a small bag of habanero Tauros jerky.

The eagle tore open the jerky bag and scarfed it down in one sitting, the salty spicy flavors filling his mouth even after finishing the whole bag. Crow watched the skies as his trainer stashed the empty snack bag into a pocket.

Apollo returned Crow to his ball before crawling into his sleeping bag for the night. He put the sleep mask on, closed his eyes and relaxed. The night was silent, except for the rushing waves of water and echoes through a nearby cave. Apollo felt himself fall asleep slowly and soundly. He thought to himself; another day, another flight across the Hoenn region.

His dream that night felt eerily realistic; it started with the usual; a battle for the championship-

A challenger approached him for battle, but one he never saw before. A bird with long red hair tied into two low pigtails, followed by six powerful Pokemon. Yellow, blue and green stones hung from each Pokemon, glistening in the light. He couldn't tell what kind of bird she was; cardinal, penguin, maybe a chicken?

She had fiery passion in her eyes and a huge purple flower pinned to her hair. She wore a dark purple blouse with a round purple collar and long sheer sleeves, ripped purple shorts, stylish sneakers and a key stone in her flower.

"Oh, you're approaching me?" Apollo asked her.

He crossed his arms in defiance, glaring down at the smaller bird.

"Well, yeah" the girl flipped one of her pigtails.

"I can't beat you without getting closer!"

"Pfft"

Apollo snorted

"I'd like to see you try, miss-..."

"Hollyhock!" the girl shouted at him. She placed a hand on her hip and pointed at him "And don't you forget it!"

"Well miss Hollyhock"

Apollo tossed one of his Ultra Balls up and down

"May this battle be fun for both of us"

"Crow, go" he commanded.

Hollyhock jumped up in her spot, her pigtails almost coming undone. She whistled to one of her Pokemon

"Freiza! You first!"

The boys headed to a small park in the southern half of Rustboro City. Unlike the first park, that Benedict battled at, this one had no fountain, but instead, a large gingko tree in the middle. Yellow leaves fell onto the pavement A few streetlights were on, but several others were turned off for the evening.

"Screw it, let's call it a night here"

Tank shrugged. He walked to a park bench and laid on it, falling asleep almost immediately. His right leg hung off the edge of the bench while his right arm wrapped around the bench's armrest.

Kidd took his messenger bag off, set it next to the bench, and laid down with his head pressed against the bag.

Benedict crawled underneath the same bench and fell asleep lying on his left side. The shadows of the bench covered him so nobody could see him unless they looked directly under the bench.

Rustboro City's night stayed silent except for a few footsteps echoing down the brick roads.

A deep voice hollered their way

"What the hell are you kids doing here?!"