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Enjoy!

X Estratoa Forest X

For all that Castel was confused, no amount of fatigue could make one not realize they had broken their toes on stone. In that moment of impact, Castel felt his soul leave his body, and the pain afterward was so excruciatingly great that he swore that he'd rather sit in a room filled to its limits with a mixture of the most odorous filth than have to experience what it felt like to have his pinky toe half-way tear off his body. That's why he was confused when he woke up at the crack of the evening, being able to feel all of his toes and none of the pain.

His first thought was that he was dreaming and that his brain was so tired that he had dreamed of running away from the car and breaking his toes on a rock, and that his brain had actually fabricated the feeling. Such a thought was quickly dispelled by the disturbing abundance of trees and the familiar, undoubtedly real, smell of dirt.

Castel recoiled when a sudden cold fluid ran up his arm. He all but broke his neck turning to see a strange little cat-like thing. Its fur was mostly red with hints of white, but what not only surprised him but also set the beast apart from any normal animal, were its paws. The creature in front of him had gold, metal, gauntlet-like objects encasing its feet, only being open at the toes, and it looked to be that there was no presence of some softer material between its small paws and the cold, uncomfortable-looking metal.

Except it wasn't cold, as the boy soon found out when the small creature hopped onto his arm, the golden paw-wear being only a bit colder than a pot of hot water that had yet to boil. It would eventually burn, but it was tolerable enough to put a hand under for a couple of seconds. After that couple of seconds, though, the pain started to kick in, so Castel quickly picked up the strange creature by its front legs and placed it back onto the grass before looking down at the paw mark on his forearm. It was only after a second or two of quiet thinking that Castel realized the thing in front of him was a Pokemon. He almost ran away from the thought, not wanting to think about Pokemon again after the incident, but then he figured that this one wasn't dangerous. He had broken his toes and passed out, only to wake up with his feet perfectly intact and this being the only other animate organism he could see. Even if it didn't heal him, if it wanted to eat him up or maim him, it would have.

"Flamynx!"

If he wasn't sure before, Castel was now fully convinced he was dealing with a Pokemon. Unlike animals, who each had their unique languages based on their species, Pokemon were a strange class of lifeform that only spoke their names are parts of it, like they were perpetually cursed to speak in the third person. Despite this lack of vocabulary, all Pokemon seemed to understand each other regardless of species. Castel was not a Pokemon, and so this rule did not apply. Knowing any efforts to communicate with the Pokemon would do nothing, Castel simply wandered away into the deeper forest.

Understanding the language of Pokemon, huh? I wonder how trainers ever do. Castel thought, thinking back to all he knew of the creatures. They've been around for generations, and it's been accepted by the masses that they've roamed this world even before humans did. Maybe the humans that came about developed a way to communicate with Pokemon, and trainers were taught that method before they were officialized by the government, but Castel didn't know how a kid could be thought to decipher messages from a creature who could only say its name. Adaline...she commanded Mightyena to attack me. It understood her and executed the order. Someone like her was able to use those beasts to harm others.

Castel understood that most Pokemon, in terms of intelligence and physical capability, exceeded animals but were inferior to most humans by a considerable amount. However, like humans, Pokemon were completely sentient and sapient. They had emotions that they could express in almost the same ways humans could, down to the face. How did someone like Adaline treat her Pokemon, beings that were so close to humans? That's what Castel wanted to know. The boy wondered if she treated them better than she treated those around her. All those days that she acted like he was a bug under her foot, did she go back home and coddle that Mightyena? Did she worry whenever it got hurt, while at the same time doing nothing when he was being harassed day by day?

Was he lower than a dog whose language she couldn't even understand? Or did she find it worth her time to learn its language, but not try to understand him?

Or maybe she treated it worse than she did others. Maybe the Pokeball forced it to comply with her demands despite how much it was abused. It was before Castel was born, but there was a story about how a Hoenn kid's Skarmory refused to listen to him and it ended up injuring an important figure as it was flying off. Ever since that incident, the developers of Pokeballs tried to strike a balance. They wanted the Pokemon to have autonomy but also wanted to stop it from being able to completely ignore the commands of its trainer and wreak havoc whenever it pleased.

If it was the case that Adaline was abusing her Pokemon, forcing them to fight when they didn't want to and punishing them if they disobeyed her, Castel saw that as even more of a reason that she didn't deserve to live, and that in killing her he would not only be saving himself and future human victims from her cruelty, but Pokemon as well. No matter what, his mind was set. If not for the UPU, Adaline would have surely been dead at his feet. Considering the place and situation he was in now, though, Castel had calmed down enough to realize there was nothing he could do about it as long as he was here.

Castel stopped walking to rest his legs. His feet were healed entirely—though the origin of this super-regeneration was still unknown to him—but his sneakers were completely busted at the toe end, even more so from the contact with the boulder that sent him flying into the water. The unevenness of the material was uncomfortable, and he cursed at the idea that he'd probably end up with a few blisters by the time he decided to get out of this forest. He sat himself down on the wet grass and laid his back against a humbly-sized stone. The evening breeze was like a flash of heaven amidst the hell that was Zelkora during July's mornings. And the green—Castel's favorite color was green. It was such a lovely, calm color that passed that feeling onto his soul. He stunk something fierce, what with a mixture of river water, sweat, and spoiled foodstuff, but the gentle smell of the foliage kept him from succumbing to the nausea he had felt ever since the bathroom.

He took in a great full breath of that peaceful air and finally relaxed his body. In the forest, he was the only human as far as he knew. He was alone and could think without any outside disturbance. Somehow the danger of being alone in a place filled with animals of all different shapes, sizes, and capabilities for danger was unfounded on Castel, but for him, this forest looked like a place where he could finally gather all his thoughts. He could sort out the things he had to think about from the things he never wanted to think about again, and from those thoughts he knew he had to consider at some point, he could decide when and how he would go about considering them.

"Micrim!"

A high-pitched call forced Castel out of his serene stupor, and he opened his eyes to see a small, crimson, bird-like Pokemon approaching a larger avian laying belly-first onto a rock, letting the midday sun warm its pitch-black feathers. The larger Pokemon opened its eyes in acknowledgment of the smaller bird. "Micrim! Micrimson!"

It seemed the fully red bird was a Micrimson, but Castel knew nothing of the greater bird, as it didn't even respond. It did seem to understand the Micrimson's speech though, as it shook its head no. When the crimson Pokemon flew towards the larger one and pecked its back with its beak, Castel was taken aback when the chrome-silver giant moved faster than he could blink and took the bird high into the sky.

Castel jumped away from the boulder, landing on his back just in time to avoid the two masses that spiraled down into the ground from the sky, forming a crater he could've fitted in. Out from the dust came the two avian Pokemon that, evident by the fact that both were injured, were fighting. The battle continued, but the boy noticed that the talons of the crimson bird were emitting a shining white light. Castel soon found that the glow was not natural, as it disappeared when the Micrimson struck its larger adversary away a couple of yards. In a display of superiority, the greater Pokemon easily recovered from the attack, blasting forward and sending the smaller bird away into the base of a stone hill, a crack forming where its body made contact before it fell unconscious.

The fight ended as soon as it began. Castel didn't have a clock or a watch on him, but the exchange couldn't have lasted more than 30 seconds.

The larger bird flew low and slow toward the defeated Micrimson, landing in front of it and looking down on the victim of its ability. It stood there until its tiny foe began to reawaken, looking at the towering Pokemon with the tired eyes expected after just losing consciousness. As it woke, the silver bird raised its right wing, the pitch-black instantly becoming the same shining white that the Micrimson's talons were during its last attack. This glow, however, seemed sharper, more refined. Instantly realizing the danger it was in, the Micrimson summoned all of its might to fly off just before the attack was released. Castel could only watch as gashes longer than him were formed at the base of the stone hill. Castel didn't need to imagine what would have happened had the crimson Pokemon not come to its senses sooner than it had.

There were many things someone could've gleaned from that battle. A normal child would've been awestruck by the brevity of the battle; a trainer might have analyzed which moves were used and determined if the Micrimson ever had a chance, or if it was doomed to lose from the start; and an adult who wasn't in the profession would see that and probably wonder how the larger avian was able to sharpen its feathers.

Strength.

None of that came to Castel's mind. Only that one word struck true in his soul when he went in front of the gashed rock and passed his finger across the smooth underside of the cut stone. All the Micrimson had done was strike the larger bird once. Considering its size, the chance that such a trivial-looking attack hurt was very slim. All the same, it had disturbed its peace and attacked it unsolicited. In that way, it displayed that it believed that it had a superiority over the bird that gave it the right to attack a fellow Pokemon doing nothing more than taking in the light of the sun. This sense of superiority was promptly and decisively squashed in mere moments, and its misplaced self-confidence almost got it killed. The Micrimson went from striking when it didn't get its way to flying away in fear of death.

Strength: the power to make adversaries regret. More than that, it was the power to make them reconsider any time they might try to cross you again. That Micrimson would surely never try to test that chrome-silver Pokemon ever again and would live with that loss in its heart until it died or was eaten.

"Raziv! Razi, Razivian!"

Castel turned around to the bird, finally getting what he assumed to be its name. The Razivian and the boy stared each other down—even though Castel physically towered over it, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive as its lightless black eyes stared through his body and into his soul. The bird flinched towards him and Castel leaned back and away, then it returned to its original position. Castel finally opened his mouth for the first time since he ran into the forest. "Can...can you understand what I'm saying right now?"

The bird just looked at him like he was stupid, confirming what Castel had believed. There was some sort of method to speak to Pokemon that wasn't known to common folk, but Castel didn't know it. Not wanting any trouble with the bird, Castel turned his back toward the Razivian and began walking away. Or, that was his plan, was as he pivoted his weight to make the turn, the hump in his sneaker made him stumble toward the Pokemon, and he had to make a sudden movement in order to not fall face-first into grass, mud, and whatever critters were on the forest floor. It was only when the Razivian flew back some ways away and began amassing black energy around its body that the boy realized his mistake.

To the Pokemon who could neither understand him nor the footwear troubles he was experiencing, every motion he made at that moment seemed like a threat. What's more, as a result of his reaction when the bird initially flinched towards him—it was only now that the boy realized this was on purpose—he had confirmed his inferiority, his lack of strength. The Razivian continued to be submerged in its dark energy until its entire body was a bubbly pitch black. Then, the mass of pure darkness surged towards him. Truth be told, what Castel did afterwards wouldn't even count as "dodging". With how lucky he was, it would be more accurate to say the attack "missed". His legs failed him, and luckily for the young boy, the speed at which his muscles gave out was faster than the amount of time it would have taken for his brain to process the oncoming attack and send the message to his body to avoid the blow.

Whoever—or, for all he knew, whatever—healed his feet did nothing for his legs, and it seemed only now was he facing the consequences of running beyond his limits. Combine that with the shock keeping him from subconsciously stopping his fall, and Castel was useless to avoid stumbling down on his ass, the right side of his face meeting the cold, soggy ground for longer than Castel would have liked. In any case, the bird's brain moved as fast as its body, and it quickly realized its initial attack had been avoided and went for another strike. Unable to dodge a second time, the blue-haired boy became a victim to his own savior.

The pain would be blinding. It would be excruciating and it would make breaking his toes feeling mild discomfort in comparison. His stomach would be destroyed and he would probably never be able to eat like a normal human again. It might hit his internal organs and he would bleed out of his throat before dying painfully. It was going to hurt so, so much, and there would be nothing Castel could do about it. When he woke up this morning, he didn't think he would die today, but now the scythe of death seemed so close.

Ring a bell?

Time slowed down as that thought rang through his mind. Shut up! I know what you're doing! It's not the same, it's not! I don't deserve this! I've done nothing wrong! She did, she did deserve it! This isn't fair, this isn't right! Why should I die while she lives?! What sense does that make?

You know you're wrong. It's not between her deserving it or you deserving it. She doesn't deserve to die, even after all the things she's done, and at the same time, you don't deserve to rot in a forest, even after what you've done. That's all there is.

Castel searched his mind for a rebuttal, looking for the words and the order. Everything he thought of failed, and his mind was racing as the milliseconds began seconds and the seconds became minutes. He looked and searched and ran through all the words he knew, but then he went toward the locked "box", where all the things he didn't want to think about were. The contents of this box were the reason he couldn't accept the idea that he was wrong. They were the memories that justified everything he had done to those two. They told him he was right. She...is the same as them. The same as those demons...that's why.

And that's why you should know that more than anyone.

His doubts went silent, and time resumed again. Inches from his face, the only thing Castel could see was the darkness of the oncoming Razivian.

Life is precious.

"AAAAH!"

Then, he felt heat. The heat was so hot that he had to close his eyes, but when he opened them again, there was no darkness, only the foliage of the forest.

**CRASH**

Wisps of fire licked Castel's face, but not long enough to burn it. What it did do was cause him to turn and see just what had happened that had prevented his certain death. Within a hole in another stone hill were two figures: the Razivian from before, and a strange, quadrupedal Pokemon that Castel could not yet recognize.

Only when he saw the golden armored paws did he remember the feline Pokemon he had met when he first awoke in the forest.

"Flame! Flamynx!"

Yes, that was its name. Flamynx. When he stared into the eyes of death, he was saved by a Flamynx. The Razivian he was so fearful of was now motionless and within the deep crater in the hill, unconscious. This Flamynx was strong, far stronger than it looked.

"Trainer. I'll be your trainer."

Castel said it before he thought about it, and when he did he tried to take it back, but he realized it would make no difference if the creature didn't understand him in the first place. Unexpectedly, however, the Flamynx's eyes glowed in response. It understood him! But...how? He had talked no more to this Pokemon than he had to the Razivian, but this one understood him. What made that possible?

He didn't time to entertain those questions, as quickly the feline jumped onto his sprawled out body, licking his face with its cold saliva as its paws began to burn his skin. This burning sensation seemed to override the fatigue of his legs, and he quickly sprang up and ran to the nearest water source, submerging his arm down to his triceps.

The pain subsiding, Castel drew his arm from out the creek and turn around, only to almost trip and fall again when he saw the Flamynx right behind him, the Pokemon having followed him all the way here.

"So...you really did understand me, huh? Alright! So, I'm your trainer, and you're my Pokemon!"

"[Yes!]"

Huh? His ears heard "Flamynx" but his mind said "Yes". Was this what it meant to understand Pokemon?

"So...can you understand me?"

"[Yes, I can!]" Is what appeared in his mind, but he swore he only heard "Flamynx, flame!". Interesting, and surprising as well.

Then Castel had a thought. If he had Flamynx in the bathroom, how would that battle have turned out. Mightyena was far more intimidating for sure, but this Flamynx had taken down a bird bigger than it that was also using what seemed like a strong attack. All of that in one blow, no less. The boy would be lying if he didn't think his Pokemon could do serious damage, if not win outright.

What if he had it during that time? Would everything change?

"I see him, Matthew, I see him! Thank Arceus I see him!"

Castel focused his gaze far ahead, and sure enough, he saw a female figure running towards him. At the moment, she was beating away sticks and tufts of leaves that were in her way. Castel thought about the time he spent in the forest. Considering the time of day, it probably hadn't been that long since he ran away from the car and into Estratoa. Also, the entire time he was there, he never felt in any danger. Well, that wasn't entirely true, considering his near-death experience with the Razivian, but even then he was saved, and now that very savior was by his side. He was still mad at his parents for scolding him when he was in the right, and it was he who ran away in the first place.

All the same, the tears flowed down and he ran into his mother's embrace. Crying into her waste as she expressed both her disappointment and anger, but also her sadness and fear, and finally her relief at finding him. When he saw his dad, new tears ran down his face and he went into his father's arms, the man lifting him and letting him cry on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, mom! I'm sorry, dad!" He cried, letting his relaxed as his mother hug him from behind.

"It's okay, it's okay! Well, no, it's not okay, but that's a discussion for after we get you back home, alright?"

"Yes, Castel-dear. We will talk about this as home. I will say this first, though. We don't hate you, Castel. We just want you to be safe and understand the consequences of your actions."

The family walked through the forest and eventually made it out, getting into the car and preparing to finally go home.

As Castel was sat in the backseat, and as his father kissed his forehead before going to the driver's seat, he thought about what he had done. Everything turned out fine; he survived, and he was found in the end. What if not, though? What would have happened if things hadn't gone as well as they did?

What if he didn't have the energy to get out of the water after he had broken his foot and drowned?

What if he didn't move at just the right time to avoid getting hurt during the fight between the Micrimson and the Razivian?

What if he had faced the full force of the Razivian's final attack? What if his parents were attacked by Pokemon and they went missing too?

What if it took days for them to find him? What would he have eaten? What would they have eaten?

In the first place, what if he had tripped when he first got out into the road and was hit by an oncoming car? What were the chances that he'd survive in such a case?

Just then, a thought that Castel never wanted to think about again forced itself into his mind. A memory that he never wanted to recall put itself in the forefront of his thoughts, and he was powerless to stop it. He tried to think about Adaline, but even his hatred for them couldn't bring himself to push the thought out of his head. Nothing worked, and it wouldn't leave. The image that had burned itself into his memory on that day burned itself again, and this time it seemed like it didn't want to go away. His head ached when he thought about it. He wanted to throw up every time it flashed in his mind. He wanted to cry as the sounds that accompanied the memory played over and over again in his mind. He imagined a reality where he was the one saying those words as his parents got to him when it was too late.

*DING*

His mom's phone pinged, and a robotic voice sounded, "There is a tropical storm planned to hit your area on Wednesday, July 7, 20X4. There is a tropical storm planned to hit your area on Wednesday, July 7, 20X4. There is a tropical storm..."

It repeated the message 4 more times after that, as if tormenting him with those last words.

"Haah, why do they have to say it so many times?" His mother sighed, resting her face into her hand as she turned off her phone. "I...is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine...Castel?"

.

.

.

"Castel?"

That's why it wouldn't go away. Why did that day have to resurface just before that cursed day? Why? Why? Why?! I didn't want to think about it anymore!

"Hey...don't cry, champ. We'll let you rest at home, and then we'll talk about everything another time, alright?"

Eventually, the family stopped at a gas station to fill up on fuel. While the car was stopped, Castel's mother came out and went into the backseat with Castel, grabbing him and having his sit on her lap as she held him with everything. The rest of the drive home was spent with Castel in her mother's arms, and they stayed like that for another half and hour after pulling into the drive way.

The image never left Castel's mind. His brother's bloody, brutalized, almost unrecognizable body was a memory he could never make go away.

That's Chapter Two!

I already have chapter three written, and plan to upload it between tomorrow or the day after that after some proofreading. Once chapter three is uploaded, I'll probably update between weekly (1 chapter a week) or biweekly (1 chapter every two weeks). With that being said, Peace!