Format Key:

"I can't believe this." - Dialogue

I can't believe this. - Thoughts

"I can't believe this." - Dialogue in flashback.

Extended Summary:

After a grave mistake, a young boy in the Zelkora Region is exposed to the world of Pokemon, and his life changes forever. Running away from the consequences of his actions, he and his parents move to a new town, where the boy finds a notebook filled with illustrations drawn by his beloved brother who died three years ago. When he finds that one of the illustrations was drawn two years from the day of his death, the boy goes out on a journey to find every Pokemon he found in the notebook in hopes of finding his brother, throwing himself into a supernatural world he can't come back from.

Without further ado, enjoy!

Don't do it.

That was the thought that Castel Danor had as he placed his right foot in front of his left, and it came again as he placed his left in front of his right, his sneakers squeaking against the floor each time his foot came into contact with the waxed vinyl. Each and every step was like this, every facet of his mind and soul telling him that what he was about to do was wrong. It was unforgivable and irredeemable, a point from which he could never come back. He told himself it wasn't worth it, that there were other ways to deal with the affairs plaguing him. He told himself that once he made this choice, once he acted out everything he planned to, his life would be over. All the work he had done before this point, and all the work he would do after, would become void. He would never get the time nor the chance back.

At the same time, he never stopped walking.

He scolded and denied himself in his mind, but he never stopped. He never forced himself to turn around, and to find a better way to resolve this whole mess. His mind said, "Don't do it!", but his body said otherwise, and the mind never fought back. It was an empty rejection, its only purpose being so that in hindsight, he could tell himself that he didn't actually want to go through with this, that he didn't truly want this to happen. He did, though, and that's why he kept going. That's why he stopped walking and started running, at full speed and uncaring for the chance that anyone still in the school at this hour would notice him. Once he found himself in the bathroom hall, one side of his face steeped in the shining light coming from the windows, he finally came to a halt, looking intensely at the heavy wooden door leading into the girl's bathroom.

The uncomfortable feeling of the sticky, soaked hoodie on his sweaty body coupled with the hazardous smell emanating off of it made him want to vomit, but it also reminded him of why he was doing this. This time intentionally, he took another whiff of his hoodie, silencing the dissenting thoughts in his head and the anxiety-borne nausea running through his stomach. The last thing it said was, "This is going too far!", and Castel finally agreed. For all they did to him currently, this was too far. They had gone far enough, though, and to make them stop, he had to go farther.

With no nuisance ideas keeping him from doing what needed to be done, Castel placed one hand on the door and opened it slowly. He could feel pins and needles all over his skin, and he was sweating even more than he was before. He continued opening the door at the same rate, never fast nor slower. He was going to do this, and at this point, he had to. Why would he stop when he's already gone too far? He wouldn't.

Fully inside, he turned to his right to see two girls applying makeup in front of the mirrors. His heart skipped a beat when he saw them initially, but calmed down when he recognized them. Had they been any other two girls—people he didn't know—he would have flown out the door and hoped against hope that neither they nor the cameras nor any passersby saw him. His blood began to boil as he clenched his fists, and he couldn't stop himself anymore. His veins began to bulge and his face went red with anger as he prepared to give them what they deserved!

McKenzie Chaltine and Adaline Venero. These were his targets. He would kill them today, in this very bathroom.

They noticed him, and when they did, he started running. Not away, but toward them, his fist already reeled back. The last thing Castel saw before losing himself was McKenzie jumping to Adaline's defense, putting herself in front of her in a vain attempt to protect her.

1: Roaring, Raging Blue

"Aaah! Stop! Stop it!"

Right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, left fist, right fist, right fist right fist right fist right fist right fist right fist right fist-

"STOP!"

It was that death-fearing shriek that finally had Castel Danor come back to his senses, ending his mindless assault. He finally got off of her, panting as he looked at his blood-soaked hands with a mixture of disgust and joy. Adaline was on the floor, sniffling and sobbing, her face bruised and soaked in blood. Her nose didn't look right, and her right eye was blackened and swollen; if not for her involuntary shaking and most recent horrified shout, he might have thought she was already dead.

"C'mon, Adaline. Show me that toothy smile you'd always give your errand boy Castel before you forced him to do everything you "asked" him to." No response. Castel sighed. Right foot.

The boy watched in another strange mixture of excitement and guilt as three teeth shot out from her mouth, clacking against the mirror in a bloody splat before falling onto the face of his other victim. She was still alive, but he had knocked her out in one punch. She wasn't even the one he wanted to go for in the first place, but he knew she wouldn't just let him kill her friend. Did that mean he didn't enjoy every millisecond that his fist remained on her face? Not at all! He hated her for all the same reasons he hated his current victim, and would enjoy her reaction! The first thing she would see after waking up would be her friend's lifeless body!

If he couldn't stop himself, it would have been the last thing she saw, too.

Turning back to the mess on the floor, Castel considered all ranges of options. Would he kill her now, or would he wait for her to come back to her senses, and even give her a false sense of security before taking it all away in an instant? Would he take a picture of her and post it in the group chat she and her clique forced him to join? Considering that idea, would he post it before he killed her and have them all race to the school, only to be too late? All of those options were so appealing, but he'd have to calm himself down first. That was the only hard part, in all of this.

"W-Why…" her blood-choked voice mumbled, a series of coughing ensuing not long after. Her breath was bated and laborious, and she would probably die from suffocation before he had the chance to kill her. The idea of looming over her during her final moments without a word was an attractive plan of action, but he wanted to be the direct and final cause.

"You know why. Did my kick give you amnesia or something?" He responded, grabbing some paper and wetting it. He went to the girl and wiped the crimson out of her face and nose, and then filled his empty water bottle with that of the sink, forcing her to gargle it and spit it out until her throat was mostly clear of her blood.

"All this…over a…hoodie? Over...a hoodie?" Castel stared down at said object; the stain had since gotten darker as it had fully dried. Its odor was even more noxious now that it was coupled disgustingly with sweat, and the boy was readily about to vomit all over her face. He stole himself, keeping his lunch inside his stomach before sighing as he stared down at the girl.

Castel wondered if she thought about those words before she spoke them, or if he went too far and made her stupid. Was she not there for all the days? Did she have a secret evil twin, or have split personalities? The boy just couldn't fathom the idea that multiple weeks had passed, and yet somehow she thought this was all over her most recent offense. What could it be? Was it the case that their "relationship" was so forgettable to her that she could only remember the most recent moments of it? She couldn't recall how she and her boyfriend destroyed the project he had spent a week on that was worth most of his grade, or how she and McKenzie orchestrated a scene that made him the laughingstock of the class for days? The spoiled milk?

Did she not care? Every day was something new, something exotic. Some days were tame, and others were vile; there wasn't any pattern to it at all, but there was always something. He went through those days believing that he had done something to her to make her hate his guts, or that he reminded her of something terrible, or even that she just hated him for no reason. He hated her, but if it was she who hated him first, he could tell himself that his hatred was justified by her own. Yet, was it the case that all this time, he was just a thing of the moment, that she acted on plans as soon as she thought them up, and that not only was there no rhyme, but no reason either? He was a game she could play when she was bored at school, and then completely forget about after?

"Loser, loser, loser! Babe, try the ranch next, the ranch!"

Unbeknownst to the girl, Castel was lost in his mind, unable to hear any words she spoke. Her voice was caught up in her tears and blood, but she still managed to breathe something out despite the pain. "I...I'm sorry...Castel. I'll pay you back...I...I'll leave you alone...it hurts, it hurts. Ugh, it hurts..."

"Stop talking to me, ugly. I'd rather take cyanide than have to hear your voice."

She was too confused and agonized to realize he wasn't listening to her, continuing to speak to the walking, breathing brick wall. "It hurts, Castel! Please...call someone. I feel tired and my head hurts...I can't smell or taste anything and I don't like it...aah...I'm sorry..."

"Answer me, you loser! What makes you think you can tell me to do anything? You're just a waste of space who should go and die, just like your..."

"Please...Castel-"

The blue-haired boy appeared to have fainted with how fast he collapsed to start beating her again. "No! You aren't allowed to call me that, not when you're on the ground at my mercy! You don't have any power anymore! You can't do anything to me anymore! You won't ever be able to do anything to me anymore!" He would kill her today. He would, he would! If for nothing else but the vow he just made, he had to do it today! Only one person would leave this bathroom alive!

"How many teeth did you have when you woke up today; how about now?" He bore his teeth in a maniacal smile, saliva dripping down his mouth and panting breaths escaping his lungs. "Well! How hard was it to breathe when you got to school; how about now? Hey! Did your mouth taste of blood during breakfast, or of iron during lunch; what do you say now? Answer me, you asshole!"

Castel caught himself, clenching his face in agony as he bent back and tried to control his breathing. He was shaking, moving one hand to hug himself and leaving the other to grip his face so hard he might have bruised his skin.

Disgust. "Eww! Don't even put me and that weirdo's names in the same sentence!"

Aversion. "Oh my god, I just bumped into him and I think I'm gonna hurl!"

Hatred. "I think I might have to switch classes. Being in the same room as him makes me want to kill myself!"

Laughter. "Why is he trying to pretend like he doesn't feel it? Throw another one, babe!"

Ego. "McKenzie, I think it smiled at me. If it likes me I might actually quit school."

Mockery. "His brother? LOL! That's so pathetic..."

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Right foot! Right foot! Right foot! Right foot! Right foot! "Stop speaking! Stop moving! Stop breathing!"

It was only when he heard the cracking of a wall instead of that of bone that Castel paid attention to the real world again. Adaline Venero was gone, and the thing he had been kicking ruthlessly until it shattered was the stall wall. His shoes were busted, and he could tell his toes were bleeding by the blood leaking out of his torn sneakers. When he looked to his left, McKenzie was also gone, but not from the room. Unfortunately for them, the sound of a body being dragged alerted Castel to their presence, ones which were still in the restroom.

Adaline was digging through McKenzie's bag, searching vigorously.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! There has to be something–"

"No! You won't escape! You won't!"

He started running towards her, as fast as he could. Just as he reached her, her free hand wrapped around some object, and he saw her thumb press some sort of button, not that he could see or pay attention to what was pressed, though. All he knew was that as soon as she pressed it, a great light blasted into his stomach, and the next time he opened his eyes, the girl was much farther away. In front of her was a beast, a creature. Its black and grey fur was well-kempt, but its fiery orange eyes were sharp and ready, and its growl was experienced, surely having been practiced many times on other foes before. Its claws were jagged and long, used to cut down anything that threatened it or its trainer.

Face to face with the Bite Pokemon, Mightyena, Castel stopped. The world zoomed out, or more specifically, Castel was sent out of the world, observing like a spectator. Darkness blocked out every inch of the tiling and the walls until the only visible beings were the Pokemon and the boy. In the split seconds of astral projection, the feeling of bile rising in his throat overtook him and he saw his own body shake. It took more than everything for him to keep it from jet-shooting out of his mouth in a throat-burning, reeking waterfall. At some point, he saw Adaline's mouth move, but his ears were failing, and his mind was too focused on the creature to do any sort of lip-reading.

Her mouth stopped moving, and before Castel could even begin to figure out why, she sent out her hand, and with it the mighty beast lunged forward, its fangs bared and claws outstretched. It was at this moment that Castel regretted. Unfortunately, he did not regret his attempt at murder, but rather the fact that he, in his unfamiliarity with Pokemon, had forgotten just how common they were in modern society. The distance was closing—he could feel Mightyena's steaming, rank breath—but was stunned by its piercing red eyes. He had fear on the brain. He couldn't think.

Ultimately, the fangs of the dark dog never reached their target. Castel, not because he had overcome his fear, but because it had full control over him, made a mad dash for his backpack, reaching his hand toward the zipper. As he reached it, though, he felt flame rip through his body from his leg. Searing heat streamed through every crevice of his being, and the pain immobilized him for an uncountable number of moments. When Castel came to, all he knew was that the Pokemon's teeth were still sunk into his leg, but not with so much force as to tear through it. Mightyena didn't make any motions after its first attack, merely keeping Castel still.

This was the second worst decision Adaline made during this encounter. The first was not running away the moment Mightyena had sent Castel flying into the wall with its release, or after it had bitten his leg and mostly paralyzed him. A bite of mercy wasn't enough to stop the bloodthirsty boy, so as long as his target was within his sights. He couldn't think, but she should've known by his most recent evasion that his body could still act. A bite from a part-fire type would make most people black out, especially a child.

Except, the boy had already blacked out, so it did nothing. No, it only made Castel's body move faster. With devilish speeds he opened his backpack, tearing the zipper off at the last second and toppling his bag onto the restroom floor. An assortment of items spilled out, but a sharp glint told him where victory was. With every bit of strength, he kicked the Pokemon away from him, stumbling to the sharpened metal ruler with blood rolling down the holes in his leg, picking it up and brandishing it while doing everything he could to stay on his two feet.

"This is why! This is why! This is why I have to kill you! Don't you see! Once I start I can't stop! Once I begin I must finish! If I don't, I'll end up dead!"

"Don't make this my fault! You're the one–"

With a roaring shriek, Castel rushed for the girl, his ears long since turned off by the adrenaline pumping through his veins. All he had were his eyes and his thoughts. His thoughts told him to kill, and his eyes gave him the target! With those, he had all he needed to do what needed to be done!

An ungodly shriek tore through the bathroom, sending all parties to the floor with drum-mincing soundwaves. The Mightyena was especially affected, being knocked unconscious almost instantaneously as it was forcefully put back into its Pokeball in a coalescence of white light. Over the speakers, a robotic voice cried:

"UNAUTHORIZED USAGE OF POKEMON DETECTED! UNAUTHORIZED USAGE OF POKEMON DETECTED! LOCATION: FEMALE LAVATORY OF THE SECOND FLOOR! REPEATING…"

Castel couldn't. He couldn't breathe or see or hear or taste or smell or touch. He lost his balance, and he couldn't tell where he was or why he was. The sound was so loud and somehow so quiet. A ringing so high-pitched that it was almost inaudible. All he could do was think, and he could barely think. Soon, it was too much, and his body succumbed, the world fading to darkness darker than the back of his eyelids.

"Brother…it hurts...it's cold…"

"...yes…is a minor…ID…"

Castel didn't know the word that described the ability to hear as blurriness described one's ability to see—or lack thereof—but that was the word he would use to describe the muffled sounds entering his recently jumpstarted ears. As his ears came back to life, so did his eyes and his fingers. Instinctively he tried to move, but he felt a brace around his wrist that prevented any such idea from coming to fruition.

When he looked up, he saw bodies that took him a while to recognize; they were his parents, and they were talking with an officer.

"I assure you, officer, that my son is a minor. He goes to this school as a student!" His dad said. It wasn't defensive, but matter-of-fact, though with a hint of frustration, as if he's had to repeat it a billion times.

"Alright then," The officer said, noting it down on his pad. "If that's the case, then under the law, I can't arrest him. However, he will lose all access to privileges to any type of license and will not be allowed to open a bank account unless he serves some form of punishment. Store owners and managers can choose not to allow him to buy at their stores, and, if he is a student, he is likely to be expelled."

"Ugh! I am aware of the law, officer!"

"Just a matter of procedure, sir. Now, I believe that is all. I would say have a good day, but you're probably going to get a lawsuit filed against you. Here's my number, for when you're homeless after getting sued to the underworld."

The next thing Castel felt was a presence looming over him. Hands reached around his wrists, and after some shaking, the restrictive feeling around his hands dissipated. He felt its remnants, but he could tell it wasn't there anymore.

After that, he saw his parents turn to him, his father holding his head in his hands in shame and his mother looking at him as if she was about to kill him at this very moment.

"Get in the car, Castel! You will not speak, talk, or do anything other than sit your ass and put on your seatbelt! It's taking all the love I have for you to not beat you in broad daylight!"

He did as told, getting into the car silently. He had an idea of what went on, now that he could think properly. The UPU (Unauthorized Pokemon Usage) alarm sounded, and staff went into the girl's bathroom to find two girls with blood on their clothes and face and a boy with a ruler sharper than a knife in his hand. For many, there was only one way to interpret such a situation. Had he not only been 12 years old, he'd probably be charged with attempted murder, among other crimes.

But to that end, what is a "crime"? For all he was told, a crime was a bad thing. A bad action, something unlawful. To follow the law was due diligence, a "justice", and to break the law, especially intentionally, was an "injustice". Why, then, was he being punished for trying to bring justice?! Why, then, was he being pierced with glares like daggers, or treated like a criminal, for doing what was right?! For all he was told, justice was to do good, and one way to do good was to correct evil. So why! Why am I the one in the wrong when…when…

"...She started it. Why am I the one in the wrong when she started it!"

"Did I or did I not specifically tell you to not speak?!"

"But this isn't fair! She did something wrong, she did something bad! All I did was give her a taste of her own medicine! Are judges in the wrong when they sentence murderers!"

"Castel! We will not talk about this! You almost killed someone!"

"She started it!"

"Y'almost killed someone, Castel! You nearly killed someone!" His father finally yelled, turning to Castel with fury in his eyes. "I don't think I have to say it a third time, but maybe I should get it through your head! When a murderer is sentenced to life in prison, it's the worst punishment they can give. However, is that wrong? The murderer has taken a life, a great and irreversible evil, that will ripple throughout the lives of the victims decades after. It's only fair!

He paused for a second, calming himself down before speaking again. Castel's mother was driving through a particularly difficult road, and while still angry, his father didn't want to distract her with his volume. "You almost became a murderer. You almost committed that irreversible evil!"

"But she–"

"I DON'T…I don't care what she did, Castel! Are you still here? Is breath still in your lungs, life still in your eyes? Are you not moving, son?! We're having a conversation! Are you not listening to the words coming out of my mouth, and using your mouth to spout ridiculousness at me? I don't care if she made fun of you in the class, ruined your clothes, or ripped up a project it took you 6 hours to finish! You're 12, Castel, 12! A 12-year-old did something you didn't like! You can report her to the teacher or make fun of her back! You can wash your clothes in the machine! You can spare another 6 hours! You're not dead, so nothing she could do to you can be permanent as long as you don't allow it to be!"

His father's rant ended as the car approached a stop sign. As Castel registered the words, he heard a homeless man yelling. He looked to his left, seeing the entrance to a forest that served as a popular tourist attraction in the winter. However, with July in full swing, it was as empty of humans as most forests in industrialized society. The homeless man was positioned in front of it, with a sign with words on it; he couldn't read it because the man kept moving.

At some point, he heard his father going down a pessimistic slippery slope, eventually concluding that they'd all die of hypothermia by the middle of November before having their corpses torn apart by the Pokemon in the forest.

The boy mulled over the conversation, or rather the one-sided admonishing he had received from his father. He ran over it in his head, trying to find something his father said that was wrong. Anything, no matter how trivial. If he could find even something tiny, he could use it as a base for his attempt at convincing his father. What the boy had failed to realize during this time was that he was not trying to convince his father anymore. Rather, he was trying to convince himself. So, he continued mulling, until he eventually stopped at the word "killing".

It was wrong to kill. It was wrong to cause another to die, even if they had not done anything worthy of it. But she did! She did do something worthy of it! This is what Castel thought as he ran over this idea. Who were his father, his school, the police, or the law, to tell him what actions he should and shouldn't find deserving of death? Was it not he, the victim, who suffered because of her for two months? In the first place, who was she that she didn't deserve to die for doing anything at all? Was she special? Was she some moral paragon? Did she influence the world?

Then the annoying thoughts returned, saying, She has a family, like you. A group of people who love her, and want to see her every day for as many days as they can.

Castel scoffed, mentally, but stayed silent as he wasn't able to combat this line of thinking. She had a family, like he did. She had friends, like he did. He had people who loved her, like he did. Who was he to take her away from all of that? She was someone's daughter, someone's cousin, someone's niece, someone's older sibling, or even someone's…younger sibling…

"...please…stop! I…help me…why...brother!"

One-sided torture…

She was someone who made life worse for others for nothing more than her freakish enjoyment, for nothing more than to satisfy a whim! She did it for nothing more than to alleviate her boredom! He was someone's son, he was someone's cousin, he was someone's nephew, he was…. Who was she to make him not want the next day to come for two months? She was someone who, like him, had people who cared for her. She was, like him, a human being! And yet, she was the one who decided that her existence was the superior one and that she had the right to treat him like a pest who deserved to be trampled under her foot! She did deserve to die! She deserved it more than he deserved to be viciously harassed, and treated like a toddler's toy! She did! She did! She did, she did she did she did she did she did she did!

**CLICK**

"Hm? What was…CASTEL! WHAT'RE YOU DOING, GET BACK INSIDE!"

"Huh? HUH?! HAS THAT BOY HAS LOST HIS DAMN MIND–Matthew, no! Do not leave the car, it is too dangerous!"

He ran. He had never run this fast in his life, and he doubted that he could ever run so fast again. He couldn't even see in front of him, but Castel didn't know if that was from the speed or because he was so unfocused that his eyes had stopped working. He ran until he was out of the intersection, avoiding the multi-ton metal bullets driving through the road, having to swerve out of the way or stop to not crush him or send him flying. He ran until he was within arm's reach of the homeless man, who finally stopped moving to look at the kid flying through like a madman's child. He ran until he was in the forest, deep in the forest, so deep that nobody who was still on the road would have been able to see or hear him if they stood at the entrance.

Then his foot met rock, and he was sent flying into a creek of water, only being able to hang on and position his back to the edge of the creek to not be swept away. His mind was racing, his lungs and heart were on overdrive, and if he had any sense, he might have found out that most of his toes were broken, not to mention his nose damaged from taking the brunt of the face-first impact into the water. He was in pain in every way, and he was confused. His brain tried to manage everything and keep him awake, but it had its limits. It hadn't been long since he had last passed out, and it was evident that he was too out of it to prevent another case of unconsciousness.

With the last of the fight in him having no effect, Castel Danor's eyes closed, and he fell asleep within Estratoa Forest.

Hours Later

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.

TO BE CONTINUED

That's Chapter One!

This was originally going to be 2 chapters, but I decided that it would be better to combine them, as the second half (Estratoa Forest) felt stronger when directly connected to the first half, instead of split up into two chapters. Also, I like the idea of the pilot chapter being extra long. Chapter 2 is already done, and should be about within a day or two.

PS: I have a bigger Pokemon project that I want to write, but I don't want my potential lack of ability to undermine a story that I think has a lot of potential, so the goal of this story is to test the waters that are my skills. Each review, even destructive, on this story, will be very, very helpful, so please make sure to do that if you find any problems with my writing. Peace.