I stared dumbly at the pokéball, my mouth hanging open, until realization hit me with the force of a charging Rhyhorn. Zubat were poisonous. Or venomous. Gran had explained the difference to me before but I couldn't remember, and why in Azelf's name was I thinking about this when I might be getting violently sick soon?

Swallowing, I shoved the ball in my pocket and threw a panicked glance around. Zubat were swarm Pokémon, so more of them might be coming for me. I needed to find the nest's entrance fast. When I'd exited it, there'd been a wall a couple of feet to my left… wait. If I was facing the opening, the wall should be on my right. I'd been so upset I hadn't even noticed. I slapped my forehead, annoyed at myself, then turned to search the opposite side of the cavern.

Soon I found my path back, though it took some painful wriggling to squeeze through, and the tunnel seemed to stretch on forever. As I emerged on the other side, peeking out warily, everything was quiet. Too quiet, as if anything that might make noise had been scared away.

A large boulder had fallen by the nest's entrance. It was only luck that it hadn't been sealed shut—the gap wasn't more than a few feet. As I crawled out, there was no sign of the wild Onix. I stared at the collapsed ledge and shone my phone's flashlight all over the stone shards strewn throughout the cavern. When I couldn't find any blood splattered on the rocks or limbs poking out from under the debris, I let out a breath. Gran and Sugar must have won, or so I prayed.

Had they gone looking for me? Or gotten out and called the rangers? I couldn't really remember the route back to the surface—why hadn't I been paying attention as we wandered the cave, why hadn't I been thinking of anything but a Gible—and worse, I didn't even know if I was poisoned. My ankle throbbed.

A scraping noise came from behind me. Whirling around, I glimpsed a Geodude digging itself out of the ground. Its gaze burned through me as its fingers scrabbled and tore chunks of rock loose. A cold shiver ran down my spine. The Geodude lifted its fists.

I dove behind the nearest boulder, just in time to hear the smack of a stone being thrown where I'd just been standing. With shaking hands, I retrieved my pokéball and pressed its button, grabbing the Zubat tightly as it materialized to keep it from flying away. "Listen," I whispered in its ear. "We're about to die."

Zubat squeaked.

"Unless you Supersonic that Geodude in three," I went on. It squeaked again in what I really hoped was agreement. "One, two, three..."

And I burst out from behind the boulder, clutching the Zubat. An earsplitting screech filled my ears as it wailed to high heavens. Then I turned and ran as fast as I could, ignoring my throbbing ankle, until—

A cold pressure jabbed into my temples. My skin prickled, and a bell rang in the back of my mind, rising to a fever pitch like someone was calling for me to wake up. It sounded like... Sugar, I thought, are you there?

"WHERE," came the Chimecho's response, his voice distant. As I focused all my thoughts on my current location, a sharp hiss pierced through my head. "COMING."

I quickly returned the Zubat, who'd started squirming in my grip. My heart thumped in my ears as I waited. Then a silver beam bloomed in the dark, growing larger as it crept closer, and the sound of footsteps echoed through the cavern. Relief pouring over me, I raced towards the light. "Gran!"

"Claudia!"

Sugar flew past her to meet me, his bell glowing brightly. The grip of his telekinesis lifted me bodily off the ground and pulled me closer. "Claudia! Are you okay?"

"Yes!" I had never felt better in my life now that I had found them again. "I'm so, so happy to see you."

His tail lashed out and smacked me in the face. "YOU SUICIDAL SLOWPOKE. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU COULD HAVE DIED—"

"I knew you'd find me," I said.

The Chimecho set me back down on the ground. "Palkia have mercy, do you take me for a tracking Growlithe? Don't just disappear and shut me out of your mind like that."

"Sorry. I didn't think—"

"Claudia." Granny walked up to us, her face drawn into a scowl. "How many times did I tell you not to wander off?"

"Um." She'd told me at least three times before I'd stopped counting. "Sorry. Are you okay? That Onix was… huge."

"I wrecked him," said Sugar smugly.

"We're fine," Gran said. "Are you hurt?"

I hesitated. "Please don't tell Cynthia."

"Oh, she'll hear all about this, trust me," Granny hissed, her lips pinched into a thin line. "Where are you hurt? Show me."

I glanced down at my leg. "I got bitten by a Zubat, but I'm fine." Her eyes widened in horror. Sugar circled around me, his bell ringing out sharply. The ache in the back of my ankle stopped. "Thanks, Sugar."

Gran grabbed me by the shoulders. "How long ago? How many Zubat?"

"Just one. Like ten minutes ago, maybe. I'm fine. I don't think I'm poisoned, I haven't puked or anything." And then, because you miss every shot you don't take, I added hopefully, "If you wanna go look for another Gible, I'm totally fine to keep going."

"You," Gran said in a low, dangerous voice, her eyes narrowed to pinpricks. "The only place you're going is a clinic, and don't ever bring up a Gible to me again. And don't even think about running off."

"Maybe I should carry her there so she can't run," Sugar suggested helpfully, his psychic hold wrapping all around my limbs like steel chains.

"Oh, ease up. I won't run. I really… I'm really glad I found you guys."

Gran took out a bottle from her backpack, unscrewing it. "Drink this."

"What's that?" I nearly gagged as she shoved the bottle into my mouth. It tasted sour, burning all the way down my throat. "Ugh. Gross."

"Antidote."

"Oh. So if I'm poisoned, this fixes it, right? Do I really have to go see a doctor?"

Gran glared at me. "Do you have any idea how many blood borne parasites and diseases Zubat can carry? You could have anything from Pokérus to rabies right now."

I gulped. Okay, maybe I should see a doctor.

"I will destroy every Zubat on our way out," Sugar announced darkly.

"No, you won't," said Gran. "We need to hurry out of here, and Zubat serve an important ecological purpose—"

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Um." Speaking of Zubat reminded me of the Pokéball in my pocket. I wrapped my hand around it, feeling its warm weight. "You know the Zubat that bit me? I caught it."

Sugar stared at me blankly. "Why?"

"I—it was self-defense, okay? Anyway, should I just release it here?"

Gran thought for a moment. "No, take it with you. If you caught some disease from it, scanning it might help diagnose you. Now let's get moving."

I was dead tired by the time we arrived in Oreburgh, despite Sugar having telekinetically dragged me part of the way when I'd started walking too slowly for his standards. I nagged him into putting me down once we reached the city though, since a few people in the street were turning their heads to stare and laugh at the sight of a floating girl.

Oreburgh City was… odd. It was much bigger than what I was used to, having lived in Celestic Town my whole life. But somehow the city looked almost cramped as we approached, all its buildings crammed together with the hulking mine and its quarry looming over it.

Near the northern entrance was the Mining Museum, a three-story white building that took up a whole block. I knew Gran would be visiting there for a week to work on some joint research about myths relating to fossilized Pokémon, which was a big part of why she'd agreed to take me to Wayward Cave, since it was on her way. But she didn't even glance at the museum now. Instead she pulled me towards the bright orange roof of a Pokémon Center across the street.

Right in front of the Center, a camera crew had been set up, and a crowd had formed around it. A reporter held up a microphone towards a blonde guy with wild blue eyes and a haggard face contorted in anger. He looked like a veteran trainer, judging by his age—late teens, maybe—but the pokéball belt on his waist was glaringly empty.

"I'M GOING TO SUE THE HELL OUT OF THIS PLACE," the trainer yelled, jabbing a finger accusingly at the Center behind him. "I LEFT MY TEAM FOR AN HOUR AND—" His voice cracked. Around him, several other trainers cheered and yelled all over each other.

I craned my neck to stare at them. Sugar stared too, because he was just as curious as I was, only he had the advantage of being able to read minds. We exchanged a look.

"Don't dawdle," Granny said sharply, dragging me past the crowd and into the Center itself before I could hear anything else.

Inside the Center, it was much quieter and emptier than outside. Only a few trainers lounged around on armchairs, watching battle reruns on television or fiddling with their phones, their various Pokémon sitting beside them. We made a beeline for the red counter at the end of the lobby.

"We're not taking in any new guests or patients unless it's urgent," one of the pink-haired nurses said in a tired voice. "There's another Center on the south side of—"

"I want to talk to nurse Martha Joy," Gran said. "Tell her Professor Carolina is here."

The nurse frowned, then turned and said something to a colleague next to her. Within moments, an older nurse with enormous glasses appeared, solemn-faced, and nodded towards Granny. "Carolina, always good to see you. We've been… having a tough week around here."

"I heard," said Gran. I blinked. What had she heard? "My granddaughter here was bitten by a wild Zubat. My Chimecho did some first aid and I've given her a general antidote." She prodded me forward.

"Hi," I said timidly, feeling all the nurses' eyes on me. I took the pokéball out of my pocket. "This is the Zubat that bit me. Can you check it too?"

"Of course," replied nurse Martha, grabbing the ball from me. "Roger, take her to the human healthcare ward and run some tests, will you?"

Nurse Roger Joy, a very tall man with curly hair dyed bubblegum pink, led me down a long hallway lined with endless rows of doors. He ushered me into a room full of empty beds.

"Sorry," I said, sitting down on a bed and turning my leg to show off the Zubat bite. "I know you guys aren't really taking new patients."

"Don't worry about it," said nurse Roger with a pained smile, as he quickly got to work disinfecting and dressing my wound. "Healing is what we're here for. We wish we could fully open again, really, but… we just can't—with all the…" He trailed off.

"Is this about the angry blond guy outside?" I asked curiously. "He was really mad talking to that reporter, saying he'll sue and everything."

Nurse Roger flinched, his face turning bloodless pale. He tried to play it off by picking up my patient chart and writing something down on it, but he was badly rattled. When he grabbed a syringe to draw my blood for testing, his hands shook so badly that he missed my vein three times.

"Ow," I said. "Look, I'm sorry I brought that up—I don't know what's going on. But can you just put down the needle until you… calm down a bit? Or get a different nurse?"

"Sorry," he said tightly. "I'll get it this time." But his hands kept shaking, and he missed again. Somehow that was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back for him. His whole face crumpled suddenly, knuckles clenched white around the syringe. "I can't do anything right," he muttered, hanging his head. "I can't—it's my fault."

"Come on, it's not that serious. You can try again."

But he only shook his head, inconsolable.

I frowned. "Is this… about the angry guy? Did you mistreat his Pokémon and they died or something? Is that why he wants to sue?"

His head snapped up, eyes wide. "No! I—no—the robbery—"

"A robbery? Here?" I asked incredulously. Pokémon Centers were some of the best protected places in all of Sinnoh. Between their advanced security systems, combat trained Chansey, and the fact that everyone from the police to local gym leaders would be ready to defend them at the slightest alarm, it shouldn't even be possible. Unless… it had been an inside job. I gaped at nurse Roger. "You helped rob the Center?"

Why the hell was he confessing to me instead of the police?

Nurse Roger's eyes went even wider and more horrified. "No! I'd never—I didn't know. I was—when they—I didn't ring the alarm." His voice trembled. "She told me her Porygon-Z was sick... I'd never treated one before. I didn't know…" He trailed off, face twisting.

That was even scarier somehow, since Porygon were so rare. Gran's research center had one, and she'd talked for months about how much time and money it had taken her to get them. Plus it wasn't even a fully evolved version. For robbers to have a Porygon-Z… this wasn't a common thief. I wondered if Cynthia—what was she going to do about this? Someone must have already called her up about it.

"I should have just rang the alarm," nurse Roger said miserably. "My Chansey…"

"Come on, you didn't know they were robbing the place, right? So it's not your fault." I frowned. "Is your Chansey okay?"

He sighed. "She's… out of surgery."

"Did you talk to her?"

He shook his head. "She's going to be so—I can't." His face pinched into a pained expression. "I can't. I shouldn't have told you this—I'm so fired—"

"I won't tell anyone." I said, making a gesture like I was zipping up my lips and throwing away the key. "You should talk to your Chansey."

But he kept shaking his head. "I'll—I'll get you another nurse. I need… a break," nurse Roger said in a dull voice, all but running out of the room. Despite me calling after him, he did not turn back.

After that, a different nurse came to draw my blood. I was stuck waiting a couple of hours for test results, but then she came back and told me I was mostly fine, only I'd have to take a bunch of pills because I had contracted some pesky pathogens with really complicated names. But she'd reassured me that I wasn't in danger of dying and I could leave the infirmary, which was good enough for me. Then I went back to the lobby, where a nurse handed me a key to room 902—which Granny and I would be staying in—and my Zubat's pokéball.

My Zubat. It felt odd even thinking that. She (as it was a female Zubat, according to the nurse) had been pronounced healthy, aside from some burns on her wings and general malnutrition. I wondered where'd the burns come from. I hadn't even noticed them, but it'd been so dark and it'd all happened so fast.

I stopped by the refectory to pick up some food, a sandwich for me and a plate stacked full of berries for Sugar... and Zubat, if I was brave enough to let her out. Slowly I climbed upstairs to room 902, my thumb drawing restless circles on the surface of her pokéball. It felt impossibly heavy, mostly because I didn't know what to do with it. But I'd have to figure it out, and for that I needed to talk with her.

As I unlocked the room, Gran was nowhere to be found. There was only Sugar, laying on a pillow on one of the twin beds, his tail curled around him. Poor thing. That battle against the Onix and carrying me halfway here must have taken a lot out of him.

"Sug," I called softly, not wanting to wake him if he was napping. But his head snapped up immediately to face me. "Where's Gran? I got you some berries."

"She's talking to Martha," Sugar said. "Persim?"

"Yeah." I tossed him a persim berry. They were his favorite. "So, I have a favor to ask you—"

"No," he said flatly.

"You don't even know what it is."

"You've gotten into enough trouble today."

"Come on," I said. "I have to talk to my Zubat, and I need you to help translate."

"...How did you even catch it?"

"I told you it was self-defense. And fine, I'll do it on my own."

"Don't you dare. If it kills you, how am I to explain that to your grandmother?"

I snorted. "So you'll help then?"

"...Fine."

Taking a deep breath, I closed the door behind me and drew the curtains shut, since Zubat were notoriously averse to sunlight. I stared at the pokéball as I fished it out. Like ripping off a bandaid, I pressed the button fast. The Zubat burst out of it, materializing with a red beam. She flapped her wings stiffly and let out a confused screech.

"Tell her hi," I said.

Zubat flew a shaky lap around the room, then landed on a bedpost.

"She asks where are we."

"Um, does she know what a Pokémon Center is?"

"Says she has never been to one, but she's heard of it. She had a trainer before."

My eyes widened. She'd had a trainer before? What had happened? Had she been released or ran away? Was she too aggressive? Or maybe a bad battler?

"Too many questions, Claudia," Sugar grumbled. "Pick one."

"Ah. Um, ask her why she bit me?"

"Hungry."

"...Right. Ask her if she wants to go home." There. She'd say yes, I'd release her, and that'd be it.

"She has no home."

I blinked. "Wayward Cave isn't her home?"

"No. Been there less than a moon. Doesn't like it much. No good hunting ground around it. Tried drinking from a Ponyta and got burned. Couldn't fly for some nights. Very hungry."

That... explained a lot actually. I could see her burns clearly now, faint pink lines running along her wings. "Where is she from, originally?"

"Big old building in city humans call Veilstone."

I frowned. "We're... a long way from Veilstone. How did she get here?"

"Not sure. Got caught along with nestmates, then released alone somewhere else. Flew far for many moons since."

"I... see," I said slowly. "Does she want to go back to her old trainer then?"

"Yes and no. Misses free food. Doesn't like battling when it's daylight."

"Oh," I said. That didn't tell me much about her relationship with her former trainer. "Why did she get released?"

"Doesn't know. Maybe because trainer got a new Zubat."

"Um, well." That was kind of sad. "I'm sorry about catching her. It was an accident."

"She knew it might happen when she heard you," Sugar said to my surprise. "It was a calculated risk. She needed her wings fixed and knew that humans like you have potions."

"So she was hoping to get caught and healed?"

"Yes. That, or to drink from you, easy meal. Either was better than starving."

Being referred to as an easy meal was mildly disturbing to me. "Are her wings all healed up then? What does she want to do now?"

"Her wings feel good. Wants to eat, then sleep."

"Uh, listen, I'm not food. Make sure she understands I'm not food, please. Or I'll put her in the pokéball again." I paused. "She can have some of the berries."

"I thought they were my berries," Sugar grumbled.

"Be nice," I said. "You can share a few."

I set the plate down near the edge of the bed. The Zubat immediately pounced, landing almost on top of it. She sniffed around the plate, snatching up a nanab berry in her mouth, and began eating in a strange way. Her fangs pierced the berry, then she lapped up its juice with her tongue.

I watched her, feeling a smile creep across my face.

"So, Zubat," I began as an idea formed in my mind. "Since I caught you, you're officially my first Pokémon. I mean, if you don't want to be, you can go. But since you don't seem like you're in a hurry to leave... anyway, what I'm trying to say is, if you stay, I'll take care of you. I'll train you and I can get you food. More berries everyday."

This way, Gran couldn't do much to stop me from becoming a trainer since I'd have my starter already. I'd just have to train Zubat up until she got really strong, so then we could go back to Wayward Cave and catch a Gible. Then we'd hunt down stupid Sean and utterly pulverize his guts in a glorious battle. Flawless plan, right? I certainly thought so.

Zubat chittered and tilted her head, ears twitching.

"She asks if you can get her some blood too," Sugar translated.

"Not my blood," I said quickly. "Maybe, like, the blood of our enemies."

"Claudia, that's against several official Pokéleague rules," Sugar said.

"...Nevermind then. I'll figure it out, buy blood from a butcher shop or something." It was a bit gross honestly, but feeding a Pokémon a proper diet for their species was the most basic duty of a trainer, so I'd just have to suck it up. No pun intended.

Zubat chittered excitedly and sank her teeth into another berry.

"She accepts," Sugar told me. "But Claudia, you should really talk to your grandmother about all of this."

"I'll talk to her when she gets back," I said nonchalantly, pretending like I wasn't nervous at the thought. "Anyway, ask Zubat if she has a nickname."

"She says no. She has a swarm name, but it doesn't fit human throats."

I blinked. "All right, we'll think of a nickname then. How about... Katrina? Sookie? Charlotte?"

Zubat hissed disapprovingly.

"She doesn't like those," explained Sugar. "She wants a name that means something. Not just some name humans have."

I frowned. "Hey, human names mean something. Like Claudia, it means... I forgot. But anyway, we can try non-human names. Like... Fang, Midnight, Echo? No, wait, everyone names their Zubat those. Maybe Pants? Get it, because if I was wearing pants, you might not have bitten me?"

Zubat didn't seem particularly tickled by my sense of humor, continuing to lick at her berry.

"I'm going to fetch your grandmother," Sugar announced.

"Now there's no need for that," I said quickly.

"She'll be greatly interested in these new developments, I'm sure."

...yeah, that was the whole problem. I stifled a groan as Sugar left. Well, I couldn't hide the fact I planned to keep Zubat indefinitely. The Glameow had to come out of the bag sometime. I sighed, trying to distract myself.

"So, Zubat, I'm going to list some nickname ideas. You just tap me with your wing when you like one, okay?" She let out a screech, ears pricking up, and tapped me once on the arm. "Key, blanket, door—" Zubat shook her head at me, visibly unimpressed. "Coffee, rabies, cloud—"

Still no winners.

"Doll, breeze, riddle—" I froze as Gran's voice rang out in the hallway, but I couldn't make out her words. Breathing in, I braced myself. "It's fine. We're fine. Don't panic, Claudia."

Zubat poked my arm repeatedly.

"You like Claudia? But I'm Claudia. If you're Claudia too, that's really confusing, you know." She gave an angry hiss. "...You really wanna be Claudia too? No? Then what? Fine? Panic?"

Zubat tapped my arm again, just as the door opened.

Claudia's Party:

1. Panic (Zubat, female)

Author's Note: If you google it, Claudia means "lame" lol.