My eyelids began to open, heavy as they had ever been, but then I felt them close. I brought a paw to my eyes to rub them, and I noticed my legs moving slower, taking them longer to respond. I was usually quick to wake up, but I felt particularly sleepy and lazy today. I groaned as I stood up and stretched my muscles, feeling my legs ache a little against the strangely cold floor. I must have dozed off with a poor sleep posture. I slowly opened my eyes, my sight woozy. Then, my ears perked up and my tail found its way in between my hindlegs.

I couldn't smell them. I couldn't smell my family. I couldn't catch the scent of the twins, or my brother, or Mom. They were not in this room with me.

"She's waking up…" a soft-spoken voice said by my side as I felt warm fur brushing against my cheek. "Are you okay?"

Still in a daze, I nearly jumped back from the shock, feeling every strand of fur on my body stand on end. I forced my eyes open, fighting against my rebellious eyelids, and I looked around as I sniffed around the room. Wherever I was, it was nearly completely dark. My eyesight would not serve me well here. I had good night vision, but not enough to see in near pitch-black darkness. My nose notified me of many presences around me, nearly all of them unknown. I looked up to a low ceiling, then around me to make out arrays of steel bars surrounding me in the dark. This was a cage. And my heart felt as if threatening to break out of my chest.

"W-Where am I?" I shouted, disoriented, my entire body tense.

"Are you unhurt?" the soft voice asked again. I turned to the owner of the voice, a small female fox pokémon by my side. Even in the dark, her golden fur was easy to discern. "You are not hurt, are you?"

"N-No?" Who was this? What was going on? "W-Where is this? Answer!" I raised my voice a little too much, which made the vulpine creature yelp and take a step back, lowering her head in submission.

"Easy there, tiger," another approaching voice said, this one more masculine but still tender. He had a small blue body and smelled like an aquatic reptile. "Relax. We're not your enemies. We have been captured too."

"Captured?" I searched into my mind for any recent memories that would have led to this plight. What was the last thing I could remember? I had traveled with my family in Mom's box of moving blitzing fast and arrived to a pokémon lab, where we had waited for a professor. Oh, and then Jarque and me and that one human girl went out to meet the professor and… No, I couldn't quite remember what…

I felt my breathing stop for a moment. Images flashed into my mind. A man in a dirty coat, lying on the floor. Two scary-looking thugs. A yellow pokémon with a pendulum. But what happened after that? Why couldn't I remember?

The masculine voice addressed me again. "The Hypno must have put you to sleep, just like he did with us. We, uh, are not entirely sure were we are, but it is important that we keep our calm. I think."

Okay, I needed a moment to collect my thoughts. As I closed my eyes to think, this large cage that was holding us shook as if bouncing, forcing my eyes open again. Wherever we were, it wasn't a stationary place. Perhaps we were in one of the human's boxes of moving blitzing fast. I could recall seeing a big one behind the two humans at the time. First things first. Who was here with me? I focused on my sense of smell, but this room was so small and so badly ventilated that it was hard to tell scents apart.

The first thing that my nostrils caught was the presence of a fellow grass-type. Our natural aroma made us easy to tell apart, but the scent came from far. The two scents that more immediately surrounded me, other than my own, where those of a female fire-type and a male water-type. Those must be the two voices I had spoken to so far, the fox and the crocodile. There were two other pokémon scents a little farther back, another female and another male. Oh, the female must have been that other grass-type I had detected before. Was that a reptilian smell too? Then the other one was… oh, this was the one scent that I thought felt familiar. This was the only other being present I was even barely acquainted with: Oaknut, the Oshawott that was that girl's partner. So he had been caught too, uh.

So that was four pokémon other than me, two males and two females, and around my age judging by their pheromones. Oaknut and I were probably roughly the same age, and then these three were a little younger than us. Well, the one lone fire-type smelled a bit more mature than the other two, but still a tad younger than me or Oaknut. Ignoring the Oshawott, that meant this cage had been holding a grass-type, a fire-type and a water-type before we were put in here. Those three younger pokémon must have been the starters that were in the professor's care.

"I'm Glass, a Totodile," the male reptilian told me. "The humans named me that because apparently I liked staring at windows when I was small." He placed his paw on the yellow fox sitting by his side. "She's Valentine, a Fennekin. I think they named her that because she used to be very affectionate even as a pup. And that one over there…" He pointed at the distance at two pokémon that stood close together, not that this cage was that large.

One of those two pokémon turned to us, although it was far enough to properly see in the dark. "Rose," a girlish, slightly conceited voice uttered. "A Snivy, you know. If you've got a good nose you can probably tell why humans would call me that." It was hard to tell, but I think she then placed a hand on the smaller Oshawott. "And this fine gentleman here is Oaknut, although I take it you two are already acquainted? Since you two entered this fancy five-star suite together."

I waited for a moment in silence until I realized they probably expected me to introduce myself next. Couldn't Oaknut have told them my name? Perhaps he thought it only polite to let me wake up so I could introduce myself. Which meant he had woken up first, too. Did this mean he had better endurance, better resistance? Nah, it was probably just a fluke.

"M-My name iz —" Ouch! Bit my tongue! No, c'mon. That's not a good first impression. I could see the Totodile covering his big mouth, and I could swear I heard a feminine giggle coming from the Snivy's direction. I cleared up my throat. "My name is Clover. Uh, a Sprigatito." That's better.

… Now what? I sniffed around some more, since I could still detect some more scents farther around us, beyond the cage. There was still another pokémon… Oh damn, it was that Hypno guy. He was taking a nap right outside the cage. What was he supposed to be, our jailer? Then I could perceive two more terrible, terrible smells, belonging to two creatures that I could only tell were human because they were wearing clothing. Both men were sitting on the front of wherever we were, with the taller one controlling a wheel in his hands, still wearing sunglasses. Why? There was no sun inside here! Did he not know how stupid he looked?

Once the silence grew too uncomfortable, the Totodile, Glass, began to speak again. "I imagine we are in some kind of moving truck. We cannot break out, and it might be dangerous anyway if the humans are driving at high speeds."

Feeling less dizzy now, I began to make my way through the darkness towards Oaknut and Rose, who were standing near the iron bars. I gave them a glance. Had it not occurred to them to just cut them down so that we could escape? I lowered my head and raised my back, smirking, ready to get us out of here. Oh, they were going to be so impressed with my power. They were going to think I am so amazing. I grew sharp leaves from the green leaf-shaped tuft of fur over my chest, then hurled them at the iron shafts to cut them down…!

… And they just bounced off like nothing.

I felt something slam repeatedly against the cage from the other side, sending a screeching metallic sound that reverberated all through it. I turned around, only to realize it was a human hand smacking the cage. "Hey! You critters stop making so much noise back there! For fuck's sake…"

The Snivy placed her hands on me to pull me away from the bars. "Easy, love. Let's not make those aberrations that pass for humans any angrier." She pointed an arm — why did a snake have arms? — at a specific steel bar. "Besides, we've already tried everything. I already tried my vine whips and my razor leaves, Glass has tried to bite them out, and they seem to be made of a fireproof material so dear Valentine cannot help us either. I'm sure we could take them down if any of us was evolved, but right now, we're out of luck." She pointed to Oaknut. "Not even Oaky's shell seems sharp enough to cut them."

Oaky…? Er, but it made sense that if they planned to throw a bunch of us starters into a cage, it would be a cage capable of resisting at least unevolved pokémon of our types. I noticed one of the bars near Oaknut had a dent on it. Even if he couldn't cut it down, the Oshawott must have left a mark by slashing at it with his shell before. Meanwhile, I couldn't find any scratch or nick anywhere near where my attack had landed.

So that was it? We simply couldn't escape? We were giving up already? I'm sure if Mallet was around he and the Fennekin could team up to melt down those bars. And Jarque and Bera could come up with some plan to get us out. And if Mom was here and she let Pallas loose — oh boy, would I feel bad for those poor thugs.

But they weren't. I sat down and lowered my head. I felt so alone. I wasn't alone, and these pokémon around me seemed nice enough, but I still felt so… I-I would see them again. I would see them again, right? Yeah, and then this would just be a bad memory. Or — hey, maybe this was just a nightmare! Oh, of course! That must be it! And soon enough I would wake up in Jarque's warm arms as he would pet the back of my head. Then Mallet would poke fun at me for being scared while Bera laughed, and Mom would tell us to play nice as she always does and… Y-Yeah. I would see them again. I would not be alone. Not again. And this wasn't a lie I was telling myself for comfort because I was as scared as I had ever been or anything. I'm a strong girl! I was never scared! I was never…

The sudden warmth pressing against my cheek caught me by surprise, but after the initial shock, I didn't fight it. This was the Fennekin, right? Valentine, was it? She didn't say anything. She just rubbed her warm cheek against mine. She didn't ask how I was, or asked why I was crying, or told me fake platitudes about us surely getting out of here safe. And, honestly, I appreciated that she wasn't speaking at all. I liked it better this way. It was somehow less awkward.

The two humans began to speak. They were a bit far from us, but they spoke in a loud voice. Sunglasses spoke first, looking ahead through the wide window on the front. "But this sure was a lucky haul, getting five of them rare critters at once, and three of them are females to boot! Those guys in the fancy clothes said they would pay like eight times more for the females, no?"

"That's what I heard too," Beanie said, scratching his stubbly chin. "Why'd you figure that is?"

"The fuck do I know. Maybe they're trying to put together an exotic brothel or something."

Beanie smacked his partner's shoulder. "Dude, don't even joke about that. They're like kids."

"They'll grow up, no?" Sunglasses chuckled as the other man shook his head. "Relax, I'm just messing with ya. Those Shuffle guys probably just plan to sell them to some idiot kid with rich parents or something."

Shuffle…? I felt my entire body paralyze, from my nose all the way to the tip of my frozen tail. But they are not supposed to be here. They are not supposed to be in Baraja. That is the entire reason we escaped to this region with Mom four years ago. No, it's probably just a coincidence. Like, 'shuffle' isn't even that rare of a word for humans or anything. Those hooligans were probably referring to something else altogether. That had to be it.

There was a characteristic rocking back and forth whenever you traveled in one of the boxes of moving blitzing fast, but after a strong pull, it just halted. Had this machine come to a stop?

"We're stopping?" Beanie asked.

"I need me a quick smoke."

"Dude, it's been like twenty minutes since your last one. I think you got a problem."

"Oh, shut the fuck up. We're far from Jester's Junction, in the middle of nowhere. No one's finding us here." Sunglasses opened up one of the doors of the machine to leave, turning to Beanie before he did so. "Make sure to feed our haul. We don't want them dying out before we get to deliver them."

"Might as well."

And so both men left the machine, disappearing out of view. Not that it mattered, as we were trapped here and the Hypno was still around, if asleep. Then, I heard a heavy noise and turned around to find the large backdoors of this moving machine opening, each of the men pulling on one. Ugh, sudden sunlight. I had to close my eyes. I almost preferred the darkness — my eyes were better adapted for that! The noise of the doors opening seemed to wake up the Hypno, who then helped the two humans move our cage outside the machine, using his psychic powers for assistance.

Hey, at least we were now outside. Although inside a cage. But at least the sun was in sight, and the sweet breeze felt nice, and the smell of fresh grass and fragrant flowers was much welcomed. The man with the ugly beanie threw some food into the cage. It didn't look palatable, and I didn't have much of an appetite right now, given the circumstances. In fact, only the Totodile dared to taste the food.

The Snivy sat down by the Fennekin's side, sighing as she watched the Totodile. "Seriously, Glass?"

"What?" the blue reptile said with a mouthful. "Are we just going to let it rot? They have a Hypno. It's not like they would have any need to drug the food."

"Fair point," the Oshawott said, and then, to my surprise, actually joined him. "It's no good to think on an empty stomach."

I pondered whether to take a bite. I had eaten worse. Much worse. It smelled bland rather than bad-tasting. But no, I seriously didn't feel like eating right now. I didn't feel like doing much of anything. How in the world did they look so calm? The Fennekin was the only one that was showing any overt signs of fear.

I noticed the two water-types talking to each other, which was a bit of a surprise since the Oshawott hadn't seemed like the most social of pokémon. I guess the assertive Totodile won him over. They were the only males among us, and the only water-types, so maybe that helped too. And yet, the other grass-type present wasn't socializing with me but with the Fennekin. The Snivy's short arms where caressing the fox's coat in a bit of a detached way, perhaps trying to cheer the obviously scared Fennekin up. The Snivy didn't strike me as the warmest of pokémon, but I guess even she had a soft spot for the Fennekin.

And meanwhile I was here, minding my own business. Not feeling left out in the slightest. It's not like I wanted those dumb dolts to talk to me or anything, and I didn't feel alone or scared at all. I bet they were talking about how cool and aloof I looked here, all alone. Yup, that sounded about right.

Although I wouldn't mind one of Jarque's hugs right now.

To distract my mind I began to sniff around at random, and I detected something in the air. Something wet. I turned to the source of the fresh odor to find a small patch of wet grass on the ground right outside the cage. It was localized to such a small area that it couldn't have been caused by natural rain. Was this the work of the two water-types? They were near the cage's bars, on the side of the wet grass. Had they fired pressurized water at the grass? Why? Maybe it was a weird bonding ritual for waters.

Whatever. I turned around to see what the other two were doing. The Snivy was whispering something into the Fennekin's overly large ears, making her tremble. Oh. I took a step closer, but not because I was curious about what they were talking about or anything, I just happened to take a step in that random direction. And then, rather suddenly, the Fennekin hopped forth, slanted her head upwards and opened her maw to shoot out a volley of fire bullets diagonally upwards. I followed them with my gaze, mesmerized, watching them sneak through the steel bars and fly by Sunglasses' side, parallel to his face but missing him entirely. God, that was some terrible accuracy, fox. The human was unhurt, but the scare made him yell out in shock and accidentally drop the cylinder in his mouth.

Sunglasses began to repeatedly pound his palms against the ceiling of the cage, and for once I was glad we were surrounded by impenetrable iron bars. "What the fuck you think you're doing, foxy bitch? You want me to skin you before we deliver you? Your species isn't even that rare in this region!"

"Easy, dude," the other man tried to calm his friend by massaging his back, but he was frowning at the Fennekin too. "Just think of the money. It's not worth getting assmad over this. If you had been in real danger your Hypno would have put up a barrier or something."

Sunglasses grunted out lout and shoved his companion's arm off as he reached for his pocket for another of those cylinders and a strange tubular artifact he could use to call upon the power of flames at will. Impressive, but this wasn't the best moment to be amazed by human technology.

"What are you even doing?" I asked the fox, my tail between my legs. It's not that the tall man's reaction had made me scared or anything. I-I just didn't want that stupid fire-type to make things even worse. "You cannot just attack a human!"

She lowered her head, her tail also between her legs, not looking at anyone. "I-I wasn't aiming at him!"

The Oshawott chimed in. "And if you're going to snipe at him, at least aim well."

"I wasn't aiming at him!" she shouted out again, raising her head to meet the Oshawott's gaze before immediately cowering down again.

"Oh, I am aware." My entire body froze. I didn't recognize that rough voice, and there was only one creature present who hadn't bothered to speak yet. I didn't dare twist my neck to look at him, but the ever-permeating psychic atmosphere surrounding us had made the Hypno's proximity clear. "I do not buy for a second that you have such poor accuracy, vixen. Was that meant to scare us? Try a stunt like that again, and I will do far worse than put you to sleep. Don't play with my patience, will you? Putting effort into things is not something I particularly fancy."

I suddenly felt something cold tap at my shoulder and I would have shouted if it weren't because my body refused to react at all. I turned with haste towards the offender, nearly hopping back in instinct. It was… a vine? Oh, that was the Snivy calling my attention. The snake beckoned at me with one of her vines that extended from somewhere along her shoulder. "C'mere, kitty-kitty."

"Name's Clover," I said with a grunt as I approached.

"No, no. Rose. I'm Rose."

"Uh? No, I meant my name is —"

"No time. Listen, kitty." She pointed a minuscule finger at the grass outside the cage. "Now that the Hypno is busy scolding Valentine, help me grow out some vines around the truck's wheels. Don't make too much noise."

I walked up to her, tilting my head to the side with a slight frown. What was her plan here? To ensnare this wheeled machine in vines to keep it from moving? Would that even work? We were unevolved grass-types, it would be difficult and time-consuming to grow vines long enough to coil around the wheels and sturdy enough not to break when the human thugs tried to turn on their moving machine. We wouldn't be able to grow plants that strong in our current evolution stage unless it had rained or — Oh. The earthy scent of wet soil invaded my nostrils. The two water-types had just created a patch of wet grass right outside. So was this the plan? The Fennekin distracted the Hypno while me and the Snivy grew vines around the machine, using the fertile, watered soil that the Oshawott and the Totodile had prepared for us?

… But what for? Wouldn't this just delay the inevitable? Wouldn't this just make them even angrier? We seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't smell any human settlements anywhere near us.

"Kitty!"

"R-Right!"

I leaned against the Snivy as I tried to mimic the agile movements of her arms with my paws, making twin ivies begin to climb around one of the machine's big wheels. Then one of the creeper plants tore down, bringing the other one with it. Was that my vine? Was that my fault?

"Slow down a notch, kitty," the Snivy said in a disgruntled voice, which wasn't too different from her normal voice. "If you make them grow that fast they will be too fragile. Let's try again, this time more slowly."

O-Okay. I nodded to her although she wasn't even looking at me, and tried once more to mimic her motions, focusing on the growth of the distant plant. Ugh, I had always been more of a physical attacker myself. Ranged moves weren't my forte. It was going well, but then my vine suddenly fell down again.

The Snivy gave a short grunt and then mumbled something. "Not used to teamwork, are you? If you go that slow, the vine will get too thick and will fall under its own weight. Work with me here, kitty. Once more from the top."

Third time's the charm! I had heard that human expression a lot of times, but I never understood it. Why would that be the case? But I trusted human wisdom and… No, it turns out human wisdom was wrong. Third time was distinctly not the charm as I failed again.

With an exasperated sigh the Snivy shoved me lightly, a scowl on her face. "Ugh, never mind. Let me do this myself, kitty. It will be faster."

H-How rude! Well, it's not like your stupid plan was gonna work anyway! It's not like I wanted to help! Have it your way, you dumb reptile! Let's see you grow a thick and sturdy vine all on your own!

I watched in amazement as she grew two thick and sturdy vines all on her own, one after the other, each wrapped around each of the machine's back wheels. It took her a few minutes, but she actually managed to do it. B-But I wasn't impressed or anything! She was just in a better spot to grow the vines, is all! I could have easily done it myself too if I were in her spot, and much faster I bet! Dumb haughty snake, flashing me a mellow smile as if trying not to make me feel bad about it.

It seemed the Hypno was done scolding the Fennekin, who was leaning her head against the Totodile as he gently massaged her head to comfort her. Very well. Now we just waited.

After long Sunglasses dropped his cylinder to the ground, which kept slowly burning. Ugh, that was one of the worst smells ever. "Let's get back to business," he said, then he and his partner placed our cage back into the machine. But before they got around to closing the doors, the taller man knelt down near one of the wheels and pushed up his dark-tinted glasses. Oh, I didn't like that look in his eyes as he turned to us. "Who of you grass fuckers did this?"

The other man tapped at his back, indolent. "Chill."

"I'm not a fucking ice-type!" He tried to pull at the vines, but they were tightly coiled around the wheel. "It's stuck. Screw this. You're up," he said as he stood up, pointing a finger at the Hypno. "Do your magic bullshit to free the truck. It won't move like this."

The Hypno shrugged and stepped forth as the humans retreated, bending his back a little to look at the wheels more closely, his eyes half-closed in dejected boredom. It took him a good minute, but the mystifying motions of his fingers slowly unraveled one of the vines at a distance until the wheel was bound no more. He then turned to the other one, his gaze characterized by tedium and a hint of annoyance… and then his eyes opened wide as he took a few quick steps backward, nearly tripping and falling in the process. Before either of the humans could ask what was the matter, the sudden scent of scorched earth forewarned me of the massive wall of flame that soon appeared before our eyes, separating us from them. They screamed in surprise, although none of them was hurt.

"H-Hey, chill out," I told the Fennekin.

She stared beyond the curtain of red, her ears twitching, a big dumb smile on her face. "That wasn't me."

No. Of course not. A Fennekin couldn't possibly summon up such a tall veil of fire in such a short time. Not a Fennekin. With the scent of cinder and ash assaulting my nose I had failed to notice a distant mammalian scent. The scent of a female, an older one. Suddenly, it all clicked. Moments before, when the Fennekin had released her fire, that was not targeted at the human. But it wasn't meant as a mere distraction either. Because, if her fire missed the human, then where would it go to die? The sky. The vast, open sky above. Like a firework, her goal was not to scare or distract, but to inform our would-be rescuers about our location with a luminous blaze in the open blue. I was kind of surprised that the humans and the Hypno had failed to notice it, but then so did I. We had all turned our attention to the fox instead, looking down to her and not to the sky.

The Snivy hadn't trapped the machine just because. She was making time for her to arrive.

Now what was the Delphox's name again? Adelaide? I had seen her back at the lab. The sight of the old vixen made Beanie cry out. "Fuck, don't tell me that's the professor's Delphox. I've heard horror stories about her."

Sunglasses looked behind him, to one of the wheels still wrapped up in verdant ivy. "Not like we can flee." He looked around the Delphox to check for anyone else, and a smirk came to his face. "She's alone? That's not that bad, then. She looks frail and old, too. She is way past her prime. Hypno!"

Beanie began to tug at his partner's clothes. "Dude, you're not thinking of trying to nap this one too, are you?"

"A fully evolved pokémon? No, I'm not deranged! I just want to stop her from following us." Sunglasses made a gesture with his hands to the Hypno. "Hit that bitch with a Hypnosis!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The Hypno held his pendulum in his right, but didn't swing it. He just glared at the Delphox as she walked towards him in silence, showing no haste. She walked closer. And closer. And closer. The Hypno dropped his pendulum and raised both arms. "Okay, let's take it easy, babe. I know when I'm outmatched. No need to get violent here."

The Delphox stopped, raising an eyebrow as she held her wand against her chest. "Oh?"

He had an awkward chuckle. "I'm a psychic too. I know when I'm outclassed. I don't wanna get beat up and burned for no good reason."

"Smart boy." She swung her wand, and the Hypno's pendulum flew towards her as he tried to reach for it. She grabbed it in her palm. "It would have been a terrible mistake. I was told there was a Hypno involved, so I had put up a Safeguard before coming here. So that would have made me very angry. Good job not making things worse." She extended an arm, pointing her wand at him. "Your arms on your back. Now."

Begrudgingly, the Hypno complied. Sunglasses began to shout. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing? Nobody told you to yield!"

"I did," Adelaide said as she placed the hand that was holding the pendulum on her chest. "Did my voice fail to reach your brain? Do you even have one of those?"

"Do you think I'm scared of you, whore?" Sunglasses began to walk towards her, defiant, rolling up his sleeves and revealing quite a bit of muscle. "Look at these fine guns! I bet I could snap that neck just like I could snap that twig, you senile old bitch!"

"Nobody is questioning that, mister." Adelaide didn't move. She just stared at the approaching man with something resembling indifference as she tapped her wand against her chest. She glanced aside towards the other man. "Are you joining your good friend here?"

Beanie hurriedly placed his hands behind his back much like the Hypno had done. "I-I just needed the money. Barely know the dude. See? I'm obeying."

Adelaide looked at Sunglasses again, the corners of her vulpine maw twitching ever so slightly. "You're surrounded by smart boys. Are you sure you don't want to join their nerd club too? All you have to do is put those buff arms behind your back."

"Oh, you think you're hot shit just because you can summon fire, don't you? Let's see if you're so smug after you see… this!" Sunglasses unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a furry red undershirt adorned in black patterns. "I've got a fireproof vest! Made out of Arcanine fur, bitch! Did you really think I would smuggle a Fennekin without a way to absorb fire? With this, it's as if I had the Flash Fire ability!"

"And surely you brought gloves, boots, and a mask to match, didn't you? Because otherwise that's hardly enough protection."

Sunglasses took his glasses off as he glared at her with a wide smirk. "You are an adult pokémon that lives in civilization! You wouldn't risk harming a human!"

"… Then why even bring the vest in the first place?"

"Shut up!" He kept approaching, his steps heavy. "If you don't leave right now, I will —" His words died in his mouth as his entire body pummeled face-first into the ground as if he had just fainted. Psychic shenanigans, I assumed.

The Delphox crouched by his side, using her wand for support. "It would be so easy to crush your bones right now. Do you even think I would get into trouble? You are a criminal, lad. You are abducting pokémon. Nobody would judge me for it." She rested her cheek on her hand as she lowered her head and let her ears fall low, trying to appear nonthreatening. "Oh, officer! He started to get violent, and I was so scared for the kids that I lost control of my powers for but a second!" She dropped her facade, smiling widely. "They would totally eat that up."

The man, much larger than her, looked up to her with wide, panicky eyes. "You're a psychic." Incapable of moving, he twisted his neck to look at the other man and the Hypno. "Did none of you fuckers think to warn me she was a psychic? I thought she was pure fire!" He spat on the ground. For some reason. Even though his face was against the ground. "Fuck everything."

The next few moments passed so quick that my memories are a haze. Adelaide released us with a controlled burst of flame. The bars on the cage were made of an alloy that could resist a Fennekin's fire, but no man-made material could resist a fully evolved pokémon's fire. She told us that the professor had woken up, and had called the lab and the police after confirming that Jarque and Sen were safe, thank goodness. Police should be on the way, but Adelaide had decided to initiate the chase while they got ready.

The police took in the two men and the Hypno, then they invited us into one of their big moving machines and brought us all the way back to the lab, which was a bit of a long trip. I was a bit wary of all the unknown faces, but Adelaide was around and the other guys seemed to trust the Delphox, so I figured it should be fine, although I never dropped my guard until we reached the lab.

Everyone hugged me. Jarque. Bera. Mallet. Even Mom, and she usually wasn't too effusive. Jarque was super apologetic about what had happened, which I hated because I was the one to blame — as his pokémon, it was my duty to protect him.

Under recommendation from the professor we paid the pokémon center another visit for a quick checkup, although this time Adelaide and even Mom came along to ensure no shenanigans. No one was hurt, thank goodness, although most of them were understandably affected. N-Not me, of course. And I totally didn't cry when Jarque caught me in his arms and pushed me against his chest. His shirt got a little wet because it was chilly is all.

And at last, everything was in order.

"Upstairs is the research floor," the middle-aged man in the lab coat said as we followed after him, climbing a spiral staircase. "The lower floor is for living and courtesy visits. This second floor is where I do anything actually resembling work."

This floor was full of machines, everywhere, like a jungle of metal and wires. I could get a good view because Jarque was holding me tightly against his chest, much like Bera had Mallet in her arms too. But unlike them, Jarque rarely carried me around now that I was older, as I often preferred to walk. B-But if he wanted to hold me against his warm arms because he was still a bit scared or something, I would have to begrudgingly accept, you know? Like, I would totally understand if he still felt very tense and restless and wanted to feel my warmth to feel at ease. I even nuzzled against his arms. Uh, to make him feel good. Sen was also with us, although she was not carrying Oaknut. The little Oshawott was walking by her side, nearly hugging her leg, though.

I rubbed my nose against Jarque's arms, finding his familiar smell comforting, and I smiled. He was my trainer now. Since the police had gotten involved, the professor had called in a few favors and had done some kind of magic known as 'paperwork' to make it so that Jarque would now officially be my trainer, just as Bera would be Mallet's. We were previously considered to be Mom's pokémon because the twins were too young to be trainers. But no more! Which made me officially Jarque's first pokémon!

"…so you will get some monthly sponsorship stipends from the lab and the League, but it is a trifle, and you will be expected to participate in battles in order to make any real money. Gyms pay really well, so there's that." Professor Lovelace was talking about some things I didn't quite get. Human stuff.

I looked up. Jarque was a human, but he didn't seem to be paying all that much attention to his words either, as if deep in thought. After reaching the second floor, while the professor and the Delphox went to fetch some papers, Jarque turned to Mom. "So who were those crooks?"

Mom stared at him for a few seconds before answering, as if pondering whether to say anything at all. "Hired goons, so the police said. The kind that steals pokémon and sells them for money. They won't fess up about who hired them, quite predictably. You could get mind-reading pokémon involved, but you have to jump through an inordinate amount of hoops and loops to get that kind of warrant approved." She turned her attention towards the man in the coat, that was approaching with an absurd amount of papers in his arms. "Let the police and the League deal with this. You kids focus on your journey. It is very rare for poachers to act this openly anyway."

I didn't want to think too much about the kidnapping attempt. I wanted that to just become a bad memory, soon to be overwritten by the many happy and fun memories I would make in my adventure with Jarque.

Professor Lovelace passed some papers to his Delphox assistant, barely looking at us as he spoke. "Now, the reason why you are all here. Remember the scores you got when you passed the exams to get your trainer licenses? We are going to use those to determine in which order you get to pick your starters. Sen got the highest score by a wide margin, so she gets to pick first. The twins got nearly the same grade, but Bera scored very slightly higher so she gets the second pick. And, Jarque, I'm afraid you're going to have to settle for whatever pokémon is left at the end. Still, all three of them are great pokémon with a lot of potential, and I know they will strive to the upmost, always. All of them are dying to join the team of a promising rising star — you have no idea how excited they were about this day to come. So there truly are no bad choices here. Serve them well, and they will serve you well."

Sen was quick to kneel down to give the three pokémon a better look. "A Snivy, a Fennekin and a Totodile. They are all certainly excellent choices." The Totodile puffed out his chest to appear tougher as he smiled, while the Fennekin lowered her head and let her ears fall down, suddenly growing self-conscious. The Snivy did nothing, just stood there grinning smugly, as if that was all she needed to do to get picked. "Oaknut is already a water-type, so I'm afraid I won't be picking the Totodile. As for the other two…" She fired a brief glance at the Fennekin, then her attention focused on the snake. "…a Snivy, uh?" She stood up, turning to the professor. "Excuse me, sir, do we know the Snivy's ability? Could it by chance happen to be Contrary?"

The professor scratched his stubbly chin, looking down to the Snivy, then back to Sen. "I see why you got such a high score at the trainer exam. Yes, Rose has Contrary as her ability."

In the short time I had known her, this Sen girl rarely emoted and often kept a serious expression on her face, but a faint smile suddenly came to her lips. "Contrary is an exceptional ability, and it truly shines in double battles. It is really tempting to take the fire-type since fire pokémon are rather rare, but I think I'm partial to the snake after all. What was her name again, professor?"

"Rose."

"Rose," Sen repeated. She knelt down again, this time closer to the Snivy. There was the subtlest of grins on her otherwise neutral face. "Do you want to come with me, Rose?" The Snivy looked up to her mimicking her expression, her leafed tail wagging slowly from side to side. "But I'll warn you: I aim to win. I will help you become your strongest self, the mightiest Serperior to have ever graced these lands, but in exchange I need you to apply yourself one hundred percent. Do we have ourselves an agreement, Ms. Rose?"

The Snivy stared at her with blank eyes for a moment, then chuckled. "Hah, what a bitch, uh? How can a human be so full of themselves?" Rose crossed her arms and stretched out her neck before turning to Oaknut. "Hey, Oaky. Does she mean it? I'm not here to screw around. I'm not settling for anything less than absolute glory. I want my name plastered across all history books."

Oaknut glared at her in silence for a moment, up and down, as if gauging her potential. Then he closed his eyes and nodded to himself, as if swayed. "Join us, and we will lay the world down at your feet."

"How charming." Rose again raised her head to look at Sen, this time walking to her. "If you think you can tame me, princess, I'm all yours." She extended one of her tiny arms up to make her intentions obvious, as her words were understood only by us pokémon. "We do have ourselves an agreement, Ms. Sen."

Sen, displaying an actual bona fide smile, brought her hand to Rose's and shook it with her index and her thumb. "Pleased to have you in the team, Rose."

"I'm sure you are."

I watched the curious scene take place before my eyes with middle interest. Sen's choice didn't matter much to me in the grand scheme of things, specially if she picked the grass-type, which Jarque was never going to pick anyway. Or was there perhaps a part of me that was worried Jarque would actually pick a second grass pokémon to displace me? No, that's just nonsense. Besides, now the Snivy was taken out of the selection anyway. Bah, I might not even see her ever again. Like, what would be the chances?

This, however, meant that all choices were now set in stone. "My turn now?" Bera asked, getting a nod from the professor. She knelt down, let Mallet on the floor and looked at the two pokémon left, but there wasn't any real choice to be made. She began to scratch the Fennekin's droopy ears, who was still staring down. "I'm sure you would make a great addition to any team, love. But I already got a fire-type, and he's a jealous one!" She looked down to my Litten half-brother, who answered by sticking out his tongue. Bera then addressed the Totodile. "I might need a water-type around to keep him in check. So do you feel up to the task, uh…?" Not standing up, Bera looked up to the professor. "What was his name again? Glass?"

"Glass," the professor confirmed.

She began to caress the back of the Totodile's head. "It's a cute name." She glanced sideways at Sen, who was already picking out a sphere of red and white for the Snivy. "Look, I might not be as great a trainer as others. You're unlucky she's already got a water-type! So I cannot promise you glory or acclaim, but I can promise you that it will be a blast. So how about it, Glass? Does this sound like something up your alley?"

Fidgeting with his tiny arms, Glass glanced at Mallet. "Is this okay with you?"

Mallet shrugged, genuinely seeming unconcerned. "The more the merrier, jaws. I dig those red spike things on your back."

"Thanks?" After staring at the Litten for a second, possibly pondering whether he was joking or not, Glass walked up to Bera and gave her a firm, strong nod. He said nothing, as she wouldn't understand him anyway.

"Oh, that's a yes!" Bera said before pulling the Totodile into a tight embrace against her chest. Bera had never been on the strong side, but her bear hugs were a force to be reckoned with. That poor crocodile better get used to that! "You're gonna love it here, Glass!" The Totodile closed one eye as he was crushed against her body, while Mallet watched and chuckled softly.

Which left only…

As if on cue, Jarque knelt down in front of the only pokémon that still remained partnerless. After a short pause I realized I was supposed to hop off his arms, which I did after a delay, because I'm sure he thought my fur felt amazing and wanted to feel my warmth a little longer.

Jarque covered his mouth as he titled his head to the side. "Darn, I'm going to need a moment here to ponder all these options. This must be that choice paralysis thing." He began to wag his finger around the room. "Well, after extensive research and deep introspection, and after closely analyzing the varied repertoire of options at my disposal, I have decided to single out… this one!" he said as he pointed a finger at the Fennekin, who actually yelped out as if she hadn't expected it.

"Oh, buttercakes! M-Me?" the Fennekin said, her ears springing up. Are you for real. You're literally the only pokémon left to pick. She should have seen this coming the moment Sen picked the Snivy, really, as Bera would obviously not pick a second fire-type.

"Please, don't be too angry at the girls for not choosing you," Jarque continued. "They were too scared of you because you're too powerful for them. That's clearly it. They understood they couldn't possibly control you. Alas, I have no choice myself. I will have to learn to harness your immense power somehow. Wish me luck."

A small, soft giggle escaped the vixen. Oh, trying to play cute now, aren't you. It occurred to me that perhaps she would feel bad about being the last pokémon to be picked, as if she was less powerful than the rest, a less attractive choice of a pokémon partner. If that was the case, then perhaps Jarque was only trying to pull her up. Although, noble effort as it was, I wasn't entirely sure it was working. Be it as it may, the Fennekin had been chosen last.

Jarque's caring hand came to her head, ruffling her fur and forcing her to close one eye. I was not jealous. That was simply not a thing. "Look," Jarque began, "I'm not going to promise you glory or fun. In fact, I'm not going to promise you anything at all. I can't see the future. I can only see the present, so I have no choice but to improvise as I go. All I can do is play the cards life deals me. But I've gotten pretty good at card games these last few years. So. Can you trust our luck, Valentine?" He subtly turned towards the professor. "Her name was Valentine, right?" The older man nodded. "Oh, thank goodness. Imagine how silly I would look if I had gotten her name wrong after spitting out that spiel."

Keeping her head down, the Fennekin gazed up to the Delphox as if asking for her opinion. Uh, I wondered if they belonged to the same species. They had different scents, so I figured they weren't family at least. Whatever, the older fox just had to say yes. But instead, the Delphox began to stare Jarque up and down as if gauging him, taking far too long to come up to a conclusion. Oh, how dare she? It should immediately jump out to you that Jarque is the best trainer in the world! After long, she closed her eyes with a shrug and gave the younger Fennekin a faint nod. Okay. That's better. Kind of. I would have appreciated a little extra effusiveness.

Far from convinced, the Fennekin next turned to me. To me. Uh? Wait, why was she looking at me for? Oh, now hold on. She was going to join Jarque's team. She was going to join my team. Jarque and I would not be alone. It would be us, plus her. I… knew this would happen, but perhaps I had not stopped to really consider the ramifications of this decision. I honestly would have preferred that the second pokémon to join Jarque was an ugly one. Not something this cuddlable, this fluffy. The Totodile would have been good, although he was kind of endearing for a reptile. Or the Snivy, although she was pretty for a snake, and also a grass-type and I wouldn't appreciate the competition. Why were there so many reptiles anyway.

Technically, a pokémon could refuse to partner up with a human. This Fennekin could reject Jarque, and then they would arrange a new appointment for him to pick a different starter, and the Fennekin would also partner up with a different human. It couldn't be too difficult to convince her to stay back. But I didn't want to make us waste that kind of time while Bera and Mallet stole a march on us.

I forced a smile. "S-Sure. Come with us."

The Fennekin had to know my smile was forced. She simply had to know. But still she looked up to Jarque and, after a short awkward pause, walked up to him and stared into his eyes with determination. "I will not disappoint you. I promise."

Jarque pet her head again, and her tail began to slowly wag. "I'm glad to have you in the team too!" As I stared at them, as my trainer massaged the back of her fluffy head and her cute ears, a wide grin on his face, a shy smile on hers, I…

I glanced away. I was not affected. I was not affected in the slightest. I had known Jarque for eight years. That fox had known him for eight minutes. I-I had no reason to be jealous at all, and so I was not jealous because I was an incredibly rational and sensible Sprigatito like that. So soon as Jarque was done petting her, before he would stand up, I quickly dashed under his hand and, uh, accidentally brushed my head against his palm. Which he interpreted as me wanting to get headpats too, even though it was totally an accident! And so he began to massage my head and scratch my ears in that way that only he knew how to do. Uh, what a silly misunderstanding! But if he wanted to pet me so bad, I would just have to oblige. After all, I am his first pokémon and will always be, no matter how many cute foxes with silky fur come into our life.

Professor Lovelace was writing something into some papers. "So Sen partners up with the Snivy Rose, Bera partners up with the Totodile Glass, and Jarque partners up with the Fennekin Valentine. All correct? You're still in time to change your minds before I sign this bad boy."

I looked around the room. Rose was playing with her own sphere of red and white in her tiny arms as Sen observed with middle amusement, while Oaknut glared at her shenanigans as if regretting his decision. Mallet and Glass were sitting as they told each other about themselves as Bera sat by their side and watched with interest even if she couldn't understand a word. And Jarque was rummaging through his bag as Valentine, and now me, stared at him with a focused gaze. None of the trainers seemed to have a problem with their new pokémon, nor the pokémon with their new trainers. Although among the old pokémon, only Mallet seemed to get along with the newcomer.

I heard Mom sigh behind me. "She picks the male and he picks the female. Again. And those evolve into bipeds. Again." Her voice came as a whisper. He turned to the professor, looking as if she wanted to get done with this already. "None of them seem to be regretting their decision, Will."

The man nodded. "Good. I just need to note down some more boring managerial stuff and we'll be done. You guys might want to say goodbye to each other now."

As if on cue, the Totodile stood up and excused himself as he walked away from Mallet and Bera, calling Valentine's and then Rose's name. The Fennekin stared at Jarque, then at me, and when she noticed my gaze on hers she yelped and ran towards the Totodile. The Snivy also made her way towards them, walking slowly, too slowly, almost as if on purpose, almost as if she didn't want to say goodbye.

It was easy to predict that Glass would speak first. "Rose. You have been… a bit difficult to work with at times, but that's just what makes you you, and I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun otherwise." The Snivy stuck out her tongue at him, and the tiny crocodile just chuckled. "Valentine. It will all go well. This trainer already has a pokémon and they seem to get along well, so I'm sure he is someone you can rely on." He took a step back to look at both females at once. "We might not see each other in a long time. So regardless of what happens, it's been a pleasure living and training with you two."

"I will miss you too!" Valentine said. Oh my god, she was getting teary-eyed. "And you too, Rose!"

The Snivy smirked, keeping her hands behind her neck, not looking at them. "What's with the melodrama, guys? Our trainers will probably meet at some point or another. Baraja isn't that big. We'll see each other again."

Glass placed a hand on the Snivy's shoulder, making her turn to him. "You know you might be the one to go the longest without seeing either of us, right? My trainer and Valentine's trainer are siblings, so I imagine we won't split up just yet until we challenge the first gym, and then will probably meet often in the future. But months, maybe years could pass before your trainer chances into either of ours."

"T-That's fine," the Snivy said, turning around again to hide her face from them. "That only means next time we meet I'll be a suave Servine, perhaps a royal Serperior. You won't believe your eyes." She added a dramatic pause. "But if you're saying all that because you will miss me and want a hug, you can just ask."

"I will miss you and I want a hug."

"Me too!" the Fennekin added.

The Snivy grinned. "That's two against one, so I don't have a choice here." And so the three of them went for a big group hug, which was kind of awkward as the Snivy was using her vines and the Fennekin could only nuzzle against their chests as she lacked arms. But at least they all smiled brightly.

My, how cheesy. I felt my tail swishing behind me as I watched them. If they had known each other for years and had grown together in this lab, then was this the equivalent of me and Mallet splitting up? Although me and Mallet would have to split up, eventually. Hmm. Perhaps it wasn't that bad that they had a moment like this. Still cheesy, though.

Once they seemed to calm down — the Fennekin actually cried a little — and returned to their new trainers, the professor and the Delphox called our attention.

"So…" The professor looked at each of us, his gaze a bit lost, as if figuring out what to say on the go. "All the paperwork is done now. Trainers, these are now officially your pokémon, and, guys, these are now officially your trainers. And I think I'm supposed to give you like a pep talk here, so…" He looked around the room, at the many machines populating it. Oh, how they clinked and clanked. "Well…" He looked around some more.

"I told you to prepare a speech," the Delphox whispered to him.

"I know you did," he replied in an annoyed tone, also in a whisper. "Look, uh… What are guys planning to do after this? What will be your first step in your journey?"

The three young humans looked at each other for a moment before Sen volunteered to answer. "I don't know about them, but now that I have two pokémon in my team I was thinking of traveling north to Pike Port to challenge the gym there and try to earn my first badge." Jarque and Bera nodded to this.

"I see." The professor looked down to the papers in his hands as if pretending to read them for a moment. "Well, here's the thing: badges don't freaking matter. Not one bit." He pointed a finger at Mom. "Euchre, how many badges did you get at the time? Was it four?" Mom nodded. "She got only half of the badges, and yet she landed a job as a gym referee. As for me…" He glanced aside to Adelaide as the Delphox pretty much leaned against him. "How many badges did we score when we were young, Ada? Around six or seven?"

"Two, Will."

"That's within the same order of magnitude. Good enough." Professor Lovelace grabbed the collar of his lab coat and pulled it up. "And here I am. Head of the most important research institution in all of Baraja, with ties to the Pokémon freaking League. With only two badges. God, were we terrible at battling." He put a hand against his neck as he stretched it. "So badges are some bullshit is what I'm saying."

There was an awkward silence as everyone stared at the professor waiting for him to speak further, until Adelaide interjected. "What the professor means to say is that, at the end of the day, badges are but shiny trinkets. Having a greater number of badges does not necessarily make you the better trainer. It is the experiences behind those badges that hold any value at all."

"That! I have seen too many promising trainers and pokémon become so obsessed with obtaining badges that they lose sight of why they even wanted to embark on this adventure in the first place. Like, how old are you kids again?"

"Twelve," Bera answered, placing a hand on Jarque's shoulder. Sen pointed to herself and nodded, indicating her age to be the same.

"Right, you just got your trainer licenses and all." The professor stared at them in silence for a moment as he covered his mouth, his eyes hazy with something resembling melancholy. "It is an age-old tradition that upon reaching maturity, kids like you — sorry, young women and young men like you go out into the world to explore, hone your skills, expand your horizons, and just do stupid shit as young women and young men are wont to do. The company of pokémon will help you mature faster, and they will keep you safe as they help you navigate through challenges and new experiences, letting you reach new heights. You will, in turn, do the same for them."

"There is no need to be nervous," Adelaide said, looking down to us pokémon as she was the only tall pokémon present. "Our kind naturally gets along with humans and compliments them, and their technology and structured society presents us with an opportunity to grow and experiment in a safe setting that we would never find in the wild. Don't be afraid to commit mistakes. Your goal is to grow, learn and become stronger, with your trainers as your both your teachers and students, both your guardians and protegees. Teach, and allow yourself to be taught. Protect them with claw and fang, and they shall protect you with wisdom and technology."

The professor continued. "Embarking on this journey will test many of your skills. Strength. Endurance. Strategy. Planning. Adaptability. All important. But the most essential of all will be your ability to rely on one another for support and understanding. Because out there, no one will give a shit about you, so you will have no one but each other to depend on. Your capacity to strengthen and nurture that bond will alone determine your success, measured not in number of shiny baubles earned, but in number of lifelong companions made." He sighed, looking aside as he pressed a fist against his cheek. "God, that was cheesy even for me."

"It was not!" Adelaide took her turn to speak again. "Communicate effectively, the language barrier be damned, and learn and understand each other's strengths and weaknesses to overcome every challenge — in and out of battle. A proper journey takes years to complete, nearly a decade if you don't abandon halfway through. You will grow together. You will experiment disconcerting changes together. This will be more evident in our kind due to evolution, of course, but human puberty and self-reflection will also do a number on your trainers. Just remember that no matter how many spikes you grow or how many legs you lose, at the core, you will always be you. Build a bond based on a foundation of trust, support and camaraderie, so that no matter how you or your partners change, no matter what discoveries awaken within yourself, you will always have a confidant by your side in whose loyalty you can rely on." She sighed, looking aside as she pressed her palm against her cheek. "See, now I'm the one saying cheesy things."

"I would argue that was rather sweet, Ada." The professor placed a hand on the Delphox's shoulder, clasping it tightly. "Trainers, this is your end goal. This is what you obtain after all the years, after all the effort. Someone who, decades after your journey is over, will still pester you for staying up late at night studying."

"Maaaybe, if you listened to me and organized your time better you wouldn't need to pull all-nighters that often, Will." She flicked his nose and he pinched the tip of her ears. She turned to us. "I hope you guys can do a better job at straightening up your trainers than I did."

"Well, I think that's about enough," professor Lovelace said as he patted the Delphox's ear as if apologizing for his previous behavior. "I think we have held them up for long enough now."

In turn, Adelaide looked at Oaknut, then at Mallet, then at me. Was it my imagination, or did her gaze stay on me for longer? "As for those of you that were already partnered, I can understand that having a new pokémon join your trainer's team can feel… invasive, almost. You might not be used to having to share your human's attention with anyone else. A bit of jealousy and even resentment is expected — you would not be bad pokémon for harboring those feelings. But I give my word that the three pokémon that leave this laboratory today will do everything in their hand to keep your trainers safe, so I ask only that you give them a chance. With time, I hope you will come to realize that those that stand before you are not adversaries to overcome, not antagonists vying for your trainer's attention, but your biggest supporters when it comes to bringing your human success."

Silence fell upon the room as I wondered what everyone else must have been thinking. I just wanted this whole adventure to start already. The professor clapped his hands. "What are you all waiting around here for? You already have your pokémon. You can go now." The trainers began to gather their things, chattering among themselves, ready to leave after thanking the professor and saying their goodbyes. "Have a wild time out there, folks."

Sen left first, as she intended to walk all the way to the northern city that housed the first gym. The rest of us planned to stay together at least until we challenged the first gym, so after saying our goodbyes, Jarque, Bera and Mom left too, along with me and Mallet. Oh, and Glass. Oh, and Valentine…

I looked at the Fennekin. Her fur was flawless and looked fluffy in a way that enticed you in, and she smelled really nice for a non-grass. And it was really adorable how her ears would twitch whenever she heard something that caught her attention. That Delphox was just plain wrong. What stood before me was no friend. It was a dangerous foe that could steal Jarque's love away from me — a thief of affections. But I was not one to back off from a challenge.