Dewott glared as they walked. She hadn't really looked his way at all since she had managed to swipe him, but it never stopped her from timid attempts to win him over, escalating sometimes to outright doting. She had no idea what she was doing, or rather, she had no idea how she wanted to do things. It reminded him of Virgil, and was more of the same; he found it all so infuriating.

Dewott snickered. He already had an idea of why that ditz of a trainer had opted to swipe him anyway. It was always something to do with a trainer's disapproval of his "treatment", and it always ended in a resounding defeat of those trainers by him, Ampharos, or sometimes, Lucario. But this girl hadn't done anything like that at all. She had approached him just as timid as she was now, and he had, foolishly, let his curiosity get the better of him. He would also be remiss if he said he hadn't taken offense to being compared to a Rattata of all things.

Still, Ampharos rubbed off on him more than he cared to admit.

Dewott huffed. He wasn't sure how long it would be before Virgil found him again. More importantly, he couldn't be sure if Virgil as he was now would be able to make it any farther than he already had. At least, not on his own. Jaret would be the one carrying him for the most part, and that would only push Virgil farther from what he had been. Dewott had to get back to that idiot immediately.

But he was there, conveniently en route to Ecruteak City and far ahead of Virgil, Jaret and that possibility of a human, Viola. She was the only one that had an actual head on her shoulders between the three of them, and there was something about that fact that was soothing.

Or, maybe it was just Viola . He had been quick to pick up his trainer's…change, for lack of a better word, and when Dewott had stowed away in the night to go train on his own, he almost squeaked in shock to see Virgil sleeping peacefully for once.

She was slowing to a stop and Dewott followed suit. She had been peeking over her shoulder at him in an attempt to gauge him, and another glare had sent her eyes forward and left her stiff.

She was such a coward.

"U-uhm…So… D-Dewott…" He waited. "Are you…hungry?" Dewott scoffed and she shrank back a little. "O-oh…okay…then, are you tired…? Did you feel like resting—" He growled irritably, and she shrank back even further. "A-Ah!…I'm sorry..!" She slumped, and her eyes went into the dirt.

Was she stupid? She needed to pay attention!

"I…I realize that maybe I shouldn't have taken you," her voice was small. "But…I just…I didn't like what your trainer said to you…I could tell you were a hard worker and he was just…being stupid." She sighed. "I didn't even stop to think about if there was anything that you were really trying to do by staying with your trainer." Her eyes came up to him with a frown. "You look like a fighter. I don't even know what a person like me could do with you…"

Dewott's glare sharpened into disgust. He really had gone from one Virgil to the next. His eyes flicked to the tuft of brown just to the right. It was a small thing that had swished himself into view; not exactly the most intimidating entrance the Pokemon could've made. He had clearly forced a frown to fake toughness and it was something that Dewott found more than frustrating. A paw slipped to his waist. He would show this Eevee toughness, if that was what he was here for.

Steady thumps—footsteps—swayed Dewott otherwise, and his gaze panned over to the other side. The other Pokemon was a hulking thing, at least double his size and tall enough for his peering to be paralyzing to any Pokemon that wasn't as tested as he was.

"I think that'll be enough, you ruffian." The Slowking was solemn. "You don't think this is a way to treat a person showing you nothing but hospitality, do you?" Dewott's paw tightened around his scalchop. A Slowking that spoke human was trouble. A hand came up. "Relax. It wasn't a real question." He clasped his hands behind him and he smiled after a lax breath. "Let me introduce my trainer and myself. Formally, that is. There's a familiar feeling about you, so I can only guess that you may have been at the Rising Moon. I am King, the Slowking." he gestured to his trainer. "And this is my coordinator companion, Seria. I'm sure you know this, but there isn't any harm that we're here to inflict on you. Seria told you herself, and I certainly wouldn't follow a poacher ." The Slowking sucked in a short breath, then gestured to that ball of fur that sat at Seria's side, and watched him curious. "Oh, and that there, is Daniel. Don't mind him, but do be wary. Most Eevee are very curious, but that one is…" King's voice dropped with a quirk of his brow. " Mischievous." Dewott slipped a shell loose. "No need to be violent," King retorted. "That glare of yours is plenty enough."

Dewott spat at that and lunged at him. The Scalchop flashed to life with light and Dewott brought the blade down. Something dug into his arm, and Dewott hissed in fury, and then in pain when the same force tightened, then twisted. A gust of wind washed over Dewott and caught his attention, bringing his eyes back down to King and the faintest flash of pale blue that distilled into the air. King cast an arm out to his side, and Dewott simply followed.

The crash into a tree knocked the wind from his chest, and Dewott landed into the dirt with a heavy thud. For a few seconds, he sat there to catch his breath, and to make sense of what happened, or more specifically, what kind of psychic attack Slowking had used. He had seen other Pokemon take and deal out worse punishments in the realm of psychic techniques. Whichever technique it had been, it was strong enough to throw him off his mark.

"K-King!" Seria rushed to—past— his side, throwing herself between them. "It's okay! He could just be a little defensive! I…probably shouldn't have taken him—"

"But violence isn't a way to repay your goodwill." Dewott had heard enough, and was quickly upright. He set himself into form with a snarl; King's paws returned to his back. "I don't think you're in a position to make demands, ruffian." Dewott snarled again, and King chuckled. "Oh. My apologies, Dewott." Seria went to speak; King held a paw up to silence her. Dewott's paws were at his waist. He barked a third snarl, and was on the move again.

The air whistled in his ears, and Dewott pieced together whispers of Seria's voice. She begged that Slowking for something that he was sure was his defense at best and another admission to her guilt and weakness at worst. That Slowking, "King" as she called him, understood, empathized with her even but stood completely in his decision, a resolve that brought a thinly contained smirk to Dewott's lips when King turned to him, just as calm as he had always been and his eyes flashed like before, but it wouldn't matter: Dewott was strong, and he was fast. He had closed distances greater than three paces before and that wouldn't stop him here.

He stepped into and through the first two steps and into a barrier—a force—like he had thought he would, bringing his focus back to King as he slashed downward and early into his third step toward King. King saw through it and his bluff, and bored down rather than move. Ice heightened in his eyes; King was growing impatient. But that force he'd stepped into, that had twisted and thrown him around was weaker, and it slunk away back toward King and into his crown. Dewott understood, and he was already closer than his first strike. He shifted to bring his shell blade up and after the crown, and it would work. Nothing ever escaped his Aerial Ace.

The light had been faster, much faster and the blast struck into and through his shoulder that left him yowling at lightning that burned through his body and threw him from his feet. He rolled backwards as he hit the ground, and bounded back up. His eyes fell immediately to one of his scalchops that had been knocked loose from him and went to move; pain burnee through his shoulder.

"King!" A paw went up again, and Seria shrank. Then, she begged. " Please… " He turned to her, with an expression not quite stern, but somewhere in between. He cast a glance over his shoulder over to Dewott, then turned to face him completely.

"I need you to understand something, Dewott." Dewott stood as defiant as he could, even if the wound was getting louder. "I have a stern obligation to protect Seria. She is important to me as she is to my beloved…" Dewott frowned. King, as strong and resolute of a leader he was, was still an idiot , and a lovestruck one at that. "As such," King continued. "We're both men of our word. So, I'll make you an offer…" Dewott raised a brow. "A test of your skill! I will give you any amount of bouts you choose, non-excessive of course, to prove your power over mine. If you do that within the rounds of choice, then you can go, or be free to do whatever it is you want to do, without my interference. But…" Dewott's eyes narrowed. "If you fail, then you will obey Seria and everything she asks of you, without question. Is that understood?" Dewott was silent, and King frowned. "Is that understood?" Dewott grinned, and it broke into a smile. This one certainly had gall, and more than that, the strength or speed, whichever, to stop his Aerial Ace he had been working on since he had started battling. The speed of his swipes were never thwarted.

But this Slowking had done just that. No matter how fast he was, Dewott supposed that there would always be someone faster, and always someone to surpass. The thought made him boil with excitement. This test would only make him all the more stronger when he reached his peak. He stifled the pain in his shoulder, stretching out both arms, then placing both paws on his remaining shell-blade. Water sprayed to life.

"Excellent," King said with a nod. "Then, let's get started, shall we?"


The sheer difference in size had worried her at first, and every thought that came in support of that fear was dashed nearly as fast as Swellow moved. Quite frankly, her worry was immaterial, if not un-necessary. Swellow would arc one way, and then the other, dashing from all directions against Charizard. Charizard was far too slow in the air, and Viola was certain that that fact was made all the more worse from any Fortree borne flier. She couldn't help but smile at the prickle of pride in her chest.

Swellow cut by Charizard again, slicing just under the shoulder above Viola, and Charizard nearly crushed her in his claws when he bellowed in rage. She gasped for breath and tight breathlessness clutched her gut.

No air…! Her Swellow was in tune, had sensed and had probably seen the minute twinges of out of place panic gnawing in her expression; he was a Fortree flier after all. He struck forward, at the same shoulder and Charizard tilted to let Swellow cut by. It tossed a quick look over its shoulder, a notion Viola followed to Swellow doubling back around. He lifted into the air and above Charizard. Viola was surprised to see Swellow had escalated so quickly but it made sense even then. Swellow was never one to waste time. Juliet yelled.

"Hang on!"

The sky was spinning the next moment, the lurch in her stomach moving up to her chest as her sight twirled faster. A blur of deep blue flashed over the sun and her skin prickled just as the sky righted itself. Swellow had missed.

Can't… breathe…!

"You okay down there?" Juliet's head peered from over Charizard's back; she ignored her. Viola couldn't afford movement and was surprised that Juliet seemed to understand that in those short seconds of silence. She hurried back onto Charizard's back. The claws slackened, just marginally, and Viola inhaled.

The air was still heavy, mottled with the spotty thickness that was city air. It stuck to the back of her throat, feeling that same adhesive feeling from earlier that had nearly sent her into a fit of sputtering and choked coughs. But, even so, the air was still air. She didn't have enough time to savor it and the claws came back around her hard when Charizard let out another yowl of pain. She had also heard Juliet too. Not quite a yelp, but a snarl.

Swellow was giving them hell, and the small ticks in Charizard's grip, from loose to tight and back again told Viola all she needed to know. Swellow blinked into the sides of her vision, and she managed an inch of a turn and Charizard nearly crushed her again.

She watched him as he blinked into and out of shape. At least, she was certain that's what it looked like to Juliet. Swellow was a Fortree flier, and she was from Fortree. Their ability in the sky was unmatched. Swellow came together, wings tucked at his side and enmeshed in a ball of fire. For a split-second, he was just like the dragons.

Charizard's belly rumbled, and Charizard growled. He was enthralled, angry and amused, all at once. Viola tried to let out a yelp when her stomach dropped, but the rush of air held her breath down and she sputtered. Suddenly, she could breathe again, and was staring into the deep expanse of the sky.

Her stomach lurched again, this time starting to rise to her throat. She realized that she was falling. The panic had swarmed her more powerful than ever. Falling was nothing. She had done that numerous times during her time at Fortree and through her studies on the air currents surrounding the area.

No, what had struck at her was the last bit of the image she had seen, of Swellow being as obstinate and stubborn as ever. She was sure that he must've picked up Brave Bird watching the battle between Dragonite and Sagark from his ball, and sought to replicate it, and he had done so splendidly.

But it was still a crude imitation by a dragon's standards, and Charizard had belted out a savage roar when he charged, a Dragon Claw flashing to life and swatting Swellow into a tailspin into the city below.

She screamed after Swellow in horror, and familiarity, Charizard's crushing grip, formed back at her waist. He made a sharp arc, and they veered back on course from the city. She bit her lip as she stared at the place where Swellow fell. It had been a devastating hit, but he shared the same traits as Virgil's Dewott and Jaret's Pidgeot, and that meant that he wouldn't go down so easily. He would get back up, and all she had to do was wait, even if it was unbearable.

"Viola!" She looked down and found Jaret. She had forgotten that he had managed to slip free from the Charizard. She saw his lips move, but she couldn't quite make out what he had been trying to say. The wind distorted everything, and Swellow being knocked aside so harshly managed to fray her mind just enough for her to hear silence instead of words. She blinked, honing in on Jaret's Pidgeot. It was hurt badly, and for all of its labored breathing, he wasn't going to be able to stay in the air for long.

The Air Slash that came from him had startled her and the sky was spinning again as Charizard spun to avoid it and lashed fire that Pidgeot went by. Pidgeot pressed harder, gaining speed and climbing higher, and closer. Charizard glanced under him with a smirk that burned into her memory.

"Cas," It was Juliet. " Don't." Charizard frowned, then grunted disappointed. "We just gotta get away okay? The faster we get away, the sooner we can explain—" A jolt of pain caught Viola off guard, and she thought she felt one of her ribs creak in agony. She bit down to keep from crying out. The air left her again . Charizard howled fury, and pain, which meant something had hit him.

Swellow's shape darted by her once, then a second time. When he went by a third time, Charizard's grip had become so tight that Viola was sure that he would snap her in two. She had managed to make out Jaret and his Pidgeot too, the two of them also managing somehow to gain speed in the mounting chaos.

They were winning, Viola realized, and Swellow's flight had evolved from blinks between existence into what looked like full on phasing through space. He had reached a speed that was unbelievable, incomprehensible even. Pidgeot moved quickly too, but was still able to be seen, still physical in every sense of the word. If anything, Pidgeot was slower , beyond heavy with his breaths, but he used Swellow's fury to his advantage and closed the distance between them. She made out Jaret's hand dropping to his belt. Another squeeze and yowl ripped the breath from her chest, and something else flashed by her vision as well. Juliet's voice came through after, layered thick with an irate desperation.

"Blast Burn! Get rid of him…!"

It was the first time in a long time that panic had managed to seize her mind. Her heartbeat thrummed in her ears and rattled against her skull, and then snaked down her back, through her spine and to her feet, reminding her painfully that there was nothing that she could do.

Blast Burn…? For a princess, Juliet was decidedly brutal. She wasn't a princess, she was a tyrant. She's going to use Blast Burn…!?

Viola bit back pain as she turned to Jaret just as he flew in closer, close enough to nearly grab her.

"Almost got you! Pidgeot's Tailwind and Swellow work well together, huh?" It wasn't until that moment that Viola had remembered pain and desperation that burned in her chest. She was breathless , and Charizard held her tighter than ever; she wouldn't have been able to warn Jaret if she tried. Charizard's belly rumbled and thundered , pulsing scalding heat through his entire body, and Charizard roared.

The burst was closer to a detonation, and the burst of fire lashed and spiraled outward like a whirlwind. The sheer power of the blast had sent a massive gust of air that had stalled Jaret and his Pidgeot, but the Pokemon was resolute, finding his stride and speed as he spiraled through the wall of fire. Jaret had also surprised her when the two of them retaliated with an Air Slash to disperse and carry the flames right back at Charizard. She would've gasped in surprise if there were any air left in her. Swellow, even injured, was nimble and he had, somehow, outpaced the wall of flame, retreating just enough out of reach for it to wither out weakly before arching back around to retaliate. She was becoming light-head now and she fought against it. If Jaret and Swellow could fight through a Blast Burn, then she would fight through this. They were so close.

Just… a little longer…!

The second burst had been unexpected. It was stronger and faster than before, wiping away Pidgeot's Air Slash and striking Swellow, igniting the Pokemon in flames and sending him into a second tailspin. Even then, Swellow found his strength and pulled himself up to avoid collapsing into a brush. It had dawned on Viola that they were outside of Violet City now, and by extension, safe. But it was a moot point; this battle had escalated far beyond what she feared. Virgil flashed into her mind, wondering strangely, if he was okay. He hadn't joined in on the pursuit and that probably meant that he simply couldn't.

Her vision was blurring now. The lack of air was catching up with her, and she had willed herself to last as long as she had. They had been so close, so very close, but Blast Burn had been the last thing Viola had expected, let alone expecting it to be used so recklessly and differently than it normally was. As far as she knew, she had never heard of Blast Burn being done in the air .

She should have never gotten caught. Or, at the very least, if she had seen it coming in any way, she was sure that Grovyle could have thought of something . He would have been thrilled with such a puzzle. Black closed in on the edges of her sight; she narrowly shook it off, eyes darting around for a nimble and stubborn shade of blue.

She caught sight of Swellow again, wings singed and body smoldering as he strained to maintain his speed to snuff out whatever flames he'd caught; the attack had hit him hard. Swellow's speed hadn't been enough and Charizard's controlled bursts of fire left them all teetering with anxiety. It was too much of a risk to get close. If only she had never gotten caught.

If…only…

Her thoughts were a mess of numbing static and garbled language that was so confusing that she hadn't even been aware when her vision went black.


They fell fast. Pidgeot had taken the full breath of that second blast. It came faster and stronger than the first one. The fire that licked at his arms and face had winced out harmlessly; it reminded him to be grateful for Pidgeot and his Tailwind.

But it had also lapsed by the time the second blast had unexpectedly come by, and activating it had been something he caved to only after Pidgeot's incessant urging, especially after he had caught wind of another bird Pokemon in the fray. That need to prove himself would get him killed if it kept going like this.

Jaret grimaced at the thought, discarding it then tugging at Pidgeot fiercely. The bird's eyes snapped open and they veered upward and back toward Charizard. He looked past the splotches of black that mixed into Pidgeot's coat the best he could, past the singed tips of his wings and burned away feathers on his underside, but the shudder of effort in Pidgeot's frame was impossible to ignore.

" Pidgeot, please…!" The Pokemon kept his eyes honed forward. "You saved me, but we can't keep fighting like this! You're hurt!" Silence. "If we land, I can catch up with Arcanine! Or, I can use Dragonite!" That was a lie; they both knew it. Dragonite would have made the situation even worse . Even outside of Violet City, a second fight between dragons, especially with Viola hanging lifeless in Charizard's claws, was too dangerous. Sunlight glinted in his vision. Something or someone was above him. Jaret glanced up, hand over his eyes to get a better look.

Swellow's kree cut through the air as he circled overhead. The sunlight that beamed behind him had made him into a shadow as he did so, but then was quickly growing brighter. A different light washed over him completely, turning the bird into a body of wisping fire. The shadow folded his wings, turned toward Charizard, and dove.

You've got to be kidding me…!

He brought his eyes down, to Charizard and the woman clutching onto him, shielding her eyes as she looked up. It only took her seconds to realize what Swellow was doing. Another shriek crackled across the sky and Jaret wasn't sure if it were Swellow, or his sheer force that made the sound. She watched Swellow for a half-second longer, then her eyes came to him, and then to his Pidgeot for another. She was looking them over, assessing the damage, and no doubt looking for her way out of this. Jaret clenched his teeth at the thought; he wasn't going to let that happen. He sifted through his mind for an option, any option that would give him some possibility so high in the air. The notion left him when Juliet turned back to him with a ghostly wince of a smile.

Was that guilt?

She raised her hand, snapping her fingers to summon the third and strongest wall of flame, pulsing outward all-consuming and omni-directional. Arrows of fire pronged and exploded as they reached their range limit. The burst alone was enough to douse Swellow's Brave Bird but one of the arrows found their mark, embedded itself deeply into plumage before igniting him in another tailspin of explosion.

Pidgeot went slack, and Jaret cursed. He had been on his last legs before, but that third burst had pushed him to his limit. It sent them into a spiral toward the ground and Jaret swiped at his waist to knock a ball loose. Leavanny flashed to form, and a swipe of her hand had summoned a swirl of wind and leaves that cut Lucario's ball loose and he snapped to form also, landing and taking immediately to Psychic that kept bladed leaves at bay while she brought them down safely. She ran immediately to Pidgeot to look him over, then dove into the nearby brush to forage.

Watching her do so jolted a memory, and Jaret picked through his bag and pulled a small collection of berries loose. He went through them, eyes settling on a gourd-shaped berry. A Sitrus berry could be useful, and he had seen them used in a pinch to give a Pokemon a much-needed boost to clinch out a win, but they were also relatively run-of-the-mill. He looked back to Pidgeot, and nearly jumped when Viola's Swellow landed nearby in a ball of fire. His jaw clenched, and he turned back to his bag, rifling through a touch more hurried, and agonizingly tense.

Chesto.

Figy.

The Berry Master had given him a set of medicinal berries, each one of them able to remedy and cure abnormal conditions. It was basic knowledge, but it was hard to remember them all by name, especially under pressure. There had been moments where cloaks of fire erupted across Pidgeot too, and it wound a tightness in Jaret that hadn't been there since he'd won the Whirl Cup. His fingers flicked over the Pecha and Razz berries before they settled softly over a fruit twisted into a nebulae of color.

The Starf Berry was a rare fruit and hard to grow in Johto, but we're commonplace in Hoenn. The Berry Master— —, denied him when he had asked for it. It wasn't until Jaret told him he battled Virgil for it did he relent and let him take it. In fact, he had insisted after Jaret told him that.

Virgil.

Virgil had been intent on going to Mr. Cheri's cottage, and did live in Cherrygrove. He would know whichberry to use for the strongest effect. He clicked Arcanine's ball loose, and the Pokemon formed, a little winded and a little bruised. Arcanine's eyes glanced down to Pidgeot, and Jaret saw the shock pass over the Pokemon's gaze and turned to face Jaret.

"We're not fighting, Arcanine." Arcanine blinked, surprised. "Pidgeot and Swellow are hurt." His eyes flicked over to Swellow, and Arcanine followed, who winced at an eruption of fire that ate at Swellow. "I need you to go back to town and find VIrgil, okay? He might know something." Arcanine nodded, and darted away with a dutiful bark; the corners of Jaret's mouth twisted slightly as he noted that Arcanine was moving slower than usual.

One immense presence faded, and another was instant in replacement and weighted air gripped Jaret's shoulders just as Leavanny had emerged back from the brush. She had managed a few Oran Berries that had been knocked from her grip as she was thrown to the ground by a powerful gale of wind. Jaret stood tall against it. His hand was back at his waist, trepid. He was down to two partners, Arcanine notwithstanding.

Her Charizard came down hard, but more graceful than Jaret would have given him credit for. He landed softly and Jaret's eyes went down to the girl silent in Charizard's claws, then came up sharply to the other girl, her arm around Charizard's neck tight, but expertly. She unclung herself from the Charizard, and slid down from his back, her hands rummaging through her own bag, and pulled out a set of berries. She gestured to two.

"You know your berries, right?" Jaret glared, and she ignored him. "Right!?"

"I know the basics," he spat. "What the hell was all of that for–" She cut him off as she shoved a shape of scarlet in his face.

"Give this to Pidgeot. It'll lessen the effects of the sparking before it escalates into a full on burn." She turned back to her bag and pulled out a second fruit, shoving it in his face before he could object. He knew this one, the Rawst Berry, and it was the fruit that he had been looking for in his bag. Maybe he wouldn't need Virgil after all.

She shook the fruit in his face, harsher this time and impatient.

"Did you hear me? I said give this one to the Swellow." She winced, "It should calm down the fire bursts but make sure you feed it to him quick. A burn from Blast Burn is way worse than normal." His glare faltered at the sight of Viola, then sharpened when he looked back at Juliet.

So much for a princess, came a thought. He went to Swellow first, jumping back at a pulse of fire when he tried to reach for him the first time. He moved as quick as he could, checking and finding the bird's labored breathing, and then forcing the Pokemon to chew. A second burst flared, biting higher as pain thundered in his arms; he ignored it, then was suddenly tumbling backwards.

"Don't be stupid," Juliet hissed sharply. "They're not the only one's hurt, you know!" Jaret paused, then brought his eyes to his arms, wincing at hot and itching skin that felt stretched too far. He opened his mouth and Virgil's voice came out instead: Arcanine found him.

Good timing…

"What the hell happened? " Jaret blinked and Virgil was already there at his side. "Your arms," his eyes flashed to Pidgeot, and lit up with horror. Jaret had been hoping it would have been anything else. "Pidgeot…!" Jaret was sure he had heard a falter in Virgil's throat. Virgil's eyes went out to Swellow, and then back to him. He spoke, but it had been so low that Jaret strained to hear him, and blanched a little at how much Virgil shrank in that moment. "...Did she beat you…?"

Jaret balked.

"No way-!"

"Pidgeot's going to be fine." Virgil turned to Juliet. "There was a misunderstanding and…" She stumbled. "This happened…" She perked back up. "Pidgeot's already had a Rawst Berry so the burn should stabilize after a little bit. A-and Swellow—"

"What. Did you. Do…!?" The words were thick with rage. "What happened!?" Her Charizard rose with Virgil's voice, flaring his wings in a display of strength, but Juliet's hand went up. Virgil was in arm's reach of her now, his body shaking with fury. Jaret shook his head in confusion. No, he had to be seeing things.

"Look, I didn't mean for this to happen, okay?" Jaret knitted his brow. Juliet's response was small, and even shook a little. "The Jenny in Violet City has a reputation, and I was just trying to help–"

"By snatching up one of my friends and burning the other!?"

"What else could you have done!?"

"We would have figured it out, " Virgil snapped. There was a long silence, and Virgil's eyes darted about Juliet, sizing her up, then came to rest at the body in Charizard's hand. Jaret had almost forgotten: Viola.

"Drop her." It was a command, and Jaret was surprised when Juliet acquiesced. She exhaled a tight breath. There was a slight hitch that she had tried to hide, and had done really well; it would've slipped by him if Virgil hadn't seen through her.

"I…was only trying to help," she choked out. "I-I gave them berries, Occa and Rawst and I was going to…" She stopped, then inhaled, and composure hardened into her face. She cleared her throat. "Never mind. I got you all away from Jenny at least, and I think we're too far enough as is for her to come after you." She turned sharply, back to her Charizard, placing a hand onto him and climbing on his back in seconds. "Guess I'll be going…"

"No," Virgil rebuked her. "We're not done here." He turned to Jaret with a toss of his head.

"Get up." Another command, and Jaret was surprised when he followed without question. Virgil's eyes went about the scene again, taking out a ball and releasing Lucario.

"You have better insight with this," he said, levelling his voice. "Take care of Swellow and Pidgeot. I know you'll know which one needs the most urgent care." Lucario nodded and went to the birds in silence. Virgil's eyes went to her Charizard, and Jaret did too.

He was big, bigger than most Charizard Jaret had seen, and bigger than most on average. But he was also exhausted, and for a moment, as bad as the situation was, maybe it had been a good thing he pressured the Blast Burn out of her.

Virgil's voice was still low when he spoke again.

"Where were you taking her?" Her eyes went to the side, to Jaret by accident, then scattered in the opposite direction.

"Still haven't had enough of chewing me out, huh?" Her lips curved tightly, and Virgil scowled: Charizard rumbled irritably below her. She gave a firm tap against Charizard. "Cas, it's fine…" His nostrils flared, then his shoulders slumped. "I was going to take her to the Valley," she replied curtly.

"The Valley?" Confusion, then understanding. "You were going to take her to the Charicific Valley ?" She bit her lip.

"Well, I was already on my way, and I figured you guys would chase after me! I didn't think…" she trailed. "Forget it. All you need to know was just going to get you guys to the Valley and let her down there…" She looked askance again, and added, "Blast Burn was impulsive, okay?" She flashed her arm to them, revealing an open and bloody slash running along and scanting away just before the crook of her elbow; if Swellow had been just a bit faster…

"How far are we from the Valley," Virgil asked.

"I've…never been there before…"

"And you expected to just be able to get there?"

"I was going to fly, okay? I hear that's the only way you can get to it anyway." Virgil looking over the path, over and through trees of densely packed green. He turned to look back from where they came, and muttered a curse under his breath.

"Jaret," he perked up.

"Yeah?"

"Pidgeot's in really bad shape, isn't he?" Jaret frowned.

"Yeah. He was still hurt from the gym battle, and…Blast Burn did a number on him." The words rekindled urgency. "We can't just sit here and talk about it, we gotta' go! If I remember right, there's a Pokemon Center pitstop around here, right?"

"There is," Virgil confirmed. "The problem is that it's in the complete opposite direction, and so is the Magnet Train…" Jaret cursed.

"You're kidding…" Virgil shook his head, and Jaret's eyes came back down to each of the birds. Virgil's Lucario worked his paws through the plummages, one-part massage, one part Heal Pulse, but between both Pokemon, Lucario was stretched too thin. "We gotta' get them some help somehow!"

"Going back toward the Pokemon Center will take too long, Jaret."

"Yeah, but we can't just do nothing!"

"Then let me make up for this." They both turned to Juliet's stony expression. "I already told you I was only trying to help." Jaret's lip curled.

"And you want us to trust you?"

"I said I was sorry, okay?"

"You're out of your mind if you think sorry is gonna cut it–"

" Jaret," It was another command, and Jaret's strength left him. He turned to Virgil. "We'll have to take her word for it." Jaret blinked. "I don't think the Charicific Valley would be so hard to get to and not have some kind of medical center. If that was her original plan, then she'll at least take us there. Pidgeot and Swellow need immediate attention." A scratchy tingle worked its way into Jaret's body, to his throat and then behind his face before it spread throughout his entire skull. Jaret sat there for a moment. Virgil wasn't intimidating, not by any means. They were equals as far as he was concerned.

Yet…

He would've bowed in before Virgil in that one moment, and resisted that urge enough to acquiesce with a silent nod instead; he looked at Viola. She hadn't been hurt, at least from the outside. He breathed a sigh of relief when he had looked closer and caught the subtle rise and fall of her chest, doing all that he could to ignore whispers of one word: You.


Viola was surprised that her gasp for breath hadn't frozen her over. She went between coughs and voracious inhales. Even if it left her chest burning with ice, the air was clear and brought a certain crispness that gave her strength, and gave her life; it was so nice to breathe again. She ran a hand across her chest, down her stomach and then to her waist. She really was free of Charizard.

Then, she stiffened, hand coming to her waist again as she fumbled at her belt. She was missing a ball, and she knew exactly which one. She unhooked them, flipping through the settings to make them see-through.

Grovyle was asleep, a rare occurrence that left Viola a bit unnerved at the sight. She peered into the other one. The ball crackled with a soft spark of electricity, a small nudge and confirmation that the Pokemon inside was okay, and that they were also happy to see her. Viola smiled back softly, sliding her thumb over the button.

Her Manectric came to life with a long stretch, and a warm smile as she looked at Viola, but then took a look past, about and around Viola. She had a point, Viola realized, and Viola quickly followed suit, taking in the sight of the space around her. It was a bit gloomy and a little cold, and Viola chalked that up to the choice of the stone base. She was in a building of some sort, and nearly every building in Johto had history behind it.

What was she even doing in this building and how had she gotten there, and by herself at that? She couldn't waste any more time. She caught sight of Manectric, who had sniffed her way across the foundation, over to the first set of stairs. Viola was quick to follow.

A hand came up as she stepped up and onto the first floor. Light poured in, bounding from the walls of brass and bathing the entire room in gold. She wandered the first floor in interest, moving from wall to wall, running her fingertips along them. The walls were fitted with intricate details that did a great job at communicating the sanctity of the whole space. How long had it taken to gather so much material, and how long did it take to apply gold plating to all of this? Her eyes went to the front of the room, and she moved closer when an image caught her eye.

Ancient Pokemon had been worked into the plating all across the wall, some of them being so distant Viola wasn't able to tell who descended from what, save from a very few like Rattata; their teeth were unmistakable. Her eyes roved over every detail, coming to a pause at a Pokemon engraving in the corner of the wall. It stood upright and strong. A collar of flames, or possibly ghosts, burned around its neck. There was a single hand pointing outward, against all of the other engravings of the others.

Like banishment.

Viola looked closer. She had never seen anything like it, and when researching before she had come to the region for her project, there hadn't been anything in the library in Rustboro that said anything about a tower of brass, or engravings of Pokemon that hadn't even been postulated yet. It didn't help that the information from Goldenrod sources had been very scant as well. She drew back when Manectric came to her side with a nudge, turning her attention to the next set of stairs, and was seized by another illustration.

It ran up the sides of the entire wall with tower engraving that reached up to the ceiling. The sunlight that slipped in illuminated the engravings, and bathed one of the towers in a silver sheen; the other in gold. Her eyes went up to the corners of the ceiling where she found the likenesses of what she assumed were gods, both inscribed with majesty and fury.

The deity perched above the silver tower had been burned into her mind, like how the tower in the wall that seemed to bathe in flames, or like its eternal glower of an expression. Fire danced about him as if it were the sun.

The other one was, quite simply, a storm god. From the caress of wind that danced about it to intricate funnels of water that wrapped and hugged around it as its shield. She recognized Lugia wherever she saw it. She recognized any Pokemon capable of weather manipulation.

A series of tremors jolted her from the engravings, and she paused for a moment to observe steady aftershocks pulse and thump through the wooden floor. She jolted upward again when Manectric snorted, finding her over by the next set of stairs. "Right," she remembered. "Let's get going."

The heartbeat of the tower quickened as they went up the stairs, and what had started off as a brisk pace heading upwards had eventually slowed to a steady trudge up the spiral of stairs, and that had degraded into a desperate and slow trek. The air had gone cold a little ways back and made her breath into mist; iit made her wonder exactly how high the tower went and how much longer she would have to do this.

She continued up the stairs like that for quite some time, adjusting to the curves upwards into the darkness. The air grew even colder and that meant she was moving higher, and that meant movement, didn't it?

Didn't it?

Viola knelt on a few stairs to huddle herself together, and Manectric nestled herself against her too, utterly frigid to the touch as well. Viola pulled the Pokemon close, wrapping her arms all the way around her and locking her fingers to her underside, even if she had to fumble blindly (and painfully) to do it; there wasn't very much feeling left in them. But it was something that she couldn't focus on. She brought her head to Manectric, wincing at the cold that nipped at her skin, and then stood.

She had to get to wherever these stairs would take her. She looked past the frost that bit into her nose, and ignored the ice that added weight to her lashes. Watching her breath freeze in real-time had made her even colder..

She was cold. So very cold, and exhausted from all of her shivering. But she still moved, now sneezing and flinching as she breathed. The stairwell stretched on in endless dark. Viola stopped. It was cold, freezing even, and there was no telling how much farther she would have to move before she reached her destination or froze to death. She looked to Manectric; the Pokemon shivered violently..

A desperate idea came to mind.

She knelt down, huddling against Manectric as much as she was able, prompting a whimper out of Manectric.

"I-I know…you're w-worried…" Viola bit down, trying to force her chattering teeth to a standstill. "But, I'll n-need an Electric-c Terrain from you…" Manectric drew back as much as she could with wide eyes and a shake of her head. "We need h-heat," Viola pressed. "Just take it easy, and…l-level the current to me. I-if we're careful, we can generate h-heat, and keep…going…" Manectric frowned and huddled into her, defiant. That only steeled Viola's resolve, coming to realize at that moment that she trembled more violently than Manectric did. Her frozen stutter after that drove the epiphany deeper. "P-please, Manectric…" Manectric kept her frown, but stepped down a stair, levelling her mane just under Viola's hand.

She twitched when the electricity tingled into her body before building into a numbing hum. The buildup was quick but never dangerous. Manectric had brought her focus into her hand, the thing that mattered to her right then. The current rippled heat that warmed her well enough to sweat before Manectric pulled it away, just as carefully back into her own body with a powerful flash. Viola shielded her eyes, slowly adjusting as the flash died down into sight. The flash had illuminated the entire space, and had also changed it.

The spiral staircase was gone, and the flash had moved her all the way back to the second floor. She steeled herself, vexed and annoyed to make her way up the stairs in actuality this time, but stopped just beforehand to observe the stairs. They led straight up, directly to the next level; the stairs she had taken the first time through were quick to curve, and had lost light fast. These stairs led to a space awash in sunlight.

For all of her effort, Viola hadn't gone anywhere.

She and Manectric had been occupying that same space, just before the stairs for some time now, stamping in place under the illusion of progress. Cold tickled at her feet, and her eyes shot down, a little panicked to water. It came up too fast for her to question why, swarming and sweeping up Manectric and her both. The water moved them to and fro, eventually pushing them both against the ceiling. She turned to Manectric, who understood, each taking a deep breath before they were pushed under.

The current slowed immediately after and the two of them hung there. Viola searched the room for something, anything that could give them a chance. There had been two red lights—dots—that had slowed her scan to a halt, and followed her wherever she went. Her chest tightened and Viola knew all too well of having no air. She had no plans on doing that again. The points sharpened into a leer that threw Viola on the defensive because points of light could not leer . Something was in the water with them.

Manectric had caught on too and she had already been swimming ardently to defend her, and then swam in nothing, The water shuddered, then spun into itself, swirling into a small orb of water, settling just under those eyes.

They both fell to the ground with a thump and Viola struggled, irritably, again for air. She had vowed to stop getting into these situations. Now the problem was starting that, and the first step was to get out from inside this maze of a tower. The air beckoned her with a cold cut across her arms and Viola's eyes snapped back toward the sphere of water and found the same red eyes that floated above it.

She had found that those eyes were connected to being now, placed as a piece to a body that looked like and was made of water. It took Viola a few chaste seconds and a gale of air to acknowledge the crest at the forehead. Manetric came to her aid, trembling but with a protective snarl and crouched for action. It was hard to tell if it was terror or ice that caused it. But before her, leering at her, stood a force of nature.

"Suicune…" The name escaped her in a strange mix of breath, disbelief and awe. But that had been all the time she had. The water at her feet shifted, tightening a grip around her ankles, tugging lightly at first before becoming stronger.

What was happening? Her eyes flicked around furiously to find something that was real. Instead, she found nothing.

No Virgil.

No Jaret.

No Manectric . She was pulled down deep into the water, through the floor of the tower and into darkness again. She could only come to the conclusion that this all had to be a bad dream.


Her breath splashed into her chest cold and she jolted upright. Her hands immediately came to shield her eyes again as she looked around; the sun was still high. She scanned over the landscape and found nothing. Still no Virgil, and still no Jaret. She had found Manectric though or rather, she had made herself known and jumped to Viola with tears as she rubbed against her in relief. That was good; Manectric was safe.

The thought had led to her unhooking and peering into Grovyle's ball. He was still asleep, and he had been this entire time. That was unlike him. He should have been the first Pokemon out, given all of the anomalies. She went to her belt again, finding that Swellow's ball was also gone. Everything had been so off-putting, so strange that she had never gotten her chance to look over everything.

What was happening?

Manectric bumped against her with a small pulse of static, grabbing her attention.

"It's okay. I'm fine now." Viola inched her way to her feet with Manectric at her side. She scanned over the land a second time, getting a better understanding of exactly where she was. The stench of rot was enough to throw her off completely. It had made her gag, and made her head spin. Manectric moved in close, enough for Viola to grab hold and steady herself before shaking the nausea loose. Manectric turned and Viola moved with her, setting eyes on a cluster of homes in the distance.

A town…? The two of them made their way down.

The village had been no better. It was where the stench was strongest and from home to home, Viola found the worst of it. Her eyes went over the numerous bodies of people, all of them dismembered and all of them lifeless. The stench grew thicker the deeper she walked, bringing her to her knees.

And directly in front of a faceless body.

Viola turned away, and retched.

She wiped away the bile from the corners of her lips. Another whimper from Manectric brought her to, and her throat burned. She came back to the body, and then looked out to the others in disbelief.

This…is all real…?

Manectric nudged her and Viola stood, her mind racing. The burning in her throat was real , and dreams were supposed to be anything but real. Ice nipped at her side. She had heard something in the wind.

Turn.

She did, and saw a sun under the sun in the distance, and a silhouette that was undoubtedly human. They had to go now.

"Manectric!" The Pokemon nodded as she knelt and Viola hoisted herself on her back.

He was the first thing she had seen, and the only thing she had heard. His scream was tortured, bloodcurdling and sad. He was clawing at the dirt still screaming and sloshing his hands through remains that Viola was certain were human. Light glinted in the corner of her eye and she turned.

Light danced and flared around it. He watched the boy plainly, save for the eternal glower written into his face. Just like that engraving on the wall.

Power reverberated in her mind, battering against her skull and left her ears ringing.

"Poor. Fickle. Creature."

Frost licked her face and ripped her eyes away from, and to the red-eyed Suicune sitting at Ho-oh's right. It inhaled.

"Wait! Suicune!" Suicune exhaled and the blizzard swept Viola from her feet. The dawn colors were fading then. They grew brighter and brighter until her vision withered completely. Power pulsed in her mind faintly.

You.


Her inhale burned her lungs this time. The taste of charcoal clung to the inside of her nose and the back of her throat. A fit of coughs racked her body, but her lips curved upwards relieved. Her vision came too and for a long few seconds, she stared at the ceiling and breathed.

"Yo! You're awake!" Viola craned her neck a bit, turning to the sight of Jaret, sitting at her side.

"She just woke up," That was Virgil. "Not so loud." She followed Virgil's voice to the windowsill. He was also there, and just as tightly wound as before. She went to speak but her voice croaked; her throat burned with pain.

"I-I've been better…" Virgil's face twitched, and her brow went up in amusement.

"Well," Jaret started. "It's good to know you're alive," She turned back to Jaret. "You nearly froze to death." Her eyes widened.

"I…did?" Virgil nodded.

"Yeah. If one of us went to see how you were, the air around you would get ridiculously cold." Viola stared at Virgil, dazed a bit at the influx of information, but awe-stricken as she watched him. He seemed so much… stronger , in that moment.

Her eyes went to Jaret, then back to Virgil. "Not even Arcanine could warm you up enough. We thought you were done for." She blinked before speaking, lying her head back down. She simply stared through the window for a moment.

"Then…how did we get here?"

"You're welcome." Viola didn't bother to look; she had memorized Juliet's voice already. Swellow came to Viola's mind and she shot up, but Jaret placed a hand on her shoulder, gently laying her back onto the bed.

"No worries. Swellow's okay. Kinda roughed up, but…he'll pull through."

Viola glared at nothing, but she figured Juliet was intuitive enough.

"What about your Pidgeot?"

"I think your Swellow got it worse," he shot back.

"But Pidgeot wasn't at his best either. His breathing was too harsh for flight and—"

" Anyway ," Virgil cut in. "To answer your question, we're in the Charicific Valley."

"Charific Valley?"

"It's a place where Charizard fight in the wild so that they can improve their skills and get stronger." Her eyes flicked to Juliet, who continued to look past Virgil and out the window over the valley.

"For your Charizard, I'm guessing?"

"You're right," she said, sighing. "I was supposed to get here with you still conscious." Her reply came out a bit sharp. "But if you're not going to say thank you, I can settle for non-accusations." Jaret cleared his throat awkwardly, and Virgil got up from his seat.

"We don't need this." His brow was furrowed in thought or annoyance; probably both. "And you need to rest," he said, turning to her. "We probably all do…" And then he turned to Juliet.. " And you," the edge in his voice dulled. "I got something I wanna talk to you about." Juliet shrugged, her eyes moving between the both of them, lingering on Viola with both an apology and a challenge as she disappeared behind the door and from sight.

Jaret sat down in Virgil's seat.

"You two already seem like you'll get along." Viola said nothing instead, staring at the door. "Viola?"

"Jaret,"

"Hm?"

"...Have you ever felt compelled to bow before someone?" His breath caught.

"That's…a weird question to ask…"

"But have you?" He turned to her and she held his eyes long enough to catch the wince of admission.

"...It's only happened once…"

"With Virgil, right?" His brow furrowed, then his eyes widened with understanding.

"How did you—" He caught himself, taking a deep breath; he was silent after that.

"...Jaret,"

"...Yeah?"

"...Do you remember Violet City? Your dream, I mean…"

"I remember."

"...You said you saw Raikou, right?" Jaret's face tightened.

"Yeah, I did." Viola was quiet. "Did you see him too?" She shook her head.

"I saw a village. And, I saw people…" She trailed, and Jaret waited. "...I saw... Suicune. "

"Did you hear anything?" His tone had been a matter of fact. He was taking the news awfully well. It wouldn't have been surprising if he had been expecting this. She had been theorizing about this possibility with him, after all. She turned to him with a tight smile.

" 'You.' " Jaret gave her a small smile.

"I see..." Viola divulged everything to him then. She talked about the ruined village and all of the deaths. She talked about the strange tower and nearly freezing to death, and she talked about the warrior and his tortured scream that twisted her insides. And little by little, Jaret had found himself forgetting about the Silver Conference.