Mallet was making such a funny face! My Litten brother kept his head close to the lap of the human girl he was sitting on as she caressed his head to calm his nerves. He really didn't like the box of moving blitzing fast. Said it made him dizzy. Well, I loved this weird human contraption myself! It went so fast! Faster even than a Meowscarada, perhaps! Mom was controlling this bizarre apparatus by turning a round object located at the front. So they told us. There were so many little buttons and switches everywhere… how did humans make head or tails of any of this?

"Don't get used to this," Mom said, keeping her eyes on the wide window at the front of the contraption we were in. "To me driving you around, I mean. I ain't no chauffeur."

Although there was an open seat at the front by Mom's side, both twins were sitting at the back. I guess they didn't want to be apart! Once our journey began they would inevitably split, so perhaps they were dreading that moment. They had always been together since they were kids, much like Mallet and me.

Bera, the girl by our side that was holding Mallet, spoke to Mom, leaning forward a little. "I'm surprised you managed to get some time off after all, Euchre. You're always so busy at the gym that we almost never see you home."

"Vacation leave, kid. Us gym referees are entitled to paid vacation days too." She wiggled one finger while keeping her other hand at the wheel. "I have three weeks off ahead of me, and I'm wasting them driving two orphans around. The whole time management thing isn't my forte, it seems."

"Two orphans, you say," the male twin repeated in a bit of a mocking tone. Jarque! I was sitting on his lap, of course. I felt my tail wagging, and he probably felt it too against his legs too. "We're like your kids, Euchre."

Not looking back, Mom wagged a finger. "You're not like my kids. You are my kids. I have a fancy signed paper that says so and all. We've been living here in Baraja for four years now as a quaint little family. About time you got used to it."

"Okay, Mom," Bera said.

Still not looking back, Mom showed the back of her hand with only her third finger extended upwards. "Told you not to call me that. You'll make me feel old."

Jarque had a short chuckle. "I feel like that might be because you kind of are?"

"See? You two keep giving me that attitude and people will truly believe you are my children."

They bickered for a little longer, but I just sort of tuned it out. Ah, this felt like home. This brought back memories.

Four years. Four years, uh. It was hard to believe it had been that long since we left our old Home, the orphanage, and moved to this region. I had been living all this time along with my brother, the twins, and Mom in a small house at a city that humans knew as Dagger's Dockyard. I didn't like it at first since the city was bathed by the sea and me and water are mortal enemies, but I grew to love its fresh smell.

But really, four years. That was a lot of time. Mallet and I had barely changed, still a Sprigatito and a Litten, just having grown a little taller. Mom didn't look much different than four years ago either, although now she never wore her long black dresses that she and the other nice ladies in black always wore at the old Home. As for Jarque and Bera…

I looked to the girl by my side, then to the boy whose lap I was sitting on. Humans are so weird! It used to be that these two looked almost exactly the same, except for Bera having longer hair, but they looked so different now! It was like looking at two recently evolved Meowstic! And the changes were so drastic, and happened so fast too. They were, what, twelve years old now? I had heard Mom use the word 'puberty' before, which Mallet tells me is the human equivalent of evolution. Jarque had become taller and had gained a bit of muscle, while Bera had grown a bit curvier. They still were similar to each other, what with them being twins and all, but it was very easy to tell them apart now. Not that I ever had any trouble with that! And Mallet says that those differences will become even more pronounced in the years to come. More changes? Humans really are weird!

The conversation of the humans returned to something that piqued my interest. I was much better at understanding their language now, even if I couldn't speak it. Mallet told me that humans in different regions speak different tongues — how crazy is that? — so I was lucky that this region spoke the same old language I was used to.

Anyway, Mom had just used the word trainer, so I figured I should actually pay attention. "…so now that you finally managed to get your trainer permits, don't screw it up, okay? You sometimes hear stories of young rookie trainers that do the most unbearably braindead of things with their pokémon. So no threatening civilians with your pokémon, no poaching in protected areas, and definitely no using psychics or ghosts to spy on bathrooms. I know it's tempting. Been there, done that. Prove you're better than past generations."

Bera giggled, fixing her long hair. "We're not that dumb, Euchre. We finally got our trainer permits after waiting for so long. We're not gonna risk getting them revoked over something stupid like that."

"Thank goodness we got them on our first try too," Jarque said as he started to pet my head. Do go on. "I still find it so nonsensical that you have to be at least twelve to take the exam in this region. And you have to wait at least six months if you fail it, don't you? Seriously, am I glad that we got it right in one try."

Bera nodded by his side. "I heard that less than a third of all people that take the exam pass it on their first attempt. We must be really good, uh?"

"You did study a lot," Euchre said, leaning her head to the side without looking back. Apparently, controlling the box of moving blitzing fast required the human user to stare straight ahead. "Don't let it get to your head, though. You're still rookies. Still got much to learn and all that. That's the entire point of the League's challenge."

The League's challenge. Mallet had explained it to me, and I wasn't sure I understood it well, but it sounded like an adventure where Jarque and I would go around fighting powerful foes. And if my understanding was correct, then this sounded fun indeed.

"So you guys understand the roadmap ahead, right?" Mom asked, getting a unanimous yes from the twins. "Let's run back through it one last time, to make double sure we aren't missing anything. First, we're checking up on Jester's Junction, the big city at the center of Baraja that connects to most other major locations in the region."

"That's the biggest city in Baraja, right?" Bera asked, and Mom gave a silent nod.

"And it's where the lab is," Jarque added, getting another nod from Mom. "That's where Baraja's professor lives."

"Baraja's professor," Euchre repeated in a bit of a derisive tone, chuckling. "Why do people speak like that? As if there was only a single professor in an entire region. Although, yes, he is the reason we're going to Jester's Junction in the first place."

"I still can't believe," Bera said, "that we're allowed to get a new pokémon for free in the lab. It's crazy that they just give out pokémon, and rare ones that."

"They have some deals with the League," Mom said, placing both hands on the wheel for once. "The lab gets funding from the League, and support and resources for research and for conserving pokémon's natural habitats. In exchange, the lab supports and endorses the League by raising and then handing out rare starter pokémon to new trainers participating in the gym challenge. Always with the pokémon's approval, of course. I know they're very strict about that point if anything."

"Still, I already got Mallet, and Jarque has Clover. I thought they only gave their starters away to new trainers with no pokémon partners."

"And you're both technically new trainers with no pokémon partners. By Baraja's law, every non-wild, non-adult pokémon needs a legal guardian, be it human or pokémon. So Clover and Mallet are legally considered to be under my tutelage, my pokémon." Mom fired a brief glance back, at Mallet and me. "But now that you are officially trainers, I can cede custody of them to you. That's something we can do at the lab too. And then you can get your starters from the professor, even though they will technically be your second pokémon. Being partnered to a pokémon already does not bar you from receiving a pokémon from the lab. Every rookie gets one, in the name of fairness. Just the one. So please choose well."

I scrunched my nose as I lowered my head. I liked the idea of Jarque being my trainer. I didn't like the idea of him being the trainer of anyone else. That's the part of this whole ordeal I didn't fancy. Oh, well. I would always be his favorite in any case. I wasn't scared in the slightest that some other cooler or cuter pokémon could replace me. No. That fear didn't figure at all in my mind, nor did it make me dread arriving to our destination or anything.

I felt a slight shiver. The cold, clearly.

"Do we really need two pokémon?" Jarque asked, petting my pelt. Yes! Tell Mom how silly of an idea that is!

Mom had one of those chuckles she had whenever someone asked her age. "God, no. You don't need two. You're gonna need at least three to have a chance at the gyms, at a minimum, and most trainers try to go for six, although that's kind of overkill if you ask me." Another brief glance back, but I would swear this one was aimed specifically at me. "I know those two kitties are strong, but you are aware all competition in Baraja takes the form of double battles, right? You wouldn't even be allowed to participate in gyms with only one pokémon in your teams. So be glad this second pokémon is a freebie. The next one you'll have to catch, so don't get used to being gifted rare pokémon by a shady guy in a lab coat."

Bera had a faint laugh as Mallet nuzzled against her legs. "I thought the professor was your cousin."

"He is. Doesn't make him any less of a shady guy in a lab coat." Mom threw one hand up in the air, keeping the other on the machine's wheel. "He's an okay guy. Bit of a bookworm, bit of a jackass. Runs in the family. Normally the procedure to cede tutelage of a pokémon to a different trainer takes a few days, but he can speed that one up to a few hours. Straight up nepotism. Always have friends in high places." Mom stared back to Mallet and me for longer than usual, since the machine had to move in a straight line for a short while. "I already know the answer, but it's polite to ask and I am civility incarnate. So which of you is partnering with which pokémon?"

With a blank expression, Jarque extended an open palm towards Mallet as he lay on Bera's legs, while at the same time scratching my chin as I rested on his lap. "I don't know. Impossible to figure out."

Mom looked up to a small mirror placed at the ceiling of the moving contraption, sighing as she stared at our reflection. "I know it's a coincidence and you never planned for this, but did each of you have to get attached to the one of the opposite gender? And they both evolve into bipedal forms too…" She shook her head a few times, as if thinking. "Bah, whatever. It's not like it would be a crime. You're smart kids. You'll know not to tell more than necessary."

I was getting a bit lost about what Mom was talking about anymore, although it didn't seem to me like Jarque and Bera had much of an idea either as they shared a confused glance. Oh, no mind. I could see ahead what clearly looked like a large human settlement. We would be arriving at our next destination soon!

Our trip in the box of moving blitzing fast had taken us a little over four hours, according to Mom, but we had finally arrived to Jester's Junction! I had heard them call this place the capital of Baraja, which Mallet tells me is the word humans use for very big and very important cities, and this one looked very big and very important indeed! So many humans! So many pokémon! So many tall buildings! And I had never seen so many boxes of moving blitzing fast in the same place! And there was so much green, and so many parks and gardens and — ugh — ponds. This was easily the most beautiful human settlement I had ever laid my eyes on! Except for the ponds.

After arriving and stopping for a quick meal, we boarded Mom's moving box again and she led us straight to the center of the city where the lab awaited us. Along the way she told us about how Jester's Junction was supposed to be a massive intersection of roads at the center of Baraja that connected to many points of interest all around the region. It was boring, so I kind of tuned it out. That sort of thing was for humans to figure out, I just liked fighting.

And so, we were there! The lab! Mom stopped her machine and told us to step out, which I and Jarque did immediately, although Bera stood behind for a few extra seconds to comfort the still dizzy Litten. I looked up and — whoa! This building was so… not exactly big, actually, compared to others we had seen in the way here, but it was still much bigger than our house or even the orphanage! I didn't know much about human architecture, but it was as if the design of the construction and its squeaky-clean white walls were built to invite you in and make you feel at ease.

Jarque examined our surroundings for a moment — this lab was in the middle of a large ranch with lots of pokémon! — and once Mom caught up to us, dragging Bera behind as she held Mallet in her hands, Mom finally opened the doors of the building wide, not asking anyone for permission, and we all went inside.

Gosh, this place was so clean and smelled so fragrant! The interior of the building consisted of two floors from what I could tell, connected by a long set of small steps distributed along a spiral shape. The first thing that captured my attention were the many pretty plants and flowers sprinkled all over the place. So that's where that nice smell was coming from! The natural flora was contrasted by many incomprehensible human machines found everywhere you looked, some small, some large, all enigmatic. Judging by the reactions of the twins, not even humans like themselves were acquainted with most of the machinery as they stared in awe, although Mom seemed less baffled and more disinterested.

My attention was drawn to a faint cough coming from the center of the room, and it was then that I realized we were not alone. And why would we be? This was someone else's home after all. There, sitting on one of the three couches spread evenly around a round table, I found a singular human resting her elbows on the table, with a small pokémon leaning back on her arm on the table, and another larger pokémon sitting on a different couch with a book in her hands. That was a lot of people, but my understanding was that the professor we were looking for was an older human male, and the only human in sight was a young female.

Mom walked forward as if she were at her own home, dropping on the couch that still remained empty without so much as directing a glance at any of the other people present. "Dear Mesprit, I shouldn't have driven for so long. My legs are killing me." She let out a heavy sigh that reverberated all through the otherwise silent room, then leaned her head slightly to the side towards the larger pokémon. "Where's the good professor, Ada? I was expecting confetti and a big banner welcoming us. Some host he is."

The tall female pokémon, one of vulpine nature, stayed silent for a moment while she turned a page in that thick book she held in her hands. "I'm not his nanny, Euchre," she said without raising her head, or even opening her maw. There was something, uh, bizarre about her voice. Echo-y.

"I mean, you kind of are, let's be honest here." Mom gave out a hearty laugh, which made the tall vixen add a small chuckle of her own.

I tilted my head as I stepped on the soft red carpet beneath the large central table. Had Mom just… responded to a pokémon? I could myself understand the fox because I was a pokémon, but Mom was a human. Now, some pokémon could learn to speak human languages, but I had heard it was an extraordinarily rare thing. I turned around and stretched my neck real high to take a look at the faces of the twins. Their eyes were wide, and Jarque's mouth was half agape in a way that I found funny. As did Mom, as I heard her laugh. "What? This cannot be the first time you guys hear a pokémon speak through telepathy."

Jarque fired a short, quick peek at the offender before glancing away towards Mom. "But it kind of is?" Mom just waved her hand dismissively. So this pokémon was a telepath, uh? Odd. I had judged her for a fire-type, since I could feel the strong heat her body radiated even from here.

Curious, I took a step closer to take a better look at the fox pokémon. It was a Delphox, as I would later be told. She was an older specimen, old enough to be my mom, perhaps old enough to be my grandma, but she still behaved herself with a certain elegance and looked graceful and shapely in spite of her slightly crooked back. Her body was covered in the occasional patch of graying fur, but it was easy to tell she kept good care of her pelt. And, although they were hidden under the yellow fur mantle that draped over her chest, I could tell from her silhouette that she had decently-sized breasts that would be the envy of any young'un. I had heard males really like looking at boobs, for some reason. Specially humans. I turned towards Jarque, who was firing short glances in her direction now and then. I hoped I would one day evolve and develop breasts at least half as big as hers.

The Delphox closed her book and made it move through the air towards a shelf on the back that was full of them, with some more scattered all over the floor. "He left some time ago. He should be returning soon," the Delphox said, again not opening her mouth and instead making use of her mind powers. Now, telepath pokémon weren't unheard of or anything, but she seemed to be addressing all of us at once and there was simply no way that was an easy feat. She looked down to me, flashing me a cordial smile, then looked to the twins. "So those are your kids, Euchre? And yet you don't even have a mate. You should call your old gang, see if they would canonize you."

"Would love to, Ada, but I've lost contact with nearly all of them in these four long years. Pretty sure I'm considered persona non grata back at Holon." With a closed fist, Mom extended a thumb towards the twins, who were standing awkwardly around her. "Anyway, that's them, yes. The girl's Bera, the boy's Jarque. They wanted to turn twelve so bad so they could become trainers, you have no idea. Then, the cute kitty that's standing defensively near Jarque is Clover, and the poor one that's still a bit dizzy from my car is Mallet." She next turned to us, this time pointing with her palm at the Delphox. "And, kids, this overgrown funnelcake here is Adelaide, the professor's starter and aide. She is an old acquaintance from back when I used to be a trainer in this region, back when I was your age."

"Back when Archeops still inhabited the skies," Adelaide said with a smug smirk on her muzzle. Mom did that weird gesture she sometimes did with her third finger pointing up, with a subtle grin. "But for real now, I'm glad to see you're doing well after all this time, Euchre, all things considered. How has secular life been treating you?"

"Can't complain."

"And how is Pallas doing? I don't see the good Corviknight around."

Mom chuckled as she stretched out. "She said that if I'm taking a vacation, she deserves one too. So she's out there, exploring Baraja, doing god knows what. I don't even dare to ask." She looked up to the floor above us, perhaps to confirm it was empty. "But seriously, where's my cousin? Did I get the date wrong? It was today he was supposed to give them their new starter pokémon, wasn't it?"

"Yes, yes. He left a bit over half an hour ago to visit the nearest pokémon center in order to perform a quick check-up on the three starters that he is to give away today. He should be returning briefly, assuming he hasn't gotten lost along the way. Wouldn't put it past him."

"Waiting sounds like a good plan to me. Anything that doesn't require me to walk places, really." Mom then pointed a finger at the other young girl sitting across her, who had remained completely silent so far, to the point where I had actually forgotten about her presence. "So who's the kid? Is good old Will going around adopting kids now too?"

Adelaide had the shortest of giggles. "And have another mouth to feed? Yeah, no. We're assigning partners to three different pokémon today, so we have arranged an appointment with three different trainers: your two twins and — Dear, would you like to introduce yourself to these fine people?"

As soon as she realized she was being talked to, the girl stood up and turned towards the siblings, her shoulder-length blonde hair waving behind her. She was a female human, of Jarque's and Bera's age if I had to guess. She was sort of cute, I guess, but dressed in a very formal fashion and didn't have the friendliest of faces. I didn't get good vibes from her, and it totally wasn't because she was very pretty and Jarque's age or anything. A small blue and white otter pokémon stood on the table near her, so even if she was a rookie trainer it seemed like she already had a partner pokémon much like Jarque and Bera.

"My name is Sen," she began, her voice low but firm. "I hail from the Garden of Gold, and I just recently turned twelve and earned my trainer license. I will be participating in the Pokémon League's gym challenge, but my goal isn't merely to compete, but to prove I am capable of completing it and succeeding the Haymaker as Baraja's new champion." A brief pause, filled only with silence and awkward glances. "I am here today for an appointment with professor Lovelace to receive a rare starter as it is customary. It would be my second pokémon, as I already have a partner." She gave a single pat to the otter on the table. Not too affectionate, but not cold. "My Oshawott has been with me since I was a young child."

This Oshawott creature turned to me, then to Mallet, and nodded his head. "My name is Oaknut. It is a pleasure meeting you, lady, sir."

I raised a paw. "Yo."

Mallet, still in Bera's arms, was too dizzy to speak. Or maybe by this point he was just pretending because he liked being in her arms. Maybe a bit of both.

Still, this Oshawott… I guess his situation was similar to mine with Jarque, or Mallet's with Bera. I couldn't help but draw parallels. I figured he was a water-type so I wasn't too worried, but he held a firm stance that made him look pretty tough for someone that small, I had to admit. No way he was stronger than me, though.

"I'm Jarque," my soon-to-be trainer said, placing a hand on his chest. "And this is Bera. I probably don't need to tell you we're twins." He knelt down to pet me. Yes! I could hear myself purring, but who cares. Pets! "This cutie is Clover, and that Litten that's still pretending to be dizzy is Mallet."

Bera made a low grunting noise. "You don't know if he's pretending," she said, scratching Mallet's ears harder until his tail began to wag. "Still, nice to meet you, Sen."

"Same," the other girl said.

Then an awkward silence followed. Well. What were we to do? Were we just supposed to wait for the professor to return? This Sen girl sat down again, and Bera carefully laid Mallet down on one of the couches besides Mom. Meanwhile, Jarque scanned the shelves full of books with idle curiosity, not picking any in spite of the Delphox telling him he was free to. And so time passed. Some idle words were shared, primarily between Mom and the Delphox, but no professor ever appeared.

Eventually, Mom let out one of her really long sighs that meant she had officially run out of patience. "I haven't been to Jester's Junction in a while, but isn't it like a fifteen-minute walk from here to the pokémon center? What's taking him so long?"

Adelaide hummed a soft tone. "Although Will often takes his sweet time, he would normally already be back by now. Perhaps the center is unusually busy today? I suppose this has happened in the past."

Sen stood up, her Oshawott immediately looking towards her. "Should we go check on the professor?" the girl asked.

Mom gave her a thumbs-up, not moving. "Please do. I need to rest. My legs are killing me."

Bera, who was now sitting by her side with Mallet on her lap, sneered at her. "Euchre, you've walked for like five minutes to get from the car to here."

"And I've been driving for like five hours. You guys do it."

"That's okay," Jarque said, approaching the central table after having spent some time looking around the bookshelves with obvious disinterest. "Anything's better than sitting here doing nothing."

"We're in disagreement." Mom turned to Bera, patting her shoulder. "How about you?"

Bera looked down to the Litten resting on her lap. "Mallet still seems a bit under the water. I should probably stay here to make sure he doesn't get worse," she said as began to scratch right under his chin. By this point Mallet must have recovered, maybe feeling a bit lightheaded at worst. What's worse, by this point Bera had to be perfectly aware of that. But he wanted an excuse to get pampered and she wanted an excuse to pamper him, so here we are.

"You do you," Jarque said before bending his knees just slightly to look down at me. "Are you coming, Clover?"

"Of course I'm coming!" I shouted with great enthusiasm. He didn't understand a word, but the tone of my voice rendered the content of my speech irrelevant. Yes, please, anything but just waiting around.

Sen picked up her Oshawott. "We just have to look for the professor, right?"

Adelaide nodded at her, scratching the graying tuft of white hair on her chest. "It is a straight line to the pokémon center and the path is well signposted, so you cannot possibly get lost." She brought a floating book from the shelf all the way to her hands. "I mean, my trainer can, but that is feat that has taken him years to master. I trust you will be okay."

After saying some see-you-laters, Jarque and I left the building, with Sen and her Oshawott walking close behind.

It was a pretty boring walk. I marched in front of Jarque, as it was the pokémon's duty to protect the trainer. The Oshawott was close-by, looking ahead and not saying a word, his trainer following close behind. I, uh, didn't like how close that human girl was to Jarque. I mean, they were at a human arm's length distance apart, but that was too close for my taste.

"Jarque, was it?" Was she trying to strike up a casual conversation now? My human gave her a weak nod, looking sidelong at her. "So why are you and your sister participating in the League's challenge, if I may ask?"

He flashed her a wide, nonchalant grin. "We'd like the cash. Gym battles pay a fortune."

"Money? That's your reason?"

He turned to her, although they never stopped walking. "You sound almost disappointed."

"No, no. It is a fair reason, and a common one," Sen said, and this time it was her that was looking ahead and not at Jarque. "I'm in this for the thrill of the fight, though. Although I'm not so naive not to understand you need money to live. You need a way to pay all your travel expenses during your journey, and the lab sponsorship will only get you so far, specially if you plan to acquire expensive items or TMs or pokémon."

"At least we don't have to pay for a ceiling," he said with a chuckle, then his face grew a shade paler. "Wait, paying for pokémon? As in paying for pokéballs to catch them? I don't think those are as expensive as those damn TMs."

"No, no. I mean that you can buy pokémon, you know. Rare ones. Strong ones. So I've heard." They both avoided each other's gaze. Thank goodness she was an awkward kid. She was pretty, but I hoped her lack of charisma would make her unattractive in the eyes of males. "Not that that's any fun."

There was a long silence as they kept walking. I noticed that the Oshawott by my side would occasionally shoot glances back to his trainer, but wouldn't say a word.

Jarque stared at her beautiful dress for a moment too long, making me a little antsy. "You come from money, don't you?" he asked.

The question made Sen click her tongue. "What about it?"

"Nothing. Just curious."

The blue dress she wore was very pretty and seemed to be made of the finest textiles, so I figured it must have been on the expensive side. It looked durable, and yet loose-fitting and comfortable to move in. Jarque was probably right that she came from a rich family. I never saw clothing this fancy back at the old Home.

We kept walking in silence. Well, these two certainly made for fun company. Still, the pokémon center couldn't be too far now. Soon enough we reached and entered the building, and the nurse inside told us that the professor had visited some minutes ago and had already left. Had we missed him in our way here?

As we left the building and prepared to make our way back, I noticed a familiar smell not too far off. That smelled like the lab. Could it be the professor? I could assume the man actually lived at the lab, as the place had a very strong scent of an old human male all around it, intermixed with that of the Delphox. It must have been him! Following the scent, I ran through an alleyway that was a bit off the beaten path, the humans chasing after me. Jarque was by this point used to me running off whenever I smelled something interesting. I pursued this scent like it were a criminal, crossing a few alleys until I reached a small clearing behind the city.

I stopped dead in my tracks. We all did. I needed a moment to take in the scene before me, trying to figure out whether we were in danger or not. Maybe I should assume we are, and ask questions later. The Oshawott at least was already on the offensive, having drawn the shell on his body as an impromptu weapon.

There was a middle-aged man lying on the floor face-up with his eyes closed, dressed in a dirty-white coat. Was this the professor guy we were looking for? He looked old enough to be Mom's age, so that was a likely guess. His chest heaved, so at least I could discard the worst possible scenario. I ran closer to him but didn't find any surface wounds, only dirt on his clothes and face. I looked up with a little growl, glaring at the other humans present.

Two men. Younger than Mom, although much older than Jarque or Bera. One of them, the taller one, was wearing dark glasses and had a narrow white and orange cylinder in his hand that he held against his mouth, smoke leaking out of it. The shorter one — although still taller than Jarque — wore an ugly cap that hugged his head. How did humans call those? Beanies? They both dressed in cheap clothing of the likes I would see people wearing around the orphanage. They were standing in front of a large machine with wheels similar to Mom's box of moving blitzing fast, except this one was taller. The two men looked at us with alarm evident in their faces.

Beanie began to shake his partner by his shoulder. "Dude, there's more of them? Wasn't it supposed to be three pokémon we were napping?"

Sunglasses took the cylinder out of his mouth as he looked down to me and Oaknut, not making any sudden movements and barely changing his expression. "That's an Oshawott, no? And what's that fucking green cat thing? Is that a starter too?"

"I think so? I don't remember what it's called, but I'm pretty sure there's a starter that's a grass cat."

The taller man threw out his cylinder to the ground with a chuckle, then stomped his foot on it. "Hey, not gonna complain. More pokémon means more money to be made. Let's grab those too."

"And who are those kids?" Beanie asked, pointing at Jarque and Sen. "Think they're trainers getting their starters today? Is this — like, are we even supposed to take those?"

"Why not? Again, more mulla for us."

I growled at the two grown men, but neither seemed to react with anything resembling fear. Our humans stood still as if paralyzed, unsure of what to do. I couldn't blame them. Sen acted first, approaching and kneeling beside the lying man, placing two fingers against his neck. "What have you done to the professor?" She tried to keep a neutral face, but there was a hint of anxiety in her voice.

"What have we done?" Sunglasses picked a sphere of red and white that he held in his pocket. "Sure, let me show you exactly what we have done."

He hurled the sphere against the floor much like he had done with the smoke-emitting cylinder before, releasing an unknown pokémon of yellow fur with a thick white collar around his neck. He held something like a pendulum in his hand.

"You know what to do," the taller man said. The yellow pokémon began to swing his pendulum with a sinister smirk on his face, and for some reason I couldn't help but stare at the item as it went left and right, left and right, left and right…