Hydroton was still undergoing repairs from the Groudon incident. However, things were largely getting better. Most of the significant damage had been cleaned up. Citizens were going about their daily lives as though nothing had happened. That wasn't a bad thing, per say. After all, sometimes uneventful is better than excitement.

Gardevoir arrived via train. Stepping out into the overcast noon, she looked up into the sky. The sun had been completely blocked out by the clouds. It threatened to rain. Gardevoir sighed to herself. All she needed to do now was to find a teleporter and go home. There was no way she could screw that up.

Shame. All she felt over these past few hours was shame. There must've been hundreds of police, firefighters, doctors and Senshi converging on that city. She could've just let them do their job and focus on fighting Carracosta and the others. However, she failed. Because of her stupid fantasies about being a hero, she abandoned her friends. Because of her unearned pride, she had wasted time and saved no one. Because of her desperate desire to be the good guy,

Infernape and Lopunny were dead.

Gardevoir found a teleporter willing to take her back to Normstall. However, they were booked up for three days. That meant three days where she had to stay here in Hydroton. After getting a hotel room, Gardevoir found herself approaching a bar in the Koraru district. She never drank often but perhaps it would help her forget her mistake. She ordered herself a nice Shalour wine and began to drink.

A bartender approached her as she finished up,

"Hey, un, are you alright?" he asked nervously. Gardevoir looked up and quietly shook her head. She ordered another wine but the bartender didn't move. Annoyed, Gardevoir glared at him,

"Please," she said passive aggressively. The bartender shook his head,

"Look, I'm all for a good time, but you aren't having a good time." He slid a business card over to her with a drink as well. She picked up the card and it read,

"Iyashi Kokoro; Psychologist. Call 65-928-1998 for help." alongside a picture of an Alakazam. Why was that name so familiar? She could swear, she heard that name from somewhere.

"Go schedule an appointment; I can tell you're hurting," he suggested.

Gardevoir groaned as she took a drink. She coughed as her throat burned,

"You don't get it. It's not going to help. I never learn." The bartender recoiled at this. He pushed the card closer to her,

"Take the chance. You're not the only one who feels like that. Sometimes, all you need is a helping hand." he consoled. Gardevoir grinned thankfully at the bartender and took the card. She stood up and bowed,

"Thanks." and walked out of the bar.

She looked at the card before her. There was a hefty load of hesitation within her. She had screwed up severely. Would he even understand what that was like? What if he just told her everything she already knew about herself? Reminding her of what a failure she was. That would crush her. But what other choice did she have? Her mother sounded worried for her. The idea of having to tell Mom and Dad what she did left her paralyzed. With all of that in mind, she reluctantly typed in the number onto her WristOn. She waited patiently for someone to pick up. All the while, she went back and forth on whether or not to go through with this. Someone picked up the number. Gardevoir was stunned into silence. Not sure what to say. The receptionist, seemingly telepathic, told her,

"I know this must be scary for you. It is incredibly brave of you to seek help. You can call back at a later time when you feel more comfortable. Just know that we here are rooting for your recovery." WIth this reassurance, Gardevoir took a single breath and scheduled herself an appointment. Surprisingly, she was able to book one for the next hour. Gardevoir smiled as it appeared that she had some hope. She rose into the air and flew towards her destination.

The building was relatively small, at least compared to the many skyscrapers of Hydroton, only about three stories tall. It still held the black and cyan color scheme of the standard Hydroton building. She walked into the building and met up with the receptionist. Gardevoir was now getting nervous about this meeting. She felt insecure being in here, throwing her mental health into the hands of a complete stranger. However, she couldn't back out now. She committed to this and she was going to see it through to the end.

She entered the office and felt a warm and comforting presence. She sat down on a couch. It felt quite nice and she felt her tensions ease away. However, no one appeared to be here. Looking all over the place, there was no sign of a "Iyashi Kokoro," anywhere. You'd think he'd be here for an appointment.

"I do not blame you for your confusion, Chrona," said a voice from nowhere. Gardevoir looked around for the source of that voice. However, she soon realized that this voice had come from her own head. "My apologies for this telepathic intrusion, but during my preliminary analysis of you, I determined that this would comfort you the most in the long time. I've been told my resting expression is fairly judgemental," said the voice. It was calming, relaxed in its tone but maintained an analytical sound. He sounded like a teacher.

"Analysis?" asked Gardevoir, "When did you get the chance to do that?"

"Whilst you were entering the building. I like to get a fundamental understanding of my patients as they enter. That is how I create a more personalized session," said this voice.

"You must be Iyashi Kokoro, right?"

"Call me Alakazam, but yes," said Alakazam. Gardevoir nodded as she sat back down. So he already knew about the situation by entering her mind. How much did he know?

"I saw the facts and only the facts," he answered. Gardevoir sighed to herself. She was going to have to get used to him listening to her very thoughts. It was then that she thought,

"I'm sorry. If it's not too much trouble, I would prefer it if we talked in person."

"Of course," said Alakazam. He entered the room slowly. He was an older gentleman, somewhere around his forties or fifties. His body was a mixture of yellow and brown. The most stand out about him were the two spoons floating around him. While unusual, these spoons gave the many Alakazam of the world their power, and Iyashi's was the most powerful. As soon as she saw him, she recognized him.

"I knew that name was familiar. You're that psychic from TV. Your abilities are unrivaled throughout the world!" she exclaimed. Alakazam's face blushed at the recognition,

"Oh, you're going to make me blush. Please don't make a big deal out of this. I would prefer to stay out of the limelight," he said. Gardevoir was absolutely star-struck, barely even registering what he had just said.

For some much needed context, Alakazam was a psychic renowned for his incredible psychic powers. Powers that seemed to rival that of Mewtwo from way back from when Blastoise, Venasaur, and Charizard fought him. While he was never one to flex this immense power, from what little he demonstrated, he could read the minds of people from the other side of the world, predict the future, and serve as a spirit medium. All of that and more. However, his fame was short-lived. By his own hand nonetheless. He said in his response that fame was a corrupting tool and he didn't want to forget what he wanted most above all else. To help others.

He sat down on the air. A feat that was common for psychic types but managed to impress Gardevoir regardless. With her worries somewhat eased thanks to such a popular soul, she took a breath and mentally prepared herself for this experience. He asked of her,

"Could you please tell me what happened at the festival? Tell me what was going through your head at the time. Alternatively, could you agree to allow me to look into your mind if that is more comfortable for you?" Gardevoir agreed to the latter and closed her eyes. Mind reading, from what she heard, was less triggering for those with psychological issues.

Alakazam then floated towards Gardevoir and asked her, as per mind reading procedure,

"I will look into your mind to see the events of the Hauntasia attacks from your point of view. I will see your thought processes during the event in an attempt to psychologically assist you.. Do you agree to these terms?"

"I do," said Gardevoir. With her consent, Alakazam shut his eyes to focus.

She had always been the one to read minds so being on the receiving end was…strange. There was no feeling to indicate that she was having her mind read. It gave her some perspective on the concept. How terrifying would it be if people could peer into your mind at will. Thank goodness that there was a significant process to learn how to mind read. She had to study and practice for six years to be allowed to mind read. Test after test, quiz after quiz. She would be lying if there weren't times where she wanted to leave with her metaphorical tail between her legs. However, she didn't give up.

Alakazam came back to the normal world surprisingly fast. Gardevoir should've expected that. He looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

"I've seen all I've needed to see," he said, "and I believe there is more here that needs to be addressed." Gardevoir curled up on her seat. She knew what was coming.

"I'm sorry…If I had just stayed…I'd wouldn't have wasted everyone's time," she said weakly.

"Now why would you say that?" asked Alakazam. Surprised by this response, she looked up at him and exclaimed,

"I ran away from my friends-"

"To save lives," said Alakazam, interrupting her, "Yes, you could argue that leaving was a mistake, but your actions would've saved lives, were there lives to save," he turned away from her as she yelled,

"But I wasn't doing it to save those people! I was trying to live out my stupid dream of being a hero," A cup of tea then floated over to Alakazam. After taking a sip, he looked back at her,

"Firstly, do not shame yourself for dreaming. Dreaming is a part of Pokemon existence. There is no shame in wanting to explore the stars, hope for world peace or becoming one of the illustrious Senshi. I dreamt of being someone who can help people, and here I am today, so no. Your dream of wanting to be a hero is not stupid. Secondly," he took another sip of tea, "Let's say hypothetically there were people trapped under the rubble. You would've arrived and saved their lives. Regardless of whether or not your intentions were selfish, those people would've been saved."

Gardevoir couldn't believe what he was saying. Heroes couldn't possibly be selfish. Heroes risked their lives for others for nothing. Alas, she forgot that Alakazam knew what she thought,

"I must ask you, where did this ideal of pure altruism come from?" he asked. Gardevoir didn't even need to think about it.

"Those Senshi shows from my childhood," she said

"Naturally. For the most part, the Senshi are good people, but does every single one have pure intentions?" he said. Gardevoir opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself. He did have a point in that regard. But that didn't matter. Her actions led to Infernape and Lopunny's death. Her intentions could've been purer than an angels heart but the results of her negligence couldn't be undone.

"The fuck do you mean Lee's gone?!" exclaimed Lopunny from her bed. Aggron had just told her the news and evidently, he was just as lost as she was.

"Yeah, Blastoise's assembling a search crew but we have no idea where he could possibly be. He's anywhere by now," he said. Just then Sceptile walked in,

"I just finished talking to the nurse. We know how he escaped." Aggron and Lopunny looked to him for answers. Answers that Sceptile was quick to answer.

"He was dying. With you, there was a sliver of hope, but with Lee…It was a matter of hours. The nurse, a new hire, was scared. Scared that her first patient would die on her. So…she went and grabbed some experimental new drug called a potion and used it on him. By the looks of it, it worked," he said. Dying. He was mere hours from moving on to the next life. The fear that rushed through Lopunny's heart was indescribable. It was a fear she hadn't for years. She sat up and asked Sceptile,

"What's going to happen to the nurse?"

"She's getting ripped a new asshole by her superiors. I don't think that lil' lady necessarily deserves that. Poor thing spent a half hour thinking she helped a man kill himself but what do I know?," said Sceptile sarcastically.

"What's the plan to find Lee?" asked Aggron. Sceptile shrugged,

"Truth of the matter is we ain't got no plan. He lost contact with his friends and family so if he hasn't told y'all, no one we know can tell us where he is. Our best bet is to file a missing person's report and hope the people can help us. As for y'all, take a rest," with that, Sceptile turned and left.

Lopunny grabbed Aggron by the arm and told him,

"Take me to him?"

"W-What?!" Aggron exclaimed, "You mean Lee?"

"No, Son Goku, of course I mean Lee!" snapped Lopunny. She pulled out her WristOn and showed him the Find My WristOn app. "I have his device saved! I can track him down, now come on!" she explained. Aggron raised his hands,

"Wait, wait, slow down. You should share this with the Senshi. Why do you want to go to him so badly?"

"Because he doesn't need a hero right now, Higane. He needs a friend," she then reached out and grabbed his hand. Lopunny looked into his eyes and pleaded, "Please." For a few moments, Aggron was silent. He sighed,

"Alright. Let's do it."
"Thank you. Now hurry. He's getting farther away by the second," said Lopunny. With that, the two went out on their journey to find Lee and save him from himself.

(A/N)Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la, la, la. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. This year has had it's ups and down but overall, it's been quite positive. By the way, there won't be a chapter on the 29th because I'm going up to visit family. The next chapter will be released on January 6th 2024. No double chapter this time, because I want to spend that weekend with my family instead of worrying about releasing two chapters. Anyway, sincerely thanks for all of the support I've gotten over this year, and have a happy holiday.