My heart raced, my body shivered with fear, and I tried hard not to scream as I processed the information I had just received. Lightning's tracking device was supposed to give off a signal that would tell Falkner where he was. And now, that signal was lost. This could only mean one thing: something had happened to Lightning in the Ilex Forest. And it wasn't good at all.

We've got to go to the Ilex Forest – right now, I declared anxiously. Something bad has happened to Lightning, and we've got to rescue him.

"That's right," Falkner murmured, "but all our Pokemon are hurt and in no shape to fight an enemy." He turned to Janine. "Let's hurry to the Pokemon Center and get everyone to perfect health. Then, Starlight can teleport us to Ilex Forest."

But Lightning could be in great danger, I thought. What if, by the time we finish all our preparations, it's too late to save him?

"I have an idea," Janine declared. "Falkner, can you send out Starlight?"

"But Starlight's fainted," Falkner murmured.

"She may not be able to battle, but she might still be able to teleport," Janine explained.

"Gotcha," Falkner said, nodding as he pulled out Starlight's Dream Ball and tossed it into the air. As the Natu materialized in a flash of purple light, I could see that she was conscious but quite weak.

"Hey, Starlight," Falkner said, crouching down, "I know you're tired, but do you think you have enough energy to teleport? We can heal you after you're done."

To this, Starlight nodded.

Falkner stood up. "All right, everyone. Here's the plan," he said, addressing everyone in the radar room. "First, Starlight will teleport Thunder and Bolt to the Ilex Forest. Next, Starlight will teleport back here. Then, Janine and I will heal our Pokemon. While we do that, Thunder and Bolt will try to find out what's happened to Lightning. Finally, after Janine and I heal our Pokemon, Starlight will teleport Janine and I to the Ilex Forest."

That's a great plan, I thought. All right, Starlight, can you teleport now?

"Sure thing," Starlight chirped.

Bolt and I nodded. I put my wing on Starlight's forehead, Bolt put her front paw on Starlight's body, and we all closed our eyes. Immediately, I felt the strange, peculiar sensation of teleportation. A few seconds later, the sensation was gone just as quickly as it came.

I slowly opened my eyes, still feeling a little dizzy. Lush green trees surrounded me, and their leaves grew so densely that they almost completely blocked out the sunlight. Under my feet was some soft green moss, and I could see flowers and grasses here and there. Ilex Forest looked exactly the same as when I had visited last time.

"Good luck, you two," Starlight chirped before disappearing in a flurry of sparkles.

Bolt turned to me. "Should we split up?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Whatever got Lightning might get us," I murmured. "I think it would be best if we stayed together."

Bolt nodded in understanding as we began to quietly search Ilex Forest for any signs of Lightning. A few minutes later, we spotted a fairly large bush in the middle of a large clearing.

Bolt tensed. "I can sense… electricity," she murmured. "It's coming from that bush over there."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked. The bush looked completely harmless, and I could neither see nor hear an electric current.

"I'm positive," Bolt said gravely. "Stay here and I'll go investigate."

I nodded as Bolt carefully padded to the innocent-looking bush and walked in a circle around it, sniffing it here and there. Then she gasped.

"Thunder, this isn't a bush at all," she reported. "Can you use Gust on it so we can see what it really is?"

"Right," I said, launching into the air. "You might want to get behind me, though."

Bolt nodded and got out of the way. When I was certain that she was out of range, I took a deep breath and flapped my wings with all my might. The resulting Gust attack buffeted the bush, and one by one leaves blew out of the way. Pretty soon, the clearing was filled with small green leaves, tumbling in the wind.

When all the leaves were blown off the bush, I gasped when I realized that the bush was actually one of Katrina's evil electric cages, only covered with leaves to the point that it appeared to be a harmless bush. And inside that cage, Lightning lay unconscious and scarred, the tracker around his neck missing.

I didn't let the sight of this stop me, however. Narrowing my eyes, I flapped my wings harder and faster until the wind screamed through the forest clearing. With a loud clang, the electric cage fell over to its side, freeing Lightning. Only then did I cease my Gust attack and land on the ground.

I hopped forward, Bolt following close behind me, and leaned over Lightning to examine him. "He's poisoned," I murmured worriedly as I spotted the purplish tint on his face.

"Poisoned?" Bolt asked. "But that doesn't make any sense. Katrina's electric cages cause paralysis, not poison."

I shuddered. "There's only one explanation for this," I said softly. "Katrina must have used her Golbat to badly hurt Lightning and poison him. Then, Katrina destroyed Lightning's tracker and imprisoned him in this cage."

"Thunder, you've got to be careful," Bolt said suddenly. "I think this is a trap."

I tensed. "You think Katrina captured Lightning and destroyed his tracker to lure me here, right?"

"Right," Bolt murmured seriously. "Listen, Thunder, you've got to get out of here right now. As you probably know already, Katrina has wanted to capture you for ages, so –"

"No," I interrupted, shaking my head. "Whatever happens, I can't leave Lightning like this." I swallowed, hoping Bolt would understand. "I have to keep Lightning safe, at all costs."

Bolt hesitated and nodded. "All right," she said softly. "I understand what you mean. I'll look around really quickly and get some berries, and you make sure Lightning's okay. If anything goes wrong, don't be afraid to call for me."

"Sure thing," I said as Bolt trotted into the thick trees and disappeared.

My heart ached as I turned to Lightning. He was poisoned and badly wounded, so I immediately began to make him as comfortable as possible. Spotting a pile of leaves nearby, I gently dragged him to the temporary bed and ran my beak through his matted, rumpled feathers. I was grooming Lightning's upper back when Bolt returned with a mouthful of Sitrus, Oran, Cheri, and Pecha berries.

"Thank you so much. That's just what I need," I said gratefully as Bolt set down the berries in front of Lightning. Immediately, I hopped over to the berries, picked up an Oran Berry by its stem, and gently placed the fruit into Lightning's open beak.

"Berries…" Lightning murmured weakly as the Oran Berry touched his tongue. He swallowed it, and his eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Thunder? Is that you?" Lightning said softly, his gaze resting on me. "You came back…"

"Yes," I said, nodding as I fed him a Sitrus Berry.

Lightning swallowed the berry gratefully. "But I thought you were going back to Viridian Forest forever," he said quietly, his voice cracking slightly.

"Of course not," I said reassuringly. I blushed. "Because… I…" I sighed. I couldn't do it, not now. "Here, have a Pecha Berry. It'll help with the poison."

"Thanks," Lightning murmured as he gobbled it down. Now that he had enough strength, he heaved himself up and feasted on the rest of the berries. By the time he was done, he looked completely healthy again.

"Thank you so much, Thunder," Lightning said gratefully, his eyes shining. "Thanks for coming back and rescuing me."

"You're… you're welcome," I stammered, unable to meet his gaze. "What happened, anyways?"

Lightning sighed. "I was just flying over Ilex Forest, on my way back to Violet City," he explained. "But then, out of nowhere, something slammed into me and plowed me onto the forest floor. I'm not sure what hit me, but that attack did a lot of damage.

"I tried to get up and face my attacker, but before I could do anything, this Golbat chomped down on my shoulder with sharp, glowing purple fangs. I'm not completely sure what happened after that, but before I lost consciousness, I think Nature Hunter K removed my tracker."

"Bolt and I think Katrina destroyed your tracker so that I could be lured here," I murmured. "Do you know where Katrina is right now?"

"Katrina? Who's Katrina?" Lightning asked, confused. "If you mean Nature Hunter K, I don't think she's here right now."

"Yes, I mean Nature Hunter K," I said softly. "Listen, Lightning. Nature Hunter K's real name is Katrina, and she is actually Falkner's long-lost older sister. And thanks to Falkner and Bolt here, who used to be Katrina's Pokemon, I found out that there's more to Katrina than meets the eye."

"I figured Thunder was in trouble when she was imprisoned on Katrina's blimp," Bolt added. "so I decided to help her. First, I helped her escape. And once we got back to Violet City, Falkner and I explained to Thunder exactly why Katrina wanted so badly to capture her."

"Would you mind telling me the whole story?" Lightning asked, curious.

"It's a long story," I sighed, "but one worth knowing about." I then proceeded to tell Lightning everything I knew about my pursuer – from her jealousy of Falkner to her pursuit of power to her insatiable desire to obtain a Pidgeot better than her brother's.

I was explaining Natures to Lightning when Bolt suddenly screamed, "Thunder, behind you! Look out!"

I whirled around just in time to see a metal sphere hurtling towards me at a breakneck pace. Immediately, I knocked it away with a good Steel Wing attack.

Katrina, I know you're in there, I thought angrily, narrowing my eyes at the dense forest. What do you want from me? Show yourself!

From the trees came an abrupt command. "I don't care that you know my real name, Pidgeot! Skarmory, Golbat, Gyarados, Charizard, and Fearow! Attack them now, and show no mercy!"

The clearing, which until now had been silent save for the wind in the trees, suddenly erupted into chaos as Pokemon after Pokemon emerged from the bushes and attacked. Katrina's Fearow, her newest Pokemon, dove down towards Lightning, spinning around like a drill. Sharpclaw the Skarmory charged at me, cloaked in a bright blue light, as Iceheart the Gyarados dove towards me with her sharp fangs glowing white. Darkfang the Golbat and Firestorm the Charizard opened their massive jaws, preparing to fire off attacks at Bolt.

"Don't worry, Thunder. I'll take care of this," Bolt declared, crackling with yellow electricity. But before she could fire off the Thunderbolt, a red beam of light shot forward from the forest and turned Bolt into transparent red energy as it made contact with the Jolteon. Bolt screamed with anger as she disappeared into the woods.

"No!" I growled, but before I could do anything, Sharpclaw gained on me at a rapid pace. Taking a deep breath, I launched into the air just as Sharpclaw was about to land his Brave Bird attack. I smirked as the Skarmory plowed himself into the ground, but Iceheart was still ready to chomp down on me with her icy fangs. Thinking quickly, I shielded myself with a Steel Wing, and Iceheart's Ice Fang attack clamped down on solid metal.

Iceheart didn't give up, however. She immediately lunged at me again, and I narrowly managed to dodge the cold, sharp fangs. Taking a deep breath, I charged towards the monstrous Gyarados, my body glowing white. Before I could land the Quick Attack, however, I felt a painfully hot blast of fire at my side. I groaned as Firestorm's Flamethrower attack slammed me into a tree trunk.

This battle isn't fair, I thought desperately as Sharpclaw heaved himself out of the ground and charged at me again. There are only two of us, and five of them…

I was about to defend myself with Steel Wing when a loud voice rang out through the clearing.

"Everyone, stop it right now! Katrina, I know you're there, and you're not being fair at all. What do you think you're doing, fighting two Pokemon using five?"

I brightened. The voice belonged to Falkner, which meant that he and Janine had arrived to help us! I got onto my feet, gasping, as Sharpclaw, Iceheart, Darkfang, Firestorm, and Katrina's Fearow turned into transparent red energy and disappeared into the forest.

I watched breathlessly as Katrina's figure slowly emerged from the concealing shadows of the densely growing trees. At the same moment, Falkner and Janine burst into the clearing. Katrina and Falkner locked eyes for what seemed like a long time, and Lightning and I hopped over to Falkner and Janine and stood resolutely beside them. Finally Katrina spoke.

"Fancy meeting you here, brother," she said coolly. "You should know that you are nothing to me. May I ask, why are you interrupting my attempt to catch myself a good-natured Pidgeot?"

"Because I know you won't treat her well," Falkner said steadily, "and you were all too willing to use dirty tricks in your pursuit of her. I'll never let Thunder into the hands of a cruel, cold-blooded person like you!"

"What did you just say?" Katrina asked quietly and dangerously, raising her gloved hand and pointing her electric finger at her brother menacingly. "What dirty tricks are you talking about? I won't let you, of all people, stand in my way! Now get out of here, or-"

Don't hurt your younger brother, I thought, the Soul Gem around my neck flashing. I took a deep breath. Katrina, we all know your story, and your jealousy towards Falkner doesn't have to come down to this. Swallowing, I hopped forward, bracing myself. It's alright if you want to be the greatest bird Pokemon trainer of all time. But treating your Pokemon not as friends, but as mere tools to achieve your own selfish goals… that isn't right. Pokemon have feelings, you know.

"We can't let you go on like this," Falkner said, clenching his fist in anger.

"Try and stop me, Falkner," Katrina taunted. "I don't care what you or anyone else says. I've lived in your shadow for too long. Once I get my hands on that Adamant-natured Pidgeot, I swear, I will be the greatest, most powerful, and most feared Flying-type trainer of all time. Even if Pokemon do have feelings, caring about their stupid feelings will not help me to win battles and become stronger. To do that, I have to calculate their movesets, train them hard, and use the Pokemon that were hatched with better stats than usual members of their species - Pokemon with good natures."

"That's not the right way to win," Falkner said loudly.

"It's perfectly okay to train them hard," Janine added, "but Pokemon only unlock their true potential when you believe in them!"

Katrina smiled in a sinister way and pulled a sleek blue badge case out of her bag. With a single flick of her finger, Katrina opened the badge case and revealed nineteen small, shimmering emblems of different shapes and colors.

"I didn't need to believe in my Pokemon to get these," Katrina said coolly, closing the badge case and putting it back in her bag. "There are twenty official Gym Leaders in Johto. I only need eight badges to challenge the Johto League, but, just to prove a point, I battled nineteen Gym Leaders. All nineteen of them have succumbed to my strength. I took each of them down using only one Pokemon." Katrina frowned. "I could totally participate in the Pokemon League Tournament now, but I don't want to do that until I've bested you, Falkner, and put you in your place. You are the last obstacle in my path. But I cannot continue down that path until I obtain a Pidgeot stronger than yours."

I'm never going to accept you as my master, Katrina! I thought angrily. I'll never take orders from a cruel, cold-hearted person like you!

"But Thunder," Katrina said with a smirk, "I have this." I gasped as she pulled a sphere out of her bag. It was purple and white, with two red spots.

Falkner acted quickly. He darted forward and forcefully grabbed his sister's wrist before she could throw the capsule at me.

"Stop it, Katrina," Falkner said steadily. "Just don't."

"Let me go, you little-" She broke off as Janine ran to her in a few graceful bounds and pried the capsule from Katrina's hand while Falkner held it steady.

"I'm not going to let you use this," Janine said determinedly. She placed the purple-and-white capsule on the ground and crushed it with one forceful stomp of her foot.

"Thanks, Jan," Falkner said, gazing at Janine warmly.

"No!" K shouted, consumed by anger. "Do you know how much I had to go through to get that Master Ball? I withdrew my Pokemon because I hoped we could settle this in a civilized manner. But that can't happen now." She reached inside her purse and pulled out several cage-balls. Without any hesitation, she began throwing them.

Look out! I thought frantically, but K was quicker. One cage-ball struck Lightning, who winced as the electric cage sprung up around him.

"Oh, come on," Lightning grumbled. Then he saw what I saw: Falkner and Janine were trapped in an electric cage as well.

I looked around desperately. There was no way Janine, Falkner, and Lightning could help me now. And Nature Hunter K was throwing a Poke Ball, commanding her Skarmory to attack me with Brave Bird.

As Sharpclaw materialized and dove towards me, I shielded myself with my wings, readying a Steel Wing defense. There was no way I was going down without a fight.

I could barely hear Lightning as the Skarmory plowed into my Steel Wing shield, pushing me backwards into a tree.

"Thunder, fly away!" he called. "K wants to catch you. If you keep battling, you'll get weaker, so just get out of here!"

"I can't leave you here, Lightning," I puffed as I took to the sky, readying a Double-Edge attack. "I can't let you, Janine, and Falkner get hurt!" I charged forward with all of my power and plowed into Sharpclaw's solid steel body. The Skarmory hardly flinched.

"Katrina, stop it!" Falkner shouted, trapped in his and Janine's electric cage. "You can't capture Thunder and treat her as a tool!"

"Of course I can," K said coolly. "You can't stop me now. Skarmory, Brave Bird!"

The large metal bird folded its wings and dove towards me again. I flew upwards, trying to avoid the attack, but Sharpclaw simply followed me. I took a direct hit.

"Argh!" I groaned as I lost my balance and began falling towards the ground. I flapped my wings hard to regain my balance, and began using a Gust attack.

Lightning! Falkner! Janine! I thought as the gale tore through the clearing. I'm freeing you guys, okay?

"Thanks!" Falkner shouted as the electric cage surrounding himself and Janine fell to the ground, toppled by my Gust attack. "Look out!"

What? I thought, but then Katrina commanded Sharpclaw to attack me with Brave Bird again. The attack grazed me as I flew out of the way.

"Gyarados! Charizard! Fearow!" K called, throwing three Poke Balls into the air. She pointed at Falkner, Janine, and Lightning as the three Flying-types materialized. "Do whatever you can to make sure those guys stay out of my way."

"Seriously, Katrina?" Janine yelled. "You're not being fair!" She jumped out of the way of Firestorm's Flamethrower. I watched despairingly as Iceheart, Firestorm, and Katrina's Fearow closed in on my friends and began attacking them.

"Golbat!" K exclaimed, throwing another Poke Ball towards me. "You and Skarmory, get the gem!"

"What?!" Lightning, Janine, Falkner, and I shouted simultaneously. I didn't have any time to think, though, as Katrina's Golbat materialized. As Darkfang and Sharpclaw dove towards me, I lost track of how Falkner, Janine, and Lightning were faring - I vaguely saw the Mordecai and Janine's Crobat were battling, but I was more focused on avoiding K's Pokemon.

I flew around the clearing as quickly as I could. I knew that I had the option to fly away from Ilex Forest as fast as possible, but I wasn't going to leave my friends behind. So I charged towards Darkfang in a Double-Edge attack.

I was surprised when the Golbat didn't even attempt to get out of the way, and when I realized that something was up, it was too late. At the last moment, just as the attack was about to hit, Darkfang flew downwards and clamped her massive jaw on the Soul Gem. With a sharp tug, the string snapped, and the Golbat tossed the gem to Katrina, who caught it. She looked around, saw that her Charizard was using a Flamethrower attack, and tossed the gem into the path of the flames.

No! I thought as the Soul Gem incinerated in the Fire-type's blazing attack. The gem was gone, which meant that I could no longer communicate with humans. With a cold dread I realized that that was the reason why Katrina destroyed it. She wanted to prevent me from communicating my wishes with Falkner, Janine, and other humans.

Lightning, Falkner, and Janine were still kept busy by Katrina's Pokemon, but Janine saw what had happened and shouted angrily at K, "That was Thunder's gem! She needed it to communicate with humans!"

"Too bad," Katrina said with a shrug. Then she pointed at me. "Golbat, use Poison Fang! Skarmory, make sure Golbat's attack lands."

With a screech, Darkfang flew towards me, her jaws opened wide and her fangs glowing purple. I readied a Steel Wing and got ready to attack the Golbat with it, but Sharpclaw, with his own Steel Wing attack, knocked me aside. Dazed, I tried to balance myself, but at that moment Darkfang's jaws sank into my back. I could feel the poison beginning to seep through my body as I fell to the ground with a groan.

"Ultra Ball, go!" Katrina shouted, throwing a round capsule at me.

Falkner turned his head and saw what was happening. "No!" he exclaimed.

The Ultra Ball hit my head. I could feel a strange warmth as I became nothing but transparent red energy.

I could feel myself slipping into Poke Ball Mode - the semi-conscious state Pokemon enter when they are inside Poke Balls. My world went black, and I could feel myself getting smaller and smaller as the walls of the Ultra Ball captured me. The Ultra Ball fell to the ground.

One shake. K was trying to capture me.

Two shakes. I could break free. I could get out. I couldn't accept K as my master! I tried to fight the Poke Ball with a Double-Edge attack, but I felt frozen in place.

Three shakes. Vaguely, I was aware of shouting. I felt as if all of my energy was gone. It was the poison. I was exhausted, oh, so exhausted. I couldn't do it. I couldn't get out.

Click.

To be continued…