Chapter 15

(UltimateGoomba: So, I decided to start a few development chapters, since there are a few ideas for a decent amount of them!)

More of the second-day battles go by, and all the siblings, plus Max have moved on to their battles. Bonnie was finishing off Clemont's Luxray with Dedenne when Ash and Golly got the idea for their siblings to have a bit of a walk on their own since it's been years just Trenor, Mark, Golly, Minami, and Insey hung out all together. Golly also figured it would be a good idea for Lillie to put some space between her, and both Trenor and Mark. Delia also thought this was a nice idea, and she was also currently trying to figure out what the weird dark aura Golly sensed around Lillie was. After Bonnie's match ended, Ash's siblings went on their way for a walk together. Goh, Chloe, and Susanna decided to go on a picnic together as their own family, leaving Ash, Serena, their kids, Delia, and the Pokémon belonging to the three old enough to have them stay behind. So now the five Ketchum siblings were alone, unaware of a figure following them.

Later on the walk, it was mostly silent until Golly got in front of them, a bit irritated.

"Okay, guys, we have to talk about something very serious right now." Golly sighed, "I know we're out here to spend time by ourselves while still together, but I think something bad is happening." The other siblings looked at each other with concern, as Insey decided to speak up.

"What exactly is the matter, Sis?" Insey wondered, "Normally you are the most collected, so if there's a legitimate problem you sense, something is very wrong!"

"Well, let's just say after...two certain gentlemen within this group, not naming who was a bit harsh on our sweet Eevee friend's mental state. And since this morning has shown a bit of a lack of the normally happy emotions she gives us all..." Golly sighed, as the five instantly knew what she was talking about, with Trenor and Mark specifically being embarrassed while Golly continued, "Anyways, when I took her out on a walk earlier with Dusknoir and some of Brother's Pokémon, there was this sinister aura around her that slightly eased up when I got through to Lillie, and Mom's currently trying to figure out what's causing the problem, but I wanted to see if you guys had any idea on what it could be."

"I'm not entirely sure." Mark sighed, "Although, now that I think about it, we have not been the kindest to Lillie, which surprises me why she still looks up to us, figuratively that is. She almost always has to look up to literally look at our faces."

"Yeah, hopefully she's okay..." Insey sighed, as the siblings decided to change the subject, "Anyways, we all managed to win our first-round matches, and the last of the matches should be done tonight. Say, remember when we first became trainers?"

"How could we?" Trenor chuckled, "We all started on the same day, with me having Mudbray, Golly having Duskull, Mark having Riolu, you having Scyther, and Minami having her Shiny Eevee."

"Hey there!" The siblings flinch a bit as they soon notice Misty, May, Mallow, and Lana walking toward them, with Misty talking, "I was sure I heard a familiar voice, been a bit, Ms. Insey!"

"Yeah, it has been," Insey was nervous but did her best to keep her cool, "What are you girls up to?"

"Well, we're planning on going shopping for some new clothes," Lana explained, "however, we don't know where any good shops are in Sevestar, so we were looking for a guide. Do you know where to find one?"

"Well, I guess I could do this," Minami sighed, as her siblings turned to her, "it's the least I could do, they are guests here. Come with me, I'll show you one of the best clothing souvenir shops at the Sevestar League Stadium, or the SLS as I call it."

"That's pretty cool!" Mallow exclaimed as Mark tried to ask in aura what she was doing, and she replied back in aura, saying that she was trying to at least be nice, and besides, they might slip up and give evidence to prove Ash's innocence.

"Okay, so hopefully our...spy, doesn't convert over now." Mark muttered, "I'm sure she'll be fine, but yeesh."

"She normally doesn't like these kinds of meetings, it reminded her of Team Rocket." Insey pointed out, "She probably is wanting to kill two birds with one stone, getting out of this conversation and trying to get evidence."

"That sounds like Minami, alright.."Golly sighed with a bit of a chuckle, "Anyways... since she's doing that, we should also focus on providing evidence as well."

"Yeah, exactly!" Trenor agreed with her, as they looked around, wondering where the other traitors were, unaware of these angry yellow eyes staring at them from inside the bush, as the eyes slowly turned into a bright orange.

"They're so like themselves from my world, but very different in a way." This glitch-distorted voice muttered, as the eyes soon turned yellow again and eased up the stare, "No matter, maybe they can still help, but I can't reveal myself yet, not now. Just have to keep waiting."

Back with Minami, she led the girls to this station for the RPA company's clothing district, with a lot of Sevestar-related souvenir clothes.

"Well, here's the major clothing shop at the stadium," Minami stated, "I hope you find something you're looking for!"

"Thank you so much, Ma'am!" Misty exclaimed as the others started to look around, but Misty seemed a bit conflicted, "Hey, do you think we can talk for a minute, Minami?"

Minami tensed up a bit, but sighed, figuring she could at least hear her out, "Alright then, what seems to be the matter, Misty?"

"See, around 15 years ago, I ended up doing something I kind of regret," Misty sighed, "I ended up betraying a friend of mine because now-Professor Tracey, Mallow, and Lana ended up convincing me he needed to give up his dream."

"Oh, that sounds pretty mean." Minami winced a bit from that, knowing immediately what Misty was referring to.

"I know, it was kind of messed up." Misty sighed, sitting down on a bench, "He was the kind of friend that would always hear you out, I normally agreed that he was a key element in a world-ending threat happening in Kalos, which is why I was worried about him traveling the world in hopes of becoming a Pokémon Master. But over time, I started to regret everything, I had to betray my own morals to keep my old friend Brock and his friend Dawn in check, and was even considering taking the best care I could of my friend's Pokémon if this ended up going through since I still had respect for him. I was a pretty massive jerk to him in the past though, so I doubt they would've liked it at first. That still doesn't excuse my actions, and there have been times when I feel like his dead spirit has haunted me.."

"Hey, don't be like that, what's your old friend's name?" Minami questioned, and Misty whispered the name "Ash" to her, as Minami nodded.

"He was a nice guy, but I feel like I broke his spirit beyond repair..." Misty started to struggle to hold back tears as Minami gave her a hug, "Huh? Ma'am?"

"While I don't agree with betraying his trust like that, now, if he truly was your friend, I'm sure he would've understood you'd regret it, right?" Minami stated, as Misty sighed and looked at the floor.

"Yeah, but it's not just that," Misty sniffled, "I even helped in hurting the one person who was the most loyal to Ash, I'm such a pathetic excuse for a friend and Gym Leader, aren't I?" Minami felt sympathy for Misty as the sibling patted her on the shoulder.

"You're not the only one who's committed terrible acts, Misty." Minami stated, confusing Misty, "I got kidnapped as a child by Team Rocket, they forced me to commit so many terrible acts to the point it caused me to become bitter, and look down on others that hurt my family, even on accident. One of my brothers has an Eevee who I said horrible things about that I regret, she was extremely weak back then, not even able to use moves properly."

"That's..not as bad as what I've done, but still pretty harsh." Misty sighed, "What happened with the Eevee?"

"We tried to fix things since she didn't hold a grudge, if your friend, Ash, really is as sweet as you say, I'm sure he'd never hold a grudge as long as you regret it and never would do it again." Minami explained as Misty nodded while she continued, "Your friend might no longer be here, but I don't think his ghost would haunt you for messing up like that. I may not be a therapist, but if you need someone to talk to, I'll be around the stadium when not battling, so you know where to find me."

"Thank you, Minami, you know, you remind me a lot of my friend too." Misty sighed, "I wish I could explain how much gratitude I have for you willing to talk to me."

"No problem, now, you go buy some things as souvenirs." Minami chuckled as Misty nodded, got off the bench, and walked away, while Minami walked back to her siblings.

Back with the others, they had split up for now, and Mark was walking while lost in thought, so he decided to take a break at a bench and scroll through his phone, and that's when he noticed this shadow form over his body, he looked to see what was causing it, and saw this glitchy purple figure with glowing yellow eyes.

"Uhhh, hello?" Mark hesitantly greeted the figure, as two more figures of a Pikachu and Vulpix got onto the shoulders of the human-like being.

"Hello...Mark Ketchum..." The figure muttered in a distorted voice, catching Mark off guard, but before he could get up to get ready to fight, the figure shook its head, "Don't be like that, I'm not here to attack you, I just...want...to talk..." Mark was made more nervous by how the main figure said "to talk" in a darker tone, but decided to stand up to stare at the figures at eye level.

"Alright, let's talk then..." Mark sighed, as he and the main figure locked glaring eyes at each other...

To be continued...