There's a machine introduced here that is based off the Miniremo units from "Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia." Credit where credit is due.

If you just started reading after this chapter was posted, feel free to ignore the rest of this note.

I've changed the POV system so that I just say point-blank whose POV the chapter is from. Playing with the titles seemed like a good idea until I realized how many different POVs I was using. Plus, this lets me create more fun titles. And yes, some of the chapter titles have been changed. I'm also slowly but surely going back and cleaning up the old chapters, though my own laziness is making that take more time than it should.

Bag Up Your Troubles

"Be the reason someone smiles today. Or, the reason they drink. Whatever works." - Unknown

Pikachu

That morning, when Sprout said she wanted to talk to me in private, I assumed it was an excuse to get me away from Wobbles. It turns out that the Wobuffet had never heard of the move Return and had started pelting me with questions. She even begged me for a battle until she remembered that my ear - the little bit that's left - is still healing. Luckily, Absol and Eevee were able to distract her while Sprout pulled me deeper into the forest.

"Thanks, Sprout," I say when we're safely nestled at the bottom of a steep hill and next to the river lined with mossy rocks.

"No problem," Sprout assures. "But, I really do want to talk to you."

I tilt my head, still getting used to the feeling of only one ear flopping over up there. "Is something wrong?"

Sprout waves her leaves in front of her. "No, no! Not at all. Well, not for me." She plays with the straps of her tiny light brown backpack. "Um, did I ever tell where I got this backpack?"

I was curious about it when we first met, but after a while, I was so used to seeing it that I forgot it was there. A lot of stores sell pokemon-sized accessories, so I just figured she got it from one of those stores.

Taking my expression as an answer, Sprout shrugs off the backpack and sets it down between us. "A friend gave it to me. A human friend."

"Your trainer?" I ask.

Sprout shakes her head. "No. Just a nice old man. His name was Hector. We met because he had a really nice garden and…well, me being a grass-type," she adds cheekily. I grin a little. Then, her tone turns nostalgic as she absently runs her leaf over the backpack. "Hector and I didn't really have any family, none that lived close by, so we sort of became each other's family. He taught me how to read and tried to teach me how to write, but apparently that requires thumbs. He even called me his little sprout!"

"That's how you got your nickname."

"Yep. Hector and I looked after each other right up until he died. You could even say that he was kind of my Ash."

Oh, wow. The story warms me. "That's sweet, Sprout. But, why are you telling me this?"

"I've been thinking about Ash's birthday." Which was yesterday, and it still bothers me that I missed it. Sprout pushes her backpack toward me. "See, this thing once belonged to Hector's Pidgey, who passed away before I showed up. Hector found it tucked back in his closest and gave it to me because he wanted someone to get some use out of it." Her expression dulls with grief. "I thought I'd thank him by using it to bring him a present, but…I never got to give it to him."

"I see…" is all I can say.

Sprout shakes her head clear wherever her mind went. "I was thinking about you missing Ash's birthday, and I thought," she goes quiet, shy all of a sudden, "maybe Hector would want someone to have it."

I am floored. "You mean, like, a birthday present? For Ash?"

"I know it'll be late, but I imagine you'd wanna give him something special, right?"

Through the tightness in my throat, I say, "I-I'm touched. But, are you sure?"

Sprout nods. "Mm-hm. But-but, only if you think Ash would like it. Take a look."

Hearing her story, the story behind the object she's been carrying around all this time, I feel unworthy. Besides, Ash would be happy if I gave him nothing more than a twig. Pokemon gifts aren't nearly as flashy as human gifts unless we find some neat human thing lying around, and Ash knows and accepts this.

But, Sprout is insistent, so I unzip the backpack to find a stone inside. I pull it out and examine it. It is a perfectly round stone just a little bigger than my hand and is light gray in color and covered in darker speckles-

Oh.

Oh…

First, I had to break the news to Absol that abusive trainers are less common than he thought. Now, I have to tell Sprout what exactly she's been carrying around with her. Who's heart do I break next, Wobbles's or Eevee's?

"What's with the face?" Sprout asks when I don't respond. When I still say nothing, she flails her leaves in panic. "Oh my goodness! Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, no!" I assure, finding my voice. "No, it's in great condition. It's just…" Sprout leans forward, preparing for the worst. I don't think she realizes what that worst entails. "Sprout…this is an everstone."

Sprout just blinks. "Okay…"

"An everstone stops a pokemon from evolving." I can see the gears turning in her head. "How-how long have you been carrying this around?"

A blank stare is my answer. Then, Sprout turns around and says in the most somber voice I've ever heard from her, "I need to sit down."

She only makes it a few steps before collapsing into the grass. Poor female. At least now we know why she hasn't evolved yet, despite how strong she is. "Look at it this way," I squeak. "Now that we know what the problem was, you should be evolving really soon!"

She just moans. I wrack my brain for some way to cheer her up. But, how do you cheer up someone who just found out their dreams were delayed because of a loved one's keepsake? That's no easy task.

Not for the first time, I wish Ash was here. He has the magic touch with these things-

I shove the thought out of my head. I don't need Ash's help. It's not like he's here to give it, anyway. I can do this. I just need to figure out-

A scream breaks into my thoughts. Sprout hears it too and lifts her head. "What was that?" she asks.

Well, that's one way to get her out of her funk.

More screams and some shouts for help have my fur standing on end. I drop down to all-fours. "Come on," I command, breaking into a run without checking if she's following.

Her cry of, "Wait for me!" tells me that she is.

I don't wait for her. In fact, I catch the sharp, bitter stench of blood and pick up the pace. Thank Arceus, electric-types are naturally fast, and I've been told more than once that I'm faster than most. It takes me no time at all to find the source of the shouts and the smell.

But when I get there, I wish I was slow like a steel- or rock-type.

Four pokemon are here. My fellow rodents, which somehow makes it worse. Three of them are a little bit smaller than me with short pale purple fur, lean bodies, long, thin tails, and large front teeth. The other is twice their height and much rounder with shaggy light brown fur and bigger teeth.

Rattata and their evolved form, Raticate. Seeing them all together shouldn't be as terrifying as it is right now.

Two of the Rattata are scratching and biting each other. Not as a fun wrestling match, but as a brutal assault that has both of them covered in blood. The Raticate is ramming himself into a tree over and over, oblivious of the open wound on his head that keeps getting worse. And, Mew's tail, the words. The stilted, broken voices they shout with.

"Get it out!"

"It hurts!"

"It won't come out!"

I crouch a short but safe distance away, unable to move, unable to breathe, my cheeks buzzing instinctively. I recognize those cries, this sight. When Ash and I saw that video online of pokemon acting like this. We barely watched any of it before we broke. I had leapt off the table and shook out my fluffed up pelt, whimpering and shaking. Ash had clicked off the video, walked too calmly to his bed and sat down, grabbed a pillow, and started punching it with a harsh, ugly look on his usually kind and joyful face. It had been a long time since I'd seen him that rattled. I can't imagine how he would react if he was here.

Poke-X is a thousand times worse in person.

"Help them," a very quiet, raspy voice says. The other Rattata, who is splayed out nearby, leaking red from all over and looking at me with desperate, teary eyes. Did they attack him? Or, is he sick too and in that brief phase of lucidity that the victims get in between the bouts of madness? "Make them stop."

Make them stop? But, how? I can't risk touching any of them, or I could get infected. Think, think! What can I do? Normally when folks are freaking out, I just nail them with Thunderbolt. I can't do that when everyone's already so seriously hurt, not in good conscience.

Maybe Electroweb? It would still hurt a lot, but it's my weakest attack, and I can't think of anything else.

Heart heavy, I breathe out an apology as static creeps along my back and gathers at the tip of my tail. I hurl one very small Electroweb after another, hitting the three pokemon and snaring them in webs. I flinch as they scream in a new pain at the following shock, but when the webs dissipate, the pokemon collapse. I nearly do the same but with relief.

Now what? I could treat their wounds, but how to do that without touching them? And, what if they go back into a frenzy while I'm treating them? This is one thing, I realize, that I truly cannot do without Ash. Poke-X doesn't affect humans. Ash would be at risk of serious injury, yes, but that's nothing compared to what could happen to me!

Am I being selfish? Or, am I being reasonable? Who knows, and who cares?

"Get out of here," the first Rattata rasps, as though reading my mind. "It spreads through blood and stuff. Don't know how long until we lose it again." We. So, it is all four of them. "You should go."

"And, leave you here?" Talking feels impossible. I don't know how I get the words out. "There…there must be something…"

"Human." A new voice, deeper but just as quiet. The Raticate. "There was a human. She had this weird thing that sprayed us. We got Poke-X after."

So, they've heard the name. I suppress a shudder. "Where'd she go?"

Raticate flicks his tail farther down the path, but that simple gesture seems to take a mountain of effort. "That way. Be careful."

I'm about to charge in that direction when I hear my name being called. Damn it all, I forgot about Sprout!

"Pikachu! Oh my goodness! Why are you so fast? Oh my goodness!"

I hold Sprout back, but there's no need. She is paralyzed and not because of my Static ability. She glances from me to the gory scene and back and shakes in my grasp.

"It's Poke-X," I whisper, though I don't know why.

Sprout squeals and jumps way back, her wide eyes still locked on the other pokemon.

I run up to her and try to remain calm. Someone here has to keep a level head. I tell her what Raticate told me about the human and the weird thing that sprayed the four pokemon. That seems to snap her out of it.

Mostly, as she is still one wrong word from a panic attack. "What do we do?"

Good question. At this point, I don't think there's any direct way to help Raticate and the Rattata without risking our own necks. That wouldn't help anyone, and it would only make things worse for our friends. Not to mention Ash and everyone back home if I got sick and didn't survive.

But, there is something I can do.

"I don't think we can do anything for these guys at this point," I say bitterly. "But, I want to find that human they mentioned. If it's what it sounds like, she needs to be stopped before this happens to anyone else!"

Sprout nods, glad to have something to do. "Let's go get the others."

"You get them," I say. "I'll go on ahead."

Sprout grabs my shoulder as I drop to all-fours. "You're not going alone!"

As if I want to. Still, "I'm the fastest. Of the five of us, I have the best chance of both catching up to her and avoiding whatever sprayed these guys. I'll be okay." I hope.

Sprout moans fearfully before conceding. "Okay, but please be careful!"

She turns to leave and makes an eager noise. She bolts for a bush, and relief floods me when I see that there are plump yellow sitrus berries growing on it. Out of all the fruits, sitrus berries have the strongest healing properties. It's not much, but it'll ease the pain. Even if only for a moment.

With that, I weave around the…infected area and sprint in the direction that Raticate indicated. I follow the pungent scent of human as well as the faint spicy-bitter stench I pick up. That must be the spray.

I slow down once I hear someone with a very high voice using human language. I crouch behind a tree and peer my head around. There is a human woman talking on the phone and facing away from me. She is reed-thin and has pale beige skin. Her blond hair is tied back in a high ponytail. She is wearing gray sneakers, blue jeans, and a light green t-shirt. I shiver when I spot the gun strapped to her belt. She is crouched in front of what must be the machine Raticate mentioned, but the woman is blocking my view.

She tinkers with the machine as she speaks with whoever's on the other end of the phone call. "Trial run was a success. Any pokemon who gets too close is gonna get a faceful of juice. This baby really nailed some Rattata and a Raticate. I almost felt sorry for them!" I officially hate this human. And, whoever she's working with. "How's it going on your end?"

The woman rises, and I get a better look at the machine. It's small, not much bigger than me, and somewhat resembles a dark gray fire hydrant. It is perched on four pointed legs, for lack of a better word, and has a lighter band around the top that has little holes in it. Is that where the "juice" comes out? I need to keep my distance.

The woman turns and spots me. She regards me with calculating light blue eyes. I should run, but my legs won't move.

Her next words into the phone only make things worse. "Hey, didn't you mention a Pikachu? 'Cause I just found one with a missing ear." She pauses, listening to the other person. "Well, if Ash wants a Pikachu so badly-" What? "-just tell him to catch a new one."

I scan the woman up and down, take a good, long whiff of her scent, but no memory surfaces. I don't know this woman. Ash and I are so rarely apart that I thought we knew the same humans. Or, maybe it's just the person on the phone who knows Ash.

Either way, a human who is purposely killing pokemon knows who Ash is and knows that he has a missing Pikachu. I didn't think it was possible, but I'm glad I lost my ear. For the time being, it makes me anonymous. This woman doesn't seem like she would bring me back to Ash. Not alive, at least.

The woman wanders off as she continues her conversation. Once the coast is clear, I stare down the machine, wondering how close I can get before it activates, deciding that I don't want to know.

I have to destroy it, but how? If it's a device meant to kill pokemon, it's probably meant to withstand attacks. And, if I use Thunderbolt or Electroweb, that woman is liable to notice.

So, I try something else. I double-check that no pokemon are around, then I grab a pebble off the ground and throw it. It bounces off the side of the machine-

-and I leap way back as sparkly liquid bursts out of the holes. My nostrils tingle as that same spicy-bitter smell fills the air. Oh no, am I infected now? None of the spray hit me, but is just smelling it enough? Arceus, I hope not.

So, pelting the machine with rocks is out of the question. Direct contact will just make things worse.

Another idea occurs. I taste the air and decide that the woman is far enough away. I let electricity fill up my cheeks and release a very, very small Thunderbolt, the smallest I can make it. I zap the machine for a while, waiting for something to happen. When nothing does, I halt my attack. Unsurprisingly, the machine is still standing and doesn't have a mark on it.

But, no spray appeared, and that gives me hope.

I'm about to try a bigger Thunderbolt, when I hear multiple footsteps behind me. I recognize the scents and whirl around on all-fours with my hackles up. "Stay back and be quiet," I hiss.

All four members of the PokeSquad stop in their tracks a short distance from me. Sprout still sports a look of wide-eyed panic. Eevee's ears are back and his fur is fluffed up as he shuffles behind Wobbles. The Wobbuffet herself has one hand on his head and a grim expression on her face. And, the raised hairs on Absol's pelt are the only things betraying his nerves.

Wobbles points to the machine. "What's that?"

"I'm not sure," I say, "but I know it's what made the Rattata and Raticate sick."

I quickly tell them about the woman and her phone call, unable to keep the fear out of my voice when I mention Ash.

"Is Ash in danger?" Eevee squeaks, voicing that fear.

I shake my head helplessly. "I don't know. I didn't recognize the woman, and I don't know who she was talking to."

"That's a problem for later," Absol says. He holds out a paw toward the machine. "Our main priority is getting rid of that thing."

"But, you heard Pikachu," Sprout whimpers. "We can't touch it."

"I have an idea," I say. "I tested a small Thunderbolt, and it didn't activate the machine. If we combine our special attacks, maybe we can destroy it."

Absol nods. "That could work."

Wobbles salutes. "I have another idea. You guys could aim your attacks at me, and I could use Mirror Coat to reflect them at the machine."

Sprout glances up at her. "Wouldn't that hurt you? A lot?"

Wobbles throws her hand down. "I wanna contribute, okay?"

"Oh!" Eevee pipes up. "I could use Copycat, and then we'd have two Mirror Coats!"

"Are you sure, Eevee?" Wobbles asks. "Even without your Swift attack, that's still a lot of damage."

Eevee puffs out his chest. "I'm tough!"

"Absol's Shadow Ball would be super effective on Wobbles," I suggest. "That would provide plenty of power for Mirror Coat while the rest of us aim for the machine. We can do Eevee's idea if it doesn't work. You okay with that, Wobbles?"

Wobbles pats her chest. "My body is ready."

Absol growls under his breath. "We're wasting time arguing about it. Let's just try Pikachu's idea before anyone else gets sick."

We creep toward the machine, unsure of how close we can get safely. My friends stop when I do, and we all spread out. They all turn to me, waiting for my signal. At my nod, we strike. Through the yellow light of my Thunderbolt, I can see the others using their own attacks. Sprout has Razor Leaf going. Eevee must have used Copycat, because there's a Thunderbolt of his own in play. Absol hits Wobbles with Shadow Ball, and the Wobbuffet uses the damage taken to blast Mirror Coat at the machine. We keep at it, and I swallow a victorious squeak when the machine starts to crumble in on itself. The longer we fire, the more the machine falls.

Then, the band with the holes starts spinning.

"Cease fire!" I scream, knowing what's coming, and everyone obeys.

"What's it doing?" Eevee squeaks, his pelt fluffed up.

I've already spun around. "It's gonna spray us! Run!"

The horrible smell, stronger than ever, trails after us as we run as fast as our legs can carry us. I thought we'd destroyed that thing. What happened? Was it some sort of failsafe? Something that activates when the machine is broken? Or, did I just have the worst possible idea?

Eventually, we stop running and look back at where the machine was. Based on the smell, I know that blast was so, so much bigger than the one I triggered with the rock. I hope and pray that no one was caught in it.

Logically, I know this isn't my fault, but…

"Sprout?" Eevee says suddenly.

Panic hits me, as my first thought is that she breathed in that spray and-

Sprout's form is encased in a rainbow of light. Her head grows and grows, her thin body seeming to be pulled into it. Without the everstone, I knew Sprout had to be evolving soon. I guess this was enough. At least one good thing came from this.

When the light dissipates, Sprout shakes her new form and looks dazedly at us. She now looks like a floating, bulb-like yellow head with large green leaves at the sides and a small brown stem on top.

Wobbles salutes and does her thing. "Weepinbell: the flycatcher pokemon. A grass- and poison-type. Its leaves are sharp enough to slice through thick branches with ease. It's also capable of spitting acid, so, uh, let's not tick her off."

"Waaahh?" Sprout shakes her leaves, feels over her new form, and it slowly dawns on her.

Eevee leaps into the air. "You evolved! You did it!"

"I-I did it?" Sprout shrieks and "runs" around with a series of gleeful, "Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!"

Absol crouches and whisper-shouts, "Celebrate later. That human might hear you!"

Sprout goes silent and freezes in place.

Wobbles sees something behind us and pales. "Uh, it's a little late for that."

Dread makes my feet heavy, but I turn around.

The woman isn't directly in front of us, but she's too close for comfort. She regards us cooly, her gun out of its holster and in one of the hands resting on her hips. We all stare each other down, waiting for someone to make the first move.

The woman does. "As annoying as that was, I suppose I should thank you. Now I know the failsafe works." So, that is why it sprayed so much at the end.

She starts to say something else then takes a long look at Absol. Absol is making a face I've never seen on him before. Not even when I nearly died in the Pokemon Center. His red eyes are wide open. His mouth is partly slightly. His fur is fluffed. His hackles are raised, yet his tail is between his legs.

He and the woman know each other, and that's not a good thing.

Could this be Absol's old trainer? Based on the little that I've seen, she's exactly how I pictured his trainer to be. And, she definitely recognizes him.

This is bad. This is very bad.

The woman casually points the gun at Absol, who shrinks back with a small noise. "You know me," the woman says to him. "I can tell."

The rest of us cluster in front of him. We all must have drawn the same conclusion, because every one of us is prepared to attack. I've seen the kind of damage guns do to humans. I don't know how badly getting shot would hurt a pokemon, but I don't want to find out.

The woman laughs, and I can't remember the last time I hated someone this much. I try not to flinch when she points the gun at me. "You were the mastermind behind that attack, right? I saw you yammering on to the others."

"Who says 'yammering?'" Wobbles mutters. I flick her with my tail.

The woman goes on. "I should just kill you all and save us the trouble." Us? "But, you're proving to be interesting. Especially you, Absol."

I want to believe she just used Absol's name because she knows his species, but the way she spoke was so…intimate.

The gun is once more pointed at Absol, who is still too trapped in his head to do anything. We squish ourselves together between him and the woman, but at the end of the day, the woman is still much, much taller than any of us. She adjusts her aim and pulls the trigger before we can process what's happening.

Absol cries out. The bitter stench of blood hits my nose as we whirl around. Sprout's shout of "Oh my goodness!" is the only sound any of us makes. Absol has collapsed on his side, and his stark white leg fur is matted by thick dark red liquid. Pokemon are durable and bleed slowly, but that's a bad wound.

Absol was brought back to reality in the worst way. There's an ugly rage on his face as he stares down the woman, who I have no doubt once carried his pokeball.

The others cluster around his injury, and I turn back around to face the woman. There is pride in her smile. "Specially designed to break the skin of pokemon," she has the audacity to add. "That was just a demonstration. I'd mind my manners if I were you."

Fire rakes through me, and I can't feel anything beyond that and the static that fills my cheeks so fiercely it hurts. A low hiss escapes me as I rear back to do whatever as long as it's painful.

I don't even care that she's aiming the barrel at me again. "I wouldn't," she taunts.

Do your worst, bitch.

"Pikachu!" Large leaves grab me from behind, and Sprout hisses, "Pikachu, don't! You saw what it did to Absol. Imagine what it could do to someone your size!"

I don't care I don't care I dont-

"What's worse? Letting her walk away and tell Ash some story about you, or never letting him or any of your friends see you again?"

That breaks through my fury. I force my cheeks to calm, though I can't make my hackles lower or my fur lie flat. Ash and our friends are just the tip of the iceberg. This woman is killing pokemon, and she's happy about it.

But, I know Sprout is right. We aren't prepared to handle that kind of weaponry, and who knows what other tricks this human has up her sleeve.

The woman sees that I've grudgingly surrendered and walks backwards with the gun still drawn. "Until we meet again. And, I'm certain we will."

When she's out of sight, Sprout and I return to the matter at hand. "How is he?" I ask, still shaking with the remaining dregs of rage.

Wobbles had piled up leaves and is trying to staunch the flow of blood. "I think he's pissed more than anything."

"Of course, I'm pissed!" Absol barks. "That monster was killing pokemon and threatened all of us and…and I froze." He groans and plops his head in the grass. "Arceus, I froze. I can't believe it!"

My anger finally leaves at the revelation that, while Absol is mad at the woman, he's even angrier at himself. He's the tough one, the leader. He wants to be strong so no one else has to. Now something happened that was more than he could handle. Everyone has a limit, and that woman was his.

Come to think of it, Absol is a lot like Ash in that way. And me, I guess. We want to be there for their friends. When we fail to do that, whatever the reason may be, we blame ourselves. Absol is more vocal about it - Ash and I have the bad habit of letting those feelings fester inside us - but the similarity is there.

"Someone once told me that we can't always stop bad things from happening, nor can we always work around them." Absol almost smiles at my reminder. Eevee had been poking at a bush nearby and runs back with a sitrus berry in his mouth as I say, "Absol…that lady was your trainer, wasn't she?"

But, Absol shakes his head then hisses when Wobbles takes the berry and squeezes its healing juices into the wound. "No, she wasn't," Absol says. "But, they worked together. I told you there were other scientists. Besides my trainer, Miriam was the worst."

"Miriam?" I repeat as the knot in my stomach doubles in size. "That lady's name is Miriam?"

"Miriam Waybright," Absol confirms. "One of two names I wish I could forget."

As Wobbles replaces the bloody leaves with fresh ones, she asks the thing I'm afraid to. "Did Miriam have a pokemon?"

"I think so," Absol says with a wince. "They kept all the pokemon separated, so I rarely saw any others. Though, I do recall something following her around. Some pink creature. I never got a good look."

Wobbles and I lock eyes for a split second, and I know we're thinking the same thing. That wasn't Absol's trainer. It was Hatterene's, and the pink creature must have been her pre-evolution, Hatenna.

"All that matters," Sprout says, "is that we destroyed that machine and no one was hurt any worse."

"Sprout's right," Absol says. To me, "That was a smart idea, Pikachu. It may not have worked like we expected, but it did work."

I know he's heaping on the praise because of our conversation at the Pokemon Center, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

"These leaves are helping," Wobbles muses as she continues stanching the blood, "but not as much as they should. Moss would be better."

"I saw some by the river," I recall. "I'll go back and get it."

Absol lifts his head and gives me a stern look despite his pain. "Not by yourself, you won't." He winces, and Wobbles mutters an apology. "No one goes off alone."

"I can come," Eevee offers. "I wanna help."

"I'll come, too," Sprout says. "We can use my backpack to carry more of-" She shakes her leaves and feels her back then flails and shouts, "Oh my goodness, I left it at the river!"

Oh, yeah. I forgot all about that.

Wobbles doesn't look up. "Then, it's a good thing you guys are going back there. I'll keep an eye on the patient."

Sprout, Eevee, and I take off running, and I hear Absol call after us, "Be careful. If you see Miriam, do not engage! Just run like hell!"

He doesn't have to tell us twice.

My typing's signature speed is ramped up by the mental image of such a strong, kind pokemon scared and bleeding and helpless. I make it back to the river long before the others and start pulling the cool, soft moss off the rocks. I have a decent pile by the time my friends catch up.

But, I barely glance at them. I'm too focused on gathering as much as I can. "Will one of you start stuffing that in Sprout's-"

"Where is my backpack?" the Bellsprout- the Weepinbell screams. "Oh my goodness, where is it?"

In my haste, I'd forgotten about that again. Though, I feel a lot more guilty about it now.

We search the area, but there's no sign of the backpack until we hear a new voice from the top of the hill. "Oh, sorry."

The voice belongs to a very sheepish Bellossom, who carefully walks down the steep hill toward us. And yes, she is wearing Sprout's backpack.

Bellossom removes the backpack and sets it in front of Sprout, who practically melts with relief. "I found it lying on the river's edge," Bellossom explains. "I thought it had been abandoned."

"No," Sprout says, "I left it here by accident. Thanks for being honest."

Eevee steps forward. "Sprout really loves that backpack. Her friend gave it to her."

Bellossom smiles at Eevee then pops the clasp on the backpack. She pulls open the top and three long leaves poke out. Then to our surprise, a small blue head appears and gazes at us strangers with a cautious curiosity before hopping out and running into Bellossom's awaiting arms.

An Oddish, but a really, really small one. I've never seen one that little. Even infantile ones like him should be twice that size.

"Sorry, sweetie," Bellossom soothes him. "That pouch belongs to someone else."

"This is your son?" I ask. Bellossom nods, and at the risk of being offensive, I add, "Pardon me, but I didn't know Oddish could be that little."

Bellossom's smile is a little more forced. "Normally, they're not. My son doesn't speak either. My mate and I aren't sure why Oddish hatched that way," she caresses her son's head, and he snuggles against her, "but you won't find a sweeter little male."

Embryo Development Disorder, I think, but I don't mention it. Mostly because it'll sound like gibberish to a wild pokemon like Bellossom, and I wouldn't be able to explain it anyway beyond saying that my friend, Gliscor, has it. Besides, it's just a theory and I'm not a doctor.

"Why was he in the backpack?" Eevee asks.

Bellossom holds her son a little tighter. "With that awful disease in the area, my mate and I have been extra watchful of Oddish. When I saw this - What did you call it? - this backpack, it seemed like a good way to make sure he was always with one of us. But, we'll figure something else out. It's no big deal."

My heart breaks.

As Bellossom starts to usher her son away, Sprout says, "No. You can have it."

We all turn to her in question, and I say, "Sprout, Hector gave that to you. Are you sure?"

Sprout hesitates but ultimately, "I'm sure. It won't fit now, anyway. I just evolved," Sprout adds to Bellossom. "And, you said it yourself. Poke-X is out there. Gotta protect the little ones, right?"

Bellossom's eyes fill with tears. "Th-thank you. Thank you so much!"

Little Oddish gives his leaves a happy shake.

Warmth spreads through me at my friend's kindness, but it disappears when my eyes land on my moss pile. "Do you mind if we use it one last time?" I ask. "Our friend got hurt real bad, and he needs moss. I'll bring it back when we're done."

Bellossom is fine with this, and she and her son help us collect moss. While we work, Sprout warns the mother and son about Miriam and her weird machine. Bellossom moves closer to her son and promises to spread the word.

"Pikachu," Eevee whispers while the grass-types talk. He and I are working next to each other. "Will you tell me a story later?"

…This is out of the blue. "What kind of story?"

Eevee picks at the loose moss at his feet. "A story about…my parents."

I freeze with my hands clenched in the moss. "Eevee…I didn't know your parents."

"I know. But, seeing Bellossom and Oddish makes me wonder about them."

Of course. All Eevee knows about his birth parents is that they died in a forest fire when he was still an egg. I hate to disappoint him, but… "Eevee, any story I tell you wouldn't be true."

"But, I want something to go off of. Even if it isn't true."

I'm torn. Making up a story feels like dishonoring his parents' memory. At the same time, I can understand Eevee's desire for knowledge, false or otherwise.

For a brief moment, I'm right back to the day those poachers attacked my horde. The ones who weren't killed were nowhere to be found, including my own mother, who had been taken by them, and I'm sure she wasn't the only one. I could only assume the worst, but I would have loved to have some idea of what had happened. Even if it confirmed the worst.

And then, of course, there's Ash. He doesn't know where I am or what happened to me, but at least I'll be able to fill in the blanks for him once we're reunited. Not everyone can say that. Because not everyone gets a reunion.

So, if Eevee wants a story, he can have it. And, I'll make sure this one has a happy ending.