I was gonna do Pikachu's story next, but I thought it would be a good idea to get Absol's perspective on everything. So, here you go.

The Past Remains Present

"Behind every angry woman stands a man who has absolutely no idea what he did wrong." - Unknown

Absol

Miriam is here. I don't know if that's better than Vivian or worse.

No, it's definitely worse. Vivian was amicable enough that her actions could be perceived as cluelessness. Miriam was a plain old bitch, and it seems that hasn't changed.

And, I haven't either. I thought I was over those memories, but the second I saw Miriam, I was thrown right back in the lab.

I crouched there, whimpering as waves of agony shot through me. It was like something razor-sharp was crawling under my skin.

Miriam turned off the machine and graciously removed the suction cups stuck to me. She clicked her tongue in disapproval. "You just can't take the heat, can you, Absol?"

I ducked my head, embarrassed at my weakness.

But Vivian, always coming to my rescue, looked up from the clipboard she'd been writing on. "Ah, lay off, Miriam. As long as the thing stays alive, we're in good shape."

I tried not to flinch at the implications. I knew by now that Vivian Ketchum typically didn't think before she spoke. Her word choice wasn't always the best.

Miriam shook her head. "You coddle your pokemon worse than you coddle your nephew."

Vivian rolled her eyes and pointed at her with her pen. "Just get your partner set up. Kyle and Jeff will be with you for that one." Miriam gave her a hearty salute before heading out the door. Then Vivian put down her clipboard, walked up to me, and yanked me up by the horn - something she had yet to realize that I hated - with a command of, "On your feet."

But, the sharp things were still under my skin. My legs collapsed underneath me, and my whimpering resumed.

Vivian pulled me up again, her tone sharper. "On. Your. Feet."

It took every scrap of willpower in me, but I managed to stay upright.

Vivian let go of my horn and looked my pathetic form up and down, those vibrant green eyes seeming to stare right through me. Sometimes it was hard to know what would come next after an experiment. Did I do well enough to eat? Or, would I go to sleep with a growling belly because I'd failed? At least this wasn't one of the more physical tests where she would hit me and call it "motivation" when I moved too slow or didn't use enough strength. I didn't get humans.

But, Vivian smiled just enough that I knew I'd eat tonight. "Ignore Miriam. Patience isn't her strong suit. You did well." She hooked her finger, and I stepped off the platform. The pain was starting to subside, but I was still shaky. Vivian knelt down to my level with that proud smile she gets when she talks about her work. "No matter how much it hurts, Absol, remember what we're here for. This work is going to do wondrous things for the world. You are a part of something mankind will never forget! It'll all be worth it in the end. You'll see."

Soothed by her words, I leaned forward to lick her nose. For a split second, she looked oddly sad before schooling her expression and ruffling my neck fur, a gesture I did enjoy. Vivian was right. We were both here for a purpose. I may not have known what exactly everyone was working on, but Vivian kept saying that it would make the world a safer place. Vivian could be ditzy and careless at times, but she had a big heart. That was the most important thing.

Ugh. Little did I know.

My stomach churns as I watch Sprout, Eevee, and Pikachu's retreating forms. I hope Miriam is far away from where the moss is.

I wonder if Vivian is still alive. The last time I saw her, I was half-crazed with desperation and slashed at her. She was bleeding badly on the floor, and I bolted in the resulting chaos. A shiver runs up my spine. Given everything she's done, I shouldn't feel this guilty, but I really hope she survived. If only so my conscience clears.

"You never talked much about your time in the lab," Wobbles says, cutting into my thoughts.

The shock wore off a while ago, and my foreleg is agony incarnate, especially with Wobbles pressing leaves on to it to staunch the bleeding. I'm grateful, but ow. "Can you blame me?" I retort, fighting the instinct to curl up and moan.

"If the other scientists were anything like her," Wobbles says, "not at all." She checks her work. "At the least the bleeding's slowing down."

I'd been afraid to look at my leg, but now I do so. It's mostly covered by unnaturally red leaves, and Wobbles's hands are also stained. But, what I can see of my wound doesn't look as bad as it feels. "It's just a graze." I can't keep the relief out of my voice. "Worst case scenario, I walk with a limp for a while."

"What was up with that woman, anyway?" Wobbles asks. The Wobbuffet can be hard to read, but her brow is narrowed and a hint of fury leaks into her voice. "Humans kill pokemon sometimes for food, and I can understand that. After all, certain pokemon eat other kinds of pokemon. I don't like it, but it's the food chain. It's natural. But-but, this is… This seems so…meaningless! And, I-"

"Wobbles," I interrupt, "can we talk about something else?"

Wobbles ducks her head. "Sorry."

We fall silent, both of us lost in our heads. But, the silence doesn't last long.

"Let's talk about Miriam's pokemon," Wobbles says with a certain weight. "There isn't anything in particular you remember about it?"

She knows something I don't. It's written all over her face. "I told you it was pink. That's all I got." I hiss when she presses too hard, and my leg jerks instinctively, swishing the soiled leaves.

"Sorry," Wobbles says.

She examines the wound and seems satisfied with how much the bleeding has slowed, though the wound continues to seep. She runs off to grab more leaves. From this angle, I can't crane my head to see her, but I hear her talk as she shuffles around.

"There isn't anything noteworthy that you remember?" she asks. "About the pokemon, I mean."

She definitely knows something. I rack my brain. "I guess it had a-a blue head. Wobbles, you don't understand just how briefly I saw the thing. First it was there, then it wasn't."

While she continues gathering without responding, I steal a moment to lick the blood off my fur, letting the harsh sour-bitter taste distract me from the pain. (It doesn't work.) Wobbles is fixated on Miriam's old partner for one reason or another. I wonder what the big deal is. Wobbles had other travel partners before she and I met, so I suppose the 'mon could have been a friend of hers.

Miriam didn't pull it out during our confrontation. I hope that means the creature had escaped somehow.

Wobbles comes back with fresh leaves and resumes her work, much to my leg's displeasure. Talking was a better distraction for me than licking, so I go back to that.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" I ask through a hiss. "What does it matter what pokemon Miriam had?"

Wobbles bites her lip and keeps her gaze firmly on my leg. "I believe the pokemon was called Hatenna."

Hatenna. The name is familiar. The fact that Wobbles doesn't immediately start "pokedexing," as Pikachu has taken to calling it, is alarming. "Do you…know them, Wobbles?"

Wobbles sucks in air between her teeth. "I believe we've met her." We. As in, both of us and possibly the others. "Don't freak out, but…I think it might have been Hatterene."

I've forgotten how words work.

That's why the name shook a branch. Hatenna. Hattrem. Hatterene. A whole evolution line. Did Hatterene recognize me? Did she ever get a better look at me than I did at her?

I hate to say it, but if she really was Miriam's partner, the state was in when we last saw her doesn't surprise me.

Vivian had a trustworthy air to her. She was persuasive and could twirl words around her finger and make them into what you wanted them to be. No matter what she did, I couldn't stop myself from trusting her. I believed she was a good creature at heart and simply did not understand how much she was hurting me. It wasn't as if I could tell her in any way she'd find coherent.

I wonder if it was the same way for Hatterene. Miriam never put on a front with me, but she could have with her own pokemon. Maybe Hatterene was at that shack because she had gotten away and was hiding. I want to run back there and talk to her, but my injured leg isn't the only reason that's a bad idea.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything," Wobbles laments.

I find my voice and shake my head. "No. Thank you for telling me. Now I know at least one other pokemon made it out of there." Regardless of her…state of being. "Does Pikachu know?"

"I think so. He said they talked about their trainers."

I wonder what Hatterene told him. I won't make Pikachu relive that night by asking.

Soon, not soon enough, shapes appear in the distance, and my friends' familiar and comforting scents tickle my nose, along with the earthy smell of the moss they're carrying. Pikachu is on two feet and is carrying so much moss that I'm surprised he can see over it. Eevee has a wad in his mouth and is wearing Sprout's overstuffed backpack. The newly evolved Weepinbell herself picks up the rear and has moss in both large leaves and a wad tucked under the stem on her head.

"Finally," I sigh. I hadn't realized how nervous I was for them. "Thanks, you guys."

"Don't thank us until your leg heals," Pikachu says as the three of them set their findings in front of me. He helps Eevee get the backpack off. "I can't stay long. I have to bring this back to its new owner."

"New owner?" Wobbles asks, voicing my own confusion as she starts properly dressing my wound. Which still hurts but not as much as with the leaves.

Sprout tells us about a Bellossom and her malformed son, Oddish, and how Bellossom was hoping to use the backpack to keep her hatchling out of danger.

"I just, you know…" Sprout gives her leaves an embarrassed shake. "With everything going on, we need to help each other. And, the backpack's too small for me now anyway, so…"

A proud smile pulls at my mouth. "You're a good 'mon, Sprout."

Sprout hums a sheepish laugh, and her skin gets a little darker.

Pikachu shakes the backpack upside-down as the last pieces of moss fall out. "Alright. I'm gonna get this to Bellossom."

"Don't go alone," I caution as he puts on the backpack.

"I'll go with him," Sprout offers.

As soon as those two are gone, Eevee asks if he can help at all.

"Thanks, Eevee," Wobbles says, "but the bleeding isn't so bad now. I got this." She nods at me. "Keep this guy entertained. He needs something fun to think about."

I'd argue, but she isn't wrong. The encounter with Miriam has me restless, especially that I know her old partner - who might be the same 'mon who cut off Pikachu's ear in a fit of rage - had escaped like I did. Only Hatterene didn't get out unscathed, not mentally. I recall Wobbles and Wobbuffet explaining how psychic-types lose their minds if they use their inherent telekinetic powers too much. I have to wonder if Miriam pressured Hatterene to use hers, and psychosis was the result.

My musings are interrupted by a brown, fluffy lump of hatchling in my face. "When Pikachu comes back," Eevee squeaks, "he's gonna tell us a story."

I try not to flinch when Wobbles spreads fresh moss over my open wound, forming a patch that wraps around my leg. "Yeah? What kind of story?"

Eevee sits on his haunches and swipes a paw over his ear, shy all of a sudden. "Um…a story about my parents."

I blink in surprise. Wobbles stops what she's doing and asks, "Pikachu knew your parents?"

"Well, no." Eevee shuffles his paws. "He's gonna make something up. I just want to have something to say about them."

My heart goes out to him. "You don't mind that it won't be true?"

Eevee shrugs. "It's better than nothing. And, I know Pikachu will make it a good one. He's real good at telling stories." He gasps and slams his forepaws on the ground, his tail wagging. "Do you think there'll be a Legendary Pokemon in it?"

Oh, to be a hatchling again. Life was so simple those days.

By the time Sprout and Pikachu return, my leg is patched up, Eevee has shot off enough story ideas that maybe he should be the one to tell the tale, and I'm actually smiling.

Since it's annoyingly clear that I'm not going anywhere for a while, we decide to make camp even though the sun is still high in the sky. And since they all insist that I need a guard - my pride won't let me admit to how grateful I am for this - Pikachu offers to stay with me while the others gather supplies. That group stays together instead of separating like they normally would. They aren't stupid. Miriam could still be in the area, and I won't let anyone go off on their own until further notice.

I'm glad Pikachu's the one who stayed. I want to talk to him, though I'm not sure how this will go.

"How's your leg?" he asks, giving my dressing a sniff.

"Throbbing," I say. "But, it's certainly better than it was."

Pikachu gives the moss an experimental poke that makes me cringe. "It feels a little damp. We might have to change the covering soon. Luckily," he looks over at the pile of leftover moss nearby, "we have plenty of extras. Do you know if pecha berries grow around here? The juices are perfect for staving off infection. Lum berries, too. But, oran and sitrus berries will work in a pinch."

"You know a lot about medicine," I say, impressed.

Pikachu shrugs. "I've been in a lot of scraps. You pick up on things."

A cruel part of me wants to ask where all this knowledge was the other night when he lost his ear, but I bite my tongue. He had…other things on his mind then.

Which brings me to what's currently on my mind. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," he says, then lets out a guilty hiss. "Sorry."

I know what he means. "Wobbles and I were talking about this while you guys were getting the moss. By any chance, did Hatterene used to be Miriam's pokemon?"

Pikachu's remaining ear goes limp, and there's a deep frown on his mouth. "Maybe. Hatterene told me her trainer's name and that she was a scientist. I don't want to believe it, but it seems like too much of a coincidence." He licks his tiny hands and swipes them over his face while he collects his thoughts. "Hatterene sang praises about her Miriam, but if that was the same Miriam, that wouldn't make any sense, would it?"

He still cares about Hatterene despite what happened. As my Ma used to say, "The 'mon's heart is bigger than his final evolution." And yes, she would also say it about pokemon who were fully evolved or didn't evolve at all. Nostalgia almost makes me smile.

I focus on the matter at hand. "My own trainer had a way with words. She would say something that wasn't a lie, and she had a nice personality, so you would believe she meant well. I have a feeling that Miriam was like that with Hatterene."

Pikachu blinks pityingly. I look away until he says, "Makes me appreciate Ash even more. He's pretty laid-back, but if there's one thing he will not tolerate, it's pokemon abuse. Doesn't matter if it's caused by a human or another pokemon. It's one of the few things that sets him off. Miriam's lucky he wasn't here to see what she did to you."

The more I hear about Ash, the more I want to like him. And, the more I hope that Pikachu isn't delusional like I was and like Hatterene must have been. "I know I've asked this before, but Ash is good to you, right?"

Pikachu's smile is sad but genuine. "Yeah. He's great."

"Glad to hear it."

Pikachu looks down at my dressing and frowns. "You didn't answer my question." I tilt my head, and he gestures to my wound. "Any healing berries nearby?"

"I'm not sure," I say. "Maybe one of the others will bring some back."

Sure enough, once our group is back together, there are plenty of berries to choose from. Pikachu snatches up a pecha berry and some fresh moss and gets to work.