[Pokémon] Mentor (PG-14)

That one was a mistake, really? I thought it was intentional because that was how Leah started out (as she said at some point during her recent inner monologue). I guess an inconsistency is an inconsistency, but it's an inconsistency that also happens to be a nice touch in that situation. *shrug*

Hey there Dagzar, I just got through reading your entire story and I am completely intrigued. I especially like how you develop your characters & even their Pokemons' personalities. The only thing I dislike is how literal most of the Pokemon-related aspects are; ie: training them like animals to learn what words mean what (attacks), the Pokemon bleeding (Voltorb in particular), etc. I've always watched the anime though, so it's not your fault I have trouble imagining these things; it's not at all a bad thing that you're being realistic.

Commenting on some other things, you said some few posts ago that you like choosing lesser known Pokemon for being starters instead of the typical "BULBASAUR, SQUIRTLE, CHARMANDER, EEVEE" (as someone else put it). I absolutely love stories that don't go by that typical concept & I think that made me even more interested in yours (I do the same in my own fanfics, in fact).

Now to talk about your actual fanfic - I love the whole Plate idea, and my favorite character is no doubt Blue. Leah is close behind though. I admire how accurately you represent all age groups, or at least how I know most of them in my personal life (I hang out with all age groups). I'm a little unsure though - are Ed & Ally not appearing in the story anymore? I don't think so since they seemed like major characters but some posts are making me unsure.

As a final note, I love your story and would like to be added to your PM list. I hope this wasn't too much to read. Also, my first post is on your fanfic hah. :)

Hey ryanmtmoa! :D Sorry, it took so long to reply.

I'm glad you're liking the story so far! Before I started Mentor, I had to make a decision on whether or not I was going to make the Pokemon anime-intelligent or animal-intelligent. I finally settled on animal-intelligent because I kept wondering why, if Pokemon are so smart, they obeyed weak humans. Actually, even with animal-intelligence, I was planning to introduce a plot point that any contact with a Plate (even a small amount) made Pokemon anime-intelligent, but that got scrapped for a reason I know longer remember. A pity, because that would have probably have been cool. <_<

I love Blue too, and I'm kind of upset he won't be appearing for a while, though his screen time will increase after this arc. And don't worry, Ed and Ally will be back soon enough, but I want more time to focus on Leah, Chandelle, and Ashley right now.

And you're added to the PM list! ;)

Thank you for reviewing!

I can't wait for the next chapter! When do you think it will be released Dagzar?

Next chapter is going to be super long, so it will be released the Friday after this one, hopefully. Sorry for the wait, the chapter just got really out of hand. It's currently around 6500 words and I'm not even sixty percent through. So, yeah, it'll be out soon. ;)

I can't wait to read it! Thanks for answering my question.

I've just caught up on this story again, and I am EXCITED about the the next chapter. I'm amazed how you could change the entire trajectory of the story so deftly. I'll definitely keep following.

Thanks for reviewing, Akustar! And thank you everyone for being so patient! :D Here's the next chapter:

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Mentor​

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Chapter 47: The Power Plant, part one​

-



Leah knocked on Chandelle's door, Ashley beside her.

As she waited for an answer, she thought about how she should approach this. They hadn't been together long enough for Leah to know if Chandelle would be upset at being woken up early, so it might mean the conversation might start badly.

The door opened with barley a sound and through the small crack, Leah could make out Chandelle's tired face.

"Yes?" she asked, eyes not straying from Leah's.

"You like rare Pokemon, right?" Leah asked.

"Depends what Pokemon."

Ashley spoke up. "Uh, so, there's a power plant near here with lots of electric-types. I can't go alone, so I invited Leah, and she doesn't want to come unless you come." She paused. "So… can you come?"

The only acknowledgement that Chandelle gave to the blond was a flicker of her eyes. Then, she focused on Leah. "I'm going to Lavender today."

"It's raining," Leah said.

Chandelle appeared bit surprised, as if having not known that, but then it melted back into a mask of indifference. "Rain doesn't matter in a cave."

"Can you come, please?" Ashley asked, having her hands out in front of her like a beggar. "This is the perfect time to get an electric-type."

The drumming of the rain was audible in the silence.

Then Chandelle took her face away from the door and opened it wider. "… Come in," she said.

Leah looked at Ashley, who had darted through the door like it would disappear at any minute, before following.

If the bed covers had been neatly folded and the satchel on the desk gone, you could almost say the room hadn't been lived in at all.

"What electric-types live there?" Chandelle asked, not disturbed at being in sleep wear in front of strangers.

"Uh, let's see," Ashley said, blue eyes closing in thought. "Pikachu, Voltorb, Magnemite… Oh, and Electabuzz! I think."

Chandelle sat on her bed, and Leah averted her eyes, face reddening, as the long-haired girl pulled her nightgown hem over her long legs. Ed and Ally had always wore their pajamas around Leah and she didn't care one bit, but it was different when an older girl went walking around in one.

Seriously, didn't she have any modesty?

"Where is the Power Plant?" Chandelle asked.

"Down the river," Ashley said. "I'm not sure how far away it is but I know there's a trail that goes there."

Chandelle looked out the window, the rain drops doing their best to hold onto the glass as their siblings plunged down, making trails of silver.

"Electric-types are pretty rare…" Leah reminded her.

Keeping her eyes on the window, Chandelle said, "I realize." After another pause, she sighed. "I'll come."

Ashley cheered. "Yes!"

Chandelle stared at both of them, a hint of a smile possibly playing on her lips. "I need to get dressed, so please leave. I'll be down in twenty minutes."


-


'****,' Leah concluded, looking at the rain splashing in the puddles. In all her convincing, she forgot that they'd actually be walking in the rain.

Last minutes nerves were coming into play and Leah tried not to think what would happen if another storm passed by. She could handle drizzle, but a storm? No thanks. A storm plus dangerous electric-types? No way in hell.

"I forgot about the rain," she said out loud, unable to stop staring at it.

"Don't worry," Ashley said, grinning as she played with her umbrella as if a sword. "I have an umbrella. We can share."

Leah frowned, crossing her arms. That wasn't the problem. That was never the problem.

… Though it would help.

"Let's go," Chandelle said, walking past them with her own red umbrella in hand.

They followed, Leah fidgeting under the overhang as Ashley put up her umbrella. There was a click and the blond's face lit up as she placed the umbrella on her shoulder like a bat.

"I'm ready!"

Since she was the taller one, Leah held the umbrella as Ashley skipped, trying not to grimace at the umbrella's blue Marill pattern.

Leah glanced towards the sky, but something else caught her attention instead. It was a mountain, rising above the treetops, one of the tallest Leah had ever seen. While that was probably because of how close it was, Rock Mountain was certainly an impressive sight. It was so close that she could see its white peppered ridges.

The walk started in silence, Leah too worried about the weather, Chandelle being her usual self, and Ashley humming under her breath with hardly a care in the world. That didn't last for more than ten minutes.

"So," Ashley started, raising her voice. "What Pokemon do you have?"

Chandelle didn't answer.

Ashley leaned into Leah, whispering, "What's her name again?"

"Chandelle."

"Chandelle! What Pokemon do you have?"

It looked like Chandelle didn't hear, but then her head turned. "A lot," she replied, her voice hardly audible.

"I can barely hear you," Ashley complained, and she smiled. "One sec."

Without any thought to the rain, she ran out from the cover of the umbrella only to take duck under the other one, leaving Leah by herself at the back.

Leah scowled, not liking being left behind, and she quickened her pace to get closer.

"Any interesting ones?" Ashley asked, pressing close to Chandelle to stay out of the rain.

From the back, Leah couldn't see if Chandelle minded the blond being that close, but then the long-haired girl shifted so the umbrella was between them.

"Some," Chandelle said.

Ashley nodded. "That's cool. I have a Zubat. He's shiny."

"… Is it?" Chandelle asked, with more emotion in her voice than Leah had ever heard.

"Yup! Want to see him?"

"May I?" Chandelle stopped so suddenly that she almost made Leah bump into her.

Ashley took out a Poke Ball and enlarged it, motioning for Leah to hold the umbrella over the ball. Leah did so, reluctantly, trying to stay dry as much as possible.

With a rush of white light, Zu-Zu flapped between them, his green coloring bringing out looks of interest from Chandelle. The long haired-girl held out her arm under the Zubat and the flying-type sat on it, folding his wings.

"I've never seen a shiny Zubat before," she said softly. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks," Ashley said, smiling. "I think he's pretty too."

Chandelle ran her finger across the Pokemon's head, touching his ears and making them twitch.

"Have you ever seen a shiny before?" the blond asked.

"I owned a shiny Poochyena."

"Wow! Really?" Ashley's brain then caught up with her ears. "Wait, owned? What happened to it?"

"I sold it," Chandelle replied absentmindedly.

"… But why?" the blond asked, sounding terribly confused.

In the quiet that followed, Leah took the time to flick a damp piece of hair out of her eyes. She wasn't that surprised, really. Shinnies were reveled for two reasons. One, they gave you boasting material with anyone you met, and two…

"Shinnies are beautiful," Chandelle said shortly. "They sell for more than a reasonable amount."

At that, Ashley's mouth hung open and her eyes grew wide. "… That's… You sold your Pokemon for money?"

"You can make a lot of money off of capturing and selling Pokemon," Leah said.

Ashley was quiet and then snapped, "Zu-Zu!"

The Zubat leapt off Chandelle arm, and settled on Ashley's shoulder after a single flap of his wings.

"That's wrong," Ashley said, glaring at Chandelle. "Pokemon shouldn't be used like that."

Leah felt annoyed watching a fight break out before her. They were supposed to be walking to the power plant, not fighting over Pokemon.

Well, at least she got more room under the umbrella.

"Is that why you're coming with us?" Ashley continued, scowling. "So you can sell the Pokemon you catch?"

Chandelle was frowning now. "Most people sell the Pokemon they catch."

"The Pokemon could go to anyone with enough money! They could go to mean trainers or to people who would mistreat them!"

"That's none of my business," Chandelle said coolly.

"All right," Leah said, stepping in. "We're supposed to be going to the power plant, not fighting." Not that she really cared if the blond listened or not, Leah turned to Ashley. "Look, capturing and selling Pokemon is a job. Training is not the only thing you can do with Pokemon. You'll understand when you're older."

Ashley stared her in disbelief. "When I'm older?" Her mouth thinned and she crossed her arms. "That's ********," she spat.

"What?" Leah said, blinking. Did the little blond girl who wouldn't look out of place in a picture of butterflies and lollypops just swear? In all their time together, Leah never heard Ed and Ally swear, which was surprisingly since you'd think they would pick up some of her habits. Ashley looked even younger than the brats, which begged the question: what type of house did the girl come from?

Ashley scowled and glared at both Leah and Chandelle. "I don't want you to come with me if you're just going to sell Pokemon for money!"

Leah opened her mouth, intending to say something witty like, 'What are you supposed to sell Pokemon for? Love?' But Ashley snatched her umbrella from Leah hands and then darted out of reach, running down the path with her Zubat flying beside her.

"I'll go by myself!" she shouted behind her.

With her now wet shoulders hunched, Leah quickly took refuge under Chandelle's umbrella, scowling at Ashley's disappearing form.

"What a stupid girl," Chandelle spoke, angrier than Leah had ever seen her. The long-haired girl had an expression mirroring Leah's and gripped the umbrella hard.

"Now what are we going to do?" Leah asked quietly.

Her voice must have broken Chandelle out of her murderous thoughts as her face turned blank and the only evidence of her anger was an edge in her voice. "I'm not turning back," she said.

"Good," Leah said, staring at her. "'Cause neither am I."

They continued walking.


-


The river bubbled and sloshed, making its course to the ocean.

Leah and Chandelle walked beside it, the other side of the path consisting of trees, their autumn leaves brighter than normal due to the rain. Not that the rain was being bothersome anymore. It had let up a while ago and left that weird rain slash nature smell behind. The sky was still cloudy, which made Leah cautious, but not as much as before.

Rock Mountain was much closer now, and it could have been higher than heaven, its peak disappearing into the clouds. Trapped between the river, and the trees and mountain, all the trainers could do was follow the trail, having no where else to go.

For the beginning of an adventure, nothing really happened outside of Ashley running ahead. No attacks, no Pokemon randomly jumping in their way; nothing. Which was good, but it still left Leah feeling paranoid. The world was never this kind to her; it must be planning something devious.

There was still no sign of Ashley, and Leah didn't know what to think about that. The blond acted immaturely, sure, but the reason they came was because the girl couldn't defend herself.

There was something weird about Ashley's story, now that she thought about it. Apparently, the girl wanted to become a trainer, but couldn't because her parents wouldn't let her. So, then why was she out here all alone with no adult figures to be seen? There was a chance that the blond lived far away from town, but why stay at the Pokemon Center?

Leah hoped Ashley hadn't runaway from home. It was fine when Ed did it since he was still in contact with his brother and his parents generally knew where he was, even if they didn't approve, but Leah didn't know this girl at all. She had no interest in being tangled up with the police, and if the parents didn't know where Ashley was, then that was sure to happen.

"Do you think we're almost there?" Leah asked, if only to start a conversation.

"We are," Chandelle said, motioning to over the treetops. "Look."

Leah did, and saw three odd red shafts sticking up into to sky. It was fairly obvious they were attached to a power plant of some sort; no other structure had something like that.

As they continued walking, the building came into sight, looking small and puny next the mountain it was pressed against. But even then, the power plant towered above their heads, its gray walls old and dirty, looking as if it had stood for decades. Green vines wound their way across its expansive walls as nature tried to claim the abandoned place as its own. It wasn't alone, however, as a chain linked fence, rusted with age, circled the building and there was a single gate that was chained together.

There was no notice sign like most random chain link fences had, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like the trainers were going to obey one anyways.

Leah stopped in front of the fence, kicking it with her foot. "Now what?"

Grabbing the chains, Chandelle pulled them at different angles, but they wouldn't come loose. She looked at the top of the fence, where bard wire could have been, but thankfully wasn't.

"We climb," she said, taking a pair of gloves out of her satchel and putting them on. "Do you have any gloves?"

"No."

"Then wait until I get over first."

With more athletic skill than Leah thought possible, Chandelle hoisted herself up and over the fence in no time flat, panting lightly as she hit the ground on the other side. She rested for a moment and then took off her gloves, pushing them through the chain link fence towards Leah.

"Put them on."

"Why?" Leah said, pulling them on and frowning at the weird sensation. "I don't need gloves to climb."

"This fence is rusty; you don't want to get cut on it," she said as Leah grasped the fence links over her head and fit a shoe in one of the lower links.

Leah's try with the fence didn't go as smoothly, as she hesitated at the top, balancing in a crouching position with both hands steadying herself.

"Jump," Chandelle said.

When she was much younger, Leah could remember jumping from such heights to be child's play (which they were), but now that she was older, logic was her backbone and it was telling her she would probably break her neck.

"I'm just going to-" Leah took a minute to turn herself around before climbing down the old fashioned way, one step at the time. Still, her face burned in embarrassment as she heard Chandelle sigh.

"I'm not used to climbing fences," Leah snapped at the girl as soon as she let go of the fence. She gave the gloves back to Chandelle and then pushed past her. "Come on! Let's just go."

It was a short walk to the front door of the power plant, and Leah was only partly surprised when she saw someone already there.

"Won't it open?" Leah asked, and Ashley turned around at record speed, scowling.

"It won't!" she exclaimed, childish features scrunched up into an angry expression. "I've tried everything!"

Ashley's Zubat screeched, settling down on a close tree branch, tired from the flying.

Chandelle approached the door and she tried it, but like the chains, it didn't budge.

"I already tried it!" Ashley said, crossing her arms. "I said it wouldn't open!"

"We could go through a window," Leah suggested, seeing the mostly glassless windows along the wall.

"I'm not climbing through glass," Chandelle said without turning around. She paused and then looked at Leah. "Your Drowzee. Is it strong enough to open a door like this?"

"Isn't it locked?"

"I don't think so. It's only stuck."

"She might," Leah said, releasing Zee in front of the door. "Zee, can you mentally open the door?"

The Drowzee's eyes narrowed, only showing a bit of confusion on why they were at such a location. She raised her hands, the door and herself being encased in a blue glow, then pulled. There was a squishing sound and the door moved, but didn't open entirely.

Chandelle grabbed the handle again and pulled.

"It still won't open."

"Zee, pull it again."

The Pokemon did so, and the door seemed to shake.

"One more should do it."

"Zee-"

With a high-pitched screech, the door opened all the way at breakneck speed, slamming against the wall, its weight only allowing it to barely recoil. The Drowzee fell backwards at the sudden movement and sound, and all three trainers nearly did the same.

As Leah helped Zee to her feet, Ashley called her Zubat to her shoulder and peered through the doorway.

"It looks dark."

Chandelle went and stood beside the blond. "It's only dark because we're outside," she said, taking a step into the darkness.

"Wait!"

Both girls stopped and looked at Leah.

"Aren't you going to send out a Pokemon?" Leah asked Chandelle.

"No," she replied and ignoring any further complaints, disappeared into the shadows. Ashley followed, leaving Leah behind with Zee.

"If you sense anything weird, tell me," Leah told her Pokemon before facing the building. "Now come on."

The first impressions of the building were correct up to a point; it was dark, but only until Leah's eyes got used to it. In reality, the inside was illuminated enough to see where you were going, the windows letting in light. Broken glass crunched under her shoes as Leah walked forward. Bits of leaves and plants poked out from the cracks in the concrete and odd machines stood on both sides of the entrance, one after the other in all their rusted glory.

The whole thing had an odd atmosphere to it. It seemed peaceful, but only until Leah realized how silent it was and then the building was categorized under 'places most likely to be the setting of a horror movie'.

Leah happened to be the first one to say something. "I don't see any Pokemon."

"They won't be in the open," Chandelle murmured, taking a flashlight out of her satchel as she bent down to look at the floor.

Ashley was standing away from the other girls, not looking that comfortable at any of the current circumstances. She glanced at Chandelle and curiosity seemed to overcome her as she bent down next to the long-haired girl and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Looking for any signs of a Pokemon," Chandelle said, eyes narrowed in concentration. "Tracks, markings, feces-"

Ashley wrinkled her nose and stood back up. "Ew. That's gross."

"That's life," Chandelle said, getting back on her feet. She appeared disgruntled. "I've never tracked Pokemon inside a building before. This may get complicated."

"Maybe they're further in the building," Leah suggested as she kicked glass and twigs. She was about to purposely step on a particularly big shard of glass when a simple thought occurred to her.

Leah swung her head around. "Zee!"

Her Drowzee was only a few feet away from the door, feet in an awkward position with both arms outstretched as she tried not to step on the glass.

"I forgot Zee doesn't have shoes!" Leah moaned as she came to the psychic-type's aid, letting the Pokemon lean on her before she could get out her Poke Ball.

It was unfortunate that both her Pokemon were basically useless right now. Sands was disobedient and the only reason Zee couldn't operate was because she didn't have shoes. Shoes of all goddamn things.

Leah returned the Drowzee and scowled, wondering what she was supposed to do now. She didn't want to go wandering without any type of protection.

Speaking of which…

"Where's your Pokemon?" she asked Chandelle. "You just can't wait for something to appear."

"I won't be using mine," the long-haired girl replied.

"What? Why not?"

"I only have one Pokemon." Chandelle eyed the machines with distaste. "It would not work well in these conditions."

Chandelle walked towards the hallway without another word and Leah followed, stepping inline with Ashley.

"I thought you said you had a lot of Pokemon," Ashley said quietly.

"I only have one with me," Chandelle corrected.

Leah didn't feel very comfortable with the situation. Three trainers walking through an electric-type paradise with only a Zubat to protect them usually didn't sit well with anyone. She really wished Sands would go back to being Sands… Or for Zee to get a pair of shoes. Either one would work.

"It's okay," Ashley said to Leah, almost as if she had read her mind. "If we come back, you can bring some shoes and then your Drowzee can come with us."

They entered the hallway, it stretching out for several meters.

"Maybe," Leah said. It was a silly idea, but Leah wouldn't mind having her Drowzee in shoes next to her. Even having the image in her head was nice.

Ashley must have realized what a stupid idea that was too because she quickly said, "Or maybe you can teach her to levitate! That be really cool."

"I don't think Drowzee can levitate."

"They can't," Chandelle said from in front. "They don't have the power necessary for such an act."

"What can Drowzee do?" Ashley asked.

Before Leah could answer, Chandelle did. "They're bulkier than the average psychic, though not as popular or strong overall."

Leah scoffed, thinking about her battle with Danny back in Vermillion. "Zee can take out psychic-types. All they do it Teleport around."

"You've never seen a Kadabra before, have you?" Chandelle asked. "They are one of the strongest psychic-types in the world. Even an untrained one would run circles around most Pokemon."

That was true. However, while Drowzee were known to be physically bulky, Kadabra were known for being physically sucky. A single punch from Zee could knock one out, Leah was sure.

"What about Alakazam?" Ashley said. "They're Kadabra's evolved form. Aren't they strong?"

Chandelle stopped. "Alakazam…" she started, turning to them. "They are banned from competitive battle."

Before Ashley could express her confusion, Chandelle stopped her. "Pokemon are up ahead, I'm sure of it," she said. "Be quiet and don't disturb them."

Ashley nodded and Chandelle took the lead, Ashley in the middle, and Leah at the back. They inched their way along the hallway to a door, which was thankfully unlocked. Chandelle pushed it open, taking a peek into the next room, and said, "It's clear."

As Leah walked through the door, she took a quick look around for any signs of danger since Zee wasn't there to warn her. But her paranoia wasn't rewarded as there was nothing, the building as silent as ever.

Suddenly, Ashley gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Leah turned and noticed Chandelle doing the same, one of the long-haired girl's hands going to her pocket.

"So cute!" Ashley whispered, pointing to one of the machines.

Chandelle relaxed while Leah walked up a few steps, looking at the pile of fluff against a machine. The pile contained a bunch of yellow and brown bodies with thunderbolt tails poking out here and there. Alone, each Pokemon could generate squee from miles around like only a baby could, but together, they could rule the world.

The Pikachu were so cute that it hurt to look at them, but at the same time, Leah couldn't help but stare. She had no opinion on Pikachu. The electric-type tended to make people either love or hate them, but Leah really didn't care. However, she was sure that such cuteness could make even the most extreme Pikachu hater love them forever, which weird-ed her out. Nothing that cute should exist.

"Don't touch them," Chandelle warned, grabbing Ashley's hand before it could get too close. "They'll shock you."

"But they're so cute!" Ashley repeated with a look of longing on her face. "Don't you just want to take them home?"

Leah caught Chandelle looking hesitant, before she shook her head. "They're too young to battle and have already evolved from their 'baby' form," Chandelle said. "I don't see why any trader would want one."

Yeah, if Leah didn't know Chandelle was weird before, now she did.

"You know what I mean!" Ashley said, scowling. "Stop being- ugh, please go away!"

Before Leah could intervene, Chandelle turned her back.

"I have no interest in Pikachu," she said. "Catch what you can and then go back to the Pokemon Center. Don't wait up for me."

"Hey! Don't just walk away!" Ashley exclaimed as Chandelle did just that, her face turning panicked. "I didn't mean it!"

But Chandelle didn't seem to hear as she disappeared down another corridor without another word.

A little squeak caught Leah's attention and she look down at the Pikachu, some of them having their eyes open and making confused noises.

Ashley gasped, Chandelle forgotten, as she went to her knees. "Oh, I woke them up! I'm sorry, guys!"

"Don't touch them," Leah said, echoing Chandelle's comment.

"I'm not," Ashley said. "I'm just looking at them."

Leah frowned. "Come on, we should get moving. These can't protect you."

Suddenly, Leah wondered why she said that. She was accompanying Ashley as a sort of sidekick for this adventure, but that didn't mean she had to help. Her comment implied like she was going to, which was absurd. She had already travelled four months with annoying brats; she wasn't interested in replacing them.

Sighing, Ashley said, "I know, but I haven't seen something so cute in my life! Lavender doesn't have Pokemon like these."

"You live in Lavender?"

"Yeah," Ashley said vaguely.

Now that they were on the topic, Leah couldn't be faulted for fishing for information. "Where's your parents?"

Now Ashley looked guilty. "What do you mean?"

"You said your parents won't let you become a trainer, so why are you all the way out here alone?"

Ashley stared blankly at the Pikachu.

"Where's your parents?" Leah pressed.

"… Bye Pikachu," Ashley said, standing up. Without looking at her, she told Leah. "Come on; let's go find something I can catch."

"What?"

But Ashley was already walking away.

… Did she just get ignored? People sometimes ignored her like that, but never so blatantly. What was that girl hiding to act like that? Cross out the runaway theory, now Leah wondered if the blond's parents died or something.

"Are you coming?" Ashley asked from the other side of the room.

"Yeah," Leah said, hiding her scowl.

What was going on?


-


"It's perfect!" Ashley whispered, looking at the unaware Pokemon from behind a machine.

Leah had a different opinion. "Your Zubat can't beat that," she said, doubt in her voice.

"How do you know? It hasn't even noticed us!"

"It's an electric-type. It doesn't need to notice us."

Which was true. That particular Pokemon contained so much electrical energy in its small chubby body that one jolt would probably kill Ashley's Zubat instantly. Hell, even human would get the shock of their lives. A fact that Leah was having a hard time forgetting.

Ashley huffed. "Well, I think Zu-Zu will do just fine. I'll Supersonic-"

"Then what?"

"Shush! Then, I'll let it tire out and beat itself up."

The plan, which actually having an ounce of strategy, had holes, ones big enough to drive a truck through.

"… Relying on confusion is going to backfire," Leah said. She wasn't an expert on most Pokemon, but it was safe to say she had a good understanding on ghost-types. And with that, confusion itself. Her grandmother rarely used confusion in battles, because as she explained to Leah: confusion not only forced a confusion-using trainer and their Pokemon to let their guard down, but it also made confused Pokemon unpredictable. One moment they were wobbling on their feet, and the next they were attacking.

Confusion was only a good idea when a Pokemon was also spamming other attacks, and not letting the opposing Pokemon rest. That way, even if the opposing Pokemon snapped out of confusion, they would be too busy dealing with the rest of the attacks to do sudden movements.

Ashley's Zubat was too weak to really do damage on any Pokemon.

"If it snaps out of it, I'll Supersonic again," Ashley was saying.

"… Then at least stay away from it," Leah said, feeling bit nervous. She hated being powerless, and in this situation, she was exactly that. Her Pokemon wouldn't be able to protect her with all the glass on the floor and now they were purposely annoying a strong electric-type.

If it were Ed and Ally trying to catch it, she would feel fine on pulling them away from such an encounter as it was her right as their Mentor. But with this blond girl she had no such power. She couldn't stop her from doing stupid things, like she was doing now, and that bothered Leah.

What was she supposed to do?

"I will, I will," Ashley said, waving off the older girl's warning. "Don't worry, this'll work!"

The Zubat took flight, gliding on green wings, and Leah froze, watching it move towards the target.

The target being an orange rodent, not bigger than Sands. Chocolate brown covered feet, circular yellow pads on its cheeks, sharp brown-yellow ears, and a thin black tail with a lightning bolt on the end were sure symbols of a Raichu.

It was surprising to see such a rare Pokemon sitting on the ground and doing nothing but licking ones of its paws. But there it was, having traded in part of its pre-evolution's cuteness for double the amount of power. All the Pokemon in the Power Plant were pretty dangerous except for the Pikachu, but Leah still wished Ashley had spotted a Magnemite or something.

As the Zubat hovered right over the Raichu, it let out thin blue rings from its mouth. They engulfed the Raichu like a UFO's kidnapping technique, and it was only then that the electric-type realized it had visitors.

Its ears twitched and eyes narrowed as it stopped cleaning itself and got up. Or tried too. Its legs buckled underneath it, one giving out entirely, making the Raichu let out an annoyed, "Chu…"

Ashley smiled at the sound and Leah swore she could see sparkles in the blond's eyes.

And then a minute passed.

"It's not doing anything," Ashley whispered.

The Raichu, apparently a lazy creature, was laying down on its stomach, limbs close to its body as its tail whipped up a storm behind it. As if sensing the blond's plan, it had decided to stay absolutely still, hoping everything would go away.

Ashley appeared frustrated. "This isn't working."


More minutes ticked by and Leah saw the blond getting impatient, fidgeting, and glancing at her. Finally, her expression melted into one of determination.

"Maybe you should-" Leah cut herself off when she realized what Ashley was doing. "Hey, wait-"

Ashley was creeping forward, one hand out in front of her to soothe the wild Pokemon of her intentions. Her other hand was holding a Poke Ball, looking so shiny it had to be new.

Without thinking, Leah almost leapt forward, grabbing the blond by the shoulder and dragging her back. The girl made an exclamation of surprise and then turned, forcing Leah to let go.

"What are you doing?" Ashley spat. "Don't grab me!"

"What are you doing?" Leah scowled, in no mood for a ten-year-old's stupid stunts.

Ashley pointed to the Raichu, who was looking at them like it had nothing else to do. "I'm catching the Raichu! It isn't doing anything so I might as well try!"

"Oh, good idea!" Leah's sarcasm decided to make an appearance. "Try going up to an uninjured Raichu with nothing more than a ball! I'm sure it'll be kind to you!"

Pausing, Ashley said, "What's your problem? I- It's confused, it c- can't hurt me right now!"

It took a few moments for that sentence to sink into Leah's brain.

"… Are you stupid?" Leah asked, actually not knowing what to say. And this girl wanted to be a trainer? What a scary thought that was! Either the blond watched too many cartoons or was really that ignorant. "Pokemon aren't toys or Care Bears. They're animals; they can kill you!"

That statement won Leah the argument as Ashley appeared to go smaller than she already was, her face reddening and her eyes looking a bit glassy.

"… B- But it's just a Raichu," Ashley said, sniffing. "It's just a-"

Oh, great; a crying girl. Just what Leah wanted. When Ally was like that, she could just let Ed comfort her and leave, but here, it was just the two of them. She couldn't just walk away.

"Stop crying," Leah said, frowning, but her simple command seemed to bring out a more teary-eyed look in the blond.

Sighing, Leah glanced at the Raichu, who had moved during the exchange and was now a bit… closer. A small blue spark sizzled and fell off its cheek, disappearing into the ground like an ember. The electric-type looked annoyed, now that Leah looked at it. And a bit angry.

Despite what Leah said about Raichu being dangerous, she didn't mean they were malicious. Not like Persian or Fearow, who went out of their way to kill things. Honestly, the whole Pikachu family was rather docile, responding positively to human interaction, even in the wild. The problem was Pokemon were still animals; they didn't understand that their version of play was different than humans. Pikachu shocked each other when playing, nipping their playmate's tails… If there was one animal Pikachu and Raichu were like, it was dolphins. Dolphins played with people, pulling them under the water, and trying to have fun. But they didn't understand that humans couldn't breathe like dolphins and drowning definitely wasn't something humans would find fun.

"L- Leah?"

"What?"

Ashley let out a shuttering breath. "I- I know you're not a trainer," she said, still tearing up. She looked at the Raichu. "But can you help me catch a Pokemon? Please? I can't do this by myself…"

"Fine," she said, still looking at the electric-type.

"What? … Y- You will?" Ashley asked, her face lighting up. "You'll help me capture a Pokemon?"

"Yeah."

Any tears or sadness seemed to disappear from Ashley entirely and she smiled. "All right!"

"All right," Leah repeated. "Let's go."

"What?"

"You want me to help you, right? So let's go find a Pokemon that I can help you catch."

"But we can take this! If your Drowzee and my Zubat banned together-"

"Our Pokemon aren't strong enough for this," Leah said.

Ashley's face fell. "Come on! They can do this. You just need to have some faith."

"I don't believe in the heart of the cards." Cutting off further arguments, Leah asked, "Do you want to be a trainer?"

The random question made Ashley blink. "Yeah."

"Then here's a tip. Trainers are smart. They don't rely on things like confusion or faith to win battles or capture Pokemon. They don't just jump into things that they can't win. No, they analyze a situation and if it looks like they can win, they try their best. If not, they back out and go find a better opportunity. Have you watched the Indigo Tournament before?" Everyone had, but Leah felt like asking anyway. "Trainers battling in it know what they're doing. If the odds aren't right for their Pokemon, they switch, no questions asked. If a trainer is down to their last Pokemon and they know they can't win, they forfeit."

Ashley looked at the wild electric Pokemon with frown. "But the Raichu…"

"What would happen we tried to fight it and lost?" Leah asked, changing tactics. "Your Zubat would probably be dead, who knows what would happen to my Pokemon, and we'd be totally defenseless against a pissed off Raichu. It would not end well."

Leah made a mock sigh. "But whatever. If you want your Zubat to suffer, go right ahead and try. I'm not going to sacrifice my Pokemon for this." She turned her back, putting her hands in her pockets as she walked away.

She didn't feel guilty for being harsh. Any patience she had with brats had been used up with Ed and Ally, and it so happened that the blond was more annoying than both combined… And weirder. For a crying girl who could have gotten herself killed, Ashley cheered up awfully fast. She talked weirdly while crying too. Ally stuttered a lot so Leah knew a fake stutter when she heard one.

Footsteps on the cold concrete behind her made Leah smirk.

"Wait up!" Ashley exclaimed, her Zubat flapping above. "Don't just start walking off! I don't want to be left alone in here!"

Leah didn't know what she would do if Ashley called her bluff and tried to catch the Raichu. Physical force was a likely option, as it wasn't like the blond could stop her from dragging her away or throwing her over her shoulder (not that the latter option would be much use as Leah doubted she could walk five steps with someone over her shoulder).

Turning, Leah opened her mouth to say something sarcastic, but she was shaken out of that action quite literally.

The ground rumbled as an explosion from close by forced Leah to her knees with both hands covering her ears. Bits of rubble hit her back and in her split-second of terror, she wondered whether the building would collapse.

But then the feeling past and so did the noise. She opened her eyes, not aware that she closed them, and looked over at Ashley, who was hugging her Zubat close to her chest, still shaking in fright.

"W- What was that?" Ashley wailed. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Leah said, getting up and helping Ashley to her feet. "That might be Chandelle. Come on!"

With her hand holding hers, Leah dragged Ashley towards the sound, eyes and ears alert, and mind racing.

This wouldn't end well.


-


A/N: THIS CHAPTER LEAVES ME IN DESPAIR.

So, yeah. I haven't had this much trouble with a chapter since chapter thirty-seven. I hate this thing. The beginning was nice and last few paragraphs of the ending were acceptable, but the Raichu scene… Don't get me started.. I must have cut four-thousand words from this thing alone. I know I said this chapter would be extra long, but I split it in two, so here's part one. If you didn't enjoy the chapter, I assure you, the next one will be much better and contains all the action.

FANTASTIC CHAPTER!! This book is simply fabulous!

Ashley nodded. "That's cool. I have a Zubat. He's shiny."

Click to expand...

[dies of envy]

I've been looking for a Shiny Zubat for at least five years now TT -TT

But Ashley snatched her umbrella from Leah hands

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Leah's.

Alone, each Pokemon could generate squee from miles around like only a baby could, but together, they could rule the world.

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Can I just say that I love, love, love this sentence? XD

"You know what I mean!" Ashley said, scowling. "Stop being- ugh, please go away!"

Click to expand...

Wait... didn't Ashley run off? Or am I missing something?

Her Pokemon wouldn't be able to protect her with all the glass on the floor

Click to expand...

Zee could probably stand on one of the old machines or boxes that are scattered around the Power Plant.

"I don't believe in the heart of the cards."

Click to expand...

Oh you, Leah.

Anyway, coolio chapter. I'm sure Leah could have brought up the fact that Pikachus evolve into Raichus as one of her attempts to shut up the blubbering Ashley, but then again, she might just be too much of a jerk to do something like that.

FANTASTIC CHAPTER!! This book is simply fabulous!

Click to expand...

Thanks, Ultima! :D I'm glad you liked it.

[dies of envy]

I've been looking for a Shiny Zubat for at least five years now TT –TT

Click to expand...

Heh, Zubat was my first ever shiny. Back then, I didn't really know what a shiny was, but I caught it and threw it into my PC, never looking at it again. Don't worry, you'll find your shiny Zubat eventually~

Wait... didn't Ashley run off? Or am I missing something?

Click to expand...

Ashley ran off after before they got to the power plant, but Leah and Chandelle caught up with her in front of the building, so they went in together.

Zee could probably stand on one of the old machines or boxes that are scattered around the Power Plant.

Click to expand...

Not that I did too much research of power plants, not including looking at pictures, but the machine aren't flat and are probably rusty, dusty, and gross. Any boxes are probably decaying by now too. Leah wouldn't touch them, much less letting one of her Pokemon touch them.

Oh you, Leah.

Click to expand...

I think I cried tears of joy when I managed to reference both Yu-Gi-Oh and Care Bears in the same chapter.

Anyway, coolio chapter. I'm sure Leah could have brought up the fact that Pikachus evolve into Raichus as one of her attempts to shut up the blubbering Ashley, but then again, she might just be too much of a jerk to do something like that.

Click to expand...

That might have worked, but sometimes people get attached to a specific object out several identical ones, even after seeing them once. Then they want that object and none of the others can compare. It happens to me sometimes when I'm out buying stuff.

Thanks for reviewing, Giratina! :D

I have to say, chapter 48 is coming along extremely well, so expect the chapter to be posted at regular time~

I saw three Shiny Zubats and mowed them all down without knowing what a Shiny was. >:I So that's why I'm looking for one.

Not that I did too much research of power plants, not including looking at pictures, but the machine aren't flat and are probably rusty, dusty, and gross. Any boxes are probably decaying by now too. Leah wouldn't touch them, much less letting one of her Pokemon touch them.

Click to expand...

Ah. Yeah, I was going off what I remembered from FRLG, and in there they still seemed like they could hold a Pokémon's weight... but that was likely cheapo graphics for ya. XD

I think I cried tears of joy when I managed to reference both Yu-Gi-Oh and Care Bears in the same chapter.

Click to expand...

As did I.

That might have worked, but sometimes people get attached to a specific object out several identical ones, even after seeing them once.

Click to expand...

Eh. Ashley was distracted by the group of Pikachu before, so... oh well. XD Anyway, as I said before, good chapter and KEEP WRITING YO.

-



The noise was still echoing in Leah's ears as she dragged Ashley down a hallway. Common logic suggested that she was supposed to be running away from the noise and not going towards it, but Chandelle was still out there. Leah's personal feelings didn't matter; Chandelle could hardly defend herself with one Pokemon that was apparently bad in power plants.

Leah never knew that power plants were so big on the inside until she hesitated at a crossroad of hallways. She thought power plants were composed of a bunch of big rooms with machines in them. She could hardly comprehend they had hallways.

"Which way?" Ashley asked, looking no less scared than when the noise happened.

Too busy thinking to say anything, Leah chose the path closest to the noise, walking as fast as she could without breaking into a run. If they had to deal with a dangerous Pokemon, either by running or fighting, she didn't want to be out of energy.

The hallway led into the room where they had separated with Chandelle. Chandelle wasn't there and neither were the baby Pikachu. When baby Pokemon were smart enough to flee when Leah wasn't, she had to question what she was doing.

Chandelle was athletic and knew a lot about Pokemon, so Leah had to trust her to get out on her own. What Leah should have been doing was escorting Ashley out. Instead, she was dragging a ten-year-old on a pointless rescue mission. Besides, why was she assuming the bang was a bad thing? Sure, there were probably Voltorb everywhere, but maybe Chandelle wasn't in any danger and only knocked something over?

"This is so stupid," Leah muttered to herself, not walking any farther.

Ashley stopped behind her, letting go of Leah's hand. "Do you think your friend is okay?" she asked.

"I don't know."

Leah had only turned away only for a second before Ashley cried, "Look!"

Appearing from the other hallway was Chandelle, looking disoriented with one hand holding her head and the other clammed around the strap of her bag.

"Chandelle!" Leah exclaimed.

Chandelle turned their way, a flash of recognition on her features as they ran over to her. Her normally straight brown hair was a mess and there was a tear on one of her sleeves, showing a shallow red cut.

"What happened?"

"I made a mistake," Chandelle said, grimacing as she wiped dirt off her chin. "We must leave-"

From the end of the corridor a screech sounded and Chandelle leapt out of the doorway, a blast of air blowing past her. It crossed the room and hit the wall with a loud bang, leaving a dent in the stone.

Leah paled. She knew a Sonicboom when she saw one. "What did you do?"

"Let's leave!" Ashley said, pulling on Leah's arm.

Instead of doing what the blond suggested, Leah looked to where the blast had come from, wanting to get at least a glance of the attacker. She could see nothing, but then a shape appeared in the dark, sparks of electricity illuminating its floating form. Three eyes glared at her and its steel body shone.

It wasn't what Leah had been expecting, and she couldn't decide whether that was a good or bad thing.

The Magneton sparked, forcing Leah to look away from the brilliant sight.

Well, at least the Pokemon couldn't explode-

"Come on!" Chandelle said, herding Leah and Ashley away from the Magneton. Leah didn't like being treated like that, but she didn't want to get electrocuted, so there was no point in being difficult. She followed Chandelle as she raced down another hallway, another screech making it clear that the Magneton would not be left behind.

Seeing a door coming up ahead, Leah skid to a halt, tried it, and cursed when it didn't open.

"What are you doing?" Ashley asked, stopping with Chandelle up the hallway.

"We can't just run!" Leah replied, scowling. "It'll follow us!" She wasn't going to run all over the power plant until the Magneton went away. She didn't know much about those Pokemon, but it looked angry and she doubted it would let up any time soon. They needed a place to hide.

She backed up a few paces and ran at the door, shoulder first. It didn't even budge under her weight, and her frustration couldn't drown out the sudden, shooting pain in her shoulder.

"Move out of the way!" Chandelle snarled, pushing her towards Ashley. She stood side-ways from the door, bent her knees, and lashed out with her foot, hitting the door beneath the door knob. It didn't work, but the long-haired girl took a deep breath, regained her balance, and tried once more. This time there was a snap and the door burst open.

The three girls ran inside and Chandelle closed the door behind them, leaning against it.

The silence was filled with their heavily breathing. A bang down the hall broke the quiet, but another one didn't follow.

Leah leaned against the wall and held her injured shoulder tightly, the throbbing pain making her wince. To take her mind off it, she glanced around the room, but it was just a regular office. There was a desk, covered in a layer of dust, and there were wires connected to the wall, ones that could have been used for a computer. There was a small window next to the desk, but this one still had glass in it, not that you could really see out of it.

"What are we going to do?" Ashley asked.

"Be quiet!" Leah snapped, glancing at the door.

"Magneton hear using vibrations, not sound," Chandelle informed them with a tired note in her voice.

Ashley made a sound of understanding. "Can it get in here?"

There was another bang, this time closer to the door, making the trainers jump.

"Do Magneton have hands?" Leah grumbled, the pain in her shoulder making her regret getting out of bed that morning.

"Can't it blast down the door? I mean, it seems powerful."

That was something Leah hadn't thought of and the realization that she might have gotten them all trapped made her freeze. A small space like the office they were in was no place to battle a Magneton if it got in. They'd all be fried. Damn it, she should have just ran. What was she thinking? She just had to hope the door was sturdy enough to live a Sonicboom or a Thunderbolt.

Trying to hide her guilt, Leah turned to Chandelle. "What's going on? Why is it chasing you?"

"I made a mistake," Chandelle said softly.

"Yeah, what mistake?"

The older girl's silence made Leah sigh.

"Looks like we have lots of time now. Just tell us."

"… I found something that proved interesting, but the Magneton intercepted me and attacked. My Pokemon can't hurt a Magneton, so I used Confuse Ray to keep it occupied as I devised a plan."

"You used Confuse Ray to occupy it?" Leah scowled and looked to Ashley. "And this is how confusion fails. Remember this."

"I had no other choice!" Chandelle defended. "Magneton are mostly immune to my Pokemon's attacks. Confuse Ray was only thing that would work in a short period of time."

The space under and around the door lit up, catching their attention, and the door groaned as crackling filled the air. The sound faded, but it didn't settle their nerves.

Ashley rubbed her arms. "When do you think it'll go away?"

"When it calms down," Chandelle said.

Leah looked up at the older girl, who was now much taller as she was the only one still standing.

"Sit down," Leah said.

Chandelle looked down at her, eyes flickering to the dirty floor, but complied, sitting cross-legged and away from the walls.

After a pause, Leah asked Chandelle, "Where is your Pokemon?"

"… I'm not sure. I lost track of it when I ran."

"Will the Magneton hurt it?" Ashley asked.

"I trust it to stay out of sight."

"What Pokemon is it?"

Chandelle took a while to reply. "You wouldn't have heard of it."

There wasn't anything to say to that, and while Leah scowled and sat in suffering, she wondered what Pokemon it was and why Chandelle felt the need to hide it. Either Chandelle was embarrassed by the Pokemon or it was incredibly rare or powerful. Maybe even both. Trainers could be very protective over their Pokemon, especially ones that they considered trophies. For a collector like Chandelle, she probably hated showing them to anyone.

While the room seemed peaceful in its darkness, light coming in from the window and lush green leaves pressing against the glass, Leah didn't like it. It was just like the mansion on Cinnabar, old and dusty. But while the mansion was relatively lifeless, the power plant was not.

If only it wasn't a Magneton on the other side of the door. She had bad experiences from that family. Surge had beaten her with a Magnemite, and the species had the oddest typing. Electric and steel was combination that was tough to beat if you didn't have the right Pokemon. Which Leah didn't. A Sandslash and a Drowzee, no matter how obedient and willing, wouldn't be able to scratch it. A Zubat also wouldn't help at all, and whatever Chandelle had apparently couldn't work in the environment they were in.

Leah wished she had Ally with her. A Vulpix would be able to make short work of a Magneton. Ed's Ditto could even be viable, depending on whether he could make it transform properly.

A quiet voice broke the silence.

"Why do you sell Pokemon for money?"

Chandelle turned her head.

"Why do you?" Ashley repeated, drawing her knees up close to her chest and allowing her Zubat to perch on her arm.

"That's how Pokemon collectors make a living," Chandelle replied, just a quiet.

"Couldn't you just battle? Why do you have to sell them?"

"I don't like battling. It's…" Chandelle paused. "I'd rather just watch."

"Oh…"

More silence.

"Why did you start collecting?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to know."

Leah didn't think Chandelle would reply, but surprisingly, she did.

"I started out as a trainer, but it didn't suit me. I like… having Pokemon, capturing them."

"What was your first Pokemon?"

There was an odd quirk to Chandelle's lips. "A Cherubi."

"What's that?"

Leah mentally echoed the question. She had never heard of it before.

"A grass type, from Sinnoh."

"That's a long ways a way."

"Yes."

"So you live there?"

"I grew up there."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"No…" Chandelle hesitated. "Do you?"

Ashley seemed surprised that she had a question directed at her. "No, I'm an only child." She looked at Leah. "Are you?"

"An only child? Uh, yeah," Leah said.

"I wished I had a sister or a brother." Ashley sighed. "It would be cool."

Leah grimaced. "I wouldn't want one."

"Why not?"

"I've looked after a few younger kids." Bratty younger kids that could really be useful right then and there. "They're annoying."

"That's true," Ashley said, not sounding like she believed it. "I wouldn't mind an older one, though."

"You live in Lavender, right?" Leah asked.

It was then Ashley seemed to remember that she didn't want to talk about herself, but answered anyways. "… Yeah." She tried to get attention off herself. "Where do you live?"

"Pallet."

Chandelle spoke up. "Professor Oak lives there."

"Yeah. I've never met him."

Leah's grandmother sometimes expressed an interest in bringing Leah over to meet him, but she always declined. After her journey at age ten, she never wanted anything to do with Pokemon.

"So, what was your first Pokemon?" Ashley asked Leah.

"A Sandshrew… and I only have two Pokemon."

"You haven't retired it yet?" Chandelle asked, looking up. "Five years of battling is too much for a Sandslash."

"He's only had a few months of battling." Leah frowned, a feeling of sadness making itself known in her gut. "He only evolved a few weeks ago…"

Now Chandelle looked surprised. "You're old for a starting trainer."

Leah's reply was swift. "I'm not a trainer."

"Then what are you?"

"A traveler."

"Why are you a traveler?" Ashley asked.

"Because I want to be." Leah scowled, not liking the direction the conversation was taking. She wasn't a trainer, she didn't want to be one, and it wasn't up for discussion. You didn't need to be a trainer to go on a journey.

"Being a traveler will only take you so far," Chandelle said.

Leah directed her scowl Chandelle's way. "That doesn't make sense. It doesn't matter what I am."

"What are you travelling for? To see things? To explore?"

Leah didn't mean to react, but she must have shown something as Chandelle narrowed her eyes.

"To explore, then," she said slowly. "If you want to explore, then why do you act as a trainer? You don't need to walk to places, or carry and battle Pokemon like you do. It's only your word that proclaims you a traveler. Everything else says you're a trainer."

"Just because I train Pokemon-"

Chandelle interrupted. "It's more than that. A trainer doesn't just train Pokemon, though that's a popular occupation. Training dates back centuries. Back then, before it became a sport, trainers walked undiscovered lands as they were the only ones who could. They made maps of these lands, documented Pokemon, collected the strange objects that they found- they were adventurers, mapmakers, explorers, and travelers. If you say you're a traveler, then you're saying you're a trainer, but in doing so, you're lying to yourself."

There was something in the way Chandelle spoke, a passion that Leah had never heard from her before. The long-haired girl had a spark in her voice that made whatever she said sound true, like it was the way of the world.

A spike of envy shot through her, and Leah wondered why she couldn't be passionate like that. That was what she was searching for, the way of life that trainers lived day after day, the absolute wonder in their voices as they talked about their journeys, the world that only trainers could see…

Why couldn't she be like that? Why did she have to be so… normal.

"Wow, trainers did all that?" Ashley asked, her mouth slack-jawed. "I never knew…"

Chandelle smiled slightly. "Many don't. Training is not just a sport for people to take amusement in."

Ashley turned to Leah. "Why don't you like calling yourself a trainer?"

'Trainer' was just a word. It didn't matter what she called herself. She wanted to follow the training 'lifestyle', she supposed, but she didn't want to be a trainer. Training had always brought her misery. Storms, brats, assassination attempts; she didn't want to be a trainer.

She hated it, really. Ever since she was ten. Just because she was… acting like one didn't mean she was going to call herself one.

It was just a word.

What was the point?

Ashley continued, "Now that I know all that stuff, I really want to be a trainer now. I don't care what my parents say, when I see them again, I'm going to demand to be made a trainer."

"I don't think there's any point," Leah said, trying to be logical. "Haven't you heard? The training age is going to be raised to a higher age."

There was an odd note in Ashley's voice. "I know…" Then, she quickly added, "And it might not happen." Turning to Chandelle, she asked. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Chandelle said. "It will take months for something like that to get through the Pokemon League. You should get your answer by spring."

Ashley frowned. "I hope it's not raised too far…"

It probably wouldn't… At first. Leah knew how these things went. As soon as the age limit got a foot in the door, it would not stop until it went all the way up. Maybe it would start at thirteen, at first. Then it would only take little work for it to be raised to fifteen, then sixteen, and then why not go all the way to eighteen?

Leah could just imagine the outrage for the years to come. She doubted the debate would ever die down, not until the old ways were only remembered by middle-aged parents and senior citizens. She could imagine a grandfather telling his grandson, 'When I was your age, we trainers started out at age ten and we walked across countries training our Pokemon all alone. So don't you go complaining having to walk a mile to school.' And the grandson would say, 'Yeah, sure, Gramps.'

"Is it gone?"

Snapped out of her daydream, Leah glanced at Ashley and Chandelle, seeing them both looking towards door. Now that she thought about it, it was rather quiet and had been for who knows how long. Were they free to leave?

"Give it a minute…" Leah said. She didn't want to exit the room just to come face to face with a Magneton.

Chandelle got up and put her hand on the door, putting an ear to it.

"It seems to be."

Going a step further, she opened the door slowly and peered both ways down the hall.

"Let's go," Leah said, helping Ashley to her feet. They needed to get out quickly.

The hallway seemed longer with the threat of electrocution over their heads. Leah felt relieved when they found themselves in the room they started off in, the exit only feet away. She did feel a bit annoyed that the room they had taken shelter in wasn't that far from the exit. They could have just ran out with no problems.

Chandelle stopped and slowly looked up. "Wait-"

Leah paled and pulled Ashley out of the way, ducking her head as the Magneton descended on where they were. The Pokemon wasn't much bigger than a man's torso, but it was certainly threatening as it dropped to the ground like a anvil before defying gravity just before it hit the floor, faux bouncing until it was eye-height with Chandelle.

Leah stopped at the door, looking at Chandelle, who was staring at the Magneton with caution from only a few feet away. It was a stare down, neither making a move until the girl put her hand in her pocket.

"Now," Chandelle murmured, her eyes narrowing as she rushed into action.

The Magneton wasn't used to people running at it as it froze, not attacking, as Chandelle pulled out a silver rectangular object. She flicked it open, a blade snapping into place on one side. Stopping just before the electric-type, she moved to the side, hitting one of the Magneton's magnets with her blade, making a sharp ting sound.

The Magneton screeched, sparking violently as it flew backwards, all three eyes closed in pain.

"Run!" Chandelle yelled at the two frozen girls in the doorway.

Leah opened the door and shoved Ashley outside. "Run!"

Not paying any attention to Ashley's protests, Leah waited until the door closed before taking out a Poke Ball. She didn't want her Drowzee to battle on glass, but she couldn't just let Chandelle fight the Magneton by herself, especially without Pokemon.

"Zee," Leah said, letting her Drowzee out on a patch of glass-less ground. "Don't move."

The Drowzee did so, freezing as Leah put a hand on her head.

Leah had no intention of actually fighting the Magneton. She only needed to distract it, and Zee didn't have to move around while using her mental powers.

"Confusion."

The Magneton was recovering, Chandelle standing opposite with her knees bent, ready to dodge, when the electric-type developed a blue aura. By an invisible force, it was thrown back into the wall, its metal body banging against the stone.

Chandelle glanced at Leah, but didn't question why she was still there.

Pulling itself together, the Magneton looked around in confusion before finally focusing on Leah and Zee. Its three eyes narrowed.

Leah tensed, putting a hand on the handle of the door. That Magneton was smart. She didn't think psychic-types lived out here, but it had already figured out that Zee was the cause of its pain.

With sparks flying from its magnets, the electric-type lit up with a yellow glow, and sent a thin bolt of lightning towards Zee.

Leah didn't have time to shout in surprise, and Zee stepped in front of her trainer, raising her hands. Her eyes turned a brilliant blue as she concentrated on the lightning bolt and moved her hands to the side. The lightning bolt turned in mid-motion, but only barely, as it arced past the Drowzee, stands of electrical energy reaching out to touch Zee. With a flash, the bolt hit the wall and dissipated without any fuss.

"Are you alright?" Leah asked, coming to her Drowzee's aid as the psychic-type made a whimper. The left side of Zee's body had gained a red-ish tint, easily visible on her golden skin.

She didn't expect Zee to be able to redirect such a powerful attack, but that electric attack was more powerful than she thought. She knew storms made electric-types powerful, but that powerful?

The Magneton screeched, regaining Leah's attention. It sparked.

Keeping her eyes on the wild Pokemon, Leah asked Chandelle, "What are you waiting for? We need to leave."

"I can handle it," Chandelle said, armed only with a knife. "I didn't ask you to stay behind."

"Why are you…" Realization crept up on her. "Are you trying to catch it? You don't have any Pokemon with you!"

Chandelle said nothing, but her body became tense as stared at the Magneton, knife arm raised.

Leah grit her teeth. She thought Chandelle was only distracting it, giving her and Ashley time to get away. But to try to do something so stupid without Pokemon? It was insane. She originally thought that Chandelle was experienced in this sort of thing, but apparently not. No one experienced would try to fight a Pokemon by themselves.

Chandelle would definitely get killed, being too stupid and arrogant to give in. And now Leah couldn't leave in good conscience.

****. She couldn't fight a Magneton. What was she supposed to do?

Suddenly, a voice came from beside her.

"Zu-Zu, distract it!"

Leah jumped, startled, whirling around to face Ashley.

"I told you to run!" Leah said, aghast, not wanting to protect a tagalong ten-year-old as well.

"I'm not a kid!" Ashley said, scowling, and in a quieter voice, added, "**** off."

The Zubat swooped in the air, being too small and fast for the Magneton to hit. The electric-type seemed frustrated, sending blasts of air and electricity at the annoying Pokemon.

Chandelle watched from the sidelines, occasionally jumping aside when an attack came near to her. Her brows were furrowed and there was a frown on her face. Finally, her knife arm dropped to her side and she grimaced.

"We should leave," she said loudly, getting Leah and Ashley's attention.

"I thought we were going to fight?" Ashley asked, frowning.

"I've changed my mind. We can't take this. It's too powerful."

"Then let's go!" Leah snarled, not wanting anyone to do any take backs. She felt a bit confused why Chandelle had just given up out of nowhere, but who was she to complain?

Leah opened the door, Ashley calling to her Zubat before ducking under her arm and going back outside. With Chandelle right behind her, Leah grabbed Zee's hand and followed the blond into the chilly afternoon air.

They ran across the grass and Leah was so busy looking behind her that she bumped right into the chain-link fence. It rattled and dipped under her weight, and she cursed as she got back to her feet.

Chandelle was hurryingly putting on her gloves while Ashley took a running start and leapt high onto the fence, climbing like a monkey until she reached the top.

Behind them, there was a bang as one of the window frames exploded outwards, the Magneton floating through.

"It's following us!" Ashley cried, balancing at the very top of the fence.

"Obviously!" Leah scowled, knowing that she'd never be able to climb the fence fast enough. She didn't think the Magneton would actually follow them outside.

She turned to Chandelle.

"Is your Pokemon still out of its Poke Ball?"

"Yes, but I don't know where it is-"

"Then call it! Is it deaf or something?"

Chandelle hesitated. "It won't hear me."

"Try."

The long-haired girl took a deep breath, put her hands to her around her mouth and called out, "Em!"

The scream was so high-pitched it made Leah wince. However, despite the sound, nothing appeared in the next few seconds.

While waiting, Leah told Ashley, "Get on the other side of the fence! You'll be knocked off!"

Ashley nodded and she climbed down as fast as she could. Once on solid ground, she asked through the fence, "Now what?"

"Stay there."

"A fence isn't going to protect me from a floating Pokemon!" Ashley protested, hands gripping the fence.

"Then run! Or hide behind a tree or something."

While Ashley was scowling, Leah looked at Chandelle.

"Where's your Pokemon?"

"It must have not heard me," she said with a frustrated look. "It gets too distracted in places like this." She looked towards the front door of the power plant. "… Can you hold the Magneton off?"

"What?"

"I'm going to get my Pokemon. Hold the Magneton off until I come back."

Leah gaped at her. "Will your Pokemon even be able to hold it off?"

"No," Chandelle said. "But my Pokemon will at least be able to wall it."

Before Leah could express her confusion over the term 'wall it', Chandelle had already run off, taking a wide arc around the Magneton before disappearing through the door.

Now Leah was alone with a Magneton.

"Zu-Zu can distract it!" Ashley said, still right behind her.

Correction: Leah was alone with a Magneton and an unhelpful ten-year-old.

"Your Zubat's tired," Leah said. "He won't be able to keep dodging like that."

"But then what can we do?"

Looking at Zee's burned body, Leah had to admit that her psychic-type wasn't going to be much use time around. She was too slow to dodge and too weak to deflect attacks.

So, the Zubat was tired, and the Drowzee was hurt. Who else was left?

Leah felt nervous as she enlarged the bruised and battered Poke Ball. Sands' lessons weren't going well and she was trying to put him against a real threat? What was she thinking?

But what choice did she have?

"Sands! Go!"

For the first time that day, the Sandslash stood outside, uninjured (not counting the bad paw) and able to battle.

The Magneton floated closer, examining its new opponent. On the other hand, the Sandslash didn't seem curious at all, instead letting out a growl. The ground-type dropped to four legs, leaning to one side to make up for its shorted left leg. The spikes on its back bristled, standing upright.

Leah had never seen Sands get angry so quickly. It usually took Leah or Zee approaching it for the Sandslash to act out. It was possible that maybe Sands remembered his previous encounter with the Magnemite in Vermillion. To be so soundly defeated didn't happen often.

Engulfing itself in electrical energy, the Magneton blasted the Sandslash with shocks and sparks, but the ground-type wasn't bothered, only growling more loudly. The small flashes that the lightning caused, however, made the Pokemon back up.

Leah followed her Pokemon's lead, trying to make sure the Sandslash didn't back into her.

"Sands," Leah said. "Use Swift."

There was no reply as her command was ignored. It wasn't unusual and Leah expected it, but it still hurt.

"Don't you remember me?" Leah asked quietly to herself, only able to look on. "I'm your trainer! You can't have just forgotten five whole years…"

The Magneton floated upwards as the Sandslash lunged, a swipe of its paw only hitting air. As the electric-type floated higher, Sands watched with dark eyes, claws pawing the ground. It turned its head, spotting the tree by the doorway, and jumped on the trunk, claws digging into the bark.

"Hey!" Leah exclaimed, not liking where this was going. Sands was a ground-type; he wasn't supposed to be off the ground and especially not in trees. "You're not a cat; get down!"

Due to Sands' small size, the tree was able to support the Sandslash's weight, but the branches were another matter. They buckled under the ground-type as the Pokemon balanced on top of them, its claws keeping it from falling.

Now the two Pokemon were eyelevel with each other and they stared, neither willing to make the first move. Despite being made stupid and reckless by evolving, the Sandslash must have realized what position it was in as it acted cautious, taking slow steps to the end of the branch.

Leah was nearly biting her tongue in horror. She wanted to call out in outrage, but she didn't want to distract her Sandslash. One false move…

Finally, one of the Pokemon blinked. The Magneton screeched, magnets moving to face one spot of air, and suddenly a Sonicboom was unleashed, its wail distinctive and echoing. It was only a short distance to the ground-type and it had only one option, which it took. Suddenly, the world was filled with a falling Sandslash and there was nothing Leah could do.

Not that she accepted that.

"Make him float!" Leah cried and started to run as Zee took her words to heart.

In midair, the Sandslash's descent slowed down, but only just. He hit a branch on the way down, his body tumbling off.

Leah knew it was a stupid idea, but what else could she do? With her arms outstretched, she managed to get under Sands, her hands digging into spikes as she caught him. Her legs fell out from beneath her and she fell back, her head hitting the ground. Sands let out a short cry as his weight impacted her chest, and then he was still.

From the edge of her hearing, Leah could hear Ashley say, "Are you alright?"

She felt too dizzy to reply and wondered if catching her Sandslash was a good idea. She didn't want him to get hurt since he had already gone through so much. Besides, he was a small thing, not that bigger than a Sandshrew. It wasn't like he was one of those giant Sandslash she saw on TV. Still, her body hurt and her hands grasping Sands' spikes felt wet.

Opening her eyes, she looked straight up in the three eyes of Magneton. He was almost hard to see against the pale gray sky, but she could tell it was glaring down at her. He glowed with a bright yellow light, and Leah turned her head to the side, seeing Sands full-grown claw by her face.

Leah looked back up to see the Magneton being overtaken by a blue aura before it threw it off, sending a blast of electricity out of her line of sight.

"Sands…" she said, her voice sounding strange to her ears. "Get off."

The Sandslash moved but didn't get off. She could feel his un-evolved paw digging into her shirt and the spikes shifting under her hands. He pressed his head against her neck and his voice box vibrated against her skin as he growled softly.

It was odd. This was the first time she had ever been this physically close to her Pokemon since he evolved. She had never really felt his new skin or spikes and now that she was doing so, she didn't want to let go. To think it took a dangerous situation to make Sands stay close to her willingly.

The Magneton's glow was so bright that Leah closed her eyes, any thought of getting up having fled her mind.

A Magneton's electricity was so strong that she wondered if it would hurt. Or would her nerve cells burn so quickly that she wouldn't register the pain?

There was a shout, a cry, and suddenly, the light against her eyelids vanished.

Leah opened them, finding the Magneton was gone from the sky.

"What happened?" Chandelle demanded, leaning over her and taking up most of her vision.

"I think I hit my head," Leah said.

Sands growled loudly when Chandelle tried to touch him, and Leah took that cue to finally get up. She didn't want to, it was comfy on the ground, but she couldn't stay like that forever. It was hard to get up with her Sandslash pinning her upper body down, but she managed. Sands sounded unhappy when he was transferred to her lap, but Leah could care less as she held her pounding head.

"… I think you have a concussion," Chandelle said.

Wanting anything to distract her, Leah looked for the Magneton, seeing him duck and weave around balls of shadowy plasma. The attacker was obviously a ghost-type as it floated and the Magneton's attacks went right through it. The ghost-type was made up of oranges, blacks, and greens and looked like a lawnmower with an insane grin. Leah thought she knew what the Pokemon was, but her head was pounding and didn't let her concentrate.

Chandelle must have saw Leah watching and said, "That is Rotom-M. I call it Em."

"M?"

"Rotom-Mow," the long-haired girl said. "He can't do much to Magneton, but it can't do anything back either."

At another time, Leah would be happy that Chandelle decided to talk without prompt, but the words only made her headache worse.

"I need to sit down," Leah said.

"You are sitting down."

"To lay down, then."

Chandelle stood up. "This isn't the time for that." She stared up at the battle in the sky and yelled, "Em! Will-o-Wisp!"

The Rotom's grin got positively wider as its wheels spun, blue-white flames igniting around them. With a screech of delight, it charged full speed ahead, leaving a trail of fire. It raced around the Magneton, coming closer, giving it no room to escape, until the two Pokemon physically clashed. Rotom's form blurred, phasing through the steel-type, leaving its flames behind, and allowing its lawnmower shape to return once a safe distance away.

With a barely heard electronic cry, the Magneton started to descend to the ground, a part of its silver form burned an ugly dark brown-gray. Even though the flames had vanished on contact, the burn was spreading as the seconds ticked by, making popping noises as it ate more and more of the metal.

"It's been defeated," Chandelle said.

"What wrong with its burn?" Leah asked, trying to keep her attention on the battle.

"Steel-types burn badly. Even the littlest of flames can make them melt."

The Magneton hit the ground, landing softly. For a moment, it stood upright, a burned black object against the cloudy sky, then it fell over with hardly a sound.

Chandelle helped Leah to her feet and then approached the fallen Magneton. Leah followed a close distance behind, her Sandslash staying where he was. The steel-type's eyes were closed and its iron body looked crunchy, like an overcooked piece of chicken. Reaching into her satchel, the long-haired girl took out a Great Ball and tapped it against one of the magnets. The Magneton was sucked inside and the ball twitched in her hands before calming.

"You caught it," Leah said.

"I have to catch something," Chandelle looked at her Rotom. "Thank you, Em."

Playfully, the Rotom phased through its trainer, making her shiver.

"Why didn't you use Will-o-Wisp before? It worked so well…"

"It misses too much to be reliable," Chandelle explained, pocketing the Great Ball. "It was only luck that it worked on the first try."

"Drow," Zee said, staggering up to them, wincing with every step. Leah went to her knees and checked over her Pokemon. The burns didn't look that bad, but they were obviously causing the psychic-type pain.

"You did a good job," she said to her Drowzee. "We just need to work on your deflection."

Zee managed to nod and Leah returned her, not wanting the Pokemon to deal with the pain any longer.

There was a clang and Ashley leapt to the ground, running over to them.

"Did you catch it?" she asked Chandelle.

"Yes."

Ashley had a hint of envy on her face. "You're so lucky. I bet Magneton would make a great Pokemon."

Chandelle said nothing, only looking at Leah. "I'm going back."

"What?"

"I found something, a room," she said, "but the Magneton intercepted me."

"What, in the power plant? What's so important about it?"

"I want what's in that room." Turning around, Chandelle didn't seem willing to take no for an answer as she didn't even wait for their replies.

Before she could even take three steps, Ashley said, "Wait, I'm coming too!"

The two went ahead, leaving Leah by herself.

Before Leah could follow, she glanced at Sands. He was sitting on his hunches, the quietest and calm she had seen him. He looked up at her approach and a rumble began in his throat.

Leah stopped.

"… You're getting better," she said. "Making progress, I just know it. You can't fool me with those growls." She took out her Poke Ball and pointed it at Sands. "We'll make more progress later. Return!"

Red light pulled Sands back into his ball and Leah touched the top of it, and then put it away. Turning on heel, she ran to catch up with the other girls.


-


The room was located at the very back of the power plant, between two old machines that had probably not been dusted in decades. It was in good condition considering it was missing half of its roof and half of one wall. There was no rubble on the ground and no furniture in sight. It would be empty if not for the odd materials on the ground. There were wispy clouds of cotton, some large branches and straw, even a few old blankets. They were all placed together in the corner, under the roof.

"Is it a… nest?" Ashley asked.

It was a good question. Leah knelt down and touched a piece of straw. "What's it doing here?"

What type of Pokemon made a nest in a power plant and on the ground, no less? It was a big nest, and as far as Leah knew, Pidgeot and Fearow lived in the trees. Maybe a Dodrio lived here? But then how would it get out of the room when the door was closed and the only entrance was the roof? She supposed it could jump out, but…

"Look at this," Chandelle said.

Leah turned, looking at what the long-haired girl was holding. It was long, maybe as long as her forearm, and covered in dirt. As Chandelle wiped it off with her fingers, it revealed a yellow color that looked nothing like Leah had ever seen.

"Wow, is it a feather?" Ashley asked, peering closely.

Chandelle was quiet, and Leah could guess what she was thinking about.

"There's only one yellow bird Pokemon…" Leah said out loud, wanting a confirmation.

With a quiet voice, Chandelle said, "I wouldn't think something like… that would consider this place good nesting grounds."

"I guess that's why it isn't here anymore."

Leah looked at the nest again and rummaged through it, finding another yellow feather.

"What's here?" Ashley asked, before realization crept over her. She gasped. "Are those…?"

"Maybe."

It was silent for the next few minutes as Chandelle, Leah, and Ashley went around the room, picking up all the feathers they could find. Not all of them were in good condition, but the ones that were got put in Chandelle's bag for safekeeping. Only Leah kept one at hand, unable to let it go.

Not wanting to wait, she used her bottled water to rinse the feather off, drying it off with her shirt. The edges might have been sharp at a time long ago, but now they felt soft under her fingertips.

There were no protests from Ashley when Chandelle declared they were leaving and after a quick hop over the fence, they were on their way to the Pokemon Center.

Leah had hardly noticed the last time they went outside, but they really must have been in the power plant for hours. It was getting dark out and it looked like it was going to rain again.

A while later, Ashley asked, "… Is training always dangerous like that? Do Pokemon attack people?"

"Sometimes," Leah said, too busy examining her feather to really pay attention.

Ashley sighed "I really wish I caught something. Now I won't get another chance for one."

"Do you need an electric-type? Go train a Pidgey or something. They work for beginners."

"It'll take too long and I need something strong now so I can go on my journey."

"If you're not on your journey, who's looking after you?" Chandelle asked.

Leah rolled her eyes, telling Chandelle, "Don't bother, she won't tell me."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." Ashley frowned "I'm not a kid."

"You sure look like one."

Ashley's eyes flashed and her face reddened. "Don't judge me based on that!" she hissed.

Not put out by Ashley's temper, Chandelle asked, "Are you a runaway?"

"… No."

"Are you planning to get your guardian's permission to go on a journey?"

There was some hesitating. "Yes."

"Hm."

"What's that noise for?"

Chandelle seemed satisfied with the given answers as she turned away from them.

Leah, however, wasn't.

"When are you going back to Lavender?"

"… Me?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah, you."

"When I get a Pokemon!"

"Are you going to get picked up or are you going to go back on your own?"

"I'm waiting, I guess."

Leah raised an eyebrow. "You guess?"

Ashley huffed.

"It's complicated, okay?"

"… Okay, whatever." Leah mirrored Chandelle and went back to brooding over the feather.

The rest of the trip back went smoothly, and once at the doors of the Pokemon Center, Ashley stopped them before they went inside.

"Uh, thanks for coming with me to the power plant," Ashley said, rubbing the back of her head. "I- It wouldn't have gone well if I went by myself."

"Just don't try to capture any Pokemon by yourself, okay?" Leah said.

"That'll be hard. Usually no one wants to help me."

"Why not?"

"Trainers don't really come to this Pokemon Center. I think it's because it's getting colder. No one really travels in weather like this."

"Oh."

"I'm going inside." Chandelle said.

"All right," Leah said, pausing before adding, "Thanks for coming."

Chandelle blinked, and then nodded at her before leaving Leah and Ashley alone.

"So, I guess you're leaving tomorrow," Ashley said.

"Yeah."

Ashley fidgeted. "I've been thinking…" she started. "I don't really want to stay here anymore and I don't know when my parents will come get me. I want to go home and since you're going that way…"

"… You want to come with me?" Leah asked.

"Yeah." She quickly added, "Only to Lavender, I swear!"

Frowning, Leah said, "My Pokemon can barely protect me, much less you."

"Your friend's coming too, right? Her Pokemon was pretty powerful."

Leah didn't know what to say or think. Not that she had been journeying long, but she didn't think anyone would ask to come with her.

Deciding to play the safe option, she said, "If you want to come, go ask Chandelle. I'm following her."

Lips splitting into a wide grin, Ashley's eyes sparkled as a weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders.

"Thanks! Don't worry, I won't be annoying!" She looked at the Pokemon Center's doors. "I better go get packing, then!"

'You haven't even asked Chandelle yet,' Leah thought with a bit of disbelief. She didn't think Chandelle would say no, but it was possible.

"Oh, and, uh, Leah…"

Glancing over, Leah saw that the blond had calmed down, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I thought you were really brave when facing that Magneton," she confessed. "And I can tell you really care about your Pokemon. You didn't even think, you just caught your Sandslash out of that tree… I don't think I'd be able to do that."

If being asked to escort Ashley to Lavender Town didn't bow Leah over, that did.

"… T- Thanks," she managed to get out.

Ashley's face brightened. "No problem!"

With a skip in her step, the blond entered the Pokemon Center and left Leah alone.

After a moment, Leah took a deep breath in and then exhaled.

Back at the power plant, she wasn't trying to be brave. And she hadn't faced the Magneton alone, not really. Sands and Zee had been with her and they could have died from her stupidity. She had always called Ed and Ally morons, but she was the biggest one of all. Maybe catching Sands from a great height seemed brave to any outside onlookers, but it really wasn't. All she had been trying to do was… her duty. She didn't like calling herself a trainer, but it was her job to keep her Pokemon from getting hurt, especially from her own actions.

The whole day hadn't gone well at all. If her adventure kept going in that direction, she might have to reconsider the adventures all together. Nothing good ever came out of them…

Leah looked at the yellow feather.

Well, maybe sometimes.

To think something as soft as this had once been a part of a creature that was so entwined in myths and legends it may as well be one of a kind. A Pokemon so rare that only once had it ever been captured on film and that was only a glance of a yellow bird in the sky.

Did the feather really belong to…?

It didn't matter. Not right then and there. Her Pokemon were hurt and needed treatment and then she wanted to get some sleep. It had been a long day. Tomorrow, they would go to Lavender Town and Leah almost hoped that nothing would happen, that it would just be a regular day.

It was a pipe dream, but it was nice to think about.

The clouds rumbled and drops of water plopped onto the ground, and in minutes, a steady downfall was quickly soaking the earth.

Leah watched from under the overhang and sighed.

A gloomy end to a gloomy day.


-


A/N: The ending may have dragged on a bit, but I rather like this chapter. It wasn't as difficult like some other chapters are. *glares at chapter 47* Anyways, I have two questions for you guys.

First, you've probably noticed, but I've been doing some weird stuff with Sands' gender for the last few chapters. He's been primarily an it, but sometimes he's a he again (he's only referred to as a he when Leah is thinking about him instead of describing his actions). I'm just wondering if this is confusing to you and if I should stop and pick one of the other.

Now for a much more general question, what are your thoughts on Ashley and Chandelle?

Thanks for reading guys and I hoped you liked the chapter!

Sands is fine as a he/it. I am not having any issues following whats going on.

As for Ashley and Chandelle.

Ashley: Sounds like Ally and Ed had a kid in the future, then some how manged to send her back in time just to annoy Leah. xD. Honestly though, Ashley does sound a lot like Ed and Ally, she is calm and caring like Ally, but also has a curious streak that could easily get her in trouble like Ed.

Chandelle: IMO what Leah wants to be. She knows about Pokemon, enjoys having them, but does not fit into the "Trainer" category, whether Leah could ever sell a Pokemon is something I am not sure of yet, but I think the mentor just got a mentor.



I think I need another chapter to get a better understand of the two,

Thanks for reviewing, Buoysel! Sorry it took a few days to get back to you; university started and it's like, ugh.

I'm glad the he/it thing isn't too confusing. It's something I've been worrying about recently, especially since I myself sometimes forget to refer Sands as an 'it' during combat. I used to have so much trouble making sure that I referred my characters' Pokemon with a gender that now I can't stop. -.-

Heh, Ashley's starting to grow on me quite a bit and I agree that she seems to be naturally good at annoying Leah. You're also right in that Chandelle is the type of person that Leah wants to be, which I didn't realize until you pointed it out. Luckily, Ashley and Chandelle are going to have lots more time to develop, which I'm definitely look forward too. ;D

A/N: Whoa, when was the last time I had an A/N at the top of the chapter? Anyways, just a little note, this chapter is a bit weird in that it skews the timeline. I always write this story in chronological order, but the first scene of this chapter takes place the night before Leah and new groupies explore the power plant. Just a heads up since this might actually be a little important later on.

Oh, and insert violence warning here. Let me present to you my most violent chapter ever, guys! :D I hope you enjoy!



-





-



"There's nothing here," Ed said, hardly being able to hear his words over the rain.

Ally shivered, pressing against him as she tried to stay under the umbrella. "Maybe we'll find something soon?"

It didn't look like it. The two of them had been out in the rain for what felt like hours, looking for any possible sign of a ghost. The sudden rainfall had hardly deterred them, but when the roads and sky were black and the only light came from the streetlamps, it seemed impossible to find anything.

Ed had viewed the rumors of Lavender Town's dark past with nothing but curiosity and excitement. The stories were scary and that's why he liked them. However, there was a difference between thinking about them while being nice and cozy at home than walking around at night.

On either side of them, the stores and buildings were dark and empty, and there wasn't a soul outside, not even an occasional passing car.

They had left the Pokemon Center at nine-O-clock sharp, a perfect starting time to look for ghosts, but not even ten minutes after stepping outside the excitement over their ghost hunt had wore off. With the rain, they were unable to send any Pokemon out. Amber didn't like water, Ally didn't want Sparks to accidently wander off, Parasect was too slow, and Coralie wasn't much use at all these days.

Ed found himself glancing around himself, not out of determination to find ghosts, but more out of fear. He didn't know what he was afraid of, but walking around at night wasn't the thrill he expected it to be.

Yawning, Ally said, "I'm really tried…"

"Me too," Ed said, though it was only a half-truth. He was tired, but he kept getting a jolt of alertness whenever he heard a sound that wasn't the rain. Nothing had appeared or tried to attack them, but he was starting to wonder if that was a good thing or not.

"Where are all the ghosts?" he said. "I thought Lavender Town was supposed to be full of them!"

"Maybe it's not dark enough?"

"It's must be nearly midnight! Perfect ghost hunting time."

Ally had nothing to say to that, and they trekked on.

It wasn't even five minutes later when Ally took in a sharp breath and pointed into the distance.

"Look, the lights are on at the tower!"

Ed tilted the umbrella so he could see where Ally was pointing and felt his heart speed up.

When they had first arrived in Lavender Town, the place they wanted to catch ghost Pokemon in was the Pokemon Tower. Unfortunately, they were told that the Pokemon Tower didn't let people in to just catch ghost-types. The place was on sacred grounds and acted both as a church and a funeral home to the people.

The tower stood tall at the very edge of town and even from the other side of it, Ed could still see the small pinpricks of light, looking out of place on a gloomy night.

"Maybe someone lives there?" he said and then scowled. "I wish we could go inside. I bet all the ghosts are in there."

"We're not allowed."

"I know, but… We need a ghost-type to beat Sabrina."

Ed felt Ally shift at his side. "It's a church and a graveyard!" she said sharply, lowering her voice. "We can't go in there."

"Why not?" he asked, finally voicing the idea he had been playing with for the past hour. "If we sneak in no one will know."

Ally sounded uncomfortable as she stuttered, "B- but…"

Stopping, Ed looked at the tower's light and then back at his friend. "Come on, Ally. It's okay; I bet tons of people have done it."

"… If someone does find us, they'll be really angry," she whispered.

"We can do it. I know we can." Ed hoped he sounded convincing as he didn't feel that confident either, but what other choice did they have? He didn't want to walk around at night on the off chance of finding a ghost Pokemon.

They began walking again, Ally taking her turn holding the umbrella without comment.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked.

Voice barely audible over the rain, she said, "It's wrong to trespass…"

"Are you scared that someone will recognize us or something?"

"... No, it's not that."

"We can put out hoods on, if you want," he said. "We're fast. If someone see's us, we can run away and they won't be able to find us later."

Ally shook her head. "I just- I really don't like ghost-types."

"Oh, is that it?" Ed felt a bit stupid for not realizing that sooner. It wasn't the first time that she admitted that she didn't like ghost-types, after all. "I'll protect you. You can count on me."

"But you can't fight ghosts! They can be invisible and go through things. How can we fight that?"

It was a good question. How could they fight that?

For all their talk about wanting to capture a ghost-type, Ed didn't know much about them. They were just… ghosts. He never had a reason to question that further. People caught them before, though Ed had never met anyone who had. William once said that he tried to catch a ghost, but he couldn't. There were really rare and when he watched the last Indigo Tournament, he could only remember seeing three of them out of all the battles!

Even if they did find a ghost right then and there, he wasn't sure what they could do to it when it was raining.

They needed more information.

"I have an idea," he said. "Let's go back to the Pokemon Center and tomorrow, we'll look up ghosts on the internet and in books. We can find a way to fight them and tomorrow night we can go to Pokemon Tower."

Ally was quiet for only a moment. "What if our Pokemon still can't fight them?"

"They should be able to!" A piece of information, long forgotten in his memory suddenly came to the forefront of his mind. "Oh! I just remembered! William once said that you could use a special Poke Ball to catch ghosts."

"What ball?"

"I don't remember but I'm sure we can find out!"

Slowly, Ally nodded her head. "All right."

"… So, do you want to go back to the Pokemon Center?"

Ally sounded relieved. "Yes. I've never stayed up this late before."

"Me either! I hope we catch a ghost tomorrow so we don't have to do it again!"


-


The next day went by quickly and before they knew it, sundown was upon them. The rain had rarely stopped throughout the day, but still, Ed couldn't help but scowl at the sky as he put on his jacket.

Ally was already prepared and spent her time playing with the strange black and green Poke Ball in her hands. Finally, she said, "What if we miss?"

"We won't," he said. "I've been practicing my aim. If you want, I can throw your Dusk Ball for you.

Ally's reply was firm. "No. I want to do it myself."

The departed from the Pokemon Center and put their hoods over their heads. They had decided against bringing an umbrella as they would be sneaking around and holding something would just distract them. It wasn't raining as hard as it was last night, at least, but it was still not kind to them. Soon, water was trickling off the edges of their jackets and hems of Ed's pants were soaked.

It was a twenty minutes walk to Pokemon Tower and it seemed every step they took darkened the sky until the only the tiniest light came from the horizon. Ed looked on either side of him, watching the stores close and their lights turn off.

Even before dinner, Ed and Ally had talked out their plan for getting inside Pokemon Tower. It wasn't going to be easy but Ed figured that someone had to leave a window open somewhere. It was a big tower, after all. Maybe they would even go through the front door. It all depended on if someone was inside or not. Either way, it was their best bet to get to the tower early, when it was still light out, so they could get there okay. Then, they'd hide and wait for an opportunity.

The road to the tower was lonely with only few streetlights keeping it company. It led the two of them to the very edges of town, where buildings were exchanged for short, bristly trees.

The tower came into view and while it wasn't the first time Ed had saw it, the place was still pretty cool. It sat on a hill, against the mountain side, stone steps leading up to its entrance. The tower itself looked gray-purple, and was made up of nothing but brick and wood. It looked like part of a castle or even a lighthouse. To the other side of it was a parking lot, looking almost empty in the little that Ed could see.

"Where are we going to hide?" Ally asked.

Ed pointed at the trees and bushes behind him. "No one will see us there."

"Are you sure?"

"Look at it!" Ed said. "It's so shadowy, no will can see through it!"

It wasn't like a forest or anything, but there were enough trees to resemble the small forest-y area at the back of Ed's house. Shadows draped on the trees like spider-webs, rendering the whole place black.

Carefully, they hid amongst the trees, getting into a position to see the door on the tower. They were right by the road so even if they couldn't see anyone leaving, they would definitely be able to hear them.

It was a long wait, the rain being lousy company as the two of them didn't want people to hear them talking. Every once and a while someone left the tower and went to the parking lot to drive off.

Ally pressed her mouth against Ed's ear and whispered, "When are we going to go in?"

Ed checked his watch, bending down so no one could see the light. It was nearly nine-thirty.

"We'll wait another half-hour," he said. "We'll go in at ten."

As the half-hour that passed, only two other people came out of the tower, and eventually Ed felt confident enough that no one else was going to come out.

Except for one thing…

"There's someone still in there," Ally said, looking at the lit windows. "There has to be!"

Ed stifled his yawn and pulled away from the trees. "Let's go take a look."

"Maybe we should wait some more-" Ally cut herself off as she pushed back a particularly grabby bush. "It's still early."

"We're just taking a peak."

Ed waited for Ally to catch up and then they climbed the stairs, the rain and lack of light making it difficult. When they made it to the top, Ed approached the front doors. There was a tiny window in each of them, a gentle yellow light coming from within.

Unfortunately, he had a few problems with the windows.

"Can't you see?"

"I'm too short!" Ed said, growling, jumping up and down. Why were the windows so high on the door? "And I can't jump high enough."

Ally shushed him, "Be quiet!"

"Then why don't you try?"

They switched places, Ally finding she had more luck in height as she stood on her tip-toes, and with a bit of jumping, she was able to see in.

"Do you see anyone?"

"I don't think so…" she said.

Making sure his hood was secure, Ed glanced around one last time before grabbing the door handle. "Then let's go inside."

His eyes still wasn't used to the light, so he winced as he entered the front room. Ally quietly shut the door while Ed shivered, liking how heated the inside was.

Other than that, there wasn't much to the room. It was small and there was an empty front desk beside the door. There was another door, Ed peaking in it to see a large darkened room.

"I think it's a church," Ally said, looking over his shoulder.

Ed closed that door and went to the staircase, hidden to the side of the front desk.

"Ready?" Ed asked, grasping the banister and testing the front wooden step.

Ally joined him. "Yes," she said, though she didn't seem that convinced.

The next floor was quite different.

"Creepy…" Ed said, staying close by the door as Ally gaped at the sight.

The room was full of gravestones. They were a variety of sizes and shapes, but there was no mistaking them for anything else. Worse, the gravestones could have been hedges for a maze as there were walkways branching out throughout the room. If they weren't gravestones, Ed would be convinced it was a museum. On the other side of the room was another staircase.

"I- I don't like this," Ally whispered, grabbing Ed's hand. "I really don't like this."

Ed didn't either, but he didn't show it. "They're just gravestones," he said, squeezing Ally's hand and smiling at her. "There're no bodies."

"Bodies don't matter," she said, but she was the one who led the way through the maze of graves. Other than their hand grasping each others, they kept their arms at their side, not touching anything.

From above, there was a thump.

Both of them froze.

After a minute of panicked silence, Ally managed to get out, "W- What was that?"

"Maybe you should send out Amber," Ed said, his free hand going for his own Pokemon.

Ally let go of Ed's hand to fumble with her bag and her hand was shaking as she brought out Amber's Poke Ball.

She hesitated. "The Poke Ball makes a loud noise. Someone's going to hear us."

There was another thump, this time right above their heads. Before they could even respond or devise a plan, a series of thumps followed a small body that jumped down the stairs on the other side of the room and onto the ground in front of them.

It was as big as a kid and Ed thought it was at first, but the white skull head quickly changed his mind. The Pokemon didn't make a move towards them, but kept its eyes on them and held its bone weapon tightly in one hand.

"Is that a Marowak?" Ed whispered, pretending that the Pokemon still hadn't seen them.

"I- I thought only ghost Pokemon lived here," Ally said. "What do we do?"

Ed hesitated. "We'll go past it."

"But it's watching us!"

"Maybe…" He wanted to send out one of his own Pokemon, but as soon as the thought occurred to him, he knew that it would never work. Parasect was too slow and Coralie wouldn't be able to fight on such short notice.

Ally shook her head, backing up past Ed. "Let's leave. It probably belongs to someone here."

The Marowak wasn't doing anything, so Ed was forced to agree.

Finally, Ed said, "All right." He turned around.

Then the Marowak attacked.

Ed saw Ally's eyes widen and the sound of footsteps raced towards him. He half-turned, the bright red eyes of the Pokemon bearing into his. A Poke Ball flew past his head and released Amber into the quickly closing gap between them. The Vulpix growled, flames licking the side of his mouth, and the Marowak readied his weapon.

"Marowak!" a man's voice called out.

The Pokemon skid to a halt, feet from the Vulpix.

At the base of the staircase stood an old man in white and red robes with a balding head of gray. "Marowak, what are you doing?" he said, frowning at the ground-type. "Leave these poor children alone."

The Marowak glared at Ed and Ally one more time before going over to the old man and standing at his side. A head poked out from behind the old man's robes, looking like a miniature version of the Marowak. It squeaked, "Bone!" and gave the Marowak a great big hug.

Ed stared at the Cubone, almost missing the old man's question.

"And who are you?" he asked them.

Ally looked like she was going to bolt and Ed searched the man's face, looking for any sign at what to do. He didn't seem angry that they were trespassing.

"…We just want to catch a ghost Pokemon."

"Ed!" Ally sounded horrified.

The old man, however, wasn't bothered. "Oh, is that all?"

"Are we in trouble?" Ed asked.

The old man shook his head. "No, no, it's common for trainers to come looking for ghost Pokemon. I just didn't expect anyone this early. Ghosts are most common at the witching hour."

Ally swallowed. "I- I thought no one was allowed in here."

"That's correct, but I sometimes make exceptions for trainers. I know how rare ghost Pokemon are, after all. Lavender Town is the only city in Kanto that has such a big colony."

The old man's calm tone and sympathetic words took away any tension and dread Ed was feeling. He lowered his hood, noticing Ally following his lead.

"Then it'll be a while before they show up?" Ed asked.

"Yes, though maybe if you're lucky a few will come out early."

Ally looked at Ed. "What do we do now?"

"You're welcome to stay if you wish," the old man said.

"We can?"

"Yes, though I advise you not to touch any of the headstones. Ghosts can be very peculiar about them."

Ally inched away from a gravestone as the old man helped the Cubone back up the steps.

"Where are you going?" Ed asked at his turning back.

"I am about to put souls to rest," he replied. After a moment, he added, "Would you like to watch?"

Ed couldn't keep the doubt out his voice. "You put souls to rest?"

"Yes."

"Um…" Ally took a step forward, fidgeting. "I- I'd like to watch."

Frowning, Ed felt a bit annoyed at his friend. They were there to catch a Pokemon, not to watch… whatever the old man was going to do. He was glad that the old man wasn't mad at them, but still…

"What about you, young man?"

Ed didn't really have an option. "Sure…"

"My name is Mr. Fuji," the old man told them, and then continued his way up the stairs. "Follow me."

Ed wanted to say something to Ally, but she had already gone on ahead, making him sigh before joining her.

The next floor up was exactly the same as the last one and as Fuji led the way, he began talking.

"You've both been trainers for a while, I presume?"

"Yes, since July," Ally said.

"Four months… That's a long time."

"It's been a long time!" Sometimes, Ed could hardly believe it had only been a few months since he left Fuchsia for Pallet Town. So much had happened.

Ally asked, "Are you a trainer?"

"In my younger days I dabbled a bit, but I much prefer a quiet life."

Ed glanced at the two Pokemon beside the old man.

"Is the Marowak and Cubone yours?"

"No, no," Fuji said, shaking his head, "I don't technically own them. In my spare time I run a shelter for abandoned Pokemon and that's where these two came from."

"Then why are they here?"

"Not everyone is as polite and courteous as you two. Sometimes young folk from out of town like to cause trouble, so Marowak here protects the tower."

"Wak," the Marowak agreed, a swagger seemingly entering its walk.

"So he's trained?"

"She," the old man corrected. "And yes, she's quite trained, though I'm not sure of her history. I found her wandering around Lavender with her son without a trainer in sight, so I took them both in."

Before they reached the stairs a woman almost looking nearly as old as Fuji hurried down them, wearing white robes and carrying a purse under her arm. When she saw them, she slowed her pace and a blush graced her pale features.

"Going home, Victoria?" Fuji said.

The woman nodded. "Yes, sir." She glanced at Ed and Ally, a line of worry appearing on her forehead. "But before I go, may I talk to you for a moment?"

"Certainly." The old man looked at the kids. "Wait right here, this shouldn't take too long."

The woman looked really worried and Ed felt a spark of curiosity at what could be wrong. As the two walked some distance away, he glanced at Ally and quietly followed them, ignoring her sound of protest. He pretended he was looking at the gravestones as he got closer to their position, but kept an ear on their conversation.

"I'm really worried, sir," the woman said. "They're everywhere and I have a really bad feeling about this-"

"I have seen groups like these before and they don't seem to mean any harm-"

"I've seen them too!" The woman's voice quieted. "I- I'm sorry, sir, but these people aren't like the ones from before. I can tell whether someone is a hoodlum or not, but these people don't act like that at all and that's what worries me! Please here me out."

"… What have you seen?"

"I haven't seen them do anything, but even you must have seen how they act! They're always hanging around the tower and watching. I can't help but notice them every time I enter and exit this place. There's so many of them that whenever I walk around town, all I see is people wearing those red badges-"

"You don't have to fear them. They are not going to harm you."

"Why are they here, sir?" Victoria whispered. "They've been here for a week and I know they must be planning something terrible-"

"Victoria." Fuji interrupted gently. "If it bothers you that much, I will talk to the police and investigate in the morning."

There was silence after those words and then the woman said, "T- Thank you, sir!"

"Now, I think it's time for you to go home. You must be tired."

Ed, seeing that the conversation was over, casually went back to Ally, just able to hear the woman's reply.

"Yes. Thank you again, sir, and have a good night."

Ally looked up as he approached. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Tell you later."

Fuji returned, his eyes meeting Ed's only for a second before he looked away.

"Who was she?" Ally asked the old man.

"Victoria? She is my associate."

"She looked scared…" Ed said, his mind racing. He and Ally had only been in Lavender Town for two days, but he had never seen any weird people around. Well, maybe that was because he had been inside studying all of that morning, and the day before they were mostly in the Pokemon Center too.

Fuji looked sad. "Yes."

The old man led then up the next two floors in relative silence.

Ally was the one who broke it. "How do you put souls to rest?"

"A prayer with a few words from the heart," Fuji said, his voice honest.

Ed frowned.

"… Really?"

The old man chuckled. "You sound a touch disbelieving. Yes, it does seem simple, but it is more complicated then that. When a Pokemon dies, their soul is trapped in their body and must be released and put to rest. Their soul can be released simply by burning or destroying the body, but if not put to rest, their soul becomes angry and malevolent."

"So they turn into ghosts?"

"Not the ghosts you are thinking of. Have you ever been walking, and for no reason at all, suddenly became very depressed or angry?"

Ed just looked ahead blankly.

"That is what those 'ghosts' do. They may inhabit a specific place, maybe the site of their death. They are never corporeal or really sentient, but their emotions are still there, having no where to go but to affect the people around them."

Ed was no stranger to theories about ghosts. He had stumbled upon several of them that morning, in fact. But it was the first time someone was discussing one with him in real life. If his theory was true, then did all Pokemon turn into ghosts when they died? Wouldn't that mean there were ghosts everywhere? And what happened to humans when they died? Would he turn into a ghost Pokemon eventually?

That would be pretty cool, actually, but it still left him feeling weird and out of place.

Ally, however, didn't seem to be out of place at all. She was smiling for the first time that night.

"What if a soul isn't released from their body?" she asked.

"That would be very hard to do," Fuji said. "Even when buried completely intact, the body decomposes and is destroyed, releasing the soul. The only way it could really be trapped is if the body was frozen in ice or unable to get out of a Poke Ball."

Now Ed and Ally were on the same level as they glanced at each, their faces a bit green. Ally frowned, her eyebrows knit together.

Fuji noticed Ally's behavior and both of their faces as he stopped. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I disturbing you?"

"No," she said slowly, "it's really interesting, but…

"We'll speak no more of it," Fuji said as they began walking again. "Why don't you two tell me of your journeys so far?"

The talk lasted another two floors before they reached the final one. This floor was unlike the other, resembling the first floor somewhat. It was divided into rooms, Fuji going through one of the doors that led to a small chamber. It was a weird room, maybe even more so than the ones with the graves as there were strange pieces of papers stuck to the walls and windows. An altar stood at the very front of the room with a lidded pot and a book sitting on top of it. Other than that, the room was mostly bare, though Ed noticed there was a large safe-like object in the corner that was covered in a dusty, pink drape.

Fuji walked up the altar.

"This is where I put souls of Pokemon to rest."

"A – Are there bodies up here?" Ally asked.

"No, no, the body has already been cremated," the old man said, putting his hand on the pot. "All that is left to do is say a prayer and hope for the best."

"The best?"

He smiled. "You'll see."

Ed and Ally stood back and watched as Fuji took the lid off the pot and placed it in the middle of the altar. He took the book, flipping it open to a bookmarked page, and read from it. Ed didn't recognize the verse, but Ally seemed to as she clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head. Not sure if he was supposed to do that too, Ed simply lowered his head.

A thump made Ed look up. Fuji had put the book down and the pot now had a strange wisp of smoke floating out of it.

"… Are you done?" Ed asked, making Ally open her eyes.

"Yes. Do you notice the smoke?"

Ally walked closer. "What is it?"

"When put to rest, a soul either disappears into the earth, becoming part of it, or it condenses into something new. It doesn't happen quickly but maybe in a few days or a week, this bit of smoke will take shape in a ghost Pokemon."

Now Ed joined Ally and they both looked at the smoke.

"That's a Pokemon?" Ally asked, awe in her voice.

"It will be."

Ed reached out to touch it, but hesitated, and decided not to. "I thought ghost Pokemon weren't actual ghosts," he said. "That's what our… friend said, that they're only a mix of gasses."

"It hasn't been proven what ghost Pokemon are or where they come from," Fuji explained. "I have heard many theories regarding them, though I choose to believe that ghost Pokemon were once regular Pokemon, born again into a ghost."

"Then what happens to ghosts when they die?"

"Ghosts do not die, I've found. They only disappear or fade away."

Ed shivered, as Fuji put the lid back on the jar and pushed it aside.

"… Where are all the ghosts?" Ed asked, if only to get the conversation off that weird topic.

"Ghosts are always around, even when you can't see or feel them. There are hundreds of ghosts that live here."

Ed looked around. "Does that mean the ghosts are here right now?" He swiped at the air, imagining that he just touched a ghost.

Fuji chuckled. "No, no." He grinned. "Well, not up here, in any case. I've had trouble with mischievous ghosts in the past that liked to interfere with my prayers and rituals, so I've warded this floor against them. They can't come up here."

"Ward? Like magic?"

"A bit, yes." He motioned to the strange tags on the walls, windows, and doors. "Spell tags are, let's say, enchanted by psychic Pokemon to stop Pokemon from going past them. They're quite useful."


-


It was much later when Ed and Ally left the 'holy room', Fuji and his Pokemon behind them. It was nearly two in the morning and no matter how much Ed yawned there was a well of excitement in him that was waiting to burst.

Ghost-types were finally going to come out! He had been waiting for hours.

Ally held up the Dusk Ball to Fuji. "Will this work on ghosts?"

"I see you two have come prepared," he said, smiling. "It's common for trainers to come here without bringing the proper materials. Do you know how to catch a ghost?"

"Yeah." Ed nodded. "They need to go solid to attack, so we need to get one angry and then I'm going to use my Parasect to Spore it."

"I advise not. Not many people know, but when sleeping, ghosts are invisible and intangible. You won't be able to catch it if you do that."

It wasn't the first time that night, but Ed was glad that they had met Fuji. He knew so much about ghosts and Ed bet that he now knew more about ghosts than even William!

Ally said to Ed, "If we can't use Spore, I can just get Sparks to shock it-"

She was cut off as all of them stopped. At the other staircase, a group of people had wandered up, cloaked in black with hoods drawn over their faces. Each one of them had a red badge over their left chest and while they were hard to see, Ed recognized them. They looked identical to the one he still had in his bag, the one in the shape of an R.

"Who are you?" Fuji said, not unfriendly, but Marowak uttered a low sound as she took a few steps forward.

"Are you the owner of this tower?" one of them said, voice light and feminine, as she walked closer to them.

"Yes. I am Takashi Fuji. Who are you?"

Instead of replying, the cloaked figure took out a Poke Ball and released a Pokemon between them. It was a black dog, bone-like stripes sticking out of its back and had two horns curling on top of its head. The evil-looking creature even acted like its appearance, a rumble coming out its throat as it showed fangs.

Taking that as a bad sign, Marowak got in front of Fuji. Feeling a weight on his leg, Ed saw Cubone pressing against it, his eyes widened in fear.

"Where is the Ghost Plate?" the woman asked.

Fuji said nothing, but he clenched his fists, knuckles white.

"We know that it's here," she continued. "Now where is it?"

"Who are you?" Fuji demanded.

"We are Team Rocket."

A hand enveloped his, and Ed looked over to meet Ally's gaze.

He didn't know who Team Rocket was, but they were definitely bad news. Why else would they dress like that? They were threatening Mr. Fuji with Pokemon and Ed wanted to send out his own to fight. But he couldn't. Even if he had powerful Pokemon, he didn't know what that weird dog Pokemon could do and even then, it was only one Pokemon from one person. What was stopping all of the other black-cloaked people from sending out theirs?

He didn't want to just do nothing, but what else could he do?

"You won't have it," Fuji finally said, and his eyes hardened. "Marowak, Bone Rush!"

Her starting to glow green, Marowak lunged, wielding her weapon like a club. The dog Pokemon jumped aside from the first swing and then craned its neck forward, jaws just missing the ground-type. Marowak was quick, bringing its weapon down again, but the strange Pokemon was faster, the bone hitting the floor with a smash.

"We should help!" Ally said, going for her Poke Balls.

Before Ed could state his own opinion, the lead black-cloaked member nodded at her team and they dispersed. A couple went back downstairs, but the majorly went towards them, going around the battle.

The approaching strangers made Ed panic and his eyes darted to the staircase, wondering if he could make it. Ally took out a Poke Ball, about to throw it. However one of the Rockets darted forward, grabbing her wrist and making her cry out in pain as she dropped the ball. Both Ed and Fuji went to intervene, but they were grabbed too and Ed glared at the hand that clamped down on his shoulder. Cubone tried to flee, but he was picked up and crushed against someone's chest, a large hand over his mouth.

"Don't treat him like that!" Ed exclaimed, hearing the muffled cries of the Cubone. The hand on his shoulder tightened and he winced, staying still.

More black-cloaked members streamed past them and their footsteps echoed on the stairs.

"You don't know what you're doing!" Fuji exclaimed, struggling, but unable to break free.

"We know exactly what we want," the woman replied.

The battle was still ongoing, but Marowak was obviously distracted, its head constantly turning in its owner's direction.

"Stay focused, Marowak!" Fuji said.

Fire licked the dog Pokemon's mouth as it tried to bite down on the ground-type, but the Pokemon was taking Fuji's words to heart, leaping back from the bite and brining its bone down upon the fire-type's head. The dog whined, backing up.

"Houndoom," the woman said. "Flamethrower!"

Fuji turned white.

"No, not in here-"

Even from meters away, the blast of fire was still burning hot. As soon as it came out of the dog Pokemon's mouth it shaped itself into a star, brighter than the ones in the sky. Marowak dove out of the way and the graves were set ablaze as the fire continued on, hitting the wall and exploding. Yellow embers crackled like fire works, raining down all over the room and Ed went to the ground, forcing the man holding him to go with him.

The fire burned and sizzled and the wall happily burning as everyone uncurled from whatever position they were in, shaken into silence.

The woman, the only one who had stayed standing during the explosion, crossed her arms and sighed. "I said Flamethrower, Houndoom," she said to her Pokemon. "Not Fire Blast."

Ed was dragged to his feet as the man seemingly in charge of him stood. "Jesus, woman," he growled to the Houndoom's trainer. "Are you stupid? Don't use fire here."

"Shut up, Don," the woman said with contempt in her voice. "Everything's okay. Look, the fire's already going down."

The fire was doing just that and Ed watched them. Flames that once reached far over Ed's head were getting smaller and smaller, and they withered and crackled in a struggle to stay burning.

"Houndoom, let's try this again!" the woman snapped. "Flamethrower."

Marowak ducked the stream of fire, staying on her feet as closed in on the fire-type and hit it in the face with his bone. The Houndoom growled, charged forward, and snapped its jaw over the bone. The ground-type's eyes widening, she grabbed onto her weapon with both hands and pulled, the battle turning into a tug-of-war.

While Marowak was agile, she struggled to hold onto the bone, the Houndoom jerking her from side to side. At a particularly sudden jerk, she let go and was thrown to the ground. With barely any effort, the fire-type looked at its foe and snapped the bone, letting the pieces fall. Not knowing what to do, Marowak backed away from the Pokemon.

"Marowak!" Fuji said. "Thrash!"

The Houndoom came closer to its prey, thin tail swishing, but just before it lunged, Marowak attacked. She used no weapons or special maneuvers; she only used the rest of her strength and power to destroy. Head butting the fire-type in the face, she grabbed her foe's head and smashed it into a grave. The Houndoom tried to fight back, but every time it tried to regain its footing, Marowak threw it off balance again.

Watching her Pokemon getting beaten back, the woman said, "That's enough, Houndoom. Get back, Ember, then Crunch."

Distracted by the small ball of fire, Marowak didn't see it coming until she felt the fangs dig into her stomach. She howled, struggling, but the Houndoom lifted her in the air like a rabbit, jaw clamped around her middle.

"Hey!" Ed shouted, but any other words of outrage died in his throat.

Blood leaked out of the Houndoom's mouth and the dog Pokemon shook its head, making blood splatter on the ground. It was like how a dog would shake a stuffed animal, fur and stitches being ripped open as stuffing flew out. But the stuffing was red and wet, the Houndoom wasn't a dog, and the Marowak didn't have the silence of a toy. Her cries went on.

There was a crunch, a crack of bone, and the Marowak went silent, slumping like the toy she shouldn't have been.

In the back of his mind, Ed heard Fuji make a little sound that could have been a sob, but he didn't comprehend it. His eyes were glued to Marowak and his eyes followed after her as she dropped from Houndoom's jaws. She didn't move, but blood still leaked out of the wounds, brighter and redder than Ed ever thought blood was.

There were footsteps behind him as the black-cloaked members returned from upstairs.

"We have it," one declared and his voice was close enough that it broke through the haze of Ed's mind and he turned his head. Held in both of the Rocket's hands was a square-shaped object, wrapped in white cloth.

Ed looked at the Ghost Plate, looking small and thin, and then looked back at Marowak, who died trying to protect it… Protect them.

With strength he didn't know he had, he pushed the man holding him back, and with a cry, ran at the guy holding the Plate. One of the quicker Rocket members tried to grab him, but he ducked under the arms and grabbed the object out of surprised hands. The Plate was lighter than he thought it was, almost like an empty cardboard box, but when he held it close to his chest it was as hard as stone.

There was no movement in the ranks of the Rockets. Everyone was looking at him as he stood close to the staircase with the object everyone wanted in his arms. He was aware of his Poke Balls against his side, but he felt odd and had a strange feeling that he didn't need them.

He didn't know what a Plate was, but back when he and Ally were traveling with Leah, he sometimes heard her talking about it over the phone, to William. He asked William once what it was, but he never answered.

Whatever he was holding was dangerous. He didn't know what it did, but no matter how hard the Plate felt, it seemed like it was shifting in his arms like a snake.

Some of the Rocket took steps towards him, but the woman stopped them with a raise of her hand. She strode across the room, her heels clip-clopping against the floor. When she was a few feet from Ed, she lowered her hood, revealing a pretty face framed with maroon curls.

"Give the Plate over to us," she said to Ed.

Ed clutched the Plate tighter. "N- No!"

Her lips thinned, but the woman turned them into a smile.

"We're not going to hurt you or your friends. We just want the Plate."

"You killed Marowak!"

"We weren't here to kill anyone. We aren't here to kill anyone. If the Marowak stayed out it, it would have lived. It made the first attack."

He didn't believe the woman's words for a second. He didn't even care if what she was saying was true. Either way, Marowak was still lying there, bleeding on the floor, dead.

Dead.

He just watched a Pokemon die and he didn't do a thing.

Hands trembling, he looked at the Plate, feeling the soft cloth that was covering it. Finding the fold underneath it, he unwrapped the item, letting the free cloth dangle.

"Stop that," the woman snapped. "You aren't to touch it!"

Ed hardly heard her. Keeping part of the Plate unwrapped so that he didn't touch it, he gazed down at the thing that Marowak died for. Its surface was like glass, colored with a soft shade of purple, and he could see his reflection staring back at him with wide and fearful eyes. There were words etched into it, little squiggles in a language he didn't recognize.

Dragging his eyes away from the Plate, he looked up at the Rocket members and gasped.

The room had changed.

Everyone was still there, looking at him, but a gray-purple mist clung to them. But even if he called it mist, it wasn't. It was like a ghost in and of itself, wisps floating through objects and people like they weren't really there. There was a huge clump of it around the fire and it was like little hands were strangling the blaze, making it burn itself out and die. Some of it even went through him and he could feel its cold and slimy presence in his skin.

He reached his arm out and tried to brush it away from him, but it only took his hand and slithered up his arm.

It was disgusting. He didn't know how he didn't notice it before. Was that what the Plate did? Make him see things that weren't supposed to be there?

Then he remembered what Fuji said, about how ghosts were all around the tower. It would make sense, but the mist didn't look like a bunch of ghosts or even a single one. It was just… there.

"Give up the Plate," the woman repeated.

"C- Can't you see it?" he asked her, frowning. "This weird…"

The woman looked confused, and that was a good enough answer for him. The Plate must be causing the mist or letting him see it. Either way, it didn't matter. He had the Plate, but what he supposed to do with it? He couldn't fight his way out and the Plate was being creepy. He didn't even want to hold it anymore.

Should he just hand it over?

As he turned his head, he caught Ally's eye through the mist. They stared at each other with identical frightened expressions, but unlike Ally, he wasn't trapped.

Maybe he could do something after all.

He looked at Marowak's body and raised the Plate above his head.

"You want this?" he asked, voice cracking.

"Yes, now hand it over-"

"Then go get it!" he screamed and threw it with all his strength. As soon as the Plate left his hands, the Rockets homed in on it, trying to grab it, but it sailed over their heads.

The mist of ghosts disappeared and despite the feeling of relief washing over him, Ed didn't waste any time. While everyone was distracted, he jumped the guy handling Ally. Luckily, the guy wasn't paying attention and didn't see the kick to his shin coming. Grabbing Ally by the wrist, he pulled her over to the staircase and they huddled there.

"Are you okay?" he said, gasping for breath.

"I- I think so-"

"Get it!"

Ed looked up just in time to see the Plate begin its decent. He had thrown it high and it flipped several times in mid-air, the cloth coming undone and letting go. The Plate landed beside Marowak, splashing in the Pokemon's blood and landing without a single dent marring its surface. Hardly a moment after, the cloth landed on top of it, covering the Plate up, and its edges staining pink with blood.

One of the Rockets leaned down and touched the cloth, intending to take both it and the Plate, but the cloth collapsed beneath his hand, anything under it gone.

The Rocket stared at the empty cloth dumbly.

"What type of magic trick is this-"

And Marowak raised her head.

Blood dripped off the bottom of her skull, and her sightless white eyes looked up at the grunt who gotten close. He stumbled away as she got to her feet, rivers of blood running down her torso.

Ed heard Ally say, "What?", and despite being too busy staring to reply, his thoughts echoed hers.

Didn't Marowak die?

"Ma-" Marowak tried to say, but the rest of it came out in a gurgle.

"Houndoom, kill it," the Rocket woman whispered, her voice easily heard over the dead silence. "Kill it now."

Houndoom approached the Pokemon, hunched over, but just before it looked like it was about to lunge, it let out a whimper and ran over to the woman, hiding behind her legs.

Turning to her fellow Rocket members, she yelled, "Kill it! Send out all your Pokemon- I don't care. Just kill it-"

The Marowak howled. It was not a present sound, but even through the Pokemon's mouth and throat was half-filled with blood, it went on.

Ed and Ally covered their ears and closed their eyes, anything to get away from that awful noise.

Suddenly, there was a shout that briefly drowned out the howl, but it quieted as fast as it came. A familiar coldness prickled at the edge of Ed's senses. It slithered under his skin and he shivered at the feeling, hoping it would go away. When it didn't, he opened his eye, not daring to look at anything other than his feet, and saw the mist was back.

"E- Ed!" Ally said, her eyes still closed. "There's something wrong."

The howl stopped abruptly and Ed gained the courage to look up at Marowak.

He really wished he didn't.

The Pokemon was bent over, throwing up blood. Around her were the mist-ghosts, clumped together like bodyguards.

A Rocket member yelled and Ed caught a glance of the mist surrounding his face before he looked away. The man's yell was caught off and Ed had the terrible feeling of knowing what the mist was doing to him.

"Houndoom!" the woman exclaimed, holding out a Poke Ball. "Return!"

Trapped by the mist, the Houndoom didn't try to avoid the red beam of light that penetrated through the ghosts, bringing him to safety.

The woman took a step onto the staircase that led to the top floor and hesitated. She looked at her panicking teammates and yelled: "Get out of the tower! Break windows, I don't care! Run! That's an order!"

Then she disappeared up the steps.

A hand took Ed's arm and he heard Ally's cry of surprise.

Fuji held both of their arms, his lined face grave. He did not say anything, but pulled them to the stairs that the Rocket woman used.

"Wait!" Ally said, her eyes widening. "Sparks is still there!"

Ed turned, seeing Ally ripping her arm out of Fuji hold and going for an abandoned Poke Ball on the ground.

"No!" Fuji called out, hand failing to grasp the back of her shirt.

The mist was see-through, letting Ed see Ally grabbing the ball. She went back towards them, her face relaxed, a worry gone from her mind, when the mist blocked her from the exit.

She showed confusion, her hand failing to break through the mist that had let her through so easily.

"Ed?" she said, frowning, her eyes getting a bit wider as a realization slowing crept upon her that she shouldn't have let them.

The mist shifted, like it was in metamorphosis, and suddenly Ally was gone from his sight. In the mist's place were black masses that floated from the ground, now easily being able to be called 'ghosts'. They weren't familiar to Ed, but they looked like Haunter with their large paws and open mouths. However, they had no eyes and their mouths were turned downwards, but whether in horror of sadness, Ed couldn't tell.

"Ally!" Ed yelled.

"We must go!" Fuji whispered. "Before it's too late…"

Ed shook his head. "I'm not leaving her behind!" He looked into the mass of ghosts and called out, "Ally! Ally!"

There was a small cry from beyond the ghosts.

"Ed!"

Fuji wouldn't let the same thing happen twice and his grip was like steel, Ed unable to shake it off. The old man pulled him up the stairs, Ed struggling all the way, and only paused momentarily to scoop Cubone up from where he sat dazed.

Just before Ed was pulled onto the final floor, he thought he caught a glimpse of her shirt, the pink standing out against the black. She cried his name one more time, and it rung in his ears as he was able to see her no more.

"Ally!"

And there was nothing he could do.


-


A/N: Before anyone asks, no, Ally is not dead.

Anyways, I think this is the fastest pace chapter I've written. So much stuff happened and look: the Plates are back! And Team Rocket finally appeared! It only took forty-nine chapters for them to come in, eh?

"Allyyyyyyyy!"

Marowaaaaaaaak!

Man, feels so good to keep reading this story. Just wanted you to know that I still take time every once in a while to read this fic because it i so good.

Tell you what, once you publish the next chapter I'll try to have a more formal review, look for misplaces commas (hah!) and stuff. For the moment I can tell you the part that I liked, but I'd guess you pretty much know it already: Sands. Seeing him go on and try to keep with the Magneton, even if doing a bit wildly, was interesting because since Lt. Surge I always had though that Sands would learn to fight differently. Until the whole thing that happened with him, anyway.

Having him finally stick to Leah, if a bit painfully, was a nice touch. Even if it is the basic knowledge that he would be safe in a pocket holding his Fire Stone (I haven't forgotten the shipping) it reads like a senseful and warming way, at the same time, to signal something that may guide to Sands' recovery. I found Chandelle's comment on Sandslash and Leah's training acute and alluring, although strangely out of place. Maybe because of all what was happening around, maybe... I'll have to reread again and have something for the review.

Speaking on which... I don't have too much of a formed opinion on the new girl characters, but I did found Ashley remniscent of Ed somewhat. And the commentary that she was like "Ed and Ally's child sent back in time just to annoy Leah", made me giggle more than a couple of times as I reread the chapter.


Bonus points for the whole Lavender issue. But you made me cry a bit. It is one thing when you play the game and a sprite comes in and tell you Team Rocket killed this Marowak. It is another thing to have the death on-screen, sort of, with Cubone watching (I still remember Fuji picked him dazed or something) as well as Ed, what with the conditions given. I wondered what was he trying to do with the Plate... what was he thinking taking it away and just staying a couple of steps away from TR?

Overall a nice chapter. Makes me feel good to be visiting. So I'll comment more later.

Also, I want a Zapdos feather. Any tips for my Nidorino to handle those Magneton (no I won't touch the Pikachu nest)? XD

Hey, solovino~

You know, to be honest, I keep forgetting that the Fire Stone even exists. You mentioned it and I thought to myself, 'Fire Stone? What Fire- Oh. Right. That thing…' I feel pretty bad that I keep forgetting it since when I read the earlier chapters, it's pretty much a given when Sands appears, the Fire Stone will be at least mentioned.

About Marowak, I kind of wish that I gave her a little more screen time. She was just kind of there, fought Houndoom, died, and then the whole Plate thing happened. Ed wasn't thinking when he grabbed the Ghost Plate at all. He just wanted to do something, no matter how stupid it was in hindsight. He's actually pretty lucky Team Rocket knows what happens when someone physically touches the Plate, which is why they were so careful with him.

Nidorino can easily handle Magneton. All they need to do is use Water Pulse or Hidden Power. If they don't have either then I'm sorry, they're kinda screwed (I actually look Nidorino up and was surprised that those two attacks were pretty much the only thing that could affect Magneton).

I'll be looking forward to your giant review. Next chapter should be up in a week (read: two weeks due to procrastination). ;)

Such a great story, I can't wait for more.

Thanks, Gary! I'm glad you're liking the story so far~ :D