“Gary! Wake up! Gary! Gary! Come on! Wake up, man!”

“Huh?” My eyes shot open and I looked up in surprise to someone shaking me hard. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” I felt angry, but the feeling faded, and I closed my eyes again.

“Wake up, kid!”

“June, I am sorry to have to do this, but you need to wake up, please!”

I was shaken hard again and I groaned sleepily. “Just five more minutes… Pleeeease…”

“Gary, get up! Now!”

The shaking was seriously angering me and I opened my eyes. “Whaaaaat?” I groaned. I sat up, squinting at who had awoken me so rudely from such a nice sleep. “Spencer…? Spectator…?”

“Spector,” the young man said with concern. “It’s Spector. What in the world are you guys still doing here?”

I heard a groan from somewhere, but I lowered my head, resting it in my hands. “Can’t we talk about this later? I’m really tired right now…” I rubbed my eyes and looked up at Spector.

He had turned away from me and was looking at another guy.

This was his brother, Cody, or something like that. He was holding June, I think her name was, against his chest. They both were sitting on the floor next to a chair and table.

“Is she alright, Cory?” Spector asked.

Cory. That was the name.

Cory stared at his brother and slowly nodded. “She’ll be alright.”

Spector stood up and walked over to Courtney, who was lying on her back on the bench against the wall, and he shook her roughly, trying to wake her up.

“What’s the deal with you guys?” I stretched out my arms, desiring only to go back to sleep. “What are you waking us up for?”

“Gary…? Hug…?” Courtney mumbled in her sleep before finally crying out in surprise as she woke up. “You…! What are you doing?” Almost instantly, her eyes started to close again.

“Courtney!” I exclaimed, my eyes widening, my body waking further as I slowly started getting to my feet. “Aaah… My back…” I held my now aching back and stood hunched over. “What happened to your face?”

Courtney’s eyes opened wide at my words, and she turned quickly to her backpack behind her. “Ow!” she moaned, and she stretched her sides, holding one side. “My body hurts! Ugh! I really don’t feel too good today.” She managed to pull her bag from behind her and sit it in her lap.

June moaned against Cory, but she didn’t move.

Cory rubbed her back, staring down at her gingerly.

Courtney dug through her bag, her face looking like she was perhaps a fifty year old woman who was getting no sleep! She had several dark bags under her eyes, and her lips were a little dried up. Her hair seemed a little more stringy than usual, a mess on top of her head, and the blonde color to it was faded. She finally pulled out her mirror, and in the next instant, she shrieked as if someone had just stabbed her in the chest.

June and I jumped, June’s eyes popping open as she turned to look at Courtney, and she too screamed in horror.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FACE?!?!??” Courtney screeched, grabbing at her face and running her hand through her hair.

“Everything’s alright, ha ha” Spector said lightly. “But you guys have to get out of here.” Spector swallowed hard and then smiled again.

“ALRIGHT?!?! YOU CALL THIS ALRIGHT?!?!?! LOOK AT ME!!!!” Courtney raged, keeping her face in the mirror. “DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT THIS IS ABOUT?!?!”

June turned to Spector, and then looked over at me, and I got a good look at her face. She did a double take at me, and her eyes expanded.

We both pointed at each other and screamed. “YOUR FACE!! MINE?!?” We raced to Courtney and shoved her out of the way, grasping for her mirror. Our faces smushed against one another as we viewed ourselves. A pair of screams tore through the Pokemon Center.

“MY FACE!!! I LOOK HORRIBLE!! WHAT HAPPENED???” I bellowed, staring at basically what I had seen from Courtney and June. Wrinkly skin, bags under my weary, tired, red eyes, and messy, dried out hair.

“What year is this?!! How long did I sleep?! What is this?! This can’t be me! This just can’t be!!” June was going into hysterics as she pulled the mirror away from me and focused on her face.

“HEY! Do you two know what’s going on here?” I demanded of the Gym Leaders.

Spector and Cory, now standing next to each other, exchanged quick glances.

“Come on, guys! Just tell us.” I was too tired to keep talking, and I sat down on the bench, desiring to get some more sleep.

“It appears that the Litwick are feeding off of your life energy,” Cory said seriously.

“The Lit…wick…?” I repeated. “What is that?”

“They’re just a couple of Ghost type Pokemon that live in this town!” Spector burst out frantically. “Just get your stuff and leave! Everything’s just fine! You’ll be okay once you get out of here! It’s as simple as that!”

“Brother, please, relax.” Cory turned to June and stared at her.

June lowered the mirror and turned to him. She let out a low cry and turned away, sitting down on the bench with Courtney and I.

Cory smiled and turned to me. “Perhaps it is best that you all depart. Have you received your Pokemon back from Nurse Joy?”

“No. We haven’t seen her since we got here and left our Pokemon in her care. What time is it? What day is it?”

“We only battled just yesterday, technically speaking,” Cory answered me. “It is currently around three o’clock in the morning. It has been several hours since our battle.”

“I’ll go find Nurse Joy.” Spector walked over to the door in the back and opened it, closing it behind him.

“What is this about a Litwick?” I asked Cory.

Cory turned to me and cleared his throat. “Well, as I believe my brother explained, they are a Ghost and Fire type Pokemon which live in this town. In fact, my brother owns the final stage of Litwick, which you and Courtney battled; Chandelure. Judging from how you all look, the Litwick are still sneaking around here, somewhere.” Cory stopped speaking and looked around cautiously. “I felt a little bit weary myself when I was on my way here with Spector.”

“What did you mean when you said they were feeding from our life energy?” Courtney whimpered, holding her mirror in her hands again.

Cory turned to her but didn’t answer.

A loud scream from the back of the Pokemon Center made us all climb to our feet and turn to the back door.

“Spector!” Cory called out.

We all ran to the door, Cory reaching it first while the rest of us shuffled after him, and he yanked it open. A shout was heard from further ahead, and we ran down the hallway in front of us, moving past a couple of doors along the way.

One door in the middle of the hallway was wide open, and Cory reached it quickly, running inside. “Spector! Gardevoir! Nurse Joy!”

As I reached the door, Courtney and June right behind me, I leaned tiredly against the doorframe and gasped at what was inside.

Courtney and June also cried out when they saw what was going on.

The room was fairly small. One side held several stands. Capsules with a soft looking blanket and pillow inside of them, sat on top. A cord was attached to the back of each capsule, trailing down and hiding behind the stands. A small computer sat on a large wooden desk on the other side of the room. Only one window sat against the wall.

Nurse Joy was on the ground on her back, surrounded by Poke Balls, Gardevoir on one side of her, Spector at her other side bent on one knee, breathing hard.

Cory was looking down at the three.

Nurse Joy looked dead, her entire body motionless and wrinkled up like a prune. She had dark bags under her eyes and her lips were dark and wrinkled.

“What happened to Nurse Joy?” Courtney moved past me slowly.

“Spector, this has gone too far,” Cory said strongly. “The Litwick are out of control!”

“Shut up, Cory!” Spector shouted at him, and he turned mournfully to Nurse Joy. “She’ll be fine. We just need to get her out of this place!”

“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir said in a low voice, staring down at Nurse Joy.

“Gardevoir, thanks for keeping Nurse Joy safe,” Spector told her. “We need to get her to the nearest hospital, pronto.”

“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir nodded. Gardevoir and Nurse Joy both started to glow with multiple colored lights, and in the next second, they were gone.

Teleport, I thought. I turned to Spector. “Are you sure she’s okay?” I asked him.

“Nurse Joy was still alive, but just barely,” Spector replied, not looking up at me. “You guys should go next. When Gardevoir gets back, she’ll Teleport you wherever you need to go.”

“We can’t leave,” June spoke out.

We all turned to look at her.

“Why?” Spector squinted at her.

“Because there’s something going on here that you’re not telling us.” June took a step towards Spector and sighed tiredly. “What’s going on with the Litwick? Where are they?” She turned around swiftly towards the door and stared at the ground.

When I looked at where she was staring, nothing was there.

June turned back to Spector.

“Listen, everything’s fine here, okay?” Spector got to his feet, glaring at June. “Why don’t you guys just leave already?”

“What are you allowing to take place here?” June demanded.

Spector took a step towards June. “Nothing is going on!”

“Liar!” June stepped towards Spector.

Cory stepped between them and held out his hands, placing one on each of their shoulders. He stared at June and smiled.

June looked away from Spector and her eyes widened as she stared at Cory and swallowed nervously.

Cory nodded and looked at Spector, his smile fading. “Little brother, please.”

“They’re not doing anything wrong!” Spector’s face broke into sadness as he cried out to his brother. “They’re not bad! They’re only doing what comes natural to them!”

Cory smiled at Spector and gripped his shoulder tighter, giving it a light shake. “Do you not think I know this just as well as you do? Was I not there when all of this began? Am I not your brother?”

Spector’s eyes began to tear up and he sighed, lowering his head. “The Litwick are here, Cory. I can feel it. I don’t have the energy to fight against you any further. I’ll talk.”

Cory’s hands slid off of June and Spector, and he stood up straight. “Great. In that case, I shall do my best to return shortly. Spector, might I trouble you to allow me to borrow your Chandelure to aide me in searching this building?”

“Sure thing.” Spector grabbed a Poke Ball from his waist and held it out, sending out the Pokemon within.

“Chandelure!” the Pokemon said loudly.

“Chandelure, go with Cory for a bit and do whatever he needs you to, okay?” Spector ordered.

“Chandelure!” Chandelure nodded.

Cory smiled at us all, his eyes coming to a stop on June. “We shall return should everything go well.” He turned and led the way out of the room, Chandelure floating behind him.

I saw June smiling slightly, but her smile faded as we faced each other. I then turned to Spector. “So.”

Spector nodded. “Yes, yes. Of course. I’ll make it short and sweet, if I can. Basically, Ghyst Town was once a lot more lively than it is now. People used to live here and everyone was happy. But then, me and my brother moved in…”

“You guys aren’t from here,” I commented.

Spector shook his head. “Not at all. Ever since moving out of our parents’ house at eighteen, we did a lot of moving. Living in the real world is difficult. Expenses and stuff. Anyway, we were in the woods not far from this town, trying to figure out what we could do about earning money, when a terrifying scream filled the woods. We ran after the sound to find some kind of creature surrounded by a gang of Litwick. I didn’t even recognize what the thing was. It was all wrinkly and pale, like a huge piece of paper or something. Turns out it was a Pokemon. It was Gardevoir.” He looked at us silently.

“You don’t mean…?” I started.

“The one who works here?” Courtney gasped.

Spector nodded. “I knew a lot about Ghost type Pokemon. I knew what the Litwick were doing. They feast on the life energy of living beings. My brother had a Frillish at the time. The same one you guys battled against, only, now he’s evolved, obviously. We, or, more specifically, Cory, saved that Gardevoir’s life by battling the Litwick. But, I felt bad for them. They were just hungry little Pokemon. They can’t help that they were brought into this world, or what they would turn out to be. They were just doing what they had to do to survive. I took pity on the Litwick.”

I sat down, my legs slowly caving in underneath me, and I yawned loudly. I wasn’t bored by Spector’s tale. It was very interesting. I was just so damn tired…

“Sitting sounds like a good idea,” Spector smiled wearily, his face showing signs of sleepiness. He joined me on the floor.

“Yeah, I think I’ll rest, too,” Courtney yawned, lowering herself down.

“I hope Cory gets back soon,” June said, going down as well. “I hope he’s okay…” Her eyes were barely open.

“So, anyway,” Spector yawned. “I took in the Litwick. We arrived in Ghyst Town, where we discovered that there were a few Litwick roaming around freely. There was a small problem with people who were being drained of their energy by the Litwick, but they didn’t know what to do about it, so, Cory and I offered our assistance with the issue. Cory originally wanted to just battle the Litwick, but I suggested we try and work with them. Man, I can barely talk anymore.” Spector laid on his side. “I’m so weak.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I said, my hands on the floor as I leaned on them, holding myself up.

“Long story short, the people agreed me and Cory could keep the Litwick in Ghyst Town to keep watch on them and give them shelter if we kept them under control and had them on a proper diet,” Spector told us.

“What did you feed them?” I inquired.

“Supplements,” Spector answered. “But it wasn’t enough for them. They wanted the real thing. Real life energy. They went right back to draining the townsfolk again, and things in this town got a lot worse. People were disappearing, or being found dead in their homes or in the streets. People started moving out in droves. The Litwick never attacked me or Cory. They seemed to have some level of respect for us. And Gardevoir, who is Cory’s Pokemon, by the way, seems to have some kind of pass with the Litwick, too. Probably because it belongs to Cory.”

“So Cory owns Gardevoir,” I muttered.

“That’s right. And my Chandelure is one of the original Litwick that we found in the forest,” Spector added.

“Whoa,” I said in a worn out shock. “Whoa!” I said a little louder as something materialized nearby me in a flash of colors.

“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir appeared, and she looked down at us coldly. “Gardevoir.”

“Welcome back, Gardevoir,” Spector smiled with little energy, dark bags beginning to form underneath his eyes as they started to close. “Goodnight…”

“Spector!” I reached out to him and shook him as hard as I could, but I could barely budge him. “I’m too weak. I thought Cory was… helping us…”

“Gardevoir?” Gardevoir said.

Hurried footsteps from the hallway grabbed my attention and I slowly turned to the door.

Courtney was asleep on the ground, her mouth hanging open.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

June was holding herself up as she sat on the floor, her hands pressed to the ground, her arms extended, but her eyes were closed.

“Everyone! We have to run!” Cory shouted as he appeared.

Chandelure was right behind him.

June turned to the door, groaning. “Cory… Help…?” she begged weakly.

“Something terrible is happening!” Cory turned to June. “You all have to get out of here immediately!”

My eyes widened and I struggled to get to my feet. My legs quivered under me and my entire body was in pain. “What’s going on?”

“The Litwick are not listening anymore! They are out of control and are just attacking everything! If not for Chandelure, I would have been killed for sure! And there are people in this town, as well! Complete strangers! They are attacking the Litwick and Lampent!”

Breathing was starting to become an exercise for me. “People? Attacking the Litwick and Lampent?”

“You all need to leave. Spector and I will make sure everything is alright. Spector!”

Spector was breathing heavily on the ground, snoozing.

“Spector!” Cory ran into the room and grabbed his brother’s shoulders. He yanked him to his feet.

“Hey!” Spector woke up and stumbled as he tried to balance himself, grabbing his brother’s shoulders. “Cory?”

“We have a major situation at hand outside. You and I have to deal with this, once and for all.”

“We can help! We have Pokemon!” I insisted. “We don’t have time to argue this, and you don’t have time to allow Gardevoir to Teleport us somewhere and get back here in time.” I inhaled deeply to gather as much air in my lungs as I could and I walked over to the Poke Balls on the ground. “These Poke Balls are ours. Look, those even have your stickers on them, June.”

June moaned in response.

I knelt down and scooped up six Poke Balls.

Another six sat on the ground next to June’s. They must have belonged to either me or Courtney.

We’ll sort out which Pokemon are which, later, I thought, and I clipped the Poke Balls to my belt. I ducked down again and grabbed the remaining six Poke Balls, and then walked over to Courtney, who was still sleeping on the ground. I knelt down next to her. “Courtney,” I said, trying to speak louder, but I couldn’t get myself to shout. “Screw it.” I shoved the Poke Balls into the pocket of her tight jeans and fell onto my butt on the floor, breathing hard.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!!

I nearly suffocated as my heart jumped into my mouth after the wall exploded.

“Not bad for a Take Down, eh? Ha ha ha ha!” a voice cackled through the debris flying through the air, blocking my view of what had caused the attack. “Imagine if I would have turned it up to the max!”

I could hear Courtney, June, Spector, Gardevoir, and Cory moan and groan around me.

A few other voices chuckled as the air started to clear out.

I could make out a few figures as I waited for my vision to become clearer.

The group was made up of five men. Two were in white jumpsuits while another two wore white slacks, a black blazer buttoned up over a white shirt, and black shoes.

The final man, who stood in front of the other men, wore a very fancy white shirt, the top few buttons left open, revealing some of his smooth chest, and black slacks and shoes. His hair was cut very short. In his arms was a big black cannon with a trigger underneath it, his finger wrapped around it. The man smiled devilishly, but once his eyes landed on me, his smile slowly faded away.

I squinted at this man who stood in the middle of the group. Who is this guy? I wondered. Do I know him?

The man stared at me solemnly for a moment, and suddenly, his eyes lit up. A smile spread across his face, and his teeth showed as he nodded at me. “Yes. Of course… Gary!”

I gasped as my name was spoken. Who is he? I thought frantically. How does he know my name?

“It’s been years since we first… and last, met,” the man spoke calmly. “Ha ha ha. Your life seemed fated to end in prison when we met in Celadon City, but now…” The man pointed the cannon at me. “It ends at my hands. Funny how things kind of come full circle, eh?” The man grabbed a red dial on the right side of the cannon and twisted it back and forth a few times, a small screen at the top of the cannon lighting up yellow and rapidly displaying a spinning set of black numbers and letters I couldn’t quite make out.

I inhaled in a loud gasp as a memory hit me. “You!”

The man pressed a couple of white buttons next to the dial, and several dots on the left side of the cannon lit up gold. He nodded with a sinister smile. “Ray.” He squeezed the trigger.

I scrambled to my feet and backed up. “Everybody, run!”

The cannon shot out a white beam at me, and I leaped to the side.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMM!!!!!

The terrifying screams from my friends made me tremble with concern. I was flat on the ground, and I looked up at the man I now knew.

Ray.

Ray, from Team Solace.

We had first met in Celadon City, when I had been under arrest for the attack that had occurred in Saffron City, as well as having been suspected of kidnapping June, and while in custody, I had met this man. Ray. He spoke to me of how evil Pokemon were, and offered me the chance to join with Team Solace, which I had, of course, refused.

Ray, I thought furiously. What is he doing here?

“That wasn’t so great,” one of the men in the blazers spoke, sneering down at me. “I’d have expected a lot more damage.”

“Let’s see how they like Flamethrower,” Ray muttered angrily, twisting the dial a few times before pressing a couple of buttons.

The lights lit up on the side of the cannon.

I pushed myself up despite feeling that I was down to my last bit of energy and turned around.

Courtney and June were on their backs.

Cory, Spector, and Gardevoir were near the girls, glaring up at Ray and his goons from the floor.

Chandelure seemed to be just fine, hovering above the three as it glared at the attackers.

“Gardevoir, Teleport, now!” Cory ordered.

I turned as I heard a roar behind me, and before I knew it, I was now standing in an entirely different room!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM!!!! were the noises I heard from another area, far away.

“Is everybody alright?” I heard Cory ask.

I turned to see Cory, Courtney, June, Spector, and Gardevoir on the floor of a room with a pair of dressers, a pair a bunk beds, two closed doors, and one window.

Chandelure was floating above us as the group with me shakily got to their feet, looking around.

Courtney was the only one who looked confused.

“We are in another room of the Pokemon Center,” Cory told us all. He then quickly turned to me. “Gary, that man knew your name! What is the meaning of this?”

“That’s a criminal I encountered a few years ago,” I explained. “He’s a part of those guys from Team Solace.”

“Team Solace?” Cory gasped. “Those fiends who have been harming Pokemon and yet blaming them for the tragedies that have been taking place throughout the world? Is he really a member of that despicable group?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I wouldn’t have ever expected to run into him again, but I have. The last I saw him, he was going to jail for something.”

“Ssshhh!!” Spector hushed us.

We all stood quietly, and I then heard the footsteps outside of the room we were in.

“They are on their way,” Cory whispered fearfully. He turned to Gardevoir. “Gardevoir, please, get ready to apply your Psychic-”

CRAAAASSHH!!

The door exploded into pieces and we all screamed, turning towards it.

Ray stepped inside, a man in a white jumpsuit accompanying him. He aimed his cannon at me and squeezed the trigger.

The opening of the cannon became outlined in light blue.

“Aaaaaaaaauuuuuggggghhhhh!!!!” I wailed, my eyes closed tightly as a painful burn that wasn’t quite a burn, but something much, much worse, gripped my body.

My other friends screamed out as well.

“None of you can escape, now. The Pokemon Center is on fire, and that fire is spreading,” Ray told us.

I managed to slowly open my eyes as I grit my teeth, groaning sorely.

Ray was smiling directly at me, rubbing his cannon, the light blue coloring still on the mouth of it.

I suddenly noticed that my body was outlined in light blue as well! What? My eyes lowered, my head stuck in place, and I saw the ground below my feet. I was hovering over the floor! “Hey! My feet!” I shouted. I looked back to Ray with fright.

“You and your friends won’t be going anywhere in the midst of this Psychic attack you’re under.” He patted his cannon.

The pain I was feeling was like a boiling hot, thick, pasty spread slathered all over my body. I’d never felt anything this intense, and I didn’t understand what was going on.

“A lot has changed since we last had the chance to talk, Gary,” Ray said to me, his eyes focused on mine. “Team Solace has returned, and we’re accomplishing things we did not have the chance to fulfill last time. How lucky I am to have been freed from prison to join in this triumph.”

Freed from prison? I thought, growling against the pain I was suffering from.

“Whilst in prison, I was able to recruit more members. Once the attacks on the jails began and we were freed, I could inhale the air of victory for my team.”

I gasped almost instantly as I understood what Ray was talking about.

The attacks on the prisons that had occurred a few weeks ago. The prisoners who had escaped and been saved by white and black aircrafts and other vehicles, clearly machines of Team Solace. Ray must have escaped from prison during those attacks!

“I could walk on the ground of success for Solace,” Ray said easily. “Everything was greater than I could have ever imagined. Even our weapons are a great deal more impressive than I had expected.” Ray raised the opening to his cannon into the air, and then lowered it sharply.

I screamed as I ascended higher into the air and then crashed hard to the floor. June, Courtney, Spector, Chandelure, Cory, and Gardevoir also screamed behind me, but I couldn’t look back to see what was wrong with them as I shivered painfully. The pain surrounding me began to fade, but not quickly enough. I coughed a few times and groaned, desperate for the burn to go away.

“That there was Psychic attack,” Ray smirked, hoisting up his cannon. “You can thank Team Solace’s latest invention for performing the fantastic moves that you’ve been witness to so far.”

The opening of the cannon was no longer outlined in light blue.

I stared at Ray in confusion, not understanding what he was talking about.

“Perplexed, Gary?” Ray asked me, smiling even more broadly, pleased with my confusion. “The answer is in this weapon I hold. The future of Team Solace. The future of this very planet as we know it! This device can launch a form of just about any Pokemon attack. From Tackle, to Fire Blast, to Shadow Ball, to Future Sight, to even Charm or Growl. This baby is capable of delivering a version of nearly every possible move a Pokemon can do. However, this device also allows me control of the severity of the damage done, producing a move that surpasses the strength the Pokemon could reach, and resulting in some truly dire destruction.”

I stared at his cannon, my arms shaking as I held myself up by them. My breathing was forced, my body only doing so because I had to in order to live.

“Heh, heh, heh. Too long, Gary. Too long…” Ray shook his head at me, grinning. “I recall offering you the chance to side with Team Solace back when we first met. Back then, you turned my offer down. Now, especially if you knew what I knew about the future, I think it would be in your best interest to side with us. There is so little your young mind doesn’t-”

“Screw you!” I screamed, finding a new strength inside of me. I pushed myself up and tried to balance on my legs, but I fell forward onto my knees. I flinched in pain, but kept my furious eyes on Ray. “I’ll never join Team Solace! EVER! You’re better off just killing me now before offering me that again! Nothing’ll ever make me join with you… freaks! You guys are crazy!”

“Of course we are,” Ray replied simply. “All the true geniuses are considered such at some point in time until their vision is truly comprehended. By then, they’re usually dead, and the appreciation they deserved is given to them far too late. This is where Team Solace differs, Gary. Team Solace is here to claim the praise that is rightfully ours. And if you won’t side with us, you’ll just as easily be killed.” Ray was now scowling, and he pointed his cannon at me. He twisted the knob a few times and then pressed a couple of buttons, and the lights on the other side lit up. “To demonstrate the severity of the error you’ve chosen for yourself, how about you have a taste of Lick attack?” He squeezed the trigger.

A gray beam flew from the mouth of the cannon.

Before I could build up the strength in me to move, I was hit. My eyes closed tightly as a feeling I could only describe as cold, slow, and… death, wrapped around my body like a slithering snake, and I gritted my teeth. I fell backwards and dropped onto my back as a terrible chill swept over me. I tried to speak, but I could only choke out. I suddenly felt like I was about one hundred years old. Sick, tired, exhausted, unable to breathe properly, and staring at death. I didn’t even have the energy to open my eyes and look at Ray as he cackled evilly.

“Gary! No!” Courtney screamed with panic from behind me.

“Gary!” June shouted with her.

“What have you done to him?” I heard Cory yell.

“I already answered that,” Ray answered heartlessly. “Lick attack.”

My body clenched tightly and I shivered on the ground as a prickly feeling traveled all over my body.

“He’s even suffering from Paralysis, as well,” Ray added with a snicker.

“Why are you doing this to him? Stop this, right now!” Cory demanded.

Silence took over suddenly, which took me by surprise.

“You know, the sad part of this all is, you don’t even appreciate the good we’ve done today,” Ray spoke softly.

Ray’s words stunned me so much, I actually managed to open my eyes and looked towards him, though it took so much effort to do such a simple act.

Ray had a disgusted look on his face, and the opening to his cannon was now lowered towards the floor. “After all that’s been done to keep you, him, her, them, and countless people across the planet safe, there still remains people Team Solace is unable to reach. Has it truly gone over yours heads the fact that your lives have been saved? You all would be dead if not for the interference of Team Solace!”

“What are you talking about?” Spector groaned, out of my sight.

Ray kept his stare behind me solemnly. “If not for the arrival of Team Solace today, you’d all have been killed by the Litwick in this town. There’s just about no one left in this entire town except for you five. Even with the aide of your Pokemon, you underestimate the number of Litwick in this area if you had hoped to make it out of here on your own. Without adequate power like this…” Ray slowly rubbed the cannon in his grasp. “…your odds of survival were near and dear to none.”

“What do you mean?” I growled weakly. “What did you do? Have you attacked the Litwick?”

“Only as necessary,” Ray smirked. “Look at you. Even before we arrived, you were all helpless. Half asleep. Complete victims to be taken into the Ghost World. There wouldn’t have been a thing you could have done to fight it.” Ray’s eyes turned cold and focused on mine. “Gary; come to terms with the fact that Team Solace saved your life today.”

I shivered on the ground and pain traveled throughout my body. I struggled to keep my eyes open as they watered, blurring my vision. No, I thought in a pained rage. That isn’t true. They haven’t done anything to help me in any way! I’d rather die than be saved by Team Solace. I coughed repeatedly and blinked hard to get the tears from my eyes. No, I told myself. No. They’re speaking the same crap Team Solace has spoken since the day they first came to be. It’s all lies. They’re full of complete crap and nothing else.

Footsteps moved quickly down the hallway, and soon, a man in a white jumpsuit, along with two men in black blazers, appeared at the opening Ray had made earlier. The men glared silently at us all.

“I hate to see a young child I consider such a dear… friend… in such a state as this,” Ray said as he turned the dial on the cannon, the screen lighting up again and showing words and numbers that moved too quickly for me to make sense of. He exchanged glances with one of the guys in the white jumpsuits before turning back to me, and he sneered. “In fact…” Ray lifted his cannon and pressed a couple of buttons, the dots lighting up again, and he held his cannon tightly under his right arm, aiming it at me and my friends. His finger tightened around the trigger. “Why would I want any of you to live even a second longer?” Ray suddenly froze and his eyes tightened on something behind me. “Hey!” Ray pointed his gun at whatever was behind me.

“Gardevoir!” I heard Cory’s voice.

“Gardevoir!” I heard Gardevoir yell.

Like magic, a huge, gaping black hole appeared on the floor of the room we were all in, closest to Ray. The darkness within the hole was strange. It was darker than anything I had ever seen, and something about this made absolutely no sense to me.

Ray and one of the men next to him wearing a white jumpsuit didn’t even have time to scream as they fell inside of it, and I felt a strong pull dragging me against my will towards the hole, too!

The two other men in blazers, and the last man in a white jumpsuit, stumbled backwards, struggling against the suction coming from the hole as they tried to get out of the way, but one of the men in a blazer lost his balance and was pulled uncontrollably downward towards the hole, screaming his head off as if he were being burned alive, and disappeared into the blackness.

I couldn’t even fight against the vacuum as I quickly drew towards it.

The black hole quickly shrunk, and just as I reached it, it was gone!

I laid on the floor, shivering both in fear and from the Paralysis that was holding my body still.

“Gardevoir…” I heard Cory gasp.

“Voir…” I heard Gardevoir moan.

I flinched repeated, closing my eyes tightly.

“Was that an attack?” I heard someone whisper, but I couldn’t recognize the shaky voice.

“Gardevoir?” Cory cried out fearfully.

With my eyes already closed, nothing but blackness in my sight, I shivered hard. I’m not sure exactly how long it was before my body gave in, and I blacked out.

*

Gardevoir. The Embrace Pokemon and Kirlia’s final stage. When it comes to protecting the life of its Trainer, this Pokemon has no boundaries, even going as far as to utilizing the last of its Psychic abilities to create a black hole.

I stared down at my Pokedex and rubbed my fingers against it as June and I walked down a bumpy, rocky path, led by Courtney. I had been replaying the Pokedex info for the past hour or so, every several minutes, and the girls had been quiet, not commenting or telling me to stop.

We had left Ghyst Town almost two hours ago.

When I had awoken after passing out, Spector told me, June, and Courtney that the two remaining Team Solace members took off in terror after the black hole had closed. He also told us that there was little that could be done with all of the Litwick. Since the time that he and his brother had taken the Ghost types into Ghyst Town, they had reproduced so much that there was no safe way to get them out of the town, and so the town would have to be labeled as uninhabitable, but he and his brother would continue to live there with the Litwick and remain the town’s Gym Leaders.

It turned out that the lamps that were hovering in front of the buildings were Pokemon. Lampent. The evolved form of Litwick. They would wait outside of buildings while the Litwick sapped the life of the inhabitants, and the Lampent would enter during the victims’ final moments and take their souls to the Ghost World.

Spector’s information made me dwell back on June’s friend, Fred, which in turn made me think of Aly, and then, my father. It made me think about exactly where they were at this very moment.

Fred had returned from the Ghost World to see June again.

But I hadn’t received the same dedication, or love, from one of my best friends, let alone my own dad.

I wondered why…

Spector felt certain that he and his brother were safe with the Litwick, but that no one else would be. He believed that it was Team Solace’s presence that made them go out of control to the point that they were even attacking Cory. He said that even if the Litwick were to go crazy again, he and his brother would be glad to die amongst their friends.

The Litwick weren’t going berserk anymore. Team Solace had knocked a good portion of them unconscious with that cannon they had, and they were scattered all throughout the town.

Spector was sad about this, but was more than certain that he and his brother would take care of things, especially when Nurse Joy was able to return back to work, if she even wanted to come back, of course. And if she didn’t, Spector said that he would understand, and it might even be better that way, with just him and his brother caring for the Ghost Pokemon.

Leaving Ghyst Town seemed like the best thing to do after Gardevoir had died. She had used the last of her Psychic powers, using up all of her life energy in the process, to create the black hole that sucked up Ray and the other two men, and almost caught me, as well.

None of us, not even Cory, got the chance to thank her for saving our lives.

Cory was nowhere in sight when I had awoken.

Spector played the strong role despite the obvious pain he was in. He was constantly wiping at his eyes and sniffled a few times, but maintained a strong face, trying not to break down. Before me and my friends had left, Spector let us know that once we were out of Ghyst Town, we’d have our energy back and would look normal again.

Sure enough, not long after we had left Ghyst Town, me, Courtney, and June’s energy had returned, and our faces were back to their youthful, smooth selves.

But I hardly even noticed.

June, and, surprisingly, even Courtney, didn’t seem to notice that their looks and energy had returned, either.

We all had too much on our minds.

Team Solace got away. Yeah, a few members were thrown into a fate unimaginable and unknown, but they still got away. In more ways than one. A couple of the members escaped.

But, something else troubled me far more than anything else that had occurred that day.

It was a fact that I was trying to think up a way around accepting.

It was the fact that.

No.

I couldn’t bear to accept it.

I couldn’t live with the thought.

The lie.

That Team Solace had, in a sense, saved all of our lives.

My life!

The thought alone was enough to make me want to run in front of a truck. I felt dirty. I was in desperate need of a painful death. Team Solace didn’t save my life, I tried convincing myself. They do nothing but evil! They’ve never done one good thing. Ever!

And yet.

I knew.

I feared that I knew.

I feared to admit.

That despite the fact that they had nearly killed me that day.

They were the reason I was alive at this very moment.

This thought that I refused to accept seemed to give birth to another thought, in the farthest reaches of my mind, that Team Solace was accomplishing their overall goal in some small way. I couldn’t allow them to succeed in anything they were striving for in any sense. And that’s why I held on strong to my belief that they did not save my life.

The fact that I had to fight so hard against myself to continue believing that.

Was just as good in my mind.

As a victory for Team Solace.