“A Sun Stone?” I asked, staring at the golden stone designed like the sun sitting in Courtney's palm.

“Yeah, I don't need it,” Courtney smiled at me. “There's only a handful of Pokemon that evolve by this stone, and I already own all of them.”

“Really? You do?” My eyes widened.

“Yeah,” Courtney nodded. “I have tons of Pokemon, Gary.” She giggled. “I actually own every single Pokemon, excluding the Legendary Pokemon, from the regions I've explored.”

“Huh?” I gasped, staring at her as if she were crazy.

“You heard me,” she winked. “Other than the Legends, I own every single Pokemon in the Kanto, Hoenn, Johto, and Sinnoh regions. I'm missing a lot from Unova, and I don't intend to leave here until I catch them all, too!”

“No way!” I smiled eagerly.

Courtney beamed brightly, flashing her teeth. “That's right! So, I don't really need this stone anymore. And, I think I have an extra one somewhere in my bag, anyway.”

June made a noise and I turned to see her kick strongly at the ground, dirt flying up. She grumbled, shaking her lowered head, not turning to Courtney nor I.

Courtney turned to her. “June? Are you alright?” she asked caringly.

June ignored her, not saying a word as she walked with us, a few feet away.

“June?” Courtney tried again.

June still didn't react.

I sighed loudly and glared at her, but I didn't speak. I didn't have to.

June heard me and closed her eyes. Her furrowed eyebrows relaxed and she turned to Courtney with a forced, calmer face. Her breath escaped her nostrils. “Every… Pokemon…?” June asked in a slow, strained voice, her eyes blinking repeatedly with each word.

“Other than the Legendary Pokemon, and some in Unova,” Courtney told her.

June swallowed, clearly trying to find the nicest words possible. Her eyes lowered to the ground as she spoke again. “So, you mean to say that you own close to about…” She paused as she looked up to the sunny sky. She mumbled and started counting off on her fingers for a moment before finally looking back to Courtney. “Over five hundred Pokemon? Close to six hundred? Give or take?”

Courtney nodded. “That's about right, ha! I have to call Prof. Birch and ask again to be sure of the exact number. And I think I have some duplicates of some of my Pokemon, too. It's hard keeping track of what I own, you know? But, not counting the duplicates, I have about the number you said.”

June inhaled deeply and held her breath.

She doesn't believe her, I thought, watching June smile as she looked back into the sky. It wasn't a happy smile. It was a dangerous smile that meant June was about to go over the edge. She let out her breath. “You know, ha ha ha, Pokemon Trainers have spent their entire lives traveling the world, exploring the farthest reaches of the planet, dedicating their lives to the goal of capturing every Pokemon in existence, many dying on their quest, while others grow too old to continue the effort. Not one Trainer on record has accomplished this goal, or even gotten very close. Although there are an extremely small number of Trainers who have captured an extraordinary amount of Pokemon, including some Legends on excruciatingly rare occasions.” June took a breath, still smiling her warning smile, and she turned to Courtney. “I don't remember what number was last recorded from the Trainers who are at the top of the list of Pokemon owned, Courtney,” June chuckled. “But, ha, you mean to tell me that you have captured nearly six hundred different species of Pokemon on your own, at the age of sixteen?”

“Yup! Ha, maybe I should call up a magazine or something and get an interview, huh?” Courtney laughed shyly, looking down as she brushed aside her hair. “It wasn't all that difficult for me, either. I've traveled to so many regions during my time as a Trainer. My parents were really rich, so I could travel off to places like Unova, and I always had access to money thanks to them. I had plenty of time to explore other regions after competing in their Pokemon Leagues and I made it my little goal after the competitions were over to capture more Pokemon like Prof. Birch requested of me when he gave me my Treeko!”

“Is he the Professor who gives the Starters in Hoenn?” I asked.

“That's right,” Courtney replied, nodding. “Have you not heard of him?”

“He sounds familiar, yeah,” I told her. “I just never really met him. He's not really as popular in Kanto as Prof. Oak.”

“Well, no Professor is as well known as Prof. Oak,” Courtney stated. “No matter the region!”

June mumbled something I couldn't hear.

“Huh?” Courtney turned to June.

“Nothing,” June muttered.

“June, are you mad at me over something?” Courtney asked with concern.

June mumbled again.

“What was that, dear?” Courtney inquired.

June opened her mouth and inhaled, but nothing came out of her mouth for a moment as she stared at Courtney. Her eyes shot to me for a second before returning back to Courtney, and her breath came out in a sigh. As June closed her mouth, her eyes met with mine again for another second and then reverted back to Courtney. She looked down and continued walking with us silently, shaking her head.

“June, honey, what's wrong?” Courtney walked closer to June, holding the Sun Stone in her hands. “Won't you tell me? Please? You know, you can tell me anything. We're friends. Friends are honest with each other, right?”

Friends? I turned sharply to Courtney as I followed the girls, raising an eyebrow.

June looked at Courtney suspiciously. She sighed and stopped walking, bringing our trio to a halt.

Oh, boy, I thought with exasperation.

“We're not friends, Courtney,” June said bluntly, crossing her arms, her face hardening. “I don't trust you for a second. You nearly ruined Gary's chances of getting into the Pokemon League back in Kanto, and you constantly prove yourself to be no good. You really expect Gary and I to believe you've captured nearly six hundred Pokemon? I mean, just how dumb do you think we are, Courtney? There's no way! There's just no way you had that kind of time! You're only sixteen, Courtney! It's unheard of! Are you really even sixteen? I don't know what to think of you at all, alright? So don't ask me to believe things you say, especially utterly ridiculous claims like what you’re making.”

Courtney lowered her head and looked away from June, towards me. “Okay,” she said softly. She rubbed at her right eye and walked ahead of us, sniffling.

“Oh, cut out the damn act already!” June shouted after her.

“June!” I yelled. I had wanted to scream a lot of other things at her in that moment, but I was just too exhausted to do so anymore.

When it came to June and Courtney, it was nothing but fights, fights, and more fights. And it seemed that the harder Courtney tried to be friendly, the more June resisted her. I understood that June didn't trust or like Courtney, but I believed in second chances, and Courtney wasn't coming off as rude or anything, so there was no need for June to be so cold to her.

June stared at me with a pained, sad look. “Gary, you can't be serious!” June cried.

“You can't be serious, June!” I shot back. “What has she even done to deserve this? Why are you acting like this to her? I've had about enough already!”

June looked after me as I walked past her and towards Courtney.

Courtney came to a stop and immediately covered her face and sniffled. She shook her head. “No, please don't be mad at her, Gary,” Courtney whimpered. “I made mistakes, and I don't deserve her forgiveness. I have earned her hatred of me. I'm just so sorry for what I've done. If I were a better person, we could all just be friends right now!” She cried gently, rubbing her eyes.

“It's not like I'm a perfect person, either,” I told Courtney as I placed a hand on her shoulder.

Courtney gasped at my touch and looked up at me, her eyes shimmering behind tears that were slowly running down her cheeks.

I stared back at her firmly. “And June is far from perfect, herself,” I nodded.

“I never said I…” June's voice was hurt as it faded to silence.

“She has no right to act like she's so much better than you and make you feel inferior to her,” I continued. “The things you've done aren't even that big a deal. We've all done worse. And June hasn't exactly been the most honest person, even with me.” I turned to June.

June’s mouth and eyes widened in shock at me before turning into an angry scowl. Her lips pursed together and her eyes squinted at me.

I looked back to Courtney. “Don't let her get to you, alright, Courtney?”

“But…” She turned to June, sniffling as she wiped at her cheeks and eyes. “I want to be friends. I don't want us to be so hateful to each other. June, please?” She stepped away from me and approached June cautiously, taking slow steps towards her.

June sneered at her. An angry sigh came from her mouth and her arms dropped to her sides. “Courtney…” she said hesitantly, her face softening.

“June, I won't make you.” Courtney stopped and extended her arms. “But, I'm really trying to be sincere right now with you. I want us to try again and be friends. If I screw up again, then I don't deserve to ever be forgiven again. Hell, I don't deserve to be forgiven now, but, I'm begging you, June. I'm only begging for one last chance. Please, June.”

June turned to me with an exasperated look on her face.

I returned her stare with an expectant look and cocked my head at her.

June looked back uncertainly at Courtney.

Courtney widened her arms. “A hug? Please, June?”

June's shoulders slumped and she sighed. “Oh, fine, Courtney. I concede.” June approached Courtney slowly.

Courtney squealed with delight and ran towards June, wrapping her up in her arms and bouncing on her feet. “Oh, Juni, this is gonna be so great! We can put all of this bad blood behind us!”

June smiled weakly and looked at me as she hugged Courtney reluctantly, rubbing her back.

I smiled back and nodded. Good job, June, I thought happily. Finally, a little peace.

“And, in celebration of this moment, and as an apology for what we put Gary through with our silliness, please.” Courtney stepped over to me, her Sun Stone in between her hands, and she stopped just a couple of feet away from me. She held out the stone. “I'm sorry, Gary. Please accept this Sun Stone.”

I stared at the rock in her hands and then looked up at her. “Courtney, I don't know about this. I mean, I appreciate it, but…”

“You have a Cottonee. You don't have a Sun Stone to evolve it, though. Go on. I don't have any need for it.”

“Wow… I…” I lifted my hand and reached out for the stone she held up to me.

June smiled slightly as my hand got closer to the stone.

A loud roar rang throughout the forest, making me, Courtney, and June jump and gasp as we looked through the trees around us.

“What was that?” I cried out frightfully. The loud roar brought immediate fear to my heart and my entire body started to tremble.

“Sounded like some kind of monster!” Courtney's voice shook.

“I think it was a Pokemon,” June said, looking around determinedly.

“June, honey, I really don't think this is the time to be telling your silly jokes about being able to read Pokemon right now,” Courtney told her.

“Excuse me?” June glared at Courtney.

Another roar rang through the trees, followed by another roar from a different direction, and then a third roar from another location. The roars sounded like they were from the same kind of beasts.

“Look, let's just get out of here and get to Verdew Town,” I said nervously. I didn't hear the girls' responses and I moved forward, my eyes scanning the trees around me. Another series of roars rang through the woods and I froze, my mouth hanging wide open, and I looked around frantically.

June and Courtney both gasped.

“Let's get out of here!” I shouted in a panic as the roars continued to echo throughout, rattling my eardrums and traveling throughout my whole body. I ran forward quickly, leaving the other two behind me as they screamed and ran after me. My breathing was rapid as I ran around trees and kicked up dirt.

A loud roar stopped me in my tracks and I looked up as something white and enormous appeared, destroying tree branches, leaves, and vines as it swung its arms in circles and flew past me.

I looked after it as it disappeared into the trees. “What…?”

“It was a Pokemon!” June called out. “I told you!”

“Well, I didn't really think it was a monster!” Courtney said. “I mean, Pokemon are monsters in their own way, right? Pocket-?”

“Screw a definition! What exactly was that thing?” I demanded.

“I couldn't see it too clearly,” June admitted.

“Ha! It was a Vigoroth, obviously,” Courtney smirked. “Hm, so much for being able to read Pokemon.”

“What did you just say?” June growled.

Not now, you two, I thought impatiently as I kept my eyes on the spot where the Vigoroth had vanished from sight. I thought you two were friends now!

Another roar from behind me made me whip my head and another white creature flew from the trees, whipping its arms angrily. It was closer to Courtney than it was to June or I, and Courtney screamed shrilly in horror.

“Courtney, duck!” I shouted to her.

The Pokemon blew past her and Courtney screamed even louder as she was dropped to the ground, the threatening creature knocking her over.

Vigoroth. The Wild Monkey Pokemon. This is the evolved form of Slakoth. Unlike its lazy, pre-evolved stage, Vigoroth is full of vigor. Due to its intense level of energy, it gets no sleep and is constantly hungry. Raising this species of Pokemon comes with a dire warning.

The Vigoroth that took down Courtney continued roaring and smashing its arms through branches in its way as it disappeared into the trees.

“Just run!!” I urged June and Courtney, and I ran.

“VIGOOOOOOOOOOORRRRR!!!” Another Vigoroth swung through the trees, its claws clinging to a vine, its feet reaching out in front of it, headed directly for me!

I instantly stopped running and ducked to my knees, collapsing further down and pressing my body flat on the ground. I felt the wind from the Pokemon as it flew above me and I closed my eyes tightly.

Vigoroth roared furiously as it soared past.

I rolled onto my back and gasped as the Pokemon released the vine and dropped to the ground on its feet before growling at me. I stared back at it in terror, not moving a muscle, trying hard not to stare it in its eyes, fearing that that might make it even madder.

The Vigoroth let out a roar that cut off my breathing and made me jump, and it began to charge!

June and Courtney screamed, both girls turning away from the oncoming Pokemon and taking off past me. They didn't get far at all before they both came to a stop at the same time, gaping in horror, a couple of deafening roars practically making my heart explode in fear as I scrambled to my feet.

I turned around and screamed as I saw the pair of Vigoroth that were holding Courtney and June still with fear just from the deadly glares on their faces.

“Vigoroth!” A Vigoroth leaped from the trees to my right and landed on the ground heavily, its round chest heaving powerfully.

“Aaaaaahhhh!!” I cried out in pain as something smacked the back of my head and I closed my eyes against the bright lights flashing through the darkness as I fell onto my face. Screaming again, my voice muffled by the dirt under my face, something heavy ran along my back, running off of me, roaring like mad. I choked on the dirt as it got into my mouth and nose as I looked up to see what had just knocked me down, blinking away the bright flashes.

The Vigoroth that had run off of my back turned around, a look on its face that rivaled even my Charizard when he used Scary Face. Perhaps Vigoroth was using Scary Face right now.

“Vigoroth!” Another Vigoroth jumped from the jumble of trees and other plant life and landed near us, snarling.

Several more Vigoroth appeared from the forest, leaping from vines and stomping through the trees, joining their friends, wearing the same livid faces as the Vigoroth who were terrifying us already.

“Vig!”

“Vigoroth!”

“VIIIGOROTH!”

“Roth!”

“Vigoroth!”

“ROOOOOOTH!”

“Roth!”

We were surrounded by Vigoroth. They all looked ready to tear us to pieces without hesitation. Before I was able to take another second to think, the Vigoroth around us leaped into the air, their claws reaching for us, raking the air, our death promised.

The three of us shrieked at almost matching volumes.

I grabbed a random Poke Ball from my belt, wondering if the Pokemon inside of it would be enough to save us all, and I pulled my arm back. “HEEEEEEEEELLLLP!!!” I started to force my arm forward.

“Spore attack, go get 'em!”

A strong, deep voice called out and a giant, yellow spotted red flash flew through the air. A yellow powder flowed away from the huge mushroom, landing on a few of the Vigoroth near us. The creature, a Parasect, then turned towards a few of the other Vigoroth, showering them in the yellow powder, and continued spraying at the remaining Vigoroth, coating them as well.

The Vigoroth all landed on the ground on their feet, no longer attacking June, me, and Courtney, all of them glaring at the green being before them.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Parasect spoke out briefly.

“Alright! Well done, Parasect!”

I turned to the voice and saw a young lady approach us.

Her green hair was in a ponytail that reached to her shoulders, knotted where a yellow bow sat. She had on a tan, short sleeved shirt that held several pins in the shape of flowers colored yellow and blue, dark brown shorts that stopped right at her knees, and green sandals that each held a tiny, half blue and half red bow on top. She calmly stepped through the group of Vigoroth that were surrounding us and smiled and nodded at me, June, and Courtney. “Don't worry, you three! Gramma is here to save you!”

“Huh?” I stared at her in mass confusion, fright still pumping through my body.

“VIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRR!!!!!” the Vigoroth all roared as they slammed their chests with their fists.

“Whoa! Why aren't they asleep?” the lady cried in shock, backing up a couple of feet as she stared at the angry Vigoroth.

Parasect scurried backwards fearfully, bumping into the young lady's legs.

“You really tried putting a Vigoroth to Sleep?!” Courtney exclaimed. “That's the last thing you do to a Vigoroth!!”

“Oh…” the lady said, slapping her forehead. “That's right.” She laughed loudly. “Vigoroth go completely insane whenever they try going to sleep. Haaaaa! I forgot.”

“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” the Vigoroth roared as they all leaped at once towards us.

“Whimsicott, immediate Tailwind, please!” The young woman tossed a Poke Ball with one hand while holding out a Poke Ball with her other hand, returning Parasect.

A little green creature landed near the lady. It inhaled deeply and then quickly blew out air.

“WWWHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAA!!!!” I screamed as a powerful wind from out of nowhere blew me forward from behind, my feet scrambling at an incredible speed all of a sudden!

June and Courtney shouted out as well, the lady crying out with a joyous look on her face, Whimsicott also running along with us as we all shot past the group of enraged Vigoroth.

The Pokemon were all behind us, bellowing angrily as we all ran away from them at a speed my legs had never been able to move at in my entire life.

“Yes! I told you Gramma was here to save you guys!” the lady laughed. “We're on our way out of here. Don't you kids worry!”

“Did you say Gramma?” Courtney gasped suddenly.

I didn't fully understand what was going on, but it seemed that we had just managed to escape with our lives, and for that, I was extremely grateful.

The roars from the Vigoroth were now startlingly close behind us and seemed to inspire the three of us to try running faster as we all cried out and struggled forward.

“Use the Tailwind to your advantage, kids!” the lady urged us. “It won't last forever, and those Vigoroth sure have some speed on them! We should be safe as soon as I locate a little help.”

“Help? Where? From who?” My feet were unstoppable as they moved at a pace that would have been otherwise impossible for me to move at if not for Tailwind.

The Vigoroth continued the chase behind us, the ground quaking underneath their stampeding feet, their shouts clear as day, ruling the jungle.

The five of us were moving at an amazing speed, screaming at a level that competed with the roars of the Vigoroth. I had no idea that Tailwind could be used like this! But would it be enough to save our lives?

“Oh, wait. I think we should have made a left turn back there…” the woman suddenly stated thoughtfully. “We may have just run past that help I was telling you about. And Tailwind is winding down.”

I stared at the lady's worried face with my own look of fright as the five of us ran as quickly as we could as our speed began to sharply decline back to normal.

The ground beneath my feet began to quake even harder. Although I was terrified to look behind me, as the familiar roars and growls got closer, I was taken by surprise at how close they sounded and turned my head around. “YYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!”

The Vigoroth were all several feet behind us, but their outstretched arms were only inches from gripping our bodies, drool and foam falling from their agape jaws like rabid dogs.

“I can't keep this up!” June gasped wearily. “The boost from Tailwind was nice, but I'm out of steam!”

“June, this isn't the time to be stupid!!” I screamed at her. “Keep moving!!” I didn't want to admit it, but I was feeling drained on energy as well.

“Wait, I really thought they were around here,” the woman with us said in a low voice, looking around. “Oh, darn it. I've completely forgotten!”

“We need to battle them, or we're dead!” Courtney screamed.

Our Pokemon! I realized, looking down at the Poke Ball that I still held in my right hand. Of course! I almost forgot! I closed my eyes and ran past my group, groaning loudly as I forced myself forward. My eyes shot open and I turned around to face the three girls and the Vigoroth as I continued to run, backwards, now.

The new woman, Courtney, June, and Whimsicott all gasped in shock.

I nodded at them confidently. “Alright! I'm counting on you!” I pulled my arm back and glanced at my belt, recognizing which Poke Ball I had grabbed. “Excadrill, it's up to you to help us out, now! GO!” I threw his Poke Ball as the Vigoroth all roared again, their claws beginning to enclose on June’s shoulders, Courtney’s neck, and the other woman’s head.

Excadrill’s Poke Ball spun rapidly through the air at the oncoming foes.

The Vigoroth closest to my Poke Ball pulled back a claw…

…with a wide mouth and a powerful grunt…

…he clawed at my Poke Ball…

…and my Poke Ball came flying back at me!

I caught it in my hands, shocked, and I stumbled and tripped to ground, landing hard on my backside, sliding to a stop. I could no longer breathe, my heart filling my throat, beating painfully inside of it. I tried swallowing, but it only made me feel like throwing up.

Whimsicott, the woman, June, and Courtney ran right past me, screaming for their lives, the Vigoroth right behind them.

Several of the oncoming Pokemon turned their eyes hungrily to me, the rest of them keeping their eyes focused on their still running prey.

I gripped my Excadrill's Poke Ball in my hand and turned slightly on the ground as if protecting the Pokemon inside of it, knowing this was the end for me.

“Yes! There you are!” I heard the woman shout.

I heard Courtney cry out.

June’s scream followed.

I shouted out, surprised as I was suddenly yanked by my jacket to my feet and pulled to the side at the very last second, the Vigoroth storming past me.

“HELP US!!” the woman shrieked.

An incredible roar made every muscle in my body go limp with fear and I let out a petrified scream as I was thrown to the ground.

“Stay down, kid!” the woman said, shoving my face into the dirt.

I choked and coughed as my nose and mouth were once again lined with the filth.

Louder roars than what were from the Vigoroth erupted.

I covered the back of my head, trembling out of fear from the new roars that shook me down to my soul and left me paralyzed.

“A collection of Slaking!” Courtney screamed from close by.

I forced my head against the woman pushing me down and I turned around to see what was going on. My eyes widened, stunned by the sight I was seeing, but I couldn't even begin to speak.

There were several colossal Pokemon in the area, all resembling gorillas of some sort, extremely muscular and ugly looking, and perhaps half of them had their mouths wide, roaring terrifyingly at the Vigoroth while the other half of the pack of Slaking were laying down on their sides, watching calmly.

The Vigoroth let out fearful cries, wearing terrified looks on their previously ferocious faces, and turned away immediately, running away from the roaring Slaking.

The Slaking that had been roaring then sprawled out lazily on the ground and the Pokemon who were laying down stood up and flexed their arms angrily as they all gazed up into the sky.

It was what the Slaking were staring at in the skies that now held my attention.

“That Pokemon!” June exclaimed from somewhere to my left.

“I've never seen that around these parts!” the woman called, pointing at the bird in the sky.

“No freaking way!” I couldn't take my eyes off of it, completely ignoring the fleeing Vigoroth.

Archeops. The First Bird Pokemon. This is Archen's evolved form. This creature is better at running than it is at flying, able to even outspeed an automobile. This species is omnivorous.

Slaking. The Lazy Pokemon. The evolution of Vigoroth. While considered the laziest of all Pokemon, while lazing about, it is storing energy to deliver powerful blows when it has to. This ability to laze about can be useful in recovering its energy as well.

“Archeops…” I whispered, more interested in this Pokemon than anything else. It looked just like one of the ancient Pokemon that had been released from Twist Mountain by the people claiming to be from Team Solace.

“Wait! Isn't that one of those Pokemon from the mountain? The one from-?” Courtney spoke out.

The Slaking who were raging at the Archeops from the ground all opened their mouths wide and sent out several large, white beams of energy at the Archeops.

Archeops let out a sharp cry and dodged the Hyper Beams firing from the Slaking.

The attacking Slaking then all sprawled on their backs and the resting Slaking got to their feet, proceeding to attack with Hyper Beam at the Archeops.

Archeops dodged several of the blasts, but one beam caught it in the stomach, and the next attack hit it in the wing. As it cried out helplessly, spiraling down, one last Hyper Beam caught in directly in the face, and it was silenced as it tumbled down fast, head over heels.

“Archeops, no!” I scrambled away from the female stranger, her Pokemon, and my two friends, and ran after the falling bird.

“Slaking, stop! That's enough! Please!” the woman begged to the brutal group of Slaking.

“Gary, what are you doing?” June yelled out to me.

I don't know! I shouted in my head, running towards the dropping bird Pokemon. I hadn't even been able to think. My body was acting on its own.

Before I had accepted that my right hand was moving by my waist…

Before I had understood that my right hand was digging into my pocket…

Before I knew that my arm had pulled itself back and flew forward, releasing the content in my hand…

Archeops was dead weight, ready to collide painfully to the ground.

I let out a determined grunt.

A small red and white object flew through the air, spiraling at the Pokemon that was heading for a terrible landing.

A Poke Ball? I gasped silently, my eyes widening in realization. Huh?

The Poke Ball slammed into the fainted Pokemon's stomach and opened, sucking the creature in with a red beam.

I reached the Poke Ball as dropped right into my outstretched hands.

The Poke Ball shook in my hands, the red light glowing in the middle of it.

It shook again.

PING!

My breath came out in a surprise cry. What just happened? I wondered.

The Poke Ball started to glow white, and in seconds, it vanished from my palms.

I stared at my empty palms in shock and confusion, unsure of what had just happened, although a strong feeling of understanding was surging throughout my body. It was a feeling I wasn't ready to accept or believe. I wasn't even sure I was comprehending the feeling accurately. There was no way…

I didn't see anything but the palms of my hands.

I didn't hear anything.

Time was frozen completely still.

All other life on Earth had ceased to exist.

There was no longer even an Earth.

I was existing in an entirely new dimension where all of my senses were no longer a part of me.

There was no time, space, or even consciousness.

It was as if the only thing that existed was the feeling of accepting what was.

“This tree isn't from this forest.”

I gasped loudly and turned around, surprised by the voice that had removed me from my mysterious plane of existence.

The woman who was with us was staring at a tree that stood out drastically amongst the other trees around it.

This tree's trunk was a lighter shade of brown, and the branches were extremely curly. Several pear-like fruit sat on the branches.

Courtney had her eyes on me, fear showing in them. She stood the closest to me out of everyone.

June was watching the woman near the tree.

Whimsicott stood near the woman's legs, looking up curiously at the tree.

The Slaking were all lying on their backs on the ground, most of them sleeping and snoring strongly, the rest looking at us with little interest in their eyes, resting their heads on one hand that was propped up with their elbows.

The woman rubbed the tree trunk gently and turned around, shaking her head. She stared at June, and then turned to me, glanced at Courtney, and finally looked down at Whimsicott and smiled. “Definitely not a tree we've seen before, right?”

“Whimsicott!” The Pokemon nodded quickly, not returning the lady's smile.

The lady looked up at the three of us and nodded, her smile shortening. She raised a hand and smacked the trunk of the unique tree, keeping her palm against it. “Well, it seems that this tree is not from this forest, but has arrived here in the past day or so under mysterious circumstances. You kids stay safe and get out of this forest, okay? Verdew Town is right up ahead. I'm gonna head on, myself, and come back later to study this strange phenomenon. Be careful!” She smiled and turned to the Slaking. “Take care, Slaking! And thanks for the help! Say hi to the Vigoroth for me!” The woman waved at the Slaking, her Whimsicott smiling at the Pokemon.

The Slaking who were actually awake looked at her lazily and grunted.

The woman and the Whimsicott then glanced at the tree. Whimsicott inhaled deeply and let out a powerful gust of wind, and the Pokemon and its Trainer were gone, running at lightning speed away from us.

A strong wind blew around Courtney, me, and June, tossing up leaves and dirt at us, causing me to close my eyes momentarily until the wind died down. We then faced each other.

“That was Gramma!” Courtney blurted out.

“Grandma? What do you mean?” June asked. “That was your grandmother? She couldn’t be older than twenty-five!”

Courtney burst out laughing. “No, not my grandma! The Gramma! The Verdew Town Grass type Gym Leader!”

“That was her? Are you sure?” June questioned.

“I’ve never seen her before, but she said she was Gramma!” Courtney was getting excited now. “I think that was definitely her! She even has Grass type Pokemon! Whimsicott and Parasect!”

“Well, I’m sure plenty of people own Grass types,” June smiled at Courtney. “Gramma isn’t her real name, is it?”

“No, it’s a nickname the people in town gave her. I think it’s because they say she has a bad memory or something, ha ha. Oh, come on, let’s just get out of here! I have to find out if she’s really Gramma!” Courtney immediately took off after the direction the lady and her Whimsicott blew off to.

June and I traded looks.

I shrugged and sighed. “Let’s go.”

June turned to the tree the woman had been looking at.

“Come on, Gary! June. Let's follow after her!” Courtney called back to us, not stopping. “I'm sick of being lost. We're this close to finally accessing a real town!”

I nodded and ran after her, leaving June behind. I stopped quickly as I felt a wet feeling near the top of my legs, and my eyes squinted down at my jeans. I wiggled my legs a little bit. Huh? I grabbed at my jeans legs, rubbing up them briefly before I removed my hands in a shocked gasp at the wetness. I sniffed my hands for a moment before pulling them away from my face in disgust. Urine? I realized. No! How? When? Why? I’m thirteen?! When did this happen? My eyes widened as I remembered the Slaking using their terrifying Roar attack on the Vigoroth to scare them away, and how it had shaken me up so badly, it made me lose control of my entire body for a moment, causing me to go limp with fear. My face started to burn with embarrassment. I turned to June quickly, hoping she wasn’t watching me, and to my relief, she was still staring at the strange tree. “June?” I called out to her.

“Hm?” she murmured, not moving.

I turned to Courtney, who was quickly getting further away from us, and then I looked back at June. Nobody noticed, I thought gratefully. I gave one last glance at the Slaking.

They now were all fast asleep, snoring loudly.

I started to run quickly after Courtney. The wet feeling in my jeans was quite disturbing, but I kept a straight face and ignored it as best as I could. “June, come on!” I called, looking back.

“Huh?” June shook her head hard and turned to me, surprise on her face. “Oh! Hey! Wait a minute! Don't leave me!” She looked behind her at the sleeping Slaking and gave them a smile. “Thank you for all your help, Slaking!” June quickly looked through the trees around her, her smile fading, and then she gave the bizarre tree one last glance before running after me.

The rest of the trees in the area looked normal, nothing like the odd tree that had captivated June, the lady, and her Whimsicott.

The three of us looked curiously around us as we traveled quickly through the woods, this time led by Courtney. “Hey, look! That must be Verdew Town! Oh, yay!” Courtney pointed and then charged forward.

I smiled and took a quick stroll after her, June letting out a satisfied grunt at what was before us.

From atop the hill we were on, I could see a large town. Most of the buildings within it seemed to be houses from what I could see, but a couple of buildings were noticeably taller than the others and could have served other purposes.

“I spy a Pokemon Center!” Courtney started to run faster.

“Yeah? Excellent!” I chased after her, running downhill, scanning the town excitedly. I can change my clothes as soon as we get there, I thought eagerly.

“It took us long enough!” June ran after us.

Courtney proved to be the most excited of the three of us as she continued to lead us downhill, finally speeding forward through the flat, grass covered land of the town, tearing past a sign that I could barely read as I tried to keep up with her, spotting the words Verdew Town on it at the last second before I ran past. She ran down an established path, continuing straight ahead as the path offered a turn to her left.

The buildings on either side of us were two-story houses made of either red or white bricks. The houses all had small, white fences and flourishing gardens out front. One house in particular was three-stories high and was made of red, blue, and green bricks. The fence was the tallest I had seen of any of the houses and was painted yellow, the front garden containing the tallest, healthiest vegetation and plant life of anything I may have ever seen in anyone's garden in my life.

Even my neighbor from Pallet Town, Mrs. Ketchum, who was quite proud of the exquisite care she took in her garden, had competition with what I had just run past.

The grassy path suggested a new direction to Courtney's right, and she took it, charging straight through, and me and June followed her.

Courtney ran past a few more houses before stopping in front of a building made of a mix of red and pink bricks, a pink 'P' on the top of the building.

Yes! A Pokemon Center! I thought, following Courtney inside. The wet feeling in my jeans had gone on long enough and was continually grossing me out the longer I had to secretly tolerate it.

The inside of the building only held a Nurse Joy and Audino behind a counter. There sat a few phone booths that I knew I would be using really soon, and some benches and chairs near tables.

We all approached Nurse Joy.

“Hello!” I said to her happily.

“It's so great to see you, Nurse Joy!” Courtney said, clasping her hands together in front of her.

“Hi, Nurse Joy!” June waved. “And, of course, Audino!”

“Hey,” Nurse Joy said nonchalantly, a bored look on her face. Her head sat in her open palm, her elbow on the counter. “You need something or what?”

Her Audino stood with both of its elbows on the counter, its head in its palms, staring at us with absolutely no interest.

Our three pairs of eyes widened and we exchanged glances before turning back to Nurse Joy.

“We just need a basic checkup and some food for our Pokemon, pretty much,” I told her.

“Sure, fine, whatever,” Nurse Joy replied. “Leave your Poke Balls on the counter. Me and her will check 'em later.”

Audino yawned, covering its mouth with its hand briefly before returning it to its cheek.

We stared at the two in shock.

What kind of attitude is that for a Nurse Joy and an Audino to have? I wondered. Are they serious? Do we have a choice? Hesitantly, I placed my six Poke Balls on the counter.

June set her bag on the counter and unzipped it, digging through it for a moment before she found her five Poke Balls and placed them on the counter.

Courtney was the last to set her six Poke Balls on the counter.

Nurse Joy yawned, and with a roll of her eyes and a frustrated sigh, she scooped up several of the Poke Balls.

Her Audino lazily scooped up the rest.

The two walked away from the counter and stopped in front of the electronic back doors. They opened and the two walked through them, disappearing from view as the doors closed shut.

I let out my breath in a relieved sigh. Now that our Pokemon are getting the help they need, I just need to get to the bathroom and out of these jeans, I told myself.

“So, this is where you two are gonna battle the Grass type Gym Leader,” June said to Courtney and I.

“If that lady was really Gramma, then that must have been her Whimsicott,” Courtney noted. “Ha! You better take that Sun Stone now, Gary.” She smiled at me warmly.

Sighing, I lowered my eyes to my jeans, desperate to get out of them, unconcerned with what Courtney was talking about at the moment.

“Wow! Green hair! How pretty was she?” Courtney gushed, making me look up at her again.

“She seemed nice, and really helpful,” June acknowledged. “If she wasn't so close with those Slaking that saved us from those Vigoroth, things could have ended entirely different.”

“But why were those things chasing us to begin with?” I asked.

“Because they're Vigoroth, Sugar Lumps,” Courtney smiled sweetly, placing her hands on her hips. “They originate from Hoenn and have nasty attitudes at all times. They're pretty bad-ass but can be tamed by skilled Trainers.”

“They seemed to be pretty stressed out to begin with,” June said thoughtfully, frowning at the floor. “But after using that Spore attack on them, they went berserk! They seemed to be filled with pure rage, but without any real purpose. It was kind of like they were releasing their energy, but getting no relief.”

“Well, you see, hon, Vigoroth are a species of Pokemon that are overflowing with too much energy,” Courtney explained to June with a smug smile. “Their hearts beat at a tenfold tempo, and they get absolutely no sleep unless they spend the entire day running around and burning off all that energy they have. If a Vigoroth dares to try to go to sleep without getting rid of a sufficient amount of energy, or if someone actually attempts putting one to Sleep, the blood in their veins becomes irritated and they go completely mad and rampage. Even in their sleep, they can be very dangerous because they can often times be very violent sleepwalkers and destroy things. If Vigoroth aren’t able to move at all times, their stress rises and they can become very ill.”

June’s face went red as she stared stunned at Courtney.

That was like listening to a Pokedex, I thought as I stared at Courtney, impressed.

“I really don’t think you should be running around claiming to be able to speak Pokemon language, sweetie pie,” Courtney laughed lightly. “From what I’ve seen, the more you do, the more embarrassing it gets for you.” Her body began to shiver with restrained laughter as she closed her eyes and lowered her head, a smirk on her face.

My eyes widened nervously.

June scowled, her face getting even redder.

I better think up a way to break this one up, I realized. What is it with these two?

“Courtney, you listen to me, okay? I-” June started angrily.

“Say, I caught an Archeops!” I shouted over her.

Both girls turned to me and gasped.

“That's right!” June's anger was quickly forgotten and was replaced with shock, the red leaving her face. “That's an extinct Pokemon, Gary! That's a really rare catch!”

“Ha! I have to call Prof. Oak! I wish I could see his face right now! He's probably in more shock right now than my Porygon-Z ever gave him!” I ran to one of the phone booths.

“Porygon-Z?! Wait a minute!” Courtney shouted. “No way!”

June muttered something I couldn't make out.

“That's right,” I laughed as I took my seat. The wetness in the lap of my jeans startled me for a moment, making me jump, but I was too excited to give a damn about that and I lifted the warm, plastic receiver to my ear. “Maybe I'll let you meet it!” I dialed the professor's number and then turned to Courtney. “Say, do you own a Porygon-Z?”

The phone rang in my ear.

June turned to Courtney with an amused smirk.

The phone rang again.

Courtney stared at me coolly before turning to June and then looking back at me.

The phone continued ringing.

“Of course I do!” Courtney smiled. “When I said I have all Pokemon but the Legends and some in Unova, I meant it, ha ha ha!”

The phone rang again.

June rolled her eyes but didn't make a sound.

I smiled and nodded at Courtney, and then opened my mouth to say something to her.

“Hello?” the exhausted voice of Prof. Oak spoke through the receiver in my ear.