Lilith flipped the small machine open and was greeted with a surprise mission.

“On their way?!”

She read the summary, having been requested to stay near and monitor the wild Krabbys’ activity.

“Pahh, they think they can tell me what to do!” She sputtered.

Lilith turned the screen to her Pokemon, slightly fuming.

“Eye, Eye!” Sableye jumped up and down.

“What?!” She pulled the screen right up to her eyes and read a little bit lower.

“Bonus compensation?! Why didn’t they just say so!” A smile replaced her sour complexion instantly.

Lilith paused, the situation forming in her mind.

“Wait, you can read?” She paused.

‘How could I look over something so basic…” She smacked her forehead.

“Eye.” He waved his hand around.

“Huhh I guess our connection goes both ways then… Makes sense I guess.”

Lilith, Sableye, and Absol stood on the wharf scanning their rear. It would have been a bad time to get snuck up on.

Nothing other than the swarm of Pokemon approached as they waited for backup to arrive.

“Not a bad way to get paid, am I right?” She nudged her partner.

Absol rolled her eyes at Lilith’s antics. She was a shameless opportunist if ever there was one.

Their banter continued as they watched for impending Krabby. Soon enough, smoke started to rise down the Complex’s main road. Dust was kicked everywhere as something came at them fast. Lilith did a double take before squinting out into the distance.

The Pokemon was hard to make out, but the Person sitting on top of it was unmistakable. They wore a Green robe, denoting their Ranger status. Seconds later, and they were almost on top of them and the Pokemon became quite clear. Its wide silver body was held up by magnets as it levitated in the air. It was probably how the Magnezone went so fast.

Lilith stood there slack-jawed as the woman sitting on top called out to her.

“Which way is the Krabby overflow?!” She shouted.

Lilith couldn’t drum up any word or response, instead she pointed westward, the direction she had come from.

The ranger held onto the pointy yellow rod sprouting from her Pokemon’s head as the two raced away without another word.

“Sol!” Absol barked in surprise.

“Yea, I told you it was a good idea…” Lilith finally found the words to speak.

The group raced after the fleeing Pokemon, hoping for such a fast ride themselves one day. They all wanted to see what someone could do with a wide range attack. In hindsight, however, it probably wasn’t a good idea to run towards such powerful spread attacks.

Thunder Bolts dropped from the heavens as the group slowed their pace. The source of all the commotion originated from the giant floating magnet. The duo flew around in circles as waves of electricity flowed all around them like a tidal wave. All the wild Krabby scurried away, running for their lives. Anything touched by the deadly bolts was singed and dead. It was gruesome and dark, but that was the way of life.

Noticing how dangerous their situation actually was, the trio decided it would be safe to not encroach any further. Even a stray shot would put them out of commission. It only took a few minutes until dead Krabby lay belly up, scattered all around. The fireworks stopped as the Ranger pulled out a Bag and started Shoving the corpses in at a rapid pace. Lilith fought the tingling in the back of her neck as she tried not to look away.

She knew it was an unfortunate necessity, but wholesale slaughter felt unnecessary. It left a much different flavor than Sewaddle and Venipede fighting for survival. There was an element of Darwinism in their previous encounter, but this just felt like a job. Wholesale slaughter. Her shoulders drooped as the overwhelming feeling flowed into her Pokemon, unable to block the sudden shock.

“Maybe we should take a break…” She mumbled to them.

Before they left, they wanted to talk to the Ranger. Despite having mixed feelings about what she had just done, there was much she could teach her. Questions she could answer. Lilith gravitated forwards, ready for her wisdom.

“Umm, Hi.” She tried projecting her voice, as she wasn’t used to speaking so loudly.

The Ranger stopped in her tracks and turned to her. Magnezone barely reacted, somehow magnetically lifting Krabby by the dozen.

“You’re the one who checked on the Krabby swarm.” She stated a fact.

“Yes… I was just wondering why us lower level trainers get the job…” She paused.

The Ranger made a funny face.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

“Do you know how many other places threaten to swarm over with Pokemon? It’s easily in the hundreds. With only a few strong Rangers in the area to enforce order, we need more eyes and ears than usual. That’s why they are outsourced by the League.” She paused.

That made sense. The number, however, was staggering. Having events like this happen each day, it was awful just to think about.

“How often do Krabby waves form?” She idly thought aloud.

“Hmm, About every month or so.” The Ranger frowned while calling upon her memory.

‘Ah, so that’s it…’ She thought. ‘Idle numbness. They’ve gotten so used to it, where I have a much different background and perspective. What I think is a tragedy is their Tuesday.’

The thought shocked her greatly. Reincarnation, or whatever it was, had been a blessing thus far. Lilith wouldn’t admit it, but she rolled along with the punches, not really questioning her new reality. Safety had been challenged recently, but little else had been put into consideration.

‘What else have I missed?’ She stood there shocked.

‘What am I even doing?’

Her mind raced as she zoned out.

“Are you okay?” the Ranger brought her out of her funk.

Her feelings were swallowed down, buried until it was the right time to dig them back up. She had raced over to try and get stronger. To ask for a battle. The group had faced no overwhelming odds that they stood no chance against. She thought it would be a good feeling to know what their goal was, to see it tangible.

Instead, she found herself questioning her motives.

“Yeah, I was just wondering if you would have some time for a battle. Your Pokemon is so strong and it would be just so cool to see more up close! What kind of Pokemon is that, anyway?” Lilith tilted her head, fascination on her face.

She tried channeling her inner child. History had taught her that when asking for something, it was best to butter them up first, get them talking. If she asked about their Partner, then they might even drop their guard. It had worked with Sam quite well despite not trying to con him.

“Sorry kid, I've got a tight schedule.” She got brushed off.

The Ranger finished up her corpse collection before hopping back onto her Pokemon and racing off into the distance. Lilith and her Pokemon were left standing on the grass overlooking the sea.

‘It might be for the best, I guess…’

Lilith felt numb. A blank void filled her. She didn’t know the next step.

‘I want to be a Trainer… But, what does that even mean?’

***

Pokemon Center - Rented Room

The rooms in the Pokemon center were cramped, so Absol was forced to lay on the floor in order to give Lilith space. She could feel the tumultuous battle going on inside her partner. The previous display of power was shocking, but not enough to rattle her.

Her battle was a philosophical one. People and Pokemon died every day, that wasn’t news to her. Circumstances playing out right in front of her eyes was different. Sleep escaped her grasp as she wrestled around.

‘I’ve never seen the consequences though.” She whispered.

The world revolved around actions and consequences. Yes the actions seemed grizzly, but what if the consequences were even worse? Lilith pulled up her Holo castor, something she hadn’t touched in a long time.

“Hmm still no messages from Sam or Levy…”

The Pokedex didn’t have access to the internet like the Castor, or the equivalent of this world. It wasn’t exactly the same, but you could search questions and have answers appear. It felt like the wild west of forums where nothing was sanctioned or monitored. Anyone could post information, it just didn’t mean they were always right.

Lilith learned a long time ago from frequenting the few League affiliated sights that few had a proven track record. Common sense was more accurate than not, so she had confidence in the search. It was asking hard question of Trainers when the recipients should be suspicious

Lilith typed in her question.

‘Why do we kill Pokemon?’

It took a second to load, but a few forums popped up. Most appeared to be the world equivalent to earth’s eco terrorists. They thought that killing anything in nature was evil, and they worked in violent ways to spread their word.

“Sounds a lot like Team Plasma…” She mumbled, turning onto her side.

Nothing even remotely connected to the League was apparent. It seemed that the notion was so ingrained in their culture that it wasn’t even a question anyone asked themselves. That wasn’t entirely true however.

“What is this…” A forum post caught her attention.

She skimmed through the material, getting a general gist of the author's thoughts. It was an interesting perspective overall. The writer claimed to be a breeder, and they spoke about the moral conundrum they found themselves in.

The breeder asked if it was truly right to control the birth of Pokemon. They too were intelligent creatures, and if anyone tried to breed humans, the backlash would be enormous. So why was it different? Why did no one else question the practice? It was only affected by a small percentage of people, usually the wealthy and the powerful. Some exceptions could be made, such as preserving species like Braviary, who would dwindle into extinction if not for humans and their Ditto counterparts.

Lilith paused to take it all in. While it wasn’t her exact problem, the overarching principles were similar. Through a moment of weakness, she hit the reply button. It took a few moments to gather her thoughts before typing out a response. She admitted knowing nothing of the problem, not having enough background knowledge to give an educated answer. She acknowledged an interest in the subject, bringing up her own conundrum.

‘Why do we kill Pokemon?’ She asked.

It just seemed so wrong to her. Lilith understood the need for violence, having used it herself often. Pokemon were supposed to be their Partners, the ones they could count on, so why was it okay to harm one's not under the ‘protection of humans’? Lilith wrestled with the idea, searching different corners of the collective before giving up.

She turned her Castor off, trying to fall asleep. While the burdens she still carried were there, a momentary weightlessness carried her into unconsciousness.

***

‘Ding!’

A notification pulled her from her dreamless sleep. Lilith sat up and pulled her blankets aside before sitting up. She grabbed her Castor, checking the time. It was late into the afternoon. She hadn’t gotten all the sleep she wanted, still feeling a bit restless. There was no way she would be able to go under once more however once already awake.

“Ughh.” She groaned, wiping her face and heading to the bathroom.

Minutes later, she felt much more alive. Water to the face usually did the trick. The cause of her sudden awakening came back to the forefront of her mind.

She didn’t know why or how, but a response had come from her recent forum post. She hadn’t set up any alarms or notifications, so it was odd to get one in response. Curiosity overtook her as she wondered idly if someone had created the equivalent of a virus.

The thought didn’t stop her, however, still tapping on the mysterious post.