Training flew by the next morning, and before I knew it I was on the couch in the little-used sitting room in Isaac’s house, Drowzee sitting cross-legged next to me. We were all gathered around the room, and the doors and windows had all been closed as a safety precaution. We were officially ready to interview the Pokemon that had been caught the previous day.

Well, everyone else was ready; I was mostly just resigned to my fate. Isaac had brewed a pot of tea that morning, and I held a steaming mug between my hands, hoping against hope that it would help keep the headaches away.

Isaac had four poke balls laid out on the low table. We had hastily scratched numbers on the tops of the balls back in the wilderness to tell them apart – 1, 2, 3, and 4. Now he picked up the ball labeled 1 and clicked the button, letting its occupant out.

The original Rattata formed on the smooth wooden floor and froze, glancing around the room warily while she sniffed the air. I watched her eyes dart to me and Drowzee, then to the wall behind us, then to Charity, Maisy, and Isaac, then to the window near them, then to Florence. As soon as the Rattata saw Florence leaning against the wall near the door her eyes got big; then she immediately sat up straight and pointedly turned her head so she wasn’t looking at the girl.

“Hi, Rattata. We just want to talk,” I said. We had eventually determined that Drowzee and I should lead the conversation, to make things more straightforward. The others would just listen and occasionally interject with questions or thoughts if I had missed something.

Drowzee repeated my words in his own language, holding his paws out flat as he spoke. The Rattata tilted her head to the side and replied, glancing around the room as she spoke.

Drowzee looked back towards me, and his thoughts buzzed through my brain, setting off an immediate dull beating in my skull. À̷̰̓s̸̙̎͝ḱ̴̞ ̵͖̌̄ w̷̟̄̕ͅh̶͈͍͐̕y̷̢̍̉͜ ̶̘̤́ p̸̞̥̔͛r̸͓̊i̸̡̓͛s̵̜̗̓ỏ̶̹͋ṅ̶͇̻̕e̶̞̻͝͠r̷̅̾͜.

I frowned and looked across the room to where Isaac and Charity sat on the floor. “She’s asking why she’s a prisoner.”

Isaac looked offended. “She is not a prisoner,” he said immediately.

I glanced back over at the Rattata. She had curled her tail around her front legs tightly and was shooting me frightened glances when she thought I wasn’t looking. “I don’t think she believes that,” I replied.

Charity shifted back and forth, looking uncomfortable. “Well, we did capture her and take her away from her home, and she is currently trapped in this room…”

Florence frowned. “We can try to convince her to stay, but I think she should have the option to leave if she wants to. Forcing a majū to stay with us against their will feels wrong.”

Isaac huffed out an exasperated sigh. “After all the trouble we went through to catch them, you think we should just let these majū go? Think of the data we could gather!”

“We can still gather data first,” I pointed out, glancing over at the Rattata. She twitched every time one of us spoke and her paws had started to shake. “I don’t think this Rattata will cooperate unless we offer to release her afterwards.”

Isaac grumbled, but Charity came to my defense. “Think of how much work it would be to care for unwilling majū, Papa,” she pointed out. “Feeding them, making sure they get exercise, all while making sure they do not run away? Why not focus on the majū who wish to be here instead?”

Isaac raised his hands in surrender, then jotted down a note in his notebook. I turned back to the Rattata again. “You’re not a prisoner. We just want to ask you a few questions. Once that’s done, we can bring you back to your home, if that’s what you want.”

Drowzee translated my words. The Rattata twitched her tail back and forth and squeaked a few times in response.

W̵̨̍a̶̛̞n̴̺͊̈́t̷̯̐͝s̷̗͆͐ ̴̢͕͝ h̵̹̬̓o̶̖̝͌m̴͖̀̾e̷̺̒̇.̷̼̊̚ ̸̦̎W̸͈͊̇î̴͙́l̵̝̕l̵͓̲̽ ̵̦͔̍̀ ǎ̶͙̳n̴̟̅̈ș̶̢͆͠w̷͙̆e̶͚͌r̵͔̮̿ ̴̨̹̂̔ q̶͔̄̊ų̵̧̕e̷͙̓s̵̞͔͝t̴̝̤͑͒ī̸͖ö̴̟̩́ṉ̴̥͑͘s̷͇̾. Drowzee’s thoughts scraped against my brain and I grimaced, taking a sip of tea. It didn’t really help.

I repeated Drowzee’s words for the other humans in the room, then glanced at the paper balanced on the armrest of the sofa that held our list of questions. “Rattata, do you feel any different after being caught?”

Once my words were translated the Rattata looked directly at me and flicked her left ear. “Rat, atat ta?”

Ş̶͙̈́͑c̸̞̙̿á̵̘r̶͖̔͒ḙ̷͔͝d̶͍̅́͜ ̶̨̘̍͑ ö̸̱́̈f̸͈̀͠ ̵͕̿ h̶͙͎͌́ű̷͕m̸̱͚͆à̸̗͖̾n̴̲̺͑͝s̴̹̈́̓.̴͈͙̀̈́ ̵̠̾ Õ̵̟̟͌t̷̤͎̕h̶̦̍͝e̵̡̿͂ṙ̴̜w̶̻̓͌ĩ̸̬s̴̭̙̄e̶͔͂̉ ̴̨̹̓ n̸̼̖̂o̵, Drowzee thought.

“She’s scared of us?” Florence asked after I translated, sounding surprised. Drowzee flicked his trunk up and down. I also found that hard to believe at first – Pokemon had so many amazing attacks, why would they ever be afraid of weak old humans? Then again, this Rattata was clearly very nervous, and she kept looking warily at Florence out of the corner of her eye.

I looked back over at the questions while I sipped my mug of tea again and decided to skip a few that we’d already covered, moving on to the more interesting part of the list. “How would you describe the experience of being captured by a poke ball?” Isaac raised her ball in one hand and gestured to it for clarification.

The Rattata’s whole body briefly shook; then she chittered a long string of Ras and Tas. Drowzee focused on the speech for a moment, then translated it for me.

H̶̖̊u̶̯͙̿m̵͈͈̋ả̴̬̬̏n̸͓͗̕ ̴̦͈͋ ả̵̰t̶̻̣̾̄t̷͎̺̂͒a̸̛̠͛c̸͘̕͜ͅk̸̘̮̿ ̸̮͋ v̷̞̿ͅe̷͕̻̽r̶̖͌y̴̮̤̕͝ ̸̬́s̴͚̿c̵̘͖͌ḁ̶̼̊ŗ̴̱͘ý̵̤.̴̰̑̾ ̷̹̇̒ T̷͕̬̑̏h̷̺̗͋ȇ̸̙̀ǹ̸̯͖̇ ̴͕͛͘ s̴̲̃h̵̖̖̚i̵̩̞̒̕n̷͉͙͊̐ÿ̷̬ ̷̤̝̇l̴̞̊i̵̟͈͒g̷̼̹̎h̴̲͋ţ̸̐̏ ̷̛͇ a̶̗̭̿l̷̛̹̩l̴͕͐ ̵̬̍ w̷͔͝a̷̯̩̋͆ŗ̵̏m̸̗̆̃ ̵̼̅c̷̣̏͑a̶̳͌l̶͕̤̚m̶̥̑.̵̟̄ ̷͙͎̆ T̴̝͖́h̶͇̯̀͒ē̶̩͆ͅn̶̜̻̋̓ ̶̣̎h̸̹͍̑̍ě̴̡̛̫r̵̳̣̋͌e̸͇̐.̶́̚

I had to take a few extra moments to put the sounds together into meaningful words; my head was constantly throbbing by that point, which didn’t help matters at all. But I got it eventually. “Florence attacked her, which was scary.” (Florence snorted in the background.) “Then there was a bright light that made her feel warm and calm. Then she was here.”

“Really,” Isaac said as he leaned forward (which made the Rattata flinch backwards). “Does that mean she did not experience time passing while in her poke ball?”

Drowzee relayed the question to the Rattata, who responded with a short chirp. Drowzee looked at me and wagged his trunk up and down. “That’s right,” I told the others, moderately surprised by this revelation. Was that how modern poke balls worked too?

“Fascinating,” Isaac said as he jotted something down on his notebook. Then he looked back up and waved his hand at me. “Go ahead, continue!”

I worked my way through a few of the more technical questions Isaac had written down – what is your diet, how many majū live together in your family unit, that sort of thing – until I decided that the Rattata looked too uncomfortable to continue. Before Isaac returned her I promised one last time that we would bring her back to her home and release her, but something about the twitching of her whiskers made me think she didn’t believe me.

I took another sip of my rapidly-cooling tea as Isaac picked up the poke ball labeled with a 2 and pressed its button. Another Rattata appeared in the middle of the room. This one looked almost identical to the first Rattata, except that its whiskers were longer. I watched carefully as the Rattata looked around itself, tail swiping back and forth. This Pokemon (and all the others that we had caught) had not been sent out again after being captured; it would have no idea what was going on.

I opened my mouth to greet the Pokemon, but the rat beat me to it. Its eyes fixed on Drowzee and it immediately spoke. “Ta rat?”

Á̴͇s̸͍̈́̀k̵̨̤̾s̸͍̤̓̊ ̶̩͈̍͋ w̵͚̠̚h̶̙͇̉͠e̸̡͒r̵̨͚̈́ẻ̸̖, Drowzee translated for me; then he turned to the rat. “Ow, zee dru.”

The Rattata stiffened, then hissed at my partner. “Ta! Rata ta ra tata!”

Drowzee leaned back, his ears flat on his head. He paused for a moment before turning to me. Ḥ̵͒̋͜e̸̜̊ ̴̜̱̓͝ d̶̩̀͆ȩ̴͆́͜m̸̫͐̒ä̴͓́̈́n̶̳̮͆̇d̵̘͎̀̾ ̴̟͘ g̸̖͓͗̄o̵̩̐͜ ̷̧͚̈ h̴̫̙͌͊o̴͎͕͐͊m̵̹̮̀ȇ̵̗ͅ.̴̘̓̀ ̸̟͖̊̊ V̴̹͛ë̵̡̞ṙ̸̡̬y̵͈̒͝ ̴̩͚̆ ả̴͚̮̆n̸̡̑g̷̭͕̀r̷̤̍̿ỹ̸͍͚, he thought.

My eyebrows rose at that, and I turned towards the others. “He – the Rattata – he’s angry. He demands that we let him go home.”

Isaac waved his hand impatiently. “Yes, yes. After he answers our questions we will release him, if he is going to act that way.”

Drowzee started to speak, only to be interrupted by the rat, who spat out several syllables as his back arched up. Drowzee’s ears went straight up. Ḥ̴̔e̷̘̰͗ ̴͇̾̉ f̴̝̀a̸͈̝͊̀ṱ̸̿h̵̻̝̋e̵̫͊̍r̵͍̪͗͑.̴̩̪̚͠ ̸̮͒̀ Ẇ̸͍͈o̵̙͆̆r̴͉̉ȓ̵͖͝į̸̰̂è̷͍͛ͅd̶̹͖̈́ ̶̤͑̓ f̶̠̅o̶͇̗͗͠ṟ̵̛͗ ̵̡̼̀͝ k̷̼̲̀͗i̶͚͋ͅt̴͉̮͆̏s̵̢͑͜.̸̺͇̽

My stomach sank as I processed the words, and I hesitated for a moment before passing them along to everyone else. “He – he says he’s a father. He’s worried about his kits.”

For a moment, the room was completely silent. Isaac broke through eventually when he sighed and put his head in his hands. “Of course. Just our luck.”

“Papa…” Charity said, her voice quavering.

“I know,” Isaac said, interrupting her. He then looked up to focus on Drowzee and me. “Tell him we will bring him back home as quickly as we can. Monroe, if he can answer the most important questions, that should be good enough.”

I nodded, feeling quietly relieved, and watched as Drowzee translated the message for the Rattata. The little Pokemon still didn’t look happy, but he laid down and stopped hissing, at least. “Ta,” he said after a moment, his tone clearly communicating get on with it.

I drank another swig of tea and glanced back over at the piece of paper. “Do you feel any different after being caught?”

Drowzee translated, and Rattata replied with a brief sequence of words, which Drowzee passed along to me. N̸̖͔͂͘ǫ̶̺̓.̷̩̤̐͠ ̶̬͈͋͘ J̶̠̖̐̊u̵͍̍s̷̛̪̔t̵̝̼̊ ̶͔̞̋ w̸̨̱̕o̴̮̓r̸̖͠r̸̭̪̉i̶̡͝e̷̩̐̊d̴͓̈́̕.̶͔͠

The next question made me wince, but I powered through. “Do you feel any different about us – the humans here – after being caught?”

The Rattata glared at me balefully as it replied, and Drowzee sent an apologetic feeling through our bond as he translated. H̷͎̑̉o̷͉̓w̷̛̹̋ ̴̞̗̅̊ y̵̧̛̘ò̴͈͉̈́ṳ̷̔ ̴͓̣̽̃ t̶̰̀ḥ̵͖̄i̷̝̚ń̵͕͘k̷̗̐?̵̲̀́ ̸̗̿̀ A̵͚͎͊̈́N̸̻̂G̵̖͐͠R̴̫͆̔Y̶̝̒.̸̢̤̕

“Yeah, that’s fair,” I muttered before translating for the rest of the group. I glanced at the Pokemon’s furiously twitching whiskers and decided to cut things off after one last question. “How would you describe the experience of being captured by a poke ball?”

This one made the Rattata actually pause; he slowly waved his tail back and forth before responding. “Ta, ta ra. Ta rattata ta ra ta ta.”

I wrinkled my forehead as Drowzee sent the translation along, trying to tune out the noise and sharp stabbing pains so I could focus just on the words. R̶̜͎̈́e̵͚̲͒͘m̴̰͂e̸̛̜͗m̵̱͘b̴̪͍͆̕ė̸̥r̴͎̤̄ ̴̚͜͜ b̶̡̄à̵͕̕t̴̢̯̂̃t̷̡̛͙̏l̸͚̺̆̇ę̴̚ ̴̬̰̆ t̶̪͗h̴̺͐e̴̤̊ṇ̶̍́͜ ̵̘̓ s̶̝̹̍͝l̶̬̆̽ȩ̴͌e̴̾͛ͅp̸͕̓.̴̧͙̒̓ ̵̠̥͗͘ D̸̠͊͐r̶̰̉̒e̴̫̮̓a̶͉̮͑m̶̗͋̈́ ̶̬͌ w̷̩͎͛ā̷̦͗r̷̈́̃͜m̷̹̊ ̸̢̕̕ b̸̢̛̗̉ȗ̵̝̣ṙ̸̳̱̆r̶͈̘̒o̷̙͝ẃ̵̡͚̏ ̵̒͜͜ t̸̝̼͒̓h̸̼͋̀ę̵͓͘n̷͕͈͋̚ ̷̪̿ͅl̵̈́͘͜ỉ̶̞g̷̘̻̓̕h̵̢̭́̅t̷̳͋̾ ̴̧͔̂ t̵̪͝h̸̙̽̃ë̸͚́n̴̦̜̍͘ ̶̣̺̿ h̵̰̪̅e̵̛̱̗ř̴̜ȩ̷̓.̴̟͝

“He remembers battling, then falling asleep,” I said for the others. That was right – this was the Pokemon Drowzee had successfully used Hypnosis on so that Florence could safely approach and bop him with a ball. “He dreamed about – warm burrows, is that what you thought? – and then a light. Then he was here.”

“Another example of time reduction,” Isaac murmured, writing at a brisk speed in his notebook. While he wrote Charity picked up the Rattata’s poke ball and looked at me, nodding when she caught my eye.

“Thank you, Rattata,” I said quietly, looking the Pokemon right in the eyes as Drowzee translated my words for him. “We’ll get you back home as soon as possible, I promise.”

The Rattata looked at me, whiskers twitching, but didn’t reply. He kept staring at me until Charity recalled him into his ball with a simple click of the entry button.

I sighed and put my now-empty mug on the floor so I could rub my forehead with both hands. The tea had helped a little at first, but now the headaches were rolling through my brain relentlessly. A part of me wanted to call for a time-out so I could go and take a nap before attempting to communicate with the other two Pokemon. But I had made a promise to the Rattata, and I had a feeling that Isaac would only want to take one trip back into the wild to release the Pokemon that didn’t want to stay with us. What if the other two also wanted to leave?

So when Florence asked if I was ready to continue, I said yes. I could force my way through the pain. At least it would be good practice for me and Drowzee in the long run.

Isaac picked up the third ball and released its contents, sending the Hoppip out into the room. The Pokemon was sent out mid-air; it slowly floated downwards, looking around itself at the room and all of us.

“Hi, Hoppip,” I said. The small Pokemon landed gently on the floor and adjusted its feet so it was looking at me. “We just want to ask you a few questions.”

Drowzee translated my words and the Hoppip shifted to look at him, the leaves on its head idly swaying back and forth. “Pip? Ha, hoppip?”

Drowzee’s mental voice shot through my mind; it was familiar now, if still painful. Ẃ̴̨̪h̵̼̊̑ā̴͙͕̾t̷̔ͅ ̶̢̃̿ h̸͚̩̓a̵̬͑̆p̵̖͔̈͑p̵̭͉̄ě̸͙͖n̸̩͚̎e̵̮̽͂d̶̥̈?̵̢̇̍

“It wants to know what happened,” I told the other people in the room. Then I turned back to the Pokemon. “We managed to capture you in a new device called a poke ball. We’re studying it to understand more about how it works.” I gestured past the pink creature to where Isaac was still holding the ball, and it hopped in a circle and leaned forward to take a closer look.

“Hop, pip pop. Hoppip,” the Pokemon said as it twisted itself around to look at us again. I felt a faint sense of amusement through my bond with Drowzee before he passed on the message. H̸͓͝e̴̼̅͊ ̷̳͖̀͒ ṫ̴̖͓ḩ̶͇͂i̵̥̘̓ń̸̰͔k̴̛̝̩̓s̵̝̜͐̎ ̵̡̳͋ w̴̬̖̐ę̸̳͝į̸̱̈́͝r̵͈͍̒ḋ̷̡̹.̸̳͛̚ ̵͕͛͗W̶̧͑͘i̷͙͋l̵̩͖̏l̸̢̫̾͝ ̷̗̅ a̷̹͝ń̴̨̘ṣ̴͒w̶̩̱̾̚é̶͓r̸͇̋ ̵̫̻̐ q̸̞͈́̉ŭ̴̳̜e̴̤̎s̵̰͘ť̸͓̲̈́ì̶̲̾o̷̫̞͐͆n̵̫͑s̶̰͕͌̿.̵̺͗

I let myself smile slightly as I passed the message along. “He thinks it’s weird, but he’ll answer our questions.” At least this Pokemon didn’t seem as upset as the other two had been. I looked over the list of questions again, then focused on the Hoppip. “First question: do you feel any different after being caught?”

The Hoppip shifted his leaves from side to side and frowned in concentration. Then he replied with a long string of syllables. Drowzee paused, then slowly translated, sending F̷̱̐ë̸̡̺ȩ̵͓̚l̷̯̿͑s̵͉̿͂ ̶̝̒ w̷̺͠h̷͖͘͜e̵̘̔r̶̩͇̐é̴̘ ̴̰͖͋ b̴̩̪͠ā̷̙̱͝l̷̞͎̈́͘ḻ̵̀.̷̝̆͛ ̴͕̗̆ O̵̭̿̐t̵̨̩̉̐h̷̡̟̑͒ḙ̴̛̇r̷͕̤̈́͒w̷̨̭̓i̷̢̥̔s̷͙̝͆͘e̵̞͋ ̷͙̔ s̷̱̃ā̶͕̹ṃ̵̂͒e̴͎͆̚.̴͚͌͝

“Feels where ball, otherwise – wait, he can feel where his poke ball is?” Drowzee trunk-nodded and I turned to the others, eyes wide. “Hoppip can feel where his ball is! And –” I looked back at Drowzee. “Can you feel where your poke ball is?”

Drowzee flicked his trunk up and down again and I sank into the couch, considering this new piece of information as I rubbed the back of my neck to try to chase away waves of aching pain.

“Very interesting,” Isaac said as he flipped to the next page in his notes. “I wonder why the other majū did not report this phenomenon?”

“They were probably too wrapped up in hating us to notice,” Florence muttered.

“Well, maybe that will be different this time too,” I pointed out. Then I turned back to the Hoppip. “Next question: do you feel any different about us after being caught?”

This time the Pokemon’s response was brief. Ń̶̺͈͆o̶̼͌̓.̴̫̍̾ ̵̨̑́ W̷͎̠͒h̶͇̉̂y̸̯͐ ̶͚͗ w̸̪͂ö̷͉u̸̻͉͗l̸̡̊̂d̴̩̯͂ ̸͈̿͐ẖ̴̻̕e̴͎̒̆?̵̠̇ Drowzee passed along.

So much for that idea. I shook my head for the others, then moved on to the next question. “Will you demonstrate one of your moves for us now?”

I expected the Hoppip to protest, but he didn’t. Instead, he happily shook his leaves, which generated a pink wave that flew through the room (almost hitting Florence); then he followed it up by spitting a few seeds into the air. They smacked against the ceiling and came falling back down to scatter across the floor.

“Fairy Wind, and I think that second one was Bullet Seed,” Isaac commented, jotting the names down in his notes. “Well, between this and the first Rattata, I think we can establish that being captured does not interfere with a majū’s moveset.”

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I rolled my eyes slightly – I could have told him that – and pushed forward. “How would you describe the experience of being captured by a poke ball?”

The Hoppip considered, then spoke for a while. And Drowzee translated, of course. S̷̩͛̕ṯ̶̛̭̏r̴͚͛a̷͍͘ṇ̴̯̄̚g̷͎̰̽̈́ẹ̵̄̎ ̶͉͈̈́ p̷̻̪͛̑ú̸̙̄l̵̝̿͋s̵̜̅͗ė̸̞͐ ̷̺͚̌ì̶̜̙n̸̨̗̄ ̷̖̐b̵̙͋o̶͚̜̓d̸̰̲́̿y̷̺̽.̷̝̉͛ ̴͎͐T̴̥͎̿̆ȟ̵̥̲͠ḙ̶͆̀ń̷̟ ̶͕͉͒ c̵͙̎ò̵̤o̷̤̿l̶̢̻̃ ̸̻̯́͐b̴̝͛́r̴͇̀͝ę̵̪͗́e̸̘͌z̵̡͉̅̈é̸̙̫̈́ ̴̭̰̔ f̵͍̲̽͂è̴̫̰e̶̺͒̓ĺ̷̞̈́ī̶̫n̷̡̈ǧ̷͙̠̈́.̵̛̪̂ ̷͙̽̆ T̵͖̘͘ḥ̷͖͊͠ę̸͉̕n̴̨͚͝--

At that point some switch in my brain must have flipped, because the weirdest thing happened; the whole world started to spin. Not just in front of my eyes, but also in my mind. It was like I could feel the rest of the world rotating, but I wasn’t moving with it.

I immediately gasped and put my head down in my lap. It helped a little, especially when I closed my eyes and locked my hands over the back of my head, but I could still feel the world moving.

“Monroe?” Isaac asked, his voice concerned as it banged against my ears. A moment later I heard someone crouch down next to me. I could even hear the Hoppip’s leaves rustling. Why was everything so loud?

“M’head,” I mumbled, trying to wave the person next to me away without moving my arms too much. “Quiet.”

An intense feeling of concern came through my bond with Drowzee, and it reverberated with what my brain was doing in a way that made my stomach churn. I waved at him next, trying to get him to stop.

“Everyone just be quiet for a moment,” Florence said from next to me, and thankfully, everyone obeyed.

For one minute, maybe two, I just sat there and breathed deeply, trying to stay calm and wait until whatever was happening finished, assuming it ever did. Eventually the rotating-feeling in my head slowed down, and then it finally stopped. When I opened my eyes again, the world was no longer spinning.

I looked at Drowzee first. He looked really upset; his ears were flat and his trunk was curled in a tight circle. I patted his knee briefly and sent how I was feeling through our bond – not calm, exactly, but better than before. His trunk unwound slightly and he briefly nodded it, but he still looked unhappy.

With my Pokemon taken care of, I slowly moved my head to look at the others. Florence had crouched down next to the sofa, and she was twisting the end of the bandage still wrapped around her arm while she watched me with a frown on her face. Isaac had stood up and looked ready to intervene, and Charity looked extremely worried as she cuddled Maisy on her lap.

“I’m better now,” I told them all, my voice only shaking a little. “My head did something weird – everything got spinny – but it’s stopped now.”

“Has it actually stopped?” Florence asked, her voice dry.

I experimentally sat up straight, then winced. The world wasn’t rotating anymore, but my head didn’t exactly feel right; it felt a little unstable, like there was too much space in my skull and my brain was sloshing around in there. “Mostly?” I said.

Isaac sighed and shook his head. “I apologize, Monroe. We have clearly been pushing you too hard. We can stop there for the day.”

“No!” I protested, standing up and immediately regretting it when my brain sloshed around again and the headache that hadn’t left sent a pang through my forehead. “We promised the Rattata – we have to take the Pokemon home.”

The Hoppip, who had been watching these proceedings with vague curiosity, turned to Drowzee at this point. “Ip, hop?” he asked.

“Zee, drow ow zee,” Drowzee replied. He turned to me but then paused, clearly not wanting to set me off again by trying to communicate.

“How about this,” Charity interjected. “Drowzee can still talk with Hoppip and explain the situation, to see if he wants to stay or go. Then he can tell Monroe what Hoppip decides to do once he’s feeling better.”

I wanted to argue, but my head was feeling pretty awful. So I let Isaac help me out of the room and back to the bedroom, where I laid down on my bedroll and closed my eyes. Maybe resting for just a few minutes would help.

~

When I woke up from my impromptu nap I was surprised to realize that I halfway remembered a dream. Nothing special – just a snippet where a horde of baby Rattata gathered around the kitchen of my home back in the future and banged their paws on the table, demanding their breakfast – but after weeks of Drowzee eating all my dreams, even a single odd scene was interesting to remember.

I stood up and experimentally moved my head from side to side. No more rotation and no more sloshing. I still had the remnants of a headache, but it was much more manageable than what I’d been dealing with before.

When I made my way back down to the sitting room, I found that some things had changed. Isaac was busily writing notes in his notebook, probably planning future experiments. Charity was playing a game with Maisy where she let the Slowpoke chomp on a ball, then tried to drag the ball out of her Pokemon’s mouth. Florence was missing – who knew where she had run off to?

The biggest surprise was Drowzee and the Hoppip. They were both sitting in the middle of the room, now, and they appeared to be meditating. At least, Drowzee was – I had to assume that the Hoppip was doing the same thing as he sat on the ground with his eyes closed and his leaves slowly waving back and forth.

“Hi,” I said awkwardly. The others all looked up at me. “Uhh, sorry about –”

Before I could say anything else Drowzee got up and raced over to me, then tackled me with a hug. I laughed and hugged him back, wrapping my arms around his head.

“Good to see you looking better,” Isaac said with a smile. “If you are feeling up to it, I would very much like to know what your partner and Hoppip have been discussing for this past hour. I can make a guess, but primary data would be more useful.”

“Sure,” I replied; then I looked down at Drowzee expectantly. “Well?”

Drowzee lowered his ears and took a step backwards, then shook his trunk left and right. For a moment, my heart fell – Drowzee didn’t want to tell me something?

Then I had an idea. I put my hands on my hips and frowned. “Are you worried that you’ll hurt me again?”

Drowzee flicked his trunk up and down, and I sighed. “I think we just overdid it before. I’ll tell you if my brain is hurting too much the next time, okay?”

My starter narrowed his eyes at me. P̶̬̹̐r̴̠͊͘o̶̥͒̀m̶̃͐͜i̶̳͎̇̈́s̷͉͉̓e̷͔̍̋͜? he thought.

“Yes, I promise.”

Drowzee eyed me skeptically for a moment longer; then he huffed out a “Zee”. H̶̟̆ȅ̵̝̍ ̵͕̰́ w̷̮̩͛̿a̴̯̮͑̽n̸͚̒́t̵̘̓̈́ ̷̠̜̈́s̷͈͂t̴̰͑á̸̛̰ͅy̵͉͑.̸̛̦̖ ̵̪̝̐͋T̷̥̹̔̓r̴̡̫̆͠ȁ̸̗i̶̢̱̋ǹ̶͜ͅ,̴̞̽͝ ̸̞̄̓b̴͚̀̈́ĕ̴̲̋c̷̪̪͒ò̶͐͜m̴̱̌ͅe̸̺͗͑ ̵̥̀ ș̵̻͂͆ṯ̸̢̛̾r̶̼̉͋o̴̘̺̾n̶͔̈́g̴̬͆.̸̛͉ ̶̟͗̕͜ Ȩ̷̽̕v̶̠̬͂͌o̶͍̹̍̈́l̷̝̑̊v̸̯̐͛e̷̘̺̅̾.̵̬̐͜

The thoughts did send a brand new headache pulsing through my mind, but it wasn’t as bad as before; I could deal with it. I squinted as I parsed through the thoughts in my head. “He – he says he wants to stay. He wants to train and become stronger so he can evolve.”

Isaac sat up straight in surprise at that, and Charity clapped her hands in delight. I grinned down at the Hoppip. “That’s awesome! I’m sure Florence would love to train with you.”

Drowzee translated for me, and the Hoppip squinted his eyes. “Ip, hop,” he said, sounding distinctly unimpressed. Well, Florence would just have to win him over.

Over on the other side of the room, Isaac returned the Hoppip; then he picked up the poke ball labeled 4. He didn’t release its Pokemon right away, though. “Do you think you can handle one more?” he asked instead, turning to look at me.

I shrugged and nodded. “If we keep it to the basic questions, I think I’ll be fine. I’d rather find out whether this last majū wants to stay or leave now instead of later.”

Isaac nodded and clicked the button on the ball. The energy streamed out to form a long, sinuous shape. The Ekans quickly curled itself into a coil and looked around the room, and its tongue flicked out as it tasted the air. “Kansssss?” it asked, looking straight at Drowzee.

Drowzee’s ears flattened. “Drow!” he barked out. “Zee, dru zee drow.”

“Ekanssss,” the snake hissed, moving its head back and forth. Then it turned to look straight at Charity and Slowpoke. “Ka, ekanssss?”

“Drow!” Drowzee repeated, curling his paws into fists, and his anger bled through our connection into my brain.

“Kaaa,” the snake said with a sigh. Then it settled down on the ground, resting its head on top of the coils of its body.

We were all silent for a moment. Then I turned to look at Drowzee with my eyebrows raised. “What just happened?”

Drowzee shuffled his feet as he watched the Ekans, not replying immediately. S̷͔͠h̴͇̄e̴̮̠̎ ̷̻͈̀̆ á̸̦͙s̸̘̗͌̂k̴̮͐̋s̵͉̏ ̷̨̣͋͝ é̵͈̙͐á̶̩͈̂ẗ̶̖̍ ̷̯̍͒ỷ̵̥ŏ̴͓u̷̮͐ he finally thought, and his mental voice almost sounded apologetic through the static.

I blinked a few times at this revelation. “She asked if she could eat me?” I finally said, feeling appalled.

Drowzee briefly shook his trunk left and right, then gestured to me, then Charity, then Maisy, then Isaac.

Charity’s voice was very small when she spoke. “She asked if she could eat all of us.”

Isaac raised his eyebrows as high as they could go and picked up the Ekans’ poke ball. “Well. This one is getting released.”

“Should we try the questions first?” I asked, my eyes sliding between Drowzee and the snake.

Isaac hesitated, then pursed his lips. “We can try, I suppose.”

“Okay.” I cleared my throat, feeling awkward. “Uh, Ekans. Do you feel any different after being caught?”

Drowzee translated, then the snake hissed out a short answer. Drowzee’s mental voice was flat when he passed it along. H̶͚͖̏͠ǔ̸̡n̸̜̈̄g̴̥̏̋r̵̆ͅȳ̴̡̰̽.

“Okay, that’s enough, go ahead and return her,” I told Isaac hurriedly. For once he didn’t protest about losing out on data; he just aimed the ball at the Ekans and pulled her back in.

I let out a long breath and went to sit down on the couch again, suddenly feeling exhausted. The throbbing in my head wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier in the afternoon, but it was still distracting and hard to deal with on top of everything else. Drowzee followed and pulled himself up to collapse on the cushions next to me; he must have been worn out as well.

Charity had apparently given up on her game, as she left the ball in Maisy’s mouth. She stood up and wiped slobber off of her hands. “So we are returning the Rattata and the Ekans to the wild, yes?” she asked. Isaac nodded absently. “I would like for us to do that tonight. I’m worried about the baby Rattata.”

Isaac sighed. “Yes, fine. If we leave now we can probably get to the clearing and back before it gets dark.”

I gritted my teeth and started to get up, but I was met with glares from Isaac, Charity, and Drowzee. “Absolutely not,” Isaac said as he motioned for me to sit down again. “Charity and I can handle this perfectly well on our own. You should stay here and rest.”

“I already rested,” I grumbled as I sat back down. “And what if the release trick doesn’t work? I know we talked about it before, but we haven’t been able to test it…”

“Then we will just let the majū run away and will leave the balls in the field until we figure out how to permanently release them,” Isaac said, sounding weary. “We will manage, Monroe. You should stay here.”

I thought about protesting, but to be honest, the idea of walking all the way out to the field again was not appealing. So I reluctantly nodded instead. “Don’t forget to let the majū out before you do the release,” I said as I leaned back and closed my eyes. “I’m not sure what would happen if you left them in the ball and started the process.”

“I know, I know,” Isaac said with an annoyed tone. He and Charity exchanged a few words in low voices, then there was some rustling. When I opened my eyes to check on them, they were gone.

I sat there on the couch with Drowzee for some period of time with my eyes closed, trying to rest. But eventually, I got bored. Then I went and fetched my notebook out from the bedroom, ignoring Drowzee’s disapproving look. Sketching wasn’t exactly easy when jolts of pain still shot through my head every so often, but it was better than doing nothing.

I had just finished a rough outline of the Hoppip and was about to start a sketch of Drowzee (who had fallen asleep next to me) when the front door opened. I watched the doorway and raised my eyebrows when I saw that Florence had returned. “Where did you go?” I asked.

Florence looked me over and pursed her lips. “Well, you are looking better,” she said, sounding disgruntled. “I suppose there is no longer a need for this.”

“A need for what now?” I got up and walked over to where she stood, curious to see what she was talking about.

“This.” She dug a hand into her bag and pulled out a handful of bright pink berries. “Persim berries. Trainer Richard would use them to help his partner when he got confused after a battle out at sea. I thought perhaps they could help you too, since you are dealing with a similar problem.”

I eyed the berries skeptically. I had eaten my fair share of oran berries in the past – they were tasty and always served as a good pick-me-up – but I hadn’t tried many of the other berries that Pokemon ate. I certainly hadn’t ever needed to eat a berry to get a status effect cured; that was what modern medicine was for.

Now, though… I supposed it couldn’t hurt. “I do still have a headache,” I told Florence. “I guess I can try it.”

Florence shrugged and handed me one of the berries. I held it in my hand for a moment, then popped it into my mouth. The berry had an odd taste, sort of sweet and rich at the same time. I swallowed, then waited.

To my immense surprise, the berry actually worked. After about a minute had passed the dull throbbing in my head simmered away to nothing. I blinked and shook my head around experimentally; then a huge grin spread across my face. “Florence, this is brilliant! My headache is totally gone!”

She smiled and put the berries back in her bag. “I had a feeling that would work. Now you can stop bludgeoning your brain every time you need to communicate with Drowzee.” She crossed her arms and looked down at me smugly. “You are now in my debt, Trainer Monroe.”

“Friends don’t do debts,” I told her in a lofty tone. Then I grinned back. “Besides, I’ve got a surprise for you too. Hoppip agreed to train with you!”

The smile froze on Florence’s face. “What?”

“Yeah, he was the only one of the four that wanted to stick around,” I said, moving back to the couch to sit next to Drowzee again. “Apparently he wants to get stronger so he can evolve, and he must’ve been impressed with our battling skills because he said he wants to be trained too. I figure he needs a trainer and you need a majū, so it’s a good match, right?” I looked back over at Florence and paused when I saw that her smile was gone. “Florence?”

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Thank you for trying, Monroe, but… I do not think that is what I want. I want a partner, not a captured majū who just wants to use me to grow stronger.”

I hummed and settled back in the couch, frowning at her. “Why not give it a try? Train with Hoppip for a bit, see if the two of you get along. That worked pretty well for Drowzee and me.” My Pokemon woke up with a snort at the sound of his name and looked around the room blearily.

Florence shook her head slowly. “Perhaps that is how it works in your time, but partnerships do not work that way now. Both Trainer Richard and Trainer Michael told me they knew at a deep level when they met their partners that it was meant to be. That is what I want.”

I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Well, think of it as practice then. Practice training with Hoppip and maybe some other majū too, so that you’ll be extra prepared when you meet your real partner.”

“I suppose I could try that…” Florence said, tilting her head to the side as she considered the idea.

“Great!” I turned to Drowzee, then, as a sudden thought sparked in my head. “Hey, Drowzee. Send me a message, I want to try something.”

Drowzee flicked his left ear as he looked at me. W̶̡̆h̷̝̕a̴̤͗t̵͈̎ ̷̜̔i̷̹͠ṡ̶̬ ̸̹̏ì̸̤t̸̨̋?̴̝͘

I grinned widely. The noise and static were still there, but the headache that accompanied it was barely noticeable; it was just a really dull ache in the back of my head. Compared to what I’d put up with earlier in the day, it would be easy to manage.

“I think the persim berry is still working,” I told the others. “Drowzee, this means we can actually have proper conversations without my brain feeling like it’s going to explode!”

Both of Drowzee’s ears perked up at that news. G̴̳͗ǫ̴́o̵̺̓d̴̘̐!

Florence joined us and leaned over the back of the couch as I turned to face Drowzee directly. “So this whole day, I’ve been really curious. We saw that most of the wild Pokemon – uh, Florence, that’s the same thing as majū – they wanted to be released right away, even though we caught them fair and square. I never heard of that being such a problem in our time. Why is that?”

Drowzee turned to face me directly, scratching his back on the armrest as he ‘spoke’. W̸̯̒e̵͍͌ ̵̢̊k̸̻̿n̴̡̔ö̴̱́ẃ̵̱ ̷̢̚ r̵͎͛ò̶̻u̵̢͠t̴̗͋e̸̛͜s̷̭̆.̶̣͒ ̸̹̃ Ẃ̸̘e̸̝͛ ̴̧̽ k̷̔ͅn̸̦͘o̶̙͝ẅ̸̹ ̶͓̀ t̵̟͊r̵̻͋a̷̪͑ĭ̸̘n̴̄͜e̷͎̔r̸̅͜s̵̛͓.̵̥̏ ̸̻͆ I̷͓͝f̴͉̾ ̷͕́ n̸̥̏o̴̜̍t̶̰̿ ̵̥̾ w̷̦̎ä̷͉n̴̛̮t̶̬̿ ̴̘̿ b̷̭̓a̴̼͊t̷̬͠ț̴̃l̴̛ͅe̷͔͝,̴͛ͅ ̶͔̇ w̴͈̑ȩ̵̈́ ̷̤̓ s̷͉͐t̶̹͒a̴̲̓ẙ̵̘ ̸̺̆ a̶̍͜w̶̧̐ȁ̸̻y̸̞̾.̶̱͛

“Pokemon know about routes and trainers, so if you don’t want to battle you stay away,” I said slowly, for Florence’s sake. “What about you? Why did you want to battle my dad?”

Drowzee snorted. Ẅ̸̫́a̵͍̍n̶̩̆t̶̰͠ ̸̦̽ g̷̛͎r̵̜̒o̷͎̅w̴̢͒ ̴͚̐s̸̫̒t̵̞͛r̷͉̎o̶̻̕ǹ̶͜g̵̠̎ě̶̩r̸̞͝.̵͙͒ ̶̧̑ P̵̛̰a̴̿ͅc̶̪͝ķ̴̈́ ̷̲̿ t̵̝̓h̴͂ͅǫ̷́ụ̷͠g̶͖͘h̷̟̔t̸̙̉ ̷̻̇ṫ̵̹o̴̗͊o̵̘̊ ̶̨̃ y̵̩̐o̶͔͐u̷̯̓ṇ̷̈́g̸̳̿.̶͈̃ ̴̟͗ L̶̹̽e̴͉̕f̵̜͗t̷̤̓ ̵̬̿ f̷̪͝i̸̮̾n̶̫͗d̷̗̐ ̸͖̏ t̴̳̊r̴̞͠a̴̲̔i̶͉͝n̴̰̈́é̴̹r̷̝̽.̷̗͑

“You wanted to grow stronger, but your pack thought you were too young, so you left to find a trainer.” I nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

Florence tugged at a strand of her hair. “What about the questions Monroe was asking earlier? Did you feel any different after being caught? How did you feel about Monroe?”

I shot her an offended look. The question suddenly felt a lot more personal when it was asked to my Pokemon instead of some random creature we had just caught. Drowzee didn’t appear to mind, though; he just thought for a bit before answering. F̷̙̅ȅ̵ͅl̷̪̂ẗ̷̢ ̷͚͠b̴͈̐a̴͜͠l̷̲̈́l̷̛̬ ̷͚̍ c̷̨̿o̶̡͂ń̶̰n̶͍͠e̶̯͘c̶̗͆t̴͎͑ȉ̴͙o̵͈͠n̵͙̾.̵̫̓ ̸̧̕ Ṣ̴̐t̸̞̒ḯ̷̧l̸̥̎ļ̸́ ̶̅͜ d̶̦͠o̴͍͝.̸̠̇ He then turned and looked at me, and his eyes crinkled. T̵̖̔h̴͍́õ̷̖ṳ̶͒g̸͍͘h̸̯͌t̴͇̄ ̵̝̅ţ̶̓ṛ̷̅a̵̺͑í̶̘n̵͋ͅè̶͍r̴͖̀ ̸̙͌ a̶͇͐n̸̯͝n̸͈͗ő̴̱y̸̯̎i̵͔̊n̵̪̆g̵͚͊ ̷̘̕ c̴̢̈a̶͔͆ľ̸̟f̸͈̿.̷̞̕ ̸̪́ N̵̦͘o̴̩͌w̷̦̍ ̴̣͠l̷̫̾i̷̠͊k̷̈́ͅe̶͍̐ ̵̘̒ b̸͇̌ē̶͓t̸̻͘t̵̢̂e̴͖͌ṛ̵͗.̵̙̈́

“You thought I was an annoying calf? Gee, thanks,” I said, incredulous. Drowzee snorted and pushed me gently. I shoved him back playfully, then turned to Florence. “He also said he feels a connection to his ball, just like Hoppip said. It must be because of the energy in the center band. We should tell Isaac and Charity when they get back.”

Florence nodded. “What about the thing the others mentioned about time passing more quickly while they were in their poke balls? Do you experience that as well?”

Drowzee paused, then waved his trunk in an uncertain way. S̵̩̑o̴̠͝ḿ̴̝ḛ̴͊t̸͚́i̷͚͠m̷̬̈́ė̴̹s̴͙͆.̶̣͘ ̴̮͝Ṉ̷͗ǒ̵̧̬̒t̵̰̖̅̎ ̴̲̅w̸͙̋h̷͎͂e̵̪̓n̴̮͑ ̸͈̅ e̷̱̓a̸̐͜ṫ̷̼i̵͔̿n̷̝͐g̵̲͒ ̶́ͅ d̴̤̎r̶̰͗ḛ̷̇a̵͈̔m̴̺͐s̵͎͛.̶̟̔

I paused too, so I could stare at him. “Did you just say you can eat dreams… while in your poke ball?”

My Pokemon shrugged. N̶̙͗ö̸̡t̴̰͗ ̸̘̐ w̶͉̄e̷̯͒l̸͈̃l̵̯͌.̶̜̈́

“Okay,” I muttered, filing that away for future reference. I had mostly gotten used to Drowzee’s oddities, but the whole dream-eating thing still weirded me out sometimes. “Anything else we should know?”

Drowzee thought for a few moments, then shook his trunk left-to-right. Ṯ̶͐õ̶̹ǫ̷̅ ̶̻̿ m̸̱͆u̸̲̓c̶̙͋h̸͔͂.̸̢̈́ ̸̰̆ N̴̻̉ë̵̗ȩ̷̓d̴͚̏ ̴̋ͅ t̴̜͌õ̷ͅ ̶̠́t̵̗͝h̸͎̿i̶̹͝ń̵͍ḳ̵̿.̴̱̒

“Fair enough,” I said with a grin. Now that I could talk to Drowzee properly, there were about a million questions I wanted to ask him, but none were particularly urgent. We had plenty of time to learn more about each other.

“Well, that was instructive,” Florence said as she stood up straight. “Better not try too much, though – we do not know how long the persim berry’s effects will last. Shall we go meditate?”

I nodded, then paused. Actually, there was one question that I did want to know the answer to sooner rather than later. “You go ahead, we’ll catch up in a minute,” I told Florence.

She raised her eyebrows at me, then shrugged and left the room. I waited until I heard the front door close, then sat up straight and looked right at Drowzee. “We talked about names a few weeks ago. You weren’t able to tell me your name then, but we’ve got the bond now, and I think I can understand you pretty well. So…” I rubbed my neck awkwardly. “Want to tell me your name?”

Drowzee’s eyes grew wide; then they crinkled in what I recognized was his version of a smile. It helped that a feeling of happiness floated through our bond at the same time. P̸̫͋â̸͈̬c̸̻̹̽̏k̷̳̟̊ ̸̙̊͜ g̷̫̈͝i̸̬̲̿̆v̵̤̟͌e̸̮̻̓s̵̺̐̕ ̷̢͐ n̴̢̞̚ȁ̴͔̓m̸̮͔̍ė̴̦̻̆s̵̠̦͒̚.̴̥͖́̾ ̴̤̀ Ṃ̵͆̏i̸̥̣͘n̶̗͓̉̐ê̸̘̬ ̶͒͜i̶̦̊s̷̛͍̣ ̴͉̈́͘ P̴͎͙̀à̵̳͛ų̶̈̓s̸̜͒͌s̴̬̹̏ó̷͉̋̂, he thought, and the last word was strange – it was accompanied by a tingly sensation and, somehow, the smell of fresh rain on grass.

I blinked. “Pasto?”

Drowzee shook his trunk left and right firmly. P̵̞̍a̸͓͆ü̶̠̂s̴̨͘s̸̟̀ó̷͆͜, he thought, and again there was that tingle and smell.

I frowned, trying to recreate the sound as best as I could. “Pausso?”

My Pokemon considered for a moment, then flicked his trunk up and down. G̷̹̃ỏ̶͚ó̴ͅd̸̺̏ ̵̜̄e̶̞͝n̷̹̈́o̶͓͑ư̴̝g̵̢͌h̸̫̐ he thought, eyes crinkling.

“Pausso,” I said again, cementing it in my mind. Then I grinned.

I finally knew my partner’s name.

END OF PART TWO