The little girl had never ran so much in her whole life. As she stopped and clutched her dear Dunsparce close to her chest, she pulled some of her pink away from her eyes and turned around, seeing no trace of the bad guys after her. She smiled and sighed in relief at that.

"Whew, we're safe!" she said, hugging her Pokémon tightly.

Dusparce cried happily alongside her, his small wings fluttering. That joy was short-lived however, as both Lostelle and her friend understood where exactly they arrived when they noticed the orange and brown leaves on the thicket of trees surrounding them. There was only one place on the whole island like that, one the adults constantly told children to avoid when they were alone.

Lostelle gulped, then turned around to retrace her step. She froze the moment an unfamiliar path opened ahead of her, and a worry wormed its way inside her.

She had no idea what road she took to get there, and all paths looked exactly the same save for a couple of different berries hanging on the ground. She was trapped right in the middle of the forest.

Lostelle's body went stiff, only for her to shake her head and grow more determined. She wouldn't let that get to her: she needed to get out and return to her daddy, and nothing would stop her!

Said confidence melted away the moment she glanced back up at the thick forest around her. She gulped and took a few steps ahead, she and Dunsparce both looking for the way out, dread crawling on both their skins.

"W-where do we h-have to go?" she asked herself, almost hoping for an answer. None came back, of course.

And then, a little tune boomed through the woods, first faintly, and then progressively faster and clearer. It sounded playful, yet Lostelle couldn't help but gulp and shiver. The tune morphed into a song soon after.

Come little girl, come with me. Safe and happy you will be.

It was unlike any voice the little girl ever heard, seemingly speaking right in her mind. Lostelle and Dunsparce widened their eyes, and the bushes and trees around them started to shake in unison. The girl stepped back, and the song continued.

Away from your home, now let us run. With me, you'll have so much fun.

Lostelle turned tail and shot forward towards a random path, no matter where it lead. The tune never stopped, instead growing faster and clearer at each turn. She hoped to find the way out as she continued to change direction at every new path, only to be welcomed by more and more trees ahead. Enough that she didn't notice an Oran Berry on the ground.

The girl lost her footing and fell down, rolling over the ground until she bumped on a tree trunk. Her knees burned and she cried in pain, and when she turned to them she could see a big bruise formed there. Lostelle could see Dunsparce unwrangle himself from her grip and going to fetch some Berries to heal her, but she didn't wait for him to get back up. The bushes and the trees only shook more violently around her, and Lostelle could only shiver as tears trickled down her face.

Oh, little girl, please don't cry. I will protect you, I don't lie.

The song was even closer now. As Dunsparce got back and spliced some Oran Berry over the injury, Lostelle tried to find a way out, only to find herself more lost than before. The voice, though, that was louder than ever.

Be free, be free to play. Come inside my forest with me to stay...

The forest seemed to darken at that, and Lostelle could only cry as the tune continued to ring around her. She hugged tightly her just-as-scared Dunsparce, and with no path to go through, the girl squinted her eyes and joined her hands.

"Please, help us..." she whispered to no one, while the forest continued to shake and some steps seemed to make their way to her...

----------------------------------------

"Land ahoy!"

Yellow jumped off the ferry with a cheeky grin, while Red took his time to observe the island ahead. He recalled how Yellow told him that Three Island's town was the biggest and most populated of the Sevii Islands, but from a glance he could tell that even a place like Lavender Town easily dwarfed it in size and liveliness, though that wasn't surprising with how small and isolated the various cities of the Sevii Islands seemed to be.

Not that Red minded the general quiet: one of the advantages of their trip to the Sevii Islands was being able to train out of prying eyes without people like Paul, Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum stumbling on what he was doing, once he would be back in Kanto. Even if he didn't find what he was looking for, that was one guaranteed plus of that side journey.

Yellow adjusted her straw hat as she turned to him. "So, what do you want to do Red? Some training, some relaxing, or you still want to look for the trap?"

If he didn't enjoy Yellow's company, Red would've probably grown tired of how she kept calling their objective a 'trap': a place where his Pokémon could roam freely much like the laboratory Ash Ketchum had access to would've been an invaluable resource for him, one that he needed, especially since it would be handy to give him a way to interact more often and more directly with all of his Pokémon.

Said point proved even more pressing after he spent their last day on Two Island trying to familiarize himself more with his team as Ultima had suggested to extremely mixed results: aside from discovering his Beedrill was fond of the Lava Cookies they sold at the market, that Haunter had a strange fascination for poker and that Kangaskhan really liked to kick things out of her way, none of his attempts to befriend anyone in his team beyond Pikachu and Charizard was really successful. If nothing else, he had made sure to buy a yearly supply of Lava Cookies, learned that Haunter's poker face could fool even Victory Sight, and made sure to teach Kangaskhan Mega Kick as soon as he could.

Of all of them, however, one in particular was still giving Red thought, as his eyes fell back to a specific Poké Ball on his belt. The one that held his Clefairy.

He assumed that if he actually got to know his team better, maybe Clefairy would've lost his killing instinct, gained a conscience, or one of those sappy kind of things that seemed to work for other trainers. It led to Clefairy attempting to 'play' with his team and almost rip the stingers off Beedrill before Charizard blasted a Flamethrower on his face until he fainted. In hindsight, it probably wasn't one of his best ideas.

Of all his Pokémon, Clefairy was definitely the most problematic: even if he wasn't yet sure how, he could feel that he could eventually manage to know more about his Pokémon and bond with them, and gain the 'something' he was told he lacked. With Clefairy, however, he didn't even know when to start beyond getting him to tone down his fighting instincts, which amouted to telling him to hold back on them.

The very thought of asking one of his Pokémon to go easy on his opponents managed to make his stomach turn: he had to tame Clefairy before he could do something dangerous, but there had to be a way to do so that wouldn't require him to compromise his own principles, even with what Ms. Ultima had told him. Hopefully, some training would help in that regard.

"Hey, Earth calls Red!"

As Yellow waved her hand over his face, Red snapped back to attention. It was only then that he saw the worried frown on his friend's face.

She tilted her head, arms crossed. "Are you still thinking of what Ms. Ultima said?"

"A bit," Red said with nonchalance, his eyes wandering through the sandy beach.

Yellow sighed at that. "While she made some good points, you don't have to take everything to heart, you know. Keep the good advice and forget the bad one, no need to overthink it."

Red continued to gaze at the horizon at her advice. Logically, that was the correct choice, and he was sure Victory Sight would just confirm that. A shame that it wasn't easy to pick and choose from the advice of an old master that soundly defeated him without even really trying, something he quickly tried to keep his mind off from.

Yellow seemed to notice how her words fell on deaf years, and simply smiled at the beach as well. "You know, I think we should really try to rest some here. You're thinking way too much, and that can't be good."

Red continued to observe the mostly empty beach, aside from a patch of grass connected to a short cave where he felt he could spot some Dunsparce. Rare Pokémon, but useless in a fight and not worth spending much effort on. Maybe relaxing on the beach could've been useful to bond with Pokémon much like that hot spring back on One Island. He couldn't help but notice that his Pikachu seemed quite annoyed by how much time he was taking to reply, however; just one of many instances where he wished to be able to speak with his Pokémon like Ash did.

"Sure." Red's lips curled up ever-so-slightly at that.

"That's the spirit!" Yellow beamed as she gave him a thumbs up, only for her to scamper forward with a huge grin. "But first, let's go to eat something. I've read there's a very nice restaurant around-"

A loud sound of motors boomed in their direction, and as she turned towards its source Yellow's eyes widened, something that prompted Red to turn ahead as well. From the distance, he could see several punks on motorcycles drove on the town's main path, almost knocking people over as they laughed all the while. Red crooked an eyebrow: going by everything Yellow had told him, it seemed that spontaneous gatherings of bikers wasn't a common occurrence around there. Maybe it was better to stay out of their way for the time being.

At least that was what he thought until Yellow turned back to him, looking serious. "Red, we need to see what's going on."

He kinda hoped she wouldn't say that, but with no ferry for elsewhere and no other places to go, there wasn't much of a choice anyway. And if it was something serious, maybe he could use it as a substitute to regular training. With those thoughts in mind, Red grabbed his Poké Ball and strode with Yellow towards the true heart of Three Island.

As they went closer to the town, the group that was causing mayhem became increasingly defined: they were all bikers, the kind that could be found loitering on the Cycling Road back in Kanto, with lots of Pokémon like Koffing, Grimer, and even others like Marowak and Gastly joining them in running around and causing trouble for the citizens. All the inhabitants were running away or keeping their distance, no one appearing brave enough to stand up for the rest. The leader of the bikers, a man with shades and a ridiculously huge pompadour, folded his arms and grinned widely as he glanced at the islanders.

"Hah hah hah! Three Island belongs to us now!" he said, just as the rest of his gang joined him in laughter.

Now at the entrance of the town, Red and Yellow traded a wordless glance. And then, unprompted, Yellow frowned and stepped ahead.

"Hey, you! Stop this right now!" she shouted, glare aimed at the bikers as she pointed towards them.

All the hooligans stopped laughing and boasting at once as they faced Yellow, confusion in their eyes. That was pretty short-lived however, as the leader gave her a cocky smirk right after.

"And who are you, runt?" he asked, sneering as he checked her out.

Yellow grinned, placing a hand on her chest. "I'm Yellow, and this guy is Red! He's gonna kick your butt!"

As everyone gave a dumbfounded look to him and his companion, Red continued to say nothing. He simply checked them out and observed their Pokémon, trying to glean as much information on them as he could, just barely registering how every citizen seemed to be worried for him.

The leader seemed more amused than worried, especially when he leaned closer and sneered at Red. "You shouldn't try to play hero, kid. That's gonna end badly for you."

Red remained as stoic as ever, his eyes narrowing only slightly. The leader took that in jest as he chuckled once more.

"What's up? The cat got your tongue? You're too scared to talk?" He pushed up his shades, wearing a face-splitting grin. "Too bad. The Kanto Pokémon Federation is ready to destroy you!"

Red's eyes narrowed some more, as he finally focused on what Victory Sight was telling him.

Victory Odds: 80%

A bit lower than he expected, but he assumed it was due to a lot of unknown variables. Nonetheless, he grabbed several of his Poké Balls as soon as he saw the other bikers ready to order their Pokémon.

And then it was all interrupted by a booming laugh.

Everyone paused, turning to the source with wide eyes. Red was only mildly surprised when that turned out to be Yellow, as the girl tried to stifle her laugh to middling success while she giggled along.

The leader quickly went from confused to annoyed. "Why are you laughing?"

It took a few seconds for Yellow to calm down enough to answer, wiping away tears from her eyes.

"It's just... you call yourself Kanto Pokémon Federation?" She covered her mouth and chuckled once more. "Sorry, but that's as threatening as 'Team Plushies'. Couldn't you pick a better name?"

The Kanto Pokémon Federation didn't know what to say. Then, they all turned to each other.

"I told you we should've gone with Team Bikers! Nobody ever takes our name seriously!"

"But that's boring and predictable, boss! Kanto Pokémon Federation gives us an important-sounding and ambitious name!"

The debate quickly turned fierce, all while Yellow continued to laugh even more. Red would've probably told her to stop if he hadn't noticed his percentage of victory rise to ninety percent. And predictably, the leader of the bikers was not amused.

"Stop laughing! Just stop!" He bared his teeth and jabbed towards them. "If you want a war, you're gonna get it!"

As if on cue, all the Pokémon of the whole Kanto Pokémon Federations took their stance, while the boss and his underlings tried not to frothe in rage. In account of their emotional state and the close view he got of his opponents, Victory Sight bumped his odds to a rather generous ninety-nine percent. He almost sighed as he grabbed his Poké Balls: if nothing else, he could probably be justified in going all-out against those idiots.

He called up all the members of his currently active team, and they all took fighting stances. On the other side of the battlefield, the leader of the bikers had pumped his fists and was now staring right at him.

"Attack, now!" he shouted, a veritable army of Pokémon throwing themselves towards Red and his team.

Red furrowed his brow just a bit. "Keep up the offensive and don't let them reach us."

It was a simple order, but with lowly opponents like these there was no need to actually act: unless anyone of them proved to be an Ash Ketchum-level improviser, he would have to deliberately handicap himself to lose the fight. And he wasn't going to concede them that luxury.

He gave quick glances at how each of his Pokémon was doing: Pikachu was swiftly delivering several Thunder Punches to a nearby Koffing, Beedrill managed to fly out of the way of a few Grimer and proceeded to repeatedly stab them with Fury Attack, Kangaskhan was still attempting to master Mega Kick against some unfortunate Marowak, Haunter was making use of Double Team and Shadow Punch to deal with a couple of Gastly, Charizard was blasting any foe away with Flamethrower, and Clefairy was having fun destroying anyone on his path with random bouts of Metronome.

Red focused less on the battle itself and more on the individual performance of his Pokémon and the way they moved and acted if he was somehow unable to give them any order. He could tell that Pikachu and Charizard were proving able to follow their usual battle routines to the letter, and easily capable of overcoming hordes of Pokémon at once; Clefairy seemed to be working out some kind of frustration, but was otherwise erratic, unpredictable yet effective; and lastly Beedrill, Haunter and Kangaskhan seemed to have a remarkably improved performance, possibly due to what he did earlier. It was something to analyze further once they went back to training.

And through it all, Victory Sight continued to rise by fractions with every blow traded, to the point Red wondered why it didn't flat out say he had one hundred percent chance of victory at that point. He hoped these punks could've been good for a warm up, but as it were they barely qualified as punching bags. He should've trusted the odds and just tossed his strongest attack at them and then called it a day.

And then, Ultima's words came back to him.

What's wrong with us only using enough force to end the fight?

Just for a second, looking back to his six Pokémon utterly curbing their opposition, he wondered if she was right. Even without Victory Sight, he could've easily tried to use a simpler command to defeat his opponents. They weren't so strong that they would've posed a threat to him, after all.

He clenched his fists at that. Even if he wanted to ignore them, the odds would continued to pop up in his mind anyway. To not follow them would've been foolish and inefficient. Ash Ketchum might've been able to win in illogical ways and without even dignifying his opponents of his full powers, but he had no intention of ending up like him. He would honor the battle by doing the best he was capable of, and if his opponents couldn't match him, it wasn't his fault.

Right then he focused back on the match, or what was left of it at least: Persian, Kangaskhan, Charizard and Haunter just finished with their last opponents, and it seemed like Pikachu and Clefairy wouldn't take long to join them again. All just as expected.

Red turned back to the leader, all the confidence and bravado he'd exuded until then replaced completely by shock and fear.

He stared right into Red's stoic gaze, gulping. "W-What are this guy's Pokémon made of?"

"Boss, we're done for here!" one of his underlings yelled, cradling a Marowak and a Koffing.

Red didn't smile, not even as the citizens gathered their courage back and started cheering for him alongside Yellow and yelled to the bikers to get lost, while the hooligans recalled their Pokémon and jumped back on their motorcycle. It all went exactly as planned, almost boringly so.

Too bad he didn't account for one thing, as a chilling laugh reminded him.

And then, a Moonblast almost blasted the bikers' heads off, and Red froze in place. The bikers braked unexpectedly, while Clefairy rushed towards them with a way-too-wide grin plastered on his face.

The leader frowned at that. "What do you want, you pink-"

Clefairy didn't waste time to jump ontop of the leader, sending him off his motorcycle and onto the hard ground, his infernal giggling never ceasing. And through it all, he wagged a finger as it shone with Metronome.

"Clefairy, stop now! The fight is over!" Red stepped forward, his expression harsh and flames almost blasting off his mouth.

The Fairy-type didn't listen, his finger shining all the brighter as he cackled on the biker's face, increasingly paler. Red quickly spared a glance to both Pikachu and Charizard, and both leapt off to Clefairy before they even got an order: they tackled Clefairy down, cheeks sparking and mouth ready to fire at the slightest move. Clefairy tried to resist, but he quickly surrendered. Red guessed the punishments he got were finally having the desired effect.

As he grabbed Clefairy's Poké Ball to recall him, though, Red couldn't help but stare into his Pokémon's eyes. Clefairy was glaring at him, the rage of someone denied their favorite game, but far more devious and deranged. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure and recall Clefairy back in his Poké Ball, but the stare didn't leave. He understood that his Clefairy was far from normal, but those eyes were unlike anything he had ever seen, and the mere thought of it made his skin crawl.

He put the Poké Ball back on his belt, and then looked back at the leader. He was scared out of his mind, breathing slowly and sweating profusely, but he was thankfully fine. And he was now staring at him in anger.

"What the heck were you trying to do? Killing us?"

Red frowned. "I didn't-"

"You're a monster! Let's go, everyone!"

None of the bikers needed further prompts as they rushed to their bikes and shoot off for the harbor and away from Three Island. Red didn't focus on any of that, however, as memories flooded back to him.

A burning house. People looking down on him. Being completely alone. All his life played ahead of him, remembering each and every single glare he got by people that should've been close to him. All the lessons he got on how the world was harsh and unforgiving.

Red winced and banished those thoughts away, facing back to Yellow and the Three Island citizens. He half-expected them to jump on his case, to whisper of his failures, to also call him a monster. All stuff he had grown accustomed to.

And when they started clapping and cheering for him, he didn't have any idea of what to think.

"He defeated them!"

"We're free!"

"You're our hero!"

Red simply stood there as a barrage of compliments washed over him, with even Yellow joining in with a thumbs up and a bright smile. As the positivity kept coming, Clefairy and the bikers felt like nothing but a remote issue, all while Red felt something he couldn't quite describe, something good and pleasant that almost made him smile. Was that happiness? He wasn't sure, but he certainly didn't mind it.

His musings were interrupted when a portly man came closer to him and Yellow, probably the mayor of the town or something like that.

"We have to thank you, lad. Those hooligans have harassed us for days, and we couldn't do much to stop them."

Yellow grinned and patted Red's shoulder at that. "It was nothing! Red here can beat everyone!"

Red briefly wondered if that was true, as his Charizard's unconscious form flashed back to his mind.

The man chuckled lightly at Yellow's words. "I can see that. Now, what about I offer you a nice lunch? It's the least I can do after your help."

"Sure! We accept!" Yellow said for them both.

The man smiled at that, and seemed almost ready to bring them to his home. And then, something else called for Red and Yellow's attention.

"Lostelle!"

Everyone sprung back to alert, turning left and right. Even Red did, the voice sounding way too familiar. When he and Yellow turned towards the nearby bridge and saw the man running there, said familiarility only grew stronger.

"Lostelle! Where are you?" the portly and balding man yelled, eyes scurrying everywhere in search of someone as he finally entered the house.

Yellow widened his eyes. "Wait, that's-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as the man noticed her and Red, surprise drawn in his face. And from there, Red could be sure: that was the same man that ran the Joyful Game Corner over Two Island.

"It's you! The lucky kid!" he said, a brief smile forming on his lips.

Yellow tilted her head at him. "Why are you here in Three Island?"

"My family lives here. Me and my daughter Lostelle were taking a walk when those bikers attacked us." The man gulped, his eyes going back through the town in search of anyone.

It was then that Red recalled a short girl with pink hair and a Dunsparce, one he had barely registered the first time he left the game corner; that was likely Lostelle. It was then that they realized the man was alone, and no little girl was in sight.

Yellow looked around herself before she crossed her arms, contemplating the surroundings. "Where's your daughter, though?"

"I don't know. We were at each other's side, then those guys arrived and I lost track of her. I thought she just came here in town, but..." The man trailed off, eyes wide as he turned the way he came. He stepped back. "No."

"What's wrong?" Yellow asked, as Red knit his brow.

The man didn't seem to register the question as he kept staring at the distant forest. His eyes grew wide, and he took a deep breath. "She can't have gone to the Berry Forest..."

"Berry Forest?"

"It's the only forest in the island. Many kids have gone missing there, and we always tell them that it's dangerous to go alone." The mayor looked at a patch of brown forest in the distance, wariness on his eyes. "We just try to avoid it by now, not many people here are trainers."

Red glanced over at the Berry Forest as well, right across the bridge on a small connected isle to Three Island proper. At a glance it appeared to be a simple forest like many others in the world, but to have that reputation it obviously couldn't be. He didn't say anything to the man, but he quickly spied Yellow sharing a sympathetic look with all the citizens and Lostelle's father. The man swiftly turned to Red, and a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes.

"You're a strong trainer, right? I saw you've got some powerful Pokémon, and seem lucky too. Please, save my daughter!" He clasped his hands together and gave Red a pleading look.

Faced with that request, Red had no words. He wasn't exactly a miracle worker, and he didn't have the slightest idea of how to even look for Lostelle now, especially if that forest was as dangerous as they claimed.

Yellow decided to chime in for him with a bright grin. "Don't worry, we'll save your daughter in a flash!"

That answer made every ounce of worry leave the man's body, as he beamed happily towards the two Kantonians.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" he said, grabbing Red's shoulders and holding him firmly in place.

Red was surprised, but staring into the man's eyes, he could feel that he was probably the only option he had left. Thus, he said nothing as he turned to the forest in the distance once more, with Yellow doing the same.

"That's the Berry Forest, right?" she asked.

"That's it, yes. Please, be careful."

Yellow pulled off yet another big grin. "We will, don't worry."

And without further ado, Yellow gestured at Red and the two walked towards the bridge, all the citizens cheering for them and wishing them good luck. Red wasn't paying mind to any of that however, all his thoughts focusing on the Berry Forest ahead. Everything seemed to point out towards them ending up on a fine mess now, and he probably needed to talk to Yellow about taking so many decisions for him, but he could easily see a silver lining: if there was something, or maybe someone, that caused the forest to develop that reputation, it could probably be something that deserved to receive his full power to be defeated. Something he could use to test his team's power and strategies.

Maybe the trip to that island wouldn't turn out to be a waste after all.

----------------------------------------

As they traversed the bridge towards the small island, Yellow started to explain about what she read about Three Island: like most of the Sevii Islands, it was known by another name as well, that being 'Kin Island', due to the connected islands giving some the impression of a parent looking out for their child. All rather poetic, if quite unimportant to their quest, even if Red could appreciate a nice metaphor. It did sort of line up with his personal philosophy regarding his Pokémon as being his responsibilities, too.

He quickly left these thoughts behind as he glanced back over to the nearby forest. Yellow was waiting for him next to the entrance of the woods, studying it as he approached her: the forest of brown and orange trees still looked as normal as it did in the distance, but either due to what they heard or something else, Red and Pikachu on his shoulder couldn't help but feel something off radiating from the place.

Yellow crossed her arms, thoughtful. "So, this is where our rather appropriately named Lostelle is, huh?"

"Seems like it." Red nodded, adjusting his hat.

"Can you use Victory Sight to find the path to her or something?"

Red shook his head. "Victory Sight only works based on information I have. Until we explore it, it won't give me anything."

"Then there's only one thing to do." Yellow pulled off a grin and pumped her fists. "Let me lead the way!"

Red actually smiled briefly at that: Yellow had told him from time to time that she used to spend so much time in Viridian Forest she felt like she was born there, and she could find her way through it with ease. As such, she could probably find her way through Berry Forest just as easily.

However, before they could start their search there was one thing Red needed to get out of the way, especially if there was really danger lurking inside the forest. Thus, he gestured to Yellow to wait a bit as he tossed one Poké Ball.

"Clefairy, come out." The Ball hit the ground, and Clefairy materialized right ahead of him. He still wore the same angry stare he showed earlier, which didn't fail to unsettle Red again. Pikachu hopped off his trainer's shoulders and sparked his cheeks, ready to toss a Thunderbolt as soon as necessary.

Red shook his head and kneeled right to Clefairy, staring in his eyes slightly lost. "We need to work on you right now. We might deal with a strong opponent soon, and you can't ruin the fight by acting like you normally do. Can you listen to me just this once?"

It was more of a formality than anything given he was ready to have Pikachu act the moment Clefairy made one wrong move, but he would've really preferred to keep that a last resort action, and try to be friendly first. He was probably still bad at it, but it was better than nothing.

Clefairy seemed to actually ponder his words, and then he offered his trainer a nod and a grin that seemed a bit wider than it should've been. That made Red's skin crawl more than reassuring him, but he banished his hesitation away quickly. "Good. Keep an eye out for anything, then."

The Fairy-type giggled at that, and with the matter settled Red and Yellow took their first steps inside the Berry Forest, with Yellow sprinting forward until she was ahead of Red. The forest's interior lived up to its name, with several berries lying on bushes and the ground in large quantities. Several dead leaves were scattered through the path, with many more falling as they walked deeper through the forest.

Yellow was leading the way with ease, checking every tree and tracking their path. For all the time Yellow spent just following him around, she was more than capable to handle herself when necessary. It was a quality he appreciated in her.

With how his childhood had been, he never expected to find himself get along with anyone, much less someone he cared for like a younger sibling. As his eyes fell on Yellow's Z-Marks, he almost wondered if that was indeed the case. After all, if he and Ash were supposedly siblings, why couldn't Yellow be the same?

As Red shook his head, he put that theory on hold. He had already enough to think about with the current problem, and he could keep other food for thought for another time. So, he continued to tail after Yellow with Clefairy and Pikachu in tow, going deeper and deeper inside the Berry Forest.

They continued walking forward for quite a while, coasting right next to harsh slopes leading way down that could seriously injure them if they didn't mind their steps, hopping down far smaller ledges, and passing through way too dense trees. The two humans were constantly checking behind them and at their sides for any odd movement in the forest, with Pikachu and Clefairy doing the same next to them. Red couldn't help but notice that Clefairy's grin was still wide and deranged, and he was almost tempted to recall him when he noticed Yellow stopping on her feet and considering the path ahead after what felt like hours.

"Uhm..." She stroke her chin and squinted her eyes.

Red observed the path himself, seeing nothing weird. He glanced back at Yellow. "What is it?"

"I can't help but feel we already passed this part of the forest. Several times over." Yellow pointed further in, towards a nearby branching path.

Red turned to it, and after staring at it for a couple of minutes, it did feel more familiar than it should've been. He quickly focused on both paths and saw what Victory Sight had to tell him.

The left one had a zero percent chance of leading them where they needed to be, while the other had an unknown value. That could only mean one thing.

"We've been running in circles." Red tensed up, going on the defensive.

Yellow nodded, only to tilt her head and fold her arms. "I see, but how? I made sure we kept going forward and-"

A war cry pierced the quiet, and before they could react several Slowbro barged from the bushes and trees, all staring in anger at them; Red quickly assumed they were the ones forcing them to run in circles with some illusions, something quickly proved right by their glowing blue eyes and a brief sense of dizziness. Yellow stepped back, Pikachu stood by in alert, while Clefairy chuckled with glee. Red remained much less tense, especially when Victory Sight put their odds at ninety percent of success.

Red's orders were thus immediate. "Pikachu, Thunder Punch. Clefairy, Sing."

Pikachu leapt in action right away, jabbing at a Slowbro with his electric fist before he bolted towards another, making short work of any Water/Psychic-type on his path as they fell down either defeated or paralyzed. Clefairy spun on himself, a barrage of musical notes bursting from him. Several unfortunate Slowbro fell asleep post-haste, and after a few more Thunder Punches, all the Slowbro surrounding them were down for the count.

As he observed his defeated opponents, Red shook his head in disappointment. Was that really all the danger that island had to offer? At that rate, the horror in Berry Forest would just turn out to be an oversized Rattata or something on that level. Once Lostelle was saved, they should probably just move on to Four Island for a good training.

And then he saw Clefairy giggling and running towards a Slowbro for a Wake-Up Slap, startling him awake. And then another came in, and another, and yet another, and soon Clefairy continued to slap the Slowbro while laughing through his screams.

Red tensed up again and glared at the Fairy-type. Of course he wouldn't listen. Couldn't he wait until Lostelle was dealt with?

"Clefairy, stop! The battle is over!" Red yelled, almost bursting out flames.

Clefairy did stop and turn back to his trainer, wearing once more the same angry frown. Red didn't let that unnerve him again, however: he had been a liability for too long, and it was time for it to stop.

And then Yellow's voice blared in. "Red, down!"

Red's attention went from Clefairy to Yellow and back again, just as a blast of Psywave struck him right in the head. The world exploded into colors, and Red could barely feel the ground under him anymore.

"Red!" Yellow screamed, her voice distant and confusing.

Red was lost in a kaleidoscope of messy thoughts and weird colors, all the world around him made up of blurry shapes and broken sounds. A yellow blur jumped on a pink one and the pink one fell, maybe Pikachu defeating the last Slowbro, but how could he be sure? It all changed, twisted, warped and looped around him, reds and greens and blues and yellows and blacks and whites mixing and shifting with no rhyme and reason.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

He tried to stand up, to recollect himself, but the confusion was too great, and thinking was too hard. Victory Sight chimed in, several times over.

Victory Odds: Salad divided by Hahahahahahah!

VictorY ODDs: Datta UnkNOWn

VICtorii ODDssssss: 5AF%

V I Cthor O d: S %+

The data grew more and more nonsensical as the world spun all around him, the ground became even shakier, all was lost around him-

And then, he fell.

Someone, Yellow maybe, grabbed him by the belt. He thought so, as the world of colors continued to dance on his mind.

"Red! Pull yourself together!"

And Red tried, he really did, his vision almost returning normal as the haze of Psywave fought back for dominance.

Then something burst out. Spheres flew up, and he truly fell down.

He rolled down, the leaves and stones hurting him, and he faded away before he even stopped.

Red woke up with a huge headache and a rather blurry vision. He quickly rose to a sitting position and rubbed his pained back, giving a quick glance around him. As Victory Sight informed him of no data available with no odd issues, he sighed in relief and finally got back up.

As he looked around again, he could see that he was at the end of a rather long descent, with Yellow nowhere in sight. He clenched his fists and tried to call out for his Pokémon, only to find no Poké Balls on his belts. That was probably what he lost when Yellow tried to keep him from falling. He sent another look in hope of finding Pikachu or any of the Poké Balls, only to find nothing. He sighed to keep his worry in check and rubbed his neck, unsure of what to do. At least, until he heard a familiar, muffed cry.

"... Fairy..."

Red faced the source, finding a familiar pink fluffball rise from a bundle of leaves, grumbling in pain and scratching his back but for the most part still unharmed. Red glared at the only Pokémon he apparently had left: if it hadn't been for him acting up again, they wouldn't be there.

He shook his head immediately. That wasn't the time to get angry, especially if he and Clefairy were really alone. Thus, he kneeled close to his Pokémon, receiving yet another angry scowl from him.

"We've been separated from the others. Let's work to get back to them."

The scowl never really left Clefairy's face, but he at least nodded and moved to Red's side. Glad that there weren't any arguments, Red went through his situation again: finding Lostelle was still among the priorities, but he also needed to catch up to Yellow and hopefully the rest of his Pokémon, with only a Pokémon he didn't really trust and his Charizard Species Bloodline at his disposal.

He thought back of his burning house, and that made his skin crawl. He would never use his powers unless absolutely necessary.

Red tried to look for another path, losing himself in other thoughts. He wondered what Yellow and the rest of his team were doing now: he knew what they were made of, but he also recalled the day he met Yellow in Mt. Moon, how hurt and bruised she was, and how she never actually owned a Pokémon all her life. Red gulped down his worries, and tried to see how many odds of surviving Yellow could have alone.

Victory Odds: 50%

Fifty percent, the closest thing to uncertainty in odds he ever felt beyond facing Ash Ketchum. That was just further proof he needed to reunite with Yellow before anything happened to her.

Thus, he choose a path and walked that way, Clefairy joining in tow. He sent him one last glare before he went back to the path: that Pokémon had ruined everything for the last time.

----------------------------------------

Yellow's mind was in shambles as she ran through Berry Forest, only stopping when she was sure to have put a good distance from herself and any Slowbro willing to attack her. Her legs finally gave up at that point, as she clutched Red's Poké Balls and Red's Pikachu inspected the area, his guard still up. As she caught her breath, Yellow could finally process everything that happened.

Red fell down, and she couldn't do anything to save him. Clefairy tried to attack the Slowbro Pikachu had paralyzed afterwards, only to be blasted down the same descent by an extra strong Psywave. Pikachu was able to make short work of the Slowbro, and the Electric-type and her wisely decided that staying there wouldn't lead to anything good. And now they were there, somewhere in the middle of Berry Forest, with no idea where their friend was, and with something worse than those Slowbro lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Yellow placed a hand over her thumping heart, breathing slowly and glancing around. It had been a while since the last time she felt so scared, back when she decided to explore Mt. Moon after her uncle passed away, and got almost killed by a territorial colony of Zubat. If it weren't for Red passing through the same tunnel, she probably wouldn't have made it out alive.

She gulped and turned back to the way she came from. She really wanted to believe that he was fine, but even if he was they had no way to rejoin each other easily. As a matter of fact, she was alone now. She clenched her fists and sat on the ground, unable to stop shaking.

"Pika."

Yellow perked her head up and found Red's Pikachu looking at her, concern drawn over his usually stoic face. She smiled at that.

"I'm fine, I think." She ruffled the fur on his head briefly, before she turned serious. "What do you think we should do now?"

The Pikachu shrugged at that, and Yellow sighed. She couldn't really blame him for not knowing what to do. Even if she was the one doing the talking for him, it had always been Red that decided where to go between them for the last few months. Yellow gulped again, feeling more lonely than she had in quite a while. In the end, she was still the same girl that couldn't handle herself in danger and needed Red to come to her rescue.

She threw her head down as memories of their first meeting flooded by. It felt almost weird to think back to that time so many months ago.

"T-thank you for saving me."

"You were on the way."

"But you still stopped to save me. That means you're a good person, right?"

"Mhm. I need to go to Cerulean, sorry."

"I'm going the same way! Can I tag along? You seem strong, and I've got no Pokémon with me."

"Do what you want."

She just wanted to get to the other end of the cave, and Red clearly didn't want anything to do with anyone. Most people would've probably cut their losses there, but unfortunately for him Yellow always had boundless curiosity. She constantly tried to pester him of questions while he tried to train, trying to get him to open up and never giving him peace. She only grew more eager to know about him as she saw how skilled a trainer Red was, wanting to be more like him. It took almost two full days for him to finally start replying her, and while initially awkward, she could tell he wanted to trust and enjoy their company, and by the time they reached Cerulean City they both were pretty confident to keep travelling together, especially with Yellow doing all the talking for him.

Red was by no means perfect: he was antisocial, endlessly stubborn, and a bit hard at letting go of grudges. But he was also a kind and honorable trainer always looking to do his best and respect his opponents, and that was something she really respected. She was still too young to be a trainer, but she hoped to be as good as him once she could.

Yellow couldn't help but smile at that. After being alone for so long, Red was a friend she absolutely didn't want to lose. Her smile dropped the moment she remembered that was exactly what happened.

And yet, she didn't shake again. Instead, she stood back up and pumped her fists, a confident smile back on her face. Red was her idol and her inspiration, and he wouldn't sit in a corner while danger was lurking. She had to take matters in her own hands, and stop being a fragile flower constantly needing rescue.

Pikachu glanced at her with interest, and his and Yellow's eyes met right after.

"Sitting around doing nothing will get us nowhere. I'm sure Red's fine." Yellow kneeled back to Red's partner. "But we need to search where Lostelle is first. Can you help me?"

Pikachu thumped his chest with a proud smirk. Yellow giggled and bent her arm enough to allow Pikachu to leap over it to perch over her shoulder. He was a bit heavier than she expected, but nothing she couldn't manage: she wasn't too familiar with the rest of Red's Pokémon, but she saw Pikachu training enough times to have an idea of how to make him fight.

"Thanks." She smiled and petted Pikachu's head, then she observed her surroundings. "Now, where to go?"

Around them were just trees, trees and more trees. Even for someone used to spending time in forests, that was more than a little dispersive. Yellow hoped there weren't other Slowbro lurking around and casting illusions.

And then, from the distance, Yellow could hear a little tune.

Come little girl, come with me... Safe and happy you will be...

It was quite distant from where she was, to the point she barely made out some words, but the sing-song tone was enough to send chills down her spine. She gulped and focused again, forcing a grin.

"W-well, creepy song says there." She pointed ahead. "Let's go, Pikachu."

Pikachu gave her a rather confused look, but still nodded and remained on her shoulder as Yellow walked forward, the little tune growing clearer as the rhymes continued.

It was probably the most stupid idea she ever had, but if that voice was calling for her specifically like the words said, it might've done the same for Lostelle. With that only hope in mind, Yellow and Pikachu made their way deeper into the forest.

----------------------------------------

Red couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to Clefairy as they continued to walk away, even when looking up would've been more useful.

Out of battle, he almost looked like any normal Clefairy, save for his way-too-wide smile. He continued to search around, and Red wasn't sure if it was because he was finding the way or because he craved for some prey. He shuddered briefly before he focused on the road again, thinking to himself as he searched for a way back.

He had to admit that he never really questioned much why Clefairy acted the way he did: maybe it was the fact that he never focused too hard on him with all the Pokémon he owned, or perhaps he also subconsciously didn't want to be around him for too long. Regardless of the reason, however, he couldn't allow him to be as brutal as he was without a purpose. There had to be a way to keep him in check, whether he liked it or not. The question was, how? Unlike Gyarados, attacking him into submission clearly didn't work, and the last thing he wanted was to have Clefairy get angry at him instead of his opponents.

Red shook his head, not sure what to think. He really wasn't good at planning on the spot, and Victory Sight couldn't help him there. Maybe a pep talk with Clefairy could've worked, but he wasn't sure if he could really do better than what he did with Charmeleon in the Fuchsia Tag Tournament.

Thinking that it was the best idea he had yet, Red approached Clefairy close enough to gain his attention. While still annoyed, Red could notice a hint of interest in Clefairy's eyes. They both stopped at that, and Red stared into Clefairy some more.

After several seconds, Red spoke. "So... can you stop acting like you do?"

Clefairy crooked an eyebrow at that. Red sighed in response.

"The whole violence stuff, I mean. It's not good."

Clefairy's reaction remained unchanged. Red frowned at that.

"I mean, we can't scare everyone we meet. Fighting is not about that."

Even more confusion followed. Red rubbed his forehead; how did Ash Ketchum manage to do that? He made it sound far more natural than it actually was.

With a heavy sigh, Red got back up and focused on the road ahead. It appeared that teaching Clefairy was a lost cause for the moment, and his time was better spent searching Lostelle and reuniting with Yellow. He wasn't sure what was in Clefairy's head, but he shrugged and walked alongside him. Red was glad that he wasn't running away, if nothing else.

As they moved through the thicket of trees, Red could barely discern any path. Was he getting closer to his objective or was he going a completely different way? He certainly did remember the harsh fall that separated them from the others, but there was no guarantee that the path leading upward was the correct one. Nonetheless, he considered it as good a guess as any, and turned around to search for any uphill path.

And when he found one, he immediately stopped. Clefairy bumped on his legs, and grunted at him. Red wasn't paying attention to that, however.

No, what he was focusing on was instead the pink, somewhat drowsy Pokémon slowly getting back up quite a few feet away, right where a small hill started. He had several scratches, bruises and burns on his body, even if it was nothing too dangerous. He did look rather annoyed, however, even more so when he realized Red and Clefairy were there and scowled in their direction. Red sighed: why of all the Pokémon he could've met there, it had to be that Slowbro?

Though thinking about it, maybe that was a blessing. He could definitely use some alone time with Clefairy, after all.

After quickly calculating his victory odds at around seventy-five percent, Red narrowed his eyes and didn't waste time. "Clefairy, use Sing."

Clefairy was a bit slow on the uptake, but fired the musical notes before the Slowbro could send a Psywave towards them. The Water/Psychic-type promptly fell asleep with no fanfare, defeated once more. Once again, something that didn't even deserve to be called a battle: even in that situation, he couldn't help but feel annoyed by the lack of any challenge.

Red quickly banished his dissatisfaction however, as he shook his head and turned away. "We're done here. Let's continue-"

Slap!

A slapping sound. And then another, and another, and then a scream, and a giggling, and even more slapping. All in very quick succession, and enough for Red to freeze and hope that it wouldn't be what he thought it was.

As he turned back and stared down, his fears proved true. Clefairy had jumped ontop of Slowbro once more, slapping and hitting at his already downed opponent, uncaring of how much it cried and it couldn't fight back. That only seemed to make him have even more fun and hit the Slowbro harder than before, over and over, laughing like he was having the time of his life.

Even after several outbursts from him, the violence on display froze Red on the spot. Then, he glared at his berserk Pokémon. "Clefairy! Stop!"

Clefairy didn't even listen to that, as he hit and hit and hit Slowbro with all his strength. Bruises turned redder, and blood trickled out as Slowbro cried and thrashed in a desperate attempt to break free. And through it all, the Fairy-type never stopped with his infernal giggling.

Red was at a loss of words. He had talked and talked, and yet Clefairy never listened. They had a girl to save, a friend to recover, a friend to find, problems to fix, and yet nothing was going right. Nothing at all. He felt all his issues and thoughts coming back at him, washing over him as his body. As Slowbro's screams filled the air, he felt a fire brewing inside him, barely held back, as Clefairy continued to hurt the poor Pokémon.

And then, as Clefairy wagged his finger while charging up Metronome against the suffering Slowbro, Red finally snapped.

"That's enough!"

A flame burst out of his throat and tore through the air, but Red didn't care. He held his angry gaze on Clefairy, his Pokémon unmoving and confused. He almost seemed ready to hurt Slowbro again, but Red roared at him, another wisp of fire escaping his lips and Clefairy froze on the spot. Red wasn't going to give him any more chances: Clefairy had crossed too many lines, he had ruined too many things, and that ended now.

"You can't keep doing this! Look at him! Look at what you did!" Red yelled louder than he had in years, not even caring of the flames bursting left and right. That had to end, all the frustrations he ever felt and kept bottled up coalescing into a single, unifying rage. Clefairy paled and stared straight at him, just as Red jabbed at the semi-unconscious and brutalized Slowbro for him to see.

"What kind of monster are you? You can't do this! You can't act like everything is your punching bag! How can you be so messed up and think you can do all you want even if people get hurt! There's a limit to everything!"

Clefairy was shaking in fear, but Red didn't care. He needed to learn, to stop causing problems. He was a danger, and he had to stop.

"You're a horrible monster! You can't hit everyone as you please until they're dead! Is that seriously what kind of battler you-"

His words finally sunk in, and Red suddenly stopped as he realized what he was saying.

That was the same thing Ultima had told him, the same kind of thing Ash Ketchum had seemingly wanted to say about him. The same kind of criticism, the same accusations, all stuff that he had heard already in different contexts. It was nothing new, and yet he only realized what it meant now.

Silence hung in the air afterwards, and Red could feel his throat sore and hurting as he caught up his breath. When was the last time he had gotten that angry? He couldn't tell, and as he coughed up some wisps of flame, he thought it was better not to remember.

Clefairy stood in place with a vacant stare homed on Red. He didn't giggle, nor get any angry scowl, or anything of the sort. He remained in place, lost in his thoughts.

And then he breathed slowly, sobbed, and tears started to run down his face, first quietly, then louder. Red truly had no words at that sight, as Clefairy continued to cry in front of him. He would've dismissed them as crocodile tears, but his eyes shone with a familiar pain, one he knew well and that couldn't be faked.

With all the stress and anger he had felt gone, Red's thoughts were clear. Regardless of justification, that outburst was completely unlike him, and for how much of a hassle Clefairy had been, he couldn't stand to see him cry like that. His Pokémon were his responsibility, after all.

Words failed him for quite a while, unsure of what would be appropriate. He stood still in front of his crying Fairy-type, almost shaking with uncertainty, until he finally adjusted his hat and glanced away from Clefairy.

"I'm sorry."

It was all he could really say at that point, and Red hoped it would be enough. Clefairy let the tears out for a little while longer before he cleared his eyes, his expression still shaky. Red's eyes shifted back to the pained Slowbro, and he walked closer to him.

Clefairy truly did a number on the poor Pokémon: ontop of the bruises and scorching marks from the previous fight, there were several fresh wounds all over his body, some deep enough to draw out blood, and Slowbro was still squealing in pain and breathing hard. In all his career as a trainer, he had never seen a Pokémon injured that badly. He didn't need Victory Sight to tell that he wouldn't heal from it alone.

And it was all his fault.

He shot a quick glance at Clefairy, his Pokémon still here and still. Red almost thought he saw regret in the Pokémon's eyes, but he wasn't focused enough to say for sure. Right now, Slowbro took precedence: his Pokémon caused that, and it was his responsibility to make things right.

Grimacing at the thought of having no Potions on hand, he quickly rummaged his pockets, hoping for something useful. As he produced an empty Poké Ball, he sighed in relief. He then aimed and tossed it, the three customary shakes and the sound effect of a successful capture playing in short order. With how injured it was, Red would've been surprised of the opposite.

He went and took the Poké Ball, the button still red to signify a lock. He probably wouldn't manage to heal him until that matter was over, but it was the best he could do.

Stashing the Ball to safety, Red turned his gaze up, towards the uphill walk where the Slowbro had been. Given they fought that Slowbro before, the way up had to lead to where they used to be.

He turned back to Clefairy and gestured to him, then started to walk ahead. "Let's go this way."

The Pokémon gave a quick nod, and then followed Red wordlessly. As he did, Red couldn't avoid to look at Clefairy once again, his Pokémon's expression almost sad.

Clefairy liked to do what he wanted, ignore when others told him to change himself, and would've used his full power over and over with no limitation if allowed to do so.

In a way, he and Clefairy weren't that different. And that was the scariest thing he had ever realized.

----------------------------------------

"Slowbro!" cried the Pokémon ahead of them, firing a Water Pulse in their direction.

Yellow and Pikachu both duck in different directions, and the accidental trainer held a hand over her chest as she looked over the Pokémon that just ambushed them. Pokémon battles were far more intense when you weren't on the backseat, but that wasn't going to scare her.

She scowled at the Water/Psychic-type, running type compatibilities in her head. "Pikachu, uhm, use Thunder Punch!"

Pikachu leapt in action, a blitzing uppercut meeting Slowbro's jaw and tossing it on a nearby tree trunk.

"Great job!" Yellow pumped her fists and gave Red's Pokémon a thumbs up. The Electric-type replied with a confident smirk.

Then she saw another Slowbro coming at Pikachu's back, and she paled.

"Behind you! Thunderbolt!" she cried instantly.

Pikachu somersaulted on his hind legs, quickly turning back and frying the new Slowbro with several volts worth of electricty. Yellow sighed in relief, and then spied a shadow behind a bush.

"Quick Attack at your left!"

Faster than lightning, Pikachu tackled the third Slowbro and pinned it down, in the perfect position for a final attack.

"And now, uhm, Brick Break!" Type compatibilities came back to Yellow's mind, and she shook her head several times. "No wait, Thunderbolt!"

Even with the sudden switch in order, Pikachu was quick to fire the searing bolt, striking Slowbro at point-blank range. The Pokémon let out a pained cry, and then promptly fell unconscious with his comrades.

Yellow smiled as she eyed the defeated forms of their assaliants, a big grin splitting her face. She turned back to her partner as he did the same.

"Thanks, you've been great!" Yellow offered a high five, and Pikachu gladly accepted it.

The girl's eyes went back to the defeated Pokémon, and she sighed in relief: considering how clumsy her handle on battles still was, she was glad that their enemies weren't putting much of a fight yet, and that Pikachu was strong and skilled enough to adapt to any situation. Even then, however, she could see how thrilling fighting as one with a Pokémon could be even from those little bursts of action. No wonder Red and all the other trainers seemed so into fighting, even if she didn't like much the idea to get Pokémon hurt like she did. Not that they gave them much choice, though.

Her eyes went back to the defeated opponents, and her eyes widened as she finally noticed something, and an idea swirled in her head.

She quickly glanced at Pikachu. "You know, there are an awful lot of Slowbro in this forest. Maybe we're up against a Psychic Bloodliner or something?"

Pikachu just gave a shrug, and Yellow sighed. Was she really expecting anything else?

Her theories were quickly put to rest however, as a familiar sing-song voice filled the air once again.

Be free, be free to play. Come inside my forest with me to stay...

A shiver ran down her spine as yet another rhyme was added to the song. The voice had gotten progressively clearer and louder as they went further in the woods, and whoever was calling for her must've been pretty close by now. Even with how creepy it sounded, however, Yellow couldn't help but see how often he seemed to press on his benevolence and how he wanted to play. It all smelled like a trap, and yet she couldn't shake an odd feeling about it.

Before she could realize what that feeling was, however, something else grabbed her attention.

"H-help us! Please!"

The cry for help was enough to snap Yellow and Pikachu to attention, and as they turned back up, they were toppled over by a blur from nearby trees and sent rolling on the ground.

"Ow!" Yellow cried in pain, rubbing her head as she looked back to what just bumped into her, or rather who. Right ontop of her, she found a young girl with pink hair and on the verge of tears, with various cuts and bruises all over her body.

"S-sorry," the girl said, rising back on her feet and hugging a Dunsparce quite tightly in the most adorable way.

Yellow shook her head at any thoughts on Dunsparce's cuteness to focus back on the little girl, quickly understanding who she could be.

"You're Lostelle, right?" Yellow smiled at that.

The girl widened her eyes, mouth agape. "How do you know?"

"Your father sent me and a friend to look for you."

Yellow's smile widened as she saw Lostelle's face lit up, only to quickly appear panicked as she held tighter onto her Dunsparce, eyes darting left and right in a hurry.

"S-sorry, we were running from the bad guys and, and-"

"Shhhh, it's fine. The important thing is that you're okay." Yellow placed a hand over Lostelle's shoulder, patting it gently. That seemed to calm the younger kid just enough, and Yellow turned serious. "Did you see whoever's doing this creepy song?"

Lostelle shook her head, giving a timid look behind her. "N-no, but it's close."

Yellow turned in the same direction, eyes squinting. As she went back to Lostelle, she took the time to look at her: aside from various cuts and bruises from falling and running, she didn't seem to actually have received any serious harm. She could've chalked it up to Lostelle being a surprisingly good trainer, but that was rather unlikely if her father was worried about her. Yellow tapped her chin, thoughtful.

"You haven't been hurt yet, right?" she asked, eyes squinted again.

"A l-lot of Pokémon went after us, b-but no."

A suspect started to make its way in Yellow's mind. She had no way to prove it yet, but if she was right, then she could've easily solved everything herself. There was only one way to make sure, and she couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

Thus, she rose back up and smiled at Lostelle, offering her a hand. "Say, do you trust me?"

Lostelle considered her question for a few seconds before she gave a shaky nod, grabbing it. Yellow held the hand close, and her smile widened.

"Follow me. I think I know how to fix this."

Lostelle paled at that suggestion, but Yellow kept a brave face. The younger girl finally nodded at that, tightening her grip to Yellow's hand, all while Pikachu hopped back on Yellow's shoulder and sparked in agreement. Seeing everyone else on her side, Yellow took a deep breath and stared ahead, where the origin of all problems was.

She had no idea if her intuition was right or if she was going to doom them all, but she would never know if she remained there. Red wouldn't have been scared to test his theories and put an end to whatever was causing problems, after all.

She puffed her chest and put on a brave face, and then she stepped up to end the problem once and for all, as the little song returned in full force.

----------------------------------------

Red and Clefairy continued their trip through the forest, going deeper through the woods as they paid attention to their surroundings. Thanks to Victory Sight, it was easy to keep track of which way they actually went through, and there fortunately weren't any malicious Slowbro casting illusions around them. Unfortunately, now that they reached further than they did before, Red couldn't rely on his Bloodline as a makeshift navigator anymore.

With nothing but his eyes to find the correct path, Red had way too much time to think about Clefairy, his eyes constantly falling back on his now silent Pokémon. Ever since his outburst, he had been remarkably quiet: no giggles, no attacking stuff for no reason, no angry stares, nothing. That almost unnerved Red more than his usual behavior, especially as he thought of himself too.

He frowned, shaking his head to himself. No, he wasn't like Clefairy, and never would be. If he were to be faced with a serious situation, he'd know when to stop, without betraying his own principles. He was just overthinking stuff out of stress, that was all. He would always know when to stop.

At least, that's what he really hoped.

He sighed and put his worries aside, eyes back on Clefairy. His Fairy-type's gaze was still on the floor, his walk slow and his expression uncertain. Red sighed and placed a hand over his shoulder, then kneeled to be at eye level with him. Clefairy sent Red a quizzical look.

"Are you alright?" was all Red thought to ask.

Clefairy didn't answer, facing away instead. Was he hurt? Was he annoyed? Red had no idea. At times, he really wished that Victory Sight worked for social interactions too...

Red quickly let go of his Pokémon and trudged through the path, all the trees around them looking exactly the same as the rest of the forest. Red sighed, moreso when his stomach decided to make himself known with a loud rambling. With all that was going on, it was the worst moment to be hungry.

Then, he felt someone pat him on the leg. Red paused and turned around, only to find Clefairy offering him quite a few berries, from Oran to Cheri to all other kinds he could gather around them. He held them ashigh as he could, his eyes still away from him.

It took Red more seconds than he would admit to realize that Clefairy was genuinely offering him some food.

"Huh." He quickly grabbed an Oran Berry, checking it quickly. "Thanks."

Red took a bite of the berry, and then another, and before he realized it he had finished it and grabbed all the others. Clefairy gave him the briefest smile before he put some distance again. That only served to leave his trainer even more confused after he filled his stomach some, leading to yet another sigh.

"Are you sorry for how you acted?" Red asked, facing back to him.

Clefairy seemed to frown at that, and it once more went unanswered. Red had no idea how to take his Pokémon's behavior anymore, but if there was any silver lining it was that it certainly showed that they weren't the same, and never would be. It was only his own paranoia that would lead him to think that, that was it.

And then, a familiar voice in the distance caught his attention.

"You've got to listen us! You can't keep doing this!"

Red froze, eyes darting around as he tried to get where that voice came. He'd recognize Yellow's tone of voice everywhere, and if she was dealing with someone, there was no time to waste.

It didn't take long for him to pinpoint where he could be, and for him and even Clefairy to run ahead. There was no time to waste, and neither had any intention to be late to what was happening.

The twosome ran as fast as they could, through the trees, ledges and several unconscious Slowbro, never stopping for anything. Yellow was up ahead, and Red needed to make sure she was fine.

After running for what felt like forever, Red and Clefairy finally found themselves in the middle of a large clearing. As they turned around to understand what was going on, Red froze in place.

On one end of the clearing stood Yellow, a serious frown on her face as his Pikachu was ready to attack at a moment notice. Behind her was another, shorter girl with pink hair, which Red assumed was Lostelle. But the surprise about them felt like nothing when he turned the other way, seeing several kids all standing in a row with glowing eyes as if possessed, their clothes torn and ruined as if they'd tried to escape over and over. And between them and Yellow stood a gold Pokémon with a huge nose and a pendulum in his hand, one he saw more than a couple of times in Kanto. Red clenched his fists at that, and even Clefairy held his guard up.

Both parties turned towards them in surprise, whatever was going on interrupted.

"Red!" Yellow chirped, surprise and happiness both clear on her sunny expression.

The Pokémon was just as surprised, a huge grin on his face. "Someone else came here to play? Truly, this is Hypno's lucky day!"

He clapped his hands cheerfully and let out a happy chuckle, all while Red continued to stare his way. It was a Hypno, a Pokémon species infamous for their hypnotic abilities and for having caused several disappearences throughout the years. There was no doubt: he had to be the monster of Berry Forest, the one behind all those Slowbro, and the creature that threatened all those kids and even Yellow. He was the cause of everything bad that had happened to them, to him, since they'd come to Three Island.

Red could feel his nails dig on his palms, a murderous glare trained on Hypno. And then, without a pause, Red jabbed at him.

"Clefairy, Double Slap. Over and over." Red's glare sharpened further, his tone darker than usual.

Clefairy did a double take at that, only for his familiar and wicked grin to return on his face. For once, exactly what he needed.

Yellow widened her eyes at that. "Wait, Red-"

Clefairy's trademark giggle interrupted that, his ferocious expression back in its place. He leapt over to Hypno without missing a beat, tackling him to the ground and slapping the Psychic-type everywhere he could, digging his little claws all over his body. Red continued to stare down on Hypno, Victory Sight already giving out a one-hundred percent chance of victory, but still ready to call upon Pikachu if needed.

And yet, Hypno did nothing. He just tried to get Clefairy off him, sending it away from him without even a move, but Clefairy was too fast and too persistent for that.

"Wait! Stop! Please! Why are you-"

He kept squirming and trying to break free. Red didn't care. "Continue, Clefairy."

Clefairy seemed to pause and blank out for a second, as if confused on what to do. That lasted less than a moment however, as his grin split his face again and he kept brutalizing the Hypno with even more force and intensity than before, some blood starting to trickle from Hypno's injuries.

"Stop! Ah! I beg you! Please! It hurts!"

The Psychic continued to thrash around, increasingly desperate to flee his torment, but neither Red nor Clefairy would stop. He needed to pay for everything he caused, and no amount of begging would save him.

"Free everyone, now. You hurt too many people," Red said, all while Clefairy continued to slap and slash at Hypno with all his might and glee.

"Sure! Sure! Hypno will never play again! I will never cause problems again! I'm sorry!"

Red gave a good look at Hypno's gaze. He was desperate, pained, suffering. He deserved much more, but he at least wanted to comply.

He only had one thing to say at that. "Now."

Hypno nodded and snapped his fingers, just as he finally managed to toss Clefairy off him. In an instant, the glow around all the kids' eyes vanished, and they all fell unconscious to the ground. Red gave them a cursory glance before his eyes went back to the pain, injured and bleeding Hypno that still deserved much more punishment than he got.

Red's stare grew even colder. "Go away and never come back."

"B-but I-"

"Clefairy."

Clefairy giggled and readied his claws again, then walked slowly in the Hypno's direction. The Psychic-type could only widen his eyes as he shivered like a leaf, fear holding him in place. And then, he raised both arms as he sweated profusely.

"Okay! Okay! I'll leave! I'll leave!" he yelled, turning tail and rushing for the woods, never to return ever again.

Red and Clefairy remained in place, eyes still on Hypno as he fleed, their thoughts both uncertain. They had won, and yet Red felt that wasn't enough, that Hypno deserved far worse, that he needed to pay for everything he caused. He kept his fists clenched as he took a deep breath: it was all over now, and that was what mattered.

As his gaze switched back to the kids Hypno held captive all slowly regaining consciousness, Red managed to muster a brief smile. He then turned back to Yellow and Lostelle, hoping for them to still be unharmed, only to be taken aback by Yellow's uncertain and almost disappointed expression. Even Clefairy seemed confused, almost hesitating as he observed her.

"Red, there was no need to do that." Yellow walked closer, sparing a quick glance to the path Hypno took before she went back to her friend.

Red quirked an eyebrow at that. "Why? He was threatening you, and all those kids."

"Yes, he was keeping them hostage, but he didn't understand what he was doing."

Red frowned. "What?"

Yellow sighed, glancing over at the boys and girls several feet from them. "He never wanted to hurt anyone. He was just always alone and wanted someone to play with, and didn't get that controlling people and Pokémon to stay with him was the wrong thing to do since no one told him otherwise. I thought that was the case when I saw that Lostelle was unharmed, and we were trying to convince him to let everyone go. He seemed to be thinking about it."

That explanation gave him pause, and led him to notice how the kids and Lostelle were. It was only then that he realized that their injures were far less worrysome than he expected. Still bad and worth calling out, but not something unforgivable. An unpleasant realization made its way in Red's mind.

He shook his head, brow furrowed. "You can't say that would've worked."

"And we can't know that either now," Yellow replied with a sigh.

And Red understood that. And he also understood that he did exactly what he feared he would do. The reaction Hypno had to his attack should've made him realize that, and yet it didn't. Yellow had a point, and he just proved that he was no better than Clefairy.

As he turned to his Fairy-type, however, he couldn't help but notice just how lost and shocked he sounded, shifting between Yellow and the way Hypno left, almost as if Yellow's words had hit too close home. Red tilted his head: why was he acting like that now? He couldn't have been the same as Hypno, right...?

Red rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh. He was really at a loss about everything after that trip through the Berry Forest.

"Well, that doesn't matter. At the very least that Hypno won't cause any more trouble now." Yellow quickly picked her sunny mood back up, eyes to Lostelle and the other kids. "And we saved all the kids! I'd say this was a happy ending to this story!"

Red nodded absentmindedly as he saw all the kids hugging each other and crying out in happiness, even if that had not been neither an ending nor happy in the slightest for him.

Yellow pulled at his arm, while Pikachu took the impromptu path to perch back on Red's shoulder. "Let's go back, alright? I think we all need some rest right now."

Red gave another nod in response. They quickly rounded up all the kids and made sure they were fine, and then they all marched as one away from Berry Forest. Through the whole trek, however, Red's mind was clouded by swirling and confusing thoughts as he looked back at everything that happened in that short trek through the woods. Now that the adventure was over, there were still a lot of things that needed to be solved.

----------------------------------------

The moment Red, Yellow and the large group of kids finally returned to Three Island's main town, the citizens didn't waste time to greet them with joy, all the parents embracing their thought lost children with all the love and apprehension they could give. A lot of them asked the occasional question that Red and Yellow tried to answer as best as they could, but for the most part they stood aside as they let all the boys, girls and relatives enjoy their reunion, with their eyes falling onto one parent and child in particular.

"Daddy!"

"Lostelle! You're alright!"

Lostelle and her father embraced each other tightly, with Dunsparce in the middle. They stood there teary-eyed and smiling, neither saying anything but both glad to see each other.

Yellow had a cheeky grin through it all, and even Red managed a hint of a smile. No matter what happened in Berry Forest, knowing that they helped them reunite still left them both with a happy feeling.

"It's nice to see them happy."

"Right." Red turned to Yellow. "It's all thanks to you."

In response, she shook her head. "I wasn't the one who dealt with Hypno."

"But you're the one that protected Lostelle. You fought with Pikachu, right?"

Yellow's grin widened even more at that, pumping her fists and nodding energetically. Even Pikachu snickered at that.

"Yeah! It was amazing! He's so strong, and thinking of which moves to use was way too fun!" She punched in the air a couple of times, her grin never faltering throughout. "I'd love to be a trainer too, one day!"

Red crooked an eyebrow in interest. "With which Pokémon?"

"Oh, I dunno, anything would be fine for me." Yellow shrugged and placed her hand behind her neck, beaming. "I just want a good friend to spend time with, just like your Pokémon!"

Red didn't reply at that, Yellow's words giving him pause. Could he really call himself a 'friend' of his Pokémon at all? After their visits to One and Two Island, he couldn't say for sure. He definitely didn't hate them, but he probably still lacked that 'something' everyone claimed he was missing, whatever that may be.

Still, he patted Yellow's shoulder, supportive. "I'm sure you'll find it soon."

Yellow chuckled at that, but before the discussion could continue, Red and his friend could see Lostelle's father and the town's mayor walking closer to them.

"We really have to thank you for the help you gave us. If you plan on sticking around, we'd love to offer you a banquet in your honor, from the best bakery of our town," the mayor told them, with Lostelle's father nodding along.

The mere mention of food was enough to make Yellow's eyes shine. "Heck yeah! We accept!"

"Glad to hear that." The mayor let out an amused laugh, before he turned and pointed toward the aforementioned bakery. "If you want, you can come already to see what they're doing. We and other citizens will wait for you there."

With that said, the adults left post-haste, all while the reunited families scattered around and many other people joined the way to the bakery.

Now left alone, Yellow licked her lips and rubbed her belly in anticipation. "After this adventure, some food's just what we need! Let's see what they have!"

Red only gave a brief glance to the bakery before his attention went back to the Poké Balls on his waist. As inviting as food could be, he had far more important things to deal with first. He looked at Pikachu, and his Pokémon nodded back before he even spoke.

"You and Pikachu go on ahead. I've got one thing to do," Red told Yellow.

The girl seemed curious, but only smiled in response. "Sure. Don't get in trouble, alright?"

"I won't."

Thus, Pikachu hopped off Red's shoulder and onto Yellow, and the girl and his Pokémon sprinted towards the fabled bakery. Red stood there observing them for a brief time before he faced away and walked in the distance, looking for a more isolated part of Three Island to stay in.

----------------------------------------

After several minutes of walking and quite a distance from the town's outskirts, Red was finally sure he found the right spot when he glanced over and the medium-sized yet enclosed space between trees.

Red sent a quick glance to ensure no one was around them, and only then did he grab a Poké Ball and toss it up, freeing Clefairy ahead of him. The Fairy-type considered his surroundings in confusion until he found his trainer. Red continued to study his Clefairy, noticing the lingering tension from before, and Red sighed. Talking and emphatizing might've not been his best suit, but he probably knew what to say.

Thus, he took a deep breath and stared right into Clefairy's eyes. "Are you lonely?"

Clefairy seemed to freeze at that question, only to glance at Red with watery eyes and a shaky smile, as if he didn't know what to say. All things Red was rather acquainted with.

"Do you want friends?"

His Pokémon hesitated at that, but eventually nodded. Red could see why: even when he was calm, his behavior felt strange and creepy. He couldn't really blame the other Clefairy for never wanting to bother with him and wanting someone else to bring him away from Mt. Moon. Alone and with no role models to correct the way he acted, was it really so weird that he turned out as deranged as he did?

Sure, he couldn't quite corroborate his theory, but if any of that was true, then there was a way for Clefairy to be kept in check and be happy. And if there was a chance, Red wanted to take it and exploit it to make him less dangerous.

Red kneeled at Clefairy's height, eyes still reflected into Clefairy's. "I can be your friend. But for that, you need to learn to behave. Do you want to?"

Clefairy nodded with one of his way-too-wide grins, but Red didn't let that bother him again. He clearly wasn't a normal Pokémon, but he could at least ensure he wouldn't be a homicidal one.

Thus, Red grabbed another Poké Ball and held it towards Clefairy. "Help me here, then. We need to care for our responsibilities."

Red tossed the Poké Ball and Clefairy followed with interest, even moreso when the Slowbro they had fought twice reappeared, still bleeding and injured, and glaring daggers at both Red and Clefairy. The Fairy-type appeared uneasy, while Red only grabbed a few berries and healing items he fetched from Yellow and held his hands up.

"We don't want to hurt you." He mustered the closest thing to a smile he could pull off. "You were hit because of us, and we want to heal you."

Red passed the berries to Clefairy, whom observed them with interest. Then, he beamed and struck a military salute, and human and Fairy-type walked closer to the injured Pokémon to heal him slowly.

As Red sprayed potions and other remedies all over Slowbro's injuries, he couldn't help but notice the confused glance the Pokémon was giving them, occasionally facing his side to see Clefairy mash the berries into fine juice and putting it all over Slowbro's body, maybe pushing with a bit too much strength but not enough for Slowbro to complain, one of his deranged yet happy smiles drawn over his face. It was just a small moment, but Red couldn't deny being happy about it.

After several minutes of healing, Slowbro was back at full health, some tiredness and soreness aside, standing up once more and shifting between Red and his Clefairy.

"Do you feel better?" Red asked, putting aside the empty healing items.

Slowbro considered his body, and then nodded with a little grin.

Red almost smiled back, but only turned around and stared at Berry Forest instead. "If you want to leave, you can. I only captured you to make sure you would be fine."

Slowbro did the same as he observed his former home, lost in thought. Red wondered if he just liked to think stuff through, or it was a species-wide trait like Slowpoke's five second delayed response.

That question stopped mattering the moment Slowbro shook his head, and both Red and Clefairy tilted theirs in response.

"You don't want to leave?"

Slowbro shook his head once more, and then pointed towards Red. While Red didn't understand the why, he could at least understand what he meant.

I want to stay with you.

Red narrowed his eyes at that. "Are you sure?"

He got another nod in response. Red didn't know if it was because Slowbro felt a kinship, because he felt honorbound to follow people stronger than him, because he was just happy they took their time to heal him instead of letting him day, or because of something else altogether, but the trainer didn't say anything all the same. If he really wanted to stay with him he didn't have much problems, and Slowbro didn't appear to be a high mantenance Pokémon anyway. A shame he didn't know much of what he could do, beyond Psywave-

Thinking about it, Red frowned and an idea made its way on his mind. Then, he turned back to Slowbro.

"Can you use Psywave on me, again?"

Slowbro blinked at him, and even Clefairy at his side appeared puzzled.

"Not too strong. I need to see something."

Slowbro didn't understand why yet, but still did as instructed, crafting a brief flash of psychic energy and firing it right at Red's head.

Red's vision turned colorful briefly, but unlike previously he remained conscious beyond a small amount of headache, more annoying than painful. He then focused again on Victory Sight, thinking of anything.

VictorY ODds: X7&%

Red rubbed his head, still slightly pained but happy all the same. As he thought, Psywave was able to mess up his perception, and functionally disable Victory Sight. That was exactly what he needed to learn how to keep his strength in check even as he went all out, and to make sure Ash Ketchum's shenanigans couldn't blindside him the next time they met. If the price was a small headache that Yellow could definitely heal in no time, he could afford it.

Red managed to grin at Slowbro, still rubbing his head. "Thank you."

Slowbro smiled at that, and when Red faced Clefairy so did he. They all had a long road to travel ahead, but if nothing else he had a path to travel on now, wherever that may lead. As his stomach rumbled and demanded attention, though, Red assumed he could put any lingering doubts aside for now.

"Let's go. We need to eat something," was all he had to say.

Both Clefairy and Slowbro nodded along, and Red walked back to the town with both of them, all resolving to do their best for everything the future may bring to them.

----------------------------------------

Four Island was a quaint and lovely place, much like the breakfast he was consuming. The Pokémon Center's open air cafeteria wasn't exactly a high class restaurant, but he had come to appreciate food in all of its forms, be it a mere snack or a sumptous meal. As such, he took the time to savor the efforts of the Center's cuisine, making sure to leave a hefty tip for everyone involved.

His eyes moved to the outside of the Center and towards the nearby beach, where he had let out his whole team to relax and take a breather. The island he was in wasn't a particularly large or impressive one beyond its famous Icefall Cave, but it was still a nice place to be in. He had heard it was the hometown of his Kantonian colleague Lorelei, even if he didn't get to meet her yet, though he wouldn't mind a chance to know her better.

His attention then moved to the free newspaper he was given, giving a quick once over at every news, from rumors of Team Rocket sightings in Five Island and a Hypno found as a stowaway on a ferry in the night, until the big news from Three Island caught his attention. A couple of kids, a trainer and his companion, had managed to rescue several kids gone missing in Three Island. There was also a photo, and he quickly recognized Red Tajiri, his friend Yellow and his Pikachu, alongside a Clefairy and a Slowbro all attempting to smile at the camera to middling success.

A rare smile crossed the man's lips. There was something different in the way Red tried to smile in that picture, one that hinted at personal improvement, but also showed he was still at a loss on the finer details he needed to hammer down.

Siebold's attention went back to the sea, where Blastoise and Gyarados had decided to square off in a mock battle to keep themselves sharp. He had seen many trainers like Red in his time, capable yet insipid, like a first attempt at a fine dish. As expert cooks, it was the duty of him and other experienced trainers to tilt trainers with such potential in the right direction. And, modesty aside, Siebold could clearly claim to know what he was talking about, as he glanced over at the holders and the Mega Stones Gyarados and Blastoise carried with them. The higher levels of training were a brutal landscape, but one didn't attain the position of Elite Four by slacking off.

He couldn't tell if he would ever meet Red Tajiri again, but if they ever had the chance, he'd have definitely a thing or two to say to tilt him in the right direction.

Siebold then rolled the newspaper and set it aside, before he rose from his chair and went back to call his team. They had a lot of work to do that day, and they couldn't afford to waste time.