Darkness. I float in darkness. It's peaceful, weightless, and tranquil, like being in a pool of water. I try to move, but my body won't obey. The sound of crashing waves against the beach greets my ears, along with the scent of the ocean. I don't want to move, think, or feel; I simply want to exist in this state and never leave.

“I can see how being here can cause someone to desire to stay. It is quite an exquisite sensation, is it not? That moment before existence, before coming into being.”

A voice, heavy and rich, echoes through the void, while a constellation of lights blossoms into existence around me. Tension, agony, and sadness fill me.

"I am a passenger, an observer who has hitched a ride upon the grain of sand that is your life."

The voice fades as the colors blend and become more prominent and tangible.

I find myself on my knees, panting, as a tan man with slicked-back silver hair and piercing blue eyes stands over me. He is dressed in a gray suit with a red R pin on the lapel. I can't help but feel intimidated by this man, fear coursing through every fiber of my being, telling me to run away.

"This is the extent of your ability." His voice is soft, almost ethereal, with a faint accent I can't place.

"Do you want to know why your fighting capability is so pathetically low?"

He kneels down to be face-to-face with me, gesturing to my fallen team. My dead pink Golbat torn to ribbons by the Sneasel standing in the corner.

"You treat them like friends when you should treat them like the tools they truly are."

Pulling my face up by my chin, he stares deep into my eyes.

"There is no camaraderie or pleasantries with animals as barbaric as them. No carrot to give them. Only the stick. That is how I've gotten this far, and the only way you'll ever beat me."

He pushes my face away and gets back up, walking away from me.

"Now get out of my sight and don't come back until you can truly be of use to me."

The scene fades back into inky darkness as a massive swirling cloud of red forms in front of me. An equally massive crimson eye opens within the cloud.

"What a sad little man. That is not the correct path. Might is not always right. I can see that you do not follow his path. Do not stray. Pokémon are never tools. Now, go forth, it is time to awaken. You will be at peace for quite some time."

I wake up to the sound of my alarm going off and the very disgruntled chittering sounds of Beca.

I blinked a few times before getting up and looking around. Champ was in a corner of the tent, resting his back against the tent wall, eyes still closed. Beca was chittering angrily at my phone, I assumed she was telling it to shut up, judging by the way she started trying to chase it. Morning light filtered in through the bug mesh of the door and small window sections. It was another sunny day, it seemed.

I stretched before getting out of my sleeping bag and opening the tent zipper. I stepped out and looked around from the hill. A small fog stretched around the foot of the hill and extended outward, covering most of the area. The route itself kept going straight towards Viridian; there wasn't much of interest except for a cliff.

A loud explosion erupted from the cliff to the northeast of my location, sending a flock of Spearow into the air. They circled the trees at the top of the cliff, cawing to each other.

Both Champ and Beca came out to see what the noise was.

"Seems like some kind of fun is going on over there. You guys want to check it out?"

Beca chittered and gave her form of a shrug by moving the two leaves on the side of her face before moving away, disinterested. Champ shook his head no and pointed towards the cityscape.

"Welp, I guess that settles it. Come on, I'll make some breakfast before we hit the road again."

By making breakfast, I meant feeding them their pellets, and I would munch on rations.

"I know it ain't the best meal, but it's temporary until we hit the city and can stock up on other supplies. I have an idea of hitting a tournament or two before heading off to Pewter."

Champ cheered at that and started to get pumped, while Beca emitted a groaning chitter as she crawled off to hide in the tent. I couldn't help but chuckle at the stark contrast between the two, especially when Champ grabbed Beca and dragged her out of the tent, much to her protest.

He eventually got her to start joining in his training routine, mostly stretches and laps around the camp area while I cleaned up and put the rest of my gear away. Thirty minutes later, the Spearow flock had finally settled back into the trees.

“Beca, do you want to stay out of your ball or in it?”

She crawled to my feet and collapsed. She didn’t move, and all I could hear were small, exhausted chitters. I slowly looked up at Champ with an eyebrow raised. He scoffed, crossed his arms, and looked the other way.

"O…K…"

I recalled Beca and motioned for him to get on my shoulder. Looking out at the road again, I could see that the fog was starting to clear up. With nothing else to hold us back, I slung my backpack over my right shoulder and started moving on.

The rest of the way had been pretty uneventful, thankfully. A few Rattata, Sentret, and Pidgey would come out and attack us, either for getting close to their territory or wanting to test themselves against Champ. Champ had to mime out to me that a few had asked to be caught, but I had to let them down easy. Some of them had potential, but my mind had been set on capturing certain Pokémon at this point. I had settled on Beca instead of getting a Petilil because she had a fighting style that I liked, and something called out for me to get her. Although, looking at her Pokéball as we got to the halfway point now, I definitely needed to get her motivated to train. She had the speed to be a strong fighter but none of the attacking strength needed to back it up. The question was, how do I motivate her?

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Another loud explosion ripped through the air from the direction of the cliff again. It was closer to us now, and I could see a cloud of Spearows fly up, cawing angrily. I could feel Champ tense on my shoulder as the birds got closer.

"I guess we should keep going before whatever that mess is catches up to us."

Champ let out a small "Rogue" in agreement before another explosion occurred followed by a scream. I froze.

"That sounded like a girl. What the hell -"

Another series of explosions ensued as more Spearows soared into the air, while others began to dive in. Another scream, without knowing it, my body spurred on its own heading towards the cliff. I didn't know what I'd be coming across, but if someone needed help, I'd be there.

The moment I started heading to the cliff, the Spearows changed their tune and started gunning for me. Rockslides started flying in every direction, hitting Spearows left and right. Even then, some came through to attack me and Champ, pecking and clawing at us, forcing me to cover my face and my remaining eye the best I could.

I could hear squawking as Spearows kept getting hit by the boulders Champ was dishing out. We were halfway there by now as more explosions kept erupting, mixed in with screams and the sounds of rushing water.

What was going on up there? I needed to hurry. I pushed my legs as fast as they could move while trying to maintain my breathing correctly. Eventually, I made it to the top of the cliff and gasped at what I saw.

A curly redhead covered in cuts and bleeding wounds was protecting what seemed to be a Surskit from angry Spearows, surrounded by exploded Pineco, dead Spearows, and puddles of water mixed with blood. The Surskit was still shooting out streams of water at any Spearows that dared get closer.

Hanging from the trees were more Pineco who kept attacking the angry Spearows, and it was just a chaotic battle all around.

"Give me some cover, Champ. Make sure they give us breathing room," I barked out the order as I rushed over to the girl in order to evaluate her.

She was breathing and still conscious as she looked up at me with tears in her green eyes. Her protective jacket and cargo pants were torn to shreds. Being this close, I could see she had a smattering of freckles on her face alongside some eggs underneath the Surskit.

Eggs? … Crap. This got complicated.

"Help me… I can't move. They did something to my ankle."

I moved around quickly to her legs as Champ kept trying to buy us time. I could hear him panting from exhaustion as the Rockslides started to take a toll on him. Long and deep gouges appeared around us from the areas he kept digging the boulders out from.

I took a look at her ankle and winced. It had a few peck marks, but she had sprained it badly, causing it to swell, and she wouldn't be able to walk on it. Shit, I'd have to carry her.

"Alright, miss… Ah, it doesn't matter right now. I'm going to have to carry you. Luckily, your ankle is sprained, and they didn't tear the back of your ankle."

She turned to look at me, confused, as the squawking Spearows kept trying to get at us and the eggs. Some of the Pineco had dropped down by now and encircled us as they fought off the Spearows as well. One, in particular, was doing a Rollout attack to ward them off; it was also larger than the rest. I bet that one was the Alpha in charge of this group.

"If I move, the Spearows are going to attack the eggs, and all of this will have been for nothing," she argued back over the Spearows.

"Yeah, and if we stay, you're going to be caught up in more explosions, and one of those Spearows is going to get lucky and peck out your eyes."

She stayed quiet, biting her lower lip, and I could see her mulling it over in her head. Meanwhile, her Surskit blasted a Spearow that had gotten a little too close for comfort. It was utter chaos as a glowing Pineco jumped up and self-destructed, causing a massive bright explosion and dust to billow up everywhere.

"Alright! Alright! Get me out of here!" she yelled at me. Perfect, now to make some cover for us to get out of here.

"Champ! Communicate to the Pineco that we're going to be moving. I need you to Rock Slide a path for us to get out of here, buddy."

He started talking loudly for the Pineco to hear him, and I could see them start to close in on our location. The Spearows weren't having any of it though as they immediately doubled down on their efforts to get to us. A large Spearow popped up in front of us, dodging the attacks both Surskit and Champ were shooting off, and then it started to flap its wings rapidly, forcing out an intense gust of wind that knocked us all back. The eggs were left out in the open as the Pinecos desperately tried to get to the eggs through the Spearow's whirlwind attack.

I struggled to rise, but amidst the rushing winds, the anguished cries of the Pineco reached my ears. This was dire—no, worse. We had to leave. Now. The explosions intensified, shaking the very cliffs, and the whirlwind finally subsided. As I sat up, chaos unfolded before my eyes. Spearows lay scattered on the ground, their plumage bloodied and singed. The air carried a pungent odor of burnt feathers and fat. The injured girl was close by, her Surskit bravely fending off the remaining Spearows with a Water Gun. Meanwhile, Champ leaped back onto my shoulder, resuming his Rock Slide barrage, but I could tell he was straining. His strength was waning rapidly.

I got up, picked up the girl in a bridal carry, and started to head towards the cliff entrance. The large Spearow blocked our way, letting out a ferocious caw before it was enveloped in white light as it evolved into a mighty Fearow.

“Fuck…” the word escaped my lips as this large bird spread its long wings out before us. It looked at us with a powerful leer as a menacing caw escaped its beak.

“I know you’re tired, Champ, but I need you to push through it and hit that thing with as many boulders as you can muster.”

Champ, with a low growl, agreed as he hurled boulders toward the Fearow. The mighty bird flapped its wings furiously, preparing to unleash another whirlwind attack. However, before it could execute its plan, the Alpha Pineco crashed into it with a powerful rollout attack, disrupting its assault and creating an opening for the boulders to strike it with force.

It flapped its massive wings, kicking up dirt into the air as it took up some altitude before flying off. I took the opportunity to start running, only to see the path we had taken in had been blocked off by fallen trees and more fighting. I saw two Spearows tearing into an unconscious Pineco. I deliberated on the spot before immediately pulling out a Poke Ball and turning on the auto-target function before throwing it to catch the Pineco. At the same time, Champ let sail a few more boulders at the Spearows to send them flying away. I looked around trying to find another way out when I felt the girl tug at my shirt. I looked down at her, and she pointed over to the cliffside.

I gulped as I saw that the Alpha Pineco had evolved into a massively bulky Forretress who was squaring off with the Fearow now. All around us, the fight continued to block us, which left us with two options.

Either I had my exhausted Champ break down the logs blocking our way to freedom, or we raced forward and jumped off the cliffside into the river below.

"Argh, fuck it. Champ! I'm sorry, but I need you to Bulk Up and Mega Punch through those fallen trees until they break."

Champ jumped off my shoulder, took a deep breath, and dashed forward to the trees and started punching them.

"It's not going to work, you know. He's not going to be able to punch through them. You're going to have to jump into the river off the cliffside," the redhead told me.

"If I do that, how are you going to swim with your busted up ankle?" I snapped at her, my irritation bleeding through my voice.

She had a point though. Champ was struggling to make a few dents and cracks in the bark, but nothing substantial. Her Surskit was keeping the remaining Spearows at bay from us. The situation looked bleak, and honestly, the best bet was to jump off the cliff.

I recalled Champ and made sure I held on tight to Miss Redhead.

"We're gonna go with your plan. Return your Surskit and make sure you hold on tight to me."

She did as I said and wrapped her arms around my neck while burying her face in my chest. I started running forward, dodging the last few Spearows that were attacking us the best I could.

The Forretress and Fearow had moved on to another part of the forest, leaving the cliff open. Halfway to the cliff, a ball of immense electricity flew right by me as the Fearow slammed into the Forretress. I pushed my limits as I crossed the last bit of the clearing and jumped off the cliff into the river below.