Brock shook his head in disappointment while Ash and Dawn were giggling.

"I can't believe you." He said it as if he had witnessed the worst thing ever.

I shrugged. "If she likes it."

"It's not healthy, you are not supposed to feed Ralts chips." Brock scolded me.

"Potato chips, big difference," I corrected him, just to be petty. No idea if there was an actual difference.

Luna continued eating her potato chips, pretending she wasn't hearing the conversation but her small red eyes betrayed her as they darted between me and Brock.

The hill we sat on was quite nice and I had to say it was the perfect spot for a picnic, the tree line that surrounded it cast enough shade for those who preferred the shadows yet it wasn't covering the entirety of the hill which was quite nice for the sun lovers.

"Ash, hand me my backpack," Brock commanded sternly.

While trying to suppress his smile Ash leaned back to grab Brock's large backpack and swung it towards him.

Brock caught it and opened it with a confident smile. "Wait, I will show you what true cooking skills are!"

"Don't worry," Ash said, "My Pikachu eats ketchup, cheap onion flavored chips are not that weird compared to that."

"Pika!" The yellow mouse happily cheered as he held onto a bottle with red liquid.

"It's not healthy." Brock muttered, "I've been trying to explain that for years."

"Piplup loves soap," Dawn suddenly shared.

That made everyone shut up.

"Blue girl says what?" I blinked.

"What?" Dawn shook her head before explaining. "Piplup used to eat soap, or tried to at least."

"Wow, it seems like Dawn wins the game," Ash laughed.

"Yeah, what the fuck."

Brock coughed, "That does not excuse a bad diet. There are Pokéblocks for every kind of Pokémon an-"

"Hey, does Fay eat anything weird?" Dawn asked, interrupting Brock.

I glanced at Fay who was playing with Turtwig and Pachirisu. Though saying she was playing was a stretch.

She seemed to be terrified by their attempts to socialize with her. They wanted to play some form of tag with her but Fay was not nearly as enthusiastic. If it came to socializing Fay might be worse than me.

It was very cute to see her struggle with other Pokémon around her age.

"Nah," I said, "Fay never really complains about food nor does she really have a preference."

{Danger!}

I quickly turned around towards the trees or something.

Luna suddenly spun around and stood straight.

Without any warning, she fired a psybeam towards the tree line.

To my surprise, I heard a male voice shout "Aaah!" ’as the laser dissipated.

In an instant I dove towards my backpack which held my weapons but once I heard the scream I stopped.

It sounded vaguely familiar.

Luna's eyes narrowed and she started glaring at the bushes.

The Pokémon stopped playing their game and looked up to see what the commotion was about.

"That's cheating!" A woman's voice cried out undignified. Two people stepped out of the bushes, both wearing white uniforms with a big red R on it.

The woman pointed her finger at me, accusingly. "And who are you to interfere with our plan?"

Her hair was long and had a purple shade but unlike Chelsea's or Hylla's it was more on the red side.

The guy next to her had blue hair that made a surprisingly good combo with his flashy green eyes. He was really pretty, in a super model way almost, but not quite.

In front of the pair stood a catlike creature, standing on two legs.

Dafuq?

"Who the hell are you?" I countered.

"No, don't!" Ash cried out but it was too late.

A grin formed on the woman's face.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"

Ash gave me a defeated look.

The blue haired man opened his mouth and spoke with pride. "It's speaking to me loud and clear."

"On the wind!"

"Past the st-"

Before he could finish his line Fay suddenly appeared in front of his face.

Just in time, the guy took a step back, a silver flash followed and a blue hair strand fell down.

Fay landed but her two claws didn't disappear. She bowed her knees and readied herself for another swipe.

"Fay don't!" Ash cried out.

"And why should I listen to you?" Fay shot a hostile look at Ash.

Personally, I thought it was unwise of her to take her eyes off the opponent but it warmed my heart that she said that.

"Ah, retreat!" the cat Pokémon cried out.

"Fay, stand down!" I yelled.

The three Team Rocket members turned around and dashed away, straight through the bushes, and to be honest they were surprisingly fast.

Fay turned around to give me a questioning look. I for my part turned to Ash, "What the fuck Ash?"

He scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed. "They're Jessie and James, they're from Team Rocket."

I already knew that but why was no one stressing and panicking? Team Rocket was a known threat in this world.

"No, like shit the R didn't explain it."

"Should I follow them?" Fay asked, sharpening her claws.

"No," Both Ash and I said at the same time, despite Ash not being able to understand Fay, her tone of voice was telling enough.

"Explain." I insisted.

"Fine," Ash groaned. "They try to steal my Pikachu."

The way he said it made it sound like it was nothing more than a casual Monday for him. "They have been trying to do that for years."

"And you are so relaxed because?"

He gave me a small chuckle, "Calm down Dust, it's just a silly game they're playing. Jessie and James always try to steal Pikachu."

He looked at me expectantly, like I was supposed to get it. I didn't.

"You really don't have to worry about them," Brock reassured me. "The pair challenges Ash every now and then, they lay traps to catch Pikachu. Sometimes they succeed but mostly not. It's a game between them, once they actually get Pikachu they usually let him slip away anyway."

Dawn nodded, "It sounds weird, I get it, but after traveling with Ash and Brock for a while, I see they kind of don't hurt anyone at all."

"A game?" Fay asked.

{Funny, I guess?} Luna thought out loud.

Ash gave me a smile. "It is really fun sometimes and it helps me bond with my Pokemon and they always give me a free workout."

I slowly nodded. "Okay, two grown-ups have been stealing your Pokémon since forever and you don't give a damn because it's all for shits and giggles. You are aware of how crazy this sounds?"

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"It is all part of the adventure," he replied confidently.

"Talking about Pikachu, where is he?" Dawn interrupted us.

Ash spun around and stared wide-eyed at the empty spot at the grass. "What!? But when?"

He sighed and looked at me. He rolled his eyes. "Guess I'll have to go look now, want to help Dust?"

"I guess," I muttered, still feeling confused as heck.

He smiled brightly. "Amazing, now let's see if you can break my record!"

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

Turns out finding the yellow mouse wasn't that hard, nor was freeing him a big issue.

We found Pikachu in a wooden cage that he could have broken out of if he only bumped his head hard enough but when we arrived he was just taking a nap.

Ash had a short battle with Team Rocket and they fled once their Pokémon got knocked out, though I had to admit that their battling skill was certainly better than in the anime.

From the look on their faces, they were definitely enjoying themselves, even as Ash finally swept the battle with a big Thunder.

They even swore to come back while they fled the scene with a smoke bomb like they were some kind of comic book villain.

It confused the hell out of me and left me wanting to know more.

I waited until it was dark outside and made a video call.

"Oh, it's you," a woman's voice came through the speaker.

Red letters on the screen told me that a video call was not possible and that it was audio only.

"Sup Hylla." I said as I plugged in my earphones.

Hylla sighed.

It was a deep sigh, not one of annoyance or tiredness but of resignation. "What do you need, Mister Wildfire?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Her voice was cold and without kindness.

"You only call me when you need something, information or my assistance," Hylla continued with a flat tone.

As she said that I felt myself flush. She was completely right about it and it made me feel like I was a bad person, not that I wasn't one, but I tried to be better at least.

I really only called her when I needed something, still I could at least try to defend myself.

"Well, you could call me for once," I retorted, not willing to admit she had been right.

"Cut to the chase Dust." She sounded really tired.

Something was definitely not alright, normally Hylla loved to play with formalities and words and act all knowingly. Today she was the opposite, no cheeky smiles or grins.

Driven by my guilt that I was indeed only calling her when I needed something I decided to ask her how she was doing, it was the least effort I could take.

"What's wrong Hylla? Something is off."

She let out a long sigh, "It's a rough night for me, thank you for asking." The last part was said sarcastically.

I ignored it and continued the conversation. "Is it something with your work?"

"You could say that yes," she replied with fake calmness.

"You want to tell me about it?" I asked. People love telling others about their problems, misery loves company after all.

"It is classified." Hylla answered.

"Okay…"

"But it's not like you are going to tattle," Hylla continued, "Right?"

"Duh," I gazed up at the starry night sky above me and stifled a yawn. "Come on, you can tell me."

"Fine," she huffed, "Have you heard about the Fangs?"

"Yeah, aren't they a pack of dog Pokémon?"

"Canine," Hylla corrected me, "I assume you know them, they're labeled as a C level threat. You heard about them?"

"Chelsea told me about them," I admitted.

"Good," she sounded relieved. "So you know what they do?"

I swallowed, "yeah, they eat humans right?"

"Really a nasty bunch," Hylla murmured. "They strike in isolated communities, hold a feast and then move on towards their next target. Originally they came from Kanto but they moved to Sinnoh recently, and guess who was to deal with them?"

She was starting to sound agitated.

"You?" I guessed.

"Yes, me!" Hylla spat, "It is my job to take out an entire pack of flesh-eating Pokémon; on my own!"

She was definitely angry.

"You're not getting any help?" She had told me she mostly did the planning and scheming jobs for the League, maybe that had changed?

"The League is not giving me any useful assistance, so now it's up to me to solve this. Despite that, I still did manage to track them down and find a way to get rid of them."

"Of course you did." I rolled my eyes. "So, you're gonna battle them?"

Hylla didn't answer and I began to wonder if the audio had bugged out.

"No." Hylla answered with a low voice, "I am not going to battle them."

"Why not?"

“My Pokémon are good, but not that good. And the Fangs outnumber me. Fighting them would be a last resort for me.”

I took the bait “Then what are you going to do?”

"This afternoon 6 people died in a traffic accident."

I stayed silent but Hylla continued anyway.

"I got access to their bodies and stored them in an empty warehouse near the main river, the Fangs already know the bodies are there."

I could see where this story was going. "It's a trap, isn't it? You're waiting for them to get inside."

"Indeed, the smell of human bodies is irresistible for the Fang members, they'll come. They can not resist their instinct."

Hylla sounded disheartened instead of smug despite the fact that her plan sounded pretty solid.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"Ever seen a Pokémon burn to death?" Hylla suddenly asked.

"What!?"

"You haven't, of course," Hylla whispered. Her voice cracked a little. "It's very painful, did you know that? Their body goes into a battle mode which heightens their senses and defensive powers. However when they're being burned it works against them, it allows them to feel more intense pain for a longer period of time."

As Hylla kept talking I couldn't help but listen, despite what she was saying.

"Some say it's the worst death a Pokémon can experience and right now the warehouse is set up to become unbreachable once the Fangs start their feast, once the fire rises they won't be able to escape, I checked, none of their members is strong enough to penetrate the forcefield."

"I still don't get it," she must have heard the confusion in my voice. "Isn't that what they kind of deserve?" It sounded like very basic karma to me.

"You've never seen a Pokémon die in a fire," Hylla said with a broken voice. "It doesn't matter who you were before or if you are a Pokémon or human. Once you realize there is no escape, everyone is equally horrified. The look in their eyes, it's the same for everyone and then they try to scream and they all scream the same."

I had no idea what to say, my original idea of it being justice was somewhat tarnished. What Hylla just said made me want to stop the call and hang up but at the same time, I couldn't.

"I have to light the fire." Hylla continued, her voice sounding dead. "It's for the best of all of us, still, to bring such horror upon another being."

I understood the dilemma immediately.

It was a social dilemma; everyone wants the bad guy to get punished but no one wants to pull the trigger themselves.

There is this widespread, yet not talked about idea in my old universe that some people don't deserve the death sentence but something worse.

I knew people who thought that myself but at the same time, none of those people wanted to do those horrific acts.

A bit hypocritical, yet human nature at its finest.

"I'm sorry." The words felt hollow. A star blinked above me. "It's a cruel world."

"Tonight I have to stay close to the fire, in case one of them somehow manages to escape. So you can understand why I feel a bit, 'unhinged'"

"Yes, I'm sorry," I said, again my words fell empty. While I was here camping with 2 adorable Pokémon, Hylla was dealing with the rot in the world.

After a painful silence, Hylla began talking again. "Anyway...now that's off my chest, what did you want to talk about?"

"Nothing," I replied.

"Come on, you can tell me," Hylla urged me to go on with a sense of intensity in her voice. "While I'm waiting I need something to put my mind off the job."

I sighed, "Well, if you insist. Today I encountered Team Rocket, but I am not sure what to think."

"Again?" Hylla said surprised. "Well, what happened?"

"Well, these guys introduced themselves as Jessie and James and their goal was to capture someone's Pikachu. Just a Pikachu? Not even for ransom or anything."

"Oh, these two, yeah. They are in Sinnoh." Hylla sounded somewhat amused. "You encountered them today?"

"Yes, I was with this boy named Ash-"

"Ketchum," she finished, "Yes I heard about them, they follow him and try to steal his Pikachu right?"

"Correct, what the fuck is up with them?"

I could almost hear the all-knowing smirk return. "Well, they are what the League labels as an F level threat."

"F exists?" I was completely surprised, I had never read or heard about such a thing.

"Indeed, there are 2 invisible threat levels that aren't available to anyone outside the League, level X and F. The 2 you just met and their Meowth are officially labeled as an F level. Funny isn't it?"

"You're kidding me right?"

"Nope, they exist but are rarely ever mentioned publicly, that's because the League has a policy to ignore most F level threats and either leave them to the locals or straight up deny their existence."

She knew damn well that she wasn't giving me any information.

"Okay, I take the bait. What is an F level threat?"

"Well, if you really want to know," Hylla answered with a slightly teasing tone, "F level threats are threats that are actually beneficial to the League, they aren't given an official rating or mention. Instead, they are left alone. Though closely monitored, think about Team Skull and Team Mockery or the Masked Roserade."

I had heard their names before, though they were never really dealt with. "How are they beneficial?"

"Well, take the pair you met today, they are a bit silly wouldn't you say? All their crimes are relatively small and they rarely ever have victims. Can you imagine how that reflects to the public?"

"That a bunch of idiots are running around?"

"Exactly!" Hylla agreed, "And despite all of that they get a lot of attention from the news. Isn't that perfect for the League?"

"Still not getting what you mean."

"For some reason, they are content with very petty crimes that at the same time get a lot of news coverage, that's the image the League wants people to have when they think about criminals. If the League wanted to they could get rid of them any moment they want and the people instinctively know that. Now compare that with the Fangs who are a pain to get rid of, who do you think the League wants the media to focus on?"

"It's all about PR and image," I concluded, "do they know that?"

"It's about keeping the people calm," Hylla retorted. "As for Jessie and James, I personally have no idea why they do what they do, but as long as they play ball they won't be in big trouble."

I was about to say something when Hylla suddenly hissed. "Oh shit, they arrived."

"Okay, then I'll end the call her-"

"Actually," Hylla said just as I was about to press the button to end the call. "Could you please hang on a little bit longer…"

"You need my help?" I was confused, it wasn't like I would be anything besides a distraction.

"Please, I don't want to be alone right now."

I could hear movement in the background and the sound of Hylla's footsteps echoeing were audible.

Was she for real? She sounded genuine.

Did she really just ask me to listen in on her burning a group of Pokémon alive?

I wanted to scream, tell her she was insane and that it was her problem, but I couldn't.

"It won't last longer than 10 minutes," Hylla whispered, her voice shaking.

"Alright, not a problem at all." I lied.

The call went on and I just kept staring at the screen as Hylla did her job.

I think she noticed that I muted her and enabled transcription mode, though she didn't say anything about it.

I didn't get to hear the screams of pain and agony that night.

Only in my dreams.