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Urie was insane. Urie was absolutely insane. I swore, for once, I was actually about to vomit from the sheer speed he rode in. High velocity with the motor raging to the max.

"WHAHAHGAHAGBWAH!!!" I shouted as he rode off a ply board leaning against a trash can, managing to land on some building's rooftop! "Make it STOP!!!" I demanded as he launched the freaking bike off another tilted set of roof tiles!

"Can't do, Z-Z! We're only two blocks away, and besides, getting dizzy is part of the fun!" he answered casually.

"WHA!" I screamed as I swore we were about to crash into a tree!

Somehow, he managed to get the motorbike to do a backflip as he rode off the trunk, and finally landed safely against the lakeside of our destination. "See? What I'd tell ya'?" he said as he grabbed my arms and forced me to stand. "Aw, jeez. Seems like you're not all that sturdy…"

"Oh, yeah?" I said as I gripped my fists hard. "Keep it that way and you'll crash into something soon!"

"What? Did that leg incident kill your buzz for some real action?" He knew! "Oh, man, the Cerulean Gazette couldn't shut up about it, 'Ash Ketchum's only comment was that he would not be attending the Indigo League championships for the season as his Pikachu was temporarily–' "

"Put out of commission. I know what I said. So what?"

"Just sayin'," Urie said as checked his Dex for the meantime. "You just gotta be a little more lax…" The battlefield was in a recreational area just behind the gym, but I heard that you needed to be one of Vendanna's top dogs if you wanted a seat here. Urie started stretching his arms alongside that Pikehchu of his. "So, when is The Mack gonna get here? We gotta get this battle started! He's fast from what I've heard, isn't he?"

"...Yeah, but, I swear, he's running with the others," I admitted.

"Others?" he asked as he crossed his arms over the deck. "So, he's one of them? Wouldn't have guessed it."

We waited a bit as I finished sucking my lollipop. "Is there a trash can around here?"

"The only Trubbish I see is the one you'll be once I finally beat you. Ke-heh, it's over there!" Urie said as he perfectly shot the one he just finished into the bin that was next to a bench. I side-eyed him as I went to go toss mine. A Vileplume popped out from behind, shyly, staring at the empty stick. Urie walked towards it. "Aw hey little guy, you want one? Don't worry, I got the perfect flavor for you!"

He ran back to his bag of lollies and unwrapped one for it. "Vile!" the Pokémon chirped as he handed it over passively.

"There ya' go, mago's gotta be the best flavor!"

"Have you tried the mago-sitrus combo though? Tastes delicious!" said a very familiar voice, hanging upside-down from a tree.

"Oh, yeah, but those are pretty rare, so sometimes you gotta start with the base and mix other ingredients with it too–" Urie looked up and spotted him–Shinji, who already zipped behind him. "You're Toshinmac?" he asked, pleasantly unconcerned.

"In the flesh, ammani."

Urie smiled wide. "Cool…" Then, he, of course, scanned his Pokédex on him, but got no result from trying to see something hiding in that form. "Hey, mind taking the disguise off? I don't wanna think my Dex is jammed or anything."

Shinji put his palm over it. "Save it for the battle, kid. We got a show to put on, remember?"

Another familiar voice could be heard from yonder, just behind the white cast-iron fence, covered in roses and buds. "Hey, Ash? Psychopath guy? Shinji? Anybody? Hello, mi breshon!" Jake shouted over as he banged against the gate, with the rest of the group's pokémon hollowering out their cries.

"I'll handle it…" Shinji confirmed as he zipped away! Urie snapped a pic of the black blur that went by to tend to the rest of the party, dripping a small black liquid trail from beneath.

"Woah. Hey, Pikachu, that guy's covered in ink, huh?" Urie asked.

"Pi-keh!" it answered back.

"Well, better get to your spots I suppose…" he declared as he started making his way towards the battlefield. "Best you have some popcorn ready too, because this may be the battle of the century!" he bluffed as he got out his pokéball.

"Yeah, I'll show you a good match alright!" I said as I stretched.

"O-M-G, that reminds me, does anyone want snacks?" Cianna offered, walking through as she pulled some chocolate bars out of her bag.

"Oh, gimme!" Miley followed behind as she grabbed one and bit into it already, sitting on the bench as she shared the bar with Gothita and Prewhammie.

"Thought you'd all be hungry after that contest, which was awesome! So, hey, Urie," Cici asked. "Why'd you show up midway like that?"

"Well, I'm not a fan of expositions. I'm a bigger fan of the endings!" Urie looked back at me as I got my ball ready. "However, this might just be a completely different story worth reading…"

"Well, then. Doragin, let's write a good entrance!" I said as it headed off the battlefield.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about." Urie pulled out his own ball from his belt's holster. "Ratzcul, I choose you!" Wait, Ratzcul?

"Hold it, somebody needs to referee..." Shinji commented before we could begin. Heh, guess we were all a little amped to dig straight into it!

Jake stood across the field, pulling out his Dex for some data collecting. "I'll do it." He turned to me. "Don't let him pull you!"

"Got it."

"Gee, you take so long." Urie rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ratzcul, annihilate him!"

Oh, no…argh…Doragin was my top soldier here. Much more passionate on defending me for my sake over some of the pokémon I owned before. I could tell, it felt the pressure to overcome victory over this snake, the one that had grown arms with a set of thick, sharp claws to rival the delicate, scrawny and misshapen ones of the bird.

They were speed demons, the both of them, as Ratzcul used its limited mobility to its advantage, swaying its tail aside on a single scaly palm, aiming fire towards the bird who dodged and tried blocking the flames with the blades of its leaves. They harassed each other throughout, trying to prove who was the better warrior for their trainer, as a Ratzavok's compassion became second nature once it was properly trained to evolve.

Doragin, though, it chose this path because I was the only one who paid attention to it that day, back at the Daycare. The main reason why the little Doradin went after Pikachu so much was because it couldn't bear the thought of losing its one hope of becoming a better version of itself. In its eyes, it needed to replace him, but overtime, as I learned–as we all learned, teamwork was the best way to support a trainer, and he will fall if the last leg of the ladder is broken (dumb allegory, I know, but there was no better way to describe it!).

Pikachu cheered for it, raising a fist into the air as the Ratzcul's bells jingled, with its face getting a clawful from Doragin's foot, tossing the snake across the battlefield! "Pika, pika!"

Ratzcul shook its head, and squinted. Urie did the same too, and Pikehchu tried telling it something. "Keh-keh, pikeh!"

"Teh-neh innai…" Shinji uttered beside me. "Kid, Doragin has to watch out!"

"Huh, why?"

"It's the Heart of the Cards, watch out!"

"What!"

"Got it all figured out…" Urie said to himself. "Ratzcul, use Flamethrower like I taught you!"

"Rats-zzzzz!" That Flamethrower…it wasn't any old Flamethrower he taught him, that's for sure! It missed Doragin on purpose as it slid below it while it attempted to charge for an attack, and Ratzcul shot for the sky instead. Urie smirked as the bird ran back straight to catch it into its clutch again, however, Ratzcul's flame, so suddenly, blitzed madly.

"Dory!" it shrieked as it got scorched by the sudden change in temperature. It was an instant burn.

"Doragin!" I shouted back.

"What the–" Jake remarked, unsure as to whether to call a foul or not. "Hey, Urie, what the heck was that!"

"Pure luck." he replied back. His Ratzavok rang its bells cheerfully while Doragin limped about. "Breaking news, you don't own this battlefield, Ketchum!" he and his Pikehchu chuckled in unison.

"Shinji, what does he mean?" I demanded!

"All the cards belong to him." he answered, frighteningly so. "I don't see it all that well, but Doragin does. All Doragin sees is spades."

"I-I don't get it?" Doragin, I noticed that it started to panic as Ratzcul crawled rapidly towards it to bite, right on that scorched leg! It'd never done that before, it'd always stand on guard no matter what, and would go head on, so what was happening!

"Pika! Pikachu-pi!" Pikachu shouted from my shoulder.

Murkrow, who was watching idly on a branch, began sharppening its own claws. "You may have a chance, though…" Shinji wistfully hoped.

"Alright, Doragin, re–"

It cawed as another surprise blitz was let out, just before I could get my hand onto the ball. "Let's go, Fire Spin!" Urie shouted.

"Hey!" Jake shouted, gripping his fists.

"Whoops, guess my Ratzcul is too eager to stop fighting! Because once you enter this ring, you can never leave." Urie looked back at me and smirked. "Keh, bet you didn't even know what was hidden in this battlefield the whole time, huh? "

I raised my voice. "What's that you're saying!" No…Doragin was fainting under that vortex! Once freed, it collapsed, probably needing an entire night to rest at the Pokémon Center, alone… "Doragin, I'm so sorry…" I apologized as I put it back inside the ball, and back onto my holster. If only I knew what game Urie was playing, it wouldn't have gotten burnt so badly…

"What, apologizing already? We got a whole frickin' team to play with here, K.!"

"You want a team? I'm giving you a full army!" I turned around. "Yo, Murkrow! Wanna play for a bit?"

"Murkrow, huh?" Urie shook his head, and his Pikehchu groaned.

For a second, Shinji seemed confident. "Now, that's an excellent choice! Go at it, Murky!"

"Murkrow!" it screeched as it flew to the battlefield, ready to battle for its feathered friend!

Jake took a stance to make sure nothing else screwy would happen next. "If I see you move while it's his turn, then we call the battle immediately." he scorned. "Right, Ash?"

"Yeah, you said it!" I faced Urie. "You better not play dirty again!"

"Meh, force of habit..." he sighed glumly. "Well, Ratzcul, you know your cue…" His face twitched a little, so whatever Murkrow was bringing was sure to fool him!

Now, where was all that power from before? Ratzcul seemed to miss and miss, seemingly easy shots too, but Urie still seemed sure he had a chance of having it win. "A-ha! That's right Murkrow, now it's your cue!" Shinji cheered as it sped up, faster than usual, with Urie's eyes widening as it went for a Wing Attack!

"Ratzcul, are you sure you still wanna keep doing this?" he asked as he put a finger over the collar of his shirt, sweating as it hissed back at him with an immediate poké-nope. "Ah, gosh diddly darn it…can't argue with you, though."

It was literally about to faint, with Shinji snickering as it kept babbling in ratzzy about how the next hit will be the big one, knowing full well that the last one happened ages ago. "Well, oh, well–I guess some pokémon are doomed to learn…" He laughed as it, too, collapsed. "Way to go, Murkrow, you really blew it to that kid's brain!"

"Murr!" It flew in a circle full of victory for Doragin!

"Don't worry, Ratzcul, we'll get him next time. Promise," Urie spoke to the snake as it went inside the ball. He put it onto his holster again as he looked back at me to smirk once more. "I may have lost the battle, but definitely not the war. Anklerich, it's your go!"

"Anklerich?" I asked. Oh, this may have been the pokémon from the lake Gary mentioned once! Almost like a Chinchou, it had a large, bulbous light casting over its head, like a little mischievous fisherman, with its sharp teeth, licking its oversized tongue at the site of Murkrow. Like Ratzcul, it was a little serpentine, but much larger than the previous pokémon, and it swayed about, teasing the little bulb as it brightened.

"Easy, boy. Can't chew it like a Swalot," Urie winked.

There was a coldness to the air–we all felt it. The pokémon on the sidelines in particular squirmed to this feeling, huddling against their trainers.

"Brr…you better make this battle pass quick!" Cianna mentioned as she started rubbing her arms, with her Docwah hiding under the warmth of her cap. "They said tonight was gonna be chilly, but I could have sworn that Blawsth nights should be getting a little warmer by now…"

"Wait, you're cold?" Urie asked sarcastically. "And you people call yourselves Blawsthmen…" Even within his bluff, he sensed the sudden drop in temperature, but he was probably used to it.

So…was the looming bitterness coming from the Pokémon, or the battlefield? Gosh, what did Urie know that I didn't? He seemed to be a little cautious before trying to call his next move, squinting a bit, but then he looked at me and Murkrow.

"Pretty breezy, isn't it? Ashy, how about you make the first shot?" Urie smirked as Pikehchu nodded in agreement.

"Kid, you better make the right decision," Shinji whispered. "Personally, I wouldn't gamble this round on Murkrow. "

Gamble. Well, if Shinji was saying it, might as well go with what I was already going to swap it out with. I scanned my Dex over that thing, Anklerich, and it came as a water and dark-type. So…other than needing to make the obvious choice, what made this one so dangerous to use against Murkrow? I had to learn more about it, and I was sure that Sammy would get a massive kick out of all this data we were getting from this battle!

"Murkrow, go rest for a bit, you did well last time!" I dismissed it. Murkrow flew away as it cawed, gaining a bird's eye view from the match again. I turned to Pikachu. "Alright, buddy, let's show Urie what he's been waiting for!"

He jumped off my shoulder. "Pika!" and charged up, ready to show off that new move!

Anklerich's sharp grin got interrupted as its jaw dropped and eyes widened, quickly picking up on what Pikachu was about to do! It came prepared with a full jet stream of water, trying to defend itself as Pikachu's advanced Volt Tackle was shearing the dew away. I guessed Urie must've heard about this one from Jo…

"Wow, so it is true…your Pikachu can do it too!" Urie answered. "The Static Missile Launch attack!"

Pikachu shot through and electrocuted all over the massive fish! "Yeah, totally!" I answered. "We got this in the bag. Right, buddy?"

"Pika!" he squeaked back as he came forward with another Iron Tail after the next, slicing the jet streams about like he was parting seas! That reminded me of when I first had that rematch with Misty, officially, back at the Cerulean Gym…

Well, actually it was two entire battles I had to go through. One with a little team I conspired, and another one with just Pikachu. ‘Course, I won that badge again, but fair and square as I decided to reenter Kanto's league again, that time prepared to take the whole trophy home. But Misty was curious, as I didn't use Pikachu throughout the entire battle, and she felt daring enough to test her entire team against him. Hmm…didn't go so well for her, as even her mighty Gyarodos flailed like a Magikarp against him! He just managed to dodge those water attacks so easily, just like that by deflecting it all with his tail alone. She was dealing with a completely different rodent this time, and his trainer.

So I wasn't about to let those battles go to vain! Pikachu shot, and Pikachu scored! But this time, it felt like there were zero strings attached. Like, it was all natural.

Pikachu just had a real advantage compared to Anklerich, even when it swapped for some of those darker attacks, managing to paralyze him slightly with a Lick. He broke through the mold anyways, just like how I taught him.

And for the final touch. "Finish it off with Iron Tail!" I commanded.

Ditzed and done (I'd wipe the dust off my gloves for that one)! Urie got his pokéball out, returning the oversized guppie, smirking anyways. "Pikeh!" his own rat shouted as it got fully pumped to blast Pikachu soon.

"I'd say, fairly impressive, my dear, Ketchum," Urie clapped slowly. "But, one problem…" Pikehchu ran inside the field. "There is no gimmick behind this next round, so you better start placing your bets now! Pikachu, rock it!"

"Use Iron Tail!" we both shouted in unison! There was a distinct clatter from the ends of their tails, but Pikehchu got tricky, as static started piling!

"Ey, ey!" Jake stuttered as he took pictures. "This is incredible!"

"And, shock it!" Urie commanded. "Ash, bet you haven't thought of this one, huh?"

Oh, man…it was that move, the Static Missile Launch, but that Pikachu, it was only using the main base of the attack. From what I gathered, it was great to use in times of desperation, and my Pikachu thought quick to attempt something as crazy as it, back at the museum, where his life was in full blown danger. I took as many notes as I could on the PokéDex about this one, and Sam had concluded that it was only possible for Pikachu to freely launch itself midair like that because he was travelling in superspeed through the help of idle electromagnetic waves in the air.

Usually, it was perfect for a necessary boost, because it was pretty freaking reckless to use as an attack during battle, and there was an entire recharge process that needed to be encountered for too. But this Urie guy, he managed to perfect it in a way to overcharge for just brief moments…Maybe the rodents were swapping some electrolytes that I wasn't not aware of.

Either way, through that transmission from the steel ends of their tails, his Pikachu sent mine flying, like a real missile. "Gah!" I shouted. "Pikachu, let it all loose, now!"

Shoot, his eyes were closed! Damn it! Thankfully, unlike that sneak attack that was done to Jo's Eevee, Pikachu didn't seem all that damaged from the impact, just unconscious. Technically, he didn't faint.

Oh no, he was asleep. Pikehchu knocked the daylights out of him… "You snooze, you lose. Right, buddy?" Urie remarked.

"Pi-keh!" it answered back as it walked forward and kicked Pikachu into waking up!

"Pi?" He shook his head as he stumbled up, with it rattling from inside as he tried comprehending whatever just happened. "Pika!" Pikehchu was there, all the way back to Urie's side, waving its tail about as it waited for the other rat's next move.

"Keh-heh-heh!" it mocked.

I couldn't stand it. "Pikachu, get ready! Finish them!"

He tried doing the missile move again, but only on the ground as Pikehchu powered up to headbutt him with the same attack too! Oh my gosh, all the static this was producing, one just could not let the other get in its way!

Urie and I saw the both of them, wide-eyed. "No way…" he said as he pulled out his Dex again, doing a full on scan of the battlefield. "They really are on the same level!"

So…he just had better control of that move. At the end of the day, though, where one could catch up to the other, they were perfectly even on the same scale. All this power, though…it was multiplying! The electricity–I had to stay back as it kept producing upon itself!

"Getzoot, one of you need to back off now!" Jake warned as he took a couple of steps back of his own!

"Uh…Pikachu!" Urie tried commanding. "Step down, buddy!"

"Hey, Pikachu!" I shouted. "Slow down!"

Urie decided to stand back first, as mine ran straight forward in its vulnerability. "Chu!"

"Whoa!" Urie shouted, in shock. "Gee yippers, bud, I think we may have some real competition here…" he lamented, scratching his head.

"Pikachu?" I called back as he was all bolted out. He was zapped out of a bunch of electricity with that one.

Pikehchu took this one to Urie's advantage though… "Alright, now, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu couldn't dodge the simple move and fainted. "Pika-pi…" he said, all slurred as he slumped back to my side, now outside the battlefield.

"Keh! We're close to catching this guy! Right, buddy?"

"Pikeh!" It was pretty damaged, but still so determined to fight as much as it could. Like trainer, like pokémon.

"So…Murkrow!" Shinji shouted. "Think of giving us a lift here?"

Murkrow cawed right back in as it flew down, willing to take another hit for the whole team's sake! "Yikes, Ashy. You really wanna drag that bird in here? ‘Cause, look, my Pikachu may be down to his last paw, but he certainly still has plenty of ammo left!" Urie warned.

"Oh, yeah?" I responded back. "Well, Murkrow here can take the full brunt of it! Your Pikehchu's going to faint!"

"Well…be my guest. Hey, Pikachu, how about we let Z-face take the first hit?"

"Keh…" it replied, really wanting to finish this one off for him.

Murkrow was a very agile Pokémon–Shinji even said that it hadn't evolved yet thanks to that skill. In just a few shots, despite the rat's desire to win and higher level, it just wasn't in a good enough condition to finish the fight thanks to my Pikachu's Static Missile attack.

Still…Murkrow wasn't prepared for Pikehchu's final strike before it got it to faint! It stopped flying about and stood on the ground as the static built up within its feathers. "Tsk, what a bummer," Urie lamented again as he put his Pokémon back to rest on his bike. "Still got some hard hitters left for you!" he shouted back at me.

"Still…" I grumbled. I decided to give Murkrow a free cheri berry that remained from Shafter's match. "Eat up, we're gonna have to make it to the finish line…"

"Hey, kid, you sure about finishing this match?" Shinji asked, noticing my head tilting downward. "He said he wanted to see it." he emphasized, worried over being sent out against the rest of Urie's team.

"Shinji…" I responded back. "Think of this as just another test. That's all."

"No. Don't you remember the other time something like this happened–"

"Hey, you see what Urie's been up to through this entire match? He said he's played the same game too…so, I'm willing to bet he wants to test whatever he caught from the cards. There is something he's hiding, and I gotta figure it out…"

Shinji shook his head. "Fine then, be that way. You have a tendency to drag yourself further into trouble, anyways…"

"Hey, careful with your words, you damn Jester! Because I know something they don't. We're in this together, got it?" I held my hand out. "Until the sun goes down and the lights all shine out."

He gripped back. "We're in the bronze of the horizon. Nuto torah en et libs, ammani." We couldn't waste the day away, not just yet!

"If I need you,"

"Then I'll pick up the call."

"Deal?" I let go of the grip.

"Deal–it's in the contract."

"Hey! We still got a battle going on, you know?" Urie shouted from across.

"Right, right…well, better hope that Murky holds on for as long as it can!" Shinji cheered.

"Yeah…" I replied back, still feeling unsure of things. But this guy, Urie, he sure got some nerves to show up and act like he knew my entire life story…He kept picking a nerve, and I was through with it–I was taking him down if it was the last thing I did!

Urie sent out that weird rabbit thing as his fourth Pokémon. Grusagi, the steel-type bandit that shot out chains to attack and uphold! In the meantime, while Murkrow fought, getting stuck in those chains so suddenly like a crook itself, Jake was trying to send a report to Sam, who couldn't find anything from the Institute's research data about it. So…Urie caught that thing while playing the game, huh?

He seemed so unbothered by the damage it took in battle, though, which meant he caught it, just right after the contract was supposed to end! Shinji and I got a horrible feeling from this–these things that shouldn't have been let out, they might've been affecting things on a larger scale than we thought. I remembered that he still seemed pretty irked about Miley catching Suavornderm, but we all thought that maybe he was overreacting. She even cooked up a nice little theory that technically, since it was under her control, it wouldn't affect luck in the slightest, except maybe being just a good charm to have on her like the fabled Pregihaz's foot.
 
At the end of the day, though, us trainers still didn't know what power really laid behind those pokémon, or the cards that had them under lock and key. You couldn't help but be a bit pessimistic about it…
 
And of course, as the battle continued, Murkrow went down. "Colleru, hand it over to the others!" Shinji suggested. The same rules for the pokémon centers back home still applied elsewhere unfortunately. They didn't take any wild pokémon, so we always needed to tend Murky ourselves if we had to.
 
As Cianna volunteered to carry it back to the bench, Urie chuckled. "Keh, that's three, right? Just one more to go… "
 
"Hey, Ash, remember to take care, ‘cause Shinji's is up next, right?" Cianna called back.
 
"Right…" I responded. "Well?" I looked back at him, having those cold eyes upfront again for a brief moment until he hung his head low.
 
"It's showtime." He morphed, flowing over, doing his little Acrobatics casually as Urie took quick snaps of it, the legendary Blawsth Pokémon…
 
"Toshinmac!" he shouted enthusiastically. "Now this is going to be awesome!" Hmph, not with those chains. "Aim for the bone!"
 
Bone? He and the rabbit already caught on to where the scythe was located, on his back as the steel line rattled against it and pulled it out! "Shoot!" I shouted.
 
Toshinmac, on all fours, started screeching his real cry, muffled under all the ink. The ink that tried hard to stick against the scythe, not wanting to let it go! Grah! "Grab it!" I commanded as he let go of it, gripping his hand against the strong halt of the chains.
 
"Grusa! Gruuuusa!" Grusagi kept shouting in the tug of war against the bone. Gah! It was almost winning!
 
Toshinmac let go of it slightly as he let the bunny have it its way with the ink! "Yeah, ram back at it, Toshinmac!" I cheered as the slinky jet black liquid stretched and sent the scythe against Grusagi's face with all its force!
 
"U–sa!" Right there, Toshinmac quickly crawled over to grab the bone and fully form it into a proper scythe.
 
He seemed to be dropping a lot more ink in this battle than any of the previous ones I can recall. Didn't matter, I felt better than ever! No fear of my heart suddenly bouncing out of my chest for whatever reason–it stayed relatively fast, yet steady. And it didn't feel like my guts were doing Acrobatics themselves, so, hey, maybe I did have full control of this–
 
"Hey, Ash, how are you feeling?" Jake asked shakingly from the sidelines.
 
"Huh? I feel fantastic!" I shouted with my fist pumped, full of pure confidence!
 
He gulped. "Um…Shinji!" Jake shouted nervously, not taking any more data on his Dex as he grew increasingly worried.
 
The bunny, it wouldn't let go of his scythe again. There was so much ink flying about…Hey, he might've actually been falling apart! I needed to say something. "Shinji, we gotta win this, pull up, buddy!"
 
With the next attack, being a full on slam against his face with the rabbit's foot, he heeded my advice. I quickly felt drained, but it didn't matter, we were determined to finish this fight! He gained full composure again as he grabbed onto the chains and twirled the little bunny around like a lasso as he spun it!

"Whoa, that came out of nowhere!" Urie asked, surprised. "Keh, if that's how you wanna play, then, suit yourself! I still got one more Pokémon on my holster, and I'm willing to play dirty if I have to! Against you, Ketchum!"
 
"Don't keep him waiting!" I commanded. "Finish it."
 
Finally having the strength he needed to end this round, Toshinmac sent Grusagi back into its round of chains as he managed to tie it back within itself. He Hexed it in its immobile state, and dug deep with his signature Scythe Dance, finishing it off with his Inkwell Barrage attack! Victory against Grusagi! I still had it in me for one more round as Urie teased his last Pokémon for this match…
 
"Keh, well played. I'm guessing I still need to teach this buster a few things, huh, Grusagi?" he asked as the rabbit whelped back, going inside its ball to rest. "Man, don't you have a bummer nature. Oh, well, a little more training can't hurt. But yo, Ketchum, I got just one more trick for you!" He pulled the glove off his left hand, revealing a tattoo. "I got until tomorrow to catch this one, keh."
 
"Catching!" Jake freaked out. "Miles, I think Shinji might have been onto something…"
 
She wrapped her arms behind her neck. "Oh, please. It's just a simple overreaction–"
 
"No, it's not! Urie…he's trouble!" He shouted at me. "Ash, watch your back! If you need to get out, just shout it–"
 
"Nah." Urie interrupted. "When you fight against me, you have to finish the battle. No exceptions. Besides, you've been betting on finishing this one, huh, Ash Ketchum?…" He got his last ball. "Otherwise, you would have refused sending Toshinmac out, hm?"
 
Pikehchu let out one last, "Keh!" before going back to sleep again.
 
"That's right, bud. Winner takes all. Collmetah, finish him." He let it out, the evolved form of the small vermin Collerah, who is more adapted for battle if trained properly…a good mix of a flying and bug-type.

"Ash, don't do this!" Jake warned.
 
"Toshinmac…" I asked. "Would it be wrong for us to step out of the ring this time?"
 
Urie kept laughing. "Keheheh, should have never stepped in the first place if that's how you're gonna act!"
 
"Shut up!" I shouted back. "You want to battle, then fine. Somebody needs to send you back to your spot anyways!" Toshinmac looked back at me and nodded. "Yeah, I'm more than ready to take you down!"
 
"Hush Ashy, enough yapping, how about we finally cut to the chase and move onto it already! Collmetah, hit them with a pinch!" he shouted as he let the bug Pokémon zoom right in, tackling Toshinmac recklessly!
 
"Gah!"
 
"Ooh, got some damage there. Personally, I could cut a sweat!" Urie kept hitting us with that attack, having a better grip on this thing than I did.
 
The beak bit onto Toshinmac's ear, as he transcended all the pain back to me. I didn't care, we had to win this! "Toshinmac, no matter what happens, give it all you got!"
 
I just couldn't let him win. I couldn't, I couldn't–I just couldn't! No way was I letting a punk like him win against this legendary…not a freaking chance! No way he had a better bond with his pokémon than…me!
 
"Oh my gosh!" Cianna started freaking out. "Is–is this the thing he talked about?"
 
"Aha, it's the Deadline. Once you play that thing, and a bond has formed, a trainer has to take the brunt of it for a Pokémon to heal." Jake explained to her.

"It's kinda like this one gym Ash went to once, back in Kanto." Miley recollected, gathering the PokéDex data for him. "Everytime a Pokémon got hurt, so would the trainer. Only this time, it's just a scratch for the Pokémon, but it'll always be worse for the trainer. It's up to the Pokémon, though, which is why Toshinmac's being so hesitant about it."
 
Cianna gripped her hands, anxious about the fight. "Ash, Toshinmac, please win!"
 
"No can do, missy!" Urie shouted back, finally starting to lose it, as sweat slowly started collecting on his face. "He's letting up! Toshinmac too, I can tell there's an imp in there! Collmetah, let the curtains down and show everybody what they're missing out on!"
 
Toshinmac, he was doing it again! He was willing to take the pain for me, he was willing to drop the act for this battle! The ink was all falling, deforming his stance as he kept crying, and I couldn't stand watching him like that any longer!
 
"Grah! Toshinmac, NO! Don't do it–I don't care what happens, give it your all! Remember what I told you, remember? Remember the stupid contract!" I shouted back, and gulped. "You answer under me, got it!"
 
He finally decided to follow my command. He let all the pain flow by one last time as he slashed the scythe so hard that it really made me quiver! At that moment, as we finally got Urie to feel something–this horrified shock on his face as Collmetah was thrown across, out of bounds. I felt a surge of euphoria, so much that it elevated my heart rate much more than I could handle! I was grinning like a maniac, but that didn't matter, this was my war, my battlefield, and he was not going to win!

He couldn't! He JUST COULDN'T!!!

Collmetah immediately flew right back, charging straight at Toshinmac. "Shinji!" I warned, as the Pokémon dove headfirst into the ink, creating a crevasse where there was none, right at the torso, where the scythe would rest as he dropped it from his hands, fully deforming. 

In my wild, wide-eyed shock, with everything growing more and more estranged from myself, from the city lights yonder to the voices screeching around me, I felt my heart go sterile, a full flatline.
 
I fell backwards. I could only make out a few faces as it felt like Urie's cackling was the only thing I could focus on. He knew he won this. Particularly, it was Jake's face I remembered the most vividly, like he was staring at death in the eye again, continuously shrieking my name over the laughter. Behind him, I spotted a tall woman with heavy bangs, who only looked back at me in sheer disappointment across her face, scowling at my pathetic sight.
 
"Well, night, night, Ashy!" Urie said as he started walking away from us.
 
Then every lamp, every star, and even the moon faded as I finally shut my eyes.

I blacked out.

There was a beep I could hear from the left side of my ear, beep, beep, beep. I opened my eyes, as I could see a white sheet covering my legs. The room was all dark, with only the night stars providing some light inside from the window on the right, alongside some coming from the monitors next to me. I was all alone, not even Pikachu was here, no. If I remembered correctly, after the accident, they took him to the other side of the hospital, where extensive care was needed. Oh no, I remembered it all clearly.

 
My legs, the both of them, were numb as I carried a cast over my arm, and some bandages over my head. My ribs got fractured too–some luck. They just had to do surgery over the left leg. The right one was to heal normally while this one was left in complete disarray.

 
Heh, I freaking hated that surgery. I swore, it was the worst day of my life. The anesthesia couldn't cut the pain I felt. Once they recovered me from the snow on Mt. Silver, my eyes finally opened up to the sight of Mom bawling hers all out, so grateful that her little angel was alive. The doctors had to break the full extent of the truth to me–I wouldn't be able to walk on my own two feet for at least the next six months. Six months, and to top it all off, I had to go through that unbearable surgery.

 
I hated it. The entire experience, from the scalpels to the full extent of recovery. Not only did I manage to get a glimpse of the leg being performed on, they gave me the blandest food I'd ever tasted in my life. And then, there was Mom, frowning at my sight. My legs weren't the only things that felt numb, my face had a scowl the entire time I was there. The worst part? I didn't even know if Pikachu was going to wake up anytime soon, or if at all…

 
So, here–why was I here again? Was I dreaming crazy stuff again? Because this place sure was driving me insane. I needed to get out! I tried moving, but I wouldn't budge!

 
On the window, I heard a sudden knock. I didn't answer, and I kept my mouth shut. It knocked again, as I tried to not move a single muscle on my face.

 
A thin, curved shadow covered the room, as the window was being unlocked from the outside. Wind blew, growing harsher as a long, inky scythe entered the room. And long fingers made their way through the window, bending jointlessly as the creature came inside.

 
It quietly crawled against the wall, then on the ceiling, staring down at me with its crooked grin, carrying a long black cloak within its tailends, eating all the light from the outside, covering the rest of the room. It kept staring down at me, flicking its scythe around, ready to perform more cuts onto me.

 
I screamed as I was restrained by myself, crying, shouting, "HELP! HELP! HELLLLLLLP!!!"

 
Nobody answered. I was all alone.

 
I felt my shoulders shaking violently as I screamed, and screamed and screamed! Luckily, as I opened my eyes again, it was Jacob trying to wake me up!

"Ash! Ash!" he shouted as I kept kicking the sheets. "Calm down, now!"

I was breathing heavily as I finally recognized where I woke up in, and whose voice it was. I was at the hotel, with some infomercial playing on mute over the TV for a variety of trainer items. The redhead looked as tired as ever from this whole fiasco. "Jake…" I asked raspidly, hanging onto my sheets as I sat up. "What's going on?"

He face palmed and sighed heavily. "I heard you screaming, tossing and turning, and look," he said, as he picked up something from the ground. "You even threw these pillows off." He set it onto my mattress. "What's the matter with you?"

"Bad dream." I explained bluntly as I crossed my arms against my legs. "So…what happened after the battle?"

"Aye, getzooto…" He crossed his own arms as he sat on the bed opposite to mine. "That Urie guy got onto his bike like it was no big deal. He didn't even check if you were alright or anything. We got your pokémon at the Pokémon  Center, and Nurse Joy said that they should be ready by tomorrow morning." He gripped his arms tight. "Ash, you really scared me with that stunt. Your heart was beating so slow. At the same time…you really should have never picked a fight with Urie."

I hung my head low. "I'm sorry…"

"At least you were still breathing, and I knew you'd wake up eventually. You always do. Consider it a warning, though…if you ever decide to challenge him again."

Before I could go back to bed again, I asked one more question. "Say, Jake, where's Shinji?" I thought back to the battle, where the ink was collapsing. "Does he really need my energy to stay afloat here?"

 
He grimaced. "Well…the problem with that is…" He grabbed a pokéball from the counter. "Right after the battle, he morphed into this little thing," And he opened the ball up.

 
From the ground, he picked the Pokémon up. It was a little gremlin jester that had a sharp bone attached to its back, slung by the minimal ink it carried on itself. "To…" it whimpered.

  
My eyes widened. "Sh–Shinji?" I asked nervously.

 
"He's not the monster we thought he was…" Jake explained as the imp hopped onto his shoulder. "It's a completely different beast. You're still tied to it though…"
 

"What?"

"To, to, to-to to, to!" the Pokémon started yampering, trying to point its oversized scythe at me.

 
"Ehh, don't worry, Tosh, I got it…" Jake pulled out his Dex, with notes apparently over what Shinji wrote while in such a state. He recited,

Kid, really, I am truly sorry. That other kid got to me too, and now look at the trouble we got ourselves into. That Collmetah and Grusagi he was using, though, they contained the exact same dangerous Energy from our realm, so I felt the need to protect all of you. Either way, I had to demote myself to this form, so you can safely recover without any interruptions. I'll keep myself locked inside this pokéball for the time being, which is probably the punishment best deserved for a low scum imp like me.

"And side note,"

In all honesty, they were VERY new inventions last time I was around here. I would have dipped inside much sooner as to not disturb you too much, BUT of course, I am the legendary Pokémon of Chaos and all that come with it, per Blawsth's lore, so can you blame me? 

"Anyways…"

I am truly sorry for everything that has happened to you here, trigash mi, but you know it as well as I do that your energy is necessary for my mission.

"A-ha, that's it." Jake shrugged.

"Hey…you don't have to beat yourself down like that…" I said as I got up, grabbing him from Jake's shoulder. "We just gotta train harder! Then, we'll beat Urie eventually–I know we will, you can count on it."

No response. The imp looked lowly back at me. "To…"

"Oh, yeah…" Jake scratched his neck. "It's gonna take a week before you get him to full Legendary mode."

"A week!" I shouted back in shock.

"Shh, don't you forget that everyone on this floor is asleep?"

"Oh…right." I lowered my voice.

"To-to!" the little reaper tried crying out, pointing at the Dex again.

"Man, how could I forget…Before that punk got onto his bike, Urie said that he wanted to watch our gym match because somebody mentioned how you trained me and Miley." Jake groaned.

"Well, then, give it your best shot! He can't get through us all if we keep our spirits up." I tried reassuring him.

"Eh, yeah…but personally, I'd rather go to sleep already." Hs yawned. "You need to rest anyways–we'll go check up on your pokémon once we get up, got it?"

"Yeah, let's rest! Right, Macky?"

 
Shinji slapped some ink across my face, answering angrily, "To-to! In Toshinmac! T̶͙̗̖̮͔͍͚͆̐̀̎̀̂̽͊̋͋̋͆̎̀̆͘͠ ̵̛̝̬̯̙͉̥̻̬̦̦̩͈̹̑̇̈́͆́̈́̆́͂̓͌̓́̚͘̕̚͝Ơ̴̗̰̻̼͎̻̝͓̅͗̄́͝ ̶̢͉̼̜̟̗̙̠̱̰̞̞̺̽ͅS̴͙̱͈̜̰̲͕̯͓͒̈́͌̈́̽͂̾́̇̿ ̵̧̗͈̻̼̩̖̥̺̪̱̦̖̲̩̖͔̬̏̊̿̏͋̎̈͛̊͆̈́͛̕͘͠Ḩ̵̗̦͕̻̞̘̮͖̦͚͓̼̖̪̞̗̀̒̋̈́̂͜͝͝ͅ ̸̨̛̗̰̗̖̻͑̔̀̀̐̃̾̌̊͗͊̌͛̅̈́͆Í̴̢͔̻̱̮̖̼̥̱̠͚̖̙̩̰͑̒̇̈́̊͋͌̅̈́ ̵̡̭̪͙̼͖̭͇̈̎̊̊̓̍̄͂͆̈́̅̊̇͒̂͐̚͜͝͝N̴̢͖̦̖͙͓̘̭͚̭̪̙̤̥̄̈́͜ͅ ̵̱̗͎̻̩͚͓̯͓̜̽̍͑͊̿̄̀́͝M̷̩̥͙̞͈̯̭̀̒͂̐̄ͅ ̴̧̛̟̟̩̥͉͕̝̬̲͋̈́͛̊̐͑͆̾͊̾́̾͊̿͛̕͘͝Ą̵͎̙̭̻̰̼͚̫͇̈ ̶̧̢̭̪̥̘̻͔̼̙̮̭̦̋̆̐͛͜ͅC̷̡̨̘̦̣͙̟̬͓̬͎̦̘͉̲͕̙̮͚̫̆̿͐́̀́̓͠ !"

 
Ow…What a funny little thing. I felt my heart spike from that sudden attack. "Right…Toshinmac. Actually, you can go stick to the ball for that. At least for until tomorrow, that is. I'm sure Pikachu's missing us…"

 
"To!" He nodded, shaking my hand before he jumped back inside the ball.

 I woke up, all groggy, and gosh it was so late last night. Jake sat on his bed, in his sleepwear, watching the news. "‘Morning, Jakey." I greeted. "What's gotten you up so early?"

 
I got out of the sheets, and noticed that he hadn't done anything with his hair at all yet! "Ash…you're gonna want to see this."

 
As the television played, the newscaster in a red blazer came near the bus stop I remembered taking back in Mahtverin City. "We are at the scene of the crime! Here we have a fellow Mahtverin resident who's willing to explain the situation." she said.

 
She pointed her microphone to one of those researchers I remembered seeing back at the Institute. "Um, yes. he answered. "I was coming back from the Institute when all of the sudden, this kid with a Duskull mask came up to me and handed out an envelope. I opened it and inside it said 'Olbette, tu innai en et weavran, ammani. Arur breshon es rifty, libs aran kroi.'"

 
The newscaster turned to the camera. "And for the foreign folks visiting who don't speak our tongue, but have been closely following this case, these words should sound very familiar as it directly translates to 'Please come, you are invited, it's a special occasion! Big Brother is coming, life is good.' It is still unsure if this is a massive stunt like the incident some years ago or if there really is a 'Big Brother' to look out for, but I'll get some words from our local officer, Jensen himself…" The camera followed her to the motorcycle parked outside the building. "So, Jensen, what do you make of this?"

 
He took out the lollipop from his mouth, with his Skarmory cawing in unison. "No comment. This is a serious police investigation–offiche polizo emorah!" He held his hand high as the other officers escorted the news team right out!

 
"Well, that wasn't very polite! This has been Jane with live updates. Back to you, Jerry!"

 
We turned off the television as I got my Dex set up again. It had been a while since we last checked up on Sam, I wondered how he was holding up? "Sammy!" I called. "What's up in Mahtverin?"

 
"Oh, Ash," he responded. "Can you believe that we were hit with the same act as Verdori City?"

 
"Oh, shoot, they reported here too?" Jake asked.

 
"Savat, Jakey. Did you miss the news special yesterday? At least four different locations in Blawsth were targeted with the same sort of spade related messages last night, and now I'm betting that number's topping to nine. They just gave out an entire warning that no student is allowed to keep any potential evidence to themselves. And if anybody is caught with suspicion, they're going to hand them over for questioning right away…Say, I got the data you've collected yesterday."

 
"A-ha, Ash went up against this psycho-trainer who gave his team a massive beat down! A lot happened, and that trainer played the Spade Game!"

 
"Aha, aha…wait, he did WHAT?" Sam asked, bewildered.

 
"Eh, kinda forgot to send it to you, we were all freaking out while Ash fought him…" Jake scratched his neck. "But, yeah–that guy got a better grip on that ability than poor Ashy did–"

 
"Nuh-uh!" I debated!

 
"Ash, you were literally knocked out cold from last night. Settle down…Urie caught you in a clutch, didn't he?"

 
"...Ugh, fine." I admitted. "He did catch me. He caught me by a lot."

 
"Oh," Jake kept explaining. "And then there's the weirdest part. Apparently he has some kind of other ability we didn't know anything about. Something with changing battlefield properties…you know anything about that?"

 
"Hm, properties…" Sam thought. "Can't say much on that…Ash, what struck you as odd?"
 

"He kept squinting and stuff," I explained. "It was clear that he saw something none of us did. I don't even think Shinji spotted it, but it sure was something…Wait." I went over to the counter and picked up the ball. "Come on, Shinji. We really need your help here."
 
And the imp got out. "To?"

 
"Come on, I need you to start talking now! Just, let Sam hear you on it, about Doragin's fight with Ratzavok."

 
He rolled his eyes and morphed, sitting on the counter. "Fine, then, since you're so insisted on it–"

 
"Gah!" I tumbled over as my heart suddenly started beating a lot faster again. "Just say as much as you need to say…" I croaked.

"Kid, I'm gonna keep it short and simple if you're going to tumble over that easily." He raised a brow. "Anyways…" he smiled back. "Savat, Sammy! How's research going?"
 

"Oh, I'd say miraculous, but…I'm afraid that we're being left with more questions than answers at this point…"
 

"Not to worry, I'll explain what happened on that battlefield!" He pulled me up. "So, you have your typical card player–they call a new buddy, and let's just say they decide to keep the Pokémon after their contract with it has ended. Now, not only will their card suit influence be further exacerbated over here, but if that Pokémon decides to breed with another, their eggs will be marked with the suit of their card. Of course, as generations keep going, it's not going to affect much, but, under the battlefield, that's a different story!"
 

"So…I guess you really are credible–"
 

"Not credible? I've been telling you folks the truth since the beginning! Shinevok…" Shinji rolled his eyes. "Anyways, they're going to drastically change luck under the right conditions. Normally, you usually don't see–er, pokémon don't see it all that well, but especially not humans! And it'll never work as well without the right directions, otherwise you may trigger a full on Spade Reaction!"
 

"Spade Reaction?" Sam asked.
 

"You know what happens when a domino falls? It's like that, but it'll keep happening to a Pokémon during battle, and it's just bad luck all over! But…if a trainer can catch a glimpse of it correctly, then they'll have a chance of getting a Golden Effect!"
 

"Golden Effect?"
 

"Aha, aha, aha!" he nodded. "Seeing hearts means getting full force attacks, clovers mean pitch perfect accuracy and recovery, stars guarantee extra durability and spades give you an extra boost, ammeni!"
 

"But what's the difference between the spade you're describing and the Spade Reaction?"
 

"Oh, it depends on your pokémon's suit! If one drastically counteracts the other, they'll get the upper hand, leaving the other vulnerable to a Spade Reaction! Of course, it will always be a Gamble. Sometimes, things don't work out the way you want it to, and if you miss a move, misery may be coming your way, breshon…"
 

"Hm…so, how often does one get to Gamble? "
 

"Oh, very easy! You just have to find a spot that has mass Suit Energy, which is usually a place that's been affected by an event that falls under bad omen of the cards–"
 

"So what you're saying, let's say, Tatiana horribly rejected me behind the courtyard." Sam deducted easily. "Would that give it some Energy? "
 

"Yes, heartbreaks are usually among the most common sources of Suit Energy, right behind ignorance, then theft, and death! Wait…I know what you're up to…" He growled.
 

"Well, at least Oak will have sufficient data to investigate this! And this really does add credibility to that one thesis Mr. Colt wrote once…so, how much can casual fate change, outside of battles of course?"
 

"Ey? Minimal, Sammy. And that's all you're getting from me. Anyways, I'm going back into the ball–"
 

"No way, José," Jake said as he grabbed the imp after he morphed. "How does Urie know about all this?"
 

Shinji changed back, knocking his hand off his hood. "That's the problem–I don't know. Usually, you need some kind of Wildcard to see the Suits, but I don't know how he got that, or how he discovered how to actually play the Spade Game so well? I've never seen anything like it before–swear, slubable kroi! That trainer is Gambling like one has never gambled before…"
 

"So, Shinji, where can I get one of those cards?" I asked, which suddenly caused him to zip all the way to me. Man...

"Not telling you. Too dangerous–a Gamble is a Gamble. Especially if you play it under contract, then that'd be absolutely throwing your life away! Kid, if there's anything I know about the other kid, then it's that he's crazy!"
 

"But come on, didn't you say that you wanted to beat Urie?"
 

He rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine. But it won't be a perfect answer, because I don't know much either. Every now and then, there's somebody who's cracked the code and discovers a way how to see it, which is going through our realm, freely. But you'd be crazy enough to try that! And of course, I'm not going to out you to any more danger than you've already been through. I need you alive, and I need you well, and this is just a distraction from our goal, got it, ammani? "
 

"Got it, ammani." I grumbled back.
 

"So," Sam continued. "There's a way to physically enter Toshmaky–"
 

"No! Forget I said that! Just forget about it, because catching that Urie kid and his slimey Pikachu is way more important! Ey, which speaking of, don't you think we should get going and check if Pikachu and Doragin are all fine and dandy? And Murky too, we left it behind to rest in the park, better hope that Urie didn't catch it…"
 

"Well," I added. "I wouldn't want it anywhere near him, anyways. Call ya' later, Sam, ‘cause I think that's all the deets we can give you."
 

"Why yes, of course." he complied. "I'll be analyzing all this and the…Nuclear Reactor Volt Tackle Launch–"
 

"It's the Static Missile Launch attack, Sam!" I corrected. I turned my head. "Jake, did you pay attention to any of that?"
 

He scratched his neck. "Well, kinda hard when your battles in particular go upsie-downsies and all sideways, like your career did–"
 

I growled. "SHUT UP ABOUT THAT! THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT!"
 

The room grew silent. "Well, I guess I gotta go!" Sam excused himself. "Oh and GOOD LUCK AT THE NEXT GYM AGAINST VENDANA, AMMENI–DON'T YOU DARE UNDERESTIMATE HER, OKAY? THANKS, BUH-BYE!" he shouted back, loudly through the microphone, and signed off.
 

Shinji morphed back and went back inside the pokéball. I sighed as I went ahead to get ready for the morning. Before I could step into the bathroom though, Jake spoke up. "Sorry about that…figure of speech. I just wished you weren't so uptight when speaking about it…you can go do your stuff in there anyways. I always take too long…" He sat there, flicking the channels. "Gee, there sure is nothing good on."
 

He went over to pick up the guitar again, playing melodious tune, singing,
 

And he always stayed the same
Never looking both ways
Always a simple prey
For the pokémon in his way
 

And he found himself
Over at Yujoh Hospital
Once admitted
You can never understand it
 

And he found himself
Losing himself
His grip with everyone
Only seeing shadows beyond
 

He started to play some powerful chords.

And he stayed the same
Never looking both ways
Some say he's still walking these roads
Some say he's still finding his way home
 

And oh I mourn for him
Trying to find the Stoutland in the wind
And I wonder if its true
They never found out the source to his blues
 

I still wonder
If that's his cries at night
Wonder if the lost boy
Ever returned home
 

And he, went on his way
For he, will stay the same
Some say he's grown insane
I don't blame him, I would too
If my pokémon never grew
 

But I envy him
Like old Stoutland
He keeps going, on and on
 

Under the beating sun
Under the rain
No matter the terrain
 

He will not be beaten down
No!
No, no, no,
 

I envy him
The old Stoutland
He keeps going, on and on
 

Marching under the beat
Of the same old drums
 

I want to lose my mind like him some day too
Want to be true blue like him too
 

Heh, I recognized that tune. The Old Stoutland, from the Nuvantics' hit album, Champions Of The Bedlam, how could I forget it? It was one of my favorites from that band! Oh man, I had that whole album downloaded onto my Dex and I swore it had to be the best album closer ever!
 

I got done quick so I could start harmonizing with Jake too!
 

I want to lose my mind!
I want to lose my mind!
Be free like him!
In the wind!
Old Stoutland!
In the wind!
Old Stoutland!
 

"Woah, woah–hold up," Jake paused. "Ashy, I didn't know you could sing?"
 

"Wait, did I?" Shoot…nobody was supposed to hear that! "Yeah, but it's so bad. Besides–look, the bathroom's ready! I gotta get some guitar practice done anyways…"
 

"I don't think it's bad. I think you'd make for a pretty decent frontman–"
 

"Meh, think about it later. We gotta see the pokémon soon, remember? Just like the song!"
 

He went forward to start his routine. "Right." The water ran under the sound of broken chords, with a broken voice trying to take his suggestion.
 

We went on with our day as we went to go check up on the rest of the pokémon. Thankfully, all they really needed was a good night's rest and there weren't any severe bone fractures to be worried of or something. Even Murkrow was doing fine, but it fled after we did a full scan on it with my Dex, probably interested in checking the rest of the city out for itself, flying above, trying to spot whatever catched its eyes.
 

The past few weeks, they were rough. But with Pikachu and the rest of my friends on my side, I knew I could keep at it on this ride.
 

As the journey continues…

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