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    We waited by a bus bench, just outside the Institute. I could see students and their Pokémon doing volunteer work, setting up banners for the big event, all multicolored with balloons being wrapped around streetlamps and such. Some were even practicing for a sort of performance, I bet. A Togekiss soared high above the field behind the school, leading the rest of the other flying pokémon in a V-shaped silhouette, carrying their trainers on their backs as they kept alternating their angles. I could even hear the school's marching band outback, blasting their trumpets and what-not.

    "Riftah, riftah, ain't it nice? Riftah, riftah, win that fight!" they chanted. It was keeping us entertained while the bus took a little longer to roll by.

    Today was supposed to be a good day, and I was going to make sure of that. "Hey, Sam? What's riftah?" I asked.

    "Riftah, it means get on to it, breshon! They do this to cheer trainers on for the next league season, which should naturally start now. Hah, think of this as a better welcoming ceremony for yourself–as a way to kick things off!"

    "Right on!" I said, absolutely psyched, thinking about the parade coming up later that night!

    Then, Sam's Dex beeped! So did mine… "Hm, Gary?" he mentioned as he read the message. I was going to read mine too, but then he stopped me, as he put his device away. "Hey, Ash, how about you focus on that tomorrow, after the festivities are all up?"

    "Hm, tomorrow?" Why? Well, actually, I didn't mind! The less I thought about it, the better.

    "A-ha. I believe you'll be staying over at Miley's, right?"

    "Oh, yeah!" she answered. "We're gonna have a sleep over before riftah tomorrow!" She turned to me. "My dad's a pokémon breeder and some eggs cracked a week ago! We usually send them off to the Institute as starter pokémon for new trainers, but he's going to let me keep that cute Narwhammie once I come back. I'm sure there should be a Ratzavok waiting there too."

    "No love for Doradin, ey?" Sam asked sarcastically.

    "Nuh-uh! That thing gives me the creeps! Maybe we can give it to Jake instead…" she pondered.

    "Oh, why does Ash get a Ratzavok? I want a Ratzavok!" he complained.

    Miley laughed as the bus finally came, and Sam spoke once we got on. "Either way, I'll be seeing you guys, first thing tomorrow morning. So, you better have some breakfast saved for me, ‘kay?"

    "‘Course, ammani!" Jake assured him as he got onto the window seat in front of Sam and I. Huh, ammani, Shinji was the one who was always calling me that, besides kid (eh…). Come to think of it, my shoulder was empty…and last time, Pikachu was on his. Where were they?

    "Hey, where did Shinji and Pikachu go?" I asked, but the wheels were already turning!

    "Oh, yeah, they were behind us…Looney, quick!" Jake rolled the window open for Drifloon as he rolled his eyes at him, clinging onto the edges of the panel as he checked the area. I was sure in pokénese, he shouted something back as Shinji dropped down halfway with Pikachu in his arms!

    "Hey, what's crackin', Jakey?" Shinji greeted.

"Eh? How'd you get up there?"

    "Shh…A magician never tells his secrets! They don't call me the Jester for nothing, ammani." He must have zipped while we weren't noticing, how risky in a public place like this one?

    "Well, do you mind joining the rest of us?" Jake asked, mind boggled.

    "I'd rather you join me, the skyline view's lovely!"

    The bus driver shifted her eyes as Shinji went back up again. "Roll down the window, shinevok." she scolded.

    "Alright, maybe once we get out of the mall?" Shinji whispered as Jake shut the window. That must have been one heck of a view…

    We were finally dropped off about ten minutes away from the parking lot. "It's such a long walk, but it's worth it!" Miley assured us as we went down the doorsteps.

    Shinji hopped off the bus, with his scarf blowing in the wind as Pikachu got on my shoulder. "Hey, you shouldn't be sneaking around like that, you darn rascal!" I said as I scratched the mouse's head.

    "Kid," Shinji said as he lowered his scarf. "I got a better way to get into that building, come on! I know this town like my way through Floradin Woods!"

    "Floradin woods?" Jake asked astonishingly. "This better be some thicket then!"

    "Alright, hop on–and Ash, you better hold your gut in."

    "Huh?" I pondered.

    "Ze-all-fur-le-trainin', breshon." he said as ink followed through, hiding behind the alleyway.

    "But, hey, won't my clothes get stained?" Jake asked as he crossed his arms.

    "I can assure you that the ink evaporates, and even if it didn't…you were already going to go buy new clothes anyways." Shinji shrugged. "Hop on!"

    He transformed into a C-shape and started zipping through after we all got on! My heart started pounding like crazy as I screamed on the top of my lungs! Everyone else was having a blast on this thing while I got the short end of the stick…Well…at least we got a nice view! Climbing through buildings, you could see the whole city from up here. And the concert hall too, where another band was playing again! Toshinmac slung his scythe around as he set his free palm onto building surfaces, and it clung onto the rooftops with ease. I thought he was enjoying himself too much…

    We finally got to the mall, through the back entrance as I shook slightly. "...I thought that was the better way to get in…" I said as I pressed my palm against the brown tiled wall.

    "Well, duh! Don't tell me that wasn't cool, Ashy?" Miley asked.

    "Always fun doing that, I might have gone a little bit overboard though…" Shinji admitted under his scarf.

    "Overboard?" I asked as my heart finally went back to a normal rate.

    "Y'see, kid, I was testing you. Given your immune system, I thought your body might actually handle all that, and I was right!" he said with his fist in the air. "Aha! This means more fun for me!"

    I face-palmed. "Does that mean we can do that whenever?" Miley asked.

    "Miles, he's not a rollercoaster!" Jake said. "Remember that every time Shinji does that, Ash has to suffer."

    "Not exactly suffer…" Sam suggested. "More like exhaustion from what I'm seeing. It's a way to start training, I guess… "

    "Alright, we can analyze him later–besides," Jake said as he already started walking. "We got big money to spend soon! And I'll admit, that was fun…"

    I groaned. "Hey, does anyone have spare change?" I asked as I saw the vending machine. I needed some water…

    Miley went onto it right away, pulling a brown wallet with a small Cherrim imprinted on it. "Don't worry, I got it! Actually, you want lemonade instead?" She took a quick peek at what's around. "Oh, wait, you want a snack with that? They got granola bars, chips, yogurt…"

    "Hm, yeah, some lemonade would be nice." I wasn't all that interested in anything else…I guess the options were overwhelming…Funny…

    "Okay!" She bought it and threw the can at me! Thankfully, I caught it.

    "Alright, so…The Grimoire should be that way!" Jacob said as he kept marching forward.

    "Jake, we forgot to tell you this but they switched it to a bigger outlet last week…" Sam finally mentioned.

    "Oh, really?" He was still all fired up. "Where?"

    "Just above the escalator, and towards section B…"

    "Aw, man! More walking? Ash, you don't mind using Shinji again, ey?"

    "Actually, I do mind, a lot…" the Jester answered for me. "See all that?" he said, pointing across all the different shoppers. "There's a reason why I did it by the alleyway. If there weren't so many people, then maybe I would have taken the front entrance."

    "Well, cheer up, Jake!" I said, patting his back. "We'll be seeing the Grimoire soon!"

    "Yes, yes, yes! Let's go! I'll get you some new duds, and from now on, consider me your personal stylist, Ash!" he said as he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me alongside him!

    It took another while, but we finally made it! This store…Dusknoir's Grimoire, it seemed like the type of place Mom would make sure I'd avoid at all cost. The music they blasted sounded dangerous with all the screeching vocals and intense instrumentals, and the cashier's surprisingly sunny personalities were hidden under all the black leather and piercings. Well, at least Jacob was having fun. Miley was off looking for key chains and trinkets while Sam was looking for jewelry to give to Tati. He had a prophecy to fulfill and the matter was urgent as he explained to Shinji that the card was probably a ticket to something, in which the Jester smirked, yet gave him the best of luck as he went off to update his hoodie.

    And I…I had to be a freaking mannequin for Jake's Pizzazzpregrella…Saving another innocent youth from vitriol aesthetic assault, one makeover at a time! If you have no pizzazz, you'll be kicked out of Blawsth! I didn't think my hoodie was all that bad, but he said that I wore "Too many stripes," and "Too much blue!" This felt way too much like the time they had to interview me once and they made sure that I'd look my best in front of the camera…

    I won't lie, I really liked some of the options they had at this store, it reminded me of some of the stuff from Celedon's mall that I couldn't get because I didn't have enough money. Only much under a darker tone, but there were enough pop culture references on their buttons to think otherwise. And this outfit was really coming together, maybe I should come to this guy for fashion advice! Pikachu approved greatly, and even Looney paid attention, outside of headbanging to the music of course.

    "Ooh! Pregizahla!" Jake said. "That looks great on you, we just need one last touch…" He went behind the jewelry stand and got out a dog tag for me, and gloves! "Alright, now with these, nobody will know you came from Pallet Town!"

    "That is if they even know where Pallet Town is!" I laughed. I know, it was wrong to shade my own hometown like that, but hey! A guy's gotta have fun every now and then. "Hey, let's see if Shinji has anything?" I got out of the crimson velvet studded stool to go check up on him, knocking on the changing room.

    "Hey," the Reaper asked. "So how does this look?" He put his hands into the pockets of his new hood, straight out of Sinnoh! He didn't look all that ancient, he fitted right in!

    "Dang! Shinji, you look so cool, mi pregi!" Jacob said from behind. "Where'd you find it?"

    "Oh, it was up front, by the mannequins." He put his hands into his pockets again.

    "Oh I'm so going broke after this!" He ran off to go find another one…

    Miley just bought a set of pins and two stylized pokémon figurines, some jewelry and a whole new wardrobe. "Oh, hey! I almost wouldn't have recognized you without your cap!" she commented on my new outfit as she walked down to us, waving. She looked at Shinji. "Wow, Shinji! I bet Jake went off to find a hoodie exactly like that one, ey?"

    "A-ha!" He just had a thought breeze through his head as he lifted a brow. "Say, what card symbol did you get?"

    "Huh? You mean when we played the game last night?"

    "Yeah."

    "I got the clover…"

"Spade, clover, heart…And Jake?"

    "He got the star! Why?"

    Shinji's brows scrunched together as he turned back, covering his mouth with his scarf. "Mi to busketche det…" he murmured. Miley understood exactly what that meant and had that concerned look on her face again…

    Jake finally came back, holding a blue version of the hoodie. "Hey, guys! Look what I found! We're like twins, huh, Shin–"

    "Oh, yeah, sorry!" He turned around to face him. "I thought that I saw a loose stitch on my shirt, haha! "

    "Yeah, I know. The quality just ain't the same as it used to be, so stuff like that happens sometimes."

    "Well, colramin, I'm glad that I found nothing though!"

    "Yeah. Hey, I'm kinda hungry, does anyone want to visit that one ramen shop just a little down the mall? I heard that they got noodles so spicy that it'll make a Heatmor extinguished for good!"

    "Ooh, really?" I asked. "Count me in!"

    "Ey, Sammy!" Jake shouted from across the store. "We're gonna go eat soon, are you still looking for a gift for Tati?"

    He was still looking through the stall. "Yeah, I might need to check the whole mall at this point…" Sam confirmed.

    "Oh, well, meet us by the ramen place then!"

    "Alright!"

    We walked out of the store and into the small restaurant, and they weren't kidding! Those noodles and peppers burnt my mouth so bad that it stung–Jacob seemed about as nonchalant as Looney when it came to the spice though… "Y'know, I was expecting something a little more…"

    "A little more?" I asked.

    "Golly, I hope they make something so spicy that you'll never want to eat it again, Jake! You said that about the burger last time…" Miley added.

    "That'd be a dream come true…Good noodles though!" He could say that again! Despite the spiciness, I was ready for another serving!

    "Bad noodles! I can't believe they made these things out of those poor Tauros…" Shinji complained, pointing out the small beef slice in the middle of Jake's bowl.

    "Oh, that's right, you're really old fashioned. Thankfully, they substitute it with something completely new!" Jacob explained.

    "Oh, really?" he asked, a bit squeamish. "And what would that be, ammani?"

    "You see, they got these labs in Johto that–"

    "Ew…Now I don't want to finish this. Thanks a lot for reminding me , Jake…" Miley looked at me from across the table. "Say, Ash, you want it?"

    "Of course!" She slid it towards me. "Anyways, what's that about the labs in Johto?" I asked as I slurped the noodles.

    "Basically, no Pokémon were hurt in order to make this awesome dish!" Jake answered. "I thought you'd know, considering the fact that you're near the area…"

    "Yeah, I kinda don't keep up with that sort of stuff."

    "Hey, that reminds me, that Gary guy, is he like your annoying cousin or something?"

    "Pssh, cousin? Nah, we're just friends, but man, that guy has a habit of somehow getting the last laugh…You should have seen him when we first started training, we were rivals and he was a complete snob about everything and made sure he shoved it onto my face. He got most of the Kanto Dex complete, he had way more gym badges than me, but I guess at the end of the day, I was the better trainer than him ‘cause I beat him in the Silver Conference! He picked up Pokémon research after that and he was, like, this completely different guy at that point–I couldn't believe it! Y'know, we still laugh about those days, I just rarely see him all that often!" I chuckled.

    "Wow. So, how much money does he owe you again?" Miley asked as she leaned against the seat and had her arms crossed behind her neck.

    "Twenty bucks."

    "What was that for anyway?"

    I scratched my cheek for a second. "Hm, y'know what? I really don't remember. But I'm still ticked off by it…" I went back to slurping my noodles.

    Jake was already done with his bowl and started messing around with the black chopsticks, banging them against the bowl. "Say, you guys wanna check out the Art's Center back at the Institute? It's pretty empty, I think they're preparing for the parade tonight. We can make as much noise as possible until then!"

    Oh…Did that mean I could play a guitar? "Wait, so we can be in a band then?" I asked giddily.

    "Uh…yeah. You know how to play any instruments, Ash?"

    "Oh, no, no, no," I confirmed. "I was hoping that you'd teach me a lesson or two."

    "So…what instrument would that be?"

    "The guitar! Duh! ‘Bout to pull out a sick solo!" I said, air-guitaring.

    Miley and Jake looked back at each other, concerned, with Looney looking like he wanted to pop himself. Pikachu, despite also wanting to jam along, physically cringed, with his face crinkling into areas I never knew existed. Shinji interjected between them. "Oh, come on, teach the kid something, ammani! We could start a real rock and roll band here…"

    Jake smiled. "Y'know what, I probably can write something a little more interesting thanks to the back up we got all of the sudden!" He looked back at me. "Yeah, Ash, I'll try teaching you something!"

    "Oh, yeah! Then you'll finally get out of that slump!" Miley grinned.

    "Yeah! Say, it's been a while since we saw Sam…" He crossed his arms.

    "Huh, y'know what, let's find out." She got up and so did Jake, with Looney rolling his eyes, followed by Shinji, and Pikachu who hopped onto his shoulder. "Ash, let's go!"

    "But…my noodles…" I wasn't going to let them get cold…

    "Eh, who cares? They're probably going to be too much for you anyways. I think I might have made the mistake of offering it to you…"

    "Oh, yeah? Wanna see me finish them in one go?"

    "Well, I'd like to see you try!"

    Before I could even attempt that, Sam walked into the shop, holding a recent purchase. "Guys, sorry–you got room for one more? I finally found it, I think she'll love it!"

    "Ooh, what's in the bag?" Miley asked.

    "A real nice set of necklaces. I may have bit off more than I could chew with it, but it was well worth the price!" He looked at me. "Speaking of biting more than you should, mind giving me the rest of that bowl, Ash?" he smiled sheepishly.

Oh, well… "Yeah, here ya' go…" I surrendered.

    "Ah! Mi grati." He sat down and slurped them patiently.

    "Y'know, that Tati girl better like that gift since you took my bowl…"

    "Oh, she won't just like the gift Ash. She's gonna love it."

    "Y'know, you sound like you're going to get a Mismagius to haunt her for the rest of her nights when you say it like that…" Jacob pointed out.

    "Hey, like I said, Jakey, it was worth it! I'll just go skip the school lunch for the next few days, that's all…"

    He crossed his arm. "Mi breshon…Wanna head over towards the Art's Center before the parade today? ‘Cause we're all heading to Miley's after all that…"

    "Oh, that's right! You're all leaving after this…Sure, let's have some fun before then!"

    "Sweet, dude!"

    Passing down the East Wing of the Institute, there were various rooms made specifically for club events. Drama, sports, art classes, and a room made for the debate teams. The school was more massive than what I thought it'd be–they even had a massive field in the center with a set of dorms by the North Wing. Students from all over Blawsth had made it their home. Shame we wouldn't be seeing much of it though.

    I know that I complained about school earlier, but I wouldn't mind going back if it meant that was the life. You could research pokémon and do a bunch of fun stuff on the side? You even got the best views of Mahtverin's parades–just living in Mahtverin City alone seemed to set the deal. The big downside? No traveling, and of course…schoolwork.

    "...But hey, they're giving me a less heavy schedule thanks to our card business, so there's an upside!" Sam explained as he tried setting his bass in the Art's Center. It was coated in poppy tamato berry red across the body, with a few local band stickers plastered over the neck, which was black on the back and electric yellow across the fretboard.

    Jacob smiled slyly. "Oh, so that means you may have a chance of delivering packages with Tati? Smooth playing. Sam, the cards don't know what hit ‘em!" Jake held a small guitar with a battered wooden finish, but he seemed somewhat unsatisfied with the tuning. "Dang it, who took that beautiful Dustox guitar that was lying around here last time? All I got now is this lump of junk…"

    "Someone probably left it back here and got it while we were gone. Hey, Looney, mind cutting the drums out, ammani?" Sam commanded as the Drifloon kept hammering the drum kit in the back, where I got this really sick deep blue guitar with an ombre design at its core! I just didn't have it connected, but it already sounded so good!

    "Pika-pi!" Pikachu started playing the flute with his little paws, trying to make a tune while Shinji played something on the piano. Miley was playing the melodica, the only other instrument left that she felt interested enough in playing since Shinji had her beat on her own.

    Jake shrugged. "Oh, well, I guess I'll make do. I'm just not sure why I had to get stuck with the mini…" He went through the supply cabinet and started replacing the strings, probably with thicker ones. It had such a short fretboard, while just remaining under twenty frets, being obviously made for kids and small Pokémon. It was puny compared to the one I got! So sleek, with no scratches either, clean too, it sucked to be him! "Say, Ash," Jake asked across from me. "Wanna try out with this one? I think it's a little more adequate for your skill level…"

    "No way, man–finder's keepers!" I didn't even know anything about guitars, but holding this, I felt like a damn rockstar!

    "Ash, I swear if you want to act like you own it, you better know how to…"

    I kept sliding my palm against the first string and made an annoying scratching sound again until I decided that maybe that was a little too much and that I needed to actually learn something. "Alright, alright, have it your way…" I surrendered the guitar to him as he passed that piece of crap down to me.

    Jake looked through the shelves and tossed a book down at me. "Tell me when you get familiar enough with the fret placement and chords to start playing with us. If it sounds off-pitched, get used to it–I'm sure I can make arrangements once you're done studying."

    "Yeah, thanks."

    He ended up tossing the amp cord and a pair of headphones at me. "Also, this is so you can hear your own stuff. Can't have any distractions while playing, sorry!" He shrugged.

    "Got it." I put the headphones on as I scrolled through the book. It didn't look that hard…there was a song on there I remembered hearing being blasted through the radio last summer, I think it was in the style of punk? Either way, it was so fun playing through it, these chords were easy!

    I came up with something myself as the hour went by, simply placing two fingers over the strings. I thought it sounded pretty good, so I took the headphones all and shouted at Pikachu, who was still playing with the random left-over instruments, currently on the tambourine! "Hey, buddy! Wanna check this tune out? I wrote it myself!"

    He left the tambourine as he placed the headset over his ears. I played the main chords repeatedly and he took off the headphones as he went back to play alongside me on the tambourine! He tried making a beat and he knew how to shake that thing! The bells jingled as the notes flew by and he danced over our new-found rhythm! Hm…maybe once I made it back to Kanto, I should start my own band with my pokémon! Yeah, screw training! And we'd call ourselves…the Electrode Maggots!

    I took a break to go see what the others were up to, and to tell them about what I just came up with! The band was playing a random song Jake wrote once as he sang with Sam giving back-up vocals.

Yeah!

Alright, alright...

You!

Alright, alright…

Always climbing to something

(What'chu gonna do?)

Tumble over your own tomb?

(What'chu gonna do?)

Because I am the victor

Number one!

And you'll always be

Beneath to no one

Anyone?

What'chu gonna do?

What'chu gonna do?

But maybe your face here means something tonight...

And maybe you got the strive tonight...

To fight, fight

Yeah!

Yeah!

Alright, alright...

You!

Alright, alright!

    "Hey, guys!" I asked. "Guess what! I just wrote something!"

    They all stopped playing, well, except for Drifloon. "You wrote something?" Jake asked, somewhat surprised.

    "Um, yeah!"

    "Well, that was quick. Sure, let's check it out guys!" He looked back at Looney. "You too. C'mon, mi breshon, ariftah, ya' ya'!" He clapped his hands and the balloon threw his drumsticks over at the floor as he flew over here.

    I was so excited! I plugged out the headphones as I played, with support from Pikachu, "See!" I even tried coming up with some lyrics on the spot!

Yeah, we're gonna fight tonight and you! You and your stupid face tonight!

    "Hey!" Jake complained. "You wanna write a diss already?"

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

    I kept on playing, and I did the most insane thing possible! Attempt a solo…and I was soon regretting it. It just sounded all flimsy, I couldn't make it to sound cool, like, at all…and I stopped playing right there as I ran out of notes to pluck! I left the guitar to where it belonged, not in the trash but alone on the wall. "Um…at least you guys liked the main part, right?"

    Jake sputtered a laughter. "Ahahaha! Dude, that was amazing! You're so getting added to our lineup, I'll make sure of that."

    "Really? Thanks!" I said, feeling real giddy! Wow, me in an actual rock band, I couldn't imagine it–the thought had never crossed my mind, but I was willing to give it a try! World tour, baby, with Ketchum and the Other Twerps as the headliner!

    "With that being said…I got a completely different set of chords for you to play." Jake explained.

    "Huh? A different set?"

    "Yeah, I'll just go make a list real quick…" He went over for a whiteboard. "Here we go!"

    "Huh? What do all those numbers and letters mean?" I asked.

    "Didn't you pay attention to the book? They had the chord names right there."

    "Well, I kinda skimmed it…"

    He shook his head then fixed his bangs. He ended up having to teach me all those chords, which weren't all that hard, except for the one that made you jumble all your fingers together; that was a tough one…But he managed to make me fit into that song he wrote, and it worked like a charm! Pikachu got down to it too as he had fun with his little tambourine!

    Oh, and some guy just entered the building and left his purple guitar behind. "Gosh, I can't believe that I gotta go like that! Narce innai, Colt… " he said as he shut the door behind him. I ran over and swapped it with that wooden mini guitar. That guy's guitar was so amazing! It even came with a bendy stick thing!

    I ran right back. "Alright, now I'm ready to play!" As we jammed, I ran into a completely different problem. I was playing too fast!

    "Pika-pi…" Pikachu called me out, trying to adjust the tambourine to my speed. Soon, Drifloon couldn't hold it in any longer and started making some slight adjustments to the instructions given.

    "Oh, you want to speed things up a little?" Jake teased. "Alright, Mr. Ketchum…" Soon, everyone joined along, and it quickly turned into a competition of who could play the song the fastest, nobody was keeping up with the pace, and we all sounded like a mess!

    Miley was the first one to lose it. "I can't keep up, ugh…" she said as panted, leaving the melodica on the teacher's desk. She sat straight down and rested along the floor.

    "Well, I sure can!" Jake challenged.

    "I can't…" Sam announced. "This doesn't even sound good…" He took an extra chair by the grand piano Shinji played and joined Miley as Pikachu got sick of it too.

    I was starting to sweat more until I plucked one last string and called it quits, exhausted from all that playing! Shinji finished his jazzy tune off by sliding his hand across the keyboard as he zipped over, on top of the desk and leaned over to me and Pikachu. "Well, that was awful!" he admitted.

    "No, that was great! You're a really good keyboardist." I tried emphasizing.

    "Oh no, of course that solo was great! I was talking about the rest of you guys–you and your lack of chemistry…Shinevok…"

    "What does that word even mean?" I was perplexed by it!

    "It means 'Dangerous dumb kid!'" Miley enjoyed answering.

    "Not really, just an untrained one, like yourself…" Sam explained.

    "Oh, please, I'm well trained. In fact, I'm gonna be the one doing all the training soon!" She put her hands against her hips. "I'm getting a Pokémon, for me and me alone!" she sang.

    "Oh, yeah! That Ratzavok's waiting for me!" I announced.

    Jake, who was finally getting sick of playing, called me out. "Hey! No fair, you already have your Pokémon of darkness and that Pikachu over there and probably a bunch of other ones I don't know about! That guy's gonna be waiting for me! "

    "Hmph, well, we'll see!" I turned to Miley. "So, um, when's the parade starting again?"

    "It's an hour from now!" she answered back, excitingly.

    "Does anyone want to have another hand at the band before then?" Jacob said, with the guitar strung behind him.

    "You bet!" I said, wanting to have another guitar battle!

    "Oh, boy, here we go again…" Miley said, smiling slyly. "I think I'm sitting this one out…"

    "I won't, but I think Looney will!" Sam pointed out as the balloon looked like he was about to deflate at any moment.

    Jake could only cross his arms. "Yeah, he's got some fantastic energy to him! Shame nobody will hit those drums as fast as he can. Oh, well–"

    "Y'know, I've dabbled into a bit of the drums myself…" Shinji mentioned. "I wouldn't mind filling in for him!"

    "You know how to play the drums!" he asked, bewildered.

    "Hey, if hanging around your old man taught me anything, it's that you make connections from far places."

    We spent the rest of the hour filling the room with curious music until we heard cheering from outside. Shinji got off the drumkit as he zipped across the room as a Pokémon. He caught a glimpse of all the commotion, sitting across the open window. "Hah, well I'll be darned! People are finally recognizing my musical prowess." He faced towards us as he leaned backwards, with his head against the ridge as he had his legs outside. "Does anyone want to catch a parade tonight?"

    "Heck yeah!" I answered as I put the small guitar down, and Pikachu gave the strings a good slap before I unplugged the amp.

    We all raced down the hall and through the main library as other students were making their way downstairs. "Guys, they got a freaking band up there!" one of them squealed.

    "Ah, there's the rest of our instruments!" Jake pointed out. There were multiple school bands passing through on floats decorated with multicolored roses, card symbols and various art pieces! They were performing a concert! They were all singing in Blawsthian though, so I couldn't tell what they were saying…Jake seemed pretty excited by the performance. "Heck yeah! Mashanarah Qurar, mi pregi!"

    "Mashanarah Qurar?" I asked.

    "Mashanarah Qurar: the Gallant Tale Of The Four!" Sam explained. "Ash, remember back when Gary said that there were a bunch of myths regarding Toshinmac? Mashanarah Qurar is one of those tales, but it's a musical epic, an ancient one at that! Some say a Muskpisk who witnessed the whole event wrote the music while an unknown trainer wrote the lyrics to it!"

    "Muskpisk?"

    "An incredibly rare Pokémon thought to be extinct. But, seeing Shinji here, I'd imagine that there's plenty of them, still up and kicking…"

    "Yeah, they're still fighting the good fight over there." Shinji explained as he lifted a brow, letting the scarf cover his face. "This story isn't correct though, it never is. In fact, I'll even go as far to say that they managed to fabricate it even more these days! Gratifuwa did not like Arhemigku like that! And Pregihaz would never act like that–in fact, he'd encourage it!" He grinned mischievously. "Oh, I don't even mind being the bad guy for this one! Break em' up, ammani!" he cheered as a Breloom dressed as Toshinmac, walked on the float, carrying a staff around

    "Uh…" From what I could guess by looking at the dancers on the float passing through us, for this song in particular, Gratifuwa, portrayed by a Beautifly, was in love with Arhemigku, enacted by performers under a long cardboard costume. Pregihaz, played by a Lopunny, wanted nothing of it and tried to steal her away! But then Toshinmac came to the rescue by inciting a massive war between them, only to kiss Gratifuwa at the end…

    Shinji slapped his face hard again. "Y'know what, I think I'll ditch this thing. Which part of town is the daycare, Miles?"

    She groaned as she heard that name. "It's on the other side of town, by the west, but I think you should wait for the rest of us to get there. It's hidden behind a few trees, and please don't call me that, ammani… "

    "Oh, no worries! I think I know the exact location you're speaking of, in fact, I think I may have some tea with your dad…"

    "Huh? No way–"

    "Oh, trigash mi. I know the way." He turned to me. "And don't worry about me zippin' by, kid. I'll keep your vitals in mind–"

    "Huh?" I uttered.

    "Buh-bye!" He morphed into the Jester and scaled across buildings with his scythe. Seeing him in action, I really wondered how battles would go for him?

    "Ash, you alright?" Jacob asked as another float came through.

    "Oh, yeah, just fine. It's just that I wondered what actually happened between Shinji and the other Pokémon…"

    "Well…Now that I think about it, this must really suck!" He crossed his arms as he leaned against a brick wall.

    "You can say that again." Sam added, "Coming back every time just to get grossly misinterpreted, worse than before…"

    "His realm, his life…It screams of Toshmakya." Jake shuddered as he said that.

    "What's Toshmakya?" I asked.

    "The place where every awful spirit will go. They're forced to scream and cry as Toshinmac plays with their souls forever, twisting their bodies into the bad luck we're cursed with. They said that he created it once he was shunned by the Three, but after meeting the guy himself, I think we may have created that place for him…" He put his thumb over his lip as he leaned against the school's stair railing. "I think I'll join him too…I'll catch you guys by the city gates."

    "Hey, y'know what? Me too." I admitted. I just couldn't watch the parade anymore, not under this light…

    "Count me right in…" Miley said as she crossed her arms over her neck.

    "Stole my line, Miley…" Sam said as he followed us.

    "Oi, Sammy? Hwere ye' goin'?" a student called out.

    "I'm going out with a few friends, I'll be right back!"

    "Wheel ye' bettah bea! Tati's comin' ova' shoon!"

    "Don't worry, I wouldn't miss out on that. Ollbette mi!" He waved back. "Alright, guys, how far did Shinji run off to?"

    Toshinmac dropped down from a staircase outside an apartment building. "Right here!" he announced. "I'll admit, those Muskpis can write a mean anthem. My hats off to them–eh, more like hood. Either way, it'd be me disrespecting whoever wrote this."

    Huh, he really decided that at the last minute? "But, Shinji, the story–" I brought up.

    "Bah…Who cares? Blawsth sure doesn't, and besides,kid, this is a parade. You'd be doing a massive disservice missing it. It was set up for trainers after all. Have fun while you still can, and I shouldn't be souring that for you."

    "Hm…" We turned around and well, after that little talk, it was a fantastic show! There was even a Dragon Pokémon flying about, and it was landing straight for us! "Hey, it's Tati!" I pointed out!

    "Well, that sure took a while." she said. "Glad to see that Ashy's enjoyin' his first parade. I sure don't!" She got off her Pokémon. "I bet they twisted the original lyrics, huh? No way all that mushy nonsense made it through…"

    "You can say that again!" Shinji lowered his scarf.

    "Glad to see people agreein' with me on this one! Shame that I always win on debates, but at the end of the day, nobody wants to agree with me on the most obvious thangs!"

    "Well, you always seem to be one of the more introspective students out there, and people are afraid of that." Sam replied smoothly. Jake winked back at him. "Anyways, want to go watch the fireworks soon? I heard that they got a different aerial show planned this year."

    "Oh, another one? I'll be the judge of that!" she laughed.

    She stuck by us as we went onto the rooftop of the Institute. So many dazzling colors exploded alongside the pokémon and their trainers that night, I've never really seen anything quite like it! And finally, they ended off that night with one final surprise act from the school's marching band! The whole city cheered and chanted along as they twirled their banners and the pokémon performed tricks you'd only see from contests!

Riftah, riftah, ain't it nice

Riftah, riftah, win that fight!

Because you'll be leaving tonight

Better wrap that bag up tight!

Show them your courage

Show them your might,

With pokémon, you'll win tonight!

PI-OH-KEI-EE-EM-OH-EN

You're the champion

Do your best!

Once you're done

Take a rest

Go team!

    We said goodbye to Sammy and Tati as we finally headed off to Mahtverin's outskirts, in the sea of flying confetti.

    "Alright, so if we just go to the left, there should be another secret path here…" As Miley led the way, a Narwhammie already came straight towards her! "Aw! You couldn't wait ‘til I got home, huh? Yeah I know it's been a bit, we're going on that journey I told you about the other day!" She kept nuzzling it, somehow managing to keep the horn away from her face.

    "Nar! Nar!"

    "Whoa, so that's what it looks like up close?" I asked. I scanned my Dex at it and I finally got a good entry. "So, the horn's fragile?"

    "Yeah, it already cracked the other day too, but it grows back very quickly! Isn't that right mi binki?"

    "Nar-nar!"

    "Oh, I think it wants to meet Pikachu and Looney!" Shinji translated. "So hard to understand though, it babbles…"

    "Well, it barely hatched a week ago, so I get it…" She set it to the ground carefully as she pulled out her own Dex and took a few pictures.

    It was already encircling Pikachu and he started chasing it around! Then it tried shooting its horn straight into his chest… "Pi!" The horn cracked again…

    "Uh, Pikachu?" I asked.

    "Don't worry, kid. He's alright. That horn could barely leave a scratch on a hotrod anyways…" Shinji explained. He leaned down towards it, "Ah, the horn is already growing again!" And just like that, it recrystallized! It still tried jumping towards Shinji in an attempt to skewer him, but he caught it mid-flight. "Now, now, now, if things are going to work out, you better stop pointing that thing towards everyone you want to play with, mi shinevok…"

    "Nar!"

    He sighed. "I'll leave you back to your trainer I suppose…"

    Me and Jacob leaned down to pet it, but then it tried undoing my bandage… "Oh no, Narwhammie! Don't do that, or Dad will get angry…" It frowned as it jumped back into Miley's arms.

    "Shinji, why did you decide that I needed a tattoo of all things…" I asked while tying the bandage up again.

    "Well…It wasn't all that messed up centuries ago, it was all too cold to wear short sleeves anyways!"

    "–Anyways, we better get back home before dusk, or Dad will get very worried…" Miley procautioned. We walked through the gates and there it was, a cottage beside a small selection of Pokémon. In the outskirts I could also spot farms from the distance, and plants that had barely been planted recently. It was kinda like back home, just the air felt a little different, and I swore the leaves grew a little darker just beyond the road.

    A single Murkrow cawed on the cottage roof as a Stoutland ran around, which Miley pet before going up the doorsteps. "Well, home sweet home!" She got a key out from her pocket and opened the door. "Dad, we're back, and I got some new friends!" she tried saying cheerfully…

    A middle-aged man with freckles and a receding hairline, wearing somewhat formal wear, stood in front of us, carrying a newspaper. "Miles, what did I say about catching any new pokémon–" He didn't carry a notable accent, in fact, it was exactly the same as mine. He looked directly at Shinji. "Toshinmac?"

    "Hey, Harry, how's it going?" He waved back.

    "I–Wait, is my daughter tied up to all this?" he scolded.

    "Oh, no, no…" Shinji wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "This kid is!"

    "Miley…Did you play the Spade Game?" he asked sternly.

    "Um…maybe?" She had her arms around her back and looked the other way.

    "Jacob, this was your idea, wasn't it?"

    "Maybe?" he answered back as he started tapping his foot with his hands in his pockets.

    "Oh…Wow. You know, it's only perfect that Francis' kid was the one who suggested this…That just had to be the real Cherrim on top." He sighed. "Miley, go treat Jake and the other guy. I'd like to speak to Shinji…"

    "Oh yeah, I would have visited here early–we got a lot of catching up to do!" Shinji said, zipping right in. Harry sighed as he walked into the living room with him. Ourselves on the other hand, walked into the kitchen. I sat on the counter as Mikey checked the fridge.

    "So, does anyone want milk? Crackers? We got just about everything in the fridge…"

    "Sure!" I said.

    "Hm, I think I'll make myself a jam sandwich," Jake suggested. "Looney, you want one too?" He nodded back. "Alright!"

    "So, that's your dad?" I asked Miley.

    "Yeah…My Mom's away on a business trip overseas, but she never takes me with her…Then maybe I would have seen Kanto for myself and joined a league early!" She giggled. "Y'know, that's funny, my Dad was raised over there and he sucks at speaking Blawsthian. We run the daycare center here while Mom does all the trading stuff. Good to say goodbye to that lifestyle! No more cleaning up after that dumb Eevee, no more picking up sprouts and Bellsprouts, just some good ‘ol adventuring for me!" She poured the milk into a mug on a plate with some Pokémon shaped crackers set next to it. "Anyways, here ya' go!"

    "Thanks!" I tossed one of those crackers over to Pikachu and another one into my mouth. I took a sip of the milk, and it was just as tasty as regular Moomoo Milk! "Miley, this stuff's good!"

    "Well, you can't expect less from one of the largest importers of Moomoo Milk, Ash!"

    "Really?" Well, that explained it, Blawsth was awesome! Jacob finished making his sandwich and sliced it in half for Looney, and kept slicing his own and ate it with a fork. "Jake, isn't it easier to just eat it with your hands?" I asked.

    "Yeah, but this is neater." he answered.

    "It's ‘cause he put too much jam into his sandwich once and it spilled all over the new freakin' shorts his mom bought for school…" Miley whispered from behind me.

    "Keep ratting your mouth like a Ratzavok, Miles, and I'll bring up every other embarrassing thing I caught you doing when we were younger." he gloated.

    "Whateves…" She finally took a seat as Narwhammie started chasing Pikachu down the living room, and she stared around, scrunching her brows. "Hey, speaking of Ratzavok, where is it? Did you guys see it slither by anywhere?"

    "Huh? No…Ash?" Jake turned his head to me.

    "Can't say for certain." I answered back.

    "Hm, I guess I'll have to bug Dad on that…" Miley sighed.

    I kept eating my crackers until I saw a bright orange beak poking out from the counter. "Oh, hey, is that Doradin?" I asked. I got out of my seat, holding a cracker in my hand. "Hey, little guy, are you hungry?" It popped out and jumped onto my arm, racing up to peck me! "Ow, ow, ow!"

    Harry, alongside Shinji and Miley, came into the kitchen. "Doradin! Let the boy be!" he shouted.

    I still tried bartering with it. "Do you want this?" I asked. It took the cracker out of my hand quickly as it swallowed the entire thing down its throat. It sat peacefully on my shoulder afterwards. "Hey, so where's Ratzavok?"

    "Well, that's the thing, boy. It's been gone since this morning, and I was about to get Shinji to go gather information for me!" Harry answered.

    "Information?"

    "He's a real pokémon whisperer." he said, as Miley rolled her eyes at his remark.

    Shinji zipped by my shoulder. "Hey, Doradin… " he tried calling out. "Do you mind telling us where Ratzavok went off to? We might even give you kernals!" The bird hopped onto my head and pretended to start sleeping. Shinji snapped his fingers, but it didn't work.

    "Y'know, the more I look at it, Ash, your head looks like a nest." Miley replied.

    "No, it doesn't! Hey, Doradin, wake up!" I tried rubbing its featherless neck, much to no avail…

    Pikachu was carrying another shattered horn in his hand as Narwhammie headbutted him from behind. He spotted the Doradin everyone was talking about, sitting so smugly and comfortably on his usual spot… "Pika-pi!" He charged at least a thousand bolts towards me and I fell backwards. Doradin fell off too as it struggled to stay still on one toe.

    "Well, that was shocking to say the least…" Shinji said, shuddering a little. He nabbed it and started his interrogation again. "Alright, tell me about Ratzy or you're getting another thousand bolts, ammani…" He walked back into the living room.

    I got up, still dizzy. "Well, I guess it's a little past my bed-time…Where's the bed?" I said shakingly, leaning against a wall, slumped down towards the ground.

    "We do have a guest room, but I wasn't expecting you or Shinji!" Harry replied. "It'd be too small for either of you…"

    "Oh I know! Dad, we can just sleep over in the living room!" Miley answered back as Narwhammie ran back into her arms. "Please?"

    He sighed. "Alright. But don't make too much noise, now."

    "Yippie!"

    "Good to hear!" My voice cracked as I held my thumb up.

    Jake shook his head. "Come on, Ash–you act worse than my Uncle Deets on Slidenjoskin Day!" He pulled me over his shoulder as we headed towards the living room. There was plenty of space over there, we just had to move the coffee table aside as we set our sleeping bags across the large brown rug. 

    Shinji laid across the blue couch in front of us. "Yup, still comfy as usual…" he said as he crossed his legs with his sweater off, wearing a blue tank-top.

    Jake finally came back from brushing his teeth. "Bathroom's ready!" He was wearing a sleeveless band tee, and his piercings were taken off. He was ready to hit the hay!

    "Alright!" I answered back. I went down the hall, and into the porcelain tiled room. I was brushing my teeth while I heard some laughter of a girl and I quickly spat the paste and saliva out. "Miley?"

    No, that voice was a little too low to be her's…I swore, whoever it was must have been mocking me! I cleaned my mouth off and tried finding the source, checked behind the shower curtains, put my ears against the drain, and tried the window curtains next, but I couldn't find it anywhere! "What's so funny?" I asked out loud, but soon the laughter faded.

    I went back to brushing my teeth, always checking the mirror and whatever was behind me, but I guessed the cottage must've been haunted or something because I couldn't hear it again after that. I washed my face and felt goosebumps all over…I left the bathroom immediately after that, only wearing my white shirt from the Grimoire, a set of boxer shorts and socks as I went back into the living room. Miley was up, playing with a stuffed Ponyta over Narwhammie's horn.

    Jake was groggy as Pikachu kept arguing with Doradin. "Can you two shut up, please? I'm trying to get some sleep here…"

    "Hey, so did any of you guys hear some laughing?" I asked reluctantly.

    "Eh? Laughing?" He put a palm over his head. "All I heard was Miley, why?"

    Well, she was laughing, but not too loud (or low) to register as to what I heard earlier… "It's not her–it was, like, a woman…" I turned to Shinji. "Hey, you said you were a ghost once. Did you hear anything?"

    "Zilch, ammani. Zilch. And I'm saying this definitively: I have no part in whatever you heard. I wouldn't be surprised if you're just tired, kid. Like you said, it's probably past your bedtime."

    "Yeah," Jake continued. "It's probably early Adams over in Kanto right now…" He sat up and grabbed Miley's plush, standing up to give it to me for some reason. "Here, take this. I hope it makes you sleep better…"

    "Hey! That's my little Ponyta!" Miley complained as she stood up too.

    "He's literally hearing stuff in the bathroom, Miles,…" he murmured back to her.

    Well, it was a fluffy little fellow I held onto my arms–so soft that it almost felt like the real thing. It reminded me of when I got into that accident and whenever people came to visit, they'd always bring me a little gift. I got a Chansy plush once since they knew that Pikachu was also wounded pretty badly…I almost didn't want to let the Ponyta go, but I could tell that Pikachu thought that I replaced him! Doradin too…Wait, was that little bird supposed to be my Pokémon now?

    It started pecking my head again so I threw the Ponyta back at Miley. "Wah! Take it, take it!" I shouted. I got Doradin in my hands as it finally stopped pecking the air. "Hey, wanna get out of this house tomorrow? I can take you with me!" I said as I went to my bag, pulling out a pokéball.

    "Dori-dory!" it said as it pecked the button, officially joining my team.

    I read somewhere in its Dex entry that it was pretty insecure about its feathers, so I hoped that maybe having someone cheering it on could help it a little (as well as get rid of some of that nasty attitude too), especially since no one would have wanted to take it anyways. It got out of the ball and buried itself into my arms, already falling asleep as Pikachu shrugged.

    "Hm, I guess Doradin finally found somebody…" Harry remarked as he came back from one last search around the area. "Shinji, it seemed that it wasn't lying about the shed. Ratzavok ran away…"

    Jake frowned. "I guess I already have all the pals I need…" he said as he went back to sleep. "Olbette, aran nuto…"

    "Aran nuto too, mi ammani." Harry said roughly as he shut the lights.

    Narwahmmie still kept prancing in the dark, "Ey, Whammie," Miley whispered. "I'm excited too, I know we're going to see the whole region! But we gotta get some good shut-eye if we want to trek it early in the morning." It nuzzled her cheek as she giggled quietly. "Mi pregihaz! You're going to be the best show pony Blawsth has to offer, I just know it! Now, nuto, nuto…"

    Well, she may have been asleep, so was Jake and everyone else (well, maybe except for Shinji, but who knew?)–I, however, stood up a little longer. This journey, I still felt the heavy breath over my shoulder…Either way, I was making sure that I was going to win it all big this time! I was also trying to hear anything else from the ghost lady…but nothing came of note.

    The next morning, I woke up to Doradin pecking me again! "Hey, hey, cut it out!" I noticed that Miley already had her bag fully packed on the couch and was probably using the bathroom or something, and maybe Shinji went off with Pikachu to go look at some pokémon nearby while they still could. As expected, Jake slept so peacefully in his bag, like a baby. I folded the sheet away. "Wakey, Jakey!"

    "Ash!" He tried pulling it back but failed. "Come on! Not for another five minutes?"

    "Jake, today's the big day! Don't you want to travel to the next city? Miley's already packed."

    "Five minutes?"

    "Fine then, have it your way, Slowpoke!" I grabbed my pillow and threw it at him.

    "Dude, now you really messed my hair up…" He took the pillow over his head anyways.

    I was going to go to the bathroom, but then I smelled something scrumptious! I went into the kitchen instead as Dorading sat on my shoulder, and Sam was cooking! Scrambled eggs with potatoes and bacon, yum! "Hey, Sammy!" I greeted.

    "Oh, Ash, you're finally awake! Do you want breakfast already, or are you going to get ready first?"

    "Oh, that's right!" I suddenly remembered. "Sam, do you know if this place is haunted or not?"

    "Haunted?" He finally turned off the stove. "I believe not, but the house is pretty old…Why? Are you not a fan of rustic architecture?"

    "No, no…I was hearing some things in the bathroom last night, like some girl laughing." He started pondering as I spoke. "And before you ask, no, it wasn't Miley." I assured him.

    "Is it related to Toshinmac?" he asked me.

    "Heh, no. They keep calling me crazy over it…but I swear that I was the only one who heard it. You gotta help me out here, man…"

    He adjusted his glasses. "Well, with Toshinmac around, nothing's out of the ordinary. Speaking of which, since he's off with Pikachu out back, we can finally discuss that message Gary sent."

    "Huh? Message?" I completely forgot about it…

    "Yes, just get your Dex while I serve you some breakfast. Would you like some toast with that?"

    "Yes, please!" I ran back to get it and Jake was still in bed. I got back onto my seat, "So, what's it about?" I asked as I handed my Dex over to him, eating the eggs off the plate. Doradin was enjoying a nice bowl of pokéfood in the corner.

Dear Sam and Ash,

Please send in a full report over how the card game proceeded. Send every detail, no matter how loose, the location, time, etc. And with Toshinmac, don't lose your guard around him, take note of any behavioral changes, whether it be in his "human" form or not. Alongside that, collect data over his true form and if there's anything within his ink. To the trainer/"host" (Ash), please be well aware of your vitals and to the observer of this investigation (Sam), if any behavioral/health changes occur to this subject, it is your full responsibility to report on it as soon as possible.

If there is any way to sever the connection made between the trainer and Toshinmac/prevent a mass catastrophic event (MCE/TOSHMAKYA), please make sure that it's a safe procedure and enact on it right away. This is a risky operation, one with major liabilities, so please proceed with caution when researching.

- Oak Laboratory and Mahtverin Institute

P.S. Hey, Ashy, take care. Just write down whatever you can at the end of the day and send it to Sam–I trust that guy with my gut. I know that we didn't really have a chance to chat again back there, but I'll ring by whenever I can through this device.

Sam has already written a report yesterday about Toshinmac's little adventure throughout Mahtverin…and how you reacted to that. I seriously mean it when I say this, but please take care of yourself out there. I told your Mom that you were doing alright, and I hope that stays the same. She did ring me this morning that you didn't call her yesterday, but given the festivities, I wouldn't be surprised if you forgot. Just make sure to call her soon, there should be a Pokémon Center along the route you're going on with the others to Stahlotoh City, so make sure while you stay over there, give her a call.

I hope that the next time we meet, everything's a bit mellowed out by then.

- Gary

    "Well, I guess you can add ghost girls to that list…" I said as I ate my toast.

    Miley, who just came back from feeding the daycare pokémon, walked in with Narwhammie prancing inside. "Morning, Ashy!" She noticed that I was still not ready. "Hey, you better get dressed soon, freakin' Slowpoke…" She got a dish for herself and Narwhammie. "I bet Jake's not awake yet, ey?"

    "Yeah," I said as I finished the last toast and side of eggs. "I guess I better get ready." 

    I got my clothes from my bag and ran down the hall as I kept knocking on the bathroom door. Jake already beat me to it…It took a while but he finally got out, fully changed after a good solid ten minutes. "Oh, sorry, Ash…but I gotta keep my looks in place!" he said, carrying three different skin care products and a single styling bottle in his grip.

    "Yeah, I don't think you can keep that up in the woods…" I sighed.

    "Actually, I can! Watch me." He flipped his bangs out of his eyes as he passed by me. I sighed as I did whatever I needed to and got out to join the others in the kitchen.

    They were soon finished with their meals and I got to meet some of the pokémon out back, including that Eevee. Miley said her final goodbyes to them as she held her bag. "Well, this is it. Buh-bye, ammani…" She had her arms behind her back as she walked out of the farm's gates.

    "Hey, Sam, you never told us how it went with Tati…" Jake asked as we got onto the main road.

    "Oh, Tatiana…I'd rather not talk about it. She wanted to battle it out and I guess I got the short end of the stick…"

    "Youch, so much for the cards…"

    "Yes, but she is an amazing trainer…I thought I'd finally reach her level, but I guess I still have some catching up to do." He adjusted his glasses.

    "She liked that gift though, ey?"

    "Yes, I'm glad she enjoyed it. I'm still a little bummed out by the outcome, but hey, her smiling makes my day!" He pointed forward. "This is the end of the route…" he said as there was a sign for the next town up ahead. "I'm going to really miss having you guys around."

    We stopped in our tracks. "Either way, we still have our PokéDexes, right? Besides, we'll stop by Mahtverin at some point, so the band will always reunite no matter what!"

    Jake fist-bumped Sam and so did Miley. "Buh-bye to you too, ammani!" she greeted back, "I'm so glad we got to do all that yesterday! It was fun!"

    "Yeah, especially with those three!" Sam added, pointing to me, Shinji and Pikachu. Doradin pecked me. "Oh, and I guess Doradin would have been a nice pal to have too! So, with that being said…" He started heading back. "Good luck, ammani! Buh-bye!"

    "Bye!" we waved back as we went on our way. We kept walking along, silent with the spring breeze still blowing, alongside the chirping and cries of the pokémon nearby.

    I was going to check my Dex for the map of the region but just then, some guy on a black and navy motorbike ran aside from us. Thankfully Shinji zipped us away from his path! Was that a Pikachu on his shoulder, I wondered? Miley got back on the road, coughing. "Hey, give us a lift, will ya'!" she shouted.

    The biker paid no mind to her as he turned the audio on the radio even higher and blared out her vocals entirely! His Pikachu with piercings stuck his tongue out to us and sparked his cheeks as he left an entire trail of dust behind, waking some of the people and pokémon up… "Man, screw that guy!" I shouted. "C'mon, we can't let him beat us!"

    He was already way ahead of us, probably going off road too, but who cared! We kept racing to the next route, eventually tripping over ourselves on the road, laughing. The leaves, they were in such pretty colors, mi pregi! Was it fall already? Down the route, the next gym (hopefully) opened was up ahead in Stahlotoh City, against Shafter of the Electric Sound! But I guess it'd be another couple of days until we pulled through…It was a long road from here on out.

▶TO BE CONTINUED

►NEXT CHAPTER