"You really think I should be holding a gun all day rather than trying to figure out who's behind those crimes?" I turned back to look at Lance in uncertainty, struggling to keep a firm grip on the slick black metal in my right hand.

"Actually," He sighed, "I think you should be properly trained in self defence before even touching that."

"I'd rather that." I gritted my teeth and looked back at the clunk of metal that had the extreme capability of destroying life. "This isn't who I am."

"I'm not telling you to kill anyone Yellow. I'm making you learn how to protect yourself without relying on Pokémon. Would you rather ChuChu take a shot for you?"

I winced as that same painful feeling tore into my gut; he was right. If I wanted to work on the case, I had to have some sort of preparation.

"Yellow, you can do this. I did not just spend an hour of my time talking you through this for no reason. Let's start with seven yards, nice and easy."

I nodded slowly, pushing the electronic button that held a print-out of a body on it to the first mark. As Lance stepped back, I covered my ears and then raised the trembling gun.

How did my parents voluntarily do this?

I slowed my breathing as the image of that Weedle pierced anger into me. My fingers touched the trigger.

Gazing at the target, I murmured "We're going to protect them," then pressed down firmly.

Flinching at the impact was inevitable, but I was more shaken by a thundering clap from Lance as he advanced to me.

"Nice one kid!"

"Huh?" I looked at him, and then back at the target before smiling, "I got it."

"You didn't just get it, that was a perfect shot Yellow. Let's go to the next mark."

I nodded, adjusting my eye protection and then pushing down on another button for a few seconds as a new target was replaced at a further distance.

Taking a deep breath, I eyed the layers of circles on the generic body and pointed the deadly machine forward. I pushed on the trigger again; this time standing my ground as the bullet shot forward.

To my disappointment, I landed on the outermost section rather than the direct centre. "I don't think this is for me."

"If we all thought like that we'd never get anywhere." Lance frowned at me, then leaned forward and pressed on the button, replacing the target. "Again."

He was right, of course. There was just the agonising thought of those three inspecting all the evidence from the crime whilst I was rooted here. I needed to get this done with and move forward.

If Uncle Wilton were here, he would replace this gun with a fishing rod.

*

"I'm sorry ChuChu, I'm just so exhausted from the lack of sleep and the day itself," I stroked her fur, "give me a few hours and I'll be up and ready to function for dinner."

The Pikachu curled up beside me as I sunk down into the bed. Just as I had closed my eyes, the sound of a door slamming open shot me upwards with more speed than the bullets today.

"Is it just a custom for you people to wake me up?" I cried out in exasperation as sleep deprivation sunk in.

"Sorry," Blue chuckled as she closed the door quietly and jumped onto the end of my bed, "I thought Green's shoulder would be revitalising."

I eyed her warily as Red's comment about the latter not knocking on his door echoed in my mind. She didn't wait for me to reply.

"So, what were you doing all day with Lance?" Blue looked at me, a cunning glint in her bright eyes.

"Is it important if you don't care?" My intimidated face contradicted the tone I'd faked.

"Straight after visiting a crime scene, our supervisor takes you away for literally the entire day. I'd say that's something intriguing." She eyed me and smirked, "you're right Yellow, you aren't like the last few recruits."

I sighed, "Blue, I'm tired. I don't want to play your games and run in circles, what do you want to know?"

"Where did you go with Lance?"

"He took me to a shooting range, gave me a lecture on self defence, and then I practised."

"That took ten hours?"

I bit my lip as she fiercely stalked my words like a predator.

"You know I'm onto something Yellow. Red and Green might have failed to pay attention, but I noticed that reaction you had to the dead Weedle. Sure, I expected you to tear up, but like that? There's something going on with you."

I pressed my lips together and looked back at my hands, fidgeting with my fingers. "I don't trust you."

"How do you think I feel?" She snorted, "I'm asking you a question, you should swallow up that rare occasion."

I met her eyes as she curiously probed into me, then gulped. "I was sensitive to that reaction because I have an ability to sense Pokémon. I can read their minds, sense emotions and heal them. I have the powers of Viridian Forest."

The silence that followed was painful, and my hands were shaking; she was the first person I'd openly told about my abilities.

"So you're like Lance?" Blue finally replied as something in her tone changed, "then why didn't he have the reaction you did?"

"Our powers vary," I yawned and then continued, "today he tried to extend my telekinetic powers by making me move large objects, but it wasn't possible. Compared to Lance, who could lift me up with his powers, mine are more synchronised with Pokémon emotions."

"You know," Blue leaned forward as an eager smile leapt onto her face, "that's pretty cool."

"Not always," I shook my head at the girl, "I felt physically torn when I saw that Weedle, it's something I've never experienced."

"That's true," She moved off the bed and headed for the door, "but that's the problem with the DAPP, you'll always be out of your comfort zone."

"That's what I feared the most." I murmured softly as Blue turned to look at me.

We locked eyes and she murmured, "Get some rest," then closed the door behind me.

I pressed my head back onto my pillow and looked across at ChuChu, "Did she just...care?"

My partner moved to nuzzle her cheek against me, "You're making good progress Yellow."

*

"Hey?" I felt a cold hand press my cheek softly and flinched, then opened my eyes in surprise.

Red peered down at me, "It's one in the morning and you haven't eaten anything. I just got sent some evidence you'll be interested in."

I sat up as he took a step back, expectantly waiting for an answer.

"I..." Looking into his eyes straight after waking up was like losing myself all over again, "Sorry, I was t-tired."

He nodded his head and murmured, "Grab something from the fridge and then meet me in the common room. ChuChu went down with us to eat, she's sleeping next to Pika right now."

Realising she was absent, I sighed in relief as he walked out, "Thank you."

Kris' words passed through my conscience as I went to my bathroom and splashed some warm water onto my face. I brushed my teeth quickly then roughly twisted my hair into a bun.

I was deep in thought when I grabbed a long woolly cardigan to wear over my pyjamas. For someone who touched my face so gently, I couldn't tell if he was truly as stiff as I thought. Something inside me told me that Red didn't have bad intentions, rather bad actions. It didn't justify the way they were treating me, but it did give me hope.

The fridge contained a variety of random food, with most having the bold names of Green and Blue taped across them. After rummaging for something less forbidden, I found a pack of Miltank yoghurt and grinned when I saw a Mago Berry flavoured one.

Grabbing the little tub, I rushed to the common room. Red was the only one there.

"Come here." He beckoned me over without directly looking and pointed to the screen in his lap.

I hesitantly sat beside him then tore open the wrapped top, using the little spoon attached to eat. Red looked down at me as I eyed him nervously with the spoon in my mouth, then to my pleasant surprise he broke into a smile.

"You like the Mago?"

I swallowed and then nodded my head, my cheeks warming at the sight, "It's my favourite because of the sweetness."

He grinned, "Mine too."

"Oh!" I shoved the spoon out of my mouth as I realised the pack of yoghurt was his, "did you want this one?"

Red silently chuckled as I noticed his large shoulders shake, "I'd say it's a bit late for that, but thanks."

I burned and looked down at the pot, uneasily stirring the spoon around until he returned back to his normal state.

"Post-mortems and photos of the Pokémon victims have been sent over. Come and see."

I put the yoghurt down on the table in front of us and leaned towards the screen, focusing on what I saw so my attention wouldn't draw to the stiff body beside me.

"No."

I swallowed what felt like needles at the three separate images. The first was a Charmeleon, its body was shrivelled and the bright flame that should've been on his tail was dormant. On the photo beside it was a grey Wartortle, whose cloud-like tail was completely distorted into an ambiguous blob. The last photo of the Weedle wasn't new to me and yet I still felt shocked.

"Shall I show you the photos after the post-mortem?" Red moved the mouse to hover above a different attachment.

I shook my head, "No. Please don't."

As he spoke, I shrunk back in pain, "They kill the Pokémon with an anaesthetic, the toxicity completely nullifies their nerve functioning. It was still present in the bodies, so we assume they're overdosed and killed just before the robbery-"

I gasped as a warmth shot through my body, then forced myself to look away from the sight. My insides were stinging again, and a throbbing was occurring in my head.

"Hey, are you okay?" Red placed his laptop down and stared at me in confusion.

I winced and closed my eyes, "Y-yeah."

"Somehow I doubt that." He muttered, then leaned towards me and felt my forehead, "you're burning."

His hand felt like a blast of soothing cool air, and I quietly whispered "It will pass."

"Hey, what's going on here?"

Red and I jolted at Blue's loud voice as she entered with Green, eyeing us in confusion.

"I don't know," Red frowned and moved his hand away from me, "I showed her the photos of the Pokémon and she just erupted in pain."

I squeezed my eyes shut and slowly let my heart rate slow down, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Blue looked down at me apprehensively, "a second ago you looked half dead."

"Fine." I repeated as the pain washed over, then gave her a weak smile.

Green sat down in an armchair, "Any ideas on the Pokémon? Think there's a pattern."

"There has to be, but shut up for a moment." Blue glared at the boy and then sat down next to me, passing me a device.

"My phone?" I wondered in shock, turning it on and then realising I hadn't had it all day.

"You're all set up." Blue murmured.

"Only because we need to communicate for this case." Green cut in, still staring at me suspiciously.

"Thank you." I smiled to myself and fiddled with the device.

"So, were you feeling that pain because of your abilities?" Blue openly asked.

I looked at her in offence, "That was meant to stay between us."

"What was?" Both Red and Green echoed.

"Yellow if you want a chance at staying here, you have to be honest with all of us." The brunette firmly replied as everyone stared at me.

"It's not that I'm lying," I shook my head and sighed, "I just don't know what's going on with myself."

A/N:
Disclaimer: I don't condone the use of guns in any form unless necessary for a field of work, in this case it is necessary for the character to have training.

The group are softening a little, but how are they doing with leads? I'm trying to write my chapters in advance so I'll have one as a reserve, but I'm not sure if I can keep that up because of exams, so apologies if updates are slow in the future!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I actually really enjoyed writing this one.

Until next time, Baii x