Chapter 21

"Hurry up, White! We're almost there!"

"I'm coming! You have longer legs than me!"

White saw Sky Blue slow down a little so she could catch up. When catching up to her friend, she grabbed a hold of his hand and gripped it tightly. The forest path they were on was dark and damp from the recent rain fall. Sky was leading her to some special place, but he wouldn't say where.

It has been almost two weeks since White started staying with Sky Blue and his pokemon. She had become fast friends with Sky and their pokemon had started to get along. Missy had "enrolled" White into what the Mismagius called "Missy's Private Homeschool Program for Amazing Kids". Archy, Rapi, and Thundrus had also been enrolled, but as teachers. During the day, the four adult pokemon would teach the human children subjects like simple science, basic mathematics, history of the Unova region, and reading and writing. While White preferred reading, writing, and history, Sky Blue was terrible at those subjects. However, he was a wiz at math and science, though the things he made during science would backfire on him.

After their lessons, White and Sky were free to explore the route and Mistralion City. So far, every time they wandered into town they came out with a story to tell. Sky Blue apparently had a bit of a reputation in the city. Whenever people saw him, they would whisper behind their hands and talk about how "delinquent the child was" and whisper about how he would go down the path of destruction someday. One time they tried sneaking into a restaurant for food, but the cook caught them and threw them out. It turned out that Sky had snuck in before because the cook threatened that the next time he caught him in his kitchen, he would drag him down to the police station and lock Sky up himself. But her friend didn't seem to be bothered by what people said about him. The only person who's opinion mattered to him was White's.

"H-How much longer till we get there?" White questioned as Sky led her down the path.

"Not much longer!" He answered happily.

"This isn't a joke, is it?"

"No, of course not! It should be up ahead! I hope no one else is there..."

"What?"

"Nothing! There it is!"

White peeked out from behind Sky to see what he was pointing at. He had brought her to a playground. She had not seen any of this kind of equipment in years, let alone played on it. There was two slides, a pair of swings, monkey bars, and a teeter totter.

"I play on this playground sometimes when no ones around!" he explained excitedly and he pulled out two of his pokeballs. "But Missy always says that we have to have at least two pokemon out while we play here."

White nodded and took out one of her own pokeballs as her friend released Chatter the Chatot and Junior the Mime Jr. Pichu popped out of the pokeball with a squeak and landed in front of White.

"Wow!" her little pokemon gasped after seeing the playground. "I haven't seen a playground in years!"

Before White could do or say anything, Pichu tore off after Chatter and Junior, who were running toward the slides.

"Why do we have to keep some of our pokemon out?" White asked Sky curiously as she watched the three pokemon play on the slide together.

"It's sorta a long story," Sky admitted while stepping onto one of the swings and standing up on it. "Have you ever been to a playground before? Your Pichu is acting like she's never been on one before."

"Not since I was three."

"Wow, that's too long to go without a playground. Well, the swing next to mine is open, you can swing on that one!"

When White hesitated, Sky then asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Um...I've forgot how to swing on a swing..."

"What?! Is it even possible to forgot how to swing?!"

White shrugged sadly and looked nervously at the swingsets. Sighing, Sky Blue jumped off the swing and led White over to a different swing.

"Well since you forgot how to swing and last time you sat on one and adult most likely pushed you, we'll start with this one," Sky told her, pointing to a swing with a blue booster seat-like swing.

"It looks big..." White whispered nervously to Sky as she looked up at the swing.

"It's not that big!" Sky assured her. "I had to go in this chair before! When I first started living with Missy, she re-taught me how to use a swing!"

White still felt nervous as Sky helped her into the blue swing. She gripped the chains that were hooked to the seat. She kept turning to see where Sky Blue was, but it was difficult seeing over the back of the seat.

"Now, first thing is that you need to keep bending your legs to make you go higher," Sky said as he tried pushing White's swing. "But I don't think you can really kick with this swing now that I think about it..."

"So what do I do?"

"Nothing, just hold onto something!"

She then yelped as Sky Blue pushed hard against the swing, making her seat fly forward. However, because Sky wasn't that strong, it only swung back and forth for a minute before stopping.

"Will the swing go any higher?" White called, turning around in her seat to see her friend leaning against to pole while panting.

"I...I think that seat is to big and heavy for me..."

"Who pushed you last time then?"

"Missy."

"But Missy has no arms!"

"Well she still managed it somehow. Hey, Chatter, come here for a minute!"

Chatter, who was still playing on the slide with Pichu and Junior, looked over at the two humans after hearing his name. He then flapped his wings and flew over to White and Sky before landing on his trainer's shoulder.

"Can you use Gust just a tiny bit?" Sky requested as the Chatot blinked up at him.

The Music Note Pokemon nodded and squawked before fluttering off his shoulder. He flew into the air slightly and began beating his wings more quickly. The swing was pushed forward by the strong breeze Chatter, but he would occasionally stop flapping while the swing pushed back and then start up again.

After at least ten minutes of this, Chatter stopped and landed on the ground and chirped, "That's as much as I can do right now, my wings are getting tired. Maybe you should ask Ray to push."

"What'd he say?" asked Sky, looking up at White.

"He said he needs to rest his wings a bit," White explained as Chatter fluttered back to the slide. "But he did say Ray might be able to push instead of him."

"Well let's bring him out!"

White took out one of her pokeballs and pressed the button. Ray the Lucario appeared out of the pokeball and landed on the ground in front of the swing set. The wolf-like pokemon tilted his head after seeing the swing.

"What is this?" He questioned, straightening up and observing the swings.

"It's a swing!" White told him. "Haven't you seen one before."

The Lucario looked at the swing set again before shaking his head and saying, "No, not recently. It was a few years ago."

"What?!" yelped Sky, who was probably guessing what Ray was saying. "How can you live without a playground?!"

"We just do. We showed White how we have fun. Besides, the closest town had no park."

"What'd he say?"

"He said we just survived without it, and they taught me how they have fun without parks. Also, the town we lived near didn't have a playground."

"Wow, that's kinda sad..."

"Yes it is, and White, don't translate that. Now, is there something you needed?"

"Can you push me?" White asked sweetly, using her little high voice.

Ray nodded and stepped behind his trainer's swing. He began to slowly push White's swing. The higher her swing went, the harder he pushed, though he did his best to be gentle. The Lucario would occasionally push Sky Blue's swing as well.

So far, Ray has been one of the few of White's pokemon that has tried warming up to Sky, while the others were Pichu, Di-Di, and Thundrus. Rapi had tried her best to get to know Sky, but she seemed to be having problems connecting with him because of Missy. Archy just outright disliked him, but Missy made sure that Sky wasn't hurt by him.

After awhile, Ray's ears twitched and he suddenly growled. He leapt away from the swing set and put his paws together. He slowly pulled them apart to create a bone made of auras and energy.

"Ray? What's wrong?" White asked as her swing slowed down.

"Liepard got your tongue?" teased Sky Blue. "I wouldn't be surprised if you sense one. They are a lot around here."

"No...it's not a pokemon..." Ray growled, turning around in circles.

"Ray, something up?" Pichu called from the slide.

The Lucario didn't say anything. He was beginning to make White feel nervous. His senses were sharper than her other pokemon.

Then as footsteps were heard from the path they came, Ray howled and leapt in front of the path. White yelped as screams of terror came from the path. They sounded like cries from other children.

"Hey, Ray!" yelled Sky, jumping off his swing and running toward the Lucario, the other three pokemon not far behind him.

"What about me?!" White called anxiously, who was now stuck in the swing.

But no one was listening. They seemed more concerned about what Ray was doing. White actually couldn't blame them since the voices were now crying about being eaten alive. Sky Blue poked his head out from around the wolf-like pokemon's back.

"Silly Ray, you don't have to worry about them!" She heard Sky laugh. "They are kids from town! They're not gonna hurt anyone!"

Ray growled, but moved away from the path. White could see at least five kids standing close together and trembling from fear. There were two girls and three boys. She noticed that all of them were gripping nets and pokeballs.

"What are you doing with that monster?!" one of the boys, who looked like the leader of the small group, snapped at Sky.

"Is it yours?" asked a frightened girl.

"He's not a monster, he's a Lucario!" Sky Blue corrected. "and no, he's White's, not mine!"

"White? Who's 'White'? You mean the color?"

"SKY BLUE, RAY!" shouted White from the swing, waving her arms widely at her friends. "I'M STILL STUCK!"

She heard Sky make a small yelp as Chatter, Junior, and Pichu ran over to the swing. Ray threw the youngsters a suspicious look before helping the other pokemon get White down.

"Oops, sorry, Whit!" Pichu called as Chatter tried grabbing the young girl with his talons and flying her down but to no avail.

"Allow me," grunted Ray while Junior tried using his weak psychic powers to levitate her down.

The aura broke around her as the Lucario picked her up and set her on the ground. She tried moving back over to Sky, but Ray held her back. He continued to snarl at the new kids.

"Who's she, your sidekick?" the first boy asked jeeringly.

"I'm no one's sidekick!" White yelled angrily, fighting against Ray's grip.

"She's my bestest friend!" Sky told them, running to White's side.

"But why are you on our playground?!" another boy demanded accusingly.

"Who ever said it was your playground? Why can't we play on it too?"

"Cos we're good kids!" said the second girl pompously. "Mommy always says I'm the best girl in the world!"

"Well she apparently doesn't know you very well!" snapped back Sky.

"Sky-" White started, but she was cut off by the third boy.

"You don't even go to school like the rest of us!"

"I do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Alright, where do you go to school?"

"Nowhere! Missy teaches me!"

"See, you don't go to school!"

It seemed obvious that there were two kinds of kids in Mistralton City; the kids who admired Sky, and the kids who envied him. Most of the kids seemed to loathe him, but one of the more timid looking girl seemed to look up to Sky. For some reason, this made White feel jealous.

"White," Ray started, kneeling down to growl in her ear. "Ask them what they're doing with those nets."

"Why do you have those nets?" White repeated for Ray, breaking up the argument between Sky and the third boy.

The first boy straightened up proudly and said annoyingly, "We heard a rumor that a shiny pokemon was spotted near here! We're on our way to catch it!"

Sky's eyes widened at this and replied disbelievingly, "A shiny pokemon?! Here?!"

"What's so special about a shiny pokemon?" White asked blankly.

Everyone turned and stared at her in amazment. White blushed with embarresment. She apparently said something rather stupid.

"You obviously don't go to school!" scoffed the snobbish girl.

"Shiny pokemon are extremely rare!" Sky explained to White excitedly. "Shiny pokemon are colored differently than a regular one! They say that a person has a higher chance of being struck by lightning than finding a shiny pokemon! If there is one here, we should totally catch it!"

"No way!" snapped the second boy furiously, stomping his foot and making Ray growl threateningly. "If anyone catches the shiny pokemon, it'll be us!"

"You don't even have any pokemon!" pointed out Sky Blue as Chatter and Junior gave cries of agreement. "All you guys have are nets and pokeballs, what would you battle it with?"

"You have no pokemon either!" the third boy retorted. "You haven't captured any of them! So all of 'your' pokemon are still wild!"

"I have, and at least I have some, unlike you!"

"Well let's decide this the easy way!" the lead boy interrupted. "We all can go looking for the shiny pokemon! Whoever catches the shiny pokemon gets to keep it!"

"You're on! White, you're with me, right?" Sky asked, turning to White.

She glanced at Ray and Pichu before nodding. After seeing her nod, the first boy continued, "Alright, we'll do it! You two can do whatever. Come on, guys, let's find that shiny pokemon!"

As the five kids ran into the forest, Ray snarled loudly, "Brats!"

"What'd Ray say?" said her friend curiously.

White was about to lie, but Chatter chanted in his squawk, "Brats!"

"What?"

"He said nothing!" White replied hurriedly, clapping her hands over the Chatot's beak. Chatots could speak like humans, but they could only string a few words together or just repeat the one word.

Sky looked at her suspiciously, but he shrugged it off and piped up, "Well it doesn't matter, let's go find that shiny pokemon!"

He then took White's hand and pulled her into the forest where the other kids went. Junior happily skipped after his trainer while copying him by taking Pichu's paw and dragging her along. Chatter flapped after everyone else as Ray lagged behind while grumbling to himself.

"So who were those other kids?" White asked her friend as they ventured through the dark forest.

"Just kids from Mistralton City," Sky Blue answered, shrugging unconcernedly. "That leader kid is Tony. The quiet girl is Jill, the spoiled girl is Tina, and the other two boys were brothers, Bruce and Marco."

"They don't seem to like you."

"Yeah...it's normal. You're the only person who's ever been my friend..."

"Well why not?"

"Because I'm different. They say I'm weird, a nerd. But not all the kids are like that. Jill's ok, but she had to stop talking to me after her family found out. So until you came, I've kinda been myself. No one would talk to me unless it was something mean."

White thought for a moment before asking, "What about your pokemon? Aren't you friends with them?"

"Of course I am! It's just that I can't hear them like you can. You hear them like you hear people, but everyone else hears pokemon just saying parts of their names. The only pokemon that I could probably talk to is Chatter, but he would probably repeat everything I say to him."

"Well I like being your friend, Sky," she told him.

She smiled after seeing Sky blush with embarrassment as he tried to hide his small grin. They continued to search the forest for the rumored shiny pokemon for the next ten minutes. White kept voicing concerns that the shiny pokemon was a very powerful or cunning pokemon, like a Liepard. However, Sky Blue would tell her that Ray would protect them if it was too big or strong. While Ray would give a growl of agreement when Sky would say this, the Aura Pokemon would look a little worried.

"Do you think that Tony was lying?" White questioned as she looked in a hole that was chipped into a thick tree.

"He might have," replied Sky, who was looking in the tall grass. "But I don't think he was."

White looked up as Ray leapt and flipped down one of the larger oaks with Chatter flying behind him.

"Find anything?" She asked but Chatter shook his head sadly while Ray answered, "There was no pokemon that was a color it shouldn't be."

"I can't find anything!" called Pichu as she climbed out of a small burrow. "But I did find a nest of Joltiks."

Then Junior came twirling out of the trees in a cheerful mood.

"Did ya find anything, Junior?" Sky asked his Mime Jr after he stopped in front of his trainer.

"Just a silver Eevee, but that's it!" Junior said happily.

As White and the other pokemon stared at Junior, Sky looked from his friend to the pokemon and started slowly, "White, what'd he say?"

"Um...I think he found the shiny pokemon," White answered uncertainly. "He said he saw a silver Eevee."

"Junior, you idiot," snarled Ray angrily. "Everyone knows that Eevees are brown!"

"Well let's get there, and fast!"

White yelped again as her friend grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the clearing Junior came from. As they got closer, White could see something moving around in the clearing.

A silver canine and feline-like pokemon was playing with a leaf on the ground. The leaf would blow away while the Eevee would run and catch it. It would shake its head and chew the leaf before letting it go. Then it would begin the process over again.

"Wow, it really is shiny!" She heard Sky whisper next to her.

White nodded in agreement. She was more relieved that the Eevee wasn't a Liepard or another more pokemon. This was the second time she had seen a shiny pokemon. The first one was an Arcanine, Flash. While regular Arcanines had reddish orange pelts, Flash had a bright yellow one. However, Flash was an evil Arcanine, and had been killed by Archy.

"How will we catch it?" White asked as the Eevee continued to chase the leaf.

"Dunno," Sky admitted. "Do you have any pokeballs?"

"A few, but not many."

"Why don't we try being its friend?" Pichu suggested.

"I say Sky goes!" chirped Junior while the other pokemon nodded in agreement.

"They think you should go, Sky," White informed him, giggling a little.

"What?! Why me, why not you?!"

"Dunno, maybe because you wanted to do this."

Sky looked back at the Eevee and sighed, "Fine, I'll do it..."

She watched Sky stand up and slowly walk out from behind the bush. The Eevee stopped playing with the leaf after sensing the boy. It turned and watched Sky curiously, its ears twitching. It backed away a little as he knelt on the ground in front of it.

"Hi," he greeted it quietly, slowly reaching out his hand. "I'm Skyler, but everyone calls me Sky Blue."

The Eevee tilted its head to the side and stepped forward. It sniffed his hand curiously as if trying to decipher whether he was good or bad.

After a moment, it barked happily and set the small leaf in Sky's palm. Though Sky Blue looked confused, White could tell it was offering the leaf to him as a sign of friendship. The shiny Eevee made loud squeaks and kept jumping around playfully. White giggled as the little pokemon suddenly jumped onto her friend's leg and making him yelp.

She turned as something rustled behind her. Ray was watching Sky and the Eevee intently. His ears twitched and his fur was on end. White often saw this look on his face whenever he was observing her new friend.

"Ray, is something wrong?" She asked with concern.

The Lucario looked at her with his usual neutral look. He said nothing as he held out his paw and it pointed it toward the clearing. A light blue aura surrounded his paw. White noticed this action as Ray reading someone's aura. It was like someone opening a book and reading the pages.

He pulled his paw back and watched the sky blue aura, which was now shaped as an orb. White stood up a little to see a black speck at the center of the aura. Then a purple smoke-like substance flowed from around the black speck and slithered around the blue aura. She flinched as the purple substance mixed with the blue and the entire orb suddenly became swallowed by crimson red.

"W-What'd you do...?" White stammered as the aura disappeared from Ray's paw.

"I did nothing," Ray answered unhelpfully, his arm falling to his side. "It wasn't anything you need to worry about."

"Was that Sky Blue's aura?" She insisted.

After a minute, Ray growled, "Yes, the sky blue aura was his."

"Why was it purple and red? Can an aura be more than one color?"

"No, it can't."

"But why-"

"White, this is a conversation for another time," the Lucario interrupted sternly. "You are too young to understand this delicate matter, and I myself don't entirely know everything about what's wrong with your friend's aura. All I know is that I've never seen or heard of an aura like his."

White didn't understand any of this. Why was Ray suddenly worried about Sky's aura? What was wrong with it? The aura looked sick, contaminated. Was it common to have a sick aura, and what caused it to become sick?

She was snapped out of her mind of questions after someone yelled from the clearing, "There it is, the shiny pokemon!"

Tony and his group had ran into the clearing from the opposite side. They bumped into each other after seeing the Eevee sitting in Sky's lap.

"What are you doing with that shiny?!" the snobbish girl, Tina, yelled at Sky.

"I'm playing with it!" Sky explained innocently. "It likes me!"

The look on Tony's face was livid. It was obvious how badly each of the kids wanted the Eevee.

"Well its gonna be my Eevee now!" Tony shouted, tearing off toward Sky and the little pokemon.

The Eevee whimpered after seeing the boy run toward it. Out of fright, it began violently scratching at Sky's clothes in order to climb over him. Sky Blue yelled with pain as the feline-canine pokemon scrambled over him and jumped behind him.

"Sky Blue!" White cried, running out from behind the bush and over to her friend.

Then a shadow fell over her, making her stop. Ray had leapt over the bush and his trainer before darting to Sky. His aura bone was already out. He landed in front of Sky and howled. His bone clashed with Tony's net, causing it to snap. The Lucario's pupils dilated as he gnashed his teeth.

The children all screamed with terror and tore back to where they had come from. They had all dropped their nets and pokeballs on the ground.

Ray stopped growling after he was sure that the kids were gone. White felt Chatter, Pichu, and Junior run past her, who had all come running after hearing all the noise. She could hear Sky Blue sniffling quietly while the Eevee was hiding under the end of his coat. Both Chatter and Junior came to their trainer's sides and tried to see if he was alright.

"Sky?" White whispered, kneeling next to him. "You alright?"

He sniffed and nodded, but he kept rubbing his eyes. His clothes were torn a little from the Eevee's claws, and he was bleeding slightly. White didn't know what to do to help him.

The little Eevee slowly came out from behind Sky shyly and tried climbing back into his lap. It pressed its paws against his chest and licked his cuts, making the boy giggle a little.

"He seems to like you," she commented with a smile, patting the Eevee on the head. "I think this is his way of saying sorry."

"It wasn't his fault, it was Tony's..." he muttered, wiping his eyes.

"Hi hi!" squeaked Junior excitedly and loudly as he jumped near the Eevee. "I'm Junior, what's your name?"

The shiny pokemon jumped and scooted closer to Sky Blue. Junior's enthusiasm seemed to startle it. It flinched as Chatter clicked its tongue and Pichu squeaked a greeting to it. It only seemed to like Sky.

"Why don't you keep him?" White asked after a moment as she watched her friend pet the shiny.

"Keep him?" Sky repeated blankly, looking away from the Eevee to see White. "As in asking him to stay with us?"

"If that's what he wants. Otherwise, we could use those pokeballs the others left behind. You could ask him."

"But I don't understand pokemon!"

"I do, I can always help."

The Eevee kept looking from White to Sky with curiosity. It perked up as Sky Blue looked back down at it.

"Hey, Eevee," he starting, glancing around at the other pokemon. "Me, White, and our pokemon friends all live together in a Hidden Grotto on Route 7. It isn't much, but that's our home. Would you like to stay with us too? I'm sure the others won't mind."

The shiny pokemon tilted its head as it thought over the offer. Everyone was watching it intently.

A shy smile spread across the little Eevee's face and barked, "Ok, I'll give it a go! It might be more fun than me being by myself all the time!"

"What did it say?" Sky asked White in a whisper.

"He said yes," White informed him with a smile. "He's been living by himself, and he wants to give it a try."

Before they could do anything else, the Eevee leapt up and began licking Sky Blue's face. He laughed and fell over as Junior and Chatter jumped on him as well. Ray chuckled a little before going to gather the things the children left behind, Pichu trailing after him.

White smiled as she watched how happy her friend was. However, she couldn't help but think about the aura sphere. It just didn't feel right. Somehow, she had always thought an aura reflected what a person was like at the heart. But if the aura really was reflecting who Sky Blue was, why did the aura seem...hostile? Malevolent? As she watched Sky Blue with Chatter, Junior, and the Eevee, she just couldn't believe he was a bad person. After all, he was the only human who ever cared for her, and who she cared for back.

***

"Deborah, Fire Punch! Spirit, Shadow Sneak!"

"Pepper, use Bite! Ariana, Flamethrower!"

White wasn't paying much attention to Danny and Amos' battle at the moment. She didn't want to look at Deborah just yet. She still felt the need to beat her up, but the cuts and bruises from they're last encounter argued otherwise.

It had only been one day since Deborah was put into the Pokemon Center. Because of the Gardevoir's hostile nature toward anyone besides Danny, she had been released from the Pokemon Center early. It was probably best this way since the Gardevoir had destroyed her room (twice) and frightened the other pokemon and trainers staying in the building.

However, she had improved slightly. Besides getting along with Danny, she opened up to Margaret after awhile (but everyone liked Margaret, so it wasn't a huge improvement). Unfortunately, Margaret was still jumpy with the Gardevoir. The Embrace Pokemon's social skills weren't very good either. Deborah would either speak in the rapid Kalos language often or start very uncomfortable conversations. She also had a habit of occasionally pronouncing her name as "De-ah-brah". So now they were currently looking for a social teacher for her or else her social skills would cause problems in the future.

Until they did find her a teacher, Danny was trying to get Deborah and his other pokemon to work together. The only pokemon on his team that wasn't afraid of her was Spirit, but that was probably because he was a Steel and Ghost Type. In order for them to get along, Danny decided that the Gardevoir and his pokemon participate in a Double Battle. Amos had volunteered to be his opponent, but the battle wasn't the real problem. Loopy had been too terrified to battle alongside Deborah, and Samson kept being distant with her. Because of this, Danny had partnered Spirit with the Embrace Pokemon instead so he could show the other two that Deborah wasn't that bad. From what White could tell, Deborah and Spirit were totally out of sync and Ariana and Pepper, despite their ages, were overpowering them.

"I think Samson and Loopy might be getting a little less nervous now," commented Margaret, who was sitting next to White on a bench as she brushed her Wartortle's tail and ears.

White glanced at the Samson and Loopy. They were both standing closely to their trainer, but they were watching the battle curiously.

"Maybe," White replied a little coldly. "But it will still take awhile for them to get use to Deborah. Do you have any ideas on who can help her with her 'social skills'?"

"Um...well...what about your brother?"

"Hmm...ok."

"R-Really? T-That easily?"

"Yeah. Maybe Deborah will break his arm if not kill him."

"Oh my..."

She heard Petunia giggle a little at this. After hearing a scoff from her other side, she turned. Tiny and Purr were sitting next to her, watching Petunia enviously. Apparently they were jealous of all the attention she was receiving.

"Um...y-your pokemon don't seem very happy," Margaret stammered, glancing at White's Espeon and Liepard.

"They want to be spoiled." White replied flatly.

"Well...why don't you brush them?"

"They got spoiled a lot."

Margaret sighed and stopped brushing Petunia. She dug around in her bag next to her before pulling something out.

"Here, use this," the rookie told her, handing her another brush. "Your pokemon might like it."

The moment that White was given the brush, Tiny and Purr both tried leaping onto her lap. White winced as the two feline pokemon dug there claws into her legs as they hissed at each other. Neither looked like they were about to back down.

"Ok, seriously, only one at a time!" White growled, putting Tiny on her lap and pushing away Purr.

Purr snarled and sulked off to the edge of the bench. Tiny smirked at the Dark Type as White began to reluctantly brush the Espeon. She never liked spoiling Tiny and Purr. They were both like divas and loved attention.

"Fiona, you ok?"

White glanced over at Margaret to see Fiona standing a little ways away from the rookie, holding her Swirlix. The little girl had been distant with everyone since the incident at Glittering Cave. She only would hang around the pokemon.

Fiona lifted her arm and pointed at the brush in Margaret's hand, then to Purr. Margaret thought for a moment before saying slowly, "You want to brush Purr?"

When Fiona nodded, Margaret looked over at the Liepard before telling her, "Well, I might have another brush, let me see..."

After hearing this conversation, Purr's ears twitched and she leapt off the bench. She skipped to Fiona's side and rubbed against her. She purred loudly and happily, annoying White.

"Here you go, Fiona," Margaret said finally, handing Fiona a third brush. "I guess I have quite a few brushes with me..."

The little auburn haired girl accepted the brush and sat on the ground. Purr laid down as Fiona began brushing her pelt. The Liepard looked much happier than before.

"So, have you heard when the other group will be here?" Margaret asked White.

White shrugged and answered, "Nope, but they'll probably be here today. Otherwise Mira is still catching her Spritzee."

"Um...so when would you guess they'd be here?"

"Honestly, any minute."

"R-Really...?"

"Yes."

"You sure...?"

"Yeah. I promise, in five...four...three...two...one..."

Just as White reached one, loud chirps and squawks seemed to echo through Ambrette Town. There was a loud shriek from Deborah, making everyone jump.

Deborah was crouched on the ground, her hands over her head. A light pink blur and a black, blue, green, and yellow blur were whizzing around her head. The pink was chasing the black one while chittering away.

"What on earth..." White started, putting Tiny down, grabbing her staff, and approaching the ruckus. Since the pokemon circling the Gardevoir were so quick and speedy, none of the boys seems to know what to do.

But before she could make it back over to Deborah, the Gardevoir screeched, "FAIRE TAIRE!"

The two pokemon yelped and flew away from the Gardevoir. White could now see which pokemon were attacking. The pokemon being chased was Sky Blue's Chatot, Chatter. The pokemon chirping around and chasing him was a pink, feathery, bird-like pokemon.

"Stupide Spritzee!" Deborah spat, coughing and rubbing her eyes. "It smells absolutely infect!"

"That is a Spritzee?" Danny asked as he helped his Gardevoir up.

When she nodded, Amos started, "Wait, could that be-"

But he was interrupted by two yells from behind them.

"Tinker, come back!"

"Chatter, get a grip on yourself!"

The Spritzee stopped chasing Chatter after hearing Mira's voice. The pink pokemon, Tinker, chirped happily and flew toward the voice of her trainer. Chatter gave a squawk of relief before flying a few feet behind his admirer.

Mira was running down the street toward them, her black cape, flapping around her. White could see Shane the Gallade teleporting from spot to spot in order to keep up. Sky Blue was apparently still on the Blade Pokemon's back from his leg injury.

"This should be interesting," White muttered after seeing Deborah snarl while one of her short, pale pink, Moonblast blades materialized in her hand.

"Can't you control your stupid pokemon?!" Sky Blue was shouting at Mira as Chatter hid behind his trainer. Apparently neither him nor the young dragon tamer noticed that the other two groups were nearby.

"Well it's not my fault Tinker has a crush on your Chatot!" snapped back Mira while her Spritzee landed on her shoulder.

"Do they even know we're here?" whispered Amos to White as Sky and Mira continued to argue.

"I highly doubt it, they can be rather clueless," she replied with a smirk.

They were so busy with there bickering that neither of them saw Deborah break away from her trainer. Deborah's eyes narrowed as she observed them, though she seemed curious about Sky. She got really close up to them before snarling loudly, "Je ne vous aime pas!"

Because of the sudden appearance of his least favorite pokemon, Sky Blue yelled and Shane immediately teleported a great distance away from Deborah. The Gardevoir's lip curled and hissed. However, Mira didn't look at all intimidated. On the contrary, she looked amazed at how Deborah could speak.

"Wow, did you talk?!" Mira gasped excitedly, looking up at the Gardevoir.

"Oui, I did."

"That's amazing! I've never met a talking pokemon before! Are you a caught pokemon or are you wild?"

"I'm her trainer, Mira."

Danny had come to Deborah's side, though he took the Moonblast blade out of her hand. She growled, but did not try and take it back.

"Aw, you're so lucky!" Mira pouted. "I wish I had a pokemon that could do that! Where'd you get her?!"

"Mira, where's Leia?" White interrupted as she and Amos came over to them. "Did you guys leave her behind somewhere?"

"...oops."

"Where's my cousin, Mira?!" Amos demanded, his voice sounding anxious.

His question was answered by a loud pop. A large, dark yellow, fox-like pokemon and Leia appeared next to Mira. Alan the Alakazam had apparently teleported himself and Leia to the rest of her group.

"Seriously, stop leaving me behind!" Leia burst out angrily at Mira. "I don't have pokemon that can fly or I can ride on! At least you guys left Alan behind too- wait, where's Sky?"

"Over there," Mira snorted, pointing at Sky and Shane, who were at least three buildings away. "He doesn't like Gardevoirs. But look, this one can talk!"

"Excuse moi," interrupted Deborah, sounding agitated. "But please, I prefer it if you wouldn't talk about me in such a manière."

"Whoops, sorry!"

"Wait, this isn't telepathy, is it?" Leia asked, now interested in the Gardevoir.

"Non."

"Wow, that is pretty awesome. Too bad Sky hates Gardevoirs."

"That's gonna change," White growled as she turned to Alan. "Hey, Alan, would you mind getting your trainer here?"

The Alakazam blinked than nodded slowly. He teleported away before coming back a second later with Shane and Sky.

"Get that thing away from me!" Sky Blue yelped as Shane teleported back a few feet.

White rolled her eyes and snapped, "Seriously, Sky, man up! You're supposed to be an adult!"

"You insult me, fou!" Deborah snarled at Sky.

"It's even intelligent, and it had a knife!" Sky protested desperately.

"Actually she reminds me of White!" piped up Mira.

"I must agree," Leia sighed. "They're both intimidating and threatening."

"I am not like her!" White and Deborah snapped at the same time.

"That is exactly why I am against this Gardevoir! Am I seriously the only one with a problem with her?!"

"Margaret and most of the pokemon have a problem," Danny replied with a shrug. "But she's scared of almost everything and everyone, so she might not count."

White noticed that Deborah was no longer paying attention to any of the trainers. She was observing Shane and Alan. She was hissing at them like a Serviper. Shane kept flinching, but Alan looked more tired than anything.

She then realized that the Alakazam was not standing. His legs were crossed while his arms were on his knees, yet he was a few feet above the ground. She could see a pale pink and gold aura around his body that was levitating the Psychic Type above the ground. Then she remembered something from one of her Pokedex entries on Alakazam.

Alakazam's brain continually grows, making its head far too heavy to support with its neck. This pokemon holds its head up using its psychokinetic power instead.

I guess Alan is finally too weak to carry his own body weight now, White thought sadly.

An Alakazam's average IQ was around five thousand, and its brain cells continued to multiple for the rest of its life. While Alan had been able to walk and lift his body the year before, it seemed now that his brain became so large that he could no longer support just his head. Now it was so heavy that he could no longer walk or stand. He could be exhausted from the attack as well.

As Deborah continued to snarl, Alan glared at her and growled, "Muzzle it."

The Gardevoir stopped, but she looked livid and spat, "How dare you!"

"What's wrong?" asked Danny, but Deborah ignored him and rounded on Sky Blue.

"How dare your pokemon speak to me in such a way!" She snarled.

"What? I can't control whatever they say to you!" Sky argued.

"You are just as rude as them, fool!"

"Oh, I'm rude now?! You had a knife and keep hissing! Besides, can you stop being foreign for awhile?!"

"Abruti!"

"Stop insulting me with foreign words, you meanie!"

"You're childish!"

"You're cruel!"

"Idiot!"

"Drama queen!"

"Madman!"

"Maniac!"

"Stop it, you two!" White shouted, as Deborah made another pale pink blade. "Try and get along, ok?!"

"I don't like your aura!" Deborah suddenly burst out angrily to Sky.

"Aura?" asked Mira blankly. "What's an aura?"

"It's nothing, Mira!" White told her hurriedly, now feeling frightened.

"Deborah, what's going on?" Danny questioned as the Embrace Pokemon got closer to the Gallade and looked closely at the trainer on his back.

The Gardevoir didn't answer. She observed Sky Blue closely, her eyes still narrowed. After a moment, she whispered quietly, "No wonder we sent an elite member after you...I sense so much...darkness...who are you?"

White could tell that Sky Blue was thinking the same thing as her because of how his face had turned pale. Ray had first discovered about Sky's...illness...from his aura. His contaminated aura. But Ray was a Lucario, the Aura Pokemon. He could scan and master auras. It was possible for other pokemon, mainly Psychic Types, to manipulate auras. Could Deborah scan auras too?

"Hey, Deborah," Amos started, making Deborah look away from Sky. "Were you the one who attacked Sky a few weeks ago?"

"No, I didn't," she answered, stepping away from Sky Blue. "Team Flare, however, did."

"Who's Team Flare?" asked Leia curiously.

"We'll explain later," White said hurriedly. "Deborah, why did Team Flare attack him?"

"Team Flare attacked the foreign region assistants because they were transferring information on two legendary pokemon. I know they were called Yveltal and Xerneas, the Pokemon of Destruction and Life. However, none of the assistants had any useful data until this lunatic was discovered to have valuable information. Not only that, but we heard about all the useful technology he makes. But he tricked us and had already delivered the notes. We never got our hands on the data."

"Do you know who the attacker was?"

Deborah thought for a moment before shaking her head and saying, "Non, I know some admin or scientist did it, but I don't know who."

"Um...what's going on?"

Margaret had finally joined the group. She was carrying Fiona while Mister Poofy and Petunia trailed behind her. Tiny, Purr, and the other pokemon had decided to continue to stay where they were.

"Oh my gosh, Margaret, you're just the person I've been wanting to see!" Mira said excitedly, making Margaret yelp as she grabbed her arms. "I heard of this awesome and epic competition that's gonna happen in Ambrette Town, and I want you sign up too!"

"W-What competition? T-The showcase?"

"You've heard of it?!"

"W-Well my grandmothers watch it, and I saw all the signs..."

"Mira, are you going to enter the Pokemon Showcase?" White asked, feeling a little uncertain about her entering.

"Yup!" She answered happily before turning back to Margaret. "Well I tried to get Leia to enter too, but she's being a party pooper right now!"

"Hey! I'm Champion of Unova, I don't really want another title!" protested Leia. "Besides, the showcase is more of your thing!"

"Oh, alright! And then I would ask White but-"

"No, no, no, no, no!" White snapped. "I will never wear those pretty princess dresses! I'm with Leia on this. I'm a trainer, not a showcase performer! That's more of your thing!"

"Yeah, that's why I didn't ask you!" Mira sighed, shrugging and sticking her tongue out at White.

"Err..." started Margaret. "So what are you saying?"

"Well, like I said, I was hoping you could enter the Ambrette Town Showcase too!"

Everyone just stared at her, but both Sky Blue and Deborah snorted (White was beginning to think that they had more in common than they realized). She could see Mira doing the showcase, even Leia, but Margaret? She would probably get stage fright.

"Margaret?" repeated Danny, who was now looking from Mira to Margaret. "A Performer?"

"Yeah!" Mira chirped unconcernedly. "Performances are like the Pokemon Contests! It won't be difficult!"

"Um, Mira," Amos interrupted, uncertainty in his voice. "Contests aren't exactly easy, Showcases take a little more time and practice. Plus you and Margaret would only have a week to prepare."

"A-A week?!" stammered Margaret, now looking a little stressed out.

"Pfft, no problem!" Mira scoffed, putting her arm around Margaret's shoulder. "We can do all that in a week!"

"Margaret, do you want to do the showcase?" White asked the rookie.

The maroon haired trainer stuttered something very quietly, but she stopped abruptly. Petunia had began making small excited cries before going in her shell. The Turtle Pokemon spun around before popping out and doing flips everywhere. It was like she was dancing. She seemed to be trying to show her trainer that she would like nothing better than to perform in front of an audience.

"Y-You want to do it, Petunia?" Margaret asked the Wartortle.

"Of course!" She squeaked, clapping her paws. "You might actually like it! It could be our destiny!"

White watched as Margaret thought for a moment. After a minute, she said in a quiet whisper, "O-Ok..."

"You're going to do it?" Danny asked his friend as Petunia gave a happy squeal.

She nodded and replied more loudly, "W-Well I'll give it a try. I've watched Pokemon Showcases before, so I kinda know what is done..."

Mira's face lit up with happiness as she clapped her hands cheered, "Yay! It'll be so much fun, I promise!"

"W-What must I do to prepare?"

"Well I believe the theme for this showcase is Pokemon Styling, so you might want to practice styling pokemon 'coz that's how you get to the Free Style Round. For the Free Style Round, you need to come up with a performance or dance routine that demonstrates your pokemon's moves and personalities!"

"Oh my...I don't think I can do all that..."

"Margaret, you'll do fine," White assured her. "If anyone can prepare for a showcase in a week, it's you."

"What about me?!" pouted Mira.

"We worry too much about you, so you lose that ribbon," Sky said dully.

"Why?! Oh forget it for now, but this conversation isn't over! Wait, we should sign up right now! Come on, Margaret!"

"Wait, now?!" Margaret yelped, setting Fiona down as Mira tried dragging her away.

"Yeah, those slots fill up fast, so let's go!"

"I don't know how we survived a week with her," sighed Leia as Petunia and Mira's Spritzee chased after their trainers.

"Wait, so Sky wasn't a problem?" White asked in disbelief, though she smirked when hearing Sky huff with annoyance.

"Actually, no, not really. It was only annoying when he kept teleporting everywhere. We barely caught up to him."

"I will not stand here and let you say nice things about him, please don't say anymore."

"Fine, then how did you get a talking Gardevoir?"

"Standing right here!" Deborah growled at Leia.

"Ask Danny or else we'll tell you later, I want to talk to the lunatic right now."

White saw Sky Blue shrink back a little as she started to walked away from the group. It wasn't until White went into an alley between two buildings that Shane teleported to her. Alan had also joined his trainer and teammate.

"Have Alan and Shane been checking your aura?!" She questioned immediately, her voice suddenly panicky.

"What?" Sky said blankly.

"Your aura, are you monitoring it?!"

"We checked once, why?"

"The Gardevoir, Deborah, I think she can sense your aura! Have you had any signs?!"

"No."

"Don't lie! Your eye, has it changed colors?!"

"No."

"It hasn't," croaked Alan as Shane nodded. "We've been checking. We checked his aura a few days ago."

"And?" White insisted. "Describe it!"

When none of them answered, she then turned to Shane and ordered, "Check his aura now."

"But-"

"Do it!"

Shane sighed and obeyed as Sky slid off his back. The Gallade lifted his arm and raised it to the level of Sky Blue's heart. The Psychic and Fighting Type closed his eyes in concentration. A sky blue aura slowly surrounded his hand.

After a minute, it became a sphere. Before his death, Ray had left Alan and Shane with instructions on how to monitor Sky's aura. However, only Shane had been able to fully control aura.

Sure enough, there was a black dot in the middle of Sky's aura. It had tentacle-like lines slithering around the center. The darkness was banging against what looked like a hexagonal, purple field. Every time a tentacle hit the field, it lit up. Under the coils of black, White could see crimson red glowing underneath.

White looked up at Sky Blue, who was looking shamefully at the ground. She was now filled with fear.

"Skyler..." She whispered but she was cut off.

"It's this region, White," Sky interrupted defensively. "It's the memories here..."

"Skyler, you need to control yourself," White told him, her voice filled with concern. "You need to control your emotions and memories. As you can see, your...illness is breaking through the mental block. You could lose yourself again!"

Sky Blue said nothing. Both Alan and Shane looked miserable as well. White took her friend's hand into hers and drew close to him. She put her arms around him as he hid his face from her.

"I'm scared, White," he whispered quietly in her ear. "I don't want to go back to that...that torture chamber of isolation..."

"I know, Sky, I'm scared too," she said, running her hand through his hair. "But no matter what happens, you're never going back, because I won't ever let you go..."