*??? POV*

Cold.

Everything is cold.

What's going on?

Where am I?

Where are my Pokémon?

Why can't I see anything?

A low rumble of a chuckle cut through the air like a knife, sending goosebumps down my spine. If it weren't for whatever was shielding my vision, I wouldn't be as scared about the being hiding from me. But not only have I lost my sight, I've lost sight in my one and only good eye.

I wish I had never lost my other eye.

"Lysandre, we have the boy your looking for," a cold voice broke through the silence "His name is Stanley. He is 14 years old, the same as Hope Ketchum—-" "Sir, why must we waste our time with this one boy in particular?" A new voice asked, this one revealing youthfulness, "It would make sense to go after Hope or Sara or the other children Hope affiliates with... but him?"

I couldn't resist, a dark chuckle of my own erupted from my throat "Why do you ask? Are you disappointed I don't have powers like Hope?" A hand grabbed the soft material on my face, yanking it off me. Now, I could see my situation; a Team Flare X grunt was holding a blindfold, probably glaring at me from behind his red tinted sunglasses.

My breath caught in my throat. Xerosic stood beside Lysandre, a dark chuckle coming from the mad scientists throat. Lysandre didn't observe me, didn't acknowledge me at all; he was petting the head of his Pyroar, focusing only on his fire type Pokémon. I tried to move my arms in order to punch the smirk off Xerosic face, but I couldn't. Handcuffs kept my wrists behind my back, while a chain connected my ankles to the wall behind me.

Xerosic grabbed a bunch of my red hair, laughing as he made my head sway back and forth "How could we be disappointed in you? You will lead Hope and her friends straight to us! Powers or no, your our puppet now..." "I'd rather DIE than help you with anything!" I growled, trying and failing to jerk my head free of Xerosic grasp. To my surprise, Xerosic let go of my head. I doubt he wanted to stop tormenting me, but Lysandre had held up his hand.

"There's no need to grow upset, young Stan," Lysandre's air of authority curled my blood in rage, "You do not understand the responsibility Team Flare and I hold—-" "Yeah, I know you use innocent gifted children, such as Hope, for your twisted purposes." I spat. "You wish to create a new world of beauty and peace by destroying this world, by killing millions upon millions of men, women, children and Pokémon! That's insane!"

Lysandre shook his head "You arrogant child. You cannot hope to understand what I'm striving to achieve... plus, you and I both know Hope isn't innocent... She has spilt blood, you know."

I gritted my teeth. Lysandre stood up from his chair, snapping his fingers once as he began leaving, "Team Flare will stop at nothing from achieving its goals! We will make this world of beauty and peace!" His Pyroar followed him to the door. I rolled my eyes, frowning at his words. "....Just tell me one thing," I asked, making Lysandre stop. I hesitated, but I needed this mystery solved once and for all.

"When you attacked Professor Scyamores lab, when we fought, you said I fought a lot like you when you were my age.... I'm adopted.... Are your my——?" "I'm not your father," Lysandre revealed, though he sighed in thought. "I did have a son, once; but he died of a terrible illness caused by man." Lysandre turned to face me; I could just make out a tear rolling down his face and into his beard. "Don't you see why I do what I do now? I do this all for him! I do this all for my baby boy." The Team Flare member rubbed his face with his palm, desperate to hide his emotions from me. But I could see it as clear as day. I was seeing Lysandre not as the mad man everyone claimed him to be; I was seeing a broken father who wished his child was alive.

Lysandre turned away from me one last time, remarking, "I do admit though; you do remind me of me as a child.... but I'm not that child anymore." Lysandre stormed away, resorting back to the mad man he was famous for being. "Make sure everyone is ready for Hopes arrival! She won't be working alone." Xerosic followed his leader, rubbing his hands together like a child at a candy store. "Yes sir!" Xerosic responded, even as the grunt closed the door behind the two evil men. Now, it was just me and the grunt.

To my surprise, the grunt spoke, "Listen, Stan, right? I'm willing to help you bust out of here, but under one condition." I raised my only eyebrow; was this some sort of trick? Still, the idea of getting these handcuffs off my wrists was too tempting for me to resist. "I'm listening." I replied. The grunt peeled outside the door, asking me, "Ok, this is what I need from you: In Alola, there are these cute little creatures called Rockruffs. They are freaking adorable, ok? Adorable! There my favorite Pokémon in the world! But, as you can tell," The grunt waved at his uniform, "I'm clearly unable to travel to Alola. Even if I had a disguise on, Lysandre would NEVER let me leave! If I let you go, I need you to travel down to Alola, grab a Rockruff, then bring it back to me, alright? I'll let you go if you promise me to do that! Ok?"

I stared at him as though he were a Slowpoke. "Ummmm, ok?" The grunt jumped in joy and ran over to uncuff me. Just as the key slid into the lock, someone hit the back of the grunts head, causing him to lose unconscious. My jaw dropped open when I saw who it was "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"

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Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I didn't get to writing this down until now; my life has been crazy, but I've found some time to focus on this for a change. Who do you think knocked the grunt unconscious? Will Stanley ever escape Lysandres hands? Or will Hope and her friends walk right into a trap? Keep on reading to find out! God bless!