Behind him, Amber shook with giddiness as Patrick’s hand grasped the Pokeball. Scorbunny. Amber skipped forward and took Sobble, pirouetting around with the Pokeball close to her chest as a smile painted her face. Patrick smiled himself, happy that he got the chance to see Amber in such a blissful state.

  “Great choices!” Professor Sonia beamed at them both. She pressed a few buttons and two more Pokeballs were pushed upwards, replacing the two they took. Professor Sonia’s eyes fell upon Patrick as she pinched the skin of her throat. “Listen, Patrick. Fire types are very affectionate. They require more attention and care than others. They don’t take to rejection well, Patrick. You have to be their fuel, a trainer that will match their energy, so promise me you’ll take good care of Scorbunny.”

  Patrick’s legs felt heavy as he stiffened them and straightened his back. He looked up at Professor Sonia and nodded. “I promise.”

  Professor Sonia smiled a warm, motherly smile. “Glad to hear that! Here, you two will need these.” She pressed another button and a part of the device rose up, machinery whirring as two red devices appeared. “Sorry, we didn’t have the budget to supply you all with Rotom phones, but I hope these simple, old Pokedexes will suffice.” She handed a Pokedex to each of them. “You can use them to gather information on Pokemon we haven’t really dug deep into or, on the other hand, learn from info we’ve already gathered on these Pokemon.”

  Amber’s eyes shone as she picked up her Pokedex, twirling around, her dress opening into a circle as she spun. It was an old, blocky, red device. Its corners were sharp, unlike the soft rounded Rotom phones he heard about.

  “We’ve got a Pokemon battlefield right outside if you two would like to duel it out and strengthen your bond with your starters.”

  Amber’s hair flew everywhere as she nodded with vigor. “Sobble, go!”

  The Pokeball opened and a red light materialized into Sobble as it stood there, shying away from the attention suddenly placed on it.

  “Outside please. I’ve had enough mishaps in this lab for one day.” Professor Sonia shooed them as Boltund ran in circles around them.

  Amber glanced at Patrick’s Pokeball. “You’re not getting Scorbunny out?”

  Patrick shook his head. “I’m heading to Slumbering Weald first.”

  Amber stood still for a few seconds, scratching her head, processing his plan of action. “Okay. Makes sense. I’ll be getting a few Pokeballs from home and catching up.”

  The cold surface of Scorbunny’s Pokeball was smooth to the touch as Patrick kept rubbing his finger on it. His steps felt heavy as he contemplated his course of action for the millionth time already. It was a tight plan. He couldn’t see any openings. Yet he still felt guilty about it. It felt…wrong. Mimikyu’s face popped into his mind’s eye and he steeled his resolve. If it was for Mimikyu, then he didn’t care about right or wrong.

  Sounds died down as he entered deeper into the forest, leaving civilization and humans behind. Here in Slumbering Weald, it was only him and the wild Pokemon. The heavy fog clung to his clothes, smelling of day-old rain, it covered the metal surface of the Pokeball with dew. He shook the moisture off the ball. Amber hated the fog of this forest, just like she hated unoptimized teams. She always talked about how much she wanted to pick Scorbunny but doubling up on fire types didn’t appeal to her competitive side. She was taking this way too seriously in Patrick’s opinion. For him, taking care of Pokemon was more of a bond than a team to strengthen. He was building a family, not a team. Scorbunny was inside this Pokeball, yet the ball gained no weight whatsoever. Patrick thought back to the many infomercials he watched on the starters and how energetic Scorbunny seemed. It was a popular choice for a reason. Scorbunny was a valuable Pokemon to be added to said family, a rare one that he’d almost never get the chance to get. He shook his head and ignored the nagging thoughts.

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  The shadows surrounding him scared him back when he first entered this forest, but now, he felt bold. Nothing in this forest fazed him. Mimikyu’s powers would soon be under his control. And judging by how it braved that hellish Corviknight, nothing in this forest could land a scratch on it. He walked with a pep in his step. All doubts around his plan gone, his mind, heart, and soul were set.

  “Mimikyu! Mimikyu!” He called out with a firm voice as he entered their clearing.

  A bush rustled and a jolt ran through Patrick’s spine. He shook with excitement as he imagined catching Mimikyu. He was seconds away. Mere seconds. Mimikyu exited through the bushes and ran towards Patrick. They met in the middle in a warm embrace. The world froze, time paused as they held the hug for minutes before Patrick exited the entanglement.

  He got Scorbunny’s Pokeball out of his pocket and pressed the button, clenching his fist. The metal felt heavy, burdened by his promise to Professor Sonia just an hour ago. The Pokeball opened and Scorbunny exited the ball. It turned around and smiled at Patrick, warmth exuding out of its lovable face. A red collar circled its neck, glowing faintly with warmth. Patrick winced as it approached him and nuzzled his leg. The warmth was a great reprieve from the cold, damp air of Slumbering Weald. For a moment, he remembered the warmth Mimikyu exuded when he hugged it. He flinched as he pushed his leg out, pushing Scorbunny away.

  “No, get away, shoo.”

  Scorbunny tilted its head as it walked a bit away and found a pebble. It kicked the pebble his way, acting on its footballer instincts. It wagged its tail as it waited for Patrick to kick the pebble back to it. A glint in its eyes resembled flames as it hopped up and down, smiling. Patrick’s legs twitched, as he looked at the pebble and then at the glowing, happy Scorbunny.

  “You have to be their fuel,” Sonia had said.

  Patrick gritted his teeth.

  “Don’t you understand?!” Patrick’s voice cracked as he screamed, shattering the silence of the clearing. “Go away! I don’t want you!” The words hung heavy in the air as he regretted every single one instantly.

  Scorbunny finally caught on and looked at Patrick, its eyes crestfallen. Its ears drooping. He looked at Mimikyu, trying to ignore the Scorbunny that ran away, deeper into the dangers of the forest. A whimper attracted his attention as he looked back there to find Scorbunny glancing back. Looking for a crack in the facade, for the joke, but it only found Patrick’s cold, hard glare.

  A sword twisted deep into his gut as he imagined the Scorbunny abandoned, fighting other much stronger wild Pokemon for a single bite of a berry. He shook his head, pushing the negative thoughts away. He looked at Mimikyu, joy reigniting in his chest. “You ready, Mimikyu?” He approached it with his Pokeball in hand.

  Mimikyu took a step back. Patrick tilted his head as he kept pacing towards it.

  An object flew through the bushes at the edge of the clearing. The moment it got close to Mimikyu, Patrick’s mind caught up.

  It was a Pokeball.

  It landed onto Mimikyu’s head, pulling him inside. Patrick shouted, letting out a blood-curdling scream. He pounced on the ball, scratching it with his entire might as it shook once. Pain covered his body as his fingers and nails struggled to find an opening in the ball. He clawed and clawed, but found nothing as the ball shook twice. Hot tears covered his eyes as his vision got blurry.

  “No…No…NOOO!”

  He pounded the ball, releasing a barrage of futile punches. His hand bruised, his fingertips were covered with blood as his nails were disfigured. The ball shook thrice.

  Ding. Mimikyu was caught.

  He stood there. Looking at the Pokeball, his mind empty. Then, the ball was dragged. A length of twine dug a trench through the dirt as it yanked the metal sphere violently through the underbrush to the perpetrator of all this. The person who stole his Mimikyu, no, his entire purpose of life. Mimikyu was gone, and every shred of humanity in Patrick’s heart disappeared with it as he ran in the direction of the bushes. Imagining himself digging his bloody nails into their throat.

  Bushes rustled on the other side of the clearing as Amber appeared. Patrick stood dumbfounded, glancing from Amber to the direction of the perpetrator. He bit down on his lip as the rush of pain engulfed him. He looked down at his hands to find bloody fingers, disfigured nails, and bruises. An emotion welled up inside of him, reaching up his chest. Warmth covered his entire body as his vision blurred with tears. He raised his head and stared at Amber whose pity filled her eyes.

  “Save…me.” His knees buckled and he fell to the ground. “Stop me.”