The slums are exactly what you think they would look like. Trash littered the floor, and the walls were covered in graffiti. The people here matched the atmosphere.

Lucia would've felt remorseful for the drunks and homeless people, if they didn't all say they were going to rape her and Victoria.

The two girls battled everyone lurking in the slums along the way, fending off creeps. At least Theros learned the move Slam along the way. The two reached a point where a large staircase headed downwards and decided to take a rest break for a moment.

Victoria ran a hand through her hair. "Ugh. I thought Amaria would have come through here but of course we can't find her."

An idea popped into Lucia's head. "Let's take a break for a moment then." She grabbed Theros' Pokéball at her side. "How about a battle?"

"You're on!" She grabbed a Pokéball from her side as well. "Let's put both our bodies and minds to their fullest." She clicked the Pokéball at her side, sending out her Kirlia.

Lucia did the same, sending out Theros. She immediately shouted out a command to Theros, "Leaf Tornado!" Leaves swirled around Kirlia, causing a significant amount of damage to the Pokémon.

"Kirlia, Confusion!" The Pokémon's eyes began glowing a bright blue. Psychic waves crashed down onto Theros doing minimal damage.

"Incinerate!" The fire hit Kirlia, knocking the Pokémon out.

A smile appeared on Victoria's face. "Nice! He's improved so much in only a day!" She returned Kirlia to its Pokéball before grabbing a different one. "Pichu, Fake Out!" The small mouse-Pokémon charged towards Theros, hitting him but doing almost no harm.

"Theros, Leaf Tornado!" The tornado made of leaves surrounded Pichu, knocking it out in a single hit.

"Alright then let's see how this rematch goes, Torracat, let's go!" The Litten Theros had battled earlier had evolved into its second evolution. The Pokémon's ability, Intimidate, usually weakened their opponent's attack. Due to Theros' ability, Contrary, his attacked was actually raised.

"Let's see." Her grin widened. "Slam!" Theros flung his whole body at Torracat.

Torracat skidded back, its claws scarping against the ground. "Torracat, Flame Charge!" Fire surrounded the Pokémon's body as he slammed into Theros.

Theros was knocked on his back, but he quickly got up. His eyes glowed when he saw the fire. Without Lucia even telling him to attack he used Incinerate, shooting fire at Torracat.

The attack didn't knock out Torracat, but it did a good chunk of damage to the cat-Pokémon.

Victoria stared at Theros and began laughing.

Lucia did the same. "At least he's not afraid of fire anymore."

After the two girls stopped giggling, they continued the battle. Victoria shouted out another command to her Pokémon, "Flame Charge, again!" Torracat used the same move as before, hitting Theros with his fire covered body again.

"Finish this, bud! Slam!" He hit Torracat with his body again, knocking out the Pokémon.

She returned Torracat to his Pokéball and walked over to Theros, reaching down to pat his head. "That was a solid session. Thanks for the battle idea."

"Of course. Everyone enjoyed it."

For a moment Lucia forgot that she was in the slums. That was until she heard a whistle. She blinked in annoyance before turning to see a blonde boy who looked only a little older than her and Victoria.

A wide smile was on the boy's face, and you could hear the seductive tone in his voice. "Bravo, ladies. You girls certainly know how to put on a show."

Victoria blinked before turning to the boy. "Excuse me?" She stepped towards him and the boy took a step back.

"Hey, hey. No disrespect. You two looked great out there. I love to see gals who can... what did you say before?" A smirk formed on his punch-able face, "Put your body to the fullest," He made what could only be described as a moaning sound.

The two girls exchanged a glance of disgust.

Victoria shoved him backwards, clicking a Pokéball and sending out a Whirlipede. The Pokémon looked ready to stab the man with the toxic spikes protruding from its body. "Do you really want to push your luck right now?"

He turned pale seeing the Whirlipede ready to attack him, "Ah... hah. N-no hard feelings. Right?"

"You haven't even offered an apology and even if you did it doesn't absolve all your responsibility." Her Whirlipede growled. She turned back to Lucia. "Why don't you go on ahead, Lucy? I'm going to have a few more words with this guy." She cracked her knuckles. "I'm going to make sure that he really understands what he's been saying."

Lucia raised an eyebrow before sighing, "Vicky, I do not have the money to bail you out of prison if you get arrested for assault." She heard Victoria chuckle before she left the room, moving forward through the slums.

***

The rest of the slums were the same compared to what Lucia had seen. Trash everywhere, large cracks in the walls and floor, dirt everywhere, and awful people plagued the area.

Wild Pokémon ran around everywhere, and she got jumped by three Scraggy and a Scrafty. They were no problem for Theros and Arlow, but she was still too nervous to send out Kaladin. Who knows where Team Meteor might be lurking.

She finally reached the southern part of Obsidia Ward, breathing in the somewhat fresh air. Thank Arceus she was out of there. She likely would've punched one of the creeps if she had to spend a moment longer in there.

Lucia sighed, shaking her head before walking into the Coral Ward.

She didn't think it was possible, but the air appeared even more toxic than it had in the rest of Reborn City. She supposed the reason behind it was that the ward was next to the polluted lake. There were a few boat hangers scattered around the ward filled with speedboats and one with a yacht in it.

She wandered around the ward for a short while, looking for any sight of the blue-haired woman. Eventually she spotted her, standing on a brick pier looking at the water while holding her hands against her chest.

Lucia stepped onto the pier, calling out to the woman, "Hey, are you Amaria?"

The woman turned around as Lucia walked towards her. "I am. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I was looking for you. I was sent by Florinia to ask for your help in Obsidia Ward."

"Crap, I completely forgot about that," she sighed, turning back to the water, "Sorry, but can it wait for a moment?" She gestured towards a cowering Popplio, stranded on a small island of dirt. "This Popplio has somehow been stranded over there, and I need to get it to safety."

"Yeah, I guess you can't use any Pokémon because of the water."

"The toxicity of the water causes serious harm to any Pokémon in it, unless they're a poison type."

They stood there for a moment, silently trying to figure out a solution. That was until a voice rang out, "Hey, Lucy!"

She assumed the voice would've been from Victoria, but it was Cain. He skipped towards the two girls. "What's going on here?"

Amaria nodded at Cain, "Hello, Cain. This Popplio needs help here."

Lucia looked back and forth between the two of them, "Wait, you guys know each other?"

"Of course we do. Cain used to be the poison type Gym Leader."

Cain only shrugged in response. "Used to be. It's not a big deal." He glanced over at the Popplio. "Poor thing. Let me handle this." He clicked a Pokéball, sending out an Alolan Muk.

For some reason, Cain began singing as his Muk swam across the water to retrieve Popplio.

You're not alone, so have no doubt

We'll pull our heads together, gonna figure this out

In no time, we'll be at you side!

We're a team on a rollercoaster ride

Each one of us knows just what to do

And we're never gonna stop— never gonna stop

Searching for you

Strange. Lucia had heard that song before. Her heart dropped as she realized where she had heard it.

"Again, mommy, again!" Lucia, who was only around eight at the time, cheered while sitting in her mother's lap. Small gusts of wind swirled around the air, causing the grass to blow in it. The sky was an array of colors, lights clashed, creating a stunning aurora at dusk.

Her mother gave a small laugh, "Calm down there, Lucy. I've already sang for you three times."

"I know but do it again. Please mommy, for me?" Lucia looked up at her expectantly, her puppy dog eyes received another laugh from her mother.

"If you say so, little angel." She inhaled, beginning the song.

You're not alone, so have no doubt

We'll pull our heads together, gonna figure this out

The song cut off suddenly and Lucia's consciousness was transported to a few days after that moment. Now in a different location, there was no serene peace. There was no wind blowing through her hair and no aurora up in the sky. Instead, all she saw and felt was blood.

The younger Lucia watched in horror as her mother's limp body slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood on the wall behind her. A gunshot wound was visible in her chest.

Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at her mother. She tried to run towards her but was held back by the same man who shot her. A hand covered her mouth, muffling her screams.

Her mother gave her a small smile. "Don't worry dear, it'll be alright. Remember Lucy," She began singing that same song again.

You're not alone, so have no—

A gunshot rang throughout the room, splattering all over Lucia's skin and clothes. The bullet launched straight into her mother's head, silencing her forever.

Lucia was snapped out of her thoughts by Cain waving his hand in front of her face and calling out her name. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, noticing that the Popplio was on the pier already.

Cain raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay, Lucy? You were staring out into space for like three minutes."

She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm okay. Glad Popplio's alright."

Amaria nodded, "That was amazing!"

Cain rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Usually from boys though. Anyway, now that Popplio's okay I'm going to go ahead and dip. See you around girls!"

He began walking away but Popplio began following him, clapping its fins together. "Pop, Popplio!"

Amaria clasped her hands together. "Aww, he seems to like you."

Cain turned around to see Popplio following him. "Huh? Well, he is a cutie. Do you want to come with me, Popplio?"

The Pokémon cheered, hopping towards him.

"Alright, we'll keep each other safe from now on, little buddy." He grabbed a Pokéball and caught Popplio. He looked up and a wide grin appeared on his face as he looked at Lucia, clicking the Pokéball to send out Popplio. "Hey, Lucy, would you mind giving Popplio a chance to prove himself?"

Lucia smiled back, clicking Theros' Pokéball, letting the Servine out. "Let's do this then."

"Okay, Popplio, Aqua Jet!" Water surrounded the Pokémon's body as he charged at Theros.

The attack didn't do much to Theros, it barely pushed him back. "Alright, Leaf Tornado, bud!" Leaves surrounded and swirled around Popplio, knocking the Pokémon out in one attack. "Sorry! That was a bit too harsh."

"Nah, it's alright." He grabbed his Pokéball and returned Popplio to it. "We'll have some training to do, the first time's always rough. Swablu, let's go!" The bird Pokémon popped out of the ball, spreading its cloud-like wings as it chirped.

"Theros, Slam!" He charged towards Swablu, hitting the Pokémon with his tail, slapping the Pokémon away and knocking it out in one hit just like with Popplio."

Cain sighed, returning Swablu to its Pokéball, "Jeez, he's gotten strong. Congrats you two on the progress."

"Thank you, Cain."

"Of course! I have my Muk and Nidoking but I don't think Theros is ready to battle them yet."

Lucia nodded, picking up Theros in her arms. "Yeah, definitely not."

Amaria walked up behind her. "Hey, I think I recognize you. You're the one who defeated that Team Meteor commander, right?"

She turned around. "I am."

Someone else came to join in on the conversation, that person being Victoria. "Hey, Lucy. Hey, Cain."

"Hi, Vicky. You get through the slums alright?"

"Of course I did. I showed those punks who harassed us a lesson!"

Cain chimed in, "I'd love to stick around but I've really got to run. There are a couple things back in the wasteland I've got to take care of, or they're going to come back to bite me in the ass. See you three girls around!"

Amaria waved as Cain left. "I'm glad Popplio will be in good hands. Still, I don't know how he got stuck."

Victoria nodded. "Yeah, the lake's getting dangerous to any Pokémon in it. I've seen a few poison types evacuating it even."

"That's why I've made it my personal mission to make sure as many Pokémon are safe as possible until the water can be cleared up!"

Lucia gestured towards Obsidia Ward. "Hey, are you ready to go now? We need to help Florinia and solve the problem."

"You're right. I was chasing a Team Meteor Agent in the area. His name is Borealis. Let's all head up there. We'll need to go through the slums with the way the plants are right now.

Lucia gritted her teeth as Victoria laughed at her reaction. "Are you fucking kidding me?"