Tuesday, May 2nd, 1989

The rain trickled down the side of the bridge and into the rushing river down below. The wooden rope bridge swayed from side to side. Andrew allowed the rain to hit his face. A ball landed in his hand before being tossed again into the air. So, our lives are about to get real dunked. He pulled his red polo shirt. He shuffled back against the rope before dropping onto his knee as a member of the Elkran guard walked past carrying a transparent box of poké balls.

"Rew-Rew!" Lioa waved, walking towards him. "That town meeting was so full of tauros shit." He raised his hand and caught the ball.

Staring up at the sky, Andrew said, "Yeah, we will get dunked by school."

"Not going to do that shit. Literally keeping us indoors because they want to make us do what their law says." Lioa spat on the floor. "James, you were so lucky. We had to sit through the most boring town meeting ever, and Captain Twatbel wants us to go to school."

"Fuck that!" James shouted. "They need to fucking pay. They'll make us follow their religion or only speak their language or something." He slammed his foot into the wooden post, holding the bridge up. It wobbled slightly before sinking back into the muddy earth. "So, Ano, what was that about? The poké balls and stuff?"

Andrew shrugged and caught the ball.

"We could totally steal it from them twats. Would be a good way to make them piss back off to Elktan. Someone has to steal them, though, or... or... yeah, that's better, let all the pokémon loose. That'd be destructive and make them sorry." Lioa reached into his pocket, pulling out a small wooden pyramid with six rods. "Green, then pink, then red, then purple, then yellow, then blue. Single pull." He held it out and placed his fingers on one of the rods. Andrew and James each picked a rod, and Lioa said, "Three, two, one, pull."

"Red," Andrew said, smirking.

"Ha, blue. You twats!" Lioa jumped up on the spot.

"Sorry, Ano, I got purple." James raised the rod and handed it back to Lioa. "Get going. Remember, release all the pokémon they brought in, yeah? Also, Li, is it true? You threw Kitiku onto the machoke?"

Lioa looked up at James. "Don't be a twat. He got himself in the way."

Andrew looked back at Lioa and sighed. "Alright, I'll give them a good dunking." He waited for the soldier to pass over the crossing and then quickly darted on his tip-toes to the edge of the office building. The thick bushes housed joltik, and the occasional starly rustled as he snuck around the back of the building. He placed his hands on the edge of the dumpster around the back and pushed his right foot against the small piece of metal that was protruding from the side. The black metal lid wobbled, but he took a deep breath and pulled himself onto it. Lying flat, he could just about catch a glimpse of the clear case through the window.

Quickly, Andrew jumped up and grabbed hold of one of the window ledges. However, he felt his fingers start to slide. "Ah crap," he said. He felt a tingling sensation in the back of his neck and adrenaline rushing through his system. He swung himself into the window. A thud rang out, but the window didn't break as his fingers slipped. "Ow!" he said, rubbing his back and looking back at the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the following window was open. He shuffled back on the dumpster and sprinted to the edge. He leapt up and grabbed the window, breaking the first wooden hinge under the sudden weight.

Andrew quickly pulled himself through the window and onto the floor. And Fehahra scoof Captain Takui rolls into the box. He left the room and headed into the narrow corridor. He runs along the corridor towards the enemy goal. Suddenly, he saw two Elkran soldiers walking down the corridor from the other direction. They try to cut him off, but he dives out of the way. He held his breath, waiting for them to pass. His hand wrapped tightly around the poké ball in his pocket. He slides past the defence and into the goal semi-circle. He takes his bat and slams the ball into the net! Andrew tossed his poké ball forwards, and his deino appeared before him.

"Use tackle, Nuktio!" She sprinted forward and slammed into the case, shattering it. The noise echoed through the corridor, and the footsteps of Elkran soldiers and guards started to get louder with every passing second.

The poké balls that were inside the case rolled along the floor opening. The Pokémon inside roared and chirped. They fled the room towards the doors and windows. Smashing echoed down the corridor amongst the footsteps. A woosh came from inside the room. Andrew turned around to see a giant fireball heading towards him.

The ball stopped spinning and held its place. Specks of the flames spat out, but they remained floating. It started to beat like a heart and exploded into smoke.

"Andrew -uff, are you -uff okay?" Captain Bourbabel's hand was extended. "What -uff are you -uff doing here?" He wiped the blood off his mouth and took a deep breath in. "Don't tell me you let them out?"

Andrew scowled at him. "I'll dunk on your arse!"

Leaning against the doorframe, Captain Bourbabel closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Come now, Andrew, you don't want assault added to your criminal record. Do you? I know that James and Kitiku are not real brothers – anyone who has read their files would understand that. It makes me wonder the same about you and Lioa."

Andrew closed his fists. "You want to hurt us, huh? Was that festival appearance just a show so you could get the dunk on us?"

"Think about it, Andrew." Captain Bourbabel's shirt had tiny specs of blood, as did his lip, but he still smiled at him. "You don't want to have a criminal record, do you? I wiped the records to give everyone a clean slate once I got here. You could do well. Your father, he died, didn't he? If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But, I assume you want more than just to throw your life away."

Looking out the window, Andrew saw Lioa running away. I guess... "I want to play sports. When I was like five, Dad took me to see a scoof match, and that was it. I was drawn in. I remember him holding me up and me catching the ball. Watching the skaters was amazing. What was with those pokémon anyway? They were pretty strong."

Captain Bourbabel beckoned Andrew with his index finger. He held the door open for him and walked down the corridor into an office. The brown-painted wooden door was cracked but opened fine. He tapped the chair opposite his desk and sat down. "Those pokémon are Kilgorese. They were being trained nearby under Master Captain Felix Mainstenhill. You can see why this is serious now, don't you?"

Sitting on the chair, Andrew rubbed his arm. "Yes, sir. Um... sorry for getting mad at you. I just didn't want you to dunk me in it. Are you going to rattata on me?" A tear ran down his face.

"No. I won't. However, I think you really need to sit down and think about what you want from your life. School will help you with that. You are eleven, Andrew. You have your whole life ahead of you. Learning to read and write will open up many opportunities for you." Captain Bourbabel offered Andrew a sweet berry.

"Thank you, sir." Andrew put the berry in his mouth. "I really want to be on the scoof team. The thing is, I'm not an adult, so there is no way... If I was one year older then...."

"Elkran law is different to Colran law, and Elkran law is in action here. Therefore, you won't have to worry about that being a major block. We will figure out a way around it. Although, I disapprove of the sport. Throwing exploding voltorbs at each other is not a sport but dangerous." Captain Bourbabel leaned in. "However, I see it means a lot to you and probably others. Therefore, I won't ban it for now." He reached into his bag and pulled out a shirt and a red tie with a cream jumper to suit. After this talk, I'll change. "Get out of here and go follow that dream, Andrew. Just don't get yourself arrested."

Captain Bourbabel waved as Andrew ran out of the room. He pulled his jacket off and slumped it over the back of his wooden chair. He unbuttoned his shirt, undid his tie and stuffed them in his bag, replacing it with a clean white one. He pulled a red tie around his neck and did it in a trinity knot before pulling the cream jumper over his head.

Let's find these missing pokémon before the Kilgorese guard finds out. Captain Bourbabel looked at his poké balls and then glanced at the list and letter on his desk. Shinx, mawile, riolu, bronzor, polteageist, varoom, varoom, gimmighoul, arcanine, metagross, stantler and a squawkabilly. He picked up the poké ball with his braviary in. He walked out the door and outside. "Come, Barook, we best catch them."

"We'll help." Sergeant Sutton smiled, holding a poké ball up, and gestured to Lieutenant Tomilson beside him. "We will speed this process up. You don't have to do it alone, sir!" A scream echoed out down the street. "I got this one!" Sergeant Sutton sprinted away.

Thanks, Sutton, Captain Bourbabel thought and began to run down the cobble streets, Lieutenant Tomilson in tow. He glanced up to smoke pouring through the air. "That's not good."

Lieutenant Tomilson dashed in front of him and released his dragapult. "Go on."

Nodding, Captain Bourbabel ran into the park. The trees surrounding it were covered in starly. The green grass was long, and the bushes were covered in flowers of many different colours. In the corner of his eye, he saw a purple pokémon in the trees, letting out a squawk. I guess that's why it's called that. He stepped back and took a poké ball out of his pocket. He flicked his wrist and hurled it at the squawkabilly. The ball smashed into the pokémon's beak, sucking it inside. Well, that was easy... He walked over and picked up the pokémon.

Snap.

"Barook, use superpower!" Captain Bourbabel turned and jumped back as sharp teeth came crashing towards his arm. Mawile, but it's floating? Wait... that's a bronzor. Mawile and bronzor, it's not the best match-up. Maybe I should have taken the whole team. No, this is fine.

The braviary slammed into the mawile, ripping her off the ground and flinging her into a fence. He called into the sky as she tumbled back. He shot up into the sky, his feathers scattered around. His wings were pulled back, and he couldn't move.

Captain Bourbabel tossed a poké ball at the injured mawile before turning on his heels to see the bronzor's eyes highlighted pink. It threw the braviary forward and into him. "Ugh, damn, it's strong. Get up, Barook and use superpower." The pokémon opened its large wings and called out, snapping its beak shut. He flew up and swivelled. Its eyes locked with the bronzor's. Its blue, metallic body is unable to rotate in time. The clunk of the metal grated by the sharp, powerful beak rang out.

It let out a squeak. Captain Bourbabel took a poké ball out of his pocket and tossed it towards the bronzor. However, the ball was stopped dead in the air.

"Mummy!" a child called out, shaking as a large hefty branch swung towards her.

Shit! It is attacking the child! Captain Bourbabel ran forward, grabbing the child and pulling her against him. He turned his back to the branch. "Ah!" The branch struck against his back and rolled down the side. That hurt... this Pokémon really doesn't want to give up. He let go of the toddler and faced the bronzor. With an outstretched arm, he muttered, "Drain it." His eyes glowed pink, and the stone hanging around his neck glowed. The bronzor shrieked and shook. I need to output this power somewhere. With his other hand, Captain Bourbabel reached up to his braviary. "Use brave bird!" He looked up, and a small psychic field appeared around the braviary. "Ugh, what? Where did it go?" Captain Bourbabel glanced around. Damn it, it escaped? I had it locked on. That is one strong bronzor.

"Sir!" Sergeant Sutton called out. He caught his boot on the edge of the pavement and staggered forward. Placing one foot after the other, he waved his arms around frantically.

"Be careful." Captain Bourbabel grabbed his arm.

"Yes, sir. I caught a few pokémon. Although, Vesx is worn out now. We should probably ask the locals for information on the others." Sergeant Sutton rubbed the back of his head. He grinned at Captain Bourbabel's smile.

"Indeed." Captain Bourbabel walked to the stone sundial in the middle of the park. "Nearly five already?" He placed his hands in his pockets. "I best get these back. I'll be back soon." He walked along the cobbled streets. A few people waved and smiled at him, and he waved back. The talk with Andrew took longer than it should have. I don't mind talking to him. It had to be done. However, I hope the pokémon didn't get too far. He pushed open the office door. I should let Ikur know that I got hit by a tree branch. He stepped down the wonky concrete stairs and onto the hospital floor. He saw Lord Ikur talking to someone.

"That's not quite it. You aren't stupid. You are very clever. But you have difficulties doing some things, and that's not the end of the world. That's just you. At least, that's the Elkran understanding. Of course, there are some things we don't understand about autism. Well a lot of things. We don't know what makes it happen, or why. I wish I could tell you more. I just don't know. Either way, you will be fine, Kitiku." Lord Ikur pushed his glasses back onto his face. "I am surprised no one told you before, though."

"I-I am b-broken?" Kitiku whispered.

"No, and especially not to me. You are different, but that doesn't define you. Some of the strongest and smartest people in Coltar are just like you. Not all of them, but some. The biggest and most well-known is Lord Jackson himself." Lord Ikur passed Kitiku his crutches.

Captain Bourbabel leaned back against the wall—yeah, good old Mylious. The guy never did let anything get in his way. He had it much more brutal than anyone else I know.

"M-my p-parents are p-p-poor. M-my d-d-dad was a soldier, b-but h-he got hurt a-and had t-to s-stop working. M-my b-big b-brother w-was a..." Kitiku squeezed his shirt. "H-he used to p-pay the rent. B-b-but he -ied. He .... -illed and my dad ... work to ... rent. It's my fault."

Lord Ikur pushed his glasses back up his nose. "It wasn't your fault. Did you murder him?" He saw Kitiku shake his head. "Exactly. Your family being poor isn't your fault either." He looked at his luxray, who had decided to lay across Kitiku's lap. "You might be seen as defective by some out there, but you aren't broken. They are wrong to think that. Some people are so small minded..." He trailed off, looking away, angry. "You want to help your family out? In addition to giving blood, why don't you help clean up the hospital for me? Yes, it will be hard on crutches, but you can do it. ... if anyone asks, just say I threatened you. I have a reputation to uphold." He patted Kitiku on the head. "You can start now if you want."

Ikur, you big softy. You must have figured it out yesterday, too. A smart arse like you would never let it slip through, and the fact you didn't bring up that James is the so-called older brother, yeah, you know. Captain Bourbabel smiled. I best let you be. This is far more important than the bruise I have.

The bronzor is on the loose and having escaped Clarence in battle, it could prove dangerous. Will Kitiku learn from Lord Ikur? Will Andrew keep focused on his real dreams?

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