"Give me back my sister's Purloin!" I shout at the guy with white hair. He snorts.

"Tch. Fine, take it. I have no more use for it." He throws a pokéball at me, which I catch. Then he vanishes into thin air. I look at my capsule in my hand.

Is this Camilla's Purloin?

I open the ball, and a liepard jumps out of the light.

"Mroww!"

"Purloin?" I ask.

Beside me, Rosa says, "she must have evolved during the time she was with them."

I bend down to scratch her ears. She snarls and lashes out with a claw.

Rosa pulls me back. "Don't! She might not remember you..."

What happened? Why is liepard acting like this? Why? How am I going to get her back to Camilla?

I close my eyes and think back to when everything began.

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

"Hugh, I have a surprise for you."

I jumped up off the floor. "Really Grandpa?!"

My grandfather chuckled. "Yes Hugh. I'm giving you three Pokémon that I caught just for you." He gives me three pokéballs.

I open all three. A pidove, a trapinch, and a purloin pop out. "Aww, you're so cute!" I tried hugging the Purloin, but she scratched at me.

Grandpa laughed and ruffled my puffy hair. "You'll learn."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh no! It's Camilla's birthday today, but I don't have a present for her!

My eyes landed and Purloin's pokéball, and then the cat next to it.

I know! She's always wanted a Purloin, and she loves purple, so I'll give the cat to her! Not like Purloin likes me anyways.

"Come on Purloin," I cooed. "Go in your pokéball..."

Hiss! I jumped back.

"Come on cat! Work with me!" Sher struck out with her front claws at my face. "Yaa!" I shrieked as I threw my arms up. My arms stung as the nails made contact. Purloin sat down, licking her paws innocently.

I. Hate. Cats.

"Fine, fine; you don't have to go in. But I have to make sure you look nice." I grabbed a purple ribbon. "Hold still."

Her look said, ~in your dreams.~

"Bring it on." She gave me a glare that made me regret saying anything. Oh no...

I crept closer, and snatched up the kitten. Immediately, she lashed out, but I didn't let go. I tried tying the ribbon on her at least eight different ways, but she squirmed out of each one. I finally tied a bow around her head and carried Purloin into the house.

Everyone was singing Happy Birthday to my little sister. Still struggling to hold onto Purloin, I came up behind Camilla, just as she blew out the candles. Everybody cheered.

"Now time for presents!" Our mom announced.

"Yeah!" Mom finally turned around and noticed me behind my sister.

"Hugh, you go first!" She said cheerfully. Camilla turned in her chair.

"Hugh-?" Her eyes landed on Purloin. "Is she for me?!"

I nodded. "I know you like cats, so I tried wrapping her pokéball, but she wouldn't go in. Sorry I could only give her one ribbon-" she took the kitten out of my arms. "Careful, she doesn't like-"

"Meeooow!" Purloin mewed happily and nuzzled my sister.

So that feline only had issues with me?!?!

Camilla held Purloin in front of her and said, "I'm going to call you....... Amethyst!" She put Amethyst over her shoulder and hugged me. "You're the bestest big brother ever, Hugh!" I hugged her back.

"I'm glad you like her, Cam."

"I don't like her; I love her! Thank you Hugh!"

Our mom gushed. "Aww." Our Grandfather patted me on the back.

"You're a good kid, Hugh. It warmed my heart to see you give Purloin to your sister. That it does."

A few days after her birthday, Camilla and I were walking around the city one evening. Trapinch was in a pokéball in my pocket, and Amethyst was cradled in my sister's arms, looking as content as ever.

It wouldn't be the same for us though. Our Grandpa had had a heart attack just two days after Camilla turned six. His death had hit both of us really hard, especially me. Our pokémon were all we had left of him.

Two guys dressed in gray cloth, like knight, jumped out at us. "Give us your pokémon!"

"What?" Camilla asked. "But Amethyst is my best friend!" One man sneered.

"Humans and Pokémon aren't friends, little girl. And if you won't give us that Purloin, we'll take it by force!" Protectively, I stand in front of my sister.

"That's not what our Grandpa told us," I retortted.

"Little brats like you two shouldn't have pokémon," the other guy said. "Now get out of our way, kid."

"Leave my sister alone," I said angrily. Camilla was shaking with fear behind me, and was clutching Amethyst close to her. One of the guys just shoved me to the concrete. The other ripped Amethyst out of my sister's arms.

"Mreooww!" She cried.

"Amethyst! Give her back!" Camilla cried, tears streaming. I jumped up.

"Give her back her Pokémon!" I shouted. A man smirked.

"You're a little kid. You're too weak to be able to do anything! We are Team Plasma, and we will liberate all pokémon!" Without thinking, I throw Trapinch's pokéball out.

"Stop him, Trapinch!" The bug scuttled toward the man, who simply kicked it out of the way.

"Pathetic." He rose his fist, which came towards my face.

I saw Trapinch digging a hole through the concrete to hide. The man's fist hit me in the face, right below my left eye. He hit me several more times, each one harder than the last. I heard Camilla screaming, and everything went dark.

When I blinked my eyes open, Camilla, Mom, and Dad were sitting in the chairs in front of me. Trapinch slept at the foot of my bed. The walls were stark white, and an IV drip was stuck in my arm. I moved my arm, and recoiled at the pain. My mom shot up.

"Hugh! You're okay!" Tears fell out of her eyes.

"We were so worried. You were out of it for three days, Hugh."

"I'm sorry, Hugh," my sister said softly. I turned to her.

"What? Why are you sorry? It wasn't your fault!" She sniffed.

"But if the bad men weren't after Amethyst, Big Brother wouldn't have gotten hurt."
I smooth her hair out. "Shh. It's not your fault. It's mine for not being strong enough to protect you and Amethyst." My mom and dad hugged both Camilla and I tightly.

"Camilla told us what happened. We were worried when if got late and neither of you were home yet. Then it got worse when she came running into the house; crying and shouting that someone knocked you out and Amethyst was gone."

"You're only ten, Hugh. You didn't have a fair fight against two grown men," my dad said gently.

"Team Plasma." Their brows crinkled.

"What was that?"

"The guys who took Amethyst were part of a group called Team Plasma," I growled angrily.

"Calm down, Hugh," Mom said soothingly.

"Yeah, it'll be okay, Big Brother," my sister said quietly. Even just looking at her tear streaked face though, I knew.

It wasn't okay. Things would never be okay again.

That day, I made a promise to myself. A promise, that when I go on a journey, I would become the strongest Trainer. That I would take down Team Plasma. And when I did, I'd bring Amethyst home to Camilla. I'd do whatever it takes.

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

"I choose Snivy!" Rosa shouted out. Two buns and a pair of pigtails dangled from her head. My neighbor finally got a starter pokémon. I'd been waiting for her to start her journey so I wouldn't be alone. I grinned. Her Snivy was weak against my Tepig.

"Come on, battle me! I want to show you the tepig I raised from an egg." The brunette sends Snivy out, and I toss out Tepig. "Begin!"

Later✴
Tepig, Snivy, and I were panting hard. Rosa hadn't even broken a sweat though, and she won. Yet even as Snivy dealt the final blow, her blue eyes widened with shock.

"I...won?" I nodded.

"You're going to be a great Trainer, Rosa. I'm glad that I'll have a strong ally I can count on." We were going to be great rivals.

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

"Herdier! You're alright!" The couple said happily, the dog licking them. Their nonchalance aggravated me.

"You should be more careful!" I said angrily. "Your pokémon could have been lost forever!"

"Hugh!" Rosa snapped. I stormed off, but not before I hear her apologize to the couple.

".... I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on with him..."

Right, I never told you what happened three years ago with my sister and I...

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

I saw a familiar black, gray, white, and blue emblem with some people. A shield divided by a silver zig zag, with a blue 'P'. Team Plasma's logo.

"Hey! Stop right there!" They looked up, and ran. "Get back here!" I chase after them, but crash into someone else and land on top of them. Rather, her...

"What the- Hugh?!" Rosa squirmed under me, blushing bright red. I felt my face heat up, and I quickly rolled off and helped her up.

"Sorry," I muttered. Immediately, she's smiling again. How is she always happy?

"It's okay," she replied. "Why were you running?" My eyes darkened.

"I saw those Team Plasma goons run through here. I'm going after them."

"Why do you hate Team Plasma so much?"

What?!

"They stole my little sister's purloin, Rosa! I want to take them down!"  Her hand rested on my arm.

"I can help," she said gently.

"No, Rosa. It's too dangerous."

"They're bad people who steal from little kids. If their demise means this much to you, I'll help."

"Thank you, Rosa." She shook her head. Her tepid tails swished to the sides.

"Don't let your anger control you, Hugh. It won't help you, and you're not a violent person."

Before I can say anything else, she runs down the street. "It'll be easier to find them if we split up!"

Rosa.... Thank you for caring.

***
The next time I saw Rosa, we were in the Castelia Sewers. All of her pokémon were out, but all of them were breathing hard. Rosa was on the filthy floor. Blood dribbled out of her mouth. She was nursing her arm, which was tinted a strange purple. I ran to her and held her up off the toxic slime that coated the ground.

"Rosa! What happened?" She shakes her head feebly.

"I... Got past... All of the grunts. But then... More kept coming..." She wheezed.

"After I beat everybody, they all ran. This guy with wacky hair...strolled out of that back room... Rambling about..the potential of Pokémon. We battled, and I beat him too..."

She lifted her Crystal blue eyes to my red ones. "I'm sorry I couldn't hold them until you came..." She murmured before losing consciousness.

"Rosa? Rosa! Come on, stay with me!" I pleaded. Turning to her pokémon, I shouted, "who knows dig?" A little eevee stumbled forward. "Okay, Eevee, get us out of here!" All of her pokémon and I huddle close to Eevee as she digs a hole to get us out.

Eevee brought us to the sewer entrance. I ran as fast as I cold to the center. I stole a glance at Rosa, who still lay limp in my arms. Her skin was getting colder. Without thinking, I shrugged off my turtleneck jacket and wrapped it around her. I brought her to the receptionist, who immediately called the emergency department, then I stuck around just long enough to explain what happened to her.

Please be okay. They've already stolen my baby sister's best friend. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you as well because of Team Plasma. Especially since it was my fault for not getting there fast enough. If anything happens to you, it will only be my fault for letting you get hurt.

I swear, if I lose you, I don't know what I'd do. The things I would do to Team Plasma.... I swear, I'll destroy each and every single one of them. Even if I have to do it alone and with my bare hands.

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

"Come on, Partner! Flare Blitz!" I shouted in encouragement to Emboar. He shuffled in response.

"Serperior! Grass Pledge!" Rosa cried determinedly. The snake reared, and leaves were everywhere. Emboar's flame burned some of the leaves, but I couldn't see between the smoke and leaves. When everything cleared, Serperior stood proudly over Emboar.

"And Rosa wins the match!" The announcer called out.

"Congratulations," I say with a smile. She returns it, and I turn away.

Only so that she doesn't see the red on my face.

****

"Rosa wins the Driftveil Tournament!" She beat me, Cheren, and some guy with wacky hair named Colress. She battled well, but I saw how she shuddered when she saw him. Does she know him?

"Great job Rosa!" I said. Her face was still pale.

"Colress was the one who poisoned me in the Sewers," she whispered. Rage coursed through me. How could someone be so cold hearted as to purposely hurt someone as sweet as Rosa? I suddenly had an urge to punch Colress in the face, but even that wouldn't bring Rosa justice.

I like her don't I?

Of course I do. How could I not? She's smart, she's strong, she's kind, she's brave, she's sweet, and she's beautiful without ever even thinking about it. She'll never know though. She's too good for me; she'd never like me that way. She's everything I'm not.

"It's okay," I found myself saying. "I won't let him or anyone else hurt you." Next thing I knew, she had her face buried in my jacket. (I had let her keep my old one. I always had extra jackets anyways.) My arms wrapped around her. Someone coughed.

"I hate to interrupt, but Team Plasma's here," Cheren said with a frown. Rosa jumped back.

Damn you, Cheren.

"Where at?" She asked.

"Their ship. I need both of you two to help me." Both of us nodded and ran.

We ran right onboard. Cheren went to the front, I went to the back. At first, Rosa fought with me, but then I sent her to help Cheren.

"Go help Cheren. I've got this covered over here."

"No, you don't. Besides, Cheren's a Gym Leader. He's fine."

"Go."

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

Boom! Boom! Boom!

What was that?!?!

Ice landed against the pavement, and rose over the buildings. The ice spread in sheets around Opclueid City, around me.

But its June! There shouldn't be ice, especially not at this level!

I saw a grunt, so I grabbed her. She cowered in fear. "Where is the purloin that was stolen three years ago?" I snarl.

"I-I don't know. I only joined a few months ago." I released her. Ugh... Useless grunt.

The city's still frozen. People need help. I see Rosa chasing after one of the Shadow Triad, and the same for Mayor Drayden. I'm the only one left to do anything. I rushed towards the Pokémon Center to help.

Look at me...helping people instead of holding a vengeance against those thieves. For now at least. For now, these people need help more. These are the things I would do to finally bring Team Plasma down.

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

I ran into Rosa after beating Marlon. Marlon was the last Gym Leader before the Pokémon League. I had a tough time with Emboar against his water types, but I managed. Rosa would have no trouble.

"Hey, I'll see you on the southern route after you win." She nodded.

Rosa had a full team of six, just add I did. Her team consisted of Zoroark, Serperior, Flareon, Azumarill, Arcanine, and Lucario. Arcanine knew electric type attacks to make up of its weakness, and her Flareon was really fast. She'd be fine.

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

There we were again. Cheren, Rosa, and I on Team Plasma's ship. Cheren was battling about eight grunts at once. Rosa stared in horror at the pokémon behind the glass. Ice frosted the glass.

Kyurem.

A man in purple robes walked slowly towards Rosa, holding a pokéball. "You're quite pesky, aren't you, girl?" Rosa responded by sending Flareon out to meet Zinzolin's Cryogonal.

"Flare, use Flame Charge!" The ice type flew back against the sage.

"You little b****!" He screamed. Meanwhile, five grunts had surrounded me.

"Rosa, help me out!" Her Arcanine and Azumarill swept the floor with those grunts' pokémon. I took care of the few more that came after. Cheren rejoined us.

"What's the point of imprisoning Kyurem?" Cheren demanded. "You're going to destroy Unova!"

"How did you get Kyurem?!" I shouted. Rosa's eyes lingered on the dragon-ice type behind the glass. Her eyes were glassy.

"Please, let Kyurem go. Pokémon aren't weapons to use to destroy," she said quietly.
Zinzolin smirked. "What's the point of even fighting anymore? You can't win!" He shouted to the sky, "Shadow Triad, come!" The three Shadows surrounded us, and there was darkness.

They warped us off the ship and tossed us in the sand. Before we could get up, the Plasma Ship assembled wings and took to the skies. A flying ship/plane. Fantastic.....

Not.

♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠♠

"Hugh?" I come back to the moment. I'm standing beside Rosa in the office of Team Plasma's headquarters in the Giant Chasm. Camilla's Purloin is in front of us, but its evolved, and no longer recognizes me. Rosa call me again. "Hugh?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"What are we going to do?" I think, and reach a conclusion I suspected from the very beginning.

She was already strong when she started this journey. She kept me out of trouble so many times. She's aslwasys been there to help me, even while battling the Gyms and trying to stop Team Plasma at the same time.

"I'll stay here to try and work with Amethyst," I say, gesturing to the liepard. "You though, need to get out there and take out Ghetsis and all of Team Plasma. Once and for all. I came on this journey to find Amethyst. You have what it takes to be a hero, Rosa. You can do it. I believe in you. All of Unova believes in you. Now you need to."

"Hugh..." I lean over and hug her tightly.

You really do have what it takes to be Champion. You're the best Trainers I've ever met. And one of the best people. No wonder I fell in love with you.

"Thank you, for everything. I couldn't have done it without you. Now I can bring home my sister's best friend." I look into her cerulean eyes again. "Now be careful."

You always defeated them before. You can do it. And I know you'll be careful. You always are. After all, I'm usually the reckless one.

"I will." She runs out of the office as soon as I let go. It's just Amethyst and I now. I look at the large cat who is snarling at me.

"Well Amethyst? Let's get started."

And Rosa.... Thank you.