Chapter 29

"Long ago, two opposing human factions were at war, their strife resulting in a forest fire which threatened the lives of many wild Pokemon. Ensnared by the smoke, they could not escape and their demise seemed certain, until three figures appeared.

Terrakion, shaped the earth and created passage by which to escape, Virizion used its speed to shield the Pokemon from sparks and embers, while their leader, Cobalion ushered Pokemon to safety.

Despite their attempts, they were unsuccessful, as the forest had been burned to the ground. However, amongst the ashes, the three came across a lone Pokemon they took in as their own.

The trio proceeded to fight back the armies, overwhelming them with their combined might. Legends of them continue to be told today, and it has been said that if human conflict ever again threatened to safety of Pokemon, that they would return to quell the fighting and preserve a climate of peace."

"Did Virizion, Cobalion, and Terrakion come because the pokemon were in trouble when the forest where we use ta live was burning down?" White asked Thundrus as the legendary turned the page of the book he had been reading to her.

"They did it because both pokemon and humans were trapped in the forest," Thundrus answered calmly. "The conflict from hundreds of years before was the result of human tribes, whose battles affected the lives of wild pokemon. The forest fire was a result of a tribe of pokemon against the few humans in the forest at that time. Many things have changed since the first fire."

"The lone pokemon, was it like Purr? Virizion, Cobalion, and Terrakion took in Purr for us cause we couldn't take care of her and she had no family."

"In some ways, yes, I suppose she is."

A loud hacking cough came from the center of the grotto. Both Thundrus and White looked up to see Missy hovering over a small fire. A pot filled with vegetable stew was hanging above the flames while the Mismagius stirred it. Junior, Di-Di, Pichu, and Chatter had found a house nearby with a fairly large garden filled with veggies and berries. They had taken as much as they could and brought back fruits and vegetables for their next few meals. Archy and Rapi had started their own scavenger hunts as well. They had brought back as many useful items as they could from off the streets or the front of houses. One of the things they had also found was a mythology book that they gave to White.

"Missy, you feeling alright?" Thundrus asked the Mismagius concernedly as she coughed a bit harder. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

"What?" Missy started, looking up from the stew and over at Thundrus and White. "Oh, yes, of course, I'm fine."

Archy, who had been laying in a corner of the grotto with Rapi, looked up and said seriously, "Missy, you don't by any chance have the plague, do you?"

"No...no, I'm fine..."

The plague was a disease that was spread through the route and city. It was mainly effecting pokemon. It effected both young and old pokemon. So far, none of the pokemon that lived with White and Sky Blue had been effected. However, they were hearing from other pokemon of victims with the plague or those dead because of the illness.

"We've gotten through it this long, hopefully we can still avoid having anyone get it," Rapi said seriously as she got on her hooves and trotted over to Missy. "Missy, I can take over. You should rest for once."

The Mismagious opened her mouth to retort, but closed it instead, and floated over to Thundrus and White. She groaned as she hovered a few inches above the ground since she couldn't actually sit down. Missy than looked over at the book White was holding.

"Where are you on this book now, dear?" Missy asked, levitating the book lightly from White and opening it.

"The story of Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion," White answered as she sat herself more comfortably on Thundrus's cloud. "When will Sky Blue and Ray be back?"

"I'm sure they won't be too long, dear. They'll need to come back shortly, it's rumored to start snowing."

White nodded, but she didn't feel very reassured. Sky had been disappearing more frequently the past few weeks. He would take his Eevee, which he had dubbed Blue Moon, and anyone who'd wish to accompany him into the route outside. White had gone with him once, but he had merely been putting together pieces of scrape metal from broken machines, so White stayed behind with the adult pokemon. Since the plague swept through the route, the wild pokemon had become more hostile and defensive, so now Sky Blue could no longer be alone outside of the grotto without an older pokemon. Today was Ray's turn.

"So, you're still in the chapter of Unova legends," Missy commented, "Ever tried reading a story from another region?"

"No," White replied. "I like Unova stories better."

"Oh? What's your favorite?"

"The story of Reshiram and Zekrom. My grandpa told me the story a lot."

She saw Missy smile slightly as she used her powers to turn the book pages.

"Really, Thundrus, you haven't read her the story of you and Torndrus's little battle?" Missy asked shrewdly.

"Well, I...well..." Thundrus stammered, his face turning red. "I didn't think it was necessary to tell that story..."

"Hmm, well maybe you just don't want young White to find out how quarrelsome and immature you were in your youth."

White heard both Rapi and Archy chuckle at how embarrassed Thundrus. She, however, did not understand. She found Thundrus wise, thoughtful, and kind. She couldn't see Thundrus as 'quarrelsome'. Then again, she never met much legendaries besides him and the Swords of Justice.

"Have you met all the legendary pokemon, Thundrus?" White asked the legendary. "I mean, any besides Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion?"

Thundrus thought for a moment before saying, "I have met almost all of them. Some legendaries prefer solitude and do not ally themselves with legendaries, like Zygarde and Volcanion of Kalos. Most legendaries ally with each other when absolutely necessary. I had allied myself with many legendaries, but there are several legends that I have never met."

"Really? Like who?"

"Mew and Arceus, mainly. It's believed that they live in hidden sanctuaries in their regions. They haven't allied with any legendaries in hundreds of years. Mewtwo, a human-designed pokemon made of Mew's DNA, has never trusted any living being, but I heard a rumor that he had made a sort of alliance with one human."

"I met a legendary once, besides Thundrus, anyway," Missy said thoughtful.

"Really?" White asked, surprised. "Which one?"

"I met Celebi once when I was a young Misdreavus in Johto. She was in the city of Goldenrod. Very quiet girl, but very kind hearted all the same. She was gifted with medicine like no one I've ever seen."

"I remember being told that an ancestor of mine met Heatran when traveling on a mountain," Rapi told them. "If I remember correctly, Heatran was very hot headed, no pun intended."

"Yes, Heatran is a bit difficult," Thundrus admitted. "He prefers to keep to himself."

White looked over at Archy and asked him, "Have you met a legendary, Archy?"

The Arcanine shook his head and said sadly, "Just Thundrus."

"Have you read any stories without legendaries?" Missy questioned, flipping pages of the mythology book.

"Nope," White replied. "There are stories without legendary pokemon?"

"Of course! Stories of kings and queens, knights and princesses! It's not all just legendary pokemon! Now, let's see..."

The Mismagius turned to the table of contents and read through the list of tales. She began muttering as she started turning the pages to find a certain story. White watched Missy quietly, reading over the titles that the Ghost Type was passing over. After one title caught her eye, White put her hand on the page before Missy could pass it and said happily, "Read that one!"

"Oh?" Missy said questioningly, looking at the story White was pointing to. "You want me to read you the story of the Aura Guardians?"

"It has a Lucario on it!" White admitted. Under the title was a drawing of a Lucario, helping a silhouette of a man hold up a sphere of blue mist-like energy.

"Well, there would be. Lucarios and Riolus worked side by side with the Aura Guardians in the olden days. Of course, you don't even know what an Aura Guardian is anyway, do you?"

When the little girl shook her head sheepishly, Thundrus chuckled and Missy smiled at her with amusement.

"Aura Guardians were a certain type of knights in the medieval times," Thundrus explained to White. "They had powers similar to Lucarios and Riolus, which is why Aura pokemon were popular companions for the guardians. A more proper definition is that an Aura Guardian is mainly a being, human or pokemon, that is sensitive to aura and uses their power for good. Aura Guardians were very uncommon, and eventually they were persecuted because of their unnatural powers."

"Persecuted?"

"It means they were hunted down and killed off. They were treated like witches and warlocks."

White looked around at the other pokemon. They all looked sad and regretful. She didn't understand.

"But...are there still guardians today?" She asked, looking up at Thundrus.

Thundrus watched her as if wondering if such a delicate mind could handle such news.

Then he finally answered, "Less than one percent of the world's population are remaining Aura Guardians or Aura Guardians in training. Most Aura Guardians today don't even realize they are guardians."

"What about people like me?"

"Two percent of the world's population is people that can hear pokemon. Your people outnumber the Aura Guardians."

An awkward silence fell. After a moment, White asked slowly, "So...what's this story about?"

"Ah, well this story is about one Aura Guardian and his partner Lucario," Missy replied hurriedly."Now, let's see here..."

White found the story quite fascinating and interesting as Missy read it aloud. It may have lacked any legendary pokemon, but she was satisfied with one of the characters being a Lucario. The story, however, still ended sadly. The Aura Guardian had died for his region and his Lucario was sealed away in a staff.

"Why do people die for their region?" White asked Missy and Thundrus as the Mismagius finished the story.

"It's always been seen as a very heroic and honorable way to die," Missy answered. "It's better to save the majority at the cost of the minority, I suppose."

"Isn't there another way they could do it without killing themselves?"

"I'm afraid that's not always possible," Thundrus told her sadly."Sometimes the only option isn't the most desirable one. This story is history, not fantasy. You'll find that life isn't a fairy tale, and one's life doesn't always end with a happily ever after."

"I wish it did," the little girl said grumpily, folding her arms with frustration. "Then maybe Mommy and Daddy and N wouldn't have left, and Sky Blue's mommy and daddy would still be alive!"

The Mismagius gave a sad smile and patted White's head.

"We all wish you children had received better," Missy whispered to her. "Children as young as you and Sky don't deserve to be living in the wild as we pokemon do. The world is a cruel place, White, and the people in it will try to bring you down. You mustn't take them seriously since they aren't worth dealing with. However, Archy has my permission to beat up anyone who wishes you ill will."

White giggled and she saw Archy's ears twitch irritability. Missy was probably picking on Archy because he was continuing to be viscous toward Sky Blue. Poor Sky was too frightened to go near White in the evenings anymore because Archy would always be by her side, waiting for someone to dare come within a two foot radius of her. The Arcanine would only leave her side if White told him that he didn't need to be so close, or assured him that Sky had no bad intentions toward her.

A loud splashing noise suddenly came from outside the grotto. Thundrus, Missy, Archy, and Rapi all turned tensely to look at the passage that led to the route outside. Since the plague made the pokemon on the route act more hostile and violent, they had to be on their guard. There had been several occasions where a wild pokemon would find their way into the grotto and try to attack the two humans since humans were the biggest threat to the pokemon besides the plague. Archy, Missy, Thundrus, and Ray had chased the wild pokemon out all previous times, but the hostile pokemon would leave injuries and damage in its wake.

However, instead of soft noises of rustling leaves that announced the presence of a stealthy attack, there was loud squeaks of the smaller pokemon returning. Besides their squeaking, Sky Blue's high pitched voice was yelling excitedly, "I did it, I did it, I finally did it!"

White heard Missy sigh heavily as she got up and muttered, "Oh Arceus, not another Joltik nest! Or else please, don't let him finally have caught those Ferroseeds he's been wanting!"

"I doubt Ray would allow him to bring home anymore pokemon," Thundrus assured Missy with slight amusement. "Especially not after the Joltik incident."

Sky Blue had brought several unwanted wild pokemon back to the grotto with him on several previous occasions. The worst was a nest of over a dozen Joltiks, which had escaped inside the grotto and everyone had to drop what they were doing to collect them all. It had taken two hours to find them all. Jo Jo, Sky Blue's own Joltik, had been ecstatic over the family of Joltiks and had been disappointed when they left.

"I did it!" Sky Blue shouted happily as he, Blue Moon, Pichu, Junior, Chatter, and Ray entered the clearing of the grotto. "I finally did it!"

"Finally did what, dear?" Missy snorted, floating over to the pot Rapi had been watching over and turning it again herself. "Glad to see you didn't bring back any more pokemon. We can't fit anymore in here."

To White's immense surprise and amazement, Sky Blue looked directly at Missy and replied to her statement, "I can now hear you all! I can hear pokemon now, just like White can!"

Thundrus, Rapi, and Archy all seemed to notice Sky's change in behavior when addressing a pokemon as well. He always needed White to translate for the pokemon so he could speak with them. If he could reply to Missy without an interpretation, it had to be true.

Missy, however, didn't seem to notice this change. She had been busying herself with the stew, so her attention was barely on the human boy. The Mismagius merely scoffed and said, "Don't talk such nonsense, deary."

"But I can!" Sky protested, Blue Moon the silver Eevee barking with agreement next to him. "I finally made a hearing-thingy that lets me hear you like White can!"

White had to bite her lip to keep herself from giggling. Missy continued to be oblivious to the fact that she was having an argument with Sky Blue without White translating everything.

Then Missy scoffed again and scolded, "Remember what I told you about playing cruel jokes like that, boy!"

"But I'm not lying! Can't you hear me too?!"

"Missy, he's telling the-" Ray started but Missy had just used her psychic powers to levitate her stick, which was leaning against a tree, up off the ground and began lightly hitting Sky over the head with it, causing Sky to yelp with surprise.

"How many times, Skyler," the Mismagius told him off as Ray and Rapi tried to stop her. "I told you not to play such mean jokes on us!"

"Missy, stop it!" Pichu and Junior both cried desperately as they tried pulling the staff away from her. "He's being honest!"

"Missy, you just had an entire conversation with Sky Blue, and it never occurred to you that he could hear you after finally replying back?!" Ray snapped, taking Missy's stick away angrily.

It took Missy a minute for the truth to sink in. Her eyes then widened and she looked down at Sky, who was wincing and rubbing his head.

"I apologize, Skyler," Missy apologized, floating down to his level. "I thought it was another one of your foolish jokes."

"I really can hear you, though!" Sky Blue continued, shaking his head and looking up excitedly at Missy. "I finally did it! I finally can hear you all just like White!"

"How did you achieve such an accomplishment?" Thundrus asked, setting White on the ground and gliding over to Sky Blue. "A human hearing pokemon without inheriting it through genetic means is unheard of."

"He created this invention himself," Ray told Thundrus, a hint of pride in his voice while he pulled the hair away from Sky's right ear. White could see a hearing aid attached to his ear.

"How did you make that?" White asked curiously, getting up and looking at the hearing aid.

"You never liked it when I talked about science!" Sky Blue said, sounding surprised.

"Well, no, but how were you able to make it?"

Her friend blushed and told her shyly, "I took metal parts out of the junk on the streets. It took awhile, but I finally got it to work!"

Still confused, White then asked, "Why did you make it? Was I doing a bad job telling you what they were saying?"

"No, silly! I mean, well, it was difficult for you to tell me everything they said, but I mainly wanted to um..."

But then Ray put his paw on Sky's shoulder and told the two children, "Well we are proud of you, Sky. We're proud of both of you. Aren't we, Missy?"

"How could I not be?" Missy questioned, ruffling Sky's hair. "I never thought it would be possible!"

"So how do we sound to you?" Rapi asked Sky curiously. "How well does this device work?"

"Well, your voices are a bit louder than expected," Sky Blue admitted. "It's kinda like you're all shouting..."

"They don't sound loud to me," White said concernedly. "They sound the same as you do."

"I guess you didn't think of putting on a volume button, did you?" Thundrus sighed, lifting Sky's hair so he could see the hearing aid. "You do know that most hearing aids have volume buttons which allows the wearer to turn the volume up and down, right?"

White giggled as Sky Blue blushed again and shook his head no. Archy, however, called from his corner, "I doubt it will cause any problems. It's not like any of us shout constantly."

Unfortunately, a loud screaming voice cried from under Archy's tail, "WHAT ABOUT ME?"

"Oh crud, we forgot about Di-Di!" Pichu winced as Archy yowled and leapt up in shock.

The Clampearl had been under his fluffy tail the whole time and no one had noticed. At the sound of her loud voice, Sky Blue yelped with pain and fell over from shock. He had now experienced Di-Di's overly loud voice for the first time.

"Well she ain't such a big deal, is she?" Blue Moon piped up. "We can just leave her outside!"

"You will do no such thing!" Missy snapped, hitting Blue Moon over the head with her stick, causing him to yelp in pain. "She has every right to be here!"

"I-It's fine," Sky Blue stammered, sitting up again while covering his ears. "I'll get use to it...eventually..."

"This won't harm him, will it?" Missy asked Ray.

"It shouldn't," Ray told her reassuringly. "It's not connected to anything important. He can remove it anytime."

"Will you still be working on that, or will you be able to play with me again?" White asked Sky hopefully.

"Of course I'll be able to play again! I just wanted to finish this before anything else! Now it will be easier to play since I can hear everyone now!"

White's spirits lifted at this. She missed playing with Sky, and she now looked forward to playing with him tomorrow. It was too late to go out and play now.

But all the adult pokemon were bombarding Sky Blue with questions while the small pokemon, including Di-Di, chatted to each other excitedly. The only pokemon not overwhelming Sky with questions and praise was Ray. His gaze had landed on the book of mythology on the ground. It was opened to the story of the Aura Guardian and the Lucario.

White watched as the Lucario picked up the book and stared at the picture at the top. He looked from the picture to, surprisingly, Sky Blue. He continued to compare the Aura Guardian with the human boy. After seeing White watching him, he shut the book hurriedly and tried to engage in the conversations. She was confused on why he was so interested with Sky and the Aura Guardian story. They weren't connected at all.

However, she quickly came over this fact and almost instantly forgot about it. She shrugged it off and began speaking to Sky about the hearing aid. She was completely unaware to what was yet to come.

***

Got all these emotions, don't know how to feel
Sometimes it's like I'm living on a ferries wheel
Torn between the fiction and what is real
Oh, Oh

I hear you whisper to me to give you all control
Some days it's harder for me just to let it go
I just need to step out and step into your flow
Oh, Oh

No matter what the pressure, pressure
You will always be the answer, answer

Only you know how to steady me
Ready my heart for everything that's coming my way
Help me trust that you're ahead of me
Going before my feet with every step I take
Only you can calm a storm
And only you can restore me when I'm worn
You steady me, only you can steady me, steady me, me

Everybody wants to tell me what I need to do
The only one I need to be listening to is you
So I'ma take your hand and I'ma let you lead me through
Oh

No matter what the pressure, pressure
You will always be the answer, answer

Only you know how to steady me
Ready my heart for everything that's coming my way
Help me trust that you're ahead of me
Going before my feet with every step I take
Only you can calm a storm
And only you can restore me when I'm worn
You steady me only you can steady me, steady me, me

My energy gone too
I'm feeling like I'm through
These problems weighing me down
So I'm trusting all in you
I'm serving you until the death of me
Even if my light gets dim I know he's there for me
I just put this in your hands and it's finished, oh
And you never let me down, so I know we winning, oh
And only you can keep me calm
Only you can see me through
Only you can set me free
Cause

Only you know how to steady me
Ready my heart for everything that's coming my way
Help me trust that you're ahead of me
Going before my feet with every step I take
Only you can calm a storm
And only you can restore me when I'm worn
You steady me, only you can steady me, steady me, me
Only you can steady me, steady me.

White flinched and broke another guitar string as another rock exploded on the battlefield. She looked up irritability to see Samson leap away from the fragmented rock he had shattered with his claws. At the same time, Leia ordered her Krokorok, "Randy, Rock Slide!"

The Ground and Dark Type roared and opened a portal above the field. Large boulders fell out and landed between the Krokorok and the Charmeleon.

I can't wait till his gym battle is over and done with, she thought bitterly as Danny yelled, "Dragon Claw, again!"

It had been two days since White and the rest of her group had departed from Ambrette Town. White, Leia, and Fiona had arrived at Cyllage City just a few hours before, and they had been reunited with Danny, Amos, and Mira. They were still waiting for Sky Blue and Margaret.

Danny, being the last person to hear from the two, had been worried about his best friend's well being, so Leia had suggested that she help him train for his gym battle against Grant, the Rock Type Gym Leader. So the two groups had gathered in the local public battlefield to train. The training had helped slightly since he was now deciding which pokemon and tactics he would use in the battle. While he and Leia battled, Amos was a volunteer referee when they battled. Mira was next to Amos, giving both Leia and Danny encouragement. Fiona was sitting next to White on the bench as she brushed Mister Poofy while Green Ivy looked on enviously.

White sighed and set her guitar next to her. She didn't want to change another broken string so she instead watched Loopy smash a boulder with Dizzy Punch. A part of her longed to battle as well, but no one had strong enough pokemon to face her. Her pokemon were too powerful for theirs. Well, except maybe Mira and Leia's teams.

"You miss it, don't you?" a sly voice questioned in White's ear.

She turned her head to see Archy sitting on the ground next to the bench. Ariana was curled up between his paws, sleeping soundly.

"Miss what?" White asked, turning away from her Arcanine and watched Spirit counter a Rock Slide with Fury Cutter.

"Challenging gym leaders," He replied as he watched Danny and Leia's training as well. "Having a goal, a dream."

"I accomplished my dream. It was short lived like dreams are."

Archy's ears twitched and he continued, "Just because you finish one journey doesn't mean you can't start another. You can still try other things."

"No."

"Why not?"

"This isn't my journey. This is theirs," White snapped, gesturing toward Danny and the others. "When I go on my own journey, it will be by myself, you, and the other pokemon. Not with rookies."

"They don't stop you from trying something new."

"What makes you think I haven't tried anything new?" White burst out before she could stop herself.

Idiot! She scolded herself angrily as Archy straightened up with surprise.

"Really?" Archy asked curiously. "Like what?"

"I'm not," White lied. "I was just saying you don't know if I have tried other activities or not."

Archy opened his mouth to reply, but Fiona had just gave a high pitched squeal and pulled on White's coat sleeve. The little girl was pointing at a little pokemon that had just crawled out of a nearby tree. It was a brownish orange mouse-like pokemon that had a similar appearance to Raichu. It had bulging orange cheeks, a long black tail, and black whiskers like antennas.

The mouse pokemon twitched its nose irritability and looked around at White, Fiona, and their pokemon. Green Ivy growled at it while Mister Poofy began to bark. The brownish orange pokemon smirked and blew a raspberry at them before running away.

As it ran off, Fiona set her Swirlix down as she got up and ran after the wild pokemon.

"Fiona, stay here!" White called, but Fiona, Green Ivy, and Mister Poofy were already gone.

"I'll go with her," Archy assured her, getting up and making sure his pup was alright. "Just watch Ariana for me."

White watched Archy run swiftly after Fiona and her pokemon. She sighed as she picked up Ariana and set the Growlithe pup on her lap. She pet the sleeping pokemon as she turned her attention back to Leia and Danny's training.

White felt relieved that Archy never had the chance to interrogate her about any activities she was possibly attending. It was nothing to worry about. She didn't know why she kept it a secret, but it was probably just a matter of pride.

"May I speak with you?"

The older trainer jumped and quickly turned her head to see who had spoken. Deborah the Gardevoir, who had been standing away from the battle, had now approached White. She just noticed how tired the Embrace Pokemon looked.

"Sure," White grunted stiffly. "What's on your mind?"

Deborah took a deep breath and asked, "Have you ever experienced...nightmares?"

White snorted with laughter at the stupid question.

"Yeah, I have," she replied. "I'm practically an expert."

"Well I have been experiencing nightmares," Deborah told her slowly. "They are very...disturbing. Unsettling."

"So?"

"I...I don't want to have them anymore. How do I make them stop?"

White stared at her. This was ridiculous. Everyone had nightmares. Why would she ask someone to stop her nightmares?

"I can't help you." White said flatly, turning away from her.

"But why?" Deborah demanded, her voice becoming more strained. "Surely there is a way they can be stopped from coming back! Please, help me!"

"I can't!" White snapped as her anger began to rise. "Every human being and pokemon have nightmares! It's part of life! It can't be stopped! If it could be stopped, I would be the first to make sure I myself would no longer receive them! But I can't! It's a part of living!"

Deborah flinched and backed away. White didn't care. She thought Deborah was being selfish. There were people who deserved to have less nightmares than her. White experienced nightmares every time she left reality. But the Gardevoir didn't mean to be selfish. White herself had wished more than once to stop her nightmares.

"What have you been dreaming about?" White sighed, finally giving in.

Deborah tilted her head and closed her eyes.

"In my dreams...I appear to be in a battle in a dark alleyway."

"Was anyone with you?" White asked her calmly.

"Oui, yes. There are pokemon fighting around me."

"Were there any trainers?"

"Yes," Deborah answered, her frown deepening. "Four trainers, over a dozen Team Flare members. I recognize five of them from when I was still a part of Team Flare. They were scientists. The trainers I can't make out."

"What pokemon are there?"

"I can't tell which pokemon are which."

"Right, well what happens?"

"Everyone is fighting," the Gardevoir continued. "One of the pokemon, a silhouette of a Fire Type, collapses in front of me. I run to his side and try to reassure him that everything will be alright. He calls me something...a name, a familiar name. He then tells me to look around. A shadow falls on us, and I see four dark pokemon.

"They try to attack me, but the Fire Type protects me. He tries fighting the four pokemon, but they overwhelm him. My attention is then drawn to one of the trainers. He shouts the name that the Fire Type called me. He yells for me to come back to his side, to leave the fight. But..."

White watched as Deborah shook her head, regaining control of her emotions.

"The dark pokemon throw the Fire Type at the boy," Deborah began to conclude in her neutral tone. "Both the Fire Type and the boy are thrown into the wall, the boy becoming crushed by his pokemon's weight. Then I wake up."

The older trainer couldn't help but stare at the Gardevoir. For some reason, something told White that these weren't every night nightmares. For one, the people in the dreams seemed to be familiar to Deborah. The name she was called in the dream was familiar to the Embrace Pokemon as well.

"What do you feel when you have these dreams, or when you think about them?" White asked Deborah calmly.

Deborah thought for a moment before answering simply, "Dread. Fear. It feels as if my stomach has vanished."

"Deborah," White continued seriously, looked at the Gardevoir in the eyes. "Has it occurred to you that these dreams are more than just ordinary nightmares?"

"Explain."

"Well first, tell me about some of the...characters, in your dream. The four dark pokemon, do you recognize them?"

"Yes," the Embrace Pokemon replied. "They represent the four head scientists' pokemon. Manectric, Liepard, Houndoom, and Mightyena."

"How about the Fire Type?"

"I don't know what pokemon he was. I know he was a bipedal Fire Type pokemon. It was not a Kalos native pokemon. But yet I feel as if I knew him very well. He was a friend, even a brother."

"What about the boy you mentioned? How do you feel when you think of him?"

The Gardevoir's muscles suddenly tensed. After a moment, Deborah said quietly, "I feel as if he was a parent to me. His presence is very familiar. I feel as if I know him, I trusted him. I feel proud when I think of him, proud to have known him. I care about him."

White sighed and said slowly, "Look, Deborah, after hearing what you said, I've come to the conclusion that your dreams aren't nightmares. They're your memories."

Deborah stared at the older trainer. Her expression was of dumbfounded disbelief.

"They can't be memories," the Gardevoir denied. "I don't know any of them!"

"You said they were familiar," White stated. "Characters in dreams aren't this realistic. You have no memories of your previous life, you don't know who they are. I think this memory is when you were taken by Team Flare."

Deborah looked speechless. A moment later, she regained her voice and rasped, "How do I make them stop?"

"I just told you, you can't stop them, especially if they're memories! You're no longer under Team Flare's control, so it's normal that you're gaining some of your old memories!"

"My dreams may be my memories," The Embrace Pokemon hissed in a deadly voice. "But they are still memories that scare me, terrorize me. They're still nightmares!"

White was about to retort, but she was interrupted by a loud scream. The shriek had caused everyone in the small battle area to look up from what they were doing.

"Wow, White, was that you?" Mira called. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

"That wasn't me!" White snapped, but the source was evident after a second.

A girl on rollerskates was skating out of control toward them. A Braixen and Wartortle were running after her, making loud cries of worry.

"Watch out, watch out!" The girl shouted at the group in the battle area as she skated straight toward the field. "I can't stop!"

Leia, Danny, Amos, and Mira immediately evacuated the field, their pokemon running after them. The girl zoomed across the field and grabbed hold of a lamp post as she sped past. She yelped as she fell on the dusty ground once letting go. A small bark came from the dark gray and blue pokemon that fell off her shoulders.

"Are you ok?" Leia asked with concern as she ran over to the girl and helped her up off the ground. "That was quite a fall!"

"Oh, no, I'm fine," the girl insisted, picking up her little Riolu and holding him up. "You ok, Blazey?"

The Riolu barked with reassurance and leapt out of his trainers arms. The Braixen and Wartortle ran up to their trainer and made concerned barks and cries.

"I'm ok, Flame, Watersong!" The girl assured her pokemon, though she gave a little gasp as she lost her footing and fell down again.

White set Ariana down, got up off the bench, and approached the rest of the group and the girl. She noticed that the girl was dressed quite formally, making the older trainer believe she was a Pokemon Connoisseur. The girl wore a navy blue stripped shirt with white sleeves and a red tie. She also wore skinny dark jeans and brown riding boots. To top it all, the girl wore a felt, navy blue hat over her shoulder length, dark brown hair.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry for interrupting your battle!" The girl apologized earnestly as Leia helped her up again. "I was just coming back from the city gym when I kinda went out of control on the steep slope! I'm still learning how to use these rollerskates!"

"Are you a trainer then?" Danny asked as he turned to look at the girl's pokemon.

"Yes, I am! My name's Emmaline, Emmaline Gābena! I'm collecting gym badges, but I only got one so far. I was going to challenge the gym today, but it's closed till tomorrow."

"So this...charming little Riolu is yours too?" Mira asked the girl, Emmaline, nervously. The Riolu was staring at her with narrow eyes. It was staring at her very creepily. It seemed to recognize her from somewhere.

"This is Blazestar!" Emmaline explained, picking up the Riolu and holding him tightly. "He's called Blaze for short! He's my partner! And this is Flamestar, my Braixen, and Watersong, my Wartortle! They're my starter pokemon!"

The Braixen bowed politely and greeted Randy, Samson, Loopy, and Spirit. The Wartortle, who wore black shades over its eyes, gave a low, "Wart, wartortle!" and held up a peace sign with his fingers.

"Wait, do you by any chance have an Eevee?" Amos inquired Emmaline curiously.

"Why yes, I do!" Emmaline replied, surprised. "How did you know about Bucky?"

"You named your Eevee Bucky?" White demanded disbelievingly.

Emmaline blushed and mumbled, "He's a bit of a big Eevee... but how do you know I had Bucky?"

"We ran into your Riolu and Eevee in Ambrette Town. They were with a Pidgeotto."

"Oh, so you saw Willowwing! That must have been the day Bucky and Blazey went out by themselves! Willowwing was the one who found them! I have a hard time keeping track of all of them. You see, all my pokemon are boys, so they tend to get a little rambunctious..."

White could already tell that Emmaline's pokemon were all full of energy and very outgoing. Watersong had noticed Deborah standing a short ways away from the group and had begun to flirt with her. Deborah seemed both too taken aback and shaken to rip his limbs. This had angered Spirit, who had floated over to the male Wartortle and tapped his shoulder, only to be pushed away. Blaze the Riolu had begun to brag to Samson and Spinda about his own battling skills. The Charmeleon not only looked unimpressed but looked very irritated at the Riolu's behavior. Flamestar, or Flame, was standing next to his trainer, the only one besides Randy not socializing with the other pokemon.

"Well you said you were challenging gyms, right?" Danny started, regaining Emmaline's attention. "I happen to collect them too. I was going to challenge the gym tomorrow, but I could use some practice. Would you be able to have a battle with me?"

Emmaline gave a radiant smile and replied happily, "Of course, I would love that! I know my pokemon would like that very much too!"

*~*~*

"This battle is a four versus four match!" Amos called to both sides of the battle field, Emmaline, her Braixen, and her Riolu on the left and Danny, Deborah, and Loopy on the right. "The match will end when all pokemon on one side can no longer continue fighting! Do both trainers agree to these terms?"

"Agreed!" both Danny and Emmaline replied.

Amos then shouted next, "Then let the battle begin!"

Emmaline took a pokeball off her belt, threw it in the air, and called, "Willowwing, time to fight!"

A Pidgeotto flew out of the pokeball with a loud, thunderous coo. It did a few acrobatics as Danny also threw a pokeball and yelled, "Let's go, Spirit!"

The mute Honedge materialized out of the pokeball silently like a Ghost Type should. He seemed uninterested in the Pidgeotto soaring over him.

"Alright, Willowwing, start out Aerial Ace!" Emmaline ordered her pokemon.

"Természetesen, my lady!" Willowwing cried as he dove down toward the ground, his speed increasing.

"Spirit, use Aerial Ace as well!" Danny commanded Spirit, who swiftly floated up to meet Willowwing.

The Honedge gained momentum before clashing with the Pidgeotto. The two pokemon struggled as they tried to push each other out of the air.

"Try Twister, Willowwing!" Emmaline shouted while Spirit unsheathed himself and slashed at the Pidgeotto.

Willowwing gave another booming shriek and flew higher into the air. When right above the Honedge, the Pidgeotto flapped its wings violently, making the viscous wind to spin around Spirit.

"Put your sheath back on!" Danny yelled, but it was too late.

The Honedge was already blown forcefully back to the ground. The blade dug into the earth, causing the pokemon to be stuck in the ground.

"Now, Steel Wing!"

Willowwing dove back down and speed across the field, flying only inches above the ground. His wings turned a metallic gray color as he prepared to strike. The Pidgeotto swiftly struck Spirit with his steel wings, knocking Spirit out of the ground and causing him to slide across the ground.

That girl doesn't mess around, White thought as she watched the battle from the sidelines with Leia and Mira. Quite impressive, really, since Pidgeotto would have a harder time dealing damage to a Steel and Ghost Type then other Flying Types.

"Don't give up, Spirit! Use Fury Cutter!" Danny encouraged his Honedge.

Spirit floated above the ground wearily and used his sash to pick up his fallen sheath. He then swiftly charged at the Pidgeotto, his blade shining and glowing as he went.

"Steel Wing, again!"

The Pidgeotto gave a throaty squawk in response to his trainer's order. His wings became metallic again and crossed his wings as Spirit swiped at him. Willowwing and Spirit continued to have their own little sword fight until the Normal Flying Type broke away. Both of them were getting very weak.

"Shadow Sneak!" Danny commanded his pokemon suddenly as the Honedge levitated closer to the ground.

"Doesn't he know Ghost Type moves won't work on a part Normal Type?" Mira asked with concern while Spirit dropped his sheath and faded into a tree's shadow.

"He should, he knows the type matchup system fairly well," Leia replied.

White didn't reply. She had a feeling that she knew what Danny was planning. It was common knowledge that physical Normal Type attacks were pointless against Ghost Type pokemon and vice versa. No one would attempt to use one against the other without having a plan.

When Spirit's handle surfaced above Willowwing's shadow, Danny shouted, "Now, use Aerial Ace!"

"No, Willowwing!" Emmaline cried as her Pidgeotto shrieked after Spirit slashed at the pit of the bird-like pokemon's back.

"Finish with Fury Cutter!"

The Honedge's blade glowed again and swiped at Willowwing one last time. The Flying Type gave one last throaty cry and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, Honedge is the winner of this round!" Amos announced after seeing the fallen pokemon.

"She ain't bad!" Mira commented as Emmaline returned her pokemon to his pokeball and switched Willowwing for her Wartortle. "She seems fairly tough for a rookie!"

"I'm sure she battles quite often," White said unconcernedly. "Training is important when challenging gyms."

There was suddenly two loud pops behind them, causing the three girls to jump. They all turned to see the remainder of their group. Margaret was on Alan's back while her arms were clutched around his neck. Sky Blue was once again on Shane's shoulders, but White noticed he was holding something fluffy in his arms.

"You're both finally here!" Leia exclaimed with relief, but then noticed the thing Sky was holding tightly. "Um, where'd you get that, Sky?"

As White looked closer, she realized that he was carrying a Mareep. Its little blue head poked out from all its wool and squeaked after seeing all the attention it was getting. It then fluffed up and hid in its wool again.

"A-Actually, she's mine," Margaret stammered as she slid off Alan's back. "Her name is Amelia, we found her on our way here."

"Why does Sky have your pokemon then?" White asked as she got up and approached Sky. Her question was quickly answered when Sky reached out and poked her forehead while saying, "No, no, no, go get your own fluffy pokemon."

"Excuse me?!" White snapped furiously as both Mira and Leia both stifled their fits of giggles. "Well I'm sorry, I had no idea you wanted all your heart ripped out!"

At this, Margaret gave a loud terrified squeak and quickly pushed Shane and Sky away from the infuriated trainer. The rookie then swiftly turned to White frightfully and pleaded, "W-White, may I speak to you in private?"

"Let me beat the living daylights out of his arrogant little face first!"

"No, please, we need to talk right now!"

White gave a low snarl, causing Margaret to wince and shrink back a little. The older trainer had seen this behavior from Sky Blue once before, and that was when he was in the hospital after losing his eye. The painkillers had effected him more than other hospital patients, and had caused him to be very awkward and annoying.

"Fine," White growled, turning to Mira and Leia and telling them, "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, I have a feeling he is more dense than usual."

She grabbed Margaret's wrist and dragged her away from the battle field. When they were a short ways away from everyone else, White rounded on Margaret and demanded loudly, "Why is Sky Blue DRUGGED?!"

"H-He's not drugged!" Margaret's whimpered, her eyes tightly shut. "There was a little, um...hiccup, on our way here, and we ran into Team Flare-"

"Team Flare?!"

"-a-and N kept provoking Sky and made him act irrational and confused!"

"What?!"

"Alan said Sky would be back to normal in a few hours, but that was yesterday evening, and now he's all loopy, and Alan now says it will be ANOTHER few hours before he's normal, and I'M SUCH A HORRIBLE FRIEND!"

White couldn't help but facepalm as Margaret pulled her maroon hair while looking as if she was on the verge of tears. Yet White knew that what she just said was more important than Margaret realized.

"Ok," White started a little more calmly, taking a deep breath as she spoke. "Margaret, I want you tell me exactly what happened on your way here."

Margaret nodded and explained everything that had happened during the two days she, Sky, and N were apart from everyone. She told White about how the three of them had helped their pokemon escape capture from Team Flare and what N had said to provoke Sky to have a lapse in sanity. Margaret told White about how her group was temporarily taken prisoner by the scientist, Celosia, and her group of Team Flare grunts. She explained how they escaped, and told how Sky Blue ran off without everyone else and told her about his hostile behavior until he believed Margaret was White. She then finished by telling the older trainer about what N had told her about staying away from Sky, and how her Mareep, Amelia, decided to stay with the group in order to help care for Sky.

White was silent for a moment after Margaret finished talking. A second later, White looked up and asked seriously, "What did Team Flare do to you and the others? Did they treat Sky differently than you and N?"

"Um, they cut all three of us," Margaret answered, holding out her bandaged hand. "N said it was because we were different than other humans, so they wanted are DNA. I don't know what they did to Sky, they kept him separated from us, but Celosia kept calling him 'psycho boy' and sometimes she called him a psychopath..."

So they know, White thought, feeling sickened. She couldn't help but worry about the DNA extraction though. If they checked Sky's DNA, they would learn about who he really is and what he's capable of. She then remembered what Thundrus said to her all those years ago.

"Eventually they were persecuted because of their unnatural powers..."

They will hunt him down if the DNA scan works, and who knows what they'll do with him if they catch him.

"Margaret," White began, suddenly remembering another problem. "What about N? Team Flare knows he's in Kalos now, did they call the police or anything?"

"Um, no, not that I know of," Margaret replied. "Why?"

"Team Flare could get lots of money for turning in N and anyone who conspires with him. This could get you and Sky Blue in big trouble. They could report you both and cause you to be questioned on his whereabouts, and the rest of us will be dragged in too.

"But," White continued with a sigh. "I guess there is no use in crying over it. We'll just have to be more careful now."

There was another pop as Alan the Alakazam teleported next to the two girls, causing Margaret to yelp.

"My apologies," Alan apologized as he turned to Margaret and told her, "I think you should check on Sky. He is demanding that I 'arrest' Leia and Mira for trying to pet Amelia."

"O-Oh my, of course," Margaret stammered as she left to check on the others.

After she was out of earshot, Alan spoke, "I would like to speak to you."

"I thought you might," White sighed while leaning against a tree. "So are you going to explain what-"

"What do you know about that Riolu?"

"What?"

The older trainer was taken aback. Of all the things to ask, it had to be about a Riolu?

"The Riolu," Alan repeated. "What do you know about him?"

"I don't know, that girl is his trainer," White answered. "Why do you care?"

"He is...an old acquaintance of mine and Shane's."

"But he's only a pup!"

"He's the same age as Shane and I. He was a member of the Riolu and Lucario tribe we were at war with. He ran away like us, and he even traveled with us till we separated."

"Well I know his name is Blazestar."

"So he's got a name now..."

"What about Sky?" White asked, ignoring his statement. "He had a lapse of sanity earlier than expected!"

"N taunted him about last time. This time our connection was completely severed. It appeared that the shield sprung a leak."

"What can we do to prevent this from happening again?"

The Alakazam hesitated before saying slowly, "There is one option, but you won't like it."

White raised an eyebrow.

"And what's that?"

"You should tell at least two other group members the situation. That way at least one person in the group Sky is in will know what to do."

"No!"

"It's the only way to guarantee his safety! Only you and N know what is wrong! We can't keep putting him with you two! I already have some worthy candidates!"

White shook her head furiously and retorted, "No, no, NO! They can't know! They'll fear him!"

"How do you know? They care for him to! He's a friend to everyone! Yes, he's a bit odd to them, but he's an important part of the group!"

"What if they don't understand?! What if they treat him like a monster?! I won't risk it!"

Alan watched the older trainer with a blank expression. When White turned to walk back toward the battlefield, Alan's voice spoke out, "No."

White whirled around furiously. The aura vanished from around the Alakazam as he stood on his feet, straightening up and looking at the girl dead in the eyes.

"What did you say?!" White hissed venomously.

"No," Alan repeated. "We're no longer handling this situation your way. We've waited, it got worst. Margaret and N are lucky that Sky Blue didn't hurt them. I will inform two more people of the situation, that way at least more group members are prepared."

"You can't!"

"Watch me!" Alan snarled, getting on all fours and actually growling at her. "I should've done this from the start! I will be telling Margaret and Amos what is going on! Margaret has experienced just as much as Sky, and she has already seen this side of him! Amos was the first to learn about you and N, and he kept the secret safe till absolutely necessary to tell! I don't care if you disagree anymore, what's important is the safety of Sky Blue and everyone else!"

The older trainer gaped at the Psi Pokemon. Alan had never talked to her like this before. He was usually polite and soft spoken, but now he was snarling at her, his pupils dilated.

"O-Ok," White stammered uncertainly, "But Alan...you said you were connected to Sky. Where are you connected? The barrier? His emotions?"

Alan's pupils enlarged as he realized what he was doing. He shook his head vigorously as if shaking away water.

"My...my apologies," he croaked, running his long fingers over his head. "This has been a stressful time for me..."

"Alan, how are you connected to Sky?" White repeated more sternly.

"I... My mind is connected to the barrier. The more the barrier degrades, the more emotions leak out to both of us."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"It wasn't necessary at the time!"

White continued to stare at the Alakazam. This made the situation even more dangerous. If Alan continued to stay connected to Sky like this, both of them would slowly lose their sanity. But she couldn't let that happen. Sky Blue was her best friend, and Alan was like her trusted adviser. She couldn't afford to lose either of them.

"I'll tell them," White finally said quietly. "I'll tell Amos and Margaret. It would be better if I was the one to tell them. I'll tell them in a couple of days."

Alan shook his head and replied, "N and I will tell Margaret. She'll take it better from us. You can tell Amos. He trusts you."

The two continued to watch each other. Human and pokemon both wondering what would happen in the future. The risk of telling outsiders of the scarring past for the first time was terrifying.

A loud roar from the battlefield brought them back to earth. Without another word, White and Alan both steadily made their way back to the field. Both Emmaline and Danny were down to their last pokemon, which were a huge Snorlax and Deborah. Sky and Margaret were no longer there. As White sat down with Leia and Mira again, the two girls, who had been giggling about Sky's loopy and childish behavior, informed her that Margaret took Sky to the Pokemon Center. Alan then left to join his trainer and Margaret, leaving White alone with Leia and Mira. The older trainer personally felt relieved that Sky wasn't there. His annoying behavior would have increased her stress.

White watched the remainder of the battle in silence. She barely took it in, though she occasionally acknowledged a clever strategy made by either Emmaline and her Snorlax or Danny and his Gardevoir. In the end, Deborah had overcome the Snorlax and won the battle for Danny. Instead of running to meet the two trainers in the battlefield with Mira, Leia, and Amos, White stayed where she was on the bench. Her mind was too busy swimming with thoughts and memories about aura, Aura Guardians, Lucarios, Gallades, Alakazams, and insanity.

Why must Sky Blue be more complex than White herself? He tried so hard to be like White, to impress her, and yet he ended up carrying a burden that White's burdens could never compare to.