The Poké Ball shook a few times before it sealed. I sighed in relief, realizing I had never caught a Pokémon before. Musharna and Audino were both given to me, Swanna was already caught when I found his Poké Ball, and my first Pokémon was one I had naturally befriended.

Musharna looked at me as if to tell me she knew we could do it. Before I could say anything, the little purple and pink Pokémon tackled me into the cold snow before snuggling her head into mine. I laughed. What was it with this Pokémon's need to snuggle 24/7?

Maybe that was a question I could ask Landon sometime.

When Musharna finally jumped off and let me stand up on my own two feet, the Pokémon decided to float beside me, snuggling her head on my shoulder. I smiled as I wrapped my arm under her and scratched her on the side of the head.

While cuddling with the Pokémon, I started to realize something felt off. I kindly let go of my Psychic Pokémon and looked around. It was then I heard some Pokémon screaming out of nowhere. I didn't think as I jumped up to my feet started running towards the sound. Musharna floated beside me, not leaving my side, but not cuddling either as she must've known how dire the situation could be.

There was this feeling in my gut that someone was watching me, like the time I woke up at Rena's place. This time, it felt a bit more real.

I hope I'm wrong, especially since this is just paranoia. That's all it could've been, right? After all the nightmares I'd  had, and receiving threats from Team Oblivion, this just had to be normal. 

A part of me knew that was wrong as I ran through the snow. Whatever was lurking around, I felt like I was going to find out soon enough.

"Sylvia!" I heard Rudi's voice yell.

I turned around to see Rudi running as fast as he could with Braviary by his side. Somehow, while Rudi and I were racing to catch Pokémon, taking off our separate ways to do so, he had managed to lose his red winter hat and a glove. Immediately, I knew he had to have lost it due to a Pokémon, making me sigh in relief that he was alright.

Rudi wrapped his arms around me as his fingers threaded their way through my hair. "I heard a noise and thought it was you."

"No," I said pulling away, as the screaming noise happened again, "but I think we need to find out."

My boyfriend nodded his head as we both turned to run towards the source of the noise. I mentally made a note of all the Pokémon I had, thinking of their moves as we ran.

If I was right, I would need every one of them to help out. I really hoped I was wrong.

After running and following the screams for a few minutes, I stopped as I saw some rare Pokemon running past me. They were running for their lives. I looked back, seeing more and more of them running away.

This couldn't be good.

Rudi quickly grabbed my wrist and pulled me away, just before a branch of a tree came falling down, sending snow up in a powdery shower when it landed. My eyes widened. Had he not have been there, I would've been squashed in seconds. I took a deep breath as I felt my heart start to race.

"We can't stop now," Rudi warned.

I nodded my head as I realized what had to be done. We started to run, realizing the noises had suddenly stopped. I turned my head back, seeing more branches falling. When I looked up, my stomach tightened.

That tree branch wasn't an accident as I noticed a Pokémon from above using some sort of attack to break them down. My eyes squinted to see as Poké Balls were being chucked at the Pokémon that were scurrying away.

Except, they weren't ordinary Poké Balls either. By the time these Poké Balls got close to a Pokémon, they would expand and trap the defenseless Pokémon into an electrical net of some sort. What kind of sick people would do this?

"Musharna," I yanked myself out of Rudi's grasp as I pointed up towards the treetops, "use Psybeam!"

My Pokémon floated in front of me and fired off a beam of concentrated psychic energy. The Psybeam hit its target, causing the Pokémon to fall out of the trees.

If there was one thing I learned from Team Oblivion, it was that they used pretty similar Pokémon; however, this was not one of them. My eyes widened as a Sawk landed in front of me, looking a bit irritated that I had just stopped him.

Soon enough, I saw a man with wide shoulders landed behind the blue Pokémon, crossing his arms. He didn't seem to have a strand of hair on him at all, and he had dark eyes that were ready to kill. My eyes widened as I recognized this man from the wanted posters that had hung in my Pokémon Center and at every Police Station there was. Unlike those wanted pictures, that had him in an orange jumpsuit, the man wore an outfit that could make people easily mistake him for a lumberjack.

Here I thought I was going to be dealing with Team Oblivion.

This was worse.

His name was Clyde Damion, a notorious Pokémon poacher who stole rare Pokémon and sold them on the black market. I thought someone threw him in jail last month. Then again, with the Krait Twins escaping, I wouldn't be surprised if Clyde had managed to as well.

"Why hello there, pretty lady," Clyde said as a smile curled up on his lips. "Silver eyes, black hair, sounds like something a client would want."

My eyes widen as if this guy was just confirming my thoughts.

Rudi took a step in front of me as he grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt. "You're not laying a finger on her. You'd have to go through me first."

"Ah, two for the price of one," Clyde chuckled. "Wonder how much of a bonus I'll get from you too, Braviary Man."

I stayed behind Rudi, not sure what to do. If I remembered correctly from what Officer Jenny once told me when Clyde Damion was first arrested, it was that he never worked alone. Instead, he always had help from his client, whether it be a Pokémon or someone else that worked for a client.

That was why Clyde was so hard to arrest in the first place. He'd use them as a scapegogoat. I turned around, and the moment I did, I wish I didn't.

Two men wearing Duskull masks smiled at me. In front of them were their signature Pokémon: a Toxicroak and a Scrafty. My eyes widened as a part of me wanted to grab help from Rudi, but that wouldn't be a smart choice. He was in a battle of his own.

If I were to distract him now, it would be game over.

Musharna didn't stay by my side, making me realize she had to have been helping Rudi out in any way she could. I knew these guys knew who I was, but I didn't want to pull out Swanna seeing as I didn't bring any berries to heal him.

If he fainted, and if Braviary fainted, it would be kinda hard to get back.

Instead, I grabbed my other two Pokémon for help.

"Mienfoo, Audino, I need your help!" I yelled, throwing the two Pokémon out.

The two Pokémon leapt from their Pokémon, readying themselves for the fight. While this forest had lots of rare Pokémon, I had decided to catch myself a Mienfoo as it just so turned out to be the exact same Pokemon that was hurt earlier.

She let me battle her. I didn't throw my Poké Ball at her until after I healed her, using the last of the berries I had carried with me. Seeing that we were about to get into a heated battle, I realized that was the best decision I'd made.

"Looks like you've got some new Pokémon," Hunter Krait, the man behind the Scrafty noted.

"Does your little Swanna not want to get hurt again?" Asked Archer Krait, the man behind the Toxicroak.

My hands balled in fists. "That's none of your concern. Audino, use use Headbutt on Toxicroak! Mienfoo, use Drain Punch on Scrafty!"

"Toxicroak, counter it with Poison Jab," Archer calmly said.

"Let it hit you," Hunter told his Pokémon, while smiling. "Then use Payback."

Each of the moves that were given were perfectly timed, but not so much in my favor. First, there were Audino and Toxicroak. My Pokémon slammed himself right into Toxicroak, but the Pokémon used Poison Jab to swing my Pokémon backwards. Meanwhile, Mienfoo threw her fist right into Scrafty's stomach, draining the Pokémon of his energy.

Unfortunately, once Mienfoo was done, the other Fighting-Type disappeared and snuck up from behind without warning. Mienfoo was thrown down, looking as if she had gotten the worse end of the deal.

"Audino, quick, use Disarming Voice on Toxicroak," I tried switching tactics. "And Mienfoo, use Force Palm on him as well!"

I knew I'd left Scrafty alone, but I needed to get one Pokémon out at a time. If I kept ganging up on Toxicroak, and if that Pokémon fainted, then all I have to worry about was Scrafty.

"Toxicroak, use Poison Sting!" Archer yelled.

His twin brother smirked. "And Scrafty use Feint Attack!"

It was hard to tell which Pokémon they were going after, but either way, I tried to think of a strategy. I mean, I took down Hunter once before. I should be able to do it again, despite him having help from his brother this time.

Luckily for me, the double attack worked like a charm. From a distance, Audino was able to use his Disarming Voice, preventing him from getting hurt; however, Mienfoo wasn't as lucky. She used her Force Palm on Toxicroak at the same time he used his Poison Sting attack on her. My Pokémon flew back, right before getting hit by Scrafty's Feint Attack.

On the bright side, Toxicroak fainted.

"Return," Archer sneered before grabbing another Poké Ball from his brother's Pokébelt. I was surprised Hunter let it slide, but being that he had no more Pokémon, I guessed the twin had to think outside the box. "Let's do this, Toxapex!"

The odd little Alolan Pokémon popped out of its Poké Ball. I never understood how Team Miasma had gotten ahold of such Pokémon, but I didn't worry too much about it. Instead, I just worried about the task at hand.

Seeing that Mienfoo needed help only meant one thing. I grabbed my pen from my coat pocket and touched the Key Stone that was attached to it.

"Time to do this, Audino. Let's Mega Evolve!" I shouted.

Light escaped from the Key Stone and transformed Audino into his Mega form. I watched as both of the Krait twins had dropped their jaws in response.

With them distracted, I could go onto the next stage of my impromptu plan.

"Audino," I shouted, "use Heal Pulse on Mienfoo!"

My Pokémon didn't skip a beat as he bent down towards Mienfoo and started to heal her as much as he could. Meanwhile, the Krait twins did nothing as they just stood there in bewilderment as to what was going on. I would've thought they would have made an attack by now, but apparently, neither of them knew what to do or make of Audino's new power.

When Mienfoo was done being healed, she leapt to her feet and nodded her thanks to the Mega Pokémon. Audino smiled in replied before glaring at their opponent.

Now it was time to end this.

"Use Swift and Disarming Voice combo!" I shouted.

Mienfoo sent a hail of stars towards her opponents, wrapping the pelting lights around the sound that Audino had produced. While the attack didn't seem to do much on either Pokémon, it was enough to send both Scrafty and Toxapex flying back into their Trainers.

"That's cheating!" I heard Hunter protest.

"It's rigged!" Archer claimed.

"It's Mega Evolution," I explained as Mienfoo and Audino stood in front of me, "and it's completely fair."

The Krait brothers pushed their Pokémon off of them. I watched as the two Pokémon gave each other a look as if they didn't want to battle anymore, but neither of them seemed to have a choice as I smiled.

"Finish it off with Force Palm and Double Slap!" I yelled.

My Pokémon leapt into battle. Due to the adrenaline that was running through my veins, I didn't even hear what kind of attack the Krait Twins ordered their Pokémon to use. I just watched as Scrafty was swift in dodging Mienfoo's attack and kicking the poor Pokémon down to the ground. As for my Audino, I watched as he slapped Toxapex until the Pokémon came up with an attack to throw him back.

We fought a bit more, but to be honest, it started to become a blur. One attack after another, I could feel the sweat pouring from my body as I did everything to keep my Pokémon safe. There were only so many times I could have Audino heal Mienfoo, and even then, the Krait Twins started to become unfazed of his ability to Mega Evolve.

I fought hard alongside my Pokémon, giving the battle my all. We managed to get rid of Toxapex fairly quickly, making me realize how bad of a Trainer Archer was. In the end, it ended up being Hunter and me. His Scrafty started to breathe harder and harder while Audino and Mienfoo were doing the same.

There was only so much I could do to help my Pokémon, especially when Audino vanished into his original state.

Words couldn't come out of my mouth as I realized it was down to just Mienfoo and and Scrafty. I returned Audino back into his Poké Ball, trying to think of something quick.

"Finish it off with Feint Attack!" Hunter yelled.

If that attack hits, we're done for! But if I could hit the Scrafty beforehand, then I would be good. Of course, I always had Swanna, but I hadn't had a good opportunity to send him out. I had to think of something quicker.

"Mienfoo," I yelled, "Detect it and counter with Force Palm!"

At least, I thought that was how that move worked. I mean, I'd used my phone Rena gave me to look up attacks this Pokémon knew.

But maybe I should've been more careful with what I did. Mienfoo didn't have a chance as she was thrown out of nowhere and fainted on the spot.

Next time, I had to be more careful.

"Ha!" Hunter laughed. "I won!"

I still had one Pokémon left. My hand quickly switched Poké Balls, knowing that I didn't have much time to make the switch. I should've thrown him out sooner, but I didn't.

My arm reached back to throw him out into the battle when I felt something tight grasp my wrist, yanking it back a bit. I looked back, seeing a rope tied around it. Since I was too distracted wondering on how it got there, I felt another chord slap my knee, forcing me to fall down right into the ground. My heart lurched with dread.

"Thanks Archer," I heard Hunter say. "Now our new boss is bound to give us a promotion."

I felt Swanna's Poké Ball being ripped from my hands as someone tied my arms behind my back. I tried fighting it, but it was too late as something hit the lower part of my back. I screamed in protest as I felt my energy being sapped from me, remembering the first time something like this happened.

Driftveil City, I remembered, and it was Scrafty's Drain Punch. From the moment I had to battle both a Toxicroak and a Scrafty, I should've known to go for the Scrafty first.

"Hurts, doesn't it," I heard one of the twins gloat as I was forced onto my feet, both the Krait Twins holding one of my arms.

The minute I was up, I saw Rudi standing there with Clyde Damion in his grasp. His eyes widened as he saw me, realizing what was happening. As much as I wanted to escape their grasp, I knew it was physically impossible. After being hit with a Drain Punch, it was harder to move.

How did I face them three years ago?

"Let her go," Rudi demanded as Clyde smiled.

My face dropped. Rudi might have gotten the criminal, but he didn't work for Team Oblivion. The Krait Twins did.

"I don't think so," the twin to my right announced.

Rudi was faced with a hard choice. I watched as he had to hold onto Clyde with two hands. His Braviary was nowhere to be found, meaning the Pokémon was either getting help or had already fainted. Musharna was laying there in the snow, all because I couldn't return her into her Poké Ball. Then, there was the small Pokémon that was breathing heavily that sweat was streaming down his oversized green head, which had two red dull spikes on it. My eyes watched that white Pokémon for a moment.

Like me, Rudi ran around this forest to catch himself a Pokémon. I was just surprised that out of all the Pokémon he could've caught, he caught himself a Psychic-Type that wasn't even native to the Unova region. That poor little Ralts needed medical attention if he were to fight some more.

In other words, if Rudi were to fight, it wouldn't be good.

I took a deep breath as I looked up at Rudi. The selfish part of me didn't want to say a thing. The optimistic side of me wanted me to believe Rudi had a chance. The part of me that loved him screamed to give him words of encouragement.

It was that same part of me that knew he'd come back.

"Rudi, don't," I begged. "Worry about Clyde, not me."

His face dropped as one of the Krait twins laughed.

"Ha! This is going to be easier than I thought!" cheered the Krait twin to my left.

"Time to get this show on the road then," the other Krait Twin agreed.

I was pulled back, seeing the desperate look in Rudi's eyes. I knew he wanted to do something about this, but if he did, he would be letting a wanted criminal out of his grasp. He was already using all of his strength to hold the man back, which would be better than trying to get me back. That look stuck of his in my mind, lingering as I was taken away to who-knew where.