Bea was frozen in fear. The tsunami was coming towards them. It wasn't even slowing down at all. And yet, here she was, completely still and staring at this wave. All around her, people were shouting and running from shore as fast as as they could, but Bea hardly took notice of them. She didn't even see when Conner and Matt had run back to her.

I need to find Dylan! But she knew that right now, she needed to protect these kids. That was her responsibility right now. And yet. . .

She looked down, at their pale faces and wide eyes. Josiah was squeezing her hand and crying , almost as if accepting the fate looming over them all. Even Conner and Matt, who had seemingly hated her just half an hour ago, were holding onto her like she would be the one to save them.

I'm no hero. . . But maybe I can still save them.

"RUN!" She screamed as loud as she could. She didn't know where she had gotten that energy from, but that didn't matter.

Conner and Matt didn't need much convincing to leave, and they charged towards the nearby canopy of green leaves. Pikachu was sitting on Matt's shoulder, and Conner's Croconaw was running right beside them.

Bea didn't waste any more time and rushed into action. She picked up the two boys into her arms, giving Abe Mienfoo's Poké Ball to recall her. Bea ran as fast as she could after Conner and Matt, not once tripping on her own feet.

Even with her quick speed, though, she knew that she wouldn't be able to reach safety in time. . . But she could at least try.

Josiah moved his head slightly to peer over Bea's shoulder, and he suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Bea turned her head back, only to be met with a wall of water. Bea was thrown to the ground, along with Josiah and Abe. The next thing she knew, her grip on them was pried away. She didn't even notice as her Scorbunny headband was pulled off and her hair began to fly free all around her face.

She struggled, not knowing which way was up and which way was down. The only thing she knew was that she needed to get back to the surface; to get air. But she was spinning so much that she couldn't even see which way she needed to go. Her throat and lungs and eyes burned. She hardly noticed as debris floating in the water scraped against her skin.

Dylan. . . Alli! With one final kick, she propelled herself in a random direction. Immediately her head shot out of the water, and she took several huge gulps of air.

"Dylan!" Bea screamed at the top of her lungs, her throat burning. She didn't care what it took, she needed to find her brother. Luckily he was skilled in swimming. . . But even then, she doubted that he would be able to swim in this kind of current.

All around her was water, with no one or nothing to get help from. She might as well have been thrown off of a boat in the middle of the sea. And yet, she still tried to search for her brother.

"Dylan! Lu!" She turned around, her eyes scanning every which way for any sign of her older sibling's blonde hair or of Hawlucha's crimson feathers. "Dylan! Dyl-"

Her foot caught on something. Either that, or something caught her foot. No matter the case, she was pulled down into the watery depths of the torrent. Waves crashed above where her head had been just seconds before.

I need to. . . keep fighting!

But what was the point?

I'm a fighting master. . !

She sure didn't feel like it. She felt pathetic and useless. Maybe she should just give up. . .

No . . . Alli. . . Dylan. . . I need to. . . Alli.

With her mind full of nothing else except her need to see the raven-haired Ghost Trainer, she made one last effort to reach the surface.

Her movements did nothing, except for making her more exhausted.

The current tugged at her hair, almost in a dreamlike way. Her body felt light as the ocean lifted each of her limbs gently. It was almost as if it was welcoming her to stay here with it forever. That didn't sound like a bad idea. . .

Alli, I'll be one of your ghost friends. . .

Her vision began to cloud around the edges, and she started to close her eyes. The silence just felt too peaceful to resist.

"Bea! Bea!" The ocean called out to her, its voice surrounded her entire presence. ". . . Almost there!"

Her eyes stayed open just long enough to see a feathered being's silhouette above her. It was coming closer and closer to her, determined to reach her.

And then everything went black.

🌊 🌊 🌊

"Hey, why do you like Ghosts so much?" Bea looked at her best friend, smiling softly.

"I- I don't know," Allister stumbled. He turned his face away from Bea, as if avoiding her gaze, although he was wearing his mask, so she couldn't even see his expression anyway. "M- Maybe it's b- because they remind me of my parents?"

"Hmmm." Bea seemed to consider this. "But how can you remember something that you have no memory of?"

"I do have memories!" Allister snapped his head back in her direction. "I remember my mother caring for me, and my father coming home from work. I was only about three or four then. . ."

Bea was silent for several seconds, and then a huge grin spread across her face. "Hey, you didn't stutter that time, Alli!"

Allister covered his mask with his hands, as if trying to hide the embarrassed blush beneath it. "A- Alli?"

"Yep!" Bea beamed at her friend. "That's what I want to call you now, unless you don't like it."

Allister's face flushed even more from underneath his mask. "N- No, it's f- fine."

"Great!" Bea jumped up to her feet and extended an arm down to the boy. He blinked at it a few times, then lifted his head to meet her gaze. Then, he slowly lifted his hand up to hers. Her tan fingers wrapped around his pale ones, and the next thing Allister knew, she was leading him down a path deeper into Glimwood Tangle.

Eventually, Bea started to slow down in a clearing in the middle of the tangle. She stopped and looked at Allister, her face bright. "How's this?"

Allister looked around slowly, watching in awe as mushrooms on the ground glowed for several seconds before fading back to no light. All around him, a neon green light seemed to glow. The place was beautiful. Allister couldn't even find the words to describe it.

"I'll take your silence as a 'Ooh, Bea! I love it! Thank you so much for bringing me here!'" Bea gave a quiet laugh, but froze as she heard Allister's soft giggle.

"Woah, did you just laugh?!" Her smile was even bigger now, and she was watching Allister, as if expecting a response from him.

"You know, you don't have to be so talkative, Alli," she said in a joking voice. "Sometimes I'd like to be able to talk too."

Allister blinked and looked down, nervous. Although Bea was his best friend, she sometimes made him feel embarrassed. He knew that she was only joking, but it still felt weird. "Uh- Uh, Bea. . ." He trailed off, not quite sure now what to say.

"Go on," Bea encouraged, watching as he stared at the ground.

"I. . ." A wave of guilt ran through him as he hid behind his mask. He had known Bea for years now, but never once had he taken off his mask to see her fully. "I—"

A bush quivered nearby, and a majestic creature jumped out. It was as white as snow, with a black striped horn on the top of its long head. Puffy, pink and blue strands of fur trailed out from behind it, like a mane of cotton candy, as she ran right past them, so close that Allister could have touched her if he wanted.

Allister smiled to himself and closed his eyes. He reached behind his head and undid the straps to his mask without a single word.

Bea watched the creature race by, amazed. "Alli, I think that was a Pony—" She stopped as she was now looking at a boy's face.

Dark black eyes glanced at her from behind a sheet of raven hair. A pink face and red cheeks caught her eye, but what made her freeze was his mouth. Ever-so-gently, his mouth was curved into a smile.

Hidden behind the mask was an actual smile. It had been so long that Bea had begun to think that he didn't even have emotions. But then he laughed, and now. . .

"You look beautiful," Bea whispered, causing the poor boy's cheeks to redden even more from embarrassment. Yet, he didn't cover his face or put the mask back on.

"I- I'm not. Y- You are," Allister stuttered. He was caught off guard when Bea hugged him suddenly.

"I know that's not true, but thank you." She broke away and looked into his bright eyes. "I could never deserve a friend as great as you."

She took the mask from his hands and tied it back onto his face. "Thank you for showing me who you are. I'll never forget this." She took both his hands in hers. "Remember when I first met you?"

Allister nodded slowly, gazing up at her from his mask.

"I told you I would fight to protect you, that I would train to protect you?"

Allister nodded again.

"I intend to keep that promise for as long as I can.

"Because I am a Fighter."

🌊 🌊 🌊

I am a Fighter.

Bea bolted upright and vomited up water. Her lungs were on fire, but still she coughed, emptying her stomach of the salt water. She felt an emptiness inside, yet she continued to spit out what little was in her.

"Bea!" Something wrapped around her. She coughed, but the something— or someone— didn't let go of her. Instead, the person patted her back and began rocking her back and forth. "You're alive, you're alive, you're alive," the person was whispering, the voice masculine and very familiar. "Thank Zacian, you're alive."

Bea turned her head, seeing the boy who had her in his arms. His face was buried in her shoulder, but his blonde hair was unmistakable.

"Dylan?" She croaked out. It almost seemed surreal, being able to see him again.

Dylan finally moved his head back, revealing his face. His gray eyes were puffy and red as tears rolled down his cheeks. He was hardly recognizable, though, as there were bright marks on his left cheek and on his forehead. "Yes, Bea. It's me." Bea didn't reply, but looked at him a bit closer now. As Bea's gaze moved downward, she froze at a large gash on his left shoulder, extending down to his elbow. He had his blue shirt tied around it, but there was still a bit of blood seeping through.

"Dylan, you're bleeding!" Bea ignored the unusually sharp pain in her neck and reached towards her brother's arm to stop the bleeding.

"Bea!" Dylan was quick to stop her. "I'm fine, I promise. You need to worry about yourself."

"But I'm fine!" She remarked, only to wince in pain as her neck flared to life and a warm liquid ran down herself. Bea fell back, now struggling to breathe. These tight clothes she wore would usually give her easy mobility and breathing. Now they were like a cage trapping her.

Dylan hissed something under his breath and looked behind him at something. "Conner, bring me the rag for her bleeding."

Bea hardly had enough time to express her surprise when a familiar face came into view. Brown hair, blue eyes, yet the expression on his face wasn't anger or annoyance, or even fear for himself.

It was fear for her.

"Bea. . ." Conner breathed, looking at her. He had a guilty appearance. "I'm sorry for treating you so rudely earlier! I never thought—"

"You can have your reunion later," Dylan growled, snatching a piece of cloth from the younger boy's hands. "For now, Conner, you go help the others." He placed the piece of fabric onto Bea's neck, adding a gentle amount of pressure.

"But—"

"Just go!" Dylan pressed down a bit harder, making Bea bite her tongue in order to hold back a squeak of pain. Dylan looked at Bea and quickly loosened his pressure on her wound. "Sorry."

Bea didn't reply; she just looked at Dylan, confused.

Dylan sighed. "Lu found you about ten minutes ago, and called me over. I swam and swam, trying to reach you before it was too late. Then Lu jumped into the water and pulled you out."

Bea remembered a voice from when she was still in the water: "Bea . . .almost there!" So it was actually Dylan.

"Together Lu and I dragged you to our safe place." He motioned to the area around him. From the looks of it, they were on the roof of a tall building. When he looked back at Bea though, his eyes were full of tears. He sucked in a breath and continued. "You didn't have a pulse, and you weren't breathing." That's when he completely broke down, tears pouring down his face. "I thought I'd lost you, Bea! I don't know what I would've done if you ever left!" His body shook with the effort to breathe. "What would I tell Mom and Dad if you died— What would I tell Allister?"

Bea placed her hand on his own near her neck. "I'm here now, aren't I?" Her words were soft. "You don't need to worry about me. Go help the others."

"No, Bea, I can't! I can't go without knowing you're okay!"

"And I'm fine now, aren't I?" She glanced over his shoulder. "And you should go help out Conner; he looks like he's struggling with everyone."

Dylan hesitated for a moment before nodding. "You're probably right. I'll be back soon— and don't you dare die on me again, you got it?"

"Yeah."

"Good." He moved his hand away from her neck, but kept her hand there on the cloth to stop the bleeding. He brushed her hair away from her face before leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Be strong."

The next thing Bea knew she was all by herself once more. She slowly sat up, relieved to find that her cut was no longer hurting. She pulled the cloth away from her gently and looked around.

There were several other people there with her, not including Dylan and Conner. A few Pokémon sat in the corner, watching with worried expressions as their Trainers were being taken care of. A Chansey, among a few others, were laying down, either due to injuries or exhaustion.

A bright blue ball rushed past Bea, right in front of her face. She jumped back, only to be nearly attacked by another sphere.

Bea turned her head, noticing a white creature holding onto a street lamp. It charged up another Aura Sphere attack before firing it towards Bea again. It was about to charge up another one, but stopped as it saw Bea looking at it.

"Shao!" It called to her, but Bea was only barely able to hear.

That Pokémon needs my help!

She glanced back at Dylan, only to find that he hadn't even seen the Pokémon there. Bea jumped to her feet and ran towards the edge of the building, ignoring her brother's yells for her to come back.

Bea swam as hard as she could, letting the current pull her towards the Pokémon. As she neared it, the Pokémon extended a long white and purple arm out towards her, which Bea quickly grabbed and was pulled towards the lamp post with the Pokémon.

Only then did she notice the two bodies hanging from the Pokémon's other long arm. Her face paled as she recognized their faces.

Abe.

And Josiah.

She quickly turned her head back to the Pokémon, finally seeing the resemblance it had to her Pokémon.

"Mienfoo. . ." She whispered.

"Shao," she corrected, and pointed with her nose to the two boys' unconscious forms. Right. They're more important.

But then she noticed two golden-colored lights, one big and the other small, coming towards them. Even with the current pushing against whatever this thing was, it still managed to make it way towards them, slowly and steadily.

The lights began to light up as the Pokémon leapt out of the water: a glorious blue fish, with sky-blue fins and a yellow face.

"Lanturn," Bea breathed as she recognized the Pokémon.

The Lanturn dove back into the water, but it's two lights were still glowing brightly. Bea knew that this only meant one thing.

"Mienfoo, Protect!"

Mienshao waved her one free arm around, creating a large, yet thin barrier, around herself, Bea, and the two boys. At that same time, the Lanturn shot out a powerful wave of electricity. Within a few seconds the attack dispersed, but more than a few other Water-Type Pokémon rose to the surface, stunned from Thunder Wave, only to be washed down the current.

The protective casing around the four of them shattered, and they were defenseless again against the Lanturn.

"Aura Sphere!" Bea commanded, but Mienshao's attack hit the water and came to an abrupt halt. Her attacks couldn't do anything to the Lanturn while he was in the water.

"Protect!"

Lanturn's Thunder Wave again was blocked by the wall around them, causing it to shatter once more.

"Bea!" Dylan yelled, about to jump into the water after her.

"No! Don't!" She told him. If he were to place even one toe in the water and then have Lanturn attack. . . She didn't want to think of what might happen to her brother.

Dylan seemed to notice Lanturn, and watched in horror as it fired yet another Thunder Wave, only to be blocked by Protect.

Mienshao was more than exhausted, but still she kept her defense up. Bea wanted so badly to tell her to relax, that her job was over. But she couldn't; Mienshao was her only source of protection.

"There are two other boys here with me!" Bea yelled to Dylan. I can't tell if they're alive. . .

Mienshao let out a cry, directing Bea's attention back to Josiah and Abe. The former was slowly sinking into the water, his face covered now by the torrent. Without another moment to spare, Bea dove down after him, using the lamp post as a guide. His hand was still gripped in Mienshao's, but he didn't seem to be conscious still. But if he were still alive, Bea could never forgive herself for letting him die so easily.

She grabbed him and swam up, pinning him against the lamp post to keep him in place.

But now she had another problem: Lanturn was closing in on the distance between them, and Mienshao was very quickly losing energy.

"Mien. . ." she breathed as she turned to look at Bea, an apologetic look on her face. She couldn't go on any more, with holding onto Abe, Josiah, and Bea, as well as dealing with Lanturn, not to mention the waves around them hitting her like hundreds of Surf attacks.

'You did great,' Bea wanted to tell her, but couldn't. She just couldn't find the words to accept Mienshao's defeat. No matter what, she had to stay strong.

After all, that's what Fighting-Types are known for doing.

But now, here she was, with two children, stranded on a lamp post with the raging current all around. Her Mienshao couldn't go on, and all the while, Dylan was watching the scene play out.

It was all over.

Lanturn lit his lights up as he charged for another attack.