"Hi everyone! Thank you for choosing Sand Stream Tours!" the peppy teenage girl announced, flashing us a peace sign. "My name is Suri Greenleaf, and I'll be your guide for this hike!"

It was six sharp the next morning, and we were about to begin our trek across Reversal Mountain. To her word, Suri had arrived right on time and seemed to have consumed enough caffeine to fuel a small coffee shop. She, unlike everyone else in the group, was excited to get going. Due to the early time, the only people in the hiking group was our regular quartet plus Bianca.

"It's nice to meet you, Suri. I'm Bianca Hills," Bianca replied. She then introduced the rest of us to Suri, which I was glad for because I was still half-asleep.

"It looks like some of you aren't fully awake," Suri giggled. "Not for long! There's nothing like a good hike up Reversal Mountain to get the blood pumping. By tonight, I expect us to be halfway up the north face. And if everything goes well, we'll be in Undella Town by next week."

Four days of hiking? Is she serious? I usually wasn't one to complain but her expectations seemed to be placed a little too high.

"That's great, we want to be in Undella before the snows hit," Hilbert said.

"Snow? It never snows out here. It's too dry for that! The worst we'll get is an extra-heavy sandstorm or two." Suri fished a cap from her bag and put it on, threading her long brown Ponyta-tail through the hole in the back. "That's enough chatter, we have some hiking to do! Now, always stay close to me and never leave the group or enter any unauthorized areas. I'll explain the rest of the rules before we begin climbing, capiche?"

We all nodded, ready to get this hike done and over with. Suri nodded back, giving us an even wider smile. She turned around towards the craggy mountain rising up over the small town and told us to follow her.

"Venasaur, use Vine Whip!" Suri's Grass-type starter shot two thick vines at the boulder in the middle of the path. It lifted it with little effort and threw it off the side of the cliff. The boulder tumbled down the steep slope, landing at the bottom with a mighty crash. "Nice job, return!" Suri recalled her Pokémon and continued up the trail, explaining that rockslides were common around this time of the year. I sighed and forced myself to keep walking. We had been climbing for nearly four hours by now, and my legs were ready to give out on me.

"How are you holding up, sis?" Nate asked, just as out-of-breath as I was.

"Well, I haven't collapsed yet, so I guess that's a good sign!"

"Maybe Arceus will be kind and tell Suri to give us a water break?" Nate laughed.

"Okay everyone, we're gonna be taking a twenty minute break! No more, no less!" Suri announced a second later. I looked back at Nate, and he shrugged.

"Praise Arceus, I guess," he said, flopping down on the nearest rock. I nodded and took a seat next to him. A few minutes into our water break, Nate stood up and left, saying he needed to talk to Hilbert. I noticed he was holding Illie's Poké Ball and his face bore a look of resignation. What was he doing?

I watched Nate walk to where Hilbert and Bianca were sitting. The two began talking while Bianca watched curiously. Nate then held out Illie's ball to Hilbert, who, instead of taking it, jumped up and hugged my brother. Of course, Hilbert's illusion wore off and he freaked out for a moment, only for Illie to recast it. I quickly glanced at Suri and, luckily, she wasn't looking. She was actually talking with Hugh. I looked back at my brother to see him walking back over to me, an Ultra Ball in his hand.

"Did you trade Illie?" I asked.

Nate nodded, a smile trying to cover up his slight sadness. "Yeah, I thought she would be happier with... Aaron." He made sure to refer to Hilbert's alias. "He seems to be really happy, and I guess that's what matters. Besides, I got this in return!"

"What is it?"

"I... have absolutely no idea! Aaron just said her name was August, and that she would balance my team out."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Open it up and let her out," I said, starting to get excited. Before Nate did anything, I grabbed my Pokédex and readied its scan feature. If it was Hilbert's Pokémon, it must have been something good!

The ball clicked open, and a white light jetted from it to the ground, taking the shape of a canine Pokémon. The light faded to reveal a large, cream-colored fox Pokémon with red eyes. She slowly got to her feet and shook out all nine of her red-tipped tails. She looked at Nate, tilting her head quizzically. As she did this, I scanned her with my Pokédex.

Ninetales, the Fox Pokémon. Each of its nine tails is imbued with a supernatural power, and it's capable for living for a thousand years, my Pokédex stated.

Nate crouched down to meet his Pokémon's eye level and extended a hand towards her. "Hey August. I'm Nate, your new Trainer." August leaned forward and sniffed his hand. She then yapped quietly and looked away from him, turning her nose up. "I don't think she likes me," Nate said, frowning.

"What did you expect? August is in the eighties in terms of her level. She won't listen to most Trainers." We looked up to see Hilbert standing over us, smirking.

"Why'd you trade her to me then? If she won't listen to me, what's the point of having her?" Nate pointed at August, only to have her snap at his fingers. He quickly pulled his hand back, letting out a small gasp of surprise.

"You either earn August's respect the normal way, or you win all eight badges. Believe me, she's a very powerful Pokémon, and she covers your Grass weakness as well as a few others since she knows some TM moves. She'll be the most loyal member on your team once you impress her." Hilbert nonchalantly reached out and pet August, who nuzzled into his hand. "See? She really is nice," he said.

Nate sighed. "Fine, I'll try. Thanks, Aaron."

"You won't regret it, trust me."

"Okay, water break is over!!" Suri yelled at the top of her lungs, scaring the ever-living heck out of me. I swear I jumped a foot off the ground when she did that. "We're burning daylight, and I want us to get through Banette Pass before nightfall. We don't want to get stuck in there at night!" Without waiting for us to acknowledge her, she began walking away. The rest of us scrambled to catch up with her, not wanting to get left behind.

Several sharp inclines and twists in the trail later, we entered a narrow gully cut between two hills. The path was so narrow that I could easily place my palms on either side without having to extend my arms too far. Since Hilbert didn't want to deal with going through such a constricting path, he went against Suri's rules and flew to the other side on Voir, only to get a long-winded lecture from her about safety and disobeying the rules.

"If you thought that squeeze was tight, you're gonna be in real trouble once we get to the south face! Crosswinds are everywhere and you'd get blown halfway across Unova. Even Flying-types avoid that section of the mountain," Suri said, crossing her arms.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Hilbert sighed. After that, he stood back until he could walk beside Bianca where she proceeded to playfully tease him. I couldn't help but smile when I saw them together. They were opposites, sure, but they were still cute. I was a sucker for romance, so I was having an internal field day.

At one point, Suri stopped in the middle of the path and told us to stop as well. She turned to us with a serious look that I thought she was incapable of making.

"We're now entering Banette Pass, one of the most dangerous sections of the north face. If you have any small Pokémon on you, I suggest you let them out now. Banette, while not the most powerful Ghost-type, are major trouble when they gather in hordes. Try to keep a clear mind because they're attracted to negative energy. We'll proceed once you've prepared, okay?"

Small Pokémon? Why only small ones? It probably had to do with the amount of space in the pass or how mobile they could be. I let out Lucky, Bow, and Charlotte while Nate sent out Thorn and Soul. Bianca had a Deerling, Hilbert had Illie, and Suri sent out an elegant flowery Grass-type called Roserade. Since Hugh didn't have any small Pokémon, I let him use Lucky.

"Wow, I'm glad you all have so many Pokémon. The last group I saw here only had two Pokémon on them."

"Saw? Wait, you weren't leading them?" Hugh asked.

"I was leading a different group that day. Actually, they didn't have a guide with them at all. There was just the three of them along with an Ariados and a Liepard. They didn't even look prepared for a hike, since black isn't exactly the best color wear out here."

"They had a Liepard..?" I looked back and saw that Hugh had gone whiter than a sheet. I knew who he was thinking of at that moment. Those people couldn't have been normal hikers. Their description and Pokémon were too coincidental.

"Why do you look so shocked? Do you know them?" Suri looked concerned.

"Sort of. We've had some trouble with them in the past and we want to avoid them," I said quickly.

"I saw them a few days ago, so they're most likely in Undella Town or farther by now," Suri said calmly. "If we see them, we'll try to steer clear, okay?" She cast Hugh a reassuring glance, who nodded. I noticed that he was trembling a little and I hung back to talk to him when we started walking again.

"You doing all right?" I asked him, trying to keep my voice down.

"I was two seconds ago," he sighed. "I knew the Triad was still alive, but I guess it didn't really register with me until Suri said that."

"It'll be fine, Hugh. You don't have to worry. I'm sure they're nowhere near here," I said, trying to smile. Maybe I can cheer him up a bit? "And if it'll make you feel better, you can hug Lucky," I added with a half-hearted laugh.

"Thanks..?" he said confusedly.

   A minute later, I heard Lucky squeak softly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hugh hugging my Eevee like his life depended on it. I smiled, happy that he took my suggestion. It was rare that I saw him express any emotion other than sarcasm or anger, and it was almost a relief to see him acting... I don't know, normal? He really didn't need to worry, the Triad would get nowhere near him or any of us, not if I could help it.

   Banette Pass was a wide passage with twenty-foot high walls that seemed to lean inward over the top of the trail, creating a sort of "roof" along the entirety of the pass' length. The midday sunlight cut straight down through the thin gap. It created a jagged line of blue that separated the dark shadows cast by the walls. Occasional holes dotted the walls, each close to three feet tall. They were the perfect places for a Pokémon, say, a Banette, to duck into and hide. Though the holes appeared empty, I had the uneasy feeling that we were being watched.

"Heeheehee..."

I stopped in my tracks, my entire body breaking out in goosebumps. What did I just hear? It sounded like... laughter.

"Heeheehee..!"

I whirled around, ready to face one of the mischievous Ghost-types Suri had mentioned. There was nothing there. Nothing except the empty space behind me. I stared into the emptiness, half-hoping to not see anything while at the same time hoping I did. If that happened, at least it wouldn't have been like I was hearing things. There was still nothing.

I hadn't even taken a step when a sound nearly made my heart stop. Off in the distance, I heard a rock clatter down from the pass wall, the sounds of rock striking rock piercingly loud in the echoing pass. I whirled around to see a large stone laying in the path that hadn't been there previously. I turned and ran to catch up with the group, chills coursing up and down my spine.

The farther we continued through the pass, the more on-edge everyone became. Whether it was Nate randomly snapping his head around to stare at nothing, Hugh keeping his gaze fixated on the shadows on either side of us, or Bianca constantly looking behind us, it served to bring the tension to a breaking point. I turned my attention to Hilbert and saw that he was staring at the ground, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his shoulders tensed, and a deeply unsettled look on his face. I didn't dare say anything.

"Heehee..."

I turned to look at a random spot in the pass for what felt like the umpteenth time. Of course, nothing was there. I felt like I was going crazy. No one, not even Suri, was saying a thing. The quietness was so unnatural that it felt like I could have been indoors. Nature should never be this quiet!

"Run," Hilbert said suddenly.

"What?" I looked at him, not sure if I heard him correctly.

"Run!" he yelled, loud enough for the whole group to hear. As he did this, the shadows lining the bottom of the walls and inside the holes sprung to life and jumped at us.

"Charlotte, use Thunderbolt!" I screamed, instant panic taking over. My Joltik launched a powerful bolt of electricity at the shadows nearest to us. The lightning hit and the shadows took shape into gray, sharp-toothed monsters resembling malformed gray dolls. The Banette crashed to the sandy ground at my feet, knocked out.

All around me, I heard laughter. Insane, psychotic laughter. The Banette had all revealed themselves and were surrounding the group. There must have been over two dozen of them, all staring at us with sick, twisted grins. One let out a piercingly loud hiss and that was a signal for the others to begin attacking.

The Banette unleashed a flurry of attacks, mostly Ghost or Dark-type moves. Everyone was managing to fend them off, even Bow and Soul who had weaknesses to both types of attacks. While the battle wasn't especially difficult, it was the sheer number of Banette that frightened me.

Charlotte had just finished letting off a flashy Electro Ball when she began emitting a different light, this one being white. She leapt off my shoulder and landed on the ground in front of me. Her silhouette stretched and grew. Once the light faded, she had become a large yellow and blue-striped arachnid, a Galvantula.

I grinned, amazed to see what my little Joltik had turned into. "Okay Charlotte, use Thunderbolt!" Charlotte rubbed her static-coated legs together and shot electricity from every one of them. It then splintered into several more bolts, forming sharp-ended points of electricity. The many bolts of lightning struck every Banette, either making them faint or paralyzing them, allowing the others to finish them off. We stood among the fainted Ghost Pokémon, waiting to see what happened next.

"Heeheehee!"

To my utter shock, more Banette appeared from the shadows, instantly replacing those that had fallen. They prepared to unleash another round of moves.

"They'll just keep coming! Start running and don't stop until we get out of here!" Suri commanded, taking off in an all-out sprint. We ran as well, our Pokémon easily able to keep up with our pace. The entire time I ran I could feel sharp claws trying to grab at my hair or snag my clothing. They were certainly persistent, that was for sure! We ran until we made it out from under the pass' overhang. And even then, we continued running for a long time.