“Go, Dragonite!”

Indigo threw his Poké Ball high in the air. It caught a shining beam from the floodlights before falling to the ground in the middle of the wide arena. The ball burst open in a flash of light and the form of a tall, winged dragon appeared, slowly fading from its white energy form to its solid mass. It let out a loud cry, and the crowds surrounding them cheered.

Indigo pointed a finger toward the green Vibrava crouched on the other side of the arena. “Now, Dragonite!” he cried. “Use Outrage!”

The Dragonite roared again and glided forward, raising its powerful claw in the air to strike the foe Vibrava. The Vibrava’s insect-like wings buzzed and carried it to the side, but Dragonite was prepared for the maneuver and turned just as the Vibrava tried to get around it. Dragonite’s claw struck the Vibrava and knocked it down. The crowd cheered again and began to chant:

“Indigo! Dragonite! Indigo! Dragonite!”



Indigo sat with his head in his hands. He subconsciously pushed it side to side and rubbed his temples while his mind was elsewhere. His right leg bounced uncontrollably and he felt the weight of the single Poké Ball against his thigh, loosely hung from the slot on his belt. A small spot of his dark hair itched beneath his cap, and he slid a finger beneath it to scratch.

It was because of the sound of the scratching and the excitement of his daydeam that he didn’t hear Mrs. Brown call his name.

Something jabbed his ribs. He snapped out of his trance and looked to his right at the girl sitting at the next desk over, her full brown hair curling loosely around her neck and shoulders. A single flower was tucked behind her ear. Her slender hands were resting on her desk but one thumb jerked toward the front of the classroom. Indigo opened his mouth to speak, but that was when he noticed the other ten students in the classroom staring at him as well. He looked toward the front of the room where another student had been giving a long and repetitive presentation and noticed that the student was no longer there.

Quickly, he stood up, nearly knocking over his chair. He pushed a stray lock of stiff hair from his eyes and walked to the front of the room, ignoring the stifled snickering of the other students. He faced the class and reached into his pocket for a sheet of paper. After unfolding it, he looked to Mrs. Brown, sitting at her large teacher’s desk, for permission to begin.

“Indigo, you’re in your last year of trainers’ school.” She sighed. “Is it too much to ask that you bring clean, typed copies of your reports to class and stop daydreaming during lectures?”

The suppressed laughter of the class increased. Indigo smiled weakly and gripped his paper tighter in his hands. He began to read.

“My presentation is on some of the recent technological developments that have been… developed over the past ten years,” he began, “especially those that have to do with Pokémon and the changing practices of Trainers and others who work closely with Pokémon.

“It was not long ago that the main regions of our world were mostly separated from each other by geography and lack of communication technology. But thanks to the work of famous inventors like Bill, Celio, and Lanette, the Pokédex research of Pokémon Champions such as Red, Gold, Brendan, and Lucas, and leading Pokémon experts like Professors Oak, Elm, Birch, and Rowan, we are now able to communicate with and travel to most known regions of the world. This has been achieved through development of the link system and also because of better and more affordable options for sea transportation.”

Indigo unclipped the Poké Ball from his belt and let it fall onto the floor. The impact caused it to burst open, revealing the small, pink form of Skitty. It meowed and curled itself around Indigo’s leg. The girls in the classroom “aww”d, while the boys whispered and pointed. Indigo longed to explain to them that this Skitty actually belonged to his parents and that he only kept it with him for protection against wild Pokémon on the path home from school, but instead he continued with his report.

“Skitty is a native Pokémon of the Hoenn region, but over the past few years, there have been more reported wild Skitty sightings in the Sinnoh region. Other regions report similar findings for many non-native Pokémon. Leading Pokémon experts believe that this is a positive step toward creating a more unified and fulfilling world for humans and for Pokémon.”

The girl sitting next to Indigo’s empty seat raised her hand. Mrs. Brown called on her. “Yes, Rose? Do you have something to add?”

“But isn’t it true,” she said, “that this also means Team Rocket, Team Galactic, and other groups like them are also able to better communicate with each other? Couldn’t this lead to a revival of any one or more of these groups?”

The other students leaned toward each other and whispered. Mrs. Brown raised her voice above the sudden noise. “Quiet, students!” She turned to Rose. “I don’t know where you get such preposterous ideas, Rose, but those groups have long been disbanded. I would also appreciate it if you wouldn’t speak about such subjects in my classroom. Do we understand each other?”

Before Rose could answer, a shrill ring filled the air and everyone stood. A mad rush for the door followed. Mrs. Brown turned to Indigo as she arranged a stack of papers on her desk. “Thank you for your presentation, Indigo,” she said.

Indigo picked up his Poké Ball and pointed it down at his Skitty. “Skitty, return.” A beam of red light connected the ball to the Pokémon and drew it inside. He hooked it back onto his belt and walked back to his desk. Rose was still gathering the last of her things.

“Thanks for putting a damper on my presentation,” Indigo said sarcastically.

“I was just speaking my mind,” she said. “I didn’t mean to get everyone all worked up about it.”

Someone bumped into Indigo from behind. He stumbled forward, catching himself on the desk. “Oh! Sorry, Indigo.”

“It’s alright, Orange,” Indigo said, straightening his hat. He turned to face the new boy, whose freckled face was bright with a smile. “What are you so happy about?” Indigo asked.

“I was just thinking about my tenth birthday,” he said. “It’s coming up pretty soon.”

“Oh yeah, and that means your dad will let you get your first Pokémon!” Rose said.

“I bet it’s great to have your own Pokémon,” Orange said, his shoulders slumping. “You guys are so lucky. A Skitty and a Budew…”

“Hey, this isn’t mine,” Indigo said. He motioned to his belt. “My parents would never let me take this Skitty to fight in the gym challenge.”

“Besides, we’re the ones who should be jealous,” Rose said. “You’re a whole three months older than me and Indigo. That means you’ll be an official trainer for three months before us.”

“But it won’t matter!” A sneering boy approached them on his way out the door. “He still won’t ever win a battle!”

A girl followed behind. “In fact, he won’t ever battle at all! Will you, Orange?”

Orange turned away from them, his face flushed. The boy pulled at his shoulder. “Come on. What’s wrong? You scared to look into my eyes?”

Indigo pushed the boy’s hand away. “That’s enough. Get out of here.”

“Hey, it’s not our fault your friend is a loser,” the girl said as she skipped away. “Someday we’ll prove it on the battle field!”

After they left, Orange sighed heavily. “I’m sorry…”

Rose shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Orange. It’s alright.”

“I know they’d leave you alone if you would just look them in the eye,” Indigo said. “Even just once.”

Orange shrugged. “I know, but… I just can’t.”

“You look us in the eye all the time,” Rose said. “What makes them any different?”

“You guys are my friends,” Orange said. “I trust you. If I said I didn’t want to battle, you’d listen. But kids like them… I just don’t know what kind of trouble I’d get into.”

Indigo put a hand on Orange’s shoulder. “You do realize that you don’t even have a Pokémon to battle with, right? They can’t possibly beat you right now.”

“But someday that will change,” Orange said. “And… if I’m going to beat them, I want it to be in a fair Pokémon match. Otherwise… it just won’t be right.”

They left the building and emerged into the fresh air. They were surrounded by the tall buildings of Jubilife. Across the street was the Pokémon Center. Habitually, Indigo looked toward its sliding glass door in hopes of seeing a real Pokémon trainer emerge from it, surrounded by all kinds of tough and skilled Pokémon, but he saw no one go in or out. The three friends walked down the street toward Orange’s condo.

“So,” Orange began cautiously, “did you guys like my report?”

Rose smiled. “It was great. You really got me interested in Bidoofs.”

Orange’s smile returned. “Thanks. That means a lot, coming from you. Both of you are so smart… I couldn’t even understand half of the things you said in your report, Indigo.”

Indigo laughed. “Thanks, I think.”

They reached the front door of the condos. Orange said goodbye to them and went inside, while Indigo and Rose continued onward toward the city limits.

Just before they reached the areas where the grass was growing tall, Rose reached to her belt for her Poké Ball. “Come on out, Fleur!” She tossed it to the ground and her Budew, Fleur, came out. She leaned over to speak to it. “Ready to go home?” The Budew nodded and called its name. “I’ll be counting on your to protect me, okay?”

Indigo stepped past her into the grass, but Rose didn’t follow. “Hey, Indigo!” she said. “Aren’t you going to let out your Skitty?”

He shrugged and kept walking. “Not today. We don’t get attacked by wild Pokémon much anyway. It’ll be fine.”

Rose picked up her Budew and ran to catch up. “Do you think that’s smart?” she asked. “The whole reason your parents are letting you keep it is for protection…”

“And as long as I have you and Fleur around, I’ll be fine,” he said.

“What about after you drop me off at Floaroma?” she asked. “Will you let out your Skitty then?”

Indigo shrugged. “Maybe.”

They trekked through the tall grass without encountering any living thing, Pokémon or otherwise. A minute later, they approached the small mountain passageway that took them to a higher path toward Floaroma. As they ducked inside, Rose shivered and pulled Fleur closer to her.

“What’s wrong?” Indigo asked.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’m just thinking, that’s all.”

“What about?”

Rose sighed. “I heard that back when Team Galactic was around, they would catch a lot of Zubats in caves like this and hand them out to their members. I can just imagine stumbling upon someone with a Pokémon like that. You just turn a corner, and there he is, ready to let his Zubat suck the life out of your Pokémon.” She pulled Fleur even tighter, and he squirmed in protest.

“Zubats keep to themselves most of the time,” Indigo reminded her. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“I do if it belongs to a trainer!” Rose insisted. “Then it will do whatever its trainer asks.”

“Alright, then the next time we see a trainer with a Zubat, I’ll protect you.” Indigo laughed. “I’ll even let it suck my blood if it gives you a chance to escape.”

Rose paused. “You’d… really do that? For me?”

Indigo hesitated. “Well… I wasn’t really being serious. Why, is that what you want?”

Rose shrugged back. “Well, I don’t know. It just seems like a really… boyfriend-like thing to say.”

“Boyfriend-like?” Indigo scoffed. “That’s stupid. You’re making things up now.”

They climbed over a row of rough rocks. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s a good idea either,” Rose said. She dusted off her bare knees when they reached the other side. “I mean, we’re way too young for that stuff.”

“You’re forgetting the fact that we don’t even like each other,” Indigo said. “That’s sort of important too.”

Rose shrugged and muttered, “Yeah, I guess so.”

They approached the exit. Sunlight washed over them. After climbing a set of stairs and hiking through more tall grass, the brightly-colored flowers of Floaroma came into view. They ran toward Rose’s house. Flowers of every color filled the yard, almost overtaking the single pathway leading from the front gate to the doorstep. When they reached the gate, Rose set Fleur down into the flowers and turned back toward Indigo. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Indigo nodded. “Yup. Bright and early for school.”

He began walking away, past the Pokémon Center and out of town. Rose called after him, “Let out your Skitty before you walk into any tall grass! Okay?”

Indigo waved a hand over his shoulder, ignoring her.

He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked on along a small river, then across the bridge toward Eterna Forest. Once he’d trekked through it, there would only be a short walk to Eterna and his house. He had often heard the cries of Pokémon from the bushes on the side of the forest path, but only rarely had he ever seen any. Pokémon didn’t appear to humans much unless they could tell you were a trainer. Either that, or you had something they wanted. Indigo apparently fit neither description, so when he entered the forest, he saw no wild Pokémon and left his hands resting in his pockets, his single Poké Ball still hanging from his belt.

“Team Galactic,” Indigo muttered to himself. “As if. They were disbanded before we were even born. I don’t know why Rose is so afraid of them coming back.”

After making the first few turns on the forest path, he heard a sound. He froze, thinking it would only be the cry of a Pokémon, but the distant noise was too constant to be a lone cry. He crept toward the sound, leaving the trail behind and pushing his way through the brush. As he came closer, he discovered that the sound was a pair of human voices, both male and middle-aged. With every step, Indigo could pick of more of their conversation. He worried that the sound of the bushes would give him away, but for now, they didn’t seem to notice him.

“So that meeting. It’s happening tomorrow afternoon, right?” One of the men was dressed in a black outfit and wore a matching black cap. His back was turned, so Indigo couldn’t see his face.

The other man, wearing a white jacket and black pants, nodded. His green hair bobbed in his face. “Yeah, at the old HQ in Veilstone. It’s just a bunch of warehouses now, but I guess the boss thinks it’s a good spot for our final revival meeting.”

The man in black sighed. “I’d rather stay in Kanto, but this will have to do for now.”

“We’ll have a foothold in every region before too long,” the green-haired man said. “There’s no question about that. The world won’t be able to stand up to the new Team Rocket. With the forces of all the Teams combined, there’s not a trainer alive who can stop us!”

The thin branch Indigo had been holding on to snapped and he tumbled forward. He couldn’t stop himself as he fell out from the bushes and into the open, just feet away from where the two men were standing. They jumped, but quickly regained their composure.

“What the… was this kid eavesdropping?” the man in the jacket asked.

“You’d better get out of here,” the man in black said to the other. He grinned and his hand lingered by his belt, where a bright red Poké Ball was attached. “I’ll take care of the kid.”

“Right.” The man with green hair turned and ran the other way, disappearing behind some trees.

“You’re… Team Rocket!” Indigo sputtered. He stumbled to his feet.

The Rocket grunt laughed. The large red R on his shirt glared out from the rest of his black outfit. “Perceptive, aren’t we? Are you going to explain what you were doing hiding in that bush?”

“I just heard voices,” Indigo explained. “Honestly. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.”

The grunt made a “tsk” noise with his tongue. “That’s too bad, because either way, you’re coming with me!” He pulled the Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it to the ground. It burst open and a grey-and-black dog Pokémon came out. It threw back its head and howled.

The grunt pointed a finger toward Indigo. “Now, Mightyena! Subdue the boy!” The Mightyena lowered its front end and growled. Its teeth glistened in the dim forest lighting.

“Wait!” Indigo held up a hand. “I have a Pokémon. I can fight you, fair and square!”

“Let’s see it, then,” the grunt said. “Send out your pathetic Pokémon, so I can have the satisfaction of crushing you both!”

Indigo fumbled for the Poké Ball on his belt, finally managing to unhook it. He tossed it to the ground and his Skitty appeared. The Mightyena’s growl increased and the Skitty took a step back.

The Rocket grunt snickered. “You call that a Pokémon? This will be too easy!”

Indigo clenched his fist. Though fear held him all but paralyzed, his mind struggled to remember everything he had been learning in trainers’ school. He called out to his Skitty, “Use Fury Swipes, Skitty!”

The Skitty leapt forward and slashed at the Mightyena’s face, but the wolf-like Pokémon jumped back. Simultaneously, the Rocket grunt called out, “Bite, Mightyena!” The Mightyena lunged forward and gripped Skitty in its jaws. Skitty called out in pain, but the Mightyena bit down harder.

“Stop!” Indigo shouted. “Tell it to stop, he’s hurting it!”

The grunt smiled. “That’s the point. Have you never had a battle before?”

Mightyena threw Skitty to the ground and stepped back. Skitty struggled to rise to its feet, but could not. With shaking hands, Indigo aimed the Poké Ball at the fainted Skitty and commanded it to return.

“Now, Mightyena!” The Rocket grunt said. “Attack the boy!”

Indigo held up his hands to protect himself as the wolf-like Pokémon crashed down on top of him, knocking him to the ground. The Poké Ball rolled from his hand and lightly bumped the Rocket grunt’s feet. He stooped down and picked it up. “Hmm. Not much of a prize, but I suppose it will have to do.”

Indigo struggled against the Mightyena. He pushed at its face, gripping both sides of its snout as its teeth came closer. Drool coated the sharp teeth and a deep growl vibrated throughout the Pokémon’s entire body. Indigo’s arms were becoming weaker, already tired from fear and despair. They shook and threatened to give out.

Suddenly, the Mightyena yelped and was thrown off of Indigo. It crashed to the ground but rose to its feet and stood ready. Indigo backed away from the beast, unsure of what had saved him, but thankful nonetheless. The Rocket grunt was also confused. “What’s going on? Mightyena, attack him!”

A shadow swooped down from the trees and struck the beast a second time, this time throwing it against a tree. The Mightyena whined and backed away into a protective bush as the shadow arced into the sky and doubled back for another strike. The Rocket grunt saw the shadow just in time to raise his Poké Ball and return Mightyena. The shadow fluttered into the darkness of the trees.

“So, you’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve,” the grunt said to Indigo. “Well, I’ve still got your Skitty! And if you ever want to see it again, you won’t tell anyone what you heard here. Got that?” He shot a final glare at Indigo and turned to run down the path, holding Indigo’s Poké Ball.

Indigo laid back on his elbows after things went quiet and tried to catch his breath. His heart was pumping hard and fast. Everything had happened so quickly, and he had been so unprepared, that even now the reality of the situation had not sunk in. All he could remember was the sharpness of the Mightyena’s teeth, and the sudden dark hero that had mysteriously saved his life.

As if on cue, there was a rustling in a nearby treetop. Indigo jumped, his heartbeat climbing once again. In the tree, resting on a branch, was a dark-feathered bird. Its head feathers fanned out above its eyes, creating a wide brim. At the top of its head, the feathers stuck straight up in three sections. Its tail was large and prickly-looking, and its beak was long and crooked. It made a small “caw”-ing noise as it regarded Indigo with its deep, red eyes.

Indigo nodded toward it. “You saved my life. Thank you, Murkrow.”

He wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him, but he thought he saw the Pokémon nod back. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished into the trees, blending with the shade.