I almost can’t believe my parents, especially Dad, are letting me travel with my handsome, silver stranger. I’ve always thought that once I embarked on my adventure, I would be alone with a partner Pokemon that the Academy selected for me.

While Steven may have picked out Blaze for me, traveling with a hot companion beats any of my past presumptions about my dream journey. No matter what kind of obstacles come up, I do trust Steven’s guidance and the strength of his powerful Skarmory.

I look up at the sky, enjoying how the twilight lovingly brushes its gaze upon us. There is a slight breeze that passes through our camp, making the flames grow larger in size.

Steven notices the change, so he tosses some sticks in to calm the fire’s appetite. His beautiful, steely eyes meet mine as he flashes a gentle smile.

“I know it’s only been a few days since we first began our journey together. How do you feel about everything so far?” he asks.

Taking a deep breath, I run my hands through Taillow’s feathers. Taillow is sleeping soundly on my lap while Blaze is sitting next to Skar. The two bird Pokemon are deeply immersed in a private conversation since they keep chirping and cawing at each other.

“Catching Pokemon is much harder than I thought,” I admit. “I know Taillow wanted to join me, but wild Pokemon can be slick and stubborn. I couldn’t even catch the Combee the other day.”

Steven chuckles as he recalls the memory. There was a Combee fluttering by itself, so I seized the opportunity to try and make it the third member of my team. Blaze used Ember to weaken it; however, before the Combee fell to the ground. A large swarm of Combee emerged from the bushes nearby. A couple of the Pokemon caught their comrade and then flew away.

Meanwhile, most of the Combee stayed behind and used Gust to literally blow Blaze and me a few hundred feet away. By the time Steven and Skarmory heard the commotion and rushed to my side, the Combee gang rushed out of the scene in the blink of an eye.

“Many people underestimate how dangerous bug Pokemon can be. Bug Pokemon are considered to be one of the weakest types; however, they have the best battle formations in the wild. They excel at teamwork and are excellent at debilitating opponents,” Steven explains.

I stare blankly at Steven as my lips form a tight line. “So you’re saying I would have gotten my ass kicked either way?”

“I would not phrase it like that, but yes. You would have gotten your butt kicked,” he replies.

“Wow I appreciate your faith in me,” I say.

Steven smirks, closing his eyes slightly, and reaches into his bag. He pulls out his Pokedex to type in some kind of code. A few seconds later, a hologram of a yellow orb with a curved blue and pink cat-eye in the middle appears. I take his Pokedex into my hands.

“What is this?” I question.

“Do you remember when we were talking about Ampharosite on the day we first met? This jewel is a projected image of Gyaradosite. Gyaradosite is the Mega Evolution stone for Gyarados. I wanted us to be near Fallarbor because this stone is rumored to be somewhere around here.”

My features shift in surprise while I hand the Pokedex back to Steven. “Wait, so once we get this stone, you’re going to use this on your Gyarados?”

Steven shakes his head. “No. I don’t have a Gyarados, but my friend Wallace has one. Wallace has a strong bond with each of his Pokemon, so I have no doubts that the stone will work. In order for the Mega Evolution stone to activate, the trainer and the Pokemon partner need to have a bond of complete trust. Otherwise, if their bond is unsatisfactory, then the power cannot be activated under any other circumstances.”

“Hmm that’s interesting. But aren’t there a lot of trainers who are best friends with their Pokemon? I know you said Mega Evolution is more of a new phenomenon. But if there are many trainers who are close to their Pokemon, why isn’t Mega Evolution more common?”

My silver companion pauses to think about my inquiry. He glances at his Skarmory before fixing his gaze on me again.

“This is my theory; however, I believe that if you are just friends with your Pokemon, it is not sufficient enough to unleash the Mega Evolution’s requirements. When I mentioned trust, I’m referring to how both parties need to trust each other with their lives. The human needs to trust the strength and robustness in their Pokemon partner. The Pokemon needs to delegate control and trust that the human has pure guidance in return. It requires a complete synchronicity of perhaps, a symbiotic relationship between the two.”

I nod, processing everything that Steven’s thoughtful explanation. I peer at Skarmory and crack a grin.

“So when we were at Mt. Chimney and that man threatened to kill us with his Camerupt, you trusted that Skarmory would defend you no matter what. Some amazing teamwork right there,” I point out.

“Well Skarmory and I landed ourselves in more dire situations in the past. However, yes I do trust Skarmory as well as any of my Pokemon to take charge and protect me. I’m sure you and your Pokemon will eventually reach that milestone too someday.”

“Someday? What do you-”

“GET OUT OF HERE! EVERYONE RUN! THERE’S A GHOST COMING AFTER US!” a voice suddenly screams.

We all swivel our heads to the source of the screams. Next thing we know, a small crowd of people dash in the direction of our camp. Most of them jump over our bags, leaving heavy footprints in the dirt around us.

Taillow immediately wakes up from her nap. I can tell she’s peeved off because she flies toward one of the guys who stampeded through our turf, pecking his arms and face furiously.

“Ahhhhh! I’m sorry!!!” he shrieks.

I stand up to run over to the pair. “Taillow! Stop! Please stop! He’s had enough already!”

Taillow ends her attack as soon as she hears my orders. She gives the young man a sneer before spouting some nasty chirps at him.

I almost find it funny, but I remember how Taillow and her friends attacked me once too. Steven kneels in front of the victim who is squirming and groaning on the grass.

“Are you alright? I apologize for Taillow’s assault. She and the rest of us were quite bothered when you and those other people ran through our camp carelessly. Either way, I do hope you will be okay. I can give you some bandages from my first-aid kit.”

The man shakes his head. He brushes off the dirt from his clothes and wipes the blood from his arms with his shift. Steven extends a hand, helping the stranger up to his feet.

“No, I’ll be fine. I’m sorry about that. We’re just upset that our Pokemon are gone,” he says spitefully. A couple of tears spew out of his eyes from realizing the reality of his situation.

“Who stole them?” I ask. “All of your Pokemon were stolen by the same person?”

“Not a person! A damn ghost! I don’t believe in that crap, but the ghost of Meteor Falls came after me and my friends! Then all of our Pokemon were swallowed within seconds!”

“A ghost?” Steven repeats, his face seems to dance with curiosity. “Surely there must be a better explanation.”

The man sneers. “I wish there was. If you two have any sense, I suggest you two pack up and tail your bee-hinds out of here. We tried battling this ghost, but it was useless. Now we have to report to the police and see if they’re brave enough to rescue our Pokemon.”

He shakes his head many times as he starts running off so that he can join his friends. Steven and I lock our gazes, nodding in unison. We haven’t known each other for long, but I love how we came to the same conclusion.

Now we have to investigate this ghost and see if we can recover the lost Pokemon.

It does not take us long to reach Meteor Falls. Skarmory seems too familiar with the area because he circles the entrance a few times before landing gracefully at the cave’s mouth.

I’m about to walk in until Skarmory squawks at me loudly. I face the giant, steel-winged bird.

“What is it?” I ask.

Skarmory caws again and gestures his wing at Taillow. Taillow just jumps up a few times and chirps back at him with anger.

“What?” I say.

Steven understands what Skarmory is saying because he faces me, pulling me to the side a bit. “Skarmory is suggesting that Taillow should be returned to her Pokeball. Having both of your Pokemon out may pose a bigger liability. We’ll need Blaze out since he can light the way for us.”

“Oh alright,” I state. I pick up my Pokeball and click the button. “Taillow return!”

We finally enter the cave after Blaze uses a moderate flame to create a brighter path for us. Steven watches our surroundings, pausing almost everytime we hear any suspicious cries. Otherwise, the beautiful waterfall cave appears to be eerily quiet. Some crystals emanate a blue glow as we travel further in.

“I’m sorry about Taillow,” Steven mentions. “I despise Pokemon being caged like that, but Skarmory is concerned for her.”

“It’s okay. I know you guys are trying to help. Taillow also has some issues to work out on her own too. I can’t believe she attacked that guy.”

Steven laughs softly. “I thought it was kind of funny. Those people did rudely stomp through our camp. But at least we can make it up to them by finding their Pokemon.”

“What if the ghost is real? What do we do if the Pokemon are in another dimension?”

“Well that’s why we investigate mysterious phenomena such as this. We will find our answers, May. Let’s give it some time.”

“I hope those Pokemon are okay. I don’t even know if we can fight a ghost. Is that even possible? I mea-”

Blaze screeches loudly, causing Steven, Skarmory, and me to look off into the distance. We see some kind of floating shadow flying around in crazed circles. Blaze stops walking and looks at me for advice on what to do next.

“Skarmory! Get in position!” Steven barks.

Skarmory’s wings open slightly as he gets ready to charge at the shadowy-figure.

“Blaze! Make the cave brighter! We’ll see who this ghost really is!” I yell.

Blaze spits out a few embers from his mouth. He aims it at different parts of the cave, lighting up the area immensely.

Skarmory eases his position when we realize that the shadowy figure is actually a Vibrava buzzing around in the cave.

“A Vibrava?” Steven says. “Perhaps it’s one of the lost Pokemon?”

The Vibrava notices us and proceeds to charge toward us. It cries out in desperation as a sudden mist appears from behind, latching on to the Vibrava. Steven gasps as the Vibrava appears to be pulled by an unseen force into the pitch-dark spots of the cave.

“Blaze! Use ember on the mist! Full power!” I command.

Blaze nods in agreement. He opens his beak to spew out a strong stream of fire against the mist. Whatever this mist is, it releases Vibrava from its grip before disappearing within the cave’s shadows.

“Skarmory! Attack those shadows! We can’t let that ghost get away!”

Skarmory’s wings glow while he dives straight into the cave’s walls. Part of the cave collapses as Steven shields me from some of the debris that falls on top of us.

My silver-haired friend doesn’t look happy when we all see that there is nothing else on the other side. Steven sighs in defeat.

“Do you think a ghost Pokemon was behind the mist?” I ask him.

“I doubt that,” he replies. “Not many ghost Pokemon know how to create fogs like earlier. Besides, there is something strange about that mist. It’s best to be on guard.”

Vibrava zooms around our vicinity once more. The Vibrava stops a few feet in front of us, flapping its wings at an astonishing speed. It cries out before turning around and flying further into the cave.

“Let’s follow that Vibrava. It might know more information about this apparition,” Steven suggests.

The four of us sprint after the Dragonfly Pokemon. It takes us about 10 minutes until we Vibrava hovering near a young man. It is hard to tell what he is wearing because of the lack of lighting, but I see a white cap on the top of his head. He is currently facing away from us while cradling an unconscious Treecko.

The young man peers up at Vibrava to ask the Pokemon a question. “Did you find any help?”

My body freezes when I recognize the voice. It can’t be.

Vibrava lets out a noise in response. It turns toward Steven and me.

The young man follows suit, and his eyes widen in surprise. I know he recognizes me immediately.

“May! I-I can’t believe you’re here! It’s been so long!” Brendan exclaims.

This can’t be happening. This man is my former best friend. We’ve been through everything together, and he threw it all away when popularity got to his head back at the Academy.

I swallow an imaginary lump in my throat. My stomach feels super queasy, and my surroundings appear to be kind of blurry around me. I take steps back as soon as Brendan carefully walks toward me.

“What are you doing here? Have you come to investigate the ghost too? Are you a Pokemon trainer now?” Brendan keeps bombarding me with questions I have no intention of answering.

He seems to have noticed my demeanor because he stops in place. “May? Are you okay? Do you want some water? I have an extra bottle.”

Although my body felt paralyzed earlier, I regained feeling and awareness. I do a 360 completely and start to run in the direction we came from.

“May! May wait! Please! Please wait!” I heard Brendan call out. 

Tears escape my eyes as I squeeze them shut and continue running.

Please help me escape Lord Arceus. I don’t want to deal with him today. Or ever again in my life.

Thanks for reading Red Silver Hearts!

Let me know what you think about the story in the comments down below.

Disclaimer: The image above is only used to help the reader visualize what the chapter is about. Photo image credit: Cavern by Ninjatic on deviantART.

If you want to join the Nikkaflora fam for this journey, subscribe to my email list and social media below. You’ll stay updated and receive additional content. Let’s create, appreciate, and f*** hate!

💜 Nicole 💜