"Go! Cyndaquil!" I called, sending my very first Pokemon ever into battle. The stadium erupted. I could just make out a blonde boy in the stands. He was smiling, and I could read his lips. "You can do it Cyndaquil!" I looked at the trainer on the other end of the grassy field. She wouldn't look all that tough if I hadn't known she had gone through the same difficult gym challenge as I had. The Johto region wasn't the most forgiving place for a beginning trainer. She had a thin frame and light blonde hair. She wore a determined look on her freckled face and her blue eyes glared with burning intensity. She looked like a young girl trying to brave a tough battle before her. And I was going to give her a tough battle. "Samantha has chosen Cyndaquil as her starting Pokemon!" blared the announcer's voice. I've always hated having someone announcing a Pokemon battle. I've always felt judged that way, you know? When you get burned, he makes sure everyone knows it. And when you win, well, I guess that's pretty cool. I guess I'm a bit of the glass half empty type. "Go, Wartortle!" shouted my opponent. "And Cynthia has chosen Wartortle, a water Pokemon!" the announcer nearly shouted into his microphone. "It looks like the fire type Cyndaquil is at a major disadvantage!" See what I mean about annoying announcers? I looked back into the audience for my friends' encouragement. The blonde guy, my boyfriend Ryan, looked a bit nervous now, but he nonetheless cheered Cyndaquil on. Tess, however, looked really excited. She had traveled with me (unlike Ryan) and had seen Cyndaquil's capabilities in battle. "Let the battle begin!" cried the judge. "Wartortle, start this with a water gun attack!" yelled Cynthia. Good, I thought. If there was one thing I had learned during my adventures, it was to never, ever make the first move. Wait for your opponent. It was always much easier to get away, and easier to put in the first hit. "Cydaquil, jump!" The little black and white mouse-looking Pokemon immediately flew into the air. "Now use Smokescreen attack!" "Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil said in agreement and a thick haze of smoke rose over the battle field. "Looks like the smoke is too thick to see through!" commented the announcer smartly. "Where'd Cyndaquil and Wartortle go?" I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes with great difficulty. Then I focused in on the battle. I knew my Cyndaquil would be able to hear Wartortle and attack without seeing it, so I called another command. "Fire Spin!" The characteristic fire lit on Cyndaquil's back as he prepared for the attack. "Wartortle, use Rapid Spin!" called Cynthia confidently. The smoke began to clear, and amidst the haze, I could see a flash of the whirling blue turtle Pokemon. "Let it loose Cyndaquil!" I called. "Quill!" Cyndaquil cried as it unleashed a powerfully spinning flame tornado on Wartortle. He was spinning too fast to change direction. "Wartortle, Hydro Pump!" called Cynthia. As Wartortle spun, a large flow of water gushed from out of the pokemon's shell. The fire was immediately put out. Cyndaquil had nowhere to hide! "Cyndaquil, Defense Curl!" I called out desperately, but it was no use. Cyndaquil was hammered by the water. "Cynda!" Cyndaquil cried out. "Ouch! Cyndaquil just got hit hard!" the announcer yelled excitedly into his microphone. "Has it given up?" "Oh no," I muttered softly. "Cyndaquil won't quit that easy. Not after making it all the way to the championship final." Then aloud, I added, "Cyndaquil! Are you okay?" Cyndaquil lay on the ground for a couple of seconds, and then struggled to his feet. I winced. He had taken a tough beating. As soon as he was on his feet however, Cynthia shouted, "Wartortle, prepare for Skull Bash attack!" Wartortle started charging its energy. I made my decision. "Cyndaquil, return!" I knew my friend could always come back into battle later, so I didn't hesitate in giving him a rest. I didn't want him to get hurt to badly. "And a smart decision by Samantha! I wonder if she has any Pokemon powerful enough to take Wartortle." "I sure do! Go Electabuzz!" My yellow electric pokemon appeared on the field. I looked to the crowd, which was now ooing and awing. "And Cynthia seems to have a powerful advantage now! How will Cynthia react?" I wasted no time getting back into the battle. "Electabuzz, Thunderpunch!" "Buzz!" he cried, throwing his fist at Wartortle. "Withdraw Wartortle!" Cynthia called realizing that her Pokemon could never outrun my Electabuzz. Electabuzz's attack connected perfectly. "Tortle!" screamed Wartortle as he went flying. He landed in the middle of the field, clearly knocked out. "Electabuzz wins!" called the judge. "Wow! What a powerful shock!" the announcer announced. "Go Sunflora!" yelled Cynthia. A Pokemon highly resembling a sunflower with a face appeared on the field. Sunflora was a grass type pokemon. "Electabuzz come back!" I called. I knew just what to do. "Come back out Cyndaquil!" "Cynda Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil said happily as he popped back out onto the battle field. "Begin!" cried the judge. "Sunflora, Sunny Day!" commanded Cynthia. I grinned. That was not a smart move. "Sunflora are slow Cyndaquil! Flamethrower attack!" "Counter with Solar Beam!" called Cynthia. The two pokemon unleashed their attacks upon each other. Then, they collided with an explosion. When the smoke cleared, I could see Sunflora had suffered several burns. Cyndaquil however seemed fine. "Yes," I thought to myself. "Flamethrower must have gotten through." The announcer seemed to agree. "Looks like Cyndaquil's Flamethrower was too powerful for Sunflora to handle with Solarbeam!" "No kidding," I muttered. "Now Cyndaquil, finish it with Quick Attack!" Cyndaquil charged at Sunflora and hit it square in the chest (if you can correctly say that a Sunflora had a chest that is). It went down. My Pokemon and I only had to defeat one more pokemon before we were the champions. "Go Donphan!" Cynthia called. Oh no. Not Donphan, I thought. Neither Cyndaquil nor Electabuzz could do much to a ground type like Donphan. And I knew they would both be hammered if this girl knew how to handle her big elephant Pokemon. I was assuming she did as we were both in the Johto League Championship. "Donphan, Sandstorm!" "Oh no," I groaned. Donphan started kicking up dust and soon a sandstorm started to rage. "Now Donphan, Rollout attack!" Cynthia commanded confidently. "Cyndaquil, Flamewheel!" I called back. Cyndaquil surrounded himself with fire and ran straight at Donphan. I knew he would probably get knocked out, but it was strategy. I have to admit it was tough for me to do. I didn't want my buddy to get hurt, but at least Cyndaquil and Electabuzz could both deal some damage before I had to call out my third pokemon. "Cynda!" Cyndaquil cried as it hurled itself at Donphan. They collided. I winced, knowing Cyndaquil had been hurt. I opened my eyes unto the battlefield to see Donphan still rolling furiously and Cyndaquil unconscious on the ground. "What was Samantha thinking making a move like that with her Cyndaquil?" wondered the announcer. I was ashamed of myself. I should have tried to protect my friend. I looked into the crowd. Tess looked frustrated, and Ryan looked like he could throw something. I didn't blame them. "Alright Electabuzz, I need you to put up a good fight," I said softly as I threw his pokeball onto the battlefield. "Electabuzz!" Electabuzz called aggressively. "An, erm, interesting choice by Samantha," said the announcer. I was extremely annoyed with him by now, but I knew the masters didn't win battles by being predictable. But sending Electabuzz out just seemed stupid now. "Alright Donphan, show it your Earthquake attack!" cried Cynthia. "Phan!" Donphan yelled and slammed his feet hard into the ground. "Electabuzz, Quick Attack!" I told it. Electabuzz ran at Donphan fast enough that he didn't take too much damage from the Earthquake and slammed into Donphan. Donphan was knocked down, but jumped enthusiastically to his feet. I smiled. I had found Donphan's weak point. "Electabuzz, Charge attack!" Electabuzz began storing energy. I knew electric attacks didn't work on ground types like Donphan, but that wouldn't stop my strategy. "Donphan, take this opportunity to use Rollout!" Perfect. Donphan rolled aggre- ssively towards my Electabuzz. "Thunderpunch!" I shouted. "Buzz!" Electabuzz cried as it punched Donphan. It went flying. "Now use Quick attack!" Electabuzz jumped, and shot straight toward Donphan from below. "Body Slam!" called Cynthia. Donphan began to descend on Electabuzz. "Oh no," I whispered. Donphan fell and brought my Electabuzz right down with it. Bam! Donphan landed on top of Electabuzz with a cloud of dust. "Electabuzz, can you get up?" It was no use. Electabuzz was knocked out cold. So much for my brilliant plan. "And great quick thinking on Cynthia's part brings Electabuzz down in a heap! What will Samantha's last Pokemon be?" Three guesses who that was. "My last Pokemon will be…" I thought for a second. What would it be? I weighed my chances and then pulled out a pokeball. "Espeon!" There was a loud "ooh" from the crowd. I looked up. Ryan looked as though he would faint from the excitement, and Tess looked nervous for the first time. But I had confidence in Espion. She was my best Pokemon, and my best chance at the win. "Wow! There's an impressive Pokemon chosen by Samantha!" I had finally impressed the announcer. What an honor, I thought sarcastically. "Espion, start with Future Sight!" Espeon started to concentrate, and then started to run. I knew that in addition to predicting an attack, Espeon could actually see the future, so seeing her run unnerved me a bit. "Uh oh!" said the announcer. "Espion sees something unpleasant in its trainer's future! Will this affect the battle?" "Alright Donphan, Rollout!" "Psychic," I said calmly. I knew I shouldn't get worked up when Espeon was uncomfortable. "Speon!" she yelled, and Donphan flew into the air. "Psybeam," I said. The audience went silent the Psybeam seemed to go into slow motion. If it hit, I would be the winner. The stadium seemed to be holding its breath. "Donphan!" Cynthia cried. Espeon's attack hit. Donphan went down. "Samantha is the winner!" the judge confirmed. Then, Espeon fell over in a faint. "Espeon!" I called, and rushed onto the battlefield. The crowd broke into a gasp. "Are you okay?" No answer. The announcer issued a call to Nurse Joy, but I barely heard it. What was wrong with my Pokemon? She was one of my best friends; I wouldn't let anything happen to her. Not after that. "Samantha!" Tess ran onto the field, followed by Ryan. They were both pale. "Is Espeon alright?" "Eon," said my Pokemon. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I think so." "Was the future that ugly?" Ryan joked to my Pokemon. Espeon nodded. Nurse Joy rushed onto the field. "I saw that Future Sight and I think that this is bad," she said. "I don't think that there's much I can do." "You mean Espeon's that badly hurt?" I asked. "No, Espeon will be fine. But aren't you worried about what it saw?" "Well, yeah, but right at this moment, in the present, I'm more worried about Espeon." "Don't worry," said Nurse Joy. "Espeon's just exhausted. I know she didn't have a very hard battle, but I think she's worried about you Samantha." "I hope that's it," I said. I meant it too. I wasn't worried too much about what Espeon could have predicted for the future, but I wasn't going to let it use that attack again any time soon. "Espeon is well enough to go home with you. Congratulations on winning the big battle." "Thanks," I said. I wasn't really in the celebratory mood at the moment. I had thought about what I'd do when this moment came for so many years now, and it seemed so unfair that it could be such a disaster. "Well, let's go home," I told Tess and Ryan. "Wait Samantha, what about the award ceremony?" asked Tess. "I'm not in the mood," I said. "Oh yes you are," said Ryan. "If you don't do this, you'll regret it later in your life." I knew he was right. "Oh, okay." I lifted Espeon and we made our way to the hotel where all of the challengers and their friends slept. No one tried to interview me on the way there, and for that I was grateful. Espeon was heavy, and carrying her to the hotel was taking a while. When we finally got there, I said goodnight and went into the room I shared with my Pokemon. I let Cyndaquil and Electabuzz out of their pokeballs along with the other three Pokemon I had brought to the tournament with me: Staryu, Sandslash, and Ponyta. They worked hard to get here too, and I felt I should at least celebrate with my Pokemon. I filled a glass with apple cider for myself, and gave all my Pokemon the best Pokemon food I could find. We had dinner. I like eating. It's one of my favorite activities. But I exercise a lot while I train my Pokemon, so I've never gotten out of shape. So my Pokemon and I ate ham and mashed potatoes. Except Ponyta. She was never a big fan of ham, so she had corn instead. Weird. And Staryu didn't eat at all because it doesn't have a mouth. It doesn't even have a gender. It's just a weird star-shaped Pokemon. And Ponyta not liking ham is understandable too, as Ponyta is a horse. It's got this beautiful fire mane, and I just fell in love with it. She is a very hard worker, and a fiery personality, which fits with her fire type. Sandslash loves both ham and potatoes, however. He is a weird spiky ground type Pokemon. He was really cute as a Sandshrew, looking somewhat like a mouse, but once it evolved, the spikes on his back made him look a lot more intimidating. Espeon just kind of stared at her food while we all celebrated. I was worried. "What's wrong Espeon?" I asked. I knew I couldn't understand her language, but maybe somehow she could give me a hint. "Eon," said Espeon incoherently. I gave up. For now. I looked up at the clock. It was late. 10:30. I needed to get to bed. In the next fifteen minutes, all of my Pokemon fell asleep. I recalled them all into their pokeballs. All except Espeon. "Now can you tell me what's wrong?" I asked. "Everyone else is gone. We're alone now." Espeon got up and walked to the door. She pawed it and looked at me. The message was clear. Follow me.