We Were Trainers Once
Part 2
By RH Coronado


"Alisa, you're doing it all wrong," the young man said, his arms crossed.  Discontent was 
all over his face.
"Sonny, shut up," the young woman with the long hair responded.
"So why are you losing?" Sonny asked.  He pointed to the monitor screen in front of 
Alisa.  "Look at your health."
"I know what I'm doing," Alisa shot back, pounding on the buttons under the screen.  "I 
used to pilot a real one, remember?"
"We all did," Sonny answered, his arms crossed again.  "You, me and Kay."
Sonny focused his eyes to the other side of Alisa.  Leaning on the right side of the arcade 
machine was another young woman with short hair.  Her lazy eyes gazed at the monitor 
screen.  Her face had no expression.
"Grrr!" Alisa growled.  She slammed her right fist on the console under the monitor 
screen and slapped the joystick with her left hand.
"I told you, girl," Sonny said with a smirk.
"Don't you ever get tired hearing your own voice, Sonny?" Alisa asked as she stared at 
the monitor.  Kay looked at Alisa and gave a small smile.  Sonny was about to give a 
response when something caught his eye.
"Hmm," he sounded.
"What?" Alisa demanded.  "What is it?"
"Those three over there," Sonny said as he pointed toward the other side of the arcade.  
"The ones on the DRR machine.  I've never seen them here before."
Alisa squinted her eyes as she looked for herself.  Kay did the same.
"Do you think they're from a different part of town?" Alisa asked.
"I think they're from a different part of the world," Sonny answered.  "Look at the girl.  I 
have never seen tanned legs like that in my life."
"Dog," Alisa said as she playfully slapped Sonny on his back.
"And the other guy," Sonny continued.  "I've seen him before.  Can't remember where, 
though."
"What about the other guy?" Alisa asked.  "The one who looks like a student.  Anything 
strange about him?"
"Not really," Sonny said as he scratched his head.  "But I wonder what that wrapped up 
thing he's leaning on with his left hand is."
"Say, why don't we go over there and talk to them?" Alisa asked, her face starting to 
glow.
"I was thinking the same thing," Sonny replied.  "For a girl, sometimes you're pretty 
smart."
"Bite me, jerk," Alisa muttered.  She turned to face Kay.
"What do you say?" she asked.  "Wanna go meet them?"
Kay nodded, her face a blank slate.


"This mix is too easy," Kinosaki Minami said as she pressed the buttons under the 
monitor screen.
"I think the problem is that you're just too good at it," Miyazawa Sena said.  He was 
standing behind her, his right hand in his pant pocket, his left hand leaning on a wrapped 
cane-like object.
"You're so sweet," Minami said as she stepped back from the monitor.  She was now 
standing on a square platform which had three rows of x's and o's.  A bell rang and 
music started to come out from the two speakers on the sides of the monitor.  Minami 
started moving to and fro.
"That's a good song," Spike Simpson said.  He was standing next to Sena.  "Nice beat."
Spike was wearing his usual get-up:  dark blue coat, blue tie, white shirt, dark blue slacks, 
black casual shoes.  No baseball cap, though.  Minami was wearing a long sleeve white 
blouse, her belly button showing.  She had on a blue denim skirt, which was down to her 
knees.  Her legs were bare and her feet sported white Keds.  Sena wore his trusty black 
school uniform. His sneakers were black and he was wearing a pair of thin- rimmed 
glasses.
"Ya know, I knew a girl in high school who was good at this game," Minami said as she 
spun back and forth.  "We were both seniors.  I used to see her at the arcade by my home.  
She was way better than me.  She could do all the steps in her sleep.  I remember her 
hanging out with these three guys.  One of the guys, he was kinda short for his age and 
had funny-looking hair.  What's strange is that when I would talk to him, he sounded 
different each time.  Like he was some other person or something."  A bell rang and the 
music went silent.  Minami stopped moving.
"So what happened to the girl and her friends?" Spike asked intently.
"Um, well, after graduation, she and her friends went to compete in a card game 
tournament on some island," Minami answered.  She was pushing the buttons under the 
monitor again.
"I don't even think they tried to take their entrance exams," she continued.  "That was the 
last I heard of them.  And it was two years before I met Sena."
"Odd," Spike said, his arms now crossed.
"You never told me that before," Sena said, looking at Minami.
"Like the things you never told me, Sen-kun?" Minami responded, her eyes still fixed on 
the monitor screen.  Sena had nothing to say.
"Hola, friends!" a voice boomed from behind the trio.
Sena turned to see three people approaching them.  The one who spoke was a young man.  
He had short black hair, was lightly pale and was of a regular build.  He was wearing a 
white t-shirt, black jeans, and white walking shoes.
To his left was a young girl.  She had long flowing hair, which was a mixture of red and 
orange.  Her face looked Western but not all the way.  Her eyes were deep purple and her 
smile.  Her smile could burn through concrete, Sena thought.  She was wearing a blue 
denim jacket, a black shirt underneath.  She had on a black skirt and black boots, which 
were cut off over the ankles.
And to the right of the young man was another young girl.  Right away Sena knew there 
was something different about her.  At once, she reminded him of the great Ry-chan, the 
commercial queen-turned-dorama actress from his homeland.  But something was a bit 
off.  The girl's hair.  The hair color was all wrong.  She had a poker face, her red eyes 
revealing nothing.  She was dressed like a schoolgirl:  a casual white blouse, a light 
brown vest and bow tie, a dark gray skirt and a pair of white slip-ons.
"Sorry to interrupt, friends," the young man said.  "My name's Sonny."
"Mine's Alisa," the long-haired girl said with a smile.
"And her name is Kay," Sonny said as he gestured to the girl with the blue hair.
"Nice to meet you," Sena said.  "My name is Sena."  He pointed to Spike.
"His name is Spike," he continued.  "And the girl pushing all the buttons is Minami."
"Hello," Spike said as he grabbed Alisa hand and kissed the top of it.
"Hi," Minami said, waving her left hand as she continued to stand in front of the monitor 
screen.
"Welcome!" Sonny said with vigor.  "The three of us frequent this arcade quite a bit.  We 
haven't seen you here before.  You're from out of town, correct?"
"That's right," Sena answered.  "We're pokemon trainers.  We're here in town to see 
someone.  Over by the temple near the northern outskirts."
"Really?" Sonny said with some surprise.  "I know that temple.  Rumors of strange 
doings there.  Bright lights and all that."
"You don't say," Spike said, sarcasm in his voice.
Sonny looked at Spike.  His eyes narrowed.
"Have we met before?" he asked as he studied the older gentleman.
"I don't think so," Spike answered, turning his head away.
"Are you sure?" Sonny continued to ask.  "In Pewter City.  About four years ago.  You 
were with a different guy and girl.  The guy was bald, I think.  The girl had short hair and 
seemed a little out of place.  Y'all were at the police station, talking to the local Officer 
Jenny."
"Sorry," Spike said.  "That wasn't me."
"I see," Sonny said with some doubt.
Sena looked back at Minami.  She gave a quick shrug.
"I want to ask something," Alisa suddenly said.  "Are you three from the West?"
"I'm not," Spike answered right away.  "I'm from the East."
"We're not from the East or West," Sena said.  "Minami and myself."
"Your names," Alisa said softly.  "Then you two are from…"
"Yup," Sena said, cutting her off.
"Awesome!" Alisa said with glee.  "I've always wanted to go there.  And we've been all 
over the world and seen so many things."
"Oh, yeah?" Sena said with a curious tone.
"Girl, quiet!" Sonny said sternly.  "Will you keep your trap shut?"
"What does it matter?" Alisa cried.  "It ended, did it not?  Despite the heartache and the 
betrayals, it still ended.  And the three of us made it.  So what does it matter?"
"But the secrets…" Sonny said, his voice trailing off.
"The secrets have no power over us anymore," Alisa said with a seriousness Sonny had 
never heard before.  "The people who could hurt us are gone, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember," Sonny said quietly.
"What are you people talking about?" Sena asked.  He and his two friends were lost.
"It's true," Sonny said.  "We have been all over the world.  We did see lots of things.  
And no one ever knew."
"What do you mean?" Minami asked.  She was now standing next to Sena.
"We were part of a group called SERV," Alisa answered.  "All three of us.  And the 
group was run by an organization called NEELE."  She looked at Kay.  Kay said nothing, 
her poker face turned on.
"NEELE was created after the Second Terra War," Sonny said, taking over for Alisa.  "It 
consisted of many of the great minds of that era.  They came from all over the world:  the 
Isle of Angels, the First Continent, the Tournament Regions, the West and the East, 
before the Coss took complete control.  These big brains were certain there was going to 
be a third Terra War and would no doubt destroy the planet.  So NEELE's sole purpose 
was to keep this from happening.  They vanished from the known world and began taking 
steps to save it."
Sonny stopped and looked at Alisa.  She met his eyes and nodded.
"SERV was their field group," Sonny continued.  "Our predecessors took on every threat 
to the world's safety.  And along the way learned all of its secrets."
"You keep going on about secrets," Sena interrupted.  "What secrets?"
"We know lots of things," Sonny said.  "They told us things no one person should have to 
bear.  We didn't want to know.  But they told us anyway."
"We know who did in that old king of the West," Alisa confessed.  "Back in the Silent 
War days.  It wasn't some crazy guy.  It was a dozen sane men."
"We know the real reason for all the little wars," Sonny said.  "We know who was 
responsible for the Great Fall.  And we know what pokemon really are."
"Pokemon?" Sena asked, startled.  "What do you know?"
"They're immortal," Sonny answered.  "Don't get me wrong.  They can be destroyed.  
But if they stay healthy and aren't pushed to the limit, they can live forever.  This is 
especially true for wild pokemon.  They age.  But will never die."
"That's nuts," Spike said, his hands in his pockets.  "What about all the extinct pokemon?  
They've been gone for millions of years."
"No," Sonny said.  "That's not true.  What we all learned in grade school was a lie.  
They're not dead.  They just don't want to be found.  There are ruins all around the world 
that have secret entrances.  And behind these entrances are where the ancient and so-
called extinct pokemon hide.  There have been numerous cookie-cutter tree house gangs 
looking for the keys to these doorways:  Team Aqua, Team Magma, Team Rocket…"
"We know Team Rocket," Minami said.  "They were pretty inept, I must admit."
"They're losers," Alisa huffed.  "All of them.  They think they're world conquering 
organizations?  Please.  They're losers."
"Why are you telling us all this?"  Minami asked.  She was standing very close to Sena.
"Yeah," Sena said.  "It seems to me that you've been wanting to get this out of your 
system for awhile."
"Three years," Sonny sighed.  For some reason, he looked at the watch on his left wrist.  
"Three years since it all came crashing down.  And what a day it was."
"It was the best AND worst day of my life," Alisa said, getting her two cents in.
"And the funny thing is," Sonny started again, "is that it almost happened sooner."
"Really?" Minami asked.
"Uh huh," Sonny said.  "About five years ago, these two whacked-out women attacked 
our main compound.  And they did it all alone."
"I was the one who stopped them," Alisa said proudly.  "I jumped into my mech suit and 
punched them through the floor.  And that was that."
"We found out later who they were," Sonny continued.  "They were called the Dirty 
Angels.  They were working for a rival group who found out about us.  They tried to stop 
our work.  And pretty much failed."  He gave a light chuckle.
"When I think about it now," he continued.  "When I think about it now, we should have 
let that pair bring the house down.  It would have saved a lot of suffering."
"Suffering?" Sena asked.
"Yeah," Sonny answered.  "The three of us went through a lot of mental procedures.  
Mental exercises." 
"And mental manipulations," Alisa jumped in.  "They messed with our minds."
"Was there any permanent damage?" Minami asked with a little concern.
"There's scars," Sonny said.  "But Alisa and myself are alright.  Kay on the other 
hand…" He looked at the blue-haired girl.
"They worked on her the longest," Alisa said as she put he left arm around Kay's left 
shoulder.  "They were trying to advance our brain functions.  Stuff like ESP, seeing the 
future.  But Kay was affected differently."
She hugged Kay hard with her left arm.
"She's not dumb or crazy," Alisa continued.  "But when she speaks, what comes out of 
her mouth doesn't really make sense."
Kay gave Alisa an odd look.  Alisa released her grip.  Kay's mouth slowly began to open.
"What, Kay?" Alisa asked.  "Do you want to say something?"
"Yes," Kay answered.  Her voice sent a sudden shock down everyone's spine.
"Heaven," Kay started.  "Heaven knows I'm miserable now.  I'm going to dream of a 
world I want to live in.  The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older.  
Shoplifters of the world, unite.  Hand it over.  A Roman wilderness of pain.  All the 
children are insane.  Breathe in the air.  Don't be afraid to care.  They only want you 
when you're seventeen.  When you're twenty-one, you're no fun.  Must be the colors and 
the kids that keep me alive.  Because the music is boring me to death."
Silence.  Only the sounds of the arcade could be heard.
"See what I mean?" Alisa said as she rubbed Kay's head, messing up her hair in the 
process.  "She could've ended up much worse.  But she's okay now."  Kay gave a small 
smile.
"NEELE decided to shut us a down," Sonny said.  "We somehow became a liability to 
them.  But the people running SERV had their own plans going.  So SERV fought back 
and everyone perished.  Except us."
"We ran," Alisa added.  "We saw our friends turn on each other.  Who we thought were 
our friends.  A sad day all around."
"NEELE and SERV are gone," Sonny declared.  "No renewals.  Nothing to resurrect.  
They'll never be reborn.  They're gone."
"Now we live here in the Tournament Regions," Alisa said.  "And we waste time.  Lots 
of it.  Don't care, though.  We didn't have any before."
"That's amazing," Minami said.
"Hate to dump water on everyone," Spike said as he looked at his watch on his right 
hand.  "It's getting late.  And if we don't get back to the pokemon center soon, they'll 
lock us out."
"That's right," Sena said as he corrected his posture.  "All our stuff is there."  He put his 
wrapped cane-like object on his right shoulder.  He held it like a soldier holding a rifle.
"What is that you're carrying?" Sonny inquired.  His eyes were focused on Sena's 
shoulder.
"My own little secret," Sena said with a smile.  Spike gave a smirk.  Minami gave a 
groan and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever," Sonny said.  He held out his right hand.  "Nice meeting you.  Take care."
"You, too," Sena said.  He shook Sonny's hand.  "Good luck on life."
"Goodbye, guys," Alisa said as she gave a limp wave.  "See you down the road."
"Bye, Alisa," Spike said as he kissed Alisa's hand again.  "I won't forget you."
"That's sweet," Alisa said, eyes closed, a slight blush on the cheeks.  "Let's go, Kay."
But Kay didn't move.  She stared at Sena.  Sena started to blink his eyes.
"Sena," Kay said softly.
"Yeah?" Sena asked.  He suddenly felt nervous but tried to hide it.
"Sena," Kay said.  "You can choose one, Sena.  But you can't choose both."
"Right," Sena responded.  He had no idea what she was talking about.

An hour later, Sena, Minami and Spike were back at the pokemon center eating a late 
dinner.  They were the only ones in the cafeteria.
"Another ordinary day," Spike joked.  He stuck a piece of bread in his mouth.
"Very funny," Sena said as he took a sip of tea.
"Sen-kun," Minami said.  She was eating some green jell-o from a bowl.  "When I was 
talking to Sonny, I noticed that Kay had said something to you.  What did she say?"
"Not sure," Sena answered.  "Something about choosing one thing but not choosing 
another."
"What did she mean by that?" Minami asked.
"Kay's a strange little girl, Min," Sena answered.  "She probably sees the world through 
someone else's eyes."  He took another sip.
"That's pretty deep," Spike commented.
"Thanks," Sena said.  "I try my best."
"Sena," Minami said.  She was now playing with her jell-o with her spoon.  "Why didn't 
you tell Sonny about your…"
"You heard their story," Sena said, cutting off Minami.  "Would you really want them to 
know everything?"
"You think they were telling the truth?" Spike asked.  His plate was empty.
"Hard to say," Sena answered.  "Tomorrow's visit might clear some things up."
"Right," Minami said.  "I don't like confusing multiple endings."

The computer was running non-stop for the entire day.  If this were someone else's 
house, the light bill would be going through the roof.  But she had found a way around 
the problem.  That's what she was good at.  There wasn't a thing in the universe she 
couldn't bypass.  But there were some things on this particular world she had no control 
over in any shape or form.  She knew all about them, though.
The computer went silent.  The program was complete.
"Alright?" she said as she slid her chair closer to the mainframe.
"Yes, ma'am," the cold computer voice said.  "They are in the city.  They are staying at 
the pokemon center."
"Date of arrival?" she asked.
"Tomorrow, ma'am," the computer said.
"Thanks," she said.  She leaned back on her chair and stared out the sky light window 
above her.  The nighttime stars seemed to dance an unknown tune.
"No doubt about it," she said.  "Tomorrow will be breelliant."

TO BE CONTINUED