Damn it, Indy's right...for once. Dan thought to himself

A voice rang out in the darkness, "You idiots! I told you there were three kids in here before we cut the lights. You weren't supposed to attack them. Now, we're out of time. We gotta go!"

On the other side of the room, a door was opened. A flood of light entered the room. After being in complete darkness, the sight was a little disorientating. In the doorway, a man dressed in all black stood, holding the door open for his partners. With one hand, he held a bag of loot over his back. Beside him, on the ground, there was an Octillery, which he promptly retreated back into its Pokeball with his free hand.

Dan caught a vague glance at the Pokémon the man in black had, it was some blob of red tentacles and a lump.
Dan had only just managed to grab one of his Poke balls before the thugs had started to run. He threw the ball and out came Grotle.

"Just who I was hoping for. Grotle! Block their exit. We can't let them rob this place!" Dan screamed as Grotle rushed quickly, closing the gap between him and the thugs.

"It doesn't matter what they have, Grotle won't last two seconds against all their Pokémon at once. C'mon we can't let them escape!" Dan said, Grasping for another Poke ball.

"Just who I was hoping for. Grotle! Block their exit. We can't let them rob this place!" Dan screamed as Grotle rushed quickly, closing the gap between him and the thugs.

"It doesn't matter what they have, Grotle won't last two seconds against all their Pokémon at once. C'mon we can't let them escape!" Dan said, Grasping for another Poke ball.

As the two men ran toward the oncoming Grotle, panic quickly set in. How were they supposed to get passed such a large creature?

Suddenly, as if answering their concerns, a Grotle was hit in the side by an unseen force. The attack wasn't damaging, but it did slide Grotle across the floor a good distance. The room was fairly well lit at this point, so this unseen force was definitely puzzling. At least, it was puzzling to our three heroes.

The thieves realized right away what had just happened. One of them shouted, "Good job Mr. Mime!" Obviously, there was no response, but at least the three teenagers now knew what they were up against.

The two thieves made it out the sun lit doorway, followed immediately by the Mr. Mime that appeared out of a shadowy corner. And then, the door started shutting...

Time seemed to be going by too fast. Indigo was trying to react, overwhelmed by everything at once. He was worried, frightened, and angry all at once. This had been supposed to be a normal outing to Pewter City. It was all so much. Too much.

But at the same time, he zeroed in on one thing.

They needed to get out. Not even just for the sake of chasing the thieves. Who knew what those men had done to the exhibit? Were there more pokemon hiding in the shadows after they left, pokemon that would deal with them? What if a fire pokemon the men left behind incinerated the place to get rid of incriminating evidence? Indigo shuddered. Sure, they had one water type, but could a Squirtle put out an entire fire by itself?

It was dangerous to stay here. Dangerous to pursue the thieves as well, sure, but as least they wouldn't have been in an enclosed space with tricks or traps left behind.

So then, who had the best shot of helping them get out with the door closing? Indigo broke into the fastest sprint of his life, trying to think up some way for the door to remain open as well.

"Kovi, String Shot! Keep the door open! We need to get out!"

Kovi, being closest to the door, let out a skein of silk from his mouth. He was able to swing it keep it open, now having a pulley to keep the door from shutting. Psybeam would have been nice too, maybe we could have blown it off... Well, maybe it's best to keep property damage to a minimum.

It worked, and Indigo soon found himself outside. Out of the frying pan, but into the fire, readying himself for a sure battle with the criminals.

Time was seemingly going by fast and slow, simultaneously. Her eyes were assaulted by the light coming into the previously pitch black room, blinking quickly to try to get her eyes adjusted. Crowne was doing the same, his face smudged with the oily substance from before. Margo was able to make out a shadowy figure by the door with a large sack over his shoulder, a normally comical representation of a thief now brought to life. Despite Indy's attempt to capture his cohorts, the criminals were able to pull themselves free of Kovi's string shot, dashing towards the door before stopping short as Dan's shout rung in Margo's ears.

Another flash of light and Dan's Grotle was blocking the thieve's getaway... At least for a moment before he was shoved out of the way by an invisible force? The men called it Mr. Mime, but Margo was puzzled by the lack of form the pokemon had. While she didn't want to admit it to herself, Margo hardly thought that their group should take these people on by themselves--wasn't there a police force for a reason, after all? She couldn't bring herself to say anything until she got out of the museum, however, thankful for Indy's quick thinking once more to grab the door with Kovi.

The young woman dashed outside, following Indy's lead and holding Crowne close to her chest. The squirtle was getting antsy, still aggravated by whatever was stuck on his face, and squirmed out of her grasp to stand next to her with a defensive stance. "You guys, shouldn't we just call the police? We can't possibly take these guys on with our pokemon..." She didn't want to sound like a party-pooper, but it was just common sense that these probably-hard criminals would have pokemon that would wipe the floor with their own young pokemon, right?

The trainer was ready however, one of her hands reaching to her belt to pull off another one of her teammates to back their group up, biting the skin of her lip nervously as she exchanged a look with her squirtle.

Dan was stunned by the strange force pushing his Pokémon back. Dan quickly withdrew Twiggy and ran for the door only barely making it, his bag clipping the closing door.

He had just realized how exausted he was, his cheeks red and breathing deeply. He had overheard Margo's suggestion about waiting for the police.

"*huff*...We can't... *huff*...They'd be gone by the time the police got... *huff*...here." Dan said as he crouched trying to regain lost air, but he couldn't.

Dan was wobbly getting up and his laboured breathing seemed like it was burning a hole in his lungs, but he refused to let it stop him from finding the theives

Maybe it was that blast from that Mr.Mime... he thought

"Let's...*huff*...go."

It worked, and Indigo soon found himself outside. Out of the frying pan, but into the fire, readying himself for a sure battle with the criminals.

"Damn it!" Shouted the leader of the trio, who had held the door for the two others. "They made it out!"

"Don't worry, I got this!" Shouted back one of the other criminals. "You ready Mr. Mime!?" Mr. Mime turned around to face the oncoming teenagers and raised a thumbs up signal.

"You idiot! I didn't mean we should battle them!" The leader barked back.

But it was too late, the rambunctious thief laid his bag of loot down beside him and threw a Pokeball out of his pocket. "Go, Zubat!"

Dan was wobbly getting up and his laboured breathing seemed like it was burning a hole in his lungs, but he refused to let it stop him from finding the theives

Maybe it was that blast from that Mr.Mime... he thought

"Let's...*huff*...go."

"I got the tired one!" Shouted the third thief, who had been relatively quiet up till that point. He dropped his bag beside him as well and threw a Pokeball. "Go Raticate!"

The trainer was ready however, one of her hands reaching to her belt to pull off another one of her teammates to back their group up, biting the skin of her lip nervously as she exchanged a look with her squirtle.

The leader of the trio was becoming frustrated. He couldn't just leave behind his two partners to fight on their own, not with a third trainer that could possibly cause trouble, more importantly, not with two bags of loot on the ground.

He set his attention to the third teenager (Margo), "Hey, you! So what's it going to be!? How about we just let these knuckle heads battle it out. No need for us to get involved, right!?" Of course, this is what he wanted. Could he escape without a battle? The longer they stayed here, the more likely the police would show up.

Indigo hadn't wanted to battle. He had been ready to call the police, just like Margo had said. After all, it made much more sense.

But before he knew it, he was thrown into an altercation he hadn't expected. One of the thieves was quite a moron, choosing to fight instead of flight.

As the first thief unleashed his Zubat, Kovi swept in front of Indigo, ready for combat.

"UH..." Indy stammered, his heart racing and his mind panicking. His count for battling was terrible, having only won a single trainer battle in his experience of being a trainer so far. How could he hope to win against an experienced thief? But Mimzy, seeing her trainer was struggling, caught Indy's attention by tugging on his jeans. She warbled a series of squeaks, pointing to Kovi, Indigo, Hawka's pokeball, and herself. All the while, she had a smile on her face, relaying a strong sense of encouragement.

How could a wild pokemon know the severity of any situation, Indigo thought. Mimzy just seemed like a naive child or juvenile. How could she know anything?

But that didn't matter.

What mattered was when Indy's opponent shouted "Zubat, Wing Attack!"

Reflexively, Indigo screamed, "Kovi-!" Unfortunately, Kovi was hit with the supereffective attack and went spiraling out of control.

It was now or never. Indigo Rose didn't care about being a hero or doing the right thing. But he knew his life, Dan's life, and Margo's lives were threatened. He was too young to die. So, out of pure self preservation and realizing there was no other way out, Indigo started to brew up a strategy from whatever he could.

Zubat were common enough in Kanto, seen frequently clustered in caves or gliding around in the moonlight around a woodsy area. Because of their sheer abundance, knowledge about them was widespread and mainstream. With this, Indy was able to recall Zubat'd typing as flying and poison.

What hit hard against poison again, he wracked his mind frantically. The Zubat was coming in once more ready to wreck Kovi's frail defenses.

"Psybeam! Kovi!" Indy shouted. Mimzy hopped up and down, squeaking out and repeating what Indigo said.

It took a few tries, with the pokemon swooping and wheeling in a dance of evasion and offense. Zubat would sweep with glowing wings, nicking Kovi, but grazing against some String Shots. Both pokemon were equally fast, it seemed. But the culmination of String Shots wore the Zubat down little by little, the Gusts veered it off course. When the brilliant, magenta, psyche-shattering beam finally connected with the Zubat, the pokemon crumpled instantly, saved by his cursing trainer recalling him before he hit the ground. Indy could hardly believe it. Maybe, just maybe, they would get out of this alive.

But the rest of the battle was much more difficult, and Indy found himself too close to losing multiple times. It was quite the struggle, as a particularly strong Ekans paralyzed his pokemon while wrapping them. Hawka tried her best with her fire type moves, but the Ekans was bigger and stronger than the downy chick, knocking her out after her attempts.

Mimzy was able to come out and slam her Jump Kicks on the Ekans, finishing the snake thanks to Hawka's initial efforts. But, like Hawka, Mimzy had grown tired.

That didn't stop the next opponent though. Indy was terrified. Perhaps the Ekans and Zubat had been doable, but their next contender was one of the trickiest pokemon Indigo had ever fought.

The Mr. Mime-- the psychic and fairy type was no joke. Mimzy tried to make a Quick Attack, but a simple wave of a finger and she was slammed into some kind of invisible wall. It was seriously unfair, Indy thiught hurriedly as he rushed to return his injured Buneary. Psychic attacks seemed too powerful to deal with. Mimzy was returned. And Indy didn't have the faintest clue as to how he was going to deal with the Mr.Mime.

Have to deal with it somehow, there has to be something! What does Kovi know? String Shot! We'll wrap it up!

"String Shot!" Indigo shouted, crossing his fingers. But what hope he had was blown to smitheereens when the Mr. Mime simply used a Confusion to turn the String Shot away harmlessly.

I've always used String Shot. I need a way to get that Mr. Mime to stop moving. But... What else does Kovi have? Wait-- Sleep Powder! Or Stun Spore? He couldn't quite decide, and he found himself shouting, "Stun Spore!"

Being a powder move, and based on being able to be inhaled, the Mr. Mime couldn't protect itself with Confusion or a Barrier. No, there was no way the pokemon could telekinetically control every spore of the Stun Spore or block the fine, airy powder.

"Give it a Gust! Make sure the Mr. Mime breathes it in, Kovi!" And with wings fluttering, Kovi made sure the potent spores wafted around the Mr. Mime. Finally, the pokemon was paralyzed. What's another attack that's hard to control? Gust!

"Gust, Kovi! Keep using Gust!" The Vivillion flapped his wings with all his might, and the Mr. Mime couldn't defend himself. Finally, finally, after an agonizing series of missed attacks, ineffective techniques, and his pokemon getting hurt, Indy had managed to cobble a way to win.

As the Mr. Mime was recalled, Indigo looked around. His other friends were engaged in battle. What was the best thing to do-?

Margo's voice floated into his head. Call the police!

And that was exactly what Indy did.

Margo was way out of her league, and she knew that perfectly well, just as the boys had to realize they were out of their element in a battle like this. This was the whole reason that the police were employed, wasn't it? Not for these teenagers to take things into their own hands. But, alas, things couldn't be that easy as Dan barreled his way out of the door behind them and insisted upon their engagement.

She felt her muscles tense like an animal getting ready to pounce as the thieves began to stake a claim on each of them.
And then there was Margo.
The teenager tried her best not to agree with the leader of the gang in his suggestion, swallowing her cowardice and letting New Margo take over for her.

"Tch, that'd be too easy, don't you think? Go get him Crowne." The leader of the thieve's rolled his eyes in exasperation, glancing towards his cohorts before setting his own treasure down and engage in her battle. Crowne valiantly leapt in front of his trainer and blew some menacing bubbles from his mouth as the thief threw out his first pokemon: a Sandshrew.

The little sand mouse rolled out of his pokeball in a ball before popping out at Crowne and leading with a Sand Attack in an attempt to blind the water turtle. Crowne sucked himself into his shell to avoid the sand before actually blowing some menacing bubbles, his Bubble attack bursting on the Sandshrew's belly and letting out a tiny grunt of displeasure. Margo couldn't help but give an encouraging word or two towards her pokemon at his performance so far, ordering a Water Gun next. The Sandshrew countered with a Dig attack, burrowing under the ground before the water splashed on him this time.
"Withdraw!" Margo called as her partner submerged himself within his shell once more, just as the Sandshrew popped up from the ground, sending the brown shell flying.

"Alright, another Water Gun, Crowne! While you're above him!" The Squirtle appeared from within his shell once more, looking down at the Sandshrew before spitting a torrent of water down upon his head. A critical hit! Margo was surprised at the accuracy and power of her Squirtle's attack on the ground type, the mouse promptly fainting and falling on his face in the dirt.
Crowne landed in front of Margo and placed his chubby hands on his shell triumphantly--albeit a little worse for wear already--as Margo gushed about how well he had performed. The thief let out a jolly laugh, finding the teenager's celebration premature as he recalled his pokemon and sent out his next: A Meowth.

Margo was quite smitten with the little cat at first appearance, but her affection for the pokemon was short lived as it lunged for Crowne and quickly sunk its teeth into his arm.
The Squirtle let out a whine of pain, jumping back and bumping into Margo's legs from their proximity. She felt bad for her pokemon but she shuffled him back onto the field as the Meowth backed off, hissing in disdain at them both. Before she could retaliate with a Tackle attack, the thief had already given the pokemon another command to use Fury Swipes on the turtle, the pokemon beating down on Crowne harshly, managing five rounds of the attack before letting up.
By that time, Crowne was haggard and breathing hard, shivering as he attempted to stand back up. Margo couldn't watch it anymore. "Crowne, return. It's time for someone else to take him on." The trainer returned her pokemon before he could refuse, his pokeball twitching in defiance but not outright disobeying by coming back out.
Instead, it was Oceana's turn in the spotlight, the Wingull coming out of her pokeball with a flourish of her gangly wings. Margo watched the Meowth readying itself, its chest low to the ground and tail high in the air in a pouncing position. Oceana did as she was commanded, letting out an awful squawk before its Supersonic attack landed on the Meowth, the cat stumbling around with spirals for eyes.
However, how luck would have it, the Meowth had learned Thunderbolt from a TM the thief had stolen from before and it wasn't confused enough to miss its attack. A large thunderbolt came from above and shot down Oceana like a fly versus a flyswatter. Margo's eyes widened exponentially as the thief laughed his jolly laugh once more while his pokemon stumbled around helplessly from its confusion.
Again, Margo recalled her fainted pokemon, whispering a quick thank you and a quick apology before sending out her next pokemon: Julep, the Alolan Rattata.
Julep had the upper hand at least, with the Meowth being confused for the time being. The Rattata used Quick Attack and was able to wittle the Meowth's health down a bit before it hit itself in its confusion. It wouldn't be too much longer until the Meowth fainted, if it continued to hit itself.
Julep shook its tail in a taunt as he used Tail Whip, before it snapped out of confusion. Again, the cat went to sink its teeth into Margo's pokemon, but Julep was quick in his movements and all of a sudden the two pokemon were connected. They both had a hold of each other in their teeth, and both let go at the same time, hopping back from one another.
One second... Two second... And then they were both on the ground fainted.

And then there was one, an Octillery being thrown out onto the field to replace the Meowth and a Spearow to replace the Alolan Rattata. Wulford glared ferociously at the octopus and used a Growl attack in order to intimidate his opponent. The Octillery sent a rock blast in his direction, but Wulford was quick to avoid it, taking flight to put some distance between the two of them. "Focus yourself, Wulford! Let's make this attack count!" The bird nodded in agreement, a red energy enveloping him as he used Focus Energy from his spot in the air. Octillery attempted to shoot Spearow with some more rock blasts, to no avail as Wulford weaved between the rocks through the air.
Wulford let out an ugly squawk before diving into the red Octopus with a Peck attack, made more effective from the focus energy from before. Once the Octillery recovered however, it was the same as Oceana, the pokemon sending out a final Rock Blast that shot the wily Spearow right out of the sky. It was down to Poinsettia and Margo's heart was aching.
Sending out her little Scatterbug was frightening, but she tried to keep a brave face in front of both her pokemon and this criminal in front of her with a grin on his face. 'I should've just let him go.' She thought to herself as a sour taste entered her mouth.
"Let's try to paralyze it!" Poinsettia stood up tall and shook her little antennae, Stun Spore coating the Octillery. Even with the paralyze advantage, Poinsettia was clearly outmatched and it wasn't long until Margo was finished, her team now full of fainted pokemon.

Margo wasn't even sure what to do now, stepping away from their battle field and glancing towards Dan and Indy. Dan was in the midst of battling another thief while Indy was on his Pokedex, calling the police no doubt. She felt a slight wave of anger wash over her--that's what they should've done in the first place, instead of letting her poor pokemon get beat up.

Dan had only just gotten his breath back and felt a little better when one of the thugs challanged him, Dan was filled with confidence, sure he could beat this theif with ease.
"You might as well give up now, you won't win. Not against me!" He said boastfully, a confidence in the tone of his father.

He quickly picked out the ball that contained Rat and threw it onto the field

"Go! Rattata!" He said, as a small purple Rat emerged.

The theif had thrown out Raticate, the evolved form of Rat.
"Hm. You think you can win with him? Rat, use Super Fang!" Dan said as his Pokémon bit into the side of his opponent, the Pokémon quickly retaliated with the same move.
"Quick attack!" Rat leaped foward smashing his body in a frantic rush to get a hit off before the opponent did. This, Unfortunately, didn't finish off his opponent, the Raticate quickly crunching on Rat's spine finishing him off.
"What!? Rat, damn it, no!" He said as he withdrew his feinted Pokémon.

He quickly threw out Grotle, who used Curse, to decrease his opponents damage at a cost of his own speed, But this was met with a Super Fang cracking his soil shell and damaging him heavily.

He was able to tank a quick attack by the Raticate and retaliated with an absorb which didn't do nearly as much as Dan had hoped. But, finished off the Pokémon with a Razor Leaf.
"Yes! We got this Grotle." He said with confidence.
He switched out his Grotle, noticing that the Thief had thrown out the fighting-type Machop.
Machop's fighting attacks wouldn't deal as much to a Bug-Type, that much Dan knew, so he threw out Burmy. While though, Burmy couldn't get hurt heavily by fighting attacks, he couldn't hurt the fighting attack easily, and thus was defeated at slight cost to the Machop's strength.

Only Twiggy remained. It was looking bad. Dan had one hurt Pokémon left while the opponent had two left.
"Twiggy, C'mon, lets finish this." He said with a quiver in his voice. Grotle had only gotten a single Razor Leaf out, which while though hurt Machop wasn't enough to win.

One karate chop on the shell and it was over, it felt like everything was in slow-motion to Dan as he watched his massive Pokémon fall to the ground, feinted, his legs straight out on each side, and his shell cracked and his bushes split.
"Grotle..." He said faintly as he reached ever so subtly to Grotle.

"I...Lost?" He said, as Grotle withdrew into his ball, Dan fell to his knees, holding back tears.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, to Margo and Indy, looking towards the Thief.

He'd failed

As the Mr. Mime was recalled, Indigo looked around. His other friends were engaged in battle. What was the best thing to do-?

Margo's voice floated into his head. Call the police!

And that was exactly what Indy did.

Margo wasn't even sure what to do now, stepping away from their battle field and glancing towards Dan and Indy. Dan was in the midst of battling another thief while Indy was on his Pokedex, calling the police no doubt. She felt a slight wave of anger wash over her--that's what they should've done in the first place, instead of letting her poor pokemon get beat up.

One karate chop on the shell and it was over, it felt like everything was in slow-motion to Dan as he watched his massive Pokémon fall to the ground, feinted, his legs straight out on each side, and his shell cracked and his bushes split.
"Grotle..." He said faintly as he reached ever so subtly to Grotle.

"I...Lost?" He said, as Grotle withdrew into his ball, Dan fell to his knees, holding back tears.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, to Margo and Indy, looking towards the Thief.

Richard had been waiting in the nearby forest, watching his wristwatch. The new recruits were pulling off their first heist. This was their test. As long as they stuck with the plan, they would be in and out of the museum in no time.

But they were late, 45 seconds late to be exact. He waited another 15 seconds before standing in a huff. 'What the hell is taking them?' And so, Richard began his walk through the forest. At first he walked leisurely, contemplating how he would scold the new recruits for being late.

That's when he heard voices, the voices of his men and the voices of teenage kids. 'Oh no, don't tell me they got mixed up with young trainers. Those idiots.' Richard picked up the pace, and one minute later arrived at the forest's edge. His men and the teenagers were in the midst of battle. 'Why are they battling? Those morons.'

But instead of jumping to their aid he decided to watch their battles from the shadow. After all, these things (however annoying) do happen from time to time. This would be a good judge of their battle skills. He would interrogate them afterward regarding WHY they thought it was necessary.

The first battle to finish ended in defeat for one of his men. This was the loudmouth of the group, ton's of energy and enthusiasm, but not the brightest recruit. The second battle to finish was a victory for what he had identified as the "smartest" one in the group. And the third battle was another victory that went to the strong silent one. It was finally time to step out of the woods.

Richard emerged from behind a tree while Indigo was on the phone with the police. "Hey, newbies." He said to get the attention of his new recruits. "Grab your bags and go. I'll stall for you."

Shocked by Richard's appearance, the 'smart one' began to ramble. "I'm sorry boss. I know we weren't supposed to engage in battle. Don here wouldn't-"

"Quiet!" Richard snapped. "No names. You should know that. We can talk later. The police will be here any second."

"Right. Sorry boss." The thief apologized.

Then, as commanded, the thieves began to pick up their bags. "Not you" Richard said, pointing at the thief that lost his battle. "Leave your bag and take this." He tossed the man a Pokeball. "If you run into anyone that tries to stop you, call that Pokemon out and use Sandstorm. Got it?" The man nodded fiercely his understanding.

And so, the three men ran off into the woods with two out of three of their bags. Richard, who had kept the teenagers in his peripherals while he was talking, now focused all his attention on them. And the first thing he noticed was Dan. "Well, well..." He grumbled to himself.

Just then, the sound of a police officer speaking to another officer came from around the corner of the museum. With his right hand, Richard reached for a Pokeball. With his left, he put a finger in front of his face in the universal signal for "be quiet". He made sure to scan over every one of the teenagers when he did this, but he trusted Daniel would know this action was meant for him.

As the police rounded the corner, a Weezing emerged from the Pokeball in his hand. It did not wait for a command to release it's frighteningly thick and expansive Smog attack. The police only caught a glimpse of Richard through the Smog, but they couldn't follow as he made his escape. They knew that this was no Smokescreen. This gas was poisonous... and spreading slowly.

Indigo awoke to find himself in a hospital bed, an IV stuck in his arm and a white identifying bracelet tagged around his wrist. He blinked, trying to remember.

The moments after the police came were a hazy, seamless blur of confusion. The whole scenario, what with it being a normal day that turned into having to fight for their lives, was surreal to say the least. As such, it was difficult to parse through the moments as they came.

The police had arrived soon enough, but the thieves were able to get away, courtesy of all their Pokemon being nearly knocked out. Then there was a man, a strange man who came onto the scene and gave them a cold, warning gaze before the poison went off.

And then-- nothing much after that, save for maybe a glimpse of a frantic Kovi trying to clear the poison away. Through the window, he could see the lavender and orange gradient of sunset beginning to transition.

"Guys..? Dan? Margo?" He called out tentatively. Hopefully, they were in the same room.

Dan wasn't able to sleep much, not after what happened, especially not after this revelation as to where Richard had been.

After a quick talk with his Mother and Sister, he went to the lobby to check himself out. His friends still knocked out, at least he thought that until he heard a feint call of his name.

Popping his head back in the room seeing if Indy was finally awake.
"Hey. How are you feeling? You got a nose full of that gas. Sorry for dragging you into it. We should've just called the police and let them go. Margo's Pokémon got beat up bad and its my fault. I'll apologize when she's awake." He said.
"But, I'm gonna talk to Dad later. The leader of those thieves it was Uncle Richard. You never met him cause he disappeared pretty early on but its no coincidence. Both of them being in an old, disbanded group." He said. as a burse brushed by him to check Indy's BPI.

"You didn't drag me into it," Indigo muttered. "It just kind of happened. I'm sorry about it all too." There was little more he could think of to say or do, except offer his support.
"If you want someone to come with you when you talk to your dad or something, let me know. I can come with." He doubted he could do much, but, he could try.

Indigo would be discharged an hour later. In the meantime, he would probably rest or take a small walk through the hallways, just to test how he was feeling.

Margo stared down at her resting Squirtle with a sad smile, holding him close to her. He was laying across her chest snoozing peacefully as she sat up in her hospital bed, the curtain drawn around her bed to separate herself from Indy and Dan. She had felt as if her throat had closed from the Smog attack they had gone through, still feeling scratchy and irritated from the poisonous gas.

She was still having the occasional rage-induced thoughts wash over when she remembered the boys admitting how stupid they were. Figures though, boys will be boys, she would eventually always circle back to that same excuse. 'Of course we should've called the cops from the very beginning. But you two decided to battle these hard criminals instead of calling the people who's job this is.'

The teenager was pulled from her thoughts as she heard Indy's feeble voice--she hadn't spoken out loud since the incident despite being awake for quite some time, but she hoped she didn't sound worse than him. She could also hear Dan's voice, the two of them having a short conversation. Opening her mouth to make herself known, a hoarse croak was all that she could manage. Wincing in pain she closed her mouth and instead decided to lean over on her bed and pull open the curtain around her makeshift 'room.'

She gave them a tiny smile of acknowledgement, waving at the pair of boys in greeting. Pointing at her throat, Margo gave a little shrug, as if to say 'I can't speak right now, sorry about that.' The nurse who checked in on Indy smiled politely as she gave Margo a glass of water from her nightstand. Margo smiled back at the kind woman as she drank from the glass, before glancing back towards Indy and Dan and blinked expectantly, as if waiting for the apology she felt she did in fact deserve.

Crowne was still blissfully snoring gently in her lap, a tiny bubble coming from him nose.

"If you want someone to come with you when you talk to your dad or something, let me know. I can come with."

Dan looked solemnly at the floor, sure Indy had said it was his fault too but Dan shouldn't have suggested it in the first place.

Dan only smiled a little when his friend offered support to help talk to his father.

"No, I think this one is my deal. I want to talk to him alone. I'll tell you anything important." He said as he looked back towards the lobby, he'd noticed Margo get up but he couldn't look at her, the guilt of dragging her into this weighing on him.

"Margo. I'm....Sorry. I wasn't thinking, I just wanted to prove myself to you guys so bad, and it caused you and your Pokémon to get hurt. I should've just listened to you. So much for me being a world class trainer I guess." He said as he stepped out of the room, popping his head back in to say
"Twiggy is still in the clinic. He got hurt really bad. He needs another hour, can you guys make sure to pick him up? I can't wait around to pick him up myself. Dad's got to leave really soon." He said going back into the hallway.

Indigo nodded, still feeling sleepy from the whole ordeal. "Right, sure, good luck..." He was worried, absolutely, but he also knew there wasn't much of a point in stopping Dan.





The trip back to Septoh was uneventful, for the most part. Though his new Pokemon raised some discussion, most of the trip Indigo spent daydreaming about being home and doing nothing. They docked back at Wanzo and took a bus ride to Shamba.

Oh yeah, Indy thought as the bus rode in. It was late afternoon and there was still plenty of time he had to be productive. He had a gym battle to complete. And then.. Maybe they could go up the mountain path.

Margo still wasn't speaking to him much though, and he knew he had to fix that. Somehow.

Margo was glad that out of the two boys, at least one knew when to admit he was wrong and apologize for his actions. A quick wave of her hand dismissively was all that Dan got in response, as if she had in fact not been expecting an apology at all. She gave a smile and a nod in response before glancing in Indy's direction. He seemed to be starting to doze back off now that Dan was gone and Margo followed his lead, napping with Crowne for the rest of her time in recovery.



Margo has spent most of her time on the boat ride back to Septoh contemplating how to confront Indy. By this point, she had basically repressed her feelings of rage for so long that it was now just the principle of the matter that she would like to get across to him and whether she won or lost, at least she would have gone through with her resolve.

After the group had gotten off the boat, Margo quickly stepped ahead of Indy to cut him off, placing her hands on her hips and looking at him with a genuine smile but a small fire flaring in her eyes. Her arm sliced the air and she pointed an accusatory finger at him as she suddenly spoke, in her still slightly raspy voice, "I challenge you to a pokemon battle, Indigo Rose." The confidence radiating from her pose and her voice was slightly jarring, even to herself.

When they got back into Shamba, Margo had challenged Indigo to a battle.

Dan sighed and said with a wisp of sadness he tried to cover "Have fun you two. I'm tired so." He said as he trudged away. He didn't want to be around people. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Indigo raised his brows. Sure, Margo had been harping on battling him and teaching him a lesson, but he hadn't thought she would do it now. They had just arrived to Shamba! Wasn't she tired? He certainly was, after all that traveling. Nonetheless, he couldn't outright deny her battle. If it was going to get them on the same terms again, if Margo wanted to see whether she could beat him, or whatever it was, the more he thought about it, the more he was surprised to find that he wanted to show how much he had grown.

"Mighty Margo," he dragged out sarcastically, "whatever, you got it. I'm not in the mood for a full battle though. So let's just stick to a one on one." And he knew what pokemon he wanted to use. Hawka, so close to evolving, he thought. She needed that extra push, didn't she?

Margo gave a fake laugh, bringing a dainty hand to her mouth. "If you don't want to lose to a full match at both our potential, I suppose." The teenager glanced Dan's way as he left sulkily. She wasn't sure what his problem was, but he seemed to be acting strange ever since their museum encounter. At this point, she was surprised that Indy didn't really seem to know what was wrong either, based on his parting call.

Indigo truly didn't know how to react to Dan's exhausted response. He'd been acting strange on the boat ride and for most of their vacation in Kanto, and though Indy knew he needed to check up on Dan, he owed Margo his promise. At least their battle would be quick, Indigo thought.
"I'll catch up with you in a bit, Dan. Get some rest." He turned his attention back to Margo. "Hey, give me a minute, alright? I need to give my pokemon a pep talk. I'll meet you out in like, fifteen minutes or something."




With a bubbling Hawka ready to battle, Indigo faced Margo on the field. "I'm using Hawka."

"Alright, well I will be using Crowne." The teenager smiled at Indy, a slight tinge of pity tainting her expression. She hoped she would be able to win, even if the type advantage wasn't so tipped in her favor.

A water type, Indy narrowed his eyes. They were at a disadvantage. Still, perhaps, with a little luck, they could manage.

"Hawka, Fire Spin!" And Hawka let out a whorl of yellow orange flames towards Crowne, who was engulfed. That was good, then, the continuous damage would surely put a dent in the Squirtle's energy.

Crowne didn't seem too phased by the attack however, and let out a series of bubbles, which Hawka shot Embers at. Some of the bubbles, however, did manage to graze her, eliciting a sharp cry of pain.

As the battle went on, both pokemon wore down. The Squirtle had the advantage with his water attacks, but Hawka had agility on her side, which Indy tried to use to his advantage. Soon, however, the pokemon were reduced to ragged breath.

"Crowne, one more Water Gun is all you need!" Margo called out, confident that she could win. Indigo had battled hard, but not hard enough it seemed.

"Hawka!" Indigo shouted. "Watch out! Try and block it with a Fire Spin!"

The Torchic drew in a deep breath, and as Crowne's powerful Water Gun came forth, she let out a rivaling Fire Spin. Her body took on an eerie, white glow.

"Hawka?" Indigo asked, bewildered. As someone who had never seen a pokemon evolution before, he had no idea what he was watching.

The glow enveloped Hawka completely, and as her form began to morph and grow bigger, the bright light faded, revealing a new pokemon in her place. Before Indigo even had time to react, Hawka's newly evolved form let out a war cry and charged for Crowne with a Quick Attack, knocking the turtle back fiercely.

"No way... It happened. It actually happened. Hawka evolved..." Indigo mumbled to himself, clearly dazed. The tables had turned and it seemed that even if Margo had type advantage-- "we're taking this victory, I guess," Indy declared with a self-assured grin on his face. Hawka, from the evolution, seemed completely rejuvenated and in top form. She sent a series of Double Kicks Crowne's way.

"Crowne, no!" Margo cried out. "Hang in there!" Crowne went flying, thudding onto the ground, defeated.

At least, until the Squirtle opened his eyes, staggering to get up, the same white glow they had seen earlier now enveloping him.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Indy breathed, while Hawka let out an indignant squawk of her own. But there was no mistaking it. The Squirtle's once beaten down form turned into a Wartortle, a fierce looking one at that.

"Crowne," Margo said, hushed at first. But she didn't remain dazed for long. With a confident beam of her own, she quipped, "what was that about winning, Indy?"

"Hawka, Quick Attack! It's probably still slow!"

"Withdraw! Your defenses are much better now!"

True to Margo's assumption, Hawka's fighting type moves packed a bunch, but not when Crowne was cozy in his shell. Indigo gritted his teeth. "We can whittle him down, Hawka. Fire Spin!"

"Protect!" Margo's grin grew even brighter as a blue green bubble of protection enveloped her Wartortle. Indy cursed. Not only did the move look amazing, Hawka's Fire Spin could not even put so much as a scratch on it.

"Can't go on forever, Quick Attack!"

"Evade it using Rapid Spin!" Margo cheered. It seemed that she had been reading up on the moves that would grace her Squirtle's new form. The Wartortle, though normally slow, was able to spin away with a surprising agility that left Indigo scratching his head.

And Margo took advantage of Indigo's inability to think in the moment. "Water Gun!"

Crowne nodded at his trainer's command, a burst of water shooting from his mouth at the Combusken. Margo was amazed at the difference in power her partner now had, a simple water gun from Squirtle was now a mighty torrent of water from Wartortle. The attack hit, sending Combusken back a few startled steps, her feathers sopping from the water.

Indy gritted his teeth, his jaw tensed. Margo couldn't tell, but it seemed to her that he wasn't quite as self-assured as before. Their two pokemon had been more evenly matched when Hawka had evolved, but Crowne was now on par--and even stronger with his type advantage.

"Hawka, use Double Kick again! Quick!" Hawka obeyed, jumping in the air before coming down on Crowne and sending him flying yet again with two quick kicks. The Wartortle skidded on the ground, bringing one of his arms in front of him to try to stop himself from the momentum of Hawka's kicks. He took a deep breath and glared at the fiesty bird before glancing towards Margo.

The teenager beamed at her pride and joy, the pokemon still looking so fierce and strong in his newly evolved form. "Let's do this, Crowne! Water Pulse!" She hadn't yet seen the move in action, but she knew Crowne was getting close to evolving and had read up on some of the new moves he might be getting. The air seemed to change around her, a static ringing in her ears as she watched the Wartortle readying himself.

Crowne held his little paws in front of him and appeared to blow into them, a sphere of water beginning to form. It grew faster and faster, about the size of a yoga ball, until the Wartortle stopped blowing, now looking at Hawka. He forced the ball of water in front of him and it landed in front of the Combusken, exploding into a large wave of water that came crashing down upon her.

Once the water had settled, Hawka stumbled this way and that, confused from the blow before plopping down on the muddy ground. Margo felt a tinge of sadness by the way the poor Combusken acted, but this feeling was pushed to the bottom of her list as Crowne came running to his trainer and immediately jumped into her arms. The teen was surprised at how much heavier he had become, falling down on the damp ground and laughing happily.

"We did it!" She exclaimed excitedly, hugging Crowne close to her.

Dan waved as he left his friends company.

The trip back to the center didn't take long at all, he dropped his stuff at the door of his room and tried to sleep off the emotions.

With only a quick 5 minuet nap Dan was already up, unable to sleep.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. he kept thinking as he got his shoes back on and put on his pack and headed back out, looking for something to do.

Not too far from the center was the gym, while though he didn't want to battle anymore, this was better than sitting in a room alone with his thoughts. He wandered in, wanting to get his badge as quick as possible, and spend as little time with Twiggy as possible, he couldn't handle the glare he gave him now. A cold and sickening look.

"Hello!?" Dan shouted into the room. "Anyone here? I'm here to challenge the gym leader!"

He was anxious, and sure he'd lose, but, it was worth a shot.