Mina watched the scenery outside from her seat in the back of her parents’ car. They were finally in the mountains and she enjoyed looking at the leaves that were already changing into reds and yellows as the fall weather grew increasingly cold. 

She glanced at the RV following just behind them up the steep mountain road. It still surprised her that not only had Angie’s parents allowed her to come, but they had rented an RV and came themselves.

It was slow going, thanks to the RV having a hard time making it up some of the steeper parts of the road, but they still had plenty of time left in the day to set up camp and still have time to do some hiking or look for rare pokemon.

For the first time in a while, Mina’s dad spoke as he pointed to a campsite off to the side of the road, “Isn’t that the gym leader for Sharon’s gym?”

Mina sat up and put her head next to the window to get a better look.

It was hard to see the foliage, but it only took her a moment to find an RV parked in the clearing. Next to it was Mike. It was hard to tell what he was doing, but something seemed off about him. Of course, something always seemed off about him, mostly his smell, but this was something Mina couldn’t quite put her finger to. Perhaps spending so much time in the mountains had changed him?

Mina’s dad had to stop looking after he drove a little too close to comfort to the edge of the road and the steep dropoff to the stream a hundred feet below, “Maybe we can visit him later? He’s not too far from our campsite.”

Mina had no desire to see him, “I’m okay.”

She turned to her two sleeping brothers next to her in the back seat and was glad they had missed the conversation or they’d insist on going. She hoped if she never brought Mike back up her dad would forget.

Mina’s dad took one last look, “I guess you would rather spend your time with Angelique?”

Mina turned to her dad, “Yes. We’ve got lots of pokemon we want to find. Immy showed us some really cute ones.”

Mina’s dad looked at her through the rearview mirror, “And here I was thinking you didn’t want to become a trainer.”

Mina shook her head, “No, just want to help Immy.”

“Too bad she couldn’t come. She would have loved it out here,” he laughed, “Though not as much as Poke World, I imagine!”

Mina smiled to herself as she imagined Immy playing on all the rides or battling rare pokemon at one of their trainer arenas, “Yeah.”

Mina’s dad pointed to a turnoff just ahead of them, “We’re here! Wake up, boys!”

Mina felt relieved. It wasn’t the longest car ride she’d been on, but it would be nice to finally get out as her legs really needed a good stretch.

Mina studied their camping spot as her dad pulled off to the side. It wasn’t large, with a small dirt strip barely large enough for their car and Angie’s RV. Next to the parking area was a grass field not much bigger with a fire pit and not much else although there was more than enough room for their tent and space for her dad and brothers to run around.

Mina wished there was an outhouse out here, and was glad Angie’s parents had rented an RV because she was uncomfortable at the thought of having to go to the bathroom in the bushes.

Michael finally woke up, and it took him a moment to realize where they were, “We’re there?”

Mina’s dad put the car in park, popped the trunk open, and began climbing out, “Yep! Want to help me get our things from the trunk?”

Michael was now awake enough that he started getting excited, “Can I get the stuff from the roof?”

Mina imagined Michael climbing onto the car to get things from the storage container her dad had installed there, only to fall off.

Mina’s dad chuckled, “Maybe when you’re older. You can’t even reach it.”

Michael unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door on his side of the car, “I know!”

Mina unbuckled her seatbelt and looked at the still sleeping Raphael in the middle seat, “Raph,” she shook him gently, “we’re here.”

Raphael moved his head a little, but didn’t wake up.

Mina smiled at her little brother, before getting out of the car.

Mina glanced at the RV and saw that Angie’s mom was already out of the RV and was looking around. Angie wasn’t out yet, so Mina turned back to their car and began to help unload their camping supplies from the trunk.

With that done, Mina turned back to the RV and saw Angie still hadn’t come out, and that her mother was setting up some sort of antenna outside.

Mina approached the RV and stuck her head inside the open door, “Angie? Mr. Barnette?”

Mr. Barnette was a middle aged man with a mostly bald head that wore a business suit any time Mina saw him. He was fit, but age hadn’t treated him well, something Mina thought was because he worked too much. 

Mina found him not far away, sitting at a small table behind the driver area, “Hello Mina. Angie got car sick and is laying down in one of the beds.”

As Mina listened to Mr. Barnette, she couldn’t help but think how she hoped Angie got her mother’s genes, and not her dad’s. Mr. Barnette had been handsome when he was younger judging by the pictures she had seen in their house, but time had not been kind to him.

Mina took one last look at Mr. Barnette as he went back to work on his laptop on the table, “Thank you for letting Angie come.”

Mina’s thoughts went back to Angie as a groan from the back could be heard in response to Mina’s arrival.

Mr. Barnette nodded, but didn’t look up, “Of course. Of course.”

Mina walked past the kitchen area of the RV and to the back where there was a bunk bed and a large bed opposite it.

Angie was laying in the bottom bunk, her arm resting on her face, “Hi Mina…”

Mina giggled as she sat on the larger bed, “You look green.”

Angie groaned, then made a gagging noise as if she were about to throw up.

Mina stood back up, “I’ll come back later.”

Angie merely groaned again in reply.

Mina left the RV, making sure to not bother Mr. Barnette, and went to where her dad and brothers were.

Mina watched her dad as he pounded a stake for the tent into the ground. He was the youngest of the dads and still looked relatively young in comparison, with his thick black hair showing no signs of gray yet. He was a bit on the pudgy side, but in relatively good shape thanks to his frequent camping and hiking trips.

Mina felt a chill go up her spine which made her look around the clearing. She saw nothing other than her family and a random pidgey sitting in a tree on the west side of the clearing.

Mina took a closer look at the pidgey, but it flew off before she got a good look at it.

Mina shrugged. She’d always felt uncomfortable in the woods as her imagination always got the better of her and she was not looking forward to the night with all the creepy noises.

Mina’s dad looked up when Mina approached, “How’s Angie doing?”

Mina shook her head, “She got really car sick so she’s laying down.”

Michael ran up to Mina and started pulling on her hand, “Help Mina! Dad said we can’t play until we get the tent up!”

Mina looked at the barely assembled tent. Last time she’d gone camping was a while ago so her dad had put it together by himself so she wasn’t sure what to do, but it didn’t look too hard.

Mina found a rod next to the tent and picked it up, “This goes into,” she pointed to a small hole at the corner of the tent, “here?”

Michael actually didn’t look confident and glanced at their dad, “Yes?”

Mina’s dad nodded as he knelt back down to finish hammering in the peg he’d been working on, “Yes. Just slide them through and…”

Twenty minutes later, Mina stood in front of the finished tent.

It wasn’t a big tent, just one of those blue and gray tents that everyone seemed to have that fit two or three people. They had a bigger one, but didn’t need it since Mina had gotten permission to sleep in the RV with Angie.

Mina heard Raphael’s stomach growl as he came to them from the car, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Raphael put his hand on his stomach, “Daddy, I’m hungry!”

Mina’s dad smiled and turned to the car, “It’s a little early for lunch, but I’m getting a little hungry too. ” He turned to Mina, “Mina, will you get the picnic blanket and put it out while I get the sandwiches your mom made for us this morning from the car?”

Mina nodded and turned to the bags near the tent, “Okay.”

Lunch came and went and Mina felt ready for the next part of the day.

Mina hadn’t seen any of the Barnetts in a while, so went to check on them after she finished eating.

The door to the RV was still open, so Mina stuck her head inside, “Can I come in?”

Angie’s mom was sitting next to her husband, a laptop in front of each of them, “No need to ask Mina. Come in when you want.”

Mina climbed up the stairs and looked back to the beds, “Thank you. Umm… Angie is still feeling sick?”

Angie’s mom glanced to the back, “Angie dear, how are you feeling?”

Angie stuck her head out from the lower bunk, “A little better.”

Mina walked past Angie’s parents and stopped next to Angie, “Can I stay until you feel good enough to get up?”

Angie smiled and nodded her head, “Okay.”

Half an hour later, Mina and Angie both left the RV.

Angie pulled out Isabelle’s pokeball and released the eevee.

Isabelle immediately ran to Angie and rubbed against her legs.

Angie bent over, and pet Isabelle, “Want to go on a walk?”

Isabelle stopped and looked at Angie, then cooed in approval.

Mina pet Isabelle on the head, before pulling out Annabelle’s pokeball from the bag Angie had brought, “Annabelle!”

Annabelle appeared from the pokeball. She was now a ninetails.

Mina still wasn’t used to Annabelle’s new form. Not only was she bigger, but had nine tails now instead of six and the tuft of hair on her head had grown much longer and more unruly and spiky. She also now had a mane of hair around her neck. Mina didn’t hate the new look, but now Annabelle looked more regal than cute, and she preferred the cute. There was one perk about the new Annabelle, though. Her tails had become even more huggable.

Annabelle had only been like this since yesterday, as Mina had used the fire stone to evolve her right before Immy left for Poke World. Of course Immy had loved the new Annabelle so it had been worth evolving her with Immy just for her reaction.

Annabelle immediately became attentive when she realized where they were, and looked around.

Mina walked over to Annabelle and scratched behind her ears, “Do you remember here?”

Annabelle looked at Mina, then back to the forest.

Michael spotted Annabelle and ran over from the nearby tent, “Annabelle!”

Michael seemed to love Annabelle’s large fluffy tails just as much as Mina and Angie, and immediately began petting them.

Annabelle seemed to appreciate the attention.

Mina found her dad putting wood into the fire pit and walked over to him, “Dad, can me and Angie go on a walk,” she pointed to a small trail leading further up the mountain, “that way?”

Mina’s dad looked over, then back to Mina, “When I’m done building the fire. I don’t want you wandering off on your own, okay?”

Mina was kind of disappointed, but nodded, “Okay dad.”

The rest of the day went well. Mina actually enjoyed the hike thanks to the scenery and managed to level up both Annabelle and Roseline. Mina had hoped that Roseline would evolve when she level up, but she didn’t.

It was when night fell that Mina began to regret coming camping. Every time she heard a noise in the woods, she imagined some pokemon watching them, waiting until they fell asleep. Or maybe the Poke Sucker really was out there. Or maybe Mike was peeking at them from behind that bush that moved. Or maybe…

It wasn’t until Angie and Mina went into the RV to get ready for bed, that they started to feel comfortable again.

After breakfast the next morning, Mina approached her dad, “What are we doing today?”

Her dad thought for a moment, “I was thinking of seeing how Mike was doing. I completely forgot yesterday.”

Mina glanced at a trail that led down the mountain and towards where Mike was camped, “Oh…” She didn’t really want to see Mike. She turned back to her dad, “Can I go train Annabelle and Roseline with Angie?”

Her dad nodded, “Sure, just stay close enough where I can see you from camp. I’ll call for you when I head out.”

Mina turned back to the RV to go get Angie when she noticed a pidgey watching them. It wasn’t strange to see pidgeys and other flying pokemon, so she thought nothing of it.

Angie was putting on bug repellant, but it didn’t take long for her to finish, and the two went off into the woods.

Isabelle was still level one and seemed content staying that way so Angie returned her to her Pokeball before Mina led them into the forest. They’d tried letting her walk with them yesterday, but they’d had too many close calls so decided to only let her out at the campsite.

Their walk ended up pretty disappointing. There weren’t too many pokemon near the campsite and the ones that were were low level. Well… other than that pidgey that seemed to follow them. They tried battling it, but it always stayed just far enough away.

As they moved along, Mina began to get more suspicious of the pidgey. Something seemed off about it. Most pidgeys would have ignored them or fought them by now, but this one seemed content on following and watching.

Mina decided to walk away from the pidgey and headed down the mountain where she saw the path not far ahead. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable and felt it would be better to be with her dad, especially because he had high level pokemon.

Still, she could still see her dad through the bushes, so she wasn’t too worried. If anything happened it wouldn’t take him long to get over to them.

The pidgey looked towards the campsite and finally flew off, much to Mina’s relief.

A low level Weedle appeared from a large bush as she was distracted, causing Mina to jump with a squeak. Roseline easily took it out in one attack without Mina needing to command her, so it ended up fine.

Angie looked bored as they moved on, “I thought your dad said there were a lot of higher level pokemon.”

Mina was pretty disappointed too. They hadn’t seen any pokemon above level ten, “Yeah. Maybe we need to go farther away from the campground?”

Angie glanced towards Mina’s dad, “Maybe…” she squinted, “Oh! They’re chasing something into the woods.”

Mina glanced over, and saw a small shape slip into the woods on the side of the campsite nearly opposite to where they were, her dad and brothers chasing it and shoutingin excitement.

Mina was too late to see what it was, “Oh! I wonder what it is? They look excited.”

Angie looked to the path just ahead of them, “Want to go see?”

Mina looked at the path too, it was closer than going straight to the campsite, so she continued walking in that direction, “Yeah. Think it’s rare or a shiny?”

Angie shrugged and shook her head, “Probably?”

Mina thought it had to be with how excited they looked, “Let’s hurry.”

Angie nodded, and the two began making their way quickly through the foliage.

There was a rustle in the bushes as they emerged onto the path.

Mina turned and pointed, ready to fight whatever pokemon they had scared from the bushes, “Roseline…” She paused when she noticed a Pikachu fleeing down the path down the mountain.

Angie gasped, “A Pikachu!”

Mina had yet to see a Pikachu during their campout and was finally excited to see something she might actually want to catch, “Let’s get it!”

The two girls ran after the fleeing Pikachu. Thankfully it stayed on the path so they could see where it went, even if they couldn’t get close enough to battle it.

Soon, they slowed down as another campsite came into sight.

Mina grimaced after she realized they’d chased after the Pikachu without thinking. Her dad was going to kill her if he saw they’d run off.

Angie stopped and looked at Mina, “What’s wrong?”

Mina turned back the way they’d come, “My dad’s going to kill us… Let’s go back before he notices we left.”

Understanding appeared on Angie’s face, and she covered her mouth in embarrassment, “Oh! We yeah…”

Mina noticed someone standing in the campground not far away. She immediately recognized it as the one they’d seen Mike staying at.

Angie turned to look where Mina was, “Is this Mike’s campground?”

Mina pointed to a figure standing just barely in sight behind the RV, “I think that’s him behind the RV.”

Angie looked at the spot where the Pikachu had disappeared into the bushes, “Maybe the Pikachu was Mike’s?”

Mina couldn’t remember what Mike’s pokemon were other than that people considered his collection creepy for some reason, “Maybe?”

Angie didn’t look sure either, “If it’s his we should leave it alone.”

Mina agreed with Angie, “Yeah. Let’s go back. My dad’s seeing him later.”

Angie cocked her head to the side as she looked at Mike’s campground, “Um… He’s not there…”

Mina saw Angie was right. There wasn’t anyone standing behind the RV anymore, “He probably went inside.”

Angie didn’t look like she cared, “Let’s hurry back.”

Mina was about to say something when she noticed Mike standing on the trail behind them. She squealed in fright and jumped back a few steps. She had just been looking that way moments before, and there was no way they wouldn’t have seen him coming through the foliage towards them.

Angie squealed even higher pitched than Mina and took a few steps back as well.

Mina’s heart was now racing as she looked at Mike. He looked even more unwashed than usual, with wrinkled clothes that probably hadn’t been changed in days and were covered in food and sweat stains. His oily skin on his was badly in need of a washing and his acne looked worse than usual. 

Mina backed up even more when she noticed Mike’s facial expression. He was looking at them with the look of a predator. Not one like her mom had warned her about that would do naughty things to her, but as something that was looking at dinner.

Mina grabbed Angie, who had frozen in place, and pulled her away from Mike, “Umm… Hi Mike… can we… uh… my dad told us not to go too far away and…”

Mike took a few steps towards them.

Mina pulled Angie back far enough that they finally entered Mike’s campground, “Mike… you’re making me feel scared…”

Mike said nothing and closed the distance until he was only a few paces away.

Mina glanced behind Mike, taking a few more steps back, and moving Angie behind her, “If you don’t stop I’m going to call my dad!”

Mike lunged at Mina, but instead of grabbing her, struck her on her right shoulder with his fist.

Mina tumbled backwards, tripping over Angie and causing them both to fall onto the ground.

The blow didn’t hurt, but instead felt icy and made her feel like she’d gone too long without eating, but without feeling the hunger.

Mina screamed, “Help! Dad!”

Mike went to strike Mina again, but Roseline jumped between her and Mike, attacking him with a Quick Attack.

Mike hissed in pain and turned his attention to Roseline.

Mina pushed herself back up, grabbing Angie’s hand, “Let’s go!”

Angie was so scared it seemed like she wasn’t quite sure of what was happening, and followed Mina without any resistance.

Mina ran to the RV. She thought about hiding inside and locking the door, but if Mike had his keys on him…

Instead, Mina ran behind the RV, looking for anything they could use against Mike.

Mina saw the firepit and some ruined camping supplies scattered through the area.

A yelp from behind caused her to turn back to where Mike and Roseline were fighting.

Rosaline was laying on the ground, and it looked like she was struggling to move. Strangely her fur had turned white.

Angie screamed again and Mina turned to look to see her pointing near the forest’s edge.

Mina’s thoughts turned cold when she saw. There were several pokemon scattered across the field. A Lopunny, a Meloetta, a Primarina, Ditto, a Roserade, and Mike’s prized Gardevoir. All white. All dead.

Mina froze when she saw a bloated body past the last of the dead pokemon. It was Mike, and judging by the scent and the flies and maggots crawling over his distended corpse and those of his Pokemon, he’d been dead for a while. His hair had also turned white.

Mina fell to her knees and threw up as she realized what she was seeing. She threw up again, as she realized the Mike that was attacking them was something else. Something that had become him.

“Mike” struck Rosaline one last time, and she stopped moving. Mina knew deep down that she was dead just like Mike and his pokemon.

Mina fumbled with her shaking hands and grabbed Annabelle’s pokeball, “Annabelle!” She turned to Angie, who was still frozen in shock, “Angie! Get Isabelle!”

Angie blinked a few times, then nodded, “Y… yeah…” 

“Mike” was almost on them by the time Angie managed to throw and release Isabelle.

“Mike” struck Isabelle as the two pokemon met him.

Isabelle flinched at the attack, some of her fur turning white.

Mina grabbed her hair in realization, and saw some of hers had turned white too, causing her to panic even more than she already was. How many times did “Mike” need to hit her before she died too?

Annabelle landed a good blow on “Mike.”

Mike recoiled and fell to the ground.

Mina’s nerves were too far gone to celebrate, and it was all she could do to get herself to stand back up and move, “Angie… let’s go…”

Angie barely nodded and let Mina pull her farther away from “Mike.”

“Mike’s” body began to dissolve into a puddle, but Mina forced herself to keep moving.

She heard her dad shout her name in the distance so she shouted again to make it easier to find them, “Dad! Help!”

They quickly made their way around the puddle that used to be “Mike,” but before they had made it very far it began to grow, and soon a Gardevoir stood staring at them, the same look of hunger on its face.

Isabelle was still standing near it, and took another blow, her fur turning even more white.

Annabelle used Ember on the monster, hurting it noticeably.

As Isabelle took another blow as she used Growl, the white on her fur spreading further, she realized something. Dead pokemon that had turned white. She’d heard about it on the news, and it was why Mike had come up here. 

The Poke Sucker. It was real, and it had killed Mike and all his pokemon.

Now it was going to kill them.

The Poke Sucker struck Isabelle again, causing most of her fur to turn white. She also seemed to have lost most of her strength and struggled to move or attack.

Annabelle used Ember again, but it wasn’t doing enough damage to the probably much higher level Pokemon to stop it in time.

The Poke Sucker struck Isabelle for a fifth time, killing her.

Angie screamed in grief and tears began streaming down her cheeks, “Isabelle!”

The Poke Sucker turned its attention on Annabelle after taking another Ember.

This went on as Annabelle and the Poke Sucker exchanged three more sets of blows.

Mina knew Annabelle wasn’t going to make it, but she had bought the two girls enough time to get past the Poke Sucker and to the trailhead. She could also hear her dad was almost there, so they would be safe.

The Poke Sucker turned away from Annabelle, morphing from a Gardevoir to an all too familiar Pidgey.

The Poke Sucker took off, ignoring another blow from Annabelle, and easily closed the distance to the girls.

Mina shoved Angie behind her and raised her arms just in time to block a blow from the Poke Sucker.

Her arms felt ice cold and she felt even weaker.

A voice sounded in her head, Leave!

The Poke Sucker paused, but struck Mina again after only a moment’s hesitation.

Mina could barely stand now as the icy feeling spread across her body.

She was going to die too. Her dad wouldn’t reach them in time.

Leave! They have no part in this!

The Poke Sucker became agitated, but didn’t pause its attack and hit her a fourth time.

Mina fell to the ground. She had no strength left, and she felt herself losing consciousness.  

I said leave!

The last thing Mina remembered was a wave on her mind and the angry shrieking of a pidgey.

***

Angie screamed in terror as she watched Mina fall to the ground. She wasn’t quite sure what was happening to her friend, but her hair turning white wasn’t a good thing.

A wave of… something assaulted her mind and the world spun around her. 

First there was the voice in her head, then this. What was going on?

The Pidgey that had attacked Mina, screeched in pain and flew away.

Angie lay on the ground confused for a moment, but another look at Mina caused her to come to her senses, “Mina!” She carefully shook Mina to see if she was awake and saw that Mina’s eyes were part way open, but they looked almost dead. She began crying again, “Mina! Wake up! Mina!”

A shadow appeared over her and Mina, Move aside if you want to save her.

Angie looked up and saw probably the most famous pokemon in the world floating in the air just above them. Mewtwo.

Angie had heard the rumor that someone had seen Mewtwo up here, but had never believed it. She still almost couldn’t believe it and she was staring right at it.

Mewtwo looked from Mina to the path behind them.

“Mina! Angie!” Mina’s dad shouted in horror as he rounded a bend and saw them. He then saw Mewtwo and stopped in his tracks, stunned, “What… did you… was it…”

Mewtwo looked back at Mina, It was not I that did this. It was another. 

Mina’s dad still looked suspicious, and was about to say something when Angie interrupted him, “He…” It was all she could do to speak between sobs and her shock, “He… saved us.”

Mewtwo turned back to Mina’s dad, Your daughter’s life force was mostly taken from her. I can save her, but she will not be the same after. Nor will she be able to live a normal life.

Mina’s dad finally made his way to Mina, and looked at her, “Please. If you can save her…”

Angie’s dad ran around the corner and skidded to a stop as he spotted Mewtwo, “Angelique! Are you okay?” He glanced at Mina, the concern thick on his face.

Angie felt Mina being pulled into the air and moved back a little, looking at Mewtwo, “P… please! Help her!”

Mina floated into the air, and to everyone’s surprise so did Annabelle.

Mewtwo brought them close to each other, This ninetails has agreed to share its remaining life energy to save the girl. By combining them I can save one, but not the other.

There was a bright light and Mina and Annabelle began to merge. As they merged Mina began to take on some of Annabelle’s traits. The first was a set of fox ears on her head along with her hair gaining thickness and volume similar to Annabelle’s. The second, were nine fluffy tails growing on her behind that were mostly silvery white, but tipped with blue fur.

It was over in a moment, and Mewtwo lowered Mina to the ground, Leave this place with haste. I will not be able to protect you if it comes again. I will visit you again.

Mewtwo lifted above the tree tops and disappeared.

Mina’s dad ran to her, lifting her head and resting on his knee, “Mina!” 

Mina was still breathing, but was sleeping.

Angie’s dad turned away, “I will get the RV.”

Angie finally got the strength to stand, and walked to Mina, “She’s… she’s okay?”

Mina’s dad reluctantly touched Mina’s new set of ears, “I… I’m not sure.”

Angie fell to her knees and grabbed Mina’s hand. Mina was going to be okay. She had to. She had to…