I have no idea what people think about this story, although I guess no comments are better than bad ones. Even the sole person I know that I've had read it hasn't said anything either way. Of course, I haven't brought it up in a while, so... No news is good news?

Immy slammed the sliding door to their van behind her after she got out of the car.

Her mom stood next to the open driver side door, looking at her with a look of apology, “I’m sorry Imoen, but we didn’t want to ruin your trip.”

Immy huffed as she made her way to the sidewalk leading up to the front door of Angie’s house, “I don’t care! I’d rather be here with Mina than running around while she’s stuck in bed!”

Immy’s mom looked to the side, then followed Immy, “I know… but even if we had told you…” she sighed, “Maybe you should calm down a little before seeing her? We don’t want to make her feel worse than she already does.”

Immy stopped walking. Her mom was right. She didn’t want to make Mina upset. She couldn’t always smile like Mina could, but she could at least not cause a fuss, “Okay, mom.”

Immy didn’t start walking again until her mom passed her. Once at the door, her mom knocked, Immy just behind her, fidgeting impatiently.

Mina’s mom opened the door, immediately turning to Immy’s mom and smiling, “Welcome back, Claire. Did you and Imoen enjoy your trip?” She turned to Immy as she said her name, then looked between the two waiting for a reply.

Immy’s mom smiled and nodded, “We had a wonderful time, especially Imoen.”

Immy wasn’t paying attention to the conversation and was looking past Mina’s mom and into the house.

Mina’s mom laughed as she noticed Imoen, “Mina and Angie are on the couch.” She moved to the side, and glanced behind her, her smile saddening, “She’s still pretty tired, so try not to run around too much.”

Immy nodded without looking at Mina’s mom, then slipped past. Once she was inside, it wasn’t hard to find the couch, with Mina and Angie sitting on top of it, watching some old movie Immy didn’t recognize.

Angie noticed Immy first and waved her over, smiling, “Immy! You’re back!”

Mina paused the movie using a remote and turned to look at Immy, her face looking like she was half asleep, “Welcome back.”

Immy paused as she got a better look at Mina. She and Angie were both sitting under a large blanket that covered their legs and laps. They were both still wearing pajamas even though it was already afternoon, and Mina even wore a large bonnet that covered most of her head. Then there were her eyes. They were red!

Immy thought the bonnet looked tacky but it was the least of her worries, “Mina! I heard you got really sick! Are you okay? Your eyes are red! Do they hurt? What are you sick with?”

Mina put a hand to her eyes as she was reminded of them, then put her hands back down just as quickly, “I…” She looked down, then glanced at her mom, “Can you ask my mom?”

Immy was confused why Mina wouldn’t want to talk about what she was sick with, and plopped on the cushion next to Mina that was under the blanket, “Come on! Tell me!”

Mina yelped as Immy landed on the cushion Mina sat on, “Ow…”

Angie was looking irritated, “Immy, be careful.”

Immy was confused, “I just jumped on a pillow…”

Mina’s mom hurried to the girls, and waved for Immy to come with her to the dining room, “Imoen, can I talk to you about something important?”

Immy glanced at Mina and Angie. She was starting to get frustrated and followed Mina’s mom saying nothing to her two friends as she left.

Immy sat down on a chair at the large dining table, and crossed her arms, waiting for Mina’s mom to talk.

Mina’s mom looked uncomfortable as she sat down and faced Immy, “Imoen. I’m going to get straight to the point. Mina…” She glanced at her daughter, “didn’t get sick. She was attacked during the camping trip.”

Immy jumped up from her chair, nearly knocking it over as she turned to look at Mina, “Attacked!? But she looks fine!”

Mina’s mom grabbed her hand to stop Immy from leaving, “It… took her… well, we’re not sure what, but it turned her hair white and nearly killed her.”

Immy felt her frustration evaporate after hearing Mina had nearly died. Of course she wouldn’t want to talk about it, “She’s okay now? What got her?”

Mina’s mom pursed her lips, and it looked like she didn’t want to answer, “There is some sort of mutant ditto out there. It can take the form and powers of what it attacks. It… it got Isabelle and Roseline and almost… got Annabelle and Mina.”

Immy sat back down, then looked at her knees as she swung them back and forth, “How did they get away?”

“It ran away when my husband and Angie’s dad found them after hearing their calls for help.”

Immy recalled Mina’s dad having some pretty strong pokemon, so she could see him scaring this mutant ditto off, “I guess at least something finds Mina’s dad scary…” She laughed awkwardly and immediately regretted saying it.

Mina’s mom smiled at the bad joke for a moment before becoming serious again, “It… it wasn’t him that scared them off, but before I tell you what happened, you have to promise you won’t tell anyone else.”

Immy nodded eagerly, curious to know what was so secret she couldn’t tell anyone, “Promise.”

Mina’s mom didn’t look quite convinced, “This is serious. It could make things a lot harder for Mina if you tell anyone.”

Immy no longer felt frustrated as her curiosity pushed all her negative feelings to the side and nodded again, “I, Imoen Pontipee promise to keep this a secret!”

Mina’s mom still didn’t look too convinced, but nodded, “Okay, but remember, we’re only letting you know, because we want you to be here for Mina.”

Immy looked at Mina and waved at her when she saw she was watching, then turned back expectantly to Mina’s mom, “So… what’s the secret?”

Mina’s mom sighed, then chuckled under her breath, “I wish I could always stay as positive as you can.”

Immy wasn’t quite sure what she meant, “Thanks?”

Mina’s mom became serious again, “My husband and Angie’s dad weren’t the ones that actually scared this mutant ditto away. It was Mew Two.”

Immy’s eyes widened in surprise and she jumped up, actually knocking her chair over this time, “Mew Two!?” She turned to Mina and Angie, “You guys saw Mew Two!?”

Mina had pulled the blanket up to her chin and her eyes had become distant. Angie was looking at the floor, her arms crossed and hands clutching at her shoulders.

Immy felt her excitement evaporate as she realized how truly traumatic the attack had been for her friends, and regretted her outburst. So, she put her chair back upright and sat back down.

Mina’s mom looked sympathetic, “I couldn’t believe it either.”

Immy leaned forward, “What’d he do?”

“Some sort of psychic attack. Made it run right away. If it hadn’t…”

Immy didn’t want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t.

Mina’s mom glanced at Mina again, “It actually was still a little late. Mina and Annabelle had too much of their strength taken away. If it weren’t for Mew Two they might have never woken up, or worse.” She looked at Mina, “It could only save one of them.”

Immy hadn’t even thought about Annabelle or the other pokemon, “So Annabelle… she… Isabelle and Roseline too?”

Mina’s mom nodded, “They did their best to protect Mina and Angelique. If it weren’t for them, Mew Two, or their fathers there wouldn’t have been time to save them.”

Immy finally understood why her mom had made her leave Jumper at home. She wouldn’t want to see another eevee for a while if Jumper had died. 

She felt tears come to her eyes for the first time as she finally realized how close her friends had come to dying, and their pokemon actually had.

Mina’s mom pulled her into an embrace, “We’re doing all we can to help Mina. We can’t bring back the pokemon, but they’re still here, and I want you to be the usual strong energetic Imoen you always are.”

Immy wiped at her tears, “I… I’ll try.”

Mina’s mom patted her back and stayed quiet until she calmed down a little.

Immy wiped some snot on her sleeve as she pulled away from Mina’s mom, “I’m okay now.”

Mina’s mom smiled gently, “Are you okay if I continue?”

Immy nodded.

Mina’s mom glanced at Mina, her worry returning, “Mew Two, he… Annabelle gave up her life to save Mina.”

Immy looked at Mina. It might explain her eyes and other weird stuff if Mew Two had done something to her.

Mina’s mom nodded to Mina, then turned to Immy, “He used Annabelle to give Mina another chance at life. It… had some side effects.”

Mina pulled her bonnet off, revealing a set of fox ears.

Immy’s eyes went wide. Mew Two had combined them!? She recalled hearing about Mew Two being able to put people inside their pokemon, so it didn’t surprise her he could combine them too.

Immy looked at what she had thought were cushions under the blanket. Could they be tails? The blanket did seem to twitch occasionally…

Mina saw Immy look at the blanket and clutched it. She looked afraid to remove the blanket, but pulled it off, revealing several tails. She looked ashamed and turned her head to the side.

Immy walked over to the couch, reminding herself to be delicate. Once there, she sat as close to Mina as she could without touching the tails, “Your tails are pretty cool.”

Mina gave Immy a sad smile, “Yeah…”

Immy scratched her cheek as she wasn’t sure what to say, “So… Can I pet them?”

Mina gave Angie a sidelong look and nodded, “Yeah. I let Angie so it’s okay if you do too.”

Angie blushed as the attention turned to her, and it was then that Immy noticed she had been cuddling with a tail under the blanket.

Immy carefully lowered her hand until it met the soft fur of Mina’s tail. As she stroked the fur she was reminded of Annabelle as it had the same texture and softness, although the color was white instead. She stopped as she realized what this could mean for Mina. Every time she felt the fur of her tails and every time she saw them, she would be reminded of Annabelle and what had happened to them. No wonder she was so down. If this had happened to her and Jumper, how would she handle it? Sure having a nice fluffy tail sounded awesome, but not like this.

The ringing of a phone brought Immy’s attention back from her thoughts. It was Mina’s mom’s. 

Immy was about to turn her attention back to Mina, but something about Mina’s mother’s reaction to the phone call made her curious because of the way she looked at Mina before rushing out of the room.

Mina watched her mom leave, “They’re trying to find the thing that attacked me.”

Angie cringed as Mina said that, “Mina… we weren’t supposed to bring that up.”

Mina looked too tired to care, “Oh yeah.” She turned to Immy, “Forget I said that.”

Immy was curious now, and hopped off the couch, “I’m gonna go listen!”

Angie shook her head, “Immy. Our parents said to stay out of it.”

Immy trotted off, “Relax! I’m just going to listen!”

Angie merely shook her head and unpaused the movie.

Immy slowed down and moved as quietly as she could once she heard Mina’s mom’s voice, coming from inside the first floor bathroom, “...can’t get here faster? The Poke Sucker could hurt someone else any time.”

Immy’s jaw dropped. The Poke Suker!? That’s what had attacked Mina and Angie!?

There was a reply Immy couldn’t quite make out.

Mina’s mom looked frustrated, “Alright. I guess we don’t have much choice. Well… I better get back to the girls. Let me know if you find anyone else that can help.”

Immy ran off just in time, and made it back to the couch before getting caught.

Angie looked at her curiously, “What were they talking about?”

Immy shrugged, “Sounded like the person they asked for help can’t make it here as fast as they want.” She leaned in closer as Mina’s mom sat back at the dining table, “You didn’t tell me you were attacked by the Poke Sucker!”

Angie immediately became uncomfortable, “Sorry Immy, but can we talk about something else?”

Mina looked uncomfortable too.

Immy leaned back, “Okay.” She looked at the tv, “So… what are you watching?” Immy wanted to learn more about the Poke Sucker badly, but the looks her friends gave just mentioning it was enough to stop her.

Immy turned her attention to the movie. It was an old foreign romance movie, French of course, that Immy didn’t find the least bit interesting. All she could think about was what had happened to her two friends. The Poke Sucker was in the mountains somewhere and she wanted to be there when they killed it. The only problem was the adults.

The three friends didn’t talk much thanks to the heavy atmosphere, but Immy could tell Mina was feeling better by the time she fell asleep during a second movie, which made her happy. Even if she hated the movies they watched she would stay as long as her friends needed her.

Eventually, her mom came to pick her up, and soon she was back home. She was glad she didn’t have to sit through any more terrible movies, but wanted to stay and help Angie keep Mina company, but she had an idea she wanted to work on at home.

Immy found Gideon watching tv and grabbed his arm, “Gid! I need to talk to you about something.”

Gideon tried pulling his arm free of Immy’s grasp, “Go away! I’m watching something.”

Immy pulled harder, “Just for a minute! I need your help!”

Everyone, including Gideon, looked at Immy in surprise. She never asked Gideon for help.

Apparently Gideon seemed intrigued and finally got up, “Alright, but only for a minute.”

Immy pulled Gideon into her room and closed the door behind them, before finally releasing his arm.

Gideon crossed his arms, skeptical of Immy, “Okay. You’ve got a minute.”

Immy leaned in and whispered, “Mina and Angie got attacked by the Poke Sucker.”

Gideon, as expected, didn’t believe her, “Yeah, and Ash’s pikachu finally evolved into a raichu.”

Immy crossed her arms, “Mike.”

Gideon hesitated, “What about Mike?”

Immy knew she had his attention now, “Where did they find him?”

Gideon seemed to realize what she was getting at, “Rock River Canyon.”

“And where did Angie and Mina go camping?”

Immy now had Gideon’s complete attention, “Rock River Canyon… Oh…”

Immy nodded grimly, “They’re going to go try to kill it.”

Gideon looked surprised, “Really?”

Immy nodded again, “Yeah, I heard Mina’s mom talking to someone. I think they’re waiting for someone to come help.”

Gideon thought for a moment, “I wanna watch ‘em kill it.”

Immy nodded in agreement, “I wanna help kill it.”

“What’s the plan, then?” The way Gideon looked at Immy said he didn’t think she’d thought it through, “No way they’re gonna let us go if we ask.”

Immy did have a plan, though, “Angie’s RV has some huge luggage spaces on the bottom. I’m gonna see if Angie will give us the keys and we can hide inside.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow, “Angie, that goody goody? She’ll probably tell on you as soon as you ask.”

Immy shook her head as she remembered how concerned Angie was for Mina, “I think she’ll help. She’s really mad about what happened to Mina and I think she wants to go too.”

Gideon seemed only a little convinced, “Okay… so we hide in the luggage compartment. Then what? How will we get out?”

Immy had messed around with the RV several times because it was parked at the side of Angie’s house and easy to get to, “It’s got handles inside for if kids get inside that open the door if you pull on them.”

Gideon nodded, “Yeah, too many brats hiding inside that get stuck.” It was obvious Gideon was picturing her getting stuck inside one. Something which Immy could see happening too. Yeah, she could see herself getting trapped inside if there hadn’t been an escape handle. Yeah…

Immy continued, “We just gotta hide under some plastic or something until they leave, then we get out and follow them.”

Gideon nodded, “What about mom? She’s gonna know we’re missing.”

This was where Immy was stumped, “Oh yeah.”

Gideon smiled, “I got an idea. Ephraim will cover for us. Heck, he might want to come too. Might even give us a ride up there.”

Immy hadn’t even thought about it, “Oh yeah…” Ephraim was probably the most like Immy. Always running around and getting into trouble, telling jokes, and taking his younger siblings to places they probably shouldn’t be going, like that one time he’d taken her to that abandoned asylum to find ghost type pokemon. There was only one problem, “Can his car even make it up the mountain?”

Gideon’s shoulders fell, “Right. No way that rust bucket’ll make it up there.” He turned to leave the room, “Let’s go talk to him anyway. He might be able to think of something.”

Immy nodded. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to let someone else in on this, but Ephraim was probably okay, “Okay.”

Gideon opened the door and walked out, “Eph! Get over here!”

A voice called out from the living room where Immy had seen Ephraim vegging out watching TV, “Shut up, Gid! I’m watching something!”

Gideon clicked his tongue, “Dumbledor dies!”

Immy snickered at the comment they used to say they didn’t care if you were interrupting their movie.

Ephraim came around the corner. He was scratching his messy brown hair angrily, his lazy brown eyes narrowed in irritation as he caught sight of Gideon. His face that looked like an older version of Gideon with a bit more of their father, softened when he saw Immy standing behind Gideon, “Whoa, hell freeze over?”

Gideon waved for him to enter Immy’s room, “We need your help with something.”

Ephraim straightened, his height coming to just above what their dad would have, “Alright. I’m in! Must be something good if you two are helping each other.”

Gideon grinned, “Oh. It’s good.” He leaned forward to a whisper, “We’re gonna kill the Poke Sucker.”

Ephraim was obviously skeptical at first, but as Angie retold the story, he became more and more convinced.

Ephraim leaned against the door as he took in what he’d just heard. Immy thought he’d be excited, but his face turned serious as he stood there. When he finally looked back at them, Immy thought he might reject them, “If you’re right… There’s no way I’m taking you up there.” He flashed a grin, “At least that’s what I should say, but if that thing almost killed your cute little friend, then I want in on the action too. If it’s not real, I’ll just leave you up there.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow, “Help? With what pokemon? You let them all go.”

Ephraim nodded as he recalled, “Yeah. It’s a pain feeding and training them.”

Immy recalled how Ephraim had almost let his pokemon starve to death, “Mom was so mad.”

Ephraim nodded, “Yeah.” He rubbed his chin, then turned to Immy, “Anyway… you get some more intel from your friend. I’ll see if I can get us a better ride, no way my ride is getting us up those steep inclines.”

Gideon pointed to himself, “What about me?”

Ephraim shrugged, “Train your pets some more, I guess? You have the strongest ones out of us.”

Immy wasn’t happy about it, but Gideon’s pokemon were a lot stronger than hers still. He’d already gotten several badges, even, “Can I train with you?”

Gideon looked annoyed at the idea, but finally sighed, “Sure, why not. As annoying as you are, I don’t want ya gettin’ killed.”

Immy grinned, “We still got some light outside. Wanna have a match?”

Gideon curled his lip in disgust at the thought, “No.”

Ephraim stepped away from the door and opened it, “I’m gonna go finish my show. You two have fun.”

Immy moved close enough to Gideon that her face was mere inches from his, “Please!”

Gideon stepped backwards while pushing Immy away from him, “No! Geeze! We can tomorrow.”

Immy deflated and plopped onto her bed, “Fine…”

Gideon shook his head and walked out of her room, mumbling something about how annoying little sisters were.

Immy stared at the ceiling, a heavy weight falling on her. Was she really doing the right thing? She knew she would get in trouble no matter what, but would she only be making things worse? She doubted she could help much either. The thing had killed a gym leader who had ranked nationally in tournaments. They were also bringing in someone Mina’s parents thought was strong. Still, she couldn’t just sit there while the thing that attacked Mina roamed around the mountains waiting to attack more people. 

She decided she would wait at least one more day to decide if they should cancel the operation.

Immy’s mom called her to dinner some time later, causing Immy to push the thoughts to the back of her mind, she was getting hungry after all. Yeah, tomorrow she’d talk to Mina and Angie again, and go from there. For now, she would get some dinner.

Immy jumped off her bed. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

I thought about abridging Mina's mom retelling what happened to Mina, but I felt it didn't matter either way. It's not like I'm ever gonna get paid for this so I'm not too worried about it.

Anyway. One more chapter to go... I hope you dear readers enjoy it.