MATTY'S POV

Peter led me back into the main room of the station. After so long in the seated position as a quadruped, my legs had become increasingly sore from being scrunched up. Hopefully this activity would provide much-needed relief from that sensation.

"Wait here," my interrogator instructed me.

What, does he think I'm a flight risk or something? Where would I go, even? Like, seriously - where?

Sheriff Buckle was still seated at his desk. If he was a lifelong Pokémon, I suppose it would make sense that he knew how to sit comfortably even with a tail. His evident discomfort probably wasn't from the position his body was in.

"So…how was the interview?" the Cinccino asked me.

I narrowed my eyes. "Well, wouldn't you like to know?"

"Sarcasm won't be tolerated here" Sheriff Buckle snapped. "It's not kind to treat a police officer like that."

After that, I fell silent again. No reason to aggravate them further when they had so much power over me - perhaps even the power of life and death.

Instead, I waited for Owen to come out through the door and rejoin me in the main room. There's something comforting about having your big brother in the room with you. (Clarification: "big brother" with lowercase B's).

But Owen did not appear. And he still didn't.

Are they using "enhanced interrogation techniques" against him? You know, the type that's a euphemism for "torture"?

I didn't voice this concern for obvious reasons, but I remained rooted to the spot nonetheless. Somehow, I knew this wouldn't end well. The fact that they were keeping my brother for so long didn't bode well.

It must have been ten minutes before he appeared again, though it felt so much longer. When the Shinx did finally stagger out of the hallway with Liz in his wake, he seemed paler than usual, as though he'd just been through a stressful experience.

Well, that applies to both of us, doesn't it?

"Okay!" Sheriff Buckle boomed from behind his desk. "The Tendai Brothers…we have the results from your interviews. And…well…".

The Cinccino sighed, and that's when my heart turned to stone. He wouldn't have trailed off like that if he didn't have bad news to deliver.

The look the sheriff directed at my brother was one of…was it pity?

"Reports from Liz and Peter have been sent to me. Both of you were asked roughly the same questions during your interviews. The question that mattered most, of course, was the last one."

Would you do anything to protect your brother?

"To be more specific," Sheriff Buckle continued, "you were asked whether you were confident in your brother's innocence. Matthew Tendai, when you answered the question, according to Peter here, you stated, and I quote: 'Of course, he's my brother!'"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Owen visibly blanch at the sheriff's words. Only later would I have time to fully interpret what this meant, but on some level, I knew even now that it wasn't likely to be anything good.

"You're a great brother, Matthew," Sheriff Buckle told me. "Loyal to a fault. You would never betray Owen, would you?"

"Not for anything" I piped up, trying to project confidence. I believed in Owen. But something gave me a sinking feeling in my chest.

Namely, the way the question had been phrased. The way Sheriff Buckle emphasized the word never….it almost seemed to imply that the same did not apply to my brother.

"Right," Sheriff Buckle said. "So Matthew Tendai, you remained loyal to your brother. That's what has been stated on the record."

"But what's wrong?" I wondered aloud.

The Cincinno gave me a pitying look similar to what he'd just directed at Owen not three minutes ago. The message was unmistakable: I am so, so sorry.

Owen would not meet my eyes. His own golden Shinx eyes were pointed directly at the ground, and he was visibly swaying from side to side, as if a slight gust of wind might knock him over like a bowling pin.

And that's when I knew it. Not the precise nature of the betrayal, but that it had happened to some degree.

"Owen Tendai," Sheriff Buckle began.

"Yes?" my brother enquired awkwardly, the way he often did at the sound of someone calling his name.

"Liz asked you the same question. She wanted to know - she needed to know - whether or not you were loyal to your brother."

What did he say?

"And?" Owen enquired rhetorically.

"You were initially reluctant to answer the question," Sheriff Buckle continued. "Indeed, you were visibly uncomfortable, to the point that Liz thought you might, ahem…make a puddle on the floor. Those were her words, not mine."

I felt my face heat up with both embarrassment and anger.

"At first, you refused to betray your brother. You insisted that he'd done nothing wrong, that it was all a mistake. But you could only bend so far without breaking."

The torrent of dread rose within me, and I could tell it wouldn't be long before I burst into tears if I wasn't careful.

"Now, Owen, what did you tell Liz about your brother?" Sheriff Buckle enquired.

Those golden Shinx eyes were now ringed with tears, and that told me everything I needed to know. Some facts might have remained unknown to me, but one thing was clear.

I would not be leaving this police station. Not now, and maybe not ever.

Why, Owen? Why?

"I'm not going to answer that question for you," the Cinccino said curtly. "You get to tell him yourself, the way I'm sure you want to."

"Fine," my brother replied tearfully. Turning to me, he continued thusly: "Matty, I said I didn't know. I didn't say you did anything - I said that if you had done something, I wouldn't know about it."

I just stared blankly at my brother. Exactly what I was thinking at that moment, I couldn't have told you. (It probably involved some variation of How could you?)

I would need some time to process this. And for better or worse, I knew that I'd have a lot of time to do so.

"As such," Sheriff Buckle continued, relieving my brother from having to speak any more, "here's what's going to happen to the Tendai brothers. Have you ever heard of the prisoner's dilemma?"

I could barely choke back a sob as I nodded.

"Yes," I said. "The best outcome is if the prisoners remain loyal - they each get a shorter amount of time in prison than if they both betray the other prisoner. But the best outcome for the individual…".

"...is if they betray the other" Owen finished.

And that's exactly what you did, Owen. You betrayed me.

"Owen Tendai, you will leave the station, where a Rapidash-drawn carriage is waiting. The seats are clean."

Great, yet another jab just to humiliate me. When will it end?

"The carriage," Sheriff Buckle continued, "will take you to the city of Ketchum. You'll be living in the guild hall for the foreseeable future, until we find a more permanent place of residence for you."

"Ketchum?" Owen wondered aloud. "Like, Ash Ketchum?"

"That is not important," Sheriff Buckle snapped. "Since you weaseled your way out of this, you should hardly care whom the city is named after."

Indeed you did, Owen. You should consider yourself lucky.

"As for you, Matthew Tendai," the sheriff told me with an expression I couldn't read, "you will remain in one of our cells until we figure out what to do with you."

At that moment, my instincts rose up in my brain, but I would not act on them. Running away would get me nowhere when my captors knew the lay of the land so much more thoroughly than I did. Instead, I glanced over at Owen.

He was still the same Shinx he'd been before our interviews. He was still Owen Tendai. He was still my brother.

And yet, as I looked into his golden eyes for what I feared would be the last time, I realized that I didn't recognize him at all.

---

OWEN'S POV

Just like that, my brother had been ripped away from me. I couldn't even look at him as he was presumably led away to his new "home" - a dank cell in some subterranean station.

No. He hadn't been "ripped" away from me. Rather, I had willingly thrown him to the wolves (or Lycanroc?)

The point was, it didn't have to be this way. If I'd only exercised a little more resolve in front of Liz, I could have prevented a lot of anguish. Not just for Matty, but for myself as well.

"You know where to go, Owen," Sheriff Buckle barked.

I just stood there, frozen to the spot as I stared off into space. Soon enough, I'd be pronounced catatonic.

"Do you need me to repeat the directions?" the sheriff repeated, this time injecting a hint of venom into his voice. "Or do you know where to go?"

"I…I know where to go" I insisted. And I did; as soon as I stepped out of the station, I saw a carriage lit only by a very dim lamp, and what looked like two horses harnessed to its front.

Not horses. Rapidash. I'm in a world of Pokémon.

That had always been one of my dreams: To live in a world where the adorable creatures featured in that multimedia franchise were real. Hell, maybe even to be one myself. Everything seemed so much simpler in that world, and certainly more wholesome.

But as they say, you should always be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it.

I climbed into the cart, which was driven by yet another hooded figure. And then I started trembling. Not solely from fear, though that was part of it.

I sold out my brother like that. And it's like that old saying: I'm the older sibling. I'm supposed to be my brother's keeper. I'm supposed to look out for him. If anything happens to Matty, the buck stops here. It's my fault.

It's my fault.

The carriage's giant wheels rolled over the dirt with a sound almost as ugly as fingernails scraping against a chalkboard. I tried to cover my ears, but this was easier said than done with four legs and no hands, so I just had to deal with it.

This noise is my punishment, I told myself. It's my punishment for betraying my brother. Don't ask me how, but it helped keep me sane.

I don't know how long the ride lasted. At some point, we passed through a gate. Although my night vision was far from stellar, I could have sworn that this gate was in the shape of a human skull. And that didn't exactly reassure me.

On the other side of the gate, we emerged into an unimaginably large cavern. And the scale of it was truly insane - I could not see the ceiling, nor could I make out any of the distant walls. For all I knew, I'd ended up in one of those bottomless pits from old video games.

"This here is the city of Ketchum" the driver muttered. "It's also been called the Colony, though it's generally considered a derogatory term these days. We did not colonize this cavern - we retreated to it."

I didn't ask what that meant, though I shivered at the potential implications. Eventually I mustered the courage to peek over the edges of the carriage, and that's when I saw it.

The carriage made its way along the rim of a valley, and a bona fide city sprawled out below us; indeed, I could not gauge how far it went on, given the darkness. But the scale was immense, and all of it was lit up with a ghostly white light. Had I found myself in the Land of the Dead?

Don't be silly, Owen. Ancient mythology is just that: Mythology. It's not true.

Yet I hesitated to be so sure about that. After all, until very recently I'd been absolutely convinced that Pokémon weren't real. Quite frankly, all bets should have been off.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked eventually. I was pretty sure I'd been told the answer before, but if so, I'd forgotten. The trauma of having your younger brother snatched away will do that to you.

"My orders were only to take you to the guild hall" the driver muttered. "That's where most newcomers go, unless they have arrangements to stay with a citizen of Ketchum. But we don't let too many outsiders join us here."

"Why not?"

The hooded figure cracked his whip to get the pair of Rapidash to pull us faster. Then, he turned around and glared at me.

"If you knew anything at all about history," the driver hissed, "you wouldn't need to ask me that."

A burst of righteous indignation rose within me. "I know some history, you know. I know about World War I, World War II, the American Revolution. I can name most of the Presidents…".

"Ah, you humans and your useless wars" the driver snapped. "More to the point, that's not what I meant."

I frowned. "What did you mean?"

"I was referring to history that pertains to us Pokémon. You haven't seen the other side of it yet, and I promise that when you do, all your surface problems will feel insignificant."

Uh, I already feel that way. Being a loner at school is nothing compared to what I've been through since waking up on the way to the station.

"Anyway," the driver continued, "here we are."

We had arrived just outside what looked roughly like an apartment building built of white marble. Had a sun been present, it would have been positively blinding to look at; as it was, I had to squint to make out the words carved over the front entrance.

It read: KETCHUM GUILD HALL. ESTABLISHED 1864.

"So this place came to be in 1864, then?" I blurted out.

"Yes. That's generally how the word established is used. In other news, water is wet, the Pope is Catholic, and we're underground."

"Fine," I muttered. "So this is my new home?"

The hooded driver nodded. "You'd better learn to like it. You'll be here for the foreseeable future, unless you are Banished."

Maybe Banishment wouldn't be such a bad thing, I thought. Wouldn't I get to go home then? Back to the surface?

As though reading my mind, the driver emitted a wheezing laugh and shook his head twice. "Trust me, Owen," he said. "You don't want to be Banished. Whatever you think it means, it doesn't mean that."

"Fair enough," I replied. "I guess I won't ask, then."

"Good choice. Anyway, the next time you see me will likely be under worse circumstances, if it happens at all. As such, I hope for your sake that time never comes."

On that ominous note, I hopped out of the carriage and glanced up at the guild hall. As I heard the carriage lumber away behind me, I realized that I hadn't asked for my room number - for this certainly looked like an apartment building or hotel.

If this is a hotel, I certainly wouldn't want to book it for my vacation.

Additionally, I noticed that the facade was covered in cracks and cobwebs. The authorities on the surface would likely have condemned it to demolition long ago, but I guess the building codes were more lax here.

With a deep breath, I climbed the stairs on four legs and came face-to-face with a door.

Normally I didn't have any trouble opening doors, but normally I didn't have four legs. So I had to leap upward with my paw outstretched in order to grab onto the knob and swing the door open…it was hard. Let's leave it at that.

On the inside, the building looked like a five-star hotel that had seen better days. A thick layer of dust covered the floor, and I felt the mother of all sneezes forming.

"A….a….achoo!" I sneezed, so powerfully that it practically lifted me an inch off the floor.

"Oh hey, buddy" announced a voice that was clearly intended to soothe me. "Not used to the conditions here, are you?"

With my itching eyes, I glanced at the creature who'd just entered the lobby. He (for I could tell he was male instinctively) was a four-legged Pokémon with a pitch-black body and red eyes. And then I recognized the species, my first thought being that they usually had yellow rings as opposed to white like this guy's.

"You're an Umbreon" I said weakly, before another sneeze rose within me and I surrendered to it.

"Well, yes" the Umbreon stated. "Why is that so surprising? We're all Pokémon here."

"Long story" I admitted, feeling my throat begin to itch. Soon, I was making those painful snarking sounds that are guaranteed to annoy anyone nearby within thirty seconds or less. Anything I could do to get relief, I would. "You don't happen to have Benadryl in here, do you?"

The Umbreon frowned. "Benadryl? What's that?"

"It's an allergy medication," I replied. "You can take it over the counter; it doesn't require a prescription. Do they have any in the medicine cabinet?"

"I'm afraid not," the Umbreon said sadly. "In fact, there is no medicine cabinet here. I'm afraid you'll just have to grin and bear it."

"Well, I can bear it," I remarked, "but I certainly won't be grinning anytime soon."

"It's like that for all the newcomers. Eventually, you'll get used to it, but you'll just have to suffer until then. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I responded. Really, it wasn't, but if it wasn't this Umbreon's fault that I'd see no relief from my allergies, there was no use lashing out at him over it. Maybe I would just have to grin and bear it.

"So what's your name?" the Umbreon enquired. "I'm Theseus."

My eyes widened. "Theseus! Like that creature from Greek mythology who fights the Minotaur?"

Theseus sighed. "We don't think too highly of the Greeks, or Greece, here."

"But why not? Their food is amazing! Haven't you ever had a good piece of baklava?"

The Umbreon grimaced. "Look, Shinx - ".

"My name is Owen."

"Whatever. In any case, Owen, you'll quickly find that we aren't big fans of humans here. I suspect something's different about you, and I won't rest until I find out what it is."

I must have been staring pretty hard, because Theseus sighed again. "Look. We've got a bed available. I'll take you to your room, which…well, it isn't much, but it's home."

Home is an upper-middle-class dwelling in Wildebush, New England with loving parents and plenty of food, as well as medicine for my allergies. And a brother.

But sure, Theseus. Sure.