The air here is suffocating enough to burn my lungs. Every breath hurts, and although it probably shouldn’t be this bad, I can feel my heart racing with the effort of the climb. Together with Liko and Roy, I drag myself along behind Friede, step by step and with occasional gasps.

  According to the tracker, Maqua hasn’t held back for long. It’s only been two days, but it feels like the mess with Professor Cozmo happened only hours ago. It’s a little surreal. Mainly because I can clearly perceive the days passing, because I’ve slept reasonably well the last two nights and because I can see the date changing now and then on my Rotom. In between, Friede has finally realised that I’m part of the Explorers. Somehow. So at least we’ve stopped avoiding each other.

  And that’s the only reason we can work together like this without me wasting another thought on escaping. My getaway isn’t half as important as stopping Maqua.

  Our path leads up Mt. Chimney; you can hardly breathe here, and the cold is slowly being replaced by unpleasant heat. Underneath the winter coat, it is unbearably hot by now. The active volcano here isn’t affected by the early months of the year. It defies this weather and literally invites you to wage a war against others. This is probably the perfect place to put an end to the machinations of these idiots from Maqua.

  When we are halfway up, the lift to the top smiles at us – a cable car that looks anything but safe but presumably carries a lot of people up there.

  A quick glance around confirms that we all agree. We need to get up there, to Maqua, and find out what they’re planning. So we enter the building to find ourselves face to face with an employee whose tense demeanour is hard to interpret. She doesn’t smile, just looks over at us and presses her lips together.

  Friede immediately bridges the distance. “Is everything all right?”

  She doesn’t hold back, shakes her head firmly and takes a shaky breath. “A few of those activists I’ve read about have turned up here. They wanted ... to get to the top of the volcano. That wasn’t a problem until they started arguing. I ... I wanted to call the police, but then they took my colleague with them.” She lowers her eyes. “They burnt her arm with a Magcargo to make sure I understood how serious they were. So ... they’re up there...”

  A sigh escapes my lips. I don’t want to think about it, would like to forget it, but it’s no longer a secret that some people not only treat Pokémon badly, they also use them for cruel deeds. Like little weapons that maybe should have some rules hammered down on them. The longer I’m out here, the clearer it becomes that not everyone should keep Pokémon. Not everyone deserves a partner by their side.

  “Can you bring us up there?” While Friede clears a path to the top, I dig my nails into my palm. I have to stay focused. Here and now, I can’t change anything about the way Pokémon are used.

  Meanwhile, the woman nods faintly before pushing us into one cabin and flipping a lever to send us up.

  It’s a bit cramped. Squeezed between Liko and Friede, I try to take a few deep breaths. But I don’t get to divert my thoughts before the adventurer at my side speaks up again.

  “When we get to the top, we’ll split into teams of two,” he starts. “Up there, one group takes the right side, the other goes to the left. When we bump into the people from Meteor Falls again, we’ll pass it on to each other. The Rotom Phone works here as usual.”

  ““Got it!”” The other two immediately give their approval. I remain silent.

  It’s obvious that I’m going with Friede. We are willing to work together, but there is no trust here. We make the best of the situation, and so no further words are needed to stay together as the cabin doors open.

  Liko and Roy immediately take the left side. Friede and I take the other. At least we hurry a few metres ahead, up a couple of stairs that lead us to the inner edge of the volcano. The heat here makes me break out in a sweat, and I have to open my coat to stop myself from losing my mind. But all this is nothing compared to the chaos that opens up as we reach the top of the stairway.

  Team Maqua is all over the place. Not in a good way, not out to stop others. They are fighting. Pokémon battles fill almost every corner. Poochyenas are raging at Numels. Slugmas burn fur, Zubats shriek, blood flows, and no one even glances in our direction.

  “What ... is going on here?” Frozen in place, neither Friede nor I manage to put one foot in front of the other. Nothing fits together. This fighting, this argument, is so out of place it’s hard to believe.

  But we can’t stay; we can’t ask questions. It’s obvious that all of this is in our favour. Still, I can barely avert my gaze, and not even the gentle pain in my palms helps.

  “Come!” Finally, Friede snaps me out of my observation. He has overcome his astonishment and forces himself forward. I have no choice but to gather composure and follow him. No matter how much I would like to have answers to these events, at this moment our goal is different. Besides, I can’t get any information if I’m rooted to the spot.

  Unnoticed, we chase towards a transparent platform that someone must have built to offer an attraction for the insane. Whoever voluntarily sets foot on such platforms must be world-weary – or belong to Maqua.

  The closer we get, the clearer the spectacle that the activists are putting on above the bubbling magma becomes. The sturdy man we met in Meteor Falls has grabbed someone by the collar. A guy who looks a lot more lanky, clawing at the arm of the person opposite him as if his life depends on it. Maybe it does, considering how close they are to the edge. Just one push and the thin figure in his red coat will fall to his death.

  We should help him, should intervene, but before we can reach them, the woman we’ve already beaten once gets in the way. Shelly. Another stranger crouches beside her, bent over and clutching a burnt arm tightly with one hand. She is pale as a sheet, and her eyes appear red-rimmed.

  “I was hoping you’d gone to hell in Meteor Falls.” Hands on her hips, she shakes her head. “You really have pathetically rotten timing, you realise that, don’t you?” She glances over her shoulder. “You can probably guess that Archie doesn’t have time right now. Neither does ... Maxie, who’s probably hoping he won’t be thrown over the edge.”

  “What’s caused you to argue?” The smile on Friede’s lips is clearly stiff. He’s probably trying to create a plan to move us forward here. One that’s very different from the one Amethio would have chosen. “I expected Maqua to have the same goal.”

  She laughs. Not heartily or amused. Instead, she sounds like a broken record, repeating the same wheezing sound several times. “In principle, we do. But the vision between us is slightly different. While we want more pure water, Maxie longs for more land. We can’t have both with our limited resources. So Archie has to make it clear who’s in charge here.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “And yet you don’t seem to agree.” Tilting his head, Friede crosses his arms in front of his chest. It doesn’t seem as if he’s interested in starting a fight. Instead, he is trying to be charmingly relaxed. He probably wants to show that we still have everything under control, even if we never had control over anything to begin with.

  Shelly notes this with a snort. “That doesn’t matter. Maxie can’t stand up to Archie. Anyone who wants to chase after that loser is welcome to do so. Team Maqua is history anyway. From now on, we’re Team Aqua. Those who long for clean water and thus more space for the Pokémon in the sea. So many creatures there are threatened with extinction because humans are polluting their habitats. Something has to change.”

  I can understand her, I really can. Helping the Pokémon is important. They should have a place that isn’t dirty and dangerous. When I think back to the mutated Wishiwashi, it’s far too easy to side with these people. But the violence they use remains wrong.

  “That’s a big goal,” Friede begins, and this time he reaches for a Poké Ball. “But I’d like to talk to Archie about it myself. So would you be good enough to let us through? Maybe you could even release your prisoner in the process.” This time his smile is genuine. He has a goal, he’s ready to act, and even though I’d like to admire him for it, there’s no time for us to fight together.

  “How about I have a chat with ... that woman? You devote yourself to Archie.” Determined, I reach for Raya’s ball. She’ll like the heat here. “I’ll join you when I’m done here.”

  “You little brat got a damn big mouth!” Shelly clicks her tongue loudly. “Fine. Send your lover to Archie and watch him get his ass kicked while I grab you by the hair and bring you to your knees.”

  Her face contorted into an ugly grimace, she sends her Mightyena into battle. Simultaneously, she nods disapprovingly at Friede, telling him to get lost. In her eyes, he probably doesn’t stand a chance against Archie.

  It is a reluctant moment in which the adventurer looks at me again, as if he wants to make absolutely sure that I can handle this. But he probably also realises right now that I’m part of the Explorers and know how to stay afloat. Amethio and the other two helped me. They’ve reached out to me and made something of my shitty skills, just like Diana.

  So Friede nods at me before running past Shelly and turning his attention to the two men on the platform.

  “I’m going to finish you today! Last time you had your boyfriend with you. Now it’s just the two of us.” Arching her back, she brushes a few strands of her long, wavy black hair out of her face. Her brown skin matches her surroundings, and the blue uniform makes her look like a drop of water in the middle of flickering flames.

  Part of me is sure that this fight will be hard. The rest of me wants to trust that she’s no match for me.

  “You should remember the name Shelly,” she adds immediately after her speech. “Because I’ll make sure you realise no one needs childish hero games.”

  Hero games. She’s probably not entirely wrong. After all, I always come to someone’s rescue when things are bad. Even worse, in Alola I saved Lillie’s mum because I wanted to help my friend and because I had to prove something to Amethio. Then I saved Unova from Ghetsis – because the heroine in me wanted to keep Natural safe. And now I’m sitting in Hoenn, standing up to a group of activists to make sure that nothing worse happens than a few break-ins and disturbed people.

  It’s insane. Ridiculous. Not right. My journey isn’t that of an aspiring professor, it’s that of a wannabe heroine. Shelly sees that. But she probably doesn’t understand how little I want to be in this position. The only reason I’m here is made up of unwanted circumstances and a bit of coercion. I can’t just turn around and walk away. That would be cruel. The strict opposite of what I want to be – can be. What normal person can do that?

  So instead of responding to Shelly’s words, I wave them off and let Growlithe go into battle. The only thing that matters to us is winning. Nothing else counts. As much as I hate to admit it, I trust Friede will get the rest under control.

  “Raya, flame burst!” Without further ado, I start our fight, and Growlithe’s tail wagging makes it clear how much she wants this battle.

  She puffs out her chest and spits a heated fireball towards Mightyena in the blink of an eye. Then another. The temperature rises, making my forehead sweat, and the Dark-type Pokémon doesn’t seem quite able to cope with the heat either. It dodges in gallant leaps, escaping the fireballs and also the spraying sparks that shoot off in all directions to disappear into the barren ground. Meanwhile, its nose quivers, detecting and recognising Raya with all her peculiarities and weaknesses. Odour sleuth isn’t a valuable skill if you don’t utilise the information, but it’s something that can turn a fight around if you know how.

  I have no choice but to stay alert. Ghetsis showed me that Raya can’t deal with quick counterattacks. He also showed me where I’m lacking as a trainer. This time we’ll overcome this problem. Together. Smarter than before.

  “Attack! Don’t give your opponent a chance to dominate this!” My hand snaps to the side at the same time as Growlithe leaps forward.

  She knows exactly what she can do, and as she charges towards Mightyena, her muzzle fills with fire. Flames flicker from beneath her lips, coming to the fore as she opens her mouth to bite.

  But her fire fang misses as Mightyena dodges in the last second. Raya’s teeth merely dig into her opponent’s puffy tail. A hit that prevents her enemy from fleeing further than necessary but which also brings an immediate counterattack.

  Before I can warn Raya, Mightyena is already whirling around – teeth bared. In the next second, it sinks its fangs deep into Growlithe’s ear.

  A yelp escapes my Pokémon as our opponent shakes its head and tears at her ear until something gives way. Something tears, blood sticks to fur, and my breath catches in my throat.

  I hate it. I hate these fights, the pain my team stumbles through, and also that I’m too slow over and over again. Still, I pinch the palm of my hand. Gritting my teeth and pulling through, no matter how bad things get, is all we have left.

  “Raya! Fight back!”

  My command is vague and the opposite of what I want to represent. Still, my Growlithe understands immediately. She isn’t surprised about me or my desire to do what needs to be done. Maybe it’s because she loves to fight. She savours her victories, and in these seconds, the pain she must feel spurs her on.

  She tears away from Mightyena with force – losing half her ear, which gets caught between the Dark-type Pokémon’s sharp teeth – and turns her head towards her opponent. Then she opens her mouth, swells her chest, gathers her heat and hurls a flamethrower directly into Mightyena’s face. A wry screech rings through to me. A mixture of howls and cries, between wailing and an unnatural scream. My whole body jerks, my shoulders shake, and it takes everything I have not to raise my hands and press them to my ears. The pulse in my chest hammers hard against my ribs. I want it to stop, not get any worse, but my wishes don’t matter here.

  As the fire dies down, Mightyena staggers back. Its fur is burnt, pink patches gleam, and bloody stains stand out on its muzzle and forelegs. Snarling, it lowers its head, ready to tear Raya to pieces, although its body trembles and its half-charred form reminds me strongly of the Lillipup I nearly killed back in Alola. But Mightyena is stronger than the little Pokémon from back then, and when it lets out a scream that settles on Raya as a gloomy snarl, I almost want to breathe a sigh of relief. Our opponent is still somehow okay. Not in the best condition, but still able to fight. That’s better than nothing.

  It’s laughable how twisted my thoughts are. I should be happier about my advantage. But my win is almost meaningless in the face of a Pokémon’s health.

  “Finish it!” Finally, I summon the last bit of courage in me. “Full force!”

  Raya obeys. She dares to jump back and takes a running start before throwing herself at her opponent with all her strength. Mightyena’s legs are so wobbly that it collapses like a house of cards on impact. It crashes to the side, snorts and no longer moves. It must be tired, and luckily for me, Shelly calls it straight back. She’s not like Ghetsis, and although she has a second Poké Ball with her, she doesn’t bother to continue the fight. She knows which of us is stronger. So she steps aside.

  “Go on then,” she snorts dismissively. “Archie will kick your ass in no time.”

  Instead of thinking about her words, I hurry over to Raya. A little healing powder mixed with water heals her ear as best as it can. A gap remains. No potion can restore what is missing. But the torn fur grows back within seconds, and the bleeding stops. The flesh grows shut. The pain has probably disappeared, and her dark eyes scrutinise me cheerfully.

  We don’t have time for a celebration. Still, I pet her briefly with praise before tucking her back into her ball and running towards Friede.

  The scene between the men has changed drastically in this short time. Maxie is now sitting on the floor next to Archie, and Charizard is facing a Muk. Loud laughter fills my ears, and as the leader of Aqua puts his hands at his sides while Friede takes a step back, it’s clear that we have to give it our all here.