The sound of approaching voices cut through our peaceful morning. Three trainers were walking up the path, their voices carrying across the grassland that immediately caught both my and Mightyena's attention.

  "There! I told you I saw one."

  "An evil-type, just sitting out in the open like it owns the place."

  "Probably planning something. They always are."

  I frowned at the peaceful atmosphere being disturbed. Mightyena's ears flattened against her head, and I could see the tension in her body. The low growl that started rumbling in her chest told me everything I needed to know about how she felt about these three approaching people.

  The trainers were maybe my age, possibly a year or two younger. The one in front had spiky brown hair and wore a red bandana that he probably thought made him look cool. The girl to his left had blonde pigtails and a pink backpack covered in cute Pokémon pins. The third was a lanky kid with glasses who kept glancing nervously between his friends and us like he wasn't entirely sure this was a good idea.

  They didn't look particularly threatening individually, but there were three of them and they were walking with purpose. The kind of purpose that usually ended badly for someone in an anime.

  "Hey!" Bandana Boy called out as they got closer. "You can't just let that thing roam free around here!"

  I stood slowly, and Mightyena mirrored my movement. Her body dropped low, ready to spring if needed. Her lips pulled back in a snarl that exposed every one of her sharp teeth. The message was clear: back off.

  "She's not doing anything wrong," I said, keeping my voice level. "Matter a fact, she was rather relaxed until you three come over here."

  "Evil-types don't 'relax'" Pink Backpack sneered. "They're always plotting something. Everyone knows that."

  I had to bite back a laugh. These kids sounded like they'd gotten their Pokémon education from Saturday morning cartoons. Mightyena shifted beside me, her hackles rising further as the three trainers spread out slightly. Classic intimidation formation. Too bad they had no idea what they were dealing with. I put my hand in her way and I glanced at her seeing her take a single step back her eyes flicking from them to my hand.

  "Look, we don't want any trouble," I tried, though I could feel my own patience wearing thin. "We were just about to leave anyway."

  "Oh, you're leaving all right," Glasses said, trying to sound tough but his voice cracking slightly. "After we show you what happens to trainers who think they can terrorize innocent people with their evil Pokémon."

  That did it. The last thing I needed was three wannabe heroes deciding I was some kind of villain because of the type of Pokémon I had. Mightyena's growl deepened, and I looked at her again. She hadn't moved from her spot but her irritation was definitely building. Was she reacting to my own annoyance?

  "You really want to do this?" I asked, looking back at them. Though I already knew the answer from the way they were reaching for their Pokéballs.

  "Taillow, go!" Bandana Boy threw his ball first.

  "Zigzagoon, time to be a hero!" Pink Backpack followed.

  "Seedot, let's show them justice!" Glasses completed their dramatic entrance.

  I had to physically cover my mouth with the hand not in front of Mightyena to keep from laughing out loud. A Taillow, a Zigzagoon, and a Seedot. Three first-stage Pokémon that looked like they'd barely seen a day of real training, going up against a fully evolved angry Pokémon.

  This was going to be a massacre.

  The irony wasn't lost on me either. They'd brought a Seedot, a Grass-type that would evolve into Grass/Dark Nuzleaf, and then to Shiftry. Using that to fight against the "evil" of Dark-types. Glasses here wasn't exactly the brightest blub in the closet.

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  "You sure you want to do this?" I asked one last time, though Mightyena was already tensing for action.

  "Attack!" all three shouted at once. With a sigh I moved my hand and jumped to the side.

  The Taillow came in first, diving toward Mightyena with a Peck attack. She stepped forward and let out a huge Roar, Taillow got flustered and lost focus out of fear. Taking that chance she leapt at the bird catching it in her jaws with a vicious Bite. She shook her head and tossed the bird to the side. It twitched once and went still clearly unconscious.

  The Zigzagoon tried to circle around for a Tackle, but Mightyena was already moving. Charging with her own Tackle. She followed up with another Bite that lifted the raccoon Pokémon clean off the ground before tossing it in a heap next to the Taillow also unconscious.

  I could see something change in Mightyena's eyes after the second knockout. She was getting faster, more aggressive. Moxie, the ability that boosted a Pokémon's attack power each time they knocked out an opponent. She was getting stronger with each victory, and angrier too. I might have to stop her soon, I put my hand on her Pokéball and watch carefully.

  The Seedot, to its credit, tried to use Bide to absorb damage and strike back. It never got the chance. Mightyena's Bite attack connected with strength and viciousness, the acorn Pokémon actually bounced when it hit the ground as it was tossed to the side landing by its fellow Pokémon.

  Three knockouts in less than thirty seconds. The trainers stared in horror at their unconscious Pokémon, then at Mightyena, who was now looking directly at them with those glowing eyes and bared fangs.

  "No," I said firmly when I saw her muscles tense. "Enough!"

  Mightyena's head snapped toward me, and for a moment I wasn't sure she'd listen. The Moxie boost had her riding high on adrenaline and victory. These three had threatened us, and in her mind, the threat wasn't eliminated until they were down too. That however wasn't right.

  "Enough," I repeated, putting more authority in my voice. "They're done."

  She held my gaze for several long seconds, then gradually straightened out of her attack stance. The growl didn't stop, but she stayed where she was.

  The three trainers were backing away now, pulling out their own Pokéballs to recall their defeated Pokémon. Pink Backpack girl was crying, and Glasses looked like he might throw up. Bandana Boy was trying to maintain his tough-guy act, but his hands were shaking as he fumbled with his Pokéball.

  "This isn't over," he said, though his voice lacked any real conviction. "When Officer Jenny hears about this..."

  "She'll hear that three trainers attacked someone who was minding his own business," I interrupted. "And that their Pokémon got hurt because they picked a fight they shouldn't have ever started. Nor was it a fight they could have hoped to win. The three Pokémon that look like they were house pets or hardly have had any battle experience at all. You sent them against a Mightyena that was wild just yesterday... Damn foolish."

  The truth was, I felt bad for their Pokémon. They'd just been following orders, thrown into a fight their trainers should have known they couldn't win. But I wasn't about to let these kids think they could bully people just because they didn't like their Pokémon types.

  "Get out of here," I said. "Take your Pokémon to the Center and think about how stupid you just were."

  They didn't need to be told twice. The three of them practically ran back toward town, stumbling over each other in their haste to get away from Mightyena's still-glowing eyes.

  I waited until they were out of sight before sitting back down in the grass. Mightyena remained standing for a few more minutes, watching the direction they'd gone, before finally settling down beside me. The aggressive energy was still there, but it was fading gradually.

  "Well," I said, running a hand through my hair, "that went about as well as I expected."

  Mightyena huffed, a sound that might have been agreement, or just leftover adrenaline wasn't sure which. Her eyes were still bright from the Moxie boost, and I could see she was having trouble coming down from the battle high.

  "You did good," I told her. "Could have been worse if you hadn't listened."

  She looked at me, and I swore I could see something like understanding in her expression. We both knew what could have happened if she'd gone after the trainers themselves. Those kids were idiots, but they didn't deserve to get mauled by an angry Pokémon.

  The peaceful atmosphere was definitely over though. Word would spread about this, probably with some lies and rumors about how vicious and unprovoked the attack had been. By tonight, half the town would probably think I was some kind of criminal who used my "evil" Pokémon to terrorize innocent trainers.

  "So much for keeping a low profile," I muttered, gathering up our things. "Come on, we should probably move on towards Petalburg... Route 102 might be a bit quieter."

  As we walked back toward the main path, I couldn't help but think about what just happened a bit more. Was I going to have to expect this everywhere I went? What really is the difference between pissing off a Ursaring and pissing off a Mightyena? Both are territorial... Both could kill you if they really wanted. They were both just Pokémon at the end of the day.

  This place was starting to feel less like the idealized Pokémon world I'd grown up imagining and more like somewhere with real world problems. Problems that someone like me, a Displaced person with an "evil" Pokémon, was apparently going to keep running into whether I wanted to or not.

  Mightyena stayed close as we walked, she was a lot closer now. Seemed she was taking care of watching for any other unwanted confrontations. I reached out and lightly scratched behind her ears. I saw her tail wag and shook my head. A dog was a dog at the end of the day. They want attention and are protective of their humans.