[TartoonHand94]

This is all my fault. 

A Ninjask silently lamented, perched at the top of a withered tree at the edge of the thick jungle overlooking the beach. The solemn waves crashing against the shores of the Pokémon Cove echoed loudly in the distance.
They used to do this all the time, look up at the moon and stars together. Dreaming of what the earth must look like from up there, and whether someone might be enjoying the view just as well. But the stars were gone this night. The moon was alone. And so was she.
'Why could we not have turned to Were-Lycanrocs instead?' The Bug/Flying type sniffled hopelessly as she languished in self-imposed exile, helpless to change what had happened her. What she became. What she had turned him into. What he had done on her behalf.

Her gaze sank from the lone light in the sky to a bag dangling from her forearms. Inside was a collection of Pokéballs. She stared at them in a pensive crisis of what to do with them.
Among others, she carried Zekrom, the legendary Deep Black Pokemon, and Reshiram, the legendary Vast White Pokémon. Two almighty powers she once conspired to harness, now mementos of the atrocities she had committed while corrupted by power. Neither truths of how she acquired them were ideal: they were looted from the bodies of trainers once hers had finished them off.

What was she to do? Should she release these powerful Pokémon and tell them what happened? She couldn’t imagine any of them taking too kindly to hear her trainer killed their trainers. They might conspire to track him down, wherever he was, and return the favor. Let alone what they would do to her if she let slip that he did so under her manipulation.
The ever-present tide of guilt washed over her once more upon remembering that that was not even her intention. She wanted to dispose of her trainer without getting her hands dirty. She sent him after specific targets expecting them to slay him in self-defense. She’d then steal their Pokéballs while they were distracted. She had no expectation for him to succeed…repeatedly. Even when not himself, he always found ways to surprise her.
But then what was the alternative? Leave them trapped in their balls forever? Even in her corrupted state of savagery she knew this was unethical. Her goals when harnessing the power of Zekrom and Reshiram were to liberate all Pokémon, even if for selfish gain.
She closed the bag with a heavy sigh, still anxiously indecisive.

As if to let out another cry of despair, the Ninjask lifted its head just in time to see…A Fearow swooping in for the attack!

[TartoonHand94]

Being a Ninjask, a Bug/Flying type famous for their evasive abilities, she dodged the Fearow with a speed that made her invisible in the already dark treetops. She would have fled the scene entirely, had she not dropped the bag of pokéballs in the process! Circling around and diving down for them, she was flying right back into range of the Fearow, which took advantage.
She managed to snag the bag in mid-air, but its sudden weight kept her from completely dodging the Fearow’s talons, which scraped her, sending her tumbling to the ground where the contents of the bag spilled out.
Looking up, she could see the silhouette of the Fearow against the moon, gliding in an arc and coming in for another strike. Acting as quickly as she could, the Ninjask snatched the bag and scrambled to scoop up as many balls a she could find shining on the floor. Dodging for dear life, she was forced to let go again when the Fearow came screeching through.

Between gathering the pokéballs and surviving the Fearow attack, the two things occupying her mind at the moment, a third subject managed to squeeze its way into her thoughts: This must have been what his victims felt like. This new sensation of empathy, compounded with the guilt, the uncertainty and the fear for her very life, overwhelmed the Ninjask, who in her alternation between collecting and dodging began to emit a loud panicking cry. This gave her no help in hiding from the Fearow, who used this sound to track her despite her speed and the veil of darkness.

Through a dance of plucking, dodging, swooping and scraping to the tune of wailing anguish, the Ninjask had managed to assemble all the balls. She quickly stowed the bag in the hollow of the tree, when she was cornered. The Fearow’s talons clamped down on her carapace, squeezing a final shrill scream out of her. It had her now. It craned its neck, beak sharp like a dagger and thrust in…

…To receive a swift fiery kick in the back! (Drop Her!)
The Fearow squawked in alarmed pain, promptly releasing its grip. It turned around menacingly to find a Blaziken in fighting stance ready to throw down. Naturally livid that its dinner was interrupted, it used the Drill Peck it had prepared for the Ninjask on him. The Blaziken swiftly countered with a Brick Breaking hook to the side of its face, knocking them both out of the tree. The Ninjask took this chance to take cover.
The Blaziken landed on his feet, the Fearow less as gracefully and after staring each other down, they engaged in a violent series of pecks, punches, scratches and kicks. The trained Fire/Fighting type floored Normal/Flying type with ease, whom only now began to notice the burning sensation on its back. Was it on fire the whole time? In a squawk of panic, the Fearow flailed about and flew away in forfeit.
(And tell your friends Nintenda’s off the menu!) the Blaziken crowed in victory. (Speaking of which…)

(Ay Ninà! You up there?) A Ludicolo finally caught up with the action and called up to the tree the Ninjask was hiding in. (Nice job, by the way Clucks.)
(Yeah she’s up there, alright.) The Blaziken confirmed, too prideful to acknowledge the compliment. (Should I knock it down?) He suggested, setting his claw on fire, ready to fell the tree.
(I-I think you’ve done enough. Allow me~.) The Ludicolo urgently insisted. Knowing her the way he did, he could only imagine how lost and scared she must be feeling, so he elected to coax her out the best way he knew how: with song.

He began to gently drum on the bark of the tree, humming to find his key, and opened his bill to sing.

♪ “When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see” ♪

(...You can’t be serious.) the Blaziken mumbled. (He could not be serious...) the Ninjask mumbled in her hiding spot.

♪ “No I won't be afraid,
no I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me” ♪

Resist as she tried, the song struck a chord with the Ninjask, opening her heart with vulnerability.

♪“So darlin', darlin',
Stand By Me,
Woah Stand By Me
Oh Stand
Stand By Me,
Stand By Me.” ♪

He invited her back down in song.
Indeed, he knew her well. The song began to wear down on her defenses. Finally deciding to pop her head out to tell her team mate to knock it off, the Ludicolo stepped out of the way to reveal standing there, her trainer.

(M-Master?...)

[TartoonHand94]

♪ “If the sky that we look upon

Should tumble and fall

Or the mountains should crumble to the sea” ♪

There he stood, eyes wet and glistening in the light of the moon, picking up the song where his Ludicolo left off.

♪ “I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear

Just as long as you stand, 

Stand by me” ♪

He held his arms open for her, defying the lyrics by indeed crying as he pleaded for her to come back to him.

♪ “So Please, Nintenda,

Stand By Me

Woah Stand By Me

Come Stand

Stand By Me

Stand By Me” ♪

Crying as much as he was, Nintenda, with increasing speed, floated down into his tearful embrace.
(Master! I so sincerely sorry for everything that I had done to you! Turning you into a vampire, trying to get you slain! Making you slay the ones you loved-) Nintenda apologized in buzzes between her cries as they nuzzled, wetting each other’s faces with tears.
None of the specifics registered with Purple, but he understood the sentiment. It didn’t matter. He had already forgiven her anyway.

♪ “Whenever you're in trouble 

Just Stand By Me

Won’t you Stand By Me?

Float down and Stand By Me

Stand By Me” ♪

He finished the song, rocking her in his arms as Clucky and Kappineapple looked on. It didn’t matter that they were making faces either. This was their moment.
“Y’know guys? How’s about we stay out of the Mirage for a while huh? At least a month?” He lifted his head to propose to his team.
(Good call.) (Most definitely.) His Pokémon agreed. (It’s not like we’re missing anything in there anyway, right?)

Speaking of missing, Nintenda just remembered something and broke her hug with Purple. She quickly zipped back into the tree she was hiding in, and fetched the bag.
“Sweet Helix…These are...” Purple’s squinting eyes widened as he inspected the contents of the bag. “…Black, White and Blue’s Pokémon!” He lifted his stare to meet Nintenda’s.
“...We gotta give them back.” He firmly decided before reassuringly caressing her cheek, recognizing the guilt on her face. “Whatever happens, we’ll handle this. Together.”

Before they turned themselves in to the cops, Team Purple had a delivery to make at the Magical Girls Society Lodge. Even if they had a worse fate in store for him than jail, Purple and Nintenda were determined to set things right.

[End of Presence]