"Donald, you're not coming?"
"Some Elon... Mr Anthony said I've got extra work today."
"And you agreed?"
"Yeah. At least I can earn a little more. Even with the scholarship, I've got a ton of expenses. Part-time jobs are the only way, man."
"Okay, but—wait. Shit, jump!"
"What—?"
"Oh fuck—truck!"
---
Kyle shot up from his bed, gasping for air.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to get his bearings. Sweat clung to his forehead.
"What the hell..." he muttered, wiping it off. "This dream again?"
Ninth night in a row.
He glanced at the clock on the side table, then reached over to flick on the light. The harsh glow filled the room, pushing away the shadows.
Grabbing the water bottle next to the clock, he drained it in one go. The plastic crackled in his grip. He exhaled slowly and set it back down.
"Is it some Pokémon's doing?" he murmured. "Maybe a Gengar..."
He knew how tricky and dangerous Ghost-types could be. Especially Gengar, mischievous, creepy, and not above messing with people's dreams.
A chill ran down his spine.
Without wasting a second, Kyle turned and scanned the entire room. His eyes moved from corner to corner, searching for anything strange. Any shadow that didn't belong. Any flicker of movement.
Nothing.
Just the usual.
"Am I just being paranoid... or is something really hiding out there?"
Kyle rubbed his arms, trying to shake off the chill that had nothing to do with temperature.
"Those dreams..." he muttered. "It's always the same. Two boys walking. Then a truck."
He frowned, eyes narrowing as the images played in his head again.
"One of them jumps out of the way. The other gets hit. The one who jumped... Elon. Yeah, that was his name. And the one who got hit—Donald."
He sat on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees, staring at the floor.
"But why? Why am I seeing this? I don't even know any Elon or Donald..."
His hands curled into fists.
"Unless... it's not a dream. What if it's a memory?"
Speaking aloud, Kyle paused, then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha... what the hell am I even thinking?"
He wiped a hand over his face, still chuckling, though there was no real humour in it.
"I'm seriously losing it. Memories from a past life? Really?" he muttered, shaking his head.
"It's probably because of Sam. That idiot made me watch The Bond Never Ends again."
He rolled his eyes.
"What a dumb concept... A trainer remembers his past life and sets out to find his old Pokémon? Yeah, right."
A scoff escaped him as he leaned back against the wall.
"And now here I am, wondering if I'm seeing my past life too."
BOOM.
"What the hell?!" Kyle jolted, heart skipping a beat at the sudden loud noise.
He instinctively turned toward the window, eyes wide.
Still half on edge, he quickly got up from the bed and stepped closer, parting the curtain just enough to peek outside.
Kyle's eyes widened.
"Is that... a Pokémon battle?"
He pressed both hands to the glass, breath fogging the window as his gaze locked onto the scene outside.
A Gliscor zipped through the night air with a piercing screech, claws gleaming in the moonlight. Its tail whipped behind it as it dived toward a waiting Sceptile, whose leafy blades glowed bright green.
"Whoa..." Kyle whispered, adrenaline kicking in as the clash unfolded before him like a scene from one of those late-night trainer broadcasts.
The Gliscor struck first. SLASH! A fierce X-Scissor attack.
But Sceptile sidestepped with incredible speed, landing on a streetlight post before launching itself back with a mid-air flip. Its Leaf Blade glowed brighter as it countered, striking sparks off Gliscor's claws with a sharp CLANG.
Kyle's heart pounded.
"This isn't just a battle... something's wrong."
Kyle's breath caught in his throat as he stared out the window.
The street lights flickered where Gliscor's wing had smashed through a power line. A mailbox was crushed. The sidewalk cracked where Sceptile's counterattack had missed and struck the ground.
"Wait... this is inside the city. Even if I'm near the border, it's still a regulated zone. Battles like this, they're not allowed here."
In Lumis City—hell, in any city—Pokémon battles were confined to designated fields, arenas, or registered gyms.
"No way this is official. And nobody's dumb enough to challenge city authority unless..."
A chill ran down his spine.
"...unless they don't care about the rules. Or they aren't part of the system."
His pulse quickened as Gliscor screamed through the night sky, claws glowing with an eerie, violet hue. Its tail whipped forward, aiming an aerial Slash directly at the rooftop of a nearby building.
"That's gonna hit!" Kyle gasped.
Chunks of concrete exploded from the impact. Smoke and sparks clouded the air.
"This is bad. I need to inform the authorities!" he muttered, spinning on his heel.
But just as he reached for his phone—
ROOAARRR!
A deep, guttural sound ripped through the night air. It wasn't Gliscor. It wasn't Sceptile.
Kyle's heart dropped.
Slowly, he turned back toward the window.
Above the battlefield loomed a Dragonite.
Its wings beat hard against the wind, struggling to stay aloft. But it wasn't just flying. It was thrashing, hands clutching the sides of its head like it was in agony.
"Wh-what the hell?" Kyle whispered, eyes wide. "Is it in pain...?"
The dragon's glowing black eyes locked onto the chaos below.
Suddenly, Dragonite let out another pained roar and reared its head back.
The energy around its mouth gathered fast.
Violent.
Blinding.
Kyle's eyes widened in horror.
"No, no, that's Hyper Beam!"
Before he could finish the sentence, the golden blast was already surging downward, pure destruction on a collision course with the street.
Kyle didn't think. His body moved on instinct.
He dove for the floor, scrambling across the wooden panels and rolling beneath his bed just as the world outside exploded.
BOOOOM!!!
The Hyper Beam struck with devastating force, like a god had hurled lightning from the heavens.
The shockwave shattered the night.
The rooftop above Kyle didn't stand a chance. Wood, tile, and concrete tore apart in an instant, blown inward like paper against a storm.
CRASH!!!
Debris rained down.
The ceiling caved in.
The bed, his only shelter, was slammed with rubble, shielding him for a precious second before everything went black.
****************
Template for kyle