Uncontained

Florence and I took a liking to Summer immediately.

Czeslaw was kind of indifferent, and Uriah despised her. When we'd walk around, Summer would pick flowers and turn them into necklaces to all the Pokemon. Isaac loved them and Florence started making them with her. After the third necklace she'd given me I was kind of done and Uriah burned his. Foolish indulgences, he'd growled.

When she gave Czeslaw a necklace, he blushed and it was about the funniest thing I'd ever seen.

We set out to Vermillion soon enough. We had to go out of the city the back way since we couldn't get past the fence. We passed a house that had been broken into by Team Rocket. The windows were smashed and profanity was spraypainted on the walls. All their flowers had been trampled and the door hung crooked off the hinges. It made a memory of my house flash through my mind and I didn't like it. I didn't think we'd see the crook, though.

I stopped dead in my tracks. A guy wearing all black with the signature red "R" on his shirt was skulking around the trees beyond the house. He had a cell phone and was beating it like he was trying to get it to work. Something fierce boiled inside me.

Florence pressed her soft face into my hair and shivered. Czeslaw looked at me. What are you going to do? he rumbled.

"Isaac, come on," I said. "We're going to give him a piece of my mind."

Isaac peeped confidently and I stalked forward.

The Rocket hardly noticed me. "Hey!" I shouted. He snapped his head up. "I want some answers from you!"

"What do you want from me?" he sneered. "I ain't done nothing!"

"I want to know where your boss is," I demanded. "I'm willing to use force if I have to."

Isaac stepped forward. I'd picked him because I knew he was a good fighter and that I could count on him, but as soon as he went in front of me, he began to glow. Isaac surged bigger, the plates on his back sprung out, and his talons glimmered, suddenly wicked sharp. Isaac was a dangerous sandslash. I honestly was as surprised as the Rocket.

"Fuck," he hissed.

"You'd better call your boss up and tell him a guy named Beau has a problem with him," I said. I was incredibly happy Isaac grew more badass at that moment; it worked with the moment like an action movie. "And you'd better tell me where your headquarters are or I'll fucking beat the shit outta you."

He blanched and I felt a sadistic thrill. But then he said, "Look, I don't have time for this shit, I've just got to get back to my squad." And suddenly, smoke blasted everywhere.

My lungs seized and I coughed madly. When the smoke cleared, I realized he was gone. "DAMN IT!" I screeched.

Uriah was suddenly by my side. You could've had a better approach.

"Fuck off." Then Isaac turned to me. His dark, dewy eyes looked a bit sad. "It's fine, Isaac, we can get him next time. But you evolved, so that's a good thing."

He burbled unhappily. Then I realized the shredded remains of his flower necklace were in his talons. They'd snapped off once he grew bigger.

Summer croaked. I assumed that meant she'd make him another one.

"Aw come on," I said. "Let's keep going."