“What are you doing here?” Milo snapped, feeling his face go pink with rage. Of all the people, it was Redd. He balled his hand into a fist, dreaming of wiping the smirk off his former teammate’s face.

  “Who are you again?” Redd asked, a mocking grin on his face. “You must be the new boy next door—“

  “You know exactly who I am.”

  “Meelo?” Redd asked, tilting his head in mock thought. “Miles? More like Miles behind! I’ve already got a Ledimon and a map. You won’t have to worry about your stupid card, Milo, because I’m going to have a whole team of Ledimon strong enough to bury yours.”

  “As if!”

  “And I won’t have to share any of it with you,” Redd snapped, the grin fading from his face. “We’re starting from square one here—no grown-ups to drag us to practice, no special coaches, nothing.”

  “You’re not going to catch anything good with your crappy swing,” Milo said. “You might as well get used to losing—like you did on the field.”

  The words seemed to hit Redd like a blow, and for a moment, he stood there, his cheeks going pink. Then he launched himself at Milo. Milo tumbled into the dirt, his back scraping against the rocks, and brought his bat up to keep Redd away. Redd grabbed at it, trying to bring his fist to Milo’s face, but Milo fended him off. Redd’s face came through in glimpses, wild-eyed and, well, red. Just when Milo was about to throw him off and give him what had been coming to him for a while, he heard Professor Fir’s voice overhead.

  “Boys, boys!” Large hands pried Redd away from him, and then helped Milo to his feet. Milo took a moment to collect himself, checking that his Lediballs were in one piece—especially the one with Shadowfox inside. Those were all good. What wasn’t good was his pride. Why hadn’t he slugged Redd with his bat? He wasn’t much of a fighter, but surely he could have done better than that.

  “I apologize for my grandson Redd,” Professor Fir said, ushering the boys towards a red-roofed industrial building with metal siding. “He’s been rather forgetful lately—it’s possible he confused you with another neighbor he’d been having a bit of a spat with.”

  “Like hell,” Milo muttered under his breath. Redd, still pink from the fight, stared straight ahead, ignoring Milo and Fir both.

  What was his deal anyway? Milo couldn’t figure it out. Jealousy was one thing, but Milo hadn’t even wanted to compete in Little League. If anything, Milo was jealous of Redd. But Redd, it seemed, had harbored more resentment towards Milo than a single Pocketeer card had been worth. Milo had never particularly gotten along with the other boy, but he’d been a teammate for years. They bickered and fought, but there was no real time for animosity on such a competitive team.

  Still, it had felt good to bring Redd down a peg.

  “Let me show you boys something to cheer you up,” Professor Fir said, leading them into a large glass door. Milo stepped inside and briefly forgot about his argument with Redd at all.

  The walls were lined with colorful books, Lediballs—not just of his red and white variety, but of several other variations—and strange machinery, a whirl of tubes and glowing buttons. Many of the Lediballs pulsed faintly, obviously occupied in the same way that Shadowfox’s ball was. The ceilings were high, and a metal walkway lining the room was occupied by other men wearing lab coats, working away at computers.

  Milo had to remind himself to close his mouth. “What is this place?” He asked.

  Professor Fir smiled, putting his hands on his hips. “My lab, of course! We study Ledimon here.” He gestured at them again, leading them over to a table where a few Lediballs sat occupied, glowing faintly red, green, and blue.

  Redd went to snatch at one, but Professor Fir caught his hand, lightning-quick, his eyes stern. “You’ll get your chance, Redd, but since you were the first one to swing, Milo gets to pick first.”

  “But—“

  “Maybe you’ll think through your actions next time before attacking your new neighbor.”

  Redd sulked away in a huff, his arms crossed, his face somehow more pink. But Milo was elated. I get to pick my very first Ledimon? He thought, his hands shaking with excitement. Catching one had been incredible enough, but starter Ledimon had to be powerful—maybe even more powerful than the Shadowfox he’d captured.

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  “Your choice, Milo,” Professor Fir said. “Take your time.”

  Milo nodded solemnly, inspecting each Lediball carefully. He started at the blue one on the far left, peering inside, some of his brown curls falling in his face as he did so. Whatever it was, he hadn’t seen its card before. In fact, he had to hide a laugh as he looked at the thing.

  Definitely not picking that one, he thought. The only way to describe it was a giant chicken. It was okay, he guessed. Some of the girls he knew back home might have called it ‘cute’ but Milo wasn’t interested in cute—he wanted something powerful.

  The next ball was much more interesting. It glowed green, and inside there was a tiny green and white bear curled in on itself. It was a little too cute for Milo, but he’d read about bears in school. He knew what they could do—what they would become if they were allowed to get big and strong. That little bear could probably do some serious damage.

  Finally, Milo checked the last Lediball, frowning. It was…a cat. A pink cat, no less. Besides its strange marbled coloring shifting faintly in the pink fur and the stumpy tail, it looked like an ordinary house cat. Ordinary, boring, and way too cute for his needs.

  Milo was halfway to dismissing it when something occurred to him—the glowing colors of the Lediballs. If those are the types, he thought, then I should try to make sure I get a type I want. But, more than that, he realized he could use them to his advantage.

  His first instinct was to choose Grassbear, as he’d dubbed it in his mind. It seemed like the best pick overall. But there was a laughable candidate on the table too—Bigcluck. If he could get Redd to somehow pick the oversized chicken, he’d already have a huge advantage. If for no other reason than he could name it something stupid like Bigcluck.

  He glanced at the Lediballs again, a plan forming in his mind. If I pick Grassbear, he’ll for sure pick the Magic…cat…thing…the Magicat, Milo thought, scanning the balls. But if I go for Magicat, he’ll probably pick Bigcluck just to have a type advantage.

  It was possible the oversized chicken would be useful somehow, but Milo didn’t think so. And besides that, he had a good feeling about Magicat. It almost looked like an opal shimmering in its ball. He couldn’t be sure, but he couldn’t help but think that the little flame-type was hiding a big secret.

  Smiling, he picked up the Lediball and felt it grow warm in his hands. “I choose this one,” he said, then tried naming the Ledimon again. “Magicat.”

  “Magicat is a great choice,” Professor Fir said with a nod of approval and no comment on Milo’s name. Redd’s reaction was immediate. He lunged for the blue ball.

  “I want this one—“

  “Bigcluck,” Milo finished, trying not to laugh.

  “Of course,” Professor Fir said. “Bigcluck! Another excellent pick.”

  Redd whirled on Milo. “How did you do that?” He snapped under his breath. “He won’t even tell me what they’re called when I ask.”

  Milo gave a little innocent shrug, feeling better already. He had the Ledimon he wanted, Milo had a stupid one with a stupid name, and he was going to easily be the next champion of the Ledimon League. He still had no idea how he’d gotten here—or how Redd had, for that matter—but it didn’t seem important. What was important was that he could finally live out his dream. And, in some way, Redd’s presence made it that much more real.

  Grinning, he clutched his Lediballs close to his chest. “Let me get you boys each a bag for the journey and a Lediwik,” Fir said. “Can’t leave home without one!” Humming, he disappeared into the back of the lab, leaving Milo and Redd alone.

  Milo let the silence hang for just the briefest moment, then blurted out a question.

  “How did you—“

  “When did you—“

  “There was this ball and—“

  “—a big light and then you were gone.”

  Milo blinked at Redd—so obviously he had no idea why they were here either, given his confusion. Then he scowled at the other boy. “You almost took my face off,” he said, rubbing at his bruised cheek.

  “And I’ll do it again,” Redd said. “Would have already done it if there weren’t grown-ups around.” His eyes fell on the lab techs overhead, most buried in their work, but some at least a little aware of the two boys in their midst.

  “Why?” Milo asked, flabbergasted. “What did I ever do to you? We don’t even know why we’re here.”

  “Because,” Redd replied, his voice low and dangerous. He closed in on Milo, using his height to loom over him. Milo gritted his teeth and didn’t back down. He wouldn’t be intimidated by Redd of all people. It was just his teammate. And yet there was something in his eyes that Milo hadn’t seen before—a sort of bitter hatred that he’d only seen in flashes before, when Milo had hit a ball a little too well or pulled a card Redd had wanted desperately. “I might have had to share the field with you back home, but I’m not gonna do it here, Milo. Maybe you’ll have an accident, or maybe another good swing will send you back home. Whatever it takes, I’m going to make sure you don’t steal the show here.”

  “That’s insane,” Milo snapped. “You don’t even know why we’re here, or how to get back home.” In truth, he didn’t really want to go back home, but he wasn’t about to let Redd know that.

  “Give me that Ledimon,” Redd said, holding out his hand. Milo leapt back, snatching the ball out of Redd’s reach.

  “No way!”

  “Fine,” Redd said, pulling his own Lediball out. “I’ll fight you for it myself.”

  “You’re on,” Milo said, and tossed out his own Lediball.