[Pokémon] Mentor (PG-14)

December Review

Here I am. December review!

Look, Dagzar, you have done quite a good job and have kept me going around, reading this thing three times or four. And your characters are interesting. Plus there's a Sandshrew. Things like these make spending my time here worth it.

This particular chapter had some more easily detectable error though. That, or I'm getting better at grammar. They were not big mistakes, mostly tense typos. The writing seemed a bit rushed at times because of some choices of paragraph breaking that I found strange, but the plot and the pace themselves ran again at a respectable and natural 1x speed and without problem.

Also, Mary Sue... :D

Let me see if I can find some minor things to help...

Danny said:

"Since when? She's always likes battling me."

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Wrong persons I think. It would be just "She" or a "liked" (which would sound strange out of itself).

Leah said:

I'm fifteen; he probably think I'm an experienced trainer with five years under my belt.

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"Thinks", I thinks...

The only hope she could hold onto was that Supersonic would ware off soon

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Wear off.

Leah said:

How do they beat gym leader so easily?

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There's either a "the" or an "s" for "leaders" missing, I think. Also, that reminded me of something I'm going to bring up later.

Danny said:

Danny shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. He paused. "Wait, 'she'? The person who was selling the eggs was a man."

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Missing end quote.

The other errors were like this: mostly apparent typos and easier to detect. They also appeared far more sparingly (in particular during the last battles).

Now, as for plot, you know I like the direction you are turning this story. The whole concept of the Mentors sounds nice and I feel like borrowing the idea and dandy, and quite occlusive to what would have to be the eyes of the 15-year-olds assigned with such tasks. This made interesting the whole free-thinking Leah did after she lost. I think she knew where her thoughts were heading into when she took note that Gym Leaders would take easy on kids, considering what she saw from Lorelei and (possibly) what strange occurrences have been chained together, with strange implications, since the battle against Koga. I'm still thinking about the forms and also the fact that the Gym Leaders used their Pokémon the way they did. Even against Leah.


And you gave some nifty battle screen time to Sands!!!!!!! *hearts*. Now, I expected her to lose if she sent out Sands to battle, since Surge would have had, what, Magnemite or worse, Raichu? But I didn't expect the battle to be carried out by having Leah doing what essentially amounted to mentally agotating herself. She commanded Sands in a slightly rash and reckless manner, not in terms of not giving him good commands (she did instruct him to use Swift after all), but rather in that Leah seemed to abandon herself to the illusion that Sands would have been better trained. I mean, it looked like she practically sent him to do scratch damage and see if Sands could annoy his opponent to surrender.

And that reminded me of a fact that I had pretty much forgotten about this story. For too long to count, Leah hasn't been a Trainer. Sands hasn't been in situations where he had to do as he did here since what, Danny's first battle? All his other battles were technically easier. Despite being 15 years old, Leah seemed to expect the world to see her in the same wey they did see her charges. She lacks in battle judgment, and that cost Sands dearly.

I flinched with the image of Leah having to feel her way around Sands' body because of his pain to the point she finally opted to simply return him to the Poké Ball, by the way. It seemed to me that Sands was more in pain out of the consequences of the confusion itself rather than the electric attacks.


I can see, however, that this defeat sparked two very important behaviours in Leah that could signify a big development for her. For once, even though her battle judgment was lacking, her ability to stand aside and measure the situation seems to have improved. Since the time Leah and Sands intervened in Lorelei's battle, one of the most imnportant factors that contributed to Danny's defeats (even in this last battle with Zee at her side) was that she was looking at the things happening with a vision broad enough that she left herself have the last word. Here she recalled Sands and forfeited the battle when she had to; not a moment later, not a moment earlier. Her encounter with Blue at the S.S. Anne evolved in the same manner in the way how and when she sent out her Pokémon. More recently against Danny, she knew to take advantage of Zee fighting her way for herself. That Danny saw through it is another matter. I think Leah has pretty good life judgment, on par or maybe better than other trainers her age (seeing that she almost acted the Giovanni way at S.S.Anne); what she lacks is simply battle experience.

The second thing was that with Sands's defeat she showed not only genuine concern for him but also a genuine concern for the battle. Maybe too much, as she let herself be betrayed by what I trhink was excess thought. This was expressed in tenacious and beautiful terms as well, with the whole point of Leah trying to have him imitate her, not being able to backpedal on Swift (and not remembering key information about Sands as to realize what would happen if the commanded him to "throw out something") or finally herself taking a nap, and evaluating her future after-Mentor with a glint of, i think, shame. Cute as he is, I think it was a good think to have Sands beaten up as he ended to finally connect the things Leah has been doing this time. Don't let that happen again. :badsmile:

In summation, this chapter has provided for an important amount of character development for Leah, and also some for Sands and Zee (and we finally get do discover her battle style). Ed got some chdev as well, and I can only think of the true consequences of Surge calling him out on whatever he did. Also, DannyLeahShipping. Although I don't like the idea, I have to admit they enjoy each other in a very... particular and not exactly platonic way.

Which reminds me... where is the Fire Stone?

Kudos for Sands taking his paws to his ears as if trying to say "Wait, what?".

Well, I think I finish the review here. This may be the last this year, unless the next chapter comes next week, since I won't be here during the last week of the year (family celebrations). Compliments to you then for this work and I hope you continue to exhaust yourself for a loooooong time. :laugh:

Wow. WOW. That was one good chapter. I didn't notice anything that was a grammatical error, but this made me laugh:
Quote:
Who did she think she was? Mary Sue?

I'm an RPer, so naturally the Mary-sue reference made me laugh.

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Thanks! Haha, yeah, I liked that line too; Mary Sues are always such fun to play around with!

This particular chapter had some more easily detectable error though. That, or I'm getting better at grammar. They were not big mistakes, mostly tense typos. The writing seemed a bit rushed at times because of some choices of paragraph breaking that I found strange, but the plot and the pace themselves ran again at a respectable and natural 1x speed and without problem.

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I knew some mistakes were going to rear their ugly heads since this chapter gave me a bit of trouble. I'll go correct them right away.

The only hope she could hold onto was that Supersonic would ware off soon

Wear off.

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I knew it! See, I noticed this error, but I just couldn't decide which one it was. So, instead of Google-ing it or something, I decided to be lazy and just hope someone would point it out. Which someone did. Yay!

And you gave some nifty battle screen time to Sands!!!!!!! *hearts*. Now, I expected her to lose if she sent out Sands to battle, since Surge would have had, what, Magnemite or worse, Raichu? But I didn't expect the battle to be carried out by having Leah doing what essentially amounted to mentally agotating herself. She commanded Sands in a slightly rash and reckless manner, not in terms of not giving him good commands (she did instruct him to use Swift after all), but rather in that Leah seemed to abandon herself to the illusion that Sands would have been better trained. I mean, it looked like she practically sent him to do scratch damage and see if Sands could annoy his opponent to surrender.

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Yeah, I chose Magnemite for that purpose (I didn't want to use Raichu because that's basically just using a Pikachu and Ed already faced one). With Magnemite, there would be absolutely no way Sands would win, no matter how much luck Leah had on her side (unlike the battle against Danny, where he was supposed to win, but it accidently played out that Leah just couldn't lose. <_<).

Cute as he is, I think it was a good think to have Sands beaten up as he ended to finally connect the things Leah has been doing this time. Don't let that happen again.

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Don't worry, I'll take good care of Sands in future chapters. Maybe. <_<

Also, DannyLeahShipping. Although I don't like the idea, I have to admit they enjoy each other in a very... particular and not exactly platonic way.

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I didn't mean to put in shipping elements, seriously. One minute, I was writing the end of the chapter, no problem, and then I suddenly spot the random romantic vibes that were chiming throughout the scene. There's going to be no romance in this fic except for vague subtext, but the story doesn't seem to want to follow my orders anymore. Luckily, Danny won't be appearing for a while, so that means I'll have plenty of time to force the story in line.

Which reminds me... where is the Fire Stone?

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It'll be in the next chapter, I swear! Please don't hurt me! *cowers*

Well, I think I finish the review here. This may be the last this year, unless the next chapter comes next week, since I won't be here during the last week of the year (family celebrations). Compliments to you then for this work and I hope you continue to exhaust yourself for a loooooong time.

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Heh, I'll be updating this week for sure (the next chapter is already pretty much done). If I don't hear from you again, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Years! Exhaust myself? *looks at the plan for the remaining fifty-one chapters* … Eh, my fingers are probably going to fall off by the time that's done.

-


It was cold that morning, the sun nowhere in sight as clouds had taken over the sky. Autumn had overcome summer, displaying its power with its chilled winds and yellow leaves amongst the green of the forest. Any usual kid would be sleeping in their warm beds at such an early hour, or even in a sleeping bag, which certainly couldn't replace a bed.

But he wasn't an ordinary kid. Sitting away from his sleeping bag, he leaned against the broad trunk of a tree, his breath coming out as pale mist.

"Evolve?" Ed blurted out, trying to stay quiet, holding the cell phone tightly to his ear. "Already?"

"The symptoms you've told me suggest that," William replied, sounding amused at his brother's outburst. "It's not that unbelievable. Paras evolves into Parasect around the middle of level two and I'd be surprised if your Pokemon weren't there by now."

Glancing down, Ed took in the image of his wayward Pokemon that sat silently on the grass, hardly able to believe it.

The idea of evolution was one that Ed didn't think of much. He knew that Paras would eventually evolve, but not so soon. It hardly seemed so long ago that he got Paras at Professor Oak's lab. The prospect of his first Pokemon evolving was one that he struggled to wrap his mind around, despite much evidence pointing towards that conclusion.

Ever since he, Ally and Leah had left Vermillion City, Paras had been acting weird whenever he came out of his Pokeball. Even without Ed commanding it too, Paras would randomly use Stun Spore or Poison Powder for no reason at all. The displays always seemed accidental, like Paras couldn't help it.

At the time, Ed didn't care that much, thinking that his Pokemon was just playing around, but now, physical symptoms were starting to develop. Ever since he got Paras, the bug-type had two mushrooms on its back, both about the size of a fist. But that had changed recently as a third was developing at the base of one of the old ones and the beginning two had grown rapidly in the past couple of days, swelling to twice their size.

"But I haven't even been training him that much," Ed said, thinking. He had mostly stuck to training Coralie, since the transforming Pokemon was more fun to train. With it, he didn't need to stick to boring attacks like Scratch and Leech Life. He could get his Ditto to transform into any Pokemon that was around!

"It's just Paras' time," his brother said. "Pokemon don't need to be in the thick of battle to evolve. Actually, until Paras evolves, you should stop using him to battle. Evolution is a stressful time and battling would just add to that and might cause complications."

"I thought battling would help evolution along?" Ed asked, his ears picking up the quiet sounds of the forest, of the small chirps and sounds of Pokemon.

He had left Ally and Leah about ten minutes ago to talk to William in privacy. Well, he didn't really need to find some place quiet because both of his travelling companions were still asleep and probably wouldn't wake up if he talked loudly. Still, Leah would definitely be angry if he woke her up, especially if she caught him using her cell phone. The previous evening, Leah had banned him from using it since he was really wasting its power with his constant talks to William.

Which totally wasn't fair! He hardly ever got to talk to his brother anymore because he was always so busy and tended to forget when he had free time. Leah probably only said that so she could make him miserable, like she always did. Because of her ban, he had to wake up early just so he could steal her phone.

"Only for some Pokemon," William was saying when Ed zoned back in. "And that's still not healthy for them. Pokemon who evolve in the midst of battle tend to have personality changes."

"What's so bad about that? It could be good."

"Not really. Pokemon like that become aggressive and defiant. Most of them are usually released since they become too wild for a trainer to handle."

Ed smiled slightly, running his finger along one of Paras's mushrooms, feeling the slight fuzz. Paras shot him a glare, not liking the sensation, and wiggled until Ed pulled his hand back.

"I can't see Paras being wild," Ed admitted. "He's too… lazy for that."

"You'd be surprised," William said, and Ed could imagine his brother smirking as he delivered a fun fact. "It's not very well known, but Parasect can be very territorial and dangerous. Their Spore is a very potent sleeping powder that'll put all humans and most Pokemon to sleep."

"Alright." Ed rolled his eyes, giving in. "I won't battle with Paras until he evolves."

"Good. Also, since Paras is really close to evolving, I'd advise that you keep Paras out of his Pokeball. Pokeballs keep Pokemon from evolving and it can be really uncomfortable if a Pokemon had to hold its evolution in."

"I didn't know there were so many rules to evolving," Ed admitted. At least there weren't many of them…

William chuckled. "Yeah, but you'll get used to it. Actually, I don't think you have to worry that much. From what you've told me, the evolution won't take much longer. Paras will probably evolve today, even."

"That'd be cool!"

"Yeah, evolution is definitely something to behold." William paused. "By the way, how did your gym battle with Surge go other than 'great'? You hung up pretty quickly the last time we talked."

Ed's heart sunk and wished the question never came up. He didn't really want to talk about the gym battle with Surge. He had won, but he knew that Will wouldn't like the way he won.

"It was different," Ed said at last, wondering if he should leave out any details. He really didn't want Will mad at him…

"How so?"

"There was a five-minute time-limit, so I really had to hurry. Coralie was great, though! It transformed into Pikachu and I could hardly keep up with the battle! They were moving so quickly!"

William laughed. "Pikachu are really fast. How'd you win the battle overall?"

"… Coralie used Double-Team and confused the other Pikachu," Ed said and then continued quickly, "Then Coralie used Slam a few times and it was all over!"

"Interesting strategy," William said. "Well, I'm glad you won. That's three badges down and five more to go. You're almost halfway to the Indigo Tournament!"

Ed grinned. "I can't wait! I remember when you battled in it. Your battles were amazing!"

"I'm surprised you can still remember them, you were only five at the time."

"I remember when you totally squashed that Pidgeotto with Martini. You shot it right out of the sky!"

"Only after a lot of hard work; that Pidgeotto was pretty fast and it took a bit of mind reading to catch it," William said. "Too bad I lost in the next match, though. No matter how strong Martini's psychic abilities were, there was no way he could win against an Alakazam."

"Why not?"

"There's a reason why people choose the Abra line as their psychic-type," William explained. "Alakazam are a class above psychics; any other psychic-type just pales in comparison."

Before the conversation went too off track, William asked. "How'd Ally's battle go? Did she do all right?"

Ed nodded, feeling a bit of relief from getting away from his own battle. "Yeah! Her Vulpix was great and really had that Voltorb on the run. And, guess what? After the battle, the Voltorb Selfdestruct-ed! I've never seen one do that before!"

"I hope no one was hurt."

"Nah, though the wall had a hole in it. Oh, and guess what happened next? C'mon, guess!"

"I have no idea," William said, sounding amused. "Tell me."

"Leah battled Surge! She actually challenged him!"

William took a moment to reply. "… Seriously? I though she didn't like being a trainer."

"That's what I thought too!" Ed nodded along. "But she did! She used Sands and Surge used a Magnemite."

There was sympathy in William's voice. "That's a pretty bad match up. She lost, right?"

Ed leaned back into the tree. "Yeah, and now she's in a bad mood."

Though, bad mood wasn't that appropriate of a phrase. Leah's bad moods were sneering, yelling and insulting anyone who was around her. True, that was what she was doing lately, but it was really quiet. She didn't go out of her way to talk to anyone and only really spent time with her Pokemon.

"That's too bad," William said dryly. "Just don't let her get to you, okay? I don't think she realizes half the things she says."

"She's not been that bad," Ed replied, thinking. "She's just really quiet and depressed."

"Oh." William apparently didn't have much to say about that as he changed the topic. "She'll be leaving once you get the fourth badge, correct?"

"Mmm, yeah."

Their Mentor had talked to him and Ally yesterday about what was to happen when they reached Cerulean City. Leah was going to stay at the Pokemon Center, and since Ally's house didn't have enough room, Ed would be too. But, Leah said, she was going to test them to see how well they did on their own, so she was going to totally stay out of their way and let them do what they want.

Ed, however, didn't think for a second that it was a test and he wondered if Leah was just going to leave them behind without a second glance. Sure, he knew that she didn't like them, but he hoped she would at least say goodbye. Even if Ed himself didn't hold many fond feeling for Leah, it would be nice if she stayed with them just a while longer.

Somehow, without Leah, Ed could see the rest of his journey becoming quieter.

And what a journey it had been so far! He could have never dreamed of the adventures he had gone through in only around three months. A few of them had been kind of unpleasant, like falling off a ship, and being in the hospital for a couple days, but overall, Ed couldn't have wished for a better journey. It was a fantasy come true, one that he hoped would never end.

"Oh!" Ed said, remembering something. "Hey, Will, when I was on the cruise ship, I saw something really cool in the museum."

"Really? What was it?"

"I'm not sure. I asked Leah and she said she didn't know and the caption box on it said it was only from Sinnoh, but nothing else."

"Maybe I can help your little mystery, then," William said. "Was it a tablet?"

"What's a tablet?"

"It's a thin stone that has engravings on it."

Ed thought for a moment, bring the image to mind. "Yeah, it had writing on it, but I couldn't read it. And the tablet was brown and it was shaped into a rectangle with pointed edges."

"I'll go research it for you," William said. "It probably came from the Pewter City museum, so it shouldn't be that hard to look up."

"Thanks Will!" Ed grinned.

"Before I forget, Eddy, Mom and Dad want to talk to you."

"… Are they there right now?" Ed asked, holding his breath.

"No, Dad went to work and Mom's still in bed."

"What do they want to talk to me about?"

"Your journey, I'm guessing." William said, annoyance in his voice. "Honestly, other than that, I don't know what they want. They've been quite cautious not to talk around me."

"Really?" Ed asked, surprised. "D- Do you think it's bad?"

Slowly, William said, "I don't know, but really, I don't think it matters too much. You're almost at Cerulean and that's a long ways a way. They can't exactly order you to come home and I don't think they'll try to send anyone after you."

"T- That's good then." Ed hesitated. "How are Mom and Dad doing?"

William took his time to reply and when he did, he spoke carefully. "They're fine, but they are pretty worried. The whole S. S. Anne fiasco was on the news and I did tell them a while ago that you'd be going there. I told them you were alright, but they're still… really worried."

"Oh."

Ed could already imagine his parents' worried faces, the kind they used to get when William was on his journey. But unlike his older brother, Ed was younger and… even if he hated to admit it, his Pokemon weren't that strong. Not like how William's had been. Against a predator, a Paras and a Ditto weren't really a threat, even if Coralie could Transform.

A bit of guilt welled inside of him. To him, going on adventures were really fun, but to his parents, he guessed that they were kind of scary, especially if it was him in the middle of it.

Suddenly, Ed shook his head. Yeah, his parents were worried, but that didn't mean he was going to give up his journey, no matter what they said. He loved what he did, and if he had a choice, which he did, he would never give it up.

Ed leaned back against the tree and tried to get off such a subject.

"So, um, how's Carla doing?"


-


Leah felt hands shaking her shoulders, trying to force her out of a world of endless dark corridors. She groaned and buried herself deeper in her sleeping bag, trying to ward off both the hands and the early morning chill.

"Leah!" a voice whispered. "I'm going to go train Paras, okay? I'll be back later."

"Alright," Leah replied, her voice clear even thought she hardly had a clue at what she was saying. "Hurry back…"

And then she drifted back off to sleep.


-


"Where is he?" Ally asked, frowning and looking at Ed's rolled up sleeping bag.

Leah yawned as she tied up her shoelaces. Blearily, she looked around the camp with half-shut eyes, looking for a sign of orange hair, but finding none. "Dunno. Bathroom?"

"Ed!" Ally called out instead, looking between the trunks of the trees.

"Why are you so worried?" Leah asked, yawning again. In her tired mood, she didn't feel concerned in the least. Even if Ed had disappeared, the teen was sure he would show up soon enough.

Ally bit her lip. "He never goes off in the morning… not without me." She paused. "I- I'm going to go look for him."

"That's stupid," Leah said. "You don't know where he is; you'll just get lost."

Shaking her head, Ally took out a Pokeball and released her Vulpix. "Amber will show me the way back," the girl said.

Opening her mouth, Leah closed it again after further thought and just rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. Don't come crying to me if you get lost."

"I won't get lost," Ally muttered to herself as she left camp, holding Amber against her chest as she disappeared between the trees.

"Don't take more than ten minutes!" Leah yelled after her. "I want to get to Cerulean before lunch time!"

There could have been a reply, but Leah had already turned her attention away from the brats and to Sands, who had gratefully joined her for the morning.

The ground-type was shivering and huddled around the Fire Stone, sucking up as much warmth from the rock as he could.

"Come on, Sands." Leah said. "It's not that cold out."

From behind the rock, the Sandshrew gave her a glare and went back ward off the early morning chill.

Leah sighed and looked at the trees, hoping that the brats would come back soon. They didn't have time for this! She wanted to get to Cerulean as fast as she could. If she balanced her time right, she could probably make it to the city by the afternoon.

Crossing her arms, Leah scowled. If they didn't come back soon, there would be hell to pay.

Still, even if she would never admit, she felt a bit worried.


-


"Ow," Ed muttered to himself, looking at the bare skin of legs and arms. Red cuts highlighted his flesh, all due to the prickly bushes and sharp, thorny branches that were prevalent all around him.

Making sure he didn't bump into an annoying bush, he kneeled down in front of his Pokemon.

"Come on, Paras, it's evolution time!"

Paras looked up at its trainer with an annoyed look, tensing when Ed ran his finger down the newly sprouted mushroom.

"It's really fuzzy." The boy smiled and looked around, spotting a solitary Pidgey resting in the trees, its head hidden under it brown-feathered wing.

"Leah's going to mad," he said to his Paras. "She wants to get to Cerulean fast, but I'm going to wait for you to evolve first. So you better do it soon if you don't want me to get yelled at."

But it was okay since Ed had made sure to tell Leah that he was leaving and he even made sure she was awake first. That meant that he'd probably be let off easy. Even if Leah was annoyed at him for wasting so much time over a Pokemon, he could just say he lost track of time.

Paras looked around the area it was brought to, and made a clicking noise of annoyance. The long grass blocked its view and movement space, but when Ed flatted the grass in front of it, the Pokemon only gave him a dull glance.

"There," Ed said proudly, smoothing the grass over again as it was determined to stay upright. "Now you can move."

The bug-type wasn't impressed with its trainer's achievement and showed it by staying right where it was.

Ed waited for something to happen, and when nothing did as the minutes ticked by, he said, "So… When are you going to evolve?"

A reply wasn't returned, and Ed could only stare unhappily at his Pokemon. He said that he would stay with it until it evolved, but now that he was doing it, he was already running out of patience.

Luckily, he had something, or someone, else to play with.

"Go, Coralie!" Ed said, opening his other Pokeball and letting his Ditto take center stage.

The pink, gooey Pokemon jiggled silently on the ground, struck by a bout of silence that was similarly affecting Paras. Its two little arms weren't present that day, being held against the Ditto's body close enough that they only looked like oddly shaped bumps. Overall, Coralie never looked like an impressive Pokemon, more like a goop of watery play-doh. It didn't help that the Pokemon didn't have a face unless it was transformed.

Actually, that gave him an idea.

Ed sat forward, poking Coralie and watching her flesh jiggle. "Hey, Coralie," he said. "Can you make a face?"

For a moment, the words didn't seem to mean anything to the transforming Pokemon, but then the Ditto got the meaning. Kind of. Just as an orange hue started to take over Coralie's body, Ed held up his hands and said, "Wait, stop! Not what I meant."

Coralie stopped in mid-transformation, puzzled with the request.

"Like, a smiley face," Ed said, trying to explain further. Raising a hand, he poked two fingers into the flat surface of where the Ditto's eyes could have been. Then, he pointed to his own. "See, eyes."

His eyes were brown, as he knew well enough, but he didn't like the reminder when the same color blossomed on Coralie where he poked it, slowly copying his own eyes. Just as a pupil was developing and the white part of the eyes came into being, Ed shook his head, frowning slightly at the weird image his Pokemon created.

He looked around for something he could use. Luckily, what he was looking for was on the ground just a ways from him and he stretched out his hand to grab it. Slowly, trying to make his Pokemon understand, he put the small black pebble to his eye.

Slowly, the Pokemon understood.


-


A while later, Ed looked up at the sound of the ground crunching and caught sight of Ally steadily making her way towards him.

"Hi," Ed said, smiling, surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"L- Looking for you," she replied, holding her arms. Small red lines stood out on her skin, her arms, having apparently been attacked by the thorny branches that were part of most of the forest. "You were missing."

On the ground, Amber trotted over to Ed, sniffing his sneaker, but staying away from both his Pokemon.

Ally sat down beside him before looking at the scene before her. "What are you doing?"

Grinning, Ed pointing his Ditto. "I finally got it to make a face."

And indeed he had. Coralie looked quite the same as before, but obviously, now had a face. It was a simple one, with two black pebble eyes and a small line of black made into what resembled a smile. Every so often, pink goo fell either over the pebble eyes or the mouth, but that didn't seem to bother the Pokemon as the smile never faltered.

"She looks… weird," Ally said slowly, the face giving her the chills. It looked like that one doll back at home, that her mother insisted keeping in her room. That doll still gave her nightmares.

"I think Coralie looks way better then before," he defended. "It looked weird without one. Everyone should be able to smile."

Looking over, Ally caught sight of Ed's other Pokemon, sitting quietly on the grass.

"What's wrong with Paras?"

"Oh, right, guess what I heard from William!" Ed said with a wide grin, forgetting that she didn't know. "He's going to evolve soon!"

"Really? When?"

Ed's face fell. "Uh, I don't actually know. But, I'm going to wait here until he does. William said that he should evolve soon, though. Like, today soon."

"Leah's waiting for us," Ally said nervously, looking into the bushes like their Mentor would pop out at any minute. "She's going to be mad if we take up too much time."

"Don't worry, I told her before I left."

"She didn't say anything."

Ed huffed and crossed his arms. "That's because she's being mean and wants me to be in trouble."

"Oh." That theory didn't sound very farfetched; Ally could believe it.

"Hey," Ed said, grabbing Paras around the middle and dragging it over to Ally. "Feel his mushrooms! Don't they feel cool?"

Hesitating slightly, Ally still did what she was told, running her finger along the biggest mushroom. She grimaced at the feeling and wiped the offending finger on her overalls. They did feel fuzzy, but they were mushrooms. Mushrooms shouldn't feel fuzzy.

Out of paranoia, Ally glanced out into the trees again, and Ed caught her staring.

"She's not going to care," he told her. "She's the one who's always slow when we walk, so this time, we can hold her up. Besides, we don't need to get to Cerulean fast."

"I thought you wanted to get the next badge."

Ed paused, frowning. "I do, but… it's going to be our fourth, you know?"

Understanding dawned in Ally. Right, when they got their fourth badge, Leah would be able to leave them, having completed her part in the Mentor Program. It was an easily forgettable fact. The older girl was just always with them, Ally couldn't imagine her journey without her.

But… it didn't mean that she really liked Leah. It wasn't actually Leah herself who Ally minded missing, but an authority figure that could solve their problems. Once Leah was gone, all there would be was a big world and two new trainers in it. It was a scary concept, not at all helped by the stories she had told her before she left on her journey. Anything could happen to wandering children…

"Do you want Leah to go?" Ally asked.

Ed was silent for a few moments. "I dunno," he finally answered. "She's mean, but it'd be really different, you know?"

Ally smiled, understanding perfectly. "Yes."


-


An hour later and nothing had changed.

"C'mon Paras!" Ed said, poking his starter Pokemon with a twig. "Evolve!"

"W- We can't wait around much longer," Ally said, Leah being a looming shadow on her mind.

Ed frowned. "I don't want to leave until Paras evolves! If he evolves, I know I can win my fourth badge easily."

"Why can't you use Coralie? I don't think a bug-type would be very good against a water-type…"

"But Paras is also a grass-type, which gives me a type advantage," Ed argued, glancing at his Ditto. "Coralie is still too slow at transforming."

"Maybe you can train Coralie to Transform faster?" she suggested.

The boy shook his head. "I've tried that! But Coralie is just always slow. She battles really good once she's transformed, but is takes a while for her to get like that." Looking up, Ed asked, "How 'bout you? What Pokemon are you going to use?"

Ally hesitated. "I- I can't use Amber," she said sadly. "So I guess I have to use Sparks, but he's still… hard to work with. I don't really know what to do."

"Don't worry, Ally," Ed said, giving her a grin. "Sparks will listen to you once he figures out what a great trainer you are! Then, you can use him against Misty and you'll totally win!"

"… I hope so," the girl said, frowning slightly, Ed's words not having much of an impact. She had Sparks for three months and he still didn't really like her. It was really discouraging…

Suddenly, Ed said, "Paras? What's wrong?"

Ally looked towards the bug-type and an odd change was starting to come upon it. Paras was shaking his head and digging the points of its legs into the dirt. His eyes, previously black, were clouded over with a white film.

Then, it happened.

It was definitely something to be seen to believed. Almost like it was in fast-forward, the mushrooms on Paras' back grew, eating at the space surrounding it. The mushrooms merged into each other until it was the solitary plant on the bug-type's back, forming into a dome shape. Paras' pinchers grew in size, old orange skin peeling away, making way for the new skin underneath.

The whole process only took seconds long, and by that time, Paras had doubled in size, the large mushroom on its back helping quite a bit. It almost looked like an odd-shelled, insect-like turtle.

Ed was lost for words. He could only stare at his Pokemon until he pulled himself together and reached out, feeling the smooth surface of his Pokemon's back.

"You evolved!" Ed exclaimed, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "You did it!"

"I- I've never seen an evolution in real life," Ally said, the past minute still spinning in her mind.

Parasect looked up at its trainer with clouded eyes, but with still a recognizable annoyed look. It got to his feet, its four legs testing the weight of its mushroom before taking a few steps forwards. And then a few more.

"Hey," Ed said, watching his Parasect walk past. "Where are you going?"

Ally hid a smile behind her hand. "I think he's trying to escape."

At those words, Ed leapt to his feet, easily getting in front of his Pokemon and putting a hand on its mushroom, blocking its route.

"We're so going to make an awesome team," Ed said cheerfully. "How about it, Parasect?"

Parasect wasn't amused.


-


"I hope she's not too angry," Ally moaned, pulling Ed along, who was content to walk at his own pace.

Ed obviously didn't think so. "Paras was evolving! It was really important. She can't be mad at that."

Unfortunately for them, Leah decided to prove them wrong.

As soon as they walked back into camp, her words jumped on them.

"Oh, and where have you been?" Leah asked with a dark tone, making the kids whirl around to spot her sitting to the side, back against a tree. On either side of her were Sands and Zee, the two Pokemon somehow looking more dangerous due to the shadows that covered theirs and their trainer's expressions. Though, the effect was lessened slightly when Ally spotted Sands playing with his Fire Stone and not paying attention at all.

"Guess what, Leah?" Ed said cheerfully, not seeing the storm on the horizon. "Paras evolved!"

Leah got up, slow enough that Ally could see every motion she made. Her Pokemon stayed in the shadows as she stepping into the sunlight, her expression thunderous.

"Well, good for you then." She sneered. "And you didn't think to tell me of this awe-spiring event?"

Now Ed was starting to see what danger he was in. "I told you I was leaving," he said. "I remember you replying!"

Leah scowled. "I never remember things when you wake me up like that. You should know by now that I go to sleep and forget all about it! Why couldn't you have just evolved it here instead of... wherever you were!"

"It was supposed to just be me and Paras," Ed defended. "But Ally found us and so she stayed."

Now it was Ally's turn to be put under the gaze of the gray-eyed beast.

"And why didn't you come back to tell me you found him, huh? That was really stupid."

"No it wasn't!" Ed said, jumping to the rescue. "I told Ally not to go get you. I didn't want her to miss Paras evolving!"

Leah crossed her arms. "Then why didn't you just wake her up when you did me? If you really didn't want her to miss it, surely that would be the logical thing to do."

Looking down at his feet, Ed muttered, "I didn't… really think of it."

"Oh, didn't think of it, he says," Leah said, rolling her eyes. "Now, I understand."

"I- It's not his fault," Ally spoke up, but didn't regret it when Leah turned her attention towards her. "Y- You would…" She tried not to swallow her words. "Y- You would have made us leave if you knew. It's bad for a Pokemon to be in a Pokeball when evolving..."

Now, Leah's scowl was at full force. "So, no one came to get me because I would have apparently forced you guys to pack up, huh? That's so ****ing stupid, I can hardly believe it."

Since Leah was saying those words to Ally's face, Ed had to defend her.

"We can't help but believe it!" he said, voice loud. "You've never cared what we think! You're never nice to us! You're such a… such a real mean and nasty person! We don't want you as our Mentor, we never have!"

Those words, surprisingly, had an effect on the teen. Leah looked as if she had been slapped, her face turning stark white and then reddening into rage.

"Who the **** do you think you're talking too?!" Leah spat. "You have no clue what I've had to put up with-" She cut herself off, looking almost as if she were biting her tongue. Her fists clenched and she raised one of her hands.

For a second, Ally thought she was going to hit Ed, but then the moment passed and Leah threw the hand down.

"Get going!" she said sharply, glaring at both of the trainers. "Pack up your stuff, we're leaving right now. Don't talk, don't argue, just get going."

They did what they were told, rushing to their stuff, but as they did so, Ally looked up and saw Leah return her Pokemon and then sigh heavily. She rubbed one of her arms and, in the sunlight, Ally could see small rip marks on her jacket sleeves, ones that she was sure that had not been there this morning.

It was hardly evidence of anything, but as Ally gathered her things, she couldn't help but think: 'Did Leah try to look for us?'

It only took a few minutes to pack away the rest of their supplies and once they were done, Ally and Ed followed Leah out of the clearing and back onto the trail.

The two kids didn't say a thing to each other, neither wanting to break the fragile quiet that had fallen over the group. In front of them, Leah walked stiffly, a large gap between her and them.

The rest of the walk to Cerulean City was done in silence.


-


A/N: Happy New Years everyone! Hope everyone had a good night. Anyways, about this chapter, it gave me a rough time and it didn't come out as smooth as I would have liked it, too. But still, I hope you liked it!

more like a goop of watery play-do.

Click to expand...

I'm fairly sure it's spelled 'Play-Doh'. c:

"And you didn't think to tell me of this awe-spiring event?"

Click to expand...

Awe-inspiring.

Anyway, I quite like your take on Evolution. It makes more sense than the canonical version of events, where one Pokémon can evolve when it's only a baby and another evolves when it's very old. I also quite enjoyed Leah's outburst, primarily because it was some pretty good, entertaining character interaction to have her absolutely explode on them like that. Haven't seen too much Pallet Rage from any of them yet, and arguments are just as important in travel groups as agreements are. c:

I'm fairly sure it's spelled 'Play-Doh'. c:

Click to expand...

*Bashes head against keyboard* I wracked my brain on that word for two minutes before giving up and that's the only spelling I didn't try. <_< *fixes it*

I've been planning for a big argument to happen for a while now, but I just couldn't decide whether to have it in this chapter or the next one. Though, as things have progressed, it came out in this one, which is a good thing as the next chapter is getting a bit longer than I expected. And yeah, arguments are way better than agreements because it gives excitement and it means I don't have to think of conversation topics to use for filler! :D

-



"But, Ally!" Ed whined, not liking the way the conversation was going. "I wanted to see your house."

Ally averted her eyes from his, looking over to the prone form of their Mentor for help.

"Oh, just leave it," Leah said to Ed from her position on the seat. "If she wants to go home by herself, then just let her. You're not going to die by staying here."

Frowning, Ed only crossed his arms, looking quite like he was going to die if he stayed with Leah at the Pokemon Center.

"I- I just want to see my parents by myself first," Ally said, trying to explain. "It's been a long trip and my house doesn't have a yard, so we can't really train there." She hesitated. "M- Maybe you can come over after we win our gym battle?"

For a moment, Ed retained his stubborn defiance, but he let a smile slip on his face, breaking his composure. "Okay, but we're going to battle Misty tomorrow, alright? Then, we'll have our fourth badge!"

"You really think you're ready to take on Misty?" Leah asked, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from her magazine. "We've hardly been here for an hour, and I know your Pokemon aren't ready."

Ed was aghast. "My Pokemon are so ready!"

"Are not!" Before Ed could respond, Leah continued, "Let me remind you that you probably know not a thing about water-types for Coralie and you Paras only evolved this morning. You're so not ready."

"Does that mean Ally's ready?" Ed asked, huffing.

"She has a type advantage," Leah said, dismissing her. "She doesn't need to be ready."

Ally interrupted the impending argument. "Um, I'm taking the bus and it's going to be a bit of a walk to get there, so I wouldn't mind some company…"

"I'll come!" Ed said, volunteering himself. He got up and turned to Leah expectedly. "Come on, Leah!"

"No."

"Why not?" Ed asked, peering past Leah's shoulder, trying to see what she was reading.

Leah swatted him away, shielding her magazine from prying eyes. "Look," she started shortly, "I'm tired, we've been walking all morning. I don't want to get up anymore today."

"…I- It'd be nice if you came," Ally said quietly, looking away when Leah stared at her.

"I'll stay here," the older teen repeated, looking back at her magazine and dismissing them. "Go do what you want."

Ed met Ally's eyes for a moment and shrugged helplessly. "I guess we're on our own."

"Y- Yeah," Ally replied, looking sad as Ed lead the way to the exit of the Pokemon Center.

The last thing Leah heard before the brats went out the door was Ally saying, "I know where the closest bus terminal is, follow me-"

Then the Pokemon Center's doors closed, cutting off the line of conversation.

"Finally," Leah said to Sands. "I thought they'd never leave."

Sands made no reply, too wrapped up in his Fire Stone to care. Rolling her eyes, Leah snatched the Fire Stone from under her Pokemon's nose, holding it in the air like a treat.

Using only his eyes to plead, Sands climbed on Leah's lap, startling her with his pinprick claws.

"Not the magazine," Leah said with a bit of panic, pulling the magazine out from under Sands' feet, and winced when a ripping sound resulted. Knocking Sands off, she groaned at the claw marks that tore right through the paper, especially the ones that went right through Jason Dare's pretty face.

Leah sighed. "I liked this picture, too."

Putting the Fire Stone in her pocket as punishment, Leah put the magazine back on the table, grabbed Sands by the middle and casually made her escape before someone noticed she ruined a magazine.

Ever since arriving in Cerulean City, Leah felt better than she had for the past few days. Even the memory of the trouble that morning with the brats running off couldn't have dimmed her cheery mood. Her schedule into the far future was finally cleared and her job as a Mentor was pretty much done. With Ed and Ally out of her way, she found that she suddenly had lots of free time on her hands.

And, even if she hated to admit it, that posed a bit of a problem.

What should she do now?

As she passed through the lounge of the Pokemon Center, Leah stopped when she noticed the large crowd that was growing by the television.

"Oh, poor Jade," one girl said, staring at the TV as she put a hand to her mouth.

Another guy in the crowd only looked away, muttering, "Not another one."

This piped Leah's curiosity and since it looked interesting, she went over, standing off to the side so that she could get a pretty good view of the TV.

"-died in hospital this morning after he was found brutally mauled outside Celadon City yesterday night," the reporter was saying, an image appearing right of the reporter showing your average school photo, one of a blond boy. "A trainer had heard odd sounds coming from the nearby woods and investigated to find Ryan Rogue, age ten, lying face down on the grass. His Pokemon, a Raticate, was also in the same condition and neither responded to medical personal. It is still unknown what Pokemon did it, though evidence points to one under a trainer. This marks just another recent death in Celadon City, a city that is getting a growing reputation for violent crimes. Jade Rogue, Pokemon Master and Ryan Rogue's older sister, has not made any comment at this time-"

"Huh," Leah said under her breath, honestly not that interested. The only thing that could possibly be noteworthy was the kid was related to someone famous. Because of that, Leah was already expecting that the next couple of weeks of the news to be filled with angst ridden speeches about this 'overwhelming tragedy' and how Jade Rouge was coping with the loss of her only remaining family.

But really, Pokemon related deaths were common, especially by such places like Celadon City. Not that Leah had ever been there, but unlike pretty much everywhere else in Kanto, Celadon had a reputation of being dark and composed of only the bad sides of a town. Most of it was probably only rumors, but there was no denying that Celadon had the highest crime rate in Kanto.

Leah might've been worried since the journey to Indigo Plateau included Celadon, but of course, she wasn't a trainer, and definitely wouldn't be going beyond Cerulean. The brats, however, better hope to have luck on their side, because there was hardly any good in Celadon.

An image of Ed and Ally's still and motionless bodies popped into Leah's head, but she pushed it away, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Death came hand in hand with being a trainer and if the brats came across it, they were just going to have to live with it.

Not that she cared…

Shoving such thoughts away, Leah exited the Pokemon and looked down the street, thinking.

"Let's go visit an aquarium, Sands," she said, putting the Pokemon on the ground and forcing him to follow. She smirked. "Who knows, maybe your Fire Stone can go on a little trip."

Sands little cry of, "Shrew!" just made her smirk a little wider.


-


"Weird little things," Leah said to herself, watching the jellyfish push itself forward with its frail tissue-like body, its thin tentacles trailing behind it.

Sands only made an unidentifiable sound from down at Leah's feet, still in the same sulking mood as he had been in for the past ten minutes. Apparently, having his Fire Stone taken away also ripped away any fun-loving part of his body, and as such, didn't care about the cute little fish-like things swimming in the tanks.

"What? Do you want to see the sharks or something?" Leah asked, wondering if they even had sharks at the small aquarium. She knew there were no mammals like dolphins and otters (it was the first thing she checked), but maybe there were small sharks somewhere?

Suddenly, there was a ringing noise from her pocket, and Leah paused, pulling out her cell phone. The screen only showed a random number, one that she was only a bit familiar.

"We'll see the sharks in a minute," she told Sands before putting the cell phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Leah?"

Leah grimaced, recognizing the voice. "Oh, it's you."

"Is Ed there?" William asked, seemingly ignoring that Leah wasn't that happy to hear from him.

"No, so if that's all you want-"

"Wait!" William said, interrupting her. "Since you're here, I have some stuff to talk to you about."

"Really? What a coincidence." She had an urge to hang up and then turn off her cell phone, but curiosity held her back. "Make it quick, what do you want?"

The utter distain in her voice must have finally tipped him off because he asked, "… Are you mad at me?"

"What gave you that idea?" Leah replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm in the middle of something, so hurry up."

There was silence on William's end for a moment. "I heard from Ed this morning," he started, letting the issue go, "that you battled Surge."

"… What of it?"

"Nothing really, I'm just curious to know at why you did it."

"Is that all you want?" she asked coldly, eyes watching the jellyfish swim in circles through the thick glass. "I was only trying something new, nothing more than that. Now, I have to go-"

For the second time William interrupted. "Fine," he said, annoyed, but getting to the point. "I need to know, how did Ed win his battle? He acted weird when I talked to him."

Since she was always looking for a way to get the brats in trouble and wanted revenge for that morning, Leah smirked and told him, "Oh, just a lot of Quick Attack and Slams. Won him the battle, but Coralie fainted right afterwards and had to stay at the Pokemon Center for the night."

"… Oh," William finally said. He sounded like it didn't really know what to say. "If he won like that, I guess Surge wasn't really impressed."

"Surge talked to him after the battle."

"Do you know what he said?"

"No," Leah said, thinking of the couple times Ed tried to talk to her of all people about it. But after she brushed him off, he eventually gave up and left her alone. She already had enough to deal with without the brats throwing things onto her workload. She was so close at going home; she didn't care about the brats' problems. Besides, what was she supposed to say to him?

That didn't seem like the answer William wanted, but he went with anyways. "So, one more badge and you're leaving, right?"

If there was one thing Leah didn't want, it was to participate in small talk with William.

"If that's all…"

"Look," William said, sighing. "If this is about the S. S. Anne thing…"

Since William was the one who brought up the topic, Leah had no qualms about laying it on him.

"You totally lied to me," she hissed, but lowered her voice when she saw the looks passers-bys were giving her. "The only reason I went on that stupid cruise was to see Jason Dare and he wasn't there!"

"I didn't lie to you," William said. "A friend told me he was going to be there, and I can't help it if he was wrong, can I?" He continued. "And you didn't have to believe me. You're the one who took my info at face value."

Leah scowled, free hand clenching into a fist. "Oh, don't go blaming me. Because of you, I nearly got- got-" She struggled to say the word. "-killed!" she spat. "I ran into a murderer and it was only because of G- Agatha that I didn't get a Thunderbolt to the face!"

Her meeting with Blue was one that Leah didn't like to think about. It wasn't every day that she came that close to dying. Back there, she had stood at the tip of a knife, and that was something you couldn't forget easily. Every word and every action of those moments were practically cemented into her head, enough that they invaded her dreams. Just when she thought she had put the nightmares of a stone Kadabra and an endless white beach behind her, new ones were created, ones of dark corridors and dead bodies.

William was silent at that, and just when Leah thought he had hung up, he said, "The reason I called was because I think I've found some stuff on the Plates."

That instantly caught Leah's attention and she tried roped in her anger so she could give William all ears. Even if Agatha said not to get involved, Leah wasn't going to say no to new information.

"What is it?"

"I've been looking in old textbooks in my university library," William started. "It took me a long time to find anything. There's almost nothing about the Plates, but I lucked out."

"Get on with it."

"Don't interrupt," he scolded before continuing. "The Plates are referenced in an old legend I found that related to Arceus."

"Arceus?" The name was familiar to Leah, and really, who wasn't familiar to it? It was said that Arceus created the world and all Pokemon in it. In olden times, some people worshipped it as a god. Though, not that Arceus was special since almost every legendary under the sun got the same treatment and even then, Mew was more famous in that regard than Arceus would ever be.

"Yes. It's said, for whatever reason, that not long after creation, Arceus was sealed away in a heavenly prison. Its one thousand arms it used to shape the world were cut off and fashioned into Plates, which were then scattered into the wind."

Leah waited in silence and when she figured out that no more information was coming, she said, "That's it? That's how much stuff you could find in a month?"

"It's not like I could Google it," William said, annoyed again. He paused, deep in thought. "Actually, I'm a bit surprised that there's hardly any information. If the Plates are related to Arceus, I'm sure there would be much more since there's so many books on him. The information I found was in a small, old text and it was practically a footnote!"

"Maybe they have a different name?" Leah wondered out loud. Now that she thought about, it was kind of weird that there was so little information. Well, the Plates were a big secret and the Elite Four were pretty protective of them, but…

"Leah?" William questioned. "I have to ask… On the S. S. Anne, was there another Plate there?"

Leah snapped back to attention and her mind raced. It wasn't that she didn't want to share information with William… Oh, wait, that was exactly the reason. She didn't like William, even more so after he tricked her on the S. S. Anne (she didn't believe him for a second that he didn't know that Jason Dare wasn't onboard). That, and she didn't like talking to him.

Besides, if he could only turn up so little information in such a long time, she doubted that he would find any more. There was no point in still keeping him in the loop.

"What gave you that idea?" Leah asked, but then mentally slapped herself. That was basically saying the same thing as 'Yes'. She should have just said that she didn't know! Damn it!

"Ed saw it and told me about it," he explained. "He said it came from Sinnoh, but I looked all over and couldn't find a single reference about it."

'And you immediately jumped to the conclusion it was a Plate?' Leah thought to herself, trying to keep the words in her mouth. She didn't want to start another argument. She simply wanted to hang up and end the conversation.

Actually… Why didn't she do that?

"Oh!" Leah said, hoping her voice sounded surprise. She didn't need to act the part, but why not? "Sorry, something just came up. Got to go, thanks, bye."

Before William could even voice his disproval, Leah hung up on him and then turned off her cell phone to prevent further calls.

She stared at her cell phone for a moment before putting it away.

"So, Sands," Leah said brightly, looking down at her loyal Pokemon who was still sulking. "Wanna go find some sharks?"


-


Ally knocked on the front door of her home, standing quietly on the porch as she waited for an answer. For good measure, she rang the doorbell and listened to the shrill ringing sound that no one could ignore.

But when no one answered the door, Ally sighed, expecting it, but hoping not.

Her parents were still at work and wouldn't get off until late. It was a fact Ally had forgotten until she actually took a step onto her front porch. The bus stop was long behind her and having memorized the bus schedule, there would be no point going back to Ed and Leah to tell them she was locked out of her own house. Leah would probably just laugh at her.

She sat down on the front step, folding her hands on her lap and taking in the familiar environment. She had been away from home for three months and now here she was, back at the beginning. Everything was still the same as when she left. The same pink house, the same yellowing lawn, the same cobblestone driveway…

The same parents who she rarely saw…

To pass the time, Ally let out both Amber and Sparks while praying that her Voltorb wouldn't misbehave. It would be so embarrassing if her parents came home to find her Pokemon making a mess of everything. They would be so disappointed in her.

"Vul," Amber said, letting Ally pet his head and play with his ears. The fire-type padded up the steps so his trainer could pat him better.

On the other hand, Sparks kept his distance, not acting out, but also not being as loving as Amber was. Ally let him be, knowing not to push him into anything.

After a while of mindless patting and waiting, Ally heard a voice calling.

"Hey, is that Ally? Hey, Ally, over here!"

The voice was familiar to her and a small smile made a way onto Ally's face as she watched her two old friends make their way up her driveway.

"Ally," Sam repeated with a smile, her eyes wide in excitement. Her brown hair was tied tightly into a braid and bobbed up and down behind her. "Wow, you're back from your journey!"

"Did you have a good time?" Maylin asked quickly, instantly focusing on Amber. "Oh, wow, a Vulpix!"

Ally giggled at their expressions and said, "Hello! It's nice to see you again!"

As Maylin started to give all her love to Amber, Sam teased, "You're still so formal! I thought for sure going on a journey would turn you into a wild girl!"

"Yeah," Maylin added between smoothing the fire-type. "And you've been gone the longest, too! George and Harvey got back from their journey almost a month ago."

George and Harvey, like the girls in front of her, were Ally's classmates. Having been together in the same classroom since kindergarten, they were very familiar to her, even if Ally hardly ever spoke to them. George and Harvey, like her, had the jealousy of all their classmates at being able to start their journeys in Pallet Town, where, supposedly, all the good trainers started off. Unfortunately, they didn't get in the same group for Mentors, so that was the last time Ally saw of them.

"How did theirs go?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "You remember how they kept boasting about how awesome their journey would be back in June, right? You wouldn't believe it, but they actually quit after they lost to Brock. They faced him three times, but kept loosing!"

"Didn't their Mentor help them?" Ally asked, honestly curious. What would it be like to have a Mentor that wasn't Leah?

"No, that's the funny part," Maylin said with a grin at her classmates' plight. "Their Mentor disappeared in Viridian City, so they were pretty much on their own for the whole time! You wouldn't believe the stories they told us."

Ally didn't reply, only frowning. Their Mentor… left them?

"Anyways," Sam said loudly as she took a seat next to Ally. "How has your journey gone?" She grinned at Ally. "Have you had any adventures?"

Ally thought of the adventures she had and grimaced slightly. "Y- Yes."

Maylin glanced at her classmate with a puzzled look. "You don't look very happy."

"T-The adventures were really scary," Ally admitted, shaking her head.

"Tell us!"

"W- Well, one time, me and my friends fell overboard when we going to Fuchsia and got stranded on island. It was all icy."

Sam grinned at her, her eyes sparkling. "Really? Wow, did you catch any Pokemon?"

Shaking her head, Ally said, "No, I was too scared. My friend got lost so me and my Mentor had to go look for him."

"How'd you get off the island?" Maylin asked, urging her on.

Ally smiled. "You wouldn't believe who rescued us." The girl left her friends hanging for a few minutes before elaborating, "It was Lorelei!"

Both of her friends gasped in union and Ally felt pleased at having such a devoted audience.

"Wow! That's way better than what George and Harvey went through!"

"Yeah! Please tell me you got her autograph-"

Ally shook her head, smiling slightly as Maylin groaned.

"You should feel ashamed," Sam advised Ally, wagging a finger in her face. "You'll never get a chance like that again!"

"I know," Ally admitted, regretting not doing it. There was just so much going on back then and she was just too worried about Ed to really think about Lorelei.

"Hey, what's wrong with your Voltorb?" Sam asked, pointing at the motionless Pokemon.

"He's always like that," Ally replied, but then started to panic when Sam got up, intending to approach Sparks. She grabbed her friend's arm and said, "Don't!"

"… Geeze, Ally," Sam said, frowning as she sat down, rubbing her arm. "You could have just said so."

Maylin looked up from Amber. "Aw, don't worry Sam. Who wants to play with a Voltorb anyways? Vulpix are way cuter and fluffier." She said that as she rubbed Amber behind the ears.

Brightening up, Sam reached over Ally to stroke Amber's back. "Yeah, you're right." She turned to Ally. "What's her name?

"He," Ally corrected. "His name's Amber."

Maylin's stroking stopped. "Really?" she said, wrinkling her nose. "For a boy? Couldn't you have thought of something better?"

"I didn't know until later," Ally explained, blushing. "And I liked the name so it I kept it."

"You should have called him Allen," Sam said, groaning at the opportunity loss. "It's not that different and it's way cooler." Her voice turned high-pitched as she addressed the Vulpix. "Isn't that right, Allen?"

Ally shoved Sam's arms away from her Vulpix and glared at the other girl. "His name," she started coldly, "is Amber."

The other girl looked at her for a moment before shaking her head. "Sorry, Ally," she said quietly. "It was just a joke."

Amber, somehow getting fed up with all the attention, shrugged off Maylin's hands and padded onto Ally's lap before settling down. Ally stroked his soft, short fur, smiling slightly when her Pokemon's tails brushed her skin.

"Where's your Pokemon?" Ally asked Sam. "Wasn't your dad going to give you one?"

"Sore topic," Maylin said lowly from the other side of Ally, pretending that Sam couldn't hear.

Sam huffed. "I can hear you." But as fast as the attitude came, it went away, and Sam sighed, casting her gaze downwards. "Dad didn't catch the Pokemon I wanted."

"Oh." Ally had expected worse. "What Pokemon?" Even as she asked the question, she had a suspicion of the answer.

"An Eevee," Sam said, crossing her arms. "I had names picked out and everything, but Dad couldn't find one. I even knew what I wanted it to evolve into. It was going to be a Jolteon if a boy, and an Espeon if a girl."

"You didn't get a Pokemon?" Ally asked with a bit of disbelief. "At all?"

"Tell her," Maylin said to Sam.

"Instead of an Eevee," she continued at Maylin's urgings. "I got this weird little thing from Hoenn. It's called a Zigzagoon and boy, isn't it ugly!" she sighed. "Not like a cute little Eevee."

"Really? Send it out!"

Sam shook her head. "I left it at home in its Pokeball." Her expression grew dark. "It's a thief. Anytime I take my eyes off it, it goes wandering around and brings me back junk. It even stole a piece of my jewelry once!"

"Have you tried training it?"

"Oh, I've tried. It's really weak and can't even fight a Spearow properly. I've had it for two months and if it's not a good battler now then it will never be."

Not wanting to hear more about Sam's Zigzagoon, Ally turned to Maylin. "What about you?"

Unlike Sam, Maylin puffed up proudly. "Definitely not the Pokemon I was expecting," she started, "but I got a Machop from my cousin. He's not cute, but I like him. I call him Judo and he's really strong. He can beat up Pokemon twice his size."

"You're lucky," Sam said bitterly. "My Pokemon can't do anything, but yours carries your backpack and books for you." She turned to Ally. "And you have a Vulpix! And since you've been gone so long, you must be strong, right?"

Averting her eyes, Ally said, "I'm here to get my fourth badge."

"Really?" Maylin asked eagerly. "That's so cool! Can we see your badges?"

With a faint red in her cheeks, Ally showed them her badges.


-


When Sam and Maylin finally left, the sun was starting to descend and the sky was getting dark.

Ally didn't know how long she had been waiting at her own doorstep, but she was sure a long time had passed. Her classmates had helped it along and like the saying went, the time flew by when you were having fun.

It was just so nice to see Sam and Maylin again. During her journey, it was like her life back home didn't exist. There, she only had Ed and Leah to rely on and talk to, no one else. But now that she had talked to her classmates it again, it made her wonder how the rest of her class was doing. All of them probably had Pokemon by now, except for the few people whose birthdays were later in the year.

It was in the middle of September and it was only now that Ally realized that she should be going to school. Technically, she was now a fifth grader even if she had yet to take a step into the classroom.

Once she got her fourth badge she would have to leave Cerulean. Ally felt a pang in her chest at the thought. Now that she had seen her classmates again, she didn't want to leave them behind. She wondered what they were doing in class. Fifth graders were taught by Ms. Lewis and she was supposed to be really fun. Before she became a trainer, Ally remembered looking forward to having her as a teacher.

Sometimes, Ally wished she didn't go on her journey.

A rumbling made her look up to see a silver car drive down the road and as it approached her house, it slowed until it turned into her driveway. The garage door didn't open, but instead, the car's headlights were turned off as the rumbling stopped.

The car door opened and her mother stepped out.

"Hi, Mum," Ally greeted quietly, standing up.

Some said that Ally and her mother shared a great resemblance. The same hair, face and small figure… but while Ally was still young, her mother had hardened lines around her face and her expression was cold and distant.

"You finally back?" her mother asked, locking the car as she went past her daughter and up the steps. "It took ya' long enough."

"I'm only here for my badge," Ally replied, shouldering her backpack and following her mother.

Her mother lips thinned, but she said nothing, turning the front door lock with her key.

Ally turned around. "Come on, Sparks," she said to her motionless Pokemon.

"Voltorb can't climb steps," her mother told her, shooting her a look.

Ally's face reddened in embarrassment and she simply returned the electric-type without another word.

"Wait," her mother said, halting her before she could enter the house. The woman pointed at Amber, "Nuh-uh, that's not coming inside. It'll get hair on the carpet. Return it."

Grimacing, Ally did what she was told, subconsciously expecting it. Her mother wasn't fond of Pokemon, though it didn't mean she hated them. It was just that her mother viewed them as annoying pests, but other than that, she didn't pay any attention to them.

"I've been waiting for you to get home," Ally said, wanting to initiate conversation.

"You know my work hours," her mother replied simply, but Ally heard the unsaid words. 'It's your own damn fault if you forgot. Don't blame me.'

With a final glance outside, Ally stepped into her home and closed the door behind her.


-


A/N: This chapter has reminded me that Leah / William conversations are really hard to write and why I try to avoid them. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter!

This is probably my favorite fan fic,good job!

Thanks! I'm glad you're liking it so far! :D

-


The first thing she was aware of was that a hand was shaking her shoulder. Slowly, Ally opened her eyes to find her mother standing over her bed.

"You're friends are at the door," her mother said, making sure her daughter was still awake before leaving as quickly as she came.

Ally could only stare at her open bedroom door blearily as she sat up, yawning. A glance at her curtained window told her it was early in the morning since the sky was still dark. Her clock further informed her that it was only eight, a time that Ally thought she would never see again.

Then, her mother's words settled into her brain and the girl got out of bed, trudging downstairs, wondering who could be at the door. It couldn't be Ed or Leah because they didn't know where she lived, so it could only be-

"Ally!" Sam greeted as Ally opened the door.

Ally shivered at the morning air that flooded into the hallway and looked at the two girls with drooping eyes.

"Good morning!" Maylin added loudly, having the rare ability to be cheerful in the early morning.

Both of Ally's classmates were standing in uniforms, identical white blouses and dark blue skirts, the same navy color present on their buttoned up sweaters. Though, the similarities ended there. While Sam was carrying a book in her arms and a backpack on her back, Maylin had neither of those, both being carried by the blue human-like Pokemon at her side.

"Chop," the Machop said, giving Ally a curious look.

"Hi," Ally replied, feeling like she was in a dream. There was just suddenly so much going on. "What are you doing here?"

The two girls exchanged a glance and Sam grinned. "Well," she said. "We decided that you should come to school with us!"

The cool air was making Ally more awake by the second, but she still couldn't get it out of her head that this was only a strange sort of dream.

"Why?"

"It'd be fun," Maylin said, shuddering as a particularly cool wind blew past, making her bring rebellious black strands of hair under control. "So, go get dressed, okay? And bring your Pokemon! We got Sam's mom to drive us all the way out here to pick you up, so you'd better come," she warned.

Now that she said that, Ally could see the blue car on the side of the road, smoke coming out its exhaust pipe and headlights beaming through the gloom of the morning.

"Alright," she said, rubbing her eyes. The proposal was so sudden that she couldn't think of any idea of why she shouldn't say no. "Be right back."

Leaving her friends at the front door, it only took a few minutes for her to go upstairs and get changed. Her school uniform from last year was too small, she found out, so she was forced to dress in her overalls and favorite pink shirt. She finally grabbed her Pokeballs and went back downstairs, but before she went back to the door, she entered the kitchen.

There, she found her mother about to go to work, but just having the last sip of coffee.

"I- I'm going to school with my friends," Ally told her.

"You're getting your own ride back," her mother told her and Ally nodded.

"I- I know."

Then, Ally was out the door and into the chilly air, flanked by Sam and Maylin as they walked down the driveway.

"Did you talk to your mom?" Sam asked, grimacing when Ally nodded. "I don't like her. She's mean."

Maylin nodded in agreement and Ally could only think about how fast everything was going before she and her friends packed into the car and sped away.


-


When they got to school, the sky was finally brightening up, looking more like day than night.

By that time, Ally had fully woken up and realized what she was doing. She was going to school. She was going to school when she didn't have to. It felt bizarre…

The three girls climbed out of the car and Sam waved goodbye to her mother as she drove away with a honk. Instead of being dropped off in the parking lot, they instead found themselves at the side of the school, Ally's two classmates wanting to surprise everyone by her appearance.

"I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see you!" Sam said, giggling at the idea.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Maylin said, grinning. "you'll make the day way better than before! Today, we have a spelling test." Her face grimaced at the word.

"Okay," Sam said, bringing the girls to attention and taking the role of leader of the group. She had her back pressed to the concrete wall and checked her watch. "School's starting soon. We'll go in once the second bell's rung."

"Are you sure?" Ally asked, remembering how being late was frowned upon.

"Don't worry," Maylin said, sitting next to her Machop on the grass. "We're good girls! Our attendance is perfect. Besides, we're doing this for a good cause."

"Yeah!" Sam said, nodding as she settled the matter.

Suddenly, there was shrill ring from the school before everything went silent.

"There's the warning bell," Sam said, grinning.

"How's everyone else doing?" Ally asked. "Did they get Pokemon, too?"

"Yup," Sam nodded as she bowed her head in thought. "Um, let's see, a lot of people just got common Pokemon, you know? Bellsprout, Oddish, Pidgey, Spearow and a couple Sandshrew. Holly got lucky since her brother caught her an Abra-"

"George got a Geodude and Harvey got an Oddish," Maylin threw in. "But Nellie got the rarest Pokemon of all."

Sam groaned. "Oh, don't remind me! I'm so jealous." At Ally's confused look, Sam filled her in. "Nellie's rich parents got her a Cyndaquil."

"The fire starter from Johto?" Ally asked, making sure. Starters, no matter which country they came from, were really rare and you had to go out your way to a breeder to get one.

"Yeah!" Sam said, sighing. "I almost want a Cyndaquil as much as an Eevee!"

Another shrill ring sounded, snapping the girls back into attention.

Maylin got up, helping her Machop back into her backpack. "We're ready," she said firmly, holding her book like she would a weapon.

"Good!" Sam said as she motioned for Ally and Maylin to follow her. "Let's go!"

Together the three followed Sam, who acted like she was in a spy movie. Instead of using the walkway, she zigzagged along the grass and in the gardens, ducking her head whenever she went past a window. The other two girls followed her lead, Maylin and her Machop taking the rear while Ally was in the middle. When they got to the front door, Sam turned to them and raised a finger to her lips, as if she was trying to hide her huge smile. Then, she opened the door and ushered the two girls in. Once inside the warm entrance way, Sam once against took the lead.

There were few students mingling about in the hallways and most of the students gave Ally a second glance as she stood out like a sore thumb in casual clothing.

For Ally, it was just so surreal. Everything was so familiar and even if she hadn't been to school in a long time, she could recognize and place several objects before she saw them, like the silver water fountain next to the bathroom.

Finally, after a few twists and turns, they made it to their classroom. Well, Sam and Maylin's classroom as it wasn't a room Ally had ever been in. The door was closed and from her position, Ally could see students already bent over their desks from the small window next to the door.

"I think they're doing the spelling test," Maylin whispered.

Sam grimaced. "Oh, change of plans, then. Let's go hide in the bathroom until it's over. I didn't study for it."

Unfortunately, their talking had gotten noticed or maybe it was because they were spotted through the window. Either way, the door opened, making Maylin and Judo jump back.

"Oh," the blond teacher said in surprise, surveying Sam and Maylin, who ducked their heads. "I thought you two were sick. I'm glad you could join us."

Then, the teacher turned to Ally. "And you're… Ally, aren't you? What are you doing here?"

It was very different to be caught by a teacher who you knew and one only vaguely. Ally felt herself pale and her heart started pounding. She wasn't supposed to be at school and she was interrupting a class… it was suddenly so embarrassing. It was one thing to sneak into school and another to actually do it. The only thing that could possibly make it better was that she had two friends by her side, so she wasn't alone.

Another head came up from behind the teacher and thankfully, it was one Ally recognized.

"Hey-" he started, but then took in the sight of Ally. His face brightened and he grinned really big, turning back to the class. "Hey, it's Ally! She's come back from her journey!"

There were sounds of the scraping of chairs and pounding feet as more people came to welcome her back.

"Ally!"

"Wow, you're back!"

"What Pokemon did you get?"

"Did you get any badges?"

The teacher laughed quietly and opened the door wider, allowing more faces to be seen. "Alright, settle down, class. Back to your seats." And since she was smarter than to try to make kids work when so much was going on, she said, "You may put down your pencils since it seems we have a special guest, today."

Sam and Maylin had to practically push Ally into the unfamiliar classroom as she had froze up at all the attention. But when people finally started to back away, she calmed down and smiled.

"We bring you," Sam started, raising her hands to Ally, "Ally!"

"Hello," Ally said, taking in the familiar faces and seeing a couple new ones among the crowd.

Students weren't the only people there, however. There were a few Pokemon as well, like the Oddish that was sitting under someone's chair. All of them were recognizable except for one. Sitting on a perch next to the teacher's desk was a small green bird Pokemon with a yellow beak and wings, and a red feather on its head. The bird Pokemon only tilted its head and watched her quietly.

The teacher caught her staring and as Sam and Maylin were talking to their fellow classmates, said, "That's Ruby, my Natu. She's from Johto."

"She's very pretty," Ally said.

Over all the chaos, Sam got Ally's attention and waved a boy over to them. "George! Come show Ally your neat rock!"

"It's a Moon Stone," the boy huffed, pushing up his glasses. "It's not just a pretty rock!" Despite that, he did what he was told, going into his backpack and coming back over.

He held out a rectangular rock that had jagged edges and on its surface were strange holes and indents, like it lived a very hard life. "Me and Harvey found this in Mount Moon," he said. "It's worth a lot of money!"

Ally peered at it and admired its glossy black look. "My Mentor has a Fire Stone," she told him. "But I think this stone's prettier."

"Alright!" the teacher called out, raising her hands to stop everyone from talking at once. "Seriously, now! Back to your seats. It'll be much easier to talk without everyone crowding."

With a few groans, the crowd dispersed, everyone going to their seats. Maylin gave Ally a pitying look for being left behind at the front of the class while Sam casually looked over people's desks as she passed them, twisting her head to look at the tests.

Now Ally was alone up at the front with the teacher with everyone staring at her. She shifted her feet and looked away from all the gazes with a red face.

"Holly?" the teacher asked one of the girls. "Can you please go down to the office and tell them that Ally's here?"

"Sure!" the girl replied and even if she looked a bit disappointed at leaving the room, she zipped out the door.

Then, the teacher motioned to the few empty desks, "Take a seat, Ally. You can join the class for the morning."

Sam raised her hand and only when the teacher pointed at her did she ask, "Ms. Lewis, since Ally's here, does that mean we don't have to do our spelling test?"

The teacher smiled. "Don't worry Sam. I'll make sure we'll get to it this afternoon."

Groans ensued.


-


No matter how many lazy days passed, Leah could admit that sleeping in was simply the best.

Especially when you weren't allowed to.

"Leah!" a muffled voice called out from behind her room door, accompanied by loud knocking. "Open up!"

Pulling the covers over her ears, Leah decided to put hope in the notion that if she ignored the sounds, the person would go away and leave her to her rest.

But as the knocking intensified, she supposed that it just couldn't be.

Her movements fueled by only irritation, she threw the covers off her body and threw her legs to the floor, standing up. The large movement for her tired body was dizzying and she had to stay still to catch her bearings for a few moments before she walked all the way to the other side of her room and opened the door.

"What?" she snarled.

"Ally hasn't come yet," Ed told her right off the bat, not affected by her bad mood. "She said she'd be here by ten for our training. It's ten-thirty and she still hasn't shown up!"

Leah rubbed her eyes. She got out of bed for this? "Remember," she said. "This is supposed to be a test to see if you're ready to face the world without me. You need to solve this on your own."

"But…" Ed frowned before looking up with a determined expression. "Adults don't always rely on themselves. They get help when they need it! And I need help and you're here, so I'm asking you to help me!"

"Ooh, nice logic," Leah said without an ounce of enthusiasm. If Ed had told her that any other time other than that morning, she'd probably be subtly impressed and give him a raised eyebrow. But since it was morning, it was impossible for her to be even the slightest awed. He could have waved an Entei at her and she'd only blink before going back to bed.

"So," Ed continued, crossing his arms. "Help me find her!"

Rolling her eyes, Leah said, "I dunno where she is. She's probably sleeping in. You can wait a couple of hours." Apparently, the response wasn't good enough because when Leah tried to close the door, Ed stuck his foot into the gap, halting it.

Leah glared.

Ed glared back.


-


"This is so stupid," Leah grumbled as she followed Ed towards the Cerulean City Gym.

So, the facts for her bad mood: since Ally never showed up, Ed dragged her out of bed to search for her and when Leah finally drove it into his head that unless Ally showed up by herself, she might as well not exist, Ed got an even better idea! Since he didn't want to train alone, he could just get Leah to come along, who was conveniently with him! And he did it all without any regard at what she wanted to do, which was sleep, a perfectly acceptable activity in the morning.

The only thing that could possibly uplift Leah's mood was that, no later than a week, she'd never have to accompany brats to a gym again. Ever.

Though, even she had to admit that unlike the other gyms, Cerulean's had a certain sense of style.

People hustled and bustled in the lobby of the gym, most wearing skimpy bathing suits or at least outfits more designed for summer than autumn. All of this was illuminated, not by the lights above, but by the large windows which let the sunlight in. Most everything was a pure white, including the tables and walls, and in-between all that was the lobby's apparent love of fish tanks, which they had so much of.

"It's so cool," Ed said, his eyes straying towards the brightly colored fish.

"What are we doing here again?" Leah asked, yawning. No matter how cool the gym looked, it didn't mean she would rather not be back in bed.

Ed frowned. "This is going to be my forth badge! I want to win this battle, but I want to do it without hurting Coralie."

"So you're going to train? Here?"

"Yeah." He nodded as he made his way to the front desk. "This battle is going to be different. The Pokemon here are water-types, right? So, it's going to be extra hard for Transforming."

Despite his crude words, Leah got what he was saying. Coralie had trouble Transforming enough into land Pokemon, but fish Pokemon would be even tougher. There was a large difference between a Pikachu and a Goldeen, especially since one could only breathe underwater.

"William tell you that?" Leah asked, checking her pocket to make sure her cell phone was in its right place. If Ed stole it again…

Strangely, Ed got quiet. "No," he said. "I haven't called him since before Parasect evolved."

"So that's why he called yesterday, asking for you," Leah mused.

"Did he?" Ed looked startled. "Oh, I guess I should call him back…"

It was fairly obvious by now that Ed had some sort of problem, so Leah, not wanting to care, completely ignored it.

"Hi," Ed said, talking to the lady at the front desk. "You can train Pokemon here, right? Where do we do that?"

Leah tried to pay attention to the conversation, but her eyes and focus kept straying the bright yellow fish under the front counter. It didn't help that Ed was pretty much talking to a woman who was conducting service behind a fish tank, no matter how much it could double as a table.

The lady smiled at him. "You have to pay to get in. Two-fifty for nine and under and five dollars up."

Leah frowned, her eyes twitching at the mention of 'paying'. Five bucks? That seemed kind of steep… Wait. Why did she care? She wasn't going in!

After digging through his pockets, Ed put the required coins on the table, slamming the two-dollar coin down after it tried to roll away.

Then, he looked at Leah.

Leah looked back with a defiant expression.

The battle of will could have gone on forever, but Leah had the fatal flaw of folding when put under pressure. That and she wouldn't have to put up with Ed again, so she might as well be nice.

"… Just this once," she grumbled after a few more moments of staring, reluctantly giving away her money to go into a training faculty she wouldn't be using.

Once the money was counted, the lady took out two paper bands and wrapped them around each of the trainers' wrists.

"To show that you paid," the lady said, answering the unasked question, and turned to her computer. "What Pokemon will you be training, young man?"

"My Ditto."

"Level?"

"Uh…" Ed's face contorted as he thought hard and fast. "Mid-level two, I guess."

The lady nodded and typed some things on her computer before giving them directions to the training room.

Ed thanked her and immediately went off, Leah following him after a momentary pause, where she was forced to weigh the benefits of running off.

Since Ed was sticking with her for a little bit longer, she decided it wasn't quite worth it.

The halls were long and numerous, Leah having to correct Ed twice on which direction to turn before they made it to the door.

The door opened and a draft of air pushed past them, bring with it the strong smell of chlorine. Voices that were once muffled behind the door became a wall of sound, the shouts and splashes blending together.

"Oh, wow!" Ed gasped, his voice echoing slightly. "This'll be perfect!"

Really, Leah couldn't help but agree.

The room was very large and contained several pools of water, all of different sizes. Each one was teaming with life, all containing Pokemon of different sorts, the only similarity were that they were all small in size, none larger than a Cloyster. Most of the pools had white discs floating on the surfaces, which somehow kept in place despite all the waves. Trainers stood at the side of the pools, their voices echoing as they commanded their Pokemon in the water.

There were so many pools that Ed couldn't decide, his head looking in every directions. "Where should we go?"

Obviously, Leah thought, not to the ones with so many Pokemon in it.

Luckily, Ed didn't put up a fight when Leah led him to one of the smaller pools where only three Pokemon inhabited it. They got close enough in time to see a Goldeen do a flip out of the water, its white tail flinging liquid drops before diving back in, horn first. Right after the Goldeen's stunt, a Pokemon shot out of the water, spinning wildly and flinging water everywhere. It stopped momentarily to shoot small golden stars out of its small red gem and then spun back into the water, where it repeated its attack another time.

Leah grimaced at the Staryu and looked towards the only passive Pokemon. It floated on the water's surface, its small fins paddling its small blue body with no direction in mind, the yellow bulbs on the end of its antenna bobbing up and down with the waves.

"I wonder what Pokemon that is?" Ed asked out loud, but no one answered.

There were only two trainers at the side of the pool and Leah assumed the strange Pokemon's trainer went to the bathroom or something.

Ed kept staring at the Pokemon, but Leah helpfully snapped him out of it by waving a hand in front of his face.

"You're here to train, right?" she snapped. "Well, get to it!"

"I was only staring," Ed muttered, releasing his Ditto. "You don't have to be mean."

Leah took in a deep breath, trying not to smack him. She wasn't supposed to be here! She was supposed to be back in bed, but nooooo. She had to be dragged to the gym and pay entry into a training ground she couldn't even use! It's not like she could teach Sands to swim and even if she could, she wouldn't spend money on it when she could just find a river.

Walking over the nearest wall, she intended to sit down, but when she saw the puddles on the tiles, she thought better of it. Luckily, the people who created the training ground must have kept the poor people like her in mind and put plastic chairs a little ways a way.

"Where you going?" Ed asked as Leah began to walk away.

"Sitting down," she replied, pointing to the chairs.

Ed pouted. "Aw, do you have to sit all the way over there?"

Not wanting to get into any argument, Leah scowled and stomped off, only to come back carrying one of the plastic chairs, which was quite light. She practically threw it on the puddles, getting water on her shoes and finally sat down… Only to find that the chair was wet.

She shuddered, but didn't get up. Instead, she pulled her hair over her shoulder and leaned back, feeling the water melting into her pants and jacket.

Not much longer, Leah thought to herself, using it as a mantra to curb her annoyance. At maximum, there was only one more week until she could go home. Just one more week! If she could survive three months, she could survive a single week.

Hopefully.

"Alright, Coralie!" Ed was saying, gesturing to the water. "I'm going to teach you how to swim!" He pointed at the foreign Pokemon, who was still surfing on the surface of the water. "Transform into that, okay?"

Coralie looked nervous, jiggling more of its own violation as it kept lifting parts of its body off the wet tiles. Its permanent black tipped smile looked more forced than ever as is obviously didn't want to Transform into something in the water. Still, it did so, its purple body turning indigo, then blue, small feet appearing under it and its eyes turning into yellow crosses. The last thing that changed were the large yellow bulbs at the end of each of its two antenna.

"Good job, Coralie," Ed cheered. "Now, into the water!"

"You know," Leah spoke up, giving Coralie a few moments of hope, "Transforming into a Pokemon you don't know is pretty stupid. You should have gone with the Goldeen."

Ed shook his head, frowning. "But Goldeen are girl-y!" he said in protest. "And Staryu are weird!"

The Goldeen and Staryu's trainers, both male, gave a glance at Ed, their expressions blank. Just when Leah started to think she was going to get a fight, they turned back to their Pokemon without a word.

Slowly, Coralie inched its way to the edge of the pool and, at its trainer's urging, dipped a flipper into the pool. The water was cold.

"Come on, Coralie!" Ed said, kneeling down next to his Pokemon. He put his hand on Coralie's back and lightly pushed it to the very edge; enough that the morphing Pokemon was struggling to stay on land.

Finally, the battle against the hand was lost and Coralie fell into the water, splashing Ed's shirt. The Pokemon surfaced, flapping its flippers wildly, looking much more energetic than the lazy Pokemon it copied, who was looking over at its clone with interest.

It took a few minutes for Coralie to stop freaking out and when it happened, the Pokemon floated still in the water, using its flippers to keep itself afloat whenever a wave sent from the Goldeen or Staryu's maneuvers came near it.

Ed turned to Leah. "Hey, look at Coralie! She's finally swimming!"

"Good job!" Leah said sarcastically. "Now you can impress Misty with its fabulous swimming skills!"

"I can get Coralie to battle!" Ed humped and turned to his floating Pokemon. "Coralie, use… um…"

Apparently, he had just figured out that he didn't know what moves his Pokemon could use.

In a surprising move, though, Ed brought out a potential solution for his problem in a form of a red device. Leah thought that Ed lost his Pokedex ages ago, but apparently not.

He pointed it at the Pokemon and the device only said in a monotone voice, "Unknown."

"Your Pokedex doesn't register Pokemon that aren't from Kanto," Leah informed him dryly as the boy's shoulders slumped.

"… Okay, Coralie," he said, putting the Pokedex back in his pocket. "Keep… swimming, okay? Practice!"

With that order done, Ed walked off.

Leah watched him go, wondering, 'Where's he going?'

Then, it became obvious as he brought over another plastic chair. Ed sat it down beside Leah's and plopped into it. Apparently, he didn't care if it was wet or not as his expression didn't change.

They sat in silence for a couple minutes, both watching the water Pokemon swim around.

Leah glanced over and met Ed's eyes. The boy looked away quickly.

After a few more times of this occurring, she finally got fed up with it and asked, "What?"

"… What are you going to do when you go home?" he asked quietly, the question apparently having been on his mind.

"I'm going back to school."

"Is that it?" He expanded at Leah's glare, "I mean, you've always wanted to go home, right? What's so great about going to school?"

Leah sighed. "You're a kid, you wouldn't get it. It's way better than being out here."

"What's so bad about here?" he asked, apparently full of questions. "You were a trainer once."

"Yeah, once. It was terrible and it still is." Leah looked over to him. "What brought all this on?"

The boy shrugged and looked away. "You're leaving really soon. You're always mean to us, but I really want to know why. Being a trainer has been great for me."

"Yeah, well, you're you," Leah replied. "To me, it's not worth it."

"But you must've had fun right? You like that boy you were with in Vermillion and you have Sands and Zee!"

Leah would have liked to tell him that while yes, she had lots of fun on rare occasions, it didn't change the fact that nothing she did was worth it. It didn't balance out the things she had gone through. The storms, the danger, that guy who tried to kill her – she didn't like to come that close to dying. Besides, she would see Danny in Pallet Town, Sands would still be with her and Zee would be given to Ally since she sure didn't trust Ed with a psychic-type.

Really, going back home would leave everything she didn't like about journeying behind. It had no down sides, despite what Ed wanted to think.

"It's not worth it," Leah repeated, not knowing any way to make Ed understand.

"… It just seems really boring," he said in reply, "going back home to go to school. It's just not fun."

Leah waved it off. "It's fun for me." And, to get rid of Ed and his talks, she said, "Your Pokemon is still floating. You're here to train. Go train it."

Sighing, Ed got up, frowning at his wet shorts before going off to see Coralie.

Leah watched him go.


-


"Really?" George asked, eyes lighting up. "You really went on the S. S. Anne?"

Ally laughed and nodded. "Yes! It was really fun." Her expression grew sober. "I just wish it didn't have to end like that."

Most of the kids surrounding her didn't know about the murder and pestered her for details.

They were on the playground at the side of the school, having practically ran there once the bell for recess rang. By the time Ally got there, the swings were already claimed by the fastest kids in school, so she chose a place on the monkey bars as a minor victory. It was almost second nature for her to climb up at the top of the bars. She had been perched there all recess, five other kids joining and surrounding her. The kids who couldn't climb or fit sat on the sawdust ground or the wooden stairs that lead up to the slide.

Ally was a hot topic on the playground because it wasn't everyday a kid came back from their journey. Even the older years, who weren't allowed in the playground, listened in from behind the chain link fence.

"Someone died?!" Maylin asked, shocked, once she was given the details. "Wow! Who did it?"

"I don't know," Ally replied, trying to think about all the information about the murder. The kids surrounding her leaned in as she lowered her voice. "But I think my Mentor does," she said, looking at the kids on the ground. "She was really upset for days after we got back to Vermillion City. I think she saw the murderer!"

There were a few gasps at her pronouncement and Sam, unfortunately on the ground instead of the monkey bars, said, "Did you ask her?"

"No," she replied. "My Mentor can be mean and I didn't want to upset her."

Sam frowned. "Is she as mean as your mom?"

Taking some time to think about that, Ally replied, "No, she can be nice sometimes."

"Ally!" a voice called out and the girl looked over with everyone else to see Ms. Lewis, waving to her from behind the fence. "Can you come here for a moment?"

Ally hesitantly nodded back, asking her friends, "Do you know what she wants?"

No one had an answer to that and, while frowning, Ally slipped her body through the bars and dropped to the ground. Her balance wavered at the impact, but she quickly got back her footing and walked over to the teacher.

"Sorry for bringing you away from your friends," Ms. Lewis said apologetically. "But I wanted to talk to you about your gym battle."

"Um, what about it?"

"Do you know when it is?"

"In a few days, I guess," Ally said. She didn't know when she and Ed was going to be battling, but-

She gasped and put her hands to her mouth. "Oh no!"

The teacher looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I completely forgot!" Ally wailed. "Me and Ed were supposed to be training at Misty's gym this morning!"

She was just having so much fun at school that morning that it had slipped her mind at what she was supposed to be doing.

"I'm sure he understands," Ms. Lewis said, trying to soothe her guilt.

It didn't work.

"I need to get to the Pokemon Center," Ally said, thinking out lout, looking around for available transportation.

The Pokemon Center Ed and Leah were staying at was a long way from the school, so she couldn't walk. She'd take the bus, but she didn't bring any money with her!

This was all a disaster…

"Can't you get a ride after school?" Ms. Lewis said.

She could, but the Pokemon Center was further away than her house and she didn't want to bother Sam's mom.

Still, she nodded since she supposed she could go home and get money for a bus. That would work.

"Ally," the teacher said and the girl was reminded that she wanted something. "Could you get me your gym battle date as soon as possible?"

"Y-Yes," Ally replied, only half paying attention to the conversation. "Why?"

Ms. Lewis smiled, a bit embarrassed. "Well, I've been waiting for something special to pop up to go on a field trip to. Gym battles are nice to go to, but it'd be even better if the person who was battling was a student."

"Oh, um, well-" Ally would be lying if she said that having the whole class watch her battle didn't terrify her. What if she lost and made a fool of herself? It would be horrible!

"You don't have to say yes," Ms. Lewis said quickly, seeing her hesitation. "It's just an idea."

Ally could win, though, right? She hadn't lost a gym battle yet and it would be nice to hear all her friends cheering for her…

"… S- Sure, it's alright," Ally said, even if she wanted to take back her words. She had only known the teacher for a couple hours and already she didn't want to see the disappointment on her face. It would be fine, she knew her Pokemon well; she wouldn't mess up.

The teacher smiled, her whole face lighting up. "Are you coming back to school tomorrow?"

"I don't know," Ally replied honestly.

"Then get word to me as soon as you can about the date and time. The sooner the better." The teacher's voice lowered. "Don't worry; I think you'll do just fine. Misty's very nice and I'm sure everyone will have a good time."

Ally said nothing as she was shooed back to her friends, feeling shaky and like she had just made a bad choice.

"What she'd want?" Sam asked and then peered at the other girl. "Hey, are you alright? You look pretty pale."

"I- I'm fine," Ally replied, looking at the faces of her friends. "Um, how do you feel about watching me battle?"


-


A/N: Ah, spelling tests. How I did not miss you.

Anyway, I was going to post this chapter next week, but I got guilty at leaving you guys out in the cold again, so here's a special treat, just for you. Though, don't feel surprised if I don't update next week as I have two finals that day (Biology, why must you torture me so?)

Also, please ignore my terrible chapter title. I really couldn't think up anything better.

These chapters are great! I'm so glad this ain't dying. I saw some spelling errors but i don't wanna review sorry...I bet someone else will lol. Seriously awesome story though, keep writing

Thanks! Don't worry, this story isn't going to die, though I may miss weeks depending on how busy my schedule is. ;)

Sam craned her neck, watching Ed leave the arena at a near run. "I hope his Ditto's okay."

"Ditto have the remarkable ability to heal from anything," Ms. Lewis informed her and the kids around them. "I'm sure its alright."

"Do you think Misty's going to use Whirlpool on you?" Maylin asked Ally in a low tone of voice.

Ally shook her head, not answering. She honestly didn't know. She still felt shaken at Ed's loss. If he couldn't win, even with a Pokemon that could swim, how could she? Ed had trained lots with Coralie, just for this battle, and he had lost so easily. She hadn't prepared, not like him.

She still didn't even know what Pokemon she was going to be using. Sparks was an electric-type, which would give her an advantage, but he was still a problem! He listened, but if things got out of hand, he'd just start doing what he wanted. And he would never stay on those platforms; he would just roll right off. But even then, she couldn't use Amber since he was a fire-type. He couldn't swim at all and all his attacks were useless in the water.

"Hey, where's your Mentor?" Sam asked Ally quietly. "I don't see her."

The question made Ally pale as she turned around, her eyes drifting over her classmates' heads, looking for the intimidating figure her Mentor made.

She wasn't there.

"Are you alright?" Maylin asked.

Ally shook her head, feeling herself starting to sweat. Leah never missed their gym battles! She always watched both of theirs! Ally didn't even see her Mentor leave, so she could have left at any time. Did she even see Ed lose?

Maybe that was it? Maybe Leah knew that she was going to lose and didn't want to watch…?

'Maybe she went to the bathroom?' Ally asked herself, not wanting to get even more nervous. But, Leah went to the bathroom before the battle started, so it didn't make any sense…

"Good luck, Ally," George said and her other classmates joined in as Ally looked down at the arena, where Misty was waving to her.

It was time.


-


"This is a battle between the challenger, Ally Anderson of Cerulean City, and Cerulean City Gym Leader Misty. This will be a one-on-one match with no time limit. Trainers, release your Pokemon!"

Misty grinned and threw a Poke Ball up in the air. "I choose you, Horsea!"

The ball snapped open and with a burst of blue light, a form materialized in the water. It was much smaller than Seel, but still possessed most of the previous Pokemon's cuteness in the shape of a seahorse. It was blue and had a long snout that looked rather like a hose.

The Horsea let out a small cry of delight as it looked around itself, its two white fins splashing water about. It ducked its head under the surface and then brought it back up, getting its whole body wet.

"Aw," Ally said, smiling at the sight with only a tint of nervousness. But then her smile dropped. Horsea was so cute and small; it just looked so fragile. It almost seemed wrong to send Sparks against it.

She sighed and took out her own Poke Ball. It didn't matter how cute Horsea was because she was going to have to beat it. Ed had already lost; she didn't want to go the same way.

"Go, Sparks!" Ally said, sending out her sphere-shaped Pokemon. She didn't even try to aim her Voltorb on a platform, knowing he'd just fall off. Instead, she released it right into the water.

The materialization seemed to go into slow-motion and Ally held her breath, hoping that Sparks wouldn't sink. Luck was on her side, however, and the Voltorb was surprised to find himself in the water, floating on the surface without even trying.

Ally sighed in relief. Maybe she could win…

"A Voltorb?" Misty said out loud with a hint of surprise. But the emotion quickly faded as the gym leader gave off a grin. "Just because you have an electric-type doesn't mean you're going to get an easy victory! We know how to deal with electric-types, right Horsea?"

Horsea made a sound of agreement.

The referee broke back in by announcing, "Let the match… begin!"

"Horsea, Agility!"

"Sparks…" Ally hesitated, not paying attention to Horsea. She had a plan in mind, but it wasn't something had ever done before. She wanted to win and that meant she had to do anything possible.

"Charge!"

It was hard to concentrate on charging up when trying to balance on the surface of the water, but somehow, Sparks managed it. While keeping his face out of the water, a pale aura a yellow light surrounded him.

Misty frowned. "Oh, not so fast! Horsea, Water Gun!"

Having not really paying attention to Horsea, Ally felt a jolt of surprise as a blast of water appeared out of nowhere, slamming into Sparks and rolling him backwards. The electric-type's body spun at high-speed, his face disappearing and reappearing above the water. It looked very dizzying and just when Sparks started to get a handle on himself, Horsea blasted him again.

After the third time it happened, Ally yelled, "Spark!"

The girl didn't think she would be using Spark so early, but she didn't have a choice. No other attack would work, not with Sparks spinning like that.

Electricity gathered, surrounding the Voltorb with charges of light. His yellow aura intensified until it pulsed, blasting electricity outwards in a display of light. The attack wasn't stopped by distance and traveled through the water at a breakneck pace. The whole pool was electrocuted and once the show died down, a bit of steam came off the surface of the water. The display of power made the water warm, as Ally found out when she dipped a finger into the pool. The water felt odd, like there was still a charge running through it.

But even then, Horsea was nowhere to be seen. Everything was silent, the crowd's cheers fading in the back of Ally's mind. The surface of the water was calm, only disturbed by the faint ripples of Sparks' attack.

"Where's-" the question died on Ally's tongue as her eyes scanned the water, her gaze freezing on the platforms, remembering that Seel had tried that trick before. Still, how could Horsea be hiding in the water? Wasn't it really hurt by Sparks' attack?

Misty grinned. "Nice try, but we've learned how to deal with attacks like that. You'll need more than that to defeat me."

"Sparks," Ally said, still searching the water. "Screech!"

A high pitched whine came from the Voltorb and increased in intensity as seconds past by.

Holding her hands to her ears, Ally tried to spot any movement in the water, any at all, but there was nothing.

The noise died down and everything was calm.

Suddenly, Sparks was lifted out of the water by a burst of water from underneath. The Voltorb was thrown into the air and Horsea popped up in the electric-type's original spot, the end of its spout dripping water. Its red eyes were narrowed in anger even though its skin was nearly spotless, obviously having dodged most of the attack.

In the instant that Sparks was still airborne, Ally yelled, "Use Sonicboom!"

Sparks was still spinning as the air between its eyes started to glow and only when did he face Horsea, eye to eye, did he let go of the blast of air. There was a high pitched whine as the attack cut through the air and hit the water, just after Horsea dived back beneath the surface. There was a small explosion, water flying everywhere, before Sparks fell back down into the water with a splash, bobbing back up the surface, still spinning wildly.

Ally bit her lip. Horsea was so fast! If it could even dodge a Charged Spark and a Sonicboom then how was she going to hit it? Sparks didn't have any moves that could slow it down, so what was she supposed to do?

"Alright Horsea, Bubblebeam!"

"Sparks, get out of the way, Rollout!"

Regularly, Sparks couldn't move in water, only able to bob and splash in place, but by spinning like the wheel of a car, he could get by.

Horsea inhaled, the end of its snout becoming wide as air was sucked in. Then, as a bit of red started to appear on the water-type's cheeks, the Pokemon let it out. Instead of air came a blast of soapy water, surrounded by bubbles. It was very quick and hit the water where Sparks once floated, making a wave splash into the side of the pool.

But dodging the first assault wasn't enough as the beam of bubbles was right on the Voltorb's tail, who was spinning on the water's surface, waves being created behind him. The Bubblebeam was fast, but even out on the water, Sparks couldn't be called slow.

"Tackle!" Ally exclaimed. "Now's your chance!"

The water-type was just in Sparks' path, looking quite small against the speeding wreaking ball, who was closing in. With the platforms out of the way, there was only open water left, which made it very easy for Horsea to counterattack. The beam hit the Voltorb straight on and slowed the Pokemon down as he tried to overcome the obstacle in his path.

All according to plan.

"Sparks! Spark!"

Electrical charges sparked around the sphere Pokemon as his trainer commanded and the attack bled off the Voltorb, going into the water and following the trail of bubbles – straight to Horsea.

The beam of bubbles cut off and without the pressure stopping Sparks from rolling, the Voltorb found itself shooting forwards, electricity still coming off him. In a second, he crossed the distance to the other Pokemon, who was still there judging by the flash of blue scales in the light. Just when Sparks was about to hit it, he hit something hard and it sparked, blasting him upwards and over the water-type, making him land on the solid ground next to the pool.

It happened so quickly, that Ally blinked, honestly wondering what happened. But then she looked closely and saw.

Horsea was unharmed, though looked quite startled with wide red eyes. Hugging its body was a spherical green energy field that cracked in time with the waves of the water.

The barrier would have been pretty, Ally decided, if it didn't just make her lose.

And that's what had happened.

Sparks was out of bounds, out of the pool. She had lost.

Ignoring the referee as he called out Misty's victory, Ally went around the pool, finding her Voltorb near the wall, still sparking. He looked furious and was trembling like he was about to explode.

At that thought, Ally hesitated in her approach before deciding to stay on the safe side by simply returning Sparks, letting him cool off.

She turned her head, looking towards the stands, but she was too far away to see her classmates' faces. What did they think of her now? She had told stories of her adventures and victories in class, and now she had lost. She didn't even put up a good fight; Sparks hardly did any damage at all, despite the type advantage. It was pathetic. She should have done better, should have trained like Ed was doing.

But Ed lost too, so did it matter?

"Nice try," Misty said, smiling at her with sympathy. "Just train more and I'm sure you'll be able to beat me in no time."

Ally nodded. "What attack was Horsea using?" she asked quietly, not smiling back.

"It's a TM called Protect," the gym leader explained. "I really got tired of the type advantage thing, especially for pool Horsea, so I taught it to her."

"Oh." Ally said, and, not exactly wanting to be in the gym leader's presence anymore, excused herself.

When she got back to her friends, she was offered sympathy and apologies on her loss, but she wasn't really paying attention.

"Did Leah come back?" Ally asked, searching the crowd.

When she got no reply, the bottom dropped out of her stomach.

"Oh."


-


"If you tell anyone I bought this for you," Leah threatened, staring at her Sandshrew with all the sternness she could muster. "Your Fire Stone will go bye-bye for a week. Got that?"

Sands nodded, his mouth full of Poke-Treats, aware that whenever his trainer mentioned his Fire Stone, it was never for anything pleasant.

"Good." Leah nodded to herself, pleased that her Sandshrew would keep the secret between them. She could just see the brats' faces if they realized she actually bought food for her Pokemon because he wasn't feeling well.

Speaking of the brats… Leah glanced at the direction of the gym, wondering how their battles went. She had snuck out before Ed's match ended, not only for Sands' sake but because she just couldn't watch. Her breath kept catching in her throat at the slightest damage Coralie took and was forced to leave when the Ditto used Aqua Ring. At least at that point, she still had hope that maybe, just maybe, Ed had won.

Of course, not wanting people to catch her being nice to her Pokemon, she had left the gym completely, and instead came to the park she was at now. It was cold, but at least she had her jacket and the bench was dry.

Besides, Sands could use some fresh air.

"How do you think they did?" Leah asked, sniffing a Poke-Treat, trying to decide if it was worth it.

Sands was too busy stuffing his face to reply, so she continued, "I mean, maybe Ed lost, but Ally definitely won, right? Ally hasn't lost a gym battle yet and she's always lucky in battles. She always goes up against easy Pokemon, so that'll help."

Leah finally concluded that she was hungry enough and popped the Poke-Treat in her mouth. It was salty.

"I really can't wait," she muttered. Promising herself to go to the Pokemon Center after she was finished eating, Leah ate another Poke-Treat. The food actually wasn't that bad. It would make nice snack food and she wondered why they were only for Pokemon.

As a thought occurred to her, Leah looked at the bag of snacks, grimacing. "Oh, wow. Is this how Shaggy feels about Scooby Snacks?"

"Shrew!" Sands said, his big black eyes begging for another treat. Leah gave him one, reluctantly.

"This is the only time you're getting these, Scoob," Leah told him. "You don't need another addiction."

Forcing herself to put the bag of treats down, Leah glanced towards the sky where clouds were starting to form. It was going to rain soon, she just knew it.

"I hope they did well," Leah said out loud.

"They'd better have."


-


A/N: A bit late, but here's the chapter! Originally, Ed was supposed to win but I couldn't figure out a way for Coralie to get out of the whirlpool. Though, I think it works out better this way.

Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter!

"Oh, wow. Is this how Shaggy feels about Scooby Snacks?"[/FONT]

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Scooby-Doo FTFW!!!! I love Scooby, that and

"This is the only time you're getting these, Scoob,"

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Awesome.

I really like the battle between Ed and Misty; Ditto sliding off the other side of the platform sounds like something that would happen to me.

Please don't change the color of the font to black: it makes it harder for people who use a dark colored background to read.

Well, much to my disbelief, I just spent the past four hours catching up! Whooo! Obviously, you're still a great writer because I have not put my laptop down.

So, giving a review of the past, eleven (I think) chapters I haven't reviewed would take forever, so I'm just going to give you what I jotted down while reading.

Chapter 23:

William says, "Search your feelings, you know it to be true."

STAR WARS MUCH?! Lol.

Also, even with Jason Dare supposedly being on the S.S. Anne, I'm surprised she would consider boarding a ship, considering how well it turned out last time.

Chapter 25:

Truck thing very mysterious. I wonder who that guy was. Blue? Also, Zee is my favorite of the Pokemon introduced so far.

Chapter 27:

I love the beginning Gengar vs. Nidorino excerpt! Awesome imagery and ties into the whole gameboy beginning thing.

The bedrooms on the ship sound awfully like my dorm room, lol.

Glad to see Leah making a friend- Danny.

I absolutely loved Giovonni's joke about criminal organizations, enjoyed Sands being encouraged by the lecture, and I liked the way Giovonni was overall portrayed.

Chapter 28:

Nice scene with Blue and Leah.

Chapter 29:

Agatha is her grandmother!!!! That... oh... stuff starts to make more sense.

You are improving a lot as a writer! This chapter, in particular, was well done and pulled me in.

I wonder why Blue won't touch that plate? Which plate? Can't wait to find out!

Chapter 30:

"Didn't you here?" should be "Didn't you hear?"

Chapter 31:

Err... really now?

Chapter 32:

The way Pokemon in your world work is kinda similar to gameboy. The player can really make the game as hard as he/she wants it to be. Older kids have strategy- younger kids tend to just use brute force. Cool.

Chapter 33:

I feel like I may have already mentioned this in one of my other reviews, or maybe I'm just having Deja Vu, but I totally understand what Leah means about not remembering conversations after just waking up because I do it all the time! I once had a whole conversation on the phone, apparently (not that I remember, oy).

Chapter 35:

I love the way the other kids are portrayed. Very realistic.

It was weird when Ed used Ditto because I thought he had said earlier that he would use Parasect.

Really bizarre that the 5th grade teacher's name is Mrs. Lewis because that was the name of my 5th grade teacher.

Chapter 36:

She felt insulted; Sands was way better than some common Sandshrew! He was hers and that made him way better.

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Yay! Leah admits she has pride in Sands! And she gives him treats! She's going soft, lol.

As always, you have great character development! I'm glad that they are in Cerulean because it gives the chance to develop Ally further. The plot is very intriguing. This is not like a normal story so I am curious to see if Leah will separate from the two, and if she does, what she will do. Perhaps she will help track down Blue? Or maybe she will train her Pokemon.

Keep up the great work!

"Oh, wow. Is this how Shaggy feels about Scooby Snacks?"

Scooby-Doo FTFW!!!! I love Scooby, that and

"This is the only time you're getting these, Scoob,"

Awesome.

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Yeah, I was writing that scene and a Scooby Doo reference was just way too much for me to resist. And now I feel nostalgic and want to watch Scooby Doo again. Wow, I loved that cartoon. *le sigh*

I really like the battle between Ed and Misty; Ditto sliding off the other side of the platform sounds like something that would happen to me.

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Heh, I can see that happening to me too. That, or completely go over the platform and splash into the whirlpool of doom.

Please don't change the color of the font to black: it makes it harder for people who use a dark colored background to read.

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Yeah, it's probably really annoying, but I'm not really sure how to change my font back to its original color after I paste my chapters from Word. Hmm, I'll experiment with this post and we'll see what I can come up with. (EDIT: alright, fixed it. I'll post like this from now on). Thanks for telling me, 157!

Well, much to my disbelief, I just spent the past four hours catching up! Whooo! Obviously, you're still a great writer because I have not put my laptop down.

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Wow, four hours? O.o That must have been a lot of reading. My eyes would probably faint if I read a story for that long.

Also, even with Jason Dare supposedly being on the S.S. Anne, I'm surprised she would consider boarding a ship, considering how well it turned out last time.

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Jason Dare overcomes any and all feelings of fear that Leah might have, though it helps that a ferry and a cruise ship are different enough that the thought may not even occur to her. Well, that and she'd certainly think twice before following the brats' outside to search for a missing Pokemon.

Chapter 25:

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Truck thing very mysterious. I wonder who that guy was. Blue? Also, Zee is my favorite of the Pokemon introduced so far.

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Yeah, it was Blue and I have to agree, Zee is also one of my favorite Pokemon too. It's just so fun to play around with psychic-types.

Chapter 27:

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I love the beginning Gengar vs. Nidorino excerpt! Awesome imagery and ties into the whole gameboy beginning thing.

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Yup, I chose those Pokemon especially for that reason (and to distract people from the fact that I skipped a potential battle of epic proportions).

I absolutely loved Giovonni's joke about criminal organizations, enjoyed Sands being encouraged by the lecture, and I liked the way Giovonni was overall portrayed.

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I had a bit of a hard time deciding what Giovanni's characterization should be, and to tell the truth, that one joke about the criminal organizations was the real reason I chose to portray him like that… When he's in public, that is. ;)

Chapter 29:

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Agatha is her grandmother!!!! That... oh... stuff starts to make more sense.

You are improving a lot as a writer! This chapter, in particular, was well done and pulled me in.

I wonder why Blue won't touch that plate? Which plate? Can't wait to find out!

Click to expand...

The family relations twist was one of the things that I had planned from day one and I'm glad it came out okay. I always thought any hinting I did was too small or vague to be any use (except for the obvious on how Leah could become a Mentor with little training).
Heh, this chapter happens to be one of my favorites and the mystery Plate will be revealed soon enough.

Chapter 33:

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I feel like I may have already mentioned this in one of my other reviews, or maybe I'm just having Deja Vu, but I totally understand what Leah means about not remembering conversations after just waking up because I do it all the time! I once had a whole conversation on the phone, apparently (not that I remember, oy).

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Yeah, you've mentioned it and I still have to agree. It may have calmed down somewhat, but I still have trouble remembering things that on when I'm half asleep and even when awake (when I'm daydreaming and walking around on automatic).

As always, you have great character development! I'm glad that they are in Cerulean because it gives the chance to develop Ally further. The plot is very intriguing. This is not like a normal story so I am curious to see if Leah will separate from the two, and if she does, what she will do. Perhaps she will help track down Blue? Or maybe she will train her Pokemon.

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Yeah, this really is the perfect time to focus on Ally since she always seems to be on the backburner in terms of character development. She's just so quiet that it's hard to notice her when I have Leah and Ed onscreen. Heh, Leah's future plans will be answered in around six to seven chapters. A bit far away, but I'm looking forward to the build up. *grins evilly*

Keep up the great work!

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Thanks for reviewing! I hope you didn't procrastinate on homework or studying too much to read. ;)

... And Ally lost. :(

OK... not that it's that bad -- for anyone but Leah, heh... she won't be able to shake off her charges so easily!

Battles were good, Ally's the better one in my opinion. The defects in Ed's training method and thought formation became quickly apparent when she fought Misty. Although sending out Ditto was a relatively good strategy (IMOE; contrary to what Ed thought), he fell because he didn't know how to handle it: Ditto slipping across the platforms and not being able to evade the attacks was a reminder of the "originality bonus" Brock talked about when Ash faced Drake's (of the Orange Islands) Ditto, and a nice touch to the battle.

For some reason I really wanted Ally to win, specially after she decided to send out Voltorb. It wasn't enough with the electric attacks Voltorb could do though, but I think a good portion of Ally's defeat was that second-guessing herself on things that weren't related to the battle took a heavy toll in her concentration. Why had Leah gone away? I quote: "Maybe Leah knew that she was going to lose and didn't want to watch?" -- that part can be particularly hurtful to a young person who is looking at a role model. That and Ed's battle was a loos (a nasty one) as well.

I can't help but think that Ally and Ed are likely to feel Leah emotionally sabotaged their battles, in particular Ally's.

Well, I don't recall finding any obvious errors and I don't feel like searching for them-- hey, it's Sunday! I just wanted to review again, tell you that I still like this story. But maybe a couple o weird things.

She wasn't supposed to be at school and she was interrupting a class… it was suddenly so embarrassing. It was one thing to sneak into school and another to actually do it.

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That scene was funny because it reminds me a couple of things that actually happened to me when I was out-of-school for a while (long story, it involves having earned a ticket to go another city to watch a world-class tennis player). The last sentence sounded awkward however, and I think maybe you wanted to mean: "It was one thing to think about sneak into school and another to actually do it."

Ed shook his head, frowning. "But Goldeen are girl-y!" he said in protest. "And Staryu are weird!"

The Goldeen and Staryu's trainers, both male, gave a glance at Ed, their expressions blank. Just when Leah started to think she was going to get a fight, they turned back to their Pokemon without a word.

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Girly and weird, huh? :D

"His name," she started coldly, "is Amber."

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Yeah, Amber the male Vulpix. I sometimes wonder what male Kirlia and Lopunny feel all the time... :D

Though, Ally worried about everything, so Leah didn't let Ally's attitude affect her own mood.

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Lol'ed here. Way to describe the poor girl! Not that it is inexact tho... and since when is Leah's mood anything more than "oh gosh one more week with them why can't I just be gone with Jason Dare to a solitary Seafoam Island?" :D

The gym leader wore her short orange hair in a ponytail and was decked out in a tight fitting bikini, not something that was really appropriate to wear in front of ten-year-olds.

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Heh, right. Thanks for reminding me that in the Pokémon world 10-year-old kids are like, say, 15-year-olds from anywhere else in terms of maturity. Well, social maturity at least... and it's interesting to have Leah do the judgment. :P


Plus, Sands ♥ Fire Stone (call to shipping name still pending) and a nice touch of secret caring on Leah's part, what with the treats. And, seriously, do Pokémon treats taste that good? Also, having her take care of her Pokémon in secret, sort of, tells a bit of how she may feel with the current situation. Had Ed and Ally won, after all, she'd be back at home with only Sands for company... as much company as a Pokémon obsessed with a Fire Stone can be! XD


Notorious thing that reminds me there's still another plot going on:

"A trainer had heard odd sounds coming from the nearby woods and investigated to find Ryan Rogue, age ten, lying face down on the grass. His Pokemon, a Raticate, was also in the same condition and neither responded to medical personal. It is still unknown what Pokemon did it, though evidence points to one under a trainer. This marks just another recent death in Celadon City, a city that is getting a growing reputation for violent crimes. Jade Rogue, Pokemon Master and Ryan Rogue's older sister, has not made any comment at this time-"

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*DING!* -- things are not going as well for "Green" it seems. Where may Blue and Giovanni fit in all this? Find out in the next chapter! :D

All in all, a good work, again. A pleasure to keep reading.

Have a nice St. Valentine's!

Hey, Solovino! Thanks for reviewing. :D

For some reason I really wanted Ally to win, specially after she decided to send out Voltorb. It wasn't enough with the electric attacks Voltorb could do though, but I think a good portion of Ally's defeat was that second-guessing herself on things that weren't related to the battle took a heavy toll in her concentration. Why had Leah gone away? I quote: "Maybe Leah knew that she was going to lose and didn't want to watch?" -- that part can be particularly hurtful to a young person who is looking at a role model. That and Ed's battle was a loss (a nasty one) as well.

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Yeah, I felt kind of bad for making her lose too, but she'd been getting off way too easy in gym battles so it was a convenient time for her to not win. I totally agree with you, though it definitely didn't help that Ally was doing new stuff as well (using Charge purposely) and that really hit her concentration.

I can't help but think that Ally and Ed are likely to feel Leah emotionally sabotaged their battles, in particular Ally's.

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Maybe, but I think they'd be too worried about the outcome of their battles to really think about Leah at all (other then the fact that Leah's going to be mad at them for losing).

Yeah, Amber the male Vulpix. I sometimes wonder what male Kirlia and Lopunny feel all the time...

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And don't forget all those female Mr. Mime. Even their species name is against them!

Plus, Sands ♥ Fire Stone (call to shipping name still pending) and a nice touch of secret caring on Leah's part, what with the treats. And, seriously, do Pokémon treats taste that good? Also, having her take care of her Pokémon in secret, sort of, tells a bit of how she may feel with the current situation. Had Ed and Ally won, after all, she'd be back at home with only Sands for company... as much company as a Pokémon obsessed with a Fire Stone can be! XD

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I based Pokemon Treats being good to humans on a story my mother told me about my brothers. Apparently, when they were younger, my brothers were always stealing cat crunchies and eating them, running away from my mother with their pocket full of the cat food. Honestly, the cat food sometimes smells good to me too, but I'm a picky eater, so I'm not tempted… much. ;)

*DING!* -- things are not going as well for "Green" it seems. Where may Blue and Giovanni fit in all this? Find out in the next chapter!

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Heh, that news broadcast was a last minute addition because an idea (or two) that's bursting to get out. Hopefully, it'll be awesome. And I haven't forgotten about Blue and Giovanni. They'll get their screen time very soon. *tries not to break out in maniacal laughter*

All in all, a good work, again. A pleasure to keep reading.

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Have a nice St. Valentine's!

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Thanks, I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, too!

-


"Hey," Leah said.

Ally only nodded, still sitting quietly on a bench outside the Pokemon Center, shoulders hunched.

After the girl had said goodbye to her friends (while trying to avoid their half-hearted apologies and cheering up), Ally had slipped into a depressed state, not talking and brushing off any attempts of conversation Leah tried to induce. It was annoying; Leah was the one that was supposed to ignore people, not Ally.

But really, it was the girl's first gym battle loss, so at least she had an excuse.

Leah sat down beside her, but didn't say anything, instead looking at the yellowing sky, wondering how long it would take for the moon to come out. Even at the early hour, daylight was slipping away.

"I'm sorry," Ally said.

"What for?"

"I- I lost," she said, her voice still quiet. "E- Even if only one of us won, you could go home without getting into trouble. I didn't train Sparks enough, so I lost."

"… It wasn't your fault," Leah replied, a bit grudgingly. Yeah, she was upset that they both lost the battle, but- "The only reason you two lost was because Misty was spamming TM techniques. Whirlpool and Protect… they're not ordinary moves you can defend against. It's cheating."

Ally shook her head. "No." She hesitated. "M- Maybe, but I still didn't train Sparks enough. He listens now, but it wasn't enough. He can only attack; he can't defend or move in the water properly."

"When you going to challenge Misty again?"

"I don't know… My Pokemon aren't strong enough…" The girl looked up at her Mentor. "What are you going to do now? You can't leave, but you have nothing to do. You can't watch us train for a long time."

"What do you think I've been doing for this whole journey?" Leah joked, but stamped any further urges down. It wasn't something to joke about, it was actually something to think about. What was she supposed to do?

It was odd really, how fast her mind had jumped to the future instead of sticking with the present. She had expected herself to be angry and upset at the kids' lost, but she wasn't. No, she had just felt tired, like she should have expected disappointment. Of course it wasn't going to be easy, why would the world give her a break for? It had already shown itself to love tormenting her with such a journey, so why not extend it for longer?

She didn't know where Ed was, probably still in the Pokemon Center, waiting for news on his Ditto. He may be more talkative that Ally, but being around him right now was even more depressing. She could only take his self-blame talking for so long before wanting to leave.

"L- Leah," Ally asked, looking away. "How do I beat Misty? I- I don't know how to defeat Protect…"

"Protect's a weird move," Leah replied. "It doesn't break, even from the strongest attacks, but it can't be held up for too long or it'll disappear."

"M- Maybe that's what I can do? Attack Horsea until it's forced to let Protect go?"

Shaking her head, Leah said, "No, Horsea can just dive underwater. It's too quick for that."

Ally deflated. "Oh…"

"Um, but don't worry!" Leah said, panicking at how Ally was slipping deeper into depression. "Misty probably won't use the same Pokemon against you and I doubt you'll find Protect on other Pokemon since the TM's expensive!"

"What if the Pokemon uses a different TM move? I can't fight them..."

That was something Leah couldn't answer, so she shrugged.

"Look, you only lost because of Protect; just train a lot and you'll win next time."

"Are you sure?"

Leah looked at the girl and tried not to let a bit of doubt show through her words. "Yeah, you'll do fine."

Apparently it worked since Ally nodded, the older girl's encouragement lifting her spirits as a relieved expression overtook her face.

Though…

"Leah? W- Why did you leave my battle?" the girl asked, fiddling with her sleeves.

Since of course she wasn't going to tell the truth, Leah said, "Sands ran off and I went to go find him."

"Why would he do that?"

"I dunno, he's been weird recently."

Ally looked away and Leah had a feeling her lie was seen through, or maybe it the girl was having a bout of a self-doubt.

"I'll watch your rematch," Leah told her. When Ally didn't reply, the older girl reached out and lightly touched her shoulder. The girl shielded away at the touch as Leah added, "Alright?"

Turning back, Ally gazed at her with distrust. "Promise?"

Leah didn't hesitate.

"Promise."

Not feeling like going off on her own or visiting Ed, Leah tried to keep up the conversation, no matter how unwilling Ally might be. "So, when are you going home? It's getting dark."

"I'm taking the bus," Ally replied and, like it just occurred to her, stood up, and shouldered her backpack. "I- I have to go now."

It was just a bit odd that a ten-year-old was trusted to take the bus by herself. Sure, the girl went on dangerous journeys and trained powerful creatures to obey her will, but this was something a bit different. She wasn't alone in Cerulean, so why was she taking the bus?

"Won't your parents pick you up?"

Ally shook her head, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. "Dad's in Saffron and Mom's at work; they're busy. I can go by myself."

While Leah hesitated at what to do or say, Ally uttered a quiet, "Bye," and started to walk away from the Pokemon Center.

"Wait!" Leah exclaimed, standing up. "Aren't you going to stay bye to Ed?"

The girl didn't say anything, but the teen saw her bow her head and shoulder's tighten. Maybe it was her imagination, but Leah wondered if Ally started to walk just a bit quicker.

Leah watched until Ally was out of sight before sighed and crossing her arms.

She didn't have any firsthand experience, but Leah was pretty sure good parents didn't leave their kids hanging like that. Sure, Ally's parents had an excuse but the situation just seem a bit strange to her. Her parents' working hours didn't seem to have time for a kid and apparently, Ally knew where the bus terminal was and she was ten. What ten-year-old knew something as boring as that?

Even though Leah was probably blowing something out of proportion, Leah made a mental note to asked Ed what he knew about Ally's personal life.

It was just that Ally had always been weird, very shy and quiet for a ten-year-old. Leah didn't know whether that was because of an odd upbringing or maybe a bad one, but either way, something seem off.

Not that Leah really cared, but it was something to look at. Maybe it'd even give her something to do in her now no-going-home filled week.


-


With Ally gone, there was only one other person she could interact with and lucky for him, she decided to give him her full attention.

Ed was easy to find; all she had to do was ask the nurse where the emergency room was and presto! One brat sitting all by himself.

However, he wasn't the only one in the small waiting room. There was a couple of other trainers there, all looking as sad and miserable as him. One of them, a girl around her age, was sniffing quietly to herself, gripping an Ultra Ball tightly in her hands.

"Hey," Leah greeted, sitting down next to Ed.

He didn't say a word, ignoring her entirely.

"How's Coralie?" she asked him, but still, he said nothing.

Huh. That was weird. He wasn't this silent last time she talked to him, which was about an hour ago. Besides that, Leah never thought she'd see the day when Ally was more talkative than Ed. Someone must have broke the universe when she wasn't looking.

Reminder: find the person who broke the universe so she could force him to fix it again.

Seriously, a silent Ed was creepy. It made her on edge, thinking that he'd suddenly whip out a fire hose, grin, then blast her with water and send her careering to the other side of the room. When people got quiet, they were being evil. It was that simple.

Though, Ed didn't seem like he was plotting evil deeds as he was bent over, head between his knees and looking at the ground with an expressionless face. He looked sick, as if he was about to throw up.

Leaning back in her chair, Leah guessed that cheering him up would take longer than she thought.

… Actually, why was she trying to cheer him up? Hell, why did she try to cheer Ally up?

A draft of air hit Leah's face and she looked up to see one of the emergency room doors open. Above it, the red EMERGENCY light went off and a doctor appeared in the doorway.

"Michelle?" he asked, looking around the room as the girl with the Ultra Ball stood up.

"That's me," she replied, her voice barely a whisper and her eyes red. "I- Is Tino okay?"

The doctor held the door open as he beckoned her inside and after a moment of hesitation, the girl went in. Silently, the door swung shut behind her.

Ed looked incredibly pale, Leah noticed, though she wasn't sure if it was because of that scene or because she hadn't gotten a good look at him before. His hazel eyes were wide and sightless, staring at nothing in particular.

And still, he didn't talk to her at all.

It was annoying.

"Hey," Leah repeated, leaning towards him. "How's Coralie?"

Finally, the boy replied, though the words weren't smaller than a mumble.

"What was that?"

"I don't know," he hissed, raising his voice.

Leah had a funny feeling that if she tried pushing, any conversation they could have had would turn into an argument. So, going with her powers of deduction, she backed up a bit, giving the kid more room and went quiet, letting the boy turn back to whatever invisible thing he was looking at.

Okay… things weren't going to go anywhere, so maybe she should take her leave. She had tried her best, all that jazz, so why was she still sitting? Ed didn't want her here, so it wasn't like he'd stop her from leaving.

Why, exactly, was she bothering? She went to Ally, cheered her up as best she could, and now she was bugging Ed. She never sought the two kids out when she didn't have to, so why was it different now?

Well, maybe because they lost a battle, a gym battle, no less? Not only that, but it was an important battle, where they could finally part ways with her. Leah wasn't the only one wanting them to win, they did too. She remembered all the hours Ed spent in Misty's gym where he could have been outside playing. He put in a lot of effort, and what did he get? He lost. And maybe that was why Ed was acting differently than Ally. As far as Leah knew, Ally spent most of her time with her friends, unlike Ed, who actually worked to win.

Or maybe it was because they were kids. Despite what Leah sometimes thought of doing, you couldn't just kick them when they were down or ignore them when they were depressed. It would be like kicking a puppy (one of those Corgis puppies, not a bulldog puppy that everyone except her thought was adorable).

And maybe that was why she wasn't as angry at them as she thought she'd be. It was hard to yell at someone who was already depressed. She should be yelling and insulting them, but no. She didn't feel anything, really. They lost, boohoo; they could re-challenge the gym later. As much as she hated to admit it, she could wait another week. Give her an unlimited stack of Jason Dare magazines and she could wait a month.

So, back to the original question: why was she trying to cheer them up?

Because it would raise their spirits, of course. If they were upset when battling, they'd be distracted and Leah needed them to do the best they could.

Aha! Problem solved.

Now, what to do about Ed…

Since he didn't want to talk, Leah supposed that she'd just have to wait for him to get better.

Luckily, a magazine rack happened to be in the room and she picked up one that looked interesting, it having a snazzy looking Persian on the cover with Giovanni towering over it.

Interview with Giovanni on pg. 35! it proclaimed.

It had been a while since Leah saw the gym leader on something like a magazine cover. He usually was pushed out of the spotlight in favor of others, like Misty. Though, after seeing him on the S. S. Anne, Leah could say her interest was piped.

What had Giovanni been doing recently?

To answer that question, she settled down to read.


-


Awhile later, Leah put down her magazine and stood up, telling Ed, "I'm going to the bathroom," before leaving.

When she came back, however, the boy was gone.

It wasn't a big mystery where he had gone. The doctor must have called him into the Emergency Room, and with that answer in mind, Leah sat back down and picked up her magazine, mind elsewhere.

Before she had gone on this journey, she was perfectly fine in saying that she didn't care one bit about what happened to a Pokemon. They died all the time, and it wasn't rare when the news reported a death (usually not natural, but there were some exceptions) of some famous person's Pokemon. A lot of Pokemon didn't even live very long anyways. It was like crying for that gerbil that was a class' pet. They died all the time and could easily be replaced without anyone noticing.

Now, things had changed. She didn't know when she had gotten attached to her Sandshrew, but she had and now she was stuck being nice to him. It wouldn't have been too bad if the extent of her fondness didn't extend to the brats' Pokemon as well. Sometimes, she found herself petting Amber when he begged, bugging Coralie and even mockingly blocking Parasect's path whenever he crawled over. Of course, she didn't bother Sparks much; she wasn't that stupid.

The prospect of Coralie dying was one that made Leah frown and it made her frown more when she caught herself doing it. The jiggle-y little transformer was weird as hell, but Leah couldn't say that she wouldn't feel sad if it randomly died all a sudden.

Which is why Leah hoped for its recovery.

Having good timing, it was then that Ed came back out of the room, looking as relieved as could be.

"Coralie okay?" Leah asked and Ed froze, apparently forgetting that she was there.

Finally, he nodded. "Y- Yeah," he said. "She's going to be okay, but she's going to have trouble transforming for a while."

Leah didn't really know what to say, so what came out was: "That's good."

A weight had obviously been taken off Ed's shoulders but he still walked with his head bowed and his shoulders hunched as he went past Leah, obviously intending to leave.

Leah threw down her magazine and followed.

The two walked in silence in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. There weren't too many people around as the sky was already dark and all the good little trainers were tucked in their beds. There were a few people sitting in front of the television, their eyes glazed over at whatever they were watching.

Having left any tact she had back at the gym, Leah asked, "So, when are you going to re-challenge Misty?"

Ed stopped abruptly and Leah noticed his hands clenching.

Okay, maybe the wrong question to ask.

"Coralie almost died," he spat out, turning to face her. "I can't- I just can't put her through that again."

"So what? You're going to fight with Parasect?"

He shook his head. "No; he'd drown! My Pokemon aren't good at battling in water, so…" He looked nervous. "I- I'm just going to not battle Misty again."

The response was absolutely absurd. Ed, the boy who's dream to become a Pokemon Master, not wanting to challenge a gym leader? Yeah, he must have been replaced by an alien when she wasn't looking. There could be no other explanation.

"Then how are you going to compete in the Indigo League?" Leah asked, crossing her arms.

"I dunno, but I won't battle Misty again!" Ed seemed very certain of the fact and whenever he got that determined, his mind didn't change easily.

Leah frowned. Okay, him not wanting to get his fourth badge in Cerulean didn't change that much. As long as Ally got the badge, Leah could go home, not having to worry about Ed.

But…

"Maybe you should go catch a water-type," Leah suggested, not letting Ed give up so easily. Sure, his Pokemon was hurt, but that was no excuse to give up.

Well, actually, if she thought about it, she would probably be pretty cautious if her Pokemon was hurt. If Sands almost drowned, she'd definitely not let him near the water. And since Zee was too fat to swim, there would really be no way to challenge the gym leader.

Strangely, Ed seemed closed off to her idea. "I don't want another Pokemon," he exclaimed. "I'm not challenging Misty."

To prove that he was done with her, he turned away and continued walking, right out the front door. A cold gust of wind blew into the lobby, but was cut off as the door slid closed behind him. Leah didn't follow him out into the night, though she did consider it.

Maybe a good night sleep would change his mind since Leah doubted she would get through. She'd already spent over an hour sitting with him and maybe it was time to do something else.

She wondered if the cafeteria was still opened.

It was dark and cold outside, but that didn't stop Ed from being there, shivering in the cool wind. He wasn't wearing warm clothes, having not yet gotten used to autumn weather, and his jacket was in his room. He could go get his jacket before returning to his sulking, but that would mean he might run into Leah. And that was something he didn't want.

He didn't want to talk to anyone, not Leah, not Ally and not even his brother. He just wanted to be alone.

And alone he was.

Sighing, Ed walked to a bench a little ways from the Pokemon Center. There was a perfectly good one closer, but that one sat before a window and he didn't want Leah watching him.

The bench seemed lonelier then his previous spot, not a soul around, which was just what he wanted.

He sat down and leaned back, ignoring the dampness of the wood.

Finally, a time where he could think.

The hours he spent waiting for Coralie in the emergency room didn't count; he wasn't thinking then. Then, fantasies of Coralie's death played and replayed inside his head as guilt gnawed at him from every direction. But now that he had actual news of his Ditto's survival, the fantasies had lifted, though the guilt decided to stay.

It was all his fault.

It didn't matter that Coralie was going to be okay, he was the reason his Pokemon was hurt in the first place. He knew that Coarlie still had problems in water, but he didn't think, too busy looking forward at getting another badge.

His brother would be so ashamed if he found out. William had always treated his Pokemon kindly, never pushing them and was always so prepared. He studied before every gym battle, making sure nothing would surprise him and that his Pokemon were ready. Because of that, his brother had never lost a gym battle and he still had his collection of gym badges in a little case under his bed.

Not only that, but Coralie wasn't Ed's Pokemon. She was William's. His brother had only given her to him; he didn't catch her or train her. She already knew some moves and could use them without Ed ever teaching her. It could be said that Ed was only borrowing her, that she wasn't even his.

And now Coralie was hurt.

She got hurt in her last gym battle too, but this time it was worse. Unlike with Surge, Ed knew that he shouldn't push his Pokemon, but he did anyway. He wasn't ignorant like last time.

It was all his fault.

What was worse was that more than just Ally and Leah were watching his battle. Everyone saw him lose and get Coralie hurt. He didn't really talk with Ally's classmates, too busy focusing on the battle (and getting Coralie hurt), but he bet that they thought he was a terrible trainer.

But that was true, wasn't it? All he had been doing was getting his Pokemon hurt, Coralie most of all. He remembered, way back to his first gym battle, that he sent Paras against Blaine's fire-types. Now he could see how dangerous and stupid that was and how thankful he was that Paras wasn't totally hurt. He acted so recklessly and still, Blaine had given him a badge, almost congratulating him at getting his Pokemon hurt.

Really, he should have his Pokemon taken away for being so stupid.

"You alright?" a quiet voice asked and Ed turned his head, almost expecting to see Leah or Ally, but it was only some strange man. He seemed to be peering at him curiously, but it was too dark to really see his features. His hair looked brown and the man was dressed warmly for the weather with a sweater and jeans.

Ed blinked at the sudden question and nodded, hoping that he'd go away.

But the man didn't. Instead, he sat next to Ed on the bench.

Obviously, Ed was not in the mood for company, especially with a stranger, so he asked, "What'd you want?"

"Nothing," the man replied. His voice was so low that Ed almost had to strain to hear him. "You just look upset. Are you a trainer?"

"Yeah," Ed replied, a bit cautious. Strangers don't usually go up to a person just because they looked upset, especially not at this hour. He wondered if he should get up and go back to the Pokemon Center, but Leah's lingering presence convinced him otherwise.

Finally and a bit reluctantly, Ed added, "How'd you guess?"

"A kid wouldn't be outside this late, especially on a school night."

The man's explanation made sense, but still, Ed didn't want to be bothered. It didn't seem like the man would go away, so it'd probably take drastic action.

"Can you go away?" he said bluntly.

"No," the man replied, crossing his legs. "I'm waiting for someone and I wanted to sit down. You can move if you don't like it."

Of course, Ed refused to move. He had found the bench first!

With both of them not wanting to move, they were forced to share, Ed made a point of his discomfort by sitting at the edge of the bench, body tense.

After a while of silence on both sides and just when Ed was starting to relax, the man suddenly asked, "Do you want to battle?"

Ed was taken aback. That was the last thing he expected to be asked and really, the last thing he wanted to be asked. Coralie was just taken out of the emergency room and was there in the first place because of him! Did he want to battle? No!

"I don't want to," he said out loud.

The man seemed surprised. "Really? Trainers never say no to a battle."

"Yeah, well, I'm busy," Ed snapped, turning to face him. "I don't want to battle!"

The man raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. Just thought I'd ask. Battling always makes me feel good and I thought it'd might cheer you up."

Ed grumbled, "Why do you care so much?" Then, as another question entered his mind, he asked, "Why are you out here anyways?"

"I told you, I'm waiting," the man explained. "I've been waiting out here for hours with nothing to do and you're really the only one around to talk to."

At that, Ed looked around, spotting a couple of other people in the area, who looked older and probably more interesting to him. So, why was he being bothered?

"Who are you waiting for?"

The man looked a bit uncomfortable at that, his posture shifting. "Well, ah, my girlfriend, actually. She said to meet me here around this time, so that's what I'm doing."

"Why are you guys coming meeting here after dark?" Ed asked.

"Why are you out after dark?" he asked back.

Not wanting to get one-upped, Ed frowned. "I just wanted to be alone and think; the Pokemon Center's too… noisy," he finished awkwardly, not knowing what else he could replace 'Leah' with.

"What, did you lose a battle or something?"

Ed gaped at him. "How did you know?"

"When I was your age, I was always depressed after losing," the man replied.

"How did you get over it?"

He shrugged. "Made the best of it, I suppose. I've been training for years, so I don't really lose the often, anyways."

"Oh." Ed went silent. "Um, did your Pokemon ever get hurt?"

"Really hurt?"

"Yeah."

The man was quiet for a bit before he said, "When I was around fifteen, I made the mistake of sending my Graveler against Pryce's Piloswine. Pryce is an ice-type gym leader in Johto," he explained for Ed's benefit. "Anyways, I thought my Graveler could just smash through Piloswine's shields of ice since none of my other Pokemon were doing the trick, but Piloswine got lucky and got an Ice Beam through. Ice is really effective against rock-types and my Graveler was frozen solid." He paused. "Did one of your Pokemon get hurt?"

Ed let out a breath. "My Ditto… she almost drowned."

"Is she okay?"

"She's going to be, but… She's really going to have trouble transforming now. She took in too much water."

"At least she's alive, right?" the man said. "She's luckier then my Graveler."

"… Did you Graveler die?" Ed asked, not really wanting to know the answer, but still curious. Rock-types were really hard to kill.

"Piloswine drove his tusks into my Graveler earlier in the match," he explained, "and when Graveler was frozen, the ice went into the cracks as well. So, when he unfroze, he sort of… broke apart."

Ed shivered. He wouldn't know what to do if his Pokemon broke apart. At least Coralie was still alive and could still battle. "How'd you get over it? Did you re-challenge Pryce?"

"I got over pretty fast," the man admitted to Ed's surprised look. "I had been training for five years and it's common for Pokemon to die in battle. It's no one's fault; these things just happen. Most of my old Pokemon are dead or retired over at Oak's lab by now and I have them replaced with new Pokemon." He paused. "I didn't go against Pryce again, though, I really just didn't feel like it. Instead, I waited for a few months before I sent one of my brothers to battle him under my name so I could compete in the Silver League."

Ed didn't want to battle Misty again either, but he didn't think William would be up to battling in his place.

"You know," the man continued. "You don't need to re-challenge Misty so soon. This town won't disappear after you leave; you can come back later."

"… I guess," Ed said, but that still didn't answer his problem about beating Misty. He wasn't going to use Coralie and Parasect couldn't swim, so did that mean he would have to catch another Pokemon soon? He knew he would, Misty or not, but what Pokemon would it be?

"Hey," the man said, catching his attention. "Why don't we battle? It won't have to be long, just a quick one." Probably thinking that he needed to do some bribing, the man added, "I'll give you a prize if you win."

Ed opened his mouth, intent of telling him no, but…

"Fine," he said and the man grinned.

"One-on-one okay with you?" the man asked as he led Ed over to an empty patch of grass a bit further away.

Since he only had one Pokemon with him anyways, there wasn't much else he could do but agree. His other Pokemon was hurt, and even if it wasn't all his fault, that didn't mean he didn't have to be careful. He only agreed to the battle because, well, why not? He knew Parasect; the bug-type was his first Pokemon and unless the person he was battling had a fire-type, there wasn't many ways the battle could go wrong.

It was a quick turnabout, actually. Ten minutes ago, he'd swear that he'd never battle again and now look at what he was doing.

This time would be different, though. He wouldn't let his Pokemon get hurt like that again. Never again.

"What's your name?" Ed asked.

The man apparently didn't expect the question as he looked taken aback. Then, as he got out a Poke Ball, he said, "Ah, my name's Dust-y."

"That's a really weird name," Ed commented, feeling a cool wind blow into his face. He sent out his Parasect without waiting, and his Pokemon shuffled forwards under the weight of his giant mushroom, intent on fleeing.

Ed, use to the behavior, stepped in front of his Pokemon, smiling ever so slightly. "Where you going, Parasect? It's battle time!"

Parasect did not look pleased.

"Interesting choice," Dusty said, looking only a bit put out by the reaction to his name. "Let's see what you can do against mine." Then, he released his Pokemon.

The Pokemon was different and certainly one that Ed had never seen before. It had a small dog-like body with dark floppy ears and stood on its hind legs. Behind it was a long and thin tail that had a large tuff on the end of it that resembled the end of a paintbrush.

"Whoa, what is it?" Ed asked, staring at its large eyes and pink tongue hanging out of its mouth.

"He is a Smeargle." Dusty seemed rather proud of his Pokemon. "He's from Johto and is really rare; I'll tell you that much."

An unknown Pokemon wasn't the best opponent to face, but Ed felt confident. It didn't look like much and it was probably a normal-type, so that meant no surprises there…

Wait.

He was confident in his last battle too and look where that got him. He was supposed to be careful. What if Parasect got hurt, too?

Never again, remember? He wouldn't break that promise!

There was no referee to say when a battle started, so Ed went first.

"Parasect, Spore! Now!"

Parasect was slow, so time was as of the essence. Unlike with Paras, there were no signs that showed how the bug-type's progress was going, but Ed hoped it was going well. There was no time to waste.

"Smeargle," Dusty said, the Pokemon giving no signs of listening as it looked in another direction, its ears perked up. "Let's not go asleep, okay? Safeguard."

Just when Ed was about to conclude that nothing happened, a strange thing was happening around Smeargle's tail, the end tuff starting to gain a green tint as a paint-like substance stated to generate. Then suddenly, Smeargle was glowing green. The color was faint, but it could be clearly seen in the dark, and add to that the green substance on its tail was also glowing in the dark, giving the Pokemon a rather odd look.

It made Ed nervous. "Parasect!"

Parasect shifted and a hissing sound became present as something was released into the air.

Smeargle was clearly seen as it jumped back, its tail in front of it like a weapon.

"Don't overreact," Dusty scolded the Pokemon. "It's alright, don't worry about it. Instead, use Lock-On. No time for misses."

Ed bit his lip, wondering why the Smeargle wasn't falling asleep. He knew Safeguard was a type a barrier, but was it a type that stopped it from falling asleep? Apparently, as still, nothing was happening. And the Johto Pokemon was giving his Parasect an odd look, like it was concentrating on something.

The battle had hardly started and already things weren't going well.

It was nerve-racking in a way that a battle had never been. Ed loved battling, seeing Pokemon battle it out, but as the seconds ticked by, he wanted to withdraw from the match. Parasect wasn't hurt, but he could be and he didn't even know what a Smeargle could really do.

He didn't know what he should do.

"Parasect…" Ed hesitated, covering it up with a convenient yawn. He didn't want the battle to go on for any longer but any attacks Parasect had involved getting real close to the victim and that made him nervous. He did have a real strong offensive move, but it would be a rick, one he didn't want to take.

Finally, he called out, "Slash!" and hoped for the best.

The darkness was pushed away as Parasect's claws glowed with a white light. Smeargle backed into its trainer's leg from the sight, intimidated, but Dusty just gently pushed him forward, giving him a look.

"Come on, scared-y cat," the man said. "Go up to it and use Cut. Give it a chance."

Under the green glow, Ed could see the glare the Pokemon gave its trainer before looking at the Parasect nervously, who wasn't making any move forward.

"Parasect, go!"

With a sigh of reluctance, Parasect paraded forward at the pace of a snail, his stick-like feet making tiny clicking sounds against the cement. Smeargle looked at it, obviously wanting to back away, but only kept in place by its loyalty to its trainer. And even then, it looked like the Pokemon wanted to ditch it all together.

Just when Parasect was a few feet from his target, Smeargle's tail flicked out of sight as the Pokemon spun on its feet, its tail like a whip as it slashed Parasect on its mushroom, the tuff of its tail straightened out like a sword. Parasect's claws lashed out, nicking the normal-type's tail as it made its escape.

Ed gulped as he saw his Parasect take tiny steps back from the other Pokemon, who was lapping up the blood from the small cut on its tail. Walking around his Parasect, Ed was horrified to see the horizontal slash that stretched from one end of the bug-type to the other. It may be dark, but even he could see the pain his Pokemon was in, the bug-type twitching oddly and struggling to stay standing.

Dropping down to his knees, Ed raised a hand to his Pokemon's wound, lightly touching it to his Parasect's dismay. Instead of blood, the cut oozed an odd white puss that felt sticky and thick to the touch.

"… I- I give up!" Ed told the man, who was watching him silently. "T- This is too much!"

The man was very accepting. "Alright," he said, but made no move to return his Pokemon. After a moment of watching Ed fuss over his Pokemon, Dusty asked, "Want some advice?"

"No," Ed said, his voice sullen, returning his Pokemon when he found that there was nothing he could really do. Now his other Pokemon was hurt just because he decided to have a battle. He had to get to the Pokemon Center.

Dusty continued like he didn't hear. "Really, your Parasect needs some work if you want it to battle properly. Its way too slow and even a weaker fast Pokemon would be able to beat it."

"Oh, go away!" Ed snapped, feeling embarrassed when he felt tears prickling in his eyes. "How am I supposed to fix that, anyways?"

The man shrugged. "You can't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You never see Parasect in official battles. You ever wonder why?" Dusty questioned. "Parasect aren't good battlers and can be taken out easily. They're better at incapacitating things than anything else. They're good for Pokemon capturers, not trainers."

Ed got to his feet, and wavered as he felt a rush of dizziness. "Don't call him stupid!" Ed said, and was only mildly concerned to hear his voice come out a bit slurred. There was an odd blackness at the edge of his vision that was growing as the seconds passed.

"Are you alright?" the man asked, suddenly looked around. He took a big breath of air and then suddenly looked a bit sick as he put his sleeve to his mouth. Dusty's muffled voice said, "Damn, the Spore's still in the air."

Sitting back down again since the ground kept trying to spin beneath his feet, Ed groaned, fighting his eyelids determined motion to close.

Maybe he shouldn't have used Spore after all…

Using the last bit of his strength, Ed pointed to the Pokemon Center in the distance and told Dusty in a quiet voice, "Pokemon Center, bring me there. Parasect…"

Then, the world arched and blackness overtook his vision as Ed toppled over, asleep before he even hit the ground.


-


"Ed? Ed!"

The voice was jarring and really left no choice for Ed to wake up, though when he did, he was surprised to find where he was.

"What are you doing out here?" Leah asked, towering over him with her arms crossed and a look of confusion over her face.

"Huh?" Ed muttered, feeling the soft leather padding beneath him. "I- I dunno."

He got up, shielding the morning sun from his face as he looked out into the lobby, where business at the Pokemon Center was maintaining as usual. He was sitting on a couch, away from most of the hubbub, with a single blanket thrown over his legs. His eyelids felt heavy and he put a hand to his mouth as he yawned, obviously still tired after an apparent good night's sleep.

The events of last night were unfortunately clear, and he felt mortification on falling asleep outside with only a stranger to help and with Parasect still hurt-

Wait.

Ed's hand shot to his pockets, where no familiar sphere shape sat.

"Where's Parasect?!"

"You lost your Pokemon?" Leah asked as Ed shot off the couch, not picking up the blanket when it fell on the ground, and rushed to the middle of the lobby. His eyes searched every corner, but he couldn't see the man from last night, and even then, he wasn't sure he'd recognize him since his memory of the man's face was blurred.

Was his Parasect stolen? No, no, no, no, no-

At a last ditch effort, Ed went up to the front desk, where the nurse there smiled at him kindly.

"Um, my Parasect-" he started and the nurse nodded instantly.

"He's in the recovery room," she told him as she picked up a note and something shiny from the desk. "A man brought you and your Parasect in last night, explaining everything to my coworker. Your Parasect is fine; he just needs some time to heal."

Ed swallowed, relieved beyond belief. He wouldn't know what he'd due if his Parasect was stolen. "T- That's good."

The nurse smiled at him and gave him a note and a small metal badge.

"The man left these for you before leaving," she told him, with Ed blinked at her and unraveled the note from the small square it was folded into.

It read:

You didn't win, but you hurt Smeargle, which is pretty hard. Consider this your fourth badge. :)

It was short and brief and there was no signature left on it, but it was fairly obvious who it was from.

Leah read it over his shoulder. "You battled some weird guy last night?"

"Yeah," he said, looking at the badge. "I didn't think he'd actually give me anything."

It felt cold in his hands as he turned it over and it was different from all the other badges he'd seen. It was crimson red, for one, and was shaped in a capital R, its lines straight and corners sharp. The back of it was black and the whole thing gleamed, as if it was brand new.

Ed stared at it for a few more moments before Leah plucked it from his hands.

"Hey!"

"I'm just looking," Leah said, rolling her eyes, giving it back to him when Ed glared. "So, let me get this straight: you battled some guy, lost, fell asleep outside and got some cool badge out of it?"

Putting the badge in his pocket, Ed nodded and then turned away.

"Where you going?" Leah called out to his retreating back as his walk started to turn into a run.

"Checking on Coralie!"

With that, Ed left Leah's sights, his mind focused on his Ditto and having the comforting weight of a badge in his pocket.


-


A/N: Ugh. This chapter… Where do I start? Originally, Leah was supposed to have a huge argument with Ed and Ally because of their losses, and I even wrote half a chapter with that in mind before I finally decided that that I couldn't see Leah acting that way. So, I ditched that chapter and wrote another, so that's my excuse on why this chapter is, like, two weeks late.

Anyways, the ending wasn't the best, but I needed it done, so that's that. Next chapter should focus on Ally, if everything goes to plan.