A/N 1: Aimee is pronounced Aim-me.

A/N 2: This takes place roughly about a year after the Sinnoh series of Pokémon. During this course of year, obviously new apps for the Pokétech would be developed. Aimee's new app is one of those.

A/N 3: It's mapped out (the routes etc) following the current Diamond/Pearl games.

I.

Oreburgh City, surrounded by rock mines, held up by its Gym Leader, Roark. The residents' pride and joy were in Roark and his job in managing the mines single-handley. The 21 year old male loved his city despite originally coming from Canaleve City. He knew every single person living there (he considers it part of his role as Gym Leader to know) and so, when Aimee ran into him one day, he just smiled.

"Hey there!"

Aimee gasped and jumped back, brushing the dirt from her clothes. Roark had just finished a heavy mining job, so he was covered from head to foot in dirt, helmet tucked under his arm.

"Hey..." she uttered, looking up at him. "I was looking for you."

"Really? How can I be of assistance for you?" Roark enquired.

Aimee swallowed nervously. "....I wanna be a Gym Leader."

The older male blinked. "...Really? That's great! Sinnoh could use another Gym Leader - we haven't had one since I took over Oreburgh Gym."

"Y-yeah...I don't want to just be a Pokémon master, or an Co-ordinator," Aimee replied. "Or just an ordinary trainer. I want to make an impression in this world."

Roark chuckled as Aimee punched the air slightly. "Well, being a Gym Leader certainly means you impress people!"

The younger girl blushed. "I'm not doing it to impress!"

"It's alright," Roark said gently, dusting off some dirt from his jacket. "I think it's very good you want to be a Gym Leader. It's ambitious."

Aimee nodded, her long black hair swishing in the breeze. "Since you're our Gym Leader, I thought to come to you for advice."

Roark smiled. "Sure. I'd be happy to help you out. I just need to go grab a shower and then I can meet you somewhere?"

The black haired girl looked worried. "Oh! Oh yeah...umm. Just outside your Gym?"

Roark nodded. "Sure - see you there in an hour, okay?" He raised a hand in a wave.

"Okay!" Aimee grinned, waving back, watching as the older male trotted off, talking to himself as it seems, but if she really knew him, he was actually talking to a rock - Roark was strange like that.

An hour dragged by slowly for Aimee. She sighed as she sat at a low bench outside Oreburgh Gym. It was still summer for them, so the evening was balmy. She fanned at her face as a random Pokémon walked by, minding its own business. Aimee checked it with her Pokédex, seeing it was a Jiggypuff.

"Hmm." She frowned as she studied its stats on the tiny screen.

"Thinking of catching it?"

Aimee jumped up, gasping in surprise. She turned to yell at the intruder, but blushed when it was in fact Roark. "You scared me!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry, Aimee," Roark said, sitting down, looking refreshed and clean. "I apologise for being a bit late - my father rang... he was checking on me."

Aimee settled down. "Bryon? Is he that...strange old man walking about in tattered clothing and proclaiming his son is the best?"

Roark flushed, looking a tad miffed. "Yes. That's him."

"He's funny," Aimee said, trying to calm Roark down. "He once told me a joke about a rock Pokémon walking into a bar..."

"Yeah," Roark interrupted sourly, "it's an old joke. He tells people that all of the time."

The younger girl pouted. "Oh..."

"Never mind about my father - what did you want to know?"

"Everything about being a Gym Leader!" Aimee said, looking attentive as she turned to Roark. "How did you start and was it easy?"

Roark looked thoughtful as he looked to the sky. Aimee could see the early stars twinkling, their reflection visible in his glasses.

"Hm. Well, I don't know if anyone had told you, but I wasn't originally meant to be Gym Leader here," he said quietly. "My father wanted someone named Riley to take over."

"Riley..." Aimee repeated slowly. "Bryon mentioned him a few times. He seems...keen."

Roark nodded. "He and my father have this relationship. They trust each other - I think Riley helped my father out of a tight spot and ever since they have been friends."

Aimee thought about this Riley person. "Aww, that's nice...Riley has a...Lucario was it?"

"Yep." Roark sat up, eyes still on the sky. "He's a great trainer - knows what he's doing and such. My father wanted him to be Gym Leader here when I was 18. Even though I told him I plan to take over and studied for the exam, my father still went behind my back and asked Riley."

"...What happened? Did he accept your dad's offer?"

Roark shook his head. "No. Riley told him that he heard I was going to take up on the role and he actually insisted on letting my father give me a chance."

Aimee was impressed by Riley. She pondered if they would ever meet...

"My father listened to him - he never does that with anyone else - and so, I became Gym Leader," Roark continued, looking a bit more cheerier. "Riley's a good person. I can see why my father likes him."

"I like him too!" Aimee said gleefully, feeling giddy at the thought, causing Roark to look at her in mild surprise. He then remembered Aimee was only a 13 year old girl, easily impressed.

"You should be able to meet him soon. Riley likes to check on me from time to time," Roark chuckled.

"When?!" Aimee asked, feeling eager.

"Oh, uh." Roark was flummoxed. "S-soonish..."

Aimee squealed softly to herself in pure excitement. She could meet him! Maybe he'll like her! Maybe they could hit it off and date!

"How old is he?" she asked, eyeing Roark with bright brown eyes. "Your age?"

Roark nodded. "Just about. I think he's around three or four years older than me."

"Oh my god..." Aimee breathed, feeling light headed. "I'm meeting the Riley!"

Roark blinked and shook his head. He wondered how Riley would feel knowing he has yet another young girl liking him? He sat back and cleared his throat.

"Anyway... now you know about my beginning, I think we can move on," he said. "To be a Gym Leader, you need to assemble a team of Pokémon that just about share the same type."

"Type?" Aimee echoed thoughtfully. "Hmm. I've been thinking about that..."

"Yeah, it's traditional for a Gym leader to lead a team of the same type - mine is rock," Roark replied. "I use a Graveller, Onix, Cranidos and Rampardos."

Aimee looked to the older male. "...I haven't even got a starter Pokémon yet," she muttered worriedly. "Been thinking which one would be a great asset to my team - be the powerhouse."

Roark nodded wisely. "It's a tough decision, alright..."

"I better catch a Pokémon soon, though," Aimee carried on, plucking a loose thread from her skirt. "Where would you go to catch one?"

"To the caves!" Roark answered cheerfully. "I got Graveller and Onix from the local cave." He then turned to the younger girl. "Problem is, there is rock pokémon there...you need to think about what type to try train up."

"I'm sure rock types aren't so bad..." Aimee said slowly, watching as Roark took a Poké ball from his pocket and commanded Cranidos to come out. A small blue dinosaur like creature came out, yawning loudly as it shuffled around to look at Roark.

"Cran?" it muttered.

"Meet Aimee, Cranidos," Roark said happily, gesturing to the girl besides him. The creature looked to find a black haired girl waving at him nervously. It raised a paw in response and waggled its little claws.

"Hi, Cranidos!" Aimee giggled. "He's cute!"

"She," Roark corrected, petting his Pokémon fondly. "Cranidos was hatched from an egg from my Rampardos."

"Well," Aimee leant over to try pat the Cranidos as well, "she's super cute!"

Delighted at being complimented, the Pokémon leapt at Aimee, landing in her lap. "Cran, Cranidos!"

"Oh!" Aimee gasped, hands clutching the small creature. "She's rather heavy for a small thing."

Roark laughed as Cranidos glared at the girl. "But she's a great Pokémon!" he added.

Aimee let go of the creature when it turned to jump at Roark instead. She smiledand stood up.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to catch the first Pokémon I see and use its type to build up my team!" she announced, feeling very brave.

Roark and Cranidos looked up at her. "Wow, very...brave!"

Aimee swallowed. It was like a lottery - goodness knows what would be her first Pokémon. Would it be a Metapod? Or something a lot random such as a Togepi? She shook her head, those were little Pokémon, she needed to think bigger for her team. But she did say she will catch the first she sees...