"Tini, front and center!"

A brilliantly blue Dragonair emerged from his pokeball and landed in front of his master. He watched her carefully, wondering what challenge she was going to present him with. She placed her hands on her hips and lightly smiled at him.

"Tini, why do you always look at me like that?"

The Dragonair just gave her a skeptical look. She sighed and grabbed another pokeball off her belt.

"Kabu, front and center!"

A Kabutops landed in front of her and swung his bladed arms. She eyed her Kabutops very proudly. She sharpened his blades everyday. She had gotten her Kabutops when he was still a Kabuto. He had just been a fossil when she got him, and now he was one of her strongest Pokemon. One of the pokeballs on her belt glowed and a steel bird flew out.

"Skarmie! What was that about?!"

The Skarmory landed and fluttered her wings a little. It was obvious that the Skarmory loved to mess with her owner. The young girl sighed and decided to let her other Pokemon out. She grabbed two more pokeballs and threw them in the air.

"Omy, Epiphany, front and center!"

An Omastar and a Togekiss appeared and looked around. Togekiss immediately went to the violet egg that rested in her master's arms and sniffed it. Togekiss had an uncanny ability to tell when an egg was going to hatch.

"How much longer, Epiphany?"

Togekiss smiled and flew around.

"I'm guessing that means the egg will hatch soon?"

Togekiss nodded and flew over to Dragonair. The two began playing together. Omastar and Kabu went over to the water and started swimming. Skarmory flew over to the girl and nudged the egg.

"Careful, Skarmie. I know you can't wait to find out what's in the egg, but it shouldn't be that long now."

Skarmory nodded and flew over to Togekiss and Dragonair. The girl slumped down in front of a tree and set the egg down beside her. She closed her eyes let the sounds of her Pokemon playing make her fall asleep.

Not too far from where the girl was resting, a boy with purple hair was walking down a path. His eyes surveyed the area, always searching for wild Pokemon. He heard the sounds of Pokemon and walked toward the source. He saw a Dragonair, Kabutops, Togekiss, Skarmory, and an Omastar. Once the Kabutops saw him, it rushed over to a girl resting under a tree. The Kabutops flashed its arms and glared threateningly at him. All of the other Pokemon looked over and the Skarmory flew over in front of the boy. He backed up in alarm and the Togekiss flew over to its owner. The girl woke up when the Togekiss nudged her and she looked around.

"Kabu, what are you doing?"

The boy's eyes widened slightly when he heard her voice. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he heard it. He saw her look around, pale blond hair swishing with every movement of her head. Her eyes rested on him and she smiled.

"Skarmie, get away from him. Kabu, go play with Omy. Everyone, continue with whatever you were doing."

She stood up and grabbed the violet egg resting next to her. She walked over to him with the smile still on her lips.

"Hey there."

The boy simply nodded and looked at all her Pokemon. He could feel the girl's eyes on him, examining his features.

"My name's Lotus. And, what's your name?"

When he looked at her, he felt as though she already knew what his name was. It puzzled him. She seemed so familiar, but he didn't know why.

"Paul."

Her smile grew and she hugged him. He stumbled a bit at the sudden embrace.

"I knew it was you! I just knew it!"

He moved away from her and her smile fell a bit.

"You don't remember me, do you?"

He shook his head and her smile fell more.

"Do you remember in the Johto Region, when you battled Lt. Surge?"

He nodded, recalling the tough battle.

"Do you remember his daughter?"

He searched through his memories and remembered a young girl, about his age, with pale blond hair and deep blue eyes. He also remembered a Togepi in her arms. He remembered spending time with her after he beat Lt. Surge.

"That was me! I'm Surge's daughter!"

"Really?"

She nodded and hugged him again. This time, he returned her hug after slight hesitation.

"I don't remember you having all these Pokemon. Didn't you just have that Togepi?"

Lotus nodded and motioned for her Togekiss to fly over.

"Togepi evolved into Togekiss not too long after I got here. I also got Kabu, Omy, and Tini."

"When did you get the Skarmory?"

"I got Skarmie…in the Hoenn region I think."

As Paul watched her tell the tale of her encounter with Skarmory, he remembered the small girl with a Togepi in her arms. He remembered her infectious laughter and her beautiful smile. He couldn't, however, remember why he left her in Vermilion. He felt himself falling for her every moment they spent together, but he never remembered why he left. The last memory of him and her together was when he turned his back on her tear-streaked face as he left Vermilion.