Chapter 2

Flame

As the two friends walked into the lab, they started hearing the cries of Pokémon playing out in the backyard.

They had emerged into a large room with many artifacts and fossils hung on the walls. Many complicated looking machines were dotted around the floor, and a Chansey was wandering around tending to different objects by pressing buttons. Flame wondered if it knew what it was doing or not, but he figured they would have left before Professor Maple found out.

"I wonder where Professor Maple is?" Flame wondered aloud. "She said she would be waiting for us here."

"What if she thought we weren't coming since we're so late?" Shock suggested worriedly.

Flame looked around some more for the Professor, but he saw not even a single scientist, when there were normally people and Pokemon rushing about, doing experiments. "I'm not sure. Maybe she's out back with the Pokemon? She did say that some new Pokemon came in, so she could be tending to them."

"That could be true," Shinx agreed.

"Yes," Fennekin said.

Shock looked doubtful. "Normally new Pokemon would be kept in the side room, remember? And we would be able to see her through that window." Shock gestured to a window in the side of the building, where through it you could see a small, bright room with a grass floor.

"That's true as well," Flame murmured. A sinking feeling was growing in his stomach. Had Professor Maple forgotten? Were they too late?

"I'm sure she'll turn up soon," Fennekin reassured him, as if reading his mind.

"I hope you're right, I've been waiting way too long for this," Shinx responded.

"Over here," A female voice said from the shadows, as a tall woman in a lab coat and carrying two high-tech looking devices. Startled, Fennekin dropped off of Flame's shoulder with a shout to land beside Shinx, who had dropped a moment before. Both tiny Pokémon bared their claws, and flames flickered around the tiny fox Pokémon, as Shinx glared at the professor, the tips of his claws glowing with electricity.

"Geez Shinx, it's just Professor Maple," Shock laughed, patting the Pokemon's fluffy head. Shinx seemed to calm slightly when he recognized her.

Flame sighed with relief that the Professor was there.

"Don't worry about it," the Professor replied, "But may I ask, why you're almost two hours late?" There was a slight edge to her voice, as if she were holding back a wave of anger.

Flame didn't want to anger her further by lying. "This lazy Snorlax was asleep 'till eight-thirty!" he blurted before Shock had any time to say anything.

"Is that so?" Replied Professor Maple, gritting her teeth slightly. She whipped around. "Well, come with me,"

Shock let out a sigh of relief when the professor didn't attack him somehow.

The two boys followed her through a maze of metallic devices, and it seemed Shock could not help asking what each and every one of them was for. To Flame's surprise, the Professor kept her cool.

Soon they exited through a large door in the back of the lab. They emerged in a large, grassy, fenced-in area with Pokemon playing nearly everywhere. In one corner there was a small pool of water where many water types were frolicking, and there was a pit of sand for the ground types. Grass type Pokemon were hanging out and playing by a tall tree, as well.

Flame looked around. "Woah! Look at all of those Pokémon!"

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Shock added.

Flame noticed him reaching for a Pokeball from his belt, but slapped his hand away quickly. "What are you planning to do, catch one of these Pokemon?"

Shock looked confused and irritated. "Yeah, obviously.

Flame shook his head. How stupid does this guy get? "These Pokemon live here with Professor Maple!"

The Professor looked at Flame approvingly. "This one knows what he's talking about." She switched her gaze to Shock, who looked back sheepishly. "This one, however, could use some work."

Flame laughed at Shock, who, as usual, protested indignantly.

"Can we go over there?" Fennekin asked, angling her tail towards a Litleo, Vulpix, and Flareon playing in the field, shooting jets of fire at each other, and pretending to be fighting an intense battle.

"Go ahead," Flame said absentmindedly as he stared around the field.

"I don't want to go there!" Shinx complained, "I want to go there!" He said angling his ears at a Pikachu, Mareep, Dedenne, and Emolga playing chase towards the center of the field.

"Fine," Shock sighed. "You better get back in time for us to leave, I need some cannon fodder."

Shinx stuck out his tongue at Shock and dashed towards the Pokemon.

"These devices are called a Pokedex," Professor Maple explained, "They are used for re-"

"Recording data of the Pokémon you capture and battle!" Flame blurted out, and then promptly slapped his hand over his mouth.

"Yes, that's right," the professor replied looking amused, as she handed the pair each a Pokedex, "But don't just focus on that. There are gym leaders, powerful trainers that you can take on and try to beat. If you beat all eight, then you can challenge the elite four, and the Pokémon league champion, the most powerful trainer in the region. In the end, you alone can choose what you want to do. However, remember why you are doing this! Don't forget about me, and please capture as many Pokémon as possible.

"Well I know!" Flame exclaimed, "I'm gonna be the champion!"

Fennekin scampered over at those words, and bared her tiny fangs.

"Not if I get there first!" Shock replied as Shinx leaped onto his shoulder, his claws flickering with electricity. "OW!" He exclaimed, throwing Shinx off into a Sandslash.

Shinx was immediately buried under a pile of angry ground types.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Flame asked.

"Nah, he'll find his way out eventually. This has been happening a lot, but I think he might level up after he does this enough." Replied Shock.

"That's fine by me," Fennekin added smugly.

"Hey!" Shock yelled. Shock promptly picked up Fennekin and chucked her into a water dish.

"Help! Help! I'm drowniiing…" Fennekin writhed in the three inch deep puddle.

"Dude, you have a serious problem with throwing Pokémon!" Flame noted, before punching Shock in the arm and running over to scoop Fennekin up.

Flame had met Fennekin washed up on a beach, after she sneaked onto a ship to Kalos from Hoenn, where she had just escaped Team Magma, who were trying to use her to beat up this kid named Brendan, but gotten knocked off by a Samurott practicing with its scalchop, while the ship was still sailing along the coast, a short distance away from land. The tough little Pokémon had swum to land, and washed up near Cyllage city where Flame was biking on the beach from Shalour city, where he lived. He saw the exhausted Pokémon on the beach, and took her back to Shalour, where she took a month to recover, but finally decided to stay with Flame. Fennekin had come when they decided to move to Eterna City in Sinnoh, as well.

"Well, you four should probably get going before Shinx gets killed." Professor Maple said.

"Yeah, good idea…" Shinx replied as he staggered away from the mass of ground types, still kicking at a Diglett that followed him persistently. He shuddered. "It was terrible in there!"

"Thanks Professor!" Flame exclaimed.

"It was no problem." Professor Maple said. "You'd better come back with some cool Pokemon, because making those Pokedexes cost me a fortune."

"Can we go now?" Fennekin whined, running around the group in a circle.

"Oh, fine." Shock replied, heaving Shinx back to his shoulder.

The foursome bounded out of the lab, and started walking.

They turned south towards Route 206, where they had decided they would go first, since that was the fastest route to Oreburgh City, where they would find the gym leader.

"Okay," Flame said. "Now we're really starting our journey!" He gave a jump of excitement at this.

"I know, right!" Shock exclaimed. He looked about ready to explode.

"There's the Route!" Shinx squeaked from beside Shock. He angled his tail to a sign that read "Welcome to Route 206. Come back soon to Eterna City!"

Fennekin squinted to read the sign from their distance. She had leaped back up onto Flame's shoulder, and her tiny claws were digging into his clothes.

Flame's heart was pounding at the thought of going into the wild. What Pokemon would they meet? What trainers would they battle? Without thinking, he broke into a run.

Shock looked at him in surprise as he sped forward. "Hey, where are you going? Wait up!" The blonde haired boy sprinted after him with his Pokemon at his side.

The group blew past the sign, and skidded to a halt when they had made it a few feet outside of the city.

"This is great!" All around them, wildlife was thriving. Huge trees grew many feet into the air, and among them Sentret played with each other. A Hoothoot was perched on a low branch, squabbling with a Natu that wanted the same worm as it had.

"Check that out!" Shock pointed at something that looked like a tree, but it moved, and Flame recognized a Trevenant, a Pokémon native to Kalos.

"Man, seeing those brings back so many memories…" Flame sighed. He recalled a time when one of his parents angered a Trevenant by bringing an axe to it, thinking it was a Christmas Tree up for grabs. Fennekin had distracted it by setting the bushes around it on fire, giving the family time to escape

"Everything brings back memories with you!" Shock retorted.

Flame snorted indignantly. "That doesn't!" He gestured to a strange, waddling Pokémon he had never seen before.

Shock laughed. "You've never seen a Shroomish?"

"Well, no. I haven't gotten to very many other cities, so I could save the experience for my journey."

"Sure."

"I've seen some of them before!" Fennekin chipped in. Then she shuddered, presumably remembering her captivity in Hoenn.

There was a long path ahead of them, and in the distance, Flame could see a bridge, and the figures of cyclists riding across it. "This is Sinnoh's cycling road, so we should probably be careful of cyclists running us and our Pokemon over."

"I wouldn't get hurt by some dude on a bike!" Shinx argued, butting him in the leg.

"Well, you did get hurt by "some dude" in a truck!" Fennekin retorted cheekily.

"That's different, trucks are, like, bigger, and stuff!" Shinx protested.

The two Pokemon leaped at each other in a mass of screeching fur, flames, and electricity.

Flame backed up slightly. "I swear, they're going to get hurt one of these days." He looked at Shock to see him sitting down, cheering Shinx on in the battle.

"Wha? Oh, I know, they're going to get knocked out before our first real battle!" He replied.

Shinx and Fennekin leaped back, panting from their fight. "One of these days, I will end you!" Shinx taunted.

"Not if I end you first!" Fennekin responded coolly.

"C'mon, let's get going already!" Flame sighed.

As the foursome continued on, Flame started really appreciating the beauty of Sinnoh. Back in Kalos, most of his travels had been to Cyllage city, with the route being mostly cave or mountain. It was amazing to truly see the beauty of the wildflowers, Pokémon playing in the grass, and the shadows of a flock of Starly soaring above.

"Hey! Watch it!" Fennekin shouted. Flame was snapped out of it, and looked over to see Fennekin facing off against some bug-looking Pokémon.

"What's that?" Flame asked.

Shock whipped out his Pokédex. "Kricketot. The cricket Pokémon. It shakes its head back to front, causing its antennae to hit each other and sound like a xylophone." A female voice sounded from the device.

"Fennekin, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Flame asked.

"Let's do this!" Fennekin replied dropping into a fighting stance, flames flickering out of her ears.

Shock sat down to enjoy the fireworks. "Does anyone have popcorn?"

(A/N) Well, I'm finally done! Oooh, a cliff hanger (kinda). You might have to wait two chapters to find out what happens, because we're introducing Frost. :) Um, random question, what is the plural form of Starly? Is it Starlys? Starlies? Or something else? Leave a review, because I've been wondering about that. Sooo, I guess that's all for now. Signing off! -Moonstar