Author's Notes: There will be some instances where I'll switch from Cynthia's point of view to someone else's to show some depth and so you readers will understand stuff, but this story will ultimately be in Cynthia's viewpoint.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.


Battle 2: Enter Steven, the Rock Maniac
You teach me and I'll teach you.


"Well, it looks like this little girl's going to be okay, miss." Nurse Joy smiled upliftingly, scribbling something onto her clipboard, before bowing out of the room respectively.

Cynthia slumped thankfully onto Nurse Joy's stool once the woman had politely exited, feeling as if the whole world had been lifted from her shoulders as a cool wave of relief washed over her.

She squeezed reassuringly with Gible's paw, and if Cynthia hadn't known better, she could have sworn she saw a ghost smile flit across the still-distrustful mini-shark's countenance.

She had been literally flying across the short pathway between the desolate beach and Sandgem Town, hastily sprinting as fast as she could in her heeled boots before she had ditched the awful footwear for bare feet and swung the black boots into her shoulder bag. It was fortunate that a gray-haired lady had seen her when she had stumbled into the peaceful village. If not, she would have wasted precious time while lost. Fortunately, the old woman had swung her russet scarf over her shoulder and dashed as quickly as a healthy old woman could (which turned out to be pretty darn fast) towards the Nurse Joy in her local Pokémon Center for help. Not only that, this spaceman-dressed person had good-naturedly pointed her in the general direction of the Pokemon Center as the old woman had run off.

Once Cynthia had thanked the kind man and made it to the red-roofed building, a bright blue-eyed, determined looking woman had been packing up medical supplies as the same old woman explained to her of Cynthia's predicament. The twenty-something-year-old woman had bouncing rose-pink tresses pulled into two Tepig-tails and looped back into her hair for convenience and a plump, matching pink Chansey carrying a bundle of bandages and small antiseptics at her flank.

Cynthia had never been so relieved to see a Pokémon, never mind a pink Pokémon, in her lifetime.

The blonde abruptly snapped out of her earlier musings as Gible snubbed her hand with consecutive presses and pushes, which she only then realized was still hand-in-hand with the Land Shark Pokémon. She instantly retrieved her appendage, as if she had been brutally shocked by a Pikachu. A horrified expression marred her youthful features.

No. She wouldn't... she had already overcome –

"You know, that's not very nice," a condescending voice started, "You've gotta treat your Pokémon way better than that."

Cynthia whirled, turning to the wry, masculine voice from the opened entrance.

He had pure, silver-stranded hair with shades of a cool metallic blue, as if imitating the sheen of raw steel. Each chunk had been ultimately cut in jagged, haphazard directions – a large part even stuck straight up into the air! – yet somehow the steel-blue layers fell aesthetically past his ear-line and stayed in an almost classy style.

Just how much gel did this guy use?

She raised her lacklustre, gray eyes and met with fascinating, sunshine amber – many shades darker and much more vivid to her own golden mane, and set unto a beautifully chiselled countenance of sun-kissed, Pecha-berry skin.

What was with men and their unnaturally pretty features these days?

Like really, come on.

The guy in front of her – who seemed to be about her age – even wore top brand clothing. (Not fair at all!)

Clad in specially woven straight-cut black pants that could survive in the harshest climates and black, tie-up sneakers, he too was obviously a lover of black like Cynthia herself. He wore a tailor-made, t-shirt-like dark jacket that, if hit in the right lighting, would have a dark purple sheen in two lightning-like shapes from his shoulders. However, there were no visible buttons or zipper to close aforementioned jacket.

Cynthia concluded that it was one of those new coats that would 'button-up' with hidden magnets in the lining, made specially by Magnemite or the Magnet Pokémon's evolutions. But because his jacket was opened, Cynthia was able to see a white undershirt and the long, vermillion scarf billowing at his front.

Yeah, he had weird tastes alright.

Really, who paired black, purple and red together?

The boy raised a hand, and Cynthia noted the black, fingerless gloves with a thick metal band on the knuckles before she realized he was about to pet – no – try to pet Gible.

Gible, who had just recently been traumatized by that blue-haired freak.

Gible, who even had a short temper with Cynthia – who had, by all means, been her savior.

Gible, who obviously wouldn't trust another human any time soon.

"Wai –" she began, before quickly recoiling and instinctively forcing her eyes shut, flinging her head to her side as not to watch the predictably gruesome happening.

Chomp.

Pause.

Pause.

Cynthia cracked an eye open, curious as to why she hadn't heard the screech of pain from the strange featured boy. Cynthia then had the strange impulsive to laugh, but was too surprised to initiate it.

Gible had instinctively bitten down, yes, but the titanium-made bands on the boy's gloves easily saved the boy's hand from being masticated, as Gible's futile gnawing had little to no effect even at the moment. Funny how she should have known Gible's sharp jaws would be no match for the solid metal. Mother's own Steel-type could only use Metal Claw to cut through, and nothing else.

"My, my, aren't you feisty," the silver-haired boy tilted his head to the side, as if confusedly scrutinizing Gible for a moment, before turning to Cynthia.

He smiled almost gentlemanly. "Could you tell your Pokémon to let go? I rather like my hand you see, and I would be devastated to lose it."

Gible immediately stopped its determined chewing and released the boy's hand to glare heatedly at him as Cynthia clarified firmly.

"She's not my Pokémon."

The boy's amber-eyed gaze widened remarkably, "Really? Then who's is it?"

Gible's glare seemed to have intensified tenfold.

Cynthia slowly shook her head and clasped her hands behind her back, as she emphasized slowly. "Gible is a wild Pokémon."

The boy ignored her condescending tone as his silver brows furrowed, "What? Then why was it hurt?"

"You know, wild Pokémon can get hurt too. It's not always human initiated," Cynthia deadpanned.

Gible whirled her head to Cynthia, a confused glint in her pitch-black eyes, as if silently asking: You aren't gonna tell him?

Cynthia winked playfully at Gible, which caused Gible to become even more perplexed by the odd human.

Gible had gotten used to getting her Pokémon pride crushed and ruthlessly trampled on after Cyrus had battled ruthlessly and captured her in Wayward Cave, and began her so-called 'training.' It was then that Gible had deemed the human race an evil kind – an evil, malevolent kind that couldn't protect itself without Pokémon slaves.

Cyrus had taken her all over – the snowy mountains, deserted plateaus, underground caves and beautiful tropics – and Gible had seen many trainers command 'their' Pokémon into unnecessary fights. All of them had sent out 'their' Pokémon to battle against her, and she in turn fainted all of those disgustingly diligent and loyal slaves. Gible never understood those revolting Pokémon who willingly fought for their masters or mistresses, and never understood the human race itself – and never will want to.

But why was this female human saving what was left of her dignity? (Which had been almost non-existent already.)

Cynthia continued on nonchalantly, swinging her leg over the other in her sitting position as she began zipping up her boots. "So, who are you anyway?"

The silver-haired, golden-eyed boy massaged his hand, frowning at the blonde.

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking for someone else's name?"

"Oh where are my manners?" Cynthia answered dryly, looking up once she had both uncomfortable boots on. "Oh yeah, they for some reason disappeared when some granny-haired boy waltzed into our room. Which makes me want to ask why you're here, but of course, my manners have reluctantly come back, and so I'll introduce myself."

Cynthia courteously stood up and smiled sweetly as she bowed with one foot forward and one hand tucked at her front, "Cynthia Shirona."

He smiled. "Well at least you can give a dramatic greeting," the boy ran a hand through his hair, slightly amused as he put his hand out, "I'm Steven Stone, but you can call me Steven."

Cynthia blinked blankly at the outstretched appendage as she returned from her bow. She looked up into the sincere amber gaze of the boy, and was slightly perturbed. I'm being fairly rude, yet he's still being civil?

"You know, it's kind of awkward when someone wants to shake hands and the other person isn't responding."

Cynthia snapped out of her musings and caught the entertained glint in amber eyes before she huffed aversely and politely shook his hand.

"There you go, now that's nicer," Steven purposefully glanced over at Gible. "Now you just need to be more civil with Gible over here, and you'll be all set."

Really, Cynthia would have loved to pulverize the guy and it seemed Gible would have gladly helped. But, instead, she asked the probing question that had been irritatingly grating her for the last minute. "So, what exactly are you doing here?"

Steven scratched his neck sheepishly, "We'll actually, Nurse Joy wanted to ask you some questions in room twenty-four."

"Then why didn't she come herself?"

"She had to rush over to another patient down the hallway, and since I was already passing by to pick up Anorith, who needed to be healed in room twenty-five, the man she had asked to pick you up asked me to get room seventeen's trainer to bring along."

"What? Then why didn't he come?"

"Something about an emergency in some other wing, I think," Steven said dismissively.

Cynthia nodded, "Alright," and let out a small, grateful smile, "I guess I should say thanks for your time then."

She turned away from Steven – which was pure luck in his case, or else she would have seen his instant colouring cheeks at Cynthia's astounding smile – and inquired the Land Shark Pokémon earnestly. "Gible, could you please stay here before I come back?"

Gible snorted a non-committal sound as she gave Cynthia the cold shoulder.

Cynthia smiled gratefully and swung her black satchel over her shoulder, "I'll take that as a yes."

Steven nodded to Cynthia and twisted on his heel towards the door. Cynthia threw one last worrying glance over her shoulder at Gible's royal-blue back, before finally exiting the sterilized-smelling room. As she clacked her heels onto the limestone-tiling, she inadvertently saw a Zubat flap into the hallway as well, but heard a masculine voice ordering it back into its room so it wouldn't hurt itself furthermore. A deep frown marred Cynthia's features. Why do so many trainers want to battle if their Pokémon are going to get hurt in the first place?

"So, did you hunt hard for that shiny Gible and accidentally hurt it?"

Cynthia blinked for a moment before she regarded Steven in utter deadpan. "Didn't I already say that Gible wasn't 'mine'? Really, even if I was a Pokémon trainer, I could never treat a Pokémon as a material object. How you trainers can be so insensitive, ordering them into battle, I'll never understand."

"What are you talking about? I treat my Pokemon as friends, equal partners even. And we battle to learn more from each other and about each other, raising our friendship as we fight off a pseudo-enemy. Really, you were actually saying the truth when you said you weren't a trainer?" Steven curiously observed the silver-eyed, blonde girl, seeing for the first time the not-so convenient get-up.

Huh, maybe she isn't. No Pokémon trainer would want to travel around the regions in dress pants, or high-heeled court shoes for that matter. Steven eyed the short-cape-like sweater and Umbreon-imitation baubles in her Ponyta-tail. But… maybe she's a coordinator?

"No! I could never – !" she bit her lip, slowing her walking pace to a stop, "I mean, today I'm technically one, since I was going to get my first starter Pokémon, but… I kind of got lost on Route 201 –"

"Wait."

"Yes?" Cynthia stopped.

"You got lost on Route 201?" Did his lip twitch?

"Yeah…?"

"201?"

Cynthia nodded slowly with a muddled face, rapidly becoming suspicious of Steven's almost pokerfaced and oddly blank countenance.

Suddenly Steven barked into unnecessary laughter, his façade dispersing like a Pokémon's Haze. It almost would have been comical with how fast his features changed, if not for the fact it was at her expense.

"You. Lost. Route. 201," Steven cried in between breaths and snickers, tightly hugging his stomach as his squinting eyes watered.

"Hey! It's not like I meant to!" Cynthia flushed rosily, crossing her arms defiantly with a small pout.

That seemed to have added more sunlight to the Sunflora as Steven laughter amplified.

"It's not my fault I ran off once I saw wild bird Pokémon were in the middle of the road. I mean, I didn't even have a Pokémon for my defense," Cynthia muttered under her breath.

"Oh, I see you've somehow made the Solrock-faced Steven laugh! You know, the only time I've ever seen this rock maniac crack a smile was when my Chansey by mistake found an Amber Stone and he got to keep it."

Steven and Cynthia quickly turned and caught sight of a beaming Nurse Joy with her trusty Chansey pushing a chockfull trolley of hospital food items.

Cynthia quirked a blonde eyebrow and rudely pointed with her thumb towards a still-chuckling Steven (although his laughter was dying down, thankfully).

"Why in the name of Mew did you have to assign him to bring me? I'm pretty sure I could have found my way."

Nurse Joy furrowed her pink brows. "May I ask what you are talking about?"

"You told Steven to bring me to room twenty-four, didn't you?"

"Actually, a turquoise-haired guy in a spacesuit told me that she had wanted you there."

Cynthia whipped her head towards Steven and glared Poison Barbs. "Really, are you trying to be funny or what? I'm not in the mood for your stupid jokes."

"But I'm not joking! He's real with a… err… real Zubat with him!" Steven recalled defensively.

Zubat? Cynthia frowned to herself. Didn't I see…

"I apologize, but I never instructed anyone to tell you to leave the room. I was afraid someone may come in and steal your shiny Gible. Rare coloration Pokémon are few and far to be seen, not to mention next to impossible to capture," she paused, "Many robberies have been happening these days in town, and Officer Jenny hasn't been able to find the culprit," Nurse Joy frowned solemnly, an odd emotion compared to her (and her family's) typical joyous demeanor.

Cynthia froze in her tracks, whirling disbelievingly onto Nurse Joy. "Steal? A person would actually steal Pokémon?"

Steven gave her a 'no duh' look, however Nurse Joy seemed to have taken her rhetorical question with earnest. "Yes, it's quite sad, but true. It seems all the thefts had been originated by the same –" she raised her hand to cover mouth, as if in shocking realization as her blue-eyes widened. "Steven… the description you just said matched exactly with what Officer Jenny told me to be aware of! He too had a Zubat!"

Silence.

Cynthia instantly broke into a fast-paced sprint with Steven dashing a mere second after her as the duo headed for Gible's room. Ignoring the searing jolts of pain from running in high heeled, knee-length boots, Cynthia bit her lip and rushed on. How those super-spy movies had women running in similar footwear were beyond Cynthia.

As the blonde sharply curved round the corner, her long, Ponyta-tail billowing like a golden banner behind her as she sped up with blood-rushing adrenaline, Cynthia barely registered Steven, who had somehow caught up with her speed.

Cynthia wasn't a boastful girl, so she wasn't exaggerating when she said she was a top athlete. Of course, she could never be as fast as a Ninjask, especially in her present footwear, but she was only human. Then again, when she was unexpectedly forced into Hearthome City's Pokéschool by her small-town family, she had immediately joined the 'Little Kidz Track Team' once she had heard that the top three would be travelling to Solaceon Town's Ruins.

At age seven she was able to run a mile in six minutes, hoping to try and explore the fabled caves.

She only later found out that the Ruins had been closed down by the locals because of Unknown Pokémon.

Cynthia quickly snapped out of her diverted musings, flicked her gray gaze over to her left and surprisingly saw Steven at her side. He wasn't at all winded, not that she was either, and Cynthia began to see the silver-haired boy in a new light. However, before she could comment on his physical ability, she turned and averted her full attention back onto the task at hand, and looked up into room seventeen.

It was empty.

Cynthia glanced left, right and quickly jumped to conclusions, "Gible might've been taken by Cyrus again!" she nearly shrieked, her anxiety levelling up a notch along with her stress. "Oh Arceus, why did you have to take her? She never did anything bad – well at least, I don't think she did –"

"Cynthia."

" – but she was a noble Pokémon! She may have been overly cautious; she may have been a bit touchy, but Mew, she was a good Pokemon deep inside behind her guarded heart –"

"Cynthia."

"What?" Cynthia snapped sharply, turning to Steven indignantly.

"The window's still open," Steven pointed out.

Cynthia instantly dashed for it, pulling the baby-blue curtains apart. Indeed, the squared window was wide open, and Cynthia could manage out a small-scale Pokémon battle right outside of it, on the expansive grasses.

With Gible in it.

Cynthia hurdled through the window and almost landed on her feet. Cynthia Shirona, top track athlete, who could jump higher hurdles at age seven, almost landed a two-three foot jump.

Damn high heeled boots.

A black, fingerless gloved hand pulled her up, and Cynthia gratefully smiled up at Steven in return.

Steven nodded in the affirmative, and once Cynthia was steadied, the twosome dashed for the battle grounds. Upon arrival, Cynthia was brusquely pulled to Steven's side, his hand gripped on her shoulders non-too gently. Before she barked out her disbelief, an Air Cutter sent from Zubat swirled to where she last stood, the razor-wind slash cutting through the sky before it gradually faded into a serene breeze.

Cynthia's cheeks stained crimson. "Thanks," she muttered timidly.

Steven nodded appreciatively, his lips twitching once like the flicker of a smile, before he crooked his head towards the spacesuit man with narrowed, threatening brows.

"What are you doing, sir?"

The man, probably nineteen or twenty, had unnatural turquoise hair layered like a Smoochum and sported an odd black and gray spacesuit-like outfit. In his hand, he tightly gripped two berry-picking sacks, one bulging with supposedly his other robberies and the other one empty, probably the sack he was going to use to capture Gible.

His angular face was set in an offending sneer as he snapped irrefutably in a clipped, odd accent, "None o'yer business. Jus' run'long with yer girlie, and f'get all've dis."

Silence reigned as the duo processed the words. Obviously they were not used to the strange pronunciation or the quick flow of words.

"I'm not his girlie – I mean girlfriend!" Cynthia defended, protesting against the last bit that she did understand. Fully.

The Zubat flapped in front of its master, waiting for more orders to attack, but it seemed the battle was at a standstill as the turquoise-haired man insufferably smirked at her, turning his full attention to the two interrupters.

"O' really?" he quirked a brow and leaned onto a leg. It seemed he hadn't had a good laugh in a while, so he decided to humor the blonde girl.

"Yes really!" Cynthia retorted indignantly.

"Fro'my point ta view, don't look lik' it."

"Wha? How –"

Cynthia cut off and suddenly froze, slowly flicking her sight from shoulder to shoulder and finally feeling the gentle weight of Steven's hands still protectively set upon them.

Cynthia bit her lip, feeling warmth spread across her face as she silently casted her humiliated gaze to the ground as she awkwardly shrugged off his calloused hands. She didn't dare a look at Steven's face at the moment, and for once she was fortunate for her long bangs shadowing her eyes, because she knew he would have been smirking in some condescending way, just like the village boys back in Celestic Town.

Oh, how wrong she was.

"O'ho! Now ain't 'his cute?" the spaceman barked into unnecessary laughter, wiping a non-existent tear from his blue-hued eye, before he cocked his head to the side with a contented sigh escaping his lips. "I'd've loved ta stay n' watch 'his mel'drama, but I still gotta 'atch this lil' guy 'ere – so run 'long."

Gible! Cynthia suddenly screamed in thought. The only reason I came here was for her, and I haven't even done anything – Cynthia shook her head, as if it could somehow help the overload of blood flushing her face, before she determinedly scanned the area for the little Land Shark Pokémon.

Gible wobbly crouched on the soft blades of grassy earth, one eye set in a painful wince as she strained to steady herself to a more advantageous position. Cynthia immediately dashed to the rare coloration Pokémon, a determined glint to help in some way set in her steely gray eyes.

"Gible! Are you alright?"

Gible curiously threw a glance over her royal-blue shoulder with her good eye and was, to some extent, startlingly shocked. What was the female human doing? The blonde was basically running defencelessly into a full-blown battle zone!

...for her.

Cynthia quickly stooped on one knee, obligingly pulling up Gible by her upper, mini-arms to her full, Land Shark height.

Gible strangely sensed something warm, something fluttery inside of her as the human female dusted off the dirty debris of battle from her rough skin, even going as far as to rub off the soil and painful wounds on her aqua-striped horns. Gible had unconsciously activated her hidden ability – Rough Skin – during the battle with the space human's Zubat, so she silently knew that the scarlet blood on the female human's hands now weren't her own. But the blonde didn't stop. She determinedly kept wiping and rubbing off the filth from Gible's rough skinned face, massaging gently the throbbing lacerations on her arms and paying no mind to her own faintly bloodied fingers.

Why?

Why was this human so… different?

"Well ain't dis jus' darlin'? But wit' all things said n' done - Zubat, keep usin' Air Cutter!"

Cynthia felt rather than saw the incoming razor-wind attack, but she couldn't leave Gible there, to be assaulted again and harmed any further. From what Cynthia's seen, Gible had been hurt enough by Cyrus, humans in general as it seemed, and this weirdo took the cake. It was almost a motherly instinct when Cynthia Ursaring-hugged her arms around Gible, not caring at all for the Rough Skin fraying bits of her white tank top and pale skin as she brought the Land Shark Pokémon closer into her protective embrace and used her own body as a shield for the shocked Gible in the incoming attack.

The Air Cutter whirled forward, swirling sharply in a beeline as it easily sliced though Cynthia's black sweater and through her white undershirt layer, leaving a faint bloody gash on her back. But that wasn't all – Zubat continued to send Air Cutter attacks, knowing it would get brutally punished if it only hit the human and not a scratch surfaced on Gible. It fruitlessly circled around the blonde human, flapping out the razor-wind attacks from different positions, hopeful to get one attack in right.

"A-rmmph," Cynthia bit her lower lip, muffling her cries of pain as one attack cut into her shoulder.

Steven was frozen in place, not sure if he should rush to her aid (which he really wanted to do) or stay on the sidelines. He couldn't enter a commenced Pokémon battle – even though technically this wasn't a legal Pokémon battle. However, Cynthia was seriously receiving the brunt of attacks out there. Was a trainer even allowed to do that? Steven had never encountered a person who would use her own body to protect a battle ready Pokémon. Well, he supposed this didn't count as a Pokémon battle. But, even if this wasn't a legit fight, would a trainer go so far for one Pokémon? A Pokémon that wasn't even theirs?

Really, that Cynthia… she was like a rare Shiny stone, hidden among the rubble in a dark cave – different, casting a heartwarming radiance, and something oddly refreshing in a teenage girl.

Like the making of a true Pokémon master.

Steven almost laughed out loud, something that would usually never occur, especially twice in a day. A Pokémon master? No, it was impossible. Cynthia was different, that Steven could not deny, but she wasn't that special. Besides, he shouldn't have been discerning over this in the first place. To help or not to help – that was the puzzling question.

The silver-haired boy was beat to it though when one nasty-looking Air Cutter was violently whipped from the Zubat. Before he could press the button on his pokéball, to enlarge it and throw it into the battle, a large, blue electrical shockwave ball slammed into the unsuspecting Zubat and sent it somersaulting into the air in a tangle of bluish purple limbs.

Cynthia was stunned as she silently watched Gible jump out of her shielding arms and back into the battle. Gible's mouth had sent a shockingly powerful Dragon Rage at Zubat, and now Gible left her mouth slightly open to let out the smoky aftermath. As Gible spun from Cynthia's grasp, the little Land Shark caught the stunned expression from Cynthia, and the blonde swore she saw the Land Shark Pokémon haughtily smirk at her, as if directly saying: Now it's my turn to protect you!

Cynthia couldn't help but smile back, but before she could comment, out of the corner of her gray eye, Cynthia saw a thin, greenish rod right above Gible, shooting directly downwards at the unsuspecting Pokémon.

"Gible! Use Dragon Rage above! Hurry!" Cynthia shrieked with wide, frightened eyes. The quick command easily escaped her lips, as if it was natural.

Gible never took orders from humans other than Cyrus, but strangely, she swallowed the human female's frantic instruction easily as she detected the worrying undertone in the blonde human's voice and shot an electric-blue Dragon Rage above. Gible suddenly felt a wave of relief as her Dragon Rage exploded wildly with Zubat's Leech Life, and smiled in her Gible-like way.

Maybe this human isn't so bad.

The spacesuit man scowled, rudely pointing directly at Gible in blatant anger. "Zubat, hurry'up n' use Wing Attack!"

Zubat swerved behind Gible, pulling its bat-like wings behind before gushing out a small tornado from the webby appendages.

Cynthia racked her brain for a move that Gible might know, and quickly instructed. "Gible, use Sand Tomb behind you!"

Please, oh, please tell me you know that move! Cynthia prayed silently.

It seemed Arceus was at her side as Gible quickly twisted on her heel and snapped open her Sharpedo-like jaw to unleash a coiling sandy attack, instantly blowing the Wing Attack back and trapping Zubat inside a harshly raging, swirling sandstorm.

The turquoise-haired man furiously glowered, "Zubat, use Air Slash to get out of the Sand Tomb!"

"Gible, use Dragon Rage while Zubat getting ready!" Cynthia felt oddly exhilarated, and the slight grin widened naturally as the battle had progressed. Somehow, the combative situation was positively exciting her, pumping up her already high-strung adrenaline.

Gible curtly nodded, feeling the human female's confident feelings, and strangely felt uplifted after it unleashed another Dragon Rage at the flailing and frantic Zubat. It was odd – Gible felt in sync with the blond human female.

"Zubat, dodg' it!" the spaceman roared furiously, and cursed colourfully in vexed frustration as Zubat was critically hit.

"Dang, Dang, Dang! Return, Zubat," the spaceman snarled infuriatingly as a red glow formed around his trapped Zubat before zapping into the spaceman's red pokéball.

The turquoise-haired man scowled angrily at Cynthia as he pressed the button on the sphere, shrinking it to fit between his fingers to shove into his pocket.

"In'a few 'ears, I'll be at the top of Galactic! An' when I gots me'self better, strong'ar Pokémon, 'ou'll be sorry!" he heatedly sneered at the group, before swinging his two berry-picking sacks over his scrawny shoulder and bolting off into the dark alleyways. A round object fell from one of the brown-woven bags, but the fuming spaceman was too preoccupied with his clandestine escape, and cared not for the small sacrifice.

Cynthia would have sprinted after the turquoise-haired criminal, but her volatile concern over Gible won over as the little Land Shark Pokémon had fallen to her stubby knees after blasting that last Dragon Rage. Cynthia spun on her heel to her.

"Are you alright Gible? Are you hurt anywhere?" Cynthia carefully checked over to Gible with rapt attention, examining every inch cautiously for any battle wounds with obvious worry.

Gible shook her head with a light laugh, and Cynthia knew she saw the Land Shark Pokémon sincerely smile. "Gi! Gi-gible!" – "Yes! I'm alright!" Gible wagged her arms in the air fervently, as if justifying her incomprehensible Pokémon language.

Cynthia sighed in reprieve (somehow she had understood) and leaned back on her arms, tilting her head to the side with a slight smile.

"You had me going there Gible," she inhaled then, as if readying herself. Gible blinked dazedly, watching uncomprehendingly as the human blonde bowed her head apologetically, at her.

"I'm sorry for imposing you back there, Gible. From what I've seen, I know you don't take orders lightly." How did she know? Gible thought as Cynthia continued, ignoring or oblivious to Gible amazement.

"I'm not even a trainer, and yet I…," she looked up into Gible's still-surprised eyes, "Please don't hate me for feeling… well… happy during the battle. Today… I actually found out how, and why, trainers battle."

Cynthia grinned admirably, a twinkle in her steel-gray eyes. "It's exhilarating," she stated simply, "and I felt a sort of bond there, right between us," she laughed melodiously, "You think I'm crazy?" Cynthia's eyes were sincere as she inquired playfully, but Gible could hear the hint of serious undertone.

Gible blinked blankly back at her with her big eyes, before shaking her little, Sharpedo-like head, "Gib, Gible-Gib."

Cynthia smiled, as if she knew exactly what Gible said.

Suddenly an idea struck Cynthia like a Thundershock, and she bolted to her feet, almost breathless.

"What?" Steven piped up with quick concern. He had watched the heartwarming exchange between Cynthia and Gible out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to intrude the seemingly personal discussion until Cynthia had gasped quite worryingly. Steven thoroughly scanned the hospital backyard. Did that spaceman come back?

Cynthia whirled to Gible, "Hey, Gible…?"

The shiny Land Shark Pokémon craned her head up adorably (in Cynthia's point of view), indicating that Cynthia had her full attention.

"Would you like to join my journey? Across Sinnoh?"

Gible made a face, slightly suspicious and obviously confused.

"I mean," Cynthia cleared her throat, elaborating her idea, "because I'm going to be going everywhere, perhaps one of my stops will be your habitat – your home." Hopefully, Cynthia thought to herself as she whipped an eager grin up.

Gible gave Cynthia a starry-eyed look, presenting a wide-mouthed, joyful beam at the mere mentioning. "Gi-Gi!" which clearly meant, "Yes, Yes!" in Cynthia's eyes, which made her benevolent smile brighten.

All of a sudden, a doubting shadow blanketed over Gible's shark-like features, and her big, black eyes locked suspiciously onto Cynthia's lengthy-strap shoulder bag. "Gible Gi-Gi-Gible? Gi-Gible?"

Cynthia furrowed her brows in confusion, before understanding fell upon her, and she fluttered her arms at her front.

"Oh no, no, no! Don't worry. I don't even own any pokéballs yet. Don't you understand me? I'm going to bring you home – once we actually figure out where it is and when we'll reach it – and you're not just visiting, if your former trainer even granted you that before. You'll be with your friends, your family, your parents –" Cynthia abruptly broke off.

Gible had been fantasizing idyllically once Cynthia had begun clarifying thoroughly with her awe-inspiring plan, even adorning a wistful smile at the thought of reuniting with her Land Shark kinfolk – she missed those motherly bites from Mama Garchomp and Big Brother Gabite – but a wave of concern washed over her as a sudden strange look took over her newfound friend's face. However, Gible was immediately cut off as the silver-haired human – Stefen? Steven? – abruptly exclaimed.

"Cynthia, come here!"

Cynthia snapped out of her self-induced daze and trailed the masculine voice to find Steven, three to four yards away now, and kneeling upright on the sun-kissed grassland as if proposing his undying love to her. The silver-haired boy lowered further to his left, as if bringing out a certain something to show Cynthia. The gray-eyed blonde instantly reddened and dropped her unreliable gaze like a pile of stones.

"S-Steven, what the Heatran are you doing? I don't think we could be ready for that at all!"

"Pardon?" Confusion was evident. "Don't you want to see – "

"No!"

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well what do you think!?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm asking you what the Heatran are you trying to pull here!?"

"I have no idea why you're so against this! What's wrong?"

"What's not wrong with this!?"

"How am I supposed to know!?" Steven sounded quite frustrated and seriously confused, and Cynthia had the distinct feeling he was pressing the bridge of his nose to calm himself. "It's not like it's going to eat you… at least… I don't think it will."

"What?" How could a small ring eat –

Cynthia willingly broke her train of thought as she swiftly strode over to Steven's side, her curiosity piqued as she glimpsed the large shape from her previous distance. Cynthia furrowed her brows as she smoothly kneeled into a sitting position beside him, scanning it over with inquisitive eyes.

"What is it?"

"You've never seen a Pokémon egg before?" Steven put a hand to his heart, as if in fatal shock as he stared at Cynthia.

Cynthia ignored him, and regarded the egg with rapt attention. It was an oval shape, more pointed at the 'top,' and was a pure, snow white with patches of red and blue triangular-lined spots.

As Steven gently offered the beautifully patterned ovum to her, she felt the warmth of the life inside of it with her two cupped hands. She was immensely grateful for her slender fingers at the moment because of the obvious size of the egg, which just fit in her arms would she be hugging it all the time. It was beautiful, it was enthralling and Cynthia couldn't imagine what wondrous life it would hatch to be.

"It's fascinating, don't you think?" Steven began, and before Cynthia could answer, he abruptly grinned. "Almost four-times the size of an Everstone!"

Something like a television rewind noise pierced through Cynthia's mind.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, yes! Think of it, the miniature size, the smooth texture, everything! Haven't you heard of an Everstone before? Wait, of course you haven't. The unchanging stone isn't very captivating, and you've probably neglected it! Oh the horror! Have you known how useful they can be? How they could be used for the halting of evolution for Pokémon? Perhaps they are ugly, even I say so, and they blend quite well with the average alley stone, but if you look close enough, you can see the beautiful grains! The outer coat is quite lovely, if I do say so myself, as it has this dark, spotty-like sheen to it over the undercover of whitish-gray slate. However, the inner contents are quite different! Trainers all over have tried in vain to search for them if you must know, while some have found mounds beyond mounds, but would rather not give them away! How selfish, yes, though perhaps I am being hypocritical. I myself have perhaps… twe… no… thir… hmmm, never-mind; I've lost count after I was eleven years old. Truly speaking – "

Cynthia suddenly slapped her hand over his energetic mouth – who knew? – as she held the egg in the crook of her unrestricted arm. She smiled sweetly at him through closed eyes, "Surely, you have something to blabber on about other than rocks… right?"

Steven blinked blankly back at her.

Cynthia lowered her hand with a sigh escaping her mouth and a roll in her eyes, "Seriously, Nurse Joy was right."

"Right about what?" Steven inquired.

Cynthia gave him a look, before a light laugh fled from her lips and she smiled warmly, "One day, when you realize or remember, try asking someone close to you. Or, preferably, try asking someone who just recently gets close to you. That'll make my day," Steven gave her a quizzical look and she giggled, "whenever that happens."

"But all I was doing was teaching you the specifics about how a – "

Cynthia cut in with a light laugh. "And I'll be teaching you about when and where to do so."

Steven frowned in confusion, not getting the inside joke, and decided to change the topic. "So are you going to keep the egg?"

Cynthia's chuckles died as she frowned in quick thought. "You did find it first, so shouldn't you keep it?"

Steven shook his head sadly, "No, sorry. I just picked up Anorith today from the Center, so I have five Pokémon in my party already. Eggs count as one of the six, and I was hoping to capture a Steel-type Pokémon in Sinnoh. Not a mystery-type."

"Six? Party? What are you going on about now?" Cynthia frown deepened in confusion. Steven's eyes widened in shock.

"You're not serious."

"I'm deadly serious."

"Shouldn't you have learned all this when you first got your Pokémon?" Steven pointed out sceptically.

It was Cynthia's turn to shake her head in sadness, "No. I haven't even – Oh Arceus!"

"What is it?" Steven inquired worryingly as Cynthia speedily stood up, mouth agape and eyes wild.

"I was supposed to be at Professor Rowan's lab," she paused, stealing a glance at the time with widening gray-eyes, "five and a half hours ago!"

"What!?" Steven blinked, and was shocked at the outdoor garden clock for the hospital's yard, presenting the intricately designed short hand at the large number two, and the longer, thinner hand stretched at five-after.

"Damn it!" Cynthia cursed under her breath, almost waving her arms in the air in frustration before she remembered the egg. As a precaution, she placed the egg inside her black satchel, glad for the black shoulder-bag's large size at the moment.

Steven sighed, scratching the side of his neck as of habit, "Acutally, I was also supposed to be at Professor's – at lunchtime though."

Cynthia kindly signalled Gible over to her – the Pokémon had been watching the odd spectacle of two human adolescents with deadpanned eyes (obviously inwardly thinking: Were all humans like this?) – and asked the Pokémon if she could carry her, explaining it would be much faster (no offense) for her to run over to the lab without a short-legged Pokémon trying to keep at pace. Gible sucked in her protesting pride, turned 'off' her hidden ability, and agreed to be carried in the arms of Cynthia.

Besides, it was a free ride.

"We have to go now then. Better late than never, as the saying goes," Steven grunted with a thin smile as he snatched a miniature pokéball from his jacket's pocket, pressing the middle button to blow it to his hand size, and throwing the red-and-white sphere into the air.

"Claydol!"

A large black body with two small, stubby legs, a wide, rounded head with a protrusion on the top and a remarkable, encircling white pattern on its chest was first seen as the reddish pokéball glow faded. The pattern consisted of a wavy white frame on its circular pink eyes, each with a dot-like pupil and seemingly alternating expressions on each eye with small, beak-like yellow segments lodged in between.

"Claayyy-doolll," the massive, black Pokémon droned.

"Claydol, could you please bring us both to Professor Rowan's lab? We were there yesterday, remember?" Steven requested politely, and Cynthia could barely detect the faintly impatient undertone as she hugged Gible to her chest.

"Claayyy," Claydol hummed before its cannon-like arms, which had been kept close to its black body, removed themselves and levitated with raw physical power, as if it wanted Steven and Cynthia to grab hold of them to bring them to the laboratory.

"What are you doing Cynthia? Take Claydol's left arm with one of yours!" Cynthia whipped her head over, and saw Steven hugging Claydol's right arm and floating in the air. Exactly how was she supposed to grab on with Gible in her arms? The transportation didn't look exactly comfortable.

Cynthia blinked once with deadpan. He's not serious. I am not –

Before she could finish her own thought, Claydol swooped its left arm under Cynthia – who immediately clutched onto the 'needle' of the arm as not to fall off with one hand holding Gible – and the three of them hovered quickly and quietly to the laboratory above Sandgem's buildings. Cynthia had been too stunned to even yelp in surprise, not to mention her breath had been stolen by the sight of the small town when in air.

"Oh yeah, back when I was suggesting a look at the egg, what did you think I was doing?" Steven questioned curiously over his shoulder to kill some time.

Cynthia's cheeks burned a fiercer crimson than a Pikachu's own as she hid her face from view under her blonde bangs and behind the Land Shark Pokémon. Gible grinned knowingly as she only needed to glance over her shoulder to see the rosy expression. Steven was puzzled as he met with awkward silence.

It was going to be a long trip.


Author's Notes

(23/05/12): And yes, I know, in the game the Pokémon Center is right next to the lab. However, I seriously doubt a whole town counted two houses, a Pokémart, lab and Center. That's not even a town. So I expanded some of the gaming towns into a more realistic view. However, the overall story will be placed in the game universe, mixed with anime and manga here and there.