"Lalalalalalaaaa~!"

"Squiiirrrtttllleeee SQuuiiiiirrrrrtttlllleee~!" They were both skipping merrily when they were interrupted. A pink Pokémon wondered in the way off their skipping.

"Sloooow." Both blinked as Lolita pulled out her pokedex and Squirtle tilted his head to the side.

*"Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokémon. No one can tell when a Slowpoke is thinking, if it ever does think. Its specialty is fishing with its tail."* Lolita grinned and pulled a pose.

"I'm a going to catch it!" Squirtle grinned and pulled the same pose.

"Squiiirtle!"

Archie had reached her house. She stepped inside.

"I'm home!"

There was a thump, and a yell.

"HEY!"

Archie sighed. Siblings. Foster siblings, no less. She missed her real family, and blamed herself for getting into this mess.

"Hey! You back!"

A hyper 7-year-old speed toward her, then dipped behind her back. An older boy, with his hair dyed a lovely acid green, bounded out from the corridor.

"Hiding behind her is not going to save you this time. GIVE IT BACK!"

"What did you take, nimnat?"

"Picture of his girlfriend. With slobber."

Archie stepped aside. Tory gave a yell of triumph and grabbed Nat in a headlock.

Archie picked up Bulbasaur with a groan, and carried him into her room, shutting the door with her foot. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two boys freeze and stare after her.

"Was that a-"

"I couldn't be. Must be a plushy toy."

"But it moved."

She set Bulbasaur down on her bed.

"Sorry about that."

She picked up her phone, one of the last things she had from her old life. The one that had ended in flames. Bulbasaur rumbled around her room.

Lolita grinned and threw a pokeball, which Slowpoke managed to be awake enough to knock away. Lolita frowned and pulled ahead.

"Squirtle! Use Bubblebeam!"

"Squiiiiiiiiir~~!"

"Sloooow" Slowpoke got hit and blinked when another pokeball hit it and disappeared inside of it. It blinked three times before stopping and being picked up by Lolita.

"YES! WE CAUGHT A SLOWPOKE!"

"SQUIRTLE!"

She pulled things out of drawers and packed them. She could hear the boys finish their fight with a truce, to find out what was going on. She reached out and locked the door. There was a thump.

"OW!"

She smirked. Bulbasaur looked up.

"Saur?"

"Shhh." She winked.

She finished packing, and heard Caron sing out as she entered the house.

"Home again!"

"Mum, Archie locked us out again!"

"A girl needs her privacy."

"But she's got something!"

Archie opened her door, and smiled.

Caron raised an eyebrow, and Archie stepped back.

Caron walked in and shut the door behind her. She turned, saw the Pokémon and blinked. It looked up at her. Caron gasped.

"Archie, what happened?"

"I went up to the Lab, and made a friend."

Caron sat down on the bed.

"Your sure?"

"It's a plant type. He's a sweetie. He would understand my fear."

"Well, I guess after the cooking...but this is a huge leap! A Pokémon!"

Archie smiled, and talked for a while.

Finally, Caron agreed.

"You'll always be welcome here. Not let them in. We don't want them to damage another door."

Archie laughed. Caron opened the door, and the two boys jumped.

"This is Archie's new Pokémon. He's new; so don't scare him.

The two boys eyes widened.

"Wow. But I thought you-"

The boy rushed in, and began petting the Pokémon, who was looking first confused, then relaxed.

"Archie, is this your friend at the door?

Archie got and and ran. Frank stood at the door, staring with confusing.

Archie looked out, and then frowned.

"What are you doing here?"

"Come on out!" Lolita through the pokeball up in the air and in a flash of light Slowpoke appeared. He blinked up at her and tilted his head slightly.

"Slooooow?" Lolita's face turned into a giant smile and she hugged Slowpoke, a death hug.

"AWW! YOUR SO CUTE!" Squirtle started poking her, tears in his (Reo: Chibi) eyes.

"Squiiirt?" Lolita grabbed him into a hug and squeezed them both.

"Aww, your still cute too Squirtle, still the cutest. I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!" Both grinned, Squirtle happy for being the cutest, and Slowpoke 'cause he was to slow to be insulted.

The girl looked at her.

"Well, you said you'd help me with my homework, and I didn't mean to intrude but I really, really need help because-"

Archie held up a finger, and the girl stopped talking.

"Wait." Archie said.

She went back into her room and picked up a sheet of paper, brushing the pencil shaving and bits of rubber.

She hurried back to the door and handed the girl and piece of paper.

"Cheat sheet. Has all the formulas."

The girl took it, hugged Archie and skipped off. Frank stared after her, then looked at Archie.

"I'm her unofficial tutor. That sheet will do the same job I did."

She smiled.

"Anyway, I have to get going. Thanks for- everything." She turned ghosted back into her room.

"Well, I have to go. My friends expecting me."

The two boys looked up.

"But-Where-Why?" They kept interrupting each other. Archie sat on the bed.

Caron cleared her throat.

"You've known she wouldn't stick around for ever. She's sixteen and a half now. She's off to see the world."

Archie grinned, and stood up, throwing her hands above her head and shaking her hair.

"Suck it, I'm a Pokémon trainer now!"

The boys cried out in unison, feigning horror.

"NOOO WAAY!"

Archie barely had time to get ready for the combo tackle, and she fell onto the bed.

She laughed as the guys hugged her, and fought back with tickles. Bulbasaur watched confused, but picked up on the happy vibes.

It still took a while to get the final goodbyes over with, even Frank got a little teary. She finally got out the door.

Her foster family crowded in the door way, waving goodbye.

"And remember, you'll always be welcome back here."

"And send us back something!"

Nat cried out.

Archie laughed, and Bulbasaur

The journey to the edge of town was peaceful, and she enjoyed talking to Bulbasaur.

Soon enough, she could see her friend up in the distance.

"Sorry, the home crowd was real clingy, all last minute gift giving and good wishes."

She called out.

She'd never really talked about her foster family. She doubted Lolita even knew.

Lolita grinned up at her friend and waved it off.

"That's fine! Better that then have a parent that doesn't care at all (like dad) but guess what! She held up the still blinking Slowpoke in front of her.

"I GOT A SLOWPOKE!"

"SQUIRTLE!"

Archie stared at it, then laughed.

"That's... nice!"

She leaned forward for a better look.

"It reminds me of someone..."

Herself. Frank. She laughed again.

It's dopey expression reminded her of Nat when she'd outsmarted him.

"Hmm. Well, then if you got something so soon, it means you're a natural! Then again.."

She shrugged and began walking.

"...it may mean that luck is on your side."

She breathed in, and then looked down at Squirtle.

"Hey. Hungry?"

Squirtle looked at her and then at Lolita, before looking back and nodding, grinning widely, spreading his arms out.

"Squirtle!" Lolita grinned and jumped up and down, still holding/hugging her Slowpoke like it was a teddy.

"Oo! Oo! Oo! Oo! I AM TOO! Can I have some food? Can I? Can I?"

"Slow..." A grinned spread across Slowpoke's face as well at the mention of food, while Squirtle started mimicking his trainer.

Archie grinned.

"Well, then..."

She sat down and pulled out a lunch bag.

"I have Pokémon food, from the boys, dunno where they got it. And sandwiches, but I'm not sure you'll like them. The boys helped me make them. No doubt they have weird contents."

She pulled out a box of pellets, and a container filled with plastic-wrapped sandwiches. She smiled at Bulbasaur, who sat next to her and stared.

Lolita grinned and pulled out her tube of Pokeblock.

"I had Pokémon food, but I forgot my own food, can I share? Please? Please?" She served her Pokémon while whining, and they quickly began stuffing themselves

Archie shrugged,

"Sure. Tabbouleh, humus and roast beef? Peanut butter and Raspberry Jam?

Honey and Mint Jelly?"

She listed a few that she could identify, and then took the one with roast beef for herself.

"Here's plain Peanut Butter, Crunchy."

She held it up, smiling.

Lolita shook her head, thanking her, but rejecting and reached for a plain ham and cheese.

"Can I have this one, instead?"

"If you like cheddar, glazed honey ham and whole meal, go ahead." She smiled, pulling out a plastic bowl and filled it with the pellets. Bulbasaur began eating.

Archie unwrapped her sandwich and dug in.

White bread, tabbouleh, humus and roast beef, with dairy spread. She ate with one hand, then other on Bulbasaur bulb, her thought distant.

She though about how she used to like Pokémon, before the accident. How she used to collect figurines and posters, waiting for the day she could get her own. She'd go to all the tournaments, even try to sneak backstage, to speak with trainers, getting up close to real Pokémon...

Lolita grinned and munched down on her sandwich, murmuring under her breath.

"Nom nom nom nom..."

Archie polished off her sandwich, packed the other sandwiches away, and waited for Bulbasaur to finish before she packed away the bowl. She breathed in the air, and looked up in the sky.

"Let's wait for it to digest, then keep going."

She suggest, grabbing for her bag to get her pokedex.

She wanted to brush up on her knowledge of Bulbasaur.

"Wonder who got the Charizard."

She mused, searching the pockets of her bag. "Pokedex, Pokedex."

It fell out of her black hoodie pocket and fell on the grass, but Archie was too preoccupied to notice.

Bulbasaur saw it however, and looked over at Squirtle, wondering what to do.

Squirtle motioned for Bulbasaur to pick it up and hand it to her, he had to earn her trust some how, after all, and this was the ideal way to start off. Squirtle and Lolita had just naturally hit off, with Slowpoke contrasting with their hyper personalities to get along with both as well. Bulbasaur needed to get along with Archie if he wanted to get anywhere. So he should start now.

Squirtle shrugged it off and returned to his food, watching from the corner of his eye to see what his pal would do.

Bulbasaur walked over to it, then looked up at Archie, who was shaking her bag gently to get the contents to settle, before pausing to make a odd fretting noise.

Bulbasaur picked up the pokedex in his mouth and waddled over to Archie, who was glaring down at her bag, and trying to blow her hair out of her face, then reached out her left front leg and poked her in the thigh. Archie started and looked down.

Bulbasaur held up the Pokedex.

"Saur."

Archie blinked, then smiled, and took it from him.

"Thanks little buddy. Hey, not bad. Buddy. What do you think of Buddy as a name?"

Bulbasaur looked over at Squirtle again, and little desperate.

Squirtle waddled over and tilted his head and Bulbasaur.

"Squirtle, Squirtle squirt? Squirtle squirt squirt Squirtle!" (Well, do you like the name? If you do, nodd, if not, shake.)

Archie curled her lip. Then shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess not. Hmm, I'll keep thinking. How about I write a list, and you can choose?"

Bulbasaur nodded, smiling

"Bulbasaur!"

Archie grinned and petted it on the head, then turned on her pokedex.

"Bulbasaur."

[Bulbasaur, it bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and are difficult to capture in the wild.]

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I KNOW! What about... BULB! Or BOB! Yeah, I like bob! Or Bobo!" Lolita grinned, jumping up and down, Squirtle grinning and coping her, while Slowpoke just blinked and closed its eyes, drifting off to sleep.

"No. Sunil? Taru? Zahar?" Bulbasaur nodded.

"Which? Zahar?" Bulbasaur shook his head.

"Taru?" A nod. "You sure?"

"Saur!" Bulbasaur stood on his hind and nodded.

"Okay. Taru it is!" She said, clapping.

"Now, come on. I think we've had time to set the food settle, hey Taru?"

"Saur?"

"I think we should do a little training, so we know what we're doing."

Taru nodded.

Archie grinned.

"So, Lolita, you gonna move you lazy butt and help?"

Lolita frowned, just because she didn't get up, didn't mean she was doing nothing. She 'grinned' and bounced up, picking up her sleeping Slowpoke and Squirtle, before turning around and running off.

"We'll be back when we're done training!" She shouted over her shoulder as she ran away.