I stroll from room to room around my house, banging on doors and rousing my interns. "Get up! It's already 5:57! We should have been out the door by now! I'm giving all of you twenty minutes to wash up and be in the kitchen for breakfast!" I'll admit, I'm still rubbing sleep from my eyes as well, but an early start is necessary with these kids slowing the process down.

My house might look relatively small from the outside, but it is a ranch style house. One level above ground and the rest below, it is the house I grew up in a child…. it's more ancient than I am. The property has been passed down over the generations from rehabilitator to future rehabilitator… I must say this property has probably been around since the Viridian Forest was nothing but a young group of saplings. Despite the age of the area and house, the furnishings are relatively modern, and recently I had the house restored to give it a more modern feel… however, the layout hasn't changed. It easily held the giant family I grew up in, so my seven interns and I fit comfortably with rooms to spare.

I stride up the stairs and into the family room. On the wall across from me is an old mirror. Apparently it is the same mirror my grandmother looked in when she was a teenager. My house may be modern, but family heirlooms are still hanging around. I stare into the mirror, not unpleased with myself. Surprisingly enough, I don't have many wrinkles… a few crow feet around my eyes, and faint smile lines, but nothing much. There are two possible explanations for that… either the anti-wrinkle cream is working, or the source for my tap water is the fountain of youth. Personally, I think the latter option is more likely.

I turn away from the mirror and stride into my kitchen. Peony is already there waiting for her food. I ruffle her wispy grey puppy fluff and pour some formula and hot water into a bottle. She yips and stumbles towards me, yet to fully master her feet. Her darling blue eyes stare up at me, and she wiggles her whole body, impatience etched in every strand of fur. Being only a week old, her eyes still have about a week more before they change to the dark maroon her species is noted for. While maroon is a nice color, I think the crystal blue suits her better. However, she is not concerned about the color of her eyes… she just wants to be fed. She begins to lick my big toe and tries to suckle it. I laugh and shake up the formula. Once the formula is properly mixed, I scoop her up into my arms, sit down on a chair, and let her nestle in my lap while she suckles.

I find it hard to believe a Pokémon trainer would abandon her here for me. While no longer extremely rare (thanks to wonderful trainers who release them into the wild in a region where they obviously don't belong), it is still odd to find poochyena around these parts. When she is old enough to be re-homed, I'll either have to find a responsible trainer to take her or send her to a Pokémon center in Hoenn to be released into a pack. I don't look forward to the day she has to leave me, but hundreds (if not thousands) of Pokémon have come and gone through my care over the years, so it is something I have gotten used to. I try not to dwell too long in these thoughts, because ten minutes have already passed by the time Peony has been fed. I quickly clean her up and set her back down so I can start cooking breakfast.

Eggs, bacon, and toast find their way onto my griddle, and I soon have enough for my human charges and myself to enjoy. Obviously the smell of food puts a little spring in their steps, because all seven emerge around the time the food is on the table. I look at them and offer them something to drink. "You can have moo-moo milk or Magost berry juice. The cups are in the cupboard to the right of and above the sink. Ice is in the freezer. " Once everyone has settled down to eat, I go around and make sure I know their names. "Okay, you are Jane Evens, right?" I nod in the blonde student's direction. She has pretty blue eyes and a cheery personality. "Ummmmm, Adam Rozell, right?" The huskily built black haired student nods, half his attention on me and the other half on a book. I look over to the intern next to him. The red headed and wiry built young man is making eyes at Jane, who is returning his looks. "Alex and Jane…. This might be summer, but there will be no summer loving at my house. Do you understand? No doe eyes towards each other. You are here to work,correct?"

Jane and Alex both nod in return, slightly embarrassed. "Yes ma'am," they reply.

"It's either Mrs. Tiela or Ashley to you all. Ma'am means you are probably rolling your eyes mentally at me." I turn my attention to tall Asian young man, who sits besides Lynn. "You two are Bryan Ko and Lynn Wordsort." A student is fussing with her frizzy dark brown hair, having already eaten her breakfast. I nod in her direction. "You are Clara Nutt, and Sam Shap." Sam is another female student, with strawberry blonde hair and a mildly disgruntled attitude. She doesn't seem pleased to be awake this early.

With all their names established, I get their attention and begin talking. "Okay, here is today's plan of action. We feed the Pokémon at the Sanctuary, and I introduce you to them and what I do there. We will probably spend most of the morning with them, and will return here for lunch. Then we pack our backpacks and go through the property and nearby woods. You all will need a notepad or something to keep track of the information. Records, as you all know, are extremely important when keeping track of an area and the pokémon population over a long period of time."

I hustle them all out the door and lead the way to the Sanctuary. As we walk, I talk, giving them a general history and over view of the structures. "The Regional Department of Agriculture and Wildlife granted me funds for both my occupations, as wildlife- pokémon warden and rehabilitator, for the Sanctuary. As you can tell, it is well maintained, thanks to the RDAW (pronounced Reedah). The pokémon you saw in there are mainly the soft and cuddly ones, but I get all sorts of pokémon. Each building is equipped for different ones. Pokémon who live in or very near water go to building two. The soft and cuddly ground dwellers go to building one. Ones who mainly fly go to building three – that tallest one behind building one. Larger ones who need more space go to building four. Each building can hold approximately thirty pokémon, though it is rare that I have one hundred and twenty pokémon all at once.

I typically take on only small groups at a time if possible. That way, I can house them all together in one building. If I were to get a ponyta right now, chances are I'd keep him or her in building one, even though he or she would be more suited for building four. This is because ponyta are social (and as such would be lonely in building four) and part of rehabilitation requires pokémon-pokémon contact and relationship building. However, If I simply cannot keep a certain pokémon with another group due to size or living requirements, I have several different Pokémon of my own to keep them company. My Pokémon have all been trained for this sort of work (if you wish to call it such), and are extremely mild mannered. Pokémon rehabilitators require Pokémon helpers for multiple reasons, but this is one of the biggest reasons." I glance back towards them, making sure they are all paying attention. "Do any of you have questions?"

Bryan nods his head and asks, "Are your pokémon ones you caught and trained or did you receive them from RDAW as 'tools'?"

"I have some of each. Some rehabilitators will chose and go with strictly one or the other, but in my opinion being willing to draw from different resources means you have a greater variety. Some wild pokémon will never reach the requirements that are necessary to be helpers of sorts. And then again, some pokémon supplied from RDAW will never bond quite so well seeing as they were trained from birth by one trainer before being passed on. Bonds between the rehabilitator and his or her pokémon are necessary for this sort of work. People who work as rehabilitators can only go so far in rehabilitating. There are a lot of pokémon that require another pokémon to sort of break through to them and open them up to rehabilitation and working with the rehabilitator."

We are approaching the four buildings, but instead I swing around them and walk back towards a large fenced in area. I hop over the fence and motion for my charges to follow. While nothing at first glance seems different about the land then the area outside the fenced in area, a closer look would tell elsewise. There are several spots on the ground where the land has been scorched. Boulders (obviously placed there) sit atop gravelly spots where other boulders once sat before being crushed to oblivion. Several trees and shrubs placed around the area are in a sorry state. The land is pockmarked by holes and tunnels. I can tell this area of destruction hardly makes the sturdy fences surrounding it seem like toothpicks to the interns. I smile and motion around me.

"This is the practicing arena. As you all are aware, the pokémon that are being rehabilitated often times need to hone their skills and learn to cooperate with humans before being given to trainers. They also need to learn how to hunt, defend themselves, and learn when to retreat if they are being returned the wild area. I have to say, this is where all the fun is. You all will be spending two or so hours of every day starting tomorrow working with the pokémon and training them. Get them pokéball trained and teach them to return when trainers call…. But all teach them to avoid being caught by pokéballs thrown by another human who is not their trainer. Teach them to bond, teach them to cooperate with other pokémon. We go in, the pokémon that essentially choose you are the pokémon you all will be working with." I check my watch, it is 6:32 and about time to feed the pokémon. Turning to my charges, I motion them out of the arena and back towards the Sanctuary.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

There is a clatter of dishes being put away after breakfast. This time, it is not me doing the work, but rather Jenny and Adam. The other five interns are sitting and letting the pokémon get to know them. Jenny and Adam are practically tossing dishes here and there in their hurry to join in. I try my best to suppress a smile, their eagerness is a source of joy for me. In a short amount of time, they heave the rolling table back inside the opening and shut the door. As they do, I call out to my charges (both human and pokémon) "Alright, all of you, it is time for proper introductions. I know some of you intereacted with each other yesterday, but that doesn't count. Bryan, Lynn, Adam, Jane, Alex, Sam, and Clara, if you all would sit down facing the pokemon, that'd be wonderful. And all of you," I motion to my pokémon, "Sit down in a group facing my students." They all cluster together and sit. It never fails to amaze me how much pokémon understand. It is rather uncanny for animals, in my opinion.

"Okay, you seven, I'd like to introduce to you my helper. Wallop, come here please!" The pidgy from last night lights upon my shoulder again, and turns one eye towards the group of interns. After sizing them up, he gives a satisfied coo. "I caught Wallop as a fledgling from the Viridian forest. He's several years old now, and has been helping me for two of them."

I scan the group of nineteen pokémon, and try to judge how they are feeling. My eyes fall upon a nidorina, who seems pretty calm and almost eager to meet my interns. Her retracted barbs indicate she does not feel threatened or nervous. "Sweetpea, come on over here," she happily trots to the groups and sniffs outstretched hands as I talk, "She was given to the Pewter City pokémon center by a trainer who could not get her under control. She's been with me for about half a year, and is almost ready for re-homing." She walks among the group and lets them pet her leathery blue skin before settling down in the middle of my human group.

A houndour sits in the middle of the other seventeen pokémon, his shoulders hunched to make him look smaller. I snap once to get his attention on me. "Rink, come on out and meet our guests," I call in a cheerfully encouraging voice. He slinks forth, tail lowered and weighted down by uncertainty. "He was seized by Officer Jenny from an abusive trainer who was visiting this region about a month ago, and has been with me for about three weeks. I say he's a sweetie who just needs a bit of encouragement." Wallop has left my shoulder and is now atop Sweetpea's head. Rink spots Wallop's new perch and gives a doggy sort of smile. His tail lifts slightly, and he takes the last few steps to the seven students with more confidence.

As Rink gets to know the interns, I introduce the other pokémon. They are from many different regions and each has a different story and different personality. Finally there is one pokémon left. "This is Tom, he was seized during a pokémon black market raid taking place in one of Team Rocket's hide outs and he came here about three months ago." I nod to the purrloin, who stalks over with nose raised. He looks over the interns with a look of distaste. I glare at him slightly. He returns my look and practically rolls his eyes. He bounds over to them and gives a faint hiss that clearly says "You had better stay back, you are beneath my notice." I roll my eyes at the infuriating feline and then walk among my charges.

All my charges are lazing about in the grass, laughing and socializing among themselves. By now, the pokémon have found people to sit by. Most of my interns had three pokémon draped over, sitting by or leaning against them. Lynn had none what-so-ever. I purse my lips slightly. I had hoped everyone would have three and two of the interns would have two pokémon attached to them. Hopefully Tom will take to Lynn and she doesn't have to feel left out. Lynn holds out her hand to Tom, not noticing me watching her. Tom looks at me and then sniffs her hand. He wrinkles his nose and stalks away from the large group of my charges. That snotty little cat.

I check my watch and note the time, 12:08. It is lunch time. "Okay kiddies, it is lunch time for us. Now that you all have socialized and gotten to know each other, help me open all the windows. There are screens behind it, and the pokémon know not to rip through them, so don't worry about it." By the time we are done, there is a pleasant breeze blowing through that ruffles the growing grass. The pokémon are spreading out to frolic or laze around. I turn and lead the way out. As the last intern trails out, I notice Sweetpea has followed us to the door and is standing there anxiously, wishing to come with us. I say "Not now Sweetie, maybe tomorrow, okay?" as I close the door slowly, trying not to feel too guilty. The sun is blazing overhead, and the refreshing smell of sweet dry grass and flowers meets us as we walk towards the house.

Hello readers, I know you all must be terribly busy and all that seeing as you just took the time to read this chapter, but I have a request. There is a little review button not that far from this text. If you could take a moment to leave a comment, question, concern, or critique, that would probably make my day. Thank you for taking the time to read the chapter and review.