I figure I should apologize now. I didn't give you much information with my last 'chapter', so I'll try to make things a little clearer now. I...reached Lake Verity about two days after the in-game Sinnoh trio – being Lucas, Dawn, and Barry – took off on their adventure. Lucas got Chimchar, Dawn got Piplup, Barry has Turtwig. Hearing about that sort of dashed my hopes a little. I'll admit, when I got here I was kinda hoping to start off an adventure of my own. Since I'm stuck here and all...

Dawn's mom has taken good care of me for the few days I've been here. I've mainly been trying to figure out a way to get to Sandgem Town without going into the tall grass, and not just because I want to avoid getting hacked up again. In the Platinum game, Professor Rowan more or less threw a temper tantrum (forgive me, Professor!) when the rival tried to go into the grass unprotected. If there's any chance of me getting a Pokemon from him – and I'm well-convinced by this point that a Pokemon is my only ticket to getting out of Twinleaf to figure things out – I have to get on his good side.

I think today would be my best shot at taking off for Sandgem. I'm just a little impatient to get some clues about what the heck happened to me.

…...

"Where are you going, Hannah?" I winced at the sound of the voice; I'd been caught trying to sneak out the front door, backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Uh...I'm just going to check around near Lake Verity. Is that okay?"

"Sure, but don't be too long...I'm sorry if I'm being overbearing. Mothers will be mothers," Mrs. Johanna said cheerfully. I was touched that she was worried about me, and now I was a little guilty for lying. "I'll try to be back before 3 o' clock," I answered, and I left. As soon as I was out the door I broke out running for Route 201. I did veer off toward Lake Verity, but only to get up near the ledge. I now understood why you couldn't go back over them in the game – it towered a foot over my head, making it possible to safely jump down it, but because it sloped inward, it was all but impossible to climb back up.

Being the bull-headed, stubborn teenager I am, I attempted to climb it anyways. I managed to toss my arms over the ledge, but I slipped back off almost immediately. Well, this plan is going straight down the drain... I had intended to climb up onto the ledges and take the grass-free path to Sandgem, but clearly that was not going to work. I started grudgingly heading back to Twinleaf when I heard hard-paced footsteps behind me. With wide eyes, I sidestepped just as the blonde-haired boy I expected came barreling past. He hadn't even stopped to acknowledge me, so I assumed whatever he was off for must have been a bigger deal than usual. Rolling my eyes, I kept walking.

Then it hit me; I did not have Pokemon. Barry did. There was no way Barry was just going to lazily hang around Twinleaf, so if I got him to let me tag along...

I went sprinting after him, gaining faster than I'd expected. "Hey! Yo, Barry! Wait up a sec!" The boy came skidding to a halt, and he turned to face me, amber eyes gleaming curiously. "Who are you?" he demanded. I paused myself – I hadn't actually considered how to explain my knowing his name. I thought fast. "Uh, long story, but I've been temporarily taken in by Dawn's mom. She told me about you. I heard you got your first Pokemon-"

Barry cut me off there, talking excitedly. "Yeah, I did! My Turtwig is so awesome! I mean, I'll tell him the moves, and he'll use them, and-"

I cut him off this time. "I've got a small problem I was hoping you could help with. I need to get to Sandgem, but I don't have any pokemon of my own, you see." I opened my mouth to continue further, but yet again I was cut off.

"I know!" Barry exclaimed. "You should come with me on my way back and I'll make sure you get there fine!" He beamed like this was the idea of a total genius, and I didn't want to bother him. "Thanks!" I said, barely forcing down my excitement.

He certainly didn't keep me waiting – he came flying out of his house not five minutes after we'd talked, and he waved for me to follow him out. "C'mon! You gotta keep up!" I gladly did so, matching him pace for pace. He seemed mildly surprised by this, and I didn't blame him. The player characters (Lucas and Dawn) were never as active as their rival, and tended to walk more often than sprint.

The Route had been traversed in a matter of minutes, but it took longer than I thought it would. I guess the actual landscape of Sinnoh in...well, wherever I was, was more realistically spaced. I was vaguely grateful for that, and also annoyed; I'm not an athletic person, exactly. Barry skidded to a halt in front of Professor Rowan's lab, saluted to me briefly, and bolted inside.

I awkwardly followed – I hadn't expected him to go to the same place as me. He was eagerly showing his Pokedex to the Professor himself, who was nodding with his form of gruff approval. I gingerly approached him, and he soon noticed me, along with Barry.

"Hello. Who may you be?" he inquired, and Barry's face lit with the realization that he didn't know who I was either. I managed to yank my gaze away from my feet (not to say that I was staring levelly with the Professor) and I stammered out, "Uh, Hannah, sir. I kind of wanted to discuss – er, ask – you something."

He nodded simply to me. "Go ahead; now's as good a time as any." I hesitated; I hadn't really expected to make my request in front of Barry, but it wasn't like I had a choice now. "Well, er, sir, I was wondering if I could...have a Pokemon, maybe. I mean, I can offer something in return-!"

Rowan locked eyes with me, and I found myself trembling. In the games I'd played, I hadn't even been vaguely intimidated by this Professor, but in person he emanated a sort of authorative aura. "You needn't offer anything in return," he said. "But I'm concerned about what would happen to a Pokemon that wound up in your possession. You are clearly a timid-mannered child, and I doubt you would have the nerve or willpower to do anything when extreme circumstances call for it."

I straightened a little – this guy was a good judge of character. "I would do anything neccesary to help a Pokemon, especially if the circumstances called for it." A short "Hmm." was all I received as a response. He kept his eyes on me, clearly making more accurate inferences. "...Very well, then. You seem to be an honest person, at least. He turned to his worktables for a moment, and Barry glanced at me, raising an eyebrow as if to say, 'What just happened there?'

Rowan picked up a pokeball, examining it with deep consideration. One of the nearby aides perked up. "Wait a moment, sir. You've already given away three of our most important research Pokemon. Surely you aren't thinking of giving away that one as well...? Especially given its aggressive nature..."

The aging Professor only turned to face me again, holding the pokeball tightly in one hand. "Tell me, Hannah. Do you love Pokemon?" The answer was out of my mouth almost as soon as the question was asked. "Absolutely, sir." He nodded slightly. "Good answer. Here; take this pokeball. Inside is a Pokemon, as you may have inferred. Please don't release it inside, though – it tends to make a mess of the workspace." He held out the pokeball, and I tentatively took it – I was having a hard time believing this was happening.

Barry paced on the spot, dying for the Professor's attention again. "Professor, is she going to get a Pokedex, too? Is she? Is she? Is she?" His words spilled out quickly. The Professor again looked thoughtful, and he turned to his table again, picking up a mostly rectangular object. "Hannah, will you use this Pokedex to record all the Pokemon you find in Sinnoh? It would be a large help to my research."

I considered telling him that I already knew every Pokemon from every region up to and past Sinnoh, with at least three facts to each one of the 649 creatures, but instead I simply said, "Consider it done, sir." He handed me the sleek device, which surprised me by being black instead of the usual red.

"Even though I've spent several years doing so, I always get a thrill out of traveling with Pokemon. Take care of your new Pokemon, and enjoy the experiences of this region." Rowan said, smiling for the first time since I walked into the building. I smiled back, nodding my head. "Shall do, sir!"

Barry was the one to kill the moment. "C'mon, c'mon! I'll show you how to catch Pokemon and the Pokecenter and everything!" I smirked, already knowing everything about this, but I let the hyperactive boy drag me out of the building and around town. After all...what could possibly go wrong now?