Hey everybody!

First I want to apologize for never updating and being a horrible human being :(

I am deeply ashamed of myself for not continuing this when I said I would, but all of that is about to change! I'm gonna update this bad boy on a regular basis so that this story can get a move on to the fun parts :D

Pleeeease give me a second chance my friends!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Pokemon or any of the franchise titles or names that are mentioned in this story. I do claim the rights to the original characters in this story and to the concept of the Handa region, so...yeah...Yay for Pokemon! :D

Chapter 2

Chaos on the Road

Our journey through the Handa region continues as our trainers, Shouri Inoue and Hatsaharu Fujiwara, make their way towards the first stop on their journey to become Pokémon masters, Pebble Pond Town. After making it all the way through the wet wilderness that surrounds the town, the trainers are faced with just the road ahead of them. But, little do they know that they are not the only trainers lurking through the tall, marshy grass.

"Ah man, I can't wait to stop at the town and take a breather, we've been walking forever!"Hatsaharu groaned as he held his partner, Bulbasaur, in his arms. Shouri and Squirtle glanced back at the two. Squirtle gave the trainer and Pokémon duo an irritated look as Shouri grinned.

"Relax, Haru," Shouri said as the boy looked up at her with a curious expression. "The town is just up ahead, as soon as we get there we'll take a deep breather, and maybe give our parents a call if we can find a phone," she said ruffling the younger trainer's hair. Hatsaharu frowned slightly, swatting her hand away and trying to pat his hair back into place.

"That sounds great, so let's just hurry up and get there," Haru whined, running ahead of Shouri, Bulbasaur bouncing in his arms. Shouri shook her head at her best friend's overzealous behavior.

"Squirt, Squirtle Squir!" Squirtle said, gesturing to Haru with an angry expression. Shouri glanced down at the Squirtle, trying to read the patterns of her partner's expression and its angry tone. Finally Shouri nodded in agreement and reached down, putting a calming hand on the Pokémon's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know he's a real moron. But for now we're stuck with him, so we just have to make the best of it," she sighed as she picked the Pokémon up. Squirtle squirmed a little with a bothered expression, but eventually relaxed into its trainer's arms. Shouri grinned. She'd finally gotten a handle on her Squirtle, and it was finally starting to warm up to her. As Shouri carried the Squirtle, the Pokémon looked around from its new, higher view. The trainer and Pokémon duo were enjoying some quiet time before a frozen Hatsaharu blocked their path. Shouri and Squirtle blinked in unison as they observed their still comrades. Finally Shouri reached forward and pocked Hatsaharu in the back.

"Yo, Haru. What's wrong?" she asked as Squirtle looked over at the other trainer as well. Hatsaharu didn't answer back, but held his stance as he pointed towards a bush that was moving. Shouri gaped at the shaking bush as well.

"What the heck is that?" she muttered as she set Squirtle, who was a little reluctant to leave her arms, down and went over to the bush. She blinked at it a few times before picking up a stick. "What should I do?" she said, gripping the stick.

"…poke it!" Hatsaharu hissed as he and Bulbasaur nodded, Squirtle rolling its eyes at the two. Shouri nodded before tightening her hold on the stick and jabbing it into the bush.

"Ow! That wasn't a poke that was a stab! Or jab! Depending on how you look at it!" a voice snapped from the bush, causing the two trainers to jump in surprise.

"Holy shit! The bush is talking!" Haru cried as he held up Bulbasaur, who growled at the bush, determined to protect its trainer. Squirtle jumped in front of the shocked Shouri, glaring at the bush as it readied itself for battle.

"Honestly! You didn't have to be so mean!" the bush said again, before a girl jumped out, covered in leaves and small twigs. She had short, shoulder length blonde hair that curled ever-so-slightly at the tips. Her dark green eyes were framed by a thin pair of glasses, and she had an orange and white sundress on. Reaching down, she brushed off a few twigs that were caught in her black sandals before fixing the strap on her light brown messenger bag.

"…Who ARE you?" Shouri muttered as she looked the other girl up and down. The blond finished fixing her appearance before looking over at Shouri and Hatsaharu. She studied them for a moment before throwing her head back and letting out a loud, dramatic laugh.

"Who am I? Well, I'll tell you who I am!" she said before throwing her arms up and striking a pose. "My name is Arisa Runeuh! And I'm here to prove to you that being a Pokémon trainer isn't just a walk in the park," she said before flipping her bangs, turning to look at Shouri and Hatsaharu again, only to find them gone.

"What do you think we should do after we call our parents in town? Maybe get something to eat for everyone?" Shouri said as she walked away, her hands in her pockets and Squirtle at her side.

"I want something! Like cake! Can we get cake?" Hatsaharu said as he cuddled an equally excited Bulbasaur, who squirmed and 'Saur'ed in agreement. As the two trainers walked away, Arisa fumed behind them before stomping her foot.

"That's it! If you won't take me seriously then I'll just MAKE you take me seriously!" she cried before reaching into her bag and yanking out a poké ball. "Growlithe! Let's teach these newbies a lesson!" Arisa said before tossing the poké ball in the air. A puppy like Pokémon appeared in front of Arisa. It had bright orange fur that was marked with black stripes; its tail, stomach and slight mane were a cream color. The Pokémon dug its front paws into the ground, showing off its claws as it growled at Shouri and Hatsaharu.

"Wow! What is that?" Hatsaharu muttered as he and Shouri took a step back away from the growling Pokémon. Arisa smirked at their apprehension before going over and stroking the fluff on the stop of the Pokémon's head.

"This is the newest addition to my team, Growlithe," she said before getting up and stepping back slightly. "And now, you are going to see how a real trainer faces off," Arisa proclaimed before pointing at Hatsaharu. "You! Kid! I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" she said as Hatsaharu blinked at her finger.

"M-me?" Haru squeaked as Bulbasaur growled at Arisa. Shouri frowned at the blond girl as she stepped up behind her best friend and put her hands on his shoulder's in support.

"You got this Haru. Fight her and take her out. So what if you've just become a trainer and have no idea what you're doing? So what! Sure she might be stronger, weirder and obviously more experienced than you, but so what!" she said squeezing Hatsaharu's shoulders. The boy gulped and glanced back at his friend with a worried expression.

"I know you care and all Sho, but I think you just made it worse," he whined quietly before setting Bulbasaur down, ignoring Shouri's mild frown and Squirtle and Arisa's horribly amused expressions. Hatsaharu took a deep breath before nodding. "Alright, I got this," he sighed before pointing right back at Arisa. "You're on!" he said with a determined expression. Arisa rubbed her hands together in a mock, evil gesture before clapping.

"Alrightie then! Let's get this battle started!" she smiled as Growlithe howled in agreement. Shouri looked from the overly excited Arisa to the determined Hatsaharu before frowning down at Squirtle with concern.

"I have a bad feeling about this Squirtle," she sighed but picked her partner up and moved out of the way of the two battling Pokémon and trainers.

"You know how this goes right kiddo? Since you only seem to have this one Pokémon, we'll just make it a one on one," Arisa said pushing her glasses up her nose lightly before crossing her arms. Hatsaharu frowned at the overly confidant girl before nodding.

"Alright, one on one is fine with me," he said as Bulbasaur and Growlithe stared each other down. Arisa pouted at Hatsaharu's lack of reaction before shrugging it off.

"Fine then!" she muttered before smirking at Haru "Ladies first," she said in a sing song voice before looking at her Pokémon. "Growlithe! Let's start this show off with Bite!" Arisa called as Growlithe growled in unison, dashing in quickly and biting the unsuspecting Bulbasaur, who cried out in pain. Hatsaharu gritted his teeth as Growlithe quickly jumped back away from the injured Bulbasaur as Arisa threw her hands up in the air as a sign of victory. "Woo hoo! This battle's in the bag!" she cheered.

"We're not out yet!"Hatsaharu shouted as Bulbasaur 'Saur'ed in agreement before getting back to its feet. "Alright Bulbasaur, Tackle!"Hatsaharu ordered as Bulbasaur rushed forward to attack the Growlithe. Arisa simply scoffed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"Growlithe, dodge and use Ember," she said. Growlithe easily ducked out of Bulbasaur's path before rounding behind the Seed Pokémon and letting out a small blast of fire. "That should just about do it," Arisa said as Bulbasaur roared in pain before collapsing onto the ground, Growlithe padding back over to stand by its partner. Hatsaharu gaped at the flame attack before rushing forward to his Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur!" he cried as he got down on the ground and hugged the burnt green Pokémon gently. Shouri stood up quickly to rush over, but not before Squirtle wiggled out of her arms and dashed over, standing in front of Arisa and her Growlithe.

"Squirt! Squirtle Squir!" Squirtle shouted gesturing to Growlithe angrily. The puppy Pokémon returned the comment with a few growls of its own as Shouri looked from Squirtle to the crest fallen Hatsaharu before running over. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a poké ball before activating it.

"That's enough Squirtle, return," she said, surprising both her Pokémon and Arisa and Growlithe. Shouri quickly tucked the poké ball back into her pocket before going back over to Hatsaharu. "Come on," she said softly as Haru took out Bulbasaur's poké ball. "If we hurry we can probably make it to town and see if we can get Bulbasaur fixed up," she said as Hatsaharu looked up at her before nodding in agreement, returning the Pokémon to its ball. Arisa growled with mild irritation before gripping the strap of her messenger bag.

"Hey! Just who do you think you are? Ignoring me like that?" she snapped as she watched Shouri and Hatsaharu get up. "Get back over here and battle against me! You can't just run away, you'll never be a Pokémon trainer like that!" she said. Shouri blocked out the blond girl's words as she handed Haru his bag and picked up her own. Arisa's frowned deepened. "Hey! I said answer-!" she began to shout, but the insults and yells got stuck in her throat as Shouri glared back at her with eyes like steel. Arisa took a step back in surprise as Shouri turned away from Hatsaharu and let her anger out on the blond.

"No one asked your opinion you annoying, stupid, arrogant girl," Shouri said, ignoring the shocked expression on Arisa's face. "I don't care if you don't think we're serious Pokémon trainers, and I don't care if you're any better than us. Right now the only thing I care about is getting my friend's Pokémon some medical attention. So either you help us with that, or you keep you half assed opinions to yourself!" she said before turning away and putting a hand on Haru's shoulder. "Come on pal, let's go," she muttered leading him away from the blond and her Growlithe. Arisa watched the two friends walk away, the shock on her face slowly slipping into a heart broken expression. She looked down at her feet, letting Shouri's words sink in before she glanced over at her Growlithe, her eyes filled with shame.

"Growlithe," she said quietly before glancing and the departing trainers for a moment. "I've really done it this time," she murmured before linking her fingers together in thought. The Growlithe regarded its partner with mild interest before nudging her leg from behind lightly, attempting to push her forward. "Hey! Growlithe!" Arisa mumbled in surprise, looking behind her at her Pokémon. "What are you doing?"

"Grow, Groooowlithe," the fire-type Pokémon said before gesturing towards Shouri and Hatsaharu's direction with a nod of its head. Arisa blinked down at the Growlithe before smiling slightly in understanding.

"You're right Growlithe," she whispered before pulling out its poké ball. "Thank you, return," she said as the Growlithe disappeared. Arisa took a deep breath before turning and running after Shouri and Hatsaharu. "Hey!" she called, causing both trainers to look back with mildly surprised expressions. "Wait up! Please!" Arisa said as she finally caught up with the two.

"What now? We're busy," Shouri said frowning back at her as Hatsaharu looked at the blond trainer. Arisa looked at the both of them before bowing deeply.

"I'm really really really sorry for what happened back there!" she said, catching her glasses before they fell off her face before she straightened up to look the two surprised trainers in the eye. "I just heard you complaining and I couldn't take it anymore; I thought if I told you how tough some trainers are, that you'd start taking it a little more seriously. I guess I took it way too far though…. I kinda tend to do that," Arisa said with a sheepish smile. Shouri and Hatsaharu looked at each other before Shouri nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, Haru can be a bit of a whine, so I understand why you might have been bothered by it," she said, Hatsaharu giving her an annoyed look.

"I am not a bit of a whine!" he said as Arisa watched the two with a curious yet amused expression.

"Oh, right you aren't a bit of a whine, you're a really big whine," Shouri said before dodging as Hatsaharu swung his backpack at her. The two friends stopped their arguing as Arisa burst into laughter. "Is something funny, Runeuh?" Shouri said crossing her arms and looking at the girl. Arisa pressed her lips together to keep the giggles from coming out before smiling.

"No, nothing at all," she said as Haru smiled slightly at her. "… Look let me make it up to the two of you," Arisa said suddenly, clapping her hands together. "I know where you guys can rest up and where you can get your Bulbasaur healed," she said as Haru's expression brightened.

"Really? You mean it?" he said as Shouri looked at Arisa with mild curiosity as well. Arisa nodded before pointing ahead of them towards the town.

"There's this place called a Pokémon Center in town where you can take Pokémon to get healed. If we hurry we can make it there in no time and get Bulbasaur fixed right up," she said as Haru and Shouri looked at each other before smiling.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go," Shouri said as Arisa smiled before throwing her hands in the air with joy, surprising her two fellow trainers.

"Alright! Come on I'll lead the way!" she cheered walking ahead of the other two quickly. Shouri looked over at Haru, who shrugged and followed after Arisa as fast as possible.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Shouri sighed before hurrying off after the other two teens.

"I'm starting to see why they call this place Pebble Pond Town," Shouri muttered as she side stepped another small pond that was surrounded by small, glistening stones. This had been the fifth pond so far, and they had only walked into the town moments ago. "If I have to get over another one of these things I think I'm gonna start hurling stones at people," she muttered as she and Haru followed Arisa towards a big red building in the center of the town.

"Here we are!" Arisa said as they stopped in front of the building. "The Pokémon Center! Home of the wonderful Nurse Joy!" she smiled. Shouri and Hatsaharu exchanged a frown before looking over at her.

"Nurse who?"Haru said as he looked up at the red building with a suspicious expression. Arisa looked at the two confused trainers before sighing.

"Wow you two really are new? Alright then follow me," she said as she walked into the center. Shouri and Haru exchanged mildly unconvinced looks, but followed Arisa in out of sheer curiosity.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center," a woman dressed in a pink nurse uniform smiled from behind a counter, her long red hair neatly arranged under her pink hat. Arisa smiled in return before pulling Hatsaharu over to the counter with her.

"Hello Nurse Joy," Arisa smiled before she gestured to Hatsaharu. "My friend Hatsaharu here has an injured Bulbasaur. Could you have a look at it for us?" she asked as Haru looked at Nurse Joy with a child like curiosity. Nurse Joy's expression softened even more as she nodded in understanding.

"Of course I'll see what I can do, if you'll just give me Bulbasaur's poké ball," she said warmly before holding out her hand. Haru looked from Arisa to Shouri and back again before taking their reassuring looks as confirmation. He slowly pulled out Bulbasaur's poké ball before reluctantly handing it over to Nurse Joy. "Don't you worry. I'll do whatever I can, and this will only take a few minutes. Why don't you have a seat while I take care of your Pokémon," she smiled before moving away from the counter to give Bulbasaur a look over. Arisa and Haru went over to where Shouri had already taken refuge and sat as well.

"You think it'll be okay?" Hatsaharu muttered, looking over at his old friend and his new one. Shouri reached over and took Haru's hand in her own before giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't you worry, pal," she grinned. "Your Bulbasaur is gonna be great," she said before letting go of him and stretching. "I, on the other hand, am exhausted. I mean honestly, who the heck decided to stick a town past a ridiculous, wet forest anyways," she muttered as Haru grinned and Arisa giggled lightly at the remark. Shouri looked over at the blond before sighing. "So, Arisa, you don't seem to be from around here. Handa, I mean," she said as Arisa nodded.

"That's right. I'm actually from Hoenn," Arisa said, beaming with pride at the impressed expression on Shouri's face and the surprised one on Haru's. "I'm sort of a Pokémon battler and coordinator, and when I heard about the Handa region I just couldn't resist coming here after I finished up back home," she said, watching as Shouri looked up at the ceiling of the Pokémon Center in thought.

"Hoenn huh?" Shouri murmured. "Mom told me about that place once. Must be really cool," she said before sitting up. "Well then, it's decided then." Haru and Arisa looked at each other before looking at Shouri.

"What's decided Sho?" Haru said before blinking as his old friend grinned and looked over at him.

"You and I, Haru, are gonna breeze through the Handa league," she said, surprising both Haru and Arisa with her statement. "And when we do, we're gonna go off to all of the regions our parents keep talking about. Hoenn, Kanto, Johto! All of them!" Shouri said standing up. "And we're gonna take on every single league! And show them all what we Handa trainers are made of!"

"Yeah!" Haru exclaimed in agreement as he stood up as well. "Let's show them what we've got!" he said as the two friends high fived one another.

"Uh, guys? I hate to burst your bubble, but other people are trying to rest here," Arisa muttered looking around. Both Shouri and Haru blinked before glancing around as well, noticing other trainers looking over at them and frowning. The dynamic duo blushed with embarrassment before sitting down quickly next to Arisa. They spent the rest of the time in silence, exchanging a few comments here and there about the trip and their home lives, before Nurse Joy finally came out from the back of the Pokémon Center. The three newly formed friends stood up and went over to the counter.

"How is Bulbasaur?" Haru asked as all three of them gave the nurse a concerned expression. Nurse Joy smiled warmly and handed the poké ball back to Hatsaharu.

"Good as new! See for yourself," she said as Haru quickly took his poké ball from her and tossed it into the air. Bulbasaur suddenly appeared before them, raising a paw in greeting.

"Saur! Bulbasaur!" it smiled as the trio ran forward to greet it.

"Bulbasaur! I'm so glad you're okay!" Haru smiled hugging the Pokémon. Bulbasaur patted Hatsaharu on the back with a happy expression before noticing Arisa and growling. Haru quickly set Bulbasaur down and shook his head. "No no Bulbasaur, it's okay. She's with us now," he grinned before Bulbasaur looked from Arisa to Hatsaharu and back. Finally it nodded and smiled to Arisa as well.

"Saur! Bulbasaur!" it smiled holding it's paw out to Arisa. The blond girl looked at the outstretched paw before smiling.

"I'm very glad you've forgiven me Bulbasaur," she smiled as she and Haru exchanged happy expressions. Shouri smiled at the scene in front of her before turning to Nurse Joy with a tired expression.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I can get a nice, soft bed around this town, do you Nurse Joy?" she sighed, causing Arisa, Haru and even Bulbasaur to laugh lightly at their exhausted friend's hopeful tone.

Hi again!

If you are reading this message, then you have made it to the end of the chapter :P

Feel proud!

And tune in soon for the next chapter of Pokemon: Handa

See you soon!