A/N: Just as a side note, when I had someone else read the previous chapters, they kept pronouncing Mica's name wrong. So, to my (few) regular readers, it is pronounced MY-kah. Long 'i' sound. Not MEE-kah, that is a band that we all know and love. Or that I know and love, anyway. Good ol' Mika. Mica's name actually came from a horse I used to ride. She was perrrty.

And I thought I should tell you guys the actual ages of everyone:

Mica: 17

Silver: 17

Lucian: 27

And there you have it. Well, enjoy the first Johto chapter!


Lucian escorted Mica back to Canalave City. He bought her a ticket for a ferry to Olivine City, and gave her money to purchase a bus ride to New Bark town, where he recommended she start her journey.

"Make sure you visit professor Elm while you're there," he told her as they were waiting for the ferry to arrive. "He'll be able to give you a trainer's card, start up funds, and possibly a pokedex too, if he thinks you have potential," he smiled. "Tell him that an Elite Four member sent you, and you probably will find you get a pokedex."

"And where do I go from there?" Mica asked. "Just wander wherever my legs decide to lead me?" This question had been plaguing her mind for a while; she didn't understand how trainers just always seemed to know exactly where to go.

"Well, you can ask Elm where to go from New Bark town, and from there a Nurse Joy should be able to direct you on the easiest route to the next possible town. I'm sure you'll pick up a map somewhere along the way as well," Lucian replied.

"And if I get lost on that 'easy route'?" Mica asked.

"Well, that's why they call it an adventure. But anyway, I believe that's the ferry approaching. Do you have everything?" Lucian asked as they got up and Mica prepared to join the queue waiting to board the ferry. Mica nodded, and the three of them (Horatio was again lingering outside of his pokeball) chatted as they waited and exchanged good byes as it was time to board.

Mica stood by the railing, waving at Lucian's shrinking frame as the boat began to depart, feeling a little sad that she was leaving him behind. But she knew she could call him anytime, and could also tune in to the battle channel while she was in a town to see if he was taking on any challengers. Still, she sighed slightly as she and Horatio made their way to their designated room. It was nothing special; plain wallpaper covered walls that smelled slightly musty, and it boasted only a bed and a table, but it was still leagues above crouching in a storage space on a garbage barge.

Horatio and Mica both agreed that they would stay in their own room for the duration of the trip; one of the crew members told Mica that there were strong trainers aboard itching for a battle, and she knew Horatio wasn't strong enough to deal with battles that high-levelled yet.

The two spent most of the time chatting about what they would be doing in Johto. The kinds of pokemon that they would catch seemed to take up most of the conversation; Mica was all for a water pokemon, while Horatio wanted another fire-type pokemon to make friends with. When they got bored of that, Mica decided to check how much longer they had to go until they hit land. However, Mica was still weary of other trainers, and so decided sneakiness would be the best way to make her way to a crew member.

She peaked out her door- with Horatio perched on her should and glancing about too- and decided the coast was clear. With what she considered as refined ninja-like skills, Mica darted down the narrow hallway on tip-toes and pressed herself up against the wall when she came to the corner. There was one more hallway to go, and then the stairs to the deck.

Halfway down this next hallway, someone had left their luggage out in the hall in what Mica considered to be misplaced trust in their fellow passengers. However, it did provide a good place to hide behind, and so, ensuring that there was no one lingering in either of the halls, Mica darted over to the luggage and at the final moment performed a summersault behind it. Horatio, who had hung on throughout this entire journey, could not quite handle this unexpected manoeuvre and toppled off Mica's shoulder halfway through the summersault, leaving him sitting in the middle of the hallway and in plain sight of anybody passing by, much to Mica's horror.

Mica began making energetic waving motions with her hands to try and wave her partner back over; Horatio, however, simply looked at her, cocked his head slightly to one side, and continued down the hallway without her.

I wonder if she realizes she can just refuse to battle if someone asks her, Horatio pondered thoughtfully as he made his way towards the stairs. He turned to look back at the sound of a slight 'hmph' from his partner as she got up from her hiding place and walked over to join him.

"Your courage is inspiring, my friend," she told him, sounding completely serious. "It compels me to hide from no one!" Horatio just looked up at her and waited for her to bend over and scoop him up to replace him on her shoulder, which she did a second later.

The crew member they found outside told her that they were still a few hours away from their destination. Mica pouted slightly at this news, thanked him anyway and began making her way back to her room. On the way back, however, the luggage just sitting out in the hall caught her attention, and she again marvelled at the trust its owner must have in their fellow passengers.

"Horatio, I believe…mischief beckons!" she declared, pausing as she reached the luggage in the hall.

"No…I don't think it does." Horatio muttered, hoping to guide his trainer away from whatever act she was considering committing.

"Oh, indeed it does my friend!" she refuted her partner's meek attempts to sway her. "And in the most severe degree as well. We shall confound this luggage's owner by moving their things…slightly to the left!" she said, grabbing a hold of the luggage and indeed beginning to move it to the left. If Horatio's arms were long enough, he would have face palmed, but decided that she could have decided to do something much worse. "And if, upon our return, the luggage has not been ushered into the proper room, we shall move it farther to the left. So far that it will reside in our own quarters!" she declared as she finished moving the things and began to dart off back to their room.

Horatio was unconcerned about this last part; he knew that Mica would most likely forget about the luggage within a matter of minutes. Back in their room, there was still nothing interesting to do, and so Mica proposed they take a nap, to which Horatio promptly agreed; it would only help Mica forget about her promise to steal the other passenger's things.


When they woke it was to an announcement that the ship had landed in Olivine City, and the passengers were now to make their way off the boat. Mica grabbed her bag (Lucian had helped her shop for and buy the basic necessities that a trainer should pack) and made her way off the boat, Horatio resting on her shoulder. The two stopped into a pokecentre for a bite to eat and decided to spend the night there and head off to New Bark town the next morning.

They woke the next morning, collected their things and headed off to locate the bus stop, which Nurse Joy said was just around the corner. Mica was a little disappointed that they weren't going to be able to see the city, which was situated by the sea and adorned with flags everywhere. But she wanted to catch an early bus.

After a few minutes of waiting at the bus stop, the great polluting beast rolled its way up and rumbled to a stop in front of them. Mica chose a free seat halfway down the aisle and watched the scenery glide past the window. The bus traveled all across Johto, and so made a few stops in other towns on its way to New Bark Town. The towns seemed to grow smaller and smaller in size, until finally they reached the miniscule town of New Bark. It was mid morning by the time they reached their stop, and Mica was quite ready to get out and stretch her legs.

Seems like an odd spot for a research lab Mica thought as she looked around the town. A gentle breeze flowed through and pushed the sills on the multiple windmills that were scattered around the town in lazy circles. The houses were small, and there was no pokemart or pokecentre to be found. In fact, the only building that wasn't a house was the research lab, which was a couple stories high and monstrous next to the modest homes surrounding it, making it easy to spot. Maybe he's actually a mad scientist, and is relying on the guise of a small town to hide his evil deeds!

Despite the possibility of coming face to face with a mad scientist, Mica knew she needed a trainer's card and start up funds, and so summoned the courage to knock on the door. She was answered by a skinny man with black hair and glasses. When he spoke, it was with the reedy quavering often associated with nerds.

"Can I help you?" he asked, taking in the teen and her cyndaquil as they stood on the threshold.

"Er, yes. You see, I'm just starting out as a trainer, and I was told to see professor Elm to get my trainer's card and such. Are you him?" she asked, feeling a little awkward but trying to remain polite to a possible ally nonetheless.

"Ah, I see. Of course. No, I'm not Elm, I'm just his aide. You chose a good time to come by, we've only just started setting everything up for today's research. Professor Elm likes to sleep in. Please, come in," he gestured her inside, and asked what her name was. Mica introduced herself and Horatio as they were walking to the back of the lab, which was filled with whirring gadgets and blinking machines.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you come by that cyndaquil? Even if it is classified as a Johto starter pokemon, it's a rare find; the only ones I've ever seen are the ones in this lab, which is obviously not where you found that little guy." He asked her eagerly.

"Er, well…" Mica was a little unsure of how to answer. It was a couple years ago that she found Horatio; she had been walking in the forest-one of her favourite pastimes, since it didn't include her father watching her every move- when it started to rain. She was hurrying back to the house when she noticed the little fire mouse stuck in the rain with no visible shelter. It didn't strike her as odd at the time to come upon such a rare pokemon, she just felt sorry for the little guy and scooped him up to sneak into her room. After that, Horatio just kind of never left; and soon became her closest friend. She had named him after a Shakespearean character, the best friend of Hamlet and one of the few characters who didn't die or become insane or an asshole. It suited him.

Mica was saved the trouble of answering this, however, when a large metallic groaning could be heard up ahead, along with another, less reedy but still slightly nerdy voice saying: "No, Totodile, no! Argh, not again!"

Mica and the aide came upon a slightly unlikely scene; a small, blue, crocodile-like pokemon that Mica assumed was Totodile was gnawing on what looked to Mica to be scrap metal, but she assumed from the wires creeping out of it that it had once been a piece of machinery. The totodile looked quite content; the sandy blond, tall, thin man beside him though, looked rather distressed. He looked up and, in noticing Mica and Horatio, gave the two a slightly perplexed look. The aide didn't seem about to introduce them (he was busy trying to prise Totodile off the remainders of the machine) so Mica figured she ought to do it herself.

"Hello professor! I'm Mica, and this is my partner Horatio, and we were told to come see you about getting a trainer's card and start up funds. I'm a new trainer, you see," she said cheerily, and Horatio gave a the man a cheery greeting as well before jumping out of Mica's arms and rushing over to meet the totodile.

"Is that so?" said Elm, who still looked distracted by the totodile that was chewing on his equipment. He only properly responded once Horatio had distracted Totodile enough to allow the aide to pull the metal out of its mouth. "You look a little old to be just starting out, and why do you already have a starter if you're new at this?" he questioned, now looking at Mica properly.

Is she trying to scam me? But start up funds are pretty miniscule; there are better ways to scam people. But you never know.

"Oh, I've been partners with Horatio for a while, but I lived in Almia before this. When I moved away, I decided I wanted to be a trainer," Mica replied, a little insulted at the subtext of the man's questions.

What, do I look like a thief? Well, I guess I am a random teenager showing up on his doorstep…but that's ageism! As a minor above the age of sixteen I am guaranteed the right to live free from discrimination due to age under most constitutions. Wait…most? While Mica's father didn't let her attend school, he did make her read books on law, history, sociology and the like (and tested her on content after she read said books). She knew he would hate to have a completely uneducated daughter, and the subjects he taught her were perfect for sounding intelligent without having any practical use.

Mica's face must have reflected her inner indignation, for professor Elm looked slightly abashed and directed her to his sitting room, with Horatio and Totodile following close behind.

"Sorry for the state of the place; we've been keeping Totodile out of his pokeball to do some studying with him, and he's a bit of a handful to handle," he laughed nervously as he looked around his cluttered space. "So if you're new at this, how did you know to come to me?" This time when he questioned her, his voice lacked the suspicion and held only curiosity.

"Oh, well I actually went to Sinnoh first, but I was recommended to come here by a friend I met over there," she remembered what Lucian said about possibly getting a pokedex from the man if she mentioned him. "You might know of him, his name's Lucian, he's part of the Elite Four?" she questioned innocently.

"Oh my! Really, you've met Lucian? That's impressive. Come, come, you're probably anxious to get going, and we just got a package in to give to a trainer with potential," he smiled and winked at Mica, and her hopes rose quickly as she followed the professor to another room. This room seemed to be more of an office, complete with a desk and personal computer, but was still as cluttered as the rest of the lab.

Out of his desk he withdrew a small plastic card that was to serve as Mica's trainer's card, and asked Mica to sign the back of it. It was about the same size as a credit card, though a bit stiffer. Mica was told that it was actually electronic, and would keep track of the amount of money in her trainer's account along with serving as a credit card. Next he pulled out a small package and dropped it into Mica's waiting hands.

She eagerly tore apart the package, fully expecting to see the red gleam of a pokedex. What she saw, however, was not red but cream in colour, and not rectangular like the one Lucian had shown her either. She pulled it out of the box, fully perplexed. It looked like a very clunky, old-fashioned cell phone, not an electric encyclopaedia.

"It's called pokegear! It can act as a cell phone, a radio and, if you can get a hold of a map card, it can display a map of the entire Johto and Kanto regions." He explained delightedly. "They're all the rage right now, and I'm sure you'll find it quite useful. Here, let me give you my number," he said, taking the pokegear and downloading his number to it. "There! Now you can call me anytime if you have questions."

Mica looked at the clunky thing with new respect. A phone, a radio, and a map (potentially), all in one? It was no pokedex, but she had to admit, it was still pretty nifty. She turned to her partner, who was busy playing with the messy totodile, and bent down.

"Look buddy, pokegear! Pretty neat, huh?" Horatio sniffed at the thing in her hand and, since it did not yield an interesting smell, turned back to play with his new friend. Totodile, however, seemed quite interested in the pokegear; he leapt over to Mica and attempted to bite it out of her hand. Mica was mindful enough to pull her hand out of the line of fire in time, luckily.

"Ah, sorry about him. Totodile likes to bite things if he doesn't know what they are, in the same way a baby will put a foreign object in its mouth to check out what it is," Elm explained apologetically. "I actually would have given you a pokedex, but Totodile was curious about those too, so they've all been destroyed." Mica felt a bit of resentment towards the mini crocodile for this, but Elm's next phrase quickly distracted her. "Well, you're probably eager to get going. Cherrygrove city would be the next stop for you. Just follow the path west of here; there are no paths branching off of it, so you should have no trouble getting there. Have fun!" The last part of the instructions were said quickly as the professor dashed out of his office, Totodile hot on his heals, apparently eager to get back to work.

Mica was a little thrown by this sudden abruptness. "I guess it's time for us to hit the road." She told Horatio, who also looked a little confused at Totodile's sudden exit.

The two made their own way out of the lab, Mica fiddling with her new pokegear as they went. Horatio began whining at her from the ground as they walked outside and Mica, still distracted with her pokegear, assumed he just wanted on her shoulder and so briefly bent over and scooped him up. This, however, did not help stop Horatio's chattering, and she was about to turn to him and listen to what he was saying when she ran into a solid, warm object and promptly lost her footing and fell over with a slight 'oof'.

"I tried to warn you…" muttered Horatio from the ground beside Mica, having fallen off when she toppled over. Mica looked up to take in the person she had just walked into.

He was a boy that looked to be about her own age, and the first word that came to Mica's head to describe him was sharp. His eyes, a shade of deep red that matched his shoulder-length hair, were somewhat nasty looking and very, well, sharp. His facial features, from his nose to his chin, were all very angular, and would have been nice-looking had the boy not been wearing a look of clearly defined irritation (which Mica would later come to learn was the most common expression on this face). Even his black jacket had one red line going down the zipper and one wrapping around his stomach, with a jag on each side that again gave him that sharp look.

Laying on the ground, Mica at first intended to apologize and continue on her merry way, but under the fierce and unexpected glare of the boy standing outside Elm's lab she could only manage a small 'hnnn' sound.

"Hmph. Stupid child. Watch where you're going!" he snarled at her as she was getting up from the ground. "Forget what you saw here," he snapped and he grabbed her arm and pushed her towards the path before returning to what he was doing before he was interrupted, which seemed to be gazing through the window into professor Elm's lab.

Child? But he doesn't look any older than me! And what's with that attitude? I just bumped into the creeper! Mica 'harrumphed' as he pushed her and began walking away.

"That's no way to treat a lady," she sniffed, nose in the air. Horatio growled in agreement (or what was the cyndaquil approximation of a growl, which actually sounded more like a squeak) and glared at the red head. The boy paid her no attention. He seemed to be to preoccupied with his thoughts.

"So that's the world famous Elm's lab, huh? How pathetic, it looks more like a child's play pen than a lab," he continued muttering under his breath as Mica gave him one last glare and continued on her way.

"What a rude jerk! He can't just push people around and expect to get away with it. I bet he's gonna get beat real bad some day by someone. And it'll serve him right! Maybe then…" Mica continued to grumble under her breath, more to herself than to Horatio. He decided to take this opportunity to keep an eye out for wild pokemon, since they were in the wilderness on their own for the first time, and Mica seemed too preoccupied to watch out herself. Eventually, as they were walking through a particularly grassy spot, a wild rattata jumped out and lunged for Mica, snapping her away from her thoughts. She was caught completely off guard, but Horatio promptly jumped in front of her and blocked its attack on Mica.

"Waah! Our first real battle! Okay Horatio use, ummm…" in her hesitation the rattata darted towards Horatio before he could think to dodge, smashing into him and knocking him back a few inches. "Ah, no! Tackle, now!" Horatio, seemingly unfazed by the speedy Quick Attack he had just endured rushed forward and rammed his entire body into the mouse pokemon, slamming him back a good few feet. "Yay! Well done Horatio! Do it again," she encouraged, elated at her pokemon's apparent strength advantage. After a couple more tackles the rattata fainted, and Mica glowed with pride at her first victory.

"It wasn't a trainer's battle, but it was still pretty cool," she declared as she scooped up her unfazed partner and congratulated him. They continued on their way to Cherrygrove city at a leisurely pace, their path blocked every now and then by an overly aggressive pokemon. Horatio was able to deal with all of them easily, and Mica was pretty sure he gained a level or two by the time they reached Cherrygrove an hour or so later. Her feet were aching, and Horatio seemed unharmed but a little exhausted. Mica's plan was to hit a pokecentre before checking out what the town had to offer. It was a bit bigger than New Bark town, and right next to the sea, which was nice, but still it wasn't exactly a sprawling metropolis. However, the moment she started to make her way to the pokecentre she was accosted by an overly energetic and elderly man.

"Why hello there young'un! New at the training business I see!" he greeted loudly. "Hand your pokegear on over, I gots me a map card for you to swipe!" he said, snatching Mica's pokegear and swiping a card through the slot in the back.

Well, now I have a map…wait, how does he know I'm new? Did Elm slap a sign on my back that says 'new trainer'? Mica wondered, and instantly began feeling her back in search for the sticky note in question, earning a befuddled look from Horatio.

"Let me show ya around! I'll be your very own guide gent! Follow me," he yelled just as loudly, running off to the front of the pokecentre, leaving Mica and Horatio behind.

"Hey, slow down!" Mica pleaded, pelting off after the strange man, leaving the short-legged Horatio tottering behind, unable to keep up with these rash humans.

"This is a pokecentre." The guide gent declared proudly, gesturing to the red-roofed building behind him as Mica caught up. "You can visit here to heal your pokemon!"

"Yes, I already know-" Mica began.

"This way now, keep up!" interrupted the old man, dashing off in another direction. Mica turned to scoop up her now panting cyndaquil (who had just caught up) and raced after the man, slipping and stumbling in her poor quality shoes. The old man insisted on pointing out to her and explaining all the obvious aspects of the town (such as "This is the sea! You can find water pokemon in there") while ignoring questions that she asked when he actually stumbled upon something that wasn't entirely obvious ("This is route 30, lots of young trainers like you!" he declared "Yes, but where does it go?" Mica actually wanted to know "On to the pokemart!" and he was off and running again).

The entire ordeal lasted almost half an hour, Mica having obtained multiple scrapes from falling down as she chased after the old man. She considered a few times simply walking away after he dashed off, but she couldn't bring herself to abandon the old man.

"And that's Cherrygrove city!" he concluded proudly to a huffing Mica. "Hey, your shoes are crap," he declared bluntly, after taking in Mica's appearance. "Hold up, let me get you a new pair," and before Mica could protest, he had dashed into a house that Mica assumed-or hoped- was his and reappeared holding shoes that looked to be exactly her size. "There you go! Still warm," he said proudly, dropping the shoes into Mica's hands.

Wait…still warm? Mica considered the meaning of these words for a minute, before she realized what that meant Ewwwww! Fresh off stinky feet! She wordlessly turned to Horatio, who jumped off her shoulder and ignited the flames on his back, realizing his partner's disgust and offering up what the two both considered a perfect solution.

"Whoa! Hold up a minute, that was a joke! Look, the tag is still on them, see?" he said, holding up a tag that declared the shoe's brand (and they were a good brand too, Mica noted with glee). "Consider it a thanks for not sneaking off on me, that seems to be what most people do," he said. Mica thanked him profusely, which he just smiled at; and with a wave and a wink, rushed off into the crowd.

"What a strange man," Mica mused. Horatio nodded in fervent agreement. "Really nice though; these will make travelling way more comfortable," she said, scooping up Horatio and making her way back to the pokecentre.

As the resident Nurse Joy was healing up Horatio, Mica switched her old shoes for the ones the guide gent had given her. They were very comfy, and Mica was pleased that she wouldn't have to worry about sore feet anymore.

Just as she was retrieving Horatio from Nurse Joy again her pokegear started buzzing in her pocket. She flipped it out and looked at the caller ID (though she wasn't quite sure why, she only had one person's number).

"Hey Elm! What's up?" she greeted cheerily, acting like she had known Elm her whole life, rather than simply meeting him a few hours ago.

"Oh, Mica, it's terrible! Just awful! Quick, come back to the lab. It's just…oh God!" he sputtered, to a very alarmed Mica.

"Wait, what happened?" she asked.

"It's…oh Totodile! Help!" he responded, answering virtually nothing before hanging up.

"Wah! Wait, why'd you call me?" Mica asked the dead line. She didn't receive an answer (not that she expected one), and so picked Horatio up and hot-footed it out of the pokecentre to backtrack to New Bark.

"What happened?" asked a rather alarmed Horatio.

"No idea, but we apparently have to go back to the lab," panted Mica. This time she didn't pause to battle wild pokemon, just dodged around them and kept going. After about ten minutes, when she had reached the halfway point, she skidded to a halt at the sight of another figure rushing in the opposite direction, away from the lab. As he approached, Mica realized it was the same red head that was standing outside the lab. He, too, skidded to a halt at the sight of her.

"Out of my way!" he snarled, after a few seconds of sizing her up. Mica decided that she would intimidate this boy after he was so rude to her before. She narrowed her eyes and slunk her shoulders back in an attempt to look menacing.

Hn? What is with that bizarre look she's giving me? It looks like she's squinting at the sun. The boy was a little freaked out by her odd, unwavering stare, but knew better than to let it show. Instead, he conjured up the most condescending sneer he could manage.

"Fine. If you're just going to stand there like an idiot, I'll make you move," he snapped. "Go, Totodile!" he yelled, throwing a pokeball into the air. The small blue crocodile from Elm's lab materialized on the ground, gazing around in mild confusion.

Wait, is that why professor Elm called? Because a red headed jerk stole his totodile? Mica wondered, a little taken aback. Horatio, too, seemed momentarily stunned. Out of the two, Mica was the first to recover.

"Passer-by boy would like to battle!" shouted Mica. "Go, Horatio!" Horatio, though still a little surprised, nimbly jumped before the totodile and prepared for battle.

"Horatio, tackle!" Mica yelled confidently, and watched as Horatio obediently charged forward and smashed into Totodile. However, this didn't have the same impact it had on the wild pokemon the two had encountered; Totodile was only knocked back a few inches. Mica then remembered that this was their first trainer's battle, and would be far harder to win.

"Humph. Pathetic. Totodile, use your type advantage. Water Gun." The big jaw pokemon promptly opened its mouth wide and gushed out a torrent of water, blasting Horatio hard in the face and making him squeal in discomfort.

"No! Horatio, quick, counter with Ember!" The flame on Horatio's back had been extinguished with the water gun, but he fired it up again and shot a series of small fireballs at his opposition. Totodile took it without so much as flinching. Passer-by boy ordered another Water Gun.

"Horatio, quick, dodge! We're not losing this!" Mica was suddenly inexplicably angry about the whole ordeal. She glared at the red head across from her, determined to win no matter what. It didn't alarm her when the boy glared back with equal passion.

Horatio managed to dodge this time, and Mica ordered him to perform another Ember. This one hit Totodile square in the face, and he didn't seem as indifferent to the second fire attack. He was far from defeated though, and performed yet another Water Gun at his master's orders. Horatio dodged this, again, and Mica decided she'd had enough of fighting from a distance.

"Horatio, give him a full body Tackle!" Mica yelled, watching as Horatio charged directly at Totodile. Had she noticed the boy's smirk, she may have called off this attack. However, as it was, she was too focused on what Horatio was doing to notice a possible plan forming in her opponent's mind.

"Totodile, let it get in close, then hit it with Water Gun," the boy smirked. Mica watched in horror, too late to call a different strategy, as Horatio was hit hard in the face with the jet of water and went sailing backwards from the force. It looked like a critical hit; he hit the ground hard and didn't get up again.

"Horatio!" Mica ran over to her partner to find him knocked out on the grass. She cradled him in her arms and looked up to see the boy looming over her, a victorious smirk on his face.

"Never forget that feeling, wimp. The feeling of failure. I will be the most powerful trainer in the world, and nobody can stand in my way," the last sentence might have sounded like a threat to Mica's ears, had she not been so concerned for her partner. She did, however, notice a small card fall out of his pocket. It was his trainer's card; the boy had already started walking away, so by the time he realized what he had dropped, she had already flipped the card over and read his name.

"Silver," she muttered under her breath.


A/N So what'd ya think? It feels kind of rushed…

Oh, and it actually is possible to lose on purpose for your first battle against Silver and the game will still let you keep going.

My my, look at all these hits, yet only four reviews. Two of which were from the same person (by the way, thanks to Miss Topaz) Tsk tsk people. Tsk tsk.