Sorry for the long wait guys, I've been a bit busy, but I'm back with new material and I'll be writing as much as possible before I start back at school. Enjoy!

Decisions

I stepped inside and marvelled at the tranquil aura it had. The walls were a nice, clean white and the carpet was sea foam coloured. A coffee table and a few chairs sat in the left corner of the room while magazines and light novels nested in their racks to the right.

Across from me was a large desk with a skinny woman wearing a pair of square specs sitting behind it, typing away on the laptop in front of her with one hand and sipping a cup of coffee in the other.

I strolled across to the woman and knocked the desk twice to get her attention. Her eyes shifted from her laptop to my face, her worm-like eyebrows wriggling at the sight of me. She leaned back on her computer chair and brushed her hand stressfully through her long hair.

"Bad day at work?" I asked kindly.

"Like you wouldn't believe," she sighed, neatening up her hair, "So, what can I do for you, miss?"

"I'm looking for Professor Daniels," I explained, "This Chimchar here claims to be the one that went missing from here a few days ago."

"Well, it sure does look like it; I've missed that little guy!" she said happily, "Professor Daniels is in the main lab right now. Please sit in the waiting area over there and I'll fetch him for you."

I planted my tired ass onto one of the surprisingly comfy chairs. Chimchar leapt off my shoulder and landed feet first on the chair beside mine.

God, I could sleep in one of these!

I noticed then the frown on Chimchar's face. It was almost heart-breaking.

"Hey, c'mon now! You're not upset about what those people said about you, are you?"

The Pokemon bowed its head and nodded.

"Well don't be!"

My sudden change of tone made it jump.

"Look," I continued, "Even if you can't fight so well right now, you can always train and get better. And once you're really strong, you can make those bastards eat their words!"

Chimchar gave me an unconvincing smirk to the side of its face and stared off into space.

"Anyways, I'm sorry about before. With Tony, I mean. I don't like talking about it, and it's not something I wanna talk about in front of a kid or a Pokemon."

A ticklish feeling rushed up my arm as a head of thin fur brushed against it. Chimchar was now sitting on the arm of my chair, its head leaning on my arm. It kept its head down to avoid eye contact, but I think it was trying to comfort me in a way.

"Excuse me, miss?"

I stood up facing the receptionist with Chimchar on my shoulder once again.

"Professor Daniels would like to speak with you," she said, "His laboratory is through the door behind me."

I thanked her and stepped through the door. The room was huge! Probably to make space for the two large machines in the top corners of the room; God knows what they're for.

A few lab coats were yammering to each other about their work while others recorded the results of their experiments on paper. A desk sat at the far back wall of the room with a small, black-haired man in his 30's typing furiously on his computer.

"Hey, you! Up there!" I called to him, "You the professor?"

His loud typing came to a halt and he cocked his head up from behind his computer.

"Yeah, that's me!" He called back, "So you're the one who found Chimchar?"

"Yeah, that's me," I replied, lowering my voice as I approached him.

"Well then, Chimchar, could you show me your birthmark please?" he asked it, "To confirm that you're the Chimchar that went missing a few days ago?"

Chimchar nodded and jumped down onto the desk. It fell back onto its bottom and held up its right foot. On its heel was a small, light brown four-pointed star.

"It really is you, Chimchar!" he said, smiling down at it with his insanely white teeth, "Good to see you again! Hold on…"

He only then noticed the bandages that were wrapped across its chest.

"The little tyke was badly wounded when I found it," I explained, "So, I brought it to the Pokemon centre and stayed with it to make sure it was alright. There's a large scar on its back, but apart from that, it's perfectly fine."

"Now do you see?" he said sternly to Chimchar, waving his skinny finger in its face, "This is what happens when you go exploring all on your own like that. This is the second time this has happened and now you've gotten yourself a scar that could take years to disappear!"

The chimp hung its head in shame.

"This kind of thing happened before?" I asked him.

He cleared his throat before beginning, "Ever since he was transferred here, Chimchar has had difficulty when socialising with both humans and other Pokemo. Usually, when the Pokemon are sent into the playing fields for exercise, he sits on his own. However, after he began living here for a couple of weeks, he ventured away from the fields and into the town on his own. At the time, the townspeople were having a miniature Pokemon battle tournament for the kids and Chimchar, not knowing what was going on, inadvertently wondered in on the tournament. The kids who were competing thought it would be 'cool' to pick on him and made their Pokemon attack it one by one."

Chimchar clenched its small fists tightly. His head, once again, was bowed down.

"Chimchar, naturally, was overwhelmed and scared and didn't know how to fight back, so all he could do was take the damage dealt to him. Because he didn't fight back, the kids made fun of him, the town started gossiping about him, the town turned him into a laughing sto-"

His sentence was cut off when Chimchar landed a mighty punch to his face with his tiny fist. The impact spun the professor around on his desk chair a few times. The lab coats were looking in our direction, whispering into each other's ears.

I was impressed by the power behind that punch, especially since it was coming from such a small Pokemon. It was also very surprising after all Chimchar was very shy and could barely look at anyone in the eye, but there the chimp stood on that desk, fists shaking and its eyes burning with anger.

"Sorry," apologised Daniels, rubbing his cheek, "I forgot that was still a sensitive topic."

Chimchar sighed and stared up at me. His eyes weren't as angry as they were a second ago. They were almost apologetic. I didn't know how I could've read that just by looking at his eyes.

"Hey," continued Daniels, "Is it just me, or has Chimchar been less shy than he usually is?"

"Yeah, he used to be very shy when I found the guy," I stated, "But I think he's starting to warm up to people."

"Well, that's interesting indeed," he replied, tapping his chin in thought, "If that's the case, then I believe that your encounter with this chimp has done him some good. You don't look like a trainer. Ever thought about being one?"

"It's a nice idea," I started, "But I don't-"

"It would be such a shame if you haven't," he said, "I need trainers who can go out, find new Pokemon and fill up the pages of my Pokedex. It would aid our research plenty."

"Unfortunately, sir," I said, annoyed, "What I was TRYING to say was that as much as I'd like to do that, I simply don't have the money to feed my Pokemon or to buy the equipment they'll need."

"Ah, I see," he said, disappointment thick in his voice, "That's too bad. Couldn't your parents help you out?"

"I'm not on very good terms with my parents," I answered, quicker than I should've done.

"It's never too late to fix a family issue," he said, smiling that insanely bright smile, "Here's an idea. Chimchar can stay here for the night while you go home and think about it. Come back tomorrow with your answer. I'll tell my secretary to let you in when she sees you."

"I guess that's fair enough," I said reluctantly, "I'll see you round, then."

I was happy that I got Chimchar home safe, but I felt so miserable leaving the little guy. I could feel his sad eyes staring at the back of my head as I walked out the door.

The clock had just struck 11:45 upon my entering 'Barkley's Bar', a local pub near the town square that I used to visit occasionally.

"Hey, Kairi!" bellowed a rough and very recognisable voice, "Haven't seen you here in ages! How's life treatin' ya'?"

The bartender I knew so well stood behind the bar, polishing his pint glasses and he was as tall as ever. He had grown quite a large beer belly since I last saw him.

"Like a bitch, as per usual," I replied darkly as I took a seat at the bar, "Yesterday I got fired from what's most likely the only job left in this town and I had to babysit that frickin' Pokemon that ditched the lab."

"Tell Uncle Daryl all about it," he said, setting the freshly cleaned glass along with the rest of them

Again, I explained how I came across Chimchar, how I watched over him in the Pokemon centre, how I returned him to the lab in Sangdem and the offer Daniels gave me.

"Look at you, the Good Samaritan," chuckled Daryl, "Look, if you wanna help him out, then go right ahead. If you're really that worried about money, why not ask your parents to lend you a few bucks?"

"Ugh!" I groaned, resting my head on the counter, "The last thing I want to do is ask for money. Looking weak doesn't sit right with me."

"Well, you always have the option," he answered, pouring orange juice into a glass on the counter, "But I'd say that if you had to ask, now would be your best chance."

"How so?"

I wished I never asked that, because I had just looked over my shoulder and saw a woman with sandy hair wearing navy jeggins' and a white, long-sleeved cardigan walk towards me, with my eyes staring back at me.

The woman planted herself on the stool beside me and placed her small, cream handbag on the counter.

"Good evenin' ma'am!" welcomed Daryl, "what can I getcha'?"

"Gin and tonic, please," answered the woman politely.

"Comin' right up!" he said. The drink was prepared and set in front of her. Daryl, the big oaf, made me a glass of orange juice and muttered "On the house," as he set it gently on the counter for me. I could smell the hint of vodka as I sipped the glass.

He's gonna get himself arrested if anyone finds out he's giving an underage kid liquor free of charge, but thanks, dude. I'm gonna need it right now.

"Hello, Kairi."

"Hello, Caroline."

"At least call me Mom."

"I'll call you what I want; be grateful that I haven't called you worse-"

"It's finished, Kairi."

My eyes widened in surprise, my hair blocking my face from her view.

"I've got a good job now," she continued, stirring her drink with her index finger, "I'm working as a shoe store clerk just outside of town. The money is pretty decent. And your father, after starting up his own little café, turned it into a four star restaurant, believe it or not. He's earning a lot more money than I am."

I sat quietly and listened. I was pretty surprised to hear that they've changed like that. It was shocking yet… relieving.

"I met that Tony friend of yours in the store today."

"I'm guessing he told you about it, huh?" I asked, taking a huge swig of my delicious beverage.

"Yeah, he even asked if I could give you money for a Pokemon trip and he told me all about that Chimchar you saved. Look, if you wanna do it, go right ahead."

"And where am I gonna get the money to do that? I got fired yesterday!"

"Your dad is basically rolling in the cash from his job. I'm sure if you give him a call at the nearest Pokemon centre, he'll be there the next day with some money for you."

"Like he'd do that just for me."

"You're his daughter, Kairi, that's what dads do."

I gulped my drink again, feeling the alcohol rushing through me.

"Is… that alright?"

To my surprise, she laughed at my question.

"You're just as stubborn as me when I was your age, kid! It's perfectly fine with us. You left that Pokemon at the lab, right? So, go into Sandgem town tomorrow and talk to the professor there. Your dad's going there tomorrow, so you can meet him outside the Pokemon centre when you're done. How's that sound?"

I was speechless. To think that my parents, MY parents, are being so… parental had left me dumbfounded.

"I'll take that as a yes then," she said, lifting her purse out of her handbag and setting cash out on the counter.

"I'm not up to finishing that," she sighed, "I'll see ya round then. Keep the change."

I watched, gobsmacked, as she made her exit from the bar.

Ugh. Do I really have a choice?

I woke up on my living room floor at around 9 the next morning. The top half of my body lay on the floor while my legs hung from the couch.

I slept on the sofa? Aw, shit.

I jumped onto my feet and felt something rummaging around my skull.

Head rush and a hangover. Deadly combination.

I stood on the spot for a moment to let my head settle a bit and scavenged round for my house keys. I found them wedged in between the cushions of the sofa, along with my sexy touch screen cell phone. (Yeah, it's a Toco Lite. Get used to it.)

I touched the phone and I had an unread text from Tony.

'Hey, im sorry about gettin at you like that yesterday, it wasnt my business, but I talked with your mom about going out exploring with Pokemon. Your not angry are you?'

I texted back that the only thing that was making me angry was his horrible grammar. Then I looked on the digital clock on my phone menu.

14:37.

My head hadn't settled down any and my stomach certainly wasn't in the mood for breakfast, or, dinner, rather.

I climbed the stairs and ventured into my room, hunting for clothes to wear. I changed out of my sweaty clothes into a white t-shirt that had an 'I', a heart and a cartoon dinosaur on it, a grey cardigan, black pin-striped shorts and mismatching over-knee socks, (one with multi-coloured strips, the other black with multi-coloured pokadots) complete with purple converse. (Yes, I have an odd sense of fashion indeed). I added a finishing touch to my odd outfit: a brown woven belt and on it were small nuts (no pun intended), magnetic so it would hold Pokeballs properly.

I guess it's handy that way, as expensive as these damn belts are.

I dug out a large rucksack with a sleeping bag inside, taking up half of the space. I shoved a few sets of clothes and shoes into the bag and put a toothbrush, toothpaste, my Betty Boop purse, deodorant and my hairbrush (naturally) in its front pouch. I don't like wasting too much time on things, so leaving as soon as possible was the only option in my mind.

I shoved my house keys and cell phone into my pockets and locked up the house before marching through the intense heat down the hill towards Sandgem Town.

"That's certainly good to hear!" said Daniels enthusiastically when I arrived at his lab, "I knew you would do it! I've already got your details from your mother inputted into the Pokedex I have here."

He pulled out a shiny, small Pokedex from his desk drawer and handed it to me.

"That should record all information on your findings out there," he continued, "Ah! Chimchar! Kairi's here!"

Chimchar responded to his call and came walking into the room, smirking shyly at me.

"Kairi's here to take you on an adventure. Does that sound good?"

The chimp looked up at me for a moment and then smiled sincerely.

"So, I'm taking that as a yes then?" I asked.

He nodded and his tail burned brightly.

"Well then, I suppose it's about time I gave you these."

Daniels handed me six Pokeballs which I clipped onto my belt.

"You know how to use them?"

"Yeah, I watched a show about it once."

"Good, good. Well, all I can say now is thank you for offering to help our research and on behalf of the whole team here, we hope you have a pleasant adventure."

I thanked the professor and left the laboratory with Chimchar back on my shoulder. The intense sunlight greeted us, along with around 17 teenagers and the odd adult hanging about the streets. The teenagers looked pretty rough. Some were wearing tracksuits with huge golden earrings while chewing gum and some others had their faces plastered in make-up and not much of what I'd like to call 'clothes' on them.

The Plastics and the Skallys. Great.

A nearby plastic wore an awful dark pink mini-dress that barely covered her ass which revealing a ridiculous amount of cleavage, and she wore the tallest platform heels I had ever seen. She was talking to a guy wearing navy trackies and Addidas trainers, practically drooling over her for whatever reason I did not know.

Okay, it's not your favourite crowd, obviously, but just keep walking, just keep walking-

"Makes sense that trash like that would actually take on a Pokemon that shit!"

I looked over my free shoulder at the girl I just passed. That girl in that hideous outfit had had the nerve to call me trash. That angered me.

"I mean, c'mon!" she continued, wrinkling her nose at me, "What are she supposed to be, a circus clown?"

"And what are you supposed to be? A slut?"

The boy choked back a laugh and she gave him a menacing glare. I went inside the Pokemon centre with a victorious smile on my face and noticed Nurse Joy talking with a man a fancy black suit, his back towards me.

Nurse Joy said something to him that I couldn't hear before calling me over to her.

The man turned his head in my direction to reveal his face. It was my dad. Obviously, he changed for the better by the look of him. The last time I saw him he had bags under his eyes, let his beard grow and wore old clothes that always fell apart on him. Now he had no bags, no beard and a very nice suit.

"It's been a while, darlin'," he said, giving a small smile.

"That accent still hasn't changed any," I replied, still basking in the glory of my badass comeback earlier.

"I'm from Northern Ireland, what ye expect?"

"Hey, that's just off London, yeah?"

"Aye, Portstewart I lived in. No' very much there in that country, though. London's class, though. I took a trip there a couple weeks ago. Nice place, London. Aw, aye! Hold on, I got it here for ye…"

He pulled out a small, fat wallet from his pocket and handed it to me.

"Hey, why are you dressed like that?" I asked him, taking a second look at his appearance.

"Aw, I just came back from Danny's weddin'," he sighed, "Heather left him a' the altar."

"Seriously?" I said, dumbfounded, "Why-?"

"She just ran out. Danny went after her and she star'ed screamin' at 'im, sayin' the baby wasn' even his and that she was gonna live with the baby's da."

"Wow, what a bitch."

"We still get along as well as we used to, don't we?"

I smiled awkwardly and peeked inside the wallet and, to my astonishment, inside was-

"Three…grand…"

"Shhh! That should do ye for about two and a half months, maybe three. My number's inside the wallet so you can give me a ring when you run outta money at a Pokemon centre or somethin'."

I closed up the wallet and stuffed it in with my house keys in one of my pockets, hoping no one saw inside it or heard how much was in it.

"Anyway, I better get back home," he said, flattening down a tuft of his hair, "your mum made a list of chores for me in case I came home early. God, that woman is a demon sometimes."

"Sounds like her," I chuckled, "Oh! Chimchar! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to ignore you like that!"

I patted him on the head apologetically and he nodded as a sign I was forgiven.

"So, this is Chimchar, eh?" said Dad, "Cute lit'le thing, ain't he?"

Chimchar, shaking with nerves, bowed to him.

"No need te bow te me," he laughed, "We're family now, aren' we?"

Chimchar lifted his head up and rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.

"Anyways, I gotta go here," he said before walking towards the door, "Give us a call when you get to Jubilife City to let us know you're. We do worry about you, ye know! Bye!"

And with that he left. I felt somewhat happy to see him again. I was now finally ready to believe that my parents had actually turned their lives around. They were actually trying to be a real family.

With that thought in my head, I left the Pokemon centre and made my way out of Sandgem with Chimchar grinning happily on my shoulder. The light of the world enveloped us in its warmth as we made our long, memorable hike of adventure.

Thanks for reading! R&R please!