Today, I decided to pay Barzini a visit in the morning.

"WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!" I banged my fists at his door, and then Markus came out, looking disheveled and confused. Barzini was next, and in his Lord of the Rings pyjamas he looked ravishing.

Not.

"Oh. Right." Barzini nodded as he went into the toilet to wash up. I rolled my eyes and walked away, trying to ignore the complete mess he made. If I were there I'd –

"Oof!" I bumped into someone, and I looked up.

"Oh heya, missy. Need help?" The boy gave me a grin and a thumbs-up. "The name's Cole Harding. And what's yours, cutie?"

He pinched my cheek, and Firaga attacked him with Scratch, causing him to cry out in pain. His Chimchar leapt at Firaga, trying to strangle the dragon but Firaga easily yanked the Chimchar away.

"Well, if you excuse me…" Skittles and Firaga followed me as I pushed past him, only to slam straight into him again. "Okay, you're getting annoying."

"I know, too cute for you, babe?"

This time, Skittles launched an Iron Tail at him. I thought that for once she had finally done something good, until she brought out a packet of chocolate from his pocket, and started to snack. The Delcatty offered one to Firaga, but the Charmeleon shook his head in disgust.

I sighed. "Okay, better get to class…"


I reached Biology class. Today was pretty exciting because my teacher brought us all a Caterpie liver to compare with a human liver. Because Caterpies eat tons of proteins, and stuff.

For a Caterpie, it had a very large liver. "This is so gross, but interesting." I muttered to myself.

"I know…this is just gross…" Aydan Belle responded, looking at his liver specimen. His Riolu and Eevee were next to him, watching in mortification.

Skittles, upon seeing a foreign liver, tried to sniff it and then touch it, so I had to sterilize her heavily and wrap the Delcatty up in plastic. And then I sent her out of the classroom because she could hang around with the other Pokémon who didn't want to see the liver. Firaga was trying to torch it, but when I threatened to send him outside, he simply watched quietly.

Aydan Belle can be considered as a close friend of mine. We bonded over the game Kingdom Hearts and well, we've shared our insane moments together. His emerald eyes widened at how I was cutting the livers in half.

Meanwhile, another lab partner of mine, Kishon, was already done with his comparison of the liver. His Gible, Gairbith, was seated next to the liver, watching his every action. He looked hungry, but I shook that disturbing thought out. Do Gibles eat Caterpies?

"You're done already, Kishon?" I asked.

"Yeah, unlike some slowpokes around here…" he replied, coughing softly. I looked at the livers. It was true.

Kishon was yet another friend, and he was similarly a Kingdom Hearts fan, though he didn't like me. I think it was because I told him that he should be happier.

"I'm not…too bad. Not like Jayden, I guess." We all turned to the girl, who was simply staring at the Caterpie liver. Her Bulbasaur, Chikyu sterilized her vines and took gloves before probing it lightly. Kishon nudged the girl, with Chikyu looking on curiously, and she instantly snapped out of her daydream.

"I'm done already…" she whined, before she continued to stare ahead at nothing. In complete disbelief, the three of us crowded around her. Aydan gently pulled (okay, maybe not gently, but she didn't notice her worksheet being yanked out, so…) the worksheet and we all gaped in shock. It was completely filled, with a few extra points at the bottom of the worksheet.

"Wow."


By the time we were done with English, I was exhausted. Jayden was by my side, and we were both discussing the significance of Romeo and Juliet having Zangoose and Seviper ("They were both really star-crossed lovers with everything in between being wrong…") when Barzini stepped in front of us, his Bagon looking really angry.

"Oh yeah!" Jayden laughed and smacked his shoulder. Barzini, being physically inadequate, tried to look completely nonchalant even though I noticed that he had winced at the pain. "I totally forgot. Come on, let's go then! The battlefield!" Her Kirlia, Seishin twirled about, and I smiled at Jayden. I guess she must've been pretty excited about battling Barzini, since Kirlia perceived her emotions. Apparently, when they sense positive emotions, they start dancing about.


"Okay, so it's a double battle?" I asked, a bit unsure. Firaga and Skittles sat down next to me, Skittles munching off…wait, is that my Kinder Bueno chocolate I was saving up…?

"YES!" both shouted for the third time. Jayden had Seishin and Chikyu next to each other, waiting for her command. Noldor and Silvan were getting ready, with the Bagon doing warm-ups that were strangely human-like, while Silvan was stretching his body, ready to dart about and attack.

"Okay, let's begin then. Uh…so it's Barzini versus Jayden; Bagon and Dratini versus Kirlia and Bulbasaur!" I yelled out, because now there was a crowd forming.

The last time I watched a battle in school was say, a few days ago, and the crowds were so thick I didn't know who was fighting, which Pokémon they were using…it was ridiculous and I was rather disappointed because it sounded pretty exciting.

I spotted Cole, giving Barzini a thumbs-up, and turning to wink at another girl. I also saw Barzini's childhood friend, Malik Shabazz, who was watching with mild interest. His Vibrava and Sandslash were watching as well. He walked over to Barzini and patted him on his back reassuringly.

Jayden wasn't lacking in support either. Markus had gone up to her, wishing her good luck, before wincing and rubbing his stomach, where she had attacked him yesterday. I spotted a girl wearing purple tinted sunglasses and with striking gold highlights in her hair grinning at Jayden as well. Rex had obviously sided against Barzini, so he naturally sat where he was closer to Jayden's side.

So…there was the Barzini side and the Jayden side. The Barzini side was swarming with boys, but it was smaller than Jayden's, surprisingly enough.

The battle started.

"Seishin, use Psychic on Dratini! Chikyu, grab at Bagon with Vine Whip!" Jayden commanded. I saw the glint in her eyes, and I suddenly realized that Jayden had strategized prior to the battle. Unlike her opponent.

The Kirlia's eyes widened and glowed, and soon Silvan found himself writhing in the air with her Psychic.

"Noldor, use Flamethrower on the Bulbasaur! Make sure she doesn't grab you! Then use Crunch on the Kirlia before Silvan gets damaged!" Barzini retaliated.

Psychic has its disadvantage, because in Psychic, the user focuses its telekinetic energy. If it lifts a Pokémon up instead of blasting it, Psychic may inflict more damage, but the user has to be even more focused, because extra energy is needed to lift in the first place.

I mean, it's only practical, right? It's not that easy like in the Pokémon games, where something weird happens to the background and poof, the sprite gets damaged. Noooo. I learnt this in Physics.

"Throw the Dratini at the Bagon!"

Noldor launched a flamethrower at Chikyu, and he was fast enough to catch Silvan, both relatively unharmed.

Chikyu dodged the flamethrower, but she was soon hit by another flamethrower, this time from Silvan, who had somehow launched one while flying towards Noldor. Before Chikyu could take more damage, Seishin had summoned a shield in front of the Bulbasaur.

"Not bad!" Jayden commented, her face flushed with excitement. "Seishin, Icy Wind!"

Seishin started to spin about at high speed, and soon, cold winds formed, and Seishin did enough to form a miniature spinning top that stung because it was absolutely frigid. While still spinning, the Kirlia flew at Noldor and Silvan, both receiving significant damage.

I remembered what my brother played and it resembled Seishin at that instance – a Beyblade. Or a spinning top, I guess. Whatever. It just looked like that.

"Noldor, aim for the head; use Headbutt at the glowing thing there!" He pointed at Seishin, her eyes glowing a bright pink, blinding most in the vicinity.

Noldor stood up, shaking slightly. He growled, and then ran headfirst into the snowstorm that was brewing. It wasn't very strong, since it wasn't a Kirlia's nature to use Icy Wind, but it was tough.

Surprised, Jayden summoned Chikyu. "Chikyu, block that Bagon!"

"Silvan, flamethrower at Chikyu!"

Though the icy wind didn't affect Chikyu, it blinded the Bulbasaur temporarily. Chikyu was hit by the flamethrower directly, throwing it out of the storm and effectively, out of battle.

"Ugh, Chikyu!"

"Now, Noldor!"

The Bagon was still surging forward, and then Noldor leapt up for a solid Headbutt. The snowstorm stopped and Seishin was hurled towards Jayden.

Fortunately, she landed without hitting anyone. I sighed, as Firaga let me use his tail flame to defrost my hair.

The two dragon Pokémon returned to Barzini's side, both ready to end the battle. Seishin leapt back gracefully in front of Jayden, and didn't seem all that affected by spinning around at high speeds. If Skittles did such a thing…let's just say the Delcatty would be puking out her guts at my toilet.

I greeted Benjamin and Xenny as they both sat down next to me. Benjamin and Xenny were a couple, and they were proud of it. They held hands everyday, they had the same birthday…

Benjamin grinned at me and explained, in great detail, of the odds of winning the match. "Barzini has both Pokémon standing, but a few this and they'll be out. Jayden has one Pokémon knocked out, but if she's careful and quick enough the Kirlia may get out of this alive."

Did I mention the three of us can be total geeks sometimes?

"After all, Kirlia didn't take much damage," Xenny continued, as her Quilava, Shaily, trotted up to her and curled up next to her, "and she's been doing the most damage so far. The Bulbasaur was defending her, in some sense." She started to defrost her hair as well, sighing.

Oh, did I also mention that both Benjamin and Xenny were one of the top few students? In fact, they both topped the school in one subject – Amaths and Chinese respectively. It was amazing, though they weren't the top student. The top student was always Lila Nola Patch; I've heard that she's so smart her Lucario could speak French…but that was just a rumour; I don't believe a word of it.

I should teach Firaga to say 'excuse me' if he burps in English and Chinese…

"Noldor, use Crunch, and Silvan, use Dark Pulse!" Barzini commanded, and the two dragon Pokémon launched their attacks. Noldor ran towards the Kirlia, baring his teeth, while Silvan started to generate dark energy from his mouth.

"Seishin, protect!" Jayden shouted, but the Kirlia was hit by the fast-hitting Dark Pulse, sending the Pokémon reeling back. Before Noldor could attack, the Kirlia shielded herself. I heard Firaga snigger as Noldor glared at Seishin, who did a curtsy.

"Okay, Seishin, do the same thing; Icy wind!" Seishin nodded and started to twirl about, creating the same effect as before. Noldor and Silvan stood their ground, braving the icy wind.

"Noldor, use Crunch, and Silvan, Dark Pulse!" The spinning ice top that Seishin formed was rapidly hitting them, and when Seishin came close to Noldor, the Bagon launched straight into the icy wind and attacked Seishin straight on. Seishin stopped spinning, stunned by the Crunch, and her eyes started to glow. She sent Noldor, who was actively gnawing at her head hurling towards Barzini with a simple psychic, before using a normal Icy Wind at Silvan, who retaliated with a Dark Pulse. Both attacks hit the other party and both Seishin and Silvan stumbled back, looking a bit dazed.

Barzini saw this as an opportunity to land the final blow. "Noldor, HYPER BEAM!" he cried out, almost triumphantly, and the crowds fell silent, watching as the Bagon formed a blinding ball of light in his mouth. When the ball got too big for the Bagon's mouth (which was really big) he released the Hyper Beam, hitting Seishin straight on.

Then it got so bright, the people watching the battle started to scream as though they were in grave danger. People started to run about, screaming like madmen. I felt the ground rumble for some reason and then I felt both Firaga and Skittles huddling closer to me.

When the light finally disappeared, Barzini was on the floor, knocked out, and Seishin had already fainted. Jayden was next to her Kirlia, spraying at her wounds. When she looked up at me, she grinned. "Look at that, Charis. The lil' Bagon's evolved, and the trainer isn't awake to see it."

I glanced at where Noldor stood, and true enough, a Shelgon stood there, watching the students fleeing the area. Firaga and Skittles ran up to the newly evolved Pokémon, patting him on his back. Skittles lifted up Silvan on her back to celebrate as well.

I also noticed that they were completely ignoring Barzini, who was out cold for some strange reason. Jayden walked up to Barzini, and nudged him with her foot. "Hey, wake up."

His brand new Shelgon happily trotted up to Barzini, with Silvan resting on top. When Barzini simply groaned in response and covered his face, Noldor proceeded to tackle him...hard.

"OKAY, I'm up-" he looked at the Shelgon, beaming at him proudly, and his Dratini, who was curled up on top, and he screamed at his Pokémon in horror.

"HOLY MEW! NOLDOR!" he shrieked, and then in his messed-up state he hugged the Shelgon and made really weird gurgling noises.

Jayden smirked and then we both exchanged glances. Boys. They're so weird.

"Anyway…I gotta get to my CCA practice. Today we're learning how to deliver a fatal one-hit blow to an assailant. See you!" Jayden picked up her bag, and ran off.


CCA, or co-curricular activity. You could call it an after-school activity that is compulsory, because we don't want to known as cyborgs with a complete lack of life. The official reason is to achieve a balanced lifestyle, but if the only thing you're going to do in our CCA is listen to teachers mumble stuff about photography, I don't think it's really balanced.

Anyway, for us, we're sort of lucky. I share the same CCA as Barzini; AV Media Club, a merger between the AVA and the Media Club. Don't ask why; the principal thought it was a brilliant idea to combine resources and all that rubbish. Officially, we do videos and photography and publications, but so far, we've been listening to tutorials about photography. I consider that lucky, because it beats getting really really tan. Once, after a band competition, our school band members all came back brown and grossly tan. Staying in an air-conditioned room is a privilege.

But from today onwards we're going on a few field trips to different parts of Singapore, taking photographs for several competitions. We're going to the Botanical Gardens today, but next week it'll be the vicinity of Chinatown.

Barzini and I got our Pokémon healed at the Chansey corner next to the library, and then we set off to the foyer, where a red-haired teacher was waiting.

Ms Kane was rather old, and rather pale. She had bright red lipstick on, and she didn't seem very happy when she saw us running towards her, with our Pokémon behind us. The other members of the group watched us in amusement, before heading up the bus.

Barzini gulped and greeted Ms Kane, before we both quickly ran up the bus before she could say anymore. We both slid into our seats, where Barzini was congratulated by most of the members, and Noldor received a warm applause for 'beating Kirlia butt'. I sat down, rolling my eyes.

Ms Kane came up and addressed us, talking about our competition odds (in simple terms, none) before telling us that we shouldn't play around in the Botanical Gardens and stuff like that. Soon the bus was off, and everyone was talking about Barzini's battle.

Markus Putnam, who had sat down behind us, looked at Noldor in awe. "That's one cool Shelgon…" he whispered to himself, and Noldor beamed at him before settling down for a nap.

"Shel!" Noldor replied, and I guess that's Pokémon language for 'of course'.


After what seemed like ages, we reached the Botanical Gardens. Singapore may be small, but the Botanical Gardens really is far!

We alighted the bus, looking around and pulling out our cameras, and I spotted Keven, my cousin, running an art store there. As usual.

His Teddiursa, Teddy Moon, was busy painting flowers with his claws, and his Lapras Blué was looking about curiously, attracting equally curious patrons who eventually bought Keven's art work.

Keven and Teddy Moon were one of the most artistic people in the school. He usually set up such stores in front of places like the Singapore Zoo or the Istana. The stint at the Istana didn't go very well; since the Istana was the official residence for the President and the meeting place for important people, security chased him away.

The Zoo was a different story. When Keven started drawing crowds of people into the zoo they were so happy they offered him a job there, and as a gift they gave him a baby Lapras, which was really rare. It was ridiculous, but true.

And since Blué the Lapras spent a fair bit of time in the zoo, he has peculiar mannerisms for a trainer-owned Pokémon. For example, he rams into strangers he meets. And for people he already met, he delivers a too-friendly headbutt on the head.

Which is why I stood a fair distance away from Blué as I approached Keven.

"How's business?" I asked him, as Firaga and Skittles greeted Teddy Moon and Blué, with Firaga warning Blué not to headbutt anyone, and Skittles encouraging him to headbutt her for the sake of it.

Keven looked up at me and grinned. "Quite good; not bad at all," he exclaimed in Chinese. Keven was a Malaysian, and he was quite used to speaking Chinese, unlike his Singaporean cousins (my siblings and I) so usually when we have our usual reunions during Chinese New Year, we put up with listening with Chinese. It is our mother tongue, after all.

I called for Firaga and Skittles, before bidding him goodbye, as we set off in threes into the Botanical Gardens. We had two hours here, so we could take photos or rest until then.

Markus had released Twigs and Swoosh. The Taillow flew up into the skies and chirped happily, while Twigs jumped about, watching the flowers sway in the breeze. The Turtwig was soon joined by Skittles, the Delcatty rolling about in the grass. I snapped a few photographs of Skittles playing with a stray Butterfree, and Twigs watching a flower eagerly.

Firaga started to explore the area, with Noldor following him as well. Barzini let Silvan down as well, and he got on Skittles.

"Come on, have to take a few photographs." I urged Barzini, who simply rolled his eyes. Barzini thinks that I take this too seriously, but I find it fun. The strange thing is that Barzini won an award for his photograph before, but I haven't won once.

Markus simply took in the sights; he hasn't seen much of Singapore aside from Orchard Road (and that was just one shopping mall he went to) and the vicinity of Lanseal Pokémon Academy.

We walked along the Pelipper Lake, where a few Pelippers were resting and floating about. Wingulls were swooping about as well, and were playing with a few Lotads and one Lombre. It was pretty rare to spot a Lombre, so I snapped a photograph of the Lombre among the Lotads.

Skittles pranced about, enjoying the winds and watching the Hoppips float about. Barzini peeked into the trees and spotted a Kecleon, lazing on a tree branch. He hissed at Markus and I, "Kecleon! Kecleon!"

I peered into the midst of trees, and true enough, a Kecleon was there. It was camouflaged, but the bright red zig-zag across its belly was unmistakable. We both reached for our cameras and took a few photographs.

Markus, who finally noticed us, wriggled his way through the both of us, and then he announced, "It's a Kecleon! WOW! It's camouflaged, but yes, the red markings are there! So it is true!"

The Kecleon looked up, startled, and then it scurried up into the trees. Barzini groaned. "Well, you just chased it away!" he yelled out, before we all continued our way up towards the Orchid Garden.

Scientists have determined that there are plants, and there are Pokémon plants. Wild Pokémon plants are rare, simply because they can move, but they can be bred to produce interesting fruits and scents. My mum always invested in Vileplume soup; the petals of a healthy Vileplume cruelly mashed up into pulp, and mixed into boiling water. Add a few other stuff, and that's all. It's disgusting.

The Chinese also drink Swellow's Nest, essentially the saliva of Swellows and some other unknown ingredients. Sharpedo's fin soup too, and it's popular because Sharpedoes are a menace, and they breed really fast. Some claim that they're on the verge of extinction, so they made the fake Sharpedo's fin soup, which is just flour and flavourings. Gross, eh?

We entered the Orchid Garden with the passes our teacher handed us, and Barzini started to chase a Bellossom that he spotted dancing about to get a photograph. I followed a Yanma and took a few photographs of it nestled between the flowers. Firaga tried to attack it, but ever since a delegate's Typlosion once burnt down part of the Botanical Gardens while he was on an official visit to Singapore, Pokémon battles have been banned. I glared at Firaga before the Charmeleon could do anything.

I watched someone's Poochyena chasing after a Frisbee, and then headed towards the heart of the Orchid Garden. It was rather boring afterwards, because all they had were orchids. Barzini had lost track of the Bellossom, and he was sulking with Markus, who got moody over the lack of any Pokémon in the Garden.

"Are we getting out soon?" Barzini whined, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. There's a performance by an Oddish dance troupe later by the Pelipper Lake, maybe we can get some shots. An hour more, so let's just make the best of it…" I flipped through the brochure I picked up at the entrance, checking the map for the last time, before I started to walk. "I guess we can take a few photographs there."

Markus blinked. "Oddish dance troupe… do you mean the Evolution Flowers?" he asked, and he consulted his handbook, filled with information about Singapore. "An international dance troupe, performing here every alternate day for this month. They're made up of Oddish, Gloom, Vileplume and Bellossom. They depict the evolution of Oddish."

Barzini sighed. "Fine…"

We left the garden and walked down the hill towards the grand stage, surrounded by a small pond that was connected to the Pelipper Lake. There was a Machop there, bossing about the wild Lotads, and he had a backstage pass around his neck. When the small pond was empty, he ran back to the stage to report.

The three of us sat down in silence, waiting for the show to start. We watched our Pokémon make friends with other Pokémon in the area, and I noticed Noldor struggling to climb up the hill to Silvan. His legs gave way and the Shelgon found himself rolling backwards at high speed…

Instinctively, to avoid any injuries, I did the most natural thing in the world – push Barzini to act as Noldor's barricade.

Before Barzini could yell at me, he was hit by his Shelgon, and he fell backwards before getting up, his despondent Shelgon in his arms.

"Gosh, you gained weight…!" Barzini panted out.

"Shelgon…" Noldor replied apologetically, and Barzini frowned as he crawled up the hill and set him down next to Firaga, who introduced him to a few Pokémon he had already met.

"The poor guy…" I commented, watching the group of Pokémon thoughtfully.

"Ahh, it's okay!" Markus exclaimed, patting Barzini on the back. "Noldor will get used to it soon, yeah? I read about this somewhere; a Pokémon may take some time to adjust to a new body. Like…how a newly evolved Charizard may fall over due to excess weight and its inability to use its wings to balance itself."

I heard Firaga choke on his fireball.

Twigs trotted over to Firaga and patted him apologetically for his trainer's rudeness. The Charmeleon shrugged off the Turtwig, and started to sulk.

"Sorry, Firaga," Markus apologized, and then he lit up suddenly, "but it's true! It's also true for a Shelgon!"

This time, Noldor glared at Markus threateningly. Markus gulped and moved slightly further away from both offended Pokémon.

"It's the same for Twigs too…" he mumbled, and now Twigs glared at him. "I should stop talking."

"Yeah, thanks," Barzini mumbled, and he glanced at the stage. "It's starting; watch!"

We all turned towards the stage, where true enough, a lone Oddish was standing there, as proud as a Milotic. Soon, tons of those Oddish joined them, and then Glooms replaced them, dancing about. The audience moved slightly further away as the Glooms started to emit a strange scent. Finally, Sun Stones were tossed upon half of them, and they evolved into bright Bellossoms, twirling about, while the other half was bestowed with Leaf Stones. Soon, the whole stage was bright and when the light dissipated, Bellossoms and Vileplumes were gracing the stage, twirling about and using Petal Dance.

"All I got was light in my photographs!" Barzini whined.

"I was so close to seeing how they evolve…" Markus muttered.

I sighed as I stood up and checked my watch. "This is why people have been complaining about teenagers making so much noise during those fancy concerts – we can't appreciate them that well…" I muttered. "Anyway, it's getting late; might as well just hang around at the entrance and wait."


After that disappointing trip to the Botanical Gardens, I headed to a shopping centre near the school. Barzini had to tend to his garden, so he went to his dorm when we reached school.

But before that…

"CHARIS!" Benjamin ran towards me, with his Gallade and Chikorita. Gally the Gallade was a womanizer; Benjamin was the reluctant trainer of the Pokémon who once tried to flirt with a teacher's Gardevoir. When his Kirlia touched a Dawn Stone in a departmental store he evolved, and Benjamin had to pay for it. He was always making Benjamin bankrupt because he touched things that weren't meant to be touched and ruined things with his sweaty palms.

Yes, Gallades do sweat. Have you even seen them? Pokémon games simplify so many things…

Chicky the Chikorita was feminine; another source of Benjamin's financial woes because she loved ribbons, shiny things and anything pink. She was easily hurt, especially if Benjamin were to scold her. She'd just bawl and bawl and bawl… Chicky did that during contest lessons and Benjamin had to comfort her in front of everyone.

"I NEED HELP!" he exclaimed, and he nearly fell as he stopped in front of me.

"O-Kay…what's up?"

Benjamin gulped. "Presents. I need to buy them! Hurry, to Parkway!"


Parkway was a shopping centre near to school. Loads of students went there to eat, shop, and do whatever they had to do.

We entered the gift shop, simply because I had no idea what Xenny liked. Chicky knocked into a large Chansey plushie, and whimpered as she scurried back to Skittles. The Delcatty seemed to act as a motherly figure to the Chikorita, for some strange reason.

"Anything?" I asked, picking up a picture frame filled with Horseas and seashells.

Benjamin didn't say anything, simply shook his head forlornly. "Nothing for my dear Xenny…" Then he snapped, "You're a girl; you should know what I need! A Pikachu doll, a Celfairy clock, a Bellossom hairclip?"

"Do I look like I wear hairclips?" I retorted back. I sighed, as I thought of my collection of dolls back at home, in a place not even Barzini knows. "What about we go to the accessory shop, yeah?"


Chamelon was an accessory shop. It had hair clips, hair bands, fake hair, nail polish, and all those stuff you find in a typical girly girl's bedroom. We both browsed through the endless shelves of stuff, trying to find a suitable gift for Xenny. Chicky took the liberty of holding a basket, and by the time we went through the first shelf, the basket was half-full, and Benjamin, Skittles, Firaga and myself had to coax the Chikorita to put them back.

Gally didn't bother, for he refused to step into the shop, so there we were, making a huge ruckus.

"Chicky, please put it back!" Benjamin cooed, almost too sweetly.

"Meow!" The Delcatty chirped. She sounded encouraging, but whether she was helping or not, I wasn't very sure.

"CHAR!" Firaga snapped, glaring at Chicky.

"Stop it, Firaga! Shush!" I scolded, but it was far too late. Chicky's eyes had started to well up. She sniffled a little, and then it hit us like a deadly tidal wave – she started to wail, and bawl her eyes out.

It was so painful Firaga ran out of the shop.

Skittles narrowed her eyes, her ears lowering closer to her head as Benjamin fell back and knocked over a bunch of rather fragile-looking nail polish. Within seconds, we found ourselves splattered with disgustingly garish red liquid pouring down our faces. Ironically, there were none on my fingernails.

"HELP USSSS!" Benjamin shouted out, though it sounded like no one heard him. The Chikorita started to wreck havoc in the shop, unleashing powerful Vine Whips that lashed out at innocent Pokémon and patrons. The Pokémon in charge of the shop, a rather mean-looking Purugly, ran up and attempted a Slash attack, but before she could even reach Chicky, a Vine Whip had taken her by force. The Purugly slammed against the counter, knocked out.

No wonder Benjamin's grades fluctuate. The Chikorita had some strength there. But then again, she needed to be provoked to attack that way.

"Blossom, use Sweet Scent!" someone called out. "Gucci's Cheeky!"

A Roselia appeared from behind the shelf. She unleashed a scent that smelled of…grass. Instantly, Chicky fell silent and stopped in her tracks, taking in the aroma. She dropped the basket of accessories, and Benjamin seized the opportunity to put them all back. He sighed, looking at the mess Chicky made.

The Roselia sauntered over to the Purugly and unleashed a foul smell that made the Pokémon jump up, as alert as ever. Just then, the owner of the Purugly came out, this time with a Floatzel wearing a bracelet. "You'll have to pay for all this!" she snapped angrily, and the Floatzel used Water Gun at Chicky before the two walked back into the back of the shop.

Benjamin looked around and groaned. "Now how am I supposed to pay for all this?"

Chicky, looking apologetic, sidled up to Benjamin, rubbing against his leg affectionately. He sighed; did he have much of a choice?

"Hey, so how's Chikorita over there?" We both glanced at the Roselia's trainer. She was wearing purple tinted glasses, and had cool highlights in her brown hair, which was shoulder-length. I noticed that her hair was adorned with a few hair accessories.

"Not bad, she's calmer now…" Benjamin replied. "You're Elena Bloom, right? I've seen you at the library every time I go there!"

Elena laughed. "Yeah, I like the library! It's big, comfy, and with books that don't fall apart!"

I thought of a book I borrowed at a National Library near my place. I put it back because I hated torn books; I went for the new arrivals.

"I completely agree with you…" I said, smiling. "Your Roselia's pretty cool. How does she make all that scent?"

Elena looked at Blossom, her Roselia, and smiled. "I bring her around those perfume shops and let her smell the different scents. It's better than buying Chanel perfumes; I have variety and it's for free!"

"Rose!" Blossom agreed, as she flitted over to Chicky, who was looking at more hair accessories. They both admired them together; talking over…I'm not very sure what.

"Piplup!" Just then, her Piplup popped out from behind a shelf, and he ran over to her side, eyeing us nervously.

"He's Aquabub. He's really paranoid over anything small, so don't mind him!" Elena chirped. I watched Skittles approach him with a friendly smile. The Piplup retaliated with a powerful Water Gun that sent the Delcatty flying out of the shop and into Firaga.

Before we could introduce our Pokémon, the same woman stormed out of the secret door next to the cashier and handed Benjamin a note. He read it, and then gasped in horror, his eyes widening. "$3000? I can't pay this much!"

"Well, you destroyed all the nail polish. Since they were so unpopular, no one bought them, and they were selling at 3 for 10 dollars. You broke all 300 of them, so that's that. Also, it's not exactly $3000, I'm also charging you for damages to the shelves and products and our poor customers!"

She pointed to a distraught woman, her hair messed up, sobbing frantically. There was a hole through the wall, and the handbag she held had the exact same hole. Her Ampharos was trying to console her, and when the Pokémon caught us staring, she shot us a ferocious glare.

Another had accessories hanging all over her woolen jacket, and she was trying to yank it all off. The Kricketune beside her was humming a soft, sad tune that made her cry while pulling out the hair clips. She was a complete mess.

And that is what Pokémon games missed out again.

"Look, hey, Benjamin, we can all put in some of our scholarship money together! You both were in the top 5 percent, right?" Elena asked. "Well, that means we all got at least $500 bucks…and we earned three years' worth of scholarships…"

"Woah, woah! How do you know all this?" I asked incredulously. I did get a scholarship, thrice. And so did Benjamin, because our marks were pretty close.

The Edusave Awards, to be exact. I considered them scholarship money. Basically, for being in the top percentage of students, you get some cool money and a certificate. They've been increasing the amount given every year, and naturally, over a span of three years I forgot how much I earned in total.

"I did my research. ANYWAY, if we contribute a little, and if Benjamin works here…you could pay everything off by the end of this month, with extra cash!" Elena concluded, keeping her calculator back in her bag. "I also have a discount card…can we use it?"

We all looked at the angry lady with her Purugly and Floatzel. All three of them huffed simultaneously, and the lady angrily snatched Elena's discount card, growled at it, scowled at us, and then stormed back.

I rolled my eyes, and turned to Elena. "Thanks a bunch!" I exclaimed. "So now we have…a 20% discount!"

"And if you broke them on my birthday month, we'd get 50% off! Plus a free accessory for every $100 spent or broken!"

I like Elena already.

"Anyway, Benjamin needs to buy an accessory for his girlfriend," I explained, and I smield sheepishly, "but I'm horrible at this, so mind if you help us out?"

"Sure thing! Xenny, right? She has an interesting hairstyle! Not many can pull off a bob like her!" Elena grinned and started browsing the intact shelves, while Benjamin searched the floor; he was going to pay for all the things anyway, so why not take the ones that weren't mangled?

Chicky was picking through it as well. Skittles looked up at me with a gleeful smile and I sighed. "Okay, okay, you can pick them…" Happily, the Delcatty started to rummage the heap for something to bring home.

Firaga entered the shop again, apologized to Chicky, and then he walked up to Aquabub. They both started to chat with each other, all while watching us look around for a nice clip or a hairband for Xenny.


"Thanks, Elena! You're my saviour!" Benjamin exclaimed, and Chicky nodded eagerly, with a pretty bow around her large leaf stalk on her head. "Now I can give this to her!"

"No problem! But…I'm sort of curious; what special occasion is it?" Elena asked, as she collected her new hair accessories as well. She even helped me pick out a few hair clips and a rubber band for my sister and I. "Your anniversary?"

"Uh…actually, I'm celebrating a week after my anniversary!" Benjamin admitted, smiling to himself. "Xenny means a lot to me, so it's only natural I try and show it! ...Though, maybe I should stick to handmade cards…"

"…You have got to be kidding me." I mumbled to myself.

"Well, that's pretty sweet of you…" Elena commented, taking out her new clip. She picked up a stray lock of her hair and pinned it down neatly. "Not many guys do that, you know…she's lucky. I can give you some perfume, if you want. I sell perfumes made by Blossom, so you can always buy some of Gucci's Cheeky for Chicky, in case she ever does that again… "

She checked her bag for a moment, and then picked out a heart-shaped glass container, complete with a nozzle for spraying. It was already filled with water, and Elena tested the spray first before summoning her Roselia. "Hey, Blossom, one Gucci's Cheeky for Chicky…and maybe an Anna Sui scent for Xenny?"

She then took out a similar bottle. Blossom raised both of her arms, aiming at the bottles, and then she released two distinctly different scents. They mixed into their respective bottle, forming two different colours. The Anna Sui solution was now a light pink, while Cheeky was green.

Chicky took the Gucci perfume and sniffed it, before crying out in excitement. "Chiko!" she squealed.

Elena handed the last bottle to Benjamin. "To Xenny, from Benjamin; a perfume from Anna Sui. Take it; it's your first complimentary bottle."

Benjamin grinned. "I can give this? Wow, thanks!" Then, he checked his watch, and frowned. "Well, I need to get back to my studying. Heading to the library again, Elena?"

"Yeah, but first, I have to get some food for Aquabub and Blossom…" Elena said, as Aquabub grinned.

"Pip!"

"And you, Charis?" Benjamin queried.

"Me...I guess I'm gonna head home!" I shrugged. "Besides, I heard that my mum is renting out a room to a fresh grad from Lanseal…so we have to help out a bit with the room."

I didn't know much about the man moving in, but Mum said he was a nice guy who was slightly older than me; apparently a very promising bright spark with tough Pokémon to boot. Dad said that she took him in because he played her favourite soundtrack from the Korean Drama Marry Me, Mary! Which I really, really love, and the soundtrack is done by TRAX, which I also love, because they sang 'Oh! My Goddess' and it was so awesome because they had Seohyun from Girls' Generation.

Also, one of the members had a wicked Gliscor. I saw them in a Korean Pokémon Musical and TRAX was so cool and-

I should stop about TRAX. Yes, I should.

Anyway, his name is Harley Reed or something, and Mum said he's willing to tutor us until he finds a job. Because of his guitar skill and the fact that he may be a distant cousin of mine, she's letting him stay for a month without paying, and that should be enough time for him to get a job.

Oh well. Here's to studying, I guess.

…perhaps after my Korean drama.


YAY DONE. Okay, about the OC thing, if you're still reading this, Barzini has requested that we stop OCs. But I think I can accept OCs provided they are interesting. Also, please make sure you do not have any repeat Pokémon. You have no idea how many Eevees and Riolus were requested. If you really really want to put in an OC, make them interesting; if they are they may be recurring characters, but if it's completely undetailed I may just add you into one chapter only. If you have repeat Pokémon and if your OC is boring, I won't even bother to write you in.

Also, please do review and give us some ideas about a few aspects of life you're interested in, like if they import Pokémon as domestic helpers, and other things. Because I don't want every review to be an OC request.

And seriously, I'm looking for anyone willing to pair up with the OCs, Charis and Barzini. Wait, especially Barzini. To those who had their OCs already featured, you can even create your own boyfriend/girlfriend! In fact, one of my close friends made one for himself.

OCs featured so far: Charis, Barzini, Rex, Jayden, Markus, Malik, Benjamin, Xenny, Keven, Kishon, Aydan, Elena, Harley, Cole, Lila, and I think that's about all.

You can really, really be their stalker. Or fan. Or hyperactive best friend. Or soul mate. Or enemy. Or stalker.

EVEN BARZINI HAS AGREED. Up for grabs, 1 boyfriend for Charis, 1 girlfriend for Barzini. I don't really care about Barzini's girlfriend, but I will make sure my boyfriend/crush is top notch. You must have the Korean Man Physique (KMP) and the looks. I particularly like Roxas and Asakura Hao from Kingdom Hearts and Shaman King respectively, but I don't think any school in Singapore would accept a boy in long hair; they'd bring in their barber and cut it short to their liking (it really happens) unless it's poly, I guess.

Edit: Barzini wants a pretty girlfriend. Skinny, blonde/brunette/black-haired.

REVIEW!