A/N: I'm assuming that his Ralts already knows Confusion; otherwise it'd be a worthless starter Pokémon. I am also skipping a lot of the battle scenes because I'm writing a romance fic, and I find writing a decent love story is more fun and/or challenging than writing the action. Also sorry about the short chapter, but I couldn't think of a better way to end it.


I paused, taking in the fresh air, slowing to a stop as I saw the forest, dark and forbidding in front of us. Amber, having grown tired long ago, was riding on my shoulder. She sent a questioning thought towards me, feeling my nervousness, and I said

"This is the edge of the Viridian Forest. I've never been in it before, but this is the only way to get to Viridian City."

She hugged my head comfortingly, and I smiled, then resumed my pace into the forest, slightly cheerier than before.

As they made their way through the forest, battling all the Pokémon that got in the way, they began to become more comfortable in their skills, and the wild Pokémon gradually stopped being a challenge for the duo. Soon, when the sun sunk to just barely above the horizon, Artemis set up a sleeping bag and started a fire, preparing a meal of some berries and a simple soup.

After the meal, ate in companionable silence, I climbed into the sleeping bag and Amber curled up on top of the bag. I considered putting her in her Pokeball but as soon as I had the thought a wave of disappointment emanated from her. I felt this and decided that if she didn't like her Pokeball there was no reason to force her back into it. Before the thought had even completed itself I noticed a powerful feeling of contentment in the back of my mind, and I smiled at the small Pokémon. I fell asleep quickly and the day after we were at it again, training against and eventually catching a Shinx. I suggested the name Fynn, due to the unusual bit of hair sticking off of his head, and he agreed and we continued on our way.

When the sun finally fell, we set up camp, ate some of our now-dwindling food stores, and promptly fell asleep from the hard traveling of the day. The next morning, after checking the map again, I predicted we would reach Viridian City sometime later in the day, and we set out with renewed vigor. The day passed quickly, and we reached the city, glad for a chance to rest and gather strength. We stopped in the Pokecenter and I claimed a room, then gave Fynn to Nurse Joy so he could heal after the beating Amber gave him. Amber of course stayed with me, and after we had eaten we discussed what our plans were. Of course, she didn't actually say anything, but I could tell what she thought of each idea. We eventually decided to train for a few more days, then watch a few gym battles to find a weakness in the gym leader's strategy. There was only one bed so she again curled up on a pillow while I used the other. Morning came, and I prepared Amber a salad, as per usual, while I myself had some bacon, glad to have a stove instead of a campfire.

We ate quickly and headed back to collect Shinx, then headed back into the forest to train some more. The next few days blurred together as we trained together, teaching Amber the importance of terrain and the best way to take advantage of it. As we entered the gym to analyze the leader's moves, I was challenged by another trainer, a strange boy with a Pikachu, who I easily defeated. He was not significant enough to remember. His companions, however, were far more interesting. A male and a female, both gym leaders of their respective cities. I was curious how such a boy, about my own age, had managed to convince not one but two gym leaders to follow him. I managed to pick up a few tips from the orange one, but the one with no eyes disturbed me too much to converse with for any long period of time, so I left him alone.

When we went our separate ways, I found a seat in the bleachers, Amber at my side, and I pointed out possible openings in the technique of both the trainer and the leader. She watched carefully, and I sometimes noticed her excitement when she spotted an opening on her own. I was a little surprised when she did this; I knew psychic-types were usually pretty intelligent, but I didn't expect her to notice so many of the smaller things. We decided to train for the few hours we had left in the day, then challenge him tomorrow in the morning.

We managed to get a decent amount of training in before sundown, and I was confident in our ability to win tomorrow. Soon after we got back, I cooked a quick meal and collapsed into the bed, exhausted. Amber climbed onto the bed, curled up on her pillow, and fell asleep almost instantly. I lay myself down and quickly fell asleep as well.

In the morning it was business as usual, wake Amber, take shower, eat breakfast, and then we were off. I was nervous, I had never battled a gym leader before, and as confident as I was in my team, gym leaders were a big deal. Amber must have sensed my nervousness, because she seemed more skittish than usual. I knew we wouldn't win if she wasn't up to par, so I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down, making sure that the only thought I was projecting was a kind of calm confidence. She seemed to settle down, and when we entered the gym, I knew we were going to come out of there successful. I first sent out Shinx, letting him take out the leaders' Gyrados, and when he brought out his Rhydon, I sent in Amber. She was more than a match his Rhydon, but when he finally sent out Exceggute, I knew that this was the real test. We exchanged blows, and Amber seemed to be weakening from the repeated grass attacks, but right as she took a blow that looked like it would finish her, I felt a rush of emotions, almost bringing me to my knees, course through my mind, and a very vague thought:

-Artemis-

I was shocked, to say the least. We had never conversed in anything except raw emotions. But she had just said a name! My name! Then, as if that wasn't enough, she began to glow, then change shape! When the process was finished, I felt confusion, then she unleashed such a powerful blast of psychic energy that the Exceggute was literally thrown into the air. She flexed her hands, reveling in her newfound strength.

He congratulated me and handed me a badge and a case, and I thanked him, trying to keep my cool until we were out of sight. As soon as I was outside, I jumped into the air with a loud "Yes!", drawing the attention of a few passing pedestrians. I calmed and walked to the Pokecenter, giving my Shinx to Nurse Joy for some well-deserved rest. I took Amber back to the room and she chirruped cheerfully and excitedly. I was a little unnerved by my uncharacteristic happiness, almost glee, but I realized that most of it was coming from her, and I smiled at the powerful emotions coming from such a small Pokémon.

-We did it!-

I was surprised once again, not only had I won my first gym badge, but Amber had evolved and spoken to me, which made everything that much better. We celebrated by taking the rest of the day off, and Amber and I wandered the forest, avoiding the tall grass, and silently enjoyed the many varied hues of green. When the sun began to go down, Amber climbed onto my shoulders and pointed up.

-Sunset-

I nodded, understanding exactly what she meant, and began to climb into one of the larger trees in the area. As we reached the top, she climbed off and balanced herself so she could watch the sunset. I wedged myself into a nook in the branches and watched with her, tired at the end of the day. Eventually, the sunset began to fade, and I knew we had to head back, so I thought

'Time to go.'

I knew she would hear me, so to speak, and I began climbing over to her. She looked at me, then lightly jumped on my shoulders, and we left the tree and began to head back to the Pokecenter. It started raining lightly while we had been in the tree, and by the time we got back to our room for the night, we were both thoroughly soaked. I headed into the bathroom and grabbed a towel, tossing another to Amber, before changing out of my drenched clothes and into some dryer ones. I climbed into the bed and Amber again claimed a pillow, but with her new-found size she couldn't fit entirely, so she shifted over next to me and fell asleep. The new sleeping arrangement was unusual, but I fell asleep quickly, exhausted even after a day of relaxation. In the morning, I woke to find Amber wrapped around my arm, asleep. I didn't want to wake her but we needed to head out today, and it would be better to move in the coolness of morning and take a break in the middle of the day. I gently shook her awake and she smiled up at me, removing herself from my arm and climbing out of bed to help with breakfast. We prepared our meal silently and ate in the same manner, then headed to the main room to pick up Shinx. We walked out the door, then down the road, and finally into the forest, on our way to the next gym, and the next town. As we wandered casually through the dim early morning forest, with only the diurnal Pokémon awake and moving about, I couldn't help but wonder what the future held in store for us.