Chapter Three

"Meta, Meta, Metapod~ Meta, Meta, Metapod~" came along a singsong voice. Jakkaru had woken up from being on the couch in the lobby to find that the Metapod that she had found earlier that day was missing. Sitting up quickly and frantically looking around for the green chrysalis encased bug, Jakkaru started to panic. She hadn't really caught the Metapod, which meant that somebody else could have waltzed over and claimed it for their own.

Quickly, Jakkaru raised her arm to check the time.

1:49 PM.

"Wow... I was napping for that long?" Jakkaru asked, not even realizing that she even became drowsy enough to have fallen asleep in the first place.

"... I really don't think you should be touching that Metapod, Dixie... really..." came another voice, this one male.

"But... but look at it, Jaxx!" she grinned, holding it up to the dark-haired preteen. "Isn't it just so cute?"

"... But it's not yours..." Jaxx simply replied.

"I-I know... b-but, it's not like I'm stealing it...."

Jakkaru turned her attention to to her left where she saw two kids that looked to be younger than her standing. The girl, Dixie, with the Metapod in her arms and with a Charmander at her side. As Jakkaru stared more intently at the Charmander, her attention drifted from the fact that this unknown girl was holding the Metapod that she had found and was now primarily focused on the golden lizard.

"Whoa! How cool!" Jakkaru exclaimed, scrambling over to them and coming to eye-level with the Charmander. "I've never seen a Charmander like this! Where'd you find him? Oh man, Katy would kill to see this!"

"Huh...?" Dixie looked down to the girl that seemed to be too close for comfort to Zalaras. She blinked a couple of times and lowered the Metapod from showing Jaxx and then said, "y-y'know... I really would be all that close to Zal if I were yo--"

The Charmander had reacted before Dixie could get her warning out, snapping at Jakkaru's face.

Narrowly avoiding the golden lizard's fierce snap, Jakkaru had tumbled backwards a bit and gave a rather surprised look. It took a moment for her to gather up her thoughts and composure. After that moment, she sat back up and brushed the brown locks of hair from her vision, then smiled up to the duo that were now here at the Pokémon Center with her.

Jakkaru stood up and offered a hand to the both of them... or rather, either of them that would reach out and shake her hand. Dixie had glanced down and tried shifting the Metapod in her hold so that she could carry out the handshake gesture. Jaxx, on the other hand, looked away and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"My name's Jakkaru, and I must say, your Charmander is really awesome! Ember is nothing like it, and it's just... so stunning to look at it!" Jakkaru introduced herself and then looked over to Zalaras once more. The Charmander stuck its tongue out at her and then folded his arms over his chest, growling somewhat.

"I'm Dixie!" the dark-haired girl replied, finally setting the Metapod back down onto the couch and reaching over to shake Jakkaru's hand. The boy had rolled his eyes and then gave an inaudible, unimpressed scoff, keeping to himself rather than socializing with the girl that they had kind of taken the Metapod away from.

Receiving a nudge in the side after a moment, Jaxx gave a scowl in Dixie's direction.

"Introduce yourself, at least...."

Jaxx turned his gaze to Jakkaru and then resisted giving another roll of the eyes. He kept his hands securely in his pockets and then looked away once again, introducing himself, "name's Jaxx...."

"It's so great to be meeting the both of you, then!" Jakkaru said, crouching back down to look at Zalaras. She slightly ignored his discomfort with how close she was to him, though she only stayed around to be looking at him for a good few seconds to observe him. Jakkaru grinned to herself and then stood up straight once again, placing her hands on her hips and then turning her gaze to the two other kids once again.

"Say, which one of you has this Charmander as your partner?"

Dixie jumped up at that, "right here! Zalaras is my companion!" she looked down to Zalaras and beamed, "ain't ya, Zal?"

"Charmander char char..." Zalaras replied, turning away sharply and giving a slightly disgruntled look. He gave off this air that said 'I'm too good for a human trainer'. Dixie just gave a slight smile towards Zalaras and then looked back to Jakkaru.

"He doesn't seem to be very social, does he?" Jakkaru asked, placing her hands on her hips and giving the lizard a look. Grinning as an idea came to mind, the brunette made her way back over to her bag and then dug through the PokéBalls that were within and then pulled out one of her own that sported the same fire-emblem on it.

"Whoa, did you start off with a Charmander, too?" Dixie asked, beaming as she saw the PokéBall that was in Jakkaru's grasp.

"Yup! I named him Ember..." Jakkaru replied, giggling somewhat. "Here, I'll introduce you all."

She released the Pokémon that resided inside the capsule and before them, a Charmeleon was standing. It gave a smile to the trio of trainers and then looked over to the Charmander. Noticing it and its different colouration, the Charmeleon immediately went over and started to sniff at Zalaras. It was interested in the little creature, and it was evident by the confused look that it was giving the smaller Pokémon as he continued to sniff and look Zal up and down.

The Charmander didn't seem to care for the attention that it was suddenly getting. His jaw tightened and his little hands balled up into fists. Zalaras' dark eyes also narrowed at the Charmeleon and he waved an arm out, trying to shove away the nosy Charmeleon.

Jaxx let out a sigh and detached Squirtle's PokéBall from his chain once more. With a push of a button, he made the previously ping-pong sized ball expand into the size of a baseball. Another push of the button and Jaxx had released the tiny turtle Pokémon that was within the water-drop marked capsule.

"Squirtle squirt!" the light blue skinned reptile chirped, smiling a bit and wagging his curled tail. He was happy to be out again, and this time with other Pokémon who's intentions weren't to battle, but to get to know each other better. Waddling his way over, Squirtle waved slightly to both Ember and Zalaras. The motions from the Squirtle caught Ember's attention and the Charmeleon had backed away from Zalaras and had made his way over to the Squirtle, now sniffing at him instead.

Giving a slight laugh, Jakkaru gave an apology, "sorry he's like that.... He's got a rather silly and curious nature, you see?" She knelt down next to him and started to pat his head. Ember the Charmeleon stepped back from the Squirtle and leaned his head more into his trainer's patting, enjoying the attention that he was now receiving.

At the sight, Dixie couldn't help but smile. She turned her green eyes down to Zalaras and then crouched down next to him.

"See Zal? Like Jakk and Ember, we can be good friends like that, too!" she reached out and stroked the Charmander's head. Zalaras recoiled a bit, though later just stiffly stood and accepted the attention that Dixie was giving him. He still didn't look all that pleased about it, however, it seemed that his expression softened some as Dixie pulled her hand away after some time.

"Oh... I totally forgot..." Jakkaru started, standing back up and looking to both Dixie and Jaxx. "You two are new around here, aren't ya? And judging by your Pokémon, you guys just came from Pallet Town, huh?"

"That's right..." Jaxx replied.

"Mhm!" Dixie chimed in, "do you live around here, or something, Jakkaru?"

"Yup! Viridian is my home," she took the moment to explain. She looked up to the ceiling of the center again, thinking for a moment before looking back to the duo and opening her mouth once again, "I'm also guessing that you're probably traveling around for gym challenges, or something. Am I right?"

"I'm not..." Jaxx looked down to his Squirtle companion and saw that both he and Ember seemed to be poking fun at Zalaras. He gave a very subtle smile towards the three Pokémon as they seemed to be having a little bit of fun. If Jaxx couldn't see the enjoyment of hanging out with Dixie, then he'd at least allow for his own Pokémon to see it... and that seemed to be the socialization that they got to experience by being with another.

Shaking his head and averting his attention from the scene, Jaxx turned his gaze back towards Jakkaru. The brown haired girl seemed to have had her own attention stuck on Dixie... who had apparently said something while Jaxx was busy watching the Pokémon that were there.

"I'm afraid you're not going to have much luck with the gym leader here..." Jakkaru was saying.

"Huh? Why not?" Dixie asked, giving a rather disappointed expression.

"Well, the gym's gone through three gym leaders so far that I know. Giovanni, before it was found out that he was part of Team Rocket and then... just disappeared. Then some guy by the name of Gary Oak reigned over the gym for a while before deciding to follow in hi--"

"Whoa, wait, the Gary Oak?" Dixie interrupted, now shocked by what it was that she was hearing. "I've totally wanted to get a chance to be able to meet him. I've heard a lot about his research studies, and they're just so amazing! Oh man, I forgot to ask Professor Oak about him at the lab, too. I feel so stupid."

Jaxx had a puzzled look on his face. "I-I know who Gary Oak is... I just never thought that he revoked his trainer status to become a researcher."

The brunette gave a slight laugh at the two. "Yeah, you're both thinking of the right Gary Oak. I hear he's conducting studies in the Sinnoh region and had been for quite some time." Jakkaru looked to the Ember and the started up again, "however... moreover on the gym.... The last person that was in charge of it was Agatha."

"Agatha... why does her name ring a bell?" Dixie wondered out loud, going back in her mind to see if she could remember anything.

"Well... she used to be in the Elite Four. She retired not too long ago... within the last year, at least."

"Oh... so then... who's in charge of the Viridian City Gym, then?"

"Hm... I think recently, it was a person that went by the name of Marina."

"M-Marina Kris, you mean?" Dixie questioned, giving a slightly baffled look. "But I thought she was a coordinator."

"She splits time between both being a trainer and being a coordinator," Jakkaru explained, "however, these days with her being the leader of the gym, she's got less time to be participating in contests and stuff of the like."

"Wow..." Dixie had turned awestruck. Just thinking that there was a well known trainer and coordinator there in Viridian City. Though, there was another thing that had crossed the dark-haired girl's mind.

"But... isn't Marina Kris also from Johto?"

"Mhm... she came over here once she heard that Viridian City was in need of a new gym leader, and showing her status. She instantly secured her spot as the new leader." Jakkaru explained, looking out the large windows of the center and eying the gym that was only a good few blocks away.

"I wouldn't go off and battle her right away, though..." Jakkaru continued, "if I were you... I'd head to Pewter City first and battle Forrest."

"Oh... h-how long would it take to get there?" Dixie sounded uncertain. To her, she was in a city that had a gym... and to just simply skip it and head to the next one.... Dixie had high hopes and dreams when she had left Saffron City to be going to live with her Aunt Sicily. Those dreams consisted of going out and battling other trainers to eventually go and earn recognition as a great trainer.

"Hm... well... if you rested here for a while and then left early tomorrow morning..." Jakkaru started, pondering about the question. Her gaze turned downwards as she continued thinking about it. "Well... for me, when I left, it took me about two and a half days to make it there."

"Really... that long, huh?" Dixie asked, a little disappointed. She shifted her attention to Jaxx for a moment and then looked back to Jakkaru. "So... if you're suggesting what gym to be going to first, does that mean that you do the gym challenges as well?"

Jakkaru gave a slight laugh and then nodded, "I did, yeah... but I've only got so many badges.... I mean, I kept returning here because I easily get homesick... so I don't travel all that much." With that, she returned to her bag and pulled out a lavender case. Opening it, she revealed the badges that were neatly nestled within. At the sight of the three polished badges, Dixie's eyes began to sparkle and she looked to Jakkaru with admiration.

"Wow! It's the Boulder, Cascade and Thunder badges!" Dixie exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Tell me, tell me! How strong were the leaders? Were they just totally awesome? I bet they were! Oh man, I so can't wait to battle them now!"

"Dixie... shouldn't bombard the acquaintance with all of that at once..." Jaxx finally spoke up after being silent for more than half of the time. However, his attention was split between the two girls and the Pokémon that were their apparent starters. Even though it looked as if nothing was going to be breaking out anytime soon, Zalaras still carried that annoyed look upon his reptilian face.

"Oh, it's fine, really... uh... Jaxx, wasn't it?" Jakkaru replied, rubbing at the back of her neck with her free hand as she had forgotten the boy's name in the short amount of time that they had known each other.

Jaxx had grimaced as he had heard the uncertainty in her voice. He shoved a hand into his pocket and then turned his head to the side. "Yeah... that's it. Jaxx." He said it to allow her to know that she had been right... but he couldn't help but be bothered just a tiny bit by the girl's forgetfulness.

"Well... Forrest is no big deal if you have grass or water-type Pokémon," Jakkaru began to explain, turning her attention back to Dixie. "Also, Misty of Cerulean City won't do good against electrical or grass-type Pokémon either. Lieutenant Surge, on the other hand..." Jakkaru winced as she had mentioned his name and then turned her gaze back down to Ember and the other two basic evolutionary Pokémon that he was with. She had shut her lavender badge case and then clenched her free hand.

"His Raichu is awesomely strong... it was really hard for me to come up with a tactic to beat him." Jakkaru seemed to have a pained expression cross her face as she had mentioned that.

"I had eventually switched out one of my own team to make room for a Geodude that I had caught prior to that." A smile crossed Jakkaru's face to hide her expression, "luckily he pulled through... and after all of that, he evolved into a Graveler!"

"So cool..." Dixie said, marveling at the older girl. Jaxx gave another roll of his eyes and took a few steps towards the Pokémon, taking the Metapod with him. He wanted to see the reactions that they other Pokémon would give being introduced to the bug-type Pokémon. That... and he didn't really think it was all that fair that the Metapod had been being ignored for most of the time now that Dixie had gotten her attention captivated by the brunette that was there, too.

As the two girls seemed to chit and chatter away at gyms and challenges, Jaxx knelt by the Pokémon that were there. He liked spending time with them more than he actually did the girl that had asked to travel together, that was for sure. There was just something about the Pokémon that suited him more than actually being with a person. Perhaps it was the fact that they more often times than not didn't judge people. As soon as one was to befriend a Pokémon, they offered unconditional love and friendship... no matter who it was.

A grin found its way upon Jaxx's lips as he saw his Squirtle start to edge away from him and then near the Metapod out of curiosity. Zalaras shrugged off the bug and Jaxx scooted over next to the lizard. He looked down to the golden lizard and then held out his hand to it in a friendly manner.

"Heh... you seem to be quite the troublemaker, huh, Zalaras...?" Jaxx questioned, giving the Charmander a kind look. He shifted his gaze to the Charmeleon for a moment. Taking note of the slight, uncertain wag of the tail that the Charmeleon gave, Jaxx held out his other hand towards Ember. The Charmeleon smiled again and then neared the dark-haired boy's hand, sniffing at it before resting his snout in the palm of his hand.

Zalaras looked down as Jaxx started to pat the Charmeleon rather affectionately and then turned away. He had already started warming up to Dixie just a little bit, but this Jaxx kid, on the other hand. Even though his trainer had taken a liking to him, it didn't mean that the gold lizard had. Zalaras considered himself a loner... or perhaps he had let all the people that made him feel mighty about himself get to his head.

A sweet and tangy scent met Zalaras' nostrils and the golden Charmander turned to look to Jaxx once again. The boy's hand was outstretched towards him and was holding a cubic shaped... piece of something. Zalaras sniffed at it as the scent had piqued his interest. Not to mention, the Charmander was growing quite hungry as well. He didn't even notice that he was nearing Jaxx because he was slowly pulling his hand back. It was that block that Jaxx held that Zalaras wanted.

Giving a small laugh, Jaxx moved his other hand from Ember and then gingerly placed it on top of Zalaras' own. He could feel the reptile flinch beneath his touch, though the golden lizard continued to sniff at the mysterious block that the dark-haired male held within his grasp.

"Char... mander?" Zalaras tilted his head slightly and then opened his mouth, moving forwards and gently taking the block from Jaxx. At that, the smile on Jaxx's face widened and then he watched as the Charmander proceeded to eating the block.

A look of surprise mixed with joy crossed Zalaras' face for a split second.

"Like that? It's called a PokéBlock..." Jaxx explained, taking a small PEZ dispenser looking container from his pocket and giving it another shake. A blue one fell into the palm of Jaxx's hand and he held it up. "Heh... the one that you had was a sweet and sour one that my eldest brother made from Pecha and Aspear berries. This one here is a dry flavoured one made from Rawst berries... I don't think you'll like it if sweet and sour are to your liking."

"Hey Jaxx, what'cha doin'?" Dixie's voice rang out. It had turned apparent that her discussion with Jakkaru about gym matches and stuff of the like had ended. She had made her way over and crouched next to both Jaxx and Zalaras. At the sight of him and Jaxx getting along, Dixie smiled, hoping that her own friendship with Zal would soon blossom into something more than what it currently was.

"Looks like he's introducing your Charmander to PokéBlocks." Jakkaru quipped, crouching down to her Ember as she did. The Charmeleon had immediately gone over and started to nuzzle at the girl. Dixie watched the two, a sense of jealously hitting her as she saw how affectionate Jakkaru's Charmeleon was towards her.

A silent sigh escaped the younger girl's lips. 'Why can't Zalaras and I be like that? I mean... even Jaxx and his Squirtle get along....' As if on cue, Squirtle had edged away from the Metapod and gone over to Jaxx. It stood on its tip toes and reached up for his hand, wanting to know what it was that his trainer was holding. Jaxx obliged to the Squirtle's curiosity, showing him the dry flavoured PokéBlock and laughing as Squirtle had taken the treat into his mouth and immediately sported a disgusted look after eating it.

Zalaras had glanced to the other Pokémon getting along with their trainers and then looked to Dixie as well. He wagged his tail to brush off her longing gaze. Zalaras wasn't going to succumb to the girl... not yet... and most likely, not ever.

"Hey... you guys need a place to stay? I mean, you get started to Pewter now, you'll both probably end up staying the night in Viridian Forest. Probably don't want that, do you?" Jakkaru asked the both of them. It had snapped Dixie and Jaxx's attentions from their Pokémon to looking to the girl that they had become acquainted with.

"That's really kind, but I don't think I could do that. I-I wouldn't want to be a burden to someone that we just met..." Dixie said before Jaxx could open his mouth to speak.

He shot her a look. So she didn't mind asking him along on a journey, and yet she was afraid of being a burden to someone who had offered them a place to stay just for the time being. It was a little irritating to have to think about that... just a bit. However, she had asked him if he was willing to travel with her. He obliged. Giving that thought, Jaxx's irritation quickly boiled away and he gave a slight sigh.

"It's really quite fine, and my mom would love it if I brought friends over just to stay for a bit!" Jakkaru pressed, hugging Ember to her. There was a wide smile plastered upon her face as she continued to insist that the two stay over at her house for the time being.

"W-well... I guess it would--" Dixie had started before getting cut off.

"Jakkaru, I've gotten your Fearow and your Pidgeotto all healed and fixed up. They'll need to stay overnight to recover fully, but they're doing just fine." Nurse Joy had flashed that signature smile of hers and then turned her attention towards both Jaxx and Dixie.

"As for you, young man..." Joy started, focusing on Jaxx. "Your Spearow is just fine. A few damages here and there, but nothing severe. I'm guessing that it was your first catch as a trainer?" As Nurse Joy asked that question, she had taken the PokéBall that she had in her grasp and had handed it over to the dark-haired preteen.

Jaxx nodded in response, hesitantly reaching over and taking the capsule back from the red-haired nurse. He held the ping-pong sized ball in his hand for a moment, smiled back at Joy for a brief second and then attached the capsule back onto the chain that dangled at his side.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy..." Jaxx kindly said, averting his attention back to the red-haired nurse for a moment once again. After she had nodded and then turned down the hall back to where a Chansey was waiting for her, both Jaxx and Dixie had turned their attentions onto Jakkaru. Dixie had taken a moment to fiddle with the green and purple striped gloves that she sported before she spoke up.

"Anyways... I guess... if it's fine with you... I suppose we could stay." Dixie looked over to Jaxx for even just the tiniest bit of support. "I mean, it's only one night, right?"

"Right! And then you two can be off to Pewter City first thing in the morning!" Jakkaru added, grinning from ear to ear. She was more excited of the prospect of having people who she already seemed to have considered friends staying over at her house -- and especially with a differently coloured Charmander with them!

"It sounds good to me." Jaxx gave a slight shrug as his Squirtle went over to his side and tugged at his pant leg. Looking down to the small turtle, Jaxx knelt down next to it and then placed an affectionate hand on top of its head. The Squirtle seemed to smile as he did, leaning more against his trainer's touch.

"All right then! To my house we'll go!" Jakkaru cheerily said. Ember seemed to be ecstatic about the two humans and the other Pokémon that were with them staying for the time being as well. His tail wagged happily and he made his way back over to Zalaras again, offering a clawed hand in friendship.

Snorting, Zalaras turned away from the Charmeleon and gave a rather disgruntled sigh. In response, Ember had gone over and given the Charmander an affectionate nuzzle. As he did, the golden Charmander growled and swiped at the larger, red lizard. Zalaras stomped his feet a bit and then hurried to Dixie's feet, just hoping that the more experienced, though annoying, Charmeleon would just leave him alone. He quickly clung to Dixie's multicoloured pants and then scowled at Ember, sticking out his tongue for good measure.

Dixie had looked down and saw that Zalaras seemed to be holding onto her leg while scowling towards Ember. She gave a slight laugh and then leaned over, gently patting Zalaras on the head. The golden lizard only growled as she did, his attention more focused on Ember than anything else at the moment.

"Hey Zal... guess what, we're leaving in a bit to Jakkaru's..." Dixie said, giving the creature a reassuring look. The golden lizard had turned his attention towards his trainer for a split second before letting go of her pant leg and then giving another snort. He didn't push away Dixie's hand, though -- and that, right there, seemed to be an improvement for the starter.

"So... ready?" Jakkaru asked, making her way back to her bag and getting it zipped up. She made her way back, looking rather encumbered with that huge bag dangling off her shoulder as she also leaned over to pick up the Metapod that was there. Ember reached up as if he also wanted to be picked up. Looking down to him, Jakkaru did her best to lean his way and then patted him on the head. She shook her own head at him and then gave a slight laugh before turning her attention back to both Jaxx and Dixie -- awaiting their answer.

"I'm ready as can be!" Dixie chirped.

"... Guess I am, too..." Jaxx said after a moment. He had taken Squirtle's capsule and had withdrawn it. He turned his gaze back to both Jakkaru and Dixie for a moment before reattaching the capsule to his chain and then making his way to the front of the building. He shoved his hands into his pockets in the process, not really waiting up for the two females to be catching up with him.

"Doesn't talk all that much, does he?" Jakkaru questioned, not really addressing anyone in particular and returning Ember to his own capsule. Shifting the bag upon her shoulder for a moment, Jakkaru went to get the Metapod and then started after him, motioning for Dixie to follow her.

Watching the brunette, Dixie looked down to Zalaras and smiled again. "Looks like it's time for us to be going." She grinned, "c'mon! I bet being with her is going to be good for the both of us!"

Zalaras gave a roll of the eyes and then started following after his trainer after she started to follow Jakkaru and Jaxx. He took a moment to ponder why it was that he was still following after Dixie, though he simply shrugged off the thought and continued trailing behind her.

The doors slid open and the trainers stepped out into the open. Dixie had taken her time to stretching her arms high above her head and taking in a deep breath before noticing that Jakkaru was starting to lead the way to her home. And Jaxx was following after her, looking back and smirking at Dixie. It seemed to be a way of saying, 'C'mon, slowpoke'.

Giving a slight scowl, Dixie started forwards before getting tapped on the shoulder and turning to be facing two people. A male and a female. Perched on top of the man's shoulder was a Murkrow that was happily preening itself, and beside the woman stood a Meowth that licked at its paws.

"U-um... h-hello?" Dixie greeted, a little uncertain by the two people that had come up to her.

"Hi there, young trainer!" the female piped up, brushing her long orange hair out of her face. "My name is Rachel Hopkins, and this is my partner, Harvey Yeltz. I must say, your Charmander is certainly a beautiful specimen! Tell me, are you willing to trade for it?"

Dixie's expression became shocked. "What? Zal? No... No! Zalaras isn't up for any 'trade'!" Dixie sounded disgusted as she said that. Zalaras had turned his attention up to his trainer, curious as to know what was causing her sudden change in attitude. He turned his gaze up to the two new strangers and then gave another slight growl -- he disliked their scent already.

"Oh, but surely you'll reconsider when you hear what we have to offer for it!" the male quipped, coming over to the dark-haired girl's side. He held up a PokéBall and then started to go on, "we have Dratini, Eevee and even Johto and Hoenn native Pokémon that we'd be willing to trade for it!"

"B-but... but Zalaras is my starter! He's also my friend, I-I can't just trade him!" Dixie said, her thoughts drifting over to her owning a Dratini or an Eevee of her very own.

Quickly, she shook her head and backed away from the duo, Zalaras quickly trailing after her and clinging to her pant leg once more. He didn't seem too sure about the people that were talking to Dixie, but he didn't like the tone that his trainer was using with them -- which most likely meant that they were wanting something that she didn't want to give them. He noticed that their gazes shifted over to him for a moment and Zalaras' body tensed, bracing itself for battle.

"C'mon, girl!" Rachel pressed, nearing Dixie. "You're passing up owning your very own Dratini or Eevee to keep that Charmander of yours? Think about it! Eevee... just by raising it under any type of extreme condition, over day or night, or just simply using a stone, you could have one of your very own 'Eeveelution' that's powerful." Rachel stepped closer to the colourful girl, her Meowth following close behind with a rather mischievous look on its face.

"Or even Dratini!" Harvey interjected. "You could evolve it into the great serpentine being of Dragonair and then raise it some more to have it evolve into the great and powerful Dragonite! If you're planning on entering the Indigo League one day, it's definitely one to have on your team!"

"But I don't want any other Pokémon for Zalaras!" Dixie yelled, capturing both Jaxx and Jakkaru's attentions. The duo had made their way towards the brunette's house and were actually quite a ways off. Hearing Dixie's yell, though, Jaxx had slipped off his backpack and then came darting to her side, looking to the two people that seemed to be bothering her. His hand was drawn to his chain, his fingers tracing along the PokéBall that contained Fang.

"This is a once in a lifetime trade, girlie!" Rachel almost growled, fighting to keep her composure about herself. Harvey had immediately gone over to Rachel's side, shaking his shaggy, forest green hair out of his eyes and looking down to the boy that had just arrived. It seemed that Rachel was still too focused on Dixie to have noticed that her 'friend' had come up to them as well.

"Just leave me alone and save your rare Pokémon for someone else who would rather trade off their friends just to have a strong team." Dixie was obviously disgruntled as she had said that, as she crouched down and placed her arms around the golden lizard protectively. Zalaras had no objections to this action this time. He just stood there with his mouth clenched and a small growl emitting from the back of his throat as he stared at Rachel and Harvey.

"We'll battle you, then! If we win, you trade, if you win, we'll leave ya alone." Rachel said, pulling a capsule from the belt that was slung around her waist.

"I'd love to battle, but not under those lousy condi--" Dixie started before getting cut off again.

"Hey! That's not right! Dixie said that she didn't want to trade! You shouldn't force her into a battle that has those kind of rules set up when she doesn't want to do that!" Jakkaru had finally made her way over to where all the fuss was starting to break out and had a relatively annoyed look on her face. She, too, had a PokéBall in her hand, seeing if she would need to summon the creature within.

"You two should really mind your own business..." Harvey said, grabbing a PokéBall from a strap that dangled from his side and expanding it. He narrowed his eyes at the two kids that had come up to defend the darker-haired girl.

"I don't want to trade!" Dixie shot at them, her embrace on Zalaras tightening. "H-he may be a stubborn Charmander at times... and maybe a little hardheaded, but I'm not going to give up and start anew with one of your Dratini or Eevee. Gaining trust takes time, and I'm going to take that time to bond with him."

Zalaras looked up at Dixie, not really knowing what to think of his trainer anymore. A realization soon came over him and he turned his attention to the two people that stood before them. Breaking free of Dixie's grasp, he ran out and stood in an offensive stance, getting ready for battle.

"Char char mander Charmander!" Zalaras angrily started, the flame on the tip of his tail burning a little more vigorously than it had been.

"Zalaras...?" Dixie looked out the the golden lizard that new stood in front of her. He shifted his gaze back to her for a moment and then gave his full attention to Rachel and Harvey. Getting the message, the colourfully clad girl stood up and grinned a bit.

"Fine... looks like Zal is up for it. I accept your challenge!" Dixie announced, giving off this aura of new found determination.

Jaxx glanced over to Dixie for a moment and then fiddled with Fang's PokéBall on his chain once again. Detaching the PokéBall, he pressed the button on it and expanded the capsule to something the size of a baseball and held it out. A smirk made its way upon his lips as he asked a question, "looks like you two are up for a two-on-two battle. You don't mind if my Growlithe battles alongside her Charmander, do you?"

"Heh, knock yourself out, boy." Rachel sneered, throwing out the PokéBall that she held and releasing the Pokémon within. Immediately, a foul stench filled the air and just about everyone besides Rachel, Harvey and their own Pokémon had covered their noses. As the white light that engulfed the Pokémon revealed what it was, it was shown that the plant-type Pokémon that had been released glittered underneath the light.

The Gloom, itself, had a green body and a greenish-tinted flower blossoming upon its head instead of the normally seen blue bodied, reddish flowering Glooms. Drool dribbled down its large mouth and it bounced on its feet slightly. The flower petals bobbed up and down as it moved, the stench growing more rancid as the spores from the flower started to spread through the air. Gloom's mouth stretched itself into a smile as soon as it saw that the kids and other Pokémon seemed to have been affected by the smell that her flowering appendage was producing.

"Th-that explains the putrid stench!" Dixie coughed, raising an arm to cover her nose and using her free hand to pull out her Dex and flip it open.

'Gloom, the Weed Pokémon.' Dexter's robotic voice rang out as soon as it had scanned the Pokémon. 'Gloom gives off a very unpleasant smell. While strong against Water Pokémon, Gloom is weak against Fire and Flying types.'

"All right!" shouted an excited, though muffled Dixie. "Zal! It looks like you have the type advantage, bud!"

"Puns..." Jaxx scoffed, releasing Fang and using his other hand to pull the collar of his shirt up over his nose.

Fang howled with joy as he was released out into the open, though his expression quickly changed and fur immediately stood up along the ridge of his back as soon as he saw the Gloom. He growled slightly, though it was cut short. As soon as Fang's sharp, canine senses picked up on the stench that Gloom gave off, Fang had crouched down low to the ground and then placed a paw up and over his nose.

"Nn... sorry boy..." Jaxx muttered when he saw Fang's reaction to the Gloom's smell. He clenched a fist and then averted his attention to Harvey. Jaxx wondered what Pokémon that he'd be sending out. So far it looked like Dixie and himself had the type advantage against the Gloom, but whatever the green-haired man had, it would definitely factor into him and Dixie coming out of this the victors or the losers.

Smirking, Harvey threw out his PokéBall and an odd cry rang out. A Drowzee stood before them, towering over Zalaras and Fang both. His skin, too, glittered in the sunlight that was cast over them. The Drowzee's skin was a mauve colour that seemed to also sport twilight lavender colourings at its lower half.

Dixie had moved her Dex from Gloom to the Drowzee and awaited it to scan the creature. As soon as the image came up for the Pokémon, the girl narrowed her eyes. The picture that Dexter provided showed that Drowzee was normally a golden colour with a brown lower half.

'Drowzee, the Hypnotic Pokémon. It is said to feed on the dreams of its opponents. It is also known for its powerful Psychic attack.'

Jakkaru's muffled voice called out to both Jaxx and Dixie, "you both be careful with that Drowzee! They've got a nasty combination of Hypnosis and Dream Eater! It's definitely bad news for your Pokémon!"

"Got it..." Dixie muttered, trying not to let the aroma of the Gloom get to her.

"You won't have a chance to attack! Gloom, immobilize that Growlithe and Charmander with your Stun Spore attack!" Rachel commanded.

"Ga-loooooom!" the Gloom had sprung back and arced its head down, releasing a cloud of yellow spores that made its way towards both Fang and Zalaras.

"Fang! Don't let it get to you! Flamethrower!" Jaxx called out.

Snarling somewhat, Fang quickly stepped back and then opened his mouth. A stream of flames fired from his mouth and towards the cloud that contained the immobilizing spores. The spores seemed to burn before reaching either Zal or Fang, and seeing that, Rachel had a look of annoyance on her face.

"Let's see how well that works when your Pokémon are asleep!" Harvey exclaimed. He motioned Drowzee forwards and then told it to attack, "Drowzee, show that mutt your Hypnosis!"

Giving another one of its odd cries, the mauve and twilight lavender coloured Drowzee stepped forwards and out in front of Fang. The Growlithe growled at it, though was suddenly caught up in the mesmerizing motions that the Drowzee was displaying by waving its arms up and down. As soon as Fang's eyes were focused on the Drowzee, the tapir-looking Pokémon's eyes then glowed a blue colour and its Hypnosis attack started to take place.

Fang's eyes started to grow heavy and he staggered forwards. He tripped over his own feet and was soon asleep on the ground. His breathing was slow and deep of that of being in slumber and a small disgruntled scoff could be heard coming from Jaxx.

Throwing a fist into the air in triumph, Harvey called out another attack for the Drowzee to use, "all right then, Drowzee... give that pooch a good nightmare, why don't ya? Dream Eater!"

Cackling in delight, Drowzee's eyes faded from its blue glow and then shifted to a red colour. As it did, Fang started to writhe on the ground, whimpering and whining. Jaxx gritted his teeth as he saw his Pokémon going through the combination of attacks that Jakkaru had specifically warned them about.

"Go after that Charmander again, Gloom! Use Razor Leaf this time!" Rachel shouted out.

Gloom charged forwards this time while tilting her head down. She neared Zalaras and attempted to knock him off balance before releasing a barrage of leaves into the air to slice and cut at the small Charmander.

"Oh no, Zal! Get out of the way if you can!" Dixie yelled, removing her arm from over her nose.

Trying to react quickly, Zalaras jumped from where he was, his left arm getting scratched up by the razor sharp leaves as they rushed past him. The golden lizard winced in pain, though held his ground fairly well as he looked back up to both the Gloom and Drowzee.

"Go after Drowzee, Zalaras! Use Scratch!"

Quickly swiping his tail at the Gloom to ward her off, Zalaras drew his claws back and then charged after the Drowzee. Luckily, it was still enjoying its time feeding off of Fang's dreams to react in time to the golden lizard, despite that Harvey had yelled out to warn the tapir-looking Pokémon. Looking to the Charmander in surprise as the little lizard jumped up, the Drowzee stumbled back some, releasing its hold on the Growlithe and getting scratched across the face.

"Atta boy, Zal! Good going!" Dixie praised, jumping up and clapping her hands together for a moment before composing herself once again.

"Heh..." Harvey's expression turned smug as now the Charmander was close to his Pokémon. "Now's your chance, Drowzee! Use Hypnosis on that little reptile!"

"What?!" Dixie was taken aback. Her eyes widened as the Drowzee's eyes glowed that blue colour once again and stared straight at Zalaras. She flinched as she watched the golden lizard's eyes start to droop and his legs start to wobble.

"Ah-- Zalaras, c'mon, you can fight it!" Dixie shouted. Much to her dismay, the small golden lizard had fallen to the ground much like Fang had and was now in a deep slumber. Taking a step forwards, the colourfully-dressed girl was about to run out to her Pokémon before Jaxx held out an arm and had returned Fang to its capsule.

"Didn't say we couldn't switch out our Pokémon." A slight smirk had made its way onto Jaxx's lips as he said that. He reattached Fang's PokéBall to his chain and then pulled off another capsule. Dixie immediately saw it as Spearow's, as the capsule lacked the water droplet mark that his Squirtle's PokéBall had.

"You sure you should be sending that one out so soon?" Dixie asked.

Jaxx nodded. "It's not like its going to come to bonding with me if I never send it out, after all."

"Tch, go and give that Charmander your Petal Dance before that kid can send any other Pokémon out, Gloom!" Rachel scoffed, narrowing her eyes to the two preteens.

"Gloom ga-loooom!" Petals started to flow from the flowering appendage on top on Gloom's head and then swirled through the air. Like the Razor Leaf attack before, the petals rushed for Zalaras as did Gloom. The grass-type Pokémon came into contact with Zalaras and the lizard was thrown back, more scratches upon its body from the Petal Dance.

"No, Zal!" Dixie pushed past Jaxx as he released his Spearow and then quickly knelt down beside her starter. Scooping him up, she looked to the Gloom that seemed to have a rather malicious grin on its face and then moved herself back with the sleeping and battered Charmander in her grasp.

"Dream Eater on that little Pokémon!" Harvey commanded, ignoring the fact that Dixie had basically taken Zalaras out of battle.

Drowzee's eyes glowed red once again and then Zalaras started to flail weakly in Dixie's grasp. The dark-haired girl tightened her embrace around the small fire-type and then furrowed her brow as she looked up to both Rachel and Harvey. There was no other Pokémon that she could possibly be using now that Zalaras was out and apparently having nightmares.

"Spearow! Dive down at Drowzee with a Peck attack! Break its focus!" Jaxx called out after looking at Dixie for a moment.

Doing as he was instructed to do, Spearow dove down from his spot in the sky and aimed for his beak to hit the Drowzee in the forehead. The Drowzee broke his Dream Eater attack and looked up the Spearow at the last second, getting hit right in the nose by the fowl.

The Drowzee gave a cry of surprise before staggering backwards and raising his hands to his nose and rubbing at it gently to make the pain go away. When the Drowzee removed his hand from his nose, a large scratch from where Spearow had gotten it was revealed.

"Show that bird no mercy, Drowzee! Psychic!" Harvey called out, watching the Spearow circle high above.

Obliging to his trainer's command, Drowzee's eyes locked on Spearow. A force was exerted out and Spearow was now hurdling towards the ground as if someone had grabbed it and was pulling it down. Drowzee's hands glowed with a blue aura as this happened, a slight smile stretching upon its face.

"Sentreeeeeeeet!" a high pitched cry echoed out.

Everyone that was there turned their attention in the direction that the cry had come from. As they did, a Sentret donning a checkered fedora had burst out from the neighbouring bushes and jumped onto the Drowzee. It rose its milky white paws and then extended the claws hidden within and then proceeded to scratching wildly at the psychic Pokémon's face.

"Gloom, do something about that rodent!" Rachel cried out, trying to hide her surprise of the sudden appearance. She clenched a fist and then issued another command, "use Bullet Seed on that Sentret!"

Nodding, the green Gloom opened her mouth and fired a series of seeds towards the tan Pokémon. Unfortunately enough for the grass-type, Sentret had picked up on that and had jumped out of the way, the seeds hitting the Drowzee square in the face and knocking him onto his back.

With his attention fully set upon the Gloom now, Sentret darted forwards, showing off its Quick Attack. The Gloom and her trainer, both, looked at the speeding little creature and just as Rachel was about to issue another attack, it was too late. Sentret had tackled the Gloom backwards and then jumped back. It looked to the Spearow for a moment, still not happy with the prospect that it tried to capture him.

"Dixie... that's..." Jaxx started, looking at the Sentret that had immediately taken to attacking the two alternately coloured Pokémon.

"What's he doing out here? I thought we left him to stay back with his colony..." Dixie commented, still cradling the sleeping Zalaras in her arms. She was quite surprised to see that the hat-wearing Sentret had seemed to had followed them all the way into Viridian.

Harvey and Rachel's gaze were still set upon the Sentret that zipped across their line of sight. After a few bouts of a series of Quick Attacks to both the Gloom and the Drowzee with only some assistance from the Spearow, Sentret had gone in at the most opportune moment and slammed into Drowzee, knocking it back into Gloom.

Both of the Pokémon struggled back up, showing themselves to be too weak to continue to battle. They had already been slightly worn down from Zalaras and Fang previously, and now the Sentret appeared and easily outdid them with its speed.

Angered, both Rachel and Harvey called back their Pokémon and considered sending out both their Meowth and Murkrow before stepping back. The two looked at each other for a moment and then saw the Sentret scurry over to Dixie's side before deciding to just leave their meeting with the kids at that.

"Well... I'm just going to go out and say that you kids got lucky this time around..." Rachel announced. "However, that Charmander will be ours... just as well as any other rare, alternately coloured Pokémon shall be."

"This isn't the last you'll see of us, I can assure you that." With that, both Rachel and Harvey, as well as their Meowth and Murkrow, turned along a trail and started down it. Jaxx, Dixie and Jakkaru simply looked after them, not really caring much for the last thing that Rachel had said to them.

"Sentret sen!" the small rodent waved his arms up at Dixie and then balanced up on his tail.

Jakkaru laughed. "Did you two meet this guy already? Looks like he seems to take a liking to you, Dixie."

"R-really?" Dixie questioned, looking up and Jakkaru and then back to the Sentret.

"Maybe it's because you helped it out by using that potion on it and then exerting no want to catching it by battling it..." Jaxx suggested, shrugging and then holding out his arm. The Spearow had hopped from the ground and fluttered to the outstretched arm, using it as a perch and then proceeding to preen himself.

Looking back to the Sentret, Dixie rose a hand cautiously and then held it out in front of the Sentret. "You... wanna be part of my team?" she asked, a little uncertain.

Bouncing on its tail slightly, the Sentret nodded and then placed both of his furry paws up against her hand. He smiled up at her and then lowered himself back to standing on his own two feet. He pulled his paws away from her and then took off his checkered fedora.

Lowering her hand into her messenger bag, Dixie pulled out a PokéBall and then showed it to Sentret. "Care to make it official... Scout?" she offered a smile and hoped that the nickname that she had said would be satisfactory for him. The Sentret hopped at the name, feeling more accepted as being part of the team and then pressed a paw to the PokéBall's button, becoming encased within.

"Heh... ended up capturing it after all..." Jaxx remarked, returning Spearow to his own capsule.

-------------------------------------------

"Really, Ruth... we're just going to let those kids get off scott-free without getting that Charmander?"

"Oh shush, Harold!" 'Rachel' snapped back. "You really want to get Officer Jenny involved with us again for keeping a battle up with those kids in front of a Pokémon Center? I don't know about you, but I'd rather get the collecting done without having to deal with those officers again."

"Right..." Harold meekly replied, looking to the Murkrow that flew alongside him.