Here's the next one. I won't be updating for a bit because I'll be on vacation with my cousins next week.

Chapter 4 – Have Faith

"Croagunk – the Toxic Mouth Pokémon. Its cheeks hold poison sacs. It tries to catch foes off guard to jab them with toxic fingers."

"Great. Wish I knew that sooner."

Of course, even while Croagunk was sleeping, David still kept his distance in case of any sudden Poison Jab attacks. Cyndaquil and the kids couldn't help but sweatdrop at his behavior.

"I guess some things never change," Kimmy said.

"Still a big wuss, like always," Jimmy said, folding his arms.

"So…um…David?" Mimi asked quietly. "Does this mean you'll be challenging gym leaders?"

"Gym leaders?" David blinked. "I…never thought of that."

"Gym leaders are awesome!" Jimmy said. "They have some seriously super-awesome Pokémon! If you can beat eight of them and get eight badges, you can get into the Awani League, where the best of the best trainers compete! That includes me, by the way, got it?"

"If you're the best of the best, then David's got nothing to worry about," Kimmy said, bluntly.

"But the best part," Mimi chimed in, "is that you get to travel around and see the world while you're at it! I can't imagine anything more romantic…"

"Uh…well…" David scratched his head nervously. Cyndaquil looked up at his trainer in concern. "I…need to think about it."

"You can think later," Jimmy said. "Right now, I wanna battle you with my Tyrogue!"

"Uh…battle?"

"Don't chicken out on me now, man!" Jimmy said. "I just wanna see what kinda moves your Cyndaquil's got, got it?! Besides, it's been getting less and less fun pushing Kimmy and Mimi around." At that, Kimmy blew a raspberry at Jimmy.

"Uh…sure," David said. "I guess we can. Let's battle right here. Come over here, Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil trotted back over to David.

"Let's go, Tyrogue!" Tyrogue walked right in front of Jimmy and cracked his knuckles. "You ready, wimp?"

"I guess so."

At that same time, a new face was approaching Amber Town. A new face with green hair tied in a long ponytail, a pink mini-dress, and very big…um…

"Up here, pal."

Eyes. Yes. Very big…eyes.

"Pervert."

Ahem. As I was saying, this new girl came speeding towards Amber Town on a red mountain bike covered with a few mud splotches. As soon as she arrived, she slammed on the brakes and hopped off.

"So this is Amber Town," the girl said. "This is the place where I'm finally getting my Pokémon! I'm so excited! Huh?"

Her emerald green eyes suddenly spotted some sort of commotion not too far from her position. Apparently, some kids were watching a battle: A younger brash-looking boy was using Tyrogue while a bespectacled boy whom she figured closer to her age went with a Cyndaquil.

"A battle?" The girl blinked before she got back on her bike and pedaled off. "I've gotta see this!"

"Tyrogue, get going and use Tackle!"

"You use Tackle too, Cyndaquil!"

Cyndaquil and Tyrogue clashed head on and tried to push each other back. Tyrogue seemed to be winning, due to the height advantage (eight inches higher than Cyndaquil). Plus, David had a bit of trouble remembering on the fly what sort of attacks Cyndaquil used.

"Fight back with…uh…Smokescreen!"

Cyndaquil spouted a cloud of smoke from its back, covering up the field. Tyrogue emerged from the smoke, coughing and hacking.

"Now use Tackle again!" David shouted.

"Tyrogue, Rock Smash, got it?!"

Before Cyndaquil could get close enough, it stopped short as Tyrogue brought down its fist, cracking the ground beneath them.

"Now, that's power!" Kimmy said.

"Use Rock Smash again!" Jimmy shouted.

"Duck back and use Tackle, Cyndaquil!"

Cyndaquil jumped back before Tyrogue Rock Smashed the ground again. After that, Cyndaquil charged at Tyrogue with another Tackle attack, slamming it straight on.

"They're both…quite good," Mimi said quietly. "And David's really getting into this battle."

"Yeah," Kimmy agreed, "but their Pokémon are both pretty bushed."

David looked down at his Cyndaquil, then at Tyrogue. It was just as Kimmy said. Both of them looked bruised and battered and could faint at any second. "Uh…Jimmy?"

"Yeah?"

"What say we call this one a draw?"

Jimmy and Tyrogue looked at each other for a second. "Yeah, I got it."

The girls clapped for the "valiant contenders" but stopped quickly when they saw someone else clapping: a taller girl in a pink mini-dress with green hair whose clapping slowed to a stop when everyone stared at her.

"Sorry," the girl said. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"It's no big deal," Kimmy and Mimi said. Jimmy, however, simply stared at the older girl with a trickle of drool cascading from his mouth. Tyrogue waved his hand in front of his face. And for some reason, David felt his glasses slip and had a slight blush in his cheeks.

"Oh yeah!" The girl put her hands together. "I'm looking for Professor Cedar's lab. I'm here to pick up my Pokémon!"

"Huh?" David asked. "You're looking for my mom?"

"Your mom?!"

They're so big, Jimmy thought, smiling a stupid smile.

Later…

Everyone, along with the new girl, was seen walking back to the Pokémon Research Lab with their respective Pokémon by their side.

"So you're David Cedar," the girl said. "I've heard that Professor Cedar had a son, but I never imagined it'd be someone like you."

"Uh..." David scratched his head for a second. "I don't know what you mean by that, but I'm gonna go with it."

"Whatever works."

"So what's your name?" Kimmy asked.

"My name's Faith. Faith Treeborne."

"And what are the names of those balloons you're smuggling under your dress?" Jimmy asked.

SMACK!

A vein had already popped into Faith's head as she rubbed her left hand. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Nothing. Sorry, ma'am," Jimmy said, rubbing the handprint on his cheek.

"I knew that was gonna happen," Kimmy said.

"Poor Jimmy," Mimi said quietly.

"We're getting closer," David said. "You see it, Faith?"

"That big building is where you live?!" Faith said with wide eyes. "That's amazing!"

Later still, back at the lab…

"Mooooom! Company!"

No response. David had never seen the lab empty this early in the afternoon (It's 2:15, by the way). Faith was overwhelmed at the state of the lab, even with equipment and papers scattered all around.

"This place is awesome!" Faith said happily.

"It's not much really, when you've lived here as long as we have."

That came from Professor Cedar who just came downstairs with her Delcatty.

"Hi, Mom," David said.

"She looks taller in person," Faith said.

"Oh! You must be Faith," Prof. Cedar said. "Your father called and said you'd be arriving by now. Are you ready to get your starter Pokémon?"

"Of course I am," Faith said happily. "I wanna get started right away!"

"Now, as I'm sure you've seen," Prof. Cedar explained as she led them both through the lab, "my son has just chosen his starter Pokémon, Cyndaquil, so…"

"Wait, hold on." Faith turned to David. "You're just starting too?"

"Yeah…" David scratched his head nervously. "It's a…long story."

"Anyway," Prof. Cedar continued, reaching the remaining Poké balls, "as I said, David has just chosen Cyndaquil a good while ago, so there are only two starters left right now. The water-type, Totodile, and the grass-type, Chikorita."

"Ooh! Can I see Chikorita?" Faith practically begged. "Pleeeeease?"

The Professor couldn't help but laugh. "Seems like you've made your choice already. All righty then."

Professor Cedar took one of the Poké balls and opened it. From the mass of white light on the table, emerged a Pokémon that vaguely resembled a small green sauropod. It had a necklace of green buds around its neck, a big leaf adorning its head, and large red eyes. It looked up at Faith for a few seconds and bowed politely. "Chi-kori."

"Aww! How cute is that?!" Faith took Chikorita into a big hug. "And it's so polite too! It's absolutely perfect!"

"You really like Chikorita, don't you?" Prof. Cedar said. "Not surprising, really, considering your lineage."

"Lineage?" David felt a little confused.

"You didn't know?" Prof. Cedar asked. "I thought for sure Faith would've told you before you got back. Her father specializes in using grass-type Pokémon in the Malachite City Gym."

"Wait, wait, wait!" David said, holding up his hand. "You're telling me this girl's dad is a gym leader?!"

"Yup," Faith said with a smile. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"So are you gonna be challenging the other gym leaders, Faith?" David asked.

"Nah," Faith said, twirling a lock of her hair. "I'm planning on entering Pokémon Contests."

"Contests?" David blinked. "Oh yeah. I've heard of those…uh…how do they go again?"

"In a Contest," Faith explained, "Coordinators show off how strong and beautiful their Pokémon can be by demonstrating their moves to excite the crowd. My big sis is already an awesome coordinator and I want to be even greater than her!"

"Sounds pretty complicated," David said, scratching his head.

"My policy is to use cute Pokémon that stay cute, even when they evolve," Faith said before hugging her Chikorita again. "And this little cutie is the perfect example! So what about you, David? You just became a trainer today too, right? What are you gonna do?"

"Um…" David pressed his thumb to his lip. "Those kids I was hanging out with were actually wondering if I could challenge gym leaders…"

"Do you want to challenge the gym leaders?" Prof. Cedar asked.

"I don't know…I haven't decided yet."

"The way I see things, gym battles are much more straightforward," Prof. Cedar said. "But I'm not making your decisions. You can decide for yourself. Now, before you two get going I have a few more things for you."

David and Faith watched as Professor Cedar opened up a drawer and took out a few items.

"Here you go," Prof. Cedar said. "Five Poké balls each to get you two started. Any Pokémon you catch can be stored here at this lab. Also, an extra Pokédex for Faith (a pink one). This device is a high tech encyclopedia on Pokémon."

"Cool!" Faith said, opening it up and scanning her Chikorita. Unlike before, however, this computerized voice was female.

"Chikorita – the Leaf Pokémon. It uses the leaf on its head to determine the temperature and humidity. It loves to sunbathe."

"Wait a minute," David started. "You didn't tell me you already had one."

"That one was all I had left," Prof. Cedar said. "I'd order another shipment, but it would take at least a month. Would you rather she have the red one and you have the pink one?"

David looked at Faith for a second, before looking back at his mother. "Thank you for the birthday present, Mom."

"You're welcome, dear."

Faith sweatdropped as Professor Cedar ruffled up her son's hair. What a mama's boy.

Good to see everyone's paying attention. Now, allow me to introduce the next protagonist.

Name: Faith Treeborne
Age: 14
Sex: Female
Hometown: Malachite City
Appearance: Well-tamed green hair in a ponytail, pink mini-dress, emerald green eyes, Skitty handbag
Bio: Faith wants to prove that she can be just as great (or even greater) a coordinator as her older sister. She has a thing for cute Pokémon that stay cute, even when they evolve and has a habit of giving her Pokémon nicknames. She has a good heart, but gets a little PO-ed when someone makes a perverted comment about her.
Pokémon: Chikorita (Female)

In the next chapter, the two finally get going on their Pokémon journey across the Awani Region, but not before hitting a few bumps right off the starting line.

Also, I mentioned before that Faith will be nicknaming her Pokémon. If anyone can think of a good name for Chikorita, let me know.