A/N: Hey, guys! I'm working hard, trying to put these chapters out for y'all. I really enjoy writing, and always like exploring options in order to enhance a story. So, if you guys have any ideas, then let me know. Anyway, I'm starting this chapter on May 13, 2014, 11:11 AM. Ready, let's go!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda or Pokémon franchises, only my ideas. Link belongs to the Nintendo Company, while all Pokémon belong to the Game Freak and Nintendo Companies.

The rest of the night had gone on uneventfully, other than a small incident when Sophie had to threaten to beat Link with a stick for taking so long to bring back the firewood. An incident that would not be soon forgotten, and more than likely hung over Link's head for a while.

The group had just finished packing up their gear and were already on their way. Brent was trudging along, giving an occasional sleepy stumble, but they were becoming less and less frequent in the last few minutes. Joshua was lightly conversing with Sophie, giving a few moments in between his answers. Sophie was halfway slouched and was almost dragging her feet along the ground, a rare show of being completely exhausted. Even last night, when Link was just starting to become sluggish from tiredness, Sophie seemed like she could outrun a Ponyta.

Link continued to examine the surrounding area, taking in the local wildlife. He caught a few glimpses of Pidgey and Rattata, but saw Caterpie and Metapod more often. Link saw no more Fearow, nor did he see its pre-evolved form, Spearow, leading him to believe that the Pokémon he had fought last night had been following its prey for a while.

Soon, Link realized that they had been on the road for a while, judging by the light that was peeking through the forest canopy, they had been walking for almost three hours since their rising. The forest was definitely big, a little too big to just be considered the "Viridian Forest."

Link's musings were broken by a soft rustle of leaves, which at first he ignored, returning to his own thoughts. Soon, there was another rustle, then a soft thud. He couldn't hear the Pokémon's footsteps due to the constant chatter that was going on between the other three members of the group. Link didn't think that such a small Pokémon could pose much of a threat, but he had been proven wrong before.

He constantly checked the surrounding area, feeling much more paranoid than before, but not knowing why. Something in the back of his mind was causing unease, he could feel some sort of guilt for something forming in the pit of his stomach. He thought back on it, but couldn't for the life of him determine what was causing the discomfort.

"What'cha thinking about?" came a voice that broke him of his thoughts.

He looked to his left to see Sophie, who was now much more awake than before. He blinked slowly before smiling. He thought for a few moments, considering telling her that they were being followed, but decided against it as to not worry her.

"Nothing in specific."

Sophie looked at him for a few moments, her eyes scanning for any trace of a lie on his face, but Link knew that she would find none, he took pride in his ability to hide any "tells" of his emotions. He liked to have his own personal privacy, he didn't like being read. He often felt exposed when someone could pick out his emotions, he never was sure why though.

Sophie seemed to oppose that kind of privacy, as her eyes always flickered with emotion, and her face always changed based on what she was feeling. She would give bright smiles at times that most would just grin. She gave roaring laughs when others would just chuckle. These were just a few of the examples that Link could think of.

Of course, he hadn't noticed just Sophie's personality, he had studied each of his current group members, but often found less than he hoped for. He knew Brent was hotheaded and brash, often taking challenges head-on without second thought. Brent also liked to take advantage of any situation, something Link had noticed when he captured the Tauros that Link had fought. But, Brent rarely spike more than a full sentence when addressing Link, so the green-clothed boy couldn't really get a grip on Brent's personality.

Joshua, Link felt, was an oddball. He was often incredibly quiet, only talking when addressing Sophie or when chastising Brent for doing something out of line or just generally stupid. The boy's yes, Link had noticed, were always slightly curious. Joshua was always studying things around him, and you could almost always see the gears in his head turning. The boy was calm and collected, only speaking after a moment of thought, and only acting after a small period of planning. Link felt that, although he didn't know him very well, Joshua would go far in life.

A punch to his arm broke Link of his thoughts once more. He turned to see Sophie playfully glaring at him.

"You haven't listened to a word I've said, have you?" she accused.

Link simply laughed, to which Sophie replied with another punch.

"What's so funny?" she asked, her upper lip twitching upwards for a moment.

Link smiled and closed his eyes, putting his hands behind his head. He gave the girl next to him a short glance before speaking, "You're trying so hard to look mad, it's funny."

Sophie gave him another punch, "Shut up," she said, to which Link just laughed. Eventually, Sophie dropped her scowl and began laughing along.

Link couldn't help but comment on the size of the forest as evening came upon them again. It wasn't every day that a woodland takes more than twenty-four hours to get through. They were already setting up camp, Joshua pulling out his blue tent, Brent his sleeping bag, Sophie pulling out a padded blanket, and Link a travel bed. They lit a fire using leftover wood from yesterday along with some that they had collected today and all laid down in their respective beddings.

Soon, stomachs predictably growled and the group pulled out some fruit they had picked from the few trees that harbored it, along with a few canned morsels that they had purchased in Viridian City. Link was chewing on a shiny, red apple; Brent was eating canned beans; Joshua was eating some sort of soup, light brown in color and slightly thick; and Sophie was chewing on a boxed lunch that she had bought in town. Eventually, each trainer released their Pokémon, allowing them to stretch and eat.

Bulbasaur had nuzzled into its trainers side while Sophie was flipping through the pages of a small book. Joshua and Brent had both returned their Pokémon back to their Poké Balls and retired for the night. Sophie was slowly stroking her Pokémon's head, extracting small, pleasured growls from it. Link smiled at the two's bond, they already seemed inseparable.

There was another soft rustle, then an even softer thud. It seemed familiar, and was slowly alarming Link less. But, Link still tensed when he heard it. The creature, whatever it was, had been following them all day, stopping when they stop. Link didn't plan to sleep tonight, at least, not until he knew what it was.

A soft snore sounded, signaling Link that Sophie had fallen asleep, her Bulbasaur joining her soon. Link stood and straightened his tunic. He grabbed his sword and strapped it to his back, tightening his baldric so the sword wouldn't move. The rustling had already stopped, but Link knew that the Pokémon was just waiting for the group to move again.

Hours past with no event, and Link was growing tired. But, he wouldn't rest until he knew that the group was safe. He had sat down, leaning against a tree, simply listening to soft snores and occasional rustles. Link was still wary, just less so than before. The rustles were now growing closer together, telling Link that the creature was growing restless.

Suddenly, Sophie's Bulbasaur stirred, yawned, and opened its eyes. It looked at Link then at Sophie. Link gave the creature a small smile and leaned his head against the tree. The Bulbasaur stood, untangling itself from Sophie's arms and stretching its legs. Sophie stirred slightly, but didn't awaken. Bulbasaur, however, took the soft stir as a sign that its trainer was awakening. It gave a slight cry and nudged Sophie's side. Sophie stirred again and then opened her eyes.

"What?" she muttered irritably.

Her Bulbasaur gave another soft cry, nudging her again. Sophie opened her eyes and rubbed them, clearing her vision.

"Oh," she trailed, yawning, "hi, Rose!"

Her Bulbasaur gave another cry and nuzzled her face. Sophie gave a lighthearted giggle and began petting her Pokémon. Her eyes flicked upward, catching sight of Link. She looked up and gave him a puzzled stare.

"What're you still doing up?" she asked.

Link just shrugged and leaned back. He really didn't feel like worrying her, it wasn't as if she needed any stress on her, surely she was already facing some, being away from home.

"Couldn't sleep," he said.

Sophie smiled and stood up, stretching. She walked over and sat down next to him, leaning against the tree. Link moved aside to give her more elbow room, feeling slightly awkward in his grogginess. Sophie gave him a bright smile and returned to lightly brushing Rose's head.

There was another rustle, and a bush moved on the opposite side of the clearing. Link silently scolded himself for being so careless as to let the creature get so far away from him. The bush then parted, causing Link to creep his hand toward the sword on his left. He had unstrapped it to lean comfortably against the tree, but now felt stupid for moving it so far away.

Suddenly, a brown figure emerged from the bush. It was small, probably a foot or two high, and made very little noise. It looked around until it spotted Link, then trotted over to him. Link had already moved his hand away from his sword, deciding that such a small creature couldn't do much harm. The creature then stumbled, but regained its footing, giving a slight cry. It moved around the fire, giving Link a good look at it.

The creature was a deep brown, with large eyes. Its ears were long, but not floppy. It had a large, bushy collar, lighter in color than its coat, along with a bushy tail that was tipped in the same color. Link recognized it as an Eevee, one of the most well-known Pokémon in the Kanto Region. But, they didn't ever really show up in the wild, being an extremely elusive Pokémon.

The Pokémon, Link noticed, was favoring a leg. Then, it dawned on him, this was the Pokémon that he had defended the other night. Its back right leg was hurt in some way, and the Pokémon refused to walk on it. It trotted unsteadily over to Link and lied down, giving a slight whimper.

Link reached his hand out slowly, giving the Pokémon a chance to move if it so desired. When it didn't, Link brought his hand down softly and began stroking the small Pokémon's head. The Pokémon gave another cry, this one slightly louder. Sophie groaned lightly and opened her eyes. She looked at her own Pokémon, who was asleep on her lap, then to Link. She followed his arm to the Pokémon below him and gave a short, quiet squeal of adoration.

The little Eevee started and crawled behind Link, peering over his legs at the now-awake Sophie. It whimpered slightly, its eyes filling with fear. Sophie gave the little creature an apologetic look, then looked to Link with a bright smile.

"I didn't know that you had a Pokémon!" she exclaimed, barely containing her excitement.

Link looked between Sophie and the slowly calming Pokémon at his side. He gave a small smile and looked back to the girl on his left, "I didn't."

Sophie gave him an odd look, "Really? So, that Eevee's wild?"

Link gave a slight nod, "But, not anymore."

Sophie smiled brightly again, looking at the little Pokémon that had crawled from behind Link's legs toward her. It gave her a fearful look, but soon calmed and flopped down between the two. The little Pokémon yawned and then laid still, its rhythmic breathing filling the silence. Link smiled at the little critter and leaned back, just listening to the two Pokémon, which was soon joined by Sophie's light snoring.

Link let his thoughts wonder. He had made two new friends in such a short time. That's more than he had at home. He had often been shunned by the people around him, until he left, then he was just avoided. It felt nice knowing that he had someone to talk to, even if only for just a time.

Link looked to the girl and foxlike Pokémon at his left and smiled. He always had strange things happen to him, but this time, they were for the better, and Link couldn't argue that.

A/N: Well, this chapter is done. I know, it's shorter that the last chapter, but it's longer than the first two. I really want to push these chapter out, but I want them long. I'm trying guys, so I hope you like the story. This is GamerTacticsInc, signing out. Official Time of Completion: May 13th, 2014. 10:10 PM. Final Word Count: 2254.