This is Destinysfailure coming at you from Route 30! Jen now has two Pokémon of her very own, training well and doing great on the Route to Violet City and Mr. Pokémon's house. It seems like nothing can get in her way! Except perhaps her rival, Kendall, who is trailing right behind her in Cherrygrove. He and his Totodile give me the willies! Jen is keeping her head high, though….if she isn't already having thoughts about her rival. Stay tuned!

….

…

..

.

ChapterFour

'sDelivery

.

..

…

….

"Great job, Pidgey!" I cheered after another successful battle in the tall grass. Pidgey and Sora were equal on levels now. I was proud to own two level ten Pokémon! Not only were they strong, but they each learned a new move. Sora knew Ember, and Pidgey had learned Quick attack. Truthfully I was more glad for Ember, because now we could start a fire on cold nights. Once we made it out of the grass we were confronted by a trainer. He was a young boy, a lot like Joey, with the same outfit and what seemed to be the same attitude.

"Hey! You're a Trainer, right? Then we should battle!" he said. Suddenly Poke balls danced in my vision. I swatted them away.

"What the fuck? Why are there balls everywhere?" I shouted. He gave me a curious look.

"You're…seeing balls?" he chuckled. I frowned and stomped my foot.

"No, no, not those balls! I mean, the red and white Poke balls!"

"….Sure….wow, you're weird. You'll probably be easy to beat. Go, Ratatata!" he shouted, releasing his ugly purple rat Pokémon. Well, that was easy. I grinned.

"You're going to regret saying that soon! Go, Sora!" I shouted, pointing towards the rat. Sora emitted his battle cry and stood ready.

"Rattatata! Use tail whip!" the boy said. The Pokémon whipped its tail around Sora several times, making him lower his defenses. I grimaced. I hated attacks that weren't direct. Why waste your time?

"Sora, use Ember! Now!" Sora lept forward and turned around in mid-air, releasing a small charcoal from his back. It burnt the Rattatata, leaving it dazed and burnt in several places. It quickly returned back to its owner, who was crying in defeat.

"No, no, no! I couldn't have lost!" he shouted angrily. I walked over and put my arm around his shoulder.

"Dude, you picked a level four Rattatata against a level ten Cyndaquil. You've got a lot to learn," I taught him. "Why don't we trade numbers and I'll give you some help for the future?" Quicker than a flash the kid had out his Poke gear and we traded numbers quickly.

"Oh, I'm Youngster Randy, by the way," he told me, extending his hand. I shook it, smiling.

"I'm Jen. Glad to have met you," I answered. When I pulled back I was looking at about 345 money. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"When you win a battle, you get money…sorry I didn't give it to you earlier." I shook my head but kept my happy spirit.

"It's alright, Randy. Thanks anyways. Well, I've gotta go to Mr. Pokémon's house…I'll talk to you later!" I said.

"Wait. You're going to Mr. Pokémon's house? I can get you there without battling any more level two Pokémon! Let's go!" he yelled, taking my hand and pulling me into a different fork of the Route. I held onto my hat and looked back at Sora, who was running after me to keep up.

"Sorry," I mouthed to it. Although he couldn't talk, he just muttered a "Quil" to me. I took that as a "It's okay." Suddenly we arrived at a house nestled deep in a bunch of trees, and Randy knocked on the door.

"Mr. Pokémon!" he shouted. Then we walked into the house to see an man examining a very large egg in his arms. As soon as he saw us he set it down gently and walked towards us.

"Greetings, young trainer," he said, extending a hand in my direction. I shook it firmly, and he smiled. "You must be Jen! Professor Oak called yesterday and told me what a great trainer he thinks you're going to be. My Congratulations!"

"Thank you, sir, but what does Professor Oak need that he sent me here?" I asked him. He quickly swiveled around and picked up the egg, handing it to me. I cradled the thing in my arms. I felt it moving around. The Pokémon inside must be growing, I thought.

"Professor Oak wants to further examine Pokémon eggs up close," he explained. "So he sent an experienced trainer here to get it for him and return it to déjà vu…erm, his lab."

"Oh. Alright," I said, putting the egg into my bag. Strangely it fit perfect and added no weight to the bag itself. "Well, thanks Mr. Pokémon."

"Before you go, Jen, there's someone I'd like you to meet," he said. Suddenly another old man in a white lab coat emerged from the shadows. He looked like Oak, but I knew he wasn't. "Jen, this is Professor Elm. He's actually been waiting here for you." To my genuine amazement, and extreme surprise, Elm was not checking out my ass, but my Cyndaquil.

"You're doing a wonderful job. Tell me, have you acquired the Violet City gym badge yet?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No, sir," I told him. "I'm not even sure what a gym badge is."

He chuckled. "A gym badge not only helps you to control your Pokémon as they level up, but they help you to learn new abilities and be able to advance on to beat the Elite Four."

"The Elite four," I breathed. Of course, I'd heard of the Elite Four. Four trainers who were practically masters at controlling Pokémon at their dispersal. Every trainer's dream was to defeat the Elite Four, and it was mine as well. "So, in order to reach the Elite four I have to get these badges?"

"That's correct! And, to assist you on your journey I want to give you this," he said, handing me a small red device. It flipped open and spoke to me in a computer-like voice.

"Pokedex activated. Now entering your Pokémon and seen Pokémon into datebase," the robotic voice announced. Suddenly a hologram ejected from the Pokedex and a picture of Cyndaquil, Pidgey, and Rattatata appeared one after the other.

"So, this thing records what I see and watch I catch, then," I concluded. Elm nodded, obviously impressed.

"Will you report to me and tell me what you catch and see?" he asked.

"Yes, sir!" I said, saluting him. Both him and Mr. Pokémon chuckled.

"Sounds great. Now, take that egg back to Oak. He's waiting to see it," Mr. Pokémon said. I nodded and walked out of the house and back into the trees. Even though I couldn't see Randy, I knew he was around somewhere.

"Psst!" I called out. "Thanks, Randy!"

"….You're welcome!" yelled a voice from behind the trees. I grinned and continued on my journey….back to New Bark. Really, I had to go all the way back? I was just there! Plus, I didn't want to go back to Mom. She'd probably start crying again. So I was en-route to Cherrygrove.

Four hours, two Oran berries, and an Ember attack later…..

Pidgey, Sora, and I were huddled around the small fire that we'd made for warmth. It was surprisingly cold for a summer night, and I was shivering to death.

"Sooo…c-c-cold," I said, my teeth chattering. Sora pushed its embers on its back towards me, but I pushed him away gently. "No….y-y-you'll b-b-b-burn me, S-s-s-s-sora." He looked at me painfully, then he and Pidgey exchanged worried glances and huddled closer. Suddenly my Pokémon backed away, leaving me even colder than before. Then, a pair of arms wrapped around me and I felt instantly hot. I knew those arms. Muscular, tan, and just perfect around me…

"You look cold, weakling," said Kendall into my ear. I shivered, but not out of the iciness of the air….out of sheer enjoyment.

"Kendall….," I whispered. His smell enveloped me…a familiar mix of something very manly but woods-y at the same time. I closed my eyes and leaned back into his chest.

"Hey. Don't get too comfortable," he told me. "You just look cold. I need someone to battle who's easy. This is temporary."

"Thank you." I felt him nod and I turned to look into his eyes. We felt close again, closer than even the day we'd met. My eyes slowed closed and my lips slightly parted. I know his did, too. I could feel it. The whole world was in balance, Pokémon and trainers, and we were just about to kiss when….

Sui. Suicune. Kendall pulled away from me, quick as a flash, and I felt the cold embrace me once again. "That's a Suicune. The legendary dog Pokémon. We can't let him get away, Totodile!" The small blue Pokémon growled and they both ran off into the trees. Fearing the worst for my rival, I followed him.

We came into an opening. The grass was short, and a fearful wind was blowing my hair about. Kendall was standing tall in the middle of the field. He looked absolutely gorgeous. Totodile was in front of him, and in front of them was probably the most gracefully wonderful Pokémon I'd ever seen. It was a blue dog, with a few white spots on him, and there was a tall antler-like set of horns on top of its head. It had purple-ish hair on top of his head, and its grimace was scary. I didn't know how Kendall thought he could take on Suicune. It was at LEAST a level forty, if not more.

"Totodile! Use water gun!" he shouted. The small blue Pokémon shot a stream of water towards the dog Pokémon, who just barely flinched.

"Totodile! Use quick attack!" Kendall tried again. This time Totodile ran at the dog and tried to tackle it. Instead, the dog merely flicked a paw at it and Totodile went flying across the forest. By the looks of the poor Pokémon he fainted. He wasn't standing up anytime soon. Kendall fell to the ground in defeat, and it looked like Suicune was going to charge towards him as well. I ran in front of my rival and stood true, with Sora and Pidgey beside me.

"Stop," was all I said. The dog looked at me with amusement. We stood there for what seemed like an eternity, staring each other down, when it huffed and turned around. I watched it go towards the forest. To my surprise he turned around and looked me down one more time, then headed back towards the trees. I turned to see Kendall standing again, staring at me.

"You protected me?" he asked.

"Well, you helped me. That's what friends do, right?" I smiled, offering him my hand. At first he just looked at it, then turned around.

"We're not friends, Jen. We're rivals. That's all we'll ever be, got that?" he said. He went over to Totodile and pulled out a Poke ball, putting his Pokémon back into it. I watched as he left with disappointment in my stomach. Was that all we were meant to be? Rivals? I went back to the small fire to find my pink underwear sitting on the grass. There was a small note attached to them that read:

Jen-

It's Kendall. Yeah, I know this is really awkward and weird, but these are yours. I took them off Oak when I stole Totodile. A good deed always overpowers a bad deed, right? Ha. Well, if you're reading this and I'm not there….sorry. You know how I work. I'm only there when you really need me. No matter what I say, Jen, you've always been one of my friends. And I think you always will be.

Kendall

I couldn't help but smile. He was sweet underneath all his bad tendencies.

So we leave Jen on Route 30, heading back to New Bark, with her Pokémon and a small note from Kendall. Rivals or not? Looks like Kendall's the only one with the problem! Tune in next time for My Rival stole my Heart!