"So this is Rustboro." Kira looked around with a thoughtful look as they walked through the streets. Something about them seemed familiar to her, but she didn't know what since she had never been here. Kir looked at her with worry as they approached the Poke-Center.

"Are you alright mommy?" The older girl looked at her adopted daughter and smiled. She also looked and was glad no one else noticed.

"I'm fine. I just get the feeling a deja vu here." The little girl looked at her in confusion of the word, but shrugged her worry away at the smile. The could see the center and hurried to make sure their Pokemon were ready before they would see who would challenge the leader first.

"We'll be here for a few days, so we can enjoy ourselves pretty easily. By the way Sara, I thought Nami said she would be here." Raz looked back toward the back where Sara was ignoring Ken for annoying her that morning. Her arms were folded in front of her and she was looking away from the boy. Raz had to ask 3 times before she heard him.

"She's supposed to be, but you know her. She's probably already inside and waiting." Just as they walked in, they saw that the guess was right. Balloons and streamers were all over the place with Nami, Spark, and both Oaks there. Gary looked like he was annoyed for being there, but that could have been due to him still not forgiving Raz for destroying his car in the Viridian Gym explosion.

"How do you know her so well?"

"Years of being ignored makes you pay more attention to people." They could all hear the hurt that still hung when Sara remembered those years of her brother being the center of attention while she was all but invisible to them. Nami was thankfully too far to have heard it as she ran up to them.

"It's about time you all got here. We've been waiting all morning." Raz sighed as She grabbed him into a hug as she had every time since he had technically become a member of the Hightide family. It was because of that they had combined both their names for them and Kir. They didn't really belong to the Hightides, so they were the Psychotide family.

"We would have been here sooner, but your son got into an accident." Everyone laughed while Zion and Omnivee sighed and and stared at the floor. The others inside had came in close enough to have heard and even saw the bumps on the pairs heads. "But what's with the decorations, and why are you and Gary here Prof. Oak?"

"I came to take a look at what Kir would pick as her starter. I've not really gotten a good look at some of the Pokemon from this region, so I thought it would be a good chance to look at at least one." At the mention, Kir stepped forward and stopped next to Raz. She reached back and pulled out her 3 balls, releasing them all at the same time.

"I picked Mudkip for my first partner, then daddy gave me Princess and I got Pichu to join my team last night." She was proud of her 3 as they stood and looked at the professor. Only Pichu looked nervous as sparks started every few seconds, but stopped when they were enough to hurt him.

"I'm impressed. I've not heard of many trainers getting even 1 new Pokemon, and you have 2 along with your starter. Mudkip is a very good pick as well since the first gym here is Rock, not to mention that his evolved form is part Ground, which nullifies the Electric weakness. It'll be interesting to see your match and see how you do then." Oak nodded as he approved of the trio before Princess and Pichu were recalled. She left Mudkip to be with her when they drew their number.

"He's about to do that. Don't be so nervous." Gardevoir grabbed Kir by the arm and hugged her side as Raz was already busy writing numbers on a piece of paper.

"Anyone got a hat?" Before anyone answered, Zion gave him one of his shoes.

"I'm getting rid of them anyways." Everyone looked down and saw their friend was already in his sandals again. Nami sighed but didn't try to go over with him the fact they would be in hotter areas then normal this time and he needed to wear more protection. It didn't work before for her, so why bother.

"Right, so I've put papers numbered 1 to 5 since the gyms will be challenged by me, Kir, Rayne, Zion, and Sara. Whoever draws first will get the first at each city, unless something happens and they don't want to go first, then they can go last in that city." The other 4 nodded as he waved the shoe around and let them each pick until the last was taken by himself.

"I got 3." Zion handed his number back as he sat down to listen to the others.

"5." Rayne sounded saddened as she sat and leaned against her boyfriend.

"I'm number 4." Sara was the opposite as she was happy not to be early. She sat with the others as Kir stared at her number while Raz looked at his and put it with the others.

"Number 2, so Kir's first." The little girl was almost trembling as she handed the paper back without looking. "If anyone wants to trade, they can. Only once though. I'll only trade mine for number 1 though." Kir shook her head as she looked up to see her father with a questioning look on his face.

"I'm not trading. I have to take whats dealt to me." She smiled as they listened to the others trading quickly. Soon the order was set to be Kir, Raz, Rayne, Zion, and Sara would be last. They got their Pokemon checked quickly with only minor energy loss from having not battled in a few days. After they had lunch, they decided it was time for the gym. Grim and Toxeon were out with Kir as they went. Both nudged her hands to try and comfort her as she was still nervous and trembling.

"You'll be ok pup. If Raz didn't think you were up to it, he would have made you switch so he could show you how to win." Grim let out a friendly growl as he spoke. Kir nodded and smiled as he did. Toxeon was still only her name to her though, so she didn't know if the other poke's words were good or not.

"I know. I'll do my best." She pet the dog as they continued into the gym when they arrived. The arena was smaller then she thought it would be with it being a Rock gym. She looked around and saw that a crowd had actually gathered around and were starting to cheer as they entered. Her stomach lurched forward at the sight, making Grim, Toxeon, and Omnivee, who had backed from Zi to check on her, let out a whine when they heard her heart start racing.

The rest of the group went to a bench next to the challenger side of the arena while Raz took Kir to the challenger square on the floor and then went to talk to Roxanne who was standing on the other end. Kir watched as the woman first laughed at him until she saw him walk to the bench and sit.

"So the heroes from Viridian come, and my first challenger is a little girl. I will expect your match to be better then this will be Razal. Your battles are the stuff of legend, so now let's get started. Which shall you face girl, the traditional style of a 2 Pokemon each match, or my special?" She watched as her opponent was still nervous as she spoke.

"T-t-the normal m-match." Her palms were sweaty as she reached back and pulled out her first pokeball while she waited.

"Very well. My Golem should take your 2 easily, and then I can face the true opponent of my desire. Let's do this Golem!" She tossed her ball and her partner came out with a roar. His boulder-like body rolled a bit while he waited.

"Remember to not think about who your facing. Think of it like our sparing matches. Even if you lose, you'll learn something for the next time." Kir looked at her father as he spoke. His words calmed her instantly as she saw the whole battle differently then before.

"Thanks daddy. Let's do our best Princess!" She tossed her ball and released the Vulpix onto the field. She could hear some of the crowd snickering at her pick, but she ignored them. She knew more about her Pokemon then they did.

"What and amateurish move. Golem, use Rollout and end this quickly." The boulder poke pulled his arms and legs in before beginning a roll that spun into the ground before taking off. Kir smiled as she had been expecting this when she heard about Zion facing Flint's Golem.

"Jump onto him and balance yourself!" The fox nimbly leaped up and onto her foe, easily getting balanced while the rolling continued. The crowd began roaring with applause of the move. She was glad they stopped snickering, but she wasn't done yet. "Now use Will'o Wisp."

Her partner growled as she created a blue flame that split into 4 and started spinning around Golem as he continued trying to get his passenger off. They spun quickly before flying into him, creating a nasty burn that began to hurt him when the four spots touched the ground.

"Golem, end the attack. As soon as you can, use Earthquake on that annoying little fox." As soon as the roll ended, Princess leaped and back flipped away from the opponent before he pushed his body parts back out. He immediately started stomping the ground, causing it to shake as the Earthquake started. Kir fell down while her partner tried to maintain her footing without falling. They looked at each other while trying to think back to training.

"Use Confuse Ray!" She had to shout over the rumbling, but was glad when she saw a ball of light that flew from her Vulpix before it started circling Golem quickly. His attack stopped instantly as the ball did it's trick and confused him. He started stumbling around to try and find his opponent, but he only saw himself on the other end of the field. His other self was dancing around, causing him to rub his eyes.

"No Golem! Use Earthquake until the confusion wears off!" Roxanne shouted as loud as she could, but her words were received differently. Golem pulled his parts in and began using Rollout. He rolled as fast as he could, but went in a circle. After a few laps around, he took off at top speed and slammed into his target. His target was a wall though, and the impact knocked him out almost instantly.

"That was great Princess! We just need to get one more!" Kir watched as her partner nodded while panting from the damage Earthquake had caused. She also looked and saw Raz smiling with the others as she had done better then they expected.

"That was a pretty good try, but don't get over confident. Let's show her our power Nosepass!" The Pokemon came out and stared at the still panting fox. "Now show them our power with Rock Tomb!"

Before Kir could react, the opponent poke pulled out boulders that he threw around Princess, trapping her in a tiny circle. She could only watch as the boulders continued until her partner was completely covered around and above. As soon as the last boulder went on, the foe walked over and bumped into the pile, causing them to fall in on themselves.

"Oh no." Kir watched with tears rolling as the boulders fell around and showed her partner on the ground and panting hard. Her eyes were shut, but the breathing was too erratic for her to be asleep. Gardevoir was up and at the girl's side instantly.

"She's hurt, but the Poke-Center can take care of it. She'll be fine." She nodded to her poke-sister before recalling her Vulpix and wiping the tears away. She glared at her opponent now as she pulled out her next ball.

"Let's win this for Princess. Go Mudkip!" The frogish poke came out and stared down the opponent. He was ready as the match started again.

"Use Rock Tomb and end this quickly!" The boulders began flying and quickly surrounded the poke. This time though, Kir wasn't surprised.

"Water Gun the ground and then use Bubble while our in the air!" Just before the last boulder flew to the top of the pile, Mudkip came flying up and out of the tomb with a spray of water from his mouth. As soon as he was clear for it, he launched a barrage of bubbles that exploded as they hit the target dead-on. The impact of each bubble didn't seem to phase the Nosepass much as he shrugged it off.

"You'll have to do better then that to take down my partner. He's had years to toughen up." Roxanne laughed until she saw the smile formed on Kir's face.

"Alright then. I guess we'll just have to get into our A game. Use Water Gun on him Mudkip!" The water poke released a blast of water that hit the waiting opponent, pushing him back a few feet but not doing as much damage as they hopped. "Keep it up!"

The water continued pouring out as they watched the foe walk through it and toward them. The arena was starting to flood from the amount of water and it was soon covered in an inch of it. Nosepass just continued and was soon almost next to Mudkip.

"Just give up before we hurt this Pokemon as bad as the last. This is why kids shouldn't train." The crowd laughed with their gym leader as they continued watching, but everyone stopped when Kir was laughing with them.

"Maybe, but does that mean your the proof that old ladies shouldn't be gym leaders then?" Kira burst out laughing from her seat. The others were also impressed by the come-back. "Let' show her we're still in it to win. Dig!"

Her partner instantly ended the water and dove down and clawed into the dirt. He was quickly underground as the water drained into the hole. Everyone watched while Nosepass walked over to the water-filled hole and looked in. That was just what Kir had wanted.

"Come up now!"

The poke came back out of the hole and leaped over his opponent, kicking him in the back just before landing. The impact caused him to topple over and into the hole. As soon as he was in, he started panicking while trying to stay up. He lodged his head and legs into the sides to stay from going under.

"Now use Water Gun and cover him." Just before her partner could release another torrent of water, Roxanne recalled her partner from his watery fate.

"Enough. You've won the match. Here is your Stone Badge." The leader quickly walked over and handed the girl the badge before turning coldly and walking away. Even the crowd was silent as they exited. Raz and the others were quiet while they walked back to the center to get Kir's Pokemon checked out.

--

"What did I do?" Kir stared at her friends and parents with almost anger as they hadn't said much to her since they got back. She wondered why they were so quiet after she had done her best and won. No one spoke for a minute, until Gardevoir interjected.

"Tell her what your feeling. It's only hurting her and she did her best to make you proud." Raz looked at his partner who was almost yelling at him. He sighed before picking Kir up and putting her on his lap.

"When you used that attack and knocked Nosepass into the water, it was a pretty dangerous thing to do. If he hadn't gotten himself pushed against the sides, he would have drowned. We were all relieved until we heard you call for another Water Gun. Your move was great, but it was also one of the most deadly. The entire arena thought you would have killed her Pokemon just to win a badge. I don't know about anyone else, but I just didn't know what to say." They looked around as the others looked at the ground. Kir let tears fall as she leaped down and took off out the door. Raz stood to go after her, but Kira stopped him.

"Let me." He looked at her but nodded and sat back down. She went quickly out and just saw as the front door shut. She ran out and saw Kir running down the road and into the forest. It didn't take her long to catch up with the little girl as she had tired and slowed. She sat against a tree and let the tears flow while Kira came up and sat next to her. She pulled her girl onto her lap while pulling her face against her chest. She didn't say a word until the crying ended a little while later.

"She was right. Little kids shouldn't be trainers."

"That isn't true. You just tried to do your best and made a mistake, that's all." Kira hugged her closer.

"How could I almost kill a Pokemon? I'm lower then Team Rocket." New tears started flowing. Her eyes were almost burning from it all.

"You didn't know that everyone else saw it that way. Your a good trainer and you just need more practice at it. Besides, you couldn't be lower then Rocket. Only one thing was ever lower then them, but it's gone now, so their the lowest." Kir giggled a little as she looked up at her mother's face.

"Did you and the other really think I would have done it though?" Her smile faded as she looked into Kira's eyes.

"No. I knew you wouldn't, but I didn't know what to say after it. I'm sorry we upset you so much." She held her daughter closer while she stood and started back to the center. Kir was fading while they went up the steps. She squeezed one more hug quickly.

"I love you mommy." As soon as she finished, Kir fell asleep. Kira went to the room and laid her down. None of the others were there yet, so she laid with her. She looked at the now peaceful face and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too." She was asleep soon after, still holding her arms around her. They had just became a lot closer then they had ever been before.

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A/N: Kir and Kira have finally reached the mother/daughter bond. Yay! The other battles are coming and Kir will be learning from them. How will they go, and who will pick the special battle? Find out next time. See ya later.