I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters, only my own OC's.

Chapter 4

Emma stood a little ways from the other newbie trainers, having taken interest in Prof. Oak's research books on his book shelf. She examined them, but also listened in on what Prof. Oak was explaining to the other kids. Eevee had taken to ignoring everything and decided to take a small nap while they were at the lab.

"Alright now children, listen very closely" Prof. Oak said, staring at the eleven trainers to make sure they were listening. "Today you will receive your first Pokemon and thus begin your journey as a trainer and to try to find your path on what you want to do in life."

He clasped his hands behind his back. "I, for one, look forward to seeing each of you grow and develop through this experience. I'm sure you will all create happy memories and create strong bonds with both people and Pokemon, alike. Now without further ado, you may now choose which Pokemon you will take." He gestured toward the table. "But ladies first as always" He later added.

The boys groaned while the girls smiled and walked up to a long table that had 12 Pokeballs placed in a row and with the starter Pokemon standing in front of their respective ball. Clarita went first to pick her new partner and chose a Bulbasaur as her starter.

"Bulbasaur is your then, I see. A very easy Pokemon to raise" He said. "Are you sure you want him as your starter?"

Clarita nodded. "Of course I want him, he's such a cutie" She cooed at her new Pokemon, who purred happily at her affections. After capturing Bulbasaur in a Pokeball that Oak had given her, she went over to a table and began introducing herself to him.

Avery went next with a determined look on her face. She stared down each Pokemon, making them back away some in fright. "I choose…" She trailed off, before stopping in front of one Pokemon.

Oak watched intently as the girl went towards a Bulbasaur. The girl stared at the small Pokemon as he shyly looked away. Oak smiled as she reached out her hand and began stroking his ear, making him flinch for a moment before slowly relaxing. "I'll take him" She said, still rubbing his ear.

Clarita snorted. "Of course you would, copier!"

Avery glared. "I am not a copier Clarita, there are two Bulbasaur's left! Plus my choice doesn't even have anything to do with you, so bud out, will ya?"

Clarita narrowed her eyes before she turned away and resumed petting her Bulbasaur. "Whatever…"

Prof. Oak smiled and handed her a Pokeball. "Here you go and good luck to you and your starter"

Avery grinned at him, after she caught Bulbasaur and then walked over to a desk across the room, away from Clarita. She then released her new friend and placed him in her lap, petting his smooth skin.

Rosalie went next and picked out Squirtle, while her friend, Samantha, picked out a Charmander, then both girls headed over to Clarita and begin talking in hush tones about how their Pokemon were going to be so strong and giggled.

Then was Sophia and Layana's turn, both twins quickly chose their partners. Sophia had chosen Squirtle, while Layana chose the last Bulbasaur. Both girls then stood off to the side, holding their Pokemon in their arms chatting with each other as well as their new partners.

"Good choice girls" Prof. Gary commented, earning smiles from the twin girls.

"Rue" Prof. Oak called out to the girl, who starred off with a dazed look.

She blinked. "Huh?"

"It's time for you to pick your starter"

"Oh…" She blushed. "Of course, um…I choose Charmander…"

"Ah, a fine choice" Prof. Oak told her, as he watched the shy girl capture her Pokemon and release him from her ball. She let out a small squeak as the female Charmander climbed up her leg and up onto her shoulder. She let out a giggle as it nuzzled her cheek with its own.

Finally the boys came next, with Ashton and Seth already in the lead, holding the Pokeballs, ready to capture the Pokemon they had already set their heart on. While Ashton had chosen a Charmander, Seth had chosen Squirtle as his starter. The boys then grinned at each other and raced over to a wall and sat down. They then called out their Pokemon and started their introductions.

Alex and a boy named Chris went next, both walking up to the table calmly. Alex captured Squirtle, while Chris had captured Charmander. Then each boy went to separate sides of the room and sat down in a chair hold their pokemon.

After the choosing was over, Prof. Oak gave the children five minutes to get to know their Pokemon before calling them, to gather around and receive their next gifts. Emma had also joined the gathering as Prof. Oak ordered her to, saying this gift included her as well.

She stood in between Avery and Ashton, who for some reason kept giving her determined glances when they thought she wouldn't see, but she did and it kind of freaked her out. Was there something on her face or was it something else?

"Children, now that you have your Pokemon chosen you can now have a Pokédex, along with 5 Pokeballs each" Prof. Oak told them, then told Gary to hand out the items. Gary nodded and began handing out the items to the giddy trainers.

Though, Emma had starred at the gift before declining, saying she already had a PDA. Gary smirked. "We know that, didn't Prof. Krane give you a chip or anything?"

"Uh?" Was her only response.

Gary sighed. "He was supposed to…try and check your bag; he might have placed it in one of its pockets."

"Ok," She shrugged and began to look inside her bag. "Not here…no…that's not it…um…wait…here it is!" She brought out a small device and showed it to Prof. Gary. "Is this it?"

He nodded. "Yep now allow me to see your PDA please"

She pulled her PDA out from her pocket and handed it to Gary. He then walked over to a computer and began messing around with both devices, plugging them into the computer. "This might take a while, so why don't you get to know the other trainers" Gary told her, still fiddling with the devices.

She shrugged. "Why not" And turned around only to be faced with Ashton and Avery, who still starred at her with determined eyes.

"Fight me!" They shouted in perfect unison, then paused and turned to face each other.

"No way, I asked first!"

"Doesn't matter, ladies first remember!"

"Screw that!"

"Screw you!"

"Um…" Emma starred at the two looking back and forth as they fought, scratching the side of her head. She looked to Seth and mouthed 'Help me.'

He chuckled, but shook his head, obviously not wanting to get into that fight with his friend and Avery.

The two continued fighting, for what seemed like forever, with their own Pokemon standing beside them watching and waiting for their trainers orders. Emma starred at the both of them in confusion before she sighed loudly. Maybe she should battle them both as they were newbies and she did have the upper advantage as a somewhat lowly experienced trainer. Though, Avery and Ashton seemed to be the types to get riled up easily, so that was a plus. Make them lose their cool and concentration, and then go in for the kill as Justy had always told her. And she was about to double battle, a style of battle that was dominate in Orre, more so than single battling.

She knew that she was tempting fate but went along with her plan. She snapped her fingers, gaining the attention of the two, along with Eevee. She starred at her trainers fingers with interest before yawning and raising her head, watching the scene with half lidded eyes.

"You both want to battle me right?" She asked them, smirking, and they nodded quickly. "Then how about I battle you both?"

They stared at her for a moment before going into a fit of laughter.

"F-fight you together?" Ashton laughed loudly.

Avery giggled, taking it as a joke. "That's funny"

"What's so funny?" Emma asked, frowning and narrowing her eyes.

"You think you can take on us both?" Ashton asked cockily, his laughter slowly going away. "You'll surely lose."

"I have to agree with Ashton on this." Seth said. "Emma you should really choose your words carefully"

She smiled. "What don't think I can win?"

"Sweetie, I know for sure you won't win." Clarita chimed walking over to them with her friends. She looked at Ashton and sighed dreamily. "Ashton is too strong for you."

"Clarita's right, you can't win" Samantha said, crossing her arms and gave her a know-it-all-look.

Emma felt angered that these people thought of her as so weak. Seriously, did she look weak or something? Eevee seemed to have thought the same thing as she jumped off Emma's shoulders and stood beside her right leg, with her hackles raised and growled threateningly at them.

Avery took a couple of steps back before she stopped and took a deep breathe. She then stood up straight, standing her ground. "Fine, you want a double battle then you got one!" She shouted out, pointing at Emma. Her gaze never wavered. 'If I don't have the guts to battle her, then how will I battle someone else?'

Ashton starred at Avery for a moment before he smirked and nodded. "The redhead is right, besides two against one? We all know how that's going end."

"REDHEAD?!" Avery shrieked angrily but was ignored.

Emma hummed, and then smiled. "Do we really?"

"Only one way to find out, Bulbasaur I choose you!" Avery yelled, as her Pokemon walked in front of her and got in a sloppy looking defense stance.

Ashton grinned. "You too Charmander!"

"Char Charmander char!" The flame Pokemon cheered and ran in front of Ashton. His defense was less sloppy that the Bulbasaur's but still sloppy none the less. The small Pokemon then struck a small pose, doing a fist pump in the air.

Emma grinned as she felt a sudden rush run through her. "Alright then, Eevee how about we show them whose boss around here?"

"Ev Eevee!" Eevee nodded and took her own defense stance by spreading her back legs slightly apart and bending her front legs, getting in a crouched position. She flicked her ears back. "Ve ve!" She yipped out, showing she was ready for battle.

"You guys go first" She called to them.

Ashton smirked. "You're going to regret that!"

"Charmander tackle!"

"Bulbasaur, use tackle as well!" Avery copied.

"Eevee dodge by using quick attack!" Emma yelled, as she saw the two Pokémon charging towards Eevee.

"Eevee!" She yipped and jumped out of the way for every attack, at quick speeds. Noticing that Charmander was slowly getting beside her, she hopped over him and landed away from the two, sliding slightly on the smooth floor.

Charmander growled and charged again, by his trainer's orders, blindly running towards Eevee on four feet. Bulbasaur, meanwhile, was charging at a slower speed, probably to catch Eevee of guard by a sneak attack when she dodged.

"Eevee lets show them how we do it in Orre!" Emma yelled, wanting the battle to go ahead and end so that they would know not to doubt her again.

Eevee nodded and growled loudly, causing the Pokemon to stop in their tracks and freeze. "Eevee tail whip!" She ran towards them and slapped them both with her tail, sending them tumbling back, snapping them out of their daze.

Avery stood gaping. "What the?-"

"How?" Ashton questioned, watching the Pokemon stand up, shaking their heads as if they were dazed.

"Growl and Tail Whip, a good combination of the two" Oak commented loudly.

Emma grinned. "Thanks Professor and now Eevee QUICK ATTACK!"

"Ve" She growled and launched herself at the two Pokemon, who were still in a daze. She traveled quickly towards them and knocked the Bulbasaur on its back, while knocking the Charmander into a wall, ramming into him with her side. Both were knocked out with swirly eyes, a sign that they couldn't continue.

"No…Bulbasaur!" Avery cried, racing over to her unconscious friend.

"Charmander…lost? But how?" Ashton questioned himself, as he kneeled beside his Pokemon and returned it to its ball for a rest.

"Because I have more experience than you, though it may not be much but it seems to make a difference" Emma informed them. "Plus I have been with Eevee since I was 7 years old and have been training since then." She added.

"I see…" Seth murmured softly, as he watched Emma collect her winnings from the two and return back to her spot. "You already had a Pokemon at a young age; it's no wonder why you won."

"Plus, the Orre regions specialty is double battling" Prof. Oak said. "Single battling is seen as not very challenging so they began double battling to make a trainer better at commanding its Pokemon quickly."

"So single battling isn't allowed in that region?" Ashton asked, staring down at his Charmander's Pokeball.

Emma shook her head, as she picked up Eevee and placed her back on her shoulders. "Single battling is allowed, though, it's rare to see anyone battle in that style."

"So you cheated!" Avery accused. "You knew you were more experienced than us but you still agreed to the challenge!"

Emma glared. "I am not a cheater and you two were the ones demanding for a battle! Don't be such a sore loser!"

"I am not a sore loser!" Avery growled, holding Bulbasaur close to her chest.

"You're sure acting like it" Emma said, glaring. "Besides you two just went ahead and challenged me, and I don't back away from any challenge."

"Even against someone weaker than you?" Avery questioned.

"Please, it was two against one. Didn't Ashton say everyone knew the outcome of that battle?" Emma told her, placing her hands on her hips.

Ashton looked at her. "I did say that but…" He looked away before shaking his head and walked up to Emma holding his hand out. "We lost and you won. It was a great battle Emma." He said and gave her a toothy grin.

She stared at his hand for a moment, and then slowly wrapped hers around it. "Thanks and it was a good battle, right Eevee?"

"Ve ev!" She agreed with the nod of her head.

"What a battle!" Gary said. "Good job Emma, using quick attack for defense and offence."

"Thanks Professor" She spoke sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Is my Pokédex and PDA finished?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yep, now every Pokemon you gain data on will be transferred to the device you didn't use, so you won't waste time trying to collect data for the both of them."

"Cool" She happily accepted her PDA and Pokédex, slipping the Pokédex in her bag while putting the PDA in her pocket. "Thanks Prof. Gary"

"You're welcome Emma" He said, smiling.

After putting the two devices in their respective places, she looked up to Prof. Gary. "Uh, Professor does pallet town have any hotels or inns I could stay at?"

His brows furrowed. "I'm afraid not, this poses to be a problem…"

"Uh, Professor," A small voice spoke up. They both turned to see Rue standing beside them. "She could stay at my house, I mean…if she wants to."

He thought for a moment. "Would your mom allow it?"

She nodded shyly. "Of course, besides we have an extra bedroom we don't use…"

Emma looked at her. "Are you sure, I don't want to be a burd-"She stopped before she said that word. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone, and to do that she had to grow stronger, both her and her Pokemon. She shook her head. "I don't know…" She rubbed her shoulder and looked away from Rue's hurt expression.

"Oh…ok…um, well there is a lady named Miss. Laura, whose allowing a room to be rented." She told her, before leaving.

Emma sighed as she watched the girl leave. She felt guilty for what she had done but still, being a burden wasn't going to help anyone. If she kept relying on everyone, then how will she get anywhere?

She also went to leave before Gary stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. They were now alone in the lab as the other trainers had left for home or to go ahead and start their journey, and Prof. Oak had left to go finish up some paper work.

"You know Emma; getting help isn't a bad thing." He told her.

"But being a burden is" She spat out the word burden. Gary looked down at her and sighed.

"Emma, you're not a burden. A burden is someone who causes trouble, and you don't seem like the type."

She looked away from him. "I do cause trouble" She said, remembering the Rocket grunt she had battled. She wondered what he was doing right now. Probably sitting in a jail cell in Pyrite Town, with those two officers watching him.

"Listen, you aren't a burden no matter what you think and you should go ahead and leave to Miss. Laura's house. I think a storm is on its way." He told her and she nodded, starring out the window, seeing the dark clouds drawing nearer by the second.

With a goodbye from her she turned on her heel and left, walking out the lab at a steady pace. She walked down the long dirt roads, which seemed almost endless to her. She released a long sigh and tilted her head back, staring at the blue sky that was slowly tinting into a dark color.

She watched as the clouds blew by slowly, never changing their speed. She wished to be one of those clouds. To feel freedom and unchained from everything, but a memory flashed in the back of her mind. It was a memory of her and Prof. Michael, when they were lying in the Poke Fields, cloud watching. She was around eight then and she remembered how she commented on the same thing to the Professor. After hearing the comment the Professor was silent before he said, "Even the clouds are bound, as we all are Emma."

He was right in a way as the clouds flowed never endingly. Taken away by the wind, fusing together or ripping apart, when a wind forced its way through the cloud.

She shook her head getting rid of the memory of her old home. She then focused on the road ahead to see that there were three roads heading in different directions. She read the signs, feeling lost on where she was supposed to be. Emma looked all around before slouching over in a defeated position. She cursed herself silently as she never got the address from that Rue girl.

Eevee sat comfortably on her shoulder, also staring down the roads. The small Pokemon figured its trainer needed help so it began sniffing the air for scents. Many smells surrounded where they were, the smell of the forest was the strongest, but the small human scents were there, too, lingering around the area.

Emma looked at her partner, out of the corner of her eye and smirked. She had totally forgotten that Eevee was able to track. Seeing her rabbit-like ears twitch every second made her sure that Eevee was slowly beginning to breathe in a scent. Hopefully that Rue girl's scent. Emma could really use that room right now as she was a little lost and didn't want to get caught up in the rain.

After Eevee sniffed for a few more moments before she let out a loud 'Ve' Signaling that she had found a scent that she has come across before, most likely one of the eleven trainers from earlier. She then jumped off Emma's shoulder and walked in front of her, and Emma followed after her Pokemon.