Disclaimer: Ah, the glory of copy and pasting. *Ahem*, I don't own Pokémon, Game Freak does. However, the characters used are mine. For terms of use of these characters, environments, and anything else appearing in the story, check my profile.

William threw his ball forward, and in a similar fashion to before, a large fox with darker colours than normal and thin black eyes jumped out of the Poké Ball. Curious, Heath scanned the new pokémon.

"Desune, the Fox Pokémon. When a Desune can't find their trainer, they leave a sweet scent that only humans can smell on the area around them. This pokémon is registered to Pokémon Trainer William." The device responded. William smirked as Desune yelped. Another crowd had begun to gather, in hopes of watching a more formidable battle.

Connor simply smiled, tossing his strange ball into the air. Rather than open, the ball exploded, and a purple monster flopped onto the ground like liquid. It then began to try and shape itself, until it looked like a melting blot. The crowd gasped, and Heath attempted to scan it for more information.

Rather than respond with its name, the device crackled and glitched, and through the jumbled code appearing on its screen, two words appeared, and Heath read them aloud, "Thinner… Blot?"
Heath switched the device off to avoid further corruption, and looked up to watch the battle at hand, fearing the strange pokémon that Connor sent out.

"Thinner Blot?" William questioned, before folding his arms and smirking. "Well, that doesn't matter anyway. Desune, kick this off with Pound!"
Connor snickered. "Really? Pound? Oh wait, I forgot – Desune has a terrible moveset." His snicker broke out into a laugh, and as Desune was just about to hit the blot, Connor stopped laughing to give a command. "Shadow Rush."

Desune was suddenly caught in mid-air by a heavy tackle from the blot, which seemed to break the sound barrier simply by pushing forward at the last second. Desune flew through the air, yelping in pain, and Heath, still with his PokéReader active, watched her health demolish to at least half of its original number. Obviously, William knew that too, because he stepped backwards out of shock, and he began to look extremely worried.
Connor laughed again, slowly stopping himself as Desune stood up. He sighed, pulling out a strange ball with a glass top. "This is my strongest creature, so how's this," He spoke, lifting the top of the ball up. "Once I beat this Desune, I'll call back Ottoko. Deal?"
William went quiet, before responding. "Deal."
As soon as the words had left his mouth, Connor instantly told Ottoko to use 'Shadow Half'.

Desune collapsed instantly, and William watched in shock as the blot slipped back into the new ball. Connor slipped the ball back into his pocket, replacing it with a normal Poké Ball. William did the same, but before he threw it, he held up his other hand. "Wait."
Connor huffed, folding his arms. "What is it?"
"How many pokémon do you have?"
"Two." Connor answered, throwing his ball forward.
The pokémon that came out of Connor's ball was something Heath had never seen before. It appeared to be a small green bird, with bright yellow eyes. He pulled out the Pokédex+, turning it on and proceeding to scan the creature, hoping it wouldn't corrupt again. It didn't.

"Chakari, the Chick Pokémon. Chakari love humans, and are always willing to help. But if they meet a mean trainer, then they attempt to put them in their place. This pokémon is registered to Pokémon Trainer Connor."
"Chakari, huh…?" Heath muttered, watching as the small bird looked back to Connor, smiling, before turning back onto the battle, his face changing to a more determined one.
"I've never seen that Pokémon before…" William thought aloud, scratching his head.
"That's probably because they're not native to Bukyo." Connor responded. He folded his arms, smiling. "But are we gonna talk? Or are we gonna fight?"
William let out a quick laugh, throwing his ball forward. "Alright then, we'll kick this off with Rock Throw!"

As Yowa came out of the ball, he brought a rock with him, throwing it forward as he landed on the grass. The rock hit the bird square on the head, causing it to squawk out of fright.
Connor smiled. "You alright, Kari?" He asked, with the bird squawking determinedly in response. "Alright, let's show him who's boss. Razor Leaf!"

Chakari lifted its wings, and from them razor sharp leaves shot out, aiming for Yowa.
"Dodge, quickly!" Yowa attempted to dodge, avoiding nearly all of them but getting hit by the last few. His health shrank, but he still had at least three quarters left. "Fury Cutter, now!"
"Bullet Seed." Chakari opened its mouth, and fired 5 separate seeds towards Yowa at breakneck speed. They all hit on target, not only stopping the attack but dropping Yowa down to half health.
William growled, clenching his fist. "Don't let him get away! Rock Tomb!"
Connor simply watched as Yowa threw multiple rocks towards Chakari. He told Chakari to dodge, but the small bird was quickly smashed down by the rocks. Still, the bird stood up, determined to keep going.
"Cotton Guard, then use Razor Leaf." Connor ordered, and the little bird followed. He covered himself with his feathers forming a cotton-like shield, before opening his wings again, sending leaves flying straight for Yowa. Luckily, Yowa managed to dodge every single leaf this time, before shooting towards Chakari with his claws out.
Connor watched on, seeing Chakari fall to a quarter of its original health. Heath still watched on in awe of the entire thing.

"If it wasn't for that defence boost, it would've been curtains closed for Chakari…" He commented, watching Connor order Chakari to use Razor Leaf once more.
As the leaves spiralled through the air, William noticed that it was becoming predictable. He watched as Yowa easily dodged the leaves, so he decided to give one final command. "Finish this off with Rock Throw!"

Yowa threw the rock forward, and just as Chakari dodged it, Yowa burned through him using his claws. Chakari fell to the ground, unconscious.
"You did well, friend." Connor recalled the fallen pokémon, pulling out another ball. William raised an eyebrow when he saw that the ball was just a standard Poké Ball, and not the one Connor used at the start.
"Hey!" He called out, just as Connor was about to throw the ball. "You said you had two pokémon!"

"I do." Connor replied, staring at William in confusion.
"But that's your third!"
"Ottoko isn't a pokémon, he's a creation." Connor huffed, waving his hand in a shooing fashion as he threw the ball forward. "I'll explain later."
A very familiar pokémon popped out of the ball, and Heath scanned it to see why.
"Tadshi, the Tadpole Pokémon. Tadshi are weak and usually travel in schools. They can't walk on land, so when battling they have limited movement. This pokémon is registered to –" The device was cut off as Heath shut it off. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know…" He muttered, focusing back on the battle.

"So, you did get the other starter!" William cried, staring at Tadshi, who, once they made eye contact, growled angrily at him.
"What were you expecting?" Connor asked, looking even more confused. "I was supposed to get one."
William gaped, closing his jaw after a bit, and shook his head. "It – It's fine, I – what?!" William stuttered. While he was trying to speak, Connor had ordered Tadshi to use Water Pulse, and the first attack was the one to finally put Yowa out of order. William recalled the trilobite, reaching for his final ball. "It comes down to this, then… go, Kaerog!"

The fiery frog flopped onto the grass, the final pokémon in William's arsenal, and the one with the biggest type disadvantage. But William was determined to win, despite the disadvantages he was facing.
"Kaerog, start off with Growl!" The frog gave off another low croak, but Tadshi stood its ground, not showing any signs that it had changed. "What?"
"You expect a move like that to do anything?" Connor asked, smirking. "Tadshi, Tearful Look."

Tadshi suddenly began to tear up. Kaerog began to feel slightly guilty, pushing himself away from the battle for a short moment. It was this time that Connor decided to attack. "Water Gun."

"Kaerog, dodge! Quick!" William cried, but it was to no avail. In his guilt, he didn't notice the attack until the last second and received the full brunt force of it. His health didn't drop all the way, rather, it dropped to half, but Kaerog still felt weakened despite it all.

William, not one to have his spirit fall, kept going. "Kaerog, dodge any attacks that Tadshi throws, then Tackle!" He whispered, kneeling to speak to Kaerog on his level. Kaerog gave off another low croak, preparing itself for anything coming its way.
Connor raised an eyebrow. "Your frog's got heart, Will, but it won't help him. Tadshi, Water Pulse."
Tadshi nodded, before exploding into a field of water, covering and surprising Kaerog. As Tadshi reformed itself, Kaerog began to stumble around, unable to see due to the water in its eyes.

"Kaerog, Tackle, now!" William cried, but Kaerog couldn't see properly. He attempted to tackle, but instead slammed his head onto the ground. That final failure was enough to knock Kaerog unconscious, rendering Connor as the winner.

William sighed sadly, recalling the fallen starter. Connor gave Tadshi a well-deserved Oran Berry, before recalling it back into its Poké Ball. He walked up to William, and held out his hand. "Good match." After a moment, William walked away from Connor, not shaking his hand – rather, he headed to the Pokémon Centre to heal. Heath wandered over to Connor as the crowd dispersed, talking amongst themselves about a 'sore loser' and how 'those battles were brilliant'.

"Hey, that was a really good battle!" Heath commented, patting Connor on the back. "I told you it would work out!"
Connor smiled, turning to face Heath. "Heh, yeah, I guess you're right."
Heath nodded, before walking off, gesturing for Connor to follow him. "C'mon, let's go heal up."
"Right behind you." Connor responded, following Heath.

As the two entered the centre, and gave their balls to the nurse, Heath found William sitting sullenly on a couch that was facing them. After excusing himself away from Connor, Heath sat down to comfort and help his friend.
"Hey, William!" Heath's cheery voice brought a smile back to William's face as he looked up.
"Hey, Heath. What'd you think of the battle?" He asked. Heath made himself comfortable next to him, before speaking.
"I think you did pretty well! If it wasn't for that thinner blot, you might've won." Heath answered. When William sighed, his smile fell.
"What's up, Will?" He asked, feeling worried for his friend.
"It's Connor, I…," he began, trying to find the right words. "I asked him about Roxie – how he was related, and why we've never heard about him until now."

"Right…?" Heath responded, unsure of where the conversation was going.
"He told me he had no idea who Roxie is."
Heath stared at William for a moment, before letting out a short laugh. "Seriously? You sure he isn't joking with you or anything?"
"I'm sure. He literally had no idea."
"Well, where's this conversation going then?" Heath asked, confused. "Are we gonna talk about Connor's forgetfulness, or –"
Heath was cut off by William, who asked him a question that made him stop in his tracks. "How you could you forget your own family?"
There was silence between the two of them, before William continued. "Look, Connor isn't who he says he is. Don't believe a word he says, and don't ever trust him fully. He could even be a part of that weird group from before for all we know."
In response to this, Heath simply laughed, awkwardly. "Isn't that stretching it a bit far?"
"It's still a possibility." William answered.

When they went quiet, the boy in question walked over to them and sat down, handing Heath back his pokémon. Connor sighed, pulling out two more balls, except these ones looked different. They were completely red, with black curving around the edge. The black seemed to have caused dents in the ball, making it snugly fit in a trainer's hand. Heath stared at it in curiosity, while William stared at it in shock.
After a moment, Connor handed the two balls to the boys, which they both eagerly took. There was silence between them for a moment, before Heath spoke up. "What are these?"

"Remember Chakari?" The boys nodded. "He is a part of an elemental bird trio that is very hard to find. But through a lot of festivals, I managed to pick up all of them. The one you're holding, Heath," He gestured at the ball, "Is Faiyabado, which will evolve into a phoenix. The one you're holding, William," He pointed to the other ball, "Is Mizutori, which will evolve into a pelican. I'm sure, using your knowledge," He stopped to mutter under his breath, "At least one of you, anyway," Before speaking normally again, "You can deduce what typings they are."

They were silent for a moment, before Connor spoke again. "Speaking of which, would you like to give them a nickname?"
Heath cleared his throat, gaining the two boys' attention. "I'd like to nickname mine."
"Hand me your Pokédex for a moment." Connor asked. Heath gave it to him without a second thought, causing William to elbow him in the arm, looking angrily at him. Heath mouthed the words 'sorry' before turning back to Connor. "So, what do you want to name him?"
Heath stared at the ball for a moment, before looking back up. "Genesis."
Connor tapped a few things on the Pokédex+, before finally nodding and handing it back to Heath. "There you go. Now, whenever you call Faiyabado, 'Genesis', he will respond."
Heath nodded as Connor turned to William. "How about you, then?"
"I'm fine." William responded as he transported the Cherish Ball back into his bag, slipping his Pokédex+ into the side pocket of his shorts.
"Suit yourself." Connor turned back to Heath, asking him a single question, "Hey, do you mind if I follow you?"

"What?" Heath asked, shocked by the weird and sudden request. Connor shook his head, laughing slightly.
"Oh no, not like that, I meant can I travel with you. I don't really know this region too well, so going with a local might be a good idea."
"Hold that thought, Connor." William spoke, getting up from the couch. "I just need to speak to Heath privately about something." He gestured for Heath to follow him, which he did.

They moved to a wall near a line of computers, before William punched Heath in the arm, who yelped at the sudden pain.
"What was that for?" He hissed, holding his arm.
"What did I just say? Why did you just give him your Pokédex out of the blue? Who knows what he might've done with it!" William cried quietly, trying not to bring attention to themselves.
"Why did you take the ball then?" Heath hissed back, massaging his arm.
"Because it was a Cherish Ball! They're only used at events, and I've always wanted one!"
"Well, other than punch me and get at me for talking to a friend –"
"He is not a friend!"
"Talking to a boy, then, what else did you want me for?"
"I want you to say no to him, who knows what he might do to you?"
"William, you're making him out to sound like a bad person."
"That's because he is a bad person!"
"You don't know that! You don't have any proof, do you?"

There was silence between them for a moment, before Heath spoke up again.
"If you want so badly to prove he's a bad person, then I'm going to say yes to his request."
William looked at him in a mixture of disbelief and shock. "What do you mean, you're going to say yes?!"
"It means I'm going to keep an eye on him. Follow his actions and every move, like a pokémon."
William raised an eyebrow, closing his open jaw. "Like a pokémon?"
"You said you'd do it, so I'll do it to a human instead."
"I said I'd be careful, not that I'd watch every single step they take."
"Well, do you want to prove it or not?"
There was silence, before William began walking back. "Fine, but you better tell me everything he's doing, especially if its suspicious."
"Deal." Heath followed him, sitting back down with Connor. "So, about your request…"
"Yeah?" Connor asked, his face lit up.
"I don't have a problem with it." Heath responded, watching Connor silently cheer. "Plus, it'd be good to have some company on my journey."
Connor nodded, before raising an eyebrow. "What exactly is your journey?"
The boys went silent for a moment, before Heath shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. I'd probably get the gym badges and everything, but I wouldn't call that my 'journey' really – just a task I'd like to accomplish in the future."
"Well," William spoke up, grabbing the boys' attention. "I think I'd rather fill out the Pokédex, and see if I really can fill out all the pages."
"Good luck with that." Connor responded, seemingly taking no interest in his goals. William glared at Connor, before looking the other way, with Heath sighing sadly.
"I guess we'd better head off then." Heath stood up, grabbing his bag. William and Connor soon followed suite. "I'd like to hit the Poké Mart before we go, but I think that's all we really need to do in Moki Town."
"Yeah, we kind of overstayed our welcome." William added on, laughing. "What with the battles and all."
"Then let's hit the road!" Connor finished. The boys stared at him for a moment, before nodding. And with that, the three boys left the centre, parting their separate ways, heading on their own journeys, with Heath's chapter only just beginning.

Aaand… Done! So, leaving Moki Town behind, Heath has continued his journey, and who knows what lies in store for him next?
I'd just like to mention that I may not update in a while, what with schoolwork and all – but I hope you'll appreciate that all the same.
With that, I'll see you when I next update this story.
Tally-ho!