Colby groggily opened his eyes. He couldn't see clearly, but it appeared as if he was somewhere enclosed and bright.

He tried to think back to see if he could work out where he was. He had been in a battle. Colby remembered with a pang of sadness how he had lost. After that, things became a little more blurry, but he recalled Meili taking up the battle and she had beaten the Pokémon that Colby lost to. But what then? It took a few more seconds, during which the Rattata's thoughts became a little more coherent, but Colby remembered that Meili had battled a second Pokémon and lost. He had headed over to her. After that, he drew a blank. He could only assume that he had fainted from exhaustion. That could mean he was in a human building now.

Colby pushed himself to his feet, surprised that he wasn't feeling very tired. He looked around. It was definitely a human building. The geometric shapes and odd devices were only really made by humans. There was also the fact that there were several humans in the room.

One in white with pink hair and a white hat was throwing a dim looking rock away and the human boy who had beaten them was standing on his other side.

"Hi, Rattata." He greeted. "You and your friend both fainted so I figured I'd bring you here.". At Colby's blank look he continued. "This is a Pokémon Centre."

Colby's eyes widened and he looked around the area with more interest. His father had mentioned these places, but he had no clue what they were like.

He appeared to be on some kind of elevated surface that turned to meet the walls, forming an enclosed space. There was a large grey human device in this area along with some other equipment. The rest of the room was mostly empty. Some humans sat on chairs in a corner and some different manmade objects were against a wall letting off a deep hum.

Colby was relieved to find Meili next to him. The pink haired human was currently applying a crystal, not unlike the dark one she had just thrown away, to the Pidgeotto. As Colby watched, the light in the crystal dimmed and Meili's eyes fluttered open. After what seemed to be the same disorientation that Colby had just gone through, she stood up.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"A Pokémon Centre." Colby explained. "It's a place where they heal Pokémon."

"Guess that means we lost?". She looked disappointed. Colby looked down in shame at that reminder. He felt as if it had been his fault. After all, he couldn't even take down the Sandshrew.

"The trainer brought us here after we fainted." he supplied quietly.

"You fainted?" Meili asked, shock clear on her face as she turned to him. "Did you try to continue the battle?"

"No." Colby shook his head. "I must have been exhausted and just passed out."

"Oh, guess that's okay, then." she looked towards the door on the other side of the room. "Should we leave now, then?"

"Sure." Colby turned to the trainer, wanting to somehow show thanks for him bringing them here but noticed he was currently talking to the pink haired woman. She was passing him his Pokéballs.

"So, Brian, what are you planning on doing now?"

The boy, who was apparently called Brian, smiled. "Well, I think I might be ready to challenge the gym now."

"Okay." She chuckled. "Good luck with that then." replied the woman.

Colby looked to Meili. The Pidgeotto also seemed to have been listening.

"So, there is a gym here!" she exclaimed. "What do you say, Colby? We could follow him and find it."

Colby looked from the Pidgeotto to the boy who was heading toward the door and back again. He really wasn't sure about this. Losing to Brian had reminded him exactly how outclassed he was. Once again, however, he found he couldn't let Meili down.

"Let's go." He said without much conviction. He jumped down from the counter and hurried after the boy. Meili followed soon after. Brian didn't notice as the two Pokémon slipped through the door after him.

"I'll keep track of him from the air." Meili told him once they were outside. "Try not to fall behind."

Colby swallowed nervously. Getting lost in this city could prove to be disastrous. After all, he would have no easy way to find Meili again.

"You'll make sure I'm still following?" He asked. Meili bobbed her head.

"Don't worry, I will. We need to get going, though." and with that she abruptly took off with a flurry of feathers that made Colby jump. Sudden movements from the Pidgeotto could still startle him.

Colby hurried along. Brian was just turning a corner and he rushed to reach it too when Meili vanished as well.

About five minutes later, Colby was out of breath but had managed to keep up. Brian had stopped outside a large building with a dull brown roof. Meili was a little down the street, watching to see if the trainer would go in.

"I don't like these cities." Colby told the bird as he walked up to her, panting.

"You're just unlucky you can't fly. I guess I could carry you …"

Colby moved away from her slightly, as if she would snatch him up any second.

"Umm, it's fine."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Meili said, looking sheepish.

Nothing was said between the two for a few moments. It was then that Brian went to open the door.

"Hurry!" Exclaimed Meili, rocketing into the air. Colby kept pace below her and the two reached the trainer just as he was about to step through.

"What!" He said, sounding confused as he looked down. "You two again? What are you doing here?"

Meili waved a wing towards the building and Brian blinked. He looked up at a sign.

"You want to go in the gym?" He asked and Meili nodded. "Well, follow me I guess. Don't know what you want to do though."

The three stepped inside. They were now in a large room with trainers and Pokémon milling about. Quite a few battles were taking place and other Pokémon were practicing various flashy attacks while their trainers conversed. The girl who had lost to Brian earlier was walking up to them.

"So, you've decided to challenge Blue?"

Brian set his jaw and nodded. "I think I'm ready." He told her.

"Well, I guess you have two more Pokémon now."

Brian looked down at the two Pokémon.

"Oh, they aren't mine. They followed me in here … for some reason."

"Huh. Well, we can find out what they want in a moment." She turned, calling back over her shoulder "I'll just go get Blue."

After she had gone, Brian began to play with one of the buttons on his jacket, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He took the Pokéballs from his belt and released his two Pokémon.

"Okay, you two. We are at the gym. Do you think you're ready to challenge Blue?" He asked.

The Sandshrew crossed his arms. "I was ready when we got here." he said confidently while Nidoran just nodded.

"Thanks. Blue should be along any moment."

"And why are they here?" Asked the Sandshrew, pointing towards Meili and Colby. "Are they joining us or something?"

"I don't know what they're doing here." Said Brian, shrugging.

Upon hearing this, Sandshrew turned to Colby.

"Well?" He demanded.

Colby fidgeted with the end of his tail. "Well, umm... We were..."

"We're going to challenge this Blue person." Meili interjected. The Sandshrew looked skeptical.

"Do the two of you have a trainer, then?" He asked, looking about the gym.

"Nope." Stated Meili proudly.

The ground type scoffed. "You're wild Pokémon trying to take down a gym leader?" He asked. "Yeah, good luck."

Meili ruffled her feathers, looking offended. Colby decided he needed to step in before she could get into an argument with the Sandshrew.

"We... We wanted to go on a journey but never got captured." he explained. "We don't even know if we will challenge the gym."

"Well, I don't think you can." said the Sandshrew. "Gym leaders are some of the toughest trainers in the region and you two battle like wild Pokémon. You're at a huge disadvantage without a trainer."

Colby didn't answer. He was starting to agree with the Sandshrew. Meili, on the other hand, was indignant.

"How exactly are we at a disadvantage? Unlike you, we don't have a human shouting out what we're about to do."

The Sandshrew's eyes narrowed. "You're predictable." He told her. "Trainers think up strategies while detached from the battle. All you can do is spam attacks and try not to get hit."

"As if you didn't do that!" Meili hissed. Colby took an uneasy step away from the angry Pidgeotto.

"I think it's a cool idea." Said the Nidoran, stepping between them. Colby let out a sigh of relief. "You're taking control of your own future. I think you can do it."

"Thank you." said Meili. She glared at the Sandshrew but before she could say anything more the door across the room opened.

"So, you're finally ready to challenge me?" The voice easily carried through the room, cutting off all conversations. "It only took you two weeks to gather the courage."

A frown flickered across Brian's face for a moment before he adopted a stoic look.

"I wanted to make sure I could win." He answered. "You shouldn't be a problem now."

"Well, aren't you confident?" said the gym leader, strolling towards them. He had hair the colour of oak wood and wore a black jacket and sunglasses. He shot Brian an arrogant smirk. "I guess I can respect that."

Behind him trailed the girl who had gone to get him. "So, four on four, first badge?" asked Blue, looking down at the group of Pokémon.

"What? Oh, no. Those two aren't mine." explained Brian, gesturing towards Colby and Meili. "I think they're wild. They just kind of followed me in."

Blue raised an eyebrow.

"Okay..." He turned to the girl. "Zahra, find out what they want."

Zahra looked down at them. "Um, okay?"

Blue began to walk away again. "Come on then." He called. Brian ran to catch up and the two vanished through the door on the other side of the room, a few trainers following to spectate.

Zahra looked after them for a moment before turning her attention to the two normal types.

"So... do you know you're at the Viridian gym?"

Well, they hadn't known the name but Meili nodded anyway. Zahra rested her chin in one hand in thought.

"Okay, do you want something?"At seeing Meili nod again she looked around. "Do you want to become gym Pokémon?" When Meili shook her head Zahra threw up her hands. "I'm going to need a psychic for this. You two just wait here."

Zahra walked off and returned a minute later with a blue and white Pokéball clutched in one hand.

"Natu, I need your help." She said as she released the ball's contents. The beam of white energy died down to reveal a small green bird. It bore little resemblance to Meili, however, as it was mostly just a ball with small red and yellow wings and red feathers making up a crest and tail.

"What is it?" asked the bird, hopping around to face Zahra.

"Natu, I need you to talk to these two Pokémon and tell me what they want. Can you do that?"

"Yes." Said Natu before turning again and taking a couple of steps towards the friends.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Hang on." Said Meili. "How is this going to help? If we tell you then she still won't understand."

The Natu turned her attention towards Meili, staring with her glassy unblinking eyes. "I can communicate with humans." she explained.

"Do you speak their language?" Asked Colby, surprised. He didn't know that was possible.

The Natu turned her gaze to the Rattata. "I am a trained telepath." She stated.

"Oh." Said Colby. He had no clue what that meant but was becoming uncomfortable under the Natu's gaze. When Colby eventually began to fidget, the Natu turned back to Meili.

"So, what is it?" She asked again.

"Well, I guess we want to challenge that Blue person. Is that how it works?"

"Normally trainers will come in with their Pokémon to challenge the gym leader and get their badge. Do you two have a trainer?"

"No." Meili shook her head.

"Interesting." Responded the Natu. "I'll tell Zahra, then."

The Natu turned around and stared up at the human. Colby and Meili glanced at each other, uncertain was the Natu was doing. She just appeared to be standing still but a frown of concentration spread across Zahra's face, as if she were listening to something. After a few seconds, the girl furrowed her eyebrows and regarded the two friends.

"They want to challenge the gym?" She asked the Natu who swayed back and forth in the closest approximation to a nod that her spherical body could perform.

"I don't know if they can without a trainer." She looked over her shoulder. "Ryan! Weird question, but can wild Pokémon challenge Blue?"

"Wild Pokémon?" Replied the trainer. "Never heard of it, but I don't see why not. You should probably ask him yourself, though."

"Not a bad idea." Said Zahra. "Follow me. We can go wait for Brian's battle to end."

The Natu was returned and the three of them walked across the room. Passing through the door on the other side, they found themselves in a spacious area about as large as the first. This room, however, was one large arena. The floor was flat and covered in loose sand and Brian and Blue stood at either end with a small gathering of trainers watching from the sidelines. Brian was currently commanding his Sandshrew while Blue was ordering a shaggy brown creature with a pink nose.

"Powder Snow, Swinub." Blue commanded. A blast of white snow was carried on a gust of wind towards the Sandshrew who went into a Rollout to avoid the attack. He spun in close and uncurled himself to deliver a Scratch. The Swinub, however, didn't appear to be too bothered by this attack and retaliated with another Powder Snow which sent Sandshrew stumbling back.

"Sandshrew, this isn't your fight. Return!" Brian called, withdrawing his Pokémon and sending out his Nidoran. "Stay back and use Water Pulse!"

"Mud bomb." Blue countered. A blob of viscus mud was blasted at the Nidoran, disrupting the Water Pulse but losing power as a result. When the dirt connected, it only weakly spattered over the Nidoran's back. He let out a grunt and shot a second Water Pulse which the Swinub avoided.

"Get a little closer and try!" Called Brian, his Nidoran responding by charging the pig Pokémon. He was forced to dodge a Mud Bomb and a Mud Slap, but he was eventually close enough to fire a point-blank Water Pulse that the Swinub couldn't avoid. Swinub righted itself after being sent flying but its clumsy movements showed it was confused.

"Quick! Use Double Kick before it can recover!"

Nidoran jumped at the Swinub and his paws smashed against the ice and ground type's side. Swinub stumbled, tried to turn to attack the retreating Nidoran and then collapsed. Blue took a Pokéball from his belt and returned it.

"Well, you won." He told Brian who appeared shocked by the victory. A second later, Brian let out a whoop and ran to pick up his Nidoran as the gathered trainers gave a polite round of applause.

"We did it!" He celebrated. He released his Sandshrew and swept up both his friends in a hug. "Thanks, you two."

"Yes, well done." Said Blue, walking up to the group. Brian hurriedly let go of his Pokémon and stood up to shake the gym leader's hand.

"Thank you." He said, still beaming.

"As you have defeated me you have earned the Earth Badge." Blue told him, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a shiny metal object which he passed to Brian. The young trainer reverently took the badge and withdrew a case from his pocket. After admiring it for a few seconds, he closed the navy-blue box and looked back up at Blue.

"You also get the TM for Trick Room."

Brian gave a nod of thanks and pocketed a disk that Blue handed him.

"You off to Pewter next, then?" asked Blue.

"Probably." Brian replied.

"Well, you head off. I need to see what these two want."

The young trainer's smile faded at the abrupt dismissal but he made his way out, his Pokémon following. The gathered trainers also dispersed now the battle was over.

"Did you manage to find out why they're here, then?" asked Blue.

"Yeah, apparently they want to challenge you." Said Zahra. Blue raised an eyebrow.

"Challenge me? As in, to get a badge?"

"I guess so." said Zahra, shrugging.

Blue looked over the two friends. Colby couldn't help but feel that the gym leader was judging them. Eventually, Blue shook his head.

"I'm not battling them." He declared.

"What!" Meili squawked. "Why not?"

Blue seemed to get what she was asking as he met the Pidgeotto's glare with a collected look of his own.

"You wouldn't win." He explained. "I train my teams against Pokémon like you."

Colby was reminded of what the Sandshrew had told them. However, hearing it from the gym leader himself was much worse. Colby hadn't realised exactly how much of a disadvantage they were putting themselves at until now.

Meili didn't appear to think the same, though. She took a step forward, still glaring.

"Don't you have to accept every challenge, though?" Asked Zahra.

"I have to accept every challenge from a trainer. I don't have to waste my time with wild Pokémon that have no chance." Blue scoffed.

"I think you'll be surprised." Meili spat.

"Okay then." Said Blue. "If you think you can beat me then you should have no trouble with Zahra here. Battle her and I'll see what you can do." Blue walked to the edge of the arena. "Oh, and use your Butterfree." He told the girl.

Zahra appeared surprised for a moment but hurried to take her position on one end of the arena while Colby and Meili moved to the other end.

"You two ready?" Called the trainer. At seeing their nods, she unclipped a Pokéball from her belt.

"Go, Butterfree!" She called and tossed the ball into the air. The blob of light that emerged soon took the shape of a Pokémon. It had a segmented purple body that contrasted its monochromatic wings. It was clearly some kind of bug. Meili scoffed.

"I'll handle this one." She told Colby and took off.

AN

So, it's been a while. However, it's not just me being lazy. Over the last few weeks, my beta reader has been going through the first 6 chapters of this story and improving them. Thanks so much to the fantastic vaguekiwi for agreeing to be this stories beta! You've been very encouraging and have provided me with great feedback.

If any of you want to find her, she is in my favourite authors list. Alternatively, if you got infinite monkeys on infinite computers to type in URLS then one of them should type in the correct one.

Most of the edits are quality based, but the Pichu from chapter 2 was turned into an oddly pink Espurr because it made more sense for the story. You can go reread it if you like, or you can just take my word for it. You should probably know, however, or you will probably get confused.

Anyway, heres to who knows how many more chapters of this thing! See you all next time.