Sorry for the slight delay with uploading, people. I was busy with school and I was writing other things I rediscovered I had on my computer and I started new things and etc etc etc. I severely dislike homework :( Well, here's the next chapter for you, a little later that normal but meh. At least it's here, right?


"Well, shall we away?" I asked, turning to Blue as we stood around. There was nothing to do around here. He looked around for a moment, as though something entertaining was about to jump out at him, and then he sighed.

"Alright, let's go." I grinned as we walked through the city. It was quite a peaceful place, and I found myself relaxing just by breathing the air here. Well, that was up until we heard the crashes. And the shouts. Forget what I said about being peaceful. Blue and I took off, running down the street until we reached the source of the commotion. There was a policewoman standing in front of a normal-looking house, and we approached her cautiously.

"What's going on here?" I asked. She frowned at me.

"No need to worry yourselves, kids. The situation is under control. Please vacate the area to allow the officers room to conduct their investigations. Thank you for your co-oper-"

"Stop! Thief! Vandal! Get back here this instant!" The policewoman whirled around and pulled the door open, disappearing inside quickly. I didn't hesitate before pulling Blue in after me, and I froze. The place was a mess; plants knocked over, broken furniture, smashed glass, and not to mention the giant hole in the back wall. I blinked, taking it all in.

"Woah." The policewoman raced over to a man sitting amongst the wreckage, an angry look on his face.

"Sir, are you alright? Has something happened?"

"You bet something's happened! The man who trashed my house just stole my Technical Machine! It's one of a kind! There isn't another like it in Kanto!"

That was all I needed to hear. I left Blue inside and leapt through the hole in the wall, almost hitting my head on the crumbling bricks before I emerged outside. There was a black-clad man in the garden, holding a small thing in his hand.

"Oi! Give that back right now!" I screeched, making him almost jump out of his skin and whirl around to face me. I recognized the red R on his uniform immediately, and my face darkened.

"Who do you think you are, kid? You're in way over your head, I'll tell you that." I snorted.

"Yeah...right." I said sarcastically, and the Rocket frowned at me.

"What, don't you believe me? I'll have to convince you that Team Rocket isn't easy to meddle with!" He pulled out a Poké Ball and hurled it into the air, and a small blue Pokémon materialized in front of me. I backed away and pulled out my PokéDex as it flexed its arms. Machop, the Superpower Pokémon. Although small in stature, it is powerful enough to heft and throw a number of Geodude at once. Uh oh. I glanced up, and the Rocket was grinning at me.

"What's wrong, girl? Where's all your bravado of before gone?" I frowned and pulled out Oddish's Poké Ball, and released her. She glared at the Machop and stood firmly.

"Absorb!" I cried. The little green specks began floating out of Machop towards her, and it waved its hands around its head in confusion.

"Calm down Machop! Use Karate Chop!" Ordered the man, and he shook his head before leaping towards Oddish with his hand held behind his head, ready to strike.

"Dodge it!" She leapt out of the way as Machop's hand came slicing through the air, making a rather large depression in the green lawn.

"Acid!" I shouted, and she spat out another purple blob adn hit Machop dead on, right in the face. The Pokémon cried out in shock and pain as it fell, writhing, to the ground. The Rocket could do nothing as it lost consciousness, and he recalled it angrily.

"Stupid kid...just got lucky...alright then, time to get serious! Go, Drowzee!" His next Pokémon was a little yellow-and-brown humanoid...thing. It had a small trunk and was waving its hands around. I blinked at it and Oddish gave it a weird look as well, and I pulled out my PokéDex. Drowzee, the Hypnosis Pokémon. It can tell what people are dreaming by sniffing with its big nose. It loves fun dreams. Okay then...that was totally normal. The man smirked.

"Drowzee, use Hypnosis!" It waved its hands around again, this time faster and its eyes began to glow purple at the same time. Oddish began to sway on her feet, and I frowned.

"Oddish? What's happening?"

"Odd...Oddish..." She moaned weakly before falling onto her side and going to sleep. I facepalmed. So much for that, then.

"Pikachu, you ready?"

"Pika! Pikachu!"

"Good. Out you go!" I quickly scooped Oddish out of the way as Pikachu faced off against Drowzee, growling threateningly. The man laughed.

"Face it, kid. This battle is as good as over! Drowzee, Hypnosis again!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack! Get behind it!" I had no idea if my idea would work, but it seemed to. Pikachu dashed around to stand behind Drowzee while the Pokémon fired off its Hypnosis in completely the wrong direction. What a silly thing.

"Alright then, I think it's time we got a turn in this. Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Drowzee didn't have enough time to dodge the sphere of electricity, and was blown right back to where its Trainer stood, a mortified look on his face. I caught Pikachu as he leapt at me and hugged him with one arm, and then I turned back to the Rocket. I blinked when I found he was gone. I frowned, looking around, but there was no trace of him. I did a double-take when I saw something shiny beside the base of the fence, and I went over to investigate. There was a small yellow disk on the ground, and I picked it up curiously. Was this the man's Technical Machine? It didn't look like much, I had to admit. I still held onto it as I made my way back inside through the blown-up wall, and Blue came over to me.

"What happened out there? I heard shouting." I shot him a look.

"And you didn't come to help me? What if I'd been in trouble?"

"Were you?"

"No, but that's beside the point. If I had, would you have come to rescue me?"

"Sure, I guess. Depends what kind of trouble you were in."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, I came and rescued you when you and Oddish almost drowned the other day. That kind of thing I would help you with."

"And what wouldn't you help me with, hmm?"

"..."

"Exactly. By the way, mister, is this your Technical Machine thingy?" I held up the disk, and his eyes widened.

"Yes, that's it! Thank you, girl! You have no idea how much that TM means to me!"

"Uh, you're welcome." I replied, handing it over to him, and he ripped it from my hands and hugged it happily. The policewoman came over, frowning.

"What are you two doing here? I thought I told you to leave."

"Alright, we're going. No need to arrest us." Blue said as he pushed me through the front door, frowning. When we were outside again I returned Oddish to her Poké Ball, and Blue gave me a disapproving look.

"What?"

"Was that really necessary?"

"Was what necessary?"

"That scene back there."

"What scene?" He sighed.

"You know, forget it." He began to walk away, but I followed him doggedly.

"What scene, Blue?"

"Forget I said anything." He sped up, so I was now running to catch up with him. I was too out of breath to continue questioning him, so I let it slide. For now, anyway. We ran through Cerulean City until we reached the river, and we slowed down to follow it south.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" I asked.

"Of course I do. I have a map, after all."

"That means nothing. I have a map, and I don't even know which way I'm supposed to hold it." He grinned.

"I guess that's a fair point. We're going to Saffron City, of course." I frowned, and Pikachu seemed to sigh on my shoulder.

"I know that, Blue. But how do we get there?"

"By going down here." I looked around, and saw only a tall, white picket fence separating the city from whatever was beyond. I turned back to Blue, who was looking smug.

"A fence? What are we supposed to do with a fence?"

"Well, we can't go under it, we can't go through it, we can't go around it, so we'll go over it!" I shot him an odd look. And I'd thought that I was the weird one here.

"Blue, you do realise that this fence is quite tall, don't you?"

"I'm not blind, Fentis."

"How are we supposed to get over, then?" He got down on one knee and laced his hands together, staring up at me expectantly. I raised an eyebrow.

"What, are you proposing to me or something?" He blushed and shook his head.

"N-no! I'm offering you a leg-up, if you want it."

"...Oh." I made sure Pikachu was holding on tight before placing my foot on Blue's hands, balancing myself by grabbing his shoulders. He glanced up at me, an awkward look on his face.

"Ready?"

"Yep."

"Alrighty then. Three...two...one...go!" He heaved me into the air with more strength than I knew he possessed, and I scrambled to grab the top of the fence. I managed to haul myself up so I was draped over the top, and I soon found I couldn't breathe in my current situation.

"Blue! I'm stuck!" I wheezed, kicking my legs about uselessly as I tried to flop myself over to the other side. He grabbed my legs and hurled them skyward, so I soon found myself on a parallel slope to the fence. I didn't have much time to register that thought as I fell down onto the other side, landing awkwardly on my head as I scrambled to get to my feet. As soon as I stood up I toppled backwards, and screamed as I realized the ground was further away than it should've been. I landed heavily on my back in a clump of grass and scrabbled to my feet, then turned back to the fence to see Blue calmly sitting on top of it. I glared at him as he grinned in amusement.

"Did you know what was on the other side before you threw me over?" I shouted.

"No, I didn't, actually."

"So, you could've easily just thrown me into the river or a hole or over a cliff or something?" He shrugged.

"I guess so. But you're not thinking about the positives."

"And they are?" I asked, watching as he landed daintily on the ledge before hopping down to join me. Blue shot me a grin.

"It wasn't any of those things, now was it?"

"Why you little...! Get back here!" I shouted, giving chase as he suddenly sprinted away from me, laughing like a school child. I wasn't laughing. I was angry. I saw him look over his shoulder once and catch the look on my face, and then he broke into an even faster run. I grinned as I saw him screech to a halt, windmilling his arms to avoid losing his balance.

"Got you!" I cried, leaping into a perfect tackle and wrapping my arms around his waist, dragging him to the ground. It was only as we were falling that I realized why he'd stopped. I heard Pikachu cry out in horror as we toppled over the edge of the ledge, falling like stones to the neatly clipped grass two metres below us. I landed heavily, my forehead smacking into the dirt rather hard. Pikachu was fine and he nosed my shoulder anxiously, waiting for me to get up.

"You alright?" Asked Blue, sounding breathless. I glanced up to see him lying beside me, my left arm pinned to the ground by his back. He was staring at me in concern, and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm a little good. Just a bit sore." He untangled himself from my arms and hauled me to my feet, and I gritted my teeth as a sharp pain went shooting up my leg. I'd twisted my ankle. Just my luck. Blue caught me as I almost fell sideways and wrapped one of my arms around his shoulders to steady me, and I made sure to keep my foot off the ground as I looked around. There was a small house about twenty metres away, whose garden I assumed we had fallen into. As I watched the back door burst open and a man rushed out, a horrified look on his face as he ran towards me.

"Oh, are you two alright? That was a nasty fall you had there!" Blue nodded.

"We're fine, mostly." The man frowned and followed his gaze to my foot, and he gasped.

"Oh my! Come inside, both of you. I'll get you something to put on that ankle, my dear." He walked back towards the house, beckoning for us to follow. Blue started to walk after him but I refused to move.

"What's wrong, Fentis? He said he'd get something for your ankle."

"I know, I did hear him. But honestly, Blue, were you never taught about stranger danger? Who knows what he could do to us while we're in there!" He shot me an exasperated look.

"You watch too much TV. He's fine, I can tell. Now come on. That ankle needs seeing to." That was his final word, and he dragged me towards the house. I wasn't happy and I made sure he knew, whining my head off and forcing him to almost carry me into the building. I can be extremely stubborn when I want to be. The man was waiting for us inside and I was ushered into a chair, and I sat there impatiently while he fetched some ice for my swollen ankle. I watched him closely as he tied the icepack to my leg with a strip of cloth, and then he sat down on the sofa opposite me.

"I truly am sorry about that, kids. The wife and I keep saying we need to put a fence up there, but we're too busy with our work down here to get around to ever doing it." Blue shot him a curious look.

"What's your work, mister?" The man grinned, as though he'd been waiting for one of us to ask that question.

"You see, boy, my wife and I own a Pokémon Day Care."

"What's that?" I asked, confused. He grinned wider.

"A Pokémon Day Care is a place where young, inexperienced Trainers can leave their Pokémon so they can go out and learn more about the world, and come back when they're ready to become a Trainer again. Does that sound interesting?" We both nodded. We'd never heard of anything like it before.

"I'm glad you think so. We manage to make a modest living from it, and we both enjoy it as well. It's always good to have a job you enjoy, and then it doesn't really feel like work."

He was rambling a bit now, and Blue and I exchanged a glance. Suddenly a woman burst into the room, and I almost screamed. Her hair was all messy and her clothes were dirty, and she looked in a right state. She looked all around the room before catching sight of us, and stared at the dressing on my foot.

"What happened, Claude?" She asked.

"She fell over the ledge, Elizabeth. Actually, then both did."

"And are they alright? Apart from the ankle?" We both nodded, and the man-Claude-said, "Darling, I was just telling them about our business. They are most intelligent young children, asking all the right questions." I made a face and Blue frowned, but the woman smiled widely.

"Ah, excellent! It's always good to meet an inquisitive mind. My name is Elizabeth, and this is Claude, my husband." They both smiled. I smiled back. These people were perky, that's for sure.

"My name's Fentis, and this is Blue."

"Very nice to meet you both. So, have you travelled far?" I nodded.

"Yes. We're from Pallet Town." Their eyes widened.

"Oh, that is quite far. I take it you're Trainers, then?"

"Yep. This is my Pokémon, Pikachu." He hopped off my shoulder and sat in my lap, grinning at the couple.

"Pikachu!" They smiled happily.

"Ah, such an adorable Pokémon! He looks very well fed, and his fur is so soft!" Cried Elizabeth, stroking his back gently. She turned to Blue.

"And where is your Pokémon, Blue?"

"Right in here." He said, releasing Eevee, Spearow, Sandshrew and Rattata. The adults gasped and Claude scooped Eevee into his arms, staring into her eyes intently. She stared back, looking confused.

"Eevee? Vee?" She asked. The man grinned.

"Lizzie, look at this. A real Eevee!" The woman looked up from where she was sitting surrounded by the rest of Blue's Pokémon and Pikachu.

"When was the last time we saw one of those, dear?" The man frowned in thought.

"At least twenty years ago, I'd say."

"Sounds right to me." I released Oddish as well, deciding that she shouldn't be left out of all the cuddling and playing that was going on. She yawned as she appeared on the floor at my feet, and looked around sleepily.

"I see you're awake now." I said dryly, and she shot me a sheepish look.

"Oddish..."

"It's alright, there's nothing you could've done. It's no-one's fault you fell asleep." She grinned and leapt into Claude's lap, bouncing up and down in excitement. We all played with the Pokémon for a long time, and when we stopped to rest we had a little chat. Blue glanced at Elizabeth, who was stroking Oddish's leaves.

"Do you have any Pokémon here right now?" She nodded.

"Of course. We hardly ever have none at all. It's a little sad, really. Some Trainers abandon their 'weak' Pokémon here and never come back for them. The Pokémon sit and wait for their Trainers almost every day, you know. It's really quite heartbreaking." She sighed sadly, and Claude put his arm around her. Blue and I exchanged a glance.

"Do you have anyone here helping you with the Pokémon?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No, it's just us. We don't have the money to pay people to work here." I frowned, and from the corner of my eye I saw Blue staring at me. I turned to him and he gave me a questioning look, and I nodded.

"Well then...why don't we work here with you? Without pay, of course. Just until Fentis' ankle heals." The couples' eyes widened.

"Really? You'd really do that?" We both nodded.

"Of course we would! We both love Pokémon, so this won't be much like work at all, right Claude?" I said, winking at the man. He grinned back at me.

"In that case, we'd love to have you here."

"Yay! When do we start?" I cried, and Elizabeth laughed.

"I admire your enthusiasm, dear, but I think we'll get started tomorrow morning. You both look exhausted and it's getting late, so we'll put you up here for the night and organise your duties tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Very." Blue answered, a huge smile on his face. She smiled back.

"Alright then, I'll go and prepare us some dinner and then I think it'll be time for bed."

After dinner-which tasted amazing-we were led to our room, and Blue froze in the doorway.

"What is it? Budge up a little, give me some room." I said, hobbling over to peer over his shoulder. My ankle was getting better, and I could walk on it now. Only just, but I was getting there. As soon as I looked into the room, I saw why he'd frozen.

"...Oh." was all I said. Claude gave us a sheepish look.

"I'm sorry kids, but it's the only other bed we've got. We could put you on the sofas for the night, but they're bloody uncomfortable." Blue shook his head.

"No, no, I'm sure we can make this work. Right, Fentis?" All I could do was nod as I followed Blue into the room and sat down on the double bed. He stood awkwardly by the window, looking anywhere but at me.

"So, how are we going to make this work?" I asked. He shrugged, not looking in my direction, but I could feel his blush from where I lay.

"I'll have half, you have half. Sound fair?" I nodded.

"Sure. There isn't really anything else we could do, is there?"

"No, there isn't." He replied, grinning. I put my arms behind my head as I stared at the ceiling, and I wrinkled my nose and sniffed a few times. I needed a shower.

"Help me up, would you? I need to have a shower." Blue made a face but helped me sit up, and watched carefully as I got to my feet and limped out of the room into the bathroom. There were some towels on the vanity that Elizabeth had gotten for us, and I was already washing myself when I realised I hadn't brought anything in for me to change into. I mentally smacked myself before shouting, "BLUE!" It was a few seconds before I heard a response.

"What? Has something happened?" His voice was muffled through the door, and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, I'm just peachy, but there is a slight problem."

"And that is?" I could practically taste the awkwardness in his voice, and I smirked.

"I forgot to bring in any clothes to wear." There was a long silence.

"Blue? You still there?"

"What do you expect me to do about that?"

"Could you be a dear and get me some clothes from my bag? Please?" The door couldn't block out his groan.

"Why can't Elizabeth do it?"

"You know perfectly well why she can't; she's busy tending to the Pokémon. Just hurry up, would you? It's not like I'm asking you to pull out your eyeballs with a pair of tweezers or something." He sighed.

"Fine. Hang on a moment."

"Oh, wait!"

"What?"

"Don't forget to bring me some underwear as well." I knew he shuddered as he walked away to do my bidding, and I leant against the wall of the shower as I waited for my clothes. Soon there was a knock on the door.

"Alright, I've got them. Now what?"

"Bring them to me, of course." He paused.

"Are you serious?"

"Completely. Now come on."

"I am not going in there." I groaned.

"Oh, it's not that bad. Close your eyes if you must. Honestly!"

"Okay, okay, I'll come in. Are you...decent?"

"Just get in here, Blue."

I heard the door open and Blue entered, his eyes shut and a pile of my clothes in his hands as he inched his way into the steamy bathroom. I didn't move, instead relishing his awkwardness as he tried to locate a place to put the clothes. It was when he was almost in the shower did I do anything.

"Alright, that's close enough, I think." He jumped back, almost slamming into the sink. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Just put them on the sink behind you, okay? Not in the sink, on it." I watched closely as he did so, and grinned as he tried to find his way back to the door again. He eventually made it, closing it behind him and I heard his footsteps walking quickly back into the bedroom. I was still grinning when I left the bathroom a few minutes later, my hair damp and my body nice and clean. When I entered the room I saw Blue curled up on what we'd decided would be his side of the bed, fiddling with his PokéDex. I jumped onto my side, making him jump and he rolled over to glare at me.

"Don't do that." I just grinned.

"Why not? I'm just having a little fun..." He sighed and ran a hand down his face tiredly.

"I know, but I think it's time we got to sleep. There's stuff to do tomorrow, remember?"

"Of course I do. My memory isn't that bad." I replied indignantly, lying down and wriggling under the covers. Blue did the same.

"Yeah, right." He said sarcastically. I whacked him with my pillow.

"Good night, Blue." I said, lying down with my back to him.

"Good night, Fentis."


And ta-da! There it is. I just enjoy creating awkward moments between these two, as you've probably figured out already. It is highly entertaining. R&R, please? Anyone who reviews shall get a virtual hug, and I'm not a very huggy person so that is quite an accomplishment.