DarkNightPheonixFire: Yeah, I've been dealing with a lot recently, some of which are reflected in this chapter, but it's mostly things I've dealt with for a long, long time. So it's kinda my fault for not taking care of it yet.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Alyssa does seem to have some moments, doesn't she?

Naruto secret justu: Here's the next chapter, just over a month later. Anyway, Nora was one of the characters that I just didn't think I could get right, so I'm glad to hear that you like her.


Chapter Eight: Partner

My morning was not that glorious. I woke up on the floor. Apparently, I somehow fell off the bed in my sleep and that didn't wake me up. The shower only had cold water, and both pairs of clothes that I had smelled like dirt and sweat. Seriously, I need to find a washing machine. I put on the slightly damaged jumpsuit top with the burn marks and small holes and pulled on my blue jeans. They were the cleanest.

Oh, and to top it all off, I think my Pokémon are mad at me. I put them up against an opponent that I knew they weren't ready for, and they got beat. Badly. I sighed as I took the Pokéballs off the bedside table. "I'm sorry, guys. I shouldn't have done that. I really shouldn't."

Maybe I should let them out before I apologized. You know, that way it wouldn't be pointless. I sat on my knees and released both of my Pokémon from their Pokéballs. Alice and Prescott materialized on the floor in front of me, with a slight look of confusion on their faces. I guess if you were just randomly yanked out of whatever the inside of a Pokéball was and appeared in some random place, you'd be a little confused too.

"Bulb?" Alice looked around the room, before nodding in approval. She'd been in my room before, so she knew where she was.

Prescott, on the other hand, this was his first time in this particular Pokémon Center room. "Pika?" He looked around the room, and his eyes rested on the TV. "Pika!" He jumped on the bed, then over to the dresser where the television sat. With a flick of his tail, the remote flew to the ground, and the Pikachu jumped down next to it.

"Um...okay." I was going to apologize, but it seemed that Prescott was a little more absorbed in something else right now. "There's...there's something that I want to tell the two of you."

"Bulb." Alice shrugged and yawned, then proceeded to curl up in a ball and fall asleep. Meanwhile, Prescott was busy muttering Pikachu curses at the remote as he mashed every button on the remote in an attempt to turn on the TV. Well, every button but the power button, that is.

Well, this was going better than expected. They're acting as if it never even happened...that's a plus, right? "Okay...in that case," I said as I stood up. "How about breakfast?"

Alice immediately bolted up right, with an excited look on her face. Prescott swore one last time and kicked the remote across the floor, and jumped over to Alice's side, with an equally excited look on his face. Apparently, they liked the prospect of food.

What a great trainer-Pokémon relationship we have here. I have something really important to tell them, they take a nap. I mention food, they're captivated. Well, I can't really say anything. I'm the same way.

We went down to the cafeteria, but it was filled to the brim with people going to eat lunch. As it turns out, I slept right through breakfast serving hours again. Anyway, we just went back to the room and snacked on our stale brownies and cold pancakes.

"These are still really good," I said, picking up a third stale brownie. "I might have to make a return to Telnor sometime soon." I'll admit, I was slightly hoarding the brownies for myself while my Pokémon sniffed at the cold pancakes, but in my defense, the brownies are really good and cold pancakes suck.

"Pika!' Prescott quickly inhaled a cold pancake, and then jumped back down to the floor. "Pika piii!" The Pikachu resumed mashing the buttons on the TV remote to no avail.

I smiled at the scene. I don't really know why, but I also felt a hint of sadness. Moments like these weren't going to last forever. Someday, it'll be all over. Time doesn't wait for me. Time doesn't wait for anyone.

"Bring it up here, Prescott," I said, holding my hand out for the remote. "I'll do it for you." My Pikachu picked up the remote in his small hands and gave it to me. As he climbed back on the bed, I pressed the one button that he didn't.

The old TV screen flickered to life, and Prescott eagerly sat with his eyes glued to the television. He was enraptured by the...Viagra commercial. Okay. That's awkward. "Sorry, random TV lady," I said, pressing the channel button, "but I really don't have to worry ED any time soon."

Prescott slightly jumped as the channel changed, but he was still in awe of the TV. I guess he's never seen one before. I feel bad for him. Life without TV...God, I can't even imagine it.

There was a knock on the door. I blinked. "Who would be coming to see me?" Damian? Nora? I don't think anyone knows which room I have. I stood up, tossing the remote to Prescott. "See if you can find something interesting." Three more knocks on the door. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. Hang on."

The minute I unlocked the door, it swung open, revealing the darkly dressed teen with blonde hair. Oh, it's Anthony. That makes sense. He got me this room after all. "Um...hi," I said. "What's up?"

"Eh, nothing really," he replied coolly. "I heard that you would be entering in that tournament at the trainer school."

"Yeah...what about it?"

"Can I come in?"

"Um...sure?"

Anthony walked in and picked up the TV remote. Prescott had abandoned it when he found a documentary on Pikachus. "The tournament is quite popular throughout the Torren region, you know." He flipped through several channels, much to Precott's dismay, before landing on a local news station. They were setting up their cameras at the Trainer School, preparing to cover the competition. "It's broadcast to the whole region. People get to see who might have a shot at Champion someday."

"The...the whole region? As in everyone can see it?" This might be a problem.

"Yeah."

"Even the cults?"

Anthony shrugged. "Well, I guess so. I'm sure there's quite a few cultists that watch it. Why?"

"I...I don't think we can do the tournament anymore." If the cults can see it, then it wouldn't be a long shot to imagine that one of the Cult of Darkrai members would be able to recognize me, and then it would be all over. It's best to just remain anonymous, right?

"What? Why not?" Anthony tossed the remote back on the bed, where Prescott was more than happy to turn it back to the Pikachus. "So what if the cults see it? You...you have a problem with the cults, don't you?"

"It's...it's..." Come on, Alyssa. Think of some excuse. Make up something good. I...I don't know. Ergh, come on. "It's..it's a long story..." Well...maybe, just maybe, I could tell him the truth. I sorta trust him.

I guess.

Anthony sat down on the bed. "I have time."

I took a deep breath. Here it comes. The first time that I ever told anyone my secret. "I'm...I was a prisoner in the Cult of Darkrai's cave. I managed to escape. I think they're after me."

He sat in silence for several seconds before nodded. "Well...that explains why you dyed your hair." Anthony stood up and smoothed out his jacket. "Is...is there anything I can do to help?"

Relief. That went well. For now, at least. "N-no...not right now. I'm just trying to get as far away from the cave as I possibly can. You know, just kinda let this all blow over."

"That's not the smartest move." Anthony looked up, and ran his hand through his hair. "Alyssa, I would recommend that you go to the authorities on this. They'll protect you from the cults. And your parents. They'll be glad to know you're okay, right?" Anthony stood up and put his arm around my shoulder. "Come on, let's go call them right now. Let them know you're safe."

I shook my head, trying to make some up an excuse, but none came. Maybe...maybe I should just tell him all of it. He's trustworthy, right? He won't betray me, right? I had already told him part of it, why not the rest? I just need to get it out. Wait...what is that? In the depths of my mind, I could feel it. I was reaching my limit. I was about to have a mental break down. God help me...

"Alyssa? Are you okay?"

"I...I don't know..."

Anthony looked me in the eyes. "Alyssa? Are you okay?"

"I...I don't...I don't know..."

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know..." I clenched my fists. I can't hold it. "I don't know! That's what's the matter!" I sank to my knees. Tears formed in my eyes. "I don't know anything! That's what's the matter!"

"Alyssa?" Anthony crouched next to me. "What-"

"Those bastards took it all!" I pounded my fists on the floor. "Those bastards took everything from me!" Okay, calm down, Alyssa. Calm down... I took several deep breaths, but I couldn't stop. It just felt good to let it all out. "Everything!"

I felt Anthony's arm wrap around my shoulder, and he pulled me into his arms. And I felt better, but only slightly. Tears were flowing down my face. "Alyssa," Anthony said, in a soft and calming voice, "what are you talking about? Who took what from you?"

"The Cult of Darkrai," I blurted out between sobs. "They took...they took my memories..." That moment of sadness was soon taken over by another small fit of anger. I slammed my fists into the floor again. "I don't even know if Alyssa is my real name!"

Anthony remained silent, just holding me. That was probably the right thing to do, since I felt like yelling. If he had said something, I probably would've yelled at him for it, even if he didn't deserve it.

Several minutes passed, I sat in his arms with tears flowing down my cheeks. Prescott and Alice looked at me, surprise written on their faces. "Bulb." Alice jumped off the bed and climbed into my lap. "Bulba!" She had a supportive smile on her face.

"Alice..." I picked her up and hugged her. I held her close while I cried. "Alice."

"Pika pii!" Prescott also clamored up onto me, and I held them both close to me. "Pika pika."

We sat like that for several minutes. Me holding my Pokémon and Anthony holding me. And it was perfect. I sniffed. "Th-thanks, you guys. I...I don't know what happened. Something inside of me just… just snapped."

"It's okay, Alyssa," Anthony said. "It happens to everybody. Sometimes, people have huge problems, and they just can't keep them in their head forever. And then they have to-"

There was a knock on the door. "Um...this is the desk clerk from downstairs. We've had reports of screaming and thumping in here. Is everything okay?"

"Oh...it's nothing. We're fine," Anthony called back. "Just a mental breakdown. Nothing serious." I blinked. Really? He didn't even bother to cover it up?

"Oh..." the clerk sounded confused, but not caring enough to actually investigate. "Well, okay then. Just keep it down next time, alright?"

I felt Anthony's arm slide off of me as the teen stood up. He held his hand out to me. "Are you feeling better, now that you've gotten it all out?"

Prescott and Alice jumped off of me, and I took Anthony's hand and stood up. "I… I guess… Sorry that… that you saw all of that. I couldn't...couldn't take it anymore… You seemed to handle it well."

Anthony smiled. "My girlfriend has a mental breakdown every now and then. I've kinda gotten used to it."

"That's… that's good." Wait...girlfriend? Anthony has a girlfriend? Huh, didn't know that. Wait...why do I feel bad about that? I don't...I don't...forget it.

"I'm sure that someday, you'll be in a much better position than this," Anthony went on, "you've just got to let what you don't know go, and focus on the future. After all, the past doesn't define who you are, it just sets the starting point for who you're going to be."

"...I'm guessing you got that out of some anime?"

"Well, no. But that's not the point," he said. "The point is that you shouldn't bother with trying to remember your past. You just need to...need to focus on making your future a good one. Perhaps your past was bad, and you're blessed to forget it."

"...I think you've stopped being helpful."

"Right, sorry." Anthony scratched the back of his head. "But seriously, if you're still opposed to that tournament, perhaps you should go. You shouldn't let an opportunity like this go to waste."

I shook my head, wiping away the last stray tear. "I'm not going to risk the cults seeing me and coming to get me. They're looking for me."

Anthony nodded. "Right. They're looking for someone who's in hiding. Someone trying to stay out of the public eye. Someone who's on national TV wouldn't be an obvious suspect."

"But they've seen me. They know what I look like."

"Right, but you've changed your hair color since then, and you've gotten a new wardrobe." Anthony reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out his sunglasses. "Just do your hair in a different style, and put these on. You'll be unrecognizable."

"Well..."


Okay. This is officially stupid. I can't believe I let him talk me into this. I look ridiculous with a ponytail.

Long story short, I finally decided to participate in the tournament. Mainly because I had gone through all of that trouble of making up the lie for Mrs. Bell just to get into the tournament, and thing would look suspicious if I didn't show up. That and my Pokémon had been super-hyped about it, and I would be letting them down to not join.

So Anthony, let me borrow his leather jacket, put his sunglasses on me (and they did a good job of covering up the still-visible burn marks), and did my hair up in a braided ponytail. Seriously, that guy has some skill when it comes to styling hair. Trust me, ladies, the ability to braid a girl's hair is a good quality for a man to have. I changed into my still slightly dirty purple shirt, since my only other option was the jumpsuit shirt that I woke up in, and slipped on Anthony's sunglasses.

I felt like an entirely different person.

But that kinda ended quickly when I remembered that I was still Alyssa who had amnesia. Amnesia is the best buzzkill around. If you want to ruin your day, hit yourself so hard in the head that you forget everything. That'll make your day suck more than a cheap hooker.

Okay, that might've been taking that a little too far. Maybe it should've been 'suck more than a vacuum cleaner', or 'suck more than a black hole', or...you know what, forget it. I already ruined it.

Anyway, disturbing phrases behind, I reached the Trainer's School. Just as I had expected, there were several news trucks outside, some with their reporters talking to the cameras.

Oh, why am I doing this again? This seems like the worst idea ever. I'm supposed to be on the run, not flaunting my face all over the national TV networks. But...but maybe Anthony was right. I do look different. Different enough. I can do this. I took a deep breath. Well, here goes nothing, Alyssa. Steel yourself and enter. What's the worst that can happen?

Wait wait wait. Back that up. I think every time someone asks what can go wrong, everything goes wrong. So let's ask this instead: What's the best that can happen?

As I was saying, the Trainer School was packed with news reporters. The students that were participating in the tournament were taking every chance they could to get on TV. Some of the luckier ones were getting interviews. Hm. I'm going to need to avoid those. Not that I lack faith in Anthony's disgusing abilities, I think I'm just a little camera shy.

"Alyssa? Is that you?"

I whirled around and saw the younger kid standing behind me, looking me up and down. "Oh...hey Damian. S'up?"

Damian just stared at me. "You changed your hair...and now you have some sunglasses...and the jacket...are you trying to look cool or something?"

I smirked. "Who says I'm trying?"

He shrugged. "I hope you're not, because you're failing."

Ergh. I hate smartasses. I folded my arms and sized him up, like two opposing boxers do before a match. He doesn't look that tough, but I didn't know what was in those other two Pokéballs of his. I know about the Delta Charmander. But those other two were wild cards. I would have to be careful.

"So," Damian went on, putting on his own smug smile and folding his arms. "Are you ready for the tournament, Alyssa? I've already checked the match ups. If we both win our first matches, then we'll be going against each other. My team and I have been training for a long time. It's going to take some serious skill to beat us."

"Eh, I don't know," I replied. I could tell that he wanted to do some trash-talking before the match, so I decided to simply ignore it. It's been proven that completely blowing off an opponent's trash-talking rather than trying to top them is actually more effective at breaking their confidence. Okay...I just made that up, but it sounds smart, so I will allow it. "We've done some training. I think we might be able to handle you."

"We'll see," said Damian. "Anyway, Mrs. Bell is waiting for us inside. She's gathering up all the participating trainers off to the side of the arena. Turns out that there's only eight trainers, including us, actually still fighting in the tournament. Several others chickened out. Didn't want to lose on national television or something like that. And then some are positive that some Nora girl is going to win."

Hm. So, there's just eight people as opposed to the easily fifteen-plus that I would've had to deal with before? Interesting. I'm no math major, but I would say that definitely increases my chances.

Damian led me into the Trainer School, and Mrs. Bell waved us over to the side of the arena. The other six participants were already there. Three were unfamiliar, and I knew one as that depressed kid that was sitting by the pond when I first headed up to the Trainer School. I recognized the other two as Alex and Nora.

Nora. With any luck, I'd be out before I had to face her. From what I can tell, she's super strong, and she always wins these tournaments. She has that Celebi thing tucked away somewhere, too. I don't think that I could beat her. Second place is still good, right?

Damian and I took the last two empty seats, and Mrs. Bell began directing some of the camera crews around the battlefield, making sure that they got a good view of the arena, and a better view of her. Once that was done, she made sure she got more than her fair share of face time during seven interviews, during which she said nearly the same thing, as if she was reading off of a script.

A small crowd began to trickle in, and I saw Anthony walk in. He smiled and waved at me and took a back seat. Dammit, he's here. Now I can't lose. I don't want to look like a...wait, why do I feel like this? I don't feel right…

Unfortunately, my thoughts were cut off when Mrs. Bell jumped up onto the battlefield and held up a mic. "Ladies and gentleman, I would like to welcome you to the monthly Midna Town Trainer School Tournament!"

There was a little applause. Not deafening, but still a decent amount. I'm guessing most people are watching this from the comfort of their own homes. I would rather do that too...if I knew were my own home was.

"Today, we have several talented trainers participating," Mrs. Bell went on, motioning to the eight of us just sitting on the sidelines, silently praying to whatever deity would listen that we all wouldn't look like idiots on TV. "Our reigning champion, Nora, is also here and ready to hold on to her title!"

Nora blushed and avoided looking directly at the cameras as they all swiveled to get a good shot of her. "Um...yeah. It's, uh, great to be here." She sounded really excited about this.

Mrs. Bell motioned for Nora to join her on the battlefield, but Nora shook her head. "Come on, Nora, come on up." Rolling her eyes, Nora stood up and climbed onto the arena. Mrs. Bell put her arm around her and went back to looking right into the cameras.

"Nora here is one of my greatest success," said the teacher. "I taught her everything I know, and she's taken all of that and become one of the best trainers that has ever graduated from this school. She is my star pupil, and guaranteed to excel in her trainer career, possibly making it all the way to the Pokémon League."

Nora went back to her seat, and Mrs. Bell went on, motioning to the rest of us. "Joining us here we have two new trainers, Damian from Telnor Town, and Alyssa from the Hoenn region. They still seem a little rough around the edges, but we're really looking forward to seeing how they do." She smiled. "Probably not as well as Nora, though." She laughed to herself. What a bitch.

Mrs. Bell motioned to the screen on the wall behind her. "Well, then. With out further ado, let's see the match-ups." She pressed a button on a remote, and the screen came to life, displaying eight names, each one paired with another.

I did a quick scan for my name which just so happened to be the second one down. Apparently, my first opponent was someone named Martin. Damian was going up against a younger boy named Toby, while Alex and Nora were going head to head.

"The first battle will be Martin Blake against Alyssa Jones," Mrs. Bell announced, motioning for me and the other guy to come up to the field. "Let's get this show on the road, what do you say?"

There was more applause this time, and I sat there, looking over at this Martin kid. It was that depressed kid that had been sitting by the pond. He just sighed and stood up, shooting me a quick look, and then climbed onto the battlefield. I sat there for a few more seconds, before finally finding the courage to go up.

I took up position on the opposite side of the field, and Mrs. Bell stepped up to a smaller raised platform, the referee's stand. "Martin, Alyssa, are you two ready?"

Martin was staring down at his shoes. He shrugged a little. "Y-yeah," he said, shuffling his left shoe a little. "I guess so." Mrs. Bell shot him a look. "I-I mean, yes. I'm r-ready."

Mrs. Bell turned to me. I brushed a stray strand of hair out of my still slightly scorched eyes, and adjusted the sunglasses. "I'm good."

"Then will both trainers send out their first Pokémon?"

Martin slowly pulled out a Pokéball, and tossed it. A small beaver-like Pokémon appeared on the field, looking slightly confused and detached. Hm. A Bidoof. Alice would be a little bit over kill, so I'll let Prescott deal with this. I threw out his Pokéball, and my Pikachu appeared on the field.

"Alright, it appears that Martin has chosen Bidoof, while Alyssa has chosen Pikachu!" Mrs. Bell announced. "This will be a one on one battle, last Pokémon standing is the winner, are we clear?" One on one? Crap, should've gone with Alice. No wait, I have faith in Prescott.

"Um...yeah."

"Sure."

Mrs. Bell shook her head sadly, and then waved a little flag. "Then let the battle begin!"

"Okay, Prescott, start off with a Quick Attack!" I ordered, pointing at the opposing Bidoof. Prescott complied. He took off like a shot, and tackled the Bidoof before it had a chance to react. The force of the impact knocked the Bidoof onto its back, while Prescott landed on his feet. "Nice shot, Prescott," I said, as he ran back over to my side.

He smiled. "Pika."

The Bidoof struggled to get back on his feet. Once he was upright, his trainer issued an attack. "Biddy...use, um...try a Bite?" The Bidoof shared a quick look of complete lack of self confidence with his trainer, before turning back to Prescott and putting on a brave face. The beaver bared his teeth and rushed forward.

Prescott remained calm. He didn't even flinch as the Bidoof came running at him. When the Bidoof was in range, he made his move. "Pika!" The Pikachu jumped up, spun around in the air, and slammed his tail right into his opponent's face. The Bidoof, once again, found himself face-first on the ground.

Ooh, now that was impressive. "Again...nice shot, Prescott," I said, feeling some new sense of pride welling up in me. Don't get me wrong, I believe in Prescott. But I just haven't seen him do this well before. The poor Bidoof was on the ground, nearly out, but my Pikachu was still ready to go. Hadn't take a hit.

"Okay, Prescott, finish it off with another Quick Attack!" Prescott turned and gave me a thumbs-up with his stubby little fingers, before clenching them into fists, and preparing his attack. Then he took off, nothing more than a quick blur of yellow. He slammed into the side of the fallen Bidoof, hitting it hard. Yeah...I don't think the beaver's getting up from this one.

I was proven correct a few seconds later. Mrs. Bell waved her little flag. "Bidoof is unable to battle!" she shouted, after the beaver failed to stand back up. "Pikachu is the winner!" Mrs. Bell hopped off of her referee's stand and ran over to me, grabbing my hand and holding it up in the air. "The winner is Alyssa!"

That was fast.

The crowd went nuts. Okay, not really. There were just a few claps, but hey, they were clapping for me and Prescott. And that's what's important.

Mrs. Bell pushed her microphone into my face. "Well, Miss Jones, you just won your first match in the tournament. How does that make you feel?"

"Um...good?"

"How did you feel about your opponent? A pushover?"

"I, uh..." I saw the Martin kid as he recalled his Bidoof, and slowly climbed off the arena. He looked back at me, and then smiled a fake smile, before walking out of the School. "He was, uh, okay, I guess," I replied, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Something about him told me that they had been hurt time and time again.

"Yes, that's great!" Mrs. Bell said, even though I don't think she cared either way. "Well, congratulations, Mrs. Jones! You're advancing to the next round of the tournament!" she patted me on the back and escorted me off the arena. "Why don't you take some time and get some rest before your next match?"

"Yeah...I think I'll do that."


"You did awesome out there, Prescott," I said to the Pikachu hitching a ride on my shoulder. "To be honest, I thought you would've had a little more trouble than that, but you did really well!"

He smiled. "Pika pii!"

The Pokémon Center was unnaturally empty. At first, I thought that everyone was at the tournament, but then I remembered that there were only eight trainers participating, and a very small audience. So...where did everyone go?

Eh, who cares? At least I don't have to wait in line.

Prescott was in and out of the nurse's care in under a minute. He hadn't taken a hit during the battle, so the really was no reason to do the entire healing process with him. The nurse just checked him over really quickly, and then when she was satisfied that he was ready to fight again, handed his PokéBall back to me.

"Thank you," I said, talking the red and white sphere. "Oh, and if you don't mind my asking, where did everyone go? This place is usually booming with people."

The nurse shrugged. "I don't know." She wiped her hands on her apron. "My best guess is that they're out looking for that Heatmor. Reward's gone up to 10,000."

10,000? I could almost buy my own ship for that. Wait, what? "They increased the reward? What did Henry do this time?"

"I don't know. You should ask the sheriff once he gets back."

I shrugged. That Heatmor certainly seemed to get himself in a lot of trouble, but I kinda felt bad for him. The world seemed against him. A lot of people wanted him dead. They were hunting him down.

Sorta like the Cult of Darkrai hunting me down. They probably wanted me dead, too. And, if things came to the worst, I would probably kill someone to protect myself. Wait, am I actually comparing myself to this flaming monster that burned my eyes?

I shook my head. Just don't think about that right now. You'll just make things worse. So I decided to head back to the Trainer School. Then I saw the one other person in the Pokémon Center. It was that Martin kid.

He was sitting in the back corner, his Bidoof asleep in his lap. He was watching me, and when I noticed him, he looked away, pretending to me looking at something on the wall. I walked over. "Hey, what's up?" I said, awkwardly. "How is your Bidoof doing?"

Martin blinked. I don't think he expected me to come over here. "Oh, um, Biddy's...Biddy's doing fine. He didn't get seriously hurt in the battle." He pushed his glasses up. "How...how is your Pikachu? I assume he's doing fine?"

I sat down in the adjacent chair. "Yeah, Prescott's fine. He's more than fine. He's really excited up that he actually won a battle." The Pikachu in question smiled and nodded from my shoulder, giving Martin a thumbs-up. "I haven't seen him this happy in...well, forever."

"Yeah." Martin smiled, and I think it was real this time. "He looks really happy. It's been a while since I've seen Biddy happy." He rubbed his Bidoof between the ears. "He's always either sad, or just content. I don't think I've seen him smile in months."

I blinked. Not smiling for months. That sucks. "Do...do you know why he's sad?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately, I do."

Unfortunately? Wouldn't knowing what makes your Pokémon sad a good thing? You know, that way you can fix it."If you don't mind my asking, what is it? You know, because I might be able to help, or something."

Martin lowered his head. "It's me."

"What?"

"You know how they say that Pokémon start taking after their trainers after a while of traveling with each other?" He asked. I nodded. "Well...I haven't...it's been...I just haven't been happy in a while." He looked up, but avoided eye-contact. "I'm just dealing with a lot right now."

"You, uh, you want to talk about it?"

He shrugged. "I probably should, but I just don't know how to say it, even though I've been planning it out for a long time." With a sigh, Martin rubbed his eyes behind his glasses. "I guess...I guess I could start with a question, if you don't mind."

"Shoot."

"Have...have you..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. He was having a hard trying to figure out the words, I think. "Have you ever fallen in love?" he asked. "Like, there's someone that you think that you can't live without? Someone you'd be willing to die for?"

"Um..." I wasn't expecting that question. In fact, it was a really good question. I don't think I've fallen in love before. At least, not that I can remember. The first thing that I thought of when it came to love was Anthony, but I...oh God. I don't have feelings for him, do I? Oh God, I hope not. I really don't want to deal with that romance shit right now. "I don't think so," I finally answered. "Why? Have you?"

"Well..." Martin ran his hand through his messy brown hair, before slowly nodding. "There's…there's this girl in Helios City. Karen. We were friends for a long time, and then...then I moved all the way out here, to Midna Town. I haven't seen her in a while. I got in touch with her a few months ago, via email, and I think I just fucked things up worse because of that."

Oh, great. I attempted searching my mind for the right thing to say. "Well, maybe it's just time to move on," I said, putting as much sympathy in my voice as I could. "Maybe things between you and her just weren't mean to be. Maybe you need to find someone new."

Martin shook his head. "No, it's not that easy. I've had these feelings for her for years. She's in my thoughts all the time." He paused, and sighed. "There have been times that I lost sleep because… because I was scared of my dreams. I...I didn't want to see the two of us together and it not be real."

Well...that got dark fast. Screw the light story mode.

The kid stuck a hand under his glasses, and wiped away a newly-formed tear. "I just can't get her out of my head, and I have no idea what to do. I just want a chance to talk to her. To see her again and maybe set things straight."

"Don't worry, I'm sure that you'll get your chance. Just give it some time." Oh...I hope that's the right thing to say. I really don't like being put in situations like this.

"I won't get my chance as long as I'm stuck here," he said, shaking his head. Then he looked up at me. "You...you wouldn't happen to be going to Helios City anytime soon...would you?"

"It's on my list of places to go. Why?"

"I...I don't want to ask, but...but I don't suppose I could tag along, could I? I mean, just to Helios. I know that it's a long way, but… I'm not that good of a trainer. I'll never make it alone." Martin wiped his nose on his sleeve. "It's just all my other friends have already left or they don't care, and you're the first person that I feel like I can talk to. Everyone else is always making fun of me and stuff."

Hm. I never thought about traveling with someone before. I mean, Anthony and Damian popped up every now and then, but I was usually on my own, with my Pokémon, most of the time. On the plus side, things will get less lonely. And on the minus side, I would be putting him in the cross-hairs of the Cult of Darkrai.

"It's...it's okay if you don't want me to come along," he said, after I didn't answer. "I...I just thought that this would be my one chance to finally settle things. And Biddy and I can't get all the way over to Helios alone."

"Well..." Okay, Al, screw it. You know that you're too nice of a person to say no to a poor soul like this. He just wants to settle some things with a girl he likes. You know the golden rule. Do unto others and all that jazz. If I were in his shoes, then I'd want someone to help me. "I guess it's okay if we travel together. I really could use the company."

Martin lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really? Thanks. It means a lot. It...it really does." He shook his Bidoof, which grumpily woke up and jumped to floor. "I just have some things to get from home, and then I'll be ready to go." He went to the door, but puased before going out. "It's Alyssa, right?"

"Yes. And you're Martin, right?" I knew for a fact. But I said it anyway.

"Yeah." He smiled. "Thanks, Alyssa. I wish there was a way I could make it up to you, but I don't think I can." Then he left.

Several seconds of silence passed before I looked up at Prescott, who was calmly sitting on my shoulder, taking in the scenes around him. "Prescott," I said, catching the Pikachu's attention. "I hope we're not getting in over our heads with this. What do I do if things get out of hand?"

He shrugged. "Pika!"

I smiled and rubbed his head. "Yeah, you're right. I'll do that."


Whew. Sorry about taking so long on this. I was gone for a week, and then right after I got back, the 1.1 update for Insurgence was released, which added game play up to the 6th Gym. Played through that, and I must say, we've got some interesting stuff ahead of us here. One of the newer features is the option to choose light or dark story modes. I think you can guess which route this story is going.

Anyway, I've had this chapter done for a few days, but I held off so I could get some progress into Chapter 9. I'm about a third of the way done with that, so hopefully it won't be another month before it's up. Though, school starts back tomorrow (fuck) and that's probably going to hamper my time to write.

Parting Question: Do you think that the pacing of this story is too slow? We're about to hit 50,000 words (full novels are about 50k-100k) and we haven't even set foot on the second route.