"Boss, we've checked up on the birth certificates and registrations of everyone between the ages of fifteen and twenty. One of the grunts stated her name was Garnet after overhearing her speak with the old sailor outside of Petalburg. There is no girl born in this region or the others we have access to the databases of." The high-ranking grunt bowed to his leader clad in red.

Maxie had ordered a large portion of his team to look into the identity of this girl, her innerving confidence and almost unbelievable appearance had drawn his attention. Plus the fact she was able to stare his rival Archie down without breaking a sweat made him wish to know about her, perhaps enlist her assistance. If he had her as an ally, then there would be no one who could stand in his way.

However, this girl was proving difficult to pin down. They had access to the majority of regions' databases due to the highly tuned skills of the technological science department of his well-organised team. So how could one girl slip through the system? She could not have travelled from any of the outlying regions as his sources told him that she only had a Metang and a Zigzagoon, neither of which could have brought her from those underdeveloped regions and there were no ferry services connecting them and Hoenn.

"Widen your search; look at both older and younger women and girls. She seems not to be out of her teens but we cannot assume anything." He waved away the grunt then settled into his thoughts. "Although if she has travelled from another region but is using another name here then we shall never find her. Unless…" He rose from his seat and moved to the door.

He took a stroll down to the more scientific portion of his hideout and spoke with the head of that section. He needed to know if they had the resources here to analyse a DNA sample if one was obtained from the girl. Once he was assured that examining DNA was no trouble to them, he moved away from that department, proceeding to call off the search of birth records, he needed those grunts to obtain some DNA, he'd tell them to go for her hair, she had so much of it that she would not notice a few strands missing.

The grunt watched him pass, having overheard both the conversation in Maxie's study and the talk the leader had had with the scientist. He scurried into a store cupboard and opened the communication device.

"Boss? Team Magma's leader is looking into the girl's identity. He has ordered his grunts to gain a portion of her hair so that he may learn her name and attempt to use her as a part of his team. I shall provide more information as it comes. I'll aid Maxie's cause so that you may obtain his findings." He pushed the red button that would end the recording. His recording would be sent straight to Archie who would contact back when he had the time to.


"And in first position… Ruby and Zigzagoon!" The contest announcer roared into the stadium, the crowd yelling and whistling right back.

The little Pokémon had spent the afternoon with the boy, learning how to perform his moves to the judges liking and how to present himself in a contest. This was his first contest after the one with Garnet and he had come out on top! He leapt up merrily, landing and wriggling his tail with the surprised emotions. This is what he wanted, just to perform instead of battle for his life and health. This was a much nicer environment for him to be in.

Once the contest was truly over, Ruby and Twitch returned to the dressing room, Lisia was there, preparing Ali for their next contest here. The little brown Pokémon still had a spring in his step and a ribbon woven into his fur. Lisia was speaking on the PokéNav to someone, so Ruby entered the next room to change into his normal attire instead of intruding on her call. Once he re-entered the room she had finished her call.

"You looked great out there! That little fellow really shines when he gets up on that stage!" She smiled down at the happy little Pokémon.

"Yeah, he has a top-class performer within him. I've studied contests for some years now. But I'm not sure how far I'll get without a mentor. It's so different reading about contests than when you're there performing. That last contest was half luck!" He pondered; he wasn't sure what to do. He loved contests but he wanted to learn from someone with a great wealth of experience.

"Why not find a mentor then?" Lisia smiled at him as she finished preparing Ali, who fluttered his wings gratefully.

"I wouldn't know where to look. It's not like many Gym Leaders get into contests and they're the ones who are available to mentor young trainers." He looked to the little Zigzagoon, who was exploring every inch of the room, sniffing about at the scents of all the other people and Pokémon who had been here before him.

"Try the Sootopolis Gym Leader. He knows all about both battling and contests." Lisia pulled a brush through her hair and began restyling it so not a hair was out of place.

"Really? How do you know that?" He asked his gaze full of gratitude and confusion. Once the girl had finished her hair she spun around and beamed at him.

"He's my uncle, he got me into contests!" Ruby's mouth fell open; she giggled and then twirled on the spot, "How do we look?" Ali fluttered around her elegantly.

"You, look amazing and ready to win another contest!" He smiled, she jumped on the spot and clapped her hands together happily before she waved goodbye and danced out of the room. "Now we just need to find a way to Sootopolis if we're to get better at contests. And I'm to beat Sapphire."


The next day dawned quickly. Garnet had spent about five hours pacing the room, she had slept for the first half of the night, but dreams of the past had slung her into the waking world. And with neither Titan or Twitch there with her she felt so cold and alone that she could not fall back to sleep after waking.

The dream of that place had propelled her into wanting to move on, to travel battle and learn more so she could drown out the voices of the past. She constantly glared out of the window, looking to see if the sky had changed into a paler hue from the last five minutes she had last glowered at it. If Titan hadn't needed to rest, she would have spent the night travelling. She hated the hold-up but knew it was necessary.

Finally the dawn had shown itself and Garnet picked up her belongings, changed into the fresh clothes and made her way down to the laundry area where she could wash the set she had just changed from. Once this was completed and the clothes lay folded in her bag, she approached the front desk where a nurse stood.

Once the nurse had vanished into the back room to retrieve Titan, Garnet heard approaching footsteps. "Morning," Sapphire greeted as she dumped her bag on the desk, she was tugging her hair back and tying a blue bandanna around it to keep it out of her face.

"Morning." Garnet returned the greeting, resting her elbows on the counter, growing impatient at how long the nurse was taking; she needed to see her friend again. The girl finished yanking her hair back and ruffled through her bag, ensuring she had everything she needed for the journey ahead.

"Have you travelled a long time?" The girl looked at Garnet, seeing the slightly wild look about her, the clothes which looked very old and well-worn, the hair that didn't look as though it had been brushed in the morning and simply draped over her back and across her shoulders, that untamed something glinting in the stranger's eyes which reminded Sapphire of a Pokémon with no trainer.

"I've travelled most of my life; I don't actually have a home, so I just wander around looking for adventure and a challenge." Garnet looked at the young girl who was so filled with determination and strength. "You look like you've grown used to life on the road yourself."

"I've only been travelling for about four weeks. I set out with Ruby from Littleroot Town." The girl finished her check of the bag and fastened it around her waist, it had a similar fastening to Garnet's own bag, although the girl's bag had much more inside it than Garnet's which only had a few items and some cash.

The nurse finally returned, holding Titan's PokéBall and bringing a tray of others, upon seeing Sapphire she took up another, handing the two balls to the two standing on the other side of the counter. They thanked the woman and turned to leave. Once she was outside the Center, Garnet released her friend and attached the PokéBall to her belt, it seemed lonesome sitting there by itself.

She patted his head, feeling the relief rush over her as she saw he was alright. He rushed at her, aiming to sweep her off her feet, but she just stood firm and they collided making a loud thudding noise. She laughed at his antics and stepped away from him, drawing a startled look from the girl beside her.

"Shall we go then?" She set off north, the girl trailing in her wake; Sapphire's mind buzzed trying to figure out what had just happened.

Setting foot on the route, they noticed a bike path snaking above the route, but since neither of them owned a bike they turned away from it and headed down the ground-level of the route. It didn't seem a long route; in the distance they could see a rising gigantic building-of-sorts which Sapphire informed her was Mauville City. It was nothing like Garnet had ever seen in her time travelling, she was eager to visit the city and see its sights.

They'd passed a large patch of thick grass before it came to them, a loud squeal on the breeze. Garnet immediately reacted to it, hurtling towards the trees where the noise had originated. Sapphire trailed behind the fast moving Garnet. But Garnet could sense a distressed Pokémon and she simply had to go and help it as fast as possible. She skidded to a halt when she saw what had happened to it.

It was an Electric-type Pokémon, it seemed in great distress and suffering from a great fever. Sapphire tried to approach it, however Garnet stopped the girl. "Stay back, this Pokémon has received an electrical overdose, she's suffering from fever, if you approach you'll get hurt." Garnet signalled to Metang to stay put also.

"We can't just leave it there!" Sapphire rebelled, making to step forward again, but Garnet glared fiercely at her, stopping the girl dead in her tracks.

"I have no intention of leaving this Pokémon. I simply do not want you scaring it away in your attempt to approach." Her voice was sharp and warned against any arguments. She dumped her bag on the ground and walked forward silently, the Pokémon shuffled through the grass, thudding into trees and yowling in pain as it staggered. Garnet drew ever closer until she was standing right next to the Pokémon who hadn't noticed her. She crouched down next to the Pokémon, touching its head gently - the Pokémon's temperature was beyond belief - the little green thing was burning up fiercely. "Hush now little one, I'm here to help you." The Pokémon howled at her and tried to run, but she caught it up in her arms, feeling it producing a harsh electric shock, but she just absorbed it. "Get it all out, you'll feel batter." The voltage turned right up, it had become a little uncomfortable for Garnet, but her body was still absorbing the electricity.

Sapphire could see the bright yellow lightning which shot out from the Pokémon, but was simply dumbfounded as she watched it loop around the figure of Garnet and vanish without causing the girl pain or even making her hair stand on end. Her gut was telling her this wasn't right, she stepped back as the light intensified. Something in her mind told her that that kind of electricity was fatal and her survival instincts told her to back off.

A few more minutes passed of this, Sapphire was well and truly mortified as her grasp of reality was shattered by this girl's nonchalant attitude to being electrocuted, she was just standing in the middle of it all as though she hadn't a care in the world. Finally, the electric energy faded and the Pokémon looked up at the redhead, calling to her gratefully. She patted its head and scratched its back. "Feeling better?" It nuzzled her neck and she laughed hearing the Pokémon's thanks reverberating through its mind. "It's quite alright little one. What caused this?" She looked to the Pokémon then looked across the water towards Mauville. The Pokémon was detailing a generator which was on the fritz in an underground city it had stumbled into by accident. Her frown deepened, a generator like that was dangerous to the many Electric-type Pokémon living here, she would have to see what the problem was and dismantle it if necessary.

Something swooped towards her, a Zubat; it dived at her head and yanked out a few of her hairs. She looked up at the strange action of the Pokémon; she saw her hairs turn from startling red to brightest white, what was that thing up to? Garnet decided to pay it no heed and set the Pokémon down on the ground again, returning to pick up her bag and meet the wide, curious eyes of Sapphire. 'Oh dear…'

"What happened there? That would have killed… ANYONE!" The girl was yelling in a shrill voice. Her hair bouncing with every jerk of her head as she switched between looking at Garnet and looking at the Pokémon. Garnet felt her mind spin and whirl, trying to make up a lie, she seriously considered wiping the girl's recollection of the event, but figured that might bring up awkward questions in of it. "You just stood there and it electrocuted you!"

"Um, I grew up with Electric-types, they'd always shock me and eventually I got used to it. I don't really know how, I just… Did," Garnet's voice conveyed just the right amount of innocence, thought and blasé disregard that Sapphire actually half-believed her, only half.

"I didn't think that was possible." She crossed her arms and turned away, the doubt in her mind niggling at her quite tangibly. This redhead didn't seem in any way normal to her. Something just stood out no matter what the girl did or said. Sapphire made a note in her mind, keep an eye on the behaviours of this girl, perhaps there was indeed something more hidden behind those amethyst eyes.


"Are you sure this is hers?" Maxie examined the hairs contained in a test-tube. They were definitely long enough to belong to that girl he had seen briefly. But they were pure white and not the flaming red he had admired. He assumed that no mistakes had been made, he'd sent off his best grunts to obtain the DNA. He needed to know what it was about this girl who made her so confident and lethal to both Archie and himself.

"Yes sir, Zubat snatched them off her head directly." The grunt was wearing regular attire for a trainer so not to arouse suspicion or draw attention.

Maxie turned away, having nodded to the grunt. He took the test-tube down to the scientific department himself, wishing to remain there until the riddles were smoothed into answers. He had dispatched Courtney with a large portion of grunts to deal with Archie for now, he was not needed as of yet, unless she failed in her duty.

He would unwind this mystery. He hated puzzles, finding them enraging; he much preferred a scientific approach to things, the kind of approach that gave him answers quickly.


A/N: Just a short chapter here, well in comparison to my last two chapters in this fic. Surprisingly this chapter caused me more grief than the last two combined! Thanks for reading!


DragonMaster136: Thank you for your review! I hope my future chapters hold up the level of awesomeness! XD

PhantomGalaxy13: I must sadly admit that I have never read the Pokémon Adventures Manga :'( I simply cannot read any form of Manga with my eyesight. So i took the characters from the little I knew about their Manga counterparts, however upon review of this I don't believe i did such a good job of it. If you know of any major Manga events I really wish to hear of them as from what I know of the Manga it is AMAZING! And I would love to implement some of that into my story for definite! Sadly I spent most of yesterday on Bulbapedia and it wans't very useful to learn more about Ruby and Sapphire, it skips over some of the minor details that i was looking for and very briefly brushed over the major events such as Sapphire delivering Steven's letter and the Regi's. Please PM me (if you have the time or inclination) a summery of the main things in the manga you would like to see me tackle in this story! :D Thank you so much!