A/N: LOOK EVERYONE! I'M NOT DEAD AFTER ALL!

Big shocker, I know. I'm sorry about lack of updates; life has just gotten really tough for me. But good news! I tried out for the school musical and I might get a big role! So yay me. Anyways, so sorry if this chapter is boring or not written well, but I had to work hard to get it to at least this length. Also, even if this is an original story, I think I had better start doing a disclaimer!

*mysterious shadow*: Hello everyone, I'm a character you haven't met yet and I'm here to-

Kata: *is not in a shadow, and hits the shadow over the head* Sorry about that. Maddiepink5 doesn't own Pokemon, but she does own most of the characters and individual Pokemon in this story.

Kirari smirked at Kata's pride. The little mouse was really getting into the battle. The teen called out, "Yami will be unstoppable! All right, Yami, let's use Tackle!"

The one disadvantage Kirari had to Kata was that she didn't have a Trainer- while her judgment would be poor since she was the one battling, she wouldn't be able to recognize the mouse's moves at first, nor did a called-out command give her an idea. As Yami closed in, Kata blasted him with Thundershock. He took the brunt of the attack but managed to stay on his feet.

"Again, Yami!" This time, Yami charged more quickly and slammed his body into Kata's, knocking her down, but up she came.

Kata responded by blasting him with Quick Attack, which hit well at the close range. The two exchanged a couple more physical slams, and there was little time left.

"This is difficult…they're evenly matched," Kirari murmured to herself. Then she remembered that Pokémon might learn new moves upon evolving. Sure enough, her Pokedex informed her that Yami had shed Helping Hand for a dark move called Pursuit- while it would not do as much as Tackle, it would still get same-type attack bonus and was his only special move… wait, what? What was same-type attack bonus? Kirari stared at the Pokedex screen in wonder, but Yami's pained cry brought her back to the present.

"Oh Yami!" Kirari cried out. He was badly hurt. So was Kata, but she remained on her feet. "Yami! I believe in you! Get up and use Pursuit! Come on buddy!" Slowly, Yami rose to his feet. His ears twitched, making a circle, and a circle of dark energy slammed into Kata. She was not unconscious, but was clearly having trouble getting back up.

"Okay, now's my chance! Go, Poke Ball!" The Poke Ball flew through the air. The whole crowd, including Kirari and Yami, held their breath as Kata was drawn into it. One twitch…two twitches…three. Little sparks flew off the ball, and a "snap" sound was heard. Kata was caught!

After a moment of silence, the crowd roared in a cheer. Strangers she didn't know came around to pat Kirari on the back as she picked up the Poke Ball with Kata inside. Finally, the crowd dissipated, leaving Kirari alone…or so she thought, when someone else gently put their hand on her back. The teen whirled around, only to be face to face with Jet!

The surprise was short-lived. Kirari's shock quickly twisted into disgust. "Listen, I'm in a good mood. I don't need a conceited jerk coming around and telling me how much better he could do," she said, folding her arms.

Kirari once again shifted, back from disgust to shock again, when Jet replied sadly, "Kira, I'm really sorry for the way I acted. I was just really eager to get to know you, you see… and my brother, he told me that most girls like guys who are big and airheaded… he said that only smart and goodhearted girls would see through the front. That's how I know you are those things, and I really, really want to start over."

Kirari paused doubtfully. "That seemed sincere but…if I forgive you are you just going to act all snobby again? Jet sweat dropped and rubbed his head in embarrassment.

"I'll admit it, I do have problems with my attitude, but I will try my hardest to clean up my act. So?" Jet, the big tough guy, had dropped his front and Kirari could see the real Jet underneath those hopeful emerald eyes- wanting to be accepted, trying to act big so people wouldn't look down on him. Kirari then nodded and grinned.

"That sounds fine to me. But, if you don't mind, I just caught a new friend and would like to train for a bit."

Jet grinned back excitedly. "That's fine. It's totally okay. Would you, uh, like to meet me at LeAnn's for dinner? It's really fancy. I'll um, treat you."

Kirari blushed and nodded. Kirari turned to Route 32 to head back for more training, and Jet headed towards the Pokémon Center. When their backs were facing each other, they whispered to themselves, "Yes!"


Kirari tossed out Sparkle and Yami, and then looked down happily on Yami. "Yami, thanks so much for your help back there! I couldn't have down it without you. You rocked!"

Yami nodded. "It's all thanks to you being a good Trainer," the Umbreon replied, his voice deeper now. "I would have never evolved into my preferred form without YOUR help. So thank you, Kira."

Kirari and Sparkle both "oohed" at the new and improved Yami. The Pachirisu marveled, "Wow, Yami, it's like you got older overnight. You're so cool and mature! Hee hee!" Sparkle continued to fuss over Yami while the Umbreon, instead of being embarrassed or annoyed, just stop there listening, nodding and saying "thank you" every so often. Kirari watched with appreciation- Sparkle was right, he had matured in an instant, it seemed. Then she cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Well, you guys have never really met Kata formally before, so are you ready?" Kirari asked cheerfully. The two perked up and nodded their assent. Kirari grinned and threw Kata's ball into the air, crying, "Kata, come on out!"

In a flash, the yellow mouse Pokemon made her appearance. She drew in a shaky breath when she saw Yami and Sparkle, then exhaled slowly as the two grinned comfortingly at her.

Sparkle spoke up first, naturally. "We know you're nervous, but like, you should totally like us! And Yami here is awesome too~ It's nice to meet you, I'm Sparkle."

Yami nodded. "And I'm Yami. You were a great opponent."

Kata nodded nervously, then looked to Kirari, who gave her thumbs-up. Kata nodded again, turned to the other two, and stuttered, "Um, thanks. You, uh, know that I'm Kata…and uh, you were really good too, Yami. It's nice to meet you…! Eeek!" The Pikachu shook her head and cowered, expecting to be teased, but it never happened. She slowly looked up and broke into a grin.

Kirari was also pleased. "You guys seem to get along great. Well then, let's put that to use in some training!" The trio cheered in agreement and prepared for some hardcore training.


"Oh, Sparkle! Stop getting distracted!" Kirari cried out as her hand hit her forehead.

The Pachirisu seemed to have a knack for attempting to be flashy, and then getting the fudge knocked out of her by her training opponent. In this case, it was Kata launching a well-placed Quick Attack to the squirrel's face. The world swirled for the defeated Sparkle, who just barely stumbled to her feet.

As for Kirari, she had also gotten seriously into the training, working up a sweat. Her now shiny-with-sweat deep-black hair had been slicked into a ponytail about half an hour ago, and she had tied her dark gray jacket around her waist, revealing the red shirt underneath. Even with all this her face was red with exertion, and she slumped under a tree to rest a bit, her Pokemon quickly following suit. By now it was very dark out.

Yami panted- Kirari had ordered him to sharpen up Pursuit while Kata and Sparkle sparred- then asked, "Kira, you alright? You really shouldn't push yourself too hard."

After another moment filled with everyone catching their breath, Kirari responded, "I'm fine. Just need a bit of a break…"

The sound of breathing filled the next few minutes, until Kirari noticed Kata staring at her. Kirari stared back for a second, then asked, "What, do I have something on my face?"

Kata blinked then shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, it's just…that shirt….isn't it a bit…provocative?"

Kirari glanced down at the shirt she was wearing- a bright red that bared so much of her stomach that it was close to being a bra. The teen chuckled. "Well, I suppose…but it's not like I've got much to show..." she glanced irritably down at her nearly-flat chest before continuing, "It's not like I'd ever take it off in public. But it's okay for the situation."

Sparkle chose this moment to jump up, having seemingly regained her strength. "In public? Fine. But I think there's a certain BOY you would wear that shirt in front of…!" The Pachirisu broke into hysterics while Kirari flushed a deep red.

"S-shut up!" the flushed teen yelled in embarrassment. Quieting down, she continued, "I barely know Jet. All I know is that he is a big tough guy making an effort, so I decided I'm gonna make an effort too."

Kata stood up next to her. "Well said and all, but, hurry up and put that jacket on because here he comes!" Kirari shrieked a bit, hurriedly zipped up her jacket. After a few seconds, nothing happened, and her Pokemon collapsed into hysterics, even Yami chuckling some. Kirari simply shrugged now, though her face turned beet red once again.

After a bit more joking and fooling around, Kirari recalled all her Pokemon excepting Kata, wanting to become more acquainted with the mouse. It was straight to a room at the Pokemon Center, only to find that Kirari had to wear either her formal clothes (to be used for what her neighbor had called "contests" if she wanted, whatever those were) or her regular clothes. The formal outfit really lived up to its name, however- it was a pink-and-white number designed to resemble a princess's outfit. Not exactly right for eating out…

This brought Kirari to pacing around the room, debating her few choices, as Kata looked at the clothes layed out.

"Darn, darn, darn…" the teen mumbled. "One outfit's not formal enough; the other is too formal…why did I bring all these accessories? Gyah!" Kirari collapsed on the bed as Kata went through the accessories and pulled out an oversized red bow. Kirari eyed her as she poked at it. "You like it? Take it…"

Kata glanced over, and then grinned. "Actually… I was thinking, with all these accessories, you could distribute them amongst us, sell the remaining ones and then have enough room in you bag to carry a nice, simple dress maybe. While we're at it we could trade in that shirt for a new one." She smirked at the last comment.

Kirari, instead of being embarrassed, was staring at Kata with wide eyes. "You really are a smart Pokemon!" she exclaimed. "That's the perfect solution! Alright, come on out y'all!" In a flash of light Sparkle and Yami appeared.

Chaos ensued as Sparkle tried on many different accessories (most of them being Kirari's favorite kind of accessory, bows) and forced Yami to try any ranging from the sparkly tiara to funky sunglasses. Kata laughed hysterically the entire time while Kirari sweatdropped as she realized the unnecessary amount of accessories she had brought. In the end, Sparkle settled for a pair of big, square black geek-chic glasses and Yami wore a moon pendant around his neck. Kirari was about to head out to sell and buy before she stopped short.

"What is it?" Sparkle asked from her shoulder; she had been brought along for her sense of fashion, or at least more so than Kirari had. For the fifth time in a few minutes she proudly pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her button nose. Kirari rolled her eyes at this action.

Then Kirari sweatdropped as she remembered, "I need money. I've been spending most of it on supplies. How will I contact Dad?"

Sparkle chirped. "Well, when I was on an adventure with your mom, she used videophones. You can ask Nurse Joy to use them."

Then there was a long silence. Kirari glanced at Sparkle, and looked a bit curious. "You…went on an adventure with my mother?"

Sparkle blinked then nodded slowly. "Uh-huh…I was just a baby, so she entered me in Contests, which weren't so rough. What, did you think I was just some silly ol' pet?" Sparkle giggled.

Kirari blushed then nodded a bit before saying, "So that's why you were still a good level for a starter Pokemon." Sparkle nodded. "Ah…that's so nice. I wish I knew what my mother was like…she died when I was still young."

Another silence occurred before Sparkle meekly suggested, "…After your date, I could tell you 'bout her. She was really cool."

Kirari nodded and headed towards the front desk to ask for a videophone. "Yeah, I would like that a lot."