You palm a small fossil. It's hard to describe the shape, but if you had to guess, it's almost like a jaw.

Just as you're making your exit you hear the professor say something, although he doesn't turn to look at you. "Young lady," his words linger in the air for what feels like a long time. "When you come back, just come directly to me. If one of the other staff members asks, just tell them you have an appointment and that I'm expecting you."

Maybe it's just because your heart is beating a mile a minute, or maybe it's something else, but something about the way he said that sounded off.

He doesn't say anything else though, and you make your way out.

Robin is easy to spot just outside the museum entrance. She's trying to not be seen, which makes her stick out much worse than if she was just casually hanging around.

You ask her why she hid.

"'Doctor' Hornbeam is a hack!" She says. It's loud enough to show her contempt, but still quiet enough that she's obviously careful nobody else can hear. "His research doesn't make any sense! I'm positive he's stolen research from at least one of Professor Fir's papers, but I can't prove it." She must be pretty passionate about the scientific community.

"That still doesn't explain why you hid," you comment.

"He's also… He's a bit of a creep." She looks at her feet. "He's also an associate of my dad. I don't know what they do together exactly. Whatever it is, he keeps me out. He keeps me out of a lot of things. I just don't want dad to know I'm back until I visit. He's already probably mad I've taken so long."

The self-conscious way she was hiding then, and even now, is just embarrassing to you. It just won't do at all. "Well if you want to hide from people, you can't look like it. You have to act like you belong so you don't stick out. Here, watch me."

You see a group of people head into the museum, and join their crowd. As they pay to get in, you shift your way in closer, making it look like your having a conversation with them.

A few minutes later, you return back to Robin. "It's all about confidence." She nods her understanding.

You explain what happened after you followed Dr. Hornbeam. When you get to the part about paying for the revival, Robin's expression turns from passive listening to shock. "The Pokemon League reimburses museums for fossil revivals." She tells you. "It's supposed to encourage bringing back rare species. They're not supposed to charge for it."

That son of a bitch!

You should report him! Or maybe that's not a good idea. You feel the heavy stolen fossil in your pocket.

You sigh, releasing your anger as best as you can. "We'll deal with that tomorrow. It's time you saw your dad."

Robin hesitates, and things it over. Finally, she gives a gesture of affirmation. It's obviously forced though.

The inside of the gym is typically steamy. There are a handful of people shuffling out from the bleachers. The arena has rocks scattered about, several feet high. Some piles of rubble and small craters are also littering the field. It looks like there was a pretty intense battle here. Your eyes widen slightly as you notice jets and walls of fire shooting up grates on the ground periodically.

"Robin!" A gruff booming voice shouts out. "You've certainly taken your time. Tell me, how is your little Flareon doing?" An older, heavy set man gestures to her from across the arena. There's a good distance between where you're standing and him, but you can hear him clear as day. The sizzling anger in his tone gives his words a biting edge.

Robin hesitates. She's not sure how to respond. She looks to you.

You put your hand on her shoulder. "Be firm" you say quietly. She looks appreciative, and loosens her shoulders a bit.

Her father's Houndour comes walking out from behind him. As it spots her, it runs over. There's a slight but noticeable limp to the way it moves. With your words and this scene, Robin gathers her courage. "I'm not evolving Eevee into a Flareon. He doesn't want to."

It's easy to see that her father isn't used to not getting his way. "What?"

"I don't want to evolve Eevee. And for that matter, I don't want to help you with this stupid gym anymore!"

"You have a legacy to uphold. You have a duty to me and this gym."

"What about your duty? Look at the limp on Houndour! How many matches was he in today?"

His face is flushed with rage. The color of his face is the same as Robin gets, but the look of him makes it feel wrong. "ENOUGH! I won't-"

"NO!" Robin cuts him off. "It's never enough, is it? They do everything for you. They give it their best every day and you just demand more without a second thought. They put their dreams aside and you just stomp on them!"

It doesn't sound like it's about his Pokemon anymore.

"Robin! I am your father! You-"

She cuts him off again. "My father died when my mom left!"

There's a stunned silence.

You put your hand on her shoulder, then he turns his attention on you. "What ideas has this little gutter trash been filling your head with?"

Robin looks angrier than you ever see her. "You do not get to talk to my friend that way! You think you're so tough? You think the league is going to take you? I bet I could beat you right-"

You gentle stop her, and step forward.

"Nothing whatsoever." You answer his question calmly. "The words were hers. You do a pretty good job of dissuading her all by yourself." You turn to her. "The only trash I see here used to play at being this girl's father. Apparently it doesn't even bother with that pretense any longer. Come on Robin. He's not worth out time."

She begins to follow you out, but then stops. "Wait." She walks back to her father.

"Good," he says. "I'm glad to see you've come to your senses. We'll discuss this-" He stops as she reaches him. She grabs a Pokemon from her belt and points it at her fathers. Wordlessly, she returns it to the Pokeball, and walks back to you. Without stopping or looking, she tosses a key backwards.

You both exit the gym. Her face is expressionless.

You walk with her. She doesn't say anything or give any indication of what's in her head right now. Her pace is brisk, and even with her short legs, you almost have trouble keeping up.

You're almost out of town by the time she stops. It's a wooded area. Under other circumstances, you're sure it would look pretty, but not now.

The silence is broken as she lets out a scream and kicks a tree. She hit's it a few more times before she breaks down sobbing. You decide a hug is probably the best thing you can offer right now. You walk in behind her and embrace her. She breaks away to your surprise, but then you see it was only so she could face you and hug you back.

Once again, her tears stain your shirt.

After what seems like a bittersweet eternity, she looks up to you. "What am I going to do now?"

"Whatever you want." She hugs you closely once more. Her face is hot against your chest. "you are a smart girl. You have a lot more options than I do. You are smart enough and pretty enough you could do whatever you wanted. Just remember that your father should not dominate the decision; this is for you, not for, in spite of, or caused by him".

Despite the seriousness of the moment, you can't help but feel like you're becoming quite the sage since you started your journey.

The mental image of you dressing in a robe and lecturing people while stroking a fake beard doesn't have time to fully form as Robin asks, "Can I travel with you until I decide?"

You can't help but let out a laugh. You thought that was a given. You hug her back in affirmation. "You can travel with me as long as you'd like."

It's getting late.

You tell her you should probably get back the Pokecenter. She agrees. Houndour is still hurt, after all.

Before you get there though, you spot a little ice cream shop. It takes literally every last bit of money you had, but it's worth it to get her some comfort food.

It's very dark now, and the street lights guide you the rest of the way back to the Pokemon center. Vance is nowhere to be found here. You two are barely in time to get the last beds. They're pretty small and cramped, but you're no stranger to that, and it's still probably better than outside.

"Do you think Vance is alright?" Robin asks. You had expected to see him here.

"He'll be fine," you assure her, "He's massive, and you saw his moves today."

She smiles as you try to imitate his moves and muscles. She seems satisfied with this answer. It's been a very long day, and a long week in general for her. She drifts off to sleep easily. Once again, you reflect on how cute she is when she's sleeping.

You don't remember exactly when you drifted off yourself. You're awakened by the shuffling of people. As your eyes slowly open, you see Robin standing above you. She hands you a smoothie. "The cafeteria is still pretty packed, so I brought you this from across the street."

It's as sweet as the gesture she made.

As a habit, you check all your stuff to make sure nothing is missing. Of course nothing is, but you like to be careful.

You've got some business down at the museum you want to settle first.

Before you head off, you ask the nurse if she's seen Vance. He's easy to describe, but the nurse is positive she hasn't seen anyone like that come in over the night. You didn't let Robin hear you ask, since she'd only worry anyway.

On the way over to the museum, you ask Robin about the Pokemon you fought the other day. An Elekid, right? You both read the pamphlets for a short bit as she explains about it, and a little more about the basics. You don't have time to absorb much though.

You arrive outside the museum. The fossil still feels heavy in your pocket, even though you know it isn't.

You and Robin make your way passed the front desk person, explaining you have an appointment. Apparently they're expecting you, because you're waved right through. Robin waves a greeting, she must know this employee.

As you and Robin approach the room you left the scientist in yesterday, you're able to make out some angry yelling. You open the door to discover the place is a mess. It looks like a Rhyhorn went on a rampage.

A young assistant, who was trying to to calm down a clearly furious Dr. Hornbeam, notices the two of you.

You explain your presence, "I'm here to collect a revived Pokemon."

The assistant nods. He's doing his best to pretend that there isn't a furious scientist behind him. "I'm afraid the machines have had a malfunction." There's a crash and a series of expletives. You peer past the assistant and see that a baseball bat must've 'malfunctioned' the hell out of the thing.

"Of course, we'll return your fossil." He retrieves the Skull Fossil from the broken machine. Luckily it looks intact. He hands it back over to you, looking apologetic. That's weird, he didn't mention a refund for the fee. He looks way too self-conscience to be trying to rip you off. At least you think so.

"What about the fee?" You ask.

"Where is it!" Dr. Hornbeam yells in the back. He's frantically looking around, and then finally notices you. You can see a sudden realization come to him. He rushes over. This does not look good. You get ready to make a break for it.

"Fee?" The assistant looks genuinely puzzled. "I'm sorry, I don't know what fee you're talking about."

Dr. Hornbeam suddenly stops dead in his tracks as he gets close enough to hear what you're talking about. His anger is replaced with fear. The assistant is looking at you, and hasn't noticed him yet.

"He charged me a lot of money to revive this fossil. He said it was for the museum!" You put all the attention on him. Robin and the assistant turn to face the doctor.

Dr. Hornbeam is floored. He looks almost betrayed. You guess by the look in his eyes, he thought you two might have been able to work out an understanding. "Is this true, doctor?" The assistant asks. You can tell by the tone that he's surprised, but not that surprised. Hornbeam must have a reputation. He starts stammering in response.

This is your chance. You drop the fossil out of your pocket, and give it a swift, light kick before it hits the ground. It hits a sweater on the ground next to a knocked over coat rack.

"You can't trust her! She- She stole the fossil. The jaw fossil I've been looking for."

The assistant looks serious. "Dr. Hornbeam. There is no jaw fossil registered in the inventory."

Hornbeam is stunned as he realizes his mistake. "I-I-was going to register it! It just came in! It-it was a donation." The assistant and Robin aren't buying it.

"Is that it?" You say with your hands behind your back. You point your head to where the fossil landed, trying to act as innocent as possible.

All three look at the fossil on top of the sweater. There's no explanation Hornbeam can offer. The assistant picks it up and examines it. Robin moves in close to look at it as well.

"No...No...No NO NO NO NONO! Years of dedication!" Hornbeam has completely lost it now. He throws out a pokeball that releases a Magnezone. "Thunderbolt!" He points to the wall. Magnezone blasts hole, just large enough for him and it to start run through. You reflect on how completely unnecessary that was. But hey, you're not a scientist.

You give chase. Robin is close behind. The assistant yells out to wait, but you don't listen.

He and his Pokemon duck into the surrounding forest. Robin curses the economic circumstances that led to Kindletown becoming so logging dependent, but it seems out of place given the situation. She's such a nerd.

"No! Stay away!" The doctor yells. His pointing is all his Magnezone needs, as it fires another thunderbolt in your direction, narrowly missing Robin. The tree struck blows bark in all directions. This is dangerous. The surrounding grass sizzles. This is really dangerous.

The urge the follow is strong, but you figure this is just too much. As you see bits of bark fly into Robin's hair, you start to slow down, the slow. Robin is only a small bit behind you, and catches up quickly. You stop her with your arm

"Aren't we going after him?" She asks between breathes.

You're not winded, but you do feel drained after seeing her come close to eating that bolt. "It's too dangerous. Let the police handle this."

The assistant is looking out from the hole in the wall when you get back. "Are you two OK?" You and Robin both assure him that you're fine. You pull a bit of bark out her hair without her noticing. Did she even realize how close that was?

"I've called the police. They should be here any minute. I'm so sorry about all of this." He looks mortified at the entire ordeal. "I knew he had some issues, but I never imagined..." He trails off.

The police arrive quickly. You and Robin are questioned about the events together with the assistant. It's an odd feeling, being on this side of a police report. Robin tries to emphasize that his crimes also extend to stealing research and plagiarism, but the police either don't care or follow her explanation. The police wrap things up and tape off the area. You're both free to go about your business.

After you both make leave outside of earshot of the police, Robin turns to you. "That jaw fossil he was talking about," she takes a minute to work up her nerve. "Did you...?"

This is hard. Her look is hopeful, like she's willing to accept whatever lie you give her. "I took it", you say flatly. Usually she's the one avoiding your gaze, but not this time.

"I didn't trust the guy! He ripped me off after all. He was shady! He stole from me first!" You look for an excuse. She listens to everything you say, right?

Robin stares back at you. "You didn't know that until after."

"I... I just took it out of habit. A reflex to running low on money. I don't even know why I did it, since I knew I'd be coming back there the next day. I think I might actually have kind of a problem." You stammer out. Why are you stammering? You were always able to stay cool under pressure when you've been caught doing bad things before.

Robin doesn't take any of it. "Yeah. You have a problem. You lied to me."

"Well, technically I didn't really lie, I just didn't-" She doesn't stay to listen. She walks away, back to the Pokemon center.

The walk is quiet and uncomfortable. You struggle to come up with something to say to her to make it all better, but the words just don't form. As you get closer, you see there's a commotion outside the building. There's a crowd obstructing your view, but as you and Robin push through the crowd, you're able to see what the fuss is about.

There's Vance, making his way to the Pokecenter, with a gigantic bear looking Pokemon in a headlock. His clothes are nearly torn to shreds. Scars cover his body, and a layer of caked blood and dirt cover his skin. He takes one step at a time, dragging the exhausted creature with him. As he spots you, he yells out. "I caught one! The Pokeball didn't work, but I caught it!"

That's not at all what you meant.

Robin is shocked, but still moves away from you to inside the Pokemon center.

You toss him one of your Pokeballs. You've already lost a lot of money and you're usually very tight when it comes to giving anything away, but you just don't really care about that right now. "Try again, it's probably weakened."

Vance catches the the Pokeball, but only too late does he realize the mistake of letting go. He's suddenly tackled from behind by the giant beast. A crowd forms around. Usually trainers are a lot more helpful, right? They all seem to be cheering or placing bets.

You head after Robin in the Pokemon center. It takes a little effort to find her back at the beds, but it's easy to move around in the building since almost everyone is outside.

"Look, Robin," You begin.

"Can't you take a hint?" She's crying. You didn't even notice. "Go away!"

You want to reach out, hug her or tease her or something. Slowly, you turn away. There's a very strong lump in your throat. You walk out of the Pokemon center, out passed the crowds watching Vance's wrestling match with the large Pokemon. Eventually you find yourself at the same place Robin went after the encounter with her dad.

You're alone now. Very alone. It's just unbearable.

Devon always loyal and friendly. He won't judge you. He won't make you regret showing weakness, right? You release him from his Pokeball. It seems like a lot of effort.

He looks ready for battle when he comes out. After a second of looking around, he sees there are no enemies here. Just you. Alone. Sitting against a tree in the light moss. He makes his way over to you and licks your face. Even with how terrible you feel, you still let out a laugh at how much it tickles. He looks up to you, like he has a question. Maybe he wants to know how to make you happy.

"I don't know." You start scratching him behind the ears. "I just don't know what I'm doing lately. Should I have just lied? Should I have just not taken anything to begin with?"

You thought making friends was hard. Losing friends is much harder. Is she lost? Devon still stares at you, looking for an answer. You look back at him.

"Maybe this whole friends thing isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe I would be better off on my own. Well with only you guys." Devon just stares. You don't know how much of what you're saying is getting through to him.

You take out your flute. That's how you caught Devon. His ears perk up as he sees you take it out.

You play. At first your breath is shallow. After a short while though, you begin to lose yourself in it. You play out everything you wish you could say to him. You play about your dream, how you feel worthless, that you might like Robin, everything. Everything you're feeling and everything you've felt comes out. You don't even hear the music anymore, you just feel it.

Devon is curled up beside you as you finish up. His warm body feels comforting against your skin. The slow, steady rhythm of his breathing reflects your much calmer, more relaxed state.

You know what you're going to do now.

You consider moving on. Maybe people don't let you down, maybe it's the opposite.

No, you're going to head back and talk to Robin. That's what friends do, right? You're a bit new to this. You and Devon make your way back the Pokemon center, giving him the occasional flute melody as you walk. He reacts differently to each note. It's almost like your own secret code.

Before you're all the way back though, you take out a bottle from your bag and give it a decent chug. You wipe your mouth with your sleeve. This won't be easy. You have no idea what you're going to say.

You make your way passed the crowds around Vance. Looks like he won. The entrance is loaded with people trying to talk to him, or talk about what he did. You don't even consider how easy crowds like this are to pickpocket. He laughs jovially and doesn't notice you.

Robin is still at her bed in the dormitory. despite it being so early in the day. She's rigged up it up so the bunk has a blanket sheltering her from the rest of the room.

"What?" You hear, muffled through the blankets.

You're more concerned about how she's doing than how you're doing. It's a strange, new sensation. "How are you doing? After the thing with your dad and all." In a way, she's just as much an orphan as you now.

Her little makeshift curtain peels back by a sliver. She's not just letting you see her. She's letting down her defenses, and letting you in, just a little. "I...don't know." She says. She looks like she's struggling for more, but she can't seem to add anything else. She's at a loss for words. She can see that you're able to read her, even through the dim light of her tiny fortress. She sighs and rips the blanket down. She doesn't seem to have more to say on the matter, not because she's mad, but because she just doesn't know.

"Look," You start. You're not sure where you're going. "Robin, I'm sorry I lied." You take a seat on the best next to hers.

She stops playing with the edge of her pillow, and looks you in the eyes.

"And I'm sorry I stole. I mean, I know that wasn't really to get by. I just do things like that sometimes." She can see the confusion in your face. "I can't promise I'll never do it again, but I can promise I won't lie to you. And I'll work on it." Even though you're just laying it out, and not trying to say what you think she wants to hear, it's clear she wanted to hear that. "I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm new to having friends. To trusting people."

Before you can start rambling too much, Robin stands up. She gives you a gentle hug. It's your turn to stain her shirt now. You can't help it. The tears just flow. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you hope people are too busy in the main lobby to come see you, but it's just a passive though, and not very important right now. After a few more minutes, you pull away and look her in the eyes. "Are we still traveling together?"

She doesn't laugh, even though you can tell she thinks it's a silly question. "Of course." She wipes away the tears from your face. "Of course."

You don't know what to do or say. You just let it out some more into her chest. She strokes your hair gently. No more words are needed. You feel that right now, you can say whole novels in a single glance.

After a good, long while, you finally slowly get up. You both let the private moment fly away, and allow the world around you to seep in once more. You reach to your head and grab hand from on top of your hair. You don't push it off, you just hold it, and grab the map that's laying on her bed. She must have been studying it before you came in.

"So, I guess we just have to figure out where we're going next." You say. The map outlines the local area. Kindletown, Aquapolis, and Chloroville. She looks in your eyes and can see a lot of the information on it is new to you.

"All three of the cities play up the obvious rivalry implied in the names. It's actually a tourism/marketing gimmick to get people riled up for competitions and things like that."

She points to the city to the north. "That's Aquapolis. The 'polis' makes it sound like a sprawling cityscape with massive buildings, honking traffic, and crowds of people scurrying about. Really though, Aquapolis is a medium sized mountain town, it's most famous for it's hot springs."

Her small, slender finger drags on the map over to the large city in the east."Chloroville is actually is a sprawling metropolis. It was founded on nearly worthless swampland, but it's been expanding and booming ever since it was established." You look at her in surprise. She's a walking encyclopedia. "Must be something in the water there."

"I don't think Vance will care. Either way is about equal distance to Braundalin City"

She looks you in the eyes again. "I'll go wherever you go." You have to remind yourself that the time for tears and dopey emotions has passed.

I love Vance. Looking back, he's probably my favorite character.