OKAY! I'm going to try to update on Mondays and Fridays! Let's see how this works out.

Cedric and Adeline set off on their journey after a good night's rest. After a heartfelt goodbye from Cedric's mother, the two and their Sentret trotted through town, waving goodbye at all the people who saw them off. At the edge of town, Cedric suddenly stopped.

"Omigosh! We almost forgot!" Adeline raised an eyebrow in question. Cedric fished a Pokeball out of his pack. Adeline saw what he was doing. They both knelt in front of Mellon, who cocked her head at the sight of the Pokeball.

"Hey, Mellon!" Cedric started. "Now that we're official trainers now, how would you like to be our official Pokemon?"

Mellon stared at the ball in Cedric's hand. She knew what it was. She knew what they were asking. They were asking to give up her freedom. Up until this point, everything was unofficial. She could go wherever she wanted whenever she wanted. She could still decline. She could leave these humans and roam and be free. But… she loved these humans. She was lucky to have them. If it weren't for them… Well, she would probably be food for a predator or some other human. She recalled the warning she received from the Dark One. She had to protect her humans with her life. In the end, the Sentret didn't know why she hesitated like she did. She knew what her duty was to herself, her friends, and to the rest of the world. She limped forward and touched her nose to the Pokeball's center and her vision became red as she was transformed into data.

Mellon was terrified. Her heart was pounding, but wait… She started to panic. She couldn't feel her body. Her mind reeled as her consciousness drifted through blackness. She didn't want to be in this living nightmare. She let out a terrified shrill that only existed in her mind. Out of nowhere, she saw a little red light, blinking, blinking. She focused on it, easing her fright slightly. The red light converted into a series of digits. Mellon spent enough time with Adeline and Cedric to determine the symbols from others. The text appeared as:

POKEMON_I . D ._N O . 03175

CEDRICE_WALDRON

TARGET_SENTRET_161

UPLOADING_CONSCIOUSNESS

The words faded and faint blue orbs drifted through the blackness, shifting from blue to violet to white, then back to blue. Mellon gazed at the orbs with fascination. Her panic had melted away. New symbols appeared that read:

UPLOAD_COMPLETE

SIMULATION_ INITIATED

A bright flash blinded Mellon momentarily. The first thing she felt was the wind on her fur, then the smell of fresh flowers and rain filled the air. When the light faded, she was standing in a field of pink and white flowers. Mellon, confused and filled with awe, was stunned. It was then that she realized she had her body back. She sprang and ran through the plain joyfully, surprisingly fast for a Sentret with three legs. She spotted a hill off in the distance. She ran to it as quick as she could, getting there in seconds. The top of the hill turned out to be a cliff that overlooked a small lake. She sat down, soaking in the view. Suddenly, the sun turned blue and the blue orbs from earlier started drifting through Mellon's vision once again. She barely had time to comprehend what had just happened when she was pulled from the earth in a rush, blue orbs streaking across her vision until she was enveloped in a bright light.

"It's a good thing she went in there." Adeline said to Cedric. "It would be terrible if we were on our journey and someone else captured Mellon." Cedric nodded in agreement as he released Mellon.

She appeared in a bright light.

"See!" Cedric said. "That wasn't so bad." Mellon spun in circles, looking confused. Cedric went to pet her, but she jumped back startled.

"Hey! It's okay!" Adeline cooed. She gently stroked the Sentret's fur. When Mellon calmed down Adeline picked her up and started walking.

"Come on! We want to get to Violet City as quickly as possible, right?" Cedric and Adeline walked along the path to Violet City.

"So would Mellon be considered your Pokemon because you caught her?" Adeline said.

"I didn't really consider that."

Adeline sighed. "You think for someone who went to school for three years, you would think ahead before you act."

Cedric huffed. "Well, why don't we just keep five Pokemon on each of us and then share Mellon?" Adeline seemed to like that suggestion.

They two stopped at the edge of the tall grass.

"Thank goodness we don't have to use repels anymore!" Cedric exclaimed. "Let's try to find some Pokemon." They searched until they found a Weedle.

"Mellon! Go get it!" Adeline ordered. Mellon jumped out of her arms and positioned herself in front of the Weedle. "Go! Use Fury Swipes!" Sentret lunged forward and slashed the Weedle three times with her one paw. The Weedle cried out. It shot a strand of sticky string at Sentret, tangling her paws.

"Hold on, Mellon!" Adeline cried as she pulled out a Pokeball. She threw it at the Weedle, hitting it. The Weedle disappeared into the ball. After wiggling a few times, the ball stopped moving. The Weedle was caught!

"Yes!" Adeline cheered. She picked up the Pokeball and tucked it into her bag.

"Nice catch!" Cedric said, walking over to Mellon. He untangled the Sentret's paws and gave her a pat on the head.

"Good job, Mellon!" Mellon seemed delighted by his praise.

"Your turn now!" Adeline said teasingly to Cedric.

After catching a Pidgey, they continued along the path. Mellon had suffered damage from a Gust and was being carried by Adeline again.

"HEY YOU!" The voice came from the woods. Cedric looked around for the source.

"YEAH YOU!" A figure emerged from the trees. It was a 12 year old kid who looked like he just got his license. Probably from Violet.

"How can you wear pants!? It's soooo hot out!" The kid wailed. Cedric didn't really think much about the weather.

"What?"

"Do you wanna see my Rattata?"

"Uh, no."

"Go, Rattata!"

"Okay, but I don't want to-"

"You wanna fight?"

"No, I just want to-"

"I LIKE SHORT 'CAUSE THEY'RE COMFY AND EASY TO WEAR!"

"Wait, what?"

*cue battle music*

"Fine. Whatever." Cedric seeing how Mellon was hurt, he sent out his Chikorita.

"Go, Fleck!" Fleck appeared with a battle cry and a flash of light.

"Rattata! Use… HYPERBEEEEAAAAMMM!" The Youngster screamed.

"Just stop." Said Cedric with annoyance.

Adeline and Mellon watched in confusion.

"Nah, just kidding. Rattata, use Quick Attack!" The Rattata dashed at Fleck at blurring speed. Fleck took a step to dodge, but was swept off her feet by the Rattata.

"Shake it off, Fleck and use Growl!" After several growls, Fleck was still on her feet, but weak. When the next attack came, Fleck was barely hurt any more than she already was.

"Okay, Fleck, now Tackle it!" Fleck launched herself at the intimidated Rattata, Tackling it to the ground. The Chikorita then kicked the Rattata in the face as she jumped off it. Rattata scrambled to its feet and Tackled Fleck in retaliation.

'Fleck's getting pretty beat up out there…' Cedric thought. 'Maybe I should send out Pidgey.'

"Alright, Fleck, I need you to come ba-" Cedric stopped short when the Chikorita whipped around and glared at Cedric.

"Okay then." Cedric said in a small voice. "Uh, then use Tackle again!" Fleck gave a slight nod of approval, then charged full force at the Rattata. She slammed into it, sending it flying into a gaping Youngster's chest.

"Nice Critical Hit!" Adeline cheered.

"W-wow! You sure are something!" The Youngster said as he sat up in a daze. "My Rattata's top-notch and you just beat him!" He stood up, recalled Rattata, and extended his hand.

"I'm Joey, by the way." Cedric shook it.

"Nice battle." Cedric said politely. Joey was shaking Cedric's hand excessively.

"I can tell you're going places." Joey started. "Are you going to Violet City to challenge the Gym?"

"Yeah. I just started my journey with my friend, Adeline."

Joey squinted as he looked from Adeline to Cedric. "Hey… Didn't you just graduate from the Pokemon School?" Cedric nodded.

"I knew I recognized you! Hey! Can I call you if I ever get into a jam or need some advice or something?" Cedric looked at Joey questionably.

"You do have a PokeGear, right?"

"Oh, right!" Cedric pulled the PokeGear out of his pocket.

After the exchange, Cedric and Adeline said their goodbyes to Joey and headed to Route 31 and Violet City.