Going to keep this short. If you're still following this story, thank you. You have the patience of a saint

Elsewhere

She sat on a small windowsill, leaning against the somewhat grimy window and looking up at the nighttime sky. It was around midnight, or at least she thought is was midnight anyway. The room she was using didn't have a clock. It wasn't a particularly big room. There was enough space for a small bed, a nightstand, and a small table, with a bit more room to walk around in. She had spent the past two nights in this room, but, if precedence held, they would be moving soon. They had had to move around a lot lately. This was the tenth place they'd stayed in in the past four months. It wasn't a mystery as to why she and her caretakers had been on the move lately. Someone was after them. Specifically, someone was after her friend, which she was currently clutching in her arms. Suddenly, a small light streaked across the night sky, vanishing as soon as it had appeared.

"A shooting star," the girl whispered to her friend. "Was that one of your friends?" Her friend didn't answer. Not that she expected one. Her friend didn't speak, or do much of anything really. Crystals were completely inanimate after all, or at least normal ones were. This crystal that was her friend, however, was different. Aside from the fact, or at least according to her grandfather, that it had come from outer space, this crystal felt alive. It was almost as if the crystal was simply an inanimate part of some kind of living being; like the shell of a Shellder or the cocoon of a Metapod. On top of that, it felt like some sort of connection had formed between her and whatever lived in the crystal. The connection was limited; she couldn't really talk to her friend. It was more like she could sense its emotions and it could sense hers. It had been very confusing to try to understand and had even been more confusing when she had tried to explain it to her grandfather. Her grandfather had smiled, nodded, and said that he understood. She didn't think he did, as he hadn't explained it when she asked him.

Another shooting star streaked across the night sky. The girl felt a slight sense of warmth, along with a vague feeling of happiness, from the crystal. Sometimes it was hard to understand what the crystal was sending her. This felt like it might be reassurance or contentment; the positive emotions tended to have an underlying sense of warmth. She hugged the crystal tighter in response. "Those are you're friends aren't they. Do they actually come down to earth or do they just pass by for a visit?" The crystal radiated slightly with a lukewarm feeling which she took to mean that it didn't know. It then sent her a feeling that the girl could be describe as a cold chill running down her spine. "Don't worry. Everything will turn out alright in the end. Grandpa and Conor will keep us safe." The girl climbed down off the windowsill and slipped into the bed. Placing the crystal beside her, the girl pulled the covers up and over herself and the crystal. She then pulled the crystal into an embrace again as it sent her sensations that she thought were meant to be comforting.

"At least," the girl whispered into the darkness. "I hope so….."

Route 2 Campsite

"Argh! It feels like I've been sleeping on a rock." Eddy said as he stretched. "Didn't you clear the ground before you set up the tent Sockhead?"

"Yes, I did Eddy." Double D grumbled as he packed up his sleeping bag. "I cleared out everything I could find. Perhaps if you had helped me construct our campsite than it would have been more to your tastes. One person can only do so much."

"I was talkin' with those guys!" Eddy retorted as he gestured to the other group's campsite. "I though you'd appreciate me trying to make some civil conversation!"

"I would, if it wasn't for the fact that you left all the strenuous labor to me as a result." Double D grumbled as he started to dissemble the tent. "I'm perfectly content to assemble and disassemble the tent, since I highly doubt it would survive Ed and yours' haphazard ministrations. However, I am highly annoyed that neither you or Ed helped with anything else! One person should not be expected to construct a camp for three people by themselves!"

"Keep it down, Sockhead." Eddy snapped back. "Those are still sleeping."

"Oh, really…." Double D fumed. "Don't try to take the moral high ground with me Eddy. The mere concept of that occurrence is as preposterous as it is inconceivable."

"Big words hurt Double D." Ed moaned as he just stuffed his belongings haphazardly into his backpack.

Meanwhile, the trio's pokémon were gathered in a group off to the side of the camp. They had just finished off their breakfasts and were taking stock of the new arrivals. Bulbasaur made his opinion abundantly clear. (I don't like you.) He growled, jabbing one of his vines at Drifloon. (Why did you attack our trainer!)

(I wasn't trying to attack him!) Drifloon whimpered. (I was just trying to make friends!)

(By kidnapping him?) Stantler asked dryly.

Drifloon raised her string like arms in the approximation of a shrug. (It's how my parents said it was supposed to be done. They said that for a Drifloon to make friends they had to was to drag the person away. It's how all Drifloon make friends!)

(Really?) Bulbasaur asked sarcastically.

(Really! Or, at least that's what I was taught.) Drifloon moaned. (Though, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever meet another Drifloon who was successful in doing such a thing. Most Drifloon who try it are never seen again.)

(They get caught or knocked out, in other words.) Bulbasaur snorted. (But what was that about kidnapping children?)

(They said it would be easier with children.) Drifloon said. (But we don't kidnap them, not really. We're just trying to make friends.)

(Isn't taking someone against their will kidnapping?) Squirtle asked.

(Then technically our trainer's kidnapped all of us.) Pidgey said, slapping Squirtle across the back of his head with his wing. (Don't make the conversation even more awkward than it already is!)

(Well, if Ed decided to catch you then I guess we should give you a chance.) Stantler sighed resignedly.

(Perhaps, but I don't have to like it.) Bulbasaur huffed.

(Yay!) Drifloon cried out as she wrapped her string arms around Stantler and Bulbasuar. (We're all going to be good friends! I just know it!)

(Don't get ahead of yourself!) Bulbasaur and Stantler said almost in unison. Meanwhile, Charmeleon and Shinx were have a different sort of conversation.

(Make sure you eat all of you food, little brother.) Charmeleon said as he watched Shinx wolf down his food.

(No need to tell me twice.) Shinx replied, happily face down in his food bowl. Shinx then did a double take and looked back up. (Wait, little brother?)

Charmeleon nodded. (That's what I said.)

Shinx looked confused. (But we're not brothers.)

(We are now.) Charmeleon said.

(What makes you say that?) Shinx asked.

(We have the same trainer and we're on the same team.) Charmeleon responded.

(Does that make us brothers?)

Charmeleon shrugged. (It does in my mind.)

(….I don't know how to feel about that.) Shinx said after a moment of awkward silence.

(It's just how I feel about it.) Charmeleon said. (I won't force it on you if it makes you feel uncomfortable.)

(No, it's not that. I'm not completely against the idea.) Shinx said, a bit nervously. (It's just I do have actual siblings; three brothers and two sisters in fact.)

(And you didn't get along.) Charmeleon commented.

(I was the smallest.) Shinx said bluntly. (I was always the smallest, which meant I was the weakest.)

(I believe humans call that being 'the runt of the litter.') Charmeleon said.

(I had to fight them for everything.) Shinx continued. (And I mean fight! Not roughhousing or play fighting, I mean tooth and claw fight. I lost most of the time, which meant I often went without food. They loved to take food from me. I nearly starved a few times.)

(How did your mother react to all this?) Charmeleon asked.

(She encouraged it.) Shinx growled bitterly. ('It was for the best' she said. 'You have to be strong enough to survive on your own' she said. 'No one is going to look after you. You need to do it yourself.' She stepped in to keep me from dying a few times, but I'm pretty sure it was out of maternal instinct than out of any real affection for me. Eventually, they drove me away from the nest with threats of death if I ever came back. So I've been on my own, fighting for survival, until you guys caught me.)

(So, for you, siblings have always been the enemy.) Charmeleon said sympathetically.

(Yes.) Shinx said. (But, like I said, I'm not against your idea of it. For starters, you're actually letting me eat.)

(I'll never do anything like that.) Charmeleon said. (You don't need to worry about that so long as I'm around. In fact, here.) He pushed his bowl, which was still about one-third of the way full, towards Shinx. (I've eaten my fill so you can have the rest of mine.)

(You don't need to do that!) Shinx said, actually blushing with embarrassment.

(It's alright.) Charmeleon reassured. With some clumsiness because of his claws, he picked up the bowl and poured into Shinx's bowl. (Just eat your fill.)

(Thanks.) Shinx said as he went back to eating.

(Just let me know when you've made your decision.) Charmeleon said as he watched Shinx practically inhale the rest of his food. Meanwhile, Squirtle and Pidgey had been having a conversation of their own.

(That's a bit unusual.) Pidgey said, having observed the entire conversation between Charmeleon and Shinx.

(What is?) Squirtle asked, looking up from his bowl.

(Charmeleon getting this emotional brotherly love attitude.) Pidgey said as he gestured at the two with his wing. (Since when did Mr. Stoicism Incarnate get a soft side?)

(Oh, he's always been like that.) Squirtle laughed. (You see, Charmeleon was the first to hatch out of all of us. I was the second, by the way. Anyway, he took being the oldest to heart and really threw himself into being a 'big brother.' Being the first pokémon on his team, he considers himself to be the 'big brother' of his team and he considers all of the other pokémon as his little brothers and sisters.)

(And you guys think I'm condescending.) Pidgey huffed.

(There's no 'think' about it.) Squirtle retorted. (You are!)

(Absolutely not!) Pidgey fumed. (Such petty things as that are well below the stature of a pokémon of superior breeding such as myself.)

(Whatever!) Squirtle moaned. (And he doesn't mean to be condescending about it or anything. The idea is that he feels the need to be something of a mentor and guardian of pokémon that he believes come under his purview. I know it can come off as high handed and demeaning, but he really does mean well.)

(If you say so. It's none of my business in anyway.) Pidgey grunted. (In any event, we have more important topics to discuss.)

(Like what?) Squirtle asked.

(Like when is our trainer going to catch another pokémon!) Pidgey responded. (In case you hadn't noticed, our current team has one significant weaknesses!)

(We're still at the beginning of our journey!) Squirtle said. (Boss's still got plenty of time to catch more pokémon. It's not like we're in a hurry or anything.)

(The issue is not necessarily how fast he catches pokémon.) Pidgey conceded. (However, it doesn't address the weaknesses issue!)

(We're both weak to electric types.) Squirtle cut in. (Yes, I'm very much aware of it. I was listening to what those guys were talking about last night. Apparently we are coming up on this Churn Tunnel place, which has some ground types that Boss can catch.)

(Argh...caves.) Pidgey shuttered. (I hate caves.)

(Why?)

Pidgey glared. (Rocks, which I'm weak too. Also, there's no room to fly properly.)

(Oh, I hadn't thought of that.) Squirtle admitted sheepishly.

(Obviously.) Pidgey huffed. The conversation was cut short by the Eds, who had finished packing their camping equipment, and were making ready to continue their travels. The Eds returned their pokémon to their Poké Balls, and Double D took a moment to wash our their food bowls in a nearby creek. After making one final check that they had everything and saying goodbye to their fellow campers, the Eds continued on their journey.

Route 2, a few hours later

"Squirtle! Use Bubble!" Double D commended. Squirtle inhaled deeply and blew out, shooting a stream of bubbles out of his mouth. The stream of bubbles sailed effortlessly through the air and hit their target, a Litwick owned by the musician he was battling. The Litwick made a small squeal of terror as the bubbles hit it. It was thrown on its back in front of its trainer, and promptly fainted.

"Sorry about that buddy." The musician said as he returned the Litwick. "Them's the breaks unfortunately." He then pulled out another Poké Ball. "You're up Chatot!" With a bright flash, the Poké Ball opened and a small, bird-like pokémon appeared. Its plumage was a mix of several bright colors; a yellow chest, a green belly, and blue wings. Its black colored head was in the shape of an eighth note; the oval part forming the head and the stem and note flag forming a crest that protruded out of the back of its head. It had a long, black colored tail in the shape of a metronome. It also had a ring of white colored feathers sticking out in a ring around its neck. Its beak and eyelids were a dark pink color and its claws were a dull yellow.

"What's for breakfast? What's for breakfast?" The Chatot squawked.

"What?" Double D cried in amazement. "I though pokémon couldn't use human language!"

"Oh! I know!" Ed shouted as he dug his Pokédex out of a filth incrusted jacket pocket. "The Machine of Pokémon Knowing Stuff can tell us!"

"Chatot, the Music Note Pokémon." Ed's Pokédex said. "Its tongue is just like a human's. As a result, it can cleverly mimic human speech."

"Amazing!" Double D exclaimed.

"Too cool!" Ed added.

"I know!" The musician added happily. "Chatot is a real oddity of the Pokémon world. In a good way, I mean. He's really useful when I perform. He's a pretty good singer!"

"Boring!" Eddy cut it. "I don't care if that thing could perform Shakespeare or sing the Star-Spangled Banner! Just get to the battle!"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Double D apologized. He pulled out Squirtle's Poké Ball and returned him. "That's enough for now Squirtle. Pidgey, you're up!" He sent out Pidgey, who proceeded to strut around a bit.

(Be amazed, peasant!) He declared. (For I have graced you with my superior presence!)

"Potatoes and gravy! Fish and chips please!" Chatot squawked in return.

"This guy had a few owners before me." The musician said. "He has quite the vocabulary. It's mostly non sequiturs and don't make a lick of sense, but its impressive for all that."

"Whatever! Just get to the battle!" Eddy roared.

"Calm down Eddy!" Double D admonished. "There's no need to be rude! Now then, Quick Attack!" Pidgey shot forward and slammed into Chatot at high speed.

"The car backfired! The car backfired!" Chatot squawked in pain.

"Use Mirror Move!" The musician shouted. Chatot shined brightly for a moment, then shot at Pidgey. It slammed into Pidgey, causing Pidgey to lose altitude.

(HOW DARE YOU!) Pidgey squawked in rage and pain. (HOW DARE YOU COPY ME! ME! IMITATION IS NOT FLATTERY YOU MANGY FEATHER DUSTER!)

"Can it! Can it!" Chatot chirped.

"Pidgey, use Tackle!" Double D commanded.

(Take notes you barbarian!) Pidgey snapped as it flapped hard to gain back altitude. Within seconds, it had gained sufficient altitude so that it was above Chatot. It then folded in its wings and dove down on Chatot. It slammed into Chatot with tremendous force.

"Chatot! Grab a hold of Pidgey and use Peck!" The musician commanded. Chatot's claws shot out and clasped into Pidgey. It then started viciously pecking at Pidgey. Pidgey squawked in pain and flapped vigorously to break free from Chatot's grasp. Unfortunately for both of them, Chatot's attacks and Pidgey's attempts to escape took up all of their attention. This meant that neither of them were making any attempt to stay airborne.

"Pidgey!" Double D screamed in alarm. "You're descending! You need to ascend now!" Alas, it was too late. Pidgey and Chatot hit the ground with a dull THUMP! The force of the impact separated the two, with the two bird pokémon bouncing away from each other and landing in a feathery heap in front of their respective trainers.

(That. Hurt.) Pidgey spat in pained disgust.

"Liver with no onions!" Chatot groaned in a squawk. "Onions with no liver!"

"Use Sand Attack Pidgey!" Double D commanded.

(Take this you boor!) Pidgey shouted as he flapped his wings, blowing dust and dirt into Chatot's eyes. The Chatot shrieked in pain as it rubbed at its eyes with its wings.

"Mirror Move his Sand Attack back at him Chatot!" The musician shouted. Chatot began to glow, then used its wings to fling dust and dirt back at Pidgey. However, due to its impaired eyesight, Chatot's aim was abysmal and its attack missed Pidgey by a wide margin.

(What was that?) Pidgey laughed as he returned to the air. (I've seen Metapods with better aim than that!)

"Give it another Tackle!" Double D ordered. Pidgey swooped down on the still grounded Chatot and slammed into it. Chatot was knocked off its feet and was forced back a few feet. Unfortunately, it was forced right back into the musician's shins. The musician yowled in pain and fell face over in the dirt.

(….That wasn't supposed to happen.) Pidgey muttered as he returned to the ground.

"Oh dear!" Double D said. He ran over to the musician and helped him to his feet. "Sincere apologies! Are you alright? It wasn't my intention to hurt you!"

"I'm alright!" The musician said as he dusted himself off. "It was an accident, no harm done. But I think I'm done with battling for today." He gestured to his Chatot, which had fainted. He returned Chatot to his Poké Ball. "Good work Chatot." He said to the Poké Ball. He then handed prize money over to Double D. "Good battle. I take it you're on your way to Heatherburg?"

"Yup!" Ed said as both he and Eddy walked over to the two. "Onward to badges!"

"Slate Town, you dolt." Eddy growled.

"Town Slate!" Ed cried in oblivious glee.

"Excitable fellow," The musician commented.

"He means well, but yes, he can go overboard sometimes." Double D said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Eddy cut in. "Are we close to that Heatherburg place?"

"No, it's still a few hours up the road." The musician said. "But you should get there before nightfall if you keep a good pace. But, there might be a problem."

"Problem?" Double D asked.

"Well, you have to cross a river before you get to Heatherburg." The musician said.

"And what?" Eddy asked. "No bridge?"

"No, there's a bridge." The musician said. "It's just that the river it crosses is home to a bunch of Basculin."

"Never heard of it." Eddy said rudely.

The musician ignored Eddy's rudeness and explained. "Basculin are a water type pokémon whose chief claim to fame is that they are remarkable aggressive pokémon. They will attack anything and everything that they can sink their very sharp teeth into. The batch that live around here have gotten into the habit of schooling around the bridge and attacking everything that tries to cross it. There are a couple other places were the river can be crossed without having to deal with the Basculin. You'll have to go out of your way a bit, but it's worth it for the safety it provides."

"And why would we want to do that?" Eddy sneered. "We've got pokémon. We'll just use them to fight the fish off. I don't see how that would be too difficult."

The musician laughed. "Yup, you've never seen a Basculin. Either way, it's not my problem now. You boys have fun!" With that, the musician went on his way. When the musician was out of earshot, Double D turned on Eddy.

"There was no reason to be rude!" He scolded.

"I wasn't being rude!" Eddy shot back. "I didn't even call him anything!"

"Insulting people is not the only way to be rude." Double D admonished. "You're attitude, for example. It was way out of line for a man who was giving us polite advice."

"Whatever Sockhead!" Eddy growled. He pushed past Double D and started walking away. "Now if you're done being a goody-goody-two-shoes, we need to get moving. I don't want to spend another night roughing it in the woods!"

"That Eddy." Double D growled under his breath as he followed after Eddy. "Sometimes I wonder if he learned his manners from a pack of wild dogs."

"Oh, oh, Double D!" Ed shouted, throwing himself on Double D. "I almost remembered to not forget to not forget!"

"Ed!" Double D groaned under Ed's weight. "Get off me please!" With a massive shove, Double D just barely managed to push Ed off of him. However, the effort left Double D winded and he had to lean over and catch his breath. "I don't mean to offend Ed but you're really heavy." He puffed. "I suggest you lose some weight or, at the very least, stop eating Chunky Puffs by the metric ton. Now, what were you saying?"

"The Poké Ball of your turtle friend!" Ed said. He pointed at Squirtle's Poké Ball with an excited flourish. "It was shinning and glowing!"

Alarmed by this, Double D snatched up Squirtle's Poké Ball. With his other hand, he pulled out the magnifying glass that he kept on his person at all times. He proceeded to examine the Poké Ball closely, looking at it from every angle imaginable. "I don't see anything different or wrong about it." He said eventually. "Are you sure you saw it glowing?"

"Sure as pickled onions Double D!" Ed replied.

"Right." Double D said, ignoring Ed's analogy. "I shall call out Squirtle to ascertain if perhaps something untoward has happened to him." He pressed the button on the Poké Ball and Squirtle appeared in a flash of light. Except, the pokémon that appeared before them was not Squirtle. It was a bipedal turtle, larger than Squirtle had been. Its skin was a darker shade of blue with an even darker patch under each eye. It had two large ears and a long tail that were coated in pale blue fur. It had a large shell whose upper half was a light brown color while its lower half was pale yellow. The two parts of the shell were separated by a thick, white rim that ran around the circumference of the shell. It had two short arms that ended in three-clawed hands and two short legs. The pokémon blinked in surprise and examined itself.

(Well,) It said aloud. (This is new.)

Double D smiled brightly and clapped his hands together in joy. "Oh my! My Squirtle has evolved!" He pulled out his Pokédex and scanned his new pokémon.

"Wartortle, the Turtle Pokémon." It said. "Its tail is large and covered with a rich, thick fur. The tail becomes increasingly deeper in color as Wartortle ages. The scratches on its shell are evidence of this Pokémon's toughness as a battler."

(Hey!) Wartortle growled. (I don't want to have scratches on my shell. I can still be a good battler without damaging my body! Wait, does the shell count as my body?)

"Way cool Double D!" Ed said, eyes wide with excitement and expected hope. "Will my pokémon evolve soon too?"

"I suppose so." Double D said as he returned his Wartortle. "I did some research on our starter pokémon back when we were in Westerway City. Apparently, all starter pokémon reach their first evolutions fairly early. It would be fairly safe to assume that since Eddy's Charmander and my Squirtle have evolved, your Bulbasaur should be evolve after a battle or two."

"Hurray from mutant frog/plant buddy!" Ed cried out in happiness. "Mutations for Ed!"

Double D sighed in resignation. "Right. Mutations."

"HEY! WHAT'RE YOU TWO DOING!" Eddy shouted. He had not stopped to watch the spectacle and was now almost out of sight. "I SAID GET A MOVE ON!"

"HUNKY-DORY EDDY!" Ed shouted back. Ed then grabbed Double and slung him up onto his shoulder. Double D, deciding that there was no point in arguing, stayed silent as Ed ran after Eddy.

Peach Creek Airport, on the Tarmac

"Confound this belt of the seat! Why must you torment the Son of a Shepard!?"

Nazz sank low in her seat to avoid the curious looks that the other passengers were giving their group. She would have sunk into the seat entirely, if it hadn't been for the fact that both she and the seat remained stubbornly solid. She had known, from the second she had been told that they were flying to the Dentor Region, that getting on the plane would be something of a minor nightmare. Unfortunately, her exceptions had not been wrong in the slightest. The first problem had been with the check-in. Jonny had reacted badly when told that he couldn't take Plank with him into the cabin. He had argued with the airport staff who, unsurprisingly, had been completely unwilling to budge on the matter. Kevin had solved the problem by ripping Plank from Jonny's grasp, throwing it in with their luggage, and had threatened to pound Jonny into the dirt if he so much as thought about complaining. Jonny hadn't said a word since. Then came the security screening. Nothing had happened, but the process had been just as unpleasant as she had been led to believe. And now, they were on the plane, almost ready to take off, and Rolf was having trouble with his seat belt.

"Dude! It's just a seat belt!" Kevin shouted in exasperation. "Just sit in the seat and attach the buckle to the connector!"

"Blasted thing!" Rolf snarled in frustration. "Rolf has had easier times restraining the stampeding cows than handling this do-dad! What know-nothing fool makes such a thing?"

"Rolf! Sit!" Kevin shouted. He shoved Rolf into his seat. He then unwrapped the parts of his seat belt that his arm and leg had somehow become entangled in. He then fastened the seat belt and pulled it as tight as it would go. "There! Now stay there and don't mess with it until we get to Dentor!"

"Thank you Kevin." Rolf said as he settled into his seat. He seemed to be completely untroubled by the fact that the seat belt was tight enough to slightly push him into the space between the seat back and the seat itself. "For Rolf is unfamiliar with these new age seat ropes."

"Whatever." Kevin said as he belted himself in. With that settled, the stewardess proceeded to go through the pre-flight instructions. After that, it wasn't long before the plane took off. Nazz sighed in relief as everyone started to settling into the flight and paying less attention to them. The only one still acting up was Jonny, who looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. It couldn't be helped, she thought. He'd just have to wait to they got to Dentor. Rolf, on the other hand, was staring out the window in fascination at how they were staying airborne. Nazz sighed in annoyance. She would probably have to explain the concept of powered flight and aerodynamics at some point before the flight was over. Kevin was sitting silently in his seat, brooding.

He had been in a bad mood ever since the whole trip had been set up. She had wanted to hash out some sort of travel plan with him, since he was the second most responsible person of their group. However, he had been, and still sort of was, completely unapproachable. But now, essentially stuck next to each other for the next few hours, she might be able to get something out of him.

"So, what's the plan?" Nazz asked. "Or is there even a plan?"

"It's going to be night by the time we get there." Kevin said in a fairly even tone. "Professor Hornbeam has a sister who runs his lab while he's away. She's going to put us up for the night. We're going to start our journey tomorrow, though I suppose we might get our starters tonight."

"Oh." Nazz said, slightly taken aback by the fact that Kevin had thought this out.

Kevin snorted. "I'm no whiz kid like Double Dork or a model student like you, but I'm not an idiot. I can plan things out just as well as anything else. Heck, I've been planning my own journey for a while now. Which makes all the worse that those dorks have got a head start on me!"

"Alright, Kevin. I know you really don't like the Eds but you really need to chill." Nazz scolded. "I mean, so what? Why does it matter that they started first? It's not a race so far as I can tell. Why can't you just relax and have a good time?"

"Because its the dorks." Kevin growled. "They ruin everything!"

"That's an exaggeration." Nazz countered. "I admit, they're as annoying as it's possible to be, but it's not like we can't do anything without them messing it up. It only gets to you because you won't stop dwelling on it. Just relax and just don't think about it! Just think about what you're going to do and all of the fun you are going to have!"

"It's not that simple." Kevin grunted.

"Yes it is." Nazz shot back. "Now then. I need you to give me a crash course on these pokémon things."

"Not much I can do right now." Kevin said.

"Well, there is one important thing you can help me with now." Nazz replied. "Professor Hornbeam said that there were 21 different pokémon that we could chose from as our first right?"

"18," Kevin corrected. "The dorks already took three of them."

"Alright." Nazz said quickly, wanting to keep Kevin off the subject of the Eds. "I don't know anything about pokémon, let alone any specific pokémon. So I'm going to need you to tell me everything you know about pokémon. Preferably, the pokémon that we will be choosing from when we get to Dentor."

"I know a bit about them." Kevin said hesitantly. "But I'm not an expert. That's not really my thing."

"Whatever." Nazz said. "Just tell me what you know!" Nazz then proceeded to bombarded Kevin with every question she could think of about pokémon. Kevin did his best to answer them. It was actually very informative, despite Kevin's claim of not being an expert. Rolf, who eventually got bored of marveling at the flight of metal wings, also started asking questions of his own. Jonny, still on the verge of a mental breakdown from his Plank separation, contributed nothing to the conversation. As Nazz had hoped, the conversation took up all of Kevin's attention. It even seemed to take Kevin's mind off the Eds, and Nazz did her absolute best to keep it that way. The subject of the Eds was not brought up for the rest of the flight.

It did, however, have one unfortunate side effect. No one had noticed that Sarah and Jimmy were nowhere to be seen.

Route 2, Outskirts of Heatherburg

Nightfall was approaching. It wasn't there yet as the sun was still up. However, it had reached the treeline and the shadows were steadily lengthening. Just as the musician had said, the Eds had come across a river before actually reaching Heatherburg. Double D had consulted his guide and found that it was called the Silver River, after a long dead adventurer named Thomas Silver. The guide had also mentioned that while the river wasn't particularly deep, it did have steep and rocky banks. The guide advised the reader not to try and wade it. Again, just as the musician said, there was a large stone bridge that spanned the river. It was an arch bridge, with a small arch at each bank and one large arch in the middle. The bridge looked old and woren, but at the same time it looked as if it had been well maintained. There was a signpost placed before the bridge. The sign read 'Silver River Bridge' and 'Heatherburg, ½ mile.'

"There's the bridge." Double D said. He stopped and observed his surroundings. "I suggest we take extreme precaution when crossing this stone structure. Those Basculin might still be about."

"Get a grip Double D." Eddy said, not even pausing for a second. "That guy was a wimp. We're not going to be stopped by some stupid fish!" Eddy confidently strode onto the bridge. He got about to the halfway point of the bridge when it happened. Three fish erupted from the river, shooting up into the air in front of Eddy. The three fish opened their toothy mouths and each shot a stream of water at Eddy. The three streams hit Eddy and blasted him off his feet. He flew backwards off the bridge and landed in a soaking heap in front of Ed and Double D.

"I believe those were the Basculin." Double D said dryly. Double D, in a surprising act of dexterity and agility, had whipped out his pokédex and had scanned one of the fishes before they fell back in the river.

"Basculin, the Hostile Pokémon." It said. "Red-and-blue striped Basculin are very violent and always fighting. They are also remarkably tasty."

"That's good!" Eddy shouted as he leapt to his feet. "Because we're going to have a good old fish fry when I get through with them!" He grabbed for Charmeleon's Poké Ball.

"Wait! Eddy!" Double D shouted. "Your Charmeleon would be at a disadvantage against these water type Basculin!"

"Crap. You're right." Eddy said. "Alright then. Shinx, you're up!"

(Time to show my stuff!) Shinx growled in anticipation. He looked around and saw nothing to fight. He looked up at Eddy in confusion. (Wait, what am I supposed to be fighting?)

"Shinx, I need you to run out on the bridge and use Spark on anything that jumps up out of the water." Eddy commanded.

(Right!) Shinx charged onto the bridge. He got about as far as Eddy did before three more Basculin jumped out of the water. Shinx jumped onto the bridge railing, then, fur crackling with electrical energy, he flung himself at one of the Basculin. He hit the first Basculin dead on, discharging electrical energy into the Basculin. It then pushed off the stunned Basculin and slammed into the second Basculin. It repeated this procedural and managed to hit the third Basculin. The three stunned and slightly crispy Basculin fell back into the water. (Alright!) Shinx roared in triumph as he landed back on the bridge. (Take that you pretentious Magikarp!) At that precise moment, five Basculin jumped out of the water. (Oh crap….) The five Basculin then proceeded to hit Shinx with a Water Gun attack all at once. Shinx was blasted off the bridge and into Eddy. The force of the impact and the Water Guns, which were still going, then blasted both Eddy and Shinx into a nearby tree. With chattering noises that sounded suspiciously like laughter, the Basculin fell back into the river.

"Oh dear!" Double D moaned as he ran over to the prone Eddy. "Eddy! Are you alright!?"

"No," Eddy groaned as he tried extracted himself from the tree that he had become partially embedded in. "I'm not."

"We need to rethink our strategy Eddy." Double D said as he pulled on Eddy. "They appear to have us outnumbered by a significant degree."

"Yeah, I see that." Eddy growled, finally getting free of the tree. "Let's just attack them all at once when they jump out of the water. That ought'a knock them down a peg or two!"

"That's too risky Eddy, on two crucial points." Double D replied. "First, I'd like to remind you that we are not suitably equipped for such a task. Amongst the three of us, we have seven pokémon. Of those seven, one is weak to water types while another is practically ineffective against them. Then, of the remaining five, they're exhausted from a day's worth of battles. I don't think they'll be up for such an endeavor. Second point; we do not know just how many of these Basculin we are dealing with. We could be dealing with anything from ten to one-hundred!"

"I don't think there are a hundred of them in there." Eddy groaned as he tried to massage his aching back. "I don't think that river is big enough to hold one-hundred of those stupid things."

"The point is we don't know." Double D continued. "I think it might be best if we found another crossing to use."

"No way!" Eddy shouted. "You heard what that guy said! I do not want to go out of my way and I really do not want to spend another night camping!"

"We might not have a choice Eddy." Double D countered.

"Well then think of something!" Eddy shouted back. "You're the smart guy!"

"Hey, man. What's with all the racket?" Both Eddy and Double D jumped as a rather disheveled looking man stepped out from behind the tree that Eddy had been blasted into. He was tall and unusually thin, almost as if he hadn't been eating properly recently. He had a short, scraggly beard and equally scraggly, long brown hair that ran out from under the black beanie he was wearing. He wore a ragged denim jacket, an equally worn green undershirt, and an only slightly better looking pair of light gray pants. The man stretched, let out a massive yawn, and observed his surroundings. "What's going on around here?"

"Cool!" Ed cried out, running up to the man. "An actual hobo!"

"That's depressingly accurate." The man sighed. He stepped back as Ed moved to get a closer look. "Um….would you mind backing up? You're invading my personal space man."

"Please accept my humble apologies for my friend's behavior." Double D said as he grabbed Ed by the collar and pulled him back. "He doesn't mean any harm. He's just over excitable, that's all."

"If you say so." The man replied. He then noticed Eddy's imprint in the tree and the fact that Eddy was soaking wet. "Oh right." The man said, snapping his fingers. "The Basculin. Right, I forgot about that."

"What do'ya mean 'forgot'?!" Eddy shouted. "Where you supposed to be dealing with them or something?"

"Yes, or I supposed to anyway." The man admitted. "You see, I work for the Pokémon League and I happened to be in Heatherburg when the Basculin showed up again. They asked me to deal with the problem."

"Why you?" Eddy asked. "You look like a homeless old coot."

"Old coot?" The man scoffed. "I may be homeless but I'm not an old coot! And besides, why wouldn't they ask me? I'm Shiloh Baker!" He said this as if he expected the Eds to be familiar with the name.

"We have no idea who you are!" Eddy snapped back.

"Oh." Shiloh said, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. "Anyway, I was supposed to help with the Basculin but I fell asleep behind this tree here."

"Wait. If you were in Heatherburg, how did you get across the bridge?" Double D asked. "Why didn't you deal with the Basculin then?"

"They weren't here when I got here." Shiloh admitted. "So I decided to wait for them to turn up again, and I fell asleep."

"Well, you're awake now!" Eddy growled. "So do your job and get ride of those Basculin!"

"That leads to another problem." Shiloh admitted. "You see, while I have a full team, it seems that forgot most of it. All I've got is this guy." He pulled a Poké Ball from a jacket pocket and sent out the pokémon. The pokémon that appeared was about slightly taller than waist high, compared to Shiloh, and bipedal. It had two long arms that ended in hands that were tipped with two large claws. Its two legs were rather stubby with feet that were also tipped with two large claws. The pokémon was covered in shaggy white fur; with brown around its eyes, a brown jaw, two brown stripes on its back, and a large red tuft on its forehead. The pokémon jittered about, hoping from foot to foot and swinging its arms about.

(Argh!) It growled menacingly. (I need to do something! I need to do something! Please, let me do something!)

"Hey! Watch it!" Eddy shouted, jumping back to avoid the pokémon's swinging arms. "Get that thing under control!"

"Sorry." Shiloh replied sheepishly. "Vigoroths are not happy we they sit idol for too long. They get very cranky."

"Vigoroth, the Wild Monkey Pokémon." Double D had pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the pokémon. "Vigoroth is always twitching and agitated to go on a wild rampage. It simply can't tolerate sitting for even a minute. This Pokémon's stress level rises if it can't be moving constantly."

"Sounds like 'cranky' is an understatement." Double D muttered.

"Whatever." Eddy cut in. "Can you be useful in any way?"

Shiloh shrugged. "Sort of. Vigoroth knows Thunder Punch. But we still have the numbers problem. I heard that part of your conversation. From what I've seen, there's about twenty to thirty of the little trouble makers. Six pokémon is definitely not enough to take on that many, or are you rocking some seriously powerful pokémon?"

"No." Double D answered. "We only started pokémon training a few days ago."

"Then we're stuck then." Shiloh sighed. "I'm going to have to huff it to Westerway City and get my other pokémon transferred to me. You're gonna just have to find somewhere else to cross."

"No way!" Eddy roared. "We're going to get rid of those Basculin and cross that bridge even if it kills you!"

"Kills me?!" Shiloh retorted. "I think you're getting way to upset about this. It's really not that big of a deal. Just go east along the river a mile or two and you'll find a bend where the river turns south. The river narrows and shallows out there so crossing the river should be fairly easy. It'll take a few hours but it'll be better than fighting your those toothy pests." As if to punctuate this statement, the river surface erupted into a series of furious splashing. "Especially now, if they're fighting amongst themselves."

"No! We're not moving from this spot until we find away to get over that bridge!" Eddy snarled, his temper boiling over.

"Be reasonable Eddy." Double D said, trying to placate Eddy. "We can not deal with these Basculin. We are going to have to cross the river somewhere else. We are going to have to spend another night camping and you throwing fit over it is not going to help matters."

"Oh yeah!" Eddy shouted, almost foaming at the mouth. "Well I ought'a…..!"

"WAIT!" Ed shouted over Eddy. "My brain is starting to start!"

"Ed!" Eddy roared. "What are you….!?"

"Shoosh, shush." Ed said. He grabbed Eddy with one arm and slapped his free hand over Eddy's mouth. Eddy struggled against vainly Ed's vice like grip, only succeeding in getting incoherent noises passed Ed's mouth. Ed, meanwhile, stared off into space with a blanker than usual look on his face.

"Is he usually like this?" Shiloh asked after a minute of silence.

"Yes, unfortunately." Double D moaned in exasperation.

"IDEA!" Ed shouted in glee. He unceremoniously dropped Eddy and walked over to the bridge. He then pulled out Bulbasaur's Poké Ball and sent him out.

(What's up?) Bulbasaur asked as he finished materializing.

Ed picked him up and placed him on the top of his head. "When I give the signal, you use your Leafs of Razoring and don't stop."

(Alright. What's the single?) Ed then proceeded to walk out onto the bridge. (Um….what's the single?) Ed barely got a few feet onto the bridge before the Basculin launched out of the water for the attack.

"ED! LOOK OUT!" Double D cried out in alarm.

"Let the fish have him!" Eddy snarled.

"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!" Ed shouted as he lifted one foot, tensed up, and started to spin on the spot. To say that Eddy, Double D, Shiloh, and Bulbasaur were confused by this action would be an understatement. Even the Basculin were confused by this; so much so that they fell back into the water without attacking. They soon recovered from their shock, however, and jumped out of the water in a second attack.

(What's going on!?) Bulbasaur shrieked as he clung to Ed's head for clear life.

"Now Bulbasaur! Now!" Ed shouted as he spun. Deciding not to ask questions, Bulbasaur started shooting of his razor leafs. Soon the air was filled with flying, razor sharp leafs. The leafs hit the Basculin, sending them spiraling back into the river. No sooner had they disappeared into the water than another batch of Basculin launched out of the water on the attack. However, as Ed was still spinning and Bulbasaur was stilling shooting off Razor Leaf, they ended up hurling themselves into a stormified version of a super effective attack. As a result, the Basculin were forced back into the water. Not getting the message, another batch of Baculin rose up out of the water to attack Ed, only to meet the same fate. Showing more stubbornness than tactical sense, the Basculin continued to attack Ed only to be blasted back into the river by the Razor Leaf storm.

"Well," Shiloh commented after a few moments of stupefied wonder. "I can honestly say I've never seen anything like that before in my life."

"But it's working." Eddy grudgingly admitted. "Even Ed can have a good idea every once and a while."

"Be that as it may, neither he or Bulbasaur can keep this up forever." Double D put in. "They are going to tire themselves out sooner or later and I don't think the Basculin are going to give up before then."

"Yeah, probably." Shiloh said. "But I think we can end this here and now. Vigoroth, go and Thunder Punch the river a few times."

(Yes! Finally!) The Vigoroth ran over to the side of the river and, with a surprising amount of grace and deftness, climbed down the rocky riverbank. It raised its fist, crackling with electrical energy, and punched it into the river. The entire river came alive with furious splashing as the Basculin were shocked. Vigoroth used Thunder Punch on the river again, causing the Basculin to jump out of the river in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately, they ended up jumping right into the Razor Leaf storm with the result that they were knocked back into the electrified water. Vigoroth used Thunder Punch on the river a third time and, instead of jumping out of the river, the Basculin decided to flee. The school of Basculin broke into two groups; one fleeing upriver while the other fled downriver. Vigoroth used Thunder Punch on the river a fourth time, speeding up the departure of the fleeing Basculin. Vigoroth waited for a few moments then Thunder Punched the river a fifth time, but this time there was no reaction other than a slight rippling of the river's surface.

(No fun!) Vigoroth growled as it climbed back up the river back. (I want more! More! Give me an actual fight!)

"Okay," Shiloh said as he returned his Vigoroth. "Lets get you back in your ball before you cause some actual trouble."

"You can stop spinning now Lumox!" Eddy shouted to the still spinning Ed. "Those Basculin are gone!" Either Ed didn't hear him or ignored Eddy because he kept on spinning.

"I think we are going to have to make him stop." Double D sighed tiredly.

"Oh, I'll make him stop!" Eddy growled as he rolled up his sleeve.

"Hold on." Shiloh interrupted as something on Ed began to shine brightly. "I think things are going to sort themselves in a moment." The thing on Ed shone for a moment, then faded away. Almost immediately after, Ed fell over.

"Ouch." Ed said absently. His comment was muffled as a pokémon that was a fair bit bigger than Bulbasaur was now sitting on Ed's face. The pokémon had the same body build as Bulbasaur in that it was quadrupedal and had a plant growing out of its back. However, this pokémon was larger than Bulbasaur. Its skin was a blue-green color, though it leaned more towards blue than green. There were also several patches of skin that were colored a dark shade of green. It had a big head with a short, rounded snout, a wide mouth with two large, sharp teeth, a pair of narrow, red eyes, and two pointed ears. However, the most significant change was the plant that grew out of its back. Bulbasaur had simply had a large, dark green bulb. This pokémon had a smaller pink bulb that looked as if it was in the process of blooming. The bulb was connected to a small, brown trunk which was surrounded by four leafy fronds.

(I think I'm gonna hurl.) The pokémon moaned.

"Ed!" Double D exclaimed excitedly. "Your Bulbasaur evolved!"

"Oh goody, goody!" Ed cried happily as he pulled his head out from under the pokémon. "My mutant plant buddy mutated into mutant rose buddy!"

"Mutant what?" Shiloh asked in confusion. "What's he talking about?"

"I'd like to know that myself." Eddy replied. "I swear, he has buttered toast for a brain."

"Right…."Shiloh muttered. "I'm going to assume that's some kind of in-joke and leave it at that. Anyway, with the Basculin gone the bridge should be safe to cross." To demonstrate, he walked across the bridge and was not troubled in the slightest. "Well boys, it's been fun!" He shouted at the Eds from the other side of the river. "But there was a reward for getting rid of the Basculin! Now that the Basculin are gone I can claim that reward, and I don't feel like sharing! So, so long!"With that, Shiloh took off up the route towards Heatherburg and leaving a small dust cloud in his wake.

"Reward! That rat!" Eddy snarled in frustration. "He's conned us! Conned me!"

"I don't think he actually tricked us." Double D sighed. "It's not like we were offered anything to get rid of the Basculin in any event. Quite frankly, I' more surprised that you haven't chased after him."

"I would, but I'm too tired." Eddy moaned, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Right now, all I want is to crash on a nice soft bed and get a good nights sleep. So scan Ed's new pokémon so we can get moving."

"Allow me!" Ed cried as he whipped out his Pokédex, and various bits of unidentifiable filth, and scanned the pokémon.

"Ivysaur, the Seed Pokémon." It said. "There is a bulb on this pokémon's back. To support its weight, Ivysaur's legs and trunk grow thick and strong. If it starts spending more time laying in the sun, its a sign that the bud would bloom into a large flower soon."

"Mutant flower buddy!" Ed shouted happily.

(Eventually.) Ivysaur said as his stomach settled. (But, serious though, can we stop with this 'mutant' business? Please?)

"You can bond later!" Eddy snapped. He grabbed Ed by the shirt collar and began to physically drag him away.

"Tell me a story Eddy." Ed said absently as he returned Ivysaur to his Poké Ball.

"NO!"

"So you're too tired to chase after Mr. Baker but you aren't tired enough to drag Ed." Double D muttered to himself. "I would very much appreciate consistency. Wait, why am I complaining? It's always a good thing when Eddy isn't causing trouble. I should appreciate any time Eddy is actually behaving in a manner at least in resemblance of a decent human being." He then realized what he was doing. "And why am I talking to myself?"

"Quite grumbling and shake-a-leg Sockhead!" Eddy shouted over his shoulder. "I'm not waiting for ya!"

"Coming Eddy!" Double D shouted back as he ran to catch up with Eddy and Ed.

Heatherburg, Pokémon Center

Night had completely fallen by the time the Eds trooped wearily into the Heatherburg Pokémon Center. The guide hadn't been lying when it had said that Heatherburg was more historic site than actual town. They had walked past a few museums and several closed off areas of the town that looked to be in various states of restoration. At one point, the town had been encircled by a large wall. However, most of the wall had either fallen or been torn down, leaving only the stone base in several areas. The inhabited part of Heatherburg actually sat outside of the perimeter of the wall, but close enough to still be consisted part of the town. The modern part wasn't particularly big; consisting of the Pokémon Center, a Poké Mart, a few businesses and warehouses, and several smaller buildings that appeared to be private houses. The Pokémon Center was a large, rectangular, four story building with a large red P attached to the building's face. The Eds stepped into what appeared to be a small waiting room. To the right of the door, there was another doorway which appeared to be a large recreation room. On the other side of the waiting room was a short hallway that ended in a flight of stairs. To the left of the door, there was desk at which stood a very annoyed looking Nurse Joy.

"Did you come here from Westerway?" She asked as the Ed's approached to the desk.

"Yes..." Double D started to reply.

"Did you cross the bridge?" The Nurse Joy cut him off.

"Yes and…."

"Where the Basculin there?"

"Yes." Double D decided that trying to get a word in edgewise was a pointless effort for the moment.

"Was Shiloh Baker there?"

"Yes."

"Did he actually get rid of the Basculin?"

"Sort of." Double D managed to get it. "He did actually do something but my friend Ed here did half the work I'd say."

"I thought so." Nurse Joy huffed angrily. "I knew he couldn't have done it alone, especially since he left most of his pokémon. But, I had to give the reward promised because I couldn't prove he was actually lying."

"But then how did you know that the Basculin were gone?" Double D asked.

"We maintain a few sensory devices on the bridge and in the river bed." Nurse Joy explained. "Those Basculin have been a problem for years now and we installed those sensors to monitor when they were gathering around the bridge. The sensors showed that about an hour or so ago something attacked the Basculin with electric and grass attacks and that the Basculin fled. They couldn't give me anymore details than that. I knew he'd couldn't have done that himself since none of his pokémon know grass type attacks but I couldn't accuse him of lying without more definitive proof."

"That was the work of my mutant flower buddy!" Ed declared happily.

"He means his Ivysaur." Double D added quickly.

The Nurse Joy shrugged. "In this job you hear a whole host of strange nicknames. Anyway, thank you for confirming my suspicions. I be filing a complaint against him with the Pokémon League over this. He's crossed the line this time. I swear, I'll never know how such an irresponsible and disreputable person as Shiloh Baker ever was allowed to became a member of the…."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Eddy cut her off. "Look, we're all tired and need our pokémon healed. I could not care less about your problems with a sleazy hobo!"

"Eddy!" Double D scolded. "Manners!"

"No, no." The Nurse Joy sighed. "I shouldn't rant like that." She pulled three trays out from her desk and placed them in front of the Eds. "If you'll leave your Poké Balls on those trays we'll have them healed for you by tomorrow morning." While the Eds placed their Poké Balls on the trays, Nurse Joy consulted a chart then handed the trio a set of keys. "The room is on the fourth floor, Room 403. You'll have a spare bed but I don't see how it would be a problem."

"Thank you." Double D said as he took the keys. With that, the Eds made their way up to their room. The room was divided into two sections. The first and largest section was made up as a living room. There was a table, four table chairs, a couch was pushed up against the back wall, and a large dresser was pushed up against the wall to the left of the door. The other section of the room was the sleeping room. It had two bunk beds, in the same style as the ones they had slept in in New Greenvale, and was significantly cramped. There was barely enough room to stand between the two beds or open a door, which was probably why the room didn't have a door.

Eddy immediately made for one of the beds. "I'm going to bed. If either of you two wake me up I'll send you back to Peach Creek on the tip of my shoe!"

"Right behind ya Eddy!" Ed said, following Eddy into the sleeping room. Almost immediately, the two became jammed together because of the lack of space and started to argue. Eddy did at least, while Ed reacted to the whole thing with his usual obliviousness. Double D, on the other hand, was hungry and went back down to grab a bite to eat. After asking the still irate Nurse Joy, he stepped into the recreation room where he had been told he'd find food. The rec room was a large, open room. There were tables scattered across the room in no discernible pattern. Several widescreen TVs mounted along one wall with some couches and chairs arranged in front of them. At the far end of the room were several table games, such as air hockey, table tennis, and table soccer. Situated along the wall by the door, there was a buffet table piled with various cold foods such as fruits, vegetables, crackers, and cold meats. The only hot food available were three types of soup which were being kept hot in three large thermoses.

Double D grabbed a tray and crafted a small meal. He created three small sandwiches using the cold meat, cheese, and crackers, took a few pieces of carrot and celery, and a half-a-cup of something that he thought was rather optimistically identified as clam chowder. He sat down at a table and began to eat. As he ate, he observed those around him for, while far from full capacity, the room was not unoccupied. There was a group of five people watching what appeared to be a news show of some sort on one of the TVs. Seated not far away was a teenage boy picking absently at a plate full of crackers and cheese. Two young women were sitting at another table having a hushed debate about something. However, there was one person who kept catching Double D's eye. It was a man, perhaps in his mid twenties, sitting as about as far away from everyone else as possible. The man was about average height, somewhere around six feet if he had to guess. He was wearing a black leather jacket and a pair of blue jean pants. He looked pale and haggard, as if he had been sick recently or had been going for long periods of time without sleep. He had an unruly mop of sandy-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes behind a pair of glasses.

He was talking into a cellphone, and judging by the scowl on his face, he was not liking what he was hearing. He growled into the cellphone before turning it off and shoving it into a jacket pocket. He leaned back into his chair and glowered into his lap. Double D went back to eating. He finished off his small meal and was about to leave when a large, pink pokémon walked in the room. It was carrying one of the trays from earlier that had four Poké Balls on it. Double D pulled out his Pokédex to scan it. He had seen the pokémon at other Pokémon Centers they'd been to but before now he'd never had a chance to scan it.

"Chansey, the Egg Pokémon." It said. "It is said to deliver happiness. Being compassionate, it shares its eggs with injured people."

The Chansey walked over to the man and presented him with the tray. The man took the proffered Poké Balls and placed some money on the tray. Double winced at that. As he had read the guide, he had learned that while the services of the Pokémon Centers were free, it was considered polite to tip. He'd have to remember to do that before they left. The man shoved his Poké Balls into his jacket pockets and stalked out of the room. Double D sighed in relief as he watched the man leave. He looked like the kind of person who attracted trouble and trouble was something Double D really wanted to avoid. Considering who he was traveling with, however, he had to admit it was a bit of a fool's hope. After cleaning up a bit, Double D returned to their room.

Eddy and Ed were already asleep, judging by the loud snoring coming from the sleeping room. However, before Double D turned in he decided he had to check something first. He took at the guide, sat down at the table, and started to flip through it. That name, Shiloh Baker, it was ringing a bell in the very back of his mind. He hadn't recognized the name when Mr. Baker had introduced himself, but now that he thought about it, he was certain he'd come across it before. He'd never heard the name but he was absolutely certain he had read it before. However, he couldn't remember where he had read it or in what context. He thought it might have been in the guide, but as he flipped through it, he was starting to realize it must have been during his quick research session before coming to Dentor. He got about half way through the guide before admitting defeat and closing it with a tired sigh. Wearily, he stood up from the desk, walked into the sleeping room, and climbed into bed. Eddy and Ed had taken the other bed; Ed on top and Eddy on the bottom. Within less than a minute of his head hitting the pillow, Double D was out like a light and snoring with the best of them.

Cansport Town Airport

"Land! Earth! Soil! Rolf never thought Rolf would miss it so!"

That, along with throwing himself on the ground and trying to hug it, was Rolf's first reaction upon leaving the airport. In all, the flight had been spectacularly unpleasant. The landing had been worse, downright life shortingly frightening was the best way to put it. The plane had come roaring it, they weren't sure but it felt like it had bounced a few times once it hit the ground, and came to a screeching halt uncomfortably close to the end of the runway. The Cul-de-Sac kids, along with every other passenger, couldn't get out of the plane fast enough once the doors had been opened. After going through customs and registration, the group found themselves standing on the side of the road that ran past the airport.

"Well, what do we do now?" Nazz asked.

"We're supposed to meet Professor Hornbeam's sister, Maria Hornbeam." Kevin responded, looking around for the person in question. "She must be running late."

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Nazz asked.

Kevin shrugged. "I have no idea." As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long. Within five minutes, a brown van came driving up the road and stopped by the group. The passenger side door opened and a woman stepped out. Judging by her stereotypical scientist outfit and her resemblance to Professor Anthony Hornbeam, Kevin silently guessed that this woman was Maria Hornbeam. The very next instant, the woman confirmed that guess.

"Good evening children!" She said with the same energy and enthusiasm that her brother showed. "I am Maria Hornbeam, Pokémon Professor at you're service. I'm sorry I'm late. We had to change a tire on our van and it took longer than we expected." She gestured to a man sitting in the driver's seat, an assistant of some sort. "Anyway, I'm glad you all made it here safe and sound. The airline services we can here can be a bit spotty."

"That's putting it mildly." Nazz muttered quietly.

Jonny, on the other hand, was more forthright with his opinion. "You call that service!?"

"I know! I know!" Maria said, hands up in a placating gesture. "The service is terrible but it's the best we can get right now. We are working to get a better airline to service our needs but we simply don't have the funds right now. In another year or two we'll be able to charter flights with airlines that aren't accidents waiting to happen!"

"Rolf never wants to fly again!" Rolf declared, still clutching the ground. "Great Nanna was right. It's foolish for man to fly. If we were meant to fly we'd have feathers and wings like the birds!"

"Well, that's one way of putting it." Maria conceded. "Anyway, I suggest you put off starting your journey until tomorrow given how late in the day it is." Their flight had gotten a late start in the day and by the time they had touched down in Cansport it was late into the evening, just as Kevin had said.

"Alright." Nazz said. "And you were offering to put us up for the night?"

"Yup. That's the plan." Maria replied happily.

"Are you sure?" Nazz asked. "I'd really hate it if we were imposing on you like that."

"It's no trouble, really!" Maria said as she opened the van door. "There's enough room at the lab to allow for a few extra people to stay the night. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time we've put up trainers, perspective or other wise. It also has the added benefit of allowing you all to get your starter pokémon now instead of later." She turned back to the group, beaming brightly. "Now then, lets get…." She stopped mid-sentence and her smile turned to a confused frown. "Wait, weren't there supposed to be six of you?"

"Yeah, we're all here." Kevin snorted. "There's me, Nazz, Rolf, Jonny, Sar…." He had pointed to each person as he listed them off, but he stopped as he realized that they were short two people. "Uh, where are Sarah and Jimmy?"

"I...don't know." Nazz said, looking around for the pair. "I thought they were right behind us."

"Rolf does not know where She-who-gives-migraines and Pale Jimmy have wondered off too." Rolf put in. "Rolf does not even remember them being on the flying contraption."

"Yeah, I don't either." Jonny commented. He turned to Plank. "What's that buddy?" There came that awkward silence as Jonny pretended to converse with Plank.

"It's not worth trying to understand." Kevin said in response to Maria's questioning look. "It'll just give you a headache."

"Plank says that they were never on the plane to begin with!" Jonny said after a moment.

"What do'ya mean 'not on the plane'!" Kevin asked.

"Just as I said, not on the plane!" Jonny answered.

"Why didn't you say something!?" Kevin shouted back.

"Because it was Plank who noticed, not me!" Jonny huffed. "And you wouldn't let me take him with me! You made me leave him with the luggage so of course he couldn't tell me!"

"Calm down, you two!" Nazz interrupted, trying to stop any oncoming fight. "Look, I have Sarah's number so I can just call her and get things settled out." She pulled out her cellphone and dialed Sarah's number and brought it up to her ear. "Sarah?" She immediately jerked the phone away from her ear as, true to form, started shouting. The phone practically shook with the force of Sarah's raging. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!" Nazz shouted into the phone. "Just calm down and tell me what happened?" Nazz listened as Sarah explained what had happened. Nazz sighed in frustration as Sarah finished her story. "Look, let me talk it over with everyone else and we'll get something worked out." She hung up and turned to the group."

"So they missed our fight." Kevin groaned. "Those idiots."

"No, they missed our flight but not a flight." Nazz responded.

"What?"

"They got on the wrong plane." Nazz said flatly. It took all of Kevin's self restraint to not swear out loud. Nazz turned to Professor Maria, who trying very hard not to giggle. "They've ended up in some place called Littleroot Town."

"Ah," Maria chuckled as she regained control of herself. "That's in Hoenn. There's also a Pokémon Professor stationed there by the name Professor Birch. Look, lets go to my lab and I'll give Birch a call. He'll be able to help your friends." For a lack of any better ideas, they agreed to Professor Maria's suggestion and piled into the van. One short drive later and the group found itself at the Cansport Pokémon Laboratory. Professor Maria shepherded the group into the lab while her assistant, who she called Ben, parked the van. They entered the same room that the Eds had visited a few days before, except for the fact that it's contents had been rearranged since the Eds had stopped by. It had been thoroughly cleaned, and the various bits of loose paper and machinery had been stored away. Three long tables had been set up in the middle of the room. The tabletop of each table had seven small indents, and on each table six of the seven indents held a Poké Ball. There was a picture by each Poké Ball showing what pokémon each Poké Ball contained. The tabletops were each painted a different color; one red, one green, and one blue.

"If you'll just wait here for a bit I'll get in contact with Professor Birch." Maria said as she stepped into a side room. "Feel free to look around while you wait. Just don't break anything."

"In other words," Kevin growled as he turned to Rolf and Jonny. "Don't touch anything!"

"Rolf is insulted!" Rolf huffed. "Rolf has the upmost respect for the doohickeys of others! Rolf is no manure slinging vandal!"

Jonny had not been paying attention and had moved over to a tarp covered thing that was standing against the wall. "What do you think is here buddy?" He asked Plank as he pulled at the tarp.

"What did I just say!?" Kevin snarled. He ran over to Jonny, grabbed him by the collar, and roughly pulled him away from the covered machine. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to not mess with things that aren't yours?"

"Nope." Jonny replied happily.

Kevin sighed. "You know, I sometimes wonder why I even put up with you." He then pulled him to a chair and sat him down. "Just wait there until she comes back. That way you can't cause any damage!"

"Kevin, you need to calm down." Nazz cut in. She placed what she meant to be a soothing hand on Kevin's shoulder. "You're being a jerk again. I know you're upset about the Eds but you don't need take it out on the rest of us."

Kevin let off a frustrated sigh. "Things have already gotten off to a bad start. First the Eds get a head start on us and now this. Sorry, but I don't feel like adding 'making a Pokémon Professor angry' to that list. That will stop our journey cold before its even begun!"

"I don't think Professor Maria would do that." Nazz countered. "She seems too nice for that."

"Perhaps, but even nice people will get angry if you mess with their stuff." Kevin responded. "Either way, I don't want to risk it. Especially not at the starting gate!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to chill out before you actually do it?" Nazz scolded. "I thought this was supposed to be about having fun."

"I'll be able to 'chill out' when we actually get on the road." Kevin growled. In response, Nazz gave him the 'I'm very disappointed in you' look that she had developed over the many years she had dealt with his hothead obstinacy. They both knew that that look alone would get Kevin to unbend, if only slightly, whenever Nazz thought he was being too stubborn. He still tried though, but it lasted for only a few moments. "Look, I've been looking forward to this for a long time. It wouldn't be too far off to say that taking on my own pokémon journey has been a closely held dream of mine. I know I'm being unrealistic but I want things to be as perfect as possible for my debut run as a Pokémon Trainer. And, I gotta admit, things are not turning out as I'd hoped."

"And do you blame us for that?" Nazz asked.

"No." Kevin replied quickly. "Not you guys. I'd enjoy a journey with you and Rolf. Heck, I wouldn't mind even Jonny, Sarah, and Jimmy tagging along."

"The Eds then." Nazz sighed tiredly.

"Yes!" Kevin growled through clenched teeth. "I didn't want them to be anywhere near this! This was my thing! Free of the Eds and their scams! I just wanted this one thing! Is that so much to ask?"

"Kevin." Nazz said calmly, but firmly. She stood in front of Kevin, placing both her hands on his shoulders, and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm going to say this one more time, and I want you to get it through that thick skull of yours this time. Stop. Worrying. About. The. Eds. I understand that your upset about the Eds intruding into your dream and getting a head start on you. But you need to to stop twisting yourself into knots over it because there's no point. Think about it! By the sound of it, the Eds were just as clueless about pokémon as we were. So I doubt that they've done what they've done with the purpose of getting to you. On top of that, there is the inescapable fact that they are here and they are ahead of us. No amount of ranting, raging, or snarling about is going to change that. All that you are going to accomplish is to spoil the experience for yourself. In short, do not think about the Eds. Focus solely on you, what you are going to do, and how you are going to have fun. Understand?"

Kevin gave a tired smile. "I'll try."

"That will do for now." Nazz sighed. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you and making sure you actually do it."

"Yes. Please do."

At that moment, Maria walked back into the room. "I've got every thing settled with Professor Birch." She declared happily. "He's going to take your friends under his wing and get them started on their own pokémon journey in Hoenn. They might as well taken on the Hoenn League since they're already there."

"Sounds reasonable." Nazz commented. "I just hope they don't get into too much trouble."

"Oh, they'll be fine." Maria reassured them. "Birch has a talent for helping along rookie trainers. But now that we've got that settled, it's time for the main event!" She swept her arm around, encompassing the three tables. "It's time for the selection of your Starter Pokémon! Oh, wait! There is something I need to give you all first." She walked over to a desk and pulled out four red colored, rectangular devices. She handed each of them one of the devices.

"What contraption is this?" Rolf asked, handling the thing like it was some kind of poisonous animal.

"Its a Pokédex." Kevin explained. "Its an electronic encyclopedia of pokémon information. You use it to identify any pokémon that you encounter and learn a bit about them. You can also use it to interact with your pokémon to some degree, such as knowing what moves that they know or a general idea of their current physical state."

"Correct!" Maria exclaimed. "I'd take that you're the one who was already acquainted with pokémon that Anthony mentioned?"

"Yes." Kevin confirmed. "Though this would be the first time I've gone on a journey or doing a league run."

"Okay then. Now that that's settled, it's time for all of you to take that first step in your journey." She gestured to the tables and the rows of Poké Balls. "It's time to pick your starters!"

"And we just get to take one to keep?" Jonny asked.

"Yes." Maria answered. "You can take any one of the eighteen that are here. Usually, we have twenty-one but the replacement batch for the three that those other boys took aren't ready to be taken yet."

"Oh really." Kevin said, trying to sound as casual and nonchalant as possible. While he did intend to take Nazz's advice about not thinking about the dorks, there was no way he would pass up any opportunity to gain an advantage over them. It would help him make his decision on which starter to pick if he knew what the dorks had picked. "What did they take?"

"The starters from Kanto." Maria replied. "The tall, smelly one took Bulbasaur, the one with the sock on his head took Squirtle, and the short one took Charmander."

"Hm…." Kevin grunted.

"I have a question." Nazz asked, even raising her hand as if this were a classroom. "How can we choose a starter when we don't know anything about the choices on offer?"

"That's part of the fun dearie!" Maria exclaimed. "You're going to have to go on your instinct. You'll be draining most of the fun out of the experience if get too clinical with your choices of pokémon. Just examine the options we have for you and chose the one really speaks to you. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, you can partake in this option here!" She walked over to the covered object Jonny had been poking at early and pulled over the tarp. The thing underneath was a machine that appeared to be a slot machine. "This is an experiment that my brother and I have been working for a while now and we're hoping to give it a test run during this season. It doesn't have a name yet but, as you can probably tell, it works the same as a slot machine. The main difference is that instead of gambling, you use this machine to randomly pick a starter for you!"

"Too cool!" Jonny cried excitedly. He stepped up to the machine. "We'll take a go at that!"

"Wonderful!" Maria replied. "However, I do have to warn you about the one rule of this machine. Once you pull that lever, you are entirely committed to the result. There are no do-overs and there is no backing out. You have to take what the machine comes up with."

"No problem." Jonny said as he pulled the lever. The machine's screen lit up and images began to scroll across the screen at a fast pace. After a few seconds, the scrolling images began to slow down. Then the images came to a stop, leaving one image highlighted in the center of the screen. It was the image of what appeared to be a small owl. It had a short, round body. It had two stubby wings, a pair of small feet, and a small beak. Its feathers were a light brown and it had a white underside and facial disc. It's facial disc was formed in the shape of two overlapping circles. In each circle was a large, black eye and its beak was situated in the spot where the circles overlapped. Its beak was white on the top while the bottom beak was an orange-brown color. Two leaves sprouted out of the center of its chest, giving the impression that it was wearing a bowtie. The word 'Rowlet' flashed on the screen above the image.

"Rowlet." Maria mused. "Interesting choice. It'll be the Poké Ball at the end of the table with the green top."

"Oh boy!" Jonny ran over to the described Poké Ball and took up off the table. As soon as he did that, his Pokédex started to beep. "Hey, what's it doing?"

"It's registering that you've just obtained a pokémon and has brought up the pokémon's page in the Pokédex." Maria explained. "Just open it up and it'll stop beeping."

"Rowlet, the Gras Quill Pokémon." It said once Jonny flipped it open. "This wary pokémon uses photosynthesis to store up energy during the day, while becoming active at night."

"Great, that's one down and three to go!" Maria declared. She turned to the other three. "Would anyone else like a go."

"Rolf shall choose on his own." Rolf said as he started to walk among the Poké Balls. "Dame Fortuna has never been kind to Rolf."

"Same here." Nazz put in as she started to examine the Poké Balls.

"Me too." Kevin said. He made a show of examining some of the fire starters. He already had a good idea of what pokémon he would choose but he didn't want to be too obvious about it. He was going to choose a starter that had the type advantage to Eddy's starter, which meant a water type. Of the three dorks, it was Eddy who was the one that he actually hated. Ed was essentially Jonny, but a grosser shade of annoying. Double D would be tolerable, if it wasn't for the fact that he was a pompous, straight laced hypocrite. But despite all that, it was only Eddy who he had a real, burning passion to pound into the ground. As such, he would be more than happy to take advantage of this chance to get on over on him. Of course, he knew that wouldn't really amount to much. Eddy was bound to get his hands on a pokémon to cover that weakness either by Double D's direction or mere chance. That being said, getting the type advantage made him feel slightly better about getting a late start.

"Rolf picks this one!" Rolf shouted, making Kevin jump. He taken one of the Poké Balls from the fire starter table and was holding it up. The picture by the empty slot showed a pokémon that resembled a small chimpanzee. It was bipedal, with two long arms and two short legs. Its fur was an orange color while its face, parts of its ears, its hands, its feet, and its underbelly were a yellow color. The inner parts of its ears were colored red and it had red patches of fur around its eyes. It had a swirly crest of hair on the top of its head and a swirly symbol on its chest. The picture also show a small, bright flame coming out of its rear.

"Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon." Rolf's Pokédex said once he hand managed to get the thing open. "It is very agile. Before going to sleep, it extinguishes its flame on its tail to prevent fires."

"Ah Chimchar." Maria commented. "Another interesting choice. I would have put you down as a Tepig man myself."

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and take this one." Nazz said as she picked a Poké Ball from the grass starter table. The picture for this Poké Ball showed what appeared to be a snake on legs. It had a long, serpentine body with two stubby arms and two stubby legs. Its tail ended in a large, three pointed leaf-like structure. Its head was serpent like except for it had a significantly longer snout. Its body was a green color while its underside was a cream color. Along its back was a thin yellow stripe that ran from the back of its head to its tail. Two curved yellow structure protruded from its shoulders that curved backwards down its back. There were also a large yellow patch around each of the pokémon's big red eyes.

"Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon." Nazz's Pokédex said. "It is very intelligent and calm. Being exposed to lots of sunlight makes its movements swifter."

"And then there was one." Maria said to Kevin. "Are you ready to choose or do you need more time to think?"

"No, I've got it." Kevin walked over to the water starter table and picked up the second Poké Ball from the front. The picture by the Poké Ball showed a pokémon that resembled a bipedal crocodile. It's body was entirely blue save for a white v-shaped patch on its chest. Three rows of red spines ran down its back. One row of large spines ran along its spine while two rows of small spines ran along the sides of its back. There was also a single red spine on its short, stubby tail. It had two short arms that ended in five clawed hands and two short, stubby legs. It had a large head with an equally large jaw that was lined with incredibly sharp teeth. There was a ridge over each of its large, red eyes. Each of its eyes were surrounded by a black oval-shaped pattern.

"Totodile, the Big Jaw Pokémon." Kevin's Pokédex said. "Despite the smallness of it's body, Totodile's jaws are very powerful. While the pokémon may think it is just playfully nipping, its bite has enough power to cause significant injury."

"Up for a challenge I see." Maria commented. "You're going to need to be careful with that one."

Kevin shrugged. "That's fine with me."

"Alright! Now that that's settled, I think I would be a good idea to turn in for the night." Professor Maria advised. "You've got a big day tomorrow and you're really going to need to be well rested. After all, hiking around the region is going to take a lot out of you."

"Hiking?" Nazz asked. "Are we going to do all of the traveling on foot?"

"For the most part, yes." Maria answered. "After all, you can't catch or train pokémon if you're speeding past everything on planes, trains, and highways."

"I told you all that before." Kevin added. "That's why I said to pack hiking clothes."

"I know." Nazz pouted. "And I did. It's just that I didn't think it would all be hiking."

"Anyway, you really should turn in for the night." Maria urged. "We've got a few cots that we can wheel out for you to sleep on. They aren't the most comfortable things to sleep on, but its the best we've got. Besides, the only other place that will take guests that is anywhere close is the Pokémon Center in New Greenvale."

"Not an option." Kevin said. He looked at the clock in his Pokédex. "Especially given that it's almost mid-night."

"Well, I guess that settles it then." Nazz concluded. Within the hour, everything had been settled. The boys and the assistant, Ben, had dug out the cots and set them up. The three for Kevin, Rolf, and Jonny had been set up in the main room, while the one for Nazz had been set up in a side room. After a brief search, mattresses, sheets, blankets, and pillows had been found for the cots. Once that had been accomplished, everyone settled down for the night. Maria retired to her own living space in the back of the lab while Ben left for his own home. Rolf and Jonny, having had a lot of camping experience, settled into the uncomfortable cots fairly quickly. Nazz, not having the benefit of such experiences, spent a few minutes twisting and turning before she found a comfortable position. Kevin simply laid on his cot completely ignoring the fact that he was uncomfortable.

Kevin remained awake for a little while. Rolf and Jonny fell asleep quickly, if the snoring was anything to go by. He couldn't tell with Nazz since she was in another room. He lay in his cot, staring out a nearby window. It was a clear night and he could see several stars shining in the inky black sky. 'I'm finally here.' He thought. 'It's really happening! I'm a Pokémon Trainer now! Nazz is right. I'm going to focus on what I'm doing and not the dorks.' Suddenly, he had a concerning thought. What would happen if they ran into the dorks? It was certainly a possibility after all. He had checked the map and had found that there was some backtracking to get all of the gyms in the recommended order. The dorks would be doing the League Challenge like they were. He had absolute no doubt about that. After all, Eddy would never pass on an opportunity to make money and the League certainly fell into that category. 'But how far will they get?'

'They'll go all the way.' Kevin mentally answered himself. 'They will beat all of the gyms and make it to the League Tournament.' He knew this with a steel hard certainty that he'd felt for few other things before. By hook or by crook, they'd get there. 'But we will as well. We are going to take on the gyms, win the badges, get to the Pokémon League, and ground those dorks into the dirt.'

With that cheery thought, Kevin settled down to sleep. 'That would be fine way to end things.'

Next time on Pokemon, the ED-Ventures: The Eds get rangled into an escort mission while Kevin tries to teach the others how to Pokemon.

Author's Note: I've decided to stop making the Party Status Updates separate chapters and have decided to add them at the end of the chapters. Also, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but in the continuity of the story battles are taking place off screen. This is so that the story does become completely bogged with every single battle or for grinding.

Eddy

Name: Charmeleon

Gender: Male

Level: 17

Ability: Blaze

Moves: Dragon Rage, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen

Name: Shinx

Gender: Male

Level: 14

Ability: Intimidate

Moves: Spark, Leer, Charge, Baby-Doll Eyes

Double D

Name: Wartortle

Gender: Male

Level: 16

Ability: Torrent

Moves: Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Withdraw

Name: Pidgey

Gender: Male

Level: 15

Ability: Keen Eye

Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, Quick Attack

Ed

Name: Ivysaur

Gender: Male

Level: 16

Ability: Overgrow

Moves: Take Down, Poison Powder, Vine Whip, Leech Seed

Name: Stantler

Gender: Male

Level: 15

Ability: Intimidate

Moves: Stomp, Leer, Astonish, Hypnosis

Name: Drifloon

Gender: female

Level: 14

Ability: Aftermath

Moves: Constrict, Minimize, Astonish, Gust

Kevin

Name: ?

Gender: ?

Level: ?

Ability: ?

Moves: ?

Name: Totodile

Gender: Male

Level: 5

Ability: Torrent

Moves: Scratch, Leer

Nazz

Name: Snivy

Gender: female

Level: 5

Ability: Overgrow

Moves: Tackle, Leer

Rolf

Name: Chimchar

Gender: male

Level: 5

Ability: Blaze

Moves: Scratch, Leer

Jonny

Name: Rowlet

Gender: male

Level: 5

Ability: Overgrow

Moves: Tackle, Growl, Leafage