"Here you go; your Pokémon are as good as new," Nurse Joy smiled, passing over the tray with four Pokéballs inside.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Alex said, taking the tray gratefully. "I'm not making the same mistake again; this time my Pokémon will be ready when I battle!"

"That's a smart decision," Joy laughed before turning to Yui. "How about you; would you like your Pokémon healed too?"

"Oh, no thanks," Yui said brightly. "They're both fine at the moment; I've been taking good care of them."

"Well if you take as good care of them as you have been doing, I don't think you'll ever need to check them in for a serious recovery," Joy said, looking at the Eevee Yui held in her arms. She had to admit, she couldn't remember ever seeing an Eevee with such a well-brushed and glossy coat before, and its eyes sparkled with both health and happiness.

"Thanks again, Nurse Joy!" Alex called, racing towards the exit. "Come on Yui, let's go the Gym!"

"Hey, wait for me!" Yui said, hurrying after her friend.

"Thank you for coming, and good luck!" Nurse Joy shouted after them.

It was only a short distance from the Pewter City Pokémon Centre to the Gym. Alex tore on ahead eagerly, heedless of the crowd she was forced to dodge on her way. She saw the Gym ahead, took the final corner sharply, tripped over one of the many large decorative rocks in front, and went sprawling painfully on the gravel path.

"Ow," she said, more as an automatic reaction than from any actual pain.

"Twice in two Gyms... unbelievable," a voice sighed. Alex craned her neck upwards and saw a familiar looking girl with laughing green eyes and a stunning mix of red and brown hair tied into a tight ponytail looking down at her.

"Oh. Hi," she said, feeling distinctly embarrassed.

"Um, hello," Yui said shyly from the foot of the path, and Kluke looked over at the new arrival in surprise.

"Oh, hi," she said. "Are you here to challenge the Gym too? You might be a bit late; I've already battled the Leader today and Alex," she pointed out the fallen girl by tapping her shoe against the side of her head, "is next in line."

"Oh no, I'm not here to challenge!" Yui said hastily, taking a step backwards. "I'm Alex's friend. I've been travelling with her and came to cheer her on."

"Hey, aren't either of you going to help me up?" Alex shouted.

"No," both girls replied. "You've got legs," Kluke added.

"Gee, thanks," Alex said, climbing to her feet huffily.

"Umm... My name is Yui," the blonde-haired girl said, holding out her hand.

"And I'm Kluke," the other said, taking it with a smile. "So, Alex; given what happened the last time we fought, are you sure that you'll be able to beat the Gym leader?" she asked, turning her attention back to the taller girl.

"Of course," she replied, brushing the dirt from her clothes. "Did you beat him?"

"Check it out," Kluke said, proudly displaying her badge case; inside were four shiny tokens of victory. "It was close, but I beat him in the end; Charmeleon, Shuckle, and Tangela really came through for me. You might have trouble though; his Pokémon are unbelievably tough."

"I'll manage; probably do better than you did!" Alex retorted. "One hit each and they'll all go down!"

"Are you talking about the Gym Leaders Pokémon or yours?" Kluke asked innocently. Alex glowered at her while Yui tried to stifle a laugh.

"Well now, what's all this? Not arguing outside the Gym I hope?" a woman asked, walking from around the side of the building with a watering can in hand. All three girls spun around startled, and then a wide grin split across Alex's face.

"Aunt Dawn!" she shouted running forwards and throwing a hug around the woman.

"Hello, Alex; it's been a while, hasn't it?" the blue haired Coordinator smiled. "And let me guess; you're Yui?" she asked, looking around the group and spotting the blonde-haired girl.

"Um, yes, but uh, but how did-"

"Oh, that's easy; Brock told me about you two and asked me to keep an eye out for you," she smiled before turning to Kluke. "That was an excellent victory; you should be proud of yourself. I can't remember the last time Forrest was so excited after a match. That was the best battle he's had in a long time."

"Uh, thanks..." Kluke said, trailing off in confusion. Perhaps Dawn spotted this, because she smiled again and beckoned the three of them to follow her. "Uh, Alex; how do you know this woman?" she whispered in an undertone.

"Yeah, and how does she know Brock?" Yui added.

"Simple; she's my aunt," Alex said with a grin. "She's my Dad's half-sister. As for how Brock knows her, well he used to be the Gym Leader here but when he went travelling with my Dad he gave the position to his brother, Uncle Forrest." She let that sink in for a moment.

"You mean you're related to a Gym Leader?" Kluke yelped.

"Yep; and I know all of his Pokémon," Alex grinned. "I've already got my strategy figured out because I know what his weakness is."

"It still won't be an easy battle," Kluke warned. "I mean, look at the odds; I'm a much more experienced trainer than you, and I barely beat him."

"Don't worry," Alex said, her eyes fixed on Dawn. "I know exactly what I'm going to do."

"So Alex, I'm guessing you're going to challenge Gyms like your Dad if you're here for a battle. Why don't you want to be a Coordinator like your Mom and me?" Dawn asked teasingly.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I want to do," Alex said. "I was thinking of starting off with a mixture of the two and then seeing which one I liked best." She twisted a little uncomfortably while Dawn scrutinized her; her aunt had always been good at telling when she was hiding the truth. And the truth was, though she was excited at the prospect of both, neither Gyms nor Contests were something she was particularly interested in. Could the Coordinator tell that her goal lay elsewhere?

"I see," Dawn said slowly, still looking at the girl keenly. Alex began to fidget with nervousness under her gaze. "Well, there's a Festival in Cerulean City going on at the moment," she began, finally tearing her eyes away from her niece. "It ends with a Contest in a week's time, and a special exhibition match between the Battle Frontier Brains Brandon and Palmer. Since there's a Gym in Cerulean City it might be something you want to check out; you'll get to try both of them at the same time that way.

"How about you, Kluke?" she asked then.

"Oh, me?" Kluke said, startled. "Well, I'm a Gym challenger. Contests have never really interested me that much. I've already got four badges so I'm halfway to the League now."

"And what about you-"

"Aunt Dawn," Alex interrupted hesitantly.

"Yes, Alex?"

"I was wondering... well... what was my Dad like?" she asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Hasn't May told you about him?" Dawn asked gently.

"I... well... sometimes," she admitted. "But only when I really asked her and wouldn't let it drop. She always looked really upset and only told me about what he did. I know all about his accomplishments, but not about who he actually was."

"You asked Brock and Holly about this too, didn't you?" Dawn said shrewdly, and Alex gave another embarrassed nod.

"Her father's dead?" Kluke whispered quietly to Yui.

"It's a long story," Alex said pointedly, overhearing her, and Kluke turned a faint shade of pink, accepting that Alex didn't want to talk to her about his death just yet.

"Well... he was a great friend," Dawn said softly, her eyes lost in the past. "All my memories of him are of the encouragement he unfailingly gave after each Contest loss, of how much he cared for his friends and his Pokémon, of the efforts he went to when helping others. I remember when we met, he'd lost his Pikachu. I found it and took it to the nearest Pokémon Centre. That was where we first met, and we were friends from that moment on. We were always close, like brother and sister really." She sighed. "I didn't even find out we were related until Silver let it slip. Can you imagine what those odds are? Travelling together for all that time with a person from a different region and all the while not knowing that you're siblings?

"And then I lost him," she said softly. "The same day I found out that I had a brother, he was gone. Can you imagine what that feels like, gaining something so important to you and then losing it so quickly? All my life I'd only had my mother until Ash and Brock came along. I gained a brother and then lost him. And there was nothing I could do to save him, nothing to help him at all." She wiped away several unshed tears and looked at Alex, her eyes bright.

"Do you know what the last thing I said to him was?" she asked softly. "I told him that our lives weren't over; that we'd all live to see it through." She shook her head, trying hard to restrain the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her.

"I'm sorry," Alex said, and it was then that Yui and Kluke realized her eyes were as watery as Dawn's. "Please, don't go on. I'm sorry I asked, I... I didn't mean to..." Dawn cut her off.

"You want to know who he was, Alex?" she said. "Just ask yourself; what kind of person would do what he did? It tells you the kind of character he had, about the person he was. You are a lot like him in many ways. You share his impulsiveness, his desire for action, his impatience, his pigheadedness, and I can only assume his appetite. But you also have his caring, compassionate side. You want to know who he was? Just look inside yourself; you already know the answer."

Alex nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was almost relieved when the front door of the little cottage opened and Forrest stumped inside.

"Ah. Hello," he said, recognition lighting his face as he spotted Alex and Kluke.

"Hello," Kluke said rather shyly for her usual outgoing manner; she was not used to being invited to a Gym Leader's home.

"Back from the Pokémon Centre?" Dawn asked, rising to meet him with a smile.

"Yep," Forrest nodded, embracing her briefly before sitting down in the last available chair. "I'll be picking them up tomorrow morning, so they'll get a good rest before the first challenger tomorrow. Speaking of which, that was an excellent battle today, Kluke," he added. "I'm looking forward a lot to fighting you again some time!"

"Thanks," she grinned, her nerves easily dispelled by his friendly manner.

"Well I'm ready to challenge you, Uncle Forrest!" Alex said, finally finding her voice and glad that it wasn't shaking. "It'll be my first Gym Battle, and I'm ready when you are!"

"I'm sorry, Alex," he apologized, "but like I said, all my Pokémon are at the Pokémon Centre right now. They're tired out after all the battling they've done. It wouldn't be a fair fight at all. How does tomorrow morning sound though?"

"I guess that'll work," Alex sighed, disappointed, and Forrest chuckled.

"It's good to meet you too, Yui," he said, surprising the girl. "Brock told me about you. How's your Eevee doing?"

"She's very well," Yui beamed, presenting the Pokémon to the Gym Leader. "Isn't she sweet?"

"Vui," Eevee cooed, and it took a lot of effort from everyone to not drop their jaws and sigh "aww."

"It's getting dark," Dawn noticed suddenly. "Do you girls need a place to spend the night? We've got lots of room."

"That'd be great, thanks," Alex said gratefully, and Yui nodded her thanks too. Kluke, however, declined.

"It's very nice of you to offer, but I've got a room booked at the Pokémon Centre," she explained. "I've already left some stuff in there, so I'd rather just stay there. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh no, not at all," Dawn said with a smile. "If I don't see you again before you leave, I hope that you have a very successful journey, Kluke."

"Thank you, Dawn," she said, smiling back as she stood to leave. "I'll see you guys around later," she added to Alex and Yui.

"Bye Kluke!" Yui piped while Alex merely waved. "It was nice to meet you!"

"And you," she smiled, closing the front door gently behind her.

"You two might as well be off to bed as well," Forrest added. "You'll need a good night's sleep if you're going to challenge me tomorrow!"

"You're right, Uncle Forrest," Alex said, giving him a quick hug before following Dawn upstairs to the guest rooms. "You better get rested up too; I'll be raring to go!" Forrest laughed again as Yui hastened up the stairs after her friend, giving him a smile of thanks as she passed.

None of them noticed the dark figure hidden within the shadows outside, watching their every move.