Hi. Sorry for the wait. I hate battle chapters, but there's a good one in here. Good as in long, not as in good. I didn't reread or get this one beta'd so fuck it if something's off. Um, disrespected author's note and I won't be skipping ahead. This starts the next morning from chapter 10. And it's just about my usual, 3500 words.

As Jack and I pedaled away from the Carter Mansion, my mind buzzed. It really didn't seem like there was much to think about, but somehow it was all too apparent. I smiled as a pidgeotto overhead called cheerfully to its mate and somehow, as if seeing the gentle joy and affection between to souls made it all better, my heart lifted and I flew down the sleek asphalt, Saffron mewing happily from my basket, Spark clapping his little paws in excitement from the breast pocket of my black and pink striped shirt (both mine and Jack's clothes had been washed the previous night), my black skirt flaring around my knees. Jack in his black and gold t-shirt and usual khakis, smiled at me and pushed his weight forward to catch up. The weather was beautiful, the sun shining on his dirty blond hair. Still wanting a change from my braid, my straight hair streamed behind me.

We sped out of the city in silence, simply enjoying getting back into the wilderness. I cooed as I saw two nidorans frolicking in a field outside of the city, almost couple-like, supervised by a Nidoqueen hiding in the brush. I could only see her when Jack pointed her out to me. It was amazing to see one in the wild.

Slowing as the road became bumpier, we passed a house where two tall teenaged girls sat on the grass in bikinis, simply enjoying the warmth of the day. One was sketching on a pad of paper and the other one was making a bracelet from string. The girl with the string was surrounded by a wigglytuff and a raichu, two very girly Pokémon, in my opinion. Her friend, on the other hand, was leaned against a huge onix, a scyther at her side. Though the girls looked like the preppy type, it was obvious that all four Pokémon were well raised and quite accomplished. The girls ignored us- we were only travelers- but the Pokémon looked up with interest, noting Saffron in the basket, Lunus at Jack's feet and Spark in my pocket. Actually, Spark noticed the raichu and squealed loudly. The other Pokémon's ears twitched. She quickly left her owner to scramble over to us. I yelped as Spark tumbled out of my pocket and onto the ground to inspect the newcomer. Jack turned to look and stopped as I jammed my brakes, the two girls looking up.

"Rye, baby, come here," the girl instructed calmly as I blushed. I got off my bike and knelt down, prying my Pokémon from his interested inspection of what he might one day become.

"I'm sorry," I called, always uneasy with people I didn't know. When both Pokémon refused to be moved, both girls got up, the first with the raichu looking Jack over with interest. She turned to her friend with raised brows. The second girl smiled and nodded and raichu girl turned to Jack.

"Double battle?" she queried sweetly. I liked her bluntness. Jack turned to me and I smirked at him, feeling strangely confident. I'd be able to try out Stella and give Aquatrix a real battle. Jack looked surprised but I shrugged. He smiled at the girl.

"Of course." He replied as we both threw our bikes to the ground on the front lawn. The artist pulled on a pair of denim shorts, her friend a white tennis skirt.

"Come around back," the first girl said, beckoning to us. "We've got a big field," she explained. We nodded and followed them. It must have been nice living here, only five minutes from the city without the hustle and bustle of the grey stone grid.

"You sure?" Jack muttered as we went between a hedge and the house. I shrugged.

"We lose, we lose." I said easily. He looked worried and I patted my bag. "I've got money. I haven't had a battle yet so I'm fully stocked," I reminded him. He shook his head.

"None of your Pokémon but Aquatrix has battled," he reminded me. I smirked.

"There's only one way to change that," I told him as we found a giant field and the girls settled themselves at the end of their field, their Pokémon steady behind them. Jack looked at me.

"You'll go for the onix?" he asked me. I nodded, almost positive she'd send that one out.

"And you'll use Lunus if she sends the raichu?" I asked him. He nodded as well. I was pretty confidant in my measure of types and their strengths and weakness, always one to strategize, even in mock battles with Sam. He squeezed my shoulder.

"Whoop ass, girl," he teased. I smirked.

"Don't let them flirt with you," I retorted. He flushed, never comfortable with the attention he received from girls. I giggled and settled myself, making sure Spark was comfortable on Saffron's head while she sat at my feet. I looked down at her. "You're not going in, babe," I told her, "but cheer for your friends," I said. She mewed happily, ever the lap Pokémon. I grinned and we turned to the girls.

"I'm Talia, and this is Lila!" the girl with the onix called.

"Jack!" he shouted down the field. "And Ari!" he added, gesturing to me.

"Two Pokémon each!" Lila returned. "First team with three KOs wins, yeah?" she suggested. Jack and I glanced at each other and nodded.

"Let's go!" I replied loudly. They smiled.

"Wigglytuff! Battle hard!" Shouted Lila.

"Onix! You too!" Talia said simultaneously.

"Lunus!" Jack directed, the umbreon scrambling onto the battlefield from Jack's side.

"Aquatrix, kick butt!" I called, settling into the battle like it was a skin. Here was my mother, showing up, as my water Pokémon sprang onto the field. They looked impressed. All four of us looked at each other until Jack, with a smile, set us off.

"Begin!" he ordered. "Lunus, faint attack!" he ordered. Lunus already knew his target.

"Aquatrix, water gun!" I commanded. She yelped and sprayed water towards the towering rock Pokémon.

"Onix, dig!" shouted its trainer. The Pokémon disappeared into the ground. I grimaced as Aquatrix stopped, waiting patiently.

"Wigglytuff, double slap!" Lila ordered. I glanced up. Lunus was already heading towards wigglytuff, slamming into the big pink Pokémon, who braced itself and proceeded to bitch slap Lunus. I rolled my eyes.

"Aquatrix! To the side, then water gun!" I yelled. "Be careful for the vibrations!" I reminded her. She chirped and did as told, forcing the squealing wigglytuff away from Lunus.

"Thanks," Jack muttered, clearly upset he'd needed my help. I rolled my eyes and sighed- men and their pride. Suddenly, Aquatrix was flying. I grimaced as she passed high into the air.

"Didn't know she could do that," I cursed, hearing Talia congratulate her onix. "Must've missed the vibrations." I muttered. "Aquatrix! Water gun on the ground to slow your fall!" I shouted. She did as such, floating gently to the ground and steadying herself. I smirked. "Bubble beam!" I continued, watching her shoot bubbles at the surprised onix.

"Lunus, shadow ball!" Jack ordered. I understood that he was going for non-contact attacks: the wigglytuff was too big for Lunus to handle. The spinning black ball hit its mark, throwing the fat Pokémon off. "Another one!" he ordered. I turned my attention back to my Pokémon.

"Atta girl, Aquatrix!" I shouted gleefully, noting the flailing onix and the pursed lips of Talia. "All right, iron tail!" I ordered. The blue Pokémon yelped and leapt into the air, her tail emitting a hard white light. I vaguely heard yells from Lila and Jack's side of the battle.

"Onix! Wrap!" I heard Talia yell. I bit my lip as Aquatrix, already flying towards the grey stone Pokémon, was caught in its vice-like grip. I heard her squeal and bit my lip harder.

"Water gun if you can manage!" I shouted. No good. "Jack!" I said urgently.

"Gotcha." He replied. "Lunus, confuse ray on onix!" Lunus leapt to his bidding and I glanced in surprise at the other half of the battle, realizing Lunus had KO'd the wigglytuff and that Lila was sending out raichu. Unfortunately, the timing caused the confused onix swing Aquatrix free, slamming its tail into the surprised raichu. Both girls grimaced as the onix danced slowly in place, unable to focus.

"Finish with a water gun!" I yelled desperately. Aquatrix did as told and the onix was recalled, to be replaced with a scyther. Before I knew what was happing, Aquatrix was surrounded by bright yellow light. "Shit," I muttered, seeing the work of raichu. Lunus finished the attack with a tackle, but Aquatrix could barely stand. "Finish with a bang!" I called. "Aurora beam!" I yelled. The scyther was slammed with a beautiful beam and fell back as Aquatrix fell in a faint. "Good girl!" I yelled miserably, recalling her and sending out Stella. "You can do it babe!" I yelled. "Quick attack!" I commanded, remembering the list of attacks Junichi had told me about when we'd returned to his office after Tito had given me Stella. She yelped and did as told and I knew she was going to be a strong battler. She slammed into the scyther with surprising speed and even Jack blinked in surprise as the scyther wobbled backwards before steadying itself.

"False swipe!" Talia ordered.

"Shit," I heard Jack muttered.

"Sand attack!" I yelled, making sure Stella was kicking dust into her opponents face before seeing Jack recall a fainted Lunus.

"Switch," he muttered to me. "Storm!" he called. I knew what he was doing. Storm's fire type attacks would go better against the bug type scyther than the raichu. "Flamethrower!" he yelled quickly. Storm barked and did as told, making sure Stella had leapt out of the way. Unfortunately, the scyther had gotten through the dust cloud in order to take a slash at her first. She yelped and skidded to a halt in front of the raichu, which promptly shocked her on Lila's orders. I grimaced.

"Come on, quick attack! You can do it!" I ordered. She flicked off the static that had puffed out her coat and slammed into the raichu. Such a close vantage point and the ferocity of the attack threw the Pokémon to the ground. "Tackle! Make it hard!" I followed up quickly. The intelligent Pokémon leapt into the air and body slammed her opponent, apparently fueled by anger.

"Raichu, keep hold of it and thunder-" Lila began to order, but Stella had already made her attack and dashed off. I was amazed by my own Pokémon. Of her own accord, she made one more quick attack, finishing off the yellow Pokémon as it struggled to get up. I was gaping. So was Jack, seeing as his fire type had just finished off scyther. Even the girls were surprised.

"Damn," I muttered. My little fighting beast turned, sat in the dust, smiled her pert smile and beat her tail gently, looking like a little fluffy pet instead of the amazing Pokémon I'd just seen battle. "You know," I said to Jack, "I think my other would kill me if I put her in a contest," I said thoughtfully. He laughed and I bent to my knees, holding out my arms. Stella mewled and dashed into my arms, again the cuddly fuzz ball. "You were amazing!" I squealed, standing and spinning as she licked my face. The girls and Jack had recalled their Pokémon, and the four of us met in the middle of the field, my two Pokémon at my feet, Stella in my arms. Lila immediately smiled and dragged Jack into conversation. Talia rolled her eyes at me and I grinned.

"Quite an amazing little Pokémon you've got there," she commented, scratching Stella's ears. "Certainly didn't expect to be beaten by a fourteen year old," she remarked. I smiled shyly.

"Thanks," I replied, wondering how she'd guessed my age so closely. "Honestly, I didn't expect to win," I replied. She smiled.

"How long have you been with this one?" she asked, meaning Stella. I smiled wryly.

"Two days. A strange homeless man gave her to me," I explained. She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Do tell," she said easily. I quickly told her the story and she nodded amused. "All five eevees then?" she asked. I nodded. I gestured to Saffron.

"That's why she doesn't do anything," I said with a wry smile. "She's going to stay an eevee," I explained, tapping the base of her tail with my foot. She mewled happily. We glanced at the other pair, Lila laughing at the story Jack was telling, whatever it was. I shoved my sudden jealousy under amusement. Talia and I glanced at each other and grinned. She grabbed Lila's arm.

"Boyfriend," she remarked casually, as if saying hello. Lila flushed and Jack blinked. I giggled and Jack glared at me.

"Back to the Pokémon center?" he suggested, covering his glare. I managed to stop my laughter and nodded. I shook hands with both girls and rolled my eyes as Jack gave each a kiss on the cheek. He was so weird.

"See you later!" I called as we left around the back and found our bikes, still on the lawn. I shook my head as we returned to Celadon, healed our Pokémon, and left the city again, stopping only to grab some chocolate milkshakes, which we could drink as we went and would keep us full until our late lunch in Saffron.

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Arriving in Saffron two hours later, I smiled as we passed the Saffron Crocus, the hotel where the Battler's Ball had been held not even three days ago. It seemed like ages. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Girls," I heard him mutter. I smirked and took Spark from my breast pocket, launching him at Jack. When the tiny Pokémon hit his cheek and settled on top of his head, he glared at me. I smiled airily and kept pedaling. Suddenly, I slowed, looking at Jack.

"Where are we going?" I asked him. He smiled and nodding up the street we were turning onto.

"There," he replied, meaning a small pub. I rolled my eyes. Why were boys always thinking about food? I opened my mouth. He suddenly threw Spark back at me, who chirped and clapped on the way over.

"Out," I said in a muffled voice- he'd landed in my mouth. He mewed happily and found his way into my pocket. "I hate you," I told Jack. "And he's enjoying this. Which means this will probably keep happening," I informed him tartly. He smiled in the same lofty way I had when I'd thrown the mouse Pokémon at him.

"Any chance to piss you off," he replied easily. I sneered at him as we pulled up to a streetlamp and locked our bikes to it. I cuffed him on the back of his head and led the way into the restaurant, noticing his failed attempt at a subtle eye roll and headshake. I smirked.

"Two please," I said to the maitre' d, who smiled and nodded as I recalled Saffron, who was trotting at my feet. Spark would be fine. She led us to a table and promised us a waitress. We sat down in the booth and I looked at Jack. "So where are we going?" I asked him again. He sat back in his seat.

"We're going to be camping out east, towards Lavender town." He replied. I blinked as Spark scampered into my hands, which were clasped on the table. I smiled and rubbed his cheeks gently, which I'd found he loved.

"I thought you were coming from Lavender when you met me," I replied, unsure. He nodded.

"I was," he replied. "There's a good route full of trainer's and wild Pokémon near Lavender. I was going there to train." He paused and I waited patiently. Suddenly, a waiter appeared.

"I'm Jeff, I'll be your waiter today. Can I get you anything to drink?" he queried.

"Mountain Dew," I replied customarily. Back home, I drank a can at least every two days- the sugar and caffeine didn't really effect me. Now I hadn't had any since the last time Jack and I ate at a restaurant, which was when we left from Cerulean City.

"Sprite," Jack said. The man nodded and disappeared. I looked up at Jack.

"Continue," I prompted. He nodded.

"I'm from Pewter. That's where I started two years ago," he began. I nodded, remembering my mother's interrogation where Jack had revealed he'd left two years ago. It was a startling thought to realize Jack had been doing this for two years. I'd been out for barely two weeks and it felt like ages since I'd been home. I sighed inwardly. I knew that barrage of homesickness would hit soon. I looked up to keep listening.

"First I went south, down to Viridian, and then to Pallet Town. I stayed with my dad in Pallet Town for about a year, occasionally learning with Professor Oak, or going up to Viridian City." He told me. I nodded. "Then I went back to Pewter when he died and stayed with my family for a month, at the end of which I battled and beat Flint of Pewter City," he explained. "I left and made my way from Cerulean to Saffron to Lavender. Trained there for a few months and then we met. So not quite two years," he said, reconsidering his earlier words. I nodded. "20 months?" he guessed, looking at me. I shrugged.

"So what's this got to do with anything?" I asked him. He grinned.

"Sorry," he replied. "So I was training in Lavender Town. Then I was heading towards Saffron, to go up towards Cerulean, but because I chose to go to Cerulean instead of Vermillion, I missed the sea route. It's a great place to train and there's a town I want to hit that's between Lavender and Fuchsia City," he finished. By this point, I was utterly lost.

"Gimme a minute please," I muttered, reaching into my bag. Jack grinned apologetically.

"Sorry," he muttered. I smiled and nodded, pulling out my Pokédex and finding the map option. After two minutes, within which my drink was delivered, I figured out what he meant. I looked up at him, brows furrowed.

"Why not just go south?" I asked him curiously. "Why go all the way around route 12 when we could just go down?" I continued. He shrugged.

"Partly because I like Lavender Town, partly because I'm going to catch a grass type in Diglett's Cave on the way to Vermillion, and partly so we take long enough that we can be in Vermillion over your birthday. You did say it was in a few weeks, right?" he queried suddenly. I blushed brilliant and I could tell he was hiding a smile.

"Jack, you don't-" I muttered, not finding the right words. He smiled.

"It works out." He told me as the waiter appeared again. Burying my still-hot face in my menu, I searched it quickly as Jack ordered his usual burger and fries. I chose a large bowl of chicken noodle soup, which came with a roll and two cookies. Unable to hide behind anything anymore when the waiter took my menu, I had to blush right at Jack's smiling face.

"Honestly, you don't want to be at a party with my parents," I protested. Hell, most of the time I didn't want to be at a party with my parents. Jack shook his head.

"I'll disappear for the night if you really want to, but you should spend your birthday with your family," he told me firmly. I pouted, inside my emotions in turmoil. I wanted to tell him that I'd definitely rather spend my birthday, or any day, with him over my crazy family. I sighed.

"You're coming," I muttered darkly. "If I suffer, you suffer," I explained. He laughed and I couldn't help but smile, stroking Spark with my thumb. I looked up at him, taking a sip of my drink. "So what town did you say you wanted to visit?" I asked lazily. He smiled.

"That, my dear Arabel, is a surprise," he told me mysteriously. I glared at him.

"Did you know I hate mysteries?" I told him pointedly. He smirked.

"I could have guessed." He replied cockily. I threw Spark at him, smiling in self-satisfaction as electricity crackled on his face and his eyebrows stood comically on end.

"Ow!" he said loudly, yanking the happy Pokémon off of his face. "He shocked me!" he said, surprised. I raised an eyebrow.

"However dumb, he is an electric type," I reminded him. Jack rolled his eyes and bounced Spark in his palm, waiting for the electricity to fizzle out. "So what is this town?" I asked again, looking up at him over my drink. I was quick enough to catch Spark as he was thrown at me, and quickly slipped the giggling Pokémon into my pocket. Jack glared.

"Surprise." He smiled. "It's part of your birthday present." He added. I raised my eyebrows.

"So this is going to be an interesting birthday?" I queried. He smiled brightly.

"Most definitely."

Huh. So I just read my previous author's note and just letting you know, I've completely dropped that. I've decided that they will go to Viridian/Pewter, but only after Fuchsia. Actually, I have no idea how that will work, but I'll make it happen. Let's see… In the next chapter I'll probably skip the week where they train and get on with the story, get them to Vermillion… Oh, he'll just get… Never mind. I just made the plot work. Anyway, oh shit. Damn it, I'm going to have to stick a contest in there somewhere… Fuck, I don't know why I started this.

Well. I sound like a terribly mean person when I write these author's notes, so I'm just going to tell you guys that I love you. You people are awesome.

Luff,

TSL