Amber chowed down on the appetizers as they waited for their actual meal to arrive. Chris and Celia both sighed and shook their heads at her unruly behavior, but she paid no heed to them as she slurped down her soda. She finished her portion and looked at the two with a content look on her face. "So after this, ya wanna hit the Gym or something?"

Chris leaned back in his chair and relaxed. "Nah, I think we should unwind before we go to get that badge! And, have you even trained your Pokemon?"

Amber looked down at the table and mumbled, "Well, no, not really…"

Celia smiled and suggested, "It would be smart to train before you try your first Gym battle, Amber!"

Amber took another gulp of her soda and agreed, "Yeah, I guess that you're right…"

Chris smirked and kidded, "I want a rematch; we never finished our battle from before. How about two Pokemon each?"

Amber grinned and teased, "I seem to remember I was winning last time, Chris!"

Chris wagged his finger in her face. "Nah-ah, that doesn't count! Trapinch interrupted the battle before we finished!"

Amber rolled her eyes, although she was grinning, and stuck out her hand. "Alright, so after lunch we fight?"

Chris grabbed her hand firmly and shook it. "Sure! Be prepared to lose!"

"May the best girl win!"

Before they could really talk anymore, the waitress came over with their orders, and they began to eat their meals. Amber had, of course, a bowl of stew, Celia had a salad, and Chris had some chicken. Amber frowned at Celia's plate and said, "What, are ya on a diet or something? You're skinny enough!"

Celia shook her head. "No, I just like healthy food!"

Amber made a face. "Well, if that's healthy, I'd rather eat junk food!"

Celia pouted and whined, "But you'd eat junk food anyways!"

Amber winked at stuck her tongue out. "Exactly!"

They finally finished and paid the amount, and Celia glanced outside and said, "I don't think the battle should be held on the street; someone could get hurt…"

Amber rolled her eyes, but she said, "Okay, okay, how about…just a little outta town?" With a nod from her friend, they walked until they were next to the sign that said, 'Welcome to Pewter City' at the entrance of the city. Celia backed up a bit, and Chris and Amber both took out their Poke Balls. Amber held up hers, smirking at him. "Don't cry when you lose!"

The brown-haired boy grinned back. "Same to you!"

They both threw their Poke Balls, calling out, "Go Speedy!" and "Go Trapinch!" The two Pokemon stood before their respective Trainers, and Amber chuckled, "Let's get started!"

Chris shouted quickly, "Speedy, use Tackle!" The little Rat Pokemon rushed towards Trapinch, unwavering under the jaw Pokemon's gaze. Amber countered with, "Trapinch, dodge and use…Bite!" Amber realized she didn't know what move he had used against Team Rocket, so she called out a backup one. She hoped he had the move.

He obviously did, since he responded by opening his jaws and charging forward like a monster truck. Chris answered the oncoming attack by instructing Speedy, "Use Growl!" Speedy stopped in mid-attack and Growled threateningly. Trapinch was surprised at the sudden show of determination, and he faltered for a moment. The time window in between was small, but it was enough.

"Quick, use Sand-Attack!"

Amber gasped as Trapinch was blinded by the sand flung into his face. Trapinch swung his head wildly, trying to clear his vision. Chris then ordered Speedy, "Now, Tackle it!"

Trapinch was unable to see the attack coming, and so was knocked over onto his side. Amber bit her lip and yelled, "Get up, Trapinch!" The jaw Pokemon, however, had lots of trouble of moving because of his huge head, and so Speedy was able to Tackle it again, causing it to spin across the ground until it came to a halt. Trapinch was dizzy, and it let out a wavy snarl. Amber looked around trying to figure out a way to beat it. Then, she glanced at the Rat Pokemon. The twitching nose, the rotating ears, the curling tail…

That's it! Amber hastily yelled, "Trapinch, roar out as loud as you can!"

Trapinch opened his maw and inhaled deeply, before it bellowed the most screeching, harsh roar as anything she had ever heard. The three kids even had to cover their ears, but Speedy got it even worse. His sensitive ears got the full blast, and he had squeaked in pain and tried to cover his ears. Trapinch, in the meantime, seemed to get the strength to lift his head and get up onto his feet. Amber was still wincing from the howl as she yelled, "Now, use…use…Dark Shot!"

Chris was confused. "Dark what?"

Trapinch, though, understood what she was trying to get him to do, and so he let loose a barrage of Shadow Balls that zoomed towards Speedy. Chris shouted desperately, "Dodge 'em, Speedy!"

Speedy leapt over two, but one smashed into him, and he slammed into a tree trunk hard. A branch cracked overhead, and it fell down and slammed in between the Rat Pokemon's eyes, knocking him out.

Amber grinned and punched the air triumphantly. She turned to Trapinch and ran over to hug him. Trapinch just stood there as she praised him, "Good job, Trapinch! Ya did it!" The jaw Pokemon just replied with a 'Trap' as if to say, "No prob."

Chris smirked as he held up his other Poke Ball. "We're not finished yet!" Amber nodded and returned Trapinch to his Ball with a 'thanks', and looking at Meowth. "Alright, Meowth, you're up!"

The Scratch Cat Pokemon nodded and ran onto the field as Chris threw his Ball, shouting, "Go, Inferno!" The Charmander came out with a flash of red light, and he stomped his foot once and growled, showing he was ready. Meowth smirked and said something to him, as if teasing him, and Inferno got angry and shot a small Ember at her. She just ducked, and Chris scolded him, "Control your temper, Inferno! Don't let her get to you!" The Fire type just grumbled darkly.

Amber laughed and yelled, "Alright Meowth, let's win another battle!" Meowth nodded and unsheathed her claws with a smirk. Chris told Inferno, "Use Scratch!"

"Oh, yeah? Show them how it's really done, Meowth!"

The two charged each other, and their claws both did some damage to the other. They both turned simultaneously and attacked again and again, continuously trying to catch the other off guard. Suddenly Chris yelled, "Ember!"

Inferno responded with a ball of fire from his mouth, and Meowth stumbled to avoid it and fell over. Chris quickly added, "Now Scratch again! Give it your all!"

"Get up Meowth!"

Charmander swung three times, but only two attacks hit, for Meowth jumped up above his last Scratch. Charmander looked up, but Meowth pile-drived her foot into his face, and he fell over onto his back holding his face. Amber grinned at the sudden turn-of-battle and commanded, "Now, use Fury Swipes!"

Meowth slashed super fast, and Inferno wasn't quick enough to dodge the sharp claws. He finally rolled out of the way, but when he stood up he was panting heavily. Chris bit his lip and tried to think on his feet. "Use Ember, now!"

Inferno opened his mouth to fire, but Meowth quickly slammed into him, which knocked him off balance. Still, as she collided with him, the Ember came out of his mouth and shot into the sky. It hit a branch above, and it immediately lit up as the flames started to travel towards the trunk. Suddenly, the branch cracked, and it plummeted down and hit Meowth in the back of the head.

Meowth fell over from the impact, her eyes swirling dizzily. Amber ran over to her and picked her up. "Are you alright?"

Meowth just continued to be dazed, and Chris shrugged. "Well, that's two victories via falling branches. We should try other areas for battling, and, unless they get hit by rocks, it should be fairer."

Amber slightly pouted and looked at Celia. "Well, you're the one who said to get away from the city."

Celia held up her hands in defense. "I was just saying we shouldn't –"

"I know, I know," Amber sighed. "Well, let's take them to the Pokemon Center and rest."

Afterwards, at the PC…

Amber was surprised when she heard her name called. Nurse Joy held a phone near her computer and was yelling, "Ms. Amber Tigereye! Telephone!"

She walked over to the desk and took the phone with confusion, but it was all swept away for a moment as she heard someone's voice on the other end say, "Amber, is that you?"

"Professor Oak?" She frowned, wondering what he needed to call her so urgently for. "What's up?"

"Listen, Amber, I need you to do a favor for me." The screen flickered to life as she saw him looking at her seriously. He had a Poke Ball beside him with a black dot on the top, marking it for something. It was in a container, as if he expected whatever was in it to burst out or something.

"Yeah?"

"I just received word that a strange facility was found not too far from Pallet Town. It was partially destroyed, and they found a bunch of caged Pokemon, except…" He glanced at the Poke Ball with unease. "They aren't normal Pokemon. They were altered somehow, but in what way we can't tell. They've sent an investigation, and I believe that some Pokemon also escaped." He looked at her questioningly. "Have you…met any?"

"Uhh…" Her thoughts wandered to Trapinch. "Yeah, actually. I caught it, and it acted pretty strange."

"I was afraid so." He picked up the Poke Ball in its glass container. "I was wondering if you could hold onto something for me. Now, I wouldn't give this to you if I didn't think you were capable of handling it, but… Do you want to?"

Amber thought about it for a moment. "Uhh, well…what is it?"

"It's that Snake Pokemon you found earlier. Or, rather, it found you." He chuckled a little. "I contacted some of the other professors, and one informed me it is a species called 'Seviper'. It is a Poison-Type Pokemon that is native to the Hoenn Region."

Amber smiled. "Of course! I can handle a snake with huge fangs and a…grudge against me…" She laughed nervously. "No prob!"

Oak smiled at her and said, "Thank you, Amber. You have no idea how much you're helping." He put the Poke Ball onto a device and pressed a button. "It's coming to you now."

Amber waited for a moment, and the red-and-white ball appeared on the pad. She picked it up and put it in her backpack. She looked back up and smiled. "You're welcome, Prof! I owe you for finding Meowth for me, anyways!"

Said Pokemon jumped onto the counter and mewed at the screen. Professor Oak smiled at the Scratch Cat Pokemon and said, "How is she doing? She looks extremely healthy!"

Meowth meowed and pawed the screen, making him laugh. "He sure seems alright. She must really like you!"

Amber picked up Meowth and hugged her. "We're best friends!" The cat licked her, and they both smiled and looked back at the Professor. "See ya later, Professor!"

"Bye, Amber! And be careful!" The screen went blank as he hung up. Amber put the phone back and looked at Nurse Joy. "So, are all of the Pokemon rested?"

"Yep!" The nurse smiled. "They're as fit as a fiddle!" At the confused look on the kid's face, she laughed and went back to talking to another trainer. Amber shook her head and walked over to Chris and Celia, who were both sitting on chairs and waiting for her. As she sat beside Chris, Celia asked, "What was that about? I saw you put a Poke Ball in your backpack."

"Professor Oak asked me to hold a Pokemon for him." She took out the ball and showed it to her. "Apparently, it's a Pokemon that escaped some place, and Trapinch was there too. I wonder if they knew each other…"

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Really? What Pokemon?"

"It's something I…met a while ago." She shivered as she remembered the epic run home. "It's a Snake Pokemon from the Hoenn region, and it chased me all the way back home and to the Lab." She chuckled. "That's why you and Ash saw me before we had lunch together."

Celia tilted her head and looked at her in surprise, but it was Chris who voiced her thoughts. "You were chased by it? And now you're watching it?"

Amber blinked. "Well, yeah, Professor Oak did ask me to, so…"

Chris sighed and argued, "But, if it didn't like you then, what makes you think it'll like you now?"

"I don't want it to like me!" Amber answered a little heatedly. "I'm just going to watch it until Oak wants it back! Besides, what could possibly happen?" She looked at her backpack, thinking of Trapinch. She smiled. "I've dealt with it before."

Before Chris could argue any further, Celia looked behind Amber with a frown and asked, "Who's that?"

She turned around to see someone sneaking out the back door. They had some kind of red outfit on, but they couldn't see anything else of them before they disappeared out the door. Her curiosity peaking, Amber stood up and crept over and peeked outside. She saw someone walk into the bushes, and she was about to step out when someone grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see Chris looking at her sternly. "What are you doing? Something bad could happen!"

Amber shrugged him off and sauntered off, thinking, like what? She carefully snuck over to where the person disappeared into the bushes. Meowth shivered on her shoulder and clung on quietly, and Amber petted her a little before they went through the shrub. Chris and Celia quickly followed her, not wanting to lose her or have something bad happen.

They all hid in a bush and glanced out to see a man standing over a blue glowing circle on the ground. He had some kind of device in his hand, and he pressed something on it while muttering something like '…boss can't find easier way…' The trio watched him as little sparkles of light rose from the ground and circled around him. Blue light enveloped him, and a flash blinded them. When they could finally see in the darkness, the man was gone.

Amber crept out of the bushes, and Chris grabbed her shoulder reassuringly. Celia hid behind them both as they stared at the spot on the ground where the man had been. In his place was a device that looked like Chris' portable phone, except larger and with a bigger screen on it. Amber knelt down and slowly reached out her hand. She gradually lowered it and laid it on the device. As soon as her fingers touched it, however, blue light flashed from it and blinded them again.

As their eyes adjusted again, they saw the same circle surrounding them. They looked in awe as it shimmered and the dust began to surround them. Celia reached out and cupped some in her hand, smiling as it tingled and glittered like jewels. Amber looked around them, wondering what it was. Chris started to get an uneasy feeling and began, "I think we should go – "

Then, they all felt lightheaded, as if they were floating. The world began to spin, and a bright light enveloped their vision. They all blacked out at the same time.

Later, when they wake up…

Amber awoke to a rough tongue licking her cheek and a desperate mewing. She had a slight headache, as if she had run into a brick wall headfirst. Her eyes fluttered open to see a pair of humor-filled eyes staring back at her. At first, she thought it was Meowth teasing her, but when she felt the familiar furball beside her head move slightly and hiss at something, she realized it was something else.

She sat up suddenly, causing Meowth to move in front of her and the creature in front of her to yelp and jump back a couple feet. She grabbed Meowth and stared at it as the Scratch Cat Pokemon hissed fiercely at it. It was a dog-like Pokemon with blue green on its top, until it got to its head where it stopped around the eyes. The belly and lower part of the legs were creamy white, with little paws that kept kneading the ground. Its stubby tail wagged behind it as it barked at her and crouched down playfully.

She blinked and stared at it, wondering what was going on. Why is it daytime? Where did the forest go? Why is the ground softer?

She looked down to see she was on sand, and with a glance behind her she saw a long stretch until it came to a sudden drop, probably a cliff or something. She stood up with Meowth in her arms and examined her surroundings. At first, she was in a panic, but then she saw two people slumped over a few yards away. She ran over and kneeled down, saying, "Chris! Chris, wake up! Celia!" She shook Chris, and was relieved to hear an angry grunt as he rolled over and stretched out, yawning loudly. His arm barely brushed against Celia's hand, and she flinched in her sleep and curled up tighter, looking just like Meowth.

"Chris! Chris, wake up! Chris!"

Chris sat up quickly, startling Amber. He blinked and stared at her, looking lost for a moment. Then, upon realizing the situation, slowly asked, "…Amber? Where…are we?"

Amber looked at the cliff, biting her lip. "I don't know…I just woke up, after that little…" She stopped and looked at the little dog Pokemon. It was still looking at her expectantly, wanting to play. Meowth glared at it, eyes narrowed in suspicion. It ignored her glare, however, and barked in good-humored at her. She hissed at it again, but he just stepped a little forward and sniffed them.

Chris blinked, staring at the Pokemon. After a moment, he stuttered, "W-w-whoa! What is that?"

Amber shrugged and took out her Pokedex. She aimed it at the Dog Pokemon, but the red machine didn't respond. She tilted her head and pressed a button, but it replied, "Unknown Pokemon, no information on species."

She sighed in aggravation and put it back in her pocket. "Well, whatever it is, it doesn't seem harmful." She slowly reached a hand out and petted it. Meowth meowed disapprovingly at the content puppy, eyes burning angrily.

They both turned as they heard a small yawn to see Celia sitting and rubbing her eyes tiredly. She mumbled, "What'd I miss?"

"I don't know exactly…" Amber looked around. "I think…that thing was a teleporting pad or something."

At first, Celia didn't seem to understand, but then it dawned on her and she looked around in fear. She whispered, "Where are we?"

Amber took out her map, but no matter where she looked she didn't seem to find the right place. "Seafoam Islands? No, there's two…Cinnabar Island? No, there's a volcano…" She looked closer, but there were no other possible candidates. Finally, she looked up. "We're on some uncharted island."

Celia gulped and looked around, jumping slightly when she saw the dog. It barked and wagged its tail, and after a while she reached out slowly and started to pet it. As it licked her hand happily, she smiled and said, "At least the Pokemon here are nice!"

"Uhh, really?"

Amber looked at Chris. "Wha?"

Chris pointed at something across from them, towards a forest. "Does that look friendly?"

Amber followed his finger, and saw what he meant. Something stood over there; it had a pure white coat, except for the purple mask around its eyes and a purple tip on its tail. It looked like a wolf or some kind of odd, sophisticated version of the Dog Pokemon Celia had beside her. It was about half the size of Amber.

That's pretty big for a Pokemon.

It stared at them with bright green eyes. It watched them, as if speculating if they were safe or not. All of them, Trainer and Pokemon alike, shivered under its gaze. Amber whispered to Chris, "Maybe it's someone's Pokemon, and it can lead us to a Pokemon Center or something."

Chris looked at her and asked, "Do you want to take that chance?"

The white Pokemon then began to walk towards them, obviously considering them harmless. It stepped elegantly, each paw put down as if it belonged there, while its tail waved in the wind behind it. The sun's light seemed to make its fur glow, like snow on a mountaintop. It still stared, never letting its eyes off of Amber…

It stood before them, still watching Amber closely. She gulped and held up her hand a little. "Hi…I'm…Amber."

Chris looked at her as if she was crazy, but the Pokemon just stood there. He looked as if he wanted to tell them something. He was still, not moving as the wind ruffled his fur. The small Dog Pokemon beside Celia crouched down and barked, fake courage ringing through his defiance. The wolf tilted its head at it and whined, as if it was questioning it.

Amber cleared her throat, catching the wolf's attention, and she asked, "What do you want?" She kept staring into its eyes, denying it any sign of fear. Maybe if she stood up bravely, it would back down and go away.

But it still didn't move. Instead, it barked at her and wagged its tail slightly. She frowned and mumbled, "I still wish I could understand Pokemon…"

The wolf barked again, as if laughing at her, and seemed to give her a wolfy smile. It turned around and looked back at her, as if expecting her to follow it. The Dog Pokemon barked again and ran over to it, and the wolf nodded at it and began to walk. The Dog Pokemon looked at them and woofed once encouragingly before trotting after it.

Amber looked at Chris, and he nodded and stood up. The girls both got up and they began to walk after the wolf. They entered the forest and trudged through the maze of green. They saw a few glimpses of Pokemon, but they couldn't see them clearly. Even if they could, they wouldn't know what they were. The wolf and dog just kept walking, every once and a while looking back and barking at them to make sure they were following.

Finally, they arrived at a house in the woods. Surprisingly, it looked a bit like a lab, and it made them wonder who would be doing research out here. The white Pokemon walked briskly to the door and pawed it, whining slightly. After a moment someone answered the door, but stopped to look at the group and the strange visiting Pokemon.

It was a boy, about Amber's height, with blonde hair gelled down to perfection. He had soft blue eyes filled with surprise. He had on a blue vest over a white shirt and a pair of jeans. Beside him was another one of the little Dog Pokemon. It barked at the Wolf Pokemon and stood in front of the boy protectively, but the boy bended down and petted it reassuringly. It whined as it stared at them, and the boy looked up and said, "Who are you?"

Amber looked at Chris with unease, and he nodded and stepped forward and introduced them all. "I'm Chris, and this is Amber, Celia," he heard a disapproving meow behind him and smiled, "And Meowth."

The boy blinked and nodded. He pointed to himself and smiled. "I'm Samuel, but you can call me Sam." He tilted his head, like a curious dog, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Chris explained, "We saw this mysterious man in a red outfit step onto a blue circle thingy that lit up and everything, and then he disappeared, and we stepped on the circle and teleported here."

The boy frowned and said, "Red outfit?" As Chris nodded, he muttered something and stepped towards them. "You know, this is one of the Mist Islands. It's a group of islands far off of the coast of Kanto. I think you might have stumbled upon something." He sighed. "Unfortunately, there are no ferries back to Kanto; too long of a ride to anywhere from here. That's why Team Magma have millions of teleportation pads everywhere."

Everyone said simultaneously, "Team what?" Meowth even had a confused look on her face.

Sam frowned and mumbled, "Right…" He cleared his throat and said, "These group of people have been going around and trying to increase the land mass of the planet. They believe there should be more land than there is now." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Unfortunately, they don't do it in any legal way. They always steal and destroy things trying to get their message across. Just like Team Aqua."

"Team who?"

He rolled his eyes. "They're just like Team Magma, except they want to expand the oceans. Again, not very nicely."

The group looked at each other nervously. Celia asked Sam, "How do you know all of this?"

He sighed again and looked down. "Because my dad is in Team Magma."

The group all looked at him in surprise. Celia frowned and said, "But, you don't look mean or anything."

"Yeah, well," Sam chuckled uneasily, "That's because I'm not in it. Just because my dad's in it doesn't mean I am." He crossed his arms and muttered, "I don't even approve of it…"

Amber looked at the Wolf Pokemon and was surprised to see it staring straight at her. She chuckled nervously and asked Sam, "Uhh, can you tell me what the native Pokemon here are?"

Sam blinked, but followed her eyes to the wolf with its intelligent green eyes. He murmured, "Oh…" He cleared his throat and reached down for a bag that sat beside the door. He rummaged in there for a while, before he took something out. It looked almost like Amber's Pokedex, but it seemed more advanced. It whirred open to his touched, and walked over and let them look at it.

It spoke with a feminine computer voice, "Awhite, the Wolf Pokemon. It is a very wise, gentle creature who guides lost trainers to safer places. It is very protective of its territory whenever a new Pokemon enters the boundaries, however, and will fiercely defend it.

"Welf – a blue and creamy-white Dog Pokemon. It is very playful and likes to run up to people and lick them. It is friendly to everyone and doesn't understand fighting. It takes a lot of training and care to make it understand how to battle seriously. It usually sticks its tongue out and teases others instead of attack.

"Coctoo – A little blue Bird Pokemon that is very shy, but curious. It will sometimes approach people if it finds something interesting. It is known to take things that are shiny and stash them in its nest. It lives in huge flocks and rarely fights back."

He closed the device and said, "That's all that I've met before. I've even caught a Coctoo." He took a Poke Ball from his belt and threw it. A red light shot out, and there stood, what they presumed, a Coctoo. It was a small blue bird (readers, imagine a blue Torchic or Mukkuru from the new game) with a single feather on its head. It had a small feathery tail, tiny wings, and a yellow beak. It hooted, "Too!"

Sam bent down and patted him on the head before returning him to his Poke Ball. He looked up and said, "So, Amber, was it?" She nodded. He smiled. "Well, I guess I should help you find a way to get off of the Mist Islands, huh?" He thought for a moment, then mumbled, "The only way off, though, is on Ashburst…"

"Well, then, we'll go there!" Amber smiled and looked his 'Pokedex'. "Is there a map on that Poke-watch-a-ma-doohickey?"

Sam laughed and said, "Sure! Let me pull it up." He pushed a lot of buttons before he grinned and handed it to her. She looked at the map, wondering eagerly what awaited them.

I know, I shouldn't have ended it like this, but I needed to so I could put a separate chapter filled with island information. Please hold on as I finish typing it up and upload it…