Author's Note: If you want to be in my story (as a trainer that Melly or Jayden or just someone that befriends Melly) send me the name of your character and three or four Pokémon. I may alter it, to pre-evolved form or the highest level, whatever's fitting as to where Corryn and Kieran are. (Personality of your character would be awesome, too!)

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Chapter Twelve

Just when we started Route 3, a trainer about Jayden's age was running towards us.

"Are you Melly Sparks?" he asked, out of breath.

"Yes…" I said suspiciously.

"This is from Jayden Shores," he handed me a note and started to walk towards the Pokémon Center. "Tell him not to battle so hard! For a beginner trainer, it's like he's been training for years."

I held onto the note and shouted back to him, "Did Jayden just enter Mt. Moon?"

"Yes!" he replied back and was out of sight.

"What does it say?" Zane asked.

"Oh," I turned to the note and opened it with trembling anticipation and started to read aloud.

"'Dearest Melly. May your Pokéball rusts to dust and allows me to beat you at becoming a Pokémon Master. I already caught a Dratini—though I won't be telling you where. Hitmonchan is as strong as ever—but he misses Vulpix—and almost rivals Wartortle in strength. I'm training as much as I can until I can battle you one day, and we could determine who the better Pokémon Trainer is. But I'm sure battling wouldn't determine who's better… We both know I'm going to beat you anyways! Haha! From the Pokémon Master, Jayden Shores.'"

I crumbled the note in my hand with fury. "Well, at least more of my Pokémon evolved!" I pouted, referring to my Charmeleon, newly evolved Nidorino, and Ponyta. "Darn that Jayden, I'll catch up, you watch."

Vulpix barked and smiled a fox-like grin.

I looked around with such intensity, I could see that Zane was already pitying which trainer would battle me next.

"Hey! Let's battle!" I already spotted my next victim and Zane shook his head sadly.

"Poor guy…" He said with a smile.

After the battle, I said, "Why don't you battle, Zane?" I cocked my head to the side and looked up at him from the corner of my eyes.

He nervously ran his hands through his spiked hair and turned his bright green eyes to my brown eyes.

"I… just don't like battling," he shrugged. "I only battle when I need to. But other than that…"

"But battling is cool!" I insisted.

He sighed. "Well, when you're exposed to the kind of things I was, then hurting other Pokémon isn't 'cool'."

I frowned and thought about it from his perspective.

"I never thought about it that way. But Pokémon like it," I said out loud, to convince myself that Pokémon did like it. Vulpix growled playfully, to show that she did like battling.

Zane shrugged again. "Sometimes they're forced to battle when they don't want to."

I looked up at him startlingly and said nothing.

"What city did you come from, Zane?" I asked.

Zane paused before answering, "Sootopolis City."

"Wow, that's really far from here. What are you doing all the way over here in Kanto?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to get away from my father."

I frowned, "Why?"

"He…" Zane paused. "He wasn't a very nice man. He was… is a cruel man. Only until about two months ago, I just took my Pokémon, hopped on Fearow, and wandered from region to region until I caught a girl falling from the sky."

I smiled. "I'm sorry that you've had a rough life, Zane. Maybe I can be your family now."

He beamed at that and gave me a hug—he was getting better at hugs—and said, "Thanks, Melly."

His explanation of his father let me understand why Zane would always shy away from my touch. But every day there was an improvement and he's been getting more social, which is a big plus for me. I hated seeing a frown on Zane's face.

We walked for awhile before coming up to a huge mountain. I stopped dead in my tracks and said one word, "Whoa."

He scaled the mountains with his eyes and noticed a Pokémon Center a little to the left of the cave entrance. "Look, there's a Pokémon Center, why don't we heal a bit before going into the cave." Zane started to walk towards the Pokémon Center and looked back at me.

I was still standing there and squeaked out another word, "Whoa."

"Let's go, Melly, the quicker we get healed and go in the cave, the quicker we can catch up with Jayden," Zane said. Vulpix barked her agreement and I gulped.

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Author's Note: Everyone has a deep, dark past and even handsome boys have them too. Yet… doesn't it feel as if Zane isn't telling the whole story? Who knows…