Viridian City can't really be compared to anywhere I've ever gone before. It's not like Fall City which is always filled to the brim with people from all over the world, and it's completely different from the usually calm and friendly Pueltown. I wish that I could truly do it justice, but the only way I could describe it is as a mildly busy place. The sidewalks are half full at most, and the people on them give me strange looks. Can they tell I'm not from here? I mean; some of the looks I've gotten are downright hostile! What could I have possibly done wrong; I've hardly been in this city for fifteen minutes! Of course, I get my answer right as the thought crosses my mind.

"Oh my Arceus! It's Blue Oak!" Blue has some fans in this city apparently. Guess what? They're all girls.

Before I could even blink, a gaggle of girls push me away from Blue so that they could surround him. I land on my butt, and I look at the girls incredulously from my position on the ground. What the heck just happened here? They just...appeared! I didn't even see them coming! Honestly, I never expected to get run over by fangirls because of Blue...How does he even have fangirls? Being the grandson of Professor Oak is hardly a reason for girls to just throw themselves at him, and I honestly can't think of any other reason he could be well-known. I mean; I never heard of him before in any other context than being related to the pokemon professor. Then again, he might just be a local celebrity like rangers tend to be. After all, everyone knows the rangers stationed in their area, but no one ever really knows any rangers outside of their region unless they are top rangers. Everyone knows who the top rangers are. Well...everyone who lives in a region where rangers are part of the law enforcement knows who the top rangers are. I can't really speak for any of the other regions...It makes me wonder though; why would Blue be a local celebrity?

Realizing that I'm still sitting on my butt staring dumbly at the group, I immediately stand up and dust myself off. When I'm done, I can't help but wonder what I should do next. Back in Almia, when this used to happen to Keith, I would usually drag him out saying that we had a mission. That's what Keith usually wanted me to do unless he was chatting up one of those girls (I would do it anyway out of...well...jealousy), but I have no idea how Blue takes the attention. Does he like it? Does he hate it? Is he indifferent to it? I really don't know how to handle this situation, so I kind of just stand off to the side awkwardly.

Ten minutes later, it becomes apparent that the gaggle of girls isn't going away, and I'm going to assume he likes being the center of attention. I'm losing my patience and want nothing more than to leave, but I don't exactly want to upset my traveling partner so early on in our journey. After another five minutes of watching Blue flirting with the girls who were mindlessly giggling and hanging on to his every word, I decide to find the Pokemon Center on my own. How hard could it be to find a building with a red roof in a city that's practically all green? I call out Jack, and we set off together.

I should have known that this wouldn't be that easy. Viridian City, while not huge, looks exactly the same wherever I go. The buildings are all identical! They all have similar architecture, and they all have that same damn green roof; I'm starting to hate that color! It's everywhere in this city! The roofs, the doors, the windows, the signs, they are all green! I can't take it! Next thing I know, the people are going to be green too!

"Saur?" Jack nudges my leg a little.

Oh yeah. My pokemon is green too. At least he's a different shade of green than everything else because I don't think I would be able to handle that. As he looks up at me in concern, I focus on his crimson eyes. Those aren't green, and I'm able to collect my thoughts without getting irritated at my surroundings.

"Jack," I sigh, "I think I need to get out of this city for a while. What do you think?"

"Saur!" Jack cheers. I think I'll take that as a yes.

Spotting a girl with a white puffy hat that kind of reminds me of a mushroom walking confidently down the street, I call out, "Excuse me? Girl with the puffy hat?"

The girl immediately twirls around and chirps, "Yes?"

I walk over to her and ask politely, "Do you think you could point me out of the city? Or at least to the Pokemon Center? My tour guide kind of ignored me, and I left him behind somewhere..."

"That's terrible! You must have been wandering around this city so confused!" the girl sighs sympathetically before perking right back up again. "Well, then I'll be your tour guide! I'll show you all of my special shortcuts and the best places to hang out and eat! It'll be fun! I'm Lyra by the way!"

I stare blankly at the...peppy girl before finally smiling at her enthusiasm, "Well, Lyra, I'm K-Wendy! Heh, just Wendy. Anyway, if you don't mind, can we start by heading somewhere not so...green?"

Lyra giggles, "Viridian City definitely lives up to its name, doesn't it? Well, I have to pick up some stuff from the pokemart and pick up my pokemon from the center, so those are going to be our first stops! After that, I'll show you the routes leading to Viridian!" Her eyes land on Jack. "You have a bulbasaur? That's so cool! You must be a new trainer, right? Of course you are! That's why you're lost in Viridian City, duh! I can't believe I'm helping out a new trainer...but you look kind of old for a beginner. Why'd you get your starter so late?"

My first reaction is to stare at the friendly brunette who must have said an entire paragraph in just one breath. Then, I realize that she asked me a question that I honestly don't have an answer for. I can't exactly tell her that I'm a ranger who had no choice but to become a trainer because she has a busted styler! There's a reason I have an alias! Then again, I could just tell her part of the story and leave out the fact that I'm a ranger...

"Well...have you heard about the attack on Oblivia?" I ask.

"Yeah. It's so sad!" Lyra sniffles. "All those people are either homeless or dead! The entire region is just completely ruined!" A fire ignites in her eyes. "If I EVER find the people responsible for all of that destruction...Wait...You're from Oblivia, aren't you? That's terrible!" She wraps her arms around me in a bone-crushing hug. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to!"

I return the hug as I whisper somewhat hoarsely from lack of oxygen, "Thank you."

I'm so glad that she doesn't mind me not saying anything; I don't have to lie to her more than necessary. She's such a sweetheart, and the thought of lying to her weighs heavily on my heart. It's bad enough that I've told her my name is Wendy...

"Well let's get on with the tour!" Lyra cheers. "If we start moping, we'll never get it done! In fact, let's just spend the day having fun so that we can forget all that sad stuff!"

I smile sadly at her. That girl is amazing; she's trying to cheer up a person that she just met when she probably had other plans. Even if I wanted to say no, I don't think I'd be able to deny that cheery personality of hers. Besides...I could use a girls' day out. The second I nod my assent, she grabs my hand and starts dragging me to the Pokemon Center, and I can't help the small grin that finds its way on my face.


Yeah….updates are probably going to be slower from here on out since school starts on Monday for me…On the bright side…Yeah I got nothing…Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter; please review. I need all the cheering up I can get. ;)