x-x-x

Episode 20: Footprints and Feelings!

We were hand in hand now, running from the city. Kyle held tight, pulling me along. "I think we're safe now!" I gasped out.

"We're never safe from her." Kyle laughed. "Just a bit further okay?" He kept running. Something about all this reminded me of the old days. Running away from Officer Jenny in the Kanto region. I smiled thinking of those memories. I got wrapped up in them. We passed right out of the city gates, and into a new beach area. Finally, we slowed to a walk, but Kyle still held my hand tight. He smiled at me. "We should be safe now, I guess."

"You guess?" I chuckled. I felt like I was in a fairy tale. Walking hand in hand along the beach with my… boyfriend. I blushed. The beaches, and the seas that scraped against them were glistening. The sun was out, and it was surprisingly warm. A rare thing for Sinnoh. Kyle looked happy, with a sly smile on his face.

"I have a surprise for you." He whispered.

"What? What kind of surprise?"

"It's a surprise." He winked. "I'm not going to tell you."

"I don't like surprises." I smiled, putting my other hand on his arm, clinging to it. It didn't work to get anything out of him. He just kept smiling. "You won't tell me anything?"

"Excuse me!" A large man approached us. I thought at first Crasher Wake had come back, but this man was dressed relatively normal, in a short sleeve button up shirt, and shorts. "Could you two just stop for a minute?" Dumbfounded, we stopped. The man ran behind us and investigated our tracks in the sand. "Oh yes. Interesting."

"Is this your surprise?" I whispered to Kyle.

"Not at all." He laughed. "I have no idea who this guy is."

The large man paused. "Yes! You two are definitely dating. You two care for each other very much."

I looked down at me still clinging to Kyle's arm. "No way! How could you tell?" I said with sarcasm.

"I'm Dr. Footstep! I'm crazy about footprints! I can tell all kinds of things from them." He beamed.

"One problem." Kyle pointed at the sandy tracks. "We're wearing shoes. You can't see our feet." I nodded in agreement.

"Well…" Dr. Footstep sighed. "I haven't quite mastered that. But! I am great at telling the feelings of pokemon. Let your pokemon walk in front of me, and I'm sure I can give you some insight on them!"

"Thanks, but I'm sure we know our pokemon well enough." Kyle turned away. "C'mon Shonna. It's probably some scam anyway."

I started to walk away, but then I looked back. "Wait. I'll try it." I tossed out Lucario's pokeball. He stood in front of me arms crossed, looking better than yesterday. I leaned in to whisper to Kyle. "I know Lucario, so we'll find out if this guy's for real this way." I turned back to Lucario. "Lucario, walk a little ways out please."

"Why?" He raised an eyebrow inquisitively. I sent him the message about this man through my mind, before I even spoke it. "Oh. Okay." Lucario turned, walking a few steps across the sand.

"Oh!" Dr. Footstep ran up the scene. He stared at the tracks for a long time. "My my. It's been a long time since I've seen a pokemon so connected to their trainer. This pokemon has a bit of a jealous streak, but it's only because he lives to protect you. He thinks of you as much more than his trainer. That much is obvious."

"Hmm…" I smiled. "So you're the real deal huh?" All that he said was true, but I wanted to test him further. "Try these out." I sent the rest of my pokemon out, and asked them to walk across the sand.

"Oh!" Dr. Footstep dashed back and forth happily to each set of tracks. "This one here." He pointed at Rapidash's. "Is the strongest of the bunch, simply because he's been trained for quite a long time. He loves all the great things you've taught him. And this one!" He pointed at Luxio's. "He's quite the feisty one. Kind of a joker, kind of a rebel, but he enjoys being in your party, and wants to continue to impress you."

"He does." I thought back to his sudden thunder fang attack.

"This one." He stared at Grotle's footprints. "Is hungry. He wants you to know this."

I laughed. "Sounds like him."

"And this one." He moved onto Staravia's. "Wow. Something happened in her past, to where she feels eternal gratitude to you. She's going to spend the rest of her days trying to repay you."

I walked up to Staravia, placing my hand on her head. "You don't have to repay me." I ruffled her feathers. "It pleases me enough to know you're all better now."

"Star! Star!" Staravia chirped.

"I know." I hugged her. "I love you too." As all my pokemon approached me, I hugged them all tightly. "I love all of you."

"Hmph." Kyle smiled. "Fine, I'll give it a shot." Kyle released all his pokemon. Starting with Arcanine.

"This should be interesting." I whispered. I had seen Kyle's pokemon in battle a couple times, but I really didn't know much about their personalities.

Arcanine trotted across the sands. "Arf." He barked happily.

Dr. Footstep chuckled at the sight of Arcanine's tracks. "I always find amusing to see how very loyal dog pokemon are to their trainers. I must say, yours is the strongest I've seen yet."

Kyle grinned. I'm sure he already knew this.

"This one," Dr. Footstep paused, examining scisor's. "He's surprisingly difficult to read. I would say he likes to think of himself as a real workhorse in your party. He's very proud and strong."

Rapidash whinnied. I pet him. "No he's not talking about you." I laughed.

Charmeleon snorted as he trudged across the sand.

"Same with this one, though I get the feeling it wasn't always that way." Dr. Footstep looked up to Kyle. "You have very tough pokemon."

Kyle nodded, and Munchlax ran out from behind his legs.

"MunchMunchMunchMunchMunch!" Munchlax ran in circles around the sand. He took off for the ocean, but Absol jumped in front of him, staring him down. "Laxxxx…" Munchlax sighed before prancing back to Kyle.

"He's hungry, like the other one." The man laughed.

"I'll have to make more poffins sometime." I called out. Grotle and Munchlax perked up at the sound of the word. I winked at Lucario, who merely rolled his eyes. He had a smile on his face the whole time though.

"Oh this a bit concerning." Dr. Footstep stood analyzing Absol's footprints. "Honestly this one's a bit annoyed as of late."

Kyle frowned, looking skeptical. He looked down at Absol, who looked away.

"I believe she's tired of watching the little one." Dr. Footstep looked to Absol for confirmation. "She feels more like a babysitter than a battler."

"Sol." Absol barked quietly.

"Well, that's no big deal." Kyle smirked. "I'll switch up the pokemon to keep an eye on Munchlax, kay Absol?" He leaned down to her level.

After a minute, Absol smiled, leaning her head on Kyle's shoulder. He held her.

"Lastly," Dr. Footsteps examined Skarmory. "Something is troubling this one. It's not anything of your doing. That's all I can really tell."

Kyle looked at Skarmory curiously. "Okay…I'll have to work on figuring that one out."

"See! You needed my help after all." Dr. Footstep bellowed. "My house is just over that hill. If you would like, you can stay the night."

"It is a long way to the next pokemon center." I opened my mouth to speak, but Kyle interrupted.

"That won't be necessary." He said bluntly. "Thanks anyway." He recalled all but Arcanine. I recalled all of mine. "Let's go Shonna. We want to head out before it gets too dark. He hopped onto Arcanine, reaching out for my hand. He pulled me up onto him. I looked back at Dr. Footstep who simply shrugged, walking back toward his house. "Now close your eyes."

"Hmm?" I did as I was told.

"Keep them closed. Take a nap if you want. It'll be a while."

"Really?" I left my eyes closed, laying on Kyle's shoulder. I felt Arcanine begin walking, but I couldn't sleep. What was this big surprise?

Hours must have went by. I begged Kyle to let me open my eyes, but he insisted it would be just a bit longer. I sighed. It was getting cold again.

"Okay. Go ahead and open them." He whispered, sliding off Arcanine.

It took a while for my eyes to adjust. It was night. A gorgeous tall building sat in front of the ocean. I'd only seen pictures and postcards of it, but it was the famous Lake Valor Resort Hotel. All the lights were lit up, and it was truly beautiful. I smiled as Kyle caught me, and lowered me off Arcanine. "It's so pretty! I've never actually seen it."

Kyle recalled Arcanine without a word. He took my hand and walked me into the lobby. I gazed at all the wonderful decorations in the room. It was even better than the pictures. We stopped at the counter, and an older gentleman greeted us.

"Welcome," He spoke with a fancy accent and bowed. "Checking in?"

"Indeed." Kyle smiled proudly.

I sulked. Kyle must not know you can't just waltz into a place like this. You have to call weeks, sometimes even months in advance to get a room here. I didn't have the heart have to tell him.

"Name?" The gentleman reached for the computer keyboard.

"Gray." He replied confidently.

"Are you kidding me?" I said excitedly under my breath. I grinned widely.

"Ah! The presidential suite." The gentleman nodded, reaching for the key. "I hope you have a wonderful stay, Mr. Gray." He handed him the key, and turned to me and bowed. "And you as well ma'am."

"Yes. Thank you." I stuttered. Kyle hustled off to the elevator. "Hey wait for me!" I almost tripped running through the door, but he caught me of course. The door closed behind us, and we were headed to the top floor. "How?" I questioned. "How did you ever arrange all this? How did you afford it?"

"Well, I forgot about it until recently, but I actually saved all my money from the league competitions in the bank. Seems it's been drawing interest." He smiled. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tight. I saw him blush.

"I thought it'd be nice, to rest a while, just have some fun you know? Take a break from all that hard work and gym battles." He rambled. The door beeped, sliding open. Before me stood a small hallway, with only one door. Kyle took the card key and slid it through the slider. The door opened, and a bright, beautiful room appeared.

I gasped. It wasn't even a room. It was like a small house. There was a kitchen and dining area, a huge living area and bathroom, and a bedroom ten times bigger than the ones we see at the pokemon centers. There were two large beds in it, as well as an assortment of different types of beds for pokemon.

Kyle closed the door behind us. "I thought it'd be nice if the pokemon could hang outside their pokeballs for a while. They could use a vacation just as much as us."

"That's a great idea." I released all my pokemon. Kyle did as well. They all ran around checking out the room, finding spots in it they liked. Some took the pokemon beds, some took the couches or floor. Either way, they all looked very comfortable in the room. "Is that why you got the presidential suite? So they'd have plenty of room?"

Kyle nodded. "That and, isn't this the kind of place a three time pokemon master should stay in? I am famous after all." He grinned a million dollar smile.

"Yeah right." I punched him on the arm playfully, then took off running for bedroom, flopping down on the fluffy bed. "Wow, this feels so much better than those pokemon center bunk beds."

"I know. Where do they get those things anyway, do the local prisons donate them?" Kyle joked.

"Ah well. It's still better than sleeping bags outside." I said, still grateful for a roof over our heads.

"True." Kyle sat on the bed adjacent to mine. Munchlax crawled up beside him and was asleep in seconds. "I'm glad I got a girl who can appreciate things like that."

I smiled. I did appreciate the little things in life, but I had to admit, this little luxurious vacation of ours was certainly nice.

x-x-x

The next morning, I woke up bright and early, before any of the pokemon or Kyle, and snuck out past the balcony. The sun was just starting to come up. I quietly tiptoed into the kitchen. I was still in my flannel pajamas. I brought out my bag, and everything I'd need. I started working feverishly to get a huge batch of poffins ready for everyone. I stirred and poured, and baked. While I was working, I discovered a small radio in the corner. I turned it down low and found a station to suit my tastes. I was picky when it came to music. By far my favorite, was jazz. I rolled my eyes as I remembered the days Stephen would plead with me to turn the radio at the day care center to some hip-hop rap junk.

All that was forgotten quickly when I began humming a bit of the saxophone tune. I smiled as I pulled out the four dozen poffins from the double ovens. They were perfect. I placed them on the counter, threw down the oven mitts, and turned back to close the oven doors. As soon as I did, I felt strong arms wrap around my shoulders, making me jump a little.

"Good morning beautiful." I heard him whisper. "You know, this was supposed to be a break, so you didn't have to work. Then what to I do, but find you here in the kitchen cooking."

I blushed, feeling embarrassed, but unable to squirm out of his embrace. "How, did you know I was in here?"

"Munchlax could smell them as soon as you started working. It was a pain getting him to stay in the room."

"I bet so." I giggled. "I made extras for him."

"What are you listening to?" He asked in a tone I was not used to. People usually ask me that sounding disgusted or stunned. I wasn't sure I wanted to answer. Kyle always played hard rock from the radio in his bike.

"It's a jazzy song." I admitted.

"So this is what you like?" He leaned in more, his face in my long blonde hair. "I like it."

I felt lightheaded. Being alone with him like this… did this to me.

"Do you dance?" He suddenly spun me around to look at him. Much more confrontational, and embarrassing, as I released he was only wearing his jeans.

"No. Not at all." I laughed shyly. "I'm clumsy, remember?"

Before I knew it, he had my hands in his, and was gliding me across the kitchen. He stayed on time with the music, leading me in a waltz-like dance. Was he just naturally this good? Yet another reason I thought he was perfect. With him leading me so well, I was able to look up from my feet for a moment and see his loving face looking back at me.

The next song that came on was considerably slower. Almost instinctively, I wrapped my arms around Kyle's neck, and he had his resting on my hips. Cloud nine doesn't even begin to describe where I was at now. I gently laid my head on his shoulder, feeling him wrap his arms around me again. "I love you." I whispered.

We stopped dancing as he held me closer to him. "I love you too Shonna."

I closed my eyes, my heart pounding. I'd seen enough romance movies to know what was coming next. I felt his hand brush against my cheek, and warm, soft lips against mine. They were moist, and a chill ran down my spine. Our glasses gently touched, as our lips slowly parted, and I pulled away from him. I opened my eyes to look at him. He was blushing, and had a big smile on his face. If he was blushing, I knew I was probably as red as a beet.

"I umm…" I didn't know what to say.

"Laxxx!" A bang at the kitchen door scared me. It knocked again, and again.

"What the…" Kyle let go of me to reach for the door, but before he could, the door slammed off its hinges and onto the floor. Munchlax stood proudly behind the door before lunging for the poffins at the counter.

"Nooooo!" I sprung into action, making a flying leap for the poffin pans. I grabbed them, slinging them into boxes. All of this I did just out of Munchlax's reach. I put one carton of poffins in a safe deposit box of the room, and put it in a high up cabinet. The other, I held triumphantly above me. "Munchlax! I'll give you one, and even an extra if you behave well until I give the rest of the pokemon one okay?"

"Lax!" Munchlax puffed up in irritation. I noticed in the now open doorway, the other pokemon were standing by anxiously. Poor grotle had drool running out his mouth. Lucario stood in the back shrugging.

"Sorry Ma," He sighed. "I tried to keep them back."

"It's alright." I sighed as well, looking to Kyle. "Guess I'll go feed the pokemon now?"

Kyle looked glum as well, as he pulled out a small tool kit, screwdriver in hand. "Yeah, and I guess I'll be fixing a door."

I chuckled, walking around to each pokemon, distributing a bowl. I poured pokemon kibble out in heaps in each one, then handed them a poffin. Which, let's face it, was what they all wanted. Munchlax followed impatiently behind me. Grotle, Luxio, Staravia, Lucario, Rapidash, Skarmory, Scizor, Arcanine, Charmeleon and Absol all happily fed. I returned Rapidash afterwards with the promise of letting him out to stretch more later. Unfortunatly he had so many flames coming off of him, that he was catching things on fire just walking around the room.

Munchlax stood tapping his foot behind me. I sat down a bowl of poke-food, and he tilted the bowl up inhaling it in one gulp. I had two poffins left in the box, so I handed them to him. He greedily grabbed at them, munching down in true munchlax fashion. I walked away slowly, before he could demand anymore. I headed back to see what Kyle was up to.

I stopped. We… we kissed! I hadn't had time to take it all in. I guess I should have seen this coming, but so soon? I blushed. I had to admit though, I loved it. He was a good kisser. He didn't just peck his lips against mine, like I'd seen some couples do, but he all out kissed me. It was short, but definitely sweet. I smiled. Now if only I knew what to do from here. Is there something I should say? I wanted to run up and hug him. But would that be too childish? I worry too much.

"Bing Bong." A bell rang. I looked to the door. Who?

"I hope you don't mind!" Kyle yelled from the kitchen. "I ordered room service."