"Can we head back to Pallet Town now?" asked Choco.
"Excited to go back home?" teased Sean.
"Hey, I miss 'em!" said Choco defensively.
Kari laughed,
"Well, first, we have to catch the next ferry, it's too far to surf and there are no islands between to rest on."
King nodded,
"And if the PokeNav is right, there should be a dock somewhere around here."
The six of them looked around, as if in search of something along the wonderful bright beach of Cinnabar, and a huge house with a boat sign caught their attention.
"Over there guys!" shouted Chris.
Kari nodded as they ran into the house and up to the counter,
"We would like six tickets for the next ferry," said Choco.
The woman at the counter nodded as they paid for their tickets,
"The next ferry leaves in ten minutes, and we've started to board. Please step this way."
The six followed the lady towards a small ferry with not too many people on it. They thanked her as they headed out onto the deck. Except for them and another girl, it was empty. The girl fingered her pokeballs in her belt and let out six Pokemon. An Arcanine, Rapidash, Pidgeot, Lapras, Metagross, and Grumpig appeared.
"A Lapras!" squealed Sakura, "I've always wanted one of those."
The girl turned around at the voice and smiled,
"Hello, I'm Trina Triton."
"I'm Choco Ketchum, nice to meet cha."
The rest of the introductions were passed quickly and soon they were all talking like old friends. Trina was from Hoenn, and she had competed in the Hoenn League, but lost at third place. She had come to Pallet Town to get a starter from Professor Oak, and then travel around Kanto and wait for the next Indigo League to compete in after she had gained the last badge at Lavender Town. She had recognized Sean immediately, for she had seen his picture at the League.
A bell rang through the boat as the announcements blared form the speakers all around,
"We have now docked at Pallet Town, please exit from the main door located below the deck. Thank you for riding Ocean Ferry."
"Well, I guess I'll see you later then," said Trina.
"Yeah, I can't wait to battle you at the league," said Choco.
"Well, until then!" said Trina waving as she headed towards the exit of the building.
"Chu!" shouted a familiar voice as a Pikachu bounced over.
"Pika! Long time no see!" said Choco.
She bent down to the Pikachu's eye level as she scratched it behind the ears, and it gave a delighted 'chu'.
"Where's dad?"
"Choco, over here!" shouted Misty's voice.
"Mom, Dad!"
Choco ran up to her parents, hugging them tightly. Misty broke out first,
"Who are your friends?"
Again, introductions passed through the group.
"Well, our house is pretty big, so it'd probably fit all of you, so how 'bout it?" asked Ash.
"Ah, its ok Mr. Ketchum, we'd probably just stay at the PokeCenter," said Kari.
Choco poked her friend's arm,
"Uh, well, Pallet Town's kinda small, so the PokeCenter here doesn't have rooms…"
"So I guess that means your staying over then. We have to leave for a meeting in a few minutes so, Choco, why don't you show them around?" asked Misty.
After dragging Ash along with her, Choco turned back towards the group,
"Well, we could drop off our Pokemon at Professor Oak's lab, meanwhile I'll sign up for the league and then I'll show you guys around here."
King shrugged,
"Sounds good to me."
The rest nodded in agreement as Choco took the slanted pathway up towards the lab, knocking politely on the door. A voice of 'come in' sounded through the door as Choco pushed it open. Professor Oak looked up from his work,
"Ah, Choco, brought some friends back I see. You must be here to sign up at for the league challenge?"
Choco nodded as Professor Oak handed her a piece of paper and a pen, showing her how to fill up the form.
"Oh, yeah, Professor, could we heal our Pokemon somewhere?" asked Choco.
Professor Oak nodded and motioned for a machine at the back of the room. The five nodded their thanks as they headed towards it,
"Sean!" called Choco.
Sean turned around at his name.
"Could you heal my Pokemon for me?" asked Choco.
"Sure."
She handed him her Pokebelt as she kept Ichigo by her side. Professor Oak noticed her Eevee immediately,
"Well, you seem to be taking very good care of it."
Choco nodded,
"But why doesn't it evolve yet?"
Professor Oak smiled, answering her question with one of his own,
"Does Ichigo want to evolve?"
Her Eevee shook its head.
"You see," explained Professor Oak, "A Pokemon that evolves from happiness will evolve when it's happy enough, but another part in this evolution is will. If your Eevee doesn't want to evolve, then it will not exceed the requirements to evolve."
Choco nodded while filling in the form. Finally finishing it, she handed it back to the professor. He nodded in acceptance and called a Pidgey over and attached the registration form into its leg. It rose into the air, leaving out the open window. Again, they thanked the professor before leaving.
"Well, I guess this is it. Where do you guys want to go?" asked Choco.
"I need a bite to eat. Let's eat dinner and call it a night," offered Chris.
"Ok, I know the best restaurants around here, follow me!"
Choco led the way through lighted streets finally stopping in front of a regular looking restaurant.
"This is the best place around here, they make the best food," she said.
The group nodded, entering the small café. After being shown a table and ordering their food, they sat down and talked for a while. Dinner passed quickly as they returned to Choco's house, where they were going to stay. Choco showed her guests their bedrooms, each one to a separate room, and retired to her own. She showered in warm water, and then wrapped a white towel around her before stepping out of the bathroom while combing her hair.
Her door creaked open as she turned around quickly at the intruder. King stood inside her room, his back leaned against the door with an evil smirk on his face. His fingers rose to lock the door as Choco blinked confusedly.
"King? What are you doing?" she asked.
"Why, having a little fun, what else?" he replied, stepping towards Choco.
Choco stepped back, her bare foot reached the wall as she dropped her comb in the process.
"K-King, tell me your kidding, right?" asked Choco.
Another step. Her back pushed against the wall behind her, wishing for it to collapse. He had her cornered, and she was hopeless to do anything. If only she could reach her belt…
"Don't even think about it."
King grabbed her Pokebelt, throwing to the other end of the room. Ichigo was in the hall, playing with, no else but her and King were in the room. He advanced on her, and she gripped her towel even harder. His body pushed against hers, one hand pinning one of her arms up, as she needed the other to hold the towel, and the other pushing her face up. Her timid chocolate eyes stared into his golden ones, and she found something familiar about them. Where had she seen him before?
Suddenly, her eyes widened. She recognized those eyes; there were the same as that Team Wind member, the one that had almost raped her.
"No…"
She was too afraid. Too afraid to move, or even shout for help. Her legs wouldn't move, and neither would the rest of her body. His lips pushed against hers roughly, his free hand wrenched her other arm up as her towel fell onto the ground. She struggled to push him off, but her efforts were in vain. Pinning her hands above her head, King lashed out at her body, his hand trailing down her side as she desperately tried to move.
A knocking came to the door, along with Kari's voice,
"Choco, Ichigo wants to come in now."
King ignored her, continuing to play with his new toy in front of him. Choco tried to call out to her friend, but King's lips on hers mumbled the sound.
"Choco?" Kari tried the doorknob, only to find it locked.
"Choco, open the door, Ichigo wants to go inside!" shouted Kari.
Sean walked into the hallway sleepily with Thunder by his side,
"What's the ruckus?"
"Choco left Ichigo outside for a while and now Ichigo misses Choco, but Choco won't open the door," explained Kari.
"Choco," called Sean, "Hurry up and open the door!"
No answer, though he though he heard a mumble inside. He tried again, this time pounding the door,
"Choco? Are you in there?"
This time, he swore he heard a mumble, but the words were unclear. Sakura and Chris entered the hallway,
"What's wrong?" asked Sakura.
"Why are you pounding Choco's door, did you guys forget something?" asked Chris.
Kari patiently explained it over again as Sakura tried the doorknob, but it didn't work. The four thought for a while, before Sakura came up with an idea. She let out her Espeon as it purred, landing gently on the ground.
"Sunshine, do you think you could teleport in there and tell Choco to unlock her door?" asked Sakura.
Her Espeon nodded, disappearing quickly.
"Why did you ask to teleport us all in?" asked Sean.
"Since Sunshine's power is based on the sun, at night, Sunshine's power is reduced by half. It barely had the amount to teleport itself, it could never handle another person," explained Sakura.
Sunshine reappeared inside, and Choco filled with relief at seeing help. King had apparently noticed too, as he figured his belt for a pokeball, but before he could reach any, Sunshine had let out Choco's Pokemon too. Her Pokemon stretched, trying to wake up from their sleepy state. Sunshine hissed at them, and they immediately became alert.
With a quick tackle, King slammed into a wall as Choco quickly tossed on a dressing grown before rushing towards the door and unlocking it. King swore, jumping out her open window and disappeared into the darkness. Her friends tumbled into the room as suddenly, the room started spinning. Her head felt light as her eyes fluttered closed. Sean immediately caught her before she hit the ground and Sakura bent down to Sunshine while her Pokemon explained what had happened with them.
Chris felt Choco's forehead as Sean laid her down in her bed,
"She's burning up with a high fever, but with some rest and medicine she should be fine."
Kari sighed,
"That's not surprising, especially with what she's been through. We must be really lucky she didn't catch something worse."
Sean nodded, only half listening. One part of him hated himself, for letting Choco get hurt, and another half hated that damn King Romero. He knew he should've kept his distance in the first place. Chris sighed,
"I'll stay here and keep her temperature down, you guys need your sleep. Maybe with luck, she'll regain coconscious in the next couple days."
Sean shook his head,
"No, I'll stay. You guys can rest for a while. Just give me the medicine."
Chris was about to differ when he noticed Sean's mood. With a nod, he handed a dark green bottle to his friend,
"Give her one spoonful every four hours. She should awaken by tomorrow, or the day after that maybe."
Sean nodded, and the rest left the two of them alone. He couldn't make it in time; he couldn't help Choco. His hand brushed some stray strands of hair from her face as he whispered,
"I'm sorry."