Chapter 29: A Pokémon Breeder's Ambitions

Tia walks down the path with Cyndaquil and breathes in the gentle scent of flowers mixed with the fresh sea air. "I got to give it to Johto, it's a beautiful place." Tia walks along happily with cheerful spring in her step.

"Well I'm glad you enjoy our humble region." An old man over hears. "I take it you're not from around these parts?" He asks her politely as he sits on a bench near the city's entrance.

Tia casually sits next to him. "Yeah, I'm from Kanto. I just got in this morning. This is my partner Cyndaquil." Cyndaquil leaps into her lap and lies down peacefully.

"Cute, so what brings you to Johto anyway?" He begs the question, though he's pretty sure of her answer already.

Tia gets that same determined look in her eyes. "To take on the Pokémon league and become the best trainer ever!" She points to the sky in a bold declaration.

The old man laughs, "Very good, youth today is so ambitious. When I was your age I remember running all around Johto trying to be the best too. Well, then I met my wife and fell in love. With her and Cherrygrove." He laughs heartily.

Tia lets the wind brush through her hair and takes a calm breath. "It is a lovely city," There is a certain gentle feel to Cherrygrove that makes Tia smile. "It was nice talking to you sir, but I should probably head to the Pokemon center so I can heal my Cyndaquil." Tia holds onto Cyndaquil and stands up as she waves politely.

"Well, I don't want to hold you up. It was pleasure talking to you. Remember never let that youthful spirit go!" He says energetically.

Tia cradles Cyndaquil I her arms with a lax and calming presence. "What a nice guy. I'm loving this region already." Tia looks around at the large city trying to find a Pokémon Center. She a little shocked to see a Blissey run towards her. It hops up and down dancing cheerfully. "Aw, hi there. I'm Tia. What are you doing all on your own?" She pets it on the top of its head.

"Blissey!" A disheveled girls voice cries out not far behind. She runs up behind the Pokémon and pauses to catch her breath. "What have I told you about running off like that?" She returns her Pokémon. "Sorry about that, my Blissey can be overly friendly and energetic." She apologizes profusely. The girl in question is tall, slender, and pale. Her bright blonde hair and silver eyes shimmer in the morning sun elegantly. Everything about her seems like a sharp contrast to Tia's own figure.

"It's alright, my name's Tia. What's yours?" She extends out a hand.

She shakes Tia's hand. "My name's Anna, nice to meet you." She says with a bright smile on her face. "That's a cute Cyndaquil you have there." Anna points out.

"Oh yeah, I just got him today from Prof. Elm." She explains.

"Oh so you're a Pokémon trainer then?" Anna asks checking out her clothing and messenger bag.

Tia nods, "Yeah, I already beat the Kanto league so I figured the next logical step would be Johto. What about you, are you a trainer too?" Tia asks though she doesn't look the part of a trainer for some reason.

Anna shakes her head, "I'm here in Johto because I want to be a Pokémon breeder; I was a trainer once. Back in the days when I was in Sinnoh. I also tried being a coordinator, but I finally came to realize my true calling." She answers maturely.

"That's cool a friend of mine use to be a big time trainer too, but he decided to become a researcher. Makes sense because he's really smart." Tia briefly remises her time with Tom. "Are you learning here or are you travelling?" Tia asks curiously.

"I'm only in Cherrygrove so I can meet Mr. Pokémon, afterwards I'm heading to Goldenrod City." She speaks with a twinge of excitement in her voice.

"Cool, I'm actually heading towards Mr. Pokémon's house too. If you don't mind, maybe we can travel together for a bit at least until we get to Mr. Pokémon's place?" Tia offers hoping she'll say yes.

Anna smiles widely, "I'd love to traveling is always better with company." She says cheerfully. "First, your Cyndaquil looks a little tired." She points out.

"Oh right, I need to head to the center first!" Tia panics.

Anna laughs, "Calm down he's just a little worn out. Here," she extends out her hand with another type of berry. Cyndaquil quickly eats it and is back to full strength. "Alright, so let's head out." Anna leads the way.

"So is Mr. Pokemon a researcher too?" Tia asks not knowing much about the guy since Tom never talked much about him or the time he spent with him.

"Yeah basically, he likes to study a lot of different aspects of Pokémon and breeding is one of the big ones. That's why I want to meet him." She smiles and steps out of the city with Tia. "His home is through these fields a bit. So good thing Cyndaquil's all healed up in case wild Pokémon pop up." Anna advises.

All they seem to find are a bunch of docile bugs in their travel though. Nothing Cyndaquil couldn't handle. Tia makes an effort to pick up as many different wild berries as she can so she is well prepared for anything. The duo finally hit a small clearing with a small house in it.

"Is that it?" Tia squints trying to get a good look from a distance.

Anna is absolutely giddy. "Yeah, come on let's go!" She picks up the pace. The girls spot a man standing outside the house next to a large rock.

Tia recognizes the figure. "Hey, is that Prof. Oak?" This explains why he wasn't there to say goodbye this morning.

Prof Oak stands next to the rock where an Elekid stood in front of it. It pumps its arm and bolts of electricity spark up. With a series powerful punches the rock crumbles into a million pieces.

Oak laughs, "Simply amazing, you certainly bred a really fighter." He comments seemingly to himself.

"Prof. Oak!" Tia shouts running up to him.

"Tia? Well this is a pleasant surprise I wasn't expecting you for a couple more hours." He looks at his watch. "Well, you made wonderful time, and who is your friend?" He looks over her shoulder to a stunned Anna.

"A…Anna sir!" She extends a hand nervously. "It's an honor to meet you." She says stiffly. Oak laughs pleasantly and shakes her hand.

"No need to be so formal. I don't bite." Nervously Anna decides to take a brief walk around the area to calm herself down.

"So that's a pretty powerful Elekid you've got there Professor." Tia admired its power and confident airs.

He smiles and watches it walk off. "Actually it's not my Pokémon, I just had to see its power first hand." He writes down some notes on what he just witnessed.

"Then does it belong to Mr. Pokémon?" Tia asks.

The Elekid walks up catching Tia's eye. She bends down and looks at it setting her own Pokémon down to interact with it.

"Actually, he's mine." An all too familiar voice says.

Tia darts up and looks the trainer in the face. His soft expression, toothy grin, and caring tendencies mixed with pure brute strength.

Her eyes water slightly. "Tom!" She shouts running up and wrapping her arms around him nearly knocking them both to the ground.

Tom laughs, "Whoa excitable as ever, careful you almost knocked up both over." He pats her on the head and smiles.

"It's great to see you again. You look different. New clothes?" She notices he's now wearing black shorts, white shirt, and a red hoody with black ascents.

"Same here. I like your clothes too. Really emphasizes your chest." He points out positively.

Tia covers her chest with her arms. "I will kill you!" She shouts in a flustered voice panicking the whole time. Leave it to Tom to make some remark to make her self-conscious all over again.

"Wha? It's true, you look older this way." He says harmlessly, but can't help laugh a little too.

After regaining her composure she spots Anna. "I almost forgot. This is my friend…" Before Tia can finish her though something stopped her. Something about the look Anna gave Tom. Anna's eyes are wide and shocked.

He sighs, "We've met. It's nice to see you again Anna." Tom tries to sound optimistic. He knows it's to no avail, she's fighting back an internal struggle. He can feel all her envy surfacing, but moreover a longing feeling she was giving off. As if deep down she wished for some miracle Tom knows will never happen.

She quietly walks up to him. "It's nice to see you again. It's been a while since that time in Cerulean." She says timidly.

Tia scratches her head. "Um…am I missing something here? Wait Cerulean? Like when I was with Tom in Cerulean?" She finally starts to put the pieces together.

"You were there? This was when Tom was trying to get back together with his ex." She clarified.

Tia points stares mouth agape. "You're the girl he went on the date with? I was battle Misty at the time." Everything's out in the open now.

Anna blushes, "I never heard back from you, so I figured everything went well with you and your ex." She looks down at her feet.

"Speaking of Sabrina. She does know you're here this time right?" Tia gives Tom a mischievous grin trying not to laugh in light of everything that happened last time.

Anna quickly looks over at Tia. "Wait, so he was dating Sabrina?" She knew about his secret crush he carried, but Tom never mentioned who or that it came to be.

"I Am dating Sabrina and yes Tia, she knows." Tom assures her. "Mr. Pokémon just called me a few days ago and told me about a Pokémon he wanted me to help breed. This little guy is definitely a powerhouse. So I'll be training him since he won't listen to anyone else." Tom says proudly while Elekid puffs out its chest to impress everyone else.

"Cute," she says fawning over the Elekid, "but why you specifically?"

"It makes perfect sense; your breeding skills, plus a Pokémon world champion like you could raise any Pokémon." Anna says in a fan girl fit of excitement. "I mean…because you're a good trainer and researcher." She recovers as she tries not to sound too obsessed.

"I appreciate the compliment. You are right though." He humbly admits.

Tia gives him a sideways glance and mulls over what Anna just said. "Did you say Pokémon world champion?" She exclaims curiously not sure if she heard right or if Anna misspoken.

Tom panics and wants to say something, but it's too late. "Of course Tom's won the Pokémon World Tournament the last two years in a row. He is officially the best trainer in the world. No gym leader, Elite Four member, champion, or Frontier Brain can compare." She boasts for him.

"Again, I appreciate the compliments, but you can turn it down a few notches I'm just a normal guy like anyone else." Tom doesn't like to indulge in his titles or positions; unless he really needs to. Plus, it's embarrassing since he never actually told Tia he was the world champion. He never even properly told her that he was Kanto's league champion. He only took that position because Gary ran out and he wanted to be closer to Sabrina.

"How could you have never told me that?" Tia shouts feeling insulted that he'd hide something that big from him. She throws up her arms in defeat. "Oh right, because you never tell me anything. I only figured out you were the champion because Team Rocket forced your hand, just like how you were X, and how you had Rayquaza!" She is livid now, but for some reason just seeing him it's like she could understand why. He always made himself out to be a monster in disguise. So why not try to be more of a very calm, relaxed, and down to earth guy? As embarrassing as it is to admit she liked that quality about him. He never put himself above others and when it counts he was always there. There is still the darker side that lies below, but he seems to try his best to suppress it.

Tom sighs, "Sorry Tia I just don't care about that sort of thing anymore. I only maintain the title because I'm pretty much forced to compete every year. It's not my fault no one can beat me." Strangely enough he seems annoyed, but sounding very high and mighty.

"Gee what a problem to have. Why am I so awesome?" She sarcastically mocks him. "Okay, I'm here to see Mr. Pokémon about some sort of research thing?" Tia turns the conversation around on a dime and begins looking for him before walking up to his door. As Tia begins to knock on the door it suddenly flies open.

"Why hello there missy I've been expecting you come in, come in!" He grabs her by the wrist and drags her inside.

Tom and Anna just watch as Tia dragged inside. "So…how have you been?" The awkwardness soon follows.

"Good, just training and learning more about breeding. You?" Anna timidly tries to keep the conversation lively.

"That's nice, I've just been doing research and little training here and there. I've been battle Sabrina a lot." He bites his tongue mentioning his girlfriend in from of her of all people.

She shakes her head, "Don't worry its fine Tom, I'm happy for you." She says pleasantly, but Tom knows she's lying through her teeth. She is happy for him, though incredibly envious and jealous of Sabrina.

"You know it's really hard to lie to an Empath." He jokes getting a confused glance in return. "Empath's like me can read emotions without people having to express them. I can feel you're jealous." He says more seriously.

Anna can't believe what she just heard. She's nothing short of amazed that he can literally feel what she feels deep down. She swallows a lump in his throat. "I'm so stupid. I know we don't have a chance. Especially when you're already in a relationship." She tries to fight back a couple tears.

"You'll find someone even better I'm sure." He assures her and pats her on the shoulder.

She lets out a soft breath, "I hope so, sorry about all this." She says weakly. Tom wants to say more, but as her opens his mouth Tia runs out with an egg.

"Okay I get it, it's a very important Pokémon egg." She says flustered. Tia runs out the door with Mr. Pokémon chasing after her with a huge list of instruction spouting off every little detail. She runs up to Anna and Tom. "Please sir, I understand!" She looks disheveled and wearily after talking to him for no more than five minutes.

"This is very important it requires constant care and no more than thirteen hours of direct sunlight. Also, be sure to wash the egg once every hour on the hour." He says reading over the entire list of ridiculous instruction.

"Calm down, it'll be okay in her hand. I trust her Mr. Pokémon." Tom intervenes. "Tia go, if you don't he'll go on for hours. Don't worry about me!" He says putting his hands on Mr. Pokémon shoulders shaking him.

Tia runs off with Anna close behind. "You heard the man." She sprints out of sight of the house. The two stop to take a breath. "Sorry about that, he just wouldn't shut up. I swear he told me to hold the container at a straight ninety degree angle from noon to four p.m. and from the hours of five to six p.m. a ninety-five degree angle so that the base was pointing to the south." She rubs the back of her head and finally takes a look at the Pokémon egg.

"I can't believe Mr. Pokémon gave you a Pokémon egg!" Anna says excitedly.

"Me neither, I have to get this back to Elm quickly. Good thing I have a Pokémon breeder in training to help me." She smiles with a wide grin at Anna.

She laughs nervously, "Well, I'm no expert, but I'll do my best to help." She says modestly and rubs the back of her head. "Do we take it back to Prof. Elm now?"

Tia nods and continues down the road. "I think we should call him up first." She mess around on her X-transceiver and calls him. His face pops on her screen. "Hello professor we have the egg you wanted." She smiles.

"That's wonderful Tia. I've been thinking the best way to study the egg is in a natural environment so would you be so kind as to hatch it for me and tell me the results when it hatches? You can of course keep the Pokémon as a thank you." He instructs with a pleasant smile.

Tia face lights up, "Yeah I'd love too. I've never hatched an egg before this will be so cool." She can see that Anna's really excited too.

"Perfect, also another trainer came by today. His name's Silver you should say hi if you run into him in in Cherrygrove. He's your age and has red hair." Elm explains and shows her a picture of him. She can immediately tell from his picture he's a very serious person.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for him." She says and hangs up. "Well, looks like I'll really need your help with this egg now." She giggles and looks over at Anna who can barely contain her excitement.

The two make their way back to Cherrygrove City occasionally stopping to admire the scenery. The city is in view when Tia notices a guy with a Totodile and sporting red hair. He spots her looking at him. He glares back at her.

"Can I help you?" He says with a sharp edge in his tone of voice.

Tia hesitates for a moment. "Sorry, but you're Silver right? Prof. Elm told me about you. You a new trainer?" She asks politely.

He turns up his nose. "What's it to you?" His serious demeanor coupled with his rude response doesn't earn him good will toward either of the girls.

"I was just wondering if we could have a Pokémon battle." Her annoyance is starting to seep through.

"Fine whatever, no one else has been much of a challenge." He says pompously. Totodile steps up and jumps around happily.

"Go Cyndaquil!" She sets down the egg and throws the Pokeball. "Use Tackle on Totodile." She carefully instructs her Pokémon. Cyndaquil runs up to Totodile who is too busy having fun jumping around. The Tackle hits and makes Totodile fumble a bit.

Silver smirks, "Use Water Gun and get it over with." He says nonchalantly. To Tia's chagrin his Pokémon had already learned a water type move. The attack nails Cyndaquil who shivers and gets back to his feet. That was a heavy hit for sure, but Tia's not ready to give up yet.

"Okay Cyndaquil, use Smokescreen and hopefully it'll give you cover." A large plume of smoke escapes Cyndaquil's mouth and covers the battlefield. "Use Tackle in the smoke." She orders which he executes perfectly.

"Water Gun!" Silver demands angrily. Totodile tries to douse the entire field with water hoping for a solid hit. "Dammit!" He balls his hands into a fist. "Hit the thing!"

Tia can tell the kind of trainer he is, very aggressive and brutal. He has a temper, but he doesn't seem to be too impatient.

Tia smiles triumphantly. "One more time Cyndaquil." Her Pokémon runs up behind Totodile and rams into it knocking it to the ground. Once the smoke clears Cyndaquil stood victorious over Totodile. "Good job Cyndaquil!" She runs up and lifts her Pokémon into her arms.

Silver returns Totodile his Pokeball. "We need to practice more. She's better than I expected." He points at Tia. "What's your name?" He demands.

She scowls back at him. "How rude. If you really want to know its Tia." She declares proudly and puffs out her chest. "I recently beat the Kanto league and took down Team Rocket so I'm not just some new trainer here." She brags with her head held high.

Silver's eyes shoot open. "You beat Team Rocket? Next time I will beat you!" He shouts and begins walking off. He looks down at his Pokeball, "She's the one we have to beat."


That you all for reading and hope you enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and your thoughts of the series as a whole. Anna's back. You all didn't really think she'd just be this one note character did you? I also got to introduce Silver, whom I want to be different from the bland, annoying kid in the games. So this was a small sample of what battles will be like in the future. A lot more detail oriented with interesting and unique strategies to keep them fresh. You might have also noticed that this is the longest standing chapter now. It was originally 5,000 words, but the latter half was cut and will be reworked into next chapter. A lot of it was superfluous details anyway. So it will not be missed.