Hey guys! Long time no see! I've been doing some major overhaul of some chapters that were just sub-par. The biggest changes were to chapters 1-3 and 32.

BOOK 2: To the Edge of Kanto

"Professor Oak?" Sam clutched the phone receiver of the video call in surprise.

"Nice to see you again, Sam. What town have you made it to?" Professor Oak returned pleasantly.

"Um well I'm in Vermillion now. Professor, what are you calling for?"

"I'll get to that soon. How's Eevee?"

Sam adjust his grip on the phone uncomfortably. "She's great. I named her Nova and she's gotten much stronger. She's a Flareon now."

Oak's eye's widened. "She evolved? Very impressive." He leaned in closer to the screen. "Now tell me…is there anything strange after she evolved? Using moves she doesn't know, a change in fur color?"

"What? No, she looks like a normal Flareon." Sam shook his head. "Do you want me to wake her up so you can see her?"

"N-no, no. Please don't do that. But, the reason I called is I need to conduct a little more research on her. Just a few more days, just to complete the terms of the deal we made when I gave you Eevee."

"R-right." Sam agreed reluctantly. He had forgotten that deal over the span of the last seven weeks. Had it only been seven weeks? "What'll you do? She's really skittish around people in lab coats—it might stress her out…"

"I just need to evaluate her level and EVs. I've been working on an academic journal called 'Eevee's EVs' you see. There's nothing to worry about." Professor Oak assured him gently.

Sam couldn't make himself feel at ease however. He glanced over at his Flareon who was stretched out across the couch. Rae caught his eye and smiled, running her hand through Nova's thick collar of fur. Evolution seemed to have given Nova a little more confidence and finally the peace of mind to trust Rae and Kurt.

"Sam?" Oak pulled him back to attention. "You can just put her Pokéball in the PC and I'll transport her back in a few days."

Sam's gut twisted at the idea, although he didn't really understand why. He shook his head. "If you want to do the research that's fine but I'd like to be there too."

Oak was quiet for a few moments. "I'll call in a favor and get you direct transport here by tonight."

"Alright, thank you."

"See you two soon." The screen went black and Sam was left to his unsettled thoughts.

Sam, Rae and Kurt stood outside the Pokémon Center.

"Kurt, I'm sorry, I can't go to the Adventure Convention with you. Something came up and Professor Oak wants me back in Pallet for a few days. Round trip, it could take a week or two." Sam frowned. Rae was already spending a few weeks training at the Vermillion Police Department and now him and Kurt were splitting up too.

Kurt pursed his lips in disappointment. "Nah, it's alright man. It would've been awesome but I guess me and Abra can handle Ad Con ourselves. Just watch your back, with all the Team Magna stuff happening out there.

"Speaking of that…" Sam took a Pokéball off his belt and held it out to Kurt. He started to reach out for it but stopped short.

"What's this?"

"Take it, it's Missile. It's still my team's job to escort you and Abra, as your official guide. Missile will do a great job. I know it."

"And he doesn't mind?"

"I explained it to him before, he's more than happy with it—he really respects you, Kurt. I don't think you'll have a problem commanding him in battle, even if you don't have any badges."

Kurt smiled at his younger friend but handed back the Pokéball. "Thanks man, but knowing you and your team, you'll need him. Me and Abra will manage fine for a week or two. Consider it a vacation." Kurt winked. Sam gratefully took his Pokéball back and minimized it back onto his belt. The two boys hugged.

"See you soon." Sam smiled, hefting his backpack on his shoulders. The bus was already outside, time to get back on and head back to Pallet. It felt so strange to be going back to the place he'd been traveling away from for seven weeks. And in only seven hours, he'd be back. Sam imagined how easy the Pidgey and Caterpie would be to beat. And he was excited for Nova, Gold, Missile and Poison to meet his mom and sister.

He moved over to Gold and Nova, who were lying on the sofa. Sam shook them both awake gently. He pet Nova's head as she woke up.

"Hey guys. We're going to take a little trip back to Pallet while everyone's doing their own thing. We're going to stop by Oak's Lab for a couple days—just for some cursory tests-then we'll be back on the road!" Sam told them, trying to be careful of Nova's feelings. To his surprise, she wasn't surprised—instead, it was something else entirely. She vaulted over him and skidded across the linoleum tile. Sam turned around in surprise.

"Nova?" He asked, approaching her. Gold looked on with confusion. "Do you not want to go?" He didn't know if it would the fact that they were heading back or that she didn't want to stop journeying. He tried both. "It's just for a few days—I'll never leave you and we'll never stop our adventures. I promise."

Nova's mind was too muddled to think logically. When Sam's hand reached out for her, she shied back, and when he still moved toward her, Nova released an Ember as a warning. She didn't even notice when she burned the tips of his fingers. I'm not going back, I'm never, ever ever ever going back to that place where there was nothing for me. Never.

Sam fell back with a cry of alarm, his eyes widening in shock. Gold jumped between them.

I'm going back! He's going to take me back! He's leaving me there!

"Rusty—what the hell?" The fighting-ground type started. He didn't get the opportunity to finish, Nova, eyes crazed and fur fluffed up went in for a strong tackle.

Gold braced for the impact, throwing his armored arms in front of his body. Whatever was happening, Nova wasn't aware what she was doing, that much was clear to both Sam and Gold.

I'm not done! I'm not done! I'm not going back!

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She yelled, her eyes flashing with what may have been tears. Betrayal roiling in her stomach. She was a much more frightening sight now that she had tripled in height and breathed fire. Gold was pushed back, flipping over and landing on his stomach. He was back up in a second, trying to restrain her. She reached out her leg to hit him but before Nova had the chance to make contact with Gold, she disappeared into a blaze of red light.

For a moment, Gold thought it had been his imagination and that it wasn't really Nova, but then realized that Sam had recalled her. The trainer sat up, grasping the Pokéball in a shaky hand. Tears pricked his eyes, and he wiped his face. "I don't know what happened. I need to call Professor Oak." He decided. Still holding the Pokéball, he walked over to the video monitor and re-dialed the Professor's number.

"Sam?" The Professor was surprised.

"Professor, Nova just panicked, she tried to attack me." Sam looked down forlornly at his hands. "I can't bring her, she was too scared."

Oak's eyes widened. "She attacked you." His eyes darkened and something changed in them. "This isn't good."

"What is it, Professor?" Sam clutched the receiver tightly to his ear. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure but it doesn't have to do with coming back here. She may have had a flawed evolution or her nature might have changed. It's even more important that you bring Flareon in now."

"Her nature?" His voice got soft. Gold, sitting out of view of the camera, perked his ears.

"Yes, it's not uncommon for a Pokemon's nature to change during an evolution, trainers will find they act differently and have different tastes in berries. Occasionally, a Pokémon is unable to balance their new personality and they go through a period of instability."

"What can I do?" At this moment, Sam looked no more than his twelve years.

"Come on the bus as planned. I can help her acclimate. I've helped a lot of Pokémon who evolved during stressful or strange evolutions."

"Professor, speaking of strange evolutions…it was strange but Nova didn't evolve from a Fire Stone—it was some strange black rock I've never seen before."

"Do you have it with you?" The scientist asked quickly.

"I—no, we don't. Sorry."

"No," Oak sighed, waving his hand at the boy, "don't worry, it's okay if you don't have it, but be sure to board that bus."

"Alright, see you soon, then." Sam hung up and recalled Gold, before running outside and securing a seat on the bus. The sooner he got Nova there, the better.

I can't go back, I can't. Professor Oak, the others—I hated it there. They hurt me—I was so alone. No more Sam, no more Gold, no more Missile, no more Poison, no more…

Nova had landed in a trembling heap of fur in her Pokéball world. The red and black colors of fire and magma spun dizzily around her flat eyes. I can't do this again. I'll be chained up. I can't take any more experiments. I love the wind, the grass, the… She choked on another sob, pulling herself up and stumbling over rocky lava stones, trying to make sense of anything. Part of her didn't know why she couldn't calm down. It was like every fiber of her being was rejecting something she couldn't understand. She felt like knocking her head against the rocks. I don't want to be hurt when I can't fight back. I don't want to go back to a place like that. Or feel the piercing needle of isolation.

Worst of all, she'd hurt Sam.

A short chapter to start us off but the next one will be longer! Please review!