Last time, on Tony's Journey…

Instead of putting focus on the protagonist, the author decided to give his mother a little screen-time! Anna Maruko showed up at Professor Juniper's door and requested a starter Pokemon so that she could begin training Pokemon again! While Juniper initially refused, stating that Anna would have had to reserve a starter Pokemon like everyone else, she agreed to give Anna one early if she would clean up the dismal laboratory that the Pokemon Professor called home. Anna started cleaning and quickly remember why she had hired a maid back when she was still rich.

What will happen next? Find out now!

Juniper's finger ran over the kitchen's marble countertop. She held up her hand and observed her finger closely. Huh. Not a speck of grime. Not bad…

The floors were mopped and gleaming in the early noon sunshine. The carpets looked and smelled better than the day they had come from the store. The windows were so clean they looked almost like thin air, and best of all, the three shining Pokeballs in her office were untouched. The house was spotless. In fact, it was probably the cleanest that Aurea had ever seen it.

It didn't take long to find who was responsible for such a miracle. All she had to do was follow the sounds of snoring. Juniper found Anna in the living room, face-down in the couch and sleeping soundly after a hard few hours of work. Oddly enough, the thirty-nine year-old woman looked bizarrely adorable when asleep.

It was a shame to have to wake her up, but it had to be done. Juniper shook Anna's shoulder. "Ms. Maruko…"

"G-go away, Jerry…" Anna snorted, still asleep. "I'm taking my money bath…"

"Ms. Maruko!" Juniper said, shaking her a bit more harshly.

Anna's cold eyes snapped open and found nothing but darkness. She sat up, quickly wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth. "W-what…?" She looked up to Juniper, finally remembering where she was. "Oh. You're back."

"Yes I am," Juniper replied. "The house looks pretty clean. I'm impressed."

You'd better be, Anna thought bitterly.

"No, really," Juniper continued. "The Pokeballs for the starters were in my office and you didn't steal them while I was gone. I mean, if you were still the way you were nine years ago, you probably would've just stolen them and run off rather than have to do hard work and only receive one for your efforts.

Anna stared blankly. "Y-you know…?"

Juniper rolled her eyes. "Your sister – bless her, she is a wonderful woman – hasn't shut up about you since you showed up to see Tony. She told me about the past – about what you did to him."

Anna rubbed her forehead. "That was a mistake – a bad one," she emphasized.

Juniper nodded. "It was. I like Tony. He reminds me of my father. He's a good kid, and I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him. That's why I had to make sure you had really changed before I gave you anything – that's why I had to test you."

"Test me?" Anna asked, confused. "Y-you didn't…"

"I did," Juniper said with a smile. "You cleaned up my house, didn't you? You didn't try to steal the Pokemon and sneak away when you had the chance. You've changed for the better."

Anna looked away, feeling a little red. She hated it when people thought they had her all figured out. She hated it even more when they were right. "Thank you…"

"Don't mention it," Juniper replied. "Now, I think it's time for your reward. One Starter Pokemon, as promised." She gave a whistle. "Alright, guys, come on in."

Anna turned to see three small creatures walk hesitantly into the living room. An orange and black swine with tiny puffs of smoke poofing from his snout, a green snake-like creature with a condescending look, and a jolly-looking otter with a white face and a shell clenched in his tiny paws. "Meet Tepig, Snivy, and Oshawott," Juniper introduced, pointing to the pig, the snake, and the otter respectively. "The three Starter Pokemon approved by the Unovan Pokemon League."

Anna blinked. "I thought you said they were in your office…"

"Actually," Juniper chuckled, "I was just picking them up today at the Pokemon Center. I told you that I had them here earlier to see if you'd try to steal them at all. So," she said, looking down to the Starter Pokemon, "go ahead! Pick whichever one you want!"

Anna stared down at the trio of Pokemon. They stared right back at her, Tepig and Oshawott with eager eyes and Snivy with an uncaring look. To be honest, Anna had no idea which one to pick. She couldn't even remember her own starter Pokemon back in Kanto. What had it been…?

"Hesitant, are you?" Juniper chuckled. "It's a big choice, isn't it? It could really affect you in the Pokemon League."

Anna was at a loss. For everything she knew about business, she didn't have much knowledge involving Pokemon. She knew a few basic type-advantages and the like, but not much else.

Finally, she made her choice. Snivy seemed like a quiet sort. Maybe it wouldn't be such a hassle. "I chose that one," she said, pointing at the Grass Snake Pokemon. "The Smivee."

"That's Snivy," Juniper corrected, handing Anna Snivy's Pokeball.

"Sni…" Snivy gave an uncaring shrug, but Oshawott and Tepig seemed very disappointed.

"Don't worry," Juniper said. "More children will arrive for their starters soon. You'll be sure to get picked!

This perked the two remaining starters up. They nodded and cried eagerly with anticipation.

"Here." Juniper pulled a fresh Pokedex out from her pocket. "This is your Pokedex. You can use it to look up the data on any Pokemon native to Unova in a flash."

"Thank you," Anna said, genuinely grateful.

"Don't mention it," Juniper said, waving her hand dismissively. "Just doing my job. Now, you'd better get going if you want to reach Accumula Town again before dark.

Anna nodded. There would be a Pokemon Center in Accumula Town – a Pokemon Center with free bedding and food. Her stomach growled eagerly, having regained its vigor after the horrifying imagery and odors found inside Juniper's fridge.

She thanked Juniper again, gathered her things, and returned Snivy to its Pokeball (she hadn't bothered to check for its gender). That gone, she shouldered her purse and started walking.

About halfway out of Nuvema, she broke a heel. The rest of the trip would be barefoot until she found a new pair of shoes.

Regardless of the loss of her favorite shoes, Anna felt slightly happy. All she would have to do was train her Pokemon hard and she'd be making money again. Then, she could finally start Maruko Corp. again and live her old life – minus the abandoning her son, estranging herself from her loved ones, and losing it all in an embarrassing accidental association with the mafia of course.

Anna's journey had begun anew.

A warm feeling of nostalgia lifted the spirits of the companions as they traversed across the desert-covered Route 4, allowing them to ignore the burning heat of the sun and the stinging sandy wind.

It really was just like old times. Tony and Skyla, side by side, walking forever into the distance to achieve their lofty goals together. While the journey would be a hard one for sure, neither one could think of something that they'd rather do.

Memories, good and bad, began to resurface. It was here in the desert where they had first encountered Lady Numera during a botched attempt to off Professor Juniper. It was here also where Tony had first seen his mother in over nine years. It was here that Strike had evolved into a Whirlipede, and where Tony had first met Rock Candy.

As a few days went by, the sand gave way to grass. They arrived at old Nimbasa Town, the tiny sister to the bigger and brighter Nimbasa City. This was where Tony had confronted his would-be rival Karen Silph after she had stolen his Pokemon (they made up later), and where he had finally revealed the truth about his horrible past to Skyla, finally cementing their incredibly solid and powerful bond. Needless to say, it was a place that brought forth powerful emotions for the two humans.

Of course, with those emotions came doubts. This leg of the journey had been filled with long, long silences between the two friends. Their minds swam with confusing and conflicting thoughts, unable to piece together how they really felt about each other.

Aunt Sally and Anna's words still rang through Tony and Skyla's minds respectively, accusations of feelings and warnings against dating. It was a confusing time for both of them; neither had thought that they could possibly think of another human being as a significant other before.

They both had their doubts. After all, boys and girls could just be friends. Tony was friends with the slightly-ditzy trainer Bianca, and she was a girl. Skyla was friends with the Striaton Triplets, the Gym Leaders of Striaton City, and they were all guys. So what if Skyla had written so many nice things about Tony? Just because she was complimenting him doesn't mean that she liked him like… that. And so what if Tony had wanted to surprise Skyla by coming to Nimbasa City without her knowing? Friends did surprises for each other, too.

Well, if that was the case, then, why were they so quiet?

Tony didn't have the answer for that one. What if… what if he did have feelings for Skyla? Should he act on them? What if she didn't return them? I mean, he was shorter than she was, and younger than she was… Was it creepy for a boy to like an older girl? Was it acceptable in Unova? Could they really keep travelling together if she didn't? How awkward would that be?

Skyla was having similar conundrums. She had admitted that she thought Tony was handsome. Sure, he was handsome in a weird, childish sort of way, but she found it to be oddly charming. What if she told him and he didn't like her back? After all, she had been pretty obnoxious when they had first met with one another, bragging and boasting like a spoiled little girl… If she asked him, and he said no, could they still be friends…?

Neither had any answers. They stopped at the Pokemon Center in Old Nimbasa Town for the evening and spent the entire night wondering.

Well… Most of the night, anyways…

Author's Note:

X and Y is almost out… I can't stand the wait… Rrrgh…

Reader Question Time! What kind of Pokemon Trainer do you think you'll see at the Roulette Rumble? Answer after you review!

Tony's Party:

1: Lucky, female Butterfree

Ability: Compound eyes

2: Sunny, female Larvesta

Ability: Flame Body

3: Lancelot, male Karrablast

Ability: Swarm

4: Strike, male Scolipede

Ability: Poison Point

5: Clover, female Swadloon

Ability: Leaf Guard

6: Rock Candy, female Dwebble

Ability: Sturdy