Happy Halloween, guys! I don't have a Halloween-themed chapter to throw at you guys, but one of my other stories was already Halloween-themed, so I went and posted two chapter for that one. If any of you are interested in One Piece, you're more than welcome to take a look!

Defender31415 - Thanks! I've been thinking of it as a place like that for a while, so I'm glad you found it interesting. :)

Here's the chapter! :)

Chapter 36

"After hearing everything that Lydia told me, I think that I want to go to Kalos next," Crystal remarked as she and her team walked down the route towards Verdanturf. "There's just something about that region that makes it sound like a really cool place to be."

"Yeah," Richie agreed, nodding. "It must be really beautiful."

Samuel snorted, then went back to stretching his arms out in different directions. "Is that all you look for when you think about going to different regions?"

"No." Crystal looked at the Breloom. "I think about what kinds of Pokémon might be found there, too. And Lydia said that Fairy-Types can be found there pretty easily. I know that Richie is part Fairy right now, but I'm kind of curious about what pure Fairy-Types might look like."

Samuel frowned at that. "Uh huh."

"There might be some other Pokémon of different Types that might be good to get to know, too," Crystal added. "Blaine is probably expecting me to make friends with at least one Fire-Type that isn't his. Maybe Kalos will have one that might want to be mine."

It didn't take too long before the route reached its end, and Crystal stepped into a small circle of buildings that were mostly houses. There was a sign in the center of the circle that said "Verdanturf" in simple lettering.

"Wow, this is a small town," Crystal remarked, looking around. "I think it's only a little bit bigger than Pallet Town is, but it feels so much like home. Wow…."

"Hello! I haven't seen you around here before."

Crystal turned and blinked when she caught sight of a young woman with dark red hair wearing a green dress. "Hi. I'm traveling around the region for the League Challenge, actually. I came up from Slateport just this morning and got a Badge from Watson not too long ago. I'm just having a look around before I decide to keep going." Crystal walked over and held out a hand. "I'm Crystal."

The woman accepted Crystal's hand and shook it. "I'm Wanda. You mentioned Pallet Town a little while ago. Are you from Kanto?"

Crystal nodded. "Yeah. I came from there with a friend of mine."

"You traveled pretty far, then. And even with everything that's going on in our region right now." Wanda's eyes trailed, and she caught sight of Richie. "Oh! You have a Kirlia, too? My cousin from Petalburg has one. He had gone to Mauville earlier today and said that he met someone with a Kirlia…." Wanda's voice trailed off, and she looked at Crystal curiously. "You wouldn't happen to have met someone named Wally earlier, would you?"

"Wally?" Crystal's invisible ears twitched in surprise. "Yeah, I met him earlier. He's nearly beat me and Richie, actually, but Richie did manage to get a move in before Gwen could."

Wanda smiled. "Wally's been working on training with his Pokémon almost non-stop. To hear that he actually almost beat someone really came as a surprise for us, especially considering what it is that he has to deal with."

"He did mention something about coming here because the air is better," Crystal admitted, "but he didn't say why."

Wanda's expression softened. "It's his burden to carry. He doesn't want new friends to worry about what it is that he has to deal with, and if it's at all contagious – which it isn't."

Crystal got the feeling that the last part was added in order to try and reassure her. "What is it?"

"Wally is just very prove to getting sick easily," Wanda admitted. "I think it started when he was really young, and the illness he caught when he was that small has continued to affect him. He has had a few panic attacks, but Gwen has been a big help in calming him down every time he has one."

"Panic attacks?" Crystal repeated in surprise. "You mean something affected his mind?"

"We think that's what happened." Wanda nodded.

"Huh…." Crystal frowned. "Well, he didn't have a panic attack when he fought against me…."

"He used to, if he faced against a strong opponent. He's said that he's gotten stronger, but…."

"Wanda!"

Crystal and Wanda turned when they heard the voice, and they caught sight of a familiar green-haired boy with a Kirlia.

"Crystal?" Wally came to a stop, blinking in surprise. "I thought you were going to challenge Watson after you found him."

"There was a problem with the area that he was in, so we gave him some help. Because we caught him by surprise like that and gave him a lot of help, he gave me a Badge in exchange."

"Really? Just because you helped him?" Wally looked surprised. "I didn't think that Gym Leaders did things like that."

"Some do. You just have to impress them enough." Crystal smiled brightly. "That happened with a friend of mine, actually. He got Badges from two Gym Leaders because he impressed them enough."

"Wow." Wally smiled. "Maybe I should try doing something like that. Then I wouldn't have to fight as much and put any Pokémon friends I find in danger."

"Yeah." Gwen nodded in agreement.

Crystal smiled in agreement. "It might take a lot to impress a Gym Leader, or maybe just a little. But either way, it's still possible to impress them if you try hard enough."

Wally nodded. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Crystal!"

Crystal nodded in response. "It was no problem. But you shouldn't be afraid of fighting, either."

Wally's smile wavered a little. "Well, I know that I shouldn't be afraid of it, but I'm still worried about my team getting hurt. I don't really like it when I see Pokémon fighting…."

Crystal frowned a little at that. "You know, back in Kanto, when I first became an official Trainer and was allowed to travel around on my own, I didn't really want to get into fights, either. I was always worrying about my Pokémon and if he was going to get badly hurt. But then…one of my brothers told me something. He said that Pokémon in the wild fight, too, because that's really the only way that they can get stronger. They see evolution as a rite of passage, too, because it means they've gotten old enough and strong enough to be able to handle the world and a lot of things that get thrown at them."

"Really?" Wally blinked in surprise. "I knew that Pokémon can come and challenge you when you're walking between routes, but I didn't think that they fought each other as well as Trainers."

"Well, they have to get strong enough in order to get the attention of some Trainers. I don't think that Pokémon want to just sit around and wait for a Trainer to come along and make them strong – they want to get the Trainer's attention. The younger ones can go for Trainers who are just beginning, but the older ones need to be able to prove themselves if they want to travel with stronger Trainers."

"Huh…." Wally frowned. "I guess I'll have to think about that."

"Wanda told me that you get panic attacks sometimes," Crystal added, getting Wally to look at her in surprise. "I have a few friends who might be able to help, but I'd have to find out if they were willing first. If they are, would you be willing to let them have a look at you and see if there's anything they can do?"

Wally's and Wanda's eyes widened, and the two of them looked at each other.

"You'd do that?" Wally asked in shock.

"This feels a little sudden," Wanda noted. "And you only just met each other today, didn't you? Why are you suggesting this?"

Crystal blushed and ducked her head. "Well, I like to be able to help people wherever I go. If Wally needs help, I'm more than willing to see if there's anything I or my friends might be able to do about it. I might be a little hard to get into contact with some of them, but they might still be willing to give a hand."

"We'll have to ask my uncle and Wally's parents to see if they're all right with it," Wanda responded, frowning a little. "They probably won't like it if I tell them a strange Trainer from another region said she could offer some help…."

"Well, I'm close friends with Champion Red and Professor Oak." Crystal rubbed the back of her head. "If that helps you at all. I don't know where Red disappeared to over a year ago, but…."

Wanda frowned. "I'll have to ask about it, but thanks for giving us a suggestion."

Crystal was about to respond to Wanda's statement, only for someone to suddenly ram into her.

"Crystal!" May let out a happy squeal. "Did you get the Badge from Watson?"

"Yeah, I did." Crystal blinked in confusion and surprise. "Uh…what are you doing, May?"

"Well, I got my Contest Pass, but I wasn't able to enter into any contests today because they were already done. I'll be able to enter one tomorrow, though!" May grinned brightly, then noticed Wally and Wanda. "Oh? Who are these guys?"

"This is Wanda and her cousin, Wally." Crystal nodded to the both of them. "They live around here."

"Oh! Hi!" May turned and looked over at the two of them. "I'm May! I'm hoping to become a Coordinator!"

"H-hi," Wally greeted, looking a little thrown off by May's eager, bouncy attitude. "Um…good luck?"

"Thanks!" May turned and looked at Crystal. "Hey – do you think you could come tomorrow and watch one of the contests with me? I want to see what it is that they do around here and if I'll be able to come up with a good strategy for my Pokémon!"

"Uh…." Crystal blinked, then shook her head. "Sorry; Watson wanted to meet with me tomorrow so that he could show me something. Maybe some other time."

"Oh." May's shoulders sagged in disappointment, but then her expression brightened. "The next time we meet in a town, I'm definitely going to take you to the nearest Contest!"

"I'll look forward to it when I'm not so busy," Crystal replied, smiling a little.

"Crystal, it's getting kinda late," Richie spoke up suddenly pointing upward.

Crystal looked up herself, and noticed with surprise that the sun was starting to set. "Oh, wow. Time sure goes by fast. I'd better head back to Mauville's Pokémon Center before it gets dark."

"There's one here," Wally spoke up. He pointed over to a familiar red building, which was right next to what looked like a tall cliff face. "You could stay there after having dinner at my uncle's house."

"Wally!" Wanda looked at him in surprise. "Inviting them on such short notice?"

"Well, Crystal's my friend," Wally responded. "I want to be nice."

Crystal blinked in surprise while May watched with a blank expression as Wanda shook her head.

"Wow. Wait until Mom and Dad hear about this," Wanda commented. "You making friends with two girls who aren't from this area of the region." She looked over at May and Crystal. "You're more than welcome to come by and eat, I guess. Just don't be surprised if Mom and Dad don't have enough room at the table."

Crystal smiled in response. "I don't mind. Lead the way."

:3 I love to write character interactions like this. And making Wally look adorable.

See you guys next week!