Chapter 48: How Much is That Poké Doll in the Window?

Spring had slowly given way to summer, causing the landscape to come alive with wildflowers. This delighted Ken, and he happily went about picking flowers and fashioning them into crowns, which Sora and Zoey gratefully accepted.

"My mother taught me how to do this when I was little," Ken explained in answer to his friends questioning looks. "She'd bring flowers from her garden inside and we'd fashion them into all kinds of things!"

"Sounds like a lot of fun Ken!" Sora said with a smile, trying without much success to copy her friend's creation, causing the Mew hybrid to laugh.

"I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that thing!" Sapphire protested when he offered her one, sticking out her tongue in distaste.

"You're saying flower crowns are girly?" Ken asked, causing the Mudkip to nod. "I'll have you know that this is a lot harder than it looks! You have to pick them so the stem isn't too short, and you need to be careful not to rip them when you're knotting it, and-"

"Doesn't make it any less girly!" Sapphire interrupted, causing Ken to glare at her.

"Yeah well, I happen to like flowers!" he snapped, flicking his tail in annoyance. "Besides, these are some of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen! So much more beautiful than the ones in my mothers garden!"

Chris smiled at this, thankful that, for once, the Mew hybrid was able to just kick back, relax, and smell the roses—in this case quite literally.

"Well, this is getting to be a bit too happy for my taste!" Xellos groaned, an almost pained expression on his face. "I'll be in touch!" And with that, the Abra Teleported off to who knows where, though everyone knew he'd be back eventually.

Yes, in the days that followed since they'd left Saffron City, Ken was happier than Chris had ever seen him. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end…


"So, I'm pretty sure I read the map correctly this time," Chris laughed, as he and his friends sat down to dinner, "and if I'm right, we should make it to Celadon by tomorrow morning!"

"Awesome!" Marik exclaimed, a huge goofy grin on his face. "Everyone knows that the Celadon City Gym is completely populated by women! Oh I can't wait!"

Chris rolled his eyes as the Manaphy hybrid continued to rattle on and on about all the beautiful girls who would love him, frowning as he noticed that Ken seemed to be less than enthusiastic about the news.

"You ok Ken?"

"Huh? Well, yeah!" the Mew hybrid replied with a smile, though Chris didn't miss the fact that his tail was now swaying anxiously side to side.

"Come on Ken," Chris sighed. "If something's bothering you, you know you can always talk to us about it."

Ken looked hesitant for a moment before sighing. "Look at me Chris. I'm covered from head to toe in pink fur, and you just expect me to be ok about it?" He paused, running one hand across his furry face. "I barely even look human! As soon as we get to Celadon, everybody's gonna stare at me like I'm some kind of freak!"

"Oh Ken," Chris sighed, placing a comforting hand on the Mew hybrid's shoulder, "its really not that bad."

"Like I said before, you still look human!" Marik chimed in, a friendly smile on his face. "You're just furry, that's all!"

"Not really helping Marik," Chris sighed, resisting the urge to face palm.

"Besides, who cares what they think? You've got us, and we're not going to let anybody say anything bad about you! Anybody who makes fun of my friend is gonna get Heart Swapped!"

Ken chuckled at this, a grateful smile on his face. "Thanks guys."


It was clear that night, millions of stars twinkling in the night sky.

Xellos Teleported into the campsite, briefly observing the sleeping Mew hybrid and his friends before vanishing once more, reappearing a distance away amongst a group of trees. The Abra only had to wait a moment before a green glow appeared in front of him, the space around it seeming to distort.

"So, the Goddess of Time honors me with her presence!" Xellos chuckled, as a form began to take shape.

"I really wish you wouldn't call me that," Celebi sighed, though she already knew that the Abra wouldn't stop, at least, not in the current timeline. "I merely travel through time, I have no control over it."

The Abra grinned. "Ah, but doesn't simply knowing what the future entails give one the opportunity to change it?"

Celebi smiled. "But if one tries to change it, doesn't that yield yet another timeline, and in the end, are events set in stone, or are the choices one makes responsible for deciding our fate? I have lived longer than I even I can say for sure, traveling from one time to another, and still I cannot explain the thing that humans call destiny. The closest I can come to is the occasions when all timelines lead to the same outcome."

Xellos laughed. "You think too much. Destiny is in itself a byproduct of time. Your vision shows you a calm, confident Will who just so happens to be wearing the same mask that once belonged to Pennywise, and so you take steps to make your vision comes true. You say that the boy with the Pikachu has potential for greatness, so you decide to keep an eye on him so that nothing goes wrong. Isn't that why you asked me to watch over Ken? So that he will fulfill whatever future you have foreseen for him? Hmm?"

"I'm afraid that it isn't so simple, Xellos," Celebi explained, a somewhat sorrowful look in her eyes. "You gave Ken the mask to give to Will because that is what I foresaw you doing. Red is going down the path he is because that is what this timeline says he will do. I merely foresee events, Xellos. I cannot control time. Yet…time is always changing, because people and Pokemon have freewill. There are millions of different time lines because there are millions of different outcomes, yet sometimes, all paths lead to the same result, and other times…" She paused, a look of worry on her face. "Other times, I am not able to read an individuals timeline at all."

Xellos frowned. "What does that usually mean?"

"It usually means death, Xellos," Celebi replied, sorrow evident on her face. "Though there are exceptions, death is almost always involved in one way or another. There was a time when I couldn't see Mew's timeline—"

"Do you mean the Mew, or Ken's father?"

"Ken's father," Celebi clarified, causing the Abra's frown to deepen. "However, I now realize that the haziness is due to his connection to Ken's timeline. Xellos…I can't see Ken's timeline."

"At ALL?"

"After a certain point, no," Celebi explained, worry evident on her face. "That is why I want you to keep an eye on Ken for me—to keep him safe. As I said, time is a funny thing, so I don't know if it will do any good, but…"

"Celebi, is there something you're not telling me?"

The tiny fairy Legendary giggled. "Silly Xellos! With as much as I've told you, you of all Pokemon should understand why it's best not to know what the future holds!"

Xellos watched as Celebi disappeared in a flash of green light, more than a little irritated that she had just given him her version of 'It's a secret!'

Sighing, he took one last look at the place where Celebi had vanished before Teleporting back to the campsite.


Sunlight filtered in through the trees, alerting Ken that morning had arrived. Yawning and stretching himself out like a cat, he was met with the delicious scent of Chris frying up pancakes over the campfire.

"Morning Ken," the Regigigas hybrid said with a smile, scooping a couple pancakes onto a paper plate for his friend. "You ready for this?"

"As I'll ever be," Ken sighed, applying a liberal amount of syrup to his food. "After all, its not like I can just avoid people all my life."

"Well, technically you could, but that didn't really work out the first time, now did it?" Xellos laughed, Teleporting into view and snatching Ken's pancakes. "Mmm! These are good! My complements Chris, although I think Ken put on a bit too much syrup!"

"Xellos!" Ken shouted, making an angry grab for the Abra. "Give those back!"

"Oh come now Ken, doesn't the well being of your Pokemon come before your own selfish desires?"

"Of course it does!" Ken agreed, looking somewhat guilty.

"Well then, I think its only fair I get these pancakes!" the Abra laughed, Teleporting away before Ken could even realize that he'd been tricked.

"Xellos! Those were mine!" Ken growled, as he scanned the area for where the Abra had taken off to. "Get back here, Xellos!"

"There's plenty more Ken," Chris laughed, handing Ken a replacement breakfast. "He's just messing with you, that's all!"

"I swear, he likes seeing me miserable," Ken sighed, taking a bite of his pancake, a loud purr rumbling in his throat.

Chris laughed. "It does kinda seem that way, doesn't it? I asked Sabrina why she decided to give him to you, and she told me that it was a secret!"

"Why is everything 'a secret' when it comes to Xellos?" Ken chuckled, shaking his head.

"Now that, is a secret!" Xellos laughed, Teleporting into view and startling Ken so much he nearly dropped his pancakes. Spotting the juice box Ken had been about to open, the Abra grinned mischievously. "Now Ken, you didn't offer me anything to drink!"

"Xellos! Get back here!" Ken shouted, as the Abra promptly Teleported away with his juice box. Growling irritatedly, fur beginning to bristle, Ken turned once more to Chris, holding out his hand expectantly.

"Actually Ken, that was the last juice box," Chris admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "We'll restock on food in Celadon, but for now, you'll have to make do with water."

Ken stared at his friend in disbelief before a low growl escaped his throat, tail beginning to lash back and forth angrily.

"Hey, what's wrong Ken?" Marik asked, pausing to take a drink of his juice. "You wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"I hate you Xellos," Ken seethed, grabbing the canteen out of Chris's backpack and taking a good long drink from it.


"Come on, Ken," Chris encouraged, placing a comforting hand on his friends shoulder, "I know you can do this!"

"Just one little step Ken!" Marik agreed with a nod, before a huge grin broke out on his face. "Just on little step before I get to meet tons of beautiful girls!"

"Oh no, you don't have any ulterior motives!" Ken replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

They'd been standing on the outskirts of Celadon City for the past ten minutes, and Ken still hadn't managed to work up the courage to head into town. Though he knew his friends would be there to support him no matter what, he still wasn't looking forward to what other people's reactions might be.

Can't be any worse than they have been, right? Ken reasoned, pushing the possibility that people might mistake him for a Pokemon, or worse, try and catch him, to the back of his mind.

Sighing and taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Ken finally made his way into Celadon City.

"Wow, this place is beautiful!" Marik gushed, as the trio entered Celadon.

Ken smiled at this, as the place truly was a sight to behold. The grass was crisp and green and there was an overall feeling of being in nature, despite the many tall buildings. As Ken took in the scent of the multitude of wildflowers that put the ones they'd seen previously to shame, he noticed that the air even smelled cleaner here.

"Well, I think the first thing we should do is get restocked on supplies," Chris said, pulling out the map from his backpack. "According to this, the Celadon Department Store should be right around-"

WHAM!

Chris looked up from the map in surprise as he felt something ram into him, surprise quickly melting away to concern when he realized that the something was a teenage girl who now sat sprawled on the ground looking just as surprised as he was.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Chris exclaimed, reaching down to help the girl up. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" she laughed, taking Chris's outstretched hand gratefully. "Sorry about that! I honestly wasn't watching where I was going!"

"Did it hurt?" Marik asked, glancing at the girl with what appeared to be concern.

"No, no, I'm fine!" she laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "Like I said, I really should've been paying more attention."

"Actually, I meant when you fell from heaven," Marik replied with a huge grin, causing his two friends to groan.

So much for concern, Ken thought to himself with a sigh. He had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen next.

But the girl actually looked shocked at his statement, her pale cheeks turning a bright crimson. "P-please don't say things like that," she whispered, staring down at her feet. "Its embarrassing…"

"But its true!" Marik exclaimed, waving his arms about dramatically as he continued to flirt with her. "You have the beauty of an angel! Why, if I didn't know better, I'd say I'd died again and gone to heaven!"

"Again?" the girl asked, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

As Marik began to rattle off his entire life's story, Ken took the time to notice that the girl was in fact very pretty. She had short slightly curly green hair and green eyes that seemed almost unnaturally bright, and was dressed a pair of jeans along with a plain pink t-shirt. As Ken took the time to study her a bit more carefully he noticed that she was a bit on the short side, being nearly half a foot shorter than he and Marik were. Honestly, it wasn't really surprising that she had taken a tumble when running smack into Chris. By far though, her most interesting feature was the pair of pink flowers she had in her hair on either side of her head. At first, Ken had thought that maybe they were hairclips or something, but no, there was nothing artificial about them.

What kind of flowers are those, I wonder? Ken thought to himself, tail twitching in curiosity. I've never seen anything like that before…

"And then I decided to go to Kanto and see if these Mew Boy rumors where really true, and they were!" Marik finished happily, oblivious to the fact that Ken and Chris were now letting out sighs of relief, thankful that he had finally stopped talking.

"Mew Boy?" the girl asked, her head perking up. "So, you're all…" Pausing, she spotted Ken and her eyes grew as big as saucers. "Wait! You're telling me that you're all part Pokemon? That wasn't just some really weird pick up line?"

Chris snorted at this, causing Marik to glare at him. "No, we really are part Pokemon," he explained, his antenna rising from their position amongst his hair. "But for you, I'd be anything your heart desired," he added with a wink.

The girl stared at Marik's now exposed antenna, a look of absolute shock on her face. Her green eyes shifted to Chris, back to Marik, back to Chris, before finally settling on Ken. "So…you're the Mew Boy? Why are you all furry? Is that normal?" the girl asked, crinkling her nose in what appeared to be distaste.

"I don't wanna talk about it!" Ken snapped, pushing his way past the others, fur bristling in anger and embarrassment.

Chris stared after his friend before excusing himself, returning seconds later to drag a very disappointed Marik after him, who had been busy scribbling down his Pokénav number.

They found Ken sitting by the fountain, looking thoroughly depressed. Sora nuzzled her friend's side hopefully, but the teen didn't even appear to notice, instead running his fingers through the fur on his arm with a deep frown on his face.

"Thanks for sticking up for me guys," Ken spat when his friends made their way over, tail flicking in irritation.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Chris said, taking a seat next to his friend. "You're right, we should've said something. But to be fair, you kinda stormed out of there before we could even say anything."

"Long enough for Marik to give the girl his Pokénav number," Ken snorted, to which the Manaphy hybrid chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Its gonna happen Ken," Chris said, as Sora made her way into her friends lap. "Some people are going to be less than understanding, but that doesn't mean that everybody is gonna be like that."

"Nobody stares at you and Marik."

"Reasons number one and two!" Marik chimed in happily, taking seat on Ken's other side and nearly landing on his tail.

"Look, growing your hair out might keep people from noticing that you have gills and antenna, but that doesn't help me any!" Ken growled, tail lashing back and forth irritatedly.

Marik sighed, giving his friend a more compassionate look. "I'm sorry Ken, but the fact of the matter is, we look more human than you do." Running a hand over one of his antenna, he added, "I'm sorry about earlier. I know I've got a bit of a problem when it comes to pretty girls."

"A bit?"

"Ok, ok, more like an obsession!" Marik admitted with a laugh, a blush coming to his face. "Ladies Man, Pig, Brock, call me what you want, I've been called worse! The point is, whenever I see a pretty girl, my brain turns to mush!" Offering his friend a small smile, he said, "Doesn't mean I don't care about my friends. Push comes to shove, I'll be there when you need me most. And that's a promise."

Ken finally managed a smile. "Thanks Marik." Standing up, Sora making her way to his shoulder he added, "But to make it up to me, you're buying me one item of my choice when we get to the Celadon Department Store!"

"What? But I was going to buy a Water Stone!" Marik protested.

"Should've thought of that earlier when you decided to put a girl before our friendship!" Ken laughed as he took off in search of the shop.

Pouting, Marik ran after his friend, Chris laughing hysterically at the ridiculousness of it all.


Ken wasn't sure what he had been expecting when it came to the Celadon Department Store, but this certainly wasn't it.

"Wow, that's big," Ken and Marik said in unison as they stared up at the six-story building, Sora too shocked to say anything.

"Well, it is the biggest shop in all of Kanto!" Chris laughed, amused by his friends startled expressions. "There is a reason that people come here from all over the world."

Marik stared at the building in silence for a moment before his eyes lit up in happiness. "SHOPPING!" he squealed joyously, dashing off into the building like a kid who had just been taken to the biggest toy store on Earth.

"Well, I guess we're all going to do our own thing," Chris sighed, shaking his head at the Manaphy hybrid's over enthusiasm. "I'll see about getting us the basics, just call me on your Pokégear when you're ready to go."

"Sure thing," Ken laughed, as the two headed into the building and went their separate ways.

The place was even more impressive on the inside, as Ken quickly discovered. The first floor was little more than a help desk, complete with a directory on the wall to his right next to the stairwell. An elevator stood on Ken's left, for those who wanted something specific and didn't feel like climbing several flights of stairs to get it. A woman sat at a desk in the center of the room, ready to answer any questions customers might have. Judging by the sheer size of the place, Ken had a feeling that she received questions pretty regularly.

Glancing briefly in the receptionist's direction, whose eyes widened when she caught sight of him, Ken made his way over to the directory on the wall.

Floor 1: Service Counter

Floor 2: Trainer's Market

Floor 3: TV Game Shop

Floor 4: Wise Man Gifts

Floor 5: Drugstore

Rooftop Square: Vending Machines

As Ken read over the directory, a sly grin slowly found its way to his face. Making his way over to the elevator, Ken stepped inside and pressed the button for the third floor. After all, if Marik was paying for it, he might as well get something fun!

As the doors slid shut, Sora turned to her friend, a look of confusion on her face.

"Ken, why are we in a closet? I thought we were going to go look at stuff!"

"It's called an elevator, Sora," Ken laughed, as the little Bulbasaur stared at him quizzically. "It'll take us where we want to go. Just watch."

Sora stared at the Mew hybrid as though he'd lost his mind for a moment, before the elevator gave a sudden jump and began moving upward, startling the young Bulbasaur so much that she jumped onto his head, with no apparent desire to get down. Even Ken had to admit that the sudden movement had surprised him, it being his first actual time in an elevator.

This is so neat! Mew Ken giggled from inside his head, his sheer joy causing Ken to smile. Can we jump in it? Plllleeeeaaaase?

No Mew Ken, we can't jump in it! Ken replied, trying not to laugh, though secretly, he had been thinking the exact same thing. Now that he thought about it, it had been quite awhile since he'd heard anything at all from his Pokemon counterpart. Mew Ken? You didn't go anywhere recently, did you?

Go anywhere? I'm a part of you, silly! Mew Ken giggled, unable to contain his amusement at the question. Where would I go?

Hmm, I suppose that's true! Ken admitted, chuckling at the ridiculousness of the question. Still, something was bothering him. If Mew Ken had been here the whole time, then why hadn't he so much felt his presence inside his head until now?

However, before Ken could voice his question, the elevator doors swung open once more, all worry quickly retreating to the far corners of his mind the moment he spotted the rows upon rows of video games.

As a child, Ken had always been fond of video games. They were an escape from the every day reality that was his life. With a video game, he could be anybody, travel anywhere, that he wanted. Along with the mountains of toys his mother got for him, she always made sure to get him a video game or two, and before long, his room became filled with stacks upon stacks of game cases.

Combing the shelves, he was met with titles that he'd spent long hours playing as a kid, from puzzle games, to racing games, to RPG's, and everything in-between. A smile came to his face as he spotted an old copy of Pokemon Red, recalling how he'd spent hours trying to get the Mew Glitch to work, the smile faltering slightly when he recalled what he'd named the Mew once he caught it: DADDY.

Unfortunately, the game had stopped working with age, deleting all his progress, as well as his Pokemon.

He was just about to pluck the game off the shelf, when a brightly colored banner caught his eye. Get the latest in Pokemon Gaming: Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions available now!

"They're remaking them?" Ken wondered aloud, unable to stop the huge grin that was finding its way to his face. He'd always loved Pokemon Red, though the game wasn't terribly accurate, and he'd always felt that it could've done with some form of conflict, not that he'd have liked it if they'd put in Team Rocket or something like that.

Still, he was curious as to how the game could've changed over the years, and eagerly paid for the game, as well as a Gameboy Advance, since he'd left his old Gameboy at home, and he doubted it would've worked anyway.

Marik can pay me back later, he decided, ripping open the packaging and popping in the game cartridge almost as soon as he'd left the store.

"What's that Ken?" Sora asked, staring down at the game system in her friend's hands.

"Pokemon FireRed," Ken replied, punching in his name on the intro screen. "Basically, it's a simulated Pokemon journey, you know, like for kids who aren't old enough, or aren't able, to go on a journey in real life. I had a game almost exactly like it as a kid."

"So what do you do?" Sora asked, starting to look interested.

"Train your Pokemon, get stronger, challenge gyms, stuff like that," Ken replied, walking his character to the edge of the grass like you were supposed to. Predictably, Professor Oak showed up warning him not to go out. This part of the game never made any sense to him. If Professor Oak wanted to see him, why wasn't he at the lab like he'd said he'd be? Then again, Ken thought with an amused chuckle, the game version of Professor Oak always was stupid. "That's about it. They never programmed any other options other than gyms and the Pokemon League for you to challenge." On screen, Game Professor Oak told him to pick his starter. He'd always wondered what he did with the other two, as no one ever showed up to claim them. Ken smiled as he promptly clicked on Bulbasaur.

"Sounds a little boring to me," Sora said, adjusting her position so she could see the screen better. "Why would you want to play that when you could do it for real?"

"You know Sora," Ken mused, pausing in his gameplay, "you're right." Clicking off the game, Ken then handed it to the first kid he passed, the child's eyes widening in delight.

"Thank you Mr. Mew Boy!" the kid called, immediately immersing himself in the world of the game.

Ken just nodded and continued on his way, a smile on his face.

Yes, he'd leave the games to those who weren't able to go out and do it. They deserved to have their fun. Later on, they might discover that life wasn't like a video game, where you always came out on top, but for now, innocence was bliss.

As for Ken himself, he didn't need pixels on a screen…

…he was living it.


Marik's eyes lit up with absolute joy as he spotted one sentence that would change his life forever: Evolution Special! Elemental Stones on sale now! He'd always wanted a Water Stone, and although he didn't currently own any Pokemon that evolved through use of it, several of his dream Pokemon did, such as Starmie, Cloyster, Ludicolo, and the lovely Vaporeon.

Finally! Marik thought joyfully, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. After years of putting it on Christmas and birthday lists, I'm finally going to have my very own Water—

"Womanizer, womanizer, I know just what you a-a-are!"

"Oh, what now?" Marik growled, fishing his ringing Pokénav out of his pocket, as several heads turned to stare at him.

"Hey Marik, its Ken," came the sound of the Mew hybrid's voice on the other end of the line, causing the blue haired teen to grind his teeth in frustration. "How about we meet up and you buy me that one item you owe me?"

Of course, Marik thought with a sigh, antenna popping up briefly before he smoothed them down again. He's going to pick something expensive, and then I wont have enough money left to buy my Water Stone! Casting one last longing glance at the item he'd dreamed of owning, he turned back to his conversation with Ken. "What floor are you on?" he asked, trying very hard not to take out his irritation on his friend.

"The fourth floor," Ken replied, completely oblivious to his friend's displeasure. "Wise Man Gifts."

Pausing, Marik slowly turned around, resisting the urge to face palm as he spotted the familiar sight of the Mew hybrid a few feet away gazing at the display cases.

"Ken, turn around," Marik groaned, closing his Pokénav and shoving it back into his pocket with a sigh.

Ken blinked in confusion for a moment before slowly turning around to find a very unimpressed looking Manaphy hybrid staring at him. "Oh. Hi Marik."

"Hi Ken," Marik sighed, shaking his head in apparent disbelief.

Making his way over to Marik, the two then began to browse the display cases, Marik occasionally pointing out things that looked nice.

"Oooh! How about Retro Mail? I hear it's popular!" the teen chimed in, holding up an envelope with a picture of a Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle printed on it.

…or perhaps just suggesting the cheapest items the store had to offer.

"Come on, Marik," Ken sighed, turning to his friend, a slightly hurt look on his face. "Its just one thing. You're not too cheap to buy me just one little present, are you?"

"No, of course not," Marik replied, immediately feeling guilty. He hadn't been there when Ken had needed him, and all the Mew hybrid wanted was one little apology gift. Was that really too much to ask? Deciding that the Water Stone could wait a bit longer, Marik turned back to the display cases, determined to find something his friend would like.

"Marik! Over here! It's perfect!"

Glancing up from staring at the cover of a manga called Pokémon Adventures, Marik's eyes widened when he caught sight of the item his friend had chosen.

"See? It looks just like Zoey!" Ken explained excitedly, hugging the Poké Doll to his chest.

Marik stared dumbfounded at this scene, completely at a loss for words. Out of all the things his friend could get, he wanted a stuffed toy?

"All they have are Clefairy ones, I already checked," Ken explained, apparently interpreting his friends startled expression as 'Why didn't you pick the Bulbasaur?' "Still, isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Ken gushed, and Marik could've sworn he heard his friends voice become a bit higher pitched than normal.

"Uh, you are Ken, right?" he asked, regarding the Mew hybrid strangely. "Not Mew Ken?"

"Of course I am Marik," Ken replied, looking confused. "Why?"

"Uh…no reason, just wondering," Marik replied, quickly backpedaling. "So, that's what you want?"

"Yep!" Ken replied happily, hugging the toy even more tightly. "I love it already!"

Shrugging, Marik went with Ken to the counter, not missing the fact that the man raised an eyebrow at the scene, to which he responded with a look that said, 'Yes-I-am-buying-a-stuffed-toy-for-my-fifteen-year -old-friend-and-I-know-it's-a-little-weird-but-ple ase-go-with-it-anyway.'

Shaking his head, the man rang up the price of the doll, which resulted in Marik's antenna standing strait up in shock, causing the man's eyes to widen even further. Hurriedly smoothing his antenna back into place and handing the man his money, Marik left the store, his heart practically beating out of control within his chest. Ken just smiled and thanked the Manaphy hybrid, hugging his new doll and giggling happily in a way that still struck Marik as being very 'un-Ken-like.'

Sighing and shaking his head, Marik headed into the elevator with Ken and the two headed down to the second floor.

Chris should be just about done stocking up on supplies, the Manaphy hybrid thought to himself as the elevator began its descent. And then maybe we can stop by the Celadon City Gym! I bet its full of cute girls! An image of several girls carrying flower baskets and smiling at him popped into Marik's head, causing him to grin broadly. "Look out ladies, here I come!"

Ken eyed his friend strangely, not sure where in the world that had come from, before shrugging and hugging the plush doll in his arms.

Marik regarded this action with more than a little unease. And maybe Chris can help me figure out what's up with Ken, he seems a little off today.

As the elevator doors swung open, Marik couldn't help but laugh as he spotted Chris trying to shove his latest purchase into his already overstuffed backpack, without much success.

"Perhaps you should get a larger backpack," Arch sighed, rolling his eyes. "This one seems to have reached its limit."

"It'll fit!" Chris insisted, shoving the box of instant oatmeal into the bag and struggling with the zipper. "Besides, this is the type of backpack hikers use! I honestly don't think they make them much bigger!"

Arch sighed, though he knew that his friend had a point. Compared to the travel size backpacks Ken and Marik owned, Chris's backpack was gigantic; complete with several pocket—both inside and out—as well as possessing strings to tie down additional items, how the backpack managed to get full was beyond him.

"Then perhaps you should ask your friends to help you carry some of these things?" he said at last, hoping he would at least be able to convince his friend that the oatmeal was just not going to fit.

"No, I'm sure they have things of their own to carry," Chris laughed, now turning the oatmeal on its side, as if that would somehow make it smaller.

"At least ask them," Arch sighed, leaning against the wall and making himself comfortable. "Otherwise we'll be here all day."

"Hey Chris, having trouble?" Marik asked in an innocent tone, though it was clear that he was trying hard not to laugh.

"You could say that," Chris agreed, sighing and shaking his head. "Where's Ken?"

Marik blinked. "What do you mean? He's right…over there…" Marik sighed, as he spotted Ken a short distance away drooling over the candy they had on sale.

"Aw, leave 'em be!" Chris laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "Its not like we're going to be back here anytime soon! By the way, did you buy him that apology gift yet?" Chris asked with a teasing grin.

Marik groaned. "Yep. Get this: he wanted a Poké Doll."

Chris's eyes widened in surprise. "Poké Doll? You mean the stuffed toy that looks like a Clefairy?"

The Manaphy hybrid nodded. "That's the one."

"Hmmm…that's strange," Chris said with a frown. "I didn't know Ken was into that kind of thing… It was Ken right? Not Mew Ken?"

"It was Ken alright," Marik agreed with a nod. "I already checked. Although it did strike me as kinda weird."

Chris shrugged. "Mew love toys of any kind, you know. It really isn't that unusual."

"Do you think it has something to do with Ken's transformation?" Marik whispered, as if afraid that the Mew hybrid might hear him.

"Could be," Chris admitted, glancing over to his friend, who now appeared to be trying to decide between some chocolate bars or a jumbo lollipop. "Or it could be that more of his Mew-like behavior is starting to show. And if it is, is that really such a bad thing?"

Marik regarded the Regigigas hybrid with confusion, not sure what his friend was getting at. "What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. Ken's basically been denying he's part Pokemon for the past fifteen years. If he ever wants to be happy, he needs to learn to accept that part of him. You remember what happened to Sabrina…"

Marik cringed at this memory. Whether she meant to or not, the Saffron Gym Leader was largely responsible for Ken's most recent changes. "Yeah, I guess you're right."


"What do you think, Sora?" Ken asked, staring at the rows upon rows of candy, tail twitching excitedly. "The chocolate bars or the jumbo lollipop? Of course, I always did love gummy worms… Huh. This is harder than I'd thought…"

"You eat WORMS?" Sora asked, a disgusted look on her face.

"No, no, they look like worms, but they're not really worms!" Ken laughed, trying his best to explain the concept.

"Like how ice cream isn't really snow?" Sora asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Yes, exactly like that! They wouldn't make candy out of real worms!"

"Although it's probably a good thing they based the design off of common earth worms instead of Weedle and Caterpie!" a voice behind Ken chuckled, causing him to jump in surprise.

Turning around, Ken spotted a man with red hair watching him, an amused smile on his face. What really caught Ken's attention, however, was the man's unusual outfit, which included a large cape. Several identical looking capes could be seen poking out of the shopping bag swung over the man's right arm.

"Do I know you?" Ken asked, unable to shake the feeling of familiarity that washed over him, blushing as he realized that he had used Pokéspeak.

"Oh, I wouldn't doubt it!" the man laughed, causing Ken's eyes to widen in surprise.

"You can understand me?"

The man nodded. "That's right. The dialect is a little different than what I'm used to, but I can understand you just fine!"

"You mean, you can talk to Pokemon?" Ken asked, eyes widening even more.

The man laughed and shook his head. "No, just Dragon type Pokemon, or those with dragon blood."

"Dragon blood?" Ken asked, tail twitching in curiosity.

"Pokemon similar to dragons, such as Charizard, Aerodactyl, and Gyarados," the man clarified, never losing his friendly smile.

"Then how do I fit in?" Ken asked, feeling rather confused.

"Well, Mew is said to contain the DNA of every species of Pokemon, right?" the man asked, to which Ken nodded. "Well then, doesn't it stand to reason that you would have the genes of all Dragon type Pokemon within you?"

Ken pondered the statement for a moment before nodding. "I guess that would make sense…" Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Hey! I know you! You're Lance of the Pokemon League's Elite Four!"

"Yes, that's right," the man chuckled, as if amused that it had taken Ken that long to figure it out. "I must admit, it is rather nice to have a conversation with someone without them asking for my autograph, though I bet you get your fair share of that yourself!"

"Well, not autographs so much, but people do tend to stare at me everywhere I go…" Ken admitted, glancing down at his furry arms self-consciously.

Lance smiled and nodded. "I get that a lot, too. Must be the outfit!"

The two burst out laughing at this, not even caring when several heads turned in their direction.

"At least people like you," Ken sighed, once he had finally managed to calm down. "People just kinda stare at me like something's wrong with me…"

"And how do you know that people don't like you?" Lance asked with a grin.

"Huh?"

"Your situation is unique; there will be some who don't understand, but there are others who are genuinely fascinated by you and wish to get to know you. If you'd let them, of course." Smiling, Lance gestured to his shopping bag. "I could order whatever I wanted and have it delivered, after all, the Pokemon League would certainly allow it. But I find that I'd rather go out and breathe the fresh air and do a little sight seeing, even if I do have to deal with people staring at me everywhere I go. You know what I mean?"

Ken nodded, a smile on his face. "Yeah, I think I do. Thanks Lance."

"Anytime." Adjusting his hold on his bag, he said, "Well, I'd better get going! I have a few things to take care of, and I really can't afford to put them off any longer! That's the price of being a member of the Elite Four, I guess!" Lance laughed, heading towards the door. "Goodbye Ken. I hope our paths cross again someday!"

Ken just stood their waving dumbly, unable to believe that he had just spent the last several minutes talking to the Lance.


"Oh please, you did not!" Marik said as the group made their way out of the Celadon City department store, Chris still carrying the box of instant oatmeal.

"I'm telling you, its true!" Ken insisted, more than a little annoyed that his friend didn't believe him.

Marik snorted. "Oh come on, Ken! Why in the world would Lance come here? He's probably back at the Indigo Plateau right now, taking on challengers!"

"Actually, the Kanto League Tournament doesn't start till next spring, and even the Johto League Tournament wont be due till this fall," Chris chimed in, causing his friends to stare. "Until then, the Elite Four and Champion are pretty much free to do what they want."

Marik stopped walking and turned to look at the Regigigas hybrid, an annoyed look on his face. "Honestly Chris, is there anything you don't know?"

Ken burst out laughing at this, as Chris's face turned red with embarrassment and he struggled to come up with a response to that. Though he hated the way everyone constantly stared at him, he knew he wouldn't trade this experience for the world.


Back at the Viridian City Gym, Giovanni turned to the overhead monitor, Gideon's face appearing on screen.

"Tell me Gideon," he said, running a hand over his Persian's head, the cat letting out a contented purr, "how did the raid on Saffron go?" He'd already received several reports from his many underlings informing him of their apparent failure, but perhaps something positive was accomplished despite the three children and the Mew Boy's interference?

Gideon coughed nervously before clearing his throat and delivering his report. "Regrettably, we did not manage to obtain the Master Ball… However, we did manage to acquire the data on Porygon, as well as the Silph Scope that you asked for," the man explained, holding up the pair of goggles, as well as a small compact disk.

"Excellent. Proceed with the production of Porygon. Have them shipped to the Game Corner in Celadon City as soon as possible. Trainers are sure to pay handsomely for such a rare Pokemon," Giovanni instructed, his Persian purring in agreement. "As for the Silph Scope, I will come to retrieve it as soon as possible. For now, store it with the rest of the inventory in Celadon."

Gideon was about to question what it was his boss wanted with the Silph Scope in the first place, but wisely held his tongue.

"Now, unless you have anything else you have to report, I really must see how our dear friend the professor is doing," Giovanni said, preparing to stand.

"There is one more thing sir," Gideon replied, catching the man's interest. "Before we were forced to flee Silph Co., I managed to pick up this."

Giovanni stared at the blueprint in Gideon's hands, a cruel smile forming on his face. "Is that what I think it is?" The man nodded, causing the Rocket Boss's smile to grow. "Then everything is going according to plan…"


As the group left the Celadon Department Store, now restocked with supplies, Chris turned his attention once more to the box of instant oatmeal in his arms, Arch nodding at him encouragingly.

"Hey guys…uh…do you think you could help me carry some of this stuff? My backpacks pretty much full to bursting here!" Chris laughed nervously, looking a bit embarrassed to be asking this of his friends.

"Sure Chris, we'll help you!" Ken replied happily, Marik nodding in agreement.

"Although I gotta admit, watching you struggle to fit that oatmeal in your backpack was priceless!" Marik laughed, causing Ken to glare in his direction. "What? It was pretty obvious the thing wasn't going to fit! My only regret is that I didn't get a shot of it for YouTube!"

Ken just sighed at this, briefly wondering if Marik really did post all those videos he took on YouTube, then decided he'd rather not know.

Taking a seat next to the fountain, the group then began cleaning out Chris's backpack, Ken and Marik's eyes widening when they caught sight of all the items he'd been carrying.

"Jeez, Chris," Marik groaned, pulling out at least a dozen cans of Pokemon Food. "What'd you do, buy out the whole department store?"

"Just wanted to be prepared," the Regigigas hybrid muttered, looking rather embarrassed.

The first step was easy, as the cans of Pokemon Food were small and easily divided between the three Trainers. Ken also took the book on Mew Bill had given him back from Chris, although simply picking it up nearly caused him to topple over.

After that though, things went less smoothly than expected…

"What?! There's no way that I'm carrying the pancake mix! This stupid book already weighs at least ten pounds!" Ken protested, motioning towards the book he'd gotten from Bill.

"Well I'm not carrying it! What if it spills and gets my stuff all dusty? Besides, its not that heavy!" Marik retaliated, arms crossed.

"I'm already carrying a couple bags of ramen noodles, a few granola bars, and a bag of trail mix," Ken pointed out. "What are you carrying?"

Marik looked irritated for a minute, then began to fidget nervously. "Stuff."

"Stuff huh?" Ken asked, tail flicking irritably. "Well, let's just see!"

"Hey! Give that back!" Marik protested, as Ken snatched his backpack from him and tossed it to Chris. "That's private!"

"Relax Marik," Chris laughed as he unzipped his friends' backpack. "We're just going to help you downsize it a little. Besides, whatever you have in here couldn't possibly be that bad!" Reaching a hand into the bag, he frowned in confusion as he pulled out a bottle of shampoo. "Herbal Essence?"

"That's not mine," Marik muttered, a blush coming to his face.

After pulling out six identical bottles of Herbal Essence shampoo, Chris finally came to the next item. "Nail file?"

"That's not mine," Marik insisted, face turning an even brighter shade of red.

Chris just sighed and shook his head before pulling out the next item, eyes widening in obvious surprise. "Eyelash brush?"

"That is definitely not mine."

"I've said it before and say it again," Ken laughed. "Marik, you are way too concerned with your appearance!"

"Hey, don't get on my case just because I take pride in my personal hygiene!" Marik protested, antenna waving about furiously as he attempted to hide his ever-growing blush.

"Still, don't you think that six bottles of shampoo is a bit…much?" Chris asked, regarding the items he'd taken out of Marik's backpack with a confused frown. "And what's with the nail file and eyelash brush?"

"Having nice nails and full lashes are excellent ways to further enhance one's appearance," Marik muttered, glancing down at the ground and fiddling with one of his antenna. "So maybe I put in a little too much effort to make myself look nice for the ladies, everybody's got their weird habits!"

"Actually, I'm surprised you didn't have a hair dryer in there!" Ken laughed.

"No, it takes the moisture out of my hair and makes it frizzy," the Manaphy hybrid replied, causing his friend to stop laughing and gape at him.

"Ok, like you said, everybody's got their weird habits," Chris interjected, hoping to get this over with quickly and save his friend from any further embarrassment. "Let's just take out a few of these things to avoid getting to the point of obsession…" He paused, pulling out a small black case. Flipping it open, he was met with the sight of a pair of dark framed glasses.

Spotting the eyewear and Chris's questioning look, Marik quickly shouted, "Ok, I know I've said it before, but those are most definitelynot mine!"

"You wear glasses Marik?" Chris asked, a confused frown on his face. "I know I've never seen them before—"

"Because THEY'RE NOT MINE!" Marik shouted, jumping to his feet and looking more than a little irritated. "I'll have you know that I have perfect twenty-twenty vision!"

"What's that sign over there say?" Chris asked, pointing to a sign a few feet away.

"Ha! That's easy!" Marik replied with a wave of his hand. "It says…uh…er…" He paused, squinting at the sign, a slight frown on his face. "Um…Well, its so obvious, it'd be stupid of me to tell you!" he said at last, crossing his arms, a very proud smile on his face. "So, why don't we clean out some of my stuff, and I'll take the pancake mix and some of the ramen noodles, and then we'll see if the instant oatmeal will fit in Chris's bag yet!" he laughed, turning to grab his stuff, only to be stopped by Chris.

"Marik," Chris said gently, placing a hand on his friends shoulder, "what does the sign say?"

Marik bit his lip before replying, "Do not swim in fountain?"

Chris sighed and shook his head. "Not even close. Its an add for the Celadon Department Store."

The Manaphy hybrid grimaced as his friends turned to him, looking both concerned and confused. "Ok, so maybe my vision isn't perfect," he said at last, trying his best to avoid looking his friends in the eye. "I've had glasses ever since I was a little kid, although I don't really wear them," Marik admitted, fiddling with one of his antenna nervously. "Look, my vision may not be perfect, but I don't need those stupid glasses! I can see just fine without them!"

"Marik, you couldn't even read a sign a few feet in front of you," Ken pointed out, less than convinced.

"If it had been closer, I could have!" Marik protested, arms crossed.

"How do things look up close?" Chris asked, rather concerned by his friends reluctance to wear his glasses.

"Fine!" Marik snapped, growing irritated that his friends wouldn't let the matter drop. "I've never shown any signs of having trouble seeing where I'm going, have I? So I can't read signs unless I'm standing right next to them, so what? I can see everything else just fine, it's just a little blurry, that's all!"

"Marik, 'a little blurry' isn't fine," Chris sighed, shaking his head. "Wouldn't you like to be able to see more clearly?"

"I'm not wearing those glasses," Marik protested, arms crossed. "I look completely ridiculous in them!"

"Oh come on, Marik!" Ken laughed. "It can't be that bad!"

Silently, Marik walked over to Chris, took his glasses, and put them on.

His friends managed to keep a straight face for about five seconds before being consumed with hysterical laughter.

"You see?" Marik growled, ripping the glasses off his face and shoving them back into their case. "I look awful in those glasses! All the girls will take one look at me, laugh until they can't breathe, then leave before I can even say, 'Hi, I'm Marik. Here's my number!' No thank you!"

"What about contact lenses?" Chris asked, once he could breathe again. "You can't even see them when they're in."

"I tried it once," Marik admitted, shaking his head. "They irritated my eyes, so I went back to glasses."

"And by 'went back to glasses' you mean 'continued not wearing glasses and ignored the problem,'" Chris clarified, to which Marik shrugged.

"I don't see what the big deal is, anyway," the Manaphy hybrid said, clearing out some of the excess items from his bag and shoving the pancake mix inside, along with a few packages of ramen noodles. "Besides, their my eyes, not yours. I'd really prefer that you let me make my own decisions about them."

Swinging his bag over one shoulder, Marik began walking, his friends joining him shortly after discovering that Chris now had enough backpack space once more. Though they wanted to help their friend, it was true that it was really Marik's problem, and they'd have to let him deal with it however he saw fit.


Since it was around noon at this point, the group decided to grab lunch at the local restaurant, which Chris insisted was a very popular place to eat in Kanto. Things went much smoother after that, and soon the trio was laughing and talking about all of the things they wanted to do in Celadon before they moved on to the next city.

"Before we leave, we absolutely must visit the Celadon City Gym!" Marik announced, taking another bite of his cheeseburger. "Everybody knows that it's full of nothing but beautiful girls!"

"Who would probably throw you out for spying on them like a creep," Chris sighed, shaking his head. "From what I've heard, they've got a pretty strict policy about that. Trust me Marik, it's a bad idea."

Ken nodded in agreement, though he had a different reason for not wanting to go. Misty had warned him previously about some of the Gym Leaders being members of Team Rocket and, given recent events, he was in no hurry to tangle with the criminal organization again anytime soon.

"Its not spying if you walk in through the door!" Marik protested with a sly grin. "Besides, its not like I'd be doing anything creepy!"

Ken and Chris doubted this very much considering how their friend usually treated women, but decided there was no point in getting into another argument.


After lunch Marik predictably made a beeline for the Celadon City Pokemon Gym, his friends following rather reluctantly behind him.

"I'm telling you, it'll be fine!" the Manaphy hybrid insisted with a wave of his hand, unable to hide the huge grin that was making its way to his face. "Trust me, I happen to have a way with women!"

"We know," Ken sighed, rolling his eyes. "That's the problem."

Marik frowned at this, his antenna popping up in irritation before he smoothed them down again. "Fine, be that way! I'm going inside. You two spoil sports can wait out here if you want." And with that, he turned and headed through the gym doors.

Ken sighed and shook his head. "Three…"

"Two…" Chris laughed.

"One."

"GET OUT OF HERE YOU CREEP!"

"Call me!" Marik cried, as he was thrown rather forcefully out the door.

"So, how'd it go?" Ken asked knowingly, as Chris helped the Manaphy hybrid to his feet.

"Well, the girls in there were very nice, and gave three very good reasons for why I'm to never, ever come back. One, I'm not looking to challenge Erika for a Gym Badge; two, I'm a guy; and three, and I quote, I'm a disgusting creep who has a total lack of respect for women."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Ken said with a nod, as Chris tried very hard not to laugh. "Come on, I'm sure there are plenty of other exciting places to see in Celadon."

Marik sighed and nodded, still rather disappointed that they had thrown him out so quickly.

As the trio left the Celadon Gym, they failed to notice the doors open a crack, a pair of green eyes staring at their retreating forms as they headed off for their next destination.


Author's notes: Hey, everybody! Long time no see! Sorry about the huge gap between updates, but I really needed some time to think about this fanfic, both in regards to the plot, and my reason for writing it in the first place. Updates will be slow for awhile, but on the plus side, this means that I can take the time to make them longer, and hopefully better, than if I tried to rush through things. Also in regards to the longer than usual gap between updates, this fanfic ISN'T dead, nor do I have any intentions of giving up on it. Please excuse this long semi-rant, and I will try to get the next chapter out when I can. :)

In regards to Pokemon Firered/Leafgreen being mentioned, yes, they do exist in New Species, but as Ken mentioned already, there are a number of differences, such as the lack of a rival character or Team Rocket.

Well, I think that's it! I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, and favorited this story for their patience during this downtime, and assure everyone that I'm going to keep working on this story, though perhaps at a bit slower pace. :)