I'm way overdue with this update, but school got in the way. However, now I'm on summer break, so I'll be writing far more!

Enjoy!


Chapter 52
Lingering Curiosity

A hushed wind grazed across the pasture of the Moo Moo Farm, lit by the vague sunrise sliding in a soft, colorful display of pastels in the sky. Three young children, sitting close together in the middle of a drowsy heard of Miltank, shivered at the breeze as it slipped through every patch of skin left exposed. The two smaller girls were wrapped in a puffy winter coat, identical to match each other.

"I'm c-cold," one of them whispered with chattering teeth. "Why is it so cold?'

"It's the middle of December," her twin answered. Her tone was rather bland, but failed to conceal the fact that she, too, was feeling the frosty effects of the temperature. "Of course it's cold."

"Of course, I knew that already you don' have to keep correctin' me on every single thing I say because its annoyin' me!"

"It's 'cause you're a klutz."

"Shut up you know I'm not a-a—whatever that stupid word is!"

Grinning at her victory over her sister in intellect, she proceeded to tease, "Klutz, klutz, klutz!"

The last of the trio of girls was Marina, who sat in the middle of the quarreling sisters. She interrupted, "Come on, quit fighting. We can't enjoy the sunrise that way!"

Both of them stopped, but glared grudgingly at each other for a moment. With a snuggling huddle, they bunched together and looked out at the scenery around them. The chilly winter night had faded in the eastern horizon, which was laden in pines or trees stripped bare of leaves. The sky grew progressively brighter, pouring a sleepy light onto Routes 38 and 39.

Marina looked down at her lap, where her little diary waited with its pages open and ready for her to write more. The gel pen in her hand, held loosely between her blushing fingers, tapped on the diary, producing several shiny dots decorating the margin of the page she had been writing in. Eventually, she signed her name below the finished entry, closing the book with the button seal. After putting both it and the pen away, Marina touched the bandana tied neatly on her head and smiled at the sunrise.

The other twin, not really noticing this and trying to focus on the sky's changing colors, looked up at Marina. "Is it like this where you come from, too?"

"Sort of," Marina replied, after a pause. "New Bark Town's really calm, and there aren't any cities nearby. But there's plenty of room to run around," she smiled at her own explanation, "I played with my friends all the time, when I wasn't helping Professor Elm."

"That musta been nice."

"It was! Well," Marina slipped out from between the twins and stood, clasping the straps of her backpack, "I've got to go now."

Both girls looked indefinitely disappointed. "What?" "Why?"

"My friend called me last night about a swarm of Snubbull," the Trainer explained, holding up her index finger to stress her reasoning. "So I want to see if they're still around."

"Oh yeah, that crazy guy," recalled one girl. For once, her sister nodded in agreement.

An echo tore through the morning air and their conversation, the sound growing stronger and louder from the cloak of trees from the north. It took the form of a sturdy whistle, which instantly caught the attention of the girls. For the moments after the sound had faded away, nothing more reared upon the silent morning aside from the early twitters of Pidgey and other bird Pokémon. Marina looked about the wilderness and pastures outside of the farm with a curious eye.

"That sounded like...a train?" she asked, blinking.

One of the twins immediately scrambled to her feet, shaking her head. "N-No! What are you talkin' about I see no train or nothin' around here so why don't you go and find the snubbies or whatever you were talkin' about!"

"There's a train station nearby here," the other calmly replied. She hugged her knees as she gazed up at them. "Sometimes it stops by."

"Ali!" her sister hissed. "We're not supposed to say nothin' about that!"

"I don't like keepin' secrets," Ali responded with a troubled display of honesty. "All it does is cause more trouble for everyone."

"Yeah, but...oh, whatever! Just whatever!" With a growl, she crossed her arms and turned away.

Ali, who didn't look the least bit disturbed, turned to Marina, who giggled. "I hope you have fun in Ecruteak City!"

"Thanks," Marina said happily. "I hope I won't be there for a while, though. I might end up getting sidetracked and doing other things."

Ali laughed innocently. "Like what?"


"Good job, Muu-chan!"

"Muu." With a pleasant chirp, Muu-chan the Misdreavus glided into Marina's welcoming arms. She allowed her Trainer to cuddle and hug her before floating away calmly, still quite pleased by Marina's enthusiasm.

"You were great!" Marina praised.

"Muu."

The girl's smile remained warm as she looked up at the applauding crowd around them. She steered her gaze across the golden-colored brick road, left clear for the battle she claimed victory over. A green Pokémon lay fainted, and the bright yellow flower on its head wilted closed. Before long, a beam of red light enveloped and swept it away.

"Wow. I didn't even know you had a Skiploom, Gina. But you have two!" Marina smiled and walked over to the opposing Trainer, who was clad in a forest green sweatshirt. As she approached, the spectators of their battle blended into the crowd of pedestrians.

"Well, yeah," Gina said modestly, brushing some scuff marks off her Skiploom's Poké Ball. Her eyes then connected with Marina's, and her shoulders shrugged. "I just catch what I like."

"I try to catch what I like, too, but I balance my party out," she giggled, "That way, I can use more Pokémon."

A simper slinked across Gina's face. "See, I don't even think of that. I'm just not meant to battle competitively."

"But you have two badges," Marina pointed out, gesturing toward the Hive and Plain badges on the girl's hat.

"Yeah, I do. But look at you!" Gina tapped one of the blue-haired Trainer's pins lining her collar. Though she spoke as if to complain, she smiled to prove her admiration. "You have six! I managed a draw with Bugsy and he gave me a badge anyway, but my win against Whitney was a total fluke! I swear I will hate the move Rollout for the rest of my life.

"But even though it's such a hard year for Johto Trainers, it's as if none of that can stop you," she concluded.

"Hehe! I just keep going, I guess."

"It's been a crazy year. I mean, we're getting thrashed by freak winter typhoons, for starters. Then we have this revived Team Racket—whoever it was—causing trouble; it was hard enough convincing my overprotective Mom to let me keep training or even going outdoors.

"And now Mahogany's Gym is closed because the last Gym Leader hasn't been around. Rumor has it that he's actually dead and they're looking for a new one."

"What? Really?" Marina gasped. "How?"

"He was old, I think," Gina said.

"Oh, wow…"

"See what I mean? It justnever ends!"

"Definitely. That's why I'm staying in Ecruteak City for Christmas, and maybe even New Year's to stall. I can't skip Mahogany Town because I can't get into Blackthorn City's Gym unless I have seven badges!"

"Blackthorn City? Ooh, I've heard it has a gorgeous mountain view."

Marina giggled, reaching out to pet her patient Misdreavus. "We'll just have to see for ourselves whenever we get there."

"Oh! I almost forgot." Gina turned toward her bag around her waist. Her hand rummaged through the fanny pack and pulled out a strangely green-toned rock, which contained a dark emerald leaf carved onto its surface. She held it out before Marina, who took a few seconds observing it before gasping.

"A Leaf Stone! Where'd you get that?" Marina asked, freeing a hand to hold it carefully.

"I told you over the phone, I found it while I was walking. But none of my Pokémon can evolve with a Leaf Stone, so why not give it to you?"

"Thank you! My friend Jackson has a Weepinbell, so that'd be a perfect gift!" she exclaimed. She stowed away the valuable stone into one of the two plastic bags, which were filled with numerous items and extra last-minute wrapping paper that she had bought in the Goldenrod Department Store. After giving another little hug to Muu-chan, Marina recalled the Pokémon and picked up her bags. "Thanks for inviting me to shop with you. It was fun!"

"It was! We should do it again sometime. But not tomorrow, since it's Christmas Eve and all," Gina replied, giggling as she heaved her own shopping bags, plump and overflowing with various clothing and accessories, onto her shoulders. "Hey, what time is it, by the way? I know you've got to get back to Ecruteak soon."

A careless smile flicked onto Marina's face, and the light of her PokéGear lit her irises as she grabbed it. "Don't worry; I'm sure I'll have more than enough time to—." She uttered a gasp followed by a squeak of a scream. "Ah, geez! It's already past six!"

Gina waddled over to her, carrying her bags like a makeshift Santa Claus. "What time are you supposed to be at the theater?"

"Six o' clock," admitted Marina with a disheartened smile. "But hopefully they won't mind if I'm only a few minutes late." She yanked off her Fearow's Poké Ball and released the bird Pokémon with haste. Kenya shivered his feathers in the chilly wind and widened his wings, creating his own space needed for takeoff.

"You better get going, then! I don't want you to get in trouble."

"No problem!" The blue-haired girl waved away the concern with a peppy smile and, with some troubled effort in safely juggling her shopping bags, climbed onto Kenya's back. She turned back to and grinned at Gina, who returned the look kindly. Without any free limbs to shake hands or wave with, the girls exchanged verbal farewells as Marina's Fearow struggled for a few moments to take off into the air.

"Happy Holidays!" Gina exclaimed.

"Bye!" Marina returned and held on tightly. Kenya soared above the streets and between the golden-yellow skyscrapers of Goldenrod City, climbing higher into the misty dark night.

Once arriving at Ecruteak City's Pokémon Center, Marina rushed to her room in order to drop off her bags before hurrying out. The Ecruteak Dance Theater stood in its grand poise above the surrounding buildings. She trotted in near sprint to reach it, giving a distant sigh of relief in knowing that the theater was merely a street away from the Center. Yet waiting at the entrance, greeting the guests, was the familiar red-clothed Kimono Girl named Naoko, whose fluffy Flareon loyally sat beside her. Naoko turned and delivered Marina a strict frown that still somehow suited her elegant face.

"Why are you late?" she asked as Marina skipped the last few steps with a jump.

"I got in a battle and lost track of time. I'm sorry!"

Naoko sighed. "If the recital was today, you would be. Being late to practice is a very vital mistake, but I will give you the slip today."

"Sorry," Marina apologized again, bowing politely, and proceeded to scamper along the porch that wrapped around the perimeter of the building.

At the very rear was a back door through which she entered, stripping her shoes before stepping onto the tatami mats. The traditional room was simplistic and branched out into a hallway that, if taken, led to the rest of the theater.

A few other Kimono Girls turned upon her arrival, and they immediately aided Marina in changing into her kimono as well as adorning her Espeon when she let him out. Some chatted with her while the others practiced with two new girls, who were recruited for the grass- and ice-type Eevee evolutions: Leafeon and Glaceon. The pair wore evergreen and powder blue-colored robes, respectively. Marina kept her curious and delighted eyes—still so interested even after a week of being introduced to them—on the lazing Leafeon and Glaceon as she mindlessly pulled on her plum, azure, gold and silver-colored kimono.

"Where were you today?" asked the black-robed girl, who was meticulous in clipping barrettes in Marina's hair.

"Must be an awful lot of fun for you to be late this time," a Kimono Girl in yellow commented.

"Yes…You were never late before."

"I met up with a friend in Goldenrod and did some last-minute shopping and battling," Marina replied.

"That sounds like a nightmare. Goldenrod Department Store a couple days before Christmas? Yikes! You must be crazy."

"Yeah, it—ack! Too tight!" She whispered in shortened breath at the yellow-clothed woman, who had tightened the cloth belt around the girl's waist.

At this, she immediately loosened the wrap. "You've really been places. I don't know where you can get the energy to do all this stuff."

"But I don't have anything to do when I'm not working here," Marina said.

"Honestly. In the past few weeks that you've been here practicing with us, you've been everywhere. Goldenrod City, Violet City…and then you just commute in the routes nearby to catch random Pokémon. You're one busy girl!"

"I guess when you have Pokémon, you can go anywhere," the black-clothed Kimono Girl said. She patted her Umbreon when she was done styling the Trainer girl's hair, and the Pokémon purred smoothly in response.

"I haven't really been everywhere just yet," Marina laughed. She glanced at the lavender bandana in her hand for a moment and clutched it lightly in a sliver of thoughtfulness. "I kind of wanted to go home, but my mom's coming to watch me dance tomorrow and the day after."

"That's sweet. And on a different note." The golden-clothed woman crossed her arms and eyed the cloth in Marina's grip. "Time to lose the handkerchief."

"Oh, but—."

She sighed in an exaggerated manner and applied her fingers to her temples. "Do we really have to go through this every day? You aren't going to be wearing it with your kimono, whether we're in practice or not. Put that thing away."

"Geez," Marina pouted, "Fine." Avoiding the pair of sandals she would inevitably wear very soon, she moved over to the neat pile of her Trainer clothes, which lied out of the way next to the wall. As she bent down and knelt beside them, she cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Grinning childishly, she was about to hide the bandana into the sleeve of her kimono when her PokéGear began to ring. She placed her bandana on top of her jacket and went to grab it.

"What's that?" one of the girls asked.

Marina turned with a smile and held up her PokéGear. "I've got a call."

"Well, make it quick," the golden-yellow Kimono Girl huffed.

"Okay!" With a beep, Marina turned back to the wall and answered, "Hi, Jackson. What's up?"

"Hey, Marina! You won't believe what I just captured!"

Marina giggled. "Jackson, did you finally catch a Miltank?"

"No way! It's something far better than that. It's a shiny Magnemite! You know, like your red Quilava? The colors are different and I really think it had a positive effect on its strength too. Mega-powerful! It really made my day!"

"Cool! Um," she sent another glance at her waiting tutors, "Sorry, Jackson, but can you tell me about it later? I'm just about to start my training at the theater."

"Oh? I'm sure you'll be picture perfect when you get on that stage, but I won't keep you. I'll talk to you tomorrow when I get to Ecruteak. Good luck on practice!"

"Looking forward to it! Bye-bye!"

"Later, Marina!"

With a single and final beep, Marina lowered the PokéGear carefully onto her bandana.

"Alright, now come back over here and we'll start," the voice of her coworker announced.

"Okay!" Marina responded eagerly and stood, turning back to her and the other girls. "I'm ready!"


"But the worst part is the sandals," Marina exclaimed hours later in the comforts of her Pokémon Center guestroom. With intense relief, she collapsed onto the already-made bed, PokéGear again in hand. "Geez, I hate them so much."

"It isn't that bad, Marina, is it?" the voice of her mother asked. Mixed within the calm question was a strong hint of friendly amusement.

Lying back on her bed, Marina answered promptly with a frown due to the current topic. "They don't bother me as much now, but I still hate them. I don't want to constantly think about not tripping when I walk. Can't I just wear flip-flops or sneakers or something?"

"That would ruin the image. Besides, they do look cute to a point."

"Mom, cute or not, they're a pain to wear," she sighed. But she smiled at the sound of her mother's laughter.

"Your sister would be so amused if she heard you say that."

Marina paused for a moment and rolled over on her stomach, grabbing a pillow with her free hand. "By the way, how is May?"

"She's doing just fine, Marina. She's adjusting." Caroline made a thoughtful hum as she spoke again, "That reminds me, she told me about something that's popular there in Hoenn. They're called…oh, what was it…Pokémon Contests?"

"Pokémon Contests?"

"Yes. Trainers groom their Pokémon and perform routines or something like that. It sounds quite fun, and it reminded me of what you're doing with your Espeon at the Dance Theater."

"Oh, that sounds cool." Marina's eyes widened in curiosity, and she tilted her head. "How come Dad never said anything about that?"

"You know; your father's always more into the battling. He probably thinks Contests are too girly for him to even talk about." Caroline and her daughter laughed a little at this, and the subject was quickly set behind them as Caroline changed the topic. "Anyways, dear, I'll definitely be in Ecruteak by tomorrow. Don't go running off anywhere else, alright?"

Marina nodded despite the fact that her mother wouldn't see it. "I won't. I have a couple extra gifts to wrap, and that's what I'll be doing if I don't fall asleep first."

"All right, Marina. See you tomorrow, honey!"

"Bye, Mom!"

A sweet moment of peace overcame the small room once Marina hung up. She smiled at her PokéGear. It faded into a fatigued frown as she yawned, letting her head rest limply on the pillow. She stared at her little cellular phone through the corner of her eye that peeked out from her bangs, which were lightly frayed and yearned for a shower she had yet to take.

Allowing the PokéGear to sit loose on the palm of her hand, she toggled through the options. She stared blankly as the Johto map appeared on the little screen, and she scrolled through the many locations without halting.

"Everywhere, huh?" Marina whispered.

Soon after saying her farewells to the Moo Moo Farm, Marina had arrived in Ecruteak City. But the news of the Mahogany Gym Leader's absence convinced her to linger there. She took up on fulfilling her pact she had made with the oriental dancers of the Ecruteak Dance Theater for helping her train for her battle against the Ecruteak Gym Leader in November. Since then, Marina followed a strict schedule of practices involving the dance that she and her Espeon would have to perform. She also had to take a few simple lessons on how to be a waitress, as she wasn't going to be dancing the entire time, which she actually found to be quite fun.

Between practices and resting her tired feet, Marina had done practically everything she could think of. The visit to Mahogany Town was short-lived due to its dullness—aside from some history involving ninjas behind it. Going to look around in Goldenrod City's numerous stores and restaurants almost made her confident in knowing the city's basic layout, but this was still her favorite activity by a long shot. In Violet City, she visited Earl's Pokémon Academy for more review in its well-stocked library, a trip which caused her to make another trip to the Goldenrod Department Store to purchase a few useful TM's. She would also capture any Pokémon she had yet to obtain. Surely, the comment the golden-yellow Kimono Girl made about Marina going "everywhere" wasn't exaggerating.

Yet, at the same time, there was a single location that Marina wanted to go back to. It wasn't a store or library, or even a city or town. The place was so vital to the nagging questions that plagued her mind, but fear held her back from even attempting to return there.

Marina ceased the absentminded scrolling. She clicked a few more times and stared at the location she had stopped at.

The Ruins of Alph.

Marina sighed. She shook off thoughts of that dreadful Friday night, and of the Lapras that now rested in a Poké Ball on her belt. The memories still made her shiver with unease.

No, don't even think about it, her thoughts reasoned nervously, I don't want to go by myself, especially at night. But I can't exactly bring Kenta or Jackson…

She sat up with a start and accessed her phone number list, scanning the names at a gradual pace. Geez, whatever! Just scroll through and see if there's someone I can call to take my mind off this…Mom just called, Professor Elm's definitely busy, Jackson called an hour ago about his shiny Magnemite again, Jasmine and I already chatted after that about her Ampharos, I just saw Gina today, and Bill's number only gave me an answering machine so he's gotta be busy with family I guess

"It's no use, I've already called everyone I can call," she said to herself. "And why do I have so little phone numbers anyways?" In her frustration, she scrolled downward with the full-on assumption that the list would not descend below Bill's name.

However, it did. And when Marina became aware of this fact, her eyes opened wide in surprise. In this state, she murmured unconsciously under her breath.

"Oh yeah, I got his number in Olivine City…I wonder if he'll answer?"

A smile, a slightly mischievous one, reached her face, which instantly recalled all signs of drowsiness. Fixing her posture and crossing her legs, she looked down at her little PokéGear, which soon began its automatic ringing in attempt to reach the person on the other end. Once again to her surprise, the boy on the other end answered, or at least picked up since the ringing stopped.

Pulling the phone closer to her face, she greeted merrily,

"Hi, Silver!"


It feels weird writing, "Happy Holidays!" At the time of writing, it's June. lol

'Till we meet again, dear readers, in a chamber behind a certain lake...