As the sun rose that morning, Amber found herself being rudely awoken by someone assaulting her. Cursing loudly as she fell out of the bed, she jerked her head round to see Treecko perched on the pillow snickering to himself.

"Haha, very funny," she grumbled, however she could not help but giggle a little herself seeing her partner's cheerful expression. Yesterday had been one hell of a rollercoaster, she prayed today would be less stressful and eventful. And she knew why Treecko was waking her up at what was apparently 8 in the morning.

Pulling herself up, she grabbed her backpack and located her pokeballs, watching Treecko cheer as she tossed them. A sleepy looking Wurmple appeared, followed by their new friend. A Ralts that took one look at his new companions and dove under the covers of the Poke-center provided bed.

What a nightmare it had been to find any Ralts yesterday, no thanks to their timid natures and ability to teleport. She was very fortunate that the childlike Pokemon hiding from her was too low a level to do such a thing, and so was unable to warp away when Treecko and Wurmple cornered him. However unfortunately the method of catching him had made him even more terrified of his new companions.

Letting out a soft sigh, Amber crouched down to slowly lift the covers, seeing the Ralts' rose coloured eyes peer at her from under his hair. "Morning, Ralts." Ralts stared back at her, trembling. "Hey, don't be scared. Sorry about yesterday, but now you're with us, you're not going to get tied up with String Shot again, eh?" Ralts gazed at her.

Then Amber squealed as he flung her into the wall with Confusion. As Treecko cried angrily at the tiny Pokemon, the trainer quickly stumbled over her speech.

"T-Treecko, don't attack him! He's just scared, he needs to get used to being with us, you know?"

Treecko gave a wary nod, as he and Wurmple watched her get a box out of her bag. Their eyes lit up as she took three berries out, placing one each in front of them before placing the third on the bed near Ralts. The psychic Pokemon cautiously watched his new companions eat their berries before hesitantly picking his own up. With a nervous bite, his eyes sparkled and he cried happily.

Amber giggled, taking out her Pokedex. "See? You don't need to worry. We'll take care of you." She scanned her party members. Treecko was level 9. Wurmple was now level 6 from the onslaught of wild Pokemon attacks during her attempt to find a Ralts. And according to her Pokedex, Wurmple was female. Interesting. She wondered whether she'd evolve into a Dustox or Beautifly. Both would be perfect. And lastly, Ralts was level 4, and thankfully had just learnt Confusion so he wouldn't be a nightmare to train.

Her eyebrows shot up as she continued to check Ralts' possible movepool. Magical Leaf, the perfect beautiful move for a contest. Then she frowned. She had never considered the moves of her Pokemon in regards to the contests, when they split up into Cool, Clever, Cute, Beautiful and Tough categories. Would she have to manage their movesets to fit the different contests? Well, it was not like she planned to challenge the Pokemon League. She would avoid combat where possible.

She pulled up the map on her Pokenav. "So the contest tents can be found in Verdanturf, Fallarbor, Slateport and Lilycove… To get to Verdanturf, we need to go through Petalburg Woods to Rustboro and cut through the tunnel." She grinned to herself before looking at her Pokemon partners. "Alright! Are you guys ready to venture through the forest today?"

Treecko and Wurmple chirped happily whilst Ralts stared at her, obscured eyes wide.

"R-Ralts…"

Amber crouched down to his level, managing a soothing smile. "Hey, you won't have to fight if you don't want to. You can stay in your pokeball until we get to Rustboro City if you want." Ralts gave a shy nod and she jumped back up, checking her inventory. She had to sadly replace those lost potions from yesterday.

She stopped and stared at the restocked potions. That man she met yesterday, the thief from Team Magma that acted ridiculously friendly with her. Almost like they were old friends, leaving just with a 'see you later'. What a weirdo, but she was curious about meeting him again. Especially after what he said about…

Her fist started shaking and Treecko gazed at her. She shook her head, exhaling. She couldn't go down that road again, she had a responsibility to her new team.

After breakfast and preparing for travel, they had immediately headed to Petalburg Woods, Treecko and Wurmple beside her and Ralts resting securely in his pokeball. She knew it would be a bit of a slog getting through the forest, however she did not think it would be this tedious.

"Go! Ninca-!"

"Oh give me a break already!" Amber exclaimed as she launched her newly evolved Cascoon at the trainer's Nincada, watching the bug catcher shriek as his Pokemon went flying through the air. She knew Wurmple evolved fast but at this rate, she was certain her Pokemon would become a Dustox before leaving the forest.

The wild Pokemon had been expected, however sadly she had run out without realising, and although a boy with three Wurmple (three!) appeared to scare the wild Poochyena away, it was all a ploy to lure her into a false sense of security before assaulting her. And so she had thrown Wurmple against Wurmple, until hers became a much less mobile but even more spiky weapon.

Now she was being attacked by this brat after several more Wurmple attacks, and she still could not see the exit at all.

"Nincada!" the new victim cried before glaring at the much-older trainer staring pissed off at him. "Cheat! You can't just throw your Pokemon at mine!"

"Oh, so do you want me to throw her at you, instead?!" she growled. Treecko stared warily as lightning appeared to mark their heated gazes, in typical anime style, before looking at Cascoon and the injured Nincada several metres away who looked just as stumped.

Treecko threw both the trainers back on track as he carefully grabbed Cascoon by a spike and bashed her into Nincada repeatedly. If Cascoon had any complaints about this, Amber would not indeed know as cocoons can't talk. The boy gawked at his poor Nincada, crying out. "Stop it! Miss, make your Pokemon stop bullying Nincada!"

Grumbling quietly under her breath, Amber gently pulled Treecko away. "Come on Tree, you're going to give Cascoon a concussion like that."

"Never mind your stupid cocoon, what about my-" the boy shrieked as Amber unleashed Repel in his face, prompting him to swoop up his Nincada and run away.

She stared after him then at the can of Repel and giggled. "Neat, it works on trainers too!"

Amber could finally see the light of the exit, Treecko hopping by her side and Cascoon carefully clutched in her arms in case anything else attacked her, when she heard a commotion.

"Don't- Stop- Leave me alone! This isn't yours to take!" The words were a scramble in her head before she carefully deciphered them, and her blood ran cold. Someone was being mugged, what was she supposed to do? Treecko gazed at her with sad eyes and she swallowed hard. Stay out of trouble, even if it was cold of her to do she surely could not risk-

A pained shout ripped through the air and Amber shrieked as several wild Pokemon scampered at the sound, charging past her as she heard human footsteps. The trouble was coming to her. Should she run? Throw Cascoon at anyone who tried to drag her into this?

Then as the victim and his pursuers came into view, she realised she couldn't escape any longer. He seemed to be a scientist judging by the ridiculously long coat, a tightly bound parcel nested in his arms as he ran. His face was pointed downwards and she could see his eyes squeezed shut in fear, and he was clearly unsure where he was going or that she was right in front of him and-

She quickly grabbed his arm before he could crash into her, watching his eyes snap open as his breathing got heavier. Dodging a sudden kick to the chest, she let go, whispering fast. "H-Hey, I'm not going to hurt you! What the hell is going on here?"

His gaze flew to her concerned Treecko, the cocoon Pokemon staring blankly at him. "A-Are you a trainer? P-Please help me, they're after me!"

"What- Who's after you?" she exclaimed, feeling her heart pound in her ears as her eyes darted towards the path leading to the exit. However before he could further explain, someone else answered with a shout.

"Where are you, you little bastard?!"

Amber staggered back as two men ran towards them, one of them limping behind the other with nausea clear on his face. The other man's expression was set with a sinister scowl, and Amber bit back a scream as she scanned their attire. The two men were wearing identical outfits, ripped shorts and striped shirts that clung to their muscular chests. And bandanas on their head with a very distinctive stylised A.

As a sick feeling rose up her throat she forced it down, looking at the scientist cowering behind her. She couldn't defend him, she couldn't leave him at their mercy though, what was she supposed to do? The words left as a whimper, her body starting to tremble as she watched them approach. She couldn't move. "T-Team Aqua?"

"You kn-know these guys?" The scientist's voice was barely audible, she found she could not even respond with a soundless nod. Run. Run away. But her legs weren't moving and she couldn't get the words out to warn the scientist away either.

The taller Aqua grunt stopped and smirked, looking the girl over as his limping companion finally joined them. Amber mentally labelled them. Grunt A, the scary tall one, Grunt B, the one that looked like he just got kicked in the balls.

She glanced back at the shivering scientist.

Oh.

"What's a little girl doing wandering through the forest alone?" Grunt A asked, his deep voice lilting with the words. Playful yet intimidating, threatening.

Amber swallowed hard, trying to spit words out. She wasn't a little girl, she should feel safe going through the forest, but neither of those statements left her. "G-Go away. Wha-What do you want?"

"That man… Has something we want…" Grunt B wheezed, pointing at the parcel the scientist was clutching. "If he gives them to us… We'll let you both live."

Even though the grunt was crippled by pain, Amber was sufficiently intimidated, looking at the scientist. "Uh… What's in the parcel? If you can afford replacing it, you really should give it to them."

The scientist squeaked. "N-No way, my boss will kill me!"

Grunt A snickered, eyes setting on the much scrawnier scientist. He continued to tremble. "That parcel contains something we need… It contains submarine parts, doesn't it?"

As Amber continued to shake, she glanced back then towards the exit. Wait. "You're from Devon Co., aren't you sir?" The scientist gave a shaky nod. "The headquarters is north of here… Did they chase you from Rustboro, or were you already in the forest?" She was answered by silence. Silence that suddenly filled her with irritation. "You were hanging around in a forest… With an extremely important object… Why?"

"U-Uh…" He pointed pathetically at a Shroomish that was watching them terrified from a tree. "I wanted to… Catch a Shroomish."

She stared at him. "You went into the forest alone… Carrying very important goods that would inevitably attract criminals to you… Because you wanted a Shroomish?" He started sweating nervously. "No offence but I think I'm going to let you get mugged here."

"H-Hold on, don't leave me with these thieves!" he shrieked as Treecko cried angrily at his trainer. "You're a trainer, can't you beat these two?!"

"I have zero badges and my strongest Pokemon is level 11, do you really think I stand a chance against two criminals?" she deadpanned, shivering as said criminals leered at her. "I rather… Not risk it."

Grunt A snorted, tossing a pokeball. She took a step back as a Zubat came out, eyes flying towards Treecko. Not good, Treecko had the disadvantage and Ralts was too low level. "And who said we were going to give you a choice here? You might go and snitch on us, for all we know!"

"N-No, I rather not make any enemi-" She let out a panicked gasp as Grunt B sent out a Poochyena. Two against one, and if the scientist did have any Pokemon, he was being too useless to help. "I don't want to battle, leave me alone!"

Grunt A smirked and her legs turned to jelly. "Zubat, use Bi-"

Then the four of them heard a squeaky yet feminine voice echo through the air. "Hold it!"

And as the grunts looked around for the source, a petite girl leapt down from the trees in front of Amber, prompting her to shriek. Red shorts, red leg warmers, red hoodie, the hood of which was falling in the girl's eyes… Grunt A scowled. "Oh look, here comes Team Magma messing with us again."

"Nah, just me today," the girl chirped, pushing the hood back out of her vision. Amber could make out her features, crimson hair and gold eyes on a face that looked like it belonged to a much younger teenager than herself. Then a menacing grin came to her face as she tossed her pokeball. "Now get lost, you dumb pirates!"

Treecko jumped as a Flareon burst out the ball, spitting fire in its direction. As Treecko ran over to Amber hugging her leg tight, the Magma grunt giggled.

"Whoops. No Flarey, Team Aqua's Pokemon are there!" As Flareon got into an offensive stance, she glanced at Amber. "So, wanna make this a double battle? I'll go for the Zubat if you want~!"

"S-Slow down a bit, you're talking way too fast," Amber murmured, feeling dizzy as she looked at the now pissed off grunts. Maybe she could do a runner still, or would this girl turn on her too then? She took a shaky breath. "Alright, Treecko, we're going to knock out that Poochyena!"

Treecko nodded and the Poochyena growled as Grunt A scoffed. "What do you little girls think you can do against us?"

The Magma grunt smirked. "Oh? I see someone doesn't want to keep their legs~!"

"P-Pardon?" Grunt B murmured.

She flashed her sharp canines and shouted. "Flareon, use Flamethrower!"

Needless to say, the battle was over rather quickly.

Amber gawked at the spot where the Aqua grunts had stood as the Magma grunt stomped out the lingering flames before they could cause a wildfire. How dangerous, unleashing a fire type Pokemon in the woods. Thankfully most of the flames had fried the Zubat instead of the trees. "Ah~ Victory tastes so sweet~!" the younger girl chirped, and Amber couldn't help but shudder. She could see the scientist hiding very poorly behind a tree, shivering.

Note to self, never get on Team Magma's bad side.

"T-Thanks for the help," Amber mumbled, nodding at the scientist to inform him that it was safe to come out. He continued to hug the tree.

The girl grinned. "You are most certainly welcome! Those pirates are big bullies, eh?" She looked at Treecko, who was backing away from her curious Flareon as it tried to sniff him. "I see Treecko's still a baby, the little guy fights well though." She approached him and he stared fearfully at her. She hovered her hand above his head and he warily allowed her to pet him. He started purring. "So cute!"

"He is…" Amber looked the girl over. She was certainly short, with how big that uniform looked big on her. Did Team Magma have an age limit for grunts? There was no way this girl was the same age as her. "Hey… How old are you?"

"14," she said with a shrug and both Amber's and the scientist's jaws dropped.

"F-Fourte- Why the heck is Team Magma hiring 14 year olds?" Amber cried.

She started giggling. "Oh no, I wasn't hired, Daddy and Big Brother are both part of the team so I was kinda adopted into the team, ya know? They can't look after Misaki if Misaki is not with them, huh?"

Great, she was starting to talk in third-person. Amber sighed. "Right… So I'll assume it's not normal behaviour for them, then." Misaki shook her head. "Hey… Do you grunts all know each other? I met one of your guys yesterday."

Misaki frowned. "There's like a hundred of us, across different squads, we can't really all know each other. Were they on Commander Rara's squad?"

"Commander what?" Amber shook her head, glancing at the scientist. He looked about ready to run, in case Misaki decided to mug him too. Sounded like a good idea. "I don't know, but he had a Ditto and tried to steal from Professor Birch." Misaki's eyes lit up. "He was dressed like a rich girl, too."

"Oh, that's my big brother!" the Magma grunt chirped, bright grin on her face. "He didn't steal anything from you too, did he?"

"Other than possibly some potions, I'm really not sure…." Amber idly returned the static Cascoon to her Pokeball then picked up Treecko. "Any chance you could tell me his name? So I can call him something other than 'That Weirdo' in my head."

Misaki puffed her cheeks out and shook her head, looking at the scientist. He startled so badly that he ended up face-planting into the tall grass. "Nope, no way. If he didn't tell you, I can't tell you. Besides this guy might report him if I did…" She tilted her head. "Hey by the way, can I have a reward for saving you?"

He clutched the parcel tight, trying to glare. However the leaves stuck in his hair ruined all intimidation attempts. "I-If it's the submarine parts, forget it!"

The Magma grunt snorted. "Hello, Team Magma? Do you really think we need a submarine? We hate water." A giggle left her as she gave an innocent smile. "Nah, just give me some money, I want candy and sadly those pirates ran before I could rob them."

"B-But… I don't have that much on me…"

"Give me your money before I try to mug you next," Misaki growled and he shrieked, tossing his wallet at her before legging it. As Amber stared dumbfound after him, the girl giggled. "Yay, money! Now if you don't need me Miss, I'll be off to get some ice cream."

Treecko silently watched Flareon take after its trainer before looking at his own trainer.

Amber sighed. "I think I need a drink."