"Urgh..."

I started to stir from my rather... uncomfortable sleep. I stretched my back and paws, hearing them crack a bit. Note to self: wooden desks are not recommended to sleep on. If I didn't have fur, it would have been impossible to sleep on that hard surface.

There was a small mirror on the desk. I looked at my reflection. Fur's slightly messy, but nothing a little brush won't fix. Brushing my fur, I looked around at the room. It was still the same as the last time I saw it. Sam and Jonathan are still sleeping, rolling in their bed every now and then. After some time, I looked back at the mirror again. My fur's tidy, but I still don't feel any more handsome. "Relax, Keith..." I whispered to myself, "The apocalypse isn't gonna come just because you're not handsome..." Well, I don't even know exactly when the apocalypse will arrive, but I'm sure it won't come in a very, very, very long time.

As I was going to hop off the desk, I slipped on something; and instead I landed jaw first onto the floor. "OW!" I yelled in pain. Nursing my hurt jaw, I looked around to see if anyone heard my scream of pain. Turns out they're all still fast asleep. Good, I didn't want anyone starting off their day with someone's screaming; but technically, my day has already started that way. I looked around at what I slipped on, and I saw a pen and notepad. There was a bunch of scribbling on the notepad. I picked up to read it, and my eyes went wide.

My name was on it. And it states that it was written by me!? How is that even possible!? The closest thing I ever did to writting was watching humans write in their books! As I continue to read it, my eyes went even wider. My past. A part of my past is in here! The day I found my dead parents, the day I nearly drowned... and even the day I met Arthur as well...

"Hey, whatcha' readin'?"

I gasped in surprise when I heard Arthur calling me. Looking up, I saw him looking down at the paper. "Wow. Keith, did you write this?" He asked me curiously.

"N-n-no! I-I-I didn't write this!" I answered shakily. "I-I don't even know how to write!" The fact that he was the Azumarill who saved me – which was also written down on that note – only complicates things further.

Arthur shrugged. "Yes, that's true. But it has your name on it! Even your past. You never told anyone about those things! It has to be you. Besides, you've kept most of your past a secret, and even your daily activities. Like the time you went missing for an hour, and when you came back, all you said was 'It was just some stuff, no need to worry.' And after that –"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" I groaned. "But I swear to you, I swear to Mew, that I didn't. Write. That. Note."

Arthur thought about it for a moment. "Okay then, I believe you."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, man." I said gratefully to him, tearing off the note from the notepad and tossing it into the garbage bin. "Don't tell anyone about this."

He gave me a salute gesture. "Aye aye, captain!" I only sighed at his childish response.

Looking around once again, I noticed someone walking towards me. Unfortunately, it had to be someone I hate. A Minccino, named Adam.

"Good morning Keith." He greeted me, smiling. Heh, he always tries to sound friendly, but the truth is we actually hate each other's guts. "Beautiful morning isn't it?" He looked at the glass balcony door, rays of sunshine coming through.

I snorted. "Yes, it was..." I said to him, frowning. "At least, until you arrived."

He looked back at me, clearly angry. "What did you just say!?"

"I said, the morning was perfectly fine until you arrived. Why don't you go clean yourself first?"

"You can't tell me what I can do!"

"Then I'll tell you what you can't do." I said, sneering at him. "You can't get dirty, cuz' you have a nickname: Clean Fur."

His eyes burned with immense hatred as I called him that. "I thought that I told you to never call me that!"

I rolled my eyes. "Do you think I care?"

He clenched his teeth and looked away from me, trying to control himself. "FINE!" He yelled at me. "Have it your way!" And then he scrammed off into the bathroom. Hmph. Adam. He always had a temper.

Arthur just sighed. "I still don't know what's wrong between you two." He mumbled. "Why can't both of you just get along together... What did he even do to you anyway?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. There's just a lot of things about him that just rubs me the wrong way. And it has always been like that since the day Sam caught and added him to the team. It was enemies at first sight..."

I saw Arthur's ears perk up all of a sudden. He looked around, and then smiled. Sam had finally woken up. Me and him both went up to his feet and greeted him. "Oh, hello you two." He smiled, petting us both. "I'm gonna take a shower first, then I'll make breakfast for you." We were both excited to eat soon. Sam yawned, groggily walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. From outside, we heard him say something. "Oh! Hey Minccino, whatcha' doing? Cleaning your fur, aren't you?"

I only sighed hearing him say that. But then there was another sound. I turned around and saw another Pokémon coming towards me. It was a Shinx, one of Jonathan's Pokémon. "Mornin' Keith!" The Shinx greeted. "Another day, huh?"

"Yeah, another day..." I said, looking outside the glass balcony door. "How was your sleep, Sparky?"

"Firstly, my name's not Sparky, it's just Spark." The Shinx said calmly, not a single tone of anger in his words, the opposite of Adam. "Secondly, yes; I did sleep well." Spark's bright yellow eyes scanned the room, as if he was looking for something. "Hey, have you seen Adam? He's usually waken up by now."

"Oh... Adam..." I groaned, annoyed that he had mentioned Adam. "He's in the bathroom, but Sam's taking a shower right now, so you'll have to wait." From inside the bathroom, rushing water can be heard, along with Sam humming.

"Ah, okay then, I'll wait." Spark said, slighly disappointed. "By the way, you two didn't argue again, did you?"

"Of course I didn't –"

"Yes, yes he did." Arthur cut me off.

"Arthur!" I yelled at him, clearly unhappy that he told Spark the truth. "What's wrong with you!?"

"Dude, both of you have been keeping this rivalry up for who knows how long! Me and Spark both agreed that we would get you two to stop hating each other by the end of the year!"

I just stared in disbelief at both of them. "...You two are stupid."

Spark shook his head. "No we're not, we're absolute geniuses!"

I stared at him. "Hopeless." I sighed. "You two... are hopeless..."

Arthur and Spark just rolled their eyes. Not long later, we heard a 'click' as the bathroom door unlocked and opened, revealing Sam, all dressed up, along with Adam, cleaner than before. "Alright, I'm gonna make you guys some breakfast!" All of us cheered excitedly. As he walked over to a black backpack sitting on one of the armchairs, he noticed that Jonathan was still asleep, mumbling incoherently. A sneaky grin appeared on Sam's face. "Hey, Azumarill? Do you mind spraying water at his face?"

Arthur looked at the sleeping teenage trainer, then back at his own trainer. He wasn't too sure whether to do it or not. "Hey, look. I'm just going to say to him that I told you to, how does that sound?" Arthur smiled gratefully at him, and then hopped onto the bed. "Alright then! Azumarill, use Water Gun!" A burst of water instantly came out of Arthur's mouth and shot Jonathan right in the face. Through the sound of rushing water, Jonathan's gargling can be heard. After the water stopped, Jonathan immediately sat upright in his bed, all wet and terrified. His eyes then spot Arthur, smiling nervously, and then at Sam, who was laughing like crazy.

"Geez, man!" Jonathan cried, getting out of bed. "You scared the hell outta me! I thought someone had dumped me in the rapids!"

Sam stiffled a laugh from coming out, and then shot a sly grin at him. "Now who would want to do that?"

Jonathan glared at him, but then he decided that now is not the time, and went into the bathroom. Sam only chuckled at his reaction. He then focused his full attention to us, reached into his backpack, and pulled out a packet of good ol' Poképellets. Saliva was literally dripping from our tongues. The moment he poured those sweet pellets into a bowl, everyone leaped up and chomped down on every single pellet we could take. "Oh, wow.." Sam said, amazed as he watched us eat everything up. "You guys must be really hungry." We all said "Yes!", even though we knew that he couldn't understand.

A few minutes later, Jonathan had finally finished changing, and he asked Sam whether or not he would like to go around Sinnoh for a while. "Hell yeah, I would!" Sam cheered. "I've been planning to visit Jubilife City for a while now!"

"Oh really?" Jonathan said curiously. "Why is that?"

"Well, I came from a small village, so it's really exciting to visit a fancy modern city! There were also rumors about a hidden town just north of it!"

Jonathan's face darkened. "No." He muttered under his breath.

Sam looked at him confused. "No? What do you mean by that?"

"Just... no! Whatever you do, do not go to that town!"

"But why?"

"It's dangerous. I've heard all sorts of bad things about that place. Don't go anywhere near it." Jonathan then left the room and slammed the door behind him. Sam just stared at where Jonathan was standing. Dangerous? How? Sinnoh has some of the most advanced technology in the world, and is also the birthplace of lots of successful companies, especially in Jubilife City. Surely they have highly advanced and effective security tools. Why would a town that's so close to Sinnoh's technology central be so dangerous, Sam could only imagine. Sam just shrugged it off, and went after Jonathan.

...

An hour later, Sam had finally caught up to Jonathan. Now both of them are enjoying a delicious lunch at a nearby café. While I was eating, I started recollecting thoughts again. I remembered the time when Spark fell into a swimming pool. Poor Spark got really frightened, he was panicking and screaming the whole time he was in there. In fact, he accidentally used Discharge; inside the pool! A lot of people got shocked that day, but poor Jonathan took the blame, since it was his Pokémon. Then there was that one time when Sam was afraid to get into the subway, thinking that it lead to some vast, unknown region. And then there was that one time when –

AGH! KEITH! What the HELL are you doing!? Why do you even think about those things!? Real pathetic, man...

I blinked. Huh, funny... It felt as though someone was talking inside my head. But surely that can't be possible... right?

I lifted my head up to look at the sky, hoping to see some funny-looking clouds. But instead, there was a tall, blonde female looming over me. Although sunlight from behind her made features difficult to make out, I can still see her short hair, a duffel bag, and her beautiful, jade-colored eyes. I watched as her lips move, and came out a beautiful voice. "Excuse me, mister? Is this your Vulpix?"

Sam and Jonathan noticed the girl for the first time. "Er... yes, that would be my Vulpix." Sam answered, a bit surprised to have an unexpected visitor. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong!" She giggled. "It's just... I find it very odd to see a Vulpix with blue eyes.

Ha... Here we go again. I absolutely despise my blue eyes. Sure, they look good, but does that really mean that everyone who sees it just starts ooh-ing and aah-ing at me? I admit, I don't really hate my blue eyes, but the fact that so many people stare at me because of it just annoys me. Arthur is a really big fan of my eyes. He just absolutely adores them; if I hadn't known any better, he might be a bit jealous. I remember at one time, he exaggerated by saying "Your eyes are as beautiful as the clear, sparkly, ocean surface." Even though the color is exactly as he says, it's a bit of an overkill.

"Oh... Yeah, well, they're really beautiful aren't they?" Sam smiled at the blonde girl. Maybe he likes her, tee hee.

"Ha! Yeah, sure..." Jonathan chuckled, "You call that a beauty, I call that a genetic mishap." I growled at him, wishing that I could just bite his leg right now.

"I consider this a beauty." The girl smiled, bending down to pet me. I swiftly dodged her lowered hand. "Hm, I guess he doesn't like petting..."

For a moment, a cloud blocked the sun's rays, allowing me to clearly see who is this girl. Her short, blonde hair reaches down to only her shoulders. There were also some freckles on her face, but that didn't reduce her beauty at all. Her skin color is rather light, and she had an outfit which is similar to what bartenders and waiters wear. She carried a large, brown duffel bag over her shoulder. She was also wearing an expensive-looking watch.

Jonathan calmly drank his coffee, while Sam continued his conversation with the girl. "Hey, you haven't really told us your name...?"

"You first,"

"Ah, the gentleman goes first I see," Sam chuckled. "I'm Sam. Samuel Black."

"I'm Catherine. I have a full name of Catherine von Platter."

Jonathan – who was still sipping his coffee – coughed, spurting his coffee all over his clothes and table. "Wh-what!?" He spluttered, wiping off the coffee on his clothes. "von Platter!? Does that mean your mom is –"

"Oui! My mother is Jeanette von Platter."

Jonathan just gawked at her in response, while Sam just looking between the two awkwardly.

"Uhm... who's Jeanette von Platter?" He asked timidly, afraid of getting yelled at for not knowing.

"How do you not know who Jeanette von Platter is!?" Jonathan screamed at him, just as Sam feared.

"I'm not from Sinnoh! You know that I'm from Johto!"

"I know that you're not from Sinnoh! But Madam Platter is very famous! Internationally in fact!"

At this point, people around them are probably just staring at these two buffoons shouting and yelling at each other. Arthur and me shared an uneasy look. Spark was tugging at Jonathan's pants, but he just nudged him away.

"Ahem," Catherine coughed, catching the two trainers' attention. "you two are making a scene. So sit down and behave."

"But –"

"NOW!" Jonathan and Sam quickly shut up and sat back down on their seats. "Good. My mother always taught me to behave well in public, and my-oh-my, you two are the first one I've seen behave like that in front of so many people!"

"We can behave," Sam replied, feeling offended by her words.

"Oh really?" Catherine sneered at Sam. "Dear Samuel, do you even know how hard it is to keep your posture under pressure?"

"Er..."

"See? You can't even cope with this little chat!"

"Now hold on just a sec, Miss Extremely Well-Mannered." Jonathan stepped in front of her face. "You have no right to say anything about us like that! This is who we are, and does it matter to you?" Catherine stayed silent. "No? Then we're leaving!" Jonathan then helped Sam get off his chair, and the two started walking away, us following after him.

"Wait!"

Jonathan looked back, seeing Catherine running up to them. "Look... uhm... I'm sorry. I was being rude and I treated your friend wrongly."

"Obviously." Jonathan grumbled.

"How about I make it up to you?" Catherine offered. "You two can come to Le Palais!"

"Le Palais?" Jonathan repeated, surprised. "Really?"

"Of course! As an apology. Tonight, at seven, exactly."

"O-oh, no problem! We'll be there!"

"Excellent. You know, I think my mother would be rather... interested, with the two of you." She then turned around and started to walk away, but then she stopped in her tracks. "Oh! One more thing! My mother takes etiquette very seriously, so she'll expect the both of you to try to be at your best behavior."

Jonathan stared at her. "Is that all?"

"Yup! See you tonight!" She gave Jonathan a cheeky wink, and then skipped away.

Jonathan and Sam just looked at each other awkwardly. "Jonathan?" Sam asked. "You're going to be explaining everything that had just happened back at your place."

"...Sure, why not?"

The two then continued walking back to Jonathan's apartment. Me and the others walked after them. From the corner of my eye, I saw Arthur give me a cheeky grin. "A fancy dinner at Le Palais..." He mused, "This is going to be interesting..."

I only chuckled. "Hmph. We'll see about that."

"You don't sound so pleased."

"Yeah? Well I hate fancy."

"...Wanna play later?"

"...Sure."

"A fancy dinner at Le Palais..." I thought. "Maybe today won't just be another lame day..."