The Journey

The Journey

An Other Trainer Story by BenRG

Legal Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters and all characters and institutions connected with them are the property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4Kids Entertainment. This is a non-profit work written for free distribution through the world-wide web. No infringement of any copyright or legal property intended.

Peter Croft and Lia McAlester are entirely my creations, as are all the other original characters. Keep your eyes open, for there could be an FF.NET author in there somewhere!

Karlie Chuchino Scott is based on FF.NET author Chuchino the Cabbit. Chuchi, this is my way of making up for all those times I've been mean to Tracey in my other fics.

Author's Notes

Some New Trainer stories are good, some are not so good and some are just dire. I've never tried this genre before, so I'm going to try it now. If this is bad, then say so for pity's sake and I'll stop!

Okay, usual warnings apply. I don't know the continuity or the moves very well, so I'll be faking it most of the time.

Three chapters in one week? Thank the human Rhinovirus, known to its' enemies as the Common Cold. I've been restricted to my house with a running nose and a sore throat, so I've had lots of time to write!

Sharp-eyed readers will notice that I have moved the action forward a year in the Animé continuity. That is just the result of a recent midnight brainstorming session. There are no other changes.

Text in Italics is thought.

Text in "Quotes and Italics" is speech from some kind of loudspeaker, phone, etc.

Censor: PG – Because Pokémon fight, and fights can be unpleasant things.

Continuity Note: This story starts seven years after Ash Ketchum started his own Pokémon Journey. Tracey is 23 years old.

Chapter 9 - Just Visiting

The female Nidoran was enjoying the day as she sat in the forest glade somewhere along the hiker's trail that humans called 'Route 2.' She bent her head to taste some of the delicious dandelion flowers that grew in this season when, suddenly, a movement right ahead of her made her sensitive whiskers twitch. She looked up suspiciously, preparing to run or fight depending on what it was in front of her. To her surprise and relief, it wasn't anything dangerous.

It was another rodent-like Pokémon, a small yellow-furred creature with red cheek pads, a black ruff of fur around its' neck, a black thunderbolt-shaped tail and black-tipped spear-shaped ears. [Hello there,] the Pichu said, posing coyly. [My name is Curious. Are you having a nice day?]

[Who's asking?] the Nidoran asked suspiciously.

[I was only being polite,] Curious replied with elaborate patience. [I will say this, though. If you are having a nice day, and want to keep it that way, I wouldn't turn around.]

Now that was a dead give-away. The Nidoran spun on the spot and found herself staring into the brown eyes of an Eevee. The big (to her) fox-like Pokémon began to growl and the Nidoran froze, unable to move or even think clearly. There was a sudden motion and she was suddenly airborne. She hit the ground with stunning force and could only lie there, gasping for breath, until a red-and-white sphere suddenly dropped out of the sky and struck her on the head. The sphere opened up and Nidoran felt her body dissolve around her. There was a strange, euphoric swirling sensation, a flash of red light brighter than the brightest sun and then she was aware of nothing at all.

"Ha! I caught a Nidoran!" Peter Croft said, pumping his fist in triumph. As he watched, the standard-type Pokéball dematerialised, teleporting back to Professor Oak's laboratories in Pallet Town. "You did great Shadow!"

Peter's Eevee didn't acknowledge his Trainer's praise. His attention was elsewhere. [Curious, what in Lugia's name did you think you were doing?] he growled.

[Helping you, what did it look like?] Curious replied. [I distracted that Nidoran so you could get close enough.]

[I don't need your help,] Shadow responded scowling at the little electric-type.

As Peter and Lia McAlester looked on in fascination, Curious adopted an incredibly coy posture and looked at the Eevee with watery, innocent eyes. [Aw! I was only trying to help you, Uncle Shadow!]

Peter could feel Shock the Pikachu, Curious' older sister begin to shake with laughter as she sat on his shoulder. He looked over at Lia and saw that she was covering her mouth in an attempt to keep her own laughter in. [For crying out loud!] Shadow protested. [I'm not your 'uncle' anything!]

Curious' eyes took on a positively tearful aspect and she started sniffling. [Don't… don't you like me?] she asked mournfully, her bottom lip twitching with sadness.

Shadow sighed. If there was one thing that he couldn't stand, it was emotional females about to bawl their eyes out because of some imagined insult on your part. [Yes, Curious, I like you,] he admitted.

[Goody!] Curious skipped over and placed a little kiss on the Eevee's cheek. [I love you Uncle Shadow!]

[Will you stop that?] Shadow growled.

"Okay, guys, cease and desist," Peter said with a broad grin. "Shadow was right, Curious, you should stay out of sight." Curious did the 'watery eye' trick with him too and he sighed deeply. How do kids know how to yank your chain? he asked himself. "Come on, let's get going."

Shadow rejoined his Trainer and Curious leapt up into Peter's arms. The little mouse tucked herself into the travelling sling that Peter had rigged out of some tent repair material, allowing him to carry the Pichu without tiring his arms out.

The travellers were quickly on their way again, heading north for Pewter City and the first Gym Badge battle on the Indigo circuit.

Peter found himself looking down at Curious, who was leaning out of the sling and staring around her in fascination. Although he didn't think of himself as Curious' Trainer, it was obvious that she felt he was. The baby Pichu had even started trying to join in with his team's exercise sessions. However, she was young, and Peter didn't feel it right to try and train her as a fighting Pokémon just yet, something that he could tell was a great relief to Shock.

"The look on Shadow's face when Curious kissed him," Lia said with a grin. "He looked ready to die on the spot!" Lia shook her head before continuing. "You know, I think that she really likes him! She won't leave him alone for a second!" As if to emphasise Lia's words, Curious suddenly leapt from the sling, ran over to Shadow and climbed onto his back. Peter smiled as he saw the way she snuggled into the fox's mane.

"Yeah, I think everyone's favourite baby mouse has a crush on Shadow," Peter said, from the elevated heights of a boy not yet eleven years old. He looked at Shadow, who was leading the two humans, his nose to the trail as he looked for interesting scents. "Hey, Shadow!" Peter called. His starter Pokémon looked back at him. "I think you'd make as good a father as you do an 'uncle.'" Peter had to grin at the look of profound suffering his Eevee shot him. "That's a compliment, by the way."

[Glad he thinks so,] Shock muttered. He tried to be grumpy, but the way Curious was purring contentedly as she rode on his back made that difficult.

[Just call me 'Papa Eevee,'] Lia's Pidgey laughed as he soared overhead.

Shadow shook his head. This is a humiliation that is just going to run and run and run, he predicted darkly.

The day was going fast and well as the two (human) friends and their many Pokémon friends continued to head north. It was one of those days when you could forget your worries and just enjoy the sun, the breeze and the company that you were in. Peter and Lia were chatting about unimportant things and generally enjoying themselves when, suddenly, Shadow stopped dead in his tracks. Curious stood up on his shoulders to look over his head.

In the middle distance, walking the other way down the trail, was a fourteen-year-old boy with long, messy hair (which he had dyed green for some reason). Peter and Lia stopped and watched as the boy, obviously a Trainer from his clothes and Pokébelt, walked towards them. "Hi there!" the boy called out.

"Hi!" Lia replied. "I'm Lia McAlester and this is Peter Croft."

"Jordy Mostyn," the boy replied as he walked up to the two youngsters. "I hale from Icebound City and I'm heading to Viridian to get my last Gym Badge. Where are you going?"

"Opposite direction, different end to the Journey," Lia replied. "We're going to Pewter to get our first."

Jordy nodded and looked around at the Pokémon accompanying the other two Trainers. "You've got a pretty nice bunch there," he said. "Why are all these Pokémon out of their Pokéballs?"

Peter shrugged. "They prefer it outside," he said, as if that explained everything. Jordy shot Peter a look that seemed to say 'What has that got to do with anything?' Peter smiled slightly. Not all Trainers seemed to have the same approach to keeping their Pokémon happy. He preferred his own method to the 'teach them obedience and they will learn to enjoy it' school of thought. "Anyway, if I have them out of their balls, I can get them into action quicker."

Jordy laughed. "Well, I suppose that you could say that it is an advantage."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Lia asked. Pidgey landed on her shoulder and glared at the new human dangerously.

"My Pokémon obey me," Jordy replied. "They do as I say, not the other way round. You two are going to have a hard time achieving anything if you don't learn to keep your Pokémon firmly under your control!"

"Now there's a nice, enlightened point of view," Peter said with a smirk. "I work with my Pokémon, not order them around." Peter sighed slightly and looked at Jordy mockingly before continuing. "I guess that you've forgotten the oath already."

Jordy scowled. "That was written by hippie-types," he said. If you want to be the best, you have to be strong and make sure they understand who is the boss." Suddenly, Jordy grabbed a Pokéball from his belt. "I can tell that you don't believe me," he said. "So I'll prove to you kids what training method is best! I'll take both of you on, two-on-two. If I win, you'll put your Pokémon in their balls and learn to lead them. You'll thank me for it."

Weird, Peter thought. Some people get a Weedle up their butts over the strangest things. "And if we win?" he asked.

Jordy didn't think that was much of a possibility, but he was sporting enough to offer a stake of his own. "I've got a copy of Blizzard and Ice Punch," he said with a shrug. "I was going to use them on my Slowbro, but if you win, you will have them."

"Okay, you're on," Lia announced. She raised her hand and Pidgey hopped along her arm to perch on her hand.

"A flying-type?" Jordy asked with a smile that just stopped short of being a sneer. "Oh, I love flying types. You'll see what I have done with them in a few seconds!" He threw the Pokéball to the ground. "Go Pidgeotto!" he called. The evolved form of Pidgey materialised and stared at the two new humans and their Pokémon dangerously. "Okay, Pidgeotto, use Whirlwind."

"Use Wing Attack, Pidgey!" Lia responded. Her flying-type shot forwards and slapped Pidgeotto across the beak before it could even begin to circle. "Ha! Now follow that up with Peck!"

"Use Mirror Move," Jordy responded. This skill literally turned Pidgey's attack around, causing equal damage to both Pokémon, but allowing Pidgeotto to avoid being stunned by the attack. "Now use Whirlwind again."

Lia didn't respond as her stunned Pidgey was swept up in the mini-tornado created by Pidgeotto's fast circling flight. Peter shot her a strange look and was surprised when she caught his eye and winked. "Okay, Pidgey," she called, "Use Quick Attack!"

As Peter looked on, much impressed, Pidgey suddenly emerged from the top of the whirlwind funnel and arced around, knocking Pidgeotto back with a tackle. Before Jordy's flying-type could respond, Pidgey returned and used Scratch. Pidgeotto tumbled to the ground, hurt and disoriented. "Don't give up, Pidgeotto," Jordy said. "You are stronger! Use Swift!"

Pidgeotto turned into a blur shooting straight at the hovering Pidgey. Swift was so fast that it was theoretically impossible to Dodge, but Lia wasn't worried. She had faced this attack before and she had worked out a counter move. "Use Feather Throw, Pidgey!"

Pidgey unleashed a hail of razor-sharp feathers from his wingtips that slashed through the oncoming Pidgeotto. As well as doing cutting damage, the feathers were laced with venom, so it also poisoned the other flying-type. Although Pidgeotto still struck his target, he was much weaker and tumbled away. "Use Gust and then Peck, Pidgey!" Lia called. Pidgey swept in and attacked as directed. The gust blew the weakened Pidgeotto into the ground and then the Peck put him down for the count.

"Damn!" Jordy said as he recalled his Pokémon. "Okay, Lia," he said, "you were lucky that time, but you'll need more than that for your second bout! Go Noctowl!" He released a brown owl-like flying type with bright yellow-irised eyes. Peter frowned, pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

"Pokémon #164 – Noctowl, a flying/psychic-type Pokémon," Dexter reported. "Noctowl is the evolved form of Hoothoot. It is a powerful Pokémon that, although it does know some flying-type attacks, specialises in psychic attacks. Note especially Noctowl's powerful Dream Eater attack that can disable even the most powerful Pokémon."

"A psychic-type," Peter said grimly. "Be careful Lia."

"Hey! I'm always careful," Lia said with a grin. "Are you ready Pidgey?"

[I… I think so,] Pidgey said. He had landed in between Lia and Jordy, looking very uncomfortable. As the three Trainers looked on, he began to glow brightly. The flying-type suddenly turned into a bright light which swelled up and grew until it had almost doubled in size. Then the light faded.

Lia grinned. "He's evolved into a Pidgeotto!" she cried out in glee. This wasn't really a surprise. Pidgey had been at a pretty high level when Lia caught him and she had trained him well since then. "Okay, now I can't lose! Hit him with Gust, Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto rose into the sky and began to flap his wings fast, blowing dust and debris in to Noctowl's face. "Use Reflect, Noctowl!" Jordy ordered. Noctowl began to glow a glassy shade of blue and the wind was suddenly blowing in Pidgeotto's face. Lia's flying type stopped his attack and backed off slightly. Lia remembered from her lessons that Reflect, a psychic-type defence, was ineffective against contact attacks, so she ordered Pidgeotto to use Wing. "Use Fly," Jordy responded.

Pidgeotto slashed his wing across Noctowl's body just as Noctowl swept past him. The owl-like Pokémon swung around and used the attacking part of Fly, a combination of Wing and Gust to send Pidgeotto tumbling through the air. Lia's flying type crashed to the ground and was stunned for a second. "Use Hypnosis, Noctowl," Jordy called confidently. Noctowl's eyes glowed blue and Pidgeotto's eyes crossed over as he was entranced. "Now use Dream Eater." There was an itching in the air and a cloud of blue energy was sucked from Pidgeotto and drifted across the trail to Noctowl. Pidgeotto fell onto his side, out of the fight.

Jordy grinned in satisfaction. "Very good, Noctowl," he said as his Pokémon landed in front of him. "I'm pleased with you." Jordy turned away from his Pokémon to smirk at Lia and Peter. "See what I mean about discipline?" he asked smugly.

"This isn't over yet," Lia replied. She drew a Pokéball and threw it to the centre. "Go Chikorita!" Lia's starter Pokémon materialised and landed in front of his Trainer. Lia recalled poor Pidgeotto and waited for Jordy to decide on his next move.

Jordy grinned. "Plant-type? This will be easy. Noctowl, use Hypnosis again!"

"Chikorita, use Reflect," Lia responded. Jordy's mouth dropped open as the hypnotic waves from Noctowl seemed to turn around in mid-air and returned to entrance Noctowl. Lia grinned at the older Trainer in an infuriating way. "I guess you forgot that Chikoritas know that move too! Okay, now use Tackle!" Chikorita launched himself forward and sent Noctowl tumbling across the ground. "Use your Vine Whips!" Lia ordered.

"Use Fly you dumb bird! Focus on your job! Quickly!" Jordy shouted angrily. Noctowl responded quickly and rose into the sky, avoiding Chikorita's attempt to bind him. "Okay, now use Confusion!" the waves of disorienting energy began to flash from Noctowl's eyes and Chikorita staggered, unable to keep his balance or even concentrate.

"Chikorita, focus on the sound of my voice," Lia called. "Come on, Chiko, I know that you can do it! Trust me!" Chikorita looked at Lia unsteadily. "Come on, Chikorita, you can do it! Focus on me!"

"Don't waste any more time, Noctowl," Jordy ordered. "Use Psy Beam!"

"Use Reflect again!" Lia ordered.

"Ha! He can't do that while he's still confused!" Jordy replied confidently. The flying/psychic type unleashed a blue-white pulse of concentrated psychic energy, which struck Chikorita's Reflect defence and struck Noctowl in the centre of the chest. Noctowl went down again. "Huh?" Jordy couldn't believe it. "Noctowl! You can't have done Confusion properly! Get up and try again! Do it right this time!"

"Actually he did do it right," Lia said with a laugh. "A little belief can go a long way. Snare that bird with your Vine Whips, Chikorita, and then take him out with Poison Powder!"

[You bet!] Chikorita growled in a pleased tone of voice. The vine whips ensnared the shocked Noctowl and dragged him over the ground to Chikorita. [Lights out, feather-breath!] Chikorita laughed before expelling a cloud of poison dust from his skin.

"No!" Jordy couldn't believe that this had happened. "Damn it, no! How did you get your Chikorita to shake off Confusion like that?"

"Like she said, belief goes a long way," Peter said. "If your Pokémon believes in you, they will obey you, even if they are confused and afraid."

Jordy growled. "Enough with the mumbo-jumbo," he hissed. "Let's get on with this. I haven't lost until you beat me, Peter, and I can promise you that you won't do that!"

[He is arrogant,] Shock growled into Peter's ear. [Let me deal with this, Peter.]

Peter smiled. He suddenly had an idea, one that had been in his head from the moment Jordy had started shooting off his mouth. "Don't worry, Shock," he said, stroking her cheek. "I know just who I will ask to show this guy the error of his ways." Peter reached behind him and pulled out a Pokéball. "Okay… Go Bugsy!"

Jordy stared at the Pokémon that emerged and began to laugh. "He… he's a… Metapod!" he spluttered. "You can't even think…?" He shook his head. "Type disadvantage and one of the most pathetic bug-types of them all! I can't…!" the older boy pulled out a Pokéball, still laughing. "Okay, I'll go easy on you and use my newest Pokémon. Go Spearow!"

"Peter have you gone insane?" Lia asked, aghast. Peter just smiled confidently and gestured for Jordy to begin.

"Spearow, use Peck!" Jordy ordered.

"Bugsy, use Harden!" Peter responded. Spearow launched herself forward and pecked the Metapod right on the top of his head. The impact sounded like someone banging hard on a wooden door, but Bugsy didn't seem to take any damage. "That's it, Bugsy," Peter encouraged. "Keep using Harden as much as you can! Pour it on!"

"You are asking for it, man," Jordy growled. "Okay, Spearow, use Fury Attack!"

"SPEEEAAARRR!" Spearow screamed at the top of her voice and launched herself forwards with a series of Wing, Peck and Scratch attacks. Bugsy just lay there (not that he was able to do much else).

"Yes! You're doing it, Bugsy," Peter said. "I know that you're scared, but you are doing well! Keep using Harden and you can take anything that she throws at you!"

Lia's mouth had dropped open as she watched the enraged flying-type throw everything she had at Bugsy. However, Harden had made his skin tough and nearly impenetrable. Simply put, a low-level Spearow who hadn't learnt any powerful flying-type attacks yet didn't have anything that could scratch him.

Finally, after spending at least five minutes in utterly futile assaults, Spearow landed beside Bugsy, panting hard and looking completely exhausted. "I didn't say you could stop!" Jordy raged. "Use… use… use something! Take that Bug down!" Spearow shot her Trainer a scornful look and continued to pant, blinking tiredly at the Metapod. "I… I guess it is a draw," Jordy said at last.

Peter felt very pleased that his idea had worked out. He was even more pleased at Bugsy's performance. "Who said anything about a draw?" he asked. "Bugsy, you've done well so far, now I want you to try something for me. I know it will be difficult, but I know that you can do it. Use Tackle!"

Lia and Jordy's mouths both dropped open as Bugsy, with a growl of effort, lifted his heavy body into the air and dropped it down on top of Spearow, flattening the flying-type underneath his considerable bulk. After a moment, Bugsy managed to roll off his opponent, who didn't look inclined to move much. "S… s… s…" Jordy stuttered for a moment in disbelief. "Spearow, return," he said. The little bird Pokémon vanished in a flash of red light and was sucked into her Pokéball. For the first time, Peter saw respect in the other boy's eyes and felt good about that.

[Now that is what I call winning with style,] Shadow said with a vulpine grin. Curious was applauding, while Shock just looked at Jordy in a very scornful way.

"Nice work Peter," Lia said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. Peter nodded in acknowledgement. Suddenly, Bugsy started to glow. "Hey, do you think…?" Lia didn't get a chance to finish asking her excited question. The Metapod split open like a banana skin and something like a worm made out of white light pushed out of the split. The light seemed to grow delicate extensions to either side of its' body. Then, the glow faded.

Peter smiled. "Two evolutions in one afternoon! Well, I guess this is our lucky day," he said to Lia, who nodded, looking incredibly happy.

Bugsy the Butterfree rose from his discarded pupal shell and flew over to his Trainer for a congratulatory hug. [At last I can move properly again!] Bugsy cooed happily, making Peter laugh.

Jordy cleared his throat. "We've got a battle to finish," he said. "I warn you, Peter, this won't be easy for you! Go Zubat!" The boy released the bat-like sonic/flying-type and directed it forwards. "Use Screech, Zubat!" The wide-angle sonic-type attack blew into Bugsy and Peter, knocking them both back a few steps.

"Hey, watch it!" Lia gasped. Jordy didn't listen. His face was twisted with fury at the humiliating defeat of his Spearow. He was going to get even. "Now use Wing Attack!"

"Dodge," Peter shouted. He ducked and Bugsy went up. Zubat shot in between them both and then swung around, heading back for a second attack. "Use Confusion!" Peter cried. Bugsy began to glow and Zubat seemed to stagger in mid-air, crashing into a tree branch.

"Get up! Remember your training!" Jordy called, virtually dancing with anger. "Get into the air and use Leech Life!" The energy from the attack curled forwards like a malevolent spirit and struck the bug-type, sucking out some of his strength and donating it to Zubat's own health. Jordy grinned when he saw the attack worked. "Ha! Great, now use Supersonic!"

"Use String Shot," Peter countered. Bugsy spat out a long string of silk that lashed around Zubat and tangled up his wings as he fluttered towards him. Zubat fell to the ground, so startled that he forgot to attack as ordered. "Okay, let's try something new," Peter said. "Use Air Slam! Pick him up and slam him into a tree!" Bugsy dived down and snatched the ensnared Zubat. He flew up into the air and shot towards the nearest tree. At the last moment, the Butterfree released Zubat and peeled off to one side. Zubat continued in a straight line until he struck the tree branch.

"Zu!" the bat cried out as he tumbled to the ground.

"Great work, Bugsy," Peter said. Bugsy swung back towards his Trainer and hovered in front of him, his whole posture slightly smug.

Jordy seemed to have to chew over things for a while. Finally, he recalled Zubat and strode over to Peter and Lia. "Your cheating let you two win on the small scale," he hissed, "but we'll have to see if your weak training methods will do you any good!" Jordy pulled two plastic packets out of his backpack and threw them to the dirt at the two friends' feet. "Here you go," he growled. "I won't say 'see you in the Leagues,' because I know that you'll never qualify!"

Peter watched in some distress as Jordy stormed off down the path. On Peter's shoulder, Shock sighed. [Some humans revel in being the 'Master,'] she said in a firm tone of voice. [They cannot stand it if they are shown that friends fight harder than slaves do.]

Peter nodded sadly. "I wish I could explain to him what he is doing wrong," he said quietly.

"He's a creep," Lia said in her usual forthright tone of voice. "Forget about him!" She picked up the two TM powders that their erstwhile opponent had left behind. "Blizzard and Ice Punch. Which do you want?"

"Man, the look on his face when Bugsy dropped himself on top of his Spearow was just a picture!" Lia said with a laugh. "I just couldn't believe that anyone's mouth could open that wide!" Lia was still going on about the afternoon's victory as the sun began to drop towards the horizon. Not that Peter was complaining. It had been a sweet victory, showing that blowhard the error of his ways.

"I just didn't like him throwing the word 'cheat' around," Peter said.

[Sore loser,] Curious said sleepily from her carrying sling. Peter laughed at that wry comment.

"I think we should look for somewhere to camp out," Peter said, looking at the length of the shadows. "The sun will be setting soon."

[Maybe we can camp with some others,] Shadow suddenly said, his whole posture of his body one of alert attention. [I smell wood smoke!]

Peter looked at Lia and translated for her. Lia shrugged. "Why not?" she asked. "It might be an interesting meeting!" Peter grinned and gestured for Shadow to lead them to the source of the smoke.

The travellers were expecting many things, but not what they saw as they emerged from the woods near the Viridian-to-Pewter highway. A medium-sized single-storey pine cabin sat just off the road, a Subaru Rhino 4WD van parked beside it. Smoke poured from the chimney and there was a cheery glow of lighting and warmth from within.

"Someone's holiday home?" Lia asked, her elegant eyebrows touching her hairline.

Peter shrugged. "Well, we might as well find out if they can put us up for the night," he said.

"Do you think that's all right?" Lia asked.

Peter laughed. "It's that or sleeping out with the bugs and nocturnal Pokémon," he reminded his friend. Lia shuddered. She might have got used to camping out, but that didn't mean that she had got to like it. Peter saw the look in her eyes and walked boldly up the cabin and tapped on the door. It was only about 6PM, so the occupants had to still be awake…

The door opened. "Hello, Ma'am," Peter said to the woman who answered the door. "My friend and I are Pokémon Trainers. We were about to make camp for the night, but we saw your cabin and we wondered… if… if…" Peter trailed off, looking a bit surprised.

Lia scowled. The last thing she needed was for her friend to suddenly get an attack of politeness and go all tongue-tied. She strode forwards and was just about to complete the request for a night's shelter when she recognised the woman standing in the doorway. Although she looked a bit harassed and tired, there was absolutely no doubt that the woman staring at them through her glasses was Karlie Chuchino Scott, girlfriend (fiancée, according to some rumours) of Tracey Kenji Sketchitt, who, in turn, was assistant to Professor Oak.

Karlie sighed and brushed some of her long black hair away from her eyes. "You wondered what?" she asked at last, in a slightly impatient tone of voice.

Peter was still tongue-tied. Shock rolled her eyes and gave her Trainer the lightest possible shock. "Oh!" Peter blinked. "We wondered if we could stay in your cabin tonight, Ms. Scott," he said. "We've got sleeping bags and have our own food, but having a roof over our heads… you know…?"

"How did you know my name?" Karlie asked. The week had been a trying one for her, and she was feeling a bit paranoid about the world in general. Then this boy turns up at her door and knows her name? What next? she asked herself. Ash's buddies, the Legendary Birds, roosting on the roof?

"Oh, we started out from Pallet Town just over a week ago," Peter said. "I saw you with your Togepi while I was waiting to get my starter Pokémon."

Karlie peered at Peter thoughtfully. No, she still didn't recognise him, but he did look familiar. Her attempt to concentrate was thwarted by a sudden loud whining from inside the cabin. She slowly turned around, her face twisting angrily. "Mister Mime!" she shouted. "If you don't turn off that damn vacuum cleaner right now…!" The sound ceased.

"Mime! Mime!" another voice cried.

"Now he's… dusting again!" Karlie screamed and dashed into the cabin, leaving Peter, Lia and their Pokémon standing at the door, feeling like they had just stepped into the Twilight Zone. "Give me that feather duster you overgrown Mankey!" they heard Karlie shout from within. "Tracey! Help me!"

There was a series of noises that indicated that a violent struggle was taking place within the cabin. Peter looked at Lia. "Maybe we should just leave before she starts shooting," Lia suggested.

At that point a man with dark hair held back with a red headband appeared at the door. "Yes, can I help you?" he asked. He looked at Peter and Lia, then he grinned. "Novices Croft and McAlester! What brings you to my door?" Peter blinked and tried to focus his mind. He didn't do too well, so it was left to Lia to repeat their request for a night's shelter. "Why not?" Tracey said with a friendly smile. "It will be good to have some company." And maybe it will help keep Karlie's mind off of Mimey, he added silently.

Tracey let the two Novices in and offered to take their backpacks. Peter looked around the cabin, which was furnished in the Scandinavian style, and saw Karlie again. The dark-haired woman was glaring at a Mr. Mime, who was trying to wrestle a feather duster away from her. "Look you vermin!" Karlie hissed. "I can dust my own home, thank you very much! I do not need you to continually clean up this place for me!"

"Mi-ime-ime-mi-ister!" Mr. Mime replied firmly. He used a light Confusion attack to make Karlie let go of the duster and immediately started dusting the TV set. Karlie growled in a feral way deep in her throat and touched one of the six Pokéballs attached to the braces that were holding up her full-length jeans.

Tracey cleared his throat. "Um, Karlie, dear?" he called quietly. Karlie whirled, her face angry and her eyes cold. "Kaz, this is Peter and Lia. They're from Pallet and I thought that they can stay in the spare room for the night."

"Great, more mouths to feed," Karlie said. She smoothed down her hair and tried to smile at the two novices in a welcoming fashion. "Well, welcome to Chez Sketchitt," she said with a slight smile.

"We… we've got our own food," Peter offered with a nervous smile.

"Nonsense, we wouldn't dream of having you as guests and not offer you all the courtesies, would we Kaz?" Karlie looked at Tracey in a way that suggested that she would prefer the two youngsters to eat their own food. Tracey gave her one of his patented 'kicked puppy' looks that could melt the hardest heart. Karlie sighed. She couldn't resist that look, no matter how much she wanted to.

"No," she said. "Tracey's right. If you are staying under my roof, you'll eat my food." And may God have mercy on your souls, she added silently. Suddenly she winced as she heard a squeak. "He's… cleaning the windows again," she said, shivering with fury.

"Now, now, Karlie," Tracey said nervously, "you know that he is only happy…"

"Tracey…" Karlie said, her voice rising again. "Mimey is supposed to be here on a rest cure! He's been sick and is supposed to be relaxing!" Karlie stepped forwards and began to poke her boyfriend in the gut to emphasise every word. "How can he relax… if… he's… cleaning… all… the… time?"

Tracey caught Karlie's hand and squeezed it. "I know he's a bit trying, Kaz," he said quietly. "Look, you know that Mimey loves doing this stuff. It is rest for him!"

"But why must he just keep going and going and going?" Karlie wailed. "Tracey! The noise! The disruption! I don't think that I can take it much longer!" The woman started to sob and collapsed into Tracey's arms.

Tracey hugged her, trying to soothe her shattered nerves. Ever since he and Karlie had finally decided to start living together (after something like a decade dodging around their feelings for each other), she had suddenly become incredibly aware of her relative lack of traditional home-making skills. Mr. Mime, who was the perfect housekeeper for the Professor and Delilah, was only making that feeling of insecurity worse than it was before.

"Um… we'll… put our stuff away now," Peter said nervously. The two novices sneaked off, wondering if they would have been better off camping out.

Fortunately, Karlie's nerves were a bit more settled later that evening, so that the dinner in the cabin's small dining nook went off fairly peacefully. If Karlie scowled at Mr. Mime when he picked the dishes off of the table and began to clean them before she could even move to do so herself, she didn't explode into violence. At least not this time.

"So… uh… what's the story with the Mr. Mime?" Lia asked, trying to make small talk.

"He is a demon from Hell sent to torture me… OW!" Karlie said and then stopped when Tracey kicked her shins under the table.

"He's Delilah Oak's Mr. Mime," Tracey explained. "He came down with Pokémon Influenza last week and the Professor asked me to take him out of Pallet for a rest cure. Unfortunately, as soon as he was back on his feet, he started cleaning again, which is something he just loves to do."

"Isn't that… er… a good thing?" Peter asked. "I mean, you can relax while he does all the work, right?"

"I… don't… need… any… help!" Karlie grated out, getting in Peter's face.

"Okay, jeez, I believe you!" Peter said, leaning back nervously with his hands raised in surrender.

Karlie ran a shaking hand through her hair. "Sorry," she said. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. "I shouldn't take it out on you, Pete. It isn't your fault that I have to help my boyfriend baby-sit a DEMON!" That last bit was screamed at Mr. Mime, who was industriously cleaning the kitchen sink and draining board. "It should be a nice to have someone do all the chores for us, but I can't even turn around without him cleaning, dusting or polishing. He is everywhere! I sit down and he starts vacuum cleaning the carpet where I stood! I stand up and he is brushing the chair where I was sitting! I make myself a coffee and he cleans the cup the moment I've finished it! It's like having… a continual on-going hygiene inspection! It is just so… stressful! And the noise while that damn creature is continually scrubbing or washing or dusting or vacuum cleaning! I can't take it anymore!"

Tracey winced and patted Karlie on the shoulder rather awkwardly. He looked over to the housecleaning Pokémon. "Mr. Mime?" Mimey looked around. "Uh… could you get lost for a while? Maybe play in the garden?" Mr. Mime looked out into the garden. It was dark out, but that didn't really faze him. He nodded excitedly and ran off.

Karlie was clutching desperately at her last frayed nerve. "Why does he listen to you and not me?" she asked in a broken tone of voice. Tracey didn't want to say that, maybe, Mimey would listen to Karlie if she didn't scream at him so much. There was an embarrassed pause before Tracey offered the Novices some dessert.

Pretty soon all four of them were in the living area and talking about Peter and Lia's adventures so far. "So, you ran into Team Rocket, eh?" Tracey said thoughtfully. "I heard there were still a few hold-outs left on the loose after Ash, Misty, Brock, Jessie and James levelled the organisation's HQ on Black Island, but I didn't know they were so dangerous or ambitious!" The Pokémon Watcher was stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess I should tell Ash so he can decide what he wants to do about that."

Peter and Lia were both in awe at the easy way that Tracey spoke about the Pokémon Master and his famous allies. "So… uh… are you going to see Master Ash soon, then?" Peter asked.

Tracey nodded. "I hope so," he said. "Anyway," he continued. "You two are lucky that you came tonight. We're both leaving tomorrow morning to go to Pewter City. Mimey has finished his course of treatment and we're going to pass him over to a few friends who will take him back to Pallet Town for us." Tracey didn't mention that the original plan called for Karlie and him to take Mimey home. He had revised his plans when he decided that his girlfriend's nerves couldn't take the company of the psychic-type for one minute longer than absolutely necessary. "Anyway, afterwards, we're going on our own rest-cure in Fuchsia City."

Tracey and Karlie looked at each other in a strange way and their body language made Peter and Lia feel uncomfortable and slightly nauseous. Gooey adult stuff, Peter decided.

After a few moments, Tracey and Karlie finally broke their eye contact and Tracey turned back to Peter. "Anyway, as we're heading in the same direction, we can go to Pewter together," Tracey continued. "What do you think of that?"

Peter shrugged. He wasn't enthusiastic about the thought, but he wasn't going to say anything rude. "Why not?" Lia said happily. "I think we could both learn something!"

Suddenly, the room was filled with a loud whining. Everyone looked around and saw that Mimey had started vacuum cleaning the floor of the dining nook. Karlie shuddered with fury. "Er… Kaz…" Tracey said, grabbing her hand to restrain her.

Karlie shook his hand off and stood up. She plucked a Pokéball off of her braces and flung it to the floor. "Raticate, I choose you!" she declared. The evolved form of Rattata materialised and snarled at Mr. Mime, reacting to his Trainer's anger. Mimey just grinned inanely and continued to clean. "Raticate, use Hyper Beam, now!"

"Karlie, no!" Tracey shouted. It was too late. The massive earth-energy blast struck home dead on target… and blew the vacuum cleaner into a spray of shrapnel.

Mimey looked at where the cleaner's air hose ended with a singed and tattered loose end and looked at Karlie thoughtfully for a moment. Then, with infinite care, he went to the cleaning cupboard, got out a dustpan and brush, and cleaned up the ruins of the vacuum cleaner before going off to find an inaccessible corner to hide from his hostess for the rest of the night.

Karlie recalled Raticate to his Pokéball and sat down opposite her guests. "So," she said with almost surreal calm, "what were we talking about again?"

Lia awoke next morning on the comfortable futon that Tracey had pulled out of the apparently bottomless furniture storage shed behind the cabin. She sighed in pleasure and luxuriated for a moment in waking up in a bed rather than in a sleeping bag and covered with dew. She looked around the sparsely furnished spare room of the couple's cabin and noted the unmistakable sign of any spare bedroom anywhere in the world. The clock on the nightstand was flashing '12:00' over and over again, a sign that no-one thought to re-set this clock after a power cut some time in the past.

Lia blinked and looked around her, trying to clear the sleep from her wits, and noticed that the other futon, which Peter had been sleeping in, was re-made and empty. Her nose twitched as she smelt cooking from the kitchen area. Time to get up, Lia, she told herself.

Blinking slightly, she got up and grabbed her jeans and tee shirt from where she had left them last night. She frowned when she noticed that her Pokédex was gone.

After getting dressed, she walked into the cabin's living area. "Hey, Peter, where's my Pokédex?" she asked her friend.

"Good morning to you too, Lia," Peter said, looking up from his cereal with a slight grin. Lia rolled her eyes, set her hands on her hips and waited for him to answer her question. "Tracey took our Pokédexes," Peter said. "He said that he wanted to check something out." Peter gestured over his shoulder at Tracey. The Pokémon Watcher was in a small office-like area, working on a computer. The computer had two slots, like over-sized game cartridge ports, which were occupied by the two missing Pokédexes.

Karlie walked in the front door at that moment, having just put out food for the hungry masses of Pokémon, hers, Tracey's and the kids'. "Well, someone's returned to the land of the living," she said. "Good morning, Lia."

"Coffee! Real coffee!" was Lia's reply as she pounced on the decent percolated coffee in the pot in the centre of the table.

"So, she isn't into instant coffee?" Karlie asked Peter, who grinned and shook his head.

"She isn't into instant coffee, breakfast bars, pre-cooked meals, sleeping in the open or washing in a river or lake," he replied with a broad smile.

Karlie took that in with a slightly confused expression. "Why did you go on a Pokémon Journey anyway?" she asked the black-haired girl.

"Long story," Lia said, making it clear by her body language that she wasn't going to say anything else.

"Well, that was illuminating," Tracy said, before Karlie could press Lia for more details. He handed the two Novices their Pokédexes. "You two have seen quite a few rare Pokémon already, even if they had already been captured by someone else." Tracey took a glass of fruit juice from the kitchen counter and sat down. "Still, for two novices who have only been on the roads for ten days so far, you have done very well. Peter has captured ten Pokémon already, and Lia has captured nine! I think you can both be proud." Tracey grinned slightly. "Of course, but this point in his journey, Ash had only caught three Pokémon: His Pikachu, a Pidgeotto, which later evolved into his Pidgeot, and his first Caterpie."

Peter tried not to swell up too much in pride at Tracey's comments, but Lia felt no such restrictions. "Hey, you know when you meet the best!" she said. Peter looked horrified, Tracey's face was unreadable and, behind Lia's head, Karlie covered her mouth to hold in her laughter.

"Anyway," Tracey continued, "I think I should give you both a reward for doing so well." He handed the two youngsters what looked like a plastic box with a few wires, ending in skin contact tabs, coming from an aperture in one end. There were two buttons on the top of the box marked 'OK' and 'Cancel.' They were marked with a blue lightning bolt logo.

"What's this?" Peter said, turning the box around in his hands.

"These are Hidden Machines," Tracey said. "They are devices that teach certain Pokémon special skills, which they can't learn normally, that are useful both on the arena and in the field. There are eight different Hidden Machines that the League has licensed for use on Pokémon. This particular one is HM05, known to its' friends as 'Flash.' A Pokémon who uses flash emits a bright light." Peter nodded in understanding. He remembered Barney the spelunker's Umbreon using this ability. "It is useful for getting around in the dark," Tracey continued, "and it can stun an opposing Pokémon when you're in a battle. As a rule, any fire- electric- or earth-type can use it, but there are exceptions."

Peter already had his Pokédex out and was looking at the entry on HM05. "What's the hurry?" Lia asked. We won't reach Mount Moon for at least another two weeks!"

"No time like the present to ensure that your Pokémon have new skills," Peter replied. According to Dexter, Pikachus and Pichus were compatible with the HM, but Shadow would only be able to use Flash after he evolved into an Umbreon.

"Well, if you are all almost finished with your breakfasts," Karlie said, "I think we should be ready to go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we reach Pewter City."

"Where's Mimey?" Tracey asked.

Karlie just smiled and showed her boyfriend a grey-and-white super-type Pokéball. "Let's just say that he is as eager to see Mrs. Oak as I am to see the back of him," Karlie said.

After Tracey and Karlie locked up the cabin, the two novices were on the road again, heading north for Pewter City. The difference was that, this time, they were riding in Tracey's Rhino 4WD. A journey that would have taken at least another day would now only take a few hours. "I hope we aren't missing any rare Pokémon," Peter said as he watched the forest blur past the windows.

"On Route 2?" Karlie asked with a laugh. "Not likely! You two pretty much got the best on offer when you captured your Pikachus and Nidorans."

"Do you think that you're any good?" Tracey suddenly asked.

Peter looked up and tried to read the young researcher's expression. He failed comprehensively. "Good enough," Peter said with a modest shrug. "I've gone undefeated for fifteen battles."

"Not bad at all, for someone who hasn't even won his first badge," Karlie said. "Tracey, I've got to check this out." To Peter's surprise, Tracey pulled over and parked on a grassy verge.

"Let's battle," Tracey said. "I'll try out Lia. Karlie will fight Peter."

Peter swallowed nervously, but Lia wasn't so troubled. "You're on!" she cried.

Peter stepped out of the van and looked at Karlie nervously as the young woman jogged around to stand opposite him. "Okay, how does three-on-three sound to you?" she asked. Peter nodded. "Okay," she said. "Try this one out. Go Raticate!" Karlie's powerful normal-type materialised. After last night, Peter knew that the Pokémon knew several powerful earth-type attacks, and members of the Rattata evolutionary chain could also use the complete range of water-type TMs. This could be tough.

Peter looked at Karlie levelly. "Okay, let's do this," he said. "Go Shock!" His Pikachu leapt from his shoulder and landed opposite Raticate.

"Use Focus Energy!" Karlie shouted. Raticate charged.

"Dodge it, Shock," Peter ordered. His Pikachu dodged the charging normal-type. The Focus Energy attack dissipated against the ground, raising a cloud of dust. "Now use Thunder-Shock!" The attack flared into the dust cloud, and some of it must have struck Raticate, who cried out in pain. "Now use Quick Attack!"

"Dodge it, Raticate," Karlie replied. Unfortunately, Raticate had been briefly paralysed by the electric attack and wasn't able to dodge. Shock laid into her opponent with several slaps and tackles, knocking the normal type further and further back. When the Quick Attack ended, Karlie responded in kind. Peter had Shock catch Raticate with a Thunder-wave before using another Thunder-shock to knock the normal-type out.

"Not bad at all!" Karlie said, sounding like a teacher who had found unexpected depths in a dense pupil. "Now let's see how you handle real opposition!" She recalled her fainted Raticate and pulled another Pokéball off her braces/bandoleer. "Go Togepi!"

The small egg-like baby Pokémon materialised opposite Shock, who looked flabbergasted at what she was seeing. [I'm supposed to fight this?] she blurted. She looked at Peter. [This smacks of beating up a newborn,] she said, looking very reluctant.

"Well, let's make it quick," Peter said. "Use Thunder-Shock."

There was the usual crackle-boom of an electric-attack, and Togepi definitely took damage, but Karlie seemed very confident for some reason. "Okay, Togepi, use Charm," she ordered. Togepi danced forward and began to perform a series of graceful movements that belied its' portly body and stumpy limbs. Shock seemed completely entranced by the movements and was unable to respond when Karlie ordered a follow-up. "Now use Sweet Kiss!" Togepi danced forwards and placed a kiss on Shock's lips, leaving her totally disoriented and confused. She could barely even stand up.

Peter winced. There was no point leaving Shock out there with her in that state. "Okay, Shock, you did your best. Now, return." For the first time since he captured her, Peter recalled Shock to her Pokéball. He figured that she would need to rest inside to regain her strength after that experience. He pointed forwards. "Okay, it's all yours now, Shadow!" Peter's Eevee ran forwards.

"Use Charm again," Karlie ordered her earth-type.

"Use Growl!" Peter responded. To his surprise, Togepi was completely frozen by Shadow's attack, unable even to continue his charm dance. "Okay, now use Focus Energy!" Shadow began to glow red-gold and he threw himself forwards. He struck Togepi head-on and there was a bright flash of red light as the attack discharged. Togepi, folded up into an egg shape, rolled to a halt at his Trainer's feet.

Karlie grimaced. "Too bad, Togepi," she said. "Still, you're getting better all the time. Return now." She recalled the egg and drew another Pokéball. "This time we'll really test you Peter. We'll use my starter Pokémon. Go Venusaur!" Peter's jaw dropped open as the two-ton plant/poison-type materialised in front of him and created its' own miniature eclipse.

"Don't hesitate, Shadow," Peter called. "Use Focus Energy again!"

"Use Leaf Screen," Karlie countered. Venusaur's back-mounted plant began to shed leaves into the air, creating a thick wall of flying foliage. As Shadow launched himself forwards, the leaves got in the way and the earth energy he had built up discharged uselessly. All he scored was a simple Tackle attack.

"Damn," Peter hissed. "Okay, let's go to plan-B," he said.

[Plan B?] Shadow asked. Peter shot his Pokémon a look that communicated the fact that he was making this up as he went along. "Use Sand Attack," Peter called.

"Use Sweet Scent," Karlie called. Shadow completed his attack, but his movements had become slower. Something to do with the attack Karlie had just ordered, Peter presumed.

"Okay, now use Bite," Peter instructed. Shadow drove his teeth into Venusaur's flank, making the big creature roar with pain. Still, it had a lot of reserves of strength left.

"Use Leech Seed," Karlie responded. A seed arced away from Venusaur's back plant and landed in front of Shadow, who staggered back a few paces. There was a hum in the air and Shadow fell, his strength literally stolen away. Peter was much impressed and didn't respond at first. "Do you want to forfeit?" Karlie asked sweetly.

"No way!" Peter declared. He recalled Shadow and pulled another Pokéball. "Go Bugsy!" he ordered, releasing his Butterfree. "Okay, use Confusion!" Peter ordered.

Venusaur growled and staggered unsteadily as the psychic attack washed over him. "Don't panic, Venusaur," Karlie said, sounding completely cool. "Just ride it out, you know you can do it!"

Peter scowled. "Okay, now use Stink Spray!" Peter called. Bugsy shot the stinking fluid right in Venusaur's face, making the big plant/poison type stagger back a few paces. However, something was wrong. Venusaur wasn't getting any weaker, while Bugsy was visibly weakening by the moment. Peter suddenly realised that the Leech Seed was still active. It was draining Bugsy's strength and sending it to Venusaur. "Blast," he hissed. "Bugsy, get that Leech Seed and throw it as far away as you can!"

Bugsy did as he was commanded, but it gave Venusaur the chance to recover enough to attack. "Use Razor Leaf," Karlie ordered. The razor-sharp leaves cut through the air just as Bugsy was flying towards Venusaur. They all struck home and the weakened bug-type tumbled to the ground, defeated.

Peter let out a deep breath in amazement as he realised he had been beaten. "You did your best, Bugsy," he said quietly, recalling the bug-type to his Pokéball.

"Not bad at all," Karlie said, she was hugging Venusaur around his thick neck and petting him on the top of his huge head. "You really are good, Peter. With more powerful Pokémon, you would have won!"

Lia looked nervous as she faced off against Tracey, and with good reason. If Karlie was good, Tracey, more experienced trainer still, would be even better. Still, Lia had her pride, and she wasn't a quitter, no matter how difficult the battle was promising to be.

It all seemed to be going her way when she beat Seeker, Tracey's Azumarril with Spark, her Pikachu. Then Tracey released a Scyther called Sabredance and he beat all three Pokémon Lia chose: Spark, Pidgeotto and Chikorita. Lia recalled her last Pokémon with an air of disbelief as Tracey offered his Pokémon his respectful thanks. "H… how did you do that?" she asked.

Tracey smiled. "Sabredance is a lot older than you might think, Lia," he said. "I'm not sure exactly how old he is, but he is at experience level 65. So, frankly, you didn't stand a chance. Nonetheless, I think you did very well with what you had to hand. Both of you did." Tracey grinned without a hint of condescension or smugness. "You are both fine Trainers, and you will go a long way. Come on, Pewter City awaits."

Pewter City, as its' name suggested, was a city of brown shades and modest down-to-earth folk. Colonised primarily by ethnic Japanese during the first decade of the 21st Century, Pewter had become the commercial hub of the mining industry in Kanto until all mineral extraction industries went off-planet to the Moon and the Asteroid Belt in the early 2050s.

The city's Pokémon gym, the Boulder Gym, was a towering cathedral-like structure with tall towers over a low-slung circular fighting arena renowned for being strewn with obstacles that made winning the Boulder Badge all the more difficult.

Tracey parked his 4WD outside the Pokémon Centre and the four travellers (plus Pokémon) entered the standard tyre-shaped building through its' automatic doors. The interior proved to be very different from the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City. The atrium was a plain area, decorated with a few polished obsidian busts of famous Trainers from Pewter City and dominated by a rendition of the League's Pokéball logo in polished coloured stone. One thing that was the same was the woman at the main desk.

"Good morning," Nurse Joy Burke said with a neat, professional smile. "Welcome to the Pewter City Pokémon Centre. Can I help you?"

"Very professional, Jay," Karlie said with a grin.

Joy laughed. "It's good to see you, Kaz! How are you doing?" The two women hugged happily for a moment before separating. "And it's good to see that you're still towing your man around," Joy continued. "Are you going to tie him up and force him to propose any time soon?" Tracey went bright red and Peter and Lia looked on in profound incomprehension.

"Nah, why spoil the fun?" Karlie asked.

"Um… Nurse Joy?" Lia asked. Joy seemed to metamorphose from a mischievous young woman to a professional Pokémon Nurse in a blink of an eye and smiled at the two novices. "I'm Lia McAlester, and this is Peter Croft. We'd like to book in to the Pokémon Centre, please."

"Of course," Joy said. "Can I see your ID cards please?" Once the formalities were completed, Joy took the youngsters' Pokémon off for healing and Peter and Lia went off to settle their stuff in the dorm rooms that Joy had assigned to them.

When they returned to the atrium, Tracey and Karlie were still there. "We're meeting the three people who will take Mimey to Pallet Town here," the Pokémon Watcher explained. Suddenly, a shadow fell on the square outside. "Maybe that's them now!"

As they looked on, a Charizard, a Dragonite and an Aerodactyl landed outside the Pokémon Centre. Peter could only gape in surprise. As the three Trainers riding the Dragon-types pulled off their aviator's flying goggles and dismounted, Peter suddenly realised that he recognised all three of them. The first to dismount was Aerodactyl's Trainer. It was a tall man, oriental like Lia, with untidy black hair and wearing a green body warmer with dozens of pockets over his orange tee shirt.

Next off was Dragonite's Trainer. She was a tall woman with the build of a dancer, thin but far from scrawny. She was wearing long jeans, a white blouse, open at the neck, and a denim jacket. She wore her medium-length ginger hair in a single ponytail.

Finally, Charizard's Trainer dismounted. He was a tall, muscular young man with a firm but friendly face. He had neat black hair with a spiky front fringe. He was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and a brown bomber jacket. As Peter looked on, he pulled a battered red-and-white League baseball cap out of his jacket and put it on. A Raichu jumped off of Charizard's back and climbed up the man's back, hanging onto the back of his jacket so he could see over his right shoulder.

The three Trainers recalled their mounts and walked into the Pokémon Centre, looking very confident. "Hi, Trace, Kaz," the man wearing the baseball cap called out. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, Ash," Tracey said easily. "How are you doing? And you Misty, Brock?"

"We're just fine," the woman (Misty?) answered. "Glad to be going home."

"And how about you Raichu?" Karlie asked, stepping forward so she could tickle the electric-type between his ears.

"Rai! Ai-rai-ra-chu-aichu-rai-ra!" the Raichu replied enthusiastically.

"Ash Ketchum?" Peter squeaked as the five friends shook hands and exchanged hugs. Lia just remained silent, her mouth hanging open with surprise.

To be continued_