DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters, place names, etc. The only characters I own here are the lovely Samara Kantaris (or rather, she owns me...hehehe) and her 'rival' Ivan. I guess Stella's mine as well, you could say. None of the other characters are mine (although I heartily wish I owned Lance and Giovanni, but unfortunately I don't...)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: My summary of this chapter in the chapter plan I wrote makes it sound all interesting...lol...let's hope it's lived up to its summary.

I'll reply to any new reviews when I post the next chapter (and it shouldn't take too long, hopefully). Methinks I'll have some explaining to do as well hee hee. Enjoy!


It wasn't eight o'clock yet, so after getting something to eat and healing her Pokémon at the Pokémon Centre, Kantaris persuaded Tyson to kill time with her by wandering around Pewter City idly. She would never class herself as a tourist or a person who appreciated culture and sightseeing, but she also figured that, seen as she was travelling, she might as well explore each place. After all, you never knew what you might find out. And she would probably not get the chance to travel again at her own will once her Gym Challenge journey was over. Of course, that wouldn't be for a long time yet.

It was common for trainers to expect to be gone for only a few weeks while on the Gym Challenge. But almost as soon as a trainer actually set out, he or she realised how different it would truly be. The Gym Challenge meant touring the country, either on foot or bike (unless one of your Pokémon knew how to fly). Kantaris was beginning to understand that she probably wouldn't be back for a few months, at least.

Anyway, Pewter City looked like an interesting, historical place to live. It was obviously quite old. But there was nothing much there to catch Kantaris' attention. She wanted to be on her way. So she and Tyson set off an hour early on the road that led east. It wasn't an easy road: it was winding and quite steep, and Kantaris was surprised at how many trainers were battling on the road and on the surrounding slopes. She looked around eagerly, pushing for a battle with somebody. Most of the trainers, however, were either engaged in their own battles or were looking elsewhere, obviously unwilling to fight.

It took two days for Tyson and Kantaris to reach the edge of the mountain range, travelling as far as possible by day, camping by night, and by the evening of the second day, Kantaris was considering ambushing the next trainer who avoided eye contact. She was itching for a battle and Tyson, watching her out of the corner of his eye, seemed to notice.

"If you really want to battle," he said once they'd reached the top of the hill, "I'll take you on."

Kantaris narrowed her eyes dangerously and their gazes met.

"You sure?"

"If you want..." Tyson said casually, evidently not as bothered as Kantaris was.

Kantaris nodded stiffly and the two trainers paced in opposite directions. They turned to face each other. Tyson only had one Pokémon, and Kantaris was a little disappointed. She'd been hoping for an evenly matched, gruelling battle in which she could prove her skill and show off a little. But experience was experience.

Tyson took out his first Pokéball and held it at arm's length.

"Fearow, go!" he called.

A majestic Fearow appeared, perched on the 'battlefield' between them. It crowed loudly and scratched the ground with its talons, eager to take flight. Kantaris frowned thoughtfully.

"Cyndaquil!" she called, pressing the button on Cyndaquil's Pokéball. She wanted to see if owning a Gym badge really did make Pokémon listen to you. "Quick Attack!"

"Take flight, Fearow," Tyson said. And Fearow did so.

Cyndaquil carried out Kantaris' order, but missed hitting Fearow by a few inches. It landed squarely and regained its balance.

"Ember!" Kantaris commanded.

The red spots on Cyndaquil's back flared up as it readied a fire attack. A split-second later, a small fireball shot from its mouth and into the air. It caught Fearow on its right wing, and the bird fell to the ground. It landed on its feet, but wobbled around on the field, trying to take off again with its left wing in the air and its injured right wing trailing on the floor.

"I think it's burned," Kantaris said.

"Peck attack!"

"Dodge it and do a Quick Attack!"

Fearow's eyes seemed to glow as it looked at the tiny Cyndaquil before it. It staggered forward to attack, but Cyndaquil was too nimble and quick. It jumped into the air, avoiding Fearow's beak, and delivered a respectable Quick Attack to the back of the head. Fearow toppled over and squawked, trying to get back on its feet using its good wing. Kantaris wasn't sure that she should attack it when it was down, but...

"Finish it with a Flamethrower!"

The fire on Cyndaquil's back grew even more, and it blew out a stream of fire. Tyson re-called Fearow before the fire could hit it.

"You win!" he said, throwing up his hands in surrender. "Are you wanting money?"

Kantaris glared at him for a second, annoyed that he wasn't bothered about having lost. But she shook her head and declined the money. (That was the second time she had done it! What would Giovanni say if he knew she was turning down rightful cash rewards? Goodness knows.)

"We'd better get to a Pokémon Centre," Kantaris said.

Tyson agreed, and they carried on their way. After about ten minutes of walking, they came to a tall cliff that rose in front of them. It would have been a dead end if it weren't for the tunnel set into the cliff face. And next to the tunnel entrance was a rustic Pokémon Centre, made entirely of logs. Kantaris and Tyson stopped there just to get their Pokémon healed. Then they set off into the tunnel even though it was dark and cold by now and Kantaris would have preferred to stay the night at the Centre. She suggested this to Tyson, making the excuse that she was tired, but Tyson said,

"Don't worry. We'll camp out in Mount Moon like most people do."

Kantaris was alarmed at the prospect of sleeping in a tunnel: she wasn't a coward, and she was more than used to roughing it at night, but...sleeping on the floor in an underground tunnel? Ugh.

But once inside Mount Moon, Kantaris didn't feel so worried. There were lights along the ceiling, and the tunnel wasn't constricted. Echoes could be heard of trainers talking and laughing further down the tunnel, and people seemed to be coming and going all the time. Best of all, Kantaris soon forgot that it was late, because inside the tunnel it didn't matter what time of day it was.

The tunnel gradually widened even more until eventually Kantaris and Tyson found themselves standing on a ledge above a large chamber. There were some steps leading down to the floor of the cave, and Kantaris followed Tyson down. The ground on the bottom wasn't muddy. It was covered with thick, soft sand that gave way a little when stepped on. It was like an underground beach, Kantaris thought.

Tyson took his coat off and threw it down next to a cluster of rocks. Kantaris did the same with her bag. Then she began scouting for other trainers again. Tyson sat down on his coat and said,

"Hey, I thought you were tired."

Kantaris laughed and dismissed his remark with a disdainful wave of her hand. She took her coat off and dumped it over her bag before running off to find...whatever she could find. New Pokémon, trainers to battle...anything would do when she was feeling this adventurous.

Over an hour later, when all of her Pokémon except Cyndaquil were too exhausted to battle anymore, Kantaris returned to where she had left her stuff. Tyson was asleep, his cap pulled down over his face to block out the light from the torches that lit up the cave brightly. Kantaris was, by now, too tired to bother doing anything else, so she sat down on the soft, warm sand. She put her bag against a rock and used it as a pillow, then pulled her coat over herself as a blanket. It didn't feel so bad.

She was awoken after what seemed like only a few minutes. Tyson was whispering her name and shaking her gently.

"What?" Kantaris sat up and rubbed her eyes.

The cave had been noisy before, but now it was silent. The lights had been dimmed. Kantaris looked around and she could vaguely see figures stretched out on the ground and curled up next to rocks: everyone was asleep.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Two," Tyson replied. "But you gotta see this!"

He helped her to her feet and motioned to her to be quiet. He led her to the opposite side of the chamber then down some stairs and round a corner to a ledge. He pointed over the side and Kantaris leant over carefully. There was another small chamber directly underneath the ledge, but it wasn't lit up at all. Or at least, it wasn't lit up by wired lights. But there was a strange silver glow coming from a large, black stone that lay in the centre of the chamber. This would have been enough to make anyone gasp, but there was something more beautiful.

Dancing around the stone were several small Clefairies. They were skipping around the stone, singing and whistling. It looked like some sort of ritual dance. Kantaris watched, speechless. Then suddenly, the Clefairies stopped dancing. They turned and stared at one of their group: it was glowing white and slowly changing shape. The rest of the Clefairies looked as entranced and mesmerized as Kantaris herself was. When the glow faded, standing in the place of the Clefairy was...

"A Clefable!" Kantaris hissed.

She had no Pokéballs with her, but this didn't stop her. She dived forward excitedly before Tyson had chance to react. The Clefairies all ran off. Kantaris snatched at the Clefable's wings as it scurried off after them. She missed it by about an inch. She stood up and stomped her foot childishly.

"Damn!" she said.

She looked up to find Tyson leaning against the wall, laughing and clutching his sides.

"You're a scream, Kantaris," he said.

Kantaris grunted in reply. As a consolation prize, she bent down and picked up a small piece of the black rock that was on the floor. She climbed back up onto the ledge and waved it around in Tyson's face.

"She who dares wins!" she exclaimed, throwing the stone up and catching it. She examined it. "What is it, though?"

"Just a rock..." Tyson replied with a shrug as they went back to where they were 'camped'. Then a smile spread across his face. "Only joking. Don't you know what it is? It's a Moonstone!"

"A Moonstone?" Kantaris hated to sound this stupid.

"Yeah. It evolves certain kinds of Pokémon."

"Like Clefairy?" she asked, full of curiosity.

"Yeah, exactly," Tyson replied, smothering a laugh as he remembered how Kantaris had thrown herself at that Clefable without even so much as a net.

The two Rockets went back to sleep and didn't get up again until they were feeling wide-awake and raring to go. Kantaris was glad of the rest: she knew she'd be busy once they arrived in Cerulean. Her first order of business would be to tail Tyson and get into the laboratory, somehow. She would just take a peek at what Team Rocket's scientists were up to...just so that she'd know. When that was completed and her curiosity was satiated, she would go and challenge the Gym Leader for her next badge.

When they were both awake, Tyson and Kantaris crossed the large chamber and climbed the stairs to the exit on the other side. They stopped at a small restaurant to get something to eat before going outside for Tyson to 'get his bearings'. They were standing on a hill, overlooking Cerulean City. It was a beautiful place, surrounded by lakes. Tyson nodded.

"This must be Cerulean Cape," he said with a cheeky smile. "It's a popular 'night spot', so I hear."

Kantaris rolled her eyes.

The path down to Cerulean City from Mount Moon seemed a lot smoother than the path up to Mount Moon from Pewter City had been. Kantaris was relieved. Now her only concern was keeping an eye on Tyson, who seemed to be drifting ahead. She was afraid that he would find out soon enough that she was intending to follow him to the lab. In fact, she was surprised he hadn't said anything yet. Maybe he didn't mind.

"Hey, you! Kantaris!" someone yelled from up the road.

Startled, Kantaris stopped walking and turned round. She glanced at Tyson and was pleased to see that he had stopped walking as well. But the sight of Ivan walking down the hill towards her didn't please her.

Ivan punched Kantaris on the shoulder lightly, and she scowled in reply.

"What do you want now?" she asked. "Come on, I'm in a hurry."

She glanced at Tyson again, terrified he was going to run off. Sure enough, he was backing down the hill slowly. The expression on his face was unfathomable, as if he were caught between deciding whether to stay or go. Kantaris opened her mouth to say something.

"I'll meet you at the bottom of the hill, okay?" Tyson called, his voice full of uncertainty. "Call me if you need any help."

And before Kantaris could say anything but a brief 'no', Tyson jogged off down the slope. Kantaris was about to follow him straight away, but Ivan took hold of her coat sleeve.

"So you got your first badge after all?" he asked, glancing at the badge on her pocket. "I'm surprised."

"Why? Where's yours?" Not that she particularly cared.

"Just 'cos I don't flaunt it, doesn't mean I don't have it," Ivan said apprehensively, shrinking back a little.

Kantaris didn't believe that he had even earned a Boulderbadge, of course, but she didn't have the time to stand around questioning it. She yanked her arm free so harshly that her fist caught Ivan on the chin. But she didn't care. She started walking off down the hill briskly, trying to catch up with Tyson. As before, Ivan followed her at a safe distance.

"I guess you'll be going to Cerulean City Gym now?"

"Later!" Kantaris snapped, totally preoccupied with finding her companion.

"Okay. Come and find me when you do. I went round the other night and the Gym Leader wasn't there."

Kantaris shook her head vehemently and said nothing. This guy was turning out to be a real pest. Wow, she hadn't been on the Gym Challenge for a full week yet and she'd already found a pest. Lovely.

"I'm going back this afternoon," Ivan continued, backing off even more now that Kantaris seemed to be ignoring him totally. "Might see you there."

"I bloody hope not!" Kantaris yelled, quickening her pace.

After about five minutes of continuous running, Kantaris reached the bottom of the slope. She was standing before a busy road leading into what looked like the town centre. She looked around frantically, thinking that Tyson must be miles away by now. Growling in anger, she crossed the road and pushed through the crowds blindly with no idea where she was actually going. She stopped a few people and demanded to know where she could find a research laboratory of some sort, but they all looked at her as if she were mad.

Kantaris slowed down and eventually stopped searching altogether. She stood on the pavement, looking around hopelessly at the endless throngs of people. There wasn't a familiar face in sight, and by now she had completely lost her way. She had to accept that she had lost Tyson as well.

In actual fact, Tyson was closer than Kantaris could imagine. He had ducked into an alleyway off the main road and was watching carefully from behind a lamppost. He had even seen Kantaris pause right outside the alleyway, catch her breath and wander off again.

Tyson waited for a few moments before emerging from the shadows. He caught a glimpse of Kantaris, still pressing on up the street, and for a moment he considered running after her and apologizing for leaving her behind. But no, he couldn't do that. He had to have courage in his convictions. And as much as he liked Kantaris – and he had started to like her considerably after their first brief conversation – it was blindingly obvious why she had come to Cerulean City with him. Tyson wasn't sure whether he should believe that Kantaris truly was on the Gym Challenge, but either way, she had been pushing for information about Team Rocket's scientific project practically nonstop in all the time they had spent together (a measly three days). In fact, if Tyson hadn't lost her then and there, he probably would have ended up saying something by mistake. He wasn't good at pretending to be ignorant, which wasn't so good considering he was a Rocket.

Tyson wandered out of the alleyway, pulled his cap over his head and headed in the opposite direction to that which Kantaris had taken. He convinced himself that she had always been beyond his reach anyway. Was Kantaris even her real name? He couldn't be sure. And wasn't she the Rocket who turned up on the Boss's arm at Viridian City every few days? Tyson remembered thinking, at one point, that she might have been the Boss's daughter. But just yesterday he had asked Kantaris if this was so, to which she had replied in astonishment,

"Am I what? His daughter? Hell, no!"

And she had spent the next five minutes laughing and shaking her head in amusement.

"You seem so close, that's all," Tyson had commented, shrugging as if it didn't matter to him.

"Really? Hmm." That was all Kantaris had said in reply, amidst her laughter.

Tyson began to speculate at this point. If she wasn't the Boss's daughter, then why would she seem so...? He came to the conclusion he should leave Kantaris well alone, just in case. He wasn't so stupid that he didn't know when to give up. If she was the Boss's girl, it would be a death wish to start chasing after her.

And as for the scientific project, Kantaris had probably known about it all along. She was probably just trying him out. And if not, she would find out about it, soon enough. The whole world would find out about it, soon enough...

The weary Kantaris carried on until she came to a travel lodge. She took out a cheap room for three nights, and once in the room, she threw down her bag and sat down on the bed. Her back and legs ached from running and sleeping outside, and she was exhausted. She was also feeling more than a little grumpy: annoyed with Tyson for running off, and furious at Ivan for his bad timing. Kantaris looked in the mirror above the dresser. Her makeup was smudged, leaving thick black swirls of eyeliner underneath her eyes. She looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards after having a bucket of water dumped on her head. She pulled a brush through her hair, wincing at the amount of tangles.

Kantaris barely had the energy to stand up, but she pulled herself to her feet and stumbled into the bathroom. After taking a shower and drying her hair, she collapsed onto the bed and was asleep within minutes.