"So, is it true that your parents kicked you out of your house when they gave you to Maxie?" Archie asked her.
"Yes, or it certainly seemed like it when Maxie offered my mom something in exchange for me……."
"So in other words, that's a definite yes." Archie said.
"I guess so…….." The girl said.
Now Archie said, "Well, there's two things you could do. You can either allow us to put you in an orphanage, or you can join my team. Let me tell you a little more about our team…… Our group is dedicated to fighting evil, we work with the police to keep Team Magma in check; so if you joined you'd be doing something perfectly legal, therefore you wouldn't have to worry about getting in trouble with the law. That's about all I can tell right now, as I don't want to put you in danger by telling you any of our plans."
The girl seemed to be considering what Archie had told her, so Archie said, "One more thing, our group is close-knit, meaning that everyone knows each other and is friendly with each other."
The girl considered this too, so Archie asked her, "How old are you?"
"I'm 15." The girl replied.
Now Archie asked, "Are you a trainer yet?"
"No, my parents never would let me become one……"
Now Archie said, "I'll tell you what, if you join my team I'll help you become a trainer. So what do you say?"
The girl hesitated for a minute before she said, "Okay……"
"So you'll join?" Archie asked her.
The girl nodded. Now Archie said, "Good, welcome to our family. Now if you'll come with me, I'll get you a uniform so that you can get out of that outfit you're currently wearing."
Archie and the girl stood up, and Archie took her hand and led her to a room where he got her a uniform. Then he took her to a girl's room that she would be sharing with several other girls, and he handed her the uniform.
"This will be you room, you'll be sharing it with several other girls. Please go inside and change into that uniform. Then bring your old outfit to me." Archie said.
The girl nodded and entered the room, she changed into the uniform, picked up her old outfit, and then she left the room to go meet back up with Archie. Archie saw that she hadn't been sure how to put on the bandana so he took it from her, and tied it around her head.
"There you go…….. Come on, we need to get you a pokemon."
Archie led her to a pokemon storage room where he took a Mudkip's pokeball off the shelf and handed it to her.
"That's a Mudkip, it's a water pokemon. Our team mostly deals in water pokemon, but you can have other types as well. However, water pokemon will make up the majority of your team.."
Now Archie asked her, "What's your name, child?"
"I…… I don't have one……. My parents never named me……."
"They didn't? Then I'll give you a name." Archie said.
Archie thought for a minute while trying to come up with the perfect name for her, and after thinking for a minute he thought of one, so he said, "Your name will be Sakura O'Hara. There that's better."
"Thank you." Sakura said.
"You're welcome." Archie said.
Just then, Thomas entered the storage room and saw the girl.
"You joined! Welcome!" Thomas exclaimed.
Now Archie said, "Yes, she did join. It took me a while to convince her before she decided to join, by the way, Thomas, do you mind adding Sakura to your group?"
"I don't mind at all. Welcome to the group, Sakura." Thomas said.
Now Archie said, "It's going to take her a little while to get used to her name as she isn't used to it. Her parents never gave her a name, so I just gave her one. Give her some time to adjust and be patient with her, help to guide her, and show her what she needs to do, and she should catch on rather quickly. Oh, and help her train her pokemon as she'll need to be able to defend herself from Team Magma."
"I'll do that……. If we're ambushed, I'll keep her close to me until she's experienced enough to deal with them with the rest of the group." Thomas said.
"Good." Archie said.
Now Archie turned to Sakura and said, "Sakura, the only thing you'll need to do is listen to Thomas and do as he directs you, he's only going to help you……. He won't do what Maxie did when he ordered you around, he's only going to try to teach you everything you need to know to become a great agent in Team Aqua."
Sakura nodded to indicate that she understood.
Now Thomas said, "One more thing, we'll all take care of you, you'll be a part of our Team Aqua family. You'll never have to be alone again."
Sakura smiled, things were starting to look up for her; he future was looking bright.
Now Archie said, "He's right, we'll all take care of you. You're like a daughter to me, and soon you'll be close to others and they to you."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind." Sakura replied.
Now Archie said, "Thomas, be sure to guide her, and help her catch more pokemon too."
"I'll do that." Thomas replied.
Archie turned back to Sakura and asked, "Sakura, is there a certain pokemon that you've always dreamed of having?"
"Yes, I've always dreamed of having a Skitty." Sakura replied.
"Then we'll help you catch one along with a Poocheyena, and don't worry we'll help you assemble your team so that you'll be a strong trainer." Thomas said.
Now Archie said, "Sakura, I think a Milotic would suit you perfectly. Thomas will help you find one, won't you Thomas?"
"Absolutely, I think that one would suit you too." Thomas said.
Now Archie said, "Thomas, you might want to map out her team so you'll know which pokemon you need to look for when you take her out with you."
"I'll be sure to do that." Thomas said.
Now Archie turned back to Sakura and asked, "Sakura, I almost forgot to ask you something……... When is your birthday?"
"My birthday is on March 27th." Sakura replied.
"Oh, my gosh! That's next week!" Thomas exclaimed.
"It sure is it'll be her 16th birthday. We'll have to be sure that we get you something to celebrate it. By the way, Sakura have you ever had a birthday party?" Archie said and asked.
"No…….. My parents never thought it was important to celebrate my birthday………" Sakura replied sadly.
"Cheer up, we'll throw you one, and we'll make sure that you get some gifts too." Archie said.
"Looks like we need to start looking for birthday presents." Thomas said.
"It sure does." Archie agreed.
"Boss, what about Sakura? Should we keep her at base until after her birthday?" Thomas asked.
"Yes, we'll keep her at our base until after her birthday, as I want her to start training that Mudkip I just gave her." Archie replied.
"Okay, so she'll work on raising her pokemon's level, and we'll look for birthday gifts." Thomas said.
"Right……. Hang on, I just thought of a good team for her……. How about a Staryu, a Mudkip, a Feebas, a Skitty, a Poocheyena, and a Spheal?" Archie asked.
"What do you think, Sakura?" Thomas asked her.
"That team sounds good to me." Sakura replied.
"Good, then we've got your team mapped out." Archie said.
"I know what I want to get her now, I just thought of it." Thomas said.
Now Archie said, "It's starting to get late, so let's all get something to eat, and then hit the sack. By the way, Sakura, I have a little nightdress that I need to give you, but I'll get that for you after we eat." Archie said.
"Okay." Sakura replied.
"Come on, let's get a bite to eat, I'm starved." Archie said.
"I totally agree, and I'm sure Sakura's hungry too. Aren't you Sakura?" Thomas said and asked.
Sakura nodded and Archie smiled, then together they walked to the dining room. When they enter the room, Sakura was greeted continuously by many members, who were overjoyed to have a new friend. Sakura was a little uneasy about all the attention, but she warmed up to it over a short period of time. Some of the grunts beckoned for her to come and sit with them, which she did.
Now Archie said, "You've all seen, Sakura, our newest member, she only just joined today so she's still fairly new as to how we do things; so be patient with her and help her learn what she needs to do."
The other grunts nodded and smiled at Sakura. Now everyone began eating, and some of the grunts began talking to her.
"I'm so glad that you decided to join! We need more girls in our team." One grunt said.
"Yeah, and you're at the same rank as us." Another grunt said.
"Uh……. Rank?" Sakura asked.
Now the first grunt replied, "Everyone starts out as a grunt when they first join. Then over time many people become Admins. There are other ranks too, but those are the most common ones."
"Okay, I get it now." Sakura said.
Everyone continued eating, and when the meal was over Archie took her to get a nightdress. Then he took her back to her room. Her roommates weren't in there yet, so Sakura changed into her nightdress and got into the bed that didn't have anyone's stuff on it, and went to sleep.