"All ready to go, Dawn?" Jim asked, all business-like, a map tucked under his arm as he entered the contestant's now-empty green room. "We have a lot of work to do between now and Celestic Town –"

"No worries," Dawn grinned, fixing her hat in the mirror. "Lillian said the contest in Celestic Town isn't for another three weeks, we have plenty of time to get there."

"Yes, there's lots of time to get there," Jim said patiently, hands in his pockets. "However, there are some new moves and techniques to master –"

"What?!" Dawn paused, hands frozen in mid-air as she played around with her ascot. "Why are we starting so soon? Piplup and Pachirisu did such a good job out there, they really shined –"

"Yes, and the judges, the audience, and your competitors have already seen you do that on national television," He said, ignoring the look Dawn shot him. "Do you honestly think that Zoey, Kenny, heck, even Ursula, weren't watching? They've seen what you've done, how you've grown since Floraroma Town when you were on the verge of quitting being a contender."

Dawn frowned, sticking her tongue out at him. "You're kind of a killjoy."

Jim shrugged, nonchalant. "It's the way the world works out there. Every time you succeed in something, there is always someone out there planning how to one-up you the next time you meet."

Dawn frowned, running a hand through her hair. "And I really wanted to hit the beach, I haven't been to a beach this nice in years!"

Jim shrugged, reaching for Dawn's yellow backpack. "I suggest making a note to return here once you become the Top Coordinator, unless –"

"I get it," Dawn sighed, stretching her arms over her head. "Train now and relax later."

"Exactly," Jim said, turning on his heel. "I'm thinking we should head towards Pastoria City first –"

"That's going to take us through Route 213 though," Dawn mumbled, glancing down at her pink boots. "It's all marsh land at this time of year."

"Which means that there will be different types of Pokemon there," Jim replied, opening the door of the green room. "It would be one way to throw off your opponents; they'll be expecting the likes of Piplup and Pachirisu."

Dawn frowned, taking her backpack from him. "Why are you always right?"

Jim laughed, patting her shoulder. "It comes with maturity, I suppose."

Dawn glared at him, elbowing him slightly. "That's mean; at ten we're considered mature enough for our own journeys."

Jim shrugged, letting his Mime Jr. out of it's Pokeball. "Perhaps so . . ."

Dawn grumbled to herself, glancing at the blue haired teen ahead of her. Sure, Jim's ideas had made sense at the time, but she was getting tired of wandering around in the marshes.

"I'm definitely going to need new boots," she muttered, glancing at her boots.

Her pink boots were caked in mud, the marshes attempting to suck her boots down with each step she took. Dawn suspected, if she was out there for much longer, she might finally lose her boot. Ten minutes prior, she had taken a step only to have the marsh attempt to claim her boot, sending her socked foot into the mud.

Scratch that, I need new socks too, she thought, adding it to her list as she heard her sock sloshing around in her boot, the mud seeping in between her toes.

"How is he doing it?" She grumbled, casting a look ahead at Jim.

He had switched out his dress shoes in favor of hiking boots, the heavy boots remaining in place. From her viewpoint, it didn't even look like Jim was having any problems with the uneven territory and mud underfoot, Mime Jr. resting on his shoulder.

"Hey Jim, are we ever going to see any – wah!"

It had past through his mind; it was strange how they had yet to see any wild Pokemon cross their paths. Hearing Dawn's voice he paused to look in her direction, a small smile threatening to appear on his features at her appearance.

Instead, he shook his head, making his way back to her. "Are you alright, Dawn?"

Note to self, Dawn thought. Don't get distracted.

In a final attempt for a victory, the marsh attempted to claim her boot, the mud holding it down as Dawn made to quickly catch up with Jim. With her momenteum stopping short suddenly, Dawn quickly found herself trying to catch her balance before stumbling forward.

What Jim saw before him was Dawn's once-pink boot sticking up in the mud, the blue-haired girl on the muddy ground, having tried to use her hands to brace herself. The mud had splashed a majority of the way up her arms and knees, the front of her outfit mud covered.

"I hate this – why'd we have to come this way?!" Dawn screamed, fed up. "I'm going to need new everything!"

Jim sighed, stopping in front of her, offering her his arm. "Come on, it's not that much further, Pastoria City's no more than half an hour away from here."

Dawn glared up at him, but took his arm anyway, muddying up his hand. "You owe me a nice comfy bed at the Pokemon Center for all this. We haven't even seen any Pokemon yet –"

To add her disapproval, a rumble of thunder sounded off to the east, making Dawn groan. "And now it's going to rain on me? After succeeding in getting a ribbon, this is a rather harsh way to treat me."

Jim shook his head, pulling Dawn up as she fumbled to place her foot in her once-pink boot. "If you want to beat the rain, we need to hurry then. If you think the marsh is bad now –"

"I hate this; you're torturing me, aren't you?" Dawn grumbled, freeing her boot. "Honestly . . ."

Jim shook his head, letting go of Dawn's hand as she regained her balance. "I suggest we don't dawdle then, Pastoria's still a little bit away."

Dawn sighed, but picked up her pace anyway. She wanted out of this marsh.

# # #

Melody sighed, leaning against the signpost that indicated both Pewter City and Viridian Forest. She fidgeted, glancing at the sky, the sunrise starting to cut through the darkness of night.

Her backpack sat at her feet, a map of Kanto hanging out of the side pocket. Meowth was curled up on the grass, the cat Pokemon having claimed it was too early to be awake.

I hope they still come . . . she found herself thinking, closing her eyes momentarily.

After leaving to speak privately with Ash's mom, Misty hadn't come back to their room at the Pokemon Center. Melody had shrugged it off at first; no doubt there was a lot they needed to discuss; she could only imagine the questions that would have plagued Mrs. Ketchum for the past year. But, when the clock reached midnight and then one a.m. Melody had given up on the Misty's return.

Meowth had mentioned that they were probably at the other twerps house – he seemed unable to shake off his nickname for them – discussing everything. Melody had accepted the option; she still believed that they'd be there in the morning, waiting outside town.

But, when she and Meowth packed up their few belongings in the morning and turned the key into Nurse Joy, Melody had a sinking feeling in her stomach. When she reached the outskirts of Pewter City she felt her heart sink a little bit.

No one was there.

She had spent the past couple weeks – or was it a month? So much had happened – travelling with Misty, could she really throw it away so fast? No, she shook her head; she knew they would come . . .

Half an hour past and the sun was starting to peak out over the top of the Viridian Forest.

"I don't tink dere comin'," Mewoth stretching as he cut through Melody's thoughts.

Melody sighed, pulling her beanie down slightly. "I guess you're right . . . I thought they would be above this," Melody grumbled, unimpressed as she pushed herself away from the sign. "Oh well, I guess we'll go and collect Jessie ourselves."

"Dey never liked Jess and Jim much anyway," Meowth said, falling in step with Melody.

Melody huffed, shaking her head. "That shouldn't matter, after everything you all went through . . . I mean, really!" To make her point known, she stamped her foot in annoyance.

"Aw geez, overdramatic much?"

Melody paused, glancing over her shoulder. Hands on her hips, Misty stood a handful of steps behind her, carrying her backpack. Brock stood beside her, also wearing a larger backpack, looking as if he was going hiking. Mrs. Ketchum stood off to the side, Pikachu on her shoulder.

"You're late!" Melody chirped, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was just about to leave you –"

"You wouldn't have gotten far," Misty cut in, smiling slightly. "Pallet Town's not a large town – there's no port there. The only way you're going to Cinnabar from there is with a Water Pokemon, Meowth is no good there."

Melody sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I'd catch one, obviously."

Misty shook her head, exchanging a look with Brock. "Well, lucky for you, I already have an Azurill and a Goldeen. Thankfully, Ash also had caught a Krabby, and Mrs. Ketchum here and kindly decided to loan us that Krabby –"

"Only catch is that we have to go and visit Professor Oak; he's not going to believe we're alive unless we show up at his door."

Melody nodded slowly. "Come on; let's get going, the day's-a-wasting!"

Misty rolled her eyes and Brock shook her head at Melody's enthusiasm as she wandered on ahead, beckoning to Meowth as she went.

# # #

May cursed her luck – she shouldn't have listened to Max.

Instead of sitting in their room at the Pokemon Center, with only the worn computer as company, she was wandering around in the pitch darkness of Granite Cave. Seriously, she thought that Cole would at least have taught his Aipom Flash – or at least brought a flashlight.

And, just to add to the unpreparedness of Cole and Max, they hadn't purchased an Escape Rope either.

"Just admit it," she said, almost tripping over another unseen rock. "We're lost; we have no idea where we're going."

"Aw come on May," came Cole's lighthearted voice. "It's not all that bad, I did manage to catch a Makuhita. You totally could have caught that Machop too."

May curled up her nose, pass. She wanted a cute looking Pokemon, like an Aron, but they kept escaping into the cave flooring when they approached. "I hate all this darkness, isn't it bothering you? Seriously, why didn't you teach your Aipom Flash?"

"May," came Max's voice, making May roll her eyes. She could tell from his tone, Max yet again, was going to show her up with his intense Pokemon knowledge. "You should already know this; you can't use the move Flash until you have the Knuckle Badge – something that Brawly has to give out."

May shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever, Max, but seriously, Flash aside, how about a flashlight?"

"That would just scare the Pokemon away," Max countered.

May paused for a second, before grinning. "But, Flash wouldn't scare them away?"

"It's a Pokemon move, it's probably different," he quickly replied.

May sighed, that was just like Max – he had an answer for everything! "Your pretty quite up there Cole, what do you think?"

. . . silence . . .

"Cole?" May said again, raising an eyebrow.

May jumped as there was a sudden light to her left, Max having opened up his PokeNav. May gritted her teeth together as she saw the device, her hands balling up into fists as she watched Max tap away at something on the screen, oblivious to her.

"Are you telling me you had that this entire time?" May muttered, holding back the urge to take the device.

Max glanced up, the light from the screen casting eerie shadows across his face. "Course I did, but we didn't need it until now," – May rolled her eyes, what kind of logic was that? – "I'm just loading up a map of the Cave, my best guess is that the path must have split off somewhere and Cole simply went the other way."

May shook her head, frowning. "How far back did the path split?"

Max was silent a moment, tapping away at something on his screen. "It was . . ." he trailed off, tapping the screen again.

May raised an eyebrow before narrowing her eyes slightly; Max trying her patience. Fidgeting slightly in the darkness, May grumbled before reaching forward, snatching the device away from unsuspecting Max.

"Hey!"

"You're taking too long," May retorted, holding the PokeNav over her head, out of his reach. "Just let me look, alright? Geez . . ."

Max huffed, but let up on his attempt to get the PokeNav back. "Don't break it, dad got it specifically for me."

"Uh huh, sure Max," May said, barely paying him any attention as she stared at the screen. "It looks like there was a path leading to the left, maybe Cole went that way instead?"

Maybe he used it as an escape path from all our bickering, she thought idly.

"That path's pretty steep," Max interjected, glancing at the device. "He would notice that if he unintentionally went that way –"

"And yet, Cole isn't here . . ." May mumbled; casting a glance around them. "There's not many options available to us."

And to make her point known, the battery symbol in the corner of the screen flashed red at May, the screen darkening moments later. Dumbfounded, May stared at the black screen, her vision suddenly gone. "Max . . . when did you last charge this?"

"Petalburg City . . ."

May gritted her teeth, annoyed. "This is all your fault, why did I listen to you?" May shook her head. "Cole? Cole are you out there? Answer ME!"

"Yelling won't help," Max said, always the calm one. "With a voice that loud, the cave might collapse, remember?"

May rolled her eyes, there was no way a cave open to civilians could be that dangerous, Max was just trying to get a rise out of her. May nodded at her conclusion, taking a moment to close her eyes and draw a breath to calm down.

We'll be fine, she told herself.

Opening her eyes, she paused, catching sight of something in the distance. It was faint, and maybe only her imagination, but she thought she saw a light in the distance, cutting through the dark cave.

"Max, do you see . . .?"

"Yeah," he said, catching sight of the light as well. "Someone else has the same idea as –"

"HELLO!" May shouted, trying to get their attention, her voice bouncing off the rocky terrain. "Is that you Cole?"

Max rolled his eyes, following the sound of May's loud voice and footsteps. "Didn't you just complain about the whole no-flashlight thing?" He said, May's voice drowning his comment out.

"Stay where you are," the voice came, a commanding voice. From the sound of their voice, this person was obviously older than them. "There's a hole in the floor around there."

May immediately paused, glancing at the unseen floor underfoot. "Max, you still there?"

"Course I am," he replied, pausing beside her, his hand reaching out for hers. "I'm not that stupid."

May nodded, turning back to the source of the light, which was steadily coming closer. May watched the beam of light sweep over the rocky flooring, the light revealing one hole, the tip of a ladder sticking out. May let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, twenty steps or so further and she would have plunged down into . . . what?

"What are kids your age doing down here?" The voice eventually said, the beam of light falling on the two of them. May opened her mouth to say something, but the disembodied voice beat her to it. "You kids should be at home, not wandering around some dark cave, under prepared."

"I'm not some kid, I'm a Pokemon Trainer –"

"You're still no more than ten, you're a child," the voice replied, shaking their head. "And without the use of Flash, you shouldn't be wandering around this far from the exit –"

"We're training with our friend," May said, staring over the beam of light. "Our friend is planning to battle Brawly tomorrow and we came in here to practice. We were using our PokeNav as a flashlight until the battery died and we got separated. We're trying to find our friend."

The person before them chuckled. "You wouldn't do your friend a lot of good if you fell down one of these manholes. If you were lucky, the best you could hope for was a months' stay in a hospital with a television."

"Who are you?" May said, narrowing her eyes.

Max noticed that May was opening her yellow fanny pack, reaching for Torchic or Skitty's Pokeball.

"Just a researcher," the man replied, dropping the beam of light slightly. "Now, you say there's one more of you wandering around the caves. Lucky for you, nighttime is the best time to do research here as no one's usually here. When I find your friend, I'll send him to the Pokemon Center."

"Thanks, but no thanks," May shook her head. "We can find him ourselves."

"At the very least take this," the man said, reaching into his pocket for something. "It should help you out in your travels."

May nodded, reaching for the offered item – what was it with random people giving you potions and such on your journey? – but her fingers curled around a rough surface – a rope, her mind supplied.

Before she could utter another word, a slight wind picked up around her and Max, and in seconds, they were stumbling away from the entrance of the Granite Cave. May shook her head, taking in the sight of the surf crashing against the beach in the moonlight.

"It was an Escape Rope," Max said, staring at the cave's entrance. "I recognized that voice though –"

"He was pretty pushy and rude," May commented, hands on her hips. "And Cole's still in there, what're we supposed to do now?"

"Don't you think that voice sounded like Steven Stone?"

May paused, staring up at the stars, thinking it over. "Maybe . . . but still! Seriously, what's the point of acting all mysterious like that; do you know how scary that was?"

Max nodded, wandering over to where May stood. "I know, it was . . ." he shook his head. "I vote we don't tell mom and dad that."

May agreed, no doubt her parents would send for them immediately, cutting their journey short.

"I wonder how long it'll be until Cole shows up?" Max said, staring back at the dark entrance.

May shrugged, dropping down into the sand. "No idea. You might as well get comfortable though; the cave only has one exit . . ." And, she wanted to see that researcher's face when he emerged.

# # #

Jessilina couldn't help but fidget, shifting her weight from one foot to another as she stared out the window, Vermillion Harbour on the other side. The Marina's office was small, a few desks lined up against the wall and people constantly coming and going. Officer Jenny had been out when they came in and they simply had to wait until she came back.

Karol had taken the news better than she did; as Karol simply nodded, heading towards the chairs situated underneath the window. Jessilina on the other hand, had tried to ask the officer to look over their passports and do the check himself, but he had shook his head, indicating to seats.

"Officer Jenny will be back in a few minutes," was his only comment.

Jessilina sighed, that was over half an hour ago.

"Why don't you just sit down?" Karol asked, looking up from the celebrity magazine.

Jessilina shrugged, turning her attention back to the window. "I just want to get this done and over with, I have places to go, people to see."

Melody had said she'd be in Cinnabar later today, and god only knows how long the brunette would actually wait for her to arrive.

Karol shook her head, flipping the page. "What's the big hurry? It's not like the Laramie Ranch is going anywhere. If you keep standing there and huffing like that, they're just going to question you more – that officer you were talking to earlier keeps looking in your direction. They're going to think you're hiding something."

Jessilina paused at Karol's words, shaking her head moments later, laughing awkwardly. "What would I have to hide?" she muttered, but sunk down into the chair beside Karol anyway.

The passport in her pocket felt like it weighed a ton. What if Officer Jenny recognized her? There was that Wanted poster of her and James . . . there were so many things that could have gone wrong. Idly, she thought she should have just come alone and tried to sneak over the border and not bother with all this.

"Where do you think Melody could be?" Jessilina asked, picking up another magazine, idly flipping through it.

"I can't say for sure," Karol said, looking up from her magazine, thoughtful. "She was always drawn to the ocean, but I can't see her hanging around here for long, maybe she went up the coast . . . or there's that Island down in the South," Jessilina tried to hide her surprise as Karol suggested Cinnabar Island, "But, Melody is known for doing different, so she could have headed off to the bustling cities of a million people like Celadon or Saffron," Karol let out a sigh, running a hand across her face. "It's going to be a needle in a haystack . . ."

Jessilina laughed slightly, nodding. "It might be, but if I find her on my travels, I'll let you know. It's an added bonus that I was heading this direction anyway."

Karol nodded, remaining quiet, her attention drawn back to the magazine. A few minutes past by and then the door to the Marina office opened once again, Officer Jenny walking inside.

"Jenny, welcome back," the officer they had spoken to earlier called, drawing their attention to the new arrival. "We have a couple people here who . . ."

Karol had stood up when she heard Officer Jenny's name being spoken, casting the magazine aside moments later. Following the officer's gaze, Jenny glanced over her shoulder at the two women.

"I received a call from you earlier," Karol said, cutting into the conversation. "It was about my boat being docked here, my name's Karol Lino –"

"Ah yes, I recognize the last name," Jenny said, beckoning for Karol and Jessilina to follow her. "Please, come this way, my office is just ahead."

Jessilina sighed, inwardly rolling her eyes as Karol motioned for her to follow. Just the thought of going into that office, the four walls seemed crowded in her opinion. She just wanted to disappear . . .

Karol closed the door to the office behind Jessilina, the two taking the seats offered to them. "We're just here to try and collect my sister Melody, she ran away from home a month ago – we never assumed that she would actually leave the Orange Islands," Karol shook her head. "I'm sorry for any disturbances she might have caused."

Officer Jenny nodded, looking through the files kept in the desk drawers. "I remember your sister, she docked here during the Ceremony regarding the S.S. Anne Tragedy and then disappeared into the crowd. If I remember correctly, she had a slight attitude –"

"Melody . . ." Karol muttered, running a hand over her face. "I'm sorry for anything she might have said in her haste."

Officer Jenny shrugged. "Its teenagers, however, the hardest part was trying to trace who the boat belonged to, considering she never returned to collect it."

"I'll pay whatever docking fees she owes," Karol said, cataloguing that Melody was going to owe her big time for talking her way out of it. "We've also docked another boat in the harbour, one borrowed from my neighbours back home, its currently docked at Dock number forty. I'm here in order to find my sister and bring her home, wherever she might be right now . . ."

Officer Jenny nodded, writing the information down on a piece of paper. "I haven't seen her since the day on the docks, but if you have a recent photo of her I can run it by the other stations in hopes that they might find her. If you're trying to find her based on intuition alone, you'll be looking for quite a long while."

Karol nodded, motioning to the window. "I left my bags back on the boat; I have a photo in there of her. That would be really helpful though, are you sure it's not too out of your way?"

Officer Jenny shook her head, waving the comment aside. "Its part of the job," she said, glancing at the two. "However, I will need to see some form of idea before you head off into Kanto."

Karol nodded, protruding her document, Jessilina following suit. Officer Jenny glanced up at Jessilina pausing momentarily. "You look familiar . . ."

"I'm a talk show host, our shows syndicated though," Jessilina said, her words rehearsed, her heart pounding against her ribcage.

Officer Jenny nodded, dropping the subject. Inwardly, Jessilina let out a breath, her thoughts running around in her mind. "I'll be back in just a moment," Officer Jenny said, standing up, the passports in hand. "One moment please."

Jessilina and Karol nodded, watching as Officer Jenny crossed the door, the door left ajar as she returned to the main office. Jessilina watched Officer Jenny's back through the window as she willed herself to not fidget. After what felt like a long time, Officer Jenny turned, heading back to the closed off office.

"Everything checked out," she said, holding the two passports out. "Now I just have to see to that boat of yours –"

"Sorry to interrupt," Jessilina interjected, smiling slightly. "Does that require both of our presence? I'm here on work relating to my talk show, as its Karol boat, I wasn't sure if both of us would be needed?"

Karol raised an eyebrow from behind Officer Jenny's back. Although Officer Jenny nodded at the request, distracted. "That's fine, considering the boat isn't registered in your name. One thing to note though is that you've been cleared for a months' visa in the country as you're here on work. When the month is up, you're to return here to either return to the Shamouti Islands or to extend your stay."

Jessilina nodded, mentally cataloging it away. "Understood, I'll see you in a month then. Good luck on your search, Karol!" Jessilina grinned, waving at her companion before turning on her heel, heading to the exit.

Jessilina could feel Karol's eyes on her as she exited the Marina office, trying her hardest to keep her pace steady, and not run out the door. When the summer air hit her face though, Jessilina grinned, pausing momentarily to take in the sunshine.

It's time for Jessilina to disappear, she thought idly, fishing out her printout of Kanto.

Inside the Marina, Karol watched Jessilina leave, watching the red-heads measured steps. She couldn't place her finger of it, but Jessilina was up to something, she was hiding something. Ever since they were told to wait by the security officer, and she made the joke about Jessilina hiding something, she had gotten fidgety.

"I docked the boat just down here," Karol said, shaking her head. "All the information you'll need is on board. I really appreciate all your help in helping narrow in the field of where my sister is."

As soon as this was over, she intended to head in the direction of the Laramie Ranch, if she remembered correctly, it was near Fuchsia City.

She wanted to know what Jessilina was really up to . . . her intuition was rarely wrong . . .

# # #