As we finally walked over the rise we all stopped and either laughed with joy, exhaled with relief or just stood there staring at it in disbelief. "Hey look there! It's Goldenrod City." Ash said, pointing it out. It was kind of hard to miss, seeing as it was just so big!

When we got into the city, it became so hard to navigate that I ended up holding onto Misty and Brock just to keep from getting separated from them because there were so many people bustling about that it was almost impossible to breathe.

"Woah…this place is humongous!" Yeah it's great, can we go to the Pokémon Centre now? Suddenly Misty darted over to a window, looking inside as she gasped.

"And so are the savings in this store's annual super sale!" She exclaimed so I walked over to take a look myself.

"No way! I love those shoes!" I squealed but then quickly shook my head to focus. No I mustn't get distracted, have to find Pokémon Centre to collect egg and my Pokémon. This is no time for shopping or eating those delicious smelling hamburgers…

"We gotta go! We have a gym battle to win." Ash said, interrupting everyone but I stepped forwards.

"Ash, our Pokémon are tired. We'd be better off stopping at the Pokémon Centre first, plus I want Nurse Joy to look at Dratini because she's still not looking any better. And also I have a package there waiting for me that I have to go collect right now." I told him. "So let's go!" I grabbed him and Brock to drag them down the street, Misty hurrying to catch up.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Once everything has been sorted, of course we can go window shopping and maybe buy some new things, because I could do with a new bag pretty soon, this one is starting to look old and was peeling apart around the edges.

We tried to find our way to the Pokémon Centre but all of the directions seemed to only take us further away or lead us to dead ends because they were so complicated! Someone really needs to figure this out. "Wait, so we took a left and then a right, but we should have taken a right and then a left?" I questioned as Brock looked at the guidebook map, which didn't really help much.

"I…think so? Everything is so complicated, there are so many streets here that it's like a labyrinth!" He said, pushing the map a little further away to try and see if he could spot the route any better from a distance.

"Just great. We've been walking around for an hour and now my feet are killing me." Misty complained. "And we're still no closer!" I was getting pretty impatient and worried right about now. Dratini was sick and needed Nurse Joy's help, and that egg needs me to protect it!

"Okay guys, desperate times call for desperate measures." I announced, turning around to face the main street from the dead ended alley we had taken then closed my eyes, pressing my fists together in front of me as I cleared all thought and emotion from myself and focused on the egg's energy.

"Ruby no! You know the professor said it's dangerous to try and use your gift, you could hurt yourself!" Misty said with worry, stepping forwards but I ignored her. "Ruby?" I was already focused on my inner self, pushing away all distractions then reached out for the sense I was looking for.

Suddenly I found it, a pulling that made me step forwards out onto the street to turn left, going back the way we came before I was pulled into a new street to the right, the others following me as I walked with worried and curious expressions. "You know it's kind of creepy when she does that." Ash murmured behind me.

"I still don't get what exactly it is Ruby can do. It's like she can just reach out and connect with any Pokémon, but how?" Brock replied as I took them down another street, my eyes still closed. "Maybe we should try asking Professor Oak about how his research is going into it."

"Ruby is not a research topic." Misty said pointedly, lifting her head up. "Although we know very little about this, I think Professor Oak is wrong when he tells her not to try and harness and develop her ability. She's never been any danger before so why shouldn't she at least try?"

"Because Professor Oak is experienced and knows what he's talking about?" Brock suggest simply before changing the subject. "Hey look! It's the Pokémon Centre!" Instantly I opened my eyes and dropped my stance, looking up to see the Pokémon Centre just down the street. Brock raced past me but I quickly sped forwards and overtook him, beating him to the desk where I instantly turned to Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy! You have to help me, please! My Dratini has been looking really sick for a week or two now and nothing I do helps, will you please take a look at her and make sure my other Pokémon are okay, please?"

"Of course! I'll see to your Dratini right away." She said, letting me hand over my Pokéballs but before she could leave I quickly caught her attention again.

"And there should be a package for me here? I'm Ruby Bates and I asked that it be sent here for me to pick up." I told her and she smiled.

"Oh yes of course! I've been wondering for a long time now if the package had been sent to the wrong address but I hung onto it just to make sure. It's right here for you." Nurse Joy said, ducking under the desk and pulled out a large box which she handed over to me. "And don't worry, I'll get your Pokémon back to fighting shape in no time." She assured me so I nodded my head and gave a wry smile before taking my box and sitting down with it.

"Hey, is that the egg?" Misty asked as the three of them walked over and I nodded my head as I peeled off the tape. "That's great! I can't wait to see it hatch, won't that be amazing?" She asked Brock who nodded his head.

"I'll admit I'm curious to see it hatch. If you need any help raising the egg Ruby then I'll be happy to lend a hand or give you some pointers." Brock told me so I gave a small smile.

"Thanks guys, you're the best." But Ash was now getting impatient.

"Come on! Let me see!" So I opened up the box and there it was, sitting in a portable incubator tank with a minimised Pokéball sitting on the top of the lid, my egg sitting safely inside with two Pokéballs resting beside it. "Wow that's so cool! Can I hold it?"

"No." I answered instantly. "I don't trust you not to drop it Ash Ketchum." I told him as I first lifted out Bulbasaur and Pidgeot's Pokéballs. "Hey guys, I've missed you both." I whispered before tossing them up into the air. "So come on out!"

I stood with the egg tank in my arms, watching as Pidgeot and Bulbasaur appeared. They blinked then looked at me, taking a moment to register my presence before they both beamed at me.

"Bulbasaur!"

"Pidgeo!" Bulbasaur wrapped his Vine Whip around me and lifted me up into the air as Pidgeot fluttered her wings, pecking at my ponytail and rubbing her head into me as I squealed with laughter, overjoyed to have them both back with me.

"I've missed you guys too! I was so worried about you all but you did a great job protecting the egg. Did you run into any trouble?" I asked but they both shook their heads. "Great, I'm glad neither of you got hurt at all." I smiled then felt a bubble of warmth grow inside my chest, a sensation of peace and gladness washing over me which I instantly knew came from the egg. "And I'm glad you're safe too." I whispered to it as Bulbasaur gently lowered me down.

Kneeling on the floor I beamed as I hugged him, rubbing his bulb in a massage to relax any tension there as Pidgeot folded her wings around us all, continuing to rub her head into me as I giggled. Well, now that the band is all back together we're only waiting on Dratini to get better. "Okay you two, I better call Professor Oak to let him know we're all together again safely." I said to them, kissing Bulbasaur's head then Pidgeot's as I stood up. "I'm very proud of both of you, so you both take a nice long rest to prepare for our Gym battle later! Okay?"

"Saur Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur nodded his head, giving me one last tickle with his vines before I returned him to his Pokéball.

"Pidgeo, Pidgeo Pidgeo!" Pidgeot said to me, gesturing to the egg and I nodded my head.

"I promise I'll look after it. Nothing will happen whilst I'm here to keep an eye on things and with you guys to help protect it." I told her, giving her one last hug before I returned her too then went over to the video phone as the others gave their Pokémon to Nurse Joy and Misty dragged Brock away by the ear.

The moment I called it was picked up by Tracey. "Hi Ruby, how's it going?" He asked and I smiled with a nod of my head.

"It's going great thanks Tracey, we've just got to Goldenrod City and we're getting our Pokémon checked out at the Pokémon Centre." I told him. "How are things down your end?"

"They're great! Being Professor Oak's assistant is such an honour, I learn more and more about Pokémon every day and everything seems to just go perfectly." Just then I heard a crash and I blinked in alarm as Tracey gave a nervous laugh. "Well, almost."

"Is that Ruby I hear?" Professor Oak asked as he walked on screen then turned to me with a smile. "Ah! Good to see you Ruby, and I can see you've got the egg safely. Well done. Now be careful with that, alright? Don't let too many people see it in case the wrong eyes notice it. I've already suffered a rather…physical tantrum of your mother as she demanded to know what we were both thinking." The professor winced in memory and I felt his pain. When mom got really angry, she tended to break things. A lot.

"Wow, sorry about that." I gave a grim smile before chuckling. "But I'll be fine. We're pretty tough trainers and our Pokémon are really strong, it would be hard to try and take this egg away from me unless someone was willing to have the fight of their lives for it."

"True. I have absolute faith in you. By the way, it seems Nurse Joy is wanting to have a word with you." I turned to find Nurse Joy standing behind me, however her face wasn't smiling and my heart instantly plummeted.

"What is it? What's wrong with her? Is everything okay?" I asked but Nurse Joy only sighed.

"I'm afraid I can't find anything wrong. She's perfectly healthy and in excellent condition. If anything I would say it was a mental issue and I'm worrying that she may be feeling a little depressed." Depressed? But why would she be feeling depressed?

"But Nurse Joy, I love all my Pokémon and I give them the best quality of life I can offer. I play with them, train with them, give them plenty of affection and spend time with them, how can Dratini be feeling depressed?"

"I'm not sure, it may just be a phase it's going through. Maybe after some proper relaxation and maybe even some time away from you, Dratini will snap out of its psycological state and return to normal." Nurse Joy told me as I hung my head. "Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. It just happens sometimes when Pokémon feel a little down on themselves."

"Okay. Thanks Nurse Joy." I said so she smiled and lifted a tray with all my other Pokémon.

"On the other hand, your other Pokémon are in the best of health they can be. I'm very impressed with the way your take care of your Pokémon, Ruby, I can see that you spend a lot of time tending to their every needs." I took my Pokémon back and thanked Nurse Joy who gave a polite little bow then returned to her desk whilst I just looked down sadly at Dratini's Pokéball.

"Oh dear, I hadn't realised Dratini was feeling so unwell." Professor Oak said to me as I turned around.

"I just don't understand it. Maybe if I try to…"

"No, absolutely not. I forbid it!" Professor Oak quickly interjected as he read my mind. "You know how I feel about this, Ruby."

"But Dratini needs help!" The professor hummed in thought, scratching his chin until finally snapping his fingers with a smile.

"I've got an idea. How about you send your Dratini over to me for a while. It'll give me a chance to study it and try to find out what's wrong." He said to me before giving a little laugh. "And I know Tracey has been eager to do some sketches of Dratini for a long time now." Sighing in defeat I nodded my head.

"Okay." I looked down to Dratini with a soft smile before kissing her Pokéball. "Just get better for me, please?" I whispered before putting her in the transportation unit. "I'm sending her over to you now."

"Pokéball received." Professor Oak nodded his head, lifting up the Pokéball to let me see. "Your Dratini has arrived here safely. Don't worry Ruby, you just focus on your next gym battle and don't worry about a thing." Easier said than done, I was fretting over Dratini more than a Kangaskhan over a lost baby!

"No problem professor, thanks a lot." I said to him, putting on a brave face until the call finally cut out. I found a seat and dropped down in it, hugging the egg to me as I tried not to think about my poor Dratini.

"Hey Ruby, it turns out the gym is actually closed for today." Brock said as the others walked up to me.

"And we figured you could do with some cheering up." Ash said, looking perfectly serious with a smile.

"So, we thought we could go shopping and get something to eat!" Misty said brightly. "How does that sound?" I took a deep breath, letting all worry and concern wash over me before I stood and smiled at my friends.

"It sounds great, I vote hamburgers." So we head out and went to the galleria, where it was full of floors dedicated to food whilst the others were full of clothes, shoes, accessories, trainer equipment and everything else you could ever want! Sweet!

We went to the food court first and bought ourselves a big lunch to make sure we had enough energy to search the entire place for bargains and great stuff to buy. Misty and I did most of the shopping with the boys only tagging along to find stuff that may interest them, though Brock was pretty happy to check out the latest camping cooking utensils and all the pretty girls that walked past.

"Hey Ruby, what do you think of this one?" Misty asked, holding up a dark blue jumper with lighter blue bubbles on it. I hummed in thought, taking it from Misty to hold up against her and see how it looked.

"I think it would look great!" I decided and she giggled before putting it back. Of course we never bought anything unless with seriously needed it or it was at a bargain price. I bought my parents a pretty china statue of the three stages of Pidgey all nestled neatly on three branches at a jaw dropping price, so I had it wrapped, boxed and sent it off to them for a souvenir.

I was walking along through another aisle when I noticed something small glinting at me on one of the market stalls. I stopped to look at it, blinking softly before picking it up. It was a small silver charm like my Charmander, only it was a Dratini. I stared at it, watching it glint in the light before feeling tears rise to my eyes.

"Yes dear, it is rather precious isn't it?" The old lady tending the stall smiled kindly to me as I sniffed and wiped my eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine, thank you. It's just my Dratini hasn't been well for a long time now." I said to her with a wry smile. "I've been getting really worried."

"Aw, poor pet. Well, I have plenty of other charms if you'd like to look at them." She said to me, bringing the velvet padded tray of charms towards me so that I could have a look. "You take a look and select as many as you like."

"Thank you, they're all very beautiful. Did you make them?" I asked but the sweet old lady chuckled.

"No of course not. My husband does, only he has a quick temper and isn't very good at handling customers, though his work is everywhere. I see you already have one of ours." He noted, picking up my right wrist to look at it with a tender look on her face. "A Charmander?" She said questioningly so I explained.

"It was a birthday present from my best friends, they chose a Charmander because it was my very first Pokémon, though he's evolved into a Charizard now."

"Why, that's quite impressive. I see you're from Kanto, am I correct?" Nodding my head the lady smiled to me. "Well, you take your time to have a look through. We have all kinds and they are all on offer today." So I looked through every single one of them, admiring each before selecting the ones I wanted to buy.

I chose a Pidgeot, a Bulbasaur, and an Eevee for me but also a Charmeleon and Charizard to complete the set as well as the Dratini, before choosing another five for an extra bargain price. So this time I chose a Togepi, Totodile, an Onix, Vulpix and finally, of course, a Pikachu. "Well, it seems you have quite a selection there. Are all those Pokémon ones you own?" The lady asked me as I paid but I shook my head.

"No, these ones belong to my friends. I thought I'd get them as a way of saying thank you for being such great friends." I told her and she paused, a slow smile growing on her face before she picked up the Dratini then handed it to me.

"Here, you can have that one." She said as I blinked in surprise. "For being such a sweet girl and as a good luck charm, to help your Dratini get better." I had to blink quickly to hold back my tears as I smiled at her.

"Thank you so much." I said and slipped the ring onto my bracelet, setting it next to the Charmander before adding my others as well. I carefully slipped the others into my pocket, glancing once more over the Pokémon charms and the lady noticed my hesitation.

"Was there another one you were looking for pet?" She asked and I blushed.

"Oh…just a Squirtle. I was hoping to give it to my other friend who doesn't travel with us." I said. "But I won't take up your time any longer, thank you so much…"

"Now just hold on little missy, I may have some more in stock. You just wait right there." She directed before moving slowly with a shuffle over to the boxes at the back, rifling through them whilst humming under her breath.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something else I thought would be great to send back to Fraiser and Agatha back at the Safari Zone. I've been sending them emails and postcards for a long time now, the three of us staying in contact and I could see a stand of postcards next to a souvenir shop. "Here we are." The lady said, producing a little Squirtle charm and I instantly beamed.

"Thank you so much!" I said, reaching to get my money to pay for it but she shook her head.

"No, no, you keep that one two. I like you, little sweetheart, so you take that and good luck with all that you aim for." She said and I watched her carefully, regarding her sweet smile and motherly features.

"Thank you." I said to her, tucking the charm safely away. "And I will, I'll make sure that I will! Goodbye now!" I said, waving as I walked away so that some new customers could choose what they wanted.

I bought a postcard and some new gloves for Fraiser since he'd been complaining recently that his were getting old and I bought a new woollen hat for Agatha as I knew she had been meaning to get one for a while now but they were always so busy at the safari that they just didn't have time. I boxed these and sent them off too after writing in the postcard, smiling as I handed it over at the post office before racing to meet the others under the big cloak in the centre court.

"Hey you guys! I bought you all something!" I called, catching my breath as I met up with them.

"Oh hey Ruby, we were starting to think you'd gotten lost." Misty said as Togepi chirped in her arms. "You really bought us something? That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, I figured I owed you all something, since you guys are the best friends I've ever had so here." I said with a blush, handing out the Pokémon charms to each. Misty got the Togepi and Totodile with a little joke saying at least now she's got the Totodile she wanted, which made her giggle and beam at me.

"Thanks Ruby, they're beautiful!" To Brock I gave the Vulpix and Onix, which he smiled down at before pulling me into a one armed hug.

"They're really great, thanks Ruby." He said before attaching them both to the zip of his bag.

"Hey! What did you get me?" Ash asked so I shrugged.

"Oh I forgot about you. Sorry Ash." His face plummeted and Pikachu mirrored his expression by crashing on Ash's shoulder. I kept it bottled up inside for as long as I could before finally cracked up and started to laugh. "Only kidding, here you go Ash." I said and gave him the Pikachu charm. "For luck in our next gym battle." I said as he laughed, holding it up to the light.

"Wow it's awesome! Thanks Ruby!" I nodded my head, glad that everyone liked their gifts as I reached into my pocket and felt the little Squirtle, thinking of who I was planning on giving it to. Though until then…why waste such a pretty little thing? So I hooked it only my bracelet next to the Bulbasaur, smiling before walking with my friends back to the Pokémon Centre for some good rest before tomorrow.


Ash was crushed. He'd lost his battle against Whitney and his Pokémon were now in recovery after he'd rushed them there. I walked into the Pokémon Centre slowly, glancing around before looking at Brock. "How do I tell him?"

"Easy, just say it outright and then help him out by explaining how you defeated Miltank. It's important that you be honest but also supportive to Ash as his friend but at the same time, don't rub it in." I nodded my head, taking a deep breath before walking over to Ash and Misty as they waited for us to get back.

"Hey! How did it go?" Misty asked as she noticed us, standing up. "Did you win?" Ash lifted his head, eyes fixing on me as I gulped.

"Yeah. I uh…I beat Whitney." I told them both and Misty instantly smiled proudly.

"That's awesome! Isn't that great Ash?" He nodded his head.

"Yeah. Congratulations Ruby." I stumbled slightly, hearing Ash so in defeat was something I was not used to. He always used to come out on top no matter who he faced. I had had to wait for Whitney to get her Pokémon healed by Nurse Joy but the moment she got back to the gym she battled me only this time, she wasn't so lucky. But now I just felt bad because Ash had lost and he was feeling pretty beat up about it.

"Thanks Ash. So how are your Pokémon?" I asked and he nodded his head.

"Fine. They should be back to normal by tomorrow." Again that dead, senseless tone. Brock and Misty looked at one another with worry but I took a deep breath then sat down beside him.

"You know, it was a really close battle. I struggled with that Miltank but I used Eevee's dig to knock it up into the air before hitting it with Swift." I told him gently. "I know you feel bad about it now, but tomorrow you'll be able to challenge her again and this time, I know you'll win! You know why?" I asked and he shook his head, not bothering to verbally answer. "Because you're Ash Ketchum! And I've known you since we were both in diapers, and you never give up on anything." I stood up, placing my hands on my hips as I stood before him. "So I know that you won't give up until you have that Plain Badge, because you're on your way to become the greatest Pokémon Master there ever was. If winning gym battles was easy then it'll be no fun and no challenge, so think of this as just a little bump in the road."

"Ruby is right Ash. I bet after a good meal and some rest, you'll be ready to face Whitney again and now that you know what you're up against, you can plan a strategy." Brock agreed as Ash slowly lifted his head, blinking up at us.

"Yeah! You may be stubborn Ash, but sometimes that's a good thing. You're a hothead and rather reckless but somehow that creates a good strategy as you're able to then focus and use your crazy ideas to your advantage." Misty agreed as we all stood before Ash, giving him encouraging smiles as he slowly stood up. He took a deep breath, wiped his eyes clean then nodded his head with a new, focused and determined smile.

"You're right! This is just a little setback which I can overcome with my Pokémon!" He said, clenching his fists in a battle stance before he relaxed and looked around at us all. "Thanks guys, you're the greatest." In answer I reached out and hugged him, winding my arms around his neck in a sensitive gesture which he returned and Misty joined in with, Brock placing his arms around the three of us.


"Come on." He said after a while in a gentle tone. "Let's go get something to eat."