It had been quite the journey, I'll tell you that. After winning the Storm badge, we returned and won the Mineral badge from Jasmin but in the time in between, a lot happened. Misty captured a Corsola, a Pokémon she had wanted since she first saw one after we'd been thrown into the ocean and nearly drowned in a series of whirlpools, but then something mysterious happened. A Pokémon saved us, I'm sure of it, but it was unlike any other I'd seen before. Its aura had been something legendary, with untold peace and tranquillity around its calm nature which instantly told me that it was no ordinary Pokémon.

After that it turned out that Professor Oak was having trouble controlling things back at the lab with so many Pokémon, so both Ash and I decided to lend a hand by sending back Bulbasaur and Ivysaur to keep things under control for the time being.

"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Ash worried as we walked down a road alongside a beautiful meadow.

"Of course Ash, Bulbasaur is great at keeping the peace and Ivysaur will help him out." I assured him. "I'd been thinking of sending Ivysaur back to Professor Oak for a rest anyway, you saw how wiped he was after that battle with Chuck, I think he's just a little too old to do any serious battling at the moment with such little special training."

"You're right Ruby. Ivysaur just isn't used to the training you set all your Pokémon. I think a long rest is exactly what Ivysaur needs." Brock agreed before stopping and gazing out towards the trees. "How about we stop here for a little break?"

"Sounds great, it's really pretty here. Don't you think so Togepi?" Misty asked and Togepi trilled happily in agreement before jumping out of Misty's arms and toddling over to a cluster of pretty flowers.

"Pika!" Pikachu leaped off of Ash's shoulder, landed on my head then sprang to the ground to join Togepi and keep an eye on her as I slid my pack from my back and sat down for a while.

"This is the life." Ash sighed, collapsing to the ground and rolled around in the sweet smelling grass before spreading out to bathe in the sun. "All I need now is some ice cream and hamburgers." I rolled my eyes with a chuckle as I sat up then picked up one of my Pokéballs.

"All you ever think about is food. Right Dragonair, its play time!" I called and my beautiful dragon Pokémon appeared, lifting her head high then lowered down to my level to instantly wrap herself around me, cooing and singing softly as I giggled. "Dragonair, stop that! You know I'm ticklish!" I giggled, hugging he gently and rubbing her head until she uncoiled from around me. "Okay, how about we try that trick again, okay?" I suggested and she nodded her head, moving back away from me. "Hey guys, check this out!" I called and everyone turned around.

Suddenly Dragonair began to glow, her eyes closed as she concentrated but then she lifted off the ground and began to float a few inches off the ground, the orb at her throat glowing mysteriously with a silvery shimmer surrounding her.

"Wow…Dragonair can fly?" Misty breathed in awe as her eyes sparkled in wonder.

"That's amazing. You know, Dragonair can also manipulate the elements. Have you tried working on that too?" Brock asked as Dragonair began to snake through the air, working on her movements as I nodded my head.

"Yeah, we've tried but haven't got very far. It seems to be quite difficult to control as Dragonair is only just newly evolved." I said, reaching out and patting her side. "But I know she'll get it, with practice and some hard work. I know she can do it." Dragonair gave a proud call then nuzzled my face, resting back down on the ground again as I giggled then groomed her as a reward for her now perfect flying ability.

After we'd had something to drink and a little snack, we were back on the road again with Brock guiding us from his little guidebook. We walked through the valley, going up and over endless streams of hills until finally, we all spotted the nearby town nestled in the cradle of the valley. "I can see the town!" Ash called and pointed ahead.

"My trusted map says that's Eggsitter." Brock told us and I peered over his shoulder for some information. An egg raising town, known for raising healthy, quality Pokémon from little eggs. Looking down at the egg in my arms I smiled. It'll hatch soon, I know it.

"Just as long as they have a restaurant there, I'll be happy. I'm starving." Misty said with a smile as my stomach rumbled deeply.

"I second that one Misty." I agreed.

"Me too! Let's eat first thing." All of a sudden we heard a warning growl and we looked behind us to see an Arcanine racing down the path at top speed without giving any indication of stopping. "Woah!" Ash and I yelled as we leaped out of the way, turning to keep the egg out of reach as the Arcanine charged past but then I noticed the collar, and the rope, and then the person on a skateboard. No…way…

"Gary?!" He blinked, turning to see us then hastily put on the breaks, making his Arcanine stop.

"Woah! Hi Ash, hi Ruby." He greeted as we hurried over to him.

"Hey Gary, cool skateboard." Ash complimented as I looked at the Arcanine. No way, was that Gary's little Growlithe I used to play fetch with back at the lab? Wow! It looks so amazing!

"Thanks."

"Your Arcanine looks great Gary." Misty complimented as I just blinked in a daze. Gary's here. What's he doing here? And why is Arcanine wearing a collar?

"Yeah, it looks so strong and really well groomed too. You must have been training together a long time." Brock noted and Arcanine nodded his head with a proud bark as Gary answered.

"We have Brock." Then he looked at me. Somehow I found myself feeling a little uncomfortable, my hands going clammy and I could feel the heat flush to my face so I looked away. "Aren't you going to say hi to your old friend Rubes?" Gary asked so I bit back at him.

"My name is Ruby. Not Rubes." I retaliated then lifted my egg higher to hide my face. Why did he have to turn up now? I look a mess! Wait, since when did I care?

"I know that." He replied with a careless shrug but the movement made something catch my eye. The shine off his little Squirtle charm that was attached to his necklace and instantly I gave a tiny smile, looking down at my feet as I took a deep breath to calm down before finally coming out of my shell.

"Hey! Gary!" Ash called, grabbing everyone's attention as he whipped out a Pokéball. "Let's see how Arcanine does…in battle!"

"Sorry, I can't." Gary cut him short and Ash nearly fell over in shock. That had me frowning too. Gary refuse a battle? Now that's not like him. "It's way too big of a risk Ash. I can't let Arcanine get injured before the big race."

"Uh…big race?" Ash questioned and Gary nodded his head.

"Yup gotta go." He turned back and shot me a smirk. "See you later Rubes. Go Arcanine!" With that Arcanine powered forwards, leaving me growling behind.

"It's Ruby you jerk!" I yelled after him before pouting. "Stupid Gary Oak." But Misty was now smirking at me.

"So…what's eating you up?" She probed and I instantly frowned at her as Ash ran after Gary, yelling. Huh? What's she up to? "I think it's rather cute Gary has a pet name for you. Maybe he likes you?" Instantly I shuddered and felt like vomiting.

"No way! Gary Oak is just an arrogant jerk face. There's no way he'd be interested in me anymore than I'd be interested in him." I instantly defended before striding away. "Come on. I'm hungry." I marched over to where Brock and Ash stood only to feel all tension fly from my body as I watched the Pokémon and their trainers all speeding around on skateboards.

What was…going on? I don't get it. Those collars don't look at all comfortable, why were all the Pokémon wearing them? Brock managed to get Ash and I moving and somehow, we got to the restaurant but I had lost all appetite. My stomach still hadn't settled from seeing Gary again. Stupid Gary Oak.

"That was delicious!" Misty declared, finishing her bowl of food with a stretch.

"Yeah, almost as good as mine." Brock agreed but I just sighed sadly and Ash hung his head.

"Can't…eat."

"Ash? You're not still worried about those Pokémon are you?" I nodded my head.

"Who'd do such a thing? Those collars might choke them. What if they get hurt?" I fussed and Ash nodded his head glumly.

"Didn't you see that collar on Gary's Arcanine? I can't believe he'd do such a thing." I pictured it in my head. If it was all for a race, then that must mean it was a very dangerous sport. What if Pokémon got hurt in it? What then?

"But Arcanine didn't seem to mind it at all." Brock pointed out as I gave another sigh then reached out for my egg which I had taken out of its incubator for a polish. The shell gleamed effortlessly and I could feel the warmth coming from within the egg and I even felt a little bit of movement from within. Surely it couldn't be long now?

"That's right." A warm, kind voice said to us and we all looked up and around to a gentleman sitting at the bar with us. "We call it Extreme Pokémon. It's become the singular most popular sport in this little town of ours. In ancient times, riding Pokémon was a necessity. Now it's reserved for the annual competition." He explained and I perked up. This sounds interesting.

"What competition are you talking about sir?" Ash asked politely and I gave a little smile of pride. Obviously Ash has been working on his manners a lot since back in school. I remember he used to always get in trouble with the teachers for arguing back when he thought they were wrong. Which was all the time.

"Each trainer rides a skateboard pulled by a special Pokémon in a race to the finish line, and tomorrow's the best part of the competition. The championship event! People come to watch the race for miles and miles." He beamed as he continued further and I began to imagine a race with loads of trainers, Pokémon and skateboards. It actually sounded like fun! But don't the collars still hurt them?

"Gary! So that's what he was training for." Brock realised as Misty nodded her head.

"I wonder if he'll win tomorrow's competition?" She wondered but Ash suddenly stood up.

"Oh no he won't, not if I can help it! Yes, Extreme Pokémon here we come." Ash declared whilst holding Pikachu in his arm and I sighed, shaking my head. Here we go again, another rivalry battle. Those two haven't changed since they were kids.

"Wait a minute Ash, don't you need practice?" Misty reasoned and Ash's confident face fell slightly.

"Misty's right Ash. The other trainers have been training for months and you don't even have any of the right equipment." The last of Ash's confidence disappeared.

"Oh…yeah." But then our new friend came to the rescue.

"Tell me, do you really want to be in the competition that badly young man?" He asked Ash who nodded his head enthusiastically.

"You bet I do!"

"In that case, I can help." He told us, standing up. "How about you kids come with me back to my farm? I'll help you get ready for the big race." He said, leading us outside as I quickly put my egg back in the incubator then hurried after him. "My, that's a fine egg you got there little missy. How long have you been carrying that around?"

"Months now." I gave a little shrug. "But it's close to hatching, it's taken a long time for it to heal after being exposed to a storm back in Kanto where I come from." I explained. "I rescued it with the help of my friend Gary and I've been helping to look after it ever since."

"Well, it's unlike I've ever seen before. Tell you what, I have something I think you'll like back at my farm. You wait and see." He said, helping me to jump up into the back of his straw wagon.

"This is very kind of you sir, thank you." Brock said as he too jumped up. "My name is Brock, I want to be a Pokémon breeder." He introduced and Misty gave a wave.

"I'm Misty, I specialise in water Pokémon." She said so then Ash spoke up.

"And I'm Ash Ketchum, I'm training to one day become a Pokémon Master!" I rolled my eyes before smiling as the nice guy climbed up and began to drive his Tauros away, pulling us along with it.

"My name's Ruby, it's nice to meet you." I told him and he chuckled.

"Well, I'd best introduce myself now hadn't I? You can call me Shelby. I run a Pokémon Day Care in these parts." He revealed and instantly I lifted my head.

"You mean it? A real day care? That's so cool!" I breathed, imaging all the Pokémon there'll be up there, and if not Pokémon, then eggs! They'll be so many eggs I bet my life on it!

"Mr Shelby, what do you mean by day care?" Ash asked and I blinked at him in shock.

"You've never heard of a day care?" I questioned in disbelief. "A Pokémon day care is where trainers sometimes leave their Pokémon for some extra relaxation and healing time. Sometimes Pokémon that stay there produce eggs and the day care people look after eggs and nurse them when they hatch until they're big enough to look after themselves in the wild. Right Mr Shelby?" I lay down on the straw to look down at Mr Shelby who nodded his head.

"That's right Ruby." He nodded his head and I sighed blissfully, turning onto my back to gaze up at the sky. The sun was so bright that I was blanketed in its warmth and I basked in it until I heard Ash gasp.

"Ruby! Your egg is glowing!" Instantly I was bolt upright and everyone gasped, turning around quickly to see as I sat upright and looked at the egg in the incubator. I was just about to pull it out to hold it when the light disappeared, fading away again.

"Oh…" Everyone said in disappointment as I frowned.

"But…it was ready. Why didn't it hatch?" I began to fret but Shelby merely chuckled and moved his Tauros along.

"Sometimes it happens. You'll get a few false alarms when the Pokémon inside is testing whether or not it's ready to hatch. If that was your first false alarm, I expect you'll either get a couple more or it'll be hatching very soon, within the next couple of days." Shelby explained as I noted down the information in my 'egg' section in my notebook.

"I can't wait, all this waiting has got me super excited to see what kind of Pokémon it is." Misty said dreamily. "Maybe it's a water Pokémon!"

"Nah, I bet it's a fire type Pokémon no one's ever discovered before!" Ash answered. "Or maybe even an electric type. Wouldn't that be awesome Pikachu?" He asked and Pikachu nodded his head.

"Pika Pika!" He agreed before jumping onto my shoulder. "Pikachu?" He questioned, nuzzling me gently as I looked down at my egg so I chuckled.

"I don't mind what kind of Pokémon it is, so long as it's healthy. Though I'll admit I'm excited to find out!" All we could think about on the way to the day care was my egg, however the moment we arrived, we were distracted by the number of Pokémon day cares there were. There were so many! No wonder how this place got the name Eggsitter.

"Hi honey, I'm home!" Shelby called out as he let us in to find his wife sitting in a rocking chair, polishing a yellow and black striped egg.

"Hello dear. Oh! Who's this?" She asked as we all stood politely to the side.

"This young man is Ash and he's the latest entry in tomorrow's competition." Shelby explained, looking at Ash who gave a nervous little laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

"Really? Then best of luck!" She cheered for him and I gave a little grin.

"You're going to need it." Ash shot me a dark look as I giggled before punching him gently on the shoulder. "I'm only kidding, you'll be great." When we were invited to sit down for dinner, I couldn't believe how many eggs were sitting in the dining room alone, all settled in individual nests on shelves.

"Wow! Look at 'em all!" Ash beamed as we gazed at them all.

"Are all these yours to take care of?" Brock questioned as Mrs Shelby polished off the egg she had been holding earlier one last time and placed it in the nest.

"That's right. This one arrived only yesterday." I knew someone who'd love to get their hands on it. I bet it's an Electabuzz egg.

"Beautiful." Misty whispered and I hugged mine a little closer with a smile.

"They all are." Ash agreed and Mrs Shelby gave a little proud blush.

"Thank you. We take great pride in all our eggs."

"Once they hatch we raise some pretty strong Pokémon. Here, take a look at this little one." Mr Shelby said as he walked in holding a dark brown furred Pokémon with a long tail, which when it turned around gave a cute little smile.

"Sentrent." It squeaked and my eyes instantly sparkled.

"Oh it's so cute!"

"It's a Sentrent! How old?" Misty asked and Mr Shelby gave a little laugh.

"This one's only two days old." Wow, and already looking that strong? Now that was some awesome raising. After that we were flooded with adorable baby Pokémon and I couldn't help but hug them all, giggling as I tickled their bellies and played with them whilst Ash went outside with Mr Shelby.

Mrs Shelby and I put the Pokémon back in their nests for an afternoon nap and I left the incubator inside to carry the egg for a while before heading outside with the others. Ash was quite happily skating around on an old skateboard. "Say, not bad for your first time Ash." Mr Shelby complimented so Ash quickly came clean.

"It's not exactly my first time. I used to do a lot of mountain boarding up in the hills of Pallet Town." He explained and I gave a little giggle.

"It was best when it had snowed and the entire hill was covered with a fresh blanket. That's the best time to go mountain boarding. Hey Ash, do remember the time you lost control and fell into a half frozen lake and you had a cold for a week afterwards?" I asked and Ash gave a shiver just thinking about it.

"Yeah. I remember." He said as the others all chuckled. "Okay, more practice!" He suddenly declared then sped down the hill, leaning his weight slightly to glide either left or right, however when a rock suddenly loomed up ahead, he couldn't move fast enough.

"Watch out genius!" I yelled with worry and instantly leaped over the hill, racing down but I quickly jumped up into the air afterwards. "Go Pidgeot!" Instantly she appeared and caught me on her back before diving down, following the steep slope of the hill as Ash crashed into the rock then went tumbling down, grunting and yelling as he headed for the road below. "Hurry and catch up Pidgeot!"

"Pidgeo!" Pidgeot instantly flapped her wings and tucked them in, narrowing her eyes as we sped after Ash however out of nowhere, an Arcanine appeared and blocked Ash's descent, stopping him from hitting the road and doing some serious damage before Pidgeot could even begin to gain speed. I gave a sigh of relief as Gary stood there over Ash with a look of bewilderment.

"It's okay Pidgeot, let's pull up." I told her gently, patting her neck so she spread her wings and we soared upwards, gliding gracefully around and I leaned my body slightly to guide her until finally, she came in to land next to Arcanine. "Ash! Ash are you okay?" I asked, leaping off of Pidgeot's back and helped him to stand up.

"Ugh…yeah I'm okay." He said shaking out his head before grinning. "I'm great!"

"Good. Let me fix that for you." I growled then whacked him on the back of the head, flooring him again. "What the heck were you thinking? Are you insane? You could have really been hurt, genius!" I ranted before turning my head away. "Stupid boys."

"Hey it's not my fault. I didn't see the rock until it was too late!"

"Then next time, try opening your eyes!" I answered back, tucking my egg more securely in my jacket. "You could have broken your arm if Gary hadn't been here to stop you from landing on the road down there." Ash rolled his eyes, mumbling something about having it all under control.

"So Rubes, you competing as well?" Gary asked and I blinked at him, almost completely missing the fact that he was watching. "That Pidgeot of yours is pretty fast."

"No not this time. I'm taking a break from training too heavily for a while. My Pokémon have all earned a rest, isn't that right Pidgeot?" I asked and Pidgeot spread her wings with a chirp, nodded her head, before ruffling her feathers then nudged me then looked back at the top. "Right, good idea." I agreed then climbed back up to get a lift. "Hey Ash, I'll race you." I smirked then nodded to Gary. "See you later Gary."

"Bye Rubes." I shot him a dark look but said nothing as Pidgeot saw it a good idea to get me out of there pretty quickly.

"Hey wait! I can't climb up that hill all by myself!" Ash yelled as Pidgeot flapped her wings.

"Then use a Pokémon to help!" I yelled back simply as Pidgeot ascended the hill with speed. She quickly banked up, sending a rush of air to wrap around everyone as she twirled around gracefully, making me laugh before she landed. "Thanks Pidgeot, that was some great flying." I told her as she trilled in reply and closed her eyes as I rubbed her head.

"Now that's a fine Pidgeot. One of the best I've ever seen." Mrs Shelby said to me. "You've raised that one well Ruby."

"Thanks Mrs Shelby, though I owe it all to Brock." I informed her with a smile. "He taught me all about taking care of a Pokémon from the inside as well on the outside, so all of Pidgeot's food is the best to keep her strong and healthy." I revealed, making Brock blush.

"Please, you're making me blush." He said modestly, making me giggle but then Pidgeot began to nudge my hand then pointed a wing up to the sky.

"Huh? You want to fly some more?" I questioned and she nodded her head before turning around and offering me her back. "Okay then, let's go! I'll be back later!" I called over my shoulder as I leaped up onto Pidgeot's back then we rose up into the sky with the sun setting ahead of us. I took some photos of the day care from above, bathed in a golden glow then focused on the beauty of the skies. "It's been a while, hasn't it Pidgeot?" I said to her whilst leaning down low to be enfolded in her soft and warm feathers. "I've missed this. Just flying around in the open sky with nothing to worry about…we should do this more often like we used to." I said and Pidgeot nodded her head in agreement.

"Pidgeo." But then something caught her eye. "Pidgeo?" Suddenly she pulled up short and looked down, making me cling on with a yelp.

"Pidgeot! What's wrong?" I questioned but before I could get an answer, she dove down to the ground with a loud call.

"Pidgeo!" The ground quickly loomed below and grew bigger, the rush of wind in my face making my eyes water as I clung on for dear life until finally, Pidgeot pulled up and glided to a halt where I instantly heard an Arcanine barking, trying to get someone's attention.

"Huh? Arcanine?" I questioned, quickly leaping off of Pidgeot's back and ran over to Gary's Arcanine. I could see the collar and the rest of the gear, but no Gary. Arcanine whined and nudged against me before looking down over a cliff ridge to point down to what looked to be Gary at the bottom, landed on some bushes and groaning, but he wasn't waking up. "Gary!" I instantly dropped down to my knees and looked over the edge, my voice echoing loudly.

The sound startled Gary awake and instantly he tried to leap to his feet but he swayed and collapsed to his knees. "R…Ruby? Ruby is that you?" Gary mumbled in confusion, rubbing the back of his head. "What's going on? Are you hurt?" Am I hurt? The idiot. He's the one who just fell off a cliff!

"Don't worry Gary, Pidgeot will get you back up here." I said then nodded to Pidgeot. "Lift him back up carefully Pidgeot, I think he's hurt."

"Pidgeo." She nodded her head then dove over the side, flying to Gary's side then easily lifted him off the ground with her talons curling under his arms, making him yell in surprise as she lifted him back up the cliff.

"Stand back Arcanine, we don't want to get too close." I said, gently resting my hands on Arcanine's chest and he stepped back a couple of paces as Pidgeot settled Gary down on the ground. "Gary! Gary are you okay?" I asked, dropping to his side and carefully put the egg down beside me as I gingerly touched Gary's face, checking for any sign of fever.

"I'm fine. Is Arcanine okay?" He asked, trying to sit up but I anchored him down.

"You stay right there mister. You might have concussion." I said to him sternly then reached for my bag to pull out my medicine kit. "You were lucky those bushes down there broke your fall otherwise I'd be flying you to hospital."

"I'm fine. I have to be fine, the race is tomorrow." Gary said, trying to sit up but I forced him back down again as I found an ice pack then placed it on the back of his head where he seemed to favour it a little.

"Just lay still, you'll be alright in a moment." I assured him. "Just take it easy okay?" I told him with a gentle smile before holding a hand out to Arcanine who gave a little whine of worry. "It's all good Arcanine, Gary's going to be fine." I told him confidently as I rubbed his nose.

Suddenly one of my Pokéballs opened and Vaporeon appeared, blinking softly then gave a bright cheer of greeting to Gary, bounding over and tackled him with a hug. "Vaporeon no! Be careful!" I quickly grabbed her and pulled her off but then one of Gary's Pokéballs opened and Umbreon appeared.

"Umbreon!" He sat down beside Gary, glancing him over as he blinked in surprise.

"Umbreon? What are you doing out of your Pokéball?" He questioned in confusion but then Vaporeon wriggled out of my arms and walked with a little more grace over to Umbreon, blinking her eyes prettily and Umbreon's ears pricked up instantly.

"Umbreon?"

"Poreon Vaporeon." She answered before snuggling up against Umbreon. She stretched out her neck and Umbreon blinked in surprise before closing his eyes and they touched noses together, making my heart thump loud and proud as I watched the romantic display of affection between Pokémon. How adorable! They're in love! Wait, with Gary's Pokémon? Oh great. That complicates things. A lot. Oh well, quick! Take a photo!

"Well. This was a little unexpected." Gary mused suddenly, breaking the spell so I sighed and rolled my eyes as I lowered my camera, ensuring I had the shot and smiled down at it before turning to Gary.

"To a blind person maybe. Vaporeon has been sweet on your Umbreon since they first met as little Eevees'." I informed him as the two curled up together with Umbreon resting his head over Vaporeon's back, his tail curling around her head to act as a pillow and I instantly took a silent photo, capturing the moment. This is one I definitely want to remember.

"Really? Wow. I never noticed." Gary said just as the breeze began to turn chilly. But then it was gone and I looked up to find Arcanine laying down behind us to block out the cold with Pidgeot forming another barrier with her wings, enshrouding us all in a cocoon of warmth. "Thanks for helping me out by the way." Gary said to me so I nodded my head.

"No problem. You were lucky Pidgeot noticed you and we happened to be flying overhead." I answered, glancing at Gary then took a quick snapshot as his half smile, making him chuckle.

"You still taking photos?"

"You still being the same old arrogant boy I've known since childhood?" I returned so he shrugged.

"Touché." He sighed then sat up properly, looking at the moon as it began to grow brighter. "You know, going on this journey was the best thing I've ever done." Gary told me so I turned my head to listen. "I always used to feel like the outcast back in Pallet Town, especially at school."

"Yeah, because you were mean." I told him simply.

"No before that." He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "The only reason I was mean like that to everyone was because it gave me an excuse for being left out most of the time. Like if I did the rejecting first then I wouldn't be the one being rejected. But now that I have Pokémon, I feel like I truly belong." I understood that, after all, I was also one of those kids who never made friends. People always thought me a little too much to handle.

"Well, if it's any help, I don't think you're that much of a jerk anymore." I said to him. "And as for your Pokémon? I don't need to be able to sense their emotions to see how much they care about you. Right Arcanine?" I questioned, looking up and Arcanine nodded his head with a gruff bark before licking Gary's cheek, making him smile and laugh so I snapped up another photo for him.

"Thanks Arcanine, I needed that." He said but then tried to stand up. "Well, we'd better get going. We need rest for the big race tomorrow." But even as he said it, he wavered on his feet.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere." I told him firmly, standing up also and both Vaporeon and Umbreon lifted their heads. "Where're you staying?" I asked and he pointed back towards town.

"At an inn. It shouldn't take too long, Arcanine can pull me there on the board." But I put my foot down.

"No, if you can't stay upright then how can you expect to get back in one piece?" I demanded before sighing and pulling out two Pokéballs. "Pidgeot, Vaporeon, return." Vaporeon jumped up and instantly nuzzled against Umbreon, who gently licked her cheek so I let them say goodbye to one another and didn't make her return until she turned and nodded her head to me. "Come on, climb up." I said, picking up the skateboard and handed it to him before climbing onto Arcanine's back. "I'll make sure you get back safe."

"You want me to ride on Arcanine?" Gary blinked and I frowned at him.

"Haven't you tried it before?" I asked but he shook his head, so I have a smile then held out a hand for him. "Then come on, I'll show you." Gary hesitatingly took my hand and let me pull him up until he was settled behind me. "Alright Arcanine, we'll take it steady at first okay? You put on the speed, I'll do the steering." I said and Arcanine nodded his head with a bark. "You might want to hang on." I suggested to Gary who frowned.

"To what?" I didn't give him a second chance.

"Go Arcanine!" Arcanine sprang forwards and Gary yelled, instantly grabbing onto my waist and hung on as I leaned slightly, guiding Arcanine down the track as he sprang easily, covering the distance as Gary began to loosen up and laugh.

"This is awesome! How did you learn to ride like this?"

"Practice! You have to really be in sync with your Arcanine to truly master the movements. You rely on one another to travel at this sort of speed without getting hurt or running into something." Just then a tree loomed up in front of us. "Woah! Left!" I yelled and Arcanine only just moved into my guiding position to avoid hitting the tree before carrying on again. "See?"

"You know, you're really something Rubes." Gary said to me so I chuckled then focused on getting him back to the inn. Once we were there Arcanine was returned to his Pokéball for a long rest and Gary picked up the collar as it fell to the ground. "Thanks Rubes. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it." I shrugged, holding the egg in my arms. It gave off a little faint glow and Gary instantly leaned closer to see but then it faded away once more. "Yeah. It's been doing that a lot lately." I told him. "It means we're close to hatching, right egg?" I questioned and I felt a warmth rise up from within the egg. "So…I'll see you later?"

"You bet." Gary said, flicked my hat to tilt it back then before I could comment, leaned forwards and quickly kissed my cheek. "Sweet dreams Rubes." He said to me quietly and I stood frozen in place as he drew back, gave a mischievous smirk then walked on inside.

"It's R-R-Ruby." I stammered a little dazed, confused and feeling a little sick. "Uh…what just happened?" I questioned the open air before shaking my head. "Get a grip Ruby, he's just trying to mess with your head." I said before calling out Pidgeot. "Alright girl, let's get back before they send out a search party." I said and we rose up into the air, gliding in the moonlight but my mind remained firmly back outside that in, with Gary Oak's lips on my cheek in the same spot he had kissed several times before. Ugh, I HATE HIM!