"Are your names Ash and Ruby?" Nurse Joy said to us as we stopped at a Pokémon Centre to heal our Pokémon.

"That's right." I nodded my head and Nurse Joy smiled to us before handing us a folded piece of paper.

"I have a message for you two." Ash took it and blinked.

"For us? Who from?" I rolled my eyes then smacked him gently up the head.

"Why don't you open it, genius, and find out?" I told him and he blushed with a guilty laugh then opened it up. Three figures of Professor Oak striking a moving shouting pose appeared, the eight gym bages bordering the paper at the top as the Professor's voice rose up from the paper.

"Greetings Ash, Ruby, its Professor Oak! Give me a call when you get a chance." We all stared down at it. Huh?

"It's from Professor Oak." Ash mentioned and I sighed. Obviously I missed this detail, thanks Ash.

"I guess it's been a while since you talked to him Ash. Why don't you give him a buzz?" Sounds like a great idea, I should probably call home too. I haven't talked to my parents in what felt like ages.

"Vee!" Eevee agreed then leaped out of my arms to bound over to the calling machines then jumped up onto the chair but she was too small to reach, so she dangled from the seat, trying to scramble up but her little legs didn't quite stretch that far.

"Ah, let me help you there Eevee." I chuckled then picked her up, tickling her chin as she smiled at me.

"Vee! Vee!" Ash came and sat down in front of the calling station, looking down to the keypad before beginning to press the numbers to contact Professor Oak.

"Okay let's see, Professor…I hope he's around." Ash said as he held the phone to his ear. The tone buzzed once before being picked up and Ash leaned forwards instantly with a smile. "Hi Professor Oak, its Ash!"

"And Ruby!" I beamed, pushing myself into the picture with a grin, making Ash laughed as I shouldered him playfully.

"Hello there Ash! Ruby, I suppose my message finally found its way to you." He answered back with a cheerful voice and both Ash and I blushed with guilty expressions.

"Yeah…"

"How is everyone? Hey! Pikachu is sure looking well, and Ruby, is that an Eevee? My, what an excellent find." I beamed then nuzzled Eevee as she trilled happily, turning her head to lick my cheek.

"She's great!" I agreed as Misty pushed Ash aside to smile to the Professor.

"And I'm fine too!"

"I'm glad to hear it. Well they say no news is good news but I do wish you would let me know how things are going every now and then." We both wore guilty expressions again. It was true, we'd been forgetting more and more to call both Professor Oak and our parents, but so much has happened that we just completely forget or lose track of time!

"I know, we've been kinda busy uh…" Ash leaned closer as a Pokémon slid on screen and began to climb up Professor Oak, covering him in a purplish gunk whilst grunting.

"Muk…Muk…"

"Come on, cut that out!" We all chuckled, Ash grinning proudly.

"My Muk seems to be doing okay." Ash commented as Professor Oak was flattened by the affectionate Pokémon.

"Taking care of it hasn't been so easy." He said then turned back to the Muk whilst still being pressed into the table. "Will you behave? I hope the next Pokémon you two send will be easier to manage." We both looked at one another.

"I hope so too Professor but I haven't caught any new ones." Ash said and I merely blushed at the Professor.

"And I don't really want to capture any more than six Pokémon unless I really feel that they want to be a part of my team, so I don't think you can expect any more Pokémon from me any time soon Professor, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry Ruby, you just keep studying hard. Maybe one day when you come back you can come and help me out here. Goodness knows I need it, and you can learn a lot more about Pokémon too."

"Sounds great Professor! Huh? Professor?" I blinked as he was completely engulfed by Muk but then he reappeared, rising up then overtook the screen again.

"I almost forgot, have you two heard of the new PokéDex upgrade?" He asked and we both blinkned and spoke together.

"PokéDex upgrade?" Ash looked at me then shook his head. "No, I haven't."

"Well, now you can get details on all the latest Pokémon discoveries." Professor Oak explained and we both grinned.

"Wow! How can I get it?" Ash asked and Professor Oak pointed downwards on the screen.

"Just put your PokéDex into that slow and I'll upgrade it. Once upgraded, your PokéDex will have an updated data base and even a new voice."

"Alright!" Ash put his PokéDex into the slot, waiting eagerly for the upgrade as the slot closed and Professor Oak started the process. We waited barely ten seconds before the screen flashed with the all clear and the slot opened once more to let Ash retrieve his PokéDex so I put mine in next. Once that was done I pulled mine out and smiled.

"Thanks Professor!" He nodded his head.

"Okay, no time to lose. Go capture more Pokémon and collect more badges."

"Professor, we're on our way right now!" Ash assured him and I waved.

"Bye Professor!" I called then slid over to another boothe. "You guys go on ahead and I'll catch up, I just want to make a quick call to my parents."

"Okay Ruby, we won't be far." Misty answered as I dialled the number, sitting Eevee in my lap. I waited for barely a few seconds before the screen was filled with the image of dad's eye.

"Ruby! Is that you?"

"Yeah it's me dad, hi!" I smiled and waved at him. "How are you? I'm sorry it's been a while, just so much has happened and I have so much to tell you all when I get back!"

"Why don't you tell us now?" Dad asked with a proud look on his face. "My baby girl out there facing the world, are you keeping out of trouble?" I blushed and tugged at my neck tie.

"Not really, you see…"

"AGGGGHHHHHHH!" I quickly held the phone away from my ear, flinching as mom shoved dad ruthlessly off screen and gasped. "Is that an Eevee? Oh it's so dang adorable! Where did you get it? Are there any more? Could you catch me one? Oh it's so beautiful…" She fussed and Eevee beamed at her.

"Vee!" My mom then fainted at the cute sound and I giggled as dad staggered back on screen, rubbing his head from the knock he'd received. Shaking my head I turned back to dad, who looked more tanned then usual, I guess he's started his morning jogs again.

"How are you, Ruby? We were starting to worry about you."

"I'm fine dad, really." I assured him. "I'm having the time of my life and I've made some really great friends. I'm really learning a lot about Pokémon and my team is really starting to take shape, I'm just really having fun!"

"Good, I'm very glad to hear that Ruby." Dad said to me, glancing to mom who was beginning to recover herself. "Just be careful okay? I've been hearing a lot of reports about some Team Rocket trying to do bad things, though there seem to be a bunch of kids who foil their plans at the last second. Isn't that great? Maybe you'll meet them!" I blushed deeply then gave a chuckle.

"Yeah, that'd be awesome dad." I agreed then looked to mom as she picked herself off. It's hard to imagine her once beign a Battle Girl, yet she was still mom to me so I guess it's hard to imagine her as anyone other than that.

"Are you remembering to brush your teeth honey?" She asked me so I grinned, showing her my pearly whites. "Good girl! Now, are you winning your battles? Are you beating everyone you meet?" In all truth, I haven't had a proper battle in a while.

"Of course, I haven't actually lost a fight yet." I admitted. "Though I haven't battled in a while, you see Charmeleon is sick and I'm taking him to Cinnabar Island to let him rest and get properly better."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry." Mom said to me tenderly but I forced a smile.

"It's okay, I have medicine for him and he's beginning to improve, it's just he needs to spend some time where it's hot to revitalise his fire source." I explained then looked over my shoulder. "Listen, I'm really sorry but I'm going to need to go." My parents sighed but nodded their heads in understanding.

"Okay honey, just remember, we're rooting for you!" Mom smiled at me. "We're so proud of all you're achieving, just remember you can always come home if it gets too much!"

"Not that you can't handle it." Dad put in then put his arm around mom. "We love you!"

"I love you too." I smiled to them, drawing in their faces before looking down to Eevee. "Say goodbye Eevee!"

"Vee! Vee!"

"Oh it's so…so…" Mom fainted again. Laughing I blew dad a kiss and he blew one back before I cut the call. With a soft sigh I shifted Eevee in my arms to let her rest on my shoulder before hurrying to find the others. We'd already agreed that we'd stop to eat at a restaurant we had passed before, however as I approached, I saw them scrambling before a load of eggs when Ash shouted angrily.

"Hey get back here!"

"Guys! What happened?" I asked, running forwards as Eevee ran at my side. Looking around at all the weird eggs I frowned. "Did these just fall out the sky or something?"

"Team Rocket just stole our egg!" Oh no!

"We have to get it back, come on!" Misty said determinedly. "Come on!" Glancing to Eevee she nodded her head then sprang after Misty and I followed, the boys bringing up the rear as we followed after Team Rocket. What would they want with an egg that we don't even know what Pokémon will hatch out of? Actually, ignore that question, it's Team Rocket. Of course they'll want that egg.

We were led out of the town and down a trail, where eggs began to appear. Huh? Were these ones that Team Rocket had dropped in their haste to get away? "Hey! Look, it's another one!" Misty crowed as she ran forwards then picked up an egg. "If we just follow these eggs, they'll lead us all the way to team Rocket.

"Wow, they must be dumb to leave us a trail of broken eggs." Ash said as Pikachu began to prod at another egg and it brust open with a spring that had a 'loser' sign on it. Pikachu grumbled at it and Eevee glared before swiping it away with her tail.

"If they're so dumb then how come they have the egg?" Brock questioned and Ash's shoulders slumped instantly.

"I guess you have a point there."

"Pika!" Pikachu called to us, pointing so we followed after him as he followed the egg trail with Eevee.

"Vee! Vee!"

"Pika Pika!"

"Huh?" We all looked down to see a small hut hidden amongst the trees, however there was a suspicious trail of eggs leading to it. "They must be in there." Brock said quietly so I picked up Eevee then sprung forwards, sliding down with a scuff of my shoes then rolled, Eevee tucked up in my arms before waving for the others to follow.

We snuck over to the window then looked inside and saw Jessie eating, James cooking and Meowth sitting with his back to us, though he seemed to be polishing something. We all watched as James came over and gave him a plate, smiling proudly but when he said something, Meowth whipped out the frying pan and hit him over the head with it, yelling loudly.

"That's definitely the egg." Brock said as we lowered ourselves down out of sight again.

"Right!" Ash nodded to all of us so we stood and selected our Pokémon. I went to grab Pidgeotto but Eevee pawed at my leg.

"Vee!"

"Huh? You want to battle Eevee?" I questioned and she nodded her head, grounding her feet and looked up at me determinedly. "Okay! Go Eevee, I choose you!"

"Pidgeotto I choose you too!"

"Go Geodude!"

"Misty calls Staryu…" Suddenly a Pokémon leaped out of her bag, flippers clutching its head.

"Psy-aye-aye!" With a growl Misty slammed her bag on his head, glaring at Psyduck as she yelled.

"No not you!" Our Pokémon all brust through the window, smashing it into splinters and shattered the glass as they lunged into battle. Eevee used Quick Attack, darting from Meowth to Jessie then to James, knocking them down as Staryu and Geodude then stunned them slightly with Pidgeotto snatching the egg from Meowth.

"Good work Pidgeotto!" Ash cheered as he took it carefully from him.

"Hey!" Meowth called and we all looked at him. "Give me back my egg!"

"That's funny, and all along I thought this was our egg." Ash returned easily but Meowth wasn't giving up so easily.

"Go get them, and my egg!"

"Go Arbok!"

"Wheezing go!" James yelled and instantly his Pokémon used Smokescreen, making us cough as our vision was impaired.

"Careful Ash, the egg!" Brock called and I dropped to my knees to keep from any of Team Rocket's Pokémon trying to hit me. Suddenly I heard Ash yell after a suspicious scractching sound and Meowth crowed. That sly little alley cat!

"Geodude! Use Tackle!" Brock called and the egg was slammed from Meowth's grip.

"I got it! I got it!" Misty called but then Jessie leaped in the way.

"No, I got it."

"Hey! Staryu, Tackle now!" Looking around I could hardly see a thing, where was everybody? Who had the egg? What is going on?! It seemed that every time someone called out they had it, it was knocked from their grip by one Pokémon or the other.

"Can't see a thing! Pidgeotto, Gust attack! Blow this gas away!" Pidgeotto rose up and trilled with each flap, forcing the gas to dispearse but the strength of the Gust lifted Meowth up into the air, who turned out to have the egg but then it was ripped from his grip.

"Oh no!" I called then pointed from the ground up into the air. "The egg!"

"Quick someone catch it! The egg's going to break!" Misty yelled and Ash dove forwards as it began to fall down to the ground. In Ash's haste he tripped over his own feet and I instantly slapped my face. Really? Of all times to be clumsy, he choses this moment?

"I missed it!" Ash turned around with worry but as the residue of Weezing's gas disappeared, we all blinked in shock to see our favourite yellow fuzzball holding the egg with a proud, innocently happy face.

"Pika…"

"Pikachu!" Ash grinned as he crawled forwards. We all got up and ran to them, smiling proudly.

"You did it Pikachu!" Misty praised as Pikachu let Ash take the egg back.

"Nice catch Pikachu." Brock added with a smile as I knelt down and tickled his belly with a smile and giggle, making him squeal and clutch his stomach, falling onto his back and kicking his legs as I continued to tickle, Eevee joining in with a joyful expression.

"Huh?" We all looked to Ash who was now looking at the egg strangely.

"What's wrong Ash?" Brock instantly asked but Ash continued to stare down at it.

"It feels like there's something moving inside." He told us slowly, holding it carefully and just as he finished speaking, acrs of light began to softly radiate and spread outwards from it. One by one we all gasped and we looked closer, staring as cracks began to appear on the shell.

"It's starting to crack!" Ash beamed, suddenly smiling and Brock leaned closer too.

"Yeah! It's beginning to hatch!" Suddenly Misty shoved the boys apart and held the egg, eager to get a closer look.

"Hey! Let me see!" Beaming excitedly she held it closer as I held me breath, watching with anticipation as finally, the top of the shell crumbled away and a pale head appeared, soft little bumps triangulating upwards as a face appeared and little arms and legs too. It was so adorable! Oh my goodness, mom would totally freak out over this little treasure.

"Piiiii! Togi! Togi!" It chirped and instantly Misty squealed, lifting it up higher.

"Aaaaah! It hatched! It hatched oh how cute!" The little eggshell Pokémon blinked at Misty then chiped its name. "Ah! Hello to you too." Misty smiled, unable to take her eyes off it and I smiled, glancing down to Eevee and Pikachu who leaned closer to it, looking at it curiously. "Oh we're so lucky!"

"Right!"

"We are!" Brock and Ash spoke at the same time as Team Rocket came closer to see the new born Pokémon.

"If Pikachu hand't caught it…"

"That precious little Pokémon might have…" Suddenly James stopped and we all looked at one another. Instantly we sprang back with a gasp or growl, glaring at one another as Jessie adopted a battle stance.

"We have a battle to finish!"

"I almost forgot." James agreed and suddenly the two Pokémon came at us, hissing and wheezing together as Meowth called out with his claws in the air.

"Let's get 'em!"

"Pikachu Thuderbolt attack!" Ash directed and without needing further encouragement, Pikachu tucked himself up into his little body and a burst of powerful lightning jumped out of his body, his voice strong and determined as Misty drew back behind me to shield the baby Pokémon and I scooped up Eevee, holding her in my arms.

Team Rocket were zapped, their bodies shooting up into the air and through the roof with a crash at Pikachu's powerful shock, their voices jittering as they were flung out into the open sky. "Those little brats!"

"They foiled our perfect plan again!" James wailed and then they all shouted out until their voices could no longer be heard save for the lingering echo that surrounded them. "Now Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Ha! Good riddance!" I called then hugged Eevee as she beamed. "You were amazing Eevee!"

"Vee! Vee!"

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Ash called, returning Pidgeotto then ran outside where we all followed him until we were safely back in town. Misty hadn't let go of our new Pokémon yet, holding it to her chest and then proceeded to put it on her lap when we found a bench to sit down on. She covered her face with her hands, appearing over the little Pokémon whilst talking in a soft, light voice.

"Where am I?" Then she pulled her hands away to smile further. "Hi!"

"Priiiii! Togi! Togi!"

"Oh it's so cute!"

"It sure is Misty." Ash agreed. "But what kind of Pokémon is it?" He asked, looking to Brock who was our supposed expert in this area.

"Uh…good question." Ash then looked at me but I shrugged. Hey, I knew most things about all Pokémon, especially the cute ones but as far as I was aware, this Pokémon wasn't even on the PokéDex. Hey wait! Our upgraded version might know!

"How about we ask Dexter?" I suggested then pulled out my own and pointed it towards the little Pokémon.

"Togepi, the egg Pokémon. Specific information about this Pokémon is still unavailable." So its name was Togepi, that's a start at least. Maybe I could do my own research on it and add in the information that seemed to be obviously missing.

"So Togepi is your name, you even sound cute!" Misty said to it and it trilled again as Pikachu and Eevee inched closer, nuzzled its blue and red triangle pattern eggshell, making it trill further in laughter. "You think so too, don't you Pikachu?" Misty asked and Pikachu looked at us all with a nod.

"Pikachu!"

"Of course it's cute, all newborns are cute." Ash said matter of factly and I laughed, clapping him playfully upside the head.

"Except you Ash." I told him and he mock glared at me, though he couldn't hold back a grin.

"That's right." Brock said in a really weird voice before lifting Togepi up then stuck out his tongue, making a silly face which only made Togepi stare at him as if it was saying, 'who is this guy?'. I had to laugh.

"So…which one of us gets to keep Togepi?" Ash asked and Brock sent him a look.

"I think I should. I'm the one who incubated the egg." Brock said. This was true, he put a lot of effort into making sure that egg stayed safe and warm.

"But I was the one who found it, I was only letting you watch it for a while." Ash argued back but Brock hardened his features and glared whilst looming over Ash.

"I mothered it!" But then Misty took it from Brock, making them both look at her.

"Well, I think I should get Togepi because it likes me best! Right Togepi?" It trilled happily and I watched it closely, curious at how it seemed to react more positively to Misty than to anyone else. "It's obvious." Misty continued. "Togepi has made the right choice."

"No fair! I found it so it's mine!" Ash whined and I rolled my eyes.

"Well, maybe you should have taken better care of it." Misty returned and I instantly sensed an argument coming on.

"But you never took care of it!"

"That's right. I took care of it!" Brock added heatedly and Togepi looked between all three as Misty turned and thrust her face at them, moving her body so that Togepi was hidden from them.

"You boys are too insensitive! Togepi needs proper nurturing that only a girl can give!" Suddenly Togepi began to get watery eyes and I blinked at it before reaching out and taking it from Misty. "Hey!"

"It's alright Togepi, there's no need to cry." I murmured softly, tickling its belly so that it blinked then slowly began to trill and giggle. "Will you guys keep it down?" I shot at them and they all blinked. "You nearly made Togepi cry!" Looking down with a smile I lifted Togepi up, bouncing it gently in the air and it waggled its feet and arms as it trilled happily.

Bringing it closer to my face I smiled then watched as it reached out with one arm and touched my brow. Without warning I felt something stir in my belly, rising up with a hot furnace through my chest before an image exploded into my mind and I gasped, eyes widening quickly as Misty smiled up at me, her image slightly blurred around the image but it was definitely her face.

Emotions began to swim through me, a strong attachment which turned from myself to Misty, almost like a maternal bond, a love that I could only feel to a parent. There was trust, love and joy, yet then I began to understand that it wasn't my own but it was Togepi's feelings.

I've always thought myself as rather in tune with Pokémon, but this was incredible! This has never happened before, what was going on? When Togepi drew back its hand I groaned, my vision going black and I swayed, only just thinking to pull it close to me as my knees buckled.

"Hey watch out Ruby!" Ash called as he darted forwards and caught me before I could hit the ground. "What happened?"

"I don't know, that was weird." Brock said as Pikachu and Eevee darted over.

"Vee? Vee! Vee!" Suddenly Eevee was licking my face as Pikachu jumped up and shook me, Misty taking Togepi out of my hands as Ash then gently lowered me down. "Vee?"

"Pika? Pika Pikachu!" Groaning I blinked, slowly opening my eyes as the burning heat within me died out and my spinning head began to level out, calming until I was once again fully aware and staring up at me.

"What happened?" I asked, turning to look at Ash who was still supporting me from behind.

"Your eyes flashed a different colour Ruby." He told me and I frowned. "Your entire eye turned blue for a second, was that Togepi?" He asked but I shook my head.

"I don't know, it was weird. But I know who Togepi wants to be with." I said, standing up with Ash's help, reaching down and picking up Eevee to assure her I was okay as Pikachu remained on my shoulder, worriedly touching my forehead to make sure I wasn't coming down with something.

"Really? How do you know?" Brock asked, coming forwards as the three of them crowded in front of me.

"It showed me." I answered them. "And I sensed its emotions, like it was sharing with me what I needed to know." Taking a slow breath I then smiled at Misty. "It's imprinted on you Misty, because you were the first thing it saw so it thinks you are its mother. So unfortunately for you two boys, Togepi has already chosen who it wants its mother to be." Both of them dropped to the floor with a groan.

"It's not fair!" In answer I stood down and smacked his head.

"Tough, you don't get a say in this." Misty squealed and spun around with Togepi with joy.

"I can't believe it! I got a new Pokémon! A cute one too!" I laughed, rubbing both Pikachu's and Eevee's heads as they nestled either in my arms or on my shoulder.

"Pika Pi?" Pikachu asked me worriedly so I smiled.

"I'm fine, I promise." I assured him.

"Vee?" Chuckling I kissed her head.

"Promise."