Hello there and welcome to chapter eight! It has taken me awhile to put up this chapter because... I wanted to update today specifically! Why? Because it is my one year anniversary here on fanfiction! I'm probably way more excited about that than I should be, haha! But I wanted to have a little upload party today because I like parties. XD

So this chapter takes place a little bit later (hence the "three months later" thing at the beginning of the chapter).

Also I have some exciting news (not pertaining to this story) but I'll save that for the note afterwards! XD

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 8: Happenings

Three months later

I sighed, hastily wiping my forehead with the back of my hand before bending down and picking up the two pails of Pokémon food again. I enjoyed the work I was given, especially since it involved Pokémon, but I had to admit by the end of the day I was exhausted.

When I had decided to stay for a little longer at Oak's facility he had immediately set me off to do chores. Feed the Feebas. Brush the Raichus. Play with the Rattatas. Give the Butterfree exercise. The list seemed to go on forever and Oak took advantage of my everlasting love of Pokémon to push his daily tasks off onto me.

I elbowed the door to the stable open, whinnies hitting my ears as the Rapidashes and Ponytas inside pranced in place in excitement for their dinner. I dumped the contents of the pails into the feed troughs and soon the area was filled with the sound of munching and crunching. I smiled as I dusted my hands off, exiting the stables and heaving a sigh of relief. My tasks for the day were done.

I glanced up at the sky. It was already dimming quickly, stars beginning to show themselves. I had never known Kanto to be such a beautiful place.

"Talace!" I called, turning around and locking the door to the stable, taking the lantern off of the wall and twisting the knob to turn on the gas. I heard loud rumbles as my Emboar came barreling down the dirt road, leaving a dust cloud in his wake.

What made the daily work bearable was not just the Pokémon I was tending to, but my own personal posse that followed me around almost twenty-four-seven. Consisting of course of my Emboar and newly hatched Eevee. I had thought that the egg would never hatch, and at times wondered if it was empty. But after two and a half months of waiting and hoping, it finally happened. Oak had been right and an Eevee had been born. She was tiny and weak but in my mind she was perfect. With a little training any Pokémon could become a Champion.

Talace made it to me in record time and I held out the lantern to him. It was one of the few jobs he had, and he took it very seriously. Work was a precious thing to Talace and so not having much to do was really taking a toll on him. Battles were usually his forte, but he hadn't been in one for weeks and so he resorted to doing the more menial tasks that I could come up with.

He laced his claws together, cracking them a few times and taking a deep breath before leaning over. He took another deep breath, steadying himself before snorting out a tiny ball of flame which instantly ignited the lantern and illuminated the area around us. He snorted with pride, a much larger ball of flame flying out onto the dirt and dissipating almost immediately.

I shook my head and chuckled to myself. If he took lighting a lamp that seriously I was doing something wrong. He would go stir crazy if I didn't leave Oak's soon.

I was then reminded of Talace's other task when I heard a high pitched voice chatter from down the road. Eevee trotted into view, her tongue hanging out as she wheezed. She tried her best to keep up with the large fire pig but being so small she was never quite able to. Talace had taken it upon himself to entertain her all day. She seemed attached to him from the start and so she was elated to have a playmate for the entire day.

"Ee-Eevee Vee!" she exclaimed once she reached us, frowning and pointing a paw up at Talace.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to understand that she was a little upset he had run ahead without her, leaving a cloud of dust in her face.

Talace scratched the back of his head, snorting out a 'sorry'.

I smiled to myself, waving a hand to motion on my Pokémon. If I planned on getting an early start on my chores the next day I needed a good night's sleep. Eevee came bounding behind me, weaving in and out of Talace's legs as he ran, stumbling around in an attempt not to squash her.

I found it amusing that the two Pokémon on my new team got along so well. They were polar opposites and yet they had an interesting relationship. It almost reminded me of an older brother and little sister.

I reached the lab in record time, the glowing lights inside of the building welcoming me back into warmth. I clicked off the lantern, the flame inside dying down almost instantly as I began climbing the steps to the back door.

Just as I was about to enter I heard a deafening ring. The most unmistakable ring I had ever heard. My X-transceiver was just not getting any quieter. I rummaged around in my pocket, quickly pulling out the device and answering it without looking at the name. Bianca's face popped onto the screen a second later and I couldn't lie; I was surprised.

"White! There you are! Where are you?" she asked, her eyes going wide as her free hand flailed around in the air hopelessly.

I had been out of the region for three months and I hadn't stayed in touch with anyone. While I was searching for the Sages it was a similar story. However Bianca, Cheren, Juniper, and my mother always made it routine to give me a few calls to check up on me. I had the sneaking suspicion that they were worried. I couldn't blame them.

"I'm in Kanto," I answered. I felt Talace creep up behind me, his beard of flames warming my back as he looked over my shoulder at the X-transceiver.

Bianca gave me a weary look. "Kanto White? Why?"

"Well…" I trailed off, my eyes flitting around. I didn't exactly want to tell her the real reason, and an excuse was easy enough to come up with. "I wanted to see my Pokémon of course! I've been having the time of my life here with them," I said. It wasn't a lie, I was there to see my Pokémon and I was having a great time with them. Even if my time was spent doing more chores than catching up.

"Oh yes of course," Bianca said, waving her hand around in the air. "You have so many that Juniper sent them to Oak. I remember now. I'm such a klutz," she said, her high-pitched giggle adding to her point.

I laughed as well. Bianca's antics were hard to resist and usually Cheren and I would find ourselves cracking up as she again and again outdid herself in clumsiness.

"Why'd you call?" I asked, curiosity finally getting the better of me.

"Oh yes! That's right! I just wanted to ask-"

She was cut off as yet another deafening ring sliced through the air. Talace groaned behind me; it wasn't exactly his favorite sound either. I was getting another call and quickly answered it as well, making it a three-way conversation.

"Cheren?!" I said. I hadn't expected Bianca, but Cheren's call really surprised me.

"Hey White… Bianca," Cheren said, giving an odd look at the screen. It was more than a little obvious that he hadn't expected it to be a three person conversation.

"Geez, what's with all the calls you guys?" I asked.

Bianca's face was already flushed at the sight of Cheren and she stumbled over her words as she tried to explain why she had called. But Cheren interrupted her.

"Hey White, I was just wondering if maybe you could come on back to Unova. My Gym's grand opening is tomorrow."

My eyes went wide. "Tomorrow? I thought your Gym opened up almost nine months ago!" Indeed the new Gyms in the Unova region had opened the weekend after I had declined the Championship. I had figured Cheren's would as well, but by the look on Cheren's face I could tell something had gone wrong.

"Yeah, it was supposed to but something happened with the Gym Badges I was given and the League had to take them back. Something about not having the right recognition devices in them and the gates at the Pokémon League weren't recognizing them. So before they were even given to me they were recalled. The new batch just arrived yesterday and they said everything was fine now. All green lights ahead!" he said, a hesitant smile on his face as he laughed off the miscommunication.

Cheren was all about getting things right and I could tell it really bugged him that something had happened. No doubt that in his mind he was wondering if it was a sign that he wasn't meant to be a Gym Leader.

"Yeah that's what I called about too," Bianca blurted, finally able to get her nerves under control.

I quickly thought the offer over as Bianca and Cheren waited in silence. I had been wanting to leave for a little while. I loved staying with my Pokémon but my main goal was to become Champion and so I figured if I planned on beating Iris I needed to get a jump start on training new Pokémon. I couldn't sit idle forever. This seemed to be the perfect chance to get moving again.

"Sure thing guys! I'll be there," I said, giving them a thumbs up.

I heard a roar from Talace behind me. My head whipped around to see my Emboar trotting away, doing a happy dance all the way as Eevee sat off to the side giving the fire type a look that said she thought he was crazy. I smiled, realizing that not being able to battle had taken much more of a toll on him than I had thought. He seemed elated at just the mention of going back to Unova.

It wasn't a secret that Talace wanted me to be Champion. He had been a little hesitant when I had given it up, but had gone along with it because he trusted me. He was a battle monster though, and I knew that he wanted to be battling trainers that were Champion worthy more than anything.

I turned my attention back to the X-transceiver to see both Bianca and Cheren giving me large grins.

"See you tomorrow White! I'm so excited!" Bianca squealed, waving rapidly before her end of the call went blank. Cheren's small box was then enlarged to take over the entire screen.

"Thanks White. It really means a lot that you'll be there," he said, his eyes softening.

I nodded. "I can't miss my best friend becoming a Gym Leader now can I?"

He chuckled, looking off to the side of the screen before turning his attention to me again. Once again I noticed a hesitant look on his face. He was nervous.

"Don't worry Cheren. The badge thing was a fluke; you'll make a great Gym Leader."

He sighed, "I sure hope you're right."

I nodded. "Of course I'm right, when have I ever been wrong?"

He rolled his eyes, a smile stretching across his face. "Cocky much?"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'd call you four eyes but I guess I can't do that anymore. Nice contacts by the way," I said, grinning to myself.

"Thanks," Cheren said, sarcasm in his voice.

"I guess we really are growing up aren't we Cher?" I sighed.

He nodded.

We were a far cry from what we had been when we had started off on our journeys. I was an insecure newbie trainer who was hesitant about battling, always worried I was going to lose, and now I was not only the Hero of Unova and the one who singlehandedly took down Team Plasma, but quite possibly the most powerful trainer in Unova as well. Cheren had been a cocky and excited bookworm who had his sights set on Championship and nothing less. Now he had found something he might quite possibly like more: being a Gym Leader. We had grown up. Both looking a little older, and acting it as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow, White," Cheren said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I gave him a nod. "See ya."

The screen clicked black and I sighed, turning around to see Talace still doing a small happy dance. I sunk to the ground, placing my feet on the second step and plopping down on the top. There it was again. That little hint of sadness. I got excited when thinking about the Championship that was in my future. I got excited about new Pokémon, and I got excited about the future. However when I envisioned that future once again N came to mind and my heart sank a little. It would've been perfect if only N were back. He would be in the crowd, cheering me on. But he wasn't. He was goodness only knows where, and I needed to accept that fact.

"Going back are we?"

I jumped, quickly looking over my shoulder to see the Professor slowly walking towards me. He stopped at my side, bending down to sit next to me.

"Yeah I guess," I said, looking up at the now nearly pitch black sky. "Is that alright?"

I was a little worried that Oak would either take it personally or be upset that his new recruit for chores was now going to be gone.

Oak chuckled, "No, not at all. I was actually wondering when you'd leave. Don't get me wrong," he said, shaking his head and laughing to himself, "It's been great having extra help around here but you've gotta do what you've gotta do."

I gave him a nod, thanking him mentally.

"I'll be routing for you, White. I wish you the best of luck, and one day hope to be able to say that I have the Champion of Unova's Pokémon in my facility!"

I smiled, nodding to him. "Then that'll be two." I knew that the Professor still had the Kanto Champion Red's Pokémon with him, and no doubt they were a source for tourism.

Oak gave me a pat on the back before heaving himself up to stand. He turned to leave, his feet shuffling on the pavement before he stopped abruptly. "Oh White, by the way…"

I glanced over my shoulder, "Yeah?"

Oak scratched the back of his head. "I was wondering if maybe I could keep one of your Pokémon for research."

I cocked my head to the side. He already had almost all of my Pokémon. "Which one?"

Oak took a deep breath before answering. "Zekrom."

"Zekrom?" I squeaked, my eyes the size of saucers. I hadn't expected that answer. Could I really just leave him here? He was a legendary. Not only that but one of the two legendary dragons of Unova. Would he be stolen? Would he be alright? Would he trash the place? Worries flooded my mind.

Oak nodded vigorously, "Research on him would be like gold to me, White. I'll make sure he is given the best of care."

Oak's eyes pleaded with me. I took a few long minutes to mull it over, the Professor watching me intently the entire time. All in all it wouldn't be that bad of an idea. He attracted so much attention in Unova that it was beginning to become more hazard than help. Not only that but I didn't let him out of his ball that often, especially if I was going to catch and train new Pokémon. Zekrom was pure power, but in all reality he wasn't needed at the moment. I knew once I became Champion he would be a staple in my team, but before then, he might be happier with Oak.

"Alright," I sighed, watching with amusement as Oak did a happy dance that looked similar to Talace's. "I just have to keep him until I'm back in Unova. He's my ride."

Oak nodded quickly. "Sure! You can transfer him back whenever you get the chance. In fact, I'll notify Professor Juniper right now!" he exclaimed, dashing back into his laboratory, the door slamming behind him.

I blinked before turning my attention back to the sky. Changes, and lots of them were coming my way, I could feel it.

Almost as if on a timer my X-transceiver went off again, causing Talace and I to once again groan in agony at the grating sound. Eevee gave us weird looks as she licked her paw, clearly bored with the situation.

I picked it up quickly, not only because of the sound but because of the name on the screen. Alder.

"Hey there kiddo!" his booming voice echoed out of the device as his picture clicked onto the screen.

"Alder? Why are you calling?" I blurted. I had gotten more calls in ten minutes than I had in the past three months.

"Well hello to you too," Alder said, sending me a mock hurt look.

I chuckled and he continued.

"I heard you're coming back for Cheren's Gym's opening?" he asked.

I gave him a nod. "Sure am." News sure got around fast.

"Good! I was hoping you'd come back soon. You need to get a start on your new team am I wrong?"

I shook my head. "Yeah I've been delaying. But I do have a new Pokémon!" I said, shooting him a look of pride. Almost as if on cue Eevee trotted to my side, hopping up on my lap and sticking her face right into the center of the screen.

"Eevee," she sang in recognition.

"Why hello there. An Eevee White? Good choice," Alder said, nodding in approval as I petted the Pokémon in my lap until she hopped off, curling up into a ball at my side.

I nodded, "Yep, the Professor gave me an egg and bam!"

Alder chuckled, "Good girl."

An awkward silence filled the air and I cleared it by clearing my throat. "So, you called for…"

"Oh yes! Sorry about that. You're not gonna like what I have to say though…"

'Uh oh' I thought. It was never a good thing when someone started off a conversation that way, let alone someone as cheery as Alder.

"I went ahead and talked to Sukizo the other day about what you'd have to do once you were ready to challenge Iris."

I cringed. Was there something wrong? Was I not in the running anymore?

"Well, he said that he'd take all your Gym Badges as proof of beating the gyms, and that your battles with the Elite Four would still stand, however…"

Of course. There was always a 'however'.

"He said that in order to be able to challenge Iris you'd have to be able to obtain every current Gym Badge, including the three new ones."

My head dropped. There was yet again another obstacle. I had to admit it wasn't the worst one so far however. Three gyms weren't as bad as eight and I had half expected Alder to tell me that I'd have to take the Gym Challenge all over again. Plus if I was expected to train new Pokémon I figured that challenging Gyms would be a good way to give them experience. Plus with Eevee being as young and inexperienced as she was, she would have to battle some weak opponents to get the feel for battling at first.

My head lifted and I smiled at the screen. "So if I beat the three Gyms, I'll be able to challenge Iris?"

Alder looked a bit surprised at how easily I had taken the news. "Y-yeah. And then if you beat her the Championship is all yours."

I sighed, "Alright, is that all?"

"Actually there is one more thing…" Alder trailed off, his eyebrows knitting together. "You'll be in Aspertia City tomorrow right?"

My eyebrows scrunched together as well. "Yeah, why?"

Alder nodded. "Juniper called me to ask where you were because she wanted to give you a Pokémon. Said something about wanting you specifically to train it. I'll let her know that you'll be there for the opening of Cheren's Gym, then I'm sure she'll call you and tell you where to meet her."

My eyes widened, "Uh, yeah sure." Another Pokémon? I had planned on the search for my new team to be a hard one and yet it seemed the first two additions were just going to be handed to me quite literally. I couldn't help the excited anticipation prickling in my stomach. I wonder what Pokémon it'll be.

"Alright, so if you think you've got everything, I'll be going," Alder said.

I gave him a nod, "Yeah I got it. Thanks for the heads up on everything."

Alder grinned, shaking his head. "No problem kiddo. Hurry up, I can't wait to see you in the Hall of Fame."

With that the screen went black and I was again left in silence. It seemed everything was shifting into place. I was being given a clear cut path to my goal. Beat the three Gyms, beat Iris, and then I'd be Champion again. Along the way I'd train a new team and then I'd be unbeatable.

I laid back on the concrete behind the Professor's lab. It all seemed like a dream. I was getting another little journey after all. I had secretly wished for one for a while now, and it appeared my wish was being answered. It would be fun. The only thing that would make it better was if N was present.

I shook my head of the thought and smiled. I wouldn't let it bring me down. Only three Gyms stood in my way. It would be a fun and yet easy ride. After all, with my original journey I had had to deal with Team Plasma; that of which no longer existed. No doubt it would almost feel like a breeze without them. I smiled and closed my eyes. I'd be going back to Unova the next day, and I couldn't wait.

So there it is! I hope you liked it! And next chapter officially starts the events from B/W 2! I'm excited! And of course an Eevee always makes me happy too. XD

Oh, anyway, the exciting news? I'm starting a new story! (It's exciting for me anyway.. *sweatdrop*) And it will be Ferriswheelshipping! Mostly at least! It is going to have a higher rating than this story, just thought I'd put that out there. But hey, if you're bored like I am and you want some Ferriswheelshippng stuffs to read... why not? It's going to be called Two Kings and you can find it on my profile!

Shameless self promotion. I am the master of it. XD Anyway, a gigantic thanks for all the reviews last chapter, I love all of them so much you don't even know. XD

Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend!