3:04 AM.

Every time I checked my watch, it seemed to be that same exact time. 3:03 felt like it was an hour ago; either I had a serious case of insomnia, or there was something that I needed to talk to myself about. I couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the thought; after losing -- oh, what was it -- about half of my Pokemon, almost killing my best friend, and the fact that I was being hunted down by Team Rocket and a Shuppet that could probably kill me at any time he felt he wanted to, I certainly did have things on my mind that needed to be resolved.

I rolled over on my side and let an annoyed sigh escape me. Maybe if Rune was awake, I could talk to him, and...

"Rune?"

No reply.

"Rune, I know you don't sleep. Don't try to pull that one on me."

I heard him sigh and he cracked open an eye to look at me. Just so you know, he replied haughtily, I was not sleeping. Sometimes I just need to shut my mind down and... take a break and relax.

I grinned and laughed quietly. "That's what we call 'sleeping' on this planet, Rune."

He smirked at me, then closed his eyes again. So, what did you want, anyway? Not that I don't enjoy being disturbed during my mental rests, he added, while shooting me a glare when I snickered at the last two words, But I'd really like to get back to what I was doing if you don't have any interesting to say.

"Well, I did kind of want to talk to you," I replied, twiddling my thumbs.

Rune gave a weary sigh, as if he knew right off the bat what I was going to say. About what?

I rolled my eyes at him. "No, I'm not gonna bore you with rants about my dead Pokemon, though you should be a little more accepting to listen, on my behalf." He winced slightly as I shot him a death glare. "In any case, to be honest, I don't exactly know myself what I want to talk about."

The Kadabra sighed more heavily this time. So, you woke me up to talk to me about not knowing what you want to talk to me about?

Just as I was about to nod and reply, something hit me. "Woke you up?" Rune nodded, not sure where I was going with this. "A-ha! So you admit to being asleep!" I punched the air in victory and laughed, as Rune, his pride destroyed, chuckled sheepishly. Okay, so I do go to sleep sometimes...

I just rolled my eyes and clasped my hands over my mouth to contain my laughter. "I knew it all along, buddy, you didn't fool me for a second."

As our quiet laughter settled down, a long-awaited yawn escaped my mouth. "I guess all I needed was a good laugh," I muttered, eyelids drooping.

Laughter is the best medicine, isn't it? I smirked at Rune's late-night attempt to sound wise and gave him a playful punch on the arm.

"Oh, shut up, you big sap." With that, I let sleep take over me, allowing Rune to return to "resting his brain". But as I slowly began to drift off, I could still feel something eating away at me -- and that something couldn't be good.

--------------------

I awoke with heavy bags under my eyes and a droopy expression, but I could expect nothing less from a night of almost no sleep. Yawning, I sat up and looked over Katsu -- still sleeping, of course. That would need fixing.

Pillow in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, I snuck to where Katsu was sleeping and dumped the bottle all over him, dropping the bottle and raising the pillow soon after. "Time to wake up!" I shrieked, laughing maniacally as I brought the pillow to his face in one swift motion, sending him flying into a laying-down position again.

Katsu quickly jumped to his feet, wiping away the water still on his face. "Keiko!" He shouted furiously, still in shock, "What the hell was that for?!"

"That," I answered in a mocking, sing-song voice, "Was for freaking me out with the Mightyena mask in Saffron."

He crossed his arms and sneered, as if that in itself validated his point at all. "Hmph. All I know is that I'm good and ready to challenge Blaine... right after I recover from the migraine you gave me after that pillow assault," Katsu added harshly, and Mightyena barked in agreement.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "You're so cute when you get angry," I pinched his cheek playfully while Katsu wrinkled his nose, pushing my hand away and furrowing his brow to try to hide a slight blush that was creeping its way across his face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So why are you so chipper this morning?" He demanded, crossing his arms. I just shrugged as he went on, "Well, if you're too chicken to fight Blaine, fine by me, but I'm not going to wait up for you." He waved me away and began to leave, but not before I appeared before him, pratically growling at him.

"Chicken?!" I snapped back, "You'll be a roasted chicken when I'm done with you, you little smartass...!"

Katsu just grinned and laughed as I chased him all around the island, while Mightyena and Rune just sat and stared at us.

I'll never understand humans, I heard Rune mutter, and Mightyena just yipped in reply.

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked around -- it was only now that I realized that I was way off course, far, far away from the actual city of Cinnabar. Katsu spun around when he realized I had stopped and raced over to me, panting and still recovering from his own fit of giggles.

"What'd you stop for?" He asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

After scanning the area again, I turned back to him. "We're a little too far from the city. I think we might be lost."

He smacked his hand to his forehead, sighing in annoyance. "Well, at least we've got help coming," Katsu nodded behind me, and I turned to see Mightyena running towards us, and Rune following not far behind. "Of course, not like they'll be much help in getting us back anyway. It only figures you'd get us lost in a place like this." He looked around at the barren wasteland; a few trees dotted the beachy scene, but nothing else but ocean could be seen for miles.

"Excuse me?!" I replied crossly, putting my hands on my hips, "We wouldn't have been lost if you hadn't stopped running!"

"If I stopped running, you would have beat me up!"

"Yeah, but that's not worse than getting lost!"

"Well, excuse me if I don't want your foot-long nails gouging my eyes out!"

We bickered back and forth for a few minutes before Rune finally interjected, bringing us apart and suspending us both in mid-air using Psychic. That's enough, the Kadabra hissed, It'd be better to try and get back to the city than to stand here fighting, don't you think?

Katsu and I exchanged angry glares before sighing and giving up. "All right, fine," I murmured, defeated, "Just let us down, please?"

Rune nodded his head and dropped us to the ground forcefully, and each of us landed with a loud thud. I groaned and rubbed my back, while Katsu rubbed his... ahem, backside.

"Thanks for the comfy landing," he muttered bitterly, his face twisted into a sour, pained expression.

My Pokemon smirked before answering, No problem.

Suddenly, something in the trees caught my eye. I could barely see it; it looked like a somewhat broken down house. "Hey, guys... see that over there? Maybe if someone lives there, they could give us directions or something," I muttered, and started walking towards it without checking to make sure they were following.

Turns out I was wrong -- this wasn't a house, it was a mansion, and a rather beaten up one, at that. It looked like it had been the victim of a raging fire, and many more natural disasters after that; shattered windows, broken walls, and rubble everywhere. Still, it seemed to be in good enough shape for people to take shelter in; and with any luck, someone would be in there and would be willing to give our group directions.

I pushed the door open, slowly, and winced as it creaked loudly. A couple pieces of drywall fell to the ground as I entered the room, looking catiously around me.

"Keiko? Keiko! Wait up for us!"

I turned to see Katsu and Mightyena racing towards me, and Rune fizzling into existance next to me. "Sorry," I answered as the rest of the group entered the mansion, "Let's go see if we can find help, okay? Then maybe we'll be able to get out of here..."

The three of them nodded, and we continued through the destroyed area, looking for any sign of life besides the few Rattata scurrying around.

After ten minutes of searching, we still found nothing. Katsu was kicking around a few rocks impatiently. "Can we leave yet?" He groaned, sighing restlessly, "I'm getting bored."

"There's a surprise," I muttered, rolling my eyes, "Alright, fine. We'll just walk around aimlessly until we find the city again. How does that sound?"

He just scoffed as we all turned to leave, passing by halls of ashes and rubble. A few old, broken paintings were on the ground, nearly unrecognizeable. Everything seemed to be normal so far, until a familiar pair of eyes appeared before me -- Shuppet's. I screamed, falling backwards onto the ground. Katsu reached down and helped me up, glaring at the Pokemon that was before us. Shuppet fully appeared and snickered as we quickly jumped to our feet.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he smirked, floating closer towards me and eyeing my belt that held my Pokeballs, "Who'll be next, I wonder?..."

"Leave us alone, Shuppet," I spat, backing away slowly, "I don't feel like dealing with you right now."

"Touchy, aren't we?" the ghost-type snickered back, grinning slyly, "I'm not here to hurt you... for today. Just wanted to tell you... watch your back." With that, he floated backwards, fading away into nothing.

I rolled my eyes and continued walking. "As if I need him to tell me to do that," I scoffed, kicking the door of the mansion open.

Katsu followed me outside, sighing. "Well... Let's just watch out for anything suspicious -- though why he would tell us when we're in danger is beyond me, since we're the ones trying to stop him, anyway..." He scratched his head, confused.

"Don't lose sleep over it, Katsu," I answered dully, walking along. "He's just trying to scare us. Let's just go find the city."

An hour of searching and two arguments later, we finally spotted the city, bustling with people and tourists. The gym wasn't far off into the distance; a half-hour's worth of walking, at best, and depending on how eager the two of us were to get our 7th badge, maybe less -- and eager we were. The second we spotted it, we ran full-speed towards the fire-themed gym.

We stopped by the entrance of the gym, panting. "Hey, Keiko," Katsu said, "I can only really use Mightyena for this gym battle, since Sceptile would be burned to death if I let him fight, so... I was wondering, do you wanna trade Rune for Sceptile so I could use him to fight Blaine? I'd trade him back right after."

I thought for a moment, then turned to look at Rune, who just shrugged. I'm fine with it, the Kadabra nodded his head. I could trust Katsu with Rune, surely, so I smiled and nodded. "Sure. There's a Pokecenter right over there; let's go!"

We made our way to the Pokecenter and into the trading room. "You sure you're okay with this, Rune?" I asked him, and he nodded again before I recalled him into his Pokeball. I placed the red-and-white sphere on the machine, and Katsu did the same with Sceptile. I watched as the pokeballs were sucked up, and after a few moments, I had myself a Sceptile.

"Alright, then," I attached the grass-type's ball to my belt, "We're ready. Let's go!"

At the gym, Katsu gripped Rune's pokeball confidently. "Alright, Rune, ready to battle?" He pressed the button in the center of the ball, and a red beam of light released Rune into existance, but something about him looked... different. He was slightly taller, though still a bit shorter than the average Kadabra, his tail had disappeared, and he seemed skinnier, yet more muscular, in a way.

"Wha-what happened?!" I gasped, reaching out to touch him.

Rune just grinned cockily at me. I evolved into an Alakazam when I was traded, he answered simply.

"Awesome!" shouted Katsu, eyes sparkling, "This is so cool! Look at him!"

I laughed quietly as he gushed over my -- well, technically his, at the time -- new Alakazam. "Katsu, are you going to faint over him evolving, or are you going to go kick some firey ass in this gym?" I inquired playfully, raising an eyebrow.

He just chuckled nervously, and we all walked to the fighting area, ready for battle.

"Go, Mightyena!"

"Go, Arcanine!"

Katsu had beaten the first trainer with ease, and was now battling the second and last trainer before Blaine. I was standing with Sceptile, cheering on the sidelines wildly.

"Use Bite!" Katsu shouted defiantly. Mightyena barked and opened its jaws, showing glinting fangs as it bit down into the Arcanine's rough skin. The fire dog roared in pain, and without waiting for a command from his trainer, quickly spit fire at his opponent.

Katsu smirked. "Alright, Mightyena, use Thunder Fang!"

Electricity began to spark inside of the dark-type's mouth, dancing around his fangs dangerously. He took another bite into the Arcanine, electrocuting it and sending it reeling back in shock, falling to the floor, dazed.

"Arcanine! Quickly, use Hyper Beam!" his trainer shouted desperately. The Pokemon got up, growled weakly and began to collect energy in the back of his throat. With a mighty roar, he fired the blast at his opponent, sending him flying back from the kick. Mightyena's eyes widened with horror as the beam hit him and sent him crashing to the ground in a heap. Both Pokemon had fainted.

"Ha!" Katsu exclaimed haughtily, "Since I still have one Pokemon left, and you have none, I win!"

The fire trainer sighed and nodded, "Right. Blaine will be out in a few moments." He walked out of the room calmly after recalling his Arcanine. I ran over to Katsu, grinning and giving him a high-five. "Nice job, Katsu!" I congratulated as he sprayed a potion on Mightyena, "You think you'll be able to beat Blaine?"

"Of course!" He answered proudly, glaring at me in mock-anger.

I laughed and turned to walk back to the sidelines. "I think Blaine is there. Good luck."

Surely enough, the doors at the end of the arena began to part, and smoke filled the room. A deep, booming voice filled the room, "Hah! So you have defeated the previous trainers, have you?" The man chuckled. Something about his voice seemed to tell me he was nervous, distracted; but despite that, his voice was rather intimidating. "Then answer me one question, and if you get it right, you may battle me! So tell me, who is the legendary bird of fire?"

I couldn't see anything because of all the smoke, but I could tell Katsu was unsure. "Um, I think it was..." He fumbled for words, "I think it was... Moltres?"

"Hah!" The smoke dissipated, revealing an old, completely-bald (aside from a mustache) man, wearing a pair of sunglasses. A Rapidash was standing before him, snorting and stomping the ground with a powerful hoof. "That is correct! I accept your challenge, child!"

"Sweet!" Katsu cheered, punching the air in excitement, "A two-on-two battle! How does that sound to you?"

"Sounds fine to me!" Blaine laughed, "Go, Rapidash!"

"Go, Rune!"

The horse Pokemon charged forward, neighing loudly as Rune teleported behind it. Rapidash looked around for a moment, confused, then spotted its opponent and let swirling fire blast from its mouth, directly at Rune.

"Rune! Use Protect!" Katsu shouted.

Shutting his eyes tightly, the Alakazam created a barrier around himself. The fire bounced off it and shot back at Rapidash, who reared back in fear.

Blaine growled in frustration. "Rapidash, use Stomp!"

"Rune, use Confusion!"

Before Rune could comprehend what Katsu had ordered, a large hoof came crashing down on his back. With a scream of pain, he collected all the energy he could, and let a blast of psychic energy loose at the fire horse.

Rapidash stumbled around weakly, obviously confused. Unsure of what to do, it shot a fire blast from its mouth, filling nearly the whole arena with flame.

Once the smoke had cleared, Rapidash was on the ground, fainted. Rune, though weak, was still standing. Blaine recalled his Pokemon. "Rapidash, return! Go, Arcanine!"

The same species of Pokemon that we had seen earlier was let loose from it's spherical cage, growling fiercely at Rune.

"Alright, Rune, return!" Katsu demanded, and without protest, Rune was sucked back into the pokeball. Mightyena lept forward, snarling at the Arcanine. He was determined not to faint this time.

"Mightyena, Dig!"

The hyena-like Pokemon began to furiously scratch at the ground, quickly creating a hole. He lept in.

"Arcanine, fill the hole with fire!"

I gasped -- with nowhere to run to, Mightyena was as good as dead. I shot a worried look at Katsu, but he just winked at me, as if to tell me he had a plan. I watched silently, completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

"Use Shadow Ball on the fire, Mightyena!"

When he said that, I knew what he had planned. I couldn't see it, but at the moment the dark energy collided with the fire blast, an explosion ocurred -- right under Arcanine's feet. The fire dog was sent flying into the wall, and crashed to the floor with a sickening thud.

"Don't give up, Arcanine!" Blaine demanded, "Use Take Down!"

Panting heavily, the Arcanine forced itself off the ground and charged at Mightyena recklessly, tackling it to the ground.

The two dogs fell to the ground at the same time, both of them worn out. There was a long silence, before, as if by some sort of miracle, Mightyena stood up shakily, and barked weakly with confidence.

"Arcanine is unable to battle," Blaine shouted, "Mightyena is the winner."

Both Pokemon were recalled, and Blaine walked towards Katsu and shook his hand. "I don't mean to be rude, but you seemed a lot easier than I expected," Katsu said as he was handed the Volcano Badge.

"I'm just feeling a bit distracted, that's all," Blaine answered, sighing. "Recently I heard that Moltres was captured by Team Rocket not long ago. That bird saved my life at one time, and the news is extremely upsetting to me."

I walked over Katsu after recalling Sceptile, and smiled sadly at the gym leader. "If it makes you feel any better, Moltres is still alive," I began quietly.

"How do you know?" He gasped, his expression brightening a bit.

"Well, to make a long story short, we encountered Articuno a while back. A Rocket member was trying to capture it using Moltres -- we stopped him, but Moltres is still in Team Rocket's possession."

Blaine sighed and looked at the ground, deep in thought. Finally, he looked back up at us. "I am too old to try and stop them myself. So hear my request," he took a deep breath before continuing, "If you meet up with them again, if you see them with Moltres, or any other of the birds again -- stop them. A graceful creature like that doesn't deserve to be held captive."

A few moments passed, and we both smiled and nodded. "Of course we will, Blaine," I replied, shaking his hand. He grinned and bid us farewell, watching us as we left.

To make a long story short, I returned to the gym with Rune back in my possession not long after, and recieved a badge after defeating Blaine. All of our Pokemon were worn out, so we let the Pokecenter take care of them. Luckily, there was a room available, for once, for us to stay in for the night.

"Katsu," I began. I was sitting on my bed, looking at the badges that sparkled in the case. "Should I... keep going?"

He looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Uh... What do you mean, exactly?"

"I mean, should I keep trying to get to the Pokemon league? If I really am some kind of... 'chosen one', and I'm being hunted down by a crazy Shuppet and the leader of a huge criminal orginazation, then I'm not sure that entering the Pokemon League and gaining any kind of publicity that would give away where I was would be a good idea."

There was silence as Katsu thought, tapping his foot. "Well," he began, biting his lip, "You're right. But you know, maybe after you get your last Kanto badge, we could just continue on to Johto and skip the league for the time being. I mean, I could still enter, but if you're really that unsure about it..."

I just shrugged and collapsed onto the bed, sighing and looking around the white room. It was so plain, so boring. Though, I guess I couldn't expect much less from a Pokecenter's bedrooms.

I looked at the clock: 10 PM. I yawned and shut off my lamp. "I'm exhausted. Goodnight, Katsu."

I didn't hear his reply, because in under a minute, I was asleep.