The Next Step

Daphne had been at the training school for three weeks and she was sick of having to go to the extra sessions on the weekend. Miss Billow had insisted she attend them because of her 'new' status and as she was part of a team, Conan and Amina had to join her. Amina didn't particularly mind since it gave her a chance to get more powerful, having never battled before. She enjoyed battling Miss Billow's Arbok, although it being a lot stronger than her beat her each time they faced each other. Conan loathed the extra sessions even more than Daphne did; when he had first arrived along with everyone else, they had gone through the basic training and now he was being forced to do it all over again. They had to get a certain time in the assault course, successfully identify easy victims to attack and rob, complete a series of written theory work and a lot more besides.

Daphne did, however, thoroughly enjoy the weekday missions, which enabled her to be as creatively nasty as she wanted. She, Conan and Amina made a great team when it came to the missions and since the first mission they hadn't had any issues. The chemistry between them was dynamic, and they came back to the training school everyday feeling pleased with themselves and each other. They had learned how to work together in a short amount of time and for that reason alone, they had faith in their team. They believed they might just make it as field agents.

Zoe had acted snootily towards Vivian every time their paths crossed, which thankfully wasn't that often. The twins spent most of their time with their group leader, and what they did was a mystery to all the peewee trainers.

It was Monday, and Miss Billow had some exciting news for the Red group. She had gathered them in the classroom straight after breakfast: Daphne was sitting with Conan on one side and Vivian and Massimo on the other, fussing over their Kakuna. They continued to assure her that it wouldn't be long before it evolved into a Beedrill, although Conan confided to Daphne that they had been assuring him of the same thing ever since they had all arrived. No-one had received a mission that morning and everyone was feeling rather jittery about what was to come. Nothing like this had happened before and Daphne could feel the excitement crackling in the air. Miss Billow clapped her hands loudly to get Red group's attention.

"Now, it may have come to your attention that you didn't receive your daily mission slip. That's because it had been decided among us seven leaders that the majority of you are ready to leave this place and become apprentices of field agents already out there." The teenagers gasped and began to chatter animatedly; this was the big break they had been fighting tooth and nail for! They had endured hours of thieving, physical coaching and general misdeeds for this very moment. Everything had paid off in full by the sound of it. Whoever said crime doesn't pay clearly hadn't been a part of Team Rocket. Partners exchanged gleeful high-fives and matching grins, not settling down until Miss Billow was yelling at the top of her voice.

"I will call out the names of those who are departing and the city they will be sent to. Isabella and David: Hearthome; Charlotte and Maxwell: Saffron; Selene and Saul: Lilycove..." And on and on it went, until Daphne, Conan, Vivian and Massimo were the only ones not going anywhere. They sat at their desks, feeling cheated. They were just as good as the rest of them – it wasn't fair that they weren't being allowed to become apprentices too. Miss Billow dismissed everyone else so they could get packed and ready for their journey and they left, talking loudly and happily about what was in store for them in whatever city they had been allocated.

Vivian had slowly been working up into a frightening rage, and not even Massimo's soothing words could calm her down. She banged her fists on her desk and demanded to know why her team wouldn't be travelling like everyone else. Miss Billow glared at her, not impressed by her anger.

"It doesn't make sense to send all of you away. There's a perfectly good town right here that you can manipulate." Vivian had assumed that she and Massimo were being kept on the island because they had been deemed a weak team but after hearing Miss Billow's explanation became confident in her team's skills once more. Miss Billow then turned to Daphne and Conan.

"I'm aware that Daphne hasn't had as much training as you, Conan, so I expect you to help her if need be. You two are a team and working together to achieve misery is your job from now on!" she said, getting fired up about her motivational speech. "In your rooms are the supplies you will need to take you as far as the main town. When you get there, you will need to provide for yourselves by any means necessary. The field agents you will be working under will seek you out. Good luck!" The two groups agreed to set off together and split up once they got to the town, as they didn't want to rely on each other too much. The results of their actions in the town of Dearborn would determine whether they became Team Rocket field agents. The two teams went to their separate rooms to collect the supplies Miss Billow had mentioned. Daphne checked her drawers and was surprised to see that someone had emptied them. Conan's were just the same, and he panicked for a moment until he found the picture of his sister under his pillow, where he had left it.

Checking their bags, they discovered that there was not a change of clothes, or any personal hygiene products. Instead they had lengths of rope, a few Pokéballs, a bottle of water and a small loaf of bread each. Daphne stared at them in disbelief, before she reminded herself that they were expected to make do with what they were given and live off the bad deeds they committed. It seemed only fair that their supplies didn't look very useful.

When they were ready, Conan, Daphne and Amina left their room for the last time and Conan locked it behind them. They then made their way down the stairs in the direction of the front door. They passed the hallway that was out of bounds to them unless they had permission and Daphne realized she had never even wondered what was down there. Conan hadn't either, and after making sure no-one was around, they gave in to their curiosity and snuck through the double doors.

"Kuh kuh kuh kuh..."

"What was that?" Conan hissed at Amina.

"I'm working on an evil laugh," she whispered back. "I like sneaking around like this. It feels villainous!" Daphne smiled at the young Pokémon, but was quickly reminded that this was no time to have fun when she heard voices. As swiftly as she could, Daphne pulled Conan into the nearest room and crouched down under the window in the wooden door. Amina speedily followed them and they shut the door in, carefully leaving a small gap so they could see who was coming.

Zoe and Zack were walking down the hallway with their Zubat flying lazily after them. Their faces were identically pinched, as if they had received some bad news. Walking with them was someone Conan recognised as the leader of Green group – which the twins were in. As a result of never having a reason to talk to him, Conan didn't know the leader of Green group's name. His face was just as serious as the twins and the three of them marched down the hall before storming through the double doors and out of sight. Conan and Daphne exhaled loudly, relieved to have not been found sneaking around in a restricted area. The team slipped back out the way they came and met up with Massimo and Vivian. As they approached the couple, Vivian was ordering Massimo to carry both bags whilst she carried Kakuna in her arms.

"What took you guys so long?" Vivian asked impatiently. She directed them all to set off due east, which was where Dearborn Town was. Conan asked how she knew the way and Vivian replied that she had stolen a map from a team in Yellow group when they weren't looking. Conan and Daphne grinned appreciatively at Vivian's 'good' work and they set off through the foreboding woods. Amina zipped restlessly between the four wannabe field agents, distracting them and being a general nuisance. They walked through the woods trampling bushes where small Pokémon had made their homes under their shoes. The sun let little light through the thick tree tops and Daphne couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu. She hoped Conan didn't desert them like he had the first time.

They journeyed in a companionable silence, each of them excitedly anticipating their arrival in Dearborn Town. They all had ideas of what they would do once they got their, and how much fear they would instil in the local people's hearts. Maybe they'd even pilfer some Pokémon while they were at it, to make them look even worse than the average peewee trainer.

They stopped to eat when everyone complained that they were hungry. Daphne felt kind of ominous about eating her piece of bread: it was the last meal she was completely sure of. Once it had been consumed, Daphne would have to find her own food by 'any means necessary'. It struck her how Miss Billow seemed to be fond of that saying, as she used it often. After brushing the crumbs off her face, Daphne asked Vivian when they would arrive at Dearborn Town. Vivian shrugged.

"It looks like maybe few more hours?" Massimo suggested, stretching his arms. The bags had been steadily weighing him down, although he didn't dare grumble about the heavy load to his girlfriend. He had seen her at the height of her rage before and he didn't want to be the victim of it. After a brief rest the group set off once more. By now, Amina didn't have the energy to be so carefree and had resorted to being carried by Daphne in order to keep up.

By the time it was dark, Vivian asserted that they were almost there and that it would take no less than an hour to get there. She looked around and was surprised to see everyone more or less collapsed on the floor, completely exhausted. It wasn't safe to sleep in the woods without a tent or anything like that, but Vivian didn't think they had a choice. She reluctantly gave in and she took her bag from Massimo to use as a pillow. The others followed suit and soon they were all lying in the soft shrubs. Daphne could hear the rustle of nocturnal Pokémon moving around and the occasion cry of wild Pokémon. She knew she shouldn't be scared but Daphne couldn't help herself, and cuddled Amina for comfort.

Amina was already asleep, as were Conan and Kakuna. Massimo quickly joined them, along with Vivian. Daphne listened to the sounds of her allies sleeping happily away, and urged herself to do the same. She didn't want to be awake much longer, listening to the night sounds of the dense woods.

The next morning, the four teenagers and two Pokémon woke up as soon as the sun rose. Their muscles were stiff and they ached all over – a result of sleeping in such poor conditions. They were all covered in soil and the odd leaf. Conan couldn't wait to use a bed again. Amina and Kakuna were so unhappy that their respective owners returned them to their Pokéballs so they could rest more comfortably. They felt foolish for not thinking of this last night, when they could have spared their Pokémon pain. However, they had all been very tired and none of them had really been thinking straight. They walked the way to Dearborn Town in throbbing misery, none of them in the mood to make conversation. Daphne felt the worst because she had endured less training than the others and so her body wasn't used to being put through such harsh conditions. They forced themselves to keep putting one foot in front of the other and because of their bodily pains; it took them a little longer than it should have to reach their destination.

Dearborn Town was a lot bigger than Daphne had imagined. Just from her first glance on the edge of the wood, she could see hundreds of houses, surrounding a town centre with many shops and a gym. Rather than splitting up the moment they got to the town, like they had planned originally, the four of them made their way to the Pokémon Centre which was located in the town's centre. Daphne knew she should be scanning the area for possible crime opportunities but the only thing she could think of was relaxing in an actual bed. In a dream-like state, they entered the Pokémon Centre.

Nurse Joy was surprised to see a group of teenagers who looked so rough and immediately rushed to their side, concerned for their well-being. Massimo explained that they had slept roughly in the woods and wanted two rooms and for their Pokémon to be healed. Nurse Joy nodded understandingly.

"Of course," she said, as they handed over their Pokéballs. "We don't usually get many trainers who wish to make use of our rooms during the day so there should be more than enough rooms available for you." They followed Nurse Joy to the front desk where she gave them two keys for two rooms and pointed them the way upstairs. She then went around the back to bring Amina and Kakuna back to maximum health.

The four teenagers rigidly made their way upstairs and barely said goodnight before retreating into their rooms. Daphne tumbled on to her bed without bothering to pull back the blanket and within minutes was sleeping soundly. Conan took the time to take his bag off his back and remove his shoes and socks before snuggling into the comfortable bed he had been dreaming of for the past hour or so.

They'd start being a terror to the community first thing tomorrow morning when they got their strength back.

Note: Phew! That chapter took a lot out of me, so I hope you're grateful! lol I won't be updating very much because starting tomorrow, it's exam season! (dun dun DUNNN)