The Results Are In!

Conan, Daphne and Amina were wedged in with all the other former students of the peewee training school, anxiously awaiting the results of the competition. They were all packed into the stands tightly along with their mentors with the seven coaches in the middle of the battle arena. They were standing in a line on a large raised platform behind symbolic Pokémon for each group they represented: Magmar for Red, Raichu for Orange, Sandshlash for Yellow, Scyther for Green, Vaporeon for Blue, Poliwrath for Indigo and Muk for Violet. A camera was focused on them and was projected on to a big screen at one end of the arena so everyone could see clearly what was going on. There were also similar cameras fixed at regular intervals in the stands so they could film the new Team Rocket field agents' reaction once their names had been called.

Miss Billow had dressed up for the occasion – much like all the other coaches – and was wearing a sparkling red dress with a slit going up one side. It was all Conan could do to keep himself from drooling. Conan, Daphne and Amina had managed to get a position at the very front, mostly because the first aid officials had been concerned about Daphne's hand. They didn't want it to get any more hurt, especially as it was vulnerable right now. Unfortunately, this also meant Zack and Zoe were in the front too although Conan, Daphne and Amina made a point of ignoring them. Zoe's nose was in a large splint bandage, which blended almost exactly with her pale face and made her look ridiculous. Vivian and Massimo, who were two rows behind, repeatedly had to stifle their laughter as they caught glances of Zoe's nose.

Daphne reached out and grabbed Conan's hand with her good one. Conan's grip was clammy and Daphne instantly realised how nervous he was. She squeezed his hand comfortingly, trying to silently convince him not to worry. Everything would work out. On Conan's other side, Amina was flirting outrageously with Travis and Laurel's Nindorino. She had forgotten all about the competition and her fights, too caught up in her mission to woo the Poison-type. When Daphne realised what her Pokémon was doing she sighed exasperatedly and forcefully pulled Amina over to her side, away from Nidorino. Amina pouted childishly but, sensing the tension with Daphne and Conan, didn't make any movement to go back to Nidorino.

Out on the stage in the middle of the arena, Miss Billow now had possession of a microphone and began to speak into it. Her voice rang out loudly, clear as a bell and if the audience were listening carefully they could hear the hint of nervousness laced there.

"Welcome all, my name is Miss Billow and can I just say a great big congratulation to you all. We saw some amazing battles today and you should all be proud of yourselves for giving it your all. When the points were counted, we found that there were many of you who had a high score and so we had to accept more field agents than we originally planned. No matter what the outcome, we want you to know that you are all win–" The microphone was quickly snatched from Miss Billow's hand by the gentleman with blonde bouffant hair standing next to her. He gave Miss Billow a scornful look for such a light-hearted yet unnecessary speech. Judging from his gaudy orange suit, he was the coach for Orange group. His face was set as he spoke.

"I'm Mr Neil. The winners in Orange group are..." Mr Neil got straight to the point, reeling off the names in a toneless list. Miss Billow shot him a dark look as he did so, not that Mr Neil noticed her. The large screen showed a blonde girl and black-haired boy hugging their Venonat joyfully before making their way down the stairs, onto the ground to stand proudly on the stage with their monotonic coach and arrogant mentors. The coach for Yellow group took her turn, announcing Rudolph and Melinda had successfully made it, too, and they also made their way to the stage with a look of sheer accomplishment fixed on their faces and their mentors at their sides. Rudolph didn't even seem to mind that he gained more than his fair share of giggles at his name. It wasn't exactly a surprise that Zack and Zoe had won it in Green yet it was surprising that they didn't have any mentors to support them. They worked alone.

No-one in Blue group made it. This fact earned a collective yet openly-mean spirited booing from the audience. Most of them were thanking their lucky stars they hadn't been in Blue – it was bad enough not to become a field agent but for no-one else in your group to either spoke volumes about what you had learned together. The coach stood there behind his Vaporeon, trying not blush and failing. Three pairs in Indigo had the honour of becoming field agents and the coach for the team couldn't keep the smug look off her face. This was a surprising but commendable success for the group as it was the highest number of accepted students so far. Then again, it wasn't too surprising as Conan and Daphne realised that their toughest fights had come from those in the Indigo group. They had definitely been the ones to watch out for. Violet group had two pairs – Wayne-and-Fiona and Angelina-and-Bradley.

Finally, the microphone was handed back to Miss Billow, who was struggling to keep her balance on the stage and not fall off. The stage was now beginning to get somewhat crowded with the assortment of fifteen Pokémon, nearly the same amount of students and even more adults standing on it. The microphone was handed down the line and Miss Billow grabbed it from Mr Neil with as much dignity as she could muster. She looked rather peeved with him for cutting her off like that and then the other coaches had the nerve to simply forget that she had missed her turn. Conan's heart fluttered as Miss Billow's voice filled the stadium while Daphne's fluttered more with nerves than anything else. Her grip on Conan's hand tightened and Amina began to really pay attention now. This was it.

"The field agents in Red group that have made it as field agents are..." Daphne gulped as Miss Billow took a purposeful dramatic pause. The Red group students held their breath, united by this single act that would last mere seconds. "...Massimo and Vivian!" Cheering ensued from the couple, who could be seen on the big screen moments later sharing a passionate kiss with their Beedrill hovering above them. The boys in the arena – and a few girls – made sick noises whilst the kiss went on, until at last they parted and made their way down the stairs, followed by Beedrill and their mentors – who surprisingly looked every bit as pirates as Vivian and Massimo did.

Daphne's shoulders sagged. She should have known it was too good to be true. Amina's eyes filled with tears as she realised all their hard work had been for nothing. Conan's stomach felt like it had relocated to his toes. His family would suffer for a long time now before he could find another way to help quickly. His fingers slipped out of Daphne's grasp but she held them sturdy, interlocking their fingers. She wanted him to know that she would still there for him, even though they hadn't –

"And Conan and Daphne!" bellowed Miss Billow. The two gasped sharply and their faces were displayed on the big screen. Amina screamed with joy, jumping up and down in ecstasy. Daphne and Conan turned to each other and hugged, expressing their happiness the only way they knew. Laurel and Travis encouraged the team to follow them down to the stage and the trio gladly obliged. They hurried down to join the other successful students, beaming for all they were worth. This was the moment they had been waiting for. It was this that made everything worth it. Nothing could spoil this for them: they were that pleased. They grinned as a cameraman appeared from nowhere and snapped photos of the group of winners. Daphne hugged Amina to her chest, Conan's arm swung around her shoulders casually while Travis and Laurel stood delightedly behind them, their Nidorino posing at the front. The flash of the camera blinded them momentarily while the cameraman moved on to take Vivian and Massimo's picture. When Conan finally had his eyesight back, he found he wasn't as jealous as he would have been under normal circumstances when he caught Mr Neil kissing Miss Billow on her cheek. Conan sighed blissfully and turned to his partner.

"We did good," he said grinned. Daphne smiled back at him, along with Amina.

"We did great," corrected Daphne.

/

They were going back to Kanto. Well, Daphne was going back; Conan and Amina were travelling there for the first time. From there they would be sent missions that had to be carried out in order for Team Rocket to successfully complete whatever bigger scheme they had planned. Since they were going to Daphne's home-region they had made a quick pit stop to Conan's house so he could pack what little things he owned. They had already said goodbye to Travis, Laurel and Nidorino when they dropped them off just outside Dearborn Town. It hadn't been tearful or felt final. Each person and Pokémon understood that sometimes in life you had to say goodbye to those who meant a lot to you – and if you were lucky, fate would let you meet again. Each one of them hoped they were lucky.

As a sort of graduation present, Laurel had presented Conan and Daphne with exact copies of their clothes – just dyed black. They caused the teenagers to look more professional and they matched their mentors' cool appearance. It was this gesture that raised the question of why the two Team Rocket field agents didn't wear the official uniform like all the other mentors and Travis gave Conan a pitying look when he quizzed them.

"Give us some credit, yeah? We're a lot smarter than those other dopes. If we went around in Team Rocket uniform don't you think the police would be all over us?" Conan had to admit Travis raised a good point and left it at that.

Finally, Conan had packed his bag and was ready to go. All that was left was for him to say his goodbyes. He started with his mum, hugging her tightly and promising that the first thing he'd get Tate to buy was a phone so he could call them every week. Daphne and Amina looked on from the scene before them, feeling like intruders on this tender moment between mother and son. Estelle's dull grey eyes were filled with tears as she kissed her son's cheek before whispering that she loved him. A tight knot pulled in Daphne's stomach as an evil voice at the back of her mind reminded her that she would never hear those words from her own mum again. Conan pulled upright and after one gentle stroke of Estelle's long lilac hair, turned his back on her and motioned for Daphne and Amina to follow him out of the bedroom. Once Conan said goodbye to his sister there would be nothing holding them back. They would be free to wreak havoc in Kanto and instil fear in the hearts of everyone they came across – while getting paid to do so. It was their dream.

The only thing that was holding them back from living it was the fact that Tate had gone AWOL. Amina became irritated by Tate's disappearance: she couldn't wait to play nasty pranks on people. Daphne was also annoyed because she wanted to start living her ideal life as soon as she could; this was just getting in her way. She didn't understand why Conan felt it so important that he said goodbye to Tate – if he was going to buy a phone then what was the point? However, Conan insisted that they couldn't leave until he said goodbye to Tate and as they were a team, Daphne and Amina were forced to go along with it.

They searched every run-down room in the house and found no sign of Tate or even her Jigglypuff. Conan could sense his partners' growing exasperation and against his better judgement decided to give up on his search. The three of them wandered outside Conan's house where their lift to Kanto would soon arrive. Daphne was secretly hoping Team Rocket sent them a helicopter: she'd always wanted to ride in one.

They didn't wait long until a large shadow covered them and the trio scattered as it descended. Much to Daphne's dismay she saw that it wasn't a helicopter but the very same Charizard that had flown her a few months ago. The battle scars and partially missing ear gave it away. It bowed its head slightly when it made eye contact with Daphne and she patted its snout in return. She then scooped Amina up into her arms before throwing her leg over the back of the Charizard and patiently waiting for Conan to do the same. He had one hand on the Charizard's arm, taking in the last glimpse of his home he would have for a long time. Then, with a heavy sigh he turned his head and started to boost himself up onto the Charizard.

"WAIT!" a shrill voice called. Conan froze, his head snapping around. Tate was running towards him, Jigglypuff cradled in her arms. Her appearance caused not only Conan, but Daphne and Amina to do a double-take at her. Gone where her cute purple pigtails; all-pink outfit and overall childish appearance. Tate's hair was out and reached the lower half of her neck. The only items of clothing in pink she had were a light pink waistcoat and matching trainers; the rest of her outfit consisted of a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Tate now looked more like her age than a little kid. Amina was impressed by the transformation.

"You look like a teenager!" commented Amina blandly. Tate beamed.

"That's because I am one. I turned thirteen a few weeks ago," she replied. Becoming a teenager had obviously influenced her more mature look. Tate glared pointedly at Conan. He hadn't made a visit to her or sent a gift to celebrate the occasion and she was pretty miffed with him for it. Conan grinned easily.

"What, you thought I forgot?" he asked cockily. Tate shifted uncomfortably.

"You tell me," mumbled Tate, all previous hostility now melted away. Conan ruffled his sister's neatly straightened hair affectionately, annoying her by messing it up. She brushed his hand away irritably and Conan chuckled.

"Of course I didn't. Here." Conan touched Tate's cheek softly before producing a small package wrapped in shiny silver paper from his backpack. Tate grabbed it gleefully, tearing at the paper recklessly. Inside was a pink box and Tate hastily yanked the lid off, eager to see what her brother had bought her for her birthday.

As she stared down at her present, Conan hoisted himself up on to the Charizard and nudged its side with his foot, silently telling it they were ready to go. The Charizard was a little angered by such treatment but was used to it and began to flap its strong wings without complaint. Tate had no idea they were leaving until the force of the wind from the Charizard's wings pushed her backwards. She ended up on the floor, gazing helplessly up as her brother flew away from her and their life in Dearborn Town on the back of a dangerous-looking Charizard.

Conan's black and green gloves had ended up in Tate's lap and as she watched the trio fly out of sight, she tugged them on to her hands as if in a daze and mouthed one word Conan had no chance of hearing from her.

Goodbye.

Note: Phew! This chapter started off hilariously short and now its probably the longest chapter in this story O_o Don't fret, my little minions, this ISN'T the last chapter - although we're pretty close, let me tell you. Ah I'm too happy right now, I love texts :'D

P.S Who knows what's going on with the "*" and "-" as a break? Coz it won't let me do it, I had to use "/" again..