matata-Well, here's the next chapter! Swampert? I'll take that into consideration.

anusha-Thank you!

And thanks for the reviews, you guys!

So, who thinks Richie should have a Swampert in his party?

Reena was walking around to collect food and water early in the morning. And she wanted to catch some Poke'mon. Well not literally catch them, she wants to draw and sketch some wild Poke'mon when they have nothing to worry about. Then she saw what she wanted to draw, there were two Butterfree and they were happily flying and dancing in the air around flowers. Reena ducked down and pulled out her sketchbook for a quick sketch and outline, then she'll fill in the details later. Then all of a sudden, the Butterfree noticed something and they flew away. Reena was upset and sighed an "Oh well" and picked up what she had to see exactly what made the Butterfree fly, fly away. She looked over the flower bush where the Butterfree were near and noticed something, no, someone.

"Interesting…" the person said to himself. The person had his back turned to Reena so he didn't notice her.

"His hair…looks familiar. But the lab coat doesn't," Reena thought.

"Alright! This is amazing!" the person stood up and turned around only to become face to face to Reena. Okay, he's almost a head taller but still, their faces were close and he took that by surprise and jumped back.

"Hey! What's the big idea sneaking up behind me like that?"

"Sneak up on you? You're the one that scared off the Butterfree that was here earlier!" Reena argued back.

"And why were you interested in the Butterfree?" the guy asked,

"Because I was drawing them!" said Reena, annoyed and crossed her arms.

"I don't have time for this…" the guy said and picked up his bag and was about to leave when Reena noticed something.

"…Hey…that necklace. You're attitude and hair. Gary? Is that you?" Reena asked,

"…Do I know you?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Um…I'm the girl that kicked your butt in the only two Poke'mon battles we've had," said Reena hoping to help him remember.

"…Reena? Is that really you?" he asked and took a good look at her.

"Yes, do I really look that different?" Reena asked looking at herself.

"Well the fact that you're not as ugly as you were a few years ago, yes you do look different."

"Excuse me?" Reena growled.

"And not as shy either. I was kidding, Reena! Don't take it so seriously. So, how have you been?" Gary asked and started walking with Reena following,

"Well, I'm fine. Everything's okay. What about you? When did you start studying Poke'mon instead of training to beat Ash?" Reena asked,

"Things have been going great! And I stopped being a trainer after I lost in Johto. I'm here in these woods studying Poke'mon mating. I'm trying to figure out if there's some kind of pattern. Like, do the same types mate at the same time? Or is the kind of Poke'mon like bird Poke'mon? Or do all Poke'mon mate at different times? It's been fascinating from what I found out so far but I have to research some more," said Gary showing Reena some of his notes.

"Wow, you have been working hard," said Reena looking at the notes and found out things she never knew before. Gary stopped by a river and sat down again and took some food from his backpack.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Gary asked,

"Uh…no, but I've collected a lot of berries and stuff for Richie and our Poke'mon," said Reena and her stomach made a small growl.

"Richie? You two still travel together?" Gary asked, kind of surprised.

"Well we are together," said Reena and sat with Gary.

"Really? You are? I didn't expect your relationship to last that long," said Gary and took a bite out of his rice ball.

"Oh? And why's that?" Reena asked with an anime vein.

"You two are too much alike," said Gary and smirked.

"What? We are?" Reena asked,

"Don't take it too personally, people can change over time. So, if you two are still together, then you're still together. Here, take one," said Gary and handed Reena a rice ball.

"Uh…thanks. So Gary, can people break up because one or both have…changed over time?" Reena asked with a sad look on and took a small bite from the rice ball.

"Um, it does happen. I'm not an expert in human relationships, Reena, it's not like I have time to find myself a girlfriend. But I do know, it does happen. Sometimes a relationship can end if one person wasn't the same person that the other has fallen in love with in the first place. It could be one or both people; why do you ask?" Gary asked, a little suspicious.

"Um, no reason!" said Reena and puts a fake smile on.

"Uh huh…well, are you and Richie heading anywhere?" Gary asked,

"The next town, but we both enjoy being out here with Poke'mon everywhere so we take our time," said Reena.

"Hm, then maybe I'll run into you two as I continue my studies here," said Gary and finished up his rice ball and was packing some notes in his bag.

"Don't you want to meet Richie again?" Reena asked,

"I don't know, we didn't exactly start off on the right foot. Besides, I don't want to bother the alone time you two must enjoy a lot," said Gary with a big sense of teasing in his voice.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing, nothing at all,"

"Gary seriously! I know there's something in that noggin of yours th-"

"Look, I know you're probably the most innocent person in the world and you're probably sheltered a lot even though you're away from home. But you have to learn some time about the things that were hidden from you. What do you think lovers do when they're in love?" Gary asked and Reena just shrugged and Gary sweat drops.

"Reena, you have a lot to learn in life. You have to realize there's more to this world and the human life besides Poke'mon. Try not to hide from it," said Gary with a hand on her shoulder.

"Um, I'll try I guess," said Reena quietly.

"Good, and you should be mature enough to learn from the real world out there," said Gary and rolled up his sleeves and splashed his face from the water in the river. Reena then noticed something,

"Hey Gary, have you been working out?" she asked when she noticed his arms were a bitmore muscular than the last time she saw him. Like most other 10 and 11 year-olds, Gary was around scrawny and average. Now, Reena could see his arms weren't as 'scrawny' as she last saw them. It wasn't like Gary was bulky or muscular as someone like Bruno, but she was impressed by how he is now.

"Huh? Well, sort of. You see, to study Poke'mon, sometimes you have to lift and move heavy Poke'mon. It wasn't easy at first but after some time, I got stronger," Gary explained as he thought back around his early days when he couldn't move or lift some Poke'mon he could now.

"Let me see," said Reena and grabbed his arm to get a good look at it. She extended it and thought back to when she wrestled Gary to the ground one time after he made fun of her Poke'mon. Well, she wrestled him to the ground, and then tossed him into a nearby river. Oh boy, what a scary thought that he can get his revenge now…

Reena chuckles under her breath at the memory.

"What?" Gary asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," she said innocently, not that she wasn't innocent-looking enough.

"…So Reena, do you think you can beat me at arm wrestling now?" Gary asked with a smirk.

"I only arm wrestled you twice, we both won once," said Reena looking back on Memory Lane again. He beat her the first time, but she showed him the second time.

"So is that a yes or a no?" Gary asked,

"I would say yes if you didn't roll up your sleeve but now that I see what's under it, I don't think I want to," said Reena and let's go of his arm.

"Didn't think so, so how scrawny are you now?" Gary asked,

"I'm a girl! I'm not supposed to have a lot of muscle unless I'm a bodybuilder or something!" Reena exclaimed.

"And Richie?"

"Richie? Well…lets just say you beat him by a bit," said Reena and sighed.

Gary grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer,

"Hm…"

"Uh…what?" Reena asked and felt uncomfortable so she tried to pull away…he has gotten stronger! Back then, she was able to get him to release her with one movement!

"…You have lost a lot of physical strength," Gary concluded and Reena grew an anime vein.

"IS THAT WHY YOU GRABBED ME?"

"Well I wanted to see for myself. You can't judge a book by its cover right?" Gary reminded.

"Gary, you are as annoying as you were five years ago!"

"You too…" said Gary with a sweat drop.

"Oh really? So…do you mind letting go of me now? I think your grip has cut off some circulation," said Reena lifting up her arm with Gary's hand still hanging on to it.

Before Gary was going to release her, they had an unexpected visitor.

"THE HELL?"

"Oh my gosh! Did Richie just say that word?" Reena thought recognizing his voice. Gary immediately lets go after he jumped a bit from that sudden shout.

"R-Richie, take it easy. What's wrong?" Reena asked as Richie stands by the trees sending daggers at Gary with his eyes.

"H-Hey, Richie. I see that Reena was telling the truth after all," said Gary,

"Oh, so you didn't believe me? You really haven't changed that much did you, Oak?" Reena asked, slightly angry.

"To be honest, no," said Gary and Reena was about to pound him.

"Wait a minute; Gary?" Richie asked as he walks towards the two.

"Yeah, and Reena can explain everything to you," said Gary as he gets ready to leave.

"I hope so…" said Richie and that look on his face says that he wants Gary out of here.

"I'll see you around. Next time, we can battle and I can show more of what I discovered, okay?"

Reena nodded,

"Okay!" she replied smiling.

"Later, Richie. Take good care of her," said Gary and waves a goodbye.

"I don't need to be baby-sitted, Gary!" Reena shouted after him.

"Sure you don't, and I'm sure you could've gotten out of that mess with Team Rocket the last time we saw each other. You're lucky I was around," Gary reminded and Reena had a very annoyed face on. As much as Richie thinks she looks adorable when she's mad, but it's a little hard to be charmed when he's angry.

The two walked back to their camp together in silence. Reena was getting sick of it,

"Was I really gone that long, Richie?" Reena asked worried that she worried him.

"Yeah," Richie answered plainly. When they reached their camp, Reena could see that Richie already fed the Poke'mon but it didn't seem that Richie fed himself since nothing seemed to have been cooked or used. Reena reached into her back and took as much berries as possible in her two hands and handed them to Richie,

"You didn't eat, did you?" Reena asked with a sweet smile,

"…No," Richie replied and took the berries to eat.

The two sat down and Reena watched Richie eat.

"So Richie, you seemed upset when you saw Gary, why?" Reena asked innocently.

"Well…first of all, what were you doing with him?" Richie asked, being as patient with her as possible,

"Well I was gathering berries, herbs, and other things and I spotted two Butterfree and I really, and I mean, REALLY wanted to draw them. So I started sketching but then they flew away because something scared them away and then I ran into Gary because he's a researching now and not a trainer," Reena explained. Richie waited for her story to be over. Even if he is upset at the fact that they were pretty darn close to each other and Gary was holding on to her; it wouldn't be fair to snap at her without hearing the whole story first.

"And…yeah, that's what happened before you came," Reena concluded.

"Uh huh, and did Gary make you feel uncomfortable in any way?" Richie asked concerned,

"No, except when he unexpectedly pulled be close to him. It kind of scared me at first but he was just being an idiot as usual," said Reena and pouted. Since Reena was acting like she usually does, it meant that nothing happened. Richie sighed in relief.

"Reena, next time you see Gary, please don't spend more than 5 minutes with him," said Richie,

"Huh? Why?" Reena asked, confused.

"Because…I don't want you to get hurt," Richie answered even though he was thinking more of, "I don't need competition!" for a moment.

"Aw Richie, its Gary Oak! What can he do to hurt me? He only likes to tease me but I always get back at him," said Reena confidently but was thinking more of, "I used to be able to get back at him since I was physically stronger than him back then but what can I do now?"

"Who's Gary?" Rose asked,

"This guy that Richie didn't really like since he thinks he's hitting on Reena whenever Gary and Reena are alone together," Sparky explained.

"But Reena likes him, they're friends," said Vulpix.

Richie and Reena reached a small house in the woods, or cabin. The people were kind enough to let them rest and for Reena to use the phone.

"So, is everything okay?" Lu asked on the other line,

"Yes, everything's fine, we'll reach the next town soon," said Reena,

"Okay, call me there," said Lu,

"Sure," said Reena and was about to hang up but Lu added something else.

"Reena…are you okay? You don't seem as…yourself lately," said Lu with a tiny bit of concern in his voice.

"What? Of course I'm fine! What makes you think I'm not okay?" Reena asked quickly.

"Because…you're not making fun of me, you're not arguing with me, and you don't seem very happy," Lu pointed out.

"Not happy? How am I not happy? I'm with Richie! I'm always happy!"

"Reena, I'm not stupid, is something going on?"

"No,"

"Reena, tell me now,"

"No,"

"Now!"

"No,"

"Reena I will ground you for a month!"

"I'm out in the forest! Good luck finding me!"

"Darn, I hate it when you're right! Where's Ricky?"

"For the millionth time! It's Richie! After all these years, how can you NOT remember his name?"

"Whatever, just tell me where he is."

"He's with me, here," Reena answered.

"Okay, look, if there's anything wrong, you can call me and Professor Gem okay?" said Lu, sounding like he cares this time.

"Um…okay," said Reena, touched.

"Because if you decide to get all depressed and stuff and attempt suicide, there goes the next gym leader of our village!"

Reena anime falls,

"I knew it was too good to be true when he sounded like he cared," Reena thought. Afterwards, Reena checked her e-mail and received two messages.

"HIIIIII! It's me! May! I hope you receive this message soon! I know you and Richie travel a lot and out of cities and towns but please call me here I really have to talk to you! Plus, it's my next Poke'mon Contest and I'm going to win! By the way, how many ribbons do you have? I have three! Just two more! Anyway, please call me if you can, here's the number for the Poke'mon Center there

May XOXOXO

Reena looked at the date it was send, she might be in that town right now! Reena dialed up and Nurse Joy came on the screen,

"Hi, um, is there anyone named May there entering the Poke'mon Contest?"

"I'll check, please wait," said Joy.

"Reena! Hi!" May squealed.

"Um, hi May," said Reena and sweat dropped. She's pretty hyper, she must be REALLY excited. Then again, it's been a while since they last spoke to each other.

"You got my message! That's good, so how have you been?" May asked,

"Oh, I'm doing fine. Oh and to answer your question, I have three ribbons too," Reena answered,

"Well I'm going to get my fourth so I'll be taking the lead! Oh Reena, um…have you…um, spoke to Drew lately?" May asked and all of a suddenly turned shy.

"Um, no, except at my last contest, no," Reena replied.

"Oh okay, well you see-" May was cut off when someone pushed her over and someone else appeared on the screen.

"Oh I knew it was you when I heard your voice!"

"HARELY?"

"Oh wow! You remember me! I just want to let you know that you beat me by luck in our last contest you little twerp! And I'll have you know that-"

"Harley! I was speaking to her!" May shouted and shoved Harley over,

"Wow…she's toughened up…" Reena thought with a sweat drop.

"Sorry Reena, I unfortunately am competing with Harley again," said May,

"Of course it's unfortunate! You're going to lose!" Reena heard Harley say in the background and then he and May got into an argument. Afterwards, Harley decides to leave them alone.

"About time….I swear he's gay," Reena mumbled.

"Reena…so anyway before Harley interrupted. Is it…is it true?" May asked sounding desperate,

"Is what true?" Reena asked having no clue of what's going on.

"Is it true that you like DREW?"

"…What?" Reena blinked twice in confusion.

"WHAT?" Richie exclaimed from behind.

Please R and R!

Yeah, looks like Reena might be busted.