Author's notes: I do not own anything other than the original characters.

EliteDog: I see you noticed I put Gardevoir and Micah together already. Don't worry, all shall be explained soon. By the way, thank you and .owered for the comments.

Gardevoir continued walking, the gateway to Violet City rising up in the distance. She had begun to push the unpleasant encounter with the Caterpie out of her mind, and she was now focused solely on trying to reach Celadon as quickly as possible. She didn't know how bad Karl's leukemia was, but she had a distressing feeling that in his condition, he could die at any time, and in light of Micah's worried remarks earlier in the day, she feared it would be sooner rather than later.

She only hoped that she would be fast enough.

She quickened her pace, being careful not to trip over any more rocks on the way. She knew that she had to stop soon and rest. The sun had begun to sink behind the trees on the horizon, and the shadows as she walked grew longer and longer behind her. There was no way she could possibly make it past Violet City before the world was absorbed into the darkness of the evening. She didn't know just how far she would have to travel to get to Celadon City, but she knew that she would need to conserve what energy she could.

She saw a small lake, very small, near what seemed to be the entrance to a cave. From a distance, the water shimmered in the sunset like it was ablaze. She drew closer to it, her throat parched from the heat. She was sorely tempted to drink one of the lemonades she had been given in Cherrygrove, but she was determined not to touch either of them until the next day.

She got down on her knees and looked into the water. Through the ripples, she saw her face, partially covered by her green hair. Her hair was moist from the sweat that had formed earlier, having been in the direct heat of the sun for most of the day. She brushed the hair away and stared into the reflections of her intense red eyes. There was a mixture of knowing and worry in those eyes, a mixture that deeply troubled her.

I'm really taking this hard, she thought.

She leaned forward, cupped her hands together, scooped some of the cold water from the lake, and brought it over her face in one graceful motion. It was a refreshing feeling, especially in light of the heat of the earlier hours. She looked down again to see that the ripples had spread out and away from her, and her white face shone from the water she had poured on it. Carefully, she reached down again and, scooping the water again in her cupped hands, drank. Her thirst not quite quenched, she leaned forward again, but a sudden push sent her tumbling headfirst into the water.

She recovered from the shock as she floated to the surface, gasping for breath once she was clear of the water. Furious at the discourtesy, she looked around as she emerged from the lake, hoping to spot her attacker. She was upset to find that there was no one else around.

Then she heard a wickedly mischievous giggle.

"Want to push me in again, jackass?" Gardevoir yelled.

The giggling continued, but she could not find the source. This only served to worsen her mood.

"Cowardly little shithead!" she shouted as she checked her bags, making sure nothing had been stolen. Everything was in its place, right where she remembered it.

The giggling faded, leaving Gardevoir with a mixture of relief and rage. She shook her head and snorted.

The gown that she had been wearing for most of the day was soaked from her unwanted dive into the water, and the relatively thin material now clung tightly to every curve of her body as she tried to loosen its grip, more out of mild physical discomfort than embarrassment. Her relatively large breasts stood out against the fabric as she slowly became successful at carefully separating skin from cloth. If there was a wet T-shirt contest right now, I'd probably run away with first prize, she wryly mused.

Thanks to her unexpected drenching, she had lost a lot of what sunlight was left, and the last rays were beginning to drain away as the stars grew more and more visible. Now she would be very hard pressed to reach Violet City without being able to see very much, as the moon was dark that night.

Not to mention there's a cliff between me and that gate, she realized. Guess I have no choice but to stop here for the night.

She looked around for a safe spot off the route where she could sleep, hopefully without disturbances. She walked down a path and around a cliff, and soon enough, she found herself in front of the gate. Heh. Well, maybe I'll get to Violet City after all, she thought as she entered.

There was a family of four inside the gatehouse, their backpacks on the floor next to them. The father looked like he hadn't shaved in a week, and he was trying in vain to get some sleep as the two young boys were creating an unpleasant state of chaos. Their mother was disheveled, as if she had not slept in a couple of nights, and dealing with one child running uncontrollably through the building and one crying nonstop was not helping her much.

"JEFFREY, GET OVER HERE AND LAY DOWN!" she was constantly yelling as the boy kept knocking over the small potted trees in his hyperactivity. The tired guard behind the counter had to keep walking over and cleaning up the wreckage. Of course, as soon as he got back to his post, another plant would come crashing to the ground, and with a great sigh, he would go back to cleaning up again.

For a moment, Gardevoir strongly contemplated going through the gatehouse and sleeping outside, closer to Violet City.

But then, she thought, Even with these two disturbances, it'd probably be safer to sleep here than outside.

She set one bag in front of her and one bag where she planned to lay her head, and she got down on the ground and shifted a bit until she felt comfortable. She tried her hardest to relax in spite of the bright light and the noise, and she was beginning to drift into slumber when she felt a violent tug on her gown.

"JEFFREY, LEAVE HER ALONE AND GET BACK HERE NOW!" yelled the boy's mother.

Jeffrey only kept yelling in that pointless, drawn out yell that small children tend to do, running around some more before going back to Gardevoir and pulling on her hair with both hands.

"GARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" she screamed as she practically flew several inches off the ground in her pain. The scream only served to encourage the boy further, and he grabbed at her hair and her gown simultaneously. Jeffrey's mother finally was prompted by this to grab her son by the arm and drag him back to where they were.

"I'm so sorry about my son's behavior," she told Gardevoir. "This trip to Cherrygrove has been a complete test of our patience."

Gardevoir was too sore to reply. She fell back on her luggage and tried, once again, to sleep.

And, in spite of screaming children and screaming mother, she succeeded.