Chapter Two

"These are for you. You may know, that once you capture a full team of six Pokémon, the next one you obtain will be transported to the PC. Your Pokédex will handle the transportation, and you can access the PC at any of the Poké Centers across the land. And... I am afraid... it is with my giving these to you that our meeting has begun to come to its closing."

Professor Oak frowned a little, perhaps one of the first times he had done so in the past hour. He always hated to see starters leave. Hated, but loved. He remembered his own reckless journeys when he was younger, and it always made him glad to meet the young Trainers that wished to make their own. And in turn, it always upset him to see them go, wishing for what he could not have anymore at his ripe age. Ah, but he had lived a good life, and so there was no reason for self-pity! With that in mind, he gave them another smile.

Dixie and Jaxx took the five other PokéBalls from Professor Oak that accompanied both Squirtle's and Zalaras' own, The colourfully dressed girl looked to the fire symbol on the one for the golden lizard and put the other capsules in her messenger bag. As for Jaxx... he had to juggle the capsules in his hold before getting them balanced enough and attaching them to a chain that dangled at his side.

The dark-haired girl looked to Zalaras' capsule more. Symbols on a PokéBall... seemed to be a good idea to tell the difference of what Pokémon it was that Dixie was going to be sending into battle or calling upon for aid. She took mental note of this and was going to make sure to mark her PokéBalls for future reference.

The system that surrounded the PokéBall seemed very high-tech, very secure... trust-worthy. Seemed that everything was going to be fine. And apparently, both parties had someone to go on this journey with now... perhaps things were better than what they had thought of them from the beginning.

Opening her bag, she stuck five of the PokéBalls in a pouch and then made her way back over to Zalaras. Crouching down, Dixie knelt beside him and then showed him the PokéBall. The golden lizard winced and edged away some.

Giving a slight shake of the head and putting the PokéBall away, Dixie held out her hand to Zalaras and then said to him, "don't worry Zal... I'm not going to keep you in the PokéBall if you don't want.... I just wanna be friends with you. Together, we'll be traveling, doesn't if sound exciting?"

Holding out one of the balls, Jaxx rolled his eyes at the girl and then he withdrew his Squirtle, looking down at the ball as it disappeared within. It was his, it was in there... his responsibility in his hands. He nodded up at the professor, and offered a simple, "thanks... for everything." With that, he had made for the front of the laboratory, figuring that both Dixie and the stubborn Charmander would soon catch up.

The Professor nodded at the thanks, "you're most welcome. And best of luck to you, of course," he called after the boy as he left. That boy sure was a quiet one... perhaps this was a good thing, though, Oak mused. If Dixie and Jaxx would be traveling together, well, Dixie had enough energy and spunk for the both of them. That, and the Squirtle he had chosen suited him well... and for that, Oak was pleased.

It was then that the Bulbasaur snorted, bringing Oak back out of his musing. Oak patted it once more. "Yes, yes, my young friend. Your turn will come soon enough as well." With that said, he turned to Dixie once more, perhaps for the last time.

Not paying much attention to either Jaxx or the professor at the moment, Dixie was still crouched next to Zalaras and then said, "so what do you say, huh, Zal? You and me, the dynamic duo? The dream team? Anything?" continuing to hold her hand out to Zalaras, Dixie watched as the lizard stood up on his hind legs and get up, going over to her, turning his head away and offering a small hand. Dixie's grin widened at the act and she shook his hand gingerly.

Smiling down to her as she and the Charmander seemed to be bonding, Professor Oak placed a hand on her shoulder and the girl let go of Zalaras' small hand, getting up. Oak began to walk her back to the entrance of the lab, following the way Jaxx had walked back out. He would see them off, watching from the doorway, until they turned the corner into Pallet and onward into the wilds of Route One.

At the door way, he knelt down once more and pulled a PokéBlock from his coat pocket and offered it to Zalaras. "Here you go, little fellow. Take care of yourself now and remember to grow. Straightening back up, Oak grinned at Dixie. "Well, Dixie Tucker, as with him, I wish you the best of luck."

"Oh, don't worry Professor Oak! Me and Zal'll become the best team Kanto's ever had! Count on it!" Ah yes, the preteen had dreams -- and with all of her hopes, she really wished to see this dream being carried out. She looked back down to Zalaras and met the Charmander's gaze with a friendly look. He returned the look only somewhat and then the duo were off and down on their way towards Route One.

"He--ey, Jaxx!" Dixie huffed, a little annoyed that he had left them behind as she and the golden lizard had caught up with him. She straightened up and looked at him with a grin and then said, "I thought we were going together! Just that excited to get going, or something?"

A slight scoff was exerted as Dixie said that. Jaxx never was one for excitement, especially over something as minor as beginning a journey that he'd already started. He left his home, came this way, he knew what was to be expected. He supposed that perhaps he was just a tad eager to start, though that was mostly through the fact that he felt some guilt for taking the Professor's time.

"Hehe. Can't say I blame you, though..." she looked down to Zalaras, "ain't that right, Zal?"

The Charmander gave a shrug, yawned and fell into step next to Dixie. At least he didn't have to be in his capsule... that was something right there that had earned a small bit of his respect for the girl.

Grinning for a moment, Dixie hurried to Jaxx's side and then looked down to Zalaras with a smile. The Charmander simply tilted his head at her and gave a slight huff, folding his little arms over his chest and trailing after both Dixie and the boy.

Trotting forwards just a bit, Dixie fell into step beside Jaxx and clasped her hands together. There was something comforting about traveling with him and Zalaras. Thinking of him for that brief moment, she turned her head and looked to the small golden lizard. He seemed to have this distant look on his face as he walked not too far behind the duo; seeing it made Dixie ponder about him for a moment.

Trailing behind the duo still yet, the Charmander yawned once more, not really paying attention to his surroundings, only following both the boy and the girl from watching them in his peripheral vision. There was so much to see, so much to do... he contemplated running away from them. However.... Zalaras rose his gaze to the girl that had chosen him as her starter. She was kind... she had given him a name... she had even allowed for his freedom from a PokéBall as the two traveled together.

As the golden lizard pondered about the girl, Dixie, herself, still watching him, wondering what was up.

Shrugging it off for a moment, Dixie looked up ahead, glancing at Jaxx for a moment and then fiddling with her gloves. There were times where she knew exactly what to talk about, then there were these times (like now) where she didn't know what to bring up at all. Dixie didn't really know a thing about Jaxx, so there wasn't something easy that she could bring up that they could discuss without it being awkward.

Getting lost in her own mind for a moment of what to bring up for discussion, noises went by unnoticed by Dixie... that is until Jaxx had snapped her out of her thoughts by saying, "Dixie... Do you hear that?"

Blinking for a moment, Dixie looked up at Jaxx and then looked around, "do I hear wha--?" she had started before the call of a Sentret rang out like a siren to the others that lived around the area. Dixie kind of felt giddy at the thought of being able to catch one and then looked to the messenger bag that hung at her side. However... having Zalaras listening to her... there was the challenge right there.

"Since when were Sentret Kanto native?" Dixie had asked, listening to the cries of the Pokémon for a little longer.

"Guess you don't pay attention to the news all that much..." Jaxx scoffed, "there was a newscast about how some poachers had gotten their hands on Sentret and Furret and tried bringing them over to this region. Someone foiled their plans and the Pokémon went loose around this area." He looked to her for a moment and then shook his head slightly, "it happened about half a year ago, you lived around here and you didn't know that?"

"Well... I wasn't allowed to venture out past here till today..." Dixie replied, frowning to him.

"Whatever.... Anyways, it doesn't sound like it's just passing by to me," Jaxx commented, pulling Squirtle's PokéBall from the chain at his side and expanding it. He released the Tiny-Turtle Pokémon from its capsule and it stood quick at attention.

Dixie had nodded in agreement. Sentret that screeched out like that were usually warning the others that there was danger or something lurking about. It was a fairly deafening noise if you were in close proximity, but if you were farther away and heard it, a being such as Dixie would have found the cries to have been quite the adorable noise.

Zalaras, on the flip side of the coin, rushed up to Dixie's side for a moment, looking around for the disturbance, the flame on its tail burning a little more vigorously. It may have been quite the reluctant and stubborn Charmander, but it didn't mean that he was going to disregard everything including his own well being at the point and time. If he needed to defend himself from enemies, then he was going to do so. Perhaps not in full compliance with the human, but he would still do so nonetheless.

"It's starting to hurt my ears..." Dixie said after a while or listening to the Sentret's cries, raising her hands up and clasping her hands over her ears. Both she and Jaxx started looking around for the Sentret that was making all the ruckus. Zalaras was doing the same, however, he decided to run up and close to the grass, wondering if he were able to go and find it so that he could perhaps battle it.

With a swift dash, a Sentret with a brown and white checkered fedora ran in front of the humans and Charmander, standing guard in front of the burrowing hole of their colony. The fuzzy little fellow tossed his hat off and balled his white paws into tiny little fists, preparing himself for a fight.

Jaxx sighed, signaling for his Squirtle to move in for an attack. It was a low level, didn't know many attacks, it should be rather obvious what was going to happen.

Squirtle placed his foot firmly to the ground, digging into it slightly. He was concentrating... choosing a target... he would need to start off with one, but it seemed that the Sentret and likes had chosen the 'leader' to be the victim for this one.

A slight smirk crossed the water-type's mouth and then Squirtle ran forward, launching itself soon after at the furry Pokémon. Tackle, that'd show 'em!

As the tiny turtle launched itself at the Sentret, the rodent Pokémon scooched to the side in time, narrowly avoiding the attack. He countered with a Tail Whip straight to the turtle's face, hoping to ward him off.

Zalaras, on the other hand, had narrowed his eyes at the Sentret and then saw the Squirtle charging for it. Tch, that turtle was going in for the attack already? Nuh uh... the golden lizard wasn't going to have it. That turtle already had the advantage by being a water-type, but going in for the first attack? Not cool... not in the least. Furrowing his brow, Zalaras rushed in ahead as well, his claws drawn back and getting ready to use a basic Scratch attack.

"H-hey, wait, Zalaras! I didn't say to attack, yet...." Dixie called out to him, sounding almost helpless as to what to do. She couldn't be blamed. Dixie may have lived with a lot of Pokémon that her Aunt had owned, but that didn't mean that she had any experience in how to actually take command and tell her very own Pokémon what to be doing.

The Charmander had caught the Sentret by surprise because of both coloring and an assault, the fuzzy little fellow wound up taking the Scratch attack. He recoiled a bit from the attack, then attempted to counter with a Tackle, hoping to pound the daylights out of the Charmander.

Zalaras prided himself for a moment, being able to have his attack hit the Sentret, however, what caught him was the Spearow that had swooped down out of no where and started to take away his opponent before its Tackle were to hit. He heard his trainer gasp, and he was about to shrug it off, being the fact that he still didn't really care all that much for her. When he saw the Spearow begin to take fight with the rodent in his talons, that's when the lizard jumped up and bit onto the tail feathers of the fowl. Hopefully this would impede the bird greatly enough to stay grounded.

Jaxx had also reacted to the situation that had just now happened before his, Dixie's and their Pokémon's very eyes. Normally he would have shrugged it off. He would have said that that was how nature worked. It's how his brothers had taught him -- Spearow were hunters. Sentret and Rattata were prey... it was the circle of life.

"Leave it alone," he spoke through tightened lips, clenching his fists and furrowing his brow as he looked to the Spearow. What else would he do? What else could he do? Even his Squirtle was a bit taken aback, stopping and taking a step back from the target, looking to the bird, slightly nervous. That was a pretty big bird to just suddenly appear out of nowhere... really... really big.

Dixie, on the other hand, looked to the Sentret and then looked back to Jaxx, not really sure on what to do. Hesitantly, she took a step forwards, hoping to get to the battling creatures and at least intervene if she needed to. Battling Pokémon was something that she was looking forward to to get into the Indigo League, yes, but there were things that just weren't going to fly... and apparently, that was the Spearow, seeing as Zalaras had bitten down on the tail feathers. Dixie winced slightly as she heard a growl escape form Zal's mouth and at the Spearow.

"H-hey, Jaxx?" the dark-haired girl turned her attention to her peer and gave a sheepish look, "perhaps if we get our Pokémon to actually work together, we can get the Sentret away from the Spearow...?" she didn't sound too sure, then again, why would she? Dixie didn't want to see the poor Sentret get carried off like that, it made her sick to her stomach even though she knew that what was going on was part of how nature worked. A majority of the bird Pokémon were hunters, and rodents and reptiles were their prey.

As it stood, the Spearow flailed his wings wildly as the fire-type had his maw clamped tightly around his tail feathers and the Sentret was wailing loudly once more. Jaxx's Squirtle more or less at a loss of what to do next, the high vibrations of the Sentret's call's sound waves vibrating through his head. How could that Charmander not mind all of that and still be so determined to hold on to that bird while all of that was happening?

Watching this scene for a few seconds longer, Jaxx turned his attention to Dixie and then nodded, "right..." he turned back to Squirtle and then motioned towards the Spearow, who was now flapping its wings and pecking angrily at the golden coloured Charmander. Its clutch on Sentret still held strong, though. It didn't seem all that willing to let up its meal. In fact... the Spearow seemed to have tightened his grip on the Sentret, causing it to shrill like a banshee.

"Hnn... Squirtle! Go in for a Tackle attack!" Jaxx commanded, not wanting to hear the pained shrieks that emitted from the Sentret's mouth any longer.

The little turtle nodded as he had heard the command through the cries of the rodent and charged forwards once again, throwing his body against the Spearow and knocking it off balance. This time... this time the Spearow's grip on the Sentret faltered and the brown creature fell to the ground, small puncture marks showing through its once smooth and undamaged fur.

Dixie's hand immediately traveled to her messenger bag and inside. Feeling around, she rummaged through various supplies, her hand brushing against the six Pokéballs that Professor Oak had given her and then to the Potion that she had nicked from the greenhouse the day before leaving her aunt's house to get started. Now that she had it firmly in her grasp, she darted out and scooped the Sentret up in her arms. She then returned to Jaxx's side, fumbling with the potion in her hands.

The Spearow didn't seem to approve of this. As he kicked up from the ground, the Spearow beat his wings wildly at both Zalaras and the Squirtle, shaking the lizard's grip on him and making him let go. Now airbourne, the Spearow looked down to the Squirtle and dove down, aiming a Peck attack straight for his forehead.

The Squirtle tried to back up, however, the Peck attack hit him square in the head, knocking him back onto his back, leaving him to squirm and try rolling back into a suitable position. Taking note of this, Zalaras growled and darted for the Spearow, not really caring if he was supposed to be taking orders from a human. He didn't care that she was his trainer. He ws his own being, his own thinker, and he would act upon that.

Drawing his claws back once more, Zalaras leaped into the air and then aimed a Scratch attack to the fowl. His claws struck across the bird, causing feathers to pull off and reveal three nice scratch marks from where the golden lizard had struck it.

"Dixie... you sure you should really be taking care of that thing now?" Jaxx asked as soon as he had momentarily averted his attention from the battle to the Sentret that she cradled in her arms. It looked just like a normal Sentret... however... he supposed that like people, Pokémon were all different, too. He had remembered seeing Sentret in his Dex, but as he looked at this one, he could only see two differences. The paws of the creature where milky white and the very tip of his tail was coated with black fur.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Dixie asked, spraying the contents of the potion on the Sentret.

Shaking his head, Jaxx turned back to his Squirtle and saw that it had managed to get back up onto his own two feet once again. Giving a slight smirk of satisfaction, Jaxx called out to the turtle once again, "Squirtle, go ahead and aim another Tackle attack for it!"

Giving another nod, Squirtle clenched its little hands and charged for the Spearow as it landed to the ground. Fortunately enough, the Spearow was squaring off with Zalaras, eying the Charmander with much disdain. Before the Spearow started after the lizard, Squirtle had tackled it from behind, causing it to tumble forwards and remain quite motionless for some time.

Jaxx watched the Spearow for what seemed like minutes before detatching a PokéBall capsule from his chain and throwing it out to the Spearow. The bird became engulfed in the red light of the PokéBall and then encased. Jaxx's eyes stayed glued to the red light on the PokéBall as it shook and then nervousness started to rise within his being. Shake after shake, the male preteen could feel the palms of his hands start to break out in sweat.

Then... it stopped, the light fading and the Spearow staying caught within.

Relaxing his stance, a smile was seen upon the preteen's face and he went over to the calmed PokéBall. Jaxx bent down and picked up the ball. He averted his gaze to Dixie for a moment and then saw her making her way to the checkered fedora with the Sentret still cradled in her arms.

The rodent didn't seem to look too pleased, however, it had calmed down a lot as the potion that Dixie had used started to take effect and numb his pain. Jaxx noted the slight squirming that Sentret exerted when Dixie had gone over and picked up his hat.

Taking both the Pokémon and the hat to Jaxx, she handed them over to him. Jaxx took them rather reluctantly and then arched a brow to the girl as he saw her quickly go over to the Charmander's side and reach out for him.

"Hey Zal, you did a really good job out there, I hope you know that!" Dixie grinned, crouching down to be more level with the lizard. Charmander had looked up to her, a little confused. He didn't listen to her... and yet she was praising him.

Jaxx watched both Dixie and the Charmander for a moment before looking down to his Squirtle and giving the Pokémon a small smile. The Squirtle grinned back up to his trainer and then went over to his side, trying to look up at the injured Sentret that was now cradled up in his arms. The water-type's eyes were filled with curiosity and Jaxx gave a small laugh as he crouched down, showing the Squirtle the Sentret.

Sentret looked to Squirtle and then sharply turned away from it, causing it to let out a small whine of pain from where the Spearow had gotten it.

Dixie had made her way back, Zalaras trailing reluctantly behind her.

"How's he looking?" Dixie asked, turning her gaze to the Sentret.

"Better, thanks to the potion you used on it."

"Hehe, that's good," Dixie received the Sentret, as well as the fedora, back from Jaxx and then looked down to it. Giggling softly she cooed to it, "everything's gonna be alright, little guy. That mean Spearow's not around any more."

"... Do you always do that?" Jaxx asked, giving the girl a skeptical look as he saw her talking to the Sentret.

"Do what?"

"Always act friendly towards Pokémon even though there's a risk of getting attacked..." Jaxx had then motioned to her hand where Zalaras had bitten her. He shrugged and then looked away, "just doesn't seem to be the type of behaviour that should be exerted if you're really intending to go to the Pokémon League. If you were going to be a Breeder, maybe...."

"Well... all trainers have their own way of training Pokémon and stuff... this is just my way..." Dixie replied, frowning a bit. Kneeling down, Dixie put the Sentret down on its own two feet, giving it a reassuring smile as she saw the quizzical look that was shown in its expression.

She put the fedora back onto the Sentret's head and then stood up, motioning for Zalaras to come over to her side. Of course, the Charmander reluctantly went over, giving a look to the Sentret. He was still prepared to battle, though it looked as if the tussle with the Spearow had left it rather shaken.

"Anyways! Let's get going to Viridian!" Dixie said enthusiastically, looking up at Jaxx with a grin. In return, the boy arced a brow at her and then withdrew the Squirtle to its capsule. Putting it back onto the chain that held his three other Pokémon as well as the unoccupied capsules, Jaxx started forwards some.

"You're not going to catch the Sentret?" Jaxx asked.

"Nope!"

"Any reason why, even though it was right there and weak?"

Dixie gave a shrug of the shoulders and then looked down to Zalaras, "I wanna catch the Pokémon that will be part of my team by befriending them."

"... Good luck with that..." there was obvious sarcasm in Jaxx's tone, though Dixie merely brushed it off and started forwards, leaving the confused Sentret behind.

"Girls are so confusing...."

"I can say the same thing about boys."

Rolling his eyes, Jaxx gave an inaudible scoff and continued forwards, deciding against arguing with the girl.

"Anyways, do you know how long it'll take to be getting to Viridian?" Dixie asked, stretching her arms up for a moment.

"Viridian isn't that far away from here.... We'll probably make it there by the time late afternoon rolls by...."

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Stalking the forest in the early morning ambiance, a girl had a large bag slung over one shoulder and she looked through the trees and grass for any Pokémon that she could find. She had gotten up early in hopes of finding Pokémon that were only active in the mornings... however, she probably didn't need to worry about that aspect being in Viridian Forest.

"All right, it's Jakkaru the great Pokémon collector on her way," the girl said to herself with a grin, venturing further into the forest and pushing past bushes. The leaves and branches caught at her clothes, leaving behind small damaged areas. It was stuff that Jakkaru didn't mind, she was far too used to it.

However, as the brunette walked through the grass, the stillness in the air seemed to unnerve her. It was far too quiet this morning for nothing to be up and about. Usually Caterpie and Weedle were up with their morning feeding upon the lush grass or leaves.

Inhaling and taking in the the area around her, Jakkaru came up to a tree, set her bag down and started to climb the branches. As she did, she could hear the rustle of young Pidgey as they shifted nervously in their nests. Smiling to herself, Jakkaru left them alone and continued up a little more, pausing as she came across a Metapod.

Her smile widening at the sight of the Pokémon, the brunette gingerly took the Pokémon from it's spot and then made her way back down from the tree, making sure not to cause any damages to it.

"Well... the first catch of the day! Wasn't that easy?" Jakkaru asked herself, looking down to the Metapod and beaming. The cocooned Pokémon stared back at her idly and then closed it's eyes back up. Jakkaru seemed to grin even more at this -- it seemed that the Metapod was rather lax about what was going on and didn't mind one bit.

Picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, Jakkaru made her trek to leaving the forest and back to Viridian. Though she would have stayed longer within the forest to get a better look around, she decided that the Metapod would do for now.

"It's only morning after all..." Jakkaru reminded herself, cradling the Metapod. When she looked down to it, she couldn't help but notice how big they actually were. She thought back for a moment and recalled other Metapod that she had seen. They were either at a distance, or she had been chased off by angered Beedrill before she had gotten the chance to actually make a grab for it.

Taking a deep breath once more, Jakkaru started to hear chirping of Pidgeotto. They weren't those normal, early bird callings either. No, these ones sounded angered and quickly, Jakkaru looked up, trying to pick her way through the foliage for the disturbance. The cries were near, and then a shrill caw of a Fearow rang through the air.

'Oh no...' Jakkaru quickly thought, clutching the Metapod a little tighter and then quickly looking for an exit. After running around for a good couple of minutes, Jakkaru found a clearing and then cast her eyes back up, looking for the two bird Pokémon that she had heard before.

Their movements seemed more stiff than usual as Jakkaru observed them. Less graceful than what she had seen before. She pondered to herself and came to theorize that perhaps a Beedrill or something of the like had poisoned them.

'But the both of them?' Jakkaru found herself to be thinking, 'if they really had been poisoned by a Beedrill, there's no doubt that they would be chased off by a swarm of angered Beedrill.' She clenched her jaw for a moment and then knelt onto the ground, putting down the Metapod and then opening her bag, pulling out her PokéDex, hoping that it may have the answers to both the Pidgeotto and Fearow's movements.

Opening the Dex with the press of a button, the pocket encyclopedia turned on and picked up on the two birds that it was aimed at and came back with a response, "there is no information on the condition."

"Well that's just darn useful..." Jakkaru sarcastically muttered under her breath, closing the Dex and putting it back into her bag. As she leaned over to pick the Metapod back up, she saw the Pidgeotto take a plummet and then land on the ground about five feet in front of her. The Fearow had followed shortly after, it's wings spread wide and it's chest heaving, obviously growing worn from the battle it was having with the other fowl Pokémon.

Wincing a bit as the two birds had gotten closer to where she was, Jakkaru saw the Pidgeotto push itself back up and stagger forwards some. The smaller of the two birds also spread out its wings and gave a weak, yet angered cry towards the Fearow.

Backing up from the two birds a bit, Jakkaru shifted her bag slightly and wondered if she could catch these two birds as well as opposed to the Metapod that she had in her clutches. As she saw it, these two Pokémon were tired... and after their little bout, there's no doubt in her mind that they would be easy to capture within PokéBalls.

As she had given thought to that very thing, both Fearow and the Pidgeotto collapsed to the ground, both panting rather heavily. Jakkaru quickly put the Metapod down and then ran over to the two of them, worried for their well being. She debated capturing them now as opposed to when they were in at least a little better condition.

"They need to be taken to a Pokémon Center..." Jakkaru muttered angrily to herself, pushing away her collector's train of thought. Looking to them again, she clenched her jaw... there was no way that she could just simply go and carry these two Pokémon to a Center. They were both far too big, and to add that onto both her bag and the Metapod... there was no way that she could do that the entire time she made her way back to Viridian.

She gave a sigh and then went back over to her bag, quickly opening it once again and pulling out two PokéBalls. Expanding them, she tossed them towards the two birds, watching the capsules shake for a good half minute or so then come to a calm. Jakkaru sighed once again as she tried to push away the worry that was starting to bubble up.

"Okay... have these two... time to hurry back to Viridian and get them to Nurse Joy..." Jakkaru said, giving herself the verbal reminder so that it would better stay in her mind to do so. Picking up her bag once more and then scooping the Metapod back up after putting the now occupied capsules in her bag, Jakkaru hurried to where it was she had entered the forest from.

It took a good ten or fifteen minutes, but Jak had made her way out of the forest and back along the route to Viridian. She had to stop to mentally curse herself fot arising very early this morning to be getting her Pokémon findings done, as it would have easily been about a thirty minute walk to Viridian.

Taking a quick look at her watch, Jakkaru grimaced.

9:48 AM.

"Darn it... not even a full three hours out here yet..." Jakkaru sighed, looking back up and starting her way down the trail. A little irritated, she grumbled to herself about not having a bike so that walking to and from places wouldn't be so difficult.

By the time that Jakkaru had entered Viridian City, her watch read 10:34 AM. Frowning at that, Jakkaru cursed to herself again and then started to hurry to where she knew the Pokémon center to be. The Metapod gave a slight shake, obviously a tad disgruntled with the fact that Jakkaru had taken to running again.

As she had made it in front of the Pokémon Center, Jakkaru took a moment to catch her breath and then entered through the automatic doors. Nurse Joy was behind her desk, filing papers. Her gaze immediately turned to Jakkaru as the girl made her way to the front desk and she gave the girl a look.

"Back again, Jakkaru?" Nurse Joy said, putting her hands on her hips. "Isn't there a day that can go by where you don't show up here at unusual times with an injured Pokémon of some sort?"

"Sorry... but this time it wasn't my doing, I swear!" Jakkaru said, placing the Metapod on the desk and then digging into her bag. She pulled out the two PokéBalls and then handed them over to Nurse Joy. Jakkaru was a little hesitant to do so. The expression that was on Nurse Joy's face wasn't the usual happy looking one that she had sported when there were other people coming in to have their Pokémon treated and looked after.

"One's a Pidgeotto and the other is a Fearow," Jakkaru explained, "I saw them fighting out in Viridian Forest, but there's also something about them that I couldn't quite figure out. I tired using one of the features on my Pokédex to find out what was up with them, but it didn't have any information."

"What do you think?" Nurse Joy asked, putting the capsules on a tray and preparing to take them to the back.

"At first, I thought it may have been poisoning... but when Dexter said it wasn't that, I couldn't think of anything else since they didn't show any symptoms of slight paralysis..."

"I'll see what I can come up with, then..." Nurse Joy replied, taking a few steps forwards and then pausing, "but you know... I've also noticed that a lot of Pokémon are starting to act differently these days...."

"Really?" Jakkaru's interest was suddenly piqued.

Nodding again, Nurse Joy continued, "but I'm not quite sure what it is that could be causing it."

"... That's so weird..." Jakkaru murmured, looking down to the Metapod and giving this matter more thought than she previously had. When she had seen both of the fowl Pokémon, she had only figured it to be a slight condition that had been bestowed upon them somehow. However... thinking that they both had fought till they passed out instead of having one exerting their dominance.... That was strange indeed.

"... karu... Jakkaru?"

"Huh?" Jakkaru snapped out of her thoughts and looked to Nurse Joy.

"Why don't you wait in the lobby for your Pokémon to be healed up," Joy gave that kind smile of hers and then started for the back of the center to tend to the Pokémon. Looking after her, Jakkaru pondered more about what the nurse had said then took the Metapod and made her way to the lobby.

This was all so very interesting... "and maybe Katy would want to know about the behaviours, too... I wonder if she's noticed them, actually." With that, Jakkaru plopped down on one of the couches in the lobby and then put the Metapod in the empty space next to her. It eyed her idly and then closed his eyes, not really giving a care to his surroundings and falling into a slumber.

Digging into her bag once more, Jakkaru pulled out a journal and then flipped it to an empty space and then pulled a pen from one of her pockets. She had made sure to take notes on the Fearow and the Pidgeotto and how it was that their movements looked when she had watched them.

While in Viridian Forest, I had recently picked up a Metapod and then was getting ready to make my way back home. I heard the cry of a Pidgeotto and then tried looking for it. Having no luck, I rushed to a clearing and saw that it had been fighting with a Fearow.

I have seen Pidgeotto and Pidgeot both fighting Fearow to keep their territorial boundaries. Their movements, even though they are attacking, are so graceful and fluid. When I watched the ones that I had captured today, I noticed that their movements were stiff and when they dove at each other, it was sharp. The Pidgeotto had fallen from it's flight after a while, the Fearow landing on the ground before it.

The Pidgeotto seemed to show a sense of determination. It had pushed itself back up and gave an angry cry to the Fearow. However... it seemed that's all both of them could handle before they had both passed out from exhaustion.

Her hand came to a halt as soon as she had written 'they had both passed out from exhaustion'.... Pursing her lips together, Jakkaru tapped her pen against the journal and then gave a small scowl.

"That's all I can really write?" she wondered aloud, her voice in a relatively irritable tone, "this is nothing that would even interest her...." Jakkaru leaned back on the couch, dangling her head over the back of the couch a bit and staring up to the ceiling, hoping for some inkling to what it was that she saw and that Nurse Joy had mentioned.

Sitting back up, Jakkaru closed her journal with a rather annoyed huff and then stuck it back into her bag. After she had done so, she looked to the Metapod and then tilted her head at it.

"You don't seem to be acting all that differently..." Jakkaru observed, reaching a hand out and patting the Metapod on the top of its head. She paused after a couple of pats and then rose her other arm to check the time again.

11:16 AM

"... This day seems to be going awfully fast already..." Jakkaru commented, giving a slight sigh and continuing patting the Metapod.