A/N: ...Phew! Hello again readers! It's just your friendly neighborhood author gl1m0 here, serving up yet another chapter of story-flavored goodness! =P In other news: Summer is here! YAYNESS! But sadly, I have a surprisingly scarce timetable for writing stories now... Thanks to my totalarianist dictator parents. Boo. They put a chokehold on my computer usage so I can't really write much... At least this chapter was 95% done by that time! XD It was delayed, naturally, but fear not! Chapter 9... is here.

Thanks again to all the good people who read and review this story, you guys are awesomesauce! :D Thanks to you, The Pokemon Project has 6800+ hits, 38 reviews, and 40 favorites! My most successful story yet, even outstripping all my other stories combined. Huh. I need to write more stories... Oh, speaking of which, there's a new poll on my profile page. If I WERE to create another story, which would you like to see more from me, out of the ideas listed? More details on the poll itself, so check it out please! And don't forget to VOTE! Your feedback is important! Now, back to story matters...

So, what happens now that Max and company can speak? Perhaps Brian can work something out with the "outdoors" thing? What is UP with that vision Steve had? Read the chapter to answer at least a few questions... Oh, and did anyone else notice how I failed to say WHICH Pokémon region Genta City is in? Well, the answer is in the chapter! (Just a forewarning, it's a made-up region!) Without further ado, Read and Review!

Saturday, June 12 - ? ? ?
Subject 006 / Name: Maxwell

I... I'm surrounded by... water? Water all over?

It was true. I had just realized that I was drifting in a huge body of water, several feet below the surface. Sunlight streamed from above, and I could see numerous kinds of fish Pokemon swimming all over. The gurgling and whooshing sounds of the water around me were clearly audible, and the cool and wet sensation of the water felt very pleasing on my skin.

But then I realized that... If I somehow ended up underwater... And—Wait, I can't breath! Oshawott may be Water-types but they don't have gills or anything! I'm drowning!

Suddenly desperate for air, I kicked my feet and sent myself towards the surface as fast as I could. To my surprise, even though this is my first time swimming, it felt almost natural to me. My flipper-like feet and flat tail made it so easy to maneuver, it just about amazed me to the point of almost forgetting about me practically drowning.

With every kick and paddle, I edged closer and closer to the water's surface, which I could now see above me...

Getting closer... closer... so close...

And finally...

SPLASH!

I broke the water's surface at last, and took in a huge gasp of sweet, sweet oxygen. After I had gotten my fill, I floated about on the waves treading water while panting and looking around the expanse. This wasn't a normal body of water... It was far too vast... This had to be... some kind of ocean! One that stretched far beyond the horizon... Probably miles deep... An endless blue void of H2O...

But... how did I end up here? I remember that I went to sleep, and I—

"Oh, hello! You must be Maxwell!"

I blinked. Who said that just now? "Hello?"

"Teehee! I'm right over here, silly!"

"Who are y—" I begun to ask, but then I turned around in place and saw, to my shock, a little blue Pokémon half-submerged in the water. It seemed to be some kind of ocean creature... It's entire body was a bright blue, with a bulb-shaped head, yellow-eyes and eyelashes, a red gem-like object in its chest, and flipper-like arms. A pair of whip-like appendages with a tiny orb attached to the ends of each were fixed at the top of its head.

"Me?" the Pokémon said (in PokéSpeak of course, but I could understand it still), "My name is Mana—" He suddenly gasped and shook his head vigorously. "Oh! I almost gave away my name! My friend said not to! Oh, silly me! Silly Manaphy! You shouldn't forget what your friend said to you!"

"...Um..."

"Sorry, I can't say my name! Please understand! My friend likes secrets!"

...I didn't have the heart to inform the poor thing that he already blurted out his name... Manaphy, was it? Think I heard it from somewhere before...

"A-ny-way!" Manaphy continued, "I'm supposed to tell you important stuffs!"

"...Important... stuffs...?"

"Yeah! Like, my BFF told me that I needta talk to an Oshawott named Maxwell and give him something!"

"Give me something?"

He nodded. "Mm-hm! I'm supposed to give you a thing called a Mystic Water!"

"A what?"

Manaphy reached for something under the water, and pulled up a tiny raindrop-shaped blue gem with a necklace-like chain strung to it. "Mystic Water! It's a really pretty gem thing, and it'll help you learn water moves better! And they'll be stronger too!"

"So... it's a battle-specific item?"

"Weeeeeeelllllllllllllll... sorta. But it looks really pretty!"

"...Uh, but... is that all you're here for?"

"Yep! I just give you it and that's all I godda do today! Then my friend says I can take a day off! YAYNESS!"

"Ooooookay..."

"Here here! Take it take it!" Manaphy suddenly thrust the item into my possession, leaving me with too many questions and not enough answers. "But wait," I asked, "How are you even...? And how did you...?"

"I gotta go now, 'kay? See ya! And remember... Trust in your feelings, your friends, and family too! Keep that in mind, and you can't go wrong!"

"But... who..."

"So long!"

Before I could even attempt to do or say anything, the odd seafarer Manaphy dived under the water, and I saw him no more. I held my breath and briefly stuck my head underwater, to see if he was anywhere, but the Pokémon had vanished. "Manaphy..."

Lifting my head back out of the water, I pondered his whereabouts. I realized that I still clutched the tiny gem—which Manaphy called Mystic Water—and so I stared at it for the longest time. ...Well, if it's supposed to be doing something then it's totally failing at it. Oh well, at least it looks half-decent.

But, after thoroughly examining my surroundings better, I soon found a new complication... I was here, treading water in the middle of an ocean, right? So... that means...

...Aw, crap.

"Oh god!" I exclaimed (to no one in particular...), "H-how am I HERE? What happened to the bedroom? What happened to everyone else? What happened to the... the... Er... Uh... Wait a second..."

At once I realized, this all HAD to be some kind of dream. There's no other explanation anyhow! But what struck me as odd is that... how in the world did I end up in an OCEAN this time...? And meeting this... Manaphy? Was it all false? Or did it actually...?

"Waah!"

Oh, guess what folks? IT WAS A DREAM. Egh, why does that not even surprise me anymore...

Now fully awake, I wearily turned my gaze around the room—from the left to the right. It looked like Matt and Sam were still asleep... Mary was too... But where were Warren and Steve—"AAAH!"

"Ack! Keepit down Max, you'll wake everyone else up with yer yellin'..." "I concur, you almost knocked me off my feet with that shout."

I blinked. "H-huh?" As it turns out, both Warren and Steve were standing right beside my bed when I woke up. No wonder I was so startled... What were these guys thinking? "Y-you guys s-s-scared me!" I exclaimed, somewhat angrily, "What the heck, man? What's up?"

Warren rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion, and chuckled. "Err... Sorry 'bout that buddy... Didn't mean ta startle ya like that... But me an' Steve wanted ta tell ya somethin' purty important."

"And... that might be?"

"Well, I... Ah'll jus' let Steve 'splain it..."

Steve looked to the side. "So... Maxwell... Me and Warren had a talk about this... vision I saw..."

I suddenly perked up. "A... vision?"

"Yes," he said, nodding, "I wasn't sure what it all meant at first... All I knew was that brief image I saw, and what it appeared to be centered around..."

"What was it and who was it?"

Bit by bit, Steve recounted the details of his vision: two small figures in a fight against a larger one, and how it felt like a bad omen, being held on to by...

"Mark?" I asked, confused.

Steve nodded once again. "Uh-huh. It doesn't seem to be his fault at all, rather... It appeared to be a sort of carry-over misfortune if you will. As hard as it is for me to belief, something bad might—or will—happen to him in the future... And that his problem might become our problem."

"But... H-how is that possible...?"

He sighed. "I have no idea. To be honest, it seems rather fishy to me. But enough about that... There's another thing I want to say."

I blinked with surprise. "A-and that is?"

"...Well, it's just that... Last night, I had a similar vision... But... it felt... different... And that's what unsettled me more..."

"Ohh..."

"Everything about the vision from yesterday was there... Only... The feeling of misfortune that was originally centered around Mark... It wasn't there anymore. It was somewhere different, it had already moved... It was..."

"...Yes?"

"It was... was centered around..."

"Who? WHO?"

"...You..."

"M-M-ME?"

"Yes... Unfortunately..."

"B-but how can something like that rub off on me? It doesn't make any sense!"

"Hmm, this is only a theory, but... Perhaps when you and Mark first met each other, your fates became intertwined; a disruption of otherwise normal continuity, if you will."

"...Sounds like bunk to me... And yet... I can't help but worry..."

"But, even so, I have no real idea what it all means... And I'm not really confident about my theories... So, it's probably just nothing to be concerned about..."

"I sure hope you're right..."

Warren came up beside me and patted my back in a feeble attempt at reassurance. "Don't worry 'bout nuttin', Max! It's jus' a dream, right? Or somefin'?"

"The proper term is 'psychic vision', Warren..."

"Well excuuuuuse me, Steve! Dreamin', visionin', hallucinatin'... S'all the same, ain't it?"

I stared up at the ceiling in an absentminded fashion. "Yeah... Dream... Hold on, dream—" Suddenly I realized what I woke up from earlier, and I made a sort of clap that said 'I've got it!' or something to that effect. "Wait a second! Dream! That's it, I had another dream last night, guys! It was almost like the one I had before, too!"

The Pikachu looked rather surprised. "Anudder one? Honest ta Mew, ain't that always the way... Are ya sure?"

I nodded. "Positive! It wasn't quite the same scenario as before... But it was definitely a dream like the one before."

"...I can attest to that," Steve said, putting a hand to his head in concentration, "Get this... Your mind's all fogged-up again. It had to have been the same sort of dream... What happened in it?"

I began to recite the happenings of that dream I had. For some reason, my memory of it was pretty sketchy, but I was able to recall the important details. The ocean, the feelings, and most importantly, the Pokémon named Manaphy.

"MANAPHY?" both Warren and Steve exclaimed, clearly shocked as how such a rare Pokémon was not only in my dream, but SPOKE to me.

"I'm dead serious you guys, I know it was that Pokémon," I insisted, "It talked to me, showed its face to me, showed its... rather unusual personality to me, and get this... It gave me something, too!"

Warren gave me a look of disbelief. "Really now? An' that would happ'n ta be?"

"He called it 'Mystic Water' or something like that... I dunno, it was really... Wait up, I was holding on to it a second ago, but now..." I checked where I originally held the gem in my paw, then around myself. It wasn't there! "B-but! I know I had it with me... Well, it was a dream so I guess it's not real—"

"Uh, Max? Is this 'Mystic Water' you speak of shaped like a raindrop? And sort of blue-colored with a necklace attached to it?" Steve asked, tilting his head to the side a bit.

I was a bit taken aback. "Y-yes! How did you kno—"

"It's sitting right there on your pillow."

"Huh?"

Whipping my head around towards my pillow, I'm pretty sure I felt my jaw drop. There was a lovely, transparent blue gem, shaped like a raindrop, and a silver-ish chain attached to it.

It was the Mystic Water.

"H-how did..." I was at a loss for words. Of course, it seems that ever since I became a Pokémon I was at a loss for words much more often than before. Few things ever do make me speechless, it would have to be something either amazing or downright bizarre. Yeah, I could've probably counted on one hand how many times that had ever happened in my human life, but now... Well, I don't even have fingers to count with anymore...

But this, quite simply, takes the cake. I had a crazy dream (not even regarding that spaced-out Manaphy) and woke up to find out that an item from the same dream randomly appears ON MY FREAKING PILLOW! Sense, this makes none. There's only one explanation for this stuff... But it sounds a little stupid... Oh, screw it, that dream could not have been fake. Or at least, that Pokémon and our brief discussion couldn'tve been. How else could I have ended up with that gem? And that dream... It felt too real, the water was wet, the air was cool and crisp... Is it possible to dream a fallacy so truthfully? Whoa, I'm starting to overthink this now.

Picking up the Mystic Water, I held it in my paws and studied it closely. That glossy texture, that unmistakable shape, that lovely sheen... This was, without a doubt, the same one from my dream. "...Wow... Just look at this thing..." I muttered, fairly awestruck by the combined beauty of the item and the fact that it materialized out of nowhere.

"...Well," Warren said, eying the Mystic Water intently, "Ain't that somefin'..."

Steve shifted his gaze between the jewel and myself. "Max... This is the same item from your dream?" he asked suddenly, "Because frankly, I find it a little hard to believe. Are you sure you didn't have this before you went to sleep last night?"

"Positive..." I mumbled, not taking my eyes off the water gem.

"...Hmm, well I can't say how it ended up here... but... seeing as how you had another dream, and your mind's fogged again, I'd say that those are all connected somehow. Maybe the Pokemon that gave you it—Manaphy—is somehow responsible for this?"

I chuckled in an unsure sort of way. "I'm... not sure if that Manaphy is smart enough to plan all that... And it doesn't explain my last dream either, 'cause it was definitely a different Pokemon or whatever in the other one."

"...You don't think it's at least involved?"

I frowned. "Well... he did mention his 'BFF' told him to find me—by my name I might add—and give me that Mystic Water, so Manaphy's obviously involved... somehow..."

"That would mean that this all might be bigger than we thought..." Steve thought out loud, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

A few moments of silence followed.

"...I think we're worrying about this too much," I said, interrupting the stillness, "Come on, it's not like this is something that could spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R, right? No sense in fussing about this, eh?"

Steve shrugged. "I'm none too concerned about it either. If anything it's probably not harmful or whatever. I mean hey, you got free stuff after all." He said that last part with something of a smirk...

I flashed him a bemused smile, then turned my focus back to the Mystic Water. What should I do with it, now that I have it? Hang on to it for who-knows-how-long? Stuff it in a drawer and promptly forget about it? Sell it on PokéBay for quick cash? Decisions, decisions...

To be honest, I doubted this thing had any capacity for usefulness, but that's when I remembered what that Manaphy told me... It's supposed to be something that has helps out with Water-type moves... But what use is that to me? I don't know any moves like that, all I know is how to whip around my shell-thing. Yet, I felt compelled by it somehow. So much so, that I figured, what the heck, I may as well see what it's like to wear (seeing as how it has a necklace attached to it).

So, with a little difficulty—it was hard to easily slide it over my head—I finally managed to comfortably fit it around my neck. Nothing really happened when I did, so I assumed its purpose was merely ornamental.

"Hey Max, that actually looks gud on ya!" Warren said, admiring my new little piece of jewelry, "Ah'm no fashion expert an' all, but I reckon the blue would go real well with your hat an' body too! O' course a lotta water Pokémon are blue-color'd... But ya get my point."

"Yeah... I suppose it does," I replied, my smile getting a little wider.

"So guys..." Steve said, clearing his throat loudly, "What do you say we go and get something to, I don't know, eat? I myself haven't had any food since last night's dinner."

"Neither have I!" Warren concurred, patting his stomach, "Well, c'mon then! Time's a wastin'! First one there gets seconds!" And of course, the guy rockets off before I even have a chance to ask, "We have seconds?" Honest to... Why'd he have to be a Pikachu? They're so darn fast...

Steve evidently shared my thought. "...That hardly seems fair, Warren. But knowing you..."

"Hey c'mon!" Warren shouted from outside the room, "I was only kiddin'! Are we gonna eat or what?"

"As soon as everyone else is awake—"

"We are."

"Huh? What the hey?"

Both me and Steve turned around to find none other than Samantha, Mary, and Matthew all awake. And they seemed like they knew something.

"Uhh... Hey, guys..." I said meekly, throwing in an uneasy laugh, "Err, lovely day today, huh? Heheh... Umm..."

The three continued to stare at me and Steve.

"...How much did you guys hear?" Steve asked in a unambiguous tone.

"Enough," Matthew said, a bored expression plastered on his features, "Enough to already answer our questions about that new necklace of yours, otter-boy." What is with that nickname he keeps giving me? Good lord...

I heaved a sigh. "Look guys, I'm really not in the mood to talk about this, so can we—"

"What's takin' you fellers so long? Hurry up, already!"

Saved by the bell. Or in this case, the Pikachu... "We're coming! Hold on a second!" I shouted back, then returned my focus to the situation at hand, "Alright, here's the deal, we'll discuss this after breakfast, okay? I can't argue with anyone without something in my stomach."

The three nodded gently. Steve murmured what sounded like, "Fine," but I wasn't totally sure.

I straddled back to my bedside and pulled out my shell from under the pillow, affixed it to my stomach area, then proceeded to retrieve my hat from the bed's end-table and slip it comfortably on my head.

"Alright, come on then. I really could use some food..."

Meanwhile, in the far-off Unova region...

At the same time of the Pokékids' antics, events are unfolding a world away. A plane trip from Genta City to the Unovan capital of Castelia City would take about half a day—many whole days if by boat. At the town known as Nacrene City, a 16-year old boy by the name of Wendel lives. If you may recall, he's the distant cousin of our little Oshawott boy, Maxwell.

Wendel sat at his upstairs bedroom desk, quietly reading one of his favorite novels. He stole a few glances at the room around him. Since most homes and places in Nacrene are converted from old warehouses, they weren't necessarily "amazing" places to live. But still, they're quite cozy.

"Wendel!" a voice called from downstairs, "Dinner's ready, get down here!"

The teenager sighed. "Coming mom, I'm coming!" he called back. Glancing at the clock, Wendel saw it was almost 7 P.M. At the back of his mind, he knew that his cousin Maxwell would be waking up just now, as Genta City is in a much different time zone. Well, living that far away in Pæin will do that to you, he supposed. If only he could be here, he thought. If only we weren't so poor...

Shutting the book, then stuffing it under his pillow for later reading, Wendel began to walk out of the room. Before exiting the doorway, he looked back at the bedroom window—which had the shades drawn—that revealed the quiet evening, with the sun setting. "I wonder what Max's doing right about now..." he muttered to himself. Shrugging, Wendel stepped out of the room and went to satisfy his hunger needs.

Miles away, through the Pinwheel Forest and across the Skyarrow Bridge, in the city of Castelia, another boy lives. Though, not nearly as happily as the one we saw earlier (not that the other one was very happy to begin with, but you get what I mean).

The boy, aged 15, had short brown hair and sky-blue eyes. He wore a white t-shirt, blue-colored jeans, black shoes, and had a navy-blue scarf tossed over his shoulder—since he didn't need to wear it indoors.

Living within the city's orphanage, the boy silently tread the halls in a bored fashion, with none but a loyal Lillipup at his side. His little trek through the building was interrupted however, as another of the orphans living here decided to haggle him for the sheer fun of it. (Life really sucks for orphans, doesn't it?)

"Yo, Aleron!" the kid called out, straddling up to the boy and his Pokémon with a swagger in his step, "On another one of your stupid 'walks'? Heh, and with your little mutt, too." The Lillipup growled angrily at this.

The boy—whose full name is Aleron Bane—did not appreciate the rather snarky comment made by this mean kid. He knew him, of course. This bully was none other than Bruce Orlo (often referred to as "Brute," due to his intimidating attitude and size).

"You," Aleron said angrily, raising a pointed finger, "Don't you call Hope a 'mutt'. He's my Pokémon, and my friend too. So back off, Brute."

Bruce looked unimpressed. "Hmph. Whatever man. You take that thing everywhere with you. Heh, but I guess that's what we can all expect from a pansy like you..."

Aleron gritted his teeth in anger. "He's not a 'thing'!" he hissed, "And I'm not some pansy! I went on a journey to become the champion I'll have you know! Just get out of my way, Brute! Or I'll have Hope use Take Down on you!" Hope (the Lillipup) barked several times in agreement, then growled at Bruce some more.

"Feh, whatever. I'll letcha go this time, Al. But you better be watching your back next time." With that, Bruce the Brute stomped away, leaving a very flustered Aleron.

"I hate that guy..." he muttered under his breath. He looked down at his Lillipup, and gently patted it on the head. "Let's not worry about that jerk Hope," he said to it, "Wanna just go back to our room and hole up there for the rest of the night?"

"Pup! Pup!" Hope barked in agreement.

Aleron smiled a bit. Since the time he lost his parents in a terrible ship-sinking incident three years ago, spending time with his Lillipup (whom he had decided to nickname "Hope") was essentially the only thing that kept him (mostly) happy all this time. After all, it was a gift from his parents on his twelfth birthday. If you will, Hope was a reminder of what life he used to have...

Suddenly, Aleron was shoved from behind quite hard, sending him face-down to the floor. "Waah!" THUD! "Oww..." Hope scampered to it's fallen trainer's side, whimpering, then growled menacingly at his attacker. An all-too-familiar voice rang around Aleron's head. "Well, I guess maybe just one shove will do for tonight Al! I did say watch your back, y'know! HAH! See ya, sucker!" The assailant—obviously Bruce—turned to walk away, chortling madly.

The boy slowly pushed himself off the floor, took one glance at the retreating bully, and scowled. "Hope..." he said lowly, looking down to his Pokémon, "...Bite."

Taking instant reaction to its trainer's orders, the Lillipup barked and began charging at the "foe." As it neared Bruce, the Pokémon took a leap and executed what task it was commanded to do. It was very uncomfortable for the target, to say the least.

Though it certainly would not be gratifying to elaborate on details, let's just say that upon jumping towards Bruce (who was walking away in the opposite direction (still laughing mind you)), Hope decided to target a particularly fleshy area located somewhere around his lower-rear abdomen, then once within range, it clamped on that area with its razor-sharp teeth, and... Well, if anything was certain, ol' Brute would have a tricky time sitting down properly for a while.

"YEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOW!"

With the Lillipup's jaw clenched firmly on Bruce's rump, the bully began shouting and screaming in pain and anger. "Geddit-off-geddit-off-geddit-OFF!" he yelled, doing a pretty weird impression of an Irish jig in a desperate attempt to shake the dog off from him.

Finally, Hope decided to let go, then scurried back to it's trainer, who patted it on the head while expressing mirth at his tormentor's pain.

"You... YOU! YOUR LUNATIC MUTT BIT MY A(beep)! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Bruce roared, giving Aleron and his Lillipup a glare that brimmed with hatred.

Aleron snickered, and ignored the bully's rant. He motioned for his Lillipup to follow, and the two walked away, leaving Bruce the Brute yelling at them, still clutching his bottom in pain. "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALK AWAY? HAH! I KNEW YOU WERE A PUSSY! I BET YOUR DEAD PARENTS WERE JUST AS STUPID AS YOU ARE!"

Before he rounded a corner in the hall, Aleron suddenly stopped, and flashed a cold glare at Bruce, his satisfied smile vanishing instantly. "Never. Say. Anything. About. My. FAMILY!" He shouted the last word, anger easily found in his voice. Hope growled at Bruce as well.

The bully, wounded and not fit to retaliate due to the attack on his rear, decided to yield for now. "T-THIS ISN'T OVER, BANE! YOU'LL REGRET THIS!" Bruce shouted, then quickly retreated off to some place where his little injury may be tended to.

Aleron exhaled sharply, still seething mad at his tormentor, and proceeded to stomp away while muttering angry swears and curses. His anger soon subsided, but he wouldn't forgive Bruce for that remark.

On his way back to his room, Aleron happened to be passing by the orphanage's office right as the owner of the place—Mr. Ferguson—was walking out. It appeared that he just got off talking on the phone.

"Aleron? Oh, what impeccable timing!" Ferguson said in a rather chipper British accent, "My boy, the time has finally arrived!"

This took Al by mild surprise, though he hardly felt moved by it. "Sigh, what is it now?"

"I just got a call from a chap named Brian, and he said that he looked at your profile we had for you and decided to come and have a chat with you! Isn't that grand?"

Aleron gave the man a bored look. "...So, you set up another interview for me? What makes you think it'll go through now? You know how hard it is for teenagers to be adopted... Weren't all those failed interviews in the past ANY indicator of that?"

Mr. Ferguson sighed. "I know Aleron, but come now, he said he was very eager to meet you! In fact, he's coming here all the way from the Pæin region to come see you!"

"T-the what region? Pæin?"

"As odd as it might sound, it's true. Pæin is a region far to Unova's southwest. It's a ways east from Hoenn, if that helps. Tiny little place, yes, but it's got plenty of charm."

The boy simply shook his head. "I dunno sir..."

"Well, you'll have all night to think about it. Besides, he sounded like a very kind and reasonable man. Anyway, you must be tired, go get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow, boy."

Ferguson stepped back into his office after he was finished talking and shut the door, leaving Aleron and Hope in the hallway alone. With no other pressing matters to worry about, Aleron started back toward his room. As he passed by a wall clock, he took a quick glance at it. It was 7:30 PM.

"Getting a bit late..." Aleron mouthed to himself, then called to his Lillipup to follow as he went to get some much-needed rest.

He sniggered when he recalled Bruce getting bit in the butt by Hope.

Saturday, June 12 – Living Quarters SUB – PokéGene Inc. – Genta City, Pæin Region
Subject 005 / Name: Matthew

Heh, it always seems our otter boy Max is the one with the weird issues... I mean come on, ANOTHER one of those creepy dreams? Far as I can tell, none of us (myself included of course) had any of those ever since, well, that time two days ago. God, that voice still gives me shivers...

...Forget that last part. I have an image and repute to maintain.

Anyway, we started to go to the kitchen and then the table where our meals are always served... But... Wow, I had no idea it was possible to be not hungry, but I didn't have as big an appetite as I thought I did. Which struck me as odd somehow... Come to think of it, I haven't really been feeling myself lately. I know that's a poor term for it, me not being human anymore, but I wasn't feeling "healthy" in any case.

Mary must've noticed me acting 'off', so she went and started a thing about it. "Matt? Is something the matter?"

"N-no," I muttered, partially ignoring her, "I'm f-fine. Fine. Yeah."

"But... you look real pale... Are you sick or something?"

"P-pale? Me? That's ridiculous—" Or at least I thought it was, until I saw (when I raised a hand to wave off the comment) that my normally jade-green skin had somehow started to fade, and take on a lightly-brownish color. Of course, I paid little mind to it, passing over the detail as if it were a speck of dust. "...Yeah, ridiculous. Don't worry about me, I'm perfectly fine."

The Piplup didn't look very convinced. "But just look at you! All pale and... withered..."

Sad for me that the others started taking note of this. "Matthew? Goodness, what's wrong?" Steve said, his alleged expression of concern veiled by his green helmet thing, "You looked fine a few minutes ago, but now..." Max, Sam, and Warren began to catch on as well. "Oh my..." "A-are you okay?" "Holy megawatt! Jus' look at ya..."

I groaned with both impatience and disdain, then shot everyone a look. "I'm FINE. So what if I'm a little... off-color? I feel... okay... Oogh..." I hate to admit this, but I was ACTUALLY starting to feel pretty... flimsy (and I noticed my normally-upright tail had drooped and was dragging across the floor, acting like a dead weight). The feeling of weakness began much earlier, but I only really started acknowledging it 'til... well, just minutes ago, actually.

"Gah, Matthew dontcha see?" Warren almost shouted, shaking his furry fist in the air, "Yer a Snivy! Snivy's a GRASS-type! Grass equals plants! An' plants need what?"

"...Tender loving care?" Maxwell offered, grinning sheepishly.

Warren did a face-slap. "BESIDES that! They need two thangs: water, an' sunlight! Since when have ya ever gave yerself a sunbath? Or a nice drink o' plain ol' water?"

I actually thought about this. I think I was okay on the water deal—last night I drank some of that fruit juice which is like 85% water anyway (and 15% Vitamin C (since I'm mentioning that, a topic of thought: Can Pokemon get scurvy?))—so no worries about that. The sunlight part... Uhh... Well... I suppose I may not have had a lot of exposure to that very much...

Sure, the window in our room lets in large amounts of sun... except in one spot, for the whole day. Which is where my bed is. Even so, the blinds are usually shut anyway. The artificial fluorescent lighting anywhere else in this place doesn't count I suppose, since it's not as... "energizing" as the sun. So, I guess that means that I spend 95% of my time out of the sun's rays. WELL, NO WONDER I'M SICK.

"...I never spend much time in the sun," I admitted at last, "But come on, we're indoors, where can there be a decent source of it besides the window in the bedroom?"

Warren shook his head. "It'll hafta do fer now. Mary, cud ya please help Matt out wit gettin' sum water? An' make sure he gets sum sun?"

"Umm... Sure... Okay..." Mary said, glancing in my direction. I couldn't help but scoff. Really, I don't need help from her.

But oh, Warren just glared daggers at me. "Matthew, ya know it's fer yer own good. Let Mary help ya, please?"

"No. Way." I replied rebelliously, ignoring that sick feeling in my gut and everyone's stares. Without another word, I turned on my heel (Since when do Snivy have heels? Never mind...) and marched back into the bedroom—my still-flagging tail being dragged across the floor the whole way. If they want me to sun myself so bad, then fine, but I don't need Pengy's help for doing that.

There was only a slight problem... The shades on the window were drawn shut, and no sunlight was coming in at all. Worse, I was too weak to pull the cord to open it. Ugh, this must be fate coming back to bite me in the—

"Matthew?"

"Wha—" I turned around on the spot, and saw (to a little surprise) Mary, standing behind me with a small water bottle—a Fresh Water—in her grasp. "Mary? The heck are you doing here? I said I could handle this myself..." By now, I was starting to feel a little light-headed.

She just stood there, saying "Umm..." for a good minute and a half, and right as I was about to turn and ignore her... "Wait! I-I... just wanted... to give you... this..." Mary handed the Fresh Water to me, and I somewhat hesitantly took it.

Curious, I asked, "Why did you give me this? I already said I didn't need help, Pengy."

"It's... Mary..." she grumbled, eye twitching a bit (I'm guessing she doesn't like it when I call her stuff like that), but she took a calming breath and replied, "I only did because... Well, I was worried about you..."

"Worried about ME? I'm touched. Sniffle. No, seriously, I think I have a tear in my eye here." ...Yes people, I'm being sarcastic. Again.

"Come on Matt... I really did... I mean, you're my brother after all. Well, adopted brother I suppose, but still... Anyway, I should probably leave you alone, if you want it."

I couldn't find any words to say, oddly enough, so I gently nodded.

Mary nodded as well, in a sort of unsure way. "...See ya," she said quietly, then began walking out of the room.

Then, I did something that I would've normally considered demeaning. I called out to her. "H-hey..."

She stopped and slowly turned her head around. "Yes?"

"Uh, can you..." I gulped, once again swallowing my pride. "Can you... help me open these window shades? I... can't do it on my own..."

"You're... asking ME for help? For YOU?" Mary said, obviously astonished. She seemed a bit surprised at the circumstances, but so was I, so we were even.

I buried my face (well, my snout rather, since my head was serpent-like) in my hands, and mumbled, "Yes, it sounds crazy, I know, but... Ugh, you probably won't even—"

"That's okay."

"...Wait, WHAT?"

"I'll help you. Well, if you want..."

Obviously in a bit of uncertainty, I merely nodded dumbly, giving her a befuddled look.

Other than give me a curious look, she didn't make any other comments or complaints. Well, she did remind me about the Fresh Water—which I promptly began to drink. (Oh, it tasted sooooo good... And I never used to like bottled water either...)

Mary made good on her promise to help, and gave the cord a hard yank. Though it didn't open all at once, a gap about two feet wide opened up, and light instantly started pouring in, blinding me. "Ack! For god's sake, that's bright!"

Finally, I adjusted to the flooding sunshine, and caught sight of the outside. It must've been late morning by now, sometime before noon maybe, since it was so bright out. But the moment I recognized this light as sunlight, I began to feel... all warm and fuzzy inside...

Oh, I must be in heaven... Ever take a hot bath, or been to a spa? THIS is what it felt like. Totally unaware of what I was doing, I walked smack-dab into the middle of the light and laid down right then and there. I wasn't inclined to move at all.

Resting my head on my arm, once again in my backside-down "lounging" position, I sighed pleasurably. I let my no-longer-droopy tail quiver in the air, and the leaf-like appendage at the end seemed to absorb the energy the sun was ever-so-kindly offering. So much so, it was actually glowing a little bit. Huh, photosynthesis in action I suppose...

"Ah... I feel so alive..." I mumbled, getting comfortable in my position. This sun sure was doing the trick, I could feel the life returning to me... But at the same time, I began to feel a little drowsy... Yawn... Maybe I...

...Zzzzzzzzzz...

Saturday, June 12 – Living Quarters SUB – PokéGene Inc.
Subject 004 / Name: Mary

Well... He just fell asleep... So, I guess that means I'm done here... Hey, at least he's looking better, the color is coming back to him.

But I can't get over why he suddenly decided to ask for help. Maybe he was desperate? Ugh, this is probably one of the weirdest families I've ever known. But I wouldn't want it any other way.

...Did that sound sappy just now? Sorry...

Er, anyway... With that bit of business done, I left the bedroom after a minute and rejoined the others in the living room. All still seemed concerned about Matt, since they started to bombard me with questions about how he was doing.

"C'mon, how is he?" Warren asked, anxiously gnawing on a bagel, "Is he a'ight? Sick? DEAD?" Samantha shivered at that last word, but Max reassured her. "It's okay Samantha, he's... just joking. Seriously though, is he okay?" the Oshawott asked me, his tone a bit concerned, but still calm.

Steve said nothing, but gently smiled after a moment. "He's fine everyone. Doing better than before actually. Isn't that right, Mary?"

"...Mind stalker..." I muttered, and the little psychic quietly chuckled. "Yeah, he's okay. Just... relaxing is all."

Warren, Maxwell, and Samantha all breathed collective sighs of relief. The Pikachu adjusted his goggles (which had slipped loose) and started chuckling heartily. "Ah, I knew that he'd be A-OK. Jus' wanted ta know fer shure. Oh, heh, and nice goin' on the mind-readin' by-the-by Steve. Heheh..."

"…Don't patronize me."

"Alright, I geddit! Ah'm jus' kiddin' bud! Uh, really! I am!"

"Warren, I can read your mind. Don't even try that. Or have you forgotten already?"

"…" Warren frowned and looked away. Obviously Steve had seen through his false apologetic act.

An hour passed, and nothing much happened. Brian nor Frank nor anyone else came through our door yet, and it was almost noon. Maxwell seemed worried about this, so I decided to approach him and ask what was the matter.

"It's just that... Well... Brian promised me yesterday that he would try and figure out a way for us all to go out into town or whatever, but... I'm wondering if he forgot, since... he hasn't shown up yet..."

I patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay, I'm sure Brian hasn't forgotten," I told him, "He's probably off working miracles in some lab of his or whatever. The day isn't even half-over anyway! Isn't it too soon to be worrying?"

He shrugged, and replied, "Yeah, I suppose. I'm just nervous is all. I've had way too much junk go on in my life thus far..."

You and me both, I thought, but I shook it off and said, "That's... understandable. I know how you feel."

"Really?"

"Sure... But... I'd rather not talk about it... It's pretty personal stuff..."

"I... I see..."

I broke off from the conversation before things got too... complicated, but at least I cheered him up... a bit.

"Hey, Mary!" Warren called out to me from across the room, so I rushed over to see him (stumbling once or twice).

"What's up?" I asked.

"How long's it been since Matthew done fell 'sleep? Like, an hour? Someone shud go wake him the heck up already!"

I sighed. "Okay, I'll do it..."

Walking into the room and to where Matt lay (still bathed in sunlight, and his tail leaf glowing more than it was before), I looked at him head to... uh, toe, to make sure he was okay. The color had fully returned to him, and it looked like he was sleeping on his back in a dreamily content way.

"Well..." Seeing as how he was fully energized, I gave him a gentle prod. He hardly stirred. So, I gave him a harder poke. Followed by another. And another. Finally I resorted to a gentle shove, and he started to stir.

"Mmmrph... Mmmm... Five more minutes, mommy..." he mumbled, and flipped onto his belly and continued snoozing and snoring. I groaned at this. Matt's a heavy sleeper it seems...

After a dozen gentle (and a few not-so-gentle) attempts to wake him, my frustration reached a boiling point. I'm usually pretty calm, but even I have my limits. And this was that limit.

But just as I was about to raise my flipper to deliver a heck of a Pound across his back, I happened to glance at the window curtain and got an idea. It seemed obvious, now that I think about it, so I felt a little silly for not thinking of it sooner. (Somehow I still felt like hitting Matt anyway, but I'm not THAT evil, so I didn't...)

Walking to the curtain, I pulled the two sides of the shades closed, and the light that was previously bathing Matt's body vanished. As if on cue, he woke up instantly. "Wh-what? What happened? I had the most wonderful... Er... Dream? I think..."

"Matthew, you've been asleep for an hour. Get up already, you look healthy enough to move now," I stated bluntly, nudging him some more.

He just turned his head around to give me an "I-don't-care" expression, then laid back down and continued snoozing (by this point it seemed that the absence of sunlight didn't really matter a whole lot to Matt).

I sighed in exasperation, and just when I was about to either leave or actually decide to hit him (by God I was so very tempted to do that), I heard the familiar sound of a distant door sliding open and an even more familiar voice in the other room, so I turned in the direction of the bedroom's door (which was open just a crack) to try and hear it better.

"Good morning, everyone! ...Well, good afternoon technically... Anyway, I have some news for you all!" It was Brian. Took him long enough to get here, but I guess I can't complain, seeing as how he's a scientist and all...

When I looked back at where Matthew was lying, I discovered, to great shock, that he had vanished! My eyes darted across the room in a vain search, but then I looked back towards the door and saw the sneaky Snivy was making a getaway, slipping out the door whilst snickering. How could I not notice him doing that?

"Ugh..." With a defeated groan, I slowly walked out the door to the living room, but before I could even cross the threshold I was suddenly stopped by none other than the guy I was trying to wake up earlier, Matthew. Apparently he was hiding beside the door to make sure he'd run into me. He checked to make sure we weren't being eavesdropped on, then turned full attention to me. "H-hey..."

"What do you want?" I demanded, still a bit miffed by his attitude.

He looked down. "Grnk, well... I..." Matt started to say, but trailed off. He appeared to be having trouble saying something.

I crossed my arms to illustrate my irritation. "...Well?"

"Err... I... just wanted to say..."

"…"

"...To say... I wanted to say... thanks..."

I blinked with surprise. "What?"

"Thanks... for helping me out earlier... With the curtain things I mean... a-and giving me that Fresh Water too..."

"Oh... Um, it wasn't a problem at all?"

"No, really... I'm not really used to getting favors, and I don't often say "thanks", so... it's kind of a big deal to me."

"R-really? That's... uh... I suppose... You're welcome?"

"...Yeah. Come on, Mary. Brian wants to see us." Matthew turned and walked into the living room, and I followed close behind. I was smiling, but for a different reason than the fact that Matt showed me appreciation.

For once, he hadn't called me Pengy.

Saturday, June 12 – Living Quarters SUB – PokéGene Inc.
Subject 006 / Name: Maxwell

Soon after Mary went to wake up Matthew or whatever, I spent a little time sitting down with Samantha and just... chatting. About random things mostly.

I showed her the Mystic Water that had mysteriously appeared on my pillow, and she seemed rather entranced by it. "Wow, that sure is pretty," she said, eying the thing up and down, "You said that it... just appeared on your pillow?"

"Yeah, it did. Dunno how, or why, but... there it was."

"...Huh. Weird... You know, it kinda reminds me of the amulet you gave me... Similar shape, right?"

We both compared the Mystic Water and my silver amulet side-by-side. Aside from obvious differences, the general size and shape were quite similar: Both were loosely teardrop-shaped, and fit easily into the palm of a (human) hand. But looking at it now, the silver amulet wasn't a perfect shape in that respect; it had a few little "tufts" at the ends that ran along the sides, and the center of it had a swirling shape. It bore a slight resemblance to a will-o-the-wisp (they're just flaming "spirit balls" you hear in legends and stuff...), but I still decided to stick with my original description. The shape of these two had to be a coincidence anyway.

We talked some more, drifting in and out of varied topics.

"...So that's how the Sinnoh region was formed? Sounds unbelievable..."

"Believe me, Sam. Those three legendaries are responsible for crafting the whole place from pretty much nothing. I know it seems unreal, but that's how cool Pokémon can be I guess. It was in a history book too, so I'm pretty sure it happened, heh."

"Hey, does our region, Pæin, have an interesting history too? I wasn't really paying attention in History class... Teehee..."

"...To be honest, it's nowhere near as interesting as the other places. Well, we DO host the Pokémon World Championships, where trainers from all over come to compete. I've seen it on TV more than once. It's the ONLY popular thing around here, but it's pretty recent, so, no ancient myths or whatever here..."

"Oh, that's a shame... It would've been nice for me to know our home is historic, but... Oh well."

"Yeah..."

"...Hey, Max?"

"Mmm?"

"I like hanging out with you... I guess I've always wanted a brother, but, well... Never thought it'd be like this." She giggled a bit, and I laughed with her as well.

"Well, that's nice to hear. I like spending time with you too."

Samantha smiled. "...Thank you. For everything."

"What did I do?" I inquired, giving her a questioning look.

"You know... For talking with me, understanding me, playing I See with me even... Stuff like that. Not even Warren has done all of that for me!"

"Eh-heh, well, I try..."

"You're more than just trying, Max." She edged a little closer to me and leaned her head on my side. For some reason it felt a bit awkward, but she's my 'sister' so I suppose it shouldn't be...

We both said nothing for a minute. Warren saw us sitting together and couldn't help but offer his thoughts. "D'awwww... Ain't that cute, ya'll both sittin' t'gether like a couple o'... Well, a couple! Heheheh!"

I rolled my eyes at him, and he continued snickering. Samantha seemed a bit off-put by this, and sat back up (or at least sat up as best as a quadruped like a Cyndaquil could), shifting away from me a bit. I gave her a reassuring pat, saying he was only kidding (again). Though I couldn't be sure if she understood that, since Sam appeared to be lost in thought... Was she even paying attention?

Soon afterward, I finally heard noises in the hallway that were far too familiar by this point to forget. Footsteps. And voices. Both grew louder and more clear as the source approached.

"...But Brian," one of the voices (most likely Frank's) said, sounding concerned, "We already have six. That's all we agreed on, correct?"

"True," the other (Brian) replied, "But don't you remember all of those other ones we've been looking at? At least some of them should be offered a chance. Wouldn't it be better than living futureless lives?"

"You don't know that, though. With certain cases, I'd understand. But with those otherwise... Why must you even try? It's not necessary."

What on earth are they talking about? Ugh, apparently people are in love with secrets in this place...

"Frank, we've talked about this before. We only consider kids without friends or family to hold to. Without those, it's unlikely they'll make it through life."

"...Though certainly still possible."

"At what cost? Happiness? Dreams? I'd sooner carve my own epitaph than tell a desperate and despondent child that he or she—instead of being given a new chance at life—can simply "tough it out.""

"Well, I suppose that's what I can expect from you, Brian... Always thinking about others nowadays... I suppose you remember when your wife... passed?"

"...Please, I don't really want to talk about that. I'll only say that's the whole reason I'm doing this — what happened all those years ago to her. I'm not going to let anyone else suffer like I have or Danny has, no one deserves to lose anyone important in their lives..."

"Sigh... Very well Brian. I suspect that's why you can relate with the kids so well. But have you forgotten already that your goal was mostly achieved?"

"...I haven't forgot. But it's not like we've actually made anything of that sort you know, we're still a long ways from such a thing. Let's discuss this later, can we? I've a plane to catch."

"Yes, of course."

Uh oh, a "plane to catch"? What is THAT supposed to mean? Brian is leaving? Where? Oh, and I was just about to get my hopes up, but now...

Mere seconds later, the door to the quarters slid open and Brian calmly walked in, then turned to look at us (Me, Warren, Steve and Sam), smiling brightly. "Good morning, everyone! ...Well, good afternoon technically... Anyway, I have some news for you all!"

I wanted to act happy about this, but judging from what I heard, not to mention his odder-than-usual getup (he'd forsaken the typical lab-coat and pants for a more casual short-sleeve shirt and jeans, and he carried a briefcase), it clearly indicated that this wasn't going to be anything I'd like.

Warren, Samantha, and Steve all took interest however—which kinda surprised me a bit, since I'm pretty sure they all heard that outside conversation—so I meekly nodded to show I was paying attention.

"Sooo... What's up, Brian?" Warren asked, folding his arms and tilting his head to the side a bit, "An' what's wit' the new wardrobe? Vacationin', maybe?"

Brian laughed. "What I wouldn't give for that! Hah! Well, not really. You see, I'm... Hold on a sec... Where's Mary? And Matthew, for that matter?"

"Well, um... You see..." Samantha started to explain, but was interrupted when the previously missing Pokékids suddenly rushed into the room, panting. "We're here, we're here!" Mary said, gasping.

Conversely, Matthew didn't seem tired in the slightest, despite the fact he was actually running faster than her. "Huh. You really should get in shape, Mary," Matt remarked once the both of them had reached us, smirking.

"Shut... up..." Mary said in-between breaths of air.

"Oh, there you two are!" Brian exclaimed, "I was just about to tell you kids some news. I have good news, bad news, and better news; which would you like to hear first?"

"The bad news," we all said nearly in unison.

"Alright, the bad news is that I'm going on a little trip. I should be back by tomorrow however, so until then you'll have to survive without me." Cue collective groan. "Yeah, I know, it really stinks, but bear with it for a day."

"So what's the good news?" I inquired.

"Good news! Yes, good news... Remember what you asked me about "going outside", Maxwell...?"

My heart leaped. He remembered! Maybe we'll be able to go out after all? "Y-yes! Yes, I did! And?"

Brian gave a friendly little smirk. "And... what? ...Hah, just kidding. Anyway, I talked with Frank and Danny about it, and they'll take you all out around the uptown area. There's loads to do there: it has a park, there's a commercial district, and even a Trainer's Forum."

"Trainer's... Forum?" Warren interrupted, looking confused at the mention of that one place.

"Oh, that? It's basically this big open stadium where all kinds of trainers and Pokémon meet up to socialize or battle or whatever. Usually it's busy around the time of the Championships, but there are always people there year-round. Who knows, maybe you might make some new friends there!"

"Ooh, sounds nice," said Warren, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"As I was saying, Frank and Danny will take you guys up and around the town in the next hour or so. I think Mark said he was interested in tagging along too. I think it's about time you all got some fresh air and sun, am I right?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw and heard Matthew give an awkward cough (for reasons which should be obvious by this point), but I mostly ignored it.

"And then there's the better news... Well, I would've wanted to keep it a secret, but let me just say there's a potential chance—no promises on this one—that we might be getting a new friend hanging around here..."

"A... new friend?" Sam asked, brightening up all of a sudden.

Brian nodded. "Potentially, that is. But, I'm not 100% sure. I'd keep your fingers crossed if I were you!"

We all looked at our 'hands'. And nearly all of us (minus Warren and Matthew) looked back at Brian with a bored look on our faces.

"...Bad expression. Anyway, how's all that sound to you?"

'How's it sound'? Well, duh! I'm the one who's been wanting to go out in the first place, so of course it's sounds good! ...But, why am I so worried about wanting to go out? Eh, maybe I'm overthinking this... "It sounds great! Guys?" I said rather cheerfully, and motioned to my adopted siblings.

"Oh! Uh, sure! Same here!" Samantha said, nodding in agreement.

Warren and Steve nodded as well. "Sure," Warren concurred, "May as well, eh? Ah'll miss ya fer a bit, Brian, but I'm 'kay with it."

Matthew shrugged. "Meh, why not? Could use the, coughSuncough, ahem."

"Going outside sounds nice... I always used to love the uptown area anyway," Mary said, agreeing as well.

"I guess it's decided then," Brian said, closing his eyes and smiling, "You're all going on a little field trip!"

Preview of the next chapter...

"Hot dang, this place looks great! Lookit all the greenery and trees and stuff! I haven't seen a park like this in my life..." Warren commented, gazing at the nature around him with sparkling eyes, "The fields, that there forest, the lil' pond o'er there... It's like... sumfin' outta a dream... Yeah, like— Eh? Maxwell? What's s'matter with ya?"

He noticed that I wasn't following him anymore, and the Pikachu gave me a weird look as I continued staring off into space. "This place..." I murmured, "I... I know this place..."

"Ya-wh-huh?" Warren sputtered, confused as to what I was implying.

"I dunno... It's like... Deja vu or something..." I felt my stomach twist with anxiety. Something about this place seemed a little... off. Not in a bad way, but it was as if nostalgia itself was slapping my face. With a fish. (And no sooner had I thought that I suddenly felt really hungry...)

But no amount of nostalgia could've prepared me for what happened after that.

"Oh! Hello, friend!" a tiny voice abruptly called out from behind me, and I froze up. It can't be... That voice...

Warren looked behind me to see what had said that, then gently smiled. "Oh, Max! This a friend o' yers?"

"Uh... Who?" I nervously mumbled, and slowly turned to face the source of the little voice. I couldn't believe my eyes. "It's... It's you!"

A/N: AND THAT (as we say) IS THAT. At least for now. =P At long last, the Pokékids will finally venture forth into the world! ...Minus Brian. Just where is he going? And what did he mean by a potential "new friend"...? And most importantly, what is the deal with Max and his new "ornament"? (And will I ever stop stacking up mysteries on you poor folks? xP)

Oh, and the new character shown midway through the chappie, Aleron, belongs to Aleron's Sword. He earlier requested a spot for his OC, which I oh-so-graciously decided to accept. :3 His purpose will become clear by the next chapter (though some of you may have already guessed what that is by this point considering what this story is about xP). Hope I did your OC some good so far, A.S.! ;D

And now, back to commentary/useless drivel as usual...

–So, the Pokémon in the dream this time is a Manaphy? We wonder what the other Pokémon from the dream before is... Perhaps that is the "BFF" that Manaphy referred to?
–Even stranger is the Mystic Water... How did it suddenly appear? Obviously it could help Max out though... And lol, PokéBay. XD See what I did thar?
–And interestingly enough, it seems the "misfortune" has already been passed on to Max. Oh joy. :P We predict problems. But can we trust our own theories? XD Nothing to be worried about... right?
–Wendel was briefly shown in this chapter. I based him off a random cousin of mine who lives far away... Well, sort of. He's in the next town over. XP But I never get to see him much anymore...
–Aah, poor Matt. That's whatcha get for being a Grass-type. XD At least now he's starting to be more "open." (At least to Mary, anyway. *shrugs*)
–And yes... Pæin is the (made-up) region that Genta City and PokéGene Inc—and therefore the Pokékids—are in! Surprised? Yes? No? Maybe? Oh, what's the difference. :P Oddly enough, Pæin was a region I had planned to include in my other story "Bond of Steel: Soto Legends" (along with the region Soto, obviously) but regrettably THAT story is stuck at a measly two chapters with not much hope of continuing soon (But I DO have hopes to change that someday!) so I figured, why not, let's make it this story's setting also. XD
-What were Brian and Frank discussing? It seems the reason behind everything is deeper than you might think...
–Did you like the preview I decided to add? I've seen many authors add previews to give readers hints on what will occur next. So naturally (and somewhat shamelessly) I decided to do the same thing. :D Maybe it will spark a little speculation?
-HOLY CRAP THIS CHAPTER IS LONG. O.O I would've split it into two seperate chapters like that one other time, but I was lazy. At least the wait was hopefully worth it. (No, I have nothing against long chapters, it's just that it takes forever to write them. xP)

Now folks, that concludes Chapter 9. We (as in "I", but I find it's cooler to say "We" instead XD) hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't, then... Well, I'm not sure what to think, were it that... =P R&R PLZ!

From everyone this side of the Cosmos, We say fare thee well! *flashes peace sign and grins*

-gl1m0