I am sooo super sorry for how late this chapter is being posted! I was just busy with personal life and the holidays, and I had to have my computer repaired. I also lost my inspiration for a bit, couldn't seem to finish the chapter. Then I was struck a few days ago, and now here it is! As always, many many thanks to my continuous readers reveiwers. Meemeeru, twizler86258, xXCode-AngelXx, Theghostlyauthor, dewdrop6, makayla, konan248, 18Madison81, tacypoc, and MonsterKiwi... your reviews all make me feel warm and fuzzy inside!

My Great Big Adventure

"Whoever thought 'sleeping on it' was good advice, they were obviously wrong."

Curtis laughed so loud and clear that I actually stopped walking and had to take a good look at the xtransceiver. He had a really nice laugh.

"Maybe," he replied, still chuckling, "or maybe you're just sore from sleeping on the cave floor?"

I rolled my eyes but laughed nonetheless. Calling Curtis had been a good idea.

I had woken up feeling worse than ever, though it was indeed probably due to my uncomfortable sleeping quarters. Rocks make bad mattresses. And pillows. I was so grumpy that even Zorua seemed to think it was a bad idea to sass me, as he has been quiet all morning. Which was nice of him, to think about me and act accordingly. But the silence was actually eating me up inside. I was consumed with my thoughts from last night, about the movies and my mom and Hugh. I wanted someone to talk to. I needed to get out of this hole I had fallen into.

Then it hit me. I could call Curtis! He had asked me to call him. Why not now?

"Yeah, okay, so sleeping on the jagged rocks wasn't my best idea," I admitted, continuing my walk through Chargestone Cave. "But I was tired. Tired physically and mentally. Tired of thinking about... stuff."

"Stuff?" he inquired, tilting his head. I merely waved him off.

"Yes. Stuff." I replied with such a tone that he didn't question the matter further. Instead, he sighed and ran a hand through his green locks.

"So you called me."

For some reason, I blushed. The way he said it, it sounded so... so... so suggestive, like he was hinting at something. I really hated when people did that.

"Yes, I called you," I growled. "Is that a problem?"

"What? Of course not," he answered, seeming confused. "I just... Never mind."

I tripped over a large rock right then, but a rush of guilt for whatever had I said to Curtis to make him sound so... sad, overwhelmed and flooded out the pain of a stubbed toe.

"Sorry, Curtis, I'm just a bit tense," I apologized. "I don't really know what to say right now."

He smiled a bit, seemingly accepting my statements. "That's okay. You're almost out of the cave, right? And I should get back to work. So no need to say much else."

I nodded, but I still wanted at least one conversation to end on a good note. I didn't want my chats with Curtis to be as stressful as the ones I had with Hugh.

"So... You work a lot. What do you do on your days off? I know you said you sleep in, but what else?" I asked, genuinely interested. I honestly didn't know much about the boy's personal life, and it bugged me a bit.

"My days off?" he repeated, pausing for a bit. "I... I usually go fishing, I guess," he said, sounding slightly unsure of himself. I wanted to ask him why he answering like that, but he pressed on before I had the chance.

"Taking some time alone and away from it all... Out on my boat, just me and my line... Different places have different Pokemon, so every experience is a surprise. I had actually gone fishing the day I dropped my xtransceiver," he admitted. "So, I suppose, in a way, fishing brought us together..."

"Together?" I repeated, the word stumbling off my tongue.

Curtis blushed horribly. "I mean, you know! We met. I wasn't suggesting that... I mean, I wasn't implying... Oh, it sounds all wrong now..."

Unable to hold it no longer, I let out a loud, barking laugh, effectively shutting off Curtis's babbling. He stared at me as I tried to calm myself, leaning against the cave wall for support.

"Sorry. Curtis, really, I'm not mocking you," I tried to get out in between giggles. "I just... You have nothing to apologize for and I just couldn't help but laugh." I wasn't explaining myself very well. Then again, I wasn't even sure what I was really talking about, to be perfectly honest... Why was I giggling uncontrollably?

"I see..." Curtis said nothing for another minute while I gathered myself. And then I saw the light twinkling in the distance.

"I'm close to the exit," I told him. "And again, sorry about laughing at you..."

"It's okay, Rosa," he said, giving off a smile that made something in my throat jump. "Seeing you laugh is enough reason for me." What? What did he mean by that?

"We'll talk later. I should get back to work," he said, excusing himself. "Bye bye! And good luck at the gym~"

I stared at the blank screen and blinked. Reason enough... for what? To make a fool of himself? He liked seeing me laugh? And he did always keep blushing about 'us' and such. But that would mean...

My cheeks burned brightly in the dimly lit cave. But Curtis couldn't like me, could he? I mean, I know I'm not the most unfortunate-looking person on the planet, but I certainly wasn't anything very pretty like Elesa or her model friends. True, I was in a few movies, but those works of dirt were hardly anything to write home about (not that I would ever consider writing anything to... but I wasn't about to go back down that line of thinking). And, well, it was fairly obvious that Hugh was barely even aware that I was a girl... and if he couldn't notice, what with me practically chasing after him all our lives, why should anyone else?

No, that wasn't entirely true.

Colress had said I was pretty.

Then again, Colress was a psychotic criminal mastermind, and if he was the sort of type I attracted, well, what exactly did that make Curtis?

Stepping out of the cave and into the bright sunshine, I left all the depressing thoughts behind me, back in the dark corners of my mind where they belonged.

I had to focus on the gym battle.

I shielded my eyes from the harsh light and glanced around.

Not much to see in the form of Mistralton City. Looked more like Mistralton Village to me. A few houses here and there, but most of the view was obstructed by the airport and runways. The facilities stretched across the entire town, and the airport building itself seemed enormous; I'd never seen another one before, so I really had nothing to compare.

"YOO-HOO! HELLO THERE!"

I tore my eyes away from the large planes scattered across the grounds, and looked over to see two people flagging me down from in front of the city's Pokecenter. I didn't recognize either of the women from a distance, but as they didn't seem suspicious, I decided to go over and see what they wanted.

I immediately took a step back when I saw that one of the women was wearing a lab coat. And the other the one...

"Gym leader Skyla?!" I cried, hurrying over to them. I had seen Skyla on tv before, giving interviews or going over battle strategies.

"Yup, that's me!" she beamed, saluting. "And this here's Professor Juniper!"

I took a long look at the lady who supposedly was Bianca's boss. The one the Pokedex really belonged to. I had actually expected some old hag in bejeweled spectacles and an oversized brightly-colored robe, obsessing over Pokemon eggs. But in reality, Professor Juniper was much younger! Well, not so young as Skyla, certainly, but probably as young as my mother. She looked fit and athletic, pairing her lab coat with a skirt and sneakers. However bizarre her outfit was, it could not be more ridiculous than Skyla's... well, bondage was the word that sprang to my mind.

"So, we meet at last, Rosa!" Professor Juniper said, stepping forward and taking my hand. "It was only a few months ago that you accepted the Pokedex and started your journey."

Accepted? More like 'was forced to take.' I caught myself just in time before I could scoff.

"Here, let me evaluate your progress," she offered, stretching her hand out.

Caught off guard by how eager she was, I fumbled around in my purse before pulling out the horrid device. I brushed Zorua in the process, thankful again that he had stayed quiet all this time.

I practically flung the offensive thing at her. Good riddence!

"Hmmm... Seems you haven't synced it with your Trainer ID yet," she revealed, inspecting it. "And while you've seen a lot of Pokemon... you've only caught seven." She was obviously less than impressed.

"Yeah well... Hugh's Pokedex is probably bursting, so why don't you go find him and rally around him instead?" I asked, unable to hide the bitterness in my voice.

"Who? Oh, is he the kid that practically stole the other Dex from Bianca? Never did learn his name. So where is he anyway?"

I shrugged. Not like I cared. Or at least, that's what I told myself.

"Well, not that you deserve it based on your Pokedex," the professor stated, pulling something out of her pocket, "but this is a Master Ball. It can catch any Pokemon on the first try, without fail." She held it out to me.

"Why?"

"Well, that's how it was designed–"

"No, I mean, why are you giving it to me?" I asked. "You said yourself I don't deserve it."

The professor eyed me, while Skyla watched on in silence.

"Well, you've made it this far, kid," she said. "I remember back when you fought tooth and nail to avoid becoming a trainer. Oh, the way your mom would call me up and vent about you..."

As much as I didn't care for whatever my mother said, I felt my ears turn pink with embarrassment.

"But look at you now. Solid team, caught early on, from what this Dex says. Pretty high-leveled too. Five badges. Not bad," she explained with a small grin. "Something must have changed."

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Any honest answer I could have given died in my throat. I felt like a small child right then, being asked a question even though the adult already knew the answer. Answering her would have been too much. She would have seen too much. And after all I'd been through, I wasn't ready to let some stranger see that.

"Thank you," was all I could say as she passed the purple ball into my hands. The sun shined off its surface brilliantly and proud. I minimized it and stowed it away in a pocket on the inside of my purse.

"So! You must be here to challenge Skyla," the professor continued, gesturing to the gym leader. Skyla perked up at having been re-included in the conversation.

"I can't wait! I always enjoy a good Pokemon battle!"

The professor laughed. "Well, while you do that, I'm going to go check out the Tower." At my confused look, Professor Juniper elaborated, "Celestial Tower is only a few miles north of here. You can come with me, if you'd like. After your battle, Skyla's giving me a lift in her plane."

"Yup! Can't get across Twist Mountain on foot," she replied, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Well, Rosa, I'll be waiting at my gym. Come see me after you've rested up!" With a slight nod of her head to the professor, Skyla flounced off towards one of the airplane hangers.

"So, kid, you coming with me?" the professor asked, hands on her hips.

I shifted my feet uneasily. "I won't get in the way of your research?"

"Nah. And to be honest, I have an ulterior motive to inviting you along," she said with a wink.

It turned out that the professor was very interested in hearing about my run-ins with Team Plasma. As we walked up Route 7, I ignored the trainers itching for battles, and instead did my best to explain what they had been up to. I left out the really personal parts, but I did ask if she had seen Colress's tournament.

"Yes, I heard about that," she muttered, sounding deeply disturbed. "Cheren filled me in on it. I have to say, that was very brave of you, kid, going in there like that. Took guts." She rested a hand on my shoulder. "Another reason I knew I could trust you with a Master Ball. Now, this Colress... Who is he, exactly?"

A creepy albino stalker bird-man, I wanted to say. I hesitated before replying, thinking about whatever I could remember about anything he'd ever said. "He's some sort of scientist... He's mentioned something about studying a Pokemon's potential and bringing it out... He talks in riddles, mostly." I swallowed thickly, remembering how he'd held my face right before we battled. Professor Juniper waited for me to continue, so I fought down such frivolous thoughts.

"He... I think he might be involved with Team Plasma. He's mentioned them once or twice. He wasn't on their ship, however..."

The professor nodded, deep in thought. "He definitely sounds like someone to keep an eye on... Ah, we're here."

The tower loomed overhead. It was a tall cylinder that had been built long ago, and it seemed as if it stretched straight on up into the heavens. I suddenly felt cold and wrapped my arms around myself as I followed the professor inside. Then I finally figured out just what Celestial Tower was for.

It was a shrine for dead Pokemon.

Professor Juniper noticed my heavy breathing right away. "Are you okay?"

I felt my throat close up as my heart started pounding. Everywhere I looked, people were crying, mourning, grieving. Caskets lined the walls. Stairs led up to even more floors, probably full of more caskets. Probably full of dead Pokemon. Or worse. Ghosts.

It was one thing to fight a Ghost-type Pokemon in a trainer battle, and it was another thing to stumble across a Ghost Pokemon in the wild. But, it was an entirely different sort of thing to walk into a building that was full of dead bodies that practically summoned ghosts!

I tripped over my feet backing up. My back hit a wall and the sudden impact scared me. I jumped away from the wall and ran back outside, only stopping to catch my breath after I was out in the sunshine, away from the shadow cast by the gloomy shrine.

I heard her panting and her footsteps before I saw her; the professor had followed me.

"I... I have a thing about ghosts," I offered weakly, knowing full well how stupid it sounded.

"Oh, Rosa, I'm sorry," she hurried to apologize. "I should have mentioned what the building's purpose was. I didn't realize..."

I nodded. It wasn't her fault. How could she know? Only one person really understood.

We were eight when it happened. Hugh and I were outside playing, only a year or two after my dad had left. We were playing hide-and-seek behind a neighbor's house. We knew we weren't supposed to, but we did it anyway. The neighbor's old Pokemon had died recently, and the little grave in the backyard still had fresh dirt. Well, during one of my turns to hide, as Hugh was chasing me around the yard, I tripped and fell into that dirt. We didn't think much of it; he obviously caught me, and I just brushed the dirt off and continued on with the game. The incident was forgotten.

Some time later, a week or possibly even a month, we were back in that same backyard, playing hide-and-seek again. The lawn was overgrown and full of things to hide behind, so it was the best place to play such a game. I chose to hide inside an old bin that was facing the back of the house, not one of the obvious choices, but one of our favorites.

I was hiding in that bin and could hear Hugh's voice still counting, somewhere in the thirties, when the bin was suddenly shoved against the wall of the house. I pushed with all the strength my eight-year-old self had, but it didn't budge. And then I saw the ghost. I knew right away it was the ghost of the dead Pokemon, a Ghastly if I recall correctly. I have no idea what the Pokemon originally was, possibly a Marill or Jigglypuff, but I knew this Ghastly was the Pokemon whose graved I'd tripped over.

I screamed and started crying, banging against the metal box. I heard Hugh's voice calling out to me, confused and worried. I felt him bang on the bin and heard him trying to move it. I had curled up in a corner away from the ghost, but the air was thick and cold and the Ghastly was laughing at me. It draped me with a black fog, and, being older now and having seen it used in battle a few times, it was probably using Nightshade. I can't recall everything it did to me, but it showed me a lot of scary images.

Finally, the sunshine cracked through as Hugh had managed to pull the bin away from the wall a bit. I don't remember, but whenever I'd ask him about it after, he says I was shaking uncontrollably, crying and screaming. He couldn't move the bin far enough away to pull me out, he said. I remember him saying, I'll be right back. And I begged him not to go. Don't leave me alone. Don't leave me alone. I repeated it over and over, watching him turn and run away.

I honestly don't remember the visions too much. Disturbing dreams that haunted a child, but now that I'm older, I have trouble recalling them. What I do remember, however, is when Hugh finally came back. He says that at the time, I said I felt like I'd been in there for hours. I really don't know. I just remember the sunlight streaming across the darkness as the bin was torn away from the wall. If I wasn't in love with him already, I probably fell for him right then and there. He dragged me out of the dark, barking at his Tepig to burn the Ghastly with Ember. Even at eight years old, to me, he was ruggedly handsome. Pressed against his side with the Tepig between us and the offending Ghastly...

We were scolded endlessly, of course. We never did play hide-and-seek after that, either. And I never went near another grave if I could help it. The adults weren't too keen on the ghost story; they accepted our tale, but we knew they really just thought we'd been spooked in the crumbling yard. But we knew the truth. Hugh never teased me about ghosts or being scared of the dark. He rescued me yet again, like so many other times.

I wondered if I was a burden back then, too. He was always looking out for me, but now I wondered if he had felt some sort of obligation. I wasn't sure of anything anymore when it came to how he felt about me.

"Why don't you go back to the Pokecenter and rest a bit before taking on the gym," Professor Juniper suggested. "I'm heading back into the tower, but I'm sure I'll see you again before my flight."

I nodded my head in agreement, shaking away the childhood memories. I couldn't let these thoughts about whether or not Hugh and I were ever really friends get to me. I'd have to dwell on them later. As for whether or not I'd ever ask him about it... I couldn't say for sure.