Hate to admit that I'm rather proud of myself for that cliffhanger. I hope the Pokeball thing wasn't too much like Deus Ex Machina. For those that don't know who the lady is yet the Pokeball and Pokedex thing will make sense as of this chapter.

Ah, and Happy New Year

Perhaps Arceus decided to smile down on Tia and Landon that moment. Or perhaps the deity had planned it all along.

For the two Pokeballs did open up two new Pokemon.

They were both rather famous among Unova. The one Tia had released was a bipedal Pokemon with a white furred head, light blue furred body, and a yellowish scalchop attached to its chest. Landon's was a stubby orange skinned Pokemon with long black ears and a curly pig-like tail.

"Oshawott and Tepig…no way…" Landon mumbled, shocked. The two men were surprised as well, so Tia wasted no time in continuing the battle.

"Oshawott, attack that Tranquill!" It was a risk, she knew that. There was no guarantee the Pokemon would listen to her or even be capable of fighting. That was why Tia was pleasantly surprised when the Oshawott tackled the Tranquill hard, knocking it onto its side, "Great job!"

"Solosis, get ready to-!"

"Not this time! Tepig, you Tackle the Solosis!" Landon ordered firmly. The Tepig narrowed its eyes at the Solosis, like Oshawott had done with the Tranquill, and was all too eager to slam head first into the gelatin coated psychic type, "Now Ember!"

"Water Gun!"

"Shit, shit, shit!" The shorter man cursed as his Tranquill was struck in the face by a strong stream of water. The bird staggered back, dazed and wounded, and ultimately fell onto its chest. The Solosis wasn't much better off; crying out as a flurry of hot red flares burned through its gelatin and struck its core, "Damn it! We weren't prepared for this!"

"You weren't," The taller man replied, "Solosis, Recover,"

"Damn it…" Landon cursed as the Solosis' jelly reformed rapidly. The core was still damaged but its shield was now fully intact, "Tepig, get ready!"

"You too Oshawott!" Tia cried out as she rushed over to Tomahawk and Purrloin. Both Pokemon were conscious and had managed to get up so she quickly recalled Tomahawk to his Pokeball, relieved that he wasn't too badly injured, "Purrloin, get to your trainer,"

"You bastards think you've won, don't you?" The smaller man snapped as he whipped out another Pokeball, "Well think ag-" He was cut off by the sound of a Pokeball opening. It wasn't his though, or his partner's, or Tia or Landon's.

Floating above Landon, who still held the lady, was a large pink and purple Pokemon. Some pink mist flowed gently out of a hole in its head and, though it seemed quite conscious, its eyes were closed as if it were sleeping. The four humans stared at the floating psychic type before it finally gave out a serene cry.

"Muu…" It was so soft that, for an instant, Tia nearly forgot they were in the middle of a serious battle. The Musharna had to belong to the lady which meant it would obey neither Tia nor Landon so the two looked back at the men. The shorter one was fuming even through his mask while the taller one didn't seem amused either as both were silent.

"This…this we were not prepared for. That Musharna took out our eight comrades almost single-handedly. If it opens up her other Pokeballs we're as good as dead…" The taller one muttered before turning his head towards his partner, "We need to retreat. We're grabbing the others and heading back to base,"

"Tauros shit! What about the bitch and the kids? We need to kill 'em!" The short one ranted. He didn't get a say in the matter, though, and neither did Tia or Landon. The two watched in silence as the men were Teleported away by the Solosis, a bright pink light flooding the area before they vanished.

"Oh..th-thank Arceus," The adrenaline left Tia almost immediately and she sunk to the ground. She was breathing hard and sweating: for a moment she genuinely thought she was going to lose Tomahawk, "Thank you, Oshawott…and Tepig, and Musharna,"

"Osha!" Oshawott gave a firm nod as he walked over to Tia. Tepig also smiled as he bounded over to Landon, who let out a groan as he gently shifted the lady on his shoulders a bit.

"Tia, we can't rest…we need to get to Aspertia now,"

"Cheren," The two teens looked up at Musharna in surprise. The pink mist around its head rippled as a distinctly feminine voice boomed out from it, "Please, take me to Cheren..."

Chapter 3: Passing the Torch

It was far too quiet in the hospital. That was probably a good thing, Tia recognized, as it meant that there weren't many people sick or injured. But some noise could have distracted her as she sat in the hallway with Landon. Their Pokemon were at the Pokemon Center, being treated, while Oshawott, Tepig, and Musharna were in the lady's hospital room. The two had tried to speak with Musharna but it was almost as if she couldn't hear them. Instead the mist the Pokemon produced just repeated the same message to bring her to Cheren over and over.

So it was a relief when the Gym Leader and teacher arrived at last, running down the hallway towards the two of them. Tia and Landon stood up as Cheren approached, "Are you two all right?"

"We're fine, and our Pokemon will be too," Tia replied as Landon nodded in agreement. Cheren let out a slight breath of relief before walking over to the open door next to the two teens, "She's in there. Her Pokemon requested you,"

"Thanks you…and what did the doctor's say?"

"Smoke inhalation and shock, mixed with fatigue," Landon replied quietly, "She's received oxygen so she just needs rest now,"

"Do you know who she is, Cheren?" Tia asked, unable to hold back her curiosity. Cheren looked into the room a second time and gave a nod.

"She's Bianca, my best friend," He answered before turning to face the two teens, "She's an assistant to Professor Aurea Juniper, another friend, so she's usually too busy to visit often. If she's here and was in such rough shape then something must have happened…how did you find her?"

The two teens began to explain everything that had happened. How Bianca was sprawled out on the ground, the two men and how they had battled them with intent to kill, and how Bianca's Pokemon saved their lives. Cheren listened to it all carefully but held back his tongue as he looked down the hallway.

Tia looked over her shoulder to see her mother, Katherine, running up to them with Landon's father behind her.

"Dad?" Landon was surprised as his father, Maurice, approached him. Tia didn't even have time to react as she was caught in a fierce hug from her mother. It didn't take the two long to figure out that Cheren must have called them after they used the hospital phone to call him. Tia didn't like it, since her mother was definitely going to be riled up with worry, but she really couldn't blame her teacher for making that call.

"Tia, thank Arceus, you're okay?"

"I'm fine mom, really…Tomahawk too. He's just resting at the Pokemon Center," Tia felt a pang of guilt as she looked into her mom's eyes. They were red and wet from tears, probably having cried out of nerves when she was on her way to the hospital, "Seriously I'm okay,"

"Okay…okay. Good," Katherine took a breath and started to compose herself, "Now, young lady, I want you to know that I would be furious with you ordinarily, for being so reckless, but…Cheren tells me you two saved a young lady?"

"My friend, Bianca, in fact," Cheren answered with a nod. Tia was relieved that her mother wasn't going to scold her. After the day she had it wouldn't help much at all, "Everyone's going to be fine it seems,"

"You said some men attacked them?" Maurice asked Cheren. The teacher gave a nod and Maurice looked down at the two teens, "Why? What were you two doing?"

"Nothing, I swear," Landon replied quickly, "We were just looking for a Purrloin for me to catch. We found one, or, rather it found us, and led us to Bianca after I caught it. We were about to bring her back here when two men in black cloaks and silver masks approached us demanding we give them Bianca and her belongings,"

"We said no. They looked shady and we didn't trust them," Tia cut in, "One started to threaten me so Tomahawk attacked him out of warning. Then the two started to battle us. We were losing when two Pokeballs rolled out of Bianca's bag. We used those Pokemon to help out but the two men weren't defeated yet, they only retreated when Bianca's Musharna let herself out of her Pokeball,"

"I…don't know what to say…I guess I'm just glad you two are all right," Katherine said after a brief moment of silence. A doctor walked down the hallway and was about to enter Bianca's room when he paused and looked at the five of them.

"Cheren? The Musharna was asking for you…"

"It wasn't the Musharna, it was a clever plan on Bianca's part," Cheren interrupted. Everyone gave Cheren a confused look and he was forced to explain, "Musharna can eat dreams and display them via their dream mist. However well trained ones, like Bianca's, can also absorb memories. Bianca must have drilled it into her head when she was beginning to faint that she needed to find me so Musharna fed on those thoughts and projected them with her dream mist,"

The plan fascinated Tia. If her Musharna could do something amazing like that then it definitely had to be well-trained. Pokemon and trainers were capable of so much and, while chilling, that day had definitely been a fantastic reminder of that fact.

"I see, that explains a lot," The doctor stated before gesturing into the room with his clipboard, "I think I can let you in to see her, in that case. The rest of you can feel free to wait or go home,"

"Come on, Tia, let's…"

"No! No…mom, I want to wait," Tia said firmly. Everyone looked at her and, feeling better than she had been earlier, Tia felt it could be a good time to lighten the mood with a joke, "Landon and I risked our lives to get Bianca here, so I want to be here when she wakes up. She owes me large, after all,"

There were a few chuckles from everyone but it seemed nobody was ready for laughing just yet.

"Here you are. All fixed up and well rested," Cheria, a resident nurse at the Pokemon Center, said as she handed over Tomahawk's Pokeball to Tia. She reached over the counter again to hand Landon the Pokeball that Hunter, his Purrloin, belonged in.

"Thanks Cheria," Tia said with a smile. Cheria gave Tia a nod and happily returned to her work. News of the incident didn't spread at all. Maurice and Katherine decided that they didn't want all of Aspertia pestering Tia and Landon with their concerns and curiosity so they didn't tell anyone. Tia was more than happy with that.

Besides, they had only been out of the hospital for an hour.

"This is a relief, eh?" Tia asked Landon as the two walked out of the Pokemon Center. Landon nodded in response but said little else, which made Tia cock her head. Normally he'd at least give a comment. Landon wasn't exactly the strong silent type so him keeping quiet since they got back to Aspertia bothered Tia a bit.

"Well…what do you think we should do-" Tia didn't have to finish her question as both she and Landon both felt something vibrate in their pockets. X-Transceivers, both of them, and they had just received a text.

"Come to the hospital now…" Landon started reading.

"Bianca's awake," Tia finished. The text was from Cheren, who had stayed in the hospital with Bianca. The two teens rushed from the Pokemon Center towards the city's hospital as fast as they could. They entered the front foyer and were escorted by Cheren, who waited for them patiently in the lobby.

"So she's all right?"

"Just exhausted," Cheren replied to Landon's question. Tia breathed a sigh of relief and felt a sense of pride fill up the hole the worry had left. Though Musharna truly saved the day she still put her life on the line for someone else. It felt…good. It was rewarding and she hadn't even received a thank you yet.

Tia glanced at Landon and tried to read his blank expression. She couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way…

"Bianca, these are the two that found you," Cheren said as he entered Bianca's room. Tia and Landon followed shortly and looked at the young lady. Her blonde hair was clean of dirt and ashes but still a bit messy and, despite whatever she had been through and her frazzled looks, her green eyes practically shimmered with joy from behind her recently adjusted glasses.

"I'm Tia, Bianca, and this is-"

"Landon," Tia gave her friend a quick glance at his sharp interruption but let it slide to look at Bianca. The lady in question smiled at their introduction and gave a nod.

"Okay, it's nice to meet you two. My name is Bianca, as you know by now," Her voice was pretty and a bit high pitched but hoarse. Bianca's throat was still a bit dry it seemed, "I just wanted to thank you two so much for what you did. It was very brave and…and I'm glad you two didn't get hurt,"

Tia couldn't help but grin a bit and put a hand on her hip, her pride swelling more, "It's fine, I'm just glad you're okay too,"

"Bianca…I'm sorry if this is sudden, but, I'm sure you know we had an encounter with two men in cloaks and silver masks," Landon's tone was polite but his eyes were serious. It shocked Tia a little to see him like that especially since Bianca had just regained consciousness, "I was wondering if you knew anything about them. They were saying you defeated their comrades or something…"

Cheren merely watched Bianca while she gave the question some thought. It wasn't long before the blonde shook her head, "Sorry, I don't know anything about that. I passed out right after Musharna Teleported us,"

Neither Tia nor Landon truly believed what it was Bianca said yet both gave nods in response. Tia just felt sorry for her while Landon figured the truth would, at some point, come clear. There was brief silence while the two teens hesitated to ask the question that needed to be asked the most: why her clothes were burned when they found her.

"Bia-"

"Oh! Hold on," Bianca cut in early with big, curious eyes, "Cheren had told me that you two used Oshawott and Tepig to protect me. Is that true?" Tia and Landon exchanged glances and gave nods. Bianca thoughtfully placed a finger on her chin and hummed for a few seconds before smiling at the two.

"Would you two like to keep them?"

"What?"

"Are you serious?" Landon was skeptical but Tia's eyes lit up immediately. Cheren also gave Bianca an odd look but the blonde seemed quite serious. She nodded at the two before holding out two Pokeballs.

"My party's full and I'd hate for them to be in the PC all the time…besides, they already obeyed you once so they must have liked you two, right?" Bianca's face was full of cheer even though she still rested in a hospital bed. Tia hesitated before reaching out and taking the Pokeball closest to her, assuming it was Oshawott.

"If you're serious then…well, sure, I'd love to have Oshawott," Tia responded, looking down at the Pokeball once she held it. Landon looked at his friend before taking Tepig's Pokeball with a nod.

"That's very kind of you…thanks," He said once he held Tepig's Pokeball. Bianca smiled at the two of them and nodded before rummaging through her yellow travel bag. After a few moments she drew out the Pokedexes the teens had seen before and held them out to the teens.

"You two can take these, as well. Do you know what they are?"

"Of course!" Tia exclaimed, grabbing the device excitedly, "They're Pokedexes!" She knew what a Pokedex was quite well. In class she had learned that Pokedexes were digital encyclopedias focused entirely around Pokemon. They had several features and upgrades that helped trainers learn all there was to know, data-wise, about Pokemon across the world. Receiving one was said to be an honour and usually had to be arranged, but, Tia was far too happy to think about that.

Landon, on the other hand, took his with a bit more caution, "Thanks, again…it's really not necessary," He replied with a small smile.

"It's fine. We had already given away Snivy and another Pokedex earlier so another trio of starters and Pokedexes should be on their way," Bianca explained with a big smile of her own, "Besides, it's the least I can do!"

Tia heard Bianca speak but her mind was elsewhere. With a two Pokemon and a Pokedex she easily qualified for a trainer's license. Normally you only needed one Pokemon on hand to be an official trainer, but, her parents had wanted her to finish trainer's school despite the law. Now Tia had all she needed to convince her parents that her journey didn't have to wait.

She could become a trainer: her dream career.

"Thanks a lot Bianca, really, but I've got to run!" Tia turned on her heel and dashed out of the hospital room, wheeling around to run down the hallway. After a few moments she heard footsteps following her. They were Landon's, she knew, but she couldn't afford to wait. Her mother and father would both be home and she needed to tell them now that there was no holding her back.

Well, at least, that was the plan Tia had before she saw Katherine waiting for her in the hospital lobby.