Part 3: Commitment

*This entire story is written on a Nintendo 3DS*

Vale and I must have been staring at each other for several minutes. For those several minutes, neither of us talked. Vale finally broke the silence, "So, your name is Cloe?"

"Yes. I take it you're Vale?" With that, Vale let out a smile. "Yes. We'll be working together, Cloe." Vale was a Vulpix. I didn't mind having a Vulpix as a partner. That's when I realized something.

"Why am I here? I wasn't told anything by anyone." Vale just chuckled, "I see Charmander didn't tell you anything either." She started walking to the exit. "Follow me, I'll tell you about why you're here." I walked with her, as I found out, this underground place was very large. You can get lost if there weren't tons of signs showing you the right way.

"So, this collar..." I had one serious question to ask, "Can I talk to humans with it?" Vale answered with the obvious answer. "No. You can only speak to other Pokemon. Charmander made it so you couldn't talk to humans." I was fine with that answer. Even if I could have the ability to talk to humans, I wouldn't have anything important to say.

"So, this rescue team business. What's it about?" Vale had only one thing to say. "For now, our only job is to patrol the park." I wasn't going to argue, the day was nice, and the weather was clear.

However, I had one more question to ask. One that I think even stumped Vale. "How will Katherine feel about me doing this?" With that, we stopped walking.

Neither of us knew. "Perhaps..." Vale hesitated, she knew it was a long shot. "Perhaps you should just go with it. See what happens, Katherine might understand."

"I guess so, but what if she doesn't?" Vale understood that the worst-case scenario was more likely to happen. "Well, you should still be able to arrive here every weekend. If she understands, then you should be able to be here every day." It was a logical explanation, and it mostly made sense.

"Alright, I'll try hiding the badge. I'll put it back on when I get back to the apartment." After we discussed plans, Vale and I went to the entrance, and wished each other a good night. By the end of registration, it was about 6 p.m.

I took off the badge, and hid it under the tufts of fur that surround my neck. It's the same place I was hiding the collar. I returned to where Katherine was. She was still talking to her friends, which was good, since maybe she didn't notice how long I was gone. I sat down near the tree. Surely enough, not a few minutes after I got there, Katherine was preparing to leave.

"Well, Cloe, are you ready to go?" I stood up, and nodded to her. I guess it caught her off-guard, since she hesitated shortly after. A few minutes passed, and soon we were back at the apartment. Katherine let me out of the Poke Ball, and left the room. I sat on the couch facing the television set. In the short time, I was able to put the badge on the neckerchief and tie it around my neck.

Around the time I finished, Katherine entered the room. She looked at me with a smile, and noticed the neckerchief. By the looks of her expression, I could tell she had seen the badge before. That's when she left the room. She came back into the living room with a small box. I remember that box, she got it along with me on her sixteenth birthday. I tried to remember the name that was on that box. It had something to do with...

That's when it hit me. Exploration teams! She opened the box. I looked at it, as did she. I saw it, there was a badge extremely similar to mine. "No way..." Katherine gasped.

I could understand her shock. She stared at the badge, and didn't say anything for a minute. "I guess you started today, right? By the looks of it, that badge looks like normal rank." She started laughing, I felt a little relief. "So, that's where you were today."

I nodded, that's when she understood. "Alright, you were always the adventurous type." I smiled at that. "I'll tell you what," she explained, "I'll show you how to walk to the park. It's not far, and isn't that dangerous." She did want something in return, "However, I would like to ask for one thing. Someday, can I see your partner? You aren't the type to work by yourself, I can tell." I nodded and gave a big smile.

My face had a worried look on it, I could tell that Katherine saw it. She knew what the problem was, and nodded. "It's alright, I won't tell anyone." With that, I smiled. Katherine is the one person I can trust with a secret as important as this. I slept soundly that night, knowing that I had nothing to worry about.

At least, none I can think of.