Oh my God, can you believe it? I actually updated this one. And...it's the second story updating. Holy cow.

Hi, I'm Haji, in case you forgot. And this is another chapter.

Enjoy.

Accumula Town was quiet by the time Hardison and Solosis had stepped foot into the Pokémon Center. The sun had just begun to rise, and the chilliness of the nighttime was still upon them. They were exhausted. Solosis, after being able to defeat the Patrat was scared to leave Hardison to continue whatever it had been doing out by itself—undoubtedly training alone. And Hardison was far too paranoid to rest.

As soon as the sliding glass doors closed behind them, Hardison breathed a sigh of relief—or at least partial relief—as they were greeted by a tired looking nurse.

"Good evening," she said.

"It's morning now," Hardison said quietly.

He looked around. There were a couple of trainers sleeping in chairs and hugging their Pokémon. They looked very young, maybe ten or twelve years old. Hardison glanced at Solosis and then back at the nurse. Solosis was silent.

"You think maybe you could heal her?" Hardison asked. "We've been through a lot."

The nurse chuckled. "Sure. You two look like you've had a rough night. Nighttime battles?"

Hardison frowned. "Patrat. Dozens of them."

"We've been having a little bit of an issue with the Patrat. Overpopulation." She frowned. "We've called the PCC about it. They say it's not too bad right now. But a lot of trainers have been getting hurt recently."

Hardison swallowed. The nurse coaxed Solosis onto the counter, where she administered a couple of different medications and cleaned it. Solosis seemed to like the attention, and chirped happily. Hardison grinned despite the previous night's hardship. It was just water under the bridge now.

"There is a wash room if you would like to clean up as well," the nurse said, pointing to a backroom. "I just need your trainer card."

Hardison placed his card on the counter, and thanked the nurse. He disappeared into the back room, where he washed himself in a shower and cleaned his clothing in the sink. He changed into a new outfit and briefly stared at himself in the mirror. He wasn't in there long, and by the time he and Solosis had left the Pokémon Center, the sun was shining brighter and the local bird Pokémon were singing a little louder. The chilliness of the night had not yet lifted, but it was noticeably warmer.

"We're going to go see my dad," Hardison said. "He didn't get the chance to see us off, but I think he'll want to know that I'm okay."

Solosis chirped. "Sol!"

Hardison's father worked at a construction company in Accumula. Though he didn't actually work in the yards, or on the projects themselves, he was responsible for overseeing the paperwork aspect of the job. His office was in Accumula, however the site was in the desert on Route 4.

When Hardison knocked on the front door of the building, he had half been expecting nobody to open it. After all, it was early, perhaps too early for office workers. But, to his surprise, his father opened the door, looking rather tired and overworked.

"Hi, Dad."

"What are you doing here?"

Hardison smiled, then frowned. "I wanted to see you before I left."

Hardison's father opened the door wider. His Garchomp was sitting in the middle of the floor. It looked just as tired and it growled at Hardison. Solosis chirped back, but retreated as Garchomp glared at it.

"I'm very busy, Hardison."

"I know, but I just wanted to talk." Hardison paused. "Can I come in?"

Hardison's father sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Sure."

Hardison stepped inside and sat down in a chair farthest away from Garchomp. Solosis hovered in the seat next to him and stayed quiet. It was obviously intimidated by the land shark, but was either trying to be brave for Hardison's sake, or for its own.

"Tell me about your night."

Hardsion was caught off guard by the request and he stuttered slightly. "Uh, well, it was…horrible. I ran into this kid named Garret and his Oshawott. He's a pain in my behind. We were going to battle, but then we were attacked by a pack of Patrat. And Solosis had come back just in time to defeat them and—"

"You were out there without Solosis?"

"Only for a little bit, but she came back."

"Hardison, being out there for a minute without your Pokémon could have been catastrophic for you. What if it hadn't come back? What if it ran away?"

"Well she wouldn't do that!"

"How do you know?"

Hardison grit his teeth. "Because she came back, that's why. She could have left, but she didn't. She came back."

Hardison's father sighed heavily and sat in his chair. There were papers scattered about—blueprints for the construction site—and he rifled through them for a while before he spoke.

"I want you to go home, Hardison."

"Why?"

"You're not cut out for this. I can see it. You'll give up by the time you reach Castelia City."

Hardison puffed out his chest, though that feeling of rejection weighed in his heart. He was coming to terms with the fact that his father really did not want him to leave, and by defying him, he was setting himself up for a rather large gamble. He did not scowl, though it was hard not to.

"I can take care of myself," Hardison said. "I'm going to go sightseeing for a year, and then I'll come back."

"And do what?"

"Well, first I'm going to battle Andrea, then I'm going to college. And then…I don't know yet."

"You can't leave without a plan, Hardison."

"Well, I'll figure it out. You never let me leave Nuvema. Maybe the farthest I've gone is here, but that's only a day's walk away, and your office is the only place I've been to." Hardison choked up. "I want to see Dragonspiral Tower. I want to find my way through Twist Mountain. I want to see the Chargestone Cave. And you would never let me if you had your way.

"Just one year. One year to travel, and I promise I'll come back. I'll be the son you want me to be, but you have to let me live at some point."

Hardison's father did not say anything for a long time. His Garchomp didn't move, and the growling in its throat lessened. Hardison hoped that he sounded sure enough. In truth, he was terrified, but he was determined to see the world, or at least Unova, in its entirety.

Hardison's father never said a word, and after a few more minutes, Hardison figured that he wasn't going to say anything at all. He stood up slowly, picked up Solosis and left his father's office. His attempt at fixing their relationship was a failure, though maybe not completely. He wouldn't know until he returned twelve months from now.

As he was leaving his father behind, there was a commotion in the main courtyard. People were gathering around a group of men and women in strange silver outfits. They were carrying flags and calling attention to themselves. Hardison looked down at Solosis.

"I wonder what's going on."

Solosis nodded. "Sol?"

"Attention all!"

One of the silver dressed men held up his arms. The courtyard fell silent.

"I present the wonderful, Ghetsis!"

Another, more important looking man stepped up before the crowd. His cloak was long and was split in half between blue and yellow. His hair was an unusual shade of green, and his one eye was covered by some kind of red plate. He looked severe, commanding, manipulative, but his voice was like silk.

"My name is Ghetsis," he said. "And you are all here because you are committing one of life's greatest crimes. You are enslaving Pokémon, robbing them of their full potential. You treat them like pets or slaves, and they answer to you like you are a master and not an equal."

"That's ridiculous," said a man within the crowd.

"You there, sir," Ghetsis cried. "You have Pokémon, yes?"

"Yeah."

"May I ask you what type?"

"Purrloin."

"Your Purrloin, you caught it?"

"Yes."

"You beat it until it could no longer fend for itself? And then you captured it within a prison? And it never roams about unless you allow it, is this correct?"

The man, embarrassed, muttered a confirmation under his breath. Ghetsis smirked, then addressed the rest of the crowd again.

"You see? This is what all of you do to Pokémon. You keep them from going where they please, and trap them inside your homes. You should release them, for the sake of liberation. Thank you for listening. Now think about what you've been doing your whole lives. Release your Pokémon. Make them happy."

With that, Ghetsis lowered his arms. The group of men and women in sliver packed up their flags and departed in an organized, almost hypnotic rhythm. The crowd began to thin, though it was clear that Ghetsis had convinced some people that they were horribly evil for having Pokémon.

Solosis stared at Hardison.

"I don't know what he was talking about, Solosis," Hardison said. "You're my friend."

"Sol!"

Hardison let Solosis go, and it drifted to the ground until it was about a foot from the dirt. It snuggled against him and chirped again. Hardison made his way through the people, expecting to leave Accumula as soon as he could. His next stop was Striaton City, where he would visit the Trainer's School. He had heard from Andrea a long time ago that gym leaders always stopped by to give lessons. Maybe he could meet one and ask what it was like to travel.

As he made his way to the gate that led to the next route, a small group of people caught his attention. The first that had actually stopped him had green hair, and he seemed to be angry for some reason. Another boy was talking to him, and though he didn't seem angry, he did look a little agitated, like what the strange man was saying was insulting to some degree.

Hardison edged closer, and the heated conversation quickly escalated into a battle. The man—who had introduced himself as N—sent out a Purrloin and hastily attacked the other, who had sent out a Snivy. Snivy had barely any time to prepare before it was scratched by the nimble, dark purple cat.

It quickly grew agitated and lashed out with a thin vine, knocking Purrloin to the ground. N egged his Pokémon on, talking to it like it was a person, and the Purrloin jumped to its feet. Their cries echoed in the courtyard, however, Hardison, though curious, did not waste any more time watching the battle. He needed to get to Striaton City.

He approached the gate to Route 2 and opened the door. A receptionist was sitting just inside. No doubt she was a guide of some kind and knew the lay of the land much better than any map. And Hardison couldn't figure out how to open the map installed on the Pokedex Andrea had given him just yet. Andrea had failed to show him how. Granted, he didn't stick around to find out.

"Excuse me."

Solosis remained by Hardison's side. The receptionist looked up and smiled. "Yes? What can I help you with?"

"I've never been down this way," Hardison explained. "Can you tell me how far away Striaton City is?"

The receptionist laughed. "It's been a while since somebody asked me that."

Hardison didn't find his question very funny. And he felt like the receptionist was laughing at him.

"Striaton City is about a three day's walk if you go straight there. But if you only travel during the day, you most likely won't make it there until next week. Not unless you had some kind of vehicle transportation. Or a Pokémon big enough to fly you."

Hardison frowned. Three days? That already felt like it was too long.

"It's not that bad if you think about it," the receptionist said quickly. "It could be worse. The distance between Striaton and Nacrene is twice as long. I'm sure you can do it."

"Thanks," Hardison mumbled.

He left the small gate building and faltered slightly when Route 2 was before him, covered in forest and tall grass. In the distance, the victories cries of Pokémon and trainer alike filled that air, and it was evident that there were battles to be had. Hardison was going to try and skirt around them as best as he could. However, he could already sense that his attempts at hiding were going to be fruitless. He shifted uneasily and stepped forward.

Almost as soon as he stepped foot in the grass, Pokémon jumped out at him. He either startled them, or they were trying to startle him, and he was thrown into a constant swirl of Patrat biting at him, Purrloin scratching and growling, and Lillipup tackling.

It wasn't until nightfall that the onslaught was over, and the grass fell silent. Hardison collapsed under a tree and pulled out his last potion. Solosis was beaten and bruised, and chirped miserably. This adventure wasn't turning out so well. Hardison seriously considered turning back and going home, since he was down to his last potion, and had no way to heal Solosis if it got hurt any more than it already was.

"Maybe we should have trained a little more before we left," Hardison said as quietly as he could.

Almost instantly, he was reminded of Garret and Oshawott and hated himself for it. How could a twelve-year-old boy have so much hostility for everybody? Was it a child thing? Or was it a trainer thing? Hardison then felt bad for him, until that hostile child poked his head around the tree he had been sitting under.

"Boo!"

To say Hardison was surprised was an understatement. He nearly jumped out of his skin, and his fear drove Solosis to crash into Garret, as it had instantly assumed that the child was a threat. Garret howled in pain and kicked Solosis away, sending out a Lillipup. The light tan puppy Pokémon growled and hopped around, ready for battle.

"Lillipup, show this idiot who's boss!" Garret cried. "Use Bite!"

Lillipup jumped around for a moment before attacking. Solosis barely managed to flit out of the way, and it was evident that it was just about the slowest thing in the world. Lillipup barked and hopped around again, waiting for its next command.

Hardison growled. "Would you just leave me alone?"

Garret folded his arms and smirked. "Not a chance. You're a weak Trainer, and weak trainers get defeated. It's that simple."

"Fine," Hardison yelled. "Solosis, use Reflect."

Garret had uttered some kind of command as the coat of light encased Solosis, for Hardison had not heard it, and didn't realize that Solosis was under attack until Lillipup had bitten into it. Solosis squeaked and almost crashed into the dirt.

"Oh yeah!" Garret said triumphantly. "That would be a critical hit."

"Critical hit?" Hardison breathed.

Solosis struggled to regain its ground. It was obviously defeated, hanging onto fighting health by a thread. Hardison had lost this one. There was no doubt about that.

"Weak trainer," Garret huffed. "Lillipup, use Bite again. Kill it this time."

Hardison paled. He had commanded his Lillipup to kill Solosis? Why?

"Solosis!" Hardison cried. "Get out of there. Run away!"

Solosis didn't try to escape. It waited for Lillipup, and rolled out of the way again. Lillipup gnashed its teeth together and hopped out of attacking distance as soon as it could control its momentum. Solosis was still encased in a film of light, and it rushed forward as fast as it could, rolling like a ball. Lillipup, who had attempted to dodge it was hit full force and flew back. It crashed to the ground and stood up, clearly weakened and angry.

Garret snarled and withdrew Lillipup. In a flash of red light, Lillipup was taken and replaced with Oshawott. Oshawott had grown quite a bit since Hardison had seen it last. And though Solosis had grown too, Oshawott was still much bigger.

"Oshawott, use Water Gun."

The jet of water soaked Solosis, but did little else. Solosis shook itself dry rather quickly and shimmering coat of light faded. The trees that had trapped the light within their battle grew dark, and Garret grumbled audibly. Hardison waited for him to attack, but it never came. At some point, he had slipped away. He must have thought he was going to lose so he had cut his losses.

"Good job, Solosis," Hardison whispered.

Though he had technically won by default, Hardison did not feel as though he were a winner. It made him painfully aggravated that the only reason he could win a battle was because the opponent decided to run. It had happened on more than one occasion. The Patrat were defeated because a majority of them decided to retreat. Garret had decided that a battle with him wasn't worth the time. That left Hardison with a chip on his shoulder, though very slight.

Instead of resting for the night—like he had planned—Hardison checked over Solosis, brushed himself off, and started into the grass. Solosis did not hesitate in following. It could sense the feelings of worthlessness seeping out of its trainer, and felt its own need to prove its worth not only to Garret and Hardison, but to itself as well. And in order to do that, it had to train.

And train they did.

Throughout the night and well into the morning, Hardison and Solosis battled and defeated every Patrat, Lillipup, and Purrloin that crossed their path. It almost seemed as though a little bit of Garret's hostility transferred into Hardison for a moment as he commanded Solosis's attacks beautifully. So much forward thinking and anticipation.

Until he crashed.

It was about midday when Solosis fainted. After taking so many hits during their training, it had finally reached its limit. Hardison, though tempted to push Solosis further, decided to rest with his Pokémon. They sat comfortably under a tree, and Hardison closed his eyes for only a moment. Solosis rested on his lap, and they enjoyed a quiet moment with each other. The forest around them was serene, and the only sounds heard were those coming from the north, where Trainers were lying in wait.

"You know, Solosis," Hardison said, "I think I might want to be something when I grow up."

"Sol?"

"Something like a professor." Hardison chuckled. "My parents want me to go to college after all. I mean, why not? That would give me an excuse to travel forever."

"Sol."

Hardison sighed, allowing that aching tiredness that had been plaguing him ever since losing to Garret to take over. His muscles relaxed, and he grew sleepier. Solosis settled and drifted off before Hardison did. Hardison was about slip away too before he heard rustling in the tree above him. He shifted slightly, not wanting to wake his sleeping Pokémon, and looked up.

Roosting on the lowest branch was a Pidove.

It looked just like any other Pidove, except it was huge, and it looked grumpy. Hardison shifted more, and Solosis wiggled about. The Pidove took one look at him and chirped. It actually sounded more like a disgruntled click, and it shuffled on the branch.

"What the…?"

"Hey!"

Hardison looked around. A young girl, about fifteen years old, was waving him down. Solosis cracked an eye open, squeaking half-heartedly, closed it. The Pidove chirped again and flew away, loosening a few leaves from the branches around it.

"Stop that Pidove!"

Hardison jumped to his feet. "What's going on?"

"Don't let it get away!"

Hardison side stepped the girl as she threw a Pokeball, and a short Zebra like Pokémon leaped from the flash of red and raced after it. The girl stopped briefly, if only to glance at Hardison disapprovingly, before dashing after the short zebra Pokémon.

"Blitzle, use Charge, then go for a Spark!"

The Pokémon glowed a pale yellow as electricity gathered around it. And it seemed to run faster than it had been. It was gaining on the Pidove, but as soon as it was about to tackle it, the Pidove flew higher and into the foliage. Blitzle came to an abrupt stop and released the electricity it had stored, singeing the grass around it. The girl slowed to a walk, out of breath. As she patted Bliztle, she turned back to Hardison.

"You let it get away," she said.

"Me? I'm not the one trying to catch it." Hardison frowned. "Don't get mad at me because your Blitzle can't fly."

The girl pointed to the tree that the Pidove had been sitting in. "It was right above you. And you looked at it. That's why it flew away. I almost had it but you had to look at it." She folded her arms. "You let it get away."

Hardison looked down at Solosis, who had woken up and was now confused, just like him. "What?"

"Now you have to help me get it back."

Hardison snapped back at her, "Says who?"

"Says me."

"I don't even know who you are."

The girl huffed and pointed to herself. "I am Olivia Strider. And I'm going to be a Pokémon Master!"

Hardison grimaced. "Yeah, good luck with that. I'm leaving."

Olivia ran in front of Hardison, her arms spread wide. She was frowning and she looked deranged and determined. A combination that Hardison found rather irritating. As he tried to move past her, she only took a step back and edged in front of him again.

"Would you leave me alone?"

"Not until you help me capture that Pidove."

"I'm not going to—"

"Why don't we let a battle decide?"

Hardison growled at her. "No."

Olivia puffed out her chest. "Yes. I challenge you."

Hardison crossed his arms. Solosis had flitted out of his grasp and nudged Olivia away. It was obviously trying to help Hardison by dismissing the teenaged girl, though it seemed to be sending the wrong message because Olivia called Bliztle to her side. The zebra Pokémon knocked Solosis back and flicked its ears in annoyance. Apparently, Olivia and Solosis wanted to battle, however Blitzle and Hardison did not.

"Blitzle, use Spark."

Blitzle, though reluctant and a little slower than normal, charged up with electricity and barreled into Solosis, knocking it back and stunning it. Solosis shuddered in place and turned a faint shade of yellow. It chirped angrily.

Hardison rolled his eyes. Solosis could sense his distain and frustration. Hardison would rather not battle, so it did what any loyal Pokémon would do in order to please its trainer—it fought. And it attacked Blitzle without any warning and without being commanded to do so. Blitzle had been caught slightly off guard, but because Solosis was so slow, it regained its ground rather quickly and attacked back, braying. It shocked Solosis in a full tackle and glared at it to stay down once it had fallen.

Solosis blushed in embarrassment. Under the thin yellow coloration was a muted red. It had lost.

Olivia smiled triumphantly. Blitzle returned to her side, still looking rather annoyed but also very sorry. Olivia patted Blitzle. "Good job, Blitzle. It looks like I win."

Hardison hung his head slightly. "How much do you want?"

Olivia frowned. "What?"

Hardison looked at her. "You beat me fair and square. Isn't it customary for the winner to be awarded prize money?"

"I supposed so," Olivia mused. "But I don't want your money."

"Then what do you want?"

Olivia stuck out her hand. "First, I want your name. And then I want you to help me capture that Pidove."

Hardison did not take her hand. "Fine. I'll help you with the Pidove."

"And?"

He looked away, mumbling under his breath. "Hardison Curcio."

"Hardison?" Olivia grinned. "Nice to meet you. Now let's go!"

Olivia and Blitzle rushed in the direction that they had remembered the Pidove flying. Hardison looked at Solosis, who refused to meet his eyes, and grimaced. He supposed that being stuck with a fifteen-year-old wannabe was better than losing every dollar in his pocket, but there was still that light air of freedom about his demeanor. He had a whole world to explore.

And thus was the beginning of his "true" adventure.

Olivia is definitely awesome. Her Blitzle is way over-leveled for her...but she's pokemon master and that will be addressed. :P

Don't hate.

Has a nice day!