Nick looked down at the Pokétch around his wrist as he strolled along the route connecting Jubilife to Oreburgh. The little map pinpointed his location in the area and directed him. Elekid did not travel in its Pokéball; its trainer liked the idea of having some company. He had installed the application that Nick had given him with ease, but he had no reason to use it yet. This road was not as crowded as the ones surrounding Twinleaf; lush, tall grass stretched out at either side of the dusty trail, while trees stood tall and lonely underneath the clouds. Occasionally, small figures dashed through the green blades, while bushes and oaks rustled and air bubbles rose from ponds – the world was alive with Pokémon. Nick squeezed the Pokéballs in his pocket tightly, wondering when the chance for him to catch his first Pokémon would occur. There were, however, more pressing matters at hand, like his battle with the Gym Leader in Oreburgh. Was he ready to challenge such a figure yet? He still didn't know a lot about Pokémon, but felt confident in his knowledge of Elekid's attacks; the leader, however, might have strong Pokémon that he had never seen or heard of… he might never win. But ultimately it didn't matter; as long as he found lots of species of Pokémon, Professor Rowan would be happy, and it would keep him on the road, away from the struggle of home.

x x x x x x x x x x x

Half an hour later, he found a sign indicating that he was approaching Oreburgh and, looking ahead, saw its small houses and large mining quarry in the distance.

'Almost there, Elekid!' he smiled.

'El!' was the reply.

'So, you made it this far.' came another voice. A startled Nick looked to the side of the road and saw Pearl sitting on the branch of a tree.

'Oh… hi,' he said, half-heartedly, 'What are you doing here?'

'Nothing,' she replied, dropping down from her perch and walking towards him, 'What are you doing here?'

'I'm going to Oreburgh to take on the gym leader…' he murmured.

'Really?' she asked. For a moment Nick thought she was being nice and was genuinely interested. 'Wow, you must have done a lot more training since Lake Verity. You were terrible back then.'

Nick said nothing, but Pearl knew that he had not necessarily improved.

'You do know that a Gym Leader isn't like any run-of-the-mill Pokémon trainer, don't you?' she spat, 'They are chosen by Pokémon League Officials to run battling establishments for them! There's no way an inexperienced trainer like you will be able to defeat Cain!'

'Cain?' asked Nick, ignoring her warning.

'He's the leader of the Oreburgh Gym.' sighed Pearl. 'Are you really going to challenge him? Have you even caught any more Pokémon?'

'No, but… yeah, I'll fight him.' snorted Nick. He was getting tired of her attitude; just because he was newer in the field than her did not give her the right to talk down to him.

'Then how about a battle, as practice?' she asked with a pretentious smirk.

'A battle?' he had not expected this, but was eager to wipe the smile off of her face. 'Yeah, I accept!'

'I'll use two Pokémon,' she immediately stated, 'Let's see how you handle them.'

They moved apart to give the contenders room. Pearl took a ball from her satchel and threw it into the air:

'Prinplup, I choose you!' she wailed, as a flash of light heralded the reappearance of the Pokémon that had stood beside her during their last encounter.

A water-type… thought Nick, that means electrical attacks will be more effective!

'Elekid, go on!' he cheered, as his Pokémon ran forward and faced-off against the penguin creature. Nick wasted no time in commanding its first move:

'Use Thundershock!'

Elekid clenched its fists and fired a jolt of power at Prinplup, but Pearl was quick to react too, as Prinplup released a gushing jet of water from its mouth. The two attacks collided, and the electricity became entwined with the water. Elekid took the blow and was sent flying back.

'Elekid! Are you okay?' cried Nick. The littke Pokémon instantly jumped to its feet and crackled.

'Elek!'

'Hmm…' grinned Pearl, 'Alright Prinplup, now use Bubblebeam!'

Her Pokémon spat out several bubbles with shot towards Elekid with a terrifying velocity.

'Elekid, dodge!' he called in a panic, 'And use… erm… Thunderpunch!'

Elekid obeyed; it leapt into the air and over Prinplup's attack, before soaring down on its foe and hitting it with a glowing fist.

'No!' cried Pearl. Nick tried to stop himself from smiling; he was obviously better than she expected.

'Now, Elekid!' he bellowed, 'Use your Quick Attack!'

The electric-type started dashing around Prinplup, gaining speed until it was barely viewable. The water Pokémon looked around, trying to pinpoint its target in confusion. Before it could, however, Elekid darted from nowhere and smashed into its body, sending it rolling back to Pearl's feet. With a stern look, she recalled it into its Pokéball.

'Ha! We did it! Great work, Elekid!' cheered Nick.

'Alright, you got lucky,' she growled, raising another Pokéball, 'But this is where it ends! Go, Ralts!'

In a flash, another Pokémon appeared. It was very small, more so than Elekid, and had a large mushroom-like cap covering most of its head, from which protruded what appeared to be two red horns. Nick pointed his Pokédex at it:

'Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. It is attuned to the emotions of people, and is capable of using psychic abilities.'

Nick gulped; he had read about psychic Pokémon, and found their powers somewhat unsettling. Before he could formulate a plan, Pearl gave an order:

'Ralts, use Confusion!'

The newcomer's horns began to glow, and a blue beam of light was fired at Elekid. Nick had not put away the Pokédex, and it began to speak again:

'Confusion is an attack known by many psychic-type Pokémon. It causes mental pain to an opponent and may leave them confused and disorientated.'

'Elekid, watch out!'

But it was too late – the attack had hit Elekid. It closed its eyes and shook its head vigorously. Moments of silence passed, before it raised its head and clenched its fists again; it didn't seem to have been affected by Confusion.

'Alright! Elekid, are you okay?'

'El!' it smirked.

'Use Thundershock!'

The ensuing bolt made contact with Ralts' horns and the little Pokémon was shocked to the core. It collapsed face-down into the grass.

'Ralts, get up!' shouted Pearl in a harsh, demanding tone. Her partner obliged, and stood up again, poised to continue battling.

'Elekid, let's finish it off with a Thunderpunch!'

But before the attack could hit Ralts, Pearl recalled it back into its Pokéball. Nick looked at her, confused.

'Let's call it a draw.' she said, polishing Ralts' ball. 'I think your Elekid has had enough. It's important not to push your Pokémon too far… but I can't expect an inexperienced trainer like you to know that.'

Nick fumed. He had been winning, and she knew it. She began to walk away but, to his surprise, imparted some wisdom:

'Cain uses rock-type Pokémon,' she muttered, 'Electric attacks won't do much, so make use of Elekid's fighting-type moves.'

And with that, she raced ahead along the dust-strewn road. Nick was speechless.

x x x x x x x x x x x

Eventually, they reached Oreburgh City. It was much less glamorous than Jubilife, with small, rustic houses surrounding several industrial sites. Dirt and ash lined the streets and seemed to be part of the surrounding air too. Smells of burning coal and oil were not unpleasant, but the town struck Nick as too boisterous to be somewhere to spend one's life. He navigated the grimy roads and found the Pokémon Centre, where he and Elekid ate and rested.

'Do you think we can beat Cain, Elekid?' he asked, absent-mindedly stirring his soup.

'El!' smiled the Pokémon, a surge of power making it shiver. Nick smiled.

'You'll need to use your Low Kick and punching attacks a lot.' he stated. His partner nodded affirmatively. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry:

'Chan-see!'

He almost fell from his seat in surprise. Looking to his right, a rotund pink Pokémon holding a large egg.

'Erm… hello?' he offered. The pink Pokémon smiled. Then came another voice from the doorway of the room.

'Chansey! There you are!'

A pink-haired nurse dashed across the room and looked sternly at the Pokémon, which was also wearing a nurse's hat.

'You should be working!' she told it. She then looked at Nick. 'I'm so sorry if Chansey surprised you.'

'No, no, it's fine.' smiled Nick. 'I think it wanted to give me the egg it was holding actually.'

'Oh, really?' asked the nurse, her voice calmer. 'That's interesting… it's said that Chansey gives eggs to those it sees as having a kind heart, as a token of luck.'

Nick's smile widened as he accepted the egg from the Pokémon. Was it trying to give him courage to face the Oreburgh Gym?

'Anyway!' spouted the nurse, 'Chansey, get back to work!'

And with that, she followed her assistant out of the room. Nick looked at the egg with fondness.

x x x x x x x x x x x

After making his food last longer to put off the forthcoming challenge, and further navigation through the dirty city streets, he eventually found himself within the foyer of the gym. It was a small, brightly-lit room, with sickly yellow lights that made an irritating buzzing sound. The walls were stained and peeling and plastic chairs were untidily spread in the corners. A vacant reception desk was decorated with a sign: TRAINERS. PLEASE REPORT TO MAIN ARENA. He obeyed its instruction and pushed his way through a set of doors in front of him.

The massive room was strewn with large boulders and rocky platforms, dirt and sand covering the floor. It was dark, the far side of the room almost invisible in the blackness. He took a few steps forward, finding the courage that was not there when he entered Rowan's lab for the first time.

'Hello?' he called into the void. No sooner had the words left his lips than floodlights sparked into life at either side of the battlefield. At the far end, atop a podium, stood a man dressed in a red coat, with long, silver hair hanging to his waist. Although he was at the other side of the room, his voice was loud and audible.

'I am Cain of the Oreburgh Gym.' he announced in a stern but commanding voice.

'I… I am Nick, of T-Twinleaf Town.' stuttered Nick, unsure if he was worthy of a title yet.

'You wish to challenge me?' asked Cain. Nick nodded, and the man raised his hands as more lights began to glow. From the shadows at the side of the field appeared a boy, around Nick's age.

'The Gym Leader will use two rock-type Pokémon.' he said through a microphone. The contender may use up to six Pokémon. When both of the Leader's Pokémon are unable to battle, the contender wins.'

Nick instantly knew that he was out of his depth. He only had one Pokémon, and the limit was six. But he had no time to mull things over; Cain had thrown a Pokéball.

'Golem! I choose you!'

In a flash of light, a Pokémon that Nick had never seen appeared. It resembled a large, rugged boulder, from which protruded limbs and an animal-esque head.

'Golem, the Megaton Pokémon.' said the Pokédex, as Nick lifted it up. 'Its rock shell is immensely hard and is even resistant to a bomb. It rolls at enemies to attack.'

'Elekid… go.' commanded Nick, finding it difficult to muster any confidence or determination.

The little Pokémon sprang into battle.

'Golem, tackle it!' shouted Cain. The rock-type withdrew its body parts and the boulder rolled at Elekid. Before Nick could give an order, his Pokémon was struck by the force and knocked backwards and into one of the many piles of rocks.

'Elekid!' cried Nick, 'Elekid, get up! Use Thundershock!'

His partner struggled to its feet, clenched its fists and aimed the attack at Golem. Cain's Pokémon was encapsulated in the electrical charge, but barely flinched.

'Huh?' sounded Nick, bemused. He was beginning to sweat.

'Ridiculous.' sighed Cain. 'Golem, Rock Slide!'

Golem jumped in the air and came crashing down onto a nearby group of rocks. They were dislodged and flew towards Elekid, each of them knocking against the little Pokémon until it flew back again and fell to its feet, not moving.

'Elekid, no!' cried Nick, running towards his fallen ally.

'Elekid is unable to battle. Golem wins!' announced the referee.

Nick was not listening. He knelt beside his Pokémon and looked down at its face. It was breathing heavily, its closed eyes flickering between many cuts and marks. Nick felt something in his eye and buried his face in his hand. Moments passed, and he heard a Pokéball's recall sound, followed by approaching footsteps. Drying his eyes and looking up, he saw Cain standing above him. Up close, the man's weather-beaten face was more visible, his square jaw rugged with stubble that looked as hard as his rock Pokémon. His brown eyes were understanding but not entirely sympathetic.

'Is it your only Pokémon?' he asked. Nick made a noise and nodded, still struggling to hold back more tears.

'Are you a new trainer?'

Nick nodded again, looking down at Elekid.

'Rock-type Pokémon aren't affected by electric-type attacks.' stated Cain, his eyes still fixed on the boy. Nick raised his to meet them.

'But… I wanted to win.' muttered Nick, tears slowly beginning to run down his cheeks. It was only at this moment of defeat he had come to realise how important Pokémon had become to him, and how much he relied on them to keep him away from home… to keep him happy.

'There are many things you need to learn.' offered Cain softly. 'You can't always hope for the best and expect it to turn out. Pokémon battling requires strategy, and knowledge of different kinds of Pokémon. That, combined with a determined soul, will lead you to victory.'

Nick wiped his face on his sleeve then looked down at Elekid again. It began to stir, then opened its eyes slowly. The first thing it saw was its trainer making an effort to smile at it.

'But hey…' grinned Cain, kneeling down too. Nick looked up again to see the man giving an unexpected smile, 'I've got a lot to learn too – there is no single greatest trainer, and no one knows everything about these creatures.'

These words ceased Nick's tears and widened his smile. It was inevitable he would lose at times, and he would have to get used to it.

'Take your Pokémon to the Centre. It's not far from here.' nodded Cain, helping Nick – who was holding Elekid – to his feet. The large man spun on his heel and began to walk away, leaving the boy happier and determined.

x x x x x x x x x x x

'Your Elekid is fine!' chirped the nurse as she extended her hand to Nick, holding his Pokéball. He had been reading a Pokémon magazine about sightings of new species that was lying on the chair on which he sat, looking out into the city night.

'Oh… thank you.' smiled Nick, taking the Pokéball. 'I… I didn't mean to let it get so hurt…' he swallowed.

'I know you didn't.' she sweetly smiled. 'It happens all the time with trainers, but Pokémon are sturdy creatures – even the little ones. Very rarely will a battle lead to any serious injuries.'

'Hmm.' he grinned. The nurse curtsied and walked away. He pressed the button on the Pokéball, and in a flash, Elekid appeared. It swung its arms up and hugged Nick's neck.

'How are you feeling, buddy?' he laughed.

'El, Elekid!'

The Pokémon Centre was very hot, and Elekid's warm body didn't help.

'What do you say we take a walk?' asked Nick, looking up to the stars above the buildings.

x x x x x x x x x x x

The city was quiet and much more pleasant without the sound of traffic and machinery filling the air that was free of the dust that had polluted it earlier. Trainer and Pokémon strolled the streets, enjoying the cool night air, reading the road signs and decorative plaques that detailed the city's history, from its origins as a mining quarry to its development into a large settlement. One such piece was an impressively-built statue of a squat man with a small, muscular Pokémon at his feet. Nick squinted to read the golden plate: IN MEMORY OF EARL STONE AND MACHOP

The text beneath the title described how the man and his Pokémon had perished when the coal mine collapsed during their work. Nick felt sad but, in a way, appreciated how they had worked together until the very end. Looking up at the stone face of Earl, something else caught his eye; a black, crow-looking Pokémon was perched on top of the statue's head.

'What is that? Is it a Pokémon?' He took out the Pokédex.

'Murkrow. This Pokémon is said to be a bad omen, and that ominous occurrences await those who see it at night.'

The Murkrow let out a caw that sounded suspiciously like a wicked laugh.

'Sounds pretty unlucky, huh, Elekid?' he asked.

'El…' nodded the Pokémon.

'But not for us, because I'm gonna catch it!' he said, his confidence having returned. He looked down to his pocket to find an empty Pokéball, but was distracted by a loud, shrill, ringing sound from nearby. He looked around frantically, trying to find the source, and caught a glimpse of Murkrow flying away to the rooftops.

'Darn…' he muttered, but instinctively began running to the building where the ringing was coming from as many lights suddenly flashed on through its windows.

x x x x x x x x x x x

They approached the doorway of the building and looked above the door; it was the Oreburgh Mining Museum. Looking into the doors, which looked damaged, as if they had been forced open, he saw a group of men, dressed entirely in black. Flat caps covered their heads while black masks covered their eyes; Nick instantly knew they were criminals.

'For Pete's sake, Duane! First you damage the doors on the way in, and now you set off the alarms!' shouted one of the men at another.

'That's not important right now!' bellowed yet another man, who spoke in a tone suggesting he was the leader of the pack. 'Now, you! Tell us where the Pokémon fossils are!'

He was talking to a man who was on his knees in the middle of them all. He wore a white lab coat and the emergency lights reflected off of his thick glasses.

'P-please…' he whimpered, 'You… you can't t-take our fossils…'

'Shut up!' snarled the black-clad man again. 'Tell us where they are now before I get really angry!'

The scared man still didn't speak.

'Maybe this will jog your memory… Seadra, Ice Beam!'

From the corner of the room leapt a seahorse-looking Pokémon with long, spiked fins. It released a jet of glowing, shining ice from its mouth that hit the man's arm. He screamed in pain, and Nick couldn't stand by any longer.

'Elekid! Thunderpunch!'

Elekid darted into the room, with Nick following close behind. His Pokémon jumped into the air, swung its fist at Seadra and struck the overgrown seahorse with electricity. It curled in pain and crashed through a glass display case.

'What the…?' cried the man, turning round to see Nick. His face – or what could be seen of it – was a picture of fury.

'Who's this kid? Seadra, Bubblebe-'

But before the man could finish his command, Nick made his. Elekid released a bolt of lightning and brought Seadra to the floor again.

'Seadra, no!' cried the man in black. 'Someone else take care of this brat!'

'There's no time, the cops will be here soon!' called another man.

'Let's get out of here!' added another.

'Gah…' growled the leader, recalling his Seadra and following his accomplices out of the open doors. As he passed Nick, however, he stopped in his tracks and looked down at Elekid. It growled at him, but the man smirked.

'Well, look who it is…'

And with that, he pushed the boy to the floor and disappeared into the night. Nick got to his feet and ran over to the other injured man.

'Are you okay?' he asked in a panic.

'I'm fine…' replied the man, 'My arm is just numb from the Ice Beam attack.' He got to his feet without assistance. 'Thank you very much for helping me… who knows what they might have done if you hadn't shown up… they might have got the fossils.'

'What are these fossils they wanted?'

'Here at the museum,' replied the man, clutching his arm, 'We have what we believe are fossils of extinct, rare Pokémon, and we're trying to use technology to clone copies of them to reintroduce the species back into the world.'

'Wow…' muttered Nick, 'That sounds amazing.'

'Yes, but sadly Team Obsidia now have the blueprints.'

'Team Obsidia? Blueprints?' asked Nick.

'Yes, those criminals are a well-known group called Team Obsidia. They travel the country, stealing Pokémon and selling them on black markets to make money.'

'That's terrible!' snapped Nick.

'Yes, I know. And now, even though they don't have our fossils, they have the design data of the machines we planned to use to clone Pokémon, which we were very close to perfecting… who knows what they'll do with it…' sighed the man.

'But… didn't they run off with nothing?' breathed Nick. He was still exhausted from the commotion.

'No, the alarms only went off a while after they'd arrived. I was working in one of our research rooms upstairs when they triggered them. They somehow managed to break in the front door without setting them off, but they had already taken the data sheets that I had left down here in the exhibition gallery.'

At these words, Nick looked around; the room was full of cabinets displaying items relevant to Oreburgh's mining history. At that moment, several police officers ran into the museum, each with a Growlithe at their feet.

'What's the commotion?' yelled one of the officers, a red-haired man with a thick moustache.

'Team Obsidia have made off with some of our property.' stated the museum worker.

'Not those crooks again!' growled another officer, turning to others behind him. 'Send out back-up to search the city! Team Obsidia are on the move!'

The men at the back jogged outside again. The red-haired officer pointed at Nick.

'We're going to have to ask you a few questions too, kid.'

x x x x x x x x x x x

He woke up in bed at the Pokémon Center the next morning, after a fitful sleep the night before, full of dreams about criminals stealing his Pokémon while a flock of Murkrow cackled up above. The police had kept him up until late, interrogating him about things he did not know. The museum worker, who had turned out to be named Gerald, defended him, even calling him a hero. With a smile at this memory, he sat up to see the pink-haired nurse standing in the doorway.

'Sorry if I woke you' she smiled, 'But someone is here to see you. They're waiting in reception.'

'Uh…?' groaned Nick, confused and still sleepy. He quickly put on some clothes and made for the door, deciding not to wake Elekid – it would probably have resulted in a shock.

He followed the corridor to the main waiting room, past photos of the Centre past and present, of the various visitors it had played host to and the Pokémon it had treated. He seemed to be the only person here except the staff. The morning sun shone brightly through the large windows as he reached the foyer, lending a feeling of rebirth to the room. A tall silhouette was blackened against the golden gleam, and as he got closer, Nick realised it was Cain.

'H-Hi…' he stammered.

'I heard about what you did last night.' replied the man. His voice was neutral; was he angry with Nick? Pleased? Jealous?

'Oh…'

'I just came by to give you this.' confirmed Cain, holding out his hand. In it was a small, almost circular, shining bronze medal.

'A… badge?' asked Nick, looking up from Cain's hand to his face.

'Gym badges are awarded to trainers who show exceptional bravery, knowledge and skill in battle,' he stated, 'And from what I heard from my friends at the museum, you showed all three.'

Nick couldn't speak. He did not expect this from Cain, especially after their conversation the day before. He slowly took the badge, and looked at it. Words just weren't coming.

'Great use of electric-type attacks to take down a water-type – they're very weak to your Elekid's powers.'

Nick had guessed this, but a silent pride swelled inside him as this expert trainer congratulated his intuition.

'Keep up what you did last night, and you'll be taking down Gym Leaders in no time.' finished Cain with the biggest grin Nick had seen on his face yet.

'T-Thank you.' was all he could manage in reply.

The large man turned and left the Centre, his silver hair turning a shade of gold in the warm light.