Three weeks later...

I'd finally worked up the nerve to challenge Brock. It had gone better than I thought it would. Nidorino, my Nidoran had evolved during the training, had defeated both the Geodude and the Onyx by himself. Brock was impressed, and talked to me for awhile about how our pokemon. He praised me on my diligent training, and invited me back to his private hot spring.

I declined before the voice even had the chance to tell me to. A few weeks ago I would have been drooling all over him and ready to jump into the springs, but I was smarter now. I understood that no good came from my presence, especially when involved in intimate matters.

Rattata hadn't evolved yet, another flaw on my part, but he only seemed to get upset when I tried to apologize to him for being such a bad trainer. LB seemed much more worried about Bluet now. Apparently her time with Bluet was getting, to use her words, bland. She was always afraid now that her next trip to the bug gym leader's house would be her last before they broke up.

What's worse, she seemed to think that I would somehow have the answer. I tried to explain to her that I was likely the reason for the problem to begin with, but she refused to listen to reason.

I don't really talk much at all anymore, and Axel seemed distressed by this. More than once he joined me for training, but his pokemon, a Machop, Scyther, and Pikachu, weren't yet up to the level of training I had mine.

Braixen and Gardevoir seemed to have warmed up to me slightly, but I could tell they still resented me for not being Blue. I was fine with that. They had ever right to hate me.

Clara was started to get annoyed with me. I think she didn't like me being quiet, having known how much I loved to talk. Things with her were...complicated. Case and point, a few nights ago I returned from training and found her in my room. She smiled at me, and told me how much she was missing True. "I was wondering...you wouldn't mind helping me take my mind off of it would you~?"

It was odd. I could very clearly remember needing to use all my willpower not to jump on Clara and start tearing her clothes off, but in that moment..I felt no lust. I turned her down, explaining that she would definitely regret it if she did. I'm honestly not sure what got to her more, the realization that she probably would regret it, or the fact that I had been the one to point this fact out.

LB certainly seemed shocked. We had just left Pewter and were on our way towards MT. Moon when the topic came up. "You turned down a night with Clara?" LB asked, as though it were the punchline to a bad joke of some kind. I nodded, "Yeah. It wouldn't have been a good idea."

LB stood there and stared at me for several moments, then reached out and touched my forehead and cheek. "You're not running a fever..maybe diseases in the pokemon world have different signs."

"I'm not sick LB." I told her, "I was sick, but I'm getting better, being a better person." "Do you even hear yourself?" LB questioned me, seeming to get angry. "What's wrong?" I asked, worried I'd done something wrong. "You're acting like you were some kind of terrible person."

"I was." I said, "I was a horrible, horrible person. I..I don't know if I'll ever be able to make up for it... but I'll keep trying." "You were one of the best people I knew!" LB insisted.

"Poor innocent LB. Too sweet to even realize how much you've hurt her and Bluet. Oh well, she'll learn to appreciate your change in time."

I agreed with the voice, and told LB more or less the same. LB shook her head, and stomped off in frustration. I decided to give her some distance, same for Clara. I doubted either of them would want to see me.

Nidorino and Rattata had become quite quiet, as well as Braixen and Gardevoir. I supposed it made sense that they didn't want to talk to someone like me, but I'd earn their respect one day. Ivysaur was...aggressive. Something seemed to always have him angry now a days. I decided to let him train by himself. He was smart enough to find his way back to camp, and strong enough to knock out any possible threats. I figured it was my presence making him angry, so if he was allowed to be away from me, maybe he'd feel better.

None of us wanted to go through MT. Moon, so I snapped my fingers and we appeared in Cerulean. "How did you do that?" Clara asked. I shrugged, "I've been training my abilities. They still aren't very good, but they're coming along." I said. This statement seemed to confuse them, but they ignored it for the time being and headed into the city.

Once we all had our rooms at the center, I went out training. While I was out, I decided to take a trip to Bill's. Perhaps he would have a mission for me, or a pokemon to train, or maybe a machine to help fix my mind permanently.

"I was just going to say that. You really have come a long way."

I smiled proudly at this, and continued along the way; only to be stopped just outside Bill's door by a massive explosion. I couldn't quite tell where it had come from, but blinded and deafened me for several moments as I was tossed back across the ground, wondering what the cause could be.

"Maybe the legendarys have finally decided that you aren't worth the trouble of allowing to exist." Was the last thing I heard before blacking out.