Pretty short, but I hope you enjoy

For whatever reason, Brendan, after apologizing profusly, had to leave again as soon as we got outside. He did however show me where the Lab was, so by myself I walked there, only to find that the lab was empty and the doors were locked. Well this was just great.

So now I had no idea what to do. I settled for wandering around, smelling the daisies. A startled cry cut into my thoughts and I looked to my right, alarmed, to see a young girl, probably only seven or so, with her hair pulled back and a bow mounted like a hat ontop of her head. She ran up to me, and looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Please, I heard yelling from down the route, but I can't go down there and see what's wrong, there are dangerous Pokemon down there and it's not safe to go alone."

I looked down at her and saw the fear reflected in her eyes. Something was seriously wrong. "Alright," I said. I gave her the pie and strode towards the end of the path.

It's amazing how when adrenaline is pumping through you veins and you through caution to the wind on how little you think- or care- about your physcial state, your health. I wasn't scared. I wasn't worried. I was thrilled with the chance of danger, I had lived a cossoted life thanks for to my mother and father, I was never allowed to do anything considered even slightly risky. But now was my chance to see how life could be, full of action and adventure...

A cry of fear followed by a fierce snarl and a bark; my head snapped towards the direction of the noise and I quickened my pace. A man in a official looking white lab coat was warding off a black heyna type Pokemon with a long stick. It was a slightly comical looking image, until I saw how sharp those white fangs were.

The man caught site of me and yelled in panic, "Thank God you've come! The Poochyena attacked me out of know where. See my bag over there-" I looked to where he was motioning with the stick to see a brown napsak laying open on the grass. "-there should be a Pokemon in there."

For the moment, the fact that I had Vaporeon's Pokeball in my pack slipped my mind. I sprinted towards the satchel and stuck my hands inside of the pack, rumaging through all of the crap that was thrown in it. My hand came in contact with a cool sphere and I gripped in my hands like it was a life line; I quickly detatched it from the belt that it was attatched to.

I looked at the ball in dismay- what was I supposed to do with it now? I didn't even know what kind of Pokemon was contained within it.

"Through the damn ball at the ground!" the man called frantically as the Poochyena tried to lunge at him, snapping his jaws through the air. I winced thinking about the damage they could do if they were to clamp down on skin. I threw the ball into the air like I'd done countless times before; I screwed my eyes up, sheilding them from the beam of light.

When the light subsided, I opened my eyes again. Standing in front of me was a small green Pokemon standing on it's hind legs. Its stomach was cherry red, the only part of its body that wasn't a shade of green. "Treeko!" came it's war cry; the Poochyena turned abruptly and charged towards the Pokemon, Treeko I assumed it was called.

I froze and the Pokemon looked up at me expectidly, it's eyes boring into mine. I had never even seen this pokemon before, and I certainly didn't know any of it's attacks. I was a coordinator, not a trainer.

The man was now edging towards the satchel, the stick still raised in defense. I shot him a desperate look as the barking dog type got closer.

"You don't know the attacks?" he shouted, looking horrified.

"Pound!" I screached on instinct as the gleaming teeth of the dark type crushed the air inches away from the green Pokemon, apperantly it had changed targets. The Treeko propelled it's tiny body forward, slamming into the flank of it's target, knocking the Poochyena backwards into a tree where it skidded to a stop. It stood up, looking pissed and charged towards the Treeko once again. My mind jamned and before I could give a command and Treeko was thrown backwards. "Ko," the little Pokemon said, jumping to it's feet again looking deterimined.

This Pokemon had fight, and I felt a tiny flame of happiness that it was lending its strength to me.

My mind raced ahead, back to the throws of battle. The two were of even strength and were matched up too closly for me to assure a win. I was panicking now, but something clicked in my mind.

"Pound, but dig your paws into the earth," I commanded, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. Treeko ran forward, colliding with the Poochyena as the dark type issued the same attack as it had before. The leverage Treeko gained from digging it's paws in the ground was enough to over power the black and grey Pokemon.

"Cheya..." the dark type pokemon whimpered, backing away towards the cover of trees, eyes darting from side to side as if wearily watching for another attack. As it turned tail and fled, I felt warmth flood into my limbs. The battle had been exhilerating, was this the feeling that Vaporeon got everytime it wanted to battle?

I won my first Pokemon battle. Oh damn, dad better not hear about this.

Treeko sat down, its dark green tail quivering with excitement as it needed the ground. I smiled in delight at this reaction as the man whom I had just 'saved' aproached me, casting the long stick to the side. I took in his apearance now, he had a small goatee and wore bottle cap glasses that magnified his eyes, making him look slightly like a bug. A offical looking name tag with the name 'Birch was pinned on his breast pocket. So this must be Brendan's Uncle. He looked a lot like Norman, he had the same rounded face and green eyes.

"Thank you so much. My name is Proffesor Birch."

"Treeko," the Pokemon I had used called out as it's paws scrabbled at my legs. I smiled and picked it up, holding it carefully in my arms.

"Well," the Proffesor said, wiping his glasses in his lab coat. "You two seem to get along like a house on fire. I can't thank you enough Miss...?"

"Shepard," I said, scratching the fin on the Treeko's head experimentally.

I knowing look flashed in the Proffesor's eyes. "So your Samantha, I've heard so much about you. But correct me if I'm wrong, but you havn't battled before have you? I was under the impression that your father hadn't been able to convince you to become a trainer." I grimanced. He laughed and picked up the Satchel. "Well, as a thanks for saving me, why don't you keep that Treeko there, he seems to have taken to you greatly."

Keep the Treeko? I already had my own Pokemon.

"No need to thank me my dear," he said smiling, apperantly missing the fact that I was not very thankful at all. "Would you like to nickname your Treeko?" He inquired.

I cocked my head in thought, staring down at the bundle in my arms. Birch had said he, so it was safe to assume that it was a male. The green Pokemon looke up at me, his eyes dancing in mischief. "How about I don't, I like Treeko just fine," I murmered setting the Pokemon back on the floor.

Proffesor Birch nodded in aproval. "Why don't you come back to the lab, this is not the proper place to talk." I nodded and picked up the open Pokeball on the ground, pocketing it.

It took about twenty minutes for me to make it back to the lab, Treeko trotting along at my ankles. When I finnaly found an unlocked door, I pushed it open and blinked like an owl in surprise. Unlike Brendan's house, this lab was a clutter free zone with computers and gizmos I had never see before in my life. Men and woman in lab coats were chatting by a coffee machine, on break I supose, and Pokemon of all different type, docile and calm, were scampering around the laboritory, clipboards in mouth or talons and completely focussed on an unknown task.

"Ahh, Samantha, I was wondering if you were going to show up." I turned around, my hair flying in my face once again. I grimanced and brushed the unrully strands behind my ear. Treeko was sitting down, looking up at Proffesor Birch, and I blushed as I realized that I was supposed to be doing that as well.

The Proffesor was holding in his hand a small blue machine with a rather large screen and designs on the plastic, or so it seemed to be, skin. Birch smiled as he watched my confusion grow as he handed it to me. I accepted it in my hand greatfully, not knowing what it was. It felt light in my hand, weighing less than I thought it should. I flipped it over, trying to discern it's origins.

"It's a Pokedex my dear, the newest model." A Pokedex? He was giving one to me? My mouth opened in wordless thanks. They were notorious to being very expensive, and it was almost impossible to persue becoming a coordinator without one. I had had one back in Kanto, but had broken it years before. "No need to thank me," he said, reading the expression on his face. "I've registered you already for the Hoenn leage already, and here is your trainer card." Out of his pocket he produced a green card which he showed me. He picked up the dex and turned it on. The screen blinked to life, color and data flashing quickly across it. Birch inserted the green card into a slot on the side and handed it back to me.

I looked at the screen as my name popped up with my information.

Name: Samantha Shepherd

Day of Registration: Augest 23

Pokemon: Treeko

The Mudkip's name was underlined in blue. "Tap it," Birch commanded me. I did so and theh screen flashed again. A Treeko's Picture with a description of the Pokemon became apperant on the right side. On the left side the personal stats for my Pokemon were listed underneath it. I looked at the level displayed and down at the Treeko next to me who had closed his eyes and curled up, his muzzle covered by her tail. It said he was level six.

"What level was Treeko when I first released him."

"Level five I believe, but he looks slightly bigger now, I wouldn't be surprised if he had grown a level." He had indeed.

"Any Pokemon you catch will be registered to you automatically."

"But Proffesor, why isn't my Vaporeon registered?" Birch frowned and took the machine back and fiddled with it for a second before handing it back to my waiting hands. "There we go, all fixed." Indeed it was, Vaporeon's information was now listed. Now," Proffesor Birch said, becoming more abrupt. "I believe you've met my nephew Brendan?" I pursed my lips. "Well he's out studying Pokemon, why don't you go battle him, I'm sure he'll help you on your way to becoming a trainer."

Wait. I did not want to become a trainer. Why did everyone assume that I had changed my mind?

I was ushered out of the lab, fuming at the turn of events. I took out Treeko's Pokeball and pressed the button in the center. This time, a red beam of light enveloped my Pokemon and it returned to the confines of the ball.

Was everyone conspiring against me? Well then fine, I'd try my hand at the gym challenge, but it didn't mean I had to like it. If anything, I would do both. I would become a top Coordinator as well.

I considered going to tell my mother good bye before I went off, but decided against it. Her note, which now made sense, had said that she already knew I was going to be leaving home, and I could always just call her when I reached the next town.

With that in mind, I walked away from Little Root without looking back.

Steven's POV

My feet hit the ground and I felt Metogross hovering a few feet to the left. It took a second to find steady footing, after teleporting I was always out of sorts. "Thanks," I said before recalling the phycic type Pokemon; I pursed my lips in satisfaction as my friend was enveloped in a white light which beemed it back to the Pokeball.

My eyes ajusted to the light fairly quickly, it was dark outside but not to dark to see. Norman would be here soon, but for now I was exhausted and my mind was weighed down with thoughts and theories that had been with me for a year.

The one good thing about the dark, is that nobody could see me as I walked through the streets. I hated the attention that came with being famous, everyone knew everything about your life, absolutely no privacy what so ever. There was always a tape recorder or microphone being shoved in your face wherever you went, it became extremely aggravating very quickly.

Especially after the events in the last year, I had tried to stay away from any kind of paparazzi. It was just to hard for me to talk about it...

That's why I had dissapeared. And quite honestly, I didn't think I was ready to become involved in the league politics again, or anything for that matter.

I twisted the rings on my fingers absently as I walked into the Pokemon Center, pleased to find it deserted; only Nurse Joy was bustling around, her hands laden with packages. My foot steps echoed around the center and she looked up, becoming extremely flustered.

"Mr. Stone! It's a pleasure to meet you! What can I- would you like anything?"

I tried to hid my frown of displeasure as she tried to regain control of her furiously blushing face. It was always strange to see the reactions I caused people twice or three time to have, especially those of woman. People liked me because I was my father's son, because I was champion. Didn't they ever seem to find it a bit queer that they had taken such an interest in me, their junior by twenty years or more?

Part of the Job. How could Wallace enjoy such attentions?

"Do you have a spare room Nurse Joy? I would like to stay here for the night"

"Certainly," she said, fishing a key out of her pocket. "Here you are Mr. Stone."

"Thank you," I said smoothly before taking the keys and walking up the stairs to the top floor. I inserted the keys and turned the brass door knob, letting my self in. The room was rather small, but that was to be expected of all single rooms. A bed was pushed up against the wall, by a window that gave a good overlook of the city. Two sliding doors led outside to a terrace and a simple desk was in the corner.

Perfect, I thought thankfully as I slipped my blazer off and rolled my shoulders experimentally. I opened the doors and stepped outside, breathing in deeply, my bare feet rejoicing as the cool night time air swept across them. I sat down on a chair and rested my head on my hands, thinking about all that had transpired today.

Meeting with the Hoenn league leaders was always stressful, I usually tried to put it off as long as possible, but today was exceptionally awkward as it was the first time many of them had seen me in months.

I closed my eyes, trying in vain to block out certain memories which always crept into my mind when I was least expecting it.

Tomorow would be a new day, I decided, turning around and staring up at the moon. A familiar ringing sound met my ears and I turned abruptly recognizing it at once. I stood up and padded back into the room, taking my Pokenav out of my blazer pocket.

I picked it up without looking at the caller ID "Hello?"

"Steven."

I stood rigidly before letting out my pent up breath. "Hello Dad."

"Are you alright?"

"I am at the moment..." I replied slowly, horrified when I had to choke back an onslaught of tears.

"I'm so sorry son."