AN: If the first part of this chapter is a bit confusing, just know that over time, you will come to understand everything.

I looked at Norman. Then I looked at the old white coat guy. Arice, Kyra, and Tyson had noticed them as well.

"I'm confused," Tyson said, voicing all our thoughts.

Norman released a Slaking and told it to keep watch over the 'sci-fi creepo'. Then Norman walked over to us.

"Well hello there, young trainers."

"OHMYGOSH it's Norman!" Arice screamed.

Norman smiled. "Yes. It is."

We settled into silence after that.

Then I said, "so... what is going on? Someone please explain that to me."

Norman sighed. "You see, your group of trainers has attracted quite a few followers. My son, Gimp, was following you guys for some reason. I just felt like following too, just to know what he intended to do."

"And instead you found this man, with that... gun... and stopped him," Kyra said slowly.

Norman nodded. "Your welcome by the way. I also have to thank you for this opportunity. That man has a laser gun, a weapon used only by those high up in the food chain over in the Ultra Planet. I now have to chance to look cool in front of the Pokemon League by having captured an alien."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm still confused. Why is your son following us?"

"Because," a voice said. We all turned around and saw the pudgy son of the gym leader, named Gimp, walk out of the grass. "Because you humiliated me, and I was curious as to what kinds of things you did."

"That's weird," I said, unable to think of another response.

Norman laughed. "I also sensed another follower. I don't know who that person is, though. Hopefully not another killer."

And on cue, out came the girl with the pink ribbon; Kendra. She dusted off her yellow dress, and smiled at us. "Hello."

And the seven of us humans sat down and discussed everything that was going on. We talked about why our group of four were in the route, why Kendra was following us (I had lied and said I'd never seen Buzzing Pond), and everything else on the matter.

Norman nodded and got up. "I'll be off, then. Gimp, you're coming with me." Norman and Gimp walked off, with Norman's Slaking carrying Reek's unconscience body and the laser gun.

"Sorry for not trusting you. I'll take my lea- Oh wait!" Kendra said. "You said you were after the Mightyena here, right? I've heard reports that a Mightyena from this route has ran off into the Petalburg Woods."

"Really?" Grime asked, wide-eyed.

Kendra nodded. Apparently she too had a pokemon translator. "Yes, unfortunately. If you have decided to go to Unova, though, I can actually help you with that."

Kyra got up. "Please tell us." Kyra looked at me. "Sorry, but we don't need to chase after the Mightyena."

I sighed again. This was all happening really fast. I looked at Grime, and she nodded, as if okay with us going off to Unova. "That makes sense."

Kendra released her Gallade, and whispered something to it. Then she turned to us. "This here is a Gallade which can teleport you all to Accumula Town. It's the one place in Unova he has been to. It is directly south of Straiton City, not too far off. Wanna go?"

My eyes widened. "Teleportation!" I looked at the rest of my group. "It is fine, right?"

The all seemed alright with it. Arice was jumping up and down.

Kendra then smirked. "However, I would like to make a small request."

We all instantly frowned.

Kendra shook her head. "No no! It is actually beneficial for you! I would recommend you all, when you get the chance, visit the Dreamyard near Striaton City. There are some pretty interesting and unique pokemon there.

"Sounds like a deal," Tyson said. "When do we teleport?"

Kendra clapped her hands. "Now."

Tyson, Kyra, Arice, and their pokemon didn't teleport.

Kendra frowned. "You three... I can't allow you to go with that boy."

Tyson narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"You three are the siblings that tortured 16 children 5 years ago in Oldale Town. I remember seeing the news back then. It really struck me to the core. That's why I remember it."

Tears welled up in Arice's eyes. "That wasn't our fault! They always made fun of us for our unnatural hair and eye colors!"

Kendra turned around and walked away. "I'm sorry, you three. But that boy is innocent, and I don't want to risk his life by letting him stay with you."

One second, I was standing in the route between Petalburg City and Oldale Town. It had been the middle of the day.

The next second, I was sitting on a wooden park bench in the middle of the night.

I looked around at me. It was a park full of autumn trees, with a cool breeze stirring fallen leaves. There was a Poipole, and Poochyena, and a Gallade, all in front of me.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked, concerned. I looked at the Gallade, who was avoiding my gaze.

'I understand you were hoping to stay friends with those three kids. My trainer has told me to teleport just you, however.'

I scratched my head. "Is this a joke?"

The Gallade shook its head. 'Unfortunately, no. My trainer said they were dangerous people, and that you would be better off travelling with just your pokemon.'

I gaped. "But... but... She can't just decide that for me..."

"Hey big guy, that's pretty mean. Heed my lord's words, or I will destroy you right here," Grime growled.

The Gallade almost had a sad look on its face - no, it seemed more like a nostalgic look.

'I fully believe my trainer wishes only the best for all of you,' the Gallade said in our minds before vanishing.

I looked at Grime, then Monotone. "Well."

"Trainer, what we do now?"

I buried my face in my hands. "I will heed Kendra's words. I won't travel with other humans. They only cause pain."

"Trainer, what we do now?"

I looked at Monotone. "We will still go after Ray. I have no idea what's going on with Kyra, Tyson, and Arice, but if I just forget about them, my headache gets reduced. Our path is clear. We travel up to Castelia City, find Ray, and decide what to do from there. Deal?"

My two pokemon nodded.

"What do we do now, then, my lord?"

"Find the pokemon center and sleep there? I still have my license, and those are internationally acceptable, so... yeah."

And that was the plan. I returned my two pokemon to their pokeballs, and walked off in a random direction, hoping that the town actually had a pokemon center somewhere.

A few minutes into my walk, I reached the residential area, where quaint little houses were clumped together. A few street lights lit the area. As I was walking around the front yard of a house, I noticed movement in my peripheral vision. I whipped my head to the side, and saw a bandit, who seemingly hadn't yet noticed me, trying to climb the wall of the house. I turned around and walked towards the bandit, curious.

I looked at the house's roof, which seemed to be the target of the bandit. There was a chimney there.

"Hey dude!" I yelled. The bandit, a man in his forties, fell down from his position and grunted loudly as he hit the rose bushes below him.

I release Grime. I knew Poochyena had good night vision and sense of smell, so Grime should've been more capable than Monotone in the dark.

The bandit rose slowly, his face contorted and bleeding. It was hard to make out his features in the dim light.

"Oh, it's just a kid," The bandit said. Then he smirked. "That's a nice Poochyena. How about we do a little trading?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Trading?"

"Yeah. I got a Slowpoke that you might really love. You want it?"

I shook my head. "I don't want to trade away my Poochyena. Neither do I want to do any trading with a bandit like you."

The man blushed. "Oh sorry, you thought I'm a bandit? No, this is my house. I was just trying to clean the chimney up at the roof." He showed me a dirty red rag in his right hand.

I frowned. "I find it hard to believe you would try cleaning your chimney in the middle of the night."

The man blushed harder. "Sorry, my wife told me to do it before sunrise, and I completely forgot about it until now..."

I crossed my arms. "Tell me which room that chimney leads to."

The bandit looked at the ground. "Eh... it leads to our family room. We have couches and stuff there."

I smirked. "It actually leads to the bedroom," I bluffed. I found myself enjoying this conversation; but I was still ready to bolt if he made any move towards me.

"Eh... well..." The bandit stuttered. "Fine! I'm a bandit!"

I raised an eyebrow. That had been easy. "Give me everything in that brown satchel of yours, and I won't tell anyone."

The bandit, surprisingly, complied. I wondered if all Unovan criminals were that stupid and weak-willed. He threw the satchel at me with his powerful arms, and I caught it. I looked inside to find a pokeball, among other items.

"Look, I have a family, and I don't want anyone knowing I tried stealing. You can take that pokemon. I caught it yesterday, actually, at the shore to the east."

I looked at the bandit. "You're giving me a pokemon?"

"Anything to make sure you won't speak."

"What kind of pokemon is it?"

"A Slowpoke."

I laughed. "One of those weaklings? Why would I want it?"

The man shrugged. "You can give it back to me if you want."

I was about to throw the ball back to him before I realized what I was doing. I was judging a pokemon based on its species. I had used to think Poochyena was too common to be of any use, but now, I love Grime. Maybe I could utilize a Slowpoke.

"I'll keep it. But to make sure you don't steal again, I'll leave a good amount of money for you right where I'm standing," I said. I took out a wad of bills Arice had given me and kept them on the ground next to my feet.

"I can't accept that! What I gave you isn't nearly worth that!"

"Well," I said, "you said you had a family. I'd be happy if helping them could give me karma, which might pay off down the road."

The man bowed down to me. "Thank you very much sir. Can you tell me your name, so I may treasure it?"

I raised an eyebrow. Money really did change people. I told him my name, returned Grime, and walked off with his bag. Then I turned around, noticing him pick up the money. "Hey dude," I said. "Can you also tell me where the pokemon center is?"

He pointed me in the right direction, and after around ten minutes, I reached the pokemon center. It was largely the same as the one at Littleroot Town. However, it was slightly bigger; in the Unova region, pokemon centers included shops as well.

I walked inside the lobby, and the nurse greeted me. "You seem like aren't from this region!" The woman said.

I nodded as I gave her my three pokemon and showed my license. "Could you check the pokemon in this pokeball and tell me its stats, please?"

She smiled and took the three balls, not commenting on how one of them was a Beast Ball. I sat down on a nearby chair as I waited. There was one other person in the lobby; a pale kid who seemingly was also waiting for his pokemon.

I moved to sit down next to him, deciding to strike conversation. "Hi," I said.

He looked at me. He had black hair that stuck up at the back and large, round glasses. There was also a lightning scar on his forehead. "Hi," he said. He seemed to be shaking with nervousness.

I was unsure of how to move the conversation forward. So I said, "What are you doing here so late?"

The boy looked at the ground, still shaking. "I was attacked just an hour ago... I only had two pokemon, I started my journey just two weeks ago... but my starter was stolen."

I gaped. "STOLEN! By who? What kind of pokemon was it?"

The boy looked at me. "It was a Slowpoke. It was stolen in the middle of the night, so I didn't see who took it."

I sighed. Of course it was. Then I remembered that I had asked the nurse to tell me the Slowpoke's stats. If that boy heard it...

I noticed the nurse wack out of the back room with a Great Ball in her hand. "Harry's Diglett! I have it here!"

The boy got up and took the Great Ball. He muttered a thanks to the nurse, and thankfully, he left the pokemon center. I stretched my arms and sighed in relief.

"The Poipole, Poochyena, and Slowpoke are ready!" The nurse yelled across the room a minute later. I looked around to see if Harry was in earshot. He wasn't. I went up the nurse and took back my healed pokemon.

"This male Slowpoke knows Yawn, Tackle, Growl, and Water Gun. It has the ability Own Tempo, so it won't ever get Confused," The nurse told me.

"Thanks," I said. I decided to make up an excuse for asking her. "I caught it around an hour ago near my house."

The nurse raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Oh yes! Can I also have a room?"

The nurse nodded and typed something into her digital monitor. She took my license and digitally registered it to room 223.

I thanked her again and walked up the stairs. I walked down the hallway, looking for room 223. I knew jet lag would be a problem, so I decided to start sleeping the night after the one I was in.

I found the room, and swiped its lock with my trainer's license. It beeped open, and I walked in. I would finally get my own pokemon center room!

And there on the bed, was... no one. Actually. I closed the door behind me and jumped on the bed, cheering. It was all mine! The next thing to do would be to welcome my third pokemon. Which for some reason, I already wanted to keep, no matter what, even if it was someone else's. I wasn't the one who stole it, right?

Steven Stone, the Prime Minister of Hoenn and a collector of stones and fossils, was happy. He was sitting in his office in Ever Grande City, with Norman standing before him. Norman had with him an unconscience old man with a white coat and a laser gun.

Steven got up from his chair. "I would like to personally look over this alien. And you say he hadn't brought any pokemon with him?"

Norman nodded.

"Good. I will send the laser gun to the Pokemon League scientists. If the Ultra Planet had indeed decided to attack our planet again, then if we can mass produce laser guns of our own, we stand a fighting chance."

AN: And now our viewpoint character has reached Unova! Yes, his third pokemon is a Slowpoke. SingingDarkrai requested eight different pokemon for the viewpoint character to have, and I chose one out that list; Slowpoke. You'll see why in the next chapter.

Chapter 11 MC/age/pokemon changes:

Viewpoint Character gets a Slowpoke

Reek doesn't have possession of any pokemon anymore