Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned anything related to Nintendo's Pokémon franchise.

Legend:

"A human or a Pokémon is talking."

'A human or a Pokémon is thinking.'

"A machine is being used."

Chapter 20:

(Route Five—The Hidden Village)

At the moment, one could currently find Ash, Anabel, and Melanie standing at the edge of the Hidden Village. They had just finished their breakfast, and the feeding of the Hidden Village's Pokémon, and were now saying their goodbyes.

Melanie shifted her feet a little, "Thank you guys for helping me out."

"It was no problem." Ash said with a small grin. "I never knew how to repair a wall before, so it was a great learning experience for us! Right guys?" Anabel nodded her head while Eevee yipped, with Ash feeling as she excitedly waved her tail.

It really had been a learning experience for all involved. Melanie—who they found to be nice and friendly—had taught them how to repair a wall and about how the Hidden Village worked. Apparently, the village was a place where sick and injured Pokémon could come and recover. Because of her hospitality, the Pokémon had stayed in the village, which had soon developed into a miniature community of Pokémon.

Melanie told of how each type of Pokémon claimed a piece of the clearing for themselves and usually stayed there. As new Pokémon came in the past, there were some disputes over territory, of which she and a Bulbasaur that she had befriended ended. It wasn't perfect but, before the attack, it was peaceful.

The atmosphere of the village had changed since then. The returning Pokémon—that hadn't been kidnapped—were cautious and wary, startling at the smallest of sounds. And, with the return of the Pokémon, came the return of territory disputes. In her condition and without Bulbasaur, Melanie alone wouldn't have been able to put a stop to it. Luckily, though, she had Anabel and Ash to help her. With them, Melanie had been able to regain control and settle the disputes.

And the Hidden Village was beginning to recover. Melanie's Pichu, unable to remember what had happened, run around the village and coaxed whatever Pokémon was near to play with her. If it weren't for Pichu, then the tension, and Melanie, wouldn't have softened.

Now though, it was finally time for Ash and Anabel to leave the Hidden Village. With the wall in Melanie's hut patched up, and the workings of the village returning to normal, Melanie had encouraged them to leave, as it wasn't their responsibility to stay. Both ten year-olds had protested this, with Ash saying that it wasn't any trouble to help her out, which had caused Melanie to tear up and hug them.

Later, once everything had calmed down, Melanie had told them that she was going to hire a couple of nearby Trainers. She would be using them to help her around the Hidden Village as she recovered as well as helping in its defense in case the two that had attacked it came back.

Anabel looked at Melanie. "Don't worry yourself too much, okay?"

"I'll try." Melanie said.

"Those Trainers that you said you called should be here soon." Ash said with a reassuring look. "And, besides that, you can give us a call whenever you want to. We might not be in Saffron City for a day or two but you can leave us a message and we'll get back to you as fast as we can."

Eevee nodded seriously before she yipped sharply. The effect was ruined by the highness of Eevee's voice, making Ash's grin grow wider before he laughed. Eye twitching, Eevee whacked him over the head with her tail, earning a "Hey!", and huffed haughtily.

This time, Melanie couldn't resist the laugh that escaped her, which caused Eevee to growl unthreateningly at her. A soft smiling Anabel was about to speak up when she caught something on the edges of her senses. Her eyes widened as she felt something approach her before it washed over her body. She barely had the chance to feel it before the something was gone, leaving her very confused.

What had just happened?

"Thanks you guys, I needed that."

Ash's smile grew, "You're welcome, though..." He spared Eevee a glance, who turned away with a mock-sniff, causing Melanie to grin. "I don't know why Eevee is acting so weird. I mean, it's not my fault that she can't sound serious."

"Ve?!"

What? Why were they all joking around and acting as if they hadn't felt that something wash over them? Hadn't they felt it? They had to have felt it. Didn't they? The more Anabel thought about it, the more she began to doubt they had even felt it at all. Neither of them had so much as flinched when she had felt it pass over her.

Was she the only one to have felt it? If so, why?

"—Eevee!" Anabel heard, apparently soothing Eevee as the brown Pokémon finally stopped whacking Ash in the head with her tail. Rubbing his head, Ash spared a brief glare at his now-innocent looking Pokémon before he turned back to Melanie. "Anyways, me and Anabel will call you once we got to Saffron City."

Melanie nodded, "Alright... I hope you guys have a safe trip."

"You too." Ash said before he grabbed Anabel's arm, "C'mon, Anabel!" before he ran towards the forest

As they ran, Anabel spared Melanie one more glance and saw Melanie waving to them before she winked and mouthed a "good luck" to her. In the next second, she and Ash plunged into the forests of Route Five with a red hue to her cheeks. How could Melanie have known? She hadn't made it too obvious, had she?

XXXXXX

(Meanwhile—Unknown Location)

"It seems that girl filed a police report and hired some contractors ..." Pierce mused to himself as he sat before the computer in his temporary Headquarters. He chuckled darkly, "Such a stupid girl... does she really believe hiring some baby-faced Trainers will help her if we decide to come back?"

Any number of Pokémon would be able to overcome anyone that girl may hire to protect her village. No matter their skill, they would be a mere distraction in the face Team Rocket if they were ordered they go back there, but, why would they? The Hidden Village had fulfilled its usefulness so, it was no longer needed.

The reason that it had even been needed in the first place was because of the surplus of Pokémon that had lived there. While most of them were weak, there were a few strong ones, which would be useful for what was coming up. Pierce grinned at the thought. Oh, yes. No one would suspect what was coming.

"... The Pokémon have been fitted with the collars." Jessie said as she entered the room. Pierce's grin grew before he quickly typed up a message and sent it off to the Administrator in charge of the upcoming event. His team was ready and would be waiting for the signal. He couldn't wait for it.

XXXXXX

(Route Five—With Ash and Anabel)

"... What's on your mind, Anabel?"

Ever since they had left the Hidden Village, Anabel had seemed distracted. The silence hadn't gotten to him at first but, after a certain period of time passed, he couldn't stand it anymore. Thus his question to Anabel. If he knew what was bothering Anabel, maybe he could help her and she would stop worrying about it. And talk to him.

"Ve, Eevee Ev-Ve-Eev?"

A small frown appeared on Anabel's face, "It's nothing, really. At least... I don't think so..." She shook her head slightly, trying to think of something that would explain, or help describe, the something that she had felt earlier. "... Earlier, I think I felt something. It felt..." She paused, struggling to think of the word that would explain it. "It felt... It felt like some kind of water, but not. And it gave me the feeling of being warm."

"Warm?" Ash asked.

Anabel nodded, "Yeah... It felt really warm. Like I was in front of a campfire and somebody had put a big, comfy blanket over my shoulders..." She sighed. "It felt really nice, but... I want to know why I felt it. I mean, neither you or Melanie seemed to feel it when I did..."

"I don't know... but I do know that I didn't feel it." He tilted his head towards Eevee and asked, "Did you feel it, Eevee?", only to get a shaking of the head. He frowned. Why did Anabel feel what she said she had, but neither he, Eevee, or Melanie feel it? "Maybe..." He began, thinking aloud. "... Maybe you felt it because of your powers?"

Yeah, that made sense. Anabel could sense emotions; maybe she could also detect something that normal people couldn't with her powers. Or another 'wave' of emotions, like she had sensed from Melanie a couple of days ago? But, if that were the case, why hadn't Anabel blacked out again?

'Maybe... It could be the egg.'

This stray thought immediately caught Ash's attention, surprising him. Why would he think that the egg had something had to do with this situation? Sure, no one seemed to know what this egg would hatch into, but it was still an egg. Eggs couldn't send out things that people, or people like Anabel, could feel. Still though, he was having a bit of trouble dismissing the thought.

"... It could be." Anabel admitted with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I still don't know everything about my power... or how to control it all the way... so, it's possible the thing I felt is related to my power..."

Eevee nodded, "Eevee Ve Ee-Ve."

But what if it wasn't a part of Anabel's power at all? What if what she felt actually had something to do with the egg? Did that mean the egg was dangerous? Ash's mind reminded him of the scene in which he first found the egg; the Clefairy and Clefable trying to destroy it. He shook his head. His Clefairy didn't have a problem with the egg. Maybe he was just overthinking things.

"Can we not talk about it anymore? If it is a part of my power, then I'll figure it out, but... I don't want you to obsess over it." Anabel's words caused his eyes to widen before he turned his head towards Anabel, seeing her looking away, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I felt you while we were talking and I know you were probably thinking about it..."

"But—"

Anabel turned her head and looked at him, her eyes asking for him to drop the issue. He didn't understand why she would want to drop it after she had brought it up, especially when he wanted to figure it out as well. But, he respected Anabel and would listen. Honestly, this was the first real request Anabel had made of him. And who was he to deny her after she had done so much and been there for him?

Ash sighed but nodded, causing Anabel to give him a faint smile. In the following minutes, all of them were silent. Anabel was the one to break the silence first, ten minutes later, by tentatively asking what he thought they should do once they got to Saffron City.

"Saffron City?"

Anabel looked at him with a funny expression on her face, "... You haven't been to Saffron City. Ash?"

"Not that I can remember."

"Saffron City is the largest city in Kanto, Ash." Anabel began to say, twisting a lock of her hair between her fingers. "It's... hard to tell somebody how big it is without them actually being there... I've been there a couple times myself and I can hardly believe how big it is."

Oh, now Ash remembered. His dad had told him and his mom about Saffron City—what it looked like, how nice the people were, etc.—but he had never mentioned how big it was. While he knew that Pallet Town was a bit smaller than Viridian, Pewter, and Cerulean City, he had always thought that every other city was the same size. Anabel was probably exaggerating; there was no way that Saffron City was bigger than any of the other towns he had seen.

XXXXXX

(Route Five—Outskirts of Saffron City)

'There was no way that Saffron City was bigger than any of the other towns he had seen'? Yeah, right. Saffron City would outsize all of those other cities put together and multiplied by ten. Could a city even be allowed to be this size?

Anabel retrieved her PokéDex back from the uniformed policeman/gate guard and walked over to him. She smiled at the stunned expression on his and Eevee's faces, "I tried to tell you guys that it was the largest city in Kanto. But, you didn't listen."

"But—How can it be so huge?" Ash's eyes never left the numerous skyscrapers and apartment complexes that he could see. Nor did they unglue from the sight of all those people down there, shopping bags laden in their arms as they walked through the streets. "Did a giant make this town?!"

"Eevee Ve?" Eevee asked with an impossibly cute expression on her face. Why she continued to look down at Saffron City instead of at Anabel, who she was trying to question, was anyone's mystery. The very sight caused Anabel smile while she resisted the urge to laugh.

"No, I'm pretty sure Saffron City was made by ordinary people." Anabel said before she grabbed Ash's left hand and, resisting a blush, began to pull him away from Route Five and into Saffron City. If she hadn't, he and Eevee probably would've stood there and stared down at the city for hours.

As Anabel pulled Ash along, she didn't notice how the two gate guards watched them for a moment before they burst out laughing. "Oh, man." One of them managed to say through his laughter. "It never gets old, does it; seeing those looks new tourists get?"

"No, it doesn't." His partner agreed.

XXXXXX

Half an hour later found Ash with Eevee on his shoulder and Anabel walking down Pikachu Avenue. Having never been there before in their lives, Ash and Eevee's eyes were locking onto each and every store window they passed, sometimes stopping in front of one to gaze at the items on display. No wonder all of the people they had seen were carrying shopping bags!

"Eevee Ve!" Eevee yipped, pointing her right forepaw at the glass doors of the Pokémon Infinity store. Looking inside the store's window revealed Pokémon Infinity to be a store full of what looked like basic Pokémon supplies.

Ash looked at Eevee as she turned her head to his, kicked puppy-dog expression on his face. Having not expected this, and wanting to go in himself, he feigned resignation as he turned to Anabel. She didn't seem to buy it—noting that his emotions didn't match up with his look—but didn't say anything. Instead, she smiled at him, and they walked into Pokémon Infinity.

"Wow..."

Pokémon Infinity did have basic Pokémon supplies and then beyond. Where the PokéMart sold small, medium, and large bags of PokéChow, Pokémon Infinity sold bags of PokéChow by type. They also had combinations, such as 'PokéChow: Bug/Poison', for all of the different type combinations that a Pokémon could have.

And that was just the beginning.

Taking advantage of her Trainer's awe, Eevee jumped off of his shoulder and landed on the tiled floor. Seconds later, she was running as fast as she could towards the back wall of the store. She wouldn't wait for her Trainer and his friend to walk there; someone could get there before them and take it! She couldn't allow that to happen!

"Hey! Eevee! Where are you going?!" Ash demanded as he began to chase after his wayward Pokémon. Didn't Eevee hear him? Why wasn't she listening? "What's wrong?!"

This left Anabel in a very awkward position by the front doors of the store, where everyone looked as soon as they couldn't see Ash anymore. She lowered her head underneath the sudden barrage of confusion, anger, embarrassment, humor, and a wary resignation. "I apologize..."

"Eevee! Get back here!"

There were some crashes as either Ash or Eevee knocked something over as they continued their chase. Anabel's head lowered even further as the stares on her grew in intensity, as if demanding why she had brought those two in to disrupt their shopping experience. She wondered if it would be better to throw herself off a cliff.

"Ve Eevee Ve!"

A brown blur—Eevee—jumped onto the top of one of the back most aisles to avoid Ash's grasping hands. Eevee continued to run, knocking over a couple of things that bounced off the floor and caused Ash to trip. "You're in so much trouble, Eevee!"

The glares grew. Anabel wondered where the nearest cliff was, and if there were none, was there perhaps a pool she could drown herself in? Or maybe a nearby volcano that she could throw herself into? She was leaning towards the pool, as it would cool down her flaming face before 'The End'.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" A brown-haired teenager in a cashier's uniform said with a scowl on his face. "Can't you guys see that you're making her very uncomfortable? It's not her fault that her friend's Pokémon decided to run through the store to get to—" He looked at the back of the store, where Eevee sat gnawing on a French Fry plushy. "—a teething toy!"

Anabel looked at her savior and mouthed 'Thank you', getting a shallow nod in return. She slipped away from the entrance as the cashier began to tear into the people who had been glaring at her, listing each incident that their Pokémon had caused in the store. It seemed to be working, too, as Anabel sensed the sudden embarrassment and humiliation of her silent tormentors.

By the time she made it to the back of the store, Ash had caught up to Eevee and was now holding 'her' plushy in his hand. Eevee had her forepaws on his right knee, trying to reach up and snatch it out of Ash's grasp, but it was proving unsuccessful. "No, you can't have it Eevee."

The plushy itself was shaped like a singular French Fry that one would get at a fast food restaurant, only with black eyes, a small mouth, and a set of arms and legs. A golden cape hung around its neck, accenting the golden-brown edges of the French Fry plushy.

"Ve, Ee-V-Ee? Eevee Ve?" Eevee begged as she continued to scratch Ash's jeans—making sure not to actually cut through them—with a pleading expression on her face. "Eevee Ve, Ee-V-Ee?"

"I said 'no', Eevee. You ran through the store, knocked over a lot of stuff, and you didn't listen to me when I told you to stop." Ash retorted with a stern expression on his face. This was the first time that Eevee had disobeyed him and he was not going to reward her for it.

To be honest, though, Ash felt pretty weird. In and out of battle usually saw Eevee to listening and obeying his instructions. Sure, Eevee didn't always do what he asked her outside of battle, and they got into mock-arguments sometimes, but she had never outright ignored him before. To actually be in this situation, denying Eevee and actually scolding her for her actions left him with a sense of weirdness.

Eevee's ears drooped at his announcement, which caused to make Ash to wonder if he was doing the right thing. Eevee had run through the store, but it was to get at a toy shaped like a French Fry. He knew all about her obsession with the food, which would explain why she hadn't listened to him. Wasn't he being a little harsh?

"Stop that, Eevee." Anabel chided quietly, causing Eevee to turn and eye her with the same pleading expression. There was a moment of silence as Eevee's pleading eyes locked with Anabel's firm eye until Eevee lowered herself and whined.

Glad that Anabel had come—even happy that she had made his choice for him—Ash felt emboldened. He looked down at Eevee and said, "Now, I'm going to place this back and then we're going to help clean up the mess we made while I was chasing you."

Eevee, ears flattened and tail tucked behind her legs, agreed with a bit of a whine. Only now was she beginning to understand that Ash was disappointed at her and what she had done. After receiving a nod from Anabel, Ash turned away and back the way he and Eevee had come, with Eevee baring the baleful looks of the few other customers around them.

"Ve..."

XXXXXX

(Saffron City—Pokémon Center—Lobby)

"I thought I warned you not to get into anymore trouble, Ash Gohta Ketchum!" Delia Ketchum's voice, dangerously quiet, whispered over the Video Phone. If Ash had been at home, she would have been much louder, but Ash was in the lobby of a Pokémon Center.

Ash and Anabel had just walked into the Pokémon Center half an hour ago, after finally finding the place. As it was still relatively early, and knowing that he hadn't called his mom in a while, Ash had gone to the Video Phones after he and Anabel had gotten a room. His mother had been very happy to meet Anabel and hear about how his journey was going so far. Well, she was, until he mentioned Mt. Moon and what happened with Melanie.

"Mom—"

"How dare you, Ash Gohta Ketchum, not call me after almost—almost—getting hurt as soon as you got to Cerulean City! Or, or, telling me about how you fought those two crooks from the attack on Viridian's Pokémon Center there... twice!" Delia demanded before she turned away from the screen, breath hitching, as a few tears leaked out of her eyes. "How could you not tell me, Ash?"

At once, Ash felt his chest tighten with guilt and a bunch of other horrible emotions that he couldn't name. "Mom..." He had never meant to make his mom cry by not telling her; he had just forgotten to call her while in Cerulean. He had been distracted by Willow and then Gary's appearance and then training to beat the Cerulean City Gym. "I'm sorry, Mom..."

Delia sniffled for a few more moments before she asked him to tell her exactly why he hadn't called her 'the moment' he got to Cerulean City. Slightly relieved, Ash had told her of how he had met Willow again and the mystery of his egg, of how he had met and defeated Gary in a battle, and how he had trained his team. He explained that, at that time, he had just forgotten to call her, as he had been really busy.

And, Delia, who watched her son as he relaxed some and began to tell her about what had happened, relaxed a little too. While the hurt was still there and would take time to heal, she began to feel proud of her son's accomplishments. He had already beaten two well-known Gym Leaders and had even invented a new move with his Pokémon! Who else could say that they managed to do that in a few months?

"I'm sorry..." Ash repeated again as he finished his recount of the past few weeks, looking down.

Delia took a deep breath, "... While I can't say that 'it's okay', I can say that I forgive you for not calling me. I should have listened to you explain things instead of yelling at you..." As she paused, Ash looked up at her, only for her gaze to sharpen. "But that doesn't mean, young man, that I will accept behavior like this from you in the future. I raised you better than that."

Ash's eyes widened as his mom then launched into a lecture about responsibility and what he could due to prevent things like this happening in the future. There were several mentions of getting some kind of phone—or a Pokégear—so that he would be able to call for help or call home. Also, he was reminded about letting the adults handle things, to stay safe, to change his underwear, and get a Pokégear so he could call home more often.

XXXXXX

Anabel looked up from where she was petting Abra on the lower bunk when she heard the door open and Ash walked in. He managed to stumble to the couch before he fell on it, face-first into it, and mumbled something that she couldn't understand. Looking at Abra gave her no clue as to what Ash had said, either.

On the upper bunk, Eevee opened her eyes and frowned softly at her Trainer. She hadn't understood exactly what he had said, but she had caught him muttering about 'underpants', 'mom', and 'what was a Pokégear anyway?' It was all very confusing to her but, as she was still 'grounded', she decided to leave it be. Her Trainer or his friend could figure it out.

She was not still upset over the loss of that awesome, chewable toy!

"Are you okay, Ash?" Anabel asked. While she didn't have to ask, she knew it was better too, as it would allow Ash to process what he was feeling so he could answer her. Besides, not a lot of people knew of her power, so she was used to asking that question.

"Ungh..." Ash muttered as he twisted around on the couch, eyes staring at the ceiling. "Yeah... My mom just spent a lot of time telling me about my 'responsibilities' and how I should 'leave things to the adults' and stuff..." Pausing, he slowly turned to Anabel and glared accusingly at her. "You took Eevee and left me there!"

"I saw that your mom wanted to talk to you alone for a while and, as Eevee is grounded, I took her and came here. I just finished giving Abra and Butterfree baths..." Anabel said, gesturing to Abra, who 'Ra'd in response, and Butterfree, who was resting on her pillow.

In Ash's mind, Anabel said this: I saw how your mom was getting angry and ignored you when you pleaded with me with your eyes to stay. I took Eevee up with me so that you wouldn't have any excuse to avoid your mother. I gave Abra and Butterfree baths so that I could use that as excuse to tell you when you got up here. See, look at them!

But, as much as Ash wanted to blame her, he knew that it would have happened eventually. Didn't mean that he had to like it, or that he didn't think of Anabel as a 'traitor', but he couldn't really blame her. If Anabel had been in his situation, he probably would've done the same thing. "... They smell nice."

"Free~" Butterfree perked up a bit, having heard Ash's compliment, before ducking her head when Ash glanced at her. "Butterfree free..."

Butterfree resembled a vaguely anthropomorphic butterfly. Her main body was colored purple while her four legs were a pale blue. She also had a nose-like structure that of the same color, which was unusual, since most Bug-Type Pokémon didn't have noses. To finish it off, she had a pair of red, compound eyes and large veined wings with swirl-shaped black markings on them.

Anabel smiled, "Thanks. There are still a couple of bottles of shampoo and some towels in the bathroom." What she wasn't telling him was that their bathroom actually had a small bathtub for Pokémon alongside the standard toilet, a shower, and sink. It was another one of the perks of being in Saffron City and, if she told him, it would ruin it for him.

"Ve Ee-V-Ee?" Eevee asked, perking up.

Ash groaned—knowing he should've seen this coming as soon as Anabel mentioned 'baths'—but not realizing the danger until it was too late. It wasn't as if he disliked giving his Pokémon baths, as his mom had drilled into him the fact that he would need to bathe them to keep them clean and happier. No, the danger came from Eevee. She absolutely adored 'bath time' but she was really, really picky about the water temperature, how he washed her, how he dried her, and etc.

While Ash was thinking of the horrors Eevee would soon put him through, Eevee jumped down from the bunk and rushed over to him. She jumped onto his back and began to chant "Ve" over and over in an attempt to get him up. It was bath time! Yay! Bath time, bath time, bath time!

"Alright, Eevee... just let me get up and then you guys can take a bath." Ash sighed. This caused Eevee to lick his face happily before she jumped off of him. He groaned, sat up, gave Anabel a 'I blame you' look, and walked towards the bathroom.

Anabel waited for a few seconds and smiled when she heard Eevee squeal and Ash groan. She heard Eevee yipping something fierce and then Ash mumble something, seconds before the water was turned on. She soon returned to grooming Abra, hearing the occasional splashes as Eevee and then the rest of Ash's Pokémon took baths. She had moved onto reading a book when the last of Ash's team exited the bathroom, chattering happily and clean.

Their Trainer followed them behind, shirt soaked, hair messier than usual, and radiating wariness. Anabel absently wondered as if she had heard wrong, as nothing she had heard would explain the reason Ash look and was feeling right now. "What's wrong?"

Ash glanced at his Pokémon as they settled down on the floor, the couch, or his bunk. "I never washed more than four before..." He moved to the couch and then collapsed on it, scooting Rattata aside. He groaned when Clefairy plopped down on his lap and began snuggling him. Anabel laughed. "Fine! Laugh it up... I just won't help you when you have six Pokémon waiting to get their baths..."

The laughter stopped as Anabel turned wide, horrified eyes to her friend. "You wouldn't leave me alone to do that Ash... would you?"

"Maybe..." Ash said.

XXXXXX

(The next day—Pokémon Center—Cafeteria)

After everyone woke up, Anabel led 'the horde' out of the room and down towards the cafeteria for some much needed food. She secured a table for everyone while Ash got their food. She set out all of the Pokémon's bowls and filled them up with the bag of PokéChow Ash was juggling alongside two trays of food. Once she took it from him, he set the trays down and then went to help her pour equal portions into the eight bowls.

Once they finished, their Pokémon descended upon the food like it was their worst enemy. Anabel chuckled, "They must be really hungry today."

"I bet."

Both Trainers sat down at the table and began digging into their own food. It became obvious that Ash was the hungrier out of the two of them, or enjoyed the food more, as he dug into the food with a gusto rivaled only by their Pokémon. Anabel, on the other hand, seemed to eat more slowly. Or at least being careful enough not to accidentally swallow her fork, like Ash came close to doing a couple of times.

"What do you want to do today?" Anabel asked after swallowing a forkful of scrambled eggs.

Ash 'hm'-ed in thought as he drank some of his orange juice, then stabbed a piece of brown sausage and ate it. "Well, we didn't get much of a chance to explore yesterday... after Eevee and I made a mess in that store..." He had the decency to blush and look away, "So... maybe we could look around? See what Saffron has to offer?"

"I thought that you would want to find the Saffron Gym right away." Anabel said, surprised. It did seem somewhat of a growing routine for them: find the Pokémon Gym of the city/town, train to face that Gym, face the Gym Leader, get to another city, and repeat.

Ash shook his head, "I want to do that but... this place is really big and you said that it is the largest city in Kanto." He looked over to the side, where there Pokémon were now eating their breakfasts at a respectable speed. "... I just want to, you know, look around and maybe buy some stuff? I mean, we do have some extra money on hand and—"

"I didn't ask that because I thought that it wasn't a good idea, Ash." Anabel interrupted and then, realizing what she had just done, lowered her head to cover her sudden, furious blush. "... I said that because that's what we usually seem to do." Cheeks still red, she looked up at him, shyly, and said. "I wouldn't mind doing something different, though."

"Great!"

XXXXXX

An hour later found Anabel and Ash, who was holding his Egg Carrier, in the Pokémon Infinity store again. While both of them were wary about returning to the store, especially after what happened yesterday, it was better than most other stores. And that bias was without even mentioning the variety of goods that Pokémon Infinity provided.

Of course, that didn't mean that they hadn't gotten anything from some of the other stores. Ash had gotten a blue Pokégear and had been convinced to get a sticker sheet that had all of Kanto's native Pokémon on it, as it would 'help him identify which Poké Ball belonged to which Pokémon'. In all fairness, it was a good thing for Trainers without perfect memory to get, though Anabel thought it should've been included in the Newbie Pack. Speaking of Anabel, the purple-haired girl had bought herself a sticker packet, some 'scrunchies', and silverware set for Abra to practice on.

Right now, though, both Trainers could be found standing in an aisle dedicated to Poké Balls. Like everything else in the store, the Poké Balls came in different varieties. Neither Ash nor Anabel had heard of anything besides a standard Poké Ball before, so this stuff was all new to them. And they loved it.

"Look at this one, Ash." Anabel said, pointing to a particular package of pink Poké Balls. Ash was repulsed by the color and was about to turn away to go back to looking at the 'Net Balls' until he glanced at the name: Heal Balls. He grabbed a package and turned it over, reading the back.

Heal Balls:

These are a special type of Poké Balls that can restore a newly captured Pokémon to full health. Heal Balls can also heal Pokémon, even after the initial capture, albeit more slowly. Warning: Heal Balls cannot completely heal life-threatening wounds, only begin to heal them. The recommended course of action, when faced when a severely injured Pokémon, is to return it to its Heal Ball and head towards the nearest Pokémon Center.

As Ash finished reading that, he turned the Heal Balls package over and looked at it again. He could see the use in Poké Balls such as these. In fact, if Clefairy had been recaught in one of these Poké Balls, she would've been healed much faster. Not as to say that it would've healed her completely, but her injuries would've been lessened to a great extent.

"They do seem pretty useful..." Ash agreed.

With that, Ash put the package into the shopping basket that had been resting on his elbow. It was agreed, silently, that they would split the Heal Balls amongst themselves. One never knew when the need for such Poké Balls would arise, but with the stuff they had been through, it didn't help to be prepared.

That done, both Trainers continued to browse around the aisle, looking for anymore special Poké Balls that could be useful to them. They didn't have any need for the Moon Balls or the Level Balls—who had the time to check the Pokémon they wanted to catch's level?—but some of the others looked good. Examples of the 'good' ones were the Heavy Balls, Fast Balls, Lure Balls, Dive Balls, and Net Balls.

While most of the 'good ones' were only to make catching certain types of Pokémon easier, it was necessary. Ordinary Poké Balls could catch the heavier Pokémon that the Heavy Balls caught with ease, but it was much more difficult. On the other hand, were they really necessary?

"I think I might get a package of Heavy Balls and another one of Net Balls... but, I'm not sure about anything else." Ash admitted as he and Anabel continued to look at all of the available Poké Balls. "It doesn't mean that I don't think that they aren't awesome—because they look really cool—but they don't seem really necessary."

Anabel took on a thoughtful expression, "I kind of agree with you. I think that these were made to make catching easier and faster too."

"Seems like it."

"... I think I'll just get the Heal Balls and spilt them with you while you get what you want." Anabel said and then frowned. "I appreciate that the company that made these Poké Balls, but I'm more interested in Psychic-Type Pokémon than anything else. If there were a Ball to make catching them easier, then I'll buy the store out... until then, though, I'll stick to regular Poké Balls."

"And may that store that has those type of Poké Balls fear the day you walk into it." Ash stated in a teasing manner, causing Anabel to blush. She then hit him in the shoulder, more like a simple nudge, causing him to say, "Hey! That could've hurt!"

"Ash!" Sweet, soft-spoken Anabel was now looking at him with fire in her eyes. She apparently hadn't taken that little crack on her strength, or lack of, that well. He put up a disarming grin but she just took a step forward, like a Pidgey about to pounce on an unsuspecting Caterpie.

"Can... Can we talk about this?"

Anabel paused, "Yes." Ash was about to sigh in relief when that unholy gleam returned to her eyes. "We can talk about this after I teach you a lesson."

While Ash tried in vain to stop Anabel before she could 'teach him a lesson', neither Trainer noticed the woman glancing at them at the end of the aisle. She observed the two for a moment more and then slipped away, knowing that their conflict would move over to where she had been. 'I'll have to do something about that... They're practically feeding off of each other.'

Ash's Pokémon Team:

Eevee (Female): Level 19.

Attacks: Tackle (Normal), Sand Attack (Normal), Scratch (Normal), Tail-Whip (Normal), Helping Hand (Normal), Growl (Normal), and Bite (Dark).

Pidgeotto (Male): Level 17.

Attacks: Sand Attack (Ground), Tackle (Normal), Gust (Flying), Peck (Flying), and Whirlwind (Flying).

Rattata (Male): Level 16.

Attacks: Bite (Dark), Tackle (Normal), Quick Attack (Normal), Hyper Fang (Normal), Scratch (Normal), and Quick Swim (Normal).

Beedrill (Male): Level 17.

Attacks: String-Shot (Bug), Poison-Sting (Poison), Bug-Bite (Bug), Fury Attack (Normal), and Twineedle (Bug).

Clefairy (Female): Level 13.

Attacks: Sing (Normal), Pound (Normal), and Metronome (Normal).

Paras (Male): Level 15.

Attacks: PoisonPowder (Poison), Stun Spore (Grass), Sleep Powder (Grass), and Spore (Grass).

Anabel's Pokémon Team:

Abra (Male): Level 20.

Attacks: Teleport (Psychic), Psyshock (Psychic), Confusion (Psychic), and Psychic (Psychic).

Butterfree (Female): Level 15.

Attacks: Confusion (Psychic), Poisonpowder (Poison), Stun Spore (Grass), Harden (Bug), Sleep Powder (Grass), and String Shot (Bug).

A/N: Author's Note: Mostly a filler chapter, but a necessary one. We get to see that Eevee has a naughty side and a French Fry obsession. We also get the first cameo of Anabel's Butterfree, got to see Ash get in trouble, and saw Ash and Anabel's first glimpse at different Poké Balls! And who was that woman at the end and what did she mean? "Feeding off of each other"?

You guys know the drill: tell me what you thoughts in your reviews or PMs. I'll accept comments, constructive criticism, and how to make the chapter better... but flames will be ignored.