Five years had passed since the day Nina found her egg. A Ledyba hatched a mere two weeks after the small child discovered her. She was a beautiful, large lady bug with a red shell and black antenna. Nina gave her the nickname Scarlet for the bright red coloring of her shell. They were inseparable.

Nina also wasn't a little girl anymore. Her twelfth birthday approached and she wouldn't let her mother forget.

"Can Scarlet and I go into town to buy me a birthday gift?" Nina ask her mother one night before dinner.

Her mother gave a small smile and told her to be patient. "You can go into town to get groceries if you want." She said "but I already got you your present and you're just gonna have to wait."

Scarlet flew around in circles above Nina's head as she gave an exaggerate sigh.

"Scarlet, I'm not really upset." She laughed. Ledyba flew around Nina's head back and forth pacing and laughing. "Ok, Mom I guess I can get the groceries." Nina rolled her eyes but they both knew she was kidding.

Her mother ruffled her hair and put a few Pokedollars into her hands and a small basket. She kissed her goodbye after giving her a grocery list and sending the two of them on their way on Nina's bike.

Darcy felt a lot better sending Nina out to do errands after Scarlet's birth. Scarlet would do anything to protect Nina. Darcy gave a small sigh and walked back inside after Nina rounded the corner of the street and disappeared.

Nina sped down the street with the basket on her handlebars and Scarlet flying ahead of her. Scarlet loved to show off how fast she could fly and often had Nina peddling hard to catch up.

Up ahead, Nina saw the market place and called to Scarlet to slow down. Her Pokemon obeyed and returned to her side. She hopped off her bike as she made it to the market edge and walked with her hands on the handle bars. Scarlet buzzed around looking for her favorite shop on the strip, a flower shop by the name Bell-Awesome Flowers. Scarlet loved the smell of them and Nina often had to stop her from taking a few home without paying. Nina would always bring them back with a face as red as her Ledyba's shell.

"Hold up Scarlet." Nina said with a stern voice. She knew better than to fly off without her.

Nina caught up to Scarlet and heard a massive amount of yelling coming from up ahead. She and Scarlet ran to the sound to find two men arguing about pricing on a pair of watermelons.

"This is ridiculous!"

"Take it or leave it!"

The two men were in each other's faces and before long Nina saw one of them pull out their Poke-ball to begin a battle. Nina gasped in fright and watched as the two men threw out an Umbreon and the other a Nidoking. The Nidoking towered over the Umbreon but she didn't back down. The Umbreon gave out a brave little cry and charged.

"STOP!" Nina yelled diving between the two men and their Pokemon. The crowd that had gathered whispered in shock. Even the mighty Nidoking behind her stared back at his owner, unsure what to do. Nina took a step toward the Umbreon's owner and put a finger in his face.

"HOW DARE YOU!" She yelled. "Your Pokemon are your friends, they aren't for threatening people!"

The man scoffed at her and returned Umbreon to her poke-ball. "What are you talking about little girl?" He said. "This is a Pokemon battle, this is what Pokemon are for! You almost got yourself killed!"

Nina stomped her foot down hard on the ground and kept her eye contact with the man.

"Pokemon are our friends, they arent for battling!" She turned to walk away from the man, getting in the last word, when a massive blue light shown from behind her and a loud cry came from the same direction. Loud talking began errupted from the shocked crowd. When Nina turned around she saw the man on the ground behind her and Scarlet putting up her protect screen. Scarlet had protected her from the man trying to hit her while her back had been turned.

"Thank you Scarlet!" She gave her Pokemon a big squeeze and Ledyba cried out in happiness and fear.

The Nidoking next to Nina returned to its poke-ball and the owner dazed at Nina for a few seconds.

"Sorry about the mess sir." Nina said picking her bike off the ground.

The shop owner gave a huge smile. "Oh no, thank you!" HE beamed "He was being such an ass! Please take the watermelons as thanks!"

Nina picked up the two huge watermelons and put them in her basket, there wasn't much room for anything else in there afterward. Scarlet tried picking one up but her small arms couldn't grip it.

"Your Ledyba's defensive power is amazing!" The shop keeper said. "Have you ever thought about taking the gym leader challenge?"

Nina's smile dropped off her face. "Thank you for the watermelons, but I cant accept them." She handed them back to the owner. "Like I said, I don't battle."

The owner took the watermelons back with a frown but didn't drop the subject.

"Miss, your Pokemon is so strong, why haven't you at least consider-"

"I said no!"

The crowd dispersed due to the high tension in the air.

"My father was killed in the Pokemon war, I don't battle."

Nina picked up her bike and with Ledyba at her side, she finished her shopping in silence.