Me: Next chappie! Sorry about forgetting to name the guy. I will now, though! Again, sorry about being so long. My lap top that I use for writing stories has like 30 viruses on it. I'm not gonna be able to use it from now on. Well, anyway, without further ado, I give you…

Kendal: CHAPTER 7!!!!!!!!

Me: What the he-eck are you doing here? We left you in chapter three! Now get!

Kendal: Yes, Ma'am. *mutters* bossy little story writer…

Me: I HEARD THAT!!!!!!

Kendal: *runs*

Me: *chases*

Mac: *shakes head* sorry 'bout that. *yelling in the distance, a loud bang, then a scream* Just, go on to the chapter. Sorry to have bothered you…

The boy watched Mac curiously through strands of silver hair. She nervously handed his Pokémon over to Nurse Joy, hiding behind her blond hair. Her blue eyes met his brown ones, and he looked down, embarrassed.

"I never introduced myself." She said. He looked up at her. "I'm Mac."

"Damian, but I go Dusty." Mac nodded at Dusty and gave him a hesitant smile.

"Nice to meet you." The two sat down in the Poké Center to wait for Dusty's Pokémon to heal. They started a simple conversation that focused on hometowns.

"I lived just outside of Solaceon Town on a small farm raising Pokémon. I had three siblings: two younger brothers and a younger sister. My parents worked hard, but we needed money to support us. While my brothers were too young to begin working for them and me being the oldest, they offered me a job to work for them. They said I'd be paid handsomely." Dusty explained. Mac sat quietly and listened. He looked down at his off world attire. "I really hate this creepy suit. Do you mind waiting for my Pokémon while I go buy some new clothes?" Mac smiled warmly and nodded. She could handle being alone; she was always alone.

Dusty stood and made his way out of the Poké Center. He turned to wave at her and then was gone. Several minutes went by and Nurse Joy called her up to her desk.

"Your friend's Pokémon are restored to full health." Mac took the Pokémon from her. "Have a good day!" Mac nodded and returned to her seat. Not too long after, Dusty rushed in. His unflattering silver and blue spacesuit had been replaced with baggy jeans and a tight white t-shirt showing a toned chest. Out of the unusual attire, Dusty looked much older than he did before.

"Um, Dusty?" he looked down at her (He towered several inches above the petite blond). "How old are you?"

"Sixteen." Mac nodded and averted her eyes to hide the blush on her cheeks.

"Oh." Silence filled the area. "I'm fourteen." He nodded and kept his eyes trained on her.

"Hey, Mac, what are you going to do now?" Mac shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm supposed to capture some legendary Pokémon to save my best friend, but I don't think me and my Pokémon can do it alone anymore. I mean, judging by how hard it is to find info or even tangible evidence of where it could possibly be. "

"Let me come with you." Mac looked at him and he smiled. "Let me get stronger Pokémon though. I have this Zubat so that Team Galactic wouldn't want the ones I already have." Mac tilted her head to the side, but nodded. When he returned from the PC, he was carrying three more pokéballs. He released a Houndoom, Glaceon, and Feraligatr.

"This is Flames, Glacier, and Cobalt." He motioned towards his Pokémon. The Houndoom, Flames, approached her and set his head on her knees. She stared at the large, dog-like, dark/fire Pokémon in fright. Dusty chuckled. "I guess he likes you."

"Um, I seem to uh, a-attract dark or g-ghost type Pokémon." Dusty sat next to her and patted the Pokémon's dark head.

"I see. I think that's," he struggled to find the right word, "cute." He settled with. Mac's face heated up and she averted her eyes again to keep him from noticing.

"Um, t-thanks." She stuttered. Silence befell the duo and Misdreavus appeared out of his pokéball due to his trainer's nervousness and embarrassment. He shrieked and landed on Mac's head. She stroked his head and stood up.

"We should probably start heading towards the next town. We might find someone who can help us find out more about this 'Darkrai'." Mac said slinging on her pack. She'd already explained the situation to Dusty.

"Are you sure you want me traveling with you?" he asked staring at the floor. "I mean, I did attack you and I'm a former Team Galactic Grunt." Mac smiled at him.

"You have goodness in your heart. I can feel the aura around you. You love your family and love Pokémon. I can trust you." She turned and headed out the door. "Besides, it would be nice for a strong man to protect me along the way." She returned Misdreavus to his pokéball and let out Duskull. A low, affectionate rumble sounded from his throat when he saw Mac, but he immediately went off to cause mischief among Dusty's Pokémon. Mac shook her head. "That Duskull…" her pokéteck beeped indicating someone was trying to reach her. The blond Wendy and red head Mandy's faces appeared on the screen.

"Have you rescued him yet?" Wendy asked worriedly. Mac shook her head.

"No, I'm still working on it. Any new info?"

"Apparently it's impossible to catch. You're on a fools' chase. No pokéball can contain it and it's seldom seen outside a dream." Mac gritted her teeth and nodded.

"Okay. I won't give up though. I need to save him. I need him." She blinked back tears and closed off the screen. Dusty listened quietly to the brief exchange and grabbed her wrist. He gently tugged her along to the path that lead to Eterna Forest, then Eterna City. She stared at him in curiosity.

"Where are we going?" She asked. His warm brown eyes met her sparkling blue ones, fresh with new tears.

"Forward. If we're going to find Darkrai, we need to keep working towards that goal. Going forward is the only way to save your friend." Mac smiled at his words and wiped away the tears being affected by gravity.

"Thanks, Dusty."

The two companions made their way through the rocky path and stopped at the shore of a small pond. They sat down to eat lunch when Mac noticed a girl being carried over to them on a large blue Pokémon: a Gyarados. Mac almost instantly recognized the short brown hair, bobbed at the edges, milky brown eyes, frayed denim shorts, and Gyarados themes t-shirt.

Mac inhaled sharply and yelled in surprise, "Kendal!?" the girl smiled and waved.

"Howdy!" she flashed Mac and Dusty a toothy grin. "What ya'll been up to? I was lookin' fer ya. Think I gotta lead on this 'Darkrai' character."