Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback! I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. School got a hold of me and college is very...yeah. At least I have this to write! For fun and stuff. Anyway, I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying this, and your responses mean more than y'all could ever know haha. Anyway, here's the latest chapter! I hope that y'all like this one!

Spotlight
Chapter Eight: Bumbling, Bubbling, Babbling

I looked at the Pokeball in my hands, eyes surveying it curiously as if I could tell what Pokemon I had caught just by staring at its surface.

Zeke barked at me, and I turned my eyes toward him. He was staring pointedly at me, and I finally realized that all the Buizel from before had converged around me, glaring in a manner that suggested that I was not welcome. "Er, right. I'm leaving!" I told them, fearing another attack like what had happened with the Heracross and Scyther in the meadow.

Luckily, one that seemed to be the leader of the group nodded and I was able to wade to shore without any harassment on their part.

Zeke had loped around the side of the pond and met me at our starting point. He shook the remainders of any water out of his fur and then looked up at me expectantly. "Dour," he said, looking at the Pokeball in my hands. I supposed that meant he wanted me to unleash whatever Pokemon this was. I let out a breath, knowing that I should get on with it, but I was slightly nervous. The bright side? It could be a Buizel. The not-so-bright side? Could be a Magikarp.

I gulped, feeling my heartbeat start to accelerate, and then inhaled. "Alright, let's see what you are."

I tossed the ball gently in front of me. There was a crack, a flash of light, and the Pokemon materialized in front of me.

I stared at the Pokemon in shock. My mouth wide open, eyes feeling enormous in my head. Neither Buizel nor Magikarp - the rounded belly, the webbed feet, the large bill, yellow coloring, and beady eyes proved that. Its clawed hands clasped at its large head and it spoke.

"Psy? Psy, ay, ay?"

A Psyduck.

"Oh...oh my..."

"Dour! Dour, dour, dour, houn!" Zeke was cackling wickedly, and I witnessed something wholly unexpected. He was rolling in the tall grass, laughing unabashedly at our new teammate.

That was when the Psyduck sauntered over, waggling its body as it walked, and then kicked Zeke with a webbed foot.

Zeke snapped out of his glee and then shot up, glaring at the Psyduck before heaving his body in the direction of the duck Pokemon.

"No, Zeke, stop!"

"Hound!"

"Psy!"

"We can't attack our teammates!"

"Dour, hou!" I took it that translated into "Tell that to the psychotic Psyduck."

"Listen...er...Psyduck," I had to think of a name soon, "you're on this team now, and you can't attack Zeke." I shoved my thumb in the direction of my starter.

"Duck, psy." It nodded in something that I thought was an agreement, and I placed my hand on its head, patting it somewhat awkwardly.

"And Zeke, please don't laugh at your teammate either."

"Dour," he spat reluctantly.

I let out a large sigh and sank down on the grass. I seemed exhausted all of a sudden. I reached in my bag and pulled out my Pokedex and aimed it in the direction of my new Psyduck.

The Psyduck was a steady level seven, knowing the attacks Scratch, Tail Whip, and Water Gun, and was a male. The Pokedex spoke up and gave me a briefing on the nature of Psyduck in general as its information was added to the Pokedex. I scrolled through the entries, shocked to see that I was able to pull up pictures of Steelix, Graveller, Golem, and the rest of Jared's team, along with various other random Pokemon I had seen. Odd. I hadn't even taken out the Pokedex since I met Jared.

The Psyduck was nipping at some tall, wet grass along the edge of the pond, "So...what to name you?"

"Duck?" the Psyduck quacked, looking at me with his ping-pong like eyes.

"Dour, dour," I heard Zeke laugh.

"Don't laugh at him, Zeke!" I told him, gently tapping my finger on the side of his muzzle. He snapped at my fingers and I pulled back just in time. Close one.

"Psy, psy," the Psyduck said to Zeke. The Houndour got up and barked like a true dog before turning around and facing his back to the water-type.

I rolled my eyes at the both of them, tapping a finger to my chin as I did so. "Name, name, name. What's a name!"

"Dour," Zeke spat in a sarcastic tone.

"I know the definition of a name," I told him, even though I wasn't sure what he had just said, "but I just need one for our new teammate."

The Psyduck waddled slightly over to us before tripping over his own feet.

Laughing at the little water Pokemon, I leaned forward and propped my head up on my knees as I watched the Psyduck rise and clutch his head and croak out a mangled, "Psy, ay."

"Hugo?"

The Psyduck sprayed me with a Water Gun. Okay, he did not like that name.

Zeke cackled at me.

I tried this approach for a while, just randomly naming names and getting sprayed with a Water Gun each time. Apparently, the little guy didn't like any of the names I suggested. I was about to just say to hell with it and name him Fiona just for laughs when he stopped and grinned - if a Psyduck can actually grin - when I suggested the name Ozzy.

"Ozzy?" I said, incredulous. "You like Ozzy?"

"Psy!" he exclaimed, his beady little eyes gleaming.

"O-Okay," I stuttered, not exactly sure what was going through the Psyduck's brain, but at least it was a name. And one I picked, after all. I smiled at him, soaking wet and dripping with cold water, "Ozzy it is, then."

"Duck, duck!"

It was beginning to get dark. Funny how time flies by when you're getting attacked by your Pokemon. I stood up, shivering a bit, and said, "Alright, then. On to the Pokemon Center!"

So we marched. All the trainers that had been out when I had passed before had started to make camp and feed their Pokemon, so I could tell they didn't want to battle. Maybe tomorrow, then. I felt extremely confident now that I had another Pokemon, even though it wasn't one I had planned on catching. But hey, beggars can't be choosers, and the Psyduck was really growing on me, to be frank.

We turned the corner to the Pokemon Center and saw that it was full up with trainers. I returned my Pokemon and moved to stand in line. Lovely. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as I shifted from foot to foot. Finally, I was able to place my Pokemon with the local Nurse Joy, and take a seat. I groaned as I sat in the chair. I hadn't realized I was so tired until then, sitting in the chairs of rigid plastic that were less comfortable than the mushy grass beside the pond. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, waiting for my Pokemon to be healed so I could -

Could what?

Find a room to stay in...wait, hadn't Jared said we'd be rooming together again? Okay, I could deal with that. Company wasn't so bad.

"Miss?"

I blearily opened my eyes and saw that Nurse Joy was nudging me, "Your Pokemon are ready."

I jolted and took the Pokeballs in my hands, "Thanks..."

"Uh, you have a reed on your shoulder."

I looked to the aforementioned shoulder and groaned. Had I been sitting there the whole time with some piece of grass stuck to me? I rid myself of it and tossed it back outside so the Nurse Joy wouldn't have my head for dirtying her Center.

"And here's the key to your room," she said, handing me a key attached to a circular red keychain with the number 24 stamped on it in white. "Your friend is up there now."

I supposed she remembered me from this morning, so I didn't think too much into the whole situation. I took the key from her hands and nodded my thanks before mounting the stairs to the trainers' quarters. I walked down the hall of various rooms until I came upon room 24, the door of which was cracked slightly. I creaked open the door, not knowing what to expect, when a happy Camerupt licked my arm from hand to shoulder. I shuddered but then grinned, "Hello to you, too, Mitchell."

"Rupt," he said happily.

I reached down and scratched his ears, grinning.

"Corrine!"

I jumped at the loud, harsh voice. It was familiar, though, and I replied, "Jared?"

He peered down at me from the uppermost bunk, Theo in his lap, Nelly seated on the bedpost near his feet. "The one and only."

"Catch anything...interesting?" Theo said, and somehow I figured he was already privy to my unorthodox day.

"You're soaked!" Jared ignored him, taking in my appearance. "And you have a reed in your hair."

"More?" I exclaimed, scrambling over my head with searching hands before pulling out a rather large sized reed. Growling, I marched over to the bathroom, "I'm taking a shower." And I shut the door with much more force than necessary just as Jared started to laugh.

The shower was much needed. The hot, steaming water melted away all of the coldness that my body had accumulated during the day. Between the strangely chilly night and Ozzy's equally cold onslaught of Water Gun, it was a wonder that I didn't have a cold. I didn't want to jinx myself, so I pushed that from my mind and continued to enjoy my shower. More and more reeds came off of me during it, and I grit my teeth. I probably looked like a Tangrowth, walking around like that.

I most likely stayed in there past my welcome, because next thing I knew was that Jared was knocking on the door. I dressed hastily into my pajamas and hung the towel around my neck before opening the door, "Sorry."

"Thought you'd drowned," he said, a bright grin breaking over his face. "It's been an hour."

I felt myself flush, "Oh, I'm sorry... Really, I am. I usually don't take this long - "

"It's fine." He waved me off, "There's no problem. You looked like a Carnivine when you came back."

"Carnivine?" Although I was familiar with most types of Pokemon, this one escaped me.

He smiled at me, a twinkle in his bright green eyes, "Oh, well, you'll find out what one is soon enough."

Was it just me, or did he look plain evil when he said that?

"Do you enjoy causing me pain?" I asked him, stomping out of the bathroom, dragging my backpack along with me to the bottom bunk.

"Carnivine do."

"Jared!"

"Poor girl," the Abra said.

I sent a glare in the direction of Theo, who lifted his clawed hands in a shrug. A smile formed on my face before I could stop it, and I plopped myself down on my bed. It was larger in width than the top bunk, so that when I sat down, anyone on the above bunk could easily peer down at me. I stared up at Theo, who was looking anxiously down at me.

"What did you catch?" Jared bounded over. I supposed he had already showered, since his hair looked cleaner than it had when I had first met him, and he was dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt that hung off him as if it were meant for a much larger person. He still had that layer of scruff around his face, though.

"Er," I started, moving over to push my dirty clothes in the bag. I removed the belt with all the Pokeballs I owned attached to it, and held it out in front of my face. "I guess this room isn't Steelix friendly?"

It was Jared's turn to color, "No..." he said, but then shook his head. "What did you catch, Corrine?"

I pursed my lips before catching a ball between my fingers, maximizing it, and throwing it in the space between us. Zeke appeared out of the flash of light, looking as ill-tempered and dark as usual. His bandages looked gross and I realized I needed to change them soon. Like now. "C'mere, Zeke. Let's get you out of those bandages."

Zeke didn't argue. He looked downright relieved when he tromped over to me and I cut off the bandages with a pair of scissors I had brought with me. I applied some of the ointment to the Combee sting, which looked a lot better in comparison to before. The swelling had gone down. I was just wrapping some fresh white bandages around his shoulder when Jared spoke again.

"Yes, we know you have a Houndour, obviously," he said, a light and teasing tone to his voice. "But show us what you caught... You did catch something, didn't you?"

Zeke turned his head toward Jared and started to snicker.

"Zeke! I told you not to laugh at Ozzy!"

"Ozzy?" Jared looked highly amused at my new Pokemon's name. "So you did catch something." Before I could answer, he added, "Then let's see it!"

Sighing, I watched as Zeke moved to sit by the desk and chair that sat adjacent to the bunk bed. He also looked very amused. Too amused, to be honest.

"Fine, fine!" I said through clenched teeth. I didn't know why I was so nervous at introducing a new member of my team. I should be proud. But with all of his strong, unbeatable Pokemon, I was sure Jared would outright laugh at me when he saw what Ozzy was. And Ozzy was important to me. He was on my team and I didn't want people laughing at him.

I unhooked Ozzy's Pokeball from the belt in my hand, mindset renewed, and tossed the Pokeball to the wood-planked floor in front of me with a determined stare. If Jared did happen to laugh at Ozzy, I'd totally kick him in the shin.

Ozzy emerged from the bright white light, looking confused for a moment before clenching his head. "Psy?"

"This is Ozzy."

"Psy, duck!"

To my bewilderment, Jared didn't laugh. He didn't look like he was going to at all, actually. He just smiled gently at the Pokemon - a non-critical smile that was completely kind and interested. "A Psyduck, huh? Cool choice." He kneeled down and placed his hand on Ozzy's head.

"Well," I began, "it wasn't really my choice."

I then began the story of how I caught Ozzy, bringing in all of the details about the pack of Buizel and the paranoia of thinking I'd caught something completely terrible for my first Gym challenge.

"Yes, a Magikarp certainly wouldn't have suited that well, now, would it?"

I smiled at him, "Nah."

Jared returned the gesture, "All Pokemon are useful, Corrine. You just gotta learn how they are useful."

"Even Magikarp?"

His lips twitched at the side, fighting a full blown grin, and he placed his hand on top of my head, "Especially Magikarp."

I found myself laughing at the intonation he used when he gave that comment. It was nice, I supposed, having friends around. Or a friend. Singular. I knew it couldn't last, though. Jared had to go his own way and I had to go mine. Just thinking about it was slightly harder than I imagined beforehand.

"You look tired," he said, gazing at me thoughtfully.

"Mm," I mumbled, not wanting to admit that I really was.

Jared smiled, though, as if he knew what I was thinking. "Then let's get some shut eye." He walked over to the small ladder that led up to the top bunk and swung himself into the bed above me. There was a brief moment of silence before he peered down at me and my team, "Sorry. Did you want the top bunk?"

I laughed, "No. It's fine."

"Okay," he smiled disarmingly. "I just thought, with your luck, you'd end up falling off in the middle of the night."

Zeke snickered. Ozzy quacked. I scowled.

"Good night, Corrine," he said in a sing-song voice.

I groaned and moved across the room to turn off the light. "Good night, Jared."

I heard him chuckle and stir in the bed, and I found my way back to my own bed with little problems. However, once I settled into the sheets, I found that Ozzy had taken up half the bed. This was new. I was so used to Zeke avoiding me like the plague when we slept that I had rarely a chance to get used to a new bed buddy.

"Duck, duck."

"Okay, you can sleep here. Move over, please?"

Ozzy obliged, scooting over and giving me just enough room that was manageable. I settled into the covers and found that Zeke was no where to be found. This hurt a bit more than I thought it would, so I called out, "Zeke?"

"Dour."

"You can sleep up here, if you want."

I looked down at the floor beside the bed to see two gleaming eyes staring up at me, reflected by the light of the moon in the window. He shook his head lightly, still strangely wary of me. Again, this was a blow. I wanted my Pokemon to trust me, but I decided to go along with his quirks. And if he didn't want to sleep in the same bed as the trainer that was likely to roll over on him in his sleep, then okay. Seemed a valid concern.

But Zeke did lay just by the head of the bed, close to where I was facing. Close enough to let me stroke his ears a bit until I fell asleep.

One step at a time, was the last thought I had before I lost consciousness.

End Chapter Eight.