Hello everyone! Thank you very much for the reviews, favorites, alerts and such. Here is now my chapter, added once again.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Scizor X own Pokemon.

(First Person POV – Lyra)

I stared up at Silver with faint annoyance. Mostly the annoyance came from falling on my bum and the dull throbbing that came as an after effect of doing so. He sneered down at me.

"You got a Pokémon from the Lab. What a waste," He scoffed.

My annoyance seemed to booster but I immediately scolded myself. It would do no good to get annoyed at him. If anything it would probably satisfy him to some extent. And at the moment I didn't really want to put up with his satisfactory. Especially since it was his fault I was on the ground and he was not.

Okay, so maybe it was partially my fault as well, but I wasn't admitting that so easily.

A scowl crossed my features briefly before Cyndaquil chirped in my arms, a worrying tone in his voice.

My scowl dissolved as quickly as it came and I smiled warmly at him.

"I'm fine," I assured him, slowly standing up. Hilbert moved slightly, as if he was ready to help me up but I was already on my feet.

"That Pokémon is clearly too good for a weakling like you," Silver continued after a pause.

I merely looked up at him, blinking slightly as if only realizing he was there. His scoff morphed into a withering glare but I paid it no heed. Instead I cocked my head to the side and held Cyndaquil tightly against me.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying?" Silver demanded.

I only smiled at him cheekily and he bristled.

"Well, I have an even better Pokémon—I'll show you what I mean!" Silver growled, producing a single Pokéball from his pocket and holding it up.

Hilbert moved slightly, as if he was prepared to battle but I held up my hand.

"Allow me," I said.

Cyndaquil chirped in agreement and I tossed him up into the air. Cyndaquil rolled slightly before landing on all four of his paws and bristling with fire. Fire shot up from his back side and his nostrils flared in anticipation for battle. Silver scoffed.

Silver tossed his Pokéball into the air and white light erupted from it. Slowly the light descended to the ground, taking the form of a familiar Totodile.

"Cyndaquil, use Leer!" I commanded.

Cyndaquil's face darkened and his eyes narrowed in own Totodile. By the nature of the move, Totodile instinctively shivered as his defenses dropped.

"Use Leer also!" Silver shouted.

The action was mimicked by Totodile and Cyndaquil shuddered.

"Tackle," I said. Cyndaquil chirped and rushed forward, his tiny paws digging into the ground before lurching into the air and slamming against Totodile. Totodile staggered back.

"Scratch," Silver commanded.

Totodile raised a sharp claw before scathing across Cyndaquil's face.

"Tackle again," I said.

"Leer!"

Cyndaquil shuddered from the Leer and Totodile winced, breathing heavily from the tackle. I almost smirked in triumph, but restrained myself.

"Hmph," Silver grumbled. "You're doing alright for a weakling…"

"Finish it with one last Tackle," I said, choosing not to respond to his grumblings.

"Dodge it!"

But the dodge was useless and for the last time Cyndaquil slammed into Totodile. Totodile staggered back before his eyes rolled up to his head and he fell on his back.

Silver glared disdainfully at his Pokémon, returning it. His glare swung towards me and his disdain seemed to double.

"Don't look so cocky," Silver warned me. I only cocked my head, smiling happily as Cyndaquil jumped up into my arms. "I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer."

And without another word he stormed away from me. I tilted my head again and Hilbert moved forward, holding up a single card. Wordlessly he handed it to me and I eyed it carefully. It was Silver's Trainer Card.

"You dropped this." I said, holding it out to him.

Silver paused and looked back over his shoulder, his eyes falling on the card. They widened minutely before his hands flew to his pockets. Finding the card no longer there, he marched over and yanked it out of my hands. "Give it back!"

Then once more, he hurried away.

Hilbert and I exchanged one last look before shrugging and continuing our sprint back to ho—I mean town.

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

After reentering ho—I mean the town—we ducked into the Lab, finding a single police officer discussing something with Professor Elm. At our arrival, they both looked up from the conversation.

I headed towards them, Hilbert trailing quietly behind me.

"Who are you?" the officer asked at once. "We are investigating the case of the missing Pokémon here… Rule number one! 'Whoever did it will come back to the site.' Oh my… so you must be… the one who did it?"

I gaped at his sheer stupidity of the question and Hilbert bristled in my defense beside me.

"She has nothing to do with it—we have nothing to do with it," Hilbert said firmly, shooting the officer a glare. "On our way here, there was this red-haired boy—"

"He had a Totodile," I interjected. "I battled him at Cherrygrove City. I'm sure you could find some witnesses for the battle."

"Did you happen to get his name?" the officer asked me.

For whatever reason I hesitated a moment. "Silver. His name is Silver."

"I see! Thanks for helping my investigation," he said happily. "My next assignment is to search for this red-haired individual."

And with those words, the officer left the Lab, a determined step in his long stride.

Hilbert and I looked up to see Professor Elm still looking positively horrible. "Lyra, Hilbert, this is terrible…" He shook his head, seeming to clear his thoughts before his face took on a more quizzical shade to it. "Oh… yes, what was Mr. Pokémon's big discovery?"

"Oh," I said dumbly before twisting my body slightly to rummage through my bag. I pulled out the egg and handed it to the professor.

"Huh?" Professor Elm blinked, dumbfounded. "This is… an Egg, isn't it? This Egg may be something I've never seen… still it's just an Egg. Mr. Pokémon is always fascinated by Eggs… Well, since he gave it to us, we might as well find out what secret it holds. I'll keep it for a while to find out about the Egg."

"Oh," Hilbert said softly. "Professor… Oak, he gave us these before we left."

Hilbert held up his blue Pokédex.

Elm gaped at the device. "Both of you?! The Professor Oak gave you Pokédexes?! That's incredible! He's superb at seeing the potential of people as Trainers. Wow, I always knew you two were a little different. Things are going to be fun! In fact… your Pokémon seem to really like you. Why don't you two take the Pokémon Gym challenge? Violet City has a gym of its very own, you can start there."

I stared at him, my eyes widening in minute shock. "Keep… you mean I can keep Cynda… I mean… Pyros?"

Cyndaquil—now nicknamed Pyros—looked up at me and chirped happily at his nickname.

"And I can keep… Leafy?" Hilbert asked anxiously.

"Yes, yes of course," Elm said. "But keep in mind both of you… Challenging Gyms scattered around will be a long journey. Lyra, before you leave better to tell your mom."

"Ah, right… Come on Pyros," I said. "Hilbert… I'll meet you at Cherrygrove City, outside the Pokécenter."

Hilbert nodded in affirmation, smiling slightly at Leafy. Leafy seemed to smile happily back at him and the duo left rather quickly.

I scooped up Pyros in my arms, and he didn't even bother to struggle. I headed back hom—to that woman's house.

Damn it. I was not considering this place to be my home.

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

"So… can I go?"

Mo—that woman—looked up at me with such a thoughtful and loving expression I almost leaped across the table to hug her. But she was not my mom. I didn't have a mom. I had Grandpa.

She was not my mom.

Her expression turned to an almost melancholy one and her smile seemed a little less happy, yet it still held that twinge of joy in it. "It will be a long and difficult journey, dear. But I know I can trust you. You're responsible, and you'll have Hilbert with you, won't you dear?"

"Yeah M… Mom," I managed.

She nodded carefully, her eyes taking on a brighter light. "My baby girl… already off on her own journey…"

Unable to help myself I gave a ghastly groan of embarrassment. "Mom!"

She laughed. A pretty sound. I liked it.

No. No. What was I saying? I couldn't like it. I wasn't supposed to stay here!

I gave a small smile. Pyros shifted slightly in my lap.

"Alright, dear," Mo—the woman said. "I'll help too. In whatever way I can. Why don't I save half of the money you earn?"

"How would you do that?" I asked incredulously.

Mom—that woman!—laughed. "Silly dear, don't you already know this? Every time a trainer wins a battle, they win money. The money is transferred through digital currency and every time you lose a battle, your currency drops. Every time you win, whoever lost against you has their money transferred into your account."

She motioned to my Pokégear. "It's one of the wonders of the Pokégear—it helps keep track of all the money you've earned. I can save it, by setting it so that way half of the money you make is sent to my Pokégear where it'll be safe."

"How do I buy stuff then, if it's all digitized?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

"ATMs can transfer whatever money you have digitized into cash," Mom explained. "Silly child, didn't you know that?"

"Uh… yeah. Sure. I uh, um… yes. Please save half of my money."

Mom smiled and I wordlessly handed over my Pokégear.

She typed in a few commands before handing it back to me.

"Alright dear," Mom said. "Take care of yourself and remember—don't hesitate to call."

"I won't… Mom."

She smiled at me warmly, moving around the table to place a kiss on my forehead.

I blinked up at her, my cheeks warming.

Grandpa never kissed me like that.

I liked her.

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

"The first gym is a flying type," I said to Hilbert as we walked side by side. Pyros was in my arms, seeming to be extremely content with himself.

Hilbert walked beside me, his Leafy seeming to bounce right next to him with sheer happiness.

"Then we should probably capture more Pokémon," Hilbert said quietly.

"Probably," I agreed. "I think I know the one I want. Tell you what, why don't we split up and search for our new Pokémon? We have Pokéballs that the lab researcher gave us—five each—so we should be fine. We can meet up in Violet City in… two hours? Just in time for lunch. We'll eat then head off to Sprout Tower to train."

"That sounds reasonable," Hilbert affirmed. "Alright… Good luck, Lyra."

"You too Hilbert."

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

It only took ten minutes for me to find what I was looking for.

There, grazing along contently was a Mareep.

I smiled down at Pyros and he seemed to smile back at me.

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

(Third Person POV – Hilbert)

Hilbert moved quietly through the route, silently debating on which Pokémon he should be looking for. If he was a regular trainer, he would go for a Mareep that he knew were in the route—but Ampharos was one of Lyra's favorite Pokémon. It would seem like copying if he got the same one as her.

So he was facing a bit of a dilemma.

Leaf kept pace with him as he silently thought, perfectly content with everything around her.

That was, until, she sensed something a little off.

Frowning thoughtfully, she nudged her partner and pointed in the direction of what was off.

Hilbert mimicked her frown and followed her off the path into a more dense section of the forest. At the end of the path, he did a double take on what he saw.

A lone Teddiursa, holding a bundle of berries in its arms and running away from a very annoyed flock of Sparrows. The Teddiursa gave a cry of horror as it tripped and the berries flew out of its grasp. The Sparrows cawed in victory, preparing to dive bomb towards the helpless Pokémon.

"Leafy," Hilbert said quietly, his face hardening into concentration.

Without another word, Leafy charged towards the flock of Sparrows.

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

(First Person POV – Lyra)

I smiled happily as Eternity (the new male Mareep I had caught) walked beside me. He was incredibly calm and very easy going about his capture, which made things a lot easier.

I headed into town, stopping at the Pokémon center to order Hilbert and I some food.

I sat down at the table and waited for him to arrive and when he did—my eyebrows shot up.

Scratches and bruises marred his skin, his hair was entirely messy and his clothes had multiple rips in them. But he was smiling and I noted that not only was Leafy walking beside him—so was a Teddiursa.

Upon seeing me, his smile widened and he made his way over, taking the food I handed out to him.

"What happened to you?" I asked incredulously.

His smile somehow stretched even further and he motioned to Teddiursa. "This is Guts. He likes berries."

I quirked an eyebrow, but did not press further.

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

"You showed us what you've got, and it is indeed good…" trailed off an elderly man.

Hilbert and I paused in our walking as we headed towards our final opponent. Beside him, his newly evolved Leafy, ducked her head.

My Pyros hadn't evolved yet, but I had a feeling one last battle and he would.

We found ourselves staring at the Elder, who appeared rather saddened as he stared at a familiar red head.

"However, you should care more about your Pokémon. The way you treat your Pokémon can be too harsh… Remember, Pokémon are not tools of war…" the elderly man trailed off again.

Silver turned away, scoffing quietly to himself. "Humph! He calls himself the Elder, but he was no match for me. Sure enough, those who lecture how you should be 'nice' to Pokémon… They cannot defeat me. All I care about are strong Pokémon that win every time. The rest of them don't mean anything to me."

And without further ado—or noticing us—Silver gripped an Escape Rope tightly before disappearing before our very eyes.

Hilbert and I exchanged curious looks but I stepped towards the Elder.

He smiled at me. "So good of you to come here! Sprout Tower is a place of training. People and Pokémon test their bonds to build a bright future together. I am the final test. Allow me to check the ties between you and your Pokémon."

I gave him a sunny grin and motioned for Pyros.

Pyros gave a chirp, stepping in front of me as the Elder released his own first Pokémon —a Bellsprout.

"Ember," I said.

Pyros's back glowed a bright red as fire flared from it, burning high and brightly. More fire began to build up in his mouth and he released them in the form of red dots, flying across the air.

The attack landed against Bellsprout and the Pokémon wobbled a bit before falling over, defeated.

The Elder only smiled serenely as he recalled his defeated Pokémon.

He released a Hoothoot, the bird Pokémon fluttering at the ground and hopping on its single leg.

"Ember," I said again.

Once more the attack hit the bird Pokémon, but did rather poor damage. When the Elder made no command of attack, I attacked again, "Quick Attack."

Pyros dug his paws into the ground and flung himself forward quickly. He slammed into the Hoothoot, knocking the thing over in the process.

"Peck," stated the Elder calmly.

Hoothoot twisted and its beak glowed a bright white before slamming itself repeatedly against Pyros.

"Ember," I said.

Pyros released a burst of Embers directly in the Hoothoot's face. It gave a cry of pain before stumbling away and falling over, defeated.

The Elder recalled his Hoothoot before releasing his final Pokémon.

The Bellsprout presented itself and Pyros didn't even need my verbal command.

Embers released from his mouth, burning the Pokémon and defeating it in the process.

As the Elder recalled his Pokémon, Pyros glowed a familiar bright white. My triumphant smile became positively beaming as he evolved. When the light cleared, he was no longer my adorable Cyndaquil, but a maturing Quilava, smirking back at me.

"Excellent," the Elder beamed with me.

Pyros's flames at his back end and top of his head, flared brightly.

"The way you two battle… is quite elegant," he complimented. "You should do well against Falkner. And you should be able to make good use of this…"

He handed me a small, flat disk—a TM. I eyed it curiously before depositing it in my bag.

I beamed at him and at Pyros. Hilbert soon joined me, he and Leafy smiling.

"Now all that's left is the actual gym," I hummed.

Viola.

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