Chapter 5

Pewter city

Author's note: thanks for reading I hope you liked it. What did you think about who the father is? Please R&R.

Pewter city was larger than my home town. There were more people and in general it was just larger. I walked side by side with Lance. The town was in general larger and I saw a gym.

"There are sure a lot of people." I commented to Lance. He looked at me and asked.

"You haven't been out of your hometown much have you?" I shook my head and looked around. "Pewter city has a historical museum with fossils of ancient Pokémon it attracts a lot of tourists including some scientists trying to learn more from the cave nearby where they gather the many rare fossils." I nodded in understanding and looked around. We can go to the museum if you like but first I think we should drop by the Pokémon center heal everyone up and have some dinner." At that moment I realized just how hungry I was and I thought. Dinner? Is it that late already? I thought over the events of the past day and realized exactly how much had happened. I looked at the gym and Lance said. "If you like you can give it a try latter. This is the Pewter city gym the first step on a Pokémon journey the type is rock and the gym leader is Brock."

"Brock!" I said surprised.

"Yea you heard of him?"

"I met him. He was traveling with my um…brother." Lance nodded thinking he understood but I knew he didn't know anything about my parents' divorce or about my long lost Pokémon obsessed brother or my short tempered sister.

"Well we can check it out later sometimes as you know gym leaders need to take breaks. Waiting in a building for a battle all day can be tiring. I know. Not many people get past the elite four to battle me so I can normally escape unnoticed." I nodded and continued towards the Pokémon center with him. I could see through the sliding glass door inside was a nurse behind a counter dresses in white she had bright pink hair peeking out from under her nurses cap. The door slid open and Lance called to her.

"Hello Nurse Joy."

"You know her?" I whispered to him. Lance laughed and said.

"Not really no but each town has a Pokémon center and each Pokémon center has a Nurse joy. They are all sisters and they all look exactly alike that's why she looks so much like the one in your town. Of course I traveled through here and at one point must have come in for healing but no I don't know her personally." That was a mind blower. And I thought my family had a lot of things to worry about I tried to imagine 23 nurse joy toddlers running around the house at the age of terrible two. I pity their parents. I thought with a sweat drop. "While I am at it I better point out it's the same situation with the Officer Jenny's one for each town all exactly alike." Again I pity a family.

"Well at least you don't have to remember a bunch of names." I said Lance laughed at my lame joke and I smiled feeling better than I had in a long time. We handed our poke balls to nurse joy and sat down on the nearby two seat sofa to wait. I rested by head on his shoulder and felt safe. I could tell this was new to him too. He almost didn't know how to act. From how he was always moving, fighting, and acting I got a feeling that he had been alone most of his life. He seemed powerful and his presence even seemed powerful full of authority. He was a lone wolf. I thought to myself. Powerful and proud yet he can be kind and protective. I stopped myself before I got to my next thought and I raised my head sitting straight up slightly embarrassed of what I was about to think.

"Something wrong?" he asked me I was sitting stiffly my face burning.

"Nope nothing wrong, who me? No nothing. Everything is fine absolutely fine." I rambled he looked at me suspiciously and said.

"Are you sure you're ok? You seem a little… stiff."

"Um…" I started to procrastinate.

"Lance and Claire your Pokémon are all healed and ready for withdrawal." Saved by the bell. We stood and thanked the nurse as we retrieved our Pokémon I released all of mine to let them walk with us but Lance did not.

"Aren't you gonna send out your Pokémon?" I asked he shook his head.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"My Pokémon are pretty rare and fairly signature I fear that if I revealed them people would recognize me."

"Oh," I said wondering what kind of Pokémon he had. Evee and Vulpix were crisscrossing at our feet in a game of tag and ponyta galloped ahead of us then circled back to walk beside us for a moment only to dash off again, Pidgeotto was flying high above us enjoying the clean evening air. The sun had just begun to set and it sent colors across the sky painting it in pinks and oranges. As we walked towards the restaurant. Lance swore he had been there before and that it was nice. Finally it came into view a large building once inside I found it was mostly lit by candle light and dim electric lights. Pokémon walked around with a waiter/waitress and helped keep people interested in the restaurant. I returned all of my Pokémon not wanting them to get lost in the crowd. Once we found a table I looked at the menu and realized how expensive everything was.

"Lance I can't let you buy this." I said and I began to dig through my back pack for my money. My dad being gym leader and all means I get pretty good allowance. The thought of my dad brought me down, as I remembered why I was here, because I was going to bring him down, going to stop his evil plans. Lance put his hand on mine and I stopped digging through my bag to look at him. His eyes were hypnotizing and almost seemed to glow in the dim light.

"It's ok." He said and I nodded excepting it. We ordered cheeseburgers and coke and fries and everything was extremely good and then we ordered dessert, two pieces of rich chocolate cake it was amazing. After we finished we walked through the empty town towards the hotel by the only light available, moonlight. Lance pulled out even more money and paid for two hotel rooms without even a wink of unsettlement at the large amount.

"Good night." Lance told me as he walked into the room across the hall as I closed the door to mine. I heard his door close and I began to get ready for bed. The bed was soft and warm, a welcome change from the sleeping bags on the forest floor. I fell asleep peacefully only to be haunted by nightmares.

Meanwhile back at team Rocket:

Giovanni entered his home and closed the door behind him. It was uncharacteristically quiet.

"I'm home!" he called and he quickly heard a door slam and the patter of feet running towards him and Ruby came into view.

"DAD!" she exclaimed happily as she hugged him. He ruffled her hair with a smile and looked around everything was quite.

"Where's Claire?" he asked Ruby shrugged. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"She left the house saying something about becoming a Pokémon trainer." Ruby lied trying to protect her sister.

"And she didn't tell me?" Giovanni said a bit angry.

"Dad this is her way of telling you."

"Where did she go? Why did she suddenly decide to leave?" Ruby looked away. "You are hiding something where did she go?"

"…." Ruby refused to answer. But her father glared at her and she gave. "She went to find mum." And with those 5 words, the boss of team rocket was crushed.

"When did she leave?" He asked barely above a whisper, his tone notifying Ruby he didn't know how to feel.

"A few days ago. But she returned…with our brother." Giovanni's eyes widened before he regained his composure.

"Where is she now?" Ruby shrugged.

"The second time she didn't tell me just ran off said she would come back. Sounded to me like she fell in love with traveling." Giovanni believed it the reason he never wanted Claire to leave the town. She was to adventures she was like him. The idea of seeing the world what it has to offer would excite her beyond anything else. That's why he never let her out of town for fear she wouldn't want to come home. Isn't that every parent's nightmare? Their children leaving? I've already lost one of my children I fought to keep these two and now she is trying to leave? I have to have a strict talk when she gets back maybe I can have a underling go with and protect her. I can't worry about this right now. He thought. I have to track down Lance and his accomplice now or it will be too late. I wanted to see both my daughters smile again before I went on a trip but it looks like that will have to wait.