Chapter Three: Gone

Silence hung in the air thickly as both Marlene and Lottie stared at their mom with wide eyes, unable to move. Lottie had a look of complete befuddlement on her face but Marlene had a horrible feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Gone? Lily couldn't be gone. She must have just left on her journey, like she had talked about. But Marlene knew Lily, and Lily would never have gone anywhere without Adam. This thought itched at the back of her mind until she gained the courage to hesitantly ask, "Gone?"

"She's been taken," was the reply. And then Marlene was staring with growing horror, taking in only half of what her mom was saying. "Adam woke up Lily's mom… Police arrived… Only just found out myself… And they don't know how long –"

There was a sound of shattering glass as Lottie dropped her cup and both girls were snapped out of their dazedness. Then, without an explanation, Lottie darted out of the room leaving her piplup to stare after her. At first, Marlene thought she was going to shut herself in her room. That's what she normally did when she was upset. But then she heard the front door open and slam shut and Marlene immediately shot after her, Star and Jet rushing to keep up. Normally she would let her sister have a moment to herself in times like these but that was if she stayed in the house. With what they just heard, her sister could be going anywhere at the moment.

Lottie was halfway down the street when Marlene cleared the fence around their house. Trees flashed past in a green and brown haze as they trampled down the dirt road, the occasional neighbor stopping the process of watering their garden or taking a walk with their Pokemon to watch them fly by. They took three more turns before it was apparent to Marlene where Lottie was going. When they turned the corner to Lily's street, Marlene skidded to a halt in surprise, panting lightly and almost running into her sister who stopped just ahead of her. Star and Jet were not so lucky. They tumbled over each other in their attempt to stop and now they lay in a heap on the ground, Jet on top while Star sat with a disgruntled look on her face underneath him. She looked like she was going to protest at the way they were left behind when she got a look at both of the girls.

Marlene and Lottie were staring at the house in horror. Officers were swarming the place, police cars blocking the house from the street. A perimeter was being put up dividing the house from the rest of the neighborhood and Growlithes guarded the area while a couple sniffed around looking for clues. People from around the neighborhood were beginning to gather on the edges but the guard-Pokemon growled and stepped forward whenever they got too close.

There was only a couple second's pause before Lottie started forward again.

"Lottie, wait up! What are you even going to do?" Marlene asked, starting after her. There was a moment of scuffling among the Pokemon before they too were following.

Lottie continued to march forward determinedly with her hands clenched at her side saying, "I am going to see for myself what's going on. Lily can't really be gone, Marley. She just can't." She said the last part almost desperately but her stride never broke. She kept marching forward and Marlene was forced to follow or risk getting left behind. She couldn't deny that she needed to know what was going on too.

Reaching the perimeter, Lottie took a step into it and was confronted with a barking Growlithe at once, it's black and orange stripped fur standing on end. She stepped back and the Growlithe stopped but still stood staring at her as if daring her to come back. Lottie looked around for a moment and then, apparently finding what she was looking for, started walking along the perimeter, scooping up Jet as she went. She walked, bending down to whisper in Jet's ear for a moment, until she came to an officer standing guard and stood there, the guard choosing to ignore her, until she cleared her throat loudly. He turned to her slowly with a questioning eye.

"May I help you Ma'am?"

"Yes, you may actually." Lottie replied sweetly, batting her eyelashes and trying to look innocent. Jet widened his eyes too and stared at the officer in what could only be classified as admiration. They looked like they were in awe of the man in front of them. Which is probably what they're aiming for Marlene thought to herself. Star gave a little scoff as if she didn't think it would work but she said nothing, opting to sit half hidden behind Marlene. The officer's only response was to quirk an eyebrow at her before Lottie continued.

"You see, my best friend lives here. And I was wondering if you could take me to the house? I need to know what is going on and I didn't think the Growlithes would let me through without permission from an important officer like yourself. Someone who is in control of the situation, you know?" She said this all with a light tone but Marlene thought she was laying it on just a bit thick.

Obviously he thought the same because although his eyes lingered on them (particularly Jet whose eyes resembled dinner plates and shown with an inner sparkle - if Marlene didn't know any better, she'd say he was using a Baby-Doll Eyes attack even though he didn't know how to) he replied with, "Flattery will get you nowhere Ma'am," and turned back towards the front, trying to block her out.

Marlene, seeing Lottie's expression flash to an expression of shock at being turned down so easily, decided it was time to say something herself. "Sir, can you at least tell us what's going on? She really is one of our best friends and we're worried about her."

"I'm sorry, that's classified information," was the stern reply.

"You can't tell us anything about what happened? Not at all?"

"That's classified."

"Can you tell us who is in charge here?"

"Classified."

Now he was just wasting their time and once that became apparent to Marlene, she swiveled around and stalked off, Lottie following her. They were halfway down the road when Marlene stopped and turned to Lottie who was just setting Jet down. Both Star and him sat back and stared up at their trainers with looks that said, "What now?"

They both sat staring at each other in silence before Lottie finally exploded. "We have to come up with something, Marley!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air as she spoke. She gestured wildly to the house and continued saying, "We can't just sit here and wait. We need to get in there!"

"I know Lottie, trust me!" Marlene replied, her body going stiff and her hands coming up to rest on her hips. They stared at each other in growing annoyance. She wanted to know what was going on just as much as her sister did and Lottie didn't seem to realize that. Lily was her friend too and to even think that she was really gone without proof...

"I want to get in there just as much as you do," Marlene finally continued, body slumping forward, her eyes falling to the ground. Her voice was quiet as she said,"I hate to think of Mrs. Roberts in there alone… Lily was all she had other than her Pokemon. She needs us now. But really, we need to come up with a plan to get in there. We can't just wait around all day for a chance to run in."

"Mrs. Roberts… If we could just… But that would mean…" Lottie was mumbling under her breath now, so quietly that Marlene couldn't hear everything she was saying. Then, her head popped up, eyes alight and an evil grin on her face. Before Marlene could ask what her sister was planning, she swiveled around and started back towards the house. Marlene shared a questioning look with Jet and Star before starting after her, reaching a hand out to place it on her sisters shoulder but never connecting with it.

"Lottie?" she asked. "What are you –"

But without a response, Lottie picked up her pace to a light jog and before Marlene knew it, she was running full pelt towards the house. Jet immediately took off after her, trying and failing to keep up. He was left far behind crying, "Piplup! Piplup Pip!" as he tried desperately to keep up with his trainer who ignored his calls. Scooping her cyndaquil and the piplup up, she rushed after her sister shouting, "Lottie! Wait up! Stop!"

But Lottie did not stop, nor did she lighten her pace. If anything, she was now flying towards the house with resoluteness and suddenly, Marlene saw what she was going to do.

She didn't even slow down as she hit the perimeter, taking a flying leap over the guard-Pokemon and running for the front door. Half a beat later had her struggling in the arms of one of the officers, a Growlithe barking like mad at her feet. She struggled, still trying to get to the front door and a second officer showed up trying to help the first.

"LET GO OF ME! I NEED TO SEE MRS. ROBERTS, LET GO!"

"Ma'am, you've got to calm down! This is a crime investigation, no civilians allowed!"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT THIS IS. LET GO OF ME!"

"Ma'am, please –"

"LET GO."

"Oomph."

It was about that time that Marlene arrived behind her. Jet was struggling in her grasp, giving sharp cries of, "Pip lup pip! Piplup!" while trying to escape and help his trainer but Marlene held onto him tightly as she opened her mouth and took a deep breath to shout over the mess in front of her.

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW."

All three of the struggling people froze. Lottie had one wrist in the grasp of the first officer who was reaching over her for her second hand which she had held over her head and out of reach. The second officer, a male, was currently lying on the ground, his tan uniform smudging with dirt and slight mud from the rain of the past week. Lottie's knee was still in the air from the kick she had given him and that leg pushed the first officer away as she balanced on one foot.

The shout hadn't come from Marlene though. A man was walking swiftly over to them, a Manectric at his heels. His deeply lined face and salt-and-pepper hair showed years of hard work and he wore a long trench coat over a dark suit. He carried himself with an air of strength but he definitely was not the youngest person there. He strode towards them and immediately the officer holding Lottie let go, snapping to attention. The one on the ground tried to do the same but couldn't stand all of the way up yet – he was still hunched over, both hands between his legs.

"Just what is going on here?" he asked with authority in his voice, stopping in front of them. The standing officer rushed to explain.

"We were just guarding the perimeter when this girl," here she shot Lottie a look of loathing, "ran across it! She has no right to be here, she's not a part of the investigation, sir!"

The man was about to reply when Lottie butted in. "As I told the officer who wouldn't let me through when I asked politely, I know the Roberts! We're best friends with Lily!" Lottie was staring harshly at the man on the ground as she said this and Marlene recognized the man they had tried to get past the first time. Ha, she smirked internally. Should have gotten the person in charge in the first place or we wouldn't have been pushed to attempt something else.

The man in the trench coat paused, an indescribable look on his face as he looked at all of them in turn.

"Why don't you two come with me?" he asked finally, not unkindly. Marlene and Lottie exchanged a look before nodding and following after him. Their Pokemon, who Marlene had sat down when the danger of them rushing in to fight had passed, also followed looking slightly suspicious. They glanced at each other before nodding in what must have been agreement and stuck close to their trainers, placing themselves between the girls and the surrounding officers, man and Manectric included. Before leaving, the man turned to the surrounding officers who had stopped to watch the exchange and said, "There's still a girl to find people! You don't get paid to stand around, back to work! You two especially," he added, giving the two officers who had stopped Lottie a hard look. The man was just beginning to stand up straight and both of them nodded quickly.

"Yes sir!"

"Of course sir!"

And then the man spun around, long coat billowing behind him, and made his way inside, trusting that Marlene and Lottie would follow.

"What in Arceus' name were you thinking?" Marlene questioned harshly out of the side of her mouth. The man's comment about there being a girl that needed finding had unsettled her and she walked forward in trepidation. They were both just out of earshot of him but that didn't stop her from keeping her voice down.

"I figured," Lottie whispered back just as quietly, "if we could somehow get Mrs. Roberts' attention, she would make the officers let us in. The obvious thing was to make a lot of noise. I guess it's okay we got caught by this guy instead – he must be in charge or something."

The man led them through the front door and down a hallway directly across from it. It was lined with pictures, some with multiple people in it, others just portraits, while still more had all four friends, smiling and laughing. All of the pictures had one thing in common - each one had Lily in it. One at the end caught her eye as she walked by it and she paused for a second, staring at it. It was one of her favorites, taken on Lily's birthday - the one when she got Adam. All four friends were standing with their arms slung over each others shoulders, mouths stretched wide with grins and in Addy's case laughter. Adam was blinking at the flashing camera with dazed eyes and Star sat on Marlene's head, grinning in merriment. Marlene smiled softly and reached out to touch it before she paused, hand hovering in the air as a thought flashed through her. This may never happen again. If what she was afraid to find out was actually true, she might never laugh and joke with one of her best friends again. She may never train or mock-battle with her. She may never get to set out into the world like they had always dreamed of. She would never fight in the competitions they planned to take on together or catch Pokemon together. And suddenly, it hit Marlene that if her fears were confirmed, if what she was now terrified to find out was true, she would be losing a lot more than a friend. She would be losing a sister.

They stopped in front of the living room door and the man turned to both of them saying, "Now, Mrs. Roberts has been through a lot. She's been very upset all day. I hope you two can help if you really were friends of Lily."

When the man pushed the door open, Marlene almost didn't follow. She felt a slight nudge on her leg and glanced down to see Star staring up at her. The little Pokemon looked concerned but her sparkling eyes seemed to say, we'll do this together. Marlene, slightly reassured at the reminder that not only did she have Star at her side but her sister too, mustered up the willpower to follow the man into the room.

The room was dark despite it being early and the curtains were drawn, blocking out the world and giving the room a depressed feeling. A single lamp provided the only light in the room and Marlene could see a cup of undrunk tea sitting on the coffee table, probably cold by now. Mrs. Roberts seemed to be the only occupant in the room and she looked like death warmed over – her normally cheery face and rosy cheeks were drooping with exhaustion and desperation. Her face was blotchy and red and she clutched a handkerchief in one hand. Every few moments she would dab at her eyes or blow her nose. When she caught sight of Marlene and Lottie, she sniffed once and sat up a little straighter, molding her face into a blank mask before standing up and walking swiftly over to both of them, enveloping them in a bone-crushing hug.

"Marley… Lottie… Oh girls, it's good to see you. And Detective Parker! I thought I heard something outside, is everything okay?" She kept sniffling as she said this and she stood slightly stooped as if to hide within herself. But her voice was strong and she looked directly at who Marley now knew to be Detective Parker as she spoke.

"Everything is fine Mrs. Roberts. It was just these two trying to get past the officers outside. I am assuming you know them then?" Detective Parker was quick to reply.

Suddenly Star, who had been quiet up until then, gave a little squeak and began tugging Jet over into a corner of the room insistently. Marlene looked to where she was headed and almost cringed when she saw Adam. Apparently the room wasn't as unoccupied as she first thought. The bulbasaur lay with his back to the room and his head in his little arms, trying to hide himself. When Jet caught sight of Adam, Star let go and continued on by herself, cautiously approaching the bulbasaur.

"Cynda?" she asked quietly. "Cynda cyndaquil?"

She stood next to his head now but without responding, he turned to look in the other direction completely blocking her out. Jet came up on his other side, repeating Star's question with a small, "Piplup pip?"

Adam just faced forward and put his arms in front of his eyes, effectively avoiding eye contact with the both of them. Jet looked to the other occupants of the room with a hopeless expression on his face but Star didn't give up. She just sat down next to him, pressing against his side in an offering of consolation. Jet followed her lead and sat down on his other side. Star tried to get Adam to talk in low tones but he stoutly refused, keeping his eyes averted the whole time.

Mrs. Roberts watched the whole exchange with an unreadable expression on her face, nodding absently in the affirmative to Detective Parker's question. The Detective watched her for a couple more seconds before his Manectric piped up with a, "Manectric man, man ectric."

The Detective suddenly slapped a hand to his head and said, "I forgot about the meeting! I'll be leaving then." Then, seeing Mrs. Roberts confused expression, explained, "I was heading out when I ran into these two and stopped to bring them in. But I've got some leads to follow. You have my number, correct? In case you think of anything else?"

"Oh yes, yes I do Detective. Thank you for everything," Mrs. Roberts replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

The Detective nodded once to her and, after opening and closing his mouth once, twice, three times, decided it was best not to say anything. And then he turned on his heel and walked out, his Manectric following behind.

They sat watching his retreat for a moment before Marlene spoke.

"Mrs. Roberts," she started hesitatingly. She didn't want to bring it up but she had to – it was the whole reason they had come here in the first place. Mrs. Roberts seemed to know what she was about to say and interrupted her.

"Why don't we sit down? There's a lot I need to tell you. I was hoping to wait for Addie but I guess they haven't gotten my message yet and I can see you want to know what happened. You deserve to know what happened."

She led them over to the couch and sat down opposite of them. Marlene and Lottie watched her for a moment as she closed her eyes and seemed to collect her thoughts. Now that the time had finally come, Marlene almost wanted to leave because surely, surely, she really didn't want to know if her fears were true. But deep down, she knew that she wouldn't be able to accept anything until Mrs. Roberts confirmed it. Lottie's presence at her shoulder was the only other thing keeping her there.

"Last night," Mrs. Roberts began slowly, opening her eyes, "Lily told me she wished to start her journey early." Lottie gasped when she said it but Marlene just nodded her head sadly. Mrs. Roberts stared at her for a second before saying softly, "You knew?"

Lottie turned to look at Marlene in confusion as she reluctantly replied. "Lily came to me at the river yesterday and tried to convince me to start early. She said she wanted to train with her new team before the Battle Competitions started. She said we could train and then meet up with Lottie and Addie when they were ready to start. I refused and said that if she really wanted to go, she would have to tell you and Addie herself, Lottie." The last part was directed at Lottie in the hopes that she wouldn't get too mad at her. She had her own reasons for not telling Lottie about Lily's decision and they couldn't afford to be mad at each other at the moment. There were more important things to discuss.

Lottie seemed to struggle internally for a moment and then apparently seemed to decide it wasn't the most important thing at the moment. Giving Marlene a 'we'll-talk-about-this-later' look, she turned to Mrs. Roberts, who was watching the exchange, and nodded at her to continue.

"Well I told her something similar. I said that it was ultimately her choice and that I'd support her but she couldn't just leave. She needed to talk to you girls first. So she went to bed, promising she'd talk to you in the morning." Here Mrs. Roberts closed her eyes tightly as she continued.

"Around three o'clock this morning I was woken by a thump from across the hall, in Lily's room. I didn't think much of it – Adam's been known to roll out of bed before and he makes quite a noise when he does, enough to wake me up sometimes. But a few minutes later he came barging into my room like the Houndooms of hell were on his tail, screeching as loud as he could and I...I..." A pause, a deep but shaky breath, and then," I-I ran to her room and she was j-just… gone. Her w-window was open and some of her furniture had been s-shoved around but whoever t-t-took her must have been careful not to make too much n-noise." There were tears streaming down her face now and she scrunched her eyes tightly as she undoubtedly relived the moment. She opened her eyes again and there was an indescribable pain in them, that of a person who had lost something dear to them.

"I-if only I had g-g-gotten up when I first h-heard something! Maybe I could have-"she seemed unable to continue as she put her head in her hands and let out a sob. Marlene and Lottie shared a look of pain before Marlene got up and went to sit beside the crying woman, putting an arm over her shoulder in comfort. Lottie followed shortly after and they, like their Pokemon sitting a short distance away, tried to console the women.

"A-and I know Adam blames himself," Mrs. Roberts finally said, pushing both hands through her messy hair and holding them there. She stared at the floor, leaning over her knees, and seemed to be oblivious to the girls sitting on either side of her. "He's been inconsolable since it happened. He won't talk to anybody and he's been sitting in that corner all day. H-he must think he wasn't strong enough or fast enough or…or-"

They looked over to Adam's corner where they could see he had his ears pricked to listen to Mrs. Roberts' tale but he still had his face buried in his arms. When he heard his name mentioned, his body gave a little shudder and he shook his head, burrowing it deeper into the corner of the room and away from Star and Jet who still refused to move. Mrs. Roberts' frown deepened as she looked at him.

"I just can't believe it," she finally said still staring at the bulbasaur. The sobs had died down now but a single tear traced it's way down her cheek as she said, "my baby girl is gone."

Lottie's sniffling turned Mrs. Roberts attention away from Adam and her faced turned ashamed. "But look at me! Sitting here crying my eyes out! I should be comforting you, not the other way around."

"No Mrs. Roberts, we understand!" Marlene protested with a slight quiver in her voice. She hadn't even realized that tears were making their way down her own face. Lottie nodded her head in agreement as Mrs. Roberts pulled them both in for a hug. They sat like that for a few minutes, content to just hold each other in silence and shared pain, before a commotion outside broke the silence. Marlene was up in a flash of anger. Couldn't the people outside control themselves? Didn't they know that there was a grieving mother inside who didn't need to worry about things happening outside her front door?

Star watched, torn, as Marlene stomped to the door and swung it wide. She was reluctant to leave Adam though and decided to stay by his side. Marlene turned her attention outside and let out a loud gasp as her eyes took in the scene.

Two officers were holding a struggling person on the ground who was screaming obscenities at them in anger. As she watched, the shrieking figure lashed out with her foot and caught one of them in the stomach, knocking him away from her but the officer was back and pinning her legs down in an instant. A third officer was swinging her arm around in large circles, trying to dislodge a blue blur attached to her as she yelled in pain. The officer's Growlithe looked on helplessly, growling and barking at the blur. Suddenly, the standing officer gave an almighty swing with her arm and the blur was shot across the yard. It hit the wall of the house and slid down it, dazed.

"CRASH!" Addy screeched and her thrashing became even more violent but the officers hold was too much. She couldn't break free.

"Growlithe! Use flame wheel!" The officer who had slung the blue Pokemon shouted and her Growlithe started running toward the dazed Pokemon. His body burst into flame and he started spinning rapidly, about to ram it into the side of the house.

"CRAWDAUNT! USE PROTECT!"

There was a brilliant flash of white light as a deep red Pokemon appeared. It stood at about three feet tall, taller than the Growlithe who was approaching swiftly. The star on it's head glinted in the sunlight as it yelled, "Crawdaunt!" and put both of it's pincers in front of it. A shimmering shield erupted from them and formed around him and a second later the Growlithe hit it hard and was thrown away where it skidded in the dirt, leaving a streak in the ground. It stood up, it's pelt now sticking up at odd angles with mud, and crouched down on it's front legs as it glared at the Crawdaunt standing protectively in front of the injured blue Pokemon who was getting unsteadily to its feet.

Marlene turned to see Mrs. Roberts and Lottie standing slightly behind her. They had come to see what was going on when Marlene had gasped and now were staring at the scene with as much anger as Marlene felt. The person under the two officers stopped struggling when she recognized Mrs. Roberts and the two officers were looking pretty proud of themselves before they heard a voice and gulped loudly, looks transforming into shame and horror.

"Just what are you doing, exactly?" The voice started low and dangerous but it grew louder the longer the person talked. "I let you set up in my front yard. I make my Pokemon stay in their Pokeballs so they don't interrupt the investigation. I sit for over two hours in interrogation. I give you free access to my house, my yard, my daughter's room. And this is how I'm repaid? The first time, Detective Parker stopped you before I got here. BUT NOW, I WALK OUT TO YOU PINNING ONE OF MY DAUGHTER'S FRIENDS TO THE GROUND AS YOU ALMOST SET MY HOUSE ON FIRE BY STARTING A POKEMON BATTLE." Mrs. Roberts had pushed her way past Marlene and was approaching the officers. Her face was red from anger and she was screeching so loudly the neighbors the police had sent away were starting to curiously poke their heads out of their doors. Her Crawdaunt still sat in front of Crash, Addy's Pokemon, and he gave a little snort of approval at Mrs. Roberts' words. His eyes flashed dangerously at the Growlithe who started backing towards his trainer slowly.

The officers just stared at the enraged women, mouths gaping like Magikarp, unable to speak. This seemed to anger her even further as she shrieked, "WELL? GET OUT THERE AND FIND MY DAUGHTER."

There was a mass scrambling as the officers began rushing around, trying to appear busy to her. Addy got to her feet and attempted to dust herself off, giving the mud on her clothes a look of distaste before transforming her face to look at the officers in smug superiority. Then her eyes turned to watch as Mrs. Roberts whipped around and stalked back into her house, recalling her Crawdaunt as she went. She whispered, "Thank you," to the Pokeball and then was lost inside the house. Addy's face turned sympathetic as she watched but then she saw her Pokemon wobble dangerously and allowed himself to slide to the ground again now that the excitement had passed.

"Crash!" she exclaimed and rushed to his side. He was looking up at her with wide eyes, his blue scales glinting in the sun. His red spikes, splattered with mud and grime, trailed down his back and ended at his swishing tail. He would be okay after some rest but that didn't stop Addy from sliding to her knees next to him.

"Toto totodile!" he said and again tried to get to his feet with a little more strength than before. Addy didn't hesitate to scoop him up in her arms, scolding him lightly as she walked over to Marlene and Lottie.

"Crash! What have I told you about biting people? It's going to get us in even more trouble someday!" Her voice was full of affection though and she looked at the two of them as she explained.

"I was trying to get by these stupid officers," she scowled lightly before continuing. "When one of them decided to be really rude. They wouldn't let me in and they threatened to arrest me when I tried to walk around them. Then Crash here," she gestured to the Pokemon in her arms, "decided it was an oh so smart idea to bite the one doing the insulting. That's what started it all... What? You honestly can't blame me for jumping in when he gets in a tight spot, can you?" she added, seeing Marlene's disapproving look.

Laughing lightly, Marlene shook her head. The whole reason Addy had chosen Crash was because of his biting problem. Nobody wanted a starter who excessively bit his trainer and Crash bit more than most Pokemon of his species did. It was common for a Totodile to bite everything but Crash was a different story. That, combined with the recklessness that gave him his name, made things seem hopeless of Crash ever getting a trainer before Addy showed up. It was a match made in heaven really.

"Crash, you've really got to be more careful than that!" Lottie said. She was also fondly shaking her head. Then Addy piped in again, her voice low as she sobered up.

"Is Lily really gone?"

Marlene and Lottie both turned their heads away, unable to meet her eyes. Addy took this as a yes and her shoulders slumped down, her face taking on a look of pain. She stood there for a moment looking completely lost before Marlene said sympathetically, "Why don't we go inside? Mrs. Roberts still needs us."

Nodding their heads, they followed as Marlene led the way inside.

(A/N):

And that's the end of the third chapter! I'm actually really proud of this, I've been touching it up for a couple days now and I think it's the longest one I've written. It was originally going to be two but they were too short to stand alone - so I decided to mold them together. Next chapter we get a little more excitement and although I know it's slow going, they should be starting their journey in two chapters. I just wanted to set up a pretty solid basis for this story instead of just jumping in to the journey. Any critiques help! :)

-Thatonebookworm

P.S. I've always known I was going to give each of the four main characters a lab starter. My thoughts on this region are that anyone who wants a lab starter has access to them and they can choose to go with one of them or catch a wild Pokemon on their own. But trust me when I say there will be some... interesting additions to the teams later on.