"Okay…" I looked to the side. Odd response, I think. I cradled Echo in my arms.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Juniper smiled and grabbed Ryan's hand to guide him to the door. I tried to get up on my feet. I managed to stand shakily, only to fall again quickly.

"I need some help here, Juniper!" I said loudly. She turned around.

"Okay, one sec, Lucy," She led Ryan to the door and opened it up. She gave me one last glance and walked out with Ryan in tow.

"Great, this is just great..." I remarked sarcastically and looked down at Echo. She frowned.

'These p-people are odd.' She remarked in my mind.

I know, but they're really nice and helpful. They aren't bad people or anything.

'They just l-left you alone i-in a room with a creepy m-man.'

Well, uh, it's- Wait, what man?

"Little time no see, Lu-lu! How are you faring?" A voice cackled. I spun around, only to come face-to-face with the Grandmaster.

"You don't look to good. Oh, right, silly me. Cleansing can take a lot out of you. Although, I can't imagine what was dirty about you before. Anyway, my apologies for Ryan, poor boy, went through so much to protect his little crush," The Grandmaster gave me a sly grin.

"Shut up! I-I don't want to talk to you, nor do I need to!" I attempted to sound calm as I struggled to back away from him as fast as I could.

"Getting sassy, now are we?" He chuckled and advanced on me, "Is Juniper doing well? Haven't talked that spry little sapling in what seems like ages! I can't believe how long it's been, actually. Crazy how time-"

"I'm fine, how are you, Mr. Psychopath?" Juniper's voice came from the door. I spun around and saw her glaring at him, stone-faced.

"O-Oh, I'm fine, Maple! You seem to be a bit over-worked these days, don't you think?" He stumbled a little. That was odd. The Grandmaster never messed up. So why did he now?

"No thanks to you, old man. Why can't you go pick on Oak or Rowan instead?" She growled. The Grandmaster smiled widely, and stalked up to face her.

"I don't know, June-bug. You seem to have the most trouble-makers around here," He loomed over her. She shoved him away from her.

"And you just happen to be one of those trouble-makers, Grandmaster. I need you to leave now!" She pushed past him and started walking up to me, only to slip and fall flat on her face.

"Well, that sure ruined the moment," The Grandmaster chuckled. Juniper got up and brushed herself off.

"Get out!" Juniper pointed to the door. The Grandmaster sighed and floated through the wall beside the door just to annoy her.

"He is something else…" She grumbled.

'W-What just h-happened?' Echo asked telepathically. I looked up at Juniper.

I have absolutely no idea, Echo. Sorry.

'Ok…'

"I'm so sorry about that, Lucy! No idea what business he had here. Are you ok?" She returned to her normal self.

"Yeah… I'm fine. So is Echo," I stated. This was quite the odd situation here. Really… Weird. That's all I could really say, honestly.

"Now, let's get you two outside so I can teach y'all how to catch Pokémon!" She chirped and helped me to my feet. I flinched at the sudden change in her attitude.

She was stronger than she looked. She dragged me out the door and back to the tall grass.

Ryan and Reed were waiting there, talking silently together with furrowed brows and clenched fists. So was Touko, holding hands with N and pointing out the little pink blossoms that lined the road. Finally, Cheren was standing far away from both of the little groups.

"Attention! Attention! I need attention! Now!" Juniper called. Everyone looked up.

"Thank you, everybody!" Juniper grinned brightly, "Um… Reed, could you help me over here?" Juniper gestured to me. Reed whispered one last thing to Ryan and came over to me.

I looked at him quizzically. He shook his head and took me from Juniper. I blushed as he held me in his arms.

Suddenly, he swept me off my feet and held me bridal style, yet again. I jumped in surprise, followed by the same feeling as before. I still couldn't place the feeling.

"Could you bring her closer, Reed? Thank you. And, uh, Touko, could you guide Ryan over here? Thanks!" Juniper asked. After everyone was around her, she brought out a Pokéball.

"Do you two know what this is?" Juniper asked Ryan and me.

"Oh, whoops! I mean, Lucy, do you know what this is?" She noted her mistake. Ryan's mouth curled into a frown. I cringed. Was this going to become a common theme?

"I know the basics of catching Pokémon. I've seen tons of trainers do it before," I stated plainly. She smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, my bad," Juniper looked away from me into the tall grass.

"Why are you trying to teach us this anyway?" Ryan snapped. Juniper turned to face him.

"Because you two are going to go on your Pokémon adventures soon! You'll need to know the basics, right?" Juniper said happily. Ryan went silent.

"Okay, can I try to catch one?" I held out my hand. Juniper smiled and handed one to me.

"Ryan, can you please, um…" I asked. He nodded and slowly set me down. I tipped a little to the right and caught myself.

"Ok. Let's see if I can do anything," I breathed.

Hi! I'm finally here with the new chapter. Yay... I will come out with the next chapter ASAP! Thank you for reading. Bye, and don't forget to smile!