A/N: I keep forgetting to put the disclaimer…

Anyway, I don't own Pokemon, no matter how much I wish I did.

The first part of dinner went by pretty smoothly; Professor Oak and Mr. Slalome couldn't stop talking about the research they had done all day, let alone their accomplishments over the years. Then, as dinners often have, there was a lull in the conversation, leaving only the noisy clanking of silverware.

Professor Oak was the first to break it, "You two certainly are quiet," he stated with a smirk, "Did something happen while you two were up stairs?"

Gary looked away nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, but Rice was lost in thought and never even heard the question.

'Am I honestly so dense that I couldn't remember anything about Gary?' she questioned herself, 'I mean sure I was four but still, nothing?'

"It just doesn't make any sense." Everyone looked at Rice quizzically.

Rice sat up, jolted out of her thoughts, realizing that that last statement had actually been said aloud. "U-um, well, when we were up stairs, er, while I was, um, I found a-"

"We found a picture of us playing together, here, but we don't remember it happening." Gary finished quickly for her.

The adults tensed and seemed to look everywhere but at either at the teens. Their reaction made Rice very uncomfortable, but Gary just watched and waited, eyeing each one suspiciously.

Finally Rice worked up the courage to voice what she and Gary were thinking, "What happened?" but only more silence followed, until Professor Oak cleared his throat and spoke. "Have either of you ever heard of post traumatic stress disorder?" the pair nodded, "Then you know that if someone experiences something in their life, sometimes they'll completely forget about said event because there brain feels that it's too stressful to remember. The relevance is that the two of you seem to have this disorder."

Another silence followed.

"That still doesn't explain why we don't remember each other," Gary stated becoming slightly annoyed.

"…Well?" the young Oak asked.

"You both witness the death of Gary's parents," Mr. Slalome whispered almost too quietly to hear. Rice shivered, she looked at Gary and could see his mask of angry fall from anger to sadness. She could tell that he was trying to hold the tears behind his eyes as he thought of his parents. Then, even though she knew it was probably the worst thing to ask at a time like this, she couldn't help but ask; "H-how, did they… die?"

Mr. Slalome exhaled deeply and began the story in a solemn voice, "Thirteen years ago, on a normal winters day, Gary and his parents actually lived here and had just dropped Gary off to play at the ranch. But no sooner had the car pulled out of the driveway did Gary realize he had forgotten something in the car. So the two of you decided to race after it and see who would reach it first.

"And being that this was and is such a small town, we just let you run after it, but no two minutes later, we heard a deafening crash near the Oak household. By the time your mother and I had gotten there, it was too late, but the two of you had seen everything that had happened and you were left traumatized.

"Turns out, after it was looked in to, their emergency brakes had gone out and their normal breaks weren't enough to slow them down on the ice. They ended up swerving off the road and into a heap at the base of the hill. The mess must have been what triggered you brain to forget."

Rice couldn't bear being in the room any longer, she stood and quickly left the house and headed to the barn. Tears streamed down her face as thoughts raced through her mind, but those thoughts weren't alone. Accompanying those thoughts were bits and pieces of memory of that day came rushing back to her.

The screeching of wheels, the sound of crunching metal, the noise of two young children screaming and crying, one of which was a young boy calling out for his mother and father 'Mama! Daddy!' Then the blood, so much blood. It splattered everything; the wreckage, the people, her jacket, the snow; it was all blanketed with the crimson liquid.

Suddenly Rice felt something nudge her leg. Looking down, she saw her Pokemon surrounding her, sympathetic looks dotting each face. The Nidorina she caught the other day looked up at her with a confused look on her face. She smiled through her tears at the adorable Pokemon.

"There there, nothing to worry about," Rice said gently as she picked up the poison type, running a hand over its rough cheek, "I'm just fine, you all don't have to worry."

"They worry because they love you," a voice said from the door. Rice quickly wiped away her tears and looked up at Gary.

"Most times it takes quite a while for a Pokemon to develop such feelings towards their trainer, or breeder for that matter," he smirked. Walking over to her Pokemon, Gary surveyed her Arcanine, "I have an Arcanine as well, you know."

Rice still said nothing; she couldn't, not with the lump in her throat. Instead she tried showing interest through her expression, but her muteness didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey," Gary said, crouching so they were at eye level, "What? Meowth got your tongue?"

Blue met green as Rice stared at Gary, 'Wow, his eyes are so pretty.' She was almost shocked to see that those beautiful green eyes were lined with skin that was red and puffy, almost as if he'd been crying just moments before.

Reaching up, Rice wiped away a stray tear that still stuck to Gary's cheek. Then, without warning, her own tears began flowing again.

Not knowing what else to do, Gary wrapped his arms around the blonde in an attempt to soothe her nerves (the Nidorina had already scampered away once he had gotten close). "Come on, don't cry," he whispered, "It's okay, it's not like any of this was your fault or anything."

"I-I know, it's just, I don't cry often, b-but when I do I can't control it." Gary chuckled lightly at her confession.

"It's not funny!" she barked back defensively, trying to pull away from his arms, giving up after he wouldn't let go. "You're right it isn't, but I don't see why you're so upset."

"You mean you're not upset that your parents died?" Rice questioned back.

Gary was quiet for a moment, finding the right words to say, " Of course I am… but, the past is what it is, and we might as well not dwell on it too much, you know? It's like, why look back on what you can't change instead of focusing on the future?"

Gary chuckled to himself, "I actually have a friend who lives by that rule. If he loses a battle one-day, he'll be out the next training to do better so he can be a Pokemon Master one day. I truly believe that one day he will be too, because he's always looking ahead."

Rice smiled, "You must really like him."

"Yeah, I suppose this world would be pretty boring without him," Gary replied sheepishly.

"Wish I could meet him, a friend like that sounds pretty nice to have," Rice said, smile fading.

"What I'm not good enough for you?" Gary laughed. Rice chuckled too, finally returning the hug, "Of course you are, you're the best friend I've ever had! Even if we've only 'just met'."

"Heh, oh hey! I have an idea!" Gary said brightly, " How about when me and Gramps go back to Pallet Town you come with us?" Rice grinned at the thought, "I'd love that!"

"There you two are," another voice called from the entrance.

"Hey Gramps! Can Rice come with us when we go back to Pallet Town?" Professor Oak blinked at the sudden question. "I don't see why not," he finally replied, "You'd have to ask her parents first though."

"I can go ask now," Rice suggested, already bounding toward the house, "I'm sure they'll say yes!"

-0-0-0-

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?!" Rice shouted angrily.

"I need you to stay here and help me with the eggs, and you have all of your own Pokemon to take care of. What if your eggs hatch while you're gone?" her father replied calmly.

"Only two of my eggs are even close to hatching and I could just bring them with me! Professor Oak has all the equipment necessary to care for newborns and it's not like I'm incapable of caring for them myself!" the blonde fired back heatedly. "And as far as my Pokemon are concerned, I can just bring all of them with me as well, I have all the Poke Carriers for transportation purposes anyway! So what's the problem?"

"The problem is that you won't take 'no' for an answer!" Mr. Slalome shouted back.

Rice was stunned for a moment, her father never yelled at her, but soon enough she was fuming again and was stomping up to her room. 'What right does he have to keep me from Pallet Town? It's only three towns over and I'm old enough to take care of myself. Hell, kids almost half my age go on adventures half way around the world on their own, so what's stopping me?'

-0-0-0-

The next few days went on without confrontation, Professor Oak and Mr. Slalome continued their research tirelessly and Rice and Gary's bond grew as they spent countless hours talking and hanging out. They talked about everything; their childhood, favorite foods, the Pokemon bred on the ranch, Gary's adventures as a trainer, favorite Pokemon, etc.

However, it ended all too quickly and soon Gary and his Grandfather were packed up and about to leave.

"It was so wonderful have the two of you hear," Mrs. Slalome smiled.

"Oh no, thank you for having us," Professor Oak said, returning the smile.

"It's a shame we have to leave so soon," Gary said to Rice, creating a separate conversation away from the adults'. "Yeah I know, but maybe we'll be able to catch up soon, I'm sure I'll be by Pallet Town soon enough," Rice grinned.

"Really? Cool, I can't wait to see you when you come down. How soon do you think it'll be?"

"Oh, I might even be down in the next week or so," Rice could hardly contain her excitement at what she had planned for tonight. After all, she is teenager, so what's stopping her from disobeying her parents like all the others her age?

A/N: Wow this took me a bit longer than I thought it would, I'm sorry for the delay.

Well, I'm off for vacation, I'll try and upload again sometime after I get back next week.

Bye~