Chapter Fourteen
Snakes on a Plain

The first two days of travelling passed with little incident. There was a noticeable calm and comfortable air to the travelling party as they progressed through the routes of Kanto under Sebastian's expert lead. Within only a mere few hours, the stony grey suburbs of Pewter City led easily and swiftly on to the hazardous, hilly terrain up to Mt Moon. But distractions led to a wrong turn and the better part of half a day was spent lost inside the many dark and natural chambers cut into the mountain's belly. However, after retracing their steps, they once again found their way, finally emerging into the azure city of Cerulean. The moon was glistening on the darkened water by the time the weary foursome trudged into the city's centre.

Despite the late hour, Ivy seemed reluctant to stop, rest and stay overnight in the city. She was conscious of how much time they had spent simply travelling or training; both vital to her career as a trainer, she knew, but too time-consuming for her personal liking. Almost three weeks had passed, scarily close to a full month of her allotted three month time limit, meaning she was almost a third of the way through. She had two Pokemon out of the six she needed, but they still needed to be evolved. She was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that she had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it with. So, against all common sense she begged the exhausted Rhodes cousins and Jack to keep going, push on down to Saffron and just camp on the road, but Jack firmly put his foot down on that idea, despite Ivy's pleading and whinging.

Under Jack's insistence, the four trainers checked into the Cerulean City Pokemon Centre and after wolfing down a rather late, but hugely satisfying and filling evening meal, they decided to retire to the Pokemon Centre lounge for an hour before heading to bed. Jack found it hilarious that Ivy, after insisting so vehemently that she wasn't tired and could carry on travelling, even throughout checking in to their rooms and the entire of dinner, fell asleep only ten minutes into the eleven o'clock nightly news.

She remained this way until the news bulletins were over and the weather forecast was being broadcast, predicting further sunny days and warm temperatures, much to the delight of Jack and Sebastian, with Robert insisting on remaining nonchalant. Sebastian was the first one to notice the girl fast asleep and curled up at the end of the sofa and couldn't help but smile. The Pokemon Centre was mostly empty bar the friendly Nurse Joy on the night shift, the Chansey assisting her and a handful of other trainers also burning the midnight oil, so it wasn't entirely surprising the young woman had fallen asleep in the relative peace and quiet. After watching her for a few moments, he glanced at Jack, pointing out the sleeping girl.

Jack looked at her in disbelief before chuckling merrily to himself. "Unbelievable…" he said, shaking his head. "She's fallen asleep again."

He then leaned over, lightly lifted her arm up into the air and let go. Her hand thudded back to the sofa, the girl not even reacting throughout the whole operation. Jack sighed again. "Completely dead to the world…"

"Maybe you should wake her up?" Sebastian suggested.

"Are you kidding?" Jack snorted to himself. "Ivy's not pleasant to deal with when she wakes up unexpectedly. I tried waking her up once when we'd first started at university and she almost broke my nose!"

Sebastian's eyes noticeably widened and he edged a little further away from where the slumbering girl was curled up into the sofa. Robert was smirking to himself in amusement at the mental image he had just conjured up.

"What should we do, then?" Sebastian asked, daring to poke the sleeping girl gently. She murmured softly in her sleep at the contact, making Sebastian instinctively finch away. Luckily for Sebastian, she still remained asleep.

Jack sighed, and heaved himself off the sofa. "I guess I'll have to put her to bed, then."

"I can do it, if you'd prefer?" Sebastian offered, but he still looked a little nervous at the prospect, Jack's story about Ivy's semi-conscious wrath all too prominent in his mind.

"No, it's okay." Jack said, reaching down to gather Ivy up in his arms, grunting slightly with the effort. Jack, although very slight and skinny, Ivy affectionately referring to him as a 'beanpole' for his impossibly tall and thin figure, actually hid a deceptive amount of strength behind that fragile-looking frame. "I've done this a fair few times before. Don't want to make you guys do it."

Even despite his worry over Ivy's safety, Sebastian had to laugh as Ivy was scooped, rather haphazardly; he had to admit, into Jack's arms, remaining asleep the whole time. She barely even twitched throughout the whole process. Even as Jack turned around to face the door to the dorms, her legs and arms swinging and dangling uselessly, she didn't even stir.

"Can you manage the door?" Sebastian asked.

"I've managed this up three flights of stairs before." Jack grinned, before adding "Long story, don't ask…" and taking his leave.

He paid no heed to the looks this endeavour was garnering from the other Pokemon trainers still around the Pokemon Centre lobby, and politely declined the help from the helpful Nurse Joy and enthusiastic Chansey assistant that cornered him on the way there. To his credit, he managed the door niftily, but as he exited the room there was an alarming thud. Sebastian winced at the loud bang. He suddenly had visions of Jack whacking Ivy's head off the door frame or something to that extent, but he heard no cries of pain or sleepy protests, so he assumed nothing bad had come of it.

As the door shut behind Jack, Robert let out a haughty sigh. "Honestly. That Ivy's like a baby. And he's no better, pandering to her like a mother hen. I'd have just left her where she was if that was me."

Sebastian let out a low, tortured groan. "Compassion fatigue is never going to be a problem for you, is it?"

Robert merely glared, before leaning back in the sofa. A few moments passed until he eventually announced. "I can't wait until all this is over."

Sebastian groaned again "So you keep saying…."

Robert was grumbling angrily under his breath. Sebastian couldn't quite catch everything he was saying, but one sentence stuck out. "I still don't understand what we're doing here." Robert remarked darkly.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. "Come on, Robert… they're nice people. They're nice people who need a bit of help."

"You don't put everything on hold in your own life to help out some 'nice people', Sebastian."

"Perhaps you don't, but I do."

"Well, then you're an idiot."

Sebastian's eye twitched. "Robert, I don't want to have this discussion with you," he said, rather hotly. "No-one ever said you had to stay. If you're really that unhappy hanging around with me and Jack and Ivy, you can leave. But I want to stay with them."

Robert said nothing.

"You know, I'm really not stopping you from leaving." Sebastian said once again. "You can go any time you want."

Robert was still quiet.

"I don't believe you." Sebastian said with a sigh. "You were the one who first suggested tagging along with me to Viridian. I thought getting back on the road was what you wanted. I thought you said you wanted to get back out onto the road because living at home again was driving you mad."

"I thought it would be from Vermillion to Viridian and back again." Robert said stiffly. "I didn't imagine we'd end up going to Viridian, hanging around for ages, and then going through Pewter, Cerulean, Saffron, Lavender and Arceus-knows-where else." He let out a sigh. "You're really going to hang around and help them for three months?"

Sebastian sighed. "Robert, I really don't know what to tell you… Like I said, I like them. They're nice people and they needed help. So, why not give it to them? And I consider them friends now. And I'll hang around to help as long as I need to."

Robert said a very rude word. "I still say you have an ulterior motive. Or…" his eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you've got a soft spot for—"

But it was at that moment that Jack reappeared, throwing himself back into the chair and letting out a deep sigh. Sebastian shot his cousin a warning look, which Robert returned with equal ferocity. Sebastian made a big deal of ignoring this however, and turned to look at Jack.

"You put her to bed?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded, before stretching and yawning loudly. "She's out like a light. I even hit her head off the door and she didn't wake up."

Sebastian winced a little, which Jack noticed and he chuckled good-naturedly, offering an offhand shrug. "It happens all the time," he said with a grin.

A hint of a frown spread on Sebastian's face. "Uhh… I'll take your word for it,"

Jack chuckled again, but very quickly lapsed into silence once again. This silence remained amongst the three young men before Robert, growing steadily more annoyed by the second, finally gave in. He let out a haughty sigh, slid off the couch and grumpily announced he was going to bed. He left, shutting the door to the dorm area with a fierce slam that seemed to shake the entire Centre, leaving Sebastian and Jack alone.

The silence continued awkwardly for another short while, before Sebastian cleared his throat loudly and turned to Jack. "So… have you thought about any other Pokemon you'd want for your team?" he asked casually.

Jack frowned a little. "Not really, no."

Sebastian nodded. "Well, not to sound like a nagging mother, but you really should think about getting some new team members. Phoenix is good, yes, but you won't stand much of a chance against any other opponents with just one Pokemon. And he is just a Pidgey after all. A good Pidgey, but a Pidgey nonetheless."

Jack murmured something noncommittally. Sebastian sensed he may have touched a nerve concerning the young man's great pride in his baby Pidgey and quickly changed the tone of his voice to something lighter and conversational. "You should have a look in and around Cerulean. You can find a lot of promising Pokemon around here."

"Mm…"

Jack's short response made Sebastian grimace, worrying that he had gone too far. However, he continued pushing. "You don't want to…?" he ventured gently.

Jack looked distinctly uncomfortable. "It's… it's not that I don't want to." He was choosing his words carefully, stuttering over certain things. "It's just… ah, it's kind of strange, I think. I waited a long time to be a Pokemon trainer. Now that I actually am one, I won't lie, it is a bit overwhelming. I'm worried that if I take on new Pokemon I won't give Phoenix or any other ones I have the attention they deserve…"

"I don't think you need to worry about that, Jack. You're training to be a teacher, right?"

Jack frowned. "Yeah, but I don't really see what that has to do with it."

Sebastian chuckled. "Pokemon are remarkably like children. Yes they need a lot of attention, yes, they need a lot of love and care, but once they get used to you, they're remarkably self-sufficient. Once they know they're loved and trusted, they'll be just fine."

"Yeah…" Jack said slowly, finding himself nodding. "You're right. Pokemon are like children. Then again, Ivy's a big kid herself. Hmm…" he took a moment to consider something, before a wan smile spread over his face. "It seems like I'm doomed to spend my entire life surrounded by children."

Sebastian couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, I could think of worse ways to spend your life,"

"Oh, touché, good sir." Jack laughed, giving Sebastian a friendly shove.

Sebastian shoved back, proving remarkably stronger than Jack anticipated, and he went sprawling backwards, almost falling off the chair in the process. Sebastian laughed good-naturedly as Jack uselessly attempted to right himself. Still chuckling, he offered the young man a hand up and pulled him easily back into an upright position. An uncharacteristic blush tinged Jack's pale skin at the embarrassment and he chuckled nervously, caught completely off-guard and unsure what to do.

Sebastian could only shake his head, laughing weakly. He glanced at the clock, noticing how late it was and grimacing slightly at how the late hour had so suddenly crept up on them. He let out a sigh, and got to his feet. "We should probably go to bed too." He said, decisively, slapping Jack lightly on the shoulder as he passed. "It's late. And we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yeah… another long day. What fun." Jack said flatly.

Sebastian chuckled. "Well, goodnight then." He said, as he began to walk away.

"…'night."

As the door to the Pokemon centre dorms closed firmly shut behind Sebastian, Jack let out a deep sigh as the lobby descended into a faint, muffled silence. He found himself wishing the other young man could have stayed, kept him company, talked into the small hours of the morning. Reluctantly, after a few further minutes of quiet reflection, he pushed himself off the armchair and headed up to bed himself.

The morning came too soon for Jack who struggled all night to sleep, and what few hours he did manage to claw back were fitful and disturbed. To add insult to injury, he was awoken rudely and suddenly by a panicked Ivy who, after waking up with a vicious headache and an alarmingly large lump forming on the back of her head, had somehow convinced herself she had a dangerous tumour growing on her brain. When Jack, roaring with laughter at the girl's suspicions, eventually explained to her what had happened and admitted responsibility, he was angrily chased across the entirety of the Pokemon Centre threatened with varying degrees of violence and bodily harm. This spectacle was witnessed by what felt like the entire Pokemon Centre, causing a lot of excitement and hilarity for the trainers harmlessly watching.

After finally extracting an apology from Jack, on pain of some very nasty threats, the two friends went down to breakfast, the whole spectacle from earlier completely disregarded. After a hearty breakfast with the Rhodes cousins, they decided to be on their way as normal. Their next destination was their university city of Saffron andwas also Jack's hometown, and both he and Ivy felt a little strange about returning to the familiar soil. Ivy made it abundantly clear to the others that they were just passing through, expressing no desires to even go near her university until she absolutely had to.

Sebastian merely laughed at this, saying that would be the least of her current worries. Travelling to Saffron would be strenuous, taking a day at the very least to traverse the difficult natural routes. Jack and Ivy had made this journey once before and weren't keen to repeat it, dropping unsubtle hints at the possibility of getting a bus or train, but Sebastian was adamant they would make the walk, insisting that it would do the novice trainers some good. It would also present plenty opportunities for them to look for Pokemon and take on some local trainers, which Sebastian felt could only be advantageous.

Spirits were unusually high for the foursome as they began their long journey to Saffron. Ivy in particular was in a good mood, skipping ahead of the group, the folds of her skirt swishing, her earlier disappointment at having to walk such a long way totally lost when she realised she could release her Pokemon for company and play with them as they travelled. Sebastian and Jack followed along, a good few paces behind Ivy and deep in conversation. Robert trudged way behind, engrossed in a game he was mindlessly playing on his phone, and weaving a rather complicated, ricocheting path as he walked, almost like he was drunk.

"It's funny," Jack said slowly as he saw Ivy giggle and scoop up Juliet in her arms as the Pokemon grew tired from walking and began to whine softly. "For someone who said she'd never have to 'resort' to being a Pokemon trainer, Ivy's taken to it like a Ducklett to water."

"Hey, you took to it pretty well yourself," Sebastian said with a nod. "But I know what you mean. Your Ivy is a pretty strange one."

"Well, she's not my Ivy." Jack muttered, looking a little uncomfortable. He let out a sigh. "But it's not just Ivy though. All women are strange, in my opinion..."

"And confusing," Sebastian grinned.

"Got that right," Jack nodded, managing to summon up a genuine smile. "Men make the horrible mistake of thinking women are the same species as us just because they walk upright and talk to us from time to time,"

Sebastian laughed delightedly, while Robert, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, raised his eyebrows behind the game on his phone.

Their walk continued for some time, Ivy gradually pulling farther and farther forward and Robert falling farther back, leaving Sebastian and Jack in the difficult predicament of whether to run to catch up with Ivy and risk losing Robert, or dawdle to let Robert catch up and risk letting Ivy get too far ahead. Eventually, since Robert was more likely to get lost and Ivy would be safe enough considering she had three Pokemon with her, they decided to wait for Robert. Robert, however, didn't much appreciate their kind gestures and merely grunted at them as he caught sight of them, grumpily stating "You didn't have to wait for me. I'm not a child."

Sebastian deflected this smoothly. "I don't let you text and walk for a reason, let alone play games and walk. And I certainly won't leave you alone while you're doing it." He grinned. "Last time I took my eyes off you when you were on that phone and walking you almost ended up under a bus."

Robert's round face flushed. "Shut up!" he hissed, before stuffing the phone in the pocket of his faded blue jeans and stomping forward.

The three young men continued their walk in a comfortable silence for a further few minutes. They had quickened their pace in the hope of catching up with Ivy, but there was still no sign of her.

Until the noise of a high pitched scream reached their ears.

Sebastian's eyes widened. He whipped his head around to look at Jack, who looked horrified, instantly recognising Ivy's scream. Without even a word, Jack suddenly raced off in the direction of the scream. Sebastian hesitated for a few moments before running after him. Robert was the only one who didn't move straight away, instead choosing to let out a deep sigh and mooch after them at his own pace, letting out a groan as he did so. "What is it now…?"

As the screaming continued, frantic and terrified, Jack, taking advantage of his long legs easily sprinted ahead forward, putting a remarkable distance between himself and Sebastian who was bringing up the rear. Within moments, he caught sight of Ivy lying in a crumpled heap in a nearby plain framed by only a few trees and bushes; her three Pokemon sprawled on the ground beside her, and a long, thin, serpentine Pokemon slithering towards her. She was screaming, trying desperately to get away from the Pokemon that had her cornered, its jaws open wide.

"Ivy!" Jack yelled, as he juddered to a halt. He lunged for Phoenix's Pokeball and threw it as hard as he could. "Phoenix! Gust!"

As the little Pidgey burst from the Pokeball he let out a high pitched shrieking call, and instantly began whipping up strong winds that he directed straight at the purple serpentine Pokemon. As the winds swept towards the Pokemon, it hissed madly, as if it was trying to intimidate the winds into not howling. Of course, it couldn't and the winds buffeted the snake Pokemon, knocking it back a few feet and sending it a much safer distance from Ivy. However the attack barely seemed to impact it, as it righted itself almost immediately, snapping its jaws together angrily.

"Ekansssssss!"

Jack didn't falter. "Phoenix, Quick Attack!"

No sooner had Jack given his Pokemon the order, Phoenix dove into a Quick Attack, shooting towards the Ekans like a bullet with almost unbelievable speed. It slammed into the purple snake with surprising force, making the Pokemon recoil angrily, hissing in pain. It didn't however stop the Ekans from snapping brutally at Phoenix as it soared above its head after executing the attack.

At this point, Ivy pushed herself weakly up onto her hands and knees. She had only barely registered Jack's presence and subsequently gasped when she saw Phoenix dive towards the Ekans once again, only narrowing missing being caught in the snake's massive jaws as it lunged for him. Panicked, she looked at her own Pokemon. Toni and Juliet were completely unconscious, but as she looked at Scorpio, he had buzzed back into the air again, looking only mildly dazed. She staggered to her feet and ordered Scorpio to help Jack and Phoenix.

Scorpio shot towards the Ekans, who was shooting barrages of Poison Stings at the tiny Pidgey, making it squawk in fright and flap around uselessly in the air trying to evade them. In a spectacular display, Scorpio sailed straight through the Poison Stings, delivering a vicious onslaught of attacks with his massive stingers. This unexpected attack took both Jack and Ivy by complete surprise and they gawped open-mouthed throughout the whole execution.

"When did Scorpio learn that?" Jack gasped in surprise as the Ekans hissed in pain, backing off.

"I don't know!" Ivy cried, flummoxed.

But their shock cost them dearly. That one moment of hesitation caused by their surprise from the attack proved fatal. Phoenix and Scorpio floated idly nearby as their stunned trainers could only gawp, unable to deliver instructions, making them sitting targets. Seeing the two flying Pokemon not even moving and sensing an opportunity, the Ekans flung itself at them. Phoenix screeched, managing to flap out of the way in a puff of feathers, but Scorpio wasn't so lucky. The Ekans threw itself into the air, collided with the Beedrill, and coiled its thin body around Scorpio's fragile frame. It began to squeeze tightly, Scorpio buzzing in alarm and trying to wriggle free, but it was useless. Scorpio was totally trapped!

"Scorpio!" Ivy screeched in fright as the Ekans continued to squeeze harder and harder, the Beedrill buzzing frantically. Scorpio was completely incapable of movement, let alone escape and it only served to make Ivy panic more.

Jack swore violently. "It's using Wrap!" he cried, whipping his head up to look at Phoenix. "Come on, Phoenix! Quick Attack!"

Ivy dared to hope that Phoenix's Quick Attack would work, somehow cause the Ekans enough pain to release Scorpio, but no sooner had Phoenix dove into a Quick Attack, the Ekans opened its mouth wide and shot another Poison Sting! The poisonous barbs embedded in the Pidgey's plumage, making the Pokemon squeal in pain and drop to the ground. Completely grounded, he could do nothing but writh around, cheeping weakly, the poisonous darts leaking venom all over his feathers.

"Phoenix, no!" Jack cried out.

While Jack was panicked, Ivy was practically hysterical. She had no idea what to do! She fought desperately to calm down, grasp what was going on and try to come to terms with the situation. Her Beedrill was caught in the vice-like grip of the Ekans, slowly being squeezed tighter and tighter, Scorpio too weak to even fight against it any longer. Phoenix was still grounded and barely moving, feebly trying to pluck the poisoned darts from his underbelly, but not succeeding. She glanced back at Toni and Juliet and was dismayed to see they were still completely unconscious. Completely at a loss at what she could do or how to save the situation, she did the only thing she could think of.

"Jack, what are we gonna do?" she shrieked.

But Jack was merely standing there. He looked totally helpless and could only return Ivy a blank stare. It was clear he had no better idea of what to do than Ivy did…

And just when the two novice trainers didn't think it could get any worse, the Ekans suddenly began hissing again, even more madly than before. It unwrapped itself from Scorpio, the unconscious wasp crumbling into a heap on the ground. The Ekans shot forward, lunging for the grounded Pidgey instead. The tiny Pidgey didn't even see its attacker coming until it was too late. Within seconds, the Ekans opened its massive jaws and bit Phoenix, scooping the tiny bird into its mouth! It drew itself up to its impressive full height, still holding the Pidgey aloft.

"Jack!" Ivy screeched in terror. "Ekans eat Pidgey! Do something!"

As if angered by Ivy's yells, the Ekans bit down harder on the tiny bird. The Pidgey shrieked in pain as the jaws penetrated its fragile body, making Ivy cry out in horror. She whipped around to look at Jack, desperate to see him do something, but he was standing there, looking absolutely horrified.

"Phoenix…" he whispered.

And then the Ekans bit down again, making the Pidgey scream with pain.

"Phoenix!" Jack cried out again, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. His body itched to step in, but a strange numbness had taken him over and he found he couldn't move any of his limbs. Only his eyes seemed to be working, his brain was barely responding and any action he wanted to do simply wouldn't happen.

But then…

"Skarmory! Go!"

A streak of brilliant silver suddenly flashed across Ivy and Jack's vision making both novice trainers cry out in shock. The silver blur was revealed to be Sebastian's Skarmory and it crashed into the Ekans, sending the serpentine Pokemon tumbling backwards. As it was knocked back, Phoenix flew from the Ekans' grip, landing safely a good few feet away.

"Phoenix!" Jack yelled.

But then something unbelievable happened. As the weakened Pidgey lay there, barely even moving, it suddenly became enveloped in a bright white light.

Jack stopped completely in his tracks, the tears he was fighting so hard to keep back suddenly spilling over his cheeks. "Pho…Phoenix…?" he croaked.

Phoenix's little body; now glowing with a brilliant white light, suddenly began to shift and change, like something unseen was sculpting and moulding his features. The change was subtle at first, but soon Phoenix's figure grew bigger and wider, his wingspan stretching, his tiny feet elongating, his tail fanning out and lengthening. With a sudden, ear-splitting caw the white light dissipated, revealing a Pidgeotto standing proudly where a Pidgey had once been lying in a heap.

"Oh my God!" Jack cried out, the tears still spilling over his face. "Phoenix!"

As the newly evolved Pidgeotto stretched his wings, determination was shining in his beady eyes as it looked at the Ekans struggling to get up a few feet away. Sebastian let out a low whistle, his Skarmory suddenly flapping away from the Ekans.

"It's your battle… if you want it." Sebastian said by way of explanation when Jack turned a confused, tear-streaked face towards him.

"Ph…Phoenix?" Jack swallowed, looking towards his newly evolved Pidgeotto. "You want to keep battling?"

"Pidgeotto!" Phoenix cawed.

At the noise of his Pokemon's confident cries, a wide beaming grin touched on Jack's Pokemon. "Alright! Quick Attack!"

The Pokemon lifted into the air, flapping its new, strong, powerful wings. It hovered in the air only briefly before rocketing towards the Ekans, slamming straight into the serpentine Pokemon. Jack let out a cry of surprise as the Ekans was knocked back, barely even able to comprehend the sheer power behind his newly evolved Pokemon's attacks. As the Ekans tumbled backwards, it hissed weakly before collapsing, completely out of it.

Ivy let out a sigh of relief and dropped to her knees, inclining her head and seizing tufts of grass between her fingers, pulling on them hard until she almost uprooted them. Jack was trembling all over as his Pidgeotto dropped to the ground. Then his eyes touched on the unconscious Ekans lying only a few feet away from him.

A strange thought invaded Jack's head and he was immediately reminded of what he and Sebastian had discussed the previous night. "That's one hell of a strong Pokemon. I know it attacked Phoenix… but Sebastian was right. I need more Pokemon. Strong Pokemon. And I don't think they come much stronger in the wild than that one…"

Before he knew what he was doing, he was unhooking a Pokeball from his belt. He threw it towards the Ekans and as it bounced off the unconscious body, Jack let out a deep sigh. The Pokeball rolled once, twice, three times before sealing shut with a ding!

Ivy whipped her head up at the sound of the sealed Pokeball. "J…Jack?" she said in confusion.

However, at that moment, Jack didn't care about what Ivy was saying to him. He didn't care about the sealed Pokeball only a few feet away from him. He didn't even care about the fact he was getting so emotional in front of so many people. He disregarded everything, ignored everything else, and instead chose to sprint right up to Phoenix, drop to his knees and throw his arms around the newly evolved Pidgeotto.

"Jack!" Ivy cried as her friend's shoulders began shaking.

Ivy had a strong suspicion that her best friend had just burst into tears, and her automatic instinct at seeing him upset was simply to run up to him and attempt to comfort him. But no sooner had she leapt to her feet and taken a step forward, Sebastian put his hand out to stop her. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Ivy understood, nodded and held back, giving Jack his space.

Jack was holding tightly onto Phoenix, burying his face into his Pidgeotto's soft feathers. Phoenix was trilling and cooing softly as Jack held him tight, his shoulders trembling and the tears still flowing.

"I'm sorry…" Jack murmured. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm sorry you had to suffer like that. I'm so sorry I let you down…"

"Pidgeotto…" Phoenix trilled.

Phoenix seemed to have an oddly optimistic tone to his cheeps and caws, and Ivy privately thought that Phoenix seemed to be telling Jack off for getting so emotional and she had to stifle a little giggle, even despite the seriousness of the situation.

"I won't let that happen to you again." Jack vowed, finally lifting his head from his Pokemon and stroking him softly.

Phoenix flapped his wings happily and let out a cheerful caw.

Jack managed to smile, and he sniffed and wiped his eyes, before looking up to see Sebastian and Ivy watching him. A flush tinted his cheeks as he realised the two of them had seen everything that had just happened. Ivy in particular was a bit taken aback. In the two years she had known her innately serious friend, she'd never even seen him so much as offer a smile when it wasn't warranted. She'd never seen him cry, or even get angry or frustrated even when the situation called for it in the two years she'd known him. But in the three weeks they had been Pokemon trainers, she had seen him angry, frustrated, tearful, laughing, and now teary. She almost couldn't believe it. She had seen Jack display more emotion in the past three weeks than he had in the past two years.

It was at that point that Robert reappeared. As he surveyed the sight in front of him, he let out a tortured sigh. Ivy looked shaken, her three Pokemon unconscious, Sebastian's Skarmory was released and preening its feathers, looking bored, and finally, a tearful Jack was clinging onto a Pidgeotto he had never seen before like it was his last tie to the world.

"Honestly." He said with a sigh as he looked down upon the situation in front of him. "I can't leave you alone for five minutes without you getting yourselves into trouble, can I…?"


Author's Note

Aaaand it's another chapter where not very much happens!

I don't really have too much to say for this one, apart from that it took me AGES. I seriously hurt my back some days ago and it's made sitting over a laptop excruciatingly painful, so I apologise for the delay and all that.

Thanks to my readers and reviewers, noshadowone, Guest, YoungDarkPegasus, TristeWilds and The Neverending Meep.

Oh, in regard to Guest's review, I've considered what you've said about the fic feeling a little 'domestic' and I do agree with you there. I'm the first to admit that not a lot is happening in terms of action, but I'm pleased to announce that I've managed to work in a little foreshadowing to the side-plot to come in a couple chapters ahead, so do watch out for that.

Incidentally, I would like to say that this story will come across as lighter and not as emotionally deep as my other fics, simply because there isn't a big massive major plot as in the case of Spirited and Free Spirits. I just wanted to try something a little different. So all I can do is ask that you just take it for what it is and enjoy the story! :D

So yeah, that's it! Please read and review!