A/N: Thanks so much for the review, Meta-Akira. Yeah! Us Totodile users gotta stick together! XD

CURRENT TEAM:

Darla - Lv. 9 Totodile

Nocturne - Lv. 8 Hoothoot

CHAPTER II

Violet City was huge.

When I was small, I remembered my mom taking me on a trip here. We'd taken the car, and being five years old the ride felt like it took forever. I remember pudding-sticky hands and playing tic-tac-toe with my breath on the windows. When we got out, I remember gaping with my little open mouth at the old, oriental-looking buildings. Even the pokecenter was a strange, off-purple color, nothing like Cherrygrove's bright red one. A lady told me they chose that color out of respect for Violet's ancient heritage, whatever that meant.

Now, eleven years later, Violet still looks huge to me. Sprout Tower looms in the distance. That would be one of our first stops. On the way to Violet, I'd caught a friendly Geodude in Dark Cave whom I named Dios, and a cute, quirky Spinarak I named Araki. I wasn't too keen on raising Dios, but I knew his strong arms would serve us well, later. I trained Araki and Nocturne together.

Nocturne proved to be a naughty sort of pokemon – the next morning I'd realized she'd gone through my bag and splayed the contents all over the pokemon center. My underwear trailed as a long line of colors into the hall. When I confronted her about it, she merely giggled and flew to a high perch, on top of the cabinet where I couldn't reach her. She was unruly, but I was determined to make her stronger, and maybe a little neater.

After visiting the pokcenter, I looked down at Araki.

"Where to, boy?"

"Spipispsip?" He cocked his head, large black eyes looking at me doefully. We stopped by the trainer's school and peeked in, but a large, fat man by the name of Earl and his constant spinning ended up making Araki sick. I excused us and ran out the door with the little spider in my arms just as he hurled a gooey mix of green slime and bits of web on the ground. Passerbys stared and wrinkled their noses.

"Jerks." I mumbled under my breath. "Poor pokemon's throwing up, and you gotta glare? Big fat jerks!"

"Here, let me help you."

I looked up at the voice only to see Ethan, Marill at his side. He offers a few napkins, and I take them gratefully and wipe the mess up.

"Thanks."

"No prob." He smiles, flashing me a thumbs up. "He's a cute fella, isn't he?"

Araki beams up at him. "Sppsppinnna!"

"Why are you here, Ethan?" I ask, trying to quell the burning in my cheeks. He'd been my crush since we were little, but I had a hard time admitting it, and Ethan was as dense as a brick wall.

"I'm travelling Johto, like you." He washes his hand in the small Japanese pond, and wipes them on his shorts. "I came here to see the Sprout Tower, but..."

Marill seems to hang her head a little.

"Marie can't handle Grass Types, and there are a TON of monks up there with Bellsprouts, all itching for battle. It's too bad." He sighs. "I really wanted to see the top of the tower..."

I look down at Araki, who chirps up at me.

"Araki here is super resistant to grass moves." I smile. "If...If you want, you can follow us up. We wanted to see the top, too."

"Really? Awesome!" Ethan whoops, then grabs my hand. "Let's go!"

I feel like I'll melt right into the floor. His hand is so big, and warm, and fits in mine so well...

The inside of Sprout Tower smells like incense and fabric. The central pillar creaks slowly back and forth, and monks walk around the base of it. A few tourists take photos before it, smiling and flashing v signs. We climb to the next flight, where a monk awaits us. Araki takes down his Bellsprouts easily.

The next few floors are all monks, and all Bellsprouts. I switch in Nocturne at one point, wanting to toughen her up, too. She learns Peck on the fourth floor, and I feel a little shimmer of glee run through me – now those Bellsprouts were toast.

Ethan smiles and laughs whenever he catches me staring at him for too long. I blush more times than I can count. On the top floor, we meander through the hall.

"H-Have the police caught Z yet?" I ask Ethan softly, trying not to let the stutter I got whenever he was around overpower me.

"Who?" Ethan cocks an eyebrow.

"The red-head who stole Chi-Chikorita...?"

"Oh, right! That bastard! No...they haven't even found a sign of him –"

Ethan cuts off, staring into the next room. I follow his eyes into a wood-floored room with soft windows that let in squares of the late-afternoon sun. Bronze Bellsprout statues line the walls, and particles flit through the sunlit air. In the middle, a wizened old sage and a familiar red-haired boy fight a pokemon battle, a Gastly against a Bellsprout.

"Gastly, Lick." The red-head commands. Gastly wraps his long tongue around the Bellsprout and squeezes, and the grass type falls to the floor, defeated.

The sage withdraws his pokemon. "You have won this TM, but know this. The way you battle pokemon is too harsh, too hateful. You will not go far with an attitude like that."

"I've heard that all my life, crone." Z sneers, recalling his Gastly. "Just give me the TM and leave your religious speeches out of this."

Z snatches the TM disc from the sage's withered hands and snorts, turning around and striding only to come face-to-face with us.

Z looks between Ethan and I, his steel-gray eyes darkening.

"Well well, if it isn't Beret-boy and Weakling. Is he your boyfriend, Weakling?"

I blush a deeper red than I ever have before, and Z sees it and smirks.

"Pathetic girl."

Ethan's fist is a blur. It collides with the side of Z's face, and the red-head staggers.

"Bastard!" Ethan growls, a fire in his eyes. "Give back that innocent Chikorita!"

Z's smirks grows wider, now tainted with a little blood at the side of his mouth. "Never."

"I said give-" Ethan punches Z again. "-that-" Another punch. "-Chikorita-" Punch. "-back!"

As much as I want to get Chikorita back, this is not the way to do it. Ethan is much stronger than Z – he has thick muscles in his arms and legs, whereas Z looks pale and sickly, as though he hadn't eaten for a long time.

"Ethan, stop!"

Ethan punches Z three more times, and I wince at every one.

"Ethan, STOP IT!"

My scream echoes. Ethan's fist stills. Z smirks up at him with a blood-smeared, bruised face.

"That's right. Listen to your girlfriend."

Ethan narrows his eyes and stands. "Give the Chikorita back, thief!"

When Z regains his footing, he shoots me another smirk.

"See you later, Weakling."

The Gastly at his side springs into action, coughing a purple mist up that muddles our vision. When it clears, Z is nowhere to be seen. I touch Ethan's shoulder lightly, and he flinches.

"I'm sorry. I lost control...I just hate thieves like him so much."

"I know."

The head sage fights me with grace and flawless tactics, but Nocturne is trained far beyond his level, and she even takes down his own Hoothoot without breaking a sweat. The sage hands me the TM, Flash, and smiles a golden smile.

"You are very kind. It shows in the way your pokemon battle."

"I'm a coward." I look at the floor. "I couldn't even stop Z from leaving...and the blood I saw, it makde me sick..."

"I know, child. You are timid, and small. Pokemon battles are blood, as well. You must learn this. Battle is not the way of violence, battle is the way of truth. You will learn this, in time, with your great kindness leading the way."

His words perplex me, but Nocturne lets out a crow and pats me on the back with one wing as if to reassure me.

At the bottom of the tower, I bid Ethan farewell. He smiles, a little sad, but a bright smile nonetheless. Marill trails behind him as he heads out of town. We stop at the pokecenter for dinner before challenging Falkner's gym. I weigh my options as Araki, Nocturne, and Darla chomp on pokechow, and as I move my curry around on my plate listlessly. Araki could not fight this battle – it was up to Nocturne and Darla.

The gym is spacious, and a wooden elevator takes us to the top, where wood platforms await. I can see glass platforms on the very outside, but decide to use the inner path. There are two trainers waiting there, and we'll need all the preparation we can get.

The bird keepers have Spearow and Pidgey, and Nocturne is a fair match for them. Falkner awaits, his blue hair covering one sharp blue eye, his kimono and pants both tight and loose.

"My name is Falkner. I specialize in Bird Pokemon –"

"No intro!" I yell, my hands and legs trembling with fright. This was a real gym leader – a trainer way above my caliber. I was just a girl from a town with a few pokemon, he battled professionally. I'm nervous, almost to the point of puking. It's only Darla's steady hand clutching my thigh-high socks that keeps me from darting from the gym out of sheer pressure.

He looks startled, but his expression quickly turns to one of amusement.

"Very well, then. Pidgey, I choose you!"

"Darla, let's go!"

Pidgey is fast and quick, but Darla is stronger. When she manages to catch the elusive bird, she uses her trademark sharp claws. A few water guns shot from her mouth hit the Pidgey in mid-air, and it collapses. Darla is looking a little weak herself – she took quite a few tackles to the face.

"Impressive. Pidgeotto, come on out!" Falkner announces loftily. His majestic Pidgeotto bursts from the pokeball, all wings and feathers and bright plumage.

"Darla, Leer!"

Darla fixes her disturbing expression on the Pidgeotto, who shudders. Pidgeotto rams Darla with another tackle.

"Hang in there Darla! Another Leer!" I order. Darla staggers, but nods and repeats the move. Pidgeotto is looking thoroughly disturbed now. With an elegant whip of wind – a Gust – Darla falls to her knees. I inhale sharply. This was too close for comfort.

"Darla, return! Go Nocturne!"

The Hoothoot comes out, ready to rumble. Nocturne doesn't quite match Pidgeotto's speed, but she's fast enough to keep up and dodge a Gust or two. She dives in to Peck, and Pidgeotto flinches at the impact. A critical hit, and combined with Darla's Leers, it takes a hefty chunk out of the bird pokemon.

"Roost, Pidgeotto!" Falkner commands. I watch in dismay as Pidgeotto takes to the ceiling and a wooden beam, framed by the glow of the sunset that filters through the windows at the top. When the pokemon comes down, it looks fully refreshed.

Nocturne uses a well-aimed Hypnosis, and with two Pecks, the Pidgeotto relents, fainting to the floor in a flurry of feathers. My heart leaps into my throat – we'd won!

"We did it!" I shout. Nocturne fluffs herself up as though saying; "What did you expect?", and I run up to hug her around her puffy body. She looks a little disturbed, but coos a little anyway.

"You are quite good." Falkner smiles. "My dad's cherished bird pokemon gave a good fight, though. Here, you earned these."

A shiny, dark blue wing-shaped badge falls into my hand, alongside a TM disc and some money.

"That's Roost. It restores HP to a bird pokemon. And the Zephyr Badge allows you to use Rock Smash outside of battle."

"Thank you." I smile, and he smiles back.

"Azalea is where the next gym is, but it's quite a journey south from here. Safe travels."

I exit the gym, my mouth still hanging slightly open. I did it. I'd gotten an actual badge! I'd done what Crys had almost three years ago – I'd gotten a badge. I wasn't as good at battling, or as brave, but I'd done it with the help of pokemon. Pride swells in my chest, and I hurry back to the pokecenter to award them with ice cream sundaes, or something yummy. My pokegear rings, and Professor Elm's voice filters through.

"Ah! Avery! We've discovered that pokemon egg needs to be around other pokemon to hatch. Would you mind taking it?"

"Uh, I'm not so good with fragile things..."

"It's alright, they're sturdier than they look! Please, please say yes."

"O-Okay. I'll try my best."

"Wonderful! My aide is in the Violet City pokemart. Please meet him there. Thanks again!"

He hangs up, and I heave a sigh. Did I just volunteer to look after a baby pokemon? What if I broke the egg too early? What if I messed it up for life by not doing something I was supposed to? The worries pile in on my head as I trudge to the Pokemart. The aide is nice, and I pack the egg into a nest of blankets in my bag. Hopefully it'd keep him – was it a him? - warm enough.

Now we were definitely going to get sundaes at the pokecenter, but the second I step foot out of the mart a strange woman in ethereal white makeup floats over to me, her graceful red kimono a truly beautiful sight to behold. Her hair is dark and pinned up in an elaborate hairstyle, and she smiles upon seeing the bulge in my bag.

"You...are the one?" She leans close to me, inspecting my face. She smells like tea and sandalwood. "You must take good care of that egg, alright? It's very special to me."

"I will." I nod. Satisfied, she dances off into the night. I shake my head. It'd been a really weird day.

The ice cream sundaes are cold with ice cream and warm with hot fudge. Araki makes a mess of his, fudge all over his mandibles, and Nocturne is stealing little bites from everyone else's when she thinks they aren't looking. Darla has ice cream all over her mouth, and she bites into the bananas with enough force to reduce them to mush immediately.

Z's bloodstained face haunts my memory like a dark cloud. In those steel eyes I'd seen something I hadn't noticed before when he was getting beat up by Ethan – loneliness. He seemed almost used to the beating, like he'd been beaten many times before. I feel almost a little sorry for him, but the victory of the day pushes him out of my thoughts. This moment is for celebration.

"You guys did amazing today." I smile into my own sundae. The three of them look up and cheer.

"Sppispi spina!"

"Hooohooo !"

"Diletoto!"

The egg sits on the table in a swathe of blankets, still and warm, and for a moment, out of the corner of my eye, I almost see it move, as though trying to cheer with us.