And the rotation brings me back here now, woo! Time to get this thing started, and try get a chapter out at least once a month as I promised! My birthday is coming up in a few days, and I'm actually pretty excited! Sweet 16 time! And yes, my character has already hit 16, I know… but I am a year younger than my character for a few reasons. Ah, sweet 16 and never been kissed – the curse of an Anime Nerd, geeky author! XD

Chapter 6

"Hey there mother!" Gemma said in a chipper voice as she dialled her parents' home on the Video Phone in the Pokémon centre, sitting on Nathen's lap whilst Holly made her own calls. After all, Nathen had no one else to call, unlike his two female companions. However that was a thought he tried not to dwell on.

"Hello Gemma dear, hello Nathen," Carol smiled from the other end of the line, waving a hand at the two with a sweet motherly smile, before her hand dropped to join her other one somewhere on her lap, "How've you three being doing so far? Where have you reached?"

"We're currently in Berrybud City, Holly's already had a gym battle but Nate has to wait until tomorrow," Gemma smiled, playing absentmindedly with Nathen's fingers as they rested on her sides with his arms wrapped around her, "They've been helping me train for my contests, too!"

"Lucky. How come the second battle has to wait though? It's still rather early in the day," Carol asked, head tilting slightly, "Bea should have plenty of time for another battle."

"The gym was in a bit of a state when we got there, and is in even more of a state now. She released her Vespiking, and it used Honey shot all over us. Hence, the new attire," Nathen answered, ignoring Gemma saying something along the lines of 'How do you know the gym leader's name?' and gesturing to the new clothing before playfully snatching Gemma's glasses. She whined and blindly reached out for them, hitting his arms, before Nathen just laughed at her and placed them back over her ears. He nuzzled into the back of her hair, wrapping his arms around her waist again and smiling softly, contently brushing a piece of stray hair back into her bun.

Carol smiled inwardly as she caught the movements, catching onto something that Gemma seemed to be completely oblivious to. Hidden from Gemma's eyes, Nathen's cheeks were tinted softly red as she squeezed his hands and whined playfully at him for messing with her glasses, leaning back against his chest. Carol trusted the boy already, and as long as his intentions stayed as pure as they were now she was happy Gemma had found someone she cared for so much, and who cared about her equally.

"Alright. So, how much longer will you be there in Berrybud?" Carol asked, smiling sweetly at the pair,

"A couple more days maybe." Nathen said, shrugging a little.

"Oo and I caught a new Pokémon!" Gemma said quickly, pulling her Poké Ball out and holding it up, "A Luvbug! I got it in the bug catching contest!" She grinned happily, displaying the Poké Ball proudly. Her mother smiled back.

"Well done kiddo," She said. Gemma whined.

"Heeeeeey! It's bad enough dad calling me kiddo!" She complained, putting her Poké Ball away as she crossed her arms, pouting and giving her mother a look. Carol laughed softly, waving and giving them luck, saying goodbye as she cut the call off.

"Time to head off to dinner and then back to the inn I think, it's getting late. We may as well spend the end of the day at the inn," Nathen said, standing up as Gemma hopped off his lap and turned around to face him, smiling as she nodded, before she suddenly squeaked loudly and buried herself back into his arms as thunder rumbled loudly in the sky, Nathen chuckling quietly as he held her close. He looked at the front windows of the Pokémon Centre, seeing the now bucketing rain smack against the windows and glass doors – the weather taking a sudden turn for the worst.

"The wind must be blowing in from Windtunnel Forest," Nurse Joy said as the young trainers stepped out of the phone booth and looked outside, Gemma jumping as she saw a flash of lightning, "I heard the Pourvale was in the middle of a big storm right now, so the wind probably blew that this way, maybe picked up the lightning from Skyvale's abundance of electricity. You'll want to be safe inside somewhere."

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Nathen said to the kind nurse as he stroked Gemma's head, looking down to her, "Gem, we need to get back to the inn. Put my coat on over yours too, and do both zips up, and both hoods up over your head. The rain is way too heavy to just run through."

"But then you'll get soaked!" Gemma objected immediately, looking up at him, pouting and looking more than a little worried. Nathen gave her a look as he pulled his jacket off and moved her arms to slip the larger jacket on over her own, doing up her zip and then the one on his coat as he pushed both hoods up over her head, covering her hair and face though her red eyes shone still.

"I don't care. I can't have you getting that wet, okay? I can manage. Come on, hand," Nathen said, holding his gloved hand out to her. Gemma pouted, but took a tight hold of it and locked her fingers with his as he took her to the door, and as they slid open he ran with her as fast as he could to get them back to the inn. Gemma struggled to keep up, but Nathen dragged her along behind him as he sped them through the heavy rain, the water hissing off his skin as it evaporated on touch – and his own hisses made these louder.

Holly was standing at the doors of the inn as they ran over, after having gone ahead before the phone call, expecting their return after the start of the storm. She beckoned them in, and as soon as they stepped inside the warm she wrapped a huge towel around Nathen and gave Gemma another as Nathen shook and hissed, Gemma pulling her coats off and drying off her face and any other exposed part of her body.

"Are you okay?!" Holly asked a little frantically as she watched Nathen dry himself off, still shaking as his skin hissed. Gemma looked panicked, checking every inch of exposed skin on her best friend over and over again, whimpering a little at the water burns that had formed – loads of splash marks that merged together. Nathen quietly whispered things to calm her as he got rid of as much water as he could before beginning to heal his own burns with his aura, the skin healing over perfectly.

"Yeah… water doesn't agree with fire types. Gemma's really susceptible to burns when she's hit by water like that, she can swim and shower if she heats the water around her or prepares herself, but rain is a painful affair." Nathen said, shaking his hair our and rubbing it dry.

"Same for you Mr!" Gemma protested, hugging him tightly, burying her head against his chest. Nathen sighed, kissing her hair as he rubbed her back and calmed her down, before scooping her up, "Hey!"

"Up to the room. I need a nice, hot shower. I'll run you a bath right after, Gem, so you can warm up. No protests."

"Fiiiiiine," Gemma said with a pout, poking his chest. Nathen chuckled a little, smiling as she buried more into his chest when thunder boomed in the sky again.

"Lucky I had my shower already," Holly said as she stuck her tongue out, walking up to the room ahead of Nathen and Gemma. Nathen chuckled softly, taking Gemma into the room and laying her on his bed as he took a spare pair of loose clothes through to the bathroom where he undressed and ran a boiling hot shower, the temperature they relaxed extremely well in.

"Waa… I dunno if I want a bath, I'd have to be alone for too long…" The youngest member of the group said with small whimpers as she curled up underneath her covers, cowering away from the storm. Nathen smiled softly to himself with a sigh, washing his hair and finishing the shower quickly after checking for any bad burns, dressing in the comfortable clothes and walking back out into the room, sitting by her on her bed and rubbing her head through the covers.

"I can hardly sit in there with you Gemma. You can wait 'til it's over if you really want to, but I want you to warm yourself up," The teen said, smiling gently at her as she peeped up from underneath the covers again, puppy dog eyes on full capacity. Nathen raised an eyebrow.

"Can't you just cuddle up with me?" She said, pouting playfully as she held her arms up. Holly burst into silent giggles as Nathen playfully gave her a look before hugging the girl tightly, then slipping under the covers with her, lying beside her holding her holding her close to him, warming her up with his internal heat as it joined hers to keep her cosy and warm her through.

"So, now what's the plan? Hold out here until the end of the storm?" Holly asked, suppressing her giggles at Gemma's clearly happy expression and snuggling.

"Yeah, that's the best course of action. After it's passed, which will hopefully be by morning, we can go out for breakfast again, train a little, and then get my battle over and done with. For now, we rest, talk and whatever else we can occupy ourselves with." Nathen said, shrugging a little, "I may end up asleep rather fast though. Storms tend to soothe me off to sleep."

"Weirdo." Gemma quipped, pouting. Nathen and Holly both laughed.

(Outside – 4:03pm)

Outside the window that looked into the room, which remained unobscured so that Nathen could watch the storm, a young girl hovered a whole story or more off of the ground, with a light blue outline just around the edges of her body. The rain continued pouring down, but she didn't seem to be wet at all, her light blue hair still in shape, her clothes still fitting normally without the tightening of water. She simply seemed to stand on the air, watching the group through the window into their room as they passed the hours talking, playing and occasionally bickering.

"Notes for report… Subject rooted into a group of another user of a strong aura, and a girl who's aura is easily open for manipulation… unusual aura coming from a charm around said girl's neck… names, Holly and Gemma. The youngest may be of importance to Existence. She seems very close to the subject." The girl recited to herself and a small recording device, before she turned the device off and sighed to herself, continuing her observation.

The youngest girl continued to snuggle against the boy and play around with him, play wrestling him several times throughout the time Maylu stood to watch. Nathen laughed with her, playing with her as well, stroking her hair, messing it up, tickling her and pinning her. The other girl joined in sometimes, but not to the same level. Maylu suppressed a clenching fist, stretching her fingers out and taking deep breaths.

"Am I… jealous? No. Stay focused. He'll be back with the team soon. I'll take him soon. I just need to gather enough understanding. I might even report the girl's location, or take her too. The more in favour I am, the less likely it is they'll hurt him or me, right?" The Ralts girl said to herself, musing it over in her mind as she tried to justify actions she knew would be wrong. "Oh Nathen… you knew you'd be chased and caught… why run away when it will simply result in more injury? You're littered with scars as it is…"

She sighed softly, sitting on thin air as she continued to watch the trio of friends. She had her reasons, and she would have to stick to them.

(Berrybud Gym – Housing Level Kitchen – 4:30pm)

"What on earth happened down there?" Annette asked, sipping a hot cup of coffee as she sat bundled in a thick blanket, her Pachirisu sitting on her head sipping from a tiny cup. Bea sighed, sitting down across from her friend, wrapped up in a thick cardigan with her curly hair let loose, a small Caterpie sat atop her head.

"Ma idiocy. Let out Vespiking when he wanted to be sleeping, and thus – he shot the gym with a huuuuuuge Honey Shot attack. Safe ta say, it didn't end well and that's why the ground floor is such a mess. I'm gonna clean it up later," The gym leader sighed, sipping her own hot drink as she sat opposite the blonde, vacationing ranger.

"Why did you do that?"

"Lost a battle."

"…Do you do that a lot?"

"…Maybe…"

"You're hopeless, you know that? Just as goofy as you used to be," Anne said, shaking her head with a soft smile as her partner Pokémon tittered on her head, sipping its little drink before tapping her head with it. Anne looked up at her Pokémon, giggling at her antics as she continued sipping her own drink, sticking her tongue out at Electra.

"Well, if this storm keeps up, I ain't gonna be needin' to clean out the gym – the rain water will flood it and do it for me! Geez, that stupid Pourvale and thair weather ruined a decent day!" Bea whined, dropping her head onto the table with a soft thud, gripping her hair.

"You can hardly blame Pourvale. They have to deal with this all the time. Didn't the weather report say it was because of Windtunnel Forest's winds anyway?" Anne asked, pulling the blanket more around her, "I'm more worried about the flying Pokémon migrating to warmer regions for the autumn/winter right about now."

"Pokémon Ranger attitude activate much?" The gym leader said, hitting her head off the table again, "Can ya catch some water Pokémon to help me in the gym?"

"Sorry, no can do pal. I'm not on duty and regulations don't allow the styler's use for personal means," The ranger chuckled. Her friend whined again, and hit her head repeatedly off the table once again. Electra made a few noises in her own language and then jumped off her owner's head, giving the other girl a small electric shock which made her squeak and jump from her seat. "Ha, Electra is saying you better get the work done now if you don't want to spend all night doing it."

"Help meh?" Bea begged, pouting at Annette and clasping her hands together. Shaking her head, Anne stood up and grabbed a thick cardigan to replace the blanket, finishing her drink.

"Come on then, messy."

(Pourvale – Coastal Inn – 5:12pm)

Arial walked into the Inn, soaked from head to toe and wearing only her bikini top and shorts under a thin coat, her pale blonde hair plastered to her face and back with the blue streaks covering half of her eyes. Almost as soon as she stepped in the door, Michael went to hug her before seemingly changing his mind as he just grabbed her shoulders and looked at her.

"Arial I was worried! It's been a good four hours before the storm started, the host wouldn't let me go out to look for you!" The brunette said, looking directly at the eleven year old as she stared back at him.

"Michael, I'm fine… I was swimming!" Arial said with a cheerful voice, smiling at her friend innocently as she took his hands of her shoulders and tapped him on the nose, smiling cheerily. If anything, Michael looked more worried.

"What?! In this weather? The seas must be really rough with all of the winds!" He said, sounding a little panicked, "You're eleven!"

"And I also have messed up DNA that means I can handle rough seas just as well as a water Pokémon, and you know it you silly researcher!" The implanted girl said, smile barely faltering as she spoke, shaking her hair out and spraying him with water. He had gone to open his mouth to speak again, but paused mid word as he got splashed and his view was obscured by water drops, "Come on, come up to my room with me and keep me company until the storm ends."

Michael watched after her blinking a few times as she walked through one of the downstairs corridors to get to the room she booked, confused by the girl - as the intelligent boy often was by girls. He may understand complex Pokémon, Plants and other things he has researched over the years, but girls still made him feel uneducated and like a mild form of idiot. Arial's weird traits and overly flirty behaviour made her the hardest girl to understand that he'd ever met in his life.

He followed her after a moment, and walked in as she pushed her long wet hair into a lazy ponytail to keep it out of the way, drying off quickly as she pulled on her long sleeved white t-shirt, smoothing it out and pulling a blue tank top on over it – all this over her bikini top. Michael's face went pale red and, despite how it wasn't actually as embarrassing as he felt it was, he looked away as her light blue pants were pulled on, with a decal like the ocean made of white silk. She didn't bother with shoes or anything else and simply hopped onto her bed with her Poké Balls. She let out two small mermaid Pokémon.

The first was a female version of Merbble, which had the same basic form as its male counterpart but with colouring and small other differences - Its tail is light, ice blue, with see through white fins that are shaped into curly, delicate shapes on the end, and around the top. The scales on its arms are the same light blue, and also have these fins. It hasn't got human ears, instead it has the same shapes as its fins for ears, but they are opaque and the same colour as its skin, which is extremely pale. It eyes are pink, and it has long flowing pink curls for hair.

The second was a Solace Pokémon, not familiar to Monoko – a Searen. It had a small female mermaid like form, its lower body is natural blue mermaid fish tail but with only one fin, upper body is a light blue cloaked in a mist like fabric, with long light blue hair, dark blue eyes, and small bracelets on her wrists with a triton design.

Michael's red didn't quite fade as he allowed himself to look now she was fully dressed, but he did smile as she filled a small tub with water from a water gun attack she shot from her hand. The two mermaids cheered happily, splashing about with each other. Arial joined in as best she could, and smiled happily as she did so, causing her older friend to smile more too. As she gestured to him to sit down, he slowly did so, and was soon splashed with water again as Arial giggled her head off.

(Pourvale Existence Base – Training Centre - 5:46pm)

Braylen floated in a deep training pool in the back of the specialised Existence base, which held the cover of the helpful business that it did all over the region, and the world. But the blue haired boy looked rather different whilst in the water – from the waist down, his body had been replaced by a dark blue tail with sharply shaped fins, with a semi-transparent black cape like layer from his waist to just above the end of the tail, wrapped around and kept down by a gold band of metal, which formed into a trident. His lower body had completely changed into that of a male Merquatic, and his eyes had become a lot darker and more sunken also, giving him an eerier look.

His tail moved back and forth slowly under the water as he floated peacefully, before jumping as he heard the door open. His eyes flicked quickly to the door, and a shimmer appeared as his legs prepared to reform, but sighing as a man stepped in the process stopped and he was left with his tail still intact.

"Mercer, I would like it if you actually announced yourself when you intend to enter this room when I am waiting for my sister." Braylen said, glaring at him as he swam over to the edge of the water, shifted to sit on the side with half of his tail still in the water, and looked up at the man.

He had to be at least 6'6", and his body was extremely muscled and currently covered in sweat all over his pale, smoky skin, no doubt having just come from a training session of his own. He brushed his smoky, shoulder length blonde hair up into a small ponytail with a thick, messy fringe. The ends looked like pale flames, and some strands did take light momentarily. He pulled his black pants up a bit, and had an orange jacket thrown over his shoulders, a black piece of material that appeared to be a cape draped over his arm. Each item of clothing had at least one sharp 'E' design.

"Well, Kidd, I feel no need to do so. I do not take orders from children," The man snarled, pulling his jacket on and tying the cap around his neck, shielding his body from view as he walked closer to the water and crouched down, his figure menacing even under the cape.

"I am not a child!" Braylen growled piercingly, claws growing from his nails. The man snickered.

"Yeah, you don't scare me little mermaid. You're like a tiny Finneon trying to fight a Boltark. Now, Kidd, I suggest you watch your mouth when talking to your seniors. Why you have been assigned to the mission you have, I do not know. She is my assignment, and I have been trying to get her back for two years. You do anything rash without my approval, and I kick your ass to hell and back."

"Ha, yeah right. I can kick your arse with type advantage alone. Besides, if you lost her then they clearly didn't ask you again because you failed the mission." The aquatic boy said with a smirk, before grunting hard as he was punched hard around the face by a heavy fist, knocking him back a couple of feet in the water.

"Watch. Your. Tongue!" The man snapped, standing up and glaring hard at him, muscles rippling through his jacket as his cape fell back instead of around him, "I did not fail, and have been told as such! The mission went well, but the scientists used too much DNA and the boost it gave her let her escape!"

"Something wrong?" A female voice said, making Braylen curse as he quickly changed his legs back to normal and swam up to the wall again, to hide his naked lower half.

A young girl, the same age as Braylen, walked into view behind the huge man – looking like a tiny child in comparison to his huge muscled form. Underneath a layer of shoulder length blonde hair was a piece of dark-green blue cloth, which fastened around her head under her hair, falling to just below her hair's tips – two pieces of hair flicked slightly away from her head near this, and by the sides of her face. Her eyes were light blue, which matched the light blue sleeveless shirt she wore, which in turn had a dark green blue tank top over it.

Her leg peeked out of her skirt, a long dark green-blue beach skirt which tied at one side of her waist and fell with a slit down to her ankles – also showing her shorts. The movement of her walking legs disturbed the light blue Poké Ball patterns on the skirt. She smiled a pretty little smile that stretched her pink cheeks, innocent and oblivious to what happened in the base she lived in.

"Brylee, hey. No, nothing's wrong dear," The man said, patting her head gently. She giggled, swatting his hand.

"Brett, you'll mess up my hair! Anyway, Bray, you ready?" She said, smiling cheerfully at her brother who just nodded.

"I just need to get changed. Brett, take her out to the front of the building and check the weather. Make sure she has everything needed – and that I have everything needed for my errands." Braylen said, brushing his blue hair with a stray hand, staying close to the wall.

"Fine," Brett said, tone sharp, but he didn't protest the near orders as he led the girl from the room. Braylen sighed after, getting out and dressed. His sister was oblivious and innocent, and he had no plans for her to ever be any different – but she was a good cover.

Slowly he walked from the room with his bag, getting focused on his mission. If the storm was bad they would have to hold out another hour or two, but if it was manageable now they could begin their walk.

Time to start the biggest mission of his life.

(Berrybud Gates – 7:02pm)

"This took… a-a lot longer than I-I thought it would…" Samuel said as he and Seira passed through the entrance to Berrybud City, the rain still beating down on them, Seira's wings used as a cover for the two of them as they passed through the dark streets trying to find a place to stay.

"Y-Yes… it did…" Seira said, huddling close to him as they searched the busy streets, realising that most inns were closed, full, out of their price range, etc. They continued to get soaked, despite the wings, as they passed through the streets which by now were deserted, only a few Pokémon running around, hovering over the gardens.

"Sorry Seira… I guess the route I-I took wasn't the best… dammit cold rain…" The boy coughed, blonde hair plastered to his head, just as was Seira's blue hair to her own head. He kept her close, with her being the most shielded by the wings – despite the fact she was part water type. He shivered, making her worry, as they kept on their trek through the city.

Lights began shining through the rain as it got darker and darker, artificial light taking over sunlight's task and lighting up the rain. Seira jumped at the sound of thunder followed by lightning, all of which was drawn to a tower in the next city. Samuel calmed her quietly, and seeing the light of the Pokémon Centre and Nurse Joy's hand waving them over. He told Seira, and they ran for the light, retreating into the dry of the centre.

"Thank you…" The centre was deserted, everyone in their rooms or the canteen. Both shook themselves dry, but Seira was reluctant to move her wings from their raised position, which could still be passed off as a costume or part of the bag.

"You have no need to hide your additions, dear. I'm a victim too," The Joy said with a gentle smile, forming a small Razor Leaf spiral in her hand, making both jump, "Come on, there's a room out back left. You two can take that. I'll bring you a warm cocoa soon, on the house."

"Swanna," Seira said briskly, but sincerely.

"Typhlosion," Samuel added, nodding a little and wrapping an arm around Seira.

"Petarose," Joy said softly, gesturing to her red hair – not pink like other nurses, "Now, come on you two."

They nodded, and smiling softly at her and each other they followed her out to the back room.

(Inn Room – 8:08pm)

"Sleepy wolf," Holly giggled quietly as Gemma struggled to keep her eyes open, even so early at night.

Gemma whined, nuzzling against Nathen's hold as she hid under the covers and fought not to fall asleep, determined to stay awake a while longer. Her crush smiled gently, nuzzling into her soft hair and stroking her back, humming an old song to her to try and lull her to sleep.

"Heeeeey! Traiiiiiiitor…! I don't wanna sleep, don't try and make me!" The young girl protested, hitting his chest softly, whining and trying to fight her closing eyes. Nathen laughed, grabbing her Embolf toy and putting it in her arms, which she automatically hugged tightly between them as she buried herself into his arms, and her eyes closed.

"Shhh… sleep my little wolf…" He said gently, nuzzling her head. Just as she went to sleep, a thunder clap shocked her awake again and both Holly and Nathen sighed. This was about the fifth time this happened.

"Th-thunder!"

"I know Gem… come on, nuzzle up and I'll keep you safe…"

Gemma nodded, and nuzzling more to him, the cycle began again.

~X~X~X~

Woo, I got this up! …Yes, I think it's a bit later than planned, and it was a filler – but we learned some stuff and got little insights, plus two newish characters! Yay~! Well, I'm done for now, and tired after my convention yesterday, so this is going up nearly right before I sleep. Next up, SR!

R&R!