DarkFoxKit: Hello readers! First of all, I want to apologize for not updating for a long time, you see, we had a long break. My co-author Key2DestNE had almost a month long vacation, and we were working on another story to get it finished as soon as possible, but we're done and we're focusing on this story!

ChuckTheEon: Hi everybody! Its nice to see you again! I am here to let you know I actually started helping them write this story since the last chapter. Or was it the one before that…

DarkFoxKit: Right, and because he wasn't with us for 8.5, Key and I will try to do most of the explaining… from what we remember, our memory's a bit rusty since it's been a WHILE since we did this chapter and if we re-read it, you guys would've had to wait longer.

ChuckTheEon: But before we do that… Key, why aren't you talking?

Key2DestNE: … *holds up a note* "Because if I do, then the fans will KILL me- they smell fear you know!"

ChuckTheEon: How does talking cause you to smell like fear?

DarkFoxKit: I think he's worried the audience would kill him because he might be the reason why it took so long for the next chapter.

Key2DestNE: *flips over the note* "And we both know they'd do it too- at least, SOME of them would!"

DarkFoxKit: …Um… anyways, while Key cringes in fear, the reason why this is called 8.5 and not 9, is because it's the same chapter but telling Blue's side of the story. Key, don't you have anything else to… write?

Key2DestNE: … *flips over the note again* "Sure- the other story we were working so hard on is on Fox's profile, so if you wanna see half of the time we spent between last chapter's upload and now, go check it out!"

ChuckTheEon: How many sides are there to that note? …Anyway, I had nothing to do while waiting beside think up ideas of stories to replace INNsanity… Which we will talk about later.

Key2DestNE: *flips the note AGAIN* "Riiiight… later. Anyways, you wanna start us off for the chapter, Fox?"

DarkFoxKit: Yeah, yeah, we don't own Pokemon, we just do the fanfiction. Now read and enjoy.

Chapter 8.5: Blue's Resolve

Blue sighed to himself as he walked away from the construction site. Why did my little brother have to reveal that!? I didn't want ANYONE knowing… Especially… not Ash… This really sucks…

The boy held up his Ninetales' Poke Ball, he decided to send it right back before the Ninetales could pop back out and question him… not that he would understand what it wants anyway. "Sorry Ninetales, you're better off with the old man anyway…" he muttered… Baaaad choice of words.

With a flash of light, Ninetails forced her way out of her Poke Ball, growling in anger. "NO, Blue! I demand answers, and you are NOT sending me away again! Why haven't you called on us in over what feels like a year!? HUH!?"

Blue crossed his arms and frowned. "Why did you come out of your Poke Ball? I need to send you back."

The fox shook her head, her ears twitching furiously. "YOU know why, Blue- why are you acting like you can't understand me!? Drop the act, already! WHY haven't you been using us!?"

Blue clamped his hands over his ears and he glared. "What? Are you saying you WANT to be used? Especially by a no-good Trainer would couldn't see that his own Pokemon were suffering!?"

Ninetails twitched again, frowning angrily. "Blue, we weren't suffering! Sure, we had the occasional rough moment- but we always got past it, because we wanted to make you PROUD! Do you honestly think it means nothing to us anymore!?"

The boy sighed and said, rubbing his forehead in annoyance. "I already told you that I've retired, I'm no longer your Trainer. Why do you keep insisting that you're still mine? I've given you to Gra- I mean the old man."

"CALL HIM GRAMPS! He's your own family, after all!" Ninetails growled out. "Did you know that when you ran away, he felt horrible for scolding you like that!? ESPECIALLY when he learned how much we DO care about you!"

"He had a funny way of showing it when I last called him then." Blue huffed. "He was all 'well your brother Gary is doing so much better than you' and all!"

"... Did he actually say that?" Ninetales asked him, her eyes wide in surprise. "That doesn't sound like him at all!"

"... No." Blue frowned, crossing his arms. "But he's been saying that to me since I was a kid, Gary and Red, they were always such prodigies in his eyes. Now return Ninetales, I'm not going back anytime soon."

"We know, that's why you've been working so hard to make us strong so you can prove you can be just as good if not better than them!" Ninetales protested. "So we should continue the dream!"

"Well it didn't work." Blue said in annoyance. "The dream was lost when Red beat me and when he defeated that powerful Pokemon in the Cerulean Cave. So you should just go back to the professor and stay there…"

"Blue, Red may not have had the EASIEST time with that powerful Pokemon…" Ninetails frowned. "But it was easy to catch once Red knocked it unconscious, apparently. It's too wild and doesn't have a lot of intelligence, and it's very destructive- you know how easy to catch those Pokemon are when you knock them out!"

Blue nodded. "I do- and I ALSO know how hard it is to knock them out in the FIRST place. Ninetails, look, I'm not meant to be a Pokemon Trainer, Master, Champion or whatever, so that's why I'm out on this journey… to discover what I should do."

"Oh yeah?" Ninetails got right in his face, beginning to tear up. "Well, I can TELL you what you 'should do' with your life- be a Pokemon Trainer! You're amazing at it, and you should KNOW it! So why do you keep hiding from yourself!? HUH!? Why- why do you keep hiding from US!?"

Blue looked away, not wanting to face the Ninetales. "... Look, I made a mistake, and until I can correct it, I'm not comfortable using you or any of my old teams again. Only during emergencies and I have absolutely no choice do I call for any of you. You know this, I've told all of you this before I left, why do you keep asking me?"

Ninetails winced at that, but she frowned. "W-why SHOULDN'T I keep asking you? You told us almost NOTHING- we barely managed to convince you from just releasing us from our Poke Balls for GOOD! Do you really think we wouldn't want to be with you at all times!? We can fix the mistake TOGETHER, but-"

"This is something I must do myself!" Blue snapped, looking away. "I don't trust myself with you guys because I may have brainwashed you already like Coba- … an old friend once warned me about with Pokemon Trainers. If anything, I'd rather just be a civilian with a normal job. But sometimes… wild Pokemon just find their way to me." Blue grumbled, releasing the Spearow, Growlithe and Eevee to show Ninetales.

The fox frowned, looking at them thoughtfully. "...W-well… then you clearly need to be a Pokemon Trainer. If these Pokemon WANT to be with you… then why don't you realize your true calling?" Before Blue could respond, she smiled at the three young Pokemon. "Hi there- what're your names?"

"We're just Eevee, Growlithe and Spearow." The Eevee yawned. "I came from Blue's old Vaporeon and Red's Jolteon… they kinda left those two together and made me! I've been with Blue ever since I was an egg~"

Blue's eyes widened in shock. Ninetails smirked, glancing at the Spearow as it spoke up. "And Blue helped me when I had a broken wing. Someone's Ekans poisoned me with a Poison Sting and I hit the side of a building. Blue helped nursed me back to health and I wanted to repay the favor."

Ninetails's grin was practically ear to ear by now as she turned to the last one, the Growlithe. "And I was being abused by my old Trainer. I was starved, hit, and locked up in a small cage with barely room to move. Blue saw me like that and released me, telling off the Trainer before grabbed his Poke Ball and taking me with him. He released me from the ball but… I wanted to stay with him to repay his kindness."

Blue sighed, "Look, I only helped them because I was there and I don't like seeing people or Pokemon suffering, okay? It was their own choice to follow me! I just… kept the Eevee egg because Red was soooo insistent that I take it before he went to go find the elusive Mew!"

Ninetails was practically beaming by now as she crossed her front paws. "Oh really? Because I'm pretty sure that you're still a Trainer!"

"No, I'm just waiting until I can find them a good home." Blue protested, crossing his arms with a huff.

Ninetails continued to smirk. "Oh really? Because there are PLENTY of places you can do that, Blue… I think you liiiiike them~!"

Blue was about to retort when they suddenly heard Bob screaming, "DIE YOU LITTLE DEMONS! GET OUT OF HERE!"

Blue and his Pokemon looked back to see Bob with a mallet trying to smash the Digletts, the guy's lost his mind and just trying to smash them now; of course, he's missing every single one.

Blue sighed, rolling his eyes. "Look, we can argue about this later- but first, can we help this poor construction worker regain what's left of his sanity?" He held out his Poke Balls and returned them, but Ninetales glared before he returned her. "What is it now?"

"Just remember; we are NOT done talking yet." Ninetales hissed.

Blue rolled his eyes, saying sarcastically, "Yes 'mother'." and returned her as he went over to Bob. "Yo Bob… BOB!"

Bob jerked, as if snapping out of an insane trance. "W-wha!? Huh? ...Oh, it's you- what is it, kid?"

"... Which 'kid' am I?" Blue asked, wanting to know if Bob saw him as his 'popular little brother' as everyone else did. How quick they forget the former champion of Kanto.

Bob blinked before squinting at Blue's face. "...What was your name again…" Blue raised an eyebrow before Bob grinned. "Ah, right- you're that Blue kid! What's going on?"

"Well it's good to know that some people remembers me. So… you're still going crazy over these Digletts then? Maybe you should stop." Blue said calmly.

Bob twitched, glaring at Blue angrily. "No, are you kidding!? I'm not stopping until I get EVERY SINGLE ONE!" He growled, beginning to smash the ground with his mallet once more before Blue snatched it from his hands. H-hey! GIVE THAT BACK, YOU LITTLE-"

Blue ran off into the forest, trying to get the man to follow him. "Sir, I just want you to understand that the town doesn't need that dam- mother nature and Pokemon can keep the place from flooding without endangering anyone else!"

Bob frowned, chasing after Blue. "Maybe, but frankly, we need the money! Besides, the dam is going to help people more than you seem to think!"

"Like who? And is money all you think about?" Blue asked as he kept running into the forest with the mallet.

Bob blinked, startled. "W-what!? No- OW!" He yelped, tripping over a root. "SON OF A- YOU SEE!? THOSE DIGLETTS ARE STILL TRYING TO SABOTAGE US!"

"Didn't it occur to you that maybe they're stopping you for a reason?" Blue eyed him as he stopped and leaned on a tree, holding the heavy mallet like it was nothing… which was strange for a boy his size and age.

The construction worker blinked, looking up at Blue in confusion. "...Huh? What- what do you mean? They just want to keep the land to themselves and are too selfish to-"

"The Diglett have more than just 'wanting to keep the land to themselves.' It's also their homes, and a lot of other Pokemon's homes. The dam will cause the entire place to flood and every Pokemon will drown here or be homeless. They understand this and that's why they're trying to build up the land for Pokemon AND human's benefits." Blue explained. "Can't you see that for yourself? See how the Dugtrio are planting the trees while the Digletts make the dirt?"

Bob frowned in confusion, beginning to look around. "Wha…" He blinked, finally seeing what Blue was talking about. "...I- b-but that's-"

"The trees will naturally take in the excessive water while the dirt soaks them up, preventing any big floods in the area. And the fruits will be grown much easier, so there won't be any food shortages any time soon." Blue said.

Bob then looked at the boy, frowning in confusion. "But… every other Trainer couldn't see this… how could YOU?"

Blue looked at the man and sighed. "... Because… I'm trying to study wild Pokemon and learn how they live and what they could do for the world- and even for humanity."

Bob frowned, raising an eyebrow. "...Really? Then why're you with that trainer? If you want to study how they live, why do you go with somebody who captures those Pokemon? Heck, do you even KNOW his name? I certainly don't…"

"You mean Ash?" Blue raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "... Well he's different… I can tell, he's not like any other Trainer. He treats his Pokemon with respect, he's like their best friend rather than their master… I guess I hang out with him so I could learn from him too…"

"..." Bob frowned, crossing his arms. "Really? I thought the kid didn't have that many Gym badges- isn't that a bad thing for a trainer?"

Blue shook his head, shrugging. "No, it just means they're still in training. Badges are fine, but it doesn't always help to earn more and see how far you've come. Sometimes it's better to take it easy and not be in such a hurry to get as many badges as you can… I just wish I learned that lesson while I was on my OWN journey…"

"..." The construction worker sighed, slowly standing up. "...Well, I can't promise anything… but I can try to talk to my boss- see if he can't cancel the dam, especially with all that info. But… it's weird- you're saying he's a special kid? He doesn't LOOK all that special… He looks short."

Blue almost laughed, nodding. "Well he IS only 10 years old, while I'm about 14, close to being 15. Quite frankly, I'd say he's pretty tall for his age."

Bob's jaw dropped. "W-wait, wait," he spluttered. "Y-you mean to tell me that kid's TEN YEARS OLD!? Don't most Trainers wait until they're your age!? It's a tough world out there- I mean, YEAH, you can go earlier, but-"

"Are you kidding? There aren't any age limits to becoming a Trainer nowadays, even preschoolers are using Pokemon." Blue said with a roll of his eyes before thoughtfully adding, "Well… it was recently when that law was enforced, I had to wait until I was 12…"

Bob nodded before he walked up a pay phone and was calling his boss. Blue was beside the man to hear the answer. "Hey, uh… Mr. Stone? I'm calling because- y-yes, I KNOW the dam's behind schedule, but- M-Mr. Stone, just listen to me for a second, please!" Then he blinked, seeing Blue take the phone from him. "W-wait, what're you-"

"Mr. Stone, the dam needs to be canceled. There are Pokemon living here that will not survive the flood if you build that dam. The Diglett and Dugtrio are working together to make a compromise, so it's better to leave it up to them instead of this dam." Blue said to the phone without hesitation.

"What!?" an older-sounding man replied, sounding a bit indignant. "W-who is this? You're not one of my workers- what's your name?"

"My name is Blue… Just Blue, and I want you to stop this project, you're going to get a lot of Pokemon hurt and a lot of people angry." Blue said over the phone.

"..." Mr. Stone sighed. "Well… this is going to cost the company over three million dollars… but… How are you so sure it's going to cause trouble? After all, I've had scientists check the area before we began!"

"Did your scientist check with the Pokemon themselves? Look, what can I do to get you to cancel the dam project?" Blue asked him. "I can't pay you the million dollars, but surely there's a compromise here."

"..." After a moment, Mr. Stone responded, and he sounded pretty confident. "Tell you what- since you seem so sure of yourself… I'll do it- but, only if you can defeat my foreman with a Pokemon I'm going to send over. It will be a one-on-one battle, and no using potions or anything of the sort, understood?"

Blue frowned, wondering how he got himself into this mess. "... A Pokemon battle? But I'm not a Pokemon Trainer!"

"But I saw you used-" Bob began to protest.

Blue shushed him, before going back to the phone. "Does it have to be a Pokemon battle?"

"Well, yes- unless you would like forfeit already?" Mr. Stone still sounded confident. "It's either a Pokemon battle or nothing, 'Just Blue'. Take it or leave it."

Blue groaned and sighed, reluctantly giving in to the CEO's demands. "Fine, bring over your Pokemon and I'll battle this guy and win the Pokemon their homes."

Mr. Stone seemed pleased as he replied, "Of course- now hand the phone back to Bob, since he's the only foreman there at the moment."

Blue gave the phone to the worker… It turns out that Mr. Stone transported a Poke Ball to Bob so he can use it to battle with Blue. "Alright, just so you know kid, the boss's Pokemon are very strong." the construction worker warned, frowning a bit.

Blue frowned, growing worried. "...How strong are we talking about?"

Bob released the Pokemon inside… it was a huge Rhydon! It roared, "I AM READY FOR BATTLE!"

Blue frowned… Eevee, Growlithe and Spearow won't do any good against a Rock/Ground type… The only one that would was… Blue groaned… even though Ninetales is a Fire type, she does have moves that can easily take down a Rock/Ground type… She also has a lot of experience unlike the other three, and he didn't want to risk calling in another Pokemon from Professor Oak's lab.

"... I guess… if I want to help the people and Pokemon here… I'd have to use her…" Blue mumbled to himself as he released Ninetales from the Poke Ball.

Ninetales blinked for a few seconds as she was released, before frowning at Blue. "Are we ready to talk yet, Blue? Or are you going to hold off, AGAIN!?"

"If you haven't noticed, Ninetales, we're about to battle. We can talk later." Blue said to her, hoping the worker didn't hear him speaking to her.

The yellow fox grumbled, growling at him a bit before turning to the Rhydon. "Fine- let's just finish this guy up and get back to what's IMPORTANT here!"

"HEY! I'm important, you little witch!" the Rhydon roared, clearly taking offense to that.

Bob frowned, a little confused. "..." Then he shook his head, shouting, "Rhydon, use Rock Slide!"

The Rhydon roared as he threw huge rocks at the Ninetales, who easily dodged the boulders. "You're too slow~"

"Ninetales, use Extrasensory!" Blue commanded. The fox's eyes immediately began to glow, picking up the boulders as if they were pebbles and sending them back at the Rhydon!

Bob's eyes widened in shock, and he hastily shouted, "ROCK SMASH! Try to dodge most of them if you can, though!"

Rhydon quickly tried to smash all the incoming rocks and trying to dodge, but it was unable to dodge most of the boulders.

"Now… Energy Ball." Blue said, crossing his arms calmly. Being a Rock/Ground type, it was quad weak to Grass type attacks like Energy Ball.

Bob grimaced, shouting, "Horn Drill the Energy Ball!"

Ninetales only smirked at the slow Rhydon; its horn was spinning, one hit from that would KO any Pokemon, but it was far too slow, one would have to be so lucky to hit anyone with that it was almost laughable. "Oh please."

Blue rolled his eyes, frowning. "Fire two Energy Balls, and make sure to aim them." Ninetails didn't give any acknowledgement, she just fired one towards Rhydon. Then, while it was distracted with that one, she fired again, aiming for his side this time.

The boy frowned. "So you're going to start rebelling now?" He crossed his arms, glaring.

Ninetails turned and glared at him right back. "Hey, I DID fire two Energy Balls, you jerk! Don't just say I'm rebelling when I'm being smart and THINKING during battle, like YOU taught us!"

"You missed." Blue said simply, pointing at the Rhydon, who had used Substitute during that time she fired one Energy Ball and she ended up only hitting the Substitute.

Ninetails blinked before growling in irritation. "Well, if you would just stop ACCUSING me of things, I would have NOTICED that, Blue!"

Blue sighed, rolling his eyes. "Are we seriously going to play the blame game?"

"Who are you talking to?" Bob shouted, confused as to why the boy seem to be having a conversation with the Ninetales.

"... Just ignore me!" Blue frowned and blushed a bit, not liking people to know that he can speak to Pokemon.

"... Alright fine, Rhydon use Earthquake!" Bob ordered, quickly grabbing onto a nearby tree for stability.

"YES!" Rhydon stomped on the ground, creating a major earthquake around him.

Blue glared and yelled, "Jump now!" Ninetales quickly jumped high, trying to avoid the Earthquake. "Aim low with Flamethrower!" The fox grumbled, but she did so… and Rhydon dodged. "You had to aim LOWER than that!"

"I AIMED TOO LOW, BLUE!" Ninetales cried out, landing a bit shakily. "He was able to JUMP OVER it, not duck under it!"

"I didn't intend for you to HIT the Rhydon." Blue frowned, the two of them hadn't really been in battles for a while and their argument has left them unsynced with each other.

Ninetales scoffed, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "Oh yeah!? Then what DID you have in mind!? Me to heat up the ground uselessly!?"

Blue grumbled. "If you had hit the ground, you could've made steam, and steam is made from the humidity in the area, which would greatly weakened the Rhydon."

"WHICH WOULD HAVE GREATLY WEAKENED ME TOO, BLUE!" Ninetales shouted, huffing in annoyance.

"Not if you had just did what I wanted you to!" Blue glared.

"Why are you arguing with that Ninetales?" Bob asked, blinking.

"Just… ignore me." Blue frowned, still glaring at his Pokemon in annoyance. This is why I didn't want to train them anymore! I only hurt my Pokemon rather than help them!

"How dare you two argue during our battle!" Rhydon snapped, angry that the two of them hardly acknowledged him.

"Will-" "You-" "Just-" "SHUT UP!?" Blue and Ninetales both shouted at him, before going back to their glare-fest.

"Look, let's just finish this battle and then we can talk. You did well against my little brother's Blastoise, why the sudden hostility now?" Blue frowned, crossing his arms.

Ninetales narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, I don't know, why were you planning to just return me to the Professor's home instead of keeping me with you to finish our little TALK!?"

"Because there's nothing you can say that would change my mind!" Blue snapped.

"Um… Earthquake again?" Bob said weakly, not really sure what to do here.

Rhydon stomped on the ground again. Blue and Ninetales glared, "Energy Ball!"

Almost before the words came out of Blue's mouth, Ninetales jumped and fired the green ball right at the Rhydon's face, instantly knocking it out. Bob's jaw dropped, and he stared at the fallen beast in shock. "W-wha- but you just- how did you?" he stammered out, his eyes wide.

"... Ninetales has a lot of battle experience, and I've taught her moves and abilities to counter a lot of types, including her own weaknesses." Blue said, crossing his arms.

"You… could've won as soon as the battle started… you're no ordinary Trainer, are you?" Bob slowly asked him, his eyes still wide after returning his boss's Pokemon.

"... I'm… just a retired Trainer." Blue said, looking at Ninetales with a small frown. "Nothing more… nothing less." Ninetales narrowed her eyes at Blue dangerously, but she didn't say anything to disagree with him.

Bob sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Well… I'll send the Pokemon back, and that'll probably get Mr. Stone to call again… Do you want to stick around and talk to him? Because he probably WILL want to talk to you…"

"I'll… talk with him, but… I need to give some attention to Ninetales, she's been… rather rowdy tonight." Blue said, looking at Ninetales with a sigh.

Ninetales gave a firm nod, frowning in agreement. "Yeah- I could say the same about YOU, Artful Dodger!"

Bob frowned but shrugged as he went to the phone. Blue put his hands in his pockets and said, "What can I say to get you to go back to Professor Oak peacefully?"

Ninetales huffed, stomping on the ground in annoyance. "Oh, nothing much really- just that you USE us instead of just leaving us with your grandfather all of the time!"

"I've left you with Professor Oak-" Ninetales growled in growing irritation at that name- "a lot of times before, you never had a problem with it until after I retired!"

"YOU ARE NOT RETIRED, BLUE!" Ninetales glared at him, getting up in his face. "You're not able to run away from it- remember your new Pokemon!? You're a Pokemon Trainer, even if you won't admit it!"

"..." Blue looked down at a puddle, seeing his reflection. "... Ninetales… did I ever told you what an old friend once told me? … Pokemon Trainers enslave their Pokemon with those Poke Balls that brainwash them. After knowing that, you and the others still insist on never leaving the Poke Balls when I tried to release you. Why?"

The fox blinked in surprise before poking his chest with her paw. "Blue… if… if someone told you that, they don't know us. Sure- at first we're irritated about being captured. But… then we met you. You're not going to abuse us, you're not going to torture us… You're going to help us- so we grow to like you. Not because of those Poke Balls, but because of how you treat us."

"How I treated you huh? Everyone made it clear I didn't raise you all with love and care." Blue said, still looking down at his reflection sadly. "When I've met my brother… I could tell he put a lot of work into raising his Pokemon, but… he only seems to focus on winning and getting stronger… like I did before."

Ninetales sighed, gently nudging his head up so his eyes would meet her own. "Yeah… you did focus a lot on winning and getting stronger… But unlike Gary, who is only doing it to either prove you wrong or for revenge on your loss against Red, it's for a dream- to be the best. We all saw how you suffered after a loss to Red… so we decided to help you with something you wanted to do. You didn't show a lot of love and care… but it didn't matter- because if you did, we would have been weaker than we were. We were just fine having things as they-"

"No… Ninetales." Blue interrupted her, shaking his head. "I've been thinking while I was traveling… I've met this boy, Ash… He shows a lot of care and love for his Pokemon, he doesn't see them as just Pokemon to take care of or to battle with, he sees them as actual friends and partners. Although they haven't yet evolved, they are much stronger than most Pokemon would be at their level. They're stronger because they want to be strong in order to help their friend and partner. They'll do anything and everything in their power to pull of a victory for him. A Pokemon will try hard for their Master, but a friend will always do their very best for another friend." Blue said with a soft smile. "I guess that's why I didn't walk away from Ash…"

Ninetales blinked, surprised. "...W-what? But… but Blue, we care too! You were more than a Master to us- you were a coach, a teacher! Maybe you weren't 'friends' with us, but you made us just as strong as possible, and we were grateful! Why do you think it hurt so much for- for you to just abandon us!?" She began to tear up, and was the first to break the staring contest she had initiated.

Blue looked over at her, his bangs covering his eyes as his Ninetales cried. Then he kneeled down and put a gentle hand over her head. Ninetales opened her eyes in shock as she felt him gently stroking her head and her neck. "You have a lovely fur coat Ninetales, have you been taking care of yourself lately?"

"..." Ninetales slowly looked up at him, confusion and shock clear in her eyes. "...I… w-what do you mean, Blue? I…. I've always had this kind of fur… You said it helped to keep it clean so that the opponent couldn't use any knots in our fur to hold on!"

"... I'm sorry if you felt that I've abandoned you… I just wasn't ready to face all of you yet. I… I promised myself to be a better person before I tried to become a Pokemon Trainer again." Blue said softly. "That… is my resolve…" Ninetales didn't say anything, she just continued to stare at her Trainer in shock. "So you see… I went on this journey- not to run away, but on self-discovery… but I had to put my past life behind me in order to do it. Too many memories and influence wouldn't help me much."

"..." Ninetales was silent for a few moments, before she began to tear up again. "B…Blue…!" She tackled him, nuzzling his cheek as she cried out, "BLUUUUEEE!" She continued to sob, holding him tightly. "Y-you… you have no idea how happy I-I am to hear… to hear that you'll come back for us!"

Blue gave a smile as he hugged her too, whispering softly, "I miss you guys… a lot more than I would ever admit really… Of course I would come back… just… not right away. I still need more time to learn before I'm ready to be a true Pokemon Trainer again. Until then, I'll just follow Ash and protect him if need be. I'm starting to think he's… more than just a kid and a Trainer."

Ninetales's sobs began to die down, and she quietly asked, "W-what? But… but he looks like… like a rookie- what do you mean, Blue? He… he doesn't look too special…"

Blue chuckled, shrugging slightly "That's what I thought too when I first saw him, but… Well, it's too early for me to assume anything, but if I'm right… he'll be Team Rocket's number one target very soon. I'll be needing all the help I can get once that happens- hopefully by then I'll be ready to accept my team again, including you Ninetales."

Ninetales blinked at that, before beginning to smile. "R-right… Right!" She nodded, giving him a happy and relieved, if teary, grin. "I-I'll let everyone know! ...Blue… thank you so much for telling us…"

Blue sighed, glancing away sheepishly. "Well to be honest I wasn't sure if you would've accepted my resolve… that's why I was afraid to tell you. But… I'm glad you understand." Then he began to stroke her face, letting her continue to cry. "It's alright, Ninetales… I'm sorry I had to leave you behind…"

Eventually, Bob cleared his throat, and the two glanced up to see him awkwardly standing there. "Uh… sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but… Mr. Stone's demanding to talk to you, Blue."

"Alright, alright." Blue said with a sigh as he stood up and took the phone. "Yes? What is it?"

Mr. Stone cleared his throat, sounding a bit uncomfortable. "Uh… well, it seems that you win, Blue. Now… I'm a man of my honor- and if you honestly believe that the dam shouldn't go forward, I'll believe you. But…. I have to know something- how are you good enough to defeat one of my son's Pokemon?"

"You have a son?" Blue raised his eyebrow. "Well… I've… trained a lot in my spare time, nothing more, nothing less."

"But… I still want to build that dam…" Bob frowned, kicking the ground in disappointment.

Blue sighed, shrugging. "Well, I'm just glad it's called off, thank you sir." he hung up the phone and looked at the bummed out worker. "... You remember that kid with the Pikachu, right? Ash Ketchum?" Then he felt Ninetales nudging him, and the boy dug into his pocket and took out a red spicy poffin.

As the fox happily munched on the poffin, Bob blinked cluelessly. "...Who, that shrimp? He's just another wannabe- the only reason I remember him a bit was because he was with you! What about him?"

Blue returned Ninetales into her Poke Ball after she was finished eating, glad that they finally got things settled now. "Well Ash is not really a wannabe, he's trying really hard. He may not have a famous reputation or super powerful Pokemon just yet, but I can tell he's got a lot of potential and… he's also unique in his own way."

As if on cue, a tidal wave of dirt passed them by with Ash and his Pokemon riding on top of it. Bob's jaw dropped, and so did Blue's. After a moment, the boy slowly spoke again. "Y-yeah… he's unique, alright…"

The construction worker slowly shook his head, completely bamboozled. "I… wha- but how…" After a few moments, he tossed his hat to the ground, stomping on it for a few seconds. "GAH! Alright, fine, you're right, that kid's not a regular Trainer! But what makes you think he's RIGHT about not finishing the dam!?"

"Didn't I tell you already? Take a look at this place…" Blue said to the elder man, gesturing to the beautiful land, untouched by man. Bob blinked, before frowning in thought.

"... I… I suppose I never really thought about it that way before. We've been working on that dam for so long that it almost became a life goal for me." Bob said, frowning more as he kicked the ground with one foot, seeming a bit depressed.

Blue patted his back, frowning in empathy. "... Yeah, I know the feeling. When you try for a goal for a long time and worked hard, you start to lose sight of what really matters and only see the goal. But perhaps this will give you a chance to try something… more, something different, one that would benefit for both humans and Pokemon. Sort of like Ash tries to do all the time…" Then he walked over to the lake, where he saw Ash climbing out of the pool. "Ash! What happened?" he demanded when he approached the wet boy on the ground.

Ash chuckled and said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh… it's… just another one of those days for me, I guess."

Blue blinked, before he glanced at Bob. "...You see what I mean, Bob?" He gestured to Ash, raising an eyebrow. "You heard what he just said."

Ash blinked as the construction worker slowly nodded. "Yeah, yeah…" he mumbled. "I heard, I heard… You don't need to prove it anymore, I got it…"

"Uh… did I miss something? Blue, what were you doing?" Ash asked the older boy, tilting his head curiously.

Blue shrugged and said, smirking a bit, "Just another one of those days for me." Ash blinked before chuckling. "Come on… I managed to prevent the dam being built- let's go set up camp."

"Great! We can tell each other what happened then!" Ash smiled eagerly, putting his hands behind his head.

"... Uh… some things may be a bit too personal for me to share right now, but… Sure, we've got a long road ahead of us tomorrow anyway." Blue said, yawning- he was exhausted from today, but when he was with Ash, he would be ready for anything.

DarkFoxKit: Ah, surprised are you? Seeing that Blue CAN actually talk to Pokemon. But how and why, you ask? Sorry, we're not telling right now~

ChuckTheEon: I thought it was because he was *mouth was covered by Key's hand*

Key2DestNE: *is holding up a note with the other hand* "You say anything about that secret and you're kicked from helping us write." *smiley face*

ChuckTheEon: I was only going to say spending a lot of alone time in the forest… You haven't told me the secret yet.

DarkFoxKit: *rolls eyes* Anyway, as you can see, Blue has a lot of… self-esteem issues here. I apologize if it seems out of character for him, but this works well for character development. Gary's already taken most of the cockiness anyway, and it shows how much Blue's changed and perhaps even matured since his first journey.

Key2DestNE: "Precisely! Now then, we'll be uploading chapters a bit more often, hopefully- so sorry for taking so long everybody! …Please don't kill me."

ChuckTheEon: I can't take him being silent for much longer, I'm about to flip out! Say something, Key- anything!

Key2DestNE: *gulp* …Read and revie- *gets tackled by dozens upon dozens of angry reviewers!* WAAAAAH! HELP MEEEEE!

DarkFoxKit: ….. Uhhhh… I'll go call an ambulance now while you guys… finish killing him and leave a review.