A.N. /

Ok guys. I totally left out one specific detail about the characters. They are all a tad bit anthropomorphic (ascribing human characteristics to non-human things). So they have hair. Anyways, here is chapter 2.

Chapter 2 – The Fated Decision

Naomi came to realization from yet another dreamless night. She did not open her eyes, however. She was in comfort. She imagined in her mind another beautiful day full of her planned adventure. It felt a warm day to her. She was to take Zayne to Rosemere, a town in the province of Aellyn which is home to many different varieties of Pokémon. She was excited to 'show him the ropes' and to get started on his own adventure. Since she had only been to one city in the entire province – the entire world – she can only show him of what to do around the town. She wanted for him to join her in her adventure as well. Naomi was psyched to tell the pikachu about the United Protection Agency. The riolu wanted to go to different locations, to dungeons, especially to help people in their time of need. She has the wits, the willpower, she just needed an opening.

She couldn't leave her hut. It resembled the past life of her mother before she passed. It is what kept her from going to the UPA – that and she doesn't have a partner. Maybe she could have Zayne as a partner; the thought came to her mind. But she hardly knows the mysterious pikachu, and he doesn't know what lies in Aellyn and the rest to of the Pokémon world. She has to at least inform him on the basic pokémon around this area. It would take her the rest of the day, but she had nothing better to do; that, and train her body and her alchemic works. Memories were flowing to her as she became more and awake. Her body didn't want to get up out of bed, but her mind thought otherwise.

She opened her eyes only to reveal her long purple hair was displayed in front of her. She slowly moved it away with her hand and sat up. After she let out a long, silent yawn and stretched her body. She hadn't realized until now, but she was surprised to see a cover on her; her cover for her bed. She looked at where her bed was at to see Zayne sleeping without a cover on. He must have put it on me. She thought. It was cute to her. No one except her mother did anything for the riolu. She was alone after the death of her mother. She let out a happy smirk knowing that he thought about her, even with his injuries. She needed to return a favor.

She got up from the floor and walked to the comatose pikachu. He faced towards the ceiling; his mouth agape and was spread out over the bed. Some dried up saliva showed on his cheek. She lightly chuckled at the thought knowing that she can tell him of this slightly funny snapshot. It's time to start the day! She shook Zayne with her hands, "Wake up, Zayne." Her voice was pretty calm and cheerful, like a loving mother waking up a child. Ironically, Zayne rolled over and mumbled words that Naomi couldn't make out. Again she shook him and told him to get up. This time, however, his eyes wavered open. He put his hand to his mouth and yawned loudly. Then, he stretched his own body out. The pikachu shook his bushy brown hair in attempt to shake out anymore sleep. "Good morning!" She cheerfully said.

He slightly grinned at her voice and replied back, "Good morning." He was calm and easy going now. When he awoke at the tree and the bed last night, he was very groggy. She smiled and then walked into the kitchen. She grabbed two large apples for breakfast, and then she heard stirring behind her, so she turned back. Zayne was walking to her. He was no longer sore, no longer tired, and no longer wounded. She smiled larger than usual and offered the apple to him, staring to his eyes. "Here you go."

He stopped in front of her, also gazing to her eyes. A smile crept on him as well as he grabbed the apple. "Thanks." Zayne took a healthy bite at the apple, chewed on it for awhile, and then swallowed it. He leaned on one of the tables closest to him. "Are we going to Rosemere today?"

She quickly responded happily, "Why yes. I'll show you around. Let's just finish with breakfast."

"Alright." Naomi slowly ate her apple while Zayne took big, healthy bites. He got down to the core finishing up his breakfast. He was as excited as Naomi was to get to a town or a city, and to take his first steps to finding out who he is. He smiled at his masterpiece in his hand. The apple made him full, due to how small his stomach was. Then, a thought came to his mind. He looked around for his necklace, trying to find it. Naomi looked puzzled and asked after she swallowed another piece of her apple, "What's wrong?" She took another bite of the apple.

He scratched the back of his head. "Where's my necklace at again?" She pointed to the same table next to her alchemy works. He walked over to the table and grabbed his necklace. He tied the two ends as tight as possible around his neck. He now felt complete as the necklace dangled onto his chest.

"Oh, grab my satchel while you're at it." He heard Naomi take a healthy chunk from the apple. He grabbed her satchel filled with different berries, and different remedy papers. He went back and leaned on the exact same table, waiting for breakfast to be over. The rest of breakfast was quiet, for the most part. An awkward silence fell upon them before Naomi finished up her apple.

Finally, she got to the core and threw it out the window. Zayne did the same and watch it land on a dirt road. He turned back to Naomi and gave her the satchel. "Let's go to Rosemere!" She exclaimed.

X

Naomi walked alongside with Zayne down a dirt road gleefully and gregarious. She was excited to show her newest companion to Rosemere. She hears the river flowing mellifluously along the side of the path. She could tell that the town was close.

She turned to Zayne as he was staring at the ground, with no expression on his face. He wasn't smiling, nor sad, nor angry; nothing. He had that stern look. His mind was elsewhere. His appearance was totally different than his expression at Naomi's hut. She could tell that something is troubling Zayne. More than likely, he is still trying to remember his past up until when he woke up at the tree, turning into a Pokémon. "Hey!" She tried to snap Zayne out of daydreaming, and it worked. He jumped at the sudden remark and Naomi continued, "I have a question to ask you something."

He smiled. "Yeah, what?" Naomi just ignored his question and went up ahead skipping along the road. "What was the question?" He asked again with a hint of annoyance.

It took a moment before she could respond, and he grew more annoyed by that moment. She turned around, smiling. "I'll ask you later. Okay?" She turned back away from Zayne and continued to prance.

Zayne became a bit confused at her response. What is she going to ask me? He thought. Does she know about me? What is going to happen to me after she introduced me in Rosemere? What will become of me? How can I find out what happened to my past? More and more questions and thoughts popped into his head, and he can't put two and two together. Again, he stared at the ground trying to think of a good explanation with his arrival in the new world.

Naomi looked back and sighed to see him glaring at the ground again. She ran over him, got around his back, and started to push him. Again, he jumped at her edging him along the road. "We're here and burning daylight!" Zayne picked his head up and saw the city before him.

The sun was in the middle of the sky and illuminates the river as it flows into the city. Many huts and edifices that looked like Naomi's seemed like it scattered throughout the area. He sees the some that are large, some in other variable sizes. There were many kinds of Pokémon, or so to say, that inhabit the area. Some were going to business affairs, some doing trade, some chatting to other kinds of Pokémon, and some going to places or go to their jobs to support their family. Everyone was busy interacting with the world. Many have jewelry, just like Zayne's, but more elegant and fine. Others have headwear, different hats and beanies and such. There were two courtyards, an east and a west. The road became stone which led into the east courtyard. A bridge connects the two courtyards and the river flows under it. The river flows under the bridge and banks west under another bridge that heads south. Then the River continues west until it unloads into the sea.

Zayne photographed this memory as he knows that it will last him for a lifetime. He knew that this city is full of life, full of adventure. Naomi stopped edging him and walked in front. She had a perky look on her face. "Come on! I'll show you around!"

Zayne followed Naomi inside the city, weaving around many other Pokémon and crossing the bridge to the west side. She said to Zayne, "Well, let's start west and then I will ask you the question." She starts to serpentine around the crowd again before Zayne could answer and again he followed her.

A couple of seconds passed and the crowd withered less and less as they headed at the west edge of town. She stopped at a large building. It was shaped of a bird's head with is light pink beak facing the courtyard. It was brown with pieces of wood hanging out giving it texture as if actual feathers were coming out of it. The eyes were replaced as windows and a gap circled around the tip of the helm of the head with columns of wood were supporting the top. He sees different birds of some sort flying in and out of the facility using the gaps. The pikachu was a bit frightened as he stared at the bizarre structure, however, Naomi seemed confident.

She started to explain as she waved her hand at the figure. "This is Aaron and Roark's Air Post Office. This is where you get packages to deliver to Pokémon around the Rosemere District. You can also send and receive any mail to multiple destinations throughout Aellyn, and outside of Aellyn if you pay extra. Aaron the Pidgeotto and Roark the Fearow are in charge of this organization's area." She pointed to the gap at the helm of the building. "Flying types, mostly Pidgeotto and Fearow in this area, go through that gap to give or receive any mail for the area."

Zayne stood there, taking the information for his own sake. He nodded, but something bothered him. He asked Naomi, "Other provinces? And what currency?"

"Yes, but that is irrelevant for now. Right now we need to get down with the basics around here in Aellyn." She paused. "And money is in Poké here in the Pokémon world. Poké are these gold colored coins." She took the item from her bag and showed him a coin. He affirmed with a nod and she put it back in her satchel. "Okay, let's go down the road." She motioned him to follow her and he got the idea. After a couple of houses they pass did they come upon another specialty building, only this one was medium sized.

It was a long building, but the edges were defined frequently as if there were many dents along the building. It was light pink and two slabs of light blue lumber were extended from the side to the floor to give it support. The opening faces the courtyard like a slender booth in a carnival. On top of the booth was a head of some sort, a type of a duck's head. Like the original building, it was dented all around the figure. Two slabs of wood replaced the eyes in a form of an 'X' and the light blue beak was rectangular prism shaped. Many Pokémon were crowded around the booth, trying to buy the item they want. A Pokémon of some odd kind was happily taking in some orders and distributed the items quickly and possibly. It looked like a machine to say the least. Weird. He thought.

"This is Travis's TM Shop." She stated as she broke Zayne's train of thought. "Here you can buy certain types of moves to help you increase your strength in battle, or you can use it to help you on your adventure. However, once you learned this the Technical Machine will disintegrate in front of your eyes unlike the HM." She paused to see if Zayne had a question, which in fact he did.

"What's an HM?"

"HM means hidden move. The only difference between the two is that the HM can be used multiple times and it doesn't turn into dust." She paused to continue her earlier description. "Anyways, the person who sells TMs is Travis the Porygon." She pointed to him. "He is a little bit nutty, but other than that he is a welcoming person."

He took in the information and said, "Alright! I got this down. Let's look for other buildings." He turned around in search of another specialty building. She smiled, but then something surprised her as she forgot to mention. She did not want to mention it to Zayne, but she had no choice as he spotted a frightful construction.

She quickly grabbed Zayne and brought him up to her muzzle. She stared into his eyes as he knows that this was important to him. "There is a guild here, but you stay away from it. They are a mob – you know what those are, right?" He shook his head. "They organize crime in order to get what they want. Unless it is a major issue, I would advise you to not go to it." She let him down. "It is called 'The Hydros'. They are full of water Pokémon that follow Bryce the Blastoise. Bryce is the Don of the group. Again, please stay away for your own good." Zayne turned around to examine the building.

It was a small building with only one window. It was a rundown hut, or so it seemed. There were two Pokémon guarding the door that faced the courtyard. Each was the same species or so to speak and wore the same pair of shades. They had a bandana on their arm that proved to be part of their gang. Naomi turned him back in frustration. "Why don't the police do anything about them?"

She sighed, "Well, they can't. They have no proof to arrest them."

"By the way, who are the police?" She went from an aggravated look to a sly smile.

"You'll see." She said and motioned him over to the heart of the city. Again, they crossed the bridge to get to the other side. Again they weaved around people until there was an opening enough for Naomi to explain. Zayne became a bit annoyed at this Naomi's remark. What was she hiding? But he shook off the thoughts because he knew that time will tell. The pikachu often wondered why so many people were clumped together into one place. Finally, a part of the crowd opened up and they seized this opportunity. She went to the spot before anyone could cover it up and motioned Zayne to her.

She pointed to two buildings as she faces west. "These two buildings, or should I say huts, are the Eevee Brothers' Item Shop and Accessories." Zayne looked at the building in the North. It was a regular sized hut, shaped just like Naomi's. It was cylinder shaped with sticks and twigs lying out on the top. Underlying the small branches was the actual circular lumber that stopped at the edges of the wall. Unlike the roof, the wall was smooth and round. The fortification was brown and it circulates leaving an opening in the front facing south. On top of the hut was a sign that says in bold letters, "The Item Shop'. Another type of Pokémon was running the facility taking in orders and giving products, like Travis. It was a brown figure in shape of a dog, however unlike Naomi; she was on all four legs. She had pointed ears and a great extension of fur around his collar bone. She has a bushy tail, larger than its body, which extends to the top of his head, below the ears. Zayne also glanced to the building in the south. It was an exact replica of the North shop, minus the sign that says, "Accessories and Clothing". A twin species was also running the operation.

Zayne asked, "What are they? Are they twins?"

Naomi replied, "Yeah. In fact, they are in a family feud throughout Aellyn. There is a background story, but I rather not go into detail. If you want, later, we could ask each of them." She started explaining the two buildings. "The one to my right is the Drake's Item Shop. He sells different types of berries, roots, items, and other stuff, well stuff that is edible. He orders through the post office and the UPA."

Zayne asked confusingly as he was thrown off of the acronym. "What's the UPA?"

She merely smiled and ignored the question and went on with their tour. "The one to my right is Kevin's Accessories Store. Here you can buy type of jewelry, hats, and many other types and colors. He also orders through the UPA and the post office. They are of the Eevee race."

Zayne asked with a bit of annoyance, "What is the UPA, again?"

"You'll find out. It is a very great organization." She smirked and gestured him again, "Come on. It's about noon. We have more to cover." She turned around and started weaving again. There was a water fountain in the middle of the west courtyard. However, Naomi did not stop at the structure instead they went on.

Zayne could tell that Naomi is so excited to tell him all these places in Rosemere. It was as if he could feel each and every emotion, whether it is angry, sorrow, giddy; you name it. He felt upbeat about this feature as if an aura is emitting from her and transferred its energy into Zayne. He smiled at this thought of having an extensive imagination, which he greatly believes that is true. He never felt quite upbeat as of now, or as long as he can remember.

Before he knows it, they were at another store, except this one was more elegant than the any of the buildings here in Rosemere. It was a panther-like structure like a sphinx, plated with gold-ish paint. There was diamonds, rubies, emeralds; different types of jewels embedded and scattered around. The opening of this shop also faced the courtyard. However, instead of people crowding over the shop there was a few people in line. They gave a quite a bit of money to the Pokémon in charge of the shop, or so it seems. It was a feline, just like the shape of the building. The creature had tan fur and whiskers extended out from around its nose. On top of that, a jewel (more like a ruby) was placed on its head embedded like the structure that it claims as its own. It was quite exquisite, and maybe one of the richest buildings in Rosemere, or Aellyn.

Naomi stopped and looked at the structure. "Here is the city bank. Just like any other bank, you store Poké. Each week, you get a six-percent interest. The Pokémon's name is Leah the Persian. She manages the bank." He affirmed again and they went across the fountain.

Zayne got a closer look of the structure. It was carved in marble. Water spurt out from the top and it trickles down the marble. The fountain displayed many Pokémon around the sides. Of course, the carvings were unknown to Zayne, so he just shrugged it off.

They stopped at another building. This one did not have an opening like the other ones. It was just a cement-like wall that surrounded some sort of lot. It had a gray color and no specific design was on it, except a seal of some sort. The seal was in shape of a circle. The circle had a wing-like form on each side. Right in the middle of the entire seal, three letters were displayed in huge bold letters. It said 'UPA.' It had two banners; one on top and one on the bottom. The top banner was a location label stating "Aellyn" as the Province's seal. The bottom however says, "Ministerium tutelage et fidei."

Zayne said the reading out loud. "Ministerium tutelage et fidei?" He turned to Naomi. "What is this?" He asked confusingly.

Naomi slightly giggled. "It is the official seal of the United Protection Agency." She pointed to the building. "This is the UPA's School of Training Courtyard." She stated confidently and continued to walk west. "Now before you ask any questions," Naomi stated before Zayne asked any questions, "The United Protection Agency, or UPA for short, is an organization by which Pokémon from the organization helps other Pokémon in various territories, cities, and districts throughout Aellyn. Armen the Dragonite is the guild's leader. This base is the first union that started ever since Pokémon inhabited the land. These Pokémon, or Agents, usually are sent to deliver any packages, capture bandits or criminals, retrieve any items that other Pokémon request and other sort of stuff like that." She paused to let Zayne absorb all of the information in his head, and he showed a bit of confusion on his face.

"A guild? Didn't you say to stay away from those?"

She chuckled. "Not this one though. It is a guild, but more special than any other one. Here, you help people, they don't help you. They are a certain type of police that has strong connections with every market, post office, banks; every noble corporations throughout the province. In a case, they are cooperation. Almost anyone can join, but you have to follow the agency's rules. That's why many just dropout from the guild." She stopped walking. Before Zayne knew it, the two were at the foot of a large set of stairs. Naomi continued. "I really want to be in this organization. Because of my past, I didn't want anyone to be in my place repeating my history. And yeah, you do get money. So that is a big plus." She turned to gaze at the head of the stairs. It seems that something was troubling her, as if she was wishing for something to happen.

Zayne patted her shoulder, "So what kept ya from entering the guild?" She turned around with a coy look on her face.

"That's the reason that I wanted to ask you. You have to have another Pokémon with you to be inducted into the organization. They form a team of two people, and the two Pokémon travel together throughout Aellyn. So the question is: Do you want to form a team with me?"

The question shocked Zayne as he flinched a bit and stepped back. He didn't know how to respond to her. He said to her, "Hold up let me think."

Naomi confidently replied, "Sure! Have as much time as you need!" She smiled hoping for the greater chance of Zayne saying 'yes'.

Zayne then went into a deep thought. He was conversing with himself inside his mind. What do I do? What if I did join her? I could find out my past, and then possibly know how I got here. This girl, Naomi, she can help me. But I can help her too. She only knew her mother, and not her father. She seems nice. And I have no one here to teach me the Pokémon society...There is adventure and she could help me become stronger and stronger to defend myself. There must be a purpose involving me here in this world. I don't know if it is the Heaven's will or something else, but this is real. I just realized it this morning. There has got to be something, or someone that put me in this - this exact spot with Naomi. He looked up to see Naomi staring him. She was waiting for the answer. However, Zayne looked back down as more thoughts came to his head. She sighed, but continued to gaze at the pikachu.

What if I didn't? Then who will I rely on in this wretched place called 'life'. How can I better myself with very little education about trade, work, and how will I at least make a living?

"My mind has made up." He looked up to see Naomi still staring at him, with expectation.

He sternly told her. "I am thankful for the opportunity, and I am glad that you asked me to be a companion." He seemed unsure for a bit, so he paused. Naomi was about to frown as she thought she knew where this was heading, but Zayne continued on with a smile on his face. "I want to form this team with you."