A/N: Hi guys, happy Easter! Or if you don't celebrate Easter, just enjoy the holidays and the cheap chocolate. Today, two of my teachers gave us Easter eggs, and one of them even offered to buy us a coffee or soft drink from the canteen! So, what's going to happen in this chapter? Well, in the spirit of Easter, Kris is going to eat the egg she's been carrying. Kidding! April fools, I guess. Even though as I'm writing this, it's only March 29th, but close enough. Anyway, since I don't have much internet access at home, so I usually use the school's internet to update. So, with it being the last day of the term, I figured I should give you guys an update while I can. I'll try to update when I can on the holidays but don't expect anything too frequent until school goes back in two weeks. So enjoy this next chapter in which we find out the answers to all the questions I asked in previous chapter's A/N.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.


"Come on, time to take you home to Professor Elm."

"Chiko?" She sounds confused. I try to ignore her, not wanting to explain to her that she wouldn't be staying with me. I'd hoped that Professor Elm hadn't told her that I'd be keeping her, but her confusion now only confirmed this. Without a word, I returned her to her Pokeball, picked up the egg and kept walking. I was determined not to let this get to me.

Noticing the small cliffs on Route 29, I dropped down them, noticing a lack of long grass on this path. Within a few minutes that felt so much longer than they were, I made it back to New Bark Town. I'm home. It doesn't really feel much like I've just come home. Because now that I think about it, being in Cherrygrove City or on Route 30, it didn't really feel as scary as I imagined being away from home would be like. Maybe I'm not as bad at travelling as I thought I was?

I felt myself automatically smile when I saw the friendly face of Professor Elm's assistant as I walked through the lab. But my smile faded when I saw a police officer at the back of the lab talking to Professor Elm.

"Ah, and this is my neighbour and, well, I guess my part-time assistant, Kristal." Professor Elm said to policeman when he saw me.

"W-what's going on, Professor?" I asked, remembering how panicked he'd sounded over the phone. But it was the policeman who answered.

"A Pokemon has been stolen from this lab and so we're trying to find the culprit." I looked over at the table where three Pokeballs one sat. Since the labels weren't close enough for me to read from here, I tried to remember the order they had been in. Chikorita was the one on the right. I think Cyndaquil was on the left and Totodile was in the middle. Now, just one Pokeball sat on the table, in the middle. "We suspect it was the young male with long, red hair that was seen lurking near the lab earlier. We've asked around and it turns out he isn't a resident of New Bark Town." This only confirmed my recollection of Cyndaquil being the one on the left. So that's why Silver was so interested in the lab earlier! He was planning to steal a Pokemon. "Have you seen him?"

"Um, well, yeah, I've seen him. Actually, he challenged me to a battle earlier." I said nervously, hoping they wouldn't be mad that I accepted a challenge to battle a stolen Pokemon (even though I hadn't known he stole it).

"You battled him?" Professor Elm said.

"Yeah… he used a Cyndaquil." I answered, hoping he'd be too interested in the Pokemon stolen from his lab to think about why I, someone who isn't even a trainer, battled that felon.

"Did you get his name?" The policeman asked.

"Yeah, he said it was Silver." I told him.

"Thank you, I think I have all I need here. Professor, I'll let you know when we catch him or find out anything more."

"Thank you, officer." Professor Elm said. And with that, the policeman left. Looking like he was trying to stop thinking about the stolen Pokemon, the Professor turned to me to ask about my adventure – I mean, errand. "So, what was Mr. Pokemon's big discovery?" He asked, as if he hadn't even noticed the egg in the arms.

"This," I said, trying to point at the egg while still holding it. "He thinks it could be a Pokemon egg. He got it from some people who run a Pokemon day care."

The Professor took a step back, slightly shocked. "Well, this is incredible! Thank you, Kris, this will help a lot with my research." He took the egg from me and put it on the table next to the remaining Pokeball.

"That reminds me, I wanted to give you something." I reached into my bag and pulled out the Pokedex, which I never even tried using. "Professor Oak was at Mr. Pokemon's house when I got there, and he gave me this Pokedex. I know you already have one, but maybe you could find someone else to give it to?"

"Nonsense, Kris, that Pokedex is yours now." He said.

"But I'm barely going to use it." I reasoned. "I don't leave town much."

"Maybe it's time you did. And besides, you've already started using it."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I'll show you." He took the Pokedex and turned it on. He showed me a list, but most of the names on the list were blank, however I could see that Chikorita's name was there, listed first. There was also Cyndaquil, listed fourth on the list, but it looked like Chikorita's page had more information on it. "You see, the Pokedex records information automatically whenever you see or catch a new Pokemon." He changed it to a page labelled, 'Party.' "And it shows your Pokemon, with all the information you might want to know about them. For example, here's Chikorita." The 'Party' screen showed what could be a list but only had Chikorita. After clicking on her page, I could see information about her, such as her name, her gender, and my name listed as her 'OT,' to name a few.

"But even if it's got my information on it, you could just reset it or something to give it to someone else, right?"

"You really don't want it?" This question really made me think. Do I want a Pokedex? Do I want to be a trainer? I any of this what I want? How do I know what the right choice is? Is there a right choice?

"Um…" Was all I could say, not knowing how to answer this question.

"Kris, listen to me. Do you know why Professor Oak gave you this Pokedex?" I just shook my head, bewildered. "He doesn't just give a Pokedex to anyone, you know. Three years ago, he gave a Pokedex to another girl around your age. At first, she thought he was only helping her because he expected her to be just like her older brother. But that wasn't the reason why she got a Pokedex. He gave it to her because he saw something in her, just like he had seen something in her brother, who left home a few years before her. It's impossible to explain, but he saw something special in that girl. He knew that if she just tried, she could achieve great things. It's like she had the spirit of a great trainer and she just needed to find a way to bring it out. Professor Oak saw something special in that girl. And now he sees something special in you, too, Kris. Now, I'm not going to force you into anything, but I suggest you consider trying the gym challenge. Professor Oak gave you this Pokedex because he thinks you have a gift, a special way with Pokemon that a lot of trainers don't have in them. And Professor Oak is never wrong, Kris. And I think it would be a shame to waste this gift."

Wow. That was… interesting. Inspiring? Maybe. I never really thought of myself as anything special. Well, I mean, I think everyone is special in their own way of course, but… me, a trainer? A gift? Is that going too far? But Professor Oak, he's brilliant. Professor Elm is right. He's an expert on Pokemon, so he wouldn't be wrong about someone's potential to be a trainer. Maybe I should do this. Or at least, consider it. Find out more about this gym challenge.

"Um, uh… wow, well uh, what exactly is the gym challenge?" I asked. "I mean, I've heard that there's gyms all around Johto, but…" I trailed off.

"Well, there are eight gyms around Johto. Each gym has a gym leader and if you defeat them in a battle, they'll give you a badge to show that you won. If you collect all eight badges, you will be allowed entry into the Pokemon League, which consists of the elite four, four of the best trainers in Johto, and after defeating those four you can challenge the champion and win entry into the hall of fame."

"Well, it sounds kind of hard…"

"Well, don't say that. I'm sure you could do it."

"Yeah, but Professor, I really don't think I'd be good at… being a trainer. I even lost my first battle against another trainer."

"That doesn't mean you're not a good trainer. You lost, now you can learn from that experience. Tell me, why do you think that battle didn't go well?"

"Um… well, he had Cyndaquil, a fire type. Fire type attacks are really powerful against grass type Pokemon, aren't they?" He nodded. "And I kept getting nervous and not giving Chikorita a command quick enough."

"You see, you're thinking about your mistakes. And that's a good thing. You made mistakes, and now you can learn from them. Go slowly if you need to. Maybe you should give it a try? Start off easy? I hear there are a lot of beginning trainers on Route 30. Eventually you'll realise you have been improving, and bit by bit you'll develop into a great trainer. Professor Oak sees something in you, Kris. And I see it too. Why do you think I sent you to Mr. Pokemon's house? Honestly, Kris, I could have gone there myself. I'm not that busy. But I thought to myself, 'This young girl has the spirit of a trainer. But she's never left home and never had a chance to discover any of her talent for raising Pokemon.'"

I really didn't know what to say. "Um… thank you, Professor."

"Tell me, Kris, how do you feel about your Chikorita? Surely you've had a chance to bond with her during this time?"

"She's great, yeah. She fended off all the wild Pokemon so well."

"You've got to give yourself credit, Kris. Pokemon can't do well in a battle without a great trainer. Did the two of you do anything other than battling together?"

"Um…" Should I tell him I wasted time playing hide-and-seek when I should have been going to Mr. Pokemon's house like he asked me to? "Yeah. We took a little break and played… hide-and-seek for a bit."

"That's great." Wait, what? How is that great? I thought he'd say I shouldn't have wasted time. "The most important part of being a trainer is being friends with your Pokemon. Some people don't realise that." I thought back to Silver's words after the battle. He'd said, "Pokemon are used to battle with, but you care about that one too much, and that will be your downfall." Was he wrong? But he battled so well, I thought he'd know more about Pokemon than me. Maybe I should just listen to the Professor, he's never steered me wrong. Maybe I should listen to the Professor about everything. Maybe this is a good idea for me. But actually, there is someone else who should be part of this decision. Without saying anything to the Professor first, I grabbed Chikorita's Pokeball from my bag and let her out.

"Chiko!" I instinctively smiled upon hearing her voice.

"Chikorita, I didn't tell you this, but I wasn't planning on keeping you. I was going to bring you back to Professor Elm after we'd finished going to Mr. Pokemon's house and back. That was a mistake. You've been my partner in this, and I should have told you what would be happening. But Chikorita, Professor Elm is suggesting I travel through Johto to battle gym leaders, and I'm actually considering it. But I want to include you in this decision. Would you..." Why was this question so hard to ask? "Would you be happier going back to the lab? You might be given to another beginning trainer. Or… would you want to stay with me?"

"Chiko!" She ran to me, nuzzling my legs in an attempt to hug me. I reached down and picked her up (she's heavier than I expected!)

Holding her in my arms, I pulled her close and said quietly, almost in a whisper, "Okay. Maybe we'll go travelling together yeah?" After a moment I put her down but didn't put her back in her Pokeball for now.

"So, you've decided to go for it?" Professor Elm asked.

"Looks like I have, yeah." I laughed lightly, almost not believing the decision I've just made.

"Well, of course, you'll need to let your mum know you're leaving. I'm sure she'll be fine with it." Um… uh oh?

"Okay. Well then I'm going to go home and talk to her now." I said, pretending to be confident about this. I started to walk away, almost forgetting Chikorita was still there, out of her Pokeball. After a few steps I remembered and looked behind me to see her not there, then looked down in front of me to see that she'd been following me. I nearly decide to let her stay out, but then I realise Mum probably wouldn't react too well if she sees Chikorita before I tell her about her. I figure I should probably explain it slowly and gently. "Go back in your ball for now, Chikorita." I said, before finding her Pokeball in my bag and returning her.

"Hi, Kris." Professor Elm's assistant said as I walked past.

"Hey,"

"I heard you decided to try the gym challenge. Good choice. Here, take these Pokeballs to start you off, because I'm guessing you're going to be catching more Pokemon along the way." He handed me five Pokeballs. Catching more Pokemon? I guess I never really thought about that, but of course I'm going to have to catch more. Trainers usually have a team of Pokemon to battle with, not just one. And I could catch different types to get the advantage on lots of different Pokemon. I'm gonna need to memorise those type advantages.

"Thanks," I simply said. After putting the Pokeballs in my bag I walked off, out the lab and towards my house. Standing at the door, I hesitated for a moment. How's Mum going to react to all this?


A/N: I know, this part of the story may seem a bit boring, but it's still an important part. And don't worry, it will get better. In the next chapter, Kris will tell her mum about her plan to go travelling to battle the gyms, and then finally, she'll leave to find the first gym. Have a happy Easter and I will see you guys in the next chapter.