Chapter 7

Tim and I reach one of the ledges that dotted Route 2 before we encountered another person. The boy's eyes lit up and a huge grin spread across his face when our eyes met.

"Oh boy." Tim muttered next to me.

"I wanted some more battle experience before we reached Striation." I glance at him and see him rolling his eyes and raise an eyebrow.

When he notices my raised brow, he sighs. "I know that type. So eager for a battle they don't really look at the opponent and when they lose they get really upset."

"Hmmm. I think you were well on your way to being one of those trainers when we met." At Tim's aghast look I smile sweetly. "Did you really think much before you challenged me?"

He sighs. "No, no I didn't. And you're right. Think you can help me avoid becoming like that again?"

"I'll see what I can do."

The eager trainer reaches us.

"When trainers' eyes meet, a battle begins!"

Incredulous, I look at Tim and see him barely containing laughter. That was so cliché! Did that kid really just say that? I smile at the boy.

"Your name?"

"Names don't matter! Let's battle!"

Without letting me say anything more, the boy releases a Patrat. The brown Pokémon chatters and prepares for battle. I sigh and release Avon from his poke ball.

"Patrat! Use Bite!"

As the small Pokémon runs towards us, I give Avon his directions, sending the instructions along the link in our mind in case he couldn't hear me.

"Avon, dodge and use Echoed Voice."

Once Avon is out of the way of the Patrat's vicious Bite, he lets loose a cry that echoes, even in the tree lined Route.

"Uh, Patrat, um. Oh, use bide!"

The boy is clearly shaken, not expecting that kind of attack. While his Pokémon starts storing energy, I give Avon the next round of orders.

"Avon use Sand-Attack."

Avon quickly scrapes sand into the Patrat's face using his paws. That Patrat flinches back and continues to store energy, though he received no more on that round.

"Avon try tail whip."

Avon whips his tail, lowering the Patrat's defenses a bit. The Patrat finally releases the energy it had stored but Avon manages to dodge just in time. As Avon waits for my next order he starts bouncing from side to side in excitement. He is obviously enjoying the battle.

The boy doesn't seem to be as happy about the battle as Avon is. "Patrat! Use, use…. Use Tackle!"

"Avon, try to dodge and use Echoed Voice again."

Avon is unable dodge the tackle and is thrown a few feet. He quickly gets back up and lets the cry loose again. The Patrat suddenly appears to be confused by the echoes.

"Patrat! Tackle again!"

"Avon continue using the same attack."

The Patrat is obviously trying to follow its trainer's orders but somehow manages to injure itself instead of Avon. Avon quickly let loose his echoing cry and the Patrat falls down. It tries a few times to get back up, but eventually it simply passes out. The boy looks like he's about to cry, but instead he calls out another Pokémon.

"Lillipup! Come on out!"

"Avon, come back. Let's let Dawnlace have a turn."

I release Dawn and the boy seems on the verge of hysterical giggles when he sees her.

"Are you all right?" I ask, honestly concerned.

"I'm fine. Lillipup! Use Take Down!"

"Dawn! Try to dodge it! Then use confusion."

I really don't like that attack since it damages both Pokémon. The Lillipup manages to catch Dawn and they both go down for a few seconds. Dawn gets up first and looses her psychic attack on the Lillipup. The Lillipup's eyes seem to go out of focus.

"Uh, Lillipup use Roar!"

"Oh!"

The Lillipup lets loose a roar that forces Dawn back into her poke ball. Dusklace comes out to take her place.

"Dusk use Pursuit!"

"Dodge and use Tackle Lillipup!"

Dusk easily dodges the tackle then pursues the other Pokémon and strikes it down. It's a tenacious little Pokémon and it jumps back up almost immediately.

"Lillipup, use Tackle again!"

"Dusk, use Echoed Voice."

The boy flinches at hearing me order the use of the attack that took out his first Pokémon. The Lillipup runs for the tackle but, Dawn's earlier psychic attack had confused it and it ended up hurting itself. Dusk let loose her cry and it had enough power to finish the Lillipup off.

I smile and thank my small Pokémon for their hard work once all Pokémon return to the poke balls. The boy silently hands over my prize money.

"Good battle." I smile at him.

He flinches at my words and then glares at me. Next thing I know I feel myself falling off the ledge that I had moved closer to without realizing it during the battle. Tim tries to grab me and slips after me. I see the boys face covered in shock. He hadn't realized how close to the edge I had been. He probably hadn't meant to push me.

I squeeze my eyes closed and try to brace myself for impact. It isn't a high ledge. People jump from them all the time as a one way shortcut. The impact that comes isn't one from hitting the ground. I crack my eyes open and find myself having my feet gently touch the ground beneath the ledge. I hear Tim softly being place on the ground as well.

"Whoops. You two okay there?" A voice said from behind us.

I glanced behind me and had to look way up. The man who had caught me was at least six foot four. His sandy blonde hair was cut short, his deep brown eyes seemingly unremarkable. As he set me upright I noticed his clothes. A brown leather jacket, plain white t-shirt, khaki jeans, and brown leather hiking boots. All very sturdy and sensible. He had been traveling for a while if the clothes were anything to go by, and his bag- a sturdy brown canvas rucksack- told the tale of many journey. All were well taken care of and well made.

"Are you all right?" He knelt down to look into my face as he asked.

"Oh! Um, yes I'm all right!" I look back at his face in time to see a soft smile flash across his face.

I glance over at Tim and see him thanking the one who stopped his fall.

This man was just a few inches shorter than his companion. With a three-quarter length black hoodie over a deep blue v-neck shirt, denim skinny jeans such a dark blue that they were almost black and black leather hiking boots, his stark white hair, hanging just above his shoulders stood out even more against the greenery. It is his eyes that catch my attention though. They were so pale. For a second they reminded me of my mother's, but when I looked closer I could tell that they were more gray, leaning to true silver.

"I'm glad that neither of you got hurt. That could have been a nasty fall." He glances my way and smiles. "Oh, how rude of me. My name is Kevin. The tall guy over there is Clint. What about you two kids?"

As Tim gives his name I give the man, Kevin, another look over. This time I notice a black tattoo on his right wrist, stark against his pale skin. Intricate wings furled around his wrist in a design that would be easily recognized. On his opposite wrist is a plain black armband, just big enough that it would cover the tattoo. When I glance back to his face I notice a choker that looks like it is black leather encircling his neck. Why do I get the feeling that it isn't really leather?

"And you, little one?" The deep voice coming from behind me makes me jump. I hadn't realized how deep in thought I was.

I give the two men a bright smile. "I'm Sophie! Thank you so much for catching us. Now we just need to get back up there. And people say that it is safe to jump off of those ledges." I glare up at the ledge.

"Well, I think they're supposed to be safe for those who mean to jump, not for those who trip." Tim grimaces when he glances at the innocent looking ledge.

The rumbling laugh that emerges from Clint causes both of us to jump.

Kevin gives the two of us a much softer smile. "It's pretty obvious to me that at least one of you was pushed. We were close enough to catch you, and also close enough to hear a bit of what was going on up there. Some kid was a sore loser. The both of you are truly kind to try to cover up like that."

"It was an accident. The boy didn't mean to hurt me. He certainly didn't mean for either of us to fall." I let a more honest smile grace my face as I shrug. "We are really grateful to you for catching us. But we really have to get going. It will take us a while to get back up there-Eep!"

A startled squeak escapes me when I am suddenly picked up and placed on top of the ledge. Clint soon helps Tim up to the top as well.

Clint gives us another smile, so soft it almost isn't there. "That'll speed things up some for you. Try not to fall off another ledge."

I stare at him for a few solid seconds. "I guess there are some upsides to being tall. Next time you are going to do that to someone, you should probably give them some warning."

"Sorry. Be safe on your journey."

"Thanks. Goodbye."

With that Tim helps me up and away from the edge. Once we're both standing we give the pair below us a wave and turn to head further along the Route.

Clint Wood stares after the two kids after they have disappeared from view over the ledge. He then looks over at his boss, who is also watching where the kids had been.

"So that girl's the one?" His deep voice seems overly loud now that there are only the two of them around.

"Yeah. Elegance!" A sleek Espeon comes out of a poke ball. Kevin Emerson looks at his oldest friend. "Were you able to sense whether or not the girl could talk to you?"

The voice of the Psychic Pokémon echoes in Kevin's head. Surprise flickered across his face for a moment before disappearing. Clint waited to hear what the female Pokémon had to say.

Kevin is silent for a few minutes. "Well, the girl definitely knows that I have an Eevee of some kind. They were conversing for a good amount of the encounter."

Besides an extra blink, Clint shows no sign of surprise. He returns his gaze to where he had placed the tiny girl about half an hour before.

"She may have more up her sleeve than we originally thought. Does 'Artemis' have the girl's proper description?" Clint murmurs quietly.

"No, 'Artemis' does not. And not only that, but she forgot her Xtransceiver again. Why is that girl so forgetful?" Kevin runs his hands through his hair in frustration at 'Artemis'.

"So basically, all 'Artemis' knows is that she's looking for a girl who can talk to Eevees? Well that ought to be interesting." Clint glances at his boss again. "We should hurry and meet up with 'Serendipity'."

"You know, sometimes I wonder if you would be a better boss."

"What? And have to make major decisions that will affect multiple lives? No thanks. That's way too much pressure for me."

"Yeah. I know. But the thought does cross my mind occasionally."

Clint calls out his Mandibuzz, Mario, and the two men get on with Elegance hopping into Kevin's arms. They continue chatting as Mario takes off and flies towards Castelia City.

"I don't trust those two guys." I speak suddenly once we are out of earshot of the ledge.

"Wha- Why? They seemed nice enough." Tim jumps, having been lost in thought.

"That Kevin guy had an Eevee."

"And that makes them suspicious? Wait how do you even know that?"

"I know because the Eevee talked to me. And it was the way the Eevee started talking to me. It was as if it already knew that I would hear it."

"I see." Tim got his thoughtful expression on. "I can think of two ways it could think you could hear it. It is a Psychic type or it heard about your ability from your Eevees."

"No, my little ones didn't say anything to her. They feel a bit suspicious of those guys as well. The Eevee might have been and Espeon, but I still think it was something else." I contemplate silently for a little while.

"So how did you like being picked up so easily?" Tim suddenly grins at me. "Your expression when that giant plucked you from the ground was priceless. At least I had some warning before he picked me up. That guy sure was strong."

I glare at Tim, who is laughing at the memories. "I nearly freaked out for your information. I guess I'm lucky that I have some experience being picked up by giants since my dad is one too. I hope we don't have too much farther to go to reach Striation. I want to get Avon and the others to the Poké Center."

"Well, we should reach there by sunset and if we encounter another trainer, I'll get some practice in myself. When did you teach your Pokémon those TM moves anyway?"

"I borrowed Tristan's TM box about a year ago and taught them then." I grin at the memories of slipping in and out of my brother's room while he was out on the ranch. "He had already taught the moves to his Pokémon and planned to return it, so I saw no harm in it."

"So basically you stole them."

"Borrowed."

Tim shakes his head at me and we continue chatting as we press farther on along Route 2.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! A new chapter for you. I got it done supper quick to make up for the short chapter I released the other day. This chapter also ended up being really long. Maybe the longest one yet. *happy dance* I introduced two new character in this chapter. Please tell me what you think of them. Also, I worked really hard on the battle. The first one I did was, well, carp. So I really hope that I did a better job with this one. Please review and give me your honest opinion.

I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!