Isaac stared at the ceiling. The summer sun had set hours ago and now the dim light from the city was the only thing casting shadows within his room. The ceiling fan spun slowly over his head to circulate the air but the room felt stuffy and hot. Isaac knew it wasn't the weather causing his sleeplessness tonight. It was the same thing that had been causing all of his recent headaches.

"Damn. Stupid girl . . ."

The teen sat up on the mattress and let his eyes quickly adjust to the room. He had been to several Pokecenters throughout Kanto but never got used to them. It always felt like he didn't belong. Maybe he would never get used to this. That clean scent made him uncomfortable and it didn't help the scenes of the day continued to run through his mind.

After the gym match, Paige was unresponsive, despite Brock's encouraging words to try again later on. Isaac had led her back to the Pokecenter afterwards and Paige had Rinno recovered. Afterwards, the young teen had spent the remainder of the evening in her own room. She refused to answer the door for anyone, not that Isaac had even tried. Nurse Joy tried to reassure Isaac that she would be fine and there was no need to force the door down. The young man complied…for now.

Isaac's fist fell into the pillow behind himself with a thud. This was getting irritating. There was no way he was getting any sleep tonight. Maybe a walk would do himself some good.

The phone didn't ring for long. It was almost as if parents can tell when their kids are calling for moral support. The two rings and click soon after made Paige's heart jump up a little bit but the gruff, warm familiar voice would calm her down.

"Paige honey. How are you doing tonight?"

"Fine Dad. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing." A blatant lie.

"Well everything is pretty much the same since you left. Your brother has been helping us a bit more with business and your mother has been…well you know how your mother is. I certainly wouldn't want to stand in front of that Tauros. She can be quite…Paige, dear. What's wrong?"

Paige stifled a light sniff, tears growing in her eyes as she could hear her father's words grow with concern. No matter what she did, ever since she was young her father had some kind of six sense to these things. It certainly didn't help she had been softly sniffling as soon as he began to talk. She didn't call home to let her family listen to her cry. She called home for sincere guidance and not to make them feel bad.

"It's nothing Dad. Honest. I just… it's been a long day and I wanted to hear from you."

Paige sat quietly in the Pokecenter's room beside the bed with Rinno resting in her lap. She had settled in for the evening, dressed down in a pair of sweatpants and night shirt with all of her gear secured neatly on the top dresser. The nidoran's purple ears would twitch on occasion as Paige's fingertips ran down its back softly in a comforting gesture. Ever since Rinno had recovered from the previous battle, it had taken a liking to Paige's lap and remained there most of the evening. Paige felt guilty for what had happened to him so she did not protest.

The small rented bedroom was quiet and cozy, only enough room for a dresser and a bunk bed. A few artistic water colored pictures of pokemon by local artists had dressed up the walls and the cool night air rippled the curtains by the parted window. The other bed was vacant this evening and Paige didn't mind. In truth she didn't want anyone else to see her in this condition. She much rather just remain in her room and mope quietly to herself. Varem and Gale were curled up at the foot of the bottom bunk; the charmander's tail flickering alight while the pidgey had settled on top of its battle buddy's back and enjoyed the warmth of the golden flame. It was a cozy scene and Paige would have enjoyed it if she wasn't preoccupied with her own thoughts.

A light chuckle came through the phone's speaker as her father let out a deep sigh.

"Paige. Do you remember your Uncle Greyson? He is in Celadon now and has taken a job as an officer. Can you believe it? That many years in service and now he is trading downrange for alleyways. I honestly don't see how he can do it…keep going like that after all the hardships of losing a partner and now starting anew. Takes a special kind of crazy to do that huh?"

Paige sat and listened quietly, nodding to no one particular but her father's words.

"…or just someone with a lot of heart and passion to not give up when the chips are down. When Argos was killed in combat, he swore he'd never pick up another pokeball and yet here he is now, with another pup. I guess he felt like he would be doing a disservice to others if he just gave up and did nothing but mope around. That and what would become of his other partners if he retired?"

Paige's mouth parted to protest but stopped, seeing her father's point and what he was getting at. Did he know or was it just a coincidence?

"You should look him up once you get to Celadon and see how he is doing. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see you have a fire pokemon with you. You know how he can be."

Paige chuckled softly at the thought of this, her lips curling up lightly in a smile. Her voice picked up as she responded.

"Yea Dad, I know exactly what you mean…"

"You know, Uncle Greyson competed in the Pokemon League too when he was younger."

Paige sat up a bit more, her back pressed up against the bedframe as she pushed the cellphone more up to her ear. Her palm stroked across Rinno's backside, the small pokemon rolling onto his side and adoring the attention. "Y-yea? How did he do?"

"He didn't make it that far but did get a chance to compete in the main stadium. Your mother and I were just talking about how it's funny you are walking along the same path as him."

"I don't think I'll become an ex-soldier there Dad. I don't even know how far I'll make it at this rate." Looking down at Rinno, her index finger ran along the length of his earlobe and back down his back as the pokemon stirred softly but nuzzled back into his owner's lap.

"I expect you to stumble a bit at the beginning dear but know you will see it through. You will learn much more from losing than you will from winning at the start. Then, you will pull yourself back up and learn from your mistakes and get better. Your pokemon will show you what I mean. I think you know that too."

Paige turned her head back and gazed at Varem. She began to think about earlier today and how Varem had helped Rinno off the arena floor. Even though defeated, both seemed happy with each other. Paige wasn't sad at the defeat but more upset with herself at failing her new partners as well as herself. Reaching up with her free hand, she stroked her palm over Varem's jawline and watched the small fire lizard push his head towards the touch in sleep with a soft coo.

"I think I know what you mean Dad…" Paige's grip on the phone tightened up as she let herself smile. Her father always had a way to motivate without ever realizing what the trouble was. Whether this was intentional or not, it was a great help to Paige. No wonder she was a daddy's girl.

"Then you know what you have to do dear. Give em hell and show em what kind of woman Viridian City can raise."

Paige gave a quick nod. That surge of confidence bubbled back up once more and revitalized her. There was only one thing to do with such motivation.

"Well glad to see you're up. It's about time."

Paige had barely closed the door behind herself before meeting Isaac in the hallway. Isaac had a cold, disapproving stare at her with his arms folded in front of his chest. Paige returned his stare with a calm and neutral one, walking past him down the hall towards the lobby.

"I wasn't aware you were the one who set the schedule around here", Paige mumbled to herself, just loud enough for him to hear as she passed by. Isaac followed her, stuffing his hands into his pockets and staring at the back of her head while the two left the halls and entered the main lobby.

"What exactly is the plan for today?"

Paige looked back at Isaac with a soft smile. Isaac stopped, being a little taken back by the demeanor flip the girl had just made from last night.

"Guess I am really my dad's daughter. Stubborn streak and all. Brock is going to have a hell of a time with me today."

As Paige began to turn back around to head to the front door, she felt a light pull of restraint on one of her arms. Isaac had reached out and taken a hold of her wrist lightly, preventing her from walking any further. The feel of his fingers and padded glove was a bit rough on her skin but not in an uncomfortable way.

"Hold up. You can't just walk in there again without a plan like last time. You're just going to get thrashed again. Clearly you are in need of more training too."

Paige turned back around to face him, the two standing out in the middle of the lobby as a few of the locals walked around them and everyone continued their normal morning routine.

"I know you don't think I can do this alone and that I am just some girl who happened upon being in the wrong place at the right time. You've driven that point home pretty hard in the past couple of days but I know what I am doing now. I need to prove this not only to myself but I owe my pokemon that much. I realize that all too much now after yesterday." Isaac stared into Paige's cerulean orbs and felt slightly moved by her words and tone. Perhaps it was from the sleepless night or maybe he had grown a bit soft. His grip loosened a bit as she continued. "One more day of training isn't going to be the determining factor in this. I have to lay full trust in myself and not just my pokemon. I'm supposed to be the one carrying them when times are hard, not them carrying me. I'm going to do this here and today."

Isaac released the hold he had on her wrist, chuckling at first and then beginning to laugh. Paige looked a bit puzzled and took a step backwards as his laughter increased to a full belly roar. He was smiling. A genuine smile? What did he find so funny?

"Isaac…?"

"That's the corniest thing I have heard in such a long time! You spend all night in there reading comic books and daydreaming about being a hero? Is that all you are going in with? Confidence? You want to lose again, be my guest, cept this time…I'll be there to watch you get crushed."

Isaac sneered at her with his smile and stared back at her. Paige's face grew red hot, flushed at his behavior right under her skin. She was forced to bite her tongue at first to silence an outburst before speaking in a shaky voice.

"Wh-whats wrong with you… why are you s-such a jerk sometimes? Are you following me because I am just some kind of joke to you? I'm doing my best dammit!"

"You think that is going to be good enough?! It's not!"

The few patrons in the lobby tried not to look at the two but their standoff was hard to ignore. Even some of the nurses had begun to take notice at their tiff. It was then Nurse Joy had begun to walk over to the two with a stern tone in store.

"Both of you, calm down this instant! This is Pokecenter and you will respect other trainers while you are here. If you can't do that and calm down then I suggest you leave."

"That's fine by me ma'am. I was just leaving anyway." Isaac walked forward past Paige without a second glance, leaving Paige clenching her fists and gritting her teeth under her lips. Isaac's attitude and sharp words had a way of getting under her skin. Even now, she had to breathe deep to try and calm down. Before he could leave out the front doors though, Paige had one more thing to say to his ignorance.

"Even if you are a total jerk Isaac I haven't forgotten what you said. Watch me. I'll be standing at the end of this but I intend to win this time. No more of these games. I win today and you give me some damn respect as a fellow trainer, no matter how green I am."

Isaac had stopped at the sliding front doors, pausing in silence and giving a halfhearted glance back with a light smirk adorning his lips. His copper hues sparked a bit as he turned fully around once more and left the view of the front door. Paige remained where she stood, next to a bit of shocked Nurse Joy. Her fingers were still clenched into fists, not out of anger but there was more determination in her stance. For some reason, she felt even more motivated now to prove Isaac wrong and win her first badge.

The morning was growing old and Paige's blood was still hot. Gripping her belt and shifting it in place, her hand brushed over the 3 pokeballs hanging on her hip as she walked forward to the exit.

I can do this…we can do this…everyone… I'm gonna keep my promises to myself, Varem and my other friends. Isaac and Brock will see just what I can do!