Now that I have some content out I will be slowing down my updates a little bit. Been dealing with a bit of a cold the past couple days so this chapter isn't quite what I wanted it to be, but I didn't want to take -too- long before posting a new chapter. Hope you enjoy nonetheless. Happy reading! 3

The sun seemed to rise far too early the day following the winning of the Zephyr badge for the boys. They had deemed this milestone in their journey to be a cause for celebration and had spent the rest of the previous day relaxing, shopping, and eating far too much. Both boys had made calls home to tell their families about their accomplishments, then taken their pokemon swimming in the lake within Violet City. Following this they purchased more supplies for the next leg of their journey. Azalea Town was a long ways away without many rest stops in between.

The young trainers walked to the southern exit of Violet City and looked out towards the horizon. Fields, hills, and trees were all they could see.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways…" Chance mumbled out awkwardly as he turned to his new companion. The messy-haired blonde tilted his head to the side and stared at the shorter boy.

"Is it? I mean, it doesn't have to be. We are traveling the same direction with the same destination, ya know?" He laughed a bit and grinned as the red-head blushed.

"Yeah, I know… I just didn't think… Well, I don't know what I thought! I guess I just didn't want to assume you'd want somebody intruding on your journey, I guess." Chance stumbled over his words, embarrassment clear in his voice.

"Well, I have enjoyed the time we have spent together, so the way I see it, if you want to keep going together then I am all for that. But I won't twist your arm or anything." Adrian spoke over his shoulder as he began to walk out of the city and on to Route 32.

"Hey! Wait up!" The red-head jogged to catch up to his friend. "I didn't mean it like that, ya jerk. I would be glad to have somebody to travel with. Having somebody around would definitely help keep me from being bored."

"And out of trouble." The blonde retorted, earning a look of annoyance in response.

The two new trainers continued the banter as they journeyed south. Both were happier than they would admit to have a traveling companion. Their pokemon were great company, but somebody who spoke English would make the journey a much more memorable experience. Throughout the first day of their travels they encountered few other trainers, but those they did encounter seemed eager to battle in hopes of becoming stronger before their own matches against Falkner. The boys obliged a few battles, but were forced to pass on a few of the challenges. They didn't want their pokemon to get too exhausted when they weren't sure when they would see a pokemon center again. Snivy seemed to enjoy her half-nap on Chance's shoulder as much as she enjoyed the two battles that she did compete in that day.

As the sun began to set over the horizon and dusk began to claim the lands around them the boys set up camp and Adrian began to cook a small dinner for them and their pokemon. Chance laid on his back staring at the sky as Adrian stirred the soup he was preparing.

"Ya know…" He started. "It really is weird feeling like I know nothing out here." He frowned as he spoke. Adrian looked over towards his friend, puzzled with where he was going with this. "I mean, back home, I know every pokemon that is native to the region. I know their type, their strengths and weaknesses. Where you can find them. But here I have to rely on the pokedex for everything."

"You are kind of spoiled, ya know?" Adrian grinned down at his friend. "You can't just expect to know everything in a region you've never been to! If you did you would be some kind of prodigy. Or a huge nerd that spent way too much time studying." Chance stuck his tongue out at his friend's sassy response. "Don't worry so much, though. You will learn about the pokemon here during your travels. And besides, you have me here now. I have your back. Just don't embarrass me too much by making rookie mistakes against gym leaders!" As the blonde spoke he dodged the spoon that whizzed through the air at his head.

"I really can't tell if you're being a good, sincere friend, or an ass right now." Chance smiled from his spot on the ground.

"Can't I be both?" The boys sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments and smiled, the only sounds to break the silence were the bubbling soup and the light breeze across the hills. A shrill pokemon cry carried over the wind, drawing the eyes of both boys upwards. A large bird flew above them with a human on its back. "See that pokemon? Any idea what it is?" The red-head shook his head at his friend's question. "That is a fearow. It evolves from spearow. Both are really common pokemon in this area. They aren't as fast as pidgey's evolutionary line, but they are really fierce battlers and can pack quite the punch." Their eyes followed the large pokemon as it turned to nothing more than a dark spot in the sky, and slowly disappeared over the horizon. Adrian handed a bowl filled with soup to Chance as he sat up. Four more, smaller bowls were placed on the ground for their pokemon. They ate in relative silence for a few minutes.

"Thank you, by the way." Adrian looked up from his meal in surprise.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Chance looked away. "It just means a lot that you didn't laugh at me for not knowing anything about the pokemon out here and you actually seem to want to help me learn about them. My friends back home would have given me a lot of crap about it. But then again, most of them spent as much time as I did learning about the pokemon of the Unova Region and studying to become a good trainer. I doubt they would know any more than I do out here." He smiled at the thoughts of home.

Adrian laughed at his companion. "Well, don't thank me yet. I will start teaching you about the pokemon we see and quizzing you. Gotta get you up to speed or you will be a shitty rival!" The boys finished their dinner and shared a lot of laughs before turning in for the night. Much to the chagrin of Adrian, Snivy had noticed his pillow was fluffier than her own trainer's, and had curled up on it while the trainers were still washing the dishes before bed. The blonde refused to allow the grass snake's trainer to wake her up, as well as the offer to borrow the other trainer's pillow. Instead he opted to go without for the night and made a note to buy the grass pokemon her own pillow the next time they were in town.

The next day the trio, as Snivy was very rarely in her pokeball, came across a river by early afternoon. Across the water stretched a large bridge, high overhead. Adrian informed Chance that it wasn't actually a bridge, but was actually part of the rails for the magnet train that connected the Johto and Kanto regions. A few more hours of walking south and they came across a large dock that stretched over a portion of the river. The dock was covered in trainers who were fishing for water pokemon.

"Why are there so many people around here? Aren't we miles away from civilization?" The red-head questioned his companion.

"Well, according to the guidebook there is actually a very small town about an hour south of here. It even has a pokemon center." Adrian explained. "It says here that it was built as a place for trainers who were traveling between Violet City and Azalea Town to rest. It isn't large, but it has a decent amount of traffic through it."

Chance looked over his friend's shoulder at the guide. "So Union Cave is just a few hours south past that, right? I guess these guys are trying to get some water pokemon to help get through all of the pokemon in there?"

"Sounds reasonable… It might actually be a smart idea to see if we can get something." The blonde looked back to his friend. "I mean, you have Snivy, but if we run into some tough rock or ground pokemon in there, I don't think Cyndaquil or Nidoran are going to do too well in helping out."

"I have no problem trying if you want to. But how do you plan to catch a water-type? I mean, we can't just go wading into the riv-" He was cut off as his companion pulled a small, collapsible fishing rod from his backpack. "I really should have planned better before I left home…" The red-head looked a bit defeated as his friend grinned in triumph.

"Don't worry! We can take turns. I don't mind sharing at all." He unfolded the rod and cast his line far into the glimmering water below. They spent the next few hours trading off fishing, but getting no pokemon. Chance got one bite, but the pokemon got off his hook before he was able to reel it in. After that failure Chance and Snivy surrendered the rod to its owner and took the chance to battle some of the other trainers that were hanging out in the area.

"Well, I guess I should give up if we want to make it to that pokemon center before nightfall." Adrian sighed. His Nidoran was napping by his side as his feet hung off the dock. "How are we the only people out here that didn't seem to catch a single thing?" He moaned in frustration as he fell backwards. His friend leaned over his face, shielding his eyes from the late afternoon sun.

"Hey, we can't be good at everything. We can just leave fishing to the pros and go be great at training pokemon instead!" The red-head joked, making a smile break across his friend's face. As the two laughed the pole that had been sat on the dock next to Adrian began to twitch ever so slightly, before suddenly surging forward, almost going into the water. Adrian lunged forward and grabbed the fishing rod just before it was lost. He pulled back on it and began to reel in whatever was tugging at the line. After several minutes of tugging a small bit of red could be seen shining below the water's surface. The blonde trainer pulled as hard as he could on the rod and a pokemon shot out of the water and bounced onto the wooden dock.

Across from the boys sat a blue jellyfish-like pokemon with two large, red orbs within its head. Before Chance could grab his pokedex to analyze the new pokemon Adrian had already jumped into action.

"Nidoran, horn attack! Quick, before it gets back to the water!" The poison-type charged its foe and slammed its glowing horn into it. The water pokemon slid backwards on the dock and fired back with a stream of bubbles from its mouth. Nidoran cried out in pain as the bubbles burst across its body. "Nidoran, you have to get out of the way! Try and hit it with another horn attack!" Nidoran did as it was ordered and slipped to the side of the assault of bubbles and charged its foe once more. The second horn attack hit the water pokemon hard, but it responded by wrapping its tentacles around the head of the pokemon who had assaulted it. Nidoran began to run around blindly as its trainer called to it.

"Nidoran, stop where you are!" Adrian commanded. The moment his pokemon stopped he threw a pokeball at the pokemon that was grasping his nidoran. The jellyfish pokemon disappeared into the ball. After a few seconds the satisfying click rang sounded through the evening air. Adrian had captured a new pokemon for his team.

Adrian picked up the pokeball and smiled happily. From behind him his friend spoke slowly "So… That pokemon was a?" The blonde turned to see a blank stare from his friend.

"That was a tentacool. They are super common. You've really never heard of them?" The smile didn't fade from his face as he spoke.

"I have heard of them. I just have never seen one. Unova doesn't have any of them."

"Well, once we get to the pokemon center we will get to meet this little guy and I will teach you all about them. Deal?" The grin on Adrian's face became even larger as he gave the son of a former champion a teasing poke.

"You're an ass." The red-head grinned at his friend as he and Snivy began to walk south once more. His companion gathered the few belongings that were still sitting on the dock and ran to catch up with his friend. The boys made it to the pokemon center shortly after sunset and spent a few minutes introducing their pokemon to the new addition before heading to bed in the room they rented at the pokemon center. The next leg of their journey would be much more difficult than the fields they were used traveling through so far and a good night's rest would be wise to have before venturing forth into Union Cave.