Sorry about the late update. This chapter was actually supposed to be posted on Sunday, but I had to help my mom decorate for Christmas. Anyway, I made a site for this fanfic. :) It's the homepage link on my profile. Please go to it and give me some feedback. I'd really appreciate it. I also tried to draw the female Charmander from this story. You know, starting off with basic circles and ovals for the body really helps. :D Yeah, I feel kinda dumb for not using that tactic these past two years...-sweatdrop- I just need to draw the bow on her and color the picture, but I lost my colored pencils...T-T Anyway, that's enough from me. Time to start the new chapter!

Tunneling Down

Light drifted into the room. Zoey opened her eyes slowly and sat up in bed. She yawned and stretched. Charmander and the other Pokemon were still asleep. So the girl decided to get ready and bring them some breakfast.

Zoey put on her outfit and took out the brush from her bag. She went to the mirror and began brushing her hair, humming at the same time. When she was done, she put it away and placed her hat on her head. She giggled and said "I'm so pretty." She wasn't vain, but for some reason, she just felt like saying it.

Charmander woke up and yawned. She saw Zoey at the mirror. "Char?"

"Oh! You're up Charmander."

Her other Pokemon woke up too. They yawned and stretched.

"Well, it looks like all of you are up! How about some breakfast?"

Her Pokemon replied with a happy cry.

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After eating breakfast and brushing her teeth, Zoey packed her things and returned her Pokemon except Charmander. She thanked Nurse Joy and Chansey. They smiled warmly and wished her good luck on her journey.

Zoey unzipped her blue vest and made sure she had her two badges. They were there. She was wearing a black sleevless shirt underneath.

"Ok," she said as she zipped it back up again. "Let's go Charmander!"

"Char!"

As Zoey and Charmander walked out of the Pokemon Center, somebody said "Well, I see you've finally woken up."

It was Gary and he was leaning against the building in a cool fashion. His arms were folded across his chest and a Spearow was on his shoulder.

"What do you want Gary?"

"I heard about your little fight with Misty."

"How did you find out?"

"Jessica told me."

"She was spying on me!?"

"I guess. I don't really know or care."

"She's such a stalker...And why are you here? Are you stalking me too?"

Gary blushed. "No! I'm not! I just happened to be resting here last night! Why would I go into the wild and sleep out there when I'm closer to a city with housing?!"

Zoey laughed. "Calm down! I was just kidding!" She continued to chuckle. Gary glared.

"While you're laughing Giggles, I should tell you that the road is blocked to get to Saffron City."

Zoey stopped laughing. "What?"

"I tried to go there early this morning, but it was blocked. So I'm just gonna go the really long way with my bike."

"Your bike?"

"Yeah. There's a bicyle store here and I bought one with the money my dad gave me. They're really expensive though...I doubt you'll be able to afford one." Gary gave an annoying smile.

"Hey! I'm not poor! Besides, I'd rather walk."

"Yeah sure. Anyway, I wanted to give you this."

Gary handed her a device Zoey had never seen before.

"What's this?"

"It's called the Fame Checker."

"I've never heard of it before."

"That's why I'm gonna explain it to you. The Fame Checker allows you to be updated on famous people in the Kanto region. And it's been modified, so now you can see the latest news here in this region on the Pokemon world. You can also contact other trainers. It's like a portable phone and televison."

"And how long does it work?"

"You have to charge it every night. Pokemon Centers have chargers for it."

"Then why are there still phone booths?"

"Not everyone can afford Fame Checkers Zoey. The world isn't made out of money."

"Mom never had one of these before...And she never told me about it..." Zoey looked at it. Then she looked at Gary and said "Gary, did you buy this...for me?"

The boy blushed. "Well...I didn't just buy one for you ya know! I bought one for myself too. And besides...we're rival Pokemon trainers and we need to be informed on the latest news. I didn't buy it for you out of the kindness in my heart Zoey."

Zoey looked at him still, and this only made the redness in his face grow. "Stop looking at me like that!"

"I just can't believe you would...buy something for me after all these years we've been rivals..."

"It's only been two years Zoey. We're not sixty seven you know."

"Still..." She blushed and said "Thanks..."

Gary continued blushing. "D-Don't mention it. And I mean it! If you ever tell anyone, you'll regret it!"

Zoey only smiled. "I promise I won't tell." She put the Fame Checker in her bag. "Well, I have to get going." She began walking towards the Gym.

"You're going the wrong way."

"No I'm not. I need to talk to Misty first. Then I'll continue on to Saffron. I'll see you around Gary."

Zoey walked away, Charmander right next to her. Gary thought it was strange that she'd be the one to leave in a cool fashion. That was usally his routine...

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The girl walked into the Gym and saw nobody at the reception desk. There was a bell there, and she rang it. Misty came out from the aquarium where she held the Pokemon.

"Oh...It's you...Why are you back?"

"I wanted to talk to you. May I call you Misty?"

"Yes. But I don't see what you want to talk to me about."

"It's about our battle yesterday. I'm sorry I hurt your Staryu...Is it ok?"

"It needs more rest, but it'll be fine. You shouldn't appologize for that though. You won the battle fair and square. I was a little rough on you I guess. I shouldn't have used Golduck...Only trainers from other regions are supposed to fight him, but not beginning trainers like yourself."

"That's ok. I know why you did it." There was silence. "It has to do with my family."

Misty looked at Zoey. "Who told you that?"

"My mom, May Ketchum."

That name stung Misty, especially since May's last name was Ketchum.

"Look, I'd rather not talk about it Zoey..."

"I knew you'd say that, so I won't bug you about it anymore. But...if you change your mind...you can talk to my mom and she'll contact me. Misty, I want to help you, but if you don't open up, then it's impossible."

Zoey started to walk away. Before she left out the door, she said "Goodbye Leader Misty," and walked away.

Misty watched her leave. A million thoughts were racing through her mind. She didn't know what to do. So she did nothing but continue tending to her aquatic Pokemon.

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About two hours had passed and Zoey and Charmander were walking towards Saffron. That's when they noticed a small building. She walked inside and saw a gaurd there.

"Sorry little lady," he said. "But you can't get past here."

"Why not?"

"There has been a blackout in the city and nothing is working at all. So I suggest you leave."

"But I need to get to Vermillion!"

"Then find another way."

Zoey frowned and walked out of the building.

"Charmander char?"

"I don't know...I never heard about the blackout..."

"Charmander mander char char."

"No I'm not going back all the way to Cerulean! I'm already over here!"

Zoey sat down on a boulder and sighed. She remembered that she hadn't got the data on Gary's Spearow yet. So she took out her Pokedex.

"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. It flaps its small wings busily to fly. Using it's beak, it searches in grass for prey." Zoey put her Pokedex away after that.

"Oh Charmander," she said as she sighed. "What are we gonna do? How will we reach Vermillion if the road to Saffron is blocked?"

"Char..." The little lizard put her hand on Zoey's leg comfortingly.

"Why are you down big girl?"

Zoey and Charmander turned around to see a little girl with pink hair and pigtails.

"Huh? Oh...it's nothing."

"But you have a sad face. Something is wrong."

"It's just that I can't pass through Saffron to get to Vermillion. That's where the next Gym is..."

The little girl giggled. "So many people don't know about the passage way that I found."

"Passage way?"

"Yup!" The little girl held out her hand and said "Hi! My name is Kiki-chan and this my Jigglypuff!"

A round pink ball came out from behind the girl. "Jiggly!"

"Oh how cute!" said Zoey. She took out her Pokedex.

"Jigglypuff, the Balloon Pokemon. When it wavers its big, round eyes, it begins singing a lullaby that makes everyone drowsy."

She shook the little girl's hand and smiled.

"So you need to get to Vermillion right?" said Kiki.

"Yes. Can you show me the way?"

"Ok! Just follow me!"

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They walked for a few minutes and found their way towards some trees a little ways before the gate building. It was a small entrance hidden by bushes. Kiki parted them away with her hands. There was a wooden door on the ground.

"It's underground," she said. "Is that ok?"

"Of course. I don't mind as long as I get to where I'm going."

"Ok! Then let's go!"

Kiki lifted the door with the rope handle and it revealed stairs leading downwards. Zoey walked down with Charmander and Kiki did the same with Jigglypuff.

Charmander's tail was bright and a great source for light.

"You should be proud of your tail Charmander," Zoey said with a smile.

"Char!" said the lizard happily.

The four walked on for about half an hour. They reached the other side of the tunnel. Kiki walked up first and opened the door. "Ok! We're out! Yay!"

"Jiggly!"

Jigglypuff walked out of the tunnel. Zoey followed along with Charmander.

The trainer squinted and held out her hand over her forehead to sheild her eyes from the bright sunlight. On the horizon she saw a port city, Vermillion.

She gasped. "Oh thank you so much! I can now get my next badge!"

"You're welcome!" said Kiki with a smile. "I like to help people! Earlier I helped this blonde girl out. But she was very mean to me and rude. So Jigglypuff attacked her using Double Slap. She ran away screaming. Serves her right."

"I know her...She's Jessica and she's a pain...I don't like her..."

"Me either. And then there was this boy on a really cool shiny bike! When he got off he was bummed out that he couldn't continue on. I helped him just a few minutes after you came by! He had like light brown hair and amber eyes. He was really cute too."

Kiki giggled. "And he had a Squirtle with him! It was cute too. That's what Jigglypuff thought."

Jigglypuff blushed shyly and turned around.

"That's Gary. I don't like him much either."

"Why not? He was nice to me."

"Let's just say things have gone wrong between us in the past."

"Oh! So he's your ex-boyfriend then huh? Yeah, previous couples usually don't get along well with eachother after they break up. Especially teenagers."

Zoey blushed. "He was not my boyfriend! He used to be my best friend, but then when we found out about Pokemon, we became rivals! And how old are you anyway?!"

Kiki laughed. "Your face is so red! And I'm seven years old."

"Well...I don't know who taught you about young love, but you shouldn't make assumptions about people and their lives so quickly unless you have seen what they're like."

"I do. Jessica is a brat and Gary is a nice cute guy! I don't know why you don't like him. And what's your name anyway?"

"Zoey Ketchum. And don't say anything because I already know that my parents--"

"I never heard your name before. But it's nice to meet you Zoey Ketchum! Can I just call you Zoey or Zoey-san? Saying your whole name is too long."

Zoey smiled. "Ok. And your name is Kiki right?"

"Kiki-chan. I liked to be called that instead of my usual name."

"Ok. Well, it was nice knowing you Kiki-chan."

"Hey! Do you have a Fame Checker Zoey-san?"

"Um, yes."

"Can I have your number?"

"This thing has a number?"

"Yeah silly! Here, let me see it."

Zoey gave Kiki her Fame Checker. She turned it on and found the number. She put the number in her own device.

"Aww, I wish this thing had number buttons instead of just a control pad and two small round buttons. Having to put in numbers takes forever. Whoever created this should update it."

Kiki put in her own number and gave it to Zoey.

"Here ya go! My number is in there too. And for some reason you also have your mom, the Pokemon Professor, and Gary already in there."

"I do?" said Zoey with some surprise in her voice. Kiki was right though. The numbers for those people were already in there.

"Gary must of put them in there."

"Why? Did he buy it for you?"

Zoey remembered what her rival said. So she responded by saying "No. I bought it myself. But he must of got it while I was feeding my Pokemon and probably put in the numbers."

Kiki placed her hands on her hips and said "Uh huh. Sure."

Zoey looked nervous.

"Anyway, you should get going now Zoey-san. I've been told that Pokemon trainers are always in a hurry to finish their Gym challenge. But tell me when you finished so I can come visit you at your house!"

"But you don't even know where I live..."

"Oh...Well just tell me when you're done ok?"

"Ok. It's a deal."

"Yay! Well, good luck on your journey Zoey-san. And I promise I won't bug you every hour. I'll only call you once in a while to see how you're doing."

"Ok. That's fine."

Zoey shook Kiki's hand and said goodbye to Jigglypuff. Then she and Charmander started to walk off towards Vermillion. The girl was happy she met Kiki. She found someone who was resourceful and fun to be around.

She had made a new friend.

I finished! Yay! Woah. This chapter was supposed to be up by the afternoon! But I kept getting distracted by other webistes. -sweatdrop- Sorry about that. Anyway, I wanted to tell you guys that this story is going by the game and not by the anime because I haven't seen the Kanto series in years, so I completely forgot everything. And I also don't know how each of the Pokemon's cries are like, so if I mess up, then that's life. Remember to check out this story's site. It's the homepage link on my profile.

As a quick note here, if any of you has seen Bleach before, Kiki is kinda like Yachiru. She's the little girl with the short pink hair who travels around with Zaraki Kenpachi, the squad captian of...I forgot which squad. But anyway, that's who she resembles.

Oh and, Team Rocket will come back into the story soon. :3