"And now finish it with Ember!"

Dumpling took a deep breath and sent a powerful ember pack to his opponent. Poor Bulbasaur was in no shape to battle anymore, not to mention dodging such attacks. He took all that damage in his face and fainted.

"This will be the last one for today." I said to myself and my pokemon. Dumpling heavily breathed and returned back to me. The girl in front came close to her Bulbasaur and hugged his unconscious body.

"Don`t worry, Zaura. Everything will be all right. You`ve done well." She returned Bulbasaur to her pokeball and stood straight.

"That was a good battle" I said her. "You really had a chance, despite the disadvantage.

"Thanks. For my first battle it was really cool." She replied.

"This is your first time?" I wondered.

"Yes. I got this Bulbasaur from professor Oak some hours ago."

Interesting. I guess this is the Bulbasaur I picked by mistake the first time. So, this starter batch is now all taken. And the fact she passed Route 1 in some hours, not the whole day, like me, said that I have defeated all trainers here. Which is great.

"Awesome. I got my Charmander today too. I spent all the day battling and now head to Viridian City."

"Cool, I am going there too. Will you accompany me?" She clapped her eyes to me. How could I say no?

"Sure, why not?"

I returned Dumpling back to his pokeball and moved on. My companion followed me right after she checked her bag.

"So, I guess it`s time to know each other. What`s your name?" I asked her.

"I am Leaf. What`s your name?"

Leaf… This name seemed familiar to me. Professor Oak definitely knows her, but what about me? Do I know her? This question tortured my mind since the moment I met her.

"Nice name. You know what? I heard current Champion of Hoenn is Stone. I don`t remember his name, but surname is Stone… You could marry him and be called Leaf Stone, get it?"

Badjoke, I know. But she smiled. That was enough for me.

"So, what is YOUR name?" Leaf repeated her question.

Now it was time for my revelation. Usually this is a question people don`t think about for too long. But my situation was a little more unusual.

"You can call me Dark." I lied to her. Real name doesn`t matter much, but still I should be cautious. Even with such a young lady like her.

"That`s strange name, I guess" Leaf replied.

"Ha. Say that to my friend named Douchebag." I laughed.

"Seriously?" She looked really surprised.

"Yeah, you see him – call him a Douchebag, and he will reply. But better don`t call him at all. He is a Douchebag for a reason."

"Okay… I will remember that. Maybe, I will not see him." Leaf seemed to be a little confused.

"You definitely will. He is professor Oak`s grandson, by the way."

"Oh… Then I think I know him… but I thought his name was… No, you`re right. He IS a Douchebag."

"That`s my style!"

And soon we reached Viridian City. I needed to visit a Pokemon Center to heal Dumpling and have a rest by myself. It was almost nighttime, and I wanted to get there as fast as I can – my partner was exhausted after all these battles. Good for me Viridian City isn`t very big, so we found it pretty fast.

As we came to the gates of PC, Leaf stopped and waved at me.

"Well, I have to go now. It was nice to meet you, Dark."

"Aren`t you going to heal your Bulbasaur?" I asked her.

"Nah, I don`t have time for this. I`ll better go buy some potions and do it myself."

"Okay then, Leaf. See you soon."

She sent me an air kiss and ran away, leaving me alone at the entrance. I sighed and followed inside the building.

I have never been in Pokemon Centers before, I didn`t need to. But now I can understand why people spend so much time in it. Maybe human hospitals aren`t so advances as this pokemon centers are. The first thing I could see is a big hall, with tables, benches and different decorations. People are having a rest there while their pokemon are examined in some back rooms. In the center of all this magnificent structure stands a counter, served by a nice nurse. I noticed that she looked at me all this time, so I finally decided to come to her. And, as I come closer to her, I think I know her.

"Jane? Is that you?"

"Why hello there!" Nurse replied to me happily. "It`s so good to see you, darling!"

I reached the counter to look at her closely. Yes, it is still the same Jane I knew before. She didn`t change a bit too.

"I am glad to see you too. Still a Pokemon Center Lady, I see?"

"Well, somebody has to watch over all these poor things." She sighed heavily. Despite it could look like she doesn't like her job much, I know she definitely did. "What was that girl with you?"

"Oh, that`s one of trainers I came across today. Leaf`s her name."

"Interesting… Even from this point I could see that you will be a good couple." Jane made a sly smile.

"Nah, she`s not old enough for me." I waved.

"I guess, she is adult, if she is a trainer already." Jane leaned on the counter, smiling even more.

"That`s not what I mean."

"When did you become so choosy in girls?" She stared at me with a suspicious look giving me some awkward feeling.

"I didn`t, it`s just… It doesn`t matter. I have some work for you, Jane."

"And NOW it becomes interesting." She stood straight and put her hands on chest.

"Yeah, take this little fella…" I took Dumpling`s pokeball and handed it over to Jane. "I need him in a good shape, okay?"

"Wow, this is something." She took pokeball and turned it in her hand, looking at it from diffenent angles. "I didn`t know you are a trainer now. You had nothing in common with pokemon before."

"Yes, I know. But the times change. And now I really need a strong pokemon team for a reason."

"I understand. Well, good luck with that." Jane put the pokeball into the machine near her and pressed the button. The device closed and moved into the wall.

"Also, I`m going to challenge the nearest gym. As I know, Viridian City has a gym, right?"

"Eh, it`s not going to be easy. Gym is closed right now, so you should move on to the next for now. For example, you can try to challenge Pewter City gym."

"Too bad. It will take some time to reach Pewter City…" I sat on chair near the counter and leaned my head on hand, thinking. "That means I should spend a night somewhere. Pokemon Centers still provide rooms for this, right?"

"Yes, we do. 150 pokedollars for a night."

Damn it… I just realized that I have absolutely no money with me right now.

"But you can spend night in my room, for free." Jane winked at me. Now I see where all this is going.

"So… Like the good old times, eh?"

She looked at me with her killing sight, which was pretty sexy at the same moment.

"Not so old, you know…" Jane replied and small smile appeared on her face. "My duty will be over in an hour, you can wait for me over there" She pointed at the couches in the hall, where other trainers sat and waited for their pokemon healed.

With nothing else to do, I proceeded to one of the couches and laid down. Now I have some more time to read pokemon guide book. Or to have some sleep. I guess, sleep can wait a little.

Some time passed, Jane came to me in her casual clothes.

"Are you ready to go?"

With a little bit of irritation of her interrupting my rest I closed guide and took it away in my coat. After a quick view around I realized there were no other trainers anymore. There were no other nurse to change Jane too. That could be suspicious, I guess.

"Is it over? Where is the next nurse?" I asked her.

"Ah, my assistant will be here in a few minutes. Don`t worry, he`ll take care of your Charmander." Jane reassured me.

"Assistant, you say?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to find an experienced nurse this days. It is much more difficult to pay them. So I am the only one here."

"That doesn't sound promising, really."

"Nothing to worry about, dear. He is experienced enough to put pokeballs into a machine and press a big red button. Let`s go."

That sounded soothingly. So I got up from my nice coach that I`m so quickly used to and followed her to the way out.

Darkness fell upon the Viridian City. At the very exit we met some guy rushing toward the Pokemon Center.

"Hey, Peter, you`re just in time!" Jane said him. "We`re about to leave. Take care of the patients."

"Yes, miss." He bashfully replied and ran to his workplace. Jane watched over him, sighed and returned to me. She looked disturbed a little.

"Something`s wrong?"

"Nah, it`s okay". She wave away. "I just haven`t used to him. He can be a bit irresponsible sometimes."

"Can it be dangerous?"

"No, no way… He`ll be fine. He will make it, I`m sure of it. Your pokemon is in good hands.

"Great, great…"

"At least he will try not to screw it all up." Said Jane quietly.

So we walked through the night-black Viridian City to her home. The weather was nice, and we really enjoyed the walk. But soon we reached the Walker`s street, and really bad memories came to my mind. We walked past one alley, where I noticed black human figure. It looked like waiting for somebody. And, I guess, it saw us when we were on sight.

Damn it, not now. I pulled my cap down to close eyes and pushed Jane gently to speed up.

"What`s the matter?" She asked surprisingly.

"Nothing, I just want to get to some warm place quicker." I lied to her. Actually we needed to get away from that man in the alley really fast. As we moved away far enough, I looked back. Seems that figure did not follow us. What a relief.

Soon we reached Jane`s house. The first thing that I noticed is a complete redesign of her interior. At least something had some progress after all these years. Jane did a really good job redecorating this place. It changed a lot from what I remember.

"Hey, Vully, look who`s here!" Jane shouted with joy.

A little Vulpix appeared from one of the rooms and ran to me.

"Remember her?" Jane asked me.

"Of course, I do." I took the pokemon on my hands. "You have grown a lot, don`t you?"

Vulpix cheerfully barked at me. I put her on the floor and turned to Jane.

"How about a battle tomorrow? Your Vully against my Dumpling?"

"She.. is not… a battling type, really." Jane replied. "I have never battled too. You know, I specialize in wounds after these battles."

"Oh well, okay." I really wanted to see this little cute thing in action. Because this is exactly what pokemon are about. On the first glance they look so cute and innocent, but in battle they turn into a fearsome beasts that can destroy everything on their way. People that can tame and control such monsters must be really strong.

I just looked at the Vulpix and nodded to her with understanding. She is glad to live this way, in calm and peace. Maybe, someday I will find peace in life too. But such life is light years away from now.

"So… Any guest room for me?" I asked her, looking around the house.

"What for? You can sleep in my room." Jane replied, changing her clothes.

"Let me guess… You do not have the second bed in your room?" I suspected.

"No, I don`t." She winked at me.

Of course. Hospitality must be paid, and Jane knew exactly the best way to do it. Looks like I will not have a deserved rest this night…