Thanks once more to all who gave reviews!

I still have a long way to go before I catch up with my newer chapters, but I might get there sooner than I think.

Chapter 6
Let the Battles Begin!

As the morning sun arose from the horizon onto Cherrygrove City, Marina hurried around her room in the city's Pokémon Center. These facilities were more than just Pokémon hospitals—they were also temporary residences for Pokémon Trainers. All of it was free, but exclusive only for licensed Pokémon Trainers such as herself. Since Cherrygrove City was actually very small for a city, the bed opposite from hers was empty, so she had the whole room to herself.

"Where is it?" Marina asked as she searched the drawers of the little desk.

Wani-Wani nudged her and held up a small computer chip. With relief, his Trainer smiled.

"There it is! Thanks, Wani-Wani!" She thanked the Pokémon as she slid the chip into a small slot in her PokéGear.

"Loading Map Data. Stand by...Ready. Download complete," the small voice from the PokéGear informed, spitting out the chip. Marina held it up, a blank expression on her face.

"I didn't know it'd be that quick. Oh well." She carefully put it away in her backpack, slinging the PokéGear around her neck. But she gasped as she saw the time displayed on the device.

"Geez! It's noon already?"

Marina paced around the room again, slipping her pink backpack over her shoulders and securing the tennis shoes on her feet. She then picked up a card key and stepped out of the room, Wani-Wani the Totodile following closely behind. The girl hesitated for a moment, closing the automatic-lock door when she was certain she had everything with her.

"I never wake up this late," she said as she adjusted her bandana. "I must've been really tired. Wani-Wani, do you remember hearing the alarm?"

Wani-Wani tilted his head, silent as he usually was when directly responding to her. However, he snickered as he followed her to the main desk.

A large, pink Pokémon stood behind the desk, a chipper species known as Chansey. Noticing the nurse's hat on the Chansey's head, Marina handed it the plastic card.

"Can you get my Pokémon? I was in room A-7." Marina watched as the Pokémon looked at the card for some time, nodded gleefully, and waddled through the automatic doors behind it.

Though supposedly rare Pokémon, in every Pokémon Center there was usually a couple of Chansey helping the nurses. Interestingly, the head nurse of each Center—at least in Johto and Kanto, the region east of Johto—looked almost exactly alike; sharing the same name, Joy, and even sometimes related in some way. It sounded unbelievable to Marina before arriving here, but she trusted the rumor when she saw a group picture sitting on the desk. Marina stared at it as she waited. All girls, and all identical. The nurse here had claimed the day before that they were all distant relatives who worked in Pokémon Centers across Johto.

Talk about a family business…

"Oh, thank you!" Marina said as the Chansey placed the tray of five Poké Balls on the desk. She recalled Wani-Wani and secured the Poké Balls onto her belt. Walking away from the desk, she noticed the row of bulky, green computer-like machines to her left.

Maybe I'll go call the Professor.

She walked over to one of them and sat down on a chair. After a few minutes of remembering how the devices worked, she pressed the "hands free" button and called a number through her PokéGear. The ringing tone came from the video phone's speakers, stopping as the screen lit up to reveal Professor Elm's sleepy face.

"Good morning, this is Professor Elm speaking. Who is it?" The Professor almost mumbled.

"Good morning! It's me, Marina!"

He blinked and shook his head to wake himself up. "Oh, Marina! I couldn't tell it was you at first, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she laughed. "You shouldn't work so hard."

"It can't be helped; I still have that deadline to meet—wait, where are you making this call from?"

"Cherrygrove City's Pokémon Center," she told him, grinning.

"Goodness, you're already there?"

"Yup! It took about four days, I think, but I'm still in one piece."

"Th-That's great! Are the boys still with you? From what I've heard from Jackson..."

"We all split up for the moment," Marina answered, to which the drowsy researcher nodded. Then, with a little spark in her eyes, the girl asked, "Professor, did you get the Pokémon my brother sent me yet?"

Elm seemed surprised at the question, but answered accordingly. "No, I haven't."

"Oh...I see."

"I'm sorry, Marina. I know you were looking forward to it."

"It's okay, it's not your fault," Marina assured, shaking her head.

After a moment of silence, the professor spoke up, returning to the original topic. "Were Kenta and Jackson disappointed about splitting up?"

"I don't know about Kenta, since he's the one who brought it up. But Jackson didn't want to. It was actually kinda funny, especially when I sided with Kenta."

"Jackson's like that. Always sticking to you like glue," Elm replied in a laugh and added, "Kenta, too." He turned his head briefly to answer a question from his assistant.

Marina laughed and, when the man turned his attention back to her again, said, "I guess you're right. Oh, Professor?"

"Yes?"

"I caught as many Pokémon as I could while I was traveling," the girl announced proudly.

His assistant came back, watching with interest from behind Elm, who seemed to waken more at the comment. "What are they? If you don't mind me asking."

"Of course I don't mind," Marina said and looked down at her belt, "Aside from my Totodile, I have a Sentret, Spearow, Phanpy, and a Rattata."

"A Phanpy?"

Marina nodded, "I actually found it in the route north of Route 29, in those fields of grass surrounded by rocky hills. They're really skittish and only appear in the morning. Oh, I saw a Geodude, too, but they're kinda hard to weaken with the Pokémon I have now."

"Right, right! That's actually Route 46. Intriguing," Professor Elm murmured with his gaze lowered, probably writing her explanation down. "That's a great help; I never knew that Phanpy lived this far south."

Marina only smiled. I guess Chris never told him about that, she thought.

"And I'm going to take a wild guess that you're the first one to reach Cherrygrove?"

"Yup!" Marina giggled at her own excitement and added reasonably, "Well, I think so. I haven't seen the others."

Professor Elm looked back up at her. "Would you mind picking up Mr. Pokémon's discovery then? If you're traveling at this pace, I'm sure you could quickly deliver it to me within the week."

"I'll try," Marina responded with a surge of confidence, "It's a lot easier getting back to New Bark Town on Route 29, so there's just Route 30 to worry about."

Elm smiled and fixed his crooked spectacles, enlightened by the news. "Thank you, Marina!"

"Okay then, bye-bye!"

"Ah, wait!"

"Hm?"

"If you happen to see…" He paused, uncomfortable, before shaking his head. "Never mind. I'll be sure to tell the boys that you're going to Mr. Pokémon's. Bye, Marina, and thank you again!"

"Oh, um, no problem! Bye!"

Marina turned to the video phone's button pad and clicked the one simply labeled "Off". The screen turned off, just as expected. She stood, unplugged her phone, and headed for the exit.

When she walked out of the Pokémon Center, a cool breeze stopped her. Cherrygrove City directly bordered a small gulf that lead to the sea, similar to the body of water in New Bark Town, so the winds blew freely. Smiling at this, Marina closed her eyes.

A boy approached the entrance of the Pokémon Center, frowning since she was technically standing in the way. Dark-colored clothing covered him loosely, his overall posture giving him a rigid and somewhat unfriendly aura. He stood only a couple of feet away from her, and when Marina finally opened her eyes again, she leaped back in shock.

"Ah!" she gasped. "Geez! Oh my gosh, you scared me!"

Sneering, the boy glanced away. "Humph."

Marina, eyeing his unusual long red hair, looked at him innocently. An odd silence rose between them.

"What are you staring at?" the boy snapped.

Marina took another step away from him with a start. She opened her mouth to argue, but held her tongue as she decided against it.

"Oh, n-nothing," she said. She warily walked away.

What did I do wrong? That jerk; he was staring at me first, she thought, troubled.

Unseen to her, the boy began to tail her. He eyed one Poké Ball on her belt, nodding as he saw the faint blue figure inside of it. As he continued his prowl, he grew increasingly impatient as he waited for the best chance to act.

Just then, Marina paused and looked around, PokéGear in hand. "So...I guess Route 30 is... this way?"

Like a flickering flame, a scarlet blur brushed by her cheek. Baffled and undoubtedly taken by surprise once again, Marina flinched and watched as the rude red-haired boy walked briskly away from her.

What was that? Why is he in such a rush now?

Marina took a moment to pout at his retreating figure. She shook her head, however, and turned, heading toward the northern path of Route 30.

A day later, Kenta too arrived in Cherrygrove. He looked at the city's sign and proceeded to throw his arms in the air.

"Finally! Cherrygrove!" he exclaimed and headed straight for the Pokémon Center. The Centers were known for always having a red roof so that Trainers could easily identify them.

After handing over his Pokémon to the nurse at the front desk, he rested in one of the lobby's cushioned chairs. He sighed, exhausted and savoring the feeling of being in civilization again. He stayed where he was when the nurse and one of her Chansey headed over to him to return his Pokémon. Dressed in a pink and white nurse's uniform with pink hair to match, Nurse Joy bowed politely. Her attentive, young face was friendly and inviting, always ready to be of help.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Kenta said as he took the Poké Balls.

"No problem," she replied in a merry manner and turned to walk away.

A thought struck Kenta. He looked up and said, "Excuse me."

The nurse looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering... Did you happen to see a girl with blue pigtails recently? She's my friend. We only just became Pokémon Trainers, and she knows Route 29 really well but... I was just wondering if she got here all right."

The Nurse studied him and smiled. "Why yes, I think I have. She visited just the other day. It's hard to forget about someone with that hair."

"The other day? Is she still here?"

"I haven't seen her, and I wouldn't know if she left in the morning... Only my Chansey work at the desk during most of the AM hours," Nurse Joy replied. She turned to her Pokémon and used her hands to mimic Marina's ponytails. "Did you see a girl with blue pigtails?"

Chansey, as if waiting for the question, nodded hastily and caught her hat as it fell off her head.

"I guess that means she left already," Kenta said. The pink Pokémon nodded in response, to which the boy shrugged. "Oh well."

The nurse covered her mouth with her hand to laugh quietly as she walked away, her blissful Chansey following. Kenta sat down again, putting his Poké Balls in the front pocket of his jacket.

"I wonder if Jackson made it here too," he murmured to himself, "I guess they'll be fine. They can take care of themselves." He leaned back into the plush chair, closing his eyes.

A voice, however, broke into the silence, "Hey, Kenta!"

He opened his eyes again and, as if on cue, Jackson was standing in front of him with his arms haughtily crossed.

Not quite surprised, Kenta responded, "When did you get here?"

"Details, details," Jackson said, waving his hand.

The two walked out of the Pokémon Center, Jackson strolling ahead.

"So how long have you been here?" Kenta asked again. "In Cherrygrove?"

"To be honest, not that long. A couple of hours, I guess," Jackson replied, "You know, I found out that there are a few battle fields somewhere in this town."

Kenta looked at him. "Battle fields?"

"I've got your attention now, eh? Yeah, areas for Pokémon Trainers to hang out and battle," Jackson said with a glance, "Do you want to take a look?"

"Sure!" Kenta exclaimed, his exhaustion melting away.

As he was lead, Jackson smirked. "Good!"

The two remained silent until arriving at a large fountain. Sitting on the edge of the fountain was a boy with red hair, examining one of his Poké Balls. Pairs of Trainers were scattered about the area, battling and exchanging PokéGear numbers. As the rookies neared the area, the road stopped to yield grass and occasional flowers. Around the fountain were two battlefields, marked with white paint in the shape of a typical arena used for battles between Trainers and their Pokémon.

Kenta walked ahead of Jackson, smiling. "This is cool. I remember seeing this on the news a couple months ago, but I forgot all about it."

"Kenta."

"Yeah?"

The black-haired boy turned to his friend, who was now wearing a frown. Jackson reached a hand to his belt, holding out a Poké Ball as he cast a friendly glare.

"Kenta, I challenge you to a battle! I'd like to see how much your team has grown so far."

Kenta only looked at him skeptically. "This is about Marina, isn't it?"

Jackson almost tripped and turned back to him. "How can you always tell?!" he exclaimed.

"You're so obsessed that it's easy to tell," Kenta laughed and coolly began to walk to the opposite side of the closest battlefield.

"I'm not obsessed! I'm...interested in her! Obviously, I like her a lot!"

"Yeah, so do I," Kenta said, rolling his eyes.

"See? This is why you are my biggest rival!" Jackson announced, pointing at him.

"Me? Why?" Kenta raised an eyebrow.

I know you're my friend, but whenever the topic of Marina gets dragged between us, you never make any sense, he thought.

"You know," Jackson said impatiently, "You still like her!"

"Wh-What?" Kenta stepped back. He looked around him. "Th-That's not true. Don't announce something like that in public!"

"You mean don't announce it in a place where Marina might be around to hear it, right?" Jackson corrected him.

Kenta crossed his arms and released short, loud sigh. "Sure. Sure, whatever."

"Come on, I know you well enough by now, Kenta," Jackson said with a smirk, "You've always denied that you like her too."

"What is this, some lame fight over a girl?" The red-haired boy cut in irritably, looking up from his Poké Ball.

Jackson countered defensively, "What's it to you? This is a private conversation!"

Not bothered, the boy stood from his spot on the fountain. His sharp silver eyes glared at the both of them. He spent a moment in thought before speaking.

"It's a useless waste of time to impress someone like this. This person isn't even here to watch you wimps fight. You're battling for nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Kenta frowned. "He's the one who wants to battle."

However, Jackson stormed up to the boy in black with a furious look on his face. Kenta rolled his eyes as Jackson began to scold the stranger.

For Ho-oh's sake, Jackson, take it easy.

Unfazed, the red-haired boy simply pushed Jackson away. "I don't have time for you. It doesn't look like anyone here is nearly strong enough to defeat me, anyway. I should just go somewhere else for a challenge."

"I bet I can beat you without breaking a sweat!" Jackson claimed, stomping at the ground.

"I'm up for a battle if you want," Kenta suggested.

The boy turned back to him. He waited a few seconds and then said, "You got a Pokémon at the Professor Elm's Lab."

Surprised, Kenta fully faced him. "…Yes, I did."

At the same time, his thoughts whirled in puzzlement. How does he know that?

"And I did, too," Jackson added.

A few empty moments passed by the group, and the boy snickered coldly. "What a waste," he turned his head away, "A wimp like you. No, the both of you."

Kenta scowled. "What's your problem?"

"...Don't you get what I'm saying?"

"Obviously not," Jackson said.

"I, too, have good Pokémon. Better than yours," he grasped his Poké Ball tighter and raised it to his eye level, "I'll show you what I mean."

"Sure then! We'll both battle you! For Marina's sake!" Jackson exclaimed.

Kenta shook his head, yet said, "I'll battle you too, if you want."

"Fine then," the red-haired boy said, taking his place on the battle field opposite of the two. "I will battle you one at a time. One-on-one. When the battle is over, the winner chooses one Pokémon from the loser's party. For your sake, I won't pick your pathetic starters."

Kenta hesitated. "...Okay, but—." He was, however, interrupted as Jackson shoved him aside.

"I'm battling this guy first, Kenta! Get him, Chikorita!" Jackson threw the Poké Ball onto the field, his little Pokémon coming out and posing for battle.

The unknown boy sneered at Chikorita and tossed the Poké Ball he'd been holding. A familiar Totodile popped out, giving a loud battle cry in its excitement.

"Wani!"