First and foremost, Happy New Year! Here's hoping that 2022 is a good one for all, or at the very minimum better than either of the last two.

I was really pushing to finish this chapter by at the very least tomorrow, as I return to work again on Monday and my free time will be swallowed up a little bit, although not enough that I won't put any work towards the next chapter. I promise!

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 11

Three's A Crowd

"Help! Chris! Tangela! Sandshrew… Anybody! Help me!"

Melanie was running faster than she ever had before. She could see the trees pass as she ran. She could feel herself being swallow up by the forest at night, but she didn't care. She had to keep running. Behind her was a Pokémon, or at least she thought it was, she had never seen before, and it was closing fast. It was jet black, with what looked like it had white hair and some sort of red necklace wrapped around its neck.

"Why are you chasing me? Leave me alone!" she screamed, wishing that she was as fast as a Ninjask now more than ever. She just had to keep running. "Somebody help!"

"Be gone from this place, Darkrai! Let this girl dream in peace!"

Suddenly, as if it was perfectly timed, the scene changed. Melanie was no longer running. She was sitting on the banks of a river; her feet were dipped in the water. It was no longer a dark night, but a beautiful sunny morning. This is much better, Melanie thought to herself.

"This is better, no?"

Melanie turned to face her savior. It seemed almost swan-like, with pinkish crescent shaped wings, a yellow and blue body with a crescent moon shaped face that split off on both sides of a pink gem on her forehead. That is a beautiful Pokémon, Melanie mentally mused, awestruck at the creature in front of her.

"I'm glad you think so, Melanie. I am Cresselia. That Pokémon that was chasing you earlier is a Pokémon called Darkrai. It travels the land inflicting nightmares on defenseless people, and it is my duty to stop them."

"How are you speaking to me? I'm not special like Chris," Melanie sighed sadly.

"Telepathy. Do not sell yourself short, Melanie. Everyone in this world has their own part to play, and yours just so happens to be important too," Cresselia comforted.

"I hope you're right. Thank you for saving me, Cresselia," Melanie said, flashing a grateful smile at the Lunar Pokémon.

"It was my pleasure, Melanie. An important colleague of mine said Darkrai was up to no good around here, and sent me to investigate. To make sure you were not harmed. Darkrai is not an evil Pokémon, but he can sense negative energy; he feeds on it," Cresselia replied.

"So Darkrai was after me? I guess I've been in a pretty bad place lately," Melanie muttered, dropping her head in disgust. How could I let myself become so weak? I thought I was getting stronger, but I guess not.

"You'll feel stronger soon, once you defeat your demons, Melanie. Oh and the by the way, you aren't in a bad place right now at all. I think you'll like what you see when you wake up," Cresselia laughed, or at least Melanie thought she had. This was telepathy after all.

"What does that mean?" Melanie challenged.

"You'll see when you wake up," Cresselia repeated. "Speaking of which you might want to consider waking up soon. I must be off though, Darkrai will find another victim soon and I must be ready."

"One last thing, Cresselia. You are a Legendary Pokémon, no? You said you had a colleague that sent you to check on me, but why would a Pokémon of your stature have any interest in me? I'm not that important," Melanie declared, challenging the legendary Pokémon to give her an answer.

"Melanie, I cannot answer that for you, but I can tell you this: after you defeat your demons, you'll learn something about yourself. I hope your dreams are sweet from here on out, Melanie. Enjoy your morning view!"

And with that, Melanie awoke. She was lying in her tent, wrapped up in her sleeping bag. Nothing out of the ordinary here, what the hell was Cresselia talking about? That's when Melanie noticed something else was wrapped around her besides just her sleeping bag: it was a pair of arms. Startled, she turned around to see Chris, half his body in his own sleeping bag, cuddled right up to her. She let out a bellowing scream.

"CHRISTOPHER DAVIS WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY TENT!?"

Charmander sighed. The other Pokémon were still sleeping, with the exception of Natu, whom Charmander wasn't convinced even slept at all. She wished she was still sleeping, but she knew it was pointless. There was too much going on. She didn't know the full details of what happened to Melanie, neither Chris nor Tangela went too heavy into the details, but she had a vague idea. They would have to face her Father soon, who by the sounds of it was an abhorrent person. Finally, there was a gym in Greenburg. Melanie never tipped off the type to Chris, but Charmander had a hunch that it was going to be either a grass or bug type gym, based simply on the name of the town. Either way, the team had a great advantage over it.

(You seem lost in thought, Charmander,) Natu mused, breaking Charmander away from her wandering mind.

(Yeah, I guess you could say that. There are some big events coming up, and I'm trying my best to focus on the now instead of the later, which can be a little difficult for me,) she sighed, before turning to face Natu.

(Yes, the future can be intimidating, but you must trust that things will work themselves out as they are meant to. You are a Pokémon who believes in destiny, no?) Natu asked, tilting his head slightly.

(I did. I'm not sure I do anymore,) Charmander replied, before looking away from Natu to stare at her arm. She could still see where the accident happened. Sometimes it would take every ounce of strength she possessed to keep her from tearing at the stiches and trying to claw the Everstone out of herself. She was pretty sure she overheard the doctors say that she would either lose her arm or the ability to evolve. She'd never tell this to Chris, but she wished they just lopped her arm off. She didn't need to be a physically oriented Charizard, but even then she would still have wings and such, not to mention one other arm. A Charizard didn't need two arms.

(Have you ever considered the fact that it was your destiny to no longer believe in destiny?) Natu pondered, before turning away from the glaring fire lizard.

(If something had decided that my fate was to be a Charmander for the entirety of my life, than I hope I never meet this something. It won't be getting out of that meeting alive,) Charmander stated matter-of-factly.

(I sup-)

"CHRISTOPHER DAVIS WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY TENT!?"

(I guess Melanie's up,) Charmander declared, a small tingle of mischief in her voice. I may be stuck as a Charmander forever, but at least I'm not currently facing Melanie's wrath, she decided.

Chris had never felt such a sharp pain before in his life, and he had recently taken a point blank iron tail to his gut; in fact, he was pretty sure he was bleeding internally. One minute I was sleeping and the next it feels like my insides are caving in. I really hope that didn't aggravate any injuries from Charmander's Iron Tail. What the hell… Chris thought, before noticing what it was that woke him up. He was pretty sure she was going to finish him off right here.

"Oh… hi, Melanie. How… are you… this fine morning," Chris choked, trying to avoid her gaze to the best of his ability. It really is true what they say. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Chris mused, not that he was dumb enough to say it out loud at this moment.

"So, I pass out yesterday, and you take that as your opportunity to make a move on me? You had no right to have your arms wrapped around me this morning, and for that matter to move right into my tent whenever you want to," Melanie lectured, her burning gaze not letting up at all.

"You don't understand, Mel. It was the Pokémon's idea. Charmander's or Bulbasaur's or somebody's; they all slept in the other tent. Some kind of Pokémon slumber party," Chris defended, hoping his feeble argument would soothe her at all.

"Alright, let's assume that's true. Why didn't you sleep in that tent too?" Melanie challenged, her tone lighting up just slightly.

"After you passed out, so did Sakura. Since she hadn't set up her tent yet, I put her in mine. Me sleeping in this tent was either Charmander or Tangela's idea," Chris answered, relieved that Melanie seemed to be calming down a little bit.

"So she didn't evolve? That's a relief," Melanie sighed with relief. "That doesn't excuse you cuddling with me, though. We are just friends after all. It wasn't within your right to take them." Melanie looked away, but Chris couldn't help but notice her cheeks were getting pinker. Is she blushing?

"Look, I'm sorry. When I'm asleep I have a tendency, to well, hug things. Usually I use an extra pillow or something, but apparently I didn't last night… so I'm sorry, Mel. I promise I won't let it happen again," he murmured, hoping his promise ended the argument once and for all.

"Well, no need to prom-" Melanie whispered, before tapering off.

"What were you saying, I missed that," Chris said, trying to get a read into his friend's mind. I really need to start training my abilities, Chris mentally decided.

"It doesn't matter. Look, Chris, about yesterday. I have a confession to make. The reason I got so upset 'bout Tangela was that-"

"It's okay, Mel. Tangela told me last night. She made me promise that I would look after you, and she thanked me for giving you what you needed most, by which I assumed she meant friendship or a journey," Chris told her, sparing her what he assumed would be another agonizing story.

"Oh… well that's good. Hey, you said Sakura collapsed too. What happened? Was it the sight of me freaking out?" Melanie asked, her head drooping in guilt. Chris knew she wasn't completely fond of Sakura randomly showing up and latching on to him, but he didn't think she disliked her. The worry was a good sign. Hopefully this apparent new group dynamic can work, Chris thought to himself.

"No, it wasn't you. Can you keep a secret, Melanie?"

"Of course, what's up, Chris?"

"Well you see…"

"Chris you shouldn't tell her."

"Lugia, get out of my head. I need to be honest with her."

"I don't think you understand. I don't care about her knowing, she already knows about you. I just have a feeling it's not going to sit well," Lugia pointed out.

"I don't understand what you mean. I'm telling her the truth and that's that," Chris replied matter-of-factly.

"Whatever floats you boat, Chris. You were warned," Lugia declared, before vacating Chris' mind.

"You there, Chris? Hello? What were you about to tell me?"

Chris was snapped back out of his temporary trance. Lugia's warning was fairly innocent. He didn't say he couldn't tell her; just that he shouldn't, which Chris couldn't understand for the life of him. He had to tell her now; it would be unfair to leave her hanging at this point.

"Well, Sakura passed out right after you did. She said something about Tangela talking, and passed out instantly. In other words, I think she has similar abilities to me," Chris told her, expecting some kind of positive reaction.

"Oh," Melanie replied simply. She had been looking at Chris previously, but now had turned away.

"Told you, Chris. You just made her feel bad."

"Not now, Lugia. How did you know this was going to happen?"

"Don't you understand, Chris? Melanie is jealous; she wants to be able to understand Pokémon too. Now out of the blue, this new girl comes along and she can understand Pokémon as well. Now Melanie feels like the outsider. Brilliant work, Einstein," Lugia muttered sarcastically, before once again vacating Chris' mind.

"You okay, Mel?"

"Yeah, I'll be good. It's just… more to take in, I guess. Maybe one day I'll wake up with random powers too," Melanie sighed. She looked defeated. Damn it I should have listened to Lugia, Chris decided, hoping the dragon bird was legitimately gone from his mind. Chris really didn't want Lugia to know he said that.

"Hey, maybe if you travel around with me a lot you will. Apparently I bring it out in people," Chris mused, trying to put a positive spin on it. He could see Melanie trying not to crack a smile, but it was to no avail.

"Well, I guess that means I'm going to have to keep travelling with you then. At least until I can speak with them too," she smiled at him. "Maybe after I face my demons, I'll be able to do it. A Pokémon in my dreams last night told me I'd learn something about myself."

"A Pokémon spoke to you in a dream?" Chris asked, trying to hide his surprise.

"She said her name was Cresselia. She spoke to me with telepathy, so I'm assuming that she is a psychic type," Melanie responded. "I was having a nightmare and she appeared to save me from another Pokémon she called Darkrai."

"Darkrai?" Chris wondered aloud. "Lugia do you know a Pokémon called Darkrai?" he mentally asked, hoping his guardian might still be in his mind.

"Darkrai is a Pokémon that causes nightmares to vulnerable people and Pokémon. It isn't an evil Pokémon, but it can't help itself. Cresselia on the other hand has made it her mission to dispel the nightmares that Darkrai causes. They have a strange relationship," Lugia claimed. "I wonder what brought them to the area though."

"Well, thanks for that information at least," Chris mentally responded, before turning his attention back to Melanie, who seemed lost in thought. "You alright, Melanie?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah I'm good. I'm just glad Cresselia was here. Who knows what that Darkrai would have done if she wasn't," Melanie decided. If it was a Pokémon that causes nightmares it had to have picked up on my distress about being near my hometown. I don't know if I'm strong enough to do it," she wondered.

"Well, if we ever meet this Cresselia in the flesh. I'll be sure to thank her for saving my friend," Chris decided. "And never forget that you are strong. I don't know a lot of people here in Anotica, but of the ones I have met you are by far the strongest!"

"I appreciate you saying that, Chris," Melanie murmured. How does he always seem to know how to respond to what I'm thinking at the time?

"Well now that we're up, maybe we should go check on Sakura and our Pokémon? I'm sure she's going to completely wigged out when she wakes up and she hears Chatot and Sandshrew being perverts together," Chris laughed.

"Is Sandshrew really that bad?" Melanie sighed. He's right though; Chris will be the only person who understands what she's going through. Maybe Cresselia was right and I have an important part to play too, but maybe she was just trying to cheer me up.

Peering into her thoughts, Chris couldn't help but feel bad. Melanie, I would give anything for you to be able to hear and understand Pokémon just like I can.

"Sakura it's time to awaken."

Sakura thrust her eyes open, only to find that she wasn't inside of a tent. Or outside. Or anywhere she recognized even. It felt like she was inside of a cloud, with various shades of gold swirling around her. Lifting her head, she could see what looked like a giant red bird on the horizon. It looked to have a white belly, golden tail feathers and various green coloured feathers on the tips of its wing. Is this how I meet my end?

"Relax child, no harm shall befall you as long as I am around. I am the legendary Pokémon, Ho-oh, and it is my job to guide you on your quest as a member of the Valiant Hearts."

"The Valiant Hearts?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes, Sakura, the Valiant Hearts. A group of nine individuals who can communicate with Pokémon, as well as having powers related to the legendary Pokémon of which they posses some of the DNA of. You are the Gold Heart, and your friend Chris is the Silver Heart."

"I'm what?! And Chris is what!?" Sakura exclaimed. What are the chances of that, she mused.

"A wizard. You're a wizard. Is that simple enough for you?" Ho-oh snapped, beginning to get a little annoyed at the child. I hope Chris wasn't this painful for you Lugia, he sighed.

"S-s-sorry," Sakura replied. "This is just a lot to take in, I guess."

"It will make more sense in time, Sakura. I only wished to speak to you before you woke because your tent is filled with Pokémon right now, and when you awoke and could hear their conversations you would have surely passed out again. We will talk more in the future. Take care of yourself, young Sakura. We will speak soon."

"Wait, I still have quest-" Sakura tried to yell, but the dream world she had been in had started to dissipate. She was waking up.

"Sakura, wake up!"

Opening her blue eyes, she lifted her head, only to find that she wasn't in her tent. She also noticed that she was alone, which meant that that voice had to have come from one of the Pokémon.

(Morning, Sakura! Glad I can finally properly introduce myself. Obviously you know me as Bulbasaur, and I just waned to formally thank you for choosing me to be your partner. You won't regret this!) Bulbasaur cheered, a smile coming to her face.

(I would also like to extend my greetings to you, Vessel of Rainbows. This time without telepathy,) Natu echoed, giving Sakura a curt nod in response.

"Um… I guess it was true then. I can understand you guys now? If that's the case, can you please just call me Sakura, Natu?" she sheepishly asked. "There is no need to be so formal."

(As you wish, Miss Sakura,) Natu cooed, causing Sakura to sigh. I guess if I ask him not to be formal it seems I'm asking him not to be himself.

"So… where are the others? And why am I in this tent?" Sakura quizzed, seeing only her two Pokémon in this tent with her.

(Well, when you heard Tangela talking last night, you passed out. With some help from Tangela and I, Chris managed to get you into his tent so you could rest. Chris stayed in Melanie's tent to keep watch on her, since she passed out moments before you did, and the rest of the Pokémon stayed here so we could get to know each other a little better,) Bulbasaur summarized.

"So Melanie and Chris are an item then? Maybe I shouldn't be travelling with Chris. I wouldn't want to be a third wheel," Sakura sighed sadly. I was looking forward to having some human companionship.

(I don't think they are. At least Snorunt and Sandshrew insisted they weren't when I asked them. Or as Sandshrew put it, "that moron couldn't bag Melanie in a million years,") Bulbasaur chuckled. (I don't think Sandshrew is very fond of Chris, but both his Snorunt and especially Charmander have nothing but glowing reviews. Even his Chatot had mostly good things to say, aside from being a "wet blanket who can't a joke if it was forced down his throat.")

"Oh… well that's a relief. I already feel like I'm intruding as is. Melanie seemed so hostile when we met her. I really felt like she didn't want me invading on her time with Chris," she muttered, before hanging her head out of guilt. "How is she doing? She passed out as well?"

(Tangela said she was going to be okay. Everyone seems to be being very tight lipped about it, even that Chatot, but the sense I got from Charmander is that Greenburg is her home town and that she has been under a great deal of stress about passing back through,) Bulbasaur claimed. (I'm sure she meant no ill will by her challenging you to a match. If she were even remotely aware of Chris' abilities it wouldn't surprise me if she was being even just a little bit protective.)

"I guess that would make sense. I'm hoping I get a chance to talk to her, maybe clear the air a bit," Sakura decided. "What do you say that we get up? I'm sure everyone will be itching to leave soon enough."

With a nod, both Bulbasaur and Natu exited the tent, allowing Sakura a chance to change. Don't worry, Melanie. I'll make you like me yet!

(Is this helpin', Pardner?)

"I mean, at the very least it's not hurting I guess."

After the vicious attack his gut received this morning, Chris had asked Snorunt to sit on his chest until Sakura woke up. He had hoped that Snorunt's naturally cold body would temporarily numb the pain. Nearby, he could see Melanie grimace.

"I'm sorry for that, Chris. I wasn't of sound mind when I woke up this morning and I had completely forgotten about your previous injuries," Melanie sighed. "I really don't deserve you as a friend."

"Mel… honestly, don't sweat it. I'm fairly sure it only hurts this much because of Charmander's prior damage. And like I've repeatedly told you of late, it is my honour to be your friend. You're the first real human friend I've made in Anotica, and I wouldn't trade a single minute of our travels together for anything. Excluding the incident with Charmander I guess, but even then you were the one who pulled my head out of my ass. I just hope that I can make this return trip to Greenburg as safe for you as possible. I promise you, he cannot hurt you anymore. If he even tries to so much as lay a hand on you I am going to end his miserable life," Chris decreed, before gently nudging his Ice-type Pokémon to hop off so that he could sit up.

"Thanks, Chris. I don't think I would be strong enough to do this if I hadn't met you. At least not this early," Melanie replied, directing a small smile towards Chris.

"Well if you think about it, I guess this has been a mutually beneficial partnership," Chris said, smiling back at her. "Are you sure you're okay if Sakura tags along with us? I don't want to force this on you, but I also don't want to send her out on her own either."

"I trust you judgment, Chris. If you really feel like she is safer with us, I won't turn her away. If she has these same special abilities that you have, it might be beneficial for you and her if she stays. You can help her understand herself a little bit better, and maybe she will help you unlike new, dormant abilities. This all seems very video game-y to me," Melanie chuckled, before giving off a brief, sad sigh. I wish I was special.

"But you are-

"Good morning, Chris and Melanie."

Thankful for the interruption, Chris turned to see that Sakura had emerged from his tent. She wore a different tie-dye than the previous day, and had a pair of blue jeans this time.

"Morning," Chris and Melanie responded simultaneously.

"Melanie, I hope you are feeling better," Sakura said, a tinge of nervousness sneaking out as she spoke.

"I am. Thanks for asking, Sakura. I hope you got a good sleep as well," Melanie responded, directing a weak smile towards Sakura.

At least she's trying, Chris mused to himself, deciding he'd best strike down the awkward small talk before it got out of hand. "So, Sakura, how does it feel? To be able to understand Pokémon?"

Sakura stared at Melanie, hoping to pick up a read on how much she really knew, before resigning herself to the fact that Melanie probably knew everything already. "Weird. I guess it feels weird. When I left Silver Town with Bulbasaur I never imagined anything like this could happen to me. All of this talk of "Valiant Hearts" and "Gold Hearts" is probably the part that perplexes me more."

"Valiant Hea-" Melanie began to ask, before being cut off by Chris.

"I'll explain that part later, I guess that part I neglected to tell you, and for that I'm sorry, Melanie. With everything that happened in Evertown and since Evertown, it kind of slipped my mind," Chris apologized, and Melanie could tell that his apology was genuine.

"It's okay, Chris. I understand. I guess you haven't exactly had a lot of time to process this yourself," she reassured.

Turning his attention back to Sakura, Chris decided it was time to state the obvious. "So I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, but you should keep your new found abilities on the down low. There is a criminal organization know as The Chaos running around in Anotica, and I'm sure they'd love to find out that we can speak to Pokémon."

In response, all Sakura could muster was a nod. This is all a lot to take in still, she decided.

"I know this is a lot to take in, but if you travel with us I'll do my best to help you understand as much as I do, which is admittedly not as much as you're probably hoping it is," Chris sighed, before he realized that one of the crystals in his bag was probably now glowing. "If you ladies will excuse me for a minute, I need to go grab something."

Melanie and Sakura watched with curiosity as Chris turned, and walked back towards Melanie's tent. Well this is a little awkward, Melanie thought. I guess as the older of the two of us, I should make the first move.

"Sakura, I'd like to apologize for my attitude yesterday. I've been on edge of late and I took it out on you. That wasn't fair. I should have known you meant no harm and that you were just looking for Chris on instructions from the Professor," Melanie declared, before giving Sakura a sheepish smile.

"No hard feelings, Melanie! Knowing what I know now about Chris, I'm not surprised you weren't so trusting of me. He must trust you a lot for you to know his biggest secret!" Sakura responded, giving Melanie an ear-to-ear grin in response to Melanie's smile.

"Well, evidently not everything…" Melanie muttered, although her vocal inflection was more of a joking tone than a sad one.

"I'm sure he didn't mean any harm by not filling you in, his apology seemed sincere to me, not that I know him very well," Sakura decreed.

"I agree. Both Chris and I have had a lot on our plates since Evertown, as he said, and I believe him when he said it slipped his mind. That was more of a joke than anything," Melanie defended, rubbing the back of her head with her hand out of embarrassment.

"I knew that, I was just yanking your chain!" Sakura cheered, causing a groan from Melanie.

"Starting to think this was a-"

"Sorry for taking so long, I was struggling to find the one that was yours. But it should be this one." As he said it, Chris handed Sakura a clear crystal, which began to glow a faint gold hue as he handed it to her.

"What is that?" Melanie asked pointing at the shining gold crystal, as if she figured Chris wasn't smart enough to catch on to what she was asking.

"Apparently it is called a Heart Crystal. I had them slipped in my bag when I was incapacitated in Evertown," Chris declared. "Remember that time you caught me holding that shining silver crystal? That was my Heart Crystal. And this one," he said, gesturing to the golden one that Sakura was holding, "is Sakura's!"

"How did you know this one was going to be mine?" Sakura pondered. Seems like a really lucky guess if he did this first try.

"Well to be honest, I had a little help… And again, Melanie, I promise I'll fill you in after," Chris replied, while also getting ahead of Melanie's inevitable next question in the process.

"I'll hold you to that, Christopher," Melanie chuckled, an evil smirk forming across her face.

"And, while we are all here, I had kind of a different idea. I know we aren't far from Greenburg now, but what if we camped here for a short while longer? I'd like to get in some training with my Pokémon before our next gym match, and maybe the camping experience can let us all get to know each other a little bit better. I'm going to have to go into town at some point to give my Mom a call, but other than that I plan to dedicate to my training, Gives us all a chance to get stronger, and make us more ready to face what comes next," Chris declared, putting a little bit of extra emphasis on that list bit. I hope Melanie caught on to what I was implying.

"But can't we get a hotel in town, and still do all the things you suggested? The training and getting stronger stuff," Sakura asked, clearly oblivious to some of the implications of Chris' speech.

"Maybe, but in my opinion nothing beats camping for bonding with your team!" Chris claimed, raising his fist in an otherwise rather clichéd fashion.

"Well, I for one think this is a great idea, Chris. I'm more than happy to help you train for your next gym match. When I'm done with you, the gym leaders Pokémon are going to need medical attention for sure!" Melanie cheered. Turning towards Chris, she mouthed a 'thank you' to him, before turning towards Sakura to direct her next statement to her. "And besides, it'll give me a really good chance to get to know my new friend, Sakura."

This last statement caused Sakura to smile. "You really mean that, Melanie?"

"Of course! If you're going to be travelling with us, I might as well let you into the exclusive club. Monthly memberships are 25 Anons a month, or 100 Anons for 6 months," Melanie joked. "I made Chris pay 40 a month, so I'm giving you a discount."

"Are you being serious?" Sakura asked, before turning to Chris who shook his head, although she could tell that he was having a hard time holding in his laughter. "That's not very nice you know! Some gullible person is going to fall for that someday."

"And on that day, lunch is on me," Melanie decided with a smile.

"So have we decided then? We will camp near the lake until it's time for me to battle the gym?" Chris asked, deciding it was best to get this train back on the tracks before it was permanently derailed.

"I'm in!" Melanie cheered. Thanks for doing this for me, Chris.

"Sounds like I don't have much of a say in this," Sakura sighed. "I guess it could be fun though. And if my battle with Melanie is any indication, I could definitely do with some training too."

"Well, in that case, let's go set up your tent, Sakura. If I sleep in Melanie's again, I'll probably permanently lose my ability to have kids."

(Looks like these morons are camping here again. Let's ambush them tonight.)

(Boss, I'm still not sure that's a good idea. Remember that warning we got from that mysterious Pokémon?) replied a second voice.

(You're scared of nothing. I doubt it's even still around. These kids won't know what hit them.) responded the original voice.

(And neither will you three pigheaded idiots if you step anywhere near those kids.)

It's that stupid Pokémon again. I'm going to teach it a lesson.

"Well, Mankey, Why don't I teach you a lesson first? I'm on a first name basis with a Pokémon that can cause never ending nightmares that only I can cure. If you and your cronies do not leave these children alone to camp and train in peace, I'll have no problems calling a favour. It owes me one."

Get out of my head. This is all a bluff. No such Pokémon exists.

"Suit yourself. Darkrai, if you wouldn't mind, could you show yourself to these Mankeys?"

On cue, a pure blackPokémon with a vibrant red necklace emerged from that shadows, its long white hair swaying in the breeze. (Boo!) it screamed, and could only watch as the three Mankeys ran away screeching all kinds of profanities. (Well that was boring.)

(Sorry about that, Darkrai. I knew they were cowards, but I figured they'd last longer than that.)

(Forget it, I still owed you one, Cresselia,) Darkrai responded, shrugging its broad black shoulders.

(Just promise me you will leave these children alone for now. You know as well as I do how important they are to our survival,) Cresselia ordered.

(Pfft, sometimes you're no fun, Cressie. But I'll honour your request. Thanks to our many battles, I owe you that much. With that I take my leave. I have nightmares to inflict.) As it finished speaking, it suddenly vanished back into the shadows from which it emerged.

"Thank you, Darkrai," Cresselia responded telepathically, knowing full well that as a Dark-type it would never be able to hear her say it anyway. "You will only have sweet dreams tonight, Melanie. Stay safe."

"You will only have sweet dreams tonight, Melanie. Stay Safe."

Was that Cresselia? Melanie wondered. Chris had taken Charmander, Chatot and Snorunt off into the woods to do some training, and Tangela and Sandshrew had decided to tag along. Yanma was busy following around Sakura's Natu, and Sakura and her Bulbasaur seemed deep in some kind of personal conversation. So that really narrowed down the options for whom that voice could have belonged to. It must have been. If you can hear this, Cresselia, I just wanted to say thank you for last night.

"Hey, Melanie."

Melanie's thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Sakura. Her Bulbasaur seemed to have joined Natu and Yanma in what looked like a fairly philosophical conversation. I guess now is a good time to get to know her a little better, Melanie decided.

"Hey, Sakura," Melanie responded simply. Not really sure what to ask first.

"I just wanted to clarify something with you, if that's okay?" Sakura asked, blushing slightly before turning her head so that Melanie couldn't quite see her face.

"What's up?" Melanie asked. She was becoming a little suspicious of Sakura's tone.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that I am not interested in dating Chris. He's all yours. Don't get me wrong he's a nice guy, but he's not my type," Sakura deadpanned.

"What are you implying? Chris and I are simply just friends!" Melanie screeched. Why does everyone keep implying we're together?

"Well… with how defensive you got of me trying to join the group at first, I figured you were either with Chris or in to him. Sorry if I got the wrong idea," Sakura said, giving a light-hearted shrug in the process.

"Well that's fine I guess. Just don't do it again!" Melanie demanded, but she couldn't help the fact that she was definitely blushing now, and Sakura definitely didn't miss that either.

"For someone who insists you're not into him, you sure blush a lot whenever anyone suggests you are," Sakura snickered, her blue eyes glittering mischievously.

"It's just a natural reaction…" Melanie muttered weakly, convinced that no matter what she said she wasn't going to convince Sakura otherwise. "So what about you? How can you be so sure he's not your type?"

"Oh that's easy! Since I was around 8 years old, I've known that I'm not interested in men. I know I'm only 13 now, but I know what I like, and it's not men," Sakura responded simply, as if it wasn't even a remotely big deal.

"Oh, well that's fine then. Good for you for recognizing so young that you aren't going to conform to the expectations of society. Although these days, it seems the route you are taking is becoming more and more the norm and less and less taboo," Melanie laughed.

"I'm glad you see it that way, Melanie. I still have never admitted this to my parents, but I will one day. If I'm being really honest, you're the first person I've ever admitted this out loud to. I really just wanted you to know that Chris is all yours," Sakura chuckled.

"I'm going to choose to ignore the last part of what you just said… but why did you feel you needed to tell me that? You barely know who I am?" Melanie quizzically asked.

"I dunno you just seem trustworthy. Obviously Chris trusts you with his secrets, and my newfound connection to Chris suggests that if he trusts you, I should too!" Sakura declared, reaching out to pat Melanie on the back. This gesture caused Melanie to smile, before she realized one important detail.

"So you're interested in girls then?" Melanie challenged.

"Um… I just told you that, why?"

"Well, I better not catch you in my tent in the middle of the night. Just ask Chris what'll happen if you do!"

So funny enough, I had written this chapter up until the end of the Cresselia dream sequence around 5 years ago, but most of this chapter was newly written this week.

The thing about Sakura's preferences was always the plan though, even 11 years ago when I first started writing this. I never had any intention of creating some weird cliche group dynamics where both girls are fighting over the guy. I know I keep dropping hints about ChrisXMelanie, but we'll just have to see where that goes, if anywhere. I mean, I know where it goes, but I won't exactly spoil that here!

I'll work hard to get that next chapter out as soon as I can. Until then, enjoy!