The Pokémon Center was very crowded and Lexi found Aiden sitting on a small couch next to three boys who were talking about a battle they had fought. Aiden gave a small smile when he saw her.

''Nurse Joy is busy with it, we just have to wait.''

Lexi went to get some food from the cafeteria so they could eat lunch while waiting. After almost an hour Lexi saw a chansey wave at them. ''I think we need to go with it.''

The chansey took them to a side of the Pokémon Center Lexi had never seen before. There were many doors. Those on the right were light in color and had plain walls beside them, making it impossible to know where they would lead to. But on the left were green doors and next to every door was a glass window, through which Lexi could see recovering pokémon.

Some were standing or sitting, clearly nearing the end of their stay, but others were lying down, some even attached to wires.

The chansey stopped and Lexi could already see the krabby through the window. It looked very fragile and unstable, like simply blowing in its direction would make it fall of the table. The krabby ignored the trainers as they came into the room and there was a short silence. Nurse Joy smiled at Lexi and Aiden and the chansey closed the door behind them.

''Well he is a little grumpy but you can't blame him, losing a pincher can be painful. But luckily krabby's are able to grow them back so he should be fine.''

''Really?!'' Aiden exclaimed, his eyes wide. ''I didn't know that!''

''Well they can, but it can take a while. It will start small and grow bigger over time, until it is almost the same size as his other one. But he will have difficulty with his balance till then.'' Nurse Joy picked up a pokéball and handed it to Aiden. ''Oh yeah,'' Aiden took the pokéball, ''I forgot he's captured now. But it was your pokéball Lexi, you should have it.''

Lexi waved his hand away and smiled. ''You caught it, it's your pokémon.''

Aiden put the pokéball on his belt with a big grin on his face and started rummaging through his backpack. ''Then I want you to have this'' Aiden handed her one of his own pokéballs, ''No buts, I have one of your pokéballs so you get one of mine.''

Lexi nodded and both trainers thanked Nurse Joy.

(_)

''Maybe you should let your other pokémon meet Krabby, so they understand he's part of the team, and not like…food.''

Lexi and Aiden were walking at the edge of the town. It was still very warm so they stayed close to the trees that were casting small shadows on the dried up grass. ''That's not a bad idea. Maybe we can even train a little.'' Aiden let Hoothoot and Pidgey out, took the last pokéball from his belt and released Krabby. Krabby was still grumpy and inspected the grass instead of paying attention to Aiden. Both Hoothoot and Pidgey sat on Aiden's shoulders, staring at Krabby with curious eyes.

''It'll be alright guys, Krabby can help us win the badge. He's a water type'' Aiden explained to his pokémon. But he seemed unsure himself, Krabby didn't really act like a team player at the moment.

It surprised them all when Krabby shot up and tried to run into the forest. But he didn't get far. Without his other pincher he wasn't able to balance out his body and Krabby fell down. ''That will become a problem if I ever get him to battle with me. How can he win a battle if he can barely take a step forward. '' Aiden scratched his head.

''Can't we attach something to his body to balance him out?'' Lexi asked.

''Maybe. Could you hand me that stick?''.

But the stick was too light and Krabby fell over again. The next one they found was heavy enough but far too long. Hoothoot and Pidgey started to break off sticks from trees to see if they would fit. Krabby didn't object, he just ignored them and used his left pincher to cut the grass around him.

''You would almost say he looks bored,'' Aiden remarked. He had a stick in his hand that reminded Lexi of a fork. There were still small leaves attached to the top of the dark brown wood, but they were turning yellow. The stick seemed to be the right weight, but it looked very weird. ''I tied it around him in such a way that his new pincher has room to grow'' Aiden said, pleased with himself. ''Now I want to try a battle, he has to learn to move with it.''

Lexi grabbed a pokéball with her left hand, as the she was still holding the egg with her right, and let out Serafine who reared up in a playful manner. ''I want you to be careful with him, okay. This is not a serious fight.'' Serafine looked a bit confused but nodded and turned to her opponent.

''Serafine do…uh...Tail Whip''

Serafine lowered her head and waved her fiery tail around. She looked like a young growlithe, inviting Krabby to play. But Krabby didn't move, he just watched Serafine as she moved around.

''Okay, Krabby do…..I don't know what moves it has.'' Aiden scratched his head, smiling sheepishly.

Lexi pointed her pokédex and a familiar robotic voice answered the question.

''Krabby, the River Crab pokémon. If it senses danger approaching, it cloaks itself with bubbles from its mouth so it will look bigger. This pokémon known moves are: Bubble, Vice Grip, Harden, Bubblebeam and Mudshot. Male''

''Okay, Krabby do Bubble.'' Aiden shouted enthusiastically, but Krabby just continued to stare at Serafine and ignored Aiden completely. Aiden looked desperate and suddenly Serafine let out a loud snort, scaring them all.

The firehorse ran to Krabby and shot a small ball of fire right over his head. Krabby eyes went big and he waved his pincher while trying to regain balance. Serafine ignored him and turned around, ready to fire off a second attack.

''Krabby do Bubble quick!'' Aiden yelled, and Krabby looked around in slight panic. He had to defend himself, but would he listen? Krabby dug his feet deep into the ground and began to shoot bubbles out of his mouth. Serafine moved away from the bubbles and started to charge. Lexi's grip on the egg tightened as she watched her pokémon run around. Lexi felt like she should be the one giving the commands, instead of letting her pokémon do what it wanted. But Serafine had a plan, and she didn't want to ruin it.

''Now do Mudshot''

Krabby seemed to have forgotten his anger for Aiden completely and was focused on keeping Serafine as far away from him as possible. An orange colored sphere began to grow in Krabby's left pincher and Serafine started to run slower, ready to move away. Suddenly mud flew everywhere and not only Serafine, but also Aiden and Lexi got covered in mud.

It was silent for a moment. Everyone was trying to process what just happened. Then Krabby made the most loud and happy sounding 'Ki Ku' they had ever heard and both trainers smiled.

''Well, I think it's time for a dip'' Aiden yelled. He ran over the yellow grass to the lake and jumped into it with a small splash. Krabby followed slowly and with lots of tripping, but eventually joined his new trainer in the water, though he still kept his distance. Lexi first checked the egg, that had luckily been protected from the mud by its towel. When she got at the lake, she put the egg down and stared at the water.

''Come in, the water is warm. You can swim, can't you?'' Aiden teased.

The teasing made Lexi feel very self-conscious. She gave a quick nod and carefully stepped into the water. The water was very warm and her clothing started to stick to her skin, restricting her movements. Pidgey and Hoothoot went in as well. Flying around their trainer and washing themselves in the water, even though they were the only ones not to get mud thrown upon them.

Lexi went back to the edge of the water to let her pokémon out too. ''They might not really enjoy the water, but they can have fun on the grass'' Lexi said to herself as she crawled back on land. Her body felt a lot heavier out of water and she was still bothered by her wet clothing. ''Serafine, Pero, you can come out''.

(_)

The sky was turning orange as the trainers walked back to the Pokémon Center. They could hear the wild pidgey's who were flying back to their nests. People having quiet conversations while sitting outside the restaurants.

Aiden had spent the rest of the day swimming, helping Krabby with moving around in the water, as this was not easy with a stick to its side, and playing with his bird pokémon. Lexi on the other hand had stayed on the shore to let her clothes dry, brushed her pokémon and had taken care of her egg. After their search for Pero, who had spent hís day buried in the dirt near some rocks, they had decided to go back.

They ate a delicious dinner together with some other guests of the Pokémon Center, with who Aiden had started chatting. Lexi on the other hand went back to their room as soon as her plate was empty, and was already in her pajamas when Aiden came back.

''I think it's good we didn't go to the gym today like we planned. My team has more of a chance now with Krabby. I can't wait for tomorrow, our first gym battle. It's going to be so awesome, and we are going to win I'm sure of it!'' Aiden said as he took of his pokéball belt. He saw Lexi shrug and added, ''And you got a pretty good chance too! Just need to make sure Serafine doesn't get too much damage from those rock moves.''

''We'll see.'' Lexi concluded. She petted Serafine, who was on her usual place next to the egg, and went to bed.

The sun had barely shone its rays upon the roof of the Pokémon Center when Lexi woke up. She looked around to see what woke her up, but couldn't find anything. She guessed that it probably had been a wild Pidgey outside the window.

She tried to get back to sleep but her brain was awake and wouldn't let her enjoy her warm blankets anymore. So she collected her pokéballs, woke up Serafine, put the egg in its towel and went outside.

She walked around aimlessly, trying to get her mind to focus on what she had to prepare for. In a couple of hours she would be standing in the gym, on the field, fighting a Gymleader. She started to get nervous and let her fingers slide up and down the egg, just to give them something to do. The egg wasn't smooth at all, the entire surface was covered with small dimples, like pores, probably there to help the unborn pokémon inside it breath. Maybe it could even hear her though them.

''Can you hear me?'' Lexi whispered, but the egg didn't respond. Serafine pushed it with her nose and let out a soft nicker. ''It's okay,'' Lexi stroked Serafine, ''we just have to wait, it will come out when it is ready.''

Lexi walked back to the Pokémon Center. The people of Crocuta Town had woken up and the streets were getting busy. There were young kids walking with their parents probably going to school, men and women with their pokémon going to work and an old man who was putting buckets of fruit outside his shop hoping they would lure people inside. Suddenly the street was filled with smells of bread and perfume. Sound of bells in shops and kids screaming and playing. Lexi saw Aiden standing outside the Pokémon Center, looking relieved. ''I was getting worried, why didn't you tell me you were going for a walk?''

''I'm really sorry, I thought I'd be back before you'd woken up.''

Aiden nodded. ''Okay, but like, next time leave a note or something.''

(_)

Lexi was surprised by how quick they reached the Gym. It felt too quickly, like she wasn't ready yet. Aiden walked without any hesitation, could that be because they had agreed she would go first?

The grey hallway felt more cramped than the first time she was here and the lights seemed brighter, causing her to blink non-stop.

''Well, now were going to know what's behind the door'' Aiden spoke cheerfully and reached for the doorknob.

Lexi could see a bit of the room from behind Aiden as he opened the door. It was even more disappointing than the outside. It was a simple waiting room, filled with a row of white chairs and a desk near the door. Behind the desk sat an old woman with blonde hair.

''Hello, my name is Aiden Krean and this is my friend Lexi Blue. We would like to fight the Gymleader.''

The woman behind the desk didn't look up and just pointed to a door left from them. ''Go through that door, then go left till you see a big red door, that will lead to the battle field. Your friend can keep walking till she sees a blue door, that will lead to the stands.''

Lexi took a deep breath and nodded to Aiden who gave an encouraging smile. This was it, her first fight, only seconds away.