As expected, I slept fitfully that night. At least, I thought that I had. When I woke up the next morning I was groggy, and it took me nearly a minute to remember where I was. It felt like my brain was in slow motion, my thoughts refusing to process properly. I hadn't been this tired in weeks, and I was sure that the thoughts I had tried to push away last night were the culprit.

Along with the overall tiredness, I had a feeling that I had... forgotten something. It was the feeling you got when you know you had dreamt something but couldn't recall it. It was nagging and much more distracting than anything else I was feeling at the time.

Some time later, the nurse came in, said good morning, and checked my EKG chart. She briefly left the room, taking the chart with her. She returned a minute or so later to run a couple more tests. "Great news, there seems to be nothing off with your charts, and your other tests came back normal. You're okay to leave," she said with a smile.

"So soon?" I asked, relieved.

"Considering what you were admitted here for, you shouldn't be surprised."

"Nobody told me why I was here," I said. It was true, nobody had told me anything.

"Really? It must have slipped my mind," the nurse said, looking puzzled. "There's no need to worry, it was nothing too serious. You were merely dehydrated, and it's something that can be treated with relative ease. And that reminds me..." She then went on to give me a lecture about making sure that I drink enough fluids from here on out, not overexerting myself when I was out in the sun, typical health advice. In a way, I was relieved. When it came to every horrible thing that could've happened to me while I was unconscious, dehydration was probably the better of the possibilities.

The nurse soon finished her lecture and asked me something. "Are you sure you don't want me to contact your parents about this?" I reaffirmed Wallace's words and said that I was sure. If there was anything Mom or Dad couldn't know about, it was this. "Okay then, I need to sign a few papers confirming that you were discharged, and I'll be back in a few minutes." The nurse removed a white envelope from her apron pocket and handed it to me. "While you're waiting, you can look at this. The Dewford Gym Leader Justine asked me to give you this."

"Okay, thank you," I replied, taking it from her. After she left, I turned my attention to the envelope, curiosity sparking within me. What could Justine have possibly wanted me to know that she couldn't tell me in person? I might as well open it, no use in wondering. Inside the envelope was a folded piece of computer paper with a message typed on it.

Steven, I would like to thank you for assisting me and my assistant. Without your efforts, I'm sure we couldn't have gotten the WaveOrb back, and I'm sorry if you helping me has inconvenienced you in any way. But from where you are at the time I am having this typed, I know it has. I feel ashamed for making you help me, especially since that the one thing missing from the WaveOrb was a single circuit. I owe you more than a little compensation, so I hope you can accept this small token of my appreciation. I wish you the best of luck in the rest of your journey and League Challenge.

-Justine

The envelope itself still had some weight to it so I overturned it and emptied its contents into my lap. My eyes widened in disbelief when I saw several familiarly-colored strips of paper fall from the envelope. I picked one up and held it mere inches from my face, reluctant to believe that what I was holding was real. I was holding a two-thousand PokéYen bill. Justine had paid me. A quick count of the remaining bills revealed that in total I had received twelve-thousand PokéYen.

I didn't know what to think of this. On one hand, I felt bad that she had gone so far out of her way as to pay me but on the other hand... I actually had money now, I could pay Wallace back for buying me food for the past week.

More importantly, I could finally buy myself essentials. Mainly, an actual backpack of some sort and a set of clothes more suited for constant traveling. At the moment, I was traveling beyond light. If I couldn't fit it in my pockets, I couldn't carry it with me. These facts made this money a gift straight from Arceus himself. I made a mental note that I had to thank Justine before I left Dewford.

An hour later, I sat dozing in the Center's lobby. I had been waiting there for what felt like ages. I wanted to know what I had dreamt last night, but my mind refused to reveal any information. It was like trying to grasp stray threads blowing about in the breeze. So close yet always barely out of reach. I eventually gave up trying to remember and spent the rest of my time waiting making small talk with Meteor. If it truly was so important, I surely would have remembered it.

"Wow, she actually said you could leave." I turned to see Wallace and Winona standing right next to me. I flinched back, startled by their sudden appearance. I recovered quickly and tried to cover up my surprise with a shrug.

"Shocking, isn't it?" I replied as I stood up. As I did so, I stifled the urge to yawn. What time is it? I wondered, checking my PokéNav's clock. It was eight-eighteen in the morning, pretty early considering how late I'd been trying to sleep in since I left home. I wasn't a morning person, that was for sure. "Did you hear anything from Arietta yet?"

"Not yet, do you think she could be outside?" Wallace asked.

"Possibly. We could go check," I replied.

"It's up to you, it was you who invited her after all," Wallace said with a shrug. We were about to leave the building when someone called out to us.

"Steven, Wallace, Winona, wait up!"

We turned to see Arietta running over to us, smiling widely. Seeing her lifted my spirits and I smiled back. "Sorry that we almost left without you, I thought you were outside," I apologized.

"It's fine! I actually woke up on time for once and I got some early exercise. That's two of my goals today checked off," Arietta replied. "I can't wait until we get to Slateport, I can show you three around and everything!"

"That sounds fun!" Winona said, sounding as enthusiastic as ever.

"If Winnie wants to do it, I'm cool with it. It'll make up for what little we saw here," Wallace added.

Oh, you simply weren't looking in the right places, I thought with an inward sigh. If you ever wanted to see a burning field of death and be unreasonably terrified in the process, Granite Cave has that in spades. I repressed an urge to shake my head and tried once again to push the vision away. The sooner I stopped thinking about it, the sooner I would forget it.

"If you're looking for tourist attractions, Slateport's got you covered!" Arietta continued. "There's the Contest Hall, the Marketplace... actually, maybe it'd be better to show you when we get there instead. It's better than wasting more time here."

"That would be preferable," I said. "But first, could we visit the Gym? I need to tell Justine something."

After stopping by the Gym, the four of us caught the first boat off Dewford Island and we were on our way to Slateport. The ride, while taking a little too long for my liking, was quite calming. Winona was keeping Wallace busy by pointing out every Flying Pokémon she saw and Arietta seemed to be talking to someone through her earpiece, leaving me to my own devices. I spent the time admiring the view from the boat's deck. It was practically picturesque. The blue sky matched by the equally as blue water made for a mostly unchanging, yet captivating sight.

There isn't even a single cloud, it's completely clear! I thought to myself, smiling. Until recently, I had never appreciated a sight as simple as this. I never had the opportunity to. But now that I was away from home, I could make up for that deprivation tenfold.

—~*~—

Slateport City was certainly a sight to see. It perfectly looked the part of a seaside city with its tall stone buildings, each having a brightly colored roof that offset any dullness such a uniform design created, and expansive beaches along its south end.

The whole city had a cheery atmosphere about it that separated it from Rustboro and Petalburg. Not only were there ports for the city's numerous ships, but everything that Arietta said would be there was, well, there. She didn't need to ask where we wanted to go first, I already had my sights set on the strip of stores placed along the city's main street. I finally had money, and I was going to spend it.

Each storefront along the street was decked out in bright, appealing colors and proudly displayed signs that detailed what the establishment in question sold. I managed to convince the others that these stores should be our first stop and when Winona noticed a shop that sold Pokémon plushies, she practically dragged Wallace over to it, her eyes sparkling with the joy only someone her age could express.

"Aren't you going to go with them?" Arietta asked me.

"I'm not here to browse. I need a few things and I might as well get them now instead of later. I'm surprised you're not going with them," I said.

She looked confused. "Why would I?" Her confused look then turned to one of irritation. "Wait... Just because I'm a girl, you're thinking that I automatically like stuffed animals?" she questioned, her words drawn out and her tone dark. My heart jumped into my throat, and my mind instantly conjured a million different apologies. I was ready to practically plead for forgiveness when Arietta said, "Because you're absolutely right!"

Wait, what? "Excuse me?" I asked. Was I hearing her right?

Arietta giggled. "I was kidding, I love plushies!" she said, her face instantly brightening. "I just don't buy them in Slateport because they're so much cheaper in Lilycove. But other than plushies, I hate buying anything else."

"Oh, is that so?" My voice came out more like a sigh coupled with a bit of embarrassed laughter. I was ready to start panicking when she gave me that look and I would've if she didn't keep talking. The last thing I wanted to do was unintentionally insult someone over a slip of the tongue.

"Sorry if I freaked you out, I'm guessing you're not used to what I classify as humor," Arietta apologized.

"No, I should be sorry. I shouldn't have made the assumption in the first place," I said, relief flooding through me. It was only a joke, a joke I should've seen coming a mile away considering how often Meteor tried to joke with me. Why did I immediately have to jump to the worst conclusion? Overreaction, thy name is Steven Devon Stone, I thought with a small sigh.

"But back to the whole shopping thing, I guess I'll meet you back out here in let's say... an hour?" Arietta asked.

"It depends if Winona ever lets Wallace leave that stuffed animal store alive," I remarked. "But from the look in her eyes before they left, I'm guessing that his chances are slim." I then realized what I had said. Did I just try to make a joke? Again, humor wasn't something I attempted often. Why did I think I could pull it off now? Amazingly, Arietta actually laughed.

"Yeah, you might be right about that!" she said. Whether it was genuine or a way of not making the situation awkward, it was laughter nonetheless.

A few minutes of looking through clothing stores later, I found myself in a store that had items that looked nice but weren't too expensive. I needed something that was practical yet stylish. I selected whatever I thought might look good together along with suiting the needs of a traveling Trainer and spent a stupidly long amount of time in the dressing rooms trying to put said "practical yet stylish" outfit together.

In the end, I had decided on a thin black jacket with light gray trimming along the cuffs of the sleeves over a plain purple t-shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a pair of sturdy black hiking boots. To top it off was a black satchel with a silvery material lining the insides of the pockets and the bag itself. Practical? Not exactly. Stylish? Yes!

You're having way too much fun with this, Meteor said as I was paying for what I had bought.

What can I say? I like to think I have a good taste in clothing! I replied. While I wouldn't admit it to anyone, I wasn't going to deny it. After I finished up in that store I went on to purchase a few other items I thought I would need.

When I was done, I still had a little over half of my money left, and while I was slightly tempted to keep browsing, I had been gone for over an hour. I would've felt horrible if it turned out that I had kept everyone else waiting. Thankfully, it didn't seem like I had. Arietta was sitting on a bench not too far away from where we had separated, her arms crossed and her head reclined back, looking up at the sky. I saw no sign of Wallace or Winona.

"I'm back," I said.

"On a scale of one to ten, guess how bored I am," Arietta said, her gaze not meeting mine.

A little startled by her sudden question, I replied cautiously, "Um, six?"

She shook her head and made a sound like a buzzer going off. "Incorrect! The answer was fifty." She sat back up and looked at me. "Oh hey, I like your outfit! You look less like a business intern and more like an actual Trainer."

"Thanks! I would compliment you too, but you didn't really buy..." I trailed off. I'd better stop myself before I say something awkward again. "I guess Wallace and Winona are still shopping," I said, trying to change the subject.

"Mhm, this is why I don't really like shopping. It's so time-consuming," Arietta sighed.

"Then what would you like to do until they get back?"

"How about we..." She pretended to look thoughtful. "Have a battle? We're Trainers, we have time to kill, and there's a park with a lot of open space at the end of the street. It'd be odd if we didn't want to battle each other! Besides, I'd like to see how you fight. My only impression of your skills was seeing Meteor faint when that crazy lady attacked you with her Sableye, and I'm sure you can do better if you were in a fair match."

"Can you please not bring that up?" I asked with a frown. My first encounter with the Insurgents was something I hated thinking about. It was a memory I wanted to keep in the back of my mind along with everything that led up to that point.

"Sure, sorry for mentioning it then," Arietta said apologetically. "Can we still battle, though?"

"Of course," I said, almost forcing enthusiasm into my tone. Even if I didn't want to battle, which was almost never the case, I felt that I couldn't turn Arietta down.

The park Arietta mentioned wasn't too far away from the main shopping district. It was a wide open expanse of green with a four-foot tall wooden fence bordering its edges. I noticed that there were hardly any bushes or other types of greenery. I supposed that was because if Trainers wanted to battle there, there wouldn't be that much nature to destroy. A small price to pay for the heart-pounding thrill battles provided.

"Hey, watch this!" Arietta said excitedly. She quickly glanced around and once she was finished, she removed her flats and climbed up onto the fence surrounding the park.

"What are you doing?!" I gasped.

"It's fine! I've been practicing this for a while and as long as no one sees you, there's nothing to worry about!" She carefully held her arms up to help her maintain her balance and began to slowly walk along the fence, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. She then steadily increased her pace, moving faster and faster until she was at a near running speed. Her arms were now held out straight behind her and her hair and dress were billowing in the breeze.

I tried to keep up with her, but she was able to move faster than me despite being on a harder to navigate route. Once she reached the edge of the fence, she gracefully leapt off and stuck the landing with only a bit of stumbling. She then patiently waited for me to catch up.

"How was that?" she asked, her breaths heavy from running so far. "I... can't believe I made it the... the entire way!"

"Amazing... and slightly terrifying," I gasped, trying to catch my breath as well. "Why did you even want to try that? You could've gotten in trouble if someone saw you!

"That was the point. The risk was what made it so fun!" Arietta said as she put her shoes back on.

"You could've gotten hurt!" I said.

"You can get hurt doing almost anything nowadays."

"Risks aren't something to be disregarded," I argued, trying to get her to see my point.

"There always has to be a risk. A life without risks isn't one worth living, that's what I always say!" Arietta said with a wink. "Now c'mon, we have a battle to get started and we're burning daylight." She turned and entered the park, leaving me behind.

I was speechless.

—~*~—

"Okay, since I'm a kind and generous person, let's make this battle two on two!" Arietta announced.

"I was going to propose the same idea but it seems that you beat me to it," I said. This time, I knew she was joking. I removed Meteor and Silvette's Poké Balls from my new bag, letting Meteor out first.

Meteor, I would prefer it if you went second. I want to see how well Silvette can battle, I thought to my partner. I had let him out because I missed having him beside me like he used to when he was a Beldum.

You got it, boss! Meteor gave me a salute.

You're in a good mood, I commented.

It's because you are. I hate seeing you unhappy.

Well, aren't you considerate?

I know I am, you don't have to remind me! Meteor said happily.

   Now, be ready to ask Silvette what her moves are. "Go, Silvette!" I sent out my Aron and she appeared in a flurry of... blue sparkles? That didn't happen whenever I let Meteor out. That didn't happen with any Pokémon I'd seen being sent out.

Arietta picked up on my confused expression and asked, "You didn't know that Silvette was a Shiny?"

"Shiny?" I echoed.

"Shinies are a 'type' of Pokémon that are colored differently than those of their species. It could be as simple as their claws being a different shade or their entire bodies being a different color. Obviously, these changes are super rare and that makes any Shiny practically priceless. In Aron's case, it's eye color. Aron usually have bright blue eyes. But the eyes of a Shiny Aron are red. You should consider yourself lucky! I'd love to have a Shiny, as do most other Trainers."

"An?" Silvette tilted her head to the side, no doubt confused by Arietta's words. She looked back at me, possibly hoping I could explain. She probably didn't think anything was different about her and was wondering what the deal was.

I nodded thoughtfully. "As long it doesn't somehow give Silvette an unfair advantage, color doesn't matter. In the end, it all comes down to the Pokémon themselves and their Trainer to determine the outcome of a battle."

"It's true. It doesn't only apply to color though," Arietta said. She took out a Great Ball from her purse and let out the Pokémon it housed. It was a light blue and red creature with a yellow fixture protruding from the top of it. Its body was actually very small and what seemed to be its tail hung beneath it, making it look like a wind chime. "It also applies to the Pokémon themselves, like with Belle here. Though she's a Chimecho, a Pokémon with a pretty low Base Stat Total, she can be scary when she wants to. Ready to get started?"

"Yes, let's do this!" I said. Meteor told me that Silvette knew Metal Claw, Mud-Slap, Tackle, and Iron Defense. Three attacking moves, one of which I knew lowered accuracy, and a defensive move. I had taken into consideration Justine's proposed strategy and I decided to give it a go. "Silvette, start off with an Iron Defense," I ordered. Silvette did what I asked and raised her defenses.

"Belle, use Extrasensory!" The Pokémon spun in a circle and a spiral of pink energy formed around her. The energy shot out towards Silvette and engulfed her. She let out a cry of pain but was able to keep standing.

Psychic moves? I don't have anything to counter a Psychic type... if this is a Psychic Pokémon. "Silvette, use Mud-Slap!" Silvette ran at Belle, mud flying in her wake. Wherever she stepped, the ground instantly dampened. Belle was splattered with the soggy earth and struggled to remove it from her face, allowing Silvette to hit her with a Tackle. On the next turn, Arietta countered with another Extrasensory. This time however, Silvette wasn't as lucky. I was shocked that the attack had knocked her out in two hits.

"Meteor, it's your turn," I said after I recalled Silvette, still a little shocked. When he didn't say anything, I turned to look at him. He was frozen in place, his arms hanging limply and his eyes wide.

How about no?

What had suddenly gotten into him? Two seconds ago, he was more than ready to battle. What? It's not like you to back out of a challenge! Most of the time, I'm more nervous than you are.

Two. Hits. Silvette went down in two hits!

We might as well try anyways. What would Arietta think if we backed out now?

Hey, that's what you think!

Please try regardless, I pleaded. I really didn't want to let Arietta down, and forfeiting would do just that.

If you insist... the Steel Pokémon sighed. He reluctantly hovered onto the battlefield and waited for my instruction.

"Meteor, Bullet Punch!" Try to keep your movements unpredictable so Belle will have a harder time hitting you.

Got it.

"Belle, use Psywave! Make sure he doesn't get close to you," Arietta countered. Belle shot several waves of vibrating pink and purple energy at Meteor, each one failing to hit its mark. Meteor managed to finish his attack and Belle was sent flying across the field as a result. Belle appeared be struggling to hover and I thought that another hit would knock her out.

"Bullet Punch once more," I said.

"Belle, Synchronoise!" The weakened Chimecho let out a horrifically loud screech, causing both me and Arietta to cover our ears. Waves of purple light pulsed from Belle, shooting out with the speed of bullets. The waves impacted Meteor one after the other, and he was soon caught in a tsunami of sound and psychic energy. The attack ended and Meteor fell to the ground with a thud where he didn't move.

"Meteor?" I called out with uncertainty. Oh Arceus, let him be okay!

I'm fine, don't worry. But... I told you so. He got those words out before going silent. I was at a loss for words. Arietta had beaten both of my Pokémon. It was supposed to be a two on two battle and she didn't have to use her second Pokémon.

"You did a good job," Arietta complimented me. "Do you get it? It doesn't matter what Pokémon or moves you use. It all comes down to having a well thought-out strategy and a close bond with your teammates. Everything has potential, it's all a matter of drawing it out."

   I was impressed. No wonder Arietta was so confident, she knew what she was doing and she did it without wavering in the slightest. Her confidence, her wit, her overall outgoing personality... they were all things I admired in people, even if they drastically clashed with how I was. She was everything I wasn't, and I wanted to try and be like her. Although it may have been a fruitless ambition, I wanted to attempt it regardless. If not to improve myself as a person, but to get closer to Arietta herself, even if we were opposites. It wasn't the first time I had dealt with someone like her.

   Damn straight, Meteor said smugly.