Flame's Pov

To think that my strongest Pokémon got hit in the back by a trainer who doesn't even know how to battle! Color me impressed!

I took Flora on a ride to Oreburgh City, not wanting to bother to fly pass Jubilife City for reasons I didn't want to speak of, and landed where we needed to be.

"That was so much fun!" Flora cheered with her arms in the air "I can't wait to do that again!" She laughed while spinning around, showing how adorable she was. I smiled as she ran around Staraptor and I looked around the city.

"I never been here before, so you may have to learn how to find things on your own" I told her, looking at all the construction.

"What?!" Flora's mouth dropped "You expect me to look for this gym by myself!?"

"You were going to leave your home by yourself if I didn't volunteer to go with you" she pouted "I'm sure you'll be okay" I pet her head "Do you want my Luxray to keep you company? I was thinking of heading off to work out for awhile" she turned a bit pink.

"Oh, I see. You make a valid point" she hid her eyes, confusing me "I shouldn't depend on you for everything" she huffed and nodded, looking determined "I'll do my best!" She smiled "Where should we meet?"

"I'll go looking for you when I'm done, okay?" She nodded and ran off on her own. I looked at Staraptor looking at me "Go watch over her" it nodded and flew off after her. I sighed and headed to the gymnasium to work out some nerves stained in my muscles. As if I'm stressed enough, I need to find a way to calm down so I can better assist Flora on this journey.

It was later in the day and I got a pretty good workout going. I was covered in sweat from head to toe and felt a lot of my stress leave my body at the same time I kept thinking about Flora and her adorable smile. At some point during the few hours I've been here, I had to stop and slow down to make sure I didn't hurt myself while thinking about her.

"I better keep going" I laid back on a bench and prepared to lift some more heavier weights before my phone went off "dammit..." I sat up and answered the phone angrily "What?!"

"Whoa, looks like someone isn't in a good mood" my brother said. I put on my ear piece and laid down so I could bench press with my Ambipom assisting me "What's wrong with you?" My brother asked.

"What do you want, Ferrel?" I groaned, shaking from the weights.

"My name is Saturn, you bastard" he huffed. I rolled my eyes and continued benching.

"Whatever"

"Anyways" he sounded annoyed as well "The plans to take over the meadow was a disaster. Some kids destroyed the building materials that were going to be used to make the base. What a waste!" Ambipom took the weights so I can sit up and wipe my sweat away.

"Sounds like a personal problem. Don't bother me with nonsense! Just make another somewhere that's not close to that place and don't bother me!" I glared.

"Fine" he hung up. I threw my phone in frustration and pulled my hair. What the hell am I supposed to do?

"I don't want her to get hurt again. That's the only reason why I stopped them" I frowned, thinking of her tears flowing down her face as she cried to me "She's so fragil and I would hate a girl like her to get mixed up in this. Why did I agree to help her?" I held my chin "Although, she's not as weak as I thought she'd be" I smirked "I can't wait to see what else she has in store behind that childlike personality of hers" I looked at Ambipom watching me "let's get out of here"

We left the gymnasium and looked up at the sunset "It's gotten dark. I hope Flower didn't get herself in a tough situation" I wonder if she managed to beat the gym leader at all today "I should start looking for her. I'll start by looking for the Pokémon gym-" I looked up to see Staraptor flying in the sky "huh?" I followed after Staraptor and it led me to the Pokémon gym, where I saw Flora sitting on a bench while hugging her shinx and... a Bayleef was protecting them against two guys smirking at her.

"You think just because you won the gym battle makes you strong, little girl?" One of them said. Flora huffed and tried looking tough, but it was clear to see how much she was shaking.

"You embarrassed us in front of the boss, you know? You're just a kid! How can you easily defeat a gym leader when we can't even do that!" The other guy said.

"I don't think you should blame me for something you lack" Flora said. I hid my laugh and watched carefully "You wouldn't want your boss finding out you were messing with a challenger. I got my badge! What makes you think you can stand against me?" The guys glared at her back talk and sent out their Pokémon.

"T-Two against one?" Flora flinched "T-That's not fair..." I walked up to her and pet her head "Flame?"

"You're right. That's not fair" I glanced at the guys, who flinched at my annoyed eyes "I'll report this to the gym leader, but for now... Staraptor! Use Aerial Ace!" Staraptor flew from the sky and attacked the guy's Pokémon at once, fainting them. The guys screamed and ran off with their tails between their legs. Pathetic.

"Flame" Flora frowned at me. I smiled to her.

"Sorry, did I come late?" She shrugged, showing that it wasn't that long since she's been out here "You alright?"

"Yes. Thank you" she looked down "I feel embarrassed"

"Why? Those guy were wrong to put you at a disadvantage. You only had one active Pokémon and just got through a gym challenge. I'm sure you're exhausted" she sighed, nodding "Good job for keeping your posture and showing that you weren't afraid. I saw you were, but that's normal. Don't feel embarrassed" she rested on my shoulder.

"Lookie" she showed me the Coal badge "I worked hard on it... The battle was hard. I can say I never had a official battle before, but I had trained my Pokémon before. Bayleef did all the work" I looked at her Bayleef that evolved from her Chikorita "I hope I can get stronger from here" her eyes were getting heavy "Do you think I can keep going?" I smiled and picked her up in my arms.

"I think you'll do fine. You surprised me again" she ended up falling asleep. I smiled and felt my cheeks feel a bit warm when admiring her sleeping face "Don't worry, Flower... I'll protect you" I looked down, hoping I won't mess up.

Flora's Pov

I had a difficult time battling against the trainers that worked for the Pokémon gym. Apparently these trainers stop you from getting closer to the leader to see if one is worthy of battling with him. With every trainer I battled and won, Chikorita had gotten tired, but I always had extra honey and my special tea to help with energy boost! It helped us get far enough to finally face the gym leader and won! Chikorita even ended up evolving!

I ran into some trouble when I left the Pokémon gym when I wanted to just take a seat before I go look for Flame. Two of the trainers I fought in the gym had tried messing with me after getting mad that a girl who looked like a kid ended up defeating them. Luckily Flame was there to help me get out of an unfair battle I wasn't ready for or had the energy to take part of.

I woke up from my nap and was sitting on the bed of the hotel we were in, while staring at the bandaid I was wearing on my palm. I had scraped my hand when falling in the gym that had a lot of rocks and rock Pokémon inside. Flame helped treat it while I was staring at how sweaty he was. Aside from how much he smelled, I don't know why the look of him covered in sweat made my heart flutter. It made him look...

"Is there a reason why you're staring at me?" he asked me while treating the scrape I had on my knee as well. I looked away and pretended to not have such naughty thoughts.

"No reason... You stink" he chuckled and lifted his arm to smell himself. The stench flared into my nostrils and I cupped my nose in disgust "Put your arm down!"

"Alright alright" he chuckled and went into the bathroom after cleaning my wound. I pouted and crossed my arms, feeling weird that he had the need to help when I could had done it myself. He really does see me as a kid, doesn't he?

I looked at the other bed on the other side of the room. We agreed to sharing a room this time and we got our own beds. I blushed that we will be sharing a room again and cupped my face when feeling ashamed I have such thoughts in my head.

"Stop thinking like this..." I whined and laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. I took a slight nap before the shower stopped running. I sat up and waited for Flame to get out the bathroom so I could take a shower after. What I didn't expect was him walking out with shorts and only shorts. I froze and screamed while covering my nose at the sight of his abs!

"What?! What's the matter?!" Flame questioned, confused and surprised. I sniffled the iron smelling fluid in my nose and cupped my face, glad he didn't see me getting a nose bleed over his appearance.

"P-Put a shirt on!" I shouted. I heard him laugh and saw him suddenly appear beside me. I flinched and looked up at him leaning on the bed while staring into my eyes. I gulped, blushing like an idiot over how close he was.

"You know, Flower" he said, practically digging his red eyes into mine "I couldn't help but notice how you handled that situation earlier"

"S-Situation..?"

"Those guys were messing with you because they were jealous, and even if you tried being brave at that moment, I knew you were scared. What happened can't compare to what the real world has to offer" I looked down and frowned "It's only going to get worse from here. What happened earlier was just the tip of the iceberg"

"I know..." I bit my lips "but..."

"Look at me" I looked into his eyes again. They were filled with concern and a slight fear "I don't want anything happening to you. I'm glad you handled that situation well, but you need to know your limit. Bayleaf had already battled enough for you. Getting stronger isn't easy, but it's what we need to keep going" I started crying "I know you're scared, but it's going to be okay in the end" he wiped my tears away "I'm sorry for leaving you alone"

"No, you were right. I need to learn how to go out on my own anyway. I was tired..." he pet my head "They could had really hurt us"

"Yeah"

"But you were there just in time" I played with his wet hair a bit, holding his cheek "I trust you" he frowned and stood up.

"You should even be cautious of those close to you" I stood after him.

"You saved me and Bayleef from those people. How can I not trust you?" I held his hand and held it against my cheek "As long as you're willing to take my side, I know we can be friends" I expected myself to look at his face, but ended up looking at his bare chest. I blushed and quickly rushed to the bathroom to take a shower.

After my shower, I cleaned the mist off the mirror to look at myself and my appearance "I may never be taken seriously because of this face" I sighed and looked around the bathroom, realizing something last minute "My clothes..." I cupped my mouth and looked at the door. I forgot my clothes! I only have a towel on!!

I sneakily opened the door and looked into the bedroom. Flame seemed to be out for the moment. I sighed in relief and hurried to grab my bag and put my undergarments on first.

"It would've been embarrassing to have asked him to give me my bag" I felt hot just thinking about it and pulled my shirt over my head at the same time I heard something. The shirt hole of my dress seemed to have shrunk or something.

"What the heck! Why isn't this fitting?!" I groaned, fighting the dress from the inside until I noticed I was accidentally trying to enter from the arm hole "oops" I lowered my dress down my body for a perfect fit and looked up to see Flame staring at me with a red face and wide eyes "D-Did you see..?" I cupped my mouth, wondering what I heard was him opening the door!

"S-Sorry..." he closed the door behind him, set a plastic bag on the floor, and quickly walked pass me to the bathroom. I blinked confused, wondering why he went into the bathroom.

"So embarrassing..." I whined to myself, feeling awkward all night. We hardly said a word to each other after that little scene. I ate a sandwich he had gotten us from the store while I was showering and slept the night wondering if I should apologize for what happened.

"Are you alright?" Flame asked me the next morning when we came back to Floaroma Town to have breakfast and collect some honey and tea for my Pokémon's health and headed out on a journey again.

I've felt awkward towards him since what happened yesterday, so I think I should mention it so we can put to behind us "It's just like wearing a bikini" I ended up saying, confusing him "I'm sorry if I made it weird..." I looked away, looking out in the path "You were out, so I figured to change really quick. I didn't expect you to come in so suddenly" he scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Nothing you have to apologize for... I just didn't expect you to have..." I looked at him confused, which made him turn even more red "Nevermind..." he looked back at me "You don't have to apologize. You saw me without a shirt, so I guess we're even. I guess I made you uncomfortable as well" I was about to comment on that before hearing a little girl crying by herself. I ran up to her.

"Hey, are you alright" I leaned on my knees to reach her. She sniffled, trying to collect her words before speaking.

"M-My- My papa... Please, I want to see my papa" she stuttered.

"Your papa? You're here alone? Where did he go?" She pointed at the opposite direction towards a windmill.

"We live in Vally Windworks, but when a whole bunch of people dressed like spacemen came" she sniffled "They kicked me out and making papa do something" I turned to Flame, concerned. He was looking the other way with a worried look on his face.

"We have to help!" I told him "They might also have my Pokémon! Let's go!" I ran off to the direction the girl pointed and hid behind a tree to spot a grunt standing guard by the door.

"Those guys in those tacky suits won't get away with this" I looked back to ask Flame for a plan, but he wasn't anywhere in sight "Flame?" I sighed and crossed my arms "Well, I shouldn't depend on him for everything in the end. I guess I'm on this by myself" I went over to the guard at the door "Hey you!" I pointed. He looked at me, unamused "Get out of my way!" He didn't react to what I said, so when I tried getting pass him, he pushed me to the floor "Ah!" I groaned.

"Don't you dare go into this building. I got ordered to keep everyone out if they're not Team Galactic" he took out a Pokéball "We'll see how determined you are after I beat you in battle" b-battle?! I know this isn't my first battle, but these people don't seem like they play by the rules!

"Shaa!" Shinx looked at me and nodded. Shinx wants to battle..? Should I even dare to try to let her battle after she recently hatched? There's always possibilities, but if I'm ever going to use Shinx as a battle partner, I have to start somewhere.

"Right back at yah!" I glared at the grunt and then nodded at Shinx, preparing to have our first battle together.