It took a moment for me to get back up from my fall before, but I pushed myself back up and hurried through the forest and followed the road towards the exit.

The doctor had told me to follow the road and I shouldn't have a problem getting lost. Pichu had to lead me since I couldn't keep my eyes open from how swollen my eyes had gotten from all that crying. I believe my feet had walked on their own for awhile... Taking me to where they want to go instead of following Pichu.

I stopped daydreaming and was finally able to hear Pichu calling out to me. My exhaustion was getting the better of me. My health wasn't in good shape, so I had a hard time functioning...

I stopped walking and looked up at a shrine a few feet away from me. The road I was suppose to be following was gone... My panic was starting to come back.

"No..." I sobbed again "What have I done..?"

"Pe..." Pichu frowned.

"How much time have I wasted..?" Pichu pulled on my ankle and directed me back to the main road. I quickly followed and got stopped by a strange call behind me. I looked behind me, back at the shrine, and suddenly felt the world around me warp. I looked back in front of me and found myself in the main road again...

"H-Huh?" I looked around confused "Where's the shine?" The path around us looked completely different and the shrine we were about to leave was nowhere in sight. We were in the middle of a large opening, nowhere near the thick bushes of trees we were around by the shrine.

"A-Am I going crazy?" I heard crunching behind me.

"Oh my" I jumped and turned around to see a kimono girl with a colorful kimono watching me with curious eyes "You just appeared out of nowhere"

"I-I did?" She looked at my eyes and frowned, then smiled.

"The spirit of the forest must've saw you suffering and lend you a hand" S-Spirit of the forest..? "No need to feel panicked. If you were looking for an exit of this forest, you're right there" She pointed ahead at the shine of the exit.

"W-What?!" I gasped "How is that possible?!" I looked at the case in my hand to see the timer "I still have 8 hours! How did I get pass the forest so fast?!" The girl giggled.

"I just told you!" She winked "The spirit of the forest had answered your call. Leave this forest and get some rest" she took out her hankie and softly wiped my face with it "You look like you need it" I started crying again "Why are you crying..?"

"B-Because... I was blessed to be given more time to save this egg. I don't know how long I would had been in that forest with life and death in my hands" I hugged the case "The spirit of the forest, you said... helped me?" I bit my lips "Thank you..." the girl smiled and continued to clean my face before placing the hankie on the case.

"Take that with you" she smiled "I'll see you around, okay?"

"R-Right... Thanks" she squat down to pick something up and show it to me.

"Is this badge yours?" I took the shiny red badge she handed me. A badge..? Did Bugsy put this in my pocket?! "I have to get going. Take care now!" She smiled and gracefully left the forest while spinning in her pretty kimono. I looked down at Pichu looking up at me.

"Spirit of the forest" I looked back at the forest and smiled "Thank you... For giving me more time" I hurried out the forest and finally entered into the field that the sun kissed. I'm finally so close to where I need to be! Thank goodness!

"We're so close" I hugged my case and hurried along "Don't worry! We're almost there!" We ran pass a few trainers we didn't pay attention to, and were now running towards a small house with a fence filled with Pokémon playing around. I looked around and spotted a Quilava inside.

"Isn't that..?"

"V!" I turned to the side to see Gold running towards me "It's been a minute!" His smile dropped when he saw my face "What happened to you..?"

"Sorry, I have to get to Goldenrod. I'm in desperate need for a egg warmer!" AN old woman walked out the house we were by.

"We have a warmer here for you if you like" I gasped and teared up again.

"Honestly?!" I bowed "Please! This egg is in desperate need for a warmer! Without it, it can die! This case is all I have to carry it to where it needs to go!" The old woman waved her hand.

"I understand. No need to explain yourself. We take care of people's Pokémon without question. Goldie, go ahead and show your friend where it is" Gold smiled and waved to me.

"Come on! I'll take you to the warmer" I nodded and followed him into the place labeled as a daycare.

The egg was finally where it needed to be and as soon as I knew it was safe, I slumped down to a near by bench and laid down with my arm covering my eyes. I was pretty much half dead.

"V..?" Gold said to me, sitting beside my head "Are you okay?"

"I had a horrible morning..."

"It's still morning" I removed my arm to look at the ceiling.

"That's the thing... I woke up early this morning because I couldn't sleep last night. I did an operation to the egg back in Azalea town's Pokémon center after battling a bunch of Team Rocket grunts earlier that day. I found this egg in the Slowpoke well, close to death. I was called to the Pokémon center who told me their warmer broke and it was the best way for the egg to heal on its own. That case held the perfect amount of heat, but it was on a timer... You have no idea how stressed I was" I covered my eyes again and sobbed "I've been letting my emotions get the better of me. I knew getting off my medication would be a bad idea"

"Medication? V, you were under a lot of stress! If life and death was in your hands and time was running out, anyone would freak out!" He pet my head "You got here just in time. You can relax"

"Yeah..." thanks to the spirit of the forest "I got lucky again..."

"This doesn't look like the egg Elm gave you. What happened to the egg?" I dug in my pocket and send out Togepi. Gold stood up quickly and picked it up "Oh wow! What a cute Pokémon!" Togepi looked at him confused "You hatched it! They were right to have you take care of it! Did you call the professor?"

"No... It hatched earlier before I woke up. I didn't have time" there was a moment of silence.

"Goldie, dear. Why don't you take your friend up to your room so she can rest?" The old woman spoke. I slowly sat up and looked at her.

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Valerie Zoe" she nodded and bowed.

"It's an honor to meet you. My grandson had told me about you. And did you say your name was Zoe? Amazing! What an honor!"

"Zoe?" Gold asked "Is that your family's name?" He asked me. I nodded.

"The Zoe family are known to take care of Pokémon eggs and are extremely skilled in their care. It's a natural talent" his grandma smiled at me "I knew your grandparents. Me and my husband run this daycare center and often come across eggs. With the things your grandparents taught us, we were able to care for them with the best of our ability. It can't compare to how talented they were" I smiled.

"Thank you for your kind words" I stood up and took Gold's shoulder "Do you mind taking care of my Pokémon while I rest? Now that I know the egg is fine, I can sleep well" Gold nodded, blushing a little.

"Y-Yeah. No problem" he took my hand and helped me up the stairs to a plain room with a bed and desk. I laid on the bed and almost passed out if I didn't remember Gold was still by me.

"I'm so tired..."

"I don't blame you" he placed a cold rag on my forehead "Grandma gave me that to put on you" I smiled and enjoyed it's coolness and placed it on my sore eyes.

"I get emotionally exhausted so fast, you have no idea. The amount of hate I have towards Team Rocket is so strong that I get headaches after I handle them and my mind is only on them. Nothing else mattered to me. Then that egg was involved and that's all I could think about. I couldn't sleep without knowing it was okay"

"Take it easy. You're good here. Stay here for as long as you need to. We'll take care of your Pokémon" I smiled and drifted to sleep, thanking Gold and passed out into the darkness.

The amount of time had flew pass me when I decided to wake up. The sun was in a different direction and the room seemed a bit darker. I didn't know what time it was, but at least I had Pichu show up and show me her bright smile, greeting me after a good nap.

"Hey there" I sat up and looked around "Gold took me here. I wonder if this is the room he uses when he comes here" I looked over at a open door to see a bathroom "I hope he doesn't mind me using the shower. I feel all sweaty" I yawned and grabbed my bag to take a shower without seeing a sign of anyone coming up to check on me.

I brought the rag I had on my face with me and turned on the shower before removing my clothes to freshen up. Pichu joined me and played with the bubbles falling off my body.

"I never knew there was soap that makes this much suds" I said to myself, catching the bubbles falling off me. Pichu's ears twitched towards the door. The shower was too loud for me to hear anything outside the clear curtain.

I looked over at the door opening and saw Gold walking in looking concerned. We stared at each other for what felt like minutes before he noticed what was happening and his face went deep in red. I blinked a few times, confused on why he decided to come in here with that face.

"U-Uh... V" his eyes traveled downwards to my body "I..." I picked up the rag I brought with me and threw it on his face, quickly covering his eyes. What a perfect shot.

"Don't you knock?" I asked, turning off the shower and wrapped myself in my towel "Honestly. You're there with a nosebleed and can't take your eyes off my body" I held my hip "What a naughty boy, you are" I teased. He removed the rag and faced me with his eyes closed.

"I-It's not like that! I got worried about you! You were asleep for half the day and I knocked so many times, but there wasn't an answer!" He turned away "I should had got my grandma to come up here, but I panicked!"

"Are you sure you just didn't want to peak?" I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He snapped his eyes open and stared at the ceiling in a panic "Naughty boys like you need to be punished. You want to get punished?" I gently held his chin. His nose kept leaking blood into his collar.

"I-It's not like that!" He shut his eyes "I-I got worried!" I giggled and removed myself from him and pushed him out the door.

"I'll be down in a minute, okay?" He quickly nodded as I shut the door. I'm so cruel to tease him like that, and it wasn't really his fault. I don't blame him since he was worried. I just wanted to have a little fun. I can't help being a little flirtatious to be amused, since it's not something I'm forced to do anymore.

I walked out the bathroom with black jeggings and a white t-shirt. I'm not a fashion nova, but at least I match and am comfortable.

Pichu followed me downstairs were I saw an old man closing up the house by turning the opening sign around to show that the place was now closed.

"Hello" I smiled "I'm Valerie! I'm Gold's acquaintance" I joked. Gold came out the corner like I expected him to and watched him hurry to me.

"A-Acquaintance?! I thought we were friends!" I giggled and pet his head.

"I'm just teasing, dummy. Don't take what I say too seriously" I flipped my wet hair "You'll know when I'm serious" he huffed, annoyed, and walked off. The man who I'm assuming is his grandpa, just chuckled and offered his hand.

"It's nice to meet our old friend's granddaughter" I smiled "My name is Paul. I run this daycare with my wife, Carol"

"It's a pleasure!" Carol popped up front the corner.

"Are you hungry, dear? I'm making dinner"

"Is that okay? I don't mean to be a bother" I frowned. She waved her hand.

"Not at all. It's still getting ready. Why don't you go help Goldie feed the Pokémon?" I nodded and left to find him outside in the fences by a shed that housed many of the Pokémon that must've got dropped off to be taken care of. Bayleef and Togepi were playing around and called over Pichu when I notified them that I was here.

"Have as much fun as you like, everyone" I told them. They nodded and went off to play. I looked over at Gold carrying a bag of Pokémon food, still with that blush on his face "Need some help?" I giggled. He ignored me and walked pass me "Come on. I didn't make you that upset, did I?"

"You did!" He looked at me "It's not funny" I winked.

"It's a little funny" I sighed "or did you want me to be serious?" He froze and turned to me shocked. I stuck my tongue out and traced my fingers between my breast line "You can touch them if you want. I saw you looking at them earlier" his face went more red than I thought possible and his nosebleed sprayed like a watering spray. He looked like he was about to pass out "Relax" I giggled "I'll give you another opportunity if you want" I winked. He huffed and turned away.

"S-Shut up..." I giggled, enjoying the teasing.

"I'm sorry, I just really need to throw the load off my back and have some fun. I understand if it's annoying" he stared at me "I never get the chance to have fun with friends, so I wanted to tease you, since you're the very first friend that doesn't know me from my previous job"

"Previous job?" I shook my head and picked up some food bowls he was about to take and spread them.

"I rather not talk about it in full detail, but that boy I'm on a journey partly for, saved me from it" he nodded, putting food into the food bowls I set around.

"Oh yeah, you did tell me about that" I took out my Pokégear.

"I tried calling him, but there's no signal where he is"

"Really?!" He nearly dropped the bag of food "Y-You actually got his number?" I blushed.

"Y-Yeah... Some girls I knew from his party gave it to me. We've been keeping in touch. I don't expect them to tell me much about him, but they tell me what they can" he finished filling each bowl and put the bag away to give me his full attention.

"Like what?" I hid my lips with the Pokégear.

"Just little stuff... like how we would make a cute couple, how they think it's adorable and admirable about what I'm doing to find him. I even tell them about Team Rocket and they said he would be proud" my face got all hot "That he's not the kind to really show gratitude or pride, but he make sure his friends know that they're cared for" Gold smiled "Last time they heard from his best friend, Red is still in the mountain and his friend can't get him away from it"

"I wonder why he decides to stay there all the time" I shrugged "If he knew exactly what you've been doing, I think you totally have a shot with him" I flinched.

"I-I don't expect him to remember me or anything! We've talked about this!" I cupped my face "I just want to give him his money back"

"You're still going on about that? What if he doesn't take it?" I thought about it for awhile.

"I'll make sure he does. Without a doubt!" I made a fist "By the time I see him again, I have became someone worth him saving. I'll be strong enough to become the best and he'll have to accept it!" Gold chuckled.

"I don't know if that'll even matter. I'm still sticking to what I said. He did what he did because he wanted to, not because he wanted to" I looked down "He'll be lucky to have a girl like you" I blushed hard again "Did you fall for him after what he did?" I cleared my throat.

"H-He's rather attractive... B-But nothing too serious! I can't see myself in any kind of relationship. I have myself to worry about"

"Nothing wrong with that" he groaned to himself "If I was just a few years older, I would do the best I can to win your heart" I blinked confused "He'll be lucky to have you! I know I'm still pretty young, but since I can't be with you, I hope he'll treat you right. There's no sense into pretending you're not good enough!" I stared at his determined face before laughing.

"That's a bit all over the place. So what you're saying if I was with you, I will be good enough?" He panicked and waved his arms "well, I know what you mean" I crossed my arms "I would never sleep with a minor. It's not my style" I smirked "but maybe in a few years when you turn 18" His face turned the color of blood.

"W-Wait!" Blood started leaking from his nose again "S-Sleep!? Why would you randomly say that?!"

"Admit it" I winked "You want to" he shut his eyes.

"Shut up!" I giggled and looked up at the moon raising in the sky.

"I'm just teasing" I smiled "Thank you for your kind words. Maybe if I was just a bit younger, I would still be young enough to regain my childhood" I closed my eyes "I'll probably even give you a chance"

"R-Really..?" He sounded so hopeful. I stuck my tongue out and laughed "V!" He whined, embarrassed. His grandma came out to let us know dinner was ready. I took Gold's hand, surprising him.

"Come on, last one there is a rotten egg" I joked with a sick humor and ran inside. I feel refreshed after a long nap and shower. I can finally slow down again and be myself. Today might have started off as a bad day, but it ended just right.