I wake up with a Scatterbug on my face It takes a moment to register, and then with a ridiculously girly shriek, I throw it off, and then try to suppress a laugh. I've fought giant water snakes, harnessed unthinkable powers, and now I'm yelling at a tiny two foot bug. It's almost ridiculous, in it's own right.

The Scatterbug stares at me for a bit then skitters away, just to be trapped under Pich's feet. She opens up her beak and then tries to get her mouth around it's huge head. Instead of a meal, she gets a mouthful of string, scowling in disgust as she realizes her beak's closed shut, bound by string.

I get up, walk over to her, and begin unraveling the sticky string. She cooes happily, and shakes herself off. "So, what are we going to do today?" she asks, taking a moment to jump around the campsite, waking up everyone. Bronze, Shauna, and I are all on our feet, and we're packed up before ten. I get out a few potions, and yell to the team, "Come on, we should get a head start!"

Rune gets up, grumbling and Pich lands happily on my fedora, while Geyser follows behind, picking up the stragglers and a few berries here and there.The three of us go out into the forest, and Rune helps blaze a path through the the hostile Pokemon. I look at them fighting, trying to see if I can find things to work on in their battle strategy.

Geyser doesn't really pay attention, Pich is too flighty, and if I wasn't keeping an eye on Rune he probably would've gotten himself killed by now. He's reckless, powerful, and enjoys burning things. Kind of like a mini fox Bronze.

"Are you okay?" I yell to him, but he ignores me, sending forth another Ember.

"I think he's fine." Pich says, dodging a badly aimed ThunderShock from a Pikachu.

"Mmm. Pecha Berries." Geyser takes a bite out of one, nodding happily, "Fresh."

"Pay attention!" Pich and I yell, and a Pansage hits him in the back.

He falls over, dropping a berry. A nasty bruise congeals where he was hit, the tawny skin turned deep navy, and now black.

He sputters, "I'm... I'm okay. Still breathing." To prove the point, he takes a deep breath, which rasps at the end. I begin vigorously applying Potions, and then I realize the bottle is empty.

I look around desperately, picking him up in my hands. That's when I see a small Pokemon that looks like a rabbit, beckoning to me with her ears from behind the trees. "Come on." She whispers, smiling to me.

I walk after her, Rune by my side. "You know, she's wild. She could just be taking us to her den to ambush us. If she does, I'm going to save myself and run the other way. Kapeesh?"

"Kapeesh." I say.

To my surprise, after only half an hour of wandering, I see a light- the edge of the forest. I run to it, bursting through the trees into a beautiful grassland. I blink, not quite used to the light after the sullen shade of the forest. In the distance, I see the city. I don't know what it's called, so I get out my Pokedex, which is complete with a handy map feature. 'Santalune City', blares the Pokedex. Not surprising, or creative, but hey, there are lots of cities in this region anyways. Still, in Johto, you're not going to be seeing an Illex City anytime soon.

"Thank you so much!" I say, expecting her to hop off, but she doesn't. She just sits there, smiling at me. "Are you going to go?"

She shakes her head, "I don't plan on it, if you'll have me."

"Well," I get out my Pokeball, "I did need a catch for this route..."

Her eyes gleam with excitement. "My name's Juliet. Part-time fairy tale princess." The Pokeball shakes three times as she goes in, and then stops with a click.

"Fairy tale princess?" Rune asks.

"Probably another crazy, 'mon." Geyser says dully, picking out a few leaves and blasting water on them with his tail, then holding out the small collection of leaves and berries. "Fruit salad, anyone?"

Needless to say, we stop for lunch. I don't know how a Pokemon can properly cook for a human, but I know Geyser can. I eat hungrily, and when it's all gone, and my Pokemon are properly fed, we pack up and continue on our journey. There's not as many Pokemon, a few Azurills here, another 'Bunellby' as the Pokedex says they're called.

"So, Santalune City. There's a gym here, but I don't want to challenge it yet, even with Rune..." Rune smiles, his canines gleaming proudly. He breathes a little puff of smoke.

"Yup, I'm the heart of the team. Best and only fire type on board." He chuckles.

"Lovely." Pich says.

"Cool, 'mon. Good for you." Geyser says.

Juliet is humming something from some musical I don't know and isn't really paying any attention.

I go to the Pokemon center, get a good heal, and then scour the town for the nearest Poke Mart.

"THE POKE MARTS ARE INSIDE THE POKEMON CENTERS!" Rune yells.

"What?" I say, slightly confused, and then go inside. There sits two people, smiling and distribution Potions to a small kid with braces. I get in line, and after only ten minutes there's one last person in front of me.

"I'll have 99 burn heals, please." He says with a trollish smile. The guy at the counter looks surprised, but gets out the first one.

After a long, long time, he eventually walks away with an enormous bag of burn heals.

I get five Potions and ten Pokeballs, then walk away, bored and slightly annoyed. Rune is grooming himself, Geyser is doing a beatbox to Juliet singing "A Whole New World", and Pich is waiting outside in my fedora.

"Well, guys, I think I found a place to train." I point to Route 22 over yonder, right outside the city.

As we walk through the tall grass there, a Litleo jumps out, roaring, and I smack it over the head with a Pokeball. "Shin." I say with a smile, and then open the Pokeball.

Rune turns around slowly, to glare at him. "Who the heck are you?"

"I'm Shin, the Noble Lion. What are you, a Vulpix with tail issues?"

"Don't... call... me... a Vulpix." They round on each other, and suddenly Rune pounces on him, and I feel myself sucked in. My eyes glow gold and then I can feel his heartbeat, tense against my own, until ours fall into one, beautiful rhythm.

Yes, I echo through his mind, and you doubted me.

Shut up and help me fight! He tells me, almost mockingly, but I feel our mouth twitch in a smile.

We charge forwards, blasting him with fire, and when he retaliates, the two Embers colliding, we go for Tackle. His physical strength outweighs our own, and we're forced back, skidding across the grass. He gloats, looking down at us, leering victoriously, and then we get back on our paws. Readying an attack, we breath in as one, and then the wave of fire scorches him. Shin struggles to hold on, gritting his teeth, but instead of a single blast, we keep up the fire, the many embers hitting him over and over, until eventually, his eyes roll into his head and he faints, defeated.

We grin, and I feel Rune's adrenaline, his need to prove himself. He is not just a pack animal- he is an alpha, and he will protect that position with his life. Then slowly, I lose the sensation, pulling away, just as smoothly as I entered his consciousness. He nods to me, and says finally, "Don't bother trying again."

I look after him as he leads Pich and Geyser after him to train, including beating up a few early game rodents earned by young trainers.

However, Juliet sits by Shin, brushing his unconscious form. "Wake up, my prince..." she says in a light and airy tone. "Would you like a kiss?"

"No," he grumbles, "Way too fast. Can't rush a relationship." He gets to his feet, shaking off coals from his pelt. "Anyways, why don't you come with me- we have some training to do if we want to beat the others."