I brush furiously at my tangled locks as I put away my sleeping bag. It's easy for me to squirm and wiggle out of it at night when I'm asleep, and rolling around in grass and leaves creates a new problem. While I'm stuck dealing with my bedhead, I spot Clyde feeding his Quilladin.

  He smiles at me, and smiles even more brightly at the sight of my hair. "You have a leaf on your head," he chuckles in amusement.

  "I- I know! I'll brush it off when I'm done." I'm glad no one else can see me like this!

After he mentions the leaf, I take my brush out of my dominant hand and bring it to my head. I pick up a soft, familiar dark green leaf, and with shock I shriek.

  "What's wrong?!" Clara pokes her head out from behind a tree. Her hair is slick and wet, and I assume she's just finished swimming. Or bathing.

  "This leaf is-"I nearly faint at the thought of my Petilil. "I must've rolled over on her and did this!" I squeal. 

  "Petilil?"

"I can hear her now...."

  Petilil hops daintily into the clearing, one of her three leaves missing from her head. "Lil?"

  "Oh, no!" I rush over to her, inspecting her head. To my surprise, there's no wound or anything of the sort. In addition to that, she doesn't seem to be in pain.

  "Oh!"Clyde walks over an pats her head."There isn't any serious damage done."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah! In fact, you can even eat the oblong leaf for nutrition!"

  "R-really?" The thought of eating something that came from my Pokemon's head... "That sounds like the equivalent of eating a tuft of Espurr's fur."

  "That leaf has rejuvenating qualities!" Clara hops and stumbles as she attempts to pull on her boot. "That's why you should eat it! Besides, I bet it'll grow back eventually!"

  I stare down at the dark green leaf in my hand. Petilil isn't hurt, thank goodness, and Clara and Clyde say I should eat it....

  I lift the leaf in front of my mouth and take a bite. I feel my nose and mouth wrinkle with disgust as I begin chewing the overly bitter leaf. It takes a while for me to devour all of it, even though it's not much longer than my hand. When I'm finally finished, I cough and feel the urge for something sweet.

  "How was it?" Clara asks, no longer behind a tree trying to get dressed.

  My smile is forced and probably crooked."Very unforgettable! "That sure wasn't a lie.

  Clara laughs heartily as she pulls up her hair." I've heard it's really bitter."

  "It sure is." I look down at Petilil. How could something that came from her taste so antu-sweet?

  "Lil?"

  "What do you want to be, Clara?" I randomly ask as the three of us continue onward towards Dendemille Town.

  "I want to be a Gym Leader." 

  "A Gym Leader?" I've only heard of them a few times, but I was never particularly interested, so I hardly played attention when learning about them.

  "They're the people you have to battle to earn Gym Badges. If a Trainer gets eight, they'll be able to enter the Kalos League, where they'll compete with other Trainers there!"

  "Now I remember!"

  "Then they may be able to see the Champion and battle them!" Clyde adds.

  Champion. Is it really that important a position? Maybe.... Collecting Gym Badges is like me collecting Princess Keys. So then that would mean... That the Champion is the Trainer's version of Kalos Queen!

  "That's nice."

  "What's nice?"

  I look down at my feet, then at the meandering road. "To want to do something like that. I've never really had an interest in the battling world."

   Clara stares at me in confusion, and Clyde looks at me quizzically. "Hm?"

  "Maybe just the way I was raised."

  "Hmm."

  Their responses are the same, and I guess I lost them along the conversation. I hope I'm not boring.

  As if to contradict my doubts, Clyde asks about MY goal. It's kind of hard to answer, but I manage to come up with something.

  "I want to be a good Pokemon Performer."

  "Obviously," Clara says jokingly. She then walks in front of us, turning around to walk backwards. "But who is Millie LastName?"

  I give a sheepish giggle."Well.... I got Petilil from my Father who's doing business in Unova. I used to just have a Petilil doll as a child, until I got Petilil here."

  Petilil pokes her head out of my bag, interested in why she's being mentioned. "Lil?"

  I grin at her."Remember when we met, Petilil? "

  Petilil uses her bright eyes to grin back at me."Petilil!"

  "I was so happy to finally have a friend! We were always together, doing everything we found fun! But...." I begin growing quieter as I reluctantly mention my mother. "My mother always wanted me to know battling, and she isn't why I became a Performer. She wanred me to be a part of the Elicit Four or something of the sort."

  "The Elite Four," Clara corrects.

  "The Elite Four. But I was more so interested in watching Aria perform."

  "Oh! That Kalos Queeny chick!"

  "Y-yes." I remember watching her beautiful performances, and even though I could never be as good as her, I still loved watching it."One time I saw Petilil trying to imitate Braixen, twirling around and jumping, showing off her moves. That's when I realized that Pokemon could use their moves for more than just battling! So I asked my mother if I could begin my journey..."

  "Lil?"

  "She said you could, right?"

  It's not that she declined, but it's when I told her that I wanted to be a Pokemon Performer.... I shake my head, keeping quiet about that part."She saw me as inexperienced, so she had Espurr travel with me,"I further explain."Espurr was her Pokemon, so naturally she'd be an expert."

  "But you still got to go, right?"

  "Yeah!" I fake a smile, and inside I'm quivering. 

  "Millie."

  "Hm?"

  Clara's eyeing me closely, slowing her pace until she ultimately comes to a stop."I can tell when you're upset."

  I whimper, but somehow manage to choke down the coming tears."She doesn't..... "

  Clyde puts an arm around me, gently consoling me, which calms me down."It's okay,"he whispers.

  I wipe the corner of my eyes."Thank you."

    "She doesn't want you to perform; she wants you to be a Trainer instead." Clara gets it nearly spot on, but that's not all."You have the right to do what you want! It doesn't matter who you are, you're the best you you can be! Besides, you're her daughter! She'll still love you!"

  I guess, but she's not that affectionate. Still, I'm glad that Clyde and Clara are so nice to me. We haven't been traveling together long, but we've all become so close!

  "You're right! I shouldn't doubt myself or my choices!"

  "That's my Millie!" Clara rubs the top of my head, making it messy. "An aspiring Pokemon Performer, an aspiring Gym Leader, and an aspiring Daycare Owner, all together!"

  "Daycare?" I look over at Clyde, who starts to get red.

  "He totally loves Pokemon! Especially all the cute ones!"

  Clyde, embarrassed, rubs the back of his head."Well, I think all Pokemon are cute."

  "Of course you do!" Clara teases."Just like cute girls! "She nudges his arm, and Clyde eyes loom everywhere but at me and his sister." Eh, Millie?"

  "Eh?!"

  "Come on, Clara!"

  "Haha!"

  I laugh as Clara taunts her brother, my frown doing a full 180, and I smile happily. I smile for real this time.

                   Chapter 7.....End! ; )