"Oh my goodness!" I squealed excitedly when we made it to Floccessy Ranch and saw a bunch of Mareep in the fields "I want that one!" I pointed.

"Those Pokémon aren't wild. I'm sure they belong to someone" Nate sweat dropped "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not going to let you get a Pokémon"

"A million times!" I joked "I already know I can't have a Pokémon. Can you take a joke?" He rubbed his hair in frustration "Gee, and here Looker said you'd be able to handle me better than he can" I giggled. He was about to speak before a familiar voice cut him off.

"Nate?" I hid behind Nate and looked over at Hugh running over to us with a big eyes "Nate! Is that you?!" He smiled. Nate was just as shocked as he was and went over to greet him like men would do. I stayed behind him, making sure I wasn't known to Hugh that we're together.

"Hugh!" Nate smiled.

"I can't believe it's you! It's been how years since you've been gone?"

"Four, actually" That's quite a longer time than I expected. What could he possibly do that made him spend four years away? "Sorry I've been away for so long..." he rubbed the back of his head "How's it going?" Hugh sighed and crossed his arms.

"Well, I could be better... I don't know if you heard about Team Plasma, but a few years ago they stole my little sisters Pokémon" Nate blinked before acknowledging what he just said.

"What?!" Oh wow! Team Plasma was the gang that wanted to liberate Pokémon! Does that mean they stole Pokémon from people too? "How did that happen?!" Hugh looked away.

"I was trying to train it with her, but those bastards took it away, claiming what I was doing was abuse. What bullshit" he glared "the police already knows, but I couldn't stand just waiting, so I'm going to look for it myself"

"What a coincidence, we're out looking for someone too" Nate pointed behind him "I heard about Rosa's disappearance from the police I work for"

"So you work for the police. Does that mean the time you've been gone was for training?" Nate rubbed the back of his head.

"You can say that" I giggled. Hugh crossed his arms.

"Well you're a lot different than how I remembered you. That's for sure. So you're out looking for Rosa, that's good" Hugh nodded "but can I ask? Why is that freak tagging along?" I peaked away from Nate's back and waved with a smile.

"Hm?" Nate looked at me standing beside him "You know her?" Hugh scoffed, disgusted.

"I can't say I know her, but she's weird... " I hummed a happy song "I wouldn't even let my sister hang around her" Nate sighed.

"Yeah... I know" he said a bit low, only for me to hear. He must've remembered that the email he was sent told him I'm not allowed to interact with children either "she's tagging along since we have the same goal" he pet my head "I'm watching over her" I laughed at their conversation and ran off into the ranch "Camilla! Stop!" He reached out.

"You shouldn't get distracted! You're on the job!" I ran off, hearing his screaming fading and accidentally encountered a Mareep right in front of me. I flinched, not expecting to face one, and squat down to say hello.

"Hello there" I smiled, offering my hand gently. It flinched "come here, I won't hurt you" staring at me for a second, It cried out terrified and ran off to it's herd. I fell down to sit on the grass and sighed, giving up "not one Pokémon likes being around me... one good look at my face and they run" I put on a smile, trying to hold back my tears "Am I really that ugly?" I hugged my legs "Am I really the worse?" I chuckled, sniffling "Of course I am... I have no right to be happy anyway"

"Ooo!" I looked up at my beloved Pokémon calling me from the trees. I smiled and got up to look up at it

"Darling... You may be the only Pokémon who can stand me. No one will accept me except for you. Even if we've known each other since father gifted you to me, I still feel like you forced yourself to be with me" I reached out to touch it before my hand was immediately snatched and pulled to look up at Nate glaring at me.

"What's wrong with you! Stop running-" he paused when seeing my eyes "What happened?" He released me and looked at the herd of Mareep watching us "Did those Pokémon hurt you?" I frowned and looked down "You know to stay away from-"

"I know" I looked away, feeling stupid to believe I can just go up to a Pokémon and think they would like me "I'm sorry..." I shakily sighed and rested my forehead on his chest. He sighed and placed his hand on my head, probably to comfort me.

"What's going on?" Hugh came up to us with a couple who are probably the owners of this ranch, with a Herdier between them. I hurried to hide behind Nate and grip on the back of his shirt, not wanting another Pokémon to look at me.

"Are you alright? We saw you running" The lady frowned at us.

"Is anyone hurt?" The man asked.

"I think one of your Mareep attacked my friend" Nate said. I gulped, knowing that's not true.

"What? Our Mareep won't hurt anyone!" The lady frowned "Are you sure?!"

"No... I'm fine" I told them. I heard a growling sound coming from between the couple. I shut my eyes and stayed close to Nate.

"Herdier! What's gotten into you!?" The man asked "I'm so sorry... He's been like this since our other Herdier wandered off somewhere. I can't figure out where it went. Our Herdier are always together and this is the first time one went off somewhere, so I'm a little worried"

"What?!" Hugh freaked out all of a sudden "You're a little worried? Are you KIDDING me?!" He glared like he wanted to murder someone "they could be lost forever!" He groaned and turned away "whatever! I'll look! Nate! Help out! You!" He pointed at me "Stay out of this!" I smiled, waving at him as he ran off.

"What he doesn't know is that if he ask you for help, I'm automatically involved" I said. Nate sighed, nodding.

"Why did he get mad?" The man asked "I think it's probably just playing somewhere this ranch"

"It wouldn't hurt to look. What do you say?" Nate asked me. I peaked at the Herdier hiding behind its owners, watching me carefully, before looking back at Nate.

"I don't mind" I smiled gently "I'm always willing to help others. It's good karma" I put my hands together "and I also like seeing people happy, so count me in!" He nodded and took my hand so we can walk around the ranch to find this Herdier, eventually walking into a grove.

"How are we going to find a Herdier around here? There's so many trees" I asked, looking behind some trees.

"It's best to just walk the path and see if it comes up" I hugged his arm "What's with you and hugging me?"

"When I was little, I hardly expressed much. Hugging was my form of letting someone know how I was feeling, either if I was afraid or happy" I rested my head on his shoulder "Take it as you will, but I won't stop giving hugs" he sighed and blushed a bit.

"I don't really care either way, so do what you want" I giggled and held him closer, not meaning to press my breast onto him, which made his face turn bright red. Not effected by this, I found the reaction funny and stayed on him like this for the remainder of the walk until we reached a dead-end, where a guy in a black outfit covering his mouth with a mask was standing over a Herdier laying weakly on the floor.

"You stupid thing... You ripped my perfectly good pants!" I gasped at the condition of the Pokémon, getting the attention of the guy who looked sketchy. Nate pushed me behind him to cover me.

"Who are you? What the hell did you do to that poor Pokémon?" Nate glared "I can have you under arrest for trespassing and damage!" The guy laughed and shrugged his arms.

"What? A cop? You got to be kidding me" I frowned at the Herdier whimpering for help.

"Nate! What's wrong!?" Hugh yelled from a distance.

"Inform the trainer that the Herdier is hurt! We got a situation over here!" Nate yelled back.

"Got it!" I ignored everything and kept my eye on the Herdier laying there. My hands were shaking so bad, I needed to control myself.

"Tch... You little pest!" The crook glared our way "You dare to stand in my way?! I'm a member of a group that strikes fear into the hearts of those who stand before it: Team Plasma! Ever heard it it?"

"Isn't that the gang my cousin took care of?" I asked Nate.

"Cousin? You mean you're related to that bitch who ruined our plans-?!" He gasped and held his breath when I reacted to his comment. I took a step closer to him.

"Cam?" Nate called. I giggled, widening my eyes and smiled for the crook shaking where he stands as I took another few step closer.

"Excuse me? Who's a bitch? Because I know I didn't hear some low life insulting my family" I laughed and jumped the guy and threw him on the ground as I pulled back his arm and rested on top of his back. He groaned in pain, screaming to have me let no "Say that again, I dare you" I giggled and leaned in to the crook "Say my family is a bitch again, come on... say it" I twisted his arm, aiming to break it, but not yet. The guy cried in pain and hurried his face in the grass "Or I'll break your arm- whoa!" Someone grabbed my waist and pulled me into their torso.

"Knock it off!" His pull made me release the guy and got him to make a run for it "what the hell..? If I knew this was what I have to deal with, I would've kept a better eye on you and not let you take a step closer" I smiled at him.

"That's what you were suppose to do, silly" I pushed him away and slapped my hands clean "Looks like you let him get away. Well, whatever" I flipped my ponytail, getting revenge for what that crook said about my cousin, and kneeled down to check how the Herdier was doing "Poor thing..." Nate kneeled down with me and took off his bag to take out some supplies.

"I have some potions in here that might help" I noticed Herdier was breathing heavily "It's probably in shock. We need to find a way to calm it down. Help should be coming soon" I dug in my bag and took out my Kalimba while Nate made a phone call to whoever.

"You don't have to worry now. That guy won't be coming back. You're safe now" I played a little melody to help calm down it's nerves. I hummed to the music and slowly watched Herdier calm down "Good, your trainer should be here any moment" I softly pet it's fur, happy to get the chance to finally feel a Pokémon's coat.

"Herdier!" The ranch owner gasped and ran over to check on his Pokémon. It started wagging its tail "What happened to you..?" Nate got off the phone and explained what happened.

"I got some guys on the chase now. He shouldn't get too far" Hugh walked up to Nate "This wasn't the search I expected to make"

"You're telling me... so what happened?" Hugh asked. I stood up and put my instrument away.

"Team Plasma" I said. His eyes flared in anger "This Pokémon must've found the intruder and tried to attack, but got hurt instead" I looked back at the trainer returning Herdier to its Pokéball "I hope it's nothing serious" he bowed to us.

"Thank you so much for your help... I can't be more grateful" I smiled and waved to him as he ran off for help. Hugh stared at me and huffed "Hm?" I looked at him "something wrong?" He snorted and walked away without another word. Nate looked back at me.

"Any particular reason why he hates you like that? How do you know each other?"

"Well, it's not really my story to tell" I jumped to give him a big hug "That was so much fun! I enjoyed playing hero" he snorted and patted my back.

"What hero puts the criminal on a lock and threatens to break their arm?" He pet my head, which I enjoyed very much "You're so weird.. Don't do something reckless like that again"

"Can't make any promises, but I'll try" he sighed as I released the hug and walked out the grove, back to the ranch. I turned back to see the couple of the ranch talking to a police officer and the ambulance people.

"Ignore them. I already made the call, it's none of our business now. I already told them what happened" he pulled on my hand to look at him "Like I said before, don't make this harder on me. Though I'm glad that Herdier is safe, don't be reckless. I'm part of the force, so I'll handle it" I stuck my tongue out.

"I was just defending my family, and so what if I did what I did? He hurt a Pokémon that tried protecting its home" he shook his head.

"You leave all those things to me" I looked back at the Herdier we saved watching us leave.

"You're no fun" I smiled softly and waved them goodbye. Nate and I walked together while holding hands the entire time. Though I like how we look like a couple, he's really sweaty.

"Why are you holding my hand?" I asked.

"To keep you from running off" I showed him our locked hands.

"But with all this sweat, I'll slip right out of them" I hugged his arm "Do I make you nervous?" He held his head.

"When I first heard you, you were just mad at the fact that Looker took your dex" he sighed "and not even being a day with you, you're a lot of work... and especially earlier. I won't praise this, but that was kinda cool" my eyes sparkled at the praise "Why did the guy look scared though?"

"Beats me" I chuckled, lying. He dug in his bag and handed me the dex "H-Huh?" I stopped walking to take it "You're letting me hold it?"

"Yeah, I don't see the big deal of not letting you have it. It simply just scans Pokémon's information. I can see you actually like Pokémon, so don't make me regret this" I cheered that I got the dex back and jumped to give him a big hug!

"Thank you! Thank you!" I pressed my lips on his cheek for a smooch, feeling heat rise up "You're so much nicer than Looker! I promise I won't make you regret it!" I jumped back and admired the device, feeling over the moon. Nate scratched the back of his head, pretending like he wasn't blushing.

"Yeah well, let's get going" he lifted up a card to show me "I don't know why, but Looker handed this to me and informed me on the email to use this for you" I smiled at the card and nodded "Whatever you want, you'll get on here"

"Sweet" he stared at the card.

"Why? Why do you have this privilege?" I placed my finger on my lip.

"That is part of the reason why I need a guard. You know you're getting paid for this" he pocket the card.

"I know that" we started walking again "but why exactly? Is your family rich?"

"Not exactly, but they're comfortable" I winked "If you want to know why, you'll also need to know why I need a guard. And no, it's not because I have money" he huffed.

"I don't want to know. Let's just get a hotel for the night and continue the search tomorrow. It's almost going to get dark by the time we arrive to Virbank"

"Do you think the ranch owners know something? We didn't get to ask"

"No, I asked through the phone if the cops can ask for us. It'll be better than to bother them when they're worried about their Pokémon" I nodded, getting it.

"That's good" after a long while of walking and it soon got very dark, we reached a city that was so bright that it looked like the day time! Nate squeezed my hand when I lost my balance at the same time I shook in excitement.

"Control yourself" he told me.

"Ooo!" My Pokémon called me from the route. Almost forgetting that we were no longer surrounded by trees, I quickly ran behind Nate and jumped on his back.

"H-Hey!" He yelled as I quickly returned my Pokémon without him knowing "What's the big idea!?" I lost my balance again and fell forward into his shoulder, feeling sleepy "What's wrong?"

"Sorry... I'm just tired. It's gotten late" I hugged his head after putting my Pokéball away "shall we go?" He sighed and lifted me up to get a better grip on my legs.

"You could had just told me" he sighed and carried me into the city, providing me warmth on this pretty cold night.