So I've been playing the Gen 5 games recently, and they made me think about this old idea. I don't know why I haven't continued it since, and I don't know if I'll even continue it now. But there's still much I want to do with it, so I'm willing to try again. Hopefully I can make this last longer this time, hehe...

Anyway enjoy this long belated chapter.

"What the hell did you say?"

I gulped when he began to approach, his eyes locked onto me like a predator on prey. When he took a step forward, I took a step back. When he made a sudden movement, I'd flinch away. Is this what it felt like to be cornered, because even though there were many places to escape to, I felt like I had nowhere to go. The boy seemed to get bored, and was suddenly in front of me after taking two long strides. By this point, my whole body was shaking, yet I couldn't move.

He raised an impatient eyebrow, his arms crossed over his chest which made him even more dominant. I glanced over his shoulder at Zorua, wondering why he'd suddenly grown quiet, only to find Patrat had him in the same position its trainer had with me. The Plasma boy's eyes narrowed as they examined me, and I wondered if he planned to keep me in this position until I broke off into a run.

But then he shoved his head forward violently without warning, which I took as a move to attack. I jumped back and tripped over my own feet, falling onto my tailbone with a painful thud.

A round of loud, mocking laughter soon filled my ears.

He was... laughing at me?

"Oh my God, you're so pathetic!" The boy cackled, clutching his stomach with one hand while slapping the other over his face. I just sat there, feeling ashamed and slightly embarrassed as he poked fun at me for nearly two minutes. After awhile, he stopped.

"Aww, I'm sorry, was this yours?" He asked in a baby voice, holding out the Pokeball containing Purrloin. I nodded, still unable to look him in the eye "Well then, go on. Take it, as an apology."

Why did I feel like he didn't actually want me to take it?

Despite my gut feeling, my hand began shakily reaching for the Pokeball. But in my head I thought, was this actually right? I didn't catch Purrloin, even if it was my Zorua who did most of the damage. And, was this guy actually genuine? His goal was to free Pokemon from trainers, wasn't it? It didn't add u—

All of a sudden, my wrist was encased by a large gloved hand.

I should've listened to my gut...

The boy held my gaze with a glare, but that didn't stop me from trying to free my hand from his ridiculously tight grip. He rolled his eyes and placed Purrloin's capsule into his pocket, before kneeling down in front of me and taking hold of my other hand to stop me from clawing at his.

"Did you actually think I'd give it to you?" He growled.

"N-No, I—"

"You're lucky I'm feeling generous, or else I would've taken your sad excuse for a dark type already."

I began shaking. Why would he even consider taking another trainer's Pokemon? His grip tightened and he yanked me forward, causing a pathetic squeak to escape my lips. Now our noses were almost touching.

"But I'll just settle for the Purrloin, since I am pretty busy. Consider yourself privileged." He muttered lowly, blue eyes narrowing which made an evil glint. I couldn't move. I was too terrified.

But then he let go, which resulted in me falling forward onto my face. He scoffed when rising to his feet.

"You really are pathetic." He growled "Your Pokemon are better off without you. Go home, before you hurt yourself... Patrat, move out!"

I watched him disappear through the bushes, letting out a sigh of relief when he was gone. My relief only grew when a ball of dark fluff crashed into my arms.

"Zorua! Are you okay?" I asked, checking him for injuries. The small creature looked up at me in disbelief, as if to say 'Are you crazy? What about you?'

"Me? I'm fine. He just..." I glanced over to where the man disappeared "Scared me a little... And took Purrloin...."

His ears dropped along with the tone of my voice. To be honest, I did actually want that Purrloin. I had seen Hilda catch one, and seeing as she was my role model for this journey (even though we started at the same time) it inspired me to catch one too... but guess it just wasn't meant to be.

"Arf!"

I glanced down at Zorua's sudden improved mood, which had me raising a confused eyebrow "What are you thinking?"

I jumped back when he leapt into the air and flipped, not only landing perfectly... but landing as another Pokemon entirely.

Purrloin.

"Wh-Wha— How and when could you transform?!"

The Pokemon snickered and repeated his previous action, once again appearing as the grey furrball I started out with. After staring at it for a moment, I quickly pulled out my Pokédex and searched for Zorua's information.

To be honest, the word 'Mirage' was enough information.

"You can make mirages?"

Zorua nodded with a grin.

"Woah, could you... do it again?" I asked shyly.

The Pokemon nodded and stepped back, before flipping and transforming into a perfect replica of me. 'I' made some weird gestures, as if I was commanding something, before changing back into Zorua who made a tackling motion. Then, he changed into a Patrat and jumped backwards like he'd been hit, and finally, he stood as that Plasma grunt gasping dramatically. I snorted at the sight.

"Are you- are you basically saying - pfft - screw him?" I asked him, covering my mouth with my hand. Still in his grunt form, Zorua grinned and gave me a thumbs up, which boosted my confidence slightly. "Yeah... Yeah you're right! I can't let him get me down! Cmon, Zorua! Let's go catch a Purrloin better than his!"

"Arf!" Zorua fist pumped and transformed back into his original form, jumping onto my shoulder as I walked down the path.

—-

Striaton City wasn't anything overwhelming. In fact, it was a pretty peaceful city with nice people. Zorua and I were able to stroll through it without much problem, which was more than what we've experienced the majority of our journey.

That is until...

"Excuse me, miss!"

I was stopped by a man in a waiter's uniform, who had been sitting on the steps of what looked like a restaurant. His blue hair was styled so it shadowed over one of his eyes, yet he seemed welcoming and gentle when he approached.

"Pardon my bluntness, but that's a Zorua is it not?" He asked, gesturing to my fuzzy companion.

"I-It is." I responded, not wanting to sound rude. The man smiled warmly and placed a hand on Zorua's head.

"What a happy and healthy little fellow," he chuckled "You've been treating him well, I hope?"

I nodded again, this time more eagerly.

The man continued to pet Zorua, which he seemed to fullingly enjoy, until their moment was interrupted.

By my stomach.

"Oh dear," the man frowned as the growling in my tummy ceased, and I placed my hands over it in embarrassment.

"I-Ignore that."

"How can I? It's my job to make sure people are fed." He smiled and held out his hand "Oh, pardon my manners. My name's Cress, and you?"

I took his hand "K-Kat."

"Well, Kat, as a reward for raising such a magnificent Pokemon," Cress began to lead me towards the restaurant by the hand "I shall offer you lunch at this fine place, free of charge!"

"Wh-What? But isn't that against the rules?"

"Not at all, I own the place so I pretty much do as I please." He smiled back at me before opening the door to the restaurant, where he cupped his free hand over his mouth "Chilli, Cilan! I want a table with a VIP view of the battlefield, stat! This girl needs a meal, and it's on us!"

"Roger that!" Two more voices came from somewhere in the restaurant, and soon enough I was being lead to a table by a pair of waiters; one with red hair and the other with green hair. They sat me down and the redhead pulled out a menu, showing a childish grin.

"Since it's all on the house, go crazy! Both you and your Pokemon can order the whole menu if you want!" He exclaimed, but in an instant Cress was behind him and had slapped him upside the head.

"That's a bit overboard, Chili." He sighed out, exasperated "After all, it's coming out of your allowance."

"What?! I didn't agree to that!"

"I did." Cress smirked.

"I have no issue with that." Continued the green haired boy from the other side of me. Chili turned red in annoyance, and stormed off grumbling things to himself. Zorua and I exchanged glances.

"W-Wasn't that a bit mean?"

Cress turned around "Oh, not at all. We were only joking. Our brother has a terribly short temper, so Cilan and I like to tease him from time to time."

"B-Brother?" I looked back and forth at the two males "You're related?"

"Indeed we are!" Cilan exclaimed with an exaggerated pose, you could almost see sparkles around him "Three Brothers. That's us! The charming sea prince, Cress!"

Cress bowed to me, holding his hand out to me with a handsome smile. I took it shyly and he pulled me to my feet, spinning me around so my back faced him and gesturing to his hotheaded brother, who had just realised what's going on "The fiery working chef, Chilli!"

The redhead served the large tray of food he was carrying with speed I couldn't even comprehend, sending me a wink and some finger guns as he slid over "And finally! The bright and refreshing connoisseur, Cilan!"

I blinked, while Zorua was watching and snickering at my situation. I sent him a look of desperation, but he was just too cracked up. Luckily, my stomach saved me, and the waiters instantly ceased their showing off.

"Right. Hungry customer." Cress helped me back into my seat and handed me the menu, which I opened and scanned the meal options "So, what will it be?"

"These all sound delicious..." I drooled slightly as I looked at all the options. Zorua had hopped onto my lap to look as well, and he too was watering from the mouth "What do you want, Zorua?"

"Arf!" The small Pokemon pointed to an option with his red paw, tail wagging in excitement. I peered over his ears to see what caught his interest, and my eyes sparkled with delight.

"Then I'll have that too!" I grinned, but went shy again when I saw the three waiters pull out notebooks with expecting smiles "U-Um... can I have two servings of the Jerk potato and black bean curry?"

"Anything to drink?" Chilli asked as he scribbled down my order.

"J-Just a water is fine..."

With a curt nod the three brothers moved away from my table to set up my order, and collect others too. This gave me a chance to look around. This place was really fancy, and looked to be too expensive for me if Cress hadn't said he'd pay. If I'm honest, I wouldn't have even come here if he didn't approach me. It was nice, especially as my last encounter with a stranger... didn't really go well. About twenty minutes passed, and soon Chilli approached with a tray of food and water, which he placed on our table with a grin before bowing. "Enjoy your—"

The doors burst open.

All heads whipped around to look at the new arrival, who held their head up and had their hands on their hips. They bursted with confidence as they strolled up to Cilan, a smirk on their face.

But wait, I know them- I mean, her!

"Hilda?" I whispered as I dropped my fork on my plate, turning to face the girl who seemed to have a staring contest with the green haired waiter. Chilli leaned down to whisper to me:

"You know her?"

I nodded "We're neighbours - the two of us started our adventure together."

"Huh... well, she looks tough. I wonder if she..." he trailed off. If she? If she what?

"I've come to challenge the Gym Leader." She stated without missing a beat.

Gym leader? Why did she come here for that? 

Cilan raised an eyebrow and crossed an arm over his torso to hold his other elbow, the hand connecting to it stroking his chin thoughtfully "You came here because you think you're able to defeat a Gym Leader?"

I frowned. Was he egging her on, or was this more than just a restaurant?

Expression unwavering, Hilda nodded "I do."

"Tell me," Cress appeared next to his brother, resting an arm on Cilan's shoulder "What typing was your first partner?"

"Um... She's a Snivy; a grass type."

Chilli seemed to jolt next to me, and when I looked up he had a large giddy grin on his face. As quick as lightning he finished serving me before sliding in front of Hilda and bowing, his heels bouncing off the floor.

"Well madam, you've come to the right place! The name's Chilli, and I shall be your opponent for this Gym battle."

What?!

"Uhhh... Okay?" Hilda coughed, a little taken aback. Cress sighed and slapped Chilli upside the head.

"My sincerest apologies, madam. He tends to get a bit excited when it comes to battles." He sent Chilli a hard stare when he began to complain "What we were going to say - was that there are three Leaders at this gym; which are my brothers and I. We specialise in type matchups, so whatever Pokemon you chose as your partner, we would choose the type most effective against yours for double the challenge!"

"By that logic," Cilan pointed to his redhead brother, who was still rubbing his head and pouting "It is true that you would be fighting Chilli over here, as he specialises in fire types. Does that sound fair to you, mademoiselle?"

Throughout their explanation, my jaw had quickly dropped to the floor. Gym Leaders?

All three of them?!

—-

Everyone had gushed towards the battlefield, eager to get a taste of the battle that was to come next. The unexpected challenger; Hilda, and the unexpected to no one but me Gym Leader; Chilli. Each of them stood opposite ends of the stage, both waiting for the OK to begin. I stood anxiously from my spot near the back of the crowd, Zorua snug in my arms to give me at least a little bit of closure.

"Hey."

I squeaked and turned my head faster than anyone could blink, only to see a familiar blue haired waiter with his usual kind smile "M-Mr Cress!"

Cress chuckled "No need for any formalities, Kat, just Cress will do just fine. I just wanted to check up on you, since my brothers and I sort of ditched you when the challenger came along."

"N-No, it's alright!" I removed an arm from Zorua's torso to wave a dismissive hand "I was more shocked about you b-being a Gym Leader, to be honest..."

"Not what you were expecting, right?"

I nodded shyly, causing him to chuckle.

"It's alright, a lot of people are surprised when they hear that our fancy restaurant is actually a Gym. My brothers and I are passionate battlers, but we're also passionate chefs - we just decided to pursue both passions at the same time. Quite a complicated career, isn't it?"

I gave a small smile "I don't think so, you guys look so happy when you serve customers. That's what counts, right?"

"That's true, we really do enjoy what we do. It's quite an honour to help trainers on their way to achieve their dreams." He explained, a kind, caring smile taking over his features. Then, his smile widened "Hey, you talked without stuttering that time! I hope that means you're growing more comfortable."

I blushed bright red, causing him to laugh and claim that he was only teasing. He turned his attention to the battlefield, but sweat dropped when seeing how much of it could actually be seen from this distance "Oh dear, we can't see what's happening at all from here..."

I averted my gaze "Y-You can move if you'd like... you don't have to stay here with m-me."

"Nonsense!" The male gasped "Besides, don't you want a better view? I heard from Chilli that the challenger is a friend of yours, wouldn't you like to see her take her first steps into the gym challenge?"

"Gym challenge?"

"Yes. It's where trainers slowly climb to the top, by defeating the chosen Gym Leaders- such as myself, and collecting their badges, and eventually challenge the Pokemon league in hopes of becoming the next regional champion!" He turned to me, eyebrow raised "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, I had assumed that you were in Striaton for that reason."

I was quick to shake my head "N-No, not at all! I was told by P-Professor Juniper that someone here could help Zorua and I on our journey..." I glanced down, only to meet the concerned blue eyes of my little dark type. The Gym challenge wasn't something that appealed to me in the slightest, but I was worried that I couldn't be a trainer otherwise "Do... Do we have to take on the Gym challenge?"

"Of course not."

I glanced up at Cress through the partings in my hair. He still had his kind smile, as he reached down to gently scratch Zorua behind the ears "Being a Pokemon trainer is more than just being the strongest. Going on a journey with Pokemon gives you a chance to find yourself, as well as figure out what you want to do in this life. For me, it was making people smile with cooking and battling, but for others, they may not want to battle at all. And that's okay!" He met my eyes again "You have been given the chance to walk your own path, Kat. With Zorua by your side, the sky's the limit."

His words were sweet and reassuring. I thought that being a trainer meant you had to battle to make it in the world, and that scared me because I didn't want to force my Pokemon to battle. Occasionally, maybe, when I become more confident with it, but I didn't want it to be a lifestyle... But hearing Cress say those things, it was like a breath of fresh air. After getting a nod of approval from Zorua, who had cuddled into my chest for further reassurance, I lifted my head and smiled at the man.

"Thank you, Cress..."

"Of course, Kat. My job is to help trainers on their way, not just on the battlefield." This time, his hand came up to place itself on top of my head "You'll do great, I can feel it."

"Thank you for waiting!" The voice of Cilan brought us out of our conversation "The battle between Gym Leader Chilli, and Challenger Hilda will now take place."

"It's starting!" Cress' eyes lit up, and he suddenly began to lead me through the crowd by the hand "Come on, you do not want to miss this!"

"O-Oh, ok." I responded, while trying to match his pace. And before I knew it, we were right at the front, right where the battle was about to take place. Cilan stood as referee, while Chilli and Hilda stared at each other with determination. However, Chilli saw Cress and I, and didn't hesitate to wave in our direction, which caused Hilda to also turn her head towards us. As soon as she saw me, her lips curled upwards as she winked at me.

"Kat! Zorua! Be sure to cheer for me, Kay?" She called out, giving a thumbs up. Zorua barked in agreement, while I just copied her thumbs up sheepishly.

"Alright battlers! Each of you may use two Pokemon each!" Cilan exclaimed "The battle will end when both Pokemon on either side are unable to continue! As Hilda is the challenger, she will have the honour of attacking first! Are these rules acceptable?"

"Those are fine!" Hilda nodded, not taking her eyes off Chilli.

"No complaints here, either!" The redhead agreed.

"Alright then!" Cilan lifted his arms in the air, and the two teenagers took out their capsules in preparation. "Ready...?"

I tightened my hold on Zorua, nervous for Hilda, but Cress placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled softly, silently telling me to just relax and enjoy the battle. With a nod, I focussed on Hilda, mentally sending her my good luck, just as Cilan's arms sliced through the air.

"Begin!"