"Wake up!" someone exclaimed, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

I yawned and looked towards the source of the voice. Chespin was standing next to me, looking exceedingly excited. At first I wondered what in the world a Chespin was doing in my bed. Then I remembered what had happened yesterday. I had gotten transported to Kalos. After making it through the Santalune Forest to Santalune, Genevieve and Morgan had gone to the Pokemon Center with Conner, Chespin, and I to rent a room for the night.

"What is it?" I groaned, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Guess what today is?" Chespin asked, bouncing up and down.

"I don't know," I mumbled, laying back done and rolling over, "Go away. I'm sleeping."

"No, your not!" Chespin argued, "You can't be sleeping if you're talking to me!"

"I'm sleeping talking," I replied, "Five more minutes."

"No way!" Chespin stated, grabbing my tail and pulling me off of the bed, "We're challenging the Gym today, and I'm not going to be late 'cause of you!"

"Correction," I growled, yanking my tail out of his grasp, "YOU'RE challenging the Gym. I'm sleeping in." With that I leapt back up into the bed and curled up.

"Come on, Amanda," Chespin complained, "If you don't hurry up, we're going to have to leave you behind."

"Fine by me," I answered, "You're not going all that far away, and it can't be THAT hard to find the Gym. Nothing is going to get me out of this bed." Suddenly, my stomach grumbled loudly.

Chespin laughed, "Looks like you're going to have to get up now!"

I groaned, rolled over, and and slid out of the bed. "Where's the food?" I sighed.

"In the cafeteria," Chespin answered, "Everyone else is already down there, but I decide to wake you up first, although Conner said that I shouldn't because you'd be grouchy."

"Yah, well, you should have listened to him," I replied, "Now where's the cafeteria?"

"This way!" Chespin exclaimed, bouncing out of the room and down the hall. I groaned and followed him at a slower pace.

The cafeteria of the Pokemon Center looked similar to school cafeterias. There was a buffet along one wall with all sorts of different foods- from apples and peaches to soup and noodles to fries and pizza. Next to the buffet were many different round tables with about four chairs per table. Many trainers and their Pokemon were still eating at the tables. I scanned the crowd for Genevieve, Conner, Morgan, and her Pidgey. I spotted them sitting at a table not far from the end of the buffet.

"Hey!" Chespin shouted as we neared the table everyone was sitting at, "I finally managed to get Amanda out of bed!"

Conner looked up from the berry he was eating. "Really?" he questioned, "How did you manage to avoid her destroying you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, glaring at him, "I only destroy people if they give me a reason!"

"I dodged too quick!" Chespin answered, jumping up onto the table.

"Liar!" I yelled, following him up to the top, "I never attacked you, even when you pulled my tail!"

"So?" Chespin asked, "I managed to wake you up, didn't I?"

I growled at him, but decided to let the matter go. We were in public, and I was hungry.

"We went ahead and got some food for you two," Conner stated. He slid two bowls across the table towards Chespin and I.

Chespin immediately sat down and started munching on his food. I pulled my bowl closer to me and looked over the contents. It was cereal that looked like Cheerios. I picked up one and ate it. It tasted exactly what Cheerios taste like. I quickly ate the rest of the Cheerios in the bowl.

"Let's get going!" Morgan exclaimed when she finished eating her food, "We don't want to be late to our first Gym battle!"

Chespin nodded and ate the remainder of his food. When he had finished, Morgan got up from the table and raced towards the exit.

"Clean up the table before you go!" Genevieve shouted after her, but she had already left. "I guess I have to do it," Genevieve sighed, picking up the bowls and plates that Morgan had left behind. Conner and I helped her by picking up bits of trash lying on the table.

"She's sure excited to go somewhere," a voice behind us noted. All three of us turned around and saw a boy about Genevieve's age with a Fennekin standing beside him. He was about Genevieve's height with short, curly brown hair. He was wearing a black t shirt with a blue jacket slung over it, blue jeans, and a pair of black tennis shoes.

"Who are you?" Genevieve asked, setting down the plates and bowls she was holding.

"My name's Nick," the boy answered, "And this is my partner, Fennekin. We just started out on our Pokemon journey."

"I'm Genevieve," Genevieve replied, "The Pikachu's Amanda, and the Charmander's Conner. The girl who just ran off is named Morgan. She has also just started on her Pokemon journey."

"I'm guessing that she's going to challenge the Gym," Nick stated, "I battled the leader yesterday, right before the Gym closed."

"Did you win?" Genevieve asked.

Nick glanced at the floor. "No," he replied sheepishly, "But her strategy caught me off guard. I'm going back to challenge her today. I'm heading for the Gym right now. It won't be open for another fifteen minutes, but I wanted to get there early to be sure I'd have time to challenge it."

"Mind if I come with you?" Genevieve asked as she picked up the plates, "Morgan's probably already there, and we don't know our way around town to find the Gym."

"Sure," Nick agreed.

Genevieve hurriedly put up the plates and bowls, and Conner and I threw away the trash we had picked up. Then we followed Nick and Fennekin out the door of the Pokemon Center and through town. After walking a little ways, a giant building with a green roof can into view. The symbol on the building's roof, which looked like a Pokeball combined with a lightning bolt, identified it as the Gym.

As we approached the building, I spotted Morgan sitting on the steps with Chespin.

"Hi, Genevieve!" Morgan yelled as we got closer, "The Gym doesn't open for another ten minutes! Can you believe it? They should have Gyms open twenty- four seven."

"Then the Gym Leaders would never get a break," Nick noted.

"Who are you?" Morgan asked, "I don't believe I've seen you before."

"I'm Nick, and my partner is Fennekin," Nick answered, "We only just started our Pokemon journey from Aquacorde Town."

"Cool!" Morgan exclaimed, "I'm Morgan, and this is my partner, Chespin. I'm starting on my Pokemon journey from Vanville Town! I'm guessing you've already meet Genevieve."

"At the Pokemon Center. Yes," Nick answered. A though appeared to dawn on him, and he turned to Genevieve. "Come to think of it, I don't know where you started your Pokemon journey from, Genevieve," Nick noted.

"I- ah," Genevieve stuttered with a panicked look on her face.

We couldn't tell them that we came from a different world. That would raise too many questions we couldn't answer. Which also meant we couldn't tell them where we were really from, because I doubt Chattanooga exists in the Pokemon world. Lying to them and telling them we came from a random town in the Pokemon world would lead to problems if we ever actually went to the town.

Luckily, Morgan took her hesitance to have a different meaning. "Do you not remember where you're from?" she asked. Having no other explanation ready, Genevieve agreed. "Maybe getting struck by that lightning messed with your memories," Morgan noted.

Genevieve blinked. "Struck by... lightning?" she inquired, as confused as I was. I couldn't remember being struck by lightning. And I'm pretty sure I would remember if I had.

"Did I not tell you what happened when I found you?" Morgan replied.

Genevieve shook her head, and Morgan explained, "I was out for a walk on Route Three with Chespin two days ago. We were tracking down a Fletchling that had gotten away from us when my Holocaster rang. I picked it up and there was an alert that said a freak storm was in my area and I was advised to seek shelter immediately, which was weird because the sky was clear and sunny. Then I looked up and saw a big, dark cloud heading my way fast.

"I didn't have any time to run to shelter or pitch a tent, so I laid on the ground and had Chespin do the same. When the big cloud covered the sun, I was surprised that no rain came with it. It was a just a big, dark cloud. Then three lightning bolts struck the ground not far from where Chespin and I were lying. Then, just like that, the storm vanished.

"I waited for a bit, then decided make sure that the lightning bolts hadn't started a fire. When I got to the place where the lightning bolts had struck, I saw you three. I spent the rest of that keeping the curious wild Pokemon away, and you know the rest," Morgan finished.

"That sounds kind of like what happened in front of the Zoo," Conner whispered to me. I nodded in agreement. I had been admiring the stars, the Conner's cell phone had rung to alert us of a storm. I had looked up and saw three dots of light growing steadily brighter, then a flash of light and a booming noise. I woke up and was suddenly in Kalos. But how was that possible?

As I was pondering this question, the door to the Gym opened. "It looks like there are two early birds at the door today," the voice noted. Everyone turned there attention to the lady at the door.

She had green eyes and short, blonde hair that curled just above her sholders. She was wearing a white shirt, cargo pants that stopped just below her knees, and hiker boots. A camera hung around her neck. "Hello, Nick. Coming back for a rematch?" the lady asked.

"You bet!" Nick replied, "I'm not going to loose this time!"

"That's good to hear!" the lady replied. Then she turned her attention to Morgan and Genevieve. "You to must be new challengers. I'm Viola, the Santalune Gym Leader. Who are you?"

"I'm Morgan, and this is my partner Chespin. I'm starting on my Pokemon journey from Vanville Town," Morgan answered.

"My name's Genevieve. The Pikachu is named Amanda, and the Charmander is Conner," Genevieve introduced us.

"Nice to meet all of you!" Viola replied, "I hope you don't mind if I take some pictures? You see, I'm a Pokemon photographer, and I love taking pictures of new challengers and their Pokemon."

"Sure," Morgan and Genevieve answered. Conner, Chespin, and I nodded. Viola held up her camera and started snapping pictures. In each picture, Chespin struck a new pose. I'm pretty sure I'm rolling my eyes in most of the pictures. Boys can be such show- offs, sometimes.

"All right, who going to challenge me first?" Viola asked.

"Me!" Nick and Morgan both exclaimed at the same time. The two glanced at each other.

"I was here first," Morgan stated, "So I should get to go first."

"But I was here yesterday, so technically I was here first," Nick replied.

"I was literally here first, and literally beats technically, so I go first," Morgan argued.

"Says who?" Nick demanded, "The grammar police?"

"Says me," Morgan retorted, "So I go first."

Viola, who had been listening to their back and forth argument, interrupted, "How about we flip a coin?"

"Sure," Nick agreed.

"Fine," Morgan sighed.

Viola pulled a coin out of her pocket and tossed it in the air.

"Heads!" Nick called while the coin was still in the air.

The coin landed on the sidewalk and spun for several seconds. Everyone watched intently. When it finally stopped, the tails side was pointing up.

"YES!" Morgan exclaimed, "I get to go first."

"Well, I guess going second is okay," Nick admitted, "It gives me more time to work on my strategy. Right, Fennekin?" Fennekin, who had be standing beside Nick quietly, yipped in agreement.

Viola turned to the Gym. "Follow me," she told Morgan. Morgan followed her with Chespin close behind. The rest of us followed them.

The first room in the Gym was lined with photos depicting every Bug Pokemon that I could think of. There was a large picture of a Butterfree just about to land on a flower, a picture of a horde of Combees with a Vespiquen, and many more.

"You must really like Bug- type," Morgan noted, looking around at all the pictures.

"Sure do," Viola answered, "This way to the battle field."

"Chespin's going to have fun in this battle," Conner whispered to me sarcastically.

"It'll be interesting, that's for sure," I replied.

We all followed Viola to the battle field. It was in the center of a large room with a glass ceiling so that the sunlight filtered in. The battle field was down some steps on a slightly lower level than the rest of the field. I assumed that the upper level was for the spectators and followed Genevieve to one side. Nick also went that way and stood next to us.

Morgan stood on one side of the battle field and Viola walked to the other. A man in a green- and- white striped shirt walked to the center of the battle field. I figured that he was the battle referee.

"The battle between Morgan, the Challenger, and Viola, the Santalune Gym Leader, will now begin! Each side will be able to use two Pokemon. The battle will be over when both of one side's Pokemon are unable to battle. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokemon."

"My lens is always focused on victory no matter what!" Viola yelled, "Go, Surskit!"

"Surskit?" Morgan asked. She pulled out here Pokedex and scanned Surskit.

"Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokemon," the Pokedex said, "Surskit can walk on water as if it was skating. It attracts prey with a sweet aroma it produces."

"Cool," Morgan stated, "Chespin, you're up!"

"She using Chespin?" Nick asked, "Not a very smart move."

"She only has two Pokemon," Genevieve pointed out, "And Chespin knows a Rock- type move."

"Still..." Nick mumbled to himself.

The referee started the battle by stating, "Battle, START!"

---

~Author's note

Sorry for the late update (again). I really wanted this chapter to be good, so I worked really hard on getting all my facts right, so it took longer than normal to write. I'm going to do my best to update sometime this weekend, though. I don't want to make a habit out of late updates.

So, Morgan just started her first Gym battle. Do you think she's going to win? And Nick with Fennekin. Will he win his challenge? Will I even write about it? Do you want me to?

So, anyway, down to the other stuff. Please VOTE, COMMENT, and BE EXCITED! Bye!