Kilian1992

After Colress picked us up from Liz, he kept us inside our Pokéballs for quite some time. I could neither keep track of what happened outside, nor how much time passed. It's always really hard to tell when you're inside a Pokéball. I only knew that he never spoke a word and we kept moving somewhere, until he eventually stopped to enter a house. After he closed the door, he picked up my Pokébal specifically and released me.

I looked at the area around me at first. The room was strangely familiar to me when I recognized it as a guest room of a Pokémon Center. In front of me was Colress. He was still dressed in the same outfit that he had when we met in the Rocket Base.

"I think I owe you some answers." He said looking down at me.

I nodded to him.

"Oh right, you probably think that I can't understand you." He pointed to a device on his left ear. "This thing here allows me to understand what Pokémon say, so no need to use sign language."

<Really? That thing works?> I asked surprised.

"It does indeed work, after all I built it myself."

At this point I didn't know if I should be more surprised by the fact that he answered my question, proving me that it worked, or that he was even able to build something like that by himself.

"Alright then, you must have a lot of questions."

<Well, yes...first of all who are you and how do you know me?>

"I'm Colress, a scientist, I'm researching Pokémon and my goal is to unlock their full potential. As for you, you are the current champ of the Unova region even though you are currently reported missing. So, you shouldn't be surprised if people know you. More importantly though you are my most valuable research subject right now."

I was alarmed from what he said, I knew about being the champ from Zack's memories but the rest...

<So, did you bring me all the way here just to do experiments with me then?>

"Oh no, I already have most of the data I need."

<What? I'm confused now. I feel like I'm missing something. Why were you even with Team Rocket?>

"As I said, my goal is to unlock the full potential of the Pokémon. Therefore, I travelled a lot searching for the best method to do so. I once worked for Team Plasma but their ways were proven wrong by some young trainers. It appeared to me that the bond between trainers and their Pokémon seemed to be a deciding factor in this, but I wasn't satisfied with that. I wanted to see if there are other methods to unlock the full potential, maybe even better methods."

<And what has all of that to do with Team Rocket?>

"I was just getting to that. They have offered me to help them with a project they were running. They needed my data on the DNA-Splicers I developed for Team Plasma back then. in return I got access to all their research data that I wanted. They told me that their project was to strengthen the bond between trainers and Pokémon by merging them into one being with the body of a Pokémon and the mind of a human. I was fascinated by that idea and I agreed to working with them."

<Wait, you agreed to help Team Rocket? And did you even consider the stuff that all your victims had to go through? Do you know how many innocent people had to suffer because of your research?> I aksed angrily.

"I'm a scientist, and I'm willing to pay any price for my research."

I gulped. 'This guy is insane.'

"Anyway, after we got some test subjects, you and Silver showed up in our lab. I've only seen what happened through the surveillance cameras, but I was able to identify both of you as the son of the former leader of Team Rocket and the current champ of Unova. Silver however managed to escape with your Egg."

<Alright, and how exactly did I become your 'most valuable research subject now?>

"That was actually when you showed up in my lab for the second time. I knew you would become an Oshawott and when a Dewott broke into my lab I knew it was you. I decided to test you in a battle to see how strong you had become after becoming one with your Pokémon. And what can I say, you were completely beyond my expectations."

<So... you only battled me to analyze how strong I had become? Why did you even help me and my friends to escape from your lab after the battle then? If you're only after your research, you could have just stayed there after all.>

"That is a very good question. Let's say that Team Rocket wasn't completely honest with their offer they made with me. Dr Tempest, their current leader had different intentions with my technology. I discovered that after Silver escaped with your egg."

<Why didn't you quit your work with them back then?>

"That had multiple reasons, for once Team Rocket probably wouldn't let me go with all the knowledge I had about them. Second, I still wanted to finish my research and third, I wanted to keep an eye on Dr. Tempest. Your second visit solved the two problems. You caused enough chaos so me vanishing from the base wouldn't be too suspicious and also, you are the best test subject I've ever had."

<That kinda makes sense...but what exactly does that Dr. Tempest want to do now? Does he want to turn everyone into Pokémon who stands in his way or what?>

"No, he actually plans to become one with the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo."

<Mewtwo?>

"It was an experiment from a long time ago when a group of scientists found the DNA of the Pokémon Mew and tried to create a clone of it. It ended in the creation of Mewtwo, but it was more powerfull than they imagined and it burned down the entire lab. Giovanni, the former boss of Team Rocket once convinced him to battle for him so he could become stronger but Mewtwo left him after some time when he figured that Giovanni just abused him. Since then Mewtwo has rested deep inside Cerulean Cave."

<But if Mewtwo is that powerful, we have to stop him before he can get it!>

"And that's why we're on the way to Cerulean City now."

<So…you're gonna help us then?>

"Despite all the good research value I got from this project, I can't stand when someone lies to me and uses my research for their personal advantage."

'At least that guy seems to have some morals.'

<Where are we here by the way?>

"We are still in Blackthorn City. We will travel to Goldenrod and get the train to Kanto. But I suggest we take a rest first.  I have been travelling all day to get here. Do you prefer to sleep in your Pokéball or outside?"

< I don't like being inside my Pokéball. And while we're at it, can you release my friends as well?>

"As you wish, you are free to do what you want as long as I get more research data from you."

With these words, he handed me three Pokéballs from his bag and without much ado, he took off his white coat and went to bed.

 
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First:

Chapter 1 - Hatching'Where am I?' Everything was dark around me, when I opened my eyes. I was in a really narrow place. I could hardly move. 'What happened to me? Did I get caught? I can't remember...wait I can't remember anything! Who am I? Oh wait, I do at least remember my name. It's Martin, but that doesn't help me that much. Who am I? I think I'm a Pokémontrainer, I'm 16 Years old...and I'm from Unova...but last I remember I wasn't in Unova....I was in Johto...but what did I do there? I can't remember...What is this place here? It's so narrow, but those walls don't seem to be made of stone or steel. Well, at least it's warm in here. How long have I even been in here? Have I been sleeping all the time? Alright, I need to stay calm. Those walls don't seem to be too stable. Maybe I can somehow break them down.' I tried pushing against the walls. To my surprise, the walls actually got a small crack. I heard a voice from outside. I couldn't understand what it said, but it sounded like a young girls v

Chapter 50: Journey to New Bark Town[Silver's Perspective]
After stocking up our supplies, we finally left the cave on Route 45 behind us. Our next destnation was New Bark Town. It kinda brings back memories when my own journey strated there...although it started with me stealing my first Pokémon from Professor Elm's lab...not quite the things I like to think back to...
 
Jess has started training with Kathie and she already made quite some progress on the first few days. She may not be able to help much when we get into a fight yet, but we’re still working on it.
 
What worried me more was that our group was not exactly inconspicuous. We were far too many to just walk through the scenery without drawing attention from pretty much anyone crossing our path. However, we couldn't exactly find a sufficient solution to this, so we decided to ditch the stealthyness and just walk there. We also decided to walk during the day therefore as the night would only slow us down even more.
 
So far, we didn't

[Silver's Perspective]

After stocking up our supplies, we finally left the cave on Route 45 behind us. Our next destnation was New Bark Town. It kinda brings back memories when my own journey strated there...although it started with me stealing my first Pokémon from Professor Elm's lab...not quite the things I like to think back to...

Jess has started training with Kathie and she already made quite some progress on the first few days. She may not be able to help much when we get into a fight yet, but we’re still working on it.

What worried me more was that our group was not exactly inconspicuous. We were far too many to just walk through the scenery without drawing attention from pretty much anyone crossing our path. However, we couldn't exactly find a sufficient solution to this, so we decided to ditch the stealthyness and just walk there. We also decided to walk during the day therefore as the night would only slow us down even more.

So far, we didn't have any encounters and we managed to move faster than I expected. By the end of the first day we even managed to reach Route 46, leaving the mountains mostly behind us and getting into a more forrested area, that gave us more cover.

We decided to spend the night by some trees and some bushes that gave us a decent cover. Everyone was looking pretty exhasuted from the walk however noone complained as we all explained our plans to them, at least up until the part where we get them to Professor Elm's lab.

Despite the long march, Kathie and Jess still trained together today. I found it pretty fascinating how much Jess' attitude towards battling changed when I think back to Nick’s first attempt to get her into it. I guess she just needed a reason to fight. I never grew tired of watching their training battles and some of the others came to watch them as well. Jess improved every day and Kathie was a very good and also patient training partner for her. she helped her figure out all her moves and how to use them effectively. Well, she's still working on that part but she started landing hits more often. Not that Kathie took much damage from her but I felt like it won't be that long until they can go for a more serious fight. we still had some time until we get to New Bark Town and even longer until we got to Cerulean City, so by that time she'll hopefully be in a good shape.  After the training, we had dinner, which consisted of berries and the last remains of Jess' Pokémon food.  Then we all went to sleep, preparing ourselves for the next day of walking.

When I woke up the next morning everyone was still asleep. It was still early and I wanted to give all of them a good rest before we moved on so I decided to refill our water supplies, as our path parted from the river that we followed until now. The sun was just rising above the mountains to the east, giving a fantastic view upon Route 45 and Route 46. It would actually be a nice place to live... but this is not the time to think of that. We're on a mission. I quickly refilled the bottles, drank some water from the river myself and returned to the rest.

Jess and Kathie just got up when I returned and were about to wake up the rest. After a quick breakfast, we moved on.

The following days passed without major events. Some trainers might have seen us but we just kept walking and they either didn't notice us or didn't believe what they saw there. Jess kept making progress in her training. We passed Route 46 and got to Route 29 where we headed towards New Bark Town.

< I remember this place.> Jess suddenly said. <This is where we first met and you gave me Nick's egg.>

<Hmm you're right... and with that I dragged you into this huge mess that we're in right now.>

<Are you still feeling guilty for that? Without you I never would have met Nick - >

<-and were probably still a human...> I interrupted her.

<Hey, I get it, you had a rough past and you're trying to make up for it but you won't help yourself if you always feel responsible for everything that happened.>

I sighed. <Let's just keep going, we might reach New Bark Town by tomorrow if we keep up like this.>

After another mostly uneventful day of walking, and some questioning looks on some young trainers, we finally saw New Bark Town. I was a little nervous about our next move. A small horde of Pokémon walking through a Route was one thing but walking through a town was something else. Luckily, New Bark Town was not exactly big and Professor Elms lab was close to the entrance of the town but it still made me nervous.

<So, do we just walk to his lab and knock at the door?> Jess asked.

<Well, we should probably think of a way to communicate with Professor Elm first. Last time I checked he couldn't understand what Pokémon say.>

<Hmm, you're right, maybe we can write a letter or something?>

<That would work but we don't have any paper or a Pencil or anything>

<Maybe I can help with that.> Chester the Aipom, and former Team Rocket member said as he overheard our conversation.

<Really? How?> I asked.

<Just give me a few minutes. Wait here.> he said and ran off into the town.

I was unsure about what he was about to do but a few minutes later he indeed returned with a notebook and a pencil in his hand-shaped tail and handed them over to me.

<Where did you get that from?>

< I stole it. What would you think?>

Jess and I looked at him with a mix of disgust, shock but also amazement.

<Why are you looking at me like that? Stealing was the only thing I was ever good for, or why do you think I joined Team Rocket?>

<Whatever, it's just a notebook and a pencil and I guess solving our problems has higher priority than stealing stuff that's only worth a few Pokédollars.>

We spent the next hour explaining our situation in the letter as good as possible. I had trouble writing things down with my claws at first but I eventually managed. When the letter was done, we all walked towards Professor Elms lab, getting a lot of confused looks from people that were passing by but we made it without any incidents.

I knocked at the door.

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First:

Chapter 1 - Hatching'Where am I?' Everything was dark around me, when I opened my eyes. I was in a really narrow place. I could hardly move. 'What happened to me? Did I get caught? I can't remember...wait I can't remember anything! Who am I? Oh wait, I do at least remember my name. It's Martin, but that doesn't help me that much. Who am I? I think I'm a Pokémontrainer, I'm 16 Years old...and I'm from Unova...but last I remember I wasn't in Unova....I was in Johto...but what did I do there? I can't remember...What is this place here? It's so narrow, but those walls don't seem to be made of stone or steel. Well, at least it's warm in here. How long have I even been in here? Have I been sleeping all the time? Alright, I need to stay calm. Those walls don't seem to be too stable. Maybe I can somehow break them down.' I tried pushing against the walls. To my surprise, the walls actually got a small crack. I heard a voice from outside. I couldn't understand what it said, but it sounded like a young girls v

Chapter 49: The nature of fightingI was a little surprised by Chris' request for a training battle at first. But after seeing the excitement in his eyes I let him finish my training with Travis.  I figured I’d watch this time instead of just fighting it myself.  Despite his excitement he still seemed a little unsure about the entire situation at first. As if he didn't know what to do excactly. When Travis made his first move however, he reacted quickly and found his way into the battle.
 
He did pretty well from there considering this was his first battle he fought. He quickly figured out how to use moves and used them to great effect despite doing not that much damage on Travis as he simply had more experience and being several weeks ahead in training just makes a huge difference after all.
 
When I saw that Chris was getting tired, I ended the training battle.
<That's enough for now you two. It was a great battle but let's not overdo it.>
 
<But, I can keep going.> Chris com

Chapter 51: ColressAfter Colress picked us up from Liz, he kept us inside our Pokéballs for quite some time. I could neither keep track of what happened outside, nor how much time passed. It's always really hard to tell when you're inside a Pokéball. I only knew that he never spoke a word and we kept moving somewhere, until he eventually stopped to enter a house. After he closed the door, he picked up my Pokébal specifically and released me.
 
I looked at the area around me at first. The room was strangely familiar to me when I recognized it as a guest room of a Pokémon Center. In front of me was Colress. He was still dressed in the same outfit that he had when we met in the Rocket Base.
 
"I think I owe you some answers." He said looking down at me.
 
I nodded to him.
 
"Oh right, you probably think that I can't understand you." He pointed to a device on his left ear. "This thing here allows me to understand what Pokémon say, so no need to use sign language."

I was a little surprised by Chris' request for a training battle at first. But after seeing the excitement in his eyes I let him finish my training with Travis.  I figured I’d watch this time instead of just fighting it myself.  Despite his excitement he still seemed a little unsure about the entire situation at first. As if he didn't know what to do excactly. When Travis made his first move however, he reacted quickly and found his way into the battle.

He did pretty well from there considering this was his first battle he fought. He quickly figured out how to use moves and used them to great effect despite doing not that much damage on Travis as he simply had more experience and being several weeks ahead in training just makes a huge difference after all.

When I saw that Chris was getting tired, I ended the training battle.
<That's enough for now you two. It was a great battle but let's not overdo it.>

<But, I can keep going.> Chris complained

< I know you want to keep going but I can see that you're exhausted already. There's no need to call it a training battle if you keep fighting until someone faints. You did great but, leave it be for today. It was your first battle anyway so no need to overdo it.>

<Fine.> he sighed.

I lead him back inside the house to get him some water and an oran berry.  <You did great by the way.> I said.

<You mean it?>

<Yes, just some things to fix here and there but that comes with more experience.>

<Okay...thanks I guess.>

<You kinda surprised me with this by the way. didn't expect you to battle this soon.>

<Well, it kinda came over me when I watched you two fight. I don't even know what was going on with me...>

<Sounds like your Pokémon instincts took over.>

<My what?>

<Pokémon love to fight. It's just in our nature. What you experienced there was just how it feels to be a Pokémon.>

<This is getting a little confusing now...>

<Hmm...how did you feel during the fight? What were you thinking of? Did you think of anything else but the fight, like anything that you would think of normally?>

<Now you mention it...it kinda feels like a dream now...all my problems were gone, all that mattered was this fight. Nothing else was important. I didn't care if I was a Pokémon or a human, a boy or a girl, it seemed so pointless.>

<Exactly, that's also what I feel when I'm in a fight, there's nothing else, just me and my opponent. And that's what I enjoy about fighting. It's just the best thing in the world.>

< I think I understand now why you like being a Pokémon so much. And I think I could get used to this...despite being a boy now and all...>

<Well, I didn't expect you to get over that so quickly anyway. But I think you're taking this all quite well.>

< It's not like I have a choice. I learned to accept this body and live on. It's just easier not thinking about it all the time.>

< I see, we better change the topic then.>

<Yup...>

We grabbed some berries and water. Then I gave him some tips for battles and also showed him my modified Water Pulse to give him an idea of how to use moves in a different way. I decided to leave it to him to figure out how to make use of his own moves though. I also told him about being able to remember more than four moves at the same time.

The rest of the day passed rather quickly. After Liz returned from her groceries, we got our food. It was almost like a daily routine started to kick in but just when we finished eating the door bell rang.

It was Colress.

"Oh, you're back already?" Liz said when she opened the door.

"I won't stay long, I'm just here to pick up the Pokémon I left here."

"Ah right, I'm sure you're happy to hear that the egg hatched. It's a healthy little Riolu. Just tell, me where did you get all these Pokémon from again? I mean Riolus and Dewotts are not exactly common here in Johto."

"You know, my research brings me all around the world."

"Well, I see. Anyway, they're all here, they just had dinner. I gotta say they were really lovely. I enjoyed having them around here. Almost hurts to say goodbye to them now."

"You say that everytime I pick up my Pokémon from you."

"Well these here were even more lovely than the others. Anyway, I'm getting the Pokéballs, wait a moment."

<Uhm Nick, what is it like to be inside a Pokéball?> Chris asked me after we all overheard the conversation.

<Don't worry it's nothing bad. I mean I don't exactly like being inside those things but it's really nothing bad.>

Liz cam to us with four Pokéballs.

"Alright, it's time to say goodbye. Your trainer came back to pick you up." She explained to us.  She then recalled each of us into our respective Pokéballs and handed them over to Colress.

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First:

[Chris' perspective]

What happened was a little bit too much for me to handle at once. After Nick fell asleep on his pillow I tried to sleep as well, but I had too many thoughts on my mind: Not only was I a Pokémon, but also a boy. How can I even fit into this life? I don't know how to be a Pokémon nor do I know how to be a boy.

I examined my new body a little further. Those paws are definitely different from hands. The three digits were not as flexible as fingers and the lack of a thumb made it almost impossible to grab things with only one hand. My legs and feet were also a lot different from a human's as I was forced into a digitigrade stance. When I walked here from the bathroom, I didn't even pay attention to how I was walking, but I instinctively walked like a Riolu. The paws on my feet were covered with pink paw pads. My tail was, like the rest of my body, covered in fur, however I found it hard to direct it like my other limbs. It seemed to have a mind of its own for some reason. It felt weird when I finally managed to grab it with my paws to examine it a little closer, let alone having a tail in the first place.

And then of course there was another new addition to my body between my legs. I was curious, but at the same time I was not ready to discover that part of my new body, at least not yet. Even though it might be difficult to ignore that little detail when I have to run around without clothes. While staring at it, some strange thoughts crossed my mind. It was like I was kind of indecisive about it. On one hand, that part was something new for me, but on the other hand it felt like it had always been there.  It felt odd, and was confusing for me.

'I've been a girl my entire life, so why am I thinking like this? Is this all affecting my mind as well?' My thoughts circled around my head for a while before I calmed down a little.

'I need to sort this out another time. For now, this body is what I've got. I have to accept it, I guess...easier said than done. I don't even know this... no, my body. Just accept it. I'm a male Riolu. Not that I can change anything about it anyway... I should probably sleep instead of losing my mind over things I can't change. Who knows...maybe I'll even enjoy this...That Nick guy seemed to enjoy being a Pokémon after all.' 

The next few days actually passed quite quickly. Nick introduced me to Travis and Nidorino and just as promised, he didn't tell them about me being a girl. Liz is treating me like a little baby which kinda annoys me a little, but technically I just hatched from an egg and I remembered Nick's words and just played along to not blow the cover. At least she fed all of us.

Speaking of food, I was actually surprised how good Pokémon food tastes, even though it took me some time to try it and only gave in to my growling stomach. I slowly got used to my new body. I even found the courage to ask Nick about some "boy stuff". This all still feels weird but I basically learned to mostly ignore it...mostly.

A few days after I hatched, Nick and Travis decided to have a training battle in the backyard. To make it fair, Nick agreed to not use his Water type moves. I was sitting next to Nidorino as we both watched the two of them battle each other. Besides Nick not using water type moves, they were not holding back.

< Are they always fighting this serious? I thought this is just training> I asked Nidorino.

<You haven't seen Nick in a real fight yet.>

< Is he that strong?>

<He's definitely stronger than he looks like, especially with his water type moves.>

<But isn't he a human like me?>

<You are what you are and not what you think you might be.>

<Huh?>

< I've already told this to Nick before. He has just accepted what he is. He is a Pokémon in his heart, but he can also think like a human, and that makes him a great fighter.>

I looked back to the battle. Nick and Travis both took some hits but I could clearly see a smile on their faces. Their battle went on and the more I watched it the more excited I got about it.

<You really seem to enjoy this.> Nidorino said smiling.

<How can you tell?> I asked him

<Your tail is wagging like crazy, that tells more than anything else.>

I looked behind me and saw that my tail was indeed wagging like crazy.

< I guess you wanna fight as well, right?> Nidorino noted.

<What? Fighting? Me? I don't know... I've only done Pokémon battles as a trainer but I've never fought myself before...>

<Just give it a try then. I'm sure you'll like it...at least judging from your tail I can tell.>

I blushed at that comment. I was not comfortable with others reading my emotions and feelings like this.

'But why am I even this excited? I mean, I've seen countless Pokémon battles before and sure they were all entertaining to watch, but they never got me this excited. Is this because I'm a Pokémon now? Does every Pokémon feel like this when it comes to battles? Maybe I should try out. I was kinda curious about what I could do in this body. And all I've done for now was eating and sleeping. I thought back to the first night. I gotta accept what I am. I'm a male Riolu and now I want a battle...

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First:

Chapter 1 - Hatching'Where am I?' Everything was dark around me, when I opened my eyes. I was in a really narrow place. I could hardly move. 'What happened to me? Did I get caught? I can't remember...wait I can't remember anything! Who am I? Oh wait, I do at least remember my name. It's Martin, but that doesn't help me that much. Who am I? I think I'm a Pokémontrainer, I'm 16 Years old...and I'm from Unova...but last I remember I wasn't in Unova....I was in Johto...but what did I do there? I can't remember...What is this place here? It's so narrow, but those walls don't seem to be made of stone or steel. Well, at least it's warm in here. How long have I even been in here? Have I been sleeping all the time? Alright, I need to stay calm. Those walls don't seem to be too stable. Maybe I can somehow break them down.' I tried pushing against the walls. To my surprise, the walls actually got a small crack. I heard a voice from outside. I couldn't understand what it said, but it sounded like a young girls v

Chapter 47: A new plan[Silvers Perspective]
<Damn it!> I silently told myself
Against everyone's advice, I decided to go back into the Rocket base only to find it completely empty. Everyone and anything with enough value was gone. The only hint to Nick's whereabout was the word of two former Rocket grunts who told us about another base near Cerulean City. The problem with that was that a trip to Cerulean City was even longer than the walk from Ilex forest to here. Most of us were still pretty exhausted from that, not to mention that besides Kathie and I, no one was really able to fight properly. The rest of the rescued Pokémon all used to be around ten to twelve years old Pokémon trainers. Since they hatched as Pokémon, they hadn't fought a single battle, and were only used for experiments. And Jess...she never wanted to fight to begin with.
As soon as I came back, I found Jess and Kathie, taking care of the rest of the group. I figured we needed to do something.
<Jess, Kathie, can I

Chapter 49: The nature of fightingI was a little surprised by Chris' request for a training battle at first. But after seeing the excitement in his eyes I let him finish my training with Travis.  I figured I’d watch this time instead of just fighting it myself.  Despite his excitement he still seemed a little unsure about the entire situation at first. As if he didn't know what to do excactly. When Travis made his first move however, he reacted quickly and found his way into the battle.
 
He did pretty well from there considering this was his first battle he fought. He quickly figured out how to use moves and used them to great effect despite doing not that much damage on Travis as he simply had more experience and being several weeks ahead in training just makes a huge difference after all.
 
When I saw that Chris was getting tired, I ended the training battle.
<That's enough for now you two. It was a great battle but let's not overdo it.>
 
<But, I can keep going.> Chris com

[Silvers Perspective]
<Damn it!> I silently told myself

Against everyone's advice, I decided to go back into the Rocket base only to find it completely empty. Everyone and anything with enough value was gone. The only hint to Nick's whereabout was the word of two former Rocket grunts who told us about another base near Cerulean City. The problem with that was that a trip to Cerulean City was even longer than the walk from Ilex forest to here. Most of us were still pretty exhausted from that, not to mention that besides Kathie and I, no one was really able to fight properly. The rest of the rescued Pokémon all used to be around ten to twelve years old Pokémon trainers. Since they hatched as Pokémon, they hadn't fought a single battle, and were only used for experiments. And Jess...she never wanted to fight to begin with.

As soon as I came back, I found Jess and Kathie, taking care of the rest of the group. I figured we needed to do something.

<Jess, Kathie, can I have a word with both of you?>

They both turned around to me and nodded, before they got up and followed me to the other end of the cave.

<So, what is it?> Jess asked me.

< I'm afraid, we have to make another decision. The entire Rocket base is empty, which means that Nick and the others were most likely brought to Cerulean City.>

< And you want to go and rescue them?> Kathie asked me.

<That's what I want to discuss with you, Cerulean City is not exactly close to our location. It would be an even longer trip than we had from Ilex Forest to here, and seeing as we don't really have that many experienced fighters among us, it might be really hard to even get there. And even then, we can't exactly leave them all alone here.>

<So, what's your plan?> Jess asked.

<Honestly, I don't have one yet...but I want to save them. I'll even go alone if I have to.>

Kathie stood up and spoke first. <We've been through some stuff together already, so I'd like to accompany you. However first we need to find a solution for them.> She pointed to the group of rescued Pokémon.

< I think I know something.> Jess said. <New Bark Town is kind of on our way to Kanto. At least it's the only way to go from Johto to Kanto without using the train or a ship. We could stop at Professor Elms Lab and he could take care of them. Maybe he can even help us get to Cerulean City if we manage to explain everything to him.>

<That’s not a bad idea. New Bark town is not too far from here, we can get there in a few days. Good thinking Jess. Are our friends over there capable of walking for a few days already?>

< I think they are. They recovered a little already.> Jess said.

< Alright, Kathie could you talk to them and explain them what we are going to do?>

< I will.> She said.

<And Jess, I'd like to have another word with you if you don't mind.>

<Sure, what is it?>

I waited until Kathie was gone before I continued

<You know, you can also stay with Professor Elm and stay out of this.>

< I thought about that, yeah...but I also don't want to leave you and Kathie alone...and neither do I want to leave Nick and Travis. I'm their trainer after all...or was.>

< I see. So, you want to save them as well right?>

<Yes. Now that they're gone, I miss them a lot, especially Nick.  He’s always been there for me since I hatched, like when he saved me in that battle with the Houndour and Houndoom. I can't just leave him.>

<Okay...and how far would you go to save him?>

She hesitated a bit but then she said:

< I'd go to the very end, even if I'd miss a chance to get my human body back.>

My eyes widened at this comment. I knew she'd be more up for it now that she had something to fight for, but I didn't expect this.

<Well, then I guess you'll agree that you need to become stronger if you want to accomplish that.  And that means you’ll have to fight.>

< I'll do anything to get them back.>

<Fine, we're going to train every evening now. I'm sure Kathie will also help you to become stronger.>

< I'm actually looking forward to it.> She smiled.

<That's the spirit. Now go back to Kathie, I need to prepare some things if we want to leave soon.>

I saw her walking back to Kathie who was still talking to the rest of the Pokémon.

‘Well, that went far better than expected.’ I said to myself. ‘We got a new plan and Jess agreed to do training. And I didn't even need to play my trump card there.’

Originally, I wanted to tell her that Nick was kind of in love with her, but after our talk, it wasn’t necessary. But now we need to go back to the important things. Even though the way to New Bark Town wasn't very long, we'd still need a lot of supplies to get there since our group is rather large. Water won't be a problem until the end of Route 45 since our path there went right along a river. From there we need to stock up our supplies enough to get over Route 46 and Route 29 to New Bark Town. And we kind of have to rely on finding some berries on our way, but knowing that route, there will be more than enough of those.

‘Don't worry Nick, we're coming’
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