Pokèmon Spectrum (An Original Journey Fic) - Weekly Short Story "Movie Time", June 8th 2017 (2024)

Chapter 2​

Family Matters​

Version 2 Released August 2nd, 2016​

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Having met Russo, Jacob and Aipom are making their way to their first contest in Iridale Town. Having taken interest in Russo after his help dealing with Villa and Hilda, Jacob felt the need to see more of Russo's techniques. Now, they are about to meet a new face in the grand scheme of their adventure...

The sun beat down on the hot pavement as Jacob and Russo walked alongside each other. It was noon, and the sweltering heat of mid-summer was proving itself as quite an unbeatable opponent.

Jacob occasionally glanced over at Russo, but would look away if their eyes met.

Russo stopped and shot his hand out, pointing. “Look! It’s the Pokemon Center!” he shouted happily, and ran off towards a small building with a red roof and a Pokeball painted on the center and on the sliding doors it used as an entrance.

Jacob stared at him, “Well have fun! I’ll walk!” he yelled back sarcastically. He sighed and looked at Aipom, “It’s so hot out here, yet he has the energy to run,” he muttered and slowly trudged towards the center. As he entered, he was whisked away by a strong blast of cold air. He looked over and saw Russo sticking his shirt out to collect cold air from a floor air vent.

The Pokemon Center was quite small. It was in the direct middle of Route 1002 and serviced as a rest stop to travelers. The back of the center possessed an indoor, standard battlefield for those who hoped to hone their skills. The back, outside of the center was a small picnic area where trainers could sit and have lunch with their Pokemon. The building was a standard model for all centers located on Routes or Trails instead of major cities like Kimpier City.

“Hello there, Can I help you with anything?” a woman asked politely.

Jacob took his embarrassed glare off of Russo to view the source of the medicinal tone the woman produced.

She was standing behind a tall counter with two Pokeball lamps on the sides. A Tangela hair plant sat beside her computer and a photo of multiple women with her same appearance sat opposite the plant. Her hair was tied into two pigtails which curled as they sloped down towards her breasts. Her face was flawless and pure white. Her eyes, covered by a pair of thin glasses, were bright blue, as though they were two pools of Suicune purified water.

Jacob was stunned! He had never seen such a beautiful woman. “Um... Hello! Are you, like, a secretary or something," he asked.

Russo released his shirt from his grip and waltzed over to Jacob. He elbowed him teasingly, “What’s the matter man? That’s just Nurse Joy. Haven’t you met her sister in Ichigo Town?”

Jacob shook his head. “No… I’ve never been to a Pokemon Center before,” he helped Aipom off of his shoulder and let it run up to the counter where the nurse resided.

Nurse Joy lowered her glasses and examined Aipom. “It seems to be doing just fine, but I can go run a quick check-up if you need me to? We have chips, candy, and soda over in the vending machines around the corner," she informed.

Jacob nodded his head and clutched the strap of his backpack as Aipom was placed on a cart and wheeled into a backroom. He looked around at the other trainers inside of the center. There were two couples, one looked like two teen lovers out of a vampire flick, and the other was an old man and woman. Jacob guessed they had left for a trip to Zilonia City since there was a large retirement community there. He walked over and sat on a bench next to the vending machines. “So have you been to these before?”

Russo walked over towards one of the vending machines which housed the candy and chips, “Oh yeah, loads of times.” He elbowed one of the vending machines in three random spots and two candy bars fell out. He grabbed one and handed it to Jacob, “They have the best candy. I hear it’s imported from the Johto region".

Jacob hesitated when he held the bar in his hands. It read, “Rage Bar” on it. “Is this stealing,” he asked, looking at Russo who had chocolate smeared on his face. Jacob constantly felt as though Russo was part Pokemon, perhaps a Mankey given his manners.

Russo burped loudly and rubbed his stomach, “These are the best! I met this guy who showed me how to get all the candy for free. I usually leave a tip for Nurse Joy when I leave since she is such a hard worker. She runs this place all by herself you know,” he informed.

Jacob gasped, “All by herself?"

Russo stood up and headed for the bathrooms. “Well, I’m gonna go take a leak. By the time I get back we can check into a room,” he decided, and left without letting Jacob respond.

Jacob sighed. Russo was so distant towards him, and they spent zero time chatting about their pasts. It's like Russo had no past, or at least... didn't like to think he did. Jacob dropped the thought as soon as his stomach rumbled. He peered down as the small, rectangular bar. He sighed and unwrapped the stolen candy.

The Rage Bar had little ridges on the top that appeared to be berries. A thin layer of sugar coated each ridge as though they were small mountaintops covered in a blanket of snow. It was smothered in Milk Chocolate which resembled the rocky terrain of a mountain.

Jacob opened his mouth and took a quick bite, fully committing to his crime. He opened his eyes and nearly burst into tears. “THIS IS SO AMAZING!” he cried out, falling to his knees and holding the candy bar up to the light as though he had pulled the sword from the stone. His taste buds were racing with the sweet taste of chocolate mixed with Oran Berries.

The old couple looked over and shook their heads at Jacob as he shoved the rest of the bar down his throat.

Jacob burped loudly and wiped his face, feeling satisfied with his felony. He stood up and looked around once more, but ultimately decided to examine the picture on Nurse Joy's desk. He walked walked over and gasped when he saw the photo's composition.

It was in a black and white filter, probably 20 years old, and it was composed of dozens of laughing little girls who all looked very similar.

Jacob was amazed and noticed they all looked exactly like Nurse Joy at an approximate age of 10.

“Those are all my relatives from when we were young,” Nurse Joy informed, surprising Jacob.

He turned around and saw her standing with Aipom sitting happily on a cart.

Beside Nurse Joy, stood another Pokemon. It was large, and had a white fur scarf with a long tail.

Jacob slipped out Dex and scanned it.

Dex flicked on and began feeding information. “Cinccino, The scarf Pokemon. Cinccino use a special oil inside of their body to coat their skin and keep themselves clean.”

Jacob smiled and picked up Aipom happily, “That’s a really cool Pokemon, Nurse Joy,” Jacob replied, smiling. “Thank you for taking a look at Aipom for me.”

Nurse Joy curtsied, “It is my pleasure. All Nurse Joys in the Accelia region own a Cinccino too. They help with making the center look neat and tidy, which is a hard task considering the amount of traffic this one recieves.”

Jacob looked back at the picture, “You said all those are your relatives?” he asked curiously.

Nurse Joy grew a small grin and nodded, “Indeed. All Nurse Joys are related. My sisters are located in Ichigo Town and Zilonia City. Have you met them?” she asked, “I’ve been meaning to call them, but I never find the time” Nurse Joy continued, then blushed as a rush of nostalgia filled her eyes.

Jacob shook his head, “Why don’t you go call her now? I can stay here and watch the front desk for you,” he offered.

Nurse Joy was surprised, “A-are you sure?” she inquired. “You aren’t trained in the field of medicine… much less Pokemon medicine.”

Jacob brushed it off, “Pshaw, I can come get you if there is trouble. I meant that I could, like, answer the front desk phone and take messages. You should always get to talk to your siblings every once and a while.”

Nurse Joy grinned with happiness, “That’s so kind of you. I think I will then! I shouldn’t be long. If you need me, I'll be right in my office behind the front desk” she said, entering the backroom.

Jacob walked over and sat down at the front desk. He giggled and started to type on the computer, acting as though he was sending an important message. "Hello, Mr. Barkley. I have important information to tell you... Yo momma so fat she sat on a rainbow and made skittles!" he joked and burst out laughing at his own pitiful sense of humor.

Russo walked back by and noticed Jacob cracking up. He thought of a nasty plan and snickered to himself. He crept up behind him and shoved him onto the desk with what was meant to be a tiny shove. “OH CRAP! MY BAD DUDE” he shouted, not expecting Jacob to be as light as carboard.

Jacob sat up and flailed around. “You jerk! What’s with you shoving me!” he screamed.

Aipom sat and shook its head, watching as the two boys proceeded to argue.

"I didn't mean to! You're like one of those lame trees they plant of the side of a highway when they want to try new decorating crap. You know? The ones they have to tie down with ropes because they'd fall over if a Prius drove past," Russo claimed.

"At least I don't go around bashing faces into desks!" Jacob responded, attracting attention to their little quarrel.

"I bet if we were in the Olympics, you'd be the javelin because you are so freaking light," Russo joked, ignoring the fact that he seriously could have injured Jacob. He then proceeded to act like he was tossing a javelin, angering Jacob even more.

Jacob was about to respond, but stopped when he noticed a small dot out of the corner of his eye. He looked over and saw a figure darting towards the entrance to the center!

Russo rolled his eyes and looked over at the front doors. He noticed the figure as well. He squinted his eyes and noticed the shadow was actually a girl. “Hey look, someone’s running towards the center,” he said, pointing.

The girl shot through the sliding doors and looked around quickly, sweat dripping from her face. She was wearing a bright pink tank top and short jean shorts with white threads dangling as the shorts ended at her mid-thigh. She was also wearing dusty, pitch black, high top converse and had beautiful maroon hair jutting out from under a baseball cap. She was gripping her shoulder bag tightly, making sure not to have let it go during her dash.

Jacob and Russo stared at her and jumped back when she made eye contact with them.

She was panting now, “Do you two know where Nurse Joy is?” she asked through deep breaths. Her voice was a little deeper than what one would assume by the way she dressed. Jacob guessed she was 16.

Jacob was about to point towards the backroom, “She left me in charge, bu-”

The girl interrupted him by grabbing his shirt and darting from the center with him in her grip. “If you’re in charge, then I need your help. ASAP!!” she shouted, picking up dust as she ran along a dirt trail leading away from the center

Russo blinked and looked around, “Uh…. What just happened,” He asked Aipom.

Aipom looked at him and shrugged.

Russo hammered one of his hands with a fist, a light bulb had gone off in his head. “Oh… She stole him!” he told himself and laughed. He nodded to himself for a few minutes before realizing the situation, “OH MY GOD! JACOB!”

OFF IN THE FOREST...

The girl continued dragging Jacob along, but he managed to stop her by catching his shoe on a root in the ground. They both tumbled and fell onto the hot, dusty trail. She looked back at him, “Yo! What’d you do that for? Aren’t you gonna help me?!” she asked while screaming.

Jacob glared at her, “I'M RECONSIDERING IT AFTER YOU DRAGGED ME FOR HALF A MILE!"

The girl shrugged, "Not my fault that you weigh as much as a Joltik," she used as her defense. "Now, quit wasting time and help me out here, pal!"

Jacob felt the sting of the weight insult, but he set the thought aside. He stood up, "I was answering the phone for Nurse Joy, so if you want a doctor then we need to go back!” he yelled at her, his eyes squinting from the intense sunlight.

The girl lowered her face, “Oh, so you’re not a doctor? I thought so. I mean you look a little young” she said, then burst out laughing.

Jacob continued to squint at her, “What heck is your problem anyway? Who are you?” he asked his kidnapper.

The girl brushed herself off with her hands and stood up. “My name is Aries, and I needed someone to help me with a Teddiursa that’s in danger.”

Jacob raised his eyebrows, “A Teddiursa?” he asked. He took out Dex and searched for it.

Dex beeped twice and showed the picture of a Pokemon on the top screen. “Teddiura, the Little Bear Pokemon. Teddiura are rarely found in the wild alone. They always have their hand in their mouth to stimulates its growth and is usually covered in sweet honey”.

Jacob decided to let the fact that she kidnapped him for the greater good of an innocent looking Pokemon. “Nice to meet you, I’m Jacob," he responded and stuck his hand out to handshake. "So, what’s the deal with the Teddiura?” he asked curiously.

Aries grabbed his hand and led him through a thick bundle of bushes. They came to a clearing where a large cliff jutted into the sky. Aries pointed to a ledge on the cliff, “Up there!” she said.

Jacob squinted and saw a tiny Teddiusa huddled on a ledge. “What happened!” he screamed in panic and felt his innate skills as a parent kicking in.

Aries put one of her hands on her hips and wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead with the other. “I think it was on the top of that cliff and must have fallen off. The poor thing is gonna die from heat stroke up there,” she said worriedly.

Jacob cracked his knuckles and nodded to Aipom, only to realize Aipom was at the center! "Well, we are screwed. You left the perfect help at the center! I have an Aipom that could easily scale that wall."

Aries looked over at him and sighed, "You don't have anything else? What, did you just start your journey today?"

Jacob squinted his eyes and grew annoyed with her, "No, I started yesterday."

Aries chuckled, "Pfft, and you only have one Pokemon?"

"I STARTED YESTERDAY?! YOU DON'T HAVE ANY?" Jacob asked furiously, already feeling the heat shifting his emotions.

"Listen pal! I have Pokemon, but none of them can climb so, obviously, I went for help. Is that so hard to understand? Now, go get to climbing" Aries commanded, ignoring the fact that Jacob was annoyed with her.

"Why do I have to climb?" he pondered, knowing she was going to have a ridiculous reason.

"Because I brought you here to help me. So," she stopped and clapped her hands, "chop, chop."

Jacob crossed his arms, "Yeah, I'm not go-"

Suddenly, the ledge cracked and crumbled.

Teddiursa's weight made the ledge give out and resulted in the death drop of the Little Bear Pokemon!

Aries turned and gasped. She darted over and dove to catch Teddiursa just before it splattered like a pancake, skinning her knees as she landed.

Teddiursa looked around confused at what had unfolded.

Aries released Teddiursa and sat up. She felt a sharp twang on her kneecaps, having been scraped from the belly-slide to catch Teddiursa.

Jacob saw the cuts and immediately felt bad. He shuffled his feet and watched as she fidgeted with her injuries. He sighed and slipped off his backpack. He unzipped a small flap that contained and inhaler an some band-aids with mixed-in antibiotic ointment on the cotton pads. He then walked over and knelt in front of her.

Aries looked at him, surprised to see him helping after the fact they were just bickering.

Jacob poked his lips out, almost like he was pouting. "Sorry. I didn't realize that it was about to fall," he said, trying to make up with her. He unwrapped the bandage and placed one on one scrape.

Aries winced at the pain. When the sting went down, she shook her head and smiled, "No it's cool, pal! I didn't know the ledge was cracked. I'm just glad I was around to save it."

As soon as Jacob placed the second bandage on her other scrape, he wiped his hands and stood up. "Well, you should be all good."

Aries nodded and stood up to meet eye-level with Jacob. "Let's restart the introductions then. Hi Jacob, I'm Aries," she said politely and stuck out her hand for a handshake.

Jacob nodded, "I'm Jacob, nice to meet you," he responded and shook her hand firmly. "Let's head back to the Pokemon Center. Ok?" he suggested.

Aries nodded and began walking, but stopped and remembered what the Pokedex informed. “Wait, Jacob.”

Jacob stopped walking and looked back, “What is it?”

Aries recalled the Pokedex entry, “The Pokedex said that Teddiursa are rarely ever found alone. So, what are they normally with?” she asked. Suddenly, Aries’ eyes were flooded with fear as two large bright orange-purple beams blasted the ground around them.

Dust surrounded Aries and Jacob, filling their lungs and causing them to cough.

“What the heck is happening?!” Jacob asked worriedly, trying not to cough.

“I-I think we have company, thanks to Teddiursa,” Aries answered, looking down at the worried Teddiursa.

Suddenly, three large bear Pokemon crashed through the bushes. “UR-URING!!” they all shouted.

“Who are those Pokémon?” Jacob shouted, quickly scanning them with his Pokedex.

Dex flicked on and began feeding information. “Ursaring, The Hibernate Pokemon. Though it evolves from the cute Teddiursa, Ursaring is able to chop down trees and branches with one swipe of its claws.”

Jacob and Aries gulped, “It seems these Ursaring are friends with Teddiursa,” Aries whispered. She fanned away some of the dust, “We don’t mean any harm! Your friend was in danger and we need to get it to the Pokemon Center!” Aries called out, trying to calm them down.

One of the Ursaring lowered its arms having noticed the Teddiursa, but the other two charged up more orange-purple beams at Jacob and Aries.

Suddenly, Aipom shot onto the scene and created multiple copies of itself, distracting the Ursaring and halting the attack.

"Aipom?" Jacob exclaimed, realizing help had arrived.

“Beldum, use Zen Headbutt, and Larvesta, use Ember!” shouted a voice from beyond the bushes.

Jacob and Aries looked over and saw Russo make his way through the brush with his Beldum and another Pokemon.

The unknown Pokemon jumped into the air and spat out little bits of flame that collided with one Ursaring.

Beldum coated itself in a bright, blue aura and smashed into the other one.

Jacob and Aries cheered and looked over at Russo.

“Are you both okay? Hyper Beams can be quite powerful.” Russo asked, standing confidently as his Pokemon returned to him.

Jacob looked down at the unknown Pokemon he hadn't realized Russo owned. He took out his Pokedex and scanned it.

Dex clicked on and began feeding information. “Larvesta, the Torch Pokemon. Larvesta uses the little fire shoots around its neck to hover itself in the air like a jet-pack.”

Jacob returned his Pokedex to his bag and nodded with Aries.

Sadly, the reunion soon faded as the two attacking Ursarings grew angrier and returned into attack stance.

"We'll have to fend them off!" Russo informed. "Nurse Joy warned me about the Ursaring here. They are very protective of their children and that Teddiursa is one of them. You'll have to incapacitate them to calm them down!"

"LEAVE THEIR HEADS ALONE!" Jacob screamed, horrified.

Aries looked at him, amazed at the comment. "He means disable them. You're thinking of decapitation...".

Jacob realized how foolish he sounded and played it off. "Ah, right. I knew that."

Dex beeped from inside Jacob's bag, "Nope."

Jacob gripped his bag, "SHUSH!"

Aries returned her attention to the current situation. She didn't like the idea of attacking the Ursaring, considering it was all a big misunderstanding. She worriedly grabbed one of her Pokeballs from her bag and tossed it high into the air. “Mareep, let’s shock them!” she shouted.

Aries’ Pokeball shot open and sent out a bright light with little sparks of electricity. The light collided together and formed a small, yellow Pokemon beside her.

Jacob groaned, "Ugh, another one?"

Dex beeped from inside Jacob's bag, "Mareep, the Wool Pokemon. Mareep stores electricity inside of its wool,. The can then expand the wool to release it," Dex informed.

Jacob nodded, "Good old Dex, always there for me," Jacob commented sarcastically.

Aries leaned forward and commanded nervously, “Use Thundershock!"

Her Pokemon nodded and charged itself with electricity.

The two raging Ursaring shot their claws out and filled them with intense energy, running forward to attack the sheep.

“Mare-Mareeeeeep!!” Mareep shouted, sending forth a thin strip of electricity that shocked the two Ursaring and stunned them. Mareep landed besides Aries and looked around, happy to be out for a battle.

“Beldum, use Take Down and Larvesta, use Stringshot!” Russo commanded.

Beldum blinked its eye and shot forwards, surrounding itself with bright orange energy. It collided with the first Ursaring and sent it flying onto the ground beside the worried, third Ursaring.

Jacob forgot the third Ursaring was around. He noticed it was watching the Teddiursa worriedly.

Larvesta shot a thick, sticky string from one of the shoots on its neck and tied up the second Ursaring.

Aries didn't want to hurt the Ursaring, so she decided it'd be best to make them fall asleep. Hoping her Mareep could put them to sleep instant, she commanded "Mareep, use Cotton Spore!"

Aries’ Mareep blew its wool up into an immense orb of softness. Mareep then made orb burst, sending out little specks of cotton at the group of Ursaring.

The Ursaring began to grow drowsy and slowed down.

Mareep, Larvesta, and Beldum looked to be exhausted from battling, but their trainers could feel something strange happening.

"You guys feel that?" Aries noted.

Russo looked around, "It feels like the energy in this place is... being sucked away."

Jacob pointed at the third Ursaring, the passive one. "Look!"

The Ursaring's eyes had glossed over and an ominous red aura had enveloped its body.

Teddiursa grew scared and ran behind Aries' legs, shielding itself.

Mareep narrowed its eyes and darted to the side as the Ursaring jumped and swiped at it with lightning speed.

Ursaring missed and created a large gash in the ground from the force of the swipe.

Jacob felt Aipom climb onto his shoulder for safety. "What's happening?" he asked.

Dex beeped on once again, "Ursaring's ability is Guts. Whenever afflicted with a status condition, Ursaring gains a massive increase in Attack and Defense."

Aries pat the timid Teddiursa on its head. "Don't worry, it'll be okay."

Teddiursa looked up worriedly, it's eyes filled with the terror of watching its parents fight to get it back.

The Guts Ursaring charged up another Hyper Beam.

Russo looked over at Aries, "Hey, girl! Can you stop that thing, my pokemon are wiped!" he asked.

Aries nodded and clutched a second Pokeball in her hand, but Jacob stopped her. She looked over and watched as Jacob stepped forward.

Jacob clenched his fist, ready for battle. "Don't worry, it's our turn!"

"Ai-pa!" Aipom shouted in agreement.

Russo and Aries shrugged, accepting that maybe Jacob could do something about the situation.

“Aipom, use Double Team!” Jacob commanded as Aipom propelled itself forward with its tail.

Ursaring fired off its Hyper Beam but Aipom dodged by creating it's double team copies at the last second, surrounding Ursaring with dozens of fake Aipoms.

Jacob felt the rush of the battle, "We have this in the bag! Aipom, use Iron Tail!"

Aipom nodded and propelled its copies forward, coating its tail in a shiny, metallic coat and swinging for a final hit.

Ursaring quickly countered by raising and smashing both its hands into the ground with immense force, getting lucky and hitting Aipom straight down into the ground and creating a poof of dust.

As the dust settled, Aipom was revealed to be laying on the ground, knocked out by a single Hammer Arm.

Jacob felt his face go numb, "Aipom!!" he shouted in horror and ran straight towards Ursaring.

Aries and Russo gasped, "Jacob!" they shouted in unison, trying to get him to stop.

Suddenly, two figures darted in and out of the scene, stopping as they arrived between Aries and Russo.

The group looked back and smiled as they found their savior!

"Halt! In the name of the Pokemon Center Association," Nurse Joy began, co*cking her glasses and holding a KO'd Aipom in her hands, "I will cure you!"

"Cincinno!" Cincinno called out alongside its trainer.

"Nurse Joy!" the group exclaimed happily.

Nurse Joy adjusted her labcoat after it slid off her shoulder, "It's alright everyone, I can take it from here. Cincinno, use Secret Power!"

Cincinno quickly leaped forward and sent out a pink pulse across the terrain. Small pink tentacles rose from the ground and tapped each Ursaring on the nose, instantly sending them to sleep.

Teddiursa cried out happily, running forward toward its mother. It stopped and bopped her on the nose, but received no response.

Nurse Joy walked towards the unconscious Ursarings, handing Aipom off to Jacob, and then proceeded to give each Ursaring a Chesto Berry.

Suddenly, all of the Ursaring woke and looked around, noticing Teddiursa instantly. The Ursaring became overjoyed to have their baby Teddiursa back!

LATER THAT DAY...

Nurse Joy exited her exam room with all the Pokemon that Jacob, Aries, and Russo had used in battle, plus the Teddiursa and Ursaring. “I’m proud to say all of these Pokemon are going to be just fine!” Nurse Joy announced cheerfully.

Jacob smiled and hugged Aipom happily, “Awesome!”

Russo and Aries returned theirs to their Pokeballs, ignoring that Jacob kept Aipom out.

The Teddiursa yawned and began to fall asleep, exhausted from the long day it had experience.

The mother Ursaring picked it up and began cradling her child, happy that it was now safe and sound.

“It’s amazing what you all told me. How those Ursaring risked everything to save their little Teddiursa. The power of family is a wonderful thing,” Nurse Joy remarked.

The Ursaring family then departed the center and made their way back towards the forest, with the mother Ursaring turning back to wave at the trainers.

Jacob continued smiling as the group watched them disappear into the dark green brush and moonlight. He turned around and looked at Nurse Joy, “How were your sisters?” he asked.

Nurse Joy smiled, “They missed me it seems. I missed them too,” she chuckled and blushed, “I’m glad I could just hear they were okay though. It's nice to hear that even though you aren't with your family anymore, they are still able to live.”

Jacob smiled and looked over at Aries who was beginning to depart the center as well. He ran over and stopped her from leaving.

Her eyes widened, “Hey, What are you doing?” she asked. Her arm was clutching her pack tightly.

Jacob could see her knees had true bandages wrapping them. Jacob looked her in the eyes, “Where are you going? It's dark out, you can't except to just wander around outside and not run into some scary ghost Pokemon.”

She stuttered, “I... I have a journey.”

Russo walked up from behind her and stood next to Jacob. “Well, that's cool and all, but it's kinda stupid to go out at night. What's your goal then, since it's so important that you feel the need to leave right this second,” he asked.

She looked at the two boys, “What? My goal?" she looked at them and thought to herself. She never really had a goal. She looked around and saw all the pictures of Nurse Joy with healed Pokemon decorating the entrance of the Pokemon Center. "I... suppose... I'm a breeder! Yeah, I'm going to become a professional Pokemon Breeder person."

Jacob and Russo smiled and looked at each other. They could tell she made it up but they decided to roll with it. “Alright little miss bre-” Jacob began.

Aries quickly smacked Jacob across the face, "DON'T CALL ME LITTLE MISS, PAL!" she interrupted but stopped and covered her mouth in shock.

Jacob and Russo stood there in silence.

Jacob looked at Russo and whispered, "Well now I don't wanna ask her!"

Russo shook his head dude, "Dude. She hit you. So what? I punched you last night to the point that you were knocked out and you're chill with it?" he replied.

Jacob stood there silently, "You what?"

Aries cut into their conversation, "You boys were going to ask me something?"

Russo ran around her, “We both talked it over while you were getting bandaged up” he said.

Jacob let Aipom climb onto his shoulder, “And we WERE thinking that, if you wanted to, you could travel with us,” he offered.

Aries’ expression went blank, “Y-You want me to travel with you? But I barely know you guys.”

Jacob and Russo looked at each other and laughed. “We barely know each other either, but we’re traveling together! You smacked me though, so I'm seriously reconsidering,” Jacob replied.

Aries looked at Jacob, trying to understand what he was. She then did the same with Russo. Finally, she smiled, “Alright… But you gotta listen to me and my directions!” she said. She walked over and passed the two boys, heading to check into a room for the night. As she reached the desk, she lowered her head and smiled, glad she was no longer alone.