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"Not sure," Mike replied bluntly, making an uncertain gesture. "I figure I'll snag some potions if anything, because I rarely use them. Maybe a new TM." He scratched his head, trying to remember what moves his Pokemon actually knew. He remembered looking them up at Fuschia City, but he just couldn't recall them. "Man," the boy said annoyed. "This would be so much easier if I actually had a Pokedex." Mike began to wish he actually took the effort to see Birch before starting his journey. So much for preparation.

After a decent length of walking the two made it to the main gates of Lilycove City. The scenery was breathtaking. A massive city on the edge of a cliff face, overlooking a dazzling oceanic view. The Department Store and Contest Hall loomed over them, a monument of civilization to be sure. "Ah, it's been so long since I've been here." Mike said with a happy intake of fresh ocean air. If he recalled correctly, the Pokemon Center was on the outskirts of town. Looking around, he spotted the trademarked red roof and beckoned for his friend to follow. He then made a dash to the Center, feeling the need to mix around his team a bit.

After entering the Pokemon Center, Mike placed Felsic, Portabello, and Xanthos' Poke Balls in the care of Nurse Joy, holding Titanium's in hand as he made his way to the PC in the lonely corner of the room. "Time for you to take a break buddy." The boy said to himself as he placed the Steelix's Ball in the transporter. Mike could almost sense his Pokemon's sadness as he brought up Napalm's icon from his mother's PC. "I know I know Titanium." He said in a comforting tone, taking the Steelix's ball from the transporter and taking a good look at it. "It's just, you're so strong! I don't want to completely pulverize my enemies. Gotta give em' a fighting chance right?" He rubbed the Poke Ball, shooting a smile at the Pokemon inside. "Plus, we want little Napalm to get big and strong so you can have a fun sparring partner right?" With those words, Mike could feel Titanium calming down, and he gently placed the Steel Pokemon's ball in the slot and activated the transfer.

As Titanium was zapped away, the memory of when he first captured him flashed through his mind. His energetic Shellder ripping into the Rock Tunnel with his Surf attack, and Titanium just an Onix. "That was one of Shiver's first battles, and one of my first captures." The boy let out a sigh as Napalm's Poke Ball materialized in front of him. He picked it up, it was warm. "Mmm." Mike grinned, walking over to the desk where his Pokemon were waiting for him, fully healed. "Sweet. Thanks Joy!" As he went to put Xanthos back, he thought once more about that little shellfish back home, then back at the Ultra Ball. He's been doing great lately, so I think a little break will be good for him, even if he doesn't want to rest. He briskly made his way back to the PC, logging back on and putting the Crawduant's Ultra Ball in the slot. "Besides, I haven't seen this one in a long time." He sent a trade request for his Cloyster, smiling when his mother sent the OK. After another successful transport Shiver's Poke Ball was dropped into the tray. Mike snatched it up with a soft chuckle.

Clipping his Pokemon to his strap, the boy exited the Center and met up with Kilik. "Sorry if I kept you waiting."

"Well, in case you forgot, I was born here in Hoenn." Mike stated, looking at Mt. Chimney on the horizon. "Lavaridge to be exact." You could barely see it off in the distance, but the smoke helped. The very act of saying that brought him a sense of tranquility, a feeling of belonging. He wondered what Flannery was up to at the moment. "But I suppose in response to your question I just needed a break from Kanto." Even though the battle against Maorde happened a couple of hours ago, he felt as if it was some distant memory, one he'd like to erase. "Too much happening at one time for my taste really. Bad vibes." The boy shrugged, somehow he always found himself in drastic situations. Granted, coming here of all places was no better. He looked on to Mt. Pyre, a place he was all too familiar with, a place he wish he never ventured to. The bad memories began to slowly creep forth from the darkness of his mind, and it made him feel uneasy. "Long story short, I guess I just wanted a change of scene-"

Just then he heard a loud rustling from the bushes. Nothing, just the wind. Mike told himself, citing the rainstorms off in the distance as the reason. Then another rustle, this one closer and louder. Something was in there. Mike jumped up, reading himself for whatever lie in wait. Was it a wild Pokemon? Team Aqua? He tightened his fists and yelled to his companion. "Kilik, get back!" His tone was serious and commanding, Mike was certainly on edge. The noise got closer closer, stray leaves from the greenery broke off and fluttered lifelessly to the ground as the boy prepared himself.

"Cacneaaaa." Sputtered a weak voice before a crumpled mess of leaves and sticks rolled out from the bushes. "It's a Pokemon!" Mike shouted before rushing over to see what was wrong. He quickly bent down, carefully picking off the leaves to see what it was. "A Cacnea?"

Wait. Something wasn't right. What was a wild Cacnea doing here, this isn't the desert. The boy thought. Then a chill ran down his spine and his stomach lurched. He'd seen this Pokemon before. An image of bright pink hair and the spunky girl it belonged to flickered into his mind. "This is Prickles!" He turned to Kilik, a look of fear written on his face.

"Somethings happened to Sasha!"

Mike ran over to the bushes, rustling through them in hopes to find Sasha. No luck. "s**t! Okay Kilik, another long story short," Mike started, fumbling for Portabello's Ultra Ball. "Sasha was this girl I met a few weeks back, nice girl, spunky, you'd like her." He released his Breloom and asked him to pick up the injured Pokemon.

Oh my Master! Portabello said with astonishment. That's Mistress Jennings Pokemon. Prickles was it? The Pokemon was obviously flustered, and frantically looked around for the trainer but also found nothing.

"I know Portabello, now go take him inside now!" Mike shouted, an audiable tone of fright was in his voice. Without another word the Breloom extended his arms slowly and lifted the injured Cacnea up to his chest. He swiftly but carefully made his way inside the Pokemon Center.

Mike sat there on his knees, silent and motionless. He stared into the bushes, hoping the girl would come fumbling out. "Sasha , what have you gotten yourself into." He said under his breath, letting his head hang low for a while before standing back up. He turned to Kilik with a demeanor most serious, a side he rarely showed. "Kilik." Mike started slowly. "If this is what I fear has happened, then we could be in real trouble here. I won't hold it against you if you back down." Mike put his hand on Kilik's shoulder, staring at him, waiting for his answer.

Elekid merely watched as the cactus was taken away by the mushroom. The plug could feel the uneasiness in the air and it certainly frightened him. However, he clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes, running to his trainer's side. He patted him on the leg. "Ele!" was all he said. Through the fear, Elekid needed to be brave. How would he become stronger if he was afraid all the time?

Kilik took a moment to take in what Mike had said then looked down at his determined Elekid. What was Mike afraid of? What could've happened to this Sasha that is so terrible? He closed his eyes in thought. Kilik could feel the breeze pick up a bit. His hair had finally dried and it felt nice when it flowed in the wind. In his mind, Kilik could see everything he'd taken before: Infiltrating the Rocket Base in Celadon, going almost undetected through Silph. Rescuing his Scyther from Team Rocket. Going toe-to-toe with Maorde. Kilik let out a rather heavy sigh.

He moved back a bit to slide Mike's hand off his shoulder. However, he caught the boy's hand as it fell and gave it a squeeze, holding it up between them. "I've tackled plenty before, Mike. This is just another challenge to overcome," he nodded with a smirk. "You've got me."

Ryka.

Jaeshan felt for a split second that his heart had stopped, and he slammed his fist into his chest as though it would make it start beating again. He hadn't heard a word from Ryka in weeks, so naturally seeing that he'd received a message from her was something incredible. He opened the email and read it over quickly, looking up as his trembling hands turned the device off before putting it back into his pockets. It didn't say much on how or where she was, other than that she was doing fine and that she had a surprise for him and that he should get to the Pokemon Center in Petalburg as fast as he could.

Several possibilities of what could be waiting for him went through his mind as he picked up his pace, ignoring any other person he met on the road. Could she be there waiting for him? Did she have something for him? He didn't know, but he couldn't wait to find out. A young girl of about twelve or so caught up to him, huffing as she tried to make her strides keep up with Jaeshan's much longer ones. Jaeshan cast a sidelong glance down towards her but said nothing; he only continued his blistering pace down the path.

"...So where's the fire?" she asked, most of the words coming between puffs of breath."

"No fire. Just in a hurry," Jaeshan responded quickly, but then realized fully what she'd said. "I'm supposed to get to the Pokemon Center in Petalburg City," he told her, slowing down a bit as she was struggling to keep up. "I just want to get there."

"Oh," came the soft reply, and the girl sighed, looking like she was deep in thought. "I guess you have no time for a battle then."

Jaeshan stopped just then, chuckling a little as the abruptness of it made the girl keep going for a few more steps. "Well, I'll tell you what. Once I'm done at the Pokemon Center, I'll battle with you. Sound good?"

"Sure!" she said excitedly. "How long will your... thing take?" she asked, adjusting her baseball cap slightly. Her long brown ponytail trailed down her back, swishing back and forth with each step.

"Dunno," Jaeshan said honestly, starting to walk again. "But, patience is a virtue... uh... eh?" he said, gesturing towards her to get her to tell him her name.

"Oh, heh, yeah. My name is Kirstie," she said, nodding. "And you are...?"

"Jaeshan. Nice to meet you," he said, picking up his pace a little. In truth he really didn't want to battle at all, but it was rather rude (and unorthodox) for a trainer to turn down a challenge. He didn't think the girl would be a very tough opponent, given her age, but it wasn't that he was cocky or overconfident - he was certain she was still fairly new to the world of Pokemon training.

At long last the city of Petalburg came into view, and Jaeshan increased his pace even more. "Ryka..." he murmured, heart racing with anticipation.

"Got it." Mike answered, perking up as Nurse Joy brought out Prickles from the infirmary. "Will he be okay?" He would feel awful if the poor Pokemon wasn't going to make it. Thankfully, Mike's fears were not realized, as the Nurse responded with that kindhearted smile that could halt a raging Gyarados. He could hear his heart kick inside his chest. Or was that something from the next room?

"He'll be fine." She gently let the Cacnea settle on the counter top. "But you should be more careful young man!" Joy's tone suddenly sounded very serious, something that threw Mike off guard a bit. "You shouldn't let your Pokemon get this hurt before deciding to take it here!"

The boy waved his hands defensively. "Wait, wait Nurse Joy!" He called out, laughing nervously. "This Cacnea isn't mine. It's my friend's, and we found it outside badly beaten." His gaze lowered to the floor. "I think my friend is in serious trouble."

"Oh!" Joy gasped, suddenly feeling quite guilty. "I'm so sorry I accused you of such things. I just get so angry at the trainers who are, well, you know." She cleared her throat, and scuttled back into the ward to avoid any more embarrassment.

"Alright," Mike turned his attention to Portabello. "Now that that's settled, P.B., I want you to ask Prickles what happened, and where we can find Sasha!" Lifting himself from his meditation, the Breloom made his way to the counter and began speaking to Prickles. A few minutes went by, the two Grass Pokemon speaking in their own dialect. After what seemed like forever Portabello turned to his trainer.

Master, he says that he doesn't know where Sasha is. But he told me what the two men looked like. The Breloom glanced over at Prickles, who was lightly tapping the counter top in a mixture of guilt and frusteration. He feels like the whole matter was his fault.

"Oh. Well, that's better than nothing I suppose," Mike sighed, never in his life could he expect a simple answer. "Okay, spill it."

Portabello asked the Cacnea one more question in Pokemon speak, then returned his gaze to Mike. He said they had blue heads with black and white striped bodies.

Even with the bland description it was enough to remove the last bit of uncertainty from Mike's mind. His worst fears had been imagined.

"Team Aqua..." The boy clenched his fists. It appeared those awful memories were going to resurface whether he liked it or not.

"You could say that." Mike turned to face his new partner, crossing his arms. He wore a very pensive expression, and seemed distracted. He recalled Portabello, thanking him for the translation, then knelt down to Prickles. "I'm not sure how well you remember me buddy, but I'm going to help you find your trainer." The Cacnea's eyes lit up at the mere thought of seeing Sasha again. "But I'm going to have to ask you to stay here though, where it's safe. I don't want anything to happen to you while we are off on this mission."

Prickles stature drooped, he felt unneeded, just like when those crooks kidnapped his trainer. "It's not like I think you aren't up to it, I just want to make sure that you're safe and sound when we bring her back!" That wasn't good enough for Prickles. The Cacnea stood up straight and stared Mike right in the eye. It was a frighteningly understandable gaze. The boy knew just what was in its eyes. It was the same fire he felt when one of his own friends were in danger, when he felt there was nothing more urgent than the safety of someone else, even if it disregarded his own. "Alright." Mike nodded, as did Prickles. "Let's get to work." The boy then stood up and spun around, now eye to eye with his friend. "Kilik." Mike raised his fist, clenching it tight. "We're going to attack the Team Aqua Headquarters and rescue Sasha."