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"Nina..." he repeated, holding her hands a little tighter, "You have my trust. I know now," Kilik gulped, "That you're truely sorry for what you did." Flareon approached the couple, sitting next to Nina's leg and running his cheek along her calf. The boy looked down for a moment at his Pokemon, then to Nina once more.

"Know that I trust you. As for Mike," he looked over his shoulder at the other trainer, "Well, it may take more time for him." He patted her hands gently and smiled.

Nina's eyes darted around for a moment before becoming fixated on the ground. After what felt like forever, she finally replied, "...Thank you, Kilik. I appreciate that." She let go of his hands and took a half-step backwards, as she felt strangely uncomfortable.

"I, um... meant to tell you something else," she said. "I went home to visit my parents and tell them the news and whatnot... And they said that they already knew. They also went on to say that it would be most befitting if I were to... take over Sabrina's place as Saffron's Gym Leader." She let out a half-chuckle. "Me," she said, "a Gym Leader. Can you believe that?"

Thankfully, both of their 'hats' made the rain alot less severe, though Portabello had a little bit of an advantage, for his 'cap' never could blow away in the wind. That being said the two had to backtrack a few times to catch the blasted thing. Portabello usually had a better time chasing it, but his lack of long arms made it a little difficult to snag it without using his mouth. Plus, Mike tripping him every time never helped.

After that little game they reached the train station, dragging in a mass amount of mud and water. The duo got a few choice looks from the other people, making a few comments of the kid and his Pokemon covered in mud. Mike and Portabello merely smiled at each other, sitting down and waiting for the train to arrive. "Time for some more company." Unclipping a Pokeball from his strap, he released Napalm. The baby Pokemon flapped his arms, a little smoke poofing out of it's beak.

Portabello patted the Magby with his tail gently, noticing the seeds and his bumps looked similar.

Kilik looked at her and shook his head. "If you don't want to run the Gym, then don't," he explained. Flareon hopped up onto his shoulder, licking his cheek playfully. "Do what you want. That's what I think," he nodded, scratching Flareon behind the ears.

"I think it's time to get some more moves for you lovely Pokemon." Mike said leaning backwards in his uncomfertable chair. His back hurt, and he couldn't wait to get on the nice comfy seats of the train. He looked over, Napalm balancing on Portabello's head, causing him to chuckle a bit.

A few minutes passed, as the boy and his Pokemon tried to amuse themselves while the train took its sweet time. Finally he heard the sliding doors open and got up, Portabello hopping after him. The Magby hung on to the Grass Pokemon's tail, bouncing up and down as he walked.

Mike flashed his ticket and boarded the train to Lavaridge.

The boy placed his hands behind his head and smiled. "Well, looks like we'll be fellow Leaders, then." He nodded. "I originally set out to defeat the Champion and topple the Pokemon League. But now..." he closed his eyes, imagining himself at the head of a Gym (Viridian Gym came into his mind), "now I think I want to be a Gym Leader."

The mud on his clothes had long since dried, and was crumbling off as he sat on the nice warm train. He took off his hat, which was surprisingly clean, and shook the wetness from his hair. Some stray drops landed with a sizzle on Napalm, the fire Pokemon waddling up and down the aisle waving at one man in a suit. He had a wrinkled face and a large white moustache. Peering out from his newspaper, the old man smiled and reached down to pet the goofy Pokemon.

"Well my my, what have we here? You look just like a little Magmar." Napalm cooed gleefully, climbing onto the man's lap. He looked down with a warm smile, his aged face making for a particularly disarming demeanor. "I used to be a Pokemon trainer in my day..." Looking out the window, a wave of nostalgia took over him as he retold the days of his youth to the young Pokemon. Every now and then he'd make a silly face to imitate a Pokemon or person, Napalm flapping his arms in joy. "Ah yes, all I've got now is my Growlithe. You'd like him, he's a fire Pokemon too."

Mike snapped back into reality, looking around for his Magby. Seeing him all the way on the other side, he hurried over to the gentleman, reaching for his Pokemon. "I'm sorry sir! I hope he didn't interrupt your reading!" He bowed respectfully, the man letting out a labored laugh.

"No worries sonny! None at all." He reached out a wrinkled hand, "You've got a splendid Pokemon here, he is a good listener." Napalm flailed around proudly at the compliment as Mike gently picked him up, shaking the gentleman's hand.

"Thank you, I'm sure he just loved your company. My name is Mike, nice to meet you sir."

The old man nodded, glancing over at a sleeping Portabello. "My, they do seem to be getting more and more diverse, is that a mushroom on that Pokemon's head?" He chuckled. "My name is Albert, it is nice to see some youngsters these days have manners."

"Thank you," The boy smiled at the comment, looking over at Portabello. "You must not be from Hoenn?" Mike set Napalm down, who hurried back to the seat and sat next to the well dressed old man.

Lavaridge never seemed to be affected by rain, at least anything noticeable. The ground made welcome 'thap' noises as he walked, the dry earth another characteristic Mike enjoyed about his hometown. "It's so good to be back!" He took in a deep breath, the clean volcanic air filling his lungs. "Time to go shopping!" The Mart just around the corner, the boy dashed forward, Napalm still in his arms.

He entered the Pokemon mart, quickly making his way to the TM section and waving to the shop keep. Flipping through the myriad of colored discs, Mike looked for a certain fighting move. "Let's see, this one for Xanthos, and finally one for Beacon! He'll be happy for that one." He picked two brown tinted discs, moving to the deep purple section. "TM29...that's yours Napalm!" The Magby wriggled around happily, excited for his new move. "Aaand Flamethrower for Felsic and we're done!" He brought the four discs over to the counter, the total being an intimidating $10,000. Much to the cashier's surprise the trainer quickly pulled out just that much, with $1000 to spare.

Following the transaction, Mike went outside and released Xanthos, Beacon, and Felsic, setting Napalm down on the ground.