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As much as he hated to admit it, he did feel better. It was a huge weight coming off of his shoulders. He leaned back, hating that puffy, swollen-faced feeling after crying. "How did you do that?" he asked, closing his eyes for a moment, and trying to regain his usual cool demeanor. "I just told you that I don't cry, and yet, all you did was hug me..." he trailed off, realizing that Mike and a Breloom were standing right beside them. He chuckled, getting to his feet and brushing off his pants, holding a hand out for Kasiya. No one's ever been able to do that to me before. She manages to break down my defenses, just like that, almost everytime, he thought, completely ignorant of Portabello's ability to read minds. Is this what happens when you love someone like that? It's like a Brick Break to a Light Screen...

You humans and your inability to act always confuses me. Portabello said to Keegan, rolling his eyes. Well, Master wasn't much different, he had difficulties of his own courting that charming Gym Leader from your town. After his little enigmatic speech to the red headed boy, the Breloom sat down. I trust I am not to reveal your thoughts on Mistress Kasiya to her, am I right?

Mike snapped back from his little hypothetical nightmare of Nitro being taken away by the sound of his friend's troubled voice. "Uh, yeah! Yup, that's right." He said with a slight stammer. "We both do rock don't we?" After a cough, the boy regained his usual cheery exterior, giving a thumbs up to all three of his friends. He looked around, finally breaking the silence. "So Kasiya, Keegan," Mike began. "I was wondering...would either of you like to go with me to Hoenn? I heard Kilik's dad was an expert in fossil Pokemon and kinda wanted to see if I could snag an Omanyte." He looked hopefully at the two trainers. "Would you like to join me?"

Kasiya watched Keegan and Portabello for a moment. "Watch what you think around him, he can read minds," she giggled, patting the loveable Breloom on the cap.

"Fossils?" Kasiya asked, putting a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Yea, I want to go too! Fossils are an interesting subject! And Omanyte are so cute," she added. "I've read about them, and I also know for a fact that they do fossil regeneration on Cinnabar Island. I'm sure they'd be able to regenerate any fossils we bring to them into living Pokemon."

Having thanked Portabello for his understanding, Keegan made a face at the mention of Verdanturf Town. "Ah, yes, Verdanturf. I once had to take a Wynaut egg all the way there from Lavaridge." He paused, remembering the scenery he'd witnessed while in the small town. "Let's see... lush green grass, fresh air, clear blue skies. Quite wretched when you're so used to the sulfuric aroma of a nearby volcano," he chuckled, certain Mike would agree. "Looks like I'll be riding with you, friend," he said, shrugging. "I lack both the proper badge and a Pokemon capable of carrying me anywhere." He watched Nitro for a moment, and grinned. "Say Nitro, gotten any better at those landings?" he asked coyly, recalling a rather spectacularly bad landing the duo had made in Lavender Town just before the festival.

"Yuck." Mike stuck out his tongue at the mention of Verdanturf's atmosphere, mostly out of fun though, a change of scenery was never bad. Kasiya's antics always made him smile, and her adorable Pokemon fits were no exception. He laughed at Keegan's question, reassuring him there was nothing to be afraid of, most of the time. Helping his friend up, Mike brought up his map and surveyed the Johto area. "Let's stop in Goldenrod, it's the perfect mid-way point where we can stop." He looked back at Fang, who had most certainly grown. "Let's make this interesting..." He said under his breath, recalling Portabello.

"Hey Kassie!" He cried out behind him, tapping Nitro on the head. "Race you to Johto! Hold on Keegan!" The boy kicked his Pokemon's sides, and instantly Mike and Keegan were in the air. Nitro smirked as he saw his friend's shrink in the distance.

"I'll hold you guys to that," Keegan said, already holding on for dear life. He'd never flown on a Pokemon before, just the manmade contraptions known as helicopters and planes. Hearing Mike's demand for a race, the redhead held on tighter, bracing himself as Nitro's powerful wings took them into the air. "You don't want to..." Keegan trailed off, already knowing how this was going to end. He knew how fast Crobat were, and Fang was no exception. Daring to look around, Keegan marveled at the view from above. While differing greatly from Hoenn, the Kanto landscape was still a breathtaking sight.

Out of the corner of his peripheral vision, he could make out a blur of green. Yes, it was Fang, and Keegan waved back as the Crobat passed them effortlessly. Keegan could only chuckle. "Pwned."

Akane walked back to the study with her cereal bowl in one hand and a glass of chocolate milk in the other. She never got to eat cereal like this when she was at home - her parents thought it was junk and waste of a good nutritous meal. Twinkers was following her carrying a small bowl of her own cereal (without any milk). Twinkers happily ate her sugary cereal on a chair next to Akane's, at least until she was all done. Akane was too engrossed in reading up on the various Pokemon that could be hers, crossreferencing their known locations in an Atlas and writing down the names and locations of those that interested her, to pay any attention to her small pink companion.

Twinkers quickly got bored and left Akane to her reading and decided to see what she could find to amuse herself in the mansion. Now where was that Skitty she was playing with yesteday?