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Marcel walked excitedly through the town, happy to be out in the open air. He had seen many neat looking stores, including one that sold art supplies. Using the money that his foster mother had given him, he bought a pack of discount paintbrushes. The brushes now bumped and clinked around in the Thermos that the boy had on him all the time. Everywhere. As he strolled down the street, the boy kept one hand on the container packed snugly in his large coat pocket. Marcel had the Thermos with him everywhere, and he planned to keep his Pokeballs in it once he got a Pokemon. If he got a Pokemon.

Marcel watched the signs and stores slowly whiz past as he walked aimlessly through the markets. He longed for someone to talk to, even if it had to be a stranger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a middle aged woman stroking a Persian while sitting on a bench. Marcel grinned and strolled over to her. "Hiya! Your Persian is really cool-lookin'!" The woman simply looked down at the boy and frowned. "Young man, where is your mother? Are you lost?" Marcel fingered the Thermos in his pocket. "Nu-uh. I'm not lost. My Janee knows I won't get lost or anythin', so she lets me go wherever I want." He nodded as if this was a matter of fact. The woman merely stood up and walked away from the child, muttering about "irresponsible parents," leaving Marcel all alone. Again. Sighing and looking back to gaze at the woman's beautiful Persian, Marcel trudged along in his too-big shirt, his too-big pants, and his too-big coat, fingering the Thermos in his pocket.

Marcel walked past the tent, but stopped as he heard himself being addressed. He looked around, confused, when he saw the woman at the tent. She was much taller than Marcel was (of course, Marcel was only eight, and even then, he was short for his age), and she has long green hair, which Marcel thought peculiar. But what really grabbed his attention was the woman's Deliberd. He had seen a Deliberd only once before in his home of Johto, so he was elated.

Without warning, he rushed up to where the Deliberd was propped on the woman's lap, sat down, and took out a small sketchbook he was carrying with him. Reaching for his Thermos where his pencil resided, Marcel regarded the woman. "Hiya! Your Deliberd is really cool looking! I've only ever seen one other Deliberd before when I was back home in Johto. That's where I live. Me and my Janee went near Mt. Silver one time when we were hiking, and we saw one, and it was so cool! It looked a little like yours, but without the weird marks and stuff. We also saw a wild Sneasel there, too! It looked really cool, but when I ran to it, it ran away. I think it was a baby. But yeah, and another time, me and Janee went to this Bug Catching contest thing and it was so much fun! Janee is really good at catching bugs, and she really likes them, too, and another time..." As Marcel droned on, he was busy frantically sketching the Deliberd.

Marcel looked at his drawing, then at the Deliberd. He was doing pretty well so far, but one of its feet was lopsided. Irritated, Marcel scraped at the drawing with his eraser and went to work once more. He pushed a bit of his messy, tangled brown hair back behind one ear, only to have it fall in his face again. Marcel grunted and pulled to hood on his coat up over his hair, hoping to keep it out of his face.

"Yeah, maybe. But it looked kind of thin and stuff, too, so maybe it was kind of hungry. Thinkin' about it, I'm hungry, too? Do you have anything I could eat? My Janee says I shouldn't take food from strangers, but I used to do it all the time before Janee 'dopted me, so I know when people have good food and when they don't and stuff. There was this one time when Janee and I had a really really big lunch, and I felt so stuffed I couldn't walk! My name's Marcel, by the way. Janee says it's a French name, but I don't know what that is. What's your name?"

Marcel stopped drawing and looked at the woman curiously. "You're name's Steve? But you're a lady! That's kind of weird, but I like it. I don't think I've ever met someone named Steve before, but I like it! It could be short for Steven, or Steve-HAN, or Steve-a-roony-roo-roo or something... But I don't think Steve-a-roony-roo-roo is a very good name? Do you like it? I think it's weird!" Marcel laughed, stood up, and without a word, walked over to the soup pot. He picked up a small bowl and a spoon and started ladling the soup in.

"I had soup like this before back in Goldenrod City. There was a really really really big soup line, but you had to pay to get some. When I got to the man serving it, he asked for the money, but I said I didn't have any, and he asked where my mom was, and I said that I didn't have one, so he gave me some soup for free! He was really nice. After that, I went to the.. the Gym place, and I saw some really cool Pogeymon there and it was so COOL! I sketched a Houndour that was there and it was really big and it took down a big ol' Gengar in one hit! It was really really neat!"

Marcel sat down by the woman named Steve and sipped his soup. It was a bit bland, but it was definitely better than the food they ate at the orphanage. He looked to Steve with a mouthful of hot soup. Nuh-uh. I don't have a Pogeymon yet. I really really want one though. I really want an Eevee though! That would be so cool! And-and... And I would name him Clyde." Having said his part, he went back to sipping the soup, almost spilling it a few times in the process.

"My Janee has a lot of Pogeys. They're all Bug Pogeymon. My Janee loves them. She has a whole hive of Combee and a Vespiquen, and she has a little Spinarak too, and she has a really big Butterfree she calls Sugar. She's really pretty and she's pink, too! Janee says she's a shiny Butterfree, but I don't know what that means."

Marcel frowned, trying to think. "Well, I've seen some pictures of normal colored Butterfree in my big book of Pogeymon, and they're kind of purple-y, and Sugar is bright pink. I think that it's, like, some kind of coloratio' thingy or something. I don't know." Marcel turned away for a second, staring off into the street.

"I wish I could have a shiny Pogey. A really cool one like the ones I've seen in my book. Like maybe a shiny Wooper or Phanphy. But what I really want is a shiny Eevee. That would be so cool... And I would name him Clyde..." He trailed off, longing shining deep in his eyes.

Marcel smiled as he looked back at the woman named Steve. "Mmhmm. I won't battle with 'im so much... I'll more just draw and travel with him. My Janee says that I should be a breeder, but I don't know. If I would be a breeder, I would have a lot of Pogeys, but I wouldn't be able to go places as much..."

Marcel looked at the green haired woman thoughtfully. "Yeah, maybe. I'd like to travel all over the world. That'd be fun. But I'd have to get something to see my Janee with. Maybe I could get a Pokegear when I'm older. Janny won't let me have one right now cause she says I'm too young. But yeah." The young boy adjusted his long gray coat and and stood up to get some more of the soup from the pot. He started talking again while ladling the soup in.

"I guess I could breed some Pogeys, then I could bring 'em with me and stuff, but I don't know. Maybe I could have, like, two or three, and then I could go places and breed on the go or something. I dunno." Marcel finished ladling the soup in his bowl and sat back down near Steve. "Do you only groom Pokemons? Cause Janee says that I have really messy hair and she always wants me to get it cut, but I don't let her cut my hair cause she's really clumsy with scissors and sharp things."