Oh! Hello there.

Bet you never thought you'd see this coming in your inbox, eh?

But don't think I'm fully coming back to this story yet. Read the ending Author's Notes to learn more at the end of the chapter.

Thanks. Now, onto the third chapter!

Chapter 3: Pick Your Favorite

Cold… cold ground…

The ground is cold… I can't… see much around me…

I see… I see a man. Holding a baseball bat in his gloved hands.

My head is sore. I'm… lying on my side.

My focus on entirely on the man standing before me…

Suddenly, he speaks up.

"Now, see here… if you wake up, you will come find me." the man says.

"I will be waiting. Team Paradox will be counting on it. The challenge of Arceus will be solved by us. With, or without, your help."

With that, the man leaned down to my face. I couldn't see any part of his face… my eyesight was fading too fast. All I could make out was a black mask-like object visible on his face.

And slowly, I passed out.

…

Seconds later…

As if a bucket of cold water was just dumped on his head, Cameron quickly sat up straight in bed, panting hard. His face was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

He… he just had a really bad nightmare. One about… about…

He couldn't remember any details. It was as if he forgot about it just as fast as he saw it.

Wait… one memory was surfacing. A… man… a man wearing a mask of some kind…

Slowly, Cameron took several deep breaths to calm down. What… what WAS that?

He slowly closed his eyes and tried to calm down.

Suddenly, a very faint snore nearby got his attention. Empathy, his tiny Ralts companion, was sleeping soundly next to him, clinging to his wrist like it was a stuffed animal.

Memories of last night suddenly flooded his memory. Having a great meal with Rose and Aster, Empathy and Ruffles play-fighting together, stuff like that.

The thing he most remembered, however, was that Empathy didn't start sleeping next to him. Cameron was sure that he made her a comfy bed out of a pillow and a pillow case last night. Guess Empathy made her way to sleep next to Cameron's side instead.

The way she cuddled next to him, it almost looked like she was content with his warmth alone.

Cameron would've found it rather cute, had he not just had that disturbing nightmare about the room. Where on earth was that? And did it have some correlation with his missing memory?

Questions aside, he pulled out the 'Dex from his pocket and checked the time.

1:28 a.m.

"Man… that's really early…" he complained softly. He really didn't want to fall back asleep. He was one of those people that, no matter how they try, usually wouldn't be able to get a nightmare out of their heads once they wake up from one in the middle of the night.

He was almost afraid of seeing the same images in his mind replay over again. But… in a strange way, he DID want to see them. They were, after all, a part of his missing memory. ANY fragment that he could retain would be useful, no matter how small or frightening.

Sighing, he grabbed a small towel on the nightstand next to him that Rose had placed there for no particular reason and wiped off his face. Thankfully his pillow wasn't all sweaty, but still, it wasn't exactly the greatest feeling in the world, going to sleep all sweaty-feeling.

He gently tried to pick up Empathy, but she squirmed and tried to burrow herself deeper into the bed, and by extension, Cameron.

"*sigh*... suit yourself." Cameron mumbled, closing his eyes. Empathy was just being Empathy. She'd wake up tomorrow and get all embarrassed at seeing herself hugging Cameron, and probably never do it again out of embarrassment.

At least, that was the idea. And so, with Cameron slowly trying to forget the nightmare, fell back into another deep sleep. This time, when he fell asleep, he wasn't greeted by the dark area again. Only a calm, dreamless sleep.

By the time he was to wake up, he would forget the nightmare entirely…

A few hours later…

Empathy was the first one to wake up of the two. She slowly rubbed her half-hidden eyes and slowly tried to stand up, yawning.

She did so, but her ascent was kinda… steep. She couldn't imagine why.

At least, not until she looked around. She looked behind her, seeing just what was making the hill.

Cameron. He was still asleep, laying on his side. He was pushing down the bed where he lay, making a sizable hill in the soft mattress. Empathy started to blush profusely, quickly realizing where she slept last night.

She quickly climbed up the bed to where it was level again and sat down on a small pillow nearby, her face slowly burning. She never remembered falling asleep next to Cameron, so she somehow must have made her way there while unconscious.

She slowly started to think about Cameron. Although she couldn't understand much about his problem, his memory loss, she did understand that he wasn't happy about it.

That made her rather sad. She wanted to help him get his memory back, but… she barely came up to his calf. How can she help?

As she sat there thinking, Cameron's body slowly stirred, like he was waking up. Empathy watched him slowly roll onto his back, then carefully opened his eyes.

Cameron yawned deeply, stretching his arms out a little to wake up. Soon enough he sat up, which was what Empathy was waiting for. She gently chattered at him, as her way of saying 'Good morning.'

Cameron glanced over. "*yawn* Morning, Empathy…" Cameron managed, still a little tired. "How'd you sleep?"

Empathy blushed a little, not making complete eye contact. Cameron quickly remembered last night, how he found her clinging to him as if he was the pillow.

He smiled at her a little. "Awww, it's okay…" he cooed, patted her head between the horns gently. "You adorable little thing."

That only caused Empathy to blush harder, and she absolutely couldn't look at Cameron out of complete embarrassment.

Soon enough, Cameron stood up and changed out of his sleep clothes. His bag contained a second outfit, a simple T-shirt and thin long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and a red cap.

Cameron felt much better, especially since the bathroom Rose and Aster had a complete shower, stocked with everything. Even the nozzle for said shower was six inches above Cameron's head, which was amazing.

(Seriously, if you are a tall person, then you UNDERSTAND THIS PROBLEM. Almost NO showers on EARTH are tall enough for us, but when they are, it's the greatest thing in the world.)

Anyway, after the quick shower and change, Cameron reentered the bedroom and sat down on the bed next to Empathy. Empathy gently bobbed up and down next to him, asking without asking to be picked up.

"Alright, alright." Cameron mumbled softly, lifting her up under the arms. She soon was placed in her normal spot on his shoulder. "Happy up there?"

Empathy chattered happily at him in agreement.

"Heh heh heh." Cameron chuckled. "Now, let's see about getting something to eat, eh?"

Cameron wandered out of the bedroom and stretched, yawning to shake away the last ounce of sleep in him. Rose was already awake, now wearing a flowing green dress, behind the counter. Her straw hat was on the table nearby. She seemed to be making a large breakfast for everyone.

"Morning…" Cameron mumbled, popping his back and taking off his hat. Empathy chattered in greeting as well.

"Oh! Good morning~!" Rose sang, bowing to the two happily. "I'm making breakfast right now. How many eggs do you want, Cameron?"

"Umm… three. Scrambled." Cameron responded, sitting down at the counter. "Do you need me to do something?"

"Nope. You just sit there, I'll make the food for you." Rose replied.

Empathy climbed down Cameron's arm and started walking around the counter, mostly watching Rose cook very curiously.

Eventually, once Rose finished cooking, another door was heard opening, and Aster stepped out, a long, fat-ish case in his hands.

"Ah. Good morning, everyone." Aster greeted, sitting down next to Cameron.

"'Morning, brother!" Rose greeted. "I made your favorite!"

She slid two plates of mouth-watering food in front of the two men, looking proud. She even slid a smaller plate full of more food just for Empathy, which made her very happy.

"Thank you, Rose. This look really good." Cameron commented.

"Well, don't just let your eyes drink it in. Eat up! Gotta have your strength for the day, right?" Rose explained, moving around the counter with her own plate.

Breakfast was a very enjoyable affair. Everyone ate as much as they could, filling everyone up with perfect food. Small talk kept going around the counter, about the latest news and such. Honestly… it was a really good feeling, for Cameron, to be sitting here among friends. Just enjoying a good meal, chatting… it was great.

Ten minutes after everyone sat down, all plates were cleaned off fully. Even Empathy managed to eat every last bite of food Rose gave her, and she looked really, really satisfied.

"That was great, Rose." Cameron complemented, helping in the cleanup process. "That was a really good meal."

"Heh, that's nothing." Aster butted in, a smile playing on his lips. "Give her a campfire, a few vegetables, and a pot, and she'll make the best stew you've ever eaten in your life."

Rose started to blush hard at the compliments. "I-I'm not THAT good, I swear… I'm not a chef, after all."

"You could open a restaurant with that kind of food." Cameron persisted.

"Thanks, but… I'm still not that good. I prefer being out there and interacting rather than, you know, cooking." Rose insisted, shyly holding her purse and glancing away.

Cameron chuckled, then turned back to Aster. "So, you said that I should meet with that Professor Redwood, right?"

"Exactly." Aster agreed. "In fact, last night I made a call to the Professor, and he said that he's staying in town there for a few months, so you should have plenty of time to see him."

"Well that's good to hear." Cameron mumbled thankfully. Empathy seemed to agree with him.

"In fact…" Aster continued, patting the case he had with him. "He also gave me a gift. See, the professor seems to think that you have the markings of a fine Trainer. So, he asked me to do something for you."

Cameron tilted his head. "What's that?"

"He sent over this last night." Aster explained, opening the lid towards himself. "Said that you'd get to pick your favorite or something."

From inside the fat case, Aster pulled out three Pokéballs, and set them in front of Cameron. "He got these from a study done in the Hoenn region. Told me that we'd each get to keep one."

Aster pressed all three buttons at the same time on each ball. From inside each, three very different Pokémon burst forth.

The one on the left was like a very smart lizard creature. It had a roundish nose and yellow eyes, and it's skin was green, save for the reddish midsection.

The middle one was a red bird creature that resembled a cute baby chicken. The major features were the plume of feathers on it's head that looked like a tiny little fire and the yellow feathers around the neck.

The last one, the one on the right, was arguably the cutest, at least in Cameron's head. It had blue skin and orange cheeks, marking where its rather large mouth ended. Unlike the other two, it stood on all fours. The eyes were beady, but they still looked adorable and oddly intelligent. The most prominent feature, however, was the large blue fin on top of its small head.

"Oooh! A Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip?" Rose asked, her eyes shiny, filled with stars. "I've always wanted at least one!"

(Okay, I gotta interrupt here. I KNOW I'm using a lot of Hoenn Pokémon. Reason being I, uh, played a lot of Omega Ruby right before I started working on this story, so if I do use them a lot here, give me time. I promise I'll branch out with other gen Pokémon.)

"Cameron, would you like first pick?" Aster asked.

"O-oh, no, I couldn't-" Cameron started.

"Go on, Cameron. You pick!" Rose agreed, stepping back.

Cameron looked between the two of them, then glanced at Empathy. She nodded.

"*sigh*... alright, alright." Cameron gave in, looking at each Pokémon carefully.

It was kinda obvious that they resembled a sort of element. If Cameron had to take a WILD guess, he'd assume the Pokémon were Plant, maybe Grass or something, Fire, and Water, respectively.

"Hmmm… well, if I am to take one…" Cameron hummed, scratching his chin a little. The Pokémon on the table stared back at him curiously.

The Mudkip in particular seemed especially focused on him than anyone else. It watched him with its beady eyes, and tilted its head curiously. It almost… appeared to smile at him.

'Awww…' Cameron cooed in his mind.

"Okay… I choose… Mudkip." Cameron finalized. He reached out and picked up the little creature in his arms.

(I've always been a Water-type fan. Don't judge.)

For a moment, it looked around him a little bit, then looked back up at the human's face. It seemed to smile further at him, pipping at him happily.

"I think it likes you!" Rose giggled happily.

Cameron couldn't help but grin. The Mudkip now seemed to be pawing gently at his chest, definitely smiling now.

Aster didn't say anything, but he too seemed to be slightly smiling.

Rose turned her attention to the remaining two Pokémon, thinking hard. "Hmmm… I choose… I think I choose Torchic… yeah, definitely Torchic!"

She gently pet the creature on the head and held out her other arm for it. The Torchic slowly took a step forward, then hopped onto Rose's arm and sat there, seemingly comfortable.

Aster nodded, like he already knew which one he would get. "I suppose that leaves Treecko for me." he mused, holding out his arm like Rose. Treecko gently pawed at his hand, then slowly scampered up to his shoulder, seemingly content.

'Hmm… I guess ol' Mudkip here will need a name too, huh…' Cameron slowly thought. He tossed his mind around, trying to think of a good name.

Then his PokéNav buzzed. Cameron gently set his new Mudkip down, then pulled it out and once again hit 'PokéDex.'

Mudkip's entire profile was laid out before him. The device said a few things, like how Mudkip was a male, (which was good to know now before the whole nickname thing) and gave him a brief profile of Mudkip.

He tucked his device away. "Hmmm…" Cameron hummed.

Rose glanced at him. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, just trying to think of a good name for Mudkip…" Cameron mused.

Rose offered, "How about Skippy?"

Cameron turned the name over in his mind. It seemed to work a little. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to work.

"Yeah… yeah, that'll work." Cameron slowly agreed, looking at his new friend. "You like that name buddy? Skippy?"

The Mudkip seems to think it over for a moment. It pipped at him happily moments later, and Cameron took that as a sign of approval.

"Skippy it is, then." Cameron grinned, rubbing Skippy's head around the fin.

Soon after, Cameron shouldered his bag, ready to head out. Rose had decided to name her Torchic, 'Beaky,' and Aster named his Treecko, 'Evergreen.'

Skippy had already decided that it wanted to simply follow after Cameron rather than stay in his Pokéball, which was okay with Cameron. No harm in it, right?

Cameron started to head for the door, saying, "Rose, Aster, thank you so much for giving me a place to stay. I'll make it up to you guys somehow, I promise."

Aster shook his head. "Come back here when you're stronger, and when we do battle, that'll be enough for me."

"And besides! I'm going for a journey myself." Rose explained. "That way, I'm gonna travel the world AND get to hang out with you along the way."

Cameron grinned. "Well… then I guess we should be off."

Aster walked them to the exit of the Gym. "I hope you'll come back soon. I look forward to battling with you, Cameron."

Cameron agreed, and together, he, Empathy, Skippy, and Rose headed for Veranda Town's exit. Just as they arrived there, Rose turned to Cameron and exclaimed, "Oh, this is so very exciting! I can't wait to go and see the world!"

Cameron couldn't help but smile at her. As they entered the route, labeled 'Route 101,' thought occurred to him. "Exactly how far away from Veranda Town have you been, Rose?"

Rose thought about it. "Not any farther than the major city here. It's through this route, past another town, and through a really, really big, long forest."

Rose bounced a little on her heels. "Professor Redwood giving me Beaky is proof that he wants me to go and explore the world! He was kinda like a grandfather to me."

Cameron glanced over. "What about your parents?"

Rose… stopped moving. "They… they live in another region. We… we've been living here for years now, but… they always say that they can't come to visit."

Cameron was shocked, and, frankly, a little peeved. What parent in their right mind would not only A) decide that their own children should move alone to a completely different region, but also B) never show up in person to meet them sometimes?

He was close to voicing these thoughts when Rose caught the look on his face. "O-oh! N-no! It wasn't like that! They just thought… well, they figured that I would be happier here in Vapaus. And it was partly Professor Redwood's idea too!"

That made Cameron feel a little bit better, but he was still a little ticked. "Still, they should've arranged to see you and your brother sometimes. You guys are awesome."

Rose blushed a little. "Thank you, Cameron… that's very kind of you to say that…"

They continued their walk in silence, until Rose thought of something. "Ooh! I just remembered! I have a friend that I want you to meet in the next town! I'm gonna go run ahead and tell them! I'll meet you there!"

Rose ran off ahead. Cameron watched her disappear over the next hill.

He suddenly had a thought… where were HIS parents? Surely they were worried about him. How long had he been knocked out? How far away was home? Did he even HAVE a home?

He shook his head gently, trying to clear it. "Well… guess we should follow after." he murmured.

He, Empathy, and little Skippy at his feet soon rose over the crest of the hill. Before them was a rather quaint pathway, almost like a park. Several people, from Veranda Town (and the second Town, Cameron assumed) were milling about, either looking through the tall grass around the place, chatting with a friend, or simply enjoying the day.

One little boy in particular, probably not even ten years old, was standing in front of Cameron, tossing up and catching his own Pokéball. He was standing at attention at the very front of the path, seemingly in wait.

Something about that stirred in the back of Cameron's mind. A saying floated into his mind, 'When two Trainer's eyes meet, a battle will follow!'

He paused. Where had he heard that?

He glanced ahead at the little boy. He still hadn't noticed Cameron yet. "Skippy… you'd better be ready to go." he murmured. Skippy seemed excited.

Sure enough, as soon as Cameron tried to walk past the boy, the boy called out, "Hey, mister! Let's battle!"

Cameron had a feeling that even if he really wanted to back away, he couldn't. Besideis, it didn't feel right to turn down a battle. The one he had with Rose yesterday was undeniably intense and, well, rather fun. Not to mention that if he really wanted to take on the Gyms, he'd need to build up his team a LOT.

So he turned towards the little boy. The Youngster prepped and then threw his Pokéball in front of him a-ways, and out popped a small, brown bird with a lighter crest, and what looked somewhat like eyebrows, making it look rather angry.

Cameron looked down at Skippy. "Alright Skippy! You're up!" he instructed. Skippy was delighted. He charged ahead and stopped ten steps away from the bird. In that time, Cameron had already ID'd the opponent, which was called a 'Pidgey.'

"Pidgey! Use Peck!" the Youngster called out.

The Pidgey dashed forward quickly and pecked directly at Skippy's face. Unfortunately Skippy didn't move out of the way quick enough, so he was hit with the full force.

Thankfully, he didn't look anywhere close to falling at the time. Cameron called back, "Skippy! Use Tackle!"

Skippy obeyed, charging forward and slamming into the Pidgey with his entire body. The Pidgey didn't seem to have very good defenses, as just that almost wiped it out.

The Pidgey stood, rather dazed. The Youngster called out, "C'mon Pidgey! Use Sand Attack!"

Cameron yelled for Skippy to dodge just as Pidgey started to kick the ground. Skippy just barely managed to skirt out of the way as a cloud of sand enveloped where he had just been.

Cameron called out for Skippy to tackle one more time. The attack landed true, and the Pidgey quickly fell, returning to the Youngster's Pokéball.

"Dang! I knew I should've trained more…" the Youngster complained, tucking the Pokéball away. The Youngster then reached into another pocket and pulled out a small amount of pocket money. "Here. You won, fair and square."

Cameron tried to deny. "No, no, it's fine, I don't need to take-"

"It's a rule. If you lose, you have to give the winner some of your money." the Youngster told him. "It's been that way for as long as Trainers have been around, don't you know?"

Cameron, almost reluctantly, took the money, a small amount totalling forty-eight Pokémon Dollars (or 'Pokéyen' depending on who you talked to). He quickly tucked it into his wallet, then continued on his way.

The journey through the rest of the route was rather enjoyable. Cameron had several battles with the Trainers along the route, mostly Youngsters, chatted with several people, and strengthened his bonds with his Pokémon by battling some of the wild ones along the way.

By the time Cameron finished Route 101, Empathy and Skippy were a tad stronger than before. Not incredibly stronger, but definitely noticeable.

The group of three left Route 101 and quickly found themselves at the entrance to another city. The sign outside it read, 'Cloro Town - Plants aren't the only creatures growing here.'

The town was very much alive. It was slightly bigger than Veranda Town, but seemed a bit more residential. Perhaps that's why the two towns were so close together, one was more for work, and the other was for people who wanted to live away from that.

Possibly another reason for it, though, was that there didn't seem to be any Pokémon Center here. In fact, the only building that didn't look like it was residential was a smaller building made of ornate marble or something. It seemed like a small museum, but it wasn't open at the moment.

Cameron looked around, but there was no sign of Rose in the immediate vicinity. "Hmm… Rose must be around here somewhere…" he mused quietly.

He entered the town, looking around for any sign of Rose. Nothing jumped out at him…

Suddenly, Empathy noticed something. She chattered at Cameron. "What's wrong?" he asked, glancing at her.

Empathy pointed at the building that looked like a museum. The door was now open halfway. Perhaps they were open now?

Cameron jogged over to the building, and poked his head in. The building was empty. "I don't get it. What did you see?" Cameron whispered to Empathy.

Empathy looked around. Something was off here. She was sure she saw-

Suddenly, footsteps came from further in the building, coming from the nearby stairs. A voice came floating down from it, slowly becoming easier to hear. "...ank you so much for the generous donation, Mr. Henrick! We appreciate it very muc-"

A person was coming down the stairs, but stopped the moment they noticed Cameron. The person in question was dressed in a form-fitting outfit, mostly black but with purple details all over as well. The person also wore a black mask that covered the forehead but stopped just before it passed the tip of the nose. On their chest, there was a light purple-white design that was shaped like a swirl going inward, with a giant darker purple P covering part of it.

"Halt! Who are YOU?" the strange man asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Cameron leveled. "Who and what are you doing?"

The strange man stretched his arms out from his sides, then put them in a way that made him look like a letter P. "I am a member of the fearsome Team Paradox! And that is all you need to know! What, did you think this was a video game, where everyone tells you exactly what they're doing?"

It was at that moment that a random rock-like object fell from the man's back pocket, clearly put there hastily. It looked expensive, and judging by the way the man fumbled with it, he hadn't had it very long.

"Did you STEAL that?!" Cameron asked ludicrously.

"Bah! That old man upstairs doesn't need it. We at Team Paradox need it much more! Now, I'll ask you once to get out of the way before you regret it." the Grunt growled.

Cameron stood in the doorway defiantly. "Not a chance." he stated, Empathy chattering in agreeance.

The Paradox Grunt grunted, then pulled out a Pokéball. "Then prepare to regret that choice!"

Empathy quickly climbed off of Cameron's shoulder and leaped to the ground, just in time for the Paradox Grunt to throw his Pokéball in front of him.

Out of the Pokéball came a purple cat-like Pokémon, with green eyes, white body markings, and two pink marks above the eyes. Cameron's PokéDex identified the Pokémon as a 'Purrloin.'

"Empathy, use Confusion!" Cameron shouted.

Empathy did so, but when the pink waves surrounded the Purrloin… nothing happened.

"W-what?" Cameron weakly questioned.

"Purrloin, use Scratch!" the Grunt instructed. The cat obeyed, dashing forward and raking its claws against Empathy.

"Empathy… maybe you should switch out…" Cameron intoned, motioning for Skippy to take her place. Skippy excitedly jumped forward, trading places with Empathy.

Another round of Scratch, and then it was Skippy's turn. Skippy quickly charged forward and tackled the Purrloin, doing solid damage. Purrloin reacted by growling at Skippy, lowering his attack.

Skippy wasn't going to back off that easily, however. It took a few more turns, and the battle was teetering dangerously close one way or another, but finally Skippy got lucky with a critical hit, ending the battle.

"N-no way…" the Paradox Grunt mumbled, shocked.

Quickly, he ran at Cameron, but it was not out of anger. It was more of a 'I'm-getting-the-heck-out-of-Dodge' run. Cameron quickly stepped out of the way, and the Paradox Grunt soon was gone.

"Well… that certainly was something." Cameron murmured, looking back. He suddenly saw on the ground that orb the Grunt had been looking for. In his haste to leave, the guy had missed the orb falling out of his pockets once again.

Cameron picked up the small orb. Nothing seemed perfectly special about it, save for it's rather shiny quality. Perhaps it was a pearl of some kind?

Just then, footsteps quickly pounded down the stairs again. This time, a man in a brown suit and messy gray hair came down, looking quite winded.

"Oh, thank goodness!" the man, who Cameron assumed was Mr. Henrick, exclaimed. "Young man, thank you. That rapscallion stole something very precious to me, and you got it back for me."

Cameron handed the orb back to Mr. Henrick. "Who was that? And why did he want that?"

Mr. Henrick tucked the orb safely into his back pocket before looking back at Cameron. "You don't know? That was a member of Team Paradox. They're the biggest group of Pokémon Trainers in the entire Vapaus region. Lately, though… they seem up to little good."

"What do you mean by that?" Cameron asked.

"I don't know much about the history about that group… you're better off asking someone else. As for he wanted this… it's really just a personal memento, worth quite a lot to the right buyer, not much else. I'd imagine that they wanted it to help fund whatever antics they plan on carrying out." Mr. Henrick explained.

"Mm…" Cameron hummed. "Now that I think about it, Paradox does sound somewhat familiar… for what reason, I can't remember."

"It's a good thing you showed up when you did. I've never been much for battling or whatnot." Mr. Henrick admitted. "But the least I can do is help your team recover."

To punctuate that statement, Mr. Henrick pulled out a spray bottle Cameron now knew to be a Potion. "Here, let me see your Pokémon…"

One quick refresher later, and Cameron's team was good as new. "Thank you, sir." Cameron thanked. "We'd better get going, we're supposed to meet someone here…"

"Do come back some other time. I find good company very hard to find these days." Mr. Henrick intoned, following Cameron to the door.

"I'll try. Have a good day, Mr. Henrick." Cameron said with a wave.

Cameron and his team headed further into the town, searching for any sign of Rose. However, Cameron was partly preoccupied with thoughts of who that Paradox guy was.

'Paradox… that name seems SO familiar, now…' he mumbled in his mind. 'But why?'

He soon dropped the subject. He didn't to find much concern in the group right now. The only thing he knew they weren't above doing was petty thievery. Surely they were nothing more than a poorly organized, misguided attempt of thugs.

Eventually, Cameron spotted Rose nearby. She was looking around at the residential buildings, seemingly sad.

"Oh! Cameron. Sorry I ran off on you like that, I just wanted to find someone beforehand…" Rose explained. "But they seem out right now, and I can't find them…"

"Ah, it's no big deal, right?" Cameron asked.

"I guess not… I still really wanted you to meet him, though." Rose murmured, downtrodden a little.

Cameron gently pat Rose on the back. "Oh well, not much you can do for now. Best we can do is continue on our way, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. Come on, the exit is this way." Rose stated, leading him towards what definitely looked like an exit.

One that lead right into a forest.

"Oh yeah, didn't you say the way to the final town was through this forest?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah, this area is rather short…" Rose murmured. "Other than our Small Gym and the city up ahead, there's not much else that's really interesting in these parts…"

Cameron pat Rose on the back. "Hey, come on. You and Aster were pretty amazing. That's interesting to me."

Rose smiled a little, blushing. "..."

The pair soon entered the forest. A sign at the entrance read, 'Evergreen Lane.'

The moment the group entered, the area seemed to just darken immensely. The canopy of trees were so big, they almost completely blotted out the sun.

"Woah… this place is…" Cameron murmured.

"Yeah, this forest is dark." Rose agreed. "Don't worry, Trainers and sight-seer's have walked through this woods so much, they've carved a natural path through the place. Just go that way and you'll be fine."

She pointed towards a gap between two particularly large trees. Indeed, a dirt pathway that seemed well-used was clearly visible even from here.

"Let's go!" Rose stated happily, before starting to walk.

Suddenly, Cameron's arm shot out in front of her. "Woah! Hold it!" he hissed.

He had glanced off to the side, and he could've sworn that on a less-traveled pathway…

He saw that Paradox guy he ran into earlier. His head was down, and he looked rushed. He dashed further into the thicket, quickly disappearing from view.

"What?" Rose whispered.

"I… I think I just saw someone… someone not very friendly." Cameron murmured.

Empathy nervously chattered in agreement.

"Who?" Rose whispered again.

"Ever heard of Team Paradox?" Cameron asked.

"...the name sounds familiar, but… I can't place anything on it." Rose admitted.

"Well, I ran into a guy while I was looking for you. Worked for them. Tried to steal an old man's possessions, and would've done it had me and my team here been there." Cameron explained quickly.

Rose's eyes widened. "Really?"

"And I could swear I just saw one of them headed in that direction…" Cameron whispered, slowly starting to walk towards them.

Rose quickly grabbed Cameron's arm. "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna confront that guy about stealing the older gentleman's belongings. Try to deal some justice, if I can."

Rose looked at Cameron as though he was genuinely crazy. "That's insane! You have no idea what's beyond those trees! You could get lost in there!"

"I'll be fine." Cameron insisted. "Worst case, I just have to climb a tree to get my bearings."

Rose tried to picture Cameron, a grown man taller than her, trying to climb a tree. It didn't feel right. At all.

"*sigh* Are you SURE you wanna go that way?" Rose asked one more time.

"Positive." Cameron responded.

Rose slowly took a deep breath, and then nodded softly. "Then I'm coming with you. You don't know this area. The least I should do is come along with so that you won't get lost all alone in there."

Cameron eyed her slowly to see if she was serious, but eventually muttered, "Thank you."

And slowly, they traveled together into the twisted branches...

Okay, lemme get something straight here. No, this does not completely confirm that I'm returning to this story, far from it. I just had this chapter sitting on my computer for so long I slowly started tackling it in bite-sized pieces.

Like I wanted to say, this doesn't mean I'm COMPLETELY letting the story hang out to dry. I just didn't think, and I still don't think, that I can handle a Pokémon story as of this moment.

I wouldn't expect much of anything on this for a while, at least not until I decide to fully commit to it, and that likely won't be for quite some time. I do like this story, believe me. I just am not as confident that you guys would like it or I could write it as well as my other stories on this site.

So… if I post anymore chapters after this, and it's not one of those author's notes chapters I write every now and again, please don't automatically assume I'm going to be writing more regularly on this story. Besides, if you've read my stuff before, you know my version of regular is a bit… long.

Anyway guys, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter nonetheless. Thanks for reading!

Until next time guys…

Stay awesome! =D