20 minutes of awkward, painfully casual conversation could not make up for three whole years: Tyler knew that. But it both broke (and overjoyed) my heart to hear him try. "I'm really sorry, Lucy." He said at last, in a regretful little voice that I could barely hear. "I know I shouldn't have just abandoned you like that. You were never a bad friend- it was my fault for just...just..."

Tyler wasn't good with words or emotion at ten years old, and he sure as hell wasn't now. I almost had to smile. Almost. "It's fine, Tyler." I said, a bit stiff. I couldn't forgive him yet for leaving me without a single call in all this time- for ignoring all of my calls and messages and desperate pleas for him to forgive me...for him to understand. He had wanted to become a pokemon master. I wanted to be a lawyer. When I had refused to come with him to Professor Elm's lab for our very first pokemon, Tyler had stormed out of town without so much as giving me his poke-gear number (which I eventually weaseled from his mother). After years of being my neighbor, classmate, and best friend for all of our childhood, Tyler had thrown all of it away to focus on his dream. I followed suit- after a year of vain hope, I forever deleted his number from my phone.

And here we were.

"Your mom called me a few nights ago." Tyler said casually. Chikorita looked at my fingers in alarm as they contorted around my cellphone, scratching at the thick black-plastic case with sudden, growing rage. "Oh really." I murmured in a monotone. "So she told you." I'm going to kill her. I thought to myself, almost sanely. I just couldn't believe this. My own mother, betraying my feelings to gush about my new pokemon to an ex-best friend. What was she thinking? Or had she even at all?

I could almost hear Tyler smiling on the other end of the phone- he was currently in Olivine City, taking a few nights to rest in the local Pokemon Center. "How's your Chikorita, Lucy?" He asked. I could just imagine the smirk on his face..."Your mom says he's...well. She's said a lot about the little guy."

"Chi? Chik Chik Chik..." Chikorita babbled, staring curiously at my phone. He had heard his name, and now he was interested. I gently battled to keep him off of my lap and his leaf away from the cheap plastic to avoid a disaster. He huffed, irritated and offended at being pushed away, and sat on the couch beside me with the determined little glare I had come to know so well. 'Sorry, boy' I mouthed, pointing at the cell (not that he would even understand). Keeping my voice in control, I strained to stay as nonchalant as possible. "I guess that's why you're calling me, then." I didn't so much as speak as growl (so much for nonchalant...). If he had gotten my hopes up all this time that he had really changed and could be a mature person for at least a half hour...for nothing...

I didn't know how to think about the end of that sentence.

Tyler sighed. "That isn't the only reason, Lucy." He murmured passively. "I honestly was looking for an excuse to call you again...and this is as good as any. I was really happy to hear that you got a pokemon too, though, you know? It's really exciting!"

I was about to retort something back at him when I was reminded of my audience- from the corner of my eye, I saw a little leaf twitch expectantly. So, with a tiny sigh of defeat, I nodded. "Yeah," I replied, smiling a bit. Chikorita had instantly perked, his scarlet eyes wide with praise. I had really underestimated his hearing..."It's...it's not too bad."

"Of course!" Tyler laughed. "Chikorita's are awesome. Why wouldn't you have a great time with him? I mean, besides you not wanting to train one in the first place. I love my Croconaw to pieces, but I've always wondered what it would be like to own a Chikorita-"

I was about to smile...before I froze. Mentally, fragments of thought shot wildly into my mind, causing the room to spin. My face grew hot. "Did...did you say you have a Croconaw?" I asked quietly. My voice was no louder than a pitiful squeak.

"Uh-huh! Started out as just a little baby totodile...man, I almost miss those days. He had a lot less...uh. Attitude, back then."

Chikorita, immediately sensing my fear, perched himself on my lap again to stare intently at my face. I was too stunned to push him away, instead lost in my own thoughts.

Three whole years. I thought in a daze. It's been three whole years, and Croconaw hasn't evolved to his final form yet.

Just how long did evolution take?

"Um, Tyler." I managed to ask, playing with Chikorita's leaf in my hands. It was slightly sticky, and a powerfully sweet smell spread around the room, particularly on my hands. I could still smell the spicy undertone. I concentrated on it to keep myself from hysterics. "How long did it take for your totodile to evolve, exactly...?"

Tyler paused, thinking about it. "Huh, I dunno...about a month, or two?"

I looked down at Chikorita. A month or two. That wasn't so bad. I gave him a reassuring smile and let go of his leaf, which he immediately began to swing at me with curious little cries of "Chi? Chik chik ri-" as if asking me what my problem was. I grinned. Tyler, obviously hearing our little exchange, chuckled. "He sounds pretty energetic!" He commented. "Most chikorita that I've meant have been a bit on the slow side..."

A tiny puff of prickly, sharp leaves down-poured over my cellphone. I cleared my throat. "Ex-nay on the Ita-ay..." I hissed into my poor, often abused cell. I wasn't the best at taking care of technology, and Chikorita wasn't helping. Tyler got the message, promptly adding that all Chikorita were different, and that for the most part, they were a highly intelligent species. Chikorita was pacified.

"So, anyway, Lucy..." Tyler said at last. I got the sense that this was what he had been waiting to say all night, past the apologies and catching up (though those were probably the most important). "I was wondering, about after I challenge Jasmine...if you'd like to meet up again. I could either stop by, or meet you half way, or something..." He suddenly was very cautious and shy. "I mean, if you want. I could totally understand if you didn't, but..."

Playing with a crack in my cellphone's case, I tried to sound as neutral as possible. "That'd be cool, I guess..." I began to wonder. Was it really okay to see him again? I knew that he was sorry, and even in this short amount of time, I had almost forgiven him...but I knew that things weren't just going to return the way they were, just like that. People change. As much as I wanted to meet with Tyler again, to talk to him in person about all of the little things we had missed...the prospect was a bit scary. He sounded so much the same...and yet an entirely different person. This wasn't the hyper, immature Tyler I had played with in the sandbox. This was...

Well, just who was he?

"You should definately call me after your gym battle, Ty." I held out a hand to Chikorita, offering him a high-five. He eagerly smacked my hand with his leaf. I wondered if he had better strength in it than in his legs...they were pretty stubby... "You said you were challenging Jasmine in Olivine, right? How long would that take?"

Tyler exhaled, now completely at ease and returned to his slightly-cocky self. "Ah, Jasmine's gonna be a piece of cake." I could almost- no, I could see the ego-ridden smirk all over his face as he pictured beating this gym leader in one shot. "I can't wait until you meet my Houndoom! He's amazing. You have no idea the amount of training I put into that guy...I bet he could eat your Chikorita for an appetizer! God, is he a beast. I'm so proud of him..."

I sighed, once again holding Chikorita back from annihilating my phone. "Yeah, sure." I muttered. It was hard to be enthusiastic with an angry little grass pokemon crawling all over you, bristling with rage. "I guess we'll just have to see."

Tyler chuckled. "Yeah, we will. I think I should be done with Jasmine in a few days, if that, so stay on standby, okay Lucy? I'm really looking forward to seeing you again. Maybe we could meet in Cherrygrove, or something...hey! I could even escort you back to Olivine with me! The pokemon in this area would K.O you and Chikorita in a single shot, but it'd be worth a try..."

What was with him and taking shots at my Chikorita? I was having enough trouble keeping him from destroying my phone as it was. "Uh, right, Tyler. Why don't I leave him in a room with you and see who knocks out who first? I think you'd be pretty interested." "Chichichichichichi!" Chikorita vehemently agreed. Oh boy. Was he expecting a match? I really hoped not...

"Definitely, Lucy. You just wait and see. I'll call you in four days, at the very most. And that's just the worse-case scenario. Okay?"

I smiled in spite of myself. "Yeah, okay Ty. See you."

He laughed. "Bye!"

I stared at my phone for a few moments, trying to understand the passage of time just crossed in half an hour. Technology was amazing. Smiling at the highly flustered, revenge-hungry little pokemon in my lap, I picked him up and gave him a quick (and I couldn't stress this enough, when I say quick) hug. Chikorita stared at me, incredulous, before twirling his leaf above his head in what I assumed was a cheer of victory. It would have been fine, except for the sweet and spicy pollen now sporing all over my couch. I sneezed.

Chikorita winced, then scuffed his tiny feet on my lap before walking away with his head held high, reminding me that I had just ruined the moment. I sighed.

Maybe some things changed, and maybe others never would...

Hey peeps! I consider this a bit of a filler chapter, but it's sort of supposed to explain a few things...I hope I did alright with that. There are a loooot more questions I'm going to do a better job of answering later. Reviews are appreciated...you know, if you want...

Thanks for reading guys! =)