A/N: It's been quite awhile, and I'm sorry about that. Thank you so much for your patience! This chapter is the longest so far, and I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you to Sophie for beta work.

She opened her eyes abruptly, trying to figure out what had woken her, and was only mildly surprised to feel that she was pressed against Klaus, the sleeping bag and thick blanket blocking any actual bodily contact.

Despite that, his breath was hot and even against her neck, one arm thrown over her waist, and she carefully wriggled away, pleased when he didn't wake. She felt incredibly embarrassed about the night before. It wasn't normal for her to need comfort, and she felt strangely weak for it.

Yes, she had a crush on Klaus, but she didn't want to act on it, she decided as she moved back to her own tent to dress. They were just going to stay friends. It would be easier that way. She'd been warming up to him, and he didn't deserve the hot/cold routine, but she couldn't let herself jump into a relationship with him.

She needed to focus on winning the Pokémon League, and to do that, she needed no distractions. Klaus was helpful to have around camp, and she had started to genuinely enjoy spending time with him, so she wasn't using him.

She just didn't want to get into something that they couldn't go back from. At this point, none of her childhood friends were speaking to her, which was part of why it was such a relief to get out of Pallet Town. She knew that deserved better than shitty friends who didn't care about her, and Klaus had been the only one to really stand by her, despite their slightly antagonistic relationship (at least on her side).

Him standing by her during that whole fiasco was a huge deal to her, no matter how reluctant she'd been to admit it. Bonnie and Katherine had chosen Elena over her, and losing two of her friends over a boy had been a huge blow to her confidence.

It had hurt.

She'd vowed to herself that day that she'd never let a romantic relationship get in the way of her friendships again, and despite Klaus's potential as a romantic partner, he was also her friend, her only friend left, the only one who cared enough to choose her, to put her first, and losing him would hurt more.

It wasn't even that he was the only one left, really. He was smart and funny, and he had a way of pushing her buttons that she just couldn't get angry over. He wasn't like Elena, where you had to walk on eggshells to make sure you didn't say the wrong thing. He wasn't judgy like Bonnie and didn't say hurtful things and pass them off as a joke like Katherine... It was nice to have a friend that she didn't have to check herself around.

She couldn't lose that. Not now.

And maybe, just maybe, when this whole Pokémon League thing was over, once she had that trophy (because she wouldn't accept any other outcome), things could be different.

Maybe they could have something.

For now, though, they had to stay friends, and that meant no flirting, no touching, and absolutely no accidental-on-purpose cuddling.

She took a deep breath, finger combing her hair and slathering on deodorant, walking out to see Enzo sitting by the fire, flipping an egg onto a plate. "Do you like yours runny or solid?" he asked, cracking another egg onto the skillet.

"Umm. Either way's fine," she said, sitting next to him. "Thanks."

"No problem, gorgeous."

She shot him her best 'Are you serious right now?' look and huffed, crossing her arms, but he just smiled. They sat there in silence for a while, the only noise in the air the crackling of the egg cooking.

"He obviously likes you."

"Yep."

"And you're not subtle about fancying him either."

"Nope," she said calmly, not bothering to deny it.

"Are you going to act on it? Because if so, I'd rather have warning so that I can be sure to purchase noise-canceling headphones at our next stop. Never been one for voyeurism."

"No, I'm not," she said. "And how do you know we're going to still be traveling together after Cerulean City?"

"Don't be daft, gorgeous. You will be," Enzo said simply, turning back to the pan.

"All right, then," she mumbled.

They sat in a slightly more awkward silence as he flipped the egg onto a paper plate, not pushing the subject.

"So, what are your plans?" she asked, unable to stand the awkward silence.

"Don't really have any. I have to go to Cerulean City to drop something off, but after that I'm free as a bird."

"Cool."

"And I take it you're off to the Pokémon League?"

"Yeah. I want to win."

"I bet you do, gorgeous."

She huffed at his small smile. She could tell he wasn't trying to be condescending, but it was the sort of smile people gave to someone who wanted to be a famous actor or a novelist, like there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that she could do it.

Of course, whenever someone told Caroline she couldn't do something, she made it her business to prove them wrong.

To enter the Pokémon League, you had to have a badge from a level eight gym. You won badges by beating the gym Leaders, and each gym had a level. You could only challenge a level two gym when you'd earned a badge from a level one gym. The Pewter City Gym was a level one, and Caroline knew that the challenge would only grow harder from there. Only a third of the challengers ended up being able to beat a gym that was over level six, and the people that got to the Pokémon League were the best of the best.

Was the process competitive? Absolutely.

Caroline thrived on competition.

"Well what's your life goal, then?" she asked waspishly.

"I want to be a Gym Leader," he said, shrugging.

"Cool. How do you do that?"

"I have to pick a type of Pokémon to specialize in and catch one of each."

"Well, the Pewter City uses Rock types, right?"

"Well, yes, but those aren't mine," he pointed out. "Each gym uses a set roster so that it's fair."

"I know. I was just saying."

He gave her a teasing grin. "Either way, I've picked Poison types, so I have to go out and catch all of them. It would be nice to have some traveling companions…"

"Is that a hint?"

"Possibly," he said airily. "If you're on this road trip, you might as well let me tag along. I'm an excellent cook, as you can see."

She pursed her lips. "We'll have to ask Klaus about it."

"Obviously. However, something tells me that if you put your pretty little foot down we won't have a problem."

"Shut up," she mumbled, shoving some egg in her mouth and trying not to look at him. They ate in silence for a few minutes before the tent rustled, and she turned to see Klaus walking out, fully dressed.

He grunted out a good morning when she greeted him, clearly not in the mood to talk, and took the egg Enzo offered him with a curt thank you before sitting down opposite Caroline.

He didn't mention anything about their sleeping positions, which she was thankful for.

"So, I was thinking that we could do some training here and then head to Cerulean City tonight? We'll need to budget our prize money a bit better, since the travel time to Vermillion City will be at least twice as long as it was to get from Pewter to Cerulean."

She didn't even notice that she'd assumed they were traveling together until Klaus gave her a small smile, and she looked away, fighting down the flush staining her cheeks.

"What? It'll be nice to have friends to travel with."

A frown flitted across his face at the word 'friend', but he recovered quickly. "Sounds good, love. Shall we pack up and get moving?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Caroline went inside of the tent she'd shared with Klaus, stuffing all of her clothes into her bag and watching out of the corner of her eye as Klaus did the same. He was faster (since he didn't fold his clothes and instead stuffed them into his bag until it was practically bursting at the seams), and he moved outside, not speaking to her.

She finished up, zipping her bag and going outside to help the boys take down the tents. "So, you've gone through Mt. Moon before, right Enzo?"

"Yes, and I'm happy to guide you through."

"Great!" she said, securing her backpack and making sure her the kickstand of her bike was up before she began to walk it down the rocky path. "I think we might want to trade in our bikes when we get to somewhere with a bike shop for something a bit more portable."

"Like what, love? A scooter? Wouldn't exactly be able to travel in that, would we?"

"They have collapsible bicycles. They're a bit more expensive, but worth it, in my opinion. There's actually a bicycle shop in Cerulean City," Enzo said, and Caroline nodded.

"That works for me. So, the faster we start walking, the faster we get there."

"Was there anything you wanted to catch on the way, gorgeous? I should catch a Zubat before we get out, there's no way that we won't find one before we leave."

"What is there?"

"Clefairy and Paras are rare, but they're here. There are some Geodudes as well, which are slightly more common. You see a Jigglypuff every now and again, but Zubat is by far the most common."

"Okay. Sounds good," she said before turning to Klaus. "Whoever sees it first?"

"Sounds fair, love," he said, giving her a dimpled smile.

She couldn't help but smile back.

XXX

Klaus lingered behind Caroline and Enzo as they walked in silence, taking stock of his surroundings and sizing up Enzo. From the second they'd met in the forest, Klaus had somehow known that the other man wasn't interested in flirting with Caroline, which had been confirmed this morning with the conversation that he'd overheard while getting ready in the tent.

He was honestly more than a bit annoyed at her attitude, which seemed to be that she couldn't juggle training for the Pokémon League at the same time as a possible relationship with him. Did she really think that he'd hold her back?

The very idea made his stomach twist in anger. He'd been nothing but supportive, and it wasn't as though he didn't have the same goal. Why would she assume the worst of him?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Caroline stopping suddenly in her tracks (making him nearly walk into her), and pulling out a Pokéball.

He watched as she sent out Butterfree, commanding it to use Confusion on the Geodude she'd spotted. The wild Pokémon squeezed its eyes shut in discomfort, and Caroline ordered her Butterfree to use Sleep Powder before she took out an empty Pokéball and threw it at the Geodude.

It was almost cute how she held her breath while she waited for the ding that indicated she'd caught it.

He saw a Paras just minutes later and sent out his Pidgey, catching it easily after the bird scratched it, darting around to dodge the snap of its claws, and Enzo caught a Zubat just as they emerged from the end of a rocky passage.

They walked for another half hour or so, Klaus now in step with them with Enzo consulting his map every few minutes. Caroline suddenly gasped softly, her arms reaching out to grab both the boys' sleeves.

She shushed them, pulling out a Pokéball and walking towards a Clefairy, who was sitting peacefully in a corner, humming to itself, clearly not having realized they'd found it.

She sent out her Bellsprout, whispering for it to use Stun Spore on the Clefairy, and the Clefairy at let out a soft squeak of surprise before it fell to the ground. Caroline threw a Pokéball, capturing it.

She gave Klaus a huge smile, radiating excitement.

"Congratulations, sweetheart."

"Thanks!" she said, her body flinching as she clearly started to hug him, but then thought better of it. Instead, she made herself busy by stuffing the Pokéball containing her new Clefairy into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder again. "Where to next, Enzo?"

Enzo gestured to a nearby tunnel. He and Caroline had been talking throughout the walk, and Klaus was content just to listen, but when they approached the mouth of the cave, Klaus could hear shouting from just outside.

He grabbed Caroline's arm, shooting her a look that he hoped conveyed for her to stay quiet.

"Give us the sample!"

The man's voice sounded very similar to the man who had been outside their camping spot the night before, and he and Caroline exchanged panicked looks.

"No. These samples are mine, and you aren't going to use them to make your mutant Pokémon clones."

"Team Gemini isn't making mutant clones," another voice said, her voice cold and nasal. "We're improving the Pokémon."

"You're doing unethical experiments on them, making them into battle machines, and I won't let that happen. These Pokémon are extinct, and the fossils are rare. You aren't going to use them to make your twisted army."

"Fine. If you're not going to cooperate, we'll just take them."

The sound of a Pokéball opening echoed off the cave walls, followed by the hiss of an Ekans.

"Not going to defend yourself?" the girl asked, her voice cold. "Oh, do you have no Pokémon of your own? Fine. Bite him, Ekans."

Caroline gasped, clapping her hand over her own mouth as soon as she realized she'd made a sound, and Klaus had a feeling he knew why. Though you could challenge other trainers with Pokémon, it was highly illegal to have your Pokémon attack a human directly, and the consequences were harsh. Ekans was a highly poisonous snake, and if the man was bitten, he would die if he didn't get to a hospital fast enough.

"Liv, wait."

"What's your problem, Luke?"

"Did you hear that?" Luke asked.

"Hear what?"

"I think there's someone around the corner."

"Well, go check then!"

Klaus heard footsteps approach, and all three of them stepped out from their hiding place before the boy could look around the corner.

The two teens were roughly around their age, and clearly siblings. The girl's Ekans was advancing on the man curled on the ground. His arms were curled over his head protectively, his lab coat stained with dirt.

"Looks like we have guests, Liv," the boy said, pulling out his own Pokéball.

"What the hell are you doing? You can't attack a person with a Pokémon."

"We need the fossil sample, and he has it. Unfortunately, he's not being very agreeable, so we have to get it by any means necessary," Liv said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Leave him alone."

"Unfortunately, I can't do that."

"Leave him alone," Caroline repeated.

"What are you going to do about it?" Luke asked.

Caroline let out her Charmander in response, and Klaus followed with his Pikachu, knowing that Squirtle might accidentally hit Charmander with a water attack if it wasn't careful. Luke sent out a Koffing, and Liv's Ekans slithered to stand beside it, its fangs bared.

"Use Ember on Ekans," Caroline ordered, and with that, the battle began, both sets of trainers yelling orders at their Pokémon.

Charmander had already opened its mouth to spit fire at Ekans, but the snake slithered out of the way with a surprising amount of speed, its mouth opening to show the gleaming arch of its pointed fangs.

Pikachu darted towards Koffing, its cheeks crackling with electricity as it shot a bolt of lightning straight at the other Pokémon. Koffing let out a low rattled breath when the electricity hit, but as soon as Pikachu ended the move, it breathed out a thick black smog that obscured Klaus's vision, his eyes watering.

He heard Caroline cough next to him, and looked at her to see that she'd pulled the cloth of her shirt over her nose. He recalled Pikachu and sent out Beedrill. The Pokémon beat at the smoke with its wings, dispersing it easily, before diving at Ekans, its stingers dripping venom.

Charmander took advantage of Ekans attempting to escape Beedrill's attack, launching itself at the snake and breathing a small stream of flame at it.

Ekans cried out in pain, leaning to bite Charmander but missing, and Beedrill stabbed its flesh with its stingers. There was a burst of red light as Liv called Ekans back in its ball.

"We have to get out of here," Luke said frantically as he recalled his Koffing (clearly having decided to surrender), and they both took a final glance at the fossils the scientist was guarding before running away.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked, running over to the man, uncapping her canteen and offering him water.

"Yeah. Thank you so much. That was terrifying," he said before taking large gulps of water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What was that about?" Enzo demanded, and the scientist sighed, taking another sip of water before speaking.

"I'm on a research team that's been trying to excavate the fossils of extinct Pokémon. We just managed to dig up a few of them, and I came back today to clean them and take them back to the lab."

"Why does Team Gemini want them?" Klaus asked. "You said they were making some sort of army?"

The scientist capped Caroline's water bottle and handed it back. "Well, in a matter of speaking, yes. We only just found out that one of our scientists, Dr. Maxfield, was a member of Team Gemini and had been feeding them information. Apparently, they're planning on doing experiments to genetically alter Pokémon to make them overly aggressive and much stronger in battle. I'm not sure what the use for them would be other than war."

"That's terrible," Caroline said quietly.

The scientist nodded, clambering to his feet and looking at the fossils. "Unfortunately I don't think I can take them back to the lab now. They'll just send more members to steal them, and all of our equipment would get damaged if it turned violent."

"So what are you going to do with them?" Caroline asked curiously, cautiously moving to inspect the fossils.

"Do you three want them?"

"Beg pardon?" Klaus asked incredulously.

What would they possibly do with rocks that contained remains of extinct Pokémon? Use them as paperweights?

"You can take them if you do. There's a lab on Cinnabar Island that might be able to use them, actually. There's a level seven gym there as well, if you end up gaining the first six badges."

"Oh, we will," Caroline said, sounding almost insulted that the scientist doubted her abilities, and the man laughed.

"Right, then. So, there's the Dome Fossil and the Helix Fossil."

"What's the difference?" Klaus asked, moving closer to look at the markings.

"I suspect that the Dome Fossil contains the genetic material of the extinct Pokémon Kabuto, and the Helix Fossil has the same for Omanyte."

"What are the types?" Klaus asked.

"Both are Rock and Water."

"All right. Well, ladies first, sweetheart," Klaus said, gesturing to the fossils, and Caroline frowned.

"What about Enzo?"

"Neither of them are poison-type, gorgeous, and I'm not going to be in the Pokémon League. Might be a good advantage to have a Pokémon no-one knows much about. You could take them by surprise."

"Okay. Um, I guess I'll take the Helix Fossil."

The scientist nodded and handed it to her, giving Klaus the Dome fossil. "I should stay here and clean up the equipment before I go back to the Pewter Museum, but if you're ever in the area, I'd love for you to stop by. Thank you again for your help. I don't know what would have happened..."

"It's fine," Caroline quickly assured him. "I'm glad we were here."

The scientist gave them a small smile, and Enzo pulled out the map again. "Hey mate, do you know how long it'll be until we get to the exit?"

The scientist nodded. "It's only about a fifteen minute walk. Just go that way and then hang a right, and you'll be at the mouth of the cave. After that, follow the path."

"Thanks."

"No, thank you."

They said goodbye and walked toward the direction the scientist had indicated, and they blinked at the sudden sunlight once they'd found the exit before clambering clumsily down the uneven mountain path to the evenly-paved road below.

"Wait, stop," Enzo said as Caroline and Klaus prepared to mount their bikes, turning to a nearby rustling bush.

"What?" Caroline asked, turning to see Enzo sending out a Spearow.

"Spearow, go see what's behind the tree."

The Spearow chirped, flapping its wings clumsily to go behind the bush, and a screech sounded as it jumped back, an Ekans hissing at it.

"Spearow, use Fury Attack."

Spearow batted its wings furiously, its beak moving to snap at Ekans, which dodged before rearing back to strike. Spearow dug its scaled claw into the snake's chest, scratching, and Ekans hissed louder as Enzo threw a Pokéball to catch it.

Spearow chirped, preening its ruffled feathers as the Pokéball shook before the tone sounded that indicated Enzo had successfully caught the Ekans.

"Well, three down, eleven to go," Enzo said cheerfully, putting his new Ekans in his bag.

"There are more than fourteen poison types," Caroline pointed out, and Enzo smirked.

"Well, yes, but I just need to catch them before they evolve. All I need is for my Pokédex to show that I caught them. I don't need an Ekans and an Arbok, I just need to have an Arbok and be able to show that I've caught the Ekans. Anyway, shall we continue?"

Caroline nodded, hopping back on her bike, and Klaus followed, stopping Enzo and Caroline a few minutes later when he saw a Sandshrew running through the grass on the side of the road.

He sent out his Squirtle. "Use Water Gun," he said, and his Pokémon spat a harsh jet of water at the Sandshrew, making it stop and shake to try to get the water off.

It turned to them, claws digging into the dirt as it began to burrow underground, but Squirtle was too fast for it, darting to tackle it to the ground away from the hole it had dug. They rolled around, claws poking at the other Pokémon's skin, and Klaus had to wait before he had a clear shot at the Sandshrew before he sent out a Pokéball to capture it.

Before he could call Squirtle back, it started glowing, and he grinned as it finished its transformation into Wartortle before returning it to its Pokéball.

After twenty minutes of biking, his new Sandshrew securely stored in his bag, they finally entered Cerulean City. Klaus was honestly already exhausted, despite his watch telling him that it was barely half-one, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Enzo stopped just inside the border, nodding to the gym that was down the block.

"This is where I leave you for the moment, I think."

"I thought you were coming with us?"

"Calm down, gorgeous. I said for the moment," Enzo said teasingly. "Just text me when you win your battles, yeah?"

"Okay," she said, turning to Klaus. "Let's go to the Pokémon Center, and then we can find a hotel. I am ninety-nine percent sure that if you asked me to murder Elena in exchange for a shower, I totally would."

"I'd murder her whether it would get me a shower or not," Klaus muttered, and Caroline laughed.

They went to the Pokémon Center, waiting their turn for a nurse to help them with the large machine that could check a Pokémon's health and help it recover while it was still in its Pokéball.

He snuck glances at her as they walked to the nearest hotel a half hour later. She was talking excitedly about their upcoming gym battle, wondering aloud which Pokémon she should use, barely pausing for breath. He held open the lobby door for her, and she gave him a nod and smile before walking up to the front desk.

"Good afternoon," the woman said with a smile.

"Hi, we'd like to stay here for the next two days."

"All right. How many rooms?" the woman asked, her mouse clicking as she pulled something up on her computer, looking up at them expectantly.

Caroline gave him an anxious sideways glance so quickly that if he hadn't been looking at her expression so intently he would have missed it, and he wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or relieved when he heard her answer.

A/N: Please let me know what you thought! I'm so excited to see your reactions. What do you think about Caroline's reasons for not wanting to date Klaus? Do you like the friendship growing with Klaus and Caroline and Enzo? What do you think about Team Gemini's plan? Please let me know what you think! Reviews give me motivation, and I tend to update faster when I feel like people are interested.

You can catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie, which is where I put most of my news about updates (and other fun things).

Hugs!
-Angie