x-x-x

Episode 1: Oshawhat?

She looked out into the ocean, and held to the pokeball in her hand. With a smile, she pocketed it. And so there she stood, on the edge of a ferry bound for a region she knew basically nothing about. It had been a spontaneous decision, made only by a crumbled piece of notebook paper found in her dresser drawer and the recent events in her home.

Haylee leaned back against the wall, trying to remember the old times. The last time she went on a pokemon journey, back when she was ten.

* Flashback *

"Haylee. Read the next passage please."

Haylee was twirling one of her blonde pigtails as she woke from her daydream of her and the cutest boy in the school at lunch together, and began feverishly flipping through her book, trying to find the page. She heard Ms. Candace sigh loudly.

"Who here can tell Haylee what page we're on?"

"Page 463." Her best friend Grace said fluidly. Grace was able to pay full attention, also having another textbook tucked under her desk, reading it. Her cropped hair was a dull red color. And with her squared off black glasses, she looked just like her gym leader father, or at least, from what Haylee remembered of Roark.

Haylee flipped to the page, trying to guess which paragraph to start with. Before she could get out her hesitant words, the bell rang out.

"Time for lunch." Ms. Candace flipped the book closed. "When you come back, I'd like your pen pal letters to send out to the school in Isshu."

Haylee sighed, feeling depressed again. She pulled the envelope out of her desk, and gave her letter a quick glance, before sealing it shut with a lick. Everyone got up, and crammed their way out of the doors, but Grace stayed behind with her.

"Why do you even bother?" She asked rather coldly.

"Because!" Haylee barked. "I'm going to get a response. This time I just know it."

"Mmhmm." Grace held no confidence in her voice. "Sorry Hays, but I think you need to just admit it. That guy is not writing you back."

"He will!" She jumped up, feeling heated. "He will write back!"

Ms. Candace gave the girls an inquisitive look, before shooing them out into the hall.

Over lunch, Haylee brooded over her letter. Wondering if she'd said the right words, and how the boy would reply back to it.

"Still worried?" Grace sipped on the straw to her milk, with her other hand flipping through her textbook.

"Yes. I really want him to write to me."

Grace chuckled. "You know, I'd be thrilled if I were you. It's less work, and you don't have to listen to those Isshu people brag about their all-exclusive pokemon. I can't tell you how bored I get of hearing this Sophie girl go on and on about how she gets to see a Tepig every day."

"Sounds cool to me." Haylee moped, scrawling the name 'Issac' onto the envelope. Part of her was hoping her letters were just getting lost in transit somehow, but she couldn't help but think that maybe this guy was ignoring her. And nobody ignored her.

Some guy across the cafeteria was readying a spitball for Grace's head. Haylee shot him a glare that said, 'if you do it, you'll regret it later.' He stopped, and chose a new victim two tables away.

She couldn't understand why people wanted to pick on Grace just because she was smart. Grace had told her once that their relationship was symbiosis. Mutualism she had said, where they both benefited. Haylee stuck up for her, and Grace helped her with her homework.

Haylee relished in the fact she'd remembered those words, and leaned back in her chair. When you had a best friend who was a walking pokemon glossary, you didn't need to study much. Haylee knew all the pokemon in Sinnoh though, and she thought that was enough. Grace only studied more because she wanted to be a pokemon doctor like her mother Hope.

* Flashback End*

Haylee walked to the other end of the deck. She remembered that she sort of liked school then, but soon after, she got the news that changed all that.

* Flashback *

Haylee ran into the classroom once more, excited as always. But when she did, she was surprised to see she wasn't the first one there. Grace was standing in front of Ms. Candace, dropping a load of papers on her desk. When she saw Haylee, her face turned somber.

"Thank you very much Grace." Ms. Candace said, sitting down in her chair. She turned to Haylee before she could ask and opened her mouth to speak. "No Haylee. It's not here. I got in touch with the school in Isshu. Apparently Issac is no longer part of the pen pal program."

"Why not?" Haylee asked sadly.

"He dropped out." Ms. Candace said with little emotion. "Decided to go off on a pokemon journey instead."

"A pokemon journey?" Haylee repeated. She had of course, heard of it. Several other kids her age were out competing for badges. She knew what it was, and she knew both of her parents were well-versed in them. But for whatever reason, her mom had insisted she try the pokemon school instead. Haylee dwelled on this as she took her seat beside Grace, almost forgetting that her friend was being more quiet than usual. "Hey Grace, you okay? What's up?"

"I have something to tell you." Grace sat on the edge of her chair, and opened her book. There was an envelope tucked into the pages, which she pulled out. She unfolded the letter from within and slid it across to her.

Haylee leaned over and skimmed the letter, but it was written very formally, in a way that she didn't totally understand. The only thing she did know was it was addressed from a school in Hoenn. "What is this?" She asked quietly. "I don't get it."

Grace sighed, pulling the letter back. "It's from a pokemon medical training school in Hoenn. I've been accepted and I'm to transfer there in time for the next school year."

Haylee felt her heart sink at the words. "Transfer? As in… as in you're moving away?"

"Basically. My mom and dad are staying here though. So it's just me."

"What?" Haylee shouted. "Who will you stay with then?"

"I have an aunt who lives in Mossdeep City."

"So you'll just leave the rest of your family and friends behind?"

"Basically." Grace folded the letter back up, placing it back in her book. "This is the best pokemon medical school in the world. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't such a good opportunity."

"How long?" Haylee looked down, feeling a tear roll down her face. "How long will you be gone?"

Grace sighed. "Until I finish. It would take a normal student ten years. But as you saw today, I've already turned in my completed work for the rest of the school year here. If I work hard at it, I could get my degree and be able to start practicing medicine in as little as eight."

"Eight years?" Haylee slammed her hands down on the desk. "You can't do that! You're… my friend."

"Oh Hays." Grace pushed her glasses up on her face. "You're so fun, and sociable. You get along well with everyone." She looked away with a half-hearted smile. "I'm sure you'll make new friends, and forget all about me after a while."

"How can you say that?" Haylee screamed. Ms. Candace shot her a look, hushing her. She couldn't imagine Grace being gone. She didn't want to be at that school without her. "If you go to Hoenn, then I'm going too."

Grace gave her a curious look in response. "I don't understand."

Haylee reached over and flipped the book in Graces's arms closed. "That's the first time I've heard you say that."

Grace slowly placed the book inside her desk. "Hays, you don't know what you're suggesting. You haven't thought this through."

Haylee looked down at her squirtle backpack in the floor, thinking about her one pokemon, A vulpix named Pixie, which was hidden inside. "Yeah I have. I'm not going to waste my time here. I'm going to go on a pokemon journey."

Grace smiled slightly. "This isn't just because that's what that boy decided to do, right?"

"No!" Haylee beamed. "Well, maybe." She got up, hoping to get to the computer lab before class started.

She wandered into the room and sat down. Having his name and address made it simple for her to search the internet for Issac's e-mail. She scrawled it down on the paper with his other information. She signed into her e-mail and first registered his contact information in her address book, then went to typing a message.

"Issac,

I was part of the pokemon pen pal program at my school, the one matched up with you. My name is Haylee, and I only recently found out that you haven't been receiving my letters since you went on a pokemon journey. But I found a way to talk to you still! I think it's so cool to be able to talk to someone from a different region, don't you? I have a pokemon. It's a vulpix named Pixie. Please tell me about your pokemon. I'd love to hear about them!

P.S. I think I'm going to go on a journey too, so we can tell each other about our adventures!

- Haylee Gray"

Haylee smiled hitting the send button. And after a minute, she refreshed the page, as if she'd get an immediate response. "Silly." She said aloud. "He's on a journey, he won't be able to answer that quickly." She got up, and paced the room, about to leave. She glanced back to the computer, and walked back to check again. No response.

She left the room, running back to class before the bell would ring, and wondered how she would convince her parents to let her quit school and go to Hoenn.

* Flashback End *

Haylee laughed a little. It didn't take much. Neither of them could say much to her since they had both went on journeys of their own at a young age.

Her smile dissipated however when she remembered her reply to that e-mail. The one she had received only days before she left with Grace.

* Flashback *

Haylee used the PC at her mom's day-care center to check her mail once more and felt her heart skip a beat at the unread messages reading as "(1)". Her face lit up in a bright smile as the title of the mail, "RE: Hiya!" came up. She clicked joyously, barely able to wait as the page loaded.

"Stupid girl,

I don't know who you are, nor do I care about your dumb foreign pokemon. I'm on a journey, and I'm too busy to bother with listening to the stories of some high maintenance girl who will run home crying on the first day of their journey. You might as well keep wasting your life behind a desk. I don't want your junk clogging up my e-mail. Consider yourself blocked."

Haylee's heart sunk for a second time this week. But this time, it physically hurt. She held one hand over her heart. She had never been talked down to like that. In fact, she had never had anyone even show any dislike to her. She didn't know how to handle it.

She logged off, and felt herself boil with anger. She logged back in immediately and wrote him a nasty reply back. She told him he wasn't worth talking to anyway. That he was nothing but a stuck-up snob. Then she erased it all and wrote something normal. She told him how she was leaving to go to Hoenn today, and super excited. She hit the send button, then sighed, knowing that if he had really blocked her, he would never even receive the message, let alone read it.

Despite that, she continued to write him an e-mail every week of her journey.

* Flashback End *

Haylee frowned, stamping her foot on the wooden deck. It still made her mad just thinking about it. And she used it as an excuse as to why she didn't do well in the Hoenn league. Deep down though, she knew she just wasn't as good as she'd hoped she would be. She didn't even make it through the preliminaries. It shamed her to know that, especially since she came from a family with both her parents known as pokemon champions.

Haylee loved her parents, but sometimes they annoyed her. Their recent bantering and bickering about which business she'd take over was just too much for her. She'd told them she didn't want to do either one, but they insisted she figure out what she was going to do with her life, and soon.

She sighed, staring at her reflection in a glass wall nearby. She had her blonde hair pulled back in loose pigtails, tucked under a white newsboy cap. She was wearing blue jeans and a green t-shirt, to match the scarf she had wrapped around her neck. Her style was kinda punk, with pins attached to her hat, and her purple messenger bag.

She had questioned her actions, leaving without a word to them. But at the same time, she was eighteen now, and felt she should be able to come and go as she pleases. It had only been a day, but she knew they'd be worried. It tugged at heart imagining them frantically making calls, inquiring where she might be.

"Okay okay." She smiled, letting her conscious get the best of her as she made her way back to a room below deck. A vending machine and PC system sat there. She sat down in front of it and logged in. She found her house in the contact list, and made the call. She sucked in a breath as the dialing tone rang out. It only sounded twice before her dad picked up the phone. His expression seemed calm on the video screen, but she could tell he'd been nervous as well.

"It's about time you called." He said, crossing his arms. "Your mother's hysterical. She's been out all over looking for you."

"Tell her I'm sorry." Haylee pushed back some of her hair behind her ear. "I just didn't want you guys fighting over me anymore."

"Fighting?" Her father barked. "I hardly consider a few words followed by a pokemon battle a fight."

Haylee smiled. He was right. Her parents really didn't fight, they battled, and it was mostly fun. "Well, you both said I needed to figure out what I'm doing with my future, so here I am."

"And that is?"

"I'm bound for a region called Isshu, at least that's what this paper I had said, but for some reason everyone's calling it Unova."

Her dad shrugged. "Well don't look at me, you know your mother and I don't keep track with the news, especially of other regions."

"Yeah." Was all she could say to that.

"Listen. I understand you wanting to do this Haylee, but next time just tell us. We'll understand."

"I know. I'm sorry. It was stupid."

He smiled back at her. "Be careful out there, and call us whenever you hit shore."

"I will."

"I'm going to go track down your mom then. Let her know you're safe."

"Bye dad. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

And that's how it ended. Haylee felt relieved that they wouldn't worry, but now she felt bad about the whole thing. She logged out, hearing the announcement that the ferry was pulling into Nuvema Town.

She had also found a really out of date brochure for the "Isshu" region. It described a pokemon lab in this town, with a female pokemon professor who would give you one of three starter pokemon.

"A pokemon professor…" Haylee looked up to the ceiling, the floor above. "Nah… researching and reading all the time. That sounds more up Grace's alley then mine." Her best friend Grace also hadn't helped things. When she turned eighteen, she started the largest pokemon hospital in Hoenn. She was the head doctor, surgeon, and administrator of the place. She'd won so many awards it was unreal.

A glance up and Haylee realized that people were starting to file upstairs. She felt the ferry pull to a smooth stop, and got up, getting in the back of the line on deck. The town was quaint. Just a pretty little town by the ocean. It was spring, and the grass was still a little dead looking from the winter. Haylee looked down to the ferry entrance. It went directly into a small building. She followed behind obediently, crossing the rickety ramp down to the dock. A splash in the water to her right startled her, and she tripped on the wooden dock. She fell on her knees and hands. The force of the fall made the pokeball in her pocket fall out and roll across the wood. Haylee's eyes widened as the ball fell into the sea water.

"Oh no!" It wasn't very deep, so she reached her hand down into the water. It was cold, but before Haylee could grab it, a white and blue blur took it, and swam under the dock. Haylee crawled over to the other side of the dock, but couldn't find what had taken her pokeball anywhere.

By this point, people were grumbling and complaining as they tripped over her.

"Hey! Get up!" An authoritative voice barked. Haylee looked up to see a large female security guard tug on her arm, pulling her up. "You're holding up the line."

"But wait!" Haylee resisted, pulling back.

The woman gave her a glare. "You're acting awfully suspicious."

"Huh?" Haylee couldn't help but be pulled along into the building. It was like the inside of an airport. She was drug through two metal detectors and forced to stand as the security woman checked through her purple purse. "What is all this?" Haylee muttered under her breath. "This is crazy."

The woman gave her a look, as she slowly flipped through each pocket of the purse.

"Can you hurry please?" Haylee asked. The women only glared at her again, she took one final look then shoved the messenger bag her way.

Haylee grabbed it and all but ran out of the building. She combed the beach, searching desperately for her pokeball. There was no sign of it or whatever took it. "This is just horrible!" Haylee began to panic. "I need that back!"

Almost as if it had heard her pleas, a dark spot began to work its way to the surface; it walked toward her, standing only about two foot tall. It was a small white creature with blue ears and feet, and a light blue body. It had a shell on its belly, but more importantly, a red ball in its hands.

Haylee bent down to its level. "Hey there. That's mine" She pointed to the pokeball. "Thank you for finding it. Can I have it back please?"

The otter tilted its head at her, then reached as far out as it could. Haylee took the ball from it, then chuckled.

"You're a cute little guy. What's your name?"

"Oshawott." The pokemon answered. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, it turned around and dove back into the ocean.

"Oshawhat?" Haylee laughed, pocketing her pokeball once more. "Wow. So it's just like the old brochure said. There really are tons of new pokemon. Ones that live only here." She took a look around the quiet town, seeing hardly anyone around. There was a big building on the other side of the beach, so she made her way over to it. She didn't even bother reading the sign by the door, she just walked straight into what she assumed was the pokemon lab. A lab tech walked up to her when she entered.

"Can I help you?" The young man pushed his glasses up on his nose. It made Haylee remember when she had to wear glasses all the time. Now she stuck to contacts unless she absolutely couldn't.

"Yes. I'd like an audience with Professor Juniper."

The lab tech gave her a suspicious look. She was getting a lot of that. "I'll go get her then." He said quietly.

A few minutes later a woman came out to greet her. She was wearing a miniskirt, and a long lab coat over her tank top. The red tennis shoes surprised Haylee. They didn't exactly match. "Can I help you?" The woman asked with a hint of nervousness.

"Yes!" Haylee nearly jumped when saying it. "I'm starting a new pokemon journey today and I was wondering if you could give me a starter?"

Professor Juniper's jaw dropped a little, then she laughed, as if it were a joke. After a minute, the room went silent. "Okay. I get it." She stepped back a bit. "You're one of Team Plasma's undercovers. I don't have any pokemon, and I don't want any trouble, so just leave."

"Huh?" Haylee was stunned. "You have… no pokemon? None at all?"

"You can quit with the act." Professor Juniper looked mad now. "You Plasmas know full well I set them all free eight years ago. But if you don't believe me, feel free to search the place!" She stomped away. By this point, everyone in the lab was looking at her uncomfortably, so Haylee left before causing any more trouble. She paused outside the door. A sign read "Pokemon Lab – devoting our studies to the conservation of wild pokemon, and the liberation of others."

"Liberation?" Haylee's eye's narrowed. "What on earth is going on here? I need to talk to someone here, someone that could tell me what's up with this region." She looked around again, spotting a few houses. The piece of paper crumbled up in her other pocket said "Issac, issacondeck , 450 Nuvema Town, Isshu."

Haylee sighed, checking the mailboxes in front of each house. It wasn't hard to find his house. But Haylee paused at the door. "This is crazy. The guy may not even live here anymore. It's been eight years since I wrote this down." She hesitated, but finally knocked on the door.

A woman in what looked like her forties pulled the door open. "Can I help you?"

"Yes." Haylee shifted weight on her heels. "Is Issac here?"

"He's out right now." The woman leaned against the door. "You his friend?"

"Umm… yeah!" Haylee smiled. "Well, thank you ma'am." Before another word could be said, Haylee ran out of the yard, and toward the edge of town. "That was weird. I've gotta get it together." Haylee looked up at the sky. "There's no reason I have to get a starter, or even have to have somebody introduce me to the region. I can just go get started now." She beamed as a patch of tall grass sat in the middle of the road out of town. Walking over to it, she could already see the grass start to shake. She took a step into it, and an adorable little yorkie looking dog popped out at her.
"Lilli!" The dog pokemon's face was all fur.

"Oh my gosh!" Haylee couldn't resist dancing a little. "The pokemon here are so cute!" She checked her bag. "Drat! No pokeballs. I'll have to run to the next town to get some." She smiled, leaning down to the pokemon. "Would you wait for me?"

"Lil?" It cocked its head at her. "Pup!" It barked.

"Hmm. Spunky thing." She pulled her pokeball out from her pocket. "Wanna battle?"

The little dog looked at her strangely again, before turning and disappearing in the grass.

"Wow. I guess it was shy." Haylee tossed her pokeball up in the air and caught it again, lost in thought.

"What do you think you're doing?" A gruff voice asked. Just up the road ahead of her was a young man. He was a strong build, with short copper blonde hair arranged in spikes. He had brown eyes, and was wearing a black hooded t-shirt and baggy grey cargo pants. He just stared at her blankly, adjusting a bag of groceries draped over his shoulder.

"Umm…" Haylee took a minute before she answered. "Oh yeah! I was gonna battle that pokemon just now!"

The guy laughed, which made her mad. "Why is it everyone in this region either laughs at me, or thinks I'm suspicious?" She thought to herself.

"Oh wait." He stopped laughing and stepped closer to her. "Are you serious?" He plucked Haylee's pokeball out of her hand before she could even respond. He seemed to investigate it, then his eyes widened.

"Give me that!" She said angrily.

"Here." He shoved it back into her hand. His eyes shifted as he lowered his voice. "Do yourself a favor and keep that hid. Don't let anyone see it."

Haylee began to tug on her scarf out of nervousness. "What do you mean?"

"Not from around here, are you?" He asked in a low tone. He pulled the grocery bag off his shoulder and let it hang at his side. He started to walk away.

"Wait." Haylee pleaded. "I don't know what's going on here. Can you explain it to me?"

"Why?" He said, stopping. "What do I get out of it?"

"Get out of it?" Haylee was shocked. "Is everybody in this region so rude?"

The young man turned and grinned at her. "Yeah. You're definitely not from around here."

"I'm Haylee. From the Sinnoh region." She stated, still feeling ticked off.

"Issac."

"Issac?" Haylee gasped. "As in, the Issac that lives in this town?"

"The only one." He put his hands on his hips.

"Oh! So then, you remember me right?" She thought back to the slew of e-mails she had sent him ten years ago.

He raised an eyebrow. "Should I?"

She frowned. "He doesn't remember me at all!"

"Follow me." He said, turning and walking away again.

"Why should I?" She spat. "I mean, I don't know you."

"Then don't."

Haylee again, was flabbergasted by his snide remarks. She huffed, and followed behind him slowly as he moved back to the beach line. He moved out of town, through some dense trees. Just beyond those trees, was another small wooden dock. It looked kind of strange though, in comparison to the others.

"What is this place?" She finally asked.

"Just a little project I'm working on." Issac grabbed a board and hammer laying on the dock, and a box of nails from inside his grocery bag. He worked away at hammering a new board into the side of it.

"Umm… why?"

"Because it's what people here do. We're all bored out of our minds." He was laughing as he said this.

He kept hammering away, leaving Haylee without a real answer. She walked over to the dock, and stomped one foot on it, making sure it was safe. It felt stable, so she sat down on the edge, letting her shoes touch the water. "Why did you tell me to hide my pokeball?"

He shot her a glare. "Even out here, you shouldn't talk about that."

She turned to look at him, and put one hand on her knee like she was going to get up again. "If you don't help me, I'm just going to keep going with my journey and find out myself." As she started to get up, he grabbed her arm, pulling her back down.

His brown eyes look into hers with a hard look. "If you do that, you'll be arrested before the end of the day."

"Arrested?!" Haylee raised her voice, shaking him off. His gaze didn't waver. He was dead serious. "Arrested?"

He nodded, and started nailing down another board. "You're the kind of girl that doesn't get it without a long exhausting story huh?"

"What?" She felt her face getting red.

"Okay. Here's how it went down. Up until eight years ago our region was just like any other with pokemon in it. We had trainers, we battled. Normal, right?" He shifted to attach a plank to the side, nailing it in. "Then a guy named N won the pokemon league championship."

"N?" Haylee laughed. "Is that really his name?"

Issac ignored her question, again. "N was already head of a group called Team Plasma, whose ultimate goal was to liberate every pokemon in the world from their trainers. He used the media attention that came with being pokemon champion to win everyone over. It didn't take long to get everyone to 'see the error of their ways' as he called it." Issac let out a haggard breath. "Before you knew it, the region's name was changed from Isshu to Unova, and pokemon battles, pc storage, and pokeballs were all illegal."

"That's stupid!" Haylee leaned forward, feeling heated. "Seriously? So being a trainer is illegal here? How is that possible? If that were true, then this N guy wouldn't be able to fight for his title anymore!"

"Exactly." Issac looked up. "I think that's why he did it. If no one can battle him anymore, that makes him champion indefinitely." He paused, looking contemplative, then went right back to hammering. But after a minute of silence in which Haylee tried to decide if this was true, a ringing noise came from his wrist.

"Umm… your watch is ringing." She pointed out.

"Uh huh." He kept working.

As it kept ringing, Haylee snuck up to him to look at it. She reached her finger over to it, hitting the button on the side. Immediately, two people's faces showed up on the tiny screen.

Issac gave a slightly annoyed look. "Now why'd you do that?"

"Hey Issac!" A boy with dark hair and glasses smiled back from the screen.

"Issac! What are you doing? Can we hang out?" A girl with short blonde hair and a green beret giggled.

"No." Issac said sternly. Strangely, he had a smile on his face the whole time.

"I recognize that place." The dark haired boy grinned. "We'll be there in five minutes!" The conference call ended and the screen went black.

"What is that thing?" Haylee pointed to his watch.

"Xtransceiver. You mean you haven't heard of it?" Issac's jaw dropped as he put on a girly voice. "They're like, all the rage right now!"

"You're making fun of me again." Haylee grumbled. "So, who was that you just talked to?"

"Just the neighbor kids." His eyes widened. "They're on their way here, so keep your mouth shut about pokemon, and why you came here okay?"

"Umm kay." Haylee sat nervously, kicking the water below. "They seemed to be your friends though." He didn't answer again. Haylee watched as the water grew darker below her, and she leaned down to look. Something popped out, splashing water on her face. "Ack!" She sat up, trying to wipe the water out of her eyes. Without opening them, she knew what it was from the snickering of a certain pokemon.

"Wott wott wott!" The otter pokemon floated on its back, and swam around Haylee's legs.

Issac chuckled, as he stood beside Haylee. "That Oshawott's a strange one."

"No kidding." Haylee rubbed her eyes. "It stole my pokeball earlier."

"Hmm…" Issac dug a pack of berries out of his bag, and tossed the otter an oran berry. "When Juniper turned all the starters loose eight years ago, for some reason this one stuck around."

"Osha!" Oshawott grabbed the berry and started munching on it in pieces, using his belly like a table.

Issac slid down to sit beside Haylee. "I think some pokemon still don't understand what's going on. They still want the company of people."

Haylee was quiet, staring at Issac's face. He seemed somber all the sudden, looking at this pokemon. He turned to look at her, and she felt a twinge of something in her stomach.

He kept his eyes fixed on her as the talking of two others approached. "Be careful what you say." He got up, and pulled her up as well. Just ahead, the boy and girl from the phone-watch-thing were approaching. When they saw Haylee, they looked questionable. Especially the girl.

"Oh Issac, who's this girl with you?" Her face looked fraught with worry.

Issac put on a fake smile. "Just a tourist. She wanted to know about the region, so I was telling her about it."

"Oh right." The dark haired boy narrowed his eyes. "That's so like you, after all."

The boys seemed to be having a mental dual with each other between stares, meanwhile, the bouncy girl in the long skirt made her way over to Haylee. "Oh well if that's all," She held out her hand. "I'm Bianca!"

"My name's Haylee." She shook her hand, then turned her attention to the other person she hadn't met. For being called 'the neighbor kids', Haylee thought they all looked about her age.

"The name's Cheren." The boy said, reaching out his hand as well.

Haylee paused before shaking his hand. A memory had come back to her. "Your name sounds a lot like my grandfathers."

Cheren turned pale. "What? Why would you say that? You think it's an old name?" He began to go on a rant, making Haylee step back a bit, and Issac put his head into his hand, as if he were embarrassed by the sight.

"Oh don't mind him." Bianca nudged Haylee with her arm. "He's always like that. People tell him all the time he acts old for his age, so he freaks out when someone mentions it."

"I-I'm sorry." Haylee stuttered.

Cheren stopped talking and smiled. "It's okay. I got carried away. So tell me Haylee, why did you come to Unova?"

Issac answered for her. "She came to see Castelia City."

"That's understandable!" Bianca nodded. "Castelia is the most big and beautiful city in the world!"

"Castelia?" Cheren still looked suspicious. "Why stop here then? You could have went straight there by plane."

"Security's too tight in airports. It makes me nervous." Haylee answered. She looked to Issac, who seemed pleased with that answer.

"True." Cheren put on finger to his chin. "Ah, sorry for all the questions, that's just how I am."

"Cheren works in Castelia City, actually." Bianca blurted out.

"Oh really?" This interested Haylee. "What do you do?"

"He takes surveys on people. Gather's statistics." Issac laughed. "You wanna talk about boring jobs…"

"Hush up Issac." Cheren walked over to the dock, tapping his foot on it. "At least I don't waste my time like you, working part time for a hardware store in Accumula and the other part on this old dock of ours."

"Ours?" Haylee asked. When she did, she could tell she'd opened up a conversation they didn't want to explain, but had to.

Bianca started it off. "The three of us built this dock together eight years ago, not too long after our pokemon were liberated."

Cheren spoke next. "We all had went on a pokemon journey at the same time, so we were feeling pretty depressed when they were all taken away. We built this place far away from the prying eyes of town, so that no one could find us, especially not Team Plasma. It was the only place we could go to just talk."

Issac turned to Haylee. "We were young when we built it, so it wasn't very stable. I've been working on rebuilding it in my spare time."

Haylee didn't know what to say, but she knew what she wanted to ask. She looked back to see if the Oshawott was still there, but it had left a while back. "So, all of you had your pokemon taken away from you?"

"Liberated." Issac corrected. "Most of us resisted it though, so yes, they were forcefully taken away from Cheren and I."

Haylee turned to Bianca. "And you?"

Bianca looked down. "I willingly gave them up. N had me convinced that what I was doing was wrong, so I set them free. But I regret it now." She looked like she might cry all the sudden.

"Eh." Issac groaned, looking up to the sky. "It's getting late. Haylee, you'd better move on if you plan on finding a town with a motel."

"Motel?" Haylee started to ask why she couldn't stay at a pokemon center, but then she remembered there were no trainers here, so they probably wouldn't have accommodations anymore. She silently wondered if they even had pokemon centers in this region.

Bianca wiped her eyes. "She can stay with me tonight!"

"Oh no." Haylee held up her hands in defense. "I don't want to intrude."

"You won't be!" Bianca seemed thrilled. "Please do. You don't know how long it's been since I got to spend time with a girl my age. These boys are fun to be around, but they're no good for a nice long chat!"

"Code for gossiping." Haylee thought. It seemed she was stuck with this decision no matter what.

"Come on! My house is this way!" Bianca tugged at her arm, leading her away. As she was pulled through the trees, Haylee took a glance back to the boys standing on the dock. Cheren waved in a friendly manner, but Issac only stared back at her.

Since the town was so small, Bianca's house was fairly close. In fact, it was next door to Issac's. She opened the door, dancing her way across the floor. "Mom! Dad! I met a new friend today!"

A portly looking man sat in the living room, engrossed in a newspaper. He lifted up his face from it, revealing his perfectly groomed moustache. He frowned at Haylee and went back to reading. Bianca's mother twirled in from the kitchen with a look completely opposite from her husband.

"That's wonderful darling! And she's a girl this time. How surprising!" Her glee was obvious.

"She's new here." Bianca smiled. "Can she stay here tonight?"

Her mom looked to her father. "I have no problem with it. It'll be good for you to hang around a girl instead of those boys all the time. They're such a bad influence."

Bianca giggled at this.

"Thank you ma'am." Haylee bowed, and was about to thank the man, but Bianca was again pulling her, this time up the stairs. She opened a door wide, revealing a rather luxurious place. Certainly not a plain bedroom. It was apparent to Haylee, that this girl had everything given to her. She seemed nice enough, but probably spoiled.

"This is my room!" Bianca flopped down into the huge mattress, nearly swallowed up by the fluffy comforter. "Make yourself at home. You look about the same size as me, so you can borrow my pajamas if you want." She pointed to her dresser. "This is just like a sleepover!" She squealed.

Haylee smiled, and walked over to the dresser. To the right of it, tacked onto the wall, was a poster of a man, hidden mostly by a dark overcast. He had long green hair tucked under a black and white ball cap. His eyes were also hidden by the brim of the hat. The only words on the poster was "N: King of Team Plasma, King of Unova."

x-x-x

Cheren smiled as he walked behind his friend. "So tell me the truth. Where'd you meet that girl?"

"I already told you." Issac said flatly. "I met her on Route 1. She asked for directions to Castelia and I told her it was too far to make before nightfall."

"Hmm." Cheren put a finger to his chin. "I'm headed to Castelia for work tomorrow, and I could show her the way. I'll have to mention that to her." Cheren tried to see if this bothered Issac any, but it was impossible to tell. "So then, she's fair game right?"

"If you're asking if I'm planning on asking her out or something, then no. I'm not."

"Excellent." Cheren smiled, adjusting his glasses. "I mean, she's really pretty, you know, and she's got to have more brains in her than Bianca, so I think accompanying her to Castelia sounds like a great idea. You think she'd like the café in Striaton City for lunch?"

"Isn't that kind of old fashioned?" Issac sneered. His comment had made Cheren stop in his tracks.

"Hmph!" Cheren's eyebrows narrowed. "I don't know why I bothered asking you anyway! It's not like you have any luck with the ladies."

Issac just waved his hand in a motion that said he didn't care one way or the other. They parted ways at Issac's house, and he went inside without a word.

x-x-x

"That's N." Bianca rose from the bed to inspect the poster as well. "Total hottie huh?"

"It's hard to tell much from the picture." Haylee said shyly.

"Well trust me, he is." Bianca swooned. "I like to go see him speak when he's on tour."

Haylee looked to her, then the poster, then back. "Is this the same guy who made you give up your pokemon?"

"Same one." Bianca's smile stretched all the way across her face. "He has a gift though. He can talk you into anything."

"I doubt that." Haylee frowned.

"Okay so I've gotta know," Bianca jumped up. "What do you think of Issac?"

Haylee twisted on one of her pigtails. It was a habit of hers whenever she was nervous. "Uh, he seems kind of hateful honestly."

"Not that silly!" Bianca giggled insanely. "I mean do you think he's hot?"

"Huh? No." Even though she said it, Haylee instantly felt it wasn't wholeheartedly true. "I take it you do?"

"Pfft. Yeah!" Bianca began tugging on her short blonde hair. "He seemed to have taken a liking to you. I mean, he doesn't normally talk openly to tourists. I wonder if it's the hair?" She pulled two tiny tuffs of hair up on either side. "What do you think? Would he like it? If it'd even get him to look my way I'd try it."

"Umm, sure." Haylee smiled. "You really like him, huh?"

"Yes, but my parents would never let me go out with him."

"Why not?"

Bianca sighed. "They think Cheren's a better match for me. Dad just wants me to go with him because he has a good job, and makes a lot of money. Mom says I need somebody who can 'provide' for me."

"Provide?" Haylee turned around. "Bianca, do you ever get tired of hearing how you need to figure out how you're going to provide for yourself?"

Bianca held a ditzy look. "For yourself? I'm not doing that. My dad can take care of that."

"I see." Haylee felt out of place here. Bianca wasn't like Grace, and this region was just too weird. She sighed. Bianca started getting ready for bed, and Haylee felt a little homesick. "Bianca, is there a videophone in this town?"

Bianca peered over her shoulder to answer. "PC's are pretty hard to come by here. But there's a pay phone by the pier."

She smiled. "I'm going to go then. To let my folks know I made it here safe."

"Can't it wait until morning? It's already dark."

"I'll come right back." Haylee grabbed her bag and walked down the stairs. She stepped out of the house, closing the door quietly behind her. It wasn't a long walk to the pier, and the security building attached the ferry system. She found the pay phone on the outside right wall of the building. She stuck some coins into the slot, and dialed the number for the Solaceon Pokemon Day-Care.

"Hello?" Her frantic voice picked up.

"Mom. It's me."

"Oh! Haylee! I was just about to close up. I've been so worried about you." She sighed. "Your father told me about your adventure. But, still." She paused again.

"I'm sorry. For worrying you." Haylee smiled sadly. "Mom, I may be coming home sooner than expected."

"Why?" Her tone turned protective. "Are they being mean to you out there?"

"No no." Haylee shook her head. "Everyone has been very kind to me." She lied, thinking of Issac. "There's even a girl who offered to let me stay at her place for the night."

"Well then, why?"

Haylee started to explain it, trying to figure out the best way to sum up that she'd made the mistake of going to a region where being a pokemon trainer was outlawed. Before she could, her mother spoke again.

"Oh no. Snorlax and Torterra are fighting over their food again. I've got to go break them up. But Hays, call me if you decide to come home. You know you're certainly welcome back. I miss you."

"Miss you too mom."

"Hey you two! Break it up!" The sound of a door slamming echoed through the phone. "Love you honey. Call me!"

The phone clicked abruptly, and Haylee placed it back on the receiver slowly, holding it there for a minute. "A region where owning a pokemon is forbidden. It seems so crazy to me." She turned and walked down the beach line, looking for any signs of the Oshawott from earlier. But since it was dark now, the water just looked black and empty. "People and pokemon should be able to be together, without being suspicious." And yet, she found herself looking around, making sure no one was watching as she combed the shore. A light in the distance, caught her attention. It wasn't a normal ship light. It looked more like the flicker from a lantern. The lantern glimmered. Then, another light flickered from within the trees. Once both lights had flashed, they were put out, and it went dark again. "What was that?" Haylee stood, inspecting the area from a distance. "That's around the place where Issac's dock is!" She took off running, heading for the location. As she got closer, she slowed her pace. Through the trees, she could see a small wooden rowboat pulling up to the dock. Haylee ducked down into some shrubbery to watch.

"Ah excellent." A scraggly looking man with a long beard stepped off the boat, holding one of the blown out lanterns. "Another successful delivery." He, and two other men, whose faces were concealed by a hooded robe, began pulling giant brown sacks off the boat. Another man with a burnt out lantern stepped toward them, and pulled something out of the bag. He had his back to Haylee so she couldn't see what it was.

"What do you think?" The scraggly man asked in a shaky voice. "They'll fetch a good price, right?"

The other hooded man smiled. "They'll do."

Haylee gasped. His voice sounded familiar to her. She stared at this other man, but his face was indiscernible with the hood and the dark. She focused harder, and was concentrating so much she didn't see one of the bearded man's henchman sneak up behind her. He grabbed her, holding one arm tight around her shoulders. She screamed, and everyone turned to look at her.

"Look what I found boss!" The sneaky man grinned. "A spy, or a team plasma cohort maybe?"

The bearded man snickered. "We don't take kindly to witnesses little lady." He sneered. "Make sure she won't talk."

"No!" Issac pulled the hood off his head and put down the lantern. "Let her go. She has nothing to do with this."

Haylee's eyes widened. "I was right. It is you."

The bearded man's eyes narrowed. "Do what you will Issac. Just get her out of here." His accomplice released Haylee at those words. "Here's your quota. We're taking the rest to Castelia." He handed Issac a small brown bag. Issac took it, wrapping one hand around it. He strode up to Haylee, and grabbed her arm with his other hand, pulling her away.

Once they were out of earshot, Haylee spoke. "Let me go!" She was surprised when he did. "What the heck was that? Who were those guys, and what exactly are you involved in?"

"You need to leave." He kept walking quickly to the piers. "First thing tomorrow, you hop on one of those ferries and go back to where you came from."

"Oh trust me! I will!" She felt her stubbornness kicking in. "But I feel bad for your poor mother. Does she know her son is involved in smuggling in drugs?"

He stopped, dead in his tracks, and turned to look at her angrily. "So I'm a criminal. But you're no better. You brought an illegal substance into this region." Haylee looked at him bewildered. Issac just shook his head and pulled the bag open, showing her the contents. "It's not drugs."

Haylee peered into the bag, seeing about a dozen pokeballs of differing type and color. Most were expensive ultra balls. Issac plucked one out and put it into her hand. "What's this for?"

"Incentive." He frowned. "I'll give you this if you get out of here tomorrow. Don't talk to anyone, just leave as soon as the sun comes up."

"But I…"

Issac's face hardened. "You're a pokemon trainer right? So you have no business being here. Go home." He took off without another word, leaving Haylee speechless.

The tide came up and hit her feet, then washed away. She sat down in the sand, watching the waves roll in as the moon cast a white glow on the water. "I know I should leave, all things considering." She thought. "But now this situation with Issac has me curious. If people smuggle pokeballs into this region, there must be a reason. Meaning that some people, must be still catching pokemon. I wonder if… if people are still battling too, even though it's illegal." She thought on this a moment more.

"Well sure they do!" She spoke aloud. "I mean, it's not something that everyone can just drop, and there's always those that break the law." She rolled the ultraball in her hand.

"Wott?" A round head peered out of the seawater.

"You again?" She looked around, but the town was desolate. "Come here Oshawott."

"Wott?" The otter repeated. He walked up to her with a white seashell in his paws. "Osha osha."

"Hey that's pretty." She pointed to his shell. "Did you find that out there?"

"Osha!" He nodded, smiling at her.

"What do you think?" She asked to him. "If a person finds something, and wants to take care of it, should they be allowed to take it from where it was, and keep it as their own?"

Oshawott looked down at his shell. Then he looked back up at Haylee and held up the shell to her.

"No. It's yours." She pushed it back to him.

He looked down at it, and tried to stick it to his arm. It fell to the sand. No matter what he did, it wouldn't stay like the one affixed to his belly.

Haylee giggled at him. She picked up the shell and looked at it. It had a hole pierced in one area. She dug a long string out of her purse and the soothe bell from her Hoenn trip. She fed the string through the hole, and placed the bell through. She worked away, tying an adjustable knot her dad had taught her. All the while, Oshawott watched with amazement. Haylee slipped the necklace around him, and pulled it tight. "There you go."

"Wott!" Oshawott held his paws up to the shell bell and smiled wide. "Osha! Osha!" He threw his little body into Haylee's lap, hugging her legs.

Haylee felt a warm feeling of happiness wash over her. She picked up the ultra ball she'd placed in the sands, and opened her hand to look at it as she pet Oshawott with the other. She looked around, making sure no one was watching once more. She bent down, whispering to Oshawott. "Would you like to stay with me? You're the only real friend I've made here."

"Wott?" Oshawott looked at the ultra ball in her hand. Haylee thought at first he was going to run, but instead, he turned his head to her and nodded.

Haylee smiled, putting the ball to his nose. A red light pulled Oshawott into the ball. It shook in her palm three times, before clicking shut. Haylee stood, and closed her other hand around the ball. "You've made your choice. Now it's time I made mine."