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Chapter Two: Meeting the Gang

The two of us quickly left Professor Rowan's lab. I tightened the straps on my rucksack and jogged away from the lab. Sarah also picked up the pace and stayed right next to me. As we jogged, we saw Officer Jenny on her bike speed right by us. We didn't pay her any attention as we jogged. Once we got a good mile or two away from the lab we slowed down, back into a walking pace.

"Guess we don't need to worry about them anymore," I said as I slowed to a stop. I pulled out one of the Pokéballs. It was just a standard red and white ball. I pushed the center button and watched the ball expand to fit in my palm. "Well, do you want a Pokéball? Or would you rather not be caught by me?" Sarah looked at me and then the ball.

"I actually expected you to catch me in the Center," she said. I held the ball out to her, and she hit the center button with a paw. She disappeared in a red light. The ball shut and clicked almost immediately. I was sorely tempted to do the stupid call that Ash always does, but resist; at least to a certain extent.

"Sarah, Post!" I yelled as I threw the ball out and Sarah appeared in front of me in a white light. She looked over her shoulder at me after she appeared.

"Post?" she asked.

"It's a command used in more formal situations. It means, 'Move to this location,' the location is understood in context. The way I used it, means that you are to report to me, front and center," I explained.

"Was that really necessary?" she asked.

"No, but I always wanted to try a call like that when throwing a Pokéball," I replied sheepishly. She just shook her head. We both laughed and then continued on our way. "So would you rather travel inside your ball, or stay outside?"

"I'd rather stay our here with you," she said, "So, where are we going?"

"Don't know, thought we'd go where our feet would take us," I said as we walked. We walked in a comfortable silence for a while. A thought then crossed my mind.

"Hey Sarah. What moves do you know? And how do you feel about battling?"

"In order; I know Aura Sphere, Bone Rush, Focus Palm, Dark Pulse, Quick Attack, Counter, Mind Reader, Foresight, Detect, Feint, and Metal Claw. I like to battle. It's fun," she explained.

"Fun?" I asked, "I know that there are rules and everything, but how could fighting be fun?"

"Uh, I don't know. It just is. I guess it's because we get to show off our skills, and such," she explained.

"I'm not sure if I could ever do it myself, and if I won't do it, I won't make you do it," I said, "If you want to battle, just let me know, okay?"

"Sure, I'm sure you'll be a natural," she said.

"I just don't want you to be hurt or anything like that. I would hate for you to be hurt, because of me," I said.

"You worry too much, Eric. Relax. I'll be fine if we ever do battle," Sarah said with a small chuckle, "Besides, battling is our only source of income. So we'll need to battle, if we want to be able to buy food and other supplies."

"I guess," I said, still not very comfortable with the idea of telling someone else how to fight, while just sitting on the sidelines, "However, I think I can teach you a few things about real fighting that can be applied to battling. I mean real life-or-death fighting moves, which can be toned down for nonlethal combat. Unless you don't feel comfortable learning these kinds of things."

"... Something tells me that I should learn these things, whether or not I'm going to use them in a battle," Sarah said after a bit of thought. By this time, we had walked back into Sandgem town. "Why don't we get to this training once we set up camp?" Suddenly a realization blindsided me.

"Uh, Sarah, I just realized something," I said, a little worry in my voice that, once I realized it was there, I removed. "I don't have any camping gear. So, either we stay in Sandgem town until we can acquire some, or we just sleep without any gear for a bit."

"There was some more stuff on the beach I found you on...It is getting late, however. Why don't we head there tomorrow so you can pick up the stuff there for you to use. I hid it, so it should still be there," Sarah said, "I think that there was some camping stuff among the things there...but I can't say for sure."

"Alright, sounds like a plan. We'll stay at the Center for tonight. Might as well get checked in, so I don't have to carry this ruck all over the place," I said as we walked towards the Center. A few minutes later, we arrived at the Center and walked in.

"Hello, what can I-" Nurse Joy said as she finished something up on the desk before she looked up and recognized us, "Well, I didn't expect to see you two back so soon."

"Hello again, Nurse Joy. Is there a room we can check out just for the night?" I asked.

"Actually, I just checked the last room out, sorry," she said. She looked genuinely sorry, and that threw me for a moment. I was too used to the false 'sorry' from most employees of a business.

"Don't worry about it, Nurse Joy. We'll make due," I said as I looked down at Sarah, "Wouldn't be the first time I've slept in outside, and Sarah here can rest in her ball."

"I'm truly sorry about this," she said.

"Please Nurse Joy, don't worry about it," I said reassuringly, "These things happen. Besides, this wouldn't be an adventure if I didn't have to sleep outside at least once." That got her to smile at least.

Just as we turned around to walk out, I noticed a group walk in. One of them immediately struck me as someone I know. He had a blue/black jacket on, a black and red hat, and a yellow Pokémon on his shoulder. 'Ash!' I thought as he and his group walked up to Nurse Joy's desk. I then recognized the other two people with him, Dawn and Brock. I knew the show well enough to guess what was going to happen, so I stayed near the desk. 'Why let Croagunk have all of the fun?' I thought as I let a small smirk and moved behind Brock.

"Hey Nurse Joy, do you have a room that we can rent?" Ash asked. That voice just confirmed it, and Brock immediately went to his knee and grabbed her hand, as is usual for him with a "beautiful" girl. Before he could say anything, I grabbed his ear and yanked him back.

"Slow down, man. You're no Romeo, or Casanova," I said as I pulled him a little ways from Nurse Joy. The other two didn't even notice, until I said something.

"Uh, who are you?" asked Dawn.

"Name's Eric Fischer," I said after I released Brock for the 'ear hold of _ DOOM _!'

"Well my name's Dawn, and this is Piplup," Dawn said as she pointed to the small penguin-like Pokémon.

"Piplup!" it said as it thumped its chest.

"My name's Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu," he said, pointing his thumb at the yellow rodent on his shoulder.

"Pikachu!" it said.

"My name's Brock. And did you have to do that so hard?" he asked as he rubbed his ear a bit.

"Be glad I didn't do anything other than that. You'd be in even more pain," I stated calmly as I pointed at Sarah, who had watched all of this with a confused look, "Anyway, this is my friend Sarah."

"Hello," she said to everyone.

"Wow, a Lucario," Dawn said as she opened up her Pokédex and pointed it at Sarah.

"Lucario, the Aura Pokémon. By catching the aura emanating from others, it can read their thoughts and movements," stated the electronic device.

"Wow, you're lucky," Dawn said. I chuckled softly.

"You don't even know the half of it. Anyway, I was just going to tell you that there are no more rooms available. I had just asked not thirty seconds ago," I said as Sarah walked over to my side.

"Oh," Ask said, a little deflated.

"Aww, I was hoping for a nice bed for once," Dawn complained.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to camp outside," Brock said.

"Yeah, tell me about it," I said, with a small chuckle at Dawn's theatrics, "Mind if I stay with you guys? I don't know the area too well."

"Yeah sure, but first. How about a battle?" Ash asked, suddenly pumped. 'I was wondering when he would ask,' I thought.

"Well, Sarah?" I asked. She looked up at me and nodded. "Alright then, just go easy on me; I've never done this before."

"You're a new trainer?" Dawn asked. I remembered that generally kids about half my age were just getting started on being Pokémon trainers.

"Yeah, I've been busy," I said glancing at Sarah, with a small smile, "Really busy."

"Really? Well I can't promise I'll hold back," Ash said with a smile.

"Pika!" Pikachu added from Ash's shoulder. I knew what was coming, a quick defeat, but I decided to at least try and give him a run for his money.

"Alright, but just to let you know, I only have Sarah here," I said as we walked out of the Center.

"Alright, I'll use Pikachu here," Ash said as we walked out of the town.

"Any tips for a rookie?" I asked.

"I'll help you after the battle," he said as he ran off. I almost sighed at how much of a little kid he acted, despite the fact that he had to be at least thirteen. 'I never acted like that when I was his age, but then again...I kinda forced myself to mature when I was young, choosing the Army as a career at the age of five...' I thought with an inward chuckle.

"He always acts like that," Brock said, "Especially when there is a battle coming." I just nodded my head. 'He wouldn't last three days back home like that,' I thought as we all picked up the pace to catch up with Ash. However, I kept one eye out for Team Rocket. Since Ash and crew were here; Jesse, James, and Meowth wouldn't be too far away.

"Something wrong?" Sarah asked, when she noticed me scanning our surroundings.

"Nothing, just got a funny feeling," I lied, but tapped the flag patch on my ACU. She looked at me a little funny, but her eyes widened as she realized what I was talking about. I just nodded my head slightly. She returned to normal, but also started to scan the area. "Don't worry about it, Sarah. Might be nothing," I said as I noticed Ash waiting at an open field on the edge of town. "Ready for some on-the-job training?" I asked Sarah as we approached Ash's chosen battleground.

"Yeah, leave it to me!" Sarah said as she pumped herself up.

"Alright, I have a plan. Listen to my commands, even if they sound weird, and we might just win this," I said with a small smirk as the plan came together in my mind. 'From what I remember, Pikachu's main attacks used electricity, agility, and straight up brute force. Line of sight was required to use most, and if I could take that away...' I thought as I pieced the plane together, 'hit-and-run is going to be the name of the game. Attrition, and distraction. This open field is going to help Ash more than me, but...That just gives me more areas to hide in...Thank you realistic strategy games, and AROTC training. This might be easier than I originally thought, but still going to be hard.'

"You ready?" Ash asked a few minutes later, after we had set up a small campsite. I looked up at him from my side of the field and nodded.

"Ready when you are, what about you Sarah?" I yelled.

"Ready," she replied, tense and ready for the coming fight.

"This will be a one-on-one battle, between Trainers Ash Ketchum and Eric Fischer with no time limit!" Brock yelled out when he took position in the middle of the field, and off to the right, "Begin!"

"Sarah, Aura Sphere! Middle of the field!" I yelled as I started to enact my plan.

"Pikachu, Bolt Tackle!" Ash shouted as Sarah charged the sphere and threw it. Pikachu charged forward, an electric aura forming around it. The Aura Sphere hit the ground and exploded, and threw up a lot of dirt and dust. 'Good,' I thought, 'the plan can work.' However, the size of the explosion worried me slightly. 'What if someone intent on destruction, got their hands on a Pokémon?' I thought before I focused back on the battle. Sarah tensed to attack Pikachu.

"Sarah, focus on dodging Pikachu's attacks! But start throwing those Aura Spheres around the field! Don't let the dust settle!" I shouted, as Sarah dove to the right as Pikachu tried to tackle her. Another Aura Sphere landed on Ash's side of the field. Two more landed on my side, as Sarah dodged Pikachu with a lot of success. Finally, enough of a smokescreen had been erected that I could move on to phase two of the plan.

"Sarah, Bone Rush! Hit Pikachu from the flanks! Don't hit from the front! Use the cover of the dust to move!" I yelled. Sarah dove into the dust cloud that had been produced from her attacks.

"Pikachu, Thunder!" Ash yelled.

"Sarah! Use the craters as cover! Sprint from cover to cover!" I yelled in response.

"PIKA! CHUUUU!" Pikachu shouted as it unleashed the Thunder attack.

"Sarah, hit it now!" I yelled after the attack landed. I couldn't tell if Pikachu's Thunder had hit her, and I could only hope. Sarah then shot out of the dust loud and hit Pikachu on his right side. 'Direct hit,' I thought, 'that's gotta hurt.' "Sarah, how are you feeling?" I yelled.

"I'm okay!" she yelled back. I looked at the dust cloud and noticed it was starting to dissipate.

"Sarah, put up another dust cloud! Then hit it with another Bone Rush, unless you can't get close, then hit it with an Aura Sphere! Use your judgment, but keep that dust cloud up!" I yelled. Sarah looked at me and nodded.

"Pikachu, you alright buddy?" yelled Ash.

"Pika!" it yelled back. This fight was a ways from ending. Sarah threw three more Aura Spheres, and one almost hit Pikachu, but it was just able to dodge.

"Bolt Tackle!" Pikachu charged, again cover in an electric aura.

"Don't worry about hitting Pikachu! Well take him out, piece by piece! This is all about endurance, Sarah!" I yelled as I noticed she was aiming more towards Pikachu as she dodged it, "Also focusing on taking Ash's Line of sight away! Divide and conquer!" Sarah than threw an Aura Sphere that landed right in front of Ash. He was far away enough to keep him from being hurt, but the dust cloud blocked his vision. Sarah dodged Pikachu, and dove into the new dust cloud. Pikachu tried to follow, but Sarah hit it with an Aura Sphere. It flew out of the dust cloud and landed near me. Pikachu had taken quite a beating, from the looks of things. One thing I hadn't counted on was Aura Sphere's explosive radius. Even when Sarah missed, she always landed them close enough that the force of the hit still did damage.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled as the dust started to settle again.

"Chu!" Pikachu growled as he charged back into the dust cloud.

"Iron Tail!" Ash shouted. I felt my adrenaline spiked as I saw Pikachu's tail turn white through the dust cloud.

"Dodge it! Forget attacking! Fall Back!" I yelled at Sarah. She countered it with a Bone Rush, and dove away, but Pikachu kept chasing after her. I decided that she needed some breathing room, but to do so, she would need to take a hit.

"Block it and then hit it with a close-range Aura Sphere! Focus on getting some breathing space!" I yelled. The dust finally settled enough to show Sarah carrying out my command. She blocked the attack with one hand, and charged an Aura Sphere with the other.

"Pikachu, dodge!" Ash yelled, but it was too late. Sarah slammed the Aura Sphere right into Pikachu's face. The Aura Sphere exploded, and both Sarah and Pikachu were thrown by the blast.

"Sarah, SITREP! Are you okay?" I shouted. I didn't expect for the hit to be that powerful. Sarah pushed herself back onto her feet, but dropped to a knee, breathing very hard. I looked over and saw Pikachu wasn't fairing much better. My mind raced as I tried to figure out a way for this to be finished quickly.

"Sarah, can you still fight?" I asked. She looked up at me, and weakly stood back up. That attack obviously took a lot out of her, and she was on her last legs. I looked over at Pikachu, and he seemed to be on the same level. "You've done well, Sarah. You can stop if you want!" I yelled to her, "No one will think any less of you! The odds were stacked against us from the start!"

"No! I won't give up!" she weakly yelled back. 'She's got a warrior's spirit,' I thought as I smiled at her comment. "I will win this!"

"Then finish it. Your discretion! Show these two just how strong you are!" I yelled back, "Currahee!" She charged up an Aura Sphere and threw it at Pikachu.

"Dodge it Pikachu!" Ash yelled. Pikachu was able to dive out of the way. "Thunder!" Pikachu charged up the attack.

"Remember, use the ground as cover!" I yelled as Sarah dove into a crater. The attack rammed into the lip of the crater as Sarah pressed herself into the ground. After the attack Sarah stood back up and leapt into another crater, and then another. I was impressed by how little she exposed herself as she moved towards Pikachu. Pikachu wasn't making it easy, however, as it kept attacking and then moving to a new position. Thunder and Aura Sphere attacks were traded back and forth, but none of the attacks hit either combatant.

"What are you going to do to finish this, Sarah," I whispered to myself. Then it struck me, I had only been using two attacks. Sarah knew quite a few others. I wonder what other attacks she was going to use. Once she caught up to the yellow rodent, she seemed to be focusing ever bit of energy into the attack.

"Focus Palm," I whispered with a grin, as the attack was unleashed. The attack was a direct hit. Pikachu was hit with a devastating hit to the face. It went flying and landed on the ground several feet away. Pikachu got back to his feet. This fight was still a ways off from being finished.

"Sarah, their strategy is all about brute force. Dodge Pikachu's attacks and focus on getting hits in when you can, without taking any hits! This fight is still up to you, I'll just give out suggestions! Hooah!" I yelled as Sarah looked at me. She then nodded.

"Got it!" she yelled back as she threw an Aura Sphere.

"Send the Aura Sphere back with an Iron Tail!" Ash yelled. Pikachu's tail went white, and hit the Aura Sphere back at Sarah.

"Catch it, strengthen it, and send it right back!" I countered. As usual, now that the chips were down, Ash was starting to act smart. 'He's good, so I'll just need to be better,' I said inwardly as I fired myself up for the fight. Sarah did as I ordered, and sent the Aura Sphere, which was now twice as big as usual, back at Pikachu. Pikachu tried to dodge, but was sent flying by the explosion. A chill went down my back as I looked at the size of the explosion. 'That hit... Easily the same amount of power as one-five-five (155mm Howitzer),' I thought with a gulp, 'I hope no one from any terrorist organization gets their hands on any Pokémon. Or a lot of people could get killed...'

"Thundershock Pikachu!" Ash yelled. Pikachu sent the bolt of electric power at Sarah with a cry. Sarah tried to dodge, but still took the blow full force.

"Sarah!" I yelled out in concern. This was bad. The dust settled, and revealed that Sarah was once again on her knees.

"I-I can s-still f-fight," Sarah said weakly.

"Sarah, you've done enough! Just stay down! I didn't expect us to win this fight anyway! There is no need to go on!" I yelled. I was extremely concerned for her health and safety. I didn't know how many more bad hits she could take.

"I can win this!" she yelled back. I bit my tongue to keep from just ordering her back. I said it was her choice, now I needed to show my faith in her.

"Alright, I trust you. Finish 'em!" I yelled. Sarah forced herself back to her feet as Pikachu charged at her.

"Bolt Tackle!" Ash yelled. Sarah weakly threw herself out of the way, and was just able to dodge Pikachu. She threw two Aura Spheres at Pikachu as he passed. I had to shield my eyes, as the dust kicked up from the explosions hit me.

When the dust settled, my first thought was to check on Sarah. I spotted her sitting on the ground, exhausted. I looked around and spotted Pikachu. It was passed out on the ground.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Eric is the winner!" yelled Brock from the sidelines with Dawn. I ran over to Sarah as she tried to get back on her feet unsuccessfully.

"Great job, Sarah!" I said as I picked her up from the ground, "Amazing. Even with the odds stacked so heavily...Come on. You deserve a nice, long break. Do you want to go back into your ball or...?"

"I'd rather stay out, but I don't think I can walk," she said. I just smirked as I gently picked her up and held her in my arms. She looked a little startled, but quickly relaxed as I walked towards the group. Ash also held Pikachu in his arms, as the yellow mouse rested.

"Good battle Ash," I said as we walked over to the small campsite that we had set up before the battle. I laid Sarah down next to my rucksack, and sat down right next to her. Brock started working on something, a soup from the looks of everything. Dawn and Ash sat down next to their gear, opposite of me.

"You're a great battler, Eric," Dawn said. Ash nodded in agreement, and Pikachu also added in his two cents.

"I did nothing but come up with the strategy. Sarah did the actual hard work," I said, dismissing their praise, "I had the easy job." I looked down at Sarah and smiled as she rested against my rucksack.

"But without you, I wouldn't have known what to do," she said.

"So? I gave you free reign at the end. You finished the fight, I just started it. You deserve most of the credit anyway," I said as I rubbed her head, ruffling her head fur.

"By the way, where did you learn all of that?" asked Ash, "I don't think I should be giving you any advice. Instead I should be asking you for the advice." Dawn nodded in agreement.

"It seems to me, you already know what you're doing," Brock said, "I was a gym leader at one point in time. You are better than a lot of trainers I have seen around, and they have been trainers for a while."

"I just used a few tried and true tactics. Basic strategy one-oh-one. Turn your opponent's strength into your advantage, and the basic concept of divide and conquer. It's also hard to give out commands if you can't see what is going on," I explained, "So I focused on taking away your line of sight, and splitting you and Pikachu up. It would have been impossible to win in a straight up fight, so I had to tip the scales in my favor. I was lucky, that's all."

"Also, you and Sarah seem very close," Dawn said. I looked at Sarah, and noticed she was leaning more on me, than the rucksack. I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, well...She did save my life," I said.

"Really, how?" Ash asked as he leaned forward. However before I could start Brock interrupted.

"Food's ready. Let's discuss it over some food," Brock said as Ash suddenly shot up and ran over toward our little picnic area.

"Fine by me," I said as I picked Sarah up and brought her over to the food.

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

"No problem," I replied, also with a smile. She blushed and then looked away. "Anyway, what do you want to eat?" I asked, "Pokéchow, or some soup and sandwiches?"

"Soup, if you don't mind, Brock," Sarah replied.

"Some soup and sandwiches coming right up," replied Brock.

"So how did you two meet?" Dawn asked, as Brock served us all some soup with some sandwiches. I wasn't sure about the food, but remembered how much everyone loved Brock's cooking so I tried it. 'It was a good thing those MREs have yet to kill off all of my taste buds,' I thought as I continued to eat.

"She fished my out of the ocean," I said between bites, of the first food I had all day. They looked at me expectantly, but I just continued eating. "Sorry, but I haven't had anything to eat at all today," I said finally, "Or for the past few days. But I was unconscious for that time. I woke up several miles from shore. I had to swim, I believe about twelve miles, possible even fifteen. I was exhausted when I got to shore and passed out when I dragged myself ashore. Sarah grabbed me and my rucksack, and brought me to the Pokémon Center here for treatment."

"Wow, what happened then?" Dawn asked. I grabbed a second helping of everything.

"Want seconds, Sarah?" I asked

"No, I'm fine, thank you," she replied.

"Alright. Anyway, after I woke up, she asked to travel with me. And that's it," I said.

"Wow, you've been together for only a few days, and you seem so close," Dawn said.

"Yeah, you seem as close as me and Pikachu," Ash said.

"Well as far as I'm concerned, she is someone that is family. I'll look after her like family, and protect her like family," I said, "Besides, I've never seen someone fight as hard as she did in our little battle."

"Yeah, she's tough," Ash said.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said while nodding its head.

"Thanks," Sarah replied.

"I hate to ask, but do you have any extra sleeping bags? I don't have one, at least for tonight. Sarah said there might be one at the where she found me, which she hid," I said.

"Yeah, we have an extra," Brock said, "I'll get it out once we get ready to sleep."

"Thanks," I replied.

"How did you get into the ocean, in the first place?" asked Ash.

"Don't know. I was unconscious at the time as well. I'm going to travel around and try to piece everything together," I said, "Maybe there are others who survived and have been scattered to who knows where." Once we finished, I helped Brock clean the dishes, and we all got ready to grab some sleep. Brock handed me their spare sleeping bag, and I rolled it out near the group.

"Where are you two going to go from here?" Dawn asked.

"First we are going to head to the beach and gather what supplies I can," I said, "After that, I don't know. I don't know the area too well."

"Well, you can come with us," Ash said.

"Yeah, you can travel with us. Maybe we can help," Dawn said.

"Well Sarah? You know this area better than me," I said.

"Well, it's more up to you," she said, hinting at my cover, "If you think they can help..."

"Let's sleep on it," I said, uncertain if I want to stick with the 'Chosen One' with his run of luck when staying inconspicuous, "Anyway, good night everyone." I slipped into the sleeping bag, without changing out of my ACU.

"Good night, Eric," came for everyone, along with a tired, "Pika," from Pikachu.

After all of the 'good nights' were said, I just stared at the stars. Thoughts raced through my mind. 'So this is what it's like to be an OIC (A/N: Officer in Charge) of an operation...What have I gotten myself into?' I thought jokingly, 'Well, I wanted to be an officer. Time to start earning the $3000 base salary. But on to a more important issue. If I stay with Ash and his crew, I'm going to have to contend with Team Rocket, and whatever other Pokémon issues that Ash just "happens" to get involved with... Whatever happened to the days of, "Mine is not to reason why, mines is but to do or die?" I guess they went with the days of being a low-ranked/greenhorn Cadet. Now I'm an acting Second Lieutenant in a situation that I would rather be following orders, but...' I sighed. I threw those thoughts out of my mind; sack time was of more importance. I closed my eyes and just focused on my breathing. In and out. In and out.

I was just about to fall asleep, I felt someone press into me. My eyes opened slowly, and I looked at what was pressed against me. Sarah. I felt her shiver slightly through the sleeping bag. I looked back up at the sky, and then closed my eyes.

"Want to sleep with me in the sleeping bag, or do you want to sleep in your ball?" I asked softly. I felt Sarah stiffen, but then relax.

"I..." she started, but then stopped. I smiled and unzipped the sleeping bag and held it open. "You...you would let me?" she asked, but again didn't finish.

"Part of my job," I whispered, "is to look after those under my command. That is one of the most sacred duties of a US Army Officer. You are under my command, so it is my job to keep you at your best, no matter the cost to me. I know you don't like being in the ball, and even ignoring all of that, you're going to freeze out there. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, you're family, and family looks after each other. So slide in already."

I felt her slide in, her back to me, and I zipped the bag up. Her fur felt cold, even through the ACU. I remembered from the medical training I have received that sharing body heat was one of the best ways to treat hypothermia. She felt cold enough that I thought she might be getting it, so I wrapped my arms around her comfortably and pulled her tighter into my body. I felt her tense again, but then snuggled into me. I smirked a little but then just relaxed. I eventually drifted off.

*Author's Note * : So that was chapter two, and I'm sorry I didn't get this out sooner. I've been lazy, and I'm not going to lie about it. Also, my first Pokémon battle scene... Who'd I do? Defintely not something I'm used to, rather be the one doing the fighting but... Anyway, working on six series at once is not something I want to keep doing, so I'm going to put a few on hold (this isn't one of them). Working on chapter three already, and...Let's just say things start getting interesting...