I hate it when my computer shuts down and overheats.

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Chapter 2

“So, what do you do for supplies?” Red asked, as Lance tossed a salad. He was watching the clam chowder on the stove, making sure it didn’t boil over.

The other trainer shrugged. “I fly to Viridian or Vermillion to get supplies. There’s nothing unusual about it.

Red flushed. “Oh. You have a flying pokémon then?”

“Not quite…. Would you like to see them??”

“Yes please!”

Lance smiled as she released her pokemon. Two Dragonair, a Gyarados, an Aerodactyl, and something he could not identify were revealed.

Red gaped. “Sugoi… Anata no Poketto Monsta wa totemo tsuyoi desu!”

“Sou ka. Anata mo nihonjin desu ka?”

“Ee.”

“Interesting.” Lance switched back to English. “Hajimemashite. Douzo Yoroshiku.” She bowed.

Red made the same pleasantries, and then Lance whistled and her dragons flew off, singing songs he did not understand. They sounded very nice though.

“Where are they going?”

“Fishing.”

Red goggled. “You taught your pokemon how to fish?”

“Oh no, not at all. They already knew how. It’s a lot of work to feed them, so they hunt for themselves and bring home a few extra for me to eat.”

“I see…”

“I hope you don’t mind having fish?”

“I like fish.”

“Excellent…”

Moments later, Aerodactyl returned, with a fat silvery fish in his jaws. Lance thanked him, pulled a knife from her belt, and set to work gutting and cleaning it. Red watched in mixed fascination and horror.

Moments later, it was sizzling in a pan on the stove, and then lunch was served!

“This is delicious!” Red mumbled. Lance grinned.

“I’m glad you like it.” The rest of the meal was quiet, punctuated only by the sounds of eating. After lunch, Red followed Lance down to the lab.

“I don’t want you to touch anything until you read this.” She told him, handing him the diary.

Red nodded. That made sense. He might accidentally kill a pokémon if he didn’t know what all the machines did.

“The exception is that one over there,” Lance pointed to a small squat one with several purple buttons on it – “Is the standard healing machine you find in pokémon centers, only it can hold up to twenty-four at one time. So feel free to use it.”

“Okay!”

Red sat down on a convenient bench at the desk and began to read, watching as Lance walked from monitor to monitor, occasionally adjusting a knob or dial here or there. She mixed up a batch of brownish liquid and tipped exactly eight ounces into each tube, as the lid slid off for a mere second.

“Is that food?”

“Yes. It’s a special formula for nutrient solution.”

“Cool!”

“You seem rather… informed in some areas.” Lance observed.

Red shrugged. “I volunteered at Professor Oak’s lab for a few summers. I learned a little bit.”

“Indeed.”

So a few weeks passed quite peacefully. Lance would work in the lab and Red would read and ask questions, and they would cook together. It was quite peaceful. Red found that he quite liked it, though Pidgeotto and Tentacruel were still a bit spooked.

Today though, Lance was acting odd. Jumpy.

“What’s wrong?”

“… I’m supposed to release one of the pokémon today.” Lance confessed.

Red nodded. He could see how that could be a bad thing. “What type is it?”

Lance consulted her notes for a second. “That one.”

They both studied the pokémon. It was quite cute, and resembled a Pikachu, only it’s ears and stripes were red and not brownish-black.

“Well, I guess we should follow the instructions then…”

“Mm.” Lance agreed. “Put away your pokédex.”

Red blinked. “How did you know I had one?”

“Educated guess.”

Red frowned. He’d wanted to scan the pokémon, but if Lance said not to… he would listen. After all, she had worked here longer than he had.

He watched as Lance pushed a button, and the liquid began to drain out of the tube. Moments later, the newly released Plusle cocked an ear and looked around curiously at the two humans there.

She recognized them both. They were… family. They had protected and fed her while she was in her egg.

She sprang into the air, and landed of the ones she recognized as Mother. Nuzzling her head into her mother’s chest, she chirped. “Plusle!”

Lance blinked. So did Red.

“Not expecting that, were you?”

“No.” Lance tried to remove the Plusle from her body. It nuzzled her again and chirped some more.

Red giggled. “I think she likes you.”

“… I can see that.” Lance muttered. “But why is this happening?” She flicked through her notes while Plusle licked her face.

… How domestic, Red thought. He blushed and looked down. He wasn’t…

Plusle finally tired of molesting the trainer, and jumped onto his head instead. He yelped and fell over at the sudden shock.

Plusle laughed. Her parents were funny!

Lance closed her notebook with a frown. “I can’t find an answer, but since she seems to like us so much, it would be cruel to dump her out into the wild so soon.”

Red nodded.

“Also, we have to wait… there’s another one hatching tomorrow, so… we could probably send them off together. At least they’d have each other for company.”

That made lots of sense. Lance was so smart…

He turned his attention to the Minun in the next tube over, added food – Lance watched to make sure he didn’t make mistakes – and smiled.

… It was nice being here. No wonder Lance didn’t want to leave.

End Chapter

Completed 7/21/06

Ugh… pregnant Lance. The idea is creeping me out! *Shudder*