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Alive's POV
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"So Tracey, what Pokémon do you have to trade?" I asked Tracey as we entered the busy Pokémon Center. Wow, I'm already sounding like the stereotypical Pokémon Trainer and I just started.

"Oh! Well you see I...um." Tracey said nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I was on my way back to the lab when I ran into a teenage girl named Ember who said she lost her Arcanine, so I asked her if I could help." Tracey explained.

"That doesn't answer my question." I replied jokingly, with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes at me with an attitude that said "you know what I meant" kinda look before he continued.

"When we found her Arcanine, it was stuck under a fallen tree in the forest. After we got her out, we found a bunch of wild Pokémon eggs that she had been taking care of."

"Whatcha guys do with them?" I asked, gesturing to the row of orange plastic chairs behind us, facing the trading machine. If you couldn't tell, I was exhausted from walking around town so much more than my usual cramped up inside the house, or the occasional vists with Prof. Oak.

"We contacted the closest Pokémon Center, so we could give some of the eggs to a local Pokémon Daycare, while Ember and I got the rest."

"You got some too?" I asked.

"Yeah, I got two. About that..." Tracey replied.

He opened his backpack as I saw the two eggs bumping into each other. The first egg was a light orange and had jagged black stripes around it in random, but even directions. He dug through his bag again and revealed the other egg that didn't look like the first one. It was a light sky blue with black on the bottom and had a few diamond-shaped golden twinkles around it.

"Since I don't really need two Pokémon eggs, I figured it was better than trading any of the Pokémon I already have. I wouldn't trade them for the world." Tracey beamed with pride, as well as a trustworthy smile.

"Okay then. Do you know what they're going to hatch into?" I asked him curiously.

"I don't know actually." Tracey replied, with a small shrug.

"Well, they look like that one looks like a fire type Pokémon at least." I said with a shrug as well, pointing to the orange and black striped egg.

"Y...yeah, that's r...right." Tracey muttered, taking his time with his words. He seemed uneasy, but luckily it didn't last too long.

Tails, who was waiting at our feet, sitting on the floor, jumped up between us and rubbed himself against the orange egg as he curled up around it, covering it with his tails like a cozy blanket.

"Aww...How cute!" I fan-girled over the precious moment.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Tails has become quite attached to this egg for some reason." Tracey commented while stroking the fox's back.

"Do you think it could be a Vulpix egg by any chance?"

"No, it doesn't look like the sort of egg a Vulpix would hatch from, but maybe it's one of a similar species." Tracey answered. I nodded accordingly.

My soon-not-to-be fox Pokémon looked up at me and glanced back over to Tracey.

"Vul-Vulpix." He mumbled low as he looked back at the egg, then to Tracey, then back at me while waving a paw in the air.

"What do you think he's trying to say?" I asked, while scratching behind Tails' ear affectionately.

"I think he's worried that you might choose the orange and black striped egg, and that he won't be able to see it hatch." Tracey replied, looking to Tails for a response.

The fox slowly nodded, muzzling the egg as if it was already born and snuggling with him.

"Aww. Don't worry about it Tails. I will have the blue one, okay. Besides, you'll be around when it hatches anyway. Right Tracey?" I said with a smile. Although my smile faded as I grew a look of concern.

"You can come, right, on my Pokémon journey? You don't have to if it's too much trouble, I wouldn't mind...too much."

"Oh no no, it's no trouble at all. I'd love to join you. Really, I would...wait...that didn't sound quite right."

I stiffed back a giggle.

"It's fine Tracey. But we should trade soon, we don't have much daylight left and I want to make sure we get some good distance in before we have to camp for the night." I explained, before I sent Tails back into his Pokéball. "Plus Eve and Zorua are waiting on us."

Tracey agreed as we set up the machine, Tails Pokéball on my end, and the blue egg on the other.

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When we finished trading our Pokémon, we headed back outside where Eve and Zorua were waiting for us on a bench, across from the Pokémon Center.

"You guys ready to go?" I asked my Pokémon.

"Eevee!"

"Zorua-Zor!" They barked.

I let Eve climb up my arm up onto my shoulders, and seeing that I didn't have enough room to hold both Zorua and the egg, he jumped off the bench and stood beside my feet.

"Lively, is it alright if I go back inside to call Prof. Oak, he'll need to know where I've gotten to."

"Sure. Go right ahead." I replied, "I'll be here." I said, sitting back down on the bench.

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Tracey's POV
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I nodded in response before I turned and headed back inside the crowded Pokémon Center. I walked over to one of the phones and put in Professor Oak's number into the keypad. It rang a few times before he answered. The screen lit up as it displayed him in his usual spot in the lab.

"Oh, why hello there Tracey! I wasn't expecting you. I assume you're trip to Viridian City went well. Are you back in town yet?"

"Oh yes, it was great! In fact, I'm at the Pokémon Center in Pallet Town right now. Speaking of trips, there's something I'd like to talk to you about." I replied, changing the subject, right off the bat.

"What is it Tracey?"

"I've decided to start traveling again, so I just wanted to let you know that you may not see me in a while." I said, figuring that I should just let him ask all the questions, so I wouldn't have to.

"Really? With whom?"

I gulped. Should I even try to get around that question at all, or should I just spit it out. It'd take longer to explain everything, so I just went with it.

"Just a friend."

"Hmm... I see. It wouldn't have been Alive by any chance would it? Or are they just an older friend?"

My jaw twitched, flabbergasted. 'How does he do that?!' I thought to myself.

"How did you know?" I said, trying to hide the surprise in my voice.

"Ahh Tracey. There's just something about her you just can't resist." He said in a universal view point, showing that he saw something about her that I didn't. "I can tell that she treats her Pokémon very well and loves them deeply. Which in turn, makes her an easily likable person. She is very special Tracey, and-Aha!" Prof. Oak shouted, being gobbled up by a very familiar purple glob.

"MuKk!" Ash's Muk cheered, clobbering the Professor to the ground.

I chuckled before Prof. Oak managed to get it off him and appear in the frame again.

"I'm sorry Tracey. I've got to go now. Say hello to Ive for me and that I wish her luck on her journey." He apologized.

"Alright, I will. Bye Professor!"

"Goodbye Tracey!" He replied before I hung up.

I exhaled a sigh. I made my way over to a vending machine I saw in the corner of my eye, and looked over the contents. There were chips, pretzels, protein bars, and all sorts of snacks to chose from. I slid in two quarters from my back pocket and tapped in C5, for a package of apple slices and after putting in more money, I picked F7, for a ham and cheese lunch wrap. I put the food in my bag as I purchased a water bottle from the vending machine next to it.

I was about to head outside when I was so distracted that I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Hey! Watch it!" They sneered.

"Whoops...sorry..." I mumbled.

The only thing in my head was the words of the Professor that rang in my head like an echo in a cave, 'She is very special Tracey'. What did he mean by that? It sounded like something-

No, I have to move on. She's gone now. They're depending on me. Depending on me to complete my mission, before I can return to them.

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Alive's POV
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"There you are! I was just about to get up and look for you. What took you so long?" I asked. It was 20 minutes ago since he left me outside and I wanted an explanation.

"I'm sorry, I just got distracted." He said bluntly.

I raised an eyebrow at him, but I didn't mind. He didn't seem like he was exactly in the best of moods at the moment.

"Alright. We're ready go then?"

"All set. Let's get going!" Tracey exclaimed.

"Right." I nodded, waving for my Pokémon to follow as we headed for our first stop...Viridian City!