Locking the door, Kellyn turned with a satisfied nod. "Ready to go?" He asked, slipping his keys into his backpack.

"Yes! Let's do it!" Ally pumping her fist in the air. Piplup cheered right along with her.

Ally determinedly marched several paces into the woods, trudging through the thin snow when she stopped. She turned back and looked at Kellyn with concern. "Will your house be okay?"

"It's got locks," Kellyn replied.

"Sure, but will it okay?" She pressed, doubting the quality of his locks.

"They're very good locks," insisted Kellyn, watching her in amusement.

Frowning at him, Ally placed a hand on her hip. "If you say so."

Kellyn nodded. "I do."

"Okay then," she said sceptically. "Can we go now?"

"I don't see why not."

She groaned at his dry response. "Please don't make me regret this," she begged.

"No promises," he replied, a grin in his voice.

Kellyn began walking and Ally groaned again, before jogging to catch up. Piplup ran after her in a hurry. Ally and Piplup were struggling to keep up with Kellyn and his fast pace, but he and his Pokémon seemed fine. Gible toddled along happily beside Piplup while Turtwig and Shieldon strolled casually. Buia had run ahead and was playing in the snow.

"Ugh, can you slow down?" Pleaded Ally.

"I suppose so," he said, significantly slowing his pace."

Ally sighed in relief. "Phew, thanks. Seriously, you were walking so fast. How fit are you?"

"Fit enough," he answered with a shrug.

"And your Pokémon?"

"More than fit enough," he chuckled.

Ally groaned a third time. Pushing it from her mind, she focussed on the path ahead. It was slowly getting warmer and only a thin layer of snow remained.

"I haven't introduced you yet, have I?" Kellyn asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Ally frowned at him, confused. "Introduced me to who?"

"My Pokémon," he said, as if it were obvious. "The Turtwig is Tru, he's my oldest partner. Next is Don, the Shieldon. Thirdly we have Gab, my Gible. And finally, the most recent addition to the team and the only girl; Buizel, Buia." He introduced each one with sweeping gestures and emphasis on their unique nicknames. He seemed almost proud of himself.

Ally giggled.

"What?" He asked indignantly.

"Oh nothing. I just find it cute that you have nicknames for all your Pokémon," Ally said, smiling to herself.

He frowned. "Does Piplup have a nickname?"

"No," she replied with a shrug.

"Is Piplup you're only Pokémon?"

"Yes," she replied, rolling her eyes. She could already tell where this was going.

"If you're going to take on all the gyms you should catch some more."

"I guess you're right," she conceded.

"I always am," he replied with a smirk.

"Sure, whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. Ally smiled with innocent determination. "Come on Piplup, we're gonna catch a Pokémon!"

"Pip!" Cried Piplup.

Ally dashed away into the snowy woods. Kellyn sighed before chasing after her. He ran and ran, but he didn't catch her. Frowning, he stopped and looked around. Surely, he should've reached her by now. Where did she go?

A scream echoed throughout the woods. Groaning, Kellyn turned and ran in the direction of the scream. He needn't run far; he quickly found her. Ally lay sprawled in the snow, cowering before an angry Shinx. Shinx growled as Piplup stood defensively in front of Ally.

"K-Kellyn! Help!" She whimpered.

He sighed and leant against a nearby tree. "Nah, not feeling it."

All four of his Pokémon sat down to watch the show.

"Not feeling it?" Ally shouted angrily.

"You're the one who wanted to see Sinnoh. Well-" he gestured around himself – "welcome to Sinnoh."

She glared harshly at him. He only chuckled and shook his head at her.

"Stand up, brush yourself off and calm down," he said evenly.

She kept glaring but did as he said. Turning her attention towards the Shinx, she gathered confidence and balled her fists. 'I can do this,' she thought to herself. 'It's been a while, but it should come back to me any second now.'

"Good. Now, try giving Piplup a command," Kellyn advised from the sidelines.

"Right. Piplup, use Bubble!"

Piplup shot a stream of bubbles from its mouth. The bubbles struck Shinx on the side but that only made it angrier. Shinx leapt forwards with a Scratch attack. Piplup was thrown backwards, off its feet. Shinx took a moment to stand proud. Kellyn laughed as he watched the Pokémon, but Ally silenced him with a glare.

He shrugged, still laughing slightly. "Give Piplup another command. Try a different move this time. Watch your opponent and look for an opening. When you get the chance, go for it."

Ally nodded and watched closely as Shinx circled Piplup.

"You're too tense, loosen up," he suggested.

"Why don't you shut-up!" She hissed venomously.

He held his hands up in innocence before folding his arms and watching.

"Use Peck!" Ally shouted.

Piplup jumped in but Shinx quickly side-stepped and rammed Piplup with a Tackle. Ally grit her teeth. Deciding to listen to Kellyn, she relaxed. She shook her head clear and looked at the battle from a new angle. She waited. Piplup and Shinx were circling each other again. Ally focussed intently and watched. Shinx's paw rose and fell, and rose and fell, and rose and- "Pound!"

Piplup dashed forwards and smacked Shinx with a flipper.

"Alright! Now, Bubble!" Cried Ally.

Again, Piplup shot a stream of bubbles from its mouth. The attack hit Shinx and it yelped.

"Yes!" Ally cheered. She turned towards Kellyn. "What now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Throw a Pokéball maybe?"

Ally's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, you don't know?" She shouted.

"I don't know what I don't know. I've never caught a Pokémon before," he said innocently.

Ally watched him strangely, not believing it. "You have four Pokémon!"

Kellyn frowned but nodded. Speaking slowly, he said, "Yead, but I didn't catch any of them. They decided to stay with me." He spoke as if it were obvious, causing Ally's irritation to grow.

Ally screamed as she whipped an empty Pokéball from her belt. She took a deep breath before pelting it at Shinx. The little electric type growled and jumped away, dodging the ball. Ally yelled as she threw another ball. This time it hit and Shinx disappeared inside the device.

The capsule fell to the ground, where it rolled violently and flashed red. Shinx burst free from the capsule. It smirked as Ally tore madly at her hair.

"That Pokémon's laughing at you," Kellyn told her casually.

"You think?" She shouted in frustration.

Shinx seemed to decide it had had enough. Covering its body in electricity, Shinx charged forwards, ramming Piplup, sending the penguin Pokémon flew backwards. Piplup slammed into a tree with a dull thud. The electrified water type sunk to the ground and didn't get up.

"Watch out for its Spark," Kellyn called in monotone.

Ally looked at Kellyn with an incredulous stare. "You know what? I've changed my mind! I don't want you here! Go home!"

Kellyn chuckled as he walked towards Ally. Kneeling down, he pulled medicinal items from his bag and promptly tended to Piplup. A moment later and the little Pokémon was on its feet; weak, but awake.

Kellyn turned and stood with a smile. Walking past Ally, he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder for a mere second before removing it. The foreign touch had felt nice to her. He didn't see her lift her hand to feel her shoulder. A light blush adorned her cheeks, and she felt the heat in her face. Angrily, she whirled around to chew him out, only stopping when she saw him gently treating the wild Shinx.

Shinx's wounds disappeared under the effects of a special medicine. He smiled and scratched Shinx under the chin, causing it to purr appreciatively. He offered the Pokémon an Oran Berry and it quickly took it before running away into the forest.

Standing, he dusted off his hands with a smile. He looked at Ally, whose mouth was still hanging open. He laughed at her, causing her to blush angrily.

"Ready to go?" He asked, still grinning.

Not waiting for a response, he started walking again and she hurried after him. After a moment of silence, she spoke.

"Why'd you let it go?" She whispered.

Smiling at the sky, Kellyn's gaze wandered far away. "There's plenty of other Shinx in the forest. You can catch another. Besides, that Shinx won your battle. As far as I'm concerned, it earned that victory, and freedom was its reward. Not that I'm saying it would've been upset with you. Personally, I think it was a win-win either way, but Shinx doesn't know that. So, for now it can roam the wild and who knows? Maybe one day someone will catch it. If that does happen, I hope it ends up with a good trainer."

Ally tried to glare at him but had to smile. Turns out, Kellyn, despite being blunt and sarcastic, is kind and gentle and really just a big softy.

Kellyn and Ally continued through the forest towards Jubilife city. Little did they know, as they passed through the woods a single invisible Pokémon watched them. The lake guardian curiously observed their passing, and when they were gone the Pokémon dove into the depths of Lake Verity.