Whitewing

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Only the idea and OC's.

Author Notes:
-- This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
xXx This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
(Character thought)

Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon, never have, never will. Only the idea and OCs behind the story are mine.

xXx

Chapter 3

The sun filtered into the room through any available space. There wasn't much light, but there was still enough to see by. Alex and Aelita were sleeping wrapped up in the sleeping beg which covered them both. Their cloths still remained piled on top of the backpack. Alex was the first to stir as Aelita had shifted her position upon him. He smiled upon seeing her face. Perhaps sleeping with her at his side was not something that would take long to get used to at all. He looked around searching for any unwanted guests. A quick scan of the room had shown him the immediate area was void of any living creature. He gently shook Aelita and upon seeing how deeply asleep she was, he carefully crawled out from under her. He made sure to leave her wrapped up in the sleeping bag as he got dressed. He thought about going to get some berries for breakfast but decided against it. If Aelita should wake without Alex around with the fact that she was still undressed, there would be one hell of argument for him when he returned. Searching his smaller hiking pack, he found nothing to eat, but he did find something else.

He opened his cellphone to check the weather like he always did almost every morning and found one missed call. He decided to play it now and was greatly surprised by the voice of the message.

"Alex, I know your probably sleeping right now, but I've got some good news." Alex recognized the voice in seconds. It belonged to an older male in his sixties as it was very deep. There was a just barely noticeable growling in the voice that served to confirm the message was from Johnson. "I found some ruins a little to the north of Kartonu City about a half a day's hike on foot. I can arrange for a ride for you to get up here on... where is that calendar at now." There was a slight pause in the message and Alex could hear the rustling of paper in the background. "Ah yes, I can get you a ride up here at the end of the week. Perfect time to do explore the ruins during the next week long vacation the schools are having. If you have you want to bring a guest with you, then let me know. I've already undergone the paperwork to see to it that we are the first to explore the ruins. I really think you're going like this site. Anyway, contact me sometime between Monday and Thursday this week to let me know if you're up for another exploration." Alex heard the sound something falling apart in the background. "Oh crap. Gotta go." The message ended with the time stamp, 2:03 AM.

"Alright, that was weird. What has he gotten into this time." Alex checked the weather, which indicated there were still clouds in the area that could bring rain. Sighing, he put his phone back on the clip and attached it to his pants. All there was to do now was wait for Aelita to wake.

--

It took a short while, but Aelita finally began to move. She got up into a sitting position, the sleeping falling down her sides to her waist exposing her naked chest to the world. Alex sat there as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Morning." Aelita slowly got up and hugged Alex.

"You may want to put some clothes on." Alex reminded her to which she blushed and walked over to where Alex had left her clothing. Once dressed, Alex packed up the bag and prepared to leave. "The sooner we get back to the cave, the sooner we can start to collect berries for breakfast."

Alex lead the way back to the cave where to their surprise, found a sleeping Suicune with an egg by her side. Alex just scratched his in confusion as the sleeping Pokemon lay there. "I could have sworn she ran off in the other direction."

"I guess not." Aelita replied.

"Let's leave her be for now. If she's still here after we get back with breakfast, we'll wake her." Alex proposed as he slowly entered the cave and set the small backpack down only taking a small sack with him.

With the sack in hand, Alex and Aelita left the Suicune to sleep with her egg.

The two of them had returned to the lake and in a short time had gathered a large variety of berries. On their way back, the rain once again began to pick up although it was nothing like it was yesterday. This time, it was just a light rain. "Okay, I am really starting to think coming out here was a bad idea. This is not what I had planned for a weekend off of school." Alex sighed, his head hung down just a bit.

"I'm happy to spend it with you though." Aelita told him as they returned to the cave. To their surprise, Suicune was still there and wide wake.

She nearly jumped them when they tried to enter, but quickly apologized. "I am sorry." She bowed her head. "I thought you were some predator looking for a meal."

"We did come here to eat, but not your egg." Alex held up the bag of berries for Suicune to see. "I'm actually quite surprised to see you. I thought you ran off in the other direction."

"I was unable to find anything on the northern side of mountain. I remembered this cave from when I was looking for a place to lay my egg and with the storm coming, I didn't want to risk falling." Suicune explained as she curled up around her egg again.

"It's alright. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need. We'll be leaving to return to my house later today." Alex told her as he opened the bag. Suicune eyed the bag.

"If you want some just ask." Aelita said as she took a seat beside Alex who had decided to rest against the wall.

"I thank you." Suicune slowly got up and walked over next to them.

"We have plenty. Just take whatever ones you like." Alex told her as he spread the berries out for her see.

"It's not that often that others shown me this much kindness. Many try to capture me for various reasons." Suicune told them as she rolled the berries around some with her paw looking for the ripest ones.

"Sounds like you've had a rough life." Aelita picked up a few Oran berries and ate them slowly.

"It is nothing that should worry you." Suicune found that the selection before her was filled with ripe berries and slowly took a few into her mouth before returning to her egg.

"If you don't wish talk of the past then that is your choice." Alex picked a few berries. A small cracking noise caught the attention of the three as the egg started to shift some.

"It's hatching." Aelita cheered.

The egg slowly started to crack in a few places. As the seconds passed, more and more cracks became visible on the egg's surface. Suicune moved in closer ready greet her pup into the world as the egg finally began to fall a part. At first, it was just a small hole with a little blue nose sticking out. Sooner after, the hole grew is size as more baby Suicune made it out of its egg. She was only a little under a foot tall and unlike her mother, she had very short hair rather then the large amount that covered most of her mother's back. Suicune began to nuzzle her pup showing that she was perfectly all right.

Aelita inched forward a bit raising her hand hoping to pet the newborn. "Hello there." The newborn Suicune ran to the other side of her mother out of fear. Aelita backed up with a worried look on her face.

"It's a newborn, Aelita. I don't expect the little one to greet anyone but her mother without fear right now." Alex remained sitting against the wall.

As if just to prove Alex wrong, the baby Suicune saw Alex and looked at him with a slightly questioning look. Alex once again took out his phone checking the weather again to see if the break in the storm would last long enough for him to get down the mountain. Slowly, she crept out from behind her mother and made her way toward Alex. Alex was too busy to notice her until she grabbed his phone and jumped back.

"Hey, you twit. Give that back." Alex was still sitting down and leaned forward trying to grab his phone. He leaned to far forward and fell onto his face. Aelita burst out laughing while the mother Suicune held back a laugh. The baby Suicune got down on her stomach, her front legs inches out of Alex's reach with his phone in her mouth.

"I think she likes you." The mother Suicune tried to keep a straight face.

"So, what's her name?" Alex asked he got up.

"I shall name her Julian, after my sister who died long ago." The mother Suicune told them as she walked over to her pup.

"While we're on the topic of names, what is your name?" Aelita asked taking a seat beside Alex.

"I am Aurora." Aurora bowed her head.

"Aurora, could you perhaps get my phone back. It has almost my entire set of I.D. and registry papers saved on it." Alex asked kindly with an annoyed look on his face.

"Julian, may I have that?" Aurora looked down at her pup who reluctantly surrendered the phone to her mother. Aurora handed it to Alex gently.

"Thanks." Alex took a quick look at it again realizing the break in the storm would only last a hour, two at most before a second wave of clouds that had jus appeared on the edge of the screen would show up. "Hey Aelita. I hate to say this, but we only have a short break in this storm. We need to leave now or we may not get down the mountain in time."

"Then we had better move fast. If I miss a day of school because we got stuck up here, my father wouldn't wait to get on you about it." Aelita sighed.

"I'm more worried about how he'll react to the fact that we're mates." Alex said as he packed what few things there were to pack up. "Oh, Aurora, before we go, I just want to tell you that you can use this cave as long as you need to. I only show up here maybe once or twice a month on the weekends."

"I am in need to offer my thanks to you again, Alex. If there is something I can do, please let me know. With Julian's birth, I won't be going far for a while." Aurora took a seat next to her pup who had found the berries.

"There's not much you can do for me unless you've seen another of my kind." Alex told her.

"Another of your kind? No, I do believe that you are the only one evolved human I have seen in my many years." Aurora told them.

"Well, if you happen to hear of another of my kind, please tell me about it. I live in cave similar to this on southern end of the mountain. Until we meet again, farewell." With these parting words, Alex and Aelita left. Alex once again had the hiking pack and led the way back down the same path they had used to get there.

--

It took a little longer to get back to cliffside down to the base of the mountain do to some fallen branches and wet terrain. Once at the pack of vines, Aelita climbed down first without slipping thanks to her claws. When it came time for Alex to climb down, he grabbed the thickest vine he could wrap his hand around and walked himself down. About halfway down, the rocks under feet shifted and he lost his foot.

"Alex!" Aelita say Alex hanging by just one arm. Alex grabbed another vine to balance himself while he got his footing on the cliffside back. Once down, Aelita grabbed him tightly.

"Don't do that. You scared me." Aelita cried out.

"I scared myself on that." Alex breathing was a bit hard, but that was understandable.

Not a minute after Alex had gotten off the cliffside and began to last part of the walk to back to his house the rain picked up. It came down fast and hard and Alex had to put an arm over his eyes to keep the rain out. What would have been a ten minute walk turned into a three minute run as Aelita took off with Alex being partially dragged behind at the first bolt of lighting.

Alex opened the door and Aelita bolted inside as another strike of thunder sounded. Both of them were soaking wet and Alex headed to the bathroom to grab some towels. The two of them then headed to bedroom to dry off and change clothes.

"Hmm." Alex looked at the wall beside the dresser in the corner of the room as he dried off.

"What is it, Alex? What are you thinking now?" Aelita asked as she took off her pants setting them on a towel Alex had laid down just for the wet clothes.

"I'm thinking I could use a closet." Alex replied as he took off his shirt.

"Are you sure you can use that attack again so soon? Chansey told you to take it easy." Aelita questioned as her shirt came off.

"Making a large room is hard on me. But making a small closet doesn't do much other the an immediate drain on energy." Alex informed her removing his pants and boxers adding them to the pile of wet clothes.

"Don't strain yourself. I don't want you to head back to the Pokemon Center. Especially not in this weather." Aelita removed her panties and began to dry off.

"True. I'll give ya that point." Alex finished drying off first as he had not fur for the water to collect in. He put on a fresh dry pair of boxers and then got dressed in his usual T-shirt and shorts.

It took Aelita a minute, but once she got her fur dry, she got dressed while Alex went to living room to watch the storm from the windows. She came out wearing a pair of long blue pants and a blue top. She took a seat of on the couch. Another strike of thunder sounded outside so close that it may as well have been on top of them. The room did not shake however as it had been built into the cliffside. Aelita cried out scared by the storm.

Alex turned wearing a necklace that Aelita had never seen before. The three gemstones shined brightly in the storm. The ruby fang in the middle with the pair of teardrop sapphires caught Aelita's eyes quickly as Alex hurried over to the couch to comfort his mate. "It's alright. It will take a lot more then a storm the do anything to this house." Alex wrapped his arm around her.

"Alex? Where did you get that necklace? I've never seen it before." Aelita curled up against him eyeing the necklace around Alex's neck.

"This is the only clue I have to who I am. I prefer to keep it a secret from most because I had it appraised for a little over two million credits." Alex told here.

"Two million?" Aelita looked at him questioningly thinking he was lying about the number he gave her.

"That's right. The ruby fang center stone is some of the highest quality Star Ruby around and has no impurities in it. As for the two sapphire tears, the guy said that they were made of very rare type of sapphire called Lunar Tears. Funny thing is that I only went to that Imperial Crafters company to see if I could get some answers about it." Alex told her. "I thought that since it was a very well crafted necklace, maybe I could get some clues about where it was made which could possibly point me to my family. I didn't get any answers about who made it unfortunately." Alex looked down as the necklace.

"You mean to tell me that you got this appraised at Imperial Crafters?" Aelita was shocked. The company known as Imperial Crafters was the best of the best in jewelry, hand tools, construction, and they even had a hand in the medical and engineering markets. Their logo of a pair of hammers acting as an X on top of a large diamond was a common sight in any major city.

"Well, Johnson took me there and was the one who had it appraised. I just went there to ask some questions about it." Alex rested his arm firmly, but gently over her shoulders as another strike of thunder sounded rattling the windows some.

"Tell me about Johnson." Aelita asked quickly trying to take her mind off the storm.

"Why don't we head to bedroom. There are no windows in there and it will hopefully be quieter." Alex offered. Aelita got up with Alex by her side. Together, they walked to bedroom.

"Hold on for a second." Alex opened up the bottom of the dresser and this time pulled out a bunch of metal bars. He assembled them into a pair of frames used to hold hammocks when there were no posts or other such objects around. He placed them side by side and using a few plastic ties bound them together. He then placed them in the middle of the room leaving more then enough room on each side to walk around. He took down the hammocks off the walls and put them on the frames and after a second to thinking, he over lapped them a bit and using a few more plastic ties, he tied them together. He did this in such a way that they would no longer swing from side to side, but instead acted as a makeshift bed that was held in place.

"Here we go." Alex said taking a seat in the center of the make shift bed. It was only about four feet from one side of it to the other and had a slight dip in the middle, but Alex made sure that it would hold them both. He motioned for Aelita to join him as yet another strike of thunder sounded. Aelita practically jumped into the bed. "Please be a bit more careful."

"Sorry." Aelita snuggled up to Ales resting the side of her head on his chest wrapping one leg around him.

"Now you wanted to hear about Johnson. Well for starters, he's a shiny Umbreon just shorter then I am. He had blue rings instead of the yellow ones like others of his kind." Alex began. "I never seen him without his tan jacket and cargo shorts. I swear he looks like an archeologist rather then an explorer in them. Anyway, he is a big time explorer. His full name is William Johnson Yelstien."

"William Yelstien? How did you get him to help you?" Aelita asked. William Yelstien was almost as famous as Imperial Crafters, but rarely talked to anyone other then those on his payroll. You'd be lucky to get to get an interview. The only other people who met with him on regular basis were the museums that purchased his finds.

"Now that is a story worth telling." Alex exclaimed. "It started about a week after I left that family of Nidoking and Nidoqueen."

"The Halls." Aelita knew who they were as Alex had told her about them, but he rarely ever called them by name.

"Yes them. I had been on my own for about a week and my skills as a hunter was what kept me alive. I knew how to track and trap and find shelter. It was around noon in forest and I was tracking a few feral Vulpix who had taken my rabbit when the ground beneath me collapsed sending me down the newly formed hole into some sort of catacombs. My walking stick got caught on the way down between the rocks on the way down, which was what kept my alive. If not for my walking stick, I would have hit a sword that was sticking up out of a skeleton's chest down there. Even at my absolute best, a sword through my chest would have killed me in a most painful and gruesome fashion." Alex told her.

"That would have hurt. I guess it was a lucky thing you had you're walking stick." Aelita cringed at the thought of being impaled like that.

"The only thing I managed to keep on that fall was my necklace." Alex put a hand on the necklace he wore. "I lost my bow, quiver, and knife on that fall. Anyway, I hung tightly onto my walking stick and swung myself back and forth until I knew I wasn't going to get hit by that sword and only then did I let go. I landed a few feet down the hallway I was in. There was very little light down the hall, but as I knew I couldn't go back up, I took my chances. My only thought at the time was, how bad could it be. I didn't hadn't even traveled a few feet and nearly had a heart attack." Alex told her.

"What happened?" Aelita asked wrapping an arm around Alex.

"Another skeleton fell off the wall and landed on me. I ran, tripped, and fell flat on my face. I flipped over to see the pile of bones covered in spider webs and almost took on summoned my spirit form out of fear." Alex laughed.

"You were actually truly scared of something. That's something I never thought I would hear." Aelita was in deed shocked. In all the time she had known him, he had never shown fear. He had shown that he had been worried about a few things, but never scared.

"Well, it took me a minute just to get back on my feet and then a few more minutes just to work up the nerve to move on. What made it worse for me was the fact that I knew I could talk on Feral Ursaring if I had to and win but that place scared me to no end. Finally, after I started moving again, I heard some screaming. Someone was shouting for help. I ran down the halls carefully when I came up Johnson. He had fallen down into a pit trap with no way out. I peaked my head over and he asked me to tied a rope onto something so that he could climb out." Alex continued.

"So, that's how you met him." Aelita suddenly grabbed tightly onto Alex as the thunder sounded again.

"Hey, take it easy, Aelita. We're perfectly safe here." Alex comforted here.

"Sorry, just continue with your story." Aelita said as she loosened her grip.

"Alright. Well, I managed to tie the rope off to a stone and he climbed out. Together, we made our way out. After seeing how scared I was at first, he suggested that we exchange stories to help calm me nerves. After a few hours of walking, we sat down for a snack. He had several energy bars in his pack and lots of water. Apparently, he had planned on being down there for a day or two. Anyway, I told him almost everything I've told you about my past and he seemed to take an interest in me. We spent three days in those catacombs. Those were the three most terrifying days of my life." Alex told her.

"What made it so terrifying?" Aelita asked.

"We faced all sorts of traps, puzzles, and even a few Feral Pokemon just to get out. The Feral Pokemon were the easy part." Alex told her recalling the three days he spent down there. "There were collapsing floors, spike pits, poison darts. I might as well have stepped into an adventure story. The only thing we really didn't face off with was a magical monster although we came pretty close that sleeping Dragonite we accidentally woke up. Never again have I seen such a pissed off Pokemon." Alex told her. "We lived off energy bars and limited water, made our past countless traps, and fended off a small army of Feral Pokemon. I swear I cheated death a number of times down there with all those close-calls I had while I was down there." Alex shook some thinking about a few of the close calls he had.

"That must have been awful having to go through all that fighting for you lives." Aelita couldn't imagine having to go through that.

"After that three day escape from that place, Johnson offered to help me find out who I was. Since I helped him, he agreed to help me. He put me back in school and paid for it for the first year. It was during that summer that I figured that I could build houses like this one. Took me roughly a year to build the first one, but I paid back Johnson half of what he paid for my schooling and had enough left over to pay for school last year. I was surprised how much I was offered for the house. Of course, one of Johnson's employees helped with the electrical and water to get the place sold after an offer was made. Since that year, I've lived a simple life. I would have Johnson help me pick out a good location and school. I'd build a house there over the school year and then sell it at the end of the school year moving to the next place and sta" Alex was cut short when Aelita tightly grabbed onto him as the house shook after another loud boom followed by an even louder crash. "What the. Aelita wait here." Alex jumped off the makeshift bed and ran to the living room.

There in front of the windows were a few very large boulders that had been dislodged from a higher point in the cliff. The ceiling seemed perfect fine, so Alex didn't worry too much. "I'll have to check that when the storm passes if there is enough light out." Alex slowly returned to find Aelita waiting there impatiently for him to return. No sooner had he laid back down, she once again curled up on him.

"What happened?" She asked, bits of fear in her voice.

"My guess is that a upper part of the cliff gave way. We're perfectly fine here." Alex wrapped his arms around her.

"Please don't leave me alone." Aelita said as she looked out the door.

"I won't. I'll stay here with you." Alex said hoping to calm Aelita down. The storm outside seemed to grow even worse as Alex felt his back pocket vibrate indicating his cellphone was detecting worse weather to come. Alex knew at this point, it wasn't just a storm, but could be a tropical on that rolled from the ocean. This was the time of year to get sudden storms. He could already image the rain at the city.

xXx

The rest of the day was spent mostly laying on the makeshift expect for when Alex had went to kitchen to make supper. They fell asleep as the storm continued to rage on into the night.

Alex awoke the next morning to the sounds of his cellphone's alarm with Aelita resting there against him.

He moved her a bit to get up as he went to start his morning ritual. He began his daily routine like any other day with quick shower. After the shower, he got dressed in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, his normal choice of clothing and started on breakfast.

Aelita woke to the smell of bacon in the air as she stirred. Slowly, she rose and got dressed in long pants and a tank top.

As Aelita made it to the living room, Alex walked out with a pair of plates in his hands. Each one had a small serving of bacon, just two strips and both had twelve Oran berries on them. "Breakfast is ready."

The two of them ate quietly. Once done, Alex gathered up a few pens in his pocket before putting on his boots. Once he was ready, Aelita grabbed a small pouch, which carried what few things she needed to take to the school with her including her I.D. card. Both of them would their I.D.s today as their science class was having a quick trip out to a forest for a project. The last thing Alex grabbed was his necklace, which he tucked away under his shirt so no one would see it.

"We leave once your ready." Alex informed Aelita as she put her shoes on.

"Then let's go." Aelita suppressed a small yawn.

--

It was quick trip to the school. Most of the light had come from street lamps as the sun had now yet risen, but was due to make its appearance soon.

The two arrived at the school just as the Principal Luna Hope, a very kind, but strict Gardevoir showed up.

"I'm used to seeing you here as I walk in Alex, but not Aelita." Luna opened the door for the three of them to enter.

"My father was called off on business again." Aelita informed her.

"Very well. I assume since the two of you are arriving together, that you are staying with Alex then." Luna moved toward a nearby staircase.

"That is correct." Alex told her as he made his way to library with Aelita at his side.

Alex opened the door and the Librarian, a Roserade by the name of Sara greeted Alex. "I already have you're book out and ready." Sara pulled out a book labeled The History of the Kralion Empire.

"This has become routine hasn't it, Sara." Alex took the book.

"Kralion Empire? That's a strange choice in reading material." Aelita commented upon seeing the book.

"I've found a few reasons to think that Emperor Li Yung was the same as I am." Alex took a seat and began to read waiting for school to begin. Aelita had chosen an old book that she had read before. The Tales of the Whispering Swordsman, it was a good book and three year best seller. Many schools had purchased several copies as the story had elements of all sorts of writing to it. Most often, the book was given to sophomores as a summer reading story.

--

Time passed quickly as Alex closed his book. He checked his phone for the time and saw that the bus would be arriving soon. Alex alerted Aelita to the time as she closed the book. They shared a few classes at the High School, namely first period Biology, third period, ninth period Gym.

Alex stopped by his locker long enough to grab a notebook out from the many others that were in locker. For that matter, that was all that was in his locker besides textbooks. Still, the one notebook was all that he was going to need on the trip. He accompanied Aelita to her locker, which was filled with her books and a few other odds and ends. After grabbing her notebook, she closed her locker. Students had already began to fill the halls. Many of them were just arriving signaling that classes would start soon. Alex and Aelita headed to the bus stop where they awaited the rest of the Biology classes to join them.

The rest of the classes showed up quickly as three large yellows buses pulled up. Finally, the six teachers in charge of the trip showed up. There was the fairly large Charizard, Mr. Scales, the Heracross, Miss Decon, the younger Vileplume, Miss Nectar, and the Pincer, Mister Horns. All four of them were the science teachers for the school. Accompanying them were Luna Hope, the principal, and a Weavile by the name of Mister Thorn who was one of the school's Phys. Ed. Teachers.

"Okay, everyone take out your I.D. You'll need it to get on the bus." Miss Decon shouted. Everyone pulled out their I.D. as they boarded. In all, there was a total of 120 students plus the six teachers going on this trip.

As always, Alex went straight for the back of the bus with Aelita by his side. While Alex was ignored, Aelita was offered a number of seats. She declined them all to be with her mate though, not that anyone knew she had picked a mate.

The teachers explained what was expected of them on the trip. Everyone was to split into groups of four and document the Dragon type Feral Pokemon in the area during the Migration. All the groups were given a camera to take photos of a few of the dragons they found. The data they collected today would be used in a later project, so each group was to gather as much information as possible.

The buses were headed to the Suicune Falls. Everyone one looked on at the falls. This side of the mountain was a preserved area and the school had to get special permission to come here but being as well respected as the school was, it was easy. Many of the students looked on at the falls as this was there first time here. The Suicune falls consisted of two separate waterfalls. The one on the right was by far larger almost twice as big as the one on the left, but was much lower to the ground. The one on the left however was rougher compared to the gentle flow of the one the right. A dense forest lined the lake which the falls fed. It wasn't hard to spot several Feral Pokemon on the sides of the lake resting, playing or feasting on the numerous berries that riddled the area. Two rivers were connected to lake. The larger one flowed away from the lake heading west. The other river, which was to the north of the lake, fed into the lake.

"Break off into groups of four. Remember that you have four hours before lunch will be served. Make the most of your time. Also, it may be wise to keep well-balanced teams just in case." Mister Scales alerted the students.

Alex and Aelita of course choose to stick with each other and were welcomed by a pair of Aelita's friends, a Zangoose by the name of Steve and a Gallade by the name of Victor.

"Alex, this is Steve. He's leads the Explorers Club." Aelita pointed to the Zangoose.

"Nice to meet ya." Steve nodded his head.

"And this is Victor. He's the head of the Wrestling Team." She motioned toward the Gallade.

"So, who's the human?" Victor asked.

"Evolved human." Alex corrected him. "And my name is Alex." Alex bowed his head.

"Alright, let's get this over with." Steve headed towards the forest.

"I wouldn't got that way." Alex spoke up and then pointed to the lake. "I'd stick closer to the lake. There may be more feral Pokemon, but the larger predators live in the woods to the south and south east."

"Hmp. You sound like you've been here." Victor stared at Alex.

"My house is on the mountain a short ways to the west." Alex informed them. "Personally, I think it would be better to stick by the water." Alex walked off towards the shore line with Aelita by his side."

"She doesn't really trust him that much does she?" Victor asked Steve.

"Alex does have the highest grade in the class. In all of his classes for that matter. Besides, they've been friends since last year, I think." Steve said as he moved to catch up.

--

Alex lead to the group to river flowing out of the lake and after a short time of looking, they found a group of several Dragonite and pair of infant Dratini.

They kept their distance not trying to startle the dragons that were eating berries from the many bushes around them. As much as Victor hated to admit it, Alex was right about where to find the dragons.

A few hours passed and nothing big happened until another group joined them.

A pair of Scyther, both male, a female Froslass, and male Charmeleon walked up to them.

"Aelita? You still hanging around with that human." The Froslass spoke up while one of the Scyther walked over to where Steve was. He joined Steve in documenting the Dragons they were watching. The other one stood by the Froslass.

The Charmeleon walked over to where the Froslass was. "How you can hang you with human when you can have me is beyond crazy." The Charmeleon had a large smile on his face.

"I wouldn't think of going out with some like you. You're almost as bad as Michael." Aelita calmly replied.

"What's so special about a human anyway. Sure a few of them have brains, but they can't do much of anything else." The Scyther next to the Froslass stated.

"For starters, Alex is an evolved human." Aelita was starting to get annoyed by the second group who caught up with them.

"My mistake, but I thought human's didn't evolve." The Froslass smiled. "And I still don't. I think he just made the whole thing up."

"Now is not the time to argue this." Steve spoke up just a little. "Wait until we've left the dragons alone. We don't want to startle them."

"I'm with Steve on that." Alex said as he took another picture with one hand writing things down in his notebook with his free hand.

"Just ditch the scum." Froslass raised her voice. "He's not even worth the effort."

"I agree. I'll tell ya what. There's a dance coming up next week. I'll let you come as my date." The Charmeleon smiled.

"I'd rather go with my mate." Aelita turned him down. Almost everyone looked at her.

"Mate? When did you pick a mate?" The Charmeleon asked.

(Why don't I see this ending well.) Alex thought to himself. It was obvious that the dragons knew where they were by now. He had caught them looking over in his directions a few times to make sure he wasn't coming too close.

"I've chosen Alex to be my mate." Aelita walked over to Alex and put her arms around him as he turned.

"You picked a human to be your mate?" Charmeleon shouted.

"Quiet down. We can't risk startling the dragons." Alex warned them.

"You must be joking. You picked that thing as your mate." The Froslass couldn't believe it.

Alex turned his gaze from the Froslass and her crew and back to the dragons real fast.

"We had better move." Alex picked up things as Steve and the Scyther he was with already up and moving.

"Everyone drop the subject. The dragons don't like us being here." Steve said as he pointed toward where the Dragons were. Two of the larger Dragonite were slowly making their way to see what was going on.

"We can settle this later." The second Scyther put his arm on the Froslass's shoulder. "Right now, we need to move."

A cry from one the Dragonite sent both groups running. All of them knew that while if it was just a Dragonite or two, they would be fine and could fend the dragon off. However, with a whole pack right there, they had no chance. It was best to place it safe.

Alex's group ran back along the river while the other group ran into the woods. It took a minute, but everything turned out okay as the dragons left them to run off.

The rest of the day proved quite except for lunch where Aelita got bombed by an endless stream of questions from her other friends. Following Alex's example, she grabbed a few sandwiches and headed for the shoreline for some peace and quite. The second half of the field was pretty much free time for Alex's group as Alex alone had about three full pages of notes and shared them with the others. This even seemed to impress Victor who started to give him some respect.

The buses arrived back at the school just in time for school to let out. If not for Aelita, Alex would have spent another hour at the school to do some more studying, but with Aelita spending the week at his house, he left with the majority of the students.

Alex decided it would be best to stop by the hardware store to pick up the supplies he was unable to grab last Friday.

After picking up the box of parts Alex had ordered, they made their way back to his house.

As Alex opened the door, Alex's phone rang.

"Hello?" Alex asked as he walked into the house.

"It's about time this thing started working again." Mr. Kilter was on the other end. "Now where's my daughter." Alex and Aelita spent the better the an hour going over what had happened last Friday with Mr. Kilter before he had finally calmed down. They did not however tell him about their love for each other yet and kept the fact that they were now mates secret.

"Now that that is out of the way. I'm afraid that I have some bad news." Mr. Kilter explained. "As much as I want to be there for your birthday, Aelita, my boss has ordered to head to the Kanto Region once I'm done here. I don't expect to be back until the end of the month."

Aelita's head dropped some. "It's alright." She sighed.

"Mr. Kilter. Would it be alright if Aelita was to join me on one of the ruin explorations with Johnson?" Alex asked.

"Johnson? You mean Yelstien right?" Mr. Kilter asked.

"Yes. I've got a message from him asking me to join him on an exploration of a new site a half a day's hike from Kartonu City. He's already stated that I could bring a friend if I wanted and he'll arrange for a ride." Alex told him which caught Aelita's attention.

"When would this happen?" Mr. Kilter asked.

"Next week during the week's vacation the schools are having." Alex told him.

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. It's up to her I guess." Mr. Kilter nodded.

"Really. You mean I can come with you and Johnson." This seemed to cheer Aelita up a bit. "And we'll be able to stop in Kartonu City."

"I'll let Johnson know tomorrow that you'll joining us." Alex said.

"Aelita, there is an old hiking pack in my closet. You can use that to carry your things in. Anyway, I've got to go. This things is about to die again." Mr. Kilter said referring to his phone.

Alex closed his phone and Aelita gave him a great big kiss. "Thank you Alex. I've always wondered what it will be like on one of those explorations you've told me so much about."

"Come next week, you'll be going on one." Alex told her.

xXx

The week started off by passing along like most others, only word of Alex and Aelita being mates spread quickly. For the first time ever, people actually went so far as to seek out Alex. Everyone had asked him questions about how he managed to convince Aelita to be his mate. He ignored most of them, but he did not like the sudden boost in attention he got. By the end of Wednesday, he was fed up with it and finally told them to leave him alone. Aelita wasn't too surprised to hear about the sudden outburst Alex had given to those who bothered him. Except for the one outburst however, the week was calm.

--

As school ended on Friday, Alex waited by the main door of the school with Aelita by his side.

"What are we waiting out here for?" She asked.

"Not what, who and that who Bryan. He's a five foot Lairon who will be driving a green jeep covered in mud." Alex told her. "And he's the one who will be taking us out to meet Johnson. He's the youngest member of the crew with him only being nineteen. His uncle convinced Johnson to hire him when he got out of school a little over a year ago."

A few seconds passed before a muddy jeep up to school, its roof had been removed and had a tired mounted on the front. It was for off road travel, not city streets.

"Yo, Alex." A Larion stood up in the driver's seat. "Good to see ya mon."

"Bryan, it has been a while." Alex walked to the vehicle and pulled the passenger seat forward to let Aelita get in. "First stop, my house so me and Aelita can get our things."

"So, dis be da lady friend Johnson say you be bringin." The Lairon sat down, pulled out and took off down the road.

"My name is Aelita. It's nice to meet you." Aelita sat back against the slightly rough back seat.

"She be a good lookin lady. Wouldn't mind working with her at all, but she being a bit young for me." Bryan drove down the streets heading for the mountain where Alex's house was.

"Careful, Bryan." Alex warned him.

"I've already got a mate, thank you." Aelita declared.

"So, tell me who be da lucky mon to have ya." Bryan asked.

"Alex." Aelita responded. The jeep came to dead stop right out Alex's house.

"Alex? You mean dis Alex?" Bryan just looked at her as Alex got out.

"Yes, that Alex. We're mates." Aelita told Bryan.

"But he be being as anti-social as Johnson. How you get da girl, Alex?" Bryan raised his voice in disbelief.

"She picked me." Alex explained as he walked inside for a second. He came back out carrying to large hiking packs.

"Life no be treating me fair mon. I be looking for years without getting me a lady. You don't even look and ya get one. Dis not be right broda." Bryan complained.

Bryan talked most of the way to Kartonu City with Aelita. This was going to be her first time there.

Everyone knew about Kartonu City. It was the largest city in the entire Welforth Region. It was the heart of Welforth and was a very famous port city. On average, there were always two or three Cargo ships docked at any one time in the docks loading and unloading goods from around the world. It had ferries to all of the other Regions as well. If one was looking to buy something whether it is antique sword or top of the line car, Kartonu City was the place to go. One could buy all sorts of things there. The city was well over twenty-eight square miles if you included the docks and the privately owned farm in the northern of the city which grew all sorts of various grapes for the many wines which was one thing the city was known for. Kartonu City was also the headquarters for Imperial Crafters. One of the few things the city did not have was a casino, but they did have a large steamboat about half a mile off the coast that served as one.

The trip out to Kartonu City took until nightfall. The city was easily spotted though even in the dark. Finally, Bryan pulled up to finest hotel in the city located near the western entrance of the city called The Dragon's Den. The seventeen-story building towered over most of the other buildings and even had three separate pent houses in it, one for each of the major towers of the building. The bottom eleven floors were of a large circular design. It was the three towers that made it unique. Each one had the basic shape of Dragonair's head to it with the top two floors of each one serving as a pent house.

Alex already knew which pent house Johnson would be using. He walked inside Aelita at his side. The lobby was full of various people talking about whatever they felt like. A large pool in the middle of the room had a few Dratini in it, each one happy to be there as they played what appeared to be a game of tag with each other. Aelita couldn't believe that she was staying in the Dragon's Den for the night as she looked around.

Bryan led them to an elevator as Aelita looked around while she walked. Bryan already had a key card out for the pent house floor of the northern tower when he got in.

"If ya liked da ground floor little lady, wait til ya see da pent house." Bryan laughed.

"I guarantee you'll like this." Alex said as the elevator began to rise with its three passengers and their luggage.

The door opened to a most unusual sight. The room was huge and Aelita could easily make out that the two large windows in the room were the Dragonair's eyes. The room was mostly empty having a few chairs here and there. In corner of the room was female Mawile wearing a pink dress that was slightly town on one side. In between her and corner was a Sandslash holding its arm over its face. He wore a pair of jeans and that was it showing the scars across his chest.

"Alex." The Mawile ran over to greet him.

"What happened. I can't leave the two of ya alone any more can I?" Bryan asked as he walked in.

"He had it coming ripping my dress." The Mawile said. "And how are you today Alex?" The Mawile was a few inches taller then Alex and she leaned down just to look him in the eye.

"What are planning on doing with Alex?" Aelita asked.

"So, you must be Aelita." She turned to face the Absol.

"Aelita, this is Cheryl Domer." Alex introduced the Mawile. "She is in charge of medical treatment when out in the field, but she is also starting a modeling career on the side." Aelita looked up the Mawile. She had very fine figure. Slender legs, thin waist and fairly large breasts. He eyes seemed to glow. "And that over there is Justin Kilgorn. He is in charge of supplies and records."

"Nice to meet you, see ya later." Justin ran into the elevator quickly grabbing a shirt that was on of the chairs as soon as Alex, Aelita, Bryan were out.

"So, how are you doing today?" Cheryl asked again.

"I'm fine. " Alex stepped over to Aelita. "Just please stop treating me like I'm your boyfriend. How many times do I have to remind that we have no relation with each other."

"I can't help it. You're so fun to be with." Cheryl replied to which Aelita got a slightly angry look.

"I also have a mate." Alex told her.

"What, you with a mate?" Cheryl was stunned.

"That's right. Me and Alex are mates." Aelita said as she wrapped her arms around Alex.

"Well, I certainly didn't see that coming." Cheryl walked off.

"What was that about?" Aelita asked.

"Cheryl has it in her head that I like her and I don't know why." Alex replied.

A voice above them caught their attention. "Catch." Alex turned to look up and say a small gemstone coming at him. He reached out and grabbed it. There in his hand was a small sapphire in the same shape as on the ones on his necklace. Just to be sure, Alex pulled out the necklace from under his shirt. It was a perfect match.

"Where did you find this and did it have a twin?" Alex looked back up at the shiny Umbreon on the floor above him. The Umbreon wore a pair of tan cargo shorts and a white T-shirt. The rings on his body were a deep ocean blue instead yellow like others of his kind. He jumped the rail and landed softly in front of them.

"Found that by itself outside the new ruins. I'm just waiting on some last minute supplies I sent Andrew to get before we can head out there in a day or two." The Umbreon told them. "So, this is Aelita, your mate." The Umbreon looked over once and smiled. "I think this will last a long time. I guess I won't have to worry about that extra tent then, will I?"

"No, we're just fine sleeping together." Aelita told him.