Ronnie became very uncomfortable with the knowledge she had learned.  She had stayed secretive the few remaining days at the manor as Roxas, Gin, and Erika had requested, but she now found herself feeling very sad whenever she was around Tommy.  She would also find herself zoning out whenever she spoke with him, or was near him, because Tommy’s hairstyle was no longer “just a hairstyle.”  Ronnie now saw it as a mark of the curse, almost like a permanent stain on Tommy’s character, and Ronnie couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he was a sad, depressing being because of it.  Tommy had been so charismatic and charming when Ronnie first met him, and he had continued to keep such a demeanor even to the current day, but now that she had been trained by Lebasí, Ronnie was catching some of the little quirks that showed his true emotions.  Besides the times that Ronnie had felt emotions of loss, she could catch times when Tommy’s face appeared slack and tired.  He was never as enthusiastic with his pokémon as he appeared to be in the earlier photos, and sometimes, Ronnie even felt that he was just going through the motions.  She wondered if he was ready for retirement, and the idea that he was doing another journey just for her made her really sad.

She continued to ponder all these things in her mind as she and Tommy spent the last day in the manor together.  At the moment, they were huddled over their packs, and Tommy was reading a checklist.

“Toothpaste?”

“Check.”

“Full water packs?”

“Check.”

“At least three weeks worth of clothing?”

Ronnie looked over the stuff she had in her bag.  Although she never really needed to doll herself up, Ronnie was not one to dress plainly, and Tommy had laughed at her when she packed clothing from hip department stores, saying that she was just going to ruin the expensive stuff.  She looked up at his twinkling eyes and smirked as she replied, “Check.”

“Sleeping bags?”

“Check.”

“Medicine kits?”

“Check.”

They had been hashing over the list for a long time, checking and rechecking everything for the past two days, and they were doing their last check-up for good, before the day started and they had to leave.  It was still very early in the morning.

Tommy smiled as they lifted their heads from the table full of items.  “Well, Ronnie,” he said, smiling.  “I think we’re all ready to go.”

“I suppose so,” the new trainer replied, looking over her home.  “I suppose so…”  She stared intensely at some of the differing expensive items on display in her home, and sighed as she examined them.  “You know,” she said, pointing to one oriental vase close to the hallway leading to the north wing, “I never noticed that vase before.”

“It’s been there the whole time,” Tommy replied, frowning.

“Really?” Ronnie said, placing a finger to her lip.  “How… amusing.”

“Heh heh, you’re really going to miss this place, aren’t you?” Tommy chuckled.

Ronnie eyed his spikes as they moved with his head, but quickly turned her attention back to his face.  “Well, I have spent my entire life here, after all.”

“Don’t worry.  You’ll be back.”  Tommy smiled warmly as he tousled Ronnie’s hair.

“Hey, cut that out!” she cried back, taking a swing at him and almost hitting the table their stuff was on.

“Get used to it,” he replied, grinning.  “As a trainer, you’re going to have all sorts of messiness problems.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled sourly at him.

Tommy chuckled as he lifted his pack to his shoulders.  “Heh, well, let’s get to the kitchen, alright?”

“Sure, I’m starving,” Ronnie admitted as she followed him.

Ronnie and Tommy met a shock when they followed the aroma to the kitchen.  Rita was there, and, to Ronnie’s surprise, so were the other three chefs.  “We felt that it was a big deal you’re leaving,” Rita said, smiling warmly, “so we decided to give y’all a proper meal before you go.”

“Oh, thanks, you guys!” Ronnie practically shouted with glee.  She ran around the counter and gave Rita a huge hug, and then turned to give the pastry chef a hug before realizing that she was covered in flour.  She walked back to the front of the counter and sat on one of the stools.  “Join me for breakfast, Tommy!” she said cheerily, as she patted the stool next to her.

“Sure,” he replied, smiling greatly and warming the room even though it was still before sunrise.

Ronnie relaxed in the effect before turning to her cooking staff.  “Are you guys done yet?”

“Almost,” a young chef replied, as he whipped eggs.  “We’re trying to put out all the stops that we can.”

“The entire staff wishes to bid you farewell,” Rita replied, smiling.

Ronnie blushed lightly.  “That’s sweet of you guys,” she said, grinning.  “I don’t deserve you.”

“No, you don’t!”  That was all Ronnie heard before she was glomped from behind and lifted in a huge hug.

“MARK!!!” she screamed in surprise.  “Put me down!” she added hastily, trying to get him back.

He giggled as he lightly set her upon her feet.  “You know, I don’t like waking up any earlier than eleven, so you should feel privileged!”

“Same here,” someone yawned, as the front door closed.

Ronnie caught a glimpse of the entrance way before she squealed in delight.  “Erika!” she cried, running up to her friend.

The Gym Leader cringed as Ronnie ran up and hugged her.  “Ow, Ronnie,” she mumbled.  “It’s way too early for,” she yawned before finishing, “so much enthusiasm.”

“I quite agree,” James’ deep voice sounded from directly behind Erika.  Ronnie turned to view him.  “I left early to pick up Erika.  I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all,” Ronnie said, smiling happily at her chauffer.  She wrapped him in a tight hug and sighed cheerfully.  “This is great!  I didn’t think there was going to be this much enthusiasm when I left.”

“Of course there was!” Mark shouted loudly.  “There’s no way I’d miss my lil’ boss’ goin’ away par-tay!”  He poked her hard in the ribs.

Ronnie glowered at him from below her bangs.  “You know, I still wonder if I’m actually going to miss you…”

“Aw, really?” Mark replied, instantly becoming gloomy.

The new trainer just scoffed.  “I won’t fall for that trick ever again!”

“Well, fine,” the mechanic replied, chuckling as he thumped her in the forehead.

“You!  Grr…”

“Anyways,” Erika cut in, “I heard there would be food, and I can smell it easily enough.  Are we going to dig in?”

“Sure!” the chefs replied in unison, and they bustled about to carry the large dishes towards the dining room that adjourned the kitchens.  As the food was placed, it became evident that they were going serve themselves in a buffet fashion.  Ronnie’s stomach growled as she eyed the display.  There were the traditional breakfast dishes of pancakes, waffles, and French toast, along with seven different kinds of sausage and four kinds of bacon.  There were also omelets being made to order, and different cuts of ham and beef.  Croissants, baguettes, rolls, and other pastries wafted a warm aroma that made the somewhat cold morning in the manor feel a bit cozier.

As Ronnie, Tommy, Erika, and the two Rainer brothers dug into the feast, while the chefs continued to carry out platters of food, the remaining members of the staff slowly but surely came in and took a seat at the table.  They all smiled and congratulated Ronnie on her efforts, before digging into their food.  Ronnie watched as the landscaping staff, in nice, semi-formal attire that Ronnie was not used to seeing them dress in, came and started eating, followed by the maids.  Thirty minutes into the breakfast, the last three staff members remaining came to join the meal together.  Gustavo came in, smiling a crinkly old smile, and hugged Ronnie tightly as Bob and Joanne Rainer followed him in.

Ronnie eyed Joanne over Gustavo’s shoulder, and the manor’s mistress stared straight back at the heiress as she took a seat.  Gustavo whispered in Ronnie’s ear, “Don’t you worry about anything, Madam.  I will be keeping a very close eye on things here as you are going on your journey.”

“Thank you, Gustavo,” she whispered back into his ear.  “That means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

The elderly butler just smiled as he sat across from Ronnie and picked up a roll.  Everyone spent the next couple of hours together, joined in feast, and exchanged stories as well as more congratulations.  It had an effect of filling Ronnie with euphoria, and she continued to smile throughout the whole meal.  By the time everyone had eaten their fill, she had tears in her eyes, and she was happy to be loved so much, but sad to know that it would be ending so soon.

Ronnie suddenly heard Lebasí’s voice in her head, and smiled as he thought, Every great story starts from a different story’s end.  You are just at the end of a different chapter of your life.

Lebasí had long learned how to communicate to Ronnie from inside his ultra ball, so it was no surprise to the teenage trainer to hear him communicating with her.  {I hope you’re right,} she thought back, smiling in spite of herself.  {It’s going to be hard to get used to not being around them.}

No worries, Lebasí responded.  I have total faith that you will be able to get used to your situation easily enough.

“My situation…” Ronnie whispered aloud, in a sort of self-mock.  She took a moment to reach inside her pocket and pick up the poké balls, hiding them below the table.  “My little team,” she murmured, looking over the ultra ball, the two poké balls, and the return ball, respectively.  “We’re leaving in less than an hour…”  She quickly stuffed them back into her bag, and spent the remainder of her meal with Lebasí casually watching from her mentality, a lingering presence that constantly reassured Ronnie as the time to leave inched closer and closer.

And suddenly, without warning, the clock was tolling six times, and the chefs were standing up to clean the tables.  The remaining staff stood and wished Ronnie the best they could as they all walked into the entrance hall, and then, it was just Ronnie, Tommy, Erika, Gustavo, James, Mark, and Rita staying to have their final words with the girl they all knew so well.

Ronnie cried lightly as her four remaining staff members hugged her in turn.  Gustavo’s hug was both the warmest and the tightest, and Ronnie smiled as he whispered in her ear, “Don’t leave any room for doubt, Madam Veronica.  You are an unbelievably strong-willed person, so long as you have the drive and the desire, and you will be a force the Kanto Federation will be speaking of for many years to come.”

Ronnie cried as Gustavo stepped back into line, smiling his crinkly old smile, and then Rita stood up to Ronnie and, quickly and unexpectedly, gave her a bear hug around her middle.  “Hey, Rita,” Ronnie jokingly whined, “you’re going to split me in half!”

“I’m gonna miss ‘choo, kiddo!” the chef said, crying huge, warm tears.  Rita sighed as she stepped away from Ronnie.  “You better make us proud!”

And then it was the Rainer brothers’ turn.  James, who was never one to show too much emotion, simply smiled as he offered an extended hand to Ronnie, but his younger, wilder brother pushed it out of the way as he tackled the new trainer.  “Ronnie!” Mark yelled excitedly.  “You’re living my dream!”

Ronnie didn’t even make any of her normal remarks or complaints, but simply smiled at the little smirk that had crept on James’ face once Mark had shown his normal enthusiasm.  She turned to the mechanic, and was surprised to see that his eyes were actually a bit watery.  “Aw, Mark, are you crying for me?” Ronnie asked, trying hard to suppress a giggle.

“No!” Mark replied, seemingly angry that such an idea could be made.  “I’m just tired, that’s all!”

Ronnie smiled and did something she had never done before.  She reversed roles, and reached up high to tousle the large spikes that made up Mark’s Mohawk.  She whispered quietly into his ear, “I think I’m going to miss you the most, bro.”

Mark stared back at Ronnie for a long time, his demeanor slowly changing to a more reserved person, and he pushed his Mohawk back out of his face as he reached down and whispered into her ear, “Me too, little sis.”  They hugged for a long time, longer than Ronnie had hugged anyone else, and as Mark stepped back to stand next to his brother, a real, genuine tear traveled down his cheek.

Ronnie then turned to face her friends.  “Hugs?” she asked, facing Erika and holding her arms outstretched.

“Psh,” Erika mumbled, looking at Ronnie in a similar fashion to someone who was full of questioning skepticism.  “Do you really think I’d say ‘bye’ to you now?”

“Um, yes?” Ronnie asked, unsure of what to make of the question.

Erika rolled her eyes.  “Not now, silly-head,” she said, shaking her head in fake disbelief.  “I’m walking you out of the city.”

“Aw, that’s nice!” Ronnie said, beaming happily.  “I get an escort!  Well, more than just what I was expecting,” she finished, turning to face Tommy.

The veteran trainer was watching the goodbye ceremonies in a very distant manner, and his expression didn’t change for the first couple of seconds after he was addressed.  However, as it became evident that he was the focus of that little comment, Tommy did a warm smile, brightening the cold room of linoleum, ceramic, and wood.  Still, Ronnie continued to watch, and once everyone stopped paying attention to him, Tommy’s face changed back to the distant, far away look.  He appeared troubled, and Ronnie only hoped that she could get them all to get going fast enough to distract Tommy from whatever turmoil might be roiling in his head.  After all, such emotional conflict caused actual physical pain for her, and she didn’t appreciate it.

Ronnie turned and faced her last four staff members with a bright smile, and waved to them while exchanging loud goodbyes as she hoisted her heavy pack on her shoulders and, exiting the large doors, walked down the path to the gates.  With one last kind word to Bob Rainer as she walked out of the entrance gate, Ronnie left her manor and headed for a new, lengthy adventure in the world of a pokémon trainer.  Of course, reality always comes back to slap people hard in the face whenever they get a chance to escape it, and the same is true for celebrities.  Ronnie was no exception.

The cold October morning was full of fog, and it was so thick that, when she was in the manor, Ronnie couldn’t even make out the silhouette of the front entrance gates.  And, as she walked out of them with Tommy and Erika in tow, the manor was invisible behind her, lost in the white gloom.  So, it came as a surprise to Ronnie when, out of nowhere, about thirty reporters and their camera crews appeared from the dark haze.

Immediately, the camera lights flashed in the three trainers’ eyes, and Ronnie lifted a hand to shield her self.  “Veronica Calst!” Ronnie heard several reporters calling her name.  A barrage of questions immediately followed the recognition.  “What are your plans for training?”  “Do you plan to take the Gym Leader challenge?”  “What compelled you to start doing something so different for you?”  “What are your feelings on pokémon in general?”  “Officially, what pokémon do you have, and what are their levels?”  “Do you think it’s reasonable for you to even bother trying to train?”

The pure volume of the voices and their questions overwhelmed Ronnie, and she simply shook her head as she walked through them.  “I’m sorry,” she said, instantly quieting the voices, “but I do not have any comments at this time, except that I most definitely am leaving Celadon City for a while.  Thank you.”  She patted her backpack and continued to walk past, the reporters following her and thrusting microphones in her face.  Soon, as it became evident that Ronnie wasn’t responding, they turned their attention to her companions, and it was Erika and Tommy’s turn to be the spotlight.

As they continued to walk, Ronnie could feel Tommy’s emotion over everyone else’s because of the immense power behind it.  He was totally furious, and Ronnie was afraid that he might snap and start a fight.  However, she didn’t need to worry.

“Little Veronica!”  Ronnie heard a call coming from somewhere directly above her and she looked up, but couldn’t see anything because of the fog.

However, she could hear the reporters next to her, as well as Tommy and Erika, and they all started asking each other where that loud Noctowl call had come from.  The name of the pokémon species sparked something, and Ronnie stared up at the sky and called incredulously, “Hoots?!”

The reporters heard Ronnie’s Noctowl call, and they immediately turned to her and started asking questions about why she was doing all of the fake pokémon calling, but Ronnie was listening to the Noctowl flying above her.  “Listen, Little Veronica,” the Noctowl called down.  “I’m going to distract the mob.  You take your friends and run.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her Noctowl speech increasingly feeding the reporters’ drive and motivation, but she didn’t get a response.  Instead, there was a huge, blinding light from the sky, almost like a flash-bang grenade, and Ronnie took that as a cue.  Tucking her head low to shield her eyes from the light, she grabbed Erika’s and Tommy’s hands and led them out of the throng of reporters.

“What’s going on, Ronnie?” Erika asked, as Tommy continued to stare behind him towards the brilliant light.

“We’re running to the trams!  It’s time to escape!” Ronnie called out gleefully, and Erika and Tommy didn’t hesitate.  With a thrill unlike anything she had ever felt before, Ronnie ran with Tommy and Erika to leap onto the tram that was waiting at the station, making her little escape in the deep fog.

The few people on the morning tram that apparently were heading to work stared out at the brilliant light shining over the manor gates.  It was so bright that Ronnie could still easily make out all the reporters, some of which were starting to look around wildly to find their missing figurehead.  Ronnie started feeling afraid that they would figure out she was on the tram, but just as she thought that, the light went out, and at the same moment, the tram pulled out from the station with a strong jerk.  Ronnie and her companions could no longer see anything outside the windows except the dark gray moisture, and Ronnie rested back in her chair as the tram continued to move.

“Well,” Erika said, facing her friend, “I probably should have warned you about that…”

Tommy and Ronnie both glared over at her with dark looks on their faces, and the Gym Leader shrugged sheepishly.  Ronnie had opened her mouth to make a retort, but before she could say anything, she was interrupted.

“Excuse me,” a young voice said from the other side of the tram, “but are you Ronnie Calst?”

Ronnie looked over to face the person.  The young kid had shockingly bright orange hair and green eyes, and he wore a red shirt with a strange green pattern that appeared splattered across it.  He had reached into his blue-colored pack and was holding a blue and red great ball.  Ronnie surveyed all this with an air of surprise.  This young kid, whom she figured to be about ten or eleven, was so strangely out-of-place that Ronnie was completely surprised that she hadn’t noticed him earlier.  {But then again,} she rationalized to herself, {I did have a complete and total distraction…} Staring intensely at the kid, she quietly answered, “Yes, I’m Veronica Calst.  Why do you want to know?”

“Because,” he replied, rolling the great ball in his palm, “My name is Sean, and I want to battle you.”

Ronnie took several minutes to process the statement, continually staring at the kid.  After a while, she gained the focus to shakily ask him, “What was that?”

“I’m challenging you to a battle, Ronnie Calst.”

The heiress couldn’t stop staring at the kid, as her head started to spin.  {I’ve literally just started, and I already have a challenger?!}  She started breathing heavily and hyperventilating.

Sensing danger, Tommy stepped in.  “Hey, kid,” he said, addressing Sean, “I understand the urge to battle, but we’re on a tram, and pokémon are not allowed to be used here.”

“Oh, I know,” the kid trainer replied.  “I have Fireball in here,” he said, holding up the great ball, “and the only reason why is because pokémon aren’t allowed on here.  If it weren’t for that, he’d be alongside me right now.”

“Ok, good.  So you understand the situation?”  Tommy watched the kid, wishing to see his reaction.

Sean allowed a small grin to creep on his face.  “I understand.  I’m willing to wait for the next stop to battle Ronnie here,” he said, nodding towards Ronnie.

Tommy turned to the panicking trainer.  “You can’t reject him, Ronnie,” he said matter-of-factually.  “Ready for a battle?”

“NO!” Ronnie snapped back, causing all the passengers on the tram to flinch.  She muttered a quick apology before continuing.  “I know that I have to, but there was no way I’d ever think I’d get challenged as soon as I took off.”

And suddenly, Ronnie heard Lebasí in her head.  Do you remember your premonition at Erika’s Gym, with Gin?

Ronnie sighed mentally, and replied, {Yes, of course I do.}

Remember what I described to you from my end?

Ronnie did remember, and she shivered slightly.  Lebasí had recounted his tale the next day, and described how he had been completely spent of all his telekinetic energy.  He had also been standing in a field of dead bodies, containing pokémon and human alike, and had been screaming in mental anguish from the start of the premonition.

Lebasí mentally hugged Ronnie, giving her reassurance.  If we are to save everyone, we need to be strong.  And what better way to gain strength than a battle?

{I know, but…}  Ronnie bit her lip.

Why the doubt?  Lebasí fed Ronnie emotions of valor and chivalry.  There is nothing to fear, so long as you are our trainer and leader.

Ronnie smiled, in spite of her desire to be stoic, and mentally hugged Lebasí in gratitude.  {Yes, we’ll make this work.}  She turned to Sean.  “I accept.”

“Yes!” the young trainer cried out, making a fist and pulling his arm down in a victorious motion.  “This will give me clout for sure!”

Tommy and Erika both faced the “unique” kid, wearing unimpressed expressions, and they both smiled at Ronnie.  “You’ll do fine,” Tommy said.

Before Erika could say anything, Sean pointed towards her.  “Oh, and Leader Erika, don’t think that I don’t know who you are,” he said, smiling.  “I’m going to challenge you soon enough.”

After a large yawn, Erika smiled languidly and said, “We’ll see.”  She then sat back in her chair, and together with Tommy and Ronnie, waited out the remaining stops of the tram.

When the tram finally stopped at the outdoor station that led to the eastern edge of Celadon City, Erika, Tommy, and Sean all stepped out eagerly.  Ronnie, however, was not so enthusiastic.  She took her time to get out of the train, and as she stood in the moist coolness, she shivered horribly, despite the thick coat she was wearing that Tommy had labeled “impractical.”  She was also having issues holding the weight of her large pack, which kept sliding off her back and threatened to crush her.  Her few steps onto the platform were hobbled and erratic, but she managed to get used to it, and she faced Sean, who’s orange hair made him obvious no matter where he was in the gray morning dew.  “Okay, so what’s first?” she asked.  The slapping sound from Tommy’s face palm resounded in the station.

Sean smiled as he led them off the platform and onto the street.  “Well, let’s see,” he said, scratching his bright hair.  “We need to go somewhere that isn’t going to get people hurt, but will allow our pokémon to battle without breaking anything or getting hurt themselves.”

“And, unfortunately, it’s not like if we make ourselves obvious we’ll be protecting people, because the fog is so thick that people will only hear us, not see us,” Ronnie replied.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Sean murmured.  Tommy smiled at Ronnie, obviously impressed.

Before either Ronnie or Sean could make any other statements, Erika piped up.  “Why don’t we just leave Celadon?” she asked, pointing down the avenue to the east.  “The city walls are just a couple of blocks that way.”

Sean and Ronnie faced each other and, after a quick nod, followed Erika to the city walls.  It was a short walk on the sidewalk, and Ronnie could hear a large volume of cars driving back-and-forth somewhere to her left.  Before Ronnie realized it, the fog opened up to reveal that she was standing in a large walkway, with a huge wall to her left, and another a couple of yards ahead of her.  But even as she watched, Ronnie saw that there was a huge split in the wall, and that there was a large volume of people walking in and out of it.  The only reason Ronnie hadn’t been able to hear the din was because the cars to her left, which Ronnie realized where from the freeway linking Celadon City and Saffron City, were so loud that they drowned out the people.  There were many different types of people, all of them very unique, but Ronnie recognized instantly that most of them had to have been trainers.  Many of them were even leading or following different pokémon, and were disappearing past the wall into the meadow that stretched beyond it, surrounded on two sides by a thick forest.

Inside of the walls between Ronnie and the opening leaving the city was a huge plaza, with different shops and vendors in it, as well as random patches of grass and trees.  Most of the trainers were walking between the vendors, and were observing the different things on sale.  To the side of the plaza, which had a huge clock in the middle that was reminiscent of the Victorian Era, and against the walls, was a gigantic map the trainers seemed to naturally congregate towards.  Towering several feet over everyone and spanning the length of the walls, it proudly announced Celadon City: The City of Rainbow Colors and showed everything that could be found inside the city limits, with areas that were special for trainers highlighted in different colors from the random areas.  The map was obvious even in the dark, foggy dawn because the entire map was lit up, and it was so bright that it made Sean’s hair look dull.  Ronnie was easily able to trace a route from her manor to Erika’s Gym, and from both to where they currently were.  “This is so… amazing…”

“What, that?” Sean asked, pointing to the map.  “They have a huge map like this in every city’s trainer entrances.  There’s one next to the Bike Path, too.”

“I had no idea…”

Suddenly, somebody pointed towards them.  “Uh oh,” Tommy murmured, “Three very famous people in the pokémon world here in the middle of a bunch of trainers.  This can’t be good.”

As they watched, two girls dressed in similar clothing walked up to Tommy.  “Are you Thomas Goodson?” they asked.

Tommy simply stared at them with a polite grin.  “Why isn’t he answering?” Sean asked Ronnie in a whisper.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back.

The two girls apparently didn’t know either, and after being stared at for a couple of minutes, they faltered and walked away.  Once they were gone, Tommy said, “We should get through this throng quickly.”  He pulled a baseball cap out of his pack and quickly tucked his hair in it as he put it on.  Erika pulled a bandanna and some thick glasses out of her pocket, and she donned the glasses while tying the bandanna to the top of her head.  She immediately appeared as if she had aged several years.  Lastly, Ronnie was handed a beanie by Tommy, and she quickly put it on her head.  The three famous trainers followed Sean as he led them towards the opening that left the city and, after three or four yards of walking, Ronnie took her first steps out of the city as a trainer.