Light beamed from the sunny sky and whispered as delicate fingers of wind touched her face and blew her hair skyward. Tiny riffs of breeze ruffled the Pokemon's fur, beside her. Clouds, wispy white, made no move as they lazily strolled the skies. Yes, it was a nice day. A nice, sunny day, but it was unfortunate the girl waved a hasty hand to her mother as she hurried off on her journey, for she was very abrupt and hasty.

The weather was trying its hardest to impress her, but the girl had no appreciation for the small details like that. She ran by, her Eevee struggling to keep up with her. It tried, desperately, to point out that it was a fabulous day and that they should slow down, but to no avail. The girl was way too energetic.

<<But Milo...! Look how sunny it is!>>, was the Eevee's continuous cry. Milo gave no attention to the wailing Pokemon (even if she could understand it), and ran on in a brisk manner, taking no care to wipe strands of hair from her face.

But then... Bash! Bang!

Shakily, Milo got up and threw the strands out of her face. They had blocked her vision, and as unlikely (or cliched) as it might've seemed, she had run into a tree. The Eevee was, as its name suggested, laughing. Like a maniac.

<<Bwa...Bwahaha! Oh, oh, Milo, oh, haha! Hahaha!>> And though Milo couldn't understand its words, she got that her Pokemon was laughing at her.

"Laugh!" she cried, discouraged. "Don't you laugh at me in that way!" She brushed herself off, but decided to stay awhile under the leafy shade of the great oak that she had bumped into.

After all, it was a nice day.

Unfortunately, it was to be interrupted. A middle-aged woman walked to your shady resort and said, "Oh, you're Milo, right? Didn't you just start on your journey? That's a fine Eevee you have there."

She smiled.

"Uh, thank you," greeted Milo uncertainly; this new person was one to be carefully inspected. Milo didn't accept strangers as well as other people might've. "Yeah... thanks... thanks." She pulled on her Pokemon's head gently, and cuddled the soft pillow of a skull he had.

"Er, how'd you know my name?" she asked cautiously. Breeze carried more of her hair down her face, and she wiped it out without taking the greatest care of thought that her hair was the reason she'd bumped into the oak.

<<Milo...? Who is this woman?>> asked Laugh, nuzzling closer into the lap of his trainer. He, too, was nervous, and of all things, should the woman be untrustable, he'd jump to action--perhaps a little scared--to protect Milo with his all.

The woman smiled. "Oh, I'm familiar with all of the Daylight Alliance trainers. Well, the ones that live nearby, at least."

The woman reached into her pocket, pulling out a small, red and white Pokeball. "I once was a trainer of the Daylight Alliance, but my Swablu and I are more content to hang around Morningleaf Town."

Slipping the Pokeball back in her pocket, she turned to you and smiled.

Tension built up inside of Milo's head as the woman grew friendlier. She didn't trust this woman. Friendly people were always up to something. (A/N: Sorry, couldn't resist. xD) Her suspicion grew as she said, "Oh, I'm familiar with all of the Daylight Alliance trainers. Well, the ones that live nearby, at least."

What was she up to? Was she an innocent woman in her middle ages, or a secret murderer? Milo couldn't make heads or tails. The Eevee beside her shrank back into a tight huddle. He didn't trust her, either.

Suddenly the woman spoke. "I once was a trainer of the Daylight Alliance, but my Swablu and I are more content to hang around Morningleaf Town." Milo had visibly relaxed. It was always calmer to know the background history of a person.

However, she still had up her guard. The woman had not stressed on whether she was dangerous or not. Or if she'd ever murdered anybody. Well, anything was possible; without thinking of what the consequences would be, Milo asked suspiciously, "Who are you, what's your name, what do you want with me, and have you ever murdered anyone?!"

(Milo amuses me sometimes. xD)

The woman flinched, as if struck. "Of course I've never murdered anyone!" she snapped. Then, her face softened again. "I suppose you're right to wonder, though." She gazed into the distance.

"My name's Joanne," she said. "Like I said, I used to be a member of the Daylight Alliance. My Swablu and I made quite a team, and our team gradually grew to include other Pokemon." Joanne stopped and closed her eyes, as if the memories were right in front of her and she didn't want to see them.

"But then... one day, I woke up, and my Pokemon were gone. All three Pokeballs, empty. Swablu was the only one who stayed with me. I suppose, perhaps, I wasn't the greatest trainer, but I hadn't thought that my Pokemon disliked me enough to run away." She opened her eyes. "Anyway... that was a long time ago. Since then, Swablu and I have just stayed around the town, meeting new Daylight Alliance trainers and wishing them well on their journeys."

The young trainer rubbed her hands across the back of her neck apologetically. "Gee, sorry," she said slowly. "That must have been scary for you. I mean, your Pokemon running off!" Slowly, Milo's hands took to snuggling Laugh tighter. "But they might not've ran off. Maybe they just... needed some time."

Laugh agreed cheerily, <<Yeah, sometimes Milo bugs me so much I need to have some time of my own!>>

Joanne turned and gazed into the distance. She frowned. "Do you think that's true...?" she said softly. Her eyes seemed shiny as she continued in a quiet voice. "Then... then I would have left them. What if they thought I didn't want them? Did they even try to come back?"

She seemed to vanish into her own world then, thinking about her Pokemon.

"Uh... Ah..." she said quietly to the woman. "Your best luck will be to go back, and maybe, look for your Pokemon? They still love you, I'm positive." Milo smiled at Joanne. "All Pokemon love, right? They probably still remember you. Maybe if... Maybe if you... You call to them..."

Fiddling with her thumbs, Milo silenced. Laugh finished the sentence for her. <<Maybe they'll come home.>>

Joanne stared into the distance, then nodded slowly. "You're right, Milo." she said. "I gave up too soon on them."

She stopped, and turned to Milo, her eyes filled with something like hope, or maybe gratitude. "Of all the trainers I've talked to, you're the only one to suggest I find them," she said. "The others just told me to forget it, and be a better trainer to my new Pokemon. But that's not right, is it? I need to find my old Pokemon. And I suppose I should leave right away."

Joanne smiled. "But, of course, it's been years since I've traveled as a trainer." She pulled the small red and white Pokeball out of her pocket, pressing a button on it to expand it to the normal size. "Swablu and I haven't had a true battle in many months."

A challenging expression entered her face. "So, Milo. Would you and your Eevee like to battle?"

(Yesss! 8D)

"Sure thing, Joanne," replied the girl, her Eevee bouncing up beside her as she got up. "Laugh, you ready?" Laugh barked with delight, and got in front of her to battle. Grinning, Milo said slowly, dripping each word with delicate excitement, "You know... I'm not going to lose."

Joanne grinned, tossing the Pokeball high in the air. A small Swablu burst out of it with an excited cry. "Swablu!" it called.

"Is that so?" Joanne questioned. "Well, Swablu and I make a pretty formidable team, I must tell you." A light entered her eyes, one that probably hadn't been there since she traveled as a trainer. "Swablu, let's show them what we're made of!"

Swablu: Level 5, 20 HP ((Yeah, she never trained her Swablu. XD))

"Alright, Laugh, get close and tail whip it! If you can, try to tackle it after!" commanded Milo, pointing her finger in the dramatic trainer stance.

"Swablu!" Joanne called out. "Swoop down and try a Peck attack!" As Swablu dropped out of the air, Laugh turned and flicked his tail fiercely at Swablu. The small bird shrank back a bit, then swooped more and pecked the brown Eevee on top of the head.

Laugh flinched under the peck, then whirled around, throwing all his weight at Swablu. Swablu cried out, her wings flying wildly as she made an effort to right herself in the air.

Peck: 4 damage
Tackle: 4 damage

Swablu: 15/20 HP (-4 for tackle, -1 for lowered defense)
Laugh: 16/20 HP (-4 for peck)